After writing a series everyday for 31 days in October you would think taking on another project like writing a blog post everyday and writing a Novel during the month of November would be insane. You are probably right. I guess we'll find out together at the end of the month how it all turns out. See you on Friday November 30th, 2007.
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Sunday, November 4, 2007
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Build A Better Blog In 31 Days Wrap-up
Well here we are wrapping up this series, Building A Better Blog In 31 Days. There were several things I wanted to accomplish writing this series. One, require myself to write everyday for 31 days. That may not sound like a big deal but it was. I actually wrote each post everyday. Next I wanted to try some SEO techniques a friend shared with me. And I have to admit it worked pretty well. I'd share with your the secret but he might hunt us both down. Next, I really wanted to share what I thought were great tips and ideas on building a great blog.
I hope you had a chance to read these posts and you got something out of them. I appreciated all of the feedback I got and ideas shared. If you liked something I'd love to hear about in the comments. Here is the link to the series Category, and here are links to the individual posts:
Day 1: Reduce, if not cut out, your blogroll
Day 2: Tell Me What You Are All About
Day 3: De-cluttering Your Blogs Sidebar
Day 4: Use An Easy To Navigate Blog Theme
Day 5: Linking Is The Name Of The Game
Day 6: Posting Comments On Other Blogs
Day 7: Thank Those Who Comment On Your Blog
Day 8: Creating Relevant Categories And Tags For Your Posts
Day 9: Be Courteous To Your Fellow Bloggers
Day 10: Make Sure Your Blog Is Mobile Compliant
Day 11: Linking To Your Archive Posts
Day 12: How Do I Subscribe To Your Blog?
Day 13: Announcing Your New Blog Post
Day 14: Create A Blog Posting Schedule
Day 15: Write A Series On Your Favorite Subject
Day 16: Give Your Blog Readers A Way To Contact You
Day 17: Use Social Networks To Build A Blog Brand
Day 18: Prevent Blogging Disaster, Back It Up
Day 19: Keep Your Blog Posts Unique
Day 20: Stay The Course, And Don’t Give Up
Day 21: Use Your Site Stats To Write A Better Blog
Day 22: Create Catchy Blog Titles That Beg To Be Read
Day 23: Get Your Blog Readers Involved, Hold A Contest
Day 24: Decide Your Blogs Domain Now Rather Than Later
Day 25: Sweat Your Blogs Details
Day 26: Blogging For Love Or Money
Day 27: Protect Your Blogs Content
Day 28: Thank A Blogger For Linking To You
Day 29: Create A Sticky 404 Page
Day 30: Keep Comment Spam From Burdening Your Blog
Day 31: Successful Blogger’s Share Their Insight
Thanks to Jason Alba for creating the list I was going to make, it much easier. Please visit Jason's blog here.
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I hope you had a chance to read these posts and you got something out of them. I appreciated all of the feedback I got and ideas shared. If you liked something I'd love to hear about in the comments. Here is the link to the series Category, and here are links to the individual posts:
Day 1: Reduce, if not cut out, your blogroll
Day 2: Tell Me What You Are All About
Day 3: De-cluttering Your Blogs Sidebar
Day 4: Use An Easy To Navigate Blog Theme
Day 5: Linking Is The Name Of The Game
Day 6: Posting Comments On Other Blogs
Day 7: Thank Those Who Comment On Your Blog
Day 8: Creating Relevant Categories And Tags For Your Posts
Day 9: Be Courteous To Your Fellow Bloggers
Day 10: Make Sure Your Blog Is Mobile Compliant
Day 11: Linking To Your Archive Posts
Day 12: How Do I Subscribe To Your Blog?
Day 13: Announcing Your New Blog Post
Day 14: Create A Blog Posting Schedule
Day 15: Write A Series On Your Favorite Subject
Day 16: Give Your Blog Readers A Way To Contact You
Day 17: Use Social Networks To Build A Blog Brand
Day 18: Prevent Blogging Disaster, Back It Up
Day 19: Keep Your Blog Posts Unique
Day 20: Stay The Course, And Don’t Give Up
Day 21: Use Your Site Stats To Write A Better Blog
Day 22: Create Catchy Blog Titles That Beg To Be Read
Day 23: Get Your Blog Readers Involved, Hold A Contest
Day 24: Decide Your Blogs Domain Now Rather Than Later
Day 25: Sweat Your Blogs Details
Day 26: Blogging For Love Or Money
Day 27: Protect Your Blogs Content
Day 28: Thank A Blogger For Linking To You
Day 29: Create A Sticky 404 Page
Day 30: Keep Comment Spam From Burdening Your Blog
Day 31: Successful Blogger’s Share Their Insight
Thanks to Jason Alba for creating the list I was going to make, it much easier. Please visit Jason's blog here.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Successful Blogger’s Share Their Insight
Build A Better Blog Day 31
Today's tips come from several blogger's who I've asked to share with you what they feel are important aspects of building a better blog.
Laura Moncur says - Have a long view. If you are expecting to have huge numbers the first year, you will be disappointed. It takes a good five years of consistent writing to grow a blog that will make money and give you positive feedback in the comments. On those days when it feels like all your blog entries are going out into the void and no one is reading, you NEED to remember that this takes time. It's alright if they aren't reading right now. When they discover you, they will go back and read every word you've written. Just keep writing with that day in mind.
Chris Brogan says - Make your ABOUT page AMAZING! Add your name and ways to contact you, and as much information that will attract your audience into a relationship with you as possible.
Matthew Reinbold says - The relationship between you and your readers is paramount. The second you begin to view them as a means to an end (financial, fame, etc.) instead of peers deserving of your attention you're using them. In those cases your audience will leave you when they find someone who treats them as equals.
Jason Alba says - Clean up the real estate. Too many bloggers have too much crap on their blog, making their readers search for good content or links. If you have widgets, images that don’t add value, or other distractions, strip it down. Do you want to try and build community with widgetry or with content? Respect your readers.
Douglas Cootey says - Respond to comments. There is no better way to develop a community of readers than to respond to their feedback. You can post comments along with their's or, even better, you can use their comments to give you something new to blog about. When I had my intense moment on the Blogger of Note spotlight two years ago my efforts to respond to people's comments netted me loyal readers that stayed with me to this day. I don't regret the time spent at all. In fact, I rather enjoyed it.
ProBlogger's day thirty-one post: Run a SWOT Analysis on Your Blog
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Today's tips come from several blogger's who I've asked to share with you what they feel are important aspects of building a better blog.
Laura Moncur says - Have a long view. If you are expecting to have huge numbers the first year, you will be disappointed. It takes a good five years of consistent writing to grow a blog that will make money and give you positive feedback in the comments. On those days when it feels like all your blog entries are going out into the void and no one is reading, you NEED to remember that this takes time. It's alright if they aren't reading right now. When they discover you, they will go back and read every word you've written. Just keep writing with that day in mind.
Chris Brogan says - Make your ABOUT page AMAZING! Add your name and ways to contact you, and as much information that will attract your audience into a relationship with you as possible.
Matthew Reinbold says - The relationship between you and your readers is paramount. The second you begin to view them as a means to an end (financial, fame, etc.) instead of peers deserving of your attention you're using them. In those cases your audience will leave you when they find someone who treats them as equals.
Jason Alba says - Clean up the real estate. Too many bloggers have too much crap on their blog, making their readers search for good content or links. If you have widgets, images that don’t add value, or other distractions, strip it down. Do you want to try and build community with widgetry or with content? Respect your readers.
Douglas Cootey says - Respond to comments. There is no better way to develop a community of readers than to respond to their feedback. You can post comments along with their's or, even better, you can use their comments to give you something new to blog about. When I had my intense moment on the Blogger of Note spotlight two years ago my efforts to respond to people's comments netted me loyal readers that stayed with me to this day. I don't regret the time spent at all. In fact, I rather enjoyed it.
ProBlogger's day thirty-one post: Run a SWOT Analysis on Your Blog
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Keep Comment Spam From Burdening Your Blog
Build A Better Blog Day 30
Comment spam is the bane of most blog owners. It's everywhere and if left untreated will turn off reader in a heartbeat. It's controllable and manageable, and removing it can some times be a daily ritual. But there are solutions to make controlling comment spam pretty easy.
If you host your own blog there are several plug-ins that help fight spam. On of my favorites is Akismet. It's very easy to setup and works pretty good. The basic use is Akismet check certain keyword, IP addresses and URL's in its database and marks the comment as spam. The administrator has the ability to review the marked comments and decide if its really spam or whether it was a mistake.
Another form of spam comment control is using a plug-in called Captcha. Basically, the user is required to enter a random set of characters in a text box before the blogging software will save the comment. This is a big deterrent for automated comment spammers since your blog wont even allow the comment into your blog until the Captcha is passed.
Most software can require a commenter to be a registered user, or comments are accepted but are put into a queue for the administrator to manually approve. If you have a low volume of comments this can be an easy solution. If you have a lot of comments an automated solution is about the only path to take.
When it comes to requiring visitors to register just to leave a comment, a lot of visitors will just move on to another blog. Blogs are designed to encourage feedback and participation. Requiring someone to fill out a form doesn't seem very inviting. Implementing these techniques will allow your readers to comment, which is what you want, right?
How do you handle comment spam on your blog? Is it a big problem for you?
ProBlogger's day thirty post: Explore a Social Media Site
read more...
Comment spam is the bane of most blog owners. It's everywhere and if left untreated will turn off reader in a heartbeat. It's controllable and manageable, and removing it can some times be a daily ritual. But there are solutions to make controlling comment spam pretty easy.
If you host your own blog there are several plug-ins that help fight spam. On of my favorites is Akismet. It's very easy to setup and works pretty good. The basic use is Akismet check certain keyword, IP addresses and URL's in its database and marks the comment as spam. The administrator has the ability to review the marked comments and decide if its really spam or whether it was a mistake.
Another form of spam comment control is using a plug-in called Captcha. Basically, the user is required to enter a random set of characters in a text box before the blogging software will save the comment. This is a big deterrent for automated comment spammers since your blog wont even allow the comment into your blog until the Captcha is passed.
Most software can require a commenter to be a registered user, or comments are accepted but are put into a queue for the administrator to manually approve. If you have a low volume of comments this can be an easy solution. If you have a lot of comments an automated solution is about the only path to take.
When it comes to requiring visitors to register just to leave a comment, a lot of visitors will just move on to another blog. Blogs are designed to encourage feedback and participation. Requiring someone to fill out a form doesn't seem very inviting. Implementing these techniques will allow your readers to comment, which is what you want, right?
How do you handle comment spam on your blog? Is it a big problem for you?
ProBlogger's day thirty post: Explore a Social Media Site
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Create A Sticky 404 Page
Build A Better Blog Day 29
Today's tip is one no blogger should be without. When someone tries to find something on your blog, say a post or a static page and the web server can't find it, it usually serves up some kind of error, known as a 404. If you run a self-hosted Wordpress blog there is usually a 404.php file in your themes root folder. If your blog is hosted with a service like Blogger or Wordpress.com, you probably won't have the ability to implement this tip. Sorry.
Here are some things you can put on your 404 page:
- The last several posts from your blog
- Show the last several comments
- Show some of your categories or display a tag cloud
- Show a list of the Archives
- An option to search
- Related posts of the key words used
Some blogging software have plug-ins you can use to create a 404 page that has all of these things built in. It requires a little bit of work on your part but once it's running it works quiet well. Try this link to see my 404 page. What I don't have on my 404 page are ads. Some people take this opportunity to throw a bunch of ads in front of you. You can do this, but I would recommend displaying relevant content instead.
Link to the plug-in I used on my 404 page.
ProBlogger's day twenty-nine post: Email a Blogger that Linked to You to Say Thanks
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