November 3, 2009...2:56 pm
The Daily Politics – Defence Correspondent
That’s me that is!
www.the-daily-politics.com/2009/11/defence-correspondent-welcome-clare.html
This is how it happened. Ages ago, I contacted the blog and said:
“Please plug my book, blah, blah, blah.”
Swiss Bob, the editor said,
“Sure.”
www.the-daily-politics.com/2009/09/afghanistan-immediate-response-major.html
Then I had lunch with a girlfriend and said, “I need to raise my profile as a writer and communicator.”
she said, “start a blog.”
I went away and the blog was born.
http://claremacnaughton.wordpress.com
I emailed Swiss Bob, as I figured he had to be a more experienced blogger than I was and asked him this,
“Thanks for featuring Immediate Response on your site. I have just started blogging and you seem integrated into a vocal community. I wondered if you would mind giving me some top tips on spreading my blog about a bit. Would you mind checking it out and sharing some of your wisdom?”
To which he replied,
“Find some blogs that you like, comment on them using your blog profile, an avatar/picture will help (mine is the Matterhorn for ‘Swiss Bob’), if it’s of you and it’s attractive even better, but the usual warnings about the Internet apply, as the blog is in your own name, you might as well. People can find you through your comments. (Update: I just visited your blog, you’re no horror show J put your picture on the main page)
Create profiles for CiF, the Telegraph, Coffee House, the most popular sites, leaving comments and occasionally links back to your own blog, these may be frowned upon but you need people to find you. Try to be inventive and amusing, not just “I’ve posted this: xxxx”.
Blogger has the ‘Blogroll’, see righthand sidebar above the archive at the bottom of the blog, these are sites I link to, other people link to me. Lots of people go round asking to be linked, I don’t bother, if they do they do. Old Holborn has just linked me again, being a base and popular fellow, he sends me quite a few visitors, as does Mr Theo Spark of ‘Last of the Few’. (Update II. I’ve just added you to TDP)
Add yourself as a ‘follower’ on blogs you like or that cover relevant subjects. Does WordPress have a widget like this? Check out what widgets are available to you.
If you’re interested I would be happy to post anything you have and link to your blog. I can’t say you’ll get tons of visitors but it’s a start. We have an opening for a defence correspondent.”
I said,
“Thanks for the advice – I really appreciate. It’s like a whole new world. I am have never considered myself a techno biff but for some reason I can’t seem to work out how to get that pic on the front page! I ‘ll keep trying. Thanks for adding me to TDP – I have added you to mine too, which means that you, as my only reader, can now click back to your own blog! Viral marketing at it’s best!
Did you waft the Defence Correspondent carrot under my nose to see if I was interested in taking the gig? I would be interested if you did. I don’t suppose there would be any money involved would there? Do you have a definition of what you expect from your DC?
BTW – I googled CiF, as I am such a luddite I didn’t know what it was and the result was:
California Interscholastic Federation
Construction Industry Federation
Common Intermediate Format
Cum in Face (internet Escort Slang)
None of these seem particularly linked to blogging! C”
He said,
“Very funny. CiF is Comment is Free (except it’s not, unlike The Daily Politics), the Guardian’s ‘blog’ pages, actually not the best place to attract visitors from but depending on your politics, it’s fun to bait the loonies. Telegraph Politics blogs can provide hundreds of visitors, as can Coffee House . Guido Fawkes is good for quite a few, as is that mad old bugger Old Holborn. There are obviously many others, like Mrs Dale.
The post of Defence Correspondent really is an offer, you could do it under your own name, or a pseudonym, I really don’t know the identities of some of my authors, and no there’s no money in it, because there’s no revenue to speak of (six months Google ad revenue wouldn’t buy us a decent dinner). This may change, I’ll let you know if it does. What I would like is inside info, and I don’t mean secret, little stories from the front line, what’s happening in Afghanistan on the ground, what problems the troops are facing etc. And feel free to come up with your own ideas.”
I said,
“That sounds great – I am in. The inside story from my perspective I can give you. I am quite active on the military forum ARRSE – I am not sure if you have heard of it but I will plug the fact that I am now your defence correspondent, which will drive people to your blog. I’ll think about what I think the opening gambit is going to be and I’ll make it a good opener.”
And I went onto ARRSE and started this,
http://www.arrse.co.uk/Forums/viewtopic/t=136818/postdays=0/postorder=asc/start=0.html
And the Bob announced it to the world. So that is how it happened…….cogitating now. I am about to draft my debut post for http://www.the-daily-politics.com and annoyingly I don’t think it’s going to include any of the ideas from the ARRSE http://www.arrse.co.uk which means they are going to berate me and hand my “arrse” to me if they even bother to read it! Oh well, I can’t live my blogging life worrying about what anonymous bunch of folk on a mentalist military forum think of me.
Women Know Your Limits!!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjxY9rZwNGU
2 Comments
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We’ve got to teach you some basic html
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Yes please!!!!
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November 3, 2009 at 10:20 pm