Would you be interested in joining with a group of other bloggers for a [...]]]> 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Bootcamp – Are You Interested?

Would you be interested in joining with a group of other bloggers for a month long intensive program of blog improvement? If so – please read on:

ProBlogger’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog workbook has been downloaded many thousands of times since it was launched last year. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive – however the one negative that I’ve heard quite a few times has generally been:

“It’s great…. but I’m only up to day 13….”

OK – you can change ‘13′ for 11, 17, 25 or any other number – the consistent feedback I’ve had from some buyers of 31DBBB is that they’ve found it very worthwhile…. but that they didn’t get to the end – often because they got distracted.

I was talking with Chris Garrett about this a week or so back when we met up at SXSW and as we talked about it an idea for a ‘31 Days to Build a Better Blog Bootcamp‘ emerged.

The main idea behind this more intensive and collaborative approach to 31DBBB was that it be something that we run for a small to medium sized group of bloggers to work through together.

It’d be based upon the 31DBBB workbook but also include some extra teaching audio/calls, the opportunity to ask questions and perhaps a forum/community area for participants to share what they’re learning and interact. We’d also have some incentives/bonuses for people to complete the 31 days/tasks to help people keep moving rather than getting distracted.

There would of course be some additional cost on top of the workbook to be involved in the bootcamp – to pay for the extra time/resources we’d need to assemble – but we’d do our best to keep it affordable.

Are you interested?

If this sounds like something that you’d like to participate in to help you kick start your blog – please add your name and email address to the form below. This will give us an indication that there is interest but also give us a list of people to invite to participate in the first bootcamp (if there’s enough interest). There’s no obligation to participate – but by adding your details below you are just giving us an expression of interest.

Note: if you can’t see the form above it could be due to you using an ad blocker plugin in your browser. If you switch it off for a moment and refresh the page you should be able to view it.exercise

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

31 Days to Build a Better Blog Bootcamp – Are You Interested?

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Earlier in the year I asked readers whether they outsourced any part of their blogging in a [...]]]> 29% of ProBlogger Readers Outsource Part of Their Blogging

Earlier in the year I asked readers whether they outsourced any part of their blogging in a poll. By outsourcing I was talking about ‘paying‘ someone else to do something on your blog.

Here are the results after 2195 responses.

I was actually a little surprised that the number was so small because in the introduction to the poll I included things like ‘blog design’ in what could be included in outsourcing.

Here are the types of things that those who said ‘yes’ said that they outsourced:

• tech/managing the backend (updates, plugins etc)
• product creation/design
• writing of posts – staff writers
• writing of posts – ghost writing
• blog/logo design
• marketing
• comment moderation
• SEO
• administrative tasks
• editing/proofing posts
• selling advertising

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

29% of ProBlogger Readers Outsource Part of Their Blogging

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a guest post from Larry Brooks as Storyfix.com

Instant karma’s gonna get you…

To be honest, I never really liked that song. [...]]]> Instant Blogging Karma: Lennon Was Right

a guest post from Larry Brooks as Storyfix.com

Instant karma’s gonna get you…

To be honest, I never really liked that song. The melody and cadence always gave me a headache, which is probably why I never really paid much attention to the lyrics.

Until recently. Perhaps it was no coincidence that it suddenly blasted through my stereo as I was working on a blog post the other day.

And it made me realize how much information is available if we’ll only pay attention.

… gonna knock you right on the head…

If instant karma’s gonna get me – and if you don’t recognize that paraphrased lyric, or the song title, or if your first thought is that Lennon was the name of a Soviet tyrant, then you’re too young to worry about karma anyhow – then I may be in trouble.

In my efforts to become an online entrepreneur, perhaps I’d violated a key principle of the physics of human relationships. What some people call karma.

… better get yourself together, some day you’re gonna be dead…

But I do understand the principle, now more than ever. As a blogger, I’ve experienced the rebound effect of getting as good as you give.

In fact, in my brief experience online, I’d say it’s the most powerful principle available to anyone looking to upgrade and grow their blog.

… why on earth are you there, when you’re everywhere…

From the outset I blindly followed the best advice I’ve ever heard: give away all the content and value that you can. Give it away freely, with a clear head and a kind heart, expecting nothing at all in return.

This is a business model that would make your economics professor roll over in his retirement home bed.

And it first, that’s what it got me – nothing at all.

But soon or later it kicks in. It works. In fact, it fuels everything. From daily site visits to subscribers and – here’s the punchline – to product sales.

… how in the world you gonna see, laughin’ at fools like me…

When I published my first ebook last summer, I applied this principle to setting a price for it. My web guru suggested I charge .95. It was a 100 page ebook, about half the size of a bound book you can hold in your hands, and this price was more than three times what you’d pay for it as a paperback.

Instant karma was gnashing its teeth at me even thinking about it.

… who in the world you think you are, a superstar?

So I priced the ebook at .95.

The orders flowed in, and more than one buyer commented on the great price. After hundreds of copies sold, not a single buyer took me up on my money-back guarantee. (Until, to be honest, six months later… that, too, is part of the physics of human relationships.)

In fact, one reader sent me with a note that explained the overage was a thank you for all the great content I’d been supplying since the launch of the site.

… instant karma’s gonna get you, knock you right off your feet…

Recently I offered a two-for-one offer on two of my other ebooks, which are much longer and sell for the whopping sum of .95. Nearly 200 orders poured in over the next three days.

So here’s what I’d tell anyone who asks me how and why my ebooks are selling and my blog is growing as it is: respond to anyone and everyone who takes the time to comment on your site. Make gracious and value-adding comments on the sites of others who blog in your chosen space. Send a thank you note to everyone who buys your ebook or product. Not a template, send a personal message.

Be more than a part of the community, be a voice within it.

And trust the process. Allow the power of time and karma to work its magic.

… come and get your share…

Blog with faith. Blog with passion. Blog with hope and vision.

But most of all, blog with the intention of giving it all away. It’ll come back to you in spades.

… we all shine on…

Larry Brooks is the guy behind Storyfix.com, an instructional resource for writers of fiction and those who love them. He has three ebooks available through his site, his new novel is just out, and Writers Digest is publishing his book on “Story Engineering” early next year. And, with all due respect to the song writer, he prefers the U-2 version of Instant Karma over Lennon’s.

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

Instant Blogging Karma: Lennon Was Right

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At a recent book reading at SXSW I spoke briefly about a new chapter in the new ProBlogger book (due [...]]]> 4 Foundations of a Successful Blog

At a recent book reading at SXSW I spoke briefly about a new chapter in the new ProBlogger book (due out next month) that is a case study of my main blog (4-5 bigger than ProBlogger) – Digital Photography School.

dPS is now just a few days away from being 4 years old and so with the new edition of the book Chris and I thought it might be a good idea to include a new chapter that examined how I’ve developed the blog so far.

The case study looks at 4 main aspects:

1. how I launched the blog – the four foundations that I build in years 1-2
2. how I built upon the foundations – what I focused upon in years 3-4
3. how I monetize the blog
4. the way I use email to drive traffic to and monetize the blog

In this post I want to talk briefly about the four foundations that I focused upon in years 1-2 of building my photography site.

I won’t go into great detail about each one here (if you want more the book is your best bet) but as my reading was interrupted by a fire alarm at SXSW I wanted to cover some of it here for those who missed the 2nd half.

Foundation 1 – Content

• My #1 task in years 1-2 of dPS was building content.
• The focus was content for beginners (this was expanded later).
• My aim was for every post to solve a problem that a new camera owner had.
• The content was all ‘how to’ related – practical stuff that helped readers do or achieve something
• Quality of content was paramount – but so too was the idea of increasing the ‘quantity’ of content – I started with 3-4 posts a week but aimed to get it daily after 1 year.

Foundation 2 – Promotion

• ‘Build it and they Will Come’ is an idea with some truth to it – but in the early days of your blog you also need to actively promote your blog – readers won’t just find it.
• Define your potential reader – who are they? What are their needs?
• Identify where that type of reader is already gathering online (and offline).
• Participate in those sites where your potential reader is gathering – guest posts, building a forum presence, leaving useful comments, networking etc.

Foundation 3 – Community

• People don’t just come online for information – they increasingly are coming online to find ‘belonging’
• Readers want to participate, interact, join and relate – give them opportunity to do so
• On dPS starting a forum was one way I did this however community was something I went out of my way to build on the blog itself.
• Use polls, start discussions, run debates, ask questions, highlight readers work, invite people to promote themselves on your blog, link to your readers
• When you build community you build an army of evangelists for your blog, create social proof and open many doors for growth and strengthening of your site

Foundation 4 – Capture Contacts

• Most people who visit your site will never return naturally – even if they like your site
• On dPS I prominently invite people to subscribe in numerous places
• RSS is not always King – on dPS email subscription makes up over 75% of all subscribers
• Email newsletters drive as much traffic as Google does on dPS
• Email newsletters drive significant earnings (advertising, affiliate promotions and product sales)
• Email newsletters build community and make the site more sticky and personal

NOTE: Monetization was not one of the Main Tasks/Foundations in Years 1-2

I did monetize the site from day 1 and dPS was profitable from the first month or two – but it was not my main focus. Rather I focused upon the above 4 foundations and let the monetization grow naturally as traffic and reader engagement grew.

In years 1-2 monetization was largely through 2 ad networks – AdSense and Chitika (aff). I did some low level affiliate marketing (Amazon mainly) but over 90% of the income in years 1-2 was from ad networks. Years 3-4 were when I increased my focus upon monetization.

Image by beley.

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

4 Foundations of a Successful Blog

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Dearest Darlingest Blogger,

Who is your audience? Your ideal potential customer? Who do you need to work with?

And do you [...]]]> Dear Blogger: Do You Hate Your Customer?

Dearest Darlingest Blogger,

Who is your audience? Your ideal potential customer? Who do you need to work with?

And do you love her?

I’ve noticed a little virus going around the blog-o-sphere. I’m calling it contempt. Nobody wants contempt, and very few people will buy it.

Let’s use an example: Fitness Bloggers.

(I’ll say it now and I’ll say it later: even if you’re not a fitness blogger, you can apply these lessons to your blog and your marketing.)

Blogger Desperately Seeking A Nice Fitness Trainer, Online

I’m shopping for a trainer or a fitness/lifestyle coach and I can’t find one that I’d like to spend time with - never mind give my money to.

Here’s why: I’ve got high self esteem. I think I’m awesome even if my ass wiggles (in fact, I like the wiggle). Yet fitness coaches and people hawking health online (and everywhere) are invested in shaming me.

I’m not having it – and I’m certainly not paying for it.

Fat is not inherently shameful or shorthand for lazy/fat/stinky/unmotivated/unattractive, and if we had eradicated all other social prejudices and bases for discrimination (and we have not, dammit), then I would say that fat is one of the last “permissable” prejudices in our society. And that’s crap, frankly.

All that being said: I still want a trainer.

I’m a potential client. Someone needs to market to me because I’ve got a goal and I’m willing to spend money to achieve it.

Fitness Bloggers Desperately Seeking Clients, Online

Let’s talk about my profile as a client and how best to market to me.

Hint: shame is not hot or profitable.

I want to get stronger and more flexible, get rid of some bad habits, and ingrain a habit of eating foods that give me energy. If I drop some weight in the process – and I will, it is inevitable – then awesome, but I don’t think that will make me a better person. I think we can all agree that the quality of my character has nothing to do with the number on the scale or my jeans.

Here’s another little thing about me-as-future-fitness-client: I am acutely sensitive to the awful messages society sends women, and I see the link between those shaming messages and eating disorders and of course fat prejudice.

In short, I’m a middle-class thirty-seven year old North American woman who is not as healthy or as “hot” (sigh) as I’d like to be and I’m willing to throw my time, money and effort at the problem.

If you’re a trainer, or a fitness coach, I AM YOUR MARKET and positively ITCHING to give you my money.

How NOT to Market Online (Contempt is Probably Not Your Best Strategy)

And how do I find you? The internet. I google you and then I read your blog. So good on you for having a blog so I can find you and get to know you.

Too bad you didn’t take any time to get to know me, your target market.

Because if you did, and I’m the kind of person you’d want to train, then you’d know that I have a profound political and personal aversion to shame and so shaming me is not terribly inviting, effective or profitable.

But it is rampant. On a regular basis, fitness coaches and trainers – especially ones with women as their target market – blog things like this:

• talking about how disgusting fat is
• talking about going to a kids birthday party and counting every item of food the chubby kid ate
• talking about obesity as a disease or an epidemic
• talking about their fear of food
• talking about kicking my ass
• talking about other people – fat people – being lazy or unfit or lacking in character
• talking about how they’re going to beat the weakness out of me or run me until I puke

These things do not me move. They especially do not move me to hand you my credit card.

Why not?

Because you don’t even like me and I only do business with people I like and who like me back.

And because I don’t sign up for shame and abuse. There is a very limited niche for that sort of thing and it involves dungeons and whips and no one calls it “fitness”.

How To Market Online: Love Your Customer, Baby

If I could find a fitness coach or a trainer who was about health rather than fat-shaming – and who explicitly made the connection that fat-shaming is political and impermissible – I would be in. All in. Money-and-testimonials-and-glowing-blog-shout-outs-and-downward-dogs in.

So dearest, online fitness bloggers, trainers, and coaches, here’s an exercise that may prove enlightening:

Question: Who needs a trainer and is willing to pay for one?

Answer: Someone who values herself enough to pay for coaching to accomplish health-related goals.

Will shame resonate with that person? Is shaming your client a good a strategy?

Customer Relations: The Takeaway, For ALL Bloggers

Even if you’re not a fitness blogger, you can apply this lesson to your blog and your marketing.

Do you rant about how misguided people are? About how people just don’t get it, or your product? About how your product or service is a ticket to heaven and the rest of us are damned?

Please stop that right now. Love your customers or stop selling to them.

And that is all.

Love (really and truly – if I didn’t care, I wouldn’t have said anything at all),

Kelly Diels

ps. Did I make you feel bad? Did it make you want to pay me?

pps. Since drafting this piece, I found two fitness coaches I like:

Adam Glass – of Walk The Road Less Traveled –  who’s all about machismo feats of strength, listening to and learning from your body, and being the expert in your own progress. Adam works his ass off but isn’t that worried about appearance or shame. He’s invested in accomplishment. LOVE HIM.

Marianne Elliott – of Zen and The Art of Peacekeeping – is a peaceful yogini extraordinaire who asked me what my body needed for my 30 days of Yoga. Among other things, I said “lots of smooching, but I don’t think that you can help with that.” She then designed a routine for specifically for me called the “yogic body smooch”. LOVE HER.

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

Dear Blogger: Do You Hate Your Customer?

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It’s been just over two years since I last ran this poll – so lets see if things [...]]]> Where is Your Favorite Place to Blog? [POLL]

It’s been just over two years since I last ran this poll – so lets see if things have changed with the growth of WiFi and the popularity of mobile devices:

Looking forward to seeing how you respond!

PS: sorry about the ordering of options, ‘other’ should really have been the last one. Not sure why it ended up the top!

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

Where is Your Favorite Place to Blog? [POLL]

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In this post Mark Hayward shares some tips on blogging for small business when you’re not a writer.

image [...]]]> How to Blog When You’re Not a Writer

In this post Mark Hayward shares some tips on blogging for small business when you’re not a writer.

image by tomswift46

Have you ever accidentally slammed your hand in a car door? OUCH!

I think that very unpleasant feeling can be compared to how some small business owners feel about blogging. Until very recently, I would never have published anything on the Internet because I have never considered myself a writer.

Well, that all changed when I purchased my small business and suddenly I was forced to start producing content so that I could try to rank in Google, educate customers, and develop my backstory.

However, even though I started producing content, I still suffered from the inferiority complex that can only be associated with IMNOTAWRITER syndrome.

This syndrome, I’ve found, can be deadly to your small business blogging and it can cause countless hours of wasted time and frustration.

Plus, telling yourself, IMNOTAWRITER, is a very easy and convenient excuse not to blog, isn’t it?

As a small business owner, do you struggle with writing?

Growing up I was not one of those people who kept a journal or felt compelled to write as a form of self-expression. In fact, if you looked in the dictionary for the definition of ìnon-writer,î I would have been the poster child.

If you suffer from IMNOTAWRITER syndrome, but you’re contemplating blogging for your small business, please know that you are not alone and the fear (pain?) of writing can be overcome.

Typically, when it comes to blogging and small business, the three biggest complaints that I hear are:

• I don’t have the time.
• I am not a writer (or I hate writing!).
• I don’t know what to write about.

That’s it. Three little obstacles keeping small business owners from reaping improved search engine visibility (SEV), attracting new customers, and engaging existing clients.

Today, however, I am going to share a little secret with just you. Shhh… come closer… Closer… CLOSER.

You don’t have to be a writer in order to be a small business blogger.

Yes, you read correctly. You don’t have to be a writer in order to be a blogger.

Unfortunately, as far as I know, there is no writing fairy who will magically publish blog posts for you, so you won’t be able to avoid some of the hard work that producing content requires. But, to make the process more manageable, I am going to provide you with a couple of options and a bunch of tips that have helped me.

Option One: Blogging for Non-Writers

The suggestions below assisted me in getting over my uncertainty and fear of blogging and are recommended for those business owners who are hesitant to write, but are willing to give it a try.

1.) Start with your goals. What are you hoping to achieve through your blogging?

Do you want to be on Google front page?

Do you want to develop your brand?

Do you want to educate the public about your industry?

Do you want to increase your customer base?

Once you have your goals you can then create your content strategy around them.

2.) Get started. Make a commitment and set a specific date with your computer (or pen & paper) and get your ideas down. Do not skip this date for any reason, except an absolute emergency.

3.) Write your titles first. The titles will give you a simple, creative base from which you can structure the rest of your article.

4.) List out bullet points. Once you have your primary ideas down in a bulleted list you can then create formal paragraphs around your key message.

5.) Write in a human voice. You don’t have to be anyone else but you. There are a lot of impressive writers online (see: Darren Rowse, Seth Godin, Brian Clark, Chris Brogan, Jonathan Fields, & Colleen Wainwright) which can be intimidating and make you want to mimic them. Writing in your own voice adds a human element and will go a long way towards developing trust.

6.) Keep it simple. You don’t need fancy language or intricate grammar. One piece of handy advice I received is write as if you are drafting an email. Also, I find that focusing on one specific item in my small business blog posts keeps it as simple as you can get.

7.) Read your posts aloud. Before you publish your post, read it aloud. Does it make sense? Then go ahead and get it out on the Internet!

When writing for your small business blog, your post does not have to be perfect in order for it to be effective, but it most certainly does have to get published.

Option Two: Blogging for Those Who Refuse to Write.

Option two is for those of you who refuse to write one word.  Amazingly, you can still rank for keywords and appear on the front page of Google even if you never write a blog post. Although, you still have to be willing to do some work (sorry there’s no way around the work part).

1.) Try speech recognition software. Do you like to talk about your business, your customers, or your amazing product? Speech recognition software allows you to speak into your computer and without ever typing a letter. The program will capture your words and create a text file that can be published on your blog. (Special bonus, there’s even a speech recognition iPhone option.)

2.) Use photos. Have you ever done a Google search and noticed photos on the front page? If you refuse to write, but love to take pictures, then photos are a great way to provide content for your small business blog. You can upload them to a site like FLICKR and then seamlessly add them to your blog.

3.) Take Video. If photos are good; video is great! With video you can provide some really useful blog content in the form of tutorials or even customer interviews. Remember, people have limited attention spans so keep the videos short, about 1-2 minutes in length should be sufficient.

Always remember, if you skip a week, two weeks, or even a month don’t give in to the temptation to quit altogether. Just get back at it, don’t apologize and get back to posting your content.

I think that what scares people the most about blogging in general isn’t the writing, photos, or videos at all, but the publishing. Once you hit the ‘Publish Post’ button you have effectively given up control and you will be judged.

In closing, I think it’s important to state that whatever avenue you choose to promote your business, the key is to make a commitment and do it consistently.

Do you have other suggestions that might help those of us who suffer from IMNOTAWRITER syndrome? Please leave them in the comment below.

(Mark Hayward is not the writing fairy, but he owns a business and can help improve the online presence of your business. Get his RSS Feed and follow him on Twitter @mark_hayward.)

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

How to Blog When You’re Not a Writer

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A Guest Post by Kosmo from The Casual Observer.

I am the founder and editor-in-chief of The Casual [...]]]> The Casual Observer: Anatomy of a Multi-Author Blog

A Guest Post by Kosmo from The Casual Observer.

I am the founder and editor-in-chief of The Casual Observer, a site that has the goal of bringing an eclectic mix of fresh content to its readers every day.  We currently have ten authors contributing on a regular basis, with a handful of others writing an occasional article.  In a blogosphere dominated by niche-oriented, single author blogs, what makes The Casual Observer tick?

Why Multiple Authors?

When I started the site, I had no intention of involving multiple authors.  While I always intended for the site to contain an eclectic mix of content, I originally anticipated that I would write all the content.  The site took a slow turn toward being team written when a friend of mine mentioned that he was taking a trip to the 2009 Masters golf tournament.  I liked the idea of allowing the readers to see what goes on at Augusta, so I asked him to write a guest article.  I liked it so much that I asked him to come on board and write a weekly sports column.  This was in spite of the fact that I am a sports fanatic.  I liked what Johnny brought to the table in terms of writing talent, and his sports interests varied enough from mine to be complementary.

Over the course of the last year, I have approached other authors (or had them approach me) to write on various topics.  This has allowed me to move closer to my goal of provide diversity of content similar to that of a newspaper or magazine rather than the niche content that most blogs contain.  I knew from the start that this would be an uphill climb for readership, but my own varied interests made this more fun than a niche site.

Another reason for having multiple authors is the ability to produce more frequent content.  From day one, I have wanted to publish a new article every day, allowing readers to find a new edition of The Casual Observer at their virtual front door, much as they found the printed newspaper at their physical door.  With a full time job and two kids under the age of 3, this would be extremely difficult if I was the sole author.

How it Works

Very quickly, I laid out a document detailing the relationship between The Casual Observer and authors.  The basics were that the authors were considered independent contractors rather than employees (an important distinction in US tax law), that they retained copyright to their works, and that they should refrain from content that could be construed as defamation of character.

At the same time, I created a profit sharing agreement.  The gist of the profit sharing agreement is that after overhead costs (such as hosting) are deducted, advertising revenue would be shared proportionally, based on the number of articles an author wrote.

Am I putting the cart ahead of the horse by having a profit sharing agreement before there are actual profits?  My thought process was that it was better to have an agreement in place up front than to try to hammer one out three years down the road.  It’s much easier to get an agreement on how to split potential future income than actual current income.

Bumps in the Road

Has the path been smoothly paved and lined with fresh flowers?  Not always.  There are some problems that go along with multiple author blogs.

First and foremost, the other authors will miss deadlines.  It is a foregone conclusion that life events will sometimes prevent an author from getting an article submitted.  An author may even go on hiatus for a while when their life gets busier than usual.  When this happens, I try to put myself in the author’s shoes.  A non-paying writing gig is going to take a backseat at times.  It’s important to be able to fill these content voids when necessary.

Much more disturbing is the potential for plagiarism.  I was actually forced to sever the relationship with a former writer when I found evidence of plagiarism.  I was reviewing the current submission when I had a sudden case of déjà vu.  Where had I read this before?  Ah,yes.  CNN.  Multiple paragraphs had simply been copied and pasted.  A quick review of previous articles quickly found that they too had been copied from other sources.  At that point, I realized that I was probably a bit naïve to have complete trust in the honestly of my writers.  I now have a policy of randomly checking articles for originality – even when the author is a close friend.  I hate doing this, but it’s necessary to protect myself from copyright infringement claims.

What’s next?

I have been very pleased with the way The Casual Observer has progressed.  We currently have nearly 500 articles in our repository – ranging from sports to fiction to Middle East politics.  While I don’t anticipate a surge in the number of authors, I remain on the lookout for writers who could provide fresh content that would further enhance the reader’s enjoyment of the site.

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

The Casual Observer: Anatomy of a Multi-Author Blog

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One of the most common questions I’m asked since the new FTC regulations regarding bloggers came in is around disclosing affiliate [...]]]> Do you Disclose Affiliate Links?

One of the most common questions I’m asked since the new FTC regulations regarding bloggers came in is around disclosing affiliate links.

As an Australian I’m not directly impacted by the FTC and its regulations so I’ve not really had to change my own approach to disclosure – but I’d be interested to hear a bit of discussion on the topic – particularly around these questions:

1. Do you disclose affiliate links on your blog in some way?
2. If so – how do you do it (every time you use one, in the bottom of posts, site wide disclosures…. something else)?
3. if so – has the FTC regulations impacted what you do?

My personal approach for the last couple of years has been to have a sitewide disclosure rather than a per post one (although here on ProBlogger I have been noting affiliate links in posts more often lately).

What about you – do you disclose affiliate links?

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

Do you Disclose Affiliate Links?

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A Guest Post by Elle from Couple Money.

I’ve been blogging for a couple [...]]]> Tips for Doing the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge

A Guest Post by Elle from Couple Money.

I’ve been blogging for a couple years now and I’ve enjoyed it tremendously. Couple Money is not my first blog, but it is the first one I created with a specific goal in mind. I wanted to share how we’re building our net income while creating a mobile income from our passions and create a community of like minded couples.

My other sites started off as personal blogs and haphazardly morphed as I gained readers. Without a particular goal or process, the blogs’ growth tapered off. I wanted to change this with Couple Money and I knew I needed to get it done sooner rather than later.

I’ve been a reader of Problogger and after reading the 31 Day Challenge that Darren presented, I knew this is something I need to improve my site. I completed my Challenge last weekend and I wanted to share some tips I’ve done to maximize the Challenge for my blog.

Promoting Your Blog Post Effectively

One of the first tasks in the challenge is promoting a blog post. I’ve been guilty of promoting my blog posts to the annoyance of other readers and bloggers when I first started a couple of years ago. I had thought the best way was to keep posting updates on new posts. I learned the hard way that method does not work. When I receive constant direct messages on Twitter to promote posts, I feel less inclined to help, even if they’re good posts.

I was happy to see what I could do to promote my posts without seeming spammy. I tend to promote my posts through Twitter and I mixed them up with posts from other bloggers that I’ve found very informative. Since I work during the day, I try to batch my tweets as I review sites in the evening. While that’s great for me and my schedule, it wasn’t too effective.

I found that releasing them around the same time does no one any good. Not too many people clicked to read my posts or other people’s posts because they felt overwhelmed. I decided to make it a win-win situation. I now use Su.pr to schedule my tweets and spread out some community promotion through out the work day.

The Seesmic app is my buddy on my phone to keep in touch. I check replies and messages on my Samsung Moment during breaks and lunch during the day to communicate with my network. I also try and take the time to thank everyone who retweeted my posts. I think that appreciation and gratitude goes a long way with effective promotion.

Interlinking Old Posts Quickly and Easily

Writing posts that can grab readers’ attention is great, but it’s only part of getting a community started. I realized I needed to get my visitors to dig deep and become readers. The best way to help them is presenting them relevant links within the posts they’re interested in enough to read. In addition to helping readers, including relevant links can improve your site’s SEO strategy.

Darren suggests making interlinking a routine part if your blogging activities. To maximize my relevant links and minimize my time doing it, I use CrossLinker and Insight. These two plugins have helped me to quickly create links to my pillar posts and my best content. Crosslinker allows me to focus readers to my pillar posts and choose which keywords to link to it with. Insight is very helpful as I’m writing my post, as I can search for my posts and other blogs for helpful and resourceful links.

I’ve noticed that completing this task has improved my incoming search traffic for certain keywords. I’m starting to get on the first page of results for my relatively young blog. As I continue making interlinking to older posts a habit, I’m hoping to get even more improvement.

Find Some Blog Buddies to Turbo Charge Each Other

If you want to build a community, you have to be a part of one. Day 15’s task was to find a partner to help encourage each other to improve. I checked out some tips on finding blogging buddies and decided to join a small band of bloggers with the Yakezie Challenge. It’s the perfect combination of camaraderie and friendly competition that I needed. As a reader of Financial Samurai, I noticed his challenge to other bloggers to improve their sites by using Alexa as a gauge.

I compare it to someone who’s looking to get in shape by joining a neighbourhood sports team. You’re working hard to improve your game, but the teamwork makes it seem more like fun instead of just fitness.

So if you’re looking at finding a blogging buddy, my suggestion is to look around your niche and find some bloggers who are hungry and have a specific goal you share. Being a part of your niche’s forums is definitely important, but having a competition really focuses you on getting your work done.

Breathe Life Into an Old Post

As I noticed more search traffic for my blog (loving the results of this challenge!), I saw the need to follow Day 21’s task advice on going back and improving my old blog posts. My problem was that I didn’t have a large block of time to research what I needed to do to make it more resourceful and while still keeping up with current posts.

I decided to beef up posts based on my first time reader review (Day 17) and from analytic tools: Google Analytics and WebMaster Tools. My goal was to make sure older posts were providing information that my readers were looking for. I checked several statistics to see what I needed to focus my attention on:

• Popular Posts: Since time was limited I focused on posts that were already getting some attention and just needed a bit more to help them stand out.
• Search Terms Used: I wanted to see how readers were finding these posts and if there were any specific questions they were asking. I can either adjust a post with an answer to that question or write a new posts and link to my older posts.
• Heat Map: On my homepage, I include links to some of my older posts. I look and see which ones are popular and try and figure out why.

I recommend doing this on a monthly basis with your older posts and just focus on what your readers want to read more of. After all, if you’re looking to build a community, it can’t always be about you. Looking at older posts can be a bit easier to see objectively and you can address your readers’ needs more effectively.

What’s The Plan Now?

I have to admit I was really sad to see the challenge over. It was really easy to follow along a daily blogging schedule and having a specific goal to achieve. Having a framework to write and work from helped me to be more productive.

I decided I’m going to use the 31 Day Challenge as my guide for the rest of the year. Instead of going through the guide in the traditional 31 days, I’m going to focus each week on one of the daily tasks. I’ve seen how the guide has improved the quality of my content and the community so I want to really dig deep and focus on all the activities I can do with each task.

How about you? How have you maximized the 31 days to Build a Better Blog Challenge with your site?

Elle has been blogging over at Couple Money on how she and her family handles their finances. To follow Elle you can chat with her on twitter (@Elle_CM) or subscribe to her blog.

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

Tips for Doing the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge

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