I have a lot to learn. I have just bought the domain name and now need to figure out how to set it up. It has no content as of yet, but I have tons of ideas!

Oct 8th-
Finally figured out that I had the wrong kind of page for FB, so started a fan page and now my like box works…yayy! Haven't shared my site with my private FB page yet…working on more content. I have 4 posts now..but there are a couple more I want to have and a welcome video. Have to figure out how to do all of that.

Oct 6th. Have changed my theme to make it a cleaner look (I have noticed several popular blogs have white backgrounds) and have set a few things up. I have only gotten two posts up so far, but have lots more in mind, so next is content. Still can't hook up a Facebook Like box, despite numerous attempts and probably three hours of effort. I heard somewhere you first have to have 25 people as friends? Does anyone know if this is true?
I'm also wondering if there are going to be some suggestions happening re: set-up and organization of our sites? No sense re-inventing the wheel.

Oct 11th. Ok, got the video uploaded, got the FB Like Box done, and am excited to have three subscriptions to my monthly newsletter. I have not launched yet, and am interested to learn more about how to do that well, as I plan to launch the beginning of Nov. I still have some tweaking to do, and have to write more content, but am happy with how it's come along in such a short while.

Oct 15th, Been a little busy with other things, (getting married this coming Friday!) but have been listening to podcasts as I commute to work and back that are teaching me all sorts of things about podcasting and about the business in general. I need to get some recording equipment next and start talking about a launch date. Have a friend who is going to list my blog in her next textbook edition that she is currently researching, so that's exciting. I am trying to do a little each day. I need to find out how to stop the spam I am getting in my inbox…it's annoying. Haven't done any monetizing yet…need traffic first. Got a couple of connections on Twitter now. Slow and steady I think.
Oct 18-
Just ordered a digital audio recorder recommended by Cliff at Podcastanswerman.com. Awesome site! Ordered from a Canadian music store called Kelly's Music and Computers in Manitoba…was cheaper than Amazon and got to speak to someone directly. Getting the recorder, the adapter and a wind-screen protective cover. This machine looks like it will do everything, and I can use Audacity software to edit with. I'm excited to get it and learn how to use it. I have 8 people lined up to interview from all different backgrounds.
Am not sure how to start monetizing. Have signed up for the webinar on Thurs, and will ask some questions then. My subscriptions are not showing up here either…not sure why? I know I have at least two.

Nov 4- Ok, so got married, had a wee bit of time away, and now I am back at it and ready to launch! have written several articles…plan to rewrite one tomorrow that was published in the newspapers many years back and that has been hanging in classrooms ever since for the programs I teach…might appeal to a certain bunch of people I know. Still waiting for my digital audio recorder to arrive so I can start podcasting. have more people lined up and have been listening to Podcastanswerman who is amazing and who was introduced to me by Pat Flynn…who is also amazing. Am feeling blessed to have such great help! Have been trying to tweet more regularly…enjoyed the webinar the MDBP people did on Oct 20th. Want to sign up for the series if not too late. Have been in a bit of a holding pattern, but hope that tomorrow gets traffic happening. Do something that matters every day…I just keep that in my mind!
Nov 5th: LAUNCHED!!!!

Nov 6th in the WEEEE hours- well I launched my site on Facebook at noon and by midnight had 53 people taking a look. That's pretty great, I think! I put an article on the front page that I think will resonate with a number of people I know in the hospital world, so we'll see how far it goes by Monday. Now, of course, there is the pressure to keep up with new content…and me with a university paper due in 10 days! Oh well…it was really fun to keep refreshing my "Clicky Stats" today and watching the numbers change every few minutes. Gotta get to bed now as I work in the morning, but today was fun!!!

Nov 9- Well traffic slowed right down, so now the challenge is to keep adding content…right? I have to find some time to do this. Have had some steady views by new people, so that's good…but would like to increase volume.

Nov 23- Well…i bit the bullet and bought Thesis for the site because I was tired of not being able to customize much. I did have some trouble resetting things that got messed up with the transfer, but got most of it back up. Then I posted a round-up post and got quite a few views today! Only trouble was..my spam plugin was stopping people from leaving comments…which I didn't know about until I got an email from a friend in the UK who had tried to comment several times. Frustrating! After farting around for what seems like hours, I simply uninstalled the WP plugin…so now I have no spam filter for comments. Not sure how this will go…but for now, that's what I will do.
Got my recording equipment, so now need some TIME to sit and figure out how it all works. My sweet husband told me last night how proud he is of me. It's only been about two months since I began this whole venture…having never done anything like this before…and I seem to have learned a lot already. With that kind of wonderful encouragement…I'm going to carry on-carrying on!

Dec 4th- Got a great tip from Cliff Ravenscraft on an artist, and had her design some artwork for both the header and the podcast, so that was perfect. I also posted a "round-up" blog post that included some fabulous info from some high-profile people (and some newbie) people. This got good response. I am now working on lining up some interviewees, and learning how to actually manage the podcasting end of things, as well as venturing slowly into affiliate marketing. My motto currently is "do something that matters every day."

Dec 13th- well…podcast episode one is UP!!! I'm excited about this. It's only 10;28 long, but it took me HOURS to figure out the correct configuration between my WP site, Libsyn and Feedburner, and then itunes. I think I have it correct now, but I am wondering a bit about the set-up of my podcast page…so we'll see. I'm liking the look of the site, though. Now I will work on my FB page and make it nicer, then I can finally focus on "epic shit" or content. It's been less than three months, and I feel like I have climbed a mountain or something!

Dec 19th- So this is loads of fun! My podcast has been up for one week and already 55 people have downloaded it! I got a great shout-out from Cliff on itunes, and traffic has been coming in as a result. I am going to put out some content today/tonight, and plan to interview my first guest tomorrow…so if I can put out an episode a week, I'll be thrilled. I suddenly have 12 subscribers, and things are looking hopeful! I would like to figure out more affiliates…but I think I am at a technological space whereby I can focus mostly on content…which is great. Thanks for the continued inspiration!

December 29th- Between my two podcast episodes, I've had over 124 downloads in about 17 days, which is very encouraging. I have another episode (with guest) in the "can" ready to post soon, and am interviewing three more people in the next week. I will only put out one episode a week, but want to be ahead of the game on this. I am encouraged also by the traffic each day, and have put affiliate links into a couple of posts and on the site under a "things I like" page. We'll see what happens! I'm looking forward to the first commission for something. I'm also thrilled that people seem to be subscribing. My count only shows 12 because I can't have more than one "Clicky" url listed here, but between the RSS for the blog and the RSS for the podcast, I have 23 subscribers at last count, which is wonderful. Still only 4 email subscribers (newsletter), but that's ok. One step at a time.
If you are reading this…Happy New Year!!!

Jan 12- I'm working steadily on interviewing people for the podcasting portion of the site and have had listeners tuning in through itunes from all over the world! I am noticing my site traffic coming in spurts, and the RSS subscriptions fluctuate, especially now that I have two feeds. I can only show one here, but the podcast one has about 16 subscribers, and the other one about 12…not too many, but I'm not worried. As things go along, I hope to learn more and get more people coming to see. I haven't had time to do much with this for a while, other than interviewing people…but I have 2-3 "in the can" as they say, and will put them out weekly. Onward and upwards!

Jan 31-2012
Just had major abdominal surgery, so am recovering at home but still managed to put out a podcast this week thanks to having prerecorded an interview. Am getting smarter about this! Also, just joined a Mastermind group, which I think will help me focus and get along faster than I have been going thus far. I seem to be doing more podcasting than blogging, and enjoy that, however i still put out the occasional article. I am noticing a real fluctuation (think I said this last time) in RSS subscribers…was up to 50 at one point, and then am now back down to 24 or something between the two feeds. No idea why…perhaps I didn't put out enough content? I am publishing a podcast every Monday, and try to get an article out on Thurs/Fri, but with being in hospital, I missed last week. Dunno.
Have not made any income yet, and would really like to figure out what I am doing wrong, or not doing right on that front.
People keep talking about creating products…so perhaps that is the next step, but I am a bit amiss as to what that might be, unless I embark upon the e-book adventure. That's all for now.
Feb 9/12- Recovering well and checking my stats like a fiend. Would love to get so many visits I didn't feel the need to keep looking…it's a bit obsessive. I've had a marked increase in traffic the past few days, and am glad for it. The podcast is now available on Stitcher Smart Radio, which is a very cool app for iPods, iPhone and Androids. We'll see if it makes much difference. I've been submitting my site to directories, and slowly working on improving how it looks here and there. Have been asked to guest post on a site and that will be out next week, as well as have been trying to make connections with other bloggers and podcasters. My mastermind group is AMAZING, and already I've learned some great tips. Gotta go nap now…slow and steady wins the race, as they say.

March 28th- Haven't written for a while but was having one helluva time with Clicky. Seem to be back on track now, but have lost some ground at least on this site. However…all things are going well. I have my first E-Book published (yayy!) and have sold a whopping 4 of them to date, which makes me very excited! I am up to podcast episode 15 (faithfully publishing every Monday) and have registered to attend BlogWorld Expo 2012 in NYC, for which I am beside myself with giddyness! (Is that even a word??) Traffic remains up and down but I am finding definite trends people are searching for, which is why I wrote the book I did. Slow and steady as they say, and that's how I am approaching this. The Podcast Mastermind group is fantastic, and I continue to be amazed at how helpful everyone is.

April 8th- Not sure if anybody even reads this journal, but here I am, having had a blessed Easter (worked all of it, seeing as I am in paid ministry as one of my dayjobs) and am thoroughly exhausted but happy. Have sold 7 books to date and am being encouraged by my Mastermind Group to expand the book and seek a publisher for a hardcopy. I have a feeling things are going places, as everyone I have spoken with about this is interested…so fingers crossed! Stats have been great with the podcast (you can't see those on this site) and I am being listened to in at least 33 countries to date! I am getting more listens to things pertaining to business and careers, so that's where I will be turning my focus more and more I think. I have been very consistent in putting out the podcast and not so much in publishing articles…so I have my work cut out for me.
Never mind that I am taking over for 4 months at the church whilst my colleague takes a sabbatical and leaves me as Acting Lead Minister…yikes! As my kids would say: it's all good.

April 22/12- Well, have sold quite a few books to date, and have been asked to speak to two different groups…one a graduating leadership class in a high-school, and one a college class of students who will be going out to practicum situations. It's a great start! I keep checking my Amazon stats…it's an addiction I think. I want to spend more time working on this blog…but am working full time elsewhere right now, and can't seem to find the time. Guess I'll let this brew a bit and see what comes of it. Traffic is slowly building…(emphasis on slowly) but patience is definitely an asset and I have some.

July 5, 2012
So I haven't written here for a while, but I've been quite busy. Blogworld NYC was fabulous, and I am really hoping to get the next one in Vegas in Jan. I met all sorts of people I've been getting know with my Mastermind group and learned a lot about on-line business and podcasting…and I got to see some of New York City…a long-time dream.
I am actually going back there in a few weeks as a guest speaker at 140EDU (The State of Now)Conference, where I will be speaking on the topic of socially smart kids and what schools aren't teaching, which correlates well with my ebook. I'm excited to be a guest speaker and am once again going to be in the Big Apple.
As far as the business goes, it's slow, but I have many more podcast listeners and I have come to realize that the blog readers and podcast listeners are two different audiences, and so I must figure out how to capitalize on that dynamic.
That's all for now!
Feb 2013-n YOWZA! Lots has happened since last I journaled…in fact, I thought this was over and couldn't be added to anymore? I am now a certified conflict coach and NLP Practitioner, and have had some success with being hired. I am up to episode 56 of the CommunicationDiva Podcast. I have great listeners and readers, have been to NYC twice…once to speak at a conference and once to attend Blogworld. I've been to Vegas to New Media Expo to speak on a panel there. I am part of a Mastermind group that meets twice a month to support and encourage movement. I am developing some products…things are happening!
If you have read all of this, thank-you! And please come to visit my site…I would love feedback. Jenn