Where's your email at?

For my fashion blog I've been working at contacting a number of fashion and beauty bloggers to start this weekly networking post series. The concept is fairly easy to understand and operate and it is a great way to both network and drive traffic to our blogs. I've got a whole bunch of bloggers that I would LOVE to be involved in the movement but the trouble is I can't find their e-mail addresses anywhere! (Ok it's not really a movement but I can't think of a better name for it.)

To me, it is crucial that you give people a way to contact you on the blog. And, more importantly, it needs to be easy for them to find that contact information. If it is buried on the bottom sidebar under all your key words, previous blog posts, and blog roll readers/advertisers/fellow bloggers will likely give up before getting that far.

If possible, the contact information should be at the top of the homepage. Maybe make a "Contact Me' gadget or blog page. Maybe put your e-mail address and Twitter handle as the first two things on the sidebar. But however you do it, you need to make it nearly impossible for someone to miss it.

Blogs I Love

As a May Blogathon 2010 participant, today I'm writing about my five favorite blogs. We're all trying to blog about this topic for the day. (More details and the blogs involved can be found here.)

My list of blogs is a strange one. Since I keep both this blog about freelancing and a personal fashion diary blog; and since I write about lifestyle trends and commercial real estate; and since I am working on penning a young adult novel. So the blogs I read daily are as diverse as my areas of interest. Here's what I've got bookmarked....

This Is Glamorous. Honestly one of the most beautiful blogs I have ever stumbled across. The pictures are visually stunning. It's totally eye candy.

Book Ends. An honest and often in-your-face approach to getting published written by a literary agent. The blog offers helpful advice on query letters, manuscripts, e-mail communications, plots, characters, hooks... pretty much everything needed for writing a killer story and getting it published.

Tatertots and Jello. True, I am not a mother. But this mom's blog is the practical woman's guide to stylish motherhood and DIY projects. I've gotten a number of great craft ideas from skimming her posts.

Keiko Lynn. Maybe it's her clothing designs or maybe it's just the pretty backdrops she catches in her photos. Whatever it is I love looking at this blog. For me visually pleasing blogs are the key to attracting and keeping readers.

Nathan Bransford. The guy I'd like to be my literary agent. He's professional, thoughtful and funny on his blog. Plus he's all about helping aspiring authors to get published.

What I Wore. I stumbled upon this blog about 16 months ago. After looking at her daily posts for more than three months I started thinking I could do something similar. So, she's the inspiration for my own fashion blog, ModlyChic.

Kendi Everyday. Yes, another fashion blog. But Kendi just completed a personal challenge to remix the same clothing outfits into 30 different outfits to be worn for 30 days. I watched the daily posts and was uber-inspired by her combinations and creativity.

Nicholas Kristof. Can I count his NYT column as a blog? Not really, but I am going to anyway. When I worked at the NYT after college I had the opportunity to interact with Kristof a number of times. He struck me as a down-to-earth reporter who honestly cared deeply about the subjects he wrote about. If only every columnist was concerned with things that really matter in this world.

FishbowlNY. When I worked in New York I honestly read this MediaBistro blog first thing every morning. You want to know about the journalism scene in the Big Apple? Here's where you get the skinny on everyone. Now I skim it occasionally just for fun.

Yes, I'm a blogger

Hi. I'm KT and I'm a blogger. Ok, I'm more than a passive blogger (even if it's hard to tell from the sporadic Write Beyond posts). I actually make money from blogging. Try explaining that to someone who isn't up on new media and it's like talking a foreign language.

"What do you do for a living?"
"I write for several different blogs."
"Uh, huh. And what do you really do?"
"Um... I blog, you know about fashion, technology, pop culture, freelance writing, whatever."
"So you write? You're a journalist?"
"Yeah, I supposed you could say that since I went to school for journalism. And I write actual news pieces from time to time but I mostly blog now."
"I can't believe people pay you to do that. It takes no brains or effort to just write out your opinion."

Excuse me?! While everyone can physically write, it takes talent to craft words. And to make a blog successful it is not just a matter of putting your opinion down for others to potentially maybe read. A blogger needs to create conversation. She needs to entice readers back. She needs to draw new eyes to the site. It is not just as simple as filling a page in an 8th-grade diary. This is actual work.

So You Want to Start a Blog?

I’ve had a couple friends and professional acquaintances in the last week ask me about starting a blog. They wanted tips and tricks of the trade. I’m no blogging pro - I’ve started half a dozen blogs over the past five years and ditched most of them because they were silly, pointless, or boring. But I do keep this professional blog and a fashion blog over on tumblr.

So here’s what I’d say:

Pick a topic. I think some of the best blogs are the ones that are focused. Trying to talk about too many things you are going to lose the interest of your readers or never grab readers in the first place.

Post regularly. You don’t necessarily have to post daily, nor do you need to post each day of the work week, but your blog should never go dark for several days in a row. You want readers to stay interested, to keep coming back.

Encourage discussion. Allow comments on your blog, respond to the notes people leave you. Ask questions to your readers.

Read other blogs. To be a good blogger you need to be up on the topics being covered by others, especially those with a similar subject matter. And more than just read the blogs, comment on them, share thoughts, etc.. This will build audience and expand your knowledge.

Funk it up. Add pictures, links, colorful or bold words. It’s got to be more than just text.

Give your info. Give a short bio. Don’t forget to add ways they can contact you, your e-mail address, twitter name, linkedin address, etc...