Do You Share?

Words. Words with pictures. Pictures with words. At first the Internet was AOL, their giant advertising welcome page and email. Then chat. Then websites that were nothing more than pictures, with words and a phone number so you could call the company. Yes, at first, the Internet was the phone book come to life. Sort of.

Fast forward to today, it's where we go to first to find anything. Everything. Even things you never thought possible, like watching a video of a talking dog. Or cat. And the content is more than words, it's now video, live streaming, podcasts and pictures. But the words are still there, describing, telling a story.

The Internet is now the library, the encyclopedia, the catalogue, the movie theatre. We fill it with our photos and the stories of our lives. We find things that are interesting and we share it, quickly, to the masses - well, our own little masses - of people we're connected to in order to give them a glimpse of what makes each of us our own unique self. 

Google the phrase "make money blogging" and you'll get more pages of information than you'll ever want to see. But that is what makes blogging fun. The possibility of making money from your own creativity. And regardless of whether your blog is about family, crafting, cooking, banking or even keeping a zoo, at some point, you're going to think; "Hmmmm, I wonder if I can make money with my blog?"

The short answer is yes, it is possible to make money with a blog. The long answer, is way to long to discuss here, so I'll sum it up: With a lot of careful planning and consistent action, yes, it is possible. But re-read that first part: With a lot of careful planning and consistent action. Action.

Here's an "Action" that some people don't realize how important it is to a writer, even though it seems like such a small and sometimes very personal thing: Sharing.

Those floating buttons, or any social media sharing buttons provided on a page where an article is hosted (or posted) are the best way to:

1. Boost the articles online visibility, increase traffic and ad revenue.
2. Ensure you're sharing a working link (sharing a broken link is no good!)

Many sites use Ad Revenue, like Google Adsense as one stream of income. Just having someone land on the page adds to the sites income, all be it in very small increments. But, with enough traffic, those little bits can add up.

Getting people to the page is the work. Using the social sharing buttons located on the page are the tools for sharing. But how many of those tools are you using?

Here on Wizzley, there are the "big guy" icons listed seperately from the crowd of sites grouped together in the Add This box. So how do you decide which ones to use?

Personally I use the big guys, Facebook, Twitter, Google + and Pinterest for most articles. I only share to LinkedIn when I deem the content something I want to share with my professional network. But what about all those icons in the Add This box?

For some time I've been using Stumble Upon, Digg and Tumblr and I get quite a bit of traffic from those sites. But should I be sharing to more? There are what looks to be over 100 other places I could share to.

I know I could spend a few hours a day for probably a few weeks going through each of the icons listed in the Add This box. But I'd rather ask you: What sites are you using to share content?

While I had originally thought this article would be directed to my fellow writers here on Wizzley, I believe this pertains to writers who publish on any platform:

When you're done writing an article, do you share it?

Do you have a list of sites you share you content to on a regular basis?

After you've written, published and shared your own work, do you spend time on the site, browsing other articles?

Are you connecting with other writers and following their work?

Do you read, comment on and share other writers work?

What sites are you using to share/bookmark that are listed in the Add This box?

Why do you use them? (Traffic results, ease of use, etc.)

Thank you for reading (and sharing!). I look forward to your answers.