Blogger Quick Tip – Hashtags are Like Anchor Text

I think I’m finally getting the hang of Twitter and I love the traffic I’m receiving for “getting it.”

Hashtags are the answer to getting followers and traffic.  Placement and proper use are even more important!

A few days after I wrote that article on hashtags, I started getting a ton of traffic.  Nearly 400 unique visitors arrived on Saturday which was remarkable since it was a Saturday and a holiday.  The vast majority came from Twitter.  Jonathan asked –

Did you use the hashtag at the start of the tweet? I think that causes problems. Use it in the middle or end of the message.

I had been using them at the front of the message, but then it dawned on me I should be using them like anchor text on a website.  Anchor text utilizes keywords, so do hashtags.

This was the tweet that earned so much traffic –

#blogging #twitter Get Twitter followers automatically – http://bit.ly/3tPHFk

I can save space by writing –

#blogging Get #Twitter followers automatically – (Linky)

The “perfect” tweet would use hashtagged keywords exclusively.  If you can’t hashtag the keyword in your sentence, it probably doesn’t belong there.

#Utah‘s top #Blogger #contest is over. The winner is…http://bit.ly/abWgv

Ahhh, perfection!

Blogger Quick Tips – Forms

I’ve been building a WordPress blog for a new client and created a form.  While they are using a lot of social media, they still wanted a contact form.

I think it’s good to create options so your reader can engage you in the way they feel most comfortable.  Regardless of the contact method you need to have a system in place so no leads slip through.

Here’s the secret about forms.  The less you ask a visitor to give is the more likely you’ll get a form submission…from an unqualified prospect.  The more you ask is the less likely you are to get a form submission…from an unqualified prospect.

If you’re not getting any form submissions, first test the form to see if it’s working.  If you’re still not getting anything, try asking less questions.  On the other hand, too many submissions may suggest you’ve got the next great thing, or you need to ask a few more questions.

Bonus Form Tips

Never ask for the first/last name in one field.  If you ever decide to do email marketing, you’ll need that data in two fields for personalization – the key to email opens and reads.

Never ask for both the phone number and email in required fields.  It’s one or the other.  How do you communicate best with potential customers?  Choose that method.  If you develop a relationship, they’ll give you the other information at a later point.

Always save your data.  You’re going to a lot of effort to collect this information.  Develop a system to keep in contact with people who think enough of you or your product to give up their personal information.  It could be as sophisticated as a database system or as simple as a folder in your email.

Blogger Quick Tips – Sidewiki

Playing around with Sidewiki has been kind of fun.  I feel like the invisible man going around to various sites and leaving messages on their page.  Few site owners are claiming their sites.

Here’s what I’ve found out so far:

A sidewiki comment will only show up on the single page you comment on, not site wide.

You can personalize your Facebook business page, but not your individual profile.

You can’t personalize your Twitter account.

It is so easy to share your comments on Twitter and Facebook.  You can also publish them to a blog or email them.

Because of this capability, Sidewiki will have SEO implications, particularly with the profile comment history.

Go ahead and download Sidewiki so you too can see the invisible graffiti tags of the application.

There are ways to block Sidewiki, but nobody knows how lasting those tactics will be.

Blogger Quick Tips – Fix Errors for Traffic

As much as I’m a stickler for spelling and grammar, I still tend to make mistakes on blog posts.  The other day I wrote an article using the word conscious.  Initially I spelled it wrong.  I didn’t realize until after I had posted it to my Facebook page that I’d made an error.

I wanted to kick myself because now my error would stay on the Facebook feed until it got pushed to obscurity.  Really, I should be happy.  Now I can come back here and fix it and the RSS feed will think it’s new and resend it to the web and feed readers.  If I make a mistake, it’s a second chance at publicity through the feeds!

Here are three rules if you do fix errors on a post:

1.  Minor spelling and grammar mistakes can be updated without notice.

2.  Spacing and formatting quirks common to the blogging platforms can be corrected without notice.

3.  Factual errors should be noted for your audience.  Refer to the original phrase or paragraph.  Apologize if necessary.

Blogger Quick Tip – Schedule Posts for More Traffic

I’m finding that scheduling posts in advance is aiding in my productivity and helping get more traffic.  One night I made a post quite late at night and noticed that immediately I had 15 visitors.  I’ve been posting at all times of the day and that seemed to be the most trafficked time.  So now I’m scheduling all my big posts to publish at 12:01 am.

That gives me more time to think about what my next post will be about and even write mini-posts like this one, which will publish at 6 pm.  In my years of analyzing traffic, I’ve noticed there’s always a slowdown in visitors between 4pm and 6pm.

WordPress allows automatic scheduling.  I’m not sure about Blogger or the other publishing platforms.  It appears they do!

Blogger Quick Tips – Get FREE Social Media Graphics

Get free social media graphics for your blog, website or even iPhone.  Here’s a great resource with links to bunches of other graphic artists that also have free stuff.

Cool, now I can upgrade my lame text social media links.

Blogger Quick Tip – Add an Image to a Craigslist Ad

Do you want to add an image to a Craigslist ad in a section that doesn’t have auto upload?  It’s easy if you know HTML, but if you don’t, here’s a four step tutorial you can bookmark for future use.

1. Upload your image to the web through Flickr or other file hosting service.
2. Get the URL for the photo you just uploaded.
3. Use the following code – <img src=http://yourimagehostingservice.com/yourpicture.jpg>
4. You can make it clickable by adding this around it – <a href=”http://yourdestinationwebsite.com”></a&gt;

The completed image code, including a link to your site, will look like this –

<a href=”http://yourdestinationwebsite.com”><img src=http://yourimagehostingservice.com/yourpicture.jpg></a>

Blogger Quick Tip – Upload .ppt and .pdf to Your Blog

Blog software like Blogger and WordPress make it easy to upload photos and videos to your site, but if you only have a PDF or Powerpoint, you’re out of luck…at least were.

With Scribd, you can remotely host a variety of file types even if your blog software doesn’t support it.  It’s very easy to set up and works like a charm.