Category — Blogging

It’s official. I’ve been so distracted by Plurk and just life in general, I’ve done something I never thought I’d do…..I let my blog go. Evidently, most bloggers go through some sort of issue where their writing stalls and lack of posting becomes the norm but if you want a vibrant blog, and I do, then you have to post on a regular basis. At least that’s what Problogger, Darren Rowse says……………

“I know it’s not easy - all successful bloggers go through patches where it’s challenging to keep things rolling - however if you put your mind to it you can definitely get things back on track. It is never too late to get your blog rolling again!”

So, as I get my blog back on track and start posting fresh content on a regular basis, I will be tapping into some of the great ideas Darren has on how to get your blog posting frequency higher. I might start by “Declaring War on Blogger Apathy“. With everything going on in my life, as of late, I have had no motivation, passion or drive and it’s time to take blogging back! By starting a new series or simply moving forward with some familiar topics I can break through the apathy and get motivated.

Darren also recommends finding a blog buddy so I have been tackling some great ideas with my dear blogging friend Shana Albert. I must say, if TheNanny612 can’t motivate you, ain’t no one can, and there may be some fun things ahead for the readers of Social Media Mom that includes podcasts, videos and interviews, so stay tuned.

Finally, Darren says “Just Do It”! Okay, he didn’t really say that, but essentially that is his ninth tip to get your blog back on track; “step away from the distractions that might be stopping you from blogging and go and do it.”

I’m slowly learning how to capture the things in my daily life and re-purposing them as posts, and it will be interesting and exciting to see which direction this blog takes as I do so. For some reason, I have a feeling it will have to do with kids but I don’t know……. Have you let your blog go? What have you done to get back on track? Leave me a comment with some of your ideas and ways to keep your blog fresh and free from bloggers block.

photo via Problogger

Ed had a great post about the fact that it took Mark Joyner 6 years to figure out that blogging was important. Once Mark did realize that blogging had some significance in the world of Web 2.0, he decided to create a course on blogging.

Evidently, Mark is not quite in his comfort zone about his kick ass courseware, so he is letting bloggers decide how good it is by giving away the course for free—–if, you blog about it.

“I’m evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they’re letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

• The best blogging techniques.
• How to get traffic to your blog.
• How to turn your blog into money.

I’ll let you know what I think once I’ve had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it’s still free.”

I would like to see for myself what Mark says about blogging. If I don’t like it, Mark has made it very clear that I can rip him a new one in my blog so that is what I intend to do—–if, I don’t like it. I’ll let you all know.

John Jantsch has completed a 5 step series on his blog that will surely take internet marketing into 2008 with a bang! Evidently, John believes that anyone can have more fun when it comes to marketing their business.

I have read through John’s 5 step process and while each step is interesting and a definite must for any small business, I can’t stress enough the importance of the 5th step, and that is, “Blog Dammit!”

Interestingly enough, I am meeting with a group of small business owners next week to pitch them the idea of adding a blog to their website. I will be presenting precisely what John mentions to be the concept of “marketing as a conversation”, by explaining how blogging can bring this concept to life like no other marketing tool. John gives four excellent reasons why this is true:

“1) It makes it very easy to update your web presence - easy is good because easy gets done.
2) Locally you can use a blog to gain exposure that your competition can’t.
3) Search engines love blogs (still) and will reward you with better search results when your prospects go looking.
4) The daily and weekly choir (that may be how you
initially view it) of producing written content will make you a much
better communicator, marketer and salesperson - it’s the killer activity.”

Plain and simple. This is my pitch. I will also be adding that a blog is a great way for businesses to present themselves as the expert in their field, as well as positioning themselves as a leader in online-conflict-management.

John goes on to mention 5 ways that would get any small business up and running with an effective online-conversation for 2008. Of course, these 5 tips are only a few of the things that clients hire us to do, but in all actuality, it is reasonable to assume that many small businesses will take hold of this marketing tool, and add themselves to the millions of already ongoing cyber dialogues in 2008.