Blog better every day: My daily blog tips from July 2011

Throughout 2011, I share a daily blog tip via my Twitter account, @WadeOnTweets, at 7 a.m. CDT.

You can …

• Ask follow-up questions in the comments.
• Tweet out your favorites.
• Follow #DailyBlogTip on Twitter.
• And follow me on Twitter at @WadeOnTweets.

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The tips for July …

1. Headlines, tags, categories, photo names, repeated terms, keywords: Every bit helps SEO.
2. Your blog community’s leaders: the most frequent commenter, the sage or the one keeping others engaged.
3. Keep idea lists not just for topics, but for types of posts, design, promotions and more.
4. A blog can be ultimate freedom. Use it responsibly, but use it!
5. Sometimes, the best way to write a post is on a new document or a sheet of paper. Minimize distractions.
6. Why attend conferences? Learn, network, share, teach, stretch, brag, shop, ask, laugh, dream.
7. Without goals, you have no action steps. Without action steps, you remain trapped in place. Goals first.
8. What’s the one takeaway you want the reader to get from your post? Start there, and build around it.
9. It’s a tricky balance, but live the life you want to blog about.
10. Set up a short intro or outro clip to add to your videos, to make branding quick and easy.
11. Does your blog post start with a bang, end with a whimper? A strong closer makes a big difference.
12. A well-defined goal keeps you on track, even shapes topics, sidebar content and strategy.
13. Marketing department doesn’t have to do it alone; find passionate colleagues and train them up to blog.
14. Before publishing, run spellcheck, test your links, add your tags, preview your post, tighten word count.
15. For a series, link the parts together so readers can jump to the parts they want easily and quickly.
16. U.S. copyright is automatically in place once published, even without stated copyright notice.
17. Can a mobile version of your site provide functionality of app at lower cost? Consider audience, goals.
18. A private blog can serve as company intranet, newsletter, forum, training center, support system and more.
19. A marketing plan can help your blog by focusing on audience, determining action steps and tactics.
20. Trying to get unstuck? Write the first line. Then keep going. Edit later, but keep the words flowing.
21. As long as you’re willing to do the absolute bare minimum, you will not get very far.
22. My weapon of choice in marketing my blog? Email. Everyone has an address; metrics easy to use.
23. Content is a great SEO strategy. Let ‘er rip on the posts and stick to a schedule for fastest results.
24. What to look for in a platform: flexibility, cost, design, support, expandability, number of users.
25. Follow the rule of the Internet for each post: Be interesting, be informative or be entertaining.
26. Higher purpose of your blog could be serving others, through fund-raising, volunteering, informing.
27. One great way to make your posts better before publishing? Cut excess words. As many as you can.
28. Experimenting with topics and approaches can be a way to expand your audience or escape a rut.
29. Speed up your blogging by learning and practicing the keyboard shortcuts for your platform.
30. The ebook in your future might come from the posts on your present site.
31. If you solve a problem for readers in your posts, you might just win them for life.

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