Instigator Blog

Most of us never have enough blog traffic. We want more, and more, and more site visitors.

But the real value in blogging comes from 1.

How can you get 1 more person to visit your blog, engage and build a relationship with you?

1. Write to Get More Comments. Turning a visitor into a commenter is a key way of building a relationship with someone. Here are some blog writing tips to get more comments.
2. Reply to Comments. Unless you get hundreds of comments per day there’s no reason you can’t do this. Even if it’s to say “thank you, come again!” People who comment are more interested in building meaningful relationships; in a way, through commenting, they already have.
3. Visit Commenters’ Sites. Most people leave a link when they comment. Click on it. Visit their blog and see what’s there. You never know what you’ll find.
4. Email People a Thank You. If you see real possibilities for extending the relationship between blog writer and reader, email the person a thank you. Ask questions and extend the discussion.
5. Email People Links of Interest. Don’t be shy about emailing people a link of interest from your blog. Or, it might be from another site, with a small note, “You might also find my blog interesting at http://www.instigatorblog.com. I’m tackling topics such as…”
6. Track The Most Popular Content. What are the most popular posts on your blog? And how did people get to them? Answer those two questions and you start to paint a picture of what people are looking for. Give them more of what they’re looking for and new and old readers alike will become more engaged. I’ve used Google Analytics for awhile and just started using 103bees (which has some interesting reports and metrics.)
7. Make Content Accessible and Readable. Don’t over clutter your blog to the point of hiding content. A blog is nothing without content; it needs to stand out and shine through. You don’t need a blank sidebar or the ultra-cleanest Web 2.0 theme in the world; but de-clutter when you can, make headlines prominent, and keep content easily readable and inviting.
8. Participate in Online Communities. The further you reach beyond your blog, the more potential you have to connect with people. It’s a pro-active versus passive approach to building your blog community. Comment on other people’s blogs. Join MyBlogLog.

Your blog community will grow 1 person at a time. Your network of meaningful relationships will grow as well.

The most powerful thing about the approach is that new community members will become evangelists for you. If each person you build a blog relationship with goes out and tells 5 other people about your blog, and they become engaged only to tell 5 more people…well, you get the picture.

Successful blogging isn’t about having the biggest audience, or constantly growing traffic by leaps and bounds. Those are great things, but they don’t get at the heart of successful blogging.

Successful blogging is all about the power of 1.

Blogging gives you the opportunity to reach millions. The potential audience is huge.

But the real value in blogging comes one relationship at a time.

images by laughlin and Keruna.

It’s all well and good to talk about your strengths, but every coin has two sides.

The purpose of evaluating your weaknesses isn’t to induce misery or frustration. Really.

But it can prove to be a very eye-opening experience. And it opens the door for a great deal of awareness and improvement.

Don’t shy away from weaknesses. Instead:

1. look at things objectively
2. recognize and admit weaknesses
3. make conscious decisions on what to do about them

In business partnerships, find complimentary partners with complimentary skill sets. Two of me would be frightening in any sense whatsoever; so two of me certainly wouldn’t work as business partners.

And they say “opposites attract” when it comes to love…maybe it’s more a question of finding someone with dissimilar weaknesses (or someone who doesn’t mind your weaknesses, or finds them cute and quirky…)

Of course, you can tackle weaknesses and turn them into strengths. You can’t sit around and wait for others to do that for you.

Once you really understand your weaknesses there are many ways to flip ‘em into strengths. Figuring them out first, understanding them and getting inspired to change them will make all the difference in the world.

[tags]strengths, weaknesses, characteristics, personal development[/tags]

Do You Know Where Your Nuts Are?

Um…yes? I think so…I hope so…

[tags]weblogs, blogging, writing headlines, humor, funny blogs[/tags]

Robyn Tippins and Shawn Hessinger tag teamed me with the “5 things” meme. I’d previously been slammed with the 5 things meme bug by Leah Maclean, and I had a tough enough time with that!

But after days of deliberation I’ve come up with 5 more things you didn’t know about me…until just now (assuming you keep reading; please do…)

1. I once wrote a book. It was called The Buzzword Bingo Book: The Complete, Definitive Guide to the Underground Workplace Game of Doublespeak. Technically it was co-written, but it’s a long story. I had 15 minutes of fame back in 1998 with buzzword bingo (more like 20-25 minutes actually.) Made it into the Wall Street Journal and everything. Before blogging took off (or even existed?)
2. In my senior year of highschool I played football - defensive tackle. I wasn’t particularly good, but the team needed some warm bodies to play. Apparently I was warm enough. More than anything this shows you the vast difference between Canadian and US highschool sports. I don’t think there’s a single highschool in the United States where I would have been big or strong enough to play football.
3. I’ve never smoked in my life. I’ve never even tried it, not once. Not a single puff, drag or taste. Never ever. Smoking just never appealed to me (and the peer pressure wasn’t strong enough I guess.) Having said that I was far from a choir boy…
4. Actually, I was a choir boy. Way back when I sang in the choir until my voice cracked horribly and I sounded like a dying sheep. That was the end of that. But back in those days the Anglican private school I went to (I’m not Anglican if you’re wondering) took choir pretty seriously. We even toured around.
5. I used to listen to Raising Hell by Run DMC nonstop. I’m not much of a rap or hip hop fan these days, but back in Grade 6, 7 and 8 (or thereabouts) Run DMC was it. I still think it’s a great album.

Now that I’ve suitably embarrassed myself I think I’ll leave it at that. This has been a very fun meme but everything has to disappear into the sunset eventually.

I do appreciate Robyn and Shawn thinking about me and tagging me…