How to Subscribe to a Blog Feed
You may wonder how people can regularly read dozens or even hundreds of blogs, like the quality blogs here at MaineToday.com and elsewhere on the Internet.
Do these people visit dozens or hundreds of blogs a day, on the hope that each one has a new post worth reading and reviewing? How do they get any work done? Don't they have lives?!?
The answer is that they (and I) use newsreaders to subscribe to multiple blogs. With a newsreader--like my personal favorite, NetNewsWire, (sorry, Mac only!) or Bloglines--you can quickly scan dozens of different blogs in a format that looks a lot like an email program.
However, subscribing to a blog feed isn't as intuitive as it should be. The very act that we've trained people to do on the Web--click on a link--brings up a page of XML mumbo-jumbo.
However, I've put together this helpful movie (10.2 MB) that shows step-by-step how to subscribe to a blog feed so that you, too, can manage multiple blogs and stay ahead of your competitors.
How-To Subscribe to a Blog Feed: The Movie!
12 Web Marketing Articles to Read Right Now
If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know I'm a big fan of email newsletters. They're very cost effective, they keep you in front of your best prospects and customers, and they help you establish your expertise.
The only downside is that once they're sent, they're gone. If you're producing a content-rich newsletter you should archive these newsletters on your Web site. This helps you with the search engines as well as providing this content for people who have just discovered you.
To that end, here's a quick list of the twelve flyte log newsletters flyte published in 2006. Enjoy! More can be found here: http://www.flyte.biz/resources/newsletters/
- New Year's Resolutions for Your Web Site
- Use Your Blog to Attract the Long Tail of Search
- 37 Calls to Action to Get People to Read, Click and Buy at Your Web Site
- PayPal: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
- Blog Marketing: How Blogs Can Increase Your Reach and Deliver New Customers
- Boost Your Search Engine Rank: Proven Methods to Increase Incoming Links
- Search Engine Optimization: Stop Guessing and Start Researching
- Keyword Research: Five Ways Your Prospects Search for You
- Lead Generation Online: Is Your Web Site a Leaky Bucket?
- The Secret to Great Search Engine Rank
- Broken Windows, Broken Web Sites: Why Your Web Site is Underperforming
- Search Engine Success Through Article Marketing
As always, you can subscribe at our Web site.
Understanding Your Web Site Traffic Reports
Would you like to get more information out of your traffic reports? Would you like to better understand how people are finding your site, where they're coming from, and what search terms they're using at the search engines?
Are you curious to know how much time they're spending at your site, or how many pages they visit before leaving?
Would you like to know which pages interest them, or which pages drive them to your competition? How about where in the world they live? Or how cost effective your pay-per-click ad campaign is?
Would you like to take this information and use it to drive more qualified traffic to your site, generate more leads and make more money online?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, have I got the workshop for you. (If you answered no to all of these questions you're in the wrong place.)
Flyte's starting a new program called the Working Lunch Seminar Series. The first seminar will be Understanding Web Site Traffic Reports: How to Improve Your Web Site and Get More Business Online.
We'll be looking at how to get important information from of your traffic reports and how to put it to use to improve your site.
We'll use Google Analytics
as our traffic reporting software. Attendees may choose to setup a free
Google Analytics account for their own site before the course begins, but it's not required. What you learn in class will work for most other traffic reporting software packages as well.
(If you'd like flyte to set this up for you you can request that now or after you've signed up for the class.)
Lunch is included for all attendees.
Seating is limited to just 10 attendees! (News Flash! Only 9 8 seats left!)
Date: Wed., 1/17/07
Time: 12 noon - 1pm
Place: flyte's learning lab, 136 Commercial St., Ste 201, Portland, ME
Cost: $50
(We also have another Working Lunch Seminar schedule for February 21st: How to Plan, Build and Promote Your Business Blog.)
Local Search: Buy Local? Sell Local!
With the Internet consumers are able to buy products and services from around the country or even the world. But what if your company has a product or service that people generally shop locally for? Doctors, dentists, pizza, doggy day care, whatever? How can you make sure local customers find you, and not your competition in Dallas, Texas?
John Boulter of Bastion Internet runs a Web marketing podcast called Drive It - Convert It! In his most recent episode he goes through--step-by-step--how to come up higher in local search.
My favorite tips from the show are how to get into Yahoo, MSN and Google's local search. Often, when your customers do intelligent searches, such as "portland maine pizza" they'll see three local results above the rest of the organic results.
John provides links for you to submit to the local search of Google, Yahoo and MSN as well as a host of other important links.
Are You LinkedIn?
It's been described as the MySpace for adults, but it's nowhere near that visually repulsive or invasive...yet.
LinkedIn is a networking site for, well, anyone. You can search for college roommates, previous co-workers, or other connections. You can use it to find a new job or fill a key position. Chances are a lot of people you already know are LinkedIn. As I was playing around on it tonight--did I mention it can be a complete time suck?--I found a few vendors, a few clients, and a few associates listed.
The first step to getting LinkedIn is to set up a free profile. Once that's done you might start searching for people you went to college with, or people who worked at a previous employer, or a local search of Portland, ME.
You'll see a long list of people. If you've already made a connection on LinkedIn you'll see a number next to their name, telling you how many degrees of separation there are between you and him/her. You can ask for an introduction from your connector, but you have a limited number so use them wisely.
If you do see a friend or colleague you have the option of sending them an invite. They can then accept, decline or decide later.
Once they've accepted you can examine who's in their network, and maybe you'll find more people you know, or people you'd like to know. Someone in my network is highly connected, and it's interesting to see that I'm one degree away from Matt Cutts (famous Google Engineer). OK, maybe that's not exciting to you, but to me....
Anyway, it can be quite addicting. You can find if other friends and colleagues are already LinkedIn by uploading your email database to the system. I've shied away from that so far, but I might try with a limited number.
Tonight after finding some local friends and colleagues and inviting them to link to me directly I see that I'm only one degree away from over 900 people. It makes me want to go out and get linked some more!
Another addictive piece of the puzzle is the completion of your profile. Right now it's only 27% full, but when all my invitations are sent out it will be 51% full! However, I don't think it will ever hit 100% because part of the profile is previous jobs. I think you're supposed to put in two.
My job before this was as a Medicare part B salesman. The company went out of business (after I left) and I don't remember too many people outside of my boss (who was great, but apparently doesn't have a LinkedIn profile.) Before that I was dancing on tables at Stash & Stella's...hmmm...I think I may have shared too much.
Neither of these would be things I'd add to my profile. In short, my long-term employment at flyte (coming up on 10 years!) is holding me back. Life goes on....
In any case, if you're looking to make more connections and find people to help you business or career grow, be they employees, employers, vendors or associates, you should get yourself a LinkedIn profile.
LinkedIn also allows you to create a customized profile page where you can find out more about me, Rich Brooks.
Shopping for an HDTV?
Quick program note: I'll be on 207 tonight talking about how to shop for a HDTV. Not sure what this has to do with Internet Marketing, 101 or otherwise, but thought you might be interested.
Or not.
That's WCSH, channel 6, at 7pm tonight (12/7/06).
New Year's Resolutions for Your Web Site
Imagine it's the end of 2007, not 2006.
As you look back over the past year, what happened to your business? Did you start a Web marketing program? Did you send out monthly or even weekly email newsletters to clients?
Did you do a keyword analysis to determine what your prospects were looking for online, and then rewrite your page titles, headers, body copy and intra-site links to take advantage of this information?
Did you start a blog or a podcast to attract the interest of like-minded customers? Did you at least start reading blogs in your industry, or check out some podcasts so you'd know what your competition is doing?
Did you try putting a company video on YouTube? Did you set up a MySpace page (assuming your customers are there)? Did you update your LinkedIn profile to better network?
Did you attend some MESDA or MEBSR events, or go to a Maine Marketing Association Back Lot tour?
Did you generate leads at your Web site or sell more product online? Did you increase your site traffic or convert more visitors into buyers?
If your vision of 2007 is unclear, and you're not sure how to get your online business to where it needs to be, please check out New Year's Resolutions for Your Web Site, our most recent issue of flyte log, our free email newsletter.
And let's all look back on 2007 as our best year ever.
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