Successful Blog

The Official Liz Strauss Fundraiser is Finally Live

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We’re happy to announce that the official fundraiser for Liz Strauss is finally live! We think we’ve put together some unique items and consultations for you to bid on. The fundraiser will run from 6/11 until 6/25. It will run in two parts with a new set of auction items each week. This week’s auction items include:

Next week we’re featuring such items like a consultation by Steve Farber and a business library put together by Scott Stratten! The auctions on those items will start 6/18. More details soon!

Want to help but would like to donate directly to Liz rather than bid? You can do so directly through Paypal here: Donate

Please help us spread the word about the fundraiser by sharing this post and using the hashtag #LizFund on Twitter.

Again, thank you all for the support and know that Liz appreciates all the many kindnesses that have been sent her way in the last few months. Thank you so much for participating and helping us give back to Liz. Have fun and good luck with the auctions!

After Your Blog is Hacked: To-Do List

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By Ann Smarty

From the time my blog became a regular part of my life and started to gain popularity, I have had a reoccurring nightmare. One of the regular contributors to the site calls me in the middle of the night, waking me up.

They are noticeably upset as they tell me that the blog has been hacked, and the posts have disappeared. In their place is a very not-safe-for-work animation that is causing all my readers to flood my Facebook and Twitter profiles in shock and anger.
what to do after your blog is hacked
I usually wake up in a cold sweat and can’t get back to sleep until I have fired up the laptop and checked that everything is alright. Can you blame me for my fear? After all, this isn’t some random paranoia. Hacks happen all the time, and some are much worse than others. While I could take a DDoS attack in stride, having my blog actually taken over is terrifying enough to make me jittery just thinking about it.

The sad truth is that we will all have to deal with a hack of some description (or at least an attempt) at some point. When you become a more popular site your chances increase significantly. Prevention is good, but it isn’t enough. Here is a checklist of what to do when you have been hacked.

Before the Hack

First, make sure your hosting is secure. WP Beginner has an awesome resource of best WordPress hosting services. There’s also a good guide into choosing secure web hosting. Also, avoid free hosting unless you are using for personal branding.

Then, you should from this moment on make sure you are backing up your posts, files and data. Each platform will have its own way of doing this, so just check with the FAQ’s to find out how to do a proper backup.

You should also do regular system checks on your desktop. Viruses and malware can be introduced through your local files, then accidentally uploaded through things like photos onto your blog. Just run regular scans using your chosen protective software. I use a combinations of Microsoft Security Essentials and AVG.

Of course, there’s much more to talk about pro-active tactics for WordPress Security but if you landed here to find the answer to the main question (which is in the topic), the hack may have happened already, so let’s quickly list what to do.

After The Hack

Don’t Panic

The first thing you should do is change your password. That way you know that there won’t be anyone working against your fix while you take care of the problems on the blog. Be sure it is a strong password that has nothing in common with the last one you were using (Tool: strong password generator).
dont panic if your wordpress site is hacked
If you are using WordPress, you also have to change your secret keys so they cannot remain logged into the account. Once you have all that done, log out, clear cache and cookies and log back in.

Next, put the site in maintenance mode. That way you won’t have visitors facing the problems you have encountered while you fix them. This is especially important if you are experiencing a redirect that takes readers to a third party site. Or if you have ads showing up that contain malware and users might accidentally click on.

Identify the backdoor. Backdoor is a method of bypassing normal WordPress authentication. Here’s an awesome guide on fixing a backdoor in a hacked WordPress site, again, courtesy of WP Beginner.

Finally, it is time to take care of the blog itself. Your best bet is to delete everything. Including the core files if you are using WordPress. Yes, this is a major hassle. But it is the only way to be absolutely certain that you get every bit of malicious code. Just going through all files manually will probably not take care of the problem. You may miss a bit of coding, fail to see a file that has been compromised, or a backdoor could still exist to allow the hacker (or hacking software) to slip back in.

If you don’t have a backup of your site, you are facing a dilemma. You could try to save as much as possible before deleting, but this could still run the risk of reinfection by malicious coding, or even infect your desktop. Not to mention the risk that exists to your readers if something goes wrong. I would recommend copy/pasting as many posts as you can into .doc files, then deleting everything on the actual blog and reposting the text fresh. Of course, you will have no choice but to find or reupload all photos.

Conclusion

Yes, this is all a huge hassle. But if you want to keep your site running, and it has experienced a hack, you have no choice. That is why it is so important to backup all files regularly, at the very least once a week. If you update often, then several times a week. This will allow you some peace of mind, as you know that you will only have to delete and then reinstate the data if a problem occurs.

Have you ever had a blog hack? Tell us about it in the comments.

Author’s Bio: Ann Smarty is the (guest) blogger who founded My Blog Guest, the free guest blogging and content sharing platform.

Image Credits: 1, 2.

Turning Customers Into Advocates

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John Caplan, founder and CEO of OpenSky.com, shares his tips on how leveraging the web’s social tools to build a community around your brand and engage directly with shoppers can grow your business.  

As an entrepreneur, I know how important it is to build a community of people around your business.  As a business owner who is passionate about growing emerging businesses, getting your business online to leverage distribution and build relationships is an essential tool. 
 
At OpenSky, we strive to empower emerging brands to grow their businesses by engaging consumers.  We make sure to communicate and constantly listen to the concerns, questions and feedback from our merchants and our members, which helps us build a platform that works for people we serve.
 
Leveraging the web’s social tools to build a community around your brand by engaging and communicating directly with your shoppers can grow your business.  Here are some ways to help you achieve this.
 

1. Social media makes it easier than ever to connect directly to customers.

Establish your brand on social channels – Facebook, OpenSky, Twitter, Pinterest — where you can have active, real-time conversations.  It’s not only a great way to share updates but often times, it’s that real time feedback from customers that can help you resolve a problem before it impacts a huge number of people.  This will serve as an effective way to give people a great experience because then they share it with their friends and their friends share it with friends and so on.  There is nothing more effective for marketing than a truly happy customer.
 

2. It’s essential to listen to customer feedback on social outlets and respond right away.

  However, as it important as it is, make sure that isn’t the only way you’re getting direct feedback from customers about how you’re doing.  Ask for it anytime an opportunity arises.  From packing slips, to invoices, customer surveys and emails – there are numerous opportunities to ask your customers for feedback and offer a place where they can provide it.
 

3. In addition to blogs and social networks, invite members of your community from customers to partners and vendors into your offices, stores or workshops.

  Whether it’s for a party, focus group, or to demo a new product – creating the face-to-face connection can be invaluable for creating brand loyalty.
 

4. One of the most difficult and stressful elements of growing a business is expanding your products or services. 

Adding a new feature or service can strain your core business and potentially alienate existing customers, especially in the beginning. Open the lines of communication and bring your community into your growth strategy by talking to them during the process.  Working with your core customers early on to help them understand new products and services will keep you on the right track, provide valuable insight and make your loyal customers more forgiving of any mishaps in the road to success.

Author’s Bio: John Caplan is the Founder and CEO of OpenSky, the social network for shopping where members shop with their friends for unique, artisanal finds. Prior to OpenSky, John was the CEO of Ford Models. In five years, he rebuilt the agency, tripling its size and value while expanding it to include Ford’s artist divisions and digital media business. During the late 1990s, John served first, as CMO of About.com leading the brands growth and later as President of the About Network before selling the company to Primedia in 2001 for $500+ million. Caplan has made numerous appearances as a business expert on television shows including CNBC, MSNBC, Bloomberg TV, Reuters TV, TODAY Show, WNBC-TV and many others.

10 Step Half-Year Blog Checkup – How YOU Doin?

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It’s almost the halfway point of 2013–time to take stock and make sure you’re putting your best foot forward. Remember those shiny dreams and goals you came up with in January?

To quote my favorite Friend, Joey, “how YOU doin?”

Let’s find out by running through 10 quick checkpoints. There’s still the whole second half of the year to do a course correction and kick butt.

10 Step Half-Year Blog Checkup

  1. Go into your Google Analytics and find your most popular post. Use that as a jumping off point for more content. Update the topic, do a “part two,” or simply re-promote it via your social channels. You might be able to get more juice out of it.
  2. Run a poll or send an email to get feedback from your readers about what they need. Use the results to guide your writing for the rest of the year.
  3. Make sure you are up to date with your software and plugins. When’s the last time you updated your WordPress? Are there better plug-ins you could be using? Do you need to renew any licences?
  4. Check current best practices for your sidebar, ads, and extra content. Is it time to delete some of those old conference badges, test removing your social profiles, or add a promo for your new e-book? There’s a great blog/community review video at Live Your Legend.
  5. Do you need to update your logo, tag line, or branding? When is the last time you refreshed your graphics?
  6. Is your editorial calendar set for the rest of the year? You don’t have to have a headline for every day of the week, but it might be good to sit down and come up with broad topic areas for each week or even each month. You’ll be sitting pretty if you feed your stockpile of headline ideas at the same time. How is your blog draft “slush pile?”
  7. Check in with your goals from the beginning of the year. How have you done? Do you need to make any course corrections? Pat yourself on the back if you’ve checked any big goals off the list already. It’s so important to take time to celebrate your wins. If there’s something on the goal list that you haven’t accomplished, think about whether it was a good goal to begin with.
  8. Update your social sharing tools and make sure you’re taking full advantage of new developments. All of the major social networks have undergone major changes since January. There are now verified Pinterest pages for your business, Facebook has changed its cover photo policy to allow more text, and Twitter now has interactive “cards” available to embed in blog posts. Have you looked at List.ly yet?
  9. Get up to speed on disclosure regulations. Are you compliant? It might be time to take a moment and read the updated FTC guidelines.
  10. Is your mobile experience optimized? Check your Google Analytics again and note how much of your audience is reading your blog on a mobile device. My guess is that it’s a big chunk! Take time to ensure that your site is mobile-ready.

Let’s use the rest of 2013 to inspire each other to success!

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

The Intrinsic Value of Stories and How They Change Lives

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By Tiffany Matthews

Why do we tell stories?

In the olden days, stories were told around campfires to pass time and to pass on the history of our people. They were lessons wrapped in myth, meant to teach us about the ways of the world and principles that our ancestors before us once stood for. Today stories continue to be an influential medium especially through clever storytelling.

As children, we grew up listening to and eventually reading fairy tales, only to be told later by adults that these classic tales are not true. Real life is no fairy tale and that we should not believe in happily-ever-after. Neil Gaiman refutes this and has emphasized the importance of stories, even fairy tales, through this statement:

“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”

In his children’s book, The Graveyard Book, Gaiman further reiterates the value of stories and how one story can change a person’s life.

“We who make stories know that we tell lies for a living. But they are good lies that say true things, and we owe it to our readers to build them as best we can. Because somewhere out there is someone who needs that story. Someone who will grow up with a different landscape, who without that story will be a different person. And who with that story may have hope, or wisdom, or kindness, or comfort. And that is why we write.”

Another author, Stephen King, confirms the power of stories and how they can influence lives. Writing tales that resonate with readers goes beyond fame or wealth. In On Writing, King said:

“Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end it’s about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life as well.”

Stories allow us a brief respite from the daily pressures of life, an escape into a place where anything and everything is possible. Though these tales may revolve around fictional characters, they reflect the same struggles that we go through and inspire us to overcome these challenges just as they were able to. This is why I agree with Gaiman’s sentiment, that one story could change your life forever.

A story about a woman reconciling with a long lost father may seem ordinary to people, but to one person, it could be the catalyst that would launch him or her on a quest to find an estranged parent. That touching tale could spur you into action and hunt for that missing parent through Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn (this is more on the professional side though), a social database like Mylife.com or whatever means you could find. It could take you on a journey you never expected and discover the infinite possibilities you never considered before.

Stories are powerful things, portable magic that you can share so that others too can find the inspiration they need to defeat–both literary and real–dragons.

Author’s Bio: Based in San Diego, California, Tiffany Matthews writes about travel, fashion and anything under the sun at wordbaristas.com. You can find her on Twitter as
@TiffyCat87.

5 Ways to Use Vine To Grow Your Business

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By Marcela De Vivo

When it comes to social media, Vine is a relatively new tool, and many business owners aren’t even using it yet. If you’re already familiar with Vine, you’ve got a leg up on the competition.

However, just because you know about Vine doesn’t mean you know how to use it the right way.

Vine can be an incredible tool for helping you grow your business, but you have to know how to make and share videos that are effective.

Follow these five simple tips for using Vine to grow your business. You’ll probably be surprised how quick and effective they really are.

Vine videos boost business

1. Use Tags In Your Videos

When you make videos to share on Vine, it’s important that you use tags just like you would when making and sharing images for Twitter and Instagram. Before you pick which tags to use, search for relevant tags to apply so that users can find your videos.

Adding tags to your videos doesn’t take long at all, and it can really increase the amount of views that you get, which can in turn increase the amount of visitors you get to your website.

2. Be Social

One important but often overlooked aspect of Vine is the social media aspect. Making videos you can share is great, but you also need to make friends, find and comment on videos and generally get a dialogue going with consumers and other businesses. Once you start engaging people on Vine, they’ll start following you back, which will help to create exposure for your content and business.

3. Work to Humanize Your Brand

For very large brands, using Vine is a quick and easy to way to create behind-the-scenes videos that can make your company seem less like a faceless entity and more like the passion project of a few successful individuals. Make videos that tell a story about where you work, who you work with and why your company is special.

Videos that humanize a brand are generally very successful, and they can work wonders for the public image of your company.

4. Integrate Customers

If your business routinely interacts with its customers, putting some of them on film and then sharing those videos is a great way to build your brand. Of course, you’ll need to ask your customers ahead of time, but many will be happy to participate.

You can also announce a video contest for your customers, allowing them to share videos about using one of your products or your service. If you do this, make sure you include a prize for the best video to really entice people.

5. Have Fun With It

Not all of the videos that you create for Vine need to be totally focused on your business.

Creating humorous videos that you can share with humor sites is a great way to get huge numbers of visitors, which will certainly help attract new customers to your site. Your video might even go viral, which is always a good thing.

Vine is a unique tool that you need to start using in your business. It may not seem like six seconds is enough time to really say anything about your company, but you’ll be surprised how much Vine can really do for you if you embrace it.

Have you tried making a Vine yet?

Author’s Bio: Marcela De Vivo is a freelance writer from Los Angeles. Her background is in online marketing and in specializes in a variety of topics, from social networking, search marketing, web hosting and content development.