Where Do You Go From Here?

Today is the last day of the month and I'm finishing up my series on blogging.  I have learned a lot by doing this series.  I feel like I have breathed new life into my blog.  I've maintained a successful blog for almost four years.  Where do I go from here?

Why not use my blog as a launching pad for a book, an e-book or a podcast?

How Do You Blog a Book?

Many writers have turned their blogs into books.  I've already mentioned Julie Powell who blogged about cooking the recipes in Julia child's cookbook which launched the book 524 Recipes, 365 Days and One Tiny Apartment Kitchen.  An astounding 42,000 copies of the book sold just in one week after the movie Julie & Julia debuted.

A lesser known example is that of a travel blogger Cain9ine's New York (http://www.blurb.ca/books/cain9ine-s-new-york-blog) who turned his blog into a successful book.  His book includes a plethora of breathtaking photos of landmarks liek Notre Dame Basicilica in Montreal and the sand dunes in the Arizona desert.  On his road trip, he samples local fare, including photos in his book.  His titles are catchy:  "The way of the Mouse" about his trip to Disney World; "Happy Fourth of July" in Washington D.C. and "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" in Boston.

Another example of a blog turned book is (www.blurb.ca/books/french-word-a-day).  Each day, the reader learns a new French word or phrase, accompanied by a story and photos ex. Le Chien Perdu, Le Papillon or Mener a la Baguette.

How About an E-Book?

According to one writer, as of November 2013, Amazon started selling more E-books than print books on its website.  Check out the website "3 Easy Ways to Convert Your Blog into an E-book" at http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-easy-ways-turn-blog-ebook-free/.  Another website promises "How to (Really) Make 1, 000, 000 selling E-Books" at http://fourhourworkweek.com/2013/04/04/how-to-make-1000000-selling-e-books-tactics-and-case-studies/.  You can also check out the book Publishing E-Books for Dummies by Ali Luke at http://www.amazon.ca/Publishing-E-Books-For-Dummies-Luke/dp/1118342909.

How About a Podcast?

How do you turn a blog into a podcast?  Visit the site www.ispeech.org/convertblog.  According to www.evernote.com, here are two of the Best of 2014 podcasts.  Check out "The Tim Ferriss Show" http://fourhourworkweek.com/podcast/ the number one business podcast on iTunes.  Another successful podcast is "Atomic Moms" twitter.com/atomicmoms, a parenting podcast.

That's all I have to say about blogging.  Thank you for sharing this journey with me.  I've enjoyed blogging about blogging.  I'll meet you in the blogosphere.

http://cdn.fwmedia.com/media/catalog/product/cache/33/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/u/5/u5552.jpg

Consistency is Key to Blogging Success

"Decide to be consistent and then do it.  There will always be fires to put out."  (Garret Moon)

People buy products from businesses they know, like and trust.  The same is true of a blog.  Readers read blogs that they know, like and trust (http://todaymade.com/blog/writing-a-great-blog/).

One way to build your audience's trust is through consistency.  According to Robert B. Cialdini, author of Influence:  The Psychology of Persuasion, inconsistent people are seen as "fickle, unstable, uncertain and scatterbrained" whereas consistent people are seen as "assured, trustworthy and sound" (http://www.amazon.ca/Influence-Psychology-Persuasion-Robert-Cialdini/dp/006124189X ).  Build your credibility by blogging consistently.

Be consistent in purpose.  Why did you start your blog?  Be true to your original motivation.  If you are all over the map, blogging about everything under the sun, you won't develop a loyal following. Consistency helps you stick to your purpose (http://www.annettapowell.com/consistency-blog-success/).

Be consistent in layout.  Don't keep changing your theme, colours and font.  If you want to develop a following, readers need to be able to recognize your site.  They will be more comfortable with the familiar.

Be consistent in posting.  Garret Moon recommends that if you own a personal blog, you should post about three times a week; if you own a business blog, post five to seven times a week, especially in a competitive field (http://todaymade.com/blog/writing-a-great-blog/).  There are some blogs which only post once a week that are very successful. However, the more you post, chances are the more page views you get.  

Remember that practice makes perfect.  The more you post, the more proficient your writing will become.  Google loves sites with frequent and fresh content.  It's not just your readers who follow you, but also the robots working for Google (and Yahoo).  If you run a business blog and would like to become a niche leader, you have no choice but to post regularly and frequently (https://wineryconsulting.wordpress.com/2008/07/21/are-you-a-niche-leader/) .  Garret Moon says that consistency can help you become a subject matter expert.  That doesn't mean that you know more than anyone else on the subject -- far from it.  But it does mean that you know more than the average Joe.    

Furthermore, frequent posting can lead to more writing.  You can use your blog as a jumping off spot for an e-book, a book or a podcast.  In 2002, Julie Powell blogged about testing all of the recipes in Julia Child's cookbook.  The blog developped a huge following, led to a book deal, Julie & Julia:  365 Days, 524 recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, and a movie
(http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13747.Julie_and_Julia).

http://langwitches.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/consistency1.jpg

The History of Blogging

In the early 1990's, the World Wide Web first appeared.  By the mid-1990's, we saw the advent of the online diary.  Chicagoan Justin Hall of Swarthmore College started such a diary in 1994 which lasted 11 years.  Jorn Barger coined the term "weblog" in 1997.  Two years later, Peter Merholz divided the word weblog into "we blog", making blog not just a noun but a verb.  Blog was the word of the year for 2004.  The same year, the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/) called Justin Hall "the founding father of personal blogging."

Swarthmore College where Justin Hall pioneered the personal blog.

Blogs have played an increasingly important role in our society in the past decade.  In 2004, "Rathergate", which exposed documents about George Bush's military record as forgeries, was reported on the blog "Little Green Footballs" at http://littlegreenfootballs.com/ one of the first times a blog was accepted as fact by the mass media.

The Tsunami of December 2004 was reported by blogging, especially by the humanitarian organization "Medecins Sans Frontieres".  The blogs "Gulfsails" (http://gulfsails.blogspot.ca/) and "the Interdictor" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interdictor_%28blog%29) shared information not shared by the mainstream media about Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

gulfsails.blogspot.ca

Fortune magazine listed several businessmen blogs that "could not be ignored" in 2005, including those written by Peter Rojas and Xeni Jardin.  The following year BBC News started a weblog.  In 2007, a Blogger's Code of Conduct, written by Tim O'Reilly, appeared.

My favourite example of a blog influencing the mainstream was "The Julie/Julia Project", a blog started by Julie Powell in New York City in 2002.  Julie worked for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation investigating claims filed in the aftermath of 9/11.  As a change from her depressing day sitting in a cubicle listening to horror stories, Julie started a cooking blog in the evening, challenging herself to cook all of the recipes in Julia Child's first cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Soon, Julie accumulated hundreds of blog followers and responded to dozens of questions and comments daily.  One thing led to another and Julie signed a book contract for 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Kitchen Apartment at http://www.amazon.com/Julie-Julia-Recipes-Apartment-Kitchen/dp/031610969X.  The book was transformed into the movie Julie & Julia starring Amy Adams and Meryl Streep which debuted in 2009.

Julie Powell's blog led to a book deal and blockbuster movie "Julie & Julia" courtesy amazon.com.

Blogs are having an ever increasing influence on our society.  Why not join the blogosphere?