A Cross Blog Conversation with Kelly McCausey …

Tip: I have added a lot of links off of the page today and I know that can confuse and frustrate some readers so I thought I’d offer a quick tip. If you’d like to continue reading this post but would like to see what I’m referring to in the links you can hold the “ctrl” button and then click on the link. This will open the page in a new window (so you can view it and still be here on the post page).

I’m so excited!!!!!! Things are really heating up in the Hot Summer Seminar Series that one of my favorite WAHMs, Kelly McCausey, has put on for us (for those who aren’t familiar WAHM = work at home mom). The series is made up of weekly WordPress training seminars and so far the information has been outstanding!

I am one of the speakers and I’ll will be presenting my seminar on gaining RSS subscribers on Wednesday, July 21, 2010 so I hope you’ll join us.

Now, Kelly does a “cross blog conversation” with the presenters for the seminar and I’m “up” this week. You can read her post here: Suzanne Franco, I Want to Know …

The questions she has asked me regarding the Blogging Idol contest are:

• Were you nervous about putting yourself out there?
• Did you see the competition as a way to really push yourself?
• Were you concerned about perhaps not performing well?

Were you nervous about putting yourself out there?

Kelly, I first heard about Blogging Idol during Season 1 and I was totally intrigued by the whole concept. It was too late for me to enter but I knew if there was another season upcoming I wanted to be a part of it. When I heard there’d be a second season I couldn’t wait to apply.

As for being nervous I guess I didn’t really even think about that. Ignorance is bliss right? LOL. The part that made me “nervous” or uncomfortable was asking others for help. I think a lot of us struggle with this issue don’t you? I especially see this in women … we are typically the care givers and are used to taking care of those around us but we really struggle when I comes time to ask for a favor in return. I sometimes felt bad asking for help and somewhat nervous about what others would think about me asking. *sigh* Silly huh? I am also a total technophobe so anything that had a technical aspect made me very nervous and upset (adding the RSS optin, adding plugins, adding banners, etc.). I almost didn’t even apply because Daniel required us to add the Feedburner account and chicklet to our blog.

Did you see the competition as a way to really push yourself?

I did indeed see the competition as a way to push myself; in fact, I think that was truly my real motivation for entering the competition. It wasn’t really for the money or the prizes at stake but I really wanted to participate in some good old fashion competition! I did push myself really hard during that month. I worked around the clock usually getting 4 hours of sleep a night. I enlisted the help of my family – Ken did most of the cooking, he and the kids really helped out with the cleaning, and I spent most every waking moment online. Between the writing/blogging and the promoting it was full time work for sure.

The contest was open to blogs with 0 – 2,000 subscribers. I started with 50 subscribers and actually those were people who I mentioned the contest to and they came over and subscribed prior to the contest. LOL. In fact, I didn’t really even understand what an RSS feed was when I applied so I had my work cut out for me. Obviously, it is much easier for someone with 1,000 or 2,000 subscribers to increase their subscriber base because they already have traffic, momentum, readers to ask for help, etc. so I really didn’t know if I stood a chance at winning but I knew I’d give it my all. For those not familiar we were awarded points for (a) gain in RSS subscribers, (b) reader votes, and (c) judge votes. I didn’t think I stood a chance at the point for RSS subscriber gain so I knew I’d really have to “shine” and impress people by using unique strategies … and getting creative paid off in the voting.

Were you concerned about perhaps not performing well?

Truthfully, I wasn’t really concerned about not performing well, but there were a few times that I felt like giving up (from sheer exhaustion). But once I got my kids involved there was no way I would have quit! I really used this contest as a way to show my kids that if you want something badly enough you will get it. You have to be willing to work hard without giving up and you have to want it more than anything else (or in the case of a competition … you have to want it more than anyone else).

I would encourage anyone reading to truly “go for it” when they have a goal in mind. Like they say, “If you shoot for the moon and fall short … you’ll still land in the stars.”

My Question for Kelly …

So Kelly … you’ve shared that you have 60 subscribers to your blog and I’d love to help you increase that!

What have you done to gain RSS subscribers and what is the next step planned to grow your readership?

I see you on Twitter a fair amount and you have a good number of followers. One thing I know has increased my subscribers was adding a Twitter landing page on my blog: http://www.suzannefranco.com/twitter On this page I encourage visitors to subscribe to my RSS feed (and to follow me at my other social media pages online). I then added that page as the link in my Twitter profile (as opposed to my main/index page). What do you think of that idea?

Well … a “Thank You” to Kelly and a big “Thanks” to all of you for reading guys … leave your comments … and any questions you have below. If you haven’t done so go over to Kelly’s site and read her post and why don’t you go ahead and subscribe to her RSS while you’re there? LOL *SmiLes* Suzanne

Kelly’s Post to me: Suzanne Franco, I Want to Know …

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Tagged as: Blogging, cross blog conversation, hot seminar series, kelly mccausey, rss subscribers, suzanne franco, wordpress