What makes effective link bait?

Sometimes it is not simply enough to pen a well written and informative blog post (or other content) for your website. If you want people to actually read your post and also increase the amount of traffic
coming into your site, then you are going to need some sort of bait to encourage people to link back to the blog in question and/or your website. In the industries of web marketing and SEO (search engine optimisation), these hooks are known as “link bait.”

But what constitutes link bait exactly? And what does the most effective bait entail?

Matt Cutts – an SEO expert employed by Google – describes link bait as simply “something people want to link to.” Link bait is supposed to provide outreach (the act of hunting and securing relevant and useful contacts) on your behalf. The bait can take the form of written or illustrated opinions or facts, images, videos, advice...the options are almost endless. The only limitation is that the content is of interest to a significant number of people. It goes without saying that link bait that does not provoke back links from an array of different places across the web has failed in its role.

That’s not to say you cannot target slightly more niche groups however. A piece of web content discussing the difference levels of “yobbish” behaviour contained between two competing major league football teams (which both have large followings; for example Liverpool and Manchester United) can still attract a lot of attention. It is important to remember however, that controversy will often be greeted with questions regarding the quality and/or authority of such content. Bad link bait and negative attention are not one and the same though. Let me explain with an example:
Journalist Richard Littlejohn penned an article (Why my wife's PoW grandad wouldn't mark a minute's silence for the Japanese) telling Daily Mail readers how the world should not send money, provisions or even pray for the wellbeing of the Japanese population in the wake of the devastation caused by the recent earthquake and resulting tsunami. The controversial statements saw UK Twitter feeds erupt with peoples distaste. But was the Daily Mail worried? Of course not – the paper is known for its sensationalistic positioning and the tweets drove thousands of people to visit and back link to the site via their own tweets and retweets (RTs) as this pie chart from HashTacking.com shows;
 

Creating a storm of backlash isn’t for everyone though and there are plenty of positive ways to get people to link to your site or blog. Detailed, instructional “how to” guides can generate a lot of interest as can exclusive information or interviews from key experts in whichever industry your website relates to. Solid information sources aside, you should always offer your audience something that none of your competitors (or anyone else on the web) has done previously.

Competitions (and therefore prizes!) provide instant incentive for back linking are probably one of the most effective link baits – especially if those who want to enter them can only do so if they link back are spread the details using social networking mediums such as Twitter and Facebook.

Lastly, it is imperative to remember that a good piece of link bait is useless should it be presented in an awful way. You should ensure that the page containing the link bait is aesthetically clean, well laid out easy to read and largely advertising free. Including all of the relevant social media bookmarking buttons (Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Reddit, Stumble Upon, Del.icio.us...) will enable your content to be easily shared. Solid block of texts with no images does not make for an engaging page and content on such page is far less likely to read and therefore; shared.

Kat Cole has learnt a substantial amount regarding the art of link bait in her time as a marketing assistant for Easy Offices in Soho. Outside of working hours, Kat is a keen live music attendee and also enjoys (badly) playing guitar. 

4 Design Strategies That Work At Home, the Office, and On Your Blog

If you're reading this post, chances are that you have your own blog. If you've got interesting posts, but they're floating in a sea of sponsor ads or poor layout, nobody is going to give you the chance to shine. If you compare your blog to your home or office, the same concepts in design can be applied. No one would be comfortable in a messy house or office. Just as people would feel confused when navigating a chaotic looking blog, overfilled with unorganized information or pictures. This doesn't mean that you should become an extreme minimalist, but as a designer, I know the most important idea when designing anything - from your home, office, or even your blog - is to find balance. This is more easily said than done, so here are some pointers to help you create a blog that you can be proud to say is truly your own.

1. Customize Your Header

I have realized that one of the most important elements to a blog is the header. The header draws the most attention as it sits on top of the page, and is the first thing your reader sees when they land on your blog. A good header gives people a quick heads up on what the blog might be about or where the blogger's interests lies. It only takes one glance for a reader to decide whether they should continue looking through your blog or not. This concept also ties in with the front yard of your house or the reception area in an office. If you do not manage the first thing your guests see at your home or office, they will assume the interior of these spaces are also as messy, boring, or cluttered as the outside. If you are not Photoshop or art savvy, perhaps look into purchasing a custom header from a professional online artist. These headers are usually very unique and are fairly priced.

2. Express Your Personality

   Always be true to your own taste and style in your blog. Just like you see your home and office almost everyday, you wouldn't want your blog to be something that isn't you. Beware of pre-made templates. They're definitely fast in getting you up and running, but chances are one isn't going to be a perfect fit. Imagine having to repaint your entire house or to purchase different sets of office furniture because you opted for cheaper, but flimsy desks. Remember, you want well developed content in an equally developed space. It would be a lot easier to get it right the first time. Don't go for something beautiful that doesn't go with your theme of your blog. It's fine for first time bloggers to borrow templates. As soon as you can, make these templates your own and personalize them. Change the font colors, font styles, move around the widgets, and, of course, customize your own header!

3. Pictures Are Worth A Thousand Words

Just think of walking into a friend's home and not seeing any photos on the wall. Your friend may be talking about his family members, but there are no pictures to satisfy your curiosity of what they look like. In an office, it would be nice to see framed accomplishments or awards of the company - especially if you are a client of the business. Somehow seeing pictures is comforting and reassuring, and it also visually occupy our brains to believe that their surrounding is more interesting than it seems. If someone lands on your blog, they would probably be discouraged to read it if all they see is paragraphs of words with no pictures or design. Perhaps one picture minimum per post would suffice as a visual enhancer to your blog posts. Eventually you will be able to find it a habit to put pictures in your posts.

4. Make It Accessible

Another important design element comes with having a fresh and easy-on-the-eyes blog or website. It is just like having a room filled with beautiful expensive furniture. We don't want the furniture to look like it was just thrown into the room and placed anywhere into a clutter of chairs and tables. Instead, we have an idea where we would have our nice mahogany coffee table stand and its accompanying chairs to sit. We need to visually enhance the room and make space between the furniture for us to comfortably walk in. In an office, it maximizes efficiency for everybody if files are organized and cubicles are easily accessible. The same concepts can be applied to blogs and websites. Make sure your blog is highly accessible because usually your audience will do a quick scroll to take in what your blog looks like before they dive into your blog world. This means that they can easily find the comment boxes, your "about me" section, the archive to your posts, and all the other widgets you add into your blog. Take a moment to look at your blog, how easy is it for you to navigate in your own site?

Designing your blog should not be a tedious and difficult process as it is just you taking the time to find out what works for you and what will work for others, as well. Spend some time designing your blog. The more effort you put into your blog the more people will in turn appreciate your blog as much as you do.

Rebecca Chelsey, a designer, has a creative side that she enjoys utilizing on both personal and business projects. Her work as a designer has also taught her a great deal about communicating with people and helping them find inspiration. Outside her life as mother and wife, she also works for Homeseasons, which has simplified the holidays with 4th of July decorations, Halloween Holiday arrangements and ideas for every holiday in between.

Writer's Block? Look to The News for Inspiration

Before computers were invented, it was crosswords. Then with the advent of the first home PCs games such as Minesweeper and Solitaire would do the trick. Now, with the dawn of the internet, the opportunities out there are endless.

As long as there have been writers there have been a million and one distractions to keep us from writing, and one of the best times for distractions to hit is during a prolonged bout of writer's block. During these times it always seems to be the best opportunity to balance the cheque book or Google your name and see what comes up. Of course, you haven't spoken to Auntie Mildred in years, better send her a quick email to see how she's getting on.

Whether you're a blogger, a copywriter or an author, writer's block will have hit you at some point, and during these times it feels like you would rather do anything than pick up a pen.

For bloggers, inspiration can be closer to hand than you think, and with 24hour news now offering up stories, intrigue and gossip from around the world every second of the day, looking to the wires for a bit of inspiration can often shake out the cobwebs and get your creative juices flowing again.

Use The Themes of News Stories in your Copy

Unless you are unfortunate enough to be blogging on behalf of a completely obscure industry, there will always be at least one daily story that you can relate back to the themes of your business. Whether it is commenting on how economic news might affect your industry or that somebody famous has been seen using a similar product to yours, there are a million links that can be made, no matter how tenuous!

SEO Benefits

As well as getting you back in the writing zone, relating your copy to news events can have a positive effect on your websites visibility in the search engines. Look at the events that are trending on Twitter and Yahoo and write your story to incorporate these themes and you could see a huge boost in traffic as interested browsers come across your article in their searches.

Remember to include the relevant phrases in your "Title" tag ("Charlie Sheen" for example) and make sure you promote your story in the social networks and with social bookmarks to make sure that it is noticed and indexed by the big engines. Then with a bit of luck your story could attract the attentions of those who are searching for information on the latest trending events.

Use Your Judgement

Of course, there will be many news stories that occur that it would be inappropriate to use as ammunition for your blog. Use a bit of common sense when scouring the headlines and ask yourself if it would be appropriate to use these items as inspiration for your blogs. If you feel that the remit of your company would allow you to comment on big events, such as a camping store donating tents to help with a disaster relief effort, for example, then you can of course write about this, but avoid tenuous links to get you traffic as a result of widespread disasters or personal tragedies.

Rather than looking for any distraction you can when hit with a bout of writer's block, scanning the morning's headlines can be a great way of finding inspiration and getting related traffic coming your way. It is important to use a bit of common sense when selecting which stories to tag on to, but if you use this method in the right way it can bring with it handsome rewards for both your traffic and your sanity.

Alan writes blogs and article, some more tenuous than others, for The Corporate Gifts Company.

How to Generate Effective Blog Topics

Individuals who blog to promote their business or simply blog to make money on the side often have little trouble coming up with blog posts in the first six months of launching a blog. This is what I like to call the "honeymoon phase" of blogging. After all, you wouldn't have started a blog in the first place if you didn't have plenty of ideas to write about for starters.

However, after those first six months, the ideas are often much more difficult to come by, and many bloggers are left grasping at straws for blog ideas. Even more frustrating is the fact that it usually takes a minimum of six months to establish a blog presence and to get a bit of a following going, so around the six-month to one-year mark is the time to really start writing your best blogs because there will actually be people reading them. To help you combat blogger's block and come up with effective blog topics, here are some pointers:

1.) Research your own burning questions.
Let's say for example you're running a health blog that features content on natural living, exercise and eating right. You've read certain articles saying soy is a great source of protein for vegetarian diets and others that say it is harmful if consumed on a regular basis. Do some research on this, looking for authoritative articles on the topic. If necessary, contact a local nutritionist and ask for their take on soy. Come to a conclusion in your blog, quoting and attributing the information you find and linking to any relevant articles.

Or let's say you run a tech blog, and you've been dying to know whether you should invest in the new iPhone 4 or go with an Android. Do online research and reach out to people you know who own one or the other or have used both. Interview these people and come to a conclusion in your blog based on what you learn.

The key here is to find the answers to those burning questions you've had and use them as material for your blogs.

2.) Go with something seasonal.
Effective bloggers always seem to have great seasonal content. Sometimes it's related to a holiday, the most recent of which was Valentine's Day and the one coming up the soonest is St. Patrick's Day. If your blog promotes a business that you own, you can let your readers in on a special deal on a product or service on that particular holiday, such as a Valentine's Day or St. Patrick's Day special. If you run a food blog, consider doing a seasonal blog entry on great recipes for spring. Somehow, try to find a way to incorporate upcoming seasons or holidays into your blog. This will help your blog appear fresh and current.

3.) Provide your take on current events in your industry or hot discussions in blogs similar to yours.
Many bloggers subscribe to Google alerts for keywords related to their industry and receive news updates in their email inbox regularly. Let's say you run a business blog. You likely also subscribe to industry newsletters, a professional association of some sort and keep on top of news related to your field. Link to relevant news articles you glean from these sources and share your opinion and experience on the matters with your readers. I've seen this done effectively in attorneys' blogs. For example, if an attorney handles cases of elder abuse, they link to news stories pertaining to elder abuse and discuss how their services can help bring justice to the oppressor and restitution to the victims and their families.

In the same vein, if a hot discussion crops up on a blog that features similar content to yours, you may want to link to it and weigh in on the discussion. Just be careful not to regurgitate what has already been written.

4.) Ask your readers.
Last but not least, reach out to your readers and ask about the topics they'd most likely enjoy reading about. If you have a loyal following, you're sure to get one or two solid suggestions to keep you busy for a while.

By-line:
This guest contribution was submitted by Jamie Davis, who specializes in writing about masters degree. Questions and comments can be sent to: davis.jamie17@gmail.com.

Guest Blogger Guidelines

Some of you have commented to me that I seem to have a number of guest posts on this blog lately and wonder about how I chose guest bloggers. It's pretty simple.

Most potential guest bloggers contact me via email. If they can suggest a topic that is in line with the theme of this blog, and demonstrate that they can write decently, we proceed.

Any guest post has to be on topic and well written. I also allow a byline of course (one link please initially), something like these examples:

Joe Brooks is a blogger and businessman who can be found at Brochure Designing. He lives in Missoula and fly fishes in his spare time.

This post courtesy of Fred Flintstone, an expert in Champagne.

Henry Higgins writes on red wine, the formerly disgraced science of Phrenology, and Clams. He lives in downtown Chicago with his 37 cats.

When the post is done it is reviewed by a small group of my colleagues - basically I pass it by them. They decide whether it is good enough to publish. Most posts get published. The link must be to a high quality site or blog.