Grow Your New Blog Day 2

Alright, Day 2 of Growing A New Blog.  Today I did something that I haven't ever done before, but know will make a big difference.  I bought a domain.  Yes, me... I did it.  I have always put this off till I'm too far down the road and don't want to take the chance of messing things up.  Good thing I did it early too, because all my reader's comments dissapeard!  What?...  I was so sad, I loved those comments.  Hopefully they will come back after the domain finishes registering.  Note* Don't buy a domain while having a giveaway dependent on comments!

Setting up the domain was easy.  Its under Settings-Publish-Custom Domain.  All the advice I've read and been given somehow at some point usually encourages bloggers to lose the .blogspot.com and switch to just .com or something.  It helps with building a reader friendly blog that they can easily remember and makes your blog just easier to find during searches in general.  You can see what a tight-wad I am, talking about buying a domain, when I haven't even bought one for my Blogger Chix Designs blog.  I want to but I also want to change the name to something more relative to my current blogging subject but haven't decided yet.  We'll see I guess.

The next step I took was setting up my Chic Chick Media Ad and Widget.  I've had great success with this advertising program and didn't want to waste any time setting it up. 

These are two big steps for me to take so early in a blog's developement.  I usually waste time putting it off waiting for...I don't know what.  Maybe to see how things will go or something like that.  It depends on how you feel about your blog I guess. 

I plan on continuing linking up to all the blog parties throughout the week.  So far so good.

Now, time for Talk About It Tuesday!  What are you up to? (Family Friendly Please, Thanks :-)

Growing Your New Blog

Ok, so to further teach, I've decided to "grow" my new baby blog the right way, and take you along for the ride.  Like I said last week, I've found a secondary niche as a new outlet for me on top of this one.  Because I've become so interested in living on less and saving with homemade, I started my new blog and it is now a week old.  So far I've

Built my Grab Me Button
and
Set up my e-mail newsletter sign-up using Mad Mimi

(you'll notice both this blog and my Living On Homemade blog have e-mail only entry forms - I decided people may be more comfortable, the less info they need to provide - why do some company's need so much info anyway, besides to send flyers to my mailbox?)

I believe those two things are so important that I did them in the first week of my blog's life.  I have a list of things I will be doing this week and will show you how to set yourself up for success.  I haven't even done all these things with this blog - kind of backwards, I know.  But I decided that the new blog needs my current funds so I can set it up right.

After its completely set up, its success or not will likely depend on two things: whether I've found the right niche for me to write quality content, and whether or not I can reach the people who would be interested in my topic as well.  This is a huge factor.  I can do everything right, but if I can't come full circle with content and readers, it will be futile.  So, today I'm off to the huge Monday Link Up Party Listing at Tools For Women to link up some of my Living on Homemade blogposts on sites that my have my future readers.  I'll be doing this all week as well.  Let's get started on growing our blogs!

Bloggy Conferences for Us Stuck @ Home.

Talk About It Tuesday.

There are so many blogging conferences going on. I really want to go! The thing about all of these though, is that you basically have to go on your summer vacation to get to one. Take off time from work, possibly leave your family alone for a few days, buy tickets for travel, the conference, hotels, eating out and so many expenses. Oy. I'm just not going to make it. Why do they all have to be on-location only? Isn't the reason we all love blogging is because we can connect with so many other people on the web?

I think I'm just going to plan my own bloggy conference. One that all those stuck "at home" (can't leave daily life) like me can go to. We won't have to make it such a huge expensive event that you go broke. And you can participate right from home. We'll get in on the party too!

So, I'm open to any suggestions you may have.

• What classes you would like to have.
• Things you would like to learn.
• People you would like to meet.
• Reasonable Prices (to cover everything).
• Anything else you want to add.

This all started from the growing envy I was trying to avoid while reading about all the things the other conferences were having.  I would almost start to drool it sounded like so much fun and learning.  I don't like being left out because of one thing or another, so I just make my own plans and fun.  And I totally want to invite you!  So let's get planning!

Hot Button 6/15 - Belonging

If you've got any special events going on or coming up, don't forget to post the on the news board bulletin up top!

Continuing with the 15 hot buttons (from Marketing Straight to the Heart by: Barry Feig) to supercharge your blog's growth is button #6: Need For Belonging.

"When James Taylor wrote 'You've Got a Friend' an anthem of a sort in the 1970's, he didn't know he was writing a marketing essay.

Many people play sports for the camaraderie of the sport and the desire to belong.  Recently several groups of adult consumers were asked if they would rather be on a winning team of gung ho personalities who went their separate ways after the game, or a losing team that got together after the game for good times.  Most of the people chose the latter.

Americans are among the joiningest people in the world.  Proof is probably in your wallet.  How many clubs do you belong to? (for me, let's see: Preferred clubs for Albertson's, Fred Meyer, Shopko, Staples, Rite Aid, Best Buy, Big Lots, Joann's, Hancock Fabrics, Subway and probably more...wow, that's crazy).  How many associations?...

We want to be among people who are like ourselves.  Developing an affinity group is an effective way to market your product (or blog).  If you have a group, you have a targetable audience."

Nothing could be more true about the blogging world.  Just visiting a blog and commenting is like hanging out with people like yourself and joining the visitors club.  We all love to be with people like ourselves.  For you crafty bloggers, who are your biggest fans?  Other crafters like you!  Same with couponers, parenting advisers, and any blogger focusing on a niche.  Your biggest fans are people who have the same interests.  How can you grow your blog through creating a community?  How can you help your readers feel like they're involved with your blog and your other readers?

One of the biggest and fastest growing "clubs" are weekly link-up parties.  You will find tons of them all over the web.  It's really fun to join one or make one for yourself.  The blogger gets to see what their readers are up to, and readers get to meet other visitors and make new friends.  Its the weekly club meeting.  They can be very powerful tools for your growth.  It gives infrequent visitors motivation to visit at least once a week, and lets your frequent visitors have a chance to strut their stuff and share their own thoughts.  When participants post about the party on their blog, it drives new traffic to your site.  Joining parties will do the same thing by giving other blogger's readers a chance to find your site.

Another way to help your readers feel like they belong to something is through your e-mail newsletter.  (Which all of you should have set up your sign-up form on your blog by this point...  If not, read my post here about why this is very important to start as soon as possible!  Don't procrastinate like I did originally!)  Make sure they know that joining your newsletter is going to give them special information or opportunities that they otherwise may not receive by just being a casual blog reader.  Big companies totally use this method to grow their businesses.  Why is it, we wonder, that everything we sign up for requires us to add our e-mail address?  Why companies offer deals, coupons, and insider information as incentives to join their newsletter?  Because they know the best way to reach out to customers (readers) is through their e-mail.  Their audience may not visit their site to shop all the time, but its a safe bet they'll check their e-mail.  This maximizes the chance for reader participation by giving them multiple invitations and announcements.  This is going to be one of your biggest helps in growing your blog, business, or anything else.

There are lots of ways to create a feeling of belonging on your blog.  Think creatively and I bet you'll be able to come up with something unique for your readers.  Focus on a main interest you all share, or an activity.  Then build around it.  What would make this even better?...  You could come up with a weekly challenge and give readers a chance to share their experiences.  Maybe make a community of sharing of some sort.  There are tons of ideas out there.  Add a feeling of belonging to your blog and your readership loyalty will grow even stronger.

Changes & A News Board

I guess you can quite obviously see that BCD is under construction :-).  This results in the need for a different design to make this blog efficient and reader friendly - cute too.  Blogs tend to be mostly only about the writer, their thoughts, and such.  That's great and is a lot of what blogs were made to do.  For my blog, I want it to be more involved with readers, other bloggers, and to build a community of support.  To become a blog growth central station where you can come and know you'll grow and get the support you need for the activities you're planning from other bloggers reading as well.

That's why I've added a Bulletin Chat Log up top where you can post your upcoming/current events that you want to let other bloggers know about.  Whether its a giveaway, link-up party or great post, we want to know what's happening!  Feel free to post as you like - as long as its family friendly and appropriate.  Otherwise it will be deleted.  I've added this feature because I know how frustrating it can be to advertise your blogging events.  Sometimes I just wished that some blogs had a spot where I could post my current activities that I wanted others to be aware of and hopefully participate in.  Granted comments can be wonderful way to do this, but here is a comment board right up top where everybody who visits this blog will see.  More convenient and efficient!

So go ahead and post a chat.  Be sure to include your blog or post url so we know where to go.  Keep an eye out for more community updates which I will hopefully be adding as time goes on.  Like I said, my goal is to build a community of blogging support.

BTW - Thanks to everyone who's participating in the Button Swap Blog Hop.  It's going great and  I'm still catching up and will be visiting soon!

Work @ Home - Series Kick-Off!

There are lots of work at home gimmiks out there.  Most of them seem like the ones that make money mostly rely on luck.  I'm sure there are ones that are valid and good, but for me, I'm still not satisfied; because I'm working for someone else.  Call me crazy, but I want to work my own hours, when I want, how long I want...  I don't want to be forced to deal with unfriendly people.  I don't want to be forced to take an early lunch (or in my case dinner break) and then suffer from low blood sugar the rest of the day (unsteady blood sugar highs and lows are unhealthy for everyone).  Most of all I want to stay home with my son.

Everyone has their own reasons why they want to make a living from home.   And if you're like me, you don't want to be under someone else, with them telling you what to do.  So what is one of the most available resources out there that may lead to income working from home?  The internet.  And what is a huge communication channel you have right at your fingertips?  Your blog.

Now, you can eventually start making an income by selling ad spots, information, handmade items and such through your blog, and these are all great.  But there is something else you can do that is really going to help you out.  Making a passive income through affiliates. 

Working as an affiliate means that your working with someone else.  More specifically for us, working with someone else that will pay you for every customer you bring them.  A lot of affiliate companies will pay you a portion of the purchase price that every customer makes if your work and reference brought that customer to their company.  Some even pay you a month to month portion for as long as that customer is with them.  This is passive income.  Income that comes month to month by simply making the initial effort.  I will be introducing you to programs like these that I come across to help you start building your affiliate network.

Using your blog as a communication tool to promote your affiliates can be very effective.  Another way that is extremely effective and will be very useful to you in more than one way is having an e-mail list.  I have heard some bloggers refer to their lists as GOLDEN.  I didn't start making an e-mail list for my blog until I was already months into it.  I WISH I HAD STARTED SOONER!!!!!  I read over and over about how if you want to be a successful money-making blogger, you need an e-mail list!  But that's all I did.  Read about it.  I didn't start one sooner because I wasn't sure how useful it was going to be for me; if it would be a productive use of time.  Please, let me tell you, anybody looking for success online needs an e-mail list.  Now that I have one, I don't know why I wasted so much time, procrastinating.  What was I thinking?  Why don't I ever take good advice as soon as I recieve it?... maybe I just used to be too skeptical.

Even if you don't think you will need one, please learn from my experience.  I really couldn't think of a reason to have one when I first started.  Then after I forced myself to start one up, I began reaping the benefits.  One reason being, people who are going to subscribe to your opt-in e-mail newsletters, are going to be some of your most faithful readers.  People who care about what you have to tell them.  Having an e-mail list dedicated to those readers is going to save you tons of time.  You can easily promote your events, special blog posts, give them insider deals and information and such more efficiently by notifying them through their e-mail.  Plus, if they subscribed to your newsletter you know they are more likely to participate in your activities.

Now, the question comes, how do I make an e-mail list?  At first I thought I would build one by using my personal e-mail account and just building a big send list that I would send e-mails through.  I quickly realized that this was not the way I wanted to go.  People are much more likely so sign up for your list if you have a sign-up form on your blog where they enter their name, e-mail, hit submit, and done.  The chances of them joining when there is no form and they have to manually go to their own e-mail and send you a letter with their e-mail info themselves are slim to none.  Make it as easy for them to join as possible.  That's why I went with a 3rd party to host my e-mail list.  One that would make a sign-up form for my blog for me, allow me to dress up my letters, and would send them to all my contacts by me simply clicking send.

I looked and looked for a good e-mail provider.  Most that I found only offered free trials for a limted amount of time with limits on the number of e-mails you could send, and after your trial expired you only had so many days to decide to sign up as a paying customer before you lists were deleted.  I tried one company's free trial, and they were ok, but I wasn't impressed enough to feel like I wanted to join as a paying customer yet.  Then I came across a provider that really caught my eye.  Mad Mimi e-mail marketing. 



They offered the best free program - even better than some of the other company's programs that you are required to become a paying subscriber to use.  Mad Mimi's free plan includes full features, unlimited e-mails and free hosting for up to 100 contacts.  That is a really good deal!  Plus they make it so easy to customize your e-mail format.  Adding a header image is as simple as click and drag.
I urge you, please don't to what I did: procrastinate making an e-mail list for your blog.  Its value is beyond more than you could imagine.  Don't miss out on even one subscriber you could have had if you had set up your list and sign-up form sooner than you did.  And when it comes to a great service provider, I was so happy when I found Mad Mimi.  It tops every other provider I've ever found.  So get started on your goal for a work at home income and get your list started today.  Don't wait... Set up your form on your blog before you write your next post.  Seriously.  You'll be happy your did :-)
(Signing up is fast and they make your sign-up form for your blog for you so all you have to do is copy and paste the code onto your blog.  Whether its on a page, post or on your sidebar, just get it on there and start building your list!)

Big Advertising Oportunities!

In June, possibly July as well, I have a big event coming up for all my readers.  I am putting together a series of giveaways consisting of ad spots on various blogs.  The winner of each giveaway will get to experience the growth benefits of having an ad spot on another's blog when they otherwise may not have had the opportunity due to monetary funds and such.

I am really happy to be able to put this together, and would like to offer the opportunity to those who may want to donate some ad spots on their own blogs to giveaway.  Donating an ad spot has a lot of benefits, so not just the giveaway winner will "win".

For each giveaway, the giveaway sponsor who donates an ad spot(s) will:

• Be featured in a post solely about them and their giveaway; it will be about what their blog has to offer readers.  What kinds of great activities and posts you have regularly and little about yourself to introduce you to potential new readers.
• Increase traffic to their blog through various entry options for the giveaway.
• Will list the winner of their ad under their sponsor or similar category on their blog.  Having a sponsor or a new sponsor will increase reader and unique visitor interest into hopefully becoming your paying sponsors as well so they can have an ad spot too.  Giving away an ad spot will hopefully get your sponsorship business going to help you maybe make a little money from all your hard blogging work.

I am starting early so we can work on promoting your giveaway to give you the most exposure possible to increase participation.  I am putting this together to help out all my readers, whether they want to enter the giveaways (sponsors can enter all the giveaways too, just not their own of course :-) or sponsor an ad spot, either way everybody wins and grows their blog.

If you would like to be a sponsor and donate an ad spot, send me an e-mail by the end of this week and I will start setting dates and giving you more information on how things will go.  Its going to be really easy and have lots of benefits.  Be sure an e-mail me sooner than later, because I only have so many openings left and they will go quickly.

I'm really excited to be able to offer this to you.  I almost wish it wasn't me so I could enter all the giveaways!  I know having an ad on someone else's site can bring you A Lot of new traffic you may not have had otherwise, since one of the biggest obstacles to having one is whether you can afford it or not.  So get ready, because come June/July, you are going to want to enter everysingle one of these so you can get as much new growth as possible by increasing your chances of winning a spot!!!

Mompreneur Business Boom?!

Did you ever wonder what the difference between a successful Mompreneur business and not?  That is a big question that a lot of business bloggers want to know the answer to.  My question is, do you know?

A lot of my readers run their own business and would like to know how to increase their growth.  I've been studying this concept, and let me tell you, its just not one clear solution.  There are so many factors involved.  I think one of the biggest reasons might be, people are attracted to certain things and when you hit the right thing, that's when your growth goes wild.

I was scouting around Etsy shops, and I saw one shop that was doing Extremely well.  And one of their biggest selling items was one that was completely unexpected to me.  Mostly because it was an item that I didn't have a particular interest in but it was very apparent that so many others Did.  These designers knew their audience and had a great idea. 

We all have very different prefferences and personalities.  We like what we like and sometimes we get lost in that and it keeps us from exploring different options that could help us on our way.  When your building your business, a good question to ask is, who are your prominent customers?  What do they like, what do they want, what will sell well?  How do we go about finding this information?

Getting comments from vistors may be a solution.  Ask them what they want.

Sending out a survey.

Send out a friendly e-mail to those who would be interested in recieving one with questions about what they like.

These are just starting ideas.  They work ok.  Is there a better way?  Probably.  Do you know of one? 

Polls usually get ignored. 

You really have to give the reader a reason to want to participate in any of these ideas.  Do you have an awsome tip you will share with them if they participate?

Give a deadline, let them know what your goals are and when you want to meet them, and how participating will improve things in general.  Make them really interested.  They know if they participate, things will be more productive and better for everyone, especially them in the long run.

Don't stop here either.  I will continue to research and share on this subject, because it is a burning question that I must figure out.  If you have any tips for us, share the wealth.  We're all here to support each other.  There's plenty to go around :-)

Growth's 15 Hot Buttons: Part 1

From Marketing Straight to the Heart by Barry Feig comes this incredible set of 15 Hot Buttons to Push when trying to appeal to customers wants and needs.  They are such powerful concepts that I found they can apply to bloggers and home businesses just as well.  You can use these concepts to enhance your posts and other communications to aid you in your end goals, whether its having a high traffic blog appreciated by readers, and/or to sell ad spots/merchandise.

I was really intrigued when I found these.  Here are the first 5 for Part 1.

Hot Button #1:  The Desire For Control

"Many people think their lives are out of control.  They don't know where they're going or how they're going to get there.  This is not good.  Feelings of loss of control are synonymous with a fear of the unknown.  People equate loss of control with loss of power over their own desitny or the destiny of their loved ones."

This is such a gravitating concept.  People love to know they are in control of their own lives and look to those they deem to have such control for support and advice.  If you would like to see an effective example of applying this concept to a post you can read one here by Money Saving Mom.  She does a great job of helping readers feel that yes, they can take control of situations.

If you're offering something that you believe will offer your readers more control of their own lives, tell them so!  Explain benefits, how to go about it, give it every good word you have! 

Hot Button #2: Revaluing

"(People) are beginning to think that looking to past comforts and happiness may help them find happiness in the present.  They're returning to products and entertianment that offer them contentment and familiarity.  It's part of an overall revaluing of their lives.

The trend is largely responsible for the growing success of  Nick at Nite on Nickelodeon, with comfort programming... (they) will gravitate toward products that are familiar (and therefore comforting), but often with a contemporary twist, like sodas with a more sophisticated appeal...

Emotional connections to purchases should drive manufactureres to develop products and strategies that enhance the consumer's perception of a better lifestyle, such as educational toys for grandchildren and healthier foods."

Using a revaluing methods in your writing will cause the reader to start to think about themselves.  What they want to change and how.  Then, make your answer a good solution to their need for change.  Show them how your information or product is going to add more value to their lives.  Take them to a point that they want to be.


Hot Button #3: The Excitement of Discovery

The excitement of something new is based on discovery.  "Words like introducing, at last, and new in ads are far more than bromides.  They bring increased attention...

The joy of discovery means that almost any new product or service will generate at least passing interest.  The chance of discovering something unique is why (readers prowl blogs looking for something interesting and new). 

When a (reader) unearths something, it also generates strong word of mouth.  When a person talks about something he or she doscovers, that person gets to feel important for exposing this new find.  Avon's Skin So Soft was found to be effective at repelling bugs (it's also a decent pain remover).  The message traveled quicly from (reader) to (reader).  Sales spread faster tatan they woudl have if Avon had released a new bug repellent."  Its a way to beat the system.

Hot Button #4: I'm Better Than You

"You are what you buy.  That's a primary tenet of marketing to the heart.  Overwhelmingly, the means of choice for gaining status is consumer goods.  People are willing to pay dealy to enhance themselves in the eyes of their peers.

 Prestige or status sales cut through all income levels.  Whether your customers are considered upscale or downscale is no barrier to making a product appeal through prestige.  It's all relative.  In some socioeconomic groups, large flashy gold jewelry is considered a status symbol.  In other groups, small antique (valuable, yet understated) gemstones may be de rigueur.

Whether you approve or not, status seeking is a dynamic part of our lives.

The move toward generic brands continues to die a slow lingering death as supermarkets' marketing techniques become more sophisticated.  Supermarkets are creating their own brands - super store brands.  They've learned that a positive upscale brand perception can be more appealing than a low price.  Loblaw's, in Canada, has developed a unique private-label program that offers a premium version of products to enhance the supermarket's store brand and their image.

In a marketing strategy based on status, it's important ot reinforce the product benefits and let consumers rationalize the extra cost.  People buy Mercedes cars because they think such a car gives them prestige and they justify the expense by talking about engineering.  Membership in a prestigious country club can be rationalized by saying that it may lead to new business contracts.

Hot Button #5: Family Values

"The continuity of family relationships is one of the strongest consumer motivations.  But there is trouble in family land.  The family breakfast is dead, and the family dinner is soon to be a casualty.  While 40 percent of American families share dinner at the end of the day at least once a week, the economics of a two-paycheck family means that at least one of the dinner providers is going to be too tired to do much cooking or socializing.

People are making a great effort to spend quality time together as a family.  But as usual, you must market to the dream ..  Quality  time with families is still of utmost importance.  The family unit is far from dead.  It is evolving.  Marketers must sell a vision of the family, not as it is, but as consumers wish it would be."

This totally describes my family.  Every night of the week, either my husband is at work or I'm at work.  We probably eat dinner together once a month if we're lucky.  Do I stop trying to live the family life I dream of?  Of course not.  I can get totally drawn in when someone is talking about family values and ways to support them.  Such a great marketing strategy!

A Letter To Growing Blogs

Dear Growing Bloggers,

I love your posts.  Whether its a darling repurposed item, something yummy to whip up for dinner, an inspirational thought, a rockin' good deal, or just about your family, I think you are totally awsome.  Its amazing to see such a diverse world of blogging subjects. 

I think comments are a wonderful way to interact with other bloggers.  I am going to try to make it a goal that anytime I read a post, I will leave a comment for the author.  Whether its to let them know I appreciated the time they took to write it, if I have something to input, or anything else.  I think this will not only help me support other bloggers, but grow and strengthen blogging relationships. 

Good blogging relationships will be very useful to you in your blogging "career".  When they are built on friendship, other bloggers have no problems referring their readers to you, promoting your activities, and you know you can count on someone to be involved with your new ideas. 

You can start building your blogosphere relationships today if you like.  Whenever you visit a blog or read a post, leave a comment to let the other blogger you noticed what they were up to today.  Maybe give them some encouragement, or just introduce yourself.  Give it a try and I bet you will find it was worth your time :-) 

I really love reading your positive posts.  They always make the world seem a little brighter.
Love Your Bloggy Friend

Sarah
Blogger Chix Designs
http://bloggerchixdesigns.blogspot.com/

Ps: Coming next: Starting on the 15 hot buttons that when pushed help your growth go wild!


Happy Earth Day!

This year I've:

Switched to reusable shopping bags.

Purchased a bike and actually use it.

Recycle lots more.

Happy I'm helping the earth more than I was before!

Take Advantage of Opportunities

I bet a lot of others out there are a lot like me. A bit skeptical. It takes a lot of convincing and proof before I will explore opportunites. I do a lot of research and read through various references before I will plunge into anything new - Especially if it involves Money or Contracts!!!!

I personally believe this has its advantages. I know what I'm getting into, I've thought through its affects from present to future, and know how to get out if I need to. (I always seem to have a back up plan, just in case...)

For example, right now I'm researching and testing e-mail resources in order to better contact opt-in e-mail readers who would like to recieve tips and suggestions right into their inbox. This is tougher than it seems, because there are So many options and price variations, all with different advantages and disadvantages. For me, all I can do is keep narrowing down my choices until finally, the last one. Then I review again to refresh and reaffirm.

Now, this is difficult because, like I said, it involves money. But its a great opportunity for growth. Yes, I often over complicate and get overstressed about things.  But not all things are this difficult.  There are tons of easy opportunites to grow and reach out to others that just get overlooked.  That is where you can shine!

There are more opportunities out there for us to take advantage of than we often realize.  The ones I want to talk about are, of course the free ones.  There are tons of free ways to get involved and get out into the blogging spotlight.  I read blogs all the time with their writers practically begging their readers for input, participation, advice, and suggestions.  This is your opportunity to grow your blog!!!  I'm serious!

If a writer opens up a post for reader participation, such as, "What would you like to see going on on this blog?"  you have found a prime opportunity.  Think about, what would you like to see on this blog?  Is it a craft blog?  Ask the writer to post a Creative Challenge where they list a basic, everyday item and challenge their readers to jazz it up into something decorative or useful, or both.  Then ask the writer to add in a link up party so everyone can show off their projects, which the writer will either review or have their readers review and choose one of the funnest ideas.  Then feature that project and bam!  You were just featured on someone's blog and their readers are going to get to know you and your blog better because of it.  And even if you aren't chosen, you still have your link up so people can find you!

You can adapt this idea to almost any kind of blog subject.  Coupon Best Deal Challenges, Most Inspirational Story, Best New Dish for Dinner...

Why is participating in an opportunity like making a suggestion to a writer who is looking for them such a good idea?  Because so few people get involved, that it makes your participation that much more significant.  You can help the writer out with new ideas as well as  help yourself out.  I love reading the comments that are not only for the writer, but for other readers as well.  Make your suggestion comment worth reading, add your blog url and presto, blog exposure.

Now, the challenge suggestion is just one of many ideas and suggestions you could give that are adventagous to both parties.  The key is to think, how can this benefit the writer as well as myself?  How can I become more involved with other blogs and make new friends and support the ones I already have?  I bet you'll be able to think of a suggestion to make!  So, for safe, easy opportunities, my question is, What are we waiting for?  Let's help each other out!