Emily is a freelance writer, editor and proofreader and I follow her blog religiously, and I should say that she has an awesome potential in her writing and her articles reflect them. I even submitted a guest post to her blog which got me some notice (Better Blogger Checklist) and also took part in her challenging “Writers’ Contest” in September 2011. I was one among some 50+ awesome writers and didn’t stand a chance of making it to the Top 10 even. But the experience was great and I came across many talented bloggers and writers during the process.
As with every other blogger in this series, there are a lot of things to learn and improve by getting to know a little more about them and I am glad my readers are liking it so far. I would really like to get more feedback regarding the type of questions in this list and if anyone would love to add more to it.
| Emily Suess | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | How long have you been blogging? | About six years. I started out on AOL Journals, then moved to Blogger, and eventually ended up on self-hosted WordPress. |
| 2. | How many blogs do you own and contribute for? | I only own one blog, Suess's Pieces. But I also regularly contribute on the blog at Small Business Bonfire. |
| 3. | What is the main purpose or objective of your blog? | It's an outlet for me on a personal level and a way for me to connect with other bloggers, but I also use it to help market my freelance writing business. |
| 4. | How many posts do you write on an average per week? | It's never the same. I just write when I'm compelled to write, because when I force myself to produce content, the posts are boring and I don't enjoy writing them. |
| 5. | How much time do you devote for your blog on a daily basis? | An hour or so most days. But during big events like Writers' Week and writing contests, I may work three to five hours a day. |
| 6. | How much time do you spend on tracking RSS feeds? | I check RSS feeds several times a day during the week, mostly skimming titles for the most appealing and interesting posts. |
| 7. | What is your favorite social bookmarking site and Why? | Pinterest. I'm addicted to how easy it is to pin items. I use it for special projects, home and office ideas, funny quotes and pictures and for collecting new recipes I want to try. |
| 8. | What is your blog’s monthly revenue? | It's really not impressive. I'm lucky if I recover my hosting and domain registration fees. |
| 9. | How many page views does your blog generate daily? | It really depends what I'm posting. During special events it maxes out at about 2,000 page views per day. But on days with no posts, I may only get 75-100 page views. |
| 10. | Name one blog(apart from yours!!) you read every day without fail. | The Bloggess (Every day she posts, that is.) |
| 11. | What is your blog’s main revenue generator? | Affiliate links and PPC ads. |
| 12. | Do you believe in Alexa rankings for measuring traffic? | I'm not really familiar with Alexa. |
| 13. | Do you accept Guest Articles on your blog? | Yes. Anyone who is interested in submitting a post can check out my guest post guidelines |
| 14. | Do you believing in spending money on promoting your blog? | Absolutely. However, before I used my blog as a marketing tool for freelancing, I didn't think it was necessary. |
| 15. | Do you answer to all the comments on your blog? | Sadly, no. But it's not because I don't try. Sometimes there just isn't enough time in a day. I want my readers to know that I'm interested in their feedback. |
| 16. | How did you market your blog during your initial days to get the readers that you have? | In the early days, I relied on reciprocal commenting. I'd read other posts and make sure I left comments when I had something to add or contribute. Those bloggers would then visit me in return. I still read and connect with bloggers today who were originally on the AOL Journals platform – even though AOL Journals is now defunct. |
| 17. | Any mistakes to learn from and avoid? | Don't try to do too much with your blog at once. Focus on doing a few things really well. |
| 18. | What is your source of new post ideas? | As a writer, my brain is constantly dreaming up topics and ideas for blog posts. I usually keep track of ideas at Evernote.com and then write the ones that are most appealing to me. Many of my ideas never get published. |
| 19. | Is having a “niche” important to bloggers? | Niches are particularly important to bloggers who are trying to earn revenue from their sites. However, those that blog for fun don't really need to worry about selecting a niche. |
| 20. | Any advice to a start-up blogger? | Do as much as you can for free while you are just starting out. Save your money on fancy templates, self-hosting, and extras until after you have started to attract a steady stream of visitors. |
| 21. | Bio | Emily is a freelance copywriter in Indianapolis and blogs at Suess's Pieces and Small Business Bonfire. You can connect with her on FaceBook and Twitter. |
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Nice to see you here Emily!
It sure is wonderful to learn more about another freelance writer- thanks Praveen for putting up this wonderful post in the series.
I have known Emily for quite sometime now, and though we are connected through Twitter and G+- I never really stopped to leave a comment on her posts, though have tweeted quite a few of them. Guess now we sure can get more connected 🙂
Its wonderful to see your guest post at her blog, and glad you learnt a great deal at the contest too. I did think about entering it as well, but I just want to shift my writing blog fully onto WordPress first before starting on anything.
Her answer to how many posts she writes per week is so true- as being freelance writers we have our hands totally full with client and other works. I for myself, rarely can manage to find the time to put up posts on my blog or comment at other blogs.
Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Harleena. I am glad you are liking the series so far.
Good to know you are connected with Emily and got to know a little more about her through this post. You really should have entered the contest too, it was fun and I enjoyed reading all the posts and following them back.
Thank your for this interview with Emily. She has a warm voice that makes people feel comfortable reading her posts, even when she is blogging strictly about business.
I never Know about Emily. Nice to know such great personality.
Andy – Thanks for visiting. If you are seriously into freelance writing, you should probably look her up more.
Leora – Thanks for leaving back a comment. I met Emily via your blog and glad I did. Thanks to you again for connecting us and our blogs together.
I am sure you both know each other well enough and hope to have you both as good followers of my blog and friends.
Thx, Praveen, for the introduction to Emily. Look forward to getting acquainted with her over at her place.
Janet – I am sure you will find Emily very resourceful and an interesting writer with lot of professional experience and talent.
Glad to make the connection between you two.
Thanks to all of you for the kind words and Praveen especially for asking me to participate in this series. I look forward to connecting with all of you in the future!