Category : Blogging

  • The Best Way to Blog for SEO – A Beginner’s Guide

    Posted Aug 30th, 2011 By in Blogging, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) With | 1 Comment

    Are you clueless on how to blog for SEO? This beginner’s guide will take you through simple steps on how to get your blog posts in tip top shape for when the search bots come crawling.

    Why Blog for SEO?

    There’s two very good reasons you should do this, which lead me to put together this beginner’s guide on how to blog for SEO.

    1. Since you’re already taking the time to write the blog, so you might as well know how to blog for SEO.

    2. It will help drive extra traffic to your blog in the long term – which is why you’re blogging right?

    How to Blog for SEO

    First you should plan out your blog post. It might seem like extra work, but believe me it will make the whole process a lot easier. You can download the plan I used to prepare this blog for SEO here.

    Topic – First you’ll need to decide on the topic you’ll be blogging about. Ideally it should be a trending topic or something you know is popular with your target audience. There’s no point writing about something no one’s interested in.

    Keywords – Probably the most important consideration when tailoring your blog for seo is the keywords you’ll use. Once you’ve decided on your topic, the best way to select keywords is to head on over to the google keyword tool, which will show you a bunch of suggestions for the topic you enter. Ideally try to choose 2 or 3 phrases which have high search traffic and low competition. If you downloaded the plan I used for this post, you’ll see that the phrases I’ve selected are ‘blog for seo’, ‘how to blog’ and ‘beginner’s guide’, which all have low competition and searches in the thousands. (more…)

  • 5 Great Ideas to Help You Build a Blog Following

    Posted Jan 14th, 2011 By in Blogging With | 5 Comments

    Everyone out there with a blog wants a bigger following.  If it is brand new, you want to get a piece of the pie.  If it is already established, you want to get a bigger piece of the market.  Still, the toughest part is getting that initial following which will make your blog relevant on the scene.  How can you build that following?  Here are the ideas you need to have your blog hit the ground running.

    1. Corner a market. People will wonder what the point of your blog is if it does not have a certain piece of the market cornered.  You are new, so you have to stand out.  Surely, you have thought of something new or would have little reason to get out there in the first place, right?  Nail your themes down very early on so people know they can count on you from the outset.  If they know they are getting something special when they visit your blog, they will continue coming back – as long as you deliver.

    2. Spark a controversy. Well, it doesn’t have to be a major controversy.  In fact, it doesn’t have to be anything ridiculous at all.  What you ought to do, however, is take a concept which is integral to your overall message and get it out there in the boldest possible way.  If you hit a nerve, people will associate you with that relevant style.  If you back it up with real substance, you are going to have a number of readers ready to follow wherever you might lead them.

    3. Have some relevant links. Having your niche in the field you write about is different from being isolated on a far-flung island.  You want to be part of a community, so team up with websites and other blogs that don’t tread on your ground but instead help you achieve your goals.  You may benefit a lot from these associations.  Keep in mind that you can also be considered guilty by association, so take your links seriously.

    4. Mix in some quality video. One of the great things about writing in the twenty-first century is that you can also be a rock star at the same time.  YouTube can be your MTV and you can make your blog sing in ways that never will happen in print.  It’s important that you don’t look like most bloggers (bespectacled and bearded) if you want to stand out.  However, for a literary blog, that might just be the look you can pull off.  Whatever you do, make sure your videos have the goal of more readers, not viewers.

    5. Troubleshoot the other blogs. Blogs that are similar in your field will always have problems.  If you notice them surely others do as well.  Why not be the go-to place for solving the issues on the scene?  People always have some feeling that a void exists when this is the case.  If you fill that void, you’ll instantly gain a number of readers.

    Guest Author: This article was written by Mona Pennypacker of Acorn Creative Studio who specializes in web site design in Colorado.

  • 20 of the Most Favored Social Media Blog Posts of 2010

    Posted Dec 20th, 2010 By in Blogging, Business, Social Media With | 1 Comment

    Here are 20 most read and widely-shared social media blog posts of 2010 on MirnaBard.com. It’s a good time to revisit many of these posts, as they are great reminders when planning for 2011.  Please let me know what your favorite one was in the comments below.

    Thank you for all my supportive readers.  I appreciate you more than you know!

    1. Ask Mirna: What criteria do you suggest people use to select a social media expert?
    2. 7 Signs Your Social Media Consultant is Really an Expert
    3. 15 Categories of Social Media
    4. 21 Twitter Conversation Tips
    5. 99 Favorite Social Media Quotes and Tips
    6. Top 50 Social Media Mistakes Made by Small Businesses
    7. 6 Essential Mindset Shifts for Social Media Success
    8. The 21 Essential C’s of Social Media
    9. How to Write Re-tweetable Tweets in 5 Minutes or Less
    10. 290 Email Spam Trigger Words to Avoid
    11. 4 Steps to Strengthen Your Brand with Social Media
    12. Is Social Media a ‘Get Rich’ Scheme or Competition?
    13. 3 Undeniable Ways to Turn Competitors into Enemies on Social Media Sites
    14. 25 Monitoring Tools That Will Not Cost You a Penny
    15. 11 Key E’s of Social Media
    16. 11 More Key E’s of Social Media
    17. 5 Definite Reasons Why Videos are an Effective Marketing Tool
    18. 7 WordPress Plug-ins to Help You Control Content Scraping
    19. 9 Ways to Reduce Scraping and Catch Blog Post Theft
    20. 7 Simple Social Networking Tips for Business

    Which one of the 20 was your favorite of 2010?

  • How to Overcome Writer’s Block Using the Secrets Revealed By One of Today’s Most Influential Business Thinkers

    Posted Nov 17th, 2010 By in Article Marketing, Blogging, Content Marketing With | 3 Comments

    Are you coming to the point, where you say to yourself – “Oh sh%t, I have to write my article or blog post?” Does the though of writing drain you? And, even though you know you need to write articles to get more website traffic, build your list, nourish relationships and increase your profits – are you procrastinating writing your articles?

    Then this new article is for you.

    Learn from Marshall Goldsmith (the man who is ranked one of the most influential business thinkers in the world by The London Times and Forbes) and see how you can apply his secrets for getting unstuck to your own article writing and marketing efforts.

    Why You End Up in a Writing Rut!

    As Marshall says, “Our default reaction in life is to experience inertia. We all tend to go where we have been going, do what we have been doing and say what we have been saying.” If you say the same story time after time after time, and repeat the same advice – it gets boring! And, it’s not only boring for the reading, but it’s boring for you the writer.

    Marshall’s Solutions for Getting Unstuck

    1. You need to challenge yourself to create new content — content that is not found anywhere else online.

    2. Change your approach to article writing. You have to ask yourself, “If I have to spend this time writing articles, how can I make it more meaningful to my readers and myself? Part of the answer is to find your passion and let it shine through in your articles.

    3. Stop saying later. The time is now. How many times have you said this to yourself, “You know, I am incredibly busy right now. And, given the pressures of work and home, I feel too over-committed. I simply don’t have the time and energy. I’ll write my articles later in maybe 2 to 3 weeks when things calm down.” The reality is that there will not be two or three weeks. It is always going to be crazy.  If you are not taking the time to build your business now with articles, it’s never going to happen. As Marshall says, “To get unstuck, you have to look in the mirror day after day, and remind yourself of the actions that you will take today.” It requires discipline – but once you get writing and get out of this rut, you will get more profits and it will be worth it.

    4. Get a peer coach – In a SUCCESS magazine article, Marshall mentions that he has a peer coach which asks him every day – “On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy were you yesterday? On a scale of 1 to 10, how meaningful was yesterday? How many minutes did you write? How many push-ups did you do?” This peer coach holds Marshall accountable. How do you hold yourself accountable to make sure you write and submit articles online and do the other marketing activities that will build your business?

    Follow these tips and you’ll be writing articles on a daily basis – just like me “your article writing and marketing expert!” You see, I write articles on a daily basis for my ezine, blog, article submission and for my social media efforts.  And, I never get bored.

    Guest Author: Instant Article Writing Template Creator Eric Gruber helps internet marketers and small business owners overcome writer’s block and end their writing rut fast so they can get more publicity, prospects and profits. Now, you can get 3 of Eric’s article templates for free – so you can write your articles in 30 minutes or less. Get it now at http://www.TryMyFreeArticleTemplates.com

  • Poll: How often do you post a blog?

    Posted Oct 26th, 2010 By in Blogging, Content Marketing, Polls With | 7 Comments

    How often do you post a blog?

    View Results

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