Help! Your Blog Has Fallen and It Can't Get Up!

Yesterday I had a meeting with a business contact that I haven't seen in awhile, and we discussed blogging. She knew she wanted to start a blog, but she didn't know where to begin or what topics to choose. After our blog discussion, I started to think about what makes a blog really stand out and what makes a blog fall flat on its face. 

It can be difficult to  figure out what topics fit well with your blog readers. I struggle myself with blog topics sometimes, and that's when the trusty search engines like Google come in handy.

Does your blog content feel stale lately? Do you read your blog and don't feel excited by the topics? It might be time to revitalize up your sleepy blog with a fresh, creative spin. 

Where do you start? Set aside time to review your blog content and figure out what's missing:

1. Review past posts. Do you spend too much time on topics that only interest YOU as opposed to topics that interest your readers? Your blog is meant for your readers - it's not a platform to get on your soapbox and preach to the world. 

2. Do your posts read too long? Too short? 

3. How many times per week/month do you write posts? Be consistent - don't blog every few months. 

4. Are you speaking 'at' your readers? Is your tone too preachy? 

5. Do you include topics centered around timely current events that directly affect/influence your readers? If your blog lacks newsworthy content, check out these helpful resources:

http://www.loc.gov/rr/news/lists.html

http://www.newslink.org/

http://www.google.com/news/

http://www.refdesk.com/

http://www.toptenlinks.com/cat.php/News%3ANewspapers%3AResources

If your blog has fallen short, take some time to review and then revitalize your blog content with new information and topics. 

How to Write Blog Posts That Don't Backfire

Last week I pointed out the damage control I did on my blog, and bloggers who mislead their audiences with erroneous information. Today a fellow colleague pointed out an article that caught her eye - and not in a good way. This marketing blogger included the slang word 'sucks' in his headline and his topic was ''why your blog content sucks.'

By using the word 'sucks', it gives the post a negative connotation. His audience is savvy marketing professionals. Why would you use the word 'sucks' in a headline talking about how to write professional blog content? That's an oxymoron and as the reader, I didn't take his message seriously. I was disappointed with his word usage - not to mention the headline was insulting  to me as a professional marketer. His tone implies that all business professionals churn out bad content. 

It doesn't matter whether he included helpful tips or not in his blog, he set a negative tone from the very beginning with the word 'sucks' in his headline. I wrote a blog post a few weeks ago about the social media blogger who used the word 'funnest' in her post. The same rule applies - pay attention to your language and think about your readers.

I know what you're thinking - why am I being so picky about language when blogs are supposed to be casual and informal? It's one thing to write in a casual way, but it's another to use inappropriate language that doesn't resonate with your audience. Words have energy and create a life of their own. There's enough negativity in this world without using words that speak down to and insult your readers (which equates to turning off your target markets and possible clients).

Take the time to re-read your blog posts - review the following questions before you hit the publish button: 

1. Could I offend or insult my audience with the words, language, jargon, etc. that I include in my post?

2. Is my tone preachy or condescending?

3. Does my headline grab people's attention in a positive way? 

4. Is my content relevant, timely and appropriate for my audience? 

5. Have I researched and checked my facts, sources, interviews, etc thoroughly? Do I have enough knowledge and past experience under my belt to write about this particular topic? 

It doesn't take much for your blog to backfire on you, so make sure to re-read and edit your posts before you publish them. 

 

How to Lose Your Online Credibility With Just One Word

I subscribe to my share of social media and marketing newsletters and follow other social media consultants. This morning I started to read a social media-related blog, but I stopped reading after just one word. What made me stop? It was the word ''funnest'. I know that some bloggers and writers use slang as a tongue-in-cheek approach, but I'm fairly certain this writer thought 'funnest' was proper English. At that point, I stopped reading the article and clicked off the site. She lost me at just one word. 

Because of the improper word choice she used (technically, funnest is not a grammatically correct word in the English language), I was immediately turned off because it didn't make her sound credible. Maybe the word 'funnest' doesn't bother other people, and I'm just one of many in her audience but she still lost me as a reader - with just that word alone.

Even though she may be the most credible social media resource in the world, I wouldn't know because I stopped reading. It's important as bloggers and social media users to be conscious of the language you use. Funnest might be acceptable on a parenting or children's blog, but it doesn't fit on a professional social media blog.

And inappropriate word choices go beyond just funnest. I dug around and researched marketing 'turn off' words. Advertising has its share of 'no-no' words that they don't recommend using. According to BusinessWeek, avoid these five cliche words in ads:

1. Quality

2. Value

3. Service

4. Caring  

5. Integrity

If you want to stay away from spam words, check out this list of 200 spam words to avoid. 

Be careful when choosing your words, and remember that your readers and social media followers actually READ what you write. It only takes one word to hurt your online credibility. 

 

How to Syndicate Your Blog with Social Media Tools

 

You just spent hours re-designing your blog. You wrote one of your best posts to date – but that’s it. You didn’t do anything else with your blog. No one on the Internet will know your blog exists unless you actually promote it. What’s the point of having a blog if it floats around in the cyber ethers?

With the many social media plug-ins out there, it is very easy to syndicate your blog – an efficient and cost-effective way to market your blog. I’ve discussed the power of social media automation in my past series, How to Automate Social Media Posts in 5 Easy Steps – and automation also applies to your blog. Why make more work for yourself?

Use these social media tools and your blog will take off in no time:

HootSuite is a web-based social networking application that lets you bring together content from various online sources. Access and manage your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and many other accounts all in one location. You then have the option of manually updating them all, or setting up an auto-update for your social sites.

RSS Graffitiis the easiest way to update your Facebook page. It takes your blog post title, a small sample, and an image from the post and updates your status.

TwitterFeed is one of the most effective way to syndicate your blog. It can update Twitter and Facebook (among a few other social networking sites) and integrates hash tags, keywords and URL shortening services.

Keep in mind that while these are helpful tools for auto-syndication, it is not a good idea to solely rely on them to market your blog. Automated updates, coupled with personalized updates and comments (mention your posts on other blogs, forums, LinkedIn, etc.), are effective channels to create buzz around your blog. Remember to create impactful content that keeps readers coming back for more!  

What other social media tools do you use to market your blog? Please comment/share!