Last year I started a series of interviews with some of the more regular visitors to the London Bloggers Meetup and I’m picking this up again now so we can all learn from each others experiences. I’m going to kick this off by posting up an interview with Ann Fenech, someone who’s been coming along to LBMs for I would guess a little over a year and a half. Ann, feel free to correct me.
I first recall meeting Ann when she won a competition at a meetup in Feb’09 which was sponsored by Bacardi Breezer. Ann won one of the competition prizes that month and you can see her entry here. She stands out as I called out her name wrong and she abruptly corrected me. It felt like I was having my wrist slapped. Sorry Ann.
Anyway, since then I’ve got to know Ann a little better and you can normally guarantee she’ll be at an LBM somewhere with a smile on her face, invariably winning a competition prize – did you ever take up Muzu’s offer of two free tickets to a gig of your choosing?
Anyway, enough of the rambling introduction, I’ll hand this post over to Ann so you can learn from her blogging expertise…
1. What’s your blog called and what’s the URL?
Blog Name: Rantings from Afar and the URL is http://annuca.wordpress.com/
(also write about research-related aspects on my other blog: www.researchpath.wordpress.com)
2. What’s your blog all about ( in 20 words or less)?
My blog is about my life: My experiences, travels and observations.
3. When and why did you start blogging?
I had been quite sceptical about blogging as I thought it was quite intrusive. However, when I was moving away from Malta to the UK to study I realised that it is a good way of documenting my time (I was always horribly bad at keeping a personal diary) while keeping in touch with friends and family back home. I haven’t looked back – and cannot see why I thought it was intrusive! After all you only blog about what you wnat.
4. Which blog platform do you use?
WordPress.com: It’s easy to use for a not particularly technically minded person!
5. Can you give an example of how blogging has enriched your life?
Besides allowing me to have a concrete record of my time, I think the most enriching is the people I have met through my blog and theirs, some of which I have gone on to meet.
It has also helped me improve my writing by making it a frequent activity and by putting my audience at the forefront of my thoughts when doing so.
6. Are there any blogs you recommend reading and why?
Ianvisits: Great place to learn about quirky things to do in London, and the calendar of events is definitely helpful!
Cary Cooper: Learn all you need about stress!
La Delirante: It is nice to see the other side of the coin – an expat in my home country! It is useful to see your culture from the eyes of someone sitting outside it! (Ooops Ann, this is a private invite only blog)
7. What three tips would you give to someone just starting out in blogging?
- Decide on a purpose for your blog: is it just for your friends, for commercial purpose, will you use it to write about your interests? Having a clear cut purpose means that people know what they will get when they read it.
- Write regularly, but not forcibly. Better to skip writing a post than to write one as you feel you have to.
- Add pictures or other materials. I only learned this with time, but it does help make your blog more interesting and lively.
8. If you could change one thing about your blog what would it be?
If I could I would have made sure that I had a clear-cut purpose for my blog from the start, rather than having one blog trying to do everything.
9. What is the key to getting readers to your blog?
I try to include relevant tags to each blog post, but otherwise I Wish I knew – this is still a mystery to me! My readers decrease drastically every few months, and then start picking up again, before falling drastically again in a continuous cycle. I have also made the
Alltop expats list and have no idea how, so must be doing something right!
10. And finally, why do you come to the London Bloggers Meetups?
London Bloggers Meetup was one of the most welcoming groups I found when I moved to London. This is why I keep going back! Besides the great people there, the sponsors and prizes are not too shabby either 
Monday morning brings another blogger interview and this week we’ve been talking to one of London’s most prolific bloggers, Matt Brown of Londonist. Matt is someone I’ve known for a couple of years now and have worked with on some clients projects too. He’s a genuinely nice guy and can often be found supping a glass of red wine at the London Bloggers Meetups. I would hazard a guess that he and the Londonist crowd are more often than not the last to leave at the end of an evening too.
If you haven’t read Londonist before, shame on you. It’s one of the best multi-author blogs on London and in fact, one of the best multi-author blogs full stop in my humble opinion. If you want to get the best out of London then check out what they’re up to. The fact that Matt has been working on Londonist for over five years tells you he knows a bit about both blogging and London. Who better then to try and glean a few blogging tips and tricks from.
So over to you Matt, tell us more about the world of Matt Brown, Londonist and how to be a better blogger…
1. What’s your blog called and what’s the URL?
Londonist and the URL is http://londonist.com
2. What’s your blog all about ( in 20 words or less)?
London, and everything that happens in it.
3. When and why did you start blogging?
I personally started blogging in June 2005, although Londonist itself dates back to October 2004. I joined the team of bloggers on Londonist as I wanted somewhere to share my love of London. I’m not sure I’d even heard of blogs back then – I just discovered this fantastic site where people like me were writing daily about London life and wanted to be part of that.
4. Which blog platform do you use?
Movable Type 4.
5. Can you give an example of how blogging has enriched your life?
Over the years, writing or Londonist has given me an excuse to visit all kinds of weird and wonderful London locations. I’ve spent the night in a haunted plague pit beneath London Bridge. I’ve waded through the sewers near the Olympic park. I’ve strolled along the Tube Lines at Leicester Square at 2 in the morning and had tea with the Lord Mayor. And I caught a lung disease after clambering to the top of a disused church steeple. If that’s not life-enriching, I don’t know what is.
6. Are there any blogs you recommend reading and why?
Diamond Geezer is among the best chroniclers of the city in any media, and his amusing rants about PR companies are also a blogging treasure.
Ian Visits is another essential read for anyone interested in London’s history and heritage. I feel a little guilty only nominating these two, as there are so many other superb bloggers out there, especially those covering very local issues.
7. What three tips would you give to someone just starting out in blogging?
- Be on Twitter/Facebook too – these are invaluable tools for helping to grow your blog.
- If you’re going to be edgy, be aware that you’re just as prone to the libel laws as any journalist (what people say in the comments section is also your legal responsibility)
- Don’t think too hard about it…just get going and prepare to experiment with styles and stories as you go along. Five years on, I still learn new things about blogging every day.
8. If you could change one thing about your blog what would it be?
Well, we can change more or less anything we want now that we’re no longer so tied to our ‘parent blog’ Gothamist, and we’re in the process of making some exciting changes right now. Beyond that, I don’t want to say more right now.
9. What is the key to getting readers to your blog?
I’m really proud of the way we involve our readers in creating the content. For example, we have a Flickr pool where readers can leave photos of the city (almost 100,000 now), which we then use (with full credit and link-back) in the stories. The photographer gets a wider exposure and our blog looks that bit more beautiful – everyone’s a winner.
We also ask for reader suggestions (via Twitter and Facebook) when compiling posts about what to do at the weekend, what to do cheaply in London, etc. We’ve also used crowdsourcing to compile interesting maps of London (for example, we attracted a large audience of elderly readers – not our usual demographic – when we plotted a map of World War II rocket attacks, mostly based on reader information).
These and countless other examples are at the heart of our relationship with our readers, and I think this is why our audience has grown so much in recent years.
10. And finally, why do you come to the London Bloggers Meetups?
I like the mix of people. At any given meetup you’ll meet a mixture of social media professionals, marketing and PR types and people who blog for the sheer fun of it, with no commercial angle whatsoever. Everyone has something valuable to contribute and I’ve learnt a lot from some of the people there.
Welcome to another fun packed week folks. As usual I’m going to kick-off with an interview with one of our community members, this time with the ever so friendly and kind Mr Arvind Devalia. However keep your eyes peeled for notice of our next Meetup and a special event discount just for LBM’ers both coming here soon too.
Now on with the interview. I first met Arvind towards the end of last year when he approached me to ask if he could introduce a charity project he was working on to our community. As you may know, I’m always happy for charities to come along to our events, particularly those that are doing something interesting.
Arvind struck me as someone very genuine, who was gliding through life surfing on a wave of talent and goodwill, and nothing has changed my opinion on that. You can usually find Arvind at the London Bloggers Meetup talking, listening and offering ideas to other bloggers. I must admit to having not read Arvind’s blog quite as often as I’d like, something I’m going to try to rectify (or I might just sign up to his newsletter).
Well anyway, enough introduction, over to you Arvind to tell us all about yourself and how we can all be better bloggers (and people)…
1. What’s your blog called and what’s the URL?
My blog is called “Make It Happen – for a better you and a better world” and the url is http://www.ArvindDevalia.com/blog
You can see a screen grab here:
2. What’s your blog all about ( in 20 words or less)?
Simple and practical strategies to help you become a better person and make the world a better place at the same time.
3. When and why did you start blogging?
I started dabbling with a blog in 2007 but really only started blogging seriously in September 2009. Since then, my subscriber numbers have gone up six-fold.
4. Which blog platform do you use?
WordPress – and that’s the only solution I recommend to my blog consultancy clients (I run a service whereby we consult with clients about their social media needs and then also create their blogs).
5. Can you give an example of how blogging has enriched your life?
Where do I start? Firstly I have met some incredible bloggers, both online and also in person at LBM meetings.
And I have learnt so much simply by reading and commenting on the many brilliant blogs out there.
Blogging has also given my life a new meaning and direction in that it allows me to articulate my life purpose and bring it to fruition.
6. Are there any blogs you recommend reading and why?
There are many outstanding blogs that I read daily but the top one for me is Zen Habits by Leo Babauta. This blog is all about simple living and productivity – and was nominated by Time magazine in July as the number one blog for 2010.
I also read The Daily Brainstorm which was launched only recently and brings together in one place some top bloggers from around the world. I have been honoured as a contributing editor – and I expect this blog to really grow in the coming months. It could become The Huffington Post for daily inspiration!
7. What three tips would you give to someone just starting out in blogging?
My three main tips for a new blogger are this:-
- Focus on writing great content first. Only then look at other aspects of blogging. Looking back I spent far too long trying to get my design perfect and fine tuning my blog offering. Identify your niche and just start writing quality stuff, even if your chosen area seems too broad. Over time, your niche will become more defined and will naturally evolve. The key is to write quality articles on a consistent basis – and then to keep the momentum going
- The look and design are important. So as soon as you can, get a decent design done – it doesn’t have to be world class from day one. The design can then evolve as you develop as a blogger and as your following grows. I would also highly recommend that new bloggers start with WordPress from day one, ideally with their own relevant domain name and their own hosting space. This will give you complete freedom to create your own design and incorporate the many WordPress plugins available.
- Connect with other bloggers offline and online. This will help you learn from them and show you what’s working and what’s not working. Blogging can get lonely so having this virtual support community will help you maintain momentum. Also your new friendships could evolve into joint venture opportunities. And you will also create openings for guest posts, which are a great way of building a following quickly.
8. If you could change one thing about your blog what would it be?
I would change the design. The current design is now 8 months old and though it looks great, I intend to revamp it soon. I would welcome all suggestions from other bloggers for making it better!
9. What is the key to getting readers to your blog?
Always put your reader’s interests first. Before you post any article, ask if the article fulfils your target market’s needs. It’s about them and nothing else. If you focus on your stuff and start self-promoting, readers will see through this and soon unsubscribe. Provide great content, build a great relationship with them and then look to monetise in the long term.
One strategy for getting new readers to your blog is to write guest posts for other key blogs in your niche. Offer your best articles to other bloggers in return for a back-link and exposure to their readers. Writing many guest posts on a consistent basis will create your profile out there and bring you many new readers in the long term.
10. And finally, why do you come to the London Bloggers Meetups?
I came across LBM last October, soon after I began taking my blog seriously – and I was struck by the energy and enthusiasm of the other bloggers attending. I have made many new friends and also learnt a lot from the excellent speakers every month.
In summary, I now come to LBM to meet new and old friends and learn about new facets of blogging in a social, relaxed setting.
As we kick off another week, it’s time for another blogger interview. This week we’ve been talking to Cristiano Betta, also known as @cbetta on Twitter. Cristiano has been coming to London Bloggers Meetup events for a couple of years and you’ll no doubt have seen him with his other half and fellow blogger / geek / technologist Melinda Seckington.
Cristiano is someone who says what he thinks in a fairly direct way, which is good because often he has something interesting to say. See one of his tips below on getting started in blogging: “just do it”. His blog is a place online where he shares thoughts and updates largely on his world and technology. If you’re in to code and web design, you’ll probably find his list of links pretty useful.
Well, without further ado I’ll hand you over to Cristiano.
1. What’s your blog called and what’s the URL?
Cristiano on Tech/Life
http://blog.cristianobetta.com
2. What’s your blog all about ( in 20 words or less)?
A resource of things I figured out and want to share, and a list of things that happened to me.
3. When and why did you start blogging?
I started in 2006, on a small group blog I wrote with 3 friends. We all finished Uni and started our “real” lives. The sire was called FourStarters.com and we wrote about the things that kept us busy.
4. Which blog platform do you use?
WordPress, self hosted, always have, always will
5. Can you give an example of how blogging has enriched your life?
My blog has given me work opportunities, a better web presence, better recognition in the web community, and in general, a good place to vent any frustrations I might have.
6. Are there any blogs you recommend reading and why?
Most of the stuff I read is quite technical. I actually don’t read any of the mass media blogs, to me they are just as valuable as old media. Instead I read a lot of good old fashioned web-logs where people write about their work. Good examples are:
Dan W’s Scrapbook – Dan W likes to bookmark a lot of interesting stuff he finds online in his Tumblr and it’s often quite interesting.
MissGeeky.com – Melinda writes about anything geeky, often focussed on girls, but not at all inaccessible to guys.
Simon Willison’s Weblog – Simon is a developer extraordinaire and most of the stuff he writes about is very inspiring to anyone with a technical insight.
7. What three tips would you give to someone just starting out in blogging?
- Just do it
- Don’t worry about SEO, just make sure you write something interesting and worth reading
- Don’t set up your own server, write your own HTML, and build your own design (all of which I did). Instead go with a hosted service (wordpress, blogger, tumblr) or have someone do it for you. Want a special design? Buy one. There are loads of sites out there that sell of the shelf designs.
8. If you could change one thing about your blog what would it be?
I would write more on it. I aim to ADD a steady stream of posts but I rarely do. I have a lot of drafts that never get published.
9. What is the key to getting readers to your blog?
I think the key to getting readers is simple: have something interesting to read. Marketing your blog might get you far but in the end it’s all about your content being relevant to your readers.”
10. And finally, why do you come to the London Bloggers Meetups?
To learn from others. To inspire others. And to relax.
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