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The "ART" of Being Genuine

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Definition of Genuine :

1 a: actually having the reputed or apparent qualities or character (genuine vintage wines) b: actually produced by or proceeding from the alleged source or author (the signature is genuine) c: sincerely and honestly felt or experienced (a deep and genuine love) d: actual , true (a genuine improvement) 2: free from hypocrisy or pretense : sincere

– from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary

But being genuine isn’t something you should try to emulate, or work at or simulate. Being genuine is being yourself. Sometimes we take on different roles in different situations for various reasons. When you meet me at a conference I may be different that you perceive me to be on twitter. If we meet later that evening at a social situation I may be different again. If we ever happen to be discussing a project, contract or another work-related item I will, again, be different. These are all different roles for different situations, but they’re all still me.

There’s a lot of talk in the blogosphere, on twitter, in the press, actually everywhere I look lately, about being genuine. It goes hand in hand with the conversation about authenticity. I realize that this isn’t a new conversation, and that its relevance as a topic will come and go.

But for me it became very relevant just yesterday. Yesterday, someone questioned whether or not I was being genuine. First I was shocked. I realized they had a totally different idea of what being genuine meant. I was being honest, respectful and sincere but they thought that this wasn’t enough.

Being genuine is important – it leads to respect. My genuine self isn’t your genuine self. We are all different. We all strive to meet the definition but we all come at it in different ways. There is no one way – we’re all individuals here from different backgrounds. If you are your actual, genuine self – then that is enough.

from Kathryn Jennex aka Nothernchick

photo credit: Andy Glogower

Design, Function or Content — Which Is More Important?

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I asked a question the other day on Twitter: What would you respond to the comment, “Content is more important than design.” The first response I usually get is content – content is king. If you go to a site and there isn’t any content to engage with or provide value, and it doesn’t get you thinking, there’s really no point or purpose to it. Content that changes, gets updated frequently and is genuine is usually the first element in any order of importance in relation to what people want to see when they visit your site.

Kyle Placy, a friend and designer responded, “Hmmm, content is more important than design… I think that is a relative statement. You can have great content and a terribly designed blog and the content is moot. I would say on a sliding scale content is more important but there is a fine line to draw between clean and easy design to terrible design.”

Vicky Hennegan said that content is more important but a good design can affect how long you stay on a site.

I read a lot of blogs and visit a lot of websites. We all do. Sometimes it’s part of my job to go find information from a website and sometimes that is all I’m there to do. If I like the look of the site I might spend a little more time and read some posts. If the site is appealing either because of its design or function capabilities I might click through and check out some features. I will definitely return if I like the content but I will also return if I liked the look (design) and feel (function) of the site. Things to consider:

1. Does everything your site/blog “say” it can do work? For example, links, pages, signup for RSS feeds, newsletters etc.? Do all the functions work the way they were intended to?

2. Do you have your contact info somewhere easy to find? You may not want people emailing you; that’s fine but chances are at some point someone is going to want to reach you. Will they easily be able to find this information? I sometimes have to collect contact info from websites and am so surprised when I have to hunt to find it. Home page is best if you want to be found.

3. Do you have all your social platforms listed on your site somewhere?

4. Not everyone has a designer. Not everyone needs one, in fact. WordPress, Blogger and Thesis have made it really quite easy and painless to customize your site. Twitter is a great resource as well – ask for help and you’ll get it!

Design, function, or content, which is more for you?

from Kathryn Jennex aka northernchick

photocredit – Anna Hape

Blogs Aren’t Books, But Revising Is Still Revising: 6 Gating Questions to Make Revising Easier

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How to Decide What to Change

Customer Think Logo

So, you’ve looked at your stats, and you’ve found the entry pages where readers frequently land. Now you’re checking them out to make sure that those pages are fresh and welcoming.

How far do you go? Some were written way back when. Do you edit the content? Do you change the design? Scott of 99 shades of grey asked those very questions this morning.

Those are the money questions. I can’t help but note the irony in the name of Scott’s blog, because these decisions are about as far from black and white as decisions can get.

The money answer is

Change what makes a difference leave what doesn’t.

Not much help is it?

That’s why I’m going to give you 6 gating questions to ask yourself about the landing pages you are looking at.

Using them, you can decide quickly and feel confident in what you decide. Take a look.

[Read more…]

Collaboration Link 2: Topical

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Collaboration Link 2: Topical
Two or more blogs agree to write on the same topic at the same time and link their posts

Topical collaborations can take many forms depending on topic and the blog owners involved. Darren Rowse at Problogger put out a challenge last September for bloggers to choose another blogger as a subject. He called it a Blog Crush, and it was meant to get bloggers to write posts about what they admire about another blogger. The original posts were linked to the admired, and Problogger linked both the writer and the subject.

If you follow this collaborative link example you’ll find out who was my Blog Crush.

Other Topical Collaborative Links include:

  • Ongoing Series Collaboration Two or more blogs in the same niche agree to write about the same topic, but different aspects of it. They post on the same day or days in series.
  • Posting in Parallel Collaboration–Points of View Two or more blogs agree to post on a controversial topic on the same day to argue their side of an issue.

Collaboration is a great foil for feeling like you’re all blogged out. It can bring new energy to an old topic, and liven up a tired crowd. Next time you’re wondering what to talk about, talk to another blogger about collaborating on your next post.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Collaboration Link 1: Image and Text
Collaboration Link 3: An Event
Collaboration Link 4: Movable Posts
Collaboration Link 5: An Interview
Collaboration Link 5: Begs the Question
Collaboration Link 6: Media Events

SEO–Link Checking Tools

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Practical SEO for Every Blogger

Checking Backlinks

Backlinks are an exciting part of watching your blog grow. Each link is a statement, a vote, that moves your blog a bit higher in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Here are some ways for finding out about your links.

Talk Digger
Duncan Riley introduced Fred Giasson’s Talk Digger in an article in the Blog Herald this summer and I’ve been using it since. It’s a quick way to check your links at Bloglines, Blog Pulse, Feedster, Technorati, Ice Rocket, BlogDigger, PubSub, MSN, and Google all at the same time. To quote Talk Digger: Talk Digger is a meta-search engine. It asks major search engines: “Who links that URL?” The results will then be processed and displayed on Talk Digger. This is a free web service developed by Frederick Giasson.

Who Links to Me
Another tool you may have seen around the web is WhoLinkstoMe. Paste the Who Links to Me linking code into your template. Click through the link to check your own or another site’s Google Page Rank, and links found by Who Links to Me, Blogrolling, Google, Yahoo, MSN, Technorati, and Icerocket.

Related Links
Nick Wilson at Performancing had this method to check what Google considers related links. Type in the Google search box: related: yourdomain.com . Then he suggests you review the links to see what kind of sites come up. You would want a strong theme to show through. Your goal would be to answer these questions with a “yes.”

  • Are most of the sites on same theme or topic as your blog?
  • Are there some authorities in your niche?

deep dark blue strip A
THIS JUST IN:

Mark Wade of Blog Marketing, Blog Promotion for Newbies offered this addition to our list.

iWEBTOOL Backlink Checker

Ara Pehlivanian of the site of the same name offers this:

You might also want to check out the Firefox extension SEO Links by WebmasterBrain.

These should give you something to do while that turkey’s in the oven.
Happy Holiday if you’re having one. If you’re not, declare one.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles:
Check Google Backlinks Through Yahoo
SEO–Positioning Keywords for Readers and Search Engines
Don’t Buy that New Domain Name Yet
Checklist for Linking to Quality Blogs

Blog Review Checklist

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How to Blog Series

When was the last time you looked at your blog the way your readers do? If you write only for yourself, you look at it that way every day. . . . You are your audience. You’re done.

The rest of us are looking for an audience a little bit larger than one.

Humans have unconscious tendencies. We do lots of the things we like to do and ignore the things we don’t. This makes for a blog that looks great from our point of view, but can leave gaping holes–holes that our readers see, holes they probably won’t tell us about.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s okay to leave things out, as long as we know that we’re doing it. Not every blog has to do everything. In fact, most really shouldn’t. But walking around with a hole in your blog could be embarrassing, especially if you don’t know about it.

Here’s a checklist to make sure your blog’s (ahem) vital parts are covered.

Blog Review Checklist

  • Audience: What words would your readers use to describe your blog? What do they like best about your site?
  • Purpose: What is the purpose of your blog? Why does it exist? Is the purpose stated plainly where your readers can see it? How well does your blog meet that purpose?
  • Content: How well does the content support the purpose? Is the content readable, interesting, accurate, entertaining, and appropriate for your audience?
  • Design: How well does the look of the blog communicate the kind of blog it is? Is navigation easy and intuitive? Do items flow naturally from the first to the next? Do the color palette, image, and type choices support the content or call attention away from it?
  • Posts: Do you post on a consistent schedule the information readers came to find? Do your posts reflect the unique purpose and style of your blog? Do they offer variety and interest within your blog’s purpose and theme?
  • Comments: Do you read and respond to comments to form a sense of community? Consider which posts get most comments and which get none. How does that effect the topics that you’re posting on?
  • Technical Issues: Have you checked lately to see whether and how fast your blog loads in other browsers? Have you overdone the use of plug-ins and gadgets, making the experience more confusing than fun?
  • Writing: Is your writing clear and respectful of your readers? Have you established a writing voice that lets readers know who you really are? Is the blog essentially free of errors in grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation?
  • Organization: Have you set up your categories to draw readers into your backlist? Do you feature “Golden Oldies” that new readers would have interest in? Do you name your Categories things that readers can understand?
  • Marketing and Social Networks: What are you doing to let readers know that you are here? Are you listed in the right directories? Do you read and comment on other blogs within your readership? Have you included linked to the social networks where your ideal readers spend their time?

Sure it takes time to review your blog. It takes even more to make tweaks and changes. But you invest so much time blogging. Doesn’t it seem worth it?

A rule of good publishing says, Spare the reader not yourself. In the end, you won’t be sorry.

Be irresistible.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!