What is the name of your Blog?American Hell
What is your name?
Eolai
Where are you from? (include country, state and/or city)
Ireland but living in Kansas City, Missouri
What is your current age or age range?
Forties
Please describe your blog
It's somewhere between an art and a cartoon blog. I do drawings of people and handwrite words beside them which may or may not be funny.
Describe the main purpose of your blogging, what are you trying to accomplish?
It's all part of a greater personal branding. I'm an artist, I paint and sell paintings through another blog - a listings based humour one. Ultimately I'm intending to make a living through blogging.
What blogging platform do you do and why?
WordPress. It's very versatile and dependable. I started on GreyMatter a long time ago, and then used Blogger which is fun and easy but infuriating despite recent improvements.
What do you blog the most about?
On American Hell most posts are focused on Love, or some twisted version of it.
On Irish KC I blog about anything remotely Irish that touches my life in Kansas City. Away from listing I strive for humour, which doesn't sound very funny, sadly.
What kind of blogs make you angry?
I don't stay long enough on blogs I don't like to get angry by them. Patronising corporate ones test my patience.
Give five of your best blogging tips.
1. Link liberally 2. Comment on other sites as much as possible 3. Be consistent e.g. 1 post a day every day 4. Niche - stay focused on your target, don't blog about anything unless your very personality is your niche 5. Persevere - payback in traffic or comments or money often takes over a year.
Did you start blogging for the purpose of making money and if so, are you making enough money?
Yes. Not quite enough but getting there. Making several thousand a year directly and indirectly from blogging
How long have you been blogging?
7 years
About how many hours per day do you spend blogging?
If you include all the extra-curricular activities, like reading around and commenting and following up emails etc. it's probably in the region of 10 hours a day.
Do you track RSS feeds and if so, how many do you usually track daily?
Yes. About 125 via Bloglines
Do you use Digg, and why or why not?
Yes but not that often. I'll probably use it more following the recent expansion of topics it covers.
Do you use Stumbleupon, and why or why not?
Yes but very rarely because Opera is my browser of choice and it's a pain in the hole to have to open up a different browser just to go stumbling. That said I've been there from the beginning so I should probably build it into my routine.
What promotional techniques work best for you and why?
Constant networking.
If you could post a blog on any blog in the world, which one would it be and why?
Whatever is currently #1 in Technorati's Top 100 - just for the traffic.
What mistakes have you made that you could warn others about?
Not blogging sooner. Blogging about things that weren't my area of expertise.
Have you met anyone offline as a result of your blog?
Yes, many in the world of one blog which then creates tons of opportunities and resources that enrich that blog. I haven't met anyone offline through American Hell yet though it's only three months old.
What is the url of your blog?
American Hell
