What Is A Blog?
| This post was inspired by Daniel Scocco over at Daily Blog Tips! If you’ve got your own blog, you’ve got until Friday August 15th to create your own “what is a blog” post and enter your blog in the contest! |
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, blogs and blogging are the latest “buzz” words on the internet. The stories surrounding blogging range from it being a way to achieve fame (Perez Hilton and Matt Drudge are two bloggers whose blogs have become household names) to being a way to achieve earning a small fortune from the comfort of home. (Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett have written a bookon the topic ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income.)
This blog focuses on using blogs as easy marketing tools for business owners to promote their products and services.
But you may be wonder what exactly is a blog and what makes it so special. In order to answer the second part of this question, you need to first understand the history of the internet.
Brief History of the Internet
(Try to keep this date in mind, because knowing this essential fact will help you when some moron tries to claim that he/she has been using the internet for marketing their business since 1992. )
Prior to the mid-1990’s, if you wanted to communicate with a large potential audience, you had to do it professionally. Authors, newspaper columnists, journalists, ministers, radio DJ’s, television anchors all had access to hundreds or thousands of people, but average ordinary people didn’t have this kind of access.
The Magic of the Internet
The magic of the internet was that the World Wide Web allowed anyone with internet access and the ability to code in HTML to publish information which could be viewed by thousands of people.
It wasn’t long before geeks and freaks were logging on and creating their own places on the web. (I kept the HTML files from my first place on the web from way back in 1994. You can see a copy of my very first website here: Waders.) In those early days, the web was not filled with the marketing madness you see today. As a matter of fact, there was a very LARGE contingent of internet users who were VEHEMENTLY opposed to the “commercialization” of the web.
During the earliest days of the internet, the term “surfing” came to describe the way users would find content on the internet. Each website would link to other “worthy” website finds. (Remember, these were the days pre-Google when Yahoo was attempting to index the web by using human beings to catalog the vast array of websites populating the online world.)
Making A Communication Connection
So, in the early days of the internet, one needed the ability to code in HTML and to transfer those files from the computer to a server, which is just a computer that “serves” files to the internet. For the technically savvy, it was cheap and easy to gain access to a potential audience of millions.
For everyone else, they had to wait until Y2K to gain easy access to the internet - which was provided by weblogs.
Prior to 2000, the only way to get content onto the web was to properly code it so it would display properly in the web browser and then FTP (File Transfer Protocol) that file to a web server account. However, with the advent of the weblog, suddenly the barriers of coding and FTP were removed. Less technically savvy users could EASILY publish content to the internet, so they could get their thoughts and ideas before an audience of what had now grown to tens of millions of potential viewers.
The Modern Blog
Blogs are simply software that makes it easy to get content onto the web.
Blogs today are being used by tens of millions of people who want to share information (content) via the internet. Sometimes that information is personal, sometimes that information is political and sometimes that information is to promote products and services offered for sale.
The modern “blog” is really just an easy to use “content management system” or CMS. Some blogs are hosted on individual hosting accounts just like “regular” static websites. These types of blogs carry the “responsibilities” of domain name registration, hosting and keeping the blogging software of choice up to date.
Other blogs are hosted on a common server (like Wordpress.com or Blogger.com). These common servers will host tens of thousands of “blogs” being populated by individuals and businesses alike.
In addition to offering an easy way to get content onto the internet, blogs offer other abilities as well.
- Blogs offer RSS
Rss stands for “really simple syndication” and it is a method of keeping RSS subscribers “current” on the latest postings to the blog. Every time a new article is posted to the blog, the RSS subscribers are notified. - Blog readers can leave comments
Unlike a static website, readers of an article on a blog have an opportunity to leave comments directly on the article. This type of “interaction” is one of the key elements to “blogging”. - Blogs can interact with each other
Back in the 1990’s people “surfed” the web without the aid of search engines and blogs are bringing back that practice. Bloggers tend to freely link to other blogs with “worthy” content, just as early webmasters did in the 1990’s. This practice of linking between blogs is a very effective tool at getting a blog-style website better positioning within the search results.
Blogs as Marketing Tools
Which brings us to the rather new practice of using blogs as easy marketing tools for businesses.
Because of the ease of updating content, smart marketers can use their blog to promote their products and services. In addition to posting articles to article directories, a business blog can serve as an article repository as well.
One of the key elements of self hosted Wordpress blogs is that, when equipped with the proper plug ins, can be very search engine friendly. What that means is that when your potential customers are searching for answers on the internet, your blog posts (when they use the right keywords) have a great chance of appearing when they search for the solutions your business offers.
After years of empty promises, it appears that blogs may actually be poised to deliver the promise of marketing magic to business owners around the world!
Wickedly Wise and Wonderful Wordpress Plugin for Keyword Research
If the 1st Commandment of Blogging is Maintain Control of your blog, then the 2nd Commandment of blogging should be:
Using the right keywords in your blog post title can make or break your blog.
Many bloggers seem to forget that their blog is built out of words… and the most frequently used words on any blog are, from the search engine’s point of view, the building blocks of the blog.
I you want to see what keywords are defining your blog, check out the tool Wordle… and for more about that, read the post Blog Diagnostic Tool - Wordle: Graphic Illustration of Your Blog’s Content
In the musical classic West Side Story, Maria sings,
I feel pretty,
Oh, so pretty,
I feel pretty and witty and bright!
Unfortunately, when it comes to blogging, while it’s not necessary to feel pretty - sometimes it’s possible to be TOO witty and too bright!
I spent this morning explaining to a blogging client about keywords and how they can make or break your blog. Keywords are the words used by people to find information they want on the internet.
To find the lyrics I referenced above, I went to Google and typed in the words “I feel pretty“. I could remember that much of the song and by typing in those words, Google figured out what I wanted and provided links to sites which had exactly what I needed.
My results would have been dramatically different had I typed in “I feel beautiful.” Those results probably would not have included the complete lyrics from the song for which I was searching.
Which brings me to the point of how it’s sometimes possible to be TOO witty and TOO bright for your blog’s good.
You may have really GREAT content on your blog, but if you don’t target the right keywords, especially in the title, you’ll make it difficult for your audience to find your blog.
One great way to improve your blog’s “find-ability” in the search engines is to Run Your Blog Post Titles Through Keyword Research Before You Hit Publish.
Thanks to a great plug in for Wordpress from Semvironment checking your blog title keywords just got easier! Their Keyword Research Wordpress Plugin makes it easy to check your favorite keyword tool for just the right keywords for your blog titles.
If you’re not optimizing your blog posts for keywords, you’re robbing your blog of potential readers! It’s as simple as that.
For example, when I was composing the post Creating Blazing Hot Headlines that Attract Readers, the original title of the post was going to be “Writing Pithy, Punchy Headlines”. The only problem? No one is searching for pithy. It’s one of those words where someone would say, “Who TALKS like that anymore?”
Well, obviously I talk like that, but I always have had the vocabulary of an English Lit professor.
In the world of blogs, that’s a curse, not a blessing!
Five dollar words may impress your college professor, but on the internet, words like Secret, Cure and Fat are the words that win attention!
By the way, I used the tool to look up the title of this post. While no one is searching for “Wickedly Wise” or even “Wonderful”, they are searching for Wordpress plugin.
So the 2nd Commandment of blogging is KEEP KEYWORDS IN MIND AS YOU CREATE YOUR TITLE POST!
Best Blog Post Secrets Revealed
There’s no doubt about it, blogging can easily become a dreaded chore. Finding blogging inspiration can be one of the most difficult parts about blogging.
If you’ve found yourself searching for blogging inspiration, it’s probably because you’ve fallen into a blogging rut. The secret to finding blogging inspiration is to mix up the types of posts you create for your blog.
Yes, when it comes to creating a blog, a post is not merely a post. According to blogging experts, there are more than a dozen different types of post. Here are 8 of the best posts I’ve found on the secrets to creating many types of blog posts.
- Jennifer at Network Blogging Tips has recently posted 16 Post Ideas for Your Blog - Different Types of Posts for Network Blogs
- Darren Rowse of Pro-Blogger offers his take on how to break out of a blogging rut with his 20 Types of Blog Posts - Battling Bloggers Block
- Michael Martine offers his own take in a guest blog post at Pure Blogging in theThe 5 Types of Blog Posts that Experts Write
- Gyutae Park is offering his own version of the different types of blog posts in All 13 Types of Blog Posts - Which Ones Are You Missing?
- Dave Briggs over at Dave Press has narrowed the list down to 7 different types in his post The different types of blog post
- Rohit Bhargava at Olgivy Public Relations offers The 25 Basic Styles of Blogging … And When To Use Each One. This unique and informative presentation is delivered via slideshare… and offers a “difficulty” rating for achieving success with each type.
- Collis at the The North X NorthEast Blog offers 9 Essential Posts that Every Blogger Should Know
- Nate White shares 5 Types of Blog Posts that Generate Traffic which, of course, are the BEST kinds of blog posts.
What’s your best blog post secret?
Build Business Relationships With Blogs
Blogs are easy to update… they’re search engine friendly but as if that weren’t enough, blogs are a powerful tool you can use to build business relationships.
Building relationships is an essential part of promoting your business. People like to do business with people they already know and trust. Your blog can act as a trust building tool which can be used in building business relationships you need to help your business grow.
You’ve heard a lot about social networking sites. Well, many business bloggers are now prominently featuring their Linked In information on their blog. Linked In is a social networking tool created exclusively for business people. While there may be information on your Facebook or Myspace account that you’d prefer your best clients NOT see, Linked In is a social networking tool devoted exclusively to the business person.
At one point, there was a hope that Linked In would lead visitors to the business’ blog… but now, the opposite seems to be in effect. As some social networks stumble, blogs for business just seem to be picking up steam!
It takes 8 touches to “connect” with a prospective customer. A blog is a great way to make many of those prerequisite touches and begin building those relationships, not only with customers… but also potential business partners.
How Should You Start a Blog Post
It’s no secret that I adore blogs as marketing tools, but sometimes the hardest part of blogging is knowing where to start. I frequently have clients ask how should you start a blog post… and they’re not talking about the mechanics of blogging.
How should you start a blog post is actually a GREAT question… and you might be surprised at the answer. You should start a blog post by thinking about your blog’s reader… your target audience.
What information do your readers want to know?
(Hint, in order to do this, you need to know who your target audience is. If you’re a business owner and you need help with this, pick up the book Beyond the Niche: Essential Tools You Need to Create Marketing Messages that Deliver Results.)
Once you know who your target audience is and what information your readers want to know.. then you need to find out what keywords they’re using to find that information.
There are lots of free tools which you can use to find keywords… but the figures vary widely and most importantly, the free tools don’t show you subtle variations of keywords.
For example, I have a client who is selling a dog product. Various free keyword tools gave her widely varying figures. One said there were 600 searches being done daily… one said 1200 searches monthly… yet another showed 25 searches monthly.
WHICH ONE DO YOU BELIEVE?
There is a tool that allows you to “see” inside your target blog audience’s mind… it’s called Wordze.
Wordze gives you the INSIDE SCOOP on keywords being used by REAL people. It tells you where people are located who are searching those keywords. It tells you the sites that already dominate those keywords… and lets you see the opportunities within.
If you go straight to Wordze… you’ll pay $45 per month for this service. But, if you use the link above you’ll get a special discount for readers of this blog and you’ll only pay $35 per month.
Start your blog post by researching keywords. Find out the words your target audience is using to find information just like you’re offering.
Blogs are great easy marketing tools for any business. You’ll increase the power and efficiency of your blog by targeting the right keywords for your blog post.
Not Everyone Can Invest Buckets of Cash For Effective Marketing
Matt McGee has a great column on Search Engine Land Small is Beautiful column, where he focuses upon small businesses who are successfully using the internet to market their businesses.
He also posted “outtakes” from the article about local small business success on the web on his own blog and it makes for interesting reading. In a nutshell, John Tuggle created some video tutorials on guitar lessons and posted them on YouTube. One thing led to another and suddenly, John found his videos featured on the Gibson. Matt points out in the article above how such a link serves to help John Tuggles web presence not only with the search engine bots, but with the human visitors as well.
John also shares in the article how important it is to “just do it” when it comes to promoting your business via your blog on the web. The difference between “good enough” and “perfect” often means the difference between getting it done and off your plate or struggling with a project forever!
Digging for Gold in Old Content
Once you’ve been blogging for a while, you may find you’ve got lots of GREAT content that is “hidden” in the archives. Blogtrepreneur offers some helpful tips including linking internally to your old blog content.
Internally linking to blog content means simply creating a link inside your post to another post. For example, I have an older post called “5 Easy Ways to Create Content for your Blog.” It was written back in June 2007… and I think it’s a helpful post. Since my blog has a lot more readers now than it did then, I can draw attention to my old blog post by creating this internal link.
However, internal linking will also help your Search Engine visibility… a fact that is NOT lost on tech blog owners. This technique is so powerful, there’s even been a Wordpress plug in developed to make it easier for Wordpress blog owners to do this.
Of course, Daily Blog Tips offers the BEST reason for linking to internal content: It keeps readers on your blog for longer!
My favorite tactic for resurrecting old content is when I leave comments on other blogs (whether they’re do-follow enabled or not) is instead of linking to my blog’s opening page, I’ll link to a post with similar content. That way, when someone follows the breadcrumb trail I leave via commenting on other blogs… they’ll come directly to a post of great interest.
What’s your tip for reusing old blog content?
How to turn your blog comments into visitor traffic
Commenting on other people’s blogs is one of the most effective ways to drive traffic to your blog.
One way to TURBOCHARGE your Blog Commenting is to link directly to relevant posts. Blogging profits says be among the first 5 commenters while Attraction Biz says to disable the no-follow and join the Do-Follow movement.
However, the Warrior Blog says you’ll get more Subscribers and Traffic by signing up for MyBlogLog.
Over at Problogger though in their post 10 Techniques to Get More Comments on Your Blog offer this tid bit of information
Jakob Nielsen’s latest study finds that 90% of online community users are lurkers (read or observe without contributing) with only 9% of users contributing ‘a little’ and 1% actively contributing.
In the end, Copy Blogger has the right idea.
I value subscribers more than any other measure of blog success, such as page views or raw traffic. Subscribers are the life blood of a successful blog in my opinion, and frankly, I wish I had more of them.
In the end…blog commenters often end up as blog subscribers and that’s something every blog owner wants.
-
EZ Marketing Tool Wordle
-
Small Business Marketing Success Online
Get your copy of
Keys to Small Business
Marketing Success
When you sign up for
Keys to Website Success -
