Blog Picture Ideas Beyond Stock Photos-Or Do You Have a Picture in Your Back Pocket?

Posted on September 3, 2018 by blogcoach

picture of a baby boomer taking a picture

Blog posts really speak volumes when they have a picture. Now this picture is of a baby boomer taking a picture with her Ipad of a bottle of perfume she is about to list online. This picture could be edited on photo software like Photoshop or some free platforms like Irfanview to take away some of the writing on the shirt and unpainted steps.

Or you could find a way to make this picture work with your blog post idea in it’s raw form. So let’s explore a couple of possibilities.

If I wanted to post about online eCommerce and baby boomer hustles I could show write a post on “How to Use Outside Natural Light to Take Pictures of Your Product.”

If I wanted to post about how to motivate yourself to paint your front steps I could use this picture. Or, I could focus on the back of the shirt to write a post about marketing with tee shirts.

The point is to step out of the box and use the photos you already have to attach to your blog posts. There are no firm rules here. You can either make the picture relate to the post you have already written or create a post to a picture you like.

But whatever you do DO NOT USE A PICTURE FROM GOOGLE IMAGES unless it says you can. It is the quickest way to get your blogs shut down by your host. I know because it happened to me one day. I used an image that was copyright protected and ALL my blogs were shut down.

So, get that phone, ipad, and camera ready and start taking pictures that you can use for that next blog post. Or search your picture warehouse for great shots that will inspire you to write.

What are your thoughts? Please no comments about the grey hair. LOL

Pinterest, Blogging and Baby Boomers is it Booming?

Posted on July 12, 2012 by blogcoach

This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series Pinterest, Blogging and Baby Boomer Blogging is it Booming?

Is Pinterest a booming social media site? Are baby boomers using Pinterest? Are baby boomer bloggers using Pinterest? How are baby boomers and baby boomer bloggers using it? Well I have decided to explore these questions with this series of posts. Isn’t that what we baby boomers do so well?

A recent article on a marketing blog shows some of the traffic stats on Pinterest and predict that it only going to go higher. Read the article on Marketing Proofs published today!

Personally, I have decided to go deeper into my study of Pinterest. Although I started an account and my hubby has to, I am exploring how others set up their boards and the kinds of things they pin. (Be sure to let us know if you are on Pinterest so we can follow.)

Ignite an excellent social media site in January provided a nice demographic breakdown of those pinning in Pinterest. They noted that many baby boomers are, like others, pinning home improvement, craft and travel ideas. Read Ignite’s post.

From my preliminary work on Pinterest I am captivated by how many baby boomer and blogging boards on Pinterest. As a result I am not only having fun but fun learning. So, in the next couple of postings I will share some of the boards and pins I have found that are by or about baby boomers on Pinterest.

Meanwhile, those of you who are thinking about jumping into the sea of Pinterest but need to know the basics. I have a book I am currently reading that I am finding super helpful. If any of you have other teaching aids and e-books on Pinterest please leave them in the comments.

Now if you want to get deeper into the marketing aspects you might want to read this one the book listed below by the same author. Actually, I am going to order it after I finish writing this post.

What Do Baby Boomer Bloggers Blog About?

Posted on November 1, 2011 by blogcoach

What do baby boomer bloggers blog about? This is not a trick question. After reading many baby boomer bloggers I have concluded that they blog about most of the things everyone blogs about. They blog about:

Entertainment
Politics
Health
Conspiracy theories
Food
Sex
Relationships
Children
Grandchildren
Caregiving
Finances
Pensions
Technology
Social media

Ok, perhaps many of those below the age of 50 are not blogging about pensions and their care giving may be with children and not parents. Yet, the general topic areas are the same. What makes the difference, in my opinion, is the expertise and experience that baby boomers bring to the table.

What do you think?

Blogging and Boomer Thoughts

Posted on September 20, 2011 by blogcoach

You are probably wondering, “What are boomer thoughts? Well, for me it is all that happens in the life of a baby boomer. Those are the things that many of us blog about.

One of the great things about blogging is that it provides a voice for many of us who sometimes feel that no one is listening in our immediate circles. Some of the thoughts include:

Caregiving
Pension
Retirement options
Retirement issues
Purpose driven work
Work to add to retirement
Grand children and related joys and issues
Children and related joys and issues
Grief from loved ones missing in our lives
Mates
Making money online and offline
Health, health, health
Collections
Music
Art
Hobbies
Dating
Life after Divorce
Oh, did I already say caregiving?

Now I did not include everything. You can add more. But are you blogging about any of these things? Please share what is on your mind that you are blogging about. I know it is one of the reasons some of you have more than one blog.

5 Pittsburgh Steeler and 5 Green Bay Packers Blogs for Boomer Bloggers

Posted on February 1, 2011 by blogcoach

Are you planning to look at blogs about the two Superbowl giants Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers this week? If yes, I thought you would enjoy looking at some popular blogs dedicated to the teams. So I have listed five (5) blogs for each team and the current post. Perhaps it may give you ideas about doing your own fan blog.

In addition, be sure to post comments to these sites. Not only does your opinion count but it is what we baby boomer bloggers have in abundance. Right? In addition, hit that like button on Facebook, Digg it, Tweet it and all the other good social bookmarket and social network things we can do. Enjoy the game this weekend.

5 Pittsburgh Steeler Blogs and Latest Post

5 Green Bay Packer Blogs

1. Packers Gab

Playmate Jaime Edmondson Showing Her Love For The Packers!

2. Acme Packing Blog

Packers Super Bowl Media Day – At Cowboys Stadium

3. Packer Chatters

Super Bowl XLV: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Green Bay Packers, The Teams and Their Fans

4. The Packer Backer Blog

Packers: Jclombardi Guest On NY Sports Network

5. My Official Green Bay Packer Blog

Rodgers vs Roethlisberger

Baby Boomers and Ebay Collectors and Sellers

Posted on January 13, 2011 by blogcoach

This entry is part 10 of 10 in the series Baby Boomers and Social Bookmarking Can You Digg it?

Did you know that a Teddy Rooselvelt Marble sold on Ebay for $4,500?
I just saw a great blog established by Ebay for collectors and buyers of collections. It is called Ebay Collectors. The blog shares collector items that have sold as well as tips for purchasing an item to add to your collection.

I was more than impressed to see that Ebay designated a blog specific for this market group. I am also excited when I read about the prices that some of the collector items have fetched.

Now, note that the site does not have the comments currently open so I cannot suggest you go and post your insights or questions. Ebay has other great resources for answering your questions. In addition you can email them your questions. But the blog is a gold mine for baby boomer collectors who are on Ebay or want to purchase a collector item from Ebay.

Notice that the header is simple with just the logo and tabs for seven (7) pages. This makes navigation pretty easy for folks not used to blogs. Also, there is currently only one social bookmark for Digg and social network interfaces for Facebook and Twitter.
However, the very fact that those three options are available makes for powerful blogging. I am certain that it will expand as Ebay goes deeper and deeper into social media.

Note also that the Twitter feed is in the sidebar and tag cloud is extensive. If you think the comments should be open then shoot them an email. But as a blogger you also know how much work is involved in maintaining a blog. For now, you can always follow them on Twitter to ask questions.

This blog is still very new and it pays to keep an eye on how it progresses. I just love it when businesses expand and use the power of blogging. I also relish the appreciation for collector items that baby boomers know so much about.

If you are not currently on Ebay but want to get started here is an excellent starter resource. Of course there are a lot of books out there on Ebay but this particular author has 35 books to her credit. It is easy to read and chuck full of information.

So You Want to Do Niche Blogging?

Posted on September 3, 2010 by blogcoach

Many of you already know about niche blogging. It is when you decide ahead of time what you are going to blog about. Except with niche blogging it is very focused on one topic. For example, if you are going to blog about blogging that is a broad niche. But if you narrow it to blogging for money then you are blogging about that niche.

I teach folks in my blogging class to take a good amount of time deciding on the area they are going to blog about. It is much like setting a goal. You try to be as specific as possible and refer to it often to see if you are on target.

This morning I read an article about niche marketing that had a very interesting perspective. These marketing gurus felt that you should go broad then narrow when deciding on a niche. For example, if you are thinking about blogging on gardening then you would search on the word gardening with different variations. They could include “rose gardening” “winter gardening” etc.

The key point the article made was to look at the word “gardening” and start with that then go deeper. My summary “go wide then deep and decide.”

I strongly suggest using the free Google keyword tool. When you want to do more extensive searches you can pay for a tool. But right now just go to Google and in the search box key in the words “Google keyword tool”.

The other thing it shows are the keywords “tags” you can use when you produce a blog post.If you are on a WordPress platform, there is a section on the dashboard that always allows you to key in tags. That is the same thing as keywords. The more relevant they are to your post the better.

The cool thing about us baby boomers is that we have a broad area of interests based on our broad area of expertise and experience. That can make for some great blogging. What do you think?

If you want me to do a tutorial on using the free keyword tool with some pictures let me know.

Baby Boomers Blog Workout-Pump Up Your Posts With Controversy

Posted on August 26, 2010 by blogcoach

This entry is part 1 of 1 in the series Blog Workout

Have you ever varied your blog workout? That’s right I said workout because blogging is a mental a physical exercise. But to build our blogging muscles in different places we sometimes must use different weights or types of exercise. So, since I have been trying to do more physical exercise with my body thought I would also apply it to my blogging. Does that make sense?

Here is the first of a series of post on blogging workouts. Today I want to share the value of adding controversial blog post. It is a post that can generate a lot of comments because the topic is something that most of your readers will have an opinion about.

To give you an example check out a post I read today about a pregnant woman who goes into a bar for a drink. She is refused a drink by the bar attendant. Wow, the comments following the post are intense.

Clearly a baby boomer has something to say about this one. Try it, add some agree or disagree to your next blog post.

What do you think? Are you ready to workout?

Are You Blogging Your Hobby?

Posted on June 26, 2010 by blogcoach

As I traveled from my moms after a day of work, hospital visit to a friend who had open heart surgery, several drug stores, and a modified zumba class because of my sore arm, I began to wonder what I would blog about tonight.

While I was at the drug store ,looking for an item for my mom, and while I was at the gift store at the hospital I talked to two different folks about coins. I realized that I had not given any time for many days to the pile of coins waiting for me to investigate from my pocket change.

That’s when I decided to chat for a few minutes about hobby blogging.

For the first time in my baby boomer life I have a hobby. I don’t recall ever having a hobby unless you call talking with strangers in the elevator or diners about their passion a hobby. I don’t consider my blogging, speaking or hanging out at the senior center my mom lives in a hobby.

But last year I started reading and exploring coin collecting. While my husband decided to explore the guitar. And guess what we both decide to create blogs about out new found passions.

Why?

It helps us to remember where we store our new found information , videos and audios
It reinforces our learning.
It is very niched which is great for ads
Helps us to keep on top of the hobby
A great way to meet other people in the hobby
We can submit to Blog directories like blog catalog and join groups with folks of same interest.
I can post pictures of coins give a history then bring that picture with a link to the site on Ebay or other sites If I am selling that coin.
Plus more

Hubby’s hobby blog is Midlife Guitar and mine is Baby Boomer Pocket Change.

What’s yours?

Blogging For Boomers

Blogging tips, tools and timely updates for blogging baby boomers and jonesers

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