30 Days to Pumped Up Blog Traffic

It’s pretty much universally accepted these days that having a blog is a smart move for any business.  And because just about everyone understands that, just about everyone (and their uncle) has a blog.  What that means is that the competition for traffic to your blog is strong and growing on a daily basis.  After all, people can only read so much every day, so they’ll naturally gravitate to the blog content that is most relevant and meaningful to them.  But even the best-written, most content-packed blogs are useless if no one sees them in the first place.  So building traffic flow to your blog is at least as important as making it stick (getting people to follow you).

Especially if you’re just getting started with blogging, building traffic can be a bewildering, and often frustrating proposition.  With all the advice out there on what to do and how to do it, how can you know what works best for you?  The truth is, you can’t know.  Mostly, you have to research and see what makes the most sense to you, then try it and adjust as you go.  And once you have the formula down… well, actually, there is no formula.  If you think you’ve found the perfect formula, don’t get too comfortable.  It will change soon enough.  All that said, below are just four simple steps you can take immediately that will begin to increase your blog traffic.  It will take time to see significant results, and you’ll have to pick and choose where to spend most of your time, but these methods (as of today) will put you on the path to more traffic within 30 days.

1. Participate in forums. Forums, like the one at YoungEntrepreneur.com, are a great way to connect with fellow business people in your field as well as blog readers.  If you target your efforts at forums within your target audience, you’ll often find hundreds or even thousands of people interested in exactly what you’re talking about in your blog.  Get involved in the forums, offer real, useful advice, and when appropriate (and not too obviously), direct people to relevant blog articles on your site.  Also include your blog URL in your signature when allowed.

2. Use social media. We’ve written extensively on this site about the benefits of using social media sites like Twitter & Facebook and others.  So without going into great detail, let’s just say once more that social media is like no other medium in its ability to reach a targeted audience in a meaningful way, at little or no expense.  If you’re not using these tools, you’re missing out on traffic that you could be gaining right now.

3. Comment on other blogs. You probably read other blogs right?  So make it a point, whenever you’re on another person’s blog page, to comment on their posts.  This will often help to build a relationship with the blog writer, which can be beneficial in many ways, and it will allow you to post a link back to your blog.  As these are pretty much always no-follow links, you won’t benefit in that way, but you will benefit from the traffic generated by people clicking on your name.  Of course that won’t happen if your comments aren’t thoughtful or interesting, so, “Nice post” won’t help much.  For more on the topic of comment marketing, read this.

4. Make sharing easy. It’s amazing how many smaller blogs don’t offer an easy way for readers to share posts with others.  Even if you don’t like Twitter, for example, or if you don’t think having a Twitter account will help your business, you have to recognize that millions of people, including most of your readers, do use Twitter.  So at the very least, install TweetMeme or Topsy buttons on your posts.  If you want to really optimize the possibilities and you’re using WordPress, SexyBookmarks is a great plugin that makes it easy for readers to share on over 80 bookmarking sites.  Whatever you use, make sure people who love your stuff can easily tell others about it.  Word of mouth is still king when it comes to getting people to look at what you have to offer.

Is there more to driving traffic to your blog? Of course there is.  We didn’t even touch on SEO, SEM, backlinks, or a thousand other tools and methods you can use.  But these four steps are some that anyone can take without having to do much research or decipher complex methodology.  And if you start using them today, you just might see pumped up traffic in 30 days or less.

7 Tips for Kick-Butt Blog Writing

Far different from book or other formal writing, writing for a blog requires its own specific set of skills. And once you’ve got them down pat, you’ll be able to produce sparkling, original, copy that will keep your readers coming back for more. There are tons of books and sites devoted to writing great content, but unless you’re someone who really struggles with writing a complete sentence, it really boils to some basic principles.  And even if you already know all this, it’s always a good idea to get a reminder and re-evaluate your writing to make sure you’re not falling back into bad habits.

Here are the seven most essential things that every blogger needs to know:

1. Keep it short - Learn the skill of brevity. Your readers will love you for it. It can take time to develop the art of saying more in fewer words, but it’s worth it. Keep sentences short, paragraphs tight, and articles at a reasonable length. Make your point, repeat it, then leave it. Short, succinct sentences look appealing to a reader when they scan your page. This means they will keep the window open and take a look at what you have to say.

2. Bite-sized nuggets - Break your content into nice, digestible pieces. As a general rule of thumb, paragraphs written for the web shouldn’t be longer than four of five sentences. Ever heard of the popular web abbreviation “TLDR”? This stands for “too long, didn’t read.” Readers scan web pages, rather than reading them carefully, such as they would a book or newspaper. Make your content look short and readable and you will stand a better chance of keeping your reader’s attention.

3. Subheadings - Put the most important points, keyword and phrases in bold subheadings. This helps to catch the eye of readers skimming over your page. Subheadings are where people “land” on a website. Each subheading should introduce a kind of “mini article.”  Take advantage of subheadings to make readers stay on your page for longer.

4. Leave them wanting - The number one trick to making a profit from web writing is to leave readers wanting just a little bit more. Introduce the problem, offer some solutions, but don’t completely solve it. That is what your next link, next post, or targeted ads are for. Learning the skill of leaving the problem a little bit open is the best skill you can develop.

5. Offer something original - Why should readers choose your blog over someone else’s? Offer them something original, and they’ll make that choice. Figure out how you can tap into a niche and how you will be able to offer a unique angle. If you are an expert in a field, use that to your advantage. Any topic that you are passionate about is a good place to start. This way you can deliver readers heartfelt, knowledgeable advice that doesn’t just repeat what someone else is saying.

6. Watch your adverbs and adjectives - Any writing teacher will tell you that you need to eliminate your writing of adverbs and adjectives. Blog writing is no exception! There is a place for them, but most of the time they tell the reader nothing. They are empty words which don’t say anything, yet they do take up plenty of space. Consider the sentence, “This product is really rather quite good.” What does that mean? If you mean good, then that’s what you should write. Keep your writing simple, active, and powerful.

7. Use a professional yet casual tone - There is a careful balance that needs to be struck. Write informally, but don’t litter your blog posts with careless grammar mistakes, messy formatting or text speak. Not only does this look ugly, readers will wonder why they should trust you to tell them anything. Want to be an authority on a topic? Keep your readers coming back? Write in a professional tone that gives them a good impression.

Follow these tips, and you’ll take your blog to the next level.  Or at least be on your way to keeping your content clean and readable.  Do you have other tips and tricks for great writing?  Be sure to share with us in the comments!

Review: Blog Writing Service - Water My Blog?

This is a Sponsored Post written by me. All opinions are 100% mine.

So you have a business, your website is going strong, and you’re working on your SEO and other marketing to get more traffic to your site and take your business to the next level.  You’ve heard that everyone needs to have a blog.  You’ve heard about all the benefits of blogging, from delivering valuable content to your users, customers, subscribers, etc. to improving your search engine rankings.  You’re sold on the benefits, but where are you going to find the time to crank out regular blog posts?  After all, one of the things you’ve learned is that the key to blogging successfully is providing quality content on a consistent basis.

This is the dilemma for a lot of people.  Blogging is a tremendous tool for your business, but it takes a focused effort and a lot of time that many of us just don’t have.  Add to that the fact that many people just aren’t writers and have a hard time coming up with interesting topics much less presenting them in an effective way, and it can all seem very overwhelming.  Well, fear not!  There is a solution to all these challenges, and it’s an easy, affordable solution that you can implement immediately.

Introducing WaterMyBlog.com
WaterMyBlog is a blog writing service like no other.  While it’s popular to hire virtual assistants, freelancers and ghost writers to fill blogging needs, all of those are missing a key element.  They’ll provide regular content, and it might even be written very well, but what are the chances these sources are SEO experts?  Pretty slim.  That’s what makes WaterMyBlog.com different.  This service provides quality blog posts based around your chosen key words, written in a way that serves to greatly enhance your SEO efforts.

How it works
Getting started with WaterMyBlog.com is easy.  First, you’ll provide them with the key words (5-10) you want to optimize for.  This is of course very important, because these words (topics) will end up being the focus of the blog posts they write.  If you need help determining the best key words to rank for, they have SEO experts on staff to help you out.  Next, they connect their software to your blog.  It works with all the popular blogging platforms, so no worries there.  This gives them the ability to directly upload your blog posts once they’re approved.  Once their software is integrated, their researchers get busy using their news aggregators to create a plan that will ensure your blog is relevant to readers and to the search engines.  After the research is done, all that’s left is writing your posts.  The writers at WaterMyBlog.com are called Gardeners, and they will use the information they’ve learned from the news aggregators to create quality, SEO-relevant posts, which will be submitted to you for approval.  If you want changes, you can edit the post yourself or ask for the changes you want.  Once it’s done to your satisfaction, your post will automatically be posted to your site.  It’s that easy!  You’ve saved tons of time while reaping all the benefits of adding outstanding blog content to your site.  And the pricing for all this is outstanding.  You’ll pay no more than $13 per post!  They also have some great promotions running right now, like a one-month free trial!

While they aren’t the solution I’d recommend for pro bloggers who make their living off their blog, WaterMyBlog.com is a great solution for anyone with a primary product or service looking to add a blogging component.  So if you understand all the benefits of adding a blog to your site but haven’t had the time to do it, or if you’re already blogging but are looking for an inexpensive way to free up all the time it’s taking you, OR if you just want to make sure your blogging efforts are paying off with proper SEO, take a look at WaterMyBlog.com.

20 Tips for Writing Great AdWords Copy

Make no mistake. Copywriting is the glue that holds an AdWords campaign together. You can have the right keywords, place the right bids, and even have great products and services, but if you don’t have powerful copy, your campaign stands little chance of being successful.

When it comes to writing AdWords copy, there are 2 main components: copy for the ads and copy for the landing pages. Below, you’ll find 20 tips that will help you improve your copy so you can get more clicks and more conversions.

PPC Ads

1.       Use strong words- Searchers need to be snapped out of their passivity. You need to sell them some sizzle. Use powerful words that grab their attention, like: free, guaranteed, discover, today, limited time, improve, increase, exclusive, and you.

2.       Place keywords in the right spots- When you include keywords in your ads, the keywords searched for will be bolded in your ad copy. This allows your ad to get noticed. Include keywords in your headline, ad copy, and even display URL.

3.       Sell the benefits- The only thing customers want to know is what’s in it for them. How does your product or service benefit them? Explain this clearly and briefly.

4.       Have a strong call to action- Searchers need to be motivated to click on your ad. Simply put, you need to tell them what to do. Your call to action should be simple and clear, like “Get Your FREE Consultation Now!”

5.       Include your USP- What makes you different from the competition? What’s the one reason people should buy from you? Focus on your unique characteristics to make your ad different.

6.       Harness the power of ellipses- Those 3 simple dots can entice readers to click on your ad to get more information. For example, “Read This Before You Hire a Houston Electrician…”

7.       Try keyword-rich display URLs-I mentioned it earlier, but it’s worth repeating. Instead of using a generic URL, try putting the target keyword in there, like this: www.yoursite.com/keyword. I’ve seen many split tests where this simple change garnered a lot more clicks.

8.       Include seasonal offers- Seasonal headlines make your ad feel current and relevant. They also create a sense of urgency. Even if your product isn’t seasonal, you can still use this technique effectively. “Home AC Installation Memorial Day Sale. Free install on all orders.”

9.       Ask a compelling question- A question can grab the searcher’s attention and help make your ad more interactive. “What’s the secret to making $10,000 in 2 weeks?” Or “Want to get out of debt fast?”

10.   Always be testing- Never stop testing out different versions of your ads. The smallest changes can make the biggest impact.

Landing Pages

1.       Start with a strong headline- The headline is the first thing someone sees after clicking on your ad. This is your chance to hook the new visitor and to keep them moving forward to conversion.

2.       What is a conversion?-Speaking of conversion, what do you consider a conversion? Do you want people to place an order now? Do you want them to schedule an appointment? Sign up for your newsletter? Identify this action so you can measure the results of your AdWords campaign.

3.       Keep your call to action short and clear-Now that you know what you want people to do when they come to your landing page, you need to tell them to do so. Conversion determines call to action. Also, try repeating the call to action about once every screen view so that people can always take action no matter where they are on your page.

4.       Use bullet points to highlight key benefits-Online users tend to scan content rather than read it word for word. By placing the most important information in bullet points, you make it easy for the reader to instantly see what’s in it for them.

5.       Place the most important information above the fold-According to a recent Nielsen study, people spend about 80% of their time above the fold on websites. In other words, they don’t like to scroll down. So, put your offer up top where everyone sees it immediately.

6.       Start paragraphs with main idea-To further accommodate scanners, you should start each paragraph with the most important information. This helps to put the key points up front, rather than burying them where most people won’t read them.

7.       Include testimonials- Online customers have their scam detectors turned all the way up. They don’t trust you. But they do trust their fellow customers. Use testimonials from satisfied customers to gain credibility.

8.       Eliminate risk-Again, customers are always fearing they’ll be scammed and ripped off. That’s why you need to remove as much risk as possible. Offer a strong money-back guarantee that helps them feel they have nothing to lose.

9.       Beware of choice paralysis-Too many choices actually cause the customer to get overwhelmed, making no choice at all. Don’t give landing page visitors a lot of options. Keep it simple!

10.   Always be testing-Just like with your ads, landing pages also need to be tested. Try testing out slight tweaks to see what you can do to get more conversions.

What are some other AdWords copywriting tips you’d add to this list? Share your best tactics by leaving a comment.

Great Royalty Free Images - Why They Matter, and Where to Get Them

We’ve all heard the cliché, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”  While it’s an overused phrase, the reason it’s used so much is that it’s absolutely true.  Pictures communicate to us better than words alone can.  They elicit feelings and emotion; they can explain complex concepts at a glance; and they can make an otherwise boring website come alive.  That’s why many of the best and most professional blogs you find will include a picture with each post.  Finding the right picture to go with your articles might add a few minutes to the time it takes you to create a post, but the extra time is well worth it.

There are some important guidelines to remember when choosing images for you site or blog though.  If you want to make an impact, not just any image will do, and there are legal considerations to take into account as well.  While it’s not always easy to find the right image to go with a post or page on your site, taking a little time to make a conscious decision about your images is important.  Some titles lend themselves to easily finding an image.  For example, a title like, “10 Great iPhone Apps,” would be easy to find an image for.  Just look for a good picture of an iPhone!  But even then, a picture of an iPhone with the screen full of apps communicates your post’s message better than a guy holding an iPhone might.

As for legal considerations, it’s important to know that not every image out there on the net is fair game.  In fact, unless you have express permission to use an image (permission from the actual owner of the image), it’s not ok to post it on your site.  There is a misconception by some that as long as you give credit somewhere on the page, you’re in the clear.  This is not the case.  In some cases, an image owner who has shared an image on a photo-sharing site, like Flickr, will attach a creative commons license to his or her photo and specifically say that it can be used with attribution (credit given).  This is the only case where a simple mention of the image owner is enough to make its use legal.  In other cases, an image owner in the same situation will give full rights, without attribution, which allows you to use the image freely in whatever way you want.  This is more unusual, and the images you find with this kind of license aren’t always very useful, but they do exist.

The bottom line on image permissions is that you can only use an image on your site in one of three cases:

1. You have express permission from the image owner. (Might or might not require attribution)
2. You purchased the right to use the image.
3. You are the image owner because you took the picture (or created the graphic).

Note: Even in the first two cases, there might be restrictions as to how you can use an image (i.e. commercial use vs. personal use), so watch out for that as well.

Ok, so now that we’re clear that images are important and what’s ok and not ok legally, where do you find great images for your site?  There are a lot of free and paid sources to consider for quality images. Here are some of the best:

Paid Sites

iStockphoto - iStockphoto is the internet’s original member-generated image and design community. You get easy, affordable inspiration with millions of safe, royalty-free photographs, and more.  You have the option of signing up for a subscription, or using their pay-as-you-go plan.  Generally, images will end up costing you from $.99 each and up, depending on the image size and your plan.

Shutterstock - Shutterstock is the service we use for Blogtrepreneur.com, and our sister site, YoungEntrepreneur.com.  They boast being the largest subscription-based stock photo agency in the world, and they provide a massive library of high-quality, unique images.  You have a choice of their 25-a-day subscription, which allows you to download up to 25 images of any size each day (costing as little as $.33 per image on the one-month plan, if you max it out for one month), or you can choose their on-demand plan, which will end up costing you about $4 - $10 an image, depending on your needs.

Corbis - This site is a little more artsy and fairly pricy.  They have a very attractive UI, for what that’s worth, but you’ll pay from $15 and up per image and a lot more if you plan to use the image in print.  Rather than a subscription model, you pay per image, and the fee varies widely, depending on how you plan to use the image.  If you’re publishing a magazine or a site where you want celebrity images or very high-end graphics, Corbis might be a good match.

Getty Images - Getty is the leading provider of digital media worldwide.  Like Corbis, they charge by the image, and for royalty-free images (the kind you’ll most likely want to use), you’ll pay upwards of $10 for a small image (170 px square) and $25 or more for a 230 px + image.  The only advantage to Getty is that they have very high quality images, and a lot of them.

Free Sites

Flickr Creative Commons - If you don’t want to pay for images and don’t mind weeding through a lot of pics to find the right one, Flickr’s creative commons area is a great resource.  They list six degrees of creative commons licenses with explanations of each.  With as many as 40 million+ images for a given license type, you’ll surely be able to find something worth using.  Be careful though. If an image looks like it’s a pro shot, it might not actually belong to the person who uploaded it, and you might get a nasty email from the actual owner!

Stock.XCHNG - This site was recently bought by Getty Images but has been around since 2001. They offer free stock images of pretty good quality.  It will be more difficult to find just the right image on SXC than on one of the paid sites, and the images are generally from amateur photographers and illustrators, but you might have an easier time than sifting through a million results on Flickr.

Google and Yahoo image search - Here’s where you have to be careful.  You’ll find millions of results for any image subject you’re looking for on both Google and Yahoo, but chances are, you won’t have permission to use them.  If you do find a great image using this method, try asking the site owner where the image is displayed if you can use it.  As long as they’re the actual owner of the image, they might not have an issue with it and just ask that you give them credit.

Hopefully this post gives you some good ideas and resources for adding images to your site and blog.  There are a lot of other image resources out there too.  Which ones do you use?  Share them with us in the comments!

More Recent Posts »