McLinky Monday - Who Am I?

<a href="http://therhok.com" target="_blank"><img alt="The RHOK" src="http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo160/ajsouthern/RHOKBUTTON-2.jpg" /></a>

So, who are you? 

Not like in a philosophical sense...

Not like what's your name or your occupation...

or whether you're a mom or dad...or a wife or husband. 

I'm talking about who are you as a blogger.

Have you ever looked at your blogging stats?  Well, let me tell you, they are a wealth of information.  You can find out how many views your blog has in a day (a week, a month, etc.), the most viewed posts, and traffic sources.

I find that last one very interesting. 

If you go to your "Stats" tab (from your Blogger Dashboard, if you use Blogger.  I'm not sure how to do this from Wordpress or other formats), you can click on "Traffic Sources" and down at the bottom it will give you the top ten "Search Keywords"...top 10 keywords that bring people to your blog.

For instance, here are the top ten words from our RHOK blog:

1.   real housewives of oklahoma 285 (nice to know we're making a name for ourselves!)
2.   tow truck 121 (because "tow truck" is so synonymous with "housewife")
3.   housewives 46 (much better)
4.   garage door makeover 44
5.   the real housewives of oklahoma 42 (yep, that's us!)
6.   cars tow truck 37 (don't you think of the RHOK when you think of tow trucks?)
7.   real housewives 29 (REAL housewives...not fake ones) 
8.   real housewives costume 26 (REAL housewives who wear costumes)
9.   housewives of oklahoma 19 (and yes, we live in Oklahoma)
10. bubies 16 (is this bubies or babies or boobies?...what's bubies?)

It's kind of interesting, huh?

I think it helps us know what our readers want...what they visit our page looking for.  Apparently, here at the RHOK we just need to keep talking about ourselves...and tow trucks...and "bubies".  OK, so it may not be an accurate account of your viewership, but it's still fun to look at!

So, what's your top ten??

Also, tell us what your most viewed post is!  Maybe we missed it?!  If it's the one that people have read the most, we NEED to read it too!  So, link that baby up!

(FYI - just go back to your "Stats" tab...then to "Posts"...be sure you've clicked on "all time" and there at the top will be your most viewed post)

The most viewed post here at The RHOK was brought to us by Mrs. Nesbitt, who is a retired Housewife...it's titled Wisdom (by way of a cartoon tow truck)...yep, we have her to thank for all of those people who search "tow truck" and end up at The RHOK! {click title to read post}

You know the drill...


1. Grab our snazzy McLinky button
2. Write up a post of your own
3. Insert McLinky button
4. Come back here and link up your post

~Mrs. Edwards

Money Saving Queen - Blogging with Excellence

I met Sarah, the Money Saving Queen, at her first Whole Foods Coupon Workshop. It was such great information and she was such a great resource,  I just knew I had to get to know her.

918Moms.com Networking Event

I waited around after everyone had asked their questions and introduced myself. I quickly learned not only was she a really a great person, she was funny as well! I just love her. Sarah is real, transparent & shares what makes her successful. That makes her a 10 in my book. Recently, I strategically stalked her we have attended the same events so when she agreed to guest post for The RHOK I said, "Yee-Haw!" 

Sarah has taken a "mommy blog" with no money to an award winning, successful, national site. She is generously sharing some great blogging tips with us today. Take notes RHOK'ers...

Blogging might just be the new black and the ever so popular ‘mommy bloggers’ seemingly have taken over the world.  While it is true everyone can blog, not everyone can blog well. I recently taught a Blogging 101 Workshop which I renamed Blogging Bootcamp.We talked about the good, the bad and the ugly. The workshop got down and dirty to the real concept of blogging and how to actually make money while doing it.

Here are the Top 5 Ways to Blog with Excellence:

1. Compelling Topic:  Not just any topic but one that compels someone to read it. Also, if the topic has been done before, think of ways you can do it differently. Always be thinking outside of the box and don't pay too much attention to the competition or you may end up sounding like them and lose your own personal voice.

2. Create the Blog: Visit Wordpress.com or Blogger.com and create a free blog. I launched my entire business without spending a dime. After your audience begins to grow however, you may want to spend some money on a designer. A blog must be pretty to attract an audience. I recommend AbyDesign.com & Aqua Poppy Designs. 

3. Write Well: Blogging is not book writing, be sure to keep paragraphs short (maybe a 3 sentence max) and also have good grammar and punctuation. If a reader cannot figure out what you were trying to say, he or she will not be back. After you write your post, proofread it and make sure it accomplishes the goal for which you wrote it.
 

4. Engage Your Audience: Ask questions, share stories and engage your readers. Relationships are key to success so be sure to interact with your readers via posts and also the comments on your blog. This isn’t the standard ‘no contact’ website, blogging is personal and your readers love it.
 

5. Embrace Social Media: Just because you create a blog or website does not mean people will come to it. You have to make the effort to go and get your audience and show them that what you’re offering is what they need. Using Facebook and Twitter can maximize the exposure of your blog and...IT'S FREE. 
Visit Money Saving Queen on Facebook and @MoneySavinQueen on Twitter.

Blogging is an amazing way to connect with the rest of the world and form long lasting relationships as well. If you own a business, blogging will take you from just being a store on the street to being personal and build a loyalty with your customers that other stores may not have.

Be prepared though, it does take work and lots of it. Growing a blog is no easy feat and keeping that audience is just as difficult. However, the joy you’ll find from having personal relationships with your readers and hopefully, making some money at the same time is well worth it.

So did you take good notes? I hope so, there will be a test in the morning! What tip are you going to implement on your blog today? We will drop by for a visit.

Blog Blessings,
Mrs. Montgomery