By Srinivas Rao

A few months back I wrote a post here about why a blog is an excellent personal development tool. The other day I was watching the movie Julie and Julia (don’t ask), but because it was something that was the result of a blog, I was kind of curious about the story. I wanted to see if I could extract anything useful from watching it. What struck me about 30 minutes into the movie was the the main character set a goal, and used a blog to accomplish a goal. Sure, her goal was completely random, but it made me think that the process she followed might be a great formula for using a blog to accomplish any goal. In fact many blogs start because of an effort to accomplish some sort of goal.

Choose a goal: First you want to choose a goal. Your goal should be something that you can track or measure. It could be losing weight, learning an instrument, or whatever it is you want to do. For the sake of what I’m talking about, let’s use something like learning to play guitar. I can’t play the guitar, but I have played a musical instrument for an extended period in my life. Yep, I was a band geek.

Start Your Blog: Whatever platform you use for the purposes of this exercise doesn’t really matter. You don’t have to get advanced in terms of designing a site or even having your own domain.  You can get away with something as simple as a free typepad or blogger blog. I will say this however. Because the barrier to entry to using those platforms is so low, you might be more motivated to follow through if you go through a more difficult process to get started. Just some food for thought.

Start Writing: The first thing you’ll want to do is take some sort of action towards the goal. In the case of the guitar, let’s say you bought a guitar. That’s your first blog post. The strange thing is that you don’t have to take much action every day. Your next post could be about learning to play Twinkle Twinkle little star.  Take a little bit of action and write a post.

Review Your Progress: Blogs are interesting because they provide a forced mechanism to review your progress. You don’t write massive amounts, and it’s a small amount of effort on a consistent basis. As many personal development experts have said, reviewing your top goals every single day tends to propel us in the direction of our goals.

Make Note of The Evidence: Perhaps one of those most useful things about using a blog to accomplish any goal is that it enables you to make note of the evidence. Let’s say your goal is somewhat big and seems far off. For a large percentage of that time it will seem like there is no progress being made. A blog is a great way to break your goal up into bit size pieces and get there one brick at a time. In fact goals happen as a result of doing small things consistently. Additionally, you’ll be seeing the evidence that you are making frequent progress towards your goal.

Have a goal that you can’t figure out how to reach? Start a blog, take action towards the goal, write about it, and review the goal, and keep making note of the evidence (i.e. posting to your blog), until you’ve achieved your goal.

Have you used a blog to accomplish a goal? Please share your stories in the comments below.

Author bio: Srinivas Rao writes at The Skool of Life where obsesses about riding waves and turning it all into life lessons. He’s also the host and co-founder of BlogcastFM, a podcast for bloggers.

By Srinivas Rao

In the 8 months since I started my blog I’ve gotten to know dozens of bloggers. While each one has his or her own unique interests and opinions, I think it’s fair to say we all agree on one thing: a blog is a phenomenal personal development tool. Here are some reasons why:

Goal Setting: Setting goals is a fundamental component of any personal development program. While there are a few different variations, it really comes down to one basic idea: write down your goals. A blog provides a great platform for writing down your goals and provides a place where you can review them on a regular basis.

Accountability: When you share your goals on your blog, you will benefit from the accountability that comes with telling people about your goals. I wrote a marketing plan for my blog at the end of December. Any time somebody comments on the plan, I feel much more compelled to check if I’m actually sticking to that plan.

Tracking Progress: Since you will be reviewing your goals almost daily in some capacity, a blog will give you a great platform for tracking your progress towards a particular goal. Let’s say you have an income goal. You could write a monthly blog post where you publish your income report. After you have written that post for a few months you will have a progress report.

Feedback: Feedback is one of the most powerful reasons a blog is an awesome personal development tool. Let’s say you are working towards a particular goal and you are continually spinning your wheels. A blog gives you the perfect platform to get some feedback from people who may have accomplished exactly what you are trying to accomplish. It can actually save you years of trial and error in getting to your goals.

Mastermind: Almost by default, when you become a blogger you become part of a mastermind group of like-minded people. We might have many different subjects that we write about and we might have our blog for different reasons. But at the end of the day we’re part of a community full of people who want to help each other succeed and accomplish our goals. Regardless of what you are trying to do with your blog you’ll find so many people you can reach out to who are more than willing to help you. Paying it forward comes with the territory.

Relationships: The relationships you form as a blogger will have a tremendous impact on your life personally and professionally. You will not only evolve as a person, but you will have a network of contacts that is not limited by geographic boundaries. A month back, one of the bloggers I know lost his job. The outpouring of help was so strong that another blogger even wrote a blog post about why an employer should hire the blogger who lost his job. Considering half of us have never met in person, that should give you an idea of what a profound influence these relationships can have on your life.

Commitment and Consistency: When it comes down to it, commitment and consistency are fundamental to getting anywhere with personal development. A blog can bring commitment and consistency into your life. If you expect to go through a course once and have your life dramatically changed, it’s time for a reality check. Yes, all this personal development stuff does work. If you really want to use your subconscious to make a change, you just have to do it as often as you brush your teeth. EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Do I think everybody should start a blog? Absolutely. You don’t need to do it for the money. Use it as a platform for personal growth. The money is just a fringe benefit. According to my friend Nicole Crimaldi, a blog is one of the best career insurance policies you could ever invest in. Get started today and in 6 months you’ll be blown away by how much your life has changed.

Do you have a blog? If so, has it helped with your personal development? Please share your experiences in the comments below.

Author bio: Srinivas Rao is the co-founder and host of BlogcastFM, a podcast for bloggers. He also obsesses about riding waves and finds continual inspiration in the ocean for everything on his personal development blog, The Skool of Life.

Welcome to the 17th edition of The Change Carnival. It’s a bit later than I had originally planned but what can I say? It has been a hectic month….

I received A LOT of submissions this month. The following were my favorites. Enjoy .

What I’ve Learned from 30 Days of Being Remarkable by Maria Gajewski

From April 10 to May 9, 2008 I lived on $30 (USD) of food. In the process I:

• Lost 8 pounds
• Ate weeds
• Scrubbed siding, gave people rides, and fed chickens in exchange for food More>>

* * *

How to be an Everyday Clown by David Masters

Clowns are brilliant. They bring joy and laughter to the world. They’re larger than life, clumsy, confused, very silly, and full of nonsense.

I’ve been reading a lot about clowns and jesters recently, working out how to be a clown in my everyday life. Here’s what I’ve learnt. More>>

* * *

Turning Talents Into Strengths by Jeremy Neal

“Talent is only the starting point.” -Irving Berlin, American Composer and Lyricist

We all have natural and innate abilities to do some things better than others. Our genetics determine, to a certain degree, our predispositions and inclinations. We are endowed with gifts from birth that make us uniquely competent in ways that others are not. “Talent is only the starting point,” as Berlin accurately points out, and it’s up to us to develop our natural abilities into strengths, if we are to truly maximize our potential. More>>

* * *

Living Without Limits by David B. Bohl

When we are young, we are invincible. There is nothing we cannot accomplish – no mountain too high to climb, no weight too heavy to bear. We believe we can do anything. If you do not believe it, go right now and try to give your teenager some words of wisdom and you will see exactly what I mean. More>>

* * *

Too much on your plate? Become a STAR Delegator by Shawn Driscoll

I recently had an eye opening coaching session with a client, Gary who was feeling completely overwhelmed by his role as a Director in a large corporation. He was putting in 70-80 hour workweeks yet never getting ahead. Gary was drained, discouraged and completely unsure how to dig himself out of this mess. More>>

* * *

Actively Manage Your Career to Stay On Top of Your Game by Dorian Wales

I’ve recently made a decision to leave a comfy job I’ve held for 6 years after hitting the glass ceiling in that organization. I’ve thought about it a lot and I’ve decided to follow my aspirations and to make an effort to fulfill what I think is my potential. More>>

* * *

Monday Morning 9 ‘O Clock by Astrid Lee

Monday Morning 9 ‘O Clock. So, there you are again. On your day job. Are you loving it? Do. Is it where you are meant to be? I hope so. Or,… are you hating your work? Is it boring and is your heart somewhere else?

Instead, is there a latent talent you wish to use, .. some day ?Is there something else that you’d rather do, but you doubt whether you could make any money with it, or even: whether you would be ‘good enough’ for it? More>>

* * *

Dodging The Many Forms Of Psychological Manipulation by Akemi Gaines

One of the major challenges of living fully is the mind manipulations from people around you.

People – including your loved ones, unfortunately – will try to hold you down where you are by various forms of manipulation. When we aspire to live fully and make changes in our lives, we need to be watchful of these manipulations and learn how to dodge them. More>>

Bee-ing a Good Citizen by Lori Jewett

The idea of being a good citizen means different things to different people, but I think that, at it’s core, good citizenship refers to doing not what is easiest or best for oneself, but focusing more on what will contribute most to the common good. Some will explain it as being helpful to one’s neighbors, others may describe it as loyalty to one’s country. What creates variations in our definitions of good citizenship is our individual perspectives of what larger context we are considering ourselves a part, and, what obligations we feel toward that larger context. More>>

* * *

The Problem Of Clutter (And What I Intend To Do About It) by Sheamus

Does your life feel like one big mess?

Is this chaos reflected in your home, at your desk and in your car? Bills, papers and junk mail stacked up everywhere? Is your wardrobe a nightmare? More>>

* * *

Hermann Rorschach & The Amazing Technicolor Inkblot by David Godot

On a psychodiagnostic residency, where your job is just to understand people, one of the tools you use is the famous Rorschach Inkblot Test. In this test, the patient is shown a standard series of pictures created by squirting ink onto a page and then folding the page over. They are then asked to describe what they see in the blots. The answers contain all the keys to the patient’s perception. You may not see, at first, how an explanation of this technique can be of any practical value to you unless you are training to be a psychologist, but if you’ll read on I can promise you there is a payoff for us wayward seekers of personal growth. More>>

* * *

43 Things To Do When You Stop Watching Television by Balanced Life Center

“Over a year ago, I stopped watching television. In fact, I don’t even own a television. It’s saved me money, freed up my time, and given me back my opinions. When I tell people I don’t have a television, they always respond with shock and awe, followed by either admiration or scowl.” More>>

* * *

Can Self Hypnosis Really Help In Achieving Your Goals? by Ellesse

Beats me. In fact, I’m probably as curious as you’re in verifying this for myself!

My first encounter with self hypnosis can be traced back to almost 3 years ago. At that time, I was working through a goal achievement audio program and one of the exercises was to listen to a guided self hypnosis tape to help me uncover the future I would be leading in 10 years’ time. More>>

* * *

That concludes this edition. Thank you everyone for your fantastic submissions. The Change Carnival will be taking a little break for the next few months. See my next post for the reasons why…..

Images by jpctalbot and aussiegall.

It’s back! After a 3 month hiatus I’m happy to present the 16th edition of my blog carnival. The carnival has a new name, but it still revolves around the word that means so much to me: change. The following are my 10 favorite submissions that I received for this edition.

Navigating Your MidLife Crisis by Lori Jewett

To many of us mid-life sounds like a dirty word – well, a dirty hyphenated word to be accurate. You can’t even think “mid-life” without the word crisis following it, can you? It’s kind of automatic that these words flow together in our brains. But think of a mid-life crisis and what picture comes to mind? A speeding red convertible…one hand on the wheel, the other holding down the comb-over…salacious wink at the red light? More>>

* * *

Spring Cleaning for Parents by Amanda Harris

Rake the yard. Clean out the garage. Go through closets. Donate unused items to charitable organizations. Wash windows. You know the drill. It’s called SPRING CLEANING.

But what if spring cleaning took on a new twist this year, one that would benefit your children greatly? What if you cleaned the cobwebs out of your mind? What if you wiped away all the limiting beliefs that keep you from becoming the parent you always wanted to be? What if you cleaned up a broken relationship, mended a mental fence, or reminded yourself about the importance of your role in your child’s life? This spring might just be the ideal time for cleaning up your responsibility as a parent. Consider the ideas below. More>>

* * *

So Sexy, So Soon: The Sexualization of Childhood in Commercial Culture by Lin Burress

An entire generation of young girls is being psychologically damaged by the onslaught of marketing tactics surrounding inappropriate “sexy” children’s fashions, toys, music, books and sexualized images in the media, and parents should be very concerned. More>>

* * *

Why write a mission statement? by Michael Miles

What is the difference between people who are successful (however you might define success) and those who are not? Well, there is a long answer and a short answer. I know the short answer, but I’m not going to tell you (just yet – this is for another article!) but one of the key differences is that successful people have a compass. More>>

* * *

How Do I Maintain Energy, Focus, Motivation and Drive? by Shawn Driscoll

These are the things that tip the balance, drain your energy, and make it so you don’t have the focus to accomplish your goals. Think of it like your computer. If you use Windows and have too many things open on your computer, no matter how much memory you have, it’s not going to perform well. It’s a big drain on the resources of your computer. It’s the same thing in our brains. If we have too many things open, it drains our focus, even if we think they’re small. More>>

* * *

Things I Have Learnt From Meditation by R. Pettinger

I have been practising meditation for 9 years. Since I started, I never recall missing a day. Meditation has become something automatic and instinctive; whatever is happening externally, meditation is a constant undercurrent in my life. During the past 9 years, these are some of the things I have learnt from meditating. More>>

* * *

Improving Gas Mileage by Fuel Efficient Driver

Hybrid vehicles are better equipped to save fuel. Apart from being light-weight and has an efficient fuel system, the hybrid vehicle utilizes many tricks to increase the fuel efficiency. While some of these tricks can help any type of vehicle to produce better fuel efficiency, the hybrid vehicle is best equipped to produce better Gas Mileage. To extract maximum output out of a gallon of gasoline, a hybrid vehicle can. More>>

* * *

101 Affirmations You Can Start Using Today! by SJ Yee

Affirmations are great tools that can help you overcome fear, build your confidence, develop an abundance mind-set and more. The problem is that many people aren’t sure exactly how to write effective affirmations. Do they always have to be in present tense? Can they contain “negative” words like can’t, won’t, not, and so on? More>>

* * *

Secrets To Happiness by Gary van Warmerdam

Happiness is the emotional experience created by you expressing the emotion of love. In every moment of joy and peace in your life you were creating love and expressing it. Feeling different qualities of happiness at different times is because there are millions of variations of love that you can express. More>>

* * *

Unearthing Your Deepest Desires by David B. Bohl

Many people go through life in pursuit of happiness and fulfillment, without ever having a clear picture of what those things mean to them. Each person has unique ideas regarding what constitutes happiness, based largely on that person’s individual values and past experiences. In order to be truly happy, you must first determine what it is that makes you content, fulfilled, and satisfied. Only then can you take steps to achieve your own personal state of happiness. More>>

* * *

That concludes this edition. If you would like to see your article featured here next month please use this carnival submission form.

Photos by Star Lisa and Joiseyshowaa.

Welcome to the 15th Edition of my Personal Stories of Change Blog Carnival. For those unfamiliar with this carnival, basically I aim to present a collection of self improvement articles where the writer shares a personal experience. Enjoy

Al presents Why Bad Things Happen to Good People posted at 7P Productions.

Why do bad things happen to good people? Al has written a very interesting article that attempts to answer a question I’m sure we have all thought about at some point or other. The article also prompted some great comments – definitely worth a read.

* * *

Rob Moshe presents Live Your Best Life By Serving Others posted at Rob Schaumer.

This article is not really a “story of change”, but Rob has a very noble goal in aiming to help at least 500 people get closer to their goals and dreams this year. Plus, he mentions Robin Sharma in the article which always catches my attention .

* * *

David B. Bohl presents If You Don’t Do It Now, You’ll Regret It Later posted at Slow Down Fast Today!

If you ever feel like you spend more time planning than actually doing this article is for you. David writes, “I’m a relatively happy guy, but sometimes I can get pretty out of sorts. Usually that is related to something I’ve been meaning to do, or always wanted to do. Something, of course, that remains on my “to do” list, and never quite makes it to my did list.”

* * *

Charles H. Green presents Aristotle, Maister, and the Fat Smoker posted at Trust Matters.

Another article that isn’t the typical “story of change” I usually feature in this carnival, but the title caught my eye and it certainly is an interesting read. In submitting this article, Charles said it is about being, “fat, a smoker, and not changing even though you know you should. Not doing what we know we should is a problem as old as man, tackled by Plato and Aristotle, amongst others.”

* * *

Stephen Martile presents How to Change Your Beliefs with Praxis, Part 2 posted at Stephen Martile.

What is “praxis”? I didn’t know either until I read this article. Basically praxis means integrating belief with behavior. Very interesting article, and must-read if you want to learn how to change false beliefs.

* * *

Christine presents Is Moving to Abroad Right for You? posted at Me, My Kid and Life: An American Single Mom Living in France.

Ever wondered if moving abroad is right for you? It is certainly a big step, and for this reason it is a good idea to learn from others’ experience. In this article, Christine shares some of the insights she has gained from living in France.

Todd Goldfarb presents Spirituality: What I Have Learned So Far posted at We The Change.

In this article, Todd shares a personal story that shows how spirituality can manifest itself. He had his first meaningful spiritual exercise about 10 years ago in Central Park. As he writes in the article, “ever since this moment, my consciousness has continued to expand. At first it was a slow progression, but the more aware I become the faster it manifests itself.”

* * *

Semi-Charmed Wife presents Time Keeps On Slippin’, Slippin’, Slippin’… posted at Semi-Charmed Wife.

In this article, Jen challenges you to not let poor time management steal your dreams. Given Jen’s dream is to become a writer, I could really identify this story. Very interesting “About” page too – definitely worth checking out.

* * *

Samuel Bryson presents The Middle Way posted at Total Wellbeing.

Samuel has written an interesting article in which he discusses the importance of living a balanced life. One example he uses is alcohol, writing “while for example non-alcohol drinkers lived longer than alcohol drinkers at large, the group that lived the longest were in fact those that drank small amounts. Amounts which could be described as ‘balanced’, and ‘in moderation’”.

* * *

Chris Wondra presents Brain Damage: A quicker path to enlightenment? posted at Chris Wondra . com.

I think the best way to describe this excellent article is just to quote straight from it:

“What if you’re not into the hokus-pokus, of spiritual enlightenment? What if you take a more “scientific” approach? Well, if you still think anxiety is a drag (like I did), but you don’t want to go through the rigmarole of spiritual enlightenment, I might have just the answer you’ve been looking for—a totally scientific explanation of your (and my) obsessive fretting about the future–and an easy fix.”

* * *

CG Walters presents A Spiritual Teacher IS….. posted at Into the Mist.

In submitting this article, CG Walters wrote: “it is not the teacher before you that manifests what you perceive as an awakening, but the awakening within you that manifests what you perceive as a teacher.” I had to think about that one for a second, but it makes perfect sense (and is, of course, elaborated on in the article).

* * *

Tupelo Kenyon presents Finally the Truth About Diet – The China Study Review posted at Tupelo Kenyon.

I had heard about this book, but had no idea what it was really about (and was always curious about the title “The China Study“). Well I’m intrigued to say the least. Here is what Tupelo wrote when submitting this article to me:

“Finally, here’s an authoritative diet and nutrition book based on hard science and exhaustive research. This revealing book is written by one of the world’s most respected authorities in the field of nutrition. In his own words, he has been “in the system for almost fifty years, at the very highest levels, designing and directing large research projects, deciding which research gets funded and translating massive amounts of scientific data into national expert panel reports.” There is so much useful information in this book, I consider it one of the most important books I have ever read and give it my highest recommendation. Change your diet and change the quality of your life.

* * *

JC presents How To Use The Divide-And-Conquer Approach To Life posted at A Journey Of Dreams.

It is not every day you read a personal growth article that refers to computer science and algorithms (in fact I’m fairly certain this is my first!). In this article, JC tackles the common complaint people have of not knowing where to start when it comes to big dreams and big aspirations using his knowledge of computer science.

* * *

That concludes this edition. If you would like to see your article here in the next edition, please use my carnival submission form to send me your story.

Photo by *beat*.

While I don’t claim to be a blogging expert, I have picked up a few tips and tricks over the past 9 months that have helped me break into the Technorati Top 10,000, push past 2,000 RSS subscribers, and find myself a job as editor on PickTheBrain. In this article I will share everything I know about blogging, including how to get started, find the perfect image for your article, and increase your subscriber count. Enjoy

Getting Started

Why blog? Well amongst other things, blogging is a great way to meet people, it can potentially be a healthy source of income, and it is much cheaper than therapy. See my article Why You Should Blog for a few more reasons.

Blogger. I created my first blog using Blogger. While I would never go back to it, I do believe it is a good way for a beginner to start blogging because it is free and incredibly easy. Also check out Wordpress.com.

Wordpress. If you are even a little bit serious about blogging, I suggest taking the plunge and going for a self-hosted Wordpress blog (note: I am referring to the Wordpress software from Wordpress.org, not the hosted version available at Wordpress.com).

Web hosting. For my web hosting I use and recommend Dreamhost (use the promo code “CHANGE” to receive $50 off). I also hear good things about Media Temple. If you are going to go for self-hosted Wordpress blog, look out for a host that offers a “one-click Wordpress installation” as it makes things incredibly easy.

Wordpress for Dummies. I won this book thanks to a ProBlogger competition, and I must say it is an excellent guide to Wordpress and blogging in general. I only wish I had read it earlier, as it would have saved me a lot of time and hassle. You can read the Amazon review of it here.

Writing

Tell a story. Don’t always tell people the information/ message/ idea you want to convey. Instead, try showing them by telling a story. Apart from being more interesting to read, stories stick (read Made to Stick for more on this).

Who cares? Whenever I write an article, I ask myself “who cares?” Firstly, do I care? That is, am I writing about something I am passionate about and that has meaning to me. Secondly, will my readers care about what I have to say? I have found that asking myself this simple question keeps me focused and helps avoid a common blogging sin: being boring.

Capture ideas anytime and anywhere. My best ideas for articles normally come when I am anywhere but sitting in front of the computer. So I have made it a habit to carry a notebook and pen with me wherever I go, allowing me to easily capture ideas as they pop into my head.

Write with purpose. As a father and a full-time employee I have limited time to write articles. I have found the key is to ensure I have a clear understanding of what I want to say before I sit down at the computer and start writing.

Take time to craft a catchy headline. A headline can make or a break a story, so make sure this important decision is not simply an afterthought.

This is not university. So don’t write your blog articles in the style of an essay.

Read sites devoted to writing/ copywriting. I highly recommend CopyBlogger to any blogger wishing to write in a more strategic, persuasive, and compelling manner. Also be sure to check out Leo Babauta’s recently launched WriteToDone.

Subscribers

Why care about subscribers? Someone subscribing to your blog is perhaps the best compliment they can give you. Traffic comes and goes, but someone subscribing to your blog says that they want to read more of your articles.

Make it easy to subscribe. Make it easy for readers to subscribe by prominently displaying a subscription icon and giving them the option to subscribe immediately after your article. You may even include a link in your article giving them the opportunity to subscribe (click here to subscribe to my feed).

Offer a full feed. It may decrease traffic to your site, but not offering a full feed is a big reason why people unsubscribe.

Don’t forget email subscriptions. Not everyone wants to use a feed reader. I have approximately 150 email subscribers at the moment, so it is certainly worth your while to make it easy for people to subscribe via email.

Subscribe to your own feed. It is not vain to subscribe to your own feed. Rather, it is essential to regularly check your RSS feed to make sure everything is ok.

Flaunt it. If you have over 100 subscribers, I say flaunt it by selecting a feedburner chicklet that shows your number. If you have under 100, don’t display your subscriber number just yet.

Photo by SmilingSunflower.

Ignore daily fluctuations. Ignore day to day fluctuations of your Feedburner Subscriber Count. A drop in the number of subscribers shown does not necessarily mean people have unsubscribed (see this ProBlogger article for more on this). Instead, aim to increase subscriptions over a week or even a month.

Don’t become obsessed. Yes, it is nice to see subscribers increasing, but if you start judging the success of your site based solely on a number you are giving in to your ego (this is a self improvement site remember ).

Themes

Free themes. There are some amazing free Wordpress themes out there. To get an idea of what is available, check out the following articles from Smashing Magazine:

• 100 Excellent Free Wordpress Themes
• 21 Fresh, Usable and Elegant and Wordpress Themes

Custom made themes. If you want to take your blog to the next level, a custom made theme may just be the answer. John Chow recently said that a custom made theme was the most important thing he did to improve his blog in 2007. And if you are wondering why I am still using a free theme, I am currently in the process of getting a custom made theme.

Images

Why bother? An interesting and relevant image can add a lot to an article. It is of particular importance if you hope your article will become popular in the social media. For example, you only have a few seconds to catch the attention of people using StumbleUpon.

Flickr. I find most of my images on Flickr. If you decide to do this, take a moment to read up on the Creative Commons License. Then, go to “Advanced Search” and tick the box for photos licensed under the Creative Commons License. To make it easier to find a good pic, I suggest selecting the option for “most interesting” pics and then “thumbnails” so that you can scan them quickly.

Other sources of pics: Sometimes it is worth spending a few pesos to get the perfect image. Check out iStockphoto for a huge collection of images that can be purchased quickly and easily.

Maintaining a Blog

Often less is more. If you struggle to find the time to blog, just remember that when it comes to posting frequency often less is more.

Photo by Hypergurl.

Hitting the publish button. If you have any doubts about as to whether or not an article is ready, don’t hit the publish button. It is better to not publish (even if you normally do post something that particular day) then to post something that is not up to your usual standard.

Microsoft Livewriter is great. Yes, it’s true! “Microsoft” and “great” can exist in the same sentence. Livewriter makes blogging incredibly easy. Check it out here (it’s free).

Read blogs devoted to blogging: ProBlogger, Skelliewag, and Daily Blog Tips are my personal favorites.

Comments

Plugins. There are a number of Wordpress plugins (eg Threaded Comments, Subscribe to Comments, Top Commentators, and Recent Comments) that help encourage people to leave a comment. You can read more about these below.

Reply to comments. This may sound obvious, but if someone leaves a comment on your blog that is directed to you make sure you reply to them.

Take time to comment on other blogs. Often if you take the time to comment on someone else’s blog, they will visit your blog and return the favor. Don’t comment just for the sake of commenting though – make sure you have something thoughtful and relevant to say or don’t say anything at all.

Building Your Online Profile

Give. In a recent guest article on ProBlogger, Tina from Think Simple Now suggests ending your emails with “let me know if you need anything”. Very simple. Very powerful.

Sell yourself. To build a good online profile you need to sell yourself as a person. If the idea of “selling yourself” makes you cringe, read my article How to Sell Yourself for a better idea of what I mean.

Guest post. Guest posts are one of the most powerful ways to build your online profile. Most blogs are open to guest posts, so take the plunge and get in contact with a blogger you admire. It is best to attach your post to your email. Even better, attach a few articles and tell them they can use their favorite. David Bohl from Slow Down Fast often does this when he sends articles to me – he also regularly writes for Dumb Little Man (60,000+ subscribers) so he must be doing something right!

Be Strategic. It is no coincidence that I have posted this article about blogging the same day as this post and this post are posted elsewhere.

Blog Carnivals. Blog carnivals may not be suitable for every blog, but I have seen a number of bloggers in the self improvement niche build their online profile this way. I have found that my Personal Stories of Change Blog Carnival has helped me break the ice with a number of my fellow bloggers, and we have since gone on to have become good friends.

Photo by El Fotopakismo.

Making Money

Dream. Blogging can potentially earn you $1,000 per day and allow you to quit your day job. There is nothing wrong with having a dream, right?

The path to making money online is not always obvious. As I wrote about in this guest post for ProBlogger, when you start blogging it is not always obvious how you will make money online. Focus on adding value to your readers and building traffic and I’m sure goods things will come your way.

Read sites devoted to making money online. John Chow and Shoemoney know a lot more about making money online than me, so if you are interested in learning more these two sites are a good place to start.

Social Media

Digg, Reddit, Del.icio.us, etc. If you want to see your articles do well on these social media sites, I strongly suggest becoming an active member of their communities. Oh, and do my next 2 tips….

Ask. It is becoming more and more common to see articles end with a simple request such as: “If you liked this article, please share it on del.icio.us or on Digg. I’d appreciate it. ” And why not? It is a simple and effective way to help promote your articles with the social media.

Email requests to your friends. If you have written an article you are particularly proud of, I suggest bringing it to the attention of your friends by sending them an email. Of course, just remember my earlier point about giving.

Plugins

Akismet. A essential plugin for fighting spam. It normally comes automatically with Wordpress so just make sure you have it activated. Download Akismet here.

Adsense Deluxe. This plugin is the easiest way for Wordpress bloggers to incorporate Adsense into their blog. Download Adsense Deluxe here.

Automatic Update. If you hate the thought of having to update Wordpress, this plugin makes the process extremely easy. Down Automatic Update here.

Comment Relish. If you received a “thank you” email after leaving your first comment on this site, that message came courtesy of this nifty little plugin. Download Comment Relish here.

Feedburner Feedsmith. An essential plugin for anyone offering a feed on their blog. Basically it detects all ways to access your original WordPress feeds and redirects them to your FeedBurner feed so you can track every possible subscriber. No prizes for guessing where this link takes you.

Full Text Feed. If, like me, you only have an excerpt of you article on your main page you should have this plugin which prevents WordPress 2.1+ from adding a more link to your website’s feed. Download Full Text Feed here.

Google XML Sitemaps. . Download Google XML Sitemaps here.

Subscribe to Comments. This is a simple little plugin that has the potential to stimulate discussion in your comments. Basically it allows readers to receive notifications of new comments that are posted to an entry. Download Subscribe to Comments here.

There’s more! There are many, many more plugins available for Wordpress. 50 Best Wordpress Plugins for Power Blogging is a good list of them I came across recently.