ALONG COMES MARY

I have had some of my friends marvel at how well Along Comes Mary is doing, & ask what I did to get my blog on top. While this flatters me beyond words, it should be noted that, these are my friends without a blog 😉 While I would be more than happy to help them get a blog of their own off the ground, I am far from knowing everything, nor has ACM reached its full potential yet.

I highly recommend a blog for anyone, though. Its such a wonderful outlet to pursue whatever your passions, hobbies &/or career may be. We ALL have such amazing unique things we do or know, why not tell the world?! While my focus on this blog has become Gluten Free, LA Events, Photography, Music & Theatre, it doesn’t stop there for me. I also love short stories & poetry, as I shared with you last April. When the day finally comes I want to publish a book, who knows, there may be a 2^nd blog in the works.

When a friend asked me recently, what I did to get my blog noticed, all I could think of again & again, is The SoCal Lady Bloggers. For me & my niches (& location), this society of women from all walks of life (f/t bloggers, bloggers with f/t jobs, Stay at Home Moms who monetize their blog, bloggers just for fun, top PR women in LA….) utilize both the Facebook group & a web-site to share opportunities & support with one another. If you want to start a blog & get it out there, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of finding a support team, because they will have been where you are, & they have made it to the top…or hella close.

 If you’re thinking, I am not in SoCal….I am not a lady….anything along the lines of, “Where do I find a blog group?” I, of course, recommend Facebook or Twitter. Try searching terms like “Bloggers”, “New Bloggers”, “Social Media” or even what your topics on your blog will be, & go from there. I did a lot of that when I started. I tweeted to gluten free brands to check out what I was doing & tried to go with the flow while I got the attention of others.

Meetup.com is also your new blogging network BFF. While I personally haven’t used it as much as I could, I am a member of several Social Media meetups. No matter where you live at, I can guarantee you will be able to find some kind of group to help you & the blog out.

You might recall one of my favorite mottos, said by Finding Our Way Now’s Susan Cooper, “Its 40% blogging, 60% promoting.” It REALLY is. I admit, I could probably even be further in my journey if I devoted more hours, or even entire weekends, to commenting on discussion threads & reading through groups. Especially, since joining Linkedin. Theres always great opportunities to connect with bloggers on their groups. I am thankful for my Facebook likes on the rise from the kindness of those I have ‘met’ via Linkedin.

Another thing I feel you cannot be afraid to do is: Making your own connections happen. I was super flattered when a blogger buddy told me shes noticed how hard I have worked to make my blog on my OWN. I reach out to companies I want to feature, I go to the festivals & take pictures even if they didn’t invite me. I try to post things other bloggers may not. I have tried very hard to carve my own web-site. And that meant so much to me its noticed.

I would truly love to help anyone out there thinking of starting a blog, so I hope these few ideas are helpful, & email me if you have any questions 🙂 xo