The Wax Blog

The topic of plagiarism has crossed my path on a few different occasions recently, and it’s come to my attention that people just seem to think there are different rules when it comes to the Internet.

While we all learned how to appropriately source references in public school (in the days before the internet), some have thrown those guidelines out the window. That may be because there’s LOTS of plagiarism on the internet already that makes it appear that content theft is normal; it’s not at all uncommon to see the same content posted in 8 different places without a link or credit to the original writer.

I know we covered protecting yourself from how to Stick to the Facts to Avoid Content Plagiarism, but with so much discussion and confusion on the subject, let’s go back to the basics. You want to protect yourself from a lawsuit, and you don’t want to hurt your SEO rankings with too much duplication after all.

Guidelines to Avoid Online Plagiarism (more…)

As our regular readers likely know by now, my strategies in blogging typically find a happy medium between having a technical-minded SEO focus and a customer-oriented approach.  I’m all about balance and a big believer that regardless of what your SEO stats tell you, if you’re not connecting with your clients, you’re not accomplishing enough. I bring this up only because there is one area where it’s just dawned on me that my views differ, and it relates to inserting hyperlinks on your blog.

Should Hyperlinks On Your Blog Be About Customers or SEO? (more…)

With a new year here, it’s the time that most businesses review the strategies that they used last year and come up with the game plan for 2011. One of the important things to look at when you’re determining what worked and what didn’t on your blog is your statistics.  You know I’m not just about the numbers, but there are specific things you can look at to get insight into how your readers feel about the content you’re producing.

1.     Which topics your readers are looking for – this one is pretty simple to judge. The posts that have the most direct traffic are the ones that people are most looking for.

2.     Which posts are most enjoyed – take a look at how long people are spending looking at each post.  The posts that were only glanced at for a few seconds clearly weren’t especially appealing. Thirty seconds or more at least means they gave it a glance, and a minute or more means they were reading and processing what you wrote. It could be a combination of the topic and the style that makes a post appealing!

3.     If a post was stimulating – if you’ve gotten a lot of comments, it’s fair to say you’ve either written something genius or really hit a nerve. Either is good.

4.     If  you have regular readers – those that find your blog by searching for a specific topic will land on that blog post itself, not the main blog page (yourwebsite.com/blog or blog.yourwebsite.com). Those that visit your main blog page directly are either searching for your business’ blog, going to it after they’ve already landed on your website, or they’re return visitors. Of course, if you want you can dig a little deeper and find out which of those scenarios are true of your readers, but it any case, you know you’ve got a captive audience of regular readers by looking at how many people go directly to your blog. Subscription numbers can also provide this insight, but not everyone who subscribes reads, and not everyone who reads subscribes.

5.     Effective SEO posts – you know you’ve got a strong, keyword rich post when it’s still getting a substantial number of visits even when it’s no longer new.

By Beth Graddon-HOodgson

When I discussed avoiding legal issues, I said that you’re safe when sticking with the facts that are provided from a resource you’re using because publicly known information can’t be considered plagiarism (as long as you reference where you found it). But the thing with simply sticking to the facts is that you’re not bringing anything unique to the table. You’ve got to give people a reason to use your article to give them the facts, or they’ll simply move along to the next search result.

Many of the components that can make your take on the topic unique have been covered before in past posts. There is one other way, however, and all you’ve got to do to capture a reader’s interest is put a fresh spin on the topic.
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By Beth Graddon-Hodgson

Je ne peux pas vous entendre!

When you blog, do you put much thought into the language that you’re using? I don’t just mean whether you’re writing in English, French or Spanish; I also mean your use of grammar and word choice. Most people don’t think about it, they simply write in the language they’re accustomed to. But speaking the right language can truly help attract your target audience to your business blog, so it’s about time you start!

Here’s the thing – the language you use, specifically when incorporating your keywords can make a big difference on the type of traffic your draw to your blog. While all traffic is good traffic, you really want readers that could turn into clients on day so you get your ROI.

Speak their language and you’ve got a much better chance of gaining exposure with the right people.
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By Beth Graddon-Hodgson

It doesn’t matter what you’re writing about, whether you’re blogging for your business or writing a novel; it’s still a creative process. To produce your best work, you’ve got to find your groove and then simply let the words flow.

My day consists of a lot of different types of writing. A fairly large percentage of it is business blogging, but for each and every blog it’s for a different industry, in a different style and tone. Then there are the articles, web copy and other pieces that I’ve got to dive right into. Wondering what my point is? Well, changing hats so many times throughout the day is not easy, and I need to wipe the slate clean, get new perspective and return to write with new inspiration.

Inspiration for writing can come from anywhere. What works for me, won’t necessarily work for you, but finding what recharges you is essential if you want to be successful as a professional blogger or a business owner writing for your business blog.

The idea of inspiration can be taken far too literally. Just because you’re writing an article about gardening, doesn’t mean that you need to get out there and start weeding. That might come later, but the inspiration to write must come from within you, not what’s around you.

I take a break between every item I write to find it within me. I am most inspired when I step away from thinking like a writer and just exist, even if only for a few minutes. I recharge by closing my eyes and listening to a favorite song, repeating a positive affirmation, or doing some deep breathing while stretching in a freeing yoga pose that’s good for the mind and body. Inspiration can also come from other activities that you wouldn’t expect; a chat with a friend or family member, a moment to pet or play with pets, or a few minutes of social networking.

Inspiration can come from freeing yourself of whatever was on your mind, so you return to write with new perspective, ready to focus on whatever project is ahead of you.

What inspires you?