"You tell me, I'll listen" 6.9.07
It's been a real summer of reflection and change in some ways and they say people fear change, well I would like to embrace it for what it is, not least because the last 7 or 8 weeks has taught me a huge amount. ;o)
Learning things in ways I wouldn't have expected and yet learning things where I wouldn't have even looked....right under my nose! ;o)
The blogging side of it is no different on that score and what I have gained over that time I couldn't put a price on it in many ways but putting what I have learnt into practice is the key.
That's the aim and it is giving me two feelings, one of slight anticipation and one slight excitement and fear mixed.
One the one hand it's all "go for it" and yet on the other it's "what if goes wrong?"
So who better to ask than you, the reader. :o)
You see there seems quite a divide among bloggers and no-one will please everyone but at least pleasing your own readers is the main thing. :o)
What's this divide?
Monetisation and those who bleat about the so called "cause", which I guess is that blogs are "diary's, personal, not meant for making money with"...the brigade who in my eyes have no place telling others what they should and shouldn't do on their blogs.
If blogs weren't made for monetisation why did Google start AdSense?
But I digress, the fact is there is a divide and to me it's as daft as ya like. ;o)
Blogs are simply dynamic websites, no more no less. ;o)
The easy way to build an online presence...for anyone, and fast.
But it also got me thinking... ;o)
I got thinking about this blog and what I want from doing it as well as what other plans I would like to carry out elsewhere...which way am I going, and where to?
I got thinking about what I can do, now and further down the line.
Well I got some answers from asking...me, but I don't read this blog, I write it so the reader is as important as me in what can be done to improve things, after all that's the whole point and you benefit the most. ;o)
I did get some great tips from a readers view from a discussion board and it made me think too.
I will tell you why too...and I do think it matters.
We all market, we all not all marketers yet we are.
An oxymoron I know but what I mean is it's a mentality, a marketers mentality and it's more so with IM, (Internet marketing).
So while we all blog we need readers and in some way the blogs are marketed to them, even indirectly, if you blog...you market in some way yet you may not actively market.
You don't have a "marketing head on" all the time.
It's a real thing and it can also be an addictive thing but also being exciting, frustrating uplifting all rolled into one it can be a nightmare to stop, to turn that "marketing head" off.
IM is a myth, a mentality, yet a reality! ;o)
But here's the rub, without learning what I have through IM I wouldn't be where I am now. ;o)
But I digress, where was I?
Oh yeah...having stepped out of the IM circle a bit in the last month or so I have had my eyes really opened by stepping more into the blogosphere and the "social network" side of the net...which I always known of just not realised the scope and benefit of it.
The future is there, and we are a part of it already.
But I also now realise who diverse the wider picture is and feel more in line with where I am going and how, just need to act and act the best I can on what matters while also growing in the right direction.
This blog is a big part of that direction.
Lets be straight here and lets say...for instance, as it could be anyone of us bloggers and most of us will have asked themselves at some point, so for example...
It cost £30, or $30 to be online a month, so we can say...
The reality is £1, or $1 a day from this blog keeps this blog going easily, so that's free Internet...not much is it?
But...
Where does that come from?
If I don't get that how can I do that?
And every month?
(Sheesh my IM "marketing head" is partly back on... See... ;o) )
The basics people say are you usually get a 1% response rate, meaning 1 out of 100 will actually give, buy, act in what way gets you the £1 or $1 but...
Only if they have a way for you actually getting that £1 or $1.
It's the last one that's so pleasing to me and THAT is the one I like most. :o)
When I get a beer it does make me feel great and knowing someone gave freely is the icing on the cake. ;o) Maybe it's the supposedly "subliminal messages" here which I can't find! ;o)
But if you did all of above you make your chances better and worse, depending on how you do them...mix and match is what most people do.
So while I was asking myself these questions I realised making money from this blog was never really an intention but it has become a need for now because of that stepping out of the IM circle gave me a slight dip which I has risen above now...just hoping not too late. ;o)
I view the world online a little different to some being deaf it makes the world more communicative. ;o)
More accessible and for that I want to stay online for good.
Re-thinking plans and taking the lessons learnt I have to embrace changes and I will. ;o)
Well I got thinking about how this blog looks, what you get from it and how best to ensure of a £1 or $1 a day thrown in the mix.
Just for the simple reason of making the Internet pay for itself via at least one thing I do and if it's this blog than all the better...
Because I give all in this blog the best I can and want to improve, grow and write under no pressure of the content I put here, meaning it doesn't have to do more than I need it to do money wise, I enjoy writing on here and want to enjoy it more. ;o)
So in all honesty I only need to do ONE thing...for at least £1 or $1 a day I give content that's worth it ;o)
That's why a beer is better than a sell. ;o)
It means what I wrote was worth it to someone who is under no obligations.
I prefer to write longer and better posts if I can give something to someone in some way. :o)
So two or three ideas spring to mind...
Would any of you feel if all but the beer was removed that you would ever buy the beer?
Or would you get me drunk? ;o) ( Not that it goes on beer of course! )
Any thoughts, comments? Please comment.
Wanna share this post?, Please do.
Or even buy me a beer? ;o)
Learning things in ways I wouldn't have expected and yet learning things where I wouldn't have even looked....right under my nose! ;o)
The blogging side of it is no different on that score and what I have gained over that time I couldn't put a price on it in many ways but putting what I have learnt into practice is the key.
That's the aim and it is giving me two feelings, one of slight anticipation and one slight excitement and fear mixed.
One the one hand it's all "go for it" and yet on the other it's "what if goes wrong?"
So who better to ask than you, the reader. :o)
You see there seems quite a divide among bloggers and no-one will please everyone but at least pleasing your own readers is the main thing. :o)
What's this divide?
Monetisation and those who bleat about the so called "cause", which I guess is that blogs are "diary's, personal, not meant for making money with"...the brigade who in my eyes have no place telling others what they should and shouldn't do on their blogs.
If blogs weren't made for monetisation why did Google start AdSense?
But I digress, the fact is there is a divide and to me it's as daft as ya like. ;o)
Blogs are simply dynamic websites, no more no less. ;o)
The easy way to build an online presence...for anyone, and fast.
But it also got me thinking... ;o)
I got thinking about this blog and what I want from doing it as well as what other plans I would like to carry out elsewhere...which way am I going, and where to?
I got thinking about what I can do, now and further down the line.
Well I got some answers from asking...me, but I don't read this blog, I write it so the reader is as important as me in what can be done to improve things, after all that's the whole point and you benefit the most. ;o)
I did get some great tips from a readers view from a discussion board and it made me think too.
I will tell you why too...and I do think it matters.
We all market, we all not all marketers yet we are.
An oxymoron I know but what I mean is it's a mentality, a marketers mentality and it's more so with IM, (Internet marketing).
So while we all blog we need readers and in some way the blogs are marketed to them, even indirectly, if you blog...you market in some way yet you may not actively market.
You don't have a "marketing head on" all the time.
It's a real thing and it can also be an addictive thing but also being exciting, frustrating uplifting all rolled into one it can be a nightmare to stop, to turn that "marketing head" off.
IM is a myth, a mentality, yet a reality! ;o)
But here's the rub, without learning what I have through IM I wouldn't be where I am now. ;o)
But I digress, where was I?
Oh yeah...having stepped out of the IM circle a bit in the last month or so I have had my eyes really opened by stepping more into the blogosphere and the "social network" side of the net...which I always known of just not realised the scope and benefit of it.
The future is there, and we are a part of it already.
But I also now realise who diverse the wider picture is and feel more in line with where I am going and how, just need to act and act the best I can on what matters while also growing in the right direction.
This blog is a big part of that direction.
Lets be straight here and lets say...for instance, as it could be anyone of us bloggers and most of us will have asked themselves at some point, so for example...
It cost £30, or $30 to be online a month, so we can say...
The reality is £1, or $1 a day from this blog keeps this blog going easily, so that's free Internet...not much is it?
But...
Where does that come from?
If I don't get that how can I do that?
And every month?
(Sheesh my IM "marketing head" is partly back on... See... ;o) )
The basics people say are you usually get a 1% response rate, meaning 1 out of 100 will actually give, buy, act in what way gets you the £1 or $1 but...
Only if they have a way for you actually getting that £1 or $1.
- If you rely on Adsense or similar you need alot more than 100 visits to get the £1 or $1 a day.
- If you have good traffic to your blog you could do it with Adsense easy, if it's the action you want and lead them to take.
- If you have something to sell that your readers can buy you may well do it easy.
- If you sell adspace privately you may well do it easy.
- If you have a good readership and a good niche and you are an affiliate you may well do it easy.
- If you have a good following of fans whether due to controversy or other you may well get the traffic funnelled someway to earn indirectly.
- If you give great content freely and people donate to you.
It's the last one that's so pleasing to me and THAT is the one I like most. :o)
When I get a beer it does make me feel great and knowing someone gave freely is the icing on the cake. ;o) Maybe it's the supposedly "subliminal messages" here which I can't find! ;o)
But if you did all of above you make your chances better and worse, depending on how you do them...mix and match is what most people do.
So while I was asking myself these questions I realised making money from this blog was never really an intention but it has become a need for now because of that stepping out of the IM circle gave me a slight dip which I has risen above now...just hoping not too late. ;o)
I view the world online a little different to some being deaf it makes the world more communicative. ;o)
More accessible and for that I want to stay online for good.
Re-thinking plans and taking the lessons learnt I have to embrace changes and I will. ;o)
So where do you come in?
Well I got thinking about how this blog looks, what you get from it and how best to ensure of a £1 or $1 a day thrown in the mix.
Just for the simple reason of making the Internet pay for itself via at least one thing I do and if it's this blog than all the better...
Because I give all in this blog the best I can and want to improve, grow and write under no pressure of the content I put here, meaning it doesn't have to do more than I need it to do money wise, I enjoy writing on here and want to enjoy it more. ;o)
So in all honesty I only need to do ONE thing...for at least £1 or $1 a day I give content that's worth it ;o)
That's why a beer is better than a sell. ;o)
It means what I wrote was worth it to someone who is under no obligations.
I prefer to write longer and better posts if I can give something to someone in some way. :o)
So two or three ideas spring to mind...
- Keep blogging as I do, leaving the blog as is?
- Improve the overall blog layout keeping it clean and simple yet not too different?
- Streamline and clean up alot by reducing the adspace and similar?
- Have only MY income makers and not other peoples, of which is very little anyway?
- Remove all but the beer, keep on giving good content but relying on at least ONE of you a day buying a beer?
- Remove all but the beer and the only time I really share other peoples stuff is in a relevant post?
- A possible addition could be a forum, maybe as a place to also discuss this blogs post, ideas, share tips and more...free or even indirectly helping by a one off charge of a £1 beer? ;o) (It stops spammers! ;o) )
- Other ideas, or another mix?
Would any of you feel if all but the beer was removed that you would ever buy the beer?
Or would you get me drunk? ;o) ( Not that it goes on beer of course! )
Any thoughts, comments? Please comment.
Wanna share this post?, Please do.
Or even buy me a beer? ;o)
Labels: blogging, content, conversation, general, honesty, marketing, people, thoughts, tips, web 2.0
posted by Rob Sellen @ 12:44 AM,
,
links to this post
"Do women make better bloggers?" 20.8.07
My eldest is here...in bed now so I have another chance to post, albeit a quick one. ;o)
Been an interesting few days and partly due to a good friend sharing a book of great interest to me and one every man should read....and possibly the ladies for that matter. ;o)
(anyone wants to know what book just ask in comments)
What really got me thinking though was how I could see what the book tells of in life, real life and online too.
So... I ask you...Do women make better bloggers?
I believe they do and the reason is fairly simple, women connect better than us men, to themselves and each other and also to us fellas.
Women are more likely to write openly and that means other people can relate and connect to the meaning clearer and better, deeper.
It's no coincidence that the post(s) I have written from the heart on this blog have had the better responses and more comments, in fact a few have sparked donations via the "beer" icon below the post(s). Always welcome they are! :o)
When you do write from the heart it is open, raw and meaningful...no matter what it's about.
We are emotional beings...not robots! :o)
Inject some heartfelt writing in your blog and give people a better connection to you and your world.
After all blogs were and are still in some way online diaries, personal musings of the blogger.
A way to share your story.
I believe women share better than men do so make better bloggers!
What about you?
Whats your opinion?
Labels: blog, blogger, conversation, general, people
posted by Rob Sellen @ 11:25 PM,
,
links to this post
"How to promote a blog" 16.8.07
Great work...you are blogging now you need to get "eyeballs" on your blog and in your mind...
"the sooner the better!". ;o)
First...in a way I am sorry to keep you waiting...I say in a way because it's the school holidays and my youngest in bed in the other room...had i have had a great two days with him, still tomorrow to go till tea time so it's all great!...but I am not sorry too much...my boys come first. ;o)
Eldest here on Monday for a few days... ;o)
So, while I have a chance it's time to help you along with your blog promoting!
Getting the all important readers.
Simple quick methods are...
While you researched your topic or niche, expertise...you looked at blogs and sites, one of the fastest ways to start utilising that research in an extra way is to comment on the popular ones you liked and comment to the BEST of your ability in the sense of content, add to the "conversation" or topic or ask a great question to provoke a great response as your comment will most likely have a link back to your blog. ;o)
Do NOT spam blogS, emphasis on S because if you comment on 1 with good content, it's NEVER considered spamming, on the other hand... 5 different blogs with the same thing looks bad, if each blog has a different comment then you are ADDING great content and most likely all will be almost completely different comments (angles, questions etc) so it looks good overall.
Add your blog link in ALL your outgoing emails to friends, colleagues etc,
Simple to set up in your email and as it "auto adds" to each emails it's a once set up and forget effort.
Use Google to find good forums on your topic, niche, simply type into Google...
forums : topic or keyword
Join and use the popular forums you like with your link in the signature file wherever you are allowed to BUT ADD great content to the forum, help others and answer questions etc.
People WILL click your sig link but make your sig "blurb" as catchy to the eye as possible without offending etc.
You want people noticing it...
Maybe...If it was a "cake recipe forum" have...
Like Old English cakes?
20 recipes book free!
Visit "blog name" and get yours now.
As an example... BUT, people LIKE free! ;o)
Get them subscribing to your blog or newsletter, ezine, if you have one...if this is new to you, just ask. ;o)
Join community sites...web 2.0 remember... ;o)
Interact with others in your niche and build friendships etc.
Look at the "widgets" on the sidebar of this blog with pics, "my bloglog" blog catalogue" etc and join these sites and add your blog to it as well as create a profile.
A tip... BRANDING is something worth always keeping in mind.
You can use the same pics or avatars as they are known across all these sites which most do and this really does help brand you.
If you are unsure of putting a pic of you up use a related one or have a UNIQUE one created.
A unique one is what I recommend.
I have the pic of me on here and the same one is used everywhere else if I can...people will notice me and remember me. ;o)
But I also know some people are simply not happy posting a pic of themselves up...so another way is to get a pic "treated"...same but different... ;o)
Like...
Who the heck is that!!! ;o)
If you prefer this idea head over to Nathan who did a great job on this for me, snow him under with work and mention me, say I deserve a beer for that,... ;o)
He will do a great job for you...I KNOW that. ;o)
Having a unique picture or avatar will go a long way in branding your blog and shouldn't be underestimated.
Why web 2.0 though?
Widgets...pictures...profile pages...
Here's a truth, everyone likes to see their pic, avatar on other peoples blogs...admit it you bloggers... you do, we all do and another thing is we like to see other people on our blogs too!
Interactivity, did I mention that?... :o)
You may want to use facebook, myspace, whatever to spread your word, the key is to show some interest, read other blogs sites get to know people and people will get to know you.
Funnily enough, because I am deaf in one sense its easier to "get to know someone" online than offline although people offline will tell you I do communicate pretty "normal", but online there are NO barriers! . . . Nice!! :o)
You can do it...easy, I got faith in ya!
What else can we do to get you cracking and that ball rolling along?
Write a great article with a great sig link (the whole point of article writing) at the bottom and let others use it.
This is done with ezine article databases where 1000'2 of them are there for anyone to use.
The more that use yours the more one ways you have and it does work well.
For some it may be a bit confusing...if so, its simple and it is done best by writing a great 400 to 500 word article relating to your blog topic, (use a few keywords in the article too) which has a sig link at the bottom (sig must be included by others using article), a bit like the forum one you would use, you create great content that's ALMOST enough...but leading to more on your blog via the sig link. ;o)
Submit your article to the top ezine article directories in the related topic categories.
Ask in comments if wanting to know more.. ;o)
Utilise smaller channels to gain exposure to the bigger ones.
Lets take real fame for example...the first paper you want to get into is the local one, then hope it gets picked up by a national one. ;o) Make sense...?
Blogs can be the same way.
Give great content to your readers and they may share it with others by way of a link to you or blogging about your blog and you never know "who" is reading that blog where YOU are the content.
This can work well in several ways, your great content has provided someone else with great content to utilise and ADD to in their own blog as well as possibly sparking other smaller bloggers entering the same conversation on their own blogs.
But also you may have sparked a "fan" who is a blogger considered "above" the bloggers who blogged about you and you will made yourself noticed.
It could be a long while before it happens if it does but it could explode your traffic....overnight!
Think outside the box for your niche, stand out with something.
Lets say you are doing Old English cakes, as I has done here through this, you could find ONE cake which uses what is NOW a "superfood".
Create a great article on this specific cake and hows it's used this superfood for "whatevertime" without mentioning the actual cake in the content, and a teaser in the sig which lead to the blog post with THAT cake recipe on it.
So your actual article is about the superfood...not the cake. ;o)
Angle...it's about your angle, think about them in your niche topic and you can come up with some diverse angles to write about while still being "on topic".
BUT the quickest way to get a reader...
Post a comment here now and you will automatically have a link back to your profile where we can find your blog.
Any comments?? ;o)
Labels: blog, blogger, conversation, how do i, how to, marketing, newbies, promoting, tips
posted by Rob Sellen @ 11:53 PM,
,
links to this post
"Creating the blog" 13.8.07
A big welcome to all new readers, great to have you pop by.
Following on from the last post I did, where I am just posting in the hope it helps some readers to start blogging, but for some of you new readers, I don't need to advise on starting...oh no some of you have some great blogs going and I will read more... ;o)
But you are very welcome to comment and add to anything. :o)
So... cracking on, now for those who did what was mentioned in the last post will have had some fun or possible frustration.
Either camp's good.. ;o) ...Means you are learning and that curve is already shorter.
So, what now?
First a couple of home truths...what the "big guys" don't tell you in the "ebooks" you see.
1, It's NOT easy, simple yes, not easy but very worth doing.
Anything is simple IF you follow a step by step plan of action and DO.
Nothing really complicated is even needed to take a BIG stride and keep that ball rolling.
Put it this way, it's alot harder to "give up" once you DO have a blog up with a few post and you see it!
The first hurdle...starting is the easiest time to give up!
2, NO ONE will read you blog for a while and it will frustrate you...for as long as you let it!
"Build it and they come" is the myth of which the dream chasers hope for when they buy the "next big thing ebook".
No one will even KNOW about your blog unless you actually DO something to share it...you HAVE to market it in some sense.
To some that's a dirty thing, snake oil sellers... "Internet marketing"...is simply promoting whatever on the web... a blog for instance?
But simply telling your online friends about your blog in IS in a sense "Internet marketing"!
So YES you will have to learn how some things work.
But don't let them discourage you. :o)
Because there is just an easier way now and that is because the web is now how it should be.
Let me explain...
Web 2.0 is simply to me a term for the "more interactive websites and systems"
The more interactive YOU are, the more you benefit...it's PEOPLE not websites... ;o)
But I am slightly ahead of myself here... I'll end that slight diversion on this... you have had by now had a good look around at blogs etc to research your "topic" as in the last post... so you were interactive with them, you were "traffic" ;o) See..you will get the "traffic" aka "people"
But they are PEOPLE first, traffic second yet inseparable.
So start with people in mind and continue with people in mind.
On with the post... ;o)
Before naming your blog you should give some thoughts to keywords or even using branded style if you have in some way a brand of sorts to use...name etc.
Your content will use whatever keywords suit your "topic" etc so a keyword is not essential in the blog name...in my opinion.
But it won't hurt... ;o)
Creating the blog, using blogger from your google account with the by now researched ideas on whatever your topic with bookmarkd sites and blogs to get inspiration from.
You want to use inspiration from what caught your eye, but keep it simple enough to keep on top of and build as you go. I used minima templates as my first one and learnt alot about the code behind html etc...with the new blogger layouts you don't need to know it, just choose wisely. ;o)
Now you should take heed of this... you want to ignore the fact people may not read your blog alot for a while as it will do after a while.
The most important thing is to simply get cracking so now create a post...300 words maybe to get you going if more happens, great.
Don't stare at the blank screen... heres what i want you do to help you out there, whatever the topic...
Imagine I am sitting there with you and you are telling me about your "topic"...
Look at my pic... then sit and write... imagine it.. "hey Rob, I got all these tips on how to maintain a harley davidson"
Me : Oh yeah.. tell me a bout it.. write a list of ten.. ;o)
"Rob... I got these great recipes to share"...
Me:... Great, are they cakes, main meals etc? What Origin...
Oh, just some old english recipes passed down... "
Me: I'll read and use them.... ;o)
Write...write more, don't edit just write write, this creative writing comes flowing from you and the edit mode is later! ;o)
When you run out things to say... (IF you do!), click SAVE NOW get up and go put the kettle on or coffee pot and take a break from it... ;o)
Pat yourself on the back too...not while sipping ya drink though! Doh! :x)
Now you go back and READ your words... dont edit.. just read... make sense of it.
DO NOT put yourself down for any of it.
You just want to capture what "I" would read... ;o) Unedited.
Now you can alter spelling stuff only!
I get amazed at I need to edit less and less as I blog nowadays.. it flows fluidly at times.
Practice makes a massive difference...repetition is a great learning process.
What you will have will most likely surprise you, maybe 440 words... maybe 600... ;o)
More... doing better than most.
Tidy it up some, slightly reword a few things you feel needs doing and PUBLISH !!
That's IT... you have started and you are now a blogger! Ok.. calm down!.. ;o)
Now this is important... try to post at least 3 post a week, more if possible daily being better!
The first week you may only get a few visitors, but now you have a blog up with 3 or more post and it's a ball rolling.
Next, some ideas on pushing that ball better. ;o)
If you like this and it helps... great, up to you what you do NEXT, stumble this, digg it, share with someone, subscribe to my email updates or feed, comment to it, or even buy me a beer! ;o)
After all you are a person...people first traffic second so I leave THAT choice up to you.. :o)
Remember to write it with me in mind, and then come tell me and I WILL read it... ;o)
Off to check stats LOL.. ;o)
Edit to add...on the sidebar here is a report on writing articles which would be a great help if you really stuggle and not only that it could be your FIRST income maker on YOUR new blog! :o)
Labels: blog, blogger, blogging, blogs, content, conversation, general, google, honesty, how do i, how to, newbies, people, tips
posted by Rob Sellen @ 1:57 PM,
,
links to this post
"meme: 5 ways you can...." 17.7.07
Help me change my life!
Before I explain the meme I will need to explain this post to make sense to everyone.
I feel a bit bad, slightly annoyed but humbled.
You see just over a year ago I was made homeless wrongly...without naming or discussing it for obvious reasons.
I was helped by many over that period and will always be grateful for that as I should.
All that though made me feel bad, ashamed as a dad...they were so good I didn't feel that way for too long.
Now I am housed, I am on the way to showing my boys a good lesson to see, picking yourself up and dusting yourself down...getting on. It wasn't a lesson I wanted them to see me show that way but it is going to be.
Now its a case of making my place a home..it's pretty bare yep!
I got back, blogging and more, but I lost a key thing in momentum...the ball was rolling and ground to a slow crawl, one downside of a blog as apposed to a website.
I would love to be a full time blogger and hope to continue that way to be so.
I wanted to share the positive of that belief I will be.
I am not one to lie and say I make blah blah 1000's a month!
But...
Now I would love it if you could help me make up some of the momentum I lost, help me to step up my aim to show my sons it pays to get up and dust off.
The book I mentioned in an earlier post has clarified alot for me and refined my focus as well as my determination and motivation.
Not to make blah blah money, but to achieve what I set myself out for and do things the right way in the right direction.
For me the Internet and blogging is a new world of communication, from no distance communication at all to worldwide is... you know!
If money comes...great as long as I have given more than that in value.
So... hopefully you can understand the importance of momentum online as well as the fact it DOES take work.
But here I am in front of a computer just like you...we are far better of than most so we can't complain. :o)
But I want to thank you for being my reader, you are helping me already more than you know.
Now back to the meme...
I hereby name this meme "5 ways you can..."
Here's what I thought.
The meme is passed around with your "5 ways you can "whatever" " (More on that in a min)
I will write my "5 ways you can..." Help me Change my life.
- Keep reading my blog to help me towards becoming a full time blogger. I would love to sit and blog more often on this blog, so if the readership goes up and effects the income then great, it means I can post far more here. THAT would be great and would I hope also mean I am giving value.
- Subscribe to my feed for your reader or email inbox. Subscribing can be done from the sidebar or bottom of the blog, I recommend googles reader because I do use it, along with iGoogle as a homepage its a great quick easy option to keep up with all the blogs you read and more.
- Donate towards my furniture chase! Yes I am serious, crazy as it sounds my place is slightly bare still, not homey yet so I'd love to finish it off and have somewhere my boys feel comfy bringing their friends to should they want to...not even enough sofa for us three! You can easily help should you want to by clicking the beer icon at the bottom of the post. Rest assured it won't be going on beer! ;o) Better still would be buy something from this blog and gain something in return.
- Comment on this blog saying what you would like me to blog about. You would be helping me tailor my post to benefit you the readers while also inspiring me to keep going.
- Blog about this meme. Would be great to see this meme spread knowing we were at the front and we spread it afar. Meant to be a bit of fun but could be a very interesting meme for a good reason.**
This is how I considered it working.
You blog with a link to this post, your post is titled "meme: 5 ways you can..." and in your post the choice you make, at the end of the post you "tag" 5 people with this meme and so on.
**The twist of fun and interest.You can pick whatever you choose (within reason) as your 5 things, but you must guess what those you tag will choose. ;o)
Could be interesting for those who you choose.
They still choose what they want to post about but may well have a surprised feeling at the "taggers perception" of them.
Maybe you all ignore it!!
Who knows?
The 5 I tag and what I guess they could choose for "5 ways you can..."
- Lynn Terry... "5 ways you can... Balance being a successful mom / homeworker."
- Seth Godin... "5 ways you can... Effectively spread your message further, faster and easier."
- Yaro Starak... "5 ways you can... Easily improve you blogs effectiveness."
- Michel Fortin... "5 ways you can... Quickly, effectively and easily improve your sales copy"
- Brian Clark... "5 ways you can... Pull your readers in with eye grabbing headlines."
Maybe they will share some great tips we can all benefit from. :o)
Who will they choose to tag?
Should be fun learning for us all.Never know what people will share...
5 ways you can... bake better cakes?
5 ways you can... improve your health this week?
5 ways you can... spend a family day out?
5 ways you can... save money this year?
5 ways you can... lower your carbon footprint?
5 ways you can... save time?
5 ways you can... cook with potatoes?
And more...!
Who will you choose?
Labels: 5 ways you can, blog, blogging, conversation, fun, general, meme, people, tagging
posted by Rob Sellen @ 2:06 AM,
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"You choose, join in" 21.3.07
I was just thinking... why do I hardly get comments here?
Then one pops up on the top post.... ;o)
Life's a funny old game I tell ya!
I digress... what was I gonna say?
Oh yeah.. the pic reminded me! :o)
I think I'm at a real crossroad in life...NO not an early midlife crisis, I'm not quite that age yet!
More of what direction I go in life and what I do, things are changing whether I think about it or not, I can truthfully pin some of this down to reading or more precisely acting on two books, and having a few chats with a few people, including myself...please don't send the ones in white! :o)
If you are a regular reader of this blog you will have seen all these small things build up to whatever changes there will be, and probably relate to it. I mean I do blog about things in my life, head, whatever so you know it's some reflection of me, real.
By the every nature of blogs it's conversational.
I do feel I know where I am heading but also how too, yet you know you're part of it.
As big a part of it as you want to be in truth, after all it's your choice really, I am just grateful you DO read it, although I like writing you reading keeps me writing it.
But I don't really know what you like me writing about.
- Do I keep the blog as is?
- Do you want me writing more about...?
- Would you prefer less of....??
- Like the pictures?
- What would you feel like commenting on?
- What would get you joining in?
So...summer coming up, lots of pics, videos (you'll laugh or faint) and interesting things going on but I could try to relate these pics or things to things you WILL be interested in...you know for example "how can I relate this experience to (blogging, marketing, whatever?)" topic or viewpoint.
Which way will you choose for me?
I comment on quite a few blogs, even been thanked for it a few times, playing my active part on the blogosphere, and did wonder, as you see at the top of the post ;o) , but realised I simply don't ask you too often enough.
Strange but the ones I comment on often never ask you to comment, so I thought it worked, did on me ;o)
BUT, I will ask you, please comment, help me make sure I DO keep going in the right direction with this.
Take care,
P.s wow the first P's here I think ;o) In case you wondered what books they were I spoke of earlier...It was the "Mindset" one as seen on the sidebar which pays YOU 100% commission, and John Reese's "brain dump" which you can see in previous post or archive.
Labels: blog, conversation, general, John Reese, life, marketing, personal, video
posted by Rob Sellen @ 10:30 PM,
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"Link love"
Lets talk about linking and why it's the basis of the "global conversation" which is the net, blogging is a big part of that global conversation.Link love is the act of linking out to something you like, something you want to share. Smart linking can explode your traffic as well as give your readers something extra.
Tagging is what I call a form of link love, you will only tag to those you feel your readers will appreciate, people who you like and respect.
I recently tagged Michel Fortin with the "5 things tag" that went around the blogosphere, this did boost my traffic quite a bit.
See what I did there?
There is another benefit to linking, internal linking which is linking to an older post on your own blog. Why does this benefit me? Not only does it lead you the reader back to an older post it will also be picked up by the search engines.
It was also an anchor text link, I used the keywords instead of "click here" which is a very important part of gaining page rank due to relevance, no one searches for "click here", they will search for "5 things" tag which will show all the blogs who were a part of the "5 things" tag.
Anchor text links will always be an important part of your linking strategy and you should utilise it, whether it's a link to an older post or to another blog.
"Link bait" is not a term I really like but it is a part of linking. Some people do this in various different ways but do it for ONE reason, to get others linking to them, or at least talking about them.
People will check links to them and see the bait, it will work or it wont, depending on the reaction of the person baited.
For an example I could "bait" with something controversial like saying "Brian Clark LOVES link baiting"... :o)
How will he know I did that? By checking his stats he will see you go to HIS site via the link bait link as I just did and possibly come here, read this and SCOWL at me on his blog! Who knows what he will do, most likely NOTHING but laugh at me!
As I say it's just an example of how people do this, some do it very well.
Linking should be a big part of your blogging, after all it's a conversation, conversation's that are one way are pretty boring wouldn't you agree?
Linking is spreading the word about other people.
Linking is adding to your content, it can even be viral which is good marketing.
Gonna link to this post? ;o)
Take care,
Labels: blogger, content, conversation, linking, marketing, people, traffic, viral
posted by Rob Sellen @ 2:32 PM,
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