How and Why To Avoid The “Uncategorized” Blog Post

Library
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Website Strategy

Imagine this:

You walk into a library (farfetched to some nowadays but stay with me) in search of a book on dogs.  As you walk through the stacks of the nonfiction section, you see Computer Science, Religion, Language, History.  No dogs.  You venture over to a nearby librarian busy with reshelving and ask where to find that dog book you’re after.  Glancing up from the world of the Dewey Decimal System, she points you in the direction of a lesser-known section of the stacks.  When you arrive, you see a simple sign – “Uncategorized.” READ MORE >>

How to React to a Negative Comment on Your Blog

Thumbs Down Through White
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Website Strategy

If you’ve ever written for a blog, there’s a good chance you’ve felt the fear of the negative comment.  Whether or not you’ve actually had to face a strong dissenter on a post you’ve written, I’ll bet you’ve at least thought about the possibility that someone could vehemently disagree with whatever it is you’ve written.

Truth be told, if you write enough, chances are you’ll come across someone that’s totally opposed to your ideas.  But if you handle the situation with a bit of care, it’s not such a bad thing.  Here are a few tips on how to react when someone writes something negative on your blog. READ MORE >>

Making Blog Categories More Useful

Making Blog Categories More Useful
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Website Strategy

I’m going to start this post with a confession.  Until a few months ago we had some questionable categories on our blog.  We had a category called “File Sharing” that I think had three posts.  We had “Internet Browsing” which I can’t really define or justify.  We had the inexplicable “Online Music” category that I remember creating.  Our categories were numerous and not very useful.

But we decided it was time to clean up our act over here.  We wanted our blog categories to actually serve their purpose:

to provide visitors with a way of easily navigating our content to find posts to match their interests.

Below are some tips to keep in mind as you develop (or revisit) your blog categories. READ MORE >>

5 Tips to Write Better Blog Titles

Write Better Blog Titles
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Web Content

Just because you build it doesn’t mean anyone’s going to come.  Yeah, it worked for that farmer in Iowa, but all he did was plow under his corn and summon some dead baseball legends.  In the vastness of the internet, there’s a lot of great content that never gets seen.

While there’s no guarantee that writing better titles for your blog will lead to an influx of visitors, it definitely doesn’t hurt.  Here are five tips to help you write better titles for your blog posts. READ MORE >>

Bringing Authenticity to Web Copy

Old Typewriter
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Web Content

For a moment let’s revisit that age-old advice given by career counselors on college campuses all across the country just before big interviews: just be yourself.

We get it.  It’s easier said than done.  But that doesn’t mean it’s untrue.  That same sagely advice is pertinent as you approach the way you represent yourself and your organization in your web copy.  There are likely numerous other folks that do something (or at least claim to do something) similar to what you’re doing.  But there aren’t any others out there that are exactly the same as you.  And that can be a huge asset to you.

Here are a few tips to help you bring authenticity to your web copy. READ MORE >>

5 Tips to Disagree in Comments More Productively

Angry Man with Laptop
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Web Content

Maybe you’ve just come across a terrible post.  Maybe you’re just in an awful mood on this particular morning.  We’ve all been there.  You’ve read something online that’s so bad it’s moved you to action.  The words of opposition pour effortlessly from your fingertips.

But before you start ripping on the author’s worthlessness, take a deep breath.  Offering a dissenting opinion is a great way to push the discourse forward, but there are a few things to keep in mind to turn that angry rant into something productive. READ MORE >>

4 Simple Ways to Write Better Headings

Write Better Headings
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Web Content

I’m a flighty internet surfer.  When I read content online, I have a very short attention span.  I tend to scan through articles and open at least ten times as many webpages as I actually take the time to read in their entirety.

But I know I’m not alone.  We, the surfers of the web, are a flighty group.  And our lack of willingness to devote all of our attention can’t be stopped, it can only be contained.  That’s where headings come in. READ MORE >>

The Best Way to Be Heard? Provide Value

Child Salesman with Megaphone
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Web Content

Here’s a cold, hard fact about the internet: anyone can say anything.  There is no lie detector for the content you post up.  You can say you are awesome on your website and you very well may be.  But there are plenty of people, products and organizations out there that claim to be fantastic when in actuality they’re junk.

READ MORE >>

Commenting on Blogs: Feel Fear But Do It Anyway

Woman Afraid of Computer
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Miscellaneous

 

I’ll be honest with you, we don’t get a ton of comments on our blog.  On a typical post we get a decent amount of traffic, some Facebook shares and an occasional Tweet.  Some people even tell us in person or via email that they like a specific post which we love hearing.  But we don’t usually get many comments on our actual blog posts.

This phenomenon is not unique to our blog.  It’s fairly typical that blogs get fewer comments than they’d like.  So here are some of my thoughts on what prevents folks (myself included) from commenting on blogs, and why we should all do it anyway. READ MORE >>