conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Give me a description for a story titled Blogging For Dummies about Blogging, Dummies, Inquirer with the genre: Computers & Technology, Web Development & Design.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: Blogging for Dummies gets the thumbs upyou should be able to find all the answers to those questions about blogs youve been afraid to ask ( The Inquirer (Web), 21 February 2006)
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: What could be a title for a story about Express with the genre: Reference, Writing, Research & Publishing Guides?
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: A title for this story could be 'Blogging For Dummies'
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Give me the first four paragraphs for this story.. End with the sentence ')'.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: Blogging For Dummies
  Also, look for chances to link the blog to itself! A lot of bloggers are clever about linking to old posts on their own blogs so that new readers know where to go deep within the blog archives. This kind of linking can increase traffic and also inform and educate your readers.
  Asking potential customers to check out your services after they read something on your blog can turn those readers into actual customers. If you see a logical link to a product or service that you offer, it only makes sense to let people know. But you need to do more than simply push sales. You tread a fine line between a blog that points out possible purchases, along with providing content, and one that isn't anything more than a big ad.
  Some blogs don't try hard to get people to pull out their wallets. Instead, the blog's purpose might be to gather feedback and get people to participate in an event or contest. Again, try to be genuine and inviting, rather than pushy. Get readers involved and invested in your goal.
  Maggie Whitley Designs (`www.maggiewhitley.com`) is a site that skillfully pairs a personal blog with a home business. Maggie — known to her fans and customers as Gussy — candidly shares the ins and outs of her daily life with her husband, Zack, their growing family, and even their dog, Bauer. However, Maggie Whitley Designs, formerly known as Gussy Sews, isn't all about Maggie discovering the joys of motherhood. One click on Shop Gussy (`www.shopgussy.com`) takes you to the flip side of this blog — the store. Here you can purchase the wares of the family you've fallen in love with through Maggie's blog, from zip pouches to totes and bags. Genius! (See Figure 21-2.)
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Give me five more paragraphs.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: This kind of blogging trade-off can let you have multiple voices fill out the content on your site and provide a richer experience for your readers.
  It's also a great idea to look for opportunities to write on other websites as well. See whether other blogs might need a little help with a few additional posts. Also, help keep the conversations going on other blogs that you enjoy. Each time you comment on another blog, you get exposure to a few more potential readers for your own blog and build links back to your blog.
  As spam-ridden as electronic mail can be, you can still use it to stay in contact with your community. Offering newsletter delivery through email of some or all of your blog content to your readers can attract users who aren't comfortable with some of the fancier technologies, such as RSS. Try these three tactics:
  Many blog software programs have built-in Tell a Friend or Email a Friend functionality. If you turn this feature on, every blog post includes a small icon or link that, when clicked, lets your reader fill out the name and email address of a friend and send an email notification about your blog post to that friend. It's like free marketing. Figure 22-2 shows this Email a Friend option on Vera Sweeney's blog, Lady and the Blog (`www.ladyandtheblog.com`).
  You can easily reach users who have mastered email but aren't up on newsreaders and RSS by setting up your blog to allow users to sign up for email notifications when you post a new blog entry. Allowing them to sign up and also remove themselves from your email system puts them in control of the situation, which means that you don't contribute to the spam problem. The FeedBurner site (`http://feedburner.google.com`) lets you set up an email notification/subscription tool.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Give me the last five paragraphs.
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conversations.value: With that said, it was still important for me to think critically about blog monetization before getting too far along my own blogging path. Despite the unexpected twists and turns — most of them positive — my blog's monetization plan guided me through decisions at every step along this journey.
  The first time someone asked me to write somewhere other than my own blog, I turned to my husband for help with making the decision. He asked, "What will that do to get you where you hope to go?" and the truth is, I had no idea at that point where I was hoping to go. As with many things in life, blogs often grow and change in spite of rather than because of the goals we set.
  If massive growth falls under your definition of success, you should certainly decide now how you want that to occur. But even if you don't anticipate blog growth, it is still a worthwhile use of your time to think about what you'd like a growing and expanding blog to look like should that day come.
  I recently read a great blog post — naturally! — about life after blogging. Although blogging has been around in one form or another for quite some time now, in the expansive timeline of the world of communication, blogging is still a baby. It will be quite a while before there are as many former bloggers as there are active bloggers.
  Whatever the reason, it's important for bloggers to know when they're done, even if that means that they're just done with that particular blog. After all, blogging, at its core, is meant to be enjoyable, and when it isn't anymore, you might need to reevaluate or move along to new pursuits.