Here are my tips for e-books bloggers need to read.

Do-It-Yourself Blog Critique

Author: Melissa Culbertson
Price: Regularly $14, but on sale for Cyber Monday for $10.50!

Melissa has made a name for herself by doing blog critiques at MomComm.com. She was receiving so many requests for help that she decided to create an e-book. Learn how to engage your audience via strong navigation, design, and content — Melissa will show you how. She’s having a terrific deal on her book for Cyber Monday, so now is the perfect time to buy. The book is usually $14, but for Cyber Monday you can pick it up for you or a blogging friend for $10.50! Just use code CYBERAWESOME on November 28, 2011 before midnight and you’ll get the deal.

Mom Blog SEO

Author: Kelby Carr
Price: $19.99

Search engine traffic is vital to the success of your blog. Learn how to set up your blog so it’s as SEO friendly as possible and find and use tools that will help you optimize your content and site so the search engine bots can find you. Kelby explains the ins and outs of basic SEO and how it affects the success of your blog. This e-book isn’t just for mom bloggers! Regardless of your niche, you’ll be able to use the information in this e-book to improve your SEO rankings and traffic.

31 Days to Build a Better Blog

Author: Darren Rowse
Price: $22.49

This book is one of the best-selling e-books online, helping over 19,000 bloggers build a better blog. Darren recently revamped this e-book and every day in the challenge has been updated for 2012, most days have new further reading and case studies, the workbook now has Twitter integration, and the e-book has seven bonus days (effectively giving you 38 days of content)! So even if your blogger already has the book, they’ll appreciate receiving the updated version.

30 Days to Make & Sell a Fabulous Ebook

Author: Ang England
Price: $11.99

One of the best and easiest ways to earn money from your blog is to create your own product to sell. When you’re a blogger, that usually means creating an e-book. Ang England is a successful e-book publisher and she’s sharing her experience and secrets with you so you can start creating your own e-books and establish a new income stream from your blog. The best thing about e-books is that, after they’re written, they are largely a passive source of income.

Please note that each of these links is an affiliate link. 

Related posts:

1. Win iPad All-In-One for Dummies! This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Robin E. who...
2. Headway Themes Offers Easy-to-Use, Beautiful WordPress Theme for Bloggers (Excellent Holiday Gift for Bloggers!) Wondering what to give your social media lover for Christmas?...
3. Planning Your Blog Posts With an Ebook in Mind One of the benefits of writing an ebook is the...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Your Words Have Value!

If you’ve ever found your articles reprinted without your permission — and I’m talking more than what’s considered fair use — then you’ll love today’s article. Ang England explains what scraping is and how to approach a website that’s stealing your content. (Hint: You may be able to turn it into a lucrative opportunity!) Please welcome Angela as this week’s guest blogger and feel free to leave a comment about your thoughts or experiences with content theft. ~ Melanie

**********

Unfortunately in the blogging world there is one thing we’ll all have to deal with sooner or later — content scraping. This is when someone steals a post or article you wrote and publishes it on their own site.

While this used to have some serious SEO implications, these have been recently minimized by Google in new algorithms that help determine which post was the original and which is the duplicate. However, this content scraping is, quite simply, theft. Theft of your work. Theft of potential readers. And a sign of incredible laziness (or ignorance) on the part of the thief.

Perhaps you discovered the theft in a Google Alert you set up (and you should definitely be doing that), when a friend DM’d or emailed you to say “Hey — isn’t this your post you wrote last month?”, or just by pure happenstance. Whatever the method of discovery, I have some tried-and-true ways of dealing with content thieves you might find useful.

Stay Calm and Be Polite When Dealing with Content Thieves

My initial knee-jerk reaction is usually, “How dare they!?” but this is rarely a useful response. If this is a live human being, it’s probably better to try emailing them or using their website contact form if possible to inform them that you are the copyright holder of the post in question (Be sure to link to which post you are talking about). My initial email or comment usually goes something like this:

“Hi! My name is Angela England and I’m glad you found my article about lavender essential oil useful, however this article is protected by copyright and cannot be republished without permission. You can remit a one-time reprint fee of $XXX via paypal to <my paypal address>. Alternatively, I am available to create an original piece on this topic specifically geared towards your audience for $XX. Otherwise this article needs to be removed within 24 business hours. Thanks so much! “

There are a couple of important things to notice in my sample email above:

1. I used a statement rather than a question. A question can be answered negatively and legally can be ignored. Had I asked, “Would you mind taking it down?” They could have replied, “Yes I mind”. You must say “This article needs to be removed….”
2. I invited the content scraper to hire me or pay me. Obviously you can only offer a reprint fee option if that option is available for that particular post. However, I generally charge about $50 more for a reprint fee than I offer for creating an original article for that person. I would rather them hire me to create a new piece than to have duplicate content floating about all over the web. Besides, lots of people don’t realize that blog posts and websites aren’t a free-for-all. Educate them by offering to hire yourself out. This not only creates a potential win/win situation, but also makes it very clear that your words have VALUE and aren’t up for grabs.

Filing a DMCA Complaint Against Content Thieves

One time out of 10 I get a new job when I send that email. One time out of 10 I get a reprint fee paid to me. Five times out of 10 the articles disappear — usually without a single word of acknowledgement to me at all. So what happens the other three times when there is no response, no reply, and most importantly, my article is STILL up there?

Sometimes, especially if it looks like a legitimate website, I will actually just send an invoice via Paypal. In the invoice I price it higher than my initially stated reprint fee (call it a pain-in-the-butt tax), and will include a notice that payment needs to be remitted with 48 business hours or else the stolen article at http://yourthievingwebsite.com/mystolenpost/ needs to be removed. Sometimes this will work, but sometimes it won’t.

If that doesn’t work, you move to filing a DMCA complaint. I usually will do a WHOIS search and find a contact email address and resend my request to that email. I will also contact the host of the site with an official DMCA complaint. And I will contact Google, Yahoo, and other search engines. It’s not hard to fill out the form and it is, in my opinion, important for bloggers and writers to protect their work. The more often content scrapers “get away with it”, the more the problem will continue.

Depending on how much time I have and my feistiness level, I will contact any advertisers on the website as well. All ad networks have rules in place about the type of content that is permissible, and illegally obtained content isn’t usually approved content. Sometimes the ad networks will remove ads before Google gets to the DMCA complaint — either way, mission accomplished. (Usually I only contact a website’s sponsors if someone responds to me with an ignorant email saying something like “But it was on the internet and everyone knows if it’s on Google it’s free to use”.)

I hope this helps you as you battle content thieves and scrapers. Don’t be afraid to contact them and tell them your posts need to be removed. Your words have value and deserve to be respected.

**********

Angela England’s mission is to empower and educate others about blogging, freelance writing, and social media. She is the author of 30 Days to Make and Sell a Fabulous Ebook. You can read more of her helpful articles at AngEngland.com and Untrained Housewife.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

As the mother of four little ones, with one on the way, I am a huge fan of working smarter, not harder. One of the benefits of writing an ebook is the ability to create an additional product from work and research you’ve already used elsewhere. I love re-purposing high-quality content and presenting it in more than one format. With that in mind, I want to give you some tips for planning blog posts with the goal of eventually creating an ebook.

Brainstorm Article and Post Series

I’m a huge fan of the brainstorming process. When I first began writing web content for a particular content site I took a 50 cent poster board from Wal-Mart and filled it with idea after idea after idea. Two years and three ebooks later, that brainstorm session was actually covering the mortgage payment when I took maternity leave with my third child.

Planning articles in series around a particular topic meant that when I wanted to write an ebook, I could tell what series my readers were responding to and help predict which specific topic would sell well. It also meant that I had a huge head start on research and writing when it came time to put the book together.

Editorial Calendar

I love having an editorial calendar in place – even if just in general terms – so that I know where I’m heading with my writing goals. When I want to write about a particular topic, adding it to my calendar greatly increases the chances of that project actually coming to fruition! Otherwise, I’m too easily sidetracked by the immediate needs of my sites and jobs and family and….you get the idea. You’re probably in the same boat. An editorial calendar can help.

Scheduling Posts in Advance

When I launch a new ebook, I like to write a few posts on a related topic. Then you can schedule them out in advance and create a sustained buzz over your ebook. Alternatively, you can work on producing your ebook while your posts are still being posted to your blog. When I was working on the Making Money Blogging ebook, I had pre-written several blog posts in one day so that I could take awhile to put the book together and work on marketing it without abandoning my audience.

Angela England is a problogger, freelance writer, and author of 30 Days to Make and Sell a Fabulous Ebook. Find her on Twitter and at her blog, angengland.com.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Ask any blogger how to find blogging success and she’ll answer with write well. It’s cliche, but it’s true: content is king. Your blog design, brand, and attitude are all important, but the bottom line is this: any amount of success requires good content. And writing strong content is rarely a quick thing. It takes planning and effort. Here I give you six steps to help you write a better blog post.

1. Know your audience. Success in anything can be boiled down to knowing your audience. If you know your audience, you know what they are looking for and you can give it to them. If you’re writing tutorials, you’ll need to determine whether you’re writing for a beginner, intermediate, or expert. If you’re sharing funny stories, what seems to resonate with your audience? Look at your Google Analytics to see what posts see the most traffic (organic and search) and figure out what speaks to your audience on such a large scale. Not sure what your audience wants more of? Ask them.
2. Know your goal. What is your post trying to accomplish? Do you want to make your readers laugh? Show them how to do something? Encourage them to leave a comment? As you write your post, keep that goal in mind and consider how it fits with your audience.
3. Tell a story. Now that you have your goal in mind and you know what you want to write, make sure you do it in a way that is easy for your reader to follow. Have a beginning, middle, and end to your post. It’s so easy to start out writing on one topic, then move tangentially to a new topic. The result is that your post is confusing or, worse, doesn’t deliver on your goal (i.e., teaching, entertaining, challenging, etc.).
4. Respect the language. I’ve been called a grammar snob, and it’s true. I am. I also realize that not everyone has a knack for grammar, punctuation, and spelling. But that doesn’t mean they don’t matter. These constructs are what we use to navigate the written language. They are cues that tell your reader what your intention is. A mistake here or there can be overlooked, but consistently ignoring good grammar and punctuation may lead to fewer eyes on your page.
5. Use interesting, strong words. Or, as Rita Arens puts it, write with authority. Not only should you choose strong words, you should get rid of the dead words that add nothing to your story. Which brings us to . . .
6. Edit. Once you write your post, you’re not finished. Re-read your post, re-work your post, re-write your post as needed. NinaAmir suggests exercises for editing your own work like simply taking an existing piece of writing and trying to re-write it using half as many words. Like good writing, good editing takes practice.

More articles to help you write the perfect blog post

• 8 Tips to Write a Tutorial That Gets You Noticed by Jessica Howard
• 10 Things J. K. Rowling Taught Me About Writing by Michelle V. Rafter
• How to Find Your Blogging Voice by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Melanie’s Answer:

It doesn’t sound like you’re doing anything wrong. There just isn’t a great way to format some things without specific HTML (like that for a table, which I’ll show you in sec). Since you want to format the ingredients of recipes, I think you have a few choices.

1. Instead of trying to format the list with a bulleted list, you can simply type the amount of the ingredient, hit the space bar, then type your ingredient (which is how most recipe sites I’ve visited do it). Example:

10 roma tomatoes
1 yellow onion
1 lime
1 bunch fresh parsley
1 jalapeno pepper

2. If you like the simple typed list above, but want it indented, you can do that without a bulleted list. Just type your list, highlight it, then click the blockquote button in your editor. It looks like this: Your list will look like this:
   

   10 roma tomatoes
   1 yellow onion
   1 lime
   1 bunch fresh parsley
   1 jalapeno pepper

   It’s a very subtle difference from the list in #1 above, but you should notice it’s indented a little. NOTE: Your blockquotes will likely look different than mine because my template automatically adds the gray color to the text and the line to the left as part of the formatting. Your template will likely just indent your text.

3. If that’s not what you want, you can implement an HTML table. I’ll be honest with you: the method above is easier, especially if you don’t have experience with HTML. Putting a table together with HTML is easy, but you have to keep track of what you’re doing or the cells won’t line up properly. Here’s what your ingredients list might look like with a simple table:

1	can tomatoes
1	bunch parsley
1	yellow onion
1	lime
1	jalapeno pepper

The HTML for that table looks like this (notes in red just tell you what the HTML is doing and shouldn’t be used in the HTML you write for your table):

<table> signals the beginning of the table
<tr> signals the beginning of a table row
<td>1</td><td> cantomatoes</td> <td> signals the beginning of a table cell; </td> signals the end of that cell. You can have as many table cells (<td></td>) on a row as you like.

</tr> signals the end of that table row
<tr><td>1</td><td>bunch parsley</td></tr> (repeated from above)
<tr><td>1</td><td>yellow onion</td></tr>
<tr><td>1</td><td>lime</td></tr>
</table> signals the end of the table

As you can see, there’s not a lot of difference between a basic table and simply typing your ingredients. You can adjust the padding of each cell (the white space around the cell; it makes it appear there is more space around each table cell) to get the table to look just right, but it takes some tweaking and experimenting to figure out what works for you. To learn how to make an HTML table, please see the W3 Schools Tutorial on HTML Tables.

photo credit: Leo Reynolds

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Understanding the Difference Between Categories and Tags

Categories and tags help you organize your web site or blog and help your users find the information they want. A blog category is a topic you address on your blog. Your category list is like the table of contents for your blog. Categories are broad and can encompass smaller, more defined topics (i.e., tags). A category title should be descriptive and can be several words long.

A tag is more specific and addresses items you discuss in a particular blog post. A tag is usually only a word or two and reflects the keywords or points of your article. If categories are your blog’s table of contents, tags are your blog’s index. For example, the categories for this post are Content/Writing, Definitions, and FAQ, but I’ve also tagged it with words that describe my content: define blog categories, define blog tags, blog organization, SEO, and blogging advice.

When you come to Blogging Basics 101, you can click on the category (e.g., Content/Writing) to see all the articles written under that category. If you want to find an article pertaining to a specific topic, though, you may opt to do a search for keywords. That’s where the article tags come in. By tagging an article with relevant key words, I help you find the information you’re searching for.

Tips for Choosing Categories and Tags

When you decide to implement categories and tags, it’s a good idea to consider how you want to label or title them. Here are some things to consider:

• Organization is key. The main reason to use categories and tags is so your readers can easily find the information they want. As you choose names for your categories and/or add tags to posts, consider how you’d find the information if it weren’t your blog. What terms would you search for if you wanted to find this article? Use those terms in your categories and tags.
• Category titles can be long(ish). Since categories reflect the topics your articles cover, make them as descriptive as possible. Your category titles can reflect the tone of your blog or be succinct. For example, if you have a conversational blog and want a category for funny stories, you could call that category I think it’s funny to keep with the personal aspect of your blog. If, on the other hand, you want to be more SEO friendly or succinct, you could call the category Funny stories about my cat. The former is vague, but readers know what to expect; the latter is more precise. Either is fine — you know what’s right for your blog.
• Know when to stop. Your categories should be broad enough that you won’t need to have a list of 50. Figure out what you write about the most and create categories for those topics. Everything else can go in a catch-all category of Miscellaneous.
• Tags are short. You should use tags that are up to three words long, but no more. Tags should also be the keywords related to your blog post because they will aid search engines in finding your content. (They aren’t the only thing the search engines look for though, so don’t go overboard. What else do search engines look at? Titles, headings, links, etc. Tags are just a little extra.)
• Avoid duplication. Try not to use names for tags that are the same as the names of your categories. It’s redundant and it can confuse your readers.

How to Display Categories and Tags

Displaying your category lists and tags is easy enough. Since your category list is part of the navigation of your blog or web site, it’s best to display a list of categories within your sidebar. From there readers can click on a category of interest and see a list of all the articles related to that category. Since each of your posts will likely have more than one tag, your list of tags may be exponentially larger than your list of categories. The result is that it’s not really necessary to list your tags in your sidebar. If you have a search widget for your blog (and you should; if you don’t, head over to Widgetbox and get one), when a reader searches for a keyword, your relevant tagged posts will come up in the results. Or, if you want to show off the popular tags you’re using, you can use a tag cloud in your sidebar. A tag cloud is an image that reflects the tags you use throughout your blog. Tags that are more popular or used more often in your posts are bigger than less popular tags. You can make your own tag cloud at Wordle.net.

If you aren’t using categories and tags right now, I encourage you to do so. It’s an easy organizational tool to implement and it will help your readers (and search engines) find your content quickly and easily.

A version of this article was posted at BlogHer.com.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

What do the new FTC guidelines expect from bloggers?

The newest FTC guidelines require bloggers to disclose any relationship with an advertiser and to make “verifiable” claims. Relationships with advertisers include any compensation received in exchange for a review–including receiving a free product. As BlogHer.com’s own Liz Gumbinner has said, “The intent of the FTC guidelines is to protect consumers from deceptive marketing practices.”

Richard Cleland is Assistant Director of Advertising Practices at the FTC. He’s been providing interviews around the country and clarifying the FTC’s expectations for bloggers and disclosure. In a phone interview with Ed Champion of Reluctant Habits, Cleland told Champion that “the FTC’s main criteria is the degree of relationship between the advertiser and the blogger. . .If there’s an expectation that you’re going to write a positive review, then there should be a disclosure.”

However, the FTC does acknowledge that some cases are different from others. In an interview with Virginia Prescott at New Hampshire Public Radio, Cleland had this to say about receiving sample products versus being paid for a review:

“That’s going to depend on the circumstances. If we’re talking about getting one free product or something sent to you and you happen to write about it on your blog, that’s not the type of relationship that has to be disclosed. But if you’re part of a network and you’re consistently receiving products to test and blog about, then that raises the implication that these gifts are quid pro quo and that’s why you’re writing the positive reviews.”

In answer to Ms. Prescott’s question about how the FTC will hold bloggers accountable for false claims, Cleland said, “It’s going to be on a case-by-case basis. It’s going to have to be a situation where it’s actually justified, the extent of the injury is such that it justifies using our resources to look at the possibility of an enforcement action.”

It’s worth noting that those of us with Amazon Affiliate links are expected to disclose those as well. Champion says Cleland “didn’t see any particular problem with a book review appearing on a blog, but only if there wasn’t a corresponding Amazon Affiliates link or an advertisement for the book.” Though that example is specific to books, it could apply to any product linked to an affiliate.

Do the new guidelines include Facebook and Twitter?

Yes. Many bloggers type paid tweets and/or become Facebook fans of certain products, then share those tweets and fan pages with their friends. Just because the advertising relationship is outside a blog, it’s still a relationship and the blogger is still compensated–the rule for disclosure and true testimonials applies. Caroline McCarthy at Cnet gives this example of how the FTC guidelines apply to a blogger (or, in this example, a celebrity) on Facebook:

“[A] celebrity or other prominent figure with loads of friends on Facebook receives free hotel stays from Hotel Chain X in exchange for running Hotel Chain X ads on his or her blog. If that person then signs up as a Facebook fan of Hotel Chain X–which, remember, could mean that the person’s name can show up for his or her Facebook friends alongside Hotel Chain X display ads on the social network–he or she could be held liable by the FTC.”

As for Twitter, the FTC expects you to fit in a disclosure regardless of the 140 character limit. Cleland told McCarthy, “There are ways to abbreviate a disclosure that fit within 140 characters. You may have to say a little bit of something else, but if you can’t make the disclosure, you can’t make the ad.”

How can the FTC monitor every blog out there?

As Richard Cleland made the rounds of interviews, this question often came up. Cleland’s answer was that the FTC’s goal right now is to educate people on what is expected of them. He also indicated that the FTC would be “looking primarily at the advertisers to determine how the relationships exist” (from Ed Champion’s interview).

In an article on CNN, Eric Kuhn reports that “Richard Cleland . . . admits there will be no new team to monitor all the blogs, and that enforcing these guidelines would be a ‘game of whack-a-mole’ given the numbers involved.” Kuhn goes on to say that, “The new guidelines are viewed as more of an educational tool than any kind of requirement, and geared at advertisers more than bloggers. If numerous complaints are filed regarding a blog, the FTC is likely to investigate that the advertiser has properly advised the blogger of these guidelines.”

In his interview with Caroline McCarthy at Cnet, Cleland said, “…in the bigger picture, we think that we have a reason to believe that if bloggers understand the circumstances under which a disclosure should be made, that they’ll be able to make the disclosure. Right now we’re trying to focus on education.”

What about the $11,000 fine for bloggers who don’t disclose payment?

Mashable.com, TechCrunch, CNN, and several other trusted news sources were reporting early Monday that bloggers who don’t disclose payment will be fined $11,000 per violation. In fact, the updated FTC regulations (link downloads a pdf) don’t mention an $11,000 fine at all. Eric Kuhn of CNN tweeted Monday night, “I just spoke with an FTC spokeswoman. She said there is NOT a $11,000 fine for breaking the new guidelines re endorsements.” Unfortunately, none of the original articles with erroneous information have been updated to reflect that there is not currently a fine for violations.

Do I need to go back to my old posts and disclose for previous gifts or payments?

Lisa Stone, one of BlogHer.com’s founders, gave this advice:

“Since we started this network in 2006, BlogHer’s editorial guidelines have prohibited putting advertising in editorial space on blogs. So if you’re talking about posts you’ve made on BlogHer.com or in your blog IF it’s in the BlogHer publishing network, this question should not apply — it’s against the rules!

If you’re not in the BlogHer Network, we recommend that you update your “About” page with your blog policy about payments and review your blog for the current year and disclose any gifts or payments. For previous years, I think you can disclose on your “About” page the date on which you began your disclosure practices. We are not your lawyer, but as a a general practice we recommend that bloggers disclose any kind of payment at the top of every post written because of a payment of cash, goods, or services.”

Most of us are already doing the right thing and we’re not who the FTC is after. To be sure you’re in the know, download the current FTC guidelines. Then write up a disclosure policy and post it clearly on your blog. Not sure exactly how to write your policy? DisclosurePolicy.org can generate one for you.

This post was cross-posted at BlogHer.com.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

If you’re chosen as a source, you have the opportunity to ask the reporter to include information about you and your blog. As you can imagine, it’s a popular site both for reporters and would-be sources because everyone is winning in that formula. The one rule of HARO is that you must not waste people’s time; if you aren’t an expert in a field, you should never respond to a query (not that any of you would, but it’s an integral part of the site and worth mentioning to be clear).

When you respond to a request from HARO or any other news source, you have to convince them that you’re the best person to ask for answers to their questions. The way to do that is to knock their socks off when you query back with your bio.

You can subscribe to HARO via their web site and you’ll receive three e-mails every day with requests for sources in specific areas (e.g., travel, tech, general). If you see something you can speak to, you respond directly to the reporter making the query.

Here are some tips for writing a successful response to queries:

1. Keep it short, two paragraphs is sufficient. Introduce yourself, address the necessary information the reporter asked for (e.g., any questions from the query), and why you’d be a good source. This is where it gets tricky–you should be short and to the point, but not so much so that the reporter doesn’t really know why she should work with you. To help make your point, give a short overview of your expertise and links to back it up. Be sure to tell the reporter how you can help them.
2. Answer the questions, if any, in the original query. You’re more
   apt to be chosen if you’re responding to the reporter’s actual request rather than something close, but not quite the same. She’s under a deadline and is asking for what she needs–don’t give her something else. Speaking of which…
3. Pay attention to the deadline. Most of the HARO queries have a deadline for submitting yourself as a source. Be mindful of those.

More advice on writing responses to HARO (and other other) queries:

• How to Respond to ProfNet, PRLeads, and Helpareporter.com Queries, Part 1:
  Provides actual responses to queries and discusses why they don’t work or weren’t chosen as sources. Excellent information here.
• How to Respond to ProfNet, PRLeads, and Helpareporter.com Queries, Part 2:
  More info on responding to queries. This woman knows her stuff and
  she’s sharing it. Love that. Youcan learn a lot from these two articles.
• 6 Tips to Responding to HARO Queries: These are similar to the ones I mention above, but she builds on them and offers a few more.
• Ten Essential Tips For Getting The Most Out Of HARO & ProfNet : This article offers excellent advice on how to be chosen as a source (e.g., be quotable, help them help themselves).
• Help a Reporter (and Yourself) Out: A great explanation of why you’d even want to be involved with HARO.
• Interview with Peter Shankman at SmallBiz Marketing Tips:
  Love the quote from Peter Shankman (founder of HARO) from this story: “Word. Of. Mouth. End of story. Create something beneficial to people, and they’ll tell everyone about it for you.”

This article was cross-posted at BlogHer.com.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Blog Goals and Advice

• Find a niche. It’s true that there are blogs on every niche. However, if you look, you’ll see that there are holes to be filled. Find a need and fill that need. I started Blogging Basics 101 (at the urging of Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer) because there are many intermediate and advanced tech sites for bloggers, but there wasn’t a place for beginners.
• Don’t be afraid to self-promote. I think many bloggers (mommy bloggers in particular?) find self-promotion difficult at first. The key is to find a balance between promotion and humility. If you’re in blogging for the long haul and want to make some money, you have to put yourself out there. You’ll need to use Twitter, Facebook, and other social media to bring attention to yourself. You will have to comment at other blog posts and become part of relevant blogging communities. You will have to toot your own horn sometimes. Be careful not to spam your friends and readers with too much, but don’t be afraid to draw attention to yourself when it’s warranted. Why do you think businesses have commercials?
• Build on what works. Don’t be afraid to experiment with new weekly columns, placement of ads on your site, or guest posts. Use your statistics programs to gauge your readers reactions. If you can’t garner information from your stats program you should a) ditch the stats program and try something new and b) ask your readers for feedback on what they like and don’t like. Then implement any ideas you receive.
• Look for ways to extend your blog. Problogger suggests considering forums, job boards, newsletters, podcasts, and videos as ways of extending your blog’s reach.
• Content is King! Everyone says it and it’s true: without compelling and well-written content, your blog will go nowhere. Yes, blog design is important, but they’ll stay if you have great content they need (and that ‘need’ can encompass learning or entertainment).

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

1.  Mistake: Auto-loading music.

Please. I beg you, your readers beg you: ditch the auto-loading music! Auto-loading music is not only annoying and surprising, but it’s a bandwidth hog. It makes your blog load slowly. Do you really want to lose a reader because she couldn’t wait for your site to load? And if she waits for your site to load, will she be annoyed because she didn’t know there would be music, had her speakers on high, and a sleeping husband (or child) right beside her? I can tell you this: She won’t be back.

2.  Mistake: Using a design with a dark background & light text.

This issue is less about your aesthetic and more about usability and readability. Reading online is harder on our eyes than reading traditional paper. Using a dark background with light text makes it even harder on your readers’ eyes.

3.  Mistake: Too much sidebar clutter.

A sleek, uncluttered design goes a long way with readers. The less clutter, the more space you have. You can use this white space to help lead your readers’ eye toward specific content. Are you proud of your awards, badges, and various trinkets? That’s OK, those things are a right of passage too. You don’t have to get rid of them, but why not put awards on their own page and link to it from your main page? You’ll trade 20 links for just one link and de-clutter the sidebar. De-cluttering your sidebar eases navigation for your reader as well. When there are fewer items competing for your reader’s attention, they’ll be drawn to what’s important.

4. Mistake: Accidental plagiarism (even with photos).

Very few legitimate bloggers plagiarize on purpose. Most likely a new blogger won’t realize what they’re doing. Plagiarism applies to using any content that isn’t originally yours, whether it’s content or photography or music or anything else. I’ll be honest and tell you that when I started blogging I would Google a picture, then copy it to my computer and use it in my blog post. That’s a big problem because it’s the same as plagiarism–even if I cited where I found the picture. I hadn’t asked the owner if I could use it, I just did it. If you’re new to blogging, take a minute to find out about and understand the issues of plagiarism and copyright. U.S. Copyright Office bluntly says: “Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission.” These links will help you:

• I put a Creative Commons license on my blog, but is my material truly protected?
• I notice that many bloggers have something on their site telling people not to plagiarize, but how effective is it?
• A Few More Links for Copyright Information

5. Mistake: Using “click here” instead of keyword phrases for links.

I advise you to choose your links words carefully. When you are writing a post and need to insert a link, consider how you are going to write that sentence and where you will include the link. For example, which of these is more effective (potential links in bold)?

If you are interested in hosting a giveaway, please review my vendor guidelines.

My vendor guidelines are available here.

The top sentence is more effective for your audience because it tells them exactly what they need to do. It’s also effective for SEO purposes because search engine spiders are looking for unique word strings. Strings like “click here” or even just the word “here” linked to other files or pages are everywhere on the web. Make your pages stand out by being more descriptive with your links. Help the search engines catalog your site effectively.

Rubik’s Cube photo credit: photo credit: wokka

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.