HBBBS Part 4 and Giveaway

Here it is part 4 and the final installment in the How to be a Better Blogger Blogalicious Style (HBBBS) series. I could go on and on talking about all the things I did and learned at Be Blogalicious 2011. But I won’t. So, for my last post in this series I will share every other bit of knowledge I gained at the conference. Also, one Joy Chaser who has been following the HBBBS series will get to share in my swag bag!!!

Here goes:

• Remember that YOU are your brand. Spend time, money, and thought on how you present yourself. How you present yourself in person and online are both important. You are what you tweet!!!
• Do not think you have to be perfect. It is ok to be human, make mistakes, be uncomfortable, and or be scared. As a matter of fact these are the qualities that make you personable and allow your readers to relate to you.
• Good Content on your blog is most important. But, you still have to make engagement with your followers top priority. If Content is King Engagement is Queen!!!
• If you have business cards (I only just got mine) add your city and state to your card. This allows people to know what is local to you. Local businesses may find you to be the resource they are looking for.
• Do a media Kit. I am sure I will be writing about this again. I had never heard of a media kit before the conference. The media kit should detail
• Quantify traffic to your blog
• Number of Twitter followers
• Number of Facebook followers
• If you have a YouTube channel
• Writing samples
• V-log samples
• Klout score
• Consider adding Audio and Video content to your blog for variety and to list higher in Google searches.
• Consider creating Podcast for audio content on your blog. Provide commentary (your opinions on relevant topics), interviews, panel discussions, and live coverage reports.
• Interviews may be something you want to include on you blog. If so pick your guest wisely. Do research and do pre-interview interviews to prepare yourself and your interviewee. You may want to develop a signature question, the question you ask every interviewee. During any interview remember to allow it to be about them and not about you and your opinions. Also know when it is time to end the interview and Don’t Be Boring!!! 🙂
• To improve the written quality of your blog you may consider writing posts daily to keep your readers tuned in. Topics could include a typical day for you, rants, and reviews. Consider writing shorter posts. A lot of us are checking out our favorite blogs before work or during lunch. Short and sweet could be a very good thing.
• Improve video content on your blog by including How To videos and Travel videos. Let your follower see things through your eyes.
• Get out from behind your laptop/pc, take a notebook and get out into the world. You may be surprised at what inspires you.
• Put some thought into your post titles. Have them do double duty of holding existing readers and attracting new ones. Make your headlines both specific and useful.
• Use series on your blog posts (like this one) to keep readers coming back to your blog. How to series are good. Also use series to tell a story that is too long for a single post. My bloggie fried Michael is did a great job of this on her series about having her appendix removed.
• Develop a feature on your blog that is uniquely you. Wordless Wednesday and Thankful Thursdays are fun features by think about something unique for your blog. On Chasing Joy we do Flashback Friday!
• Every now and then give your followers something they don’t expect. Cover something controversial or write from a different point of view. Pay attention to what your friends are talking about.
• Get an accountability partner. Someone you trust who can tell you if your blog is getting boring, repetitive, or predictable.
• Read your comments. Respond as much as you can. Take in negative feedback to see what you can get out of it. But also know when to ignore the negativity. You can listen to anyone for content and advice. Know when it applies to you and when it does not.
• Try to post at the same time daily or on a regular schedule. Think about it you know when your favorite show comes on or when to buy your favorite magazine. Your readers should know when to expect to find new content on your blog.
• A few Facebook tips:
• Everyone who likes your page will not see your status updates. Only those who interact will see you in their timelines.
• Become more interactive by encouraging two way conversations and posting questions of the day.
• Post consistently.
• Repost for those who missed your earlier status update “did you catch this this morning…”
• Pictures and Videos encourage more engagement.
• Monitor what other post on your Facebook page to make sure it fits your brand.
• Use insights to see what is and is not working on your page.
• Use Facebook for testing ideas and find out what people are talking about.
• Use applications like hootsuite to schedule post for when you cannot be online. Facebook does not go down when you go to sleep.
• A few twitter tips:
• Twitter is like a stream that is constantly flowing you should repost your tweets for those who missed them when they floated by the first time.
• Tweet Consistently.
• Use a recent photo that is clear so that people can recognize you at events. (I changed my picture during the conference so my followers could find me).
• In your Bio say what you are about right away. No bio no follow!
• Balance self promotion with promotion of others with your tweets.
• Keep your tweets shorter, under 122 characters. This allows other to more easily retweet you.
• Remember that twitter is all about the conversation.
• Like Facebook, Twitter is still going when you cannot be on. Use Hootsuite or a similar application to schedule your tweets in advance.
• Keep your blog clean, polished, and pretty. Make sure you use spellchecker and that your pictures are not stretched and out of proportion.
• Treat your blog as a business. Know your audience. Know the number 1 thing people searched for on Google that leads them to you. Know your reader’s demographics.
• Follow brands that you are interested in working with on Facebook and Twitter. Use these platforms to help you build a relationship and to be aware of their current marketing trends.

I know that is a lot of info. Now you see why I could just go on and one about Be Blogalicous 2011!!! With all of these tips and the info from part 1, part 2, and part 3 of the HBBBS series don’t you feel like you were there with me??? And one of you will not only feel like you were there but you will get to get what I got! I am going to share with one Joy Chasers some of the items from my Swag Bag from BeBlogalicious 2011 sponsors. Your HBBBS swag bag gift will include:

• A Que Rica Vida apron
• A Que Rica Vida Canvas tote bag
• A Sears/Kmart note book including Key PR contacts
• Water bottles
• Sleep Mask
• And more

Here are the details: To share in my swag bag all you HAVE TO DO is leave a comment below telling me what you learned from or liked best about the HBBBS series. A winner will be randomly chosen from the comments using Random.org. If you want to increase your odds you can always leave more than one comment. Let me know if you are following Chasing Joy on Facebook and Twitter. You can tweet and post to FB about the giveaway daily. Just come back and comment (with the link to your tweet or FB post) to let me know. But remember you MUST answer the question about what you learned from the HBBBS series to be eligible.

All comments to be considered for the giveaway must be posted by 11:59 pm EST Monday December 19th. The winning Joy Chaser will be announced on Wednesday December 21st. The winner will be notified by email and will have two days to respond claiming his/her swag bag. So if you typically post anonymously and would like to be considered for the giveaway please include an email address.

Best of luck and Happy Commenting!!!

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