The Wax Blog

This year savvy problogger Beth Graddon-Hodgson of WriteSourcing started writing a column for the Wax blog. There were many, many posts that generated great conversation but definitely the one that seemed to strike folks was Beth’s post on picking topics for your blog. So here it is again – and be sure to read the comments on the original post - quite insightful!

How to pick topics for your blog

By Beth Graddon- Hodgson

Once you have a focal point for your blog and have decided whether you’re going to focus on writing your blogs in a topical or personal style (or combination of the two, it’s time to actually sit down and start blogging. If you think making those decisions was a challenge, then you’re in for what’s the hardest and most essential part of creating an effective business blog. After all, some of those elements are decisions you only need to think about once; choosing a specific blog topic has to be on your mind whenever you sit down to write on a weekly or daily basis. (more…)

I remember the first few times I tweeted a blog post of mine. “What if people thought it was dumb??” I thought. But if you’re serious about blogging, you have to be equally serious about promoting your blog or frankly, no one will read it. Here Beth covers the basics to help you get started on a lifetime of shamelessly promoting YOUR blog. Read her column regularly for great tips on blogging from a real problogger.

Once you’ve started to get some provocative content up on your blog, you’re ready to start driving more traffic to it. Since we’ve discussed creating search engine friendly content so much in the past, this post is not going to focus on attracting readers with your content. If that’s the type of insight you’re looking for, check out some of my earlier posts on the subject, like this one on keyword use . There are various ways to bring even more exposure to your blog, but pick and choose the ones that make sense for your business.
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By Beth Graddon-Hodgson

A great blog should attract regular feedback from readers. Any subject that provokes thought, whether it’s because visitors love or hate what you wrote, entices them to leave a comment. They might ask for further clarification, leave an opinion of their own, or thank you for the information. Sometimes if your opinion or perspective in an article really irks them, they’ll even bash you on a personal level. Comments are comments and they’re all fantastic, because you know you made an impression on your readers.

You might think that the only reason to answer comments is for courtesy, like the obligation to return a phone call when a voice mail has been left. It is the polite thing to do, indeed, but you can also use comments to keep your readers talking. (more…)

By Beth Graddon-Hodgson

If you’ve got a business blog, at some point, you’ve probably considered writing a guest post for another blog or online publication. Some bloggers are hesitant about doing this, thinking “why would I drive traffic to someone else’s site when I can focus on doing the same for my own?” Well, like many things these posts have addressed about blogging, that’s another misconception.

Here are some of the reasons why guest blogging for another blog will help you improve your own blog’s web traffic and help advance your business. So open yourself up to the idea, and it’ll be a good thing!

By Beth Graddon-Hodgson

In last week’s post about writing headlines we touched a little bit upon keyword usage and the tools that are available to determine the right terms to incorporate. Relevant keywords must appear in your blog content as well as in your headlines in order to fare well with search engine results. To use them, you’ve got to learn how to determine what relevant keywords are with regards to your blog and each individual topic you choose to focus on. The term SEO tends to scare many new bloggers, but it’s not necessary to get all technical in order to get the right results. (more…)

By Beth Graddon- Hodgson

You might think that it’s only your actual blog content that is going to get people to stop by and read, but images play a big role, too. They can help make your blog posts appear more professional and attractive, but that’s really only a small portion of their benefits.

For one thing, the images can drive traffic to your blog. People search for usable photos just about as often as they search for information online. When you post a photo and use your blogging tool to upload it with a title, relevant keywords and a caption, you’re creating another way for people to find you on search engines. This can encourage them to either read your blog content while they’re already found themselves on your site, or give you a link back if they decide to use your image on their own blog or site.

(Quick note – I thought this was a great time to try out the WordPress free photo plugin from Crestock. Works GREAT just search “free photo” in your directory or download it here. 

Of course, photo usage needs to be done carefully, or you might find yourself at the losing end of a lawsuit. Not all of the pictures you upload on your blog need to be yours, but these are the guidelines to follow before you put a picture on your post: (more…)