Archive for the ‘Blogging’ Category
Posted by
Bonnie Landau on 28 Jan 2010 under
Blogging,
Social Media |
4 Comments
Many clients have asked this question: How do I get those cute share icons onto my blog or web page? It’s quite simple if you’re willing to do a little diving into the code. The two most popular share links are:
You’ll notice at the top of this code we have the Tweetmeme and AddThis links (and if at this point you’d like to click them and share this post, we’d love you for it!)
If you’re blogging in Blogger
You need to add the code for these icons into your Blogger template. If you add it as a widget in the sidebar, then the share link will go to your blog home page, and not to a specific blog post. It’s better to have it go to a specific blog post so then you can reference what the blog is about when you share the link. Here are tutorials for adding these icons
If you’re blogging at Wordpress.com
Wordpress makes your life easier with simple widgets you can add to your blog template. There are several different kinds you can add, each with its own design. Tweetmeme And AddThis use Javascript, which is not allowed in blogs hosted at Wordpress.com, so you cannot use these share icons here. The following links show you how to add the other share buttons if you are using Wordpress.com to host your blog:
If you’re blogging on a personally hosted Wordpress.org blog
The personally hosted version of Wordpress has a lot more flexibility, and there are many social link plugins that are easy to add. Here are some links that will help you decide what to choose and how to install these plugins:
If your website is built in Joomla
Joomla offers several options for social media icons. There are ones that reside right on the page, and then there are global plugins that you can put into the header bar. We have used the following two extensions with great success:
For the traditional Tweetmeme and AddThis, you would need to add HTML code to your articles using a custom code plugin (Sorcerer is a great one). You would then follow the HTML directions in combination with the plugin syntax to put the share links onto your page.
If you have a regular HTML website
Adding the share icons is going to have to be done one page at a time. You will have to get the HTML code, and paste it into your page using an HTML editor, or by viewing the source code in your WYSIWYG (i.e. Dreamweaver) editor. Here are tutorials that show how to add Tweetmeme and AddThis icons to your pages.
Posted by
Bonnie Landau on 20 Jan 2010 under
Blogging,
link building |
2 CommentsYou put a lot of effort to write your blog, but how do you get people to come and read it? Social media outlets are very effective in reaching viewers, but can sometimes take more time than you have. If you want an effective blog sharing strategy, consider using blog and bookmarking directories for spreading the news about your valuable posts.
What is a blog directory?
Blog directories are like a phone book for blogs. People submit their blog URL into specific categories in the directory, so all your blog content gets indexed. You only have to submit it once, which means it’s a quick and easy way to share your blog.
Once in the directory, users who are looking for specific information will come and search for content, and if they are looking for your content genre, you will have easily gained some new readers. Some of the most popular blog directories include:
Sometimes an individual creates a private directory, and while it may not get as many eyeballs as the commercial ones, the users it gets tend to be more engaged. A great example is the Directory for Bloggers by The Brave Programmer (Robert Bravery).
What is a bookmarking directory?
There are many sites that are bookmarking directories, which means they are indexing specific URLs of specific blog posts. These sites you have to submit your blog posts one at a time. The advantage of bookmarking directories is that they are part of the social media world, so you can have buttons on your blog that allows your readers to submit your content as well. All these sites have submission counters, so the more a specific blog post is submitted, the higher it is ranked in the bookmarking directory index.
Users come to the bookmarking directories and browse posts in specific categories. Again, an excellent way to gain some new readers. Some of the most popular bookmarking directories include:
Consistently submitting your posts to the bookmarking directories is also a very effective way to continually add link backs to your blog.
Keep track of your progress
If you are going to utilize a directory strategy, be sure to track where you have submitted your blog. In this way you can hand off submission responsibilities to others without worrying about duplicating effort. Also, watch your traffic analytics to track how many people are finding your blog through places you’ve submitted. This will give you a great idea of what types of directories are most likely to bring you new visitors.
Posted by
Bonnie Landau on 07 Jan 2010 under
Blogging |
0 CommentsWe’ve discussed the benefits of blogging for business and SEO, but how do you find time to write all those blog posts? If you’re required to input the blog post every morning, then you have to put it into your schedule. Alternatively, you can post your blog ahead of time, and use the scheduling feature to launch your posts at the chosen time.
Steps to schedule a post:
- Create a new post and write your copy (or you can write it in Word and paste it into the editing window).
- Add any images/graphics you would like.
- Add in the labels it should be categorized under.
- Click the Post Options link in the bottom left of the window (see figure).
- Click the Schedule at radio button in the bottom right.
- Write in the date and time you want the post to publish.
- Click the Publish Post button.
Now in your list of blog posts there will be a “scheduled” label next to the post’s name. This tells you that the post has been input into your system, but it has not yet been published for public view. The system will then launch your post at the assigned time.
Using this scheduling method, you can pre-write all your blogs for the week, month or whatever time schedule you prefer. So you can set aside larger amounts to time to write your blog, rather than spending every morning making sure it gets launched on time.
Posted by
Bonnie Landau on 06 Jan 2010 under
Blogging,
Twitter |
0 CommentsIf you have a blog or website, Tweetmeme is an excellent way to make it super easy for your readers to Tweet you. With two button clicks reader can select to tweet your posts, and they don’t even have to write anything. A blog without Tweetmeme is missing out on a great opportunity! Don’t believe me? Click on the bright green rectangle at the top of this post, and you’ll see how easy it is to tweet this post.
The other advantage of Tweetmeme is that every post that is tweeted gets indexed in the Tweetmeme directory. That gains you SEO points plus more eyeballs reading your work.
What do I need to use Tweetmeme?
In order to use this service, you need a Twitter account and you need to sign up for a Tweetmeme account. Once signed up, you can install it on your blog. You can also install it on pages on your website.
How do I get Tweetmeme?
You need to visit the Tweetmeme site to get the appropriate code for the retweet button. The code you use will be specific for your blog application or your website format. If you visit the Tweetmeme Retweet Button page, you’ll see the code is neatly organized by how you’re going to use it. The page where you grab the code gives specific instructions on how to use it.
How do I set up Tweetmeme?
While the Tweetmeme site has some excellent information, other writers in the blogasphere have written some excellent tutorials on how to set up Tweetmeme and customize the code:
Improve Your Tweetmeme Setup For Better Results
A Fully Customized TweetMeme ReTweet Button for Your Blog Post
Add A TweetMeme Retweet Button To Blogger
Generate custom Tweetmeme code for Blogger
If you add Tweetmeme to your blog or website, be sure to post a comment below so everybody reading can come take a look and give you some tweets!
Follow Landau Design on Twitter.
Posted by
Bonnie Landau on 22 Jul 2009 under
Blogging |
0 CommentsAdvertising on your blog is a popular way to make some extra dollars. But how does one approach the concept of advertising? The following steps will help you determine what to charge and how to implement your advertising venture:
1) Determine if you should have advertising on your blog.
You need to consider if advertising is right for your blog. Will your readers be okay with it? Do you have space for it? Would people even pay for it? If your blog is new, it may not be something that you could sell, and instead you might want to use Google AdSense, which means you only get paid when people click on the ads. If you aren’t at a place where you could sell ads, consider trading ads with another blog that is complimentary to your own.
2) Determine the value of an ad on your blog.
To determine the value of an ad you have to attempt to quantify the value of your blog. This means you have to come up with a cost per click or cost per impression value based on who visits your blog, how often they visit and how long they stay there. It’s a somewhat ambiguous process to figure this out, but ProBlogger expert Daniel Scocco has written an excellent tutorial to help you determine how much to charge for advertising on your blog. If you’re still stumped, you might try running through the My Blog Value calculator. While the creators claim it’s just for fun, it does help give you an idea of where to begin.
2) Decide if you want to use a service to manage the advertising.
You can manually accept and place ads on your blogs and keep an Excel file to track expiration dates and due dates for payment. But there are companies that will manage the placement and payment for you. Of course they take a percentage, but they will also promote your blog in their directories so you might find other advertisers you may not have otherwise connected with. I have not used one of these services, but these are ones I have seen on popular blogs:
Determining whether to have a cost-per-click (CPC) versus pay-per-impression (CPM) or affiliate ads may determine which service you choose. Robert Bravery explains the difference between CPC & CPM in an article on his blog. Affiliate advertising means you get a commission if somebody clicks the ad and makes a purchase on the advertisers’ site.
4) Decide where the place the ads
Decide how much space on your blog you are willing to give up to advertising. Advertisers will not be happy if the ads are pushed way down, so usually somewhere near the top, in the sidebar, is optimum positioning. If you are going to push ads below the fold, you might consider charging a reduced rate for this less-than-premium placement.
Hopefully this will help you decide whether to have ads and how much to charge from them. Making money from blog advertising is a common and easy way to generate revenue for something you are already doing. It’s worth serious consideration as a means of generating some passive income.
Many clients have asked this question: How do I get those cute share icons onto my blog or web page? It’s quite simple if you’re willing to do a little diving into the code. The two most popular share links are:
