It is a brand new blog and it is called Blogopolis Blueprint. Up-And-Coming-Blogger will no longer be updated, as the Blueprint will take it’s place. This new blog has much more to offer with twice the voice and more overall depth of content. But instead of continuing this conversation over here, please click over to our NEW BLOG and check out another great resource in your pursuit to find your online voice and become a better blogger. Oh, and be sure to subscribe to the Blueprint so you can keep up with all the latest content. We’ll see you over there!

ALSO, be sure to check out the latest post on The Blueprint about Effective Online Communication.  Or learn more about starting a blog.

Editor’s Note: Learn how to be happy at MotivateThyself.com

Back when I first created “Motivate Thyself”, a little over 4 months ago, I started doing some research into the trends of search traffic in regards to ‘motivation’.  Using Google Trends I began looking at the different ways the Internet fluctuates depending on the time of year and even the year itself.  This was a fascinating process overall, but the one thing that stood out to me more than anything else was the dramatic drop in December and then complete rebound in January (I found this to be consistent with almost EVERY keyword I tested).  And not only did the traffic rebound, but it began the ascent into some of the busiest times of the year.

Now I know that this year is a little different because of our economic woes, but I think we’re still following that trend right now.  Heck, the troubled economy may even make this fluctuation more pronounced.  But the point is this; as we near Christmas and New Years we should continue to see slumps in traffic, at least the Internet as a whole.  But hang in there and enjoy the season, because January is a commin’.

As I just mentioned, starting “Motivate Thyself” consisted of a game plan that included this sudden jump in visits.  My goal was to establish my blog by the end of the year and then poise myself to take advantage of it.  My advise to you, if you’re not already in this mindset, is to do all that you can to make the most of January…

• Go over your blog layout/design and make sure it’s clean, clear and ready for you new guests.
• Look over you ‘About’ page and make any revisions necessary to make it as up to date as possible, that it accurately describes WHAT you have to offer.
• Line up at least 5 solid post ideas to have published by the first week of January.  Basically, make sure to have your best China laid out on the dining room table.
• Line up some blogging buddies to help share your content through social media.  You want to make sure your ’stuff’ is included in the mass of content being consumed in the New Year.
• Use the down time over the Holidays to do this.  Certainly enjoy the ‘Season’, but use this time to BE READY.
• Get excited and be positive!  This is a new year and you are now going into your second year of blogging (maybe not literally, but you know what I mean).
• In light of the last point, poise yourself as a non-newbie and take the ‘real’ newbies under your wing.  Not only can you help your fellow blogger, but having bloggers ‘under you’ is great for building a strong foundation in this LARGE community.

I’m really excited about this coming year and know that blogging is JUST getting started.  We have HUGE growth ahead of us and it’s important that we take advantage of these ‘trends’ and make the most of these ‘pioneer’ days in Blogopolis.

Editor’s Note: Be sure to read about How To Motivate Yourself on MotivateThyself.com

I feel that it is when I keep a clear contrast between blogging and the rest of my life that both of these activities remain enjoyable and productive.

The last couple of weeks have been some of the busiest blogging times to date, at least for myself.  It’s been wonderful, though, as I’ve been able to stay on top of all that needs to get done as the New Year approaches.  But this past weekend brought about a common mistake that I think many bloggers make and don’t even know it.

I got up Saturday morning feeling great about all that I’d accomplished and the fact that the whole weekend was open for more to get done.  But as many of you may already know, too much time can often be our downfall.  Instead of just getting done those things that needed a check mark next to their little box on my to-do list, I started flitting away my time as I kind of ‘half-blogged’.  I figured, “I’ve got all weekend to get this stuff done, so I can just do a little of this and a little of that.  No rush.”

The problem with this is that when we lack any kind of urgency, we often tend to waste time dong things like:

• Surfing the ‘net…
• Checking email a few too many times…
• Chatting with friends…
• Reading other blogs…
• etc, etc, etc…

All of these activities are fine and dandy when the time is right (I’m totally in the camp that says this kind of ‘lite blogging’ is essential to grow your community), but they have no place during that span of time that we’ve set aside for REALLY getting things done.  During that time that’s marked, “Create Monday’s posts and work on _____ and …”  This time is sacred and should be kept pure as we produce and not just play, with a little productivity scattered around the edges.  Because without this, we will not only get less done, but will lose that critically important contrast that keeps our content sharp.

Don’t let your time ‘blend’ together.

Some of my best posts have been written right after time spent doing anything BUT blogging.  Those clear moments where my focus is purely poured out onto family, friends and fun.  Where stats and schedules and just about anything that ends with a double g is far from the forefront of my mind.  It is right after these moments that I sit down at my computer and feed fresh content into the dashboard of Wordpress.  My mind is clear as my blogging batteries have been recharged by life.

We know, we know, you’re ready for our big announcement. We are sorry, but we cannot serve the dish until it has been cooked to perfection.

However, we do have something to help our Up and Coming Bloggers.

Every day the two of us find our inbox peppered with messages asking different versions of the same questions; bloggers wanting to know how we’ve done some of the things we’ve done. The short answer is relentless work, but of course that answer is far from complete.

As we finalize the scaffolding of our new project, we are offering our time at fair compensation to help bloggers do that which we do best.

Make our blogs sing.

If your interested in giving your blog a boost. Click here.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Eric Hamm and Sean Platt

As a natural born GEEK (I’ve owned a Charlottesville computer repair business for the last 5 years) I have a passion for cool gadgets and just plain high tech stuff.  So when I started blogging I found myself in Nerd Neverland as the different posting ‘needs’ became apparent.  From portability to performance, I needed to have a ‘RIG’ that would allow me to get the job done without too much fuss.  I had recently purchased a MacBook so I was already on my way to blogging bliss!

My current setup.

As I mentioned, I have a fairly new MacBook.  It is usually hooked up to my 22inch widescreen LCD monitor and Apple bluetooth keyboard and mouse.  So I basically use it as a desktop most of the time.  As far as the Operating System, I use Boot Camp to dual boot Mac OSX Leopard with Windows Vista so I can run all my apps natively on the same piece of hardware.  And the great thing is, when I go on a trip (like this past Thanksgiving for example), I am able to bring EVERYTHING with me in a nice, portable package.  So the whole ‘docking station’ setup is proving to be a great way to go!

In addition to my MacBook, I have an iPhone.  This is great for always having easy access to my emails and decent usability with the Internet when necessary.  The iPhone is the first PDA style phone that I would truly consider a ‘computer phone’.  It’s the first one that I have found to bring email and Internet that still feels like the ‘real thing’, into a handheld device.  I’m not saying there aren’t others out there, just none that I’ve had the privilege to play with.

Interesting possibilities…

Over the last year or so, the sub laptop sized computer called a ‘Netbook’ has appeared.  First we saw Asus bring out there Eee PC and now companies like HP, ACER and MSI are following suit.  These ’small laptops’ weigh about 2 to 3 pounds, come with 8 to 10 inch widescreen LCD’s and run either a cut down version of Linux or Windows XP.  And the really cool thing about them is that most of them run between $300 and $400 American dollars!

I’ve had my eyes on them for a while now and keep thinking that they would make a great ‘on-the-go’ blogging device.  But after reading THIS ARTICLE I’m second guessing that thought.  I’ve had a chance to play with these ‘extra small’ notebook computers at my local computer retailer and have found them to be usable, but size would probably be an issue with prolonged blogging.  I even find that the 13.3 inch screen on my MacBook is barely JUST enough.  But, as a ‘pull out for a quick blogging session’ device, these Netbooks might be worth a look.

What blogging ‘gear’ do you use?

So what’s YOUR blog digitally ‘birthed’ from?  Are you a Mac maniac, Windows wonder, Linux lunatic (not a bad thing ) or just a blogger who uses any old computer to post there online content?

One thing most often missing in discussion about web 2.0, is exactly what it is that the two is supposed to include. It isn’t just audio, video, or any of the million other things that make the modern web a more immersive experience. It is also that we have witnessed a mammoth migration in the thought process of the common blogger.

It’s easy to lose sight, blogging is a medium still in diapers, and we can only hypothesize its direction. When blogs first started, not too long ago, they were little more than online diaries; an instant conduit from living room to world at large. As the term Problogger, began to envy the weight of the word entrepreneur, our preconceptions were first relaxed, then redefined.

Modern blogs are constantly showing us that anything is possible. This infinite possibility quite easily leading us toward limitless confusion. Searching for a single source to hold our hand through the dim days of our beginning, or those middling months of running in place, can feel like we’re driving an endless lane in an unlit midnight.

Everyone offers advice, but few deliver the map.

Eric and I have been in daily collaboration since first we met; two cooks in the kitchen, preparing a future online potluck.

Two chefs with the same recipe, renders one of them useless. Eric and I each insert something fresh into our formula. We are both of us brimming with ideas about how best to chart a course for newbies as well as those who need help steering their experience.

We have felt the excitement of a rapid rise measured against the lull of realistic expectations, and both have plenty to say.

We’ve elected to stream our collective experience into Up and Coming Blogger. As this year falls into the next, Up and Coming Blogger will blossom into something brighter. Think of our upcoming direction as a blueprint to brighter blogging, or perhaps that hand to hold as you trudge down the ever widening boulevards of a booming Blogopolis.

EDITOR’S NOTE: We will continue to post once or twice a week on Up-And-Coming-Blogger as we have thus far, but come January, we will have a new baby that will be BIGGER, BETTER and, well, you’ll just have to wait and see.

1. Random posting.
2. Mixed. (Series and random)
3. Series.

It seems that most bloggers have a mix of the bunch, but some go more in one direction or the other.

Leo Babauta of zenhabits, for example, rarely has an official series on his blog.  Darren Rowse of problogger, though, mixes it up with many random posts along with the occasional series.  And Barbara Swafford of bloggingwithoutablog fills her week with mostly series based posts (though she still publishes a few non-series posts as well).

Over at “Motivate Thyself” I’ve usually been in the #2 category by mixing it up.  I’ve been writing the Motivate2ACTION! series for a few months now and the ‘Community Insight‘ series for a few weeks.  And today I just published the second part of an ongoing series called “Enduring The Road To Success“.  The more I create and publish these posts in series form, the more I see the different ways my readers react to the format.  I notice how many leave comments, what they say and whether or not they mention the ongoing characteristic of the content.  Then, as the creator of these posts, I note the enjoyment and fluidity of the time spent working on them.  In doing so, I get a rough idea of the unique impact these particular publishing’s bring to the table.  I can’t yet say for sure, but they certainly seems to be well received and I generally enjoy the structure they provide.  But, I know that in the end, it’s the quality of the post that really creates the positive or negative reaction.

Natural progression.

I think it’s a natural progression for people to find what works best for their styles as well as their readers preferences.  Over time we find that having more structure to our content creation either works or it doesn’t or both.  I don’t think it can be argued that either way is necessarily best, though.  The three blogs that I just listed are those with very active communities.  And yet all have quite different ways of sharing their insight with their readers.

One of the issues I started running into with ‘5 day a week posting’ at “Motivate Thyself” was that of finding good topics day in and day out.  With no structure to the solution I was struggling with my consistency of ideas.  I then added one series to the week and found it very helpful to have one less topic to concern myself with.  Then, after adding two more, I’m finding myself at a much better place as this new found structure allows me to focus more on my writing and less on the question of what to right.  I don’t think I’d ever completely fill my days with series, but more days than not is perfectly fine with me.

So my question to you is, “Which way do you prefer and why?” (Based on your experience as a reader as well as a blogger.)

Google Adsense, writing ebooks, affiliate sales … all great ways to make money from blogging, but not generally big cash-cows when you’re just starting out. I’m a pretty typical small-time blogger: I’ve been writing The Office Diet since January 2008, and launched Alpha Student in September but have fewer than 1,000 subscribers total, and haven’t yet received my first Google Adsense check…

However, I’m paying my rent (and more) each month through blogging – by getting paid to write for several blogs that are much bigger than mine.

What’s Staff Blogging?

If you’ve read a few blogs, chances are you’ve read some posts written by “staff bloggers” – people who, like me, write posts for pay. Any blog which has a number of different regular authors uses staff bloggers. Here are just a few examples in several different fields:

• Freelance Switch (for freelance writers, designers, graphic artists, developers…)
• Digital Photography School (for digital photographers)
• Pick the Brain (covers personal development and self-improvement topics)
• Diet Blog (health and fitness news and feature articles)

The description “staff bloggers” distinguishes paid, usually regular writers from “guest bloggers” who are unpaid, usually occasional writers on a blog. (I’m often a guest blogger too – like with this post!)

Why Become a Staff Blogger?

The big advantages to staff blogging, when you’re just starting out, are:

• Getting a guaranteed sum for each post, rather than a few pennies from Adsense
• Learning on the job; working for a big blog gives you an insight into how these blogs become – and stay – successful
• Receiving feedback from a wide audience about your post content and writing style

Money

The money factor may seem a little mercenary, but it’s important; many of us are under financial stress during the current economic times, and even a couple of hundred extra dollars a month can make a big difference. Maybe your spouse, parents, friends or colleagues think that your blogging is, at best, a harmless hobby, and at worst, a huge waste of your time. Showing them that you can make good money at it is a sure way to change their minds!

Learning

Don’t decide to become a staff blogger just for the money, though. One of the less tangible benefits of staff blogging is that you’ll learn faster than if you just write on your own small blog. You’ll get an inside glimpse into how blog editors run things – invaluable if, a couple of years down the line, you’ll be hiring people to work on your own blog. You’ll also start getting an idea of how much administrative and promotional work goes on behind the scenes of popular blogs.

Feedback

If your own blog gets a couple of comments every week, staff blogging is a fantastic way to open the feedback floodgates. Big blogs tend to get a good number of comments, and there’s nothing better than both getting paid for a great post and having lots of readers tell you how much they enjoyed it. Sometimes, you’ll receive negative comments; learn from these, but don’t obsess over them.

Finding a Staff Blogging Job

If I’ve sold you on the idea of staff blogging, you might be wondering how on earth to get started.

Your blog

First of all, you’ll almost certainly need your own blog: no blog editor is going to hire you if they can’t see samples of your writing, and they’ll usually also want to know that you’ve got a basic understanding of the blogosphere. It doesn’t matter if your blog is quite new – I landed a staff blogging job within six weeks of starting The Office Diet.

Guest post

All of the blogs I currently work for as a staff blogger are ones which I wrote guest posts for first. Keep an eye out for blogs that you’d like to write for: some will have a “write for us” page if they take staff bloggers, but others won’t make this explicit, so try looking for blogs with multiple authors. Send a short, friendly email to the blog editor (or whoever is listed on the contact page), with a guest post attached.

Ask!

If the guest post goes down well, drop the editor an email to ask whether he uses staff bloggers – don’t wait to be invited! (I did get my first couple of jobs when the editors simply asked “Would you like to staff blog?” but with the others, I made it clear I was available.) If you’re a little shy about doing this, build up a stronger relationship with the editor by doing another guest post a few weeks later.

Apply for jobs

The other route to getting a staff blogging gig is to look on blogger advertising boards (ProBlogger’s job board and the Freelance Writing Jobs listings are the best I’ve come across). This can be trickier, though, as often the blogs advertising aren’t on topics you want to write about – and they also receive hundreds of applications, so your chances of being chosen are low.

Give It A Go

If you’ve never heard of staff blogging before, or never thought that it was for you, think through the blogs you read regularly. Are there any which you could write for? It could just be the kick-start that your blogging career needs…

Ali Hale is a writer, blogger and postgrad student. She runs The Office Diet (RSS feed) and Alpha Student (RSS feed), and writes for several large blogs.

Be sure to check out the latest at “Motivate Thyself” and find out the answer to the question, “What career is right for me?” and “How To Motivate Yourself“.

Another great recourse is this Teaching Sells Review over at The Blueprint.  Be sure to check it out!

Oh, and one more thing.  Check out Sean Platt’s latest gig as a Ghost Writer!

StumbleUpon certainly produces results.

Anyone who has had their posts ‘pushed’ by multiple StumbleUpon users, has most likely seen a significant spike in their traffic.  Often times in the hundreds, but sometimes hitting many thousands of unique hits, StumbleUpon is one of the best ways to increase your stats, at least for the day.

Hollow traffic?

But we all know that not all traffic is the same.  StumbleUpon hits are usually hollow at best.  Most of them are quick to bounce and rarely click on anything at all.  It’s as if they’re in a museum, “Look, but don’t touch”. And rarely will you get any increase in subscriber numbers with a mass influx of this ADD audience.

So what is it good for, anyway?

So if this is true, why would you even bother hoping someone would stumble your work?  Well, first of all, I am not saying that ALL the traffic is ‘hollow’, just that most of it is.  And the StumbleUpon site itself, provides great ways to connect with bloggers as you help each other out.  But the main reason I continue to use it is the traffic for traffic sake.

As you’re growing a new blog, pushing higher and higher numbers of traffic is key to bringing down stat numbers like your alexa rating.  The lower that number is, the better your site looks to stat junkies, which many of us bloggers are.  Here’s an example of this in action:

Recently I have been focusing on ‘pushing’ this blog as apposed to my ‘more mature’ motivational blog because I wanted to give my stats a boost.  But since then, my other blog has seen a rise (bad for alexa) in numbers even though it’s ‘natural’ traffic has increased.  Within a few weeks I realized that the extra StumbleUpon traffic was giving “Motivate Thyself” a nice boost.

What has been YOUR experience?

Let me first say that this is all information from my OWN experience.  I am certainly not touting it as a ‘finite fact’.  You guys may be seeing completely different results.  So I’d love to hear what your findings have been and how YOU harness this unique way of sharing your content with the world.