Blogging Resources

Category: Viral Marketing, Social Media

Summary & Overview

A blog (a contraction of the term “weblog”) is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (Art blog), photographs (photo blog), videos (Video blogging), music (MP3 blog), and audio (podcasting). Micro blogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts.
As of December 2007, blog search engine Technorati was tracking more than 112 million blogs.
There are many different types of blogs, differing not only in the type of content, but also in the way that content is delivered or written.

Personal blogs
The personal blog, an ongoing diary or commentary by an individual, is the traditional, most common blog. Personal bloggers usually take pride in their blog posts, even if their blog is never read by anyone but them. Blogs often become more than a way to just communicate; they become a way to reflect on life or works of art. Blogging can have a sentimental quality. Few personal blogs rise to fame and the mainstream, but some personal blogs quickly garner an extensive following. A type of personal blog is referred to as “microblogging,” which is extremely detailed blogging as it seeks to capture a moment in time. Sites such as Twitter, allow bloggers to share thoughts and feelings instantaneously with friends and family and is much faster than e-mailing or writing.

Corporate and organizational blogs
A blog can be private, as in most cases, or it can be for business purposes. Blogs, either used internally to enhance the communication and culture in a corporation or externally for marketing, branding or public relations purposes are called corporate blogs. Similar blogs for clubs and societies are called club blogs, group blogs, or by similar names; typical use is to inform members and other interested parties of club and member activities.

By genre
Some blogs focus on a particular subject, such as political blogs, travel blogs (also known as travelogs), house blogs, fashion blogs, project blogs, education blogs, niche blogs, classical music blogs, quizzing blogs and legal blogs (often referred to as a blawgs) or dreamlogs. Two common types of genre blogs are art blogs and music blogs. A blog featuring discussions especially about home and family is not uncommonly called a mom blog. While not a legitimate type of blog, one used for the sole purpose of spamming is known as a Splog.

By media type
A blog comprising videos is called a vlog, one comprising links is called a linklog, a site containing a portfolio of sketches is called a sketchblog or one comprising photos is called a photoblog. Blogs with shorter posts and mixed media types are called tumblelogs. Blogs that are written on typewriters and then scanned are called typecast or typecast blogs; see typecasting (blogging).
A rare type of blog hosted on the Gopher Protocol is known as a Phlog.

By device
Blogs can also be defined by which type of device is used to compose it. A blog written by a mobile device like a mobile phone or PDA could be called a moblog. One early blog was Wearable Wireless Webcam, an online shared diary of a person's personal life combining text, video, and pictures transmitted live from a wearable computer and EyeTap device to a web site. This practice of semi-automated blogging with live video together with text was referred to as sousveillance. Such journals have been used as evidence in legal matters.

Setup Time
Less than 1 Hour.

Ongoing Maintenance
Blogs require frequent and ongoing maintenance as the addition of fresh content – writing, photos, video, etc. – is necessary in order for a blog to remain effective.

Cost
Free.

Speed of Results
Moderate.

Basic Use
A blog is a website that allows you to quickly and easily add fresh content whenever you wish. Blogs can be about your personal life, your hobbies and interests, your business, or a combination of everything. Blogs are easy to publish (you only need to know how to type, easy to find (your audience can easily find your content), social (a great way to build a presence in the online community), viral (your blog posts can be virally distributed), and easy to link to and from.

While there are many different blogging “platforms” available, if you are new to blogging we recommend either www.Wordpress.com or www.Blogger.com for ease of setup and use while you are learning the ropes. Both provide flexibility, tutorials and support. You can easily migrate your content from one blogging platform to another should you choose to switch platforms down the road.
One important distinction: Wordpress.com will place its own ads on your website while Blogger.com will allow you to place your own advertising on your website.

If you use www.wordpress.org then you get to pay for the hosting and this means you have total control of the content and adverts. No risk of wordpress.com shutting you down then for being too promotional as happened to me.
The written content you post on your blog is referred to as a “blog post.” Your blog posts can show up in the search engine results of Google for specific keywords that are in your posts. For example, if you wrote a blog post about “the difference between direct sales and MLM,” your blog could show up in Google’s results when someone searches for “direct sales”.

As a team member associated with Michael Wyrosdick, you should consider both personal blogging to share your personal story with your readers as well as business blogging to share your business information with your audience.

Basic Action Steps

www.Wordpress.com
www.Blogger.com

Write Your First Blog Post

Easy Ways to Get Blog Post Ideas:
• Write down 5 things you learned today, and post it on your blog.
• When you learn something new, post it on your blog.
• When you do something fun, post it on your blog.
• When you make a video, post it on your blog.
• When you take new pictures, post them on your blog along with a description of what you did.
• When you have a strong opinion about something, post it on your blog.
• When you submit a new article or press release, post the link with a brief summary on your blog.
• If you have the solution to a common problem in the industry, make a blog post.

“Ping” It

When you “ping” your blog you are notifying the search engines that you have new content on your blog.
Step One: Go to www.pingomatic.com
Step Two: Enter the name and the URL of your blog.
Step Three: Click all blog services to Ping.
Step Four: Make sure you ping every time you update your blog with new content.

Manage Comments

Comments are good; it means your readers have a pulse! Always respond to your readers who take the time to leave a comment. If someone makes a general comment you can always respond with “Thanks for reading! Come back soon!” If you disagree with a comment one of your readers leaves on your blog, let them know WHY you disagree but don't be defensive. Be open to joining the conversation and backing up your opinion in an intelligent way. Remember, you want to give your readers a reason to come back to your blog often, even every day.

Basic Tips & Tricks
• Don't ever plagiarize. This goes without saying. If you are quoting content from another source be sure to cite your references and include any appropriate links.
• Always be yourself; be original and don’t be afraid to share your opinions.
• Avoid clichés.
• Provide Fresh Content. “How To” lists can get old if you're just saying the same old stuff over and over again. Use tools like “Google Alerts” to find out what people are interested in and talking about.
• Provide solid content, not just sale pitches. Your blog posts should not sound like sales pitches. You should be sharing valuable thoughts, ideas, and opinions with your readers. As a rule of thumb in blogging (and in marketing in general), you want to provide 80% content for every 20% sales pitch. This means 80% of the words and content on your blog should be valuable content for your readers. The other 20% can be about what you have to offer and where they can buy it.
• Engage in meaningful dialogue with your readers through comments. Be gracious but also don't be afraid to debate ideas with your readers. Your audience will increase as your readers share your blog with their circle of influence and they’ll be more likely to do this if you take the time to acknowledge their interest in your blog.
• Not all of your posts need to be 100% grammatically polished or correct. Sometimes your post is just about getting your quick thoughts down and other times, depending on the topic, you'll want to make sure your post is polished.
• When sharing your opinions, consider framing your thoughts in such a way where you acknowledge that you COULD be wrong. If you come across as being close-minded to new ideas or other viewpoints (i.e. “I am right and if you disagree with me you are wrong”) you run the risk of turning your readers off. However, if you pose your opinions from a “here's what I'm thinking right now” perspective, you could encourage some healthy debate in your comments. With that said, some of the most successful blogs are highly controversial and unapologetically opinionated.
• Check out other blogs. Examine other blogger’s styles and discover what you like and what you don’t like.
• Always tweet your new blog posts.

Intermediate Strategies

Blogging Etiquette

When you include a link to another site in your blog post Wordpress will automatically “ping” that site letting them know you just linked to them. If both blogs are on the same platform you should see a reference to your trackback link in their comments section. When someone links to your blog you should always go check out their blog and then leave a thoughtful, intelligent comment on their blog. Include your blog’s URL with your name in the comment and this will not only foster two-way communication between you and the other blogger, but will also encourage their readers to also check out your blog.

Submit Your Blogs to Web 2.0 Sites

You can get ranks to specific keyword posts with the keyword by submitting your post to all the Web 2.0 sites with a service called www.socialmarker.com. After you input your title, URL, descriptions and your username and password to each site, Socialmarker will submit your post to 20 to 30 Web 2.0 sites for you with one-button simplicity.

Optimize Your Blog for Search Engines

While you will want have your keywords in the title of your post whenever possible, it’s not always necessary and the keyword doesn't need to be in every single post.

Taking in to consideration your keyword(s) and then examine if it makes sense in your post’s title. If it doesn’t make sense, that’s fine as keywords are always secondary to writing good content.

However, if you have a post you want to push up in the search engine results, be sure to include your keyword in the post title. These posts should be an “evergreen” post, meaning the content is timeless and will not be irrelevant in the near future. “How to find/do (insert keyword)” is an easy way to make a title with your keyword.

Advanced Marketer
As you become proficient with blogging you might want to consider advertising on your own blog. If you are using the Blogger platform you can do this by placing your own text or banner ads on your site or you can tap in to an advertising network such as Google Adsense.

You can also set up you own self-hosted Wordpress.org site which will give you much more flexibility with the layout, design and advertising options on your blog.

Advanced Action Steps
If you use your wordpress blog also as a lead capture then create a separate page just for your affiliate banners/links. This way the sidebar does not get cluttered with flashing banners etc. which will only serve to distract visitors away from your offer. You can also add a short description about each link to explain just what it is and how it can help people.

Tools & Resources
www.Wordpress.com
www.Blogger.com
www.Wordpress.org
www.Godaddy.com

Disclaimer: Michael Wyrosdick is committed to providing you with the highest quality tools and resources to support your business. You should, however, conduct your own due diligence before purchasing any products or outsourcing any projects as Michael Wyrosdick cannot guarantee the services or products as provided by third party vendors.

Related Marketing Strategies
• Twitter
• Squidoo
• Facebook
• MySpace
• Banner Advertising
• Text Advertising
• Google Adsense

Questions, Comments, Feedback & Suggestions
For questions about Blogging, please send an email to resources@michaelwyrosdick.com with “Blogging” in your subject line.