Yes, this is MY blog and I will blog or write about whatever I want, thank you very much. I almost titled this post, “Telling It Like It Is is Not For the Faint of Heart”, which on some levels is very true.

Over the last several months there have been an increasing number of what I refer to as lurkers, spammers, trolls, haters, naysayers and perverts emailing me and attempting to leave pathetic comments on posts.

Some of the worst offenders are those arriving from those pesky “DoFollow blog lists”, where newbie bloggers show up like a bat out of hell, dive-bombing this site in hopes of getting a link back to their site by leaving a pathetic “great blog, keep it up” sort of comment. If you have a blog of your own, you are likely well aware of these pests.

Telling It Like It Is has a comment policy and privacy policy like all/most other blogs and websites have, including a “mark as spam” button and a “delete” button, which I use quite frequently. If “DoFollow” dive bombers wish to continue wasting their time targeting this site for a backlink, knock yourselves out…but if you ever decide to check back to see if your “comment” was approved…you’ll be sadly mistaken.

Running a close second behind the dive bombers are those who are none too happy that I continue to write about child sexual abuse, especially the articles that tell kids and victims to tell they are being sexually abused now or were sexually abused by someone in the past.

I have received emails and attempted comments from people who are not happy at all that the Protect Our Children Act was passed. Now, readers, you tell me…what kind of person would NOT want me or anyone else having the “audacity” to be telling kids to tell someone they are or were sexually abused? Think about that for a minute, then come to your own conclusions.

Blog Post Ideas – Being Audacious

Blog post ideas for Telling It Like It Is come from a large number of sources, which I will get to in a minute. I rarely if ever experience writer’s block (so far), and I write blog posts with audacity and I’m proud of it. My blog is not a “feel good blog”, nor is it a “beat around the bush” blog, and it is certainly not a “tiptoe through the tulips” kind of blog.

I work hard at being an audacious blogger, and the articles about sexual abuse, abusive relationships and the numerous helping vs. enabling posts are emotionally difficult for me to write. I write them anyway and will continue to do so. I am passionate about the topics I write on this blog, even though there are thousands of bloggers who write better than I do, with perfect spelling, grammar, sentence structure and phrasing on every single blog post published.

“If you’re not afraid to be rejected, you keep putting your hand up. If you’re not afraid to be ignored, you keep putting yourself out there. If you’re not afraid to be criticized, you do exactly what you want. If you’re not afraid to make contact with someone more successful than you, you’ll create your own opportunities.”

I am not afraid. I will not be deterred.

I am not a social networking know-it-all, but I put myself out there anyway, meeting and making connections with fellow writers and bloggers in an out of my own “niche”. I am not a “Pro Blogger” by any stretch of the imagination, nor do I feel the need or pressure to become one. I make mistakes while writing and creating blog posts (especially when trying a new and unfamiliar html-type code thingamagig), such as I did on the how to plan a wedding article, turning it into a complete fiasco until I was able to fix it. Oh well…, live and learn as I go.

Okay, blog post ideas…, where I get mine. Aside from the fact that I read a lot, be it books, magazines, news articles online or offline etc, there are a variety of places I go to get my blog post ideas to avoid writer’s block. Here is a short list of those places, in no particular order.

Woopra – If you have a blog or are considering starting a blog, you MUST get Woopra. Woopra, by far, is the most comprehensive, information rich, easy to use, real-time, LIVE Web tracking and analysis application I have ever seen. Woopra provides so much unique information about visitors to your blog/website and how they arrive at your site, it will blow your mind. And it’s free! Woopra’s ability to track keywords/search terms (amongst other things) people have used to arrive at my blog or specific blog posts has already provided me MANY ideas for blog posts, and it’s only getting better by the day.

Google Alerts – Google Alerts are email updates received in your inbox of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, blogs, video, etc.) based on your interests or topics. Email updates from Google alerts can be received “as it happens”, “once a day” or “once a week”, whichever you prefer. I currently have two blogs and am in process of building a third, and receiving email alert messages based on my keywords of choice has brought about more blog post ideas than I could ever have imagined.

StumbleUpon – Wikipedia describes StumbleUpon as an “internet community that allows its users to discover and rate Web pages, photos, and videos”. Basically, StumbleUpon users choose to rate (or not rate) a web page, blog post, pictures or video by way of the “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” feature from the StumbleUpon toolbar, which can result in massive amounts of web traffic from online friends or peers. StumbleUpon is sort of like word-of-mouth advertising from referrals. Online friends and peers have sent me links to articles with messages suggesting I do a blog post on that subject, but in my own “Tell It Like It Is” writing style. One such post was the Miley Cyrus Going Topless “rant” that caught the attention of the New York Times and LA Times, because I was being audacious and bold!

Twitter, Facebook, Google Adwords Keyword Tool,  Google Trends and Blogs I’m subscribed to by RSS Feed or email have also brought numerous blog post ideas already found on this site, and still more to come. With the numerous categories and topics I can cover within my blog niche, I would be hard-pressed to run out of things to write about and I have no intention of ever doing so. That’s how I roll.

If you enjoyed this article, you can subscribe to Telling It Like It Is FREE updates by email or RSS Feed, comment or ask questions on posts of interest to you.

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I think if I read one more blog post from someone whining about not getting any blog traffic or trouble getting your blog noticed, I think I’ll scream. Let me pull out my violin for all you online social networking whiners and play you a slow sad song. Boo-Hoo, Waah! “I want traffic, You want traffic. We all want blog traffic!” Well, so what! What are you really doing about it?! And don’t tell me, “I leave comments” or “I Stumble and give a thumbs up and reviews” or “I Zoom blog posts” or… (insert your personal favorite whine). Well guess what? So is everybody else! Now what are you going to do to stand out from the rest? To get your blog noticed, you must learn how social media marketing works and how social media optimization is vital for any website or blog.

Let me ask you social networking whiners a question: What does your blog offer that would make anyone want to visit, comment, subscribe or link to your blog? Who are you anyway? Does anyone even know you or know that your blog exists? I know, you’re probably going to tell me that you write fabulous articles/posts that are very helpful to others, and you just want people to know about them. Yeah okay, yawn. Well, I’ve got a little secret for you; so do I and many other bloggers. Now what? If you want to keep whining about it, go ahead and take a few minutes and get it out of your system, then pay very close attention to what I’m about to tell you.

Social Media Marketing

You can join all the free social networking websites that you want, but it won’t do you one bit of good unless you actively participate in getting to know your fellow bloggers on a more personal basis. Commenting on other blogs is certainly helpful to some degree, but just running from one blog to the next dropping comments in hopes that you’ll get noticed, just might get your comments filtered as spam.

Joining Entrecard, MyBlogLog, BlogCatalog, BloggingZoom, Bumpzee, Stumble Upon, Digg, Sphinn, and all the others won’t get you noticed unless you actively participate. I laugh out loud when I receive messages on BlogCatalog or MyBlogLog saying “Thank you for visiting my blog”, when I have never ever been to their blog. They’ve just ensured that I will never drop by their blog (at least not on purpose). I’ve even gone so far as to edit my email notifications of messages received on both BlogCatalog and MyBlogLog due to the high number of spammers.

Business Social Networking

The key to social networking or business social networking comes from building personal relationships with other bloggers, even those that are not in your blogging niche. Does John Chow know who I am? Probably not, why should he? I’ve commented from time to time on his blog, but I only do so if I feel I have something to add to his post, which is often few and far between. Does Darren Rowse or Andy Beard know who I am? Maybe, but so what. Why should either of them care about my blogging about relationships and parenting children and teens?

One sure-fire way of getting noticed is by taking the time to write a personal email to another blogger discussing how you were personally benefited by one of their posts, or perhaps even discussing or suggesting an idea for an upcoming post. Rob from 2Dolphins.com recently emailed me asking me my thoughts on the affects technology has on children today, thus leading me to write my post “Technology and Children – A Wake Up Call For Parents”. Had he not emailed me with those questions, it may not have occurred to me to write what turned out to be a very popular post.

Get Your Blog Noticed with Blog Links

Freely linking to other blogs or specific posts that help further develop and expound on your own post, without expecting anything in return, is by far what has worked best for me in increasing traffic to my blog. It will help get your blog noticed. Whenever I find a post that has valuable information I know will be of benefit to others, I bookmark the page and link to it in an upcoming post. You have to “give to get”, but doing so with selfish motives or expecting a reciprocal link later on down the road is ridiculous. Does Stephan Miller and Dane Morgan know who I am? You betcha they do! Get Blog Noticed!

Some people initially thought of as “controversial” or “downright intimidating” get noticed because they are actually very nice and helpful when needed, answering questions and giving helpful advice. Some bloggers may see a question you’ve posted, then write a detailed explanation in answer to your question, even being kind enough to link to your post. That not only creates attention, traffic and links, but also helps develop personal relationships amongst fellow bloggers.

Increase Blog Traffic to Blog

Actively participating in a variety of blog carnivals, or an occasional meme, can help increase blog traffic and links to your blog. I’ve seen some so-called meme’s where the blogger doesn’t actually link to anyone they’re writing about, so how is that supposed to bring attention to your blog? Give to get, give to get.

While you’re making out your New Year’s Resolutions, be sure to include taking steps to build personal relationships with other bloggers, and may this year bring you the increased attention and traffic you so desperately desire.

Further Reading:

Twitter For Bloggers

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