Today we have The Social Strategist, Christine DeGraff, with us as influencer of the week! Check out her success and tips to succeed on Sverve!
1. How, why and when did you begin blogging?
A) I am one of the “late to the game” bloggers! I always intended to blog for about the past 15 years, but due to working on client websites, it always seemed to take a backseat and I never really got one going until just recently. About a year ago, I realized that I was NEVER going to have the time unless I made the time. Once I started to think of it as something I had to do and scheduled it, I began blogging. I am not a prolific blogger and am lucky to get just a few posts written per month, but over time it does begin to add up and suddenly, you are a blogger! My blog is still new and it will take time before I have the traffic that others have, but it will happen. Time, patience and making it a priority to continually put out quality content are the keys to success!
2. What are your preferred blog topics?
A) I have always been very big on SEO and analytics, so those are my “preferred topics” but I also blog about social media marketing, tools, best practices, and, my favorite topic, Google Plus.
3. What are your most favorite blog posts or blog posts that you are most proud of and why?
A) The blog posts that I am most proud of are: a post about SEO that I wrote for SearchEnginePeople.com; and a post I wrote about Mastering Circles on Google Plus.
The post that I wrote for SEP was my very first guest blog post and was called “SEO for Normal People” in which I tried to simplify SEO and take away some of the fear that many bloggers and website owners feel when it comes to understanding what is meant by search engine optimization. Based on the extremely positive reaction I received from SEP’s audience, I believe that I met my goal and as a result, was offered an opportunity to become a regular blogger on SEP (which reminds me, I need to find the time to do that!!!). Link: http://www.searchenginepeople.com/blog/seo-for-normal-people-its-only-getting-easier.html
The inspiration for my post “Mastering Circles: The Key to Success on Google+” came after I was interviewed by David Oldenburg, one of my very first guest appearances on a Live Hangout on Air on Google Plus. My goal of the post was to put onto paper a simplified and clear explanation of circles so that someone new to Google Plus could easily understand the basics. This post was extremely well received by the Google Plus community and is my most popular post to date with over 3700 page views, 1300 “plus ones” and 270 comments, but what made me the most proud was that several people that I respect greatly shared it and have said that it was the best basic guide about Google Plus circles that they had read to date. Link: http://blog.christinedegraff.com/2013/10/Mastering-Google-Circles.html
5. What are you up to when not blogging?
A) When I am not blogging, I am either engaging with people on Google Plus, working on one of many projects I have in the works, reading, or spending time with my fiancee.
6. Why and how do you use Sverve?
A) I discovered Sverve as part of some ongoing research that I am conducting on various influencer marketing platforms. I believe influence marketing is still in its infancy as well as most of the platforms that connect brands to influencers. I like Sverve because it is easy to get started, easy to understand and promotes women. I do not believe I have used Sverve to its full potential yet, but it is one of the few that I intend to continue using.
7. Do you have any tips for success on Sverve?
A) Just as with most social networks, you will get out what you put in. It is important to engage with others on the platform and to help promote others by endorsing and sharing their content. I plan to become more active in 2014 and have recruited many of my “lovely ladies” from Google Plus to Sverve in the past month or two.
8. Can you share any blogging tips that have really helped you?
A) The one tip that I was given and will pass on came from Mike Allton, a blogger with The Social Media Hat and influencer on Google Plus. His advice was this, “Every post doesn’t have to be epic”. Since I tend to be a perfectionist and want every post to be that “epic” post, I wasn’t blogging very often. Hearing him say that gave me my “aha” moment and let me relax a little. I think the key is to keep doing it, to practice, practice, practice and to do your best, even if it isn’t “epic”. The more you practice, the more likely that you will develop the skills needed to write those “epic” posts more often.
About Christine DeGraff
Christine is an entrepreneur w/15 yrs experience in web development, SEO and Internet marketing. Christine has recently partnered with Circloscope, a tool that helps Google Plus users manage their circles. Christine’s Google+ profile is ranked among the Top 300 US women by CircleCount.com and her Klout/Kred scores put her in the Top 1%. You can ALWAYS find her on Google+ at http://google.com/+ChristineDeGraff or can contact her through her website, http://ChristineDeGraff.com.
Congratulations on your feature Christine.
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