Hug-A-Blogger

Blogging Book: My Blogging Book Released!

2011-11-17T19:53:00.001-08:00

My newest book is out on Kindle and Nook! This can be downloaded to your PC, Droid, IPAD or other device.

"Blogging Changed My Life" reveals all the secrets of the last 3 years of my life blogging, how it completely changed my personal life by giving me confidence and making me take risks in a safe and supportive arena. I share my secrets for blogging, how to grow your blog, the karma of the blog world, and samples of posts from my blog throughout the years as I evolved my style and my focus. You will not only see a blog grow, but a person live up to her potential. Blogging allows this and I can't say enough about how it helped me find myself, express myself, and find happiness and success, as well as my "tribe."

On Hold

2011-08-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

Life is getting very fast-paced lately. We don't want to put HaB site up for good. We have plans for this place, but for the near future, we have to let it sit and idle for a time. When we come back to it, we will likely have an insane over-the-top approach to making the concept of Hug-A-Blogger seriously exciting!

HALLOWEEN IS COMING--IS YOUR BLOG READY?

2011-08-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

First, I'd suggest launching the beginning of the busy October month off by joining the Blogger Virtual Zombie Walk event.

The truth is, when kids go back to school and folks are done with summer fun, the blog world gets more busy and the month of October (especially for horror blogs) is just insane!

It's a good idea to start putting posts in the queue for that month so you can actually enjoy October, but also keep your readers happy. I have the month of October filled, but I also leave it open to do a second post a day if I do some fun Halloween event and want to share it. Now that I have a nightvision camera, I might go to a Haunted event and film or a corn maze at night.

People love autumn/October themes, farmer's markets, recipes, party ideas, how to preserve autumn leaves, horror movie reviews....

Consider putting up a Halloween countdown clock. You can also do giveaways with Halloween themes. This is your time to be truly creative and get people excited about the dark season.

Now, go forth and filled your queue. For tips on how to change the background on your blog for the holidays or to put posts in your queue, look at the tab above for "blogging tips."

Zombie Blogs

2011-08-05T03:30:00.000-07:00

Sean Thomas Fisher's Blogwash
Description: "Thank you for visiting my corner of the writing world, where COLD FAITH AND ZOMBIES, FIRST ZOMBIE, and SECOND ZOMBIE are now available through BarnesandNoble.com, Amazon.com and Smashwords.com. Currently, I am working on a Paranormal/Horror novella, entitled COLD SUMMER NIGHTS and hearing noises in the basement at the same time. In fact, I'm going down to investigate now. I'll be right back..."

It's on Random
Description: "I'm Britnie and here it is... crafting, cooking, building, whatever to keep me sane. Or insane. If you enjoy zombies and comics you'll enjoy it here, if not don't let that scare you. Enjoy, have fun and inspire others!" She makes and sells amazing hemp soap, zombie tees and more!

Zombies Everywhere!
Description: It's hip, it's fun, it's all things zombie and cool interviews. This blogger knows how to engage you into the world of the macabre with a hip and young bend that is infectiously addictive.

iZombie Lover
Description:
This lively and upbeat zombie lover is also an amazing artist, so come for his art and his conversations, as well as his postings of zombie tattoos people have gotten. It's an unusual and fun zombie place!

Blogging Poets

2011-08-03T03:30:00.000-07:00

The blog world has its artisans and writers, humorists and commentaries. And, it has its poets. Sometimes, just a poem a day gives you a new outlook on the ordinary and an insight into the writer if you read them often enough.

Here are some awesome poet bloggers.

Memento Mori
A beautiful place, an insightful spiritual poet, a hint of cemetery, a word of the day. I fully expect to read Seek the Sun in published books.

Haiku Koo-Koo
You can't get more simple than a Haiku, but when you add beautiful photography, wit, emotional insights, depth and lightness all in a few lines, you've hit gold! You can't get more nice and talented in one package.

Monkey Man
I kid around with Monkey Man that he writes orgasmaprose because his poems pack a wallop at the end that you didn't see coming. Seriously talented and also a wonderful human being.

Catnip
Timoteo is folksy and real, raw and rough, and so freaking talented that it's all brilliantly calculated. He makes you belly laugh, shake your head, and ponder all that is life.

Blogging Business: Soap!

2011-08-01T03:30:00.000-07:00

Random Girl at It's On Random has a soap shop now. Wahoo! I ordered some up right away! I'm not only a hemp soap freak, but a chai freak too--I make my own chai tea mix. When I saw she had a natural chai hemp soap, I thought--I love this gal! I even ordered some for my son's fiancee's birthday. She is a natural soap nut too.

You wonder why I look younger than my considerable years--it's from using natural soaps (and being vegetarian). I used to make my own soaps, but I don't have the time anymore, so I'm letting a talented person make it. Her prices are ridiculously awesome! She also has honey hemp, magic brownie soap, and more! I'm giddy! Thanks blog world for showcasing talented and honestly hard working and brilliant folks. I'm always promoting in-breeding consumerism within the blog community, sort of like shopping local. Definitely give this gal's shop a look-see and give some lucky gal some soap that'll make her toes curl.

On Hold for July

2011-07-07T03:30:00.000-07:00

I am putting HaB on hold for the month of July. I have two books to finish writing, a full-time job and 4 other blogs to run, oh and ghost hunting, Bigfoot hunt, UFO hunt... So, I'm going to give myself a mini vacation for a time and get my priorities straight. I hope to be back up and running in August with more blogs info and blogs to follow. Thanks so much!

Showcased Blog: It's on Random!

2011-07-05T03:30:00.000-07:00

I just love Its On Random . I'm a zombie freak (who isn't?) but this gal is into cooking, crafting, and all things zombies. This blog is slick, gorgeous, and new and fresh. I am finding it to be us freaky intelligent type's getaway and great start to a zombie-happy day.

I'll be seeing y'all over there!

Showcased Blog: The Liquor Guy

2011-07-03T03:30:00.000-07:00

I love this guy's blog, The Liquor Guy. He went away for a while--life gets in the way, and came back with a rush of new excitement. I just love the way he teaches me about stuff I didn't know, makes me feel a bit more hip and up to date and tantalizes with drinks and backgrounds of liquors and all kinds of intriguing worlds I had never much delved into as a gal who grew up on cheap canned beer at desert parties and totally bypass the wine tasting part of the yuppie 80s. So, I count on him and so should you.

So, be there or be square. I'll meet y'all over there.

Sample Post By Great Magic Blogger

2011-07-01T03:30:00.000-07:00

Materialization and Symbols of Magic:

Change is the death of an old situation (experience) and the birth of a new one. Change is the essence of life. Everything changes, and choice decides the outcome. When change is forced on us sometimes we can be pushed to the limits. Our emotions have the power to hamper progress. It can take time for the logical mind to wrap around what is taking place. So many thoughts surround what has, is and might happen to accept change.

Today if I do nothing else I embrace change. What's done is done and I handled the situation the best I could. I can't change what has happened but vow to choose never to react that way again for I've experienced an outcome I didn't desire.

June 15, 2011 I sat on a willow tree stump gazing at the Full Moon. I was feeling a lot of different emotions trying to adjust to changes in my life. I asked my Spirit Guide for assistance. I offer tobacco smoke to Spirits so they can manipulate the substance to appear or give symbols to open the subconscious. Symbols are psychological tools of discovery. Each holds hidden meanings to open the subconscious. The tool is used for exploration to trigger the mind to release hidden thoughts to discover a solution or answer sought.

The unseen do convey answers.

A male's face appeared with the letter "M" close by and very clear. A face generally means a friend. Strong and upright reveals a man-reliable, helpful and loyal, a visitor coming soon. The initial "M" nearby revealed who. I was pleased to know positive forces are entering the situation.

You can do this divination for yourself because each person's intuition and magnetism (the power of attraction, the ability to attract or charm) will enable you to pick out the images that have meaning.

Interpret the shapes as symbols of what's coming to you in the near future. When reading the symbols remember that the more definite the symbols are the more quickly, as a rule, things will happen.

Angie Skelhorn is a Canadian author, practicing Witch and Spiritualist who also divines with Tarot and ordinary playing cards. She has been writing Realistic Fiction/Magic and Realism for thirteen years. Her websites http://Witchskel.blogspot.com http://Witchskel.com http://AngieSkelhorn.com

Showcased Blog: "The Haunted Gardens"

2011-06-29T03:30:00.000-07:00

It's hard for me living in an apartment. I'm an organic gardening freak. My dream yard would contain nut trees, fruit tree orchards, tons and tons of rooms for all the produce I can stand (I'm vegetarian and that's quite a bit), herbs and a garden for curative tea ingredients. I would also love to have a large labyrinth I could walk everyday in contemplation and some rusted ride carts from abandoned amusement parks with vines growing up the sides of them and cushions inside to enjoy a place to gaze around the garden.

So, I now have a hanging garden (so bunnies and prarie dogs don't get my goodies) and live vicariously through other gardener's wonderlands. Having a castle-themed, dark and moody garden was always my greatest dream and The Haunted Gardens gives me that.

Showcased Blog: Matt Betts

2011-06-27T03:30:00.000-07:00

As a writer, I appreciate reading other writer's blogs. Sometimes, I come across one that just does my heart good. Perhaps they write in a similar genre, or they have wit or heart, or I just sense that we'd be the best of friends if we met in person. All of these are applicable in this case.

Matt Betts has such a blog. He's presently working on a steam punk novel. I like his attitude. I like his humor. Nice guy. Just fun to see whazzup with him.

So, check it out and I'll be over that way too.

Showcased Blog: AlienDescendant

2011-06-25T03:30:00.001-07:00

You know I can't keep my nose out of all things paranormal, so I when I found an intelligent person running a site about UFOs, I got all excited. You see, I've spent a lot of time in the paranormal realm and Bigfoot realms, but I was only just now taking time to get up to speed on UFOs and that's because, like most people searching for answers, I encountered a few UFOs and had questions. I'm even planning some UFO hunt in the desert at nighttime with surveillance teams.

This blog, AlienDescendant is a bright one and this is a man who follows the information out there and is open for discussion on the subject.

I will be poking around on his blog and I hope to see y'all over there too!

Showcased Blog: "Ghost Stories"

2011-06-23T03:30:00.000-07:00

Ghost Stories is the kind of blog I really enjoy! I go there and I find short pieces about all kinds of paranormal stuff I didn't know about or didn't know was going on. So, basically if you want a kind of paranormal variety news show of information, this is the place! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do because it's where I get updated on variety of info that has me shaking my head, "I didn't know that!"

I'll see y'all over there!

Showcased Blog: "Southern Spirit Guide"

2011-06-21T03:30:00.000-07:00

I'm a southern gal and we love our sweet tea and our ghost stories. Imagine how much Southern Spirit Guide would pleasure the very heart of me. Lewis Powell, IV has a blog that is beautiful, classy, and seriously has its research and extensive writings about hauntings south of that infamous Mason-Dixon line. There is nothing better than southern ghosts, except perhaps the British ones.

So, come and join me here for your chills and thrills with a beautiful drawl.

Showcased Blog: "Weight Control Free"

2011-06-19T03:30:00.000-07:00

I have goals. We all have goals. My goals I am trying to loosen a bit. I used to model and do pageants and that can really screw with your body image. I was an athlete growing up and to me, my body wasn't about looks--it was about muscles and hand-eye coordination. I was present in my body every second that I did freestyle dancing on rollerskates or tricks on skateboards, every hook shot in basketball, every backhand with a tennis racquet, every walkover on a balance beam or dive off a springboard.

This blog, Weight Control Free, is awesome. The advice is timely and sound and I find myself being motivated by each posting. It reminds me of the health-conscious group I've always been a part of, but not fully immersed. Now, I'm taking the dive into a more focused lifestyle. The thing about living healthy and consciously is that you feel so damn invincible that it's addictive. So, get your addiction on here.

I'll see y'all over there.

Showcased Blog: "Zombies Everywhere!"

2011-06-17T03:30:00.000-07:00

Who the hell doesn't love zombies???

Zombies Everywhere has a zombie theme is beautiful, fun to read visually and for content! They also have the coolest merchandise--seriously fun! It is probably one of the most visually beautiful blogs I've seen and a blast to read. I think if you need a zombie site, this is it. This is your fix.

I'll see y'all there.

Arizona Bloggers

2011-06-16T03:30:00.000-07:00

Okay AZ bloggers, Julie and I are looking for y'all! Please comment on here, let us know you're out there. Let us know what your blogs are. We're hoping to get moving with a proposal for our Hug-A-Blogger book and are looking for AZ bloggers who might want to jump on-board to be interviewed for the book and featured on this blog with a button to your blog. We are hoping to meet other bloggers and network, support each other in our endeavors and perhaps experience more on the road adventures. Let us know if you're up for being pestered by a couple of curious and fun ladies who like to take to the road and meet and hug bloggers.

Showcased Blog: "Max Evel"

2011-06-15T03:30:00.000-07:00

I was a huge fan of Max Evel's site and then it got revamped and I'm loving the new look of it even more. This talented blogger is always shocking me with what he can do. He's even naughtier and brassier than I am. Expect music, naughty stuff, and saying it like it is, along with some wicked art.

I'll be seeing y'all over there. It's a place I can see hilarious videos, listen to awesome rock music, and always with a raunchy bend. He's a naughty boy and I love it!

Hug-A-Blogger Book Proposal? AZ, CA, NM

2011-06-14T09:58:00.000-07:00

Those of you who recall the origins of this blog, might remember that it was originally set up as a book proposal. The concept was that Julie and I would trek around the country meeting bloggers, interviewing them and finding the commonalities in how blogging changed their lives and brought us together on the Internet, like the highways brought us together as a nation. We planned it out as a blog that would go active when we hit the road with daily blogging on the road, photography, videos, Facebook, Twitter, flash mobs in cities of bloggers doing a group hug, meetings with local bloggers, private interviews, and perhaps even roadside Twitter dares and cheesy gift shop giveaways.

The publishers found it to be cost prohibitive, but Julie and I are reviving the concept with the possibility of covering 3 states; Southern CA, AZ, and NM. We'll keep you updated if this takes off. We know just how we want to present it and how we want to engage people in the blogging process on a book about blogging.

If you happen to be an AZ blogger, NM blogger or SoCal blogger, let us know at ghosthuntingtheories@gmail.com.

Showcased Blog: What Lies Beyond

2011-06-13T03:30:00.000-07:00

"What Lies Beyond: A Quest For the Truth" is a blog about getting into the nitty gritty of paranormal stories. This couple tells their stories about how they got interested in the paranormal and how they met. This blog is developing and morphing and I can see the elements of a very cool blog being born and maturing. I am thrilled to be in on the early time and see it evolved. I feel like a proud admirer.

Come and join me there. You'll see me commenting and don't be shy. Join in!

Showcased Blog: Sean Thomas Fisher's Blogwash

2011-06-11T04:00:00.000-07:00

Anyone who writes and published zombies books is super high on my list of best people to know. Why? Those who can imagine a zombie-ridden world, zombie scenarios, and how to survive in a zombie apocalypse, has a freaking brilliant mind!

Sean Thomas Fisher's Blogwash is just a fun place. It's a "take your shoes off, kick back, shoot the breeze, get your anything creepy on" kind of place. I feel like I'm hanging out with a guy buddy. Yes, I'm an overaged tomboy and I do love just hanging with the guys talking about whether zombies would eat your stomach first or go for the upper arm flesh.

I'll be hanging out there, seeing whazzup with a smart and talented guy.

Showcased Blog: "An Insight Into the Life of Me"

2011-06-09T04:00:00.000-07:00

Another fun blog! An Insight Into the Life of Me is run by a bright person who loves movies, games, and anything fun!!! It's a favorite getaway and a recent review of "Hangover 2" had me reading closely. Some people's reviews I just trust more. This is one of them! I'm a geek and I love my geek blogs. This is the ultimate of geek-dom, reviewing games, tech stuff and movies!

So, expect to see me over there, checking out regularly!

Showcased Blog: "Losing To Win"

2011-06-07T03:30:00.000-07:00

I am always thrilled by motivational blogs where someone is working towards a goal and sharing the process with us including moments of self doubt and epiphany. The woman showcased on Losing to Win is intelligent, witty, enthusiastic and adorable. I find myself cheering for her regularly and checking in to see how she's doing on her goal for healthy living. It's a lament we all have nowadays, but she is actively doing and I find myself wanting to run alongside her.

I'll be seeing you over at her blog. She has really restarted my determination to finish getting to my goal, one day at a time.

Showcased Blog: "Scary True"

2011-06-05T04:30:00.000-07:00

This blog is a happy escape. "Scary True" is the most fun type of blog-scary stories. Taking real life stories and writing them beautifully, bringing up goosebumps and chills, this blog is a wonderful and much-needed creation. Many people can tell about a haunting, but few can make it visceral, creepy, novel, new and unexpected. I am addicted to the posts and I suggest that if you like to hear about creepy and amazing stories of things people have experienced delivered in a spine-tingling moody manner, follow this blog!

I'll see y'all over there when I'm enjoying getting my goosebumps on.

Showcased Blog: "Bigfoot Lunch Club"

2011-06-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

Bigfoot Lunch Club is a great blog run by a salt-of-the-earth BF enthusiast.

I'm a super Bigfoot nut, but I get bored sometimes with the sites where the BF people get deep into 15-paragraph dissertations about whether BF has an instep or not. I want my news and insider stuff, blips about new finds or conventions, clips of video documentaries. It's what I can learn on a lunchtime of trolling around the paranormal blog world, thank you!

The host is wonderfully charming and the site is organized and engaging. Bless his heart, he's onto something. That's probably why I never miss a post.

Join me there. I'm on every time something new is up.

Showcased Blog: "Strange State"

2011-06-01T18:19:00.000-07:00

I'm going to start showcasing some amazing blogs you might not know about.

I found my male counterpart on this blog, Strange State. Cullan is a ghost hunter, an amazingly talented artist and writer, and seeker of intriguing paranormal subjects such as Bigfoot and UFOs and other strangeness, as well a traveler in search of more knowledge.

This blog is beautiful. It's highly intelligent but so very easily absorbed. His posts are the perfect length and leave it open-ended so you can make your own conclusions about subjects he shares. I feel like this guy and I are totally in sync from our sarcasm and skepticism, belief and wonder, intelligence and love of writing and the magical land of the Southwest.

Follow Strange State. Read Strange State. Be sure to leave comments. I adore having people jump onto subjects and have at it.

Cullan manages to find stories in the paranormal world I had never heard about and news I never found. He's like the magical wellspring of weirdness. (That's a compliment, Cullan)

I'll see you over there. I never miss a post!

Starting a Biz on Blogger

2011-05-31T04:00:00.000-07:00

Last summer, I started an Etsy shop. I used my psychic skills of psychometry to put together similar emotional pieces to make clocks that when the batteries are inserted and they are running, put off the emotions powerfully.

I was thinking of leaving my marriage at the time and I wanted to make extra money. I had no idea my state had alimony laws, so I was thinking about how I could bring in more money.

What I found, instead, was that working on these clocks, setting up an Etsy shop and promoting it on my blog gave me a focus on my talents and dreams and what makes me happy. It awakened long quieted hopes and abilities. I felt more self-assured and independent and confident.

In life's insane way of leading us onto a new path and that leads to another one, the bank accounts I opened up to manage my Etsy ended up making the transition to divorce easier. I began to save money for the process and manage my own accounts. My husband had been controlling of all our finances before and I was remote from the simplest of money management. So, I began to see myself as a separate and responsible entity.

I did leave and ended up closing down the Etsy biz because I had to go to a full-time work schedule and began my writing career, but that moment of having a business of my own gave me confidence.

I now promote my writing career on my blog as an aside to the information I give in the field of paranormal research. I know many, though, who started their blogs expressly to promote their Etsy shops or consulting businesses and other businesses and it has been hugely beneficial.

Blogging has something to offer in promotion that other methods like ads do not. They allow people into your world and your insights and abilities. When I write on my blog, people know my stand on all things paranormal, my sense of humor, my writing abilities in my fictional short stories. This gives them more confidence when purchasing a book by me. They know me. They know my content. They know my integrity.

So, don't be afraid to use your blog to promote your business, but do remember to expose yourself and your professional process so people know what type of an artist, consultant, psychic, marketing expert (or whatever) that they are thinking of doing business with.

Josiah: Undead Cowboy's Release!

2011-05-30T03:30:00.000-07:00

It's official! As a result of blogging, great feedback from my readers, and gaining confidence with two nonfiction books, I've released my first horror novella. It is part of a series "Midnight Arroyo." These novellas give a western twist to horror classics. In the case of Josiah: Undead Cowboy, the twist is on a vampire story. It's available for 99 cents on Kindle and Nook. Remember, on Kindle you can download to your IPAD, Droid, home PC and other devices.

What Has Blogging Done For You?

2011-05-26T22:29:00.000-07:00

I've been blogging since September 2008. In that time, I can credit blogging for:

Giving me a tribe of like-minded people when I live in a place where I've never felt I fit in, where the people are conservative and narrow-minded and boring as hell. I found my intelligent, inquisitive, and loving people in the blog world.

Saving me from depression following surgery. I had my Achilles tendon reattached and that's when I started the blog, when I was bored out of my skull and unable to get things done. I am highly independent and hate to incapacitated.

Helping me refine my writing skills. My followers believed in my writing so much, I entered a contest and won! Then, got published more and more, finally publishing books! I never had support at home in this arena. It was thrilling to see my abilities through their eyes and their reaction to my writing.

Making friendships. I've made some of the best friends of my life through blogging; some of them in my area, most of them long distances away. We support each other through life transitions. We share our own stories.

Getting the courage to leave a miserable and dead marriage and live on my own for the first time in my life. I was so very scared of being alone and one blogger pointed out, "in your marriage, you get up every morning to an empty house, you eat alone, workout alone, work alone, and when he comes home, he leaves you alone and goes to bed early so you go to bed alone. You're an expert at being alone!" Wow! That just completely relieved me of my fear so I could finally save myself and leave.

Blogging has also opened me up to different personalities, viewpoints, cultures, information, creative souls, forward-thinkers, revolutionaries, and made me realize how very much we're all tied together, no matter what distance, I can find my people in any town anywhere in the world. We are all more alike than different.

Of course, Hug-A-Blogger came out of the experience, as well. Let's not forget that. If you'd like to have your blog showcased on here and talk about what you've gained from blogging, please contact me at ghosthuntingtheories@gmail.com

Promoting Through Blogs and Social Networks

2011-05-23T15:05:00.001-07:00

What can blogs do for you??? Let's have a look.

I have the first of a series of western horror novellas coming out on Kindle and Nook on Memorial Day. A month ahead of time, I designed blog just for the book with a daily journal entry by the main character and a countdown clock for its release, art associated with the book and links to all the character's social networking.

Josiah's blog
Josiah's Twitter
Josiah's Tumblr
Josiah's YouTube
Josiah's Artist's blog

Things online move exponentially. You can use your clout on Google searches to write a post about your product/book/business, using a title that is worded just how someone doing a Google search would type in the bar like "steampunk art" or "independent horror films" and then retrodate the post for a few days or weeks from today's date. Why? So you don't piss off your readers by once again writing about your product/service, but so that Google searchers find it.

You have to be an exhibitionist in the world of promoting online. Stick yourself out there, connect, draw them in. I knew this series of western horrors would be well liked, but I had to get people wanting to read the first one so they realize what a find it is. It's a bit of an effort, but once you get it down to a science, it's easy to maintain.

Changing Your Blog's Background

2011-05-18T12:38:00.001-07:00

I get tired of my background. I'm fairly certain my readers do too. I'm a girl and I love my shoe wardrobe and the equivalent in the blog world is backgrounds.

On your dashboard, go to the "design" button. then click on the "template designer" tab. Then, to the left choose "background." A window should pop up showing the background you have. Some templates don't offer choices, but some do allow you to pick from the ones they have on the thumbnails or to add one of your own choosing.

Where do you get backgrounds? You can use your own pics if you want to. One of the tricky things is that Blogger doesn't allow for large pics so it'll tile whatever you give it, so give it a picture that is a repetitive pattern and easy to look at when tiled together.

My personal favorite source in all the world is this site. It has every textural background you can imagine from brick to metal, paper to plastic.

I have a huge library and I change them daily on Ghost Hunting Theories. Sometimes, it's mannequins and baby doll parts and other times peeling paint and mortuary metal drawers. Go with the tone of your blog and have a blast!

Bloggers Changing Things Up in Their Lives!

2011-05-17T18:44:00.000-07:00

Another example of blogging changing lives. Four of those seven shadows above met through the blog world and within months of knowing each other, they went on a ghost hunt together in Tombstone!

Why the heck not? When you know a blogger, you know their "home" online. You've been reading their work, their comments, chatting back and forth. You come to admire them. You come to wonder about them. Sometimes, you find out they live not that far away. Now, there's no excuse not to do something together.

Some of these people had never ghost hunted before, but they were excited to do something totally new that they've never done before.

If you want to meet other bloggers in your state, let us know. We can do a post and showcase you, perhaps help you hook up with others in your region. ghosthuntingtheories@gmail.com

Finding Your Blog Crowd

2011-05-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

Honestly, when I started blogging at Ghost Hunting Theories, I hoped to find a couple other people into the paranormal who had open minds about theories and such. It didn't occur to me until the first couple people found my blog and commented, that there might be some pretty awesome minds out there blogging in areas of my interest.

I read a few blogs that were big-time and popular. To me, back then, big time meant 500 or more followers. Usually over 1000, they might be a commercial blogger and not just some person with a hobby. So, when I found a big-time blog in my area of interest and thought the writer was coming from a very cool or honest perspective and liked what he had to say, I'd look at his blog list. Whoever this blogger likes to read and share that he reads their sites, they must be good blogs and similar. I would then follow those blogs.

And, I started to find that they tended to follow each other and so I was in with a crowd of people who were where I wanted to be eventually and I could contribute and soak up how they do things and get in on the conversations and have some mentors and some idea of where I wanted to take my blog.

I really hadn't run into another blog like mine, so I wasn't sure what to do until one of the big-time bloggers told me, "I really love your blog. You're quite the character and willing to say it like it is. Kind of a brassy redhead." That brief summation of me was not only accurate, but I realized that was my bend. I am just myself, kind of brassy, willing to say anything, straightforward and a real southern hostess. I thought, this is what I'm worth to others--just me, the way I am, being me. Not much of an effort, admittedly, but I took my blog from being a dry read about information to injecting my take on that information. A little wit, a little skepticism, a little whimsy...

Sometimes, the blog crowd gives you advice you never would have imagined. I wrote a post about this ventriloquist doll my son left behind when he moved out of the house and I had something creepy happen with it moving on its own. I wrote about it and it creeped the blog crowd out so much that they all confessed a fear of ventriloquist dolls. As a writer of horror and a ghost hunter and a bit of a tomboy, I went AHA! That was the new mascot, something that would unsettle others and have his own grumpy opinions and generally incite fear and discomfort. Hence, my sidekick, Dale the Doll, was born.

So, a blog crowd isn't just a posse. They are your feedback. Their reactions tell you if you're headed the right way or the wrong way. I still have all the content I did before, but now I know how to present it in a way that's so genuine, people want more. They keep my creative edge totally in the "on" position all the time. Now, they have me doing things like finding Bigfoot footprints on every road trip, even in the desert! I videotape them and put them on the blog. They've come to expect it with every trip.

Find yourself a blog crowd. Help give them feedback for their blogs and it comes back full circle until you find yourself. They make you be the best you can be. Without their feedback you could be blogging alone and not hitting a note.

Remember, blogging isn't about information--we have online magazines for that. Blogging is about personalities and their special take on their area of obsession.

Blogging: Changing Backgrounds

2011-05-04T07:56:00.000-07:00

Blog backgrounds are the icing on the cake. Is your blog a pound cake or is it a wedding cake?

Choosing backgrounds:
From your dashboard, near the title of your blog, choose the "design" button.
Choose "template designer"
Choose "Background"
Now, click on the background picture box that comes up.
You have the choice of their own photos or you can pick one of your own.
The problem I find with choosing your own becomes size. It will often tell you a picture is too big and it will end up tiling it for you, so choose a picture that will not look bad if it's made into tiles that don't line up beautifully.

My Ghost Hunting Theories blog right now has mannequins as the background. I take the picture into Photoshop and altered the colors to more of the gold tones of the blog. You can make your picture lighter, less contrasting to make it less busy for your blog. This is a fun project because you can change it from season to season or just with your moods. I have alternate ones I've made of dead trees with crows in them, Jack O' Lanterns stacked up, ventriloquist dolls stacked up, baby dolls...anything that unsettles.

You can keep a folder just to store these pics. In general, I've found for most pics, the max size they will take is like 11 inches wide. It always depends on the quality of the photo you're saving, so you might need to continue to whittle it down until it accepts the photo you chose as not being a too large file.

Here's my favorite site Mayang's for backgrounds. You can get glass, wood, peeled wallpaper, types of paper and metal.

Have fun with this. Changing it up keeps people from being complacent and you, as well. I just advise you stay within your theme. If you are an urban humor site, consider graffiti or night city scenes. If you are a poet or photographer, consider nature or texture.

Report back with your blog's address. I'd love to interview and feature a blog on here and how they have gone about their designs.

Blogging: Finding Your Tribe!

2011-04-30T23:12:00.000-07:00

I am living in a conservative gun-loving state and I am a gun-hating eco-weenie liberal. I live in a hot and sunny desert. I like cold and rain and clouds. The women where I live all have the exact same strategically colored blond hair with the proper amount of highlights to look "naturally" sunkissed. I am a brassy redhead. The people where I live are avid golfers (there's probably a dozen courses within a mile of me) and I am a ghost hunter.

Blogging has allowed me to meet my tribe, those who like all things spooky, have open minds and are thinkers instead of status seekers. I could not have found them here. I had to find them over great distances (or in the case of Julie above--way across town).

Here are just some advantages to blogging and finding your tribe:

Craftspeople make associations with similar artisans to learn new techniques, ways to market on Etsy, and form large guilds that help them be seen and sell.

Those who live in remote areas, share their folksy backcountry day to day life with the city-folk and intrigue them, as well as feel part of a larger community of understanding and appreciation, making the world seem smaller.

People who are horror movie fanatics, find ones all over the country with the same obsessions for 80s slashers or classic monsters. Sometimes, they meet up at horrorfests, steampunk conventions or Sci-Fi conventions.

There are no limits to growing a tribe in the blog world. If you have a hobby or love, there are thousands out there who do too. We think we're very unique until we go into the blog world and see someone with a blog based on old Victorian photographs and a shrine to Jules Verne. Sometimes, when you find them, you just want to say, "where have you been all my life?"

You never know where your people are until you blog and they come and find you or you stumble upon them. Eventually, you have a supportive second family that recognizes your talents. Most of us don't make a living at what we blog about, but some of the best talent out there, photographers, craftspeople, artists, writers, are in the blog world. It is not an unsung outlet either, it allows us to build our tribe. Sometimes, if the tribe believes in you, you take your talent a step further. That is exactly how I got up the courage to become a published author.

If you want us to showcase your blog stories, let us know. psychic62@hotmail.com

Blogging: Where Are Readers Coming From?

2011-04-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

Have you checked your analytics?

Go to your dashboard.
Click on the "stats" button on the right.
Now, click on the button that says "traffic sources"
Here's where your folks are coming from.

My #1 and 2 places are usually "polls" (always put a poll up on your blog. Go into the design feature and scroll down to add a gadget and scroll down to about the 13th item--poll). The big one is Twitter. I was not happy about Twitter when I started. It seemed stupid and a bother, but it freaking works! The best way to get people is to be certain your profile shows your web (blog address) and a brief description of what you do so people know what you're about. Then, click on "who to follow" and follow every suggestion. Then, use the search bar to look up anything vaguely related to what you do (say you have a horror movie review site) type in a search for "vampires" "horror" "production companies" "horror literature" "graveyards" "werewolves" and you name it. Follow all of them. Be a greedy SOB and follow everyone you possibly can. They turn around and follow you. The more followers, the more people that come back to your blog.

Now, if your blog posts have at the end of them the little box with the social media sites symbols for sharing, be sure after you post something to go below and click on that twitter button and post it on your twitter. If that bar isn't showing, go into your design feature. Scroll down to the "blog posts" box and click "edit" and look for that symbol and be sure it's chosen and then save it and it should show up at the end of your posts. Other people can also use it to share a good post you wrote.

Okay, I'm giving away all my secrets, but I want all your bloggers smart enough to read this blog to know the secrets of success that I learned the hard way.

Do You Want Your Blog Featured?

2011-04-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

We would like to feature blogs on the HaB site as examples of what people have learned along the way and the connections they have made, how blogging changed their lives or gave them new friendships, work connections or even romance. If you would like to have your blog featured on here with links to it and a button on the site that links to your blog, let us know ghosthuntingtheories@gmail.com

How the Founders of HaB Met!

2011-04-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

I had been blogging for over a year and known Julie from Above-the-Norm: Bizarre Arizona for quite some time. I knew she was in the Phoenix area which is where I am, and we both were into ghosts, so I asked if she wanted to go on a ghost hunt with me.

It was like we'd known each other forever. Pretty soon, I was sucking her into my crazy train ride of ghost hunts and road trips. We were seeing the state, photographing, ghost hunting and checking out abandoned places--one of my favorite hobbies.

From that, we made a book "Abandoned Places: Abandoned Memories (Desert Edition)." Julie photographed the sites and I did psychic reads on a moment from their history which I wrote about. We made plans for other books and we started this site. The site was originally for a book proposal with the idea of driving across country and meeting with bloggers, giving them a hug, and getting their stories about how blogging changed them and how, even across this big country, we have similar stories.

Julie and I are the best of friends and sisters in every way. We didn't know that this meeting was what we both needed. I became brave enough to leave a loveless marriage and she was encouraged about her future after being laid off from her job. We had both been treading water for a long time but together we somehow sparked our lives into action again.

We went on to meet other bloggers which will be talked about in other posts. For now, just know that we may blog remotely but we are connecting, sometimes in email friendships and for others romance and sexting, business connections and motivation to make changes in our lives.

Whatever our experiences have been, they are universal and this is the place we can come to discuss them and perhaps even make more connections in our own towns.

The Power of the Blog to Promote

2011-04-26T08:13:00.000-07:00

As a writer of horror fiction, getting people to know that my book exists is crucial. Getting them to really care about the character it's based upon and wanting to know his story is part of the promotion I have going on as I countdown to the release of my book on Memorial Day.

The blog for Josiah: Undead Cowboy is a part of the process of getting people involved in this character's story. As well, on his blog there are buttons for his Tumblr, YouTube and Twitter. Josiah is reaching people in lots of ways and by the time his book is released on Kindle and Nook on the 30th of May, he will be like an old friend to many.

The process of designing his blog was exciting for me. I know the character too well and I also know what secrets to hint at which ones to hold close to my chest. Just enough of his journal entries are on there each day to tantalize. Go check it out and see the process of promotion. It needs to be done creatively and with passion. Writing Josiah's journal entries is even more fun than the book! I adore this guy and a fantastically talented artist has been helping to bring him to life in images and animations that will unfold over the next month leading up to Josiah's release.

Redecorating Your Blog's Look

2011-04-25T03:30:00.000-07:00

Every now and then I have to redecorate my blog. I like to mix it up so people don't get apathetic (or me). When you're redecorating, you take it like a home decorator.

For some who might be newer to blogging, let me begin with the logistics. How to actually get in and change those codes.
Go to your dashboard
Click on "design"
Under the tabs is "template designer" click on that
Click on "background"
A window should pop up with a sample of what you have as your background now. Click on it.
You can either scroll through and find something you like and choose it or you can put in your own image by clicking on "upload image" Then, click "done"
Go to the orange button in the upper right hand corner that says "apply to blog" and then "view blog" to see how it looks.
Feel free to go back and forth until you find the image you like.
Next, you will probably want to change the fonts and other colors on the blog and that can be done with the "advanced" button that is below the "background" button.
**I usually go into the design page again and there's an "edit html" button. I click on that and highly and copy my html into a word document and save it with the date just in case I screw up the look of my blog and want the old one back months later when I grow bored with it.**

Begin with the basics-find your theme--

Modern (science, technology, SciFi, videos)
Traditional (book reviews, movie reviews, folksy family oriented blogs, religious)
Organic (outdoorsy, healthy lifestyle, cooking)
Simplified (photography, poetry)
Gothic (horror, writing, alternate lifestyles)

Usually within those five themes, you will find yourself. My blog Ghost Hunting Theories is a mix of gothic and traditional for a mixture of horror, paranormal and urban exploration. This blog has a modern look that works well for a mix of people coming and going and lots of varied information. My blog Sharon Day that I use as my writer's blog is more gothic.

Next, you take that theme and you design a background. Don't worry about colors until the end. When you go to put in a background on your blog, consider using your own image. I like to get textures from this fantastic site that has tones of things from chipped wall paint to bricks to stone and more.

Modern: Metals, geometric patterns, grids, glass
Traditional: Wallpaper, wood, bricks,
Organic: Handmade paper, sisal, bamboo, plants, nature
Simplified: Solid color, Textured color, dots
Gothic: Velvet, black, curlicues, flocked wallpaper

Color themes: Something to consider is the content of your blog. If you are showcasing lots of pics and videos, consider going with something dark so they pop against it. If you're doing a lot of writing content and substance, consider going monochromatic tone on tone, like varying shades of khaki, blue, brown, or whatever color you choose because then having a pale gray writing against a charcoal background is easier on the eyes for long periods of reading. Never use white writing if you can help it--it just plain old hurts and especially against a black background. Most blogs can stand two strong colors and perhaps one bright happy accent used sparingly like on the links text or date header.

Modern: Silvers, blacks, blues, purples, whites (think cool/cold) (think- robot factory)
Traditional: Red, blue, yellow, ivory (think- Colonial home)
Organic: Brown, orange, green, yellow (think- 70s home decorating)
Simplified: Monotone-tone on tone of one color (think- khaki to olive, banana to school bus)
Gothic: Black, ivory, red, gray (think- Hot Topic store)

I hope this has you thinking about how much your blog needs to be in line with the subject matter. I have gone onto ultra-modern blogs that were for poetry and I felt very uncomfortable and I was recently on a gothic blog that was organic.

Blogging: Coming Up With Blog Post Ideas

2011-04-23T16:00:00.000-07:00

Hear something asinine in the news or from a person in public? Use it as a jumping branch for a commentary

Giveaways

Quizzes

Involve readers. One time, I wrote down the song I'd like played at my funeral. I asked the readers what song they'd choose

Top 10 lists, whether they are good or bad lists

Did you stumble onto something online? Share it

Take photos--sometimes photos alone say it all but if you are a chatting blog, give it a caption or ask your readers to give it a caption

Share an experience from your past--embarrassing, informative, life lesson, sweet, happy, traumatic

Series--consider doing a series. I have at my Ghost Hunting Theories blog, "Mind Fuck Tuesday" with insane theories, "Adventure Sunday" getting people to put adventure in their lives, "Inspirational Saturday" with life coaching themes, "Paranoid State: Who's Paranoid Now?" about bad practices in the paranormal community

Look into your past. Look for an old post you did and update it with more information, new pics or videos and twists

Do something like a video weekend where you just post a video on Friday that reflects how your weekend will be

Take your readers on your road trip with pics and descriptions--share your local life, even video or photograph in a bar on the weekend or a camping trip from inside your tent

What are you reading? Watching? Doing as a hobby now? Share it

Pets--don't forget everyone loves the fur-balls. Put up pics. Maybe make them a regular mascot

Be childish--do "what if" scenarios to engage people in the conversation--what if you won the lottery? What are the first three things you'd do? How about Mad Libs from childhood. Ask readers to give you adjectives, verbs, nouns and post a completed Mad Lib written by your readers

Describe your day off from your dog's point of view as he watches you be lazy

It all comes down to this, every day you are inundated with new stimuli, whether it's on the news, online, friends, work place, research, experiences, encounters...all of it is material for your blog because there is nothing more familiar to us all than the everyday human condition.

Blogging: How to Rank High in Google Searches

2011-04-22T12:10:00.000-07:00

I guess I was naive and sheltered about such things or the focus of my Ghost Hunting Theories blog was one that had nothing to do with popularity, but I realized one day where I ranked on Google quite by accident. While doing research for a post, I typed in something very common in the ghost hunting world and I clicked on the first thing that came up and I went, "whoa! I know this!" It had taken me to one of my past postings. So, I went back and looked down the list and I was in the top five. How the hell did I get so high up on Google rankings on a rather common ghost hunting search?

At the time, I had no foggy idea, but having a son who is a website designer and graphic artist helped a lot. He sat down and explained to his baffled mother how I happened across the mother lode and didn't even know it.

He said, there were lots of elements at work including what I named my posts "Top 10 most haunted places" might drive me up closer to the top. Things like how often I posted because turn around keeps you fresh on the list because you just did something recently. Labeling my posts (putting tag words on while writing posts--in that box in the bottom right when writing a post) also helped for when people did searches for certain things. Having Adsense on the site also helped. It also includes such strange things as having lots of links to other sites of matter and linking to other places within your own blog. It's insane, but it appears that it is advantageous to have a blog through ads and links to other sites because it sort of makes your site a jumping branch or hub.

Hope this helps. I have found that naming posts with good titles people might search for and writing daily has done the most for my ranking.

Generating Traffic: Playing With the "in" Crowd

2011-04-20T16:47:00.001-07:00

I'm a dork. I'm a geek. Okay, maybe not that bad, but I am not comfortable with currently popular things or acquiring shit. I'm not a Barbie and I don't have to rush out and own designer duds. So, I'm more into my creativity and having fun and working my brain. I'm a nerd.

Why in the world would I want to attract the "in" crowd for my blog? Well, it was never my intention. In my case, the more popular bloggers managed to find my blog (Ghost Hunting Theories). I did later, however, discover by asking and testing, just how people find your blog and how the "group" comes over with them.

Here's some things I know about the big-follower-list blogs (1000 or more followers):

1. They are run by a "personality." This is someone with wit, who talks about regular stuff that everyone relates to and ridicules the things everyone hates. They are "stand-up comics" of the blog world. They show outrageous pictures, talk about crazy things in our society, and often end with WTF?? when discussing the insanity of our world. They have a following because people love personalities.
2. They have a business site/craft site. These people are often in guilds and groups and their following is based on their co-crafters and others they do business with.
3. They change it up, post daily and encourage through the way they post for people to comment and jump in and converse.
4. They have a blog about a subject way popular, like how to lose weight.

When you find a blog with over 1000 followers, you've found one of the biggies. What you also find is their followers. When you see the panel of followers, just for shits and giggles click on their pics and find their own blogs "links." If you go onto those, you will find many of the same followers. This is a kind of inbreeding that happens in the blog world. People who follow one blog, follow each other to other blogs and it becomes a kind of network of blogs. It's like the hangers-on who glommed onto the cheerleaders in school to be seen with them and associated with them.

So, how do you get the in crowd to like you? First, you start following one of the biggies who you admire. Regularly comment. Your wit and the curiosity of who you are and what blog you have starts to set in. People who see you're a new commenter will click on your pic, find out what blog you run and go there. If your comments are witty, they will be even more intrigued. They often wonder who the new person is hanging with their regular club and the curiosity you produce is usually enough. To ensure intrigue, pick the top usual commenters on that mega blog and follow their blogs.

It's all a very crazy routine, but basically it involves you being seen and read on other blogs leaving comments.

Should you forgo hanging on the low-reader blogs? Hell no! The majority of blogs I follow have under 50 people. I'm into substance and also know that some blogs totally explode and you never see it coming. One blog, I wanted to help the newcomer to get some readers so I showcased him on my blog. I watched him over the next few months not only surpass my follower numbers, but more than double it! He was slick too. He went onto blogs, followed them (which makes most folks want to return the favor) and then left witty comments. It was like entering a room and leaving a perfume trail. Others wanted to know "who was that?" "where did he come from?" He also became a devoted follower because he remembered who helped him when he was little.

Note: Never ever go onto a blog and tell them they should read you or leave your blog address or name. It's not only tacky but most often the blogger will trash can it and if he keeps it up, others who are loyal to him think you're an ass.

I'm more comfortable with the small players but sometimes bringing in a big one can mean bringing in his entourage. So, if acquiring readers in quantity is your goal, this is a good way to go about it. Just remember, once you real in these people used to following a big guy, you better be playing your "A" game because they will bore easily.

Blogging: To Adsense or not to Adsense?

2011-04-19T21:47:00.000-07:00

Adsense--one of those things hovering in the background of your mind as you go to and from blogs. Is it worth it?

Pro's and Con's:

Pro's of Adsense:
*It can make a blog look as if it is professionally backed which actually gives it a legitimate look instead of just being someone's place to chitchat like a MySpace page.
*If you make some cash off of it, it can go right back into the blog being used for giveaway prizes.
*It gives you other opportunities, like Google Affiliates that allows you to pick what retailers you think would be good on your blog and request to carry their ads. It's sometimes hard to imagine someone would decline you. I got declined by Netflix with a fairly large blog "Ghost Hunting Theories" and I did reviews of movies on Netflix instant watch, so they weren't thinking when they declined me and I no longer do Netflix reviews (bite me).

Con's of Adsense:
*It takes some time to figure out how to sign up and get all the bells and whistles they want from tax info and shit and they keep throwing more things at you that they want before it will work. Then, you find yourself checking it daily to see if you earned anything. Earnings can make no rhyme or reason. I could get over 2000 people on my blog in a day and make 31 cents. Another day, 500 people come on and I get 2.50.
*Don't expect big earnings. It took me a year to get my first $100. Now that my blog has grown, it takes probably 6 months. Not a cash maker in general.

It's going to come to your own decision, but I think I was over 250 followers before I decided to put it on and like I said the first year was slow. Now that I have over 400 followers on Ghost Hunting Theories, I'm earning it a bit quicker, but still not a regular income. You can always add more ads, like Amazon and Google Affiliates and that takes you a bit further in earning power. Luckily, ads now are plotted out with some sense to them so that they actually have ones that suit your blogs and some that are very enticing and actually visually look cool on your blog. Sometimes, I see ads on my blog I wish I could click on, but I'm not allowed to, so I know they're working.

**Remember if you want to share your blogging story with us, we will feature your blog with a link to it in the post and a button on the blog that links to your blog.**

Blogging: How To Do Links and Embeds

2011-04-18T03:30:00.000-07:00

I've given y'all a lot of info on blogging and you can find it on the tab above, but now I'm going to get down to the simple things that folks overlook and are embarrassed to ask about.

LINKS:
You're writing a post and you're talking about your aunt in Kentucky who has a chicken farm. Your dear aunt has a website. Now, you'd like to make a link to your aunt's name so if people click on her name, they go to her website. Here's how:

As you're writing a post, you notice atop it there is the “b” for bold and the “i” for italics and then there is a round green symbol and if you hold the cursor over it, it says “insert link.” Now, go through your post and find “Aunt Becky” and highlight it by holding down your left mouse button while dragging over the words, then go click on that “insert link” symbol. It asks you to type our Aunt Becky's URL and if it's “www.auntbecky.com” just type that in and hit “ok.” You're set. Now, as people are reading your post, they will see the highlighted “Aunt Becky” and realize it's a link and click on it if they want to know about her farm.

VIDEO EMBEDS:
There are two options: If you have the video on your computer already, you can click on the symbol above that looks like a strip of film. If you want to borrow one from YouTube or Google Videos or any other place, you must get the embed code. So, go to a place like YouTube and in the search bar look up the video you want. When you find one you'd like to use, simply click below on “share” button. Then you will see the word “embed.” Click on that. You will see what looks like an HTML code. Highlight it and copy it. Now, take it back to your post and paste it wherever you want it in the post. If you're curious if it worked, just click on the “preview” button on the top right and it will show you how the post will look. Now, just click on that button to close the preview and you are ready to go.

If you would like to share stories of how you made friends with, met in real life, had a romance with, or a work association with someone in the blog world and would like your blog to be showcased on here, please let us know. psychic62@hotmail.com

Blogging: How to Put Posts in Your Queue

2011-04-16T03:30:00.000-07:00

I depend on having a week or more ahead in the queue so I can open up my week for other writing activities. I post one day all that I have for the next week or sometimes when I know there's an important date ahead, I put a post in ready to go up on that date.

How do you post ahead of time?

Here's how:
Go to your dashboard (that place that lists your blogs and the blogs you follow)
Click on "edit posts" below the name of your blog
Click on the blue button on the left that says "New Post"
Write your post
At the bottom there is a box for "labels for this post" To the left of it is a thing that says "post options" Click on "post options"
Now, you can put in the date and time you want the post to go up.
Now, click on "publish post" (don't worry, it puts it in the queue, doesn't post it until that date and time)

Later, if you feel like deleting or redating or editing those posts, you just click the "edit posts" button again on your dashboard and they give you options to view it or edit it or delete it.

As well, when you've written the post and you want to see how it will actually look when it's published, click the "preview" button at the top of your post's box (directly to the right from the "bold, italics, photo" buttons on the left). When you're done previewing it, in the same upper right place there's a "hide preview" button, click on that and you're back to editing your post.

I hope this made it easier for you to know how to put your work in ahead of time. It's a fantastic and extremely helpful service for us bloggers.

Being a Good Blog Host and Dealing With Trolls

2011-04-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

Two dilemmas every blogger faces: How much interaction with the followers and how to deal with the trolls (you know, the ones that come on purposely to be know-it-all's and become confrontational).

It always depends on the type of blog you have as to whether you want to engage back and forth with the readers. One blog I really enjoy is based on this and the reason I like it so much is purely because of the host even more than the content. Dr. Heckle is a pretty straight forward blog--he puts up a ridiculous picture and all of us wanting to mock something to get out daily frustrations, jump on and make a comment about it. But, he takes it to the next level--he responds to our responses with more humor. Seeing how he responds to your comment is more fun than making the comment. Brilliant use of hosting skills.

Since I knock around theories on my Ghost Hunting Theories blog, I find that interaction with the readers is crucial. They not only have amazingly insightful and great things to share, but what they tell me often spawns new post ideas. I love being a hostess in real life and on the internet. It's in my nature to respond to people. They have come to know that it's probably best when they comment to click the box that has them emailed when there is a followup on the comments.

Blogs that include more feedback generally are the ones that are more like a diary where a person is sharing their life with their readers and building friendships.

If you have a blog that is more about reviewing movies or books, perhaps sharing video clips and such, there's no need to be hosting/hostessing anymore than just giving new posts and keeping the site in great shape and answering the occasional question.

But, even unseen hosts, still can do some hosting by giving away blog awards and commenting on other blogs, as well as having giveaways/contests.

At some point, we're going to run into trolls. These are those nasty negative folks who believe that the party should end, the lights should go out and the neighbors should be quiet. They like to often times snipe you with some expertise and tell you why what you said was wrong.

My favorite way to deal with these is not to go on the defensive because then your own stand you just made in the post looks weak and you look like you're scrambling to defend it. Instead, do a quick search for blogs on that subject and redirect him to, "Thanks for you insight and I hope you're enjoying the blog world. Here's a blog I think you might really like that's right in line with what you're saying--" and then give him the blog address. It seems terrible to pawn them off on someone else, but sometimes your blog is not a good fit for someone and it's better to send him to a blog that caters to his version of the world.

There is also a desire at times to trash can the comment, but that sometimes ignites a backlash from the "troll-ster." It's better to show your readers how you handle haters. The only time I've had to trash can someone was when someone comes on to make a comment that has nothing to do with the post and leaves their address to their own blog. That kind of spamming--not cool.

So, I hope this has helped you think about how you deal with the readers and the haters and keep a happy balance.

How To Promote Your Blog

2011-04-12T11:10:00.000-07:00

Promoting your blog goes in steps or else you become overwhelmed.

Begin the simple way--letting people know you exist:

1. When you write a post, in the box below that allows for "labels for this post" write some tag words so people searching will find your writings, for example; "dogs," "dog training," "how to train dogs."
2. Consider the names of your posts carefully. If someone went onto Google and types in "10 Best Horror Movies," they have a good chance of landing your post, but if you named it "Horror Movies I Love," you might not get found as easily.
3. As well, if you want to be high up in Google searches, you're going to need to take into consideration your turnover rate--or how often you post. Someone who posts 4 days apart, not very high on the last as someone who's blog makes changes each day.
4. Now, go visiting blogs in related areas. If you write poetry, find poetry blogs, writers blogs, artist blogs. Follow them. Leave comments. Most folks return the favor and follow you or they might become curious about you and click on your profile pic.
5. You don't have to have a gorgeous sexy profile pic, but do think of finding something that matches the tone of your blog or is intriguing enough for people to want to check you out. Don't forget whatever you write on people's blogs, you might impress some folks who want to follow you "home."
6. Consider making a blogger award with a cute award picture and hand it out to a few blogs and as part of their acceptance, they have to thank the person who gave it to them. The more times people link to your blog through mentions in their posts, the more people click on that link and check you out.
7. Check on your "Design" page that where it has "blog posts" (click on it) it has the share button. The share button enables people who liked your post to simply click on "Facebook" or "Twitter" or others and share it. If this is installed, at the end of your posts, you should see a little bar with the symbols for the share sites.
8. It goes without saying, you'll need to tackle the social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. They honestly pay off in the long run. On Tumblr, if you post a picture from your blog and you put the origin of that picture as your blog's address, when people reblog it around on Tumblr, if anyone clicks on it, they go to your site. Tricks like these are fantastic. Whenever you write a new post, don't forget to put the link on Twitter and Facebook too.

When it comes down to it, maintaining a blog and growing its success is a patient and slow process. A little good publicity coming from someone who likes your blog, someone who follows you and is rooting for you is helpful, but it all comes down to day to day maintenance. It doesn't have to be a huge time drain for you if you once a day post your links on the sites and visit some of the blogs you like, stay in contact with other bloggers and spend the hard time on coming up with post ideas and growing visually and creatively.

I have a practice of finding unsung talent out there and working hard to help promote them. I don't get a damn thing from it other than knowing that when I started out a few bigger blogs gave notice to me and it helped me and assured me I wasn't wasting my time writing to no one.

If you'd like your blog to be featured on her by sharing your story of how blogging changed your life or how you met bloggers who became friends, mentors, helped further your business or created romance, we will feature you on here and you also get your own button on the site with a link to your blog that remains on this site, so yet another way to promote. Write psychic62@hotmail.com if you're interested.

Defining Your Blog

2011-04-11T03:45:00.000-07:00

Enter your blog some time and look at it through the eyes of someone who has no clue what your intention was. Within 15 seconds of looking at it, reading a bit, will people understand what is happening, or will they feel like they arrived at a party late and missed something important?

Some bloggers start theirs to use it as a journal or diary of sorts, to vent, to expose themselves, to make friendships, to explain the human condition. But, how does a blogger with such a vague blog manage to snag some readers who stay?

Pick two words that describe your blog and make everything based on those two words. Hard, huh?

My blog, Ghost Hunting Theories is based on "lighthearted wonder."

My blog, Sharon Day is based on "Active writing."

This blog is based on "Bloggers share."

Here's some other blogs I can describe in 2 words:

Jaded humor

Contemplatively cynical

Crafty hostess

Sometimes, just the name of a blog says it all: "Dude I Got Your 80s."

You don't have long to get people in. Begin with a header at the top that grabs you with the right colors, style and lettering to say basically what you are (nature-loving, warm and friendly, slick and modern, goofy and childish). Give yourself a brief blog description. "Come in and have your say about whatever I'm ranting about."

Consider tabs. Newcomers really need to know where the hell all your old stuff is. They can look through your archives, but that can be a big search party. If you have tabs that say whatever your main discussions are on your blog; "humor," "recipes," "photos," "family incidents." If you want to know how to do tabs, look at this previous post.

Hope this helped you. Remember, we're looking for stories of people who made connections through blogging, whether it was romance, work, mentorship or friends. We will showcase your blogs with links or you can do so anonymously. Please write psychic62@hotmail.com

Blogging Tips: How To Make Blog Tabs

2011-04-08T16:45:00.000-07:00

People often times come into a blog and go-where the hell am I? What's this about? Did I come in too late and miss a joke?

Setting up tabs on your blog is a great way to make it clear right away the categories of things you've done on your blog. This makes people able to immediately find out what kind of stuff you offer. Here's how to go about it:

First, decide what tabs you want like, "humor," "photos," and "videos."

1. Go to your dashboard.
2. Click on "edit posts"
3. Go down your lists of past posts to find ones that you wish to call "humor"
4. Click on edit to the left of the post's title.
5. Scroll down and there is a box that says "labels for this post" write "humor"
6. Now, click on "publish post" (don't worry, it will keep it in the original date it was put up on the blog).
7. Now, finish finding your other "humor" posts and labeling them.
8. When you're ready to make a tab, go above and click on "design"
9. At the top of your page's design, click on "add a gadget"
10. In the pop-up window, scroll down and choose "Link List"
11. Ignore the title box
12. You may choose to sort tabs alphabetically or use drop down menu to choose other option.
13. Where it asks for New Site URL, put this: your blog's address/search/label/humor
14. Where it asks for "new site name" put "humor"
15. Now click on "add to list"
16. Now click on "save"

In your design template, you should be able to do an advanced adjustment to change the color of the tab background and the tab text to make it look good on your blog. This takes a bit of time if you haven't been putting labels on your posts, but it is so worth it in the end.

Good luck and happy blogging! If you have any stories of how you made connections for work, romance, friendship or mentorship through blogging, contact us at psychic62@hotmail.com. We can feature your blogs or do this anonymously. Also, if you hope to meet bloggers in your region (look at tabs at top of blog), then let us know. We can feature you and your blogging experience to help you make contacts.

Eventually, we hope that many of you, like us, meet in real life and hug a blogger.

Blogging: How To Get Followers

2011-04-05T03:45:00.000-07:00

When I started out blogging, I was just happy if people happened upon my blog so we could talk about the subject matter. It didn't occur to me that the blog could be a way to reach lots of people, make new friends and have connections that might help me out as I grow. I've learned a lot since to be sure that people find my blog and keep finding it. Here's just some of the things that might help improve your traffic.

*Always keep in mind your profile pic. I know it sounds superficial, but you need either an intriguing symbol or something flattering in order to make people curious. When you follow another blog, you become a thumbnail that others curiously click on to find out your profile and your own blog's link. When you leave comments on other blogs, you leave a witty or insightful or supportive comment and a picture that either looks friendly and approachable or intriguing and dangerous or downright hot. Whatever it is, it leaves a "scented" trail that brings people back to your blog. When folks see your comments, see your pic, they need to know where you came from.

*Go to blogs and follow and comment! Find similar or related blogs and go on and follow and comment. Most bloggers turn around and follow blogs that follow them; a common courtesy.

*Giveaways. They work.

*Don't ever underestimate the titles of your posts! Intrigue or draw them in with mystery or humor. "Top 10 Horror Movies of All Time" is much more assertive and attractive than "Ten Horror Movies I Love."

*You have to break down and get on Facebook and Twitter. Each time you post, put the link on FB and Twitter.

*When you write posts, be sure to use the block below the text that says "labels for this post" and give lots of good words or word combos folks would use to find info,separated by commas. Be careful how you word them "ghost" is going to put you way down a list of a few hundred thousand sites, but "bedroom ghost" is going to put you higher on a list.

*Give yourself a button on your blog that people can "snag this button" and display it on their blog. I'm surprised how many places I find my button on. It always amazes me, but good blogging friends will do that.

*Consider advertising. I know, I know--adsense? Are you kidding??? But, there is something to be said about a site with ads. It appears phttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifrofessional and as if it's supported by sponsors.

The keys I always tell people are; be your genuine self, follow your passion, treat everyone like a welcome guest because they have come to your home and you want them to be comfortable and want to come visit again, and always be available to folks if they want to email or comment back and forth. A lot of bloggers don't respond to comments, but it's been the backbone of my Ghost Hunting Theories blog. Folks expect me to come on and respond to their responses and we begin conversations that are honestly better than the posts!

*

Socializing in the Blog World

2011-04-03T03:45:00.000-07:00

It seemed stupid for me to spend lonely Friday nights when I was in a dead marriage and my husband was spending his weekends avoiding me at all costs. So, I started something on my blog, "Ghost Hunting Theories" I called "Lonely on a Friday Night."

I knew I wasn't the only lonely person out there without a date on a Friday night. At least, I hoped I wasn't. So, I offered for people to come on and start commenting back and forth all evening. And people came on. They would ask how my day was, we'd talk about our weekend, maybe joke about what we were watching on TV, invite others in, talk back and forth. And, something happened. For the first time in my entire relationship with my soon to be ex-husband, I was having fun on a Friday night!

Blogging is such an isolating thing physically. You meet great people, but damn! They're in Ohio or Australia or Canada. But, you learn something. We're all the same everywhere, just geographically different. They let you into their world by making confessions on their blogs, but then you've never seen a picture of them, don't know their real name, have no idea if they're young or old, have children, are married, what they do for a living.

It's not quite like other social networks where a person can pretend to be something else. When a blogger has a blog, it's their online home. We know them. We've heard them bitch and moan, talk about their kids, mention their job or spouse. They have a content that makes them "real."

People who want some mindless online time might do online gaming or FB, but people who want to share and learn, they blog.

We'd love to have you share your stories of how your social interactions in the blog world. We can showcase you and your blog or we can keep it anonymous. Email us at ghosthuntingtheories@gmail.com

Why I Started Blogging

2011-04-01T03:00:00.000-07:00

This post is by Julie from Above-the-Norm: Bizarre Arizona

On March of 2008, I was laid off from a job I worked at for 10 years. This place was one of a few civil engineering companies I worked for in my approximately 30 years of experience. I had been laid off a couple of times before and after a five month duration of collecting unemployment and job hunting; I usually got my job back. This time was different. My position as a civil drafter/tech was completely abolished leaving me with trying to find something completely different to do. I must have sent out thousands of copies of my resume and filled out even more applications for employment. In the two years of searching for a job, any job, I got two calls for an interview, but never got called back. I was frustrated and depressed while looking for something to occupy my time.

I was talking with my kids’ friend, Mike, and he was telling about his movie review blog. I asked him about blogging and was it easy to do. He gave me a quick explanation on how easy blogger was and to check it out. After lurking on other blogs to get a general idea of what others were talking about, I started a blog. Mike came up with the name, “The Random Mind of Miss Julie”. It gave me a place to show my family’s pictures, share my vacations and talk about whatever. I never knew which direction this blog was going. I would just post anything that was interesting to me. The cool thing was I was getting followers and comments. As I got more comfortable blogging, Mike and I talked about doing a blog together.

In August of 2008, I got invited by Mike to Bisbee, AZ and spend the night at the Copper Queen Hotel. My son was part of the group and didn’t mind his mother tagging along. He knew that I was watching ghost hunting shows and was interested in being part of a somewhat ghost investigation. After seeing Grant’s ("Ghost Hunters") foot being uncovered by mysterious forces at the Copper Queen, I was thrilled to be able to check the place out. Needless to say we all had a great time and did experience a few unexplainable phenomena; whispering, money being pushed off a dresser, and my son’s strange ghost picture I have tried to debunk. Mike and I were pumped to get the blog started and talk about ghosts.

The first name we chose for the blog was “Phoenix Arizona Paranormal Society” or PAPS, but we quickly learned that someone else had the name. We changed it to “The Arizona Ghost Organization” or TAGO. Under that blog name, we shared the posting duties and wrote about anything paranormal. We started getting a great group of followers, one of which was Autumnforest (Ghost Hunting Theories).

The year 2009 started out just fine but ended with many changes. Mike and I realized that the group of people that were enthusiastic about ghost hunting wanted nothing more to do with it. He and I were the only ones left and decided to start another blog giving us a broader list of paranormal subjects to write about. Mike came up with the name “Above the Norm” after looking up the definition of paranormal. We slowly phased out the other blog and ask our followers to start following the new one. Not only did they follow the new blog but more followers jumped aboard. Mike and I continued to share the posting duties until he lost his job. He had to concentrate on finding a job so I did all the posting until he was able to return. He did eventually find employment, but his hours were so sporadic leaving him no time to write. By the end of the year he wasn’t able to find time to post and bowed out of the blog, leaving it to me.

In January of 2010, I decided to meet another blogger, Autumnforest (Ghost Hunting Theories) at the Pioneer Cemetery in Phoenix for a workshop. Autumnforest had been commenting on the blog for over a year and then we started emailing each other. She was telling me about the workshops and ghost hunts she had been on. Since we both lived in Arizona, I expressed interest in going with her on the next investigation. The workshop was a perfect time for us to finally meet. Sharon (her real name) showed up with Dale the Doll and that was the beginning of many trips to come. After being invited on a day trip with Sharon, Debe, and Ginny to Globe/Miami to take photos of cemeteries and abandoned places, we realized how much we loved doing this. Sharon knew where many abandoned places were located, especially the ones most people would just pass by. We started planning day trips and overnighters to some of the nearly abandoned mining towns. I would take photos and she would do crazy videos, some with Dale the Doll.

From those trips, I realized how much I liked photography and started seeing the world in a whole new artistic light. Sharon gave me the idea of adding a subtitle to my blog, “Bizarre Arizona” and focus on the many stories this state hhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifas to provide.

My friendship with Sharon has been nothing but positive. She has a way of seeing the best in you and encouraging you to try things you only dreamed of. I was my worst enemy, letting my fears get in the way of the things I loved to do. Here it is, the fourth month of 2011, and because of my friend and little sis, I am a coauthor of a book with her, “Abandoned Places: Abandoned Memories (Desert Edition)”, I have an Etsy shop with my own crafts (more to come), I am teaching myself how to take amazing photos, and putting together my own book to be published later this year.

After two years of unemployment and life being stagnate, I am glad I decided to show up at a cemetery in Phoenix for a ghost hunting workshop to meet Miss Autumnforest who has changed my life for the better.

If you have any stories of how blogging changed your life or the relationships you made, whether romantic, friendship or work-related, or want to meet bloggers in your area, please email us. We can feature you and your blog or do it anonymously if you like. Write to psychic62@hotmail.com

Finding a Mentor in the Blog World

2011-03-30T03:45:00.000-07:00

Around the time my marriage was going down the drain, I was working hard to embrace who I was and what I wanted out of my life, how I was going to define myself. I already knew what my job was, but it was not a career to me. Changes in my industry made me nearly extinct and cut my pay back to one third of what it once was. Although I was still supposed to have 98% or better accuracy and was in a highly technical field that is highly regulated, I was being paid the same as a person working at a fast food restaurant.

Discouraged by my work, but looking for my place in a new world in which I would be single, I did what I had done my whole life when trying to figure out my journey, I wrote. Finding other writers to talk about the transition into the industry, how to go about it, what were the best choices, and what I should focus on, was a very difficult task. It's not to say most writers are not friendly, but like most highly competitive industries, not a lot of people wanted to stop and help out a newbie. I didn't really understand the attitude because I encourage people around me to excel even if they might be competing against me in the industry. I would rather share the field with my beloved peers than a bunch of cutthroat strangers.

One day, while sifting through blogging sites by horror writers, I happened upon a writer. I thought at first that he had posted buttons for lots of people's work on his site and I thought that endearing. I contacted him to ask if he would let me interview him for my blog. I had never interviewed another writer, but I wanted to pick his brain and give him an outlet to showcase himself since he was helping others. What I didn't realize at the time was that all the buttons on his site were his own books, dozens of them!

We began emailing and discovered a great deal in common. He became a friend quite easily. I rarely meet people who have an energetic enthusiastic drive like myself and yet can still be so engaging and warm. We began as friends with him helping to support my decision to leave the marriage and reminding me of my worth. There had been no supportive man in my life since I was 16 when my father died. My father was a successful businessman and I very much have his personality and creative twist and so I found myself wanting to own that businessperson part of myself too. Every time I emailed with my new blogger/writer/buddy, I felt more sure of my path and more certain I could make it work.

Eventually, he called me and we laughed and talked on and on as if we'd known each other forever. He encouraged my writing and my ambitions in the field, talked about his own trials and failures and achievements. I found a mentor in someone who was already a friend. His example kept me focused on what I wanted and how I would go about it. His determined business acumen was a model for my future.

As I divorced and focused on my writing career, I kept him and his encouraging words in my heart and I found myself asking "what would he do?" when I made decisions.

You never know when you develop a friendship with a blogger where it will go. Some become partners in misery, others a dear friend for life, some are work connections and mentors, and a few romantic interests. Some have been known to move from friendship to romance or from shared interests, like Julie I, into work--writing a book together.

A lot of times it's hard to find people in your own are who click with you, but in the blog world, if you're into Betty Page or Steampunk, SciFi or historic reenactments, there are others living parallel lives.

We encourage you to share your stories of how you developed relationships of any kind with other bloggers. We can showcase your blogs or you can do so anonymously. Contact us at psychic62@hotmail.com

Writer Realizes She's a Writer!

2011-03-28T03:45:00.000-07:00

I started my blog, "Ghost Hunting Theories" in September 2008. I was laid up, unable to walk as I healed a tendon reattachment surgery. Yeah, ow! I am not a person who is good at being helpless so I was one cranky lady. I was a ghost hunter and my son said, "start a blog." So, I did!

I figured I'd find a couple people who want to talk about theories in the field of paranormal, but it grew rapidly and people told me they enjoyed my writing a lot. I had been writing my whole life, but my miserable marriage made me not take it too seriously. I don't think he'd ever read a book in his life, couldn't tell you the name of my blog and did not understand the business of writing or why it was significant.

Then, because I was a blogger, I got asked to enter a short story contest for Travel Channel's "Ghost Adventures" show. I wrote a short story, sent it in and then--won! I was shocked. The people who read my blog were not that surprised. They thought I was good enough to be published. Then, I began to wonder about it. I started writing short stories and entering them to online magazines and getting acceptances!

Then, the tone of my writing and determination changed, as did the marriage because I realized I could not be myself in that relationship. I got a divorce, started living on my own for the first time in my entire life and thrived! My writing was without interruption and demands of an OCD partner. I began to take on writing books.

First, Julie and I published "Abandoned Places: Abandoned Memories (Desert Edition)" and then I put out my legacy in the ghost hunting world, a book that shows exactly my take on ghost hunting and helping people who have encountered the paranormal. "Was That a Ghost?" came out on Kindle and Nook and I am so proud of its contents. I am working on many other works I talk about in another blog for my writing.

It still amazes me how I started out wanting to keep from going crazy as I healed from surgery, met up with people who shared the same interests in the paranormal (something I couldn't find in my conservative state), and their belief in my skills made me realize my potential. I had no one in my life telling me I could write. I had no one believing in me. Without the bloggers, I wouldn't have had the courage to get published and not had the courage to go through with the divorce. More on that in another post!

This is just another example of how blogging can change lives. We want to hear your experiences. You can do so anonymously or we can showcase your blog. You choose. Contact us at psychic62@hotmail.com

Blogging Leads to Business!

2011-03-27T03:30:00.000-07:00

(Julie's workshop)

Inspired by our blogging friendship that became a friendship in the real world that led to us going ghost hunting, exploring abandoned places and writing a book together, Julie was left with gorgeous photos and mementos from the sites. She cleared out a room in her home, made a workshop and got down to the business of designing works of art inspired by these ghost towns and abandoned locations. Her shop is called "Backroads Treasures
Blogging is funny that way. You start out with one intention and end up on a path you never saw coming, you're influences by others, bolstered by people's reactions to your work, and living up to your potential.

I asked Julie where she gets her inspiration from and she said the locations speak for themselves. As she photographs them and walks the grounds, picking up found objects, she goes home to her workshop, surrounded by antiques and collectibles, and focuses on recreating the feel of the place she visited. She has a great love of the southwest and respect for history and it shows in how she captures these elements in her work.

Julie has an upcoming book "Dead and Buried: In the Southwest Desert." The book will be filled with photos of all the things dead and buried in the desert southwest. She has found a wonderful ebook cover artist, Jeremy, who is making her book's cover for her. We both highly recommend him for your art needs for your blogs, books or business.

Here are just some of the treasures she's made (below).

None of this would have happened if she hadn't have taken a chance to make a blog, meet people in real life, and rediscover her artistic skills. Blogging is inspiring business. We can't usually make money at our passions and talents, but in the blog world we can give them an outlet they wouldn't have had otherwise in our daily lives.

If you want to share a story of how blogging changed your life through the connections you made with others, whether it's business, personal or romantic, please share them. We will showcase your blogs or you can do so anonymously. Contact us at psychic62@hotmail.com

Bloggers Write Book!

2011-03-26T08:23:00.000-07:00

Julie and I both had ghost-oriented blogs. When I had her meet up for a ghost hunt in an historic building on a graveyard, she was totally up for it. We found we clicked just like we did in blog world. For as anonymous as blogging can be, people expose their real personalities and so you know what you're getting into. It's tougher meeting a stranger, but in blogging, everyone has a "home" and you can go visit that home and hear what they have to say and how they interact and over time decide if you click. We did.

We started ghost hunting and taking road trips, but the one thing that kept getting me was that she was an excellent photographer and had an artist's eye and loved history and I was a psychic and loved to read the places we went to. The combination for writing a book seemed obvious. The problem was, the book was such a unique concept, it wasn't easy to get publishers to take a risk with two unknowns.

I'm kind of known for finding a window or back door to enter places, so we self-published through Kindle and Nook.

The book is filled with photographs from 12 abandoned sites and 12 psychic reads I did at each site. Some of the reads were of people who had been there in the building's heydays, some were there after its destruction and others were tied to the place by an object. Being able to write psychic reads and a moment in time from the past was thrilling for me. I have always wanted to share what it's like to get inside a read's head and understand how he or she sees the world and interacts with it. These moments in time are like ghosts from the past and I carry them in my head with me. It's hard not to care for someone you've read, even when they might not be the most pleasant person.

You'll find on the left-hand side of our blog the buttons for purchasing "Abandoned Places: Abandoned Memories (Desert Edition)." We are hoping to write another edition involving vanished cities. As well, I went on to write a book about ghosts because that is my expertise. "Was That a Ghost?" is a book that takes people through the process I take clients through to determine if something they encountered was paranormal or not. I use a 3-part process that I made up on my own over time when I realized that all these events could go through an intellectual sieve first before determining if they were paranormal. In fact, the tools I give people in this book are ones they can apply to everyday life situations. I like to leave people stronger and better able to handle the unexplained, as well as helping them to be curious and excited instead of scared and threatened. The buttons for that book are on the left-hand side too.

We started a wildfire now. Julie is writing "Dead and Buried: In the Southwest Desert" and I am working on a a few horror novellas, a book about developing psychic skills called "From Fledgling to Full-Fledged Psychic." You can find my writer's blog here.

Together, we are researching for a book we hope to put out in print as well as ebooks called "Spirit Vessels: Why Some Buildings Are Haunted." This book involves research on commonalities between places from ancient times to nowadays that seem to be better vessels for holding spirit energy. We will keep you updated as these things move along.

The thing to know here is that when you find a fellow blogger and meet in real life, if you already have common interests, you might find that together you are stronger than just one of you going it alone. If you wanted to do a project, it might be better to do it together and have four hands working on it and two minds. Blogging is a fantastic way to meet smart people who keep up a daily magazine online.

You can't find better resources as friends, workers, or even romantic interests. We'd like to hear from you if you have some stories of connections made in blogging. Email us at psychic62@hotmail.com. We can keep your stories anonymous or showcase your blogs if you'd like.

You Never Know Who You'll Meet!

2011-03-24T20:54:00.001-07:00

You never know who you'll meet in the blog world. I got an email from a new follower. His name was Ben. Nice guy. Mentioned something about a show. I had no idea who he was. Later, he showed up on a new Syfy channel show, "Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files" as the team leader. His name was Ben Hansen.

Well, Ben came onto my blog regularly when I reviewed his show and commented back and forth with the followers. He is an intelligent man with an awesome sense of humor.

He came to town and called me. He came by my place and I had a few hours to talk to him about the show and the world of the paranormal. He even let me get the kiss I knew my followers would expect since I was always giggling about his beautiful blue eyes and wearing a rather flimsy tank top with "Fact or Faked" written across it for the review days on the blog.

It amazes me all the time, the people who read your blog and you never even realize it. Everything you write is out there for all time. Sometimes bits and pieces show up when you're not expecting them.

I was sitting at my home office typing when a friend called me all excited and frantic. "What?" I asked. "Turn on Discovery Channel! They're showing it every commercial break." I went into the other room and sat a few minutes until the commercial break. Another ad for the show "Ghost Lab." Yeah, so what? Then, I looked closer. Across the screen was a quote by me! That shocked and surprised me. Someone went onto my blog, pulled up a comment from a review and used it. Suddenly, I'm an authority. Hee hee

So, you really don't know whose attention you're getting. The blog world changed my life and in a post about romance coming up, I will talk about that.

He Made the Mistake of Emailing Me From the Blog

2011-03-24T15:00:00.000-07:00

I got an email from someone who read on my blog and realized I was in Phoenix and he was headed this way from Tucson and wanted to know what was haunted. I responded, but then said we should meet up some time. We couldn't that time, but Julie and I decided to hit the road and look for abandoned places for our book and so we met up with this reader we call the "Vin-Meister."

It ended up he loves hiking and road trips and checking out new things. We plotted out a road trip together in the future. We took him to abandoned places to poke around, wander the desert, find a horned toad which he proceeded to see if it would shoot blood out of its eyes as reported. And, he was even game for crawling into an abandoned hole to see what was down there.

With his Droid in hand, he helped navigate us and we had a blast. Later, I took him on a hiking trip to look for UFO evidence amongst ancient petroglyphs. He's become an inseparable road trip buddy and friend.

And all that from just a casual email inquiry.

Founders of HaB: Phoenix Meeting

2011-03-24T14:19:00.001-07:00