Findable Blogs - Blog Marketing & Blog Search Engine Optimization

Blog designers revealed: the little white lies we tell clients (and what we really mean)

We don’t mean to lie to you. It’s just that we think blogging is the best thing since sliced bread, and our enthusiasm tends to overwhelm our sense of reality from time to time. Here are some of the things we say, and the truth behind the exuberance.

1. “Blogging is a great way to make money.”

Yes and no. Some people do make good money directly from their blogs (selling advertising, mostly), but most bloggers make an absolute pittance in direct revenue. It takes a whole lot of work to make the advertising model profitable, and it’s very rarely worth doing based strictly on the ROI. On top of that, advertising on business blogs tends to send a message of desperation.

So why does anyone blog if there’s no money in it? Well, there is money in blogging, but most of it is less direct than advertising. The most financially successful bloggers I know are using a blog in conjunction with some other business model.

Many consultants are getting great results using a blog to attract new clients. Authors are increasing book sales by showing off what they know in a blog. Software companies are increasing their user-bases and reducing the cost of customer service by sharing relevant info on blogs. Salespeople are using blog articles to educate prospects and get them closer to a deal.

Beyond sales, lead generation and the like, blogging also helps professionals increase their own personal knowledge, communication skills, network of contacts, and findability online, all of which translate into better business across the board (online and off).

Bottom line, there is money to be made if you have the right model, but advertising by itself is very rarely the right model.

2. “A custom blog design is a great investment.”

Let’s face it; we’re designers. If we didn’t believe that good design was an excellent and important investment, then something would be wrong. We see (on a daily basis) the way thoughtful design helps our clients succeed online, so we’re inclined to recommend it.

However, not every client needs a custom blog design. If you’re just testing the waters, or you need to prove the concept before you get the budget, or you just want a design that’s attractive and readable and don’t care if other blogs have the same design, there are many good, search engine friendly, freely available designs available at no extra cost. When you’re ready to make a blog part of your central online strategy, that’s the time to look at a custom design. Until then, don’t let a passionate designer make you feel bad if you’re using a well-designed stock theme.

3. “You need to blog every day.”

In an ideal world, where everyone had all the time they wanted (both to read and write blogs), I’d agree. Then you’d have ample readers to read your musings, and plenty of time to write. In the real world, blogging daily is a huge burden and downright unattainable for many people. Besides which, it may not even be worth the effort.

Tim Ferriss, who’s something of a web celebrity right now and undoubtedly the most productive person I’ve met, found that posting every 4-6 days gave him the best ROI. He pays more attention to numbers like subscriber count and how many comments, and it’s obviously working well for him (his blog is among the top 1,000 despite the fact that Tim only got serious about blogging about eight months ago). You have to find what works for you (and your readers).

4. “We’re experts.”

Blogging has been around for about half a decade. It’s only begun to really take off in the last couple of years. On top of that, it’s changing so rapidly that keeping track of “all things blog-related” is far more than one person (or even a small company) can handle.

While the best people in the blogging industry are certainly experts in one or more narrow niche (like SEO for blogs ), you’re going to be hard pressed to find someone who knows everything about blogging. You’re better off looking for someone who knows everything about one area of blogging, and knows the people who are experts in other areas and can convince them to get involved as needed.

What are the “white lies” in your industry? Why not write about them on your own blog and help your customers sort out what they hear?

Video tutorials for DIY WordPress bloggers

I quietly launched a new blog (I’m a little out of control!) a couple of weeks ago that some of you may find helpful. It’s called WordPress Quick Start, and it’s an informal video blog for people who want to set up and use WordPress but aren’t technical wizards.

The idea is to walk viewers through the process of essentially recreating our Speedy Start blog package. Frankly, many people prefer that we take care of it, but if you’re a DIY type, or just want to know how it all works, or have tons of time and no money, the WordPress Quick Start videos videos are just what you need.

Right now there are only a few videos, but enough to help you sign up for hosting, install WordPress, and get started blogging. Future videos will cover how to install plugins and themes. I’m also interested in answering your questions, so if there’s something you’d like to see a video discuss, let me know through the comments (here or there).

2nd Tier Social Media Sites: An Overlooked Source of Traffic

This is a guest post by Steven Snell. Mr. Snell designs websites and maintains a blog for Vandelay Website Design. You can read more of his writing and see his portfolio at www.vandelaydesign.com.

Social media websites such as Digg, Netscape, Reddit, Del.icio.us, and Stumble Upon send thousands of visitors to blogs and websites everyday. I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of articles about becoming a top user of these sites to build your traffic. While they are all tremendous sources of traffic, getting a significant number of visitors from these sites can take a lot of effort—especially with Digg, Netscape, and Reddit.

If you’ve avoided social media marketing because you don’t have hours every day to spend submitting articles and voting on those submitted by other users, you are missing out on countless potential visitors.

For the average user the main problem with the most popular social media sites is that it can be difficult to generate any kind of traffic to your site. Most of us are completely overlooking the opportunity to benefit from 2nd tier social media sites that send decent levels of traffic and can make it easier for the time-starved blogger to succeed.

Literally hundreds of lesser-known social media sites exist that present far less competition for the top spots. Yes, they will send less traffic than Digg, but if you choose the right ones to use you can see substantial results. Continue reading "2nd Tier Social Media Sites: An Overlooked Source of Traffic"

Commit to blogging goals for long-term success

This post is part of a series called "Planning". The other posts in the series are listed below:

Clarify the business goals for your blog
Commit to blogging goals for long-term success
Why create an “ideal reader”?
How to identify your ideal reader

Beyond goals about what you want to get out of blogging, it’s a good idea to set goals for what you’re going to put into your blog.

You can’t force readers to come, or to subscribe, or to buy your product, or to call you for an interview. Those are areas you can influence but ultimately, they’re out of your control.

What you can control, though, are the actions you take to create an online environment that increases the probability of success and influences your readers, potential and existing clients, and the media.

The big benefit your “blogging input goals” will provide is a structure for the consistent small actions that will build a solid base for long-term success. Blogging is like any other type of marketing: if you put serious effort into it only when you’re not getting results, but abandon it when you get busy, you’ll create a feast-or-famine situation, a roller coaster of unpredictable results.

Steady actions result in steady growth, and that’s the goal—steady doesn’t have to mean “plodding.” Everything is accelerated online. You can see results quickly and experience continued success by having a plan and following it.

So what kind of goals should you set? Consider things like:

How many posts you will write each week
What day(s) you will write them
How many blogs you will read (more is not always better!)
What other kinds of topical information you will consume (magazines, books, etc.) and how often
How many comments you will leave on other blogs
How much time you will spend per week on other kinds of promotion (be specific!)

You’ll probably develop a better idea of what these tasks will require when you read my book, but I encourage you to write down your initial goals.

Start on the conservative side; you can always increase later if you want, and it’s much better to consistently meet less-ambitious goals than to be overwhelmed and do nothing. Your goals need to be sustainable to make any difference.

My other advice for input goals: raise your goal only after a couple weeks of exceeding the goal you already have. It’s very common for new bloggers to get caught up in the excitement of blogging and be very prolific—the normal result of thinking about something regularly. But as blogging becomes more routine and other duties press in, it can be surprisingly difficult to maintain the initial pace.

Before you move on to something else, write down your starting goals. It will probably take less than five minutes, so do it now.

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Clarify the business goals for your blog

This post is part of a series called "Planning". The other posts in the series are listed below:

Clarify the business goals for your blog
Commit to blogging goals for long-term success
Why create an “ideal reader”?
How to identify your ideal reader

Like most things in life, blogging is most effective when you have a target to shoot for. People write blogs for many reasons: passion about a subject; fame; direct income; getting leads for their existing businesses; even just killing time. Often it’s a mix. At first, the goal is usually more a vague feeling than a concrete set of criteria.

For consultants, business goals for blogging need to be specific and focused, and typically might include demonstrating expertise, creating a national platform, educating existing and/or potential clients, gathering leads, and getting early feedback about new ideas.

Most bloggers pick two or three goals like these to focus on. One financial advisor I’ve worked with is using his blog to test-drive ideas, prove he’s an expert on his topic, and make a little direct income from advertising.

Another financial adviser (referred by the first) is using his blog to educate his existing clients with in-depth reports. His blog makes it easier to distribute the information, and that’s its sole purpose.

Your specific goals will determine what kind of progress indicators you monitor, and will also affect your expectations. For instance, the first advisor might be thrilled when he starts to see a thousand visitors a week. The second advisor would be equally thrilled with 30 visitors a week, if they’re the right ones.

Your turn: Business goals for your blog

Take a moment to think about what you want your blog to do for you. Start out with the vague concepts, for example:

“Make me famous”
“Get more clients”
“Launch a national platform”

Then move to how you would know if you reached your goals:

“Have 1000 regular readers”
“Get three inquiries a week through the blog”
“Be contacted at least twice a month for an interview”

Your goals may be very different from the ones above. The key is to find the core thing(s) you want your blog to accomplish, and then define the concrete results you’ll be aiming for.

This post is a draft excerpt of the blogging book I’m writing for consultants and other experts. Click on the link to find out more and sign up for updates.

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