With Christ Blog

Have a great Easter Sunday everybody.

-Remmy

Eddie calls me on the improper spelling of Input.

Input not Immmmmput…

Put in = input

put out = output

So how is your blogging coming along? Is any of my advice helping you defeat some common problems? I am looking for a little input. What is it you want to know about and I can help you out. If I don’t know the answer I can do some research for you.

-Remmy

Lists…

He’s making a list, checking it twice… la la la

Sorry about that. I have never been much of a singer. I can wistle and hum pretty good though. Anyway, making lists will help in many ways to organize your thoughts when it comes to blogging. Just write down things in the order at which you think of them. Later you can go back and re-arrange the numbers and prioritize the list.

So what should you put on the list? Any ideas that would come to you. For example:

1) Went to church today and discussed with Marcie how church’s today are being misenterpreted!
2) Read in weekend paper about local Pastor who got caught cheating – may want to touch on this
3) Read part of Job again last night – Job reminds me of…..
4) So on and so forth

Lists are just to get thoughts out on paper. There are too many times I think of great blog ideas and forget to write them down, only to find nothing left of the thought 2 days from now. We all get busy and forget things.

But not only write a thoughts list. Let the list evolve. This is very important. Sit down with your list and recopy it into something more, and at the same time put the thoughts in the order in which you want to blog them. For example:

1) Read in local paper about Pastor who got caught cheating. This seems to be a growing problem in our world today. Could it be easy means to finding out personal lifestyles or are more Pastors committing adultry today? Expand on this for Wednesday’s blog post…
2) Had a discussion with Marcie and we agreed that the church is not being understood. Too many people think our church is driving our beliefs down other people’s throat because we pass out tracts. We are doing this in a loving way and those who don’t want a tract doesn’t have to have one. Why is our church being targeted? Expand and write more for Thursday’s blog…
3) So on and so forth

Sometimes when I find it is time to actually write my post it is days in advance than when it actually is published on my blog. Try to stay a few days ahead in case you get busy or something unexpected comes up. But, writing lists and always planning ahead will actually help bloggers block. The pressure to post immediately is a stress that causes us to close right up and lose concentration. By staying ahead, making lists, and writing your posts days prior to publishing takes that heavy burden off your mind.

Blogging should be enjoyable and not such a chore!

Remmy

One day you decide how awesome it would be to throw up a blog and begin blogging. You have so much to tell the world. You break your thoughts up into several categories and your quest is now underway. Your template is installed and your blog is ready… all you need to do is get content on your blog. You post once per day, sometimes twice but hold back as not to throw all your ideas out at once. You are anxious to get those posts out there.

But then something happens. Two or three weeks into it your brain has shriveled up and all your ideas have been lost. You search your brain archive claiming there were a few more ideas and thoughts in there kickin’ around. Where are they? Did I lose those thoughts? Am I really dried up? Maybe this blog thing is not for me.

Sometimes bloggers get transformed into dried up tomatoes. It happens. Their focus is only on their blog and especially the computer screen. Other times, people’s expectations were not realistic. Blogging takes effort and is not always what you expect it to be. So for those with unrealistic expectations I can only tell you what blogging is like. Blogging means you will have times when you want to write 5 entries per day. Blogging means you can’t think of even 5 words to write on a page. You will have joy, doubts, and times of uncertainty. So get over it! Keep plugging away. I will tell you right now, one little thing is not going to make your blog shrivel up and die. What will make it die is letting all the little things add up.

The number one reason blogs don’t last is because you simply just can’t find energy to conjure up a post every so often on a regular basis. One or two posts per day turns into one post per day. One post per day turns into one post every other day. Soon that turns into a couple posts per week. Soon you have lost interest and ideas are just not flowing.

Another reason is people want results in 30 days or less. When you first think of setting up your blog and how things will be you picture yourself posting once per day and you reading through 5 or more replies. Sorry won’t happen right away unless you are already famous, blog on an already high traffic site, or are one unreal blogger who just has a way with people. Realistically, don’t get so caught up in replies at first. It’ll happen. Look at this blog. I can go days without a reply, but you are reading this right?

Here is the best way to overcome the number one blog killer. Good bloggers are not always blogging. You need to go do something else. You should only be spending a little bit of time looking at the computer screen. Those times should include actually writing, reading other blogs in your niche, linking, checking out those who have replied (if any), and seeing how much traffic is coming to your site. The other times should be doing things offline. I have said repeatedly, most of my good blog posts have been thought up while I am away from the computer. It is so difficult to run a blog by just saying to yourself, “Oh no, I need another blog entry soon.” So you flip on your computer and try to think of something to write and then click submit before you go to bed.

My previous post mentioned that some bloggers are journalists. Do you want to be another blogger, or do you want to be unique, a journalist, a writer in Christ, or a columnist? What separates those people from regular bloggers is what you do away from the computer. Journalists are not always writing. They don’t just sit down and start writing. They need to do their homework. They need to interview people, study topics, research history, and a lot of their job is doing just that. Journalism is not just a job. Good journalists let it become their life.

So learn what you need to do offline to get content online. If you need to talk to others, study the Bible, or research theology, then that is part of how you blog. What each of us do to get content on our blog is unique.

So don’t wallow in your pity or cry bloggers block until you seriously change what you do offline. Forcing topics into your mind is not going to cut it. Learn ways to spark ideas. Simply stated: Good bloggers are just not always blogging, they are off fishing for new ideas. If you have any thoughts of your own that you think helps bloggers spark new and interesting ideas please feel free to contribute.

Remmy

Blogging is growing! Blogging of all types. From newsworthy to informative to personal to simply writing opinions, all these blogs are starting to become the newest rave. In fact, newspapers and magazines are getting nervous. Why? Well it takes time to print publications and ship them. Blogs take merely seconds, minutes, or just long enough to type in the words and click submit. The rest of the world can access that information whenever they want and IT’S FREE. People don’t want to make an appointment with the news any more. Who can really wait until 6pm for an update on what’s happening in the world? People now have access to the computer and why wait to get the info? Just log on to your favorite newsy type blog and get the latest.

The term blogging, or blogger, is usually associated with computer savvy people. But it is so easy these days, everybody is doing it. In fact, I dislike the term blog. I find it to be somewhat tossed around loosely. I believe that some of those who blog should be considered journalists. Doesn’t online journalist sound a bit better than blogger? They are publishing articles online rather than on paper and so what’s the difference? Nothing other than the fact people have the opportunity to publish their own material and take a stab at promoting it. The world is connected and you could easily find followers who read and enjoy your material.

So don’t think of blogging while you blog. Make sure you are in tune to what you are really doing. Are you a journalist at heart? If so, you could very well be practicing journalism and not even know it because you are too stuck on the concept of blogging.

Think about it!

What is blog filler? Blog filler is when you can’t think of anything to write about in your blog so you think of anything to write about just to get another post. Some people feel threatened by time. If you haven’t posted in a few days you begin to get nervous and feel the need to write anything… doesn’t matter what… just anything to keep your blog updated.

I personally think that it is not so important to keep your blog updated each day as it is that whenever you decide to post you have something good to say. If you keep using boring fillers that are 2 or 3 sentences lacking in substance it could be more detrimental to the attractiveness of your blog.

I certainly wouldn’t wait too long to update your blog but if you have been posting regularly one blog entry per day and then all of a sudden a day goes by or two. Don’t worry about it. Take a couple days off and think about where you need to pick back up. Small ruts like that are perfectly normal. What is more important is when you come back to writing, you come back strong with good meaningful posts.

Blogging for God there are a ton of things to talk about. So when you get all dried up on ideas what should you do? I would pray and open up that good old trusty Bible of yours and read. Spend an hour or two reading your favorite verses. Something will come to you. Don’t just start throwing in blog fillers just for the sake of getting content on your site. It just detracts from what you set out to accomplish to begin with.

Remmy

One of the most frustrating things about keeping a blog is not getting the responses you want. Sometimes it may seem like you are the only one visiting your blog. You begin to ask yourself, “what is the point?” Well the point is this: Though you may feel alone out there in some isolated corner of cyberspace blogging great material, there is always somebody lurking. Trust me on this one. Did you know that on average 90% of your visitors and loyal readers will not ever comment? This study was done by a supposed group of web professionals in 2004. Only 10% of your reader base ever let themselves known.

I had trouble understanding this until I chatted with my mother. Come to find out she has been to several of the same forums and websites I have but I never knew it. She is a lurker… and for several reasons. One reason being she just isn’t savvy enough to find the register link, fill out the form, go check her email, and then activate her account. Then from there log in and post. It is way too complicated for her. She wants to go to the website and click – click – click and read what everybody else is saying. It is opinions she is after wrapped nicely around factual current events.

The more I talked to people I heard over and over again they frequent websites but are just lurkers… well “for now” anyway until they find time or maybe it is courage to make themselves known.

So don’t get discouraged. Sometimes it takes even 18 months before you can begin to decide whether or not your blog is reaching your own expectations. But let’s evaluate your content. What is it mainly made up of? Here are some good ideas when you think you are all alone out there and feel you are even marooned on a deserted island surrounded by complete nothingness.

1) Go back and spend time reading your old posts. It may bring back memories, but it also may trigger new ideas, things to expand on, and this will help get an idea of what types of blog posts generated the most comments. Did you find that most of your comments came when it included some opinion and commentary? Or maybe you got more comments when you posted your poetry. So go read your old stuff. Spend some time finding out what your readers liked.

2) Treat your visitors with respect and actually care about them. When they make a comment, are you replying to them? When you first start a blog you need to make sure you let your commenters know you have seen and read and acknowledge their presence. Sometimes without acknowledging them they may feel unwanted or that their own comment was simply a waste of time. So treat your commenters with dignity and let them know you enjoyed their comments.

3) Become more interactive. Go visit other blogs and make comments. Let others know who you are and what your blog is. If you post once per day on another blog, you may find the owner of that blog posting on yours once per day. Understand the concept of blogging. You cannot expect to stay on your blog and remain there with loyal commenters, especially if your blog is new. Blogging is more like developing relationships. How would you like it if you put in all the effort in your marriage, and your spouse just sat there and never responded or made an effort to interact with you? You may file for divorce! Seriously though, blogging requires much more than sitting in your corner of cyberspace and leaving links to your blog. It requires a lot of interaction with other blogs in your niche, and prepare to meet new people.

4) Add more blogs to your blogroll. Don’t be afraid to let that list grow. You are thinking to yourself, “It already has 15 or 20 links in there, what else do I need to do?” PUT MORE! After you add a blog to your blogroll, take the time and email them, and let them know you found their blog. Let them know how you came across it. Wouldn’t you like to know how people found your blog? Of course. Tell them how you found their blog and list a couple things you thought was interesting about it. This will let them know you just didn’t go there for 30 seconds and are looking for reciprocal links. This tells them you actually read the material and find their blog worth trading links. But you don’t have to come out and ask them to add your link if you don’t feel comfortable. Just add their link and let them know you did. Then check back every so often and see if yours has been added to their blogroll. Give them time to add it. Sometimes people update their blogroll only once every week. Sometimes they do it immediately. But linking to other blogs is a good thing.

5) Are your posts telling all? In other words, when you read your posts are they so full of information and solutions? Sometimes if you mention a problem that is currently happening somwhere in the world and you file it under “current events” and then tell others how you would solve it, there is no room for comments. Of course you can always comment that you agree or offer up your own solutions. But beware that commenters don’t want to spend a lot of time thinking. Unfortunately most bloggers like to comment with opinion but with not so much in depth analysis. I am not saying you can’t offer up solutions and draw them out, but let’s make sure our commenters have room left to comment. Try asking your readers questions. Nothing too difficult to answer and only requires a sentence or two. Have you ever been alone with another person you are not familiar with and have tried to make conversation? I am sure you have. Would you start off by asking them what they thought of Bush’s idea on social security and if they felt it was something suitable for the future of Americans? Probably not. You may open with an ice breaker… Typical ice breaker is “So, crazy weather we are having huh? Do you know how long it is supposed to keep raining like this?” What a wonderful and fluffy question. Keep things simple. Once you have a good solid reader base you can begin to move your relationships forward and ask more in depth questions. Let your blog grow not only in content and in readership, but also in maturity.

If you feel these are helpful let me know. Or maybe you disagree with some of my suggestions. Offer up your own suggestions here if you want. Sometimes I feel like I am preaching and wouldn’t mind discussion.

That’s right! Adding little images to your blog posts can help spice things up a bit. For instance the image here can help drive a point home. Images don’t have to be large and personal, but maybe posting a little image that has something to do with your topic. Silly or fun pictures can really add a lot of ‘pizzaz’ to your blog and people find them amusing.

If you are blogging about prayer, post an image of hands cupped together in prayer. If you blog about your church, maybe a little picture of a church. Images should be small and they should complement your blog post.

So what do you think of my toad? Some days I feel like this guy at my computer…

Just recently I was over at Shiloh’s Place, a new blog that I really enjoy visiting since it has been created. There are some good points she wrote about being “quick to anger”… Some men (and even wive’s of men) may find this topic interesting. Not that women can’t get angry but I sense men to be quick to anger and have a harder time controlling themselves.

From time to time you will face blog attackers. If you open your comments up you may face angry people coming to your site and posting unpleasant things. There are a few things you can do to handle the situation. Unfortunately there are people out there that may come across your blog and attempt to “bog” it down with hatred and inflammatory comments.

Your first step should be in preventing this from happening. The default settings on your blog are set so people have to register to post. Also each person must be approved on their very first post before it will appear. By doing this you stop those unwanted spammers and what we call “fly-by” posters. They are called this because they have landed on a site and followed a link to you and on their way by they decide to post a rude comment just to stir up emotions. If you have your settings where they need to register and be approved for their first post, it will cut down considerably on rude remarks showing up on your blog.

What if a person stays long enough and is attacking you and the blog? The first step is to not reply. By replying you have given them what they want. Reply to your regular members but ignore your attacker. Give the attacker some time, they will get bored and move on.

But what if they keep attacking you and they are persistent? Make sure you don’t leave personal information lying around where they can use it against you. Not a lot of cases include offline incidences, but we should all be cautious as to what we leave out there for the public to read.

Is your address posted? Are their pictures of you and your family? These things you will want to keep in mind when opening and maintaining a public blog.

When should you report abuse? Good question! Don’t take on all the abuse yourself. Let others know if you feel threatened or if a blogger is treating you and your blog terribly. Let me know too. There are rare occasions when action needs to take place so don’t take threats as something that will hopefully go away. Let others know and seek help.

But, by reducing the amount of personal information, making it so a person’s first post needs to be approved, and not responding to “hateful” posts, will help prevent escelating problems. By responding to them you are only creating more problems for your self.

I find sometimes that the direction of your blog isn’t necessarily always where YOU want it to go. In a sense you should be the one controlling your blog and placing what you want for content. But, at times you may want to post things according to your readers. It is only natural. Posting one-way all the time can get boring for readers. Though, your content may be good and accurate, don’t leave out your readers.

So get your readers involved. Teachers may preach for a while but they often open up the class for what they call “open-discussion”. Try doing this with your blog as well. You may be surprised at how many people are, or are not, reading your blog. If you feel weird about opening up dialogue on your poetry and inspirational blog, then create a new category and call it “Open Discussion” or something to that effect.

But, I think most bloggers will want to see readers “chiming” in from time to time, voicing an opinion. This builds character and also alerts you on who is getting into your blog. And, of course, make sure you reply if you feel it necessary. You don’t have to all the time, but let your readers know that you have heard what they have said.

One of the greatest ways to get readers to speak up, is to come out and ask your readers a question. Don’t just ask any old question. Put some thought into it, and ask a question you seriously want to know.

For instance, people here at With Christ come here to read tips on how to help better their blogs. Are there any specific questions you may have regarding tips for your own blog? Asking your readers to “ask the questions” is also a great way to get things rolling.

So here I go. I am going to ask a question for you all and find out who here is reading my blog and who here is interested and eager to reply…

OK here is my question, “Does your Church do routine home visits?” This is something I had a discussion about with a friend of mine. Does your Pastor, Asst. Pastors, Church members, prayer warriors, or whoever knock on your door and visit your home on occasion? If so, do you like it or not… ??