It’s finally happening! I’ve written 17 of my blogging visual e-courses so far to help you create a successful blog. And I’ve also written an 18th one to add as a prize to all those who sign up to my blogging newsletter (go to my blogging pages to sign up). It’s all about how links are beneficial to blogging, and contains information you cannot fail to miss out on. Oh, and I’ve got at least two more e-courses to write! It’s all go at the moment, in spite of it being the summer holidays, so watch this space for more once I’ve sorted everything out.
Posts Tagged ‘newsletter’
How to spruce up a free blog
Thursday, April 16th, 2009Hi Alice
I’d welcome any feedback you could offer on my shop blog: http://kittyandpolly.wordpress.com/
Thanks, Paula
–oo00oo–
Hi Paula
What a fantastic blog! I love the pictures and the posts are really readable, well done!
I particularly like the links to specific pages on your website and that you’ve created some extra pages. You could have put your pages widget a bit higher on the side bar, but as you have links across the top this probably doesn’t matter.
What else can you do? I don’t want to spoil the overall effect, but you could move the comments widget below the recent posts widget – don’t hide your feedback, encourage it!
You could promote your newsletter on your side bar. As this is a free Wordpress blog you aren’t allowed sign-up forms, but you could get around this by using a text widget with an image of your newsletter linked to a specific webpage with the newsletter sign-up form on it. This has worked for me! Place the text widget high up on the side bar to encourage action.
And why not move your blog icon further up your website to encourage more visitors from that end?
Finally sign up to feedburner.com or feedblitz.com to get your blog’s RSS URL, and place the code for a RSS button and new post subscription link in a text widget. This is to encourage more readers to follow your latest activities. And remember to place the widget at the very top of your side bar where it is really noticeable.
Other than that I think your blog is truly great!
Alice
Blagging on about blogs
Friday, March 27th, 2009I have had the honour of being invited to speak at a marketing event about social networking. There are a number of distinguished speakers taking centre stage (some of whom I know quite well), and I have been offered a five minutes slot plus questions to give my penny’s worth. Woo-hoo!
Of course I shall take the opportunity to talk about blogging. I’ve just finished a stint in setting up my blogging pages of this blogsite (please take a look and provide feedback) and the next stage is to write my e-courses and set up Paypal for payment purposes. The idea is that customers can either choose the whole caboodle or pick and mix whatever elements they are missing on their blogs. My aim is to get more of you sporting exciting and successful blogs that enhance your business towards its achievements.
Meanwhile join up to my newsletter so I can communicate with you regularly about how wonderful blogs are. Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity – do it today!
What do you use your blog for?
Thursday, April 16th, 2009Hi Alice
I have a business blog: http://pensarmarketing.blogspot.com
I am not sure how to use it, I have heard different things from different people. My posts vary from personal to business as this is what I have been told works. To be honest I do not use it very often because I am unsure of how to get the best from it.
I would like to use my blog for business more than I do and possibly earn a small revenue from it eventually.
Any advice would be gratefully appreciated!
Thank you, Sara
www.pensarmarketing.co.uk
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Hi Sara
Took a look at your blog, and I’m afraid my first reaction is why do you use a black background? It makes my eyes go shimmy and I find it very difficult to read.
Blogs are to provide your customers with another insight into what your business is all about. Fill your posts with valuable content to raise your expertise status. Keep them fairly regularly spaced apart (they don’t need to be done very frequently), bt regularity is the key: spiders will soon learn this and visit your blog accordingly.
Increase the search engine optimisation (SEO) by including categories and tags for your posts. The categories are like chapters which provide a place to store your posts for future search, and the tags resemble keywords that give the spiders food to help with getting your post into the search engines.
Add an RSS feed to increase your readership, especially within the social networking sites. Without one your blog is very lonely as it cannot be regularly followed whenever new content is posted.
How to make money? Each post should have a purpose, whether it is to increase your expertise and your following, link to your website for more traffic, guide your readers to sign up to an event or direct them to a squeeze page to pay for a service or product. Don’t blog aimlessly, it may be nice to read but not good for you.
Want to know more? Join up to my blogging newsletter from my blogging pages to keep in the loop! Or listen to my teleseminar on 14 May – watch this space!
Alice
Tags: blog, blogging, call to action, comments, customers, expertise, feedback, gain business, increased traffic, information, interaction, keywords, links, marketing, newsletter, RSS, SEO, social networking
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