As you know, part of what I write about here is blogging, since I’m a professional blogger.

I don’t profit personally from my book sales, so this blog is where much of my personal income comes from (via advertisements and affiliates).

Michelle Shaeffer is an accomplished blogger who helps others in their blogging and business ventures.

I interviewed Michelle recently to introduce her to my readers. If you’re someone considering starting a blog, I outline how to start one in 10 minutes.

Once you do that, Michelle can take you further.

Tell us a bit about yourself, including how and why you started blogging?

Michelle Shaeffer. Hey, I’m Michelle Shaeffer, and I appreciate the opportunity to “meet” your readers, Frank.

I live in beautiful, snowy Alaska with my family and our two cats. On a typical day my time is divided between homeschooling, other wife/mom duties, and running my business (including my blog). I’ve been working from home since 2000 in various ventures.

My blog launched in March of 2008 to have a place to put answers to the questions I constantly got from clients and friends about doing business online (from websites to social media to marketing). I figured if more than a few of my clients were asking, I could save time by putting my answers in one place, and others were bound to have the same question, so I could help them, too.

Looking back on 5 years of blogging, I love what my blog has evolved into as I’ve continued with it. It’s definitely gone a different direction than I expected and taken on a life of it’s own. Continue Reading…

Most of you are aware that I don’t profit from my book sales. As I’ve explained elsewhere, the money earned from my books is given to the poor and used for ministry expenses. Part of my personal income comes from this blog. And today I can say that I’m a “professional” blogger in that most of my personal income is derived from the blog.

Since this blog is free to read and subscribing is free as well, how do I generate income from the blog?

The answer: from advertising and affiliates.

Specifically, if you look on the right hand side of the blog, you’ll see a number of advertisements. Those are all paid ads.

In addition, when someone buys a book that I feature on a book review or on my Top 100 Best Christian Books Ever Written, Amazon gives me a commission. I also receive commissions from other products and services I personally recommend and promote.

Anyway, here are the steps I took to become a professional blogger: Continue Reading…

In 2012, I took some new steps to increase the reach of my blog. I did this for two reasons. 1) I wanted to get the messages that are on my heart out to more readers, and 2) I wanted to increase the income that this blog generates. Continue Reading…

For the last year, I’ve been posting 5 days a week steadily. To date, I’ve published 540 posts since June 2008. All free content. I’ve also produced 66 episodes on the podcast with many more in the queue . . . again, all free content. (I enjoy giving away my material whenever I’m able.)

I advise bloggers who are starting out to post frequently. However, once you’ve hit a decent inflection point, posting every week day (or every day) has it’s downside. Namely, it’s too much for some people. They just can’t keep up.

Recently, a few of my friends complained about this very thing. They said they loved the blog, but they couldn’t keep up with the frequency of 5 posts a week. I’ve even lost subscribers because of it.

I also happen to be in the process of launching two new businesses, and I’m seeking to spend more time in my ministry to the poor and forging relationships with non-Christians. I’m also working on a new online course that I plan to launch in the Fall.

For all of these reasons, I’ve decided to cut back on my blogging frequency. So here’s the new frequency . . . Continue Reading…

I’m still on Facebook . . . barely. I don’t check it nearly as much as I used to and I’ve never been a big fan of it. Most of my friends (the people I know in real life) don’t use it. And over the last three years, I’ve watched a ton of my other friends leave it for various reasons. I’ve contemplated leaving it too and I might someday.

As I pointed out in Can’t Keep Up? 8 Ways to Simplify Your Online Life, I spend a small slice of my life online. And this blog is my primary means for communicating on the Web.

That wasn’t always the case. In past years, I was very active on social media, following the conversations, interacting with the discussions, and watching the online blood baths (mostly between Christians, sadly). But it became a time vampire and I had to make some hard decisions.

So in 2012, I cut my online social media time down drastically to less than 25 minutes each week. And it’s one of the best and wisest decisions I’ve ever made. Continue Reading…

Last week I wrote a post entitled Co-Authoring: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. In the beginning of the article, I made this statement:

“I don’t know about you, but I’m wired for networking and co-laboring. I love team-work and prefer joint projects over flying solo. So co-writing suits my personality.”

On the heels of that remark, someone suggested that I ask my blog readers to answer the following:

Name a published author that you’d like to see me co-author a book with.

Even if your choice is a “long shot,” I’d still like to hear your answer to this question.

Also, don’t miss my Frequently Asked Questions page. Some of the questions I’ve addressed so far are:

*what is your advice on blogging, writing books, and getting published?

*has your recent shift of ministry-focus affected your view of your previous books on the church?

*I want to leave my church. What advice can you give me on how to do it?

*I’ve looked for an organic expression of the church like you describe in Reimagining Church, but I cannot find one near me. What do I do?

*what’s the difference between clergy salaries and receiving royalties for the work of authors, musicians, and artists?

And many more . . .

P.S. If you haven’t heard about the (possible) upcoming Writers & Bloggers Workshop, read about it here.

One of the things I really enjoy in life is meeting my readers in person. This year I had the pleasure of meeting many of you in several of my speaking events and it was great to hang out.

Click here to ensure that you’re on my Events List to be notified about future events. Even if you filled out the form in the past, I recommend filling it out again. Our old list got corrupted.

I will be speaking at several cool conferences in 2013. So I hope to meet you at one of them.

If you’re a pastor or a conference host, and you’d like to book me for 2013, go to this page for instructions. Some of my most popular messages are on that page to sample.

Writers & Bloggers Workshop Continue Reading…

The following post was written by Heather Goodman.

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If you’re in a conversation with someone about some way of thinking you think they need to see from your perspective, the following statements are unhelpful and bad form:

1) “You can only understand what I’m saying by revelation.” (Gee, what are they supposed to do with THAT?)

2) “You need to go research a bit and then come back and talk to me.” (How do you know they haven’t researched this topic more than YOU and *still* see it differently than you do? Don’t make assumptions!)

3) “You need to stop thinking so much / get out of your head / stop being so intellectual about this.” (What that usually means is that you are weak at explaining your position, so you’d rather the person just swallow what you are trying to teach them without thinking much about it.)

4) “I used to think like you on that topic – but God set me free.” (Do you know how this sets up your own experience/perception as the authority and puts the other person beneath you as you are the expert and they are still in your prior “childish” state?)

See also . . .

So You Think You Disagree?

The Art of Being a Jerk Online

We Have Not So Learned Christ: On Internet Correspondence

The Anatomy of a Slanted Critique

An Important Insight from President Obama

Do you think Heather’s list is valid and can you add any other statements to it?

I’m a firm believer in co-authoring. I’ve done it several times and have encouraged other authors to do it.

But like anything else that’s worthwhile, co-authoring has its challenges. It also has its dark side.

In this post, I’d like to give a brief survey of the benefits (the good), the challenges (the bad), and the frustrations (the ugly) of sharing a writing project with another mortal.

My hope is that what I will sketch out below will encourage all authors – actual and aspiring – to consider co-writing. And at the same time, help them navigate through some of the thorny patches associated with it.

The Good

I don’t know about you, but I’m wired for networking and co-laboring. I love team-work and prefer joint projects over flying solo. So co-writing suits my personality.

But even if you’re not wired like I am, here are some of the benefits I’ve discovered in co-writing: Continue Reading…