What is the name of your Blog?Color Bakery
What is your name?
Mindy Sommers
Where are you from? (include country, state and/or city)
Vermont, US
What is your current age or age range?
49
Please describe your blog
A pastiche of art, design, graphics, home decor, art products, with the occasional whine or off-topic babble tossed in.
Describe the main purpose of your blogging, what are you trying to accomplish?
To share my art, to help other artists find their muse, to wax philosophic about home decor and graphic design, to promote my woman-owned art business.
What blogging platform do you do and why?
Wordpress. It's wonderfully painless.
What do you blog the most about?
Art.
What kind of blogs make you angry?
I wouldn't say "angry", I'd probably use the word frustrated or impatient. I don't like idealogues. Other blogs that I find annoying are those which are poorly written; where spelling is an abstract, alien concept; where the writer assumes that their empty, banal musings ("I am so into Dave Matthews!") makes for fascinating reading instead of what it is-- a waste of bandwidth.
Give five of your best blogging tips.
Blog early and often. Post on other blogs, and be engaged--don't spam. Be visually beautiful. Don't be a dictatorial moderator with draconian rules. Say something interesting and invite disparate opinions.
What are some things you would NEVER blog about?
Politics. Religion.
Did you start blogging for the purpose of making money and if so, are you making enough money?
Hmmm...money might be a nice end result, as it supports my company (www.colorbakery.com), but that really wasn't the main reason, believe it or not. I wanted to get closer to my customers and fans of my art, and interact with them in a more efficient, meaningful way. I also like bloviating and holding court sometimes.
How long have you been blogging?
Not very long.
About how many hours per day do you spend blogging?
A few.
Do you track RSS feeds and if so, how many do you usually track daily?
I have not become very adept at that yet, as I am new. I am not new to webmistressing or web design, just to blogging.
Do you use Digg, and why or why not?
Yes. It promotes traffic.
Do you use Stumbleupon, and why or why not?
A lot of people have added Color Bakery to Stumble Upon, as I see it in my stats. But I don't like anything that forces me to use a toolbar or download software I don't want. So we're there, but not because of anything we did to promote it.
What promotional techniques work best for you and why?
Personal engagement and interaction. I would never send a mass email, for example. Listening. And helping others when they need it. Especially helping in an arena in which one is experienced. I love helping other artists get their work out there.
If you could post a blog on any blog in the world, which one would it be and why?
God's. I'd like Him to explain some stuff.
What mistakes have you made that you could warn others about?
Haven't made any yet, but the night is young.
What are your top five blogging site picks and why?
Don't really have any. I like so many.
Have you met anyone offline as a result of your blog?
Discussion boards, yes.
How did I do?
Pretty good, I think. ;)
What is the url of your blog?
Color Bakery
