Archive for Social Media
Wow. Website Grader Gives My Blog a Top Ranking
Posted by: | CommentsWebsite Grader is a HubSpot program and gives your site an overall grade. Today I received an email from the company that said: “Your Website Grade improved by 4 points, from 93 to 97.” That means writespeaksell.com scores higher than 97% of the 2,646,608 websites that have been ranked so far.
Now I’m going for a grade of 100! Don’t know if I’ll make it, but I’m ready to try, with the help of my blogging buddies and my loyal readers.
Here is what the program analyzes:
- Content: blogs, Google indexed pages and readability level
- Optimization: metadata, headings, images, and interior page analysis
- Promotion: how you rank on social media sites
As I read through the report, I also found that my Alexa Traffic Rank is in the top 6.38% of all websites. Alexa is an online service that measures traffic for millions of sites on the Internet in a similar way to Nielsen television show ratings.
Why is This Important to My Readers?
I’m feeling pretty good about my rankings. But here’s what’s important: apparently my content is helping my readers to solve a problem, learn something new or share my perspective on a current event. That’s my real goal: to provide value to people who take some of their precious time to visit my blog.
I’m blogging and writing for a living – having rebranded myself early last year as a Business Writer. I had held senior marketing communications positions with major corporations and agencies. But I felt it was time to re-invent myself. The world of social media was opening up and I wanted to be part of the action. I walked through the door into the blogosphere and I haven’t looked back.
I’m hooked. I love discovering new subjects to explore and I am very happy, dear readers, that you are visiting with me and enjoying what I have to say.
Thank you.
Get the Most out of Guest Blogs with Some Practical Guidelines
Posted by: | CommentsI don’t know about you, but I’m writing more guest blogs and inviting more people to write guest blogs for my site. It has happened sort of organically, but I’m also aware that it helps SEO if you link to another blog or they link to you.
So, if I’m going to continue to ask for guest posts, I need to create some guidelines for writers so that there are no misunderstandings or hurt feelings. Just as important, I need to be more strategic in asking for columns that align with my brand and are providing useful information for my readers. In turn, I need to be sure that I’m not saving the best for my own blog, but offering content-rich posts for other blogs.
Here are several sets of guidelines that I liked after a search of the web. I’ll pick out a few good tips from each to share in this post and you can go in and read them if you like.
Danny Brown. He actually set down some rules for when you write guest posts but they are just as relevant for your guest writers. Under “Make it Great” he asks these very relevant questions:
- Would I be happy posting this on my own blog?
- Is this the best this post can possibly be on this topic?
- Am I being relevant to the audience of the blog I’m posting on?
The Bloggers Bulletin. This is a LinkedIn subgroup of The Blog Zone. I actually write guest posts for the group and these tips come from a post by Karen Fleeting.
- Check the article writer’s credentials. Can they write?
- Set the bar. The blog must be up to your quality standards.
- Edit. Correct grammar and spell-check.
- Ask for a link. You’re linking the post to their blog; ask for one in return.
Business.Gov. I was surprised, and delighted, to learn that the U.S. Small Business Administration accepts guest blogs for its Industry Word Guest Blog (this is something I will definitely check out). They have quite a few guidelines, and here are a few:
- Avoid posting spam, pornography, offensive content, excessive spelling/grammatical errors or profanity.
- Bloggers will offer unique advice and insight that is informational and apolitical in nature.
- Bloggers agree to reply to comments. (this one is a must)
I’ll be writing up my guidelines soon. Leave a comment if you’d like me to send them to you. And I’d be interested in guest blog guidelines from my readers, too.
Word of Mouth (WOM) is Hot. Or, the More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same
Posted by: | CommentsWord of Mouth (WOM) marketing is the newest buzzword, so it seems. Michael Stelzner devoted a column to it in Social Media Examiner today when reviewing location-based social networks like Foursquare. And no less an authority than McKinsey, the consulting firm, has carried two articles about WOM in recent months.
Social networks are providing a natural platform for marketers to try out coupons, contests and giveaways to generate buzz and sales. You’d think that they had invented something brand new.
Word of Mouth (WOM) the new buzzword
I’d like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the woman who virtually invented WOM, or viral marketing, way before the Internet enabled legions of communities on Twitter and Facebook to spread news around the world at the speed of sound.
Viral Marketing
In the 1980s, Linda Pezzano got the assignment to promote an obscure board game, called Trivial Pursuit. Linda was a friend, and before her untimely death in 1999, she showed me a presentation that she gave at marketing forums about how she reinvented the way games are marketed through viral marketing. Selchow & Righter, which bought the rights from the Canadian inventor, couldn’t afford traditional advertising. On a PR budget of $40,000 (about $88,000 today), Linda developed a program that generated sales of 1 million sets in the first year – an astounding and unimaginable number – without a penny spent on advertising.
The Story of How She Did It
What she did then is commonplace now, so let me tell you the story of how she did it. Linda convinced the company to let her send the game to the 70+ Hollywood stars mentioned in the game, such as Gregory Peck, James Mason and Pat Boone who liked playing it so much they sent her letters of thanks, which she then proceeded to use in her promotions. She also sent teaser mailings to 1,800 top buyers who would be attending the industry’s major trade show, the 1983 New York Toy Fair. She also sent sets to radio talk show hosts and staged game-playing events at parks, bars, restaurants and ski clubs to get WOM going. The rest, as they say, is history, with Trivial Pursuit becoming one of the most successful board games ever launched.
I just want to point out that many of the marketing techniques in use today in social media aren’t new. We are standing on the shoulders of pioneers like Linda Pezzano, in viral marketing, John Caples in direct marketing, and Edward L. Bernays, long recognized as the “father of public relations.” They achieved great things without the Internet, proving that original ideas are still the currency of successful marketing campaigns.
Blogging is Story Telling in Disguise
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A Story
A few months back I was telling a story to my parents. It is one I have told many times, and my father especially enjoys it. A good friend of mine, who is nicknamed “Gretel,” was an avid community supporter and always attended the town council meetings. Lisbon, Iowa, is a small community of several thousand. He never missed a meeting. That is until one day he had a work conflict and there wasn’t any way he could change his schedule.
Brian Meeks
The next day, when walking through town, people kept congratulating him. He didn’t know what for. Nobody would tell him either. The people of Lisbon did enjoy seeing his confused look. It took him half the day, but eventually he discovered that there had been a discussion, the mayor had resigned, and by the end of the meeting, he had been elected Mayor, mostly because he wasn’t there to stop it.
My Dad always chuckles at this story and I enjoy telling it. But I had told it so many times, I wasn’t sure if all my facts were straight, or if I had made most of it up. So I called ‘Gretel’ and told him that I had been telling a story, of which he was the principal subject, but I couldn’t remember if it was true. So I told him the story, just as I had told it, and he laughed.
“Sadly, that is an accurate account. I served my one term, was done, and now know better than to miss a meeting.”
We both laughed.
Why I Love Stories
A blog post is a story in disguise
I tell this story, because it popped into my head when reading a friend’s blog. I really enjoy telling a story. I am not sure when I started to become a story teller, probably back in the mid-80’s when I got to know a group of friends who were all great story tellers, Gretel being one of the best.
Samuel L. Clemens, or as some would better know him, Mark Twain, told a great story. In fact, a 64-page handwritten manuscript of his just sold for $242,500, at auction. J.K. Rowling knows how to weave a tale. I know that when her books came out, I stood in line to get my copy and then spent the whole next day reading until I was done. (The last book took two days)
Stories have value and have been told throughout history. It is how we pass on pearls of wisdom. Stories can teach, they are able to persuade, and, if done well, they can motivate and uplift. If one names a human emotion, one can find a story which brings it out in each of us.
This is why I have found blogging to be such fun. I get to tell a story, every day, and there are no limits to what one can do, when crafting a tale. In one of my favorite blog pieces, entitled, My Days as a Ninja, not only did I travel back in time, but, when I was there, I had a Bosch circular saw. I am not above anachronisms in my writing, in fact, I thrive on them.
Earlier today I read a post which talked about blogging and how it can be difficult to think of material. I have to admit that in the 187 blog pieces (both my own and as a guest blogger), I have had a case of writer’s block. When I say “a case,” I truly mean singular. In nearly six months of writing nearly 900 words per day, I have only been stumped once, and it was more a case of being in a foul mood than being out of ideas. I ended up writing something anyway. I think it might have been a piece about how stumped I was, but I can’t remember, and I am way too lazy to go back and find it. The point is I got through it.
Cat story
And I guess that is the point of this blog post. If you blog, and who doesn’t anymore, then don’t worry about what to write about, just try to think of a story you would like to share. If you were sitting in a pub, with a glass of port and an attractive someone, what might you say to keep her engaged?
We all have stories. They are buried deep in us, waiting for that trigger which causes them to bubble to the surface. If the flirty lass in the pub mentioned sports, it would remind me of a story, if she said she liked animals, then I would tell a tale of “Harley the Cat,” if she wanted to talk about how cute she thought I was, then I would let her continue.
If you feel like you are getting stumped, then let your imagination take over. Picture yourself somewhere else and doing something you enjoy with people you feel comfortable with. Are you talking about politics? Maybe a discussion about wine has started? If you do this, I am sure the old light bulb will turn on. Whatever the topic, I bet you have a story, and then you will have your next blog piece.
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I write a blog at Extremely Average. Mostly I write about my adventures in woodworking, but on occasion I delve into photography, social media, or just go crazy and write some fiction. Obviously I have trouble focusing. I make my living managing customer relations and social media for Preferred Vendor, in the HR and Recruiting industry. So basically, I do this all day long, every day. I love it. I am thrilled to be asked to write a guest blog piece on Jeannette’s blog. On a personal note, I like tennis, golf, woodworking, blogging, thinking about woodworking while I golf and then writing about it in my blog. I also like cheese and think that monkey and glockenspiel are two really funny words. If you play me in Scrabble, be aware that I know my ‘Q’ words which don’t require a “u.”
