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

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

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 December …

1. Your most popular posts will often show you clear relationship between straightforward headlines and SEO.
2. Draw out the 80 percent of your community that holds back. Ask questions and create safe environment.
3. More content means more to market. If you’re skimping on content, marketing will be limited from the start.
4. Goals for your blog: traffic, readers, leads, strong SEO, sales, ideas, branding, promotion, interaction.
5. Idea for mobile: database of local retail and dining formatted for on the go. Ex.: m.spokesman.com/deals.
6. Learning the “Rule of Thirds” helped me make better choices in editing photos for publication.
7. Load time should be an important factor in determining whether to use a plugin.
8. The FTC Act requires bloggers to disclose any compensation for any product or service reviews.
9. Reward your best commenters with a special thank you email.
10. You can tell which blog communities are having fun and which ones hate each other in a glance.
11. What are the most important pages, posts and products in your blog? Market those first.
12. The best strategy starts with asking the right questions: goals, resources, challenges, timeline.
13. Test mobile themes for functionality: sharing posts, leaving comments, searching the site, playing videos.
14. Hosting photos offsite (e.g. Flickr) may speed up load time but increases risk of display error.
15. Keep pages and posts distinct. Pages are static, timeless. Posts are date-stamped updates.
16. Be aware that some plugins and themes include coding that tracks admin and user behavior.
17. Start SEO with good site and architecture. Build on it with content, headlines, tags. Measure over time.
18. Even established communities have “churn.” Important to replenish with new readers as others fall away.
19. Marketing can be complicated with infinite choices for tactics. Pick two or three, run them and measure.
20. Being stuck for topics repeatedly might indicate narrow focus, or even burnout. Get more input quick.
21. Checkup: Make sure your goal still rings true. Perpetual motion won’t help in the long run.
22. Checkup: Separate your wish list items from reader and business needs. Address the needs first.
23. Checkup: Understanding your audience, current and potential, is crucial to content and marketing strategy.
24. Checkup: Greatness comes from having a unique and passionate voice. All else merely blends in.
25. Keep the spirit of blogging in your heart all year long. It’s always better to blog than to receive.
26. Checkup: Learn your metrics, how to measure and increase each one, and calculate return on investment.
27. Checkup: Be wary of fear, boredom and poor time management. They are the ultimate blog killers.
28. Checkup: Does your blog “pop” visually? Take the time to make sure each post has an eye-catching image.
29. Checkup: Mobile isn’t the future. It’s now. Beat your competitors by making your site mobile friendly.
30. Checkup: The little things can help you stand out: editing, spellcheck, embedded video, reader focus.
31. Checkup: Blogs come and go, but if you keep people at the heart of each one, you’ll succeed every time.

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