METHODOLOGICAL SUPPORT FROM BLOGGERS

Initially, blogging involved a personal web log, in which a person would journal about their day. From "web log" came the term "blog."

Like most new innovations on the Internet, many entrepreneurs saw marketing potential in having a blog, and blogging took off from there. Not only can a blog be used for marketing, but also, a blog can be a home business in and of itself.

Here are some ways to support the bloggers you love, both emotionally and financially:

1. Leave a comment. The whole point of blogging (at least how I see it) is to create community. When you leave a comment on a blog post, that is your way of saying, “I’m here! I am a part of this!” It makes the writer feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. You don’t need to leave a comment on every post—just once in a while when something resonates with you. Some of my favorite posts that I have ever written have a string of comments below them that all say some rendition of “Me too! I feel this way, too!” Those comments not only benefit me, they also benefit the other commenters. The less alone we all feel, the less crazy we all are.

2. Send them an e-mail. I have been affirmed in my writing so much from reader e-mails, it’s ridiculous. I save every single one. They go into a special folder called “Don’t Quit Blogging” and when I feel overwhelmed with this blog, or writing, or sharing my life with the internet, I just read a few of those e-mails and get over it. If you’ve been reading a blog for a long time, soaking up words that someone else has graciously dumped into the internet for free, the least you can do is take 5 minutes to e-mail them and say, “Keep going!” This is on my goal list for 2014 to do myself with a few of my favorite bloggers. I owe them at least that much for continuously blessing me with their writing.

3. Share their content. If you’re like me, chances are sometimes you read blogs on your phone. It is stupid hard to leave comments on blogs from your phone. I don’t know why, because it’s 2014, and you’d think the Masters of the Internet would have figured this out by now, but they haven’t. Do you know what’s REALLY easy to do from your phone? Like, share, retweet. As bloggers, we’re in this for the community, and at the end of the day, we want people to see our art. Wouldn’t it be sad if there was a beautiful museum filled with art and nobody ever went to visit it? When you click retweet and share, you are sending people to our museum. WE APPRECIATE THIS.

4. Buy them coffee. This is kind of a stretch, but speaking personally here, I write best in coffee shops. Coffee is expensive. Well, my coffee is expensive because I don’t even like coffee—I like the milk + chocolate + espresso + syrup concoctions that cost 3x more than coffee. It takes $5 and less than two minutes to caffeinate your favorite blogger. Send them an e-gift card, or try the Tweet A Coffee service from Starbucks.

5. Buy stuff they blog about. I don’t say this carelessly; I say it intentionally. If someone blogs about amazing running shoes (not me, I hate running), and you happen to be in the market for new running shoes, buy the shoes they recommend! If someone blogs about Christmas cards, and you know you’re going to order Christmas cards anyways, click on the link in their post and use their promo code! Bloggers receive teeny tiny commissions off those purchases, and for many of us, this is the only compensation we receive from our blogs. Personally, I abide by the 95/5 strategy: the content on this blog is 95% genuine and 5% sellout. And by sellout, I mean I’m blogging about a product that I honestlyrecommend, but probably wouldn’t blog about if it wasn’t for the minor financial gain. Basically, for every 20 heartfelt posts you see on this blog, you’re also going to see one about hairbrushes or Christmas cards. I try to keep it very, very minimal around here, but the truth is: those posts are the only posts that earn dollars. When you buy something that I recommend, it’s basically putting a dollar in my blog tip jar. Tips = diapers, coffee, college tuition for Everett. MY FAMILY THANKS YOU.

6. Visit their blogs before shopping on Amazon. I recently realized something dumb. All of the bloggers I love have Amazon affiliate accounts, and I shop on Amazon, A LOT. What if, instead of just going to Amazon.com and buying the stuff I want, I FIRST went to my favorite blog, clicked on one of their Amazon links, and THEN ordered my stuff? It would take an extra 5 seconds, and would throw a little bit of money their way. Not sure where to find an Amazon link on your favorite blog? Try searching for “Amazon” in their search box, browsing their old gift guides, or looking for posts where they recommend books. Once you find it, just bookmark the post, that way you can get to it easily every time you shop. ISN’T THIS SO SMART? You’re already shopping on Amazon, and by spending an extra 5 seconds to click on one extra link, you are SUPPORTING YOUR FAVORITE BLOGGER. I am totally doing this from now on.

7. Buy an ad on their blog. Have an etsy shop? A graphic design business? A blog of your own? What better place to spend your marketing dollars than supporting your favorite blogger while ALSO increasing your web traffic? This is what we call a win-win.

8. And last but certainly not least, just show up. Read the posts. Like their blog page on Facebook. If your favorite blogger writes a book someday, buy it. If your favorite blogger asks you to fill out a survey, do it. Be a participant. Engage. Read their e-book, take their e-course. Show yourself once in a while. Chances are, your favorite blogger is showing up for you even when they don’t always feel like it. The best thing you can do is simply return the favor.

Below is a profile of just some of the people who blog on the TeachingEnglish site. They have a range of experience of from teaching and teacher training to writing resource books, coursebooks, online course materials and more.

Alexei Kiselev has worked in ESL/EFL for more than 15 years, first as a university teacher, and then moving to Moscow to teach ESP to adults: business, finance, marketing... One of his interests is using technology in education, and he is publishing his own lessons on www.nmodel.net, experimenting with various edtech tools.

Anastasya Vaitsiakhovich is a Minsk State Linguistic University graduate. She is a teacher of both English and German, as well as a teacher of the Belarusian language and literature, holding a diploma with honours. Anastasya works as a University instructor,a tutor and a teacher at Streamline language school.She is the author of a number of scientific articles on English stylistic in fiction and co-author of the manual for University students. Anastasya is also CELTA pass B holder.

Ceyda Basmacı has been in ELT for 15 years. She graduated from Linguistics. She had Teacher’s Methodology Course in Southampton, UK. She’s a teacher and a teacher trainer. She is CELTA qualified, an MIE and doing MA in English Language and Teaching. She received Quality Awards via multinational projects. She’s into Tech and PD. She has a website http://www.ceydabasmaci.com/

Corinna Keefe grew up travelling around the world, which gave her a love of languages and diversity. She studied at the University of Cambridge before taking her TEFL qualification. She has taught English in Austria, Russia and now Spain, where she lives.

Darío Luis Banegas is a teacher, teacher educator, and curriculum developer with the Ministry of Educacion of Chubut, Argentina. He holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Warwick where he is still connected as an associate fellow. His main interests are CLIL, teenage learners, pre-service teacher education, and action research.

Emmanuel Kontovas comes from Thessaloniki, Greece. He has graduated from the English Language & Literature Department of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 2004 and has been teaching English since to a variety of age groups and needs. He has attended plenty of seminars and is a board member of the local teacher’s association.

Fatima Taha is an Egyptian teacher who has been an ESL teacher since 2009.She is currently teaching at Al-Azhar University English Training Centre. She takes special interest in experimental practices and extensive reading in both ELT and fictional work. She believes in the power of reflection and technology as she reflects on her ELT. Experimental practices and latest ELT methodologies in her blog: http://fatimataha.blogspot.com.eg/?m=1

Geraldine McIlwaine has been teaching English since 2012. Before completing her CELTA, she obtained her Masters and PhD at the School of Modern Languages at the University of Sheffield. Geraldine currently works in Spain. Her reflections on various aspects of English Language teaching can be read on her blog: https://geraldineubeda.wordpress.com/

JVL Narasimha Rao is an English teacher,  trainer,  and state resource person  for SCERTandAPOSS-AP..He is a national level English Text book writer for ICSC syllabus and blogs at https://narasimharaojvl.wordpress.com/ and  blogs on TeachingEnglish. He teaches at ZPP High School, Gadilanka, East Godavari AP.He became the first Indian to be honoured by the British council for writing more blogs on the on line journal Teaching English and his name entered in Andhra and Bharat Book of records

Loli Iglesias comes from the Basque Country and has been teaching English at Secondary level for 17 years. She is currently working as a teacher trainer for the Department of Education of the Basque Government. She develops seminars on Professional Development and CLIL. Her main interests are CLIL and ESL methodology. She blogs at clilingetxo.blogspot.com.

Madhu Tiwari has been in ELT for almost 15 years. She has been a teacher, teacher trainer and examiner and has worked with teacher educators in the UK and Australia. She is DELTA qualified and has MA in English literature. She is interested in teacher support programs and Action research.

Dr. Mangay Meharajan owns an English Educational Academy at Chennai, India. English for occupational purposes EOP and English for specific purposes are trained here. Her research founding in English Language teaching E-syllabus For Spoken English Promoters was nominated by the British Council and Cambridge English language assessment at ELTONS 2013.

Mark Trevarton has taught English in Italy, France, Spain, the UK and Thailand. He currently works in Bangkok, with one foot in teaching and one foot in academic management. He has recently started blogging at https://tesoltoolbox.com.

Mihaela Mordus has been an English and Spanish teacher since 2013. Celta graduate with MA in English and Spanish, she currently works and lives in Madrid and has recently started blogging at: https://alittlebitofelt.wordpress.com/

Natalia Moiseeva works with Gen-Z kids on daily basis. Mother of two. Graduated from Moscow State University. Currently lives and works in Prague, Czech Republic.

Neil Millington is an English teacher in Japan, and he currently teaches at a University. He is also the founder of http://dreamreader.net, a free online reading resource for teachers and learners. In addition, he is a Ph.D. candidate studying language learning motivation.

Nina Koptyug has a BA and Ph.D. in English Language & Literature. She is now retired and currently working as a freelance teacher trainer, author and consultant. She publishes lesson plans at English-to-go.com and has published several national Russian publications, methodological articles and translations as well as several blog posts for TeachingEnglish.

Nurjahan Naik is an English teacher from India with 9 years experience. She has worked as a lecturer, secondary school teacher and as a teacher trainer. She blogs at www.naiknurjahan.wordpress.com. She is interested in classroom research and using various social medias for continuing professional development.

Patricia Mabel Ielmini - Teacher of English (1988). International Certificate in Teaching English, St. Giles College, London (2008). Specialization in Education and IT (2016). She has published two on line articles; (2002) https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/listen-your-word and (2004) https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/storytelling-young-learner-classes. She is the author of an on line component at http://misspat-englishplus.com/main/ (2010). She has presented aspects of this virtual component at different conferences and FAAPI Congress, Argentina. She is very interested in the use of technology in blended-learning contexts.

Rachael Harris has taught English for almost twenty years and she teaches in a primary and secondary school in Geneva, where she has produced the SEND policy statement. She is Teens & YL SIG coordinator for ETAS (Switzerland) and newsletter editor for IATEFL Inclusive Practices & SEN SIG.

Rachel Boyce currently lives and works in Italy, where she has been teaching English as a second language since 2005. Rachel is also a freelance writer specialising in education, she both plays and has taught classical violin and is currently learning to speak Russian. Her new blog about teaching English is on www.theteacherabroad.blogspot.com and she post daily bites of fun English language activities on https://www.facebook.com/calazzottolanglab

Raquel Gonzaga is a tech-savvy educator who is passionate about motivating students to go beyond their limits and trust their learning potential. She is an English teacher at Cultura Inglesa São Paulo- Brazil and also works as a columnist at www.informedteachers.blogspot.com.br where she writes about free apps for EFL students and the importance of tech literacy for teachers. 

Richard Fielden-Watkinson has worked in the ELT field for over 7 years as a teacher, Site Director, and Director of Studies in London, Italy, and Saudi Arabia. He is interested in English teaching and learning. He has a CELTA and Master's degree in Applied Linguistics.

Rossana Quiroz is currently teaching kindergarten at Fleming College in Trujillo, Peru. She is passionate about providing opportunities for children to develop their innate curiosity and enjoy learning. She previously taught English as Second Language in language centers and charter schools in the USA. She holds a TESOL certificate and a MA in Linguistics. She believes teachers should be lifelong learners, too, to show their students the way to make their goals come true.

Sajit M Mathews is an Indian teacher-researcher of English language. He has taught English language courses at university level before taking up full time research in English Language Testing. His current project is to find an optimum balance of various influencing variables in task-based oral language assessment. He shares his insights on www.theeltblog.blogspot.com.

S.Akilandeswari has been a teacher of English in India for senior Secondary classes for the past two-and-a-half decades. A post graduate in English and Education, she is a master Trainer. She blogs at www.akilasrinivasan.blogspot.com and has an online article to her credit – https://thewarwickeltezine.wordpress.com/2018/11/03/786/. She is passionate about incorporating ICT in language teaching/learning.

Sulabha Sidhaye is a freelance teacher of English. She has been training working people through their employers and individually to improve their English, as well as students in Business English in colleges and privately, and housewives and interested citizens in spoken and written English. She also scrutinizes theses, papers and books.

Sulaiman Jenkins earned his MA in TESOL from NYU's Steinhardt School of Education. He has been in the field of ELT, most notably in Saudi Arabia, for more than 14 years. He has also contributed to academia by way of publishing numerous articles in top peer reviewed journals. He is currently working at an engineering university in Saudi Arabia and is also a Senior Research and Activism Contributor for Turnkey Educational Group's Research and Activism blog.

Theodora Papapanagiotou teaches EFL and DaF in Greece since 1992. She has worked with various levels and ages. She is a freelance teacher, translator and a content developer. She has taken part in conventions, and webinars about teaching, mindfulness and fitness. Her blog is https://theodorapap.blogspot.com and https://itdi.pro/blog/author/theodora/