Welcome to another episode of “The Naked Truth” on DailyMorningCoffee. Having nearly 200 FaceBook followers and more than 600 Twitter followers in just 4 months of blogging isn’t an easy task to achieve and that is exactly what Ruth Zive of Freelance Writing Blog has done!!!!
All that credit goes to her dedication towards writing and if you read just one article of hers, I can wager that you will be hitting those like and follow buttons on her page. Quite deservedly, Adrienne Smith honored her with the SunShine Award and I am sure everyone who follows Ruth agrees with me here when I say she has done everything possible to get nominated for the award.
Ruth in turn surprised me by passing on the torch to me by naming me in her list of bloggers to achieve the SunShine award. That day was very special to me since it was the first time ever anyone has taken notice of my blog and wrote about it in those kind words. Thanks once again Ruth for the honor.
So, today it is my turn to return the favor by featuring Ruth Zive in the Naked Truth of Bloggers series and am sure my readers will find her very informative and resourceful. If you like what you read, please do not forget to leave a comment and let us know your thoughts.
| Ruth Zive | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | How long have you been blogging? | Only about four months |
| 2. | How many blogs do you own and contribute for? | I own 2. My main blog, The Freelance Writing Blog is the one that I write for the most. I also own a speech writing blog called Speechwhiz and I am a columnist at The Daily Muse; I contribute twice every month. |
| 3. | What is the main purpose or objective of your blog? | To help anyone who is interested in developing better copywriting and content marketing strategy to grow their business. So – other freelance copywriters, marketing executives, business owners, etc. The blog also gives me an opportunity to extend my reach, grow my clientele and establish a sense of credibility online. |
| 4. | How many posts do you write on an average per week? | I try to write 3 for The Freelance Writing Blog. |
| 5. | How much time do you devote for your blog on a daily basis? | Too much, considering it doesn’t generate any revenue! Probably a couple of hours. |
| 6. | How much time do you spend on tracking RSS feeds? | I check every day. But I don’t spend a lot of time on it. |
| 7. | What is your favorite social bookmarking site and Why? | Hmmm…probably Twitter because it’s quick, easy and a great way to connect with other people. |
| 8. | What is your blog’s monthly revenue? | I don’t yet have any DIRECT revenue from my blog. But my blog has brought me clients for my freelance writing business. |
| 9. | How many page views does your blog generate daily? | According to Wordpress STATS, I get approximately 300 – 400 unique visits every day. |
| 10. | Name one blog(apart from yours!!) you read every day without fail. | Copyblogger |
| 11. | What is your blog’s main revenue generator? | Offline freelance copywriting business |
| 12. | Do you believe in Alexa rankings for measuring traffic? | Not particularly |
| 13. | Do you accept Guest Articles on your blog? | Yes, but I have guidelines and parameters to ensure that the posts will resonate with my readers. |
| 14. | Do you believing in spending money on promoting your blog? | Within reason. |
| 15. | Do you answer to all the comments on your blog? | I try to. |
| 16. | How did you market your blog during your initial days to get the readers that you have? | Social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn), by leaving comments on other blogs related to my niche, search engine optimization. |
| 17. | Any mistakes to learn from and avoid? | Pay for a self-hosted (Wordpress.org) blog and invest in a good theme. Also, choose a domain name that includes one of your keywords. |
| 18. | What is your source of new post ideas? | I read a LOT of other copywriting and content marketing blogs to really understand emerging trends and concerns. I listen to my readers’ feedback and I keep a running list of topic ideas as they occur to me during the day. |
| 19. | Is having a “niche” important to bloggers? | I think it’s important to write about something you love. I LOVE writing. My writing ‘niche’ market is technology, but I write about writing and content marketing. That’s my passion. |
| 20. | Any advice to a start-up blogger? | Think long term. This is something that I struggle with, especially considering I’ve only been out of the gate for four months. I want things to fall into place quickly and cleanly. But this is a journey. Slow and steady wins the race. |
| 21. | Bio: | Freelance Writing Blog Know More About Me here - About Ruth |
| Follow Me: | LinkedIn |
I hope you are enjoying the naked truth series here on DMC. If you would like to get featured, reach out to me using the Contact Form.
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I have recently made my acquaintance with Ruth and knows she does a great job and certainly very deserving of the Sunshine Award. She is also deserving of this naked acknowledgement as well.
I agree with you Bill, she is an awesome blogger and it was great to feature her in my blog.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving your comment.
Haha – naked acknowledgement! I especially like getting a naked acknowledgement that doesn’t require that I be naked!
That’s some great stats for only blogging a few months.
Justin – I cannot even imagine how anyone can be so very productive, she is amazing at what she does.
Great interview Ruth & Praveen!
I have known Ruth for a quite a while now and earlier we shared nearly similar names of our blogs, till I changed mine to a different one! Yes indeed, that is quite an accomplishment Ruth for having blogging just for a few months.
And what I most marvel at is how she manages to find the time to write with her adorable handful of kids!! I know how I have a hard time with two of mine 🙂
Great going Ruth- one freelance writer to another 🙂
Harleena – Glad you are regularly following this series.
No wonder you two know each other, both being impressive writers and all. Yes, Ruth is a person for a blogger to follow and learn from, her articles are mind blowing and the way she expresses her thoughts are very warm and mature.
Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks Harleena! You’ve been an inspiration in these beginning months – thank you for your kindness and direction!
Wow, very impressive. I have known Ruth for a while but had no idea she was new to blogging. Her blogs are informative and helpful and Ruth is very active in supporting other bloggers.
Fans of Ruth can support her not only by heading over to her blog but also by voting for her to win a new Nissan. Check out her video and vote for her here:
https://apps.facebook.com/innovation_challenge/ Thanks for letting us know more about her, Praveen!
Carolyn – I am very glad you stopped by and left your comment.
I completely forgot about that Nissan contest, hope Ruth makes it to the top 5. I think the voting is currently closed and they will announce the winners on Jan 20th. But still, thanks for putting up that link and spreading the word.
Glad you liked the post and hope to see you back soon.
You are so, so kind, Carolyn. Honestly, you have been so incredibly supportive! Voting is done for the Nissan contest – thank you for your votes and for spreading the word! I’m waiting to find out if I made it to the next round (only five people make it!). I’m feeling a bit defeated since I haven’t heard anything yet, but if I make it to that round, I have to go before a panel of judges and plead my case. Gulp!
So yes, I’m a blogging newbie! It’s only been about 5 months! These interviews are great, cuz we get to learn so much more about people to whom we already feel connected, right?
I LOVE Ruth!!! She’s one of my all time favorite people and continues to move up in ranks with me. We met through her finding me and she’s claimed I’ve been a tremendous help to her with blogging but she’s actually done the exact same thing for me. What a copywriting genius she is.
Carolyn gives me a hard time because I don’t consider myself a tech blogger so Ruth is following up with that in the writing area because I don’t consider myself a writer. I’m just very fortunate these ladies have continued to put me in my place because I’ve learned so much from them both.
Great interview Praveen and a fabulous lady to highlight. See, I continue learning new things about her every day.
Adrienne – you are too kind. You’re my engagement superstar! I have indeed learned SO much from you (watch my Facebook feed today) and I look forward to a year filled with success for both of us. Thanks for the very generous comment!
Adrienne – Glad you stopped by to read this series.
I am sure you and Ruth share some common interests in writing and I happened to meet both of you via Carolyn, so there is the tech lady again in picture 🙂
Thanks for leaving back your comment and hope to see you back soon.
Wow Ruth, I am impressed 🙂 truly! How cool is this thing called blogging anyway? I am a newbie (2 months) and learning as much as I can. I’m glad to have come across you on Twitter. This is a really good interview!. Right to the point with all the important facts and the interesting questions. Good job by the interviewer.! Congrats to you on this Ruth! Awesome!