Track of the day: Sonido Total by The Pinker Tones

The Pinker Tones
"Sonido Total" (mp3)
from "More Colours! The Million Colour Revolution Revisited - Plus Exclusive Bonus Tracks"
(Nacional Records)

Buy at Napster
More On This Album

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A Prize From MightMugs And ProBlogger

I think I have mentioned the word ProBlogger about a hundred times this week. The marketing campaign seems to be working. During the Birthday Bash giveaway, I entered one of the contests and won a very cool prize from MightyMugs. Please take a minute and visit MightMugs and order yourself or someone you love a mug with your mug on it.

Thanks ProBlogger and MightMugs.

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Posting Comments On Other Blogs

Build A Better Blog Day 6

Building a better blog requires more than just a good looking interface and great links. You also want to build a following. I hear a lot of new blogger's and even people who have been blogging for some time asking how they can get more readers. Well a good answer to that questions is to read and comment on other blogs.

If you don't already use an RSS reader I suggest you try using one on a regular basis. Google Reader is a great free application. This will allow you to scan a lot of new blog posts in a short amount of time. But while you are reading scanning through the headlines click through and leave comments. Here is what you can expect to get:

1. Typically you get to leave a link back to your blog.
2. You get an opportunity to connect with others who are interested in the same things as you.
3. You'll probably come away with ideas for future posts.

Being an active blogger is also being an active blog reader. Get out there and read more, comment more and you should get more visitors to your blog.

ProBlogger's day six post: Email an Old Timer Reader

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Linking Is The Name Of The Game

Build A Better Blog Day 5

A simple yet affective way to drive traffic to your blog is to use links in your posts. If you are referencing someone else's blog post, link back to it. If you are reviewing a product or service, link to it.

Several things happen when you link to other posts:

1. Commentors get a direct link back to your blog
2. You start to connect with other blogger's
3. Search engines love links in blog posts and rank you higher

Another must are link backs to your archives when ever possible. You should also consider a plug-in that shows similar posts in your archives somewhere on your individual posts giving your readers more to choose from, creating a sticky site.

Here is a great blog post from the famed Seth Godin on how to drive traffic to your blog. With 56 ideas on the list, I know there's one in there for you.

ProBlogger's day five post: Conduct an 'About Page Audit'

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Use An Easy To Navigate Blog Theme

Build A Better Blog Day 4

Today I want to talk about blog themes. This is probably the one aspect of a blog people take the most creative liberty with. I believe every blog should be unique and communicate the likes of the owner. But if you look at your blog from the perspective of the reader you will quickly note things that turn visitors off faster than poorly written posts.

There are hundreds of free themes out there for pretty much every blogging system, like WordPress, MovableType and Blogger. There are some near professional templates and then there are some pretty crappy ones. Please take the time to look at several. Most theme viewers give you the ability to look at the theme in live mode so you have an idea of what it will look like. Most themes are completely customizable and I encourage you to make it your own. Just type in your blogging tools name and the word template, "wordpress template", and start researching.

I will caution you when choosing a free theme. There is a common practice these days to embed some type of link back to a sponsor site. There are also some themes who embed spyware type code and this can cause other problems with your website. Take the time to review the comments on a theme and look at other sites that may be using it. You will also want to look at the terms of use for a theme. Some may require you to keep all links, others say they are optional. Most are in the foot but you just need to research the theme.

The 90's were a long time ago. Please get rid of all your flashing graphics, spinning bullets and 72 point fonts. Those things make reading your blog hard. Here are some simple things to think about when looking at your blogs theme or layout:

1. Pleasing colors. Make sure your blog uses colors that are easy on the eye.


2. Use standard web fonts like Times Roman, Verdana or Arial, and stay with a consistent size like 11 or 12 point. You also want the color of the text to be dark enough to read, like black.


3. Make sure each of your posts have an easily readable header. It's also a good thing to keep the date and category the post is in near the header.


4. There are several schools of thought on how much of you posts text should be readable on the front page. Some say only show the first 200 character others say use the whole post. I'm of the opinion you should use the whole post. Why make a visitor click through to another page just to finish reading. If you choose this path you better be writing content that catches their attention in the first few sentences or you will loose them.


5. Blogs were designed to be interactive, meaning you say something and hope someone responds back. Give your visitors the ability to comment on your posts. There are so many plug-ins out there to combat spammers that you hardly have to worry about it. You want dialog, that's how you build a good following.


6. Post frequently. Now frequently to you may be everyday, and yeah, if you can, post everyday. At the very least post once a week. Readers will forget about your blog if your don't post consistently.

The final thing about a blog themes is try several out.

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