Time for the tea blogger round table (third annual)
Today's moderator is @TeaWithGary http://teawithgary.com/
Panelists are
@joysteaspoon https://www.joysteaspoon.com/blog/
@chrisagiddings http://www.tea-guy.com/
@scandaloustea http://scandaloustea.teatra.de/
@lazy_literatus http://steepstories.com/
@teamoment http://internationalteamoment.blogspot.com/
@RachelKCarter http://iheartteas.teatra.de/
@teaformeplease http://teaformeplease.com/
Panelist @joysteaspoon also is on the board of the US league of tea growers
Next panelist is @chrisagiddings of @Teaity http://teaity.com/ - with a new tea device being announced soon!
Enjoy stories and tales? check out panelist @lazy_literatus
Jen talks about tea in her life and those moments @teamoment
blogger @RachelKCarter writes about things that interest and inspire her and owns @iHeartTeas
panelist @teaformeplease is a tea reviewer who does podcasts, videos and more - amazing information
final panelist @scandaloustea writes about anything tea
Blogging is not a zero sum game, one blog doesn't "steal" readers from another blog.
Q: how do people find your blog?
A: @joysteaspoon other blogs, social media, reshares @chrisagiddings echos that with an addition of searches online
A: @scandaloustea echos majority from other bloggers though @lazy_literatus echo plus companies he has reviewed resharing
A: @teamoment a lot of incoming traffic from other bloggers that have her blog listed on theirs on the sidebar
A: @RachelKCarter b/c of our varied interests there is a lot of cross promotion - that expands out to each others friends
A: @teaformeplease majority of her traffic is searches finding reviews of a tea she has featured
Q: what do you find are the most read posts on your blog and why?
A: @teaformeplease informational posts - how to season yixing - how to make matcha
A: @RachelKCarter recipes that i post (she is a mad scientist)
A: @teamoment runaway hits have been a focus on a tea or tea venue and i have the opportunity to get into the owner/why focus on a person behind the tea is always a runaway hit - human interest
A: @lazy_literatus love and death (Shakespearean). occasionally between those are unique things no one else has - like japanese white teas
A: @scandaloustea the things she is most passionate about seem to inspire readers to read example: Fine words butter no parsnips also tea shops (reviews) around the country
A: @chrisagiddings device reviews like accessories or water heaters
A: @joysteaspoon writes for multiple blogs - telling stories about the tea growers, or tea grown in the US seem popular
A: @TeaWithGary Unique. Passion. People.
A: @TeaWithGary passion, often in a rant works well
Q: Do you post on a schedule?
A: @joysteaspoon no i have kids @chrisagiddings when i did the traffic was not sticky - now no longer and stickier
A: @scandaloustea no she doesn't - she has tried but it stressed her out and caused the rate to actually drop
A: @lazy_literatus he did a schedule for a bit but good posts were getting lost in fluff, better to do one post better
A: @teamoment varies from prolific to trickle but she also blogs for a company twice a week which increases their traffic
A: @RachelKCarter is a #blogginghippy
A: @teaformeplease once a day monday through friday
A: @RachelKCarter nope she blames her same children and her husband. ;) her passion drives her posts
A: @TeaWithGary tried a specific day / time cycle (every friday at a specific time) as a result of the Q asked last yr
A: @TeaWithGary said it totally increased readership it makes a difference
Q: Do you do anything to specifically target a young crowd? what social media do you prefer?
A: @teaformeplease instagram sends a lot of traffic. she connects differently than on twitter no target audience
A: @RachelKCarter geek - and never grew up so she doesn't target but gets along with. Likes instagram most then twitter
A: @teamoment twitter has been her biggest interaction - she mostly writes about family stuff so not young targeted
A: @teamoment instagram is the current fastest growing social media teaching her to be a better photographer
A: @lazy_literatus knows nothing about the younger ones but is unfiltered and that seems to attract them. instagram +
A: @scandaloustea has no idea what the young whipper snappers are ;)
A: @scandaloustea twitter is really big for her - the numbers are increasing to her surprise. she stopped instagraming
A: @scandaloustea is first to mention g+ - it's a lower number of people which is quiet but people see it if not interact
A: @chrisagiddings twitter is his strongest SM platform - but his @Teaity which is more focused gets better interactions
A: @chrisagiddings on tea-guy facebook fan page he gets better reactions than twitter. he is also an instagram convert
A: @joysteaspoon twitter was her busiest until 6 months ago where instagram when she linked to her blog and traffic spike
A: @joysteaspoon #smart is super effective / @teamoment we forgot to mention pintrest!
A: @TeaWithGary seems to be a direct correlation with twitter on followers - readers - connections
Tag your posts with the company and they will re-tweet it and help increase your followership
pictures increase interaction, pictures and links even more (but limit space to say anything)
Q: what programs do you use to blog on? A: Blogger, wordpress, TeaTrade, Self written platform, Hootsuite for scheduling
me: If this then that is also a handy tool.
audience: edgar can refresh/resurface old posts
- every now and then go look at statistics - re surface old favorites of readers (from @TeaWithGary )
#CaveatEmptor@amazonv Although @MeetEdgar costs money.... from @DrewKaplan
Q: if you go look at an old post - do you leave it alone or edit it?
A: @joysteaspoon edit it @chrisagiddings not edit (part of journey) but would edit/update inaccuracies and strike out
@scandaloustea will edit when something is needed (an update) but won't change her writing
@lazy_literatus will only edit if something was inaccurate. maybe some grammer posts, but also avoids to preserve journey
@teamoment and @RachelKCarter do not want to change anything - it's a diary, a journey
@teaformeplease often goes and tweeks grammar or clarity
@TeaWithGary edits for spelling, grammer, add footnote updates for accuracy, will edit to cross link same topic posts
Q: How do you blog for your new shop?
A: @TeaWithGary hire someone or pick a platform and play with a private blog and test kick the wheels, then take it live
A: @lazy_literatus there can be a blog of just neat pictures @teamoment do what you enjoy - video, writing, pictures
@teamoment some behind the scenes - blending pictures - bulk deliveries of tea, anything you
A: @TeaWithGary youtube is filled with short, amateur videos - unboxing videos
@TeaWithGary tumblr is very short quick posts
gary is plugging #TeakuTuesday
Gary also plugging vine 6 second videos
@teaformeplease let your employees help and share their passion
@teaformeplease example: 7 cups of tea employee blogging his experiences
Q: Ghost Writing - expectations? A: @teamoment a few hours per week blogging, and some SM interaction. all gets reviewed
@teamoment interviewing and picking a voice you like is important
@TeaWithGary check out the tea blogger directory, and the association of tea bloggers and find voices you like
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After the roundtable the panelists got together to celebrate with Scottish white smoked tea (beechwood) from the Field of the king
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