As most of you know, last week I made thee official conversion from Blogger to WordPress (WP). Woo-Hoo!  After attending Bloggy Boot Camp with The SITS girls, I kinda knew that taking the WP plunge was necessary.  If you missed out as to why I made t his change, feel free to take a minute to read my Live Laugh Rowe is MOVING post.   It was a successful conversion and Cynthia did such a phenomenal job in matching my design perfectly to my old blogger platform.  YAY!  All thats left is the WordPress learning curve…  I’m taking that one day at a time.  If you are considering this conversion, I highly recommend that you do it sooner than later.  Less stress and then you, your blog and WordPress can grow together {smile}.

Alrighty, let’s take a peek into the
{TOP TEN} Lessons Learned at Bloggy Boot Camp:

1.) Treat your blog like a business
Every business has a business plan.  So, why shouldn’t your blog? Having a business plan allows you to have a defined purpose for why you blog and what your objectives are.  Establish yourself as an expert in a niche and focus on that ONE thing.  Craft blog.  Fashion blog.  Lifestyle blog. Food blog.  Be purposeful.  Have  purpose for every single post that you write.  Do you want new readers/subscribers or do you simply want to make someone laugh?

2) Establish an End Game and Never Second Guess an Idea
Virtually speaking, a blog is just a resume to make your dreams come true.  Replace “should” and “try” with I WILL.  Plan and strategize.  What will make your blog successful over time? Don’t underestimate an an idea — maybe it seems silly or way too fun.  You’ll never know until you try, but…

3.) Readers, Numbers and Perception
Did you know that your readers will change every three months?  I never even thought about readership turnover.  I guess it’s inevitable, but while you have those readers — be loyal to them and they will be loyal to you.  Engage your readers as well.  Facebook is a fabulous place to engage them.  Numbers/Stats have their purpose, yes, but never let them be your driving motivation.  Everything is perception, friends — I think we might be surprised to see the stats of those we believe to be bigger blogs.

 4.) Online Persona | Being Seen in Real Life
What is your best character trait?  Accentuate it in your blog — and be consistent.  Make a one-on-one connection with your readers by doing what you do well, then let your readers champion you.

5.) Branding
The look of your blog, tone of your voice, etc.  Branding is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.  Another fantastic tip that was given to us was to be sure that we have cross platform consistency within our Social Media.  For example, my avatar is used in my Google+ account, Facebook and Twitter.  I’m creating my brand.  Make yourself memorable.

6.) Blog Design is Important
After scouring the web day in and day out and seeing some incredible blog designs and others that aren’t so much, I often wondered how important the design element is.  Blog design is important.  It will make your blogs first impression, and the header of your blog is a part of your branding.  Keep your blogs design simple and clean.  The key is mixing your color scheme with your graphics for a complete design.  DO NOT make your side bar a badge/widget/button dumping ground.  I’ll reiterate what was said earlier, clean and simple.   The Footer.  I never gave the footer of my blog much thought, but the footer is a great place for secondary navigation — and its like a period at the end of your blog.  Fonts.  Never use more than three fonts on your blog, and consider that a font can be a part of your branding as well?   It’s important to find what works for you and sticking with it.

7.) Content | Product Reviews & Paid Posts
Be thoughtful about your content.  See what is trending, what posts were most popular in your stats.  Be careful on the number of product reviews and/or paid posts that you do, too many can turn your readers off.  These posts are like commercials on the radio.  After so many commercials, some listeners are ready to turn the channel.  Its the same way with your blog.  Too many paid product reviews may leave your readers seeking out another blog to read.  They come to read your blog, not an infomercial.  Make sense?  Use discretion.  You might also consider posting them under a separate tab.

8.) SEO
I am including the presentation that was presented by Dali Burgado on the 10 Ways to Make Google Love You.  I’m still trying to wrap my hand around SEO and all that it can do for my blog. I really can’t say much more than that, because I’m still learning.  However, this is super-uber important, so take some time to do some research.

9.) Time Management
We all know that we can easily get caught up in bloggy land for hours on end.  One click leads to another to another….  Figure out what schedule works best for you and your family/lifestyle.   If you need to take time off from your blog to retreat or spend some quality time with your family — DO IT.  Your readers will still be there!  We only live once.  Don’t lose out on some of life’s special moments for a blog.  It’s not worth it.

10.) Network, Collaborate and Keep Good Company
Network.  Network. Network.  Most of you know that I believe in the power of networking.  Find blogs of equal size — network together, collaborate together on a series, ideas, etc.  Encourage one another.  Support on another.  Keep in mind that you’re only as good as the company you keep.  Negativity breeds negativity — so no Debbie Downers allowed.  {giggle}

The End.  Of course, this is only a short summary of all the information that was provided during Bloggy Boot Camp.  Some subjects are much too complicated to even try to explain in a post, but this gives you an idea of what left a lasting impression on me.  If you’re new to blogging, understand that everything takes time — Rome was not built in day.  I’m still learning that, and patience is not one of my better qualities {smile}.  Soooo, Have Fun.  Be  Patient and Passionate. Most importantly, {love} what you do!

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