Life Hack 2013: Social Media Networking Strategy Development

I'm ready to get down to writing!

For those of you who have been following along, many thanks!  My little social media marketing experiment has yielded a few insights into what can really work for me.

First, let me explain the constraints under which any strategy must function:

My fledglings have
flown the coop!

1. I have a job outside the home--a full time job--and spend two hours on the road each day commuting.  I know this is not ideal, but it's the price I must pay, for now, for living on the farm.
2. I am active in my church.
3. I have an actual family--albeit my little fledglings have established nests of their own (without grandchildren)--and the Resident Dragon is an absolute jewel.
4. The demands of the garden are endless and cannot be ignored.
5. My real goal in all of this is for me to write, and for the Resident Dragon to make and sell his jewelry both at shows and through our Etsy shop.

So, the gleanings from my experiment are:

Craft and art fairs are fun!

• Facebook does nothing for me, at least until I have more than 8 followers.  No, I did not spam my address book to develop followers; I just could not do it.
• In-post linking is not a strategy; it may be helpful for your readers, but do not count on building readership from the links.
• BlogHer has not worked well for me yet, but I haven't really worked it.  Because my posts are spread among three blogs, I'm not sure I really qualify for their frequency requirements.
• SEO is not a complete strategy for the beginning blogger.  It has helped and is worth some time, but, unless you hit a really hot niche, you'll be languishing on Search Results page 3,857.
• SITSGirls is a good resource, although you sometimes have to hunt around for your topic.
• Angie Nelson's Work at Home Wife has very good information--especially for WordPress bloggers.
• Girlgab.com is my major source of hits.  Thanks, Mary Jane and all of the Farmgirl Sisterhood!
• Twitter and Pinterest have been the best development tool so far, by far.
• New posts drive new traffic.

Looking ahead . . .

I've been thinking about this all week and have come up with a plan:

1. Post once a week to each of my blogs and spread the post dates throughout the week.
2. Tweet each post (and each new jewelry item) with appropriate hashtags and mentions.
3. Participate in blog parties like SITSSharefest and writing memes like Five Minute Friday.
4. Convert my personal Pinterest board to a business board and let my daughter, the absolute queen of Pinterest, manage it!
5. Pay attention to my stats and target interest groups.
6. Re-evaluate my brand Live a Savory Life.
7. Write!

Developing the roots
of a good brand
is hard work!

So, that's the plan.

It's been an intense few weeks, and I really need to finish the organic gardening course I've been taking online.  Hopefully, the plan will allow me to do all the things I want to do, without one pushing aside any others.  My last task, re-evaluating my brand will be challenging and may require input from you, too.

Well, the dog is awake, and the cat is awake, which means the Resident Dragon will not be far behind.

Until we read again, how are you living your Savory life?

Nancy

Shouldn't It Be Obvious?

Welcoming Committee
The birds are lined up on the wire as I arrive home.

Have you ever wondered how everyone else seems to come up with these fabulous, entertaining, cutesy, profound ideas for blog entries?  Well, so have I.  So, I've gone in desperate search of some advice on blog writing.

Brent Riggs (yes, the Linky Tools guy) began a series on blog writing in 2009 with an article called "There’s Really Only One Main Secret to a Great Blog – the Other Secrets are Secondary."  It's practical, realistic, and you should read it.

More recently, Brian A. Klems over on Writer's Digest authored an article called "THE 12 DOS AND DON’TS OF WRITING A BLOG."  Klems offers 12 doable suggestions for the aspiring blogger.

There are several special interest sites which promote and educate bloggers:

Butterfly on a buddleia
This picture just makes me smile!

The SITS Girls feature blogs daily, offer educational courses online--both live and recorded.  They are the organizers of the Bloggy Boot Camp which is offered several times a year in different locations throughout the country.  Their advice ranges from the inspirational to the practical for their 40,000 members.

BlogHer is "the leading cross-platform media network created by, for and with women social media leaders."  It helps women bloggers learn to promote their blogs.  Revenue sharing is available for their 3000-ish selected "premium" bloggers.

Mary Jane's Farm has established GirlGab which is "blog roll central" for MaryJane Butters and the members of the Farmgirl Sisterhood.  New farmgirl entries are highlighted daily, as well as blogs by the "official" Suburban, Rural, Ranch, Beach, City, and Mountain farmgirls.  

Blogs.com is another categoried blog roll which offers top 10 lists.  Bloggers can apply to be listed on the site and can purchase advertising.

After reading a number of these I have gleaned two essential strategies to be a successful blogger (which I'm probably not):

• find a niche, and 
• be outrageous.

The second is easier than the first.  That's where many bloggers are so good:  they rant about extreme positions on hot-button issues which are sure to provoke flame wars.  It certainly adds to the page loads.  How much it adds to public discourse remains to be seen, but this strategy has allowed a number of writers to become digital sensations.

Sneakers on a limb
Life can be a real
whirlwind at times!

The former strategy--niche writing--can build a following, but often within a smaller group.  Usually less bombastic, the niche blog caters to its audience, but risks catering so slavishly that it blends into the fabric of the group.

I have a plan:

I'm going to write more about things I care about and worry less about appealing to an audience.  

If I'm bombastic, well, that probably won't happen; it's just not my nature.  If I cater to a niche, it's because I am or wish to be a part of that culture.  

I am excited about future blog posts; I hope you find them interesting.  Or nostalgic.  Or cute.  Or poignant.  Or infuriating.  Regardless of how you find them, I will continue to write them as long as I have something to say about living a life worth savoring.

So--

How are you savoring your life?

Nancy