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- 7 Ways to Rescue Your Business Blog From the Blahs
This guest post is by Jennifer Brown Banks of Penandprosper.
A recent Google search in preparation for this piece revealed over 40 million entries for the term "business blog." That makes for a whole lot of niche competition. A compelling reason to seek strategies to stand out to stay in the game. Or as I like to put it, to break from the blahs!
Contrary to popular opinion, your business blog doesn’t have to be bland to be taken seriously.
It can be "professional" and still be entertaining, informative and engaging. In fact, this is one example of when you should "mix business with pleasure". Because ideally you want readers to enjoy their experience when they visit, and to share your content via social media forums and link love. Regardless of your industry, tone, or target audience, injecting a little "personality" into the mix can make for great results and increased readership.
Here are four key reasons why:
- The more engaging your content, the longer readers are inclined to stay. The longer they stay, the lower your bounce rate, which enhances your Alexa ratings.
- The more engaged readers are when they visit your site, the greater the likelihood they’ll return.
- Repeat visitors often become loyal customers. Loyal customers often refer others.
- It’s a savvy way to be remembered and to distinguish yourself from the vast competition.
Now that you have the 4-1-1 on why, here’s how!
Provide variety
In addition to quality articles, consider placing polls, surveys, and study findings relative to your products or services. Some companies I’ve done business with even "entertain" customers with trivia questions or posts related to national observance days or "awareness themes. For example, "Women's History Month" or "Poetry Month," or even Mothers' Day.
One site that epitomizes variety in terms of content, presentation, and approach is One Woman Marketing. Here you'll discover video posts, pod casts, lively commentary, and provocative titles to boot! For certain, you'll never leave bored.
Speak in a conversational tone
Talk "to" readers, not "at" them. Also, if you use acronyms, abbreviations, or tech terms, have a glossary for those who may not be in-the-know.
There's no better example of this than Tia, over at Bizchickblogs.com Her style of expression, her distinct voice, and her warmth resonates with each post. When you read her words, it kinda feels as if she's sitting in your living room having a one-on-one. She knows her stuff without being stuffy.
Don’t hide from humor
As long as it’s applicable and in good taste, it’s almost always acceptable. Humorous anecdotes can be a great technique to draw audiences in, illustrate a point, and hold them captive. A good example of this blogging technique would be Naomi at Ittybiz.com. She’s fabulously funny and fiercely popular for being herself. Heck, even popular pastor and best-selling author Joel Osteen starts every sermon with a joke.
Along the same lines as Naomi, when it comes to having a knack for humor and "working a (virtual) crowd", is innovative blogger, Princess Jones, of Diaryofamadfreelancer.com She reigns supreme in this area! No matter what topic she tackles, she'll tickle your funny bone and help you to see the lighter side of the freelancing life. Here's a recent quote: "So what's my point? Once again, I don't have one. But this is my blog and the rule says I don't have to have a point every time I sit down to write."
Don’t neglect visual appeal
Sure, "content is king" in the blogging world, but looks are important as well. I like to compare it to a stimulating meal. If it’s not presented well in terms of colors, textures, and arrangement, it loses its "flavor."
Aesthetics are important. Choose hues, fonts and graphics accordingly. This attention to detail is what makes the site Workawesome.com so awesome! Not only is the content engaging and well-written, every post is accentuated with just the right image to reinforce the message. Always clever and creative. They've actually won awards for their graphic design as well.
Provide case studies
Show how your company helped to solve a problem or save the day for a client in need. Testimonials speak volumes as well. In promoting her financial services and professional speaking business, expert Kembala Evans, allows the testimonials of former clients do the talking. Visit her site, and it's clear that talk is not cheap when it comes to the recommendations of satisfied customers!
Toot your own horn
Have you achieved an important milestone? Won an industry award? Been recognized in the local paper? Share. Everybody loves a hero. Check out Jobacle.com, and on your visit you'll likely see various awards and commendations from places where the site has been featured, linked to, or talked about. And the host's periodic appearances at U.S. News and World Report and other prominent places.
Remember the K.I.S.S. principle
Know that, sometimes, less is more. Overkill can be the kiss of death. This philosophy is one that's well observed at Vistaprint. Known by many entrepreneurs for its stationery and marketing products, it also has a blog that features useful tips and tools for maintaining a successful business. It's brief, but substantive.
Follow these seven tips to enhance your business image, your following, and your bottom line. You'll have more sizzle fo' shizzle!
Jennifer Brown Banks is a veteran freelance writer, relationship columnist, entrepreneur and pro blogger. Her work has appeared at Daily Blog Tips, Technorati, Search Engine Journal, Workawesome, and Being Single Magazine.
Post from: ProBlogger Blog Tips
7 Ways to Rescue Your Business Blog From the Blahs
Переслать - Why I Like Blogging
Today I thought I’d share a behind-the-scenes photo of what’s going on at ProBlogger HQ—one that illustrates why I love blogging as an occupation.
The picture was taken at my local cafe and in it you can see my pride and joy. No, not the Macbook Air—my eldest son, “X,” who is home from kinder sick today. We spent the morning in our local cafe (where I normally work most mornings)—him coloring (he’s doing a whale in that picture) and me blogging.
Of course my quality of work may not have been quite as high as normal this morning, as there were a few distractions along the way—I needed to help him write descriptions on each of his pictures, like the “Alien Fish visiting an Octopus with a broken arm” (below). But one of the main reasons I first was attracted to the idea of blogging as a profession was about the flexibility it might give me to be more involved at home.
Challenges do come with working at home—balancing home and work life can be tricky, particularly when you have toddlers who don’t always understand that Daddy needs to get a post out. But ultimately for me it’s been a real privilege to be able to work at home and be involved in the day-to-day life of my family throughout the day (not to mention the flexibility of being able to work on the road, take a few extra family holidays, and so on).
That’s one of the things I love about blogging, and there are many others. What about you? What’s the attractiveness of blogging for you?
Post from: ProBlogger Blog Tips
Переслать - Less Than 24 Hours to Go to Save 50% off the New ProBlogger eBook
It’s been a little over a week since we launched ProBlogger’s Guide to Your First Week of Blogging and its been fantastic to see so many positive reactions from readers come in.Even in the last day I’ve had two emails from readers:
- one from a new blogger who has worked through it to launch their first blog
- another from a blogger who has taken the seven-day challenge to relaunch an older blog that had grown stagnant
Others still tell me that they’re using the ebook to launch their second, third and fourth blogs—projects that they’d had in the “one day” basket, but are now putting into action.
Whether you’re thinking about starting a blog or relaunching an old one, today is your last day to save 50% on this brand new ebook.
The price is just $9.99 USD, but it will double at midnight on 24th May, Eastern US time.
Also, remember that if you buy it before the deadline, you’ll also be put in the draw to win a WordPress theme package from Studio Press worth over $850—the perfect way to kick-start your new blog! Download Your Copy of ProBlogger’s Guide to Your First Week of Blogging today.
Post from: ProBlogger Blog Tips
Less Than 24 Hours to Go to Save 50% off the New ProBlogger eBook
Переслать - What to Do When a Commenter Goes Rogue
This guest post is by Gail Brenner, Ph.D. of A Flourishing Life.
It started innocently enough. Heartfelt comments, sharing a personal story, and a genuine interest in the topics I write about. But as the postings got longer, rambling, more personal, and more frequent—up to four a day in addition to emails—something had to give.
I was dealing with a commenter gone rogue.
Anyone who reads my blog, A Flourishing Life, knows that I take great care to respond to comments. I love interacting with my readers and cultivating a community in which everyone is welcome. Well, almost everyone, as I was soon to discover.
It becomes too much
The breaking point was when he asked me for a date—on my blog. He lives just over 200 miles from me and was willing to make the drive. I immediately blocked the comment and wrote him an email explaining that the purpose of comments is to discuss the subject matter of the post. He responded by letting me know that he removed my site from his favorites and requested that I delete all his comments from my blog.
There was no way I was going to go through all the comments from older posts as well as my responses to him, so I declined. Then, for some reason, he had a change of heart, and he was at it again—multiple, rambling comments per post.
It was getting out of hand. He stalked me when I commented on other people’s blogs and wrote me emails about these supposed relationships he was developing with other bloggers. I was ruminating during the day and losing sleep at night. "It’s just a blog," I kept telling myself. But I needed to take action.
The steps I took
I contacted some of my blogging friends and asked for advice. Mary Jaksch of GoodlifeZen recommended I blacklist him. She wrote, "Please don’t feel bad about banning a commenter. Your blog is like your house—you decide who is welcome!"
Jonathan Wells of Advanced Life Skills agreed. Sibyl Chavis from Alternaview suggested a more moderate approach as did Sandra Lee of Always Well Within—even when he started commenting on their blogs. And Christopher Foster of The Happy Seeker was full of compassion for all concerned.
I had already set up my blog so that I could review his comments before approving them (more on the technical details below), and I decided to let nature take its course. A few days later, I simply could not bring myself to approve his comments any more. I had reached my edge, and I was finished with him.
But was he finished with me? 200 miles away is too close for comfort, and I didn’t know how unbalanced he could be. When he realized I had stopped posting his comments, he didn’t become angry, as I had predicted. Instead, he begged and pleaded. He expressed remorse and said he would be good from now on. He told me he loved me. He wrote daily for a while with diary entries about the activities of his life. Yes, these were all written as comments to my blog posts.
A resolution?
When I failed to respond, he made one last request. He asked me to say "yes" to one of his comments if I wanted him to leave, and he promised he would be gone forever. I figured I could give him that. So I posted his comment and my "yes," but he didn’t keep up his end of the bargain. He posted 12 more comments over the next month before he left for good. That was mid-January, and I haven’t heard from him since. I mean it when I say I wish him well, but I am relieved that he is gone.
I still have 26 unposted comments from him sitting on the "comments" page on the back end of my blog. If I’m truthful, I’ve been holding them as evidence of his instability in case he showed up at my door and actually started stalking me. But I am close to being able to let them go.
What did I learn? I don’t think I could have prevented this situation, but others might have been much less tolerant than me. And I’m certain I would take action sooner next time. I can’t say enough about the support I received from fellow bloggers. It’s a true community of real people out there.
The technical details
WordPress gives us the capability to blacklist comments or moderate them before they are posted. On your dashboard, click on Settings, then Discussion. At the bottom of the page, type the email address in the appropriate box—for moderation or blacklisting. Click Save Changes, and you’re good to go.
If you are moderating, you will receive an email letting you know when a comment is available for your review, and you can choose what to do with it.
What if you blacklist? On WordPress, the comment ends up on the spam page. The blogger doesn’t receive an email about it, and the commenter doesn’t know he has been blacklisted. I have heard from others with different platforms that the commenter receives an email letting him know he has been blacklisted. If you go this route, I recommend testing it first so you know.
I’d love you to visit my blog and leave a comment, but please don’t go rogue on me. I may not be so forgiving next time.
Gail Brenner, Ph.D. is a psychologist who blogs at A Flourishing Life about untangling self-defeating habits and realizing happiness. Stay in touch by subscribing to her feed or by following her on Twitter at @aflourishinglif.
Post from: ProBlogger Blog Tips
What to Do When a Commenter Goes Rogue
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