Internet Jack of All Trades

Posts in category Blogging

How to properly request to write a guest blog entry.

Oct25
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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
    Post-it notes

    Image via Wikipedia

    Get the name of the guy/gal writing the blog. If the blog has multiple authors, look for the chief editor.

  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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. 
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta
Tagged , , ,

Why you DO NOT BLOG for SEO.

Aug29
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?

 

 

 

 

Posted in Content - Tagged , , ,

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

Aug24
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.

Tagged , , ,

Summarizing your blog with one sentence in 3 easy steps

Aug21
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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.)
  3. 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?

Posted in Content - Tagged , , ,

#blogchat Guest Blogger Survey Results

Jun13
2011 Leave a Comment Written by James Dabbagian

About 40 minutes into today’s #blogchat, I got the interesting idea to run a survey on what people thought of guest blogging. With the blessing of chat owner Mack Collier, I slapped together a small survey in only 10 minutes, and started spreading it out to my fellow twitterheads. What follows are the results.

The Skinny

Amount of Questions: 6

Respondents: 11 (Pretty good for a first start)

Content: All but 1 question had options ranging from “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly disagree” with a “Cannot say/don’t know” option. the final question rated guest blogging from 1-5 (5 being best.

NOTE: While there is minimal math in this (Probably less than there should be,) it does get technical below. If you want the end product, check the Discussion below.

The Results

An overwhelming majority feel that Guest blogging is a good thing overall, with a tie of 45% for both Strong and regular agreement. The same goes with the idea that guest blogging helps the person doing the actual guest post. However, although the majority of respondents felt that guest blogging was beneficial to the guest poster (64%) only 36% were adamant supporters of the fact.

Results were more mixed when it came to people being more likely to bring in guest bloggers. 44% of respondents indicated they would be very likely to include guest bloggers, while 22% of respondents were still likely to take in guest posts, but were unsure. 22% reported they were completely unsure or didn’t know.

Similarly, while a majority of participants (44%) felt a guest post was overall good for a blog, there were those that were unsure but still thought it somewhat a good idea (22%)

The general consensus of participants was also that guest blogging was beneficial to the blog owner as well. (36% strongly agree, 55% agree) with one respondent somewhat agreeing.

55% of respondents reported they thought the idea of guest blogging was “Good,” with 36% considering it an “Excellent” idea.

Discussion

At the end of the day, it seems pretty clear that everyone likes the idea of guest blogging. Although there is some uncertainty to allowing it, there’s no clear sense of negativity anywhere concerning it. While I probably could have boosted the umph of the survey (I wanted 10 questions instead of 6.) But that’s something I can do for another time.

I’m amazed there wasn’t anyone against it. I definitely saw some dissention in #blogchat on Guest blogging. But then again, this is probably something I need to plan for in the future.

I do want to continue to do this, and I might turn this into a paid service once I get the calculations sorted out (May need to consult some old professors of mine…) If any other chat owner wants something like this, drop me a line.

See the raw results here.

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta
Posted in Social media, Twitter - Tagged , , ,

Teach your community: Five ways to help the Blogosphere evolve by being a mentor

Jun04
2011 1 Comment Written by James Dabbagian

Rule #1 of being a blogger: It doesn’t matter whether you’re on the A-list or the Z-list, we’re all in the same Goodship Bloggypop. That being said, even the best of the best can learn quite a few things from those just starting their blogging adventure, and the opposite is obviously true too. But, if you’ve got something you can help with, it doesn’t matter how many subscribers you’ve got: You’ve got something that might just work.

With that, here’s a few things you can do to establish yourself as a mentor, and possibly even a guru.

1. Write a Guest Post

It’s important to get your name out there in the Blogosphere. One of the best ways to do that is to offer to guest write for a few blogs. Propose something that’s within your specialty, and write about it. The more you write, the more you will be seen as a specialist in that field. You’ll also get more references and recommendations from the people you work under as well.

2. Offer a free service to other bloggers

If you’re just starting out in SEO, or any other blogging service, offer your fellow bloggers a free sample of your work. Don’t get into anything big, but just enough to show the person you’re capable of providing good service. Perhaps you can offer to optimize a few blog entries for a search engine, or create a small linklist for the person. It’s enough to show you can definitely coach the blogger with your particular specialty.

3. Comment on other blogs about concepts relating to you

Nothing says guru/not-guru like the comments you leave on other blogs. When bloggers talk about your niche, definitely chime in on your thoughts. However, please make sure you don’t look like an arrogant Know-It-All. It just makes you look like an idiot, and nobody will want to work with you. Instead, just say your opinion of the matter, and leave it.

4. Write a free report/ebook on the matter.

Obviously, I’m not the first one to suggest this, as Yavo Starak, who is marketing himself as a blog mentor, created an ebook to sell his Blog Mastermind service to other bloggers. However, an eBook would show the world just how good you are in your niche.

5. Answer questions on sites like LinkedIn, Quora and Metafilter

There’s an awful lot of questions out there, and you can certainly answer them. If you’re on LinkedIn, partake in the question and answer section and answer a few questions. On Metafilter, answer several questions related to your niche, and you might just get some influence on the internets. Lately, the new service Quora has allowed people to link answers to their blogs and social networks, and lets others follow you. It’s basically Twitter meets Answerbag.

Questions for you (Feel free to reply in the comments)

  • What tips do you have on being a mentor to your community?
  • Where do you think your niche would best work?
  • What ways can you show the world that you’re the best in your business?
  • How do you approach the concept of being a mentor?

Is the Social Media Bubble about to burst? YES.

May29
2011 Leave a Comment Written by James Dabbagian

Late last year, content mill/media congolomerate Demand Media (DMD) went public and had its IPO. Afterwards, other companies such as LinkedIn (LKND) followed, with others such as Groupon and LivingSocial are still planning theirs. I also might add that Demand isn’t doing as well as investors hoped.

Problem is that these companies are being announced at prices far higher than they make profit , with LinkedIn alone being priced at 45 times the amount of its revenue, and Twitter 50 times its revenue…talk about speeding past the guardian angel.

As this trend seems to continue to spread, there’s talk of a bubble. THAT bubble. You know, the one that took out so many Dotcomcorps back in 2000-2001? The argument that people are spending more than they should on these companies, and they they will eventually fail.

People are wondering if this is really a problem or not. Well, let me just say this…

This is a bubble, and it

WILL

EVENTUALLY

BURST.

I’m sure there’s social media pundits across the world who’ll call me a cynic/pessimist/negative nancy, etc (all forgetting that the negative person exists to tell them that jumping off cliffs will probably kill them) in saying this, but somebody needs to say this. When you spend more money on something than its worth, chances are it won’t deliver. Most of these companies have no idea how to monetize. I wonder if they even have a plan.

As we saw with the last bubble, only a few companies will survive. I fear, however, that this time the people that will suffer are the masses who refer to themselves as Social Media Consultants/Ninjas/Rockstars/Titans/Sultans/Gurus..Or Any other else Social Media titles me and Jason Sem come up with in the next year or so.

We brought this on ourselves. With everyone and their mother calling themselves a social media rockstar, supply ended up overwhelming demand. When that happens…well, you saw what happened with the housing in 2008.

Honestly, I’m going to start figuring out how to build up my know-how in general marketing, as well as try to figure out something else. I don’t think the Social Media gravy train is long for this world.

Posted in Social media - Tagged , , ,

Death by repetition: Other ways to say “Make Money Online”

May10
2011 Leave a Comment Written by James Dabbagian

I get really annoyed with the words “Make Money Online.” It seems like the words “make money online” have been spreading like a drunken computer virus out to beat on everything in sight, all in the hopes of making Google’s #1 page result for “make money online.”

NOTE: Because I don’t want to be accused of being a hypocrite, “Make Money Online”  will hereafter be referred to as ”MMO” for this entry. I apologize in advance if I mislead you here thinking there were ways to MMO.

Yeah, Yeah, Keywords, SEO and all that shit, but listen up: The keyword MMO will be something that will eternally be fought over on that battleground between the Blogosphere and the Internets known only as The Google. Do you have any idea how many Blogging Contests have involved a backlink saying MMO on it. MMO is such a popular anchor text that there will be a near-constant struggle to get top spot on Google.

So, what are you supposed to do? Well, for starters, you don’t have to say MMO. There are plenty of ways to say you can MMO. Here are just a few ways:

  • Make Income on the Internet
  • Earn Income Online
  • Get Cash on the Internet
  • Get Cash Online
  • Internet Income
  • Extra Income on the Internet

Be Creative! All you really need is a thesaurus, and you’re set! If you use your imagination, while everyone else is trying to conquer MMO, you’ve gone and conquered every other way to say MMO!

Posted in Content

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

May09
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!

Share This

Topics: Monetizing, Bloghacks, Professional Blogging | No Comments »

Posted in Social media - Tagged ,

How to run a blogging contest

May07
2011 Leave a Comment Written by James Dabbagian

Looking at all of the sites that want to rip off Contest Blogger for a blog contest website, I’d say it was fair to assume that blogging contests are taking off. However, it seems that as this new phenomenon takes off, it comes with a few morons that want to ruin it all, primarily people trying to scam bloggers out of a backlink, such as Ashwin Khanna, or Dax Desai, who lied about his Feedburner numbers.

Ergo, it’s important to establish yourself credibly when running your own contest, so I offer these simple guidelines….

Establish a prize

This may seem obvious, but most bloggers believe that they have to pull a John Chow and flaunt some LCD monitor or TV to get their contest noticed. Not really. Basically, a contest prize could be anything from a bucket of snails to a house…just pick something you think your audience would like to win.

Establish a deadline

One of the reasons why Khanna was suspect in the beginning was that he didn’t supply a deadline. The deadline tells people when the contest will end, and when the winner will be drawn. You can set it to anything, just make sure people don’t forget. Also, it’s ok to extend the deadline, but only if something related to the contest or your personal life occurs (Such as lack of entries, death of a family member, etc)

Make people do something for an entry

Remember that you’re doing your readers a favor for putting an item up for sweepstakes, and maybe they can do something for you to enter. Some suggestions for what readers can do include:

  • Posting a comment
  • Subscribing to your feed
  • Hitting up Digg, StumbleUpon, etc
  • Faving you on Technorati
  • Making a post on their blog
  • Reviewing their blog
  • Linking to your blog
  • “Liking” your page on Facebook
  • Retweeting a blog comment or advert

Don’t try to hold a raffle/lottery. Federal regulations state that only charities and/or state and federal organizations can do that. However, if you state that all proceeds of the raffle will go to a charity, then it’s probably legal, so long as you make due on your promise. (Do not take my advice on this, I am not a lawyer. If you are in doubt, talk to an attorney.)

Advertise the contest

Go advertising! Get your contest on Digg, Reddit, Technorati, etc. Submit your contest to sites like Contest Blogger or The Prize Blog, anything to get that out there! Kinda stupid if people don’t enter your contest because they don’t know about it. If your blog has a Facebook page, employ it!

DELIVER ON THE PRIZE!!!!!

This is the most important thing of all…your cred as a blogger depends solely on how you fulfill your sweepstakes. If you’re quick, you will be lauded. If you pull an Ashwin, you’re more then likely going to be blacklisted in the blogosphere, regardless of how much Technorati you flaunt because of it. (There’s a special place in Blogger Hell for you, Ashwin, in case you haven’t noticed…)

Just remember, don’t go to crazy with your contests, and only work what you are able to do, and nothing more.

(This was previously posted on the first incarnation of JTDabbagian.com two years ago. It has been salvaged for your knowledge. Ashwin Khanna can still F-off as far as I’m concerned. )

Tagged , , ,

Follow me on your favorite network!

Sign up for my Email List

Sign up to get immediate notifications of my posts!

FBF ▪ Powered by ®Google Feedburner

Sponsored Links

Switch to our mobile site