“Make Business Blogging Fun: Write About Holidays, Anniversaries, and Other Milestones” plus 2 more

Make Business Blogging Fun: Write About Holidays, Anniversaries, and Other Milestones

Posted: 01 Sep 2011 01:03 PM PDT

This guest post is by Lindsey McCaffrey of Absolutely Write.

Business bloggers: do you consider every day Labour Day?

Take a breather: finding things to blog about doesn't have to be hard work.

In light of the upcoming Labour Day weekend, I'm going to share a little tip I like to tell clients who blog: consider holidays, anniversaries and other observances.

By relating your blog post to an occasion, you can come up with some creative, timely and fun pieces.

Blog about holidays

Here's one example of giving your writing a holiday spin: leading up to last year's Christmas season, I compiled my PR pet peeves into an article, Dear Santa—a PR expert's Christmas wish list.

Tip: Don't just think about the holidays you celebrate: consider those of other cultures and countries. You just may find an interesting rite or ritual to write about.

Blog about milestone anniversaries and events

Mark a milestone anniversary or event such as:

a birthday, birthday year, or death day/year of someone famous, infamous, or otherwise (it doesn't have to be someone your readers would know, provided there is relevance to the article)
the anniversary (day or annual) of a particular historical event
the year of the release of a book, album, movie or otherwise—something that perhaps you have learned a lot from, or that resonates strongly with you.

Tip: For more impact, it's best to mark a "milestone year" (think 5, 10, 15, 20…you get the picture) rather than something like the 53^rd anniversary of X, Y or Z.

Blog about weird and wacky observances

There are also less-serious, not-at-all officially recognized days, months, and milestones observed worldwide. For example, in the United States:

September 28 is Ask A Stupid Question Day
February 27 is No Brainer Day
July 28 is Talk In An Elevator Day

Tip: Before writing about a particular observance, you may wish to qualify it. Ensure it's something that at least a few people actually acknowledge, and not something that Joe down the street conjured over beer with the guys.

Find an occasion to write about!

Here are just a few websites to use as resources:

What are some fun holidays, anniversaries and observances you have written or read about?

Lindsey McCaffrey is a writer, editor, blogger and communications consultant based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Visit her Absolutely Write blog at www.lindseymccaffrey.com/blog.

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger

Make Business Blogging Fun: Write About Holidays, Anniversaries, and Other Milestones

Boost Your Blog #4: Optimize Other Key Pages

Posted: 01 Sep 2011 10:01 AM PDT

Continuing our discussion of things you could be doing right now to improve your blog, today’s tip is:

4. Optimize other key pages

Yesterday, we talked about pages on your blog, and it might also be worthwhile looking over some of the other key pages on your blog. For example, the About page is one that, on many blogs, is read a lot by new visitors. It’s also a page that many bloggers forget to keep up to date with new developments.

I recently looked over my own About page and realised that while I linked to my first ebook, I had made no mention of subsequent ones. As it’s such a highly trafficked page, I was potentially missing out on sales as a result.

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger

Boost Your Blog #4: Optimize Other Key Pages

The Fail-Proof System to Score National Magazine Publicity for Your Blog

Posted: 01 Sep 2011 07:03 AM PDT

This guest post is by Melissa Cassera of www.casseracommunications.com.

You write a blog post. You post it. You tweet, Facebook, Digg, Stumble, and perform every other type of online promotion to supersize your presence.

What are you missing?

Promoting "offline" using a major influencer like a national magazine can bring a blizzard of traffic to your blog. Not only is it great for exposure to have your name inked on the glossy pages of a national magazine, it lends the credibility and endorsement of a national magazine claiming you have the best blog on the block.

Read on to learn how you can get national magazines to sing your praises from the rooftop.

Why should I use national magazines to promote my blog?

Image used with permission

Magazines have millions of readers. Literally millions.

National magazines are also nationally-recognized brands. They've cultivated a reputation of excellence and wield a substantial amount of power for those that are fortunate enough to grace their pages.

Bloggers have leveraged national magazine publicity into six and seven-figure book deals, scored high-paying speaking engagements, attracted fancy corporate sponsors, and commanded top-dollar for coaching and consulting services.

Magazine publicity is like winning an Emmy, Tony, Grammy, or Academy Award. It provides instant credibility and high profile status.

How do national magazines feature blogs?

Some magazines highlight bloggers individually. Other magazines will interview bloggers as expert sources for their story. (Example: Melissa Cassera from Casseracommunications.com said that national magazine publicity brings droves of new readers to your blog).

For example: Glamour Magazine's August 2011 issue featured seven fashion bloggers in their article "Dress Like a Do Every Day." INC Magazine's July/August 2011 issue also featured several bloggers throughout the issue as expert sources.

How do I contact national magazines and ask them to feature my blog?

Understand lead times. Magazines work anywhere from three to six months ahead of the issue. That means you should be pitching for the December issue in August. So, get crackin'!
Find the right contact. Check the masthead toward the front of the magazine to note the appropriate section editor (beauty, fashion, technology, food, etc.). Always work from the bottom up (contact the associate or assistant editor rather than the executive or senior editor).
You can also peek at the bylines for individual articles. Magazines hire freelance writers to produce content, and these folks are always interested in good sources and stories. Google their names and get in touch.
Put as much effort into your pitch as you do writing your blog posts. Read the magazine and highlight the sections that would feature your blog and/or use you as an expert source. Know the magazine's tone and readership inside and out. (Quick tip: search online for the magazine's media kit which includes demographic and other readership info as well as an editorial calendar highlighting specific topics they will cover in future issues).
Build a relationship. Your goal is to get ongoing publicity for your blog in these offline channels. Your first contact with an editor should be a warm introduction to you and your blog and a newsworthy angle that would pique their interest to write about you. (Example: I'm a career blogger and would love to discuss the latest trend of unemployed people being told not to apply for jobs. My take on this is….).
Offer to cover the magazine on your blog. Ask the editor if they would participate in an interview for your blog. This is a great way to build a budding relationship and to offer them a bit of promotion. (Example: A fashion blogger might interview a Vogue editor on the three hottest trends for Fall).

What do I do when I get national magazine coverage?

Promote away! First things first—you want to blog about your national magazine coverage. Don't automatically assume that all your readers will see it. Let them know how super fabulous you are to be featured in [insert favorite magazine name].

Add a "fame cluster" to your homepage. If you have no idea what that is, check out my homepage and look at the little cluster of media logos. You can also start a Press page that lists all of your media shout-outs.

Last, welcome your new readers. If you know your feature in Entrepreneur Magazine comes out in November (which means it will likely hit newsstands in mid-October), add a little line to your homepage near your RSS feed or opt-in offer that says, "Welcome Entrepreneur Magazine Readers! Sign Up Here to Stay in Touch."

Take action: post the #1 magazine you want to feature your blog in the comments below. Then use the above advice to make it happen.

Melissa Cassera is a publicity expert that helps bloggers and other small business owners score millions of dollars in free advertising using the power of publicity. You can download her free eBook on How to Pitch the Media Like a Pro here: http://casseracommunications.com/newsletter/

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger

The Fail-Proof System to Score National Magazine Publicity for Your Blog