Off to #BlogHer13!

Guess where I'm going with these:

This is not true at all.
I'm letting Sam take the kiddos
out around Chicago for the day.
But I can't resist babywearing-
themed blog bling!

I'm so excited to have my brand-spanking-new business cards folded and ready for my first blogging conference! (I sure hope I spelled everything right….)

I was going to be in Chicago anyway to visit family, so I just snagged a last-minute ticket for Friday of BlogHer 2013.

If you're going to be there and want to meet up, I'd love the chance to be socially awkward in person!

So what else do I need for the trip? I was reading blog posts on what to wear to make sure jeans were acceptable (they are, right? I hope they are), and there were these people talking about their heels and shapewear, and I realized: I just might be outclassed here.

But if you want to hang out with my flab-out, flat-footed self, please feel free!

How I make money blogging

There's a subject everyone wants to know about but about which very few want to be the one to spill. Today I'm going to be that person!

MONEY.

I'm going to tell you just where my blogging income comes from, and give some tips for you to earn some cold cash for your cool words.

I admit it, I'm feeling too shy to disclose dollar amounts, but I've made up a couple helpful percentage charts for you, along with a list of advice on making more money blogging (some of which I have yet to take!).

A little intro to set the scene: I run a popular parenting blog, Hobo Mama; a review blog, Hobo Mama Reviews; and this here blog about blogging. I also co-run the fabulous Natural Parents Network. My income comes from monetizing all these sources, but the info below covers only my blogs.

I do not make enough blogging to quit my day job … of … um … blogging. And parenting. And writing unpublished novels and published poetry. I don't recommend blogging as a get-rich-quick scheme. It's a nice thing to try if you like writing anyway and if you want a little extra spending money. How much spending money depends on how popular your blog happens to be, which is partly a case of talent and hard work and partly dependent on old-fashioned luck. I think it's totally valid to pursue making money as a blogger (and as a woman and/or mother); I just don't want to give an inflated impression of income potential for most bloggers.

Sunday Surf: About pages, Facebook marketing, and Adsense tips

Links to share, from Writing Tidbits:

The Essential Checklist for Submitting Your Novel to Agents | WritersDigest.com

6-item checklist to follow before sending off your first novel query!

1 WEEK AGO -  1

novel writing novels novel submissions agents Submissions query writing fiction writing 1 note

What Will You Find When You Download Your Twitter Archive? | BlogHer

You can download all your Tweets easily now!

My very first Tweets were RTs, so that’s boring, but my third Tweet ever made me laugh:

is once again searching for overdue library items.

— Lauren Wayne (@Hobo_Mama) May 6, 2009

Still true.

1 WEEK AGO

Twitter Social media blogging blogging tips

12 Blogher conference tips that no one else will tell you

Big-sister tips for enjoying a blogging conference.

1 WEEK AGO

blogging blogging conferences conferences blogher blogher13

CreateSpace: a Review | Freeman Ng

Helpful review of publishing a book with color interior pages at CreateSpace.

1 WEEK AGO

self-publishing publishing print on demand CreateSpace

Positioning your Adsense Ads III : @ProBlogger

Interesting info on AdSense locations: Be aware that AdSense fills the ads from the top down, so make sure your most prominent ad spot is being filled with the best ads first.

3 WEEKS AGO

advertising AdSense google blogging tutorials Finances monetizing

How to Write Your “About Me” Page : @ProBlogger

There are four main questions that readers want answered on your About Me page:

1. who you are…
2. your expertise and how it addresses…
3. their problem or goal, and how they can…
4. contact you

Includes sample “About” page.

3 WEEKS AGO -  1

blogging blogging tips about page marketing tutorials 1 note

Add an ‘About’ Page to Your Blog : @ProBlogger

Tips for what to include.

3 WEEKS AGO

blogging blogging tips tutorials about page marketing

How to Manage Your Facebook Marketing in 30 Minutes a Day | BlogHer

Feeling overwhelmed by your Facebook page upkeep? Here’s an easy system to have one simple but effective post a day.

3 WEEKS AGO

facebook facebook fan pages Social media blogging tutorials

Guest room: Three hacks to access your site’s Pinterest statistics « Birmingham Blogging Academy

Three ways to track pins from your site.

1 MONTH AGO

Pinterest Social media blogging blogging tips tutorials statistics

Blogger Beware: 3 Ways You Could Be Breaking Amazon's Affiliate Program Rules - I Can Teach My Child!

Verboten: Shortening links; including links in ebooks, emails, or PDFs; and buying through your own link. (For #3, you can always buy through another blogger’s link right here — and add your own link!)

1 MONTH AGO

amazon amazon associates affiliate marketing affiliates blogging

Surf with us:

We love following along with fellow Sunday Surfers. If you have your own post of reading links to share, please link up your post on Hobo Mama or on Authentic Parenting. The linky will go live every Sunday, and you can link up any day that week. You only need to add your post to one of the sites, and the linky will automatically show up on both sites.

You can get the Sunday Surf button by Jenna Designs and some code to add to your post from my Sunday Surf page.

Check out previous editions for good reading, and you can find more shared items during the week at my Tumblr blog, Hobo Mama's Shared Items.

Sunday Surf: Respect, comparing stats, and guarding from hackers

Links to share, from Writing Tidbits:

(It's been awhile, so I'm breaking them into separate posts.)

When Will Female Authors Get the Respect They Deserve? | BlogHer

Women write more; we read more; why don’t we get more recognition?

6 MONTHS AGO -  1

fiction writing genre novels novel writing reading writing romance novels mystery novels science fiction novels 1 note

Parenting Blog Analytics: How Do My Stats Compare? | PhD in Parenting

A look at parenting blogger stats.

6 MONTHS AGO

blogging statistics

Strocel.com | Why I Attend Blog Conferences Like BlogHer

What you can and can’t get out of BlogHer or other blogging conferences.

6 MONTHS AGO

BlogHer blogging conferences BlogHer12 blogging

Blogger introduced Permalink option to create custom URLs | My Blogger Tricks

You can now create your own URL (permalink) in Blogger. About time!

This also means figuring it out ahead of time for blog carnivals and the like will be a sight easier.

7 MONTHS AGO

Blogger blogging blogs URLs permalinks blogging tips

Have YOU Been Duped By The "ABOUT " Page Myth?

Ok, I’ve been thinking about this for awhile, but I’ve started work on rewriting my About page now!

What they really want is to discover whether you have a common interest they can connect with. Your readers want to know what you can do for them.

In other words they are tuned to the WIIFM [what’s in it for me] radio station.

7 MONTHS AGO

about page blogging blogs

Is Your True Nature, Entrepreneurial or Employee? | The Work at Home Woman

I used to wonder why everyone didn’t work for themselves. I finally figured out that not everyone wants to!

7 MONTHS AGO

working at home self-employment

Declutter the Reading List | Small Notebook

Streamline your blog reading list. I do this with entire blogs as well as individual articles (so make sure your headlines are catchy, folks!).

All you have to do is look at something and see how it makes you feel. If your initial reaction is sadness or guilt or indifference, you don’t keep it. If it makes you feel glad, you keep it. Simple, yes, but effective.

7 MONTHS AGO -  4

reading blogging decluttering simplifying organizing Google Reader RSS feeds blogs 4 notes

» If This Then That: Turning the Internet Into Your Butler Domestic Chaos

Helpful online app:

If This Then That is magical. It works on the simple premise of when one thing happens, you trigger another. You create what they call recipes, with custom triggers and outcomes. (You can also use recipes that are shared from other users.)

You could use it for anything; I have two recipes that update Twitter & Tumblr when I post a new blog entry. 

7 MONTHS AGO

apps online apps Twitter Tumblr blogging Facebook social media automation RSS feeds simplifying

Rumor Alert! Don't Share That Facebook-Page Warning. Here's Why.

Last year, Facebook started showing fans fewer page posts. The less fans interacted with a page, the fewer updates they saw from it.

…

Fans need to continually interact with your page. They can like, comment, share, click links, etc.

9 MONTHS AGO

facebook facebook fan pages

And this is what my blogging efficiency looks like.

Thanks to Jennifer for sharing!

(Source: shoeboxblog.com)

9 MONTHS AGO

blogging balance writing working at home

Sunday Surf: Babies, BlogHer, & the cost of blogging

Links to share, from Writing Tidbits:

How to merge pdf files in OSX

How did I not know it was SO EASY to combine PDFs in Mac?

1 DAY AGO

PDFs

Report alleged copyright infringement: Blogger - Google Help

Convenient DMCA form for Blogger/Google entities who are infringing on your copyright (such as spam blogs scraping your content).

1 MONTH AGO

blogger spam DMCA