Blogging with Beth

Upcoming "What the Heck Do I Write?" Class

Alleviate "Blogger's Block"!

Are you having trouble coming up with ideas for blog posts?  Not sure if your content strategy is working?  Or perhaps you're thinking, "What content strategy?!"

The "What the Heck Do I Write?" class is for you!

During this workshop, I'll cover the following topics:

• How to write content that will help bring in more traffic

• The types of blog posts and various ways to use them

• Tips on developing a content strategy that works for you and your readers

• Developing (and sticking with) a concise, easy posting practice – so you don’t need to spend your whole life in front of the computer

• Using other people’s content – whether to use it, how to find it

• Snazzy tools you can use to build slick posts – including video content (hint: It's a lot easier than you think)

Everyone will leave this workshop with pages and pages of blog posts ideas, as well as lots of great handouts.  You can bring your own laptop to the workshop if you like, or you can follow along with the presentation I'll be doing on a projector - you'll learn plenty either way.

Sound interesting?  February's "What the Heck Do I Write?" workshop will be held:

Tuesday, March 11, 6:00-8:00 PM

The class will be in Boulder, location TBD. 

This is a pilot class, so the registration is reduced (one-time only!).  The regular registration fee for this class will be $85, but this month ONLY, the fee will be $40.  A great deal!

Class size is limited. To hold your spot in this class, please submit your full registration fee by four business days before the class.  Otherwise, I may have to give your spot away.

There are two ways to pay - 

• You can submit your payment via Paypal using the "Pay Now" button underneath the class time (above). 
  
• You can mail a check (made out to Beth Hayden) to Beth Hayden, 4845 Pearl East Circle, Suite 101, Boulder, CO 80301. If you mail a check, please include a note indicating which class you'd like to attend, and make sure to include your email address.

Please email me with any questions, and I hope to see you there!

Upcoming "Basics of Blogging" Classes

Want to know what the blogging buzz is all about?  Would you like to get started with building a new website or updating an old site using blogging tools? Do you just want to find great blogs to read? My "Basics of Blogging" class is for you!

During this workshop, I'll cover the following topics:

• What's a blog?  What blogging is (and isn't) and why it's a GREAT marketing tool for any business

• The parts of of a blog post and why they're important
• How to find blogs you'll like to read

• How to use feeds to make reading blogs and other sites easy

• How to get started with building your own blog

• What commenting is, why it's important for getting involved in the blog world, and how to develop a commenting strategy

Everyone will leave with a solid grasp on blogging basics and lots of good handouts.  You can bring your own laptop to the workshop if you like, or you can follow along with the presentation I'll be doing on a projector - you'll learn plenty either way.

Sound interesting?  I have two upcoming "Basics of Blogging" classes:

Tuesday, February 12, 6:00-8:30 PM

Saturday, February 23, 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM (FREE BAGELS at this class!)

Both classes will be in Boulder, location TBD.  Registration fee for the class is $65.  Class size is limited.  To hold your spot in either class, please submit your full registration fee by four business days before the class.  Otherwise, I may have to give your spot away.

There are two ways to pay - 

• You can submit your payment via Paypal using the "Pay Now" buttons underneath each class (above).  Please make sure you're choosing the correct class time! 
• You can mail a check (made out to Beth Hayden) to Beth Hayden, 4845 Pearl East Circle, Suite 101, Boulder, CO 80301. If you mail a check, please include a note indicating which class you'd like to attend, and make sure to include your email address.
  

Please email me with any questions, and I hope to see you there!

Finding Relevant Blogs

If you’re new to the blog world, you may be wondering how to find blogs in a particular niche.  You have the feeling, perhaps, that there are blogs written by "Return of the Jedi" fans, but you don't know how to find them.  There's a quick and easy answer - turns out, the web has plenty of maps of the blog world - they're called “blog directories” or “blog indexes”, and they are great place to find relevant blogs in a particular niche or speciality.  Google Blog Search is one of my favorites (I do have a penchance for Google, like everyone else in the free world).  There are more blog indexes listed at the end of this article. 

One of my coaching clients, Lori Wostl, is part of an organization that hosts women’s-only art camps in Colorado.  Her target market is women in their 40's and above who may (or may not) already be involved in creative endeavors. "How do I find the blogs these women are reading?"  she asked me.  This is the advice I gave her:

1.  Make a list of possible search terms (in quotes), making them as specific as possible.  If you want to find blogs on women's art retreats, for instance, you might search for:

"women's retreats"
"art retreats"
"women's art retreats"
"art adventures"
"women's art adventures"

2.  Take one of these search terms - "art retreats" - and put it into the search box of Google's Blog Search service.  When I did that, here's the list of results I got.  Usually the search results page is a mixed bag - some helpful links, some not helpful at all, but there's usually something there worth a click or two.

3.  Pick a couple of these blogs (whatever looks interesting to you and doesn't look like spam).  Investigate the blogs you find.  Do they look like they're designed well?  Do you like what the writer has to say?  Are there indications that the author gets some traffic to the site?  If so, you may want to consider tracking this blog by adding them your feedreader or feed aggregator (click here for more information on feeds).   

4.  If you like the blog and find the content useful, check out what sites and blogs the author links to.  You may find useful leads there, as well.  Also, check out the people who are commenting on her site.  Are those blogs useful?

5.  Does this blogger have archives?  You may want to check out some past posts to see if there is relevant info in past writings.  Also, a rich archive directory may indicate that this blogger is well-established.  Also, does this person talk about topics or events you want to research further?  Keep some notes as you go along.

6.  Definitely consider commenting on the blogs you find, and start participating in the conversations within your niche.  It's a great way to get involved in the blog world and make a connection with authors that you like and respect.  You'll be amazed at the people with whom you can create online relationships!

In conducting this (very quick) search, I found three blogs that Lori and her partners could potentially track and participate in, including Quinn Creative, which is written by a woman who seems like a real "thinking artist".  She may have the type of readers with whom Lori will want to make connections, so this may blog may turn out to be a valuable find. 

Want to try your own search? Try these blog directories!

Google Blog Search
Technorati
IceRocket
Blogdigger

Getting it Down on Paper

Staring at a blank page again?  I know the feeling.  Writer’s block can be crippling, and in the blog world – where there can be significant pressure to publish, publish, publish – the stakes seem high. 

One tip is to always keep a running list of blog post ideas, so that when it comes time to churn out this week’s post, you’re not scrambling around for an idea.  Chances are, as you move through your daily life, you come across lots of great blog post ideas.   Are you writing them down?  If not, is it because you don’t have some sort of mechanism for recording them? It sounds basic, but make sure you keep a small notebook with you to write these ideas down.  In her fantastic book on writing, Bird by Bird, author Anne Lamott says she always carries an index card and a pen with her.  And that means everywhere – in the grocery store, on nature walks, to the movies – everywhere. 

Once you’ve got an idea, Anne Lamott also advises starting with what she refers to as a “shitty first draft”.  Anne says, “All good writers write [shitty first drafts].  That’s how they end up with good second drafts and terrific third drafts.” I’m a fan of this practice. Just write SOMETHING.  Write the first draft just to get the ideas from your head to the page, then clean it up later. 

Writing teacher and author Natalie Goldberg also uses what I refer to as the “ten minute write” rule.  She advises opening the page of your journal or document and writing non-stop for ten minutes.  Don’t edit, don’t cross things out, don’t clean it up, and for heaven’s sake, don’t listen to the little critic in your head that tells you that you actually haven’t got anything interesting to say.  Just write.  Keep the pen moving, whether literally or figuratively.  You can even set a timer if it helps. 

This is how it works for me – if I want to publish up a blog post, I go to my list of post ideas and pick one that sounds interesting.  I’ll open a new document in Word (I always write in Word first and save my posts on my hard drive so that I’ve got a back-up). 

Once I’m ready, I’ll look at the clock, note the time, then start writing.  I don’t stop for ten minutes.  At the end of the first ten, I might do another ten minutes if there’s more to say.  Or I’ll grab a book or a link or some other supporting information if I need it and add that in to my post.

Once I consider the first draft pretty much completed, then I’ll read the article again and clean it up.  Sentence structure and flow usually come for me at this stage.   Then I read it again for grammar, spelling, and punctuation.  For everyday blog posts, I usually don’t have an outside editor look at it, but if I did, I’d pass it off at this stage (my editor is Toby Rogers, a talented progressive blogger and editor extraordinaire).  Then I take one last look, save it, then post it to Typepad, who are the folks who make this blog possible.  Viola!  Shitty first draft to blog post in under one hour. 

Don’t be frightened by the process of writing – it can be enormously satisfying and lots of fun.  Remember that your readership wants relevant, interesting, enjoyable-to-read content, and you’ve got more ideas than you think up there in your head.  So grab one of your ideas, set the timer and get started.  Ding!

The Great News about News Releases

My latest hero is David Meerman Scott, who's written a fantastic new book called "The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly".  Yes, the title is a mouthful, but it's a must-read for any blogger or businessperson who wants to understand how to market online.  David also writes a blog called "Web Ink Now" that I read every day.

In his book, David explains the difference between old-school "Public Relations" and the NEW RULES.  Traditional PR professionals spent their time sending press releases to small, closely-guarded lists of media contacts, then praying for snippets of attention in the form newspaper or magazine articles.  In contrast, businesses who understand the new rules of online marketing use what he refers to as "news releases", which are cheaper, more direct, and more effective. 

Check out this cute video (produced by PRWeb, a social media company that provides news release distribution services).  PRWeb's cartoons and solar toaster examples do a good job of explaining what these new-fangled "news releases" are, and why we should pay attention to the possibility of using them:

Fantastic Feeds

Wondering why you're seeing this symbol practically everywhere these days? It stands for "RSS", or "Really Simple Syndication". You may also hear folks using the term "feed" or "web feed".  You can use RSS to keep up with the overwhelming stream of online information we're trying to wade through every day. 

As useful as feeds are, they can be a real pain to explain to my clients.  XML? Feed aggregator? Huh? I can see my students' eyes glazing over.  After searching for a truly plain English explanation to use, I found this video, appropriately titled "RSS in Plain English", which was produced by Common Craft Productions. 

Go forth, and use web feeds!