“Okay, you have a blog and consider yourself a blogger. The next step is how to build your prestige, your readership, and your reputation. This class will demystify the process of taking your personal blog and developing it into a popular resource. Being brilliant, funny, insightful, and inspired is just the beginning; learn how to help your hungry audience find you. 1 session,” Advanced Blogging Workshop
Advanced Blogging
Writer’s Center Workshop
Description
Okay, you have a blog and consider yourself a blogger. The next step is how to build your prestige, your readership, and your reputation. This class will demystify the process of taking your personal blog and developing it into a popular resource. Being brilliant, funny, insightful, and inspired is just the beginning; learn how to help your hungry audience find you.
Instructor
· Chris Abraham, Founding Partner, Abraham Harrison L
o www.abrahaharrison.com
o
o +1 202-657-403
· Blogging since 1999 www.chrisabraham.com
Short Review of Blogs and Blogging
· Ease of publishing.
· Discoverability (
· Conversationality (Trackbacks or as-they-happen referer logs, or now being part of Technorati and other blog search engines)
· Linkability (All posts should have permalinks)
· Syndicatability (All content should be available in RSS feeds)
· Commentability (All posts should welcome comments)
· Okay to be subjective and opinionated (encouraged!)
· Blogs can influence culture and mainstream media
· CGM, citizen journalism, citizen marketing, new PR
Blogging Best Practices
· Short, pithy, entries
· Constantly updated
· Only one long work a week
· Shameless, assertive, opinionated, unapologetic
· Shows respect, dignity, reciprocity
· Give more than you take
· Join the conversation and community
· Assumes good intent
Reputation as a blogger
· Techniques for building prestige and influence
o Reciprocal links and linking
o Blogroll and blogrolling
o Citations
o Comments
o Pinging ping-servers
o Press releases
o Email requests
o IM and email relationships
o Drinks, dinner, lunch, or coffee
Introduction to Viral Marketing
· Word-of-mouth, buzz, viral, and grassroots
· Authentic, transparent, conversational, honest
· Ask for what you need, give what others need
· Tell people who you are and why you are there
· “Astroturfing” is not worth the short term benefit
· The blogosphere is conversational
· Message, client message, messaging
· Network of weak blogs generally win over a powerful media
Introduction to Search Engine Optimization
· Google loves blogs (because Google loves text because it can “see” text)
· Google favors sites that are constantly updated (one a week at minimum)
· Make sure your blog pings: www.pingomatic.com/
· Make sure Google knows you: www.google.com/addurl
· Social bookmarking on Newsvine, Netscape, Digg, and Reddit
· Categories, tags, an
· Be careful how you use pronouns (he, she, and it says nothing)
· Learn about Google Sitemap: www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps
· We aware of how you use keywords in your blog (density and diversity)
· Optimize your blog like a website (meta tags, alt tags, keywords)
Introduction to Online Brand Promotion
· Blogger advocacy and outreach – top-down,
· Develop a list of blogs appropriate to your campaign
· Mommy blogs, A-Lists blogs, marketing blogs, sports blogs
· Keep a spreadsheet of all the blogs you might want to contact
· Dig into each blog looking for their contact info (not easy at all)
· Develop general message (called a message model)
· Send an bespoke email of introduction and message
· Always give more than you take: gift is key
· Keep record of all blogs and bloggers who respond well
· Delete (remove) bloggers who request it
· Make explicit opt-in request from friendly bloggers
· Don’t assume they want your message
· Reputation is based on trust and fairness – never trifle or lie
- Blog messaging and engagement – bottom-up, grassroots, organic
- Go to a blog search engine (Technorati, Ask.com, Blogsearch, etc)
- Type in a topical keyword, phrase, or topic
- Visit the blogs that are talking about your market, topic, or interest
- Where appropriate, leave a short note
- Come back tomorrow (or as often as you can) and do the same thing
- Make sure to message only where people might be interested
- Inform, don’t spam
- Go to a blog search engine (Technorati, Ask.com, Blogsearch, etc)
Introduction to Online Brand Protection
- User Google Alerts and other keyword email alerts to track online conversation
- Other tools exist, such as TruCast, TruView, Buzzlogic, and other tools
- Other tools exist, such as TruCast, TruView, Buzzlogic, and other tools
- Reputation management should start long before any crisis needs management
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is always an essential consideration online
- The last word counts most (especially on blog search engines like Technorati)
- Recent posts get indexed (the current conversation counts the most)
- Everything lasts forever on Google (make sure your side of the story is on record)
- Request – never demand – bloggers and blogs remove defamatory content
Important reading
· Naked Conversations by by Shel Israel &
· Handbook for Bloggers and Cyber-Dissidents www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=542
· Applied Blogging Workshop www.appliedblogging.org
· Abraham
