Dine and Dish

Food blog with family recipes

Lure Them With Chocolate (Recipe – Annetta’s Hot Fudge Sauce)

The very talented Amy, from the blog Living Locurto, recently tweeted a link to a blog post from CopyBlogger titled “The 8 Habits of Highly Effective Bloggers“. This post outlines some of the key habits that successful bloggers have maintained which have launched them into successful blogging fame. I thought, surely after blogging for 3 1/2 years, that I most likely would have been following most of these habits. Then I read the list and discovered that I’m about as slackidasical (yes – I made up that word) of a blogger as one can be. Let’s review them, shall we?

  • Be prolific – In summary, write a lot. “Great bloggers put serious time into researching, writing, editing, and planning posts for their blogs.” This is so true and such great advice, but yes… not something I follow. I do write a lot, but when I don’t have anything to write about, I have a really hard time forcing myself to write. After listening to some great authors speak, I know that the key to effective writing is simply, writing. Write and write some more and then keep writing even more than that.
  • Be concise – Ha! Take a look at this post and my last few posts and you’ll see that when it comes to being concise, I have a big fat F. “Top bloggers know how to quickly get people’s attention, how to keep it, and how to make their posts easy to digest.” Blog posts that are concise is not my forte. I hope you’ll grab some Tums and keep coming back.
  • Be analytical – My stats plugin stopped working 6 months ago, and I stopped caring. When I first started blogging, I would analyze the stats, pour over them and worry about them. Now, I realize – it is just a blog.  Sometimes I think that being too analytical about your stats can be a not so good thing… you’ve got to keep perspective. Stats aren’t everything. Or, is that just what people say when they have no idea what their stats are?
  • Be a lifelong learner – Hey! I may have one here. I scour Flickr pages trying to learn exactly how certain favorite photographers take their pictures. I read, a lot and let me tell you… it is diverse selection. From the New York Times to People Magazine, I’m an all round well versed gal. I may not be a long lost blogging cause, afterall.
  • Be focused and consistent – “Top bloggers are also consistent about timing. Most stick to regular posting schedules.” I gave this exact same advice awhile back to the newbie bloggers participating in Adopt a Blogger about this very subject. If I remember correctly, I said something like “do as I say, not as I do”. I am about as consistent as the weather in Kansas when it comes to posting on my blog. Darn. I thought I was going to get ahead!
  • Plan ahead – “Successful bloggers know where they’re going. They have a master plan and they stick to it.” Oh – I found one thing I am consistent at when it comes to my blog. Every week I say I’m going to create a master plan for my blog, and every week I don’t do it. I don’t even plan my posts out. Man, I totally stink at this whole effective blogging thing.
  • Be persistent – OK, can I get half a point for this one? Even when my blog got hacked by the “psycho hacker dude” and I seriously was ready to give up and throw in the whole blogging towel, I kept blogging. I slowed down quite a bit and that whole thing started my journey into semi-crazyville, but I kept blogging.
  • Be a self-starter – I am a self-starter, but I’m not sure that I’m the same kind of self-starter they are referring to. I work from home, I have four kids, I get a lot done during the day, but I also like to have someone pushing me to do better. So I can start things all right, but I enjoy the nudge from someone else to keep growing and improving. Like the post at CopyBlogger… now I’m motivated to start doing these things and get this effective blogging stuff marked off as done!

I don’t stack up very well when it comes to the 8 Habits of Highly Effective Bloggers, but I do have an edge on one thing. I know, when all else fails and you realize that you’ve been blogging for this long and have absolutely no real direction, you can always lure people in with chocolate. It never fails. Thankfully, I’ll always have chocolate to fall back on.

Annetta’s Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce

Annetta is the mom of my best friend from high school. She was like my second mom growing up. This hot fudge sauce is something that you will randomly crave at 2:00 in the morning and you won’t be able to get it out of your head until you have a bowl of it in front of you (and yes… it is supposed to go on ice cream, but some people, I’ve heard, have been known to eat it straight out of the bowl…why waste the calories on ice cream, anyway?)

2 cups sugar
4 heaping Tablespoons cocoa
1 cup evaporated milk
1 stick butter
dash salt
Cook over medium heat until it reaches a full rolling boil.
Continue to boil for one minute and remove from heat. Serve.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Di says

    Mmm, chocolate… =) I read those same habits recently and realized that I’m doing a poor job with most of them, too. I think that’s what happens when you have kids…
    .-= Di´s last blog ..And one to grow on =-.

  5. kamran siddiqi says

    Ah, the crazy hacker dude. those were the moments. LOL I definitely got all of my rage out on that man… LOL

    Anyway, I agree with Amy- what’s with tempting us so late at night? We start craving things… and then these cravings, turn into the real thing!

    Also, I don’t stack up very well either. And I don’t even pay attention to my stats anymore.. last time I checked my stats was in january, right before the MS Show…
    .-= kamran siddiqi´s last blog ..pasta dough =-.

  6. Bethany says

    Ha! Well, you definitely lured me with the chocolate… but I actually read everything you post, so apparently you don’t need to follow all the rules to grab this reader 🙂 What about being authentic, or keeping your blog in perspective with the rest of your life? I think those traits make effective bloggers as well.

    That, and the chocolate.
    .-= Bethany´s last blog ..No Bake Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bars =-.

  8. Julie says

    Mom will absolutely LOVE that you’ve included her sauce on your blog. I remembered that it actually tastes better after it’s been cooled and allowed to thicken overnight.

  13. Kate at Serendipity says

    Heh, maybe we can start a self help group? Ineffective Bloggers United. IBU.

    Seriously, I used to do all the ‘highly effective’ stuff in the corporate world. Enough. If I did that on my blog, it would feel like work. Then I’d have to stop.

    Can I say, coming from The Land Of Chocolate here in Belgium, that this sauce is a serious contender? I think I’d just eat it on a spoon. I LOVE fudge sauce.
    .-= Kate at Serendipity´s last blog ..ASPARAGUS! =-.

  15. Julia says

    Ha ha, you totally lured me with the chocolate. Good tips, though! I could definitely learn a thing or two from that list.

  18. Wenderly says

    Love reading these tips, especially because I am the *little grasshoppa* that only started 3 weeks ago! Love your honesty and humor! oh yeah….and the CHOCOLATE!

  22. bunkycooks says

    The chocolate works for me! 😉 Blogging is not as easy as it might seem. I have found that out in the 5 months that I have been at it. It is a job and you need to treat it as such. You just hope that if you follow some of the habits of successful bloggers, that you get some recognition…someday…

    In the meantime, I say, eat the ice cream and hot fudge sauce!

  24. Angie says

    I love chocolate, looks so decadent. In my short time doing this, it seems the best way to lure people to a food blog is with beautiful pictures of decadent sweets. So, I think you know what your doing. People seem to write those lists just to have something to write so people like us will read them. The reality is, to me, people like to consume web information fast and easy. Beautiful, large, bold pictures, simple themes, bold text of points, recipes indented or another slightly darker color. Anything that can help people read your entry as quickly as possible. Now if only I could actually do that, LOL.
    .-= Angie´s last blog ..Hummingbird Cupcakes =-.

  25. Gina says

    Lure them in with chocolate! Great idea!! I don’t follow half those tips either, I think have fun and it will show in your posts!!

  26. shaz says

    Heh, my new favourite word is – slackidasical ! Oh dear, I just read that list and probably failed at all of them except the lifelong learner one. (Should I be confessing this considering I’m an adoptee? Thank you again for organising adopt-a-blogger!). I think at the end of the day, all the “must-dos” made me feel too guilty and a bt frustrated so I’ve concentrated on just enjoying my blog, which is kind of why I started in the first place.

    And one of the reasons I enjoy blogging is stumbling across recipes like this one. Oh my, it looks wicked!

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