Apparently there are a lot of sites that try to sell you something that will “enhance” your blogging experience or make you a better blogger. Blog in a Box was one of those sites that promised to help individuals who were excited about the prospect of becoming a blogger but didn’t know where to begin. If I didn’t know about WordPress and Blogger I might have considered “blog in a box” as an option, but why would I when there are so many FREE resources to creating a blog. Not to mention the number of people posting tips and tricks to make your blog successful without ever spending a dime. Just thought I’d mention this since it seemed a relevant topic that was discussed in the last class. Nothing against the guy who wants to earn an honest dollar but just seems silly to try to sell a blog concept.
ProBlogger has some interesting tips regarding keeping in touch with your audience. Two articles that I thought were the most interesting are 12 Ways to Be a More Interactive and Accessible Blogger and How to be a Ruthless Blogger. There are a number of other tips and some interesting questions posted on that site but I found those two articles to be the most informative. Both talk about the importance of setting time aside to focus on blogging and the importance of interacting with your audience, either through email or participating in visitor comments. “12 Ways..” even speaks about how the author uses Twitter and other social networking outlets to engage readers. Forums, conferences and meetups are also a great way to interact with your audience.
Another interesting point I discovered on ProBlogger is the author sets up what he calls a “vanity folder” that allows him to see comments and criticisms about his blog and respond to them. “Reasons to Have a Vanity Folder” goes into a bit more detail about that topic for those that might be interested. ProBlogger has definitely presented itself as a treasure trove of tips and informative topics about being a successful blogger. It is definitely worth checking out.
Blogging Tips: Take Your Blog to the Next Level has an article that discusses what a person can do to generate buzz around their blog. The first thing it says is to post about current issues or controversial information. I think that its a good tip within reason. If the post regarding current issues pertains to the subject criteria you have set forth for your blog then yes current issues are a good addition to your blog. But posting something controversial, current or otherwise just for the sake of getting hype deverts from the true purpose of the blog, whatever that purpose may be depending on the author. Another tip on this site I found to be useful is inviting guests to post on your blog, such as an expert in the field that your blog pertains to or just someone that you admire their opinion regarding the topics on your blog. Definitely an intriguing tip that I may incorporate in my other blog, which is at this moment still a work in progress.
All this information is very interesting and pertains more to personal blogs, rather than company blogs. The article “10 Tips to Becoming a Great Corporate Blogger” reinterates the same principles as the above mentioned articles but speaks more from a corporate standpoint. I found the article to be very concise and to the point. I found this statement to be one of the most important tips regarding blogging:
“Blogger Relations is what blogging is all about—starting and maintaining a conversation. Unlike Public Relations or media relations where you are trying to pitch your story, with Blogger Relations you initiate and participate in ongoing discussions with other bloggers and your target audience. As the conversation progresses, you get to know the other players in your industry; you gain credibility by listening as well as commenting; and you gain new readers as other bloggers provide links back to your blog to give you credit for your ideas.”
Essentially what I learned from all this research is that to become a successful blogger you have to be willing to converse with your audience, keep in touch with them and above all relate to them about a subject that you are passionate enough to keep posting about on a regular basis.
Posted by usernumber on April 29, 2008 at 12:50 AM
Hahaha Ruthless Blogger. That’s so violent.
Holy crap I had no idea you could track keywords. Wow.
Yeah… I think controversial is my middle name.
Good post
Posted by Stephen Turcotte on April 29, 2008 at 12:19 PM
Thanks for reviewing our “10 Tips to Becoming a Great Corporate Blogger” article. You highlighted “Bloggers Relations” as being the “most important tip”. The reason this is so important and valuable is because it’s not something that can be churned out on a production line.
Posted by fanatiq on April 29, 2008 at 7:14 PM
I really liked the article you posted called, “Reasons to Have a Vanity Folder in Your News Aggregator.” I like that it explains all the things you need to do in order to maintain a successful blog, ensuring you follow through with people who read your blog and possibly rectify problems before they get worse. It was good that the author explains that the “vanity” he’s talking about is not the true definition of being vain, but rather being diligent about what is being said about your blog.
The Corporate Blogging article also provides very useful advice, including building relationships with people who read your blog (which they seem to be doing with the comment above
.
Posted by jdbosley on April 29, 2008 at 7:47 PM
I also read a bunch of different bloggers advice on how to improve your blog and attract readers. With all of this free information out there it seems that companies like “blog in a box” wouldn’t really have much of a market. Except for the type of people that want everything done for them, which definitely would not be something that would draw me to them as a reader. I wonder how many do-it-yourself services and instructional publications will still be left in 10 years when everyone can find any information they are looking for by searching wikis or blogs on the subject.
Posted by nicosilva on April 30, 2008 at 1:53 PM
That “blog in a box” guy will probably make a killing off of it. There are people out there who don’t know how to search. I’m serious. It may seem silly to us, but there are people who pay companies to search for them (my boyfriend almost got a job at one of those; they pay you about $15 an hour to use Google – cushy job, huh?). That “box” guy is just trying to capitalize on a popular subject. He’s apparently one of those that doesn’t like to give their information freely.
Exactly! Your last sentence puts it all so succinctly. Blogging is all about giving fresh content, interacting with the readers, and being passionate about what you write. All the blogs I’ve found that are popular are entertaining and have good information.
Hey, we used some of the same resources. I guess they’re just that good, huh?
Posted by jlphannah on April 30, 2008 at 10:28 PM
Yeah, lol. I was surprised just how quickly he responded to my post. I love his site http://www.scoutblogging.com/ still want to go back and read some more. Its very professional, which I guess it has to be since its for company executives.
Funny how he commented so quickly to my post and the other guy that writes about the “Vanity Folder” hasn’t said anything. I want to go back on Stephen Turcotte’s blog and tell him how much I enjoyed reading it, but didn’t see an appropriate place to comment. Glad that you all enjoyed my info.
Oh and about the “Blog in a Box” guy, like Johnathan said it is kinda more for someone who wants everything handed to them. I think in a way there will always be a market for that, because their are a lot of people, whatever their reasons may be, that prefer to have things done up for them. Time is a very important thing and some people prefer to spend theirs on other things.
Posted by mwcain81 on May 1, 2008 at 1:55 AM
The Vanity folder seems like a great idea. I like the idea of splitting it into praise and criticisms. Read in one for confidence and the other for a sense of humility.