I have seen an increase in blog install requests from my clients since the new year. After installing their blogs and customizing the template, I send out instructions on accessing the blog, creating categories, writing posts, and so forth. On occasion I also include some ideas for getting traffic to their blogs. Afterwards, a client sometimes will email me asking - what should I blog about? It’s a common question, one I often find myself asking.
Obviously my responses are tailored specifically to their particular industry (for example, I tell my candy wrapping clients to write about party favors, planning baby/wedding showers, general party planning, etc.) but here are some generic ideas to help get you started with writing blog posts.
- Write a product review. If you sell actual products from your website, this will be an easy task as you can feature your own products and link right to your own shopping cart. Highlight the products features, how to use it, etc. If you don’t sell products, review products related to your website content. As a web designer, I reviewed many web design programs and included them on my web design site. Be sure to include your affiliate link if possible.
- Write tutorials for your products and/or services. This is a great way to add content - both to your blog and website. I have a client who sells adult toys and she has written articles that tell her customers how to use the toys she sells. She linked the articles to the product in her shopping cart. I provided clients with short tutorials on my old web design site, like how to set-up web hosting, registering a new domain, etc.
- Announce sales and promotions. It’s your blog, use it to your advantage. If you are offering a discount on something, write about it in your blog.
- Ask for suggestions from readers. Involve your blog readers by asking questions in your blog. For example, find out what products they would like to see available in your online store.
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Author: Gerae Lindsey |
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Okay, you’ve finally decided to start your own blog. The blog has been installed, style sheets edited to fit your personality and you have been working tirelessly adding high-quality original content. Mission completed.
Now you just sit back and wait for the money to start rolling in right? Ummm… not quite. Sorry.
It’s a common misconception many new bloggers (and website owners in general) have. Create a nice looking site, add good content to it and magically, the search engines will spider your pages and visitors will appear.
The truth is, gaining traffic and readers can be hard work. Work you must complete if you want your blog to succeed. And since I am assuming you want to profit from your blog - you know, make money from it - you must be successful. So how do you increase traffic to your blog?
There are thousands of articles on the net regarding traffic and tips to bring more of it in, but here are tips I give my own clients (many who are working from home to make extra money) after installing a blog for them.
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Author: Gerae Lindsey |
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Well it took me 2 months but I *finally* installed and set-up the SEO Title Tag Plugin I mentioned back in July. Good thing I waited so long, it was so difficult to install - NOT! I had it up and running in under 5 minutes. It was super easy, just FTP, activate and edit a few variables. I love it. Incredibly easy to manage.
Do yourself a favor and don’t be a procrastinator like me. Download this and install it now if you haven’t already done so.
Why this will help my blog and yours too (go install it now!):
Adding (or fixing) the title tags of your pages can often generate quick and appreciable differences to your rankings.
Title tags are considered one of the “big three” as far as the algorithmic weight given to them by search engines.
When calculating a sites relevance to a search, most search engines consider the title tag as one of the parameters and display that content in search engine results pages.
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Author: Gerae Lindsey |
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While I was editing my blog layout, I came across this free tool that helps you add RSS buttons for different websites. It is so easy to use, just select the buttons to display and it provides you with the code to add to your page.
This tool will easily allow you to create RSS buttons or “chicklets” for your blog. Adding links to your blog visitors’ favorite RSS reader can increase the number of subscribers to your blog substantially.
Button choices include Google, Yahoo, AOL, MSN, NewsGator, Technorati and more. If you have been having trouble tracking down buttons to add to your blog, or just need help adding the code, the RSS Button Maker is for you.
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Author: Gerae Lindsey |
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