Here are some of my favorite articles and resources on blog marketing from around the Web, to help you promote your new or established blogs:
How to Market Your Blog in 2007 - ProBlogger.net
Blog Marketing Strategies (and how to Measure Them) - Clickz.com
55 Social Bookmarking Sites to Promote Your Blog Articles - WeblogHits.com
25 Tips for Marketing Your Blog - TopRankBlog.com
It’s been a little while now since paid blog posts have emerged as a somewhat popular income stream for bloggers. Paid posts really aren’t anything new though… they’re just the blog version of the print advertorial in a sense. If you offer paid blog posts of any kind on your blogs, do you prefer to work through a service like ReviewMe or Pay Per Post, or do you prefer to sell posts independently (leaving all ethical debate aside for right now)? (more…)
A while back, I asked members of a webmaster community to list some of their favorite blogs on blogging, to be posted to my own [former] blog on blogging - BlogGig.com (whose content is now included on Jentrepreneur.com). Below is the list of blogs they came up with. Are there any decent blogs on blogging that you think are missing from this list?
Post your favorite blogs on blogging in the comments here, and I’ll check it out and add it to this list, and the BlogGig.com blogroll.
This is a repost of a recent comment I left on a webmaster forum regarding Google’s “distaste” for paid links.
This whole thing has really gotten ridiculous. Here’s reality:
1. Google created a new advertising market by factoring links into Pagerank.
2. Google convinced webmasters the world over that Pagerank actually means something. Advertiser demand was born.
3. Publishers respond naturally to advertiser demand. People are making a lot of money with this new market; Google not included.
4. Advertisers are also getting a lot of value with this market, which takes away at least some interest in other advertising models (Adwords anyone?).
It’s easy for Google to try to pretend that they’re just being altruistic in wanting cleaner search results. But if that were the case, they’d really have to scrap pagerank almost completely or at least stop factoring it into search results and let it just remain the little marketing tool that it’s always been for them.
Does Google have the right to work inclusion in their search engine any way they please? Sure they do. Does Google have the right to decide to devalue paid links? Sure they do.
But if Google wants to operate under a certain kind of business model, it’s their responsibility to make it work; not the webmasters’. We have no responsibility to add no follow to our paid links. We have no responsibility to report paid links. Frankly, the only people who are going to have the time to go around doing all of that anyway are the ones with too much time on their hands because they’re not out there earning money (that and the competitor saboteurs as someone else mentioned earlier). I’m all for cleaner search results. But why should any of us spend time that would otherwise earn us money cleaning up the mess of Google, because they didn’t think things through before jumping into their current model?
It’s up to Google how they choose to run their search engine. And it’s up to each webmaster how they choose to run (and monetize) their website. I say, if we’re going to do all of these favors for Google, what are they going to do for us? When Google starts making algorithm changes in your favor as per your personal request, you should certainly return the favor and change your own business model to suit their needs in return. Until then, it’s wishful thinking.
You have to choose what kind of business you run with your websites. It’s up to you whether you choose to be “choosey” in the links you’ll link to, or whether you’ll post a link from any Joe Schmo willing to pay you. My personal stance on this one is simple: only post links that would be of some actual value to your readers, and then it’s nobody’s damn business how you’re monetizing them. Your readers are the ones you need to be transparent with, and if you are, you’ll keep the trust and help ensure that you’ll always have other monetization models to fall back on if you need to. If you plan to run even remotely successful sites, you’d better have better things to be doing with your time than playing “clean up” for Google.
If you want to be successful in blogging (just as if you want to be successful in any type of business venture), you need to have some kind of professional edge. What’s yours?
I’d say there are three components / skills that can make a good blog:
1. Design / Functionality
2. Writing / Content
3. Marketing / Promotion
I’m no designer, and I’m just a beginner when it comes to coding. I know enough to manipulate templates when I want to, but I’ve only created on CSS design from scratch, and couldn’t code a Wordpress theme from scratch to save my life.
Luckily, I have the other two areas of successful blogging covered, and that’s my “edge” as a blogger. I’m a professional business writer (most of my blogs are at least somewhat business-oriented). I also have my degree in Public Relations on top of studying other areas of business (namely marketing). I also run a small PR firm, specializing in online PR, so the promotion side of things is a piece of cake for me compared to many bloggers.
We’re at a point marketing-wise where nearly all bloggers seem to follow the same basic steps, and very few are doing anything unique to really draw attention to themselves. I consider the content and marketing sides to be the most important, especially with blogging for a few reasons:
1. You can get great free blog themes now, and inexpensive professional themes.
2. You can’t fake basic writing ability. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it has to reflect a personality. And if you’re getting the writing from someone else, you’re really not a “blogger” at all anyway.
3. You can always hire someone to do your marketing for you, but most don’t understand the variety of tactics really available between marketing, PR, and advertising. By having an in-depth knowledge of those fields yourself, and not just the basic Internet marketing tactics everyone yaps about, you’re able to promote your blog anytime and in any way that you want to. I also believe control over your marketing message is pretty important. With a lot of Internet marketing pros out there not even having a real background or expertise in marketing, it’s tougher to find one who understands the fundamentals like the basic marketing message. Remember, blog marketing is about a LOT more than just traffic and links. It’s about quality traffic, branding and reputation, and more.
So… what’s your blogging edge?
Some bloggers shy away from controversy, while others fully embrace it. I tend to be one to embrace controversy, because I believe in blunt honesty and speaking my mind. Some people find that being vocal about their opinions on their blog can be difficult for them. Here are a few reasons some bloggers may choose to take the “safe route”:
1. They’re afraid that their readers won’t come back if they don’t like a more controversial blog post.
2. They’re afraid of nasty comments and flames being left on their blog.
3. They don’t want to be the center of attention if their controversial blog post ignites a viral debate.
4. They’re afraid of alienating fellow bloggers that they’ve built a network with.
5. They’re afraid of the potential of losing advertisers (especially if they monetize their blog with private ad sales).
I won’t say that those concerns aren’t legitimate. But if you want to be successful in blogging (just as if you want to be successful in any other kind of business), you have to be willing to take risks if you want to reap the greatest rewards. Controversial posts aren’t a bad thing, as long as you handle them as objectively as possible and as professionally as possible (and that doesn’t mean you have to be “nice). Here are some of the benefits of writing controversial blog posts:
1. They can bring in a lot of traffic, including repeat traffic from new readers who share your opinions or like your style.
2. Controversial blog posts often work well as pieces of link bait. They have a natural viral quality about them… if people hate what you say, they’ll link to you when they bitch about you on their own blog; if they love what you say, they’ll link to you to show support against all the naysayers.
3. They give you an idea of which other bloggers in your niche or industry share your concerns, opinions, and values, and can serve as a springboard into a networking opportunity with like-minded folks. They also give you an idea of people with different values and opinions, letting you know who to talk to for a constructive argument to hear opposing points.
4. Even if people get utterly pissed off with what you have to say in a controversial blog post, as long as you’re careful from a legal standpoint, the animosity will usually blow over.
5. Controversial blog posts help you to build a reputation as an expert in the niche, if you can write both controversially and intelligently. They can even lead to job offers from clients who enjoy your style.
One of the first (and often most difficult) aspects of launching a new blog or content site is choosing the perfect niche. Here are some steps you can take to help you find a niche that you’ll stay interested in writing about, and that will also have income potential: (more…)
I use a lot of various Wordpress plugins on my dozen or so blogs. Yet there are only a few that I really consider “must have” plugins, which I use on pretty much every blog I run. Here are my “must have” Wordpress plugins:
1. WWW-Redirect - I originally used this plugin to direct the non-WWW versions of my blogs to the WWW version, but it caused problems in most cases with comments and a form plugin I was using (not to mention login problems). So for a while, I disabled it. Later, I reset the plugin, but pointing everything instead to my non-WWW versions, and it worked like a charm. It’s now on my “must-have” list for each of my blogs.
2. Simple Tags - Sure, you can use a more complicated tagging plugin, but frankly I prefer this option. It’s as easy as adding a list of keywords to the end of a post to get my Technorati tags, which is really all I care about. It’s installed on all of my blogs, although I don’t use it for all of them very actively.
3. Add Meta Tags - This was my first “must have” Wordpress plugin for my blogs. Not only can you add custom meta tags for the home page, but also for your category pages and posts. For some of my blogs, I let the plugin use its default system for choosing custom tags for posts, and on other blogs I write my meta description and keywords for each post or article.
In today’s episode of my Chick Tech Talk BlogTalkRadio show in my interview with Tammy Powley (Executive Editor of Creative-Weblogging.com), we talked about what makes a blogger a professional blogger? Here are some of the considerations:
1. How much time the blogger spends blogging.
2. How many readers the blogger has.
3. How much money the blogger makes.
Tammy and I both had a similar thought on the issue… that whether or not a blogger is a “professional” has a lot to do with simply how seriously they take their blogging, whether they have a huge readership or income or not.
What are your thoughts? When would you classify yourself as a “professional blogger?”
My last segment of my Chick Tech Talk BlogTalkRadio show was on writing and marketing e-books. As an extension on that topic, I’ve decided to post a brief outline of my own personal e-book writing process that I used when writing Press Releases Made Easy. Now, my process won’t work for everyone, but if you’re just starting out and looking at an example of how it can be done, hopefully this e-book writing outline will help. Here’s my step-by-step process for writing an e-book: (more…)
On my most recent segment of Chick Tech Talk, on Writing and Marketing E-books, Dee Power and I were discussing a form of self-publishing. While our main focus was e-books, Dee also touched on quite a few excellent points and suggestions regarding print self-publishing. Looking back, I was thinking that self-publishing as a whole is something often neglected by online entrepreneurs. Here’s why you shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss it: (more…)
If you’ve missed them, I recently posted two collections of sample blog headline templates at 11 Easy to Use Blog Headline Templates and 7 More Easy to Use Blog Headline Templates. I’ve put together a larger list, so here they are; blog headline templates in no particular order: (more…)
Not long ago, I posted a collection of 11 easy to use blog headline templates here at ChickTech. I covered how-to posts, confrontational / attack posts, and self-help posts. Here are some more simple blog headline templates that you can use and adjust for your needs to help you come up with catchier blog post headlines: (more…)
The headline of a blog post is often the most important part of that blog post for a few reasons:
1. A catchy headline can entice people to click and read.
2. A good blog headline can incite discussion.
3. A clever blog headline is essential to using blog posts as linkbait; attracting natural links to your blog posts.
Yet many bloggers struggle to write compelling blog headlines. In an effort to simplify the process, I’ve put together a list of 11 easy to use blog headline templates (as well as showing them used in a few samples). Feel free to use them and alter them when crafting your own blog post headlines. (more…)
Do you find that your blogging time isn’t always well spent? Do you have a bunch of muddled blog post ideas in your head, to the point that you never seem to get around to writing them? Do you just feel incredibly unorganized? Organization is a huge aspect of running a successful business. And if you’re trying to earn an income through your blog(s), then the same holds true for you. FreelanceSwitch.com recently posted a great article on Organizing Tips for Bloggers. Give it a read if you’re interested in learning how to become a more productive blogger.
I recently posted about some of my favorite non-blog / magazine style Wordpress themes. I’ve since come across three more that absolutely blew me away, all from Solostream.com. In addition to giving them a look, here are a few articles that will help you in developing your own Wordpress themes, as well as teaching you how Wordpress can effectively be used to manage an online magazine: (more…)
Sometimes you just don’t want your blog to look like, well, a blog. Frankly, the same old basic blog formats can get boring. At the same time, blog platforms (most notably Wordpress) are amazing in that they can be used to manage a variety of types of sites beyond typical blogs. One example would be using Wordpress to run an online magazine (for an awesome example, check out XXLmag.com). But not everyone has the ability to create an online magazine theme from scratch. Luckily there are a few (and hopefully many more to come) magazine style (or non-blog style) Wordpress themes available. Here are some of the best non-blog Wordpress themes currently available: (more…)
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