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New Bloggers Beware: 3 Traps You Need to Avoid

Publicat de Mr. Miaghy on 10:58 comentarii (0)

After more than two years of blogging, I’m happy to be still around. Most new bloggers do not survive longer then six months.
Because of their lack of experience, new bloggers make assumptions about blogging that are completely wrong. They start blogging with these assumptions and are surprised six months later when their assumptions turn out to be incorrect.
These assumptions—or traps—give the false impression that becoming a successful blogger is easy and fast.

Trap 1: All blogs are successful

As a new blogger, you eagerly learn everything you can about blogging. You Google every question that pops in your head. Clicking on one of the first few results, you land on a blog that answers your question perfectly.
You have lots of questions so you visit lots of blogs. After a while you start to notice something exciting. Every blog you visit looks good, has lots of posts, has lots of comments and has thousands of RSS subscribers and hundreds of retweets for every post. Basically every blog you visit is a success!
This trap is really difficult for most new bloggers to notice. While they’re researching blogging they get the impression that all blogs are successful blogs. But what the new blogger never sees are the thousands of unsuccessful blogs. They never see them because they’re on pages three (or later) in the search results. New bloggers only see the blogs on page one and two of Google. So after a few days of researching blogging via search engines, the new blogger forms the false impression that all blogs are successful.
It is not just the search engines that create this mirage: it’s also the blogs themselves and the blogs they link to. Successful blogs link to other successful blogs. So the new blogger is bouncing around from one blogging success to another thinking, “Wow this is great, look at all these successful blogs—blogging must be easy.”
It doesn’t take the new blogger long to notice this trap. After a few days or weeks struggling to get traffic to their blog they begin to ask, “Why did I think this was going to be easy?”

Trap 2: Success is as easy as following the yellow brick road

When Dorothy landed in Oz she had a problem: she needed to get back home. The munchkins told her that the Wizard would solve her problems. “How do I find the wizard?” she asked. “It’s easy,” they replied, “just follow the yellow brick road.”
The trap for new bloggers is that they believe in a yellow brick road—a path that leads directly to a successful blog. They think that by following a few simple steps, they can achieve success. Write compelling content, have a RSS feed, post often, reply to comments, create backlinks—do all these things, and you will succeed.
Unfortunately, it’s not that easy.
Steps can be laid out describing how to create a blog and suggestions can be made on how to improve a blog, but there is no direct path to success for any blog. There is no system to follow that will result in a successful blog. There is no yellow brick road to success.
There are a lot of products for sale that guarantee you will become a successful blogger. They promise to lay down a road to success—all you need to do it buy it and follow it.
Save your money. Dorothy did not need the yellow brick road or the Wizard to bring her back home. She discovered that she had the power to get home all along. I wasted a lot of time looking for a yellow brick road, hoping that it would lead me directly and quickly to success. Instead of looking for the easy road, my time could have been better spent creating compelling content.

Trap 3: Success comes quickly

The brick-and-mortar world is a lot slower then the Internet. A blog takes five minutes to set up. In twenty minutes, you have your first page of content lined with AdSense ads. If you are really lucky, you can make your first dollar in an hour.
Compare that with opening a fruit stand. First you have to build the structure—preferably with bricks and mortar. Then you need to purchase fruits to stock your stand. Finally you will need a cash register and a sign on the highway directing traffic to the store. It will take weeks before you can sell a single apple.
The trap that new bloggers fall into is thinking that because the Internet works fast, success will come quickly. They expect visitors and revenue to pour into the business just as fast as the blog was built. Then when it doesn’t happen that fast, disappointment sets in.
Do not fall into this trap. Just because it takes five minutes to create a blog, do not expect it to take two days to become successful. The Internet is fast, but when it comes to having a successful blog, brick-and-mortar rules apply.
Imagine spending years getting up early, opening shop, selling a couple fruits and going home. At first there are no profits, and most likely your days end in loss. But with perseverance and hard work, more and more people come to you for their fruit needs. It could take months until word gets around that you have quality fruit and good prices. This is how blogs work, too.

More traps?

Did you make any assumptions about blogging that turned out to be wrong? Tell us about them in the comments and prevent other bloggers from falling into the same trap.

How to blog like a pro

Publicat de Mr. Miaghy on 07:17 comentarii (0)

Less than a year after I started Bad Language, it’s still a surprise to me that a) it’s been as successful as it has been and b) people now ask me for advice about starting a blog. Equally, nobody told me the whole thing would be so much fun.
Anyhow, I was asked again for some tips by someone starting a blog and I thought the most appropriate response was a blog post.
So this is a list of what has worked for me. Your mileage may differ.
  1. Write often. I try (*try*) to write every week day. It doesn’t always happen because of work pressure but it is easier to maintain the discipline if it is regular. I like using Joe’s Goals to track this. Traffic seems to drop off dramatically at weekends so I don’t post then, although I sometimes run a ‘links list’ style post on Saturdays but it’s mainly things I’ve collected during the week.
  2. Keep a scratchpad. I use the notes field in an Outlook task item for each of the blogs I write to capture links, ideas, to-do items and so on. When I actually sit down to write, I’ve usually got two or three ideas to hand and a bunch of links to explore. It’s useful to have a few stub posts ready to expand or edit in case you don’t have time to write a long piece.
  3. Have a time to write. I tend to blog first thing in the morning, usually around 6am. That’s just me. (See my post on how to get up early.) I know other people who write after work or in their lunchbreak.
  4. Variety is the spice of life. I prefer to do posts of different lengths and styles. The ‘how to’ list is popular but I like to run longer, more formal articles and interviews as well as more personal observations. One of the pleasures of the blog is that I don’t have an editor who tells me what to write or how to write it. To this extent it is a playground for me.
  5. Contribute to the conversation. There are an awful lot of sheep on the Internet. With nearly 60 million blogs in existence,you really want to try and be a sheepdog. In my opinion, it’s important to say something new and something interesting to contribute that the conversation.
  6. Be yourself. Voltaire once said, “if we don’t find anything good a least will find something new.” Ideally you want to say something interesting, Just be yourself. Some of the best blogs are the ones that are unique, idiosyncratic, and highly personal. The extraordinary thing about the blogosphere is that whatever you write about, there is an audience for it.
  7. Show your face. I think it’s good to put a picture of yourself,your e-mail address, and a little bit of biographical information about yourself on your blog. Sometimes a nom-de-plume is necessary but turn your blogging alter ego into a ‘real’ person too. One of the interesting things about the lonelygirl15 story was how accepting fans were when they realised that Bree was, in fact, an actress.
  8. Get the technology right. If you’re serious about blogging, you need to have a proper website address and not one from a free blogging company. I use WordPress software. A Google search will list all kinds of companies that specialise in blog hosting. Once you get your site setup, you need things like spam filtering (I have had 15,000 comment spams since starting this site) and other add-ons. A good site design will help but there are lots of open source designs to get you started. Finally, I recommend using dedicated software to write posts rather than the blogging software’s built-in editor. In my case, I use Microsoft Live Writer.
  9. Plug into the blogosphere. The easiest way to build traffic is to comment appropriately on other people’s sites. The blogosphere is a reciprocal sort of place. Link their blogs and they might read and link to yours. Critical to all this is a good newsreader and a good selection of sites. I use NewsGator because I can access my feed list on any web browser, on my PDA and on my main work computer and they are always synchonised. Make sure your site is registered with Technorati.
  10. Linking and loving. I’ve always been impressed by people who email me nicely when I comment on their blogs. I wish I could find the time to do it – I try. Surprisingly, the blogs that I am ‘closest’ to in terms of mutual sympathy and mutual linking are also the ones who are, on the face of it, my ‘competitors.’ They write about the same stuff I write about. Actually, though there’s no real competition and finding your online community is a good way to start building a reader base.
  11. Traffic is important but regular readers rule. Occasionally, you’ll produce a post that goes ballistic. I’ve had 20,000 visitors a day on occasion. DiggStumbleuponRedditSlashdotDel.icio.us and all the others pick it up and you’re away. Only a fraction of those people stay and subscribe. It’s very exciting when it happens but what matters is the number of people who keep coming back, who comment, who link to your site and who enjoy what you write. Write for yourself first, then write for them. The harder I try to get a traffic monster, the more elusive it becomes so I sort of forget about trying and they keep happening.
  12. Don’t forget search. Google is my number one source of incoming visitors. Remember to register your site with all the usual search engines. I use Google Analytics and Google Sitemaps to monitor what they are searching for and tweak headlines and content a little to make sure I’m delivering content that searchers want. Advice on interviews is very popular.
  13. Use pictures. Pictures, cartoons and illustrations are essential. Just imagine reading your favourite magazine if there were no pictures. Yuck! A good picture illustrates the point you are making and draws in readers. I like iStockPhoto which is a cheap source of good quality images but they can be a bit corporate.
  14. Write for the screen. Be conscious of how people read on computer screens. Check out Useit.com and in particular, how users read on the web. Also check out my posts about how to write for a blog and how toWrite strong headlines. Headlines are important because most people read blogs using RSS readers and use headlines to decide whether to read the whole post. (My favourite: man bites robotic dog and Darren Strange’s Bill Gates runs like a girl).
  15. Give people different ways to read: Make the online visit easy to read – don’t go for crazy colours or unreadable fonts. Many bloggers overlook email but FeedBlitz makes it easy for non-RSS subscribers to get Bad Language in their inbox [Update 21 March 2010: I now use Google'sFeedburner]. Make sure you have a visible, easy to spot RSS subscription button. However, I would avoid the icon clutter that some blogs display when they try to accommodate every single blog reader and every single news aggregator. It’s your site, not a billboard for other people’s.
  16. Schedule blog upgrade days. Maintaining a blog is not just about writing content. I try to dedicate a day every two to three months to upgrading the site itself. This means recategorising posts, checking for broken links, implementing new features and other engineering stuff. I know just about enough HTML and coding to tinker with a site’s template but not enough to build a new template. However, there are plenty of people who can help with this stuff and one way to stand out from the crowd is to have a unique site design as well as unique content. For more information about my blog is built, see Slugs and snails and puppy dog’s tails.
  17. Monitor your stats. Anyone who is a true blogger will be addicted to their stats. But what is interesting is how I have changed the way I use them over time. Initially, I was obsessed by the raw visitor numbers. While these are still important, I am much more interested now in what brings people to the site, what posts they liked, whether they revisit and how often, what they search for and so on. I’m trying to use the stats to help me build a better site for my readers, not to gratify my own ego (well a little bit of that too.)
  18. Market your blog. Occasionally people ask me to contribute to their sites, perhaps with by-lined articles or interviews. For example, I write a free monthly column on Visual Thesaurus. This brings in a nice stream of new visitors who are interested in writing. I also make an effort to comment on sites and posts that are relevant to my readers and my areas of interest. This is probably the main form of blog marketing. It takes time but it pays long-term dividends. I still get new visitors from comments I wrote six months ago. However, the comments have to be appropriate, useful and link to a relevant page on my site. Comment spamming is naughty. Then there is the old fashioned kind of marketing. I like to my blog from my personal site, from my email sig, from presentation decks, in fact I mention it pretty much any time I can.

How To Write A Successful Blog: Top Ten Tips

Publicat de Mr. Miaghy on 08:02 comentarii (0)

If you are just starting your blog and would like to have some basic advice on which key rules to follow to be effective, there is a lot of advice to follow.
blogging.jpg
Photo credit: Matthew Bowden
You should be aware that there is no "standard" blog approach and that what really counts is how effective you are at communicating to your selected audiences the messages or news you want to get across. From personal diary to magazine-style there are a lot of approaches that can be effectively used to make blog-software become a powerful PR, marketing, or online publishing tool.
Though, there are no hard and fast rules on how to blog, I can safely say that Sharon Housley (ironically a non-blogger by choice) ten-point advice on what to pay attention to when blogging online is a good and well-updated summary of some of the most important things to pay attention to.
Though Sharon is not an active blogger herself, she spends most of her time studying and experimenting with the latest and most effective online publishing tools in order to make the promotion and marketing of her own products and services more effective. In this respect Sharon's advice is even more valuable as it comes from an external researcher seriously dedicated to identify what works from what does not.


1) Stay on topic
Opinions are generally accepted but the content of the items in the blog should all relate to a general theme. Unless you have an uncanny knack for wit, humor or cynicism, the majority of your readers will be interested in the content that relates to a specific defined theme or loosely defined area of interest. Most readers won't care that you eat Cheerios for breakfast. They may, however, be interested in the fact that vinegar takes out stains and that toilet paper rolls make great wreaths. Define a topic and stick to it. This will ensure that you create a loyal following of interested readers.


2) Be informative
If you are attempting to create the impression that you are knowledgeable about a specific industry or sector, be sure that you stay current on news. If you are endorsing a product or voicing an opinion, be sure to check your facts; your reputation is at stake. If you are offering an opinion, be sure to qualify your post, making it clear that the content is intended as an editorial.


3) Old news is not news
While blogging every day can be a drain, it is important that the information presented is current and accurate, writing an article or blurb about something that happened 6 months ago, will not be of interest to many. Telling your audience that Martha Stewart was convicted and will be going to prison, after her sentence is completed will make people question the value of your columns.


4) Adhere to a schedule
Create a schedule and stick to it. Realizing that blogging requires time and effort, don't create unrealistic expectations and be unable to deliver. An occasional lapse or holiday is generally understood but readers returning to find stale, out-dated content are going to find another blog with similar content. New blogs and RSS feeds are popping up on a daily basis. If you have worked hard to develop an audience and a community you don't want to lose them due to lack of communication.


5) Clarity and simplicity
Keep your posts and blog entries clear and easy to understand. Remember, the web is global and expressions, idioms and acronyms don't always translate. Sometimes a little explanation goes a long way.


6) Keyword-rich
If the goal of your blog is to increase your visibility, include related keywords in the title of the blog. Use the title as a headline to attract interest. Each item post should have a title that will attract attention but still be relevant to the post. The title should be no longer than 10-12 words.


7) Quantity matters
In order to attract the attention of search engines, you will need to develop content and substance. A headline or simple sentence is not going to generate the interest of readers or help with search engine ranking. Be sure to archive old blog posts to develop a large portal of similarly-themed content.


8) Frequency
If your blog content is updated frequently, search engines will tend to spider the pages at regular intervals.


9) Spell checking and proof-reading
It only takes a few extra moments and can save you from having to make embarrassing explanations. Remember that whatever you publish on the Internet can be found and archived. Think carefully about what you post before doing so.


10) RSS
RSS will increase your blog's reach. It is important that you include your blog's content in an RSS feed to increase readership and distribution.
Most weblog audiences are small, but with time and regular updates audiences grow. Bloggers may never have more than a few hundred readers, but the people who return to regularly are generally interested in what you have to say.


How To Blog Effectively In 2011

Publicat de Mr. Miaghy on 05:16 comentarii (0)

How to blog effectively? Honestly, I’m not really in the mood to answer this question today. You see, I’m in dilemma. Something ‘interesting’ is about to happen and my mind can’t just snap out of it. Happy? Not really. Sad…definitely. Anyway, being your host in this blogging journey, I have a responsibility. To keep you reminded of the tenacity that is needed in building an effective blog, I made a point to myself to at least post an article once a week. These ‘lessons’ may not mean much to most of you but, I have to remind you about the marathon part and by being here with you at least once a week means that I’m still in the match.
effective blogging
Alrite, to be able to blog effectively, you need to do the following…
1. Set your blogging vision. Nobody knows this better than you. What do you hope to bring out from your blog? For instance, do you want your blogging to introduce your service globally, or do you want to directly make money blogging. If it’s about your service, for example, your law practice, what kinda customers do you target and where? Realize this…you can’t just target every Tom in the world! Maybe you just want to extend your reach to a certain part of the US…Los Angeles perhaps, Miami, etc. You could actually kill two birds with one stone…use your blog to reach your geo-audience and make money from it,even by putting Adsense. In this case, you would still have some earnings when your practice is still new. Remember, your blog is working 24 hours for you.
On the other hand, if you your main objective is to make money blogging, then determine a profitable niche. However, I have to remind you; blogging for money is just a small part of the domain of home-based online business and it is by no means the most lucrative. There are other online business that might bring in the dough faster. If you are interested, you could try thisalternative whereby you will earn without having to wait too long.
2. Identify keywords. Do yourself a favor. Take 2 days to brainstorm on keywords to use for your blog. How about “LA lawyer”, “Los Angeles law practice” etc. Check the stats in Google Adwords Keyword Tool and determine at least 5 keywords that best describe your business.
3. Shop for a good domain name. Let me tell you something. Many lawyers would aim for their firms’ name…”Lee and Associates”, “Keever and Partners”…
Let’s put all these in proper perspective. An online presence is different from a brick and mortar setup. You can set up your firm in the center of Los Angeles and with the proper advertisement, potential clients will find their way to your doorstep.
However, the way you position your blog or website has to be different. The location in our world is synonymous with Search Engines in the net; prime location is equivalent to being in the first page of Google, Yahoo and Bing; real world advertising is synonymous to SEO, SEM, Social Media Marketing, Pay Per Click advertising, press release online. In summary, if you can get hold of LALawfirm.com, you will save yourself at minimum 3 years of hardwork paying an SEO firm to get your site found on the first page of Google for the keyword “LA Lawfirm”. The domain name may set you back by 10 grand today, but you will achieve near immediate exposure when people hit LA lawfirm in Google’s search box.
Therefore, put on your thinking cap as an online businessman when someone offers to sell you a domain like LALawyer.org, LALaw.net, LALawPractice.com, AttorneyInLA.net. He may be just be your Guardian Angel in disguise ;)
4. Contents. Laser-focused contents with the right keywords. Get your partners to chip in an article once per week no matter how busy they all are. Put this in as the KPI (Key Performance Index).
5. Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Success is no guarantee even if you managed to get a killer category domain name. Candy.com was recently dislodged from the no.1 spot of Google by CandyWarehouse.com in certain locations. Work hard in building backlinks. Listen here, there are 3 SEO Tricks that must be done:
a. Keyword domain-name. Get a .com, .org or .net if possible if you are targetting the global audience. Recently, the .co is not bad too. If it’s just about Los Angeles, and if you can’t get the three tlds I mentioned, get the .us like LALaw.us. Try not to use .info and .biz though.
b. Topic focused contents.
c. Backlinks. You can do directories submission and also articles submission. If you have little time to do all these tedious work, you can opt for this to help you. Use your time for better use instead like writing unique contents and interacting with your readers.
6. Avoid linkfarms. There are firms online that offer ferocious link-buildings. Avoid them like a plague for God’s sake. I know of a fellow blogger who used to have a blog ranked highly in Googles with a few keywords about phones. His income…USD 4000 per month just from Google Adsense alone. Lately, Google did two things to punish his aggressive link-building pursuit. He lost the page-rank some 5 months ago, from PR 4 to PR 0. Then, the real nightmare came about a month ago. His blog got demoted from no. 2 for two powerful keywords to no. 50 to 60. Talking about an online limbo!!
Therefore, blog wisely. Know thyself and build on your knowledge for a profitable bloggingexperience.

Control Your WordPress Site’s Background

Publicat de Mr. Miaghy on 06:11 comentarii (0)


Background control WordPress plugin useful to control your WordPress site’s background. Users can control the blog’s background colour/image, position, attachment and repeat properties. The plugin changes background colour/image of the tag. The plugin comes with a built-in image uploading script. So your background images live inside the plugin and you don’t have to use WordPress “media handler”.
Features:
  • Image uploading.
  • URL/link background image.
  • Full CSS-control (repeat, fixed, positioning).
  • Colour validation of hex-colour values set to background-colour.
  • Archive with unlimited images.
Installation:
  1. Download and activate plugin as usual.
download1   Control Your WordPress Sites BackgroundOR
  1. Upload background-control to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory
  2. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
  3. If prompted – chmod the image directory inside background-control to allow file uploads.
Screen  Shot:

Background Control   Control Your WordPress Sites Background
Screenshot from the settings panel of Background Control.

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