Value is key to effective business blogging
“How can I possibly have enough to say? I’m very to the point and don’t like gossip or jabber. But I DO love to pass on transformational information.”
~ A person considering blogging
This quote is from one of the pre-class surveys I ask people to fill out whenever I host my free introductory blogging class. (FYI, The next telephone-based class is June 6, 2007. Get more details.). This person’s query most attracted my attention because of the underlying assumptions it brought to light, namely that blogging is drawn out, gossipy, and potentially full of useless stuff.
Now, if you’ve spent any time visiting blogs, you know that bloggers can ramble on and spread information that is neither nice nor useful. For some bloggers and blog readers, that’s fine. If, however, you want to blog for your business or you have a service-oriented vision for blogging, then you will want your blogging to be cogent, useful, and written in a way that keeps your readers coming back for more. Though I’ll write more about this in coming posts, here’s my bottom line advice:
focus on providing VALUE to those whom you serve, you’ll find enough to say.
“To me, ultimate power is the ability to produce the results you desire most and create value for others in the process.”
~ Anthony Robbins
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Alphabet soup — understanding blogging lingo
“Hey, I pinged technorati and have validated my XHTML but my feed still looks funny. Do you think I have a problem with a plugin, my CSS, or maybe even mySQL?”
If you’re a typical beginning blogger, you might think you’re drowning in jargon, acronyms, and terminology that only a true nerd can comprehend. While there are many terms you don’t need to know, developing a level of blogging fluency will help you feel more confident and enable you to more quickly become an adept blogger.
“Incomprehensible jargon is the hallmark of a profession.”
~ Kingman Brewster
Helpful Blog Lingo Links
To help you decipher the blogging dialect, here are a few resources that are great to use when you’re starting out.
“Jargon seems to be the place where the right brain and the left brain meet.”
~ Wendy Kaminer
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How many columns make the best blog?
Jason, one of my Simple, Successful Blogging program students recently asked me to share “the advantages/disadvantages of one-column, two-column, and three-column set ups.” Below are my thoughts on the subject as well as a couple of links where you can read others thoughts on the matter before coming to your own conclusion.
Things to consider when choosing your blog layout (theme)
- Choose the set up that will best help you fulfill your blog’s purpose. As Orangeguru said in his comment at Weblog Tools Collection, “Form should always follow function. Unless you define the functions a layout has to fulfill there is no clear answer to your needs.”
- Select a set up that will serve your target audience. If you write primarily for super-techies, you can have lots of widgets, plugins, social media links, and various other things on your pages and everyone will be happy. Conversely, let’s say you are an ADD/ADHD coach/counselor and your blog is for folks with ADD/ADHD. If you’ve got a 3-column theme with lots going on, this is likely to be “too much” for your readers.
- Pick a blog theme that you like (unless you have absolutely no taste or style). Face it, it’s your blog and you’ll be spending more time there than most folks, so go with a blog layout that you enjoy looking at AND that you can easily work with.
Pros and cons of blog layouts
One column — Simple (somewhat) and clean. I just wonder where various navigation items go. If you decide to promote events, causes, products, or political candidates it seems that you have no logical place to put them unless it’s on a static page somewhere. To me the 1-column blog layout is the equivalent of a dress without pockets. It looks nice, yet I’m forced to carry a purse because it’s not very utilitarian.- Two columns – Still simple (most of the time) and now I have somewhere to put other items of relative importance that help people navigate my site. As long as you are thoughtful about what you place in your sidebar, I think that the two-column blog layout offers the right mix of style and practicality. In my book, the 2-column blog layout is equivalent to a wrinkle-resistant pair of slacks with 4 pockets. It wears well in many settings and it’s still practical.
- Three columns – Simple has gone by the wayside and now the blog is choc full of information everywhere I look. While this might allow you to fit in every last plugin, ad, and info nugget, I think you run a much higher risk of overwhelming people with three columns (there may be exceptions, so feel free to share them in the comments area). My call is that the 3-column blog layout is like the parachute pants of the ’80s or today’s cargo pants stuffed full-to-bursting. It’s cool that you can carry your worldly possessions with you, but that’s not truly practical or pretty, so why do it.
Other’s opinions on the best blog layouts
Now, just so you can get tons of other ideas, I invite you to read what other bloggers have to say on the subject of blog layout.
Below are selected quotes from Lorelle VanFossen. Check out the opinions of her readers too.
- “I believe that above everything else, your blog must ‘look’ like what you want it to look like. It must reflect who you are and what you blog about. The choice of how many sidebars the blog requires must service those points.”
- “The single most important feature on your blog is the navigation.”
- “As important as the blog title, post title, content, and other contextual information is, if the visitor [to your blog] cannot move where they arrive to other places on your blog, how will they ever know of all the other wonderful things you have done here?”
Mark at Weblog Tools Collection wrote, “I personally prefer one column themes with a minimal second column. Most information that is put on my sidebar(s) is extraneous and could be placed elsewhere. I have also found that some of that information deters from the original content of the blog.” Like Lorelle’s readers, Mark’s have some valuable input as well. Read their comments on choosing the right blog layout.
If you’re now either overwhelmed by the myriad of voices or feel torn between having to choose a layout for your blog, you can do what I do in similar situations — Eenie, meenie, miney, mo (or if you prefer, flip a coin) to make your choice. 
If you’d like to add your opinion to this conversation or share resources to help others make the right blog layout choice for them, please comment.
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Five essential skills for blogging success
Six years ago T. Harv Eker held a personal development workshop in his basement for eight people. Today, Harv’s company (Peak Potentials Training) fills hotel ballrooms to capacity each time they host a training. How many of you would like to see your blog make a similar shift–from having few, infrequent readers to having thousands of avid readers?
You can make your transition in the same way Harv made his . . .
PRACTICE
Through practice you will develop and sharpen skills while making steady progress toward blogging success, whatever that looks like for you. Becoming competent in the five areas described below will support you in achieving your goals regardless of where you’re starting.
1. Writing prowess. Regardless of genre, niche, or purpose, all successful bloggers (whether success is measured by readership, acclaim, or net income) communicate clearly, articulately, and in a way that ensures that their readers get value from each post.
Resources for honing your writing craft include:
- The Copywriter’s Handbook, by Robert W. Bly
- Words that Sell, by Richard Bayan
- Copyblogger, Brian Clark’s blog
- Writing classes (at your community college or from private instructors)
- Voice coaching (if you prefer podcasting to writing your posts)
Practice, practice, practice. Until the practice becomes your practice.
~ Brad Brown
2. Design savvy. Though we’re told not to judge books by their covers, we all know that visual impressions are powerful. Successful blogs are well-designed blogs. Colors are thoughtfully used; elements are carefully arranged; white space is adequately apportioned; images are added for effect.
Resources for developing your artistic skills include:
- Art classes (at a community college, museum, or local studio)
- Books and articles about colors and color psychology
- DIY (do-it-yourself) and “makeover” TV shows
- Ad agency websites (get ideas from their creative work)
3. Programming know-how. Blogs are designed so that you don’t need to know HTML, CSS, PHP, or any other computer language. You’ll have greater flexibility, however, if
you’re able to modify the code behind your blog. Knowing code basics is equivalent to knowing how to change a flat tire or use jumper cables to start a car. Someone else can do these things for you, yet it’s easier, more efficient, and generally more economical to be self-reliant in this regard.
Resources for building your programming muscles include:
- Computer classes (community college continuing education courses are great for this)
- Books (series such as Dummies, Visual QuickStart Guides, etc.)
- Forums (learn from existing questions and answers or pose your own query)
Ask yourself the secret of your success. Listen to your answer, and practice it.
~ Richard Bach
4. Curious spirit. Blogging is ever evolving, so the best bloggers stay curious and keep
experimenting. Get started with your best ideas, then keep looking for ways to improve, innovate, or replicate, knowing that change is natural (and even fun!).
Resources for nurturing your curious spirit include:
- The blogosphere (check out the cool blogs and creativity that already abound)
- Blog conferences (Blog Business Summit, BlogHer Conference, Women Business & Blogging, Podcast & New Media Expo)
- Kids (especially those between the ages of 4 and 12 will show you what creative and curious looks like)
5. Magnetic vision. Most of us grew up being told some version of this aphorism “Work hard to get ahead.” Though successful bloggers do devote plenty of time and energy to blogging, holding a clear vision and focusing on what you want is your primary responsibility. Many people impede their progress
when they start fixating on the bumps they’re encountering rather than holding the vision of what they want in their minds. Identify your blogging goals, believe you can achieve them, envision yourself having reached them and feel joyful, elated, and proud of what you’ve done. Then, take inspired action and start making your journey from unrealized possibility to potential fulfilled.
Resources for learning how to become a magnet for the results you desire include:
- Law of Attraction, by Michael Losier
- Abraham-Hicks books, videos, workshops
- The Secret DVD (or the book)
- Dr. Michael Beckwith
Five areas on which to focus your energy. Five skill sets to refine. Five things each of us is capable of doing. Five actions that will hasten positive results. Five blogging practices that can lead you from mediocrity to mastery.
For every pass I caught in a game, I caught a thousand in practice.
~ Don Hutson
This post is part of ProBlogger, Darren Rowse’s Top 5 Group Writing Project.
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Could blogging get any easier than this?
Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.~Confucius
While working with a client today I came across The Center for Improved Living. In the posts listed on the homepage, the number of comments (per post) range from 5 at the low end to 31 at the top. Does Marc spend hours each day writing his posts? (Go look and see for yourself.) I bet it takes 3 minutes max.
Maybe one blogging principle for all of us to practice is KISS (keep it simple sweetheart)!
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Why reading others’ blogs pays off
Yes, sometimes we all get a bit myopic or narcissistic or both and think that the world revolves (or should revolve) around us/our blogs. Though I’m confident that we each rock in our own way and millions of people would benefit from reading our blogs, it’s often invaluable to get out of our own bubbles and see what wisdom, funny ideas, useful tips, and interesting writing others have to offer.
Here’s a recent sampling of worthwhile blogging-related reads I found browsing the results from day 1 of ProBlogger’s “Top 5″ Group Writing Project.
- Top 5 WordPress plugins that help increase comments (because bloggers are about community and conversation, that’s why)
- Top 5 tips writing for blogs (if you write poorly no one will understand what you’re attempting to say)
- The top 5 free search engine optimization tools (because we’re all wanting to “be discovered”)
- 5 steps to securing your data (without our data some of us wouldn’t know our own phone numbers or what time to have lunch)
- Become blog worthy (because a good laugh is important and lots of laughs is plain ol’ fun)
I’ll be adding my own “top 5″ tomorrow, so make sure you take time to come read it.
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How to make WordPress blogging a breeze
Geoff wrote about his “Top 5 Favourite WordPress Blogging Tools” as part of ProBlogger’s Group Writing Project. I agree with his picks of Akismet, FeedBurner, and Google Analytics. Great tools for spam protection, promoting your blog (and more) and tracking you blog traffic.
One more tool I highly recommend is the “WordPress Bookmarklet” (available near the bottom of the new post page). It is a great tool. Once you install it, here’s how it works. As you’re browsing the web and find a blog post or article you want to share with your readers, you simply click the Bookmarklet “favorite” button. WordPress then creates a draft post with a link to the article you were viewing. You can easily write the rest of your post and save or publish as you choose. The Bookmarklet is a great time-saving tool, so if you’d like more time for blogging and everything else you enjoy, get the WordPress Bookmarklet installed today!
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Will write for blog traffic
What a novel idea for we bloggers to write content as a means of attracting more folks to our sites. One of the best ways I’ve found to draw people to my blogs AND to find out about some awesome blogs is to participate in the Group Writing Projects sponsored by Darren Rowse (aka ProBlogger). Especially if you’re new and you’re looking for someone anyone to visit your blog, submitting a post to a Group Writing Project is a great idea. So, check out the details about the current Project–The Top 5–sidle on over to ProBlogger. Then get busy blogging (deadline is Thursday, May 10)!
