Blogging

Did I hear you on NPR yesterday?

mynameisjavacia

For about a year and a half now I’ve had the honor of writing a monthly column for WBHM 90.3 FM, Birmingham’s NPR station. And for the past year, in addition to writing for WBHM.org I also discuss my post for the month on air.

This month’s essay is about learning to love my name and learning to be proud of where I’m from.

Having a name like Javacia isn’t easy. When I introduce myself to people they typically look at me as if I’m a green girl from Mars. And there was a time when I worried that my unique name could be a liability. One look at my name and you know I’m black and I’ve been told that some potential employers might not hire me because of that. In my WBHM post I discuss how becoming a writer changed how I viewed my name.

Being from Birmingham isn’t easy either. People who’ve never stepped foot in the state of Alabama think they know what Birmingham is all about and criticize my Magic City. And to make matters worse, some Birmingham residents are ashamed of their home. But just as I had to respect my name before I could expect other people to do so, we must be proud of our city if we ever want perceptions of Birmingham to improve.

Visit WBHM.org to read my post and listen to my radio segment.

 

Each day in November for #bloglikecrazy I’ll be publishing a blog post that answers your questions about blogging, social media, writing, wellness or women’s empowerment. Send your questions to javacia@seejanewritebham.com.

 

What is Bloglovin’?

bloglovin

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Guess what, gals! See Jane Write is now on Bloglovin’. I signed up my personal blog, The Writeous Babe Project, for Bloglovin’ years ago and forgot about it. But today decided to add this site as well and to pay more attention to my ranking and feed.

Bloglovin’ is a website (and mobile app) that helps you keep up with your favorite blogs. It aggregates feeds from the sites you want to follow and can help you discover new blogs to check out as well. Tonight I had to wait for a half hour between appointments and didn’t have a computer in front of me. So I pulled out my phone, pulled up my Bloglovin’ app and used that time to catch up on some of my favorite blogs.

Bloglovin’ is a great way to spread the word about your blog as well and a good way to encourage people to read your posts. Sign up for a Bloglovin account to get started. (Chances are, your blog already exists on Bloglovin’. Click here to learn how to claim your blog.)

In addition to signing up See Jane Write for Bloglovin’ I’ve also decided to get serious about improving my personal blog’s Bloglovin’ ranking (which is based on the number of Bloglovin’ followers you have). Why? The higher your ranking the higher the chances of your blog being featured on the Bloglovin’ homepage, which will obviously increase your exposure.

Here are three things I plan to do to increase my personal blog’s ranking:

1) Add a Bloglovin follow button to my blog. Most bloggers add their follow button to their site’s sidebar. You can create your own follow button or you can use one of Bloglovin’s standard follow widgets found here. Also try adding a Bloglovin link to your header as seen on the blog Fashion Squad. Be sure to add a Bloglovin link to the bottom of your posts as well. According to Bloglovin, bloggers who add a link at the bottom of every post grow their followers and ranking five times faster than those that don’t.

2) Connect my blog’s Bloglovin account to Facebook and / or Twitter. According to Bloglovin, bloggers who do get on average 120 more visitors per post than bloggers that don’t.

3) Finally, I’m going to invite my friends to follow my blog on Bloglovin’. So, friend, if you want to follow The Writeous Babe Project on Bloglovin’ click here. If you want to follow See Jane Write, click here.

 

Each day in November for #bloglikecrazy I’ll be publishing a blog post that answers your questions about blogging, social media, writing, wellness or women’s empowerment. Send your questions to javacia@seejanewritebham.com.

 

What should I include in my blog’s media kit?

media kits
Show your blog some love with a top-notch media kit. (Image by Kris Krüg via Flickr/Creative Commons)

A media kit is like a visual resume for your blog. Typically, bloggers use media kits to showcase their number of followers to brands and other potential partners.

Using a tool like Google Analytics as your source, you want to include important statistics such as average number of page views per month, unique visitors per month,average time on site (the higher the better), bounce rate (the lower the better), and number of new visits. You might also want to include your number of subscribers and social media followers.

If your numbers aren’t very high, don’t be discouraged. Focus on and highlight the strengths of your blog. Share how much your blog has grown recently, for example, by highligting your increase in subscribers. If you have a very niche topic use this to your advantage. Convey to brands that you could be the gateway to a unique, untapped market. This is why it’s important to collect and include demographics of your readership as well.

If your readers are extremely engaged (as evidenced by a great number of comments and great interaction on social media) brag about that, too.

And a media kit isn’t just about numbers. The values of your blog should be conveyed by your media kit as well. So share your blog’s purpose or mission. Perhaps even include the top keyword terms that lead people to your site. Include information about yourself, too. If you’ve ever been featured in a major publication, be sure to mention that.

Include images such as a headshot, a screenshot of your blog, your logo, and great pictures from some of your best posts.

Remember a media kit should make brands excited about your blog and excited about working with you.

 

Each day in November for #bloglikecrazy I’ll be publishing a blog post that answers your questions about blogging, social media, writing, wellness or women’s empowerment. Send your questions to javacia@seejanewritebham.com.

 

 

Do I Need Business Cards?

business cards
Image by Jodi Womack via Flickr/Creative Commons

I believe the most successful bloggers and writers are those who also consider themselves entrepreneurs. And this means that, like any good entrepreneur, you need a business card.

To be clear, you need a business card specifically for your book or blog. Don’t take your business card for day job and scribble your blog URL in the margin because, girl, that just looks raggedy.

A business card shows that you take your blogging and your writing seriously and thus encourages others to take you seriously, too.

On your business card be sure to include your name (Duh!), your email address, and your website URL. If you’d like you can also include your telephone number and social media channels.

These cards will come in handy at conferences and local networking events. And if you host giveaways on your blog, you’ll want to include them in the packages you send to your contest winners.

Be sure your card makes people excited to go check out your blog. And remember to employ good business card etiquette. This means do not go to a networking event and make it rain with your business cards. Only give people your business card after they ask for it.

 

Each day in November for #bloglikecrazy I’ll be publishing a blog post that answers your questions about blogging, social media, writing, wellness or women’s empowerment. Send your questions to javacia@seejanewritebham.com.

 

What Is a Twitter Chat?

Twitter
Image by Rosaura Ochoa via Flickr/Creative Commons

Today I decided to start a Twitter chat.

A Twitter chat is a public conversation on a specific that takes place on Twitter (Duh!) using a specific hashtag. Twitter chats are also called Twitter parties, which makes sense because that’s basically what a Twitter chat is — a party on Twitter. Think of the hashtag as the address for the party’s location. You follow the unique hashtag to see what everyone in the chat is saying and add the hashtag to your tweets to join the conversation. Like a party, a Twitter chat takes place on specific day, at a specific time so all the folks interested in participating can come together. And just as a party usually has a theme, Twitter chats center on a particular topic.

One of the most popular Twitter chat’s around is Mack Collier’s #blogchat, which takes place every Sunday at 8 p.m. Central and is, obviously, about blogging.

One of my favorite Twitter chats was the now defunct #BlogBrunch chat, which used to take place the first Saturday of every month.

In 2015 I plan to begin hosting #bloglikeagirl, a Twitter chat for women who blog.

I’m so excited and I hope you will join me!

To be notified of the launch date follow @ibloglikeagirl on Twitter and click here to join the #bloglikeagirl mailing list.

 

Each day in November for #bloglikecrazy I’ll be publishing a blog post that answers your questions about blogging, social media, writing, wellness or women’s empowerment. Send your questions to javacia@seejanewritebham.com.