Learn to Blog: Three Books Show You How (Part 1 of 3)

Blogging is becoming increasingly important—and profitable--on the internet landscape, where anyone can publish anything, anytime. Successful bloggers even get book deals!

If you want to be part of the blogging revolution, get on board with these three hallmarks of successful blogging: Learn to write well (and regularly), hook readers and shape a story (or post).

In addition to the Fitness Writer blog you're reading, I also blog at Fitness Test Drive. And I'm now steering my freelancing services toward blogging on magazine websites and helping corporate clients thrive in the increasingly competitive blogosphere.

To that end, I agreed to review three books on blogging for the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), of which I'm a member.

The three blogging books I reviewed dole out much of the same advice:

• blog often,
• make it about the conversation,
• build your posts around authenticity, and
• encourage and respond to commenters.

However, each title tackles blogging from a different angle. Here's my take on Problogger, with two more reviews to come.

ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to A Six-Figure Income. By Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett, John Wiley and Sons, 2008, 220 pages, $24.99.

Problogger is a useful resource for blogging newbies who want to learn the nuts and bolts of getting started. For example, the authors cover which blogging software to choose (they favor self-hosted Wordpress, no big surprise), how to write effective blog titles and how to measure--and boost--a blog’s success. This book even includes html code for customizing a blog template.

What about the promise of a six-figure income? Realistically, I’m not sure how many “secrets” in this book would lead to a six-figure revenue stream for most bloggers. But the book covers how to monetize your blog through direct and indirect means, such as selling advertising space and freelance blogging.

Plus, if you’re serious about making money, you can join a blogging network or sell your blog (I had no idea you could “flip” blogs like people “flip” houses!).

Problogger is the kind of resource you want on your desk as you muddle through setting up a blog for the first time or stare at your computer screen wondering what to blog about (reading the section on 20 types of blog posts can help).

Up next: My reviews of The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging and Naked Conversations: How Blogs Are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers.

Fitness Marketing: A Lesson in Originality from the Vancouver Olympics...eh

With the 2010 Olympics in full swing, there's a party happening here in Vancouver. The downtown streets are packed, and it looks as if every second person is wearing one of those CANADA hoodies from The Bay. If not the hoodie, then the oh-so-cute maple-leaf mittens.

In addition to Olympics fashion, we Canadians celebrate every medal with extreme excitement and even surprise. That's because it's not a national given that we kick butt and dazzle the world like some other countries do (hi, America!).

That's What I'm Talkin' Aboot
It's interesting to see your country and city through the eyes of those who are watching the Olympics on TV from afar.

Amid the international party here, it's more ridiculous than ever when people drudge out the same old tired Canada jokes. It sounds funny when we say "about." (What aboot it?) Canadians are polite with good manners. (No shit.) We've got Canadian bacon. (Yawn. How is Canadian bacon different from regular bacon anyway?)

What does this post have to do with my blog's theme of fitness writing, marketing and publicity?

Well, I'd like to make one mild-mannered suggestion: Be careful not to fall back on lame cliches with your marketing and publicity endeavours.

Ensure that whatever idea or concept you're promoting to others--whether it's in a brochure or a publicity pitch--is as fresh for them as it is for you. Otherwise, your efforts come across as uninspired as a Canadian-bacon joke.

And if you really want to poke fun at Canadians, razz us about our national adoration for Tim Hortons coffee. Or how curling works.

Is Your Blog Really Promoting Your Fitness Business?

I just launched a new blog over at FitnessTestDrive.com (my first self-hosted Wordpress blog!), where I review assorted fitness products, such as books, DVDs, clothes, gadgets and gym equipment.

I thought I had my goals for setting up the blog all sorted out until I got an email that stopped me in my tracks.

Just after I'd written the About page for Fitness Test Drive, a blog post landed in my inbox from Copyblogger. It made me kick myself for overlooking such an important and obvious element on my blog.

I forgot that I had a business first and a blog second. Oh yeah ...

I'd been focusing pretty heavily on the blog's design (the green header looks good, eh?) and what kind of writing style to use. Along the way, though, I'd forgotten to reinforce what I wanted this blogging endeavor to ultimately accomplish.

Fitness Test Drive is meant to share vital information--in a lighthearted tone--about the scores of fitness products on the market. It's there to help fitness consumers and fitness pros cut through the hype and quickly size up what's new.

From a purely business perspective, however, one of the driving goals of Fitness Test Drive is to build on my platform as a fitness authority and writer. Why? To generate more interest in what I offer as part of my "real" job: magazine writing, book authoring, consulting, ghost writing/blogging, fitness presenting and instructing.

After reading the advice in "Could Your Blog Be Ruining Your Business?" by James Chartrand, I quickly logged back into Wordpress and sprinkled in a few "nudges" toward hiring me, as the author suggests.

What about your blog? Is it clear to readers what products and services you're in business to sell? What techniques do you use to communicate that information to readers?

If you're ready to get a blog online (or you have one but you're not sure how to make the most of it), send me an email. I offer consulting services for new fitness bloggers and ghost writing services for reluctant bloggers.

My Life As a Ghost (Writer)

My name is Amanda Vogel, and I'm a ghost writer.

Ghost writers are called ghost writers because everyone is supposed to pretend the person (often a celebrity) with his or her name on the cover actually wrote the book. The real author is invisible.

Psst, see that book pictured above, Transformative Yoga? I wrote it.

My friend Wade Morissette is cool and laid-back, so he lets me tell people I wrote his book for him. He instructed me on what to put in each chapter, and I made it sound all pretty. Add his sister Alanis's foreward to the mix, and you've got a rockin' little yoga book!

"What's In It For Me"?

My friends and family don't fully understand why I'd write a whole book just so someone else can get the credit for it. Well, I didn't do it for free!

But apart from that, it's fun--and, I think, necessary--for self-employed people in particular to test out new career opportunities.

It keeps things fresh, fun and moving forward.

For example, being Wade's ghostwriter means I've asserted myself as a member of his entourage to all book-related gigs.

There's the time I tagged along to Raincoast Books, Transformative Yoga's Canadian distributor, where one of my fave authors David Sedaris also happened to be that morning (a surprise to me). I met Sedaris and scored a signed copy of his new book When You Are Engulfed in Flames. Sweet!

This week, I invited myself to the set of Shaw TV's Urban Rush, where Wade sailed beautifully through his guest appearance on the show and I got tips for how to advise fitness pros on TV-related publicity (a future blog post).

Back in the green room at Urban Rush, I helped myself to an unreasonable number (for a fitness instructor) of butter-based pastries and reflected on what I'd learned from my ghost writing experience. Maybe these thoughts apply to your career, as well.

Expect the Unexpected
Every new career move has the potential to lead to other perks and opportunities you might not have predicted but fully enjoy. It's good to avoid always expecting the same outcomes at work.

Enjoyment Is In the Experience
I enjoy making money and getting recognition. I really do. However, the very best career opportunities are made of more than that, yes? They're fun. They're unique. They're exciting. They're an experience, not just a job.

Your Success Lies with Others
The measure of your success isn't solely about what you do for yourself. It's how you help others to be successful alongside you. Fitness pros who assist clients with becoming fitter and healthier experience this kind of success every day.

As for Transformative Yoga, Wade has a cool book, and I've got a new job skill and a signed Sedaris book. Everyone's happy. Are you? What has helped you be successful in your own career?

How the Web Helps You Break into Fitness Writing

Editor Lisa Tant's blog post over at Flare magazine got me thinking about when I was first trying to break into writing health and fitness articles for pay.

It seems easier these days to connect with editors (and hopefully charm them with your brilliant ideas and pithy writing). Plus, with today's web tools, you can put your writing in front of an audience any time you want to--no need to wait for an article assignment.

Here are three ways to use web technology for breaking into writing fitness articles that pay.

Blogs. Way back when--like, you know, 5 or 10 years ago--if you wanted to prove to an editor you could write, you had to first somehow get published in the print media. Then you'd photocopy your prized article and snail mail it around.

Now blogs let you create your own publishing platform and, if you go about it the right way, an audience of interactive readers.

Of course, blogging isn't a direct money-maker for most people. But if your posts are decent, they make good writing samples that could lead to paid assignments in magazines, on websites, on other blogs and even--and here's where you've got to be a real superstar--a book deal.

Plus editors have blogs too! You can and should read editors' blogs and comment on posts--it helps build a friendly rapport and keeps you in the loop about what's on their minds, which could help you write more targeted queries.

Web Exclusives. Magazines used to simply throw whatever articles were in the print magazine onto their website. Now a lot of big-name magazines are developing web-exclusive content--articles you can only find online, not in the magazine.

Sometimes you can sell an article to a magazine's website even when you're not having any luck with the print mag. (Did I mention I recently got my first assignment at More.ca?)

The downside for writers is that web-based articles generally pay less than what you can nab for a print article. BUT ... a lot of editors offer this silver lining: The editing process is less "picky" with web exclusives.

For one thing, there are no revisions as far as I can tell, so the per-hour rate is pretty decent. Count me in for more web exclusives!

Twitter. I love that I get a glimpse into the personal and professional lives of editors through their Twitter updates. I love that I can find out what stories a magazine is working on from an editor's tweet looking for sources. I love that I can @mention or direct message (DM) editors, engaging in a funny discussion or sending a friendly hello. And I love that editors respond on Twitter!

Have any of the above tactics worked to help you network with editors and/or score writing assignments? Write a comment to share your experience.

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For more info about breaking into writing for magazines and websites, check out How to Write Winning Queries: Get your articles published for profit and promotion as a health/fitness writer and expert.

IDEA Writer Weighs in on The Biggest Loser Discussion

Behind "the Making of" The Biggest Loser IDEA article

The article I wrote for IDEA Fitness Journal on The Biggest Loser is getting attention. A number of media outlets have picked up the topic (they're going with variations of the headline "why fitness pros criticize The Biggest Loser").

Last time I checked, AOL Health had 202 comments to a post about the IDEA piece.

I suppose it's time for me to weigh in on my own article.

I won't rehash what's already out there. Instead, consider this a behind-the-scenes look at The Biggest Loser IDEA article.

Here are six observations I made before, during and after writing about why some fitness experts question what they see on NBC's The Biggest Loser.

OBSERVATION 1. There's a wee disconnect between the fitness industry and the general public about what endorses a fitness expert to be a fitness expert.

Is it a high profile? Products that sell well? Current certifications? How much a trainer cares about clients? How a trainer acts with clients? Opinions vary, and what counts for one person might not hold weight for another.

OBSERVATION 2. A lot of Biggest Loser fans defend the show on blogs by saying the industry sources quoted in my article are overlooking one important point: The Biggest Loser is television, not real life. Duh! I think we're all clear on that, thanks.

It's television that has a very real impact on the perceptions, practices and expectations of SOME viewers. And those viewers might come to our gyms, fitness classes, boot camps and training sessions.

If it's true that people are inspired by a television program, why can't they also be influenced by what they see on that TV show?

OBSERVATION 3. This is just a hunch: The Biggest Loser isn't used to press that isn't bend-over-backward full of praise. This might be why some fans of the show don't understand it when fitness pros get all worked up over details like industry certifications and trainer conduct.

OBSERVATION 4. It seems like some fitness pros who've formed a negative opinion about The Biggest Loser refuse to see anything remotely good about the show. Come on, just try.

OBSERVATION 5. Parts of the fitness industry have stuff to work on, too, and this has nothing to do with The Biggest Loser or its trainers. I mean, when you make false promises over and over, it draws considerable attention to whatever you're trying to skirt around. (See: sidebar, page 35.)

OBSERVATION 6. Hats off to The Biggest Loser folks who spoke to me for the story. We're talking about a blockbuster show from a major television network, and here I am a reporter (in Canada, no less!) from a membership-only fitness trade magazine. (Of course IDEA is an important, respected association, but it's not Entertainment Tonight.)

When I wanted to know why the trainers yell so much, Bob Harper called and gave me an answer!

I told executive producer Mark Koops how some fitness pros accuse The Biggest Loser of being "an embarrassment to the fitness industry"; some say it's "dangerous." That's harsh criticism! Yet, Koops spoke respectfully and candidly as he defended the show.

The Biggest Loser folks could have easily brushed me off! Actually, one of them sort of did, but thankfully, everyone else chose to engage in the conversation.

What About a Second Chance?

In case it wasn't clear in the last section of my IDEA article, I think The Biggest Loser could learn from the fitness industry in terms of how it depicts exercise and trainer conduct.

Likewise, the fitness industry as a whole could learn from The Biggest Loser in terms of how the show inspires people to get moving.

What do you think? Do any of my observations stand out?

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Fitness Photos, You Let Me Down (One Woman's Blog Rant)

I've been a fitness pro for 16 years, and I'm done with teaching just regular group exercise classes for just the regular group exercise wage (read: too low).

Personal trainers are out there with group training and boot camps and enjoying a higher profit margin. Now I'm doing the same, but with group exercise.

So as I market two new revenue-generating fitness events this Fall - one's a 6-week circuit interval program for gym members, and the other's a step/strength workshop for fitness instructors - I'm thinking about that old cliché, "A picture is worth a thousand words."

I'm a writer, so you know I love words, but I also recognize the value of using carefully selected, targeted images in fitness blog posts and fitness marketing material.

To that end, I logged onto iStockphoto.com to download a couple of fitness shots.

It's at times like these that I'm glad I have a fitness blog so I can rant about this irksome fact: A lot of fitness images of women are so ... hard to love.

I want a photo that pushes emotional buttons but looks cool to fitness folks and doesn't disappoint those of us who are way beyond stereotypical, outdated advertising images.

Dear iStockphoto, here's what I don't want (and what, unfortunately, you've got a lot of):

• Scrawny women who appear to have never exercised, gazing either seductively or passively at a couple of hand-weights that they clearly have no intention of ever lifting.


• Modern, fit-looking women waving around pink, Barbie-sized dumbbells.


• Women exercising with cringe-inducing form (note: lunges don't involve hyperextending the spine so the ribcage juts as far forward as possible).


• People lifting weights wearing socks, no shoes.
  

Did I miss anything?

Sure I rant, but I still heartily recommend iStockphoto.com.

One of iStockphoto's newsletters includes free downloads, which is how I get a lot of the images I use on this blog - at no cost. (They're not usually fitness photos, but with creativity, you can still make them work for a fitness blog.)

Other places to get free photos:

• Morguefile.com


• Flickr.com (check the Creative Commons section)
  

Anyone else have tips about where to get budget-friendly images for a fitness blog and fitness marketing?