How To Improve Your Blog: Blogging Tips From The Experts

January 2, 2010

Consistent blogging is not an easy task. And just like anything else in this world, to be great at it, you have to work at it. To get you moving in the right direction, I have complied some extremely helpful tips and strategies from some of the best bloggers around.

Feeling like an unmotivated blogger?

Here’s a tip from Darren Rowse at Problogger.net to get you moving:

“Tell Someone – don’t just make some plans for your next week of blogging… tell someone about them. Tell another blogger, tell your partner, tell your kids, tell someone on Twitter – tell anyone. The key is to tell someone who you give permission to hound you about it over the next few days – accountability is a great motivator.”

Want a blog that actually works for your business?

Check out some savvy advice from blogging expert Denise Wakeman via her article The Secrets to Growing Your Blog Following and The Pitfall Your Must Avoid (you can check it out on SocialMediaExaminer.com):

“Reaching out to other bloggers in your field will actually create more business opportunities, increase traffic to your own blog, and enhance your business brand more than any other tactic you could employ.”

Looking for more subscribers to your blog?

According to Brian Clark of CopyBlogger.com, in his article 10 Effective Ways to Get More Blog Subscribers, one smart strategy for attracting more subscribers to your blog is to be laser focused. This is what Brian says:

“Make sure that you are primarily focusing on a particular topic, and the more specialized that topic is, the better you’ll do. It’s also key to step back and evaluate whether there are enough prospective readers in your chosen niche. It’s better to be brutally honest with yourself than to toil away and end up disappointed.”

Do you struggle with choosing a name for your new blog?

So many of us struggle with branding in general and when it comes to our blogs, branding can get even more confusing. Chris Garrett of Authority Blogger offers some great advice on blog branding at ChrisG.com. One great exercise he suggests is taking the time to brainstorm your ideas:

“Try to create a long list of options. Play with ideas. Combining words and creating new words, checking a thesaurus, getting the help of friends and family can all help. Switch off your internal critic while you create. Jot down every name no matter how daft, at this point you are aiming for quantity, not quality!”

So there’s your snapshot of from expert bloggers. I hope you will take the time to check out the articles I linked to above, because each is packed with some major value and unique insight into perfecting your blog.

What do you struggle with the most when blogging? Do you enjoy it or does it feel like a chore to you? Do you see the power in blogging or do you feel like it is a waste of time? Let me know your blogging opinions below!

Posted by Amy | Filed Under Blogging, Communication, Social Media Marketing | View Comments

The Benefit of “Email Updates” vs. “RSS Subscribers”

November 18, 2009

I recently read a blog post from Brett Borders of SocialMediaRockstar.com about how to get more subscribers to your blog. His checklist of the 11 tips is outstanding. Each tip is worth the read.

The title of the post is “11 Ways to Get More RSS Subscribers” and that got me thinking about a recent tip I learned from Jonathan Fields.

Instead of encouraging people to subscribe to a RSS feed for your blog, encourage them to “SIGN UP FOR UPDATES” with their email address.

When you do this, you can update them on your new blog posts as well as give them additional tips and strategies that are relevant and valuable. When you email your updates, you have a little more flexibility to connect in different ways.

A good rule of thumb is to tell your subscriber how often they will hear from you (that’s just good business). Here is a great example from Jonathan’s site:

I like the idea of “email updates” because a lot of people who use readers do not check their reader daily for new RSS feeds.

If you sent an update to their email box, they are more likely to see it. Staying on the radar is important and this is a great way to do it.

When you get the email, just make sure you never abuse it. You do not want to sign these people up for your newsletter or spam them with a bunch of offers. This will get you bunches of “unsubscribes” quickly.

Jonathan said it best, “If it’s relevant and not spammy, you’re usually good.”

So there you have it. Just something to think about as you continue to create your kick-butt blog!

Don’t forget to check out the blog tips at SocialMediaRockstar.com and pay close attention to #11-I think it’s the most important one of all! When you make a content schedule for your blog, you are more inclined to post more.

More GREAT Posts=More QUALITY Subscribers

Tell me your thoughts. Have you had a success story from implementing any of the tips Brett outlines in his article? Are any of his tips especially difficult for you to implement? Also, tell me what you think about asking for email updates vs. RSS subscribers?

P.s: I am going to test out the “Sign Up For Updates” tip on my site this week and switch out my big “subscribe” button. How about you?

Posted by Amy | Filed Under Communication, Social Media Marketing | View Comments