Truth isn’t all about joy and beauty. It has an unsavory side that often conjures images of loneliness, perspiration, and pain. Here’s a bit of the latter:

How To Make Money By Writing A Blog

Write without pay until somebody offers to pay. ~Mark Twain

The web is flush with purse-snatchers and trust agents who exhort you to build a community then monetize it with calls to action and promises of overnight success. They tell you to follow your passions, to hustle, and to keep your eye on the prize.

Ignore them.

The web has changed the way we identify and toil for prizes.

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The following is a video produced by social bookmarking site Kirtsy to promote their to-be-released book:

I have a few questions:

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How much information do you require before you willingly invest your trust in somebody?

Probably not very much.

As it turns out, our choices seldom have much to do with the actual quantity of facts involved. Most of our daily decisions are made “on a hunch” that we later flesh out with judgements on authenticity, transparency, and a perception of humility.

The social media space is filled with conversations on the need for “authenticity” and “transparency” from corporations and individuals alike. In spite of all the words published about “how to be authentic” or “how to be transparent,” little in the way of concrete guidlines or actionable sequences has emerged.

That’s especially unfortunate because blogs enable intelligent people from all over the globe to gather at no cost to discuss a topic. Why then, when we have the tools to push a conversation forward in real time, do we walk away from so many discussions with our ideas unchallenged and thought structures unchanged? Because we’ve forgotten about humility.

It’s difficult to discuss humility because to do so is often considered arrogant. It’s just not socially acceptable to discuss humility as it relates to people and businesses. Blessedly, we’re allowed to bend the social rules a bit online. I’d like to. Just for a bit. Shall we?

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Want to know where I find all the images I use on my blog? Here’s the scoop:

Let’s say I want to write an article about loneliness.

Before I search for images to include in the article, I determine the tone of my writing. Is it happy, sad, reflective, hopeful? Once I know where the article is going, I can take breaks from writing to look for images that reflect my tone.

Note: You can browse images for inspiration, but chances are good that if you start with one image you’ll need to choose a different image for the final version of your article. Why? Because we rarely end within sight of where we started.

Where do I look? Flickr.

Unfortunately, Flickr’s search function is ungainly.

The solution? Compfight is a free site that allows me to quickly search Flickr images based on tags, license, and adult content. Instead of scrambling through Flickr, Compfight gives me the search function I need with lots of images displayed on each page so I don’t have to scramble for them!

Suppose I’ve already written a thoughtful reflection on what it is to be alone without being lonely. The tone is warm like a comfortable sweater, not a hug. I decide to search for “Alone” and see what comes up for images.

I typically search based on tags for original images. (Just photos, no crazy Photoshop creations…usually) There’s a lot of skin on Flickr (no more than anywhere else) but Safe Search does a good job of filtering that out. If you’re unfamiliar with Creative Commons licensing, here’s a quick summary of the licenses you’re likely to see on Flickr.

Now, let’s enter my keyword “Alone” into the search and see what comes up!

Compfight immediately returns pages of thumbnails tagged “alone” that I can quickly scan for something that matches the tone of my article. I often use images with people in them but the article is about being alone so I want to avoid people for this one. My eyes are drawn to a group of thumbnails with plants and water. The leaf looks nice. It’s alone and is a bright color. That brings up thoughts of cool fall days and times of transition. I click on it and Compfight directs me to the image page on Flickr.

I like the image even more in a large size. Perfect! But before I can move ahead, I have to make sure I’m allowed to use the image in my article. (Compfight does a good job filtering for licenses but it’s still best to check for yourself.)

I’m allowed to use the image as I wish so long as I give credit to the artist. That works for me!

I scroll back to the top of the page and click on “All Sizes” for more options:

Now I have the task of figuring out which size I’d like to download. Download? Yes. Embedding Flickr-hosted images is a bad idea for two reasons:

1. Most of the images on Flickr are taken by amateur photographers and benefit from cropping. You can’t crop images if you embed them directly from Flickr. If you’re serious about effectively using images in your articles, you’ll shy away from letting Flickr dictate your options.
2. If a Flickr user deletes an image, it will show up in your article as a broken link. Uploading images instead of linking to them means you can be sure that your article looks as good in a year as it did the moment you published it.

I know the article area of my blog is 540 pixels wide. I want the image to take up the full width of the article so I choose “Original,” (800 x 696 pixels) double check the image license (yes, I’m good to go) and download the image to my computer. I download the image in a size larger than I need so that when I crop it I won’t lose the clarity of the original.

I use Photoshop to crop my images and to sometimes add text. (Only if the image is licensed for derivative works. Many are not.)

Here’s what I came up with: (I’m no Photoshop genius but I’ve found that very basic photo editing skills go a very long way when it comes to formatting photos for an article.)

Pretty nice, eh? Once the image is uploaded, embedded in the article, and floated correctly so my friends in RSS land don’t see weird things, all that’s left to do is give credit to the photographer.

I typically end my articles with “Photo credit: artist name links to Flickr page” like so:

Photo credit: Arwen Abendstern

Nothing forces me to link back to the Flickr image page. I like to link back to the source to let the artist know I used the photo. The link also saves me the effort of searching for the image if somebody asks where I found it or wants to use it.

That’s about it. If you’d like clarification of any points or have a question/remark, feel free to let me know in a comment.

Thanks!

Photo credit: garryknight
Reading: How I Discover & Use Images On My Blog

These guys (there are only two) have some serious talent:

Even if you’re not a Michael Jackson fan, (or are one and hated this performance) I bet you found the presentation remarkable.

If you’re a blogger, you do a similar presentation every day. No matter the numbers associated with your blog, you play many roles in its production. You’re the writer, the editor, the accountant, the intern, the messenger, and you often labor with little visible return.

That’s impressive. Be impressed with yourself. I’m impressed with you!

I have a tendency to rant and rave about how we all need to improve our writing and focus on providing value to our community. I still think there’s a lot we can all do to improve our work. However, it’s a good idea to occasionally step away from the plow and enjoy a cold glass of lemonade in a shady spot.

I’d like to step away from the plow for a bit. Do you have a shady spot you’d recommend? Perhaps you’ve published an article on your blog that you’re happy with and would be willing to share?

I’d like you to do two things:

1. Tell me what your favorite role is in the production of your blog.
2. Include a link in your comment to an article that you’d like me to read and comment on.

I’ll not post again on this blog until I’ve read and commented on your article. Fair enough?

Have a great day!

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Photo: tranchis

The internet is not going to die if you feed it less frequently. There’s a lot to be said for developing good writing habits. However, you don’t need to publish everything you write in order to experience the creative benefits of putting your thoughts into writing.

I know that’s blasphemy to many of you blogging pharisees. How could I possibly imagine writing an article for public consumption then be so selfish as to keep it to myself? It’s not so much about keeping things to myself as it is about trying not to waste your time with articles that offer little value.

How do I navigate the brambles and choose which articles to publish and which to send back into the mill? I ask myself these questions:

1. What does this article do?

Does it share a story, ask a question, present a resource, or promote something? Knowing what you want an article to do simplifies editing for clarity while creating a benchmark you can compare response to.

2. What part of this article will be most easily misunderstood?

For every point, there is a counterpoint. For every positive, a negative. I believe we are responsible for the messages others derive from our writing. We can’t cover every base, but we can often address obvious counterpoints to the messages we share. Have you ever run across an author response to feedback that involved the author expressing frustration that the reader didn’t seem to have actually read the article? 9/10ths of the time, the author is mostly to blame for not writing with clarity. Readers are doing you a favor by spending time with your thoughts. Don’t disrespect them with frustrating drivel spun as elegant verbosity. For instance, this entire section could be compressed into: strive for clarity and don’t expect readers to know things you haven’t plainly stated.

3. If I wait to publish this article for a day, or perhaps even a week, will it still be relevant?

Unless you specialize in reblogging or have access to breaking news, is there any reason why you MUST publish articles immediately? I think not. Write for lasting relevance and you’ll end up with a blog you’re not embarrassed about three years from now. A lot of bloggers confused conversation with progression and discussion with contribution. You don’t need to be one of those. If you won’t care about your content a week from now, why should we? Just like a watermelon on a hot day, you get the most refreshment if you put it in the fridge for a few hours before eating. Delicious!

4. Do I give credit where credit is due?

This one is simple. Tell us where you find your inspiration. It doesn’t make you look like less of an expert. In fact, it makes you more trustworthy and seem more intelligent when you give others credit for inspiring your thoughts. Be humble and give credit where it’s due. We’ll respect you more for it and become loyal readers because we trust you not to mess with us. (Please, let me know if you see one of my posts and wonder if I’ve skipped a mention of some inspiration. At worst, you’ve reminded me of something I prefer to do. At best, you’ve shown me another resource that I can add as additional reading. It’s a win both ways!)

5. Did I push myself in some way with this article?

Write for you. I’m serious. If you get caught up in SEO and maximizing some vague niche market, chances are good that you’ll burn out and your writing will suffer. Find different ways to challenge yourself. Try a new format, play around with images or video, or write a post with relevant links to every member of your blog roll. Make a point to write about things that interest you and let us readers do our thing. We’re a fickle bunch and can’t be trusted most of the time anyway!

What questions do you wish more people asked themselves before publishing articles?

Note: Comment moderation is turned on. Once you’ve had a comment approved, you’ll be able to post at will. Please be respectful of others. At the same time, I hope you’ll feel free to challenge ideas and try words on for size. You’re probably smarter than me. Please demonstrate that intelligence in your comments. If we respect each other while refusing to tolerate weak arguments or personal attacks, I think we’ll have a solid chance at making good things happen. Does that sound good? Let me know!

Thank you!

Seth

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photo: aym neutron

Do you want more comments on your blog? Let’s assume you already know how valuable comments are to your blogging experience. But how do you get more of them? Here are 31 ways to increase comments on your blog. Some are concepts I use regularly on my own blogs. Others I know about from watching other bloggers. (Note that I don’t necessarily endorse all methods. You have to decide what is right for you.)

1. Take a Stand – Most bloggers wallow in moral cowardice because they fear backlash. Take some time to outline your beliefs on an issue that matters to you and publish your thoughts. (Do this sooner rather than later. It’s best to get the mistakes out of the way while you have a smaller audience.) Readers love watching to see if you’ll lose your cool in the comments of a post. (You will the first few times. It comes with the territory.)
2. Ask For Help – Do you have a problem that you could use some help with? From athletes foot to banana bread, most readers are happy to look your question up in google and give you some resulting tips in a comment. (Asking for medical advice online is high on the scale of bad ideas unless it’s a medical community site…good for lots of comments and a follow-up post though!)
3. Attack Somebody – If you’ve got beef with somebody, publish it! Know the difference between a flagrant attack and a thoughtful post that calls another’s behaviors or beliefs into action. Both will get a lot of comments but the first might garner a lawsuit. (I call this an “attack” because readers will nearly always view a post that includes names as an attack even if the content is very much about a concept and not a person. Know what you’re stepping into.)
4. Congratulate Somebody – There’s a lot of arrogance online and any post that says, “I want you to check out this person and here’s why” will often win some comments about how much of a nice person you are. (Sure, you could be posting about somebody because you care about them…but there are many non-public ways to show you care that are often considered more meaningful. Go ahead and post to boost your own brand, just make sure you reach out to the people you care about in a genuine way.)
5. Link Up – It doesn’t take much time to incorporate a few links into your posts and most blog platforms automatically notify the sites you linked to. If you want to go the extra mile, take a quick look at the sites you’re linking to and use terms related to their sites in your links. This is a great way to get noticed by larger sites that know enough about SEO to appreciate your effort. (Know that any comments you get from big blogs you link to will often be short and add little to the conversation. They’re just tagging you back…which is the point of your links anyhow.)
6. Disappear – Most bloggers post too often.  They start getting regular comments and decide to increase their posting schedule from weekly to twice weekly or even daily. If you’ve bludgeoned your readers with too much content lately, take a break. Disappear for a week or two and come back with a really thoughtful post. They’ll welcome you back with open arms. (Posting thoughtful content less frequently is a much better way to build a vibrant community than retching rubbish onto an RSS feed. The internet will be okay if you don’t post for a bit.)
7. Avoid Guest Posts – You’re not a genius editor with a huge network of willing writers who trust you to make sensible changes to their articles. Until that declaration no longer applies to you, hold off on the guest posts and focus on creating content that makes sense of your own ideas. (You can get the community jollies of guest posting by trading articles for edits/suggestions before posting your article on your own blog.)
8. Accept Guest Posts – If you can find somebody with a great social network who doesn’t blog regularly, ask them to write a guest post for your blog. They’ll be excited about posting on a blog and push their entire network to read and comment on the article. (Quality doesn’t matter so much. You’re just cashing in on the “first post” rush that every blogger gets on a new blog…except you’re hijacking it for your own blog. Snazzy!)
9. Try Different Media – If you always publish text posts, try making a video or drawing a cartoon to make your point. If you’ve been messing around with photoshop and have some cool cat-zebra mashups that you’re proud of, post away! (If you decide to do a video, PLEASE don’t begin with, “well, I wanted to talk to you about …. today.” Just get into your topic and rock it.)
10. Kill Your Retweet Button – Giving people an easy-out is, some would argue, a comment-killer. Give your readers only one way to respond and they’ll be more likely to take it. (This only works well if you’ve got amazing content and are hoping to snag the fence-sitting readers who know they want to respond but aren’t ready to commit to a comment.)
11. Kill Friendly Spam – Disqus, Chat Catcher, Twitback, etc all pull luscious bits of rubbish from various platforms and splooge them into your comment thread. Clear out the noise and let your readers know you’re serious about interaction and don’t just want to grease the slide for whatever comments come your way. (When readers think you value their input, they’re more likely to return and participate in multiple discussions on your blog.)
12. Add Friendly Spam – If you’re looking just to boost comment counts and not discussion quality, there are a lot of friendly spam-gathering plug-ins available to pull social media reactions into your comment thread. (If you’re of the “more is better no matter what” school of thought, this is probably the best route to getting your comment count up.)
13. Add a Retweet Button – If you’ve decided to go with #12, you’ll want to add the RT button so you can accelerate the Twitter-blog-Twitter visitor cycle. Every tweet is a “comment” so push, push! (I’m using an ordered list that makes me have a #13 and I’m pretending to be superstitious today….bear with me.)
14. Ask for comments - Email friends, beg on Facebook, promise to film naughty twitvid’s in exchange for comments. Remember when you posted your very first article and begged your friends to read it and comment? It works even better now that you’ve got some friends who actually know what a blog is! (This actually works. I had a friend email me earlier asking for a comment on an article she’d written that was in an area of interest for me. Guess what? I commented gladly!)
15. Close comments – Not on all of your posts. Just on some of them. If you post regularly but have trouble keeping interaction levels high, it might be a good idea to close comments on the blurbs and silly pieces so your readers know when you’d especially like their input. (If you’re a “social media blogger,” beware of closing comments. People will say you’re anti-interaction and throw moist cybertowelettes at you.)
16. Respond to comments – Seriously, if you’re deciding between leaving comments on another blog and responding to comments on your own blog, choose your blog. If you can’t carry a conversation in your own home it doesn’t make much sense to try and start them in other places. Responding to remarks on your own blog lets readers know that you are truly listening and care about what they have to say. Obviously, that will often lead to more comments and repeat visits. (Don’t look to “A-listers”–especially in social media–for examples of good behavior when it comes to comments. They’re busy doing other things.)
17. Extend Comments – If you get a bee in your bonnet while reading another blog, don’t waste your passion in a long comment. Put your thoughts into an article for your own blog and link back to it in a short comment on the post that inspired you. “Extending” a conversation in this way means more comments for everybody involved. (Linking back to the inspiring post is good business and makes up for any self-promotion you might have done in the comment that linked to your article.)
18. Write About Death – The deaths of blogging, twitter, social media, advertising, traditional media, and celebrities are all good comment-catching topics. Even a thoughtful post about death in general would do quite well as it’s something most of us think about on a regular basis. (Writing an article about how you wish death on a particular person is a bad idea.)
19. Write About Life – Find something that inspires you and write the living daylights out of it. Not only will you enjoy the process but readers will often pick up on your enthusiasm and choose to rock out with you in the comments section of your article. (If you’ve been writing about death recently, try stirring up the morgue with a few posts about thriving existence.)
20. Write About Your Fears – Is there something besides death, failure, and drowning that scares you? Fear is something we all have in different amounts regarding different things. If you have a morbid fear of choking on celery, open up and share it with your readers. Most won’t directly identify with your particular fear but, between the laughs and jokes, you’ll find a level of connection you’d miss out on with an article about your strengths. (Readers generally respond to articles that portray some sort of risk to the author. Take a risk and enjoy the comments!)
21. Write About A Failure – People love observing disasters. There’s nothing more enjoyable than reading about somebody crashing and burning when you know that they’re okay now so it’s alright to enjoy the story. “What I learned from burning my own house down” is a title sure to gather comments. (If it’s coupled with a post about the promised events.)
22. Curse Often – Shock and awe is a tactic used by many bloggers who have trouble producing quality content. You can often make up for bad writing by cursing a lot and using odd flips in logic to keep readers guessing and entertained. Readers who find you disgusting will comment as will all the readers who find you terribly amusing. Comments galore! (I don’t adopt this tactic personally but I know of many bloggers who use it regularly.)
23. Buy Comments – Using comments as a way to enter for a great prize is fail-safe way to get comments. If you want to force readers to surrender some value in exchange for your sweet schwag, make them respond to a thought-provoking question in their comment. (In spite of all the schwag hag hooplah circulating, I think give-aways can actually be leveraged into something that’s good for a blog-centric community.)
24. Start a Comment Cluster – Groups of bloggers who always comment on each other’s articles are great for higher comment counts. Coment clusters form naturally over time but can be built with a little push and thoughtful effort on your part. Start out with one blogger and work your way up until you’ve got 10-15 bloggers in your cluster. (This only works if you have a group of bloggers that post articles with the same frequency. Otherwise one blogger “gets” more out of the deal and things go sour.)
25. Trade Comments – Come right out and offer to leave a comment on any article chosen by readers who leave comments on your blog. Most comments are left out of either interest or a sense of reciprocity. Acknowledging the reciprocity and taking the initiative to leverage it into more comments for your blog is an effective way to boost comments. (Just be ready to read some really weird stuff and post comments on blogs you might not read otherwise.)
26. Write About Blogging – If you’ve come across something useful or have an idea about blogging in general, the blogging community is introspective enough to happily clamber all over your article. Blogging about writing often has similar results. There are so many different ways to go about writing articles and publishing them on the web that sharing your perspective is certain to garner some attention. (You don’t need to be terribly helpful or offer a lot of insight. Just tell things as you see them and your readers will invariably respond.)
27. Write About Twitter – It’s rare to find a regular Twitter user that doesn’t have an opinion or two about the service, company, or community that is Twitter. If you write an article about Twitter that fewer than 100 bloggers have written about already, you can be certain of comments from the Twitter-crazed masses. (Go overboard on this and you end up the mockery of your readers.)
28. Write Short Articles – A best-case scenario involves a visitor spending 3-5 minutes on your blog. That’s just enough time to read a 300 word article and craft a brief comment in response. Learn to pack a lot of goodness into a small space and you’ll reap the benefits of comments from joyful readers who gladly reply to your blurb with a comment. (
29. Be Unexpected – Find a way to surprise your readers and they will always respond with a comment. How can you do this? Ask them to disagree with you or provide some evidence that you’re wrong about something. (Readers are often glad to disagree with you if they know you won’t take the disagreement personally. Surprise them with a welcome to disagree and watch the discussions pile up!)
30. Make Announcements – Marriage, weightloss, death, celebrations, etc. Announcements are great comment-getters for two reasons. 1. They’re usually quite short and to the point. 2. Readers don’t have to think long and hard about the appropriate response. (Make it easy for readers to contribute and they often will!)
31. Write For Yourself – The best way to get more comments than you know what to do with is to write articles that you personally find interesting. Use the social media platforms you enjoy most to share those articles with others and don’t stress out when comments don’t pile up on every article you publish. Life isn’t fair, the internet is full of weirdo’s, and it’s likely that your best article (in your estimation) will be one of your least-popular ones. (This is very true in my case.)

You may find some of these concepts boring and old hat. However, I’m hoping there are a few new thoughts in the mix that spark some ideas about how you can encourage your readers to interact with you more. Take the good bits home to your blog and play around with them. Find out what works best for you. A sustainable and interesting blog is one written by an author who truly takes joy in the blogging process. I wish you the best of luck in your blogging adventure!

~Seth

(I’ve closed comments on this article on purpose. If you found something of value here, spend the minutes you might have invested in a comment on a short article for your own blog. Go get some comments and enjoy the conversation! Thanks for reading!)

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photo credits: soapbeard, mim14