I’m in my 13th year of homeschooling and for the 13th time, I have spring fever. Fortunately, I know the right prescription for my chronic ailment: a homeschool conference. I attended a local homeschool conference last week and left with excitement to spare. Of course, that excitement doesn’t last. That’s why I like to buy recordings of seminars that I can listen to when my motivation begins to wane once again.
A couple of years ago, I discovered an online homeschool expo. It’s a year’s prescription of homeschool motivation. While there are live speakers (I will be speaking on “Help for the Unmotivated Homeschooler on April 24th at 1:00 p.m.), you can be inspired by quality recordings while you travel, workout, or do housework. The opportunity to peruse books, curriculum, and great gifts for the kids at a local expo is always rewarding. You’ll have the same opportunity at the Ultimate Homeschool Expo. The tickets are a bargain when you consider the cost of a local expo and even one CD ($6).
Do yourself and your kids a favor: get your ticket to the Ultimate Homeschool Expo today! For more information, click the EXPO tab and scroll down. I hope to talk with you live on the 24th!
Any advice for homeschoolers attending an EXPO for the first time?
I know a little something about writing. Even though I’ve been blogging on and off for a long time, I don’t know how to write a great blog. Or even a better blog. What I do know from experience is how to write a bad one. Here are 31 ways to be sure and write a blog that stops traffic.
Write long posts. Writers making the transition from print to blog make this mistake often. Unless it’s very compelling content, readers quickly scroll and click on after about 500 words. This post is going to be a bad one. I promise.
Write daily. The blogging experts love to point out that the most popular blogs are updated at least daily. I think that’s confusing correlation with causation. Before you’re really popular, daily updates can overwhelm readers.
Write your diary. Many blogs read like a bad journal entry. “Today I went to the gym, did some laundry, and watched TV.” Even on Facebook, that’s not good reading.
Write old news. Readers want what’s fresh, even if that’s a fresh take on an old issue.
Write too personally. Reality TV has made it acceptable to bare it all, but there are still plenty of us cringing.
Write without spell check. If you can’t spell and you post your errors, your readers who can spell are going to focus on them and nothing else.
Write without regard to grammar. While composing your post in a word processor, pay attention to the error indicators. Here’s a great free online grammar course to get you up to speed.
Write to get your own needs met. These kinds of blogs come across like needy phone friends who never take a breath.
Write to invoke guilt. Asking why no one is reading or commenting on your blog is like having BO.
Write with unnecessary cursing. Even if you are comfortable with cursing, constant repetition of the same words is just bad writing, not to mention bad form when so many are offended by it.
Write without regard for others’ feelings. Criticizing individuals and bashing entire classes of people may generate traffic, but won’t generate any good will.
Write what’s controversial just to build your blog. Readers who appreciate honest, thoughtful debate will eventually see through you and move on.
Write without reading others’ blogs. Just as writers in other genres hone their craft by reading the best writers, so bloggers benefit from reading good blogs.
Write without building relationships. While traditional writers rarely engaged in relationship building, failing to make connections with readers puts your blog at risk. Responding to comments makes your readers feel appreciated.
Write without giving credit. If you steal others’ work, you will eventually be called out for it.
Write without linking to others’ blogs. Bloggers appreciate the links and so do readers who are looking for good content. Here is a great post on this topic. (I need to take this blogger’s advice.)
Write without providing resources. Giving your perspective on a subject is a great start, but readers want to know where to go for more information. I think 31 Days to Build a Better Blog is a great resource.
Write without humor. Even blogs on depression can be funny.
Write about how you spend all your time blogging. Many of your readers are bloggers who will be put off by your obsession, although many will stick around to see the train wreck.
Write amidst a busy, blinking background. Your readers with ADHD won’t be able to focus on your words and may need an extra dose of medication.
Write infrequently. If you don’t update your blog, your readers won’t care because you don’t.
Write like you’re perfect. Readers don’t like to feel like losers. Share your perfect photos of perfect people and places and your blog will be perfectly alone.
Write like you know it all. This is a shift from traditional writing, too, where experts were supposed to give comprehensive information. Readers like to share, too.
Write what you want to write about. Freelancers know they can’t sell pieces that readers don’t want. Blogs have to be about the topics your readers are interested in.
Write without paragraphs. This is equivalent to blending a main dish, sides, and a dessert and serving it up in a bowl. Mmm.
Write without subheadings or photos. Subheadings and photos are like keeping your foods from touching each other and some of us like that. I was going to add more photos to this post, but it messed up my numbering, so I will leave it as is in the interest of not appearing perfect.
Write to constantly pitch your products. Blog posts that start off talking about how they’re giving me something “FREE to add value” tell me that the sales pitch is coming soon and it’s a turn off.
Write sparsely to make room for long audio and video. Many readers (like me!) learn best by reading and don’t want to spend 15 minutes watching something they could learn by reading in five. I always appreciate the content in writing, too.
Write with links to inappropriate content. Like it or not, readers trust that you are not going to send them to offensive or spammy links. Don’t violate that trust.
Write without purpose. We have to know why we are blogging and even why we are writing a particular post, or we’re sure to go off the rails.
What should this one be?
What other mistakes have you seen bloggers make or have you made yourself?
After teaching my daughter the Learn Math Fast method for subtracting single digit numbers, my daughter came up with this slightly different approach. Of course, we want kids to have these math facts memorized, but in the meantime, it’s helpful for them to have a quick method for solving the problems.
Without any prompting from me, my daughter started teaching her younger brother and her friend “her method” for subtracting single digit numbers. She was so excited about math! Why? I would argue that she feels competent. We are always more motivated to pursue activities we feel capable in. If your child is struggling in a subject, have him teach someone who is behind him in ability. Or consider letting your child make a YouTube video!
The added benefit of letting your child teach is the learners get motivated, too. My daughter’s friend was very excited about this math method and the video they made of it. You still have time to enter the Learn Math Fast giveaway!
Have you had success having your child teach a subject? Tell us about it!
If we’re honest, most of us will say no. We’ll admit to wishing:
We looked younger (after our teens anyway)
We were thinner or fitter
We were more organized and productive
We had a better rating or record in our sport or activity of choice
We could do what we do like someone else does it
We had more fans or just more respect
We made more money
I could go on, but you probably found yourself there somewhere, unless you have the gift of contentment where success is concerned. Even if you’re mostly content, you probably have your moments. I do.
No matter what I’m discontent with, the root cause is the saME. Did you catch that? Whenever it’s about ME, I’m not content.
When I was a kid, the song, “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” was popular. One promise God never made was to give me glory. The promise He made was to use my life for His. Remembering that helps me return to contentment sooner.
The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Isaiah 60:19
When I’m not happy with the success I’m having in a particular area of my life, I often reflect on great men and women who died without ever knowing how famous they would become. This Scripture reminds me that if they’re with our Lord, and know about their fame on earth, they don’t care. God is their glory now. We don’t have to wait until we’re in heaven for God to be our glory. We can be content knowing that God is always successful, even when we don’t seem to be.
How has God helped you be content with the success you have or don’t have?
In honor of the Greater St. Louis Area Expo, you can get the Kindle version of my book, So You’re Not Wonder Woman for FREE! Please click on the book, read it, share the link with anyone who wants to be more of a Wonder Woman, and leave a review on Amazon. You can read the book on your computer using Amazon’s free software. And don’t forget to sign up for the Learn Math Fast giveaway below!
Sometimes when people hear that I homeschool six kids, write, and speak, they tell me I'm a Wonder Woman. I'm not going to disagree, but they don't know the whole story.
In honor of the St. Louis Homeschool Expo where I'll be presenting, I've made the real story behind this Wonder Woman FREE! On March 23rd & 24th, click on the book below and you'll be able to read So You're Not Wonder Woman for free on your Kindle, any Kindle app, or your computer (get free app here) regardless of whether you have Amazon Prime.
I hope you are blessed by the book! If you are, I hope you will bless me in return by leaving a review for the book. I can get my book into the hands of more Wonder Woman wannabes if they read a number of positive reviews.
I’m a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. My life can be a little crazy, so I look for sanity-saving ideas to use and share. I hope you’ll read my About page to learn more.
