Archive for May, 2009


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Speedlinking - 10 Posts I Read Today

Sunday, May 31st, 2009

Lately I’ve been sharing more links to the things I’m reading via my Twitter account than here on the blog - however today I thought I’d do a ’speedlinking’ post for old times sake. Here’s 10 links I came across in my RSS reader today:

What have you been reading?

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

Speedlinking - 10 Posts I Read Today

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What Blogging Platforms Do We Use? [POLL RESULTS]

Sunday, May 31st, 2009

Last month I asked readers what blog platform they are using?

The results were clear with 43% of ProBlogger readers using WordPress.org, 29% using Blogger and 13% using WordPress.com.

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This isn’t the first time I’ve run this survey. The first time I ran it was in January of 2006 - since then I ran it again in November 2007. Here are those results:

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The top two platforms still remain #1 and #2 although WordPress.org has taken pushed out their lead but from there on in there’s been a shift with MovableType taking a step back and WordPress.come surging. Also interesting to me is the ‘Other’ category. When we ran this survey in 2006 there were many more platforms mentioned.

Keep in mind that this is just a survey of ProBlogger readers. While we have some diversity in our community we’re just a subset of the wider blogosphere and I’m not sure that these stats are representative of all bloggers.

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

What Blogging Platforms Do We Use? [POLL RESULTS]

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Senate Judiciary Committee Members on Sotomayor's Supreme Court … - ABC News

Sunday, May 31st, 2009


guardian.co.uk

Senate Judiciary Committee Members on Sotomayor's Supreme Court
ABC News
Sens. Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., and John Cornyn, R-Tex., are the exclusive guests Sunday on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos.
Video: Obama to Senate: Confirm Sotomayor The Associated Press
Graham Calls on Sotomayor to Apologize for 'Wise Latina' Statement FOXNews
The Associated Press - NPR - New York Times - Los Angeles Times
all 12,658 news articles

Nuclear-armed North Korea is 'not acceptable', warns US - guardian.co.uk

Sunday, May 31st, 2009


Washington Post

Nuclear-armed North Korea is 'not acceptable', warns US
guardian.co.uk
A missile-firing drill in an undisclosed location in North Korea. Photograph: KCNA/KCNA/AFP/Getty Images America has warned it "will not accept" a nuclear-armed North Korea as new intelligence data showed that the secretive state was preparing a fresh
Video: Gates: N. Korea Nukes a Grave Threat The Associated Press
North Korea planning to launch long range rocket Times Online
Telegraph.co.uk - WIBW - New York Times - Reuters
all 5,747 news articles

Warning: Do You Recognize These 21 Blogging Mistakes?

Saturday, May 30th, 2009

“What’s the most common mistake made by new bloggers? How can we avoid it? - asked on Twitter by @alisonkerr.

Here are a few quick mistakes that I see new bloggers making (some of which mistakes I made myself). They’re listed in no particular order and I’d love for you to continue the list in comments below:

  1. Giving up too early - blogs take time to take off
  2. Putting off starting a blog - waiting until everything is just right before launching can mean you never do it
  3. Echoing what everyone else is talking about - say something unique and share your opinion
  4. Not blogging on your own domain - I know some swear by using hosted blogs but if you want ultimate control of your blog it is best to do it on your own domain and hosting.
  5. Irregular Posting - you don’t have to post every day but try to establish a regular rhythm of posting
  6. Being too apologetic - ’sorry I haven’t written for a while’ can end up being the most common type of post on a blog - yes apologize if you’ve messed up but don’t be too hard on yourself - keep investing your time into building your blog up rather than highlighting it’s problems.
  7. Focusing more upon Quick Traffic than Loyal Readers - there’s nothing wrong with a big rush of traffic from social media or another blog - but just as important as that is building reader loyalty. Sometimes growing one reader at a time is more fruitful than getting spikes of traffic that never returns.
  8. Clutter - too many buttons, widgets, navigation elements
  9. Great Posts but Terrible Titles - don’t short change yourself by investing hours into writing great content only to slap a mediocre headline/title onto it.
  10. Not Defining a Topic - the most successful blogs have a well defined topic/niche (or they target a certain demographic)
  11. Choosing a Topic you have no Interest in - for your blog to be successful you’ll need to blog regularly on your topic for years - if you want to sustain it choose something you have an interest in or love for or you’ll run out of steam.
  12. Too many Ads - I don’t have a problem with ads on a blog from Day #1 but when they overpower the content and push it down the page too far they hurt your chances of building a loyal readership.
  13. Being too Insular/Expecting Readers to come to You - many bloggers starting out fail to realize that the more you put yourself out there and interact with other bloggers the more chance you have of being read.
  14. Blogging about Making Money Blogging (as a first blog) - I’ve lost count of how many bloggers I’ve seen start blogs on the topic of blogging for money when they’ve never made money blogging. Start with something you know.
  15. Not Being Useful - blogs that meet needs and solve problems are blogs that people will keep coming back to and which they’ll spread news of to their network.
  16. Writing for Search Engines Before Humans - you can always tell when a blogger discovers Search Engine Optimization for the first time. Suddenly titles don’t make sense, keywords appear in posts for no real reason, links to other pages on the blog that are irrelevant to the post keep being used. Learn SEO - but keep your readers as your #1 priority.
  17. Becoming a Stats-a-holic - the lure of checking your stats is understandable and common to new (and older) bloggers - but it can become an unhealthy obsession that leads to distraction and depression.
  18. Link Baiting with Personal Attack - taking pot shots at other bloggers might get you some quick traffic - but hate breeds hate and the type of readers you attract and the culture it’ll breed on your blog could come back to bite you. Plus you’ll get a reputation that you might not want to live with.
  19. Not Knowing Why You’re Blogging - while most of us don’t really know what we’re doing at the start - the faster you can work out what the purpose of your blog is the sooner you’ll start moving toward achieving that purpose.
  20. Not Selling Yourself - one thing I don’t think many bloggers get is the power of blogs to sell yourself as a blogger. There’s nothing wrong with monetizing a blog with ads - but maybe a better long term strategy is to use a blog to advertise who you are and what you can offer readers.
  21. Thinking You Have to Know it All - one of the best things about blogs is that they’re a great medium for involving your readers in the process of learning. Leave space for others to interact, share what they know and contribute.

There’s ALOT more to be said on this topic - what mistakes do you see new (and older) bloggers making?

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

Warning: Do You Recognize These 21 Blogging Mistakes?

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US 'opposes' nuclear North Korea - BBC News

Saturday, May 30th, 2009


BBC News

US 'opposes' nuclear North Korea
BBC News
The US "will not accept" a nuclear-armed North Korea, the country's defence secretary has told a meeting of his Asian counterparts.
Video: Inside story - Nuclear tension - 28 May 09 Al Jazeera
Gates issues warning to North Korea Los Angeles Times
New York Times - Wall Street Journal - The Associated Press - Bloomberg
all 3,698 news articles

A Judge's Focus on Race Issues May Be Hurdle - New York Times

Saturday, May 30th, 2009


FOXNews

A Judge's Focus on Race Issues May Be Hurdle
New York Times
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK WASHINGTON - The selection of Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court has opened a new battle in the fight over affirmative action and other race-conscious remedies for patterns of inequality, with each side invoking the
Obama Says Judge Regrets Wording Washington Post
Court nominee used 'poor' word choice -White House Reuters
Wall Street Journal - Salt Lake Tribune - The Associated Press - FOXNews
all 11,015 news articles

Get Your Own Copy of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog WorkBook

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

Give your Blog a Kick Start with this 31 Day Challenge.

31dbbb2.pngRegular readers of ProBlogger are familiar with the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog project that we ran here recently.

The concept was simple: bloggers set aside 31 days to be intentional about improving their blogs.

Each day for 31 days readers were presented with a daily task and teaching to give them concrete ways to take their blogs to the next level - the goal being more readers, higher quality content, deeper reader engagement and higher levels of creativity and energy for the blogger.

Challenges included writing tasks, promotion techniques, methods to deepen reader engagement, creating thinking exercises, ideas for breaking through bloggers block and much more.

Today I’m releasing a Workbook that puts a fully updated version of 31 Day Challenge in your hands

If you already know about it and want a copy now - you can buy it now here.

Why a Workbook?

Over 13,000 bloggers signed up for the initial challenge and the feedback was fantastic.

Bloggers who’ve taken the tasks seriously are reporting increases in traffic, greater reader engagement, fresh inspiration for posts and a greater sense of where their blog is headed.

However two common requests came from participants repeatedly:

  • 1. People wanted to do the challenge at their own pace (some found daily tasks too fast, some too slow).
  • 2. People wanted all the content in the one place (so they could keep it somewhere handy and dip into it again and again over time).

As a result I decided to put together a downloadable workbook version of the challenge.

The work book is professionally edited - contains new content, unique to the workbook and it is available to purchase today in two ways.

Two Ways to Get the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Workbook

1. Get the Book By Itself For $19.95

31days.pngDownload the 31DBBB workbook as described below for $19.95 USD.

To order it with this option simply hit the following ‘buy now’ button and you’ll be taken to PayPal where you can finalize your payment and download the workbook immediately.

Buy Now

2. Get the Workbook + Online Marketing Inside Out Book For $29.95

2books-online-blog-splay.pngSitePoint (who helped me with editing the book) are also releasing a new book (a hard cover book not an e-book) today - it’s called Online Marketing Inside Out.

It is a great resource for those wanting to market products or services on the Web. This book shows you how to reach customers through podcasting, blogs, social networks, video, email, and contextual advertising and much more.

To get this 2-for-1 deal simply head over to SitePoint where you can read more about the book they’re offering and will receive both books when you order. Order Now (via SitePoint).

What You Receive with the Workbook

The 31 Days to Build a Better Blog project is all about giving participants a series of 31 daily tasks to help them make improvements in their blogs. This workbook takes this goal a step further with:

  • Refreshed and Edited Versions of the Daily Tasks and Teaching
  • New Bonus Material - each day has extra tips, questions and reflections (6000 extra words of content to help you extend the daily tasks and help you to apply them)
  • Notes Areas - if you print out the book there is room to take notes, record ideas and make plans to help you implement the content
  • 94 pages of content - actually we put two pages on each page in the book so it’s actually 188 pages.

Grab Yourself a Copy Today

Whether you’ve completed each of the 31 Daily tasks already and want to have a copy to dip into again and again as you continue to develop your blog or whether you’re yet to really start 31DBBB - I hope you’ll find this workbook helpful.

Grab your copy of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog workbook here

PS: How are Bloggers using 31DBBB?

One of the things that I’ve loved about 31DBBB is seeing how it is being used so differently by different participants.

While originally designed for bloggers to work through over a month - the feedback that we’ve been hearing from bloggers indicates that 31DBBB is being used in a variety of ways including:

  • Intense Training - bloggers setting aside days, weekends or weeks to go through multiple tasks at once
  • 1 Task a Day - the way we designed it - one day at a time
  • 1 Task a Week - bloggers taking their time with the challenge and making the tasks week long tasks
  • Monthly Cycle - bloggers using the tasks again and again each month as a monthly routine for their blogging.
  • Occasional Inspirational Resource - bloggers dipping into 31DBBB on a more occasional basis - using it on days when they have time or lack inspiration.

The great thing about 31DBBB is that you can do it at your own pace and in your own way. Daily tasks don’t need to be done daily or in any particular order as all but two are independent tasks that can be repeated time and time again to help you grow a dynamic blog.

Grab your copy of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog workbook here

PS: A special thanks to the team at SitePoint who helped with cover design and editing as well as to Reese Spykerman with help with layout and design.

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

Get Your Own Copy of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog WorkBook

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Got a Question? Want to Connect?

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

Two quick notes for ProBlogger readers of a ’social persuasion’:

1. Got a Question? Ask it on Twitter - if you have a question that you’d like me to answer as a post on ProBlogger please feel free to ask it on Twitter with the hashtag of #pbquestions. I can’t do them all but am using it as a way to collect topics that you’re interested in. If we’re not already connected on Twitter follow me at @problogger.

2. Connect on Facebook - As Facebook limit ‘friend numbers’ to 5000 I’ve started a ‘fan page‘ for those who’d like to connect with me on that social network. I’ll be monitoring facebook more than I previously have so if it’s your preferred social network I’d love to connect with you there.

PS: while we’re talking social media - if your preferred network is LinkedIn or FriendFeed I also have accounts there where I’m happy to connect (although at this point I’m not quite as active there). The other place I have a presence is YouTube - subscribe to my channel there and you’ll get an advanced warning of new videos before they hit the blog here.

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

Got a Question? Want to Connect?

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GM Bondholder Group Agrees to Plan That Clears Bankruptcy Path - Bloomberg

Thursday, May 28th, 2009


ABC News

GM Bondholder Group Agrees to Plan That Clears Bankruptcy Path
Bloomberg
By Mike Ramsey and Caroline Salas May 28 (Bloomberg) — General Motors Corp. and the US Treasury reached an agreement with some of the automaker's largest bondholders to smooth the way through bankruptcy.
Video: GM All but Certain to File for Chapter 11 The Associated Press
GM reaches deal with bondholders Bizjournals.com
MarketWatch - New York Times - CNNMoney.com - Reuters
all 4,978 news articles


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