CSI Blog 4 Business

Numbers, numbers, you know you want them and basically need them in order to convince potential advertisers that you have the juice to get your readers’ eyes on their products. Of course, you don’t have to blog for numbers, but it helps. Even if you just want to blog to the world; I’m sure that you’d like some eyeballs on your posts. So here are 10 tips that will help you get the numbers you crave for whatever reasons you choose.

1. Install “Tweet This!”

Tweet This! is a great plugin that automatically adds a “Tweet This Post” alert link to each and every post and page, making it easy for your readers to share what they just read with their friends, fans and likers. It can also automatically Tweet new blog posts to Twitter so you don’t have to worry about doing it manually.

2. Get 2 Posts for the Price of 1 “Publish”

Save time and take some work off your plate by integrating Twitter with your Facebook page. This way when you Tweet, it also posts to Facebook. Take it one step further when you install Tweet This! and publish your post. The Facebook/Twitter integration will automatically publish that same post to Twitter and Facebook. OK one more, link your Facebook Fan Page to your Facebook profile and you’ll get 4 posts to one “publish.”

3. Set up an “Idea” or Clip File

Setting up an Idea or Clip File helps you when you’re creating your editorial calendar (explained in Tip #4). All day, every day, you’re reading, listening and exploring. Take the best ideas from the stories you read, videos you see and podcasts you listen to and put them in a file. It can be an electronic or paper folder or a combination of both. Use the ideas that you file as foundations for your future posts.

4. Create an Editorial Calendar

An editorial calendar allows you to plan upcoming posts and alert your readers as to what you will be writing about, so they can look forward to reading your wonderful posts. You can plan what you’re going to write about weeks or even months ahead of time.

Here are two suggestions on how to do it:

1)      Create a spreadsheet and save a slot for each post’s subject or title, along with the date the post should go live. For each post write a sentence or two that explains what that post is about.

2)      Develop theme days: Mondays=”List Days,” Tuesdays=”Review day,” Thursdays=”Opinion or rant days” and so on.

5. Create a Blogging Schedule

I just shared with you about creating an editorial calendar; it’s only natural that you now create a schedule of when you’re going to blog so you can actually produce that calendar. Consistency is the best way to create a following. So whether its twice a week or every day, set up a schedule to write your blogs and post them and then stick to it.

6. Set up Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a totally Free tool from Google that allows you to track your website visitors, where they come from and what they do while on your site. If you don’t know how to set it up, check out this article and start tracking.

7. Watch Your Words

A blog post is just that, a post. It’s not a dissertation or report or term paper. It’s really more of a space for you to share your knowledge, feelings, expertise or just plain “ordinaryness” with your readers. With that in mind, SEO experts advise keeping posts between 250 and 1000 words. This is only a guide, so say what you have to say, but do it so that your audience WANTS to read it and come back to for more.

8. Ask Questions

Engagement of your audience is just as important as getting people to read your blog. So when they visit, give them something to think about, ponder on and talk about. The simplest way is to ask a question. Answering questions brings more questions and more comments AND keeps readers coming back.

9. “Digg” and “Stumble” Your Posts

Both Digg and StumbleUpon are Internet-based communities that allow members to discover and share their favorite links, websites, podcasts and articles they find on the Net, with their friends. StumbleUpon allows you to announce the site you found to your friends, while Digg allows you not only to announce it, but also vote for it, which gives it a rating.

10. Start a Blogging Group

My final tip is to start a blogging group. Keep it small and simple and make the main goal be to get you blogging consistently and involved in the whole blogging process. That’s what I’m doing. I’ll keep you posted along the way.

Happy Blogging!