Drive Traffic with Comment Marketing
There’s a well-known statistic that says you need to get your message in front of your target audience seven times before they’ll take action. In the old days (10-15 years ago) that took a lot of time and money. To get someone to see or hear your brand on TV, radio, and in print for instance, you would have had to spend thousands of dollars and have only moderate confidence that you were reaching your intended market. In these days of social media and wide-spread blogging, there’s still a certain amount of uncertainty about what is most effective, but the nice part is that you can try several methods without spending a dime. And one method of driving traffic and increasing recognition that works for many is comment marketing.
Put simply, comment marketing is just commenting on other people’s blogs, forums, and news posts. It’s a great way to get your name out there, establish yourself as an expert, and begin to build relationships with other site owners. Of course to be effective, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it, so here are some tips for maximizing your efforts:
- Be careful. If it looks like you’re self-promoting in your comments, you’ll turn off the readers of the comment as well as the site owner. On most blogs you’ll be asked for your URL when you sign up as a commenter, and this will be linked to your name. Therefore, it’s not necessary to put your site address in your comments. In forums, you’re often able to create a signature with your URL in it, so the same rules apply. The only exception might be if the post is about something that is extremely relevant to a specific page on your site. Which brings us to the next tip…
- Be relevant. Make sure that whatever you post is relevant to the topic you’re commenting on. If you have a blog about Wordpress themes, and the article is a review of the iPhone, just stick to your opinion about the iPhone. If you have no opinion about the iPhone, just say, “Great post. I didn’t know that about the iPhone. Cool.” If you say, “The iPhone is almost as cool as my newest WP theme. Check it out at http://….” it will be quite clear you’re just fishing for traffic.
- Be polite. When commenting on someone else’s post, remember the Golden Rule. Don’t write anything you wouldn’t want someone to post on your site. Feel free to give your opinion, even if it differs from what’s in the post you’re commenting about. Just make sure that you’re not slamming the author, the site, or the content. Remember, your goal is to get people clicking through to your site and make a good name for yourself, and people don’t want to deal with jerks.
- Be useful. To establish yourself as an expert in a certain area, provide your expertise whenever possible. Again, it’s important to stay relevant to the post, but be sure to check other comments as well. If someone asks a question in a comment and you have a good answer, get it out there, even if their question is off topic. Just be sure to refer back to the original question so it’s clear you’re not putting irrelevant information out.
- Be consistent. Comment marketing takes work. Posting every now and then on random sites isn’t going to get you the results you’re looking for. Find sites that have the same target audience as you, and comment often and early. Figure out when they typically post their new articles and try to be among the first to comment, as comments are typically listed oldest to newest. Of course for many blogs their posting isn’t on a regular schedule, but if you get on a schedule of checking the same sites regularly, you’ll do ok. For forums, you really have an opportunity to show your expertise. Look for questions posted relating to your business and provide thorough, useful answers, and ask your own questions as well. Opinion questions do well, and when you state your opinion and ask others for theirs, it puts you in a position of authority. Also, consider welcoming new forum members regularly, which helps to establish your status as well.
So there you have it – a few rules to help you become a comment-marketing pro. Some of our regular commenters are great at this stuff. What other tips do you have? Let us know in the comments below!
12 No-Cost Tools to Help Improve Your SEO
March 10, 2010 by Matthew
Filed under SEO & Rank
Even to some who have been online for years, SEO can be somewhat of a mystery. While there are a lot of differing opinions on the techniques that are the most effective for getting your site to the top of the search engines, there’s no doubt that a key factor in your success is being able to effectively access and analyze data. Below are 12 free web-based tools to help you in your SEO efforts:
Keyword Mutation Detection Tool We all strive for our sites to look professional and for our writing to be grammar and spelling error-free, but if you can find a way to incorporate some strategic misspellings into your page, it can pay off. This tool will give you common “mutations” of your key words, including misspellings as well as correctly spelled variations. For example, enter “entrepreneur” and you’ll get: entrepreneurs, entreprenur, and entreprenuer. As these are all commonly entered search terms, there’s an opportunity to capitalize on the mistakes people make when searching.
Term Extractor From SEOmoz, which offers quite a few helpful tools, this one will analyze your pages and determine which search terms it looks like you’re trying to target. It’s a valuable tool, especially if the resulting report shows you’re optimized for terms other than what you had hoped!
Wordtracker Suggestion Tool Enter a keyword into this simple tool, and it will provide you with a list of up to 100 suggested search terms that include your keyword. The nice thing about this tool is that it also provides the number of searches performed for each phrase, so you can target those most likely to drive more traffic.
Keyword Difficulty Check Want to see how hard you’re going to have to work to get on the first page of search results for your keywords? This tool is for you. Just enter the word or phrase you want it to check, and you’ll get a percentage of difficulty result. For example, if you want to be on the first search results page for the word “blog”, you’re looking at a 93.48% (out of 100%) difficulty ranking. Want to be right up toward the top for “sesquipedalian armadillo” though? You’ve got a great chance at just 22.91% difficulty!
Term Target Grader You might not have been an A student in school, but now you can get A’s where it really counts. Enter your URL and targeted keyword or phrase into this tool, and you’ll get a letter grade reflective of how your page actually targets your desired keyword, along with a detailed report. The only catch: unless you’re a premium member of SEOmoz, you’ll only get one of these reports every 24 hours.
Keyword Group Detection Tool Another tool from Microsoft’s adCenter Labs, this one “helps you find groups of words from the pool of online queries that are related or similar to keywords that you enter.” In other words, you enter a keyword you want to optimize for, and it will give you common search words and phrases relating to that keyword for which you might also want to optimize. It’s a good way to get your creativity going when planning your SEO.
SEO Browser is a tool that allows you to see your site as the search engines see it. Offering both basic and advanced modes for free, the resulting report generated by SEO Browser gives you a clear view of your site content, including meta data, text-to-page weight ratio, number of internal and external links, and tons more, all on one page. This allows you to easily identify problems and ways you can improve your site.
Keyword Tracking with Backlink Tracker Meant to be used over time, this very cool free tool tracks your search engine placement (Google, Yahoo, and Bing) for specified keywords over time. This tool also checks search engines for the number of backlinks to your page over time. You’ll need to sign up for a free account and place a PHP script on your server for it all to work. The detailed charts and reports you get make it worth the effort.
SEOToolSet offers several tools, from the not-so-useful source code viewer (your browser does that), to the very cool Competition Research Tool, which analyses your site and finds and compares it with your competitors based on your chosen key words. They’ve also got a keyword tool that returns results detailing demographics (gender and age statistics), click-through rates, and the CPC average for the major engines.
SEO Scores This tool gives you a ton of information about your site. Broken into four sections, the data is well organized and very useful. The areas analyzed are: 1. On-page SEO, which includes metadata, image summary, W3C validation, more; 2. Off-page SEO, including domain information, Google rank, backlinks, last Google crawl date, and traffic rank; 3. Blogosphere, which just tells you if your key words appear in your blog, and your Technorati ranking; and 4. Social Mediasphere, giving you del.icio.us bookmarks and a Digg submission summary.
Google Keyword Tool Meant for Google Adwords users, this simple keyword tool provides local and global search volume numbers for the keywords and phrases you enter, as well as about 150 related terms. It also supplies suggested terms and allows you to export the reports to a text or csv (for Excel) file. There are also some dropdowns with additional options, most of which are specific to those using Adwords.
Reciprocal Link Checker Want to see if people are placing the reciprocal links they promised? This tool does just that. Enter your site and multiple reciprocal sites, and you’ll get a report showing how many (if any) links on their sites point back to you. While this particular tool does not tell you which page(s) on the reciprocal sites are linking to you, it does save the time of hunting for your links on their sites.
These twelve tools should begin to get you the information you need to help improve your SEO. There are, of course, other tools out there. Which ones have you found useful? Be sure to share your experience in the comments below.
CoTweet – What it is and Why You Need It
You have a Twitter account, right? Of course you do. And you’ve read a lot of blog posts and articles on our site and everywhere else about optimizing your Twitter efforts for business. But you might still be struggling to efficiently, effectively connect with your customers and prospects using Twitter. Well, fret no more. If you haven’t heard about CoTweet, you’re in for a treat. If you’ve been looking for the best way to manage multiple Twitter accounts or want to maximize your marketing through Twitter, CoTweet just might be the app for you.
What it does
As they describe themselves, “CoTweet is a platform that helps companies reach and engage customers using Twitter.” The tools it gives you to accomplish that are like nothing else out there. Sure, there are tons of tools available for Twitter, but few are truly focused on the needs of business users, and none offer everything CoTweet does all in one place. CoTweet is specifically designed for businesses using Twitter. Not only does it let you manage multiple accounts and assign multiple users, but much like Google Alerts, it also lets you track trends as well as tracking when people are tweeting about you, your business, and/or your industry. If that weren’t enough, the application also allows you to schedule tweets, track clicks for posted URLs, and even assign on-call duty to different users so DM and other alerts go to specific people at different times.
How it works
The core of CoTweet is a lot like an email client. You have your folders, like Inbox, Sent, and Scheduled, on the left, your messages in the center pain, and some administrative functions on the right side. There is also a search box on the left, and you can set up saved searches for terms you want to track on a regular basis. Once you set up your accounts, your feeds begin flowing in, and it allows you to see your feed, your @replies, hash tag tracking, etc. at a glance. With a couple of clicks, you can compose and schedule tweets, check click stats, and respond to DMs or @replies. The interface is very polished and fairly intuitive, and users have reported few bugs and glitches. Overall, it’s incredibly easy to get used to and begin using, which, considering its considerable functionality is pretty impressive.
To signup for CoTweet, you enter your basic information, put in your Twitter account details, and you’re up and running in no time. The cost is zero at the moment, while they are in beta phase, but that will change soon enough. Still, the company promises “We’ll give you plenty of notice before we start charging for the service, and the cost will be reasonable.” Their announcement yesterday that they have been acquired by ExactTarget, a leader in email marketing, might or might not change that, but they insist the vision remains the same.
Who’s using it
Some of the largest, most prominent companies around are using CoTweet to manage their Twitter activities. These include:
Is it right for you?
Obviously the above is a list of huge companies, and it’s true that much of the platform is designed for corporate users who might have multiple editors posting and responding to tweets on multiple Twitter accounts. That doesn’t mean small businesses can’t benefit from the application though. Even if you never used the multiple-users feature, there is still plenty of value there. If nothing else, it’s nice to have all the functionality in one place. While it’s free, give it a try. You might just find it will be worth whatever they decide to charge after the beta.
6 Blogs Every Blogger Should Read
If you’re a blogger looking to increase traffic, monetize your blog, or improve your content or design, there are quite a few blogger resource blogs that can help. As a start, we’ve put together a list of six essential blogs every blogger should read on a regular basis.
Hot Blog Tips – Keith Bloemendaal’s blog covers a wide range of topics and is updated regularly. Having started several businesses both off and online, Keith (a regular commenter on Blogtrepreneur) could be described as a serial entrepreneur and really knows his stuff. Hot Blog Tips topics include social media, SEO, Wordpress, and general blogging. It’s a great resource to learn about any of these topics from a guy who lives it every day.
ProBlogger – No list of blogger blogs would be complete without Darren Rowse’s ProBlogger. This blog is packed full of information to help bloggers make a living online. As Darren (also the creator of TwiTip.com) puts it in his recent post welcoming new readers, “ProBlogger is a blog that is devoted to helping bloggers improve their blogging and explore ways to earn an income at the same time by writing about topics that they love.” If you’re new to blogging, be sure to check out his post, Blogging Tips for Beginners.
CopyBlogger – Another no-brainer when creating this list was CopyBlogger. Promoting successful online marketing through improving your copywriting skills and content marketing strategies is the aim of founder Brian Clark’s blog. With posts like 10 Secrets to More Magnetic Copy, The 7 Deadly Sins of Blogging, and 5 Steps to Going Viral on Twitter, it’s no surprise CopyBlogger has attracted over 106,000 subscribers and nearly 50,000 Twitter followers. If you’re not one of them, click over and see what all the buzz is about.
Weblog Tools Collection – This site’s name says it all. With tons of articles, videos, and news on everything Wordpress, WTC is a complete collection of tools for Wordpress bloggers. Whether you’re interested in the latest WP widget, or theme, skin or template, you’ll find it on this site. Not using Wordpress? In addition to Wordpress-specific information, the blog posts cover a wide range of other useful topics, from web ethics to the business of blogging, so check it out.
BLogic Think – Offering lots of free Wordpress plugins and themes, and some great blogging tips, this blog, started and written by Yunike Puspita and Satria Nugraha, has a lot of solid content. Because English is a second language to the writers, it takes a little more effort to read the posts. Because Yunike and Satria are full-time bloggers who make a living doing what they write about, it’s worth the effort. Be sure to pay particular attention to their posts on making money online.
Daily Blog Tips – A blogger and web developer since 2005, Daniel Scocco is the founder and writer of Daily Blog Tips, a great resource for anyone looking to make a living through their blog. Looking to get started with affiliate links on your site? Check out 15 Affiliate Marketing Questions Answered. DBT offers some outstanding content from guest bloggers, like Henri Junttila and Amit Banerjee as well. If you’re not already there, join Daniel’s other 40,000 subscribers and make the most out of your blogging efforts.
Whether you’re new to blogging or a full-time veteran blogger, we hope this list will help you to optimize your blog’s content, design and income. Obviously there are a lot more great resources out there. What’s your favorite? Join in the conversation below and share your thoughts.
Avoid Planning Paralysis with the One-Page Business Plan
February 22, 2010 by Matthew
Filed under Business, Making Money
What’s the first thing most everyone says you need to do if you’re going to start a business? Write a business plan. But what if you’ve never written a business plan? Or what if you have, and the plan for your last business idea took you three months to write – and you haven’t even looked at it since you wrote it?
Depending on what you read, you might think you need to come up with 30-50 pages of meticulously thought-out, detailed material, including comprehensive financial projections, market studies, contingency plans, and more. So it’s no surprise that the very idea of having to write a formal business plan has kept some would-be entrepreneurs from taking the leap into business ownership altogether.
Of course you do have a lot of options for help if you buy into the conventional wisdom that a formal business plan is an absolute necessity. For starters, there are several hundred books on the subject, ranging from the “For Dummies” version for about fifteen bucks, to Bankable Business Plans for Entrepreneurial Ventures for $95.00 ($52.78 a pound!). Or you can download some slick software, like Palo Alto Software’s Business Plan Pro for $100-$200. If you want to go all out, you also have the option of hiring a firm like Portland Oregon’s MasterPlans to create a plan for you, for an average of $1,500-$4,000.
Let’s be clear: if you’re in need of start up financing, you will need a more formal business plan, and it might even be worth shelling out hundreds or even thousands of dollars and spending plenty of time to create one. Even then though, some bankers will tell you less is more, at least initially. When it’s time for your proposed loan to go to committee – or whoever the decision makers are – they want to see everything. But when you first present the idea to your financier, they’ll probably just want enough to help them decide whether it’s worth taking it to the next step.
If you don’t need major financing to get your business going, even if you might need it down the road, and if you’re dreading the idea of creating a formal business plan, take heart. A study undertaken a few years ago by Babson College has some good news for you. The study, entitled Pre-startup Formal Business Plans and Post-startup Performance, looked at 116 businesses started over an eighteen year period, from 1985 to 2003. Here’s what they found:
The analysis revealed that there was no difference between the performance of new businesses launched with or without written business plans. The findings suggest that unless a would-be entrepreneur needs to raise substantial startup capital from institutional investors or business angels, there is no compelling reason to write a detailed business plan before opening a new business.
Does that mean planning is unimportant? No, it does not. It means you can actually start planning to run your business… planning to do business, rather than planning to plan to do business. It has been said that a goal with out a plan is just a wish. We definitely advocate putting together a written plan. But for most businesses, that can be as little as a single page.
Welcome to the world of the one-page business plan! We believe your plan should have the following elements, all of which should be able to fit on one page:
Vision – Your vision talks about what you’re building. Whether it’s to dominate your market or simply be the best at what you do, this one to three sentence statement tells your company’s future.
Mission – While your vision tells the end result of your efforts, your mission statement talks about why your company exists. It talks, in a general sense, about how you will accomplish your vision.
Objectives – This section can simply be a list of bullet points stating your business goals. These items might be, “Generate $X in revenue this year,” or “Hire two employees by the third quarter.” Don’t worry about specifics in this section; just list end results.
Strategies – Your strategies tell how you’ll meet your objectives. Without going into great detail, list bullet points, such as, “Build a strategic alliance with Chamber of Commerce and other service organizations to increase local visibility,” or “Maximize gross profit by utilizing co-op advertising with select vendors.”
Action Plans – You’ll still use bullet points here and won’t be overly descriptive, but these list items will have dates tied to them and offer more specifics than your strategies. Examples are, “Move to Greenway Business Park office – May 1,” and “Negotiate bulk rate pricing with XYZ Supply beginning March 15th.”
This one-page plan, like any good business plan, is a fluid document and will change as your business changes. If you do go for financing at some point, this plan will provide a starting outline for a more formal plan. And even then you don’t have to fret too much. (Check out GrowThink’s innovative Ultimate Business Plan Template software for an easy-to-use, effective way to create a professional business plan to take to any financial backer.)
Unlike the kind of plan you put together for financial institutions, the one page business plan is light, practical, and easy to refer to. You might even consider keeping it posted on the wall above your desk to remind you where you’re headed and how you’re going to get there!
