the mommyhood memos is one!

Yesterday was my one-year blogaversary for the Memos. One year since I hit “publish” on my very first post.

What a year it’s been!

When I started I knew nothing about blogging. I had never even read a blog before. (Actually, I had… I just didn’t know it was a blog at the time. As far as I knew I had only read a few “websites” here and there.)

I just wanted a place where I could write about motherhood to help me process the massive transition taking place in my life (my first son was three months old when I began). And I also wanted to get into the discipline of writing – an art form that I love, which brings me refreshment and joy. And—although there’s more—that’s the gist of why I started the Memos.

I knew I was going to need an outlet for me.

What I didn’t know was that I was about to stumble into a whole new world.

And that’s what I did: stumble.

I stumbled into blogging the same way I stumbled into motherhood: with some haphazardness mixed with my good intentions to be deliberate, some grace and poise mixed in with my blunders and mistakes, and with far more questions and ideas than answers and actual know-how.

I knew nothing of this strange new language including terms such as RSS feeders, SEO, widgets, IRL, badges, comment love, SITS, analytics, memes, and forums. Heck, I didn’t even give my blog name more than a few minutes thought and a quick google search to be sure it wasn't already in use. (Something I’ve regretted at times, but oh well – too late now!)

And now here I am nearly a year later. I’m a whole lot wiser as a mom (though I still have my more-than-occasional blunders) and I’m a little bit wiser as a blogger (though I still have so much to learn).

So yes, here I am: 294 posts, 2815 comments, 900(ish) subscribers and followers, countless hours spent writing and designing and learning… and—most importantly—so many genuine new friendships later.

I’m so thankful for the Memos and the opportunity to do what I love. I’m so humbled that there are people “out there” that enjoy reading some of what I write. I’m incredibly grateful for the friends I now email back and forth with (and some that I skype with!) and hope to meet in person one day.

My head is always, and I mean always, buzzing with ideas to write about and things I want to achieve. The day I get writers block and have exhausted my list of post ideas will feel very foreign to me.

So for now I’m just going to keep writing, keep learning, keep growing, and keep connecting into this wonderful community I’ve grown to love. This is a "hobby" I don't plan on abandoning any time soon.

Oh, and to celebrate my "birthday" I wanted to give you presents! I have two blogaversary giveaways: The first one is a wonderful book called The Pregnancy Companion: A faith-filled guide for the journey into motherhood. Win it for yourself or to give to an expecting friend. And the second giveaway is for two Peekabooby! nursing covers. 

Dear friends, thank you so much for journeying with me through this last year. Some of you I’ve known since the beginning and some I’ve only just met. But it’s thanks to you that I feel encouraged to keep going.

in celebration of a great year,

Bloggers for Birth Kits update (day seven): 

- 677 kits donated
- 39 blog posts spreading the word
- Over 200 links shared on facebook (I lost count after that!)
- Tons of tweets (#B4BirthKits)

I'm blown away by your response. Again, thank you for donating, for promoting, and for helping to save the lives of mums and bubs in Papua New Guinea. If you haven't yet, it’s not too late to get involved. 

Are you an expecting mama? Link up with the Bloggin' Babes and Babies of 2011 here.

adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2011
do not reproduce without written permission

10 easy-peasy design tips for beautifying your blog

How would you like your blog to be submitted to an episode of What Not to Wear?? Read on for some simple tips to ensure your blog stays current and beautiful!

1. Keep your header eye-catching, focused, and reasonably sized. 

Make sure that your design your header in a way that represents what your blog is about, is pleasing to the eye, and is large enough to draw people in, but not so large that it takes up two-thirds of the screen (or the entire screen!) when someone clicks to your sight. At a glance (and without scrolling) they should be able to see your entire header plus the beginning of your first post and anything you deem important from your sidebar. The exception to this might be photography blogs... but in saying that, keep in mind that it's nice for visitors to get a first glimpse of something fresh each time they come. Even if you have a fairly basic layout, a lovely header can go a long way. (If you're stuck visit some of the blogs that you think are most visually appealing and jot down the things that you see and like. Once you do this with several of your favorite blogs, you'll see a pattern emerge as to what you do and don't like. Then, take those ideas and incorporate them into your own. DON'T copy, but DO use the ideas as inspiration!)

2. Create a tag line and use it wisely. 

Once you come up with your tag line (a short description of your site's mission or content or a catch phrase that you'd like to be known by) display it prominently within your header, while still making sure that it doesn't overpower your blog title. This makes it easy for first time readers to know what they can expect to find on your blog. As you're writing it consider the type of audience you're hoping to draw in and the tone you want to set. For example: use humor, a play on words, an instruction, a description, a cliche (but only if it's a clever fit!), or part of a well-known quote. A Sorta Fairytale has a nice, simple tag line: "faith, family, photography" and leaves no doubt in your mind what you'll find on Mandy's blog.

3. Remember that less really is more. 

Although it's tempting to add every cute button and badge and graphic and widget that you come across, the more you load on your blog, the more distracting it becomes. (Not to mention the harder it can be for it to load in your readers' browsers.) Determine what it important to you and cull the rest. (I find I have to do this constantly - every few months or so - or else my side bars grow and grow and soon become extremely cluttered.)

4. Black on white, not white on black. 

Like it or not, light font colors on dark backgrounds are hard to read. You might adore your deep purple background with yellow font, but most of your readers won't. Unless you want to deter people from staying long, stick with the basics - black font on a white or light background - and then use your favorite colors for accents elsewhere. Go ahead and use patterns or photos in your background if you want to, just make sure that you use a solid color behind your posts and important sidebar content. Amy Sullivan's blog is a very cool example of how to use a photograph that blends into a solid background for her site content. This kind of design may be a little advanced for most of us DIYers, but it's a beautiful example nonetheless.

5. Use standard fonts and sizes. 

Your header is where to "wow" people with your awesome artistic skills... so don't try to do your "wow-ing" by getting all fancy with the font in your posts. Choose a basic font that all browsers (and eyes!) will be able to read for your main text (such as Arial, Veranda, Helvetica, Times, Tehoma, Trebuchet, etc.) and then a complimenting one for your post titles. (You can get a little bit more creative with the post titles, but don't go overboard. Make sure it's still very readable.) Try to never use more than two or three different fonts on your blog. More than three varying fonts will start to make things distracting and harder to read. Use one for your posts, one for your post titles, and one for your (sub)headers. If you choose to use the same font for both post and post title (for example) than make sure that the sizes vary and change the post title to another color so that it will stand out. (Also, stay consistent from post to post. Don't constantly change things up with regards to font choices unless you're going for an extremely disheveled look!)

6. Use color. 

In order to mix things up and keep the eyes moving around your page, try choosing 1-3 accent colors that work well together and use them for post titles, sub-header titles, and dividing lines. Make sure they are complimenting one another but not overpowering your page. For example, choose one main accent color and then a secondary accent color (and possibly a third) that is used more sparingly. (Obviously these need to tie in with your blog header as well.) If you're not going for a ultra simple look and would prefer to use lots of color, you can pull it off without looking like Rainbow Brite has decorated your place. A fantastic example of using lots of color well is Kludgy Mom. She has five colors in her header, and yet only three main ones pulled out for accent - blue for the background, orange for the post titles and sub-headers, and green splashed in here and there to tie it all together.

7. Sit still and keep quiet. 

When someone visits your blog only to find glittery dancing graphics and/or automatically playing music, they will often find it annoying and/or distracting from the reason they are there - to read your stories or tips and check out your photos. If you want to put music on your blog, then do it... just let your readers decide if they want to hit "play" or not - don't put it on auto-play. This is very 5+ years ago and became outdated when Myspace gave way to Facebook. (You can disagree with me if you want, but I'm sticking to my guns on this one!) There is nothing worse than rocking out to your favorite itunes playlist as you blog-hop only to be bombarded with someone else's music on top of your own! (And remember, not all of your readers will be sitting in their jammies on the couch. You may have product reps, publishers, PR professionals, etc. checking out your blog.)

8. Use photos and place them well. 

A really good piece of writing with a really good photo becomes a really, really good post! Use the photo to draw people into your writing, or use photos to break up your writing if it's getting long or in order keep your post readable. I love it when blogs use their own photos - it provides another to glimpse into people's lives and I really enjoy that added dimension, even when they are not "professional" quality. Don't worry if you feel like your photos aren't as good as you'd like; the most important thing is that the photo adds to the post visually and thematically. If you're still getting the hang of using your camera or if you feel that personal photos reveal too much information about you or your family, then try using stock photos (just make sure that you're considering copyright issues when selecting them).  If you don't have a photo, use some sort of an image with color in it like a logo or even just your own blog button. Anything is better than nothing. (Well, almost anything!) For an example of stock photos used gloriously, check out Confessions of a Dr. Mom:

9. Personalize with a photo of yourself. 

People love to have a face with the name, so if you're comfortable with sharing your identity, then include a photo of yourself somewhere near the top of your side bar. Include with it a short bio or make it a link to another page or post with more about you. If you write anonymously, then consider using a cartoon avatar or something similar to represent you, or get creative and use a photo that shows a part of you without revealing your entire face/identity.

10. Put some effort into your footer. 

You'd be surprised how many people actually look at the top of your blog, skim around some content, and then scroll down to the footer. Don't overload it but do consider including your copyright information, related websites/blogs/links, a place to contact you or offer suggestions, or anything else you find appropriate (disclaimers, etc.). Melissa's new site Momcomm has a great example of a really stunning footer that includes a lot without going overboard. In fact, her's is similar to mine, but much, much better!

Dear friends, I wanted to cap this post at 10 suggestions... but surely you have more to input! What are things that you think help to beautify a blog and/or what are things that you think make a blog a candidate for What Not to Wear? Did you learn anything new in my easy-peasy tips? Any beautiful-looking blogs you can point us to for inspiration??

still learning ways to keep making my blog more beautiful,

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Are you pregnant? Link up with the Bloggin' Babes and Babies of 2011.

Share your creativity and Easter inspiration by submitting your Easter card to our Easter card linky (closing April 21).

Bloggy bits is a series of very simple tips geared toward newbie bloggers to help you get started. Although I am by no means a techie or a design expert, I often find myself getting emails from beginner bloggers asking for help and advice, and I'm happy to help where I can. (My own blog is still very much a work in progress and I always have long lists of things that I'm hoping to do to improve it.) I thought this series would be a good way to spread the bloggy love and pass on what I know. I hope you will find these simple tips useful in making your blog design just a little more fabulous. 

Future posts in this series:

10 Things your blog can't live without

How to get more interaction from the bloggers you love

Deleting the "Blogger" header for a cleaner look

Finding your writing voice

Branding your blog: What they heck does that mean anyway?

How to get more comments

10 Ways to write your heart out

How to make your post more reader-friendly

Why guest posting is important

*This series will continue throughout the year and will be intermixed among my regular parenting-focused posts. If you have a suggestion for a Bloggy Bits post that you'd like to see included in this series, I'd love to hear it! Please leave it in the comments and I'll see what I can do. If it's not something I feel I can post on with authority, I will consider inviting a guest blogger to share on the subject.

adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2011
do not reproduce without written permission

want to get more comments on your blog?

There are a number of things you can do to encourage more comments on your posts, but today I want to focus on the simplest way. The good news? It's completely within your control.

Wait for it.

Wait for it.

It really is earth-shattering...

Ok, here it is:

Turn off you comment word verification.

"What?" you ask, "how could this make a difference with the amount of comments I receive?"

Most people who visit our sites don't have all the time in the world. (I know, duh.) If you're lucky enough to have reeled in some readers, they are probably there for a quick read of your post (maybe they've popped over from their google reader) and now they want to quickly leave a comment and buzz off to the next blog or task.

I often wonder how many times I've left comments that never got published on posts because after commenting I've clicked off to my next destination without first refreshing the page to make sure it posted... only to then see the word verification pop up. {Arg!}

When you sign up to Blogger and go through the steps to set up your blog the back end suggests that turning on the word verification helps protect you from spammers, so most newbies follow those prompts. (I did when I first started - who wants to be taken over by scary spammers?!?!!) But I quickly learned how annoyed other bloggers felt about word verification and experimented with turning mine off.

I can now tell you that I've only ever received two outright spam comments in the nine months that I've been blogging. (Not including the highly irritating "Hi, follow me!" comments that people sometimes leave.) And even if it were a few more than that, it doesn't take much effort to delete any comments that I don't want. I think readers deserve the ease of commenting over my small inconvenience of having to delete a few spam comments a year.

So here's the bottom line: 
If you want to encourage more comments on your posts your first and most simple starting point is to turn off your word verification. (This is even more important if yours comes up in a pop-up window instead of imbedded into your post.)

You'll be glad that you did. More importantly, your readers will be glad that you did.

Dear friends, this is the first post of my new series called Bloggy Bits {simple tips for beginners} that I've been wanting and meaning to start for months now. My aim is to help people kick-off their small blogs well. I'm no expert, but I have learned a few things along the way that I'd have loved to have known when I was a newbie. I've got several topics lined up, but please let me know if there's something you'd like to see included in Bloggy Bits and I'll see what I can do. And now... tell me your thoughts about word verification. Does it affect your commenting on others' blogs? Do you think it might affect the commenting on your own blog?

just sharing what i've learned,

adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2011
do not reproduce without written permission

who are you?!

Hey you! Do I know you? Have I visited your blog lately??

Recently I've been getting a few emails from people that have started something like this... "I've been reading your blog for a while now but have never commented or written, and I just wanted to let you know....... fill-in-the-blank-here......"

It's been really fun! But it's also made me realize that I probably don't have a clue about who is really reading this thing.

So, if that's you... if you're reading but have never introduced yourself... Come out, come out, wherever you are! I'd love to meet you. Please leave a comment to introduce yourself!

Also, if I've never visited your blog (or haven't in a long time) then please help me out and leave me a link to one of your recent or favorite posts. I'm sometimes organized when it comes to blogging... and sometimes not so much. So do me a favor and help me find your blog! I'd love to visit.

Oh, and one more thing, make sure your blogger account has an email registered as your "reply to" address so that I can email you back! (I've tried responding to so many people lately and have gotten a return message saying you've not left an email address. Makes you incredibly hard to reach ladies!!!)

Dear friends, I hope you had a nice weekend. Thanks for your patience with me as I try to check out your blogs!!

glad to meet you,

adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2011
 do not reproduce without written permission

shout outs: the best bloggin buds of 2010

I've now been blogging for seven months and have learned so much from when I first began. One of the things I've realized is that the blogging world ebbs and flows... 

Sometimes ideas come fast and furious, other times the ideas are there but the time is not.

Sometimes you get lots of comments on a simple post that took you just minutes to put together, and other times you get very few comments on a post that you worked hard on and poured your heart into.

Sometimes you think you have a new dedicated follower, only to have them drop off the face of the earth a month later.

Sometimes you're able to spend lots of time networking and commenting, and other times you're lucky to sneak in just a quick glance over your RSS reader.

Sometimes you help a newbie get started, and then never hear from them again.

Sometimes you get a comment from one of your blog heros and it fuels you for your next week's worth of posts.

Sometimes you get lots and lots of hits in a week, and other times not so many.

Depending on your reasons for blogging, these types of things may or may not effect you. But I'd go so far as to say nearly all of us blogging ladies enjoy the genuine connections we form with other bloggers along the way.

In the last half-year I've "met" hundreds of women through the Memos. Some have become "followers" but beyond subscribing have not engaged much… some have become part of my blogging community (my tribe?) and regularly comment and interact… and some have become friends that I now relate with even beyond the blogging world.

I wanted to share with you some of my blogging buddies from 2010. I've chosen each of these women for different reasons: Some of them I can count on to comment on nearly every post I write. Some of them have kids the same age as Levi and we're enjoying learning and growing together. Some of them have given me encouragement when I most needed it. Some of them inspire me with their photos or their writing or just their take on life. 

And all of them make me smile.

Although there are too many to list (and no doubt I'll think of more I should have included after I hit "publish") here are some of my best blogging buds from 2010. Check these ladies (and their fabulous blogs) out!

Laura of Home is Where the Heart Is

Cameron of Ingenue Mom

Ana of Life's a Beach

Mandy of A Sorta Fairytale

Greta of Transparencies of Motherhood

Roz of A Little R & R

Becca of Bare Feet on the Dashboard

Melissa of Confessions of a Dr. Mom

Livy of Making Over Mum

Carol of Knee Deep in Mommahood

Morgan of The Little Hen House

Trish of The Planet Pink

Rachel of Get Real Mama

Amy of Amy Sullivan

Anna of Our Journey to Financial Freedom

Jhen of From Here to Eternity

Casey of One Day at a Time

Micheline of Flyrish, Foibles, and Other Alliterations

Kerry of Nesting with Niall

Rachel of Rachel's Wokabout

Mama Hen of Mama's Little Chick

Thank you ladies for being a part of the Memos and a part of our lives! And thank you for the great content, photography, and heart you contribute to the blogosphere. You inspire me!

Dear friends, do you worry about blog stats, numbers, and comments? Instead why don't you take some time this new year to think about some of your blogging buddies and let them know that you appreciate them! :)

bloggin into 2011,

adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2010 
do not reproduce without written permission

amazed

It’s been an amazing year. I started blogging on Mothers Day and am so glad that I did.

photo by tiffany lausen
(c) red owl photography

Beginning my “mama blog” has helped me to find my voice as a writer again. It’s helped me to process the changes that come with starting a family. It’s helped me to share and teach... as well as learn and grow. It’s helped me to record, remember, and reflect on the magic of motherhood and the miracle of life.

It’s helped me to connect… with so many women on so many levels. Some are mothers. Some are grandmothers. Some are wanna-be (future) mothers. Some are “just” supporters of mothers.

Many of these women are now my friends.

Thank you for sharing part of this journey with me these last seven months of blogging. I’ve deeply enjoyed finding friendships in unexpected places.

In celebration of the beginning of the Memos, here are some of my best from 2010 (in no particular order):

::   dear natural birth club | My most clicked post… a little snarky, a little fun, and hopefully a little spurring to make women think.

::   birth is holy, treat is as such | a letter to my pregnant self | This is one I’d love to share with all my pregnant friends. It's very personal and yet also largely universal.

::   introducing a little girl in a land far, far away {a photo story} | Just a little bit about me.

::   100 things {pregnancy, birth, and being a first-time mom} } Perhaps one of my favorites to write – another one I’d love to share with pregnant women or first-time-moms.

::   oh fair Nap Time, where art thou? | My love-hate relationship with nap time… no doubt most mamas can relate with this one. I think this one (and Dear Natural Birth Club) have been my most shared posts on facebook.

::   i gots me some mama badges | A fun take on some little motherhood accomplishments.

::   so this is what it feels like to have someone call you “mama”? | Documenting one of my best (most memorable, most tender, most sweet…) motherhood moments so far.

::   the line  | A poem about dealing with my unexpected c-section.

::   "you're a great mum." (please tell me again.) | Personal reflections about the need for encouragement and support in motherhood.

::   living in the midst of holy teachers | Beginning to learn the reality (not just in theory) of how children are our most profound teachers.

::   who’s growth spurt is it anyway? | Dealing with the growing pains of motherhood. 


::   wonder | Stopping. Breathing. Remembering to wonder.

Dear friends, thank you so much for encouraging me, supporting me, befriending me, following me, and cheering for me on the journey of motherhood through the Mommyhood Memos so far. I’m so grateful. As I’ve made the leap into motherhood, it’s been a delight to also stumble into this blogging world that I didn’t before know existed…. What a year.

amazed,

adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2010 
do not reproduce without written permission

zachary is a smelly pants

I have a riveting post for you today.

A few days ago I was checking out my blog stats and the demographics of my readers... and I came across the list of search item entries that have caused people to end up on the Memos.

Here are some of the more notable things people have googled that have landed them on the Memos:

• bunny bear
• losing your marbles while pregnant {I should have written that post... sounds profound.}
• memos to hire babysitter
• bear and wookie
• cuddle, sleepy, child, love
• dear levi lesson plans
• pictures of sweet guys sleeping {This one's almost creepy.}
• wookie-pookie
• wookie wiggle {Ummmm....}
• son named bunny bear {Really?}

And my personal favorite:

• zachary is a smelly pants

I swear I didn't make these up. I copied them exactly how they were entered.

I just hope these people have found what they are looking for here... especially Zachary's friend (or maybe his little sister?).

That's all.

grinning,


P.S. I think this is the culprit of a lot of those strange entries. But still, why would you be searching for those words anyway??? Feel free to enlighten me.

adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2010 
do not reproduce without written permission

do you have a bump or baby blog?

Are you on BlogFrog? I've recently joined BF and am amazed at the level of support and community I've found as I've become active there. (The two communities I frequent the most at the moment are the Ingenue Mom Community and the SITS Community.)

I'd highly recommend for anyone to join up and find a community or two that you really love. It's a great way to learn and to contribute to others who are learning too. And--from what I can tell so far--it's also a good way to increase traffic to your blog, which of course is a nice bonus! {grin}

As much fun as I'm having with BF already, I've decided I want more baby... Oh Baby!

In light of that I've formed a new community on BF called Oh Baby! to connect mamas who have baby and bump blogs... 'cause at this stage in life, I'm all about the wee little bubbies.

If you are a preggo mama or a mama with littlies (or you just really like babies and toddlers) then please come and join up! I'd love to get some good discussions going about practical every-day topics like feeding, cloth diapering, navigating growth spurts, and more.

So mommy-friends, come join in! Find some new bump and baby blogs to follow and add to the conversation!

Q & A's for the rookie mom blogger (the much-anticipated follow-up post!)

A week or two ago I wrote a post soliciting advice for newbie bloggers. It was fun to generate some discussion and I enjoyed—and learned from—your responses. A post like that deserves a follow-up so that I can share what I learned and pass along the tips. It’s taken me a while to compile and edit it all without making this a monster-length post. (And no doubt there will be more coming in future posts!) But here are some of your responses and tips so far for the newbie:

How do you read, and keep organized, the blogs you that you subscribe to? Judging by most of the responses I received, the winner—hands down—is Google Reader. For some detailed “how-to” posts on this check out Cameron from Ingenue Mom’s How to Efficiently Read Blogs and How to Create/Add to Folders in Google Reader. I’ve since started to use Google Reader myself and—wow—it’s so much better than just reading them from my Blogger dashboard.

How many (on average) do you read and visit daily? This varied wildly from person to person... so I couldn’t really pick up an average. Some of you read a couple, and some spend hours every day. *phew* I guess I’m not the only one who has to “budget” my time and think carefully about how I will prioritize...

When you read a post, do you always comment? And do you “expect” them to comment back? Responses to this question were all very similar. flyrish from Flyrish Foibles and Other Alliterations said, “I read more than I comment and I never expect a response to my comments, although that is a sweet surprise.” Most people said that they only comment when they have something to “add” to the discussion. (In other words, they may read, enjoy the post, and still not comment.) Another common theme was that people “comment back” when someone makes a thoughtful, sincere post, but not necessarily when they make a “hi, stopping by” comment.

When someone comments on your blog, do you always then visit theirs? No big surprises here... most of you said that you try to, especially if it’s the first time they’ve stopped by. A few others said you always return comments no matter what. (Good for you!)

Can someone please tell me what the deal is with these Follow Me Fridays please and is it worth it? Seems like a lot of people do this, and from what I can tell, the ones that do it consistently have LOTS of readers... so it must work! *grin* I’ve yet to try this out for myself, mostly because the blogging time I do have is limited and it’s not made my “priority” list... yet.

What sites do you feel are most helpful to register your blog with? Cameron from Ingenue Mom said this: “Mom Bloggers Club, Bloggy Moms, Lady Bloggers Society, BlogFrog, The Secret is in the Sauce, Theta Mom Community - these are the ones that I regularly get new followers from. People will mention them when they visit my blog.” I have yet to visit most of these that Cameron’s recommended registering with… but it’s definitely something I’d like to do soon.

Do you prefer to read blogs where the subject matter is streamlined... or do you like a variety? Teresa from Gossip at the Fence answered: “Both… if I expect a blog to have content based mostly on one subject it throws me when they change it up… but if I like a blog based mostly on the writing style of the blogger, I don’t mind the change in subjects because it’s not the subject that hooked me as much as it was the writing style.”

What are the top reasons you will read (and go back to) a particular blog? Some of the common themes I saw coming through in response to this question were things like good spelling and grammar, interesting subject matter, being personal, “clicking” with the writer because of stage of life (or some other “connector”), enjoyable writing style, and simple, easy to read design. Here are a few other specific responses:

• This Mom from This Mom Loves: “Personally I like blogs with lots of content (and not just the cute things the kids say).”
• Rachel from Get Real Mama: “I personally want them to be clever, witty thoughtful and funny. I want them to be well-written.”
• HMCinCali: “I enjoy short clever postings (about 500-800 words) and many pictures/videos.” [Adriel’s note: that blows it for this post! Way. Too. Long. *grin*]

What turns you off from going back to someone's blog? This is perhaps the question that everyone finds easiest to answer! Common themes included poor design, confusing layout, too many “spammy” PR posts (give-aways and reviews), bad spelling and grammar, poor writing in general, and using lots of different colors and fonts and “busy” things (like glitter and music). Another big turn-off is posts that read more like someone’s journal such as: what Aunt Martha said at dinner last night that hurt my feelings, what little Jonny ate for his morning snack, or how long I stood in line at Target this morning. Basically, posts that have no relevance or connecting point to the reader. (I couldn’t agree more!) A few more specific examples of reader turn-offs:

• Musings of a Work At Home Missionary Mom: “I hate it when people write in "text" (r instead of are, u instead of you, 4 instead of four). Its hard for me to read and I tend to label them unintelligent.”
• Rachel from Get Real Mama: “I really cannot stand it when blogs are littered with LOL! and Ha Ha!.”
• Mommycrat: “Ones with too much going on re: different colours/texts etc... Finally, I don't like the ones that automatically start playing music at me when I arrive. I find it distracting.”

Do you think good blogs post everyday? Or does posting every day annoy you? Consensus seems to be that posting everyday is good... as long as it’s posting with purpose! If not, just post when you have something substantial to share.

What's the best way you've found to boost your readership? And how do you really feel about self-promotion? Again Cameron from Ingenue Mom has a helpful response to this one: “The blog networks, the blog hops & comments! Definitely. I do feel like sometimes self-promotion is just sucky, but at the same time, I feel like it's necessary. You have to put yourself out there & kinda market your blog if you want more readers. It's just the way the game works. The comments are huge, but you have to leave thoughtful, sincere comments. Nobody cares if you just go to their blog & say nothing but "Great post, check out my blog." And ladies, she knows what she’s talking about! I started following her when she only had a handful of followers. (I think it was less than 20… Is that right Cameron??) And then in just a few weeks she has far surpassed me and now has over 220 followers! This woman knows what she’s talking about! Now obviously only a percentage of your followers will become your readers… but the more followers, the more potential readers.

What's one thing you've learned that you wish you knew when you started? Or what is your best advice for a rookie blogger? Teresa from Gossip at the Fence said, “I’ve learned that it is okay to self promote... and most importantly to be yourself.” That’s got to be the best tip – be yourself! Other tips offered included things like choosing Wordpress instead of Blogger, writing a bunch of posts at once and then scheduling them throughout the week, taking time to comment on other’s blogs, and careful editing before hitting that “publish” button!

There were some great responses to my questions. Thank you ladies for your fabulous suggestions and contributions! Since you offered such great feedback, I wanted to make this post a complication of some of the common themes. But in saying that I’ve also learned a bunch of other stuff that I would add to this (including some of my own personal regrets and ideas) but I’m going to have to do another post (or posts) so that this one doesn’t get more out of hand than it already is. *grin*

Now certainly I’m no expert blogger (and still just a few months into the blogosphere) but I do feel like I’ve learned a lot already, and am having more discoveries all the time. And although my intention for the mommyhood memos is to write specifically about motherhood and connect with other moms, I feel like blogging fits into that since there are soooo many mommy bloggeres out there. In light of that, here are the posts I’m thinking about writing:

·         Simple HTML for newbies

·         Easy design tips

·         What I wish I’d known before I started blogging

·         An intro to branding and finding your “voice”

Dear mommy friends, do these subjects interest you? And, if so, please let me know and I’ll try to make it happen over the next several weeks. What other bloggy things do you wish you could learn more about? OR, have you written a “helps” post for bloggers that you’d like to share with us? If so leave it in a comment and we’ll check it out!

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