Click here if you can’t see my video.

The instructions for this award are as follows:

1) Thank the person who sent the award. [Thanks so much Louise that was a fantastic prize to receive before my mini-break.
a) Copy the award to my blog [Above]
b) Link to their blog [Above]

2) List seven things people don’t know about me:

a). I love boysenberry jam on sharp cheddar cheese. Something my mother had for breakfast in Denmark and now my American son likes too.

b). I get mad when I cannot lift heavy weights at the gym. I refuse to accept age as an excuse.

c). I cover my eyes whenever there is blood and violence in a movie.

d). When I was nine-years-old, my parents sent me to California alone from Paris. The plane refueled in Greenland and after take-off, one engine caught fire. We had to do an emergency landing. I remember the woolen airline blanket rubbing my skin raw as I tried covering my eyes.

e). Faces stay with me forever, but I often forget names.

f). After 24 years in the U.S., I still haven’t bothered to learn the rules of baseball or American football. I guess I’m not interested.

g). I wish I could sing. I admire those who have a voice and can entertain others. You will NEVER hear me sing Karaoke.

3) Nominate seven bloggers for the award

a) Link to those blogs

b) Leave a comment to let them know of their award.

A. BLOGitse
B. Coffee Rings Everywhere
C. GulfGal
D. Living Consciously
E. Thoughts from Botswana
F. Patricia Stoltey
G. Pop and Ice

I did not come up with this title, nor these strategies so before I start, let me tell you that I found this awesome book called, Blogging for Fame and Fortune, by Jason R. Rich. I have condensed some of his strategies to help both you and me.

1). Fine-tune and Flesh Out Your Blog Topic or Theme.
Come up with a general topic or theme for your blog, then make a list of at least 10-15 potential blog entry topics into full-length post. Always make sure the topics are relevant to your target audience.
This applies to some of you organized bloggers like LadyFi and my friend Shirley at 100 memoirs, but sadly, not to me.

2). Brainstorm New and Original Content.
Become an expert on whatever you decide to blog about, and read other blogs, newspapers, trade journals, magazines that cover the same topic. Figure out what others are doing and make it better, more efficient or more entertaining. Exchange links with other online based sources in order to further build your audience and boost your own credibility.

3). Keep Your Blog Current
Keep up to date with latest news and data. List your sources and explain how and when the information was compiled. Presenting outdated information can quickly damage your credibility as a blogger. If your audience expects a daily, weekly or bi-weekly blog, stay on schedule, so your audience knows what ans when they can expect it. (I haven’t kept mine up, please don’t tell.)

4). Get Your Audience Emotionally Invested in Your Blog.
Be passionate about whatever you’re blogging about. Publish content that your readers strongly agree or disagree with. Encourage your audience to share their thoughts and opinions. Create a small online social networking environment with your blog.

5). Find Your Voice and Use it Properly.
People appreciate what’s familiar. Avoid flip-flopping on opinions. Your voice should allow you to showcase your personality, create a reputation for yourself that sets you apart from other bloggers.

USEFUL TIPS:

There are NO RULES for achieving success in blogging. You just need to be creative, unique, persistent and understanding of your audience, and how you want to be perceived. YOUR BLOG SHOULD BE AN EXTENSION OF YOUR PERSONALITY.

PLEASE SHARE IN ONE WORD OR ONE SENTENCE WHAT IS UNIQUELY YOU, AND HOW YOU WANT US TO PERCEIVE YOUR BLOG. IF YOU WANT FEEDBACK, PLEASE SAY SO. THANKS AND LET’S HAVE FUN.

If you prefer not to, that’s fine too.

My comment is easy GUTSY WOMAN is how I’d like to be perceived. What is your blog voice? Please let us know in the comments section.

I attend two different writers’ meetings a month.
One meets on the second Saturday of the month, the other on the third.

Yesterday was the California Writers Club–Orange County Branch, and I was asked to talk briefly about blogging to an audience of approximately 30 aspiring authors, and published authors.

Before the event, I proudly told Austin, my 18-year-old and Jordan, my 15-year-old, that I had been asked to participate in a tech panel on blogging.

“Mom on a tech panel,” they said snickering. “You’re joking, right?”
Aren’t teenagers the sweetest?

So much for my teenagers’ confidence on my computer skills.

I had prepared a five minute presentation, a basic introduction to test whether the audience wanted to learn more about social networking and blogging, at a future date. To my surprise, very few in the audience knew about blogs. I had to remember how overwhelmed I felt myself, just over a year ago, when I first started blogging. I came away feeling like quite the expert, and told my kids, “I know a heck of a lot more than you think.”

Here are some tips on why it’s important to have a blog if you own a business, are a consultant, an author or simply want to share your thoughts through writing on the Internet.

So what about you? Did you teach yourself how to blog? Did you figure all the gadgets yourself, linking, uploading photos, facebooking and twittering etc. on your own?