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Planning Your Online Future: How far do you look ahead?

The best chess players can look ahead and visualize an accurate picture of how the game will play out, assuming a wide selection of moves in the present. Of all the skills that a chess player can have, this ability to look into the future and form accurate models of how things will play out, differentiates the good chess players from the great ones. Quite simply, the best chess players not only look the deepest, but also have a more accurate ability to perceive the consequences.

I think that the same principle applies to the Internet Professional. The most successful Internet professionals are the ones that can see trends emerging before the trends actually go mainstream. They are the ones that stay three steps ahead of the SEO curve. They are the ones who look at the truckload of gold at the peak of the mountain, and not the sparse fairy dust currently at their feet.

So how far do you plan your online future? Are you thinking long-term and running for the mountain peak? Or are you more concerned with collecting every last bit of gold fairy dust where you’re currently standing?

Create a structure for your blog posts

Do your blog posts have a Corporate Design?
Do you follow a checklist when finalizing an article before publishing?

Create specific article style rules

In addition to 7 Easy Tips To Maximize Your Blog Posts by Ryan and several other articles on pperformancing.com and the Internet about creating a good blog post I would like to add some advice for fresh bloggers.

Beside having an easy to understand template design (Header, navigation, content, footer, sidebar) you should also optimize the outline of your articles.

Create an outline checklist if you think you have a well written and well designed article.

Basic structure

Having no structure simply looks amateurish!

  1. Title
  2. First paragraph
  3. Headline 1
  4. Paragraph 1
  5. (…)
  6. Additional information

This example looks pretty boring but many bloggers will already forget to have an introducing first paragraph and the additional information. The typical article structure seen on simple blogs is in many cases:

  1. Title
    • Two or three sentences
    • A blockquote
    • A link out

Those elements are wildly mixed in order from article to article. Additionally wildly spread ads and sidebar elements confuse the reader focus. This way a regular follower will have an uncomfortable feeling because every article looks different.

Easy enhancements

  1. Title
  2. Sub title
  3. First introducing paragraph and the important first sentence
  4. Headline 1
  5. Paragraph 1
  6. Sub headline 1
  7. Paragraph 2
  8. (…)
  9. Additional information

Adding a sub title adds an eye catcher and draws the reader into the article. The sub title can include a personal comment to give the rough direction.

The first sentence following the sub title should be fact rich like a one sentence abstract of the following. Do not emphasize on personal expressions like “Yesterday I thought I should write this article but my mother in law ordered me to her house to paint the wall. In the evening bla bla bla…”

Sub headlines offer orientation points in your text. Reading text online which has no orientation marks will make the reader exit the article before the end because scrolling and keeping the focus at the same time is difficult.

The title, the sub title and the first sentence are the most important article entries which will motivate the reader to read on!

Content elements

Also the order and existence of content elements for certain types of articles is important. Checklist examples:

  • Easy example: Writing book reviews should be accompanied by i.e. Amazon ads on top and/or bottom.
  • More advanced: If writing a restaurant tip an embedded map is a good enhancement. Before publishing the article make sure that the map is embedded.
  • More advanced: If you are embedding videos make sure that you have some surrounding content and not only “Heh, heh, how funny. Watch this:”. Add some comment quotes below the video. Add the video info quote above the video. Add links to the publisher or quote interesting comment snippets from some other blog.
  • Very advanced: Switch subject in the article. Let’s say you want to transport some very dry information about election computers and their risks. How about tying in some death valley hot juicy content before that death valley dry information part? Here my example: Texas Legislation. Taking the funny & fitting story of the video made it possible to come to the main content later. It’s kind of a camouflage or better mimicry technique to draw readers attention.
  • Very easy but very often forgotten: Add a links and bookmarks section at the end of an article. Advanced: Fill that paragraph from your i.e. del.icio.us RSS feed (on my to-do list since, well, long).

To-Do – Your content structure

The above examples are only scratching the surface. Develop your own design rules for different article types. Reviews, personal notes, link lists and articles in general will all need their own set of rules. The rules should be in form of a ordered checklist. The checklist will make sure that you do some quality control before publishing.

  • Develop your own structure
  • Make it a corporate blog design rule
  • Write it down as a checklist
  • Before publishing the article: Double check the content elements
  • Before publishing the article: Lean back and ask yourself “Can I add something else?”

If you love word processing then create forms in your preferred software.

In my blogging experience it was very helpful for creating content rich articles to develop such checklists. My first articles were a mess and badly structured. After starting to write into my outlines and doing content element checks I knew that my articles are OK even if I have a bad day.

Quality v Success: What Is More Important For You?

On one hand, you have the burning desire to create something remarkable, memorable, and of sheer quality. It takes time, love and hard work, and you run the risk that it will go unappreciated, for after all you are pandering to your own notion of what needs to be said and done. After all, to paraphrase Kurt Vonnegut, you don’t do art to make money, you do art to make your soul grow.

On the other hand, there’s the real, gut-wrenching need to make money (or any other metric of success – search rankings, pageviews, awards, booty). This is the drive to optimize, to tap into market consciousness, measure what works (and what doesn’t), and to ruthlessly churn out content (or products – define your own output) according to your scientific formula of success (usually translates into PageViews = Money).

We know that quality and success CAN go hand in hand – it’s just that success is easier without if you don’t have to worry about quality and it’s the execution of an idea that makes the real difference, not how good it is.

As a professional blogger and entrepreneur, I face the quality v success challenge every day. There are thousands of blogs in dozens of niches that are doing spectacularly well by following the PageViews = Money formula and are quite successful ventures for their owners, although at their core the product is decidedly third-rate. Reading these blogs angers me because I expect better from the top bloggers, but at the same time there’s an admiration for their unwavering commitment to doing what works and continued amazement at how we overestimate the intelligence of our readers (selfishly, I might add).

So….what’s more important for you – creating quality or creating success?

Best of Performancing

There is a wealth of knowledge in the Performancing archives, which a lot of the new readers are probably not aware off.

To rectify that, I started digging through the Perf archives to get the best articles, dust off the proverbial cobwebs and showcase them on the site.

Here’s a list of the best Performancing has to offer:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the list.

  1. 10 Killer Post Ideas – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    The whole article – go read it, print it out and then refer to it every day.

  2. How to write Quotable Blog Posts – Philipp LenssenTakeaway:

    With your blog you are part of an ongoing larger discussion. And — depending on your content — you will be quoted, and linked to. Now there are several approaches to make it easier and more likely for others to quote you.

  3. 10 Tips for Attracting More Comments – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    Not every post needs to get a ton of comments but if your blog hardly ever gets a single comment then it will look unpopular and start a downward spiral. Hopefully using some of these tips you will turn it the other way and create a positive community snowball affect.

  4. Guide to blogging Sports Events – Ahmed BilalTakeaway:

    One of the easiest niches to get into is sports – it’s a market with the perfect ingredients for a blog, and this article shows you how to dominate it.

  5. How to turn link posts into linkbait – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    If you regularly link out to other sites, this article is an excellent primer in how to deliver value in your ‘link’ posts.

  6. How to Beat the Blank Page of Doom – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    Everyone has moments when they know what to say but struggle to say it. This list suggests several techniques to get those creative juices flowing again.

  7. Tips for Avoiding Summer Blog Death – Nick WilsonTakeaway:

    Every summer, comments and participation tend to drop off on most community sites but now is not the time to slack off on posting, on providing value to the users who aren’t out having fun in the sun. The folks who are still commenting represent the core of your audience, the absolute die-hard, passionate, and above all loyal, cream of the crop.

    The article gives you several ideas on how to keep the blog going.

  8. 11 Reasons to Write When You’ve Misplaced Your Passion – Liz StraussTakeaway:

    There are days when the passion for blogging just doesn’t show up. This articles gives you the motivation (seriously) to get back up and start writing again.

  9. 3 Ways to Engineer Good Content – Ryan CaldwellTakeaway:

    First, discover what people want, respond to, and get excited by and then give it to them.

    Don’t fall for the illusion of self-projection. Most of the world is dumber than you, and most of the world has different tastes. Give them what they want, not what you want. Then, as they say, you’re golden.

  10. Want to be a better Blogger? Tell Funny Stories! – Ahmed BilalTakeway:

    If your writing doesn’t get your message across, if it doesn’t have an emotional impact on your readers and if it’s not in sync with what you aim to do with your blog, you’re wasting your time, etc etc.

    How to get these three skills nailed down to the exact centimeter?

    Tell Funny Stories.

  11. 3 Steps for Writing Good Blog Posts – Ahmed BilalTakeaway:

    Like all good 3 step lists, this one is a model of simplicity:

    1. Define what ‘good’ is – use concrete measurements instead of an arbitrary feel-good factor
    2. Learn how to achieve the results defined above
    3. Execute (and then some).

    If it was as easy as writing it above, no blog consultant would have a job. As things stand, there’s a lot more to it under the surface although as discussed in the article, once you internalise this formula (or you start writing for a blog that gets tons of traffic) it becomes effortless.

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  1. Finding the time to blog – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    – Prioritize your feed reading and blogging
    – Delegate tasks
    – Negotiate for time in your personal life

  2. Co-blogging, Finding your Blog Buddy – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    Blogging need not be a lonely profession. Perhaps you would get more fulfilment, and produce a better blog, if you found a writing partner?

  3. 10 Business Models for Bloggers – Nick WilsonTakeaway:

    Whether you’re blogging full or part-time, if you expect to make money, you need to have a clear business model. It’s no good just posting and expecting the cheques to roll in, you need to plan for how that cash will start flowing.

  4. Top 10 Blog Disasters and How To Deal With Them – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    When we start out blogging professionally we dream of a steady flow of cash. It’s very easy to get used to that income. What will you do if disaster strikes? What can you do to prevent it happening?

    Phew, what a depressing topic! But you know what they say..

    Failure to plan is planning to fail

    If you don’t plan for these eventualities then they might well come up one day and bite you on the assets.

  5. 10 Key Ingredients of a Great Blog – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    Most of us can spot a stinker of a blog at 100 paces but can you recognise the properties that separate the lame from the great in your own blog? There are 10 qualities your blog must have to succeed.

  6. The Blog Loyalty Ladder – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    The theory is that your audience can be grouped based on their level of awareness of your blog and their loyalty to it. Your very best people are at the top of the ladder.

    While you aim to get as many people from the bottom to the top realise that a minority will get there but they are to be cherished and nurtured. It is another case where the 80-20% rule works, these top 20% (or “quintile” as it is called in the trade) are pure gold.

  7. Self Sustaining Blogs – Nick WilsonTakeaway:

    Wouldn’t it be nice if your blog ran itself? No, I’m not talking about “splogs”, I’m talking about letting your members run the show, and just sitting back and watching the ad money roll/trickle in.

  8. Knowing when to Stick and when to Fold – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    Don’t quit too soon, you might be just round the corner from a breakthrough. Every blog has a tipping point, that one post or event that takes it to the next level. Read, digest and act on the advice here first.

  9. Positioning your Blog – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    Once you have settled on your own differentiated niche you need to articulate this difference. Your blog needs to project and exude this difference in the content, the design, the tone of voice, your marketing, everything. The visitor needs to always be aware that yours is the _____ blog and take away your unique properties.

  10. 10 Step Plan to a Profitable Blog – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    We’ve talked a lot about how to make money from blogging – this is a hands-on checklist for executing your plans.

  11. 3 Problems Business Bloggers Face – Ahmed BilalTakeaway:

    If you are business blogger (or a blogger chasing the dream of a high-paying business blogging gig), here are a few problems that you probably face (or will face) and some suggestions on dealing with them.

  12. What Kind Of Blog Do You Have? – Raj DashTakeaway:

    Knowing and understanding your audience can help you blog better.

  13. 10 Traits Of Blog Readers – Liz StraussTakeaway:

    Know how your blog audience acts and tailor your blogging habits to cater for them.

  14. How to Launch a Forum on your Blog – Ahmed BilalTakeaway:

    Forums (or community-style content blogs based on Drupal – think ThreadWatch) are a natural extension of blogs. Once your blog has a regular following and traction in your niche, forums (reader-generated content) offer the best solution for growing your brand and the community around it.

  15. 2007 – The Year of Branding and Consolidation – Ryan CaldwellTakeaway:

    2007 is turning out to be the year of branding and consolidation. Not that branding and consolidation haven’t been important in the past. But I’m seeing clear signs this year from several independent corners of the web that the dynamics of the web (probably thanks to a combination of information saturation and Google’s push to measure quality indicators) have put pressure on web publishers to consolidate content and build brands. This is a real world observation.

  16. Why Your Blog Archives are (mostly) Useless – Ahmed BilalTakeaway:

    90% Content is packaged for short-term gratification, not long-term value (for the reader).

  17. Why Software is more Useful Than Books – Ahmed BilalTakeaway:

    To apply what you learn, you need a system – whether a how-to, step-by-step guide or a software – that helps you apply what you have read and understood.

  18. Outsource your Blogging Chores – for free – Ahmed BilalTakeaway:

    I would strongly suggest that you do that (start off small, by inviting guest bloggers, for example, and then move on to assigning them topics and then asking one or two people to take on the role of editor) and see what happens. If you’re clear from the start that it is a voluntary position for which the person will get credit but not payment, you will STILL get a decent response.

    Before you go out and hire a second blogger / editor to take over your chores, find out first if your readers are willing to help you out, for free. Chances are that they will, and they’ll be happier for it.

  19. 10 Articles All Bloggers Should Read (at least once) – Ryan CaldwellTakeaway:

    I have about twenty bloggers working for me at any given time. Many new bloggers are often not familiar with the details of blogging software (e.g. the screwy video embed issue with WP) or they don’t know much about the art of blogging (other than writing about the blog’s topic).

    Over time I’ve developed a list of ten articles that I send to all my new bloggers as part of their initiation. Today I’ve decided to make one version of that list public in the hopes that new bloggers everywhere can benefit, and maybe we can turn the comment section into a “you forgot this one” list.

    Many of these posts overlap in theme, and some even cover the same topic. But reinforcement never hurt anyone.

  20. 41 Reasons Why Your Blog Probably Sucks – Common Blogging Mistakes – Raj DashTakeaway:

    No blogger makes all of these mistakes, of course, but the list serves to help those of you who are still establishing your name in the blogosphere, and to remind you that you’re not alone.

  21. 21 Ways To Build A Better Blogger – Ahmed BilalTakeaway:

    When we talk about ‘creating’ better blogs, there’s an underlying assumption that it’s only the blog that needs improving.

    The reality is, us bloggers could use a huge kick up the ass once in a while as well. We get sloppy, we sometimes let our standards slide and worst of all, when it comes to making improvements we look at external factors, not ourselves.

  22. 27 Tips for Building a Kick-Ass Blog – Ahmed BilalTakeaway:

    If you’ve been blogging for a while, you probably have certain blogging ‘habits’ and tips that you swear by. This article is a collection of such tips, designed to help you build a better blog.

  23. How Do You Pay Your Bloggers? – Ahmed BilalTakeaway:

    What’s important to remember is that while not everyone blogs for money, money IS a driving force for most people and if someone feels that they are not getting what they deserve for their efforts, then there will be disagreements between them and you and eventually you will lose them. The takeaway is to ensure that a) bloggers know what the benefits are and b) those benefits should make the cost of moving away from the network quite heavy.

    Or at least you should get your bloggers to think that way.

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  1. The Art of Linkbaiting – Nick WilsonTakeaway:

    Ever found it hard to get other bloggers to link to a new blog? Sure you have, it’s not easy sometimes. Even established blogs need to expand their traffic and influence on a regular basis, and linkbaiting is one way to do it. It’s not without potential perils, but the time honored tradition of being contrary, in order to get attention is well proved, and done right, it’s a killer way to break into a new area. There are also safer ways of linkbaitng, they’re just less fun 🙂

  2. How To Make Your Blog Sticky – Nick WilsonTakeaway:

    One of the areas I feel most blogs fail at, is the concept of community. I know that’s an odd statement, as blogs are all about conversation, but most blogs seem to entirely miss the point of the “on site” community.

    Sure you link to other blogs, and talk to other bloggers in your niche, sure you have comments enabled — in fact, in terms of distributed community blogs work really, really well. In terms of on site community however, they fail miserably for the most part. And it’s largely down to the blogger himself.

  3. 3 Ways to Immediately Increase Search Engine Traffic – Nick WilsonTakeaway:

    There is no magic wand, mystical powers or Search engine hoo joo to be had anymore, it’s all down to 3 things:

    1. Copywriting
    2. Links and
    3. Networking

    That’s not to say those tasks don’t require skill, but it really is that simple.

  4. 10 Reasons why Blogging for PR and Marketing works – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    An excellent roundup of the various reasons why blogs are remarkably effective marketing tools.

  5. 5 Surefire Steps to Increase Readership by 300% or more – Ryan CaldwellTakeaway:

    As they say in dieting, these should be lifestyle changes; not just short-term quick-fixes.

    If you’re like the average blogger then you live in a bubble. You are content to just write posts on a consistent basis and you feel as if the world is watching your every move. Think again. Chances are that you’re being ignored. So how can you change this state of affairs?

    In this article I list five surefire steps that will get you noticed, get you traffic, and ultimately make you some money. These aren’t easy to implement, and if you’re lazy like me, they probably seem daunting. But just like there’s no easy way to lose weight, there’s just no easy way to get and keep readers for your blog. Make a lifestyle change now, and the benefits will start compounding like a snowball rolling down a hill.

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  1. With Navigation, Less is More – Nick WilsonTakeaway:

    The state of navigational links on blogs is getting out of hand. If you’re blog’s purpose is to make money, why do we insist on distracting our readers with hundreds of useless links?

    Your blog should guide your reader to where she wants to go, or to allow her to discover where she wants to go. By placing huge lists of links in side navigation, or cramming the bottom of your posts with social bookmarking javascript links, you only make it harder for her complete her task.

  2. Sweating the details – Andy HagansTakeway:

    Going the extra mile on your design and even your content is the mark of a professional, quality product.

  3. Photoshop Tutorial – Performancing Banner – Wayde ChristieTakeaway:

    An excellent step-by-step tutorial by Wayde on how he made the original Perf FF banner.

  4. How To: Bug Check Your Blog – John T UngerTakeaway:

    Sometimes it can be really difficult to track down bugs that cause your blog to display improperly? especially when the issue is not something you did in your template, but a mistake or typo in an actual post.

    That’s why it’s a good idea not only to view your blog in all the major browsers, but to periodically run your site through an HTML validator. Here’s a list of resources you can use to make sure that your blog will display properly on all platforms and in all browsers.

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  1. How to create Intelligent Blog Ads – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    If you want to squeeze every last drop of revenue potential out of your blog without annoying your loyal visitors then you need to be a bit clever about the way you display advertising.

  2. How to create Intelligent Blog Ads – Part 2 – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    What can we do about recognising first-time readers versus regular readers? The idea is a first timer is more likely to click ads and less likely to sign up, while a regular reader is more likely to subscribe to your feed and also more likely to get annoyed by over the top advertising.

  3. How to add E-Commerce to your blog – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    So you want to sell products directly from your blog? We have already decided it could be a great idea for creating revenue, let’s take a look at how exactly we add ecommerce capability to your blog.

  4. Monetizing through packaged content – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    Aside from the community aspects of blogs one thing blogs generate is a lot of content. While most bloggers will at least consider advertising to generate revenue, are you missing a trick by not packaging and selling your information as a product?

  5. Make money blogging via paid subscriptions – Andy HagansTakeaway:

    Yes, you can make money by charging for some of your content.

  6. Monetizing your Blog Archives – Nick WilsonTakeaway:

    Using time-sensitive advertising to profit from blog archives.

  7. Affiliate Tips for Bloggers – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    10 excellent tips to get you started on affiliate marketing.

  8. Supplement your blogging income with e-reports – Raj DashTakeaway:

    If your topics are timeless, over 3-10 years you may earn some nice returns for 10-20 hours of work per month. So in the second year, you’ll have sales of new reports and older reports. In a couple of years, you could very well commit full-time and not have to rely on contextual advertising.

  9. How To: Create Intelligent Amazon Associates Ads – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    Using a bit of PHP programming, geo-targeting and creative solutions, you can maximize your affiliate earnings.

  10. How To Squeeze More Income Out Of Your Blog – Ryan CaldwellTakeaway:

    The basic way to monetize your site is through a couple of ads on it, but if you plan things ahead and think in terms of monetizable ‘regions’ and ‘sections’ instead of one ‘blog’, it will change things completely.

  11. Make Money from Projects You Don’t Have Time For – Ahmed BilalTakeaway:

    For most ideas, if you don’t have time today you won’t have time tomorrow either. Few things make you stand up and say that Yes, this is what I want to do more than anything else. If a project doesn’t appeal to you in that way and you’re ready to shelve it, take a couple of days out and work on it, maybe you’ll be able profit from it AND help others benefit from your ideas as well.

  12. Affiliate Marketing Q&A (Part One) – David WilkinsonTakeaway:

    When it comes to making money on the Internet, or more specifically with a blog, there are simply so many options out there, it can be a little overwhelming for someone starting out, trying to earn a living through blogging or through creating a website community. One of the highest paying and easiest to use ways to make money is with affiliate programs. Affiliate Marketing is a lot simpler than the blogging and marketing ‘gurus’ would like you to think, and I whipped up a questions and answers blog post, highlighting a conversation I had with a client a few weeks back.

  13. The AdSense Placement Thread – Ryan CaldwellTakeaway:

    A thread giving site-specific adsense placement advice to Performancing members.

  14. How to Show Ads Between Posts on your Blog – Ahmed BilalTakeaway:

    This article will show you how to place AdSense code (or any other ads) between posts on your WordPress blog’s main page – the same approach can be used to place ad blocks in your archive pages (including category and author archives).

  15. $100 / day on AdSense – 7 things I’ve learned – Ryan CaldwellTakeaway:

    A simple, easy-to-follow formula for making $100 / day in Google AdSense.

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  1. Professional Blog Software Reviews – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    Chris looks at a bunch of different blogging software packages and grades them – each review gets a full article of its own. In the end, Chris shares his findings.

  2. Blog Stats Software Reviews – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    A detailed look at the top blog stats packages available.

  1. Choosing a Niche – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    Choosing a niche is an important first task in starting a professional blog, it impacts everything else you do and is a very important factor in whether you are a success or not.

  2. Qualifying your Niche – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    Once you have a good list of topics to choose from (using the previous article), it’s time to evaluate their potential. Chris gives an exhaustive overview of how to do this.

  3. Blogging Mistakes: Launching an Empty Shell – Nick WilsonTakeaway:

    Announcing a new blog, when that blog has little or no content, has got to be one of the most moronic things I see in the blogosphere.

    At the end of the day, it’s all about trust, and perception of value. If i see a one liner announcing a new blog, and find an empty shell when i get there, am i going to invest in an RSS subscription?

    The hell I am…

    Not Shakespeare, but perhaps one of the the best pieces of advice on blog launches that you will find

  4. How To: Launch a New Blog the Easy Way – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    The key is to stick at it. You might not know when you are near your blog tipping point. It could be a milestone like the 1000 post mark, it could be the 6 months mark. It usually takes a good few weeks to just get into Google’s index properly, sometimes longer to rank depending on your niche.

  5. Planning a New Blog Venture – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    Before you run headlong into posting lots of lovely content to your blog it is useful to take a step back and think about how you are going to organise one or two things. Some small adjustments now could make a world of difference later.

  6. Planning a new blog? Get Started Already! – Ahmed BilalTakeaway:

    Get things out of the door fast and start applying your ideas, and as a result you’ll solve those pesky unforeseen problems early, and overall, get things done today as opposed to think about doing them tomorrow.

  7. 7 Steps to Launching a Great Blog – Ahmed BilalTakeaway:

    You don’t need to have thousands of dollars to make a big splash with your new blog – the alternative, a momentum-building bootstrapping approach, is just as effective.

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The practicing of buying and selling blogs, for fun and for profit.

  1. 3 Keys to Buying A Blog – Ahmed BilalTakeaway:

    You need to focus on Time, Money and the Exits. If you don’t have the time, don’t jump in. If the site isn’t making money, don’t pay that much for it.

    And if you don’t have an exit strategy – good lord, what the hell are you going to do when you have to cash in?

  2. How to Sell Your Blog in 3 Easy Steps – Ahmed BilalTakeaway:

    Selling a blog may seem a daunting task, but it doesn’t need to be so difficult or stressing. Perhaps what you need is the right system to assist you in selling your blog.

  3. The Blog Valuation Manual – Ahmed BilalTakeaway:

    A discussion on which factors to consider when putting a price on any blog.

  4. 7 Steps to a Profitable Blog Exit Strategy – Ahmed BilalTakeaway:

    The beauty of preparing for exit is that once it focuses you to develop a business model that is efficient, has optimal monetization and is capable of running without you being involved in day-to-day decisions.

    While preparing for your exit, you’ll also have built a hands-off, self-reliant, stable and automated business.

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  1. A better structure for blog networks – Nick WilsonTakeaway:

    One thing strikes me every time I look at a network: There is room for much improvement in structure.

  2. Do you have what it takes to be a Blog Overlord? – Andy HagansTakeaway:

    Are you good at this stuff, but just don’t have the will to write every day for the next year? Then maybe you need to skip the blogging itself — perhaps you’re cut out to be a blog overlord.

  3. Time for Team Blogging – Chris GarrettTakeaway:

    This says to me that as professional blogging matures there will be more and more team blogs. Blogs will become more akin to online magazines than online diaries. Note I say “team blogs” rather than “multi-author” blogs. While these blogs might well have multiple authors, the distinction I make is there will be essential team members who do not post.

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  1. Optimal Meta Description Tag Code for WordPress – Ryan CaldwellTakeaway:

    Meta descriptions are important for page differentiation and improving CTR from SERPs. Here’s how to get them right in WordPress.

  2. Optimal Title Tag Code for WordPress – Ryan CaldwellTakeaway:

    HTML title tags are, arguably, the single most important SEO ranking factor. Here’s how to get them right in WordPress.

  3. 10 Things You Must Know About WordPress Themes – Nathan RiceTakeaway:

    Looking back at the code of my first attempt at a WordPress theme, I can easily see that without a proper understanding of WordPress theme template files and template tags, it can be a frustrating project to undertake. And although I am a HUGE fan of learning as you go, I wanted to share a few secrets that might save you a headache or two along the way.

  4. What Makes A WordPress Theme Great – Ahmed BilalTakeaway:

    Designing a general-purpose theme is hard than one focused towards a specific audience. It’s easier to plan the layout of a theme for a photoblog or a car blog than it is to plan the layout of a theme that could be used in a thousand different ways. You have to allow for the design to be immensely flexible and at the same time include the basic elements that would be needed by and be useful to everyone who takes your theme for a spin.

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  1. Why Bloggers Don’t Need SEO – Nick WilsonTakeaway:

    For the most part, bloggers just shouldn’t be worrying about SEO.

    That doesn’t mean that your pages shouldn’t be Search engine friendly, or that you shouldn’t use good anchor-text when linking out. It doesn’t mean that actively promoting your blog to other blogs in your topic area isn’t a good idea. What it does mean, is that bloggers shouldn’t be worrying about shitty directory listings, useless reciprocal link schemes or any of these “snake oil” ranking recipes.

  2. Why Bloggers Need SEO – Ahmed BilalTakeaway:

    Bloggers need SEO because it offers a single system for managing your blog’s marketing. It’s a set of guidelines and tools that will push to be a better marketer, a better writer and a better webmaster.

  3. The Only SEO Graph That Matters – Ryan CaldwellTakeaway:

    I thought I’d try to refocus all the SEOs out there on the only thing that truly matters in SEO: search referral growth. It’s plain and simple. The ultimate goal of SEO should be to increase search referrals. This is often lost on those who focus their SEO efforts completely on building PageRank.

  4. 7 Quick Observations About Linkage – Ryan CaldwellTakeaway:

    A recipe for quick linkbuilding success (in terms of SERPS not PageRank) consists of getting about 10 main page links (within fresh content…not old, retrofitted content), 20 deep-links, and participating in the comments section of 5-10 thematically related blogs.

back to the top.

Last updated: Sunday 2nd September 2007

3 Steps For Writing Good Blog Posts

Thord (he of Swedish descent and bearing a reputation for ‘crack’ design skills) writes about the two most important skills a blogger can have.

#2 is knowing how to blow your own horn (‘toot’ is so politically correct it gives me a shiver). Thord discusses it in some detail, and I like this part best:

Some of us have some kind of roadblock built in that stops us from promoting ourselves. Get over it. Or get run over.

The #1 skill Thord talks about is knowing how to write good blog posts. Seeing as how T left the door open there, here’s my two (or three) cents on how one may go about writing ‘good’ blog posts.

Like all good 3 step lists, this one is a model of simplicity:

  1. Define what ‘good’ is – use concrete measurements instead of an arbitrary feel-good factor
  2. Learn how to achieve the results defined above
  3. Execute (and then some).

If it was as easy as writing it above, no blog consultant would have a job. As things stand, there’s a lot more to it under the surface although as I’ve discussed below, once you internalise this formula (or you start writing for a blog that gets tons of traffic) it becomes effortless.

So let’s get started with step 1 – defining what a ‘good’ blog post is.

Step 1: Set Standards for ‘Good’ Blog Posts

‘Good’ is an arbitrary, unclear objective. One man’s ‘good’ is another man’s masterpiece, while the rest of the population may consider it absolutely crap. You need a precise measurement of what a good blog post is, and for this you will need to know your blog’s key objectives (and your role in achieving them).

Different blogs measure success in different ways. An established celeb gossip blogger would judge success in terms of sheer traffic / long-term search rankings a post brings. A budding car blogger could measure success in terms of the links a post gets. Someone writing on a sports blog geared towards building a strong community could measure success in terms of the # of comments each article generates.

And while we’re at it, there’s also a difference in scale – Seth Godin receives a minimum of 10-20 links for each post that he writes. His baseline for a ‘good’ post would be far higher than for the owner of a newly-launched blog who’d consider 5 links to be a home run.

If you own your blog, then you’re likely to have several different objectives that define success. Comments, Traffic / Pageviews, Links, RSS Subscriptions and Search Rankings are the most common, but you may have something different based on your specific situation. It’s a good thing to have different objectives – it gives you space to write different types of posts and be successful as opposed to doing the same thing over and over again.

If you are blogging for hire / guest blogging, you will most likely have a brief or some instructions on what the blog owner wants from you (you should ask if you’re not told). For example, for one of my blogs I tell my writers that they have to meet one of 3 objectives with each post – get X number of comments, Y amount of traffic or Z number of links.

Set out your stall in terms of the objectives you want to reach, and then attach concrete values on them. You can get a good idea for what values to use if you look at your blog’s recent history and pick out the most successful posts (according to different objectives). For a new blog, you’ll probably have to set a conservative number and then readjust as you go along.

Step 2: Learn How To Achieve Each Objective

Do you know how to get more comments to your posts? Do you know how to write posts that attract links?

This step is perhaps the easiest of all 3. There is tons and TONS of blogging advice on the Internet (the fastest way to get started is to head over to the Best of Performancing page), it’s only a matter of finding the right information and using it.

Want more RSS subscribers? Got them here and here. Want better search engine rankings? Got that too.

For any objective that you set yourself in Step 1, you’re likely to find quality, executable advice for achieving that objective on the Internet. And here’s an open offer – if you don’t find it on the Best of Performancing page or by searching through Google, drop a line in the comments and I’ll hunt it down (or write it up) for you.

Step 3: Follow the Formula

In Step 1, you defined your goals. In Step 2, you figured out how to get there. Now all you have to do is connect the dots. It’s as easy as it sounds, but there are a few things you should be aware of at the start:

  • A good blog post is mediocre on a poor blog, fabulous on a good blog. Learn how to build a kick-ass blog.

  • You’ll probably need to revise the targets set in Step 1 soon after starting on this path. That’s ok, don’t fret – if you’re going in the right direction, you’ll only be revising them upwards.

  • Being a good blogger means building a skill-set. Build your skills, and you’ll have less difficulty in writing good blog posts.

  • You’ll probably fail miserably in the beginning, or hit a home run and then tank. Whenever you hit your first ‘valley’, don’t give up – that valley is designed by nature to weed out 90% of the ‘cant-hack-it’ folks from the mix. Once you’re able to push through and rise again, you’ll not only be a better blogger but you’ll also be better than most (90%+) other bloggers out there.

  • Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to follow the rules. In this case, following the formula works for a reason. Innovate if you have room for error, play it safe when you don’t (unless you’re feeling lucky 🙂 )

So there you have it. Three simple steps to write ‘good’ blog posts. These require some work at the start but once you’ve internalised Step 2 (through practice, experience, research and judicious use of bookmarks), it’s simply a matter of picking a target and applying the formula.

At this stage, you might say:

“Ok, so I know how to do all this, but what do I write about?”

Well, I’ve got you covered there as well.

What Do I Write About?

Here are a list of posts that I feel can solve any and all of your blogger’s block problems. Seriously.

And since we’re talking about setting objectives and meeting them, I’d appreciate it if you guys could bookmark this post in del.icio.us or give it a good Stumble. Thank you.

Blogging What You Know

How true is it that you need to be an expert before you can write a blog?

Most of the time when we talk about people starting a blog we discuss the topic of passion and making sure you can stick with it for the long haul. Knowledge of the topic is not always given much weight.

Controversially I hold the opinion that you do NOT need necessarily to be an expert in what you are writing about. Shock! Heresy!

Keep with me, I shall explain.

Freelance writers often do not come to a topic they are expected to write about fully equipped with all the knowledge required. This is why research was invented. So there is a precedent.

Yes, you will have a far easier time of it if you already know your topic inside out. My friend Yoav who I blog with on the Codswallop blog routinely writes linkbait that would take me ages to put together, such as this 70+ strong Excel tips and resource list. That’s because he is an Excel expert, and you would expect him to be as his most popular product is a PDF to Excel converter! I by contrast am not by any means an expert on Excel so I blog about everything but. Mostly my opinions on all things tech.

I find if you really love a topic then passion and knowledge are often found together. If you have ever spent time with an obsessive sports geek you will understand how even the most otherwise dimwitted individuals can store an encyclopedias worth of stats, facts and history.

If you only stick to what you have already have done, what you absolutely know, when will you ever do something new? You can break new ground and share the new experience just as well as you can share past experiences if you are flexible in the way you do it.

It’s no different in business. There were many times in my career that I had to present to clients ideas that I had less than 100% confidence would work. My first ever email campaign was for Coca-Cola. You can imagine how nervous I was. The client and the agency I worked for were both banking on me knowing how to pull it off. Where I couldn’t point to past successes I would tell them so, but back up the strategy I was recommending with well researched rationale. You don’t always have to have done something before in order to be a success, you just have to alter your approach and be honest about what you are doing.

If you are not an expert then you can still write about a subject. What matters is how you deliver the topic. Do you go in and try to fake it, or do you honestly represent the information based on your own research and experience? It’s the difference between authenticity and fraud.

When you can not refer to past experience you can say “I just discovered this” or “This is what I am trying right now”. There is still useful information for readers, you are simply not trying to imply any expert status.

One of my favorite blogs about blogging is The Blogging Experiment. Rather than say “this is how it is done” the blog is like a journal of trials and tribulations of building a blog. Ben writes honestly, with a warts and all attitude. He shares what works and what does not so you can follow his progress.

Perhaps this is a model you could follow?

How-To Create A Nice User Profile On Performancing.com

You are a registered user at performancing.com and you don’t have a nice profile page? What a shame!

Create your personal profile page on performancing.com!

Basically your profile is an HTML page stored in the performancing.com database. Because of the HTML nature of your profile it is very easy to create a profile page to promote you as blogger, your websites and feeds.

Let’s talk about structure, content and personality and how-to embed those facts into your profile.

Where is your profile?

  1. Go to ‘My account‘ in the sidebar on the right side
  2. Choose the ‘Edit‘ tab on top of the page
  3. Choose the sub-menu ‘professional details‘
  4. The form ‘Bio‘ is the one where you will edit or better paste into your profile info.

Open the HTML editor of your choice…

Profile structure

Create an outline of your individual paragraphs. You don’t have to put in everything at once. Your profile page is a living project. You should have a look at it from time to time to add or delete information.

  • Introduction – You should have a short introduction because your profile page will be listed in the search engines. 1st time visitors need an introduction about the landing page.
  • Show off – Sub paragraphs could be ‘What others said about me’ and ‘Work examples’.
  • What do you offer – Pretty self explaining.
  • What do you look for – Pretty self explaining.
  • Your biography – Show off your personality. Make yourself known.
  • Your network – Let people know how and where to reach you. Add links to your other social network profiles.
  • Contact – How to contact you.
  • Thank You – Tell readers at the end of your performancing.com profile page that you appreciate their visit. Call for action like ‘get in contact with me’ or something similar.
  • Status – I think it is a good idea to let people know when the profile was last updated.

Profile content

  • Use your feeds promotion buttons (i.e. from FeedBurner) to show off actual content.
  • Use your pictures to add some color.
  • Create lists wherever possible. This will enhance the reception. Readers don’t want to read long paragraphs. Make it short.

Make sure to see your performancing.com profile page as another website of yours and periodically check the content for improvements!

Hints

  • Join the lines – If you get unexpected results when pasting the source code from your HTML editor into the ‘Bio’ form then compress the code in a text editor before pasting it.
  • Don’t get too fancy – Basic HTML is allowed but no JavaScript. Don’t overdo the HTML wizardry. Don’t clutter the profile page with too many whistles and bells.
  • Behave nicely – Your profile page is hosted at performancing.com. Follow the performancing.com member guideline.

Personality

  • Add some color and personal information. Let it be fun to read your profile. Some personal comments will enhance the profile and make sure that readers see the person behind the page.
  • Use dynamic content which updates itself. I.e. I use my Facebook badge and the FeedBurner promotion badges.

Promotion

Do some classical SEO stuff just to make your performancing.com profile page known to the search engines. Don’t overdo it but make sure that your performancing.com profile page is indexed. The basics:

  • Submit your performancing.com profile page to all the search engines and/or directories where you think it should be found.
  • Link to your performancing.com profile page from a couple of sites.
  • Post your performancing.com profile page to your social networks.
  • Put a link to your performancing.com profile page into your forum signatures.

Remember: Your profile page is a living project. Just start!

3 Ways to Immediately Improve Your Networking Skills

Promoting websites online, just like in the offline world, is about finding the right people with the right resources and having them help you get the word out. By yourself, you are nowhere near as effective as when you have a network of contacts and friends working together to help you promote your new venture.

Social NetworkHow do we do this? There are three key steps:

  1. Building the network

  2. Making the right contacts

  3. Leveraging the network

This article discusses the above topics and shows you how to build a network of contacts you can use to get more traffic to your website. That’s not the only purpose of such a network – you can use a network in various ways – community intelligence, resource pool, business opportunities, and much more.

In short, if you want to learn how to build your social network of contacts, this article is for you. Read on…

The Big Networking Secret: It’s Easy

Now before we get to the list (I don’t mind if you scroll down, but this next bit sets the foundation for it), let me explain what I mean by “it’s easy“: using your personal social network to promote your website is quite difficult if you don’t have many contacts / the right contacts – saying that social networking doesn’t work because you don’t have influential people on your list is a cop-out. Similarly, you cannot expect to build a list of A-list contacts overnight – building a network of useful contacts takes time; relationships are cultivated and trust is built through reciprocal actions over time.

So what’s easy about it? If you remove the unrealistic expectations and instead focus on the basic principles that can help you build large, influential social networks over time, you’ll find that it’s a relatively simple and straightforward process.

Networking is as easy as making new friends. If you can make new friends, then you can network. But making new friends does take work. So it’s not magic.

At any time, you’ll find successful entrepreneurs using the help of their contacts and friends to launch ventures with brilliant success – there is a method behind this ‘magical’ approach, and you don’t need to buy a $999 course to teach you this method.

The right advice (say, something like this article you’re reading), some common sense (use your own judgment or just ask for help) and concentrated action and commitment will get you more than what an expensive course can teach you.

Alright then – with that out of the way, it’s time to get to the list.

1. Make New Friends By Helping Others

The basis of an effective social network is a steady stream of new contacts – a network doesn’t have any impact unless there are enough people to make a difference.

The habit of making new friends and helping others out without asking for anything upfront is one that takes time to cultivate and your adoption of this habit depends on how you treat others. If you’re naturally outgoing, you’ll find it easier to get in touch with and contact new people. If you don’t have any hangups towards helping others for free, then you’ll be one step ahead when it comes to sowing the seeds of a new relationship.

Find New Friends

This step will stump you but in fact it’s the easiest of them all – simply flock to those places where people of similar interests are hanging out, and make a point to participate in the general discussion. An example of such a place is Performancing, where I and many others have flocked to over the years, gradually become a part of the community and now find new opportunities each day.

The leading blogs in your niche are a good way to get started. Forums (for networking) are a personal favourite because of the amazing returns although they require more commitment and personal involvement to make it work.

Also, remember that in such new communities you’ll find avenues towards other communities as well – it pays to pick and choose those communities where you can find the right balance between value, investment and fun (it doesn’t HAVE to be a chore, you know).

Help Others

Make it a point to provide helpful information / advice / support to at least one person each day. This is a major stumbling block for people because of the personal investment this requires but once you realise multiplier effect that’s attached to each ‘effort’ of yours, you’ll be surprised at why more people aren’t doing this.

Just help others. Quite often you’ll hear people voicing their problems / concerns in public forums / communities that you’ll be frequenting – if it takes a few minutes of your time to point them in the right direction, do it right there and then.

Invest in others. As they grow and build up their resources and their own networks, your own network will be growing as well thanks to their efforts.

It’s also worth pointing out that extra attention (bordering on stalking / invasion of personal privacy) will freak people out, so if you just *love* to help people, you might want to tone things down a bit.

2. Selective Networking: Kiss Ass

Ryan explains this far better than I can in his article, so let’s listen to what he has to say:

I call it selective (back)networking and here’s the idea: the internet is just like any other human network. There are hierarchies of authority. If you want to be successful, you need to move up the hierarchy.

…

The key to building a (back)network is to intentionally and selectively seek out people who 1) have power and leverage 2) are smart and capable and 3) are fair in their online relationships. By building up a social “backbone” of good friends in high-places, you’ll be able to execute your plans a lot faster, realize profit a lot quicker, and avoid burn-out a lot easier (ten shoulders are better than one).

“But Ryan Caldwell, you’re already successful. What about those of us who are just getting started?”

Suck up and kiss ass.

That’s it. That’s how you get into my good graces. Start doing me favors and I’ll send some love your way. Ask me to do you a favor before you’ve proven your worthiness to me, and I’ll ignore you. Completely and utterly ignore you. But if you’ve got something to offer me, something that I truly benefit from…then you’ve got a friend.

This isn’t easy advice to follow – especially if you’ve skipped step 1, where you adopt the mindset of making new friends and helping people. On the other hand, once you realise the value that networking brings to you, the natural progression is to go after the right contacts.

Identify Powerful Contacts

Why do you think people bend over backwards when it comes to internet celebrities like John Chow and Matt Cutts? These people have an influential, authoritative voice in the blogosphere. When they talk, people listen. When they point, people follow.

Your end game is to have people like these on your side, so that they point to you and people (and traffic and revenue) start flowing in your direction.

Identify the powerful contacts in your niche (and in niches related to it) – then figure out how to get in their good books.

Make Yourself Valuable First

As Ryan says, you have to prove your own value to people who are vastly more influential than you – this translates into building your own online worth by playing with the smaller fish first. It’s a step-by-step process – you won’t shoot for Darren Rowse if you can’t get into Deb‘s good books, so work your way up the ladder by gathering momentum.

Chris Garrett’s excellent article on ‘Positioning’ is a good intro into how to make yourself and your website more valuable.

3. Learn and Practice the Art of Following Up

It’s one of those things that you learn from experience, although recently a friend (and new influential contact) Steve Amoia drove this point home when we were talking about building a network of contacts in the footballing world.

The basic idea is this: every time you ask your network (or a contact) for their help, follow up by thanking them for their input, giving them as much credit as possible and by reciprocating the favor when asked for. If you want to by cynical about it, then consider that people don’t mind helping as long as they see a benefit in it – whether it’s the other person stoking their ego or a reciprocation of that favor or even a monetary benefit.

Learn what your contacts value and when following up, reciprocate in a way that they will appreciate the most.

And to borrow from Nick’s excellent “increase search engine traffic” article:

Be generous – if you respect your network, and work hard to be part of the community surrounding your topic, the rewards can really pay off — never abuse it, it tends to backfire in all kinds of horrible ways.

Wrapping Up

Online marketing is about people and long-term results, not about algorithms or short-term gains. If you start investing in your social network now, you’ll reap the benefits many times over in the future.