“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” – Alice
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.” – Cheshire Cat
“I don’t much care where …” – Alice
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.” – Cheshire Cat

Is most of what you’re doing online pointless?

I had the incredible opportunity to join several of my close friends on a group phone call today. We talked about online marketing strategy and the difference between building a blog/website and building a business.

There was a special synergy that brought at least one of the participants to tears (in a good way).

That call got me thinking about the relative pointlessness or meaningfulness of each marketing activity I do online to promote my consulting business.

These three words were pounded into my brain.

What’s the point?

Do you always ask that question about every aspect of your Web marketing? I know I don’t. I should, but I’m as guilty as you probably are.

In other words, “Why am I doing this instead of not doing it? Why this and not something else? What is it about this activity that is meant to lead my business to success as quickly and efficiently as possible?”

If you can’t honestly think of a point to each marketing effort that clearly addresses your company’s long-term success, should you really keep doing that thing?

What’s the point of what you just spent the last minute/hour/day/week/month/year doing on the Web to promote your business/product/service/event/cause?

What’s the point of each link on your blog/website? What’s the point of your last blog post? What’s the point of all your Twittering?

If you don’t really know, then there’s not much point, is there?

How can you make sure that each online marketing activity you do has a point?

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How can I help you?

That’s it. I just want you to tell me what I, Easton Ellsworth, could do for you. And I promise to do my best to do it.

I’d especially love it if you told me your burning desires related to blogging and social media, of course. But I’ve left my question open-ended so if you really just want me to fix your toilet or sing you a song, I suppose that works, too.

Three randomly selected people who answer the question above by midnight U.S. Eastern time at the end of Friday, January 9 will win a free blog consulting package worth $250 USD including:

• A free 130-point blog inspection in which I scour every inch of your blog for possible areas of improvement and give you my best recommendations (PDF format, $125 value)
• A video screencast in which I visit your blog and give you advice on how to improve your blog ($50 value)
• A free 30-minute blog consultation by phone with me in which we’ll go over your inspection and screencast and talk about a winning strategy for your blog ($75 value)

Winners will receive everything in the prize package by the end of January 2009.

Why Enter to Win $250 Worth of Social Media/Blog Consulting Help?

I can think of a few good reasons why you might enter this contest:

• You want Visionary Blogging to become even more useful to you in 2009.
• Your blog and social media strategy could use a once-over by someone who spends all day obsessing about that sort of thing (me).
• It’s easy and free to enter.
• You like winning things.

How to Enter

Just answer my question above in the next … 30-ish hours. You can:

• Leave a comment at the bottom of this post
• Call me at +1.970.372.6630
• Talk to me on Twitter (@easton)
• Talk to me on Skype (easton_ellsworth)
• Email me
• Yell really, really loudly.

I’ll announce the winners here on Wednesday, January 14.

If all goes well here, I hope to do similar contests or giveaways here in the future. Which is another great reason to subscribe now.

Thanks and good luck! I look forward to receiving your answers.

Stay tuned – tomorrow I’ll have several top-notch blog improvement and blogging strategy links for you right here.

So … how can I help you?

image by faith goble

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Yesterday I answered the question, “Where is your blog community?”

It’s in the mind.

But minds scatter online attention across vast fields of URLs.

Which is why, for example, it’s not uncommon for your Twitter account to sparkle while your blog gathers dust or vice versa.

It’s not enough to just get more “friends” or “followers” or commenters in a dozen different places.

You’ve gotta unify the fragments and make each community member aware of each of them. You’ve gotta bring together the logs so your bonfire can be much bigger and brighter and hotter than any smaller fire could be.

With that in mind, here are 8 ways to unify your blog community so that your blog and social media profiles work together (not just apart) for your business.

For further reading, please see my free guide on How to Improve Your Blog Community.

Let us count the ways:

1. Monitor the Web
2. Cross-Fire
3. Cut Social Dross
4. Touch People More
5. Make People Touch Each Other
6. Create Adorable-Anywhere Objects
7. Invite People to Church
8. Reward Unifying Deeds

1. Monitor the Web

The more you know (and the faster you find out) about what people are saying that could relate to your blog community, the easier it is to respond in ways that make your community grow.

Set up search feeds or email alerts that tell you when social media users and bloggers alike are talking about you, your blog or your niche.

For example, for Visionary Blogging, I subscribe to feeds available at search results pages for the following queries:

• http://search.twitter.com/ – “visionary blogging” OR visionaryblogging
• http://search.twitter.com/ – “easton ellsworth”
• http://search.twitter.com/ – “blog consulting” OR “blog consultant” OR “blog consultants”
• http://search.twitter.com/ – “blog improvement” OR “improve your blog”
• http://search.twitter.com/ – “blogging tips” OR “blog tips” OR “blogging advice” OR “blog advice”
• http://blogsearch.google.com/ – all of the above queries (sort by date at top right, then subscribe via link at lower left)
• http://blogsearch.google.com/ – link:visionaryblogging.com (sort by date at top right, then subscribe via link at lower left)

2. Cross-Fire

The more you fire links between the different websites you use, the easier it is for people to follow you, befriend you and identify with your community. So, you could:

• Link to your blog posts sometimes in your Twitter/Digg/YouTube/etc. (social media) updates.
• Link to your social media accounts in some of your blog posts.
• Link to your social media accounts in your post footer.
• Link to your social media accounts in your blog’s header, navigation bar (the menu you may have across the top) or sidebar.
• Link each social media account to all the others. (e.g. my activity feed on BlogCatalog)
• Link to your blog and your social media profiles in your email and forum signatures.

Don’t go haywire, of course. Less is often more. A little goes a long way, but a lot may not go much farther – if fact, a lot may even set you back. So maybe just link to 2-3 of your most active or relevant social media accounts in each case.

3. Cut Social Dross

Repeat after me: It’s okay to abandon social media accounts.

When is it okay to leave your StumbleUpon or Mixx or whatever account gathering dust?

Answer: When actively updating that account means failing to update your blog or another social media account that would be more likely to strengthen your community.

I have a Digg account, but I don’t use it much. That might change in the future, so I’m not about to delete the account forever. But I let it sit there because I’ve found that Digg isn’t a very effective place for me to market my blog consulting services compared to, say, Twitter.

The corollary to this, however, is also critical: It’s NOT okay to starve social media accounts (or your blog, for that matter) when doing so means letting fertile soil sit there without planting seeds in it.

4. Touch People More

No, I’m not talking about making them reach for the hanky as you tell that story about Great Aunt Bertha’s bunions. (Ever wonder why they’re actually crying?)

I’m talking about increasing the number of touch points that you have with people.

A touch point is a place where you can reach out and touch someone. Anything with a comment box, an email form or a chat window.

So when someone leaves a comment at your blog, visit their URL if they leave one. And maybe:

• Leave a comment at their blog.
• Say hi via their contact form.
• Search for them on every social media and social networking website you use and add them to your friend lists.
• Start a meaningful conversation with them through each of those touch points.

So touch people more, and touch more people.

5. Make People Touch Each Other

This is a natural extension of point #4. Suppose Mickey links to your blog post from his blog, and suppose Goofy does, too. But suppose they don’t link to each other’s posts.

Here’s your chance to make a great little love triangle – er, touch triangle – between you and Mickey and Goofy.

It’s pretty easy. Just ask Mickey what he thinks of Goofy’s ideas and ask Goofy what he thinks of Mickey’s. And maybe go the extra mile by finding their contact information and introducing them to each other.

Another easy way to do this is on Twitter. You can @ two or more people at once and ask them to talk to each other.

6. Create Adorable-Anywhere Objects

In my blog community improvement guide, I talk about objects of adoration. These are the first things you need in order for people to be able to join your community. They have to have something to talk about that’s yours.

The problem with these objects is that they’re sometimes one- or two-dimensional, so they can’t be easily seen from all angles. (Remember Flatland, anyone?) And those who can’t see them, can’t easily talk about them.

So create objects people can adore from wherever they are.

Say you have a great new product. You’ve just made a great text-only blog post about it. Everyone who subscribes to your blog will (probably) see it. That’s one dimension.

Now say you make a video related to your product and stick it in the post and on YouTube. YouTube users who have never heard of your blog will see it and some of them will come to the blog, and some of your blog readers who didn’t know you had a YouTube account will mosey on over to YouTube and the twain shall meet. Two dimensions plus some extra touch points.

Not only shall the twain meet, but both audiences will see and be able to adore your object.

Add a few photos to the blog post and share them on Flickr. Boom, three dimensions.

7. Invite People to Church

Your community is your church. It’s your flock. You’ve got adorable objects (pun intended) that people can discuss and cherish. You’ve got church meetings, so to speak, in the form of blog posts and tweets and new content all over your social media streams.

But unless you want to hear crickets chirping, you need to warmly invite your adherents and prospective adherents to those meetings. You need to tell people about the next thing you’re doing and ask them to come be a part of the experience.

Doesn’t mean knocking doors down. Just means knocking doors. Hi, I’m Easton, I have this thing, won’t you come see it and let’s talk about it. You get the idea.

8. Reward Unifying Deeds

Often, this just means saying a public “Thank You” to the person who does something to help unify your blog community. Maybe they’ve left a comment that sparked a conversation at your latest blog post. Maybe they’ve invited some friends to participate in your contest or conference. Or maybe they’ve just started a fan club for your product.

Of course, if you can surprise that person with a reward that’s bigger, more thoughtful and more useful than they could have expected, all the better. That’s what drives people nuts (in a good way) and turns them into rabid, bursting-at-the-seams fanatics.

Blog Community Unification Resources

• Ensure your community has a brand by Martin Reed at Community Spark – In a way, your blog community is your brand. Martin shares some excellent tips on how to strengthen your brand identity for your online community.
• 25 Ways to Build Your Community by Chris Brogan at ChrisBrogan.com – Building a community and unifying it are two different things, but these building tips by Chris will help you get the people together and help you on the road to unifying them around you.
• 7 Tips to Build a Blog Community by Pachacutec at Firedoglake – Classic advice on how to start and strengthen a community around your blog.

Coming Next Week: A community-unifying project right here at Visionary Blogging. You and your friends are, of course, cordially invited.

How else can you unify your blog community?

Images by Rojer, Melle_Oh, littledan77, dameetch, lumaxart, Kapungo

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2008 is almost over. 2009 is about to begin.

Have you considered your blog improvement plan for next year?

Here are 7 strategy-related questions you should ask yourself.

1. What will I accomplish with my blog in 2009?

Set a few goals for the next 12 months. I recommend having at least one clear, measurable goal for your blog’s overall performance, plus at least one goal each for the following areas:

1. Blog content improvement
2. Blog design improvement
3. Blog community improvement
4. Blog traffic improvement
5. Blog RSS feed / Atom feed / email subscribers improvement
6. Blog search engine optimization (SEO) improvement
7. Blog social media optimization (SMO) improvement
8. Blog monetization improvement
9. Blog value / return on investment (ROI) improvement

Which means you’ll have at least 9 area-specific goals plus at least one overall blog goal for next year.

Think big. Effort is more important than accomplishment.

2. How will I make my blog more valuable in 2009?

If you do nothing else, please answer this question.

The value of your blog is the excuse for its existence.

What does it generate in revenue, relationships and enjoyment for you and for your audience? How can you justify your involvement with it?

In other words, what’s your blog’s return on investment (ROI)?

And … how will you increase your ROI for your blog in ’09?

3. How will I increase the authority of my blog in 2009?

This is a classic Chris Garrett question.

Authority is closely tied to what people think of your blog – particularly how much they trust it as an accurate, important source of information, discussion and/or entertainment.

Evaluate your blog’s level of authority in its niche. Then imagine what it can become by the end of 2009.

Finally, set one or more goals to increase your blog’s authority over the next year.

4. How will I make my content more addictive in 2009?

There are a zillion ways to phrase this question. We all know that the content of your blog is crucial to its success.

But I chose the word addictive because attention spans are growing ever shorter. The blog visitors of 2009 will have a hundred times as many sources clamoring for their attention as the blog visitors of, say, 2005 (when I took my first blogging steps).

So what are you going to do to hook people next year and keep them coming back to your blog? How are you gonna make ‘em need your blog like a drug?

5. How will I make my blog design more charming in 2009?

Your blog’s design may be much more important than you think. How will you alter it so as to charm the crowds of 2009?

It’s no longer enough to slap up a basic template. In order to help your content stand out, your design needs to stand out. And in order for your design to stand out, it needs to be unique.

It’s about the flourishes. Every baseball stadium has stands, an infield with dirt and four bases in a square, two foul poles and overpriced hot dogs.

But let yours be the one with the ivy.

6. How will I make my blog community funner in 2009?

People usually join communities because of what they feel, not because of what they know. Your blog may offer lots of interesting information, but it also needs to give the visitor a reason to think that coming back again and again to participate in your conversations will be enjoyable.

Where’s the fun in your blog? How does it tickle people? How will you make it seem boring to miss out on its articles, comments, announcements and events?

7. How will I melt my blog more fluidly into my business’s big picture in 2009?

Here’s the thing. You’ve got a website. You’ve got a blog. You’ve got a Twitter account. You’ve got Facebook. You’ve got MySpace. You’ve got YouTube. You’ve got FriendFeed. You’ve got a bunch of online threads wrapped up in a ball.

You’ve probably also got offline stuff. Business cards. Conference itineraries. Office hours. Hands to shake. Backs to scratch. Maybe even mouths to feed. Another ball.

And each ball, if you’re not careful, comes to resemble a mess of multicolored rubber bands, each wanting to break off and stretch you away from the center.

The thing you’ve got to figure out for 2009 is how to melt all that stuff together. How to make it so that when you work on your blog, you’re helping the rest of your business, and vice versa.

I wish you a wonderful 2009.

Hire Easton Ellsworth for 2009

Hire me as your blog improvement consultant for 2009. I’ll help you answer all the questions above for your business blog or professional blog. See my blogging resume and over 40 testimonials of my work.

Coming Soon at Visionary Blogging

My next article will talk about how to improve your blog community for 2009. Stay tuned.

Photo by magnusdigity

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Right now I’m cooking a blog consulting service called Iris (because it helps you focus, just like the irises in your eyes).

Iris will be (I hope) the best way to get expert blogging advice and improve your blog fast anywhere on the Web. It will be totally unique from all the other fine blog consulting services available online.

A few dozen people like you have asked to serve as test subjects while Iris is in private alpha mode. I’m so excited to get started with them … just wanted to give you one more shot to join the guinea pig group.

So if you’d like to try Iris and get some free blog improvement help, now’s the time to say so.

I’ll close the doors this Friday, October 3. After that, the only way to get Iris will be to pay a monthly fee.

If you’re interested, just let me know any way you want – leave a comment at this post, fill out my contact form, email me, call me, IM me, smoke signals, Morse code, ESP, etc.

The next time I talk about Iris here, it will be to give you an important launch update … but not to ask you if you want to test it out.

Stay tuned for an update on my blog improvement resources list.

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1. Blog content improvement
2. Blog design improvement
3. Blog community improvement
4. Blog traffic improvement
5. Blog RSS feed / Atom feed / email subscribers improvement
6. Blog search engine optimization (SEO) improvement
7. Blog social media optimization (SMO) improvement
8. Blog monetization improvement
9. Blog value / return on investment (ROI) improvement

The checklist comes with a printer-friendly version (PDF), detailed instructions on how to rate your blog, and step-by-step instructions on how to create a personalized blog improvement plan to actually make it worth your time.

Check it out and let me know what you think!

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