How To

We’ve had many people ask us how to subscribe to our blog, but more often we get the question,”What is RSS?” and “Why should I subscribe to a blog?”

RSS = Really Simple Syndication. Basically, in the same way you would subscribe to a magazine and receive it in your mailbox monthly, RSS allows you subscribe to a blog and receive the latest posts in your feed reader daily or even hourly depending on how often your blogs are updated. Let’s say you regularly follow 10-15 blogs, we can agree that it is pretty time consuming to visit each of those blogs everyday to see if they have posted any new information. A feedreader will allow you to log into one account and view all of your blogs right there in one easy to navigate dashboard.

There are dozens of feedreaders out there, Bloglines, Google Reader, NewsGator, PageFlakes, are just some of the more popular ones, but the list goes on. For the sake of this “How To”, I’m going to focus on using Bloglines. It is the most popular feed reader, it’s also one I use, and very simple to navigate.

1. Locate and click on the subscribe button:

2. You will be brought to a Subscribe screen where you will have the option to choose which reader you would like to view your feed:

3. If you are using Bloglines you will be prompted to log in to your account, otherwise you may choose to create an account.

4. Bloglines will show you the feed title and description, ensure it’s accuracy and then click on Subscribe.

5. Success! Once logged in to your account, you will be updated with your subscriptions latest blog posts and offerings.

Now get started! Subscribe to your favorite blogs. Save time and enjoy life! Be sure to look out for our next blog post, “How to Subscribe to a Podcast” later this week.

Hello? Hello? Is anybody out there?

Ever spend hours crafting the perfect blog post? It’s informative, witty and controversial, everything that all the blogging experts say a blog post should be, Yet, nobody comments on it…at all?  As bloggers, we spend a great deal of time, trying to convey information, thoughts and ideas to our readers, yet when feedback is not received, it can makes us feel like we are talking to ourselves, and let’s face it…blog posts can look a little pathetic without comments. Chirp. Chirp. Chirp.
So the question is, how do you get your readers to comment?

How to get blog comments:

1. Ask a Question - By asking your readers a question, they may feel compelled to answer it, especially if you are asking for their opinion or experiences. Remember, people love to talk about themselves and voice their opinions, give them an open invitation to do so.

2. Say Something Controversial - Do you have an opinion that goes against the majority? Write about it. State your conviction and stand strong while the comments from supporters and naysayers pour in.

3. Challenge another Blogger - Choose a successful blogger and write a post about how much you disagree or agree with one of his or her latest posts. Then, leave a comment on his post with a quick summary, be sure to link back to your blog. Not only will you be inviting the blogger to comment on your blog, but you will probably get a lot of curious readers of his blog to visit yours as well.

Comments give the visitors a sense of community. Communities are what you should be aiming to build with your readers, this is a sure fire way to get them to return, get them to subscribe, and best of all tell their friends about you.

Comment, Comment, Comment!
photo credit: saris0000

We recently had a client approach us with a request, he was looking for an application or widget that would enable him to create a survey on his blog. The client was interested in learning which aspects of his business and website that his readers were actually interested in. What better way to find out than to ask them, right?

While there are numerous third party applications available, we decided to install the Wordpress Plugin “Democracy”. The Democracy AJAX poll is a Wordpress plugin that allows the blog owner to add a poll to a website’s sidebar or within the blog posts. Since our client’s blog is built on the Wordpress platform, it provided the most seamless integration.

The creation of the poll is simple. Once the plugin is uploaded and activated in your plugins folder. The polling console appears in the Wordpress Dashboard. The nice thing about the Democracy poll is that it is highly configureable to your specific question. The plugin allows you to enter a question and input as many answer options as necessary.

Once the poll is created and activated it is automatically generated to the sidebar or within your blog posts, depending on the code configuration. Each time a reader votes on the poll, their answer is logged, IP is tracked (eliminates vote stuffing) and the results are shown in a bar graph.

Not only is the poll an added benefit for you, allowing you to get reader feedback, but it also allows your readers to be interactive with the site. Providing a venue for your readers to share their opinion and build a sense of community should always be a goal of your blog. Afterall, it is this sense of community that encourages readers to return.

If you are intersted in learning more about the Democracy WP-Plugin and how it can benefit your blog, feel free to contact me and I would be happy to guide you through it.

“How do I get traffic to my website” is the $64,000 question. Website owners big and small spend a lot of time, money and energy figuring out strategies to drive qualified traffic to their website. While there are many, many, many, ways to promote your site online, I thought we’d take a look at some offline opportunities as well.

• Corporate literature - Anything that leaves your office should be branded with your logo and your website. This includes: Business Cards, Letterhead, Envelopes, Brochures, Newsletters and direct mail marketing.

• Print Advertising - Many local newspapers and newsletters offer free ads or low-cost ads. Taking advantage of these options may prove to be invaluable if the right person sees your ad.

• Car Decal - If you have a car, why not have a decal? Decals come in all shapes and forms. You could have a magnetic decal or a bumper sticker with your website. Think about how many people you drive by throughout the day, everyone of those people is a sales opportunity. Disclaimer: This generally works better if you aren’t driving a hunk of junk.

• T-Shirts - Have some company t-shirts printed up with your website on it and where it everywhere. Sports events, school functions, to the grocery store. Not only is it a great conversation starter but it can also be fashionable.

• Answering machine message - Does your answering machine message have your website on it? Why not? Try something like: “Hello, you have reached the XYZ company, our offices are closed right now but we are available 24 hours on our website at www.xyzcompany.com”

• Promotional Items - You can purchase pens, keychains, stress balls, or any other promotional product of your liking and print your website on them. Give them out at meetings, trade shows, and to clients.

Now for the true website marketing gems! These following internet marketing strategies are less utilized but can be very effective.

• Request a song - Call up your favorite radio station and request a song from the staff at XYZcompany.com!

• Ebay - Sell an item related to your product and have your website as the watermark on the photo.

• Bookmarks - Create bookmarks with your website on them and donate them to a local library (Check with your local librarian first)

• Custom Bags - Make custom Halloween bags with your website on it and give them to your trick or treaters.

• Restaurant Menus - Sponsor a menu at a popular restaurant. Think about it, hundreds of hungry patrons ready to devour your website. Delicious!

As you can see, most of these marketing techniques are low-cost and only require a bit of your time, yet can provide hundreds if not thousands of new visitors to your site. If you are serious about your website’s success, continued updating, linking and traffic building techniques will keep your site moving in the right direction.