10 Free Ways to Support Your Favorite Blogs
Sometimes people are leary of clicking ads and affiliate links or purchasing products they see on blogs. Blogging is fun if your doing something your passionate about, but it’s a lot of time and effort to build it. Most bloggers quit. I was going through a list of Wesleyan blogs the other day and found that most of them were no longer there or hadn’t been updated in over a year. The first blog I ever started had one post. I don’t even remember where it is. I got fired up about something, wrote about it, and posted it for the world to see. Then I went back to my life. I don’t even know if anyone read it. I’ve learned a lot about life and blogging since then. Here are some cool and free ways you can support your favorite blogs, keep them going, and help other people find them.
1. Install the Alexa toolbar or status bar. Here’s a little about them and their partnership with Amazon. Why do this? Alexa ranks websites based on traffic and visits made to the site by people using the Alexa toolbar. For example, when I first started Chase Your Lion dot com it was unranked by Alexa. Now, I’m ranked #937,145 out of all the sites in the world(google is #1). Alexa helps people find out more about sites while providing site owners with valuable information that will help them reach their target audience more effectively. I have the status bar and it takes less than 10 seconds to download and install on your browser.
2. Comment on posts. Whether you agree or disagree with what’s said please join the discussion. Sometimes, as a blogger, it’s just nice to know someone’s reading.
3. Subscribe to the feed. Look for this symbol 
. This insures you don’t miss any posts. Many blogs also allow you to sign up for email updates/newsletters. This normally requires you to confirm your subscription and doesn’t lead to spam. My feed is located on the handy dandy toolbar at the bottom.
4. Tweet it! Most blogs now have the option for you to tweet/retweet their posts. This is kind gesture that shows your reading and that you feel others would benefit from the post. The button is normally located beside the post title.
5. Share It! There are lots of other places to share posts! Facebook, Digg, et. I have a share/save button with each post. It’s quick and easy to get the word out about your favorite posts.
6. Link Love. If you have a blog of your own then write about and link to posts you’ve been reading. Incoming links give a blog credibility and help generate buzz and discussion. I don’t recommend the blog roll and here’s why. How many people on your blog roll actually keep up with their blogs? What does it say to your readers that you’re linking to people who may have dead sites and old news? Plus, adding a link in a post gives a more personal stamp of approval.
7. Join the Facebook page/community. The wibiya toolbar has a button for people to join my Facebook group. It’s quick and shows your support. There’s also a place for more discussion there. No, I will not ask for your help with Farmville or other Facebook games.
8. Word of Mouth. I’ve tried to make my domain names easy to remember and easy to share. If a blog has been helpful to you then it might be helpful to others. Share the love. PS: I even bought a domain with a common misspelling of my last name so people looking for Heath Mulliken will actually find Heath Mullikin.
9. Give suggestions. Does my layout make your head spin? Is stuff too hard to find? Is there an herb you’ve found that will help a person get taller?
10. Last but not least…pray. Pray for bloggers to have wisdom and integrity in what they write. Pray for their families. Pray for their health. Pray for their churches and ministries. Pray that God uses the words they write to make a difference.
Thanks for your support! Blogging buddies, what did I leave out?
Currently Reading:
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Lost Art of Disciple Making
By LeRoy Eims “Every believer in Jesus Christ deserves the opportunity of personal nurture and development,” says LeRoy Eims.But all too often the opportunity isn’t there. We neglect the young Christian in our whirl of programs, church services and fellowship groups. And we neglect to raise up workers and leaders who can disciple young believers into mature and fruitful Christians. In simple, practical, and biblical terms, LeRoy Eims revives the lost art of disciple making. He explains:
“True growth takes time and tears and love and patience,” Eims states. There is no instant maturity. This book examines the growth process in the life of a Christian and considers what nurture and guidance it takes to develop spiritually qualified workers in the church. |
Currently Listening:
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Ocean Eyes CD
By Owl City From the quiet backroads of small-town Minnesota comes Owl City, the one-man project of keyboard wiz Adam Young. Ocean Eyes is awash in breezy electronics, light melodies, and crisp, sparkling textures, and includes the single “Fireflies” plus “Hello Seattle,” “Umbrella Beach,” “Vanilla Twilight,” and more. |
Speed Reading 2.0
If you’re going to grow as a person and a leader then reading great books should be an essential part of your growth. I have recently started reading with a new method that I wanted to share with you. There were 2 things I wanted to accomplish with this method.
1. Read faster
2. Take notes that are easy to scan through
There are 4 things in a book that make this process work: Chapter Headings, sub-headings, lists, and quotes. First, let me say that this method will not work with every type of book. This won’t work with a novel. I’ve found that most business, leadership, and growth books have all of the above.
Get the book you’re reading and a notebook. On a fresh page, write the Title and Author. Next, find chapter 1 and wirte it down along with it’s heading. All you’re going to do is scan the pages looking for key words that catch your eye(these depend on what and why you’re reading), subheadings, quotes, and lists. I typically write down all subheadings and lists. I write down quotes only if they’re truly memorable and something I could use in a sermon or a post. So, your page would look something like this(but hopefully with better handwriting):
Your amount of notes will depend on the format of the book and the length of the book. For example, I have 3 pages of notes from Crush It, and 12 pages of notes from The 4 Hour Work Week. I liked the books equally, but one of them had more lists and sub headings so I took more notes.
The most important thing to remember is to enjoy the book. If you get a chapter in and it’s not doing much for you then put it down and move on to something else. Also, don’t feel like you have to finish every book you read. Are you getting out of the book what you were hoping?
For me, this was born out of a desire to learn and grow without feeling overwhelmed. I also am trying to live by a set schedule. So far, the schedule has helped me get things done, but I’ve also been able to be flexible with it when necessary.
Finally, there have been two tremendous benefits so far with the creation of this site. One, is connecting and reconnecting with people all across the country through Twitter and Facebook. The other is immersing myself in the flow of great resources that are at our fingertips to help us become the people we were created to be. There are countless great books, blogs, conferences, music, and videos to help us discover our purpose, passion, and possibilities that many of us are unaware of. My reading list is full of great books I didn’t know existed before I started Chasing My Lion. Sadly, I know two many people who aren’t plugged into any of these things. They seem content to live life without pushing themselves to grow as Christians and leaders. Sadly, many of them are good friends in ministry.
So, what about you? What are you reading? What are you chasing?
Currently Listening:
Currently Reading:
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Why So Many Gods? By Tim Baker What do Madonna’s henna tattoos really mean? Is The Matrix more than just an action flick? Probing the meanings behind pop culture symbols, this hip guide to over 100 religions, cults, and worldviews will get your teens thinking about what they hear, see, and read—and help them choose God’s truth over the media’s mixed messages. 240 pages, softcover from Nelson. |
Currently Watching:
Newspring church at 
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Failing Forward
It’s funny how things work out sometimes. Readers of http://www.heathmullikin.com know that I signed up with a MLM/network marketing company about 6 months ago. John Maxwell
The Wait is Over!
The day has finally arrived! At 9 am on October 7, 2009 this site has officially launched. At this very moment(9 am on October 7 when this posted), I am on the Techology Show announcing the start of something big. I want this to be a movement. This site is designed to provide resources and encouragement that will help you discover and pursue your purpose, passion, and possibilities. I want “chase your lion“, “chase my lion”, and “lion chaser” to become a part of the vernacular. I want people to associate those words and this site with a life of adventure and meaning. A few thank you’s before we go any further. First, to Christ for making my life and all this possible through his grace, love, and sacrifice. To my parent’s, who didn’t tell me how to be an astronaunt but loved, pushed, and supported me to where I’m at. To Matt Rhodes, for the logos. To everyone who has prayed for, loved, and supported me on this journey and to the Soulgloer’s who are showing me that raising the bar can be the norm. To my wife, Karen, who puts up with my ADHDADD and pushes me to be a lion chaser everyday. This would not be happening without her. She is wonderful soul mate to me and mother to our 3 kids, Milena, Charis, and(The)Drake. And finally, to Mark Batterson, whose book, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day
A few things before you go:
1. I would be honored if you subscribed to my blog by hitting that big orange button on the right.
2. Sign Up for the Newsletter as well. It will be different from the blog and come every week or so. Aweber has a strict no spam policy so you’re info is safe. Keep your ears open because there will be contests for subscribers and the first prize is going to be a certain book which provided the inspiration for this site. That’s right. I’m going to give away 10 copies of In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day
3. Join the Revolution and follow on Twitter, Facebook, and all the other social media stuff that causes Deborah Rhodes to want to plan an intervention for me. Retweets and @mentions are greatly appreciated to spread the word.
4. Join me in praying that lives are changed through this site. I want it to help people find meaning and have eternal value.
Thanks for your support. I look forward to getting to know many of you. Have a blessed Day.
Twitter Etiquette
Well, after a few months of prodding and even a few posts about not wanting to do it I opened my Twitter account on Saturday. Here are a few things I’ve noticed so far.
1. Comments on my Facebook status have tripled since linking it to my Twitter.
2. Twitter is a lot like blogging in the sense that many people start but far fewer keep it going.
3. I think I’m already getting twitter spam in the form of followers who are selling something.
4. Is it impolite to not follow someone that follows you?
5. Already had one do over where I forgot stuff went to my Facebook page, but it did stir up some conversation on my wall.
6. There are several people people following me who are in ministry whom I don’t know. I do know that many of these people are involved in movements of God around the globe and that is one very exciting thing about Twitter.
7. One of my personal heroes is following me. I think he’s trying to weed out fakes and stalkers. I hope I’m neither.
8. It only took me two days to turn off the phone updates with only 1 or 2 exceptions. I had intentionally turned them on for almost all of the 2 dozen people I was following, but that was waaayyy too much.
9. I think the @ is trying to take over the world and I think @l gore is behind it. I’m trying to figure out if it means people are quoting someone else’s twitter or just referring to them. I think it clutters it up and makes my head hurt. Hopefully, my twitter feed(on the right over there) doesn’t appear cluttered. If it does you can @clutter @heathmullikin.
10. Just as crazy Myspace names are driving me off of it(oh yeah, I will be shutting my account down this week after copying and pasting all my old blogs) Twitter also gives the freedom to let people give themself an unrecognizable name. Many people use their nickname which is okay and one clever fellow even uses his name spelled sdrawkcab. As for me, I have enough identity issues as it is.