Fortunately, Google+ just announced this week that anyone can create a Google+ page for their business/organization.  Maybe this will help make Google+ a thriving place to be!  I’ve created a page for Color In My Piano which I’d love to have you all join (click here).  Wendy Stevens has also created a page for her ComposeCreate blog, which you can view by clicking here.  If you haven’t added me to your circles yet, I’d love to connect with you.  My profile page is here.

Google+ pages offer a variety of features, including “Hangouts” that allow individuals to group chat (like Skype).  Someday, I’d love to organize LIVE round-table discussions about various piano teaching topics!  Wouldn’t that be fun?!

So, head on over to Google+.  We need more action over there!

Related Posts:

• Tips For Making Your Blog Reader-Friendly [Part 2]
• Tips for Making Your Blog Reader-Friendly [Part 1]
• Studio Marketing: Social Networking & More
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• Hear my New Piano!

1. Discoveries Piano Studio blog by Sarah Lantz | a new blog that is a joy to read. Sarah has a wonderful writing style that is both easy and enjoyable to read.
2. Cerebroom by Chad Twedt | a fascinating blog with very thought-provoking articles about music, piano, and more.
3. Nickel Notes blog by Nicole Risinger | another piano teaching blog by a teacher with passion! 
4. Rachel’s Piano Studio blog by Rachel Thomas | another great blog about piano teaching.
5. LaDona’s Music Studio blog by LaDona | a new blog about piano teaching and other music-related topics.  A wonderful read!
6. Music Worksheets blog | a new blog containing free pdfs of a variety of different music worksheets. And they take requests!
7. Shirley Kirsten’s blog | a blog that often posts videos about teaching classical repertoire.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to check out these wonderful sources for ideas and inspiration!

Have you stumbled upon any great blogs recently?  Please share!

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Here’s a run-down of the history of the Color In My Piano blog:

The First Year:

• It was on February 28, 2009 that I first conceived of this blog and wrote my first post: a welcome and brief statement of purpose.  I found my inspiration largely from Natalie Wickham’s Music Matters Blog and Susan Paradis’ Piano Teacher Resources.  My blog was initially a free wordpress blog, titled “Piano Teaching Blog” (or something similar).  At this point, I was running a successful piano studio of about 20 students out of my parent’s home, and finishing up my Bachelor’s degree in piano performance.
• In May of 2009, I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree.  Over the summer, my husband and I moved so we could attend graduate school the next year.  Unfortunately, this meant I had to “give away” all my piano students and find new ones.
• On July 9, 2009, I decided that I was enjoying blogging enough to go full swing: I came up with the title “Color In My Piano,” bought my own domain name and a year’s worth of web hosting, and gave the site a whole new look.
• In August of 2010, I started my Master’s degree in Piano Pedagogy at Central Michigan University.
• Color In My Piano continued to grow and change.  A new Printables page allowed for easier navigation through free resources, and new Facebook integration gave readers a new way to stay updated.
• As of February 28, 2010 (the 1 year anniversary), Color In My Piano has had 18,371 visiters and has about 50 subscribers. The record number of page views in one day is 425 on February 11, 2010!

The Second Year:

• I continued to work on my Master’s degree and teach between 5-10 students each week.  My GA (Graduate Assistant) responsibilities kept me busy teaching college level Class Piano courses to music majors and collaborating with other vocalists and instrumentalists.
• Color In My Piano gained a Reading List page and a Highlights page, and begun asking monthly forum questions which quickly turned into weekly Forum Q&A’s. The screenshot at right shows what we look like today.
• As of February 28, 2011 (the 2 year anniversary), Color In My Piano has had 169,274 visiters, 177 email subscribers, and 172 readers who “like” us on Facebook.  The record number of page views in one day is 1,192 on January 11, 2011!  THANK YOU!

In honor of this celebration, I’d like to open up the floor and allow you to ask me questions about myself.  What do you want to know about me?  Leave a comment or send me an email (admin[at]colorinmypiano.com)!  I’d love to share — if I get enough questions, I’ll answer them all in a post later this week.

Also – a brand new printable is also being posted today: Rhythm Values Posters.  Just because it’s our 2 year anniversary doesn’t mean you won’t get a new printable this week!  =)  The post describes a fun game you can play with your students using the new printable.

Can you believe it — two years already?!  All I can say is, once again, THANK YOU!  =D

Photo Credit: D Sharon Pruitt | CC 2.0

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• Google+ Update
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• Tips for Making Your Blog Reader-Friendly [Part 1]
• Best of 2010 @ colorinmypiano.com

Following: DO offer variety of subscription options and make it easy!

Sometimes new bloggers wonder why it takes so long to establish a following of readers.  I once read somewhere that it takes about a year before you will begin to recognize a committed following of readers start getting regular comments.  Don’t be discouraged – keep the posts coming!  Meanwhile, here are a few things you can do to help gain a following: 

1. Continue offering GREAT content.  Don’t let your blog turn into a bunch of links to other people’s stuff.  ALWAYS accompany external links with a few of your own new and insightful comments.  Readers are usually looking for great content from YOU, not merely an assortment of links to content on the rest of the web.  Just keep working on building your content and those readers will come around eventually!
2. Put up subscribe buttons for email AND RSS.  These are two basics that every blog should have.  Email subscriptions allow readers to receive blog posts in their email inbox.  RSS subscriptions allow readers to follow multiple blogs all in one place (I personally use Google Reader).
3. Put up Facebook and other social networking links too.  Allow readers to follow your blog using their favorite social networking tool, whatever that may be.
4. Create a Facebook page for your blog.  More and more people are using Facebook all the time.  Jump on the bandwagon and allow your readers to be notified about new content right in their Facebook news feed!  Facebook pages are different from Facebook profiles.  Your personal profile is separate and usually private (depending on your privacy settings) from your blog’s Facebook page followers, so there is no reason not to give this a try!

Appearances and Accessibility: DO look and be nice.

1. Write a friendly (and not pompous) bio about yourself.  Nobody wants to follow an unknown and mysterious blogger.  While you may wish to keep certain things about yourself private (as you should feel free to do so), there are ways of doing so in a personable and accessible manner.
2. Include a photo of yourself somewhere on your blog.  Readers like having some idea of what you look like!
3. Be personable.  Be clear and for the most part, use everyday language.  A little humor goes a long way – don’t be too serious but don’t overdo it with humor either!
4. Don’t allow your blog posts to get too long.  I don’t know about you, but most of the time when I’m on the web I’m in a hurry.  If a post looks long, I just skim or completely pass it by.  (Don’t take it personally; I’m ALWAYS in a hurry.)  Increase clarity and readability by using bullet points and headers to help divide your lengthier posts into sections.  Long posts can be divided into a series of posts over a few days.  Be concise whenever possible!
5. Avoid writing about what you plan to blog about about in the future.  Just post stuff as you get it done.  What if you forget or change your mind?  Don’t promise your readers things that may or may not happen – just give it to them or don’t!  Read this post for more about why you should avoid telling people your goals.

That ends my list of rants and tips.  I hope I haven’t hurt any feelings and I’ve inspired you to make your blog the best it can be!

Have more to add to my rant-list?  Please share!

Photo Credit: Marco Pako | CC 2.0

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However, if you’d allow me, I’d like to rant just a bit today.  Bear with me.  At the expense of possibly sounding harsh, I’d like to offer some DO’s and DON’T's about blogging.  Among these tips, you will find ways to boost reader commenting and the general look of your blog.  This post is not intended to be mean — I only intend to offer constructive criticism and suggestions for ways to make blogs more accessible and reader-friendly.

If you are just starting or thinking about starting your own blog, this post may be a better place to start.  Today’s post is more in depth for those who’ve already gotten their feet wet.

Without further ado, here goes……..!

Comments: DO Make it Easy for Your Readers!

Sometimes new bloggers wonder why nobody ever leaves any comments on their blog posts.  Try this little experiment: Log out of your blogging account and pretend you are a reader visiting your blog for the first time.  Try leaving yourself a comment.  Does your blog pass these tests?

1. Did you have to enter those annoying spam-preventing letters in order to leave a comment? NOT GOOD.  Those spam word thingys are a huge deterrant to potential commenters on your blog.  Think about it – have you ever decided not to leave a comment on a blog before because it seemed like too much of a hassle once you started?  Yes, they help prevent spam, but if you are a new blogger you probably won’t be getting comment spam for a while anyway.  Don’t resort to using the spam word thingy until you absolutely need it!
2. Were you required to have some kind of Google, Blogger, Facebook, or Open ID account (etc.) in order to leave a comment? While it is great to have these options available to your readers, it is important to also have the option to comment with simply a NAME and EMAIL.  Not everyone has a Blogger or Open ID profile.  And perhaps they’d rather keep their Facebook profile private.  Once again, readers are not likely to comment if it looks difficult or complicated.  Make it easy for them!  Check your blog – you may be surprised to find that this is not an option (probably for spam-preventing reasons again).  With a little google searching, you can find out where to change you blog settings to allow this to be an option.
3. Was there an option to subscribe to the post’s comments? As a reader, if you’ve left a comment on somebody’s blog, it would be nice to be notified when the blogger or other readers reply to your comment.  If your blog doesn’t offer this option when a reader is leaving a comment, your reader may never see subsequent comments.
4. Tip: Always reply to your readers’ comments.  If a reader can see that other people’s comments are usually replied to by the blogger as suggested above, they will be more likely to join the conversation too.

Advertising: please don’t do it — just DON’T!

While the idea of making money with your blog may be very enticing, ads might not be a best way to do it.  Think carefully about your blogging goals and consider whether it’s worth it: are you in it for the money, or do you blog for other reasons?  Read on for my thoughts about advertising.

1. Avoid Google AdSense at all costs. Face it: Google AdSense is ugly.  Not only that, but you can’t control the content of AdSense.  I love most Google products, but AdSense is not one of them!  Although AdSense tries to put up ads that relate to your blog’s content (because they are more likely to get clicks that way), you may on occasion find unrelated or less-than-pleasant ads show up on your website.  Why would you want Google to advertise things that you don’t necessarily approve of on your site?  To top it all off, it is very difficult to make a worthwhile amount of money using AdSense anyway.  You must make at least $100 before Google will let you cash out your balance, and you only make about $0.01 per click.  Unless you plan to get tons of traffic coming to your blog, I say don’t bother with AdSense.  I personally do not think it’s worth the trouble and the ugliness.  Want to read more about disadvantages of Google AdSense?  Read this post.
2. If you do decide to put ads up, get pay-per-click (PPC) ads. Although I personally still think that all ads are generally detract from your blog’s focus and appearance, if you are bent on making money with your blog at least consider get PPC ads instead of using Google AdSense.  Post a little note in your sidebar saying: “Advertise here! Click for more info.”  Only accept ads from companies you endorse.  And be tasteful – don’t put up too many.  I once read somewhere that you should have at least 100 email/RSS subscribers to your blog before you should even consider adding ads on your blog.  It’s something to think about.
3. Instead of resorting to advertising, consider setting up a PayPal donation button.  If people find your content truly worthwhile, they will be willing to donate a little money to support your time/work and defray any web-hosting expenses.  I don’t know about you, but I personally would rather occasionally be asked for a $5 PayPal donation than be constantly bombarded with ugly and distracting ads!

Ads can distract from your content and send readers away from your site.  What kind of blog do you want to have?  When a first-time reader views your blog page, will they get the impression that you are a devoted blogger and are passionate about your blogging subject or choice, or that you are in it to make money?

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Please forgive me for ending this post on such a negative note, but since this post is getting rather lengthy I must stop here.  Please stay tuned for Part 2 (which is filled with DO’s and is much more positive!), coming tomorrow!

Photo Credit: Serigne Diagne | CC 2.0

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1. 30 Theme Ideas for Music Studio Events | a list of theme ideas teachers can use for studio events or incentive programs.
2. Practicing Efficiently | A discussion about how to make practice time more efficient.
3. Free Board Game for Music Students |
4. Early Childhood Music Online Resources | a compilation of resources online about early childhood music.
5. Preparing for Student Recitals: Recording! | Discusses reasons for and ways to record your students as a teaching tool to prepare for upcoming performances.
6. 12 Tips for Memorizing Music | some ideas for effective ways to memorize your music.
7. So You Want to Start a Blog? | I share my experiences about blogging so far in this post.
8. Dealing with Performance Anxiety | a list of ideas for ways to cope with performance anxiety.
9. Teaching Music Theory: Our Responsibility | discusses why music theory is our responsibility as piano teachers and ways to incorporate theory into piano lessons.
10. Tutorial: Using Audacity Software in the Piano Studio | tips for touching up your studio recordings using the free software Audacity.
11. Dealing With Frustration | A discussion why mistakes are okay and about the importance of keeping lessons fun.
12. Developing a Good Sense of Rhythm | A post about the components to developing a good sense of rhythm in students.
13. 9 Ideas for Motivating Piano Students | a list of ideas for getting students excited about piano again!
14. Introducing Students to New Pieces | some ideas for setting up the student for success when you introduce a new piece.
15. Rallentando & Ritardando: What’s the Difference? | an attempt to make a distinction between two Italian terms for “slowing down.”
16. Go For the Sound | With music, listening is crucial!
17. Teaching Phrase: Pretend It’s Easy | Sometimes, the brain or the fingers get in the way.
18. Teaching Tip: Engaging the Emotions | a discussion about how engaging the emotions can enhance your teaching.
19. Musical Spins on Favorite Games | a list of links to other blogs where you can find musical versions of favorite board/card games.
20. Best of 2009 @ colorinmypiano.com | check out some posts back from 2009.

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I hope this post finds you all well and enjoying this blessed season with your family and friends.  I’ve been enjoying some time off from both school and blogging in order to visit and spend time with my family.  I hope you’ve missed me while I was away.  =)  Although the blogger inside me has been taking a break, I can assure you that the piano teacher inside me has not taken a break!  I have several projects underway that I can’t wait to share in the coming weeks/months.

Next month brings the beginning of my final semester of my master’s degree, which is certainly bittersweet for me.  My husband and I do not yet know what the post-graduation months will bring, but I’m sure posts about our adventures will be forthcoming eventually.

Next month also brings my master’s solo piano recital, which will likely occupy much of my time and attention.  My postings might again become sparse for a few weeks during January, so I hope you’ll forgive me!

As I contemplate the last year and look forward to the next, I can’t help but think of all of you, readers and supporters of Color In My Piano.  The past year has seen a huge increase of visiters, followers, and commenters.  This month even brought a few generous donations via paypal.  Your support keeps me inspired and motivated to continue creating and posting!  So thank you!  I truly believe that through collaborations such as this, we not only help and encourage one another as piano teachers, but we also help bring integrity to our profession and calling.

I look forward to another wonderful year with all my internet friends.

Happy New Year!

- Joy

Photo Credit: BigKidsLoveToys | CC 2.0

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Of course, for those of you who love the daily updates, thanks and please continue loving them!  =)

To subscribe to either the daily or weekly email updates, look for the subscribe buttons located on the left-hand sidebar of the Color In My Piano homepage.  If you are currently subscribed for daily updates and would like to switch to weekly updates, please unsubscribe to the daily updates via the link on the bottom of one of the daily email updates and then subscribe to the weekly updates via the form on the homepage.

You can also be a facebook fan of Color In My Piano by clicking here.

Thanks for being a follower of Color In My Piano!

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• Celebrating Two Years!
• Tips For Making Your Blog Reader-Friendly [Part 2]
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Personally, I currently use iWeb software (comes free on all Mac computers) to create and maintain my studio site.  However, Weebly sites are so attractive, I might make the switch someday!

Some great features:

• Extremely user-friendly. The drag-and-drop site builder is extremely easy to use, even for those who might not consider themselves to be very technologically savvy.
• No software is needed. That means, no buying or installing software onto your computer.  Creating and maintaining your website is done completely online.
• You can use a free ___.weebly.com domain name, or use your own domain name. Weebly is one of the few free website building sites that allow you use your own url (e.g., colorinmypiano.com) if you desire.  Just purchase one from a site such as Name.com (a year usually costs around $10).  If you don’t want to use your own domain name, for free you can just use yourname.weebly.com.
• Attractive themes. Of all the free website building sites I’ve seen, Weebly by far creates the most attractive-looking sites.  They have tons of great customizable themes to choose from.

Here are some links to some studio websites that were created using Weebly, to get you inspired:

• Le Forte Piano Studio
• Anderson Piano Studio
• Gwen’s Piano Studio
• Mountain Valley Studios

Good luck!  If you are successful in creating your own studio site using Weebly, be sure to share the link with us in the comments!

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• So you want to start a blog?
• Just Added: Lesson & Payment Record Chart
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For this reason, I’d like to introduce a new series that is coming to Color In My Piano designed to inspire and facilitate worthwhile discussions on various topics.  It’s essentially a place to “throw our heads together” and share our expertise and experiences so that we can grow and learn from each other.  Each month, a topic will be introduced in a post titled “The [current month] Forum: [topic].”  The success of this new series lies in your hands…so please, be ready to type away!   Think of it like a potluck: we each bring a dish to pass so that we can share a fabulous meal with each other.  =)

At the end of the month, I will post another post summarizing the various points of discussion brought up and perhaps adding more of my own thoughts, effectively bringing that month’s forum to a close.  (Although you may certainly feel free to continue commenting about the subject if desired.)  At the beginning of the next month, a new topic is then introduced.

Stay tuned for the introduction of the topic for the first-ever monthly forum — to take place tomorrow!

Photo credit: incase. | CC 2.0

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