Dawud Miracle @ dmiracle.com » How to Blog

What Benjamin Franklin Knew About Social Media

Dawud Miracle — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:33:07 +0000

Benjamin Franklin was a blogger – without a doubt.

He may not have had a computer to share his thoughts, nor the internet to spread them. But he did have a printing press where he printed regular installments of Poor Richard’s Almanack.

Ben Franklin was known to have a sharp and witty mind and a love of things social. He loved to share his thoughts on any number of subjects. He loved to stir the pot…and he loved debate.

Think of any bloggers like that?

So Ben Franklin was a blogger before there was blogging. But don’t just take my word for it. All the evidence can be found in his own words:

“Be civil to all; sociable to many; familiar with few; friend to one; enemy to none.”

Isn’t that how blogging works? You want to be an open door to all, have conversations with those who engage you in the comment box, and become familiar with people who are interested in building relationships. Further, you’ll find a small group who will become like friends. And for all, let none become your enemy. Sound advice for any blogger.

And while Ben Franklin was a bit of hot-headed and stubborn in his time, he nonetheless offers great advice on dealing with the negativity we social media-types sometimes face:

“Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain and most fools do.”

“He that blows the coals in quarrels that he has nothing to do with, has no right to complain if the sparks fly in his face.”

“He that would live in peace and at ease, must not speak all he knows nor judge all he sees.”

He was a staunch proponent of finding what was interesting to himself and others and adding what was valuable to your reader’s lives:

“If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write something worth reading or do things worth the writing.”

And he knew so well that people couldn’t be convinced of anything unless they cared.

“If you would persuade, you must appeal to interest rather than intellect.“

What’s more, he knew that people did not want to be lectured too. Rather, they need to be engaged and included in the conversation:

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”

Ben Franklin clearly understood that writing a solid, interesting blog post took research:

“An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”

…and required time and effort:

“He that can have patience can have what he will.”

“Energy and persistence conquer all things.”

…and that that hard work would eventually pay off:

“Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to get leisure.”

He even had advice for probloggers and those who wish to make money from their blogs; offering sound advice for remaining in balance between making money and keeping readers:

“He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money.”

Overall, what Ben Franklin reminds us is that if we have something to share…some perspective that’s uniquely ours to share with the world – do it! And don’t let your fears get in the way:

“Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What’s a sun-dial in the shade?”

But perhaps the best advice of all is the advice that Mr. Franklin offered us for living our lives:

“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of.”

Do any of Ben Franklin’s thoughts touch a chord in you about your blogging? How? And how could his advice change the way you look at social media?

RSS For Everyday People

Dawud Miracle — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 06:46:39 +0000

No hiding – I’m a huge fan of RSS.

The only problem I see with RSS right now is that not enough people know what it is and how to use it. What’s worse is so many don’t know why they should be using it.

So I’m always looking for simple explanations and tutorials that can help spread the message of RSS.

Just yesterday I found this short video on YouTube put up by the guys from Sketch Basement. While it’s no where near as entertaining or interesting as the widely spread Common Craft video that went around last year, it’s still a nice tutorial for anyone who wants to begin using RSS. Take a peak (4 mins long):

I’d love to know what blog posts, videos, manuals, free ebooks, and audio programs you’ve seen that help explain RSS. Send it forward and I’ll take a look.

And I’d love to know how RSS has changed your business…and your experience of the web.

Ooh, wait a minute. I just found this video. More interesting than the one above. And definitely useful for people who don’t know what RSS is. Thanks to MarketingProfs.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_LUVwvUcN28

As you can see, I love RSS. So I’m still wanting to hear how RSS has changed the way you’re using the web, how it’s changed your business and what materials you’ve found.

Great Resources For New Bloggers

Dawud Miracle — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 15:00:34 +0000

I’ll be the first to admit it…I love blogging. It’s done nothing less than enhance the way I do business; opening relationships and opportunities that just weren’t available before I started blogging.

So I’m a huge advocate for people who want to begin blogging. As a matter of fact, while I still design and build websites (and blogs), I’m doing far more coaching and consulting with people who want to use their blog to increase their reach and grow their business.

One thing I’m constantly doing is suggesting blogs that new bloggers can read to learn more about blogging. And it’s been my intention for quite some time to create a list of blogs as a resource for new bloggers. These would be blogs and bloggers who I hold in high regard and who I, myself, continue to learn from.

But it looks like my colleague Drew McClellan beat me to the punch. He’s just released his New Blogger’s Toolbox. The Toolbox is a listing of bloggers who many of us consider great resources for learning the art of blogging. And since his list is pretty much the same as the one I’d put together, I thought I’d simply recreate here for you and all the people I speak with about blogging.

Drew also divided his list into useful categories. So here you go:

Chock Full of Practical Tips

Living Lab on Writing Compelling Blog Posts

How to Build Community

Teach Marketing Tools

Welcome Wagons for Newbies

Contributors to Drew’s Toolbox:

Thanks Drew, for putting this list together and making it available to all of us. You know, if you combine this list with my Ultimate WordPress Resource Guide, you’ve got just about everything you need to be a successful blogger.

And, if you have a blog that you think should be included that isn’t, please let me know in the comment box so I can add them and pass them on to Drew.

Also, in the future I’ll be sending lots of people to this page as a resource. So if you have comments on how any of these bloggers have helped you, please include it below…and know you’re helping someone who is learning how to blog.

(note: image Confused from An’veula on Flickr)

How to Find Great Content for Your Business Website

Dawud Miracle — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 11:21:44 +0000

So what’s the secret to blogging success?

Yesterday Muhammad at Pronet Advertising wrote the 4 steps to success. His 4 steps are clear, good advice and probably similar to what you’ve seen before:

Step 1: Good Content

Step 2: Unique, Hosted Domain

Step 3: Be Social

Step 4: Invest Time, Be Patient

The interesting thing that was said, however, came in the comment box when someone asked Muhammad, “I know that good content is the key but where I find GOOD content? Is there anything that you can recommend?”

Ralph had a good answer that, “Good content is not for sale…. supplementary content is for sale….”

This got me thinking. So, of course, I joined the conversation with:

“Good content – especially compelling, interesting content – comes from inside you. Find what you love, what you’re passionate about, and write on that topic – even if it’s different than what you’re focused on now.”

What do you think? Can we buy good content? Or is it something that’s created by each blogger themselves?

Let’s talk about it in the comment box.

Lorelle VanFossen Has Made Every Blogging Mistake

Dawud Miracle — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 00:08:58 +0000

If you use WordPress you likely know who Lorelle VanFossen is. If you don’t know who she is yet, don’t worry…you will soon.

Lorelle VanFossen, of course, writes Lorelle on WordPress (RSS) – one of the best resources for anything relating to WordPress. Need a plugin? Lorelle’s likely written about it. Need to solve a problem? Lorelle may have covered it. Want the latest news? Lorelle’s the one. She even sums it all up with her WordPress Wednesday column on Blog Hearld (RSS).

Lorelle’s done it all. Including make every blogging mistake possible. At least that’s what she said in her interview with Daniel Scocco from Daily Blog Tips (RSS).

Daniel: What is the biggest blogging mistake you did?

Lorelle: Oh, honey, I’ve done them all. I’ve been doing this so long, I’ve done all the big mistakes. When I read through blog posts listing their blogging mistakes, I think, “Yep, did that one in 2001. Oh, that one, I did it big in 1998. Been there, done that in 2004. Won’t repeat that mistake of 1997.”

Is there just one big mistake? Nope. There are only big lessons that come from every mistake along the blogging path. I tend to focus on the lessons learned and not the screw-ups.

Lessons…that’s the perspective I love about Lorelle. Having spent some time with her at SOBCon07 back in May, it was easy to fall in love with her. She’s real, she’s honest and she doesn’t judge. And just like me, she has her opinions…

Daniel: How long should a blogger wait to monetize the blog?

Lorelle: I do not think bloggers should monetize their blogs. I think that people who want to get into the business of blogging must make a business plan on how they will use blogging for their business or as their business, thus creating a plan for monetizing their blogs.

But general bloggers? Why should your hobby make money? If you want to work your way towards professional blogging, then blog for a year or two to get a feel for blogging and make your business plan. Then move towards being a professional blogger.

I couldn’t agree more. Too many bloggers are watching what the business bloggers are doing and think about the “easy money” they could be making off their blogs. But it’s not easy money. It’s hard work.

But so is blogging in general. Some days it’s easy, some it’s hard. Everyday it’s effort. That’s why many blogs aren’t successful.
And that’s what I love about Lorelle, she tells it like it is. She doesn’t sugar coat it. She’s honest about the ups and downs. That why I recommend that everyone read her new book, Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won’t Tell You About Blogging.

I’ve read it three times cover to cover and it’s full of great advice. It’s literally the first blogging book I’ve read that’s really about blogging. Most blog books spend way too much time covering blog platforms or why to blog. Authors sometimes spend 1/2 to 3/4 of a book getting to the meat.

Blogging Tips is different in that Lorelle assumes you’ll get that type of information elsewhere. Instead, she gets right into meat. I highly recommend her book (and I’m not getting an affiliate kickback to say that).

I also really enjoyed Adii’s interview with Lorelle where they talk a bit more WordPress.

You know, it’s also kind of challenging to find photos of Lorelle. I snagged one with her and David Dalka (he’s on the right, I’m on the left and Lorelle is between us) when we were at SOBCon.

5 Ways Not To Make The Biggest Mistake In Your Blogging Relationships

Dawud Miracle — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 15:06:13 +0000

Are you blogging to build relationships? I sure am. And so are many other bloggers.

Sure, if we’re blogging, we probably like to write. We also probably enjoy playing on the internet to some degree. And for many of us, we’ve got businesses to promote. Yet the reason many of us blog is to create conversations. And those conversations lead to relationships with people from all over the world.

Just imagine how disappointing it’d be to have your posts generate conversations that lead bloggers to contact you only to have you drop the ball by not responding. This is like inviting someone to a lunch where you spend the whole time talking to someone else on your cell phone. Not the way to build a relationship.

Bloggers want to reach out. They want to get a viceral feeling for who you are. Doing so takes a little courage on their part. And not following through sends the message that you just don’t care.

So, here are five quick-and-easy ways to be sure you don’t make the biggest mistake in your blogging relationships:

Reply Immediately by Email
Sending a two sentence email right away that thanks them for contact you is can send more of a positive message than a well crafted longer message two days later. The immediate response makes the other person feel like they’re important to you.
Send an Instant Message
If they publish their IM Screen Name, use it to contact them as soon as you can. Sometimes this can lead to a brief virtual conversation that can be picked up later.
Set an Appointment
Even if you’re busy, take a few moments and respond to their message by inviting a time to talk later. Scheduling an appointment time for a brief (or lenghthy) conversation can be an effective way to meet them without stopping your current work flow.
Call Them Out of the Blue
If you have the time, respond with a phone call instead of an email. This can create quite the impression. I once had a well-known blogger send me an email saying that she was going to phone me at ‘1 pm today.’ She did and we had a great talk.
Be Honest About How Busy You Are
If you’re really busy and can’t get a bit of time away, let them know. People understand. A polite message letting them know that you’d love to meet them soon, but you’re currently under a deadline crunch can easily get the point across without seeming like a blow-off.

If you’re blogging to build relationships be sure to respond to people who contact you. Not doing so will send the wrong message.

Have you made the biggest mistake in your blogging relationships? How have you made up for it? What do you do to not make the biggest mistake?

There are, of course, plenty of other mistakes you can make with your blog. Here’s a few other posts where people have offered up the wisdom of their own experiences…

Find Out If You Should Be Blogging Your Business

Dawud Miracle — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 12:47:23 +0000

Mike Sansone of Converstations has posted a simple seven question test that can help you decide if you’re ready for a business blog.

The test takes about two minutes. You calculate your score at the end. Mike then gives you three categories of blogging readiness based on how you answer the questions.

If you’re uncertain about whether you’re ready to blog about your business or not, this quick test can help.

And if you want to talk about it more, give me a call (734/475-4387) for a free 25-minute phone consultation. We can discuss your circumstance and I can help you decide on the best strategy for moving forward.

More Than 10 Ways You Can Waste Time Blogging

Dawud Miracle — Sat, 19 May 2007 15:54:19 +0000

My friend Easton Ellsworth posted a neat article yesterday…When Is Blogging A Waste of Time? 10 Nasty Examples.

When you publish a blog post that provides little or no value to your target audience.

When your blog has no clear target audience.

When you are only pretending to be “blogging” (you’re reading, you’re looking at email, you’re surfing YouTube, etc.).

When you should be talking to individuals by phone or email or in person instead of producing blog content.

When your blog posts are not indexed in major Web search engines and blog search engines.

When you are mean.

When you plagiarize.

When you merely echo, rather than respond originally.

When you overedit before publishing.

When you blog before you think

Easton gets us off to a good start. I can certainly relate to #1 (I used to do that), #3 (I can get distracted looking for references), #9 (sometimes).

Here’s what a few others are saying…

What are some other ways that I/we waste time blogging? Repeat after me…Blogging is a waste of time…

When I should be updating my client records (project management software, task lists, accounting)
When I should be troubleshooting and debugging code
When I should organizing my files
When I should be cleaning my desktop – real and virtual
When I spend too much time thinking about the post I want to write
When I try to be perfect
When I get too interested in my traffic stats
When I do any kind of meme-linking that doesn’t add content value to my readers
When I don’t answer my comments (luckily, I’m doing okay on this one)
When I speaking to myself and not my readers
When I should be doing my taxes (happened this year)
When I should be with my family (does happen from time to time, though not often)

So there a bunch more to consider. How do you waste time blogging? Is it on these lists? Or do you have your own, special formula for wsating time blogging?

Small Business Productivity: How to Read News Fast

Dawud Miracle — Thu, 17 May 2007 13:44:15 +0000

This morning I Steve Rubel had a video interview that Tim Ferriss did with Robert Scoble. Tim, of course, is the author of the very interesting book, The 4 Hour Workweek. Still haven’t read it. It’s buried under the stack of books I’ve yet to get too.

Anyhow, Tim interviewed Scoble on how he effectively uses his feed reader to read more than 600 feeds…daily. Yes, daily and sometimes twice per day.

What’s interesting is that Scoble mostly reads smaller, niche blogs instead of the higher traffic ones like Digg or Techmeme. Scoble mentions in the interview that he is mostly looking for blog posts stories he can share with his readers. He also makes it clear that it’s about conversation and relationship for him by saying:

“…for me it’s relationship work. I want to keep in touch with what Phil Wembly is doing or thinking or seeing. Therefore when I meet him at a conference next week I’ll have something to talk with him about. …That’s one reason I’m reading so many feeds. …And you can’t get that from reading Techmeme. Techmeme’s another good way to filter a thousand good blogs down to twenty good ones. But you miss the small stuff; people’s birthday and their kids and stuff like that.

Take a look at the video. It’s about 11 minutes and definitely worth the watch. Find out what feed reader people think is best. And read what Scoble feels is an RSS mistake many people make.

How many feeds do you read? How do you manage them? And what reader are you using? And Why?

What’s your SOBCon oneliner?

Dawud Miracle — Fri, 04 May 2007 12:01:24 +0000

SOBCon07 is only one week away. Who’s coming? Are you?

The Idea Dude started a neat little idea (I guess that’s why he’s called The Idea Dude). He asked, What’s you SOBCon oneliner? Liz followed up with hers. Now it’s our turn. Me first…

One person, you
One thought, friends
One action, smile (okay, I have to have two – a hug)
One question… isn’t this great?
One event, SOBCon07

So are you coming? How can you not with this line up of conversation starters?

Can’t wait to meet you. So, to everyone coming…what’s your SOBCon oneliner?

Sandra Renshaw : Brad Shorr : Timothy Johnson : Tammy Lenski : John Yedinak : Joe Hauckes : Tim Draayer : Jeremy Geelan : Carolyn Manning : Sheila Scarborough : Steve Farber : Dawud Miracle : Doug Mitchell : Jeff O’Hara : Dave Schoof : Jamy Shiels : Adam Steen : Hannah Steen : Chris Thilk : Barry Zweibel : Eric Bingen : Ellen Moore : Cord Silverstein : Jean-Patrick Smith : James Walton : Sharan Tash : Vernon Lun : Tony Lee : Paul Mangalik : Scott Desgrosseilliers : Mark Murrell : Muhammed Saleem : Kammie Kobyleski : Easton Ellsworth : Mark Goodyear : Ann Michael : Kent Blumberg : Ashley Cecil : Robert Hruzek : Sabu N G : Mazur Krystyna : Lisa Gates : Franke James : Chris Brown : Troy Worman : Karen Putz : Chelsea Vincent : Jesse Petersen : Terry Mapes : Andy Brudtkuhl : Premchand Kallan : Lucia Mancuso : Peter Flaschner : Derrick Sorles : Michael Snell : Ella Wilson : Mike Rohde : Ayush Agarwal : Thomas Clifford : Rajesh Srivastava : Claire Celsi : Jason Alba : Cristiana Passinato : Sean R. : Alex Shalman : Lorelle VanFossen : Adam Kayce : you

Yeah, I’m In The Technorati Favorites Top 100 – So What?

Dawud Miracle — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 14:19:38 +0000

You’ve probably seen this meme going around called the Ultimate Technorati Favorites Exchange. ~~Dosh Dosh~~ Gary Lee kicked it off as an experiment to “break into the Technorati Top 100 and determine the exposure and traffic benefits of being included in the Top 100 list.”

Now this ISN’T the Technorati Top 100 Blogs – which is a list of the 100 most linked to blogs. This meme was about breaking into the Top 100 Favorited blogs on Technorati. Very different.

Well, with a lot of work and a whole bunch of links from other bloggers (thank you, by the way), I got into the top 100 last Tuesday. “Pretty neat,” I thought, “Now let’s see how it increases my traffic.”

So giving it a week or so, I checked my traffic this morning and found no change in the past week for referrers coming from Technorati. I did have a massive spike that began on Friday and went through the weekend. But that came from StumbleUpon.

My conclusion – all the time I spent exchanging favorite links and commenting on blogs so they would favorite my blog was a complete waste of time. It was certainly a waste of time for me. And I know it was a wasted post for you. So I want to say I’m sorry for wasting your time with that post as well.

I’ve decided that I’m done with memes that are just about trying to generate more traffic. I don’t just want more traffic. What I’d like are more people who want to read and create conversation on my blog. So I’ll leave the traffic-building memes to the roadrunners. I’m tired of jumping off cliffs.

Now, I will continue to participate in memes that I find useful to you – such as Ben Yoskovitz’s Ultimate Guide to Productivity, Wendy Piersall’s What Does It Take to Write a Great Post (which I’ll get to tomorrow, Wendy) or Liz Strauss’ Why On Earth Do I Blog (which I’ll get to soon as well). These memes are about a lot more than just building traffic. And I know they add value to your life and blogging as well.

So what’s your opinion on traffic-generating memes? Have you found any success with them?

Best (Simple) Explanation of RSS I’ve Ever Seen

Dawud Miracle — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 12:03:25 +0000

It’s a little known secret that I’m a want-to-be RSS evangelist. I’m not interested in RSS so much from the tech-geek side of things. No, I’m interested in the everyday person side of things – how to get the word out about the simple power of RSS to people who haven’t found it yet. Perhaps when I get a bit more time, I can begin my second career.

In the meantime, here is the best example of explaining RSS that I’ve seen. Thank you to Common Craft for creating this video. And thanks to Andy Beal, David Peralty, Amit Agarwal, Alex Raiano, and Brand Linder for putting this in front of me enough times that I couldn’t help but watch it and share it.

The video is available at Blip

Are You Going to SOBCon07?

Dawud Miracle — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 14:47:05 +0000

You know, I’ve never really been one for conferences. Outside of MacWorld in San Francisco, they’ve never really lived up to the hype. So while I still go to conference from time to time, it’s often without much excitement.

Yet, as SOBCon07 gets closer, I can’t help but be excited. I going to get to rub elbows with 250 other bloggers – a number of whom I’ve already met in the blogosphere. So it’s going to be great to meet up.

And the presenters…come on. Some really great bloggers, and even better people. Phil Gerbyshak, Liz Strauss, David Armano, Mike Sansone, Drew McLellan, Mike Wagner, Terry Starbucker, Rodney Rumford, Ben Yoskovitz, Chris Cree, Scott Rafer, Diego Orjuela, Vernon Lun and Wendy Piersall are all top-notch. Throw in Andy Sernovitz, who literally wrote the book on Word of Mouth Marketing and you’ve got one great conference.

But there’s more to it. SOBCon07 is going to a different kind of conference. Liz has said again and again that they want the conference to be about the conversation. That’s right, the presenters are going to start the conversation and the attendees will pick it up and carry it along. Sounds like blogging, huh?

And look at some of the bloggers who are attending…

Sandra Renshaw Brad Shorr Timothy Johnson Tammy Lenski John Yedinak Joe Hauckes Tim Draayer Jeremy Geelan Carolyn Manning Sheila Scarborough Steve Farber Dawud Miracle (that’s me) Doug Mitchell Jeff O’Hara Dave Schoof Jamy Shiels Adam Steen Hannah Steen Chris Thilk Barry Zweibel Eric Bingen Ellen Moore Cord Silverstein Jean-Patrick Smith James Walton Sharan Tash Vernon Lun Tony Lee Paul Mangalik Scott Desgrosseilliers Mark Murrell Muhammed Saleem Kammie Kobyleski Easton Ellsworth Mark Goodyear Ann Michael Kent Blumberg Ashley Cecil Robert Hruzek Sabu N G Mazur Krystyna Lisa Gates Franke James Chris Brown Troy Worman Karen Putz Chelsea Vincent Jesse Petersen Terry Mapes Andy Brudtkuhl Premchand Kallan Lucia Mancuso Peter Flaschner Derrick Sorles Michael Snell Ella Wilson Mike Rohde Ayush Agarwal Thomas Clifford

The whole event is going to be a dynamic, open conversation. Not a bunch of lectures. But an open, free-flowing conversation all centered around taking your blog to the next level. How can you miss that?

Well don’t! Register today and join the conversation.

And if you’re coming, leave me a comment. I’d love to have a chance to get to know you before I come.

You Comment, I Follow You. Or At Least Google Will

Dawud Miracle — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 13:23:34 +0000

For a few weeks I’ve been on a campaign to rid the blogosphere of the dreaded nofollow attribute. Of course, I didn’t start this. But I’m convinced that nofollow must go. So much so that I’ve been asking everyone I know to spread the word.

A few days ago, Randa Clay had the great idea of creating a badge. Great idea, I thought. Why didn’t I think of that? Well, the great thing is, she has.

What does nofollow do?
What it was supposed to do is greatly reduce comment spam. We all know that didn’t work. What it does do is tell Google bots, and other search engines bots, not to follow links in your comments. That means, when someone posts a comment, they get no Google Juice. I don’t feel that’s right. It’s sort of like thanking your clients by cutting off their hand (okay, maybe not that extreme).

Why should we remove it?
First, it doesn’t work to reduce comment spam. Or if it does, it’s quite minimal. Second, by removing it, you reward your commenters with link love. And link love is good. I’m all for spreading as much link love as I can.

Why the U Comment, I Follow Badge?
It’s one way to let your readers know that when they leave comments, they’re going to get link love. Sure, you can write a few post about it and even remind readers from time to time. But many will not see it. But the badge, that stays and your readers can see it.

More and more bloggers are removing nofollow every day. So what are you waiting for? Hop on over to Randa’s blog and get yourself a nofollow badge.

And if you still have nofollow on your comments, take it off, learn how. Using WordPress plugins, it’s easy. I’ve even found how to do it in TypePad – it’s just a bit complicated and would one long post. You can also remove it Blogger and Movable Type.

Let me know when you’ve removed nofollow from your comments. If you need help, let me know. And please, keep spreading the word.

Do You Have To Be A Great Writer To Be A Great Blogger?

Dawud Miracle — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 16:52:37 +0000

I’m in a discussion with Lyle Lachmuth about how much writing skill does it take to be a great blogger. His perspective is that

…great writers, powerful Bloggers, are born! Yep! Born to write.

I actually don’t think that’s the case at all. I don’t think great writers necessarily make great bloggers. Nor do I think you need to have great writing skills to be a great blogger.

My opinion is that ~~great bloggers~~ (okay, let’s stop using great right here) good bloggers are people who are good communicators. They’re people who like other people; who want to engage in relationships and enjoy conversation. Good bloggers are stimulated by others as well as stimulate others. And while having really good writing skills may help a good blogger communicate more effectively, it’s not a criteria for successful blogging.

So if not great writing skill, what qualities do we need to be successful bloggers?

I’ll throw in passion. You’ll build more readership when you write from your passion than you will if you craft excellent prose. People are inspired by passion. They’re moved to act and to change.

Passion comes from authenticity, from openness and from caring. So I don’t think you need to be a great write to be a ~~great~~ good blogger.

What do you think it takes to be a ~~great~~ (darn it) good blogger?

The Single, Most Profound Way To Thank Your Commenters

Dawud Miracle — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 12:54:23 +0000

As bloggers, what do we want? Well, we want traffic and readership. We want readers to engage in conversation through commenting. And we want links back to our blogs.

When I began blogging, I knew commenting on other blogs was important. My comments created interest in my blog, which led to increased traffic, which led to more readers.

I also thought it would lead to more links to my blog. Every day I’d visit and leave comments on anywhere from 12-20 blogs. And each day I’d check for link backs in Technorati and Google Blog Search. But I wasn’t getting any. I didn’t know why. I thought I might be doing something wrong.

It was only later that I learned that almost all blogs don’t reward commenters with link backs. That ticked me off a little bit so I looked into why.

It seems that all blogware – WordPress, TypePad, Blogger, Movable Type, etc – inserts a little piece of code in all outgoing links that come from comments. In an attempt to stop comment spam, this little piece of code tells search engines not to follow and record any outgoing links placed in comments. Essentially it neuters your comments. And, what’s worse, it doesn’t stop comment spam.

So I say, let’s ditch it. Let’s get rid of this little piece of code. And let’s start giving link love to everyone who comments on our blog. Isn’t it the least we can do to thank them for being a part of our conversations?

This little piece of code looks like this rel=”nofollow”. If you haven’t done anything to remove it, you can guarantee it’s still there. With a very little effort, you can remove it from your blog. Below I offer you some simple options:

WordPress
Very, very easy to remove. You just need to install a plugin. There are many, but I like Kimmo Suominen’s Dofollow. The steps to install are easy:

Download the plugin
Unzip it
Upload it to your WordPress plugins folder on your server (wp-content/plugins/)
Login to your WordPress admin account, go to ‘Plugins’ and activate it.
That’s it. No more rel=”nofollow”

Blogger
BetaBlogger has the details of how to remove rel=”nofollow” from Googles Blogger.

TypePad
I’ve searched and been asking around – nothing yet. ~~Will update if I find something~~. UPDATE: After a bit of investigation, it appears that removing rel=”nofollow” from TypePad is a bit more involved – requiring some coding. If anyone has a post about the process, I’d love to know about it.
Movable Type
Found one post from someone who tried to disable nofollow and eventually got nowhere.

If you use WordPress, it’s easy. So what are you waiting for? Remove that nofollow. Because don’t you think it’s time you give your commenters a little more link love?

Hey Google, Follow Me: Giving More Link Love

Dawud Miracle — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 14:43:21 +0000

Finally, I’ve removed ‘nofollow‘ from comments.

As a blogger, or website owner in general, you want links coming back to your site/blog. Links to your site is one of the major ways to increase your Google ranking. That’s why in the blogosphere, link love is high currency.

If you knew that, then you likely think that each comment you leave on a blog would give you more links to your site or blog. Most often, though, this is not the case. Most blogware has a little piece of code it attaches to outgoing links from comments called a ‘nofollow.’ What does nofollow do, well, it tells Google bots not to follow links off your blog. Hence, no link love and no Google Juice.

So really, nofollow sucks. So bloggers like Ben Yoskovitz, Wendy Piersall, Chris Cree, Andy Beard and Chris Garrett have all seen the light. As has Robert Scoble. Well, I have too. So no more nofollow on dmiracle.com.

This means now that every time you leave a comment on my blog, you’ll get a little more link love to yours. You’ve helped make my blog successful, so it’s the least I can do for you.
Want to join the party? Here are some resources for removing the nofollow attribute from your blog comments.

Andy Beard has a the definitive resource for nofollow plugins for WordPress.
Semiologic’s Dofollow is probably the most used plugin for WordPress. Easy install, by the way.
You can also read Dougal Campbell’s piece on the nofollow.
MovableType users can check out this post.

I’m looking for resources to remove nofollow from TypePad and Blogger, if it’s possible. Know of any?

So, how do you feel knowing that all your comments (beginning yesterday) will now be full-on link love?�

Would You Know Your Blogging Voice If You Heard It?

Dawud Miracle — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 11:53:33 +0000

Of course you would, right? Afterall, it is your voice and you should know your voice.

Read your last 5 blogging posts, do you really hear your own voice? The voice that you speak with in everyday life – to your friends and family? Or do you hear a different voice?

On one of her podcasts, Heidi Miller, talks about how we feel the need to be ’stiff’ or what I call, proper, when we start sharing a message that will ‘go out to the masses.’ One interesting point she makes is that we’re so often concerned about our presentation being perfect, that we forget about it reaching the audience we’re speaking too.

I’ve struggled with this too. But what I’ve come to realize is that people don’t need me to be perfect. They don’t need, nor do they expect me, to always be right on, to say the perfect thing. Look at me, I’m using perfect in three consecutive sentences – that’s not perfect (ooooh!).

On our blogs, our audience wants to engage us. They want to get to know us. Not as website owners – but as people. And the easiest way to do allow that is by having a conversation. A relaxed, open, honest conversation about what you know and don’t know, have learned and have yet to learn.

It’s not going to hurt your business to be open and honest – to be a real person. It’s actually going to help it. People want to do business with people, not businesses. They want to know you’re real. And they want to know you can help them. No better way then to use the sound of your blogging voice to create a relationship with them.

Read Dave Taylor’s advice on finding your voice.

So, do you recognize your own voice in your blog? If so, how did you find it?

Blogging? Tell ‘Em About the 4 C’s.

Dawud Miracle — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 16:20:34 +0000

I coach, consult and educate small business owners on how to use their websites to grow their businesses. Some of my clients are not bloggers. Some are. Many become bloggers during the process.

So I’m always looking for easy-to-understand ways to explain to my clients about why they want to be blogging. Moreover, I always want to engage my clients in conversation that will make them think about whether they’re using the web most effectively or not.

Reading some of David Armano’s ‘Greatest Hits’ on Logic+Emotion this morning I ran across a post called, The 4C’s of Blogging. In less than 90 words, David does a great job stirring thought around why, if I’m a small business owner, I would want to consider blogging.

Here are his 4C’s:

Community:
Are you PARTICIPATING in social media networks or passively READING content?

Content:
Are you writing and including content that YOU are interested in? That other PEOPLE are interested in?

Clarity:
Do you have a clear VISION for your blog? What makes it DIFFERENT and special?

Consistency:
Is your “blog personality” CONSISTENT with who YOU are? Are you offering a consistent EXPERIENCE to your community?

Personally, all four I recoginize as goals for both my blog and my business. And, I see them as all being integrated – as though one could not stand alone without the others.

For instance, I’m blogging, in part, to create relationships with other like minded people I may not meet otherwise. So, in essence, I’m interested in building a community. I’m doing so by providing excellent content (I hope) for you, my readers (community), on a regular basis with a consistent, passionate voice. And I can’t write good content for my community consistently without clarity. Trust me, I’ve tried.

David’s post, for me, is brilliant. I can’t wait to meet David and hear him speak on what he calls, “Conversation Architecture” at SOBCon07 in Chicago, May 11-12.

Also, last week Liz Strauss hosted a Pre-Conference Mini-Session with David (and other SOBCon07 Speakers). Check out the great conversation that came out of that Mini-Session.

How do you see the 4 C’s working in your blog?

Do You Brand Yourself in Your Blog Comments?

Dawud Miracle — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 13:27:14 +0000

Last week I had the priviledge of speaking with blog consultant Mike Sansone of Converstations.com and BlogTalkRadio. Mike is one of the organizers of, and a speaker at, SOBCon07 this May in Chicago.

Mike and I talked for quite some time, covering many topics. There certainly were highlights I took away from our conversation.

But one comment Mike made to me stood out. At one point, when we were talking about how we found each other’s blogs, Mike said, “I saw your name come up constantly in blogs I read and comment on. I had to find out who this ‘Dawud Miracle’ was.” (note, not a direct quote)

This moment in our talk really stood out for me. Why? Because that’s exactly how I sign all my comments – Dawud Miracle.

When I first began commenting on blogs I would just leave my name however I thought about typing it at that moment. So there’s comments floating around from Dawud, DawudM, DMiracle as well as Dawud Miracle. If you find any, they’re all me.

But after a few days of commenting I changed my strategy. I quickly realized that to get the most out of my commenting efforts, I needed to sign my comments in a consistent manner. I choose Dawud Miracle over other variations, and over Healthy WebDesign, for a number of reasons.

First I wanted to be identified as a person so I used my name instead of my business name. Second, I wanted to distinguish myself from other commenters so I decided to use my first AND last name. Even with a name like Dawud, I didn’t feel my first name a long gave me enough ‘oomph.’ Doesn’t hurt, too, that my last name is quite unique and often memorable. Third, I wanted to ‘brand myself’ as Dawud Miracle so that as I was more visible around the blogosphere, the recognition of my name would carry more and more weight. And fourth, I knew my commenting efforts would help open the door to relationships with other bloggers. So I wanted to be known for who I am and who I am is Dawud Miracle.

Whenever I leave comments, I pay attention to other commenters as well. I look for names I either know or have seen before. On my blog it’s the same – I look for familiar names. I immediately can recognize Ben Yoskovitz, Dave Starr, Drew McLellan, Doug Karr and Liz Strauss. But I have a harder time knowing who Tony, Sara, Maddy, Karin H., Chris M or Dave are.

Since they comment on my blog frequently, I know who Karin H. and Chris M are. And Dave is friend and mastermind partner. But is ‘Dave’ getting the best return on his commenting efforts? I think not. But if he he began signing his comments as Dave Schoof :: The Disquiet in Men – that would distinguish him. It would create some recognition and help him brand his himself and his blog more effectively.

So how do you brand yourself in the blog comments you leave?