Tanya is the host of Blogging Insights

TODAY’S QUESTION 

What are your “dreams” regarding your blog?

I think I wouldn’t use the word dream because it implies another level of ambition. I have hopes for my blog.

• I wanted my blog to pay for itself;

That is not going to happen as for some reason I cannot get the word ads on my blog. Now I have abandoned this idea and have accepted the fact that I will have to pay for the pleasure to blog.

• I want to make a change;

This is something I hope I am achieving and in the future will continue to do so. I want to bring awareness to my readers about the issues of health and other social problems. I hope that I can bring some joy to my readers too and maybe provoke some new and positive thoughts.

• I want to improve my writing skills;

I think I’ve achieved this to some extent. Before I started my blog, I hadn’t written ANY stories. Now I can do that with ease. I cannot claim that I write very well but it is a start.

• I may eventually write a book;

Blogging is a good practice and I might eventually write a book. I don’t think it’ll be a storybook but rather ideas and perspectives. I am not sure about this yet but there’s no harm in planning.

So to date, these are the hopes and aspirations for Keepitalive!

Let’s see what the future brings.

Once again a big thanks to Tanya for these interesting questions.

#Keepitalive

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Dr. Tanya is the host of Blogging Insights

Evergreen content is content that continues to be relevant long past its publication so that it always remains sustainable and fresh. Topical, or timely content has relevance and significance for a limited period of time. 

TODAY’S QUESTIONS: 

Evergreen or Topical content, which do you prefer writing? 

I usually write on general topics, except sometimes I do express my views on politics, which is topical. I also write about diet and healthy eating, which is an evergreen subject. I also participate in many prompts, which can be topical too. So mostly it’s a mixed bag.

Which do you write most often? 

I like writing poems, with some positive messages in them. Most of the time my posts are about evergreen topics. Like hope, kindness, and optimism.

Which of these adds more value or engagement to your blog? 

It really depends on the content. If I write about something which is on everyone’s mind, I think it will be read more and more people are likely to comment on it. As an example, the current situation and pandemic were subjects that were on everyone’s mind and when I shared my views on them, more people participated in the discussion.

As an aside, I have noticed that something I wrote a year or so back, can be equally relevant today though it was a topical post. It just goes to show that things change, but still stay the same!

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#Keepitalive

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Tanya is the host of Blogging Insights

Some time ago, I asked you people about your views on the new Gutenberg editor on WordPress. You can check out that post here. When I asked for topics for discussion on Blogging Insights # 49,  Jennifer from Paperkutzssuggested a discussion on tips and tricks for using Gutenberg.

TODAY’S QUESTION

Can you share some tips and tricks for using the new Gutenberg editor on WordPress?

I am still trying to avoid the block/ Gutenberg editor. So while I do not have any tips to share with you all about this new challenge set to make things more difficult for the bloggers here on WordPress, I am reading the responses with great interest.

I blog solely from my phone and luckily, ( till now) that we have the option of un-enabling the block editor in the WP app settings. This option is available both on the android and iPhones.

I will continue to avail of this option till it is available. After that, I will try to learn how the new editor works and will make it work. There is another way around this editor, and that is writing your post on another program like MS Word and then copy-paste it on the blog.

Anyway, this is my meager contribution to this discussion.

Thank you Tanya for keeping this conversation going.

#Keepitalive

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Tanya is the host of Blogging Insights

This week Tanya is using my suggested questions about blogging etiquettes.

I deliberately am answering these questions later than I normally do because I wanted to read the responses of my fellow bloggers. I have learned a lot from the responses of others and as I understand the preferences of many bloggers, I am answering these questions accordingly.

TODAY’S QUESTIONS

How long should the comment thread be? 

If you are having a meaningful conversation in the comment section of your own post, or of another blogger, it can go on for as long as you have something to contribute. But if it consists of pleasantries, a thanks is sufficient.

Reblogging etiquette;

Ask or at least inform the blogger when you reblog their post. It is not right to just reblog without posting a comment in their post that you’re reblogging their post. According to most bloggers, people don’t mind a reblog as long as credit is given to the original blogger.

What should you do when people don’t respond to your comments on their posts? 

It seems to be okay if bloggers ignore your comments. If you feel that they are not interested in your comments, you can stop commenting and limit your interactions to just liking their posts. But if you see this phenomenon happening with a few bloggers, you can perhaps ask them to check in their spam, where your comments might be ending up.

Award posts; 

As usual, the opinions are divided here. There are those who don’t mind being nominated and would accept the award by answering the questions posed by the person who nominated them. And there are many bloggers who have award-free blogs. They may say thank you to you and decline the award, or they may ignore the whole thing altogether. A very few people would not only accept the award nomination but would also do the whole, ” follow the rules” thing as well.

So these are my take away from this discussion. Thanks, Tanya for hosting this conversation.

#Keepitalive

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Tanya is the host of Blogging Insights series

TODAY’S QUESTION

What topics would you like to see discussed on this platform? If your idea is something we have covered already we can always tackle it from a new angle.

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We have had discussions on a lot of topics in this series. But there is one thing that we haven’t discussed yet;

Blogging etiquette

I really would want to read the answers to the following questions;

How long should the comment thread be? For example, if some blogger likes your post and says so, you thank them. Then they say that you’re welcome or it’s a pleasure, afterwards most shift to emojis or smiley faces. It can go on for quite some while. So I would really like to know what is the acceptable cutoff number.

Reblogging etiquette; I reblog the responses to my prompt as I state in my prompt post. But if I want to reblog a post which I like or was moved by, should I ask them first? What is the accepted protocol for that?

What should you do when people don’t respond to your comments on their posts? Should you stop commenting on their post or give them a reminder about your comment?

Award posts; These are the trickiest regarding etiquette, as most people don’t even acknowledge that they were nominated for that particular award. What should be the proper way to deal with this situation?

These are the questions I would like answers to.

Thanks Tanya for keeping this conversation going!

#Keepitalive

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Tanya is the host of Blogging Insights

She says;

Despite all the blogging advice and courses out there, many bloggers (myself foremost) feel that they made some mistakes when they started out. Today’s discussion involves a recap of the things that we did wrong and what we should have done instead. I am sure this will help lots of fledgling bloggers out there.

TODAY’S QUESTION 

What mistakes did you make in the first few months of blogging?

Did I make mistakes when I started to blog?

Yes, I did and that’s how I learned to do it right. Or I should say that that’s how I am learning to do it right.

It’s human nature to try to do things their own way. And that sets us apart from other humans. I did that too.

When I started to blog, I jumped straight in the deep end. No tutorials, no research, and had no idea about the technical side of blogging. The only help I got was from a dear friend and she helped me set up the menus of the home-page and the theme. Other than that, it was learn as I go.

• One very important thing that I learned was to check the grammar and spellings of my post once I’ve written it. Misspelled words and wrong tenses can be really off-putting. Some of my initial posts had typos too. Now I know to read through the entire post a couple of times before scheduling it. But even after two years of blogging, I still make mistakes because I am in a hurry and don’t recheck my text. I would advise all new bloggers to make a special point to do that before they publish it.

• Not a detailed description on my home page/ about page. This is important as everyone who wants to follow your blog will read your about page. Updating it frequently is also a good idea.

Other than these two points, I used all my other mistakes as a learning experience.

#Keepitalive

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Tanya is the host of Blogging insights

TODAY’S QUESTION : 

How important is your blog traffic to you? 

When i started to blog, I’d check my blog stats daily. Each new like, follow, or view was a cause to rejoice. Now don’t get me wrong but these aren’t as important to me as they were in the beginning. The most important thing now are the comments. They may not affect the stats that much but they provide me with the incentive to write well.

How often do you check your stats? 

Very infrequently these days. As I said in my answer above I used to be really into stats in the beginning but now I never remember to check them at times.

Which part of your blog traffic, the views, likes, comments or follows, is important for you personally? Which of these do you think is most important for your blog? (these could both be the same)

If I had to choose something that I value personally, it would be the comments. Comments are the instant feedback that provides the motivation for writing more and writing well.

As for the blog, I’d say that the number of follows a blog has can be the criteria of how popular it is. I think the search engines also rate the blog by how many people visit it daily.

But frankly since I don’t earn any money from my blog, or plan to, in near future, this all is a moot point. The most important thing in blogging is ;

• How much fun I am having writing my blog.

• How much enjoyment others get from reading my posts.

The rest is not very important.

~*~

Keepitalive

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