ProBlogger 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Topic: Day 6

ProBlogger 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Topic: Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers http://www.problogger.com/31days/ A Community for Talking about Making Blogs Better en Tue, 07 Sep 2010 08:20:56 +0000 Alison Golden on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10&page=2#post-9699 Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:05:03 +0000 Alison Golden 9699@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ Have to say, I'm starting to struggle with information overload. I read several of these blogs and the message that gets reinforced over and over is SEO, comments on other blogs and use bookmarks like Digg. SEO and the sites like Digg are a mystery to me and something I seem to have to learn. Some of the tips I have already incorporated and not all are applicable to me as I am not writing a subject based how-to blog but there are many, many I can work on and I also realise that this blogging thing is a lot of work. sarahham3 on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10&page=2#post-9380 Thu, 20 May 2010 14:51:39 +0000 sarahham3 9380@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ I liked the links, I haven't made it through all of them. I find that some of the tech stuff I just don't know enough about and some of the tips seem to be common sense. I guess it's good to hear about these things to help you remember though. I'd love to see something on the techie side that is more How-To based. For example, I've read that I should make sure my pictures are indexed for search engines? I have no idea how to do that... I know it's something I need to work on, the code and tech side of things. sarahham3 on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10&page=2#post-9379 Thu, 20 May 2010 14:46:46 +0000 sarahham3 9379@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ @me4sunny, I get your feeling! Sometimes it's hard to stay in this when you see how great everyone else is doing. I often feel like the apex has been reached so why bother, what makes me so special? Fight the insecurity! mindcoach on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10&page=2#post-9314 Thu, 06 May 2010 14:57:17 +0000 mindcoach 9314@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ I haven’t read them all yet.  I plan on reading two a day.  I did however find the summary that <a href="http://www.excitedbylife.com/better-blog-challenge/guide-to-blogging/">excitedbylife</a> put together VERY helpful. I look forward to utilizing all the tips. HeadHealthNutter on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10&page=2#post-9285 Fri, 30 Apr 2010 01:20:31 +0000 HeadHealthNutter 9285@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ My brain's SO full! :)  Thanks for all the great blogging sources, Darren. I really resonated with Skellie and Liz. The info I found most helpful to me was the blogging etiquette, especially Maki's "Rethinking Blog Comments" and Liz's "7 Great Ways to Connect with Bloggers". Yari's articles on email marketing and the Pillar Article will be extremely helpful in the future. Even more helpful (and timely) for me was Daniel's, "How to Find Advertisers". I'm a big fan of Brian Clark from CopyBlogger.com so the resource I'd like to suggest is his "Blog Triggers" series: <a href="http://www.copyblogger.com/blog-triggers/" rel="nofollow">http://www.copyblogger.com/blog-triggers/</a>   chazzbyron on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10&page=2#post-9233 Mon, 19 Apr 2010 01:15:59 +0000 chazzbyron 9233@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ There is so much information and so much to learn. I really enjoyed all that information from different perspectives tammikibler on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10&page=2#post-9225 Wed, 14 Apr 2010 14:45:34 +0000 tammikibler 9225@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ Lots of great information there. I like Seth Godin's style. Do this on one line and then Don't do this a little further down. There are few absolutes - what works today on this blog, this post, might be completely wrong another day, another blog, or another post. I think it helps to remember that you won't absorb all the lessons at once. I will refer back to this list on a regular basis to reinvigorate my blog. I like to remember that blogs, like everything else, evolve. Obviously, if you are studying the success of certain headlines and tactics and you are responding to the requests of your readers, there is a very good chance that the blog will become something more, or less, than you originally imagined. And not every post will be brilliant. As I struggle to establish myself as a writer, I am constantly at war with myself. Publish or perish. I need to work on publishing more often. Only managed to read 7 of the posts in today's assignment BTW, but I will mine this resource for years. Hui on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10&page=2#post-8971 Sun, 07 Feb 2010 03:50:38 +0000 Hui 8971@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ First, thanks for the great list of posts. I only had time to read a few, and will keep reading them in the coming days or weeks. "27 Secrets to Power Your Community", "21 Tactics to Increase Blog Traffic", are full of "meat" (i.e. good content). "First, ten" is very insightful. What I learned? I have a long way to go. simondroog on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10&page=2#post-8961 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:20:24 +0000 simondroog 8961@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ You probably need to setup a gravatar account at <a href="http://www.gravatar.com">www.gravatar.com</a>. After setting that up your avatar will automatically be the one you've set up at gravatar, at least that's how it worked for me :) Good luck with that! - Simon   leahmariephoto on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10&page=2#post-8948 Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:35:57 +0000 leahmariephoto 8948@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ PS- I can't figure out how to edit my avatar on here- can someone give me some quick directions? Thanks! leahmariephoto on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10&page=2#post-8947 Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:35:10 +0000 leahmariephoto 8947@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ I loved all the posts by Seth Godin. It also seemed like everyone else was referencing him, as I learned, as an authority. But, I picked up tips from everyone along the way, like registering at Technorati, lots of blog terminology and ways in which you can entice readers to interact with your blog. I'm definitely going to put these into practice this week. EF Cussins on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10&page=2#post-8878 Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:18:49 +0000 EF Cussins 8878@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ What did I take from today's lesson? Blogging is not easy. To accomplish my goals for this year with TheShoppingnazi.com, I am going to have to work. I mean work hard! I am up for the challenege and ready to go! me4sunny on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10&page=2#post-8848 Thu, 14 Jan 2010 21:50:18 +0000 me4sunny 8848@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ I think it was suppose to be encouraging or educating but instead I actually feel quite down ... It left me feeling and thinking the "I'll never make it" NessWorld on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10&page=2#post-8797 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 06:37:16 +0000 NessWorld 8797@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ I don't think that there was one particular blogger that I resonated with, but I did pick up a lot of helpful information. I know that this is only day 6, but I have already begun to see a jump in my adsense earnings, and increase in my feed subscribers and visitors (these probably all go hand in hand), and I haven't even begun to implement *everything* yet. I can't wait!!  I'm going to go through this process again, with some of my other blogs that have stagnated, and I'm also planning several new ones for the new year. Darren, from the bottom of my heart a) thank you for such an awesome ebook, and b) thank you for not charging a fortune for it, I totally feel like $19.95 was an amazing deal. gjw on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10#post-8721 Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:34:06 +0000 gjw 8721@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ The Flikr tip was a real  winner for me! Sheila Atwood on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10#post-8703 Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:43:06 +0000 Sheila Atwood 8703@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ I always learn a lot from Daniel Socco of Daily Blog Tips. Right now he is running a group writing project. This could give your tons of exposure. Check it out! <a href="http://www.dailyblogtips.com/go/project">http://www.dailyblogtips.com/go/project</a>   Sheila Atwood - Newbie Lifeline <a href="http://emailswipefilesecrets.com    " rel="nofollow">http://emailswipefilesecrets.com    </a> Internet Marketers Swipe Files httpL//twitter.com/SheilaAtwood JB on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10#post-8700 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:43:38 +0000 JB 8700@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ So far, I've read about half the articles. It's a lot. what stands out to me is to turn off the comments until I have more hits. And, since starting this workshop, I read about ending with a question and encouraging responses. I want that more than I want to look read. So much good stuff. I am looking forward to using flickr and taking up the challenge to write a blog entry. I was thrilled to see subjects to choose form that are on the feeling level. I am comfortable there. The more techy articles lose me. Sending energy to all of us,   Suze on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10#post-8698 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:39:48 +0000 Suze 8698@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ Hi, I thought the first two were great. I think that joining a group of people can really help with traffic. I recently joined British Mummy Bloggers, which is incidently where I discovered you. My blog isn't just about being a mum, but there is an amazingly supportive network out there. rcbonay on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10#post-8580 Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:57:25 +0000 rcbonay 8580@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ I really connected with Liz Strauss as well. Here's a video of her lecturing on the importance of establishing YOUR identity on your blog: <a href="http://rcbonay.blogspot.com/2009/10/liz-strauss-10-ways-to-own-your-blog.html">Liz Strauss video 10 Ways to Own Your Blog & Your Community</a> the.kept.grits on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10#post-8400 Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:18:40 +0000 the.kept.grits 8400@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ <li> I followed almost all of the links and read them. </li> <li> Liz Strauss resonated the most with me, enough that I ordered her book. </li> <li> I would highly recommend her to anyone. </li> <li> I also subscribed to her blog feeds. </li> Hamperific on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10#post-8258 Wed, 29 Jul 2009 05:48:32 +0000 Hamperific 8258@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ Thank you so much for this task - my head is literally buzzing with all the info you gave us. Probably not ideal to try and read it all in one sitting. so I skim read and created a new folder called "Things I want to try" and saved many of these articles so I could refer back to them. Personally I learnt a lot about authority, but the tips and tricks about commenting on other blogs is also great. It is nice to read about ettiquete rather than stuffing it up and regretting it later on. Thanks again, Kirsty crixtopher on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10#post-8239 Sat, 25 Jul 2009 21:36:46 +0000 crixtopher 8239@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ I was already familiar with Yaro's writing, and I enjoy it very much. I will echo some other comments in saying that I will likely use this as a resource I will come back to over and over again, but for now Seth Godin's "First, ten" post is the most straight to the point helpful thing I read here today. Since I am so new to all of this I think most of the info will be more helpful to me down the road a bit. Great links! szabcsee on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10#post-8010 Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:23:44 +0000 szabcsee 8010@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ It was a great post and took me three days to go through it. I learnt a lot from everyone and found incredibly useful the 43 design mistakes. And using the Creative Common Flickr images to be honest was quite new for you. I checked out the images on Flickr and just don't know why I haven't used them until now? I chose my favourite points and posted here: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://bit.ly/UrJcc">http://bit.ly/UrJcc</a> livingelpaso on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10#post-7964 Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:19:31 +0000 livingelpaso 7964@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ <li>Which posts did you resonate with and learn from? There was a lot to read and it took me about an hour but after careful review, skellie from skelliewag had a big impact on me.</li> <li>What did you learn? Never realized the potential with flikr and I got a lot out of the personal branding post too.</li> <li>What other blog articles/tutorials would you recommend people read?  This may sound kiss a** but I would recommend problogger.net...really is good stuff.</li> Becky S on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10#post-7912 Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:21:17 +0000 Becky S 7912@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ All of the articles I've read so far have been incredibly useful. I think I'm going to have to read them several times to fully internalise them though. I especially liked the ones from SEOmoz - though I'd already read them. FutureExpat on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10#post-7887 Mon, 01 Jun 2009 23:39:57 +0000 FutureExpat 7887@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ This one-day lesson for Day 6 took me about two weeks -- those posts were full of terrific information, and I know I haven't absorbed a tenth of it, even over this long period of time. I especially liked the DoshDosh post about being an executive editor, not just a writer. Really puts the big picture aspects of running the blog into perspective.   Marilyn Roxie on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10#post-7604 Thu, 14 May 2009 06:05:13 +0000 Marilyn Roxie 7604@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ I scanned through all of these, and the most informative, useful posts to me were: <a href="http://www.seomoz.org/blog/21-tips-to-earn-links-and-tweets-to-your-blog-post">21 Tips to Earn Links and Tweets to Your Blog Posts</a>: I've been doing some of this already, but I like the way it is presented and there are some angles here I hadn't thought of before. <a href="http://www.skelliewag.org/a-complete-guide-to-finding-and-using-incredible-flickr-images-162.htm">A Complete Guide to Finding and Using Incredible Flickr Images</a>: I have looked into Flickr Creative Commons before, but somehow I never think of utilizing these images! Something to remember. <a href="http://www.skelliewag.org/how-to-start-or-start-over-building-your-personal-brand-877.htm">How to Start (or Start-Over) Building Your Personal Brand</a>: Personal branding is a topic that has interested me ever since I first heard about it and really contemplated it. This is all stuff that could stand to be polished over at <a href="http://www.afutureinnoise.com/">A Future in Noise</a> and with my own music sites. <a href="http://www.chrisg.com/google-authority/">How to Grow Your Google Authority</a>: Much of this is totally new to me! Worthwhile reading <a href="http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/845/pillar-article/">How to Write Great Blog Content - The Pillar Article</a>: The blogging basics with a new, thoughtful approach. I will be keeping this one in mind! <a href="http://www.doshdosh.com/not-just-a-writer-but-the-editor-too/">You're Not Just a Writer, You're the Editor-in-Chief</a>: I've thought along these lines before, but the perspective on this is great :) I have to note that there was a point in <a href="http://www.seomoz.org/blog/21-tactics-to-increase-blog-traffic">21 Tactics to Increase Blog Traffic</a> that I didn't agree with: #6. Launch Without Comments (and Add Them Later). I think it is important to always have comments enabled, though perhaps running a music blog, it is perhaps easier to stimulate casual discussion. Despite some recent posts garnering comments (from just one to numerous remarks and dialog exchanges), I still write posts every week that just aren't commented on, which can be frustrating (especially when you see those traffic numbers indicating that people are spending time reading without saying anything)! I think that it is important to have that option available from the beginning, because it makes the reader feel like you want to hear what they have to say. Not having comments enabled places the blog in a more inaccesible point and, as a blog reader myself, unless the blog has content that is really valuable to me, I am often likely to turn away from these. The other points are quite good though (tag your content, invite guest bloggers, etc.). Keira on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10#post-7489 Mon, 11 May 2009 04:28:10 +0000 Keira 7489@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ I want a comic strip feature lol :D (<a href="http://www.doshdosh.com/pattern-your-audience-with-editorial-calendars/">Great Dosh Dosh post</a>.) Also seriously enjoyed the 10 reasons ppl don't leave comments. She's a new blog to me also. Watching some white board Fridays too. eyespi on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10#post-7270 Thu, 07 May 2009 01:38:36 +0000 eyespi 7270@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ I learned something from every article I read. I've subscribed to several feeds so will continue to follow these guys and you, Darren, as I learn to become a great blogger. I'm having fun doing this challenge even though I started late. I can't believe I'm on day 6 already! Nearly 1/4th of the challenge is behind me and I haven't broken a sweat yet <LOL> -- I'm quite sure that's about to change! I am enjoying the new readers that are coming to Eyespi20 and hope to gather more as we move along.I'm also discovering new blogs to read and getting insight into many different personalities and cultures. It's exciting and heady stuff! You know, I truly don't have a "niche" per se. I write about things that catch my interesst and those things can vary from current events to artwork to literature to music to politics to money. I'm a very well rounded girl <G> Some of the advice passed out in the articles just didn't apply to a blog that's not in a pigeonhole. Some of the advice is universal, though and applies to all writing at all times. I think the biggest and most important piece of advice is to write about what truly interests you -- write from your heart, from your passion, write about the subject that is of paramount interest to you and write about it in a way that is uniquely yours. If you can't get your audience fired up about your subject, then you've goofed somewhere. If you can't re-read your piece and get fired up all over again, you goofed up somewhere. If you can close the browser down and not remember a single word of your post, you goofed up somewhere. This challenge is all about teaching us how not to goof up! C'mon Darren! I'm ready for day 7!   LisaNotes on "Day 6 - Learn from Successful Bloggers" http://www.problogger.com/31days/topic.php?id=10#post-6814 Sun, 03 May 2009 01:42:21 +0000 LisaNotes 6814@http://www.problogger.com/31days/ I liked <a href="http://www.dailyblogtips.com/43-web-design-mistakes-you-should-avoid">43 mistakes to avoid</a> because of the variety and quantity of items it hits. Such as, don’t have your links open up in new windows. Oops. I also learned from two different sites that it is good to have five major “pillar” articles. I need to work on that. <a href="http://www.successful-blog.com/1/10-reasons-readers-dont-leave-comments/">10 reasons readers don’t leave comments</a> encourages me to comment back to my commenters. Sometimes I don’t because I think they won’t return to read them, so why bother? But they might (and many do), so I need to be welcoming either way. This list of <a href="http://www.chrisbrogan.com/100-blog-topics-i-hope-you-write/">blog topics to write about</a> sparked a few ideas, too, like writing about podcasts (which I'm passionate about). Now I need to stop reading and start writing. Thanks, Darren. This is great stuff you're leading us to!