A Better Source for RSS Subscription Buttons

Jeff Faller (not to be confused with my cousin, Jeff Falter) recommended the following as a good source for RSS feed buttons. Thanks Jeff!

I'd actually recommend using Add This for your RSS Subscription buttons. It lets your readers subscribe to your feed via a simple, two step process that includes 20 or so readers with 1 single button.

I use it on my blog and I love it. So much less clutter and a lot simpler for my readers.

Word Press Add-Ins II: Andy Weighs In

My blog guru, the great Andy Wibbels, author of Blog Wild, had some tweaks and suggestions to a recent post I did on preferred plug ins on Word Press.

Here’s what he likes for analytics.

Here’s a ping generator for future posts.

Spam-prevention software he uses.

Software that removes curly quotes which can break feeds etc

All those fancy RSS images/links that get people to subscribe.

Widgets, of course

Goodies for podcasters

Previewing comments live

Thank you to the Chief of All Things Bloggy.

Word Press Plugs Ins Review, Part I

OK, blog wonks and others. It’s time to dig into the vast possibilities of the Word Press platform for blogs. This (potentially) free interface comes with many reasons to love it – enough that we’re actually turning this blog from Typepad over to Wordpress this week. So my blogmaster, Peggy, asked me to identify which plug ins I wanted added.

A Word Press plug in, in case you don’t know, is a cool additional ‘thing’ your blog does – and here are some of the ones I like …. This info courtesy of my recent freebie call with Andy Wibbels, who told us all about the many benefits of Word Press. (Click there for an MP3 of this excellent call!)

Here’s what I believe the optimized WP blog is wearing: Akismet (checks your comments against the Akismet web service to see if they look like spam or not.) WordPress Database Backup , (backs up on demand), Ajax Spell Checker , Batch Categories (Moving multiple posts easily from one category to another), Download Counter , Alexa Rank (allows you to add the Alexa Rank of your site to your blog), Backlinks , (shows graphically how many incoming links you have to your blog), Google PageRank , Popularity Contest (uses page views and feedback (comments, trackbacks, etc.) to determine how popular each of your posts are (in relation to each other). Add Meta Tags (automatically adds keywords in all kinds of good places to help SE robots find blog more easily), Category Tagging (Provides a tag cloud and related posts.) Jerome’s Keywords (lists keywords associated with your posts), SurveyGizmo (run surveys, polls, contact forms, lead gen, newsletter signups, data collection, etc), Google Sitemap Generator for WordPress , What Would Seth Godin Do (Display a separate message to new visitors, welcoming them to your site and inviting them to become subscribers), Add to Del.icio.us (clicking link adds it your post to del.icio.us.), Social Bookmarks (adds a list of XHTML compliant graphic links to your posts that allow visitors to easily submit them to a number of social bookmarking sites.)

Whew! Got more to add to the list?

Another Cool Conference – Blogher!

I’m inspired! My good buddy, marketing to women expert Yvonne Divita, has turned me on to Blogher – a conference all about blogging, social networking and the latest in marketing to women on this front. It’s in NYC from March 22-23 and I’m going! As these things go, it’s affordable (around $600 if your register by Jan 31)… and it’s loaded with women bloggers who I want to meet. Check it out if you feel your biz could use a boost of highly technical, feminine energy. Thanks, Yvonne!

Comic Book Templates for Windows Blog Users

Reader Celesta Krantz recommends the following comic book creation software for bloggers on Windows: My Comic Book Creator

She writes: “ I found it to be very user friendly, plus you can make your own templates (the free application can be found in the forums).”

Cool! Thanks, Celesta

Word Press Mania … The Next Big Thing!

In a few short years, WordPress has become the world's most popular blogging software. But how does it work? How do you get started using this totally free blogging platform?

Join blogging expert Andy Wibbels and me for a meaty, fun 1-hour demo and Q & A (‘WordPress 101‘)  on how to take advantage of the powerful free blogging package WordPress. We’re not only going to learn a lot … if Andy’s there, it’s actually going to be fun!

www.getknownnow.com/andy.html

A Fun Resource for Learning What’s Up on Blogs

OK, who’s annoyed by the ever-present ‘Ping!’ from your Bloglines reader on your desktop. (This is a blog reader that collects notices of recent posts for you to review from your favorite blogs.)

More than once I’ve woken up in the middle of the night to that chirpy little ping from my home office next door. Grrrrr…. (Hubby: “What the hell is that thing, anyway??”)

You need to know what’s going on out there … but how to do it silently?

Got a new quieter alternative called Blogarithm.

Here’s what they say about it on their site:

Blogarithm lets you easily manage all the blogs (or any other pages you'd like!) that you track. Any time one or more of the blogs you read changes, you'll get BlogMail tm - a morning email listing all your blogs that have new content - including excerpts when available!

Nice! I’m signing up now.

How to Add a Cool Calendar to Your Blog

Got a speaking schedule to promote? Want to let folks know when you’re doing various promotions? The lovely people at Trumba, a web-based calendar service, have teamed up with the blog mavens at Typepad to make a blog-based calendar possible. And it rocks!

See an example of a post that uses this here.

My Mistress of Bloggery and Webbing, Peggy Murrah, has thoughtfully written up just how to do this. And by the way, if you have helpers in other parts of the country/world, a web-based calendar can help everyone on your team stay organized. We use Trumba (which has a fairly low monthly fee) and we love it.

And I’m always interested to see what scheduling/calendar systems other folks use … so do tell if you’ve got a good alternative.

Here are Peggy’s instructions:

Trumba

1. Go to www.trumba.com and sign up for a free account
2. Watch for confirmation email in your inbox
3. Click confirmation link
4. Give Trumba just a little more information about you
5. Go to your new calendar
6. Click on the Publish link
7. Set up your new calendar the way you’d like it to appear
8. Once you’ve customized your calendar, click Publish
9. Mid-way down that page is something called a Calendar Spud – Copy that link.

Now go to Typepad …

1. Log in to your Typepad account
2. Publish a new post with your Calendar Spud
3. Copy the Permalink
4. Create a Link Typelist
5. Add the permalink of your calendar to your new Typelist
6. Upload the Typelist to your blog

When you add events to your Trumba calendar, they are automatically uploaded to your published calendar (blog, website, etc). If your visitor wants to add a particular event, they simply check the box and click the button that says Add To My Calendar.

A pop up window will open and they have the option of adding the event to their Yahoo!, Trumba, Outlook, MSN Hotmail, iCal or Google calendar. They also have the option of emailing the event information to themselves.

Thanks, Peggy!

An Alternative to HitTail

Here’s another cool site that will help you analyze your search engine traffic more easily. You’ll remember I talked about HitTail, an SE tool, here recently.

Take a look at 103B’s which is a similar service that has gotted lots of attention from some Web VIPs .

By the way … interesting side note. I learned about this service from a company spokesperson who obviously found my post on Hit Tail and wrote me a personal email letting me know about his service. He even added a guest log in I could use to give the service a test run for free.

That’s how you make friends and influence people in the blogosphere, folks!

Canned vs. Fresh Posts - And the Winner Is …

Well … I've failed miserably at trying to keep my blog posts up to date on a 'fresh post' basis. You may remember I undertook this experiment on August 22 - a full three weeks ago.

Since then I've posted exactly seven times. Which is only about 30% as I should have posted. So I've come to the conclusion that I'm not a 'fresh poster'. In the past, I've spent my Friday's at Speeder & Earl's café in Burlington, VT, near my home, where I write and log in all my posts for the coming week.

And that's about the only way I can focus enough to get this job done!

I suspect we all fall into different camps on the posting front. Some are fresh posters who live to crawl the blogosphere and report back about it. Others are canned posters like  me, who save up a file of cool stuff to blog about all week, and then spew in postdated entries. Others may be only occasional posters who just aren't even organized to think about it much.

Which is fine.

I just needed to know what works for me. And I'd like to know it's NOT helping my traffic one tad that I'm not getting out there and communing with other bloggers. I know I need to do this.

And as soon as Fill Your Groups Now launches next Tuesday, count on me to start pressing the bloggy flesh. And yeah, I'm back to my almost daily posts … now that I understand how I best make that happen

What kind of blogger are you?

The Value of Fresh v. Canned Posts

Last spring at a conference, I attended a talk by uber-blogger Debbie Weil. Debbie was speaking to the assembled group of publishing marketing professionals about blogging in general, and I was interested to hear her comments. During the talk, she responded to an audience comment about what I call ‘fresh versus canned’ posting.

And she clearly came out in favor of ‘fresh’ posting. That would be posting that’s done every day, as the spirit moves you, responding to what you read on the web plus whatever is on your mind at that moment.

Fresh posting requires you get out there and see what’s new in the blogosphere each day. You check your daily posts in your RSS feed reader, like Bloglines. You drop by favorite blogs. You read posts. You participate on a larger level in the great blog community.

Canned posting, by contrast, is doing what I’ve long done – squirrel away in a Net café for a few hours each week, write up all my posts at once, and then set them up post-dated to go out throughout the coming week. So I can post once, essentially, when all my thoughts are collected and I’ve psyched myself up to sit down and write them.

On an convenience level, canned blogging works like a charm. But on a fresh relevance level maybe not. I’m not involved in the blogosphere – not nearly to the level I could be. And I think my traffic reflects that.

So here’s what I propose. Starting this week, I’m going to post every day, fresh. Just to see what it’s like. And I’m going to continue for two weeks. I’m going out and visiting blogs like other bloggers do. I’m going to actually READ the 209 entries in my Bloglines reader right now, and pull material and ideas from it. I’m going to blog like Debbie does … and we’ll see how that affects my web stats.

Right now I’m averaging about 7-800 visitors per week. I bet I can double it.

So how about you? Are you a fresh or a canned blogger … and how are your stats?

By the way, if you don’t know your visitor stats for your blog, you need to keep track. I highly recommend Site Meter. It’s a free downloadable tool for blogs that sends you an email each week telling you how many unique visitors you have. Unlike Typapd’s stats, for instance, which tells you only how many hits you get, this is more valueable info – you need to know how many ‘eyeballs’ actually view your stuff. Not just how many pages get accessed.

How to Create a Blog If You're a Creative Artist

Recently on my Blast O Joy blog, I posted about Fran Decker, a Key West, FL painter who is creating a good living selling her work on the Web. In the post I talked about Fran's various marketing choices and opportunities as a working artist. And that gave some artists who read this blog pause for thought.

Here was a comment I got from J. Baldini.

"…Sounds interesting but, though I also have an artist website, my concern would be, can I keep it interesting enough for readers. AND, could I find the time to update it regularly? Would be really interested to hear other ideas which might be as effective."…

I say yes. You can always find something to blog about because the secret heart of blogging is sharing your personal visions, ideas, concerns, lessons, trials, etc.. This is the stuff your customers and fans want to read - not just writings that concern your artist's business.

I advised Fran heavily to really dig into the Key West artist life and play it for all it's worth on her blog pages - share about all the interesting things she and her husband (a sailboat charter guide, for Pete's sake!) do in their fantasy life down there. Her market buys Key West themed art because they want to take a piece of this cool life home with them … so blog it up! That just connects more with this audience.

As for making time for it, you have to see the importance of a blog. It's here not just to give you a self-expression platform but to optimize your web presence and so connect with far more of your market. That happens through all sorts of built in optimized pieces of your blog, automatically! And it happens to an even greater extent when you get out there and visit other blogs and make yourself known.

The same can be said for any artist. Blog about what you create about, and include all kinds of relevant or even loosely relevant bits and pieces. Therein lies the magic!

How to Get More Comments On Your Blog

Recently I got a question from my reader, Sheilah Vance, about how to elicit more comments from visitors on your blog. Reader comments are important because they 'count' as refreshed content with the SE robots who are always crawling the web.

These are the very same robots who determine your placement in the Google and Yahoo SE listings, so lots of fresh content and action are important.

My reader, Sheilah Vance, wrote:

"…I started my blog, Elevation, about a month ago. I try to post at least once a week. Last week, I just got my first posts from readers. They were wonderful, but I wondered how to get more posts …"

I've got a few suggestions here, Sheilah.

1. Blog more often. Only once per week means that folks won't find enough fresh content to keep on coming back, so you won't fulfill the first critical blog requirement - lots of fresh content. If you don't feed the maw, you won't reap the many rewards. And your blog will be less engaging for readers. They want to feel they're in an evolving relationship with you.

2. Ask a question at the end of your posts that invites comments. Simple, but effective. This technique alone is responsible for most of my comments which are truly responses to what I wrote. I learn more. I get fresh content. I build relationship - and end up answering some of them right here …. So they give me content fodder for posts.

3. Get more readers. There are many tactics for blog promotion but the biggie is simply going on other blogs, reading their content and tracking back (see my TrackBack posts in my Blog Mechanics category) to them. That's a subtle networking tool that will bring you more readers, and increase your likelihood of comments.
Any other ideas, folks?

How to Create a 'Normal' URL for your blog

I often sing the praises of Typepad here as my preferred blogging platform. It's fast, easy and wonderfully customizable … all good, except that unlike Word Press, the blog you create lives on the Typepad server. So you get a URL that looks like  YOURRBAND.typepad.com with a bunch of other funny numbers and symbols.

Not only will such a URL be inconvenient to get out there in email signatures, article bios, etc…. it'll look like hell on your business card. Better to have a really branded URL, like mine for this blog - www.getknownnowblog.com

There is a fast and easy way to make this happen, courtesy of the domain-procuring website, Go Daddy. Here are instructions from one of my assistants on how to get your preferred domain to point to your blog.

1. Log into your GoDaddy account. … or go to www.godaddy.com and set one up.

2. In the green menu that runs across the length of the screen, hover over the
Domains drop down menu and then click on My Domains.

3. Once your domain name is listed, click the checkbox beside the domain name and
then in the menu directly above, click on the grey button that reads Forward Domain.

4. In the menu that opens to the right of the domain name, enter the URL
(including the http://) of your TypePad blog into that box.  Once completed, click on Save Changes.

5. Click on your domain name on the left hand side to open up the domain details.

6. Click on the Nameservers Summary expansion button if it is not already open
and then click "Click here to see details or to modify."

7. Click the Default Parked Name Servers radio button to toggle the new
nameservers and then click on Save Changes.

It will take awhile for your domain name to start forwarding to the blog (in our test it took approximately 2 1/2 hours) but once it is finalized, you should be able to enter in the URL and it should bring up your blog.

Easy!

What the %$&*$%^$ IS a trackback, anyway?

Trackbacks are in some ways the joy and the bane of the blogger's existence - if that blogger is in the business of explaining what they do to other people. Somehow trackbacks are JUST IMPOSSIBLE to explain. Personally, I still don't get them. And I've read several of Andy Wibbel's explanations - and he's a REALLY good writer. So it's obviously something in the basic function of the brain vs. the basic function of trackbacks.

Or it just could be me, of course.

But, I hate not understanding how something this important works - and trackbacks are important if you want your blog to be talked about and appreciated by other bloggers. So here's what I can figure out so far:

1. On Typepad (my platform and the one I recommend to my clients) when I post about another blog, the system automatically informs them of that via a Trackback. This is a little email that pops up in their inbox saying, "Susie blogged about you!" In the subject header the word 'Trackback' appears.

2. When I read other people's posts that I'd like to write about, I notice a cryptic link at the end of that post - such as one recently on Yvonne Divita's Lipsticking blog. It says "Trackback" and is followed by a URL … so what am I supposed to do with this link? Anything?

So I put this to Yvonne who is in the business of helping people set up great blogs and then use them to the max to build platform. She wrote:

Here's the scoop - in Typepad, when you WRITE a post, at the bottom of your page is a dialogue box (much like the one you're writing in) it says: insert trackback here - or something like that. You add the trackback link, which you copy and paste from the blog you're writing about, and put it in there.

That link will ping the other blogger via email. And, add the ping to the blog post in the comment section. If you look at my comment section, it has the comments area, and then...a place that says, blogs that trackback to this post. Trackbacks are put there. So - if I don't see it in my email (goes to my spam box, for instance), I can see it in the trackback links on your blog. AND, if I'm checking...I'll be able to see who pinged me.

Thank you, Yvonne! And may the Trackback issue forever rest in peace.

Technorati Tags: Trackbacks, Blog Promotion

Why I Love Sherman Hu

For those who don't know him, there's an energetic Word Press expert out there named Sherman Hu who's just plain fun (not to mention REALLY good at what he does.)

Right after we met over the phone, Sherman sent me a funny St. Patrick's day card even though neither of us are even remotely Irish. And his posts are a fun mix of brainy and occasionally goofy and almost always useful.

ANYWAY, Sherman has paid me a great compliment and added me to a very short list of 'Blogging Superstars' at Sherman's Blog of Fame … (who … moi?) Anyway, I'm really touched. And kinda surprised, too!

Thanks, Sherman.

Technorati Tags: WordPress, Sherman Hu

The Whole Headshot Problem … Solved!

Man, am I relieved! A small thorn in my side for the past X years has been that I've never had a really easy, really reliable way to recommend photographers to my readers. Yes, there are national sites like ASMP (American Society of Magazine Photographers) … but these guys are journalists. And the portrait photographers may be great and available, or totally not.

Now my excellent blog designer Shari Horne has shed some light on the matter.

There's a new website called Look Better Online that offers up a stable of freelance photographers all over the US who are just here to give you the headshot you need. This is a service primarily for single people who want to look great in their ads, but the qualifications for pictures are all the same as those who need great headshots for building platform.

No grey seamless backgrounds. Great natural (hopefully) lighting. Decent styling. A variety of poses, camera angles, etc. that are all web-friendly. This apparently is de rigeur at Look Better Online. Shari's happy with the results a number of her clients have found there.

Have you got any experience with these folks? Do tell!

Technorati Tags: Headshots, portrait photography

SquareSpace v. Site Build It

Continuing yesterday's post, in which our reader from www.SolutionsForBusyMoms.com gave thoughtful comment to SquareSpace.com's hybrid interface, here's more…

Specifically, Shari weighs the user advantages of SquareSpace over a predecessor in the easy-build-site category, Site Build It, created by Ken Evoy.

IMHO, this system is WAY better than Site Build It & a great alternative to creating a website using Dreamweaver or some such program. The only thing that competes with it, in terms of ease of use is XSitePro -- but I couldn't use that b/c I've got a Mac...and you don't get a built in blog with that one...

It's been a while since I've used SBI, but I've got another buddy who is still using them and is somewhat disenchanted as well...so perhaps she can give me updated information as to what is and isn't currently possible over there right now...

(Suzanne now weighs in.) I think one of the primary turn offs (and the reason I've always steered my clients away from Site Build It) is the inability of the program for a long time to allow home page ezine sigh up forms. Help! That's TOTALLY CRITICAL to building platform. Apparently the most recent versions of this now include it.

More from Shari on this…

Sign up boxes were the least of the issue in my opinion.  The blog system over there is totally nuts. I struggled with it and then gave up...(that's when I found squarespace)

And they promote SBI as so "point-and-click" easy in terms of design...but SquareSpace is WAY faster & easier (after that little learning curve)

And  the marketing "tools" provided by SBI? I never had any luck with them either.

I've been thinking that way back when the only choices for web development were complicated programs like dreamweaver or frontpage -- SBI was a godsend for internet newbies who didn't want to learn those complicated programs.. but now it's really obsolete...but they keep trying to keep up with the times by adding things like the ability to blog, but it's in such a weird, "bulky" way that other, newer online site-builders are simpler and more streamlined...

Folks … I'd love to give equal time here to any SBI advocates who see it as a better alternative to the next generation, or are up on the latest SBI improvements? Or anyone who's had any experience with either. Thanks.

Technorati Tags: Site Build It, web development programs, Square Space

More on SquareSpace v. Traditional Blog Creation Platforms

In reply to my recent post on whether hybrid do-it-yourself website builders like Square Space are challenging the Blog Kings (i.e. Typepad and WordPress) … got this from Shari, a reader who has used it to create her site, www.SolutionsForBusyMoms.com

She wrote:

First of all…  if you're have a problem PLEASE send them an email. Their customer service is great. They usually get back to you within a day (or a few hours if you send a support ticket during the business day) and they've put up with all kinds of inane questions from me -- so they'll put up with anything.

BTW, most of those inane questions come from the fact that there IS a learning curve when using squarespace...it takes a bit of time, and quite a few questions to customer support to master the system (even when coming from something similar like SBI, as I did). But the great customer support made the learning curve tolerable. The one thing I think squarespace should do to make their systems more user-friendly is to create tutorial videos teaching customers how to use their site...but until then...you gotta just try to create something, get stuck and ask for help.

Once I understood the way SquareSpace Works, I must admit I love it. It IS easy to use. It IS great to have my webpages, blog & (upcoming) podcast all in one integrated system at a low price. There really aren't many drawbacks, that I have seen, except for the learning curve.

We'll run more of this reader's thoughtful comments on Square Space tomorrow right here…

Technorati Tags: Site Build It, web development programs, Square Space

The Hybrid Blog-Website Arrives

Well… maybe not EXACTLY a hybrid blog-website, but this is a step forward for the blog v. site argument. My beef (which I've aired here before) on traditional flat sites is that they're expensive, usually webmaster-dependent, and don't come with all the good promo bells and whistles that blogs do. Major SE indexing on Google and Yahoo is extremely fast with a blog, and it takes weeks to months with a flat site. Etcetera etcetera etceteras!

So I've been recommending that my clients set up a customized blog instead of a flat website. And I haven't yet heard a convincing argument that this is a bad idea. Almost all the blog creation platforms accommodate shopping carts, forms for sign ups, and all that other good stuff.

Enter Square Space. This is a totally user-friendly website set up system that's as easy to use as a blog, so you're no longer reliant on a webmaster (though you could certainly still get that help, if you want.) It's totally plug and play, using templates, etc … AND it has a handy blog incorporation feature, so your site can BE a blog or HAVE a blog.

Here's how they describe it on the Square Space site:

Bloggers. Independent professionals. Small businesses. Anyone who needs to maintain a web presence, but wants exacting control over their site, and powerful publishing features that cover everything from blogs to files. No technical skill is required.

The Squarespace Journal module, which can represent either a piece of your website, or the entirety of your site, is a professional grade blogging package. Squarespace features spell checking, ATOM, RSS, feed auto-discovery, XML-RRC pinging, comment management, member registration, timed publishing dates, multiple authors and more.

Right now I've set up a Square Space trial account and and seeing what I can set up. And I've hit an inexplicable snag… maybe it's too early … maybe the herb tea hasn't kicked in?

I'm looking at my web page and it's telling me to log in. I log in and simply don't see the nav bar button (described in the tutorial) that leads me to my site and my back room where I can make changes, etc. It just keeps telling me to log in, which I've now done several times. I remember I tried this last month and the same thing happened.

Is anyone else having this problem or is it just me?

I know there are ardent fans out there of SS - including the great Shari Horne who designs a lot of blog headers, etc for my clients. When asked if I should send people to this site for set up, instead of just sending them straight to TypePad for a blog, she writes:

I do like what I've seen of SquareSpace. I want to play with it a bit more before I wholeheartedly endorse it, but it looks great. I'm also a big fan of Expression Engine, which is similar. I've been stretching the limits of TypePad with some other projects lately, so I'm getting a better idea of what I can and can't do with it.

I try to triage what people want before I make a recommendation, whether it is for a whole site or just a blog, plus the user's willingness/ability to learn and make additions.

Anyone else tried Square Space? Any suggestions for me?

Technorati Tags: Blog mechanics, websites v. blogs, Square Space

Blogging for the Blind

I recently had a conversation with a dear friend who's blind and in need of a blog. Here's what she reports on the state of blogging for the blind.

"I am doing my research on this topic and I got to tell you, I don't think there are many of us blogging, but sounds like it is do-able." Here's more info on blogging mechanics if you are blind.

Any blind bloggers out there with insights to share?

Technorati Tags: blind blogging, blogging

Source for blog ads

Want to know how or who to talk to to sell ad space on your blog? (We're talking about display ads, here, not Google AdSense.) Check out these sites.

www.blogads.com
www.adbrite.com

Got some other great sources for selling blog ad space? And BTW, what kind of traffic do you need?

Tags: Blog ads, blog mechanics, blog ad space

Word Press v. Typepad

A lot of my attention lately has gone to wondering about whether Typepad or Word Press can serve my clients better. After hearing Andy Wibbels hash this out, I've got a clearer picture of which platform to use - and yep, this is just the kind of thing we'll be talking about in my Get Known Now Blast Off course that just started.

Please note, when we talk about 'WordPress' we're talking about that which lives at www.wordpress.com, as distinct from wordpress.org which is a site for developers of code, and way too technical for my blood.

WordPress Attributes:

- Free

- Much more sophisticated interface template which requires a designer
to install

- You do the postings fairly easily

- More full control of just how it will look. But requires designer for extra tinkering

- Has 'pages' for different parts of blog which are more stable than
setting up permalinks of posts as pages

- Can work with your own domain, so then you technically 'own' the
domain and it's mapped so content transfer to another blog platform,
etc., is more easy to manage down the road

- Import and Export functions can help you transfer content to other
sites, platforms

Typepad Attributes:

- $10-15 per month depending on your plan

- Uses pre-existing templates that are somewhat limited. But can add branded banner and colors. Do it yourself for the most part - easy to set up.

- Or you can load custom templates (higher priced subscription)

- Custom Template model includes 'pages' like Word Press

- You can add extra 'Index Templates' to mimic pages like in WP. Requires Advanced templates and some extra design tinkering, probably the help of a pro.

- Import and Export functions can help you transfer content to other
sites, platforms

- Lives on the typepad site and gets domain forwarded to your domain
of choice (not site mapped like WP; technically the TypePad domain mapping is just like WordPress - only it stays on TypePads servers

Tags: Blog, Word Press, Typepad

Have Blogs Killed Conventional Websites? Part II

A continuation of yesterday's discussion with Andy Wibbels on whether blogs are running websites into the world of the obsolete.

More reasons why blogs rule:

1. You can update your blog at an airport, while you're on the run. You have to call your webmaster … and wait … to update your site.

2. You can collect email addresses, and download free reports and bonuses off of a website. Same with a blog.

3. You can use a shopping cart to collect money for e-commerce of a website. Same with a blog.

4. You can set up a press room with all sorts of cool links and forms on a website. Same with a blog.

5. It takes three to six months for the big search engines to find you with a website. It takes two or three days with a blog. And some, like Google sites, are indexed immediately.

6. You can easily track stats of who has visited your regular website. Same with a blog.

7.  The media are more likely to find you on a blog. 79% of them are reported to find all of their experts and sources from blogs.

8.  You can learn more about your audience from a blog. Every time you post, you invite comments to what you wrote about. And you get them.

9. You market automatically with a blog. But not with a conventional website. Every single time you post, systems like Typepad send out a little message to the directories that you've put up a new comment (called 'pinging'.) And other systems, like Feedburner, advise folks by RSS feed or email that you've posted. So you generate automatic traffic.

10. You can make a lot more friends with a blog. You go on their blog and comment on their posts. They drop by your blog and comment on a post. You like their stuff and put them on your 'blogroll' - your list of friends. They do the same. Incoming links are set up to your site and theirs. That increases your search engine traffic … and makes life more fun.

The list appears to go on and on, but you get the picture. Blogs are, quite simply, the next wave. So if you're thinking about setting up a site, stop in your tracks and turn towards blogs instead.

Do you agree … or disagree?

Have Blogs Killed Conventional Websites? Part I

It's a question that's been bugging me profoundly since I got into blogging a year ago. Blogs are cheap, easy, efficient, wildly easy to find on the Net, super marketing-friendly, and just plain fun. They work rings around websites.

So are conventional websites no longer necessary? To find out, I interviewed Andy Wibbels, the original blogging evangelist and author of the excellent new book, Blogwild! (Portfolio Books). Here's the short version of what I learned.

1. Websites are clunky and expensive; blogs are lean and cheap. Here's what a website costs annually:
  Hosting:  $132
  Design:  $800 - 2000
  Maintenance:  $600 + (unless you know hmtl coding or invest in software to maintain it yourself, which runs $125 - 350)

Here's what a blog costs annually:
  Hosting:  Free to $110
  Design:  Free to $350
  Maintenance:  Free (unless you hire someone to do it for you, which isn't really necessary)

2. You have to wait for someone to make changes to your website; your blog can be changed easily by you. Most blogging platforms are as hard to use as a Microsoft Word document.  Type it in, and it shows right up. Interfaces like Typepad and Blogger can be used by anyone

3. You have to wait for someone else to set up your site; your blog can be set up by you in 15 minutes. If you can answer a few simple questions and click a few buttons you're in with a blog. Not so with a site.

More posted on this tomorrow …. What do you think? Are blogs really putting the old fashioned website out of business?

Clarity: Feedburner V Feedblitz

Got a lot of mail on my post Feedburner v Feedblitz … and there's a need for clarification.

The Blog Squad wrote: I saw your post in my Feedblitz email, I had to write right away … Feedblitz and Feedburner are two different animals. Something like only 12% of blog readers use RSS. Most people are still more comfortable using email. So if you want people to get your blog updates use them both.

Shannon wrote: There's also another great service out there called Feedlinx . It emails you your posts just like FeedBlitz (minus the ugly orange banner). You can setup schedules with Feedlinx for every 15 minutes, daily, or weekly. Additionally, Feedlinx has a bonus feature that will allow you to track the "read" status of your posts across multiple machines and feed readers. It works really well for people who like to use desktop feed readers.

Tags: blog promotion, feedburner, feedblitz

The Instant Ezine Has Arrived

(From FeedBlitz's own blog)

TypePad has just announced a new set of features called "Widgets" that will enable their users to quickly add massive functionality to their TypePad blogs in a few clicks, dramatically simplifying the process.

FeedBlitz, the leader in RSS and Blog to email messaging solutions, is one of the inaugural services selected to work with the TypePad Widget API to deliver an email newsletter publication widget for TypePad users.

The FeedBlitz email widget makes publishing a blog-based email updates (a newsletter, in effect), almost as easy as subscribing to one. All a TypePad blogger needs to do is give their email address to the FeedBlitz Widget Generator and they then choose the blog(s) to add email update capabilities to. That's it. The Widget does the rest, automatically.

Meanwhile, the blogger confirms the email address using the standard email confirmation link sent to her by the Widget generator and then they can configure their blogs using all FeedBlitz's array of capabilities, such as:

• Real-time analytics
• Subscriber management
• Post truncation
• Email format tailoring
• Schedule customization

So what do we make of this folks? Stay tuned as I will be experimenting.

Tags: FeedBlitz Widget, Feedblitz, ezine publishing, blog v ezine

How I doubled my web and blog traffic

So in the words of Ed Koch, former mayor of NYC, 'how'm I doin'?'
Not bad at all as it turns out. Last week and this week, I've more than doubled my blog traffic. Here's the report from the highly convenient Site Meter

          Unique Visits
            Total ............................ 15,813            
            Average per Day ................. 166            
            Average Visit Length ........... 2:37            
            This Week ....................... 1,163   

(I'm not going to include Page Views for reasons previously discussed here.)

How did this number double since last week? Same why my ezine list spiked, I suspect - the Expert Status list went from 3300 subs a week ago to almost 4000. That's a 20% gain!

A few things happened. I put the opt in box for the ezine AND the address of the blog in front of the 2100 people who took advantage of a cool free bonus I offered a large coaching list (45K+).

I also ran it by the folks who signed up for some of my recent free teleclasses. They saw it on the sign up page. This is pretty much a super-simple, no-brainer way to get traffic … and it's surprisingly overlooked I think.

Try it … you'll like it.

Tags: building web traffic, more blog traffic, blog stats

Feedburner v. Feedblitz - Which is Better?

For a long time I've been advising folks to put an Feedblitz sign up box on their blog so folks can be automatically informed via email when you post. Good idea, right? Yes … but it turns out to be a little limited.

I'm hearing opinions that Feedburner provides an as-good or better sign up service.  Feedburner provides a single RSS feed and tracking capability to those who register. And Feedburner is free ... like Feedlitz.

You can also use Feedburner for to add cool things to the bottom of posts like "email this" or "add to del.icio.us" or whatever. That's referral marketing … ooooh … I want that! Yes!

Here's an example of Feedburner in action on Shari Horne's blog. (Shari did the redesign of this blog recently.)

The Dirty Truth about Page Views

I have just been blinded by an interesting web truth. Yeah, I've always known the key metric to follow in your blog stats is 'Unique Visitors' which is … just that. Individuals who drop in and read your stuff.

But recently I've noticed reporters for New York Magazine, in their Feb cover story about blogging, interchanging that term willy nilly with 'Page Views' or hits. And the two aren't remotely comparable.

Here's why: if you load a page with 12 graphic files that's read by your system as 13 hits. But the material's only reaching one person … so that's why your unique visitor count is important.

Down with inflated web stats!

Just Got a Virtual Facelift!

No, not me, silly (though I did just lose my braces so I took the liberty of retouching my head shot.) This blog's fresh from rebranding and a redesign by the fabulous Shari Horne.

I did this to tighten up my brand and create a bigger presence for my bonus, with which I hope to help a lot more people beef up their platform and build my list.

NOTE TO SELF: It's probably not a great idea to have two competing brands reaching the same audience, i.e. Get Known Now and my blog's former name, Painless Self Promotion.

My advice is now to go simple. Put one brand on everything … across the board. (And what will my new podcast be called? You got it! Get Known Now Unplugged.)

I'm always learning, by the way. Did I mention that? <smile>

I figure every piece of web presence I have must be set up to be a really good example of what my biz is all about - packaging what you've got to be as credibility-building and media-friendly as possible. (Check out my new media room button on the upper left!)

Whaddya think?

Why Blogger Sucks

Reader Laura Young wrote:

"I started on Blogger because I was cheap and experimenting and before I knew it I had 300 uncategorized and random posts. Don't let this happen to you!! I broke them out into, count 'em, five blogs because I apparently have multiple personalities. But now people can find what they want (as can I!) and when I am writing something I know exactly where it is going to land (which blog)."

Might I add to this that another problem with no categories is that this is where your best key phrases should live on your blog. That really helps you get more SE hits.

Long live categories - take a look at yours. Are they keyword rich?

What a 'Wibbels Fit' Can Teach You About Reality Posting

I've coined a new term - 'Reality Posting'. That would be a build on my recent post about the value of keeping your posts realer than real. Not only does a 'super real' post in which you expose warts and all tighten you bond to your reader, it gets you great viral pass along.

Sort of like seeing Ayla cry on American Idol when she didn't make the final cut. The whole country went gooey…. We just want to be touched.

Here's a post that did just that on Andy Wibbels personal blog: 'Wibbels Fit in E minor' ….. a funny, true, poignant piece of writing that totally captures the essence of marital spats.  The comments go on and on that people have left here - and that is great for your blog's SE rank.

Be sure to be specific, tell the truth, and find the humor, the love and the life lessons when you tell a tale like this. Just like Andy did.

Thanks, Andy!

Why I'm Teaching a Course on Blogging Tips

As many of you may have heard, blogging evangelist Andy Wibbels and I are launching  a breakthrough blogging teleclass on the 22nd of February called 'Blog Your Way to a Bestseller.' I've been asked what the connection is with platform building - I'd like to elaborate.

Blogs are, quite simply, THE best means humanly possible to put your message into the hands of the right people. And that has to do with the way people find your blogged message.

Blogging has gotten Andy Wibbels an amazing 50K + unique visitors to his blog monthly.

Blogging has gotten one of my clients HALF A MILLION unique visitors since August, 2005 for her posts about living through Hurricane Katrina.

Blogging got one of my friends on Good Morning America AND in the New York Times simply because he put up a post about email overwhelm. (He threw up a hasty flat site with brand, USP, etc. in the day prior to his publicity break, but it was the blog that got him discovered.)

A recent study out of Columbia U found that 79% of all national media find their sources to interview directly from blogs.

Here's why:
1. Search engines find blogs ten times more easily than regular web sites because of the way they're built.
2. You can get serious Google presence with a blog in a matter of a few weeks; with websites it takes about 4-12 months
3. Blogs are simply hipper, more relevant and considered a little more informed
4. Blogs reach only a very segmented BUT wonderfully targeted niche. Such as the Katrina blog mentioned above reached ONLY the half million people who actively went online, looking for information about Katrina survivors.

The list goes on and on. If you want to learn how to harness the power of blogging to make your book, CD or info-product a bestseller … drop by and read about our new program: www.blogyourwaytoabestseller.com

Why Your Business Will Love a Blog

OK… You’re reading this on a blog – so you already know what they are and how cool they are to tap into for great content. But what can they do for your business… in other words, must poor overwhelmed you really take on ANOTHER commitment every week?

Yep! If you want to attract media, increase sales and build steam. Here’s why:

1. Blogs are a key media attraction tool. A recent study reported that 73% of major media players now use blogs in their work. Specifically, reporters from big publications like Wired and The Wall Street Journal spend several hours every day reading blogs to find experts, track trends, and get ideas for stories.
   
   
2. You can build great customer relationship with blogs. My regular website’s conversion rate hovers around 2-3%. But my blog’s conversion rate shoots up between 5% and 10%. Why? Because I’m talking to these folks all the time – I’ve enrolled consulting clients, and sold very expensive products off of my blog with little or no advertising present. Simply because I’m there, I’m talking, and they’re listening.
   
   
3. Blogs give you a chance to stay current with your updates. Keeping people in the loop with frequent posts about your business, what you’re thinking, and where you’re heading creates buzz. It’s that simple.
   
   
4. Your readers can answer back … and ask. Here’s a great forum for finding out what they’re thinking – and modify what you’re doing in response. This really is a whole new marketing model that’s forming as we speak … but it works.
   
   
5. Google, Yahoo and all those other robots and spiders can find you. Indexing a blog is easier than a flat site. So your chance of getting a boost in your Search Engine rank is very high. It took me one year to get a respectable Google Page Rank (from the Google Toolbar) of 4 on one of my sites; the blog took less than three months to get a 4. That’s powerful!

Hot Blogs from My Clients

It is with great pride that I present new blogs from my coaching clients. Many have sprung up in the coaching work I've done with them ... as blogs are media magnets and fun ways to find readers. Enjoy!

Get a Life Blog from Pamela Stewart and her site, Cubicle Nation. Encouragement for those wishing to make a break from 'Cubeville'.

Life Cuisine from Lee Westell is an imaginative, unique blend of life wisdom and excellent recipes. An old foodie like Suzanne is the perfect target for this one. Fun!

Creative Biz Blog from Michele Pariza Wacek, and her site The Artist Soul. She says it's "all about the ups and downs of being in business and being creative."

Strong Woman Chronicles from Danusia Malina-Derben, who is not only mother of seven and a full time business consultant and coach ... but is training for a polar expedition a la Shackleton. And has a wonderfully humble and fun blog.

One from corporate enlightenment expert Lance Secretan, which is focused on his new message and new book “ONE: A Re-Vision of Leadership and Life”

Living in the Raw Join Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach, in her weblog playground to find high-grade fuel for your body, mind and spirit. 

The Everyday Courage Blog from Amanda Murphy is here to help you explore and find your courage. The courage to speak out, the courage to take a stand, the courage to be who you really are.

The Toymaker's Journal from Marilyn Scott-Waters is a simply hilarious and brilliant collection of all kinds of creative meanderings. Be sure to listen to her audio blog entry titled 'Let's Talk About Pudding'.

Blast o' Joy. OK, this isn't one of my client's blogs ... but it is mine. And its focus is helping you find your purpose and live your joy. How much joy can you stand?

Confessions of a Lousy Speller

So I can’t spell worth a dime … despite the fact that I went to a ‘top college’ (Wellesley) for which my parents paid dearly. No matter. These days there are all kinds of ways to be an instantly perfect speller.

Except on blogs, I’ve noticed. And not long ago I heard an editor from The Wall Street Journal say: ‘If there are spelling mistakes in a blog, it’s toast. I hit the close button.’ Yikes! Talk about pressure.

Here is helpful commentary from fellow blogger and speller Shel Horowitz, The Frugal Marketer:

“I use Google's Blogger, which has one, but doesn't support it in my favorite browser, IE5.2/MacOSX. so for posting, I use Mozilla firebird.

Anternative: Write your blog entry in Word or Eudora, spell check there, and then paste into the blog. If using Word or WordPerfect, be sure to turn curly quotes and special characters OFF.”

I’ve also noticed there is a spell check option on Live Journal when you post comments, so that would mean posters get a spell check, too.

The Right Way & the Wrong Way to Post on Blogs

Been thinking about blogging lately, and I've decided there's a right way and a wrong way to post. 'Right' would be sharing what's REALLY on your mind -- a nearly unedited stream of gut-level concerns, ideas, discoveries, and lessons learned. In other words, true shares from the heart about your life, your business, your dreams.

Back when I taught Personal Essay Writing at New York University, I used to talk about this type of writing as 'microscopic truthfulness'. Really getting at the heart of what's going on -- which is not only inspiring and informative to your readers, it's pretty darned therapeutic for you, too.

This level of honesty requires you admit mistakes and screw ups. You delve into current fears. You acknowledge uncertainties along the way, sort of like I have throughout August as I blogged about the Blog Squad's coaching and to-do's for me. I attribute a lot of my traffic and comments to the honesty with which I posted.

The 'wrong' way to post would be to rack up a fast five posts with tips and tactics that lie disconnected to your heart ... and then crank them out on Auto-Send. Sure, you're probably providing useful info, but blogs aren't only just about that. Blog readers crave a little piece of your soul.

What do you crave when you read a blog?

Blog Squad on Trackbacks and more!

Just had my last coaching session with Patsi and Denise -- the Blog Squad's makeover of my blog is coming to an end! (Muffled sob ... I'll MISS these guys!) My last chance to work out the kinks on stuff I don't know and need to understand ... like Trackbacks. Here's one of the beautiful parts of blogs: you can alert a fellow blog owner when you mention them, so they can send folks your way if they see fit. Aren't we all one big cozy community?

Here's how Trackbacks work: If I mention one of Patsi's posts, I copy her trackback URL from her blog post and put it in my post. Then anyone reading it gets a link right to her post -- and she gets notified that I included her. Not all blogging software has it, apparently, but Typepad blogs do… To do this:

1. I go to Patsi’s post, and click on Trackback  button
2. I get a URL which I copy into a Notepad doc
3. I go back to my blog where I’m writing about Patsi’s post (I’m in my composing window.) At the bottom