How to Blog, SEO Optimization, Twitter

6 Ways to Blog Better, Harder, Faster

Whether you’re a seasoned or just-got-in-the-game blogger, we can never have enough tricks and tips in our hats to help us blog better, right?

Build a surplus of posts.  You never know when you’re just not feeling the blogging phenomenon, so it is always better to be prepared.  Sometimes you just get hit with a wallop of a writer’s block… other times you can’t stop the words from coming out.

Invite guest bloggers. If you have a few favorite bloggers or people you’d love to see contribute something to your blog (keep an eye out for “rising stars”), approach them and ask.  There’s never harm and asking casually, politely, and without commitment.

Leverage your readers. It’s a busy world, and most bloggers have full time jobs and filled lives, so use the strengths of your readers and incorporate their knowledge into your posts.  (Not sure how?  Stay tuned for an entire article on this subject!)

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6 Ways to Grow Your Blog By Interacting with Others

I know, it’s been three months, and you feel like your blog just isn’t getting the traffic it deserves.  You work hard, putting in the time and effort every night after work to write original, creative content.  But it’s just not getting the attention you want, so I bet you’re wondering, “what are some ways to leverage the blogging community to increase your readership?”  Let me tell you!

Guest blog for other bloggers. Don’t be afraid to ask your favorite blog if you could do a guest blog for them.  In fact, you might want to have something ready and written to show them the same time that you ask them.  If you blog is very small or relatively unknown and the blog you’re asking is well-known, you’ll likely want to make it an exclusive, hot button article.  Another way to try this tactic is

Email bloggers asking for link exchanges. I say link exchange, because I want to be certain you aren’t trying to get a link on someone else’s site with none on your own, because it’s probably not going to happen.  You also have to aim both high and low.  Don’t just e-mail the big wigs of your blogging niche, because they might be pickier with who they link to.  Trade links with other new blogs like yourself, or try emailing blogs you actually read and like.  If a blog declines to exchange links with you, don’t get discouraged and don’t take it personally–it’s rarely about not liking you or your blog.  They might have enough links, or they might only be accepting links to well established blogs.

Join communities/networks for your niche topic. Most blogging communities offer some sort of community or network space.  Beauty, for instance, has Total Beauty and Glam Networks as far as more professional networks go, but there are more homegrown networks like the Beauty Blog Network.  And if your community doesn’t have one?  Hello, opportunity for you to make one.

Try weekly/monthly link round-ups. Choose some of your favorite posts from other bloggers from the week/month and post a round-up of them on your blog.  Most bloggers pay attention to where their traffic is coming from or where incoming links are coming from, so it can help bring your blog to their attention, too.

Interview bigger bloggers. Who doesn’t want to be interviewed?  You might think it’s phony, but it does make for good content and a great segue into building up a relationship with a blogger who might not otherwise talk to you.  You can create a series around a certain theme — like “Share the SEO Tip You Wish You Had Known.”  You don’t have to ask twenty questions!

Leave comments on your favorite blogs. It’s a small way to help get your blog’s name out there, but it is important not to do so in an invasive way.  Most bloggers do not appreciate it when they see someone who is commenting just so that they can advertise their blog.  Instead, comment with something useful to say, a relevant insight or question.  Don’t write two words and link to your blog.  Leave your link in your name/title, not your comment body.

I’ve struggled with learning the ropes of product photography, but I’ve definitely picked up some handy tricks and tips that have worked magic for me over the years.

MACRO reigns supreme. Nearly every camera should have a Macro feature, which is often designated with a flower symbol.  The Macro feature allows you to take close-up photos of objects and retain more detail.

Read your manual. I know, novel idea, right?  I can admit that I had zero interest in reading my manual, and I didn’t bother to do so until a year later.  Boy, talk about a colossal mistake!  By reading the manual, I learned what the settings were for my camera–including the beloved Macro function.

Don’t be afraid to take a thousand photos to get one good one. Until you’ve mastered the art of your camera, lighting, etc., don’t feel like you can only take a few photos to get the one great one.  If it’s for a website/blog, you’re most likely using a digital camera, and therefore you should feel comfortable taking as many photos as it takes.  In fact, I highly recommend just spending a day taking photos using various camera settings, lightings, rooms, objects, etc.  You name it, give it a shot.  Periodically note what works, what doesn’t, what might, what might not.  Upload to get a sense of feedback.

Shoot in better lighting. I still haven’t perfected my lighting, but I know shooting in the dark is definitely not going to work for me.  I’ve learned taking photos in natural light doesn’t always turn out better than indoor light.  Be sure to try different lighting situations to see what works best with your camera.  For instance, my camera does a great job even indoors and using flash, but not all cameras manage this.

Tone down the flash with a tissue. If you find you need to use flash, but it’s washing out your photos too much, try placing a tissue over it to help diffuse the intensity of your flash.

5 Reasons Why Pictures Make or Break a Blog

Think about the blogs, sites, and spots on the web you visit the most.  Think about what really draws you in.  There is no doubt that content is king, but pictures are often an essential component to a successful blog and readership.  Let me tell you why I think they’re such a vital piece of the puzzle…

Eye candy. Whether it’s a creative graphic or a stock photo, it offers more to draw the eye in than just text.  Your page is better for it.

Worth a 1,000 words. Your article might make for a great read, but sometimes people want a little stimulus, too.  Sometimes your image can summarize what your article is about faster than a sentence.   This is even more important if you do product reviews, where pictures would be an absolute necessity.

But poor pictures are worse than none at all. If you’re snapping blurry, color-inaccurate photos and posting them in miniscule sizes, you might as well not post them at all, because they’re actually damaging the quality of your blog!  If you can’t get your hands on a decent camera, try using some stock photos in the meanwhile.

People will just stare at good photography. Sometimes you’ll get readers who don’t care one whit about what you have to say, they just want to see the pictures you take.  I know that half of the cooking blogs I peruse have nothing to do with recipes–I’m there to look at the breathtaking photos of food.

They break up the monotony of all text. Images make for a nice way to break up your text, and they can act as dividers, in a sense, between articles.

4 Reasons to Get Your Own Domain Name

Have you thought about purchasing your own domain name?  You should.  There’s not a single reason not to–except, perhaps, if you are stumped for a domain name!

It creates a brand. A domain name is a great way to begin building your brand.  You’re not Joe Schmoe on Geocities any more, you’re JoeSchmoe.com.

Professionalism. Having your own domain name shows a level of professionalism.  It instantly shows people that you’re taking your site/blog seriously, that you want it to amount to something.  This isn’t to say that your blogspot.com blog isn’t a serious endeavor, it’s just a domain lends itself to that first impression.  As they say, first impressions are everything!

Makes it easier for people to find you. Since domains are so commonplace these days, when someone says, “Hey, I love that Joe Schmoe blog!” but it’s not at JoeSchmoe.com — you might lose that word-of-mouth advertising.

It’s cheap and easy. Domains can be had for as low as $5.  Dreamhost offers domains for $20 a year, including private registration.  Seriously, you should be able to afford the cost, and if you can’t… just put a little away every month and you’ll have it in no name.

Stumbleupon can be an important aspect to gaining your blog a wider distribution and a new audience. It is important for you to make “stumbling” easy and accessible to your readers and make it visible as a constant reminder. You will find that stumble traffic also carries more weight than similar sites such as Digg.com.
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Starting a blog is easy, however, making money with a blog is not. The direction of this post will be towards the latter. You can still use this information as a stepping stone to start a non-monetary driven blog.

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Twitter has exploded in popularity and with that comes an immense amount of usability for people in the blogosphere. The implementation of twitter in your blog will help you increase your personal touch with readers, increase your visibility, and bring forth a newer medium to gain traffic. If you want a successful blog you need to take a hard look at using twitter.

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