Q: Don't say everything you have to say on your subject in the first few blog posts. You'll be left scratching your head wondering what more there is to say on your blog. Instead, try to think in terms of longevity: will these issues change over time? Will they be relevant in six months? Rather than saying everything in one long-winded blog post, ask yourself how you can break that idea up into many smaller (750 or fewer words) blog posts that can be posted serially for several weeks. It takes a while to gain a dedicated readership, so you don't want to run out of steam once fans finally start to take an interest in your blog. The best thing you can do for your blog is to make frequent posts. Whether you commit to a daily blog post, weekly posts, or somewhere in between, keeping your blog's feed fresh will help keep people coming back to your blog. Anyone who is interested in what you're saying will want to check back regularly to read your newest posts, which is crucial to getting your blog noticed. One thing that will keep readers coming back is if they feel like their voices are being heard. Let readers comment on your blog posts, and respond to as many as you can, both good comments and critical ones. This allows readers to feel like there's a dialogue, and readers may even suggest compelling topics they'd like to see in future blog posts. Some blog platforms allow readers to subscribe to a blog's RSS (rich site summary) feed. Readers who subscribe to your RSS feed can view your blog posts through an RSS feed reader without having to track down your blog page to check for updates and new posts. To gently remind readers to subscribe, you can use a standard line at the end of your blog posts, like "If you enjoyed what you've read, please consider subscribing to my RSS feed for all the latest news in sports." Online analysis suggests that blog posts tend to receive more web traffic when they're posted on weekdays instead of weekends. That's because many people kill time online at work, whereas weekends tend to be reserved for vacations, running errands, or spending time with family members. . If you're serious about blogging and want it to lead to a job as a writer or sports analyst, you'll want to promote your blog on social media sites. You can do this through your own personal social media account, or create an account for your blog and invite your friends to follow you on your chosen social media site. This will help your blog get attention and a broader base of readers, and can help your readers/followers keep on top of the newest blog updates. Social media also lets you interact with your readers, answer questions, and take suggestions for future blog posts. Whether you focus on promoting your blog through social media or by word of mouth, it's important to make connections. You can reach out to players, teams, or even brands and companies that you frequently blog about. They might be willing to participate in an interview, or at least re-post a social media update about a particular blog post you've written. You can also reach out to other bloggers and collaborate on future projects, or invite one another to write a guest post on each other's blog page. Building connections with other bloggers and relevant subjects can help you build a community online and get some additional web traffic for your blog.
A: Aim for longevity. Make posts often. Respond to comments. Encourage readers to subscribe. Make posts on weekdays. Use social media Make connections.

Q: Any glass bottle will do for your glass art. This includes, but isn't limited to, soda bottles, beer bottles, wine bottles, condiment bottles, perfume bottles, and so on. Before your chosen bottle is ready to melt, you need to make sure it is clean and dry. This includes any labels or even fingerprints that may be on it!  Labels that are difficult to remove can be soaked in hot, soapy water. A good soak for a few hours or overnight should make the labels easier to peel off.  You'll also have to remove any glue that remains from the label. After a soak in hot, soapy water, you can usually scrape the glue off without much ado. A tool like a putty knife, wallpaper scraper, or an unwanted credit card can help. If your bottles have labels that appear painted, like Corona or Belvedere bottles, you can melt your bottle with these still in place. However, after melting, those labels will be permanently melted to your bottle. Kilns can become dirty over time, collecting dust and bits of debris from other projects. This dirtiness can have a negative impact on your kiln's heating elements and can severely shorten the working life of your kiln. To prevent an expensive and unnecessary cost to yourself, before you use your kiln you should thoroughly clean it according to the manual's instructions. While you're cleaning you'll have a perfect chance to give your kiln a quick safety inspection. Tighten any screws that seem loose, remove any flammable material from around your kiln, and verify that all kiln equipment is in good working order. To guarantee your kiln is running as desired, you should consider giving your kiln a test run. You should always use the testing materials and procedure recommended by your manual, but generally, you can test your kiln with a 04 self-supporting Witness Cone. Place one of these on each shelf about 2 inches (5 cm) away from the kiln wall. Then you should:  Set your kiln to run the appropriate test setting, which will be a medium speed 04 ConeFire program if you are using an 04 cone. Allow the program to run for the complete time indicated. After the program has run and your kiln sufficiently cooled, take a look at your cones or testing material. If using a Witness Cone, you should notice a 20° bend or greater in the cone, with no cones hanging lower than the shelf. If you used other testing materials, check your manual to learn how to understand the results of your test. If after running the ConeFire program none of your cones have bent, this may be an indication that your heating element or a relay may have decayed. In this case, you may need to call a professional, like a kiln technician, to get your kiln back in working order. If you don't protect the surfaces your melted glass is going to come in contact with, your glass will fuse to those surfaces. An application of kiln wash or glass separator on your shelf and mold will prevent the glass from sticking to either of these. An alternative you might use in place of a kiln wash is special kiln resistant paper, like thin-fire or fiber paper. These will also prevent your glass from melting to your kiln or molds.
A:
Collect and clean your old glass bottles. Clean your kiln. Test your kiln. Prepare your mold and shelf, if necessary.