Online Marketing Tips Video: Building Your Blog Audience

By Li Evans

After a little hiatus the Online Marketing Tips Videos are back! This week I'm discussing three tips that can help you build your audience a bit more around your blog and the community that forms around it.

Full Building Your Blog Audience Video Transcript After the Jump....

Building Your Blogging Audience Tips Video Transcript

Hi and welcome back to Tuesday's Tips in Online Marketing, I'm Li Evans of Key Relevance and Search Marketing Gurus. I'm back today with three tips in blogging and how you can actually build of the community around your blog and the discussions that are happening there.

Share the Love, Link Love, With Comment Luv

So lets take a look at the first tip which is very specific to word press blogs. Its using the plugin called Comment Luv, that's L-U-V. Comment Luv. So if you are searching for it go to the Wordpress site, WordPress.org and look up Comment Luv. This plugin, what it allows to happen, is when people comment on your blog and they leave a URL that is a blog it will go out and fetch the latest post from that blog and post it with the actual comment the person is leaving on your blog. This shows a little bit of genuineness back to other people's blogs and give a little love, link love, back to the people who are actually holding a discussion on your blog. Don't worry too much about the spam, if you've got the Akismet plugin this does kind of help out here. But you might want to still moderate what is going on and make sure that the blogs that are commenting are kind of within the realm of what you want to be showing in those comments.

Encourage Subscriptions Without the Word Subscribe

The next thing we want to look at, the next tip is Don't Use the Word Subscribe. People might think this is a little bit odd, Why don't I want to use the word Subscribe. Well go to your mother or grandmother and say "If I want you to subscribe to my blog do you think you have to pay?" And 9 times out of 10 they are going to say "Yes", "If I have to pay for Time magazine, don't I have to pay for your blog?" So with the word subscription it does denote some kind of payment, even though we understand that subscriptions are free, people from the outside this industry, or online marketing or social media they don't understand that subscription is free. So you want to make sure that you are using some other type of verbiage, like "Grab Our Feed", "Get Our Updates for Free". Those things relate a little more to the general audience that find your blog through regular search engine keyword queries.

Explain What RSS Is!

So with that in mind, we want to go to tip number three which is put up a "What is RSS Feed" or "What is RSS" page. This will help people who are coming to your blog who have no idea that they are landing on a blog, understand what RSS is. They have no clue that RSS is Real Simple Syndication and they don't even know what that means. So if you put this page up it will help them understand what is RSS and now how they can get your new fresh information each and every time you post it.

So those are your three tips around blogging and building a community around your blog. I am Li Evans of Key Relevance and SearchMarketingGurus. As always you can find a transcript of this video at SearchMarketingGurus.com. We'll see you next time.

Comments

[Hersh Bhardwaj]

Hi Li,

I am a new reader at your blog. And ya I am gonna 'get' your blog in my G Reader from now onwards. I am a web marketer and I second all your valid points. Is there gonna be an update to this list? I look forward.

[Chaunna Brooke]

Hi. A new reader of your site too. The new tool from Wordpress is worth checking, and currently checking what it can do. Thanks again.

[Yamdat Miller]

These tips are fine, it also clear my concepts of RSS more clear.

[Mark Harrison]

Really interesting and I consider myself a seasoned blogger. The best bit is telling us to explain what RSS is to our readers/visitors, something I have never done before because I assume that everyone will know what it means. To prove it I asked 3 of my friends at work yesterday and not one of them knew what it was! Good point...don't assume anything and explain everything.

[Nick Stamoulis]

it really takes a great deal of effort to build a following to a blog. Lots of writing and link building to get people to visit your blog.

[jame]

Hi.I really appreciate this thanks for giving alot of information I love this.

[Website Management Services]

Hi,

Online marketing is not as difficult or expensive as you would imagine. Just determine a niche you can dominate. Many online markets are not crowded. And it's a safe bet that there are qualified prospects out there searching for the technology product, service or information resources you offer. So, to optimize your site, you don't need to hire an SEO expert - just make sure your web developers plan ahead to get your site highly ranked on Google, Yahoo and MSN.

[Steve]

Great information on comment luv. I'm going to enable this plugin and see what happens. Thanks for the information.

[Brianpat@ markeingquickies123.com]

Hi Li,
Was looking for something else but just read about comment luv, talk about learn something new everyday ! Good Work
Regards
Brian

[Greg@ Google Secret Loophole Bonus]

Hey Li!

Great post! Being newer to online marketing myself, I remember first learning about stuff like RSS feed and taking awhile to really know what it is and how to effectively use it as a marketer.

I had been online a few years and had learned quite a few things but did not KNOW what RSS was so I think you have a great idea about explaining RSS to your readers to get maximum effect and results.

Greg

[Management College In Indore]

Thanks for sharing and this very useful for information.

[James Clifford]

Great advice for the experienced writer or blogger. But both agree that some practices come "after the fact" - or after the "blogging" muscles have been built.

Blog short and often at the outset. Quality will improve (don't know what you know until you articulate it). Then, see what works after you've gotten the hang.