Posts tagged blogging

What should happen to your content when you die

Aug29th
2012 Leave a Comment Written by James Dabbagian

Some time ago, I had a conversation with a few people in #blogchat about what happens to your blog if something happens to you.

What should your family do with your blog and content when you die? Especially if they haven’t a clue how to write or use WordPress, Here’s a few of my thoughts:

Have your family or friends carry on. Blogs that aren’t really personal, such as ones that discuss a skill or something to learn about, can have a successor named to continue on your blog. You can pre-plan this yourself or have your surviving family do it for you, but be sure the new blogger is as competent in your area of expertise as you were (or was if you’re family looking for a successor.) You can provide a few tips to your family beforehand on selecting a successor.

Have your content made into an ebook – Since you’re no longer writing on your blog anymore, (and it will likely disappear when hosting ends,) why not have it made into something more accessible, like an eBook. You can arrange in your will to have it all put together article by article, or set aside money to hire a writer to put it all together for you. Either way, it may generate one last hurrah to your name.

Make your content public domain - If you know that your content won’t generate any money or any value, you can make it public domain. It’s like Creative Commons only much more open. This essentially means you grant anyone permission to copy and edit your work, without even possibly giving you credit. Still, it’s a great chance for your work to live on in others.

What other things can you think of? How do you want YOUR content to be remembered?

Content Content, death

On Page Length

May19th
2012 3 Comments Written by James Dabbagian

There are tons of blog posts, big and small, thin and fat, far and wide.

But between Pandas and Penguins, between blog posts of all types, there seems to be one annoying question that I constantly have to deal with myself:

HOW MANY WORDS?

How many words must a blog write down before you can call it a blog?

The answer my friend….is blowing in the algorithm.

See, with Panda and Penguin I’d harbor a guess that nobody really knows what makes effective page length. Obviously typing a few sentences and calling it a day isn’t going to help you, but do you really need to write Wikipedia or Steve Pavlina-sized blog articles for Google to notice your content?

I don’t think so.

PAGES! (Photo credit: Lynne Hand)

Me personally, I’ve always tended to write on the shorter end of the scale. In grad school, I would be grateful to hit the minimum page count while others would be worried about REDUCING THEIR PAPER SIZE. I kicked myself for it constantly until I came into the world of copywriting, where shorter really is better.

Point is, if you can say something in a few simple words and not take an entire paragraph to explain it, you’re awesome in my eyes. Google isn’t looking so much for the count of your words, but the content of your works: Does it explain its point well? Do you have a main idea? Do you provide links to other pages or information on the subject? Is the content quality consistent on your blog? Do you stuff your blog full of pointless fluff?

I honestly think there seems to be some sort of mentality in the blogosphere that says longer is better, even if it means having to sound like a dictionary. That needs to go. NOW. All content should be as succinct as possible. Say what needs to be said, and only go into details when the reader wouldn’t be able to figure it out themselves (ESPECIALLY if your readers already know some details in your post.)

Bottom line: Keep it short and to the point.

What You Ought to Do If You’ve Been Punished by Google’s Penguin Update(quicksprout.com)
The Ideal Blog Post Length: Does Size Matter?(carrierubin.com)

Blogging Content, page length, word count

How to NOT get comments on your blog.

Apr19th
2012 4 Comments Written by James Dabbagian

Comments. We want them. We like them. We probably need them. They make blogging more fun.

But many bloggers actually do things that DETRACT from getting them comments. Here’s some of the things you DON’T want to do if you want people to comment on your blog:

Require too much information - Most people are used to the Name/Social/Email schtick, but some also separate the first and last name, require two email address, blood type, notes from one’s mother, etc. Point is, you need to make your commenting AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE.

Make people sign up to comment – One of my least favorite things bloggers can do is make people sign up. Ok, look, I know you like the idea of being some elite community where people feel elite by being memebers, but check this: You know sites like the Huffington Post, Gawker, Lifehacker, Mashable, etc? You know how they also require membership? Well…

I don’t post on those because of that reason!

Point being, if I’m not a fan of being a member of those sites, what makes you think I’ll sign up for yours, ESPECIALLY if there’s only one article I’m initially interested in? Stick to the generic name/email/url setup.

Only allow one social network to comment – I don’t use every social network for every purpose. I tend to keep my Facebook for people I trust as friends. My Twitter is open to just about anyone, and LinkedIn is for people I want to talk with professionally.

Bloggers seem to think that hooking up their blog with a social network’s comments system (Facebook in particular) have the right idea in making it more convenient for people to comment, but the thing is, if you restrict it to only one social network, you’re potentially reducing comments. Some people like to keep their public comments away from their private life, and vice versa.

Your comment is pending moderation – This isn’t as annoying to me as some other things bloggers do, but it does show your readers that you don’t trust them. In all seriousness, you’re gonna have to deal with spam comments one way or another, so just the commenters come into the fray.

There is ONE exception to this: If you deal in a blog that discusses politics and religion, or other controversial topics, you should keep an eye on comments so that nothing hateful, libelous or demeaning goes on your site.

Never respond to any comments – Hi! I found your article on teh internets and I actually was so moved by it that I decided to comment on it. What did you think of it? ….Hello? ….Anyone There? HELOOOOOOO…………Ok, bye bye.

…..Be there for your readers, and they’ll be there for you.

Comments are important. They make you feel good because someone out there is watching.

Tell me some advice you might have in the comments below….Oh! That’s a bonus! Don’t ask people to leave comments!

Blogging comments, moderation, readership, spam

Four reasons why video blogging is still a bad idea

Apr14th
2012 Leave a Comment Written by James Dabbagian

I’ve made my comments about it on Twitter, but I think I should further elaborate it here:

I HATE VIDEO BLOGS.

Hate them. Despise them. Wish they were never made. Sadly, it looks like these video posts are going to be the future of blogging itself. There’s plenty of reasons, however, to stick with text blogging for the long future.

Lack of Accessibility - There’s still plenty of people that still connect to the Internet using dial-up modems. Ever try to download a 45-minute long video on a 56K connection? I have. It’s not fun. Especially when you see the massive telephone bill, or when your moron friend decides he ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY NEEDS to order a pizza.

Even further down this road is accessibility to those who are disabled. There’s obvious cases such as blindness and deafness, but what about people with ADHD? They’re not going to stick around and listen to your video, ESPECIALLY if they only need one part of it.

Lag and Buffering - As previously mentioned, it’s REALLY BAD on dial-up, but even on broadband, people STILL find themselves seeing that unhappy little circle going round and round more times than they’d like. Honestly, who needs to see your How-To in HD? The content is the same no matter if the screen is crystal-clear, right?

Reference Points - It’s really hard to remember the exact moment you want to find in a video where someone said something you want to point out. Harder still to find it in an extremely lengthy and long video. Don’t believe me? Then I have a little challenge for you….

The above video is from the Live Blogchat done at the 2011 BlogWorldExpo in Los Angeles. It’s just under an hour in length. Your task is to find the point where Mark Horvath starts discussing the use of video. Here’s a hint: His Twitter Handle is HardlyNormal. Good Luck!

…For the rest of you who have immediately realized either they have no time to find that point or that trying to find that point is futile, I believe I have made MY point.

Physical Appearance - This is another big one. I am REALLY self-conscious about my appearance on video or on tape. There’s plenty of other people that are the same way. I’ve been asked on so many calls and Google Hangouts to reveal myself, and I just can’t. Not just because of my appearance, but because of a few other things I don’t wish to discuss publicly.

Nevertheless, Video does seem to be the trend toward blogging, and I won’t say that I’ll never create a video post featuring myself (Screencasting with my voice is a definite option,) but rest assured that there will be enough content for people to follow along with text as well.

Oh, and in case anyone’s actually wondering, Mark starts talking at the 32 minute mark.

Blogging media, video blogging, viral videos

How to properly request to write a guest blog entry.

Oct25th
2011 1 Comment Written by James Dabbagian

Lately, I’ve been getting emails from people using MyBlogGuest that basically consist of either of the following:

Hi Blogger. I’d like to post a guest blog entry on your blog. It’s about economics and business.

Hi James, Can I post a guest blog entry? Let me know what you’re looking for?

Hello Blogger. I have a post entitled “What we can learn about social media from walruses.” It’s on several different blogs already and I want to post it on yours as well.

Seriously, people are clueless about how to request a guest blog post.

Learn what the blog is about – You’d think this an obvious one, but judging from the amount of requests I get, few people seem to notice what the blog is all about. Then they go and suggest a post that has absolutely nothing to do with the blog. Secretly, the author is laughing at you when you do this. Instead, Read through the posts that are on the blog, and perhaps comment once or twice as well. At the very least, read the damn “About” page if there is one.
Learn the name of the Blog’s author/editor – This is a big one. Dear Sir/Madam isn’t exactly inviting and it makes it look like you don’t give a crap about the blog you’re sending it to.

Image via Wikipedia

Get the name of the guy/gal writing the blog. If the blog has multiple authors, look for the chief editor.
Submit materials properly – Different blogs do different things. Some blogs ask that you submit requests through email. Others require you to start a query through a contact form. No matter the case, follow the instructions TO THE LETTER. Failure to do so will often result in your request hitting the trash bin.
Explain what it is you want to write, and why – The more specific you are about this, the better. When I query a blog, I explain why they might want a piece on what I want to write about. Think about why the reader should care: Are you offering an expert insight into a controversy or product? Do you have inside knowledge you want on a large blog? Or do you feel that the blog hasn’t covered something that they should? Be sure to explain why the blog editor should care.
Explain how you plan to write the entry – Again, be as specific as possible. At the lest, a brief outline of the content you plan to discuss would be really appreciated. Even if you’ve already completed the blog entry, you should still summarize the post; editors do lead lives and they may not be able to read an entire post at once.
Say when you can have the post done. – Simple enough. Think about how much time it would take to write the post, then do it. Don’t try to be quick about it if you can’t, but don’t give months or weeks for something that’s only 1-2 posts at most. Aim for about a week, tops.
Follow the guidelines – If the blog has blog guidelines, follow them as close as possible. This reduces the chance of rejection by the editor, as well as the amount of work the editor will have to do to edit your stuff.
Ask for feedback – The only way you will improve as a writer is with feedback. Even if the editor likes your piece, chances are they will have something to say about it, good or bad.
State whether or not you will republish the post – Most editors will not approve a post that’s already published elsewhere, nor will they post content you will submit on your own site as well. A link to their site is fine, but don’t re-upload the post in its entirety. Helpful note: if you’re in doubt on whether or not the blogger/editor would disapprove, ASSUME THEY WILL DISAPPROVE.

Are you Turning your Guest Blog into An Article Directory? (shoutmeloud.com)
Guest Blogging Answers by Ann Smarty (famousbloggers.net)

Blogging Content, guest blogging, posting

Five Twitter Chats for Bloggers & Writers

Aug31st
2011 1 Comment Written by James Dabbagian

If you (Like me) are of the written word-inclined, there are several different twitter chats available for you. Check out some popular choices below:

#blog101 - Allison Duncan hosts a blogging chat for newbies weekly, with topics covering the very basics of blogs, such as what to write about, choosing a blog engine, and basic instructions for using and running a blog. Chat topics typically relate to WordPress but can be applied to most other blogs.

#blog101 is hosted weekly every Friday, from 8pm-9pm PST.

#blogchat – One of, if not the biggest Twitter Chat of them all. Mack Collier hosts Blogchat to bring together bloggers from all walks of life, and of all experiences. His Twitter Chats are typically brought together under one subject which participants discuss for the duration of the chat. Mack also has two special #blogchats per month: One where 3-4 bloggers have the opportunity to be reviewed by the community as a whole, and an open-forum on the last Sunday of each month.

#blogchat is every Sunday from 9pm – 10pm EST. Check out the #blogchat information page as well.

#wordcarnival - A blog carnival is one of the first true forms of lists. It’s a group of blog entries that are shared around a particular theme for that month. #blogcarnival is a monthly chat celebrating that blog carnival, led by Tea Silvestre and including the bloggers of that carnival.

#wordcarnival is a monthly chat that’s from 4pm – 5pm PST, on the Thursday following last Wednesday of that month. Learn more about Blog Carnivals.

#Journchat – #Journchat is one of the oldest Twitter Chats of the group. Originally founded for journalists, the chat now incorporates bloggers and public relations experts, although chat topics typically revolve around journalism. The chat is hosted by Sarah Evans.

#Journchat is hosted every Monday, from 8-9pm EST.

#Writechat – A basic bread and butter type of chat, #Writechat is a chat for writers that want to improve their craft. Often includes writing prompts and challenges. The moderator is Julie Issac.

#Writechat is on Sundays at 12-3pm, PST.

Social media, Twitter Twitter, Twitter Chats, writing

Why you DO NOT BLOG for SEO.

Aug29th
2011 2 Comments Written by James Dabbagian

My main purpose for blogging is SEO!

I Blog for SEO!

SEO is the reason for my blogging.

NO IT’S NOT.

I have been seeing this trend come up lately, mainly in #blogchat but not just there. Both people brand-new to blogging and blog veterans are guilty of this crime. Other segments of Twitter, other bloggers, all feel like the purpose for their blog is Search Engine Optimization. They they blog solely for SEO.

BULL.

People who say this have no idea what this means. SEO is a tool, and that is all that it is. You use SEO in order to attract prospective readers (potential customers if going e-commerce) to your site, but you still have a purpose for the website.

To say that you blog for SEO is like saying a carpenter builds furniture for nails. Or like saying a teacher teaches students for being able to use chalk.

Think about this for a second. Why do you even have a website? Do you want to lead a community? To get a voice out? To sell your services as a freelancer in whatever it is you do? Or maybe you’re selling something like eBooks or electronics or whatever. Hell, maybe you’re the blogger of a corporation; you’re blogging for your customers.

The point is, THAT’S your purpose. You blog for an audience, you blog for money, whatever. You don’t blog for a tool that you use. That’s silly.

This brings me back to something that my little Blog-Sentence experiment is suggesting: We don’t really understand our purpose for blogging. If I asked someone to create an elevator pitch for their blog, they’d have no idea why they were blogging.

Hence, this is something to keep in mind. Why do you REALLY blog? It can’t be just because of a tool. Yes, SEO is powerful. Yes, it can get you noticed on Google, but it is not an end to a means.

So with that in mind, can you tell me why you blog?

Blogging, Content Blog purpose, Content, SEO

Four Myths (And realities) about managing a Self-Hosted WordPress Blog

Aug24th
2011 Leave a Comment Written by James Dabbagian

A lot of people are happy with their Blogspot or WordPress.com hosting, which takes care of any or all maintainence issues they may have. Unfortunately, it also restricts them in several ways: They can’t monetize their blogs, they’re limited to only a select few themes, and they cannot install plugins at all. A self-hosted wordpress.org installation gives you more complete control over your blog.

Sadly, there’s a lot of myths going around that make people think that hosting your own blog is harder than it is. Let’s look at some of these “Myths” and see the truth.

Myth: It’s too difficult to install

Reality: Most modern web hosting services (Especially those that cater to blogs such as Bluehost,) include a program such as Fantastico, which automates the entire installation of a WordPress Blog, including the mySQL database and folder configuration. Even without Fantastico, the hardest part of the setup is creating the mySQL database, and you can usually let your web hosting provider do that for you if you’re finding it difficult.

Myth: Installing plugins is a tedious operation

Reality: As someone who remembers the days when to install a plugin, you had to literally open the code and copy-paste content into the system, I feel for you. When I first started blogging on my own domain, I had to upload files and plugins via FTP.

Thankfully, that’s not the case anymore. Most plugins can now directly download to your WordPress installation, as long as the blog has the proper permissions. (If it doesn’t, have your host set them up.)

Myth: Updating WordPress is freaky and weird

Reality: Yes, I can speak for this too. Like plugins, you used to have to copy-paste the entire upgrade file to your WordPress installation via FTP, then run a special web page to start the process. Rather tedious operation if I may say so myself…it got REAL annoying to get done upgrading WP only to have an emergency update being required.

Now, however, WordPress can be upgraded from within your admin page, without any download initiating on your end.

Myth: I won’t have support with my blog if something happens

Reality: WordPress maintains a community of people such as developers, gurus and power users that each had had their share of trouble, and may have run into a similar problem as you. Usually, they’ll be more than happy to help you out and at a cheap price: Free. You can also have a professional repair the blog, or have your hosting service look at it.

Your turn

What are some of the things YOU think of with hosting a wordpress blog on your own? It might be that they are simply myth. Talk about what ails you in the comments.

Blogging blog hosting, self-hosting, Wordpress

Summarizing your blog with one sentence in 3 easy steps

Aug21st
2011 Leave a Comment Written by James Dabbagian

My blog covers the latest in Social Media, Branding and Using Content.

This sentence summarizes my goal for Ad Rhetorica, which is my blog covering the above things. It seems relatively simple to say what it is your blog covers,but for a lot of people (especially for the people in today’s #blogchat,) it’s the most difficult thing in the world. With so many topics to cover, and so many interesting things, it’s hard to define what it is your blog is about, and as much as you want to, you’re not gonna be able to talk about everything to everyone. If you want an audience, you’ll need to pick some topics, and to do that, you should summarize what your blog is all about.

With that in mind, let’s create your Blog Summary Sentence

Write down all the topics you cover on your blog - Think about all the things you write about, or want to write about. Let’s assume that you’ve got a political blog. Your blogging topics may consist of things such as political campaigns, scandals, debates, and a few other things. However, some people may have blogs that act as a drop for everything, such as parenting to political thoughts to chess tactics. In any case, list down every topic you’ve covered, whether it’s concerning one entry or several.
Remove topics you barely cover – Count each time you discuss one of your topics in a blog. Do you tend to be a marketing blogger but find you’ve covered digital music once or twice? Or perhaps you don’t really know what you cover the most of off-hand, but you’ve noticed a trend of some articles being covered more than others? These arguably are what you’re all about, at least on this blog. Pick the 2-3 topics you cover the most, then drop the rest. (You can still write about them, they’re just not what your blog is about.)
Write a sentence with the topics in them, as small as possible. Ultimately, you want you be able to explain what it is your blog does with one sentence, with the sentence being as small as possible. The best way to find a workable sentence is to go on twitter and work on your sentence using the tweet box. When it’s 140 characters or under, it’s good to go.

Keep in mind that this is NOT an elevator pitch. While it can be the basis for one, you are trying to develop your blog’s purpose. Determine why you write, and the pitch will follow. You’re trying to give your blog an identity.

And don’t worry. If you decide you want to work on a different niche or specialty, you can always change your blog summary sentence later.

Homework

Do the above steps for your site, then report back. What is your summary sentence?

Blogging, Content Content, posts, SEO

Your Advertising Policy – How you and your readers can define advertising.

May9th
2011 Leave a Comment Written by James Dabbagian

A lot of people out there want to monetize their blog. One of the best ways to do so is to use advertising, as we have covered previously. However, it’s important to realize that too much ads could seriously impact your readers, as nobody really wants to look at advertisements. As people also directly sell ads on their blogs, it’s important to have an advertising policy available for your readers.

What is an advertising Policy?

An advertising policy is a segment of your site that explains what advertisements one might see on your site, what they won’t see, directions on how to sell ads directly to show on your blog, as well as information on how to contact you.

An advertising policy should be present so that if your readers feel you’ve inadvertently gone beyond what your policy stated, they can argue why a certain advertisement isn’t what you would put on there.

What goes on an advertising policy?

You can put everything related to ads on the policy, including things such as:

All sponsored reviews will have a statement saying they are sponsored
No adult ads will be shown on this site
Adsense ads will consist on one ad on the sidebar, and one ad on top of each blog post.
This advertisement policy is subject to change without notice to you.
If you feel my advertising violates this policy for myself, please contact me with your reason why.
If you have any other questions or comments concerning this policy, please feel free to contact me.

Please feel free to copy-paste what you’d like for your site from the above list.

I will be posting mine in a few days. By the way, in case you haven’t seen it, I’m officially an editor for eHub. Go check it out!

Technorati tags: Adsense, advertising, ads, Bloghacking, blogging, advertising policy