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About
The Community is a blog for all Area Voices bloggers and potential bloggers. It's a place to learn what's new at Area Voices and how you can make your blog even better. It's written by Tracy Briggs, the digital content development director for Forum Communications Company.
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Recent Posts
- Areavoices Digest #76 – Running, Minnesota Vikings, and Season-Ending TV
- What’s the best time to post on Facebook, Twitter or my blog?
- Areavoices Digest #75 – What’s life really like in the Oil Patch?
- Areavoices Digest #74 – Are you training for the marathon?
- Areavoices Digest #73 – Capitalizing on the Pinterest explosion
- Areavoices Digest #72 – Spinach Bacon Mac and Cheese and Black Russian Cake
- Areavoices Digest #71 – Scenery and History
- Areavoices Digest #70 – A song that might drive WDAY’s Weather Guys Crazy!
- Areavoices Digest #69 – Duluth scratches the history itch
- Should I fake it or get real?
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- Tim Barton on What’s the best time to post on Facebook, Twitter or my blog?
- Tracy Briggs on Areavoices Digest #35 – Okay, is it casserole or hotdish?
- Kim on Areavoices Digest #35 – Okay, is it casserole or hotdish?
- Tracy Briggs on Areavoices Digest #73 – Capitalizing on the Pinterest explosion
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- Margot on Areavoices Digest #73 – Capitalizing on the Pinterest explosion
- Tracy Briggs on Areavoices Digest #72 – Spinach Bacon Mac and Cheese and Black Russian Cake
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Category Archives: AreaVoices 101
What’s the best time to post on Facebook, Twitter or my blog?
That might be one of the questions I get asked the most as I speak to people trying to optimize their social media experience. They want to know when they’ll get the most “bang for their buck” with their post. … Continue reading
Check out our newest videos!
Many thanks to Hailey from Becoming Midwestern and Jared and Cody from Movies in the Mancave for recording testimonials for Areavoices. The three of them have definitely been shining lights in Areavoices land. Both Becoming Midwestern and Movies in the … Continue reading
Posted in AreaVoices 101, Uncategorized
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Pinterest: Online obsession boosts blog traffic
“My name is Tracy and I’m a Pinterest addict.” “Hi, Tracy.” I can almost envision this conversation with some women I know from church. A couple of months ago, as we waited for our children to leave choir practice a … Continue reading
Adding a Featured Image to your post
Have you had a chance to check out our updated Areavoices homepage? It’s pretty cool. It displays our featured blogs in a more visually pleasing way. Instead of a row of text, you see the blogs displayed in a square … Continue reading
Upgrade Update
Thanks to all of you who’ve had questions and comments regarding our new Areavoices home page. The upgrade started on Tuesday. As I’ve said previously, the upgrade provides a visually more appealing layout of Areavoices blogs. They’re displayed in a … Continue reading
The “Brady Bunch Update” is scheduled
You might have read in this blog last week that some updates are being made to Areavoices. In a nutshell, Areavoices users will see security enhancements and the implementation of a search function, which will enable readers to more easily … Continue reading
Areavoices bloggers: The World is Taking Notice!
Congratulations Areavoices bloggers! You’re attracting a lot of attention! According to data from Quantcast, more than 300,000 people around the world are reading Areavoices blogs every month. Our audience extends from the United States and Canada all the way to … Continue reading
Top 10 Ways to Avoid Blog Burnout
Not long ago, I received a call from a blogger who was sick to death of writing his blog. This is not a picture of him. This is Jimmy Buffett. I’ll get to him in a minute. But first the … Continue reading
Three simple ways to get more comments on your blog
When it comes to comments it seems you either love ‘em or hate ‘em. In fact over the last year or so, I’ve found that a fear of comments keeps some people from starting a blog at all. They don’t … Continue reading
Soon to come: answering some of your questions
As we get ready to wrap up 2011, my mind is turned to one thing. Okay, maybe two. I keep thinking I should try to make some batches of peanut blossom cookies to win the favor of my in-laws. But … Continue reading
Are you proud of your blog?
Are you proud of your blog? Well, share it! We’ve made it easier to share your Areavoices blog on your website. We’ve tweaked and sharpened our Areavoices logo to enable you to post it on your website. You can link … Continue reading
An easier way to find my blogging tips
It seems the blog posts in which I get the most reaction are those that include blogging tips. I’ve been writing them periodically and categorizing them as “Areavoices 101.” But I just realized today that the categories of my blogs … Continue reading
Posted in AreaVoices 101
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Areavoices “A Team” newsletter: Will your blog traffic go up if you do what this record-breaker did?
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The top five things to learn from our #1 blogger
The other day I was looking through Areavoices Quantcast data because, well, you know that’s what all the cool people do. Actually, while it sounds a little dull, I find it fascinating. Quantcast breaks down how many people are reading … Continue reading
The Top 5 Blogging Roadblocks
As I go about the area extolling the virtues of blogging on Areavoices, I’ve found a few common misconceptions about blogs and blogging in general. They’re often the factors that keep people from setting up a blog. But in most … Continue reading
Posted in AreaVoices 101, Uncategorized
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Areavoices Digest #42 – A terrific twosome
When it rains it pours. These days in addition to some of my regular duties I find myself immersed in two pretty cool projects here at Forum Communications. You could say I’m just getting my feet wet with our water … Continue reading
Cool changes for Areavoices bloggers
Sometimes I get a little scared when my co-worker Zac Echola comes to me with news of systems upgrades. I’m afraid I give him that deer in headlights look and insist he speak to me like I was in the … Continue reading
Sometimes I listen to myself
I guess it’s better than talking to myself. I recently wrote a blog post on what to do with your blog while on vacation. I offered 5 tips from leaving it altogether to posting in advance to finding some guest bloggers. … Continue reading
5 things to do about your blog while on vacation
We’re deep in the heart of summer vacation season and avid bloggers might wonder, “what should I do about my blog?” It’s not like the dog, the paper or the mail. You don’t absolutely have to figure out how to … Continue reading
How Google is helping me mine for gold
Awhile back my daughter was assigned to draw a picture of her parents at work. She drew a picture of my husband in front of a chalkboard with the words, “My dad teaches chemistry at a college.” For my picture, … Continue reading
