Commenting on blogs is a great way to extend your presence online, meet other bloggers, business owners, and potential customers, and ultimately drive more traffic to your own blog and website.
“A blog without comments enabled is not a blog. It’s more like a church pulpit. You preach the word, and the audience passively receives your evangelical message.”
Only 1 out of every 100 Readers Comment on a Blog
Regardless of all the valid reasons to contribute, there remains a tiny percentage of readers who actually add comments. This provides a unique opportunity! Even if you don’t have a blog, you can (and should) participate in the conversations that are happening. You will become part of the select few who actually speak up and actively connect to a select community. Consider some of these statistics:
90% of online community users are lurkers (read or observe without contributing)
Only 9% of users contribute ‘a little’
1% actively contribute
Pay it forward: be a great commenter
Commenting on other blogs is a great way to build your online social capital, get traffic to your own blog or website, participate in a community and target a niche audience. Before you post, keep a few simple guidelines in mind:
Stay professional, on topic and grammatically correct. This seems obvious, but I have witnessed many rude and offensive comments on posts. Even if you violently disagree with the message or opinion of the blogger, be courteous.
Find your people. Seek out a number of different sites that might relate to your work, related to your customers, your partners or your vendors. Visit these blogs frequently and contribute thoughtful remarks to these conversations.
Contribute new information. Make sure your response is unique and has not already been covered. Avoid leaving comments just for the sake of leaving a comment. While everybody likes to be agreed with, try to go beyond a simple “I agree” in your comments. However, do not try to sell anything or provide any gratuitous self-promotion to your own site. Instead contribute your knowledge and expertise on the subject which will go a lot further in supporting your reputation.
Own your comment and consider your tone. Do not post anonymously – it is seen as cowardly and negates the whole point of community-building. As in email, recognize that your tone is easily misunderstood. Ensure that you do not sound like a know it all or disrespectful to the author.
Build it and they will come: increase comments on your blog
You might have the greatest blog and most amazing articles, but if you are unable to get comments on your posts you are missing out making your site more “sticky” and enjoying a more regular flow of repeat traffic. Once the comments begin to flow it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy and easier to get additional comments. Keep these ideas in mind to get the ball rolling:
Invite comments, ask questions and be open ended.
Interact with and reward comments.
Be humble and gracious.
Make it easy to comment.
Now it is your turn – if you have never commented on a post, start now! Why do you think commenting is such a rare sport? What other ways have you tried to increase comments? Do you maintain a regular schedule of commenting on other sites?
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Using LinkedIn to find a route into a target Company
I think one of the great benefits of using LinkedIn is the Companies profile that is held on LinkedIn.
You can search for a company from your Home page by changing the "People" to "Companies" and entering the company name in the search box.
If the company has a LinkedIn profile up there the results are excellent.
You will get a summary company profile as well as link to website etc. (this is not the great bit)
You will also get a list of current employees (who are on LinkedIn) and who if any of these are connected to your network, be it a direct connection, connection of your connections or of their connections.
You can then use your network connections to get an introduction to someone in that company.
As well as current employees you can also see
New Employees
Former Employees
Recent promotions and changes
Popular profiles
10 Tips to Blogging
If you don’t have a blog for your business you are leaving a lot of money on the table. You also need to have a self hosted blog because the only blogs that work effectively are the ones that are updated regularly. You don’t want to put a lot of work into one only to have it taken away. If you don’t have a Wordpress blog you need to get one because Google loves them and you make your own rules.
These tips will help you with your blog but they are really mistakes you need to avoid in the development of your blog.
1. Content is king: Don’t put up a few posts and stop. You need to post regularly because when someone starts following your blog they will expect to see new content and without it they will stop visiting. There are many different ways to come up with new content and all of your posts don’t have to be articles, some of them can be reviews of other people’s articles or blog posts.
2. All dressed up and no place to go: Putting up a killer blog with great content deserves kudos but you have to drive traffic to it to be or it does you no good. Use Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites to drive traffic to it.
3. Be a friend to get a friend: You need t build a group of followers. The best way to do that is to follow other people. Visit their blog and leave a comment, Tweet their content, share it on Facebook and post a link to their blog on your blog. It won’t be long before they start commenting on your blog posts.
4. Fine Print squint: Make sure your opt-in box is easy to read. You should test the look of your blog in different browsers and make sure your sign up form doesn’t look like a legal document. If people can’t read it they will never sign up on it. This is important because some people will even be looking at your site on a cell phone.
5. Double naught spy: If you have a great gift to give those who opt-in to your list you need to tell them about it. Some people don’t mention a valuable gift until after the sign up happens and that is a good way to cut down on your numbers.
6. Penny Pincher: Some people pay for a template for their blog and that is a good idea but don’t stop there. Get a professionally designed banner for your blog so you will look like a leader. It isn’t that expensive and will boost your credibility.
7. GPS: Make it easy to get around on your site. Your posts can be made easy to find by using pages as categories like recruiting, copywriting, traffic generation, etc… This is called Silo Pages and really boosts your SEO as well as making it easier for visitors to find your content.
8. Shout-Outs: Everyone could spend a little more time writing their headlines. You should always write several headlines and never settle on the first one that comes out.
9. Lost Label chance: Putting pictures that are relevant is a very good idea but you should always label them with your main keyword. If you leave the label or caption blank you are missing a perfect opportunity to boost your SEO.
10. Gangsta Photo: It is great to put a photo of yourself on your blog but make it one with a friendly smile and not one that may scare someone away. Its one thing to show your personality but you could show yourself having some fun and wearing something better than a T-shirt and tattoos.
Of course these are just a few mistakes some people make and there are plenty of people who are doing just fine with their blogs even though they may have some of these mistakes on their site. However, it is never too late or a bad idea to fix your mistakes and even to laugh about them. You could even write an article telling how you fixed them.
These tips will help you with your blog but they are really mistakes you need to avoid in the development of your blog.
1. Content is king: Don’t put up a few posts and stop. You need to post regularly because when someone starts following your blog they will expect to see new content and without it they will stop visiting. There are many different ways to come up with new content and all of your posts don’t have to be articles, some of them can be reviews of other people’s articles or blog posts.
2. All dressed up and no place to go: Putting up a killer blog with great content deserves kudos but you have to drive traffic to it to be or it does you no good. Use Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites to drive traffic to it.
3. Be a friend to get a friend: You need t build a group of followers. The best way to do that is to follow other people. Visit their blog and leave a comment, Tweet their content, share it on Facebook and post a link to their blog on your blog. It won’t be long before they start commenting on your blog posts.
4. Fine Print squint: Make sure your opt-in box is easy to read. You should test the look of your blog in different browsers and make sure your sign up form doesn’t look like a legal document. If people can’t read it they will never sign up on it. This is important because some people will even be looking at your site on a cell phone.
5. Double naught spy: If you have a great gift to give those who opt-in to your list you need to tell them about it. Some people don’t mention a valuable gift until after the sign up happens and that is a good way to cut down on your numbers.
6. Penny Pincher: Some people pay for a template for their blog and that is a good idea but don’t stop there. Get a professionally designed banner for your blog so you will look like a leader. It isn’t that expensive and will boost your credibility.
7. GPS: Make it easy to get around on your site. Your posts can be made easy to find by using pages as categories like recruiting, copywriting, traffic generation, etc… This is called Silo Pages and really boosts your SEO as well as making it easier for visitors to find your content.
8. Shout-Outs: Everyone could spend a little more time writing their headlines. You should always write several headlines and never settle on the first one that comes out.
9. Lost Label chance: Putting pictures that are relevant is a very good idea but you should always label them with your main keyword. If you leave the label or caption blank you are missing a perfect opportunity to boost your SEO.
10. Gangsta Photo: It is great to put a photo of yourself on your blog but make it one with a friendly smile and not one that may scare someone away. Its one thing to show your personality but you could show yourself having some fun and wearing something better than a T-shirt and tattoos.
Of course these are just a few mistakes some people make and there are plenty of people who are doing just fine with their blogs even though they may have some of these mistakes on their site. However, it is never too late or a bad idea to fix your mistakes and even to laugh about them. You could even write an article telling how you fixed them.
A quick guide to getting started on LinkedIn
What is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 65 million members and growing rapidly. LinkedIn connects you to your trusted contacts and helps you exchange knowledge, ideas, and opportunities with a broader network of professionals.
Why Join LinkedIn?
There are a number of reasons to Join LinkedIn
Establish your professional profile
LinkedIn gives you the keys to controlling your online identity. Have you Googled yourself lately? You never know what may come up. LinkedIn profiles rise to the top of search results, letting you control the first impression people get when searching for you online.
Stay in touch with colleagues and friends
In today’s professional world, people change jobs and locations constantly. By connecting on LinkedIn, your address book will never go out of date. Your contacts update their profiles, keeping you current with their latest jobs, projects and contact info. You’ll stay in closer contact with great tools to communicate and collaborate.
Find experts and ideas
Sometimes your immediate circle can’t resolve a unique business challenge. Tools like Answers and Groups let you locate and interact with experts through trusted introductions. LinkedIn Search lets you explore the broader network by name, title, company, location, and other keywords that will help you find the knowledge you’re looking for.
Explore opportunities
Whether you’re looking for a career opportunity, winning new clients or building your professional reputation, LinkedIn connects you to jobs, sales leads and ideal business partners. With our powerful search engine, company research tools and a jobs board that shows who you know at listed companies, LinkedIn is the place to turn for new opportunities.
Groups
LinkedIn Groups is your destination to find and join communities of professionals based on common interest, experience, affiliation, and goals. Stay in touch with organizations, schools, and companies that you are and were a part of, network with professionals with similar interests and goals, and collaborate in a professional community online.
LinkedIn Groups allows group organizations to extend their brand’s reach and strengthen the brand with existing users by providing additional value through LinkedIn’s features.
How to get started
Go to www.LinkedIn.com and follow the 6 easy steps.
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