Class Bogs Fall 2016

These are the blogs created by students in Online Publications:

Watercolor with Confidence

Salisbury Eats  

New Blogs

Mary Scott  Swimming

Blogs Summer 2016

Blogs Summer 2016

Demishie   -   Christian Cookin’ Mom   

Ashlee   -   AshleeMcNabb    

Dee Dee’s   -   Infant Toddler Corner    Infant/Toddler Corner (2)

Ali  -   Eat Great or Die Trying 

 Bri  -  Miss Girl on the Go

Tamaria  -   A Wandering World  

Tyler  -  The Pen and the Foil

Jamal -  Lack Fitness                   

   

Blogs Summer 2015

Blogs Summer 2015

Loving Your Teenager  - Janice

 http://lovingyourteenagechild.blogspot.com/

Simple Things Enjoyed - Natallia

http://simplethingsenjoyed.blogspot.com/

Renovation Junkie – Layla

http://renojunkie1.blogspot.com/

Queen City Living – Stephanie

http://queencityliving704.blogspot.com/

Women Self Defense – Nicole

URL is blocked
http://mybloginclass123.blogspot.com/ 
5-16-2015

Don’t Watch It, Stop It – Michael P.

http://stopitdontwatchit.blogspot.com/

Camping Need-To-Knows – Kristen

http://campingneedtoknows.blogspot.com/

Everyone Local in the CLT Metro – Michael L.

http://everythinglocalincltmetro.blogspot.com/

Life With 2 Wheels – Rodney

http://lifewith2wheels.blogspot.com/

All the Music – Madison

http://allthemusicc.blogspot.com/

Life of a Server – Michael B.

Link Won’t Open

Nannying for Kids – Courtney
http://nannyingforkids.blogspot.com/
 

Dress Good Play Good - Carlos

http://dreesgoodplaygood.blogspot.com/

Cake Decorating Make Easy - Kendra
http://cakedecorationmadeeasy.blogspot.com/

Class Blogs - Fall 2014

Make Up for All


Dormateria


Hauterunway


The Hearty Filipino


Curvy Girl 101

Class Blogs - Summer 2014

Check out and enjoy our class blogs from the summer of 2014.


Picturing the Outdoors


Vape Lounge


Beauty All Things Beautiful





Preview of US Opens


Gabrielle's Wraps


Car Repair for College Kids


Kitchen Skin Care


Fishing Fever


The Millennial Musician 


HerbaLife


Business Travel Tips


Half Way to 100


Herbalife

How to be a Successful Blogger

How to Be a Successful Blogger

Cyndi Allison

 

Why Blog?

 

     There are many reasons to start and maintain a blog. You might want to keep a running permanent electronic log of your activities, reach out to others, make a “difference,” or maybe your employer has requested that you blog as part of your work duties.

 

     Your specific approach will vary depending on your purpose for blogging, and “success” will vary depending on what you hope to accomplish with your blog. A small following of family and friends may be rewarding for one blogger while a larger, less-intimate audience may be the goal for another blogger.

 

     Blogging for fame and money presents a real challenge and would generally be a poor reason for putting the time and effort into creating and building a blog. While you may find many books and articles about getting rich and famous blogging, such “bottom line” intentions usually do not lead to success. Very few blogs gain substantial audiences and fewer still are financially viable other than perhaps pocket change. Anyone telling you otherwise is probably simply making money selling you on an unrealistic game plan and providing tips that only result in short term audience and income gains. Many of these “get rich and famous quick” blogs are quickly abandoned and become “lost” in cyberspace.

 

     With that being said, I can tell you that blogging can be very rewarding and certainly worthwhile.

 

     I started my blog, Barbecue Master, in 2006. My goal was to share recipes, tips, and reviews related to grilling and barbecue which is something I really enjoy. My Dad taught me how to grill when I was a pre-teen, and I’ve grilled/smoked for many years. I fielded many questions from family and friends about how to get started, how to grill specific foods, and recommendations for grills and barbecue products. It was easier to put the information in one spot online and send links rather than typing up the answers over and over. So, I began my blog with a very specific purpose and audience in mind. My blog would help others while saving time on my end.

 

     Over the years, my blog has gained recognition and awards. My visitor numbers run over 100,000 per month in season (grilling/smoking is typically a warm weather sport). Even in the off season, it would be rare that I’d drop below 30,000/month. When you put “Barbecue Master” in a search engine, my blog typically is the top result, and several online sites have rated my blog among the top outdoor cooking blogs online. I’ve even made “best of” lists for general cooking blogs (a much broader category with much more competition).

 

     Success, beyond my initial goal of helping family/friends, did not occur overnight. My numbers were very low in the beginning (perhaps 10 visitors per month), and it took four years to make the Google AdSense minimal payout of $100. Even now, I only hit the pay threshold during the prime spring/summer months.

 

     Don’t let the low monetary rewards scare you off if you do hope to make some profit from blogging. I could certainly monetize Barbecue Master with sponsors and advertising. Actually I do one text advertisement with a text link at the bottom of the blog currently to the tune of $40/month. It would certainly be possible to spend more time on blog placement sales if income ranked high on my “reasons to blog” list. It’s not that I dislike money; however, the spirit of my blog was and continues to be to offer honest and sincere help to others. Blasting readers with advertisements would not be in keeping with my original purpose and goals.

 

     In my case, I count my blessings in many other ways with owning a popular blog. And, yes, some of the blessings include monetary compensation. Barbecue Master establishes me as an expert in the field and the barbecue community. Going high profile with the blog has resulted in several good paying magazine assignments and corporate blogging with Kmart, Sears, and McCormick. In addition, I’m offered lots of products in exchange for honest blog reviews, and I’ve been hosted to visit and blog about product lines and barbecue events/competitions. A trip to New York City covered by Weber to see new product offerings will always be one of my favorite memories. They flew me out, covered my room in the Doubletree, and had a chauffeur pick me up and take me to the boathouse in Central Park with a VIP pass to see the new grills and sample gourmet foods made by company chefs.  

 

     My sister has young children, and she has a blog about traveling North Carolina with kids. As a single parent, money is tight. She is not making much profit from her blog, but she has been given passes and backstage access in some cases for various attractions across the state. She and the girls to get to do many things that they likely would not be able to do if not for the blog and free coverage for companies looking for non-traditional ways to get the word out about travel options in the Tarheel state.

 

     Do note that blogging should never be about asking for “free stuff” (and my approach has been to let others contact me if they want coverage).  In fact, there are laws that pertain to abuse of blogging platforms which I’ll cover later. If, however, you have a passion for your blog topic/purpose, work hard, and build an audience, there are extra benefits which may not be initially anticipated.

 

     Every blogging experience is different, and I’m sure other bloggers could list a whole host of benefits to blogging ranging from having an artistic outlet and a way to blow off steam to making new friends with similar interests and networking in a specific field.

 

     If you are starting a blog or have a blog and are looking for ways to be more successful, then I’d suggest that the very first task would be to identify reasons for spending the time and effort to build a space online. If you’re not sure what you’re doing and why, then it’s not likely that blog visitors will understand either. You can’t reach people if you don’t know why you’re reaching out to them. Your blog will just look like more online spam (a splog), and you’ll likely get tired of talking to yourself pretty quickly.