Business Blogging - How to Build A Better Blog

How to Increase Conversions on Your Blog - 7 Revealing Blog Reviews

Did you catch the post on DeniseWakeman.com about how to optimize your blog for more subscribers?

The post features a video blog review of my blog done by Derek Halpern, of SocialTriggers, an expert in increasing conversions rates on blogs. My blog review was one of seven Derek has done for some big names in blogging and Internet Marketing including:

Chris Brogan

Jay Baer

Pat Flynn

Laura Roeder

David Risley

Lewis Howes

and me.

Derek has compiled all seven blog reviews in one place - more than 3 hours of FREE email conversion consulting. 

If you want to amp up your blog and start getting more subscribers, then I HIGHLY recommend you spend some time studying each video. You will hear similar feedback and each blog is different with different objectives so you will learn how the big boys and girls are upping their blogging game. 

More subscribers will lead to more prospects for your products and services. More prospects leads to more sales. Need I say more?

If you watch, take notes and implement even a few tactics, I'm confident you will see improved conversions and results from your blog. 

ACTION:

Bookmark the page and block off 30-45 minutes a day for 7 days to study each blog review. Then, implement two or three tips immediately. Track your subscriber numbers and keep tweaking to improve your conversions. And, let me know how it goes!

Want more tips for getting the best out your blog? Click here to get 5 free videos right now!

How to Choose a Blogging Platform [comparison chart]

The question comes up every time I speak about blogging: What blogging platform should I use?

I'll be honest...I usually say "it depends." Though this has been addressed many times before by me and many others, there is no one "right" answser. You need to choose based on your own criteria.

• How technically savvy are you?
• Are you a do-it-yourselfer?
• How much customization do you want?
• Will someone be designing and building it for you?
• What's the purpose, goals and outcomes you want from your blog?

When I set up my first blog in 2004, all I knew about was TypePad and I've been very happy with the platform. I also have used SquareSpace and my site at DeniseWakeman.com is build on Wordpress.org. I've been a guest blogger on sites built on Blogger and Moveable Type. I also use Posterous as a remote blogging site for miscellaneous posts that don't fit with my other content. And Tumblr is growing quickly as an easy blogging alternative.

How do you decide which blogging platform to use?

An Organized Approach: Why Blog Order is Ubiquitously Essential to Success

This is a guest post by Kenneth McCall of storage.com.

An Organized Approach: Why Blog Order is Ubiquitously Essential to Success

One of the best things about having a blog is being able to get your ideas, your business, and any and all information your readers might find helpful out into the world. No longer must you contain all that great stuff in your mind or scrawled on a legal pad. But from your abundance of great stuff, your content must be selected carefully and presented in an organized way or it loses its impact.

Not too long ago I was at a jewelry store with a friend looking for something special for his wife. He didn't see anything that caught his fancy, so he asked if they had anything else that wasn't on display. The jeweler went to a cabinet and pulled out a box with literally countless plastic bags of diamond earrings, ring settings, precious stones, and pendants. She pulled a few things out of their baggies and put them on a velvet display, but we left soon after without making a purchase. "Seeing all of it crowded in that box," my friend explained, "I don't know...it just cheapened it somehow."

So too can clutter and over-displaying content cheapen the value of your blog. If there's too much to see the effect is overwhelming rather than intriguing.

Here are 10 tips for organizing your blog to maximize the impact of your content:

1. Make your topic known immediately and clearly through the title of your blog and a concise tagline. A well-defined and consistent focus helps organize your material, attract the readers you are looking for, retain readers, and cut the clutter of extraneous copy or graphics attempting to explain your blog. The focus of your blog should be clear without readers having to look for it.

A Proper Introduction: The Need for a Compelling First Impression on the Web

This is a guest post by Bill Post at 123Print.

A Proper Introduction: The Need for a Compelling First Impression on the Web

In every crowd there's a person who lights up the room. That's not me. The beauty of blogs and websites, though, is that even social misfits have a chance to make a great first impression. Anyone can make an attractive blog that people want to interact with. Think hard about how you want to introduce yourself to the world and what kind of impression you want to make. If your blog or website doesn't make a great first impression all of your ideas will go unread and ignored, and it's the high school dance all over again.

Here are six first-impression personality flaws I've noticed some bloggers make and how to avoid them:

1. The Limp Handshake/No Clear Message

When someone gives a limp handshake, that person gives the vibe of someone who is uncertain, who has more questions than answers. Why am I here? Who am I? If you don't quickly tell your readers who you are, why you are, and what you have to offer them the whole thing's a bust. Announce yourself with a firm handshake by choosing a name for your blog that speaks to your purpose, giving your posts titles that are relevant to that purpose, and coming up with a tagline that states your purpose as an abbreviated mission statement and placing that tagline in a visible location. If you are still in a web identity crisis, and you're not entirely sure why you are starting a site or a blog, do some soul-searching BEFORE you build your site.

Wordpress Do-It-Yourself Training Abounds - Isn't It Time You Set Up A Blog?

If you're a do-it-yourselfer and want to learn how to build and manage sites/blogs built on Wordpress, you're in luck. Several of my colleagues have created comprephensive and excellent training programs that take you step by step through the details of how to set up a site on Wordpress.

Recently I wrote a short review about Beginner to Blogger, an affordable video training for Wordpress offered by Traci Knoppe.

A few days ago I received a notice from my mentor Tom Antion about a Wordpress ecourse he has just released. Tom no longer uses anything but Wordpress to create ALL his ecommerce sites (and he has hundreds!). I didn't get a review copy. I bought the program so I could check it out and let you know what I think.

True to form, Tom Antion over delivers. The course is delivered by email with links to pdf documents and videos that take you step by step through choosing a domain, setting up your hosting account, installing the Wordpress software and then through all the nuances of choosing a theme and the right plug-ins to make your site optimized for search engines and to work as a selling machine.

Tom knows how to make money - he's a millionaire several times over - so any training he creates, I get it and I've never been disappointed. Check out Tom Antion's Wordpress Website Creation Ecourse. It's only $97 though I'm pretty sure that he'll be raising that fee soon. It's worth several times that.

If you prefer to get live teaching and coaching, there is no one better than Christina Hills. She is a patient, thorough teacher. Twice a year she offers her 8 week intensive Website Creation Workshop. For the first time ever, Christina is offering a 4 week accelerated "Summer Camp" on how to build sites using Wordpress. But if you want the benefit of Christina's top notch teaching, you have to act now because enrollment closes on June 24. 

The investment is more for Christina's program because you get live training, hand-holding and your first Wordpress site set up for you! If this is the type of support that works best for you, you cannot do better than Christina to learn the ins and outs of Wordpress.

Disclosure: the links are all affiliate links which means I make a small commission if you invest in one of these programs. I personally know each of these experts. I have either worked with them, trained with them, experienced their teaching, and/or have used their products. That's the only way I would make these recommendations for you.

If you prefer to have an expert build your site and coach you on how to effectively use your blog as a marketing tool, let's talk. I have a blog build/consulting program that may be right for you. Use my support desk to submit your request and we'll connect.

If you don't have a blog yet, what are you waiting for? No matter your budget, there's a way for you to get a blog set up fast and easy in just a few hours.

Blog on!

Free Webinar on how to use WordPress for your business

As you probably know, I use TypePad for my blogs and love the platform. However, I do also have a couple of sites built on Wordpress and appreciate the love and enthusiasm millions of people have for
Wordpress.

This Thursday, September 3rd, my colleague Christina Hills, is holding a free webinar for you:

"What is WordPress and How can it Help Me in my Business?"

This is going to be a webinar for non-techies, who want to understand 'the big picture' of what  WordPress is and how it can help you in your business.

Plus she'll be taking live questions from you.

So go here now to get the webinar call information.

You may know Christina Hills at The Shopping Cart Queen, however she is also passionate about Wordpress and has taught hundreds of people how to build their own sites with Wordpress.

If you're a do-it-yourselfer and  want to know more about Wordpress and how it can work for you, I highly recommend Christina's free webinar.

Blog on!

Business Blog First Impressions: A List of Things You Believe In

Denise and I teach our blog clients that a good business blog must pass the "blink" test. In the blink of an eye, when a first time visitor lands on your blog, do they quickly get a sense of:

• Who the blog is for?
• What they'll learn?
• What you're an expert in?

There's a combination of good blog design and concise writing that creates this instant recognition. Your blog title is important, along with a tag line to describe in as few words as possible these three important elements. Other elements can attract visitors to stay, read and subscribe.

Here's an idea to deepen connections with readers right away.

Recently I ran across a side-bar item on a famous consultant/professor's blog that adds a tremendous amount of blink factor on a deep and profound level. It was called "15 Things I Believe." Wow, how's that for getting to know a blog author?

Could you possibly write a list of 7-12 deeply held values? Wouldn't that create connection with readers? If you want to read the example, visit Bob Sutton's Work Matters Blog. You might have to scroll down a little, it's on the left side. Talk about making a good impression...

Related Posts:
Blog "Blink Test"- Is Your Business Blog Well Branded?
10 Blog Design Tips for Branding & Building Trust

SEO for Bloggers: How to Get Started

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a mystery to most bloggers. I don't claim to be an SEO expert -- far from it -- but knowing a bit about how search engines work and how to find and use appropriate keywords for your content is useful (some would say critical) for creating an effective business blog.

For the last couple of days I've been reviewing a new training program called Wordpress SEO Secrets created by my colleague Michael Martine (@Remarkablogger on twitter). Like the title says, the program is directed primarily at bloggers who use Wordpress, but in my opinion, much of the content is important for all bloggers to know, regardless of the platform you use. 

The tutorials however, are all created for Wordpress. And since we know there are millions of Wordpress bloggers and some of them actually read this blog (even though it's on TypePad! :-) ) I thought it important to share this program with you.

When we work with clients, one of the first things we talk about is the fact that if you want to be found on the web by your ideal client, there are a few things that will greatly help:

TypePad Account FINALLY Upgraded

My TypePad account has finally been upgraded to the new platform and I'm excited. I think I'm among the last of the millions who use TypePad.  I was told it's because I have multiple blogs on my account (10) and multiple authors on several of the blogs. The migration is tricky and they didn't want to screw up my blog.

The system gets better and better. But, there's a downside...I realized I have to update the tutorials in the Build a Better Blog System AGAIN. The entire design module has been redesigned for the better. It's so much easier now to customize your TypePad blog.

If you own a copy of Build a Better Blog ebook, stay tuned for new tutorials coming soon...

Thank you TypePad. You're doing an awesome job on creating a powerful blog platform for professionals.

FeedBurner Problems? Check your Feedflares...

If any of you Typepad bloggers have noticed strange changes to your FeedFlares, we were alerted to problems with Feedburner yesterday. Thank you to Debra Dalgleish, an independent computer consultant, who's eagle eyes noticed the changes. Here's the message Debra sent:

Hi Patsi,

At the bottom of your latest article How NOT to Write an Email Promotion Message... there's a link "10 comments on this item" and it leads to http://www.hotsauceblog.com/hotsaucearchives/pimp-your-sauce-v3/

The "Email this" link looks suspect too. The previous article also has incorrect links in the Add a comment and Email this.

Regards,
Debra Dalgleish
Contextures

Please check your FeedFlares if you're using that FeedBurner feature on your blog that ends a post with Add a Comment, Email this, Twit this, or other choices. Fortunately, it's easy to deactivate FeedFlares on your FeedBurner account until the issue is resolved.

For more information on the issue, there's a FeedBurner Help Group on Google Groups. Even though it's apparently a FeedBurner issue, I was pleased to get a Typepad response within a couple of hours of opening a support ticket to say they were investigating with FeedBurner.