A good tutorial on how to get your pins on the “popular” page of Pinterest.
How To Get More Traffic On Your Blog
Blog success, unfortunately, is usually measured by how much traffic it gets. How many hits do your posts get? How many subscribers do you have? Regular readers? Shares on Facebook and Pinterest and Twitter? These things matter. Anyone who is producing quality content but is having trouble finding readership need not worry, though. There are plenty of ways to dramatically boost your blog traffic. Check out this post at SlapDashMom for some valuable tips that really work:
-Try some “top ten” posts
-Engage your social networks
-Use tags for your posts
-Guest post for someone with a bigger blog than you
-Use Google Analytics and pay attention to what it tells you. What are people searching for?
-Use sites like Pinterest and Stumbleupon
-Use great photos
-Write some “how to” posts
Brand Images That You Need
When starting a business, you may need to consider hiring a graphic designer to create a representation for your brand. If you are skilled at drawing, design, or photoshopping, you may be able to make your own! However, the matter still stands that you do need a good, visual image for your brand. It creates recognition, and good advertising with it can even bring in new clients. People all over the world recognize the Coca Cola logo, and the McDonald’s golden arches– it is up to you (or, you and your designer) to create a good logo. So, what images do you need? Check out this infographic at the Mogul Mom:
-A logo: In one concise image – including your business name, tagline and often a graphic (logomark) – a logo communicates the message of your brand. Once you have a logo, its design elements – colors, fonts and imagery – should be carried through and built upon in all imagery for your brand
-Avatar for social media
-Facebook cover photo
-Twitter profile images
-Web ad/ banner
-Newsletter header
-Sharing image template
Read This Before You Host A Blog Giveaway
Hosting a giveaway on your blog is a great way to show readers that you appreciate them, and will also draw in new followers for you. However, if you’ve never thrown one before, giveaways can be pretty complicated. There are all sorts of legal rules, as well as general unwritten guidelines that need to be followed. This post by Taylor at Pink Heels Pink Truck is a fantastic place to start- she lists all the legalities that need to be in order, as well as other useful information on hosting giveaways. The article is so good that I wish I could paste the entire thing here, but I won’t. Make sure you read the whole post though!
-Use a widget like Rafflecopter.
-Your giveaway MUST include a disclosure and policies regarding your giveaway. (she also lists everything that this disclosure must include)
-You have to give everyone a free entry.
-You cannot make a kajillion entries mandatory. That in and of itself, turns your giveaway into an illegal lottery
-Do not ever announce the winner’s name via social media.
-Any giveaway in which the prizes are valued over $600 (in a combined total), must include a 1099 to the giveaway winner.
Social Media Blunders That Could Cost You
There are plenty of social media tips floating around there for real estate professionals and other self employed contractors. Usually, these tips cover what you SHOULD do on social media, and how to use it to benefit yourself. But, using the internet wisely is also knowing what NOT to do. Check out this post by Katie Lance at Inman for some faux pas to avoid on Facebook and Twitter; it’s written specifically for real estate agents, but I think that bloggers and others working from home will find them useful as well:
-Don’t outsource your social media: write it all yourself.
-Don’t automate it- it makes you look spammy
-Don’t sync your Facebook and Twitter- it looks lazy: create separate posts for both.
-Don’t just post your listings- get creative! Take photos and videos
-Don’t be a broken record- be sure to come up with new content
Where To Find Photos For Your Blog And How To Use Them
If you run a craft or food blog, you probably take your own photos. But, even that can get exhausting! Sometimes, the lighting just isn’t right. Sometimes, the muse is just gone. And sometimes, you just feel lazy. If you’re having a creative slump for whatever reason, or for those of us who aren’t so creative at all, there are plenty of ways to get photos on the internet that you can legally use.
-You have to be extra careful- be sure that each photo you use is under a “Creative Commons” license.
-Make sure that each photo is marked as being available for free commercial use
-Also, be sure to give credit in your post! Here are a few resources that I use to find photos for this blog:
Flickr Creative Commons: The absolute motherlode of free photos. Any photo you find on this search engine requires only “attribution,” which means you must credit the artist.
Creative Commons Search: Make sure you have the “commercial” box checked and search away! Also useful for music and video sources.
Open Clipart– all images on this site are free as well: most are illustrations.
Take your own photos– and all copyrights will belong to you! Plus, it’ll make your posts more personal and engaging.
Friday Fun Video: Starting A Blog
If you’re thinking of starting a blog, check out this video! It’s a good, detailed guide on everything you need to get started: WordPress vs. Blogger, how to pick a domain name, layouts, and writing quality content. Also, her room is totally fab.
Read This Before You Write A Long Blog Post
Even though really popular sites get page views by publishing list-like “articles” with usually less than 100 words, surprisingly, people prefer to read long blog posts. That’s why they follow you, right? They like your writing and find your content valuable. Maybe you post some really interesting tutorials or recipes. Maybe you share your experiences as an outsider in a foreign country. Maybe you run a business and use your blog to advertise yourself. Maybe you’re just a funny person who has a fresh take on life that people love reading! Whatever your blog is about, it’s important to find a balance between long, informative posts, and short fun ones. Check out this article by Mitt Ray at Social Marketing Writing for tips about long blog posts:
-Avoid repetition- and cut anything unnecessary.
-Include images- to break up walls of text. Especially important for tutorials!
-Make it easy to read and navigate through- use subheadings and keep sentences simple.
-Place share buttons on the bottom- for easy marketing
-Don’t force it- always choose quality over quantity.
Becoming A Less Lazy Blogger
Working from home as a blogger can seem like a dream job for less organized people. You can stay up as late as you want (as long as you eventually get around to work), you can stay in your pajamas all day, you write about what you love, and the hours are extremely flexible. However, without a solid plan and at least a little organization, it can be extremely easy to let yourself slack off. This can lead to lackluster content creation, or even missing deadlines and losing readers. Check out these tips from Laura at The Turquoise Home on how to keep yourself on track and become more efficient:
-Have a designated office space- give yourself a private area with NO TV or other distractions
-Use a planner- plan your time by the day or by the hour
-Create office hours- and stick to them! Make a strict line between work and home life
-Use “pretty” organization. Folders, dividers, pen cups, and other supplies work much better when they are eye catching.
Clear! How To Resuscitate Stale Blog Content
Promoting and marketing your blog is one of the hardest challenges that bloggers face. One way to stay relevant is to constantly churn out new content, but that can be exhausting. Another is to revive old content and make it fresh again. But how do you do that? Isn’t that…cheating? Well, no. It’s a way to gain new readers while drawing attention to your better pieces. This post by Rebekah Radice at Rebekah Radice.com will give you some valuable tips:
Follow-Up Post- Writing a follow-up post is a great way to breathe new life into your old post by linking back to it as a reference.
Roundup of Resources- Weekly or monthly roundup posts are a very popular way to highlight articles that deserve a second look
Design a Graphic for Pinterest- Pinterest offers a way to visually brand your business, putting your message in front of a whole new audience.