Blog Tips

Creative Social Sharing to Promote Your Blog

How are you sharing your blog? How are you making sure your content is found and then shared?

Are you promoting yourself via social networks, or are you leaving that to your readers? Do you make sure potential clients know about your blog, if you’re using it as a business platform?

Are you simply using the standard sharing options -?Twitter,?Facebook, etc – or are you thinking of ways you can be a little creative when it comes to sharing your blog socially?

Let’s face it, if you’re using your blog as a business platform then the more eyeballs it gets, the better for finding potential new clients or customers. Even a personal blog can benefit from extra visitors.

So here’s a few ways you can get outside the normal views of retweets and shares, and promote your blog to a bigger crowd that may miss it otherwise.

Social Sharing Groups

The most oft-used method of sharing a blog post is via social sharing buttons on the post itself.

These are either located at the top and/or bottom of the post, or to the side. I use a mix of both – Digg Digg to offer the floating share bar to the left of this post, and Share This at the bottom.

But why not take this a little further, and create a social sharing group?

For example, one of the best resources for traffic to this blog is Stumbleupon. This is a great social sharing platform that lets you “stumble” the web, and allows you to give either a thumbs up or down to the site you’re currently on (you can also leave a review if you like).

What happens then is that the site is put into the Stumbleupon library, so anyone else using the stumble option could land on your blog. If they then like it, they give you a thumbs up and your currency increases on Stumbleupon. It’s easier than it sounds, and it’s a great passive traffic generator.

So create a Stumble group.

Grab about 10 of your online friends, and help promote each other’s blogs. Anytime a new post is published, have one of the group stumble it, then you can give it a thumbs up.

You can then take this idea to other social bookmarks -?Reddit,?Digg,?Sphinn, etc.?Just make sure you also highlight a lot of other great sites too – don’t create the group just to promote your work, that’s just spammy.

Turn Posts into Ebooks

You blog. You write. A lot. Depending on whether you’re a niche blogger or not, you might have a lot of posts on similar topics, or even run a blog series of interconnected posts.

So why not turn them into an ebook?

The market for ebooks is huge, and offers a great way for you to either give back to your blog community for reading you, or sell them as part of your business offerings.

Write a crafts blog? Put together some of your favourite tips and publish as an ebook. Chef? Collate some of your favourite recipes and sell them via your blog. And so on – the possibilities for what’s in your ebook are endless.

I put together a bunch of my short form posts on Posterous as a free ebook with some simple marketing ideas, and so far it’s been downloaded just over 2,000 times. So ebooks are definitely a great way to both give back and get back.

Turn Your Blog into a Slide

One of the best platforms around at the moment is Slideshare. Essentially taking PowerPoint presentations to the next level, Slideshare also allows uploads of PDF’s, documents and other presentations.

It then turns these into slideshows that you can either grab the embed code for or download to your hard drive, as well as the normal sharing options on Twitter and Facebook.

You can even add audio or talk tracks, or turn your slides into mini-movies.

So working from your ebook idea, collate some of your best posts on a topic and create a presentation. Edit the posts accordingly to make the best use of Slideshare’s capabilities (perhaps a connecting image, statistic or similar), and then upload and choose your sharing settings.

If folks like it and decide to embed on their own blog, you instantly have a new audience. That could go one step further, and businesses could pick up your kick-ass presentation and use it as a training resource.

The next potential step from that is to bring you on board to expand on your initial ideas – so now your original blog post has become both a training resource and a client lead.

Just Getting Started

These are just three ways that you could take the normal social sharing option, and add a little extra to help promote your blog.

You could also use the WordPress application on LinkedIn, or?Networked Blogs for Facebook as another couple of alternatives. Or you could re-purpose old posts for publication elsewhere.

The thing is, just because you already have sharing options in place doesn’t mean you need to stop there. The great thing with blogs is that they can be essentially timeless, given the right post and topic. Why not use that?

How about you – what are you doing to extend the reach of your blog? Feel free to share your tips on what works for you in the comments.

photo credit:?sigmaman

Why You Don’t Need to Blog Daily

Keep up and blog on There’s a bit of a debate as to how often you should blog if you want to have a successful blog and grow the community around it.

Some folks will say you need to blog every day, or every other day.

Others will say once a week.

Others will say only blog when you have something useful to say (I’m not too sold on the last one – one person’s definition of useful is another’s definition of crap).

To be honest, there’s no right or wrong answer. Or at least, no standard right or wrong answer.

There is a right answer for you, however, and that’s the one you need to look at.

Questions and Answers

Blogging’s a funny beast. It can be personal; it can be corporate. It can be funny; it can be sad. It can be a sales tool; it can be a simple connection tool. It can be written; it can be media.

Simply put, blogging is in a world of its own when it comes to set parameters. You can’t say what works for one blogger will work for another; it just doesn’t roll that way.

What it does do, however, is make it easy to choose how often you’ll blog by asking two must-know questions before you start.

Are you passionate about the topic?
What time can you realistically allocate?

These are just two questions, but they offer the best idea for you as to how often you’ll blog. If you’re not passionate about your topic, blogging will soon become a chore, and once something becomes a chore… Well, we all hate chores, right?

If you can only allocate a few hours a week (and this includes promoting your blog and responding to comments on the post), then you’re probably only going to post once or twice a week. An hour a day would see you post daily; a couple of hours a month, you’d probably only be able to blog bi-weekly. (These are just rough stats – they don’t necessarily relate to your timescales).

So these questions kind of dictate how often you might blog.

It’s Not Worth It Then, Is It?

Now, depending on who you read and who you listen to, if you’re posting infrequently then you’re never going to grow your blog or get the readers/subscribers you’re after. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

Not necessarily.

I blog pretty much every day. I don’t do it just to “get more readers” – I’ve never had a subscription run here and I don’t plan on having one, ever. I’d rather grow my readership and subscribers organically as opposed to giving faux reasons why you should subscribe.

Instead, I blog as frequently because I genuinely love blogging. I love the interaction with you; I love being able to bounce ideas off each other; I love being able to offer an alternative take on something and then invite you to offer yours.

My friend John Haydon blogs a little less frequently, but still pretty regularly. Chris Garrett, co-author of the ProBlogger book and owner of the popular new media site ChrisG.com, has been posting fairly irregularly over the last few months.

Now. Take a look at this chart from Compete.com, which shows the monthly traffic for all three sites over the last 12 months.

As you can see, while there have been dips and gains, Chris has the most traffic, while John and I have swapped it back and forth as to where the higher traffic has been on a given month.

The blog that posts less is more “popular” than ones that post either daily, or more frequently. Kind of blows the whole “post every day” argument out the water.

So.

Listen to you, and write for you. Everything else is a bonus – readers, commenters, community, subscribers. Get what feels right for you, and that comfort will come across in your blog.

And that’s when it starts being fun. And when others see it’s fun? Well, there might just be no stopping you then…

photo credit: markhillary

Why I’m Loving BlogOnCloud9

First, I just want to say none of the BlogOnCloud9 links in this post are affiliate, in case you thought this was just a blatant sales pitch…

About a couple of months ago, I noticed that my site was having loading issues. I ran it through a load time analyzer and was shocked at how long it could take to load.

Especially with it being reported that Google would look less favourably on slow-loading sites.

My host at the time was Hostgator, and while they’re a great host, my concern was that by sharing bandwidth with other sites, mine would eventually suffer. Step up the search for a new web host.

One of the blogs I read a lot is that of Mark Jaquith, and he had a post about WordPress and how certain hosts weren’t really set up for it (and I’m not saying this is the case with Hostgator, just to be clear).

In the comments of that post, Ronald Huereca mentioned a host called BlogOnCloud9. What caught my eye was the mention that they use Rackspace, who I’d been looking at, and how they seemed perfect for WordPress and were very security-conscious. So I decided to look into BlogOnCloud9. And was very pleasantly surprised.

The guys at BlogOnCloud9 set the service up because they were also WordPress lovers frustrated at how the platform wasn’t always taken seriously by web hosts. They have a rich history with WordPress, with their involvement with ContentRobot, and so decided to set up their own dedicated service just for WordPress blogs.

Reading up some more on them, I contacted the BlogOnCloud9 guys with some questions about moving servers, their service, and just general questions on hosting, etc. They replied the same day, with a great personal touch (something that continues today), and really made me feel like their most important customer. Something that every business should do.

So I decided to go ahead with it and the move was smooth as marble. There was no downtime; the guys had me up on a dummy site to ensure I was happy with everything; and the transfer from Hostgator to BlogOnCloud9 was completed with no drama at all.

Since then, the performance and support continues to convince me I made the right move, and it’s the reason I recommend BlogOnCloud9 for any WordPress blog or site, and for clients that are overhauling their web presence.

Should you check out BlogOnCloud9? Well, here are some features if you’re interested:

Custom installation tailored to your needs.
Configuration and plug-in installation for security, SEO, performance and analytics.
One-to-one support and forum support for all WordPress questions (not just your blog).
Nightly back-ups emailed to you in case your blog goes down for any reason (using the awesome Back-Up Buddy plug-in).
Easy upgrade options to different plans, depending on your growth/new domains.

Because I have a few domains, I chose the Expert Plan that also gives me five development areas. This is where I can essentially create a clone of my blog to redesign, mess with template, try new features, etc, without damaging my live blog. Then I just flip the switch to set live.

If this post comes across as a bit promotional for BlogOnCloud9, I make no apologies for that. Just like you, I believe in sharing great products and service, and BlogOnCloud9 falls into both these categories and then some.

And like I said at the start, none of the links here are affiliate links (though BlogOnCloud9 does offer that if you’re interested) so I’m not even posting just to make a fast buck…

Anyhoo… this is why I’m loving BlogOnCloud9 and if you’re serious about WordPress and blogging/site host, you could do a lot worse than check them out.

Cheers!

The Five Unwritten Rules of Guest Posting on Blogs

If you’re a blogger, you may have been asked to write a guest post by another blogger.?Or, you might have offered a guest post yourself to a blogger you admire.

Either way, writing a guest post opens you up to a whole new audience and can increase your own readership into the bargain.

Blog readers that may never have heard of you otherwise now have their eyes on you.

Add to that the credence that comes with someone else thinking enough of you to have you on their blog, and a guest post is a pretty big thing.

So it’s only fair that you follow the five unwritten rules when it comes to guest posting on other blogs.

Make It Great

This should pretty much go without saying, but the amount of guest posts I’ve read where you can see the author has basically just mailed it in is both surprising and disappointing.

If someone has taken the time to give you real estate on their blog and put you in front of their audience, the very least you can do is make sure that the post you provide is top notch. Before you send the post, ask yourself the following questions:

Would I be happy posting this on my own blog?
Is this the best this post can possibly be on this topic?
Am I being relevant to the audience of the blog I’m posting on?

Unless you can answer yes to at least two of these questions (the relevance factor may not come into play if the blog owner wants to mix things up a bit), then your guest post isn’t ready.

Research

What’s your guest post going to be about? Did you make the suggestion of the post, or did the blog owner ask you to guest? Either way, one thing you need to make sure of is that you do your research.

This could be of the blog’s archives, to get a feel for the topics that normally appear there. More than likely it’s going to be about the topic you’re writing about. Names, places, facts, statistics, references – all these and more need to be checked before you submit your post.

Let’s face it, you wouldn’t write a load of bull on your own blog, would you? So why even think about doing it to another blogger? Quote your sources and link to external references and sites and make sure the blogger you’re writing for doesn’t end up looking an ass as he or she tries to cover your mistakes in the comments.

This might seem a harsh view, but think of it as if it was your blog. Get the facts right; get the blog right.

Format

While content is often quoted as king when it comes to blog posts, the look and feel of a post can go a long way toward its readability. You can have the greatest blog post in the world, but if it looks like crap then readers will be put off from the start.

When you guest post for someone, provide the format you want it to appear in. Think of how you’d want it to appear on your blog, and then make sure you provide that information with the post itself:

Header(s) and sub-header(s).
Bullets or numbers.
Hyperlinks to external sources or sites.
Images with accreditation to the source.
Author bio.

If you’re unsure on the formatting side, take a look at the blog you’re going to guest on and go with the formatting that blogger uses. Or, simply ask them.

Don’t Be Self-Serving

Okay, so we know that guest posting on another blog offers you new eyeballs and therefore potentially new readers of your own blog. After all, if the readers of the blog you’re guesting on like what you have to say, it’s a pretty safe bet they’ll check out more of your own stuff too.

So why ruin that by pimping yourself shamelessly throughout your guest post?

If you’re using resources and links to external articles to back up your guest post, don’t make all the links to older posts on your own blog. You (probably) don’t do that on your own posts – instead, you highlight other great content and thoughts elsewhere (or at least should be). So why should that be any different on your guest post??Having great content is one thing, but linking to no-one but yourself is just a lesson in narcissism. And you can be sure the readers of the blog you’re appearing at will notice that too.

By all means, link to a post of yours you think might be relevant – but let the readers find out for themselves how great your other stuff is too. Because if you write a great guest post and it’s not self-serving, you can be sure folks will check your stuff out as soon as they’ve finished reading your guest post.

Remember to Visit

When you write a guest post, where do you stop? Is it the moment you finish typing and hit the Send tab on your email, or is it a quick visit to see how popular your post was?

Or are you a blogger who genuinely cares, so you’ll follow up your guest post much like you’d follow up a post on your own blog? After all, it’s still your name on the post, so why should you act any differently just because it’s not on your own blog?

Respond to comments made by the readers of the blog you’re guesting on.
Promote via social networks, much the same as you’d promote your own stuff.
Connect with commenters online and continue to build the relationship started on your guest post.
Write a post on your own blog, expanding the discussion started in your guest post and link to it, offering more traffic to the blogger who’s giving you real estate space.

While you don’t have to follow these unwritten rules when guest posting on another blog, they help you stand out as someone who actually gives a damn.

After all, if you can’t be bothered to offer anything but your best when taking over another blogger’s baby, should you even bother at all?

How about you – what would you add as an unwritten rule when guest blogging?

17 WordPress Plug-Ins To Help Improve Your Blog Experience

One of the best features of using a self-hosted WordPress blog are the plug-ins that are available.

Because WordPress is an open source community, anyone can develop themes and tools for it.

Plug-ins are community-built applications that add extra features to any WordPress blog, from back-end resources to enhancing the reader experience.

Lately I’ve been asked about some of the features that are on this blog that aren’t native to the theme I use, so I thought it might be fun and useful to share them with you.

A couple of things. First, plug-ins can add load time to your blog, so only use ones that you really want (says he with 17 active plug-ins at present). Secondly, not all plug-ins and themes are compatible with each other, so make sure you check first. So… on with the list.

Akismet. Probably the best spam filter I’ve ever used, Akismet is an incredibly intelligent plug-in that learns from the behaviour of your commenters to differentiate between spam and genuine comments. So far it’s stopped 13,034 spam comments from this blog. A must-have for any WordPress user.
Align RSS Images. If you subscribe to a blog by RSS feed, you’ll know that images can appear all over the place. Align RSS Images makes sure that the images in a feed are in the same place as they are on the actual post.
Apture. I LOVE Apture! A multi-media makeover for your blog, it lets you insert media, video, online profiles and more into a link, which then opens up a box on your post page. This keeps your readers on your site and doesn’t force them away for more info. Hover your mouse over this link to my Twitter profile or this one for the 12for12k video on YouTube as an example. You also have the option to have a site-specific social search and share bar enabled as well. Simply put, one of my favourite plug-ins.

CommentLuv. Another favourite of mine, CommentLuv is one of the best ways to show your commenters your appreciation. If they have a blog, it will allow them to share one of their recent blog posts with your readers and display the link when they leave a comment for you. A great plug-in.
Digg Digg. With social networks playing such a big part in blog traffic, it’s important to offer your readers a way to share your posts with their networks. Digg Digg is perfect for this, and allows readers to share your post with the most popular networks. That floating share box on the left of this post is an example of how Digg Digg works.
Google XML Sitemaps. Although social search is becoming just as important as traditional search, web surfers still need to find your blog. Knowing how search engine optimization works is key, as is a good sitemap that allows the likes of Google to find pages on your blog easily. Google XML Sitemaps is an oldie, but still one of the best.
Lijit Search. It never fails to amaze me when I land on a blog and it doesn’t have a search bar. How do you expect to grow your blog if it’s not user-friendly? Lijit offers a third-party option to the normal search bar that takes search to the next level. Not only does it search your blog, but that of your networks, online profiles and Google, with the results appearing on your blog. Recommended.
Photo Dropper. A decent blog post can become good with the right image – a good blog post can become great. That’s how important images are. They provide instant attraction to visitors. Photo Dropper lets you choose Creative Commons images from Flickr, which means you get great images and offer the original photographer credit as well.

Server Buddy. The main issue with WordPress and plug-ins is future compatibility. New updates to WordPress or plug-ins can conflict and mess up your theme. Server Buddy lets you check compatibility as well as highlights any issues with your web host too. A great plug-in.
Smart Archives Reloaded. While many bloggers don’t have an Archives page, personally I feel it’s a key part of any blog. How will you let your new readers find older posts if you don’t have an Archives option? And they don’t hurt in search engines, either. Smart Archives Reloaded offers some cool multi-view functions instead of just normal posts. Check out my Archives Page for an example.
Subscribe to Comments. A big part of any blog is the conversation happening on it. Inviting your readers to continue the discussion long after you’ve posted. Subscribe to Comments helps by letting you sign up for email alerts that a new comment has been posted on a discussion you like – great for keeping old posts alive.
Twitterlink Comments. Built by the same Andy Bailey that also developed CommentLuv, Twitterlink Comments is a nice little plug-in that allows visitors to leave their Twitter username alongside their comment. Great for finding new connections on the micro-blogging site.
Wapple Architect. As mobile browsing becomes more commonplace, making your blog mobile-friendly is paramount to its visibility. While there are a ton of options around, Wapple Architect is one of the best. Fully customizable to reflect your blog’s look and feel, and SEO-friendly to boot, it’s a great way to optimize your blog for the new mobile-intensive audience.
What Would Seth Godin Do. What indeed. A nifty little plug-in that allows you to tailor a welcome message and a call-to-action for readers when they finish your post. The “Enjoy this post…” box at the end of the post you’re currently reading is What Would Seth Godin Do in action.
Woopra. If you want to take your blogging to the next level, one of the key things you need to be doing is analyzing your traffic. Who’s visiting, where from, what links, how long for, click-through destinations and more. Woopra is a fantastic resource for this, and offers dashboard analytics on your blog as well as a desktop and web version too. Perfect for optimizing your site and understanding your readers and how you can help them.

WordPress Database Back-Up. Like any web platform, WordPress can be prone to hacks. These attacks by spammers can leave your blog looking like a pig’s breakfast, so regular backing up is incredibly important. WordPress Database Back-Up is pretty straightforward but still in-depth enough for your needs.
WP-SpamFree. Although I use Akismet for blocking comment spam, WP-SpamFree is another great option, yet also offers a pretty decent contact form for your blog as well, which it also protects from spam. Since spam is the bane of any blogger’s life, keeping spam off your blog can become a full-time job – something like WP-SpamFree is the perfect antidote.

These are the 17 WordPress plug-ins that I use to complete my blogging experience.

There are some hugely popular ones I don’t use, like All-in-One-SEO for example, because the Headway theme (affiliate link) already has its own incredibly robust search engine-friendly options built-in. And I’m a fan of the simple WordPress comment system as opposed to the widely-used Disqus Comments, so that’s why that’s not on here.

How about you? If you’re a WordPress user, what are your favourite plug-ins and why?

photo credit: Eric M Martin

Note: This blog no longer runs on the Headway framework. Instead, it’s a custom WordPress design by Lisa Kalandjian of SceneStealer Graphics.