SavvyBlogging Twitter Party

Last night I joined the SavvyBlogging Twitter party.  Twitter Parties are basically a chat room “Party” where everyone talks at the same time!  Put on your PJ’s, grab a class of wine and say hello.  No one cares what you’re wearing or NOT wearing…hehe.  The conversation moves so fast, it’s crazy, pull your hair out fun.  :)  The topic last night was Savvy Blogging and anyone who has a Twitter account and wants to learn more about blogging, can join in.  There is no discrimination.  Newbies and experienced bloggers were all there and it was a chance to learn from each other and meet new people.  Here were some of the topics discussed and some of the answers:

What Mistakes should a blogger avoid?

• Copying material from other bloggers – This is a big one.  DON’T DO IT!
• Not Giving Linky Love – If you get an idea or information from another blogger, link back to them.  Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you!
• Using Music on your site – The consensus on this is it’s very annoying.  You maybe expressing yourself with the music but readers don’t like it.  It’s a sure way to get people to leave immediately.   If you have a website where the majority of your readers are mom’s, they may do their blog reading while their kids are napping.  They will not like the music starting unexpectedly and possibly waking a baby.
• Starting on Blogger – It’s very tempting to start a new blog on blogger because it’s free, but if you dream big, you’ll eventually evolve and need to move to WordPress.  Bite the bullet and start with WordPress, you’ll be glad you did.
• Spending too much time on your Blog – Remember it’s a hobby and your family comes first.  You are a wife and a mother above all else.  Try to schedule your work time when the kids are in school or sleeping.  You don’t want them to remember you from behind a monitor.  I’m very guilty of this.  So I’m going to work on balance.  Don’t hate me if I disappear every once in a while.

How can you Monetize your blog?

• First you need to work on content and gaining readership.  Monetizing will follow if you have those.
• I have several companies that I recommend.

Commission Junction – Hundreds of companies. Enjoy the flexibility of choosing ones that match well with your blog.
Amazon
Logical Media – Currently offering a $25 sign up bonus
My Savings

• Here was my train of thought when I got started.  My first priority was for readers to be able to print coupons directly from my website.  Then I realized I could earn some pocket change when readers went through a link on my site and printed coupons.  Obviously this is only certain coupons, and it’s only a small amount.  Every little bit helps when you need to pay your website hosting company each month.  And I wanted to tell readers about deals, products and companies I love.  So If I recommend companies to shop from, why wouldn’t I want to team up with them?  There are no negatives for my readers and if anything it’s a bonus because now these companies send me heads up information on deals and coupon codes!
• Do not sell your soul.  There are offers that I’ve gotten, that just don’t fit my website or pertain to my readers, therefore I will not promote them.  Nough Said!
• Team up with other bloggers and exchange links.  They will post your website link on their site and vice-versa.  This will help get exposure to your website.  Make sure you check out and approve the other websites content before you agree to this.

I hope this helps some of you get started.  If you have any questions please let me know and I’ll do my best to answer them or find you and answer.

If you’d like to follow me on Twitter, my User name is @SavinFamlyMoney.