DISQUS

Ricardo Bueno · 3 months ago

I think that engaging with your community (visiting commentators blogs, getting to know them, supporting them, responding to comments, etc.) is one of the best things that you can do to build a bigger/better community!

ducttape · 3 months ago

Amen Ricardo and it's certainly something I could do a better job with too.

Ricardo Bueno · 3 months ago

Hehe... We all could I suppose. But it's hard to when you grow and contribute content in many other ways (your newsletter, your book, etc.). You do well and providing so much more to your community so there ya go :-)

RevelnConsulting · 3 months ago

Great tips, shared!

Deborah Richmond · 3 months ago

I watch my blog stats for the phrases that people are using to find me. This way I find out what people are searching for that brought them to me and now I will write more posts that further flesh out that area of my blog.

ducttape · 3 months ago

Debra - great advice but sometimes it's also helpful to use some outside research to find the phrases people are using and not finding you - people search for stuff using terms we may not even consider.

Maria Reyes-McDavis · 3 months ago

Such a great tip, about blogs being found and writing with keywords. People confuse how audiences find and read blogs, this tip is the most important for all bloggers (from small businesses to service professionals) that can make or break the effectiveness of their blog .... (besides valuable content of course) :-)

ducttape · 3 months ago

So true, everyone online has read a blog at some point whether they know it or not.

steve · 3 months ago

I have been searching out good Google terms every time I begin a post lately to boost traffic. I have seen some positive results.

Jane_DeLancey · 3 months ago

#2....great advice and can be used in places other than blogs. Moral of the day: make it easy to find you!

phollows · 3 months ago

Don't forget to boost circulation by adding alternate subscription options such as email via FeedBlitz or FeedBurner.

paulwaltz · 3 months ago

Hey John this is a really useful article. Would you mind if I post a link to it on my blog?

ducttape · 3 months ago

Go for it

John Jantsch
Sent from my Duct Tape phone

Mark Faggiano · 3 months ago

Good stuff. Point #2 is dead on. It's all about casting as wide of a content net as possible. The more ways (pages) you can create to help people find you, the better. A blog is the perfect way to cast a wide, but relevant, net.

pemo · 3 months ago

Great post, love yr blog toolbar below. Would love where to get it? Thanks Pemo Theodore, AstraMatch Blog

ducttape · 3 months ago

The toolbar is from WIYBIYA

Robin Dickinson · 3 months ago

Instant value from these "DUCT TIPS", John (yes, that was me on Twitter ;) )

I'm off to implement them, immediately. Can't believe what I've been missing out on.

I really appreciate how you cut to the chase with your expertise. Grab-and-go value is so useful.

Best, Robin

Avedillo · 3 months ago

These tips are great especially for those newbies like me who wants to use blogging as their main marketing strategy. Your tip #2 clearly says it all. If you're going to write a post, try connecting it with current hot topics (like Economy is like 9/11.. etc). Also, this is where SEO tagging comes in.

Let me just add the tip I have found from Cheryl Clausen's post "Your Potential Buyers Want to be Heard", she said that we also should take note of time we can invest in this kind of strategy.

Thanks for the post!

Timothy Flynn · 3 months ago

John: As an active blogger juggling 4 lawblogs, i found this post to be right on the money; great job.

Vickie Smith-Siculiano, PMP · 3 months ago

Love the post - especially #1, read follow and listen. How can you know what people will want to hear unless you know what they're listening to? It's like getting on stage - your set has to be chock full of enjoyable/useful content - only in stage, people have to come to your show. With a blog, people can tune in MUCH more easily, but also tune you OUT just the same. (Sorry, it's the former jazz vocalist in me) - you are awesome - thanks for the tips! Off to tweet, now.

mas1916 · 3 months ago

It is amazing how many really strange phrases people will use to reach out to you! Every time I think I have a cool 'catch phrase,' no one searches for it - even though the analytics tools say that many people do.

I think another key is just a good bit of fairly diverse content. That way when folks search for odd things, you have a better chance of appearing.

http://seoconsultantsdenver.thewebinfocenter.com

Dr Wright · 3 months ago

great idea, writing about what people are searching about or what is trending makes your blog attractive.
Dr. Letitia Wright
The Wright Place TV Show
http://wrightplacetv.com
www.twitter.com/drwright1

Jeff Yablon · 3 months ago

EXCELLENT article. And it hits all the bases.

Of course, the real story, HOWEVER you do it, is to KEEEP DOING IT.

Jeff Yablon
President & CEO
Virtual VIP Computer Care, Business Coaching and Virtual Assistant Services

marketyourstartup · 3 months ago

Hello John,
Thank you for this very informative and interesting post. I liked how you underline the importance of finding "the exact phrases" your audience search for. At Market Your Startup we believe that key words research is a very important tool to use in Social Media Marketing.
Thanks again for this post.

Tamara Gruber · 3 months ago

So great to see you calling attention to the link between SEO and blogging. Let's face it, not many people subscribe to small business blogs unless they are engaged customers. (maybe I'm wrong, happy to hear differently) BUT, your content will be found if you are relevant and using the right keywords. Who knows, you might even hook them enough to get them to subscribe. I've read posts about how much time you should spend on a writing a perfect headline and I think this is a point often overlooked. I will also say that it can be discouraging as a reader to post comments with a specific question/comment that is just begging for a response and to not see one. If you can take the time to write a blog, take the time to read what people think about it. Ok?

nickejilah · 3 months ago

Seeing good relevant blogs and commenting on those can be of good use to you and your website.

http://www.shopzipcode.com/

teamtherisetothetop · 3 months ago

Great tips for improving your blog, I know it can be scary at first but people are always looking to blogs for information about random things so if you think you have something to contribute to the conversation then why not start a blog of your own and use these tips to amp your readership.

stephen · 3 months ago

These are wonderful tips on getting the best from your blog.
All the points mentioned will enable you to build trust and respect with your blog. endeavour to repackage existing ideas too. Thank you
http://free-and-rich.blogspot.com

martintobias · 3 months ago

this is all blog 101. what is new here?

ducttape · 3 months ago

Why does there have to be anything new - are you doing any of this?

rgoldstein · 3 months ago

John,
Do you have any favorite methods for figuring out what people are searching for RIGHT NOW? I know trending topics on twitter is one good way, but what's another good way to find trending topics in the blogosphere? Particularly those that are specific to an industry or topic. I've referred some clients to Technorati to do this research, but so far they find it too confusing.

ducttape · 3 months ago

I like http://regator.com/ and they also have an iPhone app

Ben Lang · 3 months ago

Great tips thanks!

teickohuber · 3 months ago

Great post. It is wonderful to see how you consistently provide high value information for entrepreneurs.
I hope to see you write more about how businesses execute blogging as a lead gen appraoach

donnasweat · 3 months ago

Thanks for the info,always good to know something new.

mas1916 · 3 months ago

I never would have believed some of the odd ways people have found my blog content. Occasionally, a search on an obscure phrase used within the body of a blog post is what brings a new viewer to the site.

So... writing lots of useful content only increases your chances of attracting new viewers.

MAS
http://seoconsultantsdenver.thewebinfocenter.co...

azy · 3 months ago

Great Tips . Will be really useful for a blogging newbie like me :). Thanks again .

jasoncott · 3 months ago

We've recently begun our own blog, and of course are working to find our own blog voice, and which topics to write about. Our focus is on the extrusion and die cast industry, and we're working to strike a balance between industry-specific and general advice in business and management.

I would certainly appreciate your thoughts on how to do this.

Andee Sellman, One Sherpa · 3 months ago

Great points as always.
I really like the point about engaging with your commenters.
All of us who have a blog enjoy getting comments but obviously to attract more we need to engage in the comments

bobtracz · 3 months ago

Write what people search... start all posts based around keyword searches that are important to your readers. No problem, no audience. cheers