Fireside Chat on Blogging With Mitch Mitchell – Almost ;)

Last Sunday I had the pleasure of discussing blogging with Mitch Mitchell . It was a nice change of pace to just have a casual discussion about something I’m so passionate about without the pressures of teaching and actual content creation. Even though the overall point in the video wasn’t to provide “blogging content”, I believe a ton of value came from the talk and I thought it fitting to share it with you. This is about as close to a fireside chat that I’ve come.

Google Penalties

Mitch kicks the talk off with the recent Google penalty imposed on Ann Smarty’s website, My Blog Guest. Google went after not only MyBlogGuest.com but even after some of the site’s users. I was happy to share my opinion on the news and how it relates to bloggers and the networks we take part in.

Blog Promotion

Next up was our opinion of blog promotion when it comes to blog posts and content we create. We talk about building loyal readership and how overwhelming promoting those posts can become. I talk about using the various social networks for blog promotion and finding the right fit for our followers and readers. I mention my ninety day focus on Google Plus, Twitter and YouTube while all but completely ignoring other networks such as Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and the rest.

My Early Days of Blogging

Mitch asked when I started blogging and what got me into it so you can hear a little about my blogging background. Mitch takes me to task on my first blog about finance and asked whether or not I had the expertise to blog on the subject. I was happy to talk about how I found my passion for finance and why I felt qualified to blog about it. I also give my opinion on bloggers overall and whether or not they have the qualifications to blog within their niche. Mitch follows that up with his opinion on seeing so many bloggers writing on topics they know nothing about and/or have no real interest in short of driving traffic and turning a quick profit.

Niche Blogging -vs- Traditional Blogging

I come clean, as I have in the past, and talk about my stint in niche blogging for the sole purpose of blog profit while providing no real value for site visitors. I talk about how easy it was to profit with niche blogging and how Google slapped the sense into me. The niche blogging trend, at least in the non-authoritative and low-value manor, is a thing of the past and I’m glad it is.

Blogging Pressures

Next we talk about the pressures of blogging when things go wrong and what kept us going. I actually stepped away from traditional blogging for a while and I go over several reasons for that and what came of it. I point out the pressures can cause second thoughts and doubts of why we work so hard for our readers and how it can often seem to have a very low return.

Allowing Guest Posts… Or Not

Next up was the topic of guest blogging and why we both stopped accepting guest posts. I told Mitch the reason for my decision to get away from guest blogging on Hot Blog Tips was based on the fact the much of it felt like spam and was often low quality content. Even for the better posts that I accepted, I had to actually spend more time on it than had I just written myself. We talked about our guest posr guidelines and how they were often ignored and what we did about that.

The Free Blog Image

Now we move on to my Free Blog Image movement and what came from it. I created an image to represent blogs, bloggers and blogging than anyone is welcome to download, edit and use whether it be for their logo, icons or any other way to represent their blog.

Be Everywhere?

Next up we talk about the various ways to create and distribute content along with our blog posts. We talk about whether or not these types of content such as video, audio, slide shares and images are necessary. I give my opinion on that topic as well as go into detail why our Hangouts on Air (HoA) as the Hot Blog Tips’ Hangout Crew priorities and strategy has changed so drastically.

My Personal Message For Bloggers

Mitch was gracious enough to allow me to close the video out with my personal message for bloggers and how they can find me and the Hot Blog Tips brand. Talking Blogging With Brian D. Hawkins Of Hot Blog Tips

Thank You Mitch Mitchell

I’d like to publically thank Mitch Mitchell for allowing me the opportunity sit back and have a nice discussion in such a relaxed environment. I consider Mitch a good friend and it was simply chatting with a friend on a topic we mutually enjoy with the camera rolling. I enjoyed it and I hope you do too.

Your Thoughts Matter

It would be awesome if you could take the time to watch when you get the time and join the discussion via the comments below or the YouTube video comments. Let me know your thoughts, feelings and opinions. While I have you, it would be awesome if you would take a second to visit the YouTube video link and give Mitch a little love with a thumb’s up and/or shout in the video comments.