Building a Better Blog in 2012

I’m thrilled to be part of a group of over 100 other bloggers who are part of the Building a Better Blog in 2012 challenge. Today I am on Day 19 and 20 so I am working on the nineteenth & twentieth lesson of  ProBlogger’s 31 Days to Building a Better Blog.  Use the code FWOB33 at checkout to get $10 off! I’m going to give you a brief outline of each day as I go through it along with some of my thoughts and experiences.   I won’t be telling you everything in the books so I really do encourage you to purchase your own copy to improve your blog.

Day 19

ProBlogger encourages you to write an opinion piece on your blog. You can share a current news story and give your thoughts on the topic. Or if your topic is gardening, you can share what method you think is best and why.  He recommends you start small if you are new to this type of post. You don’t need to pick a huge controversial topic. It’s possible to share an opinion and still respect the opinions of others so be careful to respond to any comments in a respectful tone.

My thoughts

Since I do a bunch of reviews on my blog, I have tons of my opinions already out there.  I did two today that you can take a look at. I rarely have anyone disagree with my reviews. That has only happened a few times when I review books that are on the controversial side. I have no problems publishing comments that disagree with my opinion provided they are respectful. If someone is going to turn to foul language and personal attacks, I delete the comment.  Opinions are fine but nastiness is not.

Day 20

On Day 20, ProBlogger recommends that you leave comments on other blogs.  He encourages doing this so that you meet other bloggers and learn about what’s going on in your niche.  He recommends that you keep it on topic and provide useful and relevant comments not spam. If you include a link back to your blog, make sure it provides information that is really relevant.  You can also leave comments like these on forums.

My thoughts

I leave comments on other blogs all the time. It’s a great way to make friends and attract new readers. You do have to be very, very careful not to come off spammy. Whatever you do, do NOT make a comment and then leave your link and ask them to come comment on your blog. Nothing sounds more like spam than. “I just found your blog and followed. Please follow me back and comment http://thisismylink.com.” Please, please, please do not leave those types of comments.  Say something useful and make sure your profile has your blog link in it. If they want to find you, they will.

Anyone else working on these challenges with me? I cannot believe that the Building a Better Blog class is almost over!  I have so many things that I want to do and my list just keeps getting longer. I will just take it one day at a time.