Category Archives: News & views

Nuffnang Blogopolis Key Points – Class 6: Blog Branding & Marketing

Written on July 30, 2011
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This post will be covering – LIVE! – the key points made at the Nuffnang Blogopolist Conference during Class 6: Blog Branding & Marketing. For all the key points made during each of the seven classes, check out the Blogopolis schedule.

Class 6: Blog Branding & Marketing

Speaker: Darren Rowse of ProBlogger.

Tips and points made by myself will be indicated with [Bree].

[UPDATE: For a full list of tools & resources mentioned - with URLs - see here]

Key Points…

  • Tips to attendees – take the opportunity to interact with those around you here today.
  • [Everyone is discussing biggest day of traffic they got and why... insert lots of chatter here ;) ]
  • Darren goes to events with five questions in mind. One is what’s your biggest day of traffic?
  • Darren apologises for being sleep deprived. New baby at home! No need to apologise, Darren!
  • A lot of people are looking for “The Answer” but there is no blueprint for a successful blog.
  • The more successful bloggers have forged their own way in some way. Some have principles in common though, but there is no one approach.
  • It’s easier to market a quality blog. Put some thought into the design etc.
  • Mantra: Experiment, tweak, repeat. Blogs have been an evlolution.
  • 31 Days to Build A Better Blog started as a series of blog posts.
  • Aim for consistent, long-term growth. Momentum seems to grow. It doesn’t come over night. Darren’s goal: Aim to grow by 10-20% per month. Always try to beat your own record.
  • Don’t focus on the readers you don’t have. Don’t ignore the readers who are already in front of you. Love your current readers to death and they will promote your blog for you.
  • A brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room. If that’s the case, what do you want people to say about you?
  • Think about the feelings you want people to have when they visit/leave your site?
  • The more you know about the type of reader you want, the better position you are in to find them. It’ll also help you to form your content, and monetise your blog.
  • Try building a reader profile. Darren did this for his blogs. Include name, age etc, and where they hang out online.
  • Every blog post you write, takes you closer to being the brand you want to be, or takes you away from it.
  • When people talk about your blog, it’s about the content.
  • CONTENT: What kind draws in readers? Some posts engage readers and get shared around the web. Content that builds traffic solves a problem or need in some way.
  • With content: Inform, inspire and interact. That’s what they come online for.
  • When Darren started Dig Photog School – there were two types of content, one for regular readers (eg: How to hold a camera). Other content that got shared around was the long list posts, they were about generating buzz.
  • “Sneeze pages” get people lost within your site, and by the time they’ve come out, they’ve subscribed.
  • Opinion is something that can go viral online. But when you express your opinion, are you willing to listen to other opinions. And is creating this kind of discussion going to build or hurt your brand?
  • Self depreciating humour also does well online.
  • You may have “seasonal posts” – eg: How to photograph fireworks does well on July 4.
  • Look for what you can write about – events – that will work for niche. Eg: Create a blog post for events about to take place. [Bree - OR LIVE BLOG!]
  • Give people projects, things they can go away and do. Eg: 15 images on a particular theme.
  • Infographics can also do really well.
  • Ultimately it comes down to what you know/are interested in and what people are searching for.
  • Tip 2: Get off your blog. You need to promote it yourself. How to do this? It becomes easier over time. Visualise your home base as your blog, and have bases elsewhere – eg: Twitter, Flickr and other blogs.
  • Befriend other bloggers [Bree - YES! DO THIS! Some bloggers have become some of my best friends]. Look at how you can help each other. Start by mentioning each other.
  • Guest posts can do well – it depends on the niche as to how well it goes.
  • Consider advertising your blog. Try StumbleUpon.
  • Pitch other bloggers – all the same rules apply as those we wish PRs would follow.
  • Where are your readers engaging? For Dig Photog School it’s Facebook, Flickr and Google+ now too.
  • Media – particularly local – might pick up your pitches which can get you traffic.
  • When DPS started, Darren tought people how to use their camera at the local library. These interactions can help.
  • Hook people in! A lot of people spend time looking for new readers, but don’t hook them into your blog. Try RSS and newsetter. Darren is so glad he started the newsletter – around 600K subscribers. When it goes out it’s the biggest day of traffic each week.
  • Add to communities and forums (eg: Ning). DR waiting until readership had grown before launching his forum. Looked through blog for top 20 commenters and gave them early access.
  • DPS gives readers homework and challenges. Eg: Go take a photo on this and come back and share the photos.
  • Use social proof – highlight how many readers you have or comments on posts. Also: if you hit a milestone eg: Subscriber numbers. Celebrate the community and cheerlead that.
  • Build anticipation. Write your content in a way that points forward. “Next week I’m going to expand on this post…”. Give people a reason to return.
  • Get people going deep into your site via sneeze pages, but also have a clear call to action eg: a newsletter subscription.
  • What other people say about you is more important than what you say about you.
  • Enable sharing options on your site and educate your readers as to how they can share.
  • Reward good sharing. If you see someone sharing your content on twitter, thank them for it! It works.
  • Ask your readers to share stuff. Not necessarily every post. People will do it – they just need the invitation.
  • Real life meet-ups – these people become the most active participants on Facebook etc. They start to engage with you on a deeper level.
  • Occasionally have live interaction – eg: Ustream.
  • Make your readers famous. Link to their blogs. The more you share, the more likely it’ll come back to you. Be generous.
  • A note from Darren’s son on blogging: “Tell [the internet] something important”. He’s got the key to successful blogging. :)  [ENDS]

 

>> View Class 5: Editorial vs Advertorial
>> View Class 4: Working With Brands
>> View Class 3: Improving Blog Content
>> View Class 2: Blog Photography
>> View Class 1: Tools Of The Trade
>> Back to the Nuffnang Blogopolis conference schedule

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Nuffnang Blogopolis Key Points – Class 5: Editorial vs Advertorial

Written on July 30, 2011
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This post will be covering – LIVE! – the key points made at the Nuffnang Blogopolist Conference during Class 5: Editorial vs Advertorial. For all the key points made during each of the seven classes, check out the Blogopolis schedule.

 

Class 5: Editorial vs Advertorial

Speakers: Nikki Parkinson of Styling You, Phoebe Montague of Lady Melbourne, David Krupp of Nuffnang, Arnold Aranez of Mr Gadget and Jeff Tan of iProspect.

Tips and points made by myself will be indicated with [Bree].

*** Note: I’m not 100% certain I’m attributing the points to the right speakers… I’m not in a great position to see them! Please accept my apologies. I’m going by sound for this one :) Points are not word-for-word.

[UPDATE: For a full list of tools & resources mentioned - with URLs - see here]

Key Points…

  • Difference between editorial and advertorial
  • PM: Advertorial is paid and you can clearly see it’s been sponsored. Have never had any backlash over sponsored posts. Always ask what readers are going to get out of it. Your best assett as a blogger is harnessing your readers.
  • Are you a sell out for advetising?
  • NP: We are all independent publishers. This doesn’t need to be a problem if you set your own guidelines. Simply clearly define what you’re doing.
  • PM: If your readers are going to be turned off because you are monetizing, they are living in 2004. It’s 2011. People are creating content with value. Journalists get paid, magazines have advertising. Full time bloggers don’t live off air.
  • [?]: You are creating fantastic content and you should be rewarded.
  • Has a brand tried to influence the course of a post they’ve asked you to write?
  • NP: The difficulty is that most fash/beauty PRs are still following the old-school journalism. They are still learning. It’s not uncommon to get 30 emails per day. Releases are great resources, but unless they are pitching something that fits into my schedule, it will probably be filed away.
  • PM: If email doesn’t have my name/blog name, I delete the email. Brands want something for free. If you can’t address email to me, why should I invest my time?
  • What do you do to make sure your sponsored content remains credible?
  • ARNOLD: Balance. Talk about the good things as well as things brand/product can improve on.
  • DK: It’s important that we ask our bloggers to create good content.
  • When writing sponsored content, it’s crucial to have a disclaimer… What should it say?
  • DK: Every sponsored  post Nuffnang runs starts with “Sponsored by Nuffnang…”
  • NP: If I’ve been writing a post that features products I’ve been sent for free, I link to my disclosure policy. Important because readers are buying things I’m writing about.
  • [?] Bloggers are really influential
  • NP: I’ve had comments saying this is a great example of a sponsored post.
  • Should you respond to all PR requests?
  • PM: If you feel it’s appropriate, and that there’s going to be value, then yes. It’s all about the approach.
  • If there’s no offer for $, how do you propose that?
  • PM: What you have to work out is if it’s a brand you want to work with, decide what you’re going to get out of it that’s value for you and your readers. Eg: If they don’t want to pay for a sponsored post, they may give you product for the value of that.
  • What’s an appropriate amount to charge?
  • NP & PM refer them to Nuffnang.
  • PM: Have the best media kit possible. If gives a snapshot of demographic, who I am and what I do. If a pitch is too small for Nuffnang, I charge my own rates. But that’s for the smaller independent brands, that aren’t going to work with an agency. Sometimes their is a price negotiation. Rates depend on the client and what they are asking.
  • NP: PRs don’t have the money – it’s the marketing managers et al that do. Sometimes say: This pitch is more of an advertorial, if you think the brand would like to sponsor it, let me know.
  • What’s the going figure?
  • AA: I charge at least $500 per post. The more expensive ones can be a couple of thousand.
  • PM: You are so valuable. You have to put a price on what your’e doing. Get a media kit together and think about “What am I worth?”. Be prepared to come to the table with figures.
  • 3 Tips for working with brands.
  • NP: Have media kit in place, don’t be afraid if your readership isn’t that good. A lot of PRs will request your reader numbers, but don’t be afraid to share it.  Be respectful to PRs. Build those contacts and relationships with the brands. You never know who is reading your blog. Remember it.
  • DK: When working with SEO clients, for eg, they will be particular for the words you use/bold etc. Be prepared to work with the client. You are as valuable as you are because you are who you are. Don’t change for anyone – remain true to yourself, that’s why readers love you. If you want to work with brands, try not to swear.
  • PM: Put value on yourself – very important if you want to monetise. Be prepared to say no if it’s not right for you. The value in it has to be for you and your readers.
  • AA: Understand your blog strategy and make sure opportunities align with it, understand and know your worth, don’t be scared to ask. [ENDS]

>> View Class 4: Working With Brands
>> View Class 3: Improving Blog Content
>> View Class 2: Blog Photography
>> View Class 1: Tools Of The Trade
>> Back to the Nuffnang Blogopolis conference schedule

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Nuffnang Blogopolis Key Points – Class 4: Working With Brands

Written on July 30, 2011
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This post will be covering – LIVE! – the key points made at the Nuffnang Blogopolist Conference during Class 4: Working With Brands. For all the key points made during each of the seven classes, check out the Blogopolis schedule.

 

Class 4: Working With Brands

Speakers: Andrew Hughes of Reprise Media, and Jaclyn Ely of Ikon Communications.

Tips and points made by myself will be indicated with [Bree].

[UPDATE: For a full list of tools & resources mentioned - with URLs - see here]

Key Points…

  • ANDREW SAYS…
  • At all times we’re focused on client’s interest to give them the best for their campaign.
  • There is a massive opportunity for video blogging  - vlogging
  • As individuals, bloggers are brands
  • You are responsible for providing the client’s brands in the best light
  • It’s possible for a brand to travel a lifetime with you
  • To get your content into spaces such as Google news, you can use services like Newsmaker [Bree to confirm name], PR Web etc to share a news format release
  • Look for diverse ways to communicate with your audience
  • Enable your blog to share with sites such as Twitter, Google+ etc
  • Company has done everything from provide cameras to food bloggers to review meals, or have bloggers attend launch of Target designer launch.
  • Agencies are looking for an awareness of particular brands and events. Your content needs to be relevant to what they’re talking about.
  • How are bloggers chosen to partner with? Match a topic and audience that they’re trying to connect with. Monitor comments and analyse consumer sentiment. They’re looking for a good environment for their brand or product.
  • They also look at: Who links to you, similar blogs, etc.
  • They use tools such as Google Page Rank to look at importance of website, and will look at your engagement in social media.
  • For sponsored posts – you’ll be provided with a document on what they want to achieve for a post. This is the kind of thing you should consider – look at title, first paragraph, imagery. It’s got to be relevant.
  • If you’ve written an awesome post, it might be tied in with other media relationships, which then builds equity for your blog. It gets leveraged.
  • Look at Google Webmaster tools – it identifies all the problems Google has with your site. Fix these areas.
  • Also look at your site speed. With smaller blogs there are opportunities with Amazon web services. Take the time to learn about it.
  • Buy or create a good theme. Personalise your blog. Make sure it represents you.
  • Create things that are great for audience. Lists are great. Best places to eat, best photographs from… etc
  • The latest Google algorithms are looking for quality content.
  • Look at YARP plugin (Yet another related post).
  • Use social assets to promote – create a Facebook page to share your posts.
  • Your homepage is the gateway to the post in your site.
  • Check out the media kit of Glowless [Bree - URL to come]
  • You need a domain name. It’s the simple representation of you on the internet. You can get one even if on Blogger or WordPress.com
  • WordPress is a CMS – not just a blogging platform.
  • Learn to use a keyword tool. It gives you all kinds of insights as to what people are looking for.
  • It’s cheap to outsource technical work on sites such as ODesk or Elance.
  • Use creative commons to ensure your content is distributed further in the way you want it to be.
  • Use the right creative commons content attribution.
  • JACLYN says…
  • Her job role is about connecting with consumers and what they want to hear.
  • It’s an agency job to know the consumer inside and out. Eg: For a shopping center – what do women want to look at? What are they browsing?
  • Marketers are asking: can I reach enough people? is there credibility with a sponsored post? Do I lose control of the message?
  • FIVE TOP TIPS…
  • 1: Know your style and style of blog. What are you representing and talking about on a day to day basis? And how is it perceived by your audience? Are people going to you for information or entertainment?
  • 2: Know your audience. How many are you reaching? Look at analytics to then show an agency of your impact. Know demographic and location. What is their mindset when they come to read your blog. Is it for leisure or part of their job?
  • 3: Understand the brief and what the brand wants. Look at the purpose of campaign and history of product. Look at what they judge success on.
  • 4: Stay honest. Authenticity is why people come to you. People have built up a relationship with you and see you as a resource or even friend. They want to hear your opinion. Authenticity is key. If you can’t do this, be honest with a brand and say no. Much better for all.
  • 5: Go the extra mile. If you can give a brand something that wasn’t in original proposals, they will love it. And make sure you let them know. If it’s being shared, tell them!
  • Top areas of a successful campaign: Did I achieve the reach? Was the synergy of the post in line with the brief? How many comments were generated. [ENDS]

>> View Class 3: Improving Blog Content
>> View Class 2: Blog Photography
>> View Class 1: Tools Of The Trade
>> Back to the Nuffnang Blogopolis conference schedule

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Nuffnang Blogopolis Key Points – Class 3: Improving Blog Content

Written on July 30, 2011
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This post will be covering – LIVE! – the key points made at the Nuffnang Blogopolist Conference during Class 3: Improving Blog Content. For all the key points made during each of the seven classes, check out the Blogopolis schedule.

 

Class 3: Improving Blog Content

Speakers: Christie Burnett of Childhood101, Susan Thye of Chocolatesuze and Nikki Parkinson of Styling You.
Covering:

Tips and points made by myself will be indicated with [Bree].

[UPDATE: For a full list of tools & resources mentioned - with URLs - see here]

Key Points…

  • From CHRISTIE…
  • Ask yourself: why blog?
  • If facing posting block, take some time out
  • If taking time out, simply reschedule some old posts
  • Call on your blog community if you need to – communities are important
  • While on a blogging break, revisit your reason to blog. Has your purpose changed?
  • Maybe consider a new design?
  • Consider what makes your blog unique.
  • Those who post quality content will succeed.
  • You don’t need to post every day.
  • Write drafts and keep them ready for your down time
  • Look outside of your niche for ideas
  • From SUSAN…
  • Inpsiration for your posts can be found anywhere…
  • Read other blogs, bookmark posts, save those ideas for the future…
  • Forums are a great to connect with other bloggers.
  • Twitter is great to interact with others too.
  • Check out layouts and styles of other blogs for that kind of inspiration too.
  • Photos really do have a thousand words – add them to your blog.
  • Lists can break up a long post.
  • From NIKKI…
  • What you put on your blog is damn important.
  • No one originally commented on Nikki’s blog. So she spent a lot of time commenting, getting to know other bloggers – and not just those in her niche.
  • A redesign can boost your motivation. Nikki went from 4K uniques to 30K and picked up a number of awards.
  • Nikki won Best Australian blog – check her out at stylingyou.com.au
  • Tip: Get organised. Nikki content plans and manages up to two months in advance. She still changes things around if need be, though.
  • Ask yourself, how often will you post?
  • Surprise your readers with some unscheduled posts. If there is something happening  relating to your niche, jump on it straight away.
  • Make sure you’re not giving your readers the same content over and over again. Nikki blogged about fashion & beauty, but now also blogging tips.
  • Think about how you can take the categories of your content and spread it over the week or month.
  • Tools of the trade: Good old fashion note book is great. Ideas can come to you at any time.
  • Schedule posts. Nikki writes at night and schedules to post in the morning.
  • Nikki loves the WP Editorial Calendar calendar. It makes it easy to see your draft posts at a glance.
  • We all have the power in our blogs to make a difference, make someone laugh, make someone smile.
  • Everyone is different, everyone has a story to tell. Show your personality on your blog.
  • Blogging is a conversation. Make the reader feel as though they have a connection with you.
  • Nikki suggests… For a laugh read Bern Morely, Lori from Ramblings of A Stay At Home Mum, Woogsworld
  • Nikki’s blog is still business related, but has a personal level. How can you bring more of yourself into your blog?
  • In print you don’t get the awesome comments that you get from blogging, Twitter and FB. People want to connect with people. [ENDS]

>> View Class 2: Blog Photography
>> View Class 1: Tools Of The Trade
>> Back to the Nuffnang Blogopolis conference schedule

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Nuffnang Blogopolis Key Points – Class 2: Blog Photography

Written on July 30, 2011
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This post will be covering – LIVE! – the key points made at the Nuffnang Blogopolist Conference during Class 2: Blog Photography. For all the key points made during each of the seven classes, check out the Blogopolis schedule.

 

Class 2: Blog Photography

Speakers: Danielle Melnyczenko of Danimezza, and Minh Giang  of Eat, Show & Tell.

Tips and points made by myself will be indicated with [Bree].

[UPDATE: For a full list of tools & resources mentioned - with URLs - see here]

Key Points…

  • Danni is going to wing her tips :)
  • For Danni, her blog is a reflection of herself.
  • Why Minh loves photography: Chefs put a lot of work into their presentation, so they love to document their meals on their blog.
  • Danni classes herself as a photo journalist. Capturing the daily moments is what it’s about.
  • If you want to focus on a product shot, make sure the background is clean, and use natural light – not flash.
  • Photos don’t have to be all smiling. They can be all about capturing the moment.
  • It’s not about the gear you’re  using, it’s how you take the photo.
  • Five points… LLIGHTING
  • “Romantic lighting” is Minh’s pet peeve. Don’t use flash in restaurants. [A good tip for food bloggers - people go there for the atmosphere.]
  • Use a piece of tissue as a cheap diffuser. You can use this with your iPhone.
  • Back lighting is a really useful tool.
  • You don’t need to light from the front – it can come from the side.
  • COMPOSITION. There are a lot of rules eg: Rule of thirds. The thing is every photo, it changes depending on what you are taking the photo of.
  • Danni hates taking photos straight on.
  • POINT OF VIEW: Top down shots can be overused in food photography. But it’s a great way to highlight certain aspects.
  • SUBJECT: You’ll see high apertures used a lot in food photography.
  • Don’t be afraid to use a fair bit of cropping.
  • [The photos being shown are beautiful... I will have to link to them somehow!]
  • Before you think about pressing the shutter button, think about the environment you’re in.
  • What to use to take blog photos…
  • You don’t need a DSLR to take great photos for your blog. Use your iPhone, check out the Instagram app.
  • What Minh loves about Instagram is that you can make bad photos look good with a filter.
  • If you have an iPhone use the regular iPhone camera THEN add a filter. Don’t take pics with the apps.
  • Minh loves checking the data of photos on Flickr. Instagram strips that data.
  • Cannon G10 range is good and you can get some good lenses [Need to confirm this point - BREE]
  • Nikon D700 is what’s used by Minh. It’s very heavy though! Upgraded to this for food photography – it gives great low light photos.
  • Danni has a lot of equipment and has to be ready for a lot of situations.
  • [Danni and Minh have a list of all of their equipment... Will try to get hold of this... I can type fast, but not quick enough for techie Camera names ;) ]
  • At events Danni uses five cards and switches them out – she knows those images are then safe. Don’t get too into big cards.
  • Batteries – Danni carries three. One in camera, one in bag, one in hotel room.
  • Breath out when taking photo without flash – it helps to be less shaky. The brace position (tuck arms in tight) is like creating your own tripod if you don’t have one.
  • Danni takes iPhone4 everywhere. Lots of lenses you can get for these for about $20. Learn to use the focus point on your iPhone. Have a play!
  • Workflow… Shoot raw. It gives you the raw image and you can use Lightroom to tweak it.
  • LightRoom is expensive software, but it can take photos from crap to awesome. Danni was bowled over by it.
  • When you export photos with LightRoom you can choose to include watermarks.
  • SEO tip for images: People don’t realise you get SEO on photos. Consider the name of the image for Google Image Search. Especially good for event photos. Also add pics to Flickr – it can be a good traffic driver.
  • Food photo tips… hold your camera still! Use 2-second timer on point and shoot cameras.
  • Don’t be afraid to experiment.
  • If you’re interested in a picture, someone else could be as well.
  • DPReview.com is a good website for comparing camera models and prices.
  • The higher the ISO the better for low light pictures.
  • Participate in photography workshops.
  • Embrace your own unique style.
  • If all else fails, Google your photography question. [ENDS]

>> View Class 1: Tools Of The Trade
>> Back to the Nuffnang Blogopolis conference schedule

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Nuffnang Blogopolis Key Points – Class 1: Tools Of The Trade

Written on July 30, 2011
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This post will be covering – LIVE! – the key points made at the Nuffnang Blogopolist Conference during Class 1: Tools Of The Trade. For all the key points made during each of the seven classes, check out the Blogopolis schedule.

 

Class 1: Tools Of The Trade

Speakers: Nicole Avery of Planning With Kids, Michael Aulia of Craving Tech and Arnold Aranez of Mr Gadget.

Tips and points made by myself will be indicated with [Bree].

[UPDATE: For a full list of tools & resources mentioned - with URLs - see here]

Key Points…

  •  Nicole… RSS allows content to come to the reader, to do that you need to use a reader such as Google Reader.
  • Recommend to use a service such as Feedburner – a Google Product.
  • Feedburner gives you lots of data. By default FB email subscriptions isn’t activated, so make sure you do that.
  • It’s a  good tool to understand what’s happening with your readers. Eg: to see who subscribes or unsubscribes. Gives you a hint what your audience likes.
  • Have a look at how your feeds are set up.
  • Look at the optimize section in feedburner. Feedflare makes it easy for your readers to engage with the content. You want people to promote and share.
  • Full or partial feed? Partial requires you to click through – Nicole doesn’t like them (neither do I!). People sign up because they want the full information.
  • Nicole uses WP RSS footer plugin to add stuff to bottom of RSS before it goes out. You can add a link and short description.
  • Add the title of post and full blog name to the RSS footer so people know where the content is coming from, should it be scraped.
  • Important to look at your subscriber reach so you know how many RSS emails are being opened.
  • Newsletter services can be used to promote your blog. It’s direct email marketing, separate to your RSS.
  • People start a newsletter because they eventually want to sell a product. How to Launch the #### out of Your Ebook is recommended.
  • Take the time to build a relationship with your readers.
  • There are lots of newsletter services. Nicole uses Mail Chimp. Think long term what you want from the service, don’t just consider cost.
  • Test your newsletter before sending it out. Look for templates that are easy to edit.
  • Auto responders are pre-drafted emails that go out at a certain point after you’ve signed up. Great way to automatically engage with people. Eg: Offer a discount on your ebook.
  • Sign up for other emails and don’t just stick with your niche. Look at them for ideas. Nicole suggests signing up for Stylingyou.com.au’s newsletter.
  • Create a free download works really well in order for you to get signups. Eg: A report or PDF.
  • Let people know what they’re getting when they sign up, so it can’t be a surprise.
  • Think about your title or people won’t open them
  • If you use images, take the time to include a URL so people have something to click on.
  • Back to basics with Michael… the most popluar platforms are Blogger and WordPress
  • I heart WordPrss [Bree]
  • Blogger is pretty much “safe” being with Google… BUT… Google can control what you can or can’t do.
  • With WordPress you have full control, it’s owned by you can you have total flexibility  [So true!!!]
  • You can sell a WP blog in the future.
  • There are so many plugins for WP – plugins to add newsletter subscribe option under each post. There are plugins to back up your blog etc. There are so many!
  • Not ready for WP? At least get your own Domain name [Can't stress this enough - Bree]
  • You can do a workaround redirecting your domain, name but it’s best to start now…
  • Own domain name looks more professional.
  • Stats? They can tell you where your visitors are coming from, the browsers they use etc. Stats also give you something to do while sipping coffee ;)
  • You can also get ideas from your next blog post from the keywords people are searching for.
  • Michael recommends Google Analytics [Bree - me too. Love the overlay feature]
  • WP Total Cache is a recommended WordPress plugin.
  • A CDN is a content delivery network. It spreads your content across servers around the world. So visitors get the content quicker. It also means your blog never goes offline. Michael recommends cloudflare.com. It also offers an extra layer of protection from spammers.
  • Smush.It is good if you use a lot of photos on your blog post – compresses the data. If you use WP use the Smush.it plugin.
  • Wisestamp is a great browser addon. [Bree - I use  it too]
  • Michael Recommends the Windows Live Writer.
  • He also likes the Click Bump SEO Plugin [Oooh, haven't tried that :) ]
  • Now for Arnold to speak… He likes the cheeky tweets :)
  • Anyone can become a blogger, and anyone can achieve! Arnold won Best Geek Blog.
  • LG flew him to Vegas to Blog. [Bree - Hmmm... YES PLEASE! Any brands want to send me back there?!]
  • You can spend hours creating a beautiful blog, but if you haven’t done much sharing, no one will find it
  • The goal of SEO is for people to find you via a search engine.
  • Ideally you want to be top 10 of Google search.
  • SEO tip 1: Establish keywords. What keywords describe your website? Come up with at least five single or double keywords.  Eg: for his cases blog: Leather cases blog, luxury leather cases… Ideally you will find his blog via google using these search terms.
  • SEO Tip 2: Emphasise those key words – add them to your Meta Data (title, text, keywords etc).
  • Add the keyword to your title, content and tag.
  • SEO tip 3: Share your blog posts. Share it via all the main SM streams: Twitter, FB email and NOW Google+ [Bree - Love G+]
  • Use a social bookmarking tool from sites such as StumbleUpon. You can get some good traffic and they provide links back to your blogpost. Ranking not only means having an optimised post, but having links coming back to you.
  • SEO tip 4: Review your performance regularly. Use Google Analytics. View at least once per week…
  • SEO Tip 5: Automate. It can take a lot to write a blog post. Try all in one SEO WP plugin. Install sharing options on each blog post. [Bree - there are loads of plugins for this]
  • Establish friends online who will share your posts with you.
  • SEO Tip 6: Some don’ts. Don’t just spam keywords all over your website.
  • Don’t give up!!!

[ENDS]

>> Back to the Nuffnang Blogopolis conference schedule

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LIVE BLOGGING: Key Points From Nuffnang Blogopolis Conference 2011

Written on July 30, 2011
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Hello there blogger! I’ve been mostly MIA on my blog for a couple of months, but I’m pleased to be blogging today LIVE from Melbourne where I’m at ZINC at Federation Square for the Nuffnang Blogopolis Conference 2011. It’s my plan (for as long as I have enough caffeine!) to bring you the key points made by each of the speakers.

How to cover a blog conference – LIVE

[UPDATE: It's done! Find the links to all the posts below. Hope you've enjoyed my coverage. I need a serious nap ;) ]

[UPDATE 2: For a full list of tools & resources mentioned - with URLs - see here]

Here’s the schedule of what will be covered today. I’ll link to each post from here as I go, I’ll also tweet updates from @theblogstylist (and don’t forget to check out the official hashtag: #nnb2011). I may also add in my own thoughts, observations and pointers.

For those interested I’m using: WordPress, a teeny-tiny (and cute ‘n’ easy to travel with) Acer Netbook, the Google Chrome browser, and the Silver Bird extension.

I’ve got this post, and the (ready-to-go) posts for all of the topics below open in separate tabs. Silver Bird means I can tweet from the browser. I’ve even pre-written tweets and shortened post links using su.pr! (It means they’ll tweet with the StumbleUpon toolbar attached.) This kind of blog content (i.e., LIVE) can be a great traffic driver, but it means you’ve got to be ready, and you’ve got to be able to share it - FAST!

My tips if you want to cover a conference on your blog? Don’t count on there being 100 power points and enough Wi-Fi for everyone in conference room! Experience has taught me it’s best to come prepared – make sure your laptop is fully charged, bring your own internet connection, and arrive early to get a good seat (and hopefully find a spare power point too).

Class 1: Tools Of The Trade

>> READ THE KEY POINTS HERE

Speakers: Nicole Avery of Planning With Kids, Michael Aulia of Craving Tech and Arnold Aranez of Mr Gadget.
Covering:

  • Plug-ins
  • Stats packages
  • RSS feeds
  • Newsletter services
  • SEO: What is it? How to manage it?

Class 2: Blog Photography

>> READ THE KEY POINTS HERE

Speakers: Danielle Melnyczenko of Danimezza, and Minh Giang  of Eat, Show & Tell.
Covering:

  • Capturing quality photos
  • Point and shoot vs. DSLR vs. iPhone
  • How to watermark your photos
  • Photo-editing tools

Class 3: Improving Blog Content

>> READ THE KEY POINTS HERE

Speakers: Christie Burnett of Childhood101, Susan Thye of Chocolatesuze and Nikki Parkinson of Styling You.
Covering:

  • Ways to generate ideas for content
  • Brain storming methodologies and blog inspiration
  • Content calendars
  • Writing in your own voice
  • How to overcome writers block
  • Using headlines, lists and images
  • Blogger burn out: When to know how to switch off

Class 4: Working With Brands

>> READ THE KEY POINTS HERE

Speakers: Andrew Hughes of Reprise Media, and Jaclyn Ely of Ikon Communications.
Covering:

  • The role media agencies play
  • Thoughts on blog advertising
  • What they are after from bloggers
  • What they consider successful blog campaigns

Class 5: Editorial vs. Advertorial

>> READ THE KEY POINTS HERE

Speakers: Nikki Parkinson of Styling You, Phoebe Montague of Lady Melbourne, and David Krupp of Nuffnang and Jeff Tan of iProspect.
Covering:

  • What is considered editorial content?
  • What is considered advertorial content?
  • How to tell the difference between the two

Class 6: Blog Branding & Marketing

>> READ THE KEY POINTS HERE

Speaker: Darren Rowse of ProBlogger
Covering:

  • Defining what and who your blog is
  • Building your profile
  • Establish your branding
  • Using social media to increase awareness and help build your brand
  • Tools to help use social media efficiently
  • How to monitor your brand

Class 7: The Australian Blogosphere: Past, Present & Future

>> READ THE KEY POINTS HERE

Speakers: Candice Deville of Super Kawaii Mama, Darren Rowse of ProBlogger, Eden Riely of Edenland, and Helen Yee of Grab Your Fork. Moderated by Nicole Avery of Planning With Kids.
Covering:

  • Australian blogging: the past
  • Australian blogging: the present
  • Australian blogging: the future
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Hi there, remember me?

Written on July 24, 2011
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Remember me? I’m the blogger who blogs about blogging, who hasn’t blogged in a while. Oops. But it’s for a pretty darn-good reason, and… I may blog about it at some point. And right now I’m thanking my lucky stars that I’ve never posted on the benefits of blogging regularly* because that would be tres embarrassing, and I’d seriously be eating my words. Right? ;)

But, sit tight for I have a couple of fun posts coming up in the coming weeks. In the mean time, if you have a blogging question, please submit it here. If you’d like to be featured as a profiled blogger, submit your details for consideration here. I can’t promise to answer/feature them all (I’ve already got a bunch to get through) but I do love having a list of options ready to go.

Oh, and before I go, here’s a little belated cheers to the following blogs for featuring yours truly. Thanks, bloggers!

*But what are my thoughts on blogging regularly? Well, it depends on what you’re blogging about. If you blog for business, or you blog about newsy-topics (announcements, breaking-stories etc) then yes, it helps to do this often as your readers will come to expect a certain amount of information delivered each day or week. And if you don’t? Then I say: Blog as often as you can, so long as you have something interesting to say.

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Style Bloggers’ News: 15 must-click links (issue 6)

Written on April 14, 2011
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In this week’s Style Bloggers’ News… iFabbo’s Awesome Blog Posts, the A-Z of blogging, and the beginner’s guide to HTML.

Missed the previous issues of Style Bloggers’ News? Check them all out here.

Have you submitted your awesome posts to iFabbo yet?

1. Awesome Posts

Are you an iFabbo member? We’re starting a new feature and are looking for awesome posts to link to! Submit yours by e-mailing it to awesomeposts[at]ifabbo[dot]com.

2. Inspiring bloggers

I was delighted to be featured in a post this week by Nikki from Styling You, titled: 5 Bloggers who inspire me to be a better blogger. I’m truly honoured to be mentioned alongside Clare of Women In Business, Vahni of Grit & Glamour, Joanne of Joanne Faith and Annabel of Successful Blogging!

3. Blogging Heaven

Also featured on Nikki’s Styling You post was a new site, with an A-Z of everything you could possibly need for your blog (and then some). Fun fact: The site has books featured that change colour when you mouseover them. What’s that saying about simple things and simple minds? ;)

4. Move over, Hollywood

Bloggers have more influence on purchases than celebrities, reports Fox News when it comes to learning about products or making a purchase.

5. New discoveries

Blogs I stumbled across this week include Where Is Harriet who writes 8 Steps to a better blogger, and Juliette Maxwell who writes A beginners guide to HTML.

7. Blogger tutorial

Design It Chic offers step-by-step instructions for making your Blogger blog comments numbered (good for when you use comments as competition entries and need a number to choose a random winner).

8. Srsly helpful

Whenever I read the posts of Kristin’s at Relatively Chic, I suddenly have the urge to re-write everything on this blog she’s that good! Her latest? Feed Your Readers: RSS, Subscriptions & Beyond.

9. Blog Press Releases

The bloggers at the BlogWorld blog (that’s a lot of blogs for one sentence!) have posted this gem: Writing and distributing the ‘social-media release‘.

10. Sweet tweet

A gushing thanks to @helen_buchanan for the lovely tweet she sent me! It made my day Helen! Check out her blog at Brit Girl Bondi.

10. Giving credit

As a blogger, it’s tempting to use images that aren’t yours. But should you? Could you? Would you? This infographic by Pia is UH-MAZE-BALLS in the usefulness stakes.

11. Beauty product inspiration

Do you post images of beauty, fashion or lifestyle products? The ridiculously talented blogger behind The Style Sample, Tamia, could make a paper bag look interesting. Check out her post Trying For Spring… if you’re looking for design inspiration.

12. Bloggers do it better

Kristina from Pretty Shiny Sparkly has launched a new project called Bloggers Do It Better. It’s a series of assignments fashion bloggers can take part in, interpreting and posting the outcome on their blog.

13. Shout-out thanks

A big Mwah! to Beautifully Invisible for the link love (via The Citizen Rosebud). Glad you liked my post on comments. It’s garnered a lot of comments (and thankfully most people see the funny side of it!).

13. Drivin’ me crazy

It must be Beautifully Invisible week ’round here, coz here’s a link for the post 10 Things about your blog that drive me crazy. Gold stars for this one!

15. Eau de Facebook

Oscar de la Renta released its first fragrance in 10 years via the Book Of Faces (that’s Facebook, y’know). Mashable has the *cough* nine-day-old story (sorry, I’m a little late to the party getting these links together!).

What’s your best link discovery this week?

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Style Bloggers’ News: 15 must-click links (issue 5)

Written on April 2, 2011
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In this week’s Style Bloggers’ News… Gmail motion is here, 20 SEO terms to know, a new plugin discovery and dealing with internet scum…

Missed the previous issues of Style Bloggers’ News? Check them all out here.

1. Gmail Motion is here

In case you missed the memo, “old technologies” such as the mouse and keyboard are so 2010 when it comes to using e-mail. Good thing Google has a solution (above)! Love that stamp-licking motion! (If you can’t see the video, it’s here.)

2. Record your screen!

PC users: Ever wanted to record your screen? I did – and tried it using Camstudio to make this video: How to add a linked image to your sidebar. One word: success!

3. How to deal with internet scum

Is someone ripping off content? Relatively Chic offers this comprehensive how-to ditch ‘em guide. Remember: This Is My Shiz, Yo!

4. That three-letter word: SEO

Confused? What does it all mean? Daily Blog Tips offers 20 SEO Words You Should Know (it’s an oldie, but a goodie).

5. Balancing blog time

The most efficient blog-commenter around, Nikki from Styling You (serious – she leaves more comments than any blogger I know!), shares her secrets on balancing blogging time.

6. Plus one isn’t the loneliest number

Wondering about Google’s new “+1″? Social Media Daily has the news you need to know.

7. RSS explained

Still unsure about “that RSS stuff”? Check out What Is RSS for a simple run-down.

8. Host with the most

Which host should you use for your WordPress blog? I offer suggestions in my latest “Ask Bree” post.

9. Better Blogger

Blogger is getting a refresh with Dynamic Templates that you’ll soon be able to customize and use for your blog.

10. How to…

Create a database of contacts by the savvy blogging ladies at Savvy Blogging. I heart organisation!

11. Fashionistas on Facebook

Forget e-commerce, F-commerce is where it’s [apparently] at. The Fashionably Marketing Me site presents: The Fashion Industry’s Guide To Facebook Commerce.

12. Plugin discovery

One Swipe claims to make your WordPress content look good on all devices. Have you tried it? I’m looking forward to giving it a go. No points for guessing how I’ll be spending my weekend :)

13. London calling

Westfield launches blogger tutorials at London mall. Whoever came up with this idea deserves a raise!

14. Add to cart!

With the Australian dollar now almost worth $US1.04 (huzzah!), I’m heading straight to Net-A-Porter and my all-time favourite for “staples”: Forever 21.

15. Your turn

What’s your favourite link of the week? Discovered anything other style bloggers would want to know? Share it below!

What’s your best link discovery this week?

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