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Posts Tagged ‘Blog’

It was great bumping into John Uhri of Red Bit Blue Bit at Blog Indiana, this year. John does a really cool thing – rather than writing typical notes during discussions, he draws creative informational graphics (an infographic).

So, here’s a great infographic of Corporate Blogging for Dummies he did after reading through the book (click to download the full size)!

Thanks John! It’s great to see a visualization like this since it definitely compares to what we had hoped the key topics and information would be for anyone starting a corporate blog!

This post was written by Douglas Karr

Douglas Karr is the founder of The Marketing Technology Blog. Doug is President and CEO of DK New Media, an online marketing company specializing in social media, blogging and search engine optimization. Their clients include Webtrends, ChaCha and many more. Douglas is also the author of Corporate Blogging for Dummies. Follow him on Twitter @douglaskarr.

Corporate Blogging for Dummies is now available on Amazon and in book stores. Check out our new site, Corporate Blogging Tips, to find out what events that we'll be speaking at.

Got an event? Let us know that as well - we're looking forward to going on tour later this year.

Don't forget to follow @corpblogging on Twitter or become a Fan on Facebook!

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I’m an SEOmoz PRO member, an investment that has paid off significantly over the years. My first optimization came from the early days of SEOmoz simply from the free content on their site. As our new media agency has grown and SEO has become more important… and important to a social strategy… my time spent on SEOmoz and speaking to members has been increasing.

This is a fantastic introduction to search engine optimization that Rand Fishkin has provided. It provides some clear insight into how search engines work as well as how your information is collected, indexed and ranked.

This post was written by Douglas Karr

Douglas Karr is the founder of The Marketing Technology Blog. Doug is President and CEO of DK New Media, an online marketing company specializing in social media, blogging and search engine optimization. Their clients include Webtrends, ChaCha and many more. Douglas is also the author of Corporate Blogging for Dummies. Follow him on Twitter @douglaskarr.

Corporate Blogging for Dummies is now available on Amazon and in book stores. Check out our new site, Corporate Blogging Tips, to find out what events that we'll be speaking at.

Got an event? Let us know that as well - we're looking forward to going on tour later this year.

Don't forget to follow @corpblogging on Twitter or become a Fan on Facebook!

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Someone asked me a question about blog commenting recently that I thought peculiar. It’s a question that many brands, marketers and public relations folks have asked, for sure. But for whatever reason, the question just seemed odd to me. The person asked:

“What is the best way for a corporation to comment on a blog without seeming to promote their products?”

The root of the question is the company’s desire to not be spammy with their blog comment activities online. I’m thrilled marketers are asking that question. But it still seems peculiar to me. Maybe my perspective is a bit different, but here’s how I answered:

“The best way for a corporation to comment on blogs without seeming to promote their product is to comment without promoting their product. I know that sounds flippant, but take it literally. If the comment is to correct a misstatement about the price of a phone, for instance, you’d say:

‘Hey, It’s Jason from Verizon. Just wanted to clarify a mistaken number in the post. Our Droid X retails at $199.99 with a two-year contract if ordered online, not $249. If you saw it listed for that price, let us know so we can let the retailer know that’s not kosher. Thanks!’

You don’t say,

‘Hey, I work for Verizon, the greatest phone company on the planet, and our Droid X is now just $199.99 with a two-year contract and if you order online, but only until Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. So hurry down to your local Verizon store an save, save, save on the best smart phone known to man. This thing will mow your lawn. We’ve got apps! We’ve got savings! We’ve got the lowest prices in the tri-state area! Verizon rocks. Verizon rolls. Gotta love your Verizon Smart Phones! (Void where prohibited, fees do not include titles, tax, license or ferrets.)”

Is that so hard for people to understand? I don’t see why.”

So is it so hard to understand? Why?

NOTE: I used Verizon Wireless as an example for analogy only. They sponsor Social Media Club Louisville, of which I serve as president, but are not presently a client or sponsor of this blog.

Wow, this is quite a statement from Avinash on ghostblogging:

It’s always interesting when someone with as much authority as Avinash throws out a rule like this. Not only do I disagree with Avinash, I know many, many companies who would disagree as well. Ghostblogging is not the antithesis of everything social… inauthenticity, dishonesty, and insincerity are the antithesis of everything social.

Companies have been driven to do so much more without the proper resources over the years. Accenture recently did a study that identified that insufficient budgets, shortage of skills, and inadequate tools are a driving force behind marketing departments failing.

What if your company doesn’t have the budget, doesn’t have the skills or doesn’t have the tools to blog? However, your company does have the desire to publish both a knowledge base and share incredible customer stories online. They could do this inexpensively with ghostbloggers – who understand how to write effectively, how to utilize keywords effectively, and have the tools they need to monitor the client’s success. Ghostbloggers may be able to do it better, faster, and with greater results.

I have some bloggers on Marketing Technology Blog that I’ve ghostblogged for… because they continued to tell me they lack the time. So, I emailed them a legitimate question that they had experience with. They wrote back a response with some resources online that might help. I then took their email, reworded it into an effective blog post and asked their permission to post it under their name. Each time the person has readily agreed and thanked me for doing the post.

I didn’t share that I actually wrote the post… I just asked the question. The response was sincere, authentic, and shared valuable information with our audience. In other words, we ghostblogged and provided value to the reader. Is that the antithesis of social? I think not! Though I have great respect for Avinash, he is not the keeper of all things social on the net. Make up your own mind. If it’s effective, do it. If it’s not, don’t.

I’ve said it over and over again… do you think Barack Obama, arguably one of the best orators of our time, is inauthentic because he doesn’t write his own speeches? Do we boo him and tell him he’s the antithesis of everything public speaking has to offer? No! We recognize that, as leader of the free world, he has resources that help him to generate speeches that are written with his voice in mind.

If you don’t have time to write but you want to get the word out on your products or services… and you wish to be sincere and authentic, ghostblogging can be a great strategy. I’m not talking about going and buying articles online for 5 bucks a pop. I’d much rather have a well-written blog post that provided the reader with the information they needed from the company they were researching… rather than some hastily, terribly-written blog post from a CEO without the time.

And of course, I’m not advocating dishonesty. If you’re challenged about who’s writing your blog, tell them the truth! Your ghostblogger will love you for it.

PS: All my blog posts were written by me.

This post was written by Douglas Karr

Douglas Karr is the founder of The Marketing Technology Blog. Doug is President and CEO of DK New Media, an online marketing company specializing in social media, blogging and search engine optimization. Their clients include Webtrends, ChaCha and many more. Douglas is also the author of Corporate Blogging for Dummies. Follow him on Twitter @douglaskarr.

Corporate Blogging for Dummies is now available on Amazon and in book stores. Check out our new site, Corporate Blogging Tips, to find out what events that we'll be speaking at.

Got an event? Let us know that as well - we're looking forward to going on tour later this year.

Don't forget to follow @corpblogging on Twitter or become a Fan on Facebook!

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We could not be more excited! This week, the first copies of Corporate Blogging for Dummies were shipped to us. I can’t tell you the feeling of pride in opening the box and seeing our names in print on the front cover. Corporate Blogging for Dummies is over 400 pages of incredible information – not a stone was left unturned in our desire to write the best blogging book for corporations on the market.

The Wiley for Dummies format is a winner, especially with regard to a book like this. We suspect many who pick up a copy will already have some experience – so the book is organized so that you can flip directly to the information you need. Whether it’s how to effectively use analytics, integrate with social media or protect your company legally – all the information is easy to find.

For companies with no corporate blogging strategy, you can read directly through the compelling reasons for having a corporate blog, how to choose a platform… all the way to optimizing your blog for search engines. This isn’t a lightweight book on our theories – it’s a hardcore explanation of how we’ve implemented these strategies for other customers as well as the data to support it.

Corporate Blogging has never been dead and continues to be on the rise as the center of a great social media strategy for companies. This book will set expectations for your company on resources needed as well as the goals that your company can achieve. The book is careful to explain that many corporate blogs fail – mostly because they lacked a comprehensive strategy. We look forward to hearing how this book changes your company’s results!

Aside from the book, we’ve also set up a great Corporate Blogging Tips site. The site lists the best corporate blogs of major corporations, lists the corporate blogging platforms and even speaks to the differences of a corporate blog.

We’ve already bought and distributed a couple dozen copies of the book for bloggers we mentioned in the book as great resources – with copies going all the way to South Africa and Australia! We’ll be doing a hometown book-signing at Blog Indiana – follow @BlogIndiana for some chances to win a free copy leading up the event!

We’ve also got a great following on Facebook (over 2,000 fans!) and Twitter! Be sure to become a fan or follower for the latest industry news from Corporate Blogging professionals. Buying the book isn’t the only value (although it’s a great one!)… following or signing up for our newsletter will continue to provide tips and information to you that go beyond the book.

This post was written by Douglas Karr

Douglas Karr is the founder of The Marketing Technology Blog. Doug is President and CEO of DK New Media, an online marketing company specializing in social media, blogging and search engine optimization. Their clients include Webtrends, ChaCha and many more. Douglas is also the author of Corporate Blogging for Dummies. Follow him on Twitter @douglaskarr.

Corporate Blogging for Dummies is now available on Amazon and in book stores. Check out our new site, Corporate Blogging Tips, to find out what events that we'll be speaking at.

Got an event? Let us know that as well - we're looking forward to going on tour later this year.

Don't forget to follow @corpblogging on Twitter or become a Fan on Facebook!

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Titles are one of the most underestimated pieces of content on your blog or website. Every class that you ever took on writing told you that a great title summarizes the story. On the web, it’s not the same deal. I could have written this title as “Writing Post Titles”… no one would have clicked on it.

One thing you’ll find in common with professional copywriters on the web is that they use the same formula all the time for attracting traffic. My post title is a bit mocking… but the fact is that these techniques work. Here are ten kinds of post titles that will encourage surfers to click through to your posts.

1. How to… More, Better, Faster – utilizing a How to in combination with a great result.
2. Top 5, 10, 100 Lists – Not too many… unless you’re trying to make a big point. Readers love a list.
3. Question? Answer – Ask a question that everyone asks and then hint at the answer.
4. Amazing, Essential, Ultimate, Surefire – Utilize words that evoke a strong emotion that it’s the best information anyone could get anywhere.
5. Free – Yup, people still love a free deal.
6. What the Best, Famous, Rich Know – You want to know what they know, don’t you?
7. Secret Guide, Formula – If it’s a secret, our curiosity gets the best of us.
8. Quick, Fast, Timely – We don’t have a lot of time these days, use words that set expectations that the info can be retained quickly.
9. Big Numbers, Big Percentages – Readers are attracted to big numbers.
10. Overcome, Conquer, Win – People hate to lose. Show them how to avoid it!

On a search engine results page (SERP), you’re met with a title and a description – that’s it! Those are the only two components that a reader sees before deciding whether or not to click and visit your site. The title is taken from your page title element. If you’re writing a blog post, that typically coincides with your blog post title. Your description can be taken from the page content, but if you have a meta description tag, the search engines will often take that content instead.

Did you click on it? I know you want to!

If you take a look around the web on articles that get the most attention, these compelling titles are always at the top of them. I recently did an analysis for a client on their page titles versus their competitors – and we found that they were actually ranking very well compared to their competitors but their click through rates (CTR) were low.

Effective use of keywords and compelling post titles can have a huge impact on your traffic. Spend as much time writing your post title as the content itself!

This post was written by Douglas Karr

Douglas Karr is the founder of The Marketing Technology Blog. Doug is President and CEO of DK New Media, an online marketing company specializing in social media, blogging and search engine optimization. Their clients include Webtrends, ChaCha and many more.

Did you know Douglas Karr's book is coming out in August? You can pre-order Corporate Blogging for Dummies now on Amazon. Check out our new site, Corporate Blogging Tips, to find out what events that we'll be speaking at.

Got an event? Let us know that as well - we're looking forward to going on tour later this year.

Don't forget to follow @corpblogging on Twitter or become a Fan on Facebook!

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Would you like some extra cash? Do you have a website or blog, or at least an idea for one? Do you have time to commit to updating that site with content?

If you answered “yes” to all of these questions, then you may want to consider becoming an affiliate advertiser.

Affiliate advertisers host ads for other companies’ products or services on their site. They are paid each time a particular action is taken relevant to one of the ads. For example, they may be paid each time someone sees the ad, each time someone clicks on the ad, or each time someone clicks on the ad and completes a conversion.

Revenues for affiliate advertising can range from a couple of cents per action to a couple hundred dollars per action. It depends on the value of the product or service for sale, as well as the particular affiliate program the company has in place.

Affiliate advertisers don’t need to be companies themselves. They can be regular people with simple and inexpensive websites.

If you’ve decided you’d like to try out affiliate advertising, here are some steps for getting started:

1. If you don’t already have a website or blog, start one. This is a necessary step for becoming an affiliate advertiser. Some affiliate programs, including Google’s AdSense program, require publishers in certain locations to have owned their sites for at least six months before becoming an affiliate. You may want to base the theme of your new site on a particular product or service you’d like to advertise, though a better idea is probably writing about a topic you’re passionate about. This way you’re more likely to update your content regularly, get more traffic, and have people click your ads.

1. Look for products and/or services to advertise. If you are new to affiliate advertising, you may want to start out with just one advertisement on your site. This way you can see if the revenue produced by the ad is worth the time you’ve invested in designing and updating your site for that ad’s success. You can search for products or services to advertise by joining an established affiliate network like Commission Junction, Amazon, eBay, ClickBank, or Google. Look for items that are highly relevant to your site, don’t have a lot of competition, and have a commission structure that fits your liking.

1. Once you’ve found the product or service you’d like to advertise, review your site. Make sure that it is relevant enough to what you’d like to promote. If it’s not, users will be less interested in the ad. If they are visiting your site to read about innovative children’s toys, for example, they likely won’t click on an ad for an office cleaning business. If your site’s theme is very different from the product or service you’d like to promote, find a new product or service. If it’s just a little different, modify your site to make it more relevant. That may include adding particular keywords, rewriting your headlines, and renaming your images. Once you’ve made these improvements, you’re more likely to be approved to advertise the particular product or service.

1. Next, apply for the affiliate program you’re interested in. Also, if required apply for the particular advertising program you’re interested in. Before applying, check out the affiliate program’s website to see if you fit the eligibility requirements. You will see that to be an affiliate advertiser for Amazon products, for example, you can’t be a resident of Colorado, North Carolina, or Rhode Island. Also, make sure that you have your bank account or PayPal information on hand, as many of the networks require this information in your application.

1. Once you’re accepted into an affiliate/advertising program, create your ad. Affiliate networks generally provide tools that let you easily design your ad. Usually you can choose between a simple text ad or a banner image ad. Some affiliate networks, like Google’s, allow for video, flash and mobile ads. You must make sure that the ad conforms to the affiliate and/or advertiser’s standards. eBay, for example, has special wording guidelines. Once your ad is complete, you will be provided with a code you must copy and paste onto your site. This code will make the ad appear, as well as track all traffic that is delivered from your site to a company’s landing page.

1. Monitor your ad and site analytics once the ad is up and running. See how much traffic your site or blog is generating, and how much of that traffic is clicking on your ad. Also, monitor the percentage of clicks that are resulting in conversions. Conversions can either be lead-related actions, like white paper registrations or newsletter signups, or actual sales. If your traffic numbers are pretty low, then improving those figures should be your number one priority. Perhaps you could update your blog more often, or start promoting your articles on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.

1. If your traffic is high but your clicks are low, improve your ad. This could mean changing the ad type (banners instead of buttons, text instead of images), moving the ad to another location on your page, or simplifying the ad’s copy. Google offers a number of tips for improving your ad’s performance. Try to make just one change, and then see how that impacts your ad campaign. If it doesn’t make a positive difference, make a different change. Once you find the change or changes that work best, keep those in place. If none of your efforts improve your ad’s performance, you should consider picking a new product or service to advertise.

1. Once you’re ready, put more ads on your site. Once you’ve gotten a feel for whether affiliate advertising is worth your time, consider branching out. Find more products or services to promote within your affiliate program, or join additional affiliate programs to potentially maximize your revenue. Make sure, though, your new ads conform to your site’s theme. As you experience more success with your affiliate advertising efforts, buzz may generate about your site. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself being contacted by companies wanting to advertise on your site.

About the Author

Christine Laubenstein is a Marketing Associate at WordStream, a provider of an advanced pay-per-click tool suite, designed to improve the performance of pay-per-click keywords in your AdWords campaign.

Check out The Adventures of PPC Hero: Heroic Feats of Pay Per Click Management at http://www.ppchero.com/. Copyright © 2007-2010 Hanapin Marketing, LLC.

When’s the last time you sat across from a salesperson and they said, “Sorry, we probably won’t be able to meet that price or/nor those expectations“. I never have, either.

Tonight I walked away from a contract I could have done with my eyes closed. However, I know that the simplicity of the contract would evolve and open a huge can of worms. I’d setup and install a blog for someone and then, by default, I’d become their blog support, their IT support and their hosting support. I’m not guessing – I’m speaking from experience. It’s why I’d much rather refer prospects to a Software as a Service vendor like Compendium. (Disclosure: I’m a shareholder)

The clients I do help with blogging aren’t a one-time contract, we have ongoing relationships to cover said issues. I’m happy to assist them with any of their needs since those resources are anticipated. That wasn’t the case tonight… I simply walked from the request since it was just a project quote. There’s no such thing as a web project that ends… unless the company goes under. From content, to design, to platform, to integration… every web project evolves as demands change over time. Blogging does, too. And a software as a service (SaaS) firm is designed to handle ongoing issues and support. I’m not.

Back to my point… perhaps if more companies turned down unreasonable budgets, crazy timelines, and ridiculous expectations the rest of the honest businesses could actually build trust with our prospects. The problem is so many folks out there, especially in the online marketing and social media domain, are afraid to walk away from a few bucks.

Many salespeople would rather pay their bills at the expense of the client than actually charge enough to deliver on their promises. It’s unfortunate because the next poor sap to walk in the door is immediately attacked t like they’re a 2-bit thief there to rape, pillage and empty the coffers.

If you can’t complete a project in a timeframe, deliver on your promises or make a modest income doing the work, why would you take the sale? A few months ago, I had to part ways with a great friend and their firm because our projects weren’t working out. I wasn’t meeting their expectations… and I’d rather keep the friendship and lose the money than outright fail. And we would have failed spectacularly on the project I walked away from… I know it.

Could I use the money? Of course! Small projects like that are a great influx of cash to the business and could carry us through the lulls of large contracts coming and going. I just can’t do it, though. In hindsight, I wish I would have walked away from a lot of small contracts since I started my business.

The irony is that these are the very same customers who approach me down the road on much larger projects that have solid deliverables, good compensation and flexible timelines. Each time that I say “No” now, I know that I’m building trust and the opportunity to get a better opportunity down the road. You should, too.

This post was written by Douglas Karr

Douglas Karr is the founder of The Marketing Technology Blog. Doug is President and CEO of DK New Media, an online marketing company specializing in social media, blogging and search engine optimization. Their clients include Webtrends, ChaCha and many more.

Did you know Douglas Karr's book is coming out in August? You can pre-order Corporate Blogging for Dummies now on Amazon. Check out our new site, Corporate Blogging Tips, to find out what events that we'll be speaking at.

Got an event? Let us know that as well - we're looking forward to going on tour later this year.

Don't forget to follow @corpblogging on Twitter or become a Fan on Facebook!

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…but except it.

i want to put my project playlist in the sidebar of my blog but the player that they provide is huge…is there some way i can have it invisible or make it very very tiny?