I’ve begun been participating in the GuestBlogging.com Apprenticeship Program, run by one of Copyblogger’s associate editors, Jon Morrow. In one of the first offerings of the workshop, Jon teamed up with Sonia Simone of Remarkable Communication to create The 7 Most Common Reasons Guest Blogposts Get Rejected at Copyblogger.

In the most recent session, Jon talked about cultivating connections. He’s not talking about connections with other bloggers – yet – but about other niches, categories, and industries.

Jon starts by saying: Your content is only as valuable as the connections it allows you to make.

Guest blogging is so powerful because of the connections it allows you to make. The bloggers who make it big don’t necessarily have the best content, but they do have the best connections.

Jon suggests creating dozens of little channels to get people to your blog – don’t just focus on the big highways. How do you do that, you may ask? Good question.

Ditch your niche.

Seems kind of crazy, doesn’t it? Hold tight, you’ll soon see why.

Jon suggests that you don’t get trapped in your niche. Every niche or topic interconnects with other topics, and by focusing on just one, you’re losing out on a ton of opportunity. That’s what the Internet is, afterall: an interconnected community.

But…my industry is huge

It doesn’t matter how big or small your niche is, if you focus only on your industry, your blog will eventually suffocate from a lack of new connections. Like a goldfish, it can only grow to the size of its tank…err, community.

Now what?

In order to continue to grow, stop thinking of yourself in a tiny niche. Realize your blog is a tiny piece of a huge network. Then we start the fun stuff.

Start by brainstorming. Think about what your potential audience might be searching for. What topics would bring in new – but still applicable - audiences?

For example

Let’s say I own a cupcake shop in a small town. I’ll certainly post things about latest designs and flavors, recipes, and updates on small town goings-on; but I’ll also post things about:

• Running a small business
• DIY baking that looks professional
• Cooking (not just baking) tips, tricks, and secrets
• Healthy baking and cooking
• Alternate and non-traditional cupcake uses (birthdays, weddings, company events, etc.)

Once you start brainstorming how your industry can play into other niches, the sky is the limit!

Nicki Hicks
Ready to ditch your niche?

We recently finished a project for Camp Runoia, an all girls sleepaway camp in Belgrade, Maine. Young ladies from all over the United States – and the world – come to Camp Runoia for a few weeks out of the summer, where they’ll experience everything from swimming to horseback riding.

Like many local businesses, local search is incredibly important for Camp Runoia. Claiming their Google Place page was one of the first steps, where the directors are now able to upload images of the girls at camp, videos, and more to keep interest with current customers and showcase the camp for potential customers:

During the camp season, it’s a little difficult for the busy staff to keep up, but you can keep in touch via Facebook.

If you’re looking for a great camp to send your daughter to in for the summer of 2011, look no further than Camp Runoia. If you’re looking for help with your social media efforts, look no further than flyte.

Nicki Hicks
Maine SEO

The following is a recap of a Remarkable Marketing Blueprint with Sonia Simone and Jon Morrow – both editors at Copyblogger.

1. They Don’t Know Who You Are

Go ahead and submit a guest post via traditional means, but that still means the blogger won’t know who you are. If you’re an unknown, then the big blogs get so many posts from people they know, then why would they post yours?

So how can you fight against it?

• Start commenting on the blog. If the blogger sees that you are participating in the comments, that will work toward the chances of your guest blogposts being published.
• Get on Gravatar.com and get your face connected to your comments. It helps connect your name with your face.
• Don’t use “doppy names”. You’ll stand out…but in the wrong way.
• It’s all about building a relationship with the blogger:
  • Get familiar with the blog
  • Make yourself stand out
  • Keep it short and sweet when you reach out to a blogger
  • Don’t treat the blogger like a god. Here are some tips on how to get a big shot answer your email.

2. You didn’t meet the standards of the blog

Consider the audience.

Submit your best work to the biggest audience.

Put time into your guest post. (Jonathan put together some point that relate to that here.) There’s a direct correlation between time spent on the post and the amount the post is shared.

Feel free to repurpose your content that you submit to guest post, but don’t do it as a blogpost. Try a PDF or a video – repurpose it as something else entirely.

Don’t submit a post you’ve already run on your own blog.

3. You didn’t match the editorial style of blog

For example, Copyblogger’s first paragraph – even the first few paragraphs – is usually only one sentence long. They use a lot of sub-headers and juicy sub-headers throughout the post. Take time to match the writing style of the blog.

Look through the popular posts and mimic the structure of one of those posts. Don’t reinvent the wheel here. Stealing framework is ethical as far as Copyblogger is concerned.

Adapt your own personal style for the blog you’re writing for.

4. Your topic isn’t a fit

If you want to write a post that is PG-13, you wouldn’t want to post it on the PG-rated Copyblogger. If you’re hell-bent on keeping curses in your post, then try to find another blog that would post a PG-13 post.

5. You weren’t memorable

Help readers make a connection with you with a personal story. Mention your kids, or your dog, or how much you hate broccoli – whatever it is! Those personal details will stick with people and bond you with them.

6. You keep making the same mistakes

Take the original post and compare it to the published version. You’ll learn more from those edits than you ever could from a writing book.

Editors feel good when you correct posts you write again for the blog. If you don’t fix mistakes you keep making, editors might see it as being lazy, that you don’t get it, and that it’s going to take a ton of time to edit/keep up with (and the writer becomes a chore).

That said, you’re not expected to be perfect the first time around. They might even make you rewrite the post. That’s not a big deal. You’re never going to be perfect, either.

Guest posts are a collaboration – don’t feel insulted if and when your posts are edited. For one guest post Jon did, he was told up front he’d be creating 3 drafts. Copyblogger posts go through three rounds of edits with multiple editors, including Brian Clark. (Due to this, Copyblogger is willing to take a post with strong ideals and poor writing and do the work to improve it for publishing.) These are all things you need to be aware of for whichever blog you’re looking to do guest posts for.

You can create a relationship with other guest bloggers by reaching out and asking “How was your experience doing the post for Copyblogger?”

7. You think you’re entitled

Sonia talks about an example with a woman who was persistent about a post she submitted which simply wasn’t suitable for the blog’s audience. Sonia nicely told her this, but the woman pushed. Instead of saying “OK, I’ll edit it and make it so it does suit your audience,” the woman presumed her post she be published. So instead of following up and standing out, she’s actually called attention to herself as a trouble maker.

It’s important to remember humility when you post on another person’s blog – you’re a guest blogger, after all. Act like one.

Sonia Simone – Remarkable Marketing Blueprint

Jon Morrow – Associate Editor of Copyblogger

I’ve been reading a ton of great posts today – links that came primarily from my Twitter network. With so many great posts, I thought it better to share them via blog!

6 Creative Ways to Get More Backlinks - SEO Hosting: Exactly as the name suggests, you’ll get 6 creative ideas for getting more backlinks from this post.

Adding Infographic to Your Link Profile - Search Engine Journal: Infographics are quickly becoming a surefire way to get more incoming links to your blog or website.

AdWords Help Center Adds “Small Business Corner” – Search Engine Roundtable: Google AdWords announced a new Small Business Corner forum to answer small business specific questions on paid search.

Facebook Is Making it Possible to Thank The Teachers That Made a Difference in Your Life – John Tesh: A look at a great side effect from Facebook: the ability to reach out to past teachers and thank them for the difference they made.

Four Things Writers and Editors Need to Know About SEO – MarketingProfs: A short, sweet synopsis of a post originally from Conversation Marketing that really breaks down some article-writing tips for non-SEOs.

How to Generate Leads and Business from your Blog – Social Media FTW blog: Get 7 great tips on how to leverage your blog for business from our own Rich Brooks.

Link Building Victories and Failures - Outspoken Media blog: This post is coming straight from the Affiliate Summit conference. The post starts off with a great real world story and a bit of link building myth busting, followed by how you can really use link building to increase your visibility. A lot of what the speaker (Wil Reynolds) talks about makes sense – it’s more about building the relationship first, then asking for a favor (like a link or a RT).

There a ton of amazing little link building tidbits sprinkled throughout this post – including tips for backlink research, how to get anchor text, checking for errors and broken links, and other unique tools for opportunities. A last great takeaway? Create a link building plan, and then follow through with it.

The Seven-Step Process for Writing Enticing Product Descriptions – Marketing Words Copywriting Blog: A great post for getting the most bang for your buck with the small space for copy within product descriptions. Another post that gives tips that make a lot of sense, but not necessarily things you’d think of off the bat.

There you have it, folks. Be sure to read through some – if not all – of these. They’re stupendous.

Nicki Hicks
Sharing is caring

If you have a blog, you know about comment spam. The moment you have an even remotely popular blog, you’ll be doused with every “SEO India” commenter out there. You might be asking yourself how to tell the spam from the non-spam. Here’s how.

Start with a clean slate

If you use WordPress or another content management system, you’ll want to take a look at your comment settings and make sure they are as high as you want them to be. For example, in my own settings, I’m alerted whenever a comment is approved or held for moderation, and comments with a link or more is held for moderation.

Stay on top of your comment spam

A comment link doesn’t give the linkee any added search engine benefit. It does, however, appear on your blog and clog up the legitimate comments. I’m not sure about you, but I’d rather not link to a Viagra scheming spammer.

Comments will typically in three forms: obvious spam, semi-obvious spam, and rock star comments.

1. Obvious spam

If you use WordPress or another CMS, your spam filter is pretty robust. It will pick up painfully obvious spam like this:

Obvious spam is pretty easy to spot:

• The comment itself will typically have nothing to do with your blog, and in many cases include a ton of links to an entirely bogus website.
• You’ll normally find an attempt at a keyword stuffed name (in this example, the commenter’s name and the message don’t even apply to one another).
• The website and/or email address will have signs of spam.

2. Semi-obvious spam

These are tricky, as they are often a compliment to the blog/blogger. The semi-obvious spam will usually sneak right through your spam filter and either be marked as needing approval or – yikes – be approved altogether!

Never fear. Here are some tips to spot the semi-obvious spam:

• Always check the name. Garden Canopies might have given me a self-esteem boost, but I can also count on the fact that they aren’t a real person.
• Do the website/email address look bogus? Often, the website will point to a deep page on a spammy website. No need to visit the site to confirm…unless you want to chance a computer virus.

When the spammer uses their real name, that makes these steps that much harder. However, there’s one question you can ask to solve any question of “to approve a comment or to not approve”: does the comment add value? The amount of value is up to you – but answering this question will quickly help you decide whether or not to approve the comment.

3. Rock star comments

These comments, hands down, add value. The commenter is committed to adding the conversation.

There you have it, folks. Now head over to your blog and start cleaning up that comment spam!

Nicki Hicks
Spot the Spam