Business Blogging - How to Build A Better Blog

Blogging Tidbits Round-Up

A little bit of blogging this and that today to catch you up on some things I've been up to and that may boost your business and blogging efforts...

1. Have you joined The Blog Squad's fan club on Facebook? The new direct URL is http://facebook.com/BlogSquad. FYI if you have a fan page on Facebook, be sure to get a "vanity" URL for it ASAP before someone else grabs your ideal URL. 

I am now offering exclusive Blog Squad Fan Page deals on the last day of the month. If you want VIP notification of savings on Blog Squad products and services, make sure you join the fan page by clicking on the button that say "Become a Fan" if you are not a fan already. Today's deal is 25% off Online Video Made Easy. You can grab the coupon code on the fan page.

2. Recently I launched a free 5 part video course on Business Blog Mastery: How to Get the Best Out of Your Blog. Don't miss this! Some good blogging tips and includes video, audio, and transcript.

3. On July 15 I'm teaching a free webinar for TypePad with Andy Wibbels on Top 5 Tactics for A Successful Small Business Blog. It will be informative AND fun since Andy has a great sense of humor.

4. Finally a reminder. I'm consistently seeing in my blog stats that Twitter is the #2 or #3 referrer of traffic to my blog. Is your blog feed being delivered to your twitter stream? If not, use Twitterfeed to set that up right now.

Related Posts:
Use Video on Your Blog to Entertain Your Audience
Bloggers - Are You Using Video Yet?
Twitter Helps You Build Blog Traffic

How to Reach 97 Million Americans - Lou Bortone's Video Tip

Lou Bortone the Online Video Guy is my guest "author" today. I guess author takes on whole new meaning with video. I asked Lou to share a video tip with my readers and in the video he talks about why you should be using video in your marketing mix.

I think you can see I'm pushing the use of video on your blog. Not for every post, but to mix it up once in a while. Give your audience a more intimate glimpse at who you are and the chance to connect with you even more deeply.

Don't be intimidated by Lou Bortone's videos. He's been doing this a long time. If you've seen any of my videos, you know they're pretty basic, and they get a point across. That's what you want to do. Nothing fancy or technically complex.

Not sure how to get started? Here's my list of equipment and software.

Related Posts:

Use Video on Your Blog to Entertain Your Audience

Engage Your Readers in Multiple Ways

Recommended Training:

Online Video Made Easy

Recommended Reading

YouTube for Business

Use Video on Your Blog to Entertain Your Audience

Not a day goes by that I don't read something in an ezine or on twitter or Facebook touting the power of video to connect, engage and convert your readers. And it's true. Video is a much more intimate way to connect since the viewer can see your body language, your facial expressions and hear your tonality.

In this 2 minute video clip, which is part of a 5-part 50 minute video program about blogging (free!) I talk about the power of using video on your blog (it's a video clip from a presentation I did a few months ago).

And video is not difficult to shoot, produce and distribute. The tools are soooo much easier than they have ever been. I can assure you that if I can do video, you probably can too!

In this blog post on blogging and video, I list some of the equipment, tools and software I use. Dare I also be shamelessy self-promotional and remind you that with the Online Video Guy Lou Bortone, I created a video course for newbies called Online Video Made Easy...everything you need to know to get started using video on your blog. Really, it requires very little investment to get started and I'll bet you'll have a lot of fun.

Fun though it may be, you also want results. Typically people respond much more favorably to videos: they're more apt to click your links, sign up for your programs, buy your products and generally heed your calls to action.

If you're using video on your blog, what's your experience been? Do you get more comments? More subscribers? I'm curious how video is working for you. And if you're not using video yet, what's stopping you?

Tony Laidig Reveals How to Create Expert Content for Your Blog

My interview with public domain expert Tony Laidig struck a chord. Even after the event was over, people have been registering so they can get the audio replay (497 so far!). Tony over-delivered, as I knew he would, when he shared a successful case study and step by step details about how he uses an overlooked source to fill his niche blogs with content (and it's totally legal!).

Whether you have an authority blog for your business or niche blogs for your hobbies, Tony Laidig's system for generating content can help you with the never-ending quest to publish consistent blog posts.

I've received so many requests for the replay, that I'm making it available to everyone because content creation is a universal problem for bloggers (and you can apply this information to articles, ebooks, mini courses, videos, etc., etc.).  Here's the link to the replay on how to create expert content for your blog...

 

8 Content Writing Tips for Your Blog

Everyday I have conversations with clients about how and what to write on their blog. Yesterday I was talking with a client who will have multiple authors for the blog. Blogging is brand new to their company and they freely admit that they have no clue how to transition from academic journal-type articles to conversational, editorial type blog posts. Here are eight tips I shared with them that focus on how you serve your client/customer.

When contemplating your content ask yourself these points so you can address the readers' potential questions right up front:

1. Why is this post important? If readers ask "what's in it for me?" will they know right away?
2. Does this content appeal to their pain, needs, wants, desires?
3. Does this post describe a problem?
4. What is the problem? Is it clearly articulated?
5. So what? Do readers understand the consequences of having this problem?
6. What's your solution? What are you educating readers about that they might not know? What's your unique perspective? How is your solution different from widely accepted knowledge?
7. How would readers apply this information to their lives and to their work? Explain to them how to do it. Get them to do it for themselves.
8. Why should anyone believe you?

What would you add? There are many, many different ways to approach blog content and it does depend on your audience. If you're a service provider, these tips may provoke some content ideas for you.

Related Post
8 Reasons Why Client Questions Make Great Blog Content
Business Blogging Tip: Write for Your Ideal Client (video)

Where do you find an audience for your blog?

A couple weeks ago over on Biz Tips Blog, I asked about your challenges around creating and managing your online visibility. In addition to the usual issues around staying motivated and finding time, a couple of readers wanted to know how to get in front of their ideal reader (aka prospect/client).

Here are a couple of ways you can do that. Take your pick or implement them all!

1. The first thing I usually suggest to clients is that they do research on blogs in their niche. You can be sure that if a blog already exists then there is probably an audience and they will be fairly targeted for you. I'm presupposing that you've done keyword research and are clear on your niche and who your ideal reader is. You can use a free keyword tool to create a list of your best keywords.

Blog Domain URLs on Third Party Hosted Blogs

I received a good question from a friend on Facebook today and my response may be helpful to others starting new blogs.  Here's the question:

I've created a new blog for a client. She will be going with WordPress with a WordPress URL. Her business name is already taken and she's debating whether she should use the name of her upcoming DVD or her name. Example: DVDname.wordpress.com or should she use her name: firstnamelastname.wordpress.com. I am leaning towards using her name...what is your opinion?

When you host your blog with a third party (like TypePad, Blogger, Wordpress.com) vs. self-hosting your blog (Wordpress.org, Movable Type), and you create your account, a default URL is created using the domain of the hosting site. For example the default URL for my blogs on TypePad is: http://nextlevelpartner.typepad.com.

But you don't see that URL because I have each blog "mapped" to a unique domain that I've registered so I can brand each with a separate name: http://www.biztipsblog.com, http://www.buildabetterblog.com, to name a couple.

Here's my answer:

Posterous - A Blog Alternative?

At last year's BlogWorld Expo, I sat in on a keynote with Guy Kawasaki. During the talk he mentioned a new (at the time) site called Posterous which he felt is another alternative, or complement, to a blog. Me, being the active experimenter that I am, immediately set up an account.

The gist of it is that you can simply send an email to post on your site. No logging in; no formating. Simply send an email with your content, including any attachments like photos, video or documents and it's automatically posted. Pretty easy.

I thought I had written about it here, but cannot find any reference when I do a keyword search of my blog posts. Here's a link to my first post.

Why would you do this? As Guy Kawasaki says on his Posterous site: it's "For everything that's slightly less than a blog post but slightly more than a tweet" And that's a perfect way to sum it up.

I confess, I don't post much because I forget that it's there. But when I'm on the road or running, it's a great way to share photos or quick thoughts from my phone - no computer required.

Posterous also gives you another point of visibility. Naturally, you get to set up another profile with your name, links and a bio. And, you can set up your account so your posts are automatically sent to your twitter feed and your Facebook profile. Love that automation!

Another idea...use Posterous for a personal blog or repository of ideas or photos or document a project or vacation or...you name it. How do you use Posterous?

Related Posts:
What's Your Biggest Challenge Around Creating an Online Presence?
Is your Google Profile Up to Date?

Business Blogging Tip - Repurpose Your TeleSeminars (video)

Content, content, content. Always the quest for blog content. Here's another tip for you on where to find content for your blog...use transcripts from your teleseminars or your speaking gigs to create a series of blog posts on a specific topic.

Related posts:
Blogger LinkUp Solves Your Blog Content Problems
Bloggers - Are You Using Video Yet?
Easy Tip for Creating Blog Content - Video

Blogger LinkUp Solves Your Blog Content Problems

One of the laments I often hear from business bloggers is that the quest for fresh, new content takes so much time and energy. And that problem now may be solved for you.

Enter Blogger LinkUp, a brand new, blog content service from Cathy Stucker, also known as The Idea Lady. Cathy has created a service modeled on the successful Help A Reporter Out email service from Peter Shankman.

Blogger LinkUp connects you with potential guest bloggers as well as provides writers an avenue to find bloggers looking for guests writers.

When you sign up for the free service, you begin receiving emails with listing from bloggers outlining their needs for guest posts, as well as lists of articles available from bloggers. The listings are categorized by Business, Technology, Health, Lifestyle, Travel, and Entertainment. You submit your requirements for the posts and can choose whether or not you'll accept previously published content or if posts need to be new content.

Blogger LinkUp has just started so there's not a lot coming through yet, but I can see this will be a really useful service for those of us who write on multiple blogs and are in a constant state of content creation.  What a relief to have a guest post now and then to keep your blog fresh with new content. Got to keep those search engines coming back, right?

If you're looking for a steady stream of relevant new content for your blog, give Blogger LinkUp a try. Post your blogging content needs and see what you get. Obviously the more subscribers the better the pool, so sign up now. You may also find opportunities to reach new audiences by submitting guest posts to other blogs.

Related Posts:
Trendpedia - tracking trends on blogs
Easy Tip for Creating Blog Content - Video
Blog Content: Where do you find it?
Free Report: Better Business Blogging