Blogosphere Round-up

I believe in ‘sharing the love’ that bloggers have shown me while exploring the blogosphere. Most importantly, I believe in sharing valuable, interesting information many bloggers share online so I have decided to provide Blog ‘round-ups’. I’m thinking of doing these round-ups on a weekly basis but I’m happy to hear your thoughts. I’ d like to be guided by you, the reader.

I will basically feature all my favourite reads over the past week. They may contain some different viewpoints than what I currently have but I believe it’s important to be challenged and stretched regularly.

Treat Your Blog Posts Like Website Home Pages

by Sherryl Perry

keepupwiththeweb.com

Your blog is a website. There’s nothing special or magical about it. The same basics for good website design apply. You need to drive traffic to your blog just as you would if you had a website for your business that didn’t include a blog. The main difference is that with a blog, each post needs to function as a home page.

Blogging Lessons Learned from “Julie and Julia”

by Marcy Hill

blondie.net

In the movie “Julie and Julia,” Julie Powell considered herself a failure because a book she attempted didn’t quite work out the way she had hoped. To redeem herself, she set out to cook all of the recipes from Julia Childs’s book, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” Powell’s husband encouraged her to blog about her recipes and experiences. What started out as a daily cooking commitment also turned into a daily blogging commitment.

Making Time for Conversation

by Danny Brown

dannybrown.me

My friend and business partner Troy wrote a great piece yesterday about whether or not technology has improved or hindered our communication skills. It’s a timely topic with some awesome comments, and well worth the read.

It reminded me of something that happened a couple of years ago, that was a perfect example of the point Troy makes.

Are You Ready for “Controversial”?

by Mitch Mitchell

imjustsharing.com

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post based off a blog post I read where the person was talking about the concept of “high quality content” without actually explaining what it was, a pet peeve of mine. Well, this one isn’t quite a pet peeve, but it’s something that, once again, I see recommended often, and I think it’s a horrible recommendation.

Comments Do Not Equal Sales!

by Patricia

lavenderuses.com

I have almost given up counting the number of times people have emailed or asked me the question: How do you get so many comments on your blog?

In fact one of my marketing friends jokes that all I have to do is say “Come visit and chat” and voila 100 comments on my blog.  Doubt if that would happen, but I believe the point he was making is that I have connected with a lot of people who enjoy visiting here.

5 Things I Did to Make My Blog Take Off

by Brankica

liveyourlove.com

The main question I get asked a lot is how my blog moved forward so fast. When I sit down to think about it, I don’t think I did anything special. I followed some basic rules and it worked.

But if I dig a bit deeper, I think I know the perfect answer to this question: I actually applied the stuff I learned.

Take the Friction Out Of Customer Relationships

by Susan Oakes

m4bmarketing.com

I am right and you are wrong. You are an idiot.

Hearing this always makes me think of children disagreeing with each other. Neither wants to back down and all defences come up to try and prove they are right.

This is also played out in client and service provider relationships. On any day someone tweets something negative about a client and in reality calling them an idiot because they will not take their advice.

Bring IT! What Sets You Apart from Other Bloggers?

by Ingrid Abboud

nittygriddy.com

What Sets You Apart from Other Bloggers?

Country singer Loretta Lynn once said that you have to be “the first, best or different”. It’s also good Marketing advice to keep in mind.

There are literally millions of bloggers out there – whether in your niche or not. And many of them are exceptional. Some may even share the same brilliant content as you.

But…

What sets you apart or makes you different?

Can Your Blog Pass the Salad Test?

By Kiesha

weblogbetter.com

No, I’m not a vegetarian, but everyday I generally eat the same salad: a combination of fresh spinach, grilled chicken, a little cheese and onions and my favorite blush wine vinaigrette (go ahead, you can steal my recipe). Sometimes when I’m feeling bold, I’ll even add some mandarin oranges or fresh strawberries to the mix.

3 Steps to be More Productive

by Justin

epiclaunch.com

When you take the leap from cubicle worker to business owner, one of the things you need to be good at is managing your time and being productive. No longer will you have someone watching your every move to make sure the work gets done. Your lunch hour isn’t timed and no one notices when you don’t come in on Friday.