Better Blogging: Affiliate Programs

Today on 31 Days to Building a Better Blog, I read the article for searching for an affiliate program for your blog. I do have an Amazon.com associates account although I rarely use it. Usually I use it when posting recipes and that's about it. But I can use it to post a link to books I love, my favorite cleaner, my son's Science book,  or anything else I feel like linking as well. It really depends on what I am posting.

In theory, if I actually used it often, it could help make money with blogging. But I always feel bad if there isn't a really good reason to put a link in my blog, like uncommon ingredients for recipes. I felt like that would be along the lines of doing this...

I'm BROKE! Send money! PLEASE!!!

But seriously, I never really thought about it as ads. After all, nothing happens until someone buys using the link I made. I'm not sure why I agonize over the links. I have adsense ads on my blog... why am I all modest about the amazon links? I am weird. I have come to that conclusion (and about 99% of people who have met me). Maybe I should try therapy. Wouldn't that be a fun session... "You see, it all started when I signed up for Amazon affiliates...". I'll be in a padded room in no time.

But I am digressing... While I probably won't use them in every single post, I am sure there are times when I could add a link for a few things here and there. I just don't want to over-link the hell out of my post like I did in the first paragraph.

But, hey, check out the links [insert evil grin here]. I worked harder on that than I should have! I tend to have fun with links sometimes LOL.

As for the assignment, I don't know of a lot of affiliate programs but I did look around. I think I have enough ads. I will have to make it work. I don't want my blog weighted down with a jillion ads. So I think I am done with the assignment, except for trying to add a link once in awhile.

I did read up a little more on the topic though. If you really want to read more, here ProBlogger gives 10 Tips for Listing Affiliate Programs on your blog. It was quite useful in that I finally don't fear Amazon's program. I do like that I can place an actual ad in the blog post for something relevant to that topic. Like this...

This is Problogger's book on making money blogging. I figured that was quite appropriate for this post. I can't see wanting to put an ad like this on the blog post very often... but then too, I was just thinking, that might be helpful in recipes. I buy some of my ingredients online from Amazon because I do get better deals. Hmmmm, I will have to seriously ponder that.







Hey, while I have you all here... Here is another link I am going to practice with.



This is my dad's book. He is an awesome writer. I know I am biased. Whatever.

You may now return to your regular blog surfing. I know I am!

Better Blogging: The About Me Page!

Today for 31 Days to Building a Better Blog, I decided to try out the assignment for "Conduct and 'About Page' Audit".  Now, I am not sure what I should put in my about page.  I did go through and check it for grammatical errors and spelling errors.  I really think I need to make it a better page, but I don't know where to start. 

I went browsing other "About Me" pages and some were dry as hell and boring.  Others were mildly interesting but sounded more like "My resume in greater depth".  Then I got a brilliant idea!  Duh, read ProBlogger's "About ProBlogger" page.  I am such a dork.  Why didn't I think of that before reading other ones for an hour?

I like his layout and I like the page.  It's not boring, it doesn't sound like a resume and it's WAY better than mine.  So for the rest of the day, I will be playing with my About Me page and getting it the way I want it.  Wish me luck!  And if you have any suggestions, I am all ears!

Better Blogging: Introduce Yourself to Another Blogger

Today for my 31 Days to Building a Better Blog assignment, I picked introducing myself to another blogger. I have issues with just blindly emailing another random person from the internet that I don't know. I've met some pretty freaky and creepy people in my years and I didn't want a repeat.

I started out by surfing blogs for awhile looking for a new one that I could relate to. I happened to run across several fundamentalist Christian blogs but they just aren't me! I found several food blogs that looked good but with all my allergies, I kept going. I found ones for technology that were interesting but not really something I would follow. I found one that I liked but there was no contact info or about me or profile page.

And then I found one that speaks to my heart... Farty Girl, the Queen of T.M.I. She has IBS, gluten intolerance and lactose intolerance. I spent some time browsing her blog and then HAD to send her an email! Nothing grand, just a note saying how I love her blog. I made contact! I feel a teensy silly for it, but I did!

THEN, I decided to make contact with a friend of mine, Donna C, who also has a blog, and we're going to be blogging a lot together. This should be awesome! Also, I called Nikky about her blog and I am going to help her get it going.

I am so excited now! I did the assignment and have two people to get addicted to blogging with me! I feel like a blog dealer or something... 'mere my friends, I got a little something for you! LOL

Better Blogging: First Time Reader Audit

My project for today in 31 Days to Building a Better Blog was actually completed about a week ago. Running a first time reader audit for me is a bit difficult since so many people I know already read my blog. Then I had a great idea! Sky and Donna S! Sky and Donna S don't have internet at home, don't actively follow my blog and are pretty honest about the layout of websites.

I invited them over for a hang out and asked each of them to sit down and look at my blog. I briefly explained why by telling them I am doing a first time reader audit. I wanted them to look at my blog, browse it, read a little and just stay on it until they were bored. Then tell me what they thought.

Donna S Surfing

Donna S went first since she hasn't seen my blog at all except for the few times they came over and I said "Hey looky what I added to my blog!" and that was about the end of it. I couldn't sit right next to her to stare over her shoulder and see what she was clicking on but I was able to lay down on the couch behind her and sort of watch her from across the room.

Donna S did great as a first time reader. She stayed on the blog a lot longer than I thought she would, I saw her checking out the sidebar and she clicked on the About Me page. I was just starting to nod off when I her her giggle at something. I looked up to see what page she was viewing and it was one about Montana and Tennessee. After awhile she finally finished and we started talking about the blog.

Donna S Review

She said she really likes it, likes the writing style, the backgrounds that she has seen are really cool, the articles are fun to read and the about me page is very interesting to read and the recipe page looks delicious! She liked two articles that stuck with her the most. The article about comparing Montana to Tennessee and the article about A CNA doing nice things. Those things she can relate to since she lives in Montana and was a CNA in the past. She said she didn't read the Android apps post because she doesn't have a cell phone.

I asked if there was anything she would change and she said she couldn't think of anything. It was nicely laid out, easy to use, not confusing.... but maybe do something about the blinking ads. She has seizures and didn't need to go into one. (I NEVER thought about that!) There isn't much I can do about that so I just changed the sizes. I haven't seen any that blink since then. Here's hoping that's fixed!

I asked what she would remember most about the blog if never came back to it. She said the writing, how pretty it is and that blinking ad. Oops on the ad but cool on the other two :)

Sky Surfing 


Next my brother, Sky, sat down with the blog. I knew he would be a good candidate from a first time reader because he is a lot like me. He tends to have A.D.O.S. which stands for Attention Deficit... OH SHINY!  I was curious to see how long he would stay on the page. I gave him the same instructions as Donna and then wandered off.

I was having a seriously hard time focusing that day so I didn't really watch where he clicked. The times I did see him browsing he was doing the same as Donna S. Scrolling a bit and checking out the About me page.

Sky's Review

Sky's review is the blog is clean looking and well organized. It wasn't confusing and cluttered like some of the pages he goes to view. He liked the about me page and my style of writing and just generally the lay out. He also likes the different backgrounds I use. I also likes that I have different topics and that it's not JUST a blog about one specific thing.

He didn't stay on the blog as long as Donna (about half the time) but he said it was engaging enough to keep him there for a little while. What will he remember? The clean, organized feel of the blog.

How about you?

Are you a first time reader? What do you like about the blog? What would you change? Do you have anything you dislike? Let me know! Shoot me an email with your review.

Better Blogging: Run an Advertising Audit and Digging into Statistics

Today I picked two assignments for my 31 Days to Building a Better Blog. The first was running an advertisement audit. Along with decluttering my sidebar, I think I like the layout better.

Ads Audit

I changed one of the ads to smaller, even though Darren made his bigger, just because I thought it looked better when you first open the page. The others I moved a bit to get the labels and subscribe form a little closer to the top of the page. I also added the follow gadget once I figured out what I was doing so I needed the ad to be smaller for that sidebar.

Then my friend, Donna, called and we worked on the sidebar layout together which helped me complete my previous assignment.

Digging into Statistics

Next, I moved onto my blog statistics. First I wanted to see what my popular posts are so I can post something along those lines. My top five post are:

1. FAQ: How did you find out you are gluten intolerant?
2. My Bedroom Floor Collapsed
3. An untitled blog post of a picture I took from the Anza-Borrego Desert.
4. My recipe for Gluten Free Biscuits and Gravy
5. A Better Blogging Post about scheduling my blog posts.

Okay, I can work with this. Scrolling down further I noticed that the most clicked on posts are about Blogging, Gluten Free, Random Pictures and my bedroom floor collapsing. I understand the Blogging and Gluten Free post. 

I didn't realize that random pictures were such a huge hit. But then I thought about it. Sometimes when I am searching the internet on Google, I click on images and browse them. Maybe that is what people are doing to stumble onto my blog?

As for my bedroom floor collapsing, I have no idea. Maybe people are curious? Maybe they are searching because there is a huge rise in collapsing bedroom floors? I have no idea. I google searched for "bedroom floor collapsed" and it was at the top of the search page. #1 in search! Sweet. But searching for "bedroom floor collapse"  and I stopped looking around page 36 of the gooooooooooooogle search. I am going with that people are fascinated with me almost dying.

Also I noticed that my Contact me/ Stalker Guide page has quite a few hits. I think Darren was right about the contact page.

Referring Sites Statistics


Next I looked at the referring sites. Most are google, facebook, twitter and my friends blog. Then there is a random blog about viagra that showed up. I am good with that. I'm not sure how to work with that information other than to work on my SEO in each post and maybe write more about sex (just kidding!).

I looked at the keywords that brought people to my blog and found it interesting.

dotchilatham.com is the most used keyword for finding my site. So is "baker's acres", "baker acres blog", "Dotchi Latham" "bakers acres blog pic 2010" and "bakers acres hindi".

The first thing I thought was, "Someone searched my name?" It's not a common name like Joe Blow, Jane Doe, Sue Smith or anything. It's rather original. I enjoyed my momentary ego-boost and kept scrolling.

The big keywords that stand out are about gluten free bread, android apps and medical issues. I jotted down a few ideas that I got from those, looked for a calendar to print to make a full month posting schedule and then got lost in farmville. Note to self: Work on ADD issues!

My Audience Statistics


I got curious about where people are that view my blog so I checked out the audience stats. That was pretty cool! My audience is broader than I thought. For this week alone I have readers from (in order of greatest views to least amount of views):

• United States
• China
• Canada
• Germany
• France
• Ukraine
• India
• Netherlands
• Australia
• Romania

Looking at all time views adds Latvia and Iran. I thought that was really cool. Thanks everyone! I am not sure how I am going to use this to help my blogging experience but I am going to research Latvia next because I haven't heard of it. 

Now that I have a better idea of how to use popular blogs and keywords for writing ideas and I know people like pictures, I can blog more with a better idea of what draws people to this blog. Hopefully, I will have more readers and more people will start commenting. I LOVE comments!!!

I am off to start outlining my new ideas for blogging and map out a month of blogging ideas.