Category Archives: Blogging

Blogging, Sharisax Is Out There

WordPress 3.0 Features “Featured” at Meetup

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Meetups are popular social gatherings usually organized around a particular business topic or hobby or other special interest. There’s a meetup.com site where you can learn if there are any events in your area. [Eight ways to maximize your meetup experience.]

As a WordPress Blogger and student of technology, I’m a fan and regular visitor to the monthly WordPress meetups in Oakland, CA — organized by WordPress Fangirl Sallie Goetsch.

Recent group topics have included these discussions:
April: Theme development from the coding end
March: Creating beautiful WordPress themes
February: Learning about WordPress
January: WordPress 2.9 feature tour

May Meetup: Top New features in WordPress 3.0

More than two dozen WordPress Fans gathered together to learn what new opportunities they’d be able to benefit from when the WordPress 3.0 blogging platform is finally ready. Here are some of the cool new highlights:

1) The new welcome screen has been overhauled for better security and usability.

2) The default “Kubrick” theme with the blue rectangular top banner has been retired, and the new default theme “Twenty Ten” has built-in support for header customization and background alterations. [The intention is to have a new default theme introduced every year.]

3) A new feature called “Shortlink” will generate branded short links for sharing URLs in social media.

4) A New Navigation Menu will make it easier to add outgoing links, categories and pages in one single menu.

5) System improvements will make custom content types easier, and web developers will be able to build powerful websites with less effort.

6) With a multi-site feature, users will be able to create a number of websites using only one installation of WordPress.

Commentators have agreed that these changes are putting WordPress out there as a fully-featured publishing platform.

Two full articles on the new WP features:

Official WordPress Codes

Ultimate Guide to New WP Features

Take-aways from some of the meetup participants

“I learned you can combine WP and Joomla on the same site — but I didn’t want to try. The main thing I get out of organizing the meetup is that it makes me keep up with new developments because I have to demonstrate.” –Sallie Goetsch, Ghostwriter, Linguistic Alchemist, Podcast Consultant.

“The new WP 3.0 Menu adds navigation possibilities to WP that make it more flexible, and it was fun to meet so many great people.” –Judith James, Judith James Editing & Design

“Lots of great marketing and business experience at the Meetup.” –Graham Bird, Startup Starter, Mystressproofing

“I learned about the Page Mash plugin and thoroughly enjoyed the look into WP 3.0. Next week will be easier as a consequence.” –Anca Mosoiu, TechLiminal: Tech Hot Spot

“I’m working up the courage to do something :-)” — Tom Abate, San Francisco Chronicle: Business reporter

“At WordCamp SF, Richard Stallman, inventor of GNU operating system, spoke about Open Source. I went home and installed Linux on my computer.” –Anet Dunne, aNetGain: Business Websites

“I can’t wait to set up my clients as ‘Editor’ Users so they can easily go into their sites to write or edit pages and posts without the clutter of other admin options.” –Karen Clark, My Business Presence: Social Media trainer & consultant

June 20, 2010 Meetup Security Protection for your WordPress blog: Check it out and join us.

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Blogging, Sharisax Is Out There

How To Do Social Media By The Book

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One year ago today, I wrote my first blog post: Follow me along Social Media Revolutionary Road . . . and what a ride it’s been — life altering, for certain.

The lessons keep on coming, especially on how to do this blogging gig. While there is NO one right way to blog — or become an “A-List Blogger — there are some Best Practices that win friends and influence people.

SHARISAX IS OUT THERE will evolve and apply some new strategies in this second year, but four months ago I followed some “best practices” and began a second blog using a very consistent design with fewer categories and a list format.

Check it out:

This Social Media Revolution is changing our lives and our selves: As fast as we are figuring out what to do next, we hear about yet another site, another tool, or another app.

Early Adopting Tech Geeks love this stuff.

But what about the rest of us . . . especially those who may still think “blogging” is a silly word, Twitter is stupid, and Facebook is a waste of time.

How to start doing “it”

Ralph Waldo Emerson, 19th century American philosopher and essayist, said that

“We are all looking for someone to tell us what to do.”

That’s one of the reasons why people write books, why bookstores and libraries are great places to hang out, and why book lovers like me scour the shelves for the newest, greatest information.

Find Top Tips in these Articles: The purpose of this blog is to share some of the best advice I’m reading from the most current books on social media and internet marketing — many of these books you will want to read cover to cover.

Categories click on choice below:

Ethics

Journalism

Marketing

Public Relations

Social Media Strategy

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Blogging, Guest Post

Social Media Helps Students & Teachers Learn from One Another

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One of my greatest teachers these days is my newest student Gregory Stringer, a 56-year-old disabled retiree who has returned to school for retraining, and that includes a heavy dose of Social Media Networking — which is how we met not long ago.

In the LinkedIn group, FUTURE SOCIAL MEDIA, Endaf Kerfoot presented a Discussion Topic asking the 3,000 group members to introduce themselves:

“Introduce yourself to members of the group – who you are, what you do, where your social media strategy is at/going, what you want to know more about, where you see your own Future of Social Media…”

Gregory and I both introduced ourselves to the group, and then after reading Gregory’s “elevator speech,” I decided to ask him to connect on LinkedIn.  The rest, as they say is History.  🙂

We now email one another, read & comment on each other’s blogs, and share tips. When I was reading through Gregory’s blog Grannelle’s Social Media, I was particularly intrigued by this article:

Tips for educators starting out blogging with students

[. . .  so  Gregory kindly allowed me to re-publish it here as a Guest Post]

My name is Gregory Stringer, and my Internet handle is Grannelle. Six weeks ago I had no idea what SNS was, or even stood for. Today, I am very active on many Social Networking Sites. In addition to blogging, I also “tweet” (http://twitter.com/Grannelle), have a MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/grannelle), track my wellness odyssey on Limeade (https://limeade.com/SecureLogin.aspx), and list my professional information on LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/in/stringergregory).

Many sites offer the ability to blog as well as network. What follows are a few of my “secrets” for successful blogging in particular and for joining in on associated SNS in general.

1. Develop a profile document – Almost every site asks for the same general information when registering for access. I have therefore found it helpful to create a document that includes information such as name, address, e-mail, and any other information that is requested on each site I am interested in joining. By keeping this information current, I can simply copy and paste whatever is needed in the required fields. This can be a great time saver, and it insures that my data is consistent.

2. Investigate which sites you want to join – Since I am very active in not only blogging, but also commenting on articles I’ve read, I find it helps to narrow the field somewhat by only registering with those sites I am most interested in visiting. These may be news sites, blogs, and so on. It is very easy to get lost when surfing the ‘Net, especially when clicking link after link. Ergo, I will bookmark a site that looks intriguing, and when I have time, return to examine what is there. If it looks like something I think I may be enticed by, I’ll take the time to register. If not, I delete the site from my bookmarks.

3. Use an auto form-fill program – I use RoboForm with IE8. This way, I don’t have to track passwords every time I log on, though I do keep a secure record of all passwords. Again, this is a time-saver, and as a student, I find my time is at a premium. With a simple click, my user name and password are entered at each site I visit.

4. Link sites to each other – I post my “headline” on Twitter, and add a link to my blog site here at Edublogs. I also will link other blog postings, i.e. MySpace, to my main blog. I find it handy to link comments I make on one site to pertinent blogs. This serves to increase my visibility across the Web.

5. Ask questions of more experienced bloggers – As a newbie, I find I must often seek advice from others, such as Ms. Sue Waters (Sue Waters Blog), who shares some terrific instruction at The Edublogger (http://theedublogger.edublogs.org/). Ms. Waters, a technophile and apparent chocolate lover, hosts a wealth of erudition for those of us just starting out.

6. A default picture to post – I currently don’t have one, but I plan to go to one of the larger discount stores that offer portrait shots at economical prices. This is handy, as it gives a face to the “voice”. People like to know a little about whom they are speaking with, and a recent picture is helpful. It also gives your postings a more professional, as well as personal, feel.

I hope the reader has found something helpful here. If you have questions, or if you’d care to add to what has been said, please feel free to leave a comment. For me, blogging is a large part of my educational experience, and in any scholastic endeavor, the participation of everyone only increases the adventure. Won’t you join me in the journey for wisdom?

NOTE: Gregory recently received his first internship as an SM marketer and has already been offered a full time position upon graduation. His future plans include earning a BS in either marketing or e-Business, and advanced degrees in Internet Marketing.

FURTHER READING FROM GREGORY:

What kind of Netizen are you

What are the keys to social media participation

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Blogging

What’s the ROI on Blog Comments, Anyway?

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‘If a tree falls in the woods, and no one hears, is there a sound?”

How can I get more comments on my blog?

Wow, what a great question — especially for a couple of million people now writing blog articles!

It’s an even better question for all the bloggers who’ve been writing long enough to publish articles responding to that  “challenge” like Charlie Gilkie, who Guest Posted on Problogger.net:  “8 Reasons You Might Not Be Getting Blog Comments.”

However, after enjoying reading Charlie’s post, 77 comments, and inserting my own comment [Number 74].

I started to wonder:

What’s the ROI on Blog Comments, Anyway?

Why do we bloggers want comments?

How much do other people’s comments really matter?

Here are my thoughts — as well as some “crowd-sourced” [from asking the question on Twitter and my Facebook page]:

You’ve got to start with your objectives: Why are you writing a blog?

Like any strategy where measurement can be done, you must know what you are measuring.

From Twitter:

@frostoloa “The question is why you want to measure that – what’s the end goal?”

@A_Aviles “It would depend on what you’re measuring, wouldn’t it?”

from Steve Rubel’s FB Fan Page:

“Shari, think it depends on your goals – interaction, quality of content/ideas,
etc.”

So WHEN do comments matter?

When . . .

  • you are writing to see how many comments you can get 🙂
  • you really want to know what other people have to say — whether you are the blogger or the blog reader
  • your comment on someone’s blog leads to a real, mutually beneficial relationship.

When do comments — or number of comments — NOT matter?

When . . .

  • your blog is just about you — and putting your views out there
  • you understand that many readers don’t have anything of extra value to add
  • you have your readers RT your URL and/or send you emails to applaud your efforts
  • you are just starting out and haven’t built enough Google Juice and content to draw huge numbers of readers

Here’s Leora’s 2 cents:

Leora Wenger

Leora Wenger

Lessee – you get some SEO juice if it’s dofollow, a little less if it’s not no follow, and you get connection to another human being – priceless. And maybe the person will then comment on your blog or click your lick. How does one measure these things?

How about yours?

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Blogging

Should You Set Up Your Own Blog?

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My most recent blogging workshop gathered together a dozen participants with a wide range of experience and understanding of social media — from some attendees who weren’t quite sure what a blog was to a few people with active, sophisticated websites.

What they all shared, however, was the question about whether or not they should set up their own blog. To help them determine that answer, we discussed five other questions:

1. Will a blog help me build my business?

2. How do I set up a blog?

3. How frequently do I need to post an article?

4. How do I get people to read my blog?

5. How do I monetize a blog?

Here are some “simple” answers:

Will a blog help me build my business: YES, it can. Further Reading is all over the Internet [social media marketing articles], but basically a blog can put a human face on a company, and people do business with people not organizations.

How do I set  up a blog? You can read my article with wordpress.com directions

How frequently do I need to post an article? NO . . . you do not “need” to publish every day. . . unless you want to. The main thing is to be consistent — and at least once a week when you begin. You may love blogging so much that you will want to write every day.

How do I get people to read my blog? The answer here is not difficult, but it is BIG, i.e., there are lots and lots of ways including the following:

  • Most important: Write interesting content relevant to your audience.
  • Comment on other people’s blogs and form relationships with them, so perhaps — they will visit yours; you can guest post on theirs; you can attract some of their readers.
  • Promote each blog post on social media sites including Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Stumbleupon and whatever is hot — and whatever you have a profile on.
  • Do not forget about LinkedIn where you have a host of ways to build connections, relationships, and readers. Here’s a recent article with 10 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Blog Using LinkedIn.
  • Most Important: Did I say write great content?

How do I monetize my blog? My suggestion here is easy: The Common Wisdom is that you do not even think about monetizing until you (a) know you are going to continue blogging, (b) build a sizable readership, and (c) have something valuable to sell — either your content or your own products offered on the blog.

However, if you really want to get into monetizing “early,’ then check out Darren Rowse’s hugely popular Problogger; this blog really does offer all the answers you could ever require — and don’t forget to read the reader comments after each post.

But if you are still looking for more to read, try some of my past articles:

Beginner Blogger Workshop: What do I blog about?

Avoid These 9 Blogging Blunders: Guest post by Suzanne Vara

Use Your Blog to Become the Go-To Source for Information

To Blog — or Not to Blog — That is a good first question

Grab a Cool, Fancy & Free Design for Your Blog

Now let’s get blogging.

And if you have Questions — or more Tips — please leave your comments below.



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Blogging, Interview

Just Starting Your Blog? — Meet Lyndit, Who Just Didit

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Lyndi Thompson is an M&M peanut-aholic and treehugger-wannabe, but she has also taken her nerdy HTML and CSS skills into the Blogosphere with her new blog lyndit.com.

I met Lyndit in Twitterville after she happened upon my article on 10 Mistakes Made by Social Media Newbies. Apparently Lyndit didn’t want to make any of them, and she even mentioned the article in her first post Listening — First Pillar of Social Media:

Whenever I am working with a new small business or even a larger company, my first advice to them is to listen. Listen to how people are currently talking about your business, products and competitors.

Listening is one of the core foundational skills that all people working within the marketing field must master. To effectively reach customers, we have to listen to them.

“Not listening enough at first to understand the workings and sentiments of a community” – 10 Mistakes Made by Social Media Newbies

I liked her personality right off and thought my readers might benefit from —

Lyndi Thompson’s Getting Started Blogging Story:

Q1: Lyndit [as she likes to be called], how did you get started in social media?

Lyndi: The precise moment that I went from a nerdy caterpillar into a social butterfly must have been when MySpace appeared on the scene. My geeky online coding skills had even the high school cheerleaders green-eyed with jealousy.

Seriously . . . over a MySpace page?

Soon after, I started helping small businesses create their own presence on MySpace.

Q2: Let’s talk about MySpace. I didn’t get techie until MySpace was on the way down . . . but, honestly, I think it’s a shame. I like the idea of being able to DESIGN your own space and not [like Facebook] have the same platform as all my “Friends.”

How do you feel about that?

Lyndit: MySpace was originally created for up&coming musicians to showcase their work. The flexibility of MySpace was appealing because you could customize your page to brand it exactly how you wanted.

But just think about it. Can you imagine that every time, you went to someone’s home, there was a different way to get in the door. Finding the bathroom might be like trying to make your way through a rowdy party.

Personal pages were littered with animated graphics, hundreds of quotes, videos, and tons of content. It became almost impossible to interact with the profile.

Facebook took the idea of interacting Front and Center with the Wall. Facebook appealed to me as a place for a different profile of a person. Gone were the spam-y friend requests and glittering distractions – just a place for me to interact with my friends and family.

Q3 Hmmm . . . I’m going to play with MySpace, but I’m happy to have the “back story.”

So Lyndit, why did you start your blog?

Lyndit: Developing a strong personal brand is definitely an asset that I wanted to invest in for the future.

What I was looking for was a place to serve as a sort of campfire – to share ideas and pass on stories that I’ve heard from marketing professionals. So my objective is to provide a place for me to share, listen, learn, engage, and be a true and genuine marketing professional.

Q4: How did you learn to start your blog, and what obstacles have you had to overcome?

Lyndit: For the past year, I had had the pleasure of getting my feet wet working with MazdasNW.com, a WordPress site on which I wrote blog posts and created banners for events. I really fell in love with the seemingly endless options that the WordPress community had created.

Initially, Blogger kept me satisfied with its simplistic editor, and I still recommend it for those who want an enjoyable, easy-to-use platform.
However, WordPress raises the bar, allowing more versatility.

On an almost daily basis, WordPress’s library of plug-ins and themes are increasing exponentially. If you can’t find a particular functionality, you just haven’t looked hard enough. By a simple installation of a plug-in, you cannot do a host of ecommerce functions including very complex accounts.

Q5: What do you think is the Number One struggle for new bloggers?

Lyndit: Creating space in our often jam-packed busy lives for writing, interviewing, finding photos, design and editing is a huge challenge. Stealing attention, focus, and energy away from the normal hustle and bustle of my life was essential to work on Lyndit.com.

I applaud all writers, artists, entrepreneurs and visionaries for following their passions, and I look to experts to find inspiration and encouragement — as well as comical ways to relate to the common mud puddles that bloggers sometimes seem to step in. Comedy is found in every corner of the creative world. We laugh together because we know it’s true.

Lyndit lives out “in the sticks” in Washington State. She is the proud owner of two border collies, a cat, a guinea pig, a dwarf rabbit, a horse, and a donkey. And even though she’s never lived outside the state, you’ll find her globally on Twitter @lyndit and lyndit.com
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Blogging, Facebook, LinkedIn, Sharisax Is Out There, Twitter

How Many of These Social Media Questions Can You Answer?

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My Laney College students are participating in social media to build writing and reading skills. For many of them, however, this is a significantly new experience, i.e., creating blogs and signing up for Twitter.

What is Social Media and why is it important?

and . . . here are many of their other questions:

Where can and will SM take me?

How did Social Media get so big?

Is it possible to become famous on SM?

What percentage of SM is business?

How much time do/should people spend on SM?

Who started SM?

What makes SM important?

Why are people addicted to SM?

Can SM help better the world?

Is SM safe?

What are the most popular blogs?

Who can read my blog?

Are all SM sites free?

Why has SM become popular?

What is the average age of a person using SM?

What is the main reason for using SM?

How can you detect if someone is insincere?

Today I am conducting an introductory Social Media workshop for a Mass Media & Society course at Laney. I will begin asking them to tell me which of those questions they would most like answered.

Then I will chat and show the slideshow below.

And, finally, I will ask THEM to answer any of those questions . . . and I’ll be posting their responses.

Here is the slideshow on

Making Sense of Social Media

Making Sense Of Social Media 2010

View more presentations from sharisax.

NOW . . . FOR THOSE ANSWERS: from the students AND from any of you readers. Please do add your thoughts.

photo credit Howard Blum

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Blogging

What I Learned About Blogging and Life From Julie & Julia

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It took me awhile to see the Meryl Streep/Amy Adams film “Julie & Julia” — kind of like it took me awhile to get into blogging.

Here’s a movie story about A Blogger Who Made It.

What could be a more wonderful story for any blogger who dreams of Fame and Fortune?

So here’s how the movie can help us

1. Plan your work, and work your plan:

29-year-old Julie Powell was looking for a way to add value to her life, so she combined her creative passions for writing AND cooking into a blog with this goal: to work her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking by preparing 524 recipes in 365 days. And she did it . . . and got a movie deal in the process.

2. Passion helps you persevere through adversity:

Plans and projects rarely progress on a straight, smooth road. Blogging is a great example. When we start writing and publishing, we’re often very excited. But keeping it going is not easy; in fact, it’s work. And when people aren’t knocking down the doors to subscribe and comment, it is easy to get discouraged.

In the movie, both Julia Childs and Julie Powell faced roadblocks and naysayers. It was their deep emotional drive that kept them going.

I love blogging, even when I don’t have a positive response to the question: “Are you making any money yet?”

3. If you create something of value, you will gain an audience — and your dream:

Julia Childs brought French cooking to mainstream America, and 40 years later Julie Powell proved that Childs’ techniques still worked.

When companies produce rich, relevant content on blogs, webcasts, white papers, etc., this is marketing material that can both spread and last a long time.

My dream is to write articles that will help people understand the value of social media . . . and how to do it.

4. When you do gain followers, do not let them down:

In the movie, we saw how Julie Powell’s readership grew so large that mainstream media acknowledged her accomplishments. I can’t remember how much she interacted with her fans, but I do know that the power of blogging and all of social media marketing is in the power of the conversation.

I recently read a post by my friend Suzanne Vara about 9 Blogging Blunders in which she wrote:

“Thank them of course but also include how you liked a certain post as it relates back to yours.”

Blogging — and marketing and business — are all about building of relationships.

5. When people offer help, accept it when it’s appropriate:

Both cooks in the film found that they needed the support of friends and family. As bloggers we can derive great benefits from collaboration with other bloggers, both with external linking and Guest Posts. Remember, we call this SOCIAL media for a reason.

6. There’s a whole lot we can learn from history — and the experience of others:

Daaah, of course 🙂

Many movie viewers enjoyed the interplay of the 1950’s Julia Childs-in-Paris scenes with Julie Powell in 2002 New York.

Lessons are everywhere; sometimes, like with this blog article: it  maybe just being reminded.

NOTE: One “lesson” I learned many years ago seems appropriate here. Back in college I read Margaret Mead’s Coming of Age in Samoa. Her greatest finding from studying these unsophisticated natives was that for them

Work was Play and Play was Work

I’m certain that Julie and Julie felt that way about cooking. And I certainly feel that way about blogging and the whole social media phenomenon.

FURTHER READING

The back story of Julie &  Julia

Blogging Basics

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Blogging

Beginner Blogger’s Workshop: What do I blog about?

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Q: Why do you want to blog?

A: Because it’s new and I want to do it.

Q: What do you want to blog about?

A: I don’t know. You tell me.

Blogging is a power strategy for Content Marketing, i.e., communicating about yourself and/or your company to win friends, followers, clients, and customers.

Six Q’s and A’s for Beginning Bloggers

1. What is blogging all about & why are so many people doing it?

Blogging is all about putting your unique voice, opinions, insights, and understandings “out there” to (a) build an online presence, (b) establish yourself as a Thought Leader, and (c) begin conversations and relationships.

Lots of people are blogging — maybe over 200 million worldwide — for a host of different reasons. Most are undoubtedly personal bloggers writing diaries for the world to see. More and more, however, companies, institutions, and nonprofit organizations are understanding that there is a Communication Revolution going on and that the way day-to-day business IS and WILL BE conducted is turning to more authentic, transparent, supportive 2-way conversations, rather than the traditional blasting out of messages.

FURTHER READING:

Answer these nine questions before you decide to become a blogger

2. What do I blog about?

Like most marketing campaigns — as well as personal planning — you should decide on an objective:

What you will blog about has everything to do with why you want to start, build and maintain your online diary/report/journal/lecture.

If you are starting a blog for commercial reasons, then you naturally want to focus your communication towards a “target” audience. Noted social media authority David Meerman Scott suggests that all message-makers should have a clear idea of their consumer profile, i.e., specific data about your prospective readers.

Once you know whom you are writing for and why, you want to make certain that you offer content that is as relevant, informative, creative, and interesting as you can make it.

What’s the very best way to write the best blog articles? Write what you are passionate about.

The best way to improve your blog is to listen to your readers and think about them before — and as — you write.

FURTHER READING:

My story of  Peter and “what to blog”

Any and all of Problogger – the hands-down online authority on How To Blog

3. How much effort will it take?

This answer, again, begins with your objective, but I suspect the real question might be: “Do I have to be writing every day to have a successful blog?”

If that is the case, then a simple answer is that Writing Consistently is more important/effective than Writing Daily.

Also, you are the one who decides whether you want short pithy blog posts like Seth Godin and Zahid Lilani or more detailed research reports like Brian Solis or something in between like Adam Singer or Suzanne Vara.

One key is to enjoy what you are doing – or it will show. Start slowly, maybe set a goal of one article a week. When you find that you want to publish more often, then find time to write twice a week . . . and so on. If you are particularly inspired on any day, then try to write an extra post or two that you can publish on a day when you have other commitments.

Another key is to realize that every time you publish new content, you are adding to your site and giving readers [some new] more and more of you. With that in mind, you want to make certain that Everything you publish is something you are proud of.

FURTHER READING:

Spend some time with the bloggers suggested above. Zahid just wrote an article on whether or not Bloggers were Writers

4. If I am not a great writer, how do I get over the fear of writing?

A Great Question! especially if you were never an English major [and what percentage of the world was?].

Here are three things to think about:

  • Writing is compulsory thought. When you put fingers on the keyboard and start typing, you “force” yourself to think.
  • To over come “writer’s block,” I tell my English composition students to have a reader in mind, e.g. your mother, your best friend, your least favorite uncle, etc. You may see how much easier it is to “talk” when you can envision who is listening.
  • Like with any skill, “practice makes perfect” — or at least better.

FURTHER READING:

Conquer the fear of writing

5. How do you get to blogs? How will people get to my blog?

Two questions here: the first is easy; the second is not so.

Finding blogs to read is as easy as going to Google or some other search engine and putting in some key words. I, personally, have not yet written about the “Fear of Writing” so I simply Googled it and came up with the link listed above.

A better way to find blogs, though, is to follow someone’s recommendation. I gave you five suggestions above, BUT all of those marvelous people write about subjects of interest to me, i.e., social media marketing.

If you want to read and or write about dogs, jewelry, moms, or fashion, you will need to find experts in those fields and (a) see if they have blogs or (b) email them and ask for blog suggestions.

SECOND PART OF THE QUESTION: How will people get to your blog, i.e., how will you get readers?

The basic reason why this is not so easy to answer is because it is not easy to get readers, but here are a few “streamlined” suggestions:

  • Write a lot. The more you write, the more Google has to index.
  • Comment on other peoples’ blogs enough and they may come to read yours.
  • Publicize your blog content on Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, etc.
  • Invite people to Guest Post on your blog.
  • Starting out, though, I’d suggest emailing all your friends and letting them know what you are up to.

FURTHER READING:

Go online and search for articles “How to Get Readers”: you’ll find countless titles, but Problogger is best.

6. What are the biggest blogging mistakes?

This is really easy. Check the Guest Post by Suzanne Vara: Avoid These 9 Blogging Blunders

And you might want to check out my own 10 Biggest Mistakes Made by Social Media Newbies

MORE QUESTIONS?

Great! Ask away in the comment section OR, better yet, add your own answers.

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Blogging, Guest Post, LinkedIn

Avoid These 9 Blogging Blunders: Guest Post by Suzanne Vara

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“Blogging is a way to share your thoughts, knowledge and information like never before.  We blog for many reasons which are  unique to us as people, but yet share a community that is a part of us.” — Suzanne Vara

Suzanne Vara is one of my new online friends/collaborators/role models, whom I mentioned in a recent article about How To Choose A Blog To Read.

Suzanne and I participate in many of the same LinkedIn groups and have built a very supportive relationship, which includes reading and commenting on each other’s blogs and group discussions — truly one of the great values of the Social Web.

Her online marketing agency, Kherize5, Builds  Big Brands for Small Business and her blog offers consistently great advice and guidelines for reaping great rewards through social media marketing. We have such similar interests and goals that I look forward to each one of her posts.

Today’s article on my blog actually ran a few days ago on Suzanne’s, but her thoughtful insights regarding some commonly discussed blogging tips is definitely worth passing along to new bloggers — and experienced ones as well.

How to Improve your Blog — or start a new one

Guest Post by Suzanne Vara

As a new blogger who is trying to gain new readership we look for new ways to get as many eyes (readers) and fingers to the keys (comments) to drive us to continue to write.  Seasoned vets who have been blogging for upwards of 8 years still look for new avenues as technology changes.

Technology is a tool that we utilize to gain new eyes and fingers but the means by which we determine how, what and why we will blog have not really changed over the years.  The same fundamentals that were incorporated to be a success still hold true today:

  • Provide useful and valuable content
  • Acknowledge those who read and comment with a comment back
  • Reach out to other bloggers
  • Comment there as we are all in this together.

Pretty basic but yet there seems to be a disconnect at some point as we get busier or feel that we are not gaining traction as we believed we should.  This is not to say that veering off course from time to time is disastrous but falling off the radar is in a sense waiving the white flag of setting unrealistic goals and expectations of yourself.  Blogging is not always easy as the what if no-one reads or am I a great writer or do I really have the time to commit to this do come into play as the post itself is just a part of blogging.

Everyone makes mistakes and how we identify and correct them builds that confidence and a better blog.

9 Blogging Mistakes to Avoid

1. Inconsistency: In the beginning new bloggers have the energy and set out to post every day, even 2x a day. Great strategy if you have planned for it and reasonably set aside time to keep up with this.  As a new blogger it is advantageous to have 20 or so blogs posted when you start to promote.  Set a schedule of when you will post so that readers expect it and do return to see what is next.  Being inconsistent leads to lack of trust as you were supposed to be here but you were not.

2. Lack of Focus:  As a new blogger trying different things to determine where you fit in is what is so unique to a new blogger.  An opportunity to establish yourself and determine  your niche.  Meet the expectations of readers to develop a loyalty. It is inviting to then try and branch out from your niche and expand.  There is opportunity to do so but not always on the main blog.  Seek new ways to expand on your style with guest posting or publishing on other sites.  Grow within yourself while maintaining focus on what you are trying to accomplish with the main blog or in some cases multiple blogs.

3. Burnout:  Blogger burnout is an excuse, an enabler, a way to throw your arms up and admit defeat. There is always something to post.  A quote, an opinion on another blog, a post why you feel burnt out.  The ideas are endless.  Physical limitations are a factor and being unable to even pull a post from the “can” is completely understandable (life happens) but outside that it is setting a standard for not being committed to yourself and audience.

4. Boxed Comments:  We hear over and over again to comment on comments to our blog and comment on other blogs, and we all do, so this is not a mistake in that aspect. But, what happens when the comment is “Great post, found it useful.”  Commenting back at first thought is the “Thanks for reading and finding this useful.”  Expand on that by seeing if they have a blog and refer to their blog in your comment back.  Thank them of course but also include how you liked a certain post as it relates back to yours. What happens if they do not have  a post that relates to yours, either respectfully thank them as above or ask them a question of some sort that relates a post of theirs.

5. Fear of First:  First to post or first to comment. Why?  If you find something and see that no-one else has written about write about it.  Being the first to comment on a blog is an opportunity to be able to share your thoughts without influence of others. After you comment share the post as it  meant enough to you to comment so why not share?

6.   Complacency:  Developing your niche and readership that meet your personal goals is wonderful but not a time to sit back. What happens when you do not meet your goals or even expansion.   Complacency is convenient and assumes loyalty.  That warm jacket is nice but yet decreases in size each year.

7. Closure: Closure as it relates to the lack of putting a piece of you and who you are into the post. When providing tips or relating a strategy, throw in what has worked for you (ie this blog) something you want to or are learning more about or something personal that connects people to you. Going outside a comfort zone is not always easy but yet it is welcomed.  Whether we deem ourselves as an introvert or extrovert, we all are a part of both. We tell people what we want them to know whether this be sharing knowledge from people we admire or exposing things about ourselves.  ie every so often my son becomes a part of this blog. As a mom first instinct is to shelter and protect but yet he is a big part of my life and actually inspires my writing though his curiosity of learning all that he can.

8. Lack Luster  Headlines: Think linkbait.  The headline is the what gets the article read. The content can be so valuable but if the headline is not enticing enough to read, many overlook. Headlines for some are the easy part where with others we struggle. Look at others that enticed you to read and incorporate.

9. Blinders to Community Expansion: This somewhat goes back to complacency, the expansion of your community is almost endless.  Commenting on blogs is great but not looking at the blogs of other commentors or the blog roll of people you read is not expanding upon your community.  The opportunity exists but time does not always but at the same time, we make time for what is important to us.

As a blogger who is blogging for the betterment of the business, exposure of the business or just to share thoughts we all have our reasons but all make mistakes.  The way to get around the mistakes is to acknowledge them and improve.  So, tell me how you are improving instead of identifying with the mistakes you have made?

Learn anything new here?

Tell us in a comment below.

One of the new tips for me was #4 “Boxed comments.” You can read my comment about that on Suzanne’s original post here.

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Blogging, Sharisax Is Out There

Here’s How Social Media Works — To Build Relationships & Knowledge: and improve customer service, as well!

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Chatting with friends has long been one of my favorite activities — and meeting new friends to chat with increases the joy.

Is it any wonder, then, that Social Media is my Passion?

My online activities in the past year have introduced me to so many wonderful new people from whom I’ve probably learned more than spending the same amount of time in classrooms and libraries.

Here’s today’s story:

1) My email box contained a blog post entitled ” . . . because I’m the customer” — written by Australian blogger & social media enthusiast Sharon Clews.

2) I met Sharon online after following a link on my Twitter stream, and reading one of her first posts.

3) We connected on LinkedIn and have chatted about our mutual passion: Spreading the Word about the Wealth of Opportunities possible with Social Media.

4) We now read and comment on each other’s blog posts — and I believe we add value to each other by sharing insights and suggestions.

5) I read her latest post with great interest BECAUSE it was so true and so relevant:

“I have always failed to understand why one of the most basic abilities as people; human interaction, is so difficult for some people.”

“The most amazing thing to me about customer service is that is free! . . .  It is one of the truisms of my life. It costs me no more to smile or nod or ask someone if they need help.”

“Any retail experience is not just about what things cost. I am saddened that in a world of over consumerism more people don’t vote with their feet. That we mostly still search for the bargain of a lifetime and then moan about the service we get whilst doing it.”

Here’s the REST OF THE STORY:

What’s your latest social media relationship success story?

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