attention email subscribers, i need your response!

August 26, 2012 by gloria marie in blogging & social networking | Leave a comment

there comes a time when change is inevitable. and i am not talking about when your total at the cash register is $5.01 and you can’t find a penny or any coins in your pocket and you’re left with $0.99 cents in change. this is the other change, the change that causes things to no longer be how they use to be.

growing pains

this year my email subscribers list has grown by 500%. this is awesome (thank you!), and i want to make sure email subscription is handled in the best way possible! therefore, i am changing the company that manages my email list. i’ve been using feedburner.com and now i will be using aweber.com. i had to make a change for a number of reasons. the biggest one being that i was losing a lot of subscribers because of the feedburner delay in sending out confirmation emails, or emails ending up in spam folders.

a lot of work to change things over but i think in the long run it will be worth it.

this is where i need your help!

when i import my list to aweber.com they will require for you to opt in, to confirm your email address with them before they will start sending my updates to you. IN THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS look out for an email asking you to “confirm your subscription”. i don’t like asking things from my readers, but i would really appreciate it if you would take a moment to confirm your email address for the new list. once you confirm i will remove you from the the old list managed by feedburner, this list will eventually be phased out. THANK YOU in advance for opting in into the new list!

thanks,
gloria

this is post 1000th! my best advice for blogging!

July 14, 2012 by gloria marie in blogging & social networking, creativity, my life | 1 Comment

so what is a blogger to say on their blog’s 1,000th post? THANKS!

i’ve been sharing online since 1997, back on aol pages. i’ve kept journals on diaryland.com and livejournal.com, and then i discovered wordpress in it’s infancy and made my own dot com. and i’ve been wordpressin’ it every since! thanks to the thousands of people who work on wordpress.

as someone who has published 1,000 blog posts i think i have a little something to say on the topic of blogging, so here are 1,000 tips on blogging! okay, i kid! but i do have two: don’t worry about being perfect and be consistent.

1. don’t worry about being perfect

i write because it’s just who i am. i started the blog to do something i love. i don’t put a lot of pressure on myself to be a perfect writer on my blog. i’ve given myself the freedom just to write. write and share what’s on my mind and heart.

i break tons of rules, some on purpose and some not on purpose. haha. i know it’s bad to start sentences off with prepositions, but do i do it? yep, all the time. i am aggressive with my periods, split infinitives, lack capitalization, and a ton of other things that make english teachers just die. part of it is my personal style, and part of it is being okay with not being perfect.

more than worrying about perfect grammar i am more concerned with overall flow and structure of the piece. i often move chunks of sentences around, and put a lot of thought into if my thoughts are sequential.

i preach that perfection is overrated all the time because i really believe it is! perfection will stop you from doing what you love to do…if you let it. give yourself the freedom to do what you love. focus on what is important to you, you can’t always control it all.

2. be consistent

i am as much distracted by glittery things as the next person, there are so many things competing for our time. however, if you want to grow your skills, your art, your audience, your business, whatever it is you do, YOU HAVE TO BE CONSISTENT. you have to set other things aside, all the distractions, and keep shipping. it’s really simple, you don’t get anywhere if you don’t do anything. the more consistent you are the bigger your return. through consistency is how you get to 1,000 blog posts!

being consistent is challenging, especially when things are not magically happening. and as a blogger i sometimes will spend a lot of time working on a piece only to look at my stats and see that not many people actually clicked on it, but that doesn’t discourage me from writing my next post. don’t let setbacks keep you from being consistent.

so there you have it! my two blogging tips! i apologize if these two aren’t good enough, and you actually need 998 more!

but thank you all so much for reading gloriamarie.com. it means a lot! learn more about me here.

i need a little help from my friends! guest blog for gloriamarie.com

June 22, 2012 by gloria marie in blogging & social networking, my life | Leave a comment

i am leaving soon for mexico! i will be gone until mid august. i am unsure about my access to the internet so i am looking for a little help from my friends in keeping my blog updated. here’s the deal:

if you ever wanted to test out blogging or do a guest blog here is your chance!

i need you to write something for my blog! and i will schedule for it to run sometime in july. so what kind of pieces am i looking for? whenever i write i think about how i can help my readers, so anything helpful and encouraging would totally rock. for example, you can write a devotional, share a personal experience, 5 tips on how to be a rock star or…something not so challenging! you can even do a friday pic.

when i wrote for the dallas morning news and i was unsure about a piece those were often the pieces my editor loved. so don’t be shy. write up something and submit it! people relate to honesty. write as if you are talking to a friend. the length of your post should be between 200 – 400 words, but i am not too picky about the word count. just write, and when you are done saying what you want to say stop writing. and it doesn’t have to be perfect. perfection is overrated.

so what’s in it for you?

so you thought i loved you now, oh i am going to really love you if you submit something for my blog. so you will get my l-o-v-e. also, a little built in audience for your creative work. i average around 1500 visits with 2,000 page views per month. i have a little over 100 people opt in to receive blog updates through rss/email. you can promote whatever you want in your byline. overall you will get a fun experience! so c’mon, your friend needs you! submit something.

click here to submit your guest post by noon june 28th, 2012!

thanks!

screencast: a short tutorial on google reader and how to easily read tons of blogs!

June 6, 2012 by gloria marie in blogging & social networking, inspiration, productivity | Leave a comment

in my book a guide to doing incredible things with your life i write about the importance of being educated in whatever it is that you do. one of the ways i stay informed is by reading blogs. tons of blogs.

here is a short screencast/tutorial i made just for you describing google reader and how i use google reader to consume tons of information.

let me emphasize “just for you” because God only knows how much i wanted to delete the screencast after i pressed playback and heard my voice! and oh yeah, i’m a texan ya’ll!

if video is not showing up click here to view.

the screen cast is about helping you find time to read and connect to your favorite blogs. there is so much information in the world, using a news reader such as google reader will help you hone into useful information. seek out blogs that will help you grow in the field that you are in. i also talk a little bit about flipboard. an ahhmazzing app!

confucius said “No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.” so true!

a couple years ago i did a post called what is a rss feed and why you should use it that is worth checking out for further reading on google reader/rss.

{via pinterest.com)

any questions or comments just leave in the comment section!
thanks.

i didn’t resort to cute kittens (my 2012 blogathon recap)

May 31, 2012 by gloria marie in blogging & social networking, inspiration | Leave a comment

it’s a done deal! this chick is one blogging machine! when i press publish on this post i will have successfully completed the 2012 blogathon. owned! cha cha cha.

this is a reflective post on the experience. warning: it’s going to be long. longer than my normal blog posts, and i will more than likely digress here and there and wander in the wilderness.

i have blogged 31 days straight!

at the beginning i didn’t know if i had it in me to do the blogathon this year since i feel like i am in a creative drought. i am glad i forced myself to do it beyond how i was feeling. my blog has grown as well as myself as a blogger. i’ve been blogging for years and this is my second year doing the blogathon but the blogathon this year has reinforced what it is that i want to write about here at gloriamarie.com.

so what is it like to blog 31 days straight?

challenging but doable. the biggest challenge for me was making sure the blog for the day was posted in time to go out to my email subscribers. my blog email updates goes out in the morning and if i posted later in the day it wouldn’t go out until the following morning appearing as if i missed a day. normally the email update is scheduled to go out around 9am but i had to push it back to 11am towards the end of the blogathon, gave myself more time to get my act together!

consistency and output is good, but also quality. blogging everyday makes you deal with the issue of quantity vs. quality. during the blogathon my friend accused me of phoning it in on a post called a look back found here. i didn’t have much shame in my game on that post, i pretty much mention how the post will do and count for day 19. i gave him a hard time for being critical but my friend’s criticism actually made me try harder.

some days i would sit. sit and stare. and be completely clueless on what to write. thankfully inspiration would hit, except for day 19! :) but knowing you have to write something everyday forces you to be a more active writer. active writers are always on the lookout for something to write about.

3 blog posts that didn’t make it

sometimes i have intentions to write about things but never develop the ideas. sometimes i don’t know what i want to say about a subject, how i want to say it, or simply lack the time to develop the ideas into something worth reading. here are 3 that didn’t make it into a post this blogathon.

1. i wanted to do a confessional post on how i love drake. there, i said it! i heart drake. for those who have no idea who drake is…it’s probably best that you keep it that way. drake is a singer/rapper, and most of his music is best heard “clean”.

this is a picture i took for a tweet earlier this year. but of course i was like, “omg, drake!” i had the magazine sitting on my desk and somehow i was careless and sat a glass on it and condensation ruined the cover! it was probably all for the best, the magazine could had led to a drake shrine.

2. the second post that didn’t make it was a post about psalm 23. it is the famous psalm that we learn in sunday school about the lord being our shepherd. a couple weeks ago i woke up and “psalm 23″ was first thought, i could hear psalm 23 in my mind. the intensity of it that morning freaked me out. i immediately picked up my bible and read the psalm, and of course thought how i should blog about it. my problem was that i didn’t quite know what i should blog about psalm 23. a week later i run into the niv version of psalm 23 and it starts off with “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.” and i think that maybe that is what i needed to know, that i lack nothing because of the providence of God.

3. the 3rd post that didn’t make it was the cute kitten post! so here is a picture of a cute kitten for those who were really looking forward to me resorting to cute kittens in this blogathon! but umm, maybe on day 19 i should had resorted to cute kittens?

3 blog posts that did make it, but did you read them?

1. the 7 kinds of people who will make you lose your religion

i actually wrote this one just yesterday. this post is about loving your enemies and trusting God to fight your battles and deliver you from your enemies.

2. feed the hungry. educate the foolish.

a play on the famous steve jobs quote and a call to creatives to supply the need of hungry and foolish people.

3. stay focused and keep shipping

i explain the concept of shipping, a term that is familiar in the computer software world. at some point you must ship! get whatever it is that you do in the hands of the public.

4. be willing to spend time to accomplish great things in your life

yeah, i know i said 3 but i really meant 4 but i didn’t want to mess up the “3 blog posts…” pattern. this post is all about being great, and investing in your gift/talent/calling. you become great by doing.

thank you

thanks to my regular and new readers for sticking it out with me! if you can get pass day 19, my love for the rapper drake, the occasional digression, my lack of capitalization, and me going on and on about jeremiah 29:11 then i believe we have a bright future together. subscribe via email and i will continue to “try harder” at helping you live and create your life.

congrats to all the other bloggers who successfully completed the blogathon! including my dear friend alice.

2012 blogathon: cute kittens will be a last resort

May 1, 2012 by gloria marie in blogging & social networking, my life | 1 Comment

last year i participated in the wordcount blogathon and it was an awesome experience. this year i am doing it again! for 31 days straight i will be blogging. i was hesitant about doing it this year because i am somewhat in a creative drought right now, i feel unfocused and completely all over the place, but this will force me to “sit & write”. sit & write. sit & write!

my heart’s desire is to speak a positive word into the lives of all those who somehow end up here! i want to inspire you to live an incredible life and to create awesome things! the world is filled with naysayers and negative messages, but i am determined to let my little light SHINE.

i am just this 30 year old who loves to write, photograph, teach, and most of all loves Jesus. and i go about my blog all the wrong way because i write about all those things…sometimes all in one post! they, the experts, say if you want a successful blog you should limit your topics. oops! but perhaps it’s not all about having a “successful blog” but simply inspiring others…

the other day a coworker sent me a picture of herself at closing of her new home and told me “thanks for the inspiration.” last year i bought a house and it inspired her to take a leap of faith. and i thought to myself, that’s what it is about! inspiring other people. even if it is just one person, and even if my delivery needs work i must keep taking leaps, believing, trusting God for his promises and writing about it all.

if you are reading this on tuesday there is still time to register for the blogathon, registration is open until 11 p.m. pacific time on may 1. i convinced my mom to sign up, she blogs at cynthiabanessa.com. go support her! i am creative because of this woman. if you are already participating would love to connect with you! leave your blog in the comment section!

i hope everyone sticks around for the whole 31 days and beyond. i promise to serve up 31 days of oh so fresh and so clean content. i promise to resort to pictures of cute kittens only if i have completely run out of real content to share. the best way to stay connected is to subscribe via email.

okay, day 1 of 31 down…
30 more to go!

i
can
so
do
this!

START 2012: how to start a blog this weekend! (easy as 1, 2, and 3!)

January 27, 2012 by gloria marie in blogging & social networking, inspiration | Leave a comment

all week i’ve been talking about starting. to conclude the series i want to talk about starting a blog, out of all the things i do it seems as if that is one of the things people are most interested in starting, and it’s the easiest thing to do! i’ve been sharing online before blogging was a term, but it’s only really been in the past 2 years that i’ve become focused on blogging more seriously. the following is 3 easy steps to get you started with blogging!

1. choose a blog topic

the more specific your blog is the better. to be honest, my blog suffers from way too many topics! for example, when i write about photography i am sure i isolate people who may follow me for my inspirational pieces. not everyone is a photographer. and i teach at the elementary level full time, been doing so for the past 4 years, but i rarely talk about teaching or my classroom on my blog because i believe that will bore my core audience. i highly suggest that if you start a blog you narrow it down to a specific topic for a specific audience.

one of the keys to readership is defining your topic and audience.

choose a topic you are interested in, don’t blog about a topic because you think it is popular. blog about a topic because you really love it! this will help you when it comes time to produce content for your blog. it is so much easier to write about something you are passionate about than some random topic you hold little interest in.

2. choose a content management system (cms)

back in the day if you wanted to build a website you pretty much needed to know html, nowadays you don’t need to know html you just need a good content management system. a web based software to manage all your content. i use wordpress (available at wordpress.org), and self host my blog. many hosting companies make it really easy to install wordpress.org software with just a couple clicks. i suggest this route if you have big plans for your blog and want to have your own personalized domain name. if you are completely clueless on publishing on the web this might require a tad of research, but the web is full of information! don’t be intimidated.

however, if you just want to blog and not get too technical i suggest using a cms platform you don’t have to host yourself. this process is pretty much is a sign up and get started approach. if you want to use wordpress but not host it yourself sign up at wordpress.com, if you want to use one of the most popular blogging hosting services sign up at blogger.com, and if you want some instant gratification/readership/response/content sign up at tumblr. i’ve been having a lot of fun with tumblr lately.

3. produce content

this is where the magic happens! there is a popular saying that says “content is king” and it’s a true statement. if you don’t have content on your blog you will not gain any readers. since i take my blogging seriously in the back of my head i have the number 3. i need to produce at least 3 pieces of content each week for my blog, and then it comes down to quality over quantity.

producing content isn’t always easy. you really have to be dedicated to the process. sometimes you will have writer’s block. sometimes you will just be really busy and will find it hard to produce content. but you must be consistent if you want your readers to come back.

to help you stay on track of producing content consider the following: 1) sit down at the beginning of the month and write out at least 5 article ideas, sometimes you really need to be intentional. 2) create a staple/series on your blog. every friday i do the friday pic series. the world is very chaotic, and people like consistency. 3) read! consume tons of content for inspiration. when you read make connections with your life or other text you’ve read in order to generate article ideas.

go for it!

there is more that goes into blogging (seo, connecting with your audience, promoting your blog, blog design, etc) but i have given you a starting place. if you desire to create a blog i want you to start this weekend! and don’t worry if your content is a little lack luster at the beginning…you will get better! dig in, educate yourself more about blogging (google blogging and become overwhelmed! i mean, amazed!), and watch your blog grow!

if you have questions about blogging don’t hesitate to contact me! i am more than willing to discuss blogging with you.

happy blogging!

a look back: my favorite content of 2011

December 28, 2011 by gloria marie in blogging & social networking, my life | Leave a comment

i wrote quite a few articles in 2011, but here are my 10 favorite ones! this is a just in case you missed it!

numbered, but in no particular order.

1. psalm 139
i am still tripping over the goodness of psalm 139. this scripture spoke so much to me in 2011. it starts off with “God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand.”

2. it doesn’t have to be perfect (create and share)
start, start, start! whatever it is God has laid on your heart to do!

3. looking for inspiration
i write about how sometimes you look for inspiration anywhere and everywhere because you need to create…or you have a deadline!

4. one last poem
a poem by langston hughes “life is fine” during national poetry month in april. this poem is sweeeet at so many levels, but at the end he declares But for livin’ I was born… yes, yes indeed.

5. we’ll go where the chalk-white arrows go
this is another entry i wrote during national poetry month in april. i share a stanza by shel silverstein and write about speaking positive things over your life.

6. be passionate and connect with passionate people
my friend alice took me to a dallas stars game, and i had the pleasure of sitting next to a chicago blackhawks fan and boy was she passionate. i have the picture to prove it!

7. {gloria marie photography} miss cahlia and all her cuteness
cahlia! this is one of my favorite photo shoots from this past year.

8. omg, i believe the universe is calling me to bike!
this is one of my favorite post from this past year simply because i mentioned al humphreys and he responded. if you’ve been reading my blog you know i think this guy is incredible!

9. and he will save me from my sins (why i am in need of a savior)
i wrote this last week! here it is again just in case you missed it! i write about my need of a savior.

10. make work easier (in celebration of labor day)
a post on some of my favorite tools i use, including evernote, flipboard, and spotify!

if you ever wish to browse content on gloriamarie.com visit the archives page. it’s all there! 889 published articles dating back to 2007.
thanks for reading.

a look back: most viewed content of 2011

December 27, 2011 by gloria marie in blogging & social networking, my life | Leave a comment

here is my top 10 most viewed content from 2011. most of it was written in 2011, but some wasn’t. this is according to my google analytics data. thanks to the thousands of people who read my blog in 2011!

1. just take a deep breath and forget about it (real maturity)

2. fresh from facebook: the royal wedding / cinderella (my most liked post on facebook!)

3. ¿cuál es el sueño americano?

4. the toyota venza facebook commercial

5. the museum of me on intel is quite a cool concept (your online social life)

6. calm down you can still marry harry

7. 14 things for february 14 (valentine’s day)

8. long before I dance under those lights

9. a simple acknowledgement would had been nice

10. all i can do is be me

6 resources to make work easier (in celebration of labor day)

September 4, 2011 by gloria marie in blogging & social networking, inspiration, productivity | Leave a comment

in celebration of labor day here are some tools i use to help make working online and in the creative world easier.

buffer

first off, joel & leo from buffer are awesome and nice. when they come to dallas we are having coffee! haha. buffer allows you to tweet it up and buffer will automatically schedule your tweets out over time. very easy to use, and useful.

screenr

for my photography business i’ve used this service to create a short video explaining my pricing. with screenr you can capture your screen and do tutorials with a voiceover. whenever someone ask me about my pricing i send them this short video:

google reader

i love love google, and google reader is one of my favorite services from them. it’s a rss reader. if you consume a high level of online content managing your content is a must. instead of visiting tons of sites everything is all in one place. and as a blogger feedburner (another google service) is a must, keep track of people who are subscribing to your content. thumbs up to all the people who subscribe to my blog by rss, the number is inching closer to 100!
if you don’t know what rss is read up here about it.

flipboard

if you have an ipad and don’t have flipboard downloaded…what are you thinking?! download it now and enjoy moments of bliss. it’s an app that pulls feeds from different sources, such as facebook, twitter, google reader, etc. and displays the content in the most beautiful way. and you just use your finger to flip through it all. amazing stuff.

spotify

i heart music and i heart spotify. i got this perk through klout (another great resource) but i think anyone can sign up for it now. you can listen to any kind of music you want anytime you want, just have to contend with a few music commercials in the free version. with the paid version you can take your music with you on your smartphone. when i work on the computer i listen to music…well, i listen to music…when i live! ;) my point is that i love music and spotify is awesome.

evernote

been using google notebooks for years and was relentless to transfer all of my notes over to evernote but a couple months ago i took the leap and spent a great deal of time transferring my google notebooks notes over to evernote. i believe it was worth it. keep track of all your little thoughts, and keep them neatly organized. i can take and make notes anywhere, it syncs all of my evernote apps (desktop, iphone, ipad, and online). do away with all those mad scientist scraps of papers. digitize and tag all your thoughts.

if you look into only one link on this list i encourage you to consider using google reader.

#happymonday

if you don’t have steve jobs then you don’t have steve jobs

August 24, 2011 by gloria marie in blogging & social networking, my life | Leave a comment

happy wednesday. the buzz of the day is steve jobs leaving his position at apple, inc. as ceo. i just saw the “if you don’t have an iphone then you don’t have an iphone” tv ad and thought i would play off that concerning the news of steve jobs. so that’s my deep take on the situation. haha.

congrats to my sister rashonda! she won my book. she retweeted my post about my book and walked away a winner. i used random.org to come up with the winner. there were 6 people in the drawing. if you wanted to win my book and didn’t retweet then you suck. just kidding. i understand not everyone has a twitter account, maybe another giveaway in the near future?

i got news today that closing on my house is scheduled for monday, two days ahead of the original closing date. this is awesome news. so far things have gone very smooth, and i am looking forward to closing on my first place! (!!!)

have a blessed rest of the week!!!
friday is coming.

blogging & social networking