Erin Blaskie - How do I find things to blog about?

So, how do you find things to blog about? Some days I can blog for 100+ hours, time permitting, other days I seemingly have nothing interesting or even dull to say! Erin Blaskie gives up 4 tips in this under 2 minutes video - check it out!

Blog Directories - Should I submit My Blog?

A common question new bloggers ask is, "Should I submit my blog to blog directories?" Some bloggers will submit to hundreds of directories, while others believe this to be useless. When starting a new blog, I think it is worthwhile to submit your blog to a few blog directories.

You will get some initial and valuable links back to your blog, which hopefully the search engines will quickly find causing them to index your blog, so that it's including in search results. Also, search engines consider links to be a "vote of confidence." Anything worth linking to must have value, they assume, so the more links to your blog the better it must be. Don't necessarily expect anyone to follow the links, to get any visitors from the directory listings.

So how many blog directories should you submit to? Hundreds of blog directories? Some people do, but I believe that's a waste of time. Maybe 5-10 blog directories maximum is enough. Although search engines love links, they are smart enough to realize that a link from a blog directory is not as important as a link from an on-topic blog post or article.

I always submit to Technorati.com and a few others, maybe 5 or perhaps a few more. Some blog directories may want you to post a backlink or make you jump though other hoops -- I generally skip those. Life is complicated enough!

Not everyone agrees with me on this. Some experienced bloggers feel submitting to blog directories is entirely worthless and conversely some believe submitting to hundreds of them is worthwhile. If you are going to submit to hundreds of directories, you might consider outsourcing that work as it's time intensive.

So how do you find blog directories? Simple, Google "blog directory." The most important blog directories, at least in the eyes of Google, will be listed first.

Submitting is usually fast, although some may make it difficult - skip those! When you first start your blog, spend a few minutes submitting to 5 or 10 blog directories, and then concentrate on producing valuable content so hopefully others will link to you.

And for over 100 more tips on successful blogging, I invite you to grab your free copy of my ebook Secrets of Successful Blogging at http://www.secretsofsuccessfulblogging.com

Blog Posts: 3 Successful Types

There are three types of blog posts that tend to be very successful and popular. Some of your posts are simply going to be much more successful than others, and they will almost always be one of these three types.

1) Link Posts

It's great to link to work by other sources, things other people have written, and add your own thoughts. These sources can include other bloggers, traditional websites, online newspaper articles, and basically anything.

I do this and suggest you do when linking to something adds value to your readers. You are showing them something that they are hopefully interested in and adding some of your own analysis or thoughts and comments.

You may agree with the original author and add some more thoughts or disagree. Sometimes controversy, where genuine and well thought out, can create a lot of interest!

Make sure you link to lesser known sources sometimes. If you're only linking to A-list bloggers and very popular Web sites, it's more likely your readers will have already seen what you are referencing.

2) Single Topic Posts with Original Content

Although link posts are great, you should write original content at least some of the time. Original material makes your blog even more valuable and attracts the search engines who will send you more readers, especially when a post if focused narrowly on a single topic or issue.

Some people write more original content, perhaps primarily original content, whereas others like to link more of the time and both techniques are fine. Most bloggers do and should use some mix of these two techniques.

3) List Posts

Lists are extremely popular! Often they'll have titles like "27 Ways To . . ." or "The Three Best . . ."

The items in the lists may be original thoughts, links to other resources on the Internet, things you've already blogged on, or some combination.

Notice what's not on the list: rambling posts that cover several topics. These are rarely popular or useful. Stick primarily to the three types mentioned above, and you'll find that some of your posts take off and attract lots of readers. Oh, and expect to be surprised at which ones are most popular; all bloggers, including myself, always are!

And for over 100 more tips on successful blogging, I invite you to grab your free copy of my ebook Secrets of Successful Blogging at http://www.secretsofsuccessfulblogging.com

50 Useful Google Apps for Writers

From learn-gasm, 50 Useful Google Apps for Writers.

How many of these do you use?

I don't use very many, but the ones that I use are invaluable!

Warning: Google Toolbar is spyware. Skip Google Toolbar and don't help Big Brother Google watch you.

Business Blogging: 5 Things To Avoid

Blogging can have a significant positive effect on your business or career if done well. Many people concentrate on what to do, but not what to avoid which is equally important. Here are 5 common errors to avoid with business blogs.

1) No Blog Focus

In a personal blog you can ramble about whatever you'd like: sports, the weather, your pet Chihuahua, etc. You can as well in a business blog if, and only if, you tie each post's content to something professional.

Feel free to blog on your Chihuahua's eating habits, for example, if there is a business lesson or point you can draw from them.

2) Improper Writing Style

A business blog, like any other blog, needs to be written in a personal and conversational tone, but it also needs to remain professional. It's closer to water-cooler talk at the office or a discussion with someone you meet at a conference than a discussion with your oldest friend or mother. Some big faux-pas are occasionally made in this area.

3) Not Enough Honesty

All right, so you're writing personally, conversationally, and professionally. Let's add some honesty about you, your products or services, and your company. Not everything you make or do is the absolute best in the world, so don't act like it. Sometimes you may need to honestly accept mistakes or shortcomings or that your stuff is not the best for everyone all the time!

Someday there also may be less than wonderful news; acknowledge and move on. If your company is front page news and it isn't good, you can't ignore it. At least acknowledge it and honestly comment on it. You can't hide anything on the Internet. Be quick and honest and try to get it over with.

4) Whimsical Post Titles

Post titles are not just written for humans, but for the search engines as well, which drive most Internet traffic. Your post titles are one of the key elements search engines (as well as humans consider). Although a New Year's headline of "look better naked" may work for the local healthclub in the newspaper and other offline locations, "Exercise: Lose Fat and Get Fit for the New Year" is much better online!

5) Regular Blogging for the "Sake of It"

Yes, most bloggers, especially new bloggers, should strive for a minimum of 3 posts a week, but if you have nothing to say, don't say it! Just writing for the sake of writing tends to produce ineffectual drivel.

You may need a few days off, or you may be able to find other blog posts that are valuable to your audience to link to and comment on.

Business blogging is a great way to get visibility for yourself and your organization. Avoid these five common mistakes and your blogging will be far more effective.

And for over 100 more tips on successful blogging, I invite you to grab your free copy of my ebook Secrets of Successful Blogging at http://www.secretsofsuccessfulblogging.com

Blog Design: 7 Tips

Most blog platforms come with some basic blog designs. They may call them templates or themes or something similar, and usually they are not bad although some customization is pretty common. I often see some common mistakes, and hopefully you will be able to avoid them after this discussion.

1) Include an "about me" page or at very least have information about you in your sidebar. Make it prominent and make it truly about you, not some resume-like page.

If people find your blog and like what you have to say, they're going to want to know something about you.

2) Have contact information easily visible: an email or maybe even a phone number. Your email can be displayed as a graphic to prevent spammers from harvesting it easily. You can always use a different address than your main address if you like. You could use a throw away address such as a yahoo or a hotmail address.

Visible contact information will make you seem more real and although people may occasionally contact you, it will be far less often than you might think.

Robert Scoble, one of the more popular bloggers on the planet, has his phone number listed and he doesn't get that many calls. I have my number listed also, and I might have somebody call me every two or three months. When it's that infrequent, it's a pleasure to talk to somebody who has taken the initiative to reach out to you.

3) Include a picture of yourself. Blogs are personal, even business blogs, and people who visit yours will want to know what you look like. It's also easier to built trust if your picture is visible. No, you don't absolutely need a picture, but it's strongly recommended. Sometimes people might think you are hiding something if you don't have one.

4) Some of your blog posts are going to be much more popular than others (you may be surprised which ones they are). I call these your classic hits.

Don't bury your classic hits, your most popular blog posts. Highlight them somehow. You might for example have a most popular posts section in the sidebar. That's what I have, a most popular post section and I list my most popular posts based on the ones that are read the most.

Other people do it slightly differently. For example, Brian Clark at copyblogger.com has a "Popular Articles" in his sidebar and under that he lists his most popular blog posts. Yaro Starak, on his  blog Entrepreneurs-Journey, calls his most popular blog posts "Popular Articles" and lists them at the very top.

Somehow or another highlight them. You might do something as simple as create a category called "most popular" and include popular blog posts in that category.

5) Don't have a blog banner that is too big! The banner is the top portion of your blog that goes across the top. It might have a picture of you there, the name of the blog, perhaps some graphic -- they vary quite a bit.

You don't want your banner to be big. No one should need to scroll down to see your content. People decide really quickly when they first reach a Web Site, and that includes blogs, whether to read orleave.

6) Make sure your blog is visually appealing or at least not ugly.

Avoid bright colors. Stick to reasonable fonts like Times New Roman and Arial. Have someone with a good eye look at your blog, preferably a graphic designer. Everytime I start a blog and I've started dozens for myself, for friends, and for clients, I always get a graphic designer to at least look at it after I am done.

The problem is that it might look OK to you or me, probably neither having a particularly good eye nor appropriate training, but it still might look really ugly to others. Having a graphic designer take a quick look at it is good insurance.

7) Remove any random junk you have from your sidebar that serves no purpose.

Some blogs are just so busy: they have one, two, sometimes three sidebars just crammed full of all kinds of stuff. With some of it you wonder why is it there. What purpose does this serve? Now in my opinion calendars are a prime offender. What good is a calendar there? Some people like them, but to me they serve no purpose.

Empty space in a blog is not only allowable, but it's a good thing. It helps focus eyes on what is important, which is your content and hopefully the few things you choose to put in your sidebar.

Most blogs start with a basic template which is then customized over time. These tips will hopefully help you that with customization and help you avoid common mistakes with blog design.

And for over 100 tips on successful blogging, I invite you to grab your free copy of my ebook Secrets of Successful Blogging at http://www.secretsofsuccessfulblogging.com

Blog Success: Your Blog Goals

In order to have a successful blog, it's important to have blogging goals.

What are your goals with blogging? If you don't have any goals, how can you know if you're succeeding, if your blog is working?

Ask yourself where do you want to end up with blogging? You are never going to get there if there isn't any "there."  How do you know you've achieved your goals if you don't have them?

I suggest going beyond merely listing goals and choosing a primary goal. Your primary goal may certainly shift over time, as may all your goals.

Goals for a business blog might include establishing thought leadership, engaging customers in dialogue -- Microsoft has been extremely effective in that with their 4,000 plus bloggers, increasing awareness of your company and its offerings, or perhaps just becoming a better writer -- writing is a critical business skill.

For example, my primary goal with my first blog was simply to experiment and become familiar with blogs and blogging. Once that was accomplished, my primary goal became to reposition myself as a consultant. Traditionally, I was a technical guy and many of my older clients used me for my technical acumen only. However I'd been in business for myself for a good 15 years including a number of startups and a lot of consulting, and I learned quite a bit about business.  Some of my newer clients used me for my business acumen. I used my blog to help position myself as a consultant with a lot of business experience and a strong technical background.

I strongly suggest you write down your blogging goals, preferably on paper! Schedule a review date on your calendar a few months out and revisit your blog goals then.

Have you made progress towards achieving them? Has your primary goal shifted?

Just the simple practice of documenting your blogging goals and periodically reviewing them can have an enormous impact on the success of your blog.

And for over 100 more tips on successful blogging, I invite you to grab your free copy of my ebook Secrets of Successful Blogging at http://www.secretsofsuccessfulblogging.com

5 Reasons Not to Blog

In a recent teleclass with Dianna Huff called "Is a Blog Right for You" we discussed 5 reasons NOT to blog. We went over a lot more info too, available on the recording and in the transcript, but these 5 reasons are pretty important!

The teleclass is focused on B2B (business to business) blogging, but 95+% applies to all blogs.

Drum roll please . . .

1) You just want to dive in.

If you're not familiar with blogs -- you shouldn't just "dive it! Take at LEAST a couple of weeks to read blogs in your area and get a feeling for them.

You can find blogs in your area with the blog search engines like Technorati.

2) You are not passionate on the topic.

If you don't care a lot, why should anyone else? If you have passion, it's going to show in your writing. If you don't, you can only fake it so long,and you'll probably get bored anyways, which doesn't help make an exciting and successful blog.

3) No one is willing to commit!

Most blogs are written primarily by one person, and that one person (you?) needs to commit to blogging long term. Sure you might quit after a few months saying it's not for me,  but you need to give it a serious attempt for at least a few months.

I also see more and more multi-author blogs where no one has taken or assumed ownership. Multi-author blogs can be great, but someone needs to be in charge and champion the blog.

4) It’s impossible to write the blog yourself without interference from others.

This is primarily a problem in organizations. Imagine if every post needed to be approved by legal and marketing!

I have a friend, an independent consultant, who had the same problem -- his biggest client wanted to see his posts before they were published.

Sorry folks, this doesn't work. You may end up with a smooth and polished marketing piece, but not a conversation blog, and it WILL show and experience shows time and time again that this just doesn't cut it!

An example was the Captain Morgan blog based on Captain Morgan Rum. Captain Morgan doesn’t exist, but I guess that’s okay. The blog was a sort of fun, lighthearted thing. They had the -- I think they called them the “Morganettes” -- which are essentially college-age scantily clad women, supposedly all submitting blog posts. All the posts were written as though the Morganettes were literary scholars, and perhaps some of them, were but the blog got a lot of ridicule and essentially didn’t work. A lot of people noticed and made fun of it and it had a negative effect.

5) It's a checklist item -- perhaps "The boss said we need to start a blog" or we think we "need to add it to the marketing mix."

This always fails -- no surprise!

Much more in my teleclass with Internet Hall of Famer Dianna Huff "Is a Blog Right for You"

10 Design Tips to Make Your Blog Look Fabulous

10 Blog Design tips from the folks at TypePad.com -- and I agree wholeheartedly with them all!

You can also get a free e-copy of my Secrets of Successful Blogging: 101+ Tips for Blogging more Effectively, Efficiently, and Effectively  by subscribing to my newsletter in the upper right hand corner, and you'll get download info via email promptly (or send Amazon US$7 for a hardcopy).

And the 10 Blog Design Tips are:

1. Make your purpose clear.
2. Keep it simple.
3. Discover whitespace.
4. Use complimentary colors.
5. Place key information "above the fold."
6. Create a custom banner.
7. Check your copy size.
8. Add visual interest with photos.
9. Do a usability check.
10. Check your blog in several different browsers.

For details on these 10 tips, just click here.

How to get 5 times as many posts from the same content

Want to get five times as many blog entries out of the same content?

Split it up into a list. Tips are a great way to segment content and they have the added benefit of being easy to divide into multiple entries.

So take your ideas for “How to Close the Sale” and make it “Five Tips for Closing the Sale.” Then post each tip on a different day. It’s easier to read, improves search engine performance and gives your readers a reason to come back!

Thanks to Paul Gillin for this tip (from his social media newsletter).