Looking for a bit of weekend reading? Here are some of my picks:
Maki at Dosh Dosh provides a comprehensive guide to influencing powerful social media users. It’s a necessity if you want to gain attention and web traffic.
Traffic, of course, is a requirement professional blogging – that is, for earning our living as bloggers. But Chris Garrett writes at Blog Herald about three non-financial reasons for blogging. At least two of them, networking and opportunities, can lead to other paying work, of course. And the third, enjoyment of writing, reflects your passion, which in turn can help establish your authority on a subject.
Chris also reflects on his blog about Darren Rowse’s recent giant Problogger giveaway. Darren has his own thoughts, but what I found very interesting are the comments on Chris’ and Darren’s posts. If you’re thinking about doing a giveaway on your blog, these comments are worth a read.
While you’re over at Darren’s site, check out the comments in the post Get Something off Your Chest. If you feel like it, post a comment about something that’s been on your chest about blogging.
Darren is of course one of the founders of the b5media blog network. If launching a network is something on your wish list, first consult David Peralty’s 46 Things to do Before Launching a Blog Network.
Running a network can be stressful, but then so can blogging. Skellie at Daily Blog Tips offers six step for stress-free blogging.
Another stressful activity is public speaking, for some people. Ryan Imel writes at Copyblogger about some things he learned about establishing blogging confidence from a recent business presentation he gave to a group of investors.