The Wax Blog

I don’t know about you, but the holidays are definitely my time to go light on the blog posts. Traffic drops too, from my experience. But is it really good to go “dark” this time of year? Here’s Beth’s take on the subject:

I’ve got clients that are considering a blackout period in their editorial calendars. But is that really a good idea? You might think no one is reading but you would be wrong. Don’t you know that people can only take so much family time before they’re in withdrawal from work? Nope, it isn’t just you. They will tune in just to get a taste of their normal reality. However, there are some things to think about:
1. People may be drinking
2. People may be taking a quick glimpse from their iPhones or iPads
3. People are probably in relaxation mode

What all these things tell you is that for the holiday weekend you should keep it light. Post a Wordless Wednesday, write something that’s fast to process, make it funny. Just don’t black out a spot on your calendar and try write your posts in advance . Your posts won’t be as entertaining as you think they are after a few glasses of cabarnet.

Sire, methinks you need more links.

Google Panda has made it even more essential that you use high-quality links in your blog posts – and all of your web content for that matter. But you have to know what constitutes a ‘high quality link’. Some may have more rigid ideas about what this means, but I think there is some room for interpretation. Too many low quality links can hurt you in the long run. Here are three good suggestions for finding links that add value to your blog or site:

1) Leading sources – government sources, top industry blogs etc are the ones that Google considers the most reputable. These sites do offer a way to put some quantitative research into an article that you’re writing, so they’re good for more than simply ranking benefits. (more…)

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve explored the cons (and pros) of Google Panda as well as some tips to make sure your blog meets the new criteria. This week, I want to look a little bit more generally at the things that you need to do if your website has already been hurt by Google Panda.

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By Beth Graddon-Hodgson

It doesn’t matter how you are or what you are writing about, at some point, you are going to fall under scrutiny for something that you did or didn’t say, or about the style of your writing. Sometimes  when you’re a writer, it may be your client that questions your choices. But, more often than not, the scrutiny comes from your readers. We’ve talked about dealing with criticism before on a larger scale; this time, we’ll focus on exactly what you should ask yourself before you decide how to deal with that criticism. (more…)

With these columns, we focus a lot on tips that help you get your blog started – things that will help you generate that readership, get them to engage and so on. It isn’t often that I talk about what happens AFTER you’ve got a captive audience available and how it should change your content.  Like anything good you do in life, your blog content needs to evolve. Once you’ve got that interest of readers, you need to keep it, and evolving your content is the only way that will happen.

To help you better understand what I am going to explain (in my next post) with regards to content for highly established blogs, let’s look at what I typically suggest you do with a blog that is just getting started. (more…)

Thanks to Wes Towers for this easy yet powerful list for business owners. Here’s how you turn blogging into marketing.

Marketers understand blogging is one of the best ways to reach out to their target audience. It has become an efficient way to share updates, news and other information to your customers and prospects. It is also a great way to share thoughts on issues as well. Although it will never replace the power of the telephone for one-on-one communication, blogging wins hands down for communicating to the masses in a cost effective manner.

A blog site sitting along side your main website lets you as a business owner boost your online presence. It’s an opportunity to share your company’s latest news, events and what’s happening in the industry. The problem is, many set out and never seem to get the readership required for it to really be of benefit to the business.

Now, let’s just say that you already have set up your blog and have even started posting content. What are you doing to let your target audience know about it? What have you done to increase your blog readership? Nothing? Sadly, that’s the answer most people give.

Here are a few pointers to help you turn your blog into a powerful marketing strategy: (more…)