Tag: blogging

60 Pieces of Blogging Advice: Extended (E-book)

I’ve been busy.., really busy. Next to updating my website with the Genesis Framework and Enterprise theme, I’ve been working on E-books. Yes, multiple.

60 pieces of blogging advice - E-book

To kick things of I decided to extend on the 75 Pieces of Blogging Advice. I know.., I say extend and end up with 60 pieces instead of 75. Well, in the blogpost I cheated a little bit in order to grow the list just that little bit further. You have to agree, 75 is a pretty impressive number for a list.

In the book I dig deeper into each point, clarifying it and offer links to resources where applicable. I organised the topics into coherent categories and basically provide a bottom up approach for starting a blog.

Why?

I need to express myself, I need to offer something to apiece the masses whom flock to my blog in droves. No, it’s not that good, yet.
I just wanted to write it down, “75 Pieces” was a successful post, one of my more successful ones and that is something to acknowledge. I knew I could extend on it.

Almost free

Yeh, you were hoping I’d offer this masterpiece for free, didn’t ya? Well, it’s almost free.

I followed a great, and extensive (and awfully good value for money) workshop obout Side Income Blogging. The workshop was given by Stan Smith, author of Born to Blog and Head Master at Pushing Social.

It was a seven week joyride with so much information that the data limit on my internet connection got a beating every time we were done.

Mailing List

One of the main pieces of advice, with the tenacity of an African Honey Badger, is; Grow a mailing list. I understand that, Stan even spend a whole hour on that topic. And, after reviewing (and dismissing) my sad attempt at a sign-up-box, I decided to do something about that (see the box below this post).

Stan was such a great motivator for me that I asked him to write the foreword for the E-book. So, thanks Stan.

Rogier gives you exactly what you need for a strong start as a blog publisher. It’s a tremendous resource. Use it. – Stan Smith

 

75 Pieces of Blogging Advice

I suggested to someone there would be a 1001 pieces of blogging advice. So I decided to write them down.

But, I failed.., maybe if I’d stretch it I can hit 100, or 200 if I really keep going.., but 75 is good enough.

75 pieces blogging adviceHere is the fully unordered list of blog advice:

  1. Don’t be afraid
  2. You are not writing a novel
  3. Get WordPress.org
  4. not WordPress.com
  5. Use personal hosting
  6. and make it green while you’re at it (Dreamhost Affiliate)
  7. Get a good theme, pay for it
  8. Find a niche your comfortable with
  9. and stick with it
  10. Be genuine
  11. Be honest
  12. Make sure your SEO is in order
  13. Use keywords
  14. Use spell check
  15. Write an About Me page
  16. write this in the first person
  17. Use social sharing
  18. Let everyone comment
  19. moderate after they comment
  20. Respond to every comment
  21. Use Triberr
  22. Use Twitter
  23. Get guest bloggers
  24. Guest blog yourself
  25. Use categories
  26. but not too many
  27. Use tags
  28. as many as you want
  29. Use rel=”author”
  30. Use Google+
  31. Come up with a consisted theme
  32. or rather, a personal brand
  33. Set up statistics from day one
  34. Don’t focus to much on statistics
  35. Read this list
  36. Read a book
  37. or two
  38. Be nice
  39. Be controversial
  40. but be nice
  41. Solve problems for people
  42. Write “evergreen” articles
  43. Not every article has to be that killer article
  44. Find your targeting audience
  45. Know who you write for
  46. Have a fast loading site
  47. Make sure your theme is responsive
  48. Grow an Email list
  49. Use a clear call to action
  50. When in doubt, do not publish
  51. or get a second opinion
  52. Use emotions
  53. Be personal
  54. Use paragraphs
  55. Don’t write too long
  56. unless you’ve earned the attention
  57. Don’t leave your reader hanging
  58. start with the answer
  59. then the why and how
  60. Don’t lie
  61. in your headlines
  62. or anywhere else
  63. Make you headlines perfectly clear
  64. don’t be too clever about it
  65. Use a landing page
  66. to make clear what the blog is about
  67. or to promote your product
  68. Use the sidebar wisely
  69. Put your face on the blog
  70. Create a podcast
  71. Use video
  72. Have two sets of analytics, to compare
  73. also useful to show advertisers
  74. Work with affiliates
  75. Do not blog every day (you are not Mashable)
  76. twice a week is more than enough
  77. Have fun

Did I miss something? Anything to add? Please do, the comment section is yours.

Establish Yourself Through Blogging

I was asked by a friend whether or not he should blog. I said, ‘yes’. He asked, ‘why?’.

So, I wrote this blogpost to answer his question, because that’s how we roll.

Strangely enough I had to think about this. It’s not like I don’t know, but to sum it up in a coherent list just makes you go.., hmmmm.

Thusly, here are a few reasons why you should blog.

establish yourself through blogginSubject Matter Expert

130221- Praise
Thanks @MarkHarai

Your knowledge is a precious commodity, but people need to know what you know for them to accept you as an expert. Writing articles for your blog can provide just that.

On-Line HQ

Having a place to call your own provides you with flexibility to change or improve your representation at will. Also, any content (you create) placed on your blog belongs to you, no matter what. Your site cannot be cancelled for making a small mistake and you never have to agree to any terms of use.

It’s the best place to direct people, because it will always be there.

Just make sure you have your own hosting. Tumblr, Blogger or WordPress.com do not provide this (WordPress.org does).

Network

Ideally you create a community around your blog. Visitors who comment or share your content are part of your community. By following up on them your network can grow.

You can direct new contacts straight to your blog, instead of a Twitter account or Facebook Page.

Own Your Brand

Personal branding remains a powerful tool in your arsenal. By setting up a blog (or your own homepage) you can establish your own style which you can use throughout various social media, emails, presentations or anything else with your name on it.

Creating a strong and recognisable brand is well worth the effort.

Solve Problems

This is more about what to write, but in the interest of adding value to your blog, helping people should be your goal. Providing articles which are genuinely helpful, without asking anything in return, will establish you as a trustworthy source of information.

People respond well to that.

Creative Outlet

Especially when you enjoy writing and spend enough time on your blog to get a good flow going. The rewards go beyond providing great content. The satisfaction of producing a good (looking) post can be significant. Also, remember that each post demands at least one image.

Using images created by you tackles any copyright issues you may encounter.

Educate Yourself

In the ever lasting quest for new (and better) content you have to keep developing. Always finding new subjects to write forces you to think creatively and learn new things.