CWA – Interview With Ms. Ileane of Basic Blog Tips

Ileane: Thanks for inviting me and I’m happy to be here. I’m from Philadelphia and I’ve lived here all my life. I work for a technical book publisher and I’ve been with the company for almost 30 years. I’m a single Mom, even though my daughter Nikki is all grown up now and lives in LA these days.

Ileane: I started blogging in 2009. It happened by mistake because my daughter called me up all excited and said “Mom I started a blog!” I was really happy for her and I thought it was the coolest thing. At the time I didn’t know how to subscribe to blogs via RSS feeds so I thought I was subscribing but it turned out I was really signing up for my own blog instead. 🙂

Atish:  How many blogs you are handling and which was the first one?

Ileane: My first blog was Ms. Ileane Speaks. It’s a WordPress.com blog and even though I don’t write for it any more some of the posts still get traffic and it has a page rank of 2. I started my self-hosted WordPress blog – Basic Blog Tips back in 2010 and that is my primary blog. I also have one on Blogger and I just started a new microblog on Tumblr about 2 weeks ago.

Atish:  Are you a full time blogger? Please Tell us about what you think about the full time blogging and part time blogging?

Ileane: I’m not sure if I would call myself a part time blogger although I do spend a great deal of time blogging. I have a lot of other online interests too, for example I have an active YouTube channel, I have a podcast and I’m very active on social media. I certainly don’t make a full-time income from blogging if that’s what you mean. I’m very passionate about blogging and if I’m not writing blog posts, I’m reading other blogs.

Atish: Many bloggers find it very difficult to bring traffic to their site, in your opinion which is the best way for generate the traffic?

Ileane: Organic search engine traffic is by far my number one traffic source and that has a lot to do with having great content in the eyes of Google and the other search engines. I have some really fantastic guest bloggers helping me provide value to the community and it keeps the content fresh. The rest of my traffic comes from a combination of sources including social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. Social bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon and blogging communities like BizSugar also play a big role.

Atish: What do you think about guest blogging and comment posting which are being used by bloggers for building links and traffic?

Ileane: You hit the nail on the head right there with those two topics! They are winners and not only does guest posting and blog commenting build backlinks it also helps build relationships. That’s very important because relationships and making strong connections with other bloggers are the cornerstone to making a name for yourself and finding true success on the web.

Atish: Is blogging for you just a passion or a medium of earning too? Does it help you to earn enough cash to make living?

Ileane: I use any money that I make from blogging to pay for things like hosting, and software. I also like to buy gadgets, but I actually donate most of my profits to charity. I think the best way to generate a substantial income on the web is from product development. I haven’t got into that yet, but maybe I will some day.

Atish: What is the happiest moment of your blogging life?

Ileane: Wow, that’s a hard one. I have a ton of really great blogging memories….
Back when I was still blogging on WordPress.com I knew I wanted to migrate over to self-hosted WordPress. I really struggled with the decision about keeping my old blog name or finding a new domain name. I knew that I had to find the right domain name that had SEO value and really represented what the blog was going to be about. I spent about 2 weeks thinking about names and changing my mind back and forth, until finally it actually hit me one day when I was in the car driving to work. Basic Blog Tips! I couldn’t wait to get to work and turn on my computer so I could check to see if the domain was taken. Oh how I prayed that domain wasn’t taken. As soon as I got to work, I looked the name up and when I saw that it was available I was ecstatic! So I guess if I had to pick one special moment I would say, that was it. Finding the perfect domain name was really a joyous day.

I’m really glad you asked that question because I never  thought about it that way until now.

Atish: What are your future plans for your life and your blogs?

Ileane: I plan to continue to grow Basic Blog Tips and expanding my audience with podcasting and doing YouTube videos. As far as my life goes, I would love to do my traveling and spend more time with my family and loved ones.

Atish: Who has impacted you most in your blogging career, and how?

Ileane: I have to name two people that have had a huge impact on my blogging as well as my personal life and they are my daughter Nikki and my best friend Kissie.

Nikki is my biggest critic. She is the one who will say to me – Mom that doesn’t sound right or you should change this or that. Most people try to be nice all the time and they don’t want to hurt your feelings and tell you when you suck! But Nikki loves me enough to be brutally honest because she doesn’t want me to embarrass myself.

Kissie started blogging the same time I did but before that we would communicate by email and write these hilarious epic conversations that would go on for days. We always would say to one another “you should write a book”. I value her opinion and she gave me the initial push that help me take my blog to the next level. I can always count on her support.

Atish: Would you like to give any message or tips to new bloggers?

Ileane: My message to new bloggers is not to get caught up in the numbers. Don’t worry about page rank or subscriber rank or any of that just go keep creating good content, find your voice as a writer and add value to every post. The other tip  is keep your branding consistent by using a gravatar and a Google profile image and use that same image for all your social network profiles.

Atish:  Would You like to share your favorite quotation?

Ileane: One of my favorite quotes is a line from a song and it goes like this – No matter where you go, there you are.
The reason I like that quote is because it’s a reminder to always be the best you can be. Don’t think that just because people can’t see you misbehaving that you’re getting away with something because the truth of the matter is that God sees everything.

Atish: What do you think about TechTricksWorld? If any suggestions then Please share with us?

Ileane: Great job! I meant it really. You have all the right ingredients for success. You have a beautiful design layout and simple navigation. You also use attractive images and most importantly you have some good content. The only thing I would do differently is get rid of the blank ad space. I would fill the header with AdSense or some affiliate ad like CommentLuv and I would get rid of the empty ones on the sidebar. They aren’t adding any value to you or your readers  it might give new visitors the wrong impression. Other that than I would say two thumbs up my friend!

Thanks so much for asking me for this interview, I enjoyed myself. You know how to ask some really great questions. Thanks for your time. God bless you and All the best for your future endeavors.