Skip links

Performancing

Main navigation

Jayvee Fernandez

A ‘Personal Blog?’ Just use Facebook!

by

Okay so maybe I was a bit brazen with the title, but after writing about technology for more than 5 years I had wanted to reboot and open up a personal blog where I talk about the more mundane “let your hair down” moments which only close friends can truly relate to. So I erased some content from domains I didn’t use and decided to install WordPress.

Actually, I initially did an iWeb install, then got frustrated over it, and went into WordPress. Then it dawned on me that these platforms were not what I was looking for. All I wanted was Facebook. The updating of status message, getting very personal comments, photo uploads of the weekend dive trip … these were all the things I ever wanted to do in a personal blog. And the whole stats thing, really — did I need that?

So I scrapped the idea of a personal blog because all along, Facebook was there. I’d like to ask you — how extensive is your Facebook use? With the introduction of the custom URL, I’m able to include my Facebook address alongside my Twitter, email and IM when I print business cards.

Do you feel that your readers own you?

by

“Can you give me a list of all your recipes?”

“Why are you putting ads on your site?”

“I think you should stop posting about fashion and concentrate on your make up tips instead.”

“Can you write about that new steak place that opened in the city?”

The new phone is out. How come it’s taking too long for you to post a review?

Do you often get these kinds of comments? When you started writing, you probably, and I sincerely hope, did it for the passion. Time passed, and your readership scaled and you blog grew up faster than its neighbors. All of a sudden you received email from PR companies, and yeah the freebies started to pour in as well. Event invites, blog roadies, and yes there were the haters as well.

All of a sudden the passion started to fade and you felt disillusioned, looking back at something you started as sharing your passion in reckless abandon which turned into a chore you needed to do once, twice, thrice a week. Sometimes everyday.

At one point, did you feel that your topics were dictated not by your own personal accord, but by your readers who demanded your time?

Do you still rename your images for SEO purposes?

by

Renaming images

It has been an age old SEO trick to apply the same article tagging principles to images. This is done by simply renaming an image file from the default IMGxxx.JPG or DSCxxx.JPG, depending on what camera we’re importing from.

Although photo uploading services allow you to insert tags, there’s nothing like good old search juice from Google’s image search feature. A question — how meticulous are you with renaming images you upload to your blog’s hosting? Do you rename the entire file, go as far as the alt="" description? Do you do this all the time, to all your posts, with no exception?

A personal practice is renaming images only when I feel that I have a scoop. Say, if I covered a product launch for my technology blog, that’s the only time when I rename all the photos I took and batch export them from iPhoto through sequential exporting so that the images are automatically tagged with the desired name plus a corresponding number (i.e. Nokia_phone_1.jpg, Nokia_phone_2.jpg and so on).

The 9rules Nostalgia and Building Community

by

There’s been a blanket of nostalgia lately on the Internet. For those of you who may remember the good ‘ol days of blogging circa 2004 to about early 2006, this was a time when community was much smaller, and it was easy to spot the “A-listers” and blog networks. Amidst the typical blog networks that would hire and pay writers a fixed rate or revenue share, 9rules was different. It went against the grain of the “production house” blogging (not that this was bad in itself) and focused on quality content. 9rules had, well, 9 rules:

9rules is a place where members and readers can connect, build relationships, and learn new things. 9rules started in 2003 with a set of 9 rules:

1. Love what you do.
2. Never stop learning.
3. Form works with function.
4. Simple is beautiful.
5. Work hard, play hard.
6. You get what you pay for.
7. When you talk, we listen.
8. Must constantly improve.
9. Respect your inspiration.

Lots of other networks have adopted similar principles, but basically 9rules was a pioneer when it came to building a passionate community.

Today, Splashpress Media has acquired 9rules, (of which Performancing is part of the SPM network). From their blog, written by Paul Scrivens:

Why Splashpress? Because not only do they have the people that have a passion for publishing online content, but they also have the resources to make things happen without being too large as to forget the core of what makes 9rules special, the community. Much of the Splashpress team have been fans of 9rules for years so this will only make the transition easier as they understand the purpose of 9rules and why it is important to continue to push quality content to the forefront of the web.

The thing with the Internet is that the tides ebb to and fro too fast, and yesterday’s web is so much more different. In the past 2 years, big corporations have planted their blogging seeds through acquisition, while some argue that blogs were not what they once were with the rise of Twitter and Facebook. Tomorrow will be different.

The take away from all of this is that communities are bound to change. But change can be a good thing, and rebuilding a new community doesn’t mean the end of the world.

5 Tips to Help Bloggers Maximize HARO

by

Peter Shankman founded the HARO mailer network many months ago. Since then, the Help a Reporter Out network has grown into perhaps the most powerful community of networkers, journalists and product marketers on the Internet. Not only is the network free to use, it is also very effective. Here are some tips to maximize the use of HARO.

Don’t confuse the “source” and “media” request pages

This is the most fundamental rule, and is something that Shankman highlights at least twice on the main HARO page, which is reserved for companies who are the source of information. If you’re a journalist or blogger looking for leads, use the other page.

Be brief and get to the point

When looking for sources, note that the HARO mailer comes in the form of a digest. If you’re smart you’ll probably use the search function to go through a ton of requests. If you had all the time in the world to look through a dozen of these queries then fine, but put yourself in the position of the person looking through your query: avoid run on sentences and long introductions (i.e. avoid lines that start with “may I request the permission of your good office…”) and simply, get to the point. If you need a sponsor for a prize, give the benefits of the sponsorship. If you need leads, ask for it.

Be concise in credentials and duration of requests

By credentials, I mean filling up the form with an email that looks authentic. Use your business email if possible. When asking for leads it is beyond a doubt reasonable to give ample time for a response. Don’t ask for a lead with a deadline the very next day. Not only will it cause attrition on your part, but it will also most probably not be sent due to the way the mailing list is compiled. Remember, mailings are not sent immediately, but are collated first, then sent. It also goes without saying that you should not spam the HARO network.

Note the Gift Bag page

There’s a special page within HARO that caters specifically for “goodie bag” sponsorships. This is by all means not a paid list and should be used with a lot of discretion and respect. If you make products and want them to appear in loot bags, this list is for you.

Build relationships

More often than not, PR contacts will often save your email addresses in queries after a successful engagement. Don’t be a stranger an do keep in touch. Provide updates to build your very own network of contacts to sponsor prizes and receive wires.

Blog Comments: Do they still bear the same weight?

by

I don’t know about your experience, but the real-time updates of Facebook and the massive Twitter community seem to have lessened the value of blog comments. Wait, scratch that. I’d be more inclined to say that Twitter and Facebook have made it easier for marketers to call for comments.

I say this under the premise that numerous PR agencies have “decided” that comments have been the most obvious sign of a strong following. Can’t blame them — as many blogs do not publish their feed count nor share stats publicly. Above the surface, it’s really just about the comments. But you’ve also noticed that ever since the social media echosphere was created, we’re seeing more engagement on these networks more than the blogs.

As a blogger, do you give a hierarchy to value depending on where you receive comments?

Of course, another way to look at it is that your social network demographic is different from your blog readership.

Do comments still bear the same weight as they did before? Or have they been saturated by the social echo chamber.

Or, is this writer approaching the question the wrong way?

5 Point Checklist to Running Blog Contests

by

Have you ever ran a contest on your blog before? Here is a quick and dirty checklist which you may want to follow.

1. Internally identify the goal of the contest

If you work for a blog network, you may have had performance reviews with your editor. The usual topic of review is strategy to building traffic. Net of discussion, you need to build community and this usually can be defined through links, more unique visits, and comments more often than not. As giving away stuff usually works to bringing in the bacon, you need to tailor your call to action to the goal.

You can do it the Kevin Rose way by putting serial numbers to software up for grabs, but this won’t always guarantee community.

2. Be specific with contest deadline

If you have an international audience, make sure that when you say “contest ends at midnight on November 19” make sure you specify what part of the world you are referring to. Tailor fit the end time to the respective time zone of your audience. It’s a simple thing, but yeah, sometimes people miss out.

3. Make sure your raffle qualification entries are well understood.

If you’re asking for comments, make sure that they include their email, at the very least. State how you are going to draw the raffle. Most draws are usually done with a randomizer application such as Luck of the Draw for the Mac. There are also web apps available such as Random.org.

4. Be clear about the prize and conditions for delivery

Especially when giving out software, make sure that you disclose the system requirements, even with a simple link. Don’t make the mistake of giving out an application that only runs on the Mac, for instance, and forgetting to tell your participants. Don’t assume your readers are the smartest people on the Internet.

When giving out hardware, specify if you are answering for shipping charges. Usually, sponsors do so, and a good number ship internationally as well. Again, be very detailed.

Also, disclose the net value of the prize.

5. Provide a post event report to your sponsor

Never forget to thank your sponsors. Provide them links to the contest you held after it ends. Provide a summary if you must — number of comments, number of link backs even. If the winner is a blogger, try to ask for confirmation of the prize — maybe a “money shot” with the physical product at hand.

Do you even bother to optimize your archived posts?

by

Not that it’s hardcore, but there are bloggers who keep a rather meticulous watch on posts that have yielded them huge returns in views. Be it a seasonal event that has a recurring every year or a product update to a previously popular item, bloggers have been taught to maximize traffic (with a simple link mostly) by updating previous posts in the body with more than just using a related post plugin.

Blogging has changed, bringing less focus on well-constructed blog updates to the more “as-it-happens” rush of a Facebook timeline and Twitter. Given that the pulse of the Internet is more immediate in these times, do you still bother to scour your archives, edit previous posts and then re-blast them onto your social networks? Or is this too much work?