Archive: December 2007
As we rocket toward the New Year (the last few weeks go by so fast) many of us turn our attention toward improving ourselves in the upcoming year in the form of the infamous New Year's Resolutions.
Mine are to lose weight and exercise more. Or exercise at all. And also to eat more cheese. I think the cheese resolution will be the easiest one to keep.
I also have a couple of blogging resolutions. Blogging is such a huge part of my life, it only makes sense that I would strive to make some improvements.
My first resolution is to pay more attention to where my traffic is coming from, be better about collecting and understanding that data, and utilizing that knowledge to attract more traffic. I want to be more savvy about those things, like my main man Tim of Bloggerista.
And I am sure that Tim would like to be more like me. Not!
My other resolution is to learn more about html and installing plug-ins and that sort of thing. I don't want to become an expert, but I would like to be able to make small changes and tweaks to my templates and coding without always having to rely on others for help.
I think those are the only two resolutions I have. Page Rank and Google-smacking is out of my hands, so I resolve to just take care of the things that I can control as best I can, and trust that it will all work out.
Now that I have shared...what are YOUR blogging resolutions for the coming year?
5...4...3...2...1... The countdown has commenced! Believe it or not round three of the Finalist voting for Blog Battle Royale is finally here (in leiu of a couple of challenges). All of the Finalists have received their iPod Touch and have had a chance to spend some time with it.
Their posts talking about their experience with the iTouch can be found listed below, in no particular order. If you would like to vote for your favorite you'll need to head over to the PayPerPost Boards. The links there correspond to the ones found on this post. If you're not registered on the boards you'll have to take a moment to do so, but it's well-worth your time. PLEASE read through all five posts, and vote based on the one you think truly deserves the title of Champion. I know it's easy to vote for someone simply because they're a friend, but all five bloggers put time and energy into their post, so they at least deserve a read.
FINALISTS:
1. Apple iPod Touch – An Epic Product Review
2. Perfection - The First Day of My Life With The iTouch
3. In The Land of Don’t Touch, Comes iTouch
4. My iPod Touch: It Ain’t No Walkman.
5. iGot my iPod!
Voting for this round will remain open through Friday, January 4, 2008 at 12pm EST. That's one week, and plenty of time to encourage your family, friends, and blog buddies to participate. Remember, voting should really be based on the creativity of the post, and how you feel the blog author presents their experience with the product.
Good luck, Finalists!
Did Santa visit us?
The handful of us who were in the office today got to experience quite a treat. Well, treats.... Apparently a package was attempted delivery to us on Monday but since we were out-of-the-office we got it today. And in it was a wonderful mix of cookies, candy, and sweets! Yum!
Courtesy of Postie Jody there was chocolate-covered peanut brittle (my personal weakness), pretzel rods with one end loaded with chocolate, peanut butter brownies with chocolate drizzles, and cookies with candy in the middle. What a great pick-me-up for the first day back from a four-day weekend! We all dove at the box like ravage beasts. Here's a photo we took, trying to best represent the treats in their natural state:
I particularly love the ''jab'' at Courtney (see note below), for the treats she sent us a couple of weeks ago! Candy wars -- my favorite!
Thanks so much, Jody! We really appreciate the time and energy you took in sending us this care package. Happy holidays to you.
Yesterday I was sitting in my living room and I heard a strange noise coming from down the hallway. I was a bit alarmed since I live alone, and honestly I was a bit scared. Quietly & carefully I arose from my couch and tiptoed across the room. In the darkness I peeked around the corner that led to the hallway and was floored by what I saw! To my shock there was 2008 staring me straight in the face. Can you believe it?!?! Right there in front of me! All I can recall is my immediate re-enactment of the movie poster for ''Home Alone,'' with my hands flat-palmed against each of my cheeks, mouth wide open. Get it? 2008 is just around the corner? OK, it's bad, I know. That's my feeble attempt to battle the wit and humor of Mr. Fab, but I fear I failed miserably. Oh well, I can never be accused of not trying, right?
My point is, the new year is nearly here and so is our new office space! While we haven't ''officially'' moved in yet the team did get to see the nearly-completed space late last week. It rocks, and is gonna be great to be settled in our new area -- everyone's going to have their own desk! So once we've moved into the space upstairs from our current digs, we'll have two office areas. That means TONS of wall space to cover, and we'd love to fill-it with your faces!
Why not send us your most creative photo & frame to be featured on "The Great Wall of Posties"? If you do we'll send you some fab swag*, including some rad new IZEA stuff (those who attended PostieCon back in November can tell you). In addition to the PostiePack you'll get a feature here on our blog. Basically we're talking about free exposure for you and your blog(s)! How can you turn that down? So go ahead and send your framed photo, your t-shirt size (the women's shirts run small), and your blog urls to the following:
ATTN: The Great Wall of Posties
150 North Orange Avenue, Suite 412
Orlando, FL 32801
Looking forward to receiving these new photos! And remember, we have to look at these everyday so be as creative as you can! Check out the January and February archives of the blog to see some of the photos we received earlier this year.
* Please keep in mind the PostiePacks are typically less than five pounds and are sent via regular mail. Any costs associated with out-of-country deliveries or additional taxes will be absorbed by the recipient.
Technorati Tags: bloggers, blogging, IZEA, PayPerPost, The Great Wall of Posties
Twas the night before Christmas, and all through my house,
The bunnies were sleeping, and so was my spouse.
I was in my recliner and starting to nap,
My laptop precariously poised on my lap.
I was dreaming of PageRank, of fours, fives and sixes,
Of glory days back before vile Google "fixes".
I dreamt also of PostieCon, back in Nevada,
And those casinos that left my pockets stuffed full of nada.
When out on the lawn there arose such a ruckus,
I thought it might be Google, back once more to **** us.
I grabbed my old shotgun, and vowed to pursue
Those black-hearted devils back to Mountain View.
It streaked across the horizon, headed my way,
And it took out my mailbox, much to my dismay.
It was clear when I focused, and looked again closely,
That it was a SocialSpark sleigh, with eight Power Posties.
With a handsome young driver, by whom they were led,
I knew in a moment it had to be Ted.
They were dressed all in spandex, without one ounce of shame,
And he whistled and shouted, and called them by name.
"Now Cassie! Now Julie! Now Froggy and Techie!
On Tina! On Lisa! EveLester and Colleen!
You know it's really a bother, it's really a crime,
It's a thorn in my side that your names do not rhyme!"
He was dressed all in fur, just like Zsa Zsa Gabor,
But you could tell he had street cred, that he was hardcore.
A bundle of opps he had flung on his back,
They must have been heavy, for I heard his joints crack.
His eyes-how they twinkled! His skin smooth and creamy!
His chiseled good looks, so hunky and dreamy!
He was teeming with wit, with charisma and charm,
And I knew right at once that he meant me no harm.
He spoke not a word, gave the drawstring a yank,
And out tumbled opps, all based on RealRank.
They littered the floor, way too many to count,
I knew soon they'd fill up my PayPal account!
He sprang to the sleigh, and assembled his team,
(Colleen had to quickly hide her fifth of Jim Beam)
And I heard him exclaim "We ain't playin' no games!
In 2008, Izea kicks butt and takes names!"
Posties Unite!
We have an Opportunity in the IZEA Marketplace which needs Postie Love! This is a great chance to write about someone we all know and love. It's fun, it pays twelve bucks. What are you waiting for?
Ever heard of Johnny Depp? You have an Opportunity to write about him. What's your favorite Depp moment? Edward Scissorhands? Pirates? Let the world know! Write about your favorite scenes and lines. He has cranked out so many great movies, how do you choose?
Sweeney Todd debuts tomorrow, December 21st. He's dangerous, he has a cool haircut. What more do you want?
Visit your Dashboard and have a look. Available Posts are limited. Don't wait...Johnny's watching.
The IZEA Team
This contest is still alive-and-well! As I mentioned earlier in the week there was a slight mix-up with a couple of the shipments from Apple to the bloggers, but for the most part we've got things sorted out. One blogger is still waiting to receive her iPod Touch replacement but it should be in her hands very shortly. Given that, our Blog Battle Royale III Finalists should have their posts to us by Friday, December 28th @ 12pm EST. You can either submit the posts here in the comments field, or you can e-mail them directly to me at ashley[at]izea[dot]com.
Our current Blog Battle Royale Champion has won both previous rounds, and this is soley because she has taken the time to be creative and think outside of the ''blogging box!'' So try to be clever with your posts -- let's make this a true ''battle.'' As a reminder here are the prizes at stake:
- Blog Battle Royale III Champion title
- customized brag badge to display on your blog and/or website
- badge here on the IZEA blog with a link back to your winning post
- a Blog Battle Royale Champion t-shirt with IZEA teammember signatures
- automatic inclusion in the next round of BBR
- and of course, your iTouch and $50 Subway card
Not a bad deal, huh? Good luck! And may the best blogger win.
Technorati Tags: Apple, Blog Battle Royale, blog contests, blogging, iPod Touch
MobileTalk by Packet8 offers an affordable solution for you to stay in touch with your friends and loved ones around the world from your cell phone! Yes, you read it right, your CELL PHONE. While using Packet8's service you can expect to save more than 90% over other typical mobile phone charges!
Not only do you save money, but check out these other great features:
- No calling card or PIN codes needed
- No data-plan needed
- No "connection fees"
- No hot spot required
- High-quality, digital calls
So do we have you interested yet? Sign up is fast and easy! One of my good friends from France is going to be ecstatic to hear about this service. She has a home phone solely for the purpose of calling home. I'm now thinking, unfortunately, she's been throwing dollar bills out her window. Time to stop and rethink!
OK Posties, here's the best of all. MobileTalk by Packet8 is currently running the "MAC" DADDY of all contests in our Marketplace. It's a video opp and the winner voted by Yahoo!'s Bix Community will win (1) MacBook valued at $1099, (1) iPhone valued at $399, (1) iPod valued at $249 and (10) runner-ups will receive a $20 Starbucks giftcard. So..... "click here" and grab your slot quick! Talk about a nice gift for yourself or someone else for the holidays.
Posties give to us.... IZEA gives to you.... ENJOY!
As you walk into your local coffee shop to get a fix of your favorite latte, do you see the redhead in the corner? She’s wearing a Yankees sweatshirt and has her laptop up on the table. She grabs her vanilla latte and laughs at something she is reading on the computer screen.
You have to ask yourself, what is she reading and laughing at? It’s most likely she’s reading her daily blogs and laughing at something one of her friends said. She’s quiet most of the time, a loner down to the bone, but she loves the public atmosphere. She can be in a coffee house, full of people and completely ignore the hustle and bustle around her. That’s me, Sodapop.
Name: Kathy
People call me: Sodapop, Kathy, KC, Soda, Sodie
You can call me: Anything but late for dinner
Why did you start blogging?
I was bored one day and realized I wanted something/somewhere I could share my thoughts and feelings. I created The Soda Stand to just vent about my life, feelings, thoughts and whatever else crossed my path. It has turned into the journal of my life in the last almost 2 years. It helped me get through a major loss in my life and it has helped me gain some irreplaceable friendships.
How has being a part of the PPP Community enhanced you as a Blogger?
I think being part of this Community has helped me become a better blogger by showing me different things and learning about new things. I’ve found a few new blogs to read and I’ve made a few new friends through it.
Fill in the blank: My favorite thing I own is my ____.
Canon Rebel XTi EOS400 camera or it could be my Volkswagen Jetta. I can’t choose.
If you were a famous pop star, what would your “stage name” be?
Sodapop Curtis (for obvious, Outsiders reasons)
Pretend you started a hip phase that caught-on everywhere. Think “that’s hot”! What would your phrase be?
Oh wow. I don’t think any of my phrases I’ve thought up are family safe to put on this site. HA!
What’s one thing you would change in the world, for better or for worse?
I would love to see HIV/AIDS gone from the world. It affects so many people and is devastating.
What’s your ultimate dream vacation?
I’d have to go for 2 months in Tuscany, staying in a villa and learning the language and culture of the Italian region.
What's your favorite color?
Purple
What's your favorite video-sharing site?
I only know of YouTube, so I guess that would have to be the one.
What’s your favorite RockStartUp episode and why?
Am I a deprived child? I’ve never heard of RockStartUp. Is this bad?
(Everyone give Kathy a big "shame on you!")
Tell us one thing your blog friends might not know about you.
I can be quite shy at times. No really, I can be.
What’s your favorite memory of junior high school? Getting my first kiss from a boy named David.
Who’s your favorite blogger?
NYC Watchdog at http://www.apileofdogbones.com/. He’s inspirational (without realizing it) and he is always the first blog I read, every single day. I love the way he writes, the way he describes things and I absolutely love his sense of humor.
Complete this thought: When I was little I wanted to ___ when I grew up.
Be a psychologist.
Please list any and all of your blogs:
The Soda Stand -- http://www.lvsodapop.com -- which is my main blog. Everything I think and feel is within those archives, starting January 30th of 2006.
Shutterbuggin’ with Sodapop -- http://shutterbugsoda.com -- this is my 2nd blog, where I post most of my pictures and mix it with some of thoughts, feelings and life. I have thousands of pictures on my computer, so I share them as often as possible.
Technorati Tags: blogging, Featured Blogger, Kathy, KC, RockStartUp, Soda, Sodapop, sodapop, Sodie
Some of you may have been wondering what's going on with Blog Battle Royale III. The finalist voting round was originally scheduled to occur a couple of weeks ago at the beginning of December but, unfortunately, there was a little...well, challenge. Two of our finalists accidentally received iPod Classics instead of iTouches (mix-up with the order from Apple), so I've been working with them to have the Classics sent back and replaced with the correct item.
I've been in continuous contact with the finalists over the past couple of weeks, and they're standing-by with their review posts. Right now the iTouch replacements are [supposedly] in route to the two bloggers who received the Classics, and should be receiving them any day now. As soon as they get them I'll publish a new date to have the posts turned-in to me. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that'll be sometime next week (before Christmas).
I apologize for any inconvenience, and truly appreciate our finalists being so patient while this situation is being rectified. (Hey, they're not complaining -- they got a $50 Subway gift card and a free iTouch!) Trust me...I've already had several phone calls with Apple!
Technorati Tags: Blog Battle Royale, blog contest, blogging, Posties
A short while ago we received a special delivery from one of our Posties. Postie Courtney was kind enough to share some of her homemade oatmeal raisin cookies, and they came in a festive holiday box and accompanied by a very kind letter.
Thanks for taking the time to do this, Courtney, and Happy Holidays!
This is a guest post by Patrick Altoft. Learn more about blog marketing by reading Patrick's blog or grabbing the feed.
The information contained below is not an endorsement of strategy by IZEA.
Linkbait is the act of adding content to a website with the aim of attracting links from other sites. The content can take a variety of different forms from a unique tool or a breaking news story to a well written article or controversial image.
Sometimes linkbait is intentional but quite often the best linkbait is conceived quite by accident.
My favourite piece of link bait is the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. The download page has over 15 million links and is probably the most linked internal page on the web today.
Linkbait Hooks
Millions of links are created every day on the web and they all have one thing in common. Every link is created for a reason.
Some people link to sites because they are funny, others link to them because they are useful. Some even link to articles they hate and a lot of people link to things that are controversial. All these reasons are linkbait hooks, the hook is the element of your article that makes a reader want to make the effort to link to you.
Creating your linkbait
The first step to thinking of a really cool tool, unique news story or article is to find out what people want to read about and use. It sounds simple but following the breaking stories on the various social networking sites as well as Technorati and the Hot Topics blogger inspiration tool will give you a unique insight into the weeks popular news in your niche.
Another good tip is to search the social bookmarking sites for things related to your site that have been popular in the past. You might find a nice tool that was on Digg 2 years ago and be able to use it to inspire something more modern for your site.
A quick look at some popular tools in different areas is often a good source of inspiration. For example you might see a tool on a car/auto website for valuing used cars and be able to apply it to your real estate blog.
Top 10 lists
Although top 10 lists are very popular on sites like Digg they are actually the least successful kind of link bait. Most of the reputable sites won't bother linking to a top 10 list unless it is really amazing or offers new information. You could try using a top 10 list to build a short burst of traffic but don't expect a link from a mahor blog in return.
Articles
Well written articles or tutorials are an art form and are one of the hardest link bait methods to pull off unless you are well known or an exceptional writer. The article would need to be very well written and perfectly targeted towards your audience to succeed. If you want to try link baiting some quality articles you should concentrate on writing content that will help people, content that will offer such great benefits that other bloggers will want to link to your post to help their readers.
The News Hook
Most new linkbaiters should really start off with trying to break the latest news in their niche before anybody else. Done right this is an easy way to build links from authority sites and social bookmarking sites. You should also benefit from lots of new RSS subscribers who want to get more breaking news from you in the future. Gain a reputation for being the first to break the news and you will dominate your niche. If you break a big enough story you will find all the bloggers in your niche desperate to post about it and links will flow into the hundreds or thousands.
Apart from being the first to write about it the key aspect of writing a breaking news article is to make sure the article is of exceptional quality and includes the sort of images that other bloggers will want to use on their sites. You need to make sure that your article is the authority that others will want to link to. If somebody else explains the story better or has more details then they will attract the links.
Finding news to write about can be very hard. Building relationships with larger companies is impossible for most bloggers so you will be reliant on subscribing to press releases and news feeds in most cases.
If you can be the second site to write about something and promote it in the right way you can often overtake the first site and become the "source" yourself. The best way to find breaking stories that have not yet become mainstream is to subscribe to a load of RSS aggregator feeds. Below are some of my favourites:
Tools
For anybody with a bit of imagination and a talented programmer, creating a tool for your site is the easiest way to link bait. Make the tool useful and well presented and its very easy to link to. Unique and useful tools can often turn a commercial site that struggles to attract any natural links into a useful resource that even competitors will link to and use on a regular basis.
Common ideas include methods to help people find information about products, test their websites, improve their skills, generate images or content for blogs and social networking profiles. Some of the best tools build millions of links without the users even knowing they are part of some clever link bait scheme.
As with any type of link bait the presentation of the tool is very important. Although it sounds like a cliche making good use of AJAX is a great way to improve the linkability of your tool.
Get sued or sue somebody
This technique is only recommended for those with deep pockets or a postal address in an obscure country where you are unlikely to ever face court.
If you decide to take on an industry giant like Google then the links will flow nice and fast. Make sure you have a good case to maximise your links.
Presenting your link bait
Although successful link bait will attract thousands of visitors you should not expect the visitors to click on any Adsense adverts or buy any products from your site. The best way to make your site stand out and attract links is to remove all the adverts. Yes, you read that part right. Remove your adverts. You can put them back on in a months time if you like but make sure the page is clean, well laid out, easy to read and ad free.
The next part is very important, you need to have a selection of bookmark buttons at the bottom of your page. Use the icons from each site to form the buttons so they are familiar to your visitors. The goal is for readers arriving from sites like Digg and Stumble Upon to like your site and bookmark it at Del.icio.us and Reddit while they are visiting.
Design is another essential skill in a link baiters arsenal. The page needs to look great and not look like just another Wordpress blog. Invest the time and money required to make your site look great. People who go the extra mile and design custom graphic for a particular article or blog post will get more links because of it. If you are really creative then adding an image that's cool enough for other bloggers to use it on their blogs while they link to you will make you more memorable and maximise the potential of your link bait.
Gah! I feel like the calendar year is like a hugh roller coaster, and the first eleven months are the climb up up up to the top of the track, which is Thanksgiving, and then *whoosh* the coaster starts rocketing down the track to the end of the year, going way too fast.
Wow. That was a long sentence.
In other words, time passes too fast during the holiday season. I feel like the days are whizzing by and I am operating in slow motion. There never seems to be enough time to do anything.
Thank goodness I was Google-smacked! At least I don't have to worry about doing too many paid posts (he said sarcastically).
I finally got all my holiday cards done (and if you didn't request one, shame on you) and I also finally finished all the sculpey jewelry I had promised to make for folks. I'll be sending everything out today.
Blogging definitely gets more difficult during the holidays. I notice that folks usually don't post as much, not even the younger bloggers because this is also the time for final exams. Everybody is busy. Not me, of course. I mostly just ramble around in my big secluded castle on top of the mountain, thinking great thoughts and eating cheese. I really like cheese.
Lately I have been thinking about what a good time I had with everyone at Postie Con, and my latest and greatest idea is that all the Posties in the US should move here to Florida, and that way we could get together every couple of months or so. I'll tell you what, we can even have the first party at my house, as long as everyone remembers to use coasters and nobody is mean to my bunnies.
Of course, to move everyone into Florida, we'd have to displace some non-bloggers, but I'm okay with that. I'll get started on the paperwork. In the meantime, you out-of-state Posties start looking at Florida real estate ads online, okay?
Feels good to have a plan, doesn't it?
Have you ever wanted to rock out like a big money blogger? You know... the people flying all over the place meeting other bloggers and getting their name out? Here is your chance! We have teamed up with famous big money blogger Jeremy Schoemaker of Shoemoney.com to put together an awesome opportunity for one lucky person.
Jeremy and I will be attending SWSW this March in Austin, Texas. SXSW has become THE event to attend for bloggers; bringing together music, film and interactive into one awesome festival. One of you will have the chance to meet up with Jeremy and I at the event. You can get the Shoemoney download from Jeremy, ask him to sign a part of your body... heck sing him a song. We'll be filming the whole thing for a special episode of RockStartup, you will be a blogging ShoeperStar!
We will hook you up with a flight to Austin (within the continental US), 3 nights hotel, conference pass and $1,000 spending cash. All you have to do is visit ShoeperStar.com and register. You will need to write a blog post telling us why you should be the blogger we select. Jeremy and I will narrow it down to 3 finalists and the lucky blogger will be selected by popular vote. I can't wait until SXSW... it's going to be awesome!
This is a guest post by Patrick Altoft. Learn more about blog marketing by reading Patrick's blog or grabbing the feed.
Blogging is a difficult business, millions of bloggers spend hours crafting high quality posts in a never ending quest for attention. For most bloggers the goal is to attract as much traffic as possible in the hope of building a regular readership and maybe even a regular income.
This seven step guide will help you plan the launch of your new blog and show you how to jump from a nobody to a somebody within just a few weeks.
Phase One: The Prelaunch
Before your website is viewed by anybody you need to ensure that it has two key attributes:
- Credibility
- Linkability
Unless your blog is credible it is unlikely that people will stick around to read it, with so many blogs competing for attention you need to build your readers trust in an instant. The main elements involved in building credibility are a well written "about" page with a photo of the writer, an eyecatching logo and a good template.
If you don't have the funds to pay for a designer why not try taking inspiration from these Web 2.0 logos and this collection of Wordpress themes.
During the prelaunch phase it also helps to plan exactly what posts you are going to publish in the first few weeks. Make sure you have enough material to keep your new readers happy.
Phase Two: Content
The first five posts are the most important on any blog, they set the tone for the rest of your articles and give your readers a preview of what to expect when they subscribe. My top tip is to write some pillar articles about topics within your niche to start things off.
One of my first articles was an advanced guide to Google Analytics, it's been read by 33,000 people so far and is the fourth most popular article on my site.
Tutorials work well for seeding a blog because they allow the writer to show off their knowledge and expertise as well as helping readers.
- Concentrate on writing quality posts
- Use eyecatching images (try licensed ones from flickr)
- Format the posts with bullet points & sub headings
- Don't start off with short posts
If a reader notices that the first few posts are low quality then they are unlikely to return to read some more in the future. Usually I work on the principle that if a writer is posting useless tips and low quality content they are not suddenly going to start posting amazing articles a few weeks/months down the line.
Phase Three: Launch
The first step is to email your friends and associates and introduce them to your new site. It is important to start with the people you think will help you and then work down the list from there. Another important tactic is to write a list of all the important blogs in your niche and send the owner a nice polite email introducing yourself, saying how much you like their blog and inviting them to read your first few posts.
Do not ask bloggers you don't know for a link, don't even mention a link in the email. The goal is to get bloggers to subscribe to your feed so that they might link to you in the future.
Once you have pitched your site to all the bloggers in your niche it's a good idea to turn your attention to social media. Hopefully if you followed the advice above and included eye catching images and good formatting in your posts they will appeal to social bookmarkers on sites such as Digg, StumbleUpon, del.icio.us and reddit.
I like to use StumbleUpon first to see whether a post has the potential to become popular, if you see hundreds of stumblers visiting your page it might be worthwhile submitting it to other social sites.
There really is no secret to launching a site, its all down to market timing, a good product and hard work.
Phase Four: Make your readers happy
After you launch a new site it is very tempting to keep churning out linkbait style articles designed to appeal to social media users but most of your real readers don't want to read this kind of content.
A good recommendation is to limit the linkbait to one post per week and make sure the rest of the content is actually useful. Of course sometimes good content is also great linkbait, if you can manage to combine the two your blog will be a runaway success.
Phase Five: Linkbait
If you dedicate one post per week to creating a really strong piece of linkbait your readers will actually start to look forward to it and will welcome your post. Some might even help you seed it on social media sites.
Creating a linkbait post is certainly a hard task and most bloggers fail the first few times they try. Remember that the article needs to have some kind of hook, a reason for people to link to it. Maybe it is very high quality or breaking news or maybe it is controversial. Whatever you choose if you can give bloggers a reason to link to your article it will be a success.
Once the article has been published the next task is simply to make as many bloggers read the article as possible whether this is by sending polite emails or driving traffic using social media.
Linkbait is too large a topic to cover in this post but I will publish a detailed guide next week.
Phase Six: Reputation monitoring
Monitoring your reputation to see what people are saying about your brand is important for any webmaster but for a new blogger it is vital. You need to respond quickly to criticism and take action to keep your reputation intact.
Use tools such as Technorati to notify you when your name is mentioned or somebody links to your site.
Phase Seven: Quality content
When you look past all the self promotion and linkbait articles it is important for a blog to produce quality posts on a regular basis. I like to think anybody reading my blog has a chance to learn something new each week that will help them promote their sites.
Sit down and try to think of a reason people will visit your site. Why would they subscribe to your feed? Maybe you break the news before everybody else, maybe you write about advanced issues not many bloggers tackle, perhaps you write in depth tutorials or maybe you are funny.
Whatever you decide to be never forget to give your readers value. Make them glad they subscribed to your blog.
Without good marketing nobody would ever find a blog. Without good content nobody will stick around to read it.
Technorati Tags: blog marketing, launching a blog, patrick altoft
See that woman in the corner wondering why she even thought that she should bring her kids out in public? That's me. *waves* Those kids with me, they’re my 3-year-old and my 5-month-old. I spend most of my time cleaning up baby fluids, chasing after my 3-year-old, and if I am lucky, blogging and hanging out in the forums. If you hang out with me, you'll find that I am genuinely crazy most days. I also do freelance work on the side for anyone who wants to hire me. Yeah, my plate is full, but I always will take dessert (preferably chocolate).
Name: Lisa
People call me: Hot Mama -- Ok I am kidding with that one. Usually, Lisa.
You can call me: Lisa
Why did you start blogging?
I started blogging, because I live four hours from my friends and family. This was a way for them to keep in contact with me and see what my kids are up too. They are able to watch my kids grow up daily even though they only get to see them once a month or so.
How has being a part of the PPP Community enhanced you as a Blogger?
It has made me a better blogger and a better writer. I often cringe at my early work. I update regularly now and try not to annoy my readers too much. LOL!
I have also met so many people that I now consider friends. You can never have too many friends, since each and every one of them enhance my life somehow (plus they make great blog fodder). It was great in Vegas when you kept hearing “This better not show up on somebody’s blog”. Don’t they know that what happens in Vegas only stays in Vegas when the people you’re hanging out with aren’t a group of bloggers?
I have also been given some great opportunities through the connections I have made through blogging.
Fill in the blank: My favorite thing I own is ____.
My laptop. I don’t know what I would do without it. We are going on vacation in February, and I am trying to talk my husband into letting me bring it with. Can you say addicted?
If you were a famous pop star, what would your “stage name” be?
I’d like to go with that Hot Mama answer I used before.
Pretend you started a hip phase that caught-on everywhere. Think “that’s hot”! What would your phrase be?
Well, my favorite curse word would not be appropriate, so I have to think about this one. The two most commonly used phrases in my house are “Madison, no” and “Will just puked” so I guess you could use either one of those. LOL! I don’t get much sleep or get out much, can you tell?
What’s one thing you would change in the world, for better or for worse?
I know this has been beaten like a dead horse, but I’d love to get my PR back and maybe get bumped to a PR5 or 6. ☺
What’s your ultimate dream vacation?
All expenses paid trip to Hawaii or an Alaskan cruise in the summer.
What's your favorite color?
Blue.
What's your favorite video-sharing site?
You Tube, but that is just because I don’t know how to use anything else. I’ll take suggestions though.
What’s your favorite RockStartUp episode and why?
I have two favorites. The first one is Julie’s wedding. How can you not love that? Now that I have actually met Julie and Michael it makes all the more special. My second favorite is the outtakes episode. I just giggled the whole time.
Tell us one thing your blog friends might not know about you.
I am not very technologically inclined. I may know a lot about blogging and how to set one up, but don’t you dare ask me how to make my iPod or cell phone work. The only reason I even have an iPod is that I won it at PostieCon (thanks Ted!). That whole texting thing on the cell phone, yeah, I’m still not on board with that one....
What’s your favorite memory of junior high school?
I guess my friends. I still talk to several of them. The amazing thing is that we all went our separate ways and did our own thing after high school. Now, we are all stay at home moms.
Who’s your favorite blogger?
I am going to have to say my sister over at Karebear Central (but only so she buys me a great Christmas present ☺). Actually, since I have taught her the ways of the blog, we have gotten closer. I know way more about what is going on in her life than I did before, and I read her daily.
Complete this thought: When I was little I wanted to ____ when I grew up.
An Air Force pilot. However, anyone who knows me knows that this was a terrible career choice for me. First, I would never past the vision test since I wear contacts. Secondly, I don’t like to listen to authority and that is important part of being in the armed services. I like to talk back (and I wonder why my kids do it already), and I don’t think I would have even made it through basic training. I also get motion sickness, so flying in an airplane makes me sick to my stomach. Needless to say, I am not going to be a pilot anytime soon.
Please list any and all of your blogs:
- http://mythoughtsideasandramblings.com
- http://lisareviews.com
- http://myroadlesstraveledby.com
