There are a variety of different social networking (SN) sites out there, each offering something unique in terms of meeting new people, facilitating new friendships, creating contact with potential customers and so on.

One of the more unique and more useful ways of developing a presence through (SN) is to create a social networking blog.

There are two ways to accomplish this:- The first is to join a general (SN) site that offers a social networking blog, and include a blog as part of your personal profile,

- The second is to join a blogging-based (SN) site where the entire purpose of the site is to maintain a social networking blog, meeting people through your writing.

Blogging is a very important way to reach out to people when it comes to (SN), because a blog can be just as personal as a personal profile on one of these sites.

When you write in a blog, you are allowing content to come from your heart, and this is an advantageous way to let people get to know you, facilitating communication and the building of relationships, friendships, business relationships and so much more.

Social networking blogs are springing up all over the internet. There are a lot of different options for blog based (SN), with websites like Windows Live Writer, Vox, Six Apart, Livejournal, Deadjournal, Blogger and WordPress springing up.

Large scale social networking sites like Myspace also offer blogging options, making blogging for social networking even easier and more advantageous.

By creating a (SN) blog, you are reaching out to users within the community in new and more personalized ways, which is what social networking is really all about.

The primary focus of (SN) is to create something personal that lets other people on the internet know exactly what you are all about.

When your profile is viewed or your blog is read, other users within the community will get a good feel for who you are, what you bring to the community and what you are looking to accomplish on the site.

If you have a (SN) blog for your business, or for your individual person, people will know what you are trying to achieve and will respond accordingly.

Keeping a (SN) blog, then, is an excellent way to appeal to new potential friends, customers, business partners and even relationships.

As long as you are open, honest and personal about what you want and why you are on the site, you will surely attract like-minded people over time.

Profiles on (SN) websites are relatively static. Once you put them together, they do not change much unless your interests drastically change.

If you create a social networking blog to accompany your profile, however, new information will show up consistently, and people who view your profile will have more to go on when they try to get to know you.

In other words, if you want to get the most out of (SN), you absolutely need to keep a social networking blog.

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About the Author

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This is probably the question on everybody’s lips looking at opportunities to make money online. There are many bloggers out there who claim that they make enough for a decent living. When we look at this it is quite interesting. There are signs that indicate that they do make money. The exact amount each one makes is their own trade secret. Lets look at the topic in question.

Do bloggers make money? They must be making some money from advertising, which is a concept that has started to grow in popularity on many blogs recently. Business can purchase advertising space on some blocks. Depending on where they decide to advertise, they are able to choose from various payment options. A blogger will not run an advertisement on his or her blog if it where not paid for. When we look at the number of adverts currently on some blogs, then they must be making some money for their owners.

Another form of advertising used on many blogs are those from the Google Adsense concept. Site owners have to apply for run Adsense on their blogs. These advertisements are generated on their sites in such a way that they are associated with the content present on the page that they occur. The blog owners get some revenue based on the number of times these adds are clicked on from their sites. Most blog sites today are filled with areas running Adsense areas. Many if include it in their posts. This must be some sort of indication that there arr bloggers making some money is this way.

Many blog sites have links to third party products or services. This concept is called affiliate marketing and involves joining an affiliate program. How this works is that the blogger joins what is called an affiliate program belonging to a product or service provider. This allows the blog owner to have a link on his site to the merchant site. When a visitor buys a product or service after a click through from the blog, the owner gets a percentage of the price as commission. Some of these affiliate programs pay a decent percentage of the price as commission. With many blogs having affiliate links, some of them must be making money from this source.

Do bloggers make money from their own products and services? Then the answer is probably yes. The reason being that most successful and long standing blogs have dedicated areas where their services and products are offered at a price. As these owners have been in the business for a long period of time, it would be foolish to pursue a concept for such a long period without gaining any financial gain.

Back to our question. Do bloggers make money? Surely many of them are making money. They also use a number of different methods to make that income. You just need to visit some of the more prominent blog sites. One of the major things that you will notice is the number of revenue generating concepts these blogs have in place.

 

Blogging is a crucial part of a well rounded online marketing and automotive SEO strategy. Creating a successful blog is hard work but the benefits can be huge. So how do you make sure that your blog is successful?

Here are 10 basic tips to keep you on the right track …

1. Keep your headlines succinct

The goal of a headline is to get readers interested in your post right off the bat. Don’t be cute with convoluted, long or confusing headlines. You want your headlines to be Urgent, so that the reader is drawn to your post. Also keeping them short and specific will help you capture the interest of a reader quickly as they scroll through either search results or a feed reader.

2. Create good recognizable URLs for SEO purposes

If your URLs are a jumbled mess it can effect you in two ways. First if people can’t read them they look unprofessional and are less likely to be clicked on in search results. Many people use the URLs just below the title in Google search results as a reference in deciding whether to follow one link or another. The second way bad URLs can effect you is by hurting your SEO. Including key words in your URL and removing things like “602-9912342-3046240?_encoding=UTF8&” will help search engines index you correctly. Fortunately most blogging platforms out there make this really easy allowing you custom edit the URL for each individual blog.

3. Remember to fill out your page title and description

Page title, description, and keywords are paramount if you want to rank highly in search. This is really a simple thing to do but it can have a huge impact on how well your blog performs. WordPress has some great plugins that will help you be consistent and relevant with all of your posts meta data, and remember good titles and descriptions will help your blog be more social media friendly.

4. Link to your old posts when you can

Links are everything within your blog, and linking to your older posts can help you in a number of different ways. To start with referencing your other posts can help you make your point better, but that’s only the beginning. Links to old posts will help drive traffic back to them giving them new life. Also if you make sure your links contain key words that you want to rank for you will hugely improve your SEO.

5. Link to other bloggers

Linking out to other blogs is a great way to get more people involved, and will give you the opportunity to listen and trade ideas. Who knows maybe you’ll learn something. Also giving proper credit is huge. Many bloggers put their heart and soul into their writing, so if you make a post based on an idea you get from another blog or article it’s just common courtesy to give them credit by linking back to them. Lastly, inbound links obviously help your rank but so do outbound links. This is especially true if you’re linking to sites that are particularly popular or an authority on the topic at hand.

6. For the love of god don’t plagiarize

This should be a no-brainer but it still happens everyday. Coming up with consistent, fresh and interesting content is hard to do but copying content is not the way to go. There are lots of ways to overcome writers block and get yourself back on track, and there is nothing that will destroy your online reputation worse than plagiarism.

7. Write early and often

The amount of traffic you get on your blog is usually going to be directly proportional with how often you post. Obviously you’re busy so once a day is probably going to be out of the question. Once or twice a week is usually good practice. Things move quickly these days so staying relevant usually means posting about a popular topic the day of, or at the latest, the next day. Try to set yourself a schedule, if you commit to posting on Tuesday and Thursday every week you’ll find it easier to consistently blog twice a week.

8. Invite your readers to leave comments

Having dialogue on your blog is very important, if you engage your readers they will be more likely to come back and read more of your stuff. The best way to encourage comments is to ask a question at the end of your post. Also posting about relevant, interesting, or even controversial topics will get readers to engage and express their own opinion.

9. Make sure your blog has a presence on social media platforms

One of the best ways to get more people to read your blog is to promote your content through social media. If you’re not publishing each and every blog on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus you’re missing loads of opportunities. Make sure you’re being strategic about how you’re using these social media sites as well.

10. Don’t give up!

Building a successful blog takes a lot of work and a lot of time. You might not get a readership or any success in the first few months of blogging. It is important to keep at it though, because as soon as you give up all the work you’ve done until that point becomes useless. You probably won’t see immediate success but if you follow these ten steps and stay committed you will definitely begin to see results before long.

Starting with the basics will help you build a strong successful blog in no time.

About the Author

Need some personalized advice on blogging? Need a blog created and/or managed for you? Contact Us!!

 

Micro niches are excellent for avoiding intense competition while offering larger profit margins to internet marketers! This particular strategy however does not necessarily translate over very well to people who want to get paid to blog! In fact it is actually advantageous for bloggers to focus on those niche markets with a broader base and here are 3 compelling reasons as to why this is the case!

Easier to Create Content

When worker broader based niche markets as a blogger it is much easier to find and develop content you can post to your site! Typical internet marketers meaning those who don’t use blogging platform as part of their marketing strategy, don’t need to be constantly finding something new to write about! On the other hand people who expect to get paid to blog need to offer visitors something interesting and new to read in order to gain both their loyalty and business! Having a highly focus market limits the sources a blogger can use to help them develop more reading material they can post!

Broader Appeal – More Subscribers

The broader the niche markets are the wider the appeal therefore it only stands to reason the blogger will have more traffic! One true unit of measurement any blogging platform can rely upon in terms of judging success is the traffic it attracts! Now when you are trying to get paid to blog this also means you have more potential customers landing on your site! In terms of income that works for me, how about you?

Greater Range of Product Offers

Finding or even developing products is not such a restrictive process as it would be in a highly focused market! One of the most popular methods used by many to get paid to blog is by offering affiliate products! Once again when you are working within a market that offers much in the way of variety in terms of needs to fill and problems to solve the larger the market the more directions you can take with your offers! Think in terms of a specialty shop as compared to a large department store!

Micro niches typically are most appealing to internet marketers due to the lower level of competition and higher profit margins they offer! On the other hand for those focusing their efforts on trying to get paid to blog this strategy may prove to be more difficult! The discussion above sites 3 strong reasons as to why it is easier for bloggers to target niche markets with a broader base of appeal! This in no way is to dispute the effectiveness of working smaller niche markets in terms of making money online! Quite simply this particular strategy may only serve to be more challenging for a ‘dedicated’ blogger! Just saying!

 

Stick around if you find yourself staring out of the window hoping an idea will float by, or if you stress and pull out your hair because your content creation efforts take hours and it shouldn’t. I know I’m guilty of the window stare, and these 3 quick tips have helped me learn some good ways of how to create content for my blog. I thought it might do the same for you, so check it out.

And just quickly, Ray Higdon went from bankruptcy to $50,000 plus a month in a little over a year. His blog received some 1.4 million hits per month, so it goes without saying his nuggets on how to create content for your blog are extremely valuable. The cool thing is these are fun, effective, and free.

The 3 ways are:

Use Existing Or New Training – This way on how to create content for your blog is easy because if you’ve spent any amount of time trying to start business, chances are you’ve purchased e books, software, or the like that you’ve never used. Why not dust it off and actually use/read it? Simply blog about what you learned. Usually you can get several blog posts from just one product or e book. Another thing you can do is to use your currently purchased training (you know, the stuff you actually read through or use) and do the same thing. Share what you’ve learned.

Ask People – This how to create content for your blog strategy can be a little challenging, but it’s well worth it. Host a live presentation or webinar and as your Q & A pass around a paper providing the opportunity for people to ask questions. You can make note of the questions and make these into blog posts.

Make a Daily Barnes and Nobles Pit stop - Make it part of your routine to stop by your local Barned & Noble, bookstore, or library and grab 4-8 interesting books (ex self improvement, marketing, sales, leadership, ect) and check out anything that looks like a list: how to______, 4 ways to________, or 3 ways to_______. Lists are some of the best content generators. This how to generate content for a blog tip is also good because:

It gets you out among people (prospects). You should always have the mindset of looking for prospecting opportunity which can’t be done in the house.

How many books does Barnes & Noble have related to the industry/niche? It’s an unlimited supply of content
IT’S FREE (and FREE is always good!)

There is free internet, so if you have a laptop you can actually get your ideas, write, and post all in one swoop.

You can maximize your marketing efforts by taking along some drop cards or over sized postcards and stick them inside the books you use for your content ideas.

Blogging is without a doubt the best way to create an online presence and an asset that will work for you for years to come. The key lies in creating good content, which can be a challenge to come up with every day. Try the simple, quick tips in this post and you will eliminate your struggles on how to create content for your blog.

 

One of the questions I am frequently asked is “How Do I Promote My eBook?”. There are lots of answers to this question, but the most important aspect is that you must a centralized hub for your promotion efforts. This hub is usually a blog or web site that links into your other promotional tools, like Facebook and Twitter.

I have just finished putting up an actual working site and eBook that demonstrate many of the techniques I that I discuss in my Making Money Series Video Training Titles and eBook Training Titles. The web site is used for advertising the eBook, interacting with fans, announcing upcoming events, and other promotional tasks.

You can find links for the web site and ebook in the authors resource at the end of this article. Take a look at the web site so that you can follow along with this discussion of the techniques used.

The web site is designed using a free Blogger account on Google so the only real cost for the web site is about $10 per year for the domain name. Speaking of Domain Names you will notice that the blog is hosted on its own domain instead of showing the standard Blogger account URL, that is fairly easy to do using instructions from Blogger, especially if you are hosting your domain name on Go Daddy, Blogger has a simple link to set up the forwarding automatically. You can also buy a domain name right through Blogger and have the forwarding set up automatically. If your domain name is hosted somewhere else there are easy to follow instructions on Blogger for that as well.

The first thing you will see on deadofnighttales.com is the look and feel, this is set up using a standard template from Blogger with a few customizations for the type style and color. Next you will see 3 tabs, Home, Sign-Up, and Books. Blogger makes it easy to create specialty pages for your blog. The Home page is a standard blog page with all of the nice blog features, auto date inclusion, archiving of past posts, ability to set up favorite links, etc. One of the reasons to use a blog as a web site is that they are so easy to set up using the supplied templates, you can get a web site up and running in a week or less with no trouble. Once you have gone through the steps you could actually set up a Blog in an afternoon, I have done several of these to promote individual titles or topics.

The tabs are special pages that contain static information, more like a traditional web site. A standard blog will have a list of posts with the most current post at the top, and the rest below or included in the archive. But if you want some information always readily available then adding in additional pages is the way to go. The Sign-Up page contains basic instructions on using the email sign-up form on the right, along with pointing out the Sharing buttons and links. This page is basically for people who are new to blogging. Most experienced users will have already spotted these links, but it doesn’t hurt to put in some instructions as well, just in case.

Blogger allows you to customize the blog by adding in what they call Gadgets. On the right side of the blog you will see several of these added Gadgets. The top Gadget contains share links for Facebook and Twitter. I put these in basically as a demonstration. Blogger automatically puts in Share buttons at the bottom of each post as well.

Below the “Share It” Gadget is an Amazon Affiliate box, in this case pointing to the eBook that is being showcased on the Blog. To add one of these you need an Amazon Affiliate account, then you can simply do a search for the title on Amazon using the Amazon ASIN number. Set this up as a box using your Amazon Affiliate account and Amazon does the rest. You can sign up as an Amazon Affiliate using the link at the bottom of the Amazon home page titled “Become an Affiliate”. There is no cost to join Amazon Affiliates.

You then grab the HTML code supplied by Amazon and put that onto your blog. In this instance I set up a HTML Gadget (used to hold basic HTML or text) and pasted in the HTML from Amazon. Amazon then serves the ad directly from their servers. By default the ad aligned itself to the left side of the Gadget area, but by putting a Div tag around the Amazon code (in the HTML Gadget) I was able to put in an align=”center” attribute in the Div tag and aligned the ad to the center of the Gadget area. If you click on this ad you will see how it takes you to the correct page on Amazon and opens that page in a new window so that you don’t lose the Blog (don’t worry, it won’t cause an automated purchase, it just takes you to Amazon).

Next up is the box labeled “New Releases & Signings”. This is placed into another HTML Gadget. The code for this is from AWeber and links back to an AWeber account set up for this blog. The whole thing is set up over on AWeber and then the code is simply pasted into the HTML Gadget just like we did with the Amazon code. In this case I didn’t need to center the box as it already displayed correctly. If you enter in your name and email address you can see how the AWeber form works, you will be taken to a confirmation page, plus you will get a confirmation email. If you confirm through the email link you will then be taken to the blog’s Book page. The confirmation page opens in a new window so you will not lose the Blog page.

Below that are some links that are put in by default by Blogger, a button to join the site using Google Friend Connect, an About Me link, a Favorite Links section that is another Blogger Gadget, followed by the Blog Archive.

Back to the top, the Books tab is a separate page put into the blog using Blogger’s tools. In this case it contains basic information about the eBook including a picture, a link to purchase the eBook (right now at only .99, or you can read it for free if you are an Amazon Prime member). Plus the description of the book that is also used in the Amazon listing.

The eBook itself is a collection of 4 timeless old style ghost stories (no blood and guts, no zombies, no vampires, just good old fashioned ghostly chills), and uses many of my formatting techniques that I have talked about in my eBook Training Titles and discussed at length in my article on eBook formatting (available for free at howtogurus.com). The eBook stories were first written in Microsoft Word, then saved as HTML and transferred to Dreamweaver for setting up the eBook. All Word formatting was removed and new formatting put in as required. The eBook was then converted from the HTML to the Mobi format for use on Kindle using a program named Calibre.

The cover of the book was uploaded as a separate file to keep the eBook clean for Kindle use and also to be used as the thumbnail in the Amazon Kindle listing page. The cover picture is sized at 600×900 and saved as a jpg file at 72ppi. This size fits well in all Kindle devices. The image is in color for use on the Kindle Fire, but was checked to make sure it looks good in black and white for the other Kindle devices.

The Title Page has text that was sized using the [h2] tag with an align=”center” attribute added to the tag, like this: [h2 align="center]Title of Book[/h2]. The image below the title is put in a regular paragraph tag with the center align attribute and is based on the cover. I simply removed the text and converted the image to a sepia tone to match the rest of the images in the book. The author attribute is again inside of a h2 tag. Between this page and the next page are several blank paragraph tags to get the spacing correct followed by a page break tag to force the next page onto a new page [mbp:pagebreak /]. I have found that if there is not enough content on a page the Kindle will ignore a page break and merge two pages together, so I added in the blank paragraphs to stop that behavior and make the page break work correctly.

The next page is the Copyright Page, a very important page to include and get right. Notice that there are separate copyright and printing notices for the different short stories and a copyright notice for the eBook as well. This page is separated from the next page by another page break tag. Make sure that your copyright is listed correctly. The proper format is copyright (or symbol) Date Name.

Like this: copyright 2012 George Peirson

The name has to be the name of an actual person or a corporation (which is considered an individual by the US Gov’t). If you leave off the name, or put in the name of a business, or DBA, or partnership, etc. it will not be a legal copyright notice. I see this mistake all the time.

The next page that comes up is the Index (table of contents). This contains standard anchor tag style links to the different stories in the eBook. I didn’t use the words Chapter or Table of Contents so the Calibre program and the Kindle properly identify this list and use it in the Kindle TOC tool correctly. If you open up the Kindle Tools you will see that the links are referenced correctly. This page again is separated from the next by a page break tag.

Next up is the Forward to the book. The text in “Forward” is actually an image created in Photoshop. Kindle is rather limited on text styles so if you want a fancier type face you will have to create it as a picture. The quote uses standard italics tags and block quotes to properly set it on the page. The spacing between the paragraphs is created using break tags instead of paragraph tags for more control. The indent at the beginning of each paragraph is created with 9 non-breaking spaces in the HTML code. The rest of the text in the book follows this same basic format. The forward and the rest of the stories are separated by page break tags so that they all start correctly on new pages.

Each short story begins with the Title created as a graphic in Photoshop followed by a picture that was also set up in Photoshop. All images in the eBook have been given the same sepia tone settings and heights for a consistent look. At the end of each short story is a small picture again formatted to match the rest plus another page break tag. The rest of the stories follow this format.

After the short stories is a Biographical Notes section, again the title is an image. At the bottom of the Biography are links that lead back to the Amazon sales page, the email sign up page on the blog, a link to the main blog page, and links for Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. All of these are set up as standard web page style links when the eBook was created as HTML in Dreamweaver.

The Table of Contents at the end of the book was generated by the Kindle and matches the TOC in the Kindle Tools.

So there you go, a nicely set up eBook with a matching marketing systen based on free Blogging tools from Google. Below are the links for the Blog/Web Site and eBook:

Here is the link to the web site featured in this article www.deadofnighttales.com

You will find links to the eBook on the featured web site listed above.

 

The expression “Content is king” exists for good reason. Good quality content can lead to a higher ranking for your website on the major search engines. Once visitors land on your site, the content you provide can provide relevant information and spur them to take action, which includes open up their wallets to make a purchase. If you have mainly focused on finding and nurturing qualified leads for your marketing business, make sure you don’t ignore the importance of using content to upsell customers.

Use Content as an Add-on to Your E-mail Messaging

Part of your marketing efforts with your list of e-mail subscribers is to communicate with them regularly. Along with your usual short message that you are sending out at regular intervals, consider providing your subscribers with some relevant content that is not available on your website or elsewhere. An easy way to do this is to prepare a short report focused on a specific topic that your subscribers would be interested in or a problem they are trying to solve. You could also consider providing them with a case study or a solutions manual, if this type of content is relevant to your business efforts.

On the face of it, it may not make much sense to provide free information to your e-mail list subscribers, but this is an investment that is well worth your while. The content you provide can help your customers get to know your company, and make them feel that they can trust you. When the time comes that they are ready to make a buying decision, they are more likely to think of you since they have already received something of value at no costto them.

Blog Content Helps You Share Product Information

Another effective way to use content to upsell customers is through your business blog. The tone is more conversational than on your website, and you can use this platform as an opportunity to interact with visitors to your site. Use it to post information about new products, and to address specific problems or concerns your buyers may have.

Keep in mind if you’re going to mention a problem or an issue on your blog, you should also offer solutions to them. It’s a very simple matter to discuss problem X and recommend product Y and Z to solve it.

Another helpful strategy is to keep track of types of items which your customer base is buying together. It may make sense to offer these as a package to buyers, but to also add something else to round out the package to encourage your customers to buy more.

Using content is an add-on to your e-mail messaging and developing blog content that can help to share information and promote your products are two effective ways that you can use content to upsell customers. Keep in mind that people that go online are hungry for good quality information, and these strategies will pay off for you.

 

So you have created a blog. A wonderful, action packed blog. You have poured much time, effort and probably a bit of cash in it to take it live. So now you sit back and wait for the traffic to flood in, right? “Build it and they will come” and all that.

Unfortunately not.

Well, that isn’t always the case. Especially if you are a SUPER high profile person or company, some of the traffic you have built into your brand. But like many of us, that is not the case and we need to build this traffic from zippo.

What is the first step? Make sure that you have a killer product (aka blog).

*Is the design easy to navigate?

*Is your content valuable and well-written?

*Are you using pictures to flesh out your ideas?

*Are you using links in each article and keywords?

These four questions will truly help you understand if you need to do any retooling. Remember, you want a sporty dependable vehicle not a Porsche. Although Porsches look nice, they can be expensive and a luxury…not a necessity.

Now promotion. Like any new product or service, you need to create a promotional strategy for your blog. How do you do it? Well think about how you market your company. What marketing channels do you use? Did you create a launch campaign for your product or service? When thinking about promoting your blog, this is the train of thought you need to jump onto.

Remember: it takes work to earn readers….that’s right, I said EARN readers.

With that in mind, let’s share some tips to getting people to read your blog!

*Email blast: Send an announcement to your database of contacts telling them about your blog. Then whenever you send out email blasts to this database add a link to your blog or to the RSS feed so they can easily subscribe.

*Email Signature: Make sure that you have a link to your blog and/or the RSS feed in your email signature. If you have other employees, make sure that it appears on their signatures as well.

*Blog Tour: Choose a handful of blogs of people whom you respect and of whom you share a common audience. Subscribe to their RSS feeds and every morning leave a comment on one of their articles. When you do this, make sure to share the link to your blog. Note: always make your comments meaningful, sharing your expertise. It works a heck of a lot better than just agreeing with them.

*Social Media Profiles: Make sure that your blog appears prominently in all of your social media presences (such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc).

*Social Media Groups and Pages: On Facebook and LinkedIn in particular they have the option of joining/creating groups and pages. Make sure to share links to your articles in relevant groups from time to time (not everyday) and when commenting, mention or reference a blog article your wrote (if relevant and adds value).

*Exchange Links: Another great way to build traffic is to exchange links with those whom you admire. My only advice is to not take part in “link farming” and only ask those whom you could benefit from linking with.

*Google Adwords: This is a “worst case scenario” in terms of blog promotion, but if your blog is out to make money from advertising or product sales, these highly visible Pay Per Click campaigns can bring you new traffic you wouldn’t receive elsewhere. Make sure to read through the guidelines to ensure you create the perfect ad.

This is a good starter list to get you on your way. But remember, there are many other different methods that you can use from advertising to direct mail.

Do you have a blog? If so, how have YOU promoted it and driven traffic to it?

 

 

It’s that time of year when everyone’s thoughts turn to hooking up, getting together and making a sweet, sweet partnership. For bloggers, that means only one thing.

Unleashing some blog comments.

So turn up the Barry White. Turn down the lights. And prepare for a lesson in the art of seduction. Because when it comes to the art of blog commenting, petrol station flowers and a box of milk tray just isn’t going to cut it.

Now you’re probably sat there, in the dark, with Barry White on, wondering why you’d want to devote time and effort to blog commenting. Surely the comment is just the brief fumble in the broom cupboard compared to the deep and meaningful relationship that only comes with mutual respect and regular guest posts.

Well, you’re wrong. Because blog comments are important for three main reasons:

1) Raise your profile. Having your interesting little vignettes at the bottom of dozens of posts is the quickest and easiest way to make people associate you with their favourite blogs.

2) Drive relevant traffic. Once people begin to recognise you, they’ll start clicking on your name. And because they’re subscribed to blogs in your niche, they’ll be more receptive to what you have to say.

3) SEO benefits. Yes, most blog comments are nofollow. No, a dofollow comment doesn’t carry much authority. But it all adds up. Regular commenting is a quick way to building a link profile, and it’ll complement your regular link building activities.

So now you’re ready to get down to business, let’s get down to business with some seductive blog commenting tips.

Don’t Post and Run

When you’re starting a relationship, it’s important to stick around. Don’t just do what you came to do, and then run off into the night without so much as a thankyou handshake.

The same goes for commenting. Post your comment, and then hang around. Have a conversation. Show that blogger that you’re interested in them, not just in sowing your wild comment oats.

Show Them You Understand

Nothing ruins a date like one party staring, glassy-eyed into the middle distance and agreeing blindly with whatever’s being said. It’s a mood killer, and it makes you look like a fool.

You need to show your date, and your blogger, that you understand what they’re saying. You don’t need to agree, but you need to engage with them.

Don’t Make it All About You

“Well I think” “I like” “I, me, me” – these aren’t going to charm anyone’s pants off. And a blog comment that’s all about you is going to make you look like an egotist.

So just like with a date, you need to act interested in what they have to say. The secret? Pertinent follow up questions. Trust me. Drop a few of those in, and they’ll be putty in your hands.

Don’t Forget to Call Back

You’ve had a great time. You’ve had a wonderful conversation, you’ve achieved what you set out to do and this has all the hallmarks of what could be a beautiful partnership. And then you never bother to call back.

I’m not suggesting you spend hours on the phone to every blogger who’s posts you’ve commented on. But you should pop by every so often, just to keep that spark alive.

Who knows? You might even have seduced them into coming and commenting on your blog!

Just don’t expect a monogamous relationship.