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Making Great Titles
When browsing for articles on specific topics, people usually look at the title as it appears in Google’s search results before ever opening the page. Many times, as you all know, if the title doesn’t seem interesting or relevant the person in question will simply skip over it without ever clicking the link! That’s why, in my mind, the title you choose for your article is almost as important as the article itself.
When choosing the title of an article you are working on, try to keep it short. People don’t like to stop and read through your title, they want to get the idea at a glance.
Making a funny title is also a good idea, however, always make sure it stays to the point and doesn’t appear to be something its not.
People love articles that give a list of 10 (or 101) things. If you choose to make an article like this (which you should from time to time), make sure you start the title with something like “Top 10″ or “101 Things”.
Another favorite type of article is one that lists two items or ways of thinking and compares them. One tried and true way to make a title for an article like this is to list the two thinks and simply insert a “vs” in between.
The last suggestion I will give is asking a question in your title. Virtually any kind of article can have a title that lists a question. However, I wouldn’t recommend using this kind of title every time!
Written by Tim on May 7, 2010
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Comments (1)
10 Blog Article Ideas
Today, as I sat down to write an article, I was struck with a question which I am many times haunted with, “what do I write about?!!” This is a question I doubt any blog writer is free of! So, in today’s post, I’m going to list ten ideas for your blog. I think it will help those writers out there, not to mention it will help give me something to write 
1. Post a Link. If you’re on the go, a really good way to post something fast is to post a link to a website that your readers may find helpful.
2. Write About Another Blog Article. Take ideas from other posts. It’s even OK to rewrite what another person wrote – just make sure and mention you weren’t the one who came up with it!
3. Answer Questions. Do some research, find what people are confused about in your niche and post the answer in your blog. You can even do a survey to find out exactly what your readers are confused about – this leads me to my next idea.
4. Take a Survey. Write a post that simply asks your readers a few questions about what they think. This will attract more comments, and give you an idea of where your readers stand.
5. Write About Current Events. Keep up with what’s happening in your niche. People love to hear different opinions on what’s hot in the news.
6. Post What’s Happening in Your Business. Although you shouldn’t bore your readers with stuff about your company all the time, it’s good to let them know how you’re doing every once in a while.
7. Look Into Your Blog Archives. Try digging way back into some of your past articles and see if you can improve them so they’re more relevant.
8. Write Something Controversial. Usually the posts that get the most comments are the ones that are the most controversial!
9. Post a _____ vs ______. Compare two products or ideas in a blog article. Give the pros and cons to both so it seems like a competition!
10. Write Something with 10. Give an article that lists the 10 best ____ or 10 great ideas
Written by Tim on April 12, 2010
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Comments (5)
Don’t Just Write to Search Engines!
As a blog writer, it’s so easy for me to get caught in the trap where I just write so search engines will rank my site higher. Although writing blog articles does help your website’s ranking with Google, don’t make that your primary purpose for writing.
A lot of business owners understand that keeping up a blog helps your website’s ranking – and they are right. But, many times people write blog articles with search engines as the only reader in mind! So, they are tempted with making their blog articles rather sloppy.
Try not to get caught up in doing this. Even if you don’t feel like too many people are reading your articles, by making your articles sloppy ensures that no one will ever want to read them. If no one ever wants to read your articles, no one will comment or digg them. If Google notices that none of your articles have any diggs or comments, it may catch on to what you are doing!
Also, be encouraged, just because you don’t have a big response right away doesn’t mean that no one is reading your blog. You would probably be surprised at how many people are actually reading your articles and learning from them.
Written by Tim on March 19, 2010
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Comments (1)
How Often Should I Update My Blog?
When I first started a blog for my business, a question that came to my head was “how often should I post a new article?” I think this is a very common question among business owners. Although it doesn’t seem too important, it is extremely important!!
Usually when people start a blog they post new articles as they find the time. Although this seems reasonable, it is not a good way to handle your blog. The most important thing you must understand is that consistency is the key. Even if you don’t post articles very often, make sure you set up a schedule of when to post articles and stick to it. People and search engines hate it when you are inconsistent with your posting.
With that out of the way, let me address the real question: “how often should I post a new article?” The answer may vary depending on the size of your company and the amount of time you have. For instance, if you are a large company with many writers, updating your blog a few times a day is good. If you are a smaller, one-man business, then once or twice a week will do. The real question that you should ask yourself is “how often do I want people to visit my blog?” Of course, usually the answer is “as often as possible!” However, most people don’t have time to update their blog daily. So, it’s a good idea to set up a schedule for updating yours as often as you can. I would recommend posting a new article at least once a week. Again, make sure you are consistent with your posting – that’s the most important part.
Written by Tim on February 1, 2010
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Comments (21)
Several posts ago I went over the benefits of getting on social media sites. That is a great thing to do, but if you don’t reach out to other profiles and blogs, you haven’t done much. What do I mean by this? Well, there are a variety of ways to reach out to other profiles. It can mean different things for different social media sites. One major thing that comes to mind is commenting. Get your name out there by commenting on other people’s posts. Most of us are always thinking of how to get more comments on our own posts, but we tend to overlook commenting on others’ posts. Not only does commenting get your name out there, but many times social media sites/blogs allow you to post a link to your site along with your comment. Getting high ranking on Google requires lots of links to your site, so commenting can be good for SEO too.
Commenting on posts is not the only way to reach out with social media. It’s also a good idea to read other posts (especially competitors’). This gives you an idea about what everybody else is blogging about, and what are the hot topics everybody’s interested in.
You may also want to link to other posts in your in your’s. This makes the people you linked to happy and more liable to link to your posts. These are just a few ways to reach out in the world of social media. You see, we always think of our own social media profiles/blogs, but it’s also a good idea to reach out and take a look at other’s.
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