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Bloggers Checklist

Written by: Jennifer Horowitz

Article Overview: Below are some of the crucial items you should have on your Blog. Take a look at this list and your Blog and see how you measure up. I can tell you that I did it myself and I had to create an action plan to fix my own Blog.

Bloggers Checklist

Below are some of the crucial items you should have on your Blog. Take a look at this list and your Blog and see how you measure up. I can tell you that I did it myself and I had to create an action plan to fix my own Blog.

You see, just because I know what needs to be done doesn't mean I always have time to implement it myself.

It is like the shoe cobbler's children going to school with their shoes falling apart. I am so busy helping clients, I don't have time to work on my own things.

The same may be true for you. You are so busy but you know you want to, actually you need to, Blog. So you start it and don't necessarily have everything in place.

That's OK. The key is to find out where you are lacking and create an action plan so you can take steps towards getting everything in place,

So, here is your checklist. Do you have:

A strategy in place? Do you know why are you Blogging? What are you hoping to accomplish? Do you know how often you have to Blog, what types of posts you need in order to accomplish your objective?

A posting schedule? Ideally you should have at least 2 new posts a week, and up to 5. Less than 2 is too little, and over 5 is often too much (unless you are a great writer and have lots of news and information to share, so you aren't just writing fluff).

A comment policy? Do you moderate? If so, how long does it take to approve comments.

An 'About Us' section? Since Blogging is about connecting, sharing information and creating dialog to form relationships, you need to be sure to tell people who you are and what you are all about. Including contact information is a good idea

A Blogroll? Be sure to include NON company links. Point your readers to sites/blogs that you think THEY would be interested in reading. Yes, you can add your website, but please mix in some non-company sites as well to show people you are truly interested in being a resource for them.

RSS subscriber buttons? Give your readers a way to subscribe to your Blog, via a feed reader. Feedburner is a quick and easy way to get this done.

Photos, graphs or charts to create visual interest.

Videos to engage users.

Personality and opinions so people feel they are really hearing your voice and not just some regurgitated industry news.

Links back to relevant pages on your website.

A custom header graphic that doesn't take up too much space but shows that your Blog is uniquely yours and not just some out of the box Blog platform that has no customization. Some people choose to have their header match the look and feel of their main site.

So go check out your Blog right now and see how you measure up.

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Article Tags: blog, blogging, dialog, fluff, objective, relationships, shoe cobbler, shoes, subscriber



Related Forum Posts
Re: Best Internet Marketing Strategy - Hi David, I agree about the Blogosphere. You have a smaller group that Blog, but do so on the premise that they think they should, but have never really considered the purpose of their Blog. Then I think there are a few SEO or Internet Marketing types that see Blogging as just another link building strategy. But the largest group of Bloggers, tend to be people who enjoy writing and discussing their topics of interest. Blogging is good for link building, but the true Blogger is a breed apart from the rest. They want to dialog, to debate, to have feedback and they are very willing to link to other worthwhile conversations that are relevant to their topic. I agree with you. These group of Bloggers obviously are passionate about their writing and together, they create huge conversation trails interactive and travel from Blog to Blog. But the evidence is clear with this group that loves what they write about. With comments enabled on a Blog and having a Blog tuned to a specific purpose you already have the evidence of original Social Media.
On The Topic of Guest Bloggers - To have a guest blogger on your blog, you can: 1.) Write a post on your blog, seeking guest bloggers 2.) Let your blogging friends know (send them an email) 3.) Place a free ad in Craigslist 4.) Ask bloggers you know, and are in your niche 5.) Send a bulletin to your social networks There are other ways, these are but a few. Also you could simply create a page on your site dedicated solely to recruiting Guest Bloggers. Hope this helps in your efforts. Missy.
Re: How do you get guest bloggers? - Thanks for the tips Shri and Groovy Entrepreneur! I will definitely let my friend know. [quote="Groovy Entrepreneur":1c4k84xt]To have a guest blogger on your blog, you can: 1.) Write a post on your blog, seeking guest bloggers 2.) Let your blogging friends know (send them an email) 3.) Place a free ad in Craigslist 4.) Ask bloggers you know, and are in your niche 5.) Send a bulletin to your social networks There are other ways, these are but a few. Also you could simply create a page on your site dedicated solely to recruiting Guest Bloggers. Hope this helps in your efforts. Missy.[/quote:1c4k84xt] In regards to item no. 4 on your list, wouldn't it be a conflict of interest to add content for a fellow blogger in your niche? Or is it just another way to promote yourself?
Re: How do you get guest bloggers? - [quote="BuzzAroundBooks":s3522xgx]Thanks for the tips Shri and Groovy Entrepreneur! I will definitely let my friend know. [quote="Groovy Entrepreneur":s3522xgx]To have a guest blogger on your blog, you can: 1.) Write a post on your blog, seeking guest bloggers 2.) Let your blogging friends know (send them an email) 3.) Place a free ad in Craigslist 4.) Ask bloggers you know, and are in your niche 5.) Send a bulletin to your social networks There are other ways, these are but a few. Also you could simply create a page on your site dedicated solely to recruiting Guest Bloggers. Hope this helps in your efforts. Missy.[/quote:s3522xgx] In regards to item no. 4 on your list, wouldn't it be a conflict of interest to add content for a fellow blogger in your niche? Or is it just another way to promote yourself?[/quote:s3522xgx] For the tours that I organize - I'm specifically looking for people in the same niche and that's important in joint ventures - you want to find people who attract your target customers. There are other people to contact, but people within your niche can be very useful - and they can provide a service or product that is compatible, without being the same product you offer. Authors are by far the best people I've dealt with about promoting other people with a similar product. Could be because we are all working so hard to make the small royalties we get - gotta help each other. Shri
Re: Best Internet Marketing Strategy - I wanted to share more on the topic of Blogging and creating your own original content that you enjoy writing about. Here's a real example. My wife started her own little Web site a few years ago. It's a very simple, home made Web site she built all on her own. She had sort of a hobby of going into Dollar stores, purchasing a few inexpensive items for a buck or two. Then she would create something completely new (usually home decor) out of what she bought (often with the same value of creating something that was worth up to $15 or $20) if you bought it in other stores, but only using material she bought at a dollar store. So on this little Web site, she starts writing about her creations and take pictures of them etc. A few years ago, someone from an AOL Money and Finance Blog (called Wallet Pop) invited her to Blog for AOL. Today, she write for both the US AOL Blog and the Canadian AOL Blog as well as she continues with her hobby and keeping up her own Web site. The other Bloggers at AOL have nick-named her, "The Dollar Store Diva" and she often writes about budget decorating. What amazes me is that with no SEO and just her original content, she attracts huge volumes of traffic. She has done radio shows in Toronto (and nearly went to the US to do breakfast television) and most people would be so amazed to see the traffic spike she gets from Blogging. But once again, she is just writing about the stuff she loves to write about. She is having fun with creativity and she now has a huge following of readers and subscribers.Others are decorating their homes with her ideas and their doing it with next to no budget. If someone is creating a Web site or a Blog, the best thing you can do is try something original on your own, but make it something that you love to write about.


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