Have you learnt something about blogging that you’d like to quickly share with the rest of us?
Next week I’m heading to Toronto for b5media meetings and to meet my fellow management team for the first time – but while I’m gone I’d like to feature some ‘quick tips’ from readers as guest posts.
I’ve actually prepared a longer series of posts that will start next Monday or Tuesday but would love to intersperse it with a few short and quick blogging tips from you. They can be on any blogging related topic. For example:
- blog tools you’ve found helpful
- blog promotion tips
- writing blog posts
- blogging techniques
- finding stories
- SEO tips
- how to get started etc
I won’t be able to publish everyone’s – but if you’ve got a quick tip to share I’d love to publish it with a link back to your blog. The tips need to be under 150 words in length (I told you they had to be quick) so no long essays or complicated posts please. Obviously the more helpful the better.
Send them to me via my contact form (at the bottom of that page) and include
- your name
- your blog’s name
- your blog’s URL
- your tip’s title
- your ‘quick tip’ – (update: the actual post you want me to post – ie this isn’t a group writing project where I’ll just link to your posts – I’m after guest posts to go up on ProBlogger)
I may slightly edit tips (spelling, grammar and perhaps tweaking titles) but largely they’ll go in unedited so make sure you’re happy with it before sending.
If you’d rather share an anonymous quick tip then you’re welcome to do so also.
If you’ve got more than one – feel free to submit them (maximum of 3 at this point).
As I say – there will undoubtedly be more submissions than I can actually use so please don’t be offended if yours isn’t selected but I’ll try to use as many as I can over the two weeks that I’m away.
PS: Please see comments below for an answer about whether these should be new or previously posted tips.
PS II: I leave on Tuesday so will have to close off submissions on Monday. You can submit them after this but as I’ll be on the road I’ll be less likely to add new ones after that – unless I’m stuck in an airport or something and am looking for something to do.
Hey Darren,
Quick question, do the need to be new or can they be something recently published?
Joe
I’d prefer if they were written in an original form.
ie the idea doesn’t have to be new – but if we can avoid duplicate content issues that’d be good (both for me but also for those submitting tips). ie ProBlogger ranks well in SE’s and I wouldn’t want to kill anyone’s own SE ranking by out ranking them for their own posts.
So – if you’ve got an older post that you’d like to submit – perhaps rewrite it, give it a new title etc so we can make it as original as possible.
Make sense?
This is great Darren, some of my humble tips might get published on one of the best blogging sites!
Darren,
Makes sense.
I tried writing 2 different tips, both are good, but I am not happy in the way they are coming across.
I’ll keep trying, and hopefully come up with a good way to present my ideas that will fit with my theme.
I may just make it a mini-series. ;-)
Joe
cool Joe!
I should say – I need them by Monday if possible. Will add this above.
I put in a tip on submitting to blog carnivals. I hope no one beat me to that!
Hey Binary,
That’s one that I think I’ll be using in my mini-series since I have a Carnival going on weekly. ;-)
If Darren uses it (if not e-mail me, I’m easy to find), do you mind if I link to yours in the series?
Joe
I can’t think of any great tips to share… but had a thought…
Take some requests for tips in the comments and it might give some others some ideas for tip posts.
My request…
I’m trying to incorporate some amazon product references in one of my sites (Mako’s Kitchen… http://makoskitchen.com) and the preformatted link stuff they supply doesn’t work well in my Joomla CMS.
So, what format can I use to build a standard text link and ensure that I get credit if someone uses it and buys the book?
I’ve done some searching and have come up with a couple different formats… but they are from older posts… which I’m not sure are still accurate.
I don’t care about using the 1×1 px image to track impressions, the CMS will tell me enough about that. I just don’t want to miss any incremental revenue.
Graydon, I suggest using wordpress. WordPress has great plugins that I’m sure you can use.
Graydon, I’ve just checked out your site, I don’t see a problem with your amazon banner on the left.
Been rather late to the table (sigh!) I’ll still share my thoughts anyway.
I’d have to come at this from the point of view of being asked by someone who’s starting out ‘blogging for the first time:
1) Pick a subject you like, one that’s close to you in some way and just talk. Also, if what interests you is current in the media, then get an article out and be quick about it, too! Ping your new posts, get plenty of quality in-bound links to your ‘blog .. wash, rinse, repeat.
2) Engage the reader, invite some kind of dialogue and reply to those that comment. Be engaging, informative, sometimes funny, sometimes serious, but always with a heavy slant on being authoritative on your chosen subject. Work to build a sense of trust.
3) Also, find other people out there with similar interests to you, reply to their ‘blogs. Make friends, influence people and get some linkage going on .. but be judicious! Don’t just get any old back-links. Avoid the bad ‘neighbourhoods’ and look for the good ones, instead…
I’d say: RSS readers
why? Well you can really “keep up” and “organized” with current events from many different sources. (especially useful if you blog about current events)
my blog got rejected. http://www.wmseo.com
I think it’s because it’s got no pagerank and it’s fairly new?
anyone shed some light on this ?
Good deal Darren, I will be sending mine as well. I also will be leaving monday morning for Toronoto! Traveling there from florida with my niece, that the make A Wish Foundation has granted her a fantastic wish. A blog I created about her http://www.givingthanksalways.com Enjoy Canada, and my list is on the way.
I just send my quick tip and really hope it will get accepted. It’s about SEO for beginners.
The Slideshow HOW-2 iNFO by moi:
Do you have the Flickr already – if so great. Otherwise do get the account in there or in another Photobucket or any other photo storage place, even MySpace can be used for this. Half of the job is done if the photos are there already ‘coz of that as you have no need to Upload photos to Flickr. (IF this is the case go straight to Number 1 on the list.)
1. Go to the Slide.com – the address: http://www.slide.com
(OR Press it on my show)
2. It will ask you to give the details – name, email address.
3. Then the next thing: there are on the top among others this: CREATE SLIDE SHOW – CLICK that one.
4. There are on the left hand side of the page various Photo account places; like Flickr, Photobucket and so on: CLICK the one you use.
5. Then on the same page is the UPLOAD IMAGES (from the Flickr if using that one) CLICK that one.
6. The photos will show on the page and you can work with them if you want certain ones, different order and so on.
7. On this same page on the right you can see the word: CUSTOMIZE, meaning that you can take your pick as to what kind of style you want the show to be. Any text and so on.
8. SAVE the Slide Show.
9. It will give you the HTML code: Copy it (CTRL+C).
10.Open the COMPOSE ENTRY on your blog.
11. Click the box: the HTML on this page.
12. A * * will appear.
13. Paste (CRTL+V) the photos in between the * ”*
14. RELEASE the HTML by re-clicking the little box – page will look empty – NO PANIC; All is well!
15.You need to write something on the Entry as well, whatever u wish.
16. Now next – Preview the show by pressing the PREVIEW.
17. Are you happy with the lay-out, wording, letters etc. if not Press EDIT or IF the answer is YES – Press: POST THIS ENTRY.
18. VOILA!
19. WELL DONE & CONGRATS!
http://tinyurl.com/y5nm7m
Thanks for providing this opportunity to leave a quick tip on blogging. We have emailed you the URL of our post too since the content was not coming along well with the links in the Contact Form.
Thanks
FIRE Finance
Darren – This is a blast. Repetition is so great. There are only a few foundational tips out there but hearing new people say them in different ways is going to be good. Thanks for doing this.
re #10 Domtan…
Thanks for looking… I should have been more clear. The banner is working good in a side module. I was looking more at linking from text within a post.
I did an example to help show…
http://makoskitchen.com/content/view/84/
The link behind the BBQ Bible text.
I’m assuming that should work as it gets to the right page and has the right id within it. But it doesn’t match up to some of the other suggestions I’ve seen before.
Thanks.