I’ve encountered a surge of friends, associates, and acquaintances who are new to blogging. What I’ve found is that in some cases the new bloggers have been blog readers for quite a while and have picked up on a few things about blogging culture, etiquette, technique, and strategy. In other cases, the new bloggers have jumped right in without having spent a lot of time reading blogs (and therefore missing some of the above mentioned things.) I applaud anyone who’s jumping into the blogging waters so this post is for the people who are relatively new to blogging but may have missed a few things along the way…

Here are seven things new bloggers should know:

1. Terminology 101 (part 1): Your blog is a blog so just call it that. It’s not a website or a blog site. It may operate as your web presence (which is what I do and recommend in many cases) but it’s still a blog. It would be incorrect to say, “Check out my blog site.” It would be correct to say, “Check out my blog.” It’s as simple as that.
2. Terminology 101 (part 2): Every entry you add to your blog is a post. Your entries are not blogs. The blog is the entire space but a post is a single entry. Some new bloggers will say, “I just wrote a blog today about…” which isn’t correct. They wrote a post. Not a blog. You can say “post” or “blog post” but not blog. A blog is your web presence (see number 1 above.)
3. Determine your posting frequency: When I was in second grade I signed up for a race with about thirty other second graders. When they shot the gun I took off like a flash. I was a blaze of red-sweat-pant-Member’s-Only- jacket-wearing-glory. The problem was the race was a mile. I was in first place for the first 100 yards. I ended up in dead last. I had no energy for most of the race. I used it all in the first 100 yards. New bloggers can start like that. You have new ideas and are fired up and ready to go…which is great, but if you don’t plan on keeping up that pace for the duration of your blog life, dial it back a little bit to something you can sustain. I recommend you determine your meal to snack ratio. Blogging is not a sprint.
4. Triple the amount of time you spend thinking about your post titles. Most likely you spend only a few seconds on your blog post title but it’s actually one of the most important things you can do. People tend to scan titles and your title may make or break whether someone actually reads the post. This is even more important as people continue to use feed readers in increasing numbers. Your posts are just one trickle in a stream of information and your title is what people will use to determine whether they will read your post or not.
5. Link to people when you mention them. This is one commonly overlooked but easy to fix issue. Good blogging etiquette is to link to a fellow blogger when you mention her/him. If you mention them by name just hyperlink to them. Every blog tool does that. If you see something on someone’s blog and it inspires you to write a post based on what you saw, give that person a “hat tip” if you don’t mention them specifically in the post. If you’ve ever seen something at the end of a blog that looks like this: [HT to Chris] then it’s a reference to a post I saw on Chris’ blog. It’s a hat tip to Chris. Bloggers love links and they love to receive credit when credit it due. They’ll also return the favor in many situations so this can be strategic as well. Link love is a wonderful thing for everyone.
6. Check your moderated comments often. If you moderate your comments try to check them at least daily because commenters want to know that their comments were worth the time they spent to post them. Comments exist to encourage discussion and dialogue but if it takes you forever to approve the comments, you’re not encouraging someone to comment in the future. More than likely they’ll think you rejected the comment and then what was supposed to be a positive experience for the person turns into a negative one because they’ll be sitting there wondering why you didn’t approve their comment. Just approve them often and only reject the stuff that’s spam.
7. The golden rule of blogging is to provide content. Unless your blog is intended to be something personal for yourself, friends, and family this rule applies to you. If you have any hopes of blogging with the intent that people will find it helpful, useful, etc. you need to provide content on a regular basis. Here’s the test: how many of your previous ten posts were about you verses about something that meets the Old McDonald test? Content is about your readers. A personal blog is about you and that’s fine…but if you’re not writing a personal blog, don’t make it about you all the time. The fact of the matter is most people don’t really care about you but they do like it when you give them something entertaining, inspiring, educational, informative, or even outrageous. They may be amused about little things going on in your life from time to time and that’s fine to talk about, but otherwise, give them substance that has value for them.

I had the chance to give three presentations about new media marketing last week so I felt like my brain was constantly on the mantra: content is the new marketing strategy. On Thursday I had just come out of a two hour presentation and went to lunch with a friend at Chappy’s on Church here in Nashville. The food was great and the atmosphere was too. I highly recommend a cup of the seafood gumbo while you’re waiting on your meal if you ever go to Chappy’s.

While sitting there at lunch it struck me that when you create content you’re kind of like a restaurant. Both content creators and restaurants serve something for people that you hope they’re going to like. If we think of creating content more like a restaurant owner thinks about serving really good food (and experiences) to their patrons, we may be helped in making sure we’re providing valuable content and not something that’s half baked or overdone.

If you’re in the restaurant business there are three reactions you hope all your customers are going to have. If you’re in the content business, you want these same three reactions too.

• Savor - When we savor a meal it means we’re enjoying it at that exact moment. We’re taking it in and slowing down to make sure we delight in the full flavorful experience. What if that same feeling could be said about your content? Wouldn’t you love it if people savored the content you provide? If they savor your content you know they found the immediate value of it, and regardless of which of the five content strategies you choose, that is the primary rule of good content.
• Share - Have you ever had a meal at a restaurant that was so good you had to give everyone else a bite so they knew what they were missing? Or maybe you were talking about that restaurant for the entire next week after having eaten there because it was so good. Have you ever found a video so funny that you had to send to a few friends because you knew what they were missing? Same thing isn’t it? When we find something we like we share. Digital content makes sharing a snap and when you create good content one of the best thing you can hope for after the person savors the content him/her self is that they’ll share it. Do you create content that is best positioned to be shared? If you have video on your website that doesn’t provide an embed code, you’re not making it easy for people to share. If you don’t have permanent links for blog posts or articles you’re not making it easy for people to share. If your content doesn’t meet a need that some people (even if only a small group) have, it’s probably not going to be shared…and shared content that’s shared over and over and over again is of course viral marketing.
• Save - Finally, the last reaction you want in the restaurant or content creation business is that the person will save it. If we’re talking about a meal, when they save it for later they’re saying it’s worth taking home to finish later. When they see the immediate value in your content and take the next step to save it, they are indicating that they not only appreciate the immediate value of your content but the potential value it will have for them to reference in the future. One bonus with the save reaction: when your content proves to be worth saving, you have probably earned their attention for another chance for them to savor, share, and save your content in the future.

…I think he would be saying some of the same things he was saying 85 years ago. I had never heard of Claude Hopkins until recently. I think I would have liked him. I also think he would have liked the marketing opportunities we have today with social media tools. Here’s something Claude wrote in his book, Scientific Advertising, back in 1923:

Remember the people you address are selfish, as we all are. They care nothing about your interests or your profit. They seek service for themselves. Ignoring this fact is a common mistake and a costly mistake in advertising. Ads, say in effect, “Buy my brand. Give me the trade you give to others. Let me have the money.” That is not a popular appeal.

The best ads ask no one to buy. That is useless. Often they do not quote a price. They do not say that dealers handle the product. The ads are based entirely on service. They offer wanted information. They site advantages to users. Perhaps they offer a sample, or to buy the first package, or to send something on approval, so the customer may prove the claims without any cost or risks. Some of these ads seem altruistic. But they are based on the knowledge of human nature. The writers know how people are led to buy. Here again is salesmanship. The good salesman does not merely cry a name. He doesn’t say, “Buy my article.” He pictures the customers side of his service until the natural result is to buy.

Claude Hopkins, Scientific Advertising

I think Claude would agree that content is a good promotion strategy. He might even sing a little bit of “Old McDonald” with me.

THEN:

Content was a product.

Content drew people, the people drew advertisers, and the advertisers paid to make more content/product.

Advertisers had to latch onto the content/product because it was the cheapest way to get to the people, and it wasn’t cheap…just cheaper than becoming a content/product itself.

NOW:

Content is still a product.

Content still draws people and still draws advertisers.

Advertisers can now create their own content cheaply. They can broadcast and publish with no need of another content/product as long as they can build their own audience.

CONCLUSION:

• You don’t have to pay $100/month for a small ad in the Yellow Pages.
• You don’t have to pay hundreds of dollars to be in a local coupon booklet.
• You don’t have to pay a thousand dollars for a full page ad in the newspaper.
• You don’t have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for television commercials.

Still not sure? Check out Rhett & Link. They’re a product. Their content is their product. Their product is their content. General Motors saw their content/product and hired them. Who might buy your product if you start getting into the content business and out of advertising?

An infomercial is supposed to be information in the form of a television commercial. These tend to be hard sells where the goal is clearly to get someone to buy right now (or in the next 30 minutes to receive a bonus pack of whatever they’re selling.) The focus is clearly more on the promotion than the information…meaning the information is only important in conveying the sale.

Contrast that with edutainment which is not overtly commercial in nature, rather it’s teaching something in an entertaining way. I always like Bill Nye the Science Guy for this approach (though I actually grew up with Mr. Wizard and Mr. Rogers.)

And we can’t forget infotainment, which we’re quite accustomed to now. This is a most often a tv show where news is given but dressed up to entertain us simultaneously. I think that was what the whole Dateline NBC, To Catch A Predator thing was supposed to be…maybe.

Given all these portmanteaux (yes, I looked that up) I want to add another one to the mix: the contisement. A content advertisement. The contisment is a commercial or advertisement in the form of content that has value and interest to the target audience. I think Super Bowl ads go for this approach. Clearly they’re trying to entertain (that’s the value) but they’re equally advertising whatever the product or service is.

I go into all of this because even though I think the contisement may be a legitimate category of approaching advertising, it’s still a little different from a pure content promotion strategy. A pure content promotion strategy isn’t overtly commercial. It’s primarily focused on delivering valuable content and only very minimally focused on the promotion. The promotion isn’t any single blog post, podcast, or online video. The promotion is what comes in time after you have earned people’s time, trust, and attention. You don’t stop selling with a content approach. You don’t quit promoting either. You just take the time to build a relationship before you make that sell or give that pitch.

All that being said, if I have to choose a secondary approach after a pure content promotion, I’ll take a contisement any day.

I have recommended blogging specifically as a great marketing tool for quite a while now and I’m always excited to hear how it works for people. Back in December I spent some time with Jeff from Mossy Creek Custom, a local gunsmith here in Nashville. He was just launching the business in Nashville and was anxious to get the word out about what he does so I encouraged him to start blogging. We went over all the “content is promotion the new strategy” stuff and even had to back up with the six categories of web 2.0, but by the end of a few sessions together the light had clearly come on and we were just talking specific strategy and execution.

A few days ago he called to tell me that his traffic had tripled because his post on Friday was showing up on the first page of a Google search. It turns out there are a lot of people who are interested in modifying their Glocks. He’s been doing a great job of creating content for people who are interested in custom guns and has discovered that he’s one of only a very few people who are blogging about guns like this. Jeff is already emerging as one of the best and most helpful voices in the area of shooter information. I predict that by the end of the year he’ll be recognized widely by gun enthusiasts for his blog. He’s already made some great connections and his traffic is on a steady growth pattern. The recent post was just a big shot in the arm that’s still going strong now five days later. It’s giving him more exposure to more people with more opportunities for business.

This is a great story of someone blogging strategically with a marketing mindset. Many people would likely think that gunsmiths and blogs don’t mix but Jeff is taking the approach that content is the best (and most affordable) way to connect with people. He’s creating helpful, educational, and informative content to the readers. He’s building a base while finding his blogging voice at the same time. It’s stories like this that should encourage someone on the fence to give blogging a shot try.

After being introduced to SuperVirals.com recently I thought it was worth mentioning in a post because this seems like a great step in the right direction of letting people create content for companies. Yes, they’re promotions, but they’re content…user generated content in fact.

SuperVirals is an Australian based company that is coming soon to the United States. The idea behind SuperVirals is to create a destination where companies can sponsor contests where the people create the commercials. The contest winners are those who generae enough votes during the contest. The prizes range from free products to cash.

I really like this concept because you have people creating content for products rather than the companies creating ads or commercials themselves. In order to win each contestant has to drum up support for their work…which of course is promoting the product in the process. This user generated content is less likely to be considered advertising by the people who watch it because it’s user generated but we all know, of course, that these are advertisements in the end. That being said, a recent SuperVirals contest winner had just over 15,000 views for her video. That’s not bad but I don’t know I’d quite be able to call it viral. The quality of the content isn’t too super either. It’s pretty much what you expect…YouTube with a prize. This is still a good concept and one that, in time, can really take off. The users will make or break it here. The opportunity for the advertisers is low cost with a potentially high reward. I’m going to be very curious to see how it does in the States.

Yesterday I referenced a 2008 iMedia Brand Summit video talking about the blurring lines between ads and content. There were some great stats provided on the video and here were some that really stood out to me.

• 62% of consumers feel “there are too many ads in media.” (source: Yankelovich)
• 65% of consumers feel “constantly bombarded by ads.” (source: Forrester)
• 65% of consumers feel “bombarded by too many ads.” (source: McKinsey & Company)
• 75% of consumers feel “overwhelmed by the amount of media.” (source: NBC)
• 18% of consumers say they dislike all forms of advertising. (source: Doubleclick, January 2007)
• 39% of consumers claim they avoid advertising as much as possible. (source: JWT/Adweek survey, 2007)

Regarding trust in advertisers:

• In 2005, 25% of consumers said they trusted “people in who work in the advertising industry”…which means 75% don’t trust people who work in the ad industry. (source: HarrisInteractive)
• In 2007, 17% of consumers had any confidence in advertisers or the advertising industry…which mean 83% don’t have confidence in ads or advertisers. (source: mediaVillage.com)
• Today, 6% of consumers say they believe marketers’ ad claims…which of course means 94% don’t. (source: Forrester)

Conclusion: Forget the big fish.

This post is a few weeks in coming but I was thinking about it again last night after watching this video (and Carol Kruse from Coca-Cola made the same point on the video) so I thought it was worth posting.

I’ve been talking a lot lately about content being the new (and I contend it’s the best) kind of promotion strategy. For instance, last week I wrote about creating compelling, valuable content using the Old McDonald method to jump start your thinking and previously wrote about the filters we all have to keep out those 3000 to 5000 ads hitting us every day. Interestingly enough, a traditional media event, the Super Bowl, supports all of this thinking.

Think about it. The Super Bowl is the one day of the year when people are as interested (if not more) in the advertising they will see as the event itself. It’s like the entire nation decides to collectively turn off its ad filter and sits back and says, “Advertise to me!” The funny thing about this is that these ads aren’t really ads, they’re content…heavily branded content. The advertisers know the mentality is different on Super Bowl Sunday than any other day of the year so they think about how they’re going to entertain people. This shows that marketers can think as content creators when they choose to but that they simply choose not to do so the rest of the year.

If we follow this rationale further, Super Bowl Sunday shows us that content works when you get through or around people’s ad filters. I believe new media marketing tools like blogs, podcasts, online video, etc. get around people’s ad filters all the time because they are chosen for consumption. In other words, the consumer pulls this media to him or herself whereas regular advertising is pushed on him or her…and how many of us like to have anything pushed on us? Yeah, I don’t either. New media marketers try to put themselves in a position to be pulled as easily as possible and that’s all a content promotion is, something that people want to pull. Given all of this, my conclusion is that for new media marketers, every day is Super Bowl Sunday.

[HT to Eric Holter for saving the video mentioned above via his Del.icio.us account. It's a good (dare I say delicious?) feed to follow. Eric is also a huge New England Patriots fan so any resurfacing of old wounds he may experience as a result of the Super Bowl mentions above are purely coincidental.]

I’ve noticed that people who have opinions about blogs and bloggers see them in one of two ways: either as fish or rats.

Fish are:

• Beautiful
• Admired
• Valuable
• Prized

Rats are:

• Disruptive
• Sneaky
• Hated
• Pests

The reason I bring this up is because some of us who happen to think blogs and bloggers are fish work with, for, or around people who see them as rats. It’s a huge divide when you think about it. If someone thinks they’re rats how can you convince them otherwise? You could talk about blog growth and hope they’re convinced that 100 million bloggers worldwide can’t all be wrong. You could give anecdotes of stories where bloggers have made and changed news stories or rallied around causes to help people. You could tell them that generating content is the new promotional strategy (and I would insert personal stories here) but that may not be enough either.

If I know I’m talking to someone who sees blogs and bloggers as rats rather than fish I generally try to find out how they arrived at their conclusion. Many times this idea developed from an experience (either one they had or something they heard about) where a blog was used in a negative way. Perhaps it was an attack blog or some kind or the perceived lack of control with a blog that made them uncomfortable. Whatever the case I haven’t yet discovered a sure-fire method of changing someone’s mind and I don’t think there is one but the best thing to do is to deal with the issues that led to the conclusion they now hold before dealing with their perspective of blogs and bloggers. Forget that they think blogs are rats. Deal with the reasons they think that. Take the time necessary to reconcile those issues. Only then will you have a chance to turn that rat into a fish.