Derek Semmler dot com - money, motorcycles and cars (with a little bit of everything else)

When starting a new blog, one of the first decisions that you will have to make is how much content your blog should have before it is live for the world (theoretically) to see.

Some people will tell you that it is best to have 10-20 posts published on the first official day of your blog; others will tell you that there is nothing wrong with simply starting with post one on day one.

My preference is for the latter, as I have started all of my blogs by publishing the very first post on the very first day and never looking back.

Now, I do believe there is a distinction to be made between the act of starting your blog and promoting your blog. It is not recommended that you begin the promotion of your blog until you have established a handful of quality, often referred to as pillar content, posts. However, that does not mean you should hide your blog until that pillar content is ready.

Lets face it, in the beginning there will not exactly be a rush of traffic to your new blog whether you have one post or thirty posts. Often times there is a desire to not have your blog “live” until everything is perfect. That is an easy way to drive yourself mad and end up delaying the launch of your blog much longer than necessary.

In my opinion, your blog should be treated as a living creature that you will build and nurture over time. Now that does not mean your first few posts should not be quality posts, as you do not want to discourage any readers that may stumble across your blog. However, being live from day one allows you the opportunity to bond with your very first readers.

That is something that I have had the opportunity to do, as there are a handful of people that commented on the first few posts at this blog that are still regular visitors. As a matter of fact, I have had a chance to develop a relationship with these people far beyond simply being an anonymous reader and that is what makes all of this worth the effort.

As a reminder, I would urge you to develop more content before you begin any true promotion of your blog. Before you begin to promote your new blog, work through these 10 techniques to find blog readers and you will maximize the effectiveness of your promotion.

But don’t be afraid to open the doors with your very first post, you never know what will happen.

What do you think?

Should you not publish your site until you have a predetermined number of posts published? Or should you start your blog with the very first post?

After missing a few editions of Speedlinking due to my Disney vacation and then sharing my October recap last week, I am happy to get back into the swing of things with this edition of Speedlinking.

This week the focus will be on family as we explore the blogosphere. From celebrations to tragedy, childhood values to child-appropriate videos; there is a little bit of everything - much like the makeup of every family out there.

1. Damien Riley from Postcards from the Funny Farm is a long-time blogging friend and someone I am grateful to know. Damien and his wife, Sarah, recently celebrated their 6th wedding anniversary. As someone that recently celebrated my 9th wedding anniversary, let me say congratulations to you both!

2. Shana Albert shared a post over at Search Engine People that explores the idea that her mom planted the seeds for her to succeed at social media. It seems so simple yet not everyone seems to understand; follow the values you were taught as a child - honesty, respect, kindness, etc. - and social media success will not be far behind.

3. Lizzie from Rippin-Kitten has been experiencing a rough sequence of events, possibly the worst week ever as she lost a member of her family in a motorcycle accident. As a fellow member of the motorcycle community, I feel for Lizzie during this difficult time. Lizzie, you and your family are in my thoughts.

4. When I mentioned my participation with Movember, I had been hoping a few of the guys would join the movement. Little did I know that two ladies would be the first to join the Mo family. Sara from Suburban Oblivion, who I met at SOBCon, shows that even the ladies can rock the ’stache - and she has the pictures to prove it. Andrea from According to Andrea, who many of you already know, stepped up and joined the effort as a Mo Sista. Thanks to both Sara and Andrea!

5. As a father to two boys that have learned that YouTube has an endless supply of videos that they find interesting, I was certainly interested in the mention of Totlol by Erick Schonfeld over at TechCrunch. Totlol is a collection of thousands of child-appropriate videos from YouTube, chosen by parents, that also provides members with extensive parental controls.

The year 2007 was the year of the meme in the blogging world, or at least it certainly seemed like it as they were being passed around quite often. There was the 8 things I know as well as the 8 oddities about Derek Semmler. One that I particularly enjoyed was the six word memoir.

Well, it seems that Michael Kwan has tagged me with another meme and I have decided to participate. The nice thing about this meme is it will hopefully give you a little additional insight into the person behind the blog.

5 Things I Was Doing 10 Years Ago

1. Celebrating the birth of my first son
2. Contemplating the idea of marriage
3. Changing jobs - the client I was at lured me away from consulting
4. Paying off consumer debt
5. Vacationing at Disney World (with my then pregnant girlfriend)

5 Things on My To-Do List Today

1. Smile at least five times
2. Update my month-end financial statements
3. Enroll in health care plan through my employer
4. Write at least one blog post
5. Phone call with a recruiter

5 Snacks I Like

1. Beef jerky
2. Cheese stick
3. Handful of almonds
4. Cold orange out of the refrigerator
5. Cheese stick (hey - it is one of my obsessions)

5 Things I Would Do If I Was A Millionaire

1. Pay off my mortgage
2. Setup a non-profit to help educate people on debt elimination and debt management
3. Purchase a vacation home in the mountains
4. Have a motorcycle custom built just for me
5. Continue blogging - yes, I love it that much

5 Places I Have Lived (for various lengths of time)

1. House in Oswego (current residence)
2. Apartment in Downers Grove
3. Apartment #1 in Bloomington (while in college)
4. Apartment #2 in Bloomington (while in college)
5. House in Naperville (parent’s house)

5 Jobs I Have Had

1. Sr. Software Engineer
2. Worked in a cigar shop (smoked my entire shift each night)
3. Assembled and delivered furniture
4. Lawn maintenance in a cemetery
5. Store Greeter at Venture

5 People I Tag

1. Dave from DavePit.com
2. Danielle from MsDanielle.com
3. Nick from romandock dot com
4. Andrea from According to Andrea
5. Charlie from Nobody asked me, but…

About this time last year, I had stumbled upon a treasure of photos on StumbleUpon and shared a few with all of you.

Fast forward to Tuesday night when I took a look at a friend’s political blog, Pivot Politics and noticed a link to a site called The Big Picture.

Little did I know at the time, but I was about to lose over an hour of time as I clicked through picture after picture each more stunning than the next. This site presents relevant news items, such as the recent Presidential election, in photographs with corresponding captions.

Take a look at a few of these samples and then head over to check out the site for yourself. Let me know which pictures catch your attention.

Photo from REUTERS/Jason Reed

Photo from AP Photo/Rob Griffith

Photo from JOERG KOCH/AFP/Getty Images

Photo from MANFRED DELPHO/AFP/Getty Images

Photo from BARBARA SAX/AFP/Getty Images

Over at The Man Page, I announced that I am participating in Movember and will be rockin’ the Mo!

Haven’t heard of Movember?

Movember (the month formerly known as November) is a moustache growing charity event held during November each year that raises funds and awareness for men’s health issues. That’s right - grow and groom a ’stache so you can mention the cause when people question why you have stepped back into the 80’s.

I’ve committed to growing the Mo and I have to say that my wife is not all that happy given that she despises facial hair, although she is supportive given that this is for a good cause. At this point, I am undecided on the style of Mo and am simply letting it all go until I close in on the right look.

Do you want to help?

As a Mo Bro, my responsibility is to help raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer - which currently affects one in six American men and claims the lives of more than 28,000 men annually. This post is serving as part of the awareness and I would also like to take a moment to ask for your financial support (any amount would be helpful, even $1.00).

To donate to my Mo and the Prostate Cancer Foundation you can either:

• Donate online using your credit card or PayPal account, or
• Write a check payable to the ‘Prostate Cancer Foundation’, referencing my Registration Number 1890151 and mailing it to:
  

  Prostate Cancer Foundation
  Attn: Movember
  1250 Fourth St
  Santa Monica, CA, 90401

All donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Strapped for cash?

With the current economy, I completely understand that not everyone will be able to donate but that doesn’t mean that you cannot be involved.

You can join me as a fellow Mo Bro or Mo Sista, as I have created a Mo Team named The Man Page Mo Brigade that you can join. For the guys, that means you too would be tasked with growing a Mo and trying to raise funds for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Ladies, you’re exempt from growing the Mo but can still help spread the word and raise funds.

To join my Movember team, register online and follow the steps provided. You will need these details to complete your online registration:

• Captain’s Registration Number: 1890151
• Captain’s Email Address: me[@]dereksemmler.com

As I mentioned over at TMP, there will be a nice giveaway in the coming weeks as I have been communicating with a representative to land some nice prizes courtesy of Canadian Club whisky!

To sweeten the pot a little for readers of this blog, make a donation and I will display a 125×125 banner to advertise your site for the month of December. Simply leave me a comment here indicating that you made a donation and then send me your banner ad to be displayed.

Please take a moment to make a small donation, join my team, and help spread the word to your family and friends.

Thanks for your support!

Oh yeah, please feel free to share the style of Mo that you think I should rock!