Our web connection, my blog setup and your blog writing
Our Web Connection
They don’t call this a web for nuthin’. We’re all connected, sometimes in strange ways, by its invisible strings.
Seriously, the number of times that I write something, then read another post and blink with surprise that my message is right there on someone else’s blog wrapped up in different words – is astounding. The reverse is also true, just look at the comments in my posts – it seems at least once a day someone links me to a brilliant post they wrote that connects right in or exclaims, ‘I was just thinking/writing/talking about this!”
I absolutely love this. To me, it’s like the air around us is ripe with these ideas and we’re all just plucking them off the tree and making them ours. To share this brain and thought process with so many other people is like getting to swim in that pool with the pods in it in Cocoon – I think it actually feeds us and makes us better. Sometimes it even glows.
So, I was not shocked when I woke up this morning and saw Chris Brogan’s post on the necessity of purpose and focus for your blog, when I was sitting here with the guts of a post with a similar vein. My post is about my blog and about yours…
My Blog Setup
Well, really my whole site. Way back when I started my copywriting business, I thought it was all about the website – so I got one. And I loved it. When I quickly discovered the world of blogging, I dove in full force – for my clients – helping them write and leverage this platform for their own businesses. But I didn’t blog for myself.
Eventually, the uber-talented illustrator, Elizabeth Whelan – after hearing me go on and on about what blogging could do for a shared client we had, asked me where my blog was. Uh, er, um, well… She told me she wouldn’t speak to me again until my blog was up and running. THANK YOU, Elizabeth. I pulled a WordPress blog onto the writingroads.com site and my life hasn’t been the same since.
And then, recently, I’ve been finding myself in another one of these ‘do as I say, not as I do’ situations. I’m telling people left and right…
- to just build a blog, not a traditional website
- and add static pages
- for SEO purposes
- for ease of use, content management
- for UI (user interface) or VEO (visitor enhanced optimization)
- to use plugins for expansion and growth
- to maximize sidebar real estate
And the whole time, I’m eyeballing my blog with a sideways glance. The cobbler has no shoes, the therapist’s family is full of nutjobs, and yes, the blogger’s blog is out of whack.
So, finally, with the help of the lovely, Shauna Callaghan, I’ve redone my site – the right way. You might not even notice, because it’s likely you didn’t ever click on those typewriter keys up above that shot you over to the ‘web’site and off the blog. But now when you click on them, they keep you here whilst showcasing my work and services. And www.writingroads.com gets you here now as well (no more need for writingroads.com/blog). Ahhh…c’est fini! (besides the incessant tweaking I’m doing). My wish is that it’s easier now for visitors to know who I am and what I do…
What does your blog/site need? How can you tweak it so to perform better?
Your Blog Writing
The other thing on my mind is your blog. This morning, when I tweeted CB’s post about blog focus and purpose, I added this: “(and if you need help focusing/purposing, call me)” – and several people responded with messages that looked something like, “Please help me!!!” in varying degrees of agony.
So, I thought it was worth putting it out there, but this time here: I help you figure out the blogosphere by helping you answer these questions:
- What is my blog’s purpose?
- What is my blog’s theme?
- How do I define and rein in my scope?
- What do I write about?
- How do I write it?
- How do I focus my content and outreach?
- Should I talk to other bloggers?
- Which ones?
- How do I do that?
- What plugins do I need?
- What is a plugin?
- Do I need to use Twitter and Facebook?
- How do I ______? (fill in the blank)
- …and on and on.
Let me know if you need help…after all, with the way this web connectivity thing is going, you were probably just thinking about all of this anyway…
Image credit: Jeff Smallwood
Filed under Blogging, Critical Copywriting, How To, The Business | Tags: blog, blog content, blog purpose, blog setup, blog strategy, blog writing, Blogging, Chris Brogan, copywriting, social media, social media marketing, Writing | Comments (18)Need to improve your blog rank and traffic?
This is a familiar client/Writing Roads scenario:
Me: If you want to be part of the world online, you must have a blog (for all of these reasons and more)
Client: Okay great…how often will I have to post? Like once a month?
Me: Uh, no. A little more than that.
Client: Twice a month? Just tell me how often should I publish to get the most ROI?
Me: Honestly, as much as possible. But at least 2-3 times per week.
And then they pass out.
The thing is, I’m not just talking out of my arse.
Take this blog, for instance:
- I used to blog Monday – Friday. As a result, after about 9 months of steadily rising stats, I had an Alexa rank of 123,000. (Which is really, really good – Google is #1)
- Last spring, I got insanely busy and I decided it wouldn’t hurt to drop down on my posting. So I went to Monday, Wednesday and Friday posts, 3x/week. My Alexa rank steadily fell to the 300,000 mark. (Not anywhere near as good)
- About 3 weeks ago, I started posting every day, Monday – Friday, again. No less busy – possibly more, but I just wanted to (because I love writing this blog), so I did. And I’ve watched my Alexa rank rise 100,000 spots and my spider (and visitor) stats increase. That’s 100K in about 13 posts. As of this writing, my rank is 199,000 (and rising)
The proof really is, as they say, in the pudding. If you want your blog to do better, (one of the methods that works is to) write, produce and publish more good content that tells the world all that you know about your chosen topic.
The good news, for both of us, is that if you don’t have the time or ability to do all of this blogging, you can hire someone to do it for you. I know, it’s a brilliant solution. You can do what you do best (cut hair, build houses, train chickens, whatever) and I, or some other writer, can do what we do best – produce engaging content. It’s a win/win sitch. No heavy lifting required.
Image credit: The Truth About…
Filed under How To | Tags: Alexa, Alexa rank, blog strategy, Blogging, blogs, web traffic, Writing | Comments (6)Blog content: trunks, branches, leaves
I just came across a post by Ari Herzog where he answers the question, ‘Should bloggers only blog about one topic or is it okay for them to talk about a lot of different things?’
I was relieved actually to see that his answer was quite liberal; he (with quote help from Jake Halpern) said that bloggers need to blog about what interests them. If the topics start to spread, so be it.
But, I have to add something to that. I agree that if you aren’t writing about your passions, then the writing will fall flat. Still, I think there has to be a tie that binds. It could be an industry, a product, a service, a genre, a person, a group, a pair of pants…something.
When I talk to companies/business about blog content strategy, I use the image of a tree. The blog’s main topic, your main theme is the trunk of the tree. All of the posts that you write are the branches and leaves of the tree.
Some posts will literally spring from the trunk, like those first two or three branches that separate and grow up and out.
Some posts will be quite far removed from the trunk, they’ll be those teeny tiny branches, fifty feet out, reaching into the sun – but they will still be connected to the trunk, they’re definitively part of the same tree.
And then you’ve got the posts that are everything else in between. But there’s always a connection, no matter how small.
Why is this important?
- You don’t want your readers to get lost or confused. Make them feel good and smart, not disoriented and dumb.
- You want to have a point. Otherwise you might end up sounding disoriented and dumb.
- If you’re blogging for business, it’s good to have a tie back to your product, service or industry. If your blogs purpose it to showcase your talents as a dance coach, I’m not sure how talking about the many ways to cook an egg will help you.
- You’re building a relationship with your readers. If you always blog about painting and suddenly throw in some posts about roller derbies, they’re going to feel a rift in the relationship. They might even feel abandoned and leave you comments like, ‘I don’t even know who you are anymore.’
I’m all for expanding your content. The more branches you create, the more likely you are to catch the web traffic blowing by in your tree. Just do your readers a favor and maintain your core connection.
Image credit: joiseyshowaa
Filed under Blogging, How To | Tags: blog content, blog marketing, blog strategy, Blogging, blogs | Comments (7)
