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I often work from a remote location (i.e. Panera Bread, Biggby, or Starbucks) while my daughter is in preschool. That means I need to bring my office with me. Luckily I am pretty portable and just need my laptop, ipod, notebook, pen, and a bluetooth mouse. You can face many choices when trying to find the perfect bag to store everything. Do you want a backpack, messenger bag or laptop shoulder bag? Something with soft sides or hard sides? High priced or bargain basement? Girly or manly?

I have a pretty feminine black bag with shoulder straps. It works pretty well, but seems to be a tight squeeze for everything. I’m not sure if I need to try a different bag or if I need to find a smaller power cord for my laptop. That seems to be the bulkiest item, besides my laptop that I have.

How about you? What kind of bag do you have for your laptop?

Ahhh, after the promise and progress of March, April seems so disappointing. I’m sorry that I have not updated in awhile. I took on another freelance job this month, so I have been finding the right rhythm of fitting into my schedule. I promise to have more regular posts here. I’m also hoping to spend more time on BANS and let you know how that is working.

Until next time,
Shannon

Ahhh, the last day. Becoming a Better Blogger says:

Take a day off blogging. You’ve earned it! Set aside some time to reflect on the thirty things you’ve done this month to improve your blog. You really should be proud of yourself.

More on BABB Day 31 - Take a Break

Today’s Becoming a Better Blogger is a fun one. Everyone loves to win something.

Hold a small competition with a modest prize. Whether it’s an eBook, a free consultation, a DVD or a CD, a small prize and a small competition can help boost reader engagement and participation in your blog without denting your finances too much.

More on BABB Day 30 - Have a Contest

Today’s Becoming a Better Blogger task is about networking.

Start a dialogue with another blogger in your niche. Say hello, offer your help, comment on a post they’ve written — however you do it, send an email to another blogger in your niche and don’t ask anything of them. If you can strike up a conversation (or at least a connection) there may be future opportunities where you can do a favor for the other blogger and, later, have that favor returned.

More on BABB Day 29 - Reach Out to Another Blogger

This is a task that I normally have a very hard time with. Becoming a Better Blogger recommends emptying out your email inbox today:

Process your email inbox to empty. You’ll need to answer your emails eventually, so why not do it today? An empty inbox is a welcome sight for any blogger.

More on BABB Day 28 - Empty Your Inbox

Today’s Becoming a Better Blogger task may seem like a large one but it could payoff in the end.

Spend two hours or more on a single post. If you spend a lot of time on a single post you’re likely to end up with a lot of value in one place. Investing extra time in a post can result in some pretty cool rewards.

More on BABB Day 27 - Spend Two Hours on a Post

Today’s task focuses on ways of bringing traffic to your site by joining forums that pertain to your niche.

Join a popular forum in your niche. A link back to your blog in your forum signature can generate more incoming traffic than a dozen comments spread over multiple blogs.

More on BABB Day 26 - Join a Niche Forum

Having an easily identifiable brand is very important in business. The authors of Becoming a Better Blogger believe this is true for blogs as well.

Design a custom logo for your blog, or get someone to do it for you. Blog branding is essential. If you’re using a free theme without any distinct branding, your blog will probably end up looking like at least a dozen other blogs using the same theme. If you have any ability with image editing software, design a custom logo. Even using a distinctive, free font to write your blog’s name in big letters can do the job adequately. If you want to go the extra step, you can pay a freelancer or logo design company to brand your blog.

More on BABB Day 25 - Custom Logo

Advertising to draw visitors to your blog need not be expensive. In fact the authors of Becoming a Better Blogger say that you can get a sizable amount of traffic by spending just $5.

Buy a $5 StumbleUpon advertising campaign for your best post. $5 buys roughly 300 visitors. If some of those StumbleUpon visitors end up adding more votes to your article, the result could be a traffic snowball much larger than the one you paid for!

More on BABB Day 24 - Mini Advertising Campaign