Blogging

Five Stories for the First Week of September 2008

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In the new month, we’ve been quite busy on new posts, so Dollar Traveler has been much more active than Blogging Travails. I’ll try to pick some of the best posts: in all, there were over 15 posts this week.

In blogging, the big news was the launch of Chrome from Google as a fairly polished and minimalist browser set to challenge both FF and IE.

In finance, we are pondering the next president’s economic policies and inviting debate on who will be better for the US and world economy. InvestorBlogger also reached its second birthday and we celebrated ‘a little’. Of course, with us nearly reaching a milestone in several ways, we posted the next story on the Dow Jones Series: Johnson and Johnson. The Dow has been on a wild ride this week: who knows how it will finish the week! We also looked at a simple tool for converting currencies.

InvestorBlogger finally created a static  home page for the main blog, linking to the feature articles. I’ve sitll go to work on the actual pages at the footer, but the new site is finally becoming a coherent whole with identifiable streams of content. It’s quite exciting!

Apart from a few other newsbytes, photos, videos, and twitter updates, that was the week on InvestorBlogger Dot Com. You can of course subscribe to our feeds, or via email.

Enjoy your weekend.

Fine Blogging: it’s time for a little ‘sizzle’

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One of the most common questions that new bloggers ask when they start blogging is: what am I going to write? Such an easy question doesn’t necessarily imply an easy answer as most bloggers are still trying to find their feet when they start. There are a lot of tasks that need mastering.

For those who are starting out: there are a number of post that you could make. If you’re looking for a little sizzle, then try these:

1. Picture of the Week

Many bloggers are also amateur or professional photographs. Adding a regular or irregular photographs as your post with a very brief description can liven up your blog from the all text look, and fill a regular post slot. (click to see an example)

2. Video Post

A short post can include a video that you have uploaded to YouTube or even a video that someone else uploaded. Embedding the code is a very simple task these days. Simply copy and paste into your post.  (click to see an example)

3. Quotation

Short quotations on your blog’s theme or topics or that you find in your other reading are worth doing. They’re quick to copy down, don’t forget to add biographical details and also the source.  (click to see an example)

4. Link Posts

There are many kinds of link posts but one that I like is the post that links to recent readings and articles and websites that I’ve found across the Internet. Recently, StumbleUpon has been taking up this slack for many, but adding them to your blog is much better for your readers.  (click to see an example)

5. Buzz Posts

These are short posts that feature one particular blog or website. You can write them to highlight something you like. Keep them short (50 words or so), include an image, and there you go. (click to see an example)

6. Recent Posts

This is similar to #4 but instead you are featuring some of your own posts in the recent month or week. It’s well worth doing especially for blogs with a lot more posts and can draw attention to some that might otherwise be missed by readers.  (click to see an example)

7. Word Power

Post a word or phrase that you have learned. English has over 1,000,000 words (estimated!) but choosing a few careful terms or phrases that are not well-known can provide an inspirational post.

8. Sharing an Email

This can be an easy way to find a post. My email archives (and yours) are doubtless full of emails that are worth sharing. Raid those archives and see what you can find that would be worth posting! Of course, if you are sharing an email from someone else, make sure you have their permission! (click to see an example)

9. News Posting

This can be defined as widely or as narrowly as you like: include items in a short ‘what’s happening post’. These items might include competitions, invitations, news items, and anything else you might like! (click to see an example)

10. Review Something

You can always write a review of something related to your blog’s sphere of interest. Good suggestions include a book, a movie, a website, a product or service, etc. It needn’t be in depth but it should be appropriate and something you’re familiar with. (click to see an example)

These are just some of the ideas that I have tried on my blogs over the past two years. Of course, these types of posts are just the ‘sizzle’. If your blog doesn’t have any steak, then they won’t really help. Good luck blogging, and let me know what kind of sizzle or steak you are cooking up on your blog!

Build Back Links and Traffic with help from Google Reader

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I was browsing through Google Reader when I noticed that Google had introduced a new feature that could really speed up commenting. Take a look:

reader bookmark

For this little experiment, you will need a GMail account and Google Reader, and a little app that sits in your tray called BlogComment from Legal Andrew. You’ll also need some saved feeds in your Google Reader account. If you don’t have any, borrow mine ( post / RSS feeds )!

Step 1: Log into your Gmail account, go to Google Reader then in Options/Goodies, you’ll see the menu. Simply choose the right tag, and drag the link to your ToolBar.

Step 2: Download and install BlogComment from LegalAndrew. When you run it the first time, you’ll need to enter basic comments: name, email and URL.

Step 3: Launch BlogComment and it will sit in your tray.

Now you’re ready to read and comment.

Step 4: Click on the ‘Next’ link in your linkbar, read the post that loads in your browser, and go to the comment area.

Step 5: Simply type ‘bcomment’ in the first field for your details. Then these fields will be filled in a jiffy, leaving you free to write your comments. When done, fill out any captcha and hit submit.

Rinse and repeat steps 4-5. It works a charm.