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How to Take Your Blog Posts to the Next Level

admin — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 08:00:54 +0000

Adding photos to your blog posts can be a great way to visually convey your written message as well as bring an added entertainment element.

I’ve just come across a great WordPress Plugin called Photo Dropper that’ll save you time and energy when it comes to adding photos to your posts.

This plugin searched for Creative Commons licensed photos-images that are licensed for shared use-and lets you drop them into your posts right from the WordPress visual editor.

Once you install and activate the plugin a new icon will show in the “Upload/Insert” area of your post editor. Simply place your cursor where you want the photo to be inserted and click the PhotoDropper icon and search for images related to your keywords.

After you find an image you like, you can select from a small, medium or large version of that picture and the image and the photo credits will be added to your post.

Let me know how using this plugin works for you by leaving a comment below.

Why You Should Blog

admin — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:00:13 +0000

I’m not a big fan of “should-ing” on anyone but I’d like to take a minute here and give you 10 reasons why blogging is an essential component of a successful online marketing plan.

Blogging allows you to share your thoughts and opinions with the world which is the linchpin to establishing you/your brand as an expert.
Creating a blog is a great way to establish a written history. I know if feels a little weird at first but when you look back after a year or two you’ll be amazed at how far things have come for you.
If you have even the tiniest interest in writing a book a blog can be a great way to prepare.
Blogs are search engine candy.
Blogs are an easy, effective publishing tool that allow you to share information with customers and prospects.
Blogs are the foundation for a successful social media marketing strategy AND search engine optimization strategy.
Blogs can serve as the content hub for your enewsletter or print newsletter.
They are a great way to start a conversation with customers, prospects and influencers.
Blogs force you to keep abreast of industry news and trends.
Bottom line…blogs are a creditability machine. Journalists love to interview bloggers and authors. If you don’t have a book published already – get yourself a blog and instantly establish creditability.

What is the Best Blogging Software?

admin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 08:00:49 +0000

Hands down-100%-there is no other option in my opinion….

Self-Hosted Installation of WordPress

Why?

First of all when you take on the responsibility of blogging (note I did say responsibility) you now become a publisher and you want to own the content that you produce. You give up a number of rights to your content when you use a blogging service (see post about blogging service vs. blogging software if you need clarification as to what the two are)

Second, wordpress is used by the majority of professional bloggers yet it is easy enough to use for a beginner.

Third, there are thousands if not hundreds of thousands of custom/commercial themes you can use to instantly change the look of your blog. When you use a self-hosted installation of WordPress you have access to Full Theme Support. This means that you can modify, customize or do anything you like with your site. That opens up a world of possibilities.

Fourth, all plugins are allowed. Do you want to add a podcasting feature to your blog? Control the amount of spam comments? Add a calendar of events? Integrate YouTube? All of these features are just a click away when using a self-hosted installation of WordPress.

Last, there is an entire community of more than a billion users of wordpress that will provide whatever level of support you need for your site. Often for free. Sometimes it just takes a bit of ‘googling your problem.’

As an additional bonus, most hosting companies like GoDaddy or Hostmonster have 1-click installation of WordPress so you can literally have your new blog up and running in less than 5 minutes. We like speedy implementation around here… don’t we?

Are You Reaching Out to Bloggers?

admin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 07:00:53 +0000

In the old economy, if you wanted your product or business to get a lot of attention you might try to form relationships with the writer for the local or national paper, television station or magazine. These ‘media outlet’s’ dominated the communication between ‘big business’ and ‘consumer’. With the decline of readership in newspapers and magazines and more people getting their news online, have things changed all that much or are they really the same?

With the advent of social media, it no longer was necessary for someone or a company to have lots of money to have a readership. Now we have “Influencer Marketing“. Influencers are people who exercise influence over a group of buyers. The Word of Mouth Marketing Association defines an influencer as ‘A person who has a greater than average reach or impact through word of mouth in a relevant marketplace”.

In the case of HOW you reach out to the “influencers” I’d say things are the same BUT its the “influencers” who have changed. Today getting the attention of a top industry blogger might do more for getting your product or business noticed than an interview by the local television station.

Let’s look at some quick tips for how to reach out to bloggers–espeically if you have NO idea how to get started.

First, do your homework. Find out who the bloggers are in your industry and subscribe to their blogs. Spend time reading what they write about and HOW they write about products.

So how do you find out who blogs about your industry? Check out these sites:

Alltop – the Internet’s magazine rack.
Google Blogsearch – search by topic.
Twitter Search – find bloggers by what they tweet about.
Postrank Topics – search by topic.

Next, its time to build a relationship. In the Web 2.0 world that’s pretty easy.

Start by following them on Twitter. (Quick tip…to find out someone’s twitter name google ” ‘their name’ on twitter” and the first thing that will usually come up is that person’s Twitter link)
Listen to their tweets. ReTweet (RT) their message to your followers if you find the information valuable and useful.
Comment on their blog posts
Set up Google Alerts and comment on articles they write

Spending a few months ‘listening’ and responding to what they talk about will make it all that much easier when it comes time to send an email asking for help. Don’t try to push your product or agenda on someone until you’ve done steps 1-4 a few times.

See its just like when you used to read articles in the local paper by the business writer and study their style before reaching out to them. Same process different medium.

My Challenge for you…Can you add 2-3 hours per month to your marketing mix to start researching influential bloggers in your industry? If you spend 30 minutes today finding and subscribing to their blogs then next week you can spend 15 minutes reading their posts. Week after that read for another 15 minutes. In a month you should have a good handle on what type of style the blogger has and have the confidence to start conversations with them on Twitter or leave comments on their blog.

Good luck!

Twitter is HOT but Blogs Rule!

admin — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:13:50 +0000

Twitter may be hot and on the top of mind but you shouldn’t forget about blogging.

If you haven’t started blogging…what are you waiting for? (if you’re stuck on ‘What to blog about?’ contact me for a consult, we’ll get that taken care of straight away!)

Having your own blog remains the strongest platform for sharing your ideas and having a continued dialogue with the world.

Here are 5 reasons you need to blog.

Tells a Story of True Commitment. As often as you blog you are sharing your passion with your industry and the world. I’d recommend setting a goal of at least 2 blog posts per week. Remember, your expertise grows in significance with each post. Yes it may seem odd the first few posts, like you are putting messages out there for no one but look back a year later and you’ll be proud at your accomplishments and discipline.
Search Engine Juice. Ideas expressed in blog posts are indexed by Google and there for anyone to search and find you forever. Your Twitter and Facebook updates maybe archived by Google but don’t carry the same weight as fresh content on blogs.
You own the content. If your blog is self-hosted then you own all of the content that you put up on your blog. This is often not the case when you post content to Twitter, YouTube or Facebook. Additionally, on your blog YOU determine how that content is shown to the world and don’t have to fit within anyone’s 140 or 160 character parameters.
Analytics. On your self-hosted blog you can easily install Google Analytics and see who is visiting your website, how long they stay on your site, and where they come from. This is extremely useful in deciding which advertising/marketing methods are working for you. This is also the reason why when you update Facebook or post links in Twitter they should direct people back to your blog so you can track what your community is doing and use the information to further provide value to the community.
YOU are the Producer. The beauty of social media and Web 2.0 is that it allows you and me to become producers of whatever type of content we want to share with the world. No longer do we have to rely on Madison Avenue Ad agencies to tell us what to think and how to be cool. You can become a thought leader for your community. So why are you holding out on sharing this gift, your thoughts with the world?

Bonus tip!!! Traditional media (radio, tv, newspapers) will find your blog (from Google) and will recognize you as an expert. Because of my efforts in providing content to you a producer from WPTV reached out to me for an interview earlier this month. Watch WPTV Interview here. This can happen for you too!

To Your Prosperity,

Mande

P.S. Remember if you need help with implementing ANY of the social media tips and tactics I talk about on FreeSocialMediaHelp.com don’t hesitate to contact me for a consultation!

P.P.S. What are you blogging about? Please share your blog with me by leaving a comment below!