I often said that ‘comments are not currency’, and recommended they focus on conversions instead of comments.

Let’s take a product review post, for example. If it’s converting well, do you really want to interrupt the buying decision and try to talk them into leaving a comment instead? Of course not.

If they only take ONE action on your page, which action do you want it to be?

-> The buy button or product link!

That said, things are changing, and so is my answer…

I still think you should focus on conversions. You should have a very strong call-to-action, and every piece of content should contain a very clear objective in line with your overall marketing strategy.

BUT – and here comes the part where things are changing – engagement is extremely important in today’s virtual landscape. Anyone with an online business should be giving serious consideration to their “engagement strategy”, and monitoring it just as closely as conversions.

Why Engagement Matters

A steady response both on your blog and social media channels will give you:

• higher social media rank
• better placement in search engine results
• more visibility in search results
• attention from brands, advertisers & sponsors

The Power of an Engaged Audience

I have a new saying, which is based on new algorithms and the constant evolution of the web and social media, and that saying is:

If you have an audience, you can monetize it.

It’s not so much about which niche you choose, the amount of search volume for your keywords, the gravity or score or any other metric for profit potential… anymore. These days, it’s about having an engaged audience and a loyal readership. And if you have that, you will have no problem making a profit. Period.

I used to choose niches based on profit potential. Now I choose niches (or business models) I LOVE. I don’t know about you, but personally – I think these are positive changes and exciting times in the world of online business!

I would love to hear your thoughts. How do you keep YOUR market engaged, or what issues are you having trying to build interactive properties that attract and elicit responses from your target market?

Best,

New to Blogging?

ProBlogger’s Guide to your First Week of Blogging guides you, step by step, through your first week of blogging so you can make the most of those critical first few days while setting up your blog.

It covers: niche selection, audience targeting, content planning, social media and promotions, post ideas and more.

Click here for details & 50% off

(Normally $19.99, but you can get it now for only $9.99 through Friday December 23rd)

Of course, there are great deals for seasoned bloggers as well. These next two guides, both also at half price until Friday, are two that I own myself and refer back to often…

“Give me 31 Days and I’ll Give You a Dramatically Better Blog… Guaranteed”

The 31DBB Problogger Workbook is one of my personal favorites. It has just been updated for 2012 and here is a quick description:

“New and updated for 2012, 31 Days to Build a Better Blog is a downloadable ebook designed to help you revitalize your blog. One step at a time, it will transform your blog into the page view powerhouse you’ve always dreamed of — because we all love seven digit numbers on google analytics!”

Click here for details & 50% off ($29.99, but get it this week for only $14.99!)

See My Review This is a workbook that I have printed off, and keep on my desk. It’s a great guide to refer back to time and again as you continue blogging!

The Bloggers Guide To Online Marketing

“A comprehensive, 31 chapter blueprint for your blog’s ongoing profitability – right from the ground up (AKA more cash!). Backed by an extensive library of practical templates, printable worksheets, and in-practice example documents, this kit delivers all you need to make your blog turn a profit now, and over the long term.”

Click here for details & 50% off (Normally $99, but you can get it now for only $49.99 through Friday December 23rd) See My Review

Those are 3 Very Good Deals to help you kick off the New Year with a running start! And in case you hadn’t considered List Building for your blog, or you need a little help in that area, we also have an exclusive coupon code for List Building For Bloggers. This is another one of my personal favorites, and you can get it for only $14.95 ($10 off) by using the coupon code “clicknewz”. See the link for my review and details on the exclusive discount.

Enjoy!

Best,

p.s. I own 3 out of 4 of these guides myself, and LOVE them! Tons of great information you’ll find yourself referring to over and over again.

One of the things that caught my attention while reading was the different types of bloggers outlined on Page 14, and how knowing which of those three roles you play in the market influences how you relate to them – or them to you.

It can be easy to assume the wrong role, or one that’s less natural for you, making it more difficult to find your place within the niche…

The three types of bloggers discussed were:

• Inspiration
• Expert
• Support

Again, that section is on Page 14 if you have a copy of the guide.

An inspirational blogger is someone you can relate to, and someone that is achieving or doing the thing that you want to achieve yourself. You can learn from their mistakes, get new ideas from them, and even be inspired seeing what to expect as you work toward the same goals.

An expert blogger is someone that is successful and has helped others achieve the same success – in any given niche, or on any topic. It might be someone that is a skydiving instructor sharing tips and advice, and making recommendations from professional experience for example.

A supportive blogger is one that encourages and motivates you. It’s someone you respect and trust, and someone that is there with ideas and support as you work toward something. An example might be a weight loss blogger that hosts a weekly weigh-in, and blogs on topics that take away all your excuses.

All of these roles are important in the blogosphere. Consider the variety of blogs you read yourself. A blogger can even assume more than one of these roles, and in some cases all three.

The key is in knowing WHICH type of blogger you are, as it affects so many aspects of your online business. Not knowing, or assuming the wrong role, can cause conflict – and make it difficult for you and your market to relate well to each other.

Just some food for thought.

I found this insightful and thought-provoking myself, even after blogging full time for more than 8 years now. The entire guide is chock full of ideas and action items that I am giving a lot of consideration.

Speaking of, those who own the guide are meeting online this Wednesday (Sept 14th, 8pm Eastern) for a live Q&A with Darren Rowse (aka Problogger), Chris Garrett and “The Ninja” (a key member of the Problogger team).

The live call is free to those who have the guide – which is more of a kit, actually. And it’s still 50% off. I believe this is the last week for the sale.

You can order it here if you’re interested in blog marketing, and in attending the live call – or getting the recording – as part of the package (no cost for the brainstorming call).

I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this. Are you confident in your role, or combination of roles, or are you still trying to find your place in your market? What role do you feel I take here at ClickNewz, versus the role I take on my niche blog at TravelingLowCarb.com?

Best,

Shawn asks: “I’ve studied your Low Carb site. It looks like a blog but has the shopping pages like a website. I want to do something similar with my niche site — a blog, but also pages for About Me, Product Recommendations and Tips.

Do you have a link to a tutorial on accomplishing that? I know how to install WordPress on a new site and how to add a blog to an existing site, but I’ve never read how to add other pages…”

It’s quite simple actually. You can even create an entire traditional looking “website” with WordPress by using Pages instead of Posts. This is a great way to create affiliate sites that have all the bells & whistles of WordPress (tags, commenting, social plug-ins, etc)…

From your Dashboard, go up to the top right corner where it says “New Post” and use the drop down arrow. One of the options will be “New Page”.

You can also go to Pages in the left sidebar menu of your Dashboard, or click Pages from the main menu in your Dashboard and create a New Page from there.

You’ll have the option to turn comments on or off, and in some themes you’ll have the option to remove the sidebar(s) or leave them.

Adding Pages is a great way to keep some of your best content front and center, as it becomes part of your site navigation.

Best,

Have you heard all the buzz about the new release by Problogger this week, titled The Blogger’s Guide to Online Marketing?

It just came out this week, and it is currently on sale for 50% off during this initial release phase.

I decided to check it out. Given the discounted price and everything it includes, it was too good to pass up.

This is great timing (!) because as you know I have recently taken an interest in finding ways to better connect with my market and with brands on my new niche affiliate blog.

This guide is right on target – helping you dig deep into your brand, your niche, your customers and your competitors. It also covers the best ways to connect with brands & advertisers for long term profitable relationships…

Practical 31-Step Guide to Marketing Your Blog

The Blogger’s Guide to Online Marketing was written by the Web Marketing Ninja, a big part of Darren Rowse’s Problogger team. In addition to the guide, you’ll find that it’s actually bundled as an entire blog marketing kit – complete with a library of 21 templates and examples for hands-on application of the strategies you’ll learn.

I’m actually mentioned in it – twice!
That was an unexpected surprise.
You’ll find those mentions on pages 7 and 77.

Want to dramatically improve your blog’s traffic & revenue?

If you aren’t making money with your blog now, you should be after putting these 31 steps into practice. But this guide isn’t JUST for newbies. In fact, I purchased it myself – and I’ve been blogging for 8 years now (as of August 2011).

Is this kit for you? It’s for you if…

• You’re interested in monetizing your blog(s).
• You want to take things to the next level in your business.
• You’re looking for fresh ideas to market your blog & increase revenue.

It’s no secret that Internet Marketing practices change every day. But many of the strategies in this guide, like: writing your elevator pitch (important!), selling to and managing your advertisers, organizing and planning products & promotions, making PR contacts, and more – will never go out of date.

Would I recommend this guide? Yes!

I love the way this guide (and kit) is laid out. There are 31 steps, and it’s similar to Darren’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog where you could follow along for 31 days if you wanted to do it that way. Each chapter is very detailed with tips, examples and specific steps to build a more profitable business with your blog.

They have really over-delivered with a huge resource library that comes with the guide. In the resource library you’ll find:

• Affiliate Performance Measurement Tool
• Sales Page Templates
• A Product Planning Worksheet
• Product Launch Checklist
• Mind Map
• JV Email Template
• PR Email Templates
• … and a lot more!

It’s all about understanding your market, your brand – and how your market perceives you. This is core marketing strategy that many “marketing guides” skip over altogether. Arguably the most important aspects of your business, and what makes the difference between “blog” and “blah”.

(You know exactly what I’m talking about – it’s that “stuff” that makes some blogs take off, while others never do!)

As I mentioned earlier, the timing couldn’t be better for me personally. My newest niche affiliate blog is coming up on it’s 90 day anniversary in a few short weeks. At only 2 1/2 months, it’s already doing GREAT – in profit, traffic is steadily growing, seeing nice social media interaction, etc. That said, I know I’m missing some key things that could help me really take it up a notch or two. I aim to dig into this guide and see how I can apply these professional strategies to my new business.

Yes I’ve been blogging for 8 years, and do very well with it, but that’s because I am always learning.

My advice: don’t just read this guide and look over the resources. Take Action on each of the lessons, and move on from one to the next at your own pace.

By putting what you learn into practice (as you go!) you’ll be able to make dramatic improvements in shorter time.

If you’re ready to take your blog to the next level, and dramatically increase your traffic & revenue, be sure to download a copy of The Blogger’s Guide to Online Marketing (and the complete kit) while it’s on sale for 50% off…

Click here to see an outline of the topics & the resources included:

As I work through this guide, and all of the tools & templates it comes with, I’ll be sharing updates & ideas with you here. If you’re reading along on your end, we can brainstorm ideas & share results together!

I would love to hear your thoughts on this guide, and all of the resources included with it, once you’ve had a chance to check it all out…

Best,

p.s. Click Here To Get Started The price will increase soon, by double (!), so make sure you get this entire Blog Marketing guide & kit while it’s still on sale

I’m not interested in who’s right and who’s wrong, or opinions about either of these well known online marketers.

What really piqued my interest was the term “content leech”.

We’ve discussed this before. You may recall my tongue-in-cheek post awhile back: I’m a scum-sucking content thief. Not everyone agreed with my delivery there, and not everyone is in agreement on either Ewen or Rosalind’s posts, which means there is still a lot of confusion about what’s right and what’s wrong…

What is a Content Leech?

A content leach is someone that uses automated programs to syndicate content from a variety of sources, and publish that syndicated content on their own website.

The purpose is to generate traffic and revenue, generally through Adsense or affiliate links. It’s often called auto-blogging.

Most people that develop these types of sites rarely write any content of their own. It’s more of a “set it up and forget it” type model. Not a very successful one, mind you. Certainly not a long-term passive income generator as they may have believed, as these sites rarely last long in the major search engines OR with human readers.

leech, noun /lēCH/

An aquatic or terrestrial annelid worm with suckers at both ends. Many species are bloodsucking parasites, esp. of vertebrates, and others are predators

A person who extorts profit from or sponges on others

The point Rosalind was making was the hard work put in by the people who are actually “in the know”, working in the trenches, being stolen by those who simply want to profit from it without doing any real work themselves.

These “content leeches” basically piggy back off of real bloggers by syndicating (stealing?) their content in full on their own domain.

Right or Wrong?

The debate that interested me most in the conversation between Rosalind & Ewen (and their readers) was whether that was ethical or not.

Some believe it is ethical, some believe it is not.

The argument in favor of syndicating content from other blogs seems to be that if you have an RSS feed, and make that freely available, you obviously want people to syndicate your content.

I disagree.

Having an RSS feed is not an open invitation to republish that content via auto-blogging on another domain. Having an RSS feed is a means of allowing your readers to easily subscribe to your content.

It’s a misconception brought on by all the auto-blogging supporters (those creating products for it). But content developers do not agree with that line of thinking.

I know I don’t. Which is why I had a little fun with the content leeches awhile back when there got to be an overwhelming number of them publishing my entire blog posts on other domains.

Rosalind made a point about this in the discussion at her blog, which I agree with. She suggested the appropriate way to share a blog post you like is to publish an excerpt, with a link back to the original post, and add your thoughts to the topic.

Two Examples: Blogging Ideas and Content Marketing Tips from Jason Falls

In both of those examples, the posts were inspired by someone else’s content. I shared the source, and also added my own thoughts to the topic.

This can make for a great blog post, and a great discussion starter with your own readers. But publishing a full blog post with no additional thoughts is just duplicate content. And it’s pointless, in my opinion.

Sharing Content vs Creating Content

Ideally you should be creating more content than you are consuming. And the majority of the content that you share should be your own original content.

Regurgitating everyone else’s content is not ever going to make you a market leader. You’ll be hard pressed to build a readership or a following in your niche if you don’t come up with original, thought-provoking content of your own.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t share content. I do it all the time. It’s the ratio that matters. And whether you are adding anything of value to the discussion.

If your content streams consist mostly of links to someone else’s content, how long do you think it will be before your readers stop following you – and start following the source?

Sharing is GOOD. Don’t get me wrong. And it’s part of your job as a market leader in your niche to point out great posts, threads, newsletters, videos, etc.

But the “quality share” is MUCH different than auto-blogging or RSS-scraping…

Your thoughts?

Best,

p.s. Want to learn how to easily put out lots of high quality, unique content without stressing yourself out? Check out Easy Unique Content

Annemarie O’Bea said: “I’d love to see a list of the WordPress Plugins you find useful. I notice you tend to use some more unique and functional plugins than just the “usual” popular list of seo and social bookmark plugins.”

There are 8 WordPress Plugins that I actively use. I’ll list them for you here, in no particular order, with the plugin links and a quick explanation of why I chose to use them here at ClickNewz…

• Akismet for Comment Moderation

This plugin protects your blog from comment and trackback spam. It’s a must-use, unless you have another plugin installed that serves that purpose.

While it doesn’t catch every spam comment, and often marks legitimate comments as spam, overall it works like a charm. I have an assistant that double checks the comments marked as spam to ensure the legitimate comments get discovered and approved. The website is http://akismet.com

• FeedBurner Plugin

I use FeedBurner to “burn my feed” so that I can have RSS statistics. It also integrates with Aweber and allows me to send out a Blog Broadcast – with combined email/RSS subscriber statistics.

The website is: www.feedburner.com

• KeywordLuv Plugin

I prefer this plugin over CommentLuv, which is more popular. KeywordLuv allows readers to create keyword-rich anchor text for their link, without looking spammy. Read the instructions below this post, above the comment section, to see how it works. You can also see it in action in the comment section. Requires a DoFollow plugin to be effective.

The website is: http://www.scratch99.com/wordpress-plugin-keywordluv/

• Subscribe to Comments Plugin

This is probably one of my favorite plugins. It allows readers to subscribe to comments so that they receive email notification when other comments are posted. It helps everyone stay in the loop on the discussion, which creates a sense of community among readers.

It’s impossible to keep up with all the blogs you comment on, so email notification of new replies is a must. Otherwise questions go unanswered, or answers go unnoticed, which is a real shame.

The website is: http://txfx.net/code/wordpress/subscribe-to-comments/

• TwitterLink Comments Plugin

This is a cool plugin that lets readers include a link to their Twitter ID with their comment. It’s a great way for readers to get to know each other better, in addition to checking out their website. I often follow the people who comment here often, and this plugin makes that super easy.

The website is: http://comluv.com/download/twitterlink-comments

• Slickr Flickr Plugin

I don’t use this one often, but I do love it! It displays photos from Flickr in slideshows and galleries, within a blog post. See example.

The website is: www.slickrflickr.com

• Fast Secure Contact Form Plugin

I no longer use this plugin since I moved my contact to www.AskLynnTerry.com, but it’s still worth mentioning. This plugin lets you create an email contact form on your WordPress blog: “Super customizable with a multi-form feature, optional extra fields, and an option to redirect visitors to any URL after the message is sent. Includes CAPTCHA and Akismet support to block all common spammer tactics.”

The website is: www.fastsecurecontactform.com

• Adsense Plugin by Phil Hord

This plugin is no longer available, and there is no longer an active website at PhilHord.com. That said, the plugin is still working, and very simple to use. You may be able to search “phil hord adsense plugin” and find a download link somewhere. I used it to insert Adsense at the very end of this post as an example…

Which plugins do you use? I look forward to hearing what you use, and more importantly: why. Share your favorites in the comment section below!

Best,

But I wanted to bring this back up again in light of an email I received last week – with a warning for bloggers, and the comments you choose to accept on your blog.

Bloggers: Comment Spam is YOUR responsibility! And you might just lose one of your streams of income over it if you’re not careful…

Here is the email I received last week from Google Adsense:

Subject: You have 3 working days to make changes to your site

During a recent review of your account we found that you are currently
displaying Google ads in a manner that is not compliant with our program
policies
(https://www.google.com/support/adsense/bin/answer.py?answer=48182&stc=aspe-1pp-en).

————————————————–
EXAMPLE PAGE: (link removed)

Please note that this URL is an example and that the same violations may
exist on other pages of this website or other sites in your network.

VIOLATION(S) FOUND:

COMMENT SPAM:
As stated in our program policies, AdSense publishers may
not display Google ads on pages with adult or mature content. While we
understand that it may be challenging to monitor user-generated content,
such as comments, on your site, we require publishers to check that the
webpages containing their ad code complies with our program policies. More
information about this policy can be found in our help center
(https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=116000).

REQUESTED ACTION:
Please make all necessary changes in the next 72 hours.

If the violations are corrected within the aforementioned time period, ad
serving will not be affected. If changes are not made and/or other policy
violations are encountered during the review process, ad serving will be
disabled to your site.

ACCOUNT STATUS: ACTIVE

Your AdSense account remains active. However, if we continue to find
problems, we may disable your entire account. Therefore, we suggest that
you take the time to review the rest of your network to ensure that all of
your other pages are in compliance with our policies.

Yes, you read that right.

Comment Spam can get your Google Adsense account disabled.

They may not be the only merchant you work with that takes this same action. In addition to your merchants and/or vendors, certain comment spam will reflect very badly on your professional reputation with your target market as well.

I thought this would be a good opportunity to look at Comment Spam from the other side of the coin. Yes it sucks, and yes we all think it’s annoying. But there is nothing we can do to stop it completely – and ultimately, we ARE responsible for what shows up on our sites.

I fixed the offending comment Google referred to, by the way. Sometimes they’re sneaky, masked behind non-adult anchor text for example. I can only imagine the undertaking of reviewing my entire network of content, after almost 8 years of blogging. Surely a few others did sneak through over the years. I can only hope they, and other merchants, will give me a 3-day warning again if others are found.

Just a little heads-up. It’s something to keep an eye on. Be sure to install good spam-catching plug-ins, outsource your comment moderation, and keep a close eye on the comments that get published on your blog!

UPDATE! I received another email from Google this morning…

Hello,

We previously notified you about a policy violation on your site, and we asked that you make changes within 3 working days. After reviewing your site, we’ve found that the previous violation was not corrected, or we’ve found another violation. Therefore, we’ve disabled ad serving to your site.

Your AdSense account remains active. However, we strongly suggest that you take the time to review our program policies (https://www.google.com/adsense/policies) to ensure that all of your remaining pages are in compliance.

Please note that we reserve the right to disable your account at any time.

Sincerely,

The Google AdSense Team

Boo! Fortunately I don’t focus much on Google Adsense, and won’t feel a sting from losing them in my affiliate network. Interesting to note, they gave me no way to respond or request re-inclusion.

That said, this is obviously a BIG issue and one I need to figure out a way to resolve (without the obvious easy route of disabling comments altogether – lol). Bah.

I hope this proves a helpful lesson for you, especially if you do rely on Google Adsense as a strong stream of revenue on any of your blogs.

Watch those comments carefully!

Best,

Highly Recommended for EVERY Blogger (You’ll love this!!):

For Day 16, refer to pages 40-42 in the
31 Day Guide to Growing Your List

There are some great ideas in our guide, and I have some additional ideas to share with you for this strategy – even if you don’t want to invest the time & energy into maintaining a blog of your own!

So You Have A Squeeze Page…

The biggest problem marketers have after they create a squeeze page… is getting traffic to it! We’ve discussed 5 great strategies for promoting your squeeze page already in this GYL series, including:

• Joint Venture Partners
• Attracting Super Affiliates
• Free Search Engine Traffic
• Pay-Per-Click Marketing
• Article Marketing

Some of those may work better for you than others, depending on whether you have a paid product, or just a free opt-in incentive on your squeeze page. But don’t rule any of them out! I’ve seen marketers offer an affiliate program for a free newsletter, paying 50 cents or even $1 per lead.

Scott Boulch comes to mind, for anyone that recalls that campaign (2007). Of course, none of his links are currently working, but it was a great strategy and a great example. He came on the scene out of nowhere and built a targeted mailing list of almost 40,000 subscribers.

If you are confident in the per-lead value of your list, this is something you might consider. Like I said, get creative and consider every single strategy before you throw it out completely.

Using Blogs To Promote A Squeeze Page

I said “blogs” instead of a blog for a reason. This is a strategy that will work very well for you whether you have a blog of your own or not, and especially well if you already do – or choose to set up a blog (easy!).

As we discussed earlier in the series, you optimized your squeeze page to attract buyers using commercial keyword phrases instead of just freebie seekers.

Since you can only optimize your single squeeze page for so many keyword phrases (generally 2-3 at most), you end up missing out on all the other related keyword phrases your target market is searching. You may also find it harder to get quality (unsolicited) inbound links to a squeeze page, so it’s a bit more work to get it ranking well for your chosen keyword phrase(s).

This Is Where Blogs Come In And Save The Day!

Using blog posts, you can target all of the relevant keyword phrases in your niche – both informational and commercial. This will increase your market reach dramatically and also give you an opportunity to convert searchers into subscribers. A great way to effectively move them into your funnel so you can build on that relationship with your autoresponder series!

Each blog post you write, whether on your own blog or on other blogs in your niche, is a unique opportunity to engage your target market in conversation. And more importantly: engage them into taking action.

That’s what keyword phrases are, by the way. They aren’t just marketing tools. They’re conversation starters. They are real words (searches, questions) typed into the search engines by real people looking for real answers. Since you know what your market is asking, you can effectively enter that conversation by writing content that is optimized to meet them where they are: browsing the search results.

Great blog posts will:

• Attract quality inbound links
• Give you social media content
• Put you in a position to *talk* to (and hear from!) your target market
• Easily rank well for very specific search terms

These engaging, well-ranking blog posts will also end with a very relevant and strong call-to-action that funnels your highly targeted search engine traffic straight to your squeeze page… completely pre-sold on your irresistible offer!

I Do Not Want To Maintain A Blog…

Okay, okay – I get it. It can be a bit of work. And if that’s not in your plan, and I can’t convince you otherwise, you can STILL capitalize on all the benefits of this surefire marketing strategy.

Instead of setting up a blog yourself, and doing all the groundwork to build a readership, simply leverage those who have already done the work in your market. Find the top blogs in your niche, and guest post there.

They have worked hard to build a readership, build a mailing list and social media following, get top search engine rankings, etc. Like I said, leverage that by giving them the one thing they need most: quality unique content their readers will love.

In exchange, they will give you a link back to your site – a chance to entice their readers to visit your squeeze page.

Even if you DO have a blog, you should be leveraging the other blogs in your space. Guest Blogging is the easiest way to increase traffic *and* get high quality backlinks to your pages.

Your Task For Today:

Start a blog on your topic. If you already have a blog, start targeting keyword phrases that will attract ideal subscribers for your mailing list. Write posts, optimize them for those keyword phrases, and be sure to lead them strategically into your squeeze page. You can also put the opt-in form right there at the end of the blog post, eliminating a step in the process for the call-to-aciton.

Resources:

• How to Start a WordPress Blog
• 7 Elements to a GREAT Blog Post

Best,

p.s. Blogs are a PERFECT way to build trust and credibility in your market, and to build a super responsive mailing list. See List Building For Bloggers.

A must-read!

(are you 100% sure of your answer?)

I actually thought I was doing a pretty good job with my own Blog Email Notification… until I read List Building for Bloggers, that is.

I discovered a whole slew of cool things I should be doing. Things that will immediately increase my opt-in rate, increase my click-through rate, and the biggie: increase engagement and conversions! The cool thing is – they were all super simple things I could easily implement…

Note: We have an exclusive coupon code for this guide!
Download it for only $14.95 using the code “clicknewz”

List Building for Bloggers

I downloaded this guide a few days ago, as it fits in perfectly with my theme of List Building this month. I thought I would give it a quick review to see if it’s relevant, and pretty much expected a standard ebook. (I read a lot of them.)

For less than $25 I can always be sure to get at least one tip or resource that is worth 10x what I paid, and often learn something from their model or follow-up.

This particular guide though… totally exceeded my expectations!

I wasn’t familiar with the author, Phil Hollows. He is the founder and CEO of FeedBlitz, and has also been blogging since 2003.

My first thought was that the guide would revolve entirely around the FeedBlitz service, which may not suit me since I use Aweber.

But that wasn’t the case at all. I found the entire guide to be relevant, regardless of which email management solution you’re using. (thumbs up for that, Phil!)

I’ve been managing email lists for more than 10 years, and blogging for almost 8 years. I’m no newbie to either publishing medium…

I decided to print the guide out and give it a read on the back deck. ->

I caught (friendly) flack for that on Facebook – shame on me for not reading it on my shiny iPad! LOL

But I was really glad I printed a copy once I started reading it, and realized how many notes I was going to take.

I made tons of actionable notes and highlights in the guide! Like I said, what started out as a simple review… totally exceeded my expectations. Even as an experienced blogger & marketer.

At the same time, it’s very “newbie friendly”.

I should think, for a writer in our space, that’s not so easy to accomplish. Phil has a great (!) writing style though, and this is one of those odd non-fiction books that is actually a page-turner. Also not easy to accomplish.

It’s a very easy read, enjoyable even, and I can’t think of a single blogger this guide wouldn’t suit. From the casual blogger to the professional blogger, from the newbie to those with years of experience under their belt, this is a must-read for anyone blogging in 2011.

Praise for the List Building For Bloggers guide came from top leaders in the industry, including Seth Godin and Denise Wakeman among others. Seth Godin even wrote An Appreciation at the beginning of the guide, where he said:

“Email is ten times more impactful and responsive than just about any form of media ever developed.” … “Phil Hollows is a mensch, and a generous one. In this book, he’s sharing a ton. Stuff he learned the hard way. Ignore it at your own peril.” -Seth Godin, page viii

It’s Easy To Ignore Email Marketing

It’s very easy to ignore your email marketing strategy. Particularly once you set up the basics and have it running on “auto pilot”. As a blogger you probably added a form, set up a confirmation message, and let your mailing list manager do the rest (send out your blog posts on a schedule).

It’s also easy to focus on other things, or get caught up in social media instead of paying (special) attention to your email subscribers. Phil really knocked me over the head with that one!

You’re not alone. That’s the reason I’m hosting this entire series on List Building, and why I am revisiting my own strategy to see where I can spruce it up a bit.

I have to say, reading Chapter One alone really got me excited about email marketing all over again. It made me realize what was lacking, how EASY it was to fix, and just how important my mailing list is to my business…

What’s Inside (A Sneak Peek)

Since Phil doesn’t show the Table of Contents on the order page, I’ll outline it here for you real quick. You’ll be amazed at what all he covers in his guide for the price!

Here goes (and pardon the caps, I copied only the chapter titles – without subchapters – from the TOC straight out of the guide)…

• WHY AREN’T EMAIL LISTS EXTINCT IN THE AGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA?
• LISTS, EMAIL MARKETING AND YOUR BLOG
• EMAIL FACTS, FEAR AND MYTHOLOGY
• FIVE KEY STEPS TO GROW YOUR BLOG’S MAILING LIST
• ACCELERATING LIST GROWTH
• IMPROVING ENGAGEMENT
• GETTING TO THE INBOX AND AVOIDING THE SPAM TRAP
• CAN-SPAM CASE STUDY: BEING LEGAL IS NOT ENOUGH
• MAILING LIST UNDER-PERFORMING? 13 OPTIMIZATION TIPS TO USE NOW!
• AUTORESPONDERS: WHAT, WHY AND HOW
• INCENTIVES: THE RISKS OF OFFERING REWARDS
• SEVEN TOP LANDING PAGE TIPS
• FROM FAN TO SP*M: ANTI-SOCIAL NETWORKING
• ARE YOU IN THE THREE DANGER ZONES OF SPAMMINESS?
• HTML EMAIL DESIGN TIPS
• ONE BLOG, MANY LISTS, MUCH SUCCESS
• THE PRIZES AND PITFALLS OF PERSONALIZATION
• PRACTICAL PERSONALIZATION: BIRTHDAY LISTS
• CASE STUDY: LINKEDIN 100 MILLION USER EMAIL
• CHOOSING A SERVICE: DIY OR OUTSOURCE; FREE OR PAID?
• A CASE STUDY IN THREE ACTS: ZOMBIES!
• BONUS CHAPTER: HOW TO USE TWITTER FOR REAL-TIME LEAD GENERATION
• THE TOP TEN EMAIL POWER TIPS: TWO WEEKS TO EMAIL HEAVEN

http://www.listbuildingforblogs.com

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It’s broken up nicely into sub-chapters in each of those sections as well, which I didn’t include titles for. I have to leave a little secret stuff for you to discover on your own, you know.

I could rave about this brand new guide all day long, but I’m actually off to start implementing all the creative ideas and cool notes I took while reading it!

I’ll close by saying… this is it.

Forget old school “internet marketing guru” style training on building your list.

THIS is the guide you need for “Email Engagement” in 2011. It discusses your mobile readers, social media, tips that actually make your readers *like* you (instead of report you – lol). I am very impressed with the depth and accuracy of this guide, and highly recommend it to every blogger.

Ready to dig in? Download List Building For Bloggers

Note: We have an exclusive coupon code for this guide!
Download it for only $14.95 using the code “clicknewz”

Best,

There are millions of blogs, so as a blog author how do you differentiate yourself and get more readers?

BlogBuzzer is a tool that allows you to “ping” your blog to all of the major blog directories and search engines for free…

What is pinging?
Pinging is a way of notifying other websites that you have made an update to your blog or website and you would like for them to include it in their search results. As a blog author you have the ability to ping your blog every time you make a new post so that it will be included in the search results for blog directories.

How does pinging help get visitors?
After pinging your blog using BlogBuzzer your new posts will be picked up and searchable across the internet. Especially useful for current events or news web surfers will see your articles and visit your blog.

Social Media with BlogBuzzer
In addition to pinging your blog for free with BlogBuzzer you have the ability to sign up for a premium membership ($19 a year) which includes automatic pinging of your blog on a daily basis, as well as submission to social media sites including: Twitter, Delicious, StumbleUpon, Google, Yahoo and Bing.

You can start getting more readers to your blog immediately by pinging your blog for free with BlogBuzzer. To ping your blog just go to www.BlogBuzzer.com enter your blog’s name and url and click “Ping”.

** Guest Post by BlogBuzzer **

What do you do when you’re out of blogging ideas??

I participate in Nicole’s “expert briefs” every chance I get, but since I didn’t contribute to this post I thought I would share my thoughts & tips on the topic with you here.

There was great advice offered in the post, and even a free download. I was inspired with an idea for my next blog post while there (!) and I’ll share the details in a few…

Some of my favorite tips & sources they shared for coming up with content or blogging ideas include:

• Current News & Events
• Questions People Ask You
• Things You’re Reading (Blogs, Books, Social Media updates)
• Keyword Research
• ASK Your Readers/Followers!
• Known & Not-So-Known Holidays

See the full post here: What Should I Blog About Next?

Blogging Ideas for Product & E-Commerce Sites

I mentioned a great tip in my ASW11 Recap post that came from the SEO Site Clinic, regarding blogging and social media content:

If you have a product-based (e-commerce style) site, use social media & blogging for link bait instead of “making a sale”. Use content to engage your market with viral, outrageous, humorous topics – with the focus on getting quality links & valuable exposure.

For those of you with product-based or commercial websites, you’ll want to get creative with your content. Let’s say you have a gift basket site, for example. Blog post ideas might include: Top 10 WORST Gifts of All Time, What NOT To Give A Woman For Christmas, etc.

By keeping it light, fun, and engaging you increase your chances of readers sharing your content – and getting those much needed quality inbound links.

Of course, you’ll always end with a call-to-action and link back into your specific product pages.

From the ClickNewz Archives…

30 Rocking Search Phrases To Inspire Great Content For Your Blog

My Top Sources For Web Content & Blogging Ideas

5 Types of Web Content That Readers Love

The Secret To Writing Really Great Content

THIS Post Is A Good Example

The post you are reading right now… serves as a great example of the tips offered in Nicole’s blog post. I read it, liked it, wanted to share it, and decided to take their advice and expand on it here at my own blog. Bingo – blogging idea turned published post! That was easy, wasn’t it?

Best,

This includes my personal favorite, the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog guide, as well as The Copyrighting Scorecard for Bloggers (which I am ordering today).

The discount code is: november25

Add that coupon code while in the shopping cart and then hit ‘update cart’ – the discount will be applied.

31DBB is normally $39, but currently on sale for only $19.95. Using the coupon code, you can get it today for only $14.96.
The coupon code is good today only, until 5am Eastern on December 1st.

As I mentioned, that coupon code is also good on The Copyrighting Scorecard for Bloggers. Consider these 3 questions:

* How do I get more readers to my blog?
* How do I become more authoritative in my niche?
* How do I make my blog profitable?

If you’ve been asking any of those questions yourself, this may be just what you’re looking for to help you take your blogging to the next level. Check out the details on this product, including the reviews from other bloggers.

The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers is much more than simply a checklist. In addition to an actual scorecard (actually you get 2 versions of it – one to print out and another that you can use to rate posts from within the pdf) this PDF resource includes solid practical teaching on different elements of writing blog posts.

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The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers is $29.97, but using the november25 coupon code makes it only $22.48 today (saves you 25%, or $7.49).

Here are both links again:

1. 31 Days to Build a Better Blog
2. The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers

If you’ve been meaning to grab a copy of 31DBB, today is a good day to do that!

Best,

p.s.Today is also the last day for Adrian Ling’s major discount on Easy Clickmate, bundled with his other two products: Easy ClickGuard and CBListAutomator. They are normally $67, $67 & $47 – but today only you can get ALL 3 for only $49.97! Click here for the details… (Adrian is also throwing in free installation for all 3!)

Have you ever heard that advice before? Sure you have, and it’s not bad advice at all. Yet, what happens if you don’t have a list or any readers at this point? Aren’t getting the response you hoped for or are just plain uninspired by the questions you do receive.

Thanks to the tremendous growth of social media, this is how you break in. You find the questions people are asking.

The following is a list of search phrases to get you started. By the time you are done using this list, I guarantee you will have a sweet list of blog posts in your drafts…

1. How do you ___
2. How do I ___
3. How do I make ___
4. How do I get ___
5. How to ___
6. How do I fix ___
7. Where can I get ___
8. Where can I find ___
9. Can you recommend ___
10. Can anyone recommend a ___
11. What is a good ___
12.Any tips ___
13.Any ideas ___
14. ___ help please
15. Thinking about getting ___
16.Looking to buy ___
17. Want to buy ___
18. Need a new ___
19. Things do to___
20. What to do___

The following phrases will yield better results when using a keyword research tool like Wordtracker:

21. Learn ___
22. ___ tips e.g. Hair color tips
23. Fix ___
24. ___ list
25. List of ___
26. Numbers – this probably works best on keyword searched than social
media but wow, you find out a lot with a number. For example, “20
questions to get to know someone” is enjoying 923 searches according
to Wordtracker.
27. ___ checklist
28. ___ cheatsheet
29. Guide to ___
30. ___ ideas

What do you think? Can you start one or two blog posts or articles now? Keep in mind. It doesn’t all have to be in social media. You can use it with a keyword research tool or try the phrases on good old fashioned forums.

What I love about doing it in forums, you can respond there and then. You gain a little bit of exposure, attention and credibility. And since you already started writing, there’s no excuse to stop. Simply copy your response to your blog and expand on the topic – great way to re-purpose your work, getting more bang for your time.

If you’re still stuck with content ideas or you need a different kind of writing prompt, come on over to BlogEnergizer. We’ll show you even more stuff you can blog about every week!

—Enjoy this Guest Post? Learn More About Lynette!—
Lynette Chandler is the technical go-to gal for many small business marketers. You’ll find her any day at http://TechBasedMarketing.com/news where you can sign up to receive tips on leveraging technology and download a list of “180 Free Tools You can Use To Build Your Business”.

They signed up at blogger.com 2 years ago (September 2008) and started blogging together. You’ll find their blog at Stickhorse Cowgirls where they co-blog often and generously.

It’s a fun blog, and one I enjoy reading from time to time myself. They cover a variety of topics, and definitely keep it interesting. One thing I can say about these ladies is that they definitely love to blog!

But the time has come for them to ask the question: “How can we support it?”

As a group, let’s take a look at http://stickhorsecowgirls.blogspot.com and give them some collective advice and ideas on how they can begin to monetize their active 2-year old blog…

After reading through several posts and pages myself, I would guess that the idea of plastering ads all over their blog is not really appealing to them. That, or writing reviews and product recommendations, which might interrupt the flow and change the entire tone of their current “writing from the heart” style.

They have more of a personal blog with a genuine readership, than a highly optimized commercial blog. People subscribe and read Stickhorse Cowgirls because they like the content and the authors. They read it for enjoyment. “C” and “V” write it for the same reason – because they enjoy it.

Options to Monetize the Blog Include:

• Very gently weaving contextual affiliate links into your posts. It may be easier to start with archived posts at first, than to try to write with this in mind. For example, in this post: C: Information, Please you could easily use Amazon affiliate links to hyperlink your Trivial Pursuit graphic to the game on Amazon, and also the iPad image & text. You could hyperlink “Best Buy” with an affiliate link to their website. There are actually several opportunities to casually hyperlink to resources & mentions as an affiliate in this post and others.

• Accept Donations. This is not one of my favorite methods, but it has been popular and even successful for some bloggers. You can simply add a PayPal button to the sidebar with a note, or there are plugins you can use for this as well.

• Work with Sponsors. This may be a great option if you have a loyal readership and good traffic numbers. Unfortunately Blogger doesn’t give you traffic stats (or they didn’t last time I looked) which could be a problem. But you may very well find interested advertisers or sponsors that would like to reach your audience.

• Create Your Own Products. You can create a store through CafePress and offer fun relative items. Perhaps themed products that go with topics your readers really relate to. You might also take your writings and create a book – a memoir or collection even. Items like this are fun and personal and will appeal to loyal readers. They can also be used in giveaways to generate interest.

Obviously you can work in a combination of these methods, and weave them into your writing in a way that interests your readers. Many bloggers make the mistake of plastering Adsense or other advertisements all over the blog, which can be a big turn-off (and even cause a “reader revolt”). If you decide to create a book, talk about the creation and process of it as you go. If you take on a sponsor, introduce them to your readers and let them know why you chose that particular sponsor, etc.

One last note…

I highly recommend that you get your own domain name – at the very least. I would love to see you switch over to WordPress on your own hosting account as well. But at the least you do need to be in control of the address in case you ever need to change the location of your blog. See: Blogger vs WordPress for good reasons to consider this.

Feedback From ClickNewz Readers

You’ve heard my ideas – now let’s hear from YOU! ClickNewz Readers are some of the brightest and most creative people I know. Take a look at the blog and leave a comment below for “C” and “V” with any ideas that come to mind:

http://www.stickhorsecowgirls.blogspot.com

What advice do you have for them?

Best,