Do this, don’t do that yet…Step 9-Everything else

*Sniffles* I can’t believe it.

We’re at step 9, the finale, already.

We’ve gone through 8 consecutive rantings, erh, posts on all the stuff it takes to make your site successful.

We’ve talked resources and planning. We’ve talked about social media and personal branding. Even the free opt-in and whether or not you should bother starting a blog.

We’ve talked about a lot.

But there are still come pieces uncovered. Some stones left unturned. And I just can’t have that.

They both matter

Knowing both what to do and what not do matter. It’s how we can effectively decide what information we can use and what doesn’t apply.

More importantly, it can keep us from making colossal mistakes that we otherwise wouldn’t have made.

For the most part, I’m a really bubbly upbeat gal. To balance that out, (because let’s face it, overly upbeat people are annoying), I’m blunt. No nonsense when it comes to what entrepreneurs need to know to be successful.

I hold very little back. And I think you need that. I need that.

We need 100% naked communication in today’s world of BS, shiny goo roos and clutter.

Some great content gets stuck behind sucky elements

I’ve said it before, you shouldn’t hate your blog. Better still, I should enjoy the action of reading your blog as much as the content.

I’m not necessarily talking about design either folks. I’m talking about all the other stuff that can really make reading your blog SUCK!

(okay, it’s a little bit about design elements too)

Don’t force your readers to click away

You’ve gotta earn a buck right? I get it. Believe me I do.

But there are certain elements that just ruin a post. Making it hard to navigate or being too promotionally, or just sucking in some way.

I’m about to cover stuff I personally will leave a blog over.

And judging by the bounce rate on these sites, the visitors agree with me!

Are you making any of these mistakes?

Things to consider before you launch

Ads- most blogs have them. The newer blog themes have a prettier layout on ‘em so they don’t bug ya. But too many bloggers, good bloggers, have their ads smack dab in the middle of their content.

Why it sucks- I don’t want to have to scroll past nonsense to finish readin’. It throws me off and interrupts my flow. Which is not a good thing.

I know we’re taught as marketers that interruption in today’s cluttered world is necessary, but that’s not the way. It’s just more clutter to me.

It’s unattractive too, and can be confusing. A lot of folks click away because they think the content ended because they see ads.

Solution: Move them suckers to widget area. I don’t want to see them anywhere on your single post content area. Not above, not below, not at all. Sidebar ‘em.

Affiliate/Network Marketing/Product Promotion-This one is trickier. We sign up for courses, buy premium plugins and use tools that can give us some serious financial reciprocity.

Who doesn’t want to take advantage of that? The thing is though, outside of having the links in the sidebar, we have to promote the services to get the payout.

I’ll be darned if most of the time these promotions aren’t blog posts. I’ve seen too many blatant self-promotional posts than I care to have ever read.

Well, I don’t read them, I click away while shaking my head.

Solution: Write the post to benefit your reader. Not yourself. I’m going on the premise that you’re committed to awesome blogging practices and are therefore not promoting bullshit.

Ya know, signing up on an affiliate program just ‘cus they pay a fat commission. So not cool man!

Since these are product you truly use and they truly help, talk to me about your issue. Tell me that you know how I feel and that honestly you found your solution.

You know what? Take a tip from AdrienneSmith.net (NOT an affiliate link). She’s a queen of engagement and I do mention her a lot actually. That’s because she’s a rarity.

She promotes products pretty often. But you know what? You wouldn’t know it. She writes posts that resonate and make you interested in the tool she uses (or advocates). Take notes kids.

Sending out your rss email-This one is really just good old advice. When you write your posts, you can only share them so much yourself. You can only ask for the share so much.

When folks subscribe to your list, they want the updates. They don’t however want to be spammed, sold to, or annoyed. So give them what they really want.

Solution: Use an affordable auto-responder service. I use mailchimp (affiliate link-I don’t get all the fun, if you sign up you get rewards too!)

I chose mailchimp because they have beautiful readymade templates, excellent tracking info, a simple dashboard, oh and a killer free account.

12,000 emails & 2,000 subscribers/month. For FRRREEEEEEEEE!

I know right?

And yes, you can integrate with most other software easily, they’ve become very popular.

You can use their ‘RSS to Email’ campaign type to set and forget your updates. This campaign sends out your recent blog posts as they are published.

They will only be sent when you publish new content.

Wondering how they look? Check out my recent email sent out this morning.

See how pretty they are! And nope, it didn’t take me long at all! I’ll probably do a tutorial on this one for you guys so you can see just how easy it is. For now though just head over and check it out!

How you’ll Handle Comments- No, this isn’t another CommenLuv Premium shout out. What I want to make sure of is that you have a plan on handling your comments.

How will you respond? What time frame will you respond in? Will you have a way of alerting commenters that they’ve been acknowledged?

See there’s nothing more irritating than commenting on posts that the writer has abandoned once written.

It’s a new world. All about connections, tribes and engagement. People aren’t just gonna’ take your crap.

My advice, don’t be a lazy ass blogger.

Solution: Set a time frame for yourself to respond to your commenters. The sooner the better. Also, make sure you aren’t leaving closed ended responses.

Something retarded like “thanks” or “glad you think so”. It’s lazy.

Propel the conversation by responding like you’re having a conversation. You’ll rack up on comments this way. Not overnight. You’ll have to get some visibility first. But with diligence and commitment you’ll get them rolling in!

I think I’ve covered almost everything. It’s the law. I’ll have left something out.

Se la vie though! I thought about it, and thought about it. I think you have it.

You can take it from here. It’s time you start taking action!

What do you think bloggers can tweak to make their blogs better?

If you missed any of the series all 9 links are below.

Please don’t leave without taking action. Comment and share with your friends. I comment back ; )