If you write primarily on faith, you might notice you aren’t getting as many comments as you would like. I can’t speak for all faith blogs, but I can speak for Intentional By Grace and say, yep…I get it! You write your heart out, you become vulnerable and share what the Lord has laid on your heart, and think surely this time your readers will comment. Then nothing happens. You’re sitting there with zero comments and you just laid it all out on the line. Doesn’t anyone care?

Since starting Intentional By Grace in 2011, I’ve discovered a few things about blog commenting that I hope will encourage you.

3 Tips for Faith Bloggers Regarding Blog Comments

1. Open your hands. We talk in our book Intentional Blogger about holding our plans with palms wide open. We give the example of holding sand in your hands to illustrate this point. If you squeeze the sand, the sand falls right through your hands. If you hold the sand with your palms wide open, the sand sits perfectly in the palm of your hand.

Our expectations for our blogs must be laid at the foot of the Cross, even the comments. <–Tweet That!

Our one and only job is to glorify the Lord and stay faithful to His mission for our blogs. Nothing else. How people respond (or don’t) is entirely up to Him. We must trust Him.

2. Consider other ways in which your readers are responding. Blog comments are not the only way a reader will respond.

We recently talked about 12 Tips to Increase Blog Comments, and one of the tips was to consider the different ways you are calling your readers to action. If you’ve made commenting the priority, it can be discouraging when they don’t flood in, but perhaps your readers would rather share your post via social media. We have a counter on our social media plugin to tell us how many times a post gets shared and where. Take our how to create a mission statement for your life post for example. It got 4 comments (2 of which were mine) and one pingback (from my own link back). But take a look at the shares:

It was shared more than 135 times! And that’s if they used the ShareThis plugin and didn’t do it on their own! So no comments, but lots of shares. I’ll take it!

Another way readers can respond is through subscribing to your blog, which is also an awesome win for you.

Finally, I have received several emails to let me know that certain posts or series are being used in small group or Sunday School discussions, and even used for accountability groups. No comments, but I’d say taking the material with them (and sharing with their friends) is still a win!

3. Consider the topic you’re trying to discuss. We live in a VERY private culture (for the most part…I’ll keep my comments to myself). But let me rephrase. When it comes to our faith, we live in a very private culture. There. That’s better. So when you write an incredibly thought-provoking post, you may not hear from your readers for a few reasons.

One you’re asking them to get vulnerable publicly. It’s hard enough to confess our failures or admit our struggles with close friends let alone with people we don’t really know.

Another reason you may not hear from them is because they need time to process what they just read. And when you think about it, who comes back to comment on a post hours later? Yea, none.

And finally maybe you covered it all in your post? Really what’s there left to talk about? Here is something we can work on as faith bloggers! There I gave you an action point – don’t be a know it all. Leave something to be said and let your readers say it. <–Tweet That!

It all comes down to changing the lens through which you view success. Maybe it’s not in the comment for your blog. Of course, follow the tips and consider the ways you may be crippling your blog comments, but in the end it comes down to being faithful and trusting the Lord. 

Now it’s your turn! Are you a faith blogger? Do you struggle to get comments on your blog? Share in the comments any tips you have!

A Free Cookbook for You!

Click here to download your free copy of Spring into Smoothies All Summer Long!

The post 3 Tips for Faith Bloggers Regarding Blog Comments appeared first on Christian Mommy Blogger.

We have gotten some really awesome submissions for both sites! We are so thrilled to know you all want to contribute your hard work to our sites. We pray all of you will get wonderful exposure and touch the lives on the other side of those computer screens! Since we have until May 31, we thought we would make one more announcement in case any of you missed the opportunity to post. Here are the details:

Would you like to guest post for CMB?

Please note, all guest post submissions must be received by May 31! This gives us plenty of time (hopefully) to edit and schedule before baby boy arrives! If you think your writing would be a better fit for Intentional By Grace (our sister site) you can view our guest post guidelines and where to submit here.

What We are Looking For:

• Technical posts (make sure you really know what you are talking about!) that would fit for Tech Tuesday.
• “My Story” style posts. How you went from hobby blogger to professional blogger, how you grew community, how you got to where you are. HOW is the key word. Teach us!
• Tips and shortcuts – as busy mamas, we ALWAYS need these!
• Intentional Blogger: Your story (how you went from a passive to #intentionalblogger!)
• “How CMB has helped me too…” If you can complete THAT statement in an applicable post that would ROCK!
• Other topics that fit with our mission.

What We Need From You:

• The content that you post on our blog needs to be original and not posted anywhere else…ever! You are asked to post a “teaser” on your site to point your readers to your post here (and it helps you remember that you have valuable info out there somewhere)! Remember, this is not word-for-word the first paragraph of your post. Make this different but intriguing!
• We recommend sending a query before writing your entire post so we can be sure we are on the same page!
• Try to write your posts so they are long enough to engage, but short enough to not lose someone’s attention. 500-700 words per post is a good number. If it is much longer, consider breaking it up for a series.
• Please include a pinnable picture. This is crucial! Please use your own photos/graphics and watermark them with ChristianMommyBlogger.com. If you don’t have your own photos and need to use a stock photo, please be sure to send the required information for the photo. If you don’t know what we mean, please ask!  Please size your pictures to no wider than 500px. (Note: We have the right to change out images/graphics to better fit our style and needs.)
• Send your entire post to us in html format. Simply draft your post in your blog. Include your pictures, bios, links, head shot, etc. within your drafted post. Then, copy from your html tab and paste in the body of your email to nikki (at) butterflyministriesllc (dot) org. Please, no WORD OR PAGES ATTACHMENTS.
• We encourage you to use short paragraphs to make it easy to read and skim (not all blog readers actually read every word).
• Make your keywords pop! Bold what you think matters the most. (We will edit the format to match our blog. Quotes will be in boxes, any scripture references will be italicized. Don’t worry about this detail, we will take care of it)…We just want to make sure you bold any points you really want to stand out!
• Please include a picture and a brief bio (a few sentences) including links to your blog/twitter/fb so our readers can find you (if applicable).
• Promote via social media as you see fit so we can expand our reach. We will do the same for you.

What We Will Do:

• Edit for grammatical errors and format to fit the style of Christian Mommy Blogger.
• Schedule your post.
• Email you with a post date and link, so you can share an excerpt on your blog the day your post goes live.
• Promote via social media forums, including our weekly newsletter. We want  you to get some exposure!

We are in no way trying to stifle your writing. We just think these guidelines will help streamline the process for both of us before you work hard and then we find we both need to change some things.

Thanks again for sharing your wonderful writing with CMB!

Fellowship Fridays linkup time!

Welcome to Week 37 of Fellowship Friday!

Here is a reminder about the hashtags:

In an effort to create community and help you be a MORE INTENTIONAL BLOGGER (that is really our goal, right??) we want to remind you of a few items that can be furthering your reach and taking your efforts one step further: hashtags!

Let us help you get the word out there. Let other CMB followers help you spread the word. Let’s get this community to the next level, along with our blogs! Use the hashtags #fellowshipfridays and#intentionalblogger whenever you are braggin’ on yourself or encouraging others on Twitter. Need an example?

“I just scored my first sponsorship! #intentionalblogger”

“I just created my mission statement! #intentionalblogger”

Or perhaps you have questions: “What’s a good plugin to welcome people to my site? #intentionalblogger”

You get the idea? This can really help you be more intentional and take your blog to the next level. You in? You can also use shortcuts we give you to make your life easier. We try to do this as often as possible. See a “tweet this” link? Click it! Here is an example:

I am striving to be a more #intentionalblogger with @christmomblog. You in?–>> TWEET THIS!!

I am expanding the reach of my blog with #fellowshipfridays. Check it out! #intentionalblogger –>>TWEET THIS!!

You don’t have to use the hashtags just when we encourage you. Use them ANYTIME you want to show you are being more intentional and taking your blog to the next level!

The FF Scoop:

Is this your first time linking up with us? Check out some special requests, the nitty gritty, and our button. You can also catch up with past editions.

We aren’t ones for a lot of rules around here. That just gives more room for frustration when people break them. We do have one request: no food posts. That is right. No recipes or anything focusing on food. We have decided there are more than enough link-ups with a focus on food. Let’s save this space for anything and everything else.

Use this linkup as a chance to promote your blog and allow more people to read your story. While we totally get it, and we couldn’t agree more (we love linking up too!), we do ask that you don’t just drop and go! Take a moment, look around, be still, and fellowship! We have found so many great blogs (and the women behind them) when we have taken a moment to fellowship with others.

So join us every week for a Fellowship Fridays link-up right here at Christian Mommy Blogger! Without further ado, link up below! Please be kind and link back to our site, Christian Mommy Blogger, or simply grab one of our buttons from the sidebar and share at the bottom of your post (use the code and it will automatically embed a link so people can find us).

Now link up!

Shared with Missional Women

A Free Cookbook for You!

Click here to download your free copy of Spring into Smoothies All Summer Long!

The post Fellowship Fridays and Guest Posting! appeared first on Christian Mommy Blogger.

During our monthly twitter chat last week, we learned that twitter hashtags are a bit elusive to many of you. Therefore, we wanted to take some time today for Tech Tuesday to clear up twitter hashtags so you can optimize your social media efforts through twitter!

The How & Why Behind Twitter Hashtags

What are Twitter Hashtags?

By definition:

The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users as a way to categorize messages. {Source}

When you view your twitter feed, you might see all sorts of hashtags used. Generally a hashtag is used around certain keywords or themes. Here at Christian Mommy Blogger, we encourage you to use the hashtags #intentionalblogger and #fellowshipfridays. This helps us engage with you around a central theme pertaining to our site (our eBook and our linkup).

With any twitter hashtag, you are able to search for keywords (without spaces) to find topics that interest you and see what others are saying.

Why should I use Twitter Hashtags?

There are several reasons why using twitter hashtags for your tweets is a good idea. Here are a handful:

1. Expose your tweets to more than just your followers. You want to gain new followers on twitter don’t you? Well, a great way to do this and potentially expose your tweet to millions of people is by using twitter hashtags. Using a twitter hashtag means your tweet is exposed to more than those who are following you.

2. Start a trend. When we launched our eBook, we came up with the hashtag #intentionalblogger to help get the word out. Using twitter hashtags not only helps us build community, but it is a branding tool we use to help expand our reach beyond just those we follow. In essence, we hoped it would trend on twitter and people would grow curious about what #intentionalblogger is all about; thus helping us sell more books and spread the gospel!

3. Facilitate conversation. One of the main reasons we love twitter hashtags is the ability to have conversations as a group.

@HeartsOnGuard was able to ask a question today and a couple of us answered from our own experience. By following the #intentionalblogger hashtag, you can ask questions and get answers from those who may not be following you! It’s an easy to way to have conversations.

4. Join a Twitter chat. We host a monthly twitter chat using the hashtag #intentionalblogger. Again, it’s one big conversation that can happen at an agreed upon time.

Do you see a theme among these reasons to use twitter hashtags? One word – community. Building community is so important for your blog and it’s not limited to blog comments!

How do I use Twitter Hashtags?

Using twitter hashtags is easy. Twitter hashtags don’t require extra software or even expertise per se. Simply think of keywords pertaining to your tweet, put the # symbol in front and send! It doesn’t matter where you place the hashtag. It can be used at the front, in the middle, or at the end of your tweet.

That’s it!  It really is that simple. It’s an unspoken agreement among twitter users that hashtags are used to organize content. So use them when appropriate!

Appropriate? Well, there are, of course, a few etiquette rules which would be wise to heed.

1. Don’t overuse twitter hashtags. There is such a thing as too many hashtags in a tweet. How many is too many is subjective, so we suggest using common sense and observing what others do.

2. Don’t steal twitter hashtags. If you’re looking for a hashtag to use for your blog for branding purposes, do a quick search to be sure no one else is using it.

3. Don’t abuse a twitter hashtag. If you use a twitter hashtag to get the word out about a blog post, be sure to engage on the feed as well (replying to and retweeting others is a great way to engage). Hashtags are meant to organize and facilitate community, not just promote your content and twitter profile. So be kind and be thoughtful!

Twitter hashtags are great for blog community! So get to using them!

Now it’s your turn: What did I leave out about twitter hashtags? Are there any other questions you have?

A Free Cookbook for You!

Click here to download your free copy of Spring into Smoothies All Summer Long!

The post Tech Tuesday: The How & Why Behind Twitter Hashtags appeared first on Christian Mommy Blogger.

Before we dive into our tips to increase blog comments, I want start with this thought:

Are you shepherding the flock you have, or are you leaving them alone to look for more sheep? <–Tweet This!!

Why do you want to increase your blog comments? Will you do a quick heart check for me? Let’s make sure we’re seeking to increase blog comments for the right reasons, okay?

If you’re still with me, let’s dive into tips to increase blog comments.

12 Tips to Increase Blog Comments

1. Ask your readers to comment. This seems obvious doesn’t it? Shouldn’t readers know to comment? Well, yes and no. At the end of each post, ask leading questions to get the discussion started.

2. Create a clear call to action. Isn’t asking them a question the call to action? Yes, it is. But what about those social media “sharing is caring” plugins you have at the bottom, or the subscribe box where you’re asking them to sign up for your newsletter, or the ad you placed to make a little money, or the other posts they might find interesting – what about all those OTHER calls to action? Didn’t think about that, did you? We didn’t either for the longest time. So before you grow discouraged that no one wants to comment, make sure you’re not giving them too many things to do, if commenting is your priority.

3. Direct your readers to your comment box. At one point, we used a nifty graphic to direct our readers to our comment box and to draw attention to the fact that we wanted their opinion. To be honest, I don’t know why we took it down. Perhaps we don’t need it anymore? Who knows, but we’ve utilized this tactic in the past. Consider creating a pretty graphic like the one below to draw your reader’s eye down your page to respond.

You can also use H2 or H3 headings to draw attention to your leading questions.

Now it’s your turn:

What do you think? What are other creative ways to draw your readers attention to your comment box?

Using different heading sizes could help draw attention to your main call to action. Helping them delineate between what is more important to you among the other calls to action (see tip #2).

4. Respond to comments. This is especially important when you’re just starting out, but it remains important for those seeking to be an intentional blogger. Responding to comments builds loyalty with your readers. If they know they’re going to hear back from you, they are more likely to comment on another post down the road. Not to mention, talking to your readers builds relationships, and it is in relationships where you gain a long term reader. A long term, loyal reader tells her friends about you and that’s really good!

In and of itself (building long term relationships) is a win, but if you’re monetizing it’s an even nicer win-win situation. Loyal readers trust you and they trust your opinion. I’d even say they come to you before purchasing that popular devotional or kitchen appliance. They want to know what their friends have to say before they part ways with their money. In return, they buy through your link.

Do you see the long term vision for responding to comments? It’s not just a nice thing to do. It’s an important thing to do for your blog by building your brand and customer base (and someone who will listen to you when you say Jesus rocks!).

I’m going to be really blunt because I love you. If comments are important to you, really important, important enough to harp on not getting any comments, then you will respond to the ones you get. You won’t make excuses for not having time or forgetting. We make time for what is important to us. If you don’t have time, turn off the comments. The end. Rant over. I hope you still love me. Remember I said it because I love you.

5. Set the tone for comments. Encourage your commenters! Discuss what they said even if they didn’t say a whole lot. Draw them out in conversation. Chat with them like you would a dear friend over coffee. Get real. Get vulnerable. Love on your commenters. Be humble. These are all ways to set the tone in the comments and encourage more discussion.

6. Consider an incentive program for commenters. We’ve never taken this route, but we’ve seen bigger bloggers like Michael Hyatt do it. He highlights top commenters each month. Kind of cool and something to consider.

7. Ask your mastermind group to help get things going. You do have a mastermind group, right? If not, start one and get moving, girl! Side note: You do know that’s how Nikki and I met, right? We joined the same mastermind group. Fun fact for the day. Moving on…

When we first joined up with our mastermind group, we all committed to commenting on each others posts. Sometimes commenters just need a little push to know they aren’t “first in line.” For your shy readers, this is a good way to get discussion started in a little less intimidating way. At the beginning, I got 6 comments a day, which came to 12 when I responded. But now, we have readers who aren’t afraid to be first in line, and we’ve been able to divert our energies elsewhere. So don’t be afraid to ask your friends to comment on your posts!

9. Comment on other people’s blogs. This is the whole “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” No explanation needed. Go find blogs in your niche and start commenting.

10. Use email to encourage new commenters. When someone comments for the first time, email them and thank them. When you notice someone faithfully commenting, email them and personally say thank you. Tell them how much their comments mean to you! This goes back to tip #3 and takes it a step further.

11. Make sure your blog is easy to comment on. Nikki covered this in her post, Is Your Site Optimized for Blog Comments? Remember to make it as easy as possible for your readers to comment. We don’t want them jumping through hoops to comment.

12. Think outside the box. Don’t limit your efforts to just this list. Think about your site, your readers. What can you do to increase comments? Be creative and come up with something all your own!

Now it’s your turn! What tips would you add to the list?

Happily Shared with Missional Women (Faith Filled Fridays)

A Free Cookbook for You!

Click here to download your free copy of Spring into Smoothies All Summer Long!

The post 12 Tips to Increase Blog Comments appeared first on Christian Mommy Blogger.

Would you like to guest post for CMB?

Please note, all guest post submissions must be received by May 31! This gives us plenty of time (hopefully) to edit and schedule before baby boy arrives! If you think your writing would be a better fit for Intentional By Grace (our sister site) you can view our guest post guidelines and where to submit here.

What We are Looking For:

• Technical posts (make sure you really know what you are talking about!) that would fit for Tech Tuesday.
• “My Story” style posts. How you went from hobby blogger to professional blogger, how you grew community, how you got to where you are. HOW is the key word. Teach us!
• Tips and shortcuts – as busy mamas, we ALWAYS need these!
• Intentional Blogger: Your story (how you went from a passive to #intentionalblogger!)
• “How CMB has helped me too…” If you can complete THAT statement in an applicable post that would ROCK!
• Other topics that fit with our mission.

What We Need From You:

• The content that you post on our blog needs to be original and not posted anywhere else…ever! You are asked to post a “teaser” on your site to point your readers to your post here (and it helps you remember that you have valuable info out there somewhere)! Remember, this is not word-for-word the first paragraph of your post. Make this different but intriguing!
• We recommend sending a query before writing your entire post so we can be sure we are on the same page!
• Try to write your posts so they are long enough to engage, but short enough to not lose someone’s attention. 500-700 words per post is a good number. If it is much longer, consider breaking it up for a series.
• Please include a pinnable picture. This is crucial! Please use your own photos/graphics and watermark them with ChristianMommyBlogger.com. If you don’t have your own photos and need to use a stock photo, please be sure to send the required information for the photo. If you don’t know what we mean, please ask!  Please size your pictures to no wider than 500px. (Note: We have the right to change out images/graphics to better fit our style and needs.)
• Send your entire post to us in html format. Simply draft your post in your blog. Include your pictures, bios, links, head shot, etc. within your drafted post. Then, copy from your html tab and paste in the body of your email to nikki (at) butterflyministriesllc (dot) org. Please, no WORD OR PAGES ATTACHMENTS.
• We encourage you to use short paragraphs to make it easy to read and skim (not all blog readers actually read every word).
• Make your keywords pop! Bold what you think matters the most. (We will edit the format to match our blog. Quotes will be in boxes, any scripture references will be italicized. Don’t worry about this detail, we will take care of it)…We just want to make sure you bold any points you really want to stand out!
• Please include a picture and a brief bio (a few sentences) including links to your blog/twitter/fb so our readers can find you (if applicable).
• Promote via social media as you see fit so we can expand our reach. We will do the same for you.

What We Will Do:

• Edit for grammatical errors and format to fit the style of Christian Mommy Blogger.
• Schedule your post.
• Email you with a post date and link, so you can share an excerpt on your blog the day your post goes live.
• Promote via social media forums, including our weekly newsletter. We want  you to get some exposure!

We are in no way trying to stifle your writing. We just think these guidelines will help streamline the process for both of us before you work hard and then we find we both need to change some things.

Thanks again for sharing your wonderful writing with CMB!

Fellowship Fridays linkup time!

Welcome to Week 36 of Fellowship Friday!

Here is a reminder about the hashtags:

In an effort to create community and help you be a MORE INTENTIONAL BLOGGER (that is really our goal, right??) we want to remind you of a few items that can be furthering your reach and taking your efforts one step further: hashtags!

Let us help you get the word out there. Let other CMB followers help you spread the word. Let’s get this community to the next level, along with our blogs! Use the hashtags #fellowshipfridays and#intentionalblogger whenever you are braggin’ on yourself or encouraging others on Twitter. Need an example?

“I just scored my first sponsorship! #intentionalblogger”

“I just created my mission statement! #intentionalblogger”

Or perhaps you have questions: “What’s a good plugin to welcome people to my site? #intentionalblogger”

You get the idea? This can really help you be more intentional and take your blog to the next level. You in? You can also use shortcuts we give you to make your life easier. We try to do this as often as possible. See a “tweet this” link? Click it! Here is an example:

I am striving to be a more #intentionalblogger with @christmomblog. You in?–>> TWEET THIS!!

I am expanding the reach of my blog with #fellowshipfridays. Check it out! #intentionalblogger –>>TWEET THIS!!

You don’t have to use the hashtags just when we encourage you. Use them ANYTIME you want to show you are being more intentional and taking your blog to the next level!

The FF Scoop:

Is this your first time linking up with us? Check out some special requests, the nitty gritty, and our button. You can also catch up with past editions.

We aren’t ones for a lot of rules around here. That just gives more room for frustration when people break them. We do have one request: no food posts. That is right. No recipes or anything focusing on food. We have decided there are more than enough link-ups with a focus on food. Let’s save this space for anything and everything else.

Use this linkup as a chance to promote your blog and allow more people to read your story. While we totally get it, and we couldn’t agree more (we love linking up too!), we do ask that you don’t just drop and go! Take a moment, look around, be still, and fellowship! We have found so many great blogs (and the women behind them) when we have taken a moment to fellowship with others.

So join us every week for a Fellowship Fridays link-up right here at Christian Mommy Blogger! Without further ado, link up below! Please be kind and link back to our site, Christian Mommy Blogger, or simply grab one of our buttons from the sidebar and share at the bottom of your post (use the code and it will automatically embed a link so people can find us).

Now link up!

A Free Cookbook for You!

Click here to download your free copy of Spring into Smoothies All Summer Long!

The post Would You Like to Guest Post for CMB? And Fellowship Fridays! appeared first on Christian Mommy Blogger.

You can see all past Twitter Chat recaps here. Twitter chats with #intentionalblogger take place the first Tuesday of every month at 9pm EST.

What a fun time we had chatting with those of you who attended our Intentional Blogger Twitter Chat on Tuesday! There was lots of tweeting about twitter and bacon. Yes, you read that right – bacon. We talked a lot about bacon at our twitter chat. If you missed the chat, you’re lost, but if you were there, you’re laughing.

Now let’s get on with our recap!

Topic: How to Use Twitter to Build Community

We used the hashtag #intentionalblogger to chat.

Question 1: What do you use twitter for – connecting with readers, bloggers, or both?

This one was all over the board! It seems that most of those who attended are just sharing blog posts, but don’t know what else to do with twitter. While there are others, who are using twitter for connecting and networking. We liked what @Artistic31Mama said:

Our take: We’re using twitter to share content, connect with readers and network with other bloggers. We encourage those who are still overwhelmed with twitter to just keep hanging out over there – watch what others are doing, reply to questions tweeters put out, and just start connecting in ways other than sharing your own content. You might be surprised how quickly you pick it up.

Question 2: Do you use a third party app to manage your twitter?

This was another question with several different answers, but Hootsuite seemed to be the most commonly used third party app.

Our take: We use Hootsuite both on the computer and our phones. It’s hands down our favorite, personally. You can see our post on how to use Hootsuite here.

Question 3: What about twitter confuses you the most?

There were  a few common questions:

• How do I organize those I follow?
• What are lists and how do I use them (or find them)?
• How do I use twitter without having to be on it all day?

There were also some beginner questions on basic terms and concepts.

Our take: We’ll address all of these questions in upcoming posts.

Question 4: How many times a day do you tweet?

The average number of tweets a day from those in attendance was three! But all would do more if they remembered.

Our take: We think this is a good start, and if it’s working for you, keep going with it. Find what works for you and enjoy tweeting!

Question 5: Do you schedule your tweets?

Wow, surprisingly, the majority does not schedule tweets for the day. We were shocked! One tweeter thinks they are impersonal, which we can see that, but we have an answer for saving time while still being personal (post coming later). Others just never thought to  schedule their tweets.

Our take: We schedule all of our social media first thing in the morning using the Hootsuite auto schedule feature. Then, we check in with our phones throughout the day (at set times) to reply, retweet, and catch up on what’s being said.

Question 6: What hasthags do you use most often?

This was interesting because many know what a hashtag is, but aren’t’ exactly sure how to use them. We’ll talk about how to use hashtags in our Tech Tuesday post next week. We liked @MamaKautz’ question:

Our take: Following hashtags can help you find other like-minded twitter users you can follow and network with! It’s worth figuring out. So stay tuned for Tech Tuesday. And by the way, this is when bacon entered the conversation … pretty heavily.

Question 7: Do you know which social media outlet currently drives the most traffic to your blog?

Most in attendance said Facebook was their biggest source of traffic for social media.

Our take: Once you figure out twitter, and how to utilize it for growth, you’ll see it take over Facebook. At least that’s been our experience.

Question 8: Do you use “tweet this” within your posts to encourage your readers to tweet your content?

Most do not use this feature, but use it on other people’s blogs (like ours).

Our take: Get to using it! Worst case scenario, they don’t use it. Best case, they use it and get relevant content out about your brand! You can see our post on how to increase your traffic with “tweet this”.

Question 9: Do you tweet pics? If so, what do you use to tweet your pic?

Hands down people predominately just tweet the pics they are using for Instagram (IG).

Our take: Us too. We use Instagram almost exclusively for tweeting pics. We think they are a good way to show a more personal, real life version of you to your followers on twitter. You can follow Leigh Ann on IG (n10tionalgrace) and Nikki on IG (nikkihughes4). We are regular Instagrammers (yes it’s a word!).

Question 10: What is one goal you can set to begin using twitter more intentionally?

Loved reading these answers of bloggers wanting to be more intentional. Here are a handful to give you an idea:

• Actually remember to schedule my tweets! And find a way to interact a bit more each day just for a few min. – @newlifesteward
  
• I set a goal to post more encouraging phrases rather than just sharing posts/giveaways. – @HeartsOnGuard
• Scheduling some tweets. -@jens_busy
• Start using [Tweet This]. – @mpeduzzi
• Schedule more so I have more time for other things. like parties! -@JenALambert
• Remembering to tweet more than just blog posts. Others posts or articles I find interesting, or encouraging words. – @HollySBarrett

Our take: Everyone had such amazing goals. Just take each day one at a time and seek to do just one thing better than you did yesterday on twitter.

That wraps up this month’s twitter chat all about how to use twitter to grow your community! We will start rolling out posts to help clear up some questions in the coming weeks regarding twitter.

Tell us: What questions do you have about twitter that we should be sure to cover?

A Free Cookbook for You!

Click here to download your free copy of Spring into Smoothies All Summer Long!

The post Intentional Blogger Twitter Chat Recap {5/7/2013} appeared first on Christian Mommy Blogger.

Reminder: Today is the first Tuesday of the month which means it is our TWITTER PARTY! This month we are going to chat all about Twitter. Do you need to learn a thing or two about it? Join us at 9pm by following #intentionalblogger. Hosted by @christmomblog (follow to catch all of the tweets!). More details here. 

Yesterday we discussed community. How to build community on your blog can be a challenge. Here at Christian Mommy Blogger we believe blog comments play a very significant role. Blog comments can hinder your community or grow your community, all depending on how you have your blog optimized (and how you prompt your readers).

Since this is Tech Tuesday, we won’t be addressing the latter, but we will be covering whether your site is optimized for blog comments.

Is your site optimized for blog comments? Are you responding to comments on your blog? Do your readers know you are responding?. We pray the answers are yes, yes, and yes! If not, let’s change that, ok?

Is your site optimized for blog comments?

I briefly mentioned this yesterday. Log out of your dashboard (so you are not an administrator of your blog), go to a post and try to comment. Is your blog asking you to login? If your blog is asking you to login, that is a problem. This means there is a hoop for your readers to jump through that they will likely NOT jump through (I know I won’t!).

Ideally, your blog will ask 3 questions to a commenter (this is consistent across the board and most people are expecting this and are okay with it):

• What is your name?
• What is your email address?
• What is your blog URL (optional, but provides a link back to your blog – it makes your name clickable)?

With WordPress blogs (.com and .org) there is a setting where people have to login to their wordpress.com account or create one to comment. If you are a WordPress blogger, I recommend the following settings:

This simple change will make it more “user friendly” for your readers. By making it as easy as possible for them to involve themselves in your community, you are more likely to do just that, build community!

Another option is using a commenting system, such as Disqus. There are mixed reviews on this, so I can’t say this is your best, “go to” option. However, enough sites are using it that there is a chance most readers already have an idea how to use Disqus and therefore, won’t notice on your site one way or another. Disqus claims to be usable anywhere, on any platform, so if you are struggling with your commenting system, depending on your platform, this may be a solution for you. It’s free and relatively easy to use. With Disqus, the commenter can see that you have responded to your comments because it is tracked through their Disqus dashboard. However, they may not every check their dashboard.

An incentive for people to comment on your blog is CommentLuv. We use this on all of our blogs. It is a free plugin that allows the commenter to share a link to their most recent blog post. They get to advertise their blog on your blog, they love this! This may encourage them to comment even if they didn’t feel they had time. It is a link back to their site and spreads the word about their blog. This plugin works hand-in-hand with your default commenting system, in my opinion, sticking with your default commenting system is your best bet.

Are you responding to comments on your blog?

Make sure you know people are commenting on your blogs! You will get notifications in your dashboard, but are you checking your dashboard frequently enough to know you have a new comment or need to approve comments?

Turn on your email notifications! Especially if you manually approve your comments. This allows you to see and respond to comments as soon as possible. We are by no means saying you need to be obsessed with your comments, but you need to know they are there so you can decide when you need to sit down and go through your comments. See in the above picture, it says “E-mail me whenever”? Check as many of those boxes as you are comfortable with. If you find your email is overwhelmed with comment notifications, YOU HAVE COMMUNITY!

Now you know you have comments, so reply. To all of them. Yes, all of them.

Wait….

Do your readers know you are responding?

Before you “waste” your precious time, do your readers KNOW you are responding? If you are using a commenting system such as Disqus (mentioned above) or IntenseDebate (similar to Disqus) they can opt in and can see comment replies in their dashboard. But if you are using your default commenting system, do they know? No! (And remember, I recommend sticking with your default commenting system, so we need to get this sorted out!)

Solution 1: This is hands down my top recommended solution: Comment Reply Notification. This is only for WordPress.org users. But if this is you, this plugin rocks. There is no opt in, not markings you are doing it, it is silent, awesome and totally easy to install. You just install the plugin and you are good to go. Easy peasy. You can modify settings to adjust who gets notified (all commenters, or commenter chooses) and you can customize the email that is sent to notify. Better yet? The plugin is free.

Solution 2: Utilize your JetPack. If you are a WordPress blogger (.com or .org) you may utilize JetPack. If you do, you can maximize your settings to notify your readers of your comment replies. Here is an article about How to Customize Commenting in JetPack for more information.

There are actually a lot of plugins you can use, but I don’t see an overwhelmingly good response to any one commenting system or plugin. I can personally vouch for Comment Reply Notification as we use it on all of our blogs. Depending on your platform, do some googling. Phrases such as “comment reply notification for Blogger” can turn up the answers you are looking for if it wasn’t provided here.

Whatever you do, make sure your comment replying isn’t in vain. Make sure your readers are notified!

Your homework assignment:

Make sure your comments are open. Make sure your readers do not have to login to comment. When we visit blogs for Fellowship Fridays, would you believe almost 50% of the blogs we visit make us login? We end up not commenting because we can’t keep up with the different logins. I can tell you that some of you are missing out on the community because of that. It makes us so sad!

Are you ready to grow community on your blog? –> TWEET THIS

This crucial first step will get you moving in the right direction! All this time you thought you weren’t getting comments, when in reality, there is a chance people CAN’T comment!

So tell me once you complete your “homework” for today: is your blog set up for easy commenting??

A Free Cookbook for You!

Click here to download your free copy of Spring into Smoothies All Summer Long!

The post Is Your Site Optimized for Blog Comments? appeared first on Christian Mommy Blogger.

We had our really awesome Twitter party just over a week ago. Leigh Ann recapped our conversations and we are now digging deeper into some of the topics to see if we can uncover some helpful tips for blogging.

It’s all about taking your blog to the next level…being an intentional blogger. A big part of that is: community. Many of you are wondering how to build community on your blog. While there is no magic formula (we don’t believe in magic anyway!) there are a few tips we can give you and then we can open it up so you all can give tips to each other too!

How to Build Community on Your Blog {The 4 C’s}

Characterize

The first step in building community is defining what community is. Community can refer to a social unit of any size that shares common values. This is a loose definition, as you could have successful blogging platforms with lots of comments – even when it is clear you don’t share common values. That may make you happy if all you are seeking is comments. But, if you are seeking true community, you will desire to appeal to those who share your values. They encourage you, inspire you, motivate you and give you good writing mojo (like you do for us!).

Cripple

The second step in building community is defining what is hindering your current community (or lack there of). What is setting you back?

“It is hard to create community when no one leaves comments” is what one tweeter said, yet others said “I don’t have time to respond to comments” and another said “I forget to respond to comments.”

{To these statements we say: Yes, you’re right, it is hard when crickets are chirping. We have to work around that and encourage some comments anyway. Make time to respond. If that means you cut back posting to 3 days per week instead of 5 so you can cater to your current community, do it. Don’t grow bigger if you can’t handle what you have. Don’t forget. Make it a habit to respond to comments before writing new posts, and don’t read comments until you can respond.}

Take a look at your personal community. Can you identify any items that are keeping your community from growing? Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

• Do you have a “call to action?” Meaning, do you ask your readers a question or inspire them to do something as a result of reading your posts?
• Is your post authentic? Meaning, are you writing about something because it is a “hot topic” or are you writing because it is heavy on your heart and you genuinely feel led to present this to your readers?
• Are you addressing all of your current comments? Even “little” comments that don’t seem like they start community are important. That person took a moment of their time to comment, now take a moment of yours and thank them…or ask them a question!
• Is your blog easy to comment on? Log out of your dashboard, go to a post and try to comment. Can you do it within 30 seconds? How many hoops are you jumping through to comment? This is one of the biggest items to consider when looking at what can cripple your blog.

You may find that what is really crippling the community on your blog is you. Perhaps you are viewing your audience as less than what you expected so you aren’t cherishing each and every individual that God has brought to you. Be thankful!

You may find that they email you rather than comment. They are still striving for community with you! So in return, ask them if you can share parts of the email with your readers. Turn it into a post and implement a call to action that encourages more community!

You may find that you are getting comments but you aren’t responding. Or you do and they aren’t getting to the original commenter. Make sure you are using a good commenting system that allows your comment replies to make it back to the commenter. Otherwise, there is no point in commenting! Make sure you also know of comments on your blog, approve them quickly if you have them set to pending, and always respond back. Always. (No, we are not perfect at this. But we try!).

Carry out

The third step in building community is defining the necessary steps to grow your community. Once you have figured out what cripples your community, make a list. Identify 3-5 items you can work on everyday to carry out this new community. Write them down or type them up and print them out (using a pretty font of course!). Stick them where you can see it and make sure you are working on these items each day (each day you are blogging, if you aren’t blogging, try not to stew on it!).

Complete

The fourth step in building community is following through. It does no good to identify your weaknesses, and make goals to improve if you don’t follow through. Perhaps write on your calendar to go back each month and review your commenting/community stats.

• Have your comments increased? 
• Do you have a lot of unanswered emails? 
• Do you have any unanswered comments? 
• Can you spread yourself out more on social media to draw new readers in? 
• Does each post have a call to action? 
• Are you engaging readers better now than 30 days ago?

Conclusion (the bonus “C”)

By even thinking about these 4 “c’s” you will find you are a more intentional blogger. You will find you will engage more readers and strive to make each post matter just a little bit more. This is just the tip of the iceberg with how to build community on your blog. This is the foundation.

Let these tips soak in, set up a plan for your blog and then we can dig deeper into the world of community. It is there, however, it is an “elusive creature.” We’ll get it though, together, as an #intentionalblogger community!

Are you ready to find your community and be an #intentionalblogger? –>>Tweet this!

Make sure to keep your eyes peeled. We will revisit each of the questions from our Twitter party in greater detail. We had such great “tweets” about these topics, but we didn’t get to dig in. So stay tuned! You can review our recaps to know what we will be covering here: Twitter Recap Part 1 and Twitter Recap Part 2.

A Free Cookbook for You!

Click here to download your free copy of Spring into Smoothies All Summer Long!

The post How to Build Community on Your Blog appeared first on Christian Mommy Blogger.

Fellowship Fridays is going on down there…scroll down (after reading this…)

This bundle is no longer available! We will notify you of any future bundle sales.

Well we have put it on Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, our other blogs (Intentional Homeschool and Intentional By Grace) for the last 4 days. And today is no exception…but it is our final notification! This sale is a rockin’ awesome deal and we have barely been able to pull our noses out of these books.

Reviewing them and sharing the goods with you has been a total pleasure, but now…the time has come to tell you: if you snooze, you lose. The sale ends tomorrow (Saturday). We don’t post on Saturdays so we can only let you know one more time:

92 eBooks, 5 eCourses for $29.97 (that comes out to $0.31 per product) PLUS over $140 in bonuses. Wowza!

We have spent a lot of time highlighting what we think would interest YOU, the CMB reader, the most. Here is a recap:

The full details of the sale (including every. single. item. included)
How to Manage Your eBook Library (92 eBooks is a LOT – here is a tutorial from me)
Working and Blogging from Home (A review of the books in this category)
Blogging is Only a Portion of What We Do (A review of the other books in the bundle!)

Don’t miss your chance! And remember, if you don’t need all of these books, they will make great Mother’s Day presents! Split and gift!

Fellowship Fridays linkup time!

Welcome to Week 35 of Fellowship Friday!

Here is a reminder about the hashtags update from last week:

In an effort to create community and help you be a MORE INTENTIONAL BLOGGER (that is really our goal, right??) we want to remind you of a few items that can be furthering your reach and taking your efforts one step further: hashtags!

Let us help you get the word out there. Let other CMB followers help you spread the word. Let’s get this community to the next level, along with our blogs! Use the hashtags #fellowshipfridays and#intentionalblogger whenever you are braggin’ on yourself or encouraging others on Twitter. Need an example?

“I just scored my first sponsorship! #intentionalblogger”

“I just created my mission statement! #intentionalblogger”

Or perhaps you have questions: “What’s a good plugin to welcome people to my site? #intentionalblogger”

You get the idea? This can really help you be more intentional and take your blog to the next level. You in? You can also use shortcuts we give you to make your life easier. We try to do this as often as possible. See a “tweet this” link? Click it! Here is an example:

I am striving to be a more #intentionalblogger with @christmomblog. You in?–>> TWEET THIS!!

I am expanding the reach of my blog with #fellowshipfridays. Check it out! #intentionalblogger –>>TWEET THIS!!

You don’t have to use the hashtags just when we encourage you. Use them ANYTIME you want to show you are being more intentional and taking your blog to the next level!

The FF Scoop:

Is this your first time linking up with us? Check out some special requests, the nitty gritty, and our button. You can also catch up with past editions.

We aren’t ones for a lot of rules around here. That just gives more room for frustration when people break them. We do have one request: no food posts. That is right. No recipes or anything focusing on food. We have decided there are more than enough link-ups with a focus on food. Let’s save this space for anything and everything else.

Use this linkup as a chance to promote your blog and allow more people to read your story. While we totally get it, and we couldn’t agree more (we love linking up too!), we do ask that you don’t just drop and go! Take a moment, look around, be still, and fellowship! We have found so many great blogs (and the women behind them) when we have taken a moment to fellowship with others.

So join us every week for a Fellowship Fridays link-up right here at Christian Mommy Blogger! Without further ado, link up below! Please be kind and link back to our site, Christian Mommy Blogger, or simply grab one of our buttons from the sidebar and share at the bottom of your post (use the code and it will automatically embed a link so people can find us).

Now link up!

A Free Cookbook for You!

Click here to download your free copy of Spring into Smoothies All Summer Long!

The post Last Chance for the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle Sale & Fellowship Fridays! appeared first on Christian Mommy Blogger.