Build A Better Blog Day 4: Analyze A Top Blog In Your Niche

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This was easy as all get out! Darren gives some great ideas on how to compare my competitors, although the Hubspot competitor tool is rather niffty. 

Of course the ACTION ITEM is to go to other's blogs and makes notes! I tend to steal what I like!



CLICK HERE FOR DAY #3

CLICK HERE TO START AT THE BEGINNING

Build A Better Blog Day 3: Promote A Blog Post

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Promote a blog post? What, like on Facebook?

Ohhhhh....

So I read on and Darren gives us a check list for how to promote your blog post. I've got a link in my email signature, I link my posts to facebook (though that's not what he's talking about) and he's got some great points and I'm doing all of them except for #7. 

Email signature to a specific post!

Say you've got a really great post. Well, advertise it in your email signature! Something like, learn how to Build A Better Blog -- and then put the link of the post. Brilliant!

Guess what the action item is!

Yep, promote your blog by email signature! 

Click HERE For Day 1

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Build A Better Blog Day 2: Write A List Post

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Bah! Easy! 

I've used list posts before and I will use list posts again. I know and understand the value of list posts! 

They are:

1. Informative.
2. Easy to scan.
3. Get right to the point.

See! I've just told you how to get people to look at your list post. But also, I'd add links so that they go to other posts, look at your site and stay longer. 

Action Item:
Write a list post! Find a subject you want to write about and then tick off one by one, an instructive, scanable article that gets right to the point! 

Click HERE For DAY 1

Click HERE to start at the beginning!

Build A Better Blog Day 1: The Elevator Pitch

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So, I finished the bonus week from Darren Rowes' Build A Better Blog and I went into the 30 day program.

The first day's task is to make an elevator pitch. 

Here goes:

We Cherish Our Authors,
We Love Our Readers.

Yeah, but how do we cherish our authors? In what way do we love our readers? That could get kinky! Authors and readers...

Sounds like a fetish dating site. Anyway...

Okay so here's the real goal...a real elevator pitch.

My blog teaches authors about the flip side of publishing. 

How's that? Make any sense? What do I mean by flip side of publishing? I mean I'll tell you what other publishers don't want you to know. Like how you can publish a book by yourself. 

So the action item is--make an elevator pitch for your blog. Put it somewhere so readers can know what to expect from you!

Task 7: Breathe Life Into An Old Post

Photo taken by me! Stephanie McKibben

Simple! Go back and update your old posts! 

This option is not necessarily for me on Nose Droppings, but my author blog and publishing blog--maybe. 

This one requires a bit more time. I like going through and correcting errors. It gives me a chance to see my own opinions way back when. 

Sometimes my opinions change. 

It did give me the thought to add to the side bar some links such as "our mission" or "Learn how Troll River Publications began..."

I tried and failed because I need to learn more about how to do that on Weebly. 

But this also gave me the idear that I could update a topic from yesteryear and make it a "I've changed my mind" type of post. That would be interesting to link to an old blog then see how you changed your thinking. 

Link to Task 6

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Link to the Beginning

Task 6: Review Calls To Action

Photo Credit: Parker Fitzgerald via Compfight cc

My ego that was saying, we've done this! And...We totally have this covered!--went hiding at this topic.

I knew I've been missing this. 

- Clickable Buttons (that actually went somewhere)
- Subscription Boxes
- Navigation Links
- Social Media Butttons
- RSS Feed Links
- Email a Friend Link
- Invitation to Readers
-Your contact Form

Okay, so it wasn't as bad as I thought. It's a work in progress. I added Feedburner. Have the social media links and getting the others on there. Navigation Links are everywhere. Have my RSS Feed up. Not too shabby. Okay. 

Again Darren explains what these things are (kinna) in the book. But if your a blogger that's been doing research, you know what these are. One thing I want to add is a html button--meaning a code where other bloggers can put your button on their site so other readers can find you. I was thinking of giving something away, like what Author Marketing Club does, for those who pin my button on their blog.  

Any other suggestions?

Link to The Beginning

Link to Task 5

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Task 5: Get To Know Content SEO

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This section of the book explained a little bit about the importance of: 

- Categories
- Tags
- Meta Tags
- Meta Keywords
- Meta Descriptions
- Custom URL's 

I went into the back end of my blog thinking...I've totally got this! And...turns out I forgot to SEO my blog. Huh. Fixed now!

Boy did I think of some doosies! There was much fun and snickering with filling out the Meta Keywords with But For You, Yes. I mean how much fun can you have with this cover:

Available at Amazon

Oh, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw what people searched under Cougar Bait in the Coffee Shop!
End result--people are creative!

Link to task 4

Link to the beginning

Task 4: Make Sure Your Posts Are Easy To Find

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See this face? It's my--you must be joking--face. Okay, dude. I'm not sure where you're going with this. SEO?

NOPE!

Today's task ws about how readers find all your good & old stuff. Okay, I did what he said, kinna, I didn't understand...so I checked out...differences between tags and categories.

Here are some blogs I found:
Lorelle on WordPress - thank you Lorelle! I'm not on WordPress but maybe some of you are. But she explains it best for me.

Goggle - always trying to help and giving me that Wikipedia feel.

Blogging Basics 101 - thank you Melanie Nelson! She helped me understand a bit better when I was saying Categories and tags...Bulls***

But hey, I'm not bringing in the cash moola with my blog so WTFDIK. I might care more about it one day and I realize that I may not be able to do EVERYTHING the book says. And oh, by the way this is the book that's giving me a lot of great advice on blogging...

ProBlogger Build a Better Blog

Link to TASK 3

Link to the BEGINNING!

(see...I remembered Task 3-Interlink Old Posts)

Task 3: Interlink Old Posts

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Doh! 

I read this and thought...I instinctively know this one and yet I forget to do it. This time, as you can see, I've been interlinking posts! 

I think a checklist need ds to be on the left side of my column bar that gives me all the goodies on how to make a blog better! 

1. Did you interlink?
2. Did you promote this blog?
3. Is your title killer?

all that good stuff! So Task 3 would be...Click HERE to start at the BEGINNING

Click HERE for TASK 2

Task 2: What Do Others Say?

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Ask friends to describe my blog...

I found this to be more of an on going job to keep me on track. I went so far as to ask readers to contact me if I could improve my blog and what they thought of it. 

  Friends told me my picture needed to be updated and I needed to define what my blog was about, but it got good ratings for Hubspot's Market Grader a cool site that will help you maximize your efforts!

Click here for Task 1

Click here for TASK 3

Task 1: What Should It Say?

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Task 1: 31 Days To Build A Better Blog. 
 
This is ultimately about BRAND. In a sentence that one word says, "this is what I'm about and what you can expect from me."

If you veer off that course, people stop trusting you. 

So, we are obviously not talking about this blog because it's motto is NO BRAND. 

We ARE talking about www.trollriverpub.com because that blog has the most to gain from these lessons.

Here's my thought: TRP is a blog where writer's can learn about writing and publishing.

That's a bit boring. Especially for me. 

But then I thought about my author blog and that one is Spice and then some so we've got to balance out the scale, right?

The Dirty Blog is a refreshing take on the social taboos in life. That I care about those who want to better themselves and take charge of what they think of themselves. That this blog is a safe place to express oneself. 

Hopefully, that is what's conveyed! I've even put a blurb to readers of the blog to contact me if I can improve the experience. 

So far, I think TASK 1 has improved my blog and my reasons. 

Click Here for TASK 2  

Build A Better Blog

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Dear Mr. Darren Rowse;

After purchasing your ebook, 31 Days TO BUILD A BETTER BLOG, I knew I would love this book after I turned the pages and immediately got to TASK 1.

I'm all in for action! I love that you get me to DO not just preach at me or passively tell me "what I need to know". I'm now a fan and shall support your endeavors.

Your book is so outstanding and deserves to be known as a blogger bible. I want every blogger that has a goal in mind to read this book!

Since you give us a hashtag and encourage us to blog about this, that's what I'm going to do. I will now have a label #31DBBBDefineYourBrand. 

And thank you Jeff Goins for introducing me to this book. You too have a fantastic blog for writers and look forward to your posts and emails every day.


Sincerely,

Stephanie McKibben

Watch my journey to build a better blog! Continue forth!

No Free Ice Cream!

There is no post today. 

April Fool's!