Friday Favourites: My Daily Blog List

I hope you had a fantastic week and are gearing up for an even better weekend.  I know I am . :)

Today's favourites came about from a question I been asked a few times:  With so many blogs out there covering a huge range of topics, how do I decide which ones to visit on a daily basis?

5 Reasons Why You Should Start a Blog

I know what you are thinking. 

"Who really cares what I have to say about ___________ (food, fashion, fitness, etc.), I am not an expert?"

"Why would anyone read my ______________(sports, recipes, mommy etc.) blog when there are so many others out there just like it."

"What if no one ever visits or comments?"

I hear you loud and clear. Blogging can be intimidating and downright scary.

In fact, there are many good reasons not to blog (unable to commit, not interested in blogging, don't want to invest the time and the list goes on).

You will notice that the reasons above are not on the list.  People do care what others have to say and they will read your blog.  There are 1000's of bloggers out there and you could be one of them.

You just need a little patience, some great ideas and few hours a week.

How to Make Your Business/Blog Stand Out

There are hundreds of healthy living blogs out there.  If you are running a business, I would also bet that there are at least that many like-services acting as your competition.

So, how do you make your blog/business stand out from the rest?

While there is no surefire way to guarantee that you will get thousands of followers, there are a few things you can do to make your brand/business/blog the best it can be.

Source

9 Rules for Connecting with Brands

I had every intention of blogging from the She's Connected Conference yesterday, when my laptop decided it did not want to be connected to the Internet anymore. (Love the irony.)

Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches, so here I am with a Saturday post!
(Friday favourites will be back next week, I promise.)

At the conference, I made some fabulous new friends, learned from some amazing brands and bloggers, and got some pretty cool swag.

Katia, Morgan, Danna, Me, Megan

The main focus of the conference was to learn how bloggers and brands can work together to form mutually beneficial relationships.  This could include sponsorships, product reviews and revenue for your blog.

The last session of the day involved a discussion of some the main themes of the conference.  It really hit home for me and I thought it might for you too so I wanted to share.


9 Rules for Connecting with Brands

1. Be authentic, be relevant, be you.
2. Align your personal brand with professional brands that fit in with your values.
3. Understand how brands value your service.
4. Leverage your connections and your community.
5. Be proactive.
6. Have patience, work hard and be persistent.
7. Learn as much as you can about the brands you would like to work with.
8. Brands must be a part of the conversation.
9. Follow the golden rule.

Do you work with any brands?  How did you form the relationship?

Stay Healthy,
Tracy

P.S.  Don't forget to vote and tell me your favourite way to stay connected!

My 3 Favourite Blogs for Moms (By Moms)

It has been a few weeks since I have featured some of my favourite bloggers on a Friday and I think it is time that I show some love :)

Since I train quite a few clients who are busy moms (or moms-to-be), I have been finding myself venturing into new blog territory and reading stories about women who manage to stay fit while juggling work and a family.

I have just recently starting reading all three of these blogs and I have to tell you, whether you are a mom or not, these ladies are determined, fun and inspirational.

How Important Are Comments On Your Blog?

 This post was inspired by some fellow bloggers who recently posted on the topic of commenting and readership in general. 

Lindsay @ Cotter Crunch talked about how bloggers feel the need to constantly post, read and comment and how you can feel guilty if you can't keep up.

Sam @ Health, Happiness and Skinny Jeans noted how easy it is is to get wrapped up in the numbers (how many people comment, read your blog and so on.)

Tina @ Fath, Fitnesss and Fun mentioned that building real relationships is the goal of her blog, not to continually increase her reader numbers and comments.

How to Promote Your Blog

A few nights ago, we had a great discussion on Fitblog Chats about blogging.

I have posted about how blogging can help you build your brand as a fitness pro (or any other pro, for that matter) and how you can to build a better blog.  Today, I wanted to talk about some of the specific things you can do to spread the word about your blog and connect with the community.

My 3 Favourite Gluten-Free Blogs

Many of you know that I embarked on the Hormone Diet Detox and discovered that I am a little bit sensitive to gluten.  While I have not totally banished it from my life, I try to limit my intake as much as I can.

I sought out to find bloggers who talk about gluten free living to help me learn about how these intolerances can affect other people.  I also wanted to find new ideas for recipes for my own cooking and baking.

Here are three of my favourites that I have found on my journey.

My 3 Favourite Weight Training Blogs

Many women shy away from weight training.

I have heard all of the reasons.  "I don't want to get bulky."  "Cardio is better to help me lose weight."  "I don't have time." And the list goes on.

The truth is that we ALL need to incorporate strength training into our workouts to increase our metabolism, increase our muscular endurance and decrease our risk of injury.

Here are a few of my favourite bloggers who offer fantastic weight training advice and workout routines for women of all ages and abilities.

My 3 Favourite Running Blogs

I have finally admitted that I am a runner.  However, I have found myself looking to other activities lately to add some variety to my workouts, like Turbo Fire and Aqua Fitness.

I still like to run, just not as often as I used too.  I go through phases when it come to exercise and I am sure the time will come when I will be running more often.

That being said, I still like to read blogs about running, training and races.  Here are a few of my faves for your reading pleasure.

My 3 Favourite Social Media Blogs

Many other bloggers out there feature some of their favourite things every Friday.

I have been doing it the past few Fridays without even realizing it so I am just going to keep on spreading the love. :)

Today, I am going to share some fabulous social media blogs that will help you build your brand (blog, food, fitness or otherwise).

My 3 Favourite Fitness Bloggers

Today, I wanted to showcase a few bloggers who not only post about health and nutrition, but regularly feature fitness advice and workout plans.

It was really tough to narrow this one down, but here are just a few of my favourites.

My 3 Favourite Food Blogs

I don't think we give enough props to each other in the blogging community.

From coming up with fantastic topics and engaging with readers to taking millions of pictures and finding the perfect ones to post, blogging takes a lot of time, talent and energy.

I have already shared with you three of my favourite healthy living blogs and today I would like to highlight three blogs whose primary focus is on food.

#Fitblog Planks Challenge, Week 3: Belly Talk

Happy Memorial Day to my American friends!

You may have noticed my lack of postage this weekend.  I have decided to follow in the foot steps of some of my fellow bloggers and try taking the weekends off from blogging.

There are a few reasons for this:  I have noticed that my readership has been very low on the weekends, especially as the weather gets warmer (people would much rather be sipping mojitos than reading my blog ;).

Also, I have found it tricky getting the post in on the weekends with my busy schedule.  I don't want to write random posts just to get something out there.

Quality is much more important than quality.

My 3 Favourite Healthy Living Blogs

As you know, I read a lot of blogs.

Most of them about health, food and fitness.  Some about blogging, branding and social media.

I mentioned some of them in a few posts, including why people read your blog and my journey in blog photography.

Of the blogs I follow (300+ and counting), there are a few that I read everyday. I thought I would share three health and wellness blogs, tell you what makes them so interesting and why I go back day after day.

Journey in Blog Photography

You may recall, one of my resolutions was to take a course in photography.

Well, I haven't quite done that yet,  but I have been making a conscious effort to improve my skills and be more mindful in my picture taking.

I used to rely heavily on stock photos for my blog, but I realized that using them all the time really lacks that personal touch.

And we all know that even the most professional blogs are personal.

Resolutions Revamped

Happy April!  Did anyone get fooled this morning?

It is a sunny start to the month and time to reflect on those New Years Resolutions (you didn't forget about them, did you?)

5 Reasons Why People Love Your Blog

I love blogging.

I started almost 5 years ago, but it was not until recently that I rekindled my love for it and I find myself looking forward to my daily post.

I also read a lot of blogs.  I am sure many of you do too.  I am following about 300 (give or take a few;).

So how did I decide which ones to follow?  What draws someone to your health and fitness blog and makes them come back for more?

I present my top 5 reasons why people love your blog.

Building a Better Blog(ger) for Fitness Professionals

A few weeks ago,  I talked about the benefits of blogging for fitness professionals. It is a great way to increase your online presence and brand.

As you can see, I use Blogger (I know many of you prefer Wordpress, but lets save that talk for another post :) Over the last few months, I have been looking for ways to  improve my blog and I have stumbled across some pretty cool features.

When I tweeted about it, I got this request by the lovely Lisa @ Vegan Culinary Crusade

 Ask and you shall receive.

I am happy to share some of my discoveries in the hopes that they will help you build a better blog(ger).

  
Google Friend Connect. When friends follow you, they are able to get updates about you on their Blogger Dashboard.  This makes it easy for them to come back for more of your fantastic posts.  You can also use Friend Connect to allow users to subscribe to a newsletter, by adding the feature found here.  It is super easy to use and it is a great way to keep your fans updated.

 
Stats.  This is a relatively new feature for Blogger, which you can find  in your Dashboard under "Manage Your Blog."  It keeps track of how many people visit your blog, which pages they are viewing and how they got there.  It is a great tool for you to see which topics are most popular, when people visit and to give you some direction for future posts.

Social Media Gadgets.  Do you use Twitter?  Have a Facebook page?  Add them to your blog! You may only have your reader's attention for a few minutes so make it easy for them to connect with you.  Many of these other sites have gadgets ready for you to use.  All you have to do is copy the HTML code, click "Add Gadget", select "HTML/Javascript", paste and save. You can find the Twitter badges here and the Facebook page badges here.


Which gadgets have you added to your blog?
Any Blogger tips to share?


Stay Healthy,
Tracy

Guest Post: A Happy, Healthy Hike

It is a very cold and sunny day in Toronto and if some of you are planning to venture outside, you may want to check out my guest post at Christine's blog about healthy hiking.  

Speaking of happy and healthy, I had the opportunity to meet up with some fellow bloggers yesterday for lunch at Commensal in Toronto and had a fantastic time!
















It was so nice to finally meet some of the wonderful ladies whose blogs and tweets give me me such pleasure and inspiration!

Big hugs to Samantha, Sara, Candice, Lisa, Susan, Meghan, Lily, Nancy, Danielle, Angela, Claire, Preena, Callie, Kristin, Therese and Morgan.

I am already looking forward to the next time :)

Stay Healthy,
Tracy