Lost in Idaho - the interview...

Evening Bloggerati,

tonight in a new and hopefully ongoing feature I'll be asking some fellow bloggers to share their thoughts on blogging and write a guest post.

The first brave soul to step up and volunteer was Lost.in.Idaho...and if you're not already a dedicated follower of 'My Own Private Idaho' it's well worth adding to your daily reading list.

Anyway over to Lost...

_________________________________________________

What got you into blogging? 

 I was out of work, I saw a forum online showing you how to make money blogging, and I like money. So I dove in, and decided to write about a recent move to a new state and a new culture.

How long have you been blogging? 

A hair over a year. Started in January 2011.

How much time a week do you spend writing posts, reading blogs and commenting? 

It's a daily thing for me, so an hour to write a post plus another hour or so reading/approving comments means about 14 hours a week. On my blog alone. I also read about 200 blogs, so add another 5ish hours a week for that. (in other words, as much time as a part time job, yet the pay is much less)

What keeps you blogging? 

My followers. They egg me on, and encourage my bad behavior. That, and I sell ad-space on my blog, and it makes decent money. Beer money, but still...

What is your favourite post and what made you write it? 

My favorite post is a story of my first Idaho experience, cutting down my very first Christmas tree, the weekend after a blizzard. It was my second post ever. Now, 400+ later, I have yet to top it. My followers' favorite, however, is a post I did about Mormons and Dinosaurs, how they believe Dinos are aliens from another world...

How do you promote your blog? 

 I read/comment on a lot of blogs, which often gets those bloggers to check me out. A witty comment will make people wonder who you are. I also use twitter and facebook to my advantage. Every now and then, Stumbleupon comes in handy...

If you could only access 3 blogs what would they be? 

Adventures in Estrogen, 

Red Means Go, 

and yours (of course)

What one tip would you give a new blogger? 

Build a following. Get a few posts under your belt. Work on a good theme, a good layout, and a good design. When you can call yourself 'established,' monetize. If you do it too soon, you'll fail like I did. But by then, you'll be hooked like I am. I love blogging, and it's very addictive. If you're going to do it, do it right.

_________________________________________________

...stay tuned for Lost.in.Idaho's guest post tomorrow.

Peace

G