When Life Hands You Lemons

November 11, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 13 Comments

You may have noticed a few new items on the Cow Pasture Chronicles header and sidebar – specifically, CPC Contributors. Already, I have two wonderful authors who plan over the next few months to share their thoughts and expertise with all of you. Jean Cogdell and Granonine. If you’re unfamiliar with these authors, you can find out more about them by reading their Bios listed in the sidebar.

So, why am I recruiting contributors to the Cow Pasture?

I believe others expertise, stories, and words benefit us all.
It’s an opportunity to meet new authors and writers.
Contributors will provide a more expansive knowledge base.
But, I gotta be honest with you; the biggest reason I’m recruiting contributors is to help me out during a tough time ahead. Let me explain.

When Life Hands You Lemons – Make Lemonade

Beginning December 1st, I will be away from the Cow Pasture for a few months. I will be having thumb replacement/carpal tunnel surgery on my dominant hand. That means, writing on anything is not going to happen. The recovery will be extensive, complicated, and long.

You are important to me. I hope you’ve gained something by following and it’s important that I not just disappear quietly into the night. Of course, those who know me understand that’s never going to happen – :-).

Here’s my Plan

I’ll schedule as many posts ahead of time as possible.
You may see a few older posts – which is not a bad idea; not every reader will have had the opportunity to see some of those.
And, you will have the opportunity to read from my guest bloggers.

I’m asking for your help.

If any of you are interested in participating as a CPC Contributor, please check out the links at the top of my page. Joining the Cow Pasture Chronicles Team will give you the opportunity to broaden your audience and meet new people.

For those of you wondering what the surgery is all about, I’ve provided a video link – be forewarned – the video is graphic; after all it’s surgery. So, before you click, make sure you have the stomach.

To My Readers:

Thank you for being a faithful follower. I appreciate each one of you and have learned as much from you as I hope you’ve learned from me. I hope you will hang around, continue to jump over the fence and take a stroll through the Cow Pasture – you may be surprised the treasures awaiting.

Join the Cow Pasture Chronicles Team! I’d love to have you on board.

Talk to me. Tell me your story and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilamgood, Contently, and Instagram. You can follow my reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.

Your Year in Review

April 29, 2016December 19, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 19 Comments

Day 25: #AtoZChallenge

WordPress does a phenomenal job keeping up with our blog stats. At the end of the year, they send you an annual report: Your Year in Review.

The report includes:

Posting Patterns – including your longest blogging streak and your Best Day.
Posts that received the most views.
Top Referring sites.
The total number and name of the countries visiting.
The post receiving the most comments and who commented.

To improve your outreach, it’s important to review your stats on a regular basis.

Things you can discover to improve your blog’s performance:

Who’s following and how long.
Where referrals are generated.
The most active keywords.
Who’s leaving comments?
The number of clicks.
The number of visitors.
The most popular day and time to post.
The most popular posts and pages.
The post receiving the most comments.
Total Shares.

Want to see what the report looks like? Click here to see the Cow Pasture 2015 annual report.

So, what about you? Do you review your stats page? Do you use the information to improve your outreach? I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilamgood, and Contently.

You Asked: SEO, What is it, and How Do I Use it ?

October 17, 2015October 21, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 4 Comments

Welcome to another, You Asked, the Experts Answer, segment. This week ‘s question is: SEO, what is it, and how do I use it?

For those of you who are as confused, as I am most of the time about SEO, I’ll try to make this easy to understand. First off, if you have a WordPress blog, they take care of all the technical stuff related to SEO.

What is SEO? The acronym stands for Search Engine Optimisation.

“… the name given to activity that attempts to improve search engine rankings.” In search results Google™ displays links to pages it considers relevant and authoritative. Authority is mostly measured by analyzing the number and quality of links from other web pages. In simple terms, your web pages have the potential to rank in Google™ so long as other web pages link to them.” Redevolution.com

Why is SEO so important? Simply put, SEO is a way for your website/blog to be found in search engines from relevant keywords or phrases.

What are Keywords? Keywords are words or phrases that your target audience might use when searching for your site. Example: if I want to find information on iCloud. I might type into Google, “Tips on using iCloud.”

SEO and keywords are nothing more than how we find things, information, or websites on the internet. Knowing that, we certainly want our website or blog discoverable.

And the more often your page is found or linked to by someone else, the higher your website is ranked by Google. The higher the rank, the more Page Authority Google gives your site.

What is Page Authority?

“Higher page authority means greater chances of your page showing up on search engines, and that your page will be placed closer to the top of the search results. Note that page authority is related to the pages within sites, not the site itself.” Drumbeatmarketing.net

Images can give your blog/website a big boost in rankings as well, but you have to label them correctly. Google doesn’t know an image is about the Eiffel Tower unless you provide a clue. ie. the image name, the URL of the image, or using a keyword to tag the image.

WordPress handles the technical aspect, but it’s up to you to choose the right keywords and phrases. The good thing about that is you can search for trending keywords or even tags right in your WordPress Reader.

Like everything else, there is a knack to using keywords:

Use some broad words: ie. Dogs
Then get specific: Bichon Frise’
Don’t overdo it.
Don’t use the same word, repeatedly.

Want more Information? Check out the following articles and always remember WordPress support is always available.

So, before you write your next post, check out what’s trending.

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story. And as always, you can follow me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilagood, and Contently.

The Value of Blog Comments

October 4, 2015October 21, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 34 Comments

Written in response to the Writer’s Digest 2015 October Platform Challenge

Blogging is an excellent way to express ourselves, improve skills, impart knowledge and expertise, or share stories. But, what role do comments, both given and received, play? Are they important?

When I began blogging in 2008, I had no aspirations beyond using my blog as a way to express grief after the sudden loss of my best friend. But, then people began to respond. I made connections, my grief lessened, and my writing evolved. Without their encouragement, I’m not sure I would still be writing.

The Value of Blog Comments:

They are the lifeblood of any blog – connecting us to others.
Tell us our words have resonated with someone.
Sometimes, they express gratitude.
Other times, they offer us a different opinion to consider.
An avenue to share resources, give recognition, or validate information.
Provide ideas for future topics.
Creates a network of bloggers, writers, classes, and groups.

Given these benefits, how can we create an atmosphere of interaction?

Ways to Invite Reader Participation:

Lead the way – Comment on your favorite blogs. Make sure what you have to say will add value to the conversation.
Keep it simple – spam is a valid concern. However, CAPTCHA’S can actually discourage readers from leaving comments. Trying to match blurred letters or numbers in little boxes is more annoying than trying to read the fine print on the back of a medicine bottle.
Do away with registrations. Requiring readers to fill out a form before leaving a comment is a sure-fire way not to get one.
Readers respond more often to a call-to-action or questions.
Be an active participant on your own blog – respond and interact with those who have taken the time to read and respond.

Not only is replying to comments, the polite thing to do, but doing so helps create a network of like-minded bloggers and writers, which adds value to all of us.

People blog for different reasons and the topics are as varied as the names. We want to believe our blogs provide valuable information or entertaining stories, but without reader participation, how will we know?

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story. And as always, you can follow me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter @cofcmom, and Contently.