Susan McCool | | Hello TBCers,
Today's article
gives great Blogging advice. So, confess, are you doing any of these? Do you
agree with this list? Have any to add?
12 Common Blogging
Mistakes To Avoid
by Jeff Quipp
July 28, 2008
If Content is
King in the world of search, then blogs are the kingdom! For those of you who
blog for the purpose of generating additional sales of your products or services
(as opposed to making affiliate revenues from the traffic), and have not yet
seen the benefits, there is hope. Below follow 12 of the most common mistakes
we find when we take over an account where the current owner(s) is (are) blogging.
This is important as most of these bloggers ultimately get frustrated at the
lack of results and give up on blogging entirely.
Here are the most
common mistakes:
Read the
whole article - 12
Common Blogging Mistakes To Avoid
Susan McCool
Spotlight Marketing & Design - http://www.SpotlightMarketingAndDesign.com
Virtual Office Associates - http://www.VirtualOfficeAssociates.net
Ryze Network - The Business Consortium - http://tbc-network.ryze.comPrivate Reply to Susan McCool |
Julie Bestry | | Wow, thanks for posting this, Susan. It gave me a lot to think about.
For example, I struggle with the length of my posts. Quipp thinks blog posts should be no more than 800 words, and mine are generally 1200-1500. However, one of my favorite bloggers is blogging expert Darren Rowse of ProBlogger (check out his post today on 24 Things To Do When Stuck For A Topic To Blog About), and his posts tend to be awfully long...longer than mine! :-)
I don't entirely agree with the author's contention that people don't want to read (whine, whine), but they don't want to read substandard writing that doesn't grab them and shake them about. Formatting is important--it's much harder to read a vertical, distraction-filled web page than a clean page of printed text--so shorter paragraphs, lists and bolding help the mechanics of reading. People DO want to read, just like they want to eat healthy meals; they just don't want to exert themselves to do so!
One of the comments on that blog post took Quipp to task for misusing "loose" for "lose", and it does bring to mind a 13th rule--Know how to spell! Every day, I am brought to frustration, sometimes full-blown anger, at the illiteracy illustrated by blog posts (and Ryze posts, though thankfully not in TBC). Sometimes I think I'm going to pull a Jerry Maguire and write a whole treatise on being a mensch in modern society and knowing the meanings of to/too/two, your/you're and there/they're/their! Typos are one thing; we're not robots. But for those for whom English is a first language, not knowing how to spell first- and second-grade vocabulary is unpardonable. Spell-check. Grammar-check. Proofread. Harrumph.
(Of course, I'm generally preaching to the choir here. Though, as long as I'm on a rant...folks, the word is DEFINITELY, not "definAtely". The key is that the word focuses on that which is "finite". You wouldn't say there's a "finate" number, so don't say "definitAtely".)
Obviously, Susan, you'll be sorry you asked if we had any mistakes to add. :-)
--
Julie Bestry, Certified Professional Organizer®
Best Results Organizing
"Don't apologize. Organize!"
organize@juliebestry.com
Visit http://www.juliebestry.com to save time and money, reduce stress and increase your productivity Private Reply to Julie Bestry |
Susan McCool | | HA! That's what you think. I think creating a large list of things that make you cringe on blogs is beneficial to our members :)
I agree that people do like to read, they just don't like to read extensively and have to jump over images and Google ads to figure out where the next place to read is! That is a HUGE turn off for me :) WRAP YOUR TEXT AROUND YOUR IMAGES PEOPLE!
With that said, you do need to set up your text for easy scanability (did I just create a new word?). Bullets, numbering, short paragraphs, empahsis and italics are needed to show your reader the important aspects of your article (the parts you WANT them to absolutely read).
And, I have to admit that I like shorter blog posts. Although, if the person is a good writer and can keep the piece humorous and interesting, I'll read a very long blog post. I normally tell my clients to keep their blog posts between 500 - 800 words for articles and less than 500 for quick thought-provoking pieces that they want a discussion to brew over.
BTW...Love the 24 Things To Do When Stuck For A Topic To blog About. Great piece. I added it to my favs :)
--
Susan McCool
Spotlight Marketing & Design - http://www.SpotlightMarketingAndDesign.com
Virtual Office Associates - http://www.VirtualOfficeAssociates.net
Ryze Network - The Business Consortium - http://tbc-network.ryze.comPrivate Reply to Susan McCool |
Felicia Slattery | | Here's the NUMBER ONE mistake with your blog:
NOT MONETIZING IT!
What the heck does that mean? It means whenever people find you, your online work should communicate a consistent and cohesive message and allow your visitors further options to interact with you.
Monetizing your blog provides your reads/visitors the chance to purchase more of your products and services so they can learn even more.
Ways to monetize your blog:
-provide links in the posts to your products/services when relevant
- provide links to products and services with your affiliate links, again when relevant
- put Google Adsense Ads on your blog
- put a list of links to your products and services in the margins of your main design
- provide a sign up box to your newsletter or ezine along with a free enticement to do so
What else can you think of?
I am in the process of adding several of these key components to my blog. For a long time I was using my blog as a personal outlet for developing articles and the like. But a blog can be a powerful business tool when you use it correctly.
Thanks for the links, ladies!
Warmly,
Felicia
Felicia J. Slattery, M.A., M.Ad.Ed.
Want to know the best tips for effective communication in your business?
Go now to:
http://www.cashinoncommunication.com/Private Reply to Felicia Slattery |
