Alphablogs

If you want to get lots of google hits – and if you want your blog to be cut from “a whole cloth”, it’s best for all three to be related to what you want to communicate to your readers and clients.

Here are some examples:

http://www.boingboing.net/
BoingBoing
A directory of wonderful things

Comment: URL and blog name are the same (an ideal situation). While the name doesn’t communicate much directly, it raises curiosity – which is then answered by the tag line: “A directory of wonderful things.” This is a so-called A-list blog, one of the most successful blogs on the web.

http://miketodd.typepad.com/
“Waving or drowning?”
To explore and communicate radical faith and connect a community of apprentices

Comment: URL is the blogger’s name – not a bad idea: often the blogger’s name is better known than the blog or company name. Again, the blog name brings up an intriguing question and also perhaps a connotation – could this be a blog that deals with philosophical topics? And indeed, that is the case when you look at the tagline. The tagline also immediately announces that this is meant to be an interactive blog.

http://mylifeasareluctanthousewife.blogspot.com/
My Life As A Reluctant Housewife
Gabriella True is the quintessential Mom of twins who wishes she could snap her fingers like the “Practically Perfect in Everyway” Mary Poppins. Join this Reluctant Housewife in her passion for writing recipes, motherhood, shopping, reading, entertaining, and the history of holidays

Comment: Again, URL and blog name are the same. A very long tag line that speaks to a specific audience and tells the reader exactly what to expect.

The Tooth Booth Dental Blog is a great example of how easy it is to have a professional blog. Nothing fancy here, no great writing skills needed – just a quick little note here and there about exactly what clients are looking for: tips for improving your dental health.

The design is a straight Wordpress design but it just so happens (or is it on purpose?) that it’s a great fit for a dentist – cool and clean.

I also like how the writer, Dr. Skariah, identifies himself after each post. This gives his name added credibility (and also causes his name to show up frequently on a Google search – not a bad idea, either). Giving his contact information with every post is useful in his situation, too – there is ample research that shows that making the reader hunt around for a “contact me” link decreases the chances of picking up the telephone and making that all-important call.

You may have noticed that I said, “in his situation” – there are other circumstances where this is not the best way to go. The question is always, what do you want the reader to do? What outcome would you like to have? In Dr. Skariah’s case, I presume that he wants more face-to-face clients, so making it easy for them to do that by providing his telephone number and address with each post is the right way to go.

On the other hand, if, for example, your goal is for your readers to buy your eBook, then including a link to an e-shopping cart in every post would be the best thing to do.

Focusing on the needs of small business and independent entrepreneurs, we have been working to create Alphablogs, as a division of Alpha Glyph Publications Ltd.

We know blogging and we can help you get started and keep your blog going. We also help your blog find its audience, ultimately reaching many more clients and contacts through application of the latest web technology.

When you wish to reach an audience with your message, the blog is the ideal way to contact your clients, both current clients and clients-to-be. With the capability of indepth info (as much as you wish to generate) and the potential for many-to-many contacts that web 2.0 offers you will find yourself in the new universe of 21st century communications. Your blog posting can also be converted to a newsletter which your clients may subscribe to for up to the minute info.

Enter the realm of transparent communications, which the new web offers. It’s much more than just a blog, but can truly replace the old idea of the website completely. You will find that there can be continual updates on your info, and you can make those updates yourself. No need for high setup fees: for under $500 you will have a website ready to go with all the high functionality you will need to be confident in the 21st century marketplace.

We will patiently guide you into the workings of this new communications environment and will give you the tools to do as much of it yourself as you want to handle. Or we can set it all up and run it for you. Get yourself an alphablog, and find out what we are talking about.

Add video or audio to your site easily and inexpensively. Prepare your own information or we can put it together for you. And we help you get hits for your postings. Each blog posting is like a tiny website in itself, and is viewed independently by search engines like google. What this means to you is that you have the potential to reach many more clients through micro-targeted content. It also means that you don’t have to be one-track-minded in your messaging, but can branch out to the subtleties and overtones that are the intangibles that make your business tick, and that make your approach to your business unique.

Ultimately it is up to you. Your vision of your work and field of endeavour can be personally and professionally reflected through an alphablog site. Need a website? We can set that up for you. Need a blog? Naturally – it is our first love! Need a video blog or audio podcast? We can get that started for you and keep it going. Comprehensive sites use many capabilities which we also provide, including writing, editing, research, SEO for blogs, photos and images, links, comments, and community development (if needed).

We are really excited by the potential and possibility of this new aspect of publishing, and will be officially launching alphablogs soon. Meanwhile, for more information, you can reach us through the Alpha Glyph contact info.

Check here for some examples of work to date.

Quality contacts – that’s what we’re after when we network, isn’t it? Contacts are all about communication. So let me tell you a bit about how I see blogging works as a communication and networking tool, one that can help you build and nurture contacts and also help you reinforce your brand.

“You have a blog? How interesting!”

Many Canadian businesses don’t have blogs yet, and the blogs of those who do are often a little underdeveloped. This means that when you do have a good, lively blog, it becomes part of your branding. I’m a writer and therapist, and I’m quite well known in my community as “the blogging psychotherapist.” I have corporate colours, I have a tagline – and I have a blog.

“Let’s link”

When you look at it, the connection is obvious: Linking is networking. And just as in networking, I do my best to make organic yet strategic decisions about who to network with, I do the same with linking. Almost every sentence in a blog has a potential for linking to another site. But let’s be selective – most blog posts are fine showing just one or two links; so let’s be smart about them.

One strategy is to find out who the blogging industry leaders in a closely related field are, and link to them. If you’re in advertising, for example, linking to someone like Problogger might be valuable. Of course, it’s the same as in face-to-face networking: If you only connect with that person (or blog) with the eye to gain advantages to your business, it won’t be a quality connection. Instead, think about what is of mutual benefit. And again, who you link with is part of your brand. Try to emphasize links to website whose vision harmonizes with yours.

“I read it on your blog!”

Where does the best networking happen? It’s not when you give your 30-second spiel at a networking function. It’s when you meet for coffee for the third or forth time; when you go to a fundraising event together; when you discover you have common personal interest (“Really? You write haikus, too?”)

There are two important things here: Continuity, and a strong personal element.

We connect with people who we know are going to stick around, and people who will let us have a glimpse of who they really are. Blogging is perfect for both. In the end, there is no better branding than just showing who you are, with your little quirks, your likes and dislikes, and bits of your personal story (”Ran late for my meeting with the new client because my dug finally had her puppies!”). It doesn’t get more unique and “niche” than that – and that’s what branding is about, isn’t it? A good blog will let your unique personality shine – a natural way of attracting and nurturing quality business relationships.

(This entry was included in the Carnival of Network Marketing)

Here is one of the many reasons why it’s a good idea to have a posting at least every three days. I use my yahoo as a reader. It only shows posts from three days ago, and I have to confess that I don’t look at it every day. So if luck has it that I remember to check my yahoo on days that someone hasn’t posted for 3 days or more, all I see is the name of the blog. On most days, that doesn’t entice me enough to click and see what they’ve been up to lately.

How this works vis-a-vis email feeds like Feedblitz is a different story. I certainly don’t like getting a generic “2 new posts” in my in box every day. But once a week, I can handle that, and services like Feedblitz can do that.

So ideally, the regularity of the blog should reflect your readers’ preferences.

For example, I know that my readership drops dramatically on Saturdays and spikes on Mondays - so I always want to have fresh content for them by Monday morning.

A few notes on link love:

Bloglossary has this to say on link love.

And here’s an example of link love I’ve come across before which I quite like: Z lists.

Anyway - how to get links, a random list:

1. post comments on relevant blogs
2. participate in blog carnivals
3. start a blog carnival
4. explore and exploit the social bookmarking scene - using onlywire is a great way
5. run memes, like this one on art that makes a difference
6. pick up a meme that’s going round right now, even if you haven’t been tagged to participate in the meme
7. simply ask blogs and web sites to link to you
8. make online friends who will link to you
9. participate in blogging contests, like this one at Blog about your Blog, where you can learn more blogging tips
10. more information here and here

The most non-social bookmarking link love I’ve gotten so far is from healing.about.com. Not only do I get quite a few links from them but they usually are readers who don’t just read one page. Other than that, 10 paradoxes of creative people was picked up by reddit once and i still have reverberations from that.