Successful Blog

  • Home
  • Community
  • About
  • Author Guidelines
  • Liz’s Book
  • Stay Tuned

Staying Connected in Times of Weirdness

September 12, 2006 by Liz Leave a Comment

I've been thinking . . .
Trackbacks coming into and going out of Successful-Blog have been mystically enchanted. I am unable to know where they go, when they go, or get word when they’ve been sent to me as well. A famous blogger is helping me sort out this mystery . . . film at 11 on the SETI channel.

Until then, please know that issues at Technorati — links are disappearing for no reason — and WordPress –trackbacks aren’t coming in or going out– have made it hard for me to know about your generosity. If you haven’t heard a word about a connection or gesture you’ve made, please email me — lizsun2 at gmail [dot] com so that I can drop by and properly ay, “thanks.”

Liz's Signature

Filed Under: Business Life, Community, SOB Business, Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, Links, Technorati, trackbacks, weirdness, WordPress

Great Find: Joseph Pisano on Trackbacks

September 10, 2006 by Liz Leave a Comment

A Clear Discussion on Trackbacks

New Blogger Logo

Great Find: Trackbacks, ping-bud-a-bing!

Permalink: http://www.mustech.net/2006/09/trackbacks-ping-bud-a-bing/

Audience/Topic: New bloggers

Content: Not many folks will take the necessary time to write not only why bloggers use trackbacks, but also to explain how trackbacks work and how to build them. Joseph Pisano has done that in rare detail. He even adds why they don’t work in some cases. If you’re a new blogger and don’t know what trackbacks are or what they are good for. Click the title below and let this article show you.

Trackback, ping-bud-a-bing

Thank you, JP Pisano!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related Articles
Great Find: 2 Standalone Trackback Tools
Blog Basics 1: Comments and Comment Policies
Blog Promotion Basics [for Everyone]

Filed Under: Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, blogpromotion, Great-Findings, JP-Pisano, personal-branding, Sensible-Non-sense, trackbacks

Great Find: 2 Standalone Trackback Tools

June 24, 2006 by Liz Leave a Comment

Trackback Troubles

New Blogger Logo

A few months ago, I was having a problem with trackbacks. It occurred right after a server move. Everything seemed to be working, yet the trackbacks weren’t appearing. I found the situation somewhat distressing. What I was writing was important and incredibly cool — as everything we write is.

This week I am having a problem with my trackbacks again. It just started happening for apparent reason. I haven’t had the time to play detective, but I know the value of well-placed trackbacks.

Trackbacks show other writers that I’ve thought about what they’ve written. They offer my work on the same sujbect to another conversation. People notice trackbacks. Sometimes they even follow one home.

Being without my trackbacks is a lot like being without. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog Comments, Blog Review, Successful Blog, Tech/Stats Tagged With: bc, blog-promotion, new-bloggers, personal-branding, Simpletrackback, trackback-tools, trackbacks, Wizbang-Tech-Standalone-Trackback

Stand-Alone Trackback Tool from WhizbangTech

February 22, 2006 by Liz 12 Comments

Good news for bloggers who work on platforms that don’t perform trackbacks to other blogs. Rather than hacking your template to do things it wasn’t meant to do WhizbangTech has a stand-alone trackback tool.

Trackbacks are a great way of building visibility for yourself, your business, and your blog. When you read a post on another blog and realize you’ve posted on the same subject, a trackback offers a chance to say, “Hey, I’ve had a few insights into that topic myself.” Without trackbacks, you’re missing out on another way to promote your business and your blog.

If your platform doesn’t offer trackbacks, bookmark this site and pull it out whenever you need to let that expert you read daily know you’ve written something that ties into the current conversation. If you do it with thought and not too liberally, you’ll find some folks will follow your trackbacks home to see what else you have to say.

To get the WhizbangTech Stand-Alone Trackback Tool, click the logo below.

WhizbangTech Trackback Pinger

Now you can let people know you were paying attention to what they said and add to the conversation too.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles:
Blog Basics 1: Comments and Comment Policies
A Little More about Trackbacks
Blog Promotion Basics [for Everyone]

Filed Under: Business Life, Marketing /Sales / Social Media, Successful Blog, Tech/Stats, Tools Tagged With: bc, blog comments, blogging_tools, business_relationships, trackback_tool, trackbacks, Whizbang_Tech

Comments and Comment Policies

December 12, 2005 by Liz Leave a Comment

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 😛 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

Filed Under: Blog Basics, Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, blog_basics, comment_policies, commenting_policies, Community, how_to_comment, Links, survival_kit, trackbacks

Blog Promotion Basics [for Everyone]

November 8, 2005 by Liz 69 Comments

If you look up–under the logo for Successful Blog–you’ll see the words content that is organized, thorough, and relevant. That means I plan to capture and present the basics for everything. I also plan to make sure that those posts–like this one–offer information for everyone, not just new bloggers. Oh and, my other plan is that these posts won’t be boring. 🙂

Well, it used to say that. Now, we just live it.

I’ve hidden a posting Easter egg of sorts in this one. Hope most of you don’t have it already.

This post is based on Duncan Riley’s Building blog traffic for newbies. If you already know the basics, read the 31 comments that follow the post.

Duncan lays out six main points he pulled together when he realized that people seemed to know little about promoting blogs. I’ll list them here [with my notes], and you can get the detail from the post.

  • Don’t use blogrolling for your site links. It stuffs up search engines.
  • Pinging is good, but trackbacks and comments are better.
  • Offer to exchange links in your links section [in the sidebar].
  • Link to small sites without exchange through sidebar or a post.
  • Submit your blog to all search engines [and directories].

And what we both agree is the most important one:

  • Post regularly, [consistently], and often.

I’d also like to add two if I might.

  • Join a forum in your niche. It offers natural opportunities to talk about your blog.
  • Find websites in your niche that would like to list your link.

Of course, the best promotion is quality content when the traffic gets there.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

PS. Do we have to use the word “newbies”? Has anyone got a better one?

Related articles:
Turning Reluctant Readers into Loyal Fans
Blog Promotion: Checking Out Curb Appeal
Why Doesn’t Pete Townshend Need to Do Promotion?
GAWKER Design: Curb Appeal as Customer-Centered Promotion

Filed Under: Blog Basics, Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, blog_basics, blog_promotion, blog_submissions, Blogrolling, forums, Links, pinging, search_engines, survival_kit, trackbacks

Recently Updated Posts

6 Keys to Managing Your Remote Workforce

9 Reasons To Use WordPress

Useful Marketing Tools That Wont Bust Your Budget

Do You Have What It Takes To Be A Successful Blogger?

Do You Have What It Takes To Be A Successful Blogger?

6 Tips for the Serial Side Hustler

How to Make Your Blog Popular



From Liz Strauss & GeniusShared Press

  • What IS an SOB?!
  • SOB A-Z Directory
  • Letting Liz Be

© 2023 ME Strauss & GeniusShared