I want to share with you the 5 things I do when publishing a blog post on WordPress. I’m not writing about how to write a post or the content you could put in a post. This is about the little things you can do to benefit you post.

These will make your post stand out and look good. One tip will make it more appealing when you post in groups on Facebook. Another will get your readers to interact with you and also send them to another part of your blog.

Your Blog Post URL.

When you add your post title, WordPress will give it a URL which will be http://YourBlogName.com/posttitle and I would suggest that you shorten this down, especially if it is a long title. If you have any form of punctuation such as apostrophes, commas or question marks just remove them when editing the URL. For some reason your address bar will convert those to a string of code which looks messy. Also place your some or all of your keywords in the new URL as this will help your SEO.

Add an Image.

I always add an image to the top left side of the post and put my text around it. The reason I do this is it makes the post look better and not just plain text. Also when you put links in Facebook groups back to your blog, Facebook will use the image as a thumbnail making your wall post stand out from others. I get all my images from Google images and I use Jing to get them. If you don’t have Jing yet head over to Jing Project and download your free copy. I scale the image down to 250 pixels wide, WordPress back office software will do this for you.

Add links to other blog, sites or posts in your own blog.

A good tip is to add links to other blog or websites. It helps SEO and also if you’re giving away free stuff like Jing it helps your readers find what you have told them about easier. Might sound like I’m telling you to suck eggs but I have seen some blogs with great information but no clickable link to the recommendation. Also when you are adding the link always open the dropdown menu next to the word “Target” and select “Open link in new window”. What this will do is open up the link in a new window leaving your blog open on the original window. This keeps people on your blog longer and they don’t have to try and find you again if they close the linked window.

Call Too Action.

At the end of your post you should always put a call to action. Ask your readers for comments and questions. Ask them to share the post on Facebook, Twitter and the other social sites you have. I like to also take the opportunity to thanks them for their visit and offer them a “FREE Gift” which is a link to another part of my blog. You will be amazed just by adding a call to action just how many people respond to it and leave a comment. Well worth doing.

Signature

And lastly at the bottom of your page you add your signature which you can get free from My Live Signature They have many different styles and fonts to chose from or you can upload your own signature and they will convert it for a small fee. You could also head over to Wise Stamp and make your own custom signature with picture, links to your social site, your last blog post. This one can be used as an email signature as well as on your blog.

That’s my 5 tips to make your content stand out and help your readers into the bargain. There are many more things you can do so get creative, it is your blog at the end of the day.
Thank you very much for taking the time to view this post. Please leave a comment and share this post with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Reddit and Google Buzz. As a special Thank You I would like to offer you a “FREE gift” just for stopping by my blog.

In my last post I talked to you about my 3 favourite WordPress Plugins that with allow you to interact with your readers. These are some of the best ways that your readers can comment, ask questions and join your mailing list.

Today I want to talk about get more exposure for your content and how that can happen with these 3 little plugins. They are of course the WordPress social buttons that you see at the top and bottom of peoples blog posts.

But first let’s look at why having these plugins are so important. I mean if somebody liked your post they could copy and paste the URL and send it to their friends.  That’s never going to work, would you spend time do this……no!

Yet I have seen some blog, not many but some that don’t have any social buttons on them, so there is no way to share that content.

And that’s what you want, to have your content shared on Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Stumbleupon, the list goes on but the more shares you have the better it is for you, and here is why.

One of the plugins I use and a lot of people use shows the number of times that the post has been shared around the internet, check out the top of this page. You see the Facebook, Twitter, Digg etc icon well it has a number and that the amount of time my content has been posted to one of those sites.

Second the more times it gets shared well that must mean it a good piece and people trust the content and are happy to share it with their friends. This increase your brand visibility, which in turn positions you as a leader and somebody that can be trusted.

OK, let’s look at the social buttons, or plugins if you like. These are just the ones I use but I would love to hear about the ones you guys are using and the benefits you have from them. Here we go.

Digg Digg WordPress Plugin – This is a cool little plugin which sits at the top of each of my posts. You can select up to 18 different social buttons like Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Stumbleupon and a load more. Check out the picture below, see the numbers, that lets everyone know how many times that post has been shared.

Fixed Social Plugin – This is a plugin that sits either at the top or bottom of your page or at the side. It is used for two things really which is why I have added it to the page. First it allows some content sharing and also it allows people to connect with you on different social networking sites. I have added an image below, I have put it on it’s side but it is vertical on the blog and you can see on your right.

OnlyWire – This is a new one for me and I have only had it for a few weeks but love it. You can submit your content to over 40 different sites at the click of a button. It takes a bit of time to set up accounts with all of them but I believe its well worth doing. I am watching the results from this one but the early signs are encouraging. This one is free to use as long as you have it visible on your page. Also people can share your content through their Onlywire account.

That’s my 3 favorite WordPress social buttons and you can download all of these buttons in the WordPress back office and just set them up and activate them.

Thank you very much for taking the time to view this post. Please leave a comment and share this post with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Reddit and Google Buzz. As a special Thank You I would like to offer you a “FREE gift” just for stopping by my blog.

Having a blog is a great way to interact with people on a personal level and they can get a good idea of who you are and what you’re about just from you blog.

Obviously they can find out about you on the many social networking sites but a blog has a more personal feel about it.

So how can you interact with your readers and get a conversation going with them through your blog?

Today I am going to share with you the 3 plugins that I use to interact and build a relationship with my readers.

All are very easy to install and I’m going to be honest, one isn’t a plugin at all but more on that in a bit.

If you’re new to blogging and WordPress you may be thinking “what the hell is a plugin”? Very simply it is a piece of software that will enhance the usability of your blog. Depending on the plugin people can share your content, post comments, connect with you on other sites etc

There are literally 1000s of plugins out there but I am going to start with just 3 that will make your blog so much more exciting.

Disqus Comment System – this is a must plugin which will allow your visitors to leave comments, ask question and for you to respond to them. It will also allow you to visit those people’s blogs as long as they have a Disqus account. You could also use CommentLuv which is also good and it will show your readers last blog post, however I personally think that Disqus works better for my site. Well recommended.

Fast and Secure Contact Form – This is a cool little plugin that you add to a separate page on your blog and allows visitors to contact you direct. This is very powerful if they want to ask questions, get advice or just send you a personal message. The plugin is CAPTCHA and Akismet protected which will help with SPAM protection.

Opt-in Web Form – This is not a plugin but a widget which you can set up the form using Aweber auto responder. I have included this because it’s the way to get people onto your list and start to build a relationship with that list. By offering something of value in exchange for a name and email address they get some free training, ebook or something else of value. This is where you can make an income from your blog and is an absolute must to have on your blog.

Well that my 3 pluggins you should have on your blog to communicate with your readers and build a relationship with your readers. In my next post I will be talking about my 3 favourite plugins for sharing your content on the social network and connecting with people on these networking sites.

Thank you very much for taking the time to view this post. Please leave a comment and share this post with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Reddit, Stumbleupon and Google Buzz. As a special Thank You I would like to offer you a “FREE gift” just for stopping by my blog.

I wanted to share this blog post with you as a follow up to “Do You Know What Your Blog Comment Means?” where I talked about how important it is for you to leave a comment on other people’s blogs.

Well today I want to turn the tables and talk to you from the bloggers perspective and what you should do with that comment.

So you have spent a long time writing a great blog post and find you have 30 comments that all need to be read and approved. Simple enough, 30 minutes and you’ll be done.

But wait, what about your response to each comment. You may be thinking that’s going to take up far too much of my time but this is a practice that I would strongly recommend that you do.

There are quite a few bloggers out there that do reply to each comment made on their blogs and they will tell you the power of doing this simple little task.

Responding to your readers tells them that you are in fact another human being and not somebody who will be here today gone tomorrow. It shows that you truly want to build a relationship with your readers.

It’s also polite to respond to your comments.  The person who left the comment has taken the time to do so and it’s only fair you do the same.

The other great thing is that it show Google activity on your site and activity is a good thing. Google will list your site higher in its rankings as a site that has lots of activity is better than one that just has content posted every week or so.

You don’t need to write an essay, if they have made some good points pick up on that. I always thank them for visiting and wish them a great day.

Ideally you should reply to your comments within 24 hours, 48 at the latest. I have had people come back to my site just because I replied to one of their comments.

It cost more money to find new customers than it does to sell to existing ones and the same can be said for your blog. Finding new readers is harder than keeping your existing readers so please look after them because they will look after you.

They will share your content, thus bring more visitors to your site and more comments, sales and more importantly more credibility.

Thank you very much for taking the time to view this post. Please leave a comment and share this post with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Reddit and Google Buzz. As a special Thank You I would like to offer you a “FREE gift” just for stopping by my blog.

I was feed my son the other morning and he was tucking into his favourite bottle of milk and well milk so I was just flicking through the TV and caught something that I found very interesting.

It was a report on a program about different technology and blogging was the subject.

A reporter had his Youtube account disabled and everything on the account had been deleted.

This guy had everything on there, from personal videos, work videos and family stuff and with the blink of an eye the lot was gone.

Click on the link to read the full report of “Is YouTube’s three-strike rule fair to users?”

Well what did you think? How easy is it to lose everything that you have worked for.

OK so the guy got his account reinstated, but would you want to spend all that time trying to get your hard work back?

How would you feel if all your hard work was gone at the click of a mouse.

I can tell you it feels like crap, I lost two Facebook accounts so I know like a lot of you how it feels.

I think this highlights the exact reason why you must have your own self hosted blog. This problem could not happen with something that you own.

You do not own your Youtube channel, Facebook page, Twitter account or any of the other social media site or other tools we use. You are subject to someone else’s rules and therefore you have absolutely no choice but to follow them.

Having your own blog is like owning your own piece of cyber-space. It’s your and it can’t be closed down.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and hope that you found it informative. Please leave a comment and share this with your Twitter and Facebook friends.

To Your Massive Success.

Tristram Lodge