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10 Essential Blogging Tools
by John Jantsch
So, you finally
decided to take the blog leap. You've heard all about the marketing
and search benefits so you stepped up to the plate and signed up for
a
TypePad,
MovableType or
WordPress blog software package and now you're a blogger.
Okay, now what? Add the ten essential blogging tools listed below
and you will also be well on your way to creating and promoting a
blog that is a powerful marketing tool. I'll explain the use of the
tool and give some suggestions, including the tools I use on my own
blogs including the
Duct Tape Marketing blog.
Feed reader
The best way to learn about blogs and blogging is to read, or at
least scan, lots of blogs. One of the wonders of blogs is that you
can have every new post from every blog you want to read delivered
to your desktop or to online location via RSS, so you can easily
read and scan the posts of many blogs in a very short time.
Newsgator is a good online choice for feed reading and also has
a version that integrates with Outlook. I use a free online service
know as
Bloglines.
Subscriber center
You need to make it easy for your blog visitors to subscribe to your
blog's RSS feed - so they can read your blog in their favorite feed
reader. The best way to do this is to go to
FeedBurner and burn your own RSS feed their and use the tools
they provide to set up automatic subscriber links so people who want
to use Bloglines, Google Reader, MyYahoo or Pluck, for instance, can
click on one button to subscribe. Tech types can figure this out
without the buttons but why not make it easy for anyone to figure
out.
Side note - subscribe to each of these yourself and you will force
some blog spiders to visit your site.
Email subscription option
A lot of people will never get the whole feed thing, but everyone
gets email. Create an option for people to subscribe by giving you
their email address - they will simply receive your blog posts like
an email message.
FeedBurner offers this service for free.
FeedBlitz is another option or, if you already have an
autoresponder email list service they may offer this service.
AWeber offers this and helps me integrate these blog email
subscribers into my other mailing lists.
Blog and RSS directories
There are hundreds of blog and RSS directories and getting listed in
many can be a good thing. I use a piece of software called
RSS Submit, but you can also visit
Robin Goode's frequently updated list and submit your blog and
feed by hand.
Hint: subscribe to the RSS feed he offers and you will be notified
when new directories are added.
Ping service
Pinging is a term used for letting the various blog and RSS
directories know when you have posted new content. Again,
FeedBurner offers this as an automatic option called PingShot
and you should activate it.
PingGoat and
Ping O Matic are other options but they require that you visit
and update your record each time you post new content.
Bookmark manager
As you surf around the web or hop from blog to blog you may find
sites that you want to point out to your readers. Online bookmark
managers allow you to bookmark and categorize web and blog pages as
you collect them and are a great tool for managing all of the stuff
you find on the web. I use
del.icio.us but
BlinkList does a fine job as well.
Blog stats
I like to track a few key stats in real time because it shows what
other blogs might be linking to you or posting about your blog. A
lot of people just like to track this kind of thing for fun and
frequently visit sites like
Technorati. I like to track it for networking opportunities. I
use a tool called
MyBlogLog because it allows me to see where traffic is coming
from but also tracks what links on my blog visitors are clicking on.
It's amazing how this data can help you write more effectively.
(MyBlogLog also ranks your links so visitors can see which links on
your site are the most popular.)
Desktop posting
With most blog software you must go online and post using a set of
tools provided by the blog software. Many bloggers like to use a
desktop application to create and submit their posts as it gives
them some extra tools and allows them to more easily integrate
content and files on their computer.
I use
w.blogger but also like
Performancing,
Qumana and
ecto (apple folks) (w.blogger also doubles as a really simple
HTML editor.)
Tell a friend script
My blog software (pMachine) has a feature that allows a reader to
click a link and send the post to a friend. This tactic brings me
lots of readers. You might try looking here for some simple scripts
that do that same
http://www.javascriptkit.com/script/script2/tellafriend.shtml
http://www.stadtaus.com/en/php_scripts/tell_a_friend_script/
Republish your feed headlines
The ability to republish your blog posts on other web pages, sites
you own or sites of strategic partners is a great way to expose
folks to you blog content. One more time we turn to
FeedBurner for a painless way to republish your blog
post to any web page you choose with something they call BuzzBoost
~ ~ ~
John Jantsch is a veteran marketing coach, award winning blogger and
author of Duct Tape Marketing:
The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide
published by Thomas Nelson - due out in the fall of 2006
He is the creator of the Duct Tape Marketing small business
marketing system. You can find more information by visiting
http://www.ducttapemarketing.com.
