Taking Advantage of Black Friday

Yes, Black Friday has come and gone, but it will be back again next year. The neat thing about Black Friday is that most shoppers rush out to the stores, trample people, while racing for those deals. It isn’t until the days following where shoppers look for the deals online. So how can you benefit from this and take advantage of shoppers during the Holiday Season?

Put yourself in the shopper’s shoes. Pretend you are a shopper online and envision yourself having to seek out gifts. Some questions you need to ask yourself are:

a) What are the new and hot products?
b) Can these products actually be purchased online?
c) What do you know about these products?
d) Can you offer advice on any of these hot new products?
e) Is the Internet already saturated with content about these hot new products?
f) Is the product related to your blog’s niche?

Once you ask yourself these questions you probably can narrow it down a bit better if it is worth writing about an item or not. ipods are a cool topic, or the new iphone, but more than likely the Internet is saturated with information on this. Finding products to talk about can take a lot of research. So what can you do?

Look around at other blog’s in your niche. What types of products are they discussing? If you have run a parenting blog for the last 2 years and have been all over the Internet reading other parenting blogs then you probably have a good idea what types of products have been talked about and what the new hot items are for this year.

Write a review about it. Maybe go out and actually buy the product and test it out. Write about it. Tell people how it functions. Did it live up to your expectations? If not… why?

Link to other reviews. Maybe you don’t have all kinds of money to blow on the product or you have your doubts about. Do a roundup and link to what others are saying about it. Put 80% of the links to blogs in your niche. Then try breaking out a bit and see if other blogs outside of your niche have blogged about it. Link to them. Pingbacks may drive traffic back to your article.

Make sure in your articles you are using nice keyword rich text. Link often and liberally to sources. You never know… you may get on the first page of Google for those searching online for information about the hot new item…

Comment on other blogs talking about the same product and make sure to link your name to either your blog or that specific blog post. Remember, people search the Internet heavily by topic. If you can stick with the same crowd and get some links coming and going you will see a rise in traffic naturally, as long as the topic remains of interest.

Now what if you wrote about a product and more traffic comes your way? How do you jump on this opportunity? Maybe one example would be to post a link at the end of that article inviting readers to subscribe to your feed via email. Feedburner offers a great service that will deliver your posts via email to those who choose to sign up for this feature. As a matter of fact, if you want to subscribe to my feed via email you can do so right here at this link.

What other things can you do? You can provide links at the end of your article leading them deeper into your blog with other related articles. Maybe you blogged about that product on many occasions. At the end of the article tell your readers if they enjoyed this post why not try reading a few of these… and leave a list of about 3 or 4 other articles that may interest them.

Another option would be to provide a link to any referral type programs. The downside of this is you are providing a link which will lead people away from your blog. On a good note, some of these referral programs can earn you a bit of cash. It’s really your choice. If you can find the right program which is closely related to the topic being discussed in the article then it should only benefit you since you are sending targeted traffic to a program potentially making you money. Any random program is a bit risky and you could probably benefit by keeping the reader at your blog longer.

Any other ideas? How can you benefit from added traffic on a blog article that is attracting people? Don’t forget to open those comments up and get conversation going. Readers will be back to see if anyone replied. This can boost traffic momentarily. The key is to get these new readers to come back and stick around.

Ways to Increase Your Alexa Rank

Most of you who have been blogging for a while or who have been online for some time now, understand that Google ranks each website. It is more of a rating 1 through 10. I believe that no site out there on the Internet has been ranked 10. Naturally, the higher your rank the chances of you being higher in the search engine is greater.

Alexa is similar to Google and they provide each website out there on the Internet a rank. How it works, though, is a bit different. Alexa ranks the top site with a 1, which is actually Yahoo. CNN Money ranks number 2. So the lower the number the better you are. There are ways to get a lower (better) ranking with Alexa. If you rank 235,000 then you know that there are 234,999 other websites out there that rank better than you. Now since there are millions of websites on the Internet, getting as low as 200,000 is extremely good. Alexa’s ranking is based on the level of traffic each website receives from the number of people who visit a website with the Alexa toolbar installed.

The traffic rank is based on three months of aggregated historical traffic data from millions of Alexa Toolbar users and is a combined measure of page views and users (reach). As a first step, Alexa computes the reach and number of page views for all sites on the Web on a daily basis.

The main Alexa traffic rank is based on the geometric mean of these two quantities averaged over time (so that the rank of a site reflects both the number of users who visit that site as well as the number of pages on the site viewed by those users)

So how do you rank lower and better with Alexa?

*The most basic step is to Install the Alexa toolbar or Firefox’s SearchStatus extension and set your blog as your homepage.

*Try puttnig up an Alexa rank widget on your website.

*Encourage others to use the Alexa toolbar, like friends, fellow webmasters, and your readers.

*Write or Blog about Alexa. Others enjoy reading about ways to increase their Alexa ranking and, in turn, will hopefully like to your article sending you targeted traffic. Hopefully they will have the toolbar already installed. This gradually has effects on your Alexa ranking.

*Get one of your articles submitted to Digg or Stumble Upon when you can. This usually brings massive numbers of visitors to your website and the sheer volume will have a positive impact on your Alexa Rank. Naturally, you’ll need to develop link worthy material.

*Use Pay-per-Click Campaigns. Buying advertisements on search engines such as Google or Exact Seek will help bring in traffic. It will be more useful when your ad is highly relevant to webmasters, who are more apt to be using the Alexa toolbar.

*Optimize your popular posts. If you have a popular post that consistently receives traffic from the search engines, include a widget at the bottom of the post and then link to your Alexa post.

If You Can’t Get to the News First

An important aspect to being a successful blogger is getting to that news first. If you can beat the blogosphere and be the first to announce breaking news you can build some good trusted readers. But you can’t always be the first onto a top story. So what can you do?

I think there are many things you can do with a story even if you aren’t the first to post it. So don’t be afraid if you get to it 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc. I guess when it has been 3 days and there are 212 pages of results for all the blogs that posted about it… well maybe you should give it up.

But, heck we can’t always be the first to post about something, and in fact it is rare. So what do we do?

Be the first to post a decent commentary about it. Though we may be looking for facts, we also want to hear what others have to say about something. It is our nature. So quit beating yourself up over trying to get to that story first. I know it can be a great way to get some hits but I think what’s most important… and a lasting impression is what you do with that information.

Post your opinion and tell your readers about it. Personally I can’t stand reading politics blogs when all of the Democrats have the same opinion and all the Republicans have the same differing opinions. I mean come on folks. Are we that simple of human beings where we are either Democrat or Republican? If there is a top story on Barrack Obama, you can almost bet that if you land on any or all Democratic blogs you will read pretty much the same thing. Same goes with Republicans.

So my point? Umm…. Be yourself and discuss the issue. Being able to have a strong voice that isn’t the same as all those other bloggers is important.

So how do you stand out in your commentary? You can agree with everybody in your camp or you can have a real opinion. But maybe you do agree with everybody? But my point is that don’t simply write what everybody else is writing just to get the news posted on your blog. Actually take the time and come up with something decent to write. In the end it is all about what you say…

Obama… Osama…

Ways I Get Around Blogger’s Block!!

I pick up a book and read.
When I write I picture it as output. I take what is currently in stock in my brain and put it together and then write about it. But what happens when you run out of inventory? It is time to reorder your stock. I find that reading a book helps me restock up on ideas. But what is really happening is you are working your brain in a different way. It is tough to work the same muscle over and over and over again without working some other muscle. You will become lopsided. Reading and writing are both necessary to be healthy and fit for producing good blog posts. So, spend time reading!!

I browse other blogs and leave comments.
Reading what others have to say and participating in other people’s ideas can really stimulate your creative side. You don’t have to comment on blogs in your niche. Just comment on blogs that interest you and participate. It is tough to produce material on the same topic over and over again. You should engage in other forms of writing. Which leads me to…..

Free write
Write something else in a word document or for some other purpose. It is tough to be a well rounded writer when all you do is write about the same topic. Write about what it means to be a dad or mom. Or write a piece on how you lost weight. Or write about your new truck. Write about how to think of ideas on what to write. Write about your family vacation.

Go for an hour walk.
It is proven that exercise stimulates creativity. It releases endorphins and will help you with ideas on what to write and probably other things. I know that I have to be overly careful when I am on my walks because I get a sudden rush of ideas that some may seem realistic at the time but later find out that my goals I set on my walk were far out of reach. So it is best to exercise and then write down your ideas for later assessment.

Make a list.
I will make a list at the beginning of the week of things I want to blog about. Keep a notebook and take notes of your thoughts. I know I come up with great ideas but 2 hours later I can’t remember that idea. Writing stuff down helps me remember. Those ideas you get when you exercise should be logged in to your notebook. This will make your life so much easier when it comes to blogging.

Take a short unannounced holiday.
Don’t announce it, don’t ever apologize to your readers, just don’t post for 2 days and then come back strong. Nobody really cares that you are going through a rut. Everybody does it. If you can’t think of anything to write don’t force it. Go back to the drawing board. After trying many things and that doesn’t do the trick, then take a mini 2 day holiday. Don’t feel guilty, just do other things like clean the house, go mow the lawn, do some yard work, take a family trip and take pictures, etc. Then when you come back, come back strong.

These are some of the things I do. What do you do to avoid blogger’s block?

Conduct a Weekly Blog Blitz

I have experienced many times in the past a direct boost in traffic from commenting on other blogs. It doesn’t have to be a huge increase in traffic but sometimes I go out on blitzes. We all get busy and when we get extra time we focus on content and promotion but sometimes I just plan a blog blitz. I spend a couple hours exploring and visiting blogs I just feel I hadn’t had the time to participate in.

Do you have a list of blogs you wish to be part of but you just can’t because you are busy? Well when you do a blog blitz make sure you hit that list. Keep the list in your favorites and add to the list when you come across good blogs. Then when it’s time for blitzing you hit all of them.

What do I do during a blog blitz? I mainly read through the latest blog entries and make note to comment on at least one of them. Sometimes I find myself commenting on a couple or sometimes I just can’t bring myself to comment at all. Just move on quickly.

I think it is important to be sincere and not just comment for the sake of commenting so if you can’t think of something to say within 20 or 30 seconds then don’t force something. It wouldn’t be sincere if you did. Just move on and spend time getting an idea what others are writing about for the week. Comment on stuff and follow links given to you by trusted and resourceful blogs. Explore new blogs and comment on them.

I have found each time I do this my traffic spikes a bit and I may get a couple new loyal readers.

So make time to blog blitz once per week on average.

Get Out There and Do Interviews

Whether its text or in the form of a podcast one of the best ways to gain legitimacy and interest is through online interviews. You see them quite frequently on the web but are you seeking out potential candidates to appear on your blog?

I remember back when we were trying to get the Black Bear Blog up to speed. I actually was approached by Field & Stream’s online Editor about placing our link on their 3 new blogs. I was excited about it and then it dawned on me that I should take the opportunity to get an interview. And so I did.

But don’t be afraid to reach out and email people. You have to ask the right questions. In the email don’t be long winded and drawn out. More than likely they will pass over it and say they don’t have time. Write short emails and get straight to the point. They will more than likely respond with something.

Give it a try and let me know what happens.

Who Do You Blog For?

Are you blogging for your own enjoyment? Maybe you like blogging because it is an outlet for yourself. But one needs to ask themselves who they are really blogging for and why they blog. If you are blogging for business you are more than definitely blogging for your potential and current clients. When you begin to look at blogging from the client’s perspective you see what it is that you must provide for them in order to make them happy. Put yourself in their shoes and then look at your blog. Is it working for them? Is this blog something that is a great resource and promoter for my business?

Patsi at Build a Better Blog writes 7 Elements of a Good Business Blog. Patsi touches on 7 things your blog should have at a minimum if it is to work efficiently for your business. Do you agree? Is Patsi missing anything? In other words, are there more than 7 things that are needed to have a good business blog?

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