Visionary Blogging » Business Blogging

On BlogTalkRadio Today

Easton Ellsworth — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:38:44 +0000

Here’s the show link. 10 AM Mountain / noon Eastern today, talking about professional blogging, SOBCon09, Blog Action Day and other assorted goodness.

Listen below:

What’s in a Word? Or, Why Blogs Wield Scary Power for Businesses

Easton Ellsworth — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 01:22:07 +0000

Barack Obama.

Quick! Say the first word that comes to mind.

…

Was it “change?”

“The change we need.”

“Change we can believe in.”

Obama owned that word in 2008. His masterful social media campaign gets a lot of the credit for that.

Do you love the power of words? Do you relish them?

Most blogs consist entirely, or almost entirely, of words.

Words can create. Words can destroy.

Words wield scary power for businesses.

Your blog is going to help or hurt your business in 2009.

How careful are you about the words you use or avoid on your business blog?

What are you going to do this week to become more so?

Blog Audience Building in 37 Words

Easton Ellsworth — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:08:48 +0000

Imagine a person.
Think of a problem she has that you can solve.
Publish the solution at your blog.
Invite her to share your solution with others.
Reward her for doing so.
Repeat steps 1-5 forever.

Step-by-step tips on this topic next week.

Which step is the hardest for you?

Congratulations to Our Three $250 Blog Consulting Prize Winners

Easton Ellsworth — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:27:00 +0000

Last week I surprised you with a $750 blog consulting contest here at Visionary Blogging.

The prize: a $250 blog consulting package to boost any professional blog, including:

A 130-point blog inspection in PDF format
A video screencast with blogging tips
A 30-minute phone consultation to discuss blogging strategy

Entry was simple. All you had to do was answer my question, “How can I help you?”

Winners were to be selected randomly from among all entrants.

I promised you results today. Here they are.

Winner #1: Doug DuCap at Hugging the Coast

Doug is enjoying a healthy amount of traffic to his coastal cuisine/travel blog, but he wants to get more people to leave comments on his posts. He’s also looking to get more links from other blogs in order to increase his readership.

Winner #2: jeff at Principled Innovation

Jeff has been blogging since medieval times (2002) and for three years at Principled Innovation, which is a blog for his company, Principled Innovation LLC. He’s in the process of redesigning his website and figuring out where the blog should fit at his website and in his overall Web strategy. He also wants to make his blog more interactive.

Winner #3: Terri Ann Swallow at Ninedays Blog

Terri Ann is a Web designer/developer and photographer who wants help moving her blog content from a subdomain on one domain to a new domain. She also wants a little feedback on an upcoming redesign.

Thank You for Participating

Thank you to all 21 people who entered. The turnout was wonderful, especially considering the contest only lasted 30 hours!

If you entered but didn’t win this time around, watch your email inbox today. I have something just for you.

Missed this month’s contest? Thirsty for more?

Subscribe to Visionary Blogging and follow @easton on Twitter so you can be the first to know about my next contest in February. The sooner you find out, the better.

Tomorrow’s post will cover the basics of blog audience building. Then on Friday I’ll have some helpful links for you.

Any suggestions/ideas for February’s contest?

Should You Add Facebook Connect to Your Business Blog?

Easton Ellsworth — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:33:39 +0000

Robyn Tippins (Twitter: @duzins) asked me the following question on Twitter last week:

Is Facebook Connect worth the time for a business blog?

Great question, Robyn! Here’s my answer.

First, for those new to this subject …

What is Facebook Connect?

Facebook Connect is a simple way to integrate Facebook into your blog or website. For example, TechCrunch currently has a blog post comment area that looks like this (minus the cool sepia effect):

Why or why not use Facebook Connect?

Some reasons to use Facebook Connect on your business blog:

Some people have Facebook accounts but aren’t registered at your blog. If registration is something you require in order for people to be able to comment on your posts, Facebook Connect might make it more appealing for these folks to register and interact more with your blog.
If many of your blog visitors and commenters use Facebook, they might enjoy seeing each other’s Facebook profile links in the comments section of your blog. Facebook Connect makes that integration seamless.
When you install Facebook Connect on your blog and someone leaves a comment, that action shows up in their Facebook wall so others in their network on Facebook can see it. This may get you a little more traffic and a few more subscribers in the long run.

Some reasons NOT to use Facebook Connect with a company blog or professional blog

Maybe the culture of your blog is not very Facebooky. Perhaps your readers are not the social networking type, or perhaps your blog is all about how evil and ugly and useless Facebook is (in your esteemed opinion, of course).
Maybe you’re concerned about slow page loads. This isn’t a huge concern for most business bloggers, but if your blog is already laden down with cumbersome plugins and widgets, you might not want to lay this final straw on your poor hosting camel’s back.
Maybe you find Facebook distracting to the core purpose and audience of your blog. It could be that you just want people to take one kind of action after reading your posts, and that Facebook Connect tempts them to get distracted from your call to action.

So … should you use Facebook Connect with your business blog?

I recommend that you try it out for a few days and see how it affects your blog’s traffic levels, comment levels, and other interactivity on your blog/website. Most importantly, find out what your readers think of Facebook Connect.

You can always remove Facebook Connect later if its slows down your blog too much or your blog readers don’t seem to like it. But I wouldn’t expect it to make a huge difference in most business blogs, either.

The deeper reasoning here has to do with blog and social media strategy for businesses. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should (or shouldn’t). If you really feel that Facebook Connect will help you serve your blog’s target audience and improve conversion rates for your business, use it. If not, don’t.

Facebook Connect Resources

How To Add Facebook Connect to Your Blog in 8 Minutes at Mashable (includes geeky video)
10 Great Implementations of Facebook Connect at Mashable
Soon, All Your Blog Comments Will Belong To Facebook (Or Google) at TechCrunch
Websites that use Facebook Connect at the Facebook Developers Wiki
Facebook Connect now available on Disqus at Disqus

Wondering if I should give it a go here at Visionary Blogging. I think I will. Let me know what you think.

Tomorrow, winners of last week’s $750 blog consulting contest will be announced right here.

Do you think Facebook Connect is worth the time for business blogs?

The 10 Worst Business Blog Mistakes

Easton Ellsworth — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 21:32:05 +0000

I hope this list saves you some grief in your professional blogging.

10. Publish sporadically.

9. Spend too much time consuming content.

8. Spend too little time creating content.

7. Fail to plan effectively or not at all.

6. Expect the world to adore your blog without any marketing effort on your part.

5. Fail to pay close attention to numbers that indicate blog growth rate.

4. Fail to produce content that serves your intended audience.

3. Fail to serve the right audience.

2. Fail to love your audience to bits.

1. Give up.

Take the opposite of this list and you’ll have a pretty good sense of my top 10 business blog success tips.

Visionary Blogging Links: Weeks 1-2

Easton Ellsworth — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 23:29:30 +0000

Welcome to the Visionary Blogging Links series!

What is The Visionary Blogging Links Series?

Every Friday here at Visionary Blogging, I’ll share the best URLs I’ve discovered over the past week that have to do with business blogging or professional blogging in general and blogging/social media strategy in particular.

I promise to only share links of the highest quality, and never more than 10 per week. You deserve the cream of the cream.

Since today is the second Friday of 2009, we’ll call this week’s edition “Weeks 1-2.”

By next week I’ll create a centralized page where we can keep track of all the links throughout the year and have them organized for maximum usefulness.

You’re welcome to suggest links, of course. Just leave a comment here or contact me directly.

Links, Please!

Okay, here you go. For January 1-9, 2009, our Visionary Blogging Links are:

Cultivating a Writing Habit by Chris Brogan at ChrisBrogan.com on January 4, 2009 – Read, write, write. Chris gets right to the heart of a critical blogging skill.
How to use blogs to build your SEO strategy by Benjamin Fitts at Home Business Blogs on January 6, 2009 – I love the idea conveyed by this article and its accompanying image. Plant linking seeds in various spots of online ground and watch your online presence grow.
How to Become a Better Blogger by Jonathan Muller (as a guest post for Yan Susanto) at thou shall blog on January 7, 2009 – Learn more, network more and use your blogging time more wisely.
TweetBacks WordPress Plugin by Dan Zarrella at DanZarrella.com on January 8, 2009 – Whether or not you use WordPress, Dan’s new plugin is important to know about because it signals an emerging trend among professional bloggers: the displaying of links found on Twitter at individual posts on a blog. They’re like trackbacks, Twitter style! I’ll be trying them out very soon right here.

I challenge you to read each link carefully and get to know its author.

That’s it for this week. Stay tuned for next Friday’s VB Links!

Which link is your favorite?

photo by slideshow bob

The Ultimate Secret to Easy Business Blogging Success

Easton Ellsworth — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:57:07 +0000

Wanna know the secret to being a successful blogger?

I’ve been working with business blogs full-time for over three years. I know the secret to easy blogging success.

Trust me: I’ve learned this easy lesson the hard way.

Ready?

Here it is. Here’s the grand secret to smooth sailing in your business blogging.

Hard, hard, hard, hard, HARD work.

…What’s that?

Not the answer you wanted to hear?

Well, sometimes I don’t like it either.

But it’s the truth.

The path to maximum business blogging success is paved with work, work, work.

Compared to work’s spiciness, every other ingredient for successful blogging tastes as bland as bleached wheat flour.

Here’s my mantra: “I will do my best to work harder and smarter today than I did yesterday.”

So look closely at your professional blogging skills and habits. Evaluate what you did yesterday and ponder what you will do tomorrow.

And then get out there and work like a beast.

The easy way is the hard way.

So if you want blogging to become easier, just work harder.

Photo by Gio JL

Elements of Visionary Blogging, Part 5: Strengthen Your Diligence

Easton Ellsworth — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 06:50:23 +0000

Welcome to Part 5 of a 5-part series on the elements of visionary blogging. This article will help you become a more diligent blogger so you can increase your blogging success.

Part 1: Increase Your Awareness (the ability to see)
Part 2: Sharpen Your Focus (the ability to look)
Part 3: Hone Your Discernment (the ability to evaluate)
Part 4: Excite Your Imagination (the ability to create)
Part 5: Strengthen Your Diligence (the ability to endure)

Recognize this mountain?

Look closely at the colossal peak in the photo above. Can you name it?

Hint: It’s bigger and taller than Mount Everest.
Hint: It can be seen from two cities that are more than 350 miles (560 kilometers) apart by car.
Hint: Its name in Athabaskan means “the Great One.”

You’ll find the answer at the end of this article.

What’s with the mountain shot anyway?

I showed you the mountain photo to help you ponder two things.

First, the incredible diligence required for a mountain to rise up from the earth over millions of years.

Second, the incredible diligence required for a human to climb it in a matter of days.

What is diligence?

Diligence is zealous, intense, sustained effort. It’s refusing to give up no matter what. It means never forgetting or laying aside your vision for your blog.

Why does diligence matter to business blogging?

A lack of diligence has killed more business blogs and ruined more bloggers’ efforts than anything else, with the possible exception of self-doubt.

I’ve seen hundreds of professional blogs start out well, like hikers setting out for a summit on a clear summer day.

But then the weather begins to rage. One by one the mountaineers turn back, exhausted or afraid.

Only the bravest and stubbornest of souls can conquer the highest, loneliest peaks on earth.

So it is with blogging.

If you haven’t wept over your blogging, maybe you are not diligent enough.

If it hasn’t physically hurt, you might not be working hard enough.

Do you know what it’s like to clench your teeth in frustration because your blog is not making the difference you had hoped?

Or what it’s like to bite your lip and push forward, whatever the consequences and no matter the obstacles?

Without diligence, none of the other visionary blogging elements can guarantee your blog’s success.

It is diligence alone that seals the deal, making sure that your blogging vision finally becomes reality.

How can you strengthen your blogging diligence?

It’s simple. It’s hard, but it’s simple.

1. Look in the mirror. Becoming a harder worker is impossible until you examine yourself carefully. When are your least productive times? Your most productive times? What do you waste the most time doing? What causes you to work harder? What leads you away from blogging diligently?

2. Decide. Set an ultra-specific goal that tests your utmost limits as a blogger. If it don’t make you hurt from the strain, it ain’t gonna make you more diligent.

3. Work like a burro. Or work like a banshee. Take your pick. Either way, make up your mind to put one foot in front of the other nonstop until you stand on the summit – the roof of the world.

If you do these three things on a daily basis, I promise you that you will always be a little more diligent than you were before. And your blog (and your blog visitors) will thank you for it.

Remember These Words

I once sang them in front of a crowd. They mean everything.

I can climb up to the mountaintop
Touch the stars out in the sky
And I can change this cold world to a better place
Brother, you can bet I’m gonna try
Just watch me fly

Thank You

You have now learned the fifth element of the Visionary Blogging method for blogger self-improvement.

And whatever makes you a better blogger will also make your blog better.

I know that awareness, focus, discernment, imagination and diligence are vital to long-term blog success.

I challenge you to set a goal right now to work to become a better blogger in one of these five areas over the next seven days.

If you stubbornly strive to achieve that goal, you will make yourself a more skilled, more successful blogger. I promise.

I invite you to subscribe to Visionary Blogging so you don’t miss future updates on how to speed up the blog improvement process and make it more effective.

If you’re serious about improving your blog, I also urge you to try my Iris blog consulting service. Your blog will never be the same.

Thank you so much for reading and responding to me. I appreciate your support, your questions and insights.

My next post will reveal the ultimate secret to easy blogging success. Unless you already know it, of course.

I wish you the best as you strive to become a more diligent, perseverant blogger.

Enjoy this inspiring video.

Photo by Unhindered by Talent

5 Ways to Not Waste Time in Your Blogging

Easton Ellsworth — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:29:20 +0000

First, hit play so you can listen to the song while you read.

I don’t wanna spend my life jaded, waiting
To wake up one day and find
That i let all these years go by wasted

The other day I listened to Wasted by Carrie Underwood.

It hit me hard.

It also prompted these thoughts on how not to waste your time blogging. I hope you find them not to be a waste.

1. Plan Regularly

Regular, smart planning is the single best way to ensure that you don’t flush a ton of blogging time down the pooper.

I like to take a few minutes at the start of each blogging day to plan what to do, when and for how long. I also start each week and each month with brief planning sessions.

A little planning can go such a long way toward eliminating regret.

2. Spy on Yourself

Planning without review is wasteful. So after you make plans, keep close track of your blogging activities.

Hold yourself accountable for what you do with the time that is given to you each day. Ask yourself: “How could I have made better use of my blogging time today?” And: “How will I do better tomorrow?”

Remember: When performance is measured, performance improves; when performance is measured and evaluated, the rate of improvement increases.

3. Find Your Smelling Salts

One time I snorted a petri dish of ammonia on accident. Hit the floor pretty quick. But I’ve never forgotten the powerful effect.

Everyone has something that galvanizes them even on the limpest of days. Find your smelling salts and smell ‘em when frittering or malaise threaten to destroy your effectiveness.

One of my smelling salts is music – so much so that I often can’t help but include songs and lyrics in my blog posts or Twitter updates. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stopped myself from wasting time in my blogging just by hearing or remembering a powerful song.

What’s a smelling salt for you?

4. Want not, waste not

I am a voracious reader. I also get easily distracted. This is why I try never to visit Digg unless my blogging work is truly done for the day. Ah, probably shouldn’t have included the link. Oh well.

Control your desires and appetites and you’ll have a much easier time avoiding waste in your blog-related activities.

For example, social media websites can be a great place to network with your target audience and promote your blog in a natural way. However, it can be tempting to lollygag on the intertubes while your blog itself waits for your attention.

If you find yourself wasting time doing things you want to do rather than things you have to do, limit the time you spend on those activities.

Structure your activities so that you are less likely to encounter potential time sinks. Don’t write your posts when people are likely to call you. Don’t sit facing the fridge when you’re starting to get hungry. Etc.

Think about it: The less you want, the less you waste. It’s not always best to approach blogging that way, but it’s worth some pondering.

If you want better results from your blog, want less and do more.

5. Caballero no más

This incredible Spanish phrase basically equates to “cowboy up” or “just do it” in English.

I once lived in Perú. There I often had jobs that were demanding and tedious.

Sometimes a forced smile and a firm “caballero no más” were my only way to maintain the stubbornness I needed to git ‘er done.

So when you’ve got a lot of blog post writing to do or an email inbox busting at the seams or a nasty blog design problem, grit your teeth and say, “caballero no más.”

And then ride fast against the wind.

Where All This Leads

Introspection lies at the core of the Visionary Blogging mindset.

The more you think about how to use your time well, the more likely you are to enjoy your blogging and become a successful blogger.

As if you could kill time without injuring eternity. Thanks Henry.

Nothing brings remorse and misery faster and harder than the realization of wasted time.

Few (if any) bloggers know this better than I do. I have killed so much blogging time that it’s a wonder if I’ve got any eternity left.

But you can always learn from your mistakes. And that is never a waste.

You can never undo or redo. But you can – and by using the advice above, I hope you will – learn and eliminate waste from your blogging.

I don’t wanna keep on wishing, missing
The still of the morning, the color of the night
I ain’t spending no more time wasted

Your Turn

What other techniques or tips do you know about that can help bloggers save time and make good use of their blogs? I would love to hear your experiences and insights.

Photos by SuperFantastic, numberstumper, heureux, love, katie, superfem, Curious Expeditions

Visionary Blogging » Business Blogging

On BlogTalkRadio Today

What’s in a Word? Or, Why Blogs Wield Scary Power for Businesses

Related Articles

Blog Audience Building in 37 Words

Related Articles

Congratulations to Our Three $250 Blog Consulting Prize Winners

Winner #1: Doug DuCap at Hugging the Coast

Winner #2: jeff at Principled Innovation

Winner #3: Terri Ann Swallow at Ninedays Blog

Thank You for Participating

Missed this month’s contest? Thirsty for more?

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Should You Add Facebook Connect to Your Business Blog?

Is Facebook Connect worth the time for a business blog?

What is Facebook Connect?

Why or why not use Facebook Connect?

So … should you use Facebook Connect with your business blog?

Facebook Connect Resources

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The 10 Worst Business Blog Mistakes

Further Reading

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Visionary Blogging Links: Weeks 1-2

What is The Visionary Blogging Links Series?

Links, Please!

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The Ultimate Secret to Easy Business Blogging Success

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Elements of Visionary Blogging, Part 5: Strengthen Your Diligence

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