Blog Content

“—William

Hi William and thanks for the question. I do have one tip that comes to mind that I hope you find useful. It certainly helped me keep my inbox load light and create more content!

I certainly understand the pressure of managing a growing blog, and the demands that come with it. A few years ago, I would wake up in the morning to many reader questions and wonder how I’d ever get any actual posts written.

That was until I realized that the emails in my inbox were actually part of the answer—not the problem.

What I came to see was that many of the questions readers were asking me about the topics of my blog were things that others would be interested in hearing about also. If one person is asking a question, many others are probably thinking it.

I began to approach writing answers to emails differently, so that I could capture my responses and repurpose them as blog posts.

Of course I would normally take off the greeting at the start and farewell remarks at the end of the email—and I might change the opening paragraph to introduce the topic a little more. But I would write the bulk of the response in such a way that it could simply be copied and pasted into a blog post.

In doing so, I killed two birds with one stone:

1. Individual readers were satisfied. Actually, they were ecstatic because they were getting such comprehensive answers.
2. I was creating relevant and useful content simply by clearing my inbox!

The added bonus of this approach is that these posts were written in a much more personal style than normal. It’s amazing how writing something in response to a real person with a real problem or need (instead of covering a random topic for a nameless audience) changes your style of writing.

I hope that this approach is helpful for you. It took a little while for me to build it into my natural workflow, but once I began to think this way, I started to see more and more opportunities to do it. I’d estimate I added three to four posts to my output each week using this technique.

The other thing I’d add is that you can apply the same approach to answering questions from other sources.

For example, I often find myself doing the same thing as I answer questions in forums, on Twitter or Facebook, in the comments on my blog—even the questions I see other bloggers asking on their blogs. Pretty much anywhere you’re asked a question (or where you see someone asking a question) you can use this principle: answer it in such a way that you can repurpose the information for publication on your blog.

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How do you use links in your blog posts? Bloggers link to other online resources for many reasons: to give credibility to a claim, to provide additional information, to give credit to another person or institution, to allow users to easily follow a natural progression or procedure, and so on.

You could say that in-text links allow us to apply a degree of functionality to written content. If they’re used appropriately, links can achieve their goals without confusing—or losing—the user. They can also support a good search rank for your content. If they’re used poorly, they can frustrate users, undermine your credibility, or create gaping holes in your site, SEO efforts, or sales process.

When we’re talking about in-text links—links that aren’t part of your blog’s buttons or navigation—it’s important to remember also that the links aid scanning. Well-used links can boost your posts’ readability, as well as reader comprehension. While some argue that a scanner finding an interesting link will simply click away from your site, ending their engagement with your content, I’m not so sure. I have the feeling that’s only likely to happen if the user is looking for something specific and their scanning suggests that your content doesn’t provide the answer.

If, as I’m scanning, the page content looks good, and the links seem interesting, I’ll go back and start to read the page content itself. Often, scanning is used as a means to gauge the page’s value and relevance to the individual, so if your links’ text, which jump out at a scanner, doesn’t help to communicate the content’s value or relevance, you’re missing a golden opportunity to connect with readers at first glance.

So let’s look at the link text specifically. I’ve noticed three broad approaches to using text links:

• the minimalistic approach
• a call to action
• the descriptive approach.

The minimalistic approach

The minimalistic approach links a single word—maybe two—to the external content, like this:

You can read my article on tutorials here.

There’s a variation of this approach which links individual words in a phrase to multiple, related examples or sources of the information being discussed:

I wrote a short series of posts on blog content-related issues.

You guessed it—I’m not a fan of the minimalistic approach. Firstly, for scanners, or those using screenreaders, the word “here” isn’t exactly indicative of what we’ll get when we click on that link.

In the second case, readers may not even realize that different words are linked to different sources—a number of web developers and content creators (i.e. heavy web users) I’ve spoken to over time have said they’ve never noticed this technique in use, even though I see it often. Perhaps they’re just not realizing what they’re seeing when they come across these kinds of links?

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Happy 2011! How are the ole resolutions holding up so far? Have you stopped biting your nails, started a daily exercise regimen, and organized your closets yet? Me neither. Still, ’tis the season for new starts, and while you’re thinking about improving your health, your home, or your life balance, don’t forget about your blog. Make a resolution today to take your blog to the next level in 2011.

It’s the beginning of the month as well as the year, so, as always, Regator has provided blogosphere trends for the month, and I’ll use posts about these popular stories to inspire you to make a vow to improve your blog in the New Year. (The most-blogged about stories for December 2010, in order, were: Christmas, Wikileaks, Tax Cuts, DADT/Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Tron, New Year’s Eve, Net Neutrality, Elizabeth Edwards, Oprah, and Michael Vick.) Let’s make some resolutions!

1. I resolve to be funnier.
Inspiration: Cracked’s The 12 Most Unintentionally Disturbing Christmas Ads. Obviously, humor isn’t always appropriate, but it certainly has its place and can breathe life into a dry subject if it’s used correctly. If you can handle a bit of rough language, comedy blog Cracked.com provides plenty of inspiration, putting an amusing spin on everything from Christmas to science to pop culture.

2. I resolve to take extra time to write gripping intros to my posts.
Inspiration: The Chronicle Review’s Why WikiLeaks Is Bad for Scholars. The first few lines of your post will determine whether readers will stick around or click around. Don’t save your genius for the third paragraph. Use your first paragraph to make a promise, create intrigue, hit readers with a killer quote, or—as in this example from The Chronicle Review—build suspense with a story.

3. I resolve to help my readers solve more problems.
Inspiration: The Consumerist’s Calculate How Much Of A Raise You’ll Get On January 1 [Tax Cuts]. You’ve read it over and over here at ProBlogger, but it can’t be said enough: Be useful to your readers and they will come back for more. As you sit down to write each post, ask yourself what the reader will get out of it and why he or she should take the time to read it. Even if it’s not a straight-up, service-oriented post, like this example from The Consumerist, all of your posts should provide some benefit: entertainment, knowledge, advice, etc.

4. I resolve to take more time to craft my headlines.
Inspiration: Queerty’s Why Fox News’ Story On Gay Soldiers Living Under DADT Never Got Filed. Your headlines should not be an afterthought and, if they are, this is the resolution for you. They’re all people see when your link is tweeted and the first thing potential readers see in RSS readers and aggregators. A great post with a mediocre headline will lose countless potential readers. This example from Queerty is keyword-heavy, potentially controversial, and seems to promise an intriguing bit of information.

5. I resolve to be more creative and to break out of the echo chamber.
Inspiration: Pushing Pixels’ The colors of “Tron: Legacy”. While many were blogging about Tron’s opening weekend numbers or its (awesome) Daft Punk soundtrack, Kirill Grouchnikov took a different approach and blogged a fascinating breakdown of the color usage in Tron’s computer world. It’s a perfect fit for that blog’s readers and a unique twist on a frequently covered story. If bloggers in your niche are writing about one particular story, find a way to put your own unique twist on it.

Read the full blog post here.

Throughout my blogging career, I’ve worked hard on my writing style. I’ve improved over time, and I’m at a point now where I believe I have perfected my ability to write link bait articles. A link bait article is an article that makes many readers want to reference it within their articles, or link to it as a general resource.

The thing I love about link baiting is that it allows your blog to build some quality backlinks and increase search rank over time. It also means additional targeted traffic is attracted to your blog, which can mean more subscribers. Let’s see how you can start writing such articles, and increasing your presence on the web.

Why do articles go viral?

The main reason why articles go viral is because they offer something that of value to a large portion of the population. This is usually something that people feel that they cannot be without, and with the way that social media works, everyone automatically shares links to that content which spreads it like a virus; hence the name “viral”.

Think about viral content as being like the latest craze during a holiday sale (e.g. Tickle Me Elmo).

Two common link bait post types

Some articles are just so good that they grab the attention of the reader immediately.

One example of such an article is a list post. These are posts that are easy to read, and usually provide solutions to problems or reasons why things are needed. Examples of list post titles are “Top 10 Must-Have WordPress Plugins”, or “5 Methods To Increase RSS Subscribers”. The titles of those articles are meant to get the attention of the person who has a need for those things. When they access the article, it is broken down into a list for easy consumption.

A controversial post is another example. Consider the blogger who refused the screening process by the TSA. He recorded the entire confrontation, and posted it on his blog. The next thing you know, not only was he on the news, but everyone was linking to his blog when they talked about negative reactions to the TSA backscatter xray machine and the aggressive pat-downs.

Making your article stand out

When I first guest posted on ProBlogger, I intended to write an article that I knew would be referenced in the future. I wrote about blogging styles, and I made sure to create an in-depth article. So link bait posts don’t have to be list items or controversial articles. They can simply be articles that cover a topic in depth, and which another blogger can reference within his or her own posts into the future. You see this all the time among bloggers and site owners who link to wikipedia articles.

In order to make your article stand out, it’s wise to write a detailed post and cover the key bases of the topic. Break your article into sub-sections and lists, and reference other materials where you need to. The most important part of standing out is to be original. If you write a me-too post, then you aren’t likely to get comments, let alone inbound links.

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One of the most common pieces of advice given to aspiring writers and, by extension, bloggers is to write every day. The idea of a daily writing practice is thrown around as though it’s a cure-all for any malady.

Don’t get me wrong, I try to write every day, but the advice as it’s given is missing an important component. And it can be downright harmful in its closely related form: “Write every day—it doesn’t matter what you write, so long as you’re writing”.

The problem

Recently, I had a stint of a week or two where I was writing almost constantly, and all of it was for the viewing of others: blog posts for my blog, guest posts for other blogs, client work.

When things slowed down a bit, I took a week long breather since I had a backlog of blog posts‚ I was still writing daily at 750words.com and my private journal, but that was it.

And, to my surprise, when I sat down to write again, I found it nigh impossible. The words simply refused to come. I couldn’t figure it out—I had found it so easy to write only a week before!

The new version: write for others every day

There’s a big difference between writing something that you know will be private, and writing something that others will see. I propose that if bloggers want to keep the ideas coming, keep writing, and most importantly, keep improving their writing, then writing every day isn’t enough.

Instead, you should be making it a point to write for others every day. Why?

There are two main reasons:

• You hold your writing to a higher standard. If something is private, you have no pressing motivation to keep improving it aside from your own drive. Sometimes that’s enough, but sometimes it’s not. If you know that your writing will be in front of hundreds or thousands of people (or even just the one paying client), you definitely want to make sure it’s up to scratch.
• It keeps you in a quality writing mindset. Writing for yourself is often an entirely different experience than writing for others. It gives you a moment to pause and reflect on your day, tease out thoughts you might not have known you had, and record your experiences. These are all totally fabulous things in their own right, and doing these on a regular basis might (eventually) make you a better writer. But they’re not the same thing that you need to be taking into consideration when you’re writing for other people. When writing for others, you need to think about headlines, subheadings, ease of reading, and how well you convey your message. If you’re not actively practicing writing for others and maintaining the mindset that comes with it, then chances are your improvement will be nonexistent or marginal.

It could also be argued that writing for others makes you more creative, but several other talented bloggers have recently addressed that idea here on ProBlogger, so I’ll just point you towards those posts for that debate.

Read the full blog post here

Professional SEO in different discussion forums and groups is one of the most effective weapons in the professional SEO arsenal, yet controlled use can easily become a double-edged sword that will not help to promote best site will cause real damage and image site at worst.
So basically what you mean when they say the promotion forums?
Promoting the forums is the general name given to a marketing activity performed over the various internet boards and forums and can among others include post articles, useful information, general comments, suggestions, questions, or any other relevant and useful information that can serve the community of users a particular forum.
Is promotion forums is nothing illegal about me?
Of course. Promoting intelligent discussion forums and groups is quite legal action, and when it is done intelligently and honestly it also completely ethical.
Most operators will be happy to accept publications forums new forums which they run because they depend on the information you innovative, informative and original to continue their activities. No new publications forums are becoming the “Thi Cemetery online, contain too little relevant information if any.
What I as a site owner earns a site promotion through forums?
As a site owner you profit can be measured on several levels, but the most convenient to describe this space over time:
In the short term: will traffic segmented by surfers who will read your posts, Satakrno, then surf to your site.
In the long term: increased exposure to search engines (all such post in forum is in fact a direct pointing to your website – BACKLINK), establishing your position authority in a certain field, obtaining new customers, relevant community assimilation, high exposure to innovations and updates in the field, and ultimately better and better location engine results search. In this case the forums and post quality content and the rule of “improves with time” is also true.
If published an article or comment that contains high-quality, durable solid information, not just “Ahara”a corner or another, many users will read it long after the post.
Highlights ethical activity
1. Do Atazabel!: As always, there are many people safe that Boards are actually public notice boards and publish them blatantly violating all the rules of the forum.

2. Carefully read the instructions for use of any Forum: ensuring these rules will help you convey your message effectively with the forum not against it.

3. Look at the first party: a forum before you post a little blah time (days or months) knowing this forum cast of characters, style of speech, the nature of posts, and so on.

4. Do not use automated software programs: they are not effective, landfills and the forums, that reduce the relevance of information, and finally hit us surfers.

5. Do not impersonate: The truth is the best weapon, was direct, link yourself to it you are promoting the profits earned traffic to your site.

6. Avoid the language of marketing: Make sure that the message header the actual software will be equal

7. Disclosure: Be sure to fill in real information – this is very worth the long term
How to select the Forum participate in an efficient and emphases
1. Identify the major players in the field that you intend to promote, and publish only high-quality forums. Even the best articles will yield no traffic to your site if they are famous and active forums Akyakioneime.

2. Be sure to include a signature on your right to control the overall appeal to your site from the first publication. Without such reference all Amllach not worth the time that you spend. You need to have user forums no less than you need them even more. No posts advertised quality – they have no right to exist, your time is worth nothing – what little they can do is allow a full signature.

3. Check the quality of posts: Are you satisfied with the overall quality of the forum? Do you want to plug your web site like this forum?

4. Parallel activities: Participated in various forums in parallel under the same user name to establish your authority as an expert in a certain field.

5. Publish quality messages only: If you do not have to renew or add to the post. Post is a bad thing worse than lack of posting.

6. Ensure the placement advertising: There is a forum for sub-system of categories and sub categories. Be sure to post your message in the most relevant

7. Ensure the quality content: Editors forums are usually experts in their field, they knew how to appreciate quality and relevant information to approve the Persumach more easily, even if it is indirectly advertising your site.

8. Check the date the message: participation in forums with multiple participants or a low rate low post new messages is not worth the time that you are going to invest.

9. Was pleasant and avoid unnecessary arguments: do not add unnecessary arguments you respect, do not buy you friends, business partners or get a positive post.

10. Not at all costs: If your messages are deleted frequently no explanation even though I made sure the rules of advertising in the forum, that this forum may be too rigid or managed by an experienced enough manager not a bad way exploiting his authority. Sometimes there are whole forums sponsored by the commercial workers without informing the users of these Moderators and carefully delete all posts by competitors. You have nothing to look for such a forum is the best way to vote with their feet and lack of it.

Summary:
Promotion through forums is a masterpiece that should be done by experts in the field. Experts intention is not SEO experts but rather experts in specific content that want to promote. Positive secondary side effect of such a post in the forums is to promote the site, remember that surfing the Web audience is intelligent and sophisticated by nature and will not approve any attempt to “soap” or “push” improper means sites through forums. The best way to make such promotion is to find a knowledgeable expert in a specific content area of promotion to hire, or make it yourself.
Keep these rules when you perform SEO through forums and be surprised to discover the extent of their effectiveness.