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Guide to Effective Blogging
Table of Contents
1. Advice on what makes business blogs work by three who know: George Kosch, Sandi Hunter and
Dr. Jeffrey Lant.
2. Tips for blog and other non-fiction writers.
3. How to write the kind of blog copy that turns readers into fans who cannot live without you!
4. Blogging is booming. Look who's blogging... and why.
5. Master blog article writer tells you exactly how to write articles that get read and responded to.
6. Straight talk about blogging. How to turn your blog into a money maker, with special information
for your not-for-profit organization.
7. How a perky housewife from Minnesota gets up to 5,000 responses to her blog each and every
day... and how you can do as well, or even better!
8. The pen is mightier than the sword. Vietnam's Communist government imprisons pro-democracy
blogster... and immediately shows how powerful a blog can be.
9. Would you rather stick needles in your eyes then blog? 10 Ways to Make Life Easier for Bloggers
with limited time and writing ability.
10. How to Create Blog Titles that DEMAND attention!
Guide to Effective Blogging


Advice on what makes business blogs work by three who
know: George Kosch, Sandi Hunter and Dr. Jeffrey Lant.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Today , April 19, 2011, is a special day for the three members of the Worldprofit blog writing team.
Today we completed writing 200 business blog articles, a project which began in June, 2010. The
response to these articles has been nothing short of spectacular, so we decided to discuss the reasons
why this has occurred and what it means for you and your business blog.
1) Be clear on the objective.
We are focusing this article on blogs created by businesses. Their objective is simple: make money.
No business blog should ever be created which has some supposedly "better" purpose. It's easy to
forget this purpose; it doesn't take much to unfocus a blog. That's why we suggest posting this
message prominently in your office: "It's the money, silly." A variation of this message helped Billl
Clinton (a notoriously diffuse individual) from going off theme and was influential in putting him in
the Oval Office. This message will also work for you.
2) Designate a good writer to produce your blog's content.
Business blog copy must be clean, clear, accurate. That means designating a writer with business
writing experience. An experienced copywriter is perfect. They know how to write copy that sells...
which is just the copy you need.
3) If you cannot find a copywriter, become that copywriter yourself.
Successful copy is based on just 4 important words:
YOU GET BENEFIT NOW.
The "you" is your reader, the person you need your blog copy to motivate to contact you.
"get" is there to remind you that copy is always about what the reader (your past, present and future
customer) gets from you.
"benefit" is the specific thing they get from each article you publish.
"now" is when you want the reader to respond, reminding yourself that there must always be one or
more offers in each blog issue, such offers being intended to stimulate the immediate reader
response which must always be your objective.
4) Master search engines.
Writing business blogs means finding and using a never ending supply of data, information, research
findings, quotations of note, etc. Blogs eat up lots and lots of information.
This means becoming expert at finding pertinent data from search engines. Surprisingly we
discovered that many business blog writers do not use and therefore do now know how to ensure
best results from search engines. That problem must be recognized and overcome ASAP.
Successful business writers know how to write articles with data "holes" in them, "holes" they can
quickly fill by accessing search engines... without ever leaving the computer. Given the fact that not
so many years ago, business writers had to use specialized business libraries, a cumbersome process
at best, search engines have made all the difference in getting important data quickly and easily, all
at your fingertips.

http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                          Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012         3 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging

5) Always have a lead article, the focus of each individual issue.
We have found in practice that each blog issue should be anchored by a major article. The length we
recommend is 1,500 words.
This article should be divided into two distinct parts; first, the actual content itself. Second, pertinent
follow-up details which advise your reader what is available, its benefits, and how to get it. These
follow-up details are crucial and must follow each article. (See below for an example.)
How long does it take for such an article to be researched, written, edited, etc.? Obviously that
depends on the amount of research you must do, how quickly you find it, your own skills and speed
as a writer, etc. However, we have found that this "anchor" article takes on average 4-8 hours.
6) Always have a "new uses" feature.
You've all heard the old adage, "sell the sizzle, not the steak". That's why you need a "new uses"
feature. Select any of your products and services; then provide at least one detailed blog article on
how to get the great results from its use. Remember, people buy products too achieve results; the
more practical uses you detail, the more sales you make.
7) Always include customer testimonials, particularly testimonials that provide details on what
individual customers did and their positive results.
Customer testimonials work. Thus, make sure you always include one or more in each blog issue.
And always make a point in each blog of asking your customers to provide more.
8) Have a "new product" feature... and, as above, ensure the copy focuses on what it does, that
"sizzle" again.
Remember, blog copy is about making money by generating reader inquiries and sales. Your readers
are glad to read about new products to the extent that the copy introducing them focuses on what the
customer gets.
9) Set and keep a fixed blog publishing schedule.
Your readers should expect to see your blog, like clock work, on a published schedule. They should
be trained to look forward to it and respond. But if your publishing schedule is erratic, unpredictable,
then your reputation will not be enhanced and your sales will definitely suffer. Ouch!
Once you've set the schedule, treat it religiously.
10) Always include a very special offer in every issue.
Make it a truly spectacular offer... one available to blog readers only.
Position this offer prominently. It is, after all, eye-popping.
Last words.
Blogs in general and business blogs in particular are here to stay. Businesses without them are
businesses that suffer, having thereby circumscribed sales and growth. Make sure that isn't you.
One last piece of advice: Make your blog fun read and ALWAYS easy to respond to. If you follow
these instructions, your blog will steadily grow in importance as a readily available source of
customers and profits. As we can tell you from personal experience, what blogs deliver will truly
delight, excite, and enthuse you. A steady stream of new customers and enhanced profits tend to do
that.... Get started today and see for yourself.

http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                           Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012            4 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging




http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com               Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012   5 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging


Tips for blog and other non-fiction writers.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Do you have a need to write non-fiction articles for your blog, newsletter, or other purpose? Then
you'll find this article timely, apt, and practical. I am going to share some tips which have stood me
in good stead... and should be most helpful for you.
My writing credentials.
I have been a published author now for nearly 60 years; my first non-fiction article appeared in the
Downers Grove (Illinois) Reporter and was a look at the neighborhood through the eyes of a five
year old. Since then, I have written 18 books and thousands of articles on a wide range of subjects. I
also have taught expository writing at several colleges and universities, including Harvard. In the
last year I have written over 200 non-fiction articles of about 1,500 words each. You could say, and
you'd be right, that scribbling is in my veins.
1) Have a writing place, a room or even just a desk that's used only for your writing.
Have you got a place now that's dedicated to your writing and to nothing else? Probably not... and
that's your first problem. All serious writers (and by that I mean writers who are dedicated,
productive and focused) know the importance of a room all their own, a room where the rest of the
world is cordially not invited. In this space -- sacrosanct to your craft -- there is NOTHING else
going on but what helps you write. These days that means a computer with at least a 36" screen. The
older you (and your eyes) are, the more you'll appreciate the screen size.
Make it clear to all the world that they are not to touch, ever, a single thing in this space. ALL
writers have idiosyncratic organizational systems. Whatever is yours must be for you and you alone.
2) Have standard reference books easily at hand.
Good writers have a good working library containing appropriate reference books. For instance, I
have standard dictionaries in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and German. I use them daily... and
so must you. Good writers are expert are finding just the word they need... the dictionaries ensure
they get it.
Note: Some, presumably younger, readers will argue that everything they need is available online. It
may be a function of my age and habits, but I like the old paper dictionaries and other reference
books. That may make me an anachronism... but a happy and productive one.
3) Set up a filing system.
You should have files for articles and books you intend to write. These files should contain ideas
and research findings. Do not be casual or disorganized about these things; losing them could set
you back days or weeks and is sure, at the very least, to leave you in a nasty temper.
You also need files for all the articles you have written. Such files will contain your notes and
research data and a copy of the final article, as well as any fan letters you received (yes, you'll get
them) and other pertinent correspondence.
4) Have a handy place for all your writing supplies.
Writers need lots of supplies, including reams of paper, fax supplies, etc. You'll need good pens, too,
for editing. What you write online should always be printed out when it's time to review what you've
written.

http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                          Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012            6 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging

5) Select your writing time and strictly adhere to it.
Seasoned writers are methodical writers. They set the exact time they intend to write, starting and
concluding, and then proceed accordingly. In his must- read autobiography prolific Victorian
novelist Anthony Trollope made it clear when he wrote and what he aimed to produce (250 words
the quarter hour). He set the objective and then made sure he achieved it by being in his writing
place at the set time... and focusing exclusively on his craft and output at that time.
6) Never take phone calls or other interruptions during your writing time.
Non-writers do not understand writers and our often curious ways; no, they never have and never
will. That's why they think of telephoning or even showing up during your essential writing time.
Such people must be politely but firmly told that you never answer calls, etc. or attend to any other
interrupting thing during that scheduled period. Life's little interruptions are severely detrimental to
what we must do, and we must be strict about controlling their access.
5) Write daily.
There isn't a day that goes by, not Christmas, Thanksgiving or the 4th of July, that I don't write.
Thus, by adhering to a strict schedule, I produce about 325,000 publishable words each year. What's
important, however, is not the quantity of words produced but their consistent quality... and the fact
that not a single day ends until the quota for that day is finished.
I live in an academic community where there are lots of experienced and even more aspiring writers.
When one identifies himself to me, I always ask what he's working on now, when he expects to
finish it and when he finished his last writing project. The answers provide irrefutable proof as to
whether the person in question is a writer... or merely a dreamer. Writers write... more importantly
writers write daily.
6) Learn to use the search engines.
As a prolific writer, I spent in earlier years a great deal of time in libraries garnering necessary
information. Nowadays, with up-to-the-minute data available online at your finger tips, I hardly ever
set foot in such an archaic place. The key here is knowing how to use search engines, the "card
catalogs" of the Web. Here are some tips:
a) never limit your search to a single search engine. Different search engines can and do produce
different results.
b) never restrict yourself to one search term. Brainstorm different search queries; they will produce
different results.
c) Print the data and documents you discover as soon as you find them. What you find today may
not be there when you return.
d) Do your search engine researching during time you are not writing. Searching is not only
necessary; it is actually fun and relaxing.
7) Set up a blog where you can showcase your work.
If you have a blog, use it. If you don't, set one up at once as a useful place to showcase your work.
A blog gives you, unlike all previous writers, the opportunity to tell the world who you are and
show them what you can produce. It should be well-written, simply but eye-catchingly presented,
and always timely.
Last Words

http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                         Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012            7 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging

Writers are special people; we have a privilege that most of the world can only imagine: the need,
the obligation, the absolutely necessary task of seeking truth, contemplating what we find, then
writing about it in the clearest, most honest way we can. In the process we touch people's lives,
inform them, change them, improve them. There is absolutely nothing more essential and more
rewarding than that.
Now, with this article in hand, you are ready to perfect yourself as a writer and the process that
produces just the words you want, just when you want them; for that is the last of today's advice.To
set a deadline for all your writing tasks... and stay focused so you achieve it...
... Which is what I have just done... finishing today's article on time and the right length, too. In a
few minutes it will be posted online, the next step to helping it wend its way to you. Thus we lucky
scribblers change the world, one word, one article, one reader after another... people who make a
difference every day and gladly so.




http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                         Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012            8 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging


How to write the kind of blog copy that turns readers into
fans who cannot live without you!
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
This is an article for people who want to be smart bloggers! Bloggers who change lives! Bloggers
who get people to sit up, take notice and say, "Wow! That guy is right! That guy is on the money!"
Bloggers who don't just want readers...
... but fans who sit next to their computers waiting for your next blog post.
In this article I am going to show you the secret to becoming a producer of "must read" copy.... and
becoming, in the process, a person who goes way beyond having readers... instead creating fans.
400,000+ words in the last year.
This article celebrates achieving a "personal best" goal for me... a goal I challenged myself to make
one year ago.... and which I have, with the publication of this article, now achieved. I wanted to see
if I could write at least 400,000 words of copy in 365 days; not just drab, undistinguished,
pedestrian copy either, but copy that's timely! Intellectually distinguished! Lyric! Insightful! Yes,
the kind of copy that stops people worldwide in their tracks and forces them to sit up! Take notice!
And pay attention... because they just couldn't bear to miss a single word!
And I am pleased to tell you that this is precisely what has happened! My blog, where you can find
all my articles, now generates millions of hits and a stream of gratifying comments from people
worldwide who feed my ego and make my day.
This is me!
And it can be you!
1) Tell stories.
The greatest communicators on earth -- Jesus! Abraham Lincoln! Mark Twain! were story tellers.
They used the power of stories to make things easy for their audience to understand... and to drive
home their points, no matter how difficult and complicated.
You must become a story teller, too, not just a finder and disseminator of facts. Facts alone don't
move people. Mere facts don't capture minds. Facts, no matter how important, don't touch hearts.
But stories do... they always do... and that is why your blog posts must rely on stories that capture
people and leave them begging for more...
2) Today's successful article starts with yesterday's motivating "heads up".
If you want readers today, titillate them yesterday. You see, the power of yesterday is to entice
readers today.
People will only be moved to the extent that you move them. If you want readers tomorrow... the
crucial process of exciting them starts today.
"Tomorrow! A story of love! Power! Treachery and despair! A story that will move you! Outrage
you! And, if there's a tear in you, cause it to fall! All coming tomorrow to a computer near you!"
This'll get 'em!
3) Write short sentences where every word counts.

http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                         Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012           9 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging

Thanks to the marvelous technical tools writers have nowadays, most don't write; they "typewrite",
in the withering phrase of Truman Capote. He was masterful, and he knew that writers could kill
their points, their stories and their readers by pouring out too many words and sentences straining to
digest them.
Don't make this mistake.
Look at the sentence length in this article... short, punchy, easy to take in at a glance...
Your sentences should move accordingly.
Moreover, prune your articles mercilessly. A sentence that exceeds just a few words is a sentence
smothering itself. And dead sentences will never move live people.
4) Short paragraphs give a story the air and space they need.
Today's readers are restless readers. They are overwhelmed with information... but have the same
number of hours in a day as Caesar. In short, they are looking for a reason to put your copy down...
never to be picked up again.
Short paragraphs and airy lay-out forestall this tragedy.
Look at this article... short, often real short, paragraphs with pages that look inviting, easy, not
prolix and hard.
Contemporary readers demand ease... and if you don't give it to them, they walk... fast.
5) Make your people real, not caricatures.
The reason volumes of commentary don't work is because its authors create card board characters.
They then laud the characters they like and demolish the ones they don't. Not only is this unfair...
but it makes for lousy copy.
What distinguishes the best commentary is the way you handle people whose opinions you may not
only dislike, but actually abhor. Do you give them the courtesy of presenting their point of view
fairly, objectively, honestly... or do you want just a cheap shot that not only misrepresents the
people you're writing about... but proves you're a writer not worth reading?
This point is worth elucidating because it's one too many commentators miss.
One reason writers like writing commentary is because it turns them from word peddlers into gods,
omniscient, all-powerful, always right, never wrong, with the ability to access every human heart
and brain at will.
Such people of course become insufferable in short order.
Your job as a commentator is to be sure you have done everything possible to ensure that all the
people you write about are presented without prejudice, honestly, completely, with sincerity and
with care.
This does not mean you necessarily agree with their positions or actions. It means you intend to give
your readers the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth... even if you strenuously disagree.
Only when you have done this can you in good conscience and to best effect proceed to your
opinion. Because only if you have allowed even your most pernicious characters their say... can your
say be meaningful, insightful, and worth reading.


http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                          Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012           10 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging

Use these recommendations.
The best commentators can have enormous influence... which is why you must use your
commentating position wisely, not least by producing copy that moves your readers, with every
word you write.
These suggestions will help.
By using them you will produce copy -- starting today -- that changes your readers' outlook, opinion,
point of view, one apt word at a time. When you do this not only will you have a legion of readers,
followers and fans.... but you'll deserve them!




http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                      Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012          11 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging


Blogging is booming. Look who's blogging... and why.
By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
I feel lucky to be alive and on the cutting edge of what is fast becoming The Age of Blogging... and
you should feel the same way.
And if, by some chance, you don't know what a blog is and how it works for your benefit, you are
lucky again; I'm going to reveal the true importance of blogs and some key observations on how to
derive maximum benefit from them.
Why blogging is sweeping the 'net and the globe.
Consider this.
The history of machine publishing begins in 1454 with the preparation of what became known as the
Gutenberg Bible. It took over a year before finished copies were available. This was thought to be --
and was -- a great advance; hitherto books had to be copied by hand, a process that resulted in many
errors, of omission and commission.
Printing the Gutenburg Bible was a laborious process; as a result today just 21 copies are known.
Over the centuries publishing developed.
Books were easier to print... there were many more publishers to print them (thereby increasing the
number of opinions and points of view available).... and in due course publishing advanced to where
books could be universally distributed and available.
But all this, important as it was, was as nothing compared to the most signal advance since
Gutenburg himself.
This is the blog.
A blog is the publishing marvel which enables any person anywhere to post and distribute any
message they want any time they want. It expunges the middle man, called the publisher, from the
publishing equation and enables the new publishers -- you! -- to set their own agenda and make sure
that their message is written just so... and distributed worldwide within minutes.
The implications of this development are staggering. Until just the other day (in historical terms), to
get your message out to the world, you either had to persuade a publisher or his designated
representative (an editor) to publish your article... or you had to establish your own publication with
all the expense and uncertainty that entailed.
These days the process is radically different.
Subscribe to a blogging service. Write your message. Update your message as necessary and
desirable, even daily.
And, always and forever, keep building your subscriber lists so that more and more people see what
you have written.
No longer must writers cringe like Uriah Heap before publishers; you, not they, control your content
and can shape and refine it to the satisfaction of a single individual -- you! This has never happened
before in the history of mankind and is an event of the highest significance for our species as a
whole and the crucial availability and distribution of information.
So, who's blogging?
http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                       Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012            12 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging

So, who's blogging?
Powerful institutions are not always known for their ability to move quickly, understanding change
and working at once to use such change to their advantage. But the advent of the blog has caused
many to leap into this brave new world. One of many examples is Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley,
Archbishop of Boston, Massachusetts, a prince of the Church, beloved of the Pontiff.
O'Malley has become one of his Church's "go to" guys in the pedophile priest scandal and its related
sexual issues. Like other Church leaders, I suspect O'Malley has been grievously unhappy about the
constant drumbeat of terrible press his beloved church has attracted. You can imagine his eminence's
eyes popping as he learned about the blog and grasped its implications. He probably jigged about his
office...
O'Malley no longer needs to submit to the impertinent, probing questions of pesky reporters and
their insistent editors. Instead, he can shape and nuance his message just the way he wants it, to the
very last comma. This is an unadulterated benefit for O'Malley... though not necessarily for truth
since those pesky reporters authority figures do not like... are the means of digging, digging and
digging some more; now they would be, to a significant degree, cut out of the process. The
O'Malley's of the world can breathe easier.
Recently (June, 2011), O'Malley used his blog to deal with a nasty issue that had parishioners of
every hue very angry indeed. A liberal priest (no, not a tautology) had announced a "liturgy to
commemorate Boston Pride 2011," an annual celebration of the city's gay, lesbian, and
transgendered community. Conservative Catholics were enraged, many of them blogging their
anger.
This, then, had the result of haviing the mass "postponed" (church-speak for "it won't happen until
hell freezes over, if then"). This, of course, had the predictable result of angering the liberals... and
causing their blogs to erupt in a frenzy of vituperation.
What's a poor prince to do?
In years past, his eminence would have been forced by the hostilities of his brethren to go before the
media and submit to questioning. That is not a thing princes like to do; in fact they abhor this
profoundly irritating and degrading event of lese majeste'.
Now they blog... now no one ever sees them sweat... because they no longer sweat at all!
O'Malley, thanks to his growing proficiency as a frequent blogger, dealt with this more than
tempest-in-a-tea-cup when HE wanted, how HE wanted... his blog carefully nuanced to his liking. In
due course, working behind the scenes, with the message completely his without having to bother
with reporters, the matter was solved.... at least this time.
Not as smart: the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.
Whereas Cardinal O'Mallley got the point about blogs and their utility, the Archbishop of
Canterbury, senior cleric in the Church of England, did not. In the most recent (June, 2011) issue of
the "New Statesman" magazine, his grace lashes out at the Conservative - Liberal Democrat
coalition, which came to power 13 months ago. Williams was appointed in 2002 by Labor Prime
Minister Tony Blair.
Willams, way behind the technology curve, missed a grand opportunity not merely to get his
message out to a worldwide audience far larger than the readership of a single magazine, but to grow
his list (something no serious blogger can overlook).
He opted for the traditional paper method... and that instantly limited the effectiveness of what he

http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                         Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012             13 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging

had to say. Had he, instead, set up a blog and posted his message there... his readership would have
exploded and he would have added a host of new readers to his blog... where he could have worked
early and late to convert them to his often irritating point of view.
His grace will learn, however; he really has no choice. No "leader" of any kind does. For all, for
each, it's "blog or atrophy and die." The same applies to you... which is why you must blog today,
tomorrow, forever, or create your own irrelevance and obsolescence. a state of affairs you would
really not relish.




http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                      Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012          14 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging


Master blog article writer tells you exactly how to write
articles that get read and responded to.
By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
It is a pleasure to have this opportunity to spend some time with you and provide the detailed
step-by-step information you must have to get the attention of the people on your list and get them to
respond -- and rain well deserved compliments on you and your notable blog work.
Let's dig right in; there's lots of ground to cover.
1) The purpose of blog articles.
Know much about space travel? Here's a crucial part that astronauts pay a lot of attention to: the heat
shields that protect a space capsule returning to earth. Without these shields the capsule and the
passengers within would be fried. The same thing happens when you mail ad copy and nothing but
ad copy to your lists. Recipients will get plenty angry plenty fast. They want more from you than
just ads, and if they don't get it, the unsubscribe link is near at hand.
Blog copy is essential because it keeps subscribers on your list by giving them a good reason for
staying on your list. In short, like those heat shields, this copy protects the list and keeps it whole,
growing, profitable.
2) Don't publish random articles.
Give your articles increased weight and importance by creating them as part of an ongoing series.
When you write good copy, copy of substance and value, people not only want to read it... but they
want more, lots more, from you, a person whose articles and opinion they come to respect.
3) Number each article and announce that number along with each article.
As I write (August 6, 2011), this is my 312 article in the series. You want people to know that, not
least because they will want to find and profit from the other articles in the series, all the other
articles. Furthermore, as your list of articles grows, so will your reputation and perceived standing.
In short, you will be an authority, a commentator of renown and repute.
4) Write your blog articles to a certain length, and stick to it.
My daily blog articles (which I produce free for blog owners worldwide) are all approximately 1500
words in length. That is three single-spaced pages. This length gives you ample space to develop an
article on any given theme. It is also a convenient length for readers, not too long or demanding;
crucial features in our time-pressed days. Once you have developed your format, you will soon start
thinking in terms of your available space and will find it easier and easier the more you write to
conceive and write articles of that length.
5) Always search for and brainstorm new article subjects.
I am on a dizzing blog article creation pace: one 1,500 word blog article per day. This is a
challenging schedule for even the most experienced writers. That means I need 365 article subjects
per year, challenging indeed. But even if you decide to write just one blog article per week, you'll
need 52 subjects to write about, nothing to take for granted.
When you write blog articles, you are always and forever in the business of finding hot new article
subjects. To start, get the major metropolitan newspaper from your area; (for me that's The Boston
Globe)... and a pair of scissors. Now sit down and review this newspaper with a new eye; an eye

http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                          Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012            15 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging

that's seeking interesting, timely, readers-will-love-this subjects.
Make time to cut these articles from the publication. Don't fall behind with this crucial task. In my
case, I review and cut out three times a week, more if at all possible.
Keep a good pair of sharp scissors at hand. Look at each article in each edition to see whether an
article on that theme or subject would fit your blog. If so, cut at once and make sure to date
everything you cut out. That's a must.
Then deposit what you've found in a large drawer... this is the article subject compost heap and it is
essential. In it you will find subjects you will surely want to write about... and subjects you're
watching, to write about at some future date. Cut liberally; you can be sure one day you will have no
subject readily at hand. Having all these ideas will then pirove very useful indeed.
6) Select the next subject you'll write about, gather the information you need to do so.
The creation of articles of substance, articles that draw continual kudos from your readers, is a direct
result of knowing where to look for the information you need. The better you become at this
necessary task, the better articles you will produce and the faster your reputation grows, too.
Start by doing a search at any search engine (I prefer Google) to see what information is available.
Where you are writing an article about a breaking news item, don't just check the available
information, also pay close attention to the time the most recent material was posted (e.g. "7 hours
ago"). This is essential for keeping what you write ahead of the news cycle. For timely articles, this
skill is required.
Then visit the Wikipedia. The Wikipedia is one of the most ingenious and necessary tools ever
invented. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't use it, finding and printing the invaluable
information I absolutely must have do my work... one aspect of which is studding my articles with
the facts therein so amply provided. This source is crucial.
You will also need to visit the websites of article providers such as Associated Press, Reuter's,
Bloomberg, etc. They are a terrific source of article subjects and timely data.
7) Brainstorm articles.
You and your lifetime of education and experience are also valuable sources for articles. Keep a pad
at the ready, or an Internet file, where ALL possible article subjects can be listed. Never, ever rely
on forgetful memory for such subjects. Write them down at once.
8) Set a precise date for finishing all articles.
I write and blog my articles daily. I have a precise time of the day when the deadline for the next
article MUST be met: 8 a.m. Eastern time. To do this I find all the data I'l need the day before and
review it before bed time. Then I am awake and drafting, editing, then finalizing the day's article by
3 a.m. Eastern time; that is not a misprint! I have found the silent hours of the (usually)
uninterrupted night the very best time to write, not least because I am wide awake and full of beans
at that time. You'll find the schedule most suitable for you; set it, adhere to it religiously. You will
find if you do that your brain and body will be willing to work at that time, and that is a great
benefit.
9) Keep individual files for every article you write.
These files should contain all the printed information sources for this subject as well as all your
notes and each draft. Everything pertaining to this article (including the compliments readers email
you) must be kept, not least because you may very well decide to write follow-up and related

http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                         Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012           16 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging

articles for which current data will be most helpful.
Last words.
Blogging is the future of the Internet; that is absolutely clear. And for blogging to work, and your list
to be protected, superior blog copy is a must. Now you know how to produce it.




http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                        Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012           17 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging


Straight talk about blogging. How to turn your blog into a
money maker, with special information for your not-for-profit
organization.
By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Friend, have you got a blog yet? If not, you are not falling behind, you ARE behind. You see, a blog
is a critical tool for making money online, whether you are selling products or need to raise
donations for your not-for-profit organization.
What is a blog?
A blog is a conversation between you and your customers and donors. It enables you to present your
message clearly, precisely, with the unfiltered emphasis solely on what you want these folks to know
and do. When you blog, you call the shots and determine just what you want people to know and
just when you want them to know it. When you blog no one can intervene in what you say or how
you say it. It is 100% you, 100% of the time. The trick is knowing how to use this incredible
communications device and power for maximum results.
Non-Profit organizations and the blog.
If you're running any kind of not-for-profit organization establishing a blog and using it to educate
your supporters and donors is a must, especially now when the world is going through a particularly
bad economic patch and many of your donors may be cutting back on the gifts which are essential
for you doing your important work. When such periods occur (as they regularly do) you need to be
even sharper about how to raise money... and your blog is an absolutely essential tool for doing so.
Donors want to know where their money goes.
If you want donors to keep giving to your organization, then you must tell them just what you need
the money for... and inform them as you spend it. Blogs are ideal for this.
Say you're in the business of providing services to the elderly. Without a blog you are very limited in
your ability to inform your donors. With a blog, the sky's the limit.
Your blog should contain
1) precisely what you are doing.
2) why it's necessary.
3) what you would like to be able to do.
4) how much that would cost.
For not-for-profit organizations a blog becomes a way to talk simultaneously about the results you're
getting... and the crucial tasks you could undertake if you had more funds.
Here's the formula:
1) We have raised (dollar amount).
2) With it we are doing (specific activities).
3) We need to raise (amount).
4) Which will enable us to do (more specific activities).
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Guide to Effective Blogging

4) Which will enable us to do (more specific activities).
Making your blog really interesting.
Blogs that work are blogs that are interesting. Here's how you ensure that your blog captivates
readers and keeps them coming back.
1) Focus on key people in your organization. Let donors see the people who are using the money
they've given.
2) Provide donor testimonials. People who are considering donating will like to hear what others are
doing and why.
3) Feature the people who are benefiting from your service. They can provide valuable information
about what you've done and how it helps.
Develop a "wish list".
Every non-profit organization on earth knows it could accomplish more if it had more funds. Use
your blog to talk about what you'd like to do... and what it will cost to do it. Break down major
projects into do-able bits... projects should never be seen as too big and too complicated. Big
projects should be divided into stages.
Your wish list needs to be carefully considered and presented. It should always be clear,
understandable and capable of being achieved day by day, donor by donor.
Have a "we wished" list.
Here's something you've never heard before: don't just talk about what you want to accomplish. Talk
about items which have been on your wish list.... but which are now accomplished fact. When you
talk about such items, thank lavishly. Who helped you achieve this beneficial thing... who gave
money... who gave time... who volunteered, reached out, helped? Talking about the "we wished"
items gives you the chance to give the gift of recognition.
Bring crucial information to your supporters and donors.
Part of your job is to provide continuing, in-depth information on the problem your organization
addresses. To do this keep your eyes open and keep searching for timely, pertinent information.
When you see an article that pertains to what you're doing; when an important new study comes out;
when there's new information from the government, let your audience know.
You can do so either by emailiing the details or, better, simply by emailng the link to the information
with a brief introduction on why you're sending this. Remember: any chance you have to
constructively interact with your supporters must and should be taken... this is how long-term,
productive relationships are born and develop.
Share the good news... and the bad.
Remember, a blog used properly is the basis for an infinite number of long-term relationships. Such
relationships must be honest, candid, real. This is especially true when things are bad. Open up to
your supporters about what happened and why... and what you're doing -- right now -- to solve the
problem. Believe me, I know how difficult opening up to your supporters in this way will be; you
want to be perceived as "superperson"... but you're not. You're just a human, like everyone else,
doing the best you can day by day, needing the help of other humans to achieve the objectives. This
doesn't mean turning your blog into a psychiatrist's couch... it does mean being open with your
supporters.

http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                         Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012         19 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging

How often should you communicate with your supporters, donors, friends and well- wishers?
As often as necessary; whenever you have something important to say to them; whenever a word
from you makes sense and can strengthen the relationship. In other words regularly, frequently.
How to write the best blog, in the least time.
Every organization needs a blog-meister, someone who is responsible for ensuring that the blog goes
out regularly, consistently packed with all the details that you want readers to know. To achieve this
result, delegate as much as possible.
1) If you're the sole person in your business or organization, write your blog a few minutes every
day. The rest of the day, brainstorm items you want in your blog... and keep them in your important
"blog idea file." In other words, when you're not actually writing your blog, you're thinking about it.
2) Ask others in your organization to help. Ask the person who's in charge of a new product to write
up a blog post that tells why the product is important... what it does... why it's necessary, etc.
3) Ask the individual who's in charge of an important project to write an article about how things are
going... and what needs to be done to keep things rolling along.
4) Ask an active volunteer to write a blurb on why she's so active... with a view to enthusing readers
to tell you they want to help, too.
5) Use pictures and graphics to make your blog more visually appealing.
One more thing: be sure to contact me and let me know how this article and its detailed
recommendations have helped you. I'd really like to know.




http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                       Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012           20 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging


How a perky housewife from Minnesota gets up to 5,000
responses to her blog each and every day... and how you
can do as well, or even better!
By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Author's program note. This is the tale of someone who has achieved the kind of astonishing online
results and amazing ongoing traffic that you wish you had. Her name is Diane Dohrn and she's one
of the handful of residents from Grygla, Minnesota (population 228)... a place that looks like a
suburb of Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon... the town where all the women are strong, all the men
are good looking, and all the children are above average.
For this article, therefore, I selected some music by perennial local favorite Lawrence Welk and his
Champagne Music Makers. Go to any search engine and find his signature tune "Bubbles in the
wine." Sit back in your recliner and enjoy the effervescence of the lady from Grygla and a success
story that'll make you smile....with all the necessary details so you can match her already great and
always growing success.
When I first met Diane...
I first met Diane Dohrn a little over 18 months ago when she came to me seeking my help and
advice about how to succeed online. Frankly, she needed all of the assistance I could provide; she
was in a bad way just then in her life and fortune. She told me a story so typical on the 'net as to be
endemic... She'd been in this opportunity; she'd been in that. She had paid out thousands and reaped
pennies. She had no tools for success... no traffic... she'd never had a moment's training... and, until
my advent, she'd had absolutely no one to assist her. And now she was desperate... with acute family
difficulties... and her own disability to contend with. In short, she had nowhere to go but... up.
At bottom, she still had two crucial advantages: 1) me and 2) her own "never say die" determination
that I came to know so well -- and admire.
She was willing to listen...
People with problems say they want solutions... but in fact what they really want is the opportunity
to vent... to bewail their lot in the world, do the "poor little me" thing... then rant and rant some more.
In short they don't really want a solution... they want a willing ear to chew on. But that's not how
money gets made. I told Diane, who came with some of these weepies, that I'd help IF and ONLY if
she would focus on a series of online business building steps, including specific traffic building
exercises she would need to do daily to grow the all-important traffic.
She agreed... and she kept her bargain, although it was sometimes tough for the lady when I
absolutely refused to listen to items from the latest installment of "As Diane's World Turns..."
She needed traffic... traffic...more traffic... and even more traffic. And that was where I kept our
focus, with lessons on the effective use of traffic exchanges, safe lists, forums, and article directories
where you develop crucial back links. An avid learner, she did herself the favor of listening to what
I said, asking intelligent questions, and doing the tasks. To her surprise (but not mine) she began to
generate traffic at once... and more each day. Especially as she began to understand and master one
absolutely crucial traffic generating tool, which in due time she was to make her own traffic-
generating machine. This marvel was the blog... and right from the start, it proved to be her forte so
much so that I quickly saw that Diane Dorhn was not just going to master the blog, develop huge
daily traffic from it... but become one of the true blog titans of the 'net. Now she had my full
attention, and we worked together less as teacher and student... but rather as 2 colleagues not just

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Guide to Effective Blogging

interested in how far the lady could take this.... but obsessed with the desire to raise Diane and her
traffic to hitherto unimaginable heights. We were rockin' and rollin'... Note for the blogless.
If you're an online entrepreneur of any kind, trying to get huge daily traffic, you MUST have a blog.
This is not negotiable. You see, a blog is your personal communications vehicle. It enables you to
present and deliver your message. It is 100 percent you, 100 percent of the time. Say what you
want, say it just the way you want.
The key to a blog is ensuring that it offers readers the best possible content. "Content is king," Bill
Gates famously said. That's the kind of content you must have for your blog; content that gets
people to read -- and respond. Diane was fretful about this point. She worried that she have the time
or skills to produce the high level content her blog and readers required daily. What could she do?
That's where I really entered the picture, as an essential element of her success... for you see, I
produce the champagne of blog content, and I produce it in 27 information categories from politics
through ecology and just plain good stories; my content is sophisticated, readable, intelligent,
timely, well written... and (most significantly) it gets astonishingly high reader response, as Diane
came to know at once; right from the start these articles (and I write a new one each day) generated
responses... lots and lots of them.
Thus, each day Diane starts by selecting the article of the day, the article that will anchor that blog
and be its focus.
Then she follows a daily regime which she has followed, refined and developed over time. It goes
like this:
1) Check Kstats first thing. Additionally check it several times each day to see the results on every
article she has ever blogged.
2) Prepare today's article. Select it, copy to Word. Then add all the necessary videos, links,
trackbacks, pictures, etc. Diane knows that even great copy is better, more arresting, with such
features. (By the way she keeps all this on Wordpad.)
3) She looks up the subject of the designated article in any major search engine. She likes to do this
so she can make an intelligent comment on the article.
4) Before she sends her daily blog (first thing each morning), she visits other blogs to get ideas for
the improvement of hers. She never assumes she has a monopoly on this subject; she looks for what
others can tell her about her blog, the better to improve it. She told me she visits between 35-50
blogs daily, to keep up on developments in the field, get ideas, inspiration, etc. I believe it!
5) She then reads through this daily blog post a couple of times looking for typos and so on. A
journalist's daughter, she is a stickler for mistake-free copy... as a result her blog is clean, without
the distracting errors made by other, less careful, blogsters.
6) Her blog always contains a great offer. Diane never forgets that the purpose of a blog is to make
money, and so she works hard on her offers... both on the ones she makes in her blog... and the ones
she makes when her readers respond. Because of the volume of her responses, she works on this for
hours each day... and that really pays off...
One more thing she does...
Diane generously insists on my role in her success. She points to what she calls her "Internet bible"
which contains Internet traffic, marketing and business building tips I have given her, live in my
online programs and through my huge library of blog articles. She says, "When I need a lift, this is
where I go. They are priceless."

http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                         Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012             22 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging

That's the woman all over...
The truth is, the person who has contributed the most to Diane's success is... Diane. She's risen from
no traffic at all to getting up to 5,000 responses EACH and EVERY day, without exception. Her
own personality and approach to her thousands of blog readers is what makes the critical difference.
She's a small town Iowa girl and has retained the sincerity, empathy and quintessential Midwestern
directness and candor of the heartland. Diane is authentic to her fingertips. She likes people; likes to
help... and this shines through.
Now thousands of new people will learn about Diane and take heart if, like most online, they have
had absolutely no success. That can and should stop now... for the best thing Diane can do is make
you understand that the huge results she has already received are fully duplicatable and can be done
off the kitchen table. Only one thing is missing from this system... and that is the great heart of the
lady herself. That is all her own... and we admire her all the more for what she does with it to help so
many for she remembers her roots and the help she got when she needed it most. This is why with
her blog, she has not got just readers... but friends.




http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                        Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012           23 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging


The pen is mightier than the sword. Vietnam's Communist
government imprisons pro-democracy blogster... and
immediately shows how powerful a blog can be.
By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
If you're using the Internet to build your business and don't yet have a blog, you're making a very
serious error. Blogs are crucial for running a business, including helping grow organizations with a
message for the world. To see just how important a blog can be, consider the case of Pham Minh
Hoang, 56, a French-Vietnamese math professor. August 10, 2011 he was sentenced to three years
in prison. His crime? Belonging to a banned pro-democracy group and publishing an
anti-Communist blog.
The facts.
The organization Viet Tan is a US-based advocate of democracy. Pham Minh Hoang is a member.
Their goal is a democratic Vietnam. Obviously the in-control Communists take a dim view of people
who want to make decisions for themselves and enjoy the basic freedoms and human rights we take
for granted. Anyone opposing the government and its rigid system of personal and mind control is
immediately dubbed a "terrorist" and imprisoned, or worse.
But the profound desire to live for oneself, to think for oneself, to be able to go where one wants,
when one wants... is irresistible. And so the number of anti-government, pro-democracy "terrorists"
continues to grow in Vietnam, even as the government engages in acts that prove just how necessary
the pro-democracy forces are, with their sublime goal of liberty for all!
The advent of the blog has proven of the utmost usefulness to pro-democracy forces. For the cost of
an Internet connection they can get their message out to the world. That message will be exactly as
they write it and want it... going out whenever they want. On this basis, Ho Chi Minh City-based
Hoang started a blog and published at least 33 articles against Vietnam's one-party Communist
system.
It was a bold action... a brave action... a gallant action that put his very life on the line as he lived his
principles -- until the totalitarian forces of the government found and arrested him.
Let us be clear: though Hoang was arrested and tried for his "crimes", he was lucky. He does not
appear to have been tortured, though perhaps he must endure that, too, in due course.
His trial and defense.
The government's case was this: that Hoang had conspired to overturn the government, first, through
his various blog posts; that he held membership in the Viet Tan, a recognized terrorist organization,
and that he recruited others to join and subvert the government. These were the same arguments the
government put forward in its second high-profile dissident trial in just over a week.
Hoang told the court during his half-day trial in Ho Chi Minh City that he joined Viet Tan, which he
insisted was not a terrorist organization, in France where it is not banned. He insisted that he did not
at anytime do anything to oppose the government.
Hoang, who was teaching mathematics at a Ho Chi Minh City university at the time of his arrest,
said he returned to Vietnam in 2000 to contribute to his country and care for his aged parents.
Viet Tan confirmed Hoang's testimony and reaffirmed that it is an advocate of democracy and
peaceful change. The government's attorneys strongly disagreed, saying Hoang had attended a Viet

http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                          Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012             24 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging

Tan-organized course in Malaysia and was helping recruit new Vietnamese members. And there the
matter of Pham Minh Hoang rests --- for the moment.
What all blogsters can learn from this situation:
1) Whether you are running a profit- or not-for-profit organization, you must establish your blog at
once.
Remember, a blog enables you to say exactly what you want and disseminate your important
message to your designated lists whenever you want without being censured or interferred with by
anyone.
2) The more interesting and valuable your blog copy, the more frequently you can publish your blog
and the more advertisements you can include.
Smart Internet marketers know that you cannot just email your lists nothing but ad copy every single
day, no matter how worthwhile what you offer. The people on your list will quite simply not tolerate
this and will signify their strong disapproval by unsubscribing.
Blogs solve this problem by providing your subscribers with excellent copy that is timely,
substantial, and of demonstrated interest. Thus, you are able to blog to your list daily -- and publish
far more ads, thereby reaping additional profits while simultaneously ensuring long-term readers and
relationships.
3) Blogs should be personal, always writing directly to and always for your subscribers.
The best blogs give you the opportunity to establish ongoing interactive communications with your
readers. This leads to essential long-term relationships; you know your readers/customers and they
know you.Thus, when you say something, they pay close attention, including the products you
recommend and sell. People accept and act on your recommendations, because they know you, and
trust you.
4) As a blog publisher you have influence that grows with the quality of your information and the
number of your subscribers.
Once you've established your blog you are no longer "just" an-emailer. You are a card- carrying
member of the most influential group of people on earth, publishers. Act like it!
Your job is to motivate, enthuse, urge, educate, train, excite, and support through the articles,
information and, yes, even the ads you publish.
Last words.
We are now in the earliest days of blog creation, maintenance and development. Smart blogsters, and
there are thousands of them, are doing today the steps which will guarantee them a lifetime of profit
(for for-profit organizations), donations (for not-for-profit organizations), and influence for all.
These days for the blog are like the early days of the settlement of the Western United States and
Canada. There determined pioneers saw nothing but opportunity and regarded the necessary work of
achieving it as nothing more than what was essential for profits and success. They felt exhilaration,
excitement, and privileged to be in that position and so grew their empires with a song in their
hearts.
You do the same.
And as for Pham Minh Hoang, my heart and prayers go out to you, a true hero of our often selfish,
vulgar, scam-ridden Internet age. You are using this great technology for a worthy cause, the

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Guide to Effective Blogging

betterment of your nation and its storm-tossed people. We hope for your prompt release and
continued dedication to the great cause and what you have already given for it.




http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                    Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012            26 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging


Would you rather stick needles in your eyes then blog? 10
Ways to Make Life Easier for Bloggers with limited time and
writing ability.
Ok, you know you are supposed to blog. The marketing experts agree that blogging consistently is a
sure-fire way to get your site well indexed by the search engines and get those oh-so-important
backlinks for your site. But let's face the reality. Coming up with fresh interesting blog content 365
days a year is darn difficult. You know it's important but getting started is so hard. You understand
you need the value that blogging provides from search engines gobbling up your content. But how? !
How do you come up with fresh blog content and find the time. Here's some ideas to make your life
easier but also to get better results for your efforts.
1. Blog about what you know or are passion about so the words stream from your keyboard rather
then having to struggle to spit out the words and put sentences together. It's always easier to talk
about something you know or care about or that is controversial then technical or dry topics.
2. You don't have to be an expert (unless you really are an expert and offering expert content on a
specific topic). Write about specifics if you can, generalities if you have to, but write about
something!
3. You don't have to be a blogger who writes with grammatical perfection. Your English teacher is
not reading your blog. Stop thinking that the world is going to judge you critically if you misspell a
word or don't know all the rules of grammar. Of course you want your blog to be as good as it can
be, but don't let the quest for perfection make a 20 minute blog post take you hours to complete.
4. Ideally, to get the most benefit from search engines indexing your blog, you want to blog about
topics related to your products, service or business. But that can be really tough to write about just
one subject every day. Try spacing out your blogs so that some are on topic for your purpose, while
others are off topic, or about current events. Add in your Resource Box at the end of every post (see
point 7 below).
5. Keep your blog posts short. Keep your blog to the point, itemize, organize, number points if you
have to. Do what you have to do make it easy and quick for you to write and easy and quick for your
readers to digest. Sometimes less is more.
6. Let the world around you be your inspiration for blogs topics. This can include songs, newspaper
headlines, nature, current events, your pets, other bloggers, daily happenings in the course of your
life, things your kids say or do. Get the idea. There are NO limits.
7. Always, conclude your post with a Resource Box or Author info section with every blog. Why?
So that your contact info and identifying information is tagged with EVERY blog post and not
tucked away on an About page. Ensure that your Resource Box includes your name, contact details,
areas of expertise, and link to your site or landing page. It is also a good idea to weave your optimal
key words into your Resource Box. This way the key words you want people to find you with are
associated with your blog, your name, and your company. This proves beneficial if you write about
something not directly related to your business, products or services, you still get the benefit of the
key word content about yourself, and a backlink to your site, or landing page.
8. Sometimes it helps to start with a really catchy Blog title. Take a lesson from the newspapers.
They construct clever eye-grabbing attention getting headlines to draw you in. Start with a really
bold, in your face, descriptive or reaction provoking headline to get immediate attention. The let
your content come forth from the headline.


http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                       Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012            27 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging

9. Set a goal to blog on a regular basis. If you can't blog every day, then do it every Monday,
Wednesday and Friday. Set exact dates and times that work for you. If you don't you will always
find some other distraction to convince yourself is more important. Set a goal, stick to it, do it!
10. Make the most of the time you have spent on your blog by then tweeting it, posting it to Linked
In, adding to your Facebook profile and other social media sites. Maximize the power of the time
you spent blogging by utilizing social media to spread the message to other sites. You can use
automated tools to do this to save time. Include links to your social media sites on your blog itself for
even more exposure.




http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                        Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012           28 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging


How to Create Blog Titles that DEMAND attention!
If you are going to spend the time it requires to blog then you want to make certain your time is for
the maximum return.
You want readers right? You want your blog to be shared in social media right? You want more
traffic so you earn more money right?
Smart bloggers who earn considerable revenue from their blogs, know it's critical to have
well-thought blog titles.
Here I share some critical points about writing blog titles so you get noticed among the millions of
blogs out there.
For effective blog titles do this:
A great blog title gets the readers attention then draws them in so they actually read your blog.
Remember, some web sites, readers and devices like cell phones and iPad aps, show only the title of
your blog. Your introduction or summary of what the blog is about may not even appear so your
title better be instantly eye-popping and interesting. If readers see only your title, and your title is
lame, you are less likely to get readership. Instead make your title catchy, one that immediately
conveys what the blog is about so readers think you are click-worthy. Be sure that your title is not
word-heavy but is clear and obvious. Readers what to know right away what you have to offer and
if its worthy of their precious time to read. When you read my examples below you will get a better
understanding of what goes into a Blog Title that DEMANDS readership.
Creating blog titles that will get indexed by search engines, and read by people.
When creating your titles you want to use as many key words related to your blog content as you
can. Before you even start your blog post, think about who you want to read this post and what key
words are relevant to your purposes and to your audience. If your blog is targeting a specific
audience, try to work that into the title so your title speaks and says to the individual - HEY READ
ME! If you want people to read your blog who are looking for specific key words related to what
you offer, work those key words into the title.
Consider that people are busy, often they prefer short, easy to read blog posts. Ensure if you can that
your blog title relays this by summarizing what you blog includes.
Don't compromise the value of your key words by being too creative in your title, make sure they are
included in your title. With Google recently announcing that fresh content contributes to higher page
ranking, you want to make sure if your blog is about a trending topic, a news event, or breaking
news, that it gets scanned first. You can help this happen by integrating the most obvious key words
in your title so your blog gets scanned by Google and other search engine bots.
Finally, an important reason to give some thought to use of key words within your Blog title is this.
If you have any type of monetization on your blog, such as Google's Ad Sense, the key words you
use will trigger specific related topic ads to appear on your site. This is beneficial to you, as ads that
appear on your blog are more closely matched to your Ad Sense ads which offers you somewhat of
an advantage for potential earning through clicks on the ads that appear on your blog.
Convey what your Blog is about with a smart title.
In your Blog title, say exactly what your content is in an enticing way. If you can find a clever way
to shock, or make someone take notice within your Blog title, do so. For example, offer 7 Tips, or 10
Strategies, or 10 Ways to Drop 10 Pounds. This style of titling is a good way to convey that your

http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                         Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012            29 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging

blog is brief but includes valuable information. For some blog titles you may find it helpful to
convey a sense of urgency so readers gets the feeling they will miss out on some really good, juicy
or helpful information if they don't read it. Celebrity gossip and Hollywood bloggers are particularly
good at dangling carrots (celebrity names with a hint of scandal) within their blog titles to attract
readership.
You may be thinking to yourself, WHOA! She is asking for a lot to be incorporated into a simple
blog title! Yes, I am but it is easy if you know how to do it, you will get better at it as you go and
your results will reward and motivate you. It's for your own good - really. To help you get started,
I've included 6 examples of effective and less effective blog titles below.
Example 1
Strong : How to grow roses that make your neighbours green with envy. Weak: How to grow roses.
Example 2
Strong: 7 Sure-Fire Ways to get rid of allergies for good! Weak: Allergies: a problem experienced
by 30% of Americans
Example 3
Strong: The TOP 10 BEST Hotels in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan Weak: Going to Moose Jaw,
Saskatchewan? Here's our picks for the best hotels.
Example 4
Strong: 5 Strategies That Will Triple Your Sales Today! Weak: Looking for ways to increase your
sales? We have what you need to know.
Example 5
Strong: Why Herman Cain can kiss the Presidency good-bye! Weak: US Presidential candidates, a
look at who's running, the favourites and the predicted losers.
Example 6
Strong: 10 PROVEN Ways to Shed Weight FAST! Hollywood Celebrities do this, you can too!
Weak: If you really do want to lose weight, we can help you.
See, it's not so hard. Spending a few extra minutes to think and tweak your Blog Titles will get you
more readers, more traffic and more revenue!
**** What do you think? Do you use catchy titles for your blogs? What is your experience?




http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                        Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012            30 of 31
Guide to Effective Blogging


Resource
About the Author Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide
range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18
best-selling business books.
Republished with author's permission by Tim Ricke http://BizBuildersCommunity.com.




http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com                    Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012         31 of 31

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Guide to Effective Blogging

  • 2. Table of Contents 1. Advice on what makes business blogs work by three who know: George Kosch, Sandi Hunter and Dr. Jeffrey Lant. 2. Tips for blog and other non-fiction writers. 3. How to write the kind of blog copy that turns readers into fans who cannot live without you! 4. Blogging is booming. Look who's blogging... and why. 5. Master blog article writer tells you exactly how to write articles that get read and responded to. 6. Straight talk about blogging. How to turn your blog into a money maker, with special information for your not-for-profit organization. 7. How a perky housewife from Minnesota gets up to 5,000 responses to her blog each and every day... and how you can do as well, or even better! 8. The pen is mightier than the sword. Vietnam's Communist government imprisons pro-democracy blogster... and immediately shows how powerful a blog can be. 9. Would you rather stick needles in your eyes then blog? 10 Ways to Make Life Easier for Bloggers with limited time and writing ability. 10. How to Create Blog Titles that DEMAND attention!
  • 3. Guide to Effective Blogging Advice on what makes business blogs work by three who know: George Kosch, Sandi Hunter and Dr. Jeffrey Lant. by Dr. Jeffrey Lant Today , April 19, 2011, is a special day for the three members of the Worldprofit blog writing team. Today we completed writing 200 business blog articles, a project which began in June, 2010. The response to these articles has been nothing short of spectacular, so we decided to discuss the reasons why this has occurred and what it means for you and your business blog. 1) Be clear on the objective. We are focusing this article on blogs created by businesses. Their objective is simple: make money. No business blog should ever be created which has some supposedly "better" purpose. It's easy to forget this purpose; it doesn't take much to unfocus a blog. That's why we suggest posting this message prominently in your office: "It's the money, silly." A variation of this message helped Billl Clinton (a notoriously diffuse individual) from going off theme and was influential in putting him in the Oval Office. This message will also work for you. 2) Designate a good writer to produce your blog's content. Business blog copy must be clean, clear, accurate. That means designating a writer with business writing experience. An experienced copywriter is perfect. They know how to write copy that sells... which is just the copy you need. 3) If you cannot find a copywriter, become that copywriter yourself. Successful copy is based on just 4 important words: YOU GET BENEFIT NOW. The "you" is your reader, the person you need your blog copy to motivate to contact you. "get" is there to remind you that copy is always about what the reader (your past, present and future customer) gets from you. "benefit" is the specific thing they get from each article you publish. "now" is when you want the reader to respond, reminding yourself that there must always be one or more offers in each blog issue, such offers being intended to stimulate the immediate reader response which must always be your objective. 4) Master search engines. Writing business blogs means finding and using a never ending supply of data, information, research findings, quotations of note, etc. Blogs eat up lots and lots of information. This means becoming expert at finding pertinent data from search engines. Surprisingly we discovered that many business blog writers do not use and therefore do now know how to ensure best results from search engines. That problem must be recognized and overcome ASAP. Successful business writers know how to write articles with data "holes" in them, "holes" they can quickly fill by accessing search engines... without ever leaving the computer. Given the fact that not so many years ago, business writers had to use specialized business libraries, a cumbersome process at best, search engines have made all the difference in getting important data quickly and easily, all at your fingertips. http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 3 of 31
  • 4. Guide to Effective Blogging 5) Always have a lead article, the focus of each individual issue. We have found in practice that each blog issue should be anchored by a major article. The length we recommend is 1,500 words. This article should be divided into two distinct parts; first, the actual content itself. Second, pertinent follow-up details which advise your reader what is available, its benefits, and how to get it. These follow-up details are crucial and must follow each article. (See below for an example.) How long does it take for such an article to be researched, written, edited, etc.? Obviously that depends on the amount of research you must do, how quickly you find it, your own skills and speed as a writer, etc. However, we have found that this "anchor" article takes on average 4-8 hours. 6) Always have a "new uses" feature. You've all heard the old adage, "sell the sizzle, not the steak". That's why you need a "new uses" feature. Select any of your products and services; then provide at least one detailed blog article on how to get the great results from its use. Remember, people buy products too achieve results; the more practical uses you detail, the more sales you make. 7) Always include customer testimonials, particularly testimonials that provide details on what individual customers did and their positive results. Customer testimonials work. Thus, make sure you always include one or more in each blog issue. And always make a point in each blog of asking your customers to provide more. 8) Have a "new product" feature... and, as above, ensure the copy focuses on what it does, that "sizzle" again. Remember, blog copy is about making money by generating reader inquiries and sales. Your readers are glad to read about new products to the extent that the copy introducing them focuses on what the customer gets. 9) Set and keep a fixed blog publishing schedule. Your readers should expect to see your blog, like clock work, on a published schedule. They should be trained to look forward to it and respond. But if your publishing schedule is erratic, unpredictable, then your reputation will not be enhanced and your sales will definitely suffer. Ouch! Once you've set the schedule, treat it religiously. 10) Always include a very special offer in every issue. Make it a truly spectacular offer... one available to blog readers only. Position this offer prominently. It is, after all, eye-popping. Last words. Blogs in general and business blogs in particular are here to stay. Businesses without them are businesses that suffer, having thereby circumscribed sales and growth. Make sure that isn't you. One last piece of advice: Make your blog fun read and ALWAYS easy to respond to. If you follow these instructions, your blog will steadily grow in importance as a readily available source of customers and profits. As we can tell you from personal experience, what blogs deliver will truly delight, excite, and enthuse you. A steady stream of new customers and enhanced profits tend to do that.... Get started today and see for yourself. http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 4 of 31
  • 5. Guide to Effective Blogging http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 5 of 31
  • 6. Guide to Effective Blogging Tips for blog and other non-fiction writers. by Dr. Jeffrey Lant Do you have a need to write non-fiction articles for your blog, newsletter, or other purpose? Then you'll find this article timely, apt, and practical. I am going to share some tips which have stood me in good stead... and should be most helpful for you. My writing credentials. I have been a published author now for nearly 60 years; my first non-fiction article appeared in the Downers Grove (Illinois) Reporter and was a look at the neighborhood through the eyes of a five year old. Since then, I have written 18 books and thousands of articles on a wide range of subjects. I also have taught expository writing at several colleges and universities, including Harvard. In the last year I have written over 200 non-fiction articles of about 1,500 words each. You could say, and you'd be right, that scribbling is in my veins. 1) Have a writing place, a room or even just a desk that's used only for your writing. Have you got a place now that's dedicated to your writing and to nothing else? Probably not... and that's your first problem. All serious writers (and by that I mean writers who are dedicated, productive and focused) know the importance of a room all their own, a room where the rest of the world is cordially not invited. In this space -- sacrosanct to your craft -- there is NOTHING else going on but what helps you write. These days that means a computer with at least a 36" screen. The older you (and your eyes) are, the more you'll appreciate the screen size. Make it clear to all the world that they are not to touch, ever, a single thing in this space. ALL writers have idiosyncratic organizational systems. Whatever is yours must be for you and you alone. 2) Have standard reference books easily at hand. Good writers have a good working library containing appropriate reference books. For instance, I have standard dictionaries in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and German. I use them daily... and so must you. Good writers are expert are finding just the word they need... the dictionaries ensure they get it. Note: Some, presumably younger, readers will argue that everything they need is available online. It may be a function of my age and habits, but I like the old paper dictionaries and other reference books. That may make me an anachronism... but a happy and productive one. 3) Set up a filing system. You should have files for articles and books you intend to write. These files should contain ideas and research findings. Do not be casual or disorganized about these things; losing them could set you back days or weeks and is sure, at the very least, to leave you in a nasty temper. You also need files for all the articles you have written. Such files will contain your notes and research data and a copy of the final article, as well as any fan letters you received (yes, you'll get them) and other pertinent correspondence. 4) Have a handy place for all your writing supplies. Writers need lots of supplies, including reams of paper, fax supplies, etc. You'll need good pens, too, for editing. What you write online should always be printed out when it's time to review what you've written. http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 6 of 31
  • 7. Guide to Effective Blogging 5) Select your writing time and strictly adhere to it. Seasoned writers are methodical writers. They set the exact time they intend to write, starting and concluding, and then proceed accordingly. In his must- read autobiography prolific Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope made it clear when he wrote and what he aimed to produce (250 words the quarter hour). He set the objective and then made sure he achieved it by being in his writing place at the set time... and focusing exclusively on his craft and output at that time. 6) Never take phone calls or other interruptions during your writing time. Non-writers do not understand writers and our often curious ways; no, they never have and never will. That's why they think of telephoning or even showing up during your essential writing time. Such people must be politely but firmly told that you never answer calls, etc. or attend to any other interrupting thing during that scheduled period. Life's little interruptions are severely detrimental to what we must do, and we must be strict about controlling their access. 5) Write daily. There isn't a day that goes by, not Christmas, Thanksgiving or the 4th of July, that I don't write. Thus, by adhering to a strict schedule, I produce about 325,000 publishable words each year. What's important, however, is not the quantity of words produced but their consistent quality... and the fact that not a single day ends until the quota for that day is finished. I live in an academic community where there are lots of experienced and even more aspiring writers. When one identifies himself to me, I always ask what he's working on now, when he expects to finish it and when he finished his last writing project. The answers provide irrefutable proof as to whether the person in question is a writer... or merely a dreamer. Writers write... more importantly writers write daily. 6) Learn to use the search engines. As a prolific writer, I spent in earlier years a great deal of time in libraries garnering necessary information. Nowadays, with up-to-the-minute data available online at your finger tips, I hardly ever set foot in such an archaic place. The key here is knowing how to use search engines, the "card catalogs" of the Web. Here are some tips: a) never limit your search to a single search engine. Different search engines can and do produce different results. b) never restrict yourself to one search term. Brainstorm different search queries; they will produce different results. c) Print the data and documents you discover as soon as you find them. What you find today may not be there when you return. d) Do your search engine researching during time you are not writing. Searching is not only necessary; it is actually fun and relaxing. 7) Set up a blog where you can showcase your work. If you have a blog, use it. If you don't, set one up at once as a useful place to showcase your work. A blog gives you, unlike all previous writers, the opportunity to tell the world who you are and show them what you can produce. It should be well-written, simply but eye-catchingly presented, and always timely. Last Words http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 7 of 31
  • 8. Guide to Effective Blogging Writers are special people; we have a privilege that most of the world can only imagine: the need, the obligation, the absolutely necessary task of seeking truth, contemplating what we find, then writing about it in the clearest, most honest way we can. In the process we touch people's lives, inform them, change them, improve them. There is absolutely nothing more essential and more rewarding than that. Now, with this article in hand, you are ready to perfect yourself as a writer and the process that produces just the words you want, just when you want them; for that is the last of today's advice.To set a deadline for all your writing tasks... and stay focused so you achieve it... ... Which is what I have just done... finishing today's article on time and the right length, too. In a few minutes it will be posted online, the next step to helping it wend its way to you. Thus we lucky scribblers change the world, one word, one article, one reader after another... people who make a difference every day and gladly so. http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 8 of 31
  • 9. Guide to Effective Blogging How to write the kind of blog copy that turns readers into fans who cannot live without you! by Dr. Jeffrey Lant This is an article for people who want to be smart bloggers! Bloggers who change lives! Bloggers who get people to sit up, take notice and say, "Wow! That guy is right! That guy is on the money!" Bloggers who don't just want readers... ... but fans who sit next to their computers waiting for your next blog post. In this article I am going to show you the secret to becoming a producer of "must read" copy.... and becoming, in the process, a person who goes way beyond having readers... instead creating fans. 400,000+ words in the last year. This article celebrates achieving a "personal best" goal for me... a goal I challenged myself to make one year ago.... and which I have, with the publication of this article, now achieved. I wanted to see if I could write at least 400,000 words of copy in 365 days; not just drab, undistinguished, pedestrian copy either, but copy that's timely! Intellectually distinguished! Lyric! Insightful! Yes, the kind of copy that stops people worldwide in their tracks and forces them to sit up! Take notice! And pay attention... because they just couldn't bear to miss a single word! And I am pleased to tell you that this is precisely what has happened! My blog, where you can find all my articles, now generates millions of hits and a stream of gratifying comments from people worldwide who feed my ego and make my day. This is me! And it can be you! 1) Tell stories. The greatest communicators on earth -- Jesus! Abraham Lincoln! Mark Twain! were story tellers. They used the power of stories to make things easy for their audience to understand... and to drive home their points, no matter how difficult and complicated. You must become a story teller, too, not just a finder and disseminator of facts. Facts alone don't move people. Mere facts don't capture minds. Facts, no matter how important, don't touch hearts. But stories do... they always do... and that is why your blog posts must rely on stories that capture people and leave them begging for more... 2) Today's successful article starts with yesterday's motivating "heads up". If you want readers today, titillate them yesterday. You see, the power of yesterday is to entice readers today. People will only be moved to the extent that you move them. If you want readers tomorrow... the crucial process of exciting them starts today. "Tomorrow! A story of love! Power! Treachery and despair! A story that will move you! Outrage you! And, if there's a tear in you, cause it to fall! All coming tomorrow to a computer near you!" This'll get 'em! 3) Write short sentences where every word counts. http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 9 of 31
  • 10. Guide to Effective Blogging Thanks to the marvelous technical tools writers have nowadays, most don't write; they "typewrite", in the withering phrase of Truman Capote. He was masterful, and he knew that writers could kill their points, their stories and their readers by pouring out too many words and sentences straining to digest them. Don't make this mistake. Look at the sentence length in this article... short, punchy, easy to take in at a glance... Your sentences should move accordingly. Moreover, prune your articles mercilessly. A sentence that exceeds just a few words is a sentence smothering itself. And dead sentences will never move live people. 4) Short paragraphs give a story the air and space they need. Today's readers are restless readers. They are overwhelmed with information... but have the same number of hours in a day as Caesar. In short, they are looking for a reason to put your copy down... never to be picked up again. Short paragraphs and airy lay-out forestall this tragedy. Look at this article... short, often real short, paragraphs with pages that look inviting, easy, not prolix and hard. Contemporary readers demand ease... and if you don't give it to them, they walk... fast. 5) Make your people real, not caricatures. The reason volumes of commentary don't work is because its authors create card board characters. They then laud the characters they like and demolish the ones they don't. Not only is this unfair... but it makes for lousy copy. What distinguishes the best commentary is the way you handle people whose opinions you may not only dislike, but actually abhor. Do you give them the courtesy of presenting their point of view fairly, objectively, honestly... or do you want just a cheap shot that not only misrepresents the people you're writing about... but proves you're a writer not worth reading? This point is worth elucidating because it's one too many commentators miss. One reason writers like writing commentary is because it turns them from word peddlers into gods, omniscient, all-powerful, always right, never wrong, with the ability to access every human heart and brain at will. Such people of course become insufferable in short order. Your job as a commentator is to be sure you have done everything possible to ensure that all the people you write about are presented without prejudice, honestly, completely, with sincerity and with care. This does not mean you necessarily agree with their positions or actions. It means you intend to give your readers the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth... even if you strenuously disagree. Only when you have done this can you in good conscience and to best effect proceed to your opinion. Because only if you have allowed even your most pernicious characters their say... can your say be meaningful, insightful, and worth reading. http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 10 of 31
  • 11. Guide to Effective Blogging Use these recommendations. The best commentators can have enormous influence... which is why you must use your commentating position wisely, not least by producing copy that moves your readers, with every word you write. These suggestions will help. By using them you will produce copy -- starting today -- that changes your readers' outlook, opinion, point of view, one apt word at a time. When you do this not only will you have a legion of readers, followers and fans.... but you'll deserve them! http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 11 of 31
  • 12. Guide to Effective Blogging Blogging is booming. Look who's blogging... and why. By Dr. Jeffrey Lant I feel lucky to be alive and on the cutting edge of what is fast becoming The Age of Blogging... and you should feel the same way. And if, by some chance, you don't know what a blog is and how it works for your benefit, you are lucky again; I'm going to reveal the true importance of blogs and some key observations on how to derive maximum benefit from them. Why blogging is sweeping the 'net and the globe. Consider this. The history of machine publishing begins in 1454 with the preparation of what became known as the Gutenberg Bible. It took over a year before finished copies were available. This was thought to be -- and was -- a great advance; hitherto books had to be copied by hand, a process that resulted in many errors, of omission and commission. Printing the Gutenburg Bible was a laborious process; as a result today just 21 copies are known. Over the centuries publishing developed. Books were easier to print... there were many more publishers to print them (thereby increasing the number of opinions and points of view available).... and in due course publishing advanced to where books could be universally distributed and available. But all this, important as it was, was as nothing compared to the most signal advance since Gutenburg himself. This is the blog. A blog is the publishing marvel which enables any person anywhere to post and distribute any message they want any time they want. It expunges the middle man, called the publisher, from the publishing equation and enables the new publishers -- you! -- to set their own agenda and make sure that their message is written just so... and distributed worldwide within minutes. The implications of this development are staggering. Until just the other day (in historical terms), to get your message out to the world, you either had to persuade a publisher or his designated representative (an editor) to publish your article... or you had to establish your own publication with all the expense and uncertainty that entailed. These days the process is radically different. Subscribe to a blogging service. Write your message. Update your message as necessary and desirable, even daily. And, always and forever, keep building your subscriber lists so that more and more people see what you have written. No longer must writers cringe like Uriah Heap before publishers; you, not they, control your content and can shape and refine it to the satisfaction of a single individual -- you! This has never happened before in the history of mankind and is an event of the highest significance for our species as a whole and the crucial availability and distribution of information. So, who's blogging? http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 12 of 31
  • 13. Guide to Effective Blogging So, who's blogging? Powerful institutions are not always known for their ability to move quickly, understanding change and working at once to use such change to their advantage. But the advent of the blog has caused many to leap into this brave new world. One of many examples is Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston, Massachusetts, a prince of the Church, beloved of the Pontiff. O'Malley has become one of his Church's "go to" guys in the pedophile priest scandal and its related sexual issues. Like other Church leaders, I suspect O'Malley has been grievously unhappy about the constant drumbeat of terrible press his beloved church has attracted. You can imagine his eminence's eyes popping as he learned about the blog and grasped its implications. He probably jigged about his office... O'Malley no longer needs to submit to the impertinent, probing questions of pesky reporters and their insistent editors. Instead, he can shape and nuance his message just the way he wants it, to the very last comma. This is an unadulterated benefit for O'Malley... though not necessarily for truth since those pesky reporters authority figures do not like... are the means of digging, digging and digging some more; now they would be, to a significant degree, cut out of the process. The O'Malley's of the world can breathe easier. Recently (June, 2011), O'Malley used his blog to deal with a nasty issue that had parishioners of every hue very angry indeed. A liberal priest (no, not a tautology) had announced a "liturgy to commemorate Boston Pride 2011," an annual celebration of the city's gay, lesbian, and transgendered community. Conservative Catholics were enraged, many of them blogging their anger. This, then, had the result of haviing the mass "postponed" (church-speak for "it won't happen until hell freezes over, if then"). This, of course, had the predictable result of angering the liberals... and causing their blogs to erupt in a frenzy of vituperation. What's a poor prince to do? In years past, his eminence would have been forced by the hostilities of his brethren to go before the media and submit to questioning. That is not a thing princes like to do; in fact they abhor this profoundly irritating and degrading event of lese majeste'. Now they blog... now no one ever sees them sweat... because they no longer sweat at all! O'Malley, thanks to his growing proficiency as a frequent blogger, dealt with this more than tempest-in-a-tea-cup when HE wanted, how HE wanted... his blog carefully nuanced to his liking. In due course, working behind the scenes, with the message completely his without having to bother with reporters, the matter was solved.... at least this time. Not as smart: the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. Whereas Cardinal O'Mallley got the point about blogs and their utility, the Archbishop of Canterbury, senior cleric in the Church of England, did not. In the most recent (June, 2011) issue of the "New Statesman" magazine, his grace lashes out at the Conservative - Liberal Democrat coalition, which came to power 13 months ago. Williams was appointed in 2002 by Labor Prime Minister Tony Blair. Willams, way behind the technology curve, missed a grand opportunity not merely to get his message out to a worldwide audience far larger than the readership of a single magazine, but to grow his list (something no serious blogger can overlook). He opted for the traditional paper method... and that instantly limited the effectiveness of what he http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 13 of 31
  • 14. Guide to Effective Blogging had to say. Had he, instead, set up a blog and posted his message there... his readership would have exploded and he would have added a host of new readers to his blog... where he could have worked early and late to convert them to his often irritating point of view. His grace will learn, however; he really has no choice. No "leader" of any kind does. For all, for each, it's "blog or atrophy and die." The same applies to you... which is why you must blog today, tomorrow, forever, or create your own irrelevance and obsolescence. a state of affairs you would really not relish. http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 14 of 31
  • 15. Guide to Effective Blogging Master blog article writer tells you exactly how to write articles that get read and responded to. By Dr. Jeffrey Lant It is a pleasure to have this opportunity to spend some time with you and provide the detailed step-by-step information you must have to get the attention of the people on your list and get them to respond -- and rain well deserved compliments on you and your notable blog work. Let's dig right in; there's lots of ground to cover. 1) The purpose of blog articles. Know much about space travel? Here's a crucial part that astronauts pay a lot of attention to: the heat shields that protect a space capsule returning to earth. Without these shields the capsule and the passengers within would be fried. The same thing happens when you mail ad copy and nothing but ad copy to your lists. Recipients will get plenty angry plenty fast. They want more from you than just ads, and if they don't get it, the unsubscribe link is near at hand. Blog copy is essential because it keeps subscribers on your list by giving them a good reason for staying on your list. In short, like those heat shields, this copy protects the list and keeps it whole, growing, profitable. 2) Don't publish random articles. Give your articles increased weight and importance by creating them as part of an ongoing series. When you write good copy, copy of substance and value, people not only want to read it... but they want more, lots more, from you, a person whose articles and opinion they come to respect. 3) Number each article and announce that number along with each article. As I write (August 6, 2011), this is my 312 article in the series. You want people to know that, not least because they will want to find and profit from the other articles in the series, all the other articles. Furthermore, as your list of articles grows, so will your reputation and perceived standing. In short, you will be an authority, a commentator of renown and repute. 4) Write your blog articles to a certain length, and stick to it. My daily blog articles (which I produce free for blog owners worldwide) are all approximately 1500 words in length. That is three single-spaced pages. This length gives you ample space to develop an article on any given theme. It is also a convenient length for readers, not too long or demanding; crucial features in our time-pressed days. Once you have developed your format, you will soon start thinking in terms of your available space and will find it easier and easier the more you write to conceive and write articles of that length. 5) Always search for and brainstorm new article subjects. I am on a dizzing blog article creation pace: one 1,500 word blog article per day. This is a challenging schedule for even the most experienced writers. That means I need 365 article subjects per year, challenging indeed. But even if you decide to write just one blog article per week, you'll need 52 subjects to write about, nothing to take for granted. When you write blog articles, you are always and forever in the business of finding hot new article subjects. To start, get the major metropolitan newspaper from your area; (for me that's The Boston Globe)... and a pair of scissors. Now sit down and review this newspaper with a new eye; an eye http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 15 of 31
  • 16. Guide to Effective Blogging that's seeking interesting, timely, readers-will-love-this subjects. Make time to cut these articles from the publication. Don't fall behind with this crucial task. In my case, I review and cut out three times a week, more if at all possible. Keep a good pair of sharp scissors at hand. Look at each article in each edition to see whether an article on that theme or subject would fit your blog. If so, cut at once and make sure to date everything you cut out. That's a must. Then deposit what you've found in a large drawer... this is the article subject compost heap and it is essential. In it you will find subjects you will surely want to write about... and subjects you're watching, to write about at some future date. Cut liberally; you can be sure one day you will have no subject readily at hand. Having all these ideas will then pirove very useful indeed. 6) Select the next subject you'll write about, gather the information you need to do so. The creation of articles of substance, articles that draw continual kudos from your readers, is a direct result of knowing where to look for the information you need. The better you become at this necessary task, the better articles you will produce and the faster your reputation grows, too. Start by doing a search at any search engine (I prefer Google) to see what information is available. Where you are writing an article about a breaking news item, don't just check the available information, also pay close attention to the time the most recent material was posted (e.g. "7 hours ago"). This is essential for keeping what you write ahead of the news cycle. For timely articles, this skill is required. Then visit the Wikipedia. The Wikipedia is one of the most ingenious and necessary tools ever invented. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't use it, finding and printing the invaluable information I absolutely must have do my work... one aspect of which is studding my articles with the facts therein so amply provided. This source is crucial. You will also need to visit the websites of article providers such as Associated Press, Reuter's, Bloomberg, etc. They are a terrific source of article subjects and timely data. 7) Brainstorm articles. You and your lifetime of education and experience are also valuable sources for articles. Keep a pad at the ready, or an Internet file, where ALL possible article subjects can be listed. Never, ever rely on forgetful memory for such subjects. Write them down at once. 8) Set a precise date for finishing all articles. I write and blog my articles daily. I have a precise time of the day when the deadline for the next article MUST be met: 8 a.m. Eastern time. To do this I find all the data I'l need the day before and review it before bed time. Then I am awake and drafting, editing, then finalizing the day's article by 3 a.m. Eastern time; that is not a misprint! I have found the silent hours of the (usually) uninterrupted night the very best time to write, not least because I am wide awake and full of beans at that time. You'll find the schedule most suitable for you; set it, adhere to it religiously. You will find if you do that your brain and body will be willing to work at that time, and that is a great benefit. 9) Keep individual files for every article you write. These files should contain all the printed information sources for this subject as well as all your notes and each draft. Everything pertaining to this article (including the compliments readers email you) must be kept, not least because you may very well decide to write follow-up and related http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 16 of 31
  • 17. Guide to Effective Blogging articles for which current data will be most helpful. Last words. Blogging is the future of the Internet; that is absolutely clear. And for blogging to work, and your list to be protected, superior blog copy is a must. Now you know how to produce it. http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 17 of 31
  • 18. Guide to Effective Blogging Straight talk about blogging. How to turn your blog into a money maker, with special information for your not-for-profit organization. By Dr. Jeffrey Lant Friend, have you got a blog yet? If not, you are not falling behind, you ARE behind. You see, a blog is a critical tool for making money online, whether you are selling products or need to raise donations for your not-for-profit organization. What is a blog? A blog is a conversation between you and your customers and donors. It enables you to present your message clearly, precisely, with the unfiltered emphasis solely on what you want these folks to know and do. When you blog, you call the shots and determine just what you want people to know and just when you want them to know it. When you blog no one can intervene in what you say or how you say it. It is 100% you, 100% of the time. The trick is knowing how to use this incredible communications device and power for maximum results. Non-Profit organizations and the blog. If you're running any kind of not-for-profit organization establishing a blog and using it to educate your supporters and donors is a must, especially now when the world is going through a particularly bad economic patch and many of your donors may be cutting back on the gifts which are essential for you doing your important work. When such periods occur (as they regularly do) you need to be even sharper about how to raise money... and your blog is an absolutely essential tool for doing so. Donors want to know where their money goes. If you want donors to keep giving to your organization, then you must tell them just what you need the money for... and inform them as you spend it. Blogs are ideal for this. Say you're in the business of providing services to the elderly. Without a blog you are very limited in your ability to inform your donors. With a blog, the sky's the limit. Your blog should contain 1) precisely what you are doing. 2) why it's necessary. 3) what you would like to be able to do. 4) how much that would cost. For not-for-profit organizations a blog becomes a way to talk simultaneously about the results you're getting... and the crucial tasks you could undertake if you had more funds. Here's the formula: 1) We have raised (dollar amount). 2) With it we are doing (specific activities). 3) We need to raise (amount). 4) Which will enable us to do (more specific activities). http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 18 of 31
  • 19. Guide to Effective Blogging 4) Which will enable us to do (more specific activities). Making your blog really interesting. Blogs that work are blogs that are interesting. Here's how you ensure that your blog captivates readers and keeps them coming back. 1) Focus on key people in your organization. Let donors see the people who are using the money they've given. 2) Provide donor testimonials. People who are considering donating will like to hear what others are doing and why. 3) Feature the people who are benefiting from your service. They can provide valuable information about what you've done and how it helps. Develop a "wish list". Every non-profit organization on earth knows it could accomplish more if it had more funds. Use your blog to talk about what you'd like to do... and what it will cost to do it. Break down major projects into do-able bits... projects should never be seen as too big and too complicated. Big projects should be divided into stages. Your wish list needs to be carefully considered and presented. It should always be clear, understandable and capable of being achieved day by day, donor by donor. Have a "we wished" list. Here's something you've never heard before: don't just talk about what you want to accomplish. Talk about items which have been on your wish list.... but which are now accomplished fact. When you talk about such items, thank lavishly. Who helped you achieve this beneficial thing... who gave money... who gave time... who volunteered, reached out, helped? Talking about the "we wished" items gives you the chance to give the gift of recognition. Bring crucial information to your supporters and donors. Part of your job is to provide continuing, in-depth information on the problem your organization addresses. To do this keep your eyes open and keep searching for timely, pertinent information. When you see an article that pertains to what you're doing; when an important new study comes out; when there's new information from the government, let your audience know. You can do so either by emailiing the details or, better, simply by emailng the link to the information with a brief introduction on why you're sending this. Remember: any chance you have to constructively interact with your supporters must and should be taken... this is how long-term, productive relationships are born and develop. Share the good news... and the bad. Remember, a blog used properly is the basis for an infinite number of long-term relationships. Such relationships must be honest, candid, real. This is especially true when things are bad. Open up to your supporters about what happened and why... and what you're doing -- right now -- to solve the problem. Believe me, I know how difficult opening up to your supporters in this way will be; you want to be perceived as "superperson"... but you're not. You're just a human, like everyone else, doing the best you can day by day, needing the help of other humans to achieve the objectives. This doesn't mean turning your blog into a psychiatrist's couch... it does mean being open with your supporters. http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 19 of 31
  • 20. Guide to Effective Blogging How often should you communicate with your supporters, donors, friends and well- wishers? As often as necessary; whenever you have something important to say to them; whenever a word from you makes sense and can strengthen the relationship. In other words regularly, frequently. How to write the best blog, in the least time. Every organization needs a blog-meister, someone who is responsible for ensuring that the blog goes out regularly, consistently packed with all the details that you want readers to know. To achieve this result, delegate as much as possible. 1) If you're the sole person in your business or organization, write your blog a few minutes every day. The rest of the day, brainstorm items you want in your blog... and keep them in your important "blog idea file." In other words, when you're not actually writing your blog, you're thinking about it. 2) Ask others in your organization to help. Ask the person who's in charge of a new product to write up a blog post that tells why the product is important... what it does... why it's necessary, etc. 3) Ask the individual who's in charge of an important project to write an article about how things are going... and what needs to be done to keep things rolling along. 4) Ask an active volunteer to write a blurb on why she's so active... with a view to enthusing readers to tell you they want to help, too. 5) Use pictures and graphics to make your blog more visually appealing. One more thing: be sure to contact me and let me know how this article and its detailed recommendations have helped you. I'd really like to know. http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 20 of 31
  • 21. Guide to Effective Blogging How a perky housewife from Minnesota gets up to 5,000 responses to her blog each and every day... and how you can do as well, or even better! By Dr. Jeffrey Lant Author's program note. This is the tale of someone who has achieved the kind of astonishing online results and amazing ongoing traffic that you wish you had. Her name is Diane Dohrn and she's one of the handful of residents from Grygla, Minnesota (population 228)... a place that looks like a suburb of Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon... the town where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average. For this article, therefore, I selected some music by perennial local favorite Lawrence Welk and his Champagne Music Makers. Go to any search engine and find his signature tune "Bubbles in the wine." Sit back in your recliner and enjoy the effervescence of the lady from Grygla and a success story that'll make you smile....with all the necessary details so you can match her already great and always growing success. When I first met Diane... I first met Diane Dohrn a little over 18 months ago when she came to me seeking my help and advice about how to succeed online. Frankly, she needed all of the assistance I could provide; she was in a bad way just then in her life and fortune. She told me a story so typical on the 'net as to be endemic... She'd been in this opportunity; she'd been in that. She had paid out thousands and reaped pennies. She had no tools for success... no traffic... she'd never had a moment's training... and, until my advent, she'd had absolutely no one to assist her. And now she was desperate... with acute family difficulties... and her own disability to contend with. In short, she had nowhere to go but... up. At bottom, she still had two crucial advantages: 1) me and 2) her own "never say die" determination that I came to know so well -- and admire. She was willing to listen... People with problems say they want solutions... but in fact what they really want is the opportunity to vent... to bewail their lot in the world, do the "poor little me" thing... then rant and rant some more. In short they don't really want a solution... they want a willing ear to chew on. But that's not how money gets made. I told Diane, who came with some of these weepies, that I'd help IF and ONLY if she would focus on a series of online business building steps, including specific traffic building exercises she would need to do daily to grow the all-important traffic. She agreed... and she kept her bargain, although it was sometimes tough for the lady when I absolutely refused to listen to items from the latest installment of "As Diane's World Turns..." She needed traffic... traffic...more traffic... and even more traffic. And that was where I kept our focus, with lessons on the effective use of traffic exchanges, safe lists, forums, and article directories where you develop crucial back links. An avid learner, she did herself the favor of listening to what I said, asking intelligent questions, and doing the tasks. To her surprise (but not mine) she began to generate traffic at once... and more each day. Especially as she began to understand and master one absolutely crucial traffic generating tool, which in due time she was to make her own traffic- generating machine. This marvel was the blog... and right from the start, it proved to be her forte so much so that I quickly saw that Diane Dorhn was not just going to master the blog, develop huge daily traffic from it... but become one of the true blog titans of the 'net. Now she had my full attention, and we worked together less as teacher and student... but rather as 2 colleagues not just http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 21 of 31
  • 22. Guide to Effective Blogging interested in how far the lady could take this.... but obsessed with the desire to raise Diane and her traffic to hitherto unimaginable heights. We were rockin' and rollin'... Note for the blogless. If you're an online entrepreneur of any kind, trying to get huge daily traffic, you MUST have a blog. This is not negotiable. You see, a blog is your personal communications vehicle. It enables you to present and deliver your message. It is 100 percent you, 100 percent of the time. Say what you want, say it just the way you want. The key to a blog is ensuring that it offers readers the best possible content. "Content is king," Bill Gates famously said. That's the kind of content you must have for your blog; content that gets people to read -- and respond. Diane was fretful about this point. She worried that she have the time or skills to produce the high level content her blog and readers required daily. What could she do? That's where I really entered the picture, as an essential element of her success... for you see, I produce the champagne of blog content, and I produce it in 27 information categories from politics through ecology and just plain good stories; my content is sophisticated, readable, intelligent, timely, well written... and (most significantly) it gets astonishingly high reader response, as Diane came to know at once; right from the start these articles (and I write a new one each day) generated responses... lots and lots of them. Thus, each day Diane starts by selecting the article of the day, the article that will anchor that blog and be its focus. Then she follows a daily regime which she has followed, refined and developed over time. It goes like this: 1) Check Kstats first thing. Additionally check it several times each day to see the results on every article she has ever blogged. 2) Prepare today's article. Select it, copy to Word. Then add all the necessary videos, links, trackbacks, pictures, etc. Diane knows that even great copy is better, more arresting, with such features. (By the way she keeps all this on Wordpad.) 3) She looks up the subject of the designated article in any major search engine. She likes to do this so she can make an intelligent comment on the article. 4) Before she sends her daily blog (first thing each morning), she visits other blogs to get ideas for the improvement of hers. She never assumes she has a monopoly on this subject; she looks for what others can tell her about her blog, the better to improve it. She told me she visits between 35-50 blogs daily, to keep up on developments in the field, get ideas, inspiration, etc. I believe it! 5) She then reads through this daily blog post a couple of times looking for typos and so on. A journalist's daughter, she is a stickler for mistake-free copy... as a result her blog is clean, without the distracting errors made by other, less careful, blogsters. 6) Her blog always contains a great offer. Diane never forgets that the purpose of a blog is to make money, and so she works hard on her offers... both on the ones she makes in her blog... and the ones she makes when her readers respond. Because of the volume of her responses, she works on this for hours each day... and that really pays off... One more thing she does... Diane generously insists on my role in her success. She points to what she calls her "Internet bible" which contains Internet traffic, marketing and business building tips I have given her, live in my online programs and through my huge library of blog articles. She says, "When I need a lift, this is where I go. They are priceless." http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 22 of 31
  • 23. Guide to Effective Blogging That's the woman all over... The truth is, the person who has contributed the most to Diane's success is... Diane. She's risen from no traffic at all to getting up to 5,000 responses EACH and EVERY day, without exception. Her own personality and approach to her thousands of blog readers is what makes the critical difference. She's a small town Iowa girl and has retained the sincerity, empathy and quintessential Midwestern directness and candor of the heartland. Diane is authentic to her fingertips. She likes people; likes to help... and this shines through. Now thousands of new people will learn about Diane and take heart if, like most online, they have had absolutely no success. That can and should stop now... for the best thing Diane can do is make you understand that the huge results she has already received are fully duplicatable and can be done off the kitchen table. Only one thing is missing from this system... and that is the great heart of the lady herself. That is all her own... and we admire her all the more for what she does with it to help so many for she remembers her roots and the help she got when she needed it most. This is why with her blog, she has not got just readers... but friends. http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 23 of 31
  • 24. Guide to Effective Blogging The pen is mightier than the sword. Vietnam's Communist government imprisons pro-democracy blogster... and immediately shows how powerful a blog can be. By Dr. Jeffrey Lant If you're using the Internet to build your business and don't yet have a blog, you're making a very serious error. Blogs are crucial for running a business, including helping grow organizations with a message for the world. To see just how important a blog can be, consider the case of Pham Minh Hoang, 56, a French-Vietnamese math professor. August 10, 2011 he was sentenced to three years in prison. His crime? Belonging to a banned pro-democracy group and publishing an anti-Communist blog. The facts. The organization Viet Tan is a US-based advocate of democracy. Pham Minh Hoang is a member. Their goal is a democratic Vietnam. Obviously the in-control Communists take a dim view of people who want to make decisions for themselves and enjoy the basic freedoms and human rights we take for granted. Anyone opposing the government and its rigid system of personal and mind control is immediately dubbed a "terrorist" and imprisoned, or worse. But the profound desire to live for oneself, to think for oneself, to be able to go where one wants, when one wants... is irresistible. And so the number of anti-government, pro-democracy "terrorists" continues to grow in Vietnam, even as the government engages in acts that prove just how necessary the pro-democracy forces are, with their sublime goal of liberty for all! The advent of the blog has proven of the utmost usefulness to pro-democracy forces. For the cost of an Internet connection they can get their message out to the world. That message will be exactly as they write it and want it... going out whenever they want. On this basis, Ho Chi Minh City-based Hoang started a blog and published at least 33 articles against Vietnam's one-party Communist system. It was a bold action... a brave action... a gallant action that put his very life on the line as he lived his principles -- until the totalitarian forces of the government found and arrested him. Let us be clear: though Hoang was arrested and tried for his "crimes", he was lucky. He does not appear to have been tortured, though perhaps he must endure that, too, in due course. His trial and defense. The government's case was this: that Hoang had conspired to overturn the government, first, through his various blog posts; that he held membership in the Viet Tan, a recognized terrorist organization, and that he recruited others to join and subvert the government. These were the same arguments the government put forward in its second high-profile dissident trial in just over a week. Hoang told the court during his half-day trial in Ho Chi Minh City that he joined Viet Tan, which he insisted was not a terrorist organization, in France where it is not banned. He insisted that he did not at anytime do anything to oppose the government. Hoang, who was teaching mathematics at a Ho Chi Minh City university at the time of his arrest, said he returned to Vietnam in 2000 to contribute to his country and care for his aged parents. Viet Tan confirmed Hoang's testimony and reaffirmed that it is an advocate of democracy and peaceful change. The government's attorneys strongly disagreed, saying Hoang had attended a Viet http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 24 of 31
  • 25. Guide to Effective Blogging Tan-organized course in Malaysia and was helping recruit new Vietnamese members. And there the matter of Pham Minh Hoang rests --- for the moment. What all blogsters can learn from this situation: 1) Whether you are running a profit- or not-for-profit organization, you must establish your blog at once. Remember, a blog enables you to say exactly what you want and disseminate your important message to your designated lists whenever you want without being censured or interferred with by anyone. 2) The more interesting and valuable your blog copy, the more frequently you can publish your blog and the more advertisements you can include. Smart Internet marketers know that you cannot just email your lists nothing but ad copy every single day, no matter how worthwhile what you offer. The people on your list will quite simply not tolerate this and will signify their strong disapproval by unsubscribing. Blogs solve this problem by providing your subscribers with excellent copy that is timely, substantial, and of demonstrated interest. Thus, you are able to blog to your list daily -- and publish far more ads, thereby reaping additional profits while simultaneously ensuring long-term readers and relationships. 3) Blogs should be personal, always writing directly to and always for your subscribers. The best blogs give you the opportunity to establish ongoing interactive communications with your readers. This leads to essential long-term relationships; you know your readers/customers and they know you.Thus, when you say something, they pay close attention, including the products you recommend and sell. People accept and act on your recommendations, because they know you, and trust you. 4) As a blog publisher you have influence that grows with the quality of your information and the number of your subscribers. Once you've established your blog you are no longer "just" an-emailer. You are a card- carrying member of the most influential group of people on earth, publishers. Act like it! Your job is to motivate, enthuse, urge, educate, train, excite, and support through the articles, information and, yes, even the ads you publish. Last words. We are now in the earliest days of blog creation, maintenance and development. Smart blogsters, and there are thousands of them, are doing today the steps which will guarantee them a lifetime of profit (for for-profit organizations), donations (for not-for-profit organizations), and influence for all. These days for the blog are like the early days of the settlement of the Western United States and Canada. There determined pioneers saw nothing but opportunity and regarded the necessary work of achieving it as nothing more than what was essential for profits and success. They felt exhilaration, excitement, and privileged to be in that position and so grew their empires with a song in their hearts. You do the same. And as for Pham Minh Hoang, my heart and prayers go out to you, a true hero of our often selfish, vulgar, scam-ridden Internet age. You are using this great technology for a worthy cause, the http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 25 of 31
  • 26. Guide to Effective Blogging betterment of your nation and its storm-tossed people. We hope for your prompt release and continued dedication to the great cause and what you have already given for it. http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 26 of 31
  • 27. Guide to Effective Blogging Would you rather stick needles in your eyes then blog? 10 Ways to Make Life Easier for Bloggers with limited time and writing ability. Ok, you know you are supposed to blog. The marketing experts agree that blogging consistently is a sure-fire way to get your site well indexed by the search engines and get those oh-so-important backlinks for your site. But let's face the reality. Coming up with fresh interesting blog content 365 days a year is darn difficult. You know it's important but getting started is so hard. You understand you need the value that blogging provides from search engines gobbling up your content. But how? ! How do you come up with fresh blog content and find the time. Here's some ideas to make your life easier but also to get better results for your efforts. 1. Blog about what you know or are passion about so the words stream from your keyboard rather then having to struggle to spit out the words and put sentences together. It's always easier to talk about something you know or care about or that is controversial then technical or dry topics. 2. You don't have to be an expert (unless you really are an expert and offering expert content on a specific topic). Write about specifics if you can, generalities if you have to, but write about something! 3. You don't have to be a blogger who writes with grammatical perfection. Your English teacher is not reading your blog. Stop thinking that the world is going to judge you critically if you misspell a word or don't know all the rules of grammar. Of course you want your blog to be as good as it can be, but don't let the quest for perfection make a 20 minute blog post take you hours to complete. 4. Ideally, to get the most benefit from search engines indexing your blog, you want to blog about topics related to your products, service or business. But that can be really tough to write about just one subject every day. Try spacing out your blogs so that some are on topic for your purpose, while others are off topic, or about current events. Add in your Resource Box at the end of every post (see point 7 below). 5. Keep your blog posts short. Keep your blog to the point, itemize, organize, number points if you have to. Do what you have to do make it easy and quick for you to write and easy and quick for your readers to digest. Sometimes less is more. 6. Let the world around you be your inspiration for blogs topics. This can include songs, newspaper headlines, nature, current events, your pets, other bloggers, daily happenings in the course of your life, things your kids say or do. Get the idea. There are NO limits. 7. Always, conclude your post with a Resource Box or Author info section with every blog. Why? So that your contact info and identifying information is tagged with EVERY blog post and not tucked away on an About page. Ensure that your Resource Box includes your name, contact details, areas of expertise, and link to your site or landing page. It is also a good idea to weave your optimal key words into your Resource Box. This way the key words you want people to find you with are associated with your blog, your name, and your company. This proves beneficial if you write about something not directly related to your business, products or services, you still get the benefit of the key word content about yourself, and a backlink to your site, or landing page. 8. Sometimes it helps to start with a really catchy Blog title. Take a lesson from the newspapers. They construct clever eye-grabbing attention getting headlines to draw you in. Start with a really bold, in your face, descriptive or reaction provoking headline to get immediate attention. The let your content come forth from the headline. http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 27 of 31
  • 28. Guide to Effective Blogging 9. Set a goal to blog on a regular basis. If you can't blog every day, then do it every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Set exact dates and times that work for you. If you don't you will always find some other distraction to convince yourself is more important. Set a goal, stick to it, do it! 10. Make the most of the time you have spent on your blog by then tweeting it, posting it to Linked In, adding to your Facebook profile and other social media sites. Maximize the power of the time you spent blogging by utilizing social media to spread the message to other sites. You can use automated tools to do this to save time. Include links to your social media sites on your blog itself for even more exposure. http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 28 of 31
  • 29. Guide to Effective Blogging How to Create Blog Titles that DEMAND attention! If you are going to spend the time it requires to blog then you want to make certain your time is for the maximum return. You want readers right? You want your blog to be shared in social media right? You want more traffic so you earn more money right? Smart bloggers who earn considerable revenue from their blogs, know it's critical to have well-thought blog titles. Here I share some critical points about writing blog titles so you get noticed among the millions of blogs out there. For effective blog titles do this: A great blog title gets the readers attention then draws them in so they actually read your blog. Remember, some web sites, readers and devices like cell phones and iPad aps, show only the title of your blog. Your introduction or summary of what the blog is about may not even appear so your title better be instantly eye-popping and interesting. If readers see only your title, and your title is lame, you are less likely to get readership. Instead make your title catchy, one that immediately conveys what the blog is about so readers think you are click-worthy. Be sure that your title is not word-heavy but is clear and obvious. Readers what to know right away what you have to offer and if its worthy of their precious time to read. When you read my examples below you will get a better understanding of what goes into a Blog Title that DEMANDS readership. Creating blog titles that will get indexed by search engines, and read by people. When creating your titles you want to use as many key words related to your blog content as you can. Before you even start your blog post, think about who you want to read this post and what key words are relevant to your purposes and to your audience. If your blog is targeting a specific audience, try to work that into the title so your title speaks and says to the individual - HEY READ ME! If you want people to read your blog who are looking for specific key words related to what you offer, work those key words into the title. Consider that people are busy, often they prefer short, easy to read blog posts. Ensure if you can that your blog title relays this by summarizing what you blog includes. Don't compromise the value of your key words by being too creative in your title, make sure they are included in your title. With Google recently announcing that fresh content contributes to higher page ranking, you want to make sure if your blog is about a trending topic, a news event, or breaking news, that it gets scanned first. You can help this happen by integrating the most obvious key words in your title so your blog gets scanned by Google and other search engine bots. Finally, an important reason to give some thought to use of key words within your Blog title is this. If you have any type of monetization on your blog, such as Google's Ad Sense, the key words you use will trigger specific related topic ads to appear on your site. This is beneficial to you, as ads that appear on your blog are more closely matched to your Ad Sense ads which offers you somewhat of an advantage for potential earning through clicks on the ads that appear on your blog. Convey what your Blog is about with a smart title. In your Blog title, say exactly what your content is in an enticing way. If you can find a clever way to shock, or make someone take notice within your Blog title, do so. For example, offer 7 Tips, or 10 Strategies, or 10 Ways to Drop 10 Pounds. This style of titling is a good way to convey that your http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 29 of 31
  • 30. Guide to Effective Blogging blog is brief but includes valuable information. For some blog titles you may find it helpful to convey a sense of urgency so readers gets the feeling they will miss out on some really good, juicy or helpful information if they don't read it. Celebrity gossip and Hollywood bloggers are particularly good at dangling carrots (celebrity names with a hint of scandal) within their blog titles to attract readership. You may be thinking to yourself, WHOA! She is asking for a lot to be incorporated into a simple blog title! Yes, I am but it is easy if you know how to do it, you will get better at it as you go and your results will reward and motivate you. It's for your own good - really. To help you get started, I've included 6 examples of effective and less effective blog titles below. Example 1 Strong : How to grow roses that make your neighbours green with envy. Weak: How to grow roses. Example 2 Strong: 7 Sure-Fire Ways to get rid of allergies for good! Weak: Allergies: a problem experienced by 30% of Americans Example 3 Strong: The TOP 10 BEST Hotels in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan Weak: Going to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan? Here's our picks for the best hotels. Example 4 Strong: 5 Strategies That Will Triple Your Sales Today! Weak: Looking for ways to increase your sales? We have what you need to know. Example 5 Strong: Why Herman Cain can kiss the Presidency good-bye! Weak: US Presidential candidates, a look at who's running, the favourites and the predicted losers. Example 6 Strong: 10 PROVEN Ways to Shed Weight FAST! Hollywood Celebrities do this, you can too! Weak: If you really do want to lose weight, we can help you. See, it's not so hard. Spending a few extra minutes to think and tweak your Blog Titles will get you more readers, more traffic and more revenue! **** What do you think? Do you use catchy titles for your blogs? What is your experience? http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 30 of 31
  • 31. Guide to Effective Blogging Resource About the Author Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Tim Ricke http://BizBuildersCommunity.com. http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 31 of 31