I get asked this question often: what makes a blog go from good to great?

What about great to addictive, as in, “I need a 12-step program to stop myself from hanging around this person’s blog 24-7?”

Well… it’s taken me a while to find the EXACT juicy blog that embodies this condition, but I think Elsa Panizzon of ElsaElsa.com fits the bill. A professional astrology blogger who’s been at it since 2000, Elsa has the blogger’s advantage of being:

- a gifted storyteller and conversationalist
- a confident and sometimes controversial figure
- able to hammer out endless streams of content
- highly organized in her approach to blogging and online business
- a long-time expert at what she does, which again, is astrology

That said, I’d like to welcome Elsa as this month’s Exemplary Blogger and ask her a few questions about what makes ElsaElsa.com such a raging success.

DINA: How long have you been blogging for, exactly? Is there a difference in the way you blogged as a newcomer to the internet, versus your blogging style today? What, if anything, changed and why?

ELSA: I was writing about astrology on a thread I started on business-themed message board near the end of 2000. The thread was more than 400 pages long and a crowd had gathered when I got a spam mail inviting me to start a blog. I fell for the thing hook, line and sinker and started my blog, VeryModern Astrology in April of 2001. I moved to ElsaElsa.com in 2005.

My writing has changed over the years and the mix of the content has morphed but the astrology theme has been a constant. In the early years I was focused on storytelling. I was writing about my life and the astrology was baked in since I am an astrologer and took up with the subject when I was 8 years old. The stories were interspersed astrology Q&A posts and other variety and after writing about 8000 posts and a 600 page book on that blog, I moved to ElsaElsa.com in an effort to become professional.

The new blog was focused on offering astrology-based advice. I had hoped to develop a column at the time and I kept that up for a couple years, 6 posts a week, supplementing with more storytelling which is my first love.

Currently, I’ve all but given up writing advice. I still write stories, though I keep them ultra short, I am sorry to say. I like my old style better and I think the reader does as well but no one pays for that kind of work and I’ve had to set it aside. Today I focus on making astrology accessible and useful to people using a variety of techniques.

One of the main draws of my blog it that it can’t be predicted. The innovating comes natural to me so I just keep it up.

DINA: If I were to Google any number of astrology questions or topics right now, your blog would pop up pretty high on the list. What’s your secret for accomplishing such a challenging feat?

ELSA: I don’t know. I have no technical skills at all. I think it may be that there is such a large body of work and it is all original. The new blog has about 7000 posts and I add to it daily.

DINA: How many months or years would you say it took for your blog to become wildly popular? What would you say contributed to this popularity?

ELSA: I had a solid audience when I started. There are a good number of people who have read everything I have ever wrote for going on 10 years now. I am talking roughly 15,000 posts so this was a head start for the new blog. Since then it has grown very slowly and growing faster now probably due the fact google favors it.

DINA: You never seem to run out of energy for blogging or things to say. Is this just “how you are,” do you draw inspiration from other sources, or what? What if a blogger needs a break… any words of advice, suggestions on where to find fresh content, etc.?

ELSA: Yeah, this is my personality. I could easily produce 10 posts a day and have 30 more in my head that I didn’t have time to get to. As for inspiration, it seems readily available. Matter of fact when I was young, I was a bartender. I worked day bar and the period after lunch and before happy hour was slow so I started doing “lectures” from 2-4 PM. I was 19 at the time, so I guess I am crazy but anyway I would have a crowd there and have someone give me a word… just one word and I would take off on it and talk for 2 hours.

I was funny back then so the place would fill up to watch me do this and I don’t recall ever stumbling. Really, I just have a lot to say and my biggest problem today is the PC movement. People have just become ridiculous with their sensitivities, making it very challenging for me to express myself without shocking and appalling them. I think they come to my blog to be shocked and appalled… but not too much!

I can deal with it but I miss the free-wheeling days and do hope my inner dog will have the opportunity to run free again some day.

DINA: Hugely popular blogs are often the target of trolls, hackers and people with nothing better to do than ruin other people’s good time. How do you combat the effects of such characters?

ELSA: I nuke them without hesitation. I absolutely obliterate them and do it publicly if necessary.

Again, I grew up a bartender. I started tending bar when I was 15 years old and I was taught by a pro that you have got to toss the troublemakers or they will ruin your bar. They will literally put you out of business.

It takes a lot of work (and talent) to build a community in a bar or on a blog and there is no way I am going to let someone come in and terrorize the place. It is the bartender’s job to maintain the space and serve the customers so when someone comes in to start trouble, I react quickly.

DINA: Your blog is more than just a blog, really. There’s a discussion forum linked in there (brilliantly) which makes for a vibrant, thriving community. Sometimes it can get hairy trying to manage so many different personalities and perspectives. What do you do if one member crosses a line? Have you ever had to break up a fight?

ELSA: I have broken up a few fights but usually it’s not necessary. It works just like the bar.

I see the fight, I see other people in the bar taking care of the problem. They don’t want their bar messed up anymore than I do so some member of the community usually steps up to intervene while I hold back with my hand the phone or my gun or whatever I think I might need.

90% of the the time it is a matter of someone had too much to drink and they’re back the next day with their manners restored. In the other cases, just like the bar, a small percentage make an exit speech vowing to never return to the establishment again. For an even smaller percentage, I’ve got to call the cops. If I have to call the cops, that’s it, that’s final, you’re toast.

DINA: Controversial topics often draw controversial responses. And as bloggers go, you’re someone who isn’t afraid to be bold, champion the less popular opinion, or tell the truth even if it hurts. I say that this is exactly why your blog gets so much traffic and participation. But others might disagree, go with the more PC approach. What is your advice to these people?

ELSA: I don’t have advice for them. They bore me. I think they are common and my fascination is with the anomaly so I am repelled.

DINA: People who visit my site want to know how to get clients via blogging. I see that you offer several paid options for people interested in astrology, including private readings, phone consults, and group astrology classes. Do you have any tips to offer other people who might want to do the same in their area of expertise?

ELSA: It is very hard to monetize a blog but I think it getting easier this bad economy. I know that is counter-intuitive but as people get harder edged and have less time to waste, if you provide something they know is valuable they will pay to save time trying to find the free replacement, not to mention the free replacements are drying faster than we can spin.

DINA: What’s your favorite part of being an authority on the web and why?

ELSA: People think I am lying but I really don’t much like it. I’d rather be standing in a bar telling stories with the lid off but I suppose I am grown up now?

I don’t like the authority but I do like the consulting. It is a job from God. It is always interesting, always a challenge, I am constantly stimulated, what more could I want?

DINA: Has anything extraordinary happened as a result of your being “out there” and blogging for the entire world? What occurred and who did it make a difference for?

ELSA: I would say that millions of things have happened due my blogging. I have changed many people’s lives, the lives of their children, their grandchildren and then some. Let’s just say I can die at anytime and be very comfortable with it. I have produced my legacy.

DINA: Recently you hosted a great private class on Astrology in Love and Relationships. Will there be more any upcoming events or classes like this happening?

ELSA: Yes, most definitely. I have a private message board, dubbed the Colosseum where I host discussion groups and teach classes. Typically the classes are focused on overcoming impediments to forming happy relationships since this is an area of interest and expertise.

The classes are challenging and meaty rather than fluffy and worthless. I run sort of a Boot Camp of love using the astrology chart to both reveal and resolve problems that plague people and prevent them from relating to the other in a way that satisfies. I like this kind of work and will definitely continue to hold workshops.

DINA: Thanks, Elsa, for taking the time to talk with the readers of Wordfeeder Copywriting and Marketing!

ELSA: Thank you, Dina.

About Elsa:

Elsa Panizzon is a consulting astrologer and owner of ElsaElsa.com, the first astrology blog on the internet. She lives in Colorado with her husband and her son and plans to run her mouth until she dies.

Popularity: 59% [?]

The truth about web content is that you have unfathomable potential to create, destroy, and recreate whatever and whenever you want.

I can always tell when my new clients hail from the corporate world. Their approach toward the marketing is limited and stifling - because they haven’t yet grasped that this is the web… which means you have unlimited space/opportunities to communicate.

If you were creating a brochure, it would be a different story. Printing and design are expensive. You’d have limited space to say what you wanted to say, and you’d have limited chances to bop your potential customers over the head and say, “Look what we’ve got going on over here!”

The web is not like that at all! I mean, basically you’re looking at a blank sheet of paper that is infinite in all directions. You can write whatever you want on that “paper.” You can erase what you wrote and write something else. You can keep what you wrote, but then say something different that has virtually nothing to do with what you said before. It’s almost like… talking!

So, when clients come to me wanting to Go Really Slow… write endless drafts until they get the “perfect” message on the homepage… etc….

I want so badly to be able to show them the FREEDOM that they have here. It’s really so much different than the creative process, the way that marketing professionals from in-house operations and ad agencies typically know it.

I mean, you can do a couple drafts if you want, sure… that can only improve your copy, I think. But the truth is that if you tossed up half-written copy on your homepage tonight, you could change it “live” six times this week and it really wouldn’t affect your audience in the long run.

You could get a blog and start “branding” or “talking to” your future customers right now. You don’t need a team of people with made-up titles critiquing your every move. Or if someone does come by and point out a flaw in your blog content… you can change it… ON THE FLY!

Thus, web copy is much more of a free and unfettered means of communicating. Sure, you want to get the “audience” right and you want to be able to polish your sales pitch.

But it’s really such a different animal that I can’t even begin to know how to explain this to new customers wanting to hold tons of meetings, ponder the brand from every angle, find the “perfect” way to say it.

There will never be a “perfect” way - it’s all in your head, totally fabricated. Once you let go of the perfectionist mentality and the limited mindset, you’ll see that the web can really get you so much farther than print marketing could ever pretend to.

I think the key is to not be afraid. Instead, be flexible… be open to new ideas and ways of doing things. Be observant… look at what other people are doing, see how it works for them. Do that, but put your own spin on it. Make it work for what YOU do, within YOUR context.

On the web, your goal is to create a LOT of content in a short amount of time, and just keep steadily communicating to your audience. That’s really it. If your web person know what the heck he or she is doing, they’ll be open to working with you in any one of a number of ways.

If you want to start an internet business but don’t know where to begin, I encourage you to take a first step and just get a blog. A basic blog will help you loosen up and find your “voice” online. From there, the possibilities are pretty much endless. An experienced website professional will know this, and can help get you there.

Popularity: 46% [?]

Does the prospect of signing up for website hosting boggle your mind? A Wordfeeder reader recently wrote in to ask me a few questions about purchasing hosting for a new website. Here are my responses:

Q: Is there any reason not to buy a domain name AND hosting from the same provider? Network Solutions offers domain purchase along with hosting. If I can do name and hosting as a package deal w/netsolutions, I can save some $.

A: It’s a better idea to keep your domain and hosting with two separate companies. This way, if you ever experience a problem with one company or if they unexpectedly go out of business, you won’t be SOL.

Q: Godaddy recommended not using Hotmail-type email accounts when signing up to buy a domain through them. Any opinion? I could use our Comcast.com email account if it’s better to do so.

A: I’m really not sure why GoDaddy gives out this info. I took their advice with my first sites. Used the email account that I got when I signed up for internet in my town, which was Comcast at the time. For a while, there was a problem because GoDaddy kept sending emails to that danged account which was cancelled when I moved. In fact… to this day, with every new website I purchase, they automatically put me on that email account, which does not exist. And each time it happens, I update my address to use my Yahoo account instead, which I have never had any sort of problem with. So, who knows. But good question.

Q: Should I register a domain name that “says what it is” or should I try to get clever and creative? For example, GoDaddy.com obviously does not “explain what they do.” Does that make a difference?

A: Yes - if you use the exact keywords in your domain name, you WILL get more google cred.

Q: When I sign up to purchase a domain name, there are also options for “certified” and “protected” hosting or domain accounts. This seems like a little unnecessary fluff. Agree?

A: I have never “certified” any of my sites, nor have I ever run into any problem as a result of not doing so. The only situation where you might want to consider privatizing your domain is if you plan to market “incognito” (using a pen name, for example). You might do this if your site is one of the more racy topics - for example, the fine folks at http://revengecrabs.com may not wish to share their identities unless pressed for this information.

Q: The hosting company I’m thinking about going with offers different account options, i.e. starter, biggie, bigger, biggest. I do not understand what all the gigabyte available stuff means; seems like “starter” would make sense for me. They also talk about setting up with Unix. Seems a little too much to me. Do you think going through Windows is good enough?

A: Starter Account is fine for a startup business, and you should actually host on UNIX. I know, one would think Windows because we all use Windows, but Unix is the better option. Boston Computing explains it much better than I ever could hope to.

Popularity: 43% [?]

I received this question from a fellow copywriter, but I thought that the method could easily be used by any other specialist in any industry.

——————————————————————————–
Hi Dina,

My name is John Doe. I saw an article you wrote about how to set a freelance copywriting rate and have seen your business website.

I am a journalist and writer and I am taking some time off from daily newspaper writing to do some freelancing. I write news articles, but have also taken on some work writing a bit of website content and am now ghost-writing an e-book.

A friend of mine is doing a redesign on her business website. She’s self-employed, but doing well. She has hired someone to do the redesign, but has put out an RFP for a copywriter to rewrite her website content.

I believe I am more than capable of bringing a fresh and engaging voice to her site. I am planning to bid on it but I have absolutely no idea how much to charge. I really can’t even ballpark a figure. I asked her if she had a deadline and whether she had a range for acceptable bids, but she said she has neither.

I am trying to get advice from more experienced freelance copywriters about a bid to submit.

Taking a look at her RFP materials, I suspect it will take me 1-2 weeks to rewrite everything, with additional time for revisions.

I am expecting to lowball her a bit because she is a friend with a small business and I am an inexperienced copywriter, but really can’t guess at what an appropriate lowball bid would be.

Would you be able to help me to determine how I should be bidding, what kind of starter rates copywriters have, especially for small-scale projects that are done to gain a portfolio, but still earn a bit of cash?

Anyway, thanks advance for any help you can provide.
John

——————————–
MY REPLY:

Hi John Doe,

How much do you need to make per year to meet your expenses?

How much would you make in a “9 to 5 corporate job” at your same level of expertise/years of experience?

Figure out that number, a salary per year. Then divide by 50 weeks (assuming you’d like to take 2 weeks off).

Then divide the weekly amount by 40 hours per week (assuming 40 hours is your target).

Now you know your hourly rate. So figure out how many hours it would take you to draft one page of copy, in a Word document, assuming it’s 400 to 650 words or so.

If it takes you two hours and your rate is $40 per hour, then think of your projects as being worth $80 per page draft.

Next, factor in extra billables like research time, communicating with clients, and doing revisions. This will be an estimate of course, based on what you “expect” from the client. It’s never exact.

Let’s say that you predict you’ll be spending 2 hours reading/researching the client’s niche. You have 4 pages to write. You “guesstimate” that you’ll spend another 2 to 3 hours revising the copy once the client makes corrections.

So now you have 2 hours plus 8 hours plus 3 hours. That’s 13 hours, times your hourly rate of $40 per hour. The total estimate is $520.00 for four pages of copy including a draft revision. But in order to not scare your clients or shortchange yourself, you want to tell your client, “I estimate this to be anywhere from 10 to 13 hours, which works out to be anywhere from $400 to 520.00. You will be billed for the actual hours spent working, and no more.

Does this make sense? Good luck.

Warm regards,

Dina Giolitto
Wordfeeder.com

Popularity: 100% [?]

If you’ve ever thought about buying paid advertising in Google or Yahoo, but thought the costs were too high, you might be right. Even though you set a budget for PPC ads (Pay-Per-Click), are you really getting your money’s worth?

Paid or sponsored listings, those ads at the top and right side of search results, may not be getting as many clicks as you’d expect. Research indicates that approximately 60 to 80% of people click on organic listings over paid ones, probably because they know sponsored ads will be sales campaigns. If the searcher is just looking for information, they don’t want to be sold to! Additionally, if you’re looking for people with a higher level of education to click on your organic listing, don’t bother with PPC.

Search engines also record your ranking history, so your organic listing will stand the test of time and you’ll continue to rank higher, especially as you implement more and more SEO and ranking techniques that you learn from this blog. If you’re still curious about how Google’s PPC campaigns work visit https://adwords.google.com. You might test a few ads with a limited budget and see what results you get.

Popularity: 33% [?]

I just Googled this phrase to find out for myself, and came upon the following handy tool:

http://www.selfseo.com/google_ban_tool.php

As it turns out, I’m not banned! Although I don’t know why I would be, since my site came up in the search results in the first place.

If you did find your site was banned, I suggest you get yourself to a search engine optimization specialist who can do an analysis of your site and find out whether the problem is duplicate content, keyword stuffing, or what.

Popularity: 51% [?]

1. Work virtually. Copywriters, graphic artists and web designers are easily accessible via the internet. We communicate by phone and email, and pass files electronically. That means no overhead expenses for you to cover - no utility bills, computer upgrades, and NO medical plan!

2. Streamline your communication. Work out designated check-points in the project where you can review drafts, ask questions and supply missing information. Avoid sending email “blips” that confuse instead of clarify - this is a huge time sucker!

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 87% [?]

by Dina Giolitto

Some of us simply don’t want to spend the money on a professional photo shoot for our websites and social networking profiles. Besides… with digital cameras offering such high image quality these days, with a little extra effort you can get results that are just as impressive as if you paid top dollar for a photographer.

Some tips for ensuring that you’re shown in your best light:

1. Wait until the afternoon to take your photo.

There are a couple of reasons for this. One, we typically retain water during our sleep, which is why we look “puffier” first thing in the morning, especially around the eyes. To get rid of the excess fluid, avoid high sodium foods for the rest of the day. Hydrate your body with plenty of liquids. You might try flushing your system with unsweetened cranberry juice, water with a squeeze of lemon, or green tea. Keep drinking, and by 2 p.m. or so your face will show the results.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 53% [?]

by Dina Giolitto

Your brand is an extension of your company’s mission and values. Your company exists for a specific purpose–whether it’s to provide environmentally friendly cleaning products or a healthy meal for families. Your brand is the visual concept and reinforcement of your mission and values. Now is the time to evaluate what your company mission and values are.

Company mission

Disney’s is to “make people happy.” Boeing’s is “to push the leading edge of aviation, taking huge challenges doing what others cannot do.” 3M’s is “to solve unsolved problems innovatively.” What is your company’s mission? First, it’s important to understand what a mission is and what it represents for your company. Then you’ll be able to better determine what your company mission is, or what it should be. Since the mission can act as a strong marketing and branding tool for clients, establishing an effective mission is imperative to your company’s success.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 56% [?]

Recently, Heidi Richards, founder of WE Magazine for Women, listed this blog in her “101 Women Bloggers to Watch” roundup!

THANK YOU, Heidi, for including Entrepreneur’s Breakfast. It’s an honor and a pleasure to be associated with such an enterprising woman as yourself, as well as mentioned in the same breath as this group of empowered and dynamic professional women.

WE Magazine is a veritable smorgasbord of must-have tips, tricks and tools to help the modern woman make informed decisions in both her personal and professional life. Women who read WE are bosses, business owners, mothers, lovers, sisters, daughters, friends. They’re coaches, crafters, consultants, artists, athletes, health enthusiasts, hobbyists, and technology gurus.

Most of all, women who read and contribute to WE Magazine have a passion for living and for making a difference in the world!

To read the complete cast of amazing woman bloggers on Heidi’s Hot List, click here.

Popularity: 84% [?]