Time to put your blog on a diet?
Widgets, plugins, advertising, blogrolls, images, videos, and more can be added to blogs to add functionality or just plain fun. There are thousands of add-ons to consider using on your business blog, and many of which will be beneficial to you or your readers. However, add too many of these added features and your blog will balloon from fun and functional to fat and flaky.
The problem with blog add-ons, plugins, and widgets
- They can distract your readers from your larger purpose — giving them useful, relevant content that they want
- They slow down your site loading speed — even though many people have high-speed connections, making them wait is likely to make them want to leave your site altogether
- They don’t always add value — while they may be cool or unique, they may provide nothing that your readers are looking for when they come to your site
- They don’t always work — if something in your sidebar stops functioning even temporarily, you’re left with a big blank space, or worse some gobbledygook that makes your site look bad
- They can lure your readers away — some widgets are so cool that your readers end up visiting the widget-creator’s site and leaving your blog entirely
Tips for putting your blog on an add-on diet
Ask yourself these questions to determine which widgets/add-ons to keep, which to toss, and 
which to limit in some manner. If you answer “yes,” this widget is good for your diet. Any “no” answers mean it’s time to wean yourself from the widget or not consume it in the first place.
- Does this add value for my readers?
- Does this add value for me?
- Is this the most simple/pretty/clean way to add the functionality I seek?
- Can the look of the add on be made to complement my blog’s theme?
- Do I get enough control of the widget to create a professional blog presence?
- Is this add-on being used by my readers now?
If you have other tips for keeping your blog svelte and stylish, please chime in. Or, if you have examples of blogs from either extreme, send in the URL so we can all go take a look.
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Quotes to make us better bloggers (and better people too)
In my books and other pieces I’ve written, I like to sprinkle in wise, witty, or worth-repeating words from others. Most of the quotes I tend to use deal with life, inspiration, leadership, love, communication, freedom, responsibility, and other subjects in the personal development or life enrichment vein. Below are some such quotes along with my reasoning as to why they apply to being a blogger. I welcome your thoughts–in agreement or difference–as well as any quotes you want to share.
“Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Know that when you’re in a blogging conversation–you write, others comment, you reply, etc.–you’ll likely have times when not all voices sound in accord. Learn to distinguish contradiction and alternative ideas from castigation and bullying. The former make for interesting and engaging conversation the latter make for unsafe territory that you’re likely to want to avoid.
“Enrollment is the art and practice of generating a spark of possibility for others to share.”
~ Rosamund and Benjamin Zander, The Art of Possibility
- Not every post you write will inspire others to comment. That’s fine. However, if part of what you want to do is interact with others, find a way to light that spark, drawing others out from their corners of the world to your circle. Imagine yourself as an ancient story-teller, Shakespearean bard, or someone who brings people together for an exchange of ideas.
“The masters in the art of living make little distinction between their work and their play, their labor and their leisure, their minds and their bodies, their information, their recreation, their love and their religion. They hardly know which is which, they simply pursue their vision of excellence at whatever they do, leaving others to decide whether they are working or playing.”
~ James A. Michener
- Write with passion. If you start a post that lacks energy as you type, save it for later when it truly speaks to you. If you have nothing you feel compelled to share, don’t just make up a post to fill space. Blogging can benefit your business, but only if you do it with heart.
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”
~ Annie Dillard
- You are in this world for a reason. You have contributions to make and unique gifts to offer those with whom you come into contact. Let your blog reflect your larger life purpose. Show yourself as who you are at your core, not who you think you “should” be. Offer your authentic self–and give others room to do the same–and your blog will be one more place where you can fulfill the purpose for which you were made.
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Strategies to get your blog noticed
Writing exceptional blog content is crucial (Take these simple steps to create exceptional blog content), the task involves more than correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation. When it comes to effective blog content, one of the main keys is visibility and this is supported by SEO skills. In other words, it’s not simply a matter of writing something compelling. The best blogs are well written and structured effectively (e.g., using title and headline tags to the fullest advantage, linking with powerful anchor text, etc.) so that they can be easily found, indexed by search engines, and promoted by others.
Turn your blog content into great content that markets itself
- Write for people and search engines. Using your blog statistics (Blog statistics for business — What to monitor and why) you can learn what phrases and words people use to find your site. Use tools like WordTracker to learn about popularity of keywords and use those that will help you stand out.
- Consider your entire post (and site for that matter). Do you use pretty permalinks (like mine) or the default ones that don’t tell users anything (ones that look like this http://yoururl.net/blog/?p=123)? Are you writing useful titles and using <h1> or <h2> tags inside your posts or simply making some copy bold? Are your page descriptions “junked up” with the full name of your blog?
- Make it easy for others to promote your work. Though you don’t want your site overloaded with plugins, it’s crucial that you give readers easy ways to pass along your work. This includes ways to add your content to social media and bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon, Sk*rt, Digg, Delicious. I also encourage you to have features that allow your users to print and email your posts.
Since you all know that even these tips don’t guarantee that your content will be promoted widely, it’s important to have content marketing skills of your own. Read how Chris Mitchell got Seven Tips for Taking a Laptop Traveling, his post, featured to two big traffic sites.
Expert advice on search engine optimization for your blog
I have beginner’s SEO knowledge, so I’m going to share some links to others who have a lot to say on the topic. There will be some redundancy here, yet sometimes reading the same advice multiple times helps it sink in.
- Entrepreneur Yaro Starak gives you the scoop on how to wisely use your time for search engine placement The 80/20 Of Search Engine Marketing - Part 1 and The 80/20 Of Search Engine Marketing - Part 2.
- Stephan Spencer reminds you not to be foolish in his post, Twelve SEO Mistakes Most Bloggers Make.
- Shari Thurow clarifies her thinking about writing for optimization in her post When Content Isn’t King in SEO.
If you have tips to share that have helped you make your blog highly visible to the right people, drop a line in the comments section.
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Blog statistics for business — What to monitor and why
If you’re blogging for business, monitoring and analyzing your blog stats must become part of your blogging routine. Personally I use three primary tools to measure the effectiveness of my blog. I monitor my blog traffic with Google Analytics, review the least utilized, most promising keywords with HitTail, and use FeedBurner Pro to analyze my blog’s feed.
Why blog statistics are important for business bloggers
There are numerous reasons that one of your regular blog-related activities should be reviewing your blog statistics. Here are four of the most important.
- Your blog statistics keep you focused. Unlike personal blogging, knowing your blogging goals and whether or not you’re reaching them is vital to your success. Looking at your statistics, you will know if you have achieved your goals, are making progress, or are off-track.
- Blog statistics help you plan effectively. By knowing how people are coming to your site, what they’re reading, and what actions they’re taking, you can make more thoughtful choices about such things as where to advertise, with whom you want to collaborate or exchange links, and which posts to highlight.
- Statistics can help you earn money (and save it too). By knowing your number of visitors and feed subscribers, you can ask to be compensated fairly for advertising you run on your site or feed. If you know you’re already drawing a lot of traffic from search engines for certain keywords then you can skip or eliminate the pay-per-click advertising.
- Blog stats can wake you up. Whether you’ve underestimated the value of your blog or have gotten complacent about adding value, knowing your statistics will give you a snapshot of reality.
Which blog statistics matter most?
As with almost any blog-related discussion, my answer to this question is “It depends.” Here are a few pieces of advice I can offer.
- Your blogging goals should determine which statistics you track/monitor. For example, if one of your goals is to turn one-time visitors into regular readers, you’ll want to look at your “% new visits” statistics in Google Analytics or your “subscribers” totals in FeedBurner.
- You might monitor the same stats all the time or you might analyze certain stats only for specific purposes. For instance, when I was preparing for a redesign of MyBlogCoach, I looked at what Google Analytics could tell me about what browser use and screen resolutions were most common among my visitors. I then optimized my site for those people, knowing that they made up the majority of my traffic.
- Make certain that you use whatever statistics you track. Though plugins and simple javascript can make tracking statistics a simple process, if you’re not going to use the stats don’t waste your time setting them up. Make the process as simple as possible even if that means you track only one thing. Just track and analyze it consistently.
“He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts - for support rather than for illumination.”
~ Andrew Lang
Want to learn WordPress and create your own business blog the easy, cost-effective way? Check out the sizzling summer special of my Simple, Successful Blogging Audio Course. Just $47 for 12-hours of audio lessons and PDF workbook. Buy your copy today!
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Blogs work for every business, including yours
A blog is a great choice for any business wanting to have a web presence. In fact, I recommend that businesses think blog before traditional website for one main reason: blogs outperform traditional sites because they deliver on things that matter to most business owners–being economical, effective at delivering results, flexible to the organization’s needs, and easy to work with and maintain. Plus, blogs offer all the benefits of a traditional website so there’s no “downside” to using a blog system. Here are four ways that blogs work better for business than traditional websites.
- Blogs are easy to use and maintain because they don’t require special technical skills and you can blog from any internet accessible computer or even via email.
- Blogs are a cost-effective way to put your business online since the “system” is already created and all you need to do is customize the design, layout, and additional features.
- Blogs give your business increased visibility over traditional websites because of the way the blogging system works with search engines like Google, Yahoo, and MSN.
- Blogs enable you to build relationships with potential customers/clients and help you maintain relationships with the customers/clients you already have.
“If your customers are looking for products that you make, or services that you provide, you want to be the first thing to show up in the search results. And if you want search engines to consider your site to be the most relevant result to your industry, blogging is the best way to accomplish it.”
~ Teresa Valdez Klein
The four points I listed above can apply to all companies. To take full advantage of the capabilities of a blog system, however, means that an organization will have to go beyond thinking of their web presence as a static online brochure that they only change on an annual basis. So, while any business can use a blog in place of a traditional website, it requires a certain type of person and company to reap the full that blogging offers.
What you and your business must have to enjoy the full benefits of blogging
- Message – You must have something to say that others (your customers) want to hear. Drawing people to your blog (or your feed) on a repeated basis means you need to provide them with something that they value.
- Writing – You must be able to communicate in an articulate and compelling way via writing (or have an editor to make your own writing clear and cogent). Additionally, I say you must enjoy writing (or providing whatever form of content you choose), because if you don’t, you will reach a point where you’ll stop doing it and then you’re back to a plain ol’ static site.
- Computer savvy – You must be comfortable with technology because blogging is a tech-baby through and through. Remember, you can have experts help you set up your blog and fix problems you encounter. Being willing to both experiment and learn, however, will help make you a more proficient, effective blogger and your confidence will help make the whole process a lot more fun.
- Time – You must be willing to devote time to blogging, otherwise you’ll have that boring static site. You don’t need to make it your full-time profession or even do it daily to be effective. Just know that to reap the benefits of blogging you’ll need to commit time to the process.
- Passion – You must find a way to enjoy blogging otherwise you’ll run three risks. You’ll be spending time doing something that you don’t enjoy. You’ll add stress to your life because you think that you “should” blog. You’ll produce boring content because your heart’s not in it.
Wondering if your business is blog-worthy? Tell me about your company (Via my contact page or in the comments area below) and I’ll tell you how blogging could work for you.
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What are the best plugins for your blog?
Answer: It depends. Yes, that’s my initial response to many questions about blogging, but it’s not because I’m attempting to be coy or evasive. It’s my answer because it’s true. The best plugins (added features for your blog) will vary from blog to blog depending on the purpose of the blog, the goals of the blogger, and the other tools they have at their disposal.
Plugins I recommend for business bloggers
- FeedBurner FeedSmith (formerly Feed Replacement) — FeedBurner (FB) has many free features that you’ll want to take advantage of. Some of these tools are even used outside your blog. For instance, in my email signature I use FB to show rotating headlines from my latest blog posts. I also send blog posts via email thanks to FB.
- Subscribe to Comments — Allows site visitors to subscribe to comments to a post (Handy for when folks post a question and want to know when you’ve posted an answer.)
- Angusman’s Feed Copyrighter — Places a message at the end of your feed saying your content is copyrighted. Most of my readers are feed readers (versus those of you reading this on my blog itself), so it’s important to me to have certain plugins that work specifically with my feed.
- WordPress Database Backup — Keeps your data safe. Also allows for your backups to be done automatically at regular intervals so it becomes one less task on your “to do” list.
- Subscribe Remind — At the beginning or end of each post, this plugin adds text that reminds your readers that they can subscribe to your blog’s feed. Helps with retention of first time visitors/readers.
- Secure and Accessible PHP Contact Form — Allows people to contact you without leaving you vulnerable to spam floods. There are several colors/styles of forms to choose from so you’ll likely find something that complements your theme.
- Contextual Related Posts — Shows “related posts” to highlight relevant content for your readers. Helps them discover previous posts without searching through your archives.
- No Self Pings — When you reference your own posts, you don’t ping yourself (basically showing your excerpt as a trackback).
- LinkLove — “Thank” your regular commenters with this plugin that removes the “nofollow” attribute allowing search engine spiders to follow the link they leave when the comment. I like this plugin because you can specify how many comments earn someone the designation as a “regular commenter.”
- Viper’s Video Quicktags — If you use video on your site, this plugin makes it easy to add the links as you’re composing your post.
Other’s “plug” their top blog plugins
- David Airey shares his Top 5 essential WordPress Plugins, reminding us of why we use plugins in the first place, to “improve user-friendliness and functionality.”
- Lorelle VanFossen offers an extensive list of plugins for images, photographs, and graphics. Chances are if an image-related plugin exists, it’s on this page.
- Arpit Jacob offers up a list of plugins, most of which focus on back-end issues so they’re helpful to the blogger. I look forward to checking out WP Plugins Tracker and WordPress Automatic Upgrade Plugin.
- Vlad Akilov posted a thorough list of WordPress Plugins that run the gamut from fun to functional.
You’re welcome to vote for your favorite plugin or share one that’s not listed here. Of course you could also have a little fun and add a comment about the plugin you’ve been dreaming of (some developer may just come along and create it for you). 
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Why blogging isn’t as easy as some say (but it can be easier)
“Create a blog in 3 easy steps: 1. Create an account, 2. Name your blog, 3. Choose a template.”~ Blogger Instructions
“It’s [a blog] easy to start and maintain. You don’t need an IT staff or a degree in computer science to start a TypePad blog. Designing your blog is point-and-click, and updating your blog is simpler than sending an email. You can be up and running in minutes.”
~ TypePad Instructions
There is no dishonesty in the two statements above; however they are misleading.
Key blogging distinctions
- Creating a blog and blogging are two entirely different things.
- Using a cookie-cutter template and having a customized blog are two more entirely different things.
- Personal blogging and blogging for business are entirely different.
- Having a blog and using a blog effectively are entirely different.
- Having an easy-to-use blog system and having a strategic blogging plan are entirely different too.
These distinctions aren’t what the people at Blogger and TypePad tell you. Why? It’s not a conspiracy to inflate your expectations and then let you down. Most of the “free” hosted systems (Blogger, TypePad, wordpress.com) are catering to personal bloggers for whom design, flexibility, and the overall process aren’t that important. For this kind of blogger, the distinctions above don’t matter that much. As a person using a blog for business, however, everything about your blog matters.
Key components of the business blogging process
All of these items are covered in detail during my Simple, Successful Blogging Program, a 10-week group blogging course designed to help business owners plan and launch a blog for their company and customers.
- Know the purpose behind your blog.
- Know who you’re blogging for and what’s important to them.
- Know what will sustain your passion for blogging once the newness has faded.
- Develop specific goals and know how to evaluate your progress.
- Organize your blog in a way that best helps you achieve your goals.
- Have a plan for promoting your blog online and offline.
- Develop a blogging practice that you can maintain easily over time.
In addition to developing the components listed above, as a Simple, Successful Blogging participant, you will:
- install WordPress on your own web host — this step gives you the blogging system from which you’ll do all your amazing work
- add the key plugins (added features) — this step ensures that your blog is user-friendly and highly functional for both you and your readers
- learn how to use most of the functions of WordPress — this step helps you learn your way around WordPress so your time blogging can be as fruitful as possible
By the time you complete the program, you will have learned what you need to be a successful business blogger.
So the bad news is that blogging is NOT easy, despite what you’ve read/heard. The good news is that business blogging can be easier, more effective, and more enjoyable if you take part in my Simple, Successful Blogging Program. Early bird pricing is in effect until August 16, 2007. Space is limited.
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Keep blogging in perspective
While most of us would say that we know how to keep blogging in perspective with everything else of value in our lives, I think the reality for many is that blogging can become an obsession. In fact, many of the participants in my free introductory blogging teleclasses often allude to this concern in answering the pre-class survey I send out. So I wanted to write up some of my suggestions for how to find time for blogging AND how to save time for not blogging.
How to make blogging easy and efficient
- Have a way to jot down ideas at any time. Whether this is a notepad and pencil by your bed, a digital voice recorder to keep in your car, or a journal full of your scribbled thoughts, having a way to record your ideas for use at a later time will help you plumb the creative well.
- Do as much as you can at one time. If you’ve got 20 minutes for blogging today, use your time as efficiently as possible, whatever that means to you. Perhaps you write, edit, and add photos to one post. Or, you might start three posts with your time. Maybe you put the polishing touches on two posts and schedule them to publish in the next few days.
- Use tools that streamline your process. Some folks use desktop (non-internet-based) blogging software while others blog via email. Choose to use whatever tools work best for you. Read about some fantastic time-saving tools in my post “Save time when you blog with these free resources.”
How to keep blogging from consuming your life
- Know your values and live them. If family and friends are invaluable, you need to have time to spend with them (That’s part of my absence this week, enjoying time with my grandkids, Molly & Jack. Blogging can wait.). If getting outside keeps you feeling connected, you can get a laptop AND you can also schedule screen-free time in the fresh air each day.
- Create sacred space and time. For me this means that the computer is off on Sundays (with exceptions perhaps once a quarter). Set some boundaries and limits for yourself and hold to them. Generally this time away from blogging (either writing/maintaining your blog or reading/browsing others’ blogs) will help keep you energized and make you less susceptible to burnout.
- Make reasonable commitments. It’s easy to be so excited when we first start blogging that we’re posting frequently, and writing elaborate posts with lots of goodies and links. Over time, however, we might lose steam and our posts become infrequent or less well done. Instead of this model, go for the “start small and grow” method where you begin gradually with what you are confident you can handle no matter what and then build to more (posts, regularity of posts, added features, etc.) as it feels right. This method helps you (a) create a low- or no-pressure environment for yourself and (b) satisfy your readers who witness your improvement over time.
- Be a team player. While you may be a one person operation, there are ways to involve others so you’re not flying solo all the time. You could take a blogging class to benefit from group synergy or have guest authors for your blog. You can hire an editor to proofread your pieces before you publish or you could team up with a photographer who wants to get visibility for their work without maintaining their own website or flickr account.
Blogging is fun, creative, useful, connecting, and here to stay (even if it changes form over time). Whether you blog for your business or for your own personal reasons, it’s important to learn how to do it in a way that keeps it from overwhelming the rest of your precious life.
