Building a better blog

Over the last couple of weeks, I have devoted more time to my family since summer break is drawing to a close and the kids will be heading back to school.

During this time, I’ve spent a great deal of time away from the computer but not far from creating goals for myself as a work at home mom. Though being away from my computer was a real challenge, I found myself carrying a notebook around to jot down the numerous ideas that would pop in my head so that I could begin my course of action as soon as I return to my online activity full-time next week.

I’ve taken notice of countless others that are starting to buckle down and start setting goals for themselves through various venues. Darren over at Problogger has begun a series that will run through the month of August called 31 days to building a better blog. This series has caught my eye and has prompted me to become more aggressive at implementing strategy and effort on many levels.

With Darren encouraging his readers to ponder such questions as:

Why do you exist? Simply, what the basics of your web presence is all about.

Why do you blog? What motivates you – money, recreation, helping others and fun is a few examples Darren lists though there may be many other reasons for blogging, that’s a great place to start.

What are your values as a blogger? This may seem a bit deep also, but Darren simplifies it by stating it is simply the values that shape your blogging behavior.

There are several categories, too numerous to list here and I certainly don’t want to take away from the valuable information Darren is presenting on his site.

I strongly encourage anyone, blogger, webmaster or self-employed person (current or wannabe) to follow the 31 days to building a better blog to gain focus and begin setting goals during his easy-to-follow program.

As the series progresses, I myself will present some, not all of course, changes that are occurring in my own online practices.

If you are a work at home parent and would like to with me in this challenge, let me know. Sometimes being a part of a team encourages you to follow through a bit more.

In closing, I will state that over the last couple of months, I have taken much of what Darren has had to say into consideration and because of a few simple adjustments to my sites, my income from blogging alone has trippled. I can't begin to thank Darren enough! For the first time in SO long, I have been able to purchase something I WANT just because I WANTED it, not because I needed it :) Oh happy day!