 |  ProBlogger Blog TipsMake Money Online http://www.problogger.net рекомендовать друзьям >> |
- Six Ways to Get Feedback On Your Posts and Pages (And Why You Need To)
This guest post is by Ali Luke of Aliventures.
Are your blog posts working well, or leaving readers unsatisfied? Is your About page enticing, or confusing? Does your Hire Me page do a great job of selling your services, or is it too bland?
Often, the only feedback that you have comes in the form of numbers. Maybe readers aren't spending long on your blog. Maybe you rarely get comments. Maybe no one's ever hired you.
The problem is, it's hard to tell why. Without any feedback from readers, you don't know what you're doing wrong.
Honest, constructive feedback isn't the same as a comment saying "great post!" Good feedback:
- tells you exactly what's working, and what isn't
- offers suggestions on how to fix any problems
- encourages you to make the most of your strengths.
Perhaps you're reading this and thinking no one will give me any feedback. I don't have any readers yet. Or maybe your blog isn't even online—you're struggling away with your posts and pages, trying to get your core content together before you launch.
Don't give up. I'm going to give you six easy ways to get feedback.
Six ways to get feedback
1. Look at your current comments
If you've received any comments on your blog, look at the following.
- Which posts have the most comments? These will, in some way, have struck a chord with the reader.
- Are there any suggestions that you can use for future posts? Sometimes, commenters will tell you exactly what they'd like to read. Other times, they'll mention what they're struggling with—and you can use that as the basis for a post.
- Did any posts get negative or confused comments? If a reader leaves a comment to say that they didn't understand, you might want to take another look at that post and make sure it's clear.
2. Ask around on Twitter or Facebook
If your blog is new, you might well have a bigger following on Twitter, Facebook, or other social networks. Try asking there for feedback: post a link to a particular post or page and explain that you'd welcome any constructive criticism.
You'll be surprised at how generous your friends—and even complete strangers!—can be. Don't discount the opinions of non-bloggers, either; they might not "get" the technology, but they're likely to be representative of your general audience.
3. Find a blogging partner
Some bloggers like to swap posts with one another. If you've got any blogging friends, ask around and see if anyone would be interested. A blogging partner can do a lot more than just read your posts, too—check out Find a Blog Buddy [Day 15 - 31DBBB].
If you don't know a single blogger yet, try looking in the comments sections of relevant blogs (ProBlogger might be a good place to start). Find someone who seems to be at a similar stage to you, and drop them an email.
4. Post a message in a forum
When I've been looking for feedback, often on sales pages, I've posted in the Third Tribe forum. I've always had great responses from other members, with plenty of insightful feedback. When you put out a request like this, it's often helpful to specify what particular areas you want feedback on. You might ask questions like these:
- Was my About page clear?
- Did it encourage you to read on?
- Is there anything you think I should add?
If you're not currently a member of any blogging or business-related forums, you might want to take a look at ProBlogger's own community site: ProBlogger.Community.
5. Join a blogging-related course
Many ecourses will include some element of interaction—that might be live calls with the tutors, or forums where you can easily interact with other members. There'll often be a chance to ask questions and get specific feedback.
Even if it's a big course without any individual instruction from tutors, you'll find that other members are very willing to help out. People taking an ecourse are often more engaged (and at a slightly further stage) than your general audience on Twitter or Facebook.
6. Hire a writing coach
For really in-depth, expert feedback, look for a writing or blogging coach. They'll work with you to help you shape and polish up your content, and a good coach will be careful to preserve your own voice and style.
Coaching is definitely an investment, but many bloggers find it a very worthwhile one. That applies even if you have a strong writing background. One of my own coaching clients, Prime Sarmiento, is an experienced journalist. She wrote about the benefits of getting coaching in a guest post for Men with Pens: Why Hiring a Writing Coach Can Help You Build Your Business.
The review
So, you've found someone willing to give you feedback. What should you ask them to look at?
I think there are several key areas where you'll want to make sure your writing (and formatting of posts) is as good as it can be.
Your cornerstone content
If you're creating a series of posts as cornerstone or pillar content—posts that readers will go back to again and again—then you want them to be as good as possible.
It's worth asking someone to read through the whole series, so that they can help you both with the small details (like typos and clunky sentences) and the big picture (making sure that all the posts fit together well).
Your About page
Did you know that your About page is probably the most-read page on your blog after your home page? (Check your Google Analytics if you're not convinced!) It make sense—new readers will often read a blog post or two, then click on "About" to find out who you are and what the blog's purpose is.
A great About page can turn a casual visitor into a subscriber. A poor About page might lose you that visitor completely. About pages are really tough to write, so it's definitely worth getting feedback and even some help with the drafting.
Your Services or Hire Me page
If you've got any services (or products) for sale, you want to make sure that your sales page does a great job of drawing potential customers in. That means, at a minimum, being totally clear about what you do and who you work with.
I've read lots of incoherent and confusing sales pages—and even decent sales pages often don't sell the blogger as well as they should. You should always get feedback on a sales page, to make sure that your offer is totally clear.
Your next steps
Pick one page or post on your blog, and find someone who can give you feedback on it. That might be a friend, a forum member, a coach … the important thing is that you get a second opinion. Ideally, it should be someone who understands your audience (even if they're not part of that audience themselves).
And if you're not sure who to ask, why not pop a comment below? You might just find a new blogging friend…
Ali Luke is a writer and writing coach, and author of The Blogger's Guides series of ebooks. She has a weekly newsletter for writers and bloggers, and has just released a mini-ebook How to Find Time for Your Writing –click here and sign up for her newsletter to get your free copy.
Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
Six Ways to Get Feedback On Your Posts and Pages (And Why You Need To)
Переслать - 5 Crucial Questions to Ask Before Deciding to Blog in Another Language
This guest post is by Stephanie Hetu of StephanieHetu.com.
Most of us international bloggers learned pretty much everything we know in English, just because the community of bloggers is there, huge, active, and available. We don’t have to search very far to learn all sorts of little tips and tricks to make our blogs more appealing, to write better content, to interact better, etc.
So we should all blog in English shouldn’t we? The market is huge! Nahhh it is often much easier to blog in our own native language because the words flow better, we know the local expressions, and we know what makes people laugh (or not!).
Copyright Vladimir Voronin - Fotolia.com
Personally, I discovered the Web in 1999, learned everything I could in English (and still do every day), started my online business in English, and left my day job in 2003. But then I decided to take a 180-degree turn and build an online presence in French, and it works very well.
The decision to do it was not an easy one, but I don’t regret it for a second! And today I help entrepreneurs make the same decision when it is to their advantage.
Starting, growing, and monetizing a blog in another language than English is not for everyone, so I have compiled a list of five questions you can ask yourself before you make the decision.
1. Do you speak the language?
I know, this sounds like a really dumb question, but it is important! Sometimes, bloggers want to start a blog in another language just because they think it will be easy to get lots of trafic (SEO is usually easier in other languages). But often it’s a bad idea!
Why? Because if you decide to start a blog in French when you don’t speak French, you will be faced with these problems:
- Customer service: How will you manage the emails you receive from the blog asking you questions? They will be in a language you can’t read … not easy!
- Comments management: How will you decide if a comment is a good one to publish on your blog or not if you can’t read and understand it?
- Quality of content: Same problem here: how will you write good-quality posts if you don’t speak the language? I know some bloggers use an automatic translator, but that is not the way to go for long-term profit!
There is a workaround: to outsource everything. But what’s the point when you are just starting out? Especially if it’s your first blog, you want to learn all the ropes of building, promoting and monetizing it, so you don’t want to outsource work you don’t even know how to do in the first place!
2. Is there a market?
Even though starting a blog in another language is often a very good idea because there is less competition, it does not guarantee success! You still need to do some research to see if there is a market for the subject you want to talk about on your blog.
The nice thing is that some tools that work great for research in English also work in every single other language out there! For example, you can use the Google Keyword Tool External to research your niche and select a specific language and a specific country. This way you get an idea of the demand for your subject in your own local market.
3. Will you be able to monetize your blog?
Next, you need to look at monetizing options. This is important because being in a smaller market with no competition is great, but if there are no affiliate programs to help you monetize your blog, you’ll have to think of something else to make money!
First, look for affiliate program in your own language, because they are easy to use on a blog to make money. But do not despair if there are not many good quality affiliate programs—it does not mean you can’t monetize your blog!
If affiliate marketing is not an option, you can always turn to selling advertising space, adding Adsense to your blog, and (my favorite) selling your own products/infoproducts on the site.
4. Will you be able to find JV partners to grow your audience faster?
One way to build an audience faster for your blog is to create joint ventures with other bloggers by writing quality posts that will be published on other blogs in your niche as a guest author. To be able to do that, there must already be some influential blogs in your niche!
Even though it would not personally stop me from starting a blog in a specific niche, if there are no other blogs in the same niche or in the same market you can guest post to, it could take longer to build traffic and authority for your blog.
5. Are you in a niche where you can leverage the fact that you speak English?
If the answer is yes, than it could be a very lucrative idea to start a blog in another language!
Let me explain.
If you are blogging in a niche where there is a huge time gap in knowledge between the English-speaking market and your other language, you have a real advantage: you can learn everything in English before everyone else, and then look like a hero by teaching it in another language and be the first one to do it.
What will you choose?
Blogging in another language can be fun and lucrative, if you are in the right market or the right niche. If you have been blogging in English and you wish to take advantage of the fact that you speak another language to build blogs on the same subject, why not?
Just make sure you understand the situation and you could be on your way to adding new income streams to your online blogging business!
Stephanie Hetu has been blogging in French since 2003, helping small businesses grow their online presence using blogs, email lists, infoproducts and social networks through her own "Internet Success System". You can reach her at http://www.StephanieHetu.com or follow her on Twitter (@stephaniehetu) and Facebook.
Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
5 Crucial Questions to Ask Before Deciding to Blog in Another Language
Переслать - How to Create Emails with a 47.8% Open Rate and a 28.3% Click Rate
this guest post is by Moon Hussain of Experiments in Passive Income.
Contrary to popular belief, you need great copywriting skills to make a successful income online. For over a year, I thought publishing good material would not only help me go viral but also hurl me and my blog towards Planet Success faster than Superman gets rid of Kryptonite every time it's in his sight.
No. Such. Luck!
In fact, very recently, I sent an email to my small email list and conducted a split test using Aweber. The idea came on a whim.
Since I was releasing my new free report, why not also alert the people on my email list of it, and get a few more downloads, re-tweets, and Facebook likes from them? After all, these so-called gurus keep yelping that the money is in the list. I decided to give it a go.
Here are the only details you need to know:
- I have a super-small email list.
- The only difference between the split tests was the email subject line.
- The main email message was exactly the same for both versions, word for word.
Check out how my message fared with both groups:
The full subject line for Group 1 reads, "You Won't Find These Details Anywhere Else [Free Report]." The second subject line reads, "I Think This Could Help Your Rankings Tremendously [Free Report]."
What is really interesting to note is that while the percentage of opens is very close (47.8% versus 41.6%), it's the percentage of the actual clicks within the email that’s really surprising: 28.3% vs. 5.1%.
The nerd within me is ecstatic and has learned a valuable lesson here. What if I had not tested with two different subject lines? I would have received a small number of actual clicks and would have been quite bummed that I didn't get a good response.
For some reason, even though both email messages are the same, the subject line alone triggered the first group to take action.
Could this make or break someone's product launch? You bet. Pay attention, small bloggers.
Do the math, kid!
Suppose someone has 500 people on their email list. Assuming their product is in demand and their copywriting skills are top notch, this person of course would love to sell as much of their product as possible—especially on launch day.
47.8% versus 41.6%? Who cares?!
If this person didn't test their subject lines, and even achieved the open rate as I managed, that would mean that out of 500 people, only 210 people would open their product-targeted email message (42% * 500 = 210).
Out of 210 people only 5% would click the link to the product page. That results in 10.5 people, rounded down to ten. How many of those people actually buy is a mystery … but we can agree that the more people click, the better.
But now let's image the better case. In this version, 48% of 500 people open your product email, which amounts to 240 people. Of those, 28% bother clicking the link to your product page, resulting in about 67 people checking out your slick product page.
What sounds better? Ten people checking out your page or 67?
Yeah, I thought so! That's almost seven times more people!
You can use this data to tweak your sales page as well, making a huge difference in sales numbers!
If you have a blog and a small email list, and want to transition to an income-generating blog, you need to pay attention and follow these four ultimate copywriting rules… you know, so you can buy the latest tech gadget that will light up your social life (like the commercials show!).
#1. Create hounding curiosity with your email subject line
Consider both these headlines: "You Won't Find These Details Anywhere Else [Free Report]" and "I Think This Could Help Your Rankings Tremendously [Free Report]."
The second subject line makes the reader think a little, bit but in the MMO niche, people are tired of the same old thing. Perhaps this subject line alludes to something these people think they've already read about.
The first headline hints to exclusivity (details that can't be found anywhere else), which gets people excited and curious. Seems like they were more curious to find out these exclusive details through my report, which is indicated by the number of clicks the link within the email received.
Send a boring subject line to your email list and you've failed at the start line.
#2. Tell people what's in it for them
Of course you want fame, fortune, and money, but you can't come off as a money-grubbing fool who uses his or her email lists for pure profit. You have to serve your readers first, or your actions will come back to haunt you.
These people are on your email list for a reason: they want to learn something from you. Here's an excerpt from the email that I sent to the people on my list:
"I’ve been pretty busy the last few weeks, which is why you may have noticed that I’ve scaled back my posting frequency on my blog, EIP. However, I’ve also taken that time to create a free mini-report for you that details how I’ve managed to rank several sites in the top 10 and top 20 of Google.
“I don’t like wasting anyone’s time, especially yours. But, you’re reading this for a reason. You are trying to rank your sites and need some powerful information. There are details here that I thought twice about sharing but I’m really glad I did."
Not only do I indicate what my report is all about (ranking sites) but I also remind the readers that I'm only sharing this with them because they are on my list for this type of information.
It’s a win-win. The readers get a free report and I get the traffic I want.
#3. Direct people where you want them to go
Stop being shy! It got me nowhere, and it’ll do the same for you. Here's how I asked people to check out my report:
"Here is the direct link to my free mini-report: [link]."
To be honest, I could have done a better job here. This is a soft pitch. I could have directed them a bit more aggressively by rephrasing the call-to-action to "Download my free report…" or "Check out my free mini-report…" Words like "download" and "check out" not only tell the reader what to do, but also give the reader a mental command to go ahead and take action.
#4. Build on the curiosity to the point where readers can't resist
If you read the two paragraphs from my email, you'll see three key sentences in there that really made people curious.
Phrase 1: "I’ve also taken that time to create a [free mini-report] for you that details how I’ve managed to rank several sites in the top 10 and top 20 of Google."
My readers come to EIP to see how my niche sites are doing and how I rank them in Google. I know that they are interested in this information because they are interested in doing the same thing! I created a highly relevant report for them and enticed them by sharing the fact that I've managed to rank my sites in the top ten and 20 in Google.
Phrase 2: "I don’t like wasting anyone’s time, especially yours. But, you’re reading this for a reason. You are trying to rank your sites and need some powerful information."
I reminded readers why they’re on my email list. I reminded them of their own need to do well with their niche sites and blogs. If I have something powerful to share (especially for free), they could use it to do well with their own sites and blogs.
Phrase 3: "There are details here that I thought twice about sharing, but I’m really glad I did."
That's not some slick phrasing for the sake of a few clicks—I'd think more than twice about using that phrase again. When I was writing my report, it's quite true that I did think twice about going very in-depth with the details. At this point, the readers were really curious about what I had in store for them.
What’s so smart about split testing?
Not only is split testing necessary, but writing with a purpose goes hand in hand with testing. If you are going to put hours and hours into growing your email list, and creating autoresponder emails and guest posts, you may as well work hard to demand the utmost attention from every reader who comes across your work!
None of that will happen in great numbers if you don't improve your copywriting skills.
Copywriting skills are the difference between making $50 a month or $5000 month online. In other words, your copywriting skills will either make you or break you.
Moon Hussain lives in sunny Southern California and loves exploring passive income ideas. Check out her blog, Experiments In Passive Income, to read all about her niche site experiments or download her free ebook, To the Moon & Back, in which she details everything she has learned about ranking niche sites.
Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
How to Create Emails with a 47.8% Open Rate and a 28.3% Click Rate
Переслать
 | Интернет-инструменты для малого бизнеса Практические приемы интернет-маркетинга. Saas-решения для малого бизнеса. Опыт малого бизнеса . Присоединиться → |
| rss2email.ru |
| rss2email.ru | отписаться: http://www.rss2email.ru/unsubscribe.asp?c=12354&u=1052515&r=672244627 управление подпиской: http://www.rss2email.ru/manage.asp партнерская программа: http://partner.rss2email.ru/?pid=1 |
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий