Time to talk about me.
I have not heard from the HR people from the library about the page job. The ladies at the interview said it would be "the end of this week or beginning of next." Well, damnit, we are now officially in the "beginning of next" and my frickin' phone ought to be ringing!
Kirk tried to calm my worries by telling me that usually they contact all the people that are NOT getting hired first - so the longer it takes the better the indication.
That has helped a bit over the last few days, but, for frick's sake!
(I'm cursing the real word in my head. A lot. Frick, frick, frickitty frick.)
Enough with the suspense!
Give a girl a break!
Well, since I've broken the seal on my bitching and whining jar, I may as well rip the lid all the way off.
Let's see what else is stuck in my craw... (like the seafood reference?)
I joined BlogLog and am horrified and ashamed to admit that no one has joined my community.
I joined BlogCatalog and the highest rating I ever got was 29. Out of a fricking hundred.
I added a visitor counter and was delighted when it climbed above 100. I almost peed myself when it reached 200. Then I started noticing the other blogs I read have counters that are ...
... wait for it ...over 100,000.
Frick.
What is it? What am I doing wrong? Is it that I'm a Mom but not a Mommy Blogger? Or is it that I appear to be a Mommy Blogger and turn people away? Do I have too many inane postings on celebrity gossip and the Oscars? Or too few (none) on political issues, environmental worries and social causes? Do I talk about my entire extended family too much?
I am a blogger who happens to be a mom. My kids and my husband are at the center of my universe, but I haven't lost sight of the rest of the world around me. I do follow the election coverage, I read the news daily, and I am aware of what is happening in my own city and state politics. I just don't blog about it very often. You know how a writer always tries to find his or her own voice? Mine babbles on incessantly about fluff - when I start writing about important world issues - it develops a stutter, lapses into gutteral moaning, and then goes mute.
I do blog about my new freelance career, and the book I'm writing - (although not recently because the freelance gig took over for a while, and I developed a psychotic phobia of starting work on the book again - but that story is enough material for an entire post of it's own) and of course, yard sales, insomnia and cluttered garages. And let us not forget the strange ability I posses to make smoke alarms freak the hell out when I'm home alone.
As for the MommyBlog, I won't put ads on my blog for homeopathic colic remedies or eco-friendly diapers. My kids are long past diapers and colic - thank the Heavens above - but even so, my discomfort with the label MommyBlogger is not the reason. I would happily put up ads for many products and services I do utilize. You don't see ads here because (ahem) ...
... I have never figured out my stupid AdSense account.
I'd dearly love to stick some ads on this mamma-jamma and make some extra cash. I have tried, obviously unsuccessfully for almost a year, but my Google account laughs at me whenever I try to set up AdSense.
No, seriously. I hear laughter coming out of my laptop whenever I log in.
What ads would I put up? Let's see ...
Bare Minerals make-up
Pond's dry skin cream (dudes, I live in the desert!)
Burt's Beeswax lip balm (again, desert!)
iPod Nano
Pilot Razor Point pens
Staples composition books
Prestige vodka (yes, it's the cheap stuff - I'm a cheap date - and I drink it mixed)
T-Mobile Sidekick
L'Oreal hair color 6R Light Auburn
Toshiba Satellite laptops
Xanax (better than heavy-weight sedatives against persistent insomnia)
QVC silver jewelry
Bookstores
Discovery Channel
Target
But then I stop and think that I kinda like the look of my blog without those annoying, sometimes flashing ads. I've indulged in a lot of widgets and things already - maybe that would be too much clutter.
But I'd really like to make some money.
Well, if you ever seen any of those ads on my blog you'll know I've conquered the AdSense monster.
In the meantime - you can just send money.
And more readers.
12 comments:
I was always told that reading other's blogs and commenting can attract readers. That and getting included on blogrolls. Have you tried that?
Yes, I spend an embarassing amount of time reading and commenting on other blogs.
And I have to remember that I've only been blogging regularly for a few months now, and it takes time to build up visitor numbers.
I just have a bad case of "I want it NOW" from the job-issue and it spilled over into the blog stuff.
No patience!
Thank you so much for stopping by so often and commenting, and for having such a great blog to read.
I read everything you post. I don't know if it increments your counter if I don't jump over and comment, though, because I read you through BlogLines. That lets me get through a lot of blogs in less time. I pop into the ones where I want to post some comment (like this one).
I love your blog. Don't stop!
Peace - D
Momma-
OK - now I'm blushing. Thank you for the encouraging comments.
And it does show up on my traffic feed - so probably on my counter too - but I'm not positive.
I haven't been to BlogLines - I'll have to check it out.
And don't worry - I couldn't stop blogging if I tried. :)
Yep - what CMD said! :)
BTW: I joined your community - I hope it made you feel better.
Pee Ess: If no one has called by Wednesday from the library, call them for a follow up! Good luck!
CMG is right. The reading and commenting is the best way to get traffic.
The only problem is... it takes time to build that up. And dear God, don't start reading and commenting JUST to get traffic.
I think you'd be surprised how many blogs don't get crap for traffic either. Seriously.
Just focus on doing what YOU like to do, and in time, you'll meet more people.
OH - and look into Amazon's referral program.
I've only got a little over 14,000 visitors, and that's over a 3 year period. I am not that popular either....
I've got a cute little button on my blog I made about being a Mom who blogs not a mommy blogger...feel free to save it and add to your sidebar LOL
commenting on other people's blogs will eventually lead more people here...especially if you leave funny or witty or profound ones...
hey it's worked for me...I average 17 vistors a day instead of 8...I've nearly doubled my readership!!
good luck! keep blogging...you've only just begun!
I've only been blogging for a couple of months, and I am clueless about everything. I like that you like my blog. And I would definitely like more readers (I am a mommy blogger, too, but with little ones), but I don't even know what a Blog Log or a Blog Catalog is. I feel as if I have crawled out from under a log after having my two girls in two and a half years...
I will definitely blogroll you, too. Don't change your blog to get more readers. The readers will come, just give it time.
You guys are the greatest!!
Yesterday was just a whiney, "poor me" kinda day.
Just too much stress for too long - it's been building up for months.
It started with the not-getting-THE-call stuff and blew up into the whole "nobody-loves-me-or-my-blog" bullshit.
Which it quite obviously not the case - you guys totally made my day. Talk about positive reinforcement!
I will carefully read all the advice you gave.
But now I don't give a damn if never get the huge traffic numbers that other sites have ... having you fantastic, supportive people still show up is quite enough for me!
I'm always surprised when ANYONE reads my crap. My blog is like a notepad I keep around to get rid of extraneous thoughts.
But my goodness, all those "fricks" are making my eyes turn red.
I'm late to the party - late late late late late! Always late!
It definitely helps to comment, but the biggest thing you need to do is write like no one is reading - does that make sense? You have to want to be here, comments or no, and you have to be brave in what you say. And I second (third? fourth?) what everyone said about patience. You've only just begun, Karen Carpenter! (sorry, it's early.)
Another tip: change your settings so that people can only see a PARTIAL feed in whatever reader they're using (I think someone said Bloglines up above, I use Google Reader, it doesn't matter). There should be some setting in Blogger that only shows a partial, which means people have to actually click onto your site to read the entire post because the way it is now, people can read without you knowing.
OK? Deep breaths?
Sorry again I'm so late. :(
Ray-
That many fricks=red eyes comment made me laugh out loud. I can recommend some drops for that.
Maggie-
Writing like no one is reading does make sense. But I'm always painfully aware my parents and one kid DOES read - hence the multitude of "fricks." I just don't swear any more in "real life" than I do in the blog. Not a priss about it; I usually only drop the big bombs around my friends. Never family.
But I think I am getting more used to delving into deeper stuff, not so much superfluous fluff.
And I will change the feed settings ASAP.
Thanks you two, and everyone will the help and advice.
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