Read This Before You Upgrade To Semiologic Pro v.5.0

Okay, after weeks of putting off upgrading to Semiologic Pro v.5.0 last night, I bit the bullet and upgraded.

In the main, the upgrade went quite smoothly and there are some features in version 5.0 which just makes it easier for the blog novice to use such as the drag and drop page order feature, the upgrade wizard which means users no longer have to pay us, Denis’s VA’s, $25 to upgrade their site and, there are some really cool new skins.

The addition of the new skins was, in my view, long time a coming and thanks to The Techie Coach, there are some “nice” skins and a few of them have a kinda web 2.0 look.  I say “kinda” because they are not totally web 2.0 looking, but they have the smooth look which I’m really beginning to love on blogs.

If you’re an affiliate marketer who makes use of Deal.com, then you’ll love this because it’s obvioulsy so popular that it gets its own widget!

But why have I suggested you read this before you upgrade Semiologic to version 5.0?

• First off, there are only 9 text widgets and if like me, you were using 16 of the 20 in a previous version, you may find yourself having to recreate those text widgets.  It was a pain in the backside for me and I know what I’m doing so others who may have had to pay to have their text widgets coded may be tearing their hair out.
   
• The one feature I loved about Sem Pro was Denis’s Ad Spaces plugin.  This allowed you to add contextual ads practically anywhere on your blog monitor their efficiency.  But, don’t worry you still can … only, this feature has been replaced with a plugin called “Who Sees Ads.”  It didn’t take me too long to work out how to use it - after I visited the Semiologic forum - and I’m getting used to it BUT … as with my text widgets, the old Ad Spaces wasn’t even an option and this upgrade wiped out my ad!  I was not amused since it was the ad that I now use to display my subscription box and for which has been working extremely well for me.

So, what’s the solution?

BEFORE you upgrade:

1. Back up your blog.  You may think this unimportant, but I have seen posts on the forum where people want to go back to a previous version and you’ll need the database from the previous version
   
2. Copy the code from your text widgets and Ad Spaces if you use them - something you ought to get into the habbit of doing anyway - and paste them into a notepad document which you should keep in a place where you can find it.  Then all you have to do is copy and paste the code from Notepad into either your text widget or the new Who Sees Ads plugin.

 

Hopefully, you read this post before you upgraded to Semiologic Pro v.5.0 and I hope your experience with using this easy to use search engine friendly theme is a pleasant one!

 The Blogging Queen

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Why You Need Regular Blog Posts

I know my clients must be fed up of hearing this, but I thought that if people understood just a little about how blogs work, it would encourage them to write more regular blog posts.

I took the view that if I just tell my daugther that she is not to do something or that she should do something, the response is often negative.  If I explain to her why it’s in her best interest to do or not to do something, her response is always higher.

So, this is just a quick tip, but I hope you gain some value from it …

This is what happens when you blog:

Once you publish your blog, a ‘ping’ message is sent to the blog update services telling them that your site has been updated.  Search engines like Google as well as RSS specific services like, Technorati, and Feedster periodically asks the Update Services - sometimes referred to as Aggregation Ping Servers - to let them know which sites have been updated.  The search engine spiders can then visit your blog to find out if there is any relevant content and if there is, they will index your site.

But, you don’t have to rely on the Update Services to notify the search engines that you’ve updated your blog, just by adding fresh new content on a regular basis, you will attract the search engine spiders.  Perhaps in a later post I’ll go through the nitty gritty of how this happens.  For now, I want you to think of the pinging services like this …

Whenever you publish your blog post, a bell rings at a “messenger’s” house.  The “messengers” job is simply to tell the regular callers (the search engines) who they should consider visiting on their next round.  And, it could be YOU! :-) 

Now I suppose you want to know how to ensure the Update Services are being pinged from your blog?  Well first of all, ensure the “Allow Pings” is selected in the “discussion” tab on the right of your blog post writing area and then you need to go to “Options” and then “writing” sub tab to ensure you have a list of the most up-to-date ping or update services in that box.  If not, click on one of the links above and find our more about where you can get a list of these.

All the best,

Phrases That Keep Your Clients Attention

Just what is it that top class copywriters like Michel Fortin have that keep people glued to their copy, despite it going on for pages and pages and … well, pages?

No, it’s not his forumla.  And it’s not hynotic words like FREE and neither is it his right combination of font colors!

Whilst I don’t profess to be a word class copywriter, I have spent a lot of money and a lot of time practicing and writing my own copy but something a copywriter called Alan Forrest Smith said last year made me realize that I was a better copywriter than I had given myself credibility.  He said something like …

“Copywriting is a communication skill … it’s the art of good conversation”

So the truth is, if you can have a good conversation, if you can hold people’s attention whilst you’re speaking to them, you have what it takes to write compelling copy. 

But what about if you think you’re not a very good communicator and people start yawning when you open your mouth to speak … and I’m sure there are but few of those people in this world … Well, Rich Schefren of Strategic Profits has just the thing to enhance any copy - whether you think you’re already good at writing copy or not. 

You can either download the PDF from here … or, better still, head over to his blog and read all about the Phrases That Keep Your Clients Attention and you can download your copy from that page.

This gift is truly not to be missed if you want to create natural compelling copy … and it applies whether you are writing a blog post, sending an email, writing a sales letter and even writing a book.  People want to “hear” what YOU have to say and in my opinion, these phrases give your writing “voice!”

Go and get your copy now!

Good Sales,

Change Your Online Business Model Or Watch Your Business Die!

Is your business suffering because you’re too “emotionally tied” to your old, tired and worn out business model?

I’m telling you, there is nothing that baffles me more than watching people waste thousands of dollars (or pounds) on building a website and then deciding it’s not good enough and then spending thousands again to have more of what they had before.  If the first model didn’t work, why are you pulling it down and creating more of the same thing? 

I’ll tell you why shall I? 

It’s comfort! 

You’re so emotionally tied to what you’re familiar with, that you’re too afraid or too complacent to move away from that comfort zone and follow a model that is proven to work.  A model that could take your business to a new level. 

This I believe is the same trap that the Associated Press is falling into right now because they’re so attached to their old paradigm … that people still want news the old fashioned way …. like paying reporters to travel and write stories that they then syndicate to traditional news organizations.  They’re even suing Moreover for linking to their stories and now in defence of their action, the CEO Tom Curley states that: 

“We — the news industry — have come to that fork in the road.  We must take bold, decisive steps to secure the audiences and funding to support journalism’s essential role in both our economy and democracy, or find ourselves on an ugly path to obscurity.” 

The sad truth is, in my opinion the Associated Press are probably already walking that “ugly path to obscurity” and it seems that the only people not recognizing they’re probably on that path is them.

It was only about four months ago whilst watching Working Lunch here in the UK that a journalist being interviewed said that they recognised how poweful blogs were for bringing up to the minute news to the masses and as journalists, they had to adapt to blogs or watch the profession die.  Perhaps Tom Curley could do with listening to some of these pearls of wisdom.

But, that’s the Associated Press - they’re big and whilst someone will hang for their downfall (although not literally) the CEO will just go and get himself another job elsewhere. 

But let me ask you this, 

“Could your business be on an ugly path to obscurity because you won’t step out of your comfort zone and change your business model?”

If the Associated Press ever does go under, I’ve no doubt that someone in the organization will say “we should have seen it coming sooner.”  And if you’re trying to build an online business, it shouldn’t be too hard to establish if you’re on the slippery slope to failure because you’re either:

1. Not making any money from your website or blog,
2. Your business is stagnent and has been stagnent for some months
3. You’re having to work twice as hard to bring in the same level of income that you previously enjoyed

Now listen, I know competition is tough on the net, but every day, someone brings out a piece of software that enables you to automate your business, or comes up with a business strategy that is guaranteed to make you more money.  All you have to do is copy one of the “proven” methods that best suits your business and your personality - I did say personality - there are some methods that I wouldn’t touch with a barge pole simply because they just don’t suit me.

Also, it’s a fact that over 90% of businesses do not know how to market on the Internet so unless you’re in a highly competitive market such as Internet Marketing itself, you have a very good chance of winning online in your chosen field of business.

A word of advice though …

If you already have an offline business and you want to take it to the World Wide Web, but you know you’re not really interested in marketing on the Internet - i.e. you just want a web presence rather than really working your online business - then in my view, a website is what you shouldn’t have!

Personally, I can’t see the point in having a website unless you’re going to work it.  And just because you found the best designer to build you the best site, does not mean that you’ll get any visitors to your site, make any sales or sell your services.  And my best advice to you is that if you don’t know anything about either SEO, article writing or linking strategies and you’re not prepared to either outsource or learn them (bearing in mind, SEO could cost you an arm and a leg for very little return), keep your money in your pocket and build yourself a basic blog.  At least you can become recognized an authority even with your infrequent but ”quality” blog posts - a status you’ll never achieve online with a “third person speaking, corporate looking, dead as a doornail website.”

I know this might sound harsh, but there is nothing worse than visiting a website and it feels as though “no one is at home!”  Ever get that feeling?  I personally feel that about membership sites built with Joomla, but that’s another story!

My point is though, if you do what you’ve always done, you’re going to get what you’ve always got.  So don’t think that by tearing down your old website and building a better “same old” site is going to make any difference to your online business.  

But you’ve seen the figure … over 90% of businesses do not know how to market online and so my guess is that by following a proven online business model, you’ll not only bury your business for fear of moving away from your old outdated business model, you’ll build a better stronger business and in the process, a stronger you.

To Your Online Success,

   

Old Blog Traffic vs. New Blog Traffic

What is the significance between unique visitors and returning visitors in terms of blog traffic?

What I see on the Internet is a lot of focus on unique visitors but hardly any emphasis on returning visitors.  In fact, it wasn’t that long ago that I remember someone criticizing “sticky” websites.  But you know what, “sticky” blogs can earn you good money.

Let’s face it, the great thing about blogging is that you can build up a community of readers who are more likely to purchase from you in the future, whether they click on your AdSense ads, your affiliate links or purchase your products and services.  And if you read some of the big boy’s blogs such as Darren Prowse at Pro Blogger and Yaro Starak at Entrepreneur’s Journey, you’ll see just how much fresh new content is created by the community of people they have built with their blogs.

Whilst I’m sure you’ve read the fact that there are some people out there making a killing with an ugly website, I certainly do believe that it is important to have a good looking blog.  It’s certainly not the first thing that you should pour all of your time and money into because after all, you could have the best looking blog but useless content.  My suggestion is though that you have a well planned out blog that is pleasing to the eyes and, content that will make people “afraid” of missing a blog post for fear of missing out.

If you think of list building, as Alex Mandossian would say, it’s not the size of the list that matters, it’s the responsiveness of the list.  This is the same with your blog or even websites, it’s not the number of unique traffic that you get to your site that matters, it’s how responsive they are to take action - some positive kind of action - when they visit your blog.  That action might involve participating in the many opportunities that you present on your blog including clicking on an AdSense ad, an affiliate link, commenting on your blog posts, purchasing your own products or services and, contacting you via your online form.

One thing is for certain though, (andI don’t have up-to-date figuures) as of the end of July 2006, Technorati tracked its 50 millionth blog and the blogosphere back then was doubling about once every 6 and a half months.  And, did you know that there were about 175,000 new weblogs created each day … back then!?  That means more than 2 blogs were being created each second of each day with about 1.6 Million postings per day.  

You know what this all means?  Well for a start those figures would have increased since July 2006 but there is a greater meaning for you …

You Cannot Afford To Be Lazy About Blogging!

If you want to get noticed, if you want to be found online, and if you want to attract new traffic as well as keep your old buddies coming back, you have to market, promote, sell and work your blog.  And yes, it does take time but if you keep in mind that you’re building a business and not “just” a blog, the rewards are great and blogging is still in my view the fastest, easiest and most economical way to get online. 

If you are new to the online world, then look out for my new ebook, “JumpStart Blogging” which will help you set up a WordPress blog on a budget!  True it will not look like my blog (that takes some customization and is time consuming and often hard work) but there is a free WordPress theme that I personally recommend and you can upload that after you’ve build the blog and this will at least put you “in the game” so you can put your blog to work to become your 24/7 sales person.

To your online success,