7 Days to Making Your Blog Blossom > Day 5, Give Readers a Glimpse Into Your Passions
Good morning! And how are you today?
Things over in my neck of the woods are quite peach-providing indeed. Got to watch my kid get challenged at karate (he LOVES it when the senseis go above and beyond), tackled several bits of writing and work myself, and have indulged in quite the lazy day.
But I digress. 
And that means…it’s time for Day 5 of Making Your Blog Blossom!
Today, I want you to imagine the following:
Cute widdle biddle adorable kittens
Okay now, got that image in your noggin? Excellent!
Now imagine the following:
Said cute widdle biddle adorable kittens being unmercifully tortured to death
Horrible, isn’t it?
But in central NJ, it’s a case that was recently broken about which I had posted last week, to wit:
…An Aberdeen man, whose arrest for the torture and killing of 19 cats shocked his neighbors and horrified those who had entrusted him with their animals, was indicted Tuesday by a Monmouth County grand jury on 19 counts of animal cruelty.
Anthony Appolonia, 50, has been held in the Monmouth County Jail on $105,000 bail since his arrest on Dec. 21 by Victor "Buddy" Amato, the chief of police for the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Citing the torture inflicted on the animals — many just kittens — Amato described it as one of the worst cases of animal cruelty he had ever investigated.
In several instances, Amato said, Appolonia would break the cat’s bones by throwing the animals against the wall. He would then torment the cats and drown them, Amato said.
Investigators were tipped to the possible wrongdoing when Appolonia told a man he didn’t have any cats, although a woman had asked that man to check on the kitten she said she had just given Appolonia, Amato said at the time of the arrest.….MORE….
Now, I know how many people say, your blog posts should stay only on topic because you’ll lose readers if you stray.
Personally, I disagree.
I believe that one of the ways you can make your blog blossom is to allow readers a glimpse into what’s really important to you as a person. After all, when we get right down to the matter, we’re all fellow travelers in this thing called life….and being offered insights into what you as a blogger value in your personal life touches on the emotional chords of your readers as well.
People who read my blog know that besides being a zany writer, I’m also:
- Worshipful of coffee
- Addicted to karate sparring
- A firm believer in tough love
- Very impatient with clueless parents who set no boundaries
- A geek who codes in straight HTML with my eyes closed
- A parakeet enthusiast
And from time to time, posts about these things will find their way into my blog. I think they add character to it.
But not only that! Blog technologies today are such that you can often add non-profit widgets to your sidebars. Lookie at mine – underneath my rather skimpy blogroll, you’ll see a direct link to a birdie that’s available for Adoption in the US. I used the PetFinder widget to incorporate this.
After all, think about the following….as an active blogger, you have the ability to reach thousands upon thousands of individuals who virally tweet about your posts, refer to your posts, talk about your posts in forums etc.
So why not take advantage of that to do some good for a cause about which you’re passionate?
Hmmm?
It’s easy to do! My personal chosen cause is animal rescue. Yours might be cancer research, green living, autism awareness, … the spectrum is wide open!
Here’s how to incorporate it into your blog.
Before you begin – Find a link/widget that deals with your passion.
Go to Google and search for
- cause widget
- cause promote awareness
ie,
- breast cancer widget
- autism promote awareness
- green living widget
- domestic abuse widget
- cat rescue widget
Grab the code provided and paste it to a notepad file for future reference.
Next,
Step 1 – Add the widget code to your sidebar
I wrote in great detail how to accomplish this in my 21 Days to a more profitable blog – Day 8! Add eBay to your sidebar lesson. It’s not that difficult to do at all! You can even read the rather humorous account of how I taught my middle schooler to hack her wordpress sidebar.
Next,
Step 2 – Tweet about it.
Once your ’cause’ widget is up, drop a line to your Twitter friends with the direct link like so:
And then finally:
Step 3 – Mention it in your newsletter.
You DO have one, right? If not, check out Expand your reach and add a newsletter – Day 16 of 21 Days to a More Profitable Blog. It’s very useful indeed.
And that’s it!
Of course, you can take this big huges bunches of steps further – for example, I found that Animal Planet is asking for nominations for their Hero of the Year awards. What better person to nominate than the guy who broke the Cat Killer case? Remember…I always walk the walk I talk!
You can read what’s he’s achieved over at:
- Chief Victor "Buddy" Amato – Chief of Police for Monmouth County SPCA
- Victor "Buddy" Amato in the News
If you feel after reading his accomplishments he’s deserving of the award, I invite you to nominate him as well over at the Entry Form for Hero of the Year. What the man has done over the years is extraordinary.
When you’re passionate about a cause, it shines through your writings. Give those causes the wings that only your participation can create!
And that brings me to:
In closing
In this lesson, you learned how to add character and personal flavor to your blog by giving readers insights into what you value.
And of course (you really didn’t think I’d close a post without this now, did you?) an opportunity now arises!
(remember, there’s no such things as problems in real life – just misunderstood opportunities)…..
HOMEWORK – Can you tell me what’s in it for people to read your blog?
Hmmmm?
Thus, until tomorrow! (and don’t forget, if you think any of your friends would benefit from these tutorials, please do share them! They’ll thank you for it…guaranteed).
Enjoy,
Barbara Ling
#BEGIN highlights of this blog writing post:
Beginners blogging tips: Let your passions shine through
Intermediate and/or Advanced blogging tips: Add a widget to help your cause
#END highlights of this blog writing post
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