Blogging Hypothetical Question 5

Filed Under Bloggy Questions, Business Life, Community, Successful Blog, Survival Kit | 28 Comments

muddy teal strip A

For those who come looking for a short, thoughtful read, a blogging life discussion, or a way to gradually ease back into the week, I offer this Blogging Hypothetical Question.

Here you go. . . .

A brand new blogger comes to you for advice. He’s convinced he’s going to be the next six-figure problogger.

He asks:

I put Adsense and Chitika on my blog. I’m posting quality, original content daily with a vengeance. I know it takes a few months for the money to start rolling in. How long before I can quit my job?

What’s your response?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Blog Basics 1: Comments and Comment Policies

Filed Under Basics, Comments, Community, Links, Successful Blog, Survival Kit | 18 Comments

I always remind myself that not everyone knows what I know, and how to post on a blog may be something the reader truly does not know. –Shirley George Frazier, Successful and Outstanding Blogger

Reading blogs is only one part of being part of a community. If you stop at that point, you are missing out of half the experience and half of the fun. Blogs are really intended to be part information sharing, part conversation between the writer and readers. As HART, a reader at Successful Blog said, “” . . .half the show is in the comments!”

Visiting a blog is much like stopping by a neighbor’s house. It’s cordial way to let the owner know that you stopped by. If you’ve stayed long enough to read something, leaving a comment is a nice gesture and a relationship-building act. It’s like leaving your calling card on a business call or leaving a note at the house of a friend.

How to Comment

  • Does the writer want comments? Rare is the writer who doesn’t. There are a few. They are easy to spot. They have removed the comment box from their blogs.
    OR
    A writer may have chosen a design that makes the comment box hard to find. If you don’t see it, look up near the title of the post. Some template designers think that’s a good place to put it. The designer was thinking of the design not the reader. Take the time to find the box and comment despite that, for the sake of the writer.
  • What do I write?

    • If the post inspired you, or made you think of something–a memory, a question, an argument, or a reason you agree–say so. If it didn’t, try “thank you.” That always works. You’d be surprised how nice just leaving a :P can be.

  • Can I leave a link? The biggest mistake I see is that occasionally visitors don’t understand that they are on another person’s blog, a space that someone has spent time and effort putting together, a place where a community has formed. This leads them to act in ways that don’t work in their favor. Whether it’s leaving a link or words that don’t sound right. Look around and see what others are doing. It’s a when in Rome kind of thing.
  • Are Trackbacks okay? Trackbacks are often good, particularly on business-type blogs where they are used to connect articles of relevant content. Be careful not to use them as your only form of communication, though, especially with blogs you’ve never visited. It can make you appear as if you are “too busy to be bothered” with actually visiting to comment in person.

A Comment Policy

Each blog owner can control whether a comment is posted to the blog’s comment page. That decision is made based on the blog’s comment policy. Have and state the comment policy for your blog.

The policy at Successful-Blog is simple–no spam, no profanity, and no disrespect for people who use this blog. Links that serve readers are welcome–though more than three, might be excessive. Harmless fun is always welcome.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Links from Outstanding and Successful Bloggers
Commenting on CTBizBlogs
The Comment Policy at Home Office Voice

List of Blog Submission Sites

Filed Under Marketing, Successful Blog, Survival Kit | 7 Comments

THIS JUST IN:

Blog Herald Logo

Duncan Riley of the Blog Herald posted this list of Blog submission sites today. I thought you should have it. It will be on file in the Survival Kit.

One more way to earn quality links. :)

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Mastering Content in Your Niche

Filed Under Community, Content, Guest Writer, Successful Blog, Survival Kit | 2 Comments

Guest Writer: Gary Fugere

Gary Fugere of Earn a living without a job took me up on my call for posts by sending in his How to become the “Go To” in your niche.

This post, originally written as a submission to Darren Rowse’s 31-day challenge, offers head-on advice for getting in control of the information grapevine in your blogging niche. Main points that Gary covers include

  • Be a reporter, not a writer. Readers are looking for answers.
  • Get plugged in with a news aggregator such as Bloglines.
  • Learn to find compelling content nuggets. He offers several strategies, including how to master the nuances of Bloglines search, Google Alerts, Yahoo Buzz, and Google Zeitgeist. I was impressed that everything you need to know is there and complete.

To finish off the document there are eighteen additional links to resources you might explore. This post is well worth checking out.

Here’s a taste of the resources Gary has to offer.

Look Smart Search for Articles

Thanks Gary for sharing what you know with us. This is what a community blog is all about. :P

–ME “Liz” Strauss

SEO–Five Traits of Relevant Content

Filed Under Blog Review, Content, SEO, Successful Blog, Writing | 24 Comments

Practical SEO for Every Blogger

Five Traits of Relevant Content

Relevant is the keyword. Content without “relevant” is less than content. Who would want to post something irrelevant? Here are five traits of relevant content.

Relevant content is text.
Search Engines love quality relevant content. They love quality content because readers do. Content here means text, not graphics or photos. That’s where search engines and readers see pages differently. Readers “read” photos and graphics; search engine spiders crawl right past them. So under that photo or graphic include a caption explaining what’s in it.

Relevant content is fresh and free-flowing.
Search engine spiders are demanding creatures. They want original, relevant content to list for their readers–and lots of it. Provide original content with accuracy and frequency about topics readers search for, and your posts will be born relevant.

Relevant content is formatted.
When your document follows a structured format, a search engine can follow how topics relate. Relationships between topics establish that keywords aren’t just mentioned–they are connected and relevant.

  • title
  • h1–subhead that relates
  • paragraph(s)
  • h2–subhead that relates
  • paragraph(s)

Relevant content is linked–Links in, links out, and links to yourself are relevant.
Spiders crawl the web by following links. Links draw spiders to related pages from blog to blog and within your blog. Connections in content are inherently relevant.

Relevant content is error free and accessible.
Open HTML tags, gross errors in spelling, and unnecessary plugins trip spiders. Enough said.

Relevant content is what readers are searching for, what spiders are crawling for, what bloggers are blogging for–right?

I’d rather not blog than be irrelevant.

I think there’s a t-shirt in that.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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