It’s new release time. The latest in our venerable
2.0 series, which now counts over 1.2 million downloads,
is available for download
immediately, and we suggest everyone upgrade as this includes
security fixes. We’re breaking the tradition of naming releases
after jazz musicians to congratulate Ryan Boren on his new son (and
first WP baby) Ronan.
http://wordpress.org/development/
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|
| Top 5 Mistakes
Bloggers Make |
It's understandable. After all, blogging is still
relatively new to the majority of bloggers and many businesses are still
trying to make sense of the whole blogging scene. Also things evolve as
blogging starts to mature, so a good strategy yesterday may turn into a
mistake today. These are some of the most common blogging mistakes a
blogger makes.
Not Asking For Comments
Bloggers always want to know how to get people to comment on their
posts. Somehow, there is an unseen rule that seem to say you must have
comments in order to 'show' people how popular you are. Firstly, just
because you don't get comments doesn't mean nobody reads your blog.
You'll see evidence of readership just by looking at your stats but the
problem is more likely the blogger hasn't given the opportunity for
readers to comment.
Just like asking for people to order a product, you gotta coax people to
come out and spend their 3 or 4 precious minutes to comment on your blog.
Ask for opinions. People love giving it. Ask for reader's experiences,
input or help to accomplish something. Ask people to suggest something
to you e.g. You're getting incorporated, ask people for suggestions,
tips and recommendations.
Not Hosting On Their Own Domain
This blogging mistake is one that probably hurts the most. Don't just
jump on the bandwagon. You need to figure out where it's taking you
before you hop on for the ride. Like any web site you may build, think
of your blog as a long term marketing communication channel. A Blogspot
or Typepad URL is not only unprofessional, you don't own it. Nothing
against these blogging services; they're excellent tools but for long
term marketing purposes, go for your own domain.
This way you control where you want to publish the blog to. Tomorrow, if
you outgrow these services, you can easily export your blog to another
tool, another host without losing too much established traffic. A domain
is also easier for people to remember and easier for you to publicize.
Not Maximizing Their Blog Content
Many businesses quit blogging because they feel it's too much work.
True, like everything else, you gotta work on a blog but you don't have
to break your back over it. Sometimes you may have a paragraph here and
there about a topic that just isn't big enough for an article. You know
what? You're going to have many more of these impromptu thoughts and
ideas – publish it to your blog. Later, you can come back and gather
these paragraphs, compile them into a complete article or even a book.
That's only one way of maximizing your work. Have you written articles
in the past? How about e-courses, audio transcripts or books that aren't
in publication anymore? Recycle. Break them up and post them on your
blog. In fact, if you have lot's of this type of content, you can even
get your assistant to post them for you. it's one of the easiest
blogging mistakes to fix.
Publishing Too Often
How can that be a blogging mistake? Isn't that like the opposite of
everything you've ever learnt about blogging? Yes and no. You see, the
blogging world changes. What works yesterday may not today. This is one
of them. There are countless of blogs out there and more being started
by the day. Who has the time to read so many posts? It's come to a point
people cherry pick the blogs they read and even that you're not safe
yet. If they can't keep up with you, they'll drop you no matter how good
your information is. Try to keep a balance. Feed information to your
readers not dump a truckload on them.
Falling For Short Term Blog Promotion Methods
Ah, this is my favorite. If you can have a favorite pet peeve that is.
Every week, you hear about people dishing out the newest, coolest
blogging tactic, best blogging tool that's sure to sky rocket your
business to success or bull doze your way to the top search engine
listings. Consider how any offer will help you advance your business
two, five or tens years from now. Is it really in line with your
marketing direction? If it isn't drop it. It also helps a lot if you can
have a reliable source whom you can consult and help put things into
perspective for you.
One of the most powerful qualities of a blog has nothing to do with
search engines, tagging or pinging. These things do have a place, but
they aren't as powerful as the relationship opportunities between you
and your customers.
Specific tips to make your life easier while creating
a really good looking, easy to maintain WordPress blog.
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To contact us:
Cathy Perkins, Editor
Hickory Publishing
editor@hickorypublishing.com
Hickory, NC - 828-994-2810 |