Postcards from the Funny Farm

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Katelynjane has been a good friend to this blog since I met her through “Entrecard” (at least I think that was where? There are so many social networks one frequents as a blogger). Anyway, she has a nice mix of content there under the overall umbrella theme of creativity. When she invited me to spill my guts on the subject over there, I gladly took her up on it. Check out my guest blog over there and do me a favor and show some love with a comment and a Stumble. Creativity is truly every bloggers most valuable currency. Watch this young blog closely folks, I think very good things are in store! See you over there!

(postscript: I remember when I first started blogging, it seems ike yesterday. Where does the time go? One day you are filling out Halloween invitations, and thext it’s hot summer!)

(I’ve disabled comments on this introduction post)

Ok, so you want your blog to have more value … scratch that, you want it to have mega-millions of value … you’ve come to the right place. We’ve been outlining value on a blog through the acronym: “v.a.l.u.e.”. Let’s do a quick review:

1. “V” stands for visceral
2. “A” stands for aphoristic
3. “L” stands for linkage

Now, as promised, we probe the mysterious area known as “U.” It stands for “Ubiquitousness.” If you don’t know the meaning of the word, check this out:

ubiq·ui·tous
Pronunciation:
\yü-?bi-kw?-t?s\
Function:
adjective
Date:
1830

: existing or being everywhere at the same time : constantly encountered : widespread <a ubiquitous fashion>
— ubiq·ui·tous·ly adverb
— ubiq·ui·tous·ness noun

In theory, if you could post a link to your post everywhere on the interweb at one time, then you would have “U” down pat. Obviously you can’t. The more I think about the hundreds of millions of blogs out there the more fatigued this letter can become. So you can’t do it all? What CAN you do? Here are a few suggestions to increase the ubiquitousness of your post (all of which I do on a pretty regular basis).

1. Make a Google Alert for 2 things: 1) your blog’s url through the Google Blogsearch feature ie: link:http://postcardsfromthefunnyfarm.com and 2) the title of your blog. This will send you an email whenever someone links to you and whenever your title shows up on a page on the web.
2. Create a Tumblr.com tumblelog and use the Tumblr bookmarklet feature to post the link with a description. In the description of the permalink, include a standard linkback to your blog’s main url. This will help your backlink count and with some online measures, your rank and authority.
3. Create other blogs on various “subtopics.” Link to your post there, sometimes through a related short article using the text: “More info on this topic at: (your blog url)”
4. Use social bookmarking. DIGG and Stumbleupon only work if other people submit. You can ask friends to on the posts you really want to get out there. But most all the rest it is “kosher” to bookmark your own posts.
5. Guestblog and link back to your article.
6. Post to AC or Blogcritics and include a relevant linkback to your article.
7. Get the free info on backlinks and blog promotion at socialmediadaily.com
8. Other ideas out there?

Getting your posts link out there so many people have access to it is key to producing value for your blog. Being “ubiquitous” is a full time job. Get ready!

Ok, now for the last frontier of this series. We’ll be looking at the letter “E” in the next couple of days. While you wait, why not pick one thing at a time and work on it. These are all equally important to gaining value for your blog.

Whenever I talk with young single women I am always amazed when they say they can’t find anyone. For me, it took until I was 32 to find my wife and get married and before that I was always trying to get dates one way or another. I was always proactive and when Sarah came along … boom! It was the time that was meant to happen. Maybe you’re single or know people who are and want to be married. I say, in the advent of online dating, nobody has the excuse of not having any prospects! In my guest blog over at It Might be Love I discuss in an often humorous fashion how I met my wife through Yahoo! Personals. It’s entitled: “Does Anyone have to be single anymore?” And as far as Yahoo! Personals goes, I’m all for passing out advertising pens

More info on inspiration, psychology and blogging here.

How did I do in May of 2008?
Traffic
Goal: 2650 total unique visits for the month and 100/day avg
Actual: 2920 total unique visits for the month and 91/day avg

I feel good about the daily uniques for the month. The daily average is a little short of my goal. I think my link love resolve will help those numbers so I am planning big for June.

Publishing
Goal: 5 total publishings may include guest blog posts.
Actual: 3

• The Man Page
• Good Taste
• It Might be Love (future publishing)

I slacked on my guestblogging this month. I put more time into my other blogs and investing in backlinks. I plan to try this goal of “5″ again for June. If interested, send me a message or a comment.

Money
Goal: 300 dollars through these sources - 1) PayPerPost 2) PayU2Blog and 3) Private advertising.
Actual: 270 dollars. I have 2 open spots for ads at $10 a month if you are interested.

I’m interested in getting my traffic higher. I feel this will make the ad spots all the more alluring. As it is, those who advertise on my blog get an interview and links throughout each month they stay here. Hopefully more will show interest. PayPerPost and PayU2Blog probably are the culprits that caused me to lose my PR again … I don’t really care. Google can bite me. As long as I am meeting my personal goals, I am succeeding in my book.

Goals for June 2008 are:
Traffic: 3000 uniques
Publishing: 3 online, may included guestblogging
Money: 200 bucks

Final thought:

Getting a blog “seated” in the search engines through backlinks is a full time job. In changing domain names I lost about 80% of my backlink Google Juice. I’m learning ways to build it back up and I appreciate my readers who come to this niche and find inspiration and psychology to make their lives better. Watch and see how I do in June. -Damien

You may have noticed in your visits here the quite attractive 125×125 button AD that reads “Make Money - Build Wealth: Get My Wealth Now.” Kimberly Clay is the gifted entrepreneur who owns and authors that site. It is full of daily tips and examples on how to create wealth. I highly recommend you visit her blog.

When she asked me to write a guest blog, I knew right away what my topic would be. As my seasoned readers know I have stepped this blog up in the past year little by little to be monetized. Sarah and I were talking yesterday about how cool it would be if we could pay our student loans through Postcards from the Funny Farm. I’m about half way there and it is exciting. But once that goal is achieved, I plan to follow Kimberly’s strategies to make my online wealth go even further.

Inch by inch, life’s a cinch.

Kimberly Clay is a generous sponsor of this site so I am energetic to guest blog for her, send traffic her way, and do whatever I can to show off her excellent blog/money/inspiration resource. I’ve learned several indispensable things after subscribing to her RSS.

If you are interested in reading my guest blog article on her site, the url below. Leave her some comment love over there her, I think you will find it a very down-to-earth and practical. fun blog:

url: blog.getmywealthnow.com/2008/03/master-one-thing.h...

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If you are interested in having me guestblog for your blog for free, read the page explaining the process and contact me. Thanks! I hope to hear from you. Guest blogging is a fun and great way to assist bloggers in practicing writing, networking, and affiliate marketing. To advertise on my blog, read this 411 page