Mar 21, 2010

My New Gluten-Free Blog and Lessons Learned

Back in November, I had the idea to start a new gluten-free blog to help build my career in freelance writing and social media as well as to share my knowledge. Instead of linking it to this blog and using my name, I thought it would be interesting to do it anonymously for a few months to see how easy or difficult it is now to start a new gluten-free blog and get blog traffic.

On my new blog I identified myself as being from the Mid-Atlantic and provided a description of myself.

I am a freelance writer, Examiner, and a gluten-free product reviewer, who uses social media daily. I blog frequently at a popular gluten-free blog I started one year ago.

I chose a blog template that looks completely different than the Gluten Free Optimist. I used a dark background and header tabs. I quickly learned that header tabs are much easier in Wordpress.

Perhaps you followed gfsocialmedia on Twitter or Facebook, became a fan on my Facebook page, or joined the bloggers group I started on Gluten-Free Faces. Are you surprised?

I quickly got many Twitter followers and 34 fans on my Facebook page, but sadly, no followers on my blog and still not much traffic. The biggest obstacle I ran into was that despite several emails I was not added to the Gluten-Free Aggregrator. Mike assures me I will be eventually added, however he is so busy with life changes, that he simply can’t keep up. So, for people starting a new gluten-free blog in a time when the web is already flooded with gluten-free, patience, persistence, and connections are essential.

Visit my new blog, Gluten-Free Social Media Tips. Please become a follower, subscribe via email, become a fan on Facebook, and share your comments!

No comments: