BusinessBlogAngel

A thumbs up to StumbleUpon

I keep on reminding Claire that she should get into Stumbleupon as another extension of her social media networking strategy... and she keeps on telling me that she will once I explain to her how it all works.  There's nothing like a challenge to get my creative juices flowing, so I decided to combine an illustration of three approaches to stumbling with my first attempt at creating a video tutorial to show as well as tell you how it works. (Note from Claire: Yeah, in fact, I did sign up for an account a while back, prompted by 2 fab clients - Emma Bird and Claire Chapman - who both 'friended' me or something, but even after joining, I found the whole thing a bit confusing.  Having said that, seeing that traffic to this blog usually triples if a post is Stumbled is sufficient motivation to learn more! So, back to Joanna...)

Now when I first stumbled across StumbleUpon it was as a way of finding new sites.  I think it must have been in a quiet period when I was looking for new material and discovered that you could jump to new sites in the blink of an eye just by hitting the "Stumble!" button over and over again.  And yes some of the sites were relevant and interesting (you set it up by indicating what kind of material you're looking for) - but after a while you find yourself hitting the refresh button over and over with hardly a glance at the sites you're reading, and start to wonder if it isn't time to switch off your PC set and do something more interesting instead.

But that's only one dimension of stumbling.  There are loads of other ways that you can use it to make connections, to learn from your readers, to extend your blogging network and develop your online brand.

10 ways that MyBlogLog can help you blog

I’m a big fan of MyBlogLog.  Now that I’ve got my identity crisis sorted out (and can happily flit backwards and forwards between my Confident Writing self and the Blog Angel Team Joanna) I’m re-remembering all the things that I like about it – and all the different ways that we can use it to help us blog.

As preparation for this week’s post I started jotting down a list of the things that MyBlogLog has helped me to do – and some of the ways that other I’ve seen other people use it.   

I’ve come up with ten so far – but I’m sure there are more…

Make the most of RSS: how to take care of your feed

I’m guessing most of you will have an RSS feed for your blog.  Who wouldn’t you want one?  If you're a Typepad user, then a feed comes as standard. RSS feeds are a simple, effective way for your readers to follow your blog without having to check for updates – and for you to see how many people are subscribing.  (Not to mention the warm glow of satisfaction as you watch your subscription numbers moving up.)

But feeds don’t just take care of themselves.  It is possible to damage or even break your feed – which means that people will stop getting your updates or find themselves unable to ‘grab your feed’ when they first stop by your site.

A healthy feed is a vital part of a healthy blog.  And taking care of your feed is part of good blog housekeeping.  Which means you really need to know how to:

• keep an eye on your feed
• take emergency action if things go wrong
• avoid problems in the first place

How to create a blogroll: tips for when you're tearing your hair out

You know the scenario.  You've seen the way other people do things on their blogs.  Things like a blog roll on your sidebar, a list of other blogs that you follow, a list that allows you to:

• reveal a bit more about your interests
• make connections with other bloggers
• signal where you fit within blogging networks and communities
• showcase your clients' work (like the one Claire has here)
• provide some valuable links to your readers

But what if you just couldn't figure out how to set one up?  To the point where you where tearing your hair out with frustration?

Well, you wouldn't be alone.

Inserting Google AdSense into Typepad Blog Posts - Video Tutorial

Had an email from a client this morning asking about inserting Google AdSense into blog posts - as opposed to 'in the margins' as a Typelist.  I've been meaning to start doing this myself so thought I'd knock up a quick 'how to' video on the topic. As you will see when you watch, my first attempt fails - but I have a little 'hot tip' up my sleeve which cures the problem.

I'm actually in two minds about whether to post this one or not as (a) the video quality is not great  - not sure why - I'm still getting to grips with Camtasia - think it might be too big too, and (b) I feel very exposed by it - you can hear me thinking and talking to myself like a nutcase. :o)  It takes a while to load too, but I think it's worth it.  As always, we're talking TypePad here (Get a 14 Day Free Trial!). If you are already blogging, you can get started right away. The entire video (including my mistakes) is about 11 minutes long, so you should be able to complete this exercise in a much shorter time.

Now you can show ads like these in your posts! :o) Happy Days!

Comment spam on blogs - how do you handle it?

Some months ago, the issue of malicious and/or spam commenting on blogs was raised by Linda Fox, a regular visitor to this blog. She told me the story of Kathy Sierra, a female blogger who received some pretty nasty spam comments - so nasty in fact that she cancelled all public engagements for fear of actual, physical attack and she hasn't posted on her blog since April 6th.

At the time, I have to admit to thinking that her reaction was emotional and extreme and - if like I do, you believe in the Universal Laws - her stance was simply creating more nastiness.  But then I was not standing in her shoes, and I'm not sure we can ever know for sure how we would react in a given situation until we are in it.  Then just a few days later, I started to get a few spam comments of my own.  Not of the same ilk, but personal, off-topic and, to my mind, slightly disturbing.  Some of the comments were made using the names of other regular commenters or people to which I had referred in previous posts, but I could see from the IP address that they were not the same people at all. 

So what to do about it?

Music on your business blog/site - good or bad?

Remember the conversation we were having back in March - Instant Audio - Love it or hate it?  I was basically saying it was 'a bad thing' and that I back out of any sites that do that. Business blog/site owners need to consider that - particularly if they are seeking to build relationships and rapport - key business blogging benefits.   

So why then have I included instant audio on the Zillo Records blog? 

Well, apart from the fact that I love breaking rules, there is some method in my madness...

Anyway, Coaching Wizardry's Joanna Young spotted my apparently contrary move and the conversation's started all over again. Find out why I've done it and then tell us what you think.

Is this one of the few instances when instant audio is right? Or do the same rules apply whatever your business?   

Business blogging and SEO

One of my clients emailed me the other day about SEO in relation to her business blog... I will give her a more comprehensive answer by email, but this conversation over on Mike Sansone's ConverStations echoes a lot of my thoughts on the matter, as far as business blogging is concerned at least. I do think its useful to understand how to use keywords in your posts and be putting them in the title, body and keywords boxes, but I also agree that you can get too hung up on these things.

I was chatting to another business blogger the other day and they told me how many page views per day they were getting (it's about 3 times what I get), but they don't seem to be converting many of those viewers to clients.

Commenting on blogs - how best to do it

Interesting issue for Typepad users came up out of a comment to an old post about comments and trackbacks and a subsequent email from one of my more recent completed projects... I think its worth sharing here.

My client, Joanna, had explained to me that she hadn't been able to work out how to leave her URL behind when she commented on other Typepad blogs. I couldn't work out where the confusion was, because at the time, I couldn't see how you could fail - there are only 4 fields to fill out in Typepad... (click on picture left to see what they are).

Say What? - Audio Comments on Your Blog

There's lots of talk in the blogosphere at the moment about 'bling for your blog'. Added to your blog, these little 'widgets' enhance it in some way.  It might be about building a network or community, or encouraging conversation or it could be about engaging people. In a minute, I'm going to tell you about one that does all three, but first let me tell you why you need to know about this.

As you may know, my background is in corporate marketing - specifically 'experiential' marketing and 'brand experience'.  Now, I don't know the stats off the top of my head, but when selling a product or service - particularly a new one, the clincher is to get that product into consumers' hands, homes and/or lifestyles. That's why brands are so keen to 'engage' their potential customers. If I get your attention but don't engage with you - I'm just making you aware that I exist. If I get your attention and we engage - then we are building a relationship with each other and there is more chance that a sale will follow. That's also why I had food company clients spending between 350k and 3.5m UKP per annum on cooking and tasting demos and free samples outside supermarkets!

So how does this relate to business blogging?

Well, this is a major part of the 'blog marketing' story. It's not all about traffic and Google results, you know. As I said, it's about brand experience, engagement, trust and rapport.