Writing Diva

Register Blogs on Blog Catalog

Although my Bike Diva blog is 1 1/2 years old, and my Run Diva blog is 8 months old, all my other diva blogs were started just a few months ago. At the end of 2008, I purchased the domain names for Tea Diva, Conspiracy Diva, Backyard Diva, Craft Diva, Cuisine Diva, Horror Diva and Writing Diva.

Blog Directories
Since most of the diva blogs are so new, I was looking for blog directories that would let me list all the blogs for free. I did a search on blog catalogs, and found a site called Blog Catalog.

Blog Catalog has a simple form that you fill out for each blog you want to register. Blog Catalog asks for the following information:

• Blog title
• Blog URL
• Blog country
• Blog language
• Primary category
• Secondary category
• 6 keyword tags
• Blog description

You can add one or two categories for each blog you are registering on Blog Catalog. For instance, my Bike Diva blog categories are Adventure-Outdoor Activity-Biking and Sports-Cycling. Blog Catalog is also a social networking site that lets you interact and follow other bloggers. You can also list all the online communities you belong to, such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

Verifying Your Blog
Before Blog Catalog will include your blog on their site, they must verify that your site exists, and you must place a Blog Catalog button or widget on your blog. There are 9 different buttons to choose from and 3 different widget styles. If you are using one of the widgets, you can customize it to match your blog. In lieu of adding a Blog Catalog button or widget to each site you are registering, you can add a meta tag to the home page of your blog.

I'd like to hear from anyone that is using Blog Catalog to list their blogs. The basic listing service on Blog Catalog is free. There is also a premium account option available on the site.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Writing Diva

Blog Universe

Blog Universe is a free directory submission site. You can add a free link to your blog as long as you put a reciprocal link to Blog Universe on your site. Once you have added the link to your site, go back to the Blog Universe site to fill out their submission form. They will ping your site to verify that the link code is present.

From the Blog Universe website:
"BlogUniverse is a project to gather all bloggers at one place and to categorize them so as it will be easy to search required blogs of various niche's easily.

Kindly support Us by submitting Blogs that you find interesting and good to read . All the bloggers will get get a quality linkback from us and that too for free."

Small Site
Right now there are only around 196 blogs listed in the directory. But a basic listing is free, and who doesn't want more traffic for their blog? They have a regular listing (no reciprocal linkback required) available for $5 and a featured link submission available for $10. Not a lot of money, but as there aren't very many blogs currently using this site, I don't see any benefit of paying for a featured link.

There also aren't a lot of categories currently available to submit your site to. Maybe once the site has been around awhile longer they will be adding additional categories.

A free link is a good link so check out Blog Universe and submit your blog to their directory.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Writing Diva

Visit Writing.com

Writing.Com is the online community for writers and readers of all interests and skill levels. Whether you're an enthusiastic, creative writer looking for the perfect place to store and display your writing online or a casual reader searching for a good story, Writing.Com is the website for you!

With 711,044 members and 1,465,854 literary items created since inception, this community is bursting with activities, inspiration and creativity.

Free memberships are available to everyone. Each membership includes an online writing portfolio, numerous writing tools, email services and the chance to meet and bond with fresh creative minds, just like you! No other website services the Writing world better than we do.

Visit the Writing.com website to learn more, or to sign up for your own account.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Writing Diva

Blogburst Social Networking Site

BLOG BURST
Anyone that has a blog should consider registering it with the Blog Burst site. It is free to list as many blogs as you would like. Your blog has to be setup for full RSS feeds, not just a summary of each post you make to your blog.

I have my Bike Diva and Run Diva blogs, both are which are setup on Typepad, registered with the Blog Burst site. I have been getting a good amount of traffic to Bike Diva coming through my link with Blog Burst.

Temporary Hold
Blogburst places any blogs submitted to their site on hold for the first three months. There are so many blogs that come and go, that they decided to implement the hold policy. I guess the theory is, if you're blog is still around after 3 months, that you must be serious about blogging. Once the 3 month period has passed, your blog will become active on the Blogburst site.

MEDIA EXPOSURE FOR YOUR BLOG
BlogBurst places blogs on nearly 100 top-tier news and media sites including Reuters, USA Today, Gannett, McGraw-Hill, Fox News and more.

I just checked my Bike Diva stats on the Blog Burst site earlier today. Here are a few of my Bike Diva posts that have been picked up in the last few weeks by other sites:

Reuters - Bike Diva Future
Chicago Sun Times - Bike Diva Biking Articles
Computer Shopper - Go Pro Digital Cameras
Livestrong - Century Ride Tips for New Cyclists

If you have a blog, list at Blog Burst, and see an increase in traffic to your site. It's also cool to brag to your friends that Reuters, and other popular online sites, have picked up your news feed!

Take care,
Lynn AKA the Writing Diva

Twitter Social Networking Site

TWITTER
Is anyone else signed up with Twitter? Twitter is yet another social networking site. I didn't really know too much about Twitter until I started getting emails from a few friends and writing contacts that mentioned they use Twitter all the time.

ANOTHER SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE
Initially I was a bit reluctant to sign up for Twitter. I already belong to a TON of social networking sites and I don't even have enough time to keep up with all of them. So I didn't really see the need to sign up for yet another site that I would hardly ever use.

In addition to being a freelance writer, I am also a cycling nut. The latest company to sponsor me is Freestyle Watches. They said I had to sign up for a Twitter account so we could keep in touch with each other. So I went ahead and signed up for a Twitter account - twitter.com/thebikediva.

LET'S TRADE TWITTER LINKS
If you have a Twitter account, add your link to your Twitter page and I'll check it out. My Twitter page is located at twitter.com/thebikediva.

Multiple Personalities
I originally began with one Twitter account. But now that I have recently started my Horror Diva blog, decided to setup another Twitter account: twitter.com/thehorrordiva. I didn't think the people that were following my Twitter updates, which are mostly about running, cycling and general fitness, would also want to hear about my pagan, horror themed information. I use Hootsuite to manage both my Twitter profiles.

Let the Twittering begin!!!

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Writing Diva