A year ago I wrote about Typealyzer, a service that would analyze the personality of your blog based on your posts.

At that time, my blog had only been running a couple of months, and its personality was assessed as ISTJ (introverted-sensing-thinking-judging) called The Duty Fulfiller. Sure, I like doing a good job, but I thought Typealyzer didn’t have enough data to be as accurate as possible.

*Link to the analyzer (along with a request from me) is at the bottom of the post.

So, last night, I ran my blog through the system again.  This time the analysis was more like it!  My blog is an ESTP (extroverted, sensing, thinking, perceiving), called The Doer.  (These personality types are based on Myers-Briggs personality types) According to Typealyzer:

The active and playful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities.

The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period of time.

Amen, brother.

I tracked down another page on the Internet that showed the careers suitable for ESTP and wouldn’t you know it – the careers are things  I already do (except the scientist – although two of my books were on astronomy).  Pretty dang amazing.

• Marketing specialist
• Scientist/biologist/physicist/chemist
• Project manager
• Consultant
• Business Analyst

Want to assess the personality of your blog? Typealyzer will be happy to analyze you!  All you have to do is enter the URL of your blog.  Once you ‘ve completed the assessment, leave a comment with your blog’s type and a link to your blog – and let me know if you think it’s accurate.

When Darren Rowse of Problogger ran his (I hope annual) 31 Days to a Better Blog Challenge, I immediately jumped into the fun. Because Darren is one of the most financially successful bloggers on the ‘net, I knew his advice was 1) valuable; and 2) valuable! I stayed with the challenge through the whole 31 days, even though there were days I had to play catch-up, and days I had to miss altogether. And even though I’ve been blogging for a long time, Darren had brilliant ideas that I wouldn’t have thought of–at least not in the near now. Because Darren received so many requests, he put the entire 31 Days to a Better Blog into a PDF workbook form, and is currently selling it for $19.95.  I bought a copy today, ran through the entire 94 pages, with these thoughts. (and if you’re asking why I would buy a workbook when I already have all the information, here’s why: I’m printing the workbook, then popping it into a three-ring binder with tabs for each of the 31 days – that way I can go through the workbook daily, checking off daily tasks, and at the end of each month, wash, rinse, repeat.

Review: 31 Days to a Better Blog Workbook

I like that Darren began by telling readers the purpose of the workbook (sold in PDF format): "The idea is simple. By the end of this challenge you’ll have learned 31 aspects of blogging and put them into practice. It is designed not only to fill your head with knowledge ABOUT blogging but also give you some concrete things to do to actually DO something with the knowledge." Each day consists of a blogging technique, examples, and a task. Some days the tasks will take you a couple of hours, other days only a few minutes. I like that Darren gives solid, concrete examples for each lesson.  For example, on day one (write an elevator pitch), he tells you the exact

short and long versions of his own elevator pitches. If, at the end of the 31 days, you want to continue the challenge with more advanced techniques, Darren has a link to a newsletter that has occasional updates on the most important developments in terms of tools and resources to help you improve your blogging. In addition to the lesson, samples and tasks, Darren also includes a Notes section; this section typically includes more tips, other examples – - generally a place for more detailed information about the day’s lesson. Would I recommend the 31 Days to a Better Blog Workbook? I found the daily lessons to be valuable resources for building my own blogs, improving my blog techniques, and crystalizing my brand. The Workbook closely followed the lessons, but in putting the Workbook together, Darren cleaned up the lessons, added new material (and bonus material) – - even adding 6,000 new words of content. I think the Workbook is well-worth the $19.95; if you have a blog and want more traffic, exposure, or readership, I believe the Workbook is invaluable. Darren is one of the most respected bloggers around, and when he tells you how to improve your traffic and readership, you know his advice is based on real-life experience, not theory. So, if driving traffic to your blog is your goal, pop over and pick up the Workbook today. I suggest printing it out, getting it bound, or putting it in a 3-ring binder.  But don’t stop there – - actually DO the tasks daily – - and I bet if you check your analytics on day 1 and your analytics on day 31 you’ll see an increase.  I’m tracking my own traffic through the month of June – and will post a report in 30 days.

One of the trends I’ve noticed is people who blog for a few days and then stop. The reason? “No one ever visits my blog.”

Guess what, you’re right.

No one IS reading your blog. At least not today . . . . and maybe not even next month.

In fact, it’s unlikely anyone even knows about your blog.

Building a reading audience requires some patience on your part, and a time commitment as well. Building a reading audience with a blog like taking the time to meet the neighbors – - it’s all about relationship marketing.

The first month I blogged, I had one visitor. The second month I had 10, the third month I had 71, and by month six I had 212 visitors. A year after start-up, I had 1,000 visitors, and then 3,500. What if I had stopped at month one or month two?

Scary thought, huh?

I’ve interviewed many blogging authors who have created such a passionate fan base that their readers can’t wait to buy the author’s new book. And I’m not talking about the reading audience for the NY Times bestselling authors of the world – I’m talking about authors you’ve probably never heard of. These authors blog almost daily, they build relationships with readers, and they have created a dedicated book buying audience.

No reason you can’t do the same in your industry.

What next? Keep blogging . . . even if no one is reading (today).