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8 Brick and Mortar Ideas that Make Great Blogs

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Brick and Mortar As a Model

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Ever think of your blog as a brick and mortar business? Blogs and 3-D stores have more in common than you might think. Fine bloggers have figured that out and use it to their advantage.

Think of your favorite bloggers. Great bloggers run a place where readers come to visit. They come because a blog meets a need to — be informed, be entertained, make friends, find work, learn, or interact with like-minded people.

8 Brick and Mortar Ideas that Make Great Blogs

  1. Have a vision. Know what your blog will do and who will want to be part of it. If you’re not clear why folks come to your blog, why guess when you can ask them? Write a post, a poll, or a few select emails to regular readers. If you know your readers’ needs and desires, you can find ways that you can serve them in a unique and personal way.

  2. Put out the Welcome Mat. Look around your blog. Imagine that you’ve arrived for the first time. Is it welcoming? How’s the curb appeal? Has the paint in your sidebar started chipping? Are your popular posts where folks can explore and share them with their readers?

  3. Open the doors as wide as you can. Talk in a human voice that takes folks as they are. Allow for their choices — screen resolution, browsers, and connection speed. Make their lives easier. Listen to them. Let them know you’re there.

  4. Hold your steady customers dear. Pay attention to readers who love what you do — the kind that you want more of — the intelligent, loyal, enthusiastic influencers. who will tell the world about you. Never forget the folks who gave you what you’ve got.

  5. Be a generous host with everyone. Be happy to see them. Do what you do in service. Take care that no one misbehaves in a way that hurts someone else. Be gracious and help the way you might in your a guest in your home.

  6. Don’t stay in the backroom Answer comments with thoughtful responses that reflect that you know a visitor has invested time to say something. Enjoy their responses to your ideas. Tell stories, but mostly listen to theirs. Be there in case someone takes the conversation astray and folks look to you to deal with it.

  7. Be personally invested, but don’t take things perssonally. Have a strong sense of empathy. Know that quality beats quantity. Keep your head and heart together in every part of your interaction from the blog post to the last comment. Understand that ideas and words are not who are as a person. Separate your self-respect from things that don’t require defending.

  8. Value everyone who visits. Make every visit remarkable by letting the reader feel as if he or she is a unique individual, the only one on the planet. Call people by name. Put a smile in between the words you write.

We don’t need old house bricks. Mortar is unnecessary and bad SEO. What we need is the spirit of a time and space. We can build a blog is as content strong as a brick, with the mortar of a blogger who gives every reader a can’t-wait-to-get-back experience.

Think about that fabulous store you went to once. You know it. It was the one where you felt like you belonged, things were just what you needed, and the people who worked there smiled when they saw you walk in the door.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

The Complete Metaphor Project Listing and Winners

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What Teachers and Learners!

What’s Your Metaphor?

When we know something well we have internalized what it’s about. That makes us flexible with our thoughts and our models. It offers us an ability to be fluent when talking about the subject. Our experience and knowledge allows us to teach others how it works.

When a concept or practice is simple, teaching is often an act of simple demonstration. When the concept or practice multi-layered or complex — when it’s process and information, people and data — sometimes a translation or a comparison that takes a person from the known to the unknown has a better chance. . . . That’s when a great metaphor comes in handy.

Thanks again to Char and Derrick for inspiring this project.

Welcome to the Complete Metaphor Project List!

Thank you all for being a part.

BONUS: 10 Winners

These ten contributors, selected randomly by a man, who paid so little attention that he doesn’t know what this contest is about, will receive an autographed copy of Lorelle’s book “Blogging Tips — What Bloggers Won’t Tell You About Blogging.”

If your blog’s name is listed below, please email me, using the subject line METAPHOR WINNER and include your email address and postal address. We’ll ship the book to you.

Congratulations to the winners!

Everyone won will all 50 metaphors! You drew unforgettable pictures with your words. Thank you, again!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

In Case You Missed It: Writing 06-13-07

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Take a Peek

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Vovo over at Business Traffic Ideas threw this idea to me. He caught it from Patrick Schaber at The Lonely Marketer who spotted the idea originated by Matt McGee over at Small Business SEM.

The thought is that so new subscribers in recent months might like to know about posts from times gone by. So with that in mind here are a few worth a peek — all about writing.

  1. Are You a Writer? 7 Traits that Writers Have in Common

  2. 10 Reasons to Write and Publish Every Day

  3. Love at First Write: 5 +1 Steps to Your Authentic Writing Voice

  4. The Problem with Writing . . . 25 Things to Know BEFORE You Write for a Living

  5. The 9 Rights of Every Writer — Peer Pressure Is for Jr. High School

  6. Content or Copy: Ignore the Difference at Your Own Risk

  7. 10 Reasons Readers Don’t Leave Comments

  8. Writing–Ugh! 10 Reasons to Get Jazzed about Writing

  9. Why Dave Barry and Liz Don’t Get Writer’s Block

  10. Turning Reluctant Readers into Loyal Fans

  11. Bookcraft 2.0: 12 Cold Truths about Publishing and The 2 Proofs Every Publisher Wants

  12. 9 + 1 Things Every Reader Wants from a Writer

This one is on writing. Another will follow soon.

Hope you find it helpful.

Let me know if you think a favorite is missing from the list. Thanks!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

Metaphors Post Four — We’re Good at This!!

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The Metaphor Project: What Fun!!

This list is the fourth set of metaphors you’ve sent. I’ve gathered all I could find in every corner where they might have come together. I’ve visited most and hope to read the rest today. Each one I read makes the experience even better.

To think that Derrick’s Pizza Makers and Char’s Famer’s Market got this whole thing going is quite the statement of how the blogosphere works. A great idea takes hold and gets growing — each one inspiring another.

Check this new batch out and pass them along to your readers. The more ways we look at blogging the better we’ll be able to explain it when we need to.

Oh, I hope I found them all.

Because this project spread so quickly and not all links are making their way to me, if you’ve written a metaphor and you’re not on the list, please email me a link.

This weekend, when I’m sure that I have them all together with none missed, I’ll compile the entire lot into one list. (If you sneak one in late I’ll add you, you know that.) That’s when I’ll announce the winners of the ten copies of Blogging Tips That Bloggers Won’t Tell You About Blogging by Lorelle VanFossen.

Thank you for all of the submissions to The “What’s Your Blogging Metaphor?” Group Writing Project.

In respect and gratitude to all who took part and all who blog, here’s my metaphor:

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

More Metaphors to Explore

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The Metaphor Project: Wow! Even More!

This is the third set and I’m so enjoying reading these metaphors. I always knew that bloggers were teachers at heart. The variety and the depth blows me away with enthusiasm for how well we know the subject.

Thank you for all of the submissions to The “What’s Your Blogging Metaphor?” Group Writing Project. Some of you are new to me and I’m so enjoying this introduction to you and your blogs. Some are familiar faces and it’s so exciting to get to know a new part of who you are.

Check this new batch out and pass them along to your readers. The more ways we look at blogging the better we’ll be able to explain it when we need to.

Let’s find some more.

Because this project spread so quickly and not all links are making their way to me, if you’ve written a metaphor and you’re not on the list, please email me a link. If you’ve already done that before 10pm CDT on June 6, please forgive me and send it again.

Be a Part of the Project

So, what’s your blogging metaphor? Join the project. There’s still time to be a part – I’ve extended the list to 10pm Chicago time (GMT-6hrs.) June 11th the Monday I return from NYC. So you have plenty of time to take part. Here’s the original post for the background — the whats and the hows.

C’mon tell us. How would you explain blogging to someone who knew nothing about it? What’s your blogging metaphor?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

The Second Submissions: What’s Your Blogging Metaphor?

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The Metaphor Project: Wow! More!

The next bunch of submissions are in, and like the first batch, they’re colorful creative and inspiring. They show the individuality of each blog and each blog author, while at the same time they show what we all have in common.

It’s such fun reading all of the submissions to The “What’s Your Blogging Metaphor?” Group Writing Project. Some great blog writers have taken on this challenge. Again, the creativity is reflected in the titles! Check this new batch out and pass them along to your readers. The more ways we look at blogging the better we’ll be able to explain it when we need to.

Let’s find some more.

Because this project spread so quickly and not all links are making their way to me, if you’ve written a metaphor and you’re not on the list, please email me a link. If you’ve already done that before 10:00 on June 4, please forgive me and send it again. (I had dental surgery yesterday . . .)

Be a Part of the Project

So, what’s your blogging metaphor? Join the project. There’s still time to be a part

I’ve extended the list to 10pm Chicago time (GMT-6hrs.) June 11th the Monday I return from NYC. So you have plenty of time to take part.

Here’s the original post for the background — the whats and the hows.

C’mon tell us. How would you explain blogging to someone who knew nothing about it? What’s your blogging metaphor?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.