Top Ten Guerrilla Blogging Strategies – #3
Posted on July 1, 2009
Filed Under Articles, Blogging | Leave a Comment
In the last article of Top Ten Guerrilla Blogging Strategies I discussed the most important aspect of blogging; and that was CONTENT. Without a clear content plan that answers the questions “What?” “How Much” and “How Frequently” your blog will quickly become a useless appendage in your internet marketing plan. This week …
Linking Strategies
Links are either “one way” or “reciprocal.” A one way link is a link you place on your blog/site to another and they do not have a link back to you. A reciprocal link is where you link to them and they link to you – they’ve reciprocated your link.
There are three linking strategies I will discuss here; blogroll, internal, and comment linking.
Most blogs give you the opportunity to share links with your visitors on the sidebar(s) – this is often called your “blogroll”. These links are always present and visible. They should also be limited to the most useful and complementary blogs/sites. You do NOT want your blog be an extensive directory of links – it only diminishes your blog/site. In the best of situations these links should be reciprocal. Unless there’s a special reason for a link to be in your blogroll only recip’d links should be here.
Internal links are links within your own content to other blogs/sites. While it is not as necessary to have these reciprocal it is generally a good idea to have all your links recip’d. These links might be to related articles, or to supplementary articles, or opposing viewpoints. If you quote someone, link to their blog or the quote’s source.
Comment Linking is a great way to reach many, many more users. Almost every blog has the ability for you to leave a comment on a blogger’s post. Typically, you are also given the ability to have your name linked to your blog.
Now … here’s where the guerrilla blogging strategies come in! Instead of your name use your keywords! or your company name. or your brand identity. For example, an author friend of mine is promoting her new book, An Unholy Alliance on her blog. Her goal is to leave one comment per day on a blog related to authorship, publishing, writing, mystery novels, etc. Instead of using her name, Judy Nedry and linking to her site, she is placing “Mystery Novel Unholy Alliance” or “Mystery Novels” or “Mystery Authors” in the name field of the comment box! With enough links like these, her site will be more likely to be in the Google top 10 in a search for “Mystery Authors” than others.
For example, when I leave comments on other blogs about web stuff I always use “Portland SEO” and the link to my site’s search engine optimization page and this will help me get much petter ranking on that search term.
I recommend that you create a comment-linking plan for your site … I recommend that you leave one comment on a different relevant site every day. If you can do more, great! If you’d rather do 10 or 12 comments in a single day once each week, go for it! If you want to do 10 per day .. hallelujah! Just be certain you are comment linking on relevant blogs or on relevant entries if at all possible.
Side Effects
There’s a beneficial side effect to comment linking … most bloggers appreciate the fact that you are reading their blog and have taken the time to post a comment, and so, are highly likely to respond in kind. Now you have a perfect reciprocal link!
And one more thing, if someone comments on your blog, and their blog is somewhat relevant, leave a comment back on their blog!
Top Ten Guerrilla Blogging Strategies – #2
Posted on June 28, 2009
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In my last article in the Top Ten Guerrilla Blogging Strategies I discussed “Purpose” and “Focus.” Basically, a blog about everything is a blog about nothing. Know your blog’s purpose. Keep your blog focused.
Content is King!
This is the simplest concept and yet the most difficult to do effectively … unless, of course, you are a prolific writer such as myself!
A blog is all about content, content and MORE CONTENT!
When you have decided your blog’s Purpose and Focus you also need to develop what I call a “Content Plan” i.e. what?, how much? and how frequently? What you will write about is directly related to your blog’s Purpose and Focus but you will be surprised at how easily you can stray.
How much you will write about … well, that’s up to your abilities and the subject. If your site is about butterfly collecting you have at least 28,000 posts to write! … one for each species! This means you can write one post every day for 76 years! If you’re Acme Shoestrings … well, you’ll have a tougher time creating content but I can think of at least two dozen topics on shoestrings off the top of my head.
Another consideration in the “How Much” category is brainwidth - the bandwidth of your target audience’s brains. A guy like me could go on and on and on … ad infinitum and bore you to tears! A typical blog post should be in the 300 word range. Beyond that, if your content isn’t spectacularly written, insightful or interesting (to someone other than yourself) your visitors will stop reading and come to the likely conclusion that you are boring.
How frequently you create new content is a factor of “what” “how much” and your blog’s zeitgeist. Is your blog being supported by outside advertising and/or marketing, how many new visitors are arriving every day? is it trending upward? downward?
In our web-accelerated lifestyle we get bored pretty damned easily. For me, web geek that I am, if I come to your blog 2 or 3 times in a week and do not see any new content your blog pretty much drops off my list! Not everyone is like this; a majority of your visitors will likely check back once a week for 2 or 3 weeks before they give up on you.
My general rule of thumb is ONE lively, interesting, information-laden post PER WEEK. If you can write that much you’ll be able to keep people coming back for more.
Imitation is the Sincerest Form
Now, what I am about to say will get more than a few people riled up. If you feel you are having trouble keeping up with your content goals – you’re extremely busy, you’re about to go on vacation, you have writer’s block – then go “borrow” someone else’s content.
Find a fellow blogger you respect that has similar content, copy the first paragraph or two of one of their posts, paste it in your blog with their byline and link it to that particular entry. I also suggest adding a “View Source” at the bottom linked to the original. Then, add their blog to your blogroll.
Do NOT copy the whole post. Do NOT EVER claim it as your own. ALWAYS give credit, provide links and accolades to the original writer. If you have the opportunity, ASK to do this first. ALWAYS remove the post if the author objects.
I have found that most bloggers appreciate the link and the acknowledgement because it helps them reach new people, too. And who knows, he/she may want to use some of your content too and you’ve created a symbiotic relationship.
New Client Signed This Week!
Posted on June 25, 2009
Filed Under Announcements | Leave a Comment
It our pleasure to introduce our latest new client, celebrated painter and muralist, Ellen Brown.
Ellen Brown is an award-winning artist who produces commissioned master works that capture the heart and soul of her subjects and create enduring images that will become treasured heirlooms passed from generation to generation.
