Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category

Yesterday I heard from the chaps over at ipadio that we can now post phonecasts direct into WordPress blogs – so we can now “phlog”!

So what on earth is a phonecast? It’s basically a quick and easy audio post – much shorter (usually) and  less prepared than a full podcast.

• We can “phlog” – phone in a blog instead of type it
• Broadcast a quick message
• Collect data – use ipadia for reporting
• Offer live reviews – rough guide style – for travelogues, perhaps

There is a lot more information over at their website, so if this is at all of interest to you and your business – pop over and have a play! It’s certainly something to consider and pretty cool if it can be useful for you.

Babs

Ian Lurie is someone I’ve long respected, even before his Conversation Marketing book came out back in 2006. His Conversation Marketing blog is always easy to read, and he does not waffle (well, not in a way that bothers me ).

This book is rich in content and covers the topic well within the succinct 100 pages (I like succinct!)  - simply put, this is another of those “JDI must reads” for anyone marketing online – it’s easy to digest and then to action the sound guidance offered.

Ian takes us through a  model that will make sense to most good bloggers and website owners – that “the Internet offers a unique two-way marketing medium” that can attract attention and customers, and build sales when used correctly.

Reading this book will help you to make more of your website and blog, whether based on WordPress or not – it’s a standard that we all should read in order to have a clear Internet marketing strategy – which is essential to us all if we want to make the most of the web for our businesses. And of course what are blogs but conversations of a sort – well, they can be (and I suggest some of the best are).

Do you have a favourite book that has helped you with your online strategies?

For the first of our Sunday book reviews, I’m going to start with what I have long considered to be one of the most important books for anyone with a website – and this applies to blogs, online shops, and the rest too – anyone marketing online would do well to read this book.

“A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability” – now as WordPress “users”, you may not think this quite applies to you, however it does. When it comes to WordPress themes (the design) we are tempted with plenty of pretty/scary/all-dancing/action-packed designs, as well as plenty that are pleasing to the eye and useful to you and your visitors. Everyone with a web presence, be that a website or a blog, needs to consider the people you want visiting (and subsequently doing what you want them to do – come back, get in touch, subscribe, buy…). Is that cool, brooding design really going to encourage your ideal customers?

Don’t Make Me Think is a book I’ve recommended to clients and anyone who will listen since it was first published a decade or so ago. Now in its second edition, Steve Krug‘s take on keeping it simple is easy to read and packed with solid advice that everyone, in my opinion, should heed. And this is timeless stuff – even this edition is nearly 5 years old, but it continues to be relevant and a must-read, even for those of us working with WordPress. The sound basis that this gives you when considering usability is essential when choosing your theme and the various widgets and plugins available, and how you present your content.

So this is one of those JDI, no-brainer books if you want your website/blog to do what you expect of it! (and if you don’t really know that, have a chat with Babs and she’ll point you to some useful advice).

I recently joined the Third Tribe Marketing co-ordinated by famous, rock legends of blogging and social media – Chris Brogan (who everyone in the online world knows of, except me), Darren Rowse of Pro Blogger fame (yes, came across him and found his story interesting), Sonia Simone (never heard of her either, but she has 20 years experience doing this sort of stuff) and Brian Clark (guess what, never heard of him… he does something digital).

So why would someone who barely has heard of these legendary peeps go and join something that they are advocating?

Well most importantly, I am a joiner and a person who joins in -  you can see how I enthusiastically joined in here blogging with Babs and Joe

Secondly because I needed to move beyond my comfort zone and move away from my small circle and become involved with new people, so that I can then share my thoughts and ideas with people who didn’t know me and humour me. I also get to share my small circle with them

Since October 2009 I have started to take my blogging a bit more seriously, about the same time the frivolous blogging became serious, the blogs that promoted our businesses effectively were not as effective. As you can tell, I am not a writer. A writer thinks in paragraphs and illustrations, I think in blocks of text and images, jpegs or png images to be precise. Something needed to be done.

I brought the Problogger paperback book, I can’t recall the name but I do recall a lot of my stuff wasn’t wide of the mark, I was doing a lot of the right stuff already, well I was according to this bloke.  I looked and commented on his blog a few times, but to be honest it seemed more about lots of people selling blogging and social media to other bloggers who sold information products… I started to see people who I had been on their email lists for years being mentioned, and they were big hypers but I subscribed to the newsletter. It seemed familiar.

The reason I am telling you all of this is because it will be easier to understand why I jumped in feet first…

The email newsletter I mentioned above invited me to join the newly launched Third Tribe and I did. Without hesitation. Why? Because of the first page, go and have a look and see what it says.

I joined and I joined in, and in a week or so I am going to the second London meetup. I have learned a lot, I am not an active member I am on the fringe. I have yet to listen or download any of the content, worksheets or seminars. I have yet to listen in on a Q &A that other community members rave about (because I don’t know what time 10am Central Time is). But I will do.

In joining the Third Tribe I have focused more on what I should be doing to make my content stronger (writers call it content too ). Some of it is in practice, for example my affiliate link at the top of this post and the fact that I am telling you about it, and if you join from it I could make money and if enough people sign up through it it will pay for my membership. Why? because I don’t normally do that sort of thing, it goes against my inner British core. Not the not declaring it bit, I declare everything (including my genius ) but the fact that I added it in the first place, that’s just not the thing I do when I blog.

Some of you may recall I added an affiliate link somewhere once and was terribly thrilled when I earned £20. I put the cheque in a safe place and never saw it again… It’s just not me.

The fact that I can be in the forum and have a good understanding of what is being said there is thanks to my small circle of friends who have educated me over the years. Is my writing better? Possibly after reading through Sonia Simone’s Remarkable Communications blog and signing up for some emails which arrive at a sensible time of day and I actually read them. No affiliate links there, you’re safe this time and you don’t have to join to improve, go and sign up for the emails…

Am I earning from my blogging?  I was earning already. I sell ebooks, write articles and dabble with breaking wordpress blogs and have a flavour of Adsense running through my blogs. What I am is more motivated to continue – I have a niche, I have traffic, I even have regular readers and a following on twitter mostly related to my niche.

I strongly believe in community, and community is there and it is here too. I am more confident to interact in the community which I wasn’t before, which is possibly weird behaviour from someone who joins in… I no longer care there maybe others that do what I do (there isn’t, I checked, but I am no longer bothered). It has a feeling of belonging for me which I should investigate but won’t.

What else?

I can’t think of anything else other than to say if you don’t feel happy with the hype that is often involved in internet marketing and you want to be part of a proactive community this is for you. If you are put off by the price or by the big names, I don’t know what to say…  I had no idea who these people were/are.

I spend less on Pepsi Max, and if my investment pays off (remember investments can go down as well as up…) then I can will be drinking twice as much Pepsi Max . Should I really be thinking of the Third Tribe as a source of Pepsi Max? I bet I am the only one who has…

Sarah

Non Affiliate link for Third Tribe

Only last month I came across Chris Garrett’s ebook on Guest Posting. I enjoyed and recommend his work with Problogger and like their style. So was happy to buy Chris’ ebook to review for this month’s Guest Posting initiative.

What Chris’s ebook does is take you through all you need to know, in an easy to read manner, about guest posting. Why it’s such a good idea, what to look out for, how to go about it. Pretty much all you need if you want to explore this great way to get your name out there. And it is a useful, genuine way to build some good links to your own blog and website.

Chris does not faff about, he gives you what you need to know to get on with it – that’s my kind of ebook! And then he gently follows through with more information – not by sending you emails all the time, but just with something useful a couple of days later. What I consider a very British approach to such things and one that I approve of and enjoy!

If you do buy this book and then want somewhere to guest post, pop me an email to hello@blogmistress.com and we’ll see if we can suggest a good blog for you to guest post upon, if ours is not relevant.

Babs