Archive for Blogging
My answer: never. Here’s why…
Disputes of almost any kind always seem to devolve when one party questions the motives of another party.
The funny thing is, it’s virtually impossible to know for certain someone else’s motive for any given action or statement.
“Thought experiment” to see if I’m right: the next time you think you know why someone says or does a particular thing, stop and see if you can come up with 2 or 3 other explanations for why they may have said or done that same thing.
An even more interesting (and instructive) “thought experiment”: try coming up with explanations that are only positive in the motives you attribute to the other person… and then come up with an equal number of explanations that are only negatively motivated. Compare the two lists, and ask yourself: which ones look like the motives I most often instinctively ascribe to other people?
What did you learn?
We like to think we make our decisions based on logic and reason.
But as Jonah Lehrer observes in his book “How We Decide”, the evidence suggest our decisions are based on completely irrational factors. We do, it turns out, judge books by their covers.
In the context of marketing, this fact is fairly important to remember.
While none of us like to think we salivate on command like one of Pavlov’s famous dogs, we do act impulsively in response to certain colors, language patterns, and page layouts.
The question to ask yourself is: what response does my current marketing elicit? Buying behavior – or something else?
I suggest that in most cases, the answer is the latter.
If you think you’ve got this all taken care of, watch what “regular people” (aka your customers) do when they visit your site… and be prepared to be shocked.
What people actually do at your website is probably quite different than what you think they do.
The kind of exercise I describe above is called a “usability study” – and they can be quite expensive if you have a professional conduct the study.
The good news is you can conduct a “do it yourself” usability study inexpensively.
Jakob Nielsen is the guru of usability, and has a very simple “discount usability” model you can follow.
It’s worth the effort.
If I died today, nobody would be able to log into my blog.
I’ve suddenly realized that is an important problem that could become an urgent one in the blink of an eye.
But wait. It gets worse.
I own HUNDREDS of domain names, and have DOZENS of live, active websites. You can see that this multiplies my problem. Not only can nobody log into my blog, they also can’t log into my other sites.
Obviously, as the subject line of this email intimates, “dead men don’t blog”.
And they also don’t market.
Or Twitter.
Or Facebook.
So I’ve got some work to do, preparing for the inevitable day when my keyboard will go silent.
Why Am I Even Writing About This Today?
Well, I’m not being morbid. And I don’t mean to depress you or weird you out. But I was reading a post over at Dave Winer’s blog, about how he’s maintaining two online archives for relatives who have passed away.
Reading Dave’s article on this subject made me realize…
- If I die and want my work to live beyong the next hosting bill, I need to have a post-mortem plan for my blog.
- If I die and DON’T want my work to live on, there needs to be a plan for how to get it OFF the web (some of my hosting is paid WAY in advance or is on auto-pay).
Regardless, I Need A Plan. And So Do You.
What about your sites?
Especially if you have a business (and even if you don’t), you need to have a plan.
At the very least, you could create a simple set of instructions and a list of your logins. My plan, in case you’re interested, includes the following steps:
- Create a list of all my domain/blogs/hosting accounts login URL’s and passwords.
- Specific instructions about what needs to be done with each site.
- Create some “post-Ray” emails that will let any readers or subscribers know what the status of the website is.
- Create instructions about what to do with any merhcant or payment systems that are set up for the sites.
That’s just the rough draft of my plan, written on the fly. I’m sure I’ll refine it. It’ll take some time. But it will save someone (probably someone I love) a lot of work and frustration.
It is also good service to my readers and customers.
What about you?
Do you have a “Dead Man Plan” for your websites? Do you have suggestions for something I should add to my plan? If so – add your voice to the discussion below.
Yesterday (Monday, October 5, 2009) the US Federal Trade Commission rolled out a brand new rule: bloggers who endorse products must disclose any financial benefits they receive for doing so.
Failure to live up to this rule could get bloggers fined up to $11,000.
Per violation.
There are lots of questions about what this means for affiliate marketers, if anything.
It really seems to me that the best policy is also the easiest to implement: if you’re being paid to promote something, say so. End of story.
Where it gets murkier is what the FTC’s rule will mean for those who run affiliate programs – are they now going to be held responsible for what their affiliates do? That seems like a responsibility most business owners are going to be unable or at least unwilling to bear.
What do you think about the new FTC rules for bloggers? Has the FTC killed affiliate marketing in one fell stroke? Or are paranoid marketers blowing this all out of proportion? Post your thoughts below.
(NOTE: This is an update of a previous post… enhanced with video. Please be sure and let me know what you think of this “multi-media” approach, okay? It’s quite a bit of work, and I’m happy to do it if you think it’s worthwhile.)
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Every piece of your website is a link in the sales chain.
Each link leads to the next, and at the end of the chain is the sale – and profits for you and your business.
Of course, as we all know, any chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
One way to get quick sales boost is: find the weak or broken links in your sales process and strengthen or repair them. And almost every website has at least a few week or broken links. I’m not just talking about hyperlinks, here… I’m talking about any crucial part of the sales process.
No website is perfect – no website is ever optimized fully. There’s always room for improvement. In most websites I look at for clients, there are some basic fixes that can pay off in a big way.
Here are three examples of things you might want to do on your own website:
- Fix Broken Links. The most obvious example is actual broken links. These are frustrating at best for your visitors, and for many it will kill the sale instantly (“if they can’t get their links fixed, what must their product be like?”).
- Remove Inconsistencies. In the world of direct mail, there’s a proven response boost when the message on the outside of the envelope matches the message on the headline of the letter inside; the reason this is so is, we are wired to respond positively to consistency. We like getting what we expect. Even seemingly small inconsistencies send a subconscious signal to your prospects that all is not right. Some specifics to look for: different typefaces or look & feel on your pages; lack of consistent layout from one section of your site to the next; jarring differences between your major sales pages (opt-in page, salesletter page, order page, thank you page). Get fanatical about consistency.
- Remove “Mind Stoppers”. Some things just cause us to “stop our mind” when reading a website. For example, strange or unnatural wording can cause us to stop in the flow of reading and ask “What? Huh?” Even though these “Mind Stoppers” may only cause a pause of 1 or 2 seconds, they interrupt the flow of your sales message. Avoid “Mind Stoppers” at all costs. The best way to find them: read your copy aloud, to another human being, in a natural tone and at an easy pace. Then have them read it aloud back to you. In each case, mark any section that causes you to pause or stumble. Re-write those sections and remove the “Mind Stoppers”.
When you forge stronger links in your “Sales Chain”, you’ll increase your sales results. And that means more profits for you and your small business.
Funny story.
Back in my radio days, one of the shows I was in charge of was a morning radio team.
And this particular morning team had a regular feature where a couple of psychotherapists woud come on each week.
When I say a “couple”, I mean it. They were actually a COUPLE, and they were both actually THERAPISTS (can you imagine the dinner table conversations?).
Anyhow, I knew this couple only as characters on this particular morning show. “Judith and Jim” was how I knew them. And I knew only their voices.
Fast forward a few years later.
I had left the radio business, and was at an Internet Marketing seminar.
During one of the presentations, I noticed this couple sitting near the front, and I noticed they were asking lots of questions. And their voices sounded familiar. And their names were… Judith and Jim.
We connected for the first time in person, and we’ve been friends ever since. (Okay, so it was “funny” as in “coincidence” and not funny as in “LOL”).
To continue my story…
Read more…
You need content for your blog or newsletter or ezine.
It needs to be relevant – in other words, you need to write about stuff your market cares about.
Most bloggers (and newsletter/ezine publishers, and speakers, and authors, etc.) don’t have a clue what their market cares about.
Oh, they think they know what the market wants. That’s the problem. Don’t be too upset if this has happened to you, because I’m about to give you 5 easy ways to always know exactly what’s on the mind of your market.
It’s almost as if they were wearing signs around their necks proclaiming, “Here’s what has my attention right now…”
This is going to seem brain-dead simple.
Just find out what they’re already talking about, or what they’re already paying attention to, and give them more of that – but with your own unique spin.
And of course, in a way that adds value to their lives (and at the same time leads them to your door).
So here are the “5 Easy Ways”… really they are 5 websites that are like magical marketing x-ray machines. Just look at the screen, and see what’s inside the mind of your market.
http://del.icio.us
http://digg.com
http://answers.yahoo.com
http://stumbleupon.com
http://google.com/news
Of course, it’s up to you (or your copywriter) to figure out how and why today’s hot topics matter to your market. And how they relate to your message about who you are and what you bring to the world.
We’ll be talking more about exactly how to do this at my upcoming workshop in Las Vegas (there are only 5 seats left, so you might want to take a look and see if it’s right for you).
There is money hidden in your business. Money that you could be using. Money that, unless you do something about it, will slip through your fingers and vanish without a trace.
Where is this money – and how do you get it?
Most businesses have many hidden opportunities for discovering “windfall profits” – but I want to focus on just one of those opportunities in this article.
That “opportunity pocket” is: marketing and advertising.
In my experience, almost every business – whether it be retail, service, professional practice, or “business to business” in its nature – is unconsciously letting profits slip away.
Your biggest opportunity most likely lies hidden inside your underperforming sales copy (copy that isn’t selling as many units/contracts/ memberships as it potentially could be).
If you want to make more sales without spending a single dime in additional ad costs, this article might be the most important document you read this year…
Read more…
It’s the first day of the New Year.
I should be working on other stuff.
For instance, I have 8 more small business profit boosters to write for you (I’m up to #13 and I promised 21). But…
I felt compelled to write this post instead.
I’ve been reflecting on who I owe my success to in the copywriting and internet marketing world. Because you know, none of us do this on our own. I’m not an island. I’ve been helped by a number of people along the way. And as we move into the new year, I want to publicly thank and acknowledge a number of them.
Disclaimer: making a list like this always opens up the risk that I’ll leave someone out. If you have helped me, and I somehow forget to mention you, remind me privately and I’ll add your name to the list.
Armand Morin. Armand is the guy who has taught me the most about Internet Marketing, and he pushed and prodded me to create my own info-products (I went from zero to over 20 in less than a year) and to get serious about my speaking career. Without a doubt, I recommend Armand’s Big Seminar and his Internet Marketing Newsletter.
Alex Mandossian. Alex taught me how to use Teleseminars to build my business (even though I was a copywriter at the time, my first year using Alex’s techniques easily made me over $100,000). He’s also a man of deep integrity.
Brad Callen. One of my top clients, I am actually involved in a site with Brad and his brother Matt. These guys have been with me as clients for a long time now, and have been a great encouragement to me.
Willie Crawford. One of the first friends I made in this business. Willie and I had some pretty amusing adventures together.
John Carlton. Possibly the world’s greatest living copywriter. I have learned so much from John, I can’t even begin to tell you. I attended a seminar once just so I could buy his “mother of all offers” where he sold a $5,000 box of his materials. Pay attention: I went to a seminar so that I could spend $5,000 with John. That ought to tell you something. I had the privilege of hanging out with John in Vegas recently, and it was the highlight of my trip.
Harlan Kilstein. Killer copywriter and Carlton’s top student, Harlan is also a master of hypnosis and NLP. Harlan taught me how to get paid what I’m worth as a copywriter. Seriously. After attending one of his seminars, I TRIPLED my fees. Thanks Harlan.
Matt Bacak. One of my top clients, Matt was one of the very first people to hire me to write copy. We met because I saw him sitting in the bar… with his laptop! I knew he was a kindred spirit. We’ve done some great things together (recently we did a $3.5 million promotion), and I’ve learned a lot from Matt. He’s also been a good friend.
Mike Litman. Mike was the first Internet Marketer to pay me for copy. He paid me a scandalously low amount of money. When he ordered 2 more sales letters from me, he coached me on raising my prices – on his project! His was the first IM event I ever attended, and it’s where I met my long-term friends (and now clients) Armand Morin and Matt Bacak.
Mike Stewart. Mike showed me “lifestyle business” at its best when he invited me to spend a couple of days at his lake place in Georgia. We played around on the lake, ate a lot of good food, and created a new video product (on copywriting) in his home studio (said product to be released soon).
Frank Kern. I’ve learned a lot from Frank, and he’s hired more than once to write copy for him. Frank gave me my all-time favorite testimonial (it’s a bit off-color, so I won’t quote it here). It’s through Frank I first met John Carlton, Sarkis, Neil Strauss, and a bunch of other “fancy people”. And Frank recommended me to Tony Robbins for some copywriting work – so how could I not acknowledge Captain Kern?
Ed Dale. I actually met Frank Kern and Ed Dale at the same time. They had hired me to write copy for their Underachiever Conference before we ever actually met. What endeared me to Ed first was his love for all things Apple. Instant bonding. And Ed actually gave me the testimonial that ties with Frank’s for my all-time favorite. Since it doesn’t contain the “F Word” I’ll quote it in full: “Ray, I bless the day your copy met my bank account”.
Jeff Walker. The creator of the Product Launch Formula, Jeff taught me the art of Product Launches. I was one of the first customers for the original PLF, and ended up in Jeff’s high-end Platinum Coaching group. Jeff coached me through my first launch (of my own product). Jeff had made me… well, a lot of money. And he’s also a good friend. Jeff credits me with being the first person he’s ever actually paid to write copy for him. I can’t thank him enough for all the guidance, encouragement, and generosity he has shown me.
Jon Walker. Jon is Jeff’s brother. I actually got to know him before I got to know Jeff, and I count Jon as one of my very favorite people. He’s kind, diplomatic, and has a razor-sharp business mind. He is truly one of those “guys behind the scenes” who is responsible for some big stuff in the online world. Jon has given me some invaluable counsel, advice and insight on my own business, and he’s one of the people I love to bounce ideas around with.
Michel Fortin. One of the first people I got to know in the copywriting world, I owe Michel several debts of gratitude. I’ve learned a lot from him about copy, marketing, and online technology (Michel convinced me to migrate from Movable Type to Wordpress, for instance… and was at least partially responsible for getting me hooked on Photoshop). He’s also helped me navigate through a couple of difficult situations, and has unselfishly helped me grow my business.
Sylvie Fortin. Sylvie is one of the most vibrant, determined and principled people I know. She has the courage to speak her mind even when it might be unpopular to do so. I am astounded by her willingness to share personal challenges publicly so that others may benefit. And her keen insight played a crucial role in rescuing me from total burn-out in 2008. Really. I love Sylvie Fortin for these reasons and more.
Craig Perrine. Smart, funny, intelligent, and willing to encourage me in my tendency to sit in the back of the room and cause trouble, Craig is a great friend and a smart marketer.
Kirt Christensen. One of the first people I bought an information product from, Kirt agreed to meet with me not knowing for sure whether I might be a stalker. We ended up become friends and business partners. Kirt helped me form my pursuit of the ideal business: working 20 hours a week and making $100,000 per month. That’s not too much to ask, right?
Eric Graham. I’ve never met a person more dedicated to rigorous scientific testing of copy, marketing tactics, and web page factors. Eric takes the “voodoo” of marketing and makes it science. From him I’ve learned discipline and tenacity. Plus, he flies stunt planes. Yep, upside down, loop-the-loops, and all that stuff.
Christina Hills. Christina is the CEO of “Shopping Cart Queen” – a company that educates online businesses on how to use their shopping cart software. They also teach a lot more stuff, including other software and systems. Christina was crucial to my first product launch coming off well, and she’s helped me in a pinch on more than one occasion.
Stu McLaren. Stu was one of my early clients. I wrote the copy for his Idea Incubator Seminar. I was so excited by it I decided to attend. Stu and I became friends, and through him I met Stephen Pierce, David Frey, Alex Mandossian, Jeff Walker and many others. Now Stu not only is a big-shot Internet Marketer but is now working with his wife Amy to change the world. Bravo!
Mike Filsaime . I met Mike before he was “famous”. We had a conversation outside the seminar room in Denver where Mike told me the story of this new product he was creating called “Butterfly Marketing”. We have remained friends over the years, and Mike recently had me work on the “7 Figure Code” launch with him (which was a blast).
Tom Beal. Tom and I were in a Mastermind Group together for a while, and when we met through that group I only had a vague idea that he worked with Mike Filsaime. Tom and I have laughed together, hung out in the back of many a seminar room, and worked together on a few projects. I count him as both a friend and a great marketing mind.
Joel Comm. Joel and I knew each other a while before we ever did any work together. Joel has been a true friend, and has done a lot to help me as a person and on a business level. Joel got me my publishing deal, invited me to be a guest expert on The Next Internet Millionaire, hired me to write copy, and has been a true supporter.
Andy Jenkins. You know him as the StomperNet guy – and so do I. I’ve written some copy for the Stomper guys (Andy and Brad Fallon). Andy has been encouraging, enthusiastic, and promoted me in places where it counted.
Rich Schefren. Controversial, smart, challenging, and able to wear you down. And that was just my first dinner with Rich! Rich is not only a client, he’s one of the people I’ve learned some of my most valuable business lessons from.
Brian Johnson. You may know him as Schefren’s right-hand guy. I know him as a trustworthy friend and tireless supporter. He’s also a guy who will be there to get the job done, even when other people have gone home.
Ryan Healy, Ben Settle, John Angel and Daniel Levis are all part of a secret mastermind group I belong to. The weird thing is we’re all copywriters. And it’s one of the most profitable and enjoyable groups I’m a member of. This group has been referred to as “The Five Horsemen of the Copywriting Apocalypse”.
Jeanette Cates. She’s organized, she’s diligent, and she’s one of the best teachers I’ve ever met. She’s also fun to hang around with.
Dave Bernstein. One of the first products I ever created, I created with Dave. He’s absolutely nuts about all things audio. And he is smart enough to live where it’s warm all year.
George Callens. George works with Armand to run a $25 million dollar a year company and makes it looks easy. He’s on top of things, he’s in charge, and he’s one of the most stunningly competent people I know. George has helped me sort through some important challenges in my business.
Chris & Jim Howard. I’ve been friends with Jim & Chris just about as long as anyone in this business. They are a continuous inspiration, and “go to” people when I need help or advice.
Dr Mike Woo-Ming. He’s a friend, he’s a client, and he’s an International Man of Mystery.Remember that time you rented that house in Vegas and we all hung out there? That was awesome.
Howie Schwartz. One of the smartest and funniest people I have ever met and someone I am proud to know and call friend.
Yanik Silver. Brilliant marketer, tireless entrepreneur, and peerless promoter. I love the Underground Seminar, and his YSS is brilliant. I’m also inspired by what he’s been doing with the Maverick Brand.
Dan Kennedy. What can I say about Dan that hasn’t been said? I think he mostly invented the info-product/coaching business. He’s a writer’s writer. He lives the life he chose to live. And he seems to be a true genius when it comes to this stuff.
Jason Moffatt. Jason and I are probably about a much alike as East and West – but I count him as a friend, a keen marketing mind, and one of the very best salesmen I have ever met.
Tracy Childers. Tracy and I have held a few late-night brainstorming sessions involving large quantities of what another friend of mine calls “barley pop”. Every time I talk to him, I get about two dozen new ideas. And Tracy is inspiring in his ability to get products created, and his integrity and kindness.
Marlon Sanders. The first marketing product I ever bought was “The Amazing Formula”. It blew me away. Since then I’ve had a chance to get to know Marlon as one of the funniest, most intelligent, and most interesting people I know. Plus, have you seen this guy’s hats?
David Frey. He’s the “gentle giant” of Internet Marketing, He’s been an encourager, a good teacher, and someone I’ve felt inspired by since we first met at Stu McLaren’s Idea Incubator.
Ken McArthur. One of my favorite clients, Ken has been another ardent supporter of mine. He’s someone who is universally loved by everyone who knows him. And he invited me to speak in Orlando in February (Disney, here I come).
Clayton Makepeace. One of my copywriting “heroes”, Clayton is one sharp guy. And Clayton is the guy about whom I have the strangest “how we met” story of all. Sorry, I’m not telling. Not today, anyway.
Mary Mazzullo. She took the pictures that make me look good. Of course, that ‘s what she does. She also got me into the mysterious “Club 33”. And she’s a true friend.
Bob Bly. The copywriter’s copywriter, a scholar, and a gentleman. Bob really got me started down this road, and one of the highlights of my career was being quoted on the cover of “Secrets of a Freelance Writer”.
Mari Smith. First she was my student (in copywriting) and now she is my teacher (in Social Media Marketing). Thanks Mari!
Seth Godin. Some of the most intense learning I ever did, I did at Seth’s office. Thanks Seth!
This post grew as I was writing it.
The truth is, there are so many people I should thank I probably could never write it all down. So please, if you don’t see your name here, don’t take it personally. I love and appreciate you — and if you know me at all, I hope you know that’s true.
Bear with me, I have a couple more acknowledgments: my business could not exist without the support of my family (both near and far).
My wife and son are the two most important people on earth to me. I love you both with complete and reckless abandon.
Finally, and most importantly, I would be nothing if not for the love and grace of Jesus Christ. Every good thing I have (or ever will have) comes from Him.
NOTE FROM RAY:
I met Yaro Starak at Jeff Walker’s mastermind meeting in Las Vegas recently. I’ve been reading his blog for quite some time, and after meeting him in person I realized he is one sharp guy. I mean, how many people do you know who make six figures strictly from blogging? So I’m delighted to have Yaro contribute a guest slot on my blog.
10 Blog Traffic Tips
by Yaro Starak
In every blogger’s life comes a special day – the day they first launch a new blog. Now unless you went out and purchased someone else’’s blog chances are your blog launched with only one very loyal reader – you. Maybe a few days later you received a few hits when you told your sister, father, girlfriend and best friend about your new blog but that’’s about as far you went when it comes to finding readers.
Here are the top 10 techniques new bloggers can use to find readers. These are tips specifically for new bloggers, those people who have next-to-no audience at the moment and want to get the ball rolling.
It helps if you work on this list from top to bottom as each technique builds on the previous step to help you create momentum. Eventually once you establish enough momentum you gain what is called “traction”, which is a large enough audience base (about 500 readers a day is good) that you no longer have to work too hard on finding new readers. Instead your current loyal readers do the work for you through word of mouth.
Top 10 Tips
10. Write at least five major “pillar” articles. A pillar article is a tutorial style article aimed to teach your audience something. Generally they are longer than 500 words and have lots of very practical tips or advice. This article you are currently reading could be considered a pillar article since it is very practical and a good “how-to” lesson. This style of article has long term appeal, stays current (it isn’t news or time dependent) and offers real value and insight. The more pillars you have on your blog the better.
9. Write one new blog post per day minimum. Not every post has to be a pillar, but you should work on getting those five pillars done at the same time as you keep your blog fresh with a daily news or short article style post. The important thing here is to demonstrate to first time visitors that your blog is updated all the time so they feel that if they come back tomorrow they will likely find something new. This causes them to bookmark your site or subscribe to your blog feed.
You don”t have to produce one post per day all the time but it is important you do when your blog is brand new. Once you get traction you still need to keep the fresh content coming but your loyal audience will be more forgiving if you slow down to a few per week instead. The first few months are critical so the more content you can produce at this time the better.
8. Use a proper domain name. If you are serious about blogging be serious about what you call your blog. In order for people to easily spread the word about your blog you need a easily rememberable domain name. People often talk about blogs they like when they are speaking to friends in the real world (that’’s the offline world, you remember that place right?) so you need to make it easy for them to spread the word and pass on your URL. Try and get a .com if you can and focus on small easy to remember domains rather than worry about having the correct keywords (of course if you can get great keywords and easy to remember then you’ve done a good job!).
7. Start commenting on other blogs. Once you have your pillar articles and your daily fresh smaller articles your blog is ready to be exposed to the world. One of the best ways to find the right type of reader for your blog is to comment on other people’s blogs. You should aim to comment on blogs focused on a similar niche topic to yours since the readers there will be more likely to be interested in your blog.
Most blog commenting systems allow you to have your name/title linked to your blog when you leave a comment. This is how people find your blog. If you are a prolific commentor and always have something valuable to say then people will be interested to read more of your work and hence click through to visit your blog.
6. Trackback and link to other blogs in your blog posts. A trackback is sort of like a blog conversation. When you write a new article to your blog and it links or references another blogger’’s article you can do a trackback to their entry. What this does is leave a truncated summary of your blog post on their blog entry – it’’s sort of like your blog telling someone else’s blog that you wrote an article mentioning them. Trackbacks often appear like comments.
This is a good technique because like leaving comments a trackback leaves a link from another blog back to yours for readers to follow, but it also does something very important – it gets the attention of another blogger. The other blogger will likely come and read your post eager to see what you wrote about them. They may then become a loyal reader of yours or at least monitor you and if you are lucky some time down the road they may do a post linking to your blog bringing in more new readers.
5. Encourage comments on your own blog. One of the most powerful ways to convince someone to become a loyal reader is to show there are other loyal readers already following your work. If they see people commenting on your blog then they infer that your content must be good since you have readers so they should stick around and see what all the fuss is about. To encourage comments you can simply pose a question in a blog post. Be sure to always respond to comments as well so you can keep the conversation going.
4. Submit your latest pillar article to a blog carnival. A blog carnival is a post in a blog that summarizes a collection of articles from many different blogs on a specific topic. The idea is to collect some of the best content on a topic in a given week. Often many other blogs link back to a carnival host and as such the people that have articles featured in the carnival often enjoy a spike in new readers.
To find the right blog carnival for your blog, do a search at blogcarnival.com.
3. Submit your blog to blogtopsites.com. To be honest this tip is not going to bring in a flood of new readers but it’’s so easy to do and only takes five minutes so it’’s worth the effort. Go to Blog Top Sites, find the appropriate category for your blog and submit it. You have to copy and paste a couple of lines of code on to your blog so you can rank and then sit back and watch the traffic come in. You will probably only get 1-10 incoming readers per day with this technique but over time it can build up as you climb the rankings. It all helps!
2. Submit your articles to EzineArticles.com. This is another tip that doesn’t bring in hundreds of new visitors immediately (although it can if you keep doing it) but it’’s worthwhile because you simply leverage what you already have – your pillar articles. Once a week or so take one of your pillar articles and submit it to Ezine Articles. Your article then becomes available to other people who can republish your article on their website or in their newsletter.
How you benefit is through what is called your “Resource Box”. You create your own resource box which is like a signature file where you include one to two sentences and link back to your website (or blog in this case). Anyone who publishes your article has to include your resource box so you get incoming links. If someone with a large newsletter publishes your article you can get a lot of new readers at once.
1. Write more pillar articles. Everything you do above will help you to find blog readers however all of the techniques I’ve listed only work when you have strong pillars in place. Without them if you do everything above you may bring in readers but they won’t stay or bother to come back. Aim for one solid pillar article per week and by the end of the year you will have a database of over 50 fantastic feature articles that will work hard for you to bring in more and more readers.
I hope you enjoyed my list of traffic tips. Everything listed above are techniques I’ve put into place myself for my blogs and have worked for me, however it’’s certainly not a comprehensive list. There are many more things you can do. Finding readers is all about testing to see what works best for you and your audience and I have no doubt if you put your mind to it you will find a balance that works for you.
ANOTHER NOTE FROM RAY: This article was by Yaro Starak, a professional blogger and one of my blog mentors. He is the leader of the Blog Mastermind mentoring program designed to teach bloggers how to earn a full time income blogging part time.
To get more information about Blog Mastermind click this link:
www.BlogMastermind.com
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By Ray Edwards | January 8, 2010 
