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Using Google+ to promote your blog

Many people shy away from change and things that are new. Google + is that new platform (compared to other social media) that can be intimidating for a lot people. Most people are still loyal to Facebook and Twitter when it comes to promoting their blog. But, people with foresight see Google + as being just as popular and someday taking over as the new Facebook–very soon. Google + reportedly reached 25 million users back in 2011, in a shorter time span than Facebook.

It remains to be seen what impact Google + will have as it relates to promoting your blog. Still, bloggers will find that Google + is a useful tool that can help in the efforts to get your blog name out there. Like Twitter and Facebook, it is a tool that can be used to keep you in front of your audience and here are several ways to use it to your benefit.

Set Up Your Profile

As with any social media profile, your Google + profile should be professional. Take the time to do this right the first time. It is a direct reflection on you. Select an image that best represents you or your blog as this shows up in your circles as well as in search engine results if you have this linked.

Spend extra time writing an introduction for your profile page. People may make a decision to add you or not to their circles based on what you say in your introduction.

Google + allows links so it would be smart to include a link to your blog, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn sites.

Search Engine Rankings

You’ve just learned that Google+ allows links. This is true for text links also. That means that you should think carefully about the text or keywords that best describes your blog and link to that text in your introduction. For example, if your blog is about losing weight, you would make “losing weight” a text link back to a page on your blog or website. Google uses these keyword links to index your page in the search engines.

Circles

Google + circles are organized groups. It allows you to organize people into groups so that you can target those groups with specific conversation. Unlike Facebook, it isn’t a requirement to have two separate accounts, one for business and one for personal use. You would just make a circle that pertains to business and one that pertains to personal/family.

Cross Promotion

Cross promotion is letting your followers know about a new product or post on each social platform. Google plus is another great way to do that. In fact, several blogging gurus use cross promotion because they understand that you cannot assume one notification on one social platform will be enough.

Content Curation

It is not always about your content that will engage a reader. Use your platform to post other content from other bloggers that you feel will be beneficial to your audience or that you find interesting. Doing so will make your readers feel that you have their best interest in mind and let them see some of your other interests. Curation is an added bonus experience and another way to give to your readers to encourage them to come back for more.

Behind the Scene Sneak Peak

People enjoying seeing what goes on behind closed doors. Your readers want to see what you do in your spare time or how you prepare for your next post. Google + is a great platform for giving your audience a sneak peek into your world.

Be sure to post links to all of your social media sites to make it easier for your blog readers to follow you.

 

Using Twitter to Promote Your Blog

It is all about promoting your blog and finding effective and efficient ways to do so. If used the right way, Twitter can help increase traffic to your blog. Twitter is just one place on the internet where there is an ocean of people connected 24/7. If you are not on Twitter, you are missing an incredible opportunity to increase readership and reader engagement. Twitter marketing strategies used by the gurus are now available to you.

Post Announcements

Tweet to your audience when you have a new post on your blog. Be mindful that you do not spam anyone or annoy anyone with a thousand tweets about the same post. A good guru tactic is to rewrite the title to your new post three times and tweet one version a few minutes after your newest post goes live, another version about 12 hours later and the last version the following morning. In general, a good time to tweet is in the afternoons and evenings. Include the title and the link to your blog.

Tweet Content

You can bag more reader with more bait. Consider extracting an interesting piece from your post and tweet it rather than just the title.

Get into the Twitter Convo

If you notice that another blogger has written on a similar topic and received many comments, do not be a hater. Instead, jump into the conversation and say something like, “I completely agree or disagree. I recently addressed this or a similar topic and would love to know your thoughts.” This type of conversation directed to the blogger will strike up a dialog that can help both parties. His or her audience may decide to follow the conversation and your blog because you seized an opportunity.

Give Life to Older Posts

Make it a practice to have a monthly recap of posts from the last 30-60 days. Chances are not everyone on your twitter list will have seen them. This gives those who have not an opportunity to read the posts they may have missed.

Give instead of Take

Promoting yourself and your blog should be done sparingly. Instead, focus on giving valuable information to your followers or thanking them for doing something specific and you still reap the benefits of self promotion without appearing shallow.

A good mix would be as follows:

  • Update your status with an inspirational quote that is relevant.
  • Update your status with a reply to someone else
  • Update status with a promotional link to your blog or newest blog post
  • Update status with another blogger’s article that is relevant and is helpful
  • Update status asking a question
  • Update status with a link to your site where that question is answered

Answer Question

Continuing with the concept of giving, answer questions from people in your niche. This is similar to the concept of visiting the forums and supplying quality answers. In return, people are more likely to follow you.

Show Your Appreciation

Search for followers who have shared one of your links. For the followers who have included your @username, this is a very special gesture, and should be called out. Make it a practice to retweet their message with a thank you message from you. This is an indirect way to get your link retweeted without appearing spammy. It also, shows your followers that you are appreciative.

Be sure to place a Twitter button on your blog. This makes sharing so much easier for your readers.

How to create a health disclaimer for your blog

In this information age, blogs are being used as a source of information (reliable or not) and for that reason a disclaimer is needed. The disclaimer is essentially a note to cover your you know what. It informs your readers that you are not advocating that he or she use your information in place of medical advice. It essentially says, “Hey, you there, don’t go thinking that this information is the end all. It is just here for informational purposes and you really should look to medical sources for your advice and not me.”

You can consult an attorney to have a disclaimer written but in most cases you can write your own. Health disclaimers need not be long and drawn out. However, it should cover the basis and make clear to your readers your intent.

What Should Your Health Disclaimer Include

  • It should express to your audience that the content is your opinion or based on your own experiences if that applies and that it doesn’t in any way replace medical advice.
  • If you aren’t a medical practitioner it should be clearly stated in your disclaimer. You should make clear that you are not giving medical or professional advice of any kind and that the information provided is for informational purposes and may not be up to date and any use of the information is at the reader’s risk.
  • If you are a medical practitioner, you should still advise readers to seek advice from his or her primary physician to make medical decisions based on his or her unique medical condition.
  • There should also be a line or two stating that comments made on the site is not a reflection of the blog owner’s opinion.

Example of Health Disclaimers

Health Disclaimer

The information offered in [insert blog name] and related emails are not intended to replace sound advice from your doctor nor should it be anticipated as treatment of any specific medical condition. Information is intended to be general, not detailed, and not complete. It is for informational purposes only. The information provided may be useful to some and not to others as it depends on the person’s unique circumstances.

As the owner of [insert blog name] I will not be held responsible for any loss or damage resulting from the use of this blog, any content posted on the blog by or transmitted to, or any interactions between, any users of the blog.

Readers are advised to consult with a healthcare professional before making any diet and exercise changes.

Some bloggers don’t include a disclaimer and really should because you never know what a person is thinking, especially if your blog is health related. It is good practice to have a disclaimer page and to link to that page from every page on your site.

Comply or be fined: Following the FTC’s rules for Bloggers and how to disclose

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is responsible for protecting the public against false claims. On the internet, a person may be more vulnerable to such calms and as a result, the FTC has put into place certain rules based on how a blogger must disclose what is advertised, and what products have been received free or purchased for review. Bloggers must comply with these rules or hefty fines could follow.

Following these rules will help your credibility as a blogger. Your readers will see that you aren’t trying to deceive them for profit. What follows, are suggestions to help comply with the FTC expectations in terms of how to disclose properly your intent to your readers. The full document can be read here.

  • Obvious disclosures must be placed on your site. When you are making a claim about a product and that product will make you money if someone should purchase it, there needs to be a disclosure stating that you are an affiliate. In addition, you must disclose that you’ve received the product free to give a review. It is also wise to inform your readers that just because you’ve received the item at no cost that doesn’t mean that your review won’t be honest.
  • The advertisement must be truthful and honest.
  • Take into consideration what device may be used to view your posts and where disclosures should be placed. Make disclosures as conspicuous as possible. This can be challenging when it comes to the size of the display screen for the digital device. That is why it is imperative that bloggers put disclosures at the beginning, near trigger texts and at the end of the content. For example if you were advertising an imitation pearl necklace, the trigger texts for a pearl necklace would be “pearl.”

But if the pearl necklace were imitation, the word “imitation” would disclose that the pearl necklace isn’t real and would comply with FTC guidelines. Therefore, the hyperlink would read “imitation pearl” necklace. (Without the quotation marks)

  • It’s advised that if a hyperlink is used to point readers to a full disclosure that the hyperlink be clearly marked with disclosure text. A hyperlink works best for disclosures that have a large sum of text to be read and that can’t fit next to or in close proximity of the trigger text.

To some bloggers complying with these FTC rules can be confusing and overwhelming. A good rule of thumb is to be honest and truthful about what you are pushing. Make it clear what it is the person is buying and give him or her all the necessary information to help make an informed purchase decision.

Disclosure Page

In addition to making disclosures conspicuously on your page, it is wise to have a disclosure page. Some bloggers use a disclosure page to reaffirm intentions and any association with the makers of a product. It is important to note that disclosure page isn’t enough. As a blogger you will need to find a way to make it known to your audience if a link is an affiliate link, if the link is a sponsor ad, and if you are receiving payment in the form of cash or gifts in exchange for your review.

Generated Affiliate Links

Most bloggers use widgets from services that generate affiliate links, such as Amazon or Google Adsense and may not directly review or promote a product. In this case, it is wise to post a disclosure some place very easy to see that reads, “May contain affiliate links” at the beginning and end of each blog post.

Becoming an Expert

An expert is someone who has extensive knowledge on a particular topic. An expert isn’t necessarily someone who has a degree in a particular field or someone with years and years of experience. Therefore, anyone essentially can earn the title of being an expert or an authority in a given field or on a given topic. All it takes is some degree of proof.

Blogging on the internet can land you the title of expert depending on your experience and how many creditable articles you’ve written. Some people will just assume that you know what you are talking about because you are bold enough to create a website and start spreading your wisdom and opinions.

A blogger should want to position him or her as an authority, but never should he or she try to gain this title without a proven track record of action, knowledge or both. Doing so is a fast track to failure on the internet. Why, because when people assume you are an expert that creates expectations. When you do don’t live up to those expectations, that’s when the problems show up.

Not an expert? That’s fine. Just let your audience know your level of expertise. If you are a novice, people will still be interested in what you have to say. The great thing is that many successful bloggers have taken their audience along for the ride as they learned a process, new skill, launched a business, etc.

So, how do you gain expert status if you are not an expert? You do the work and put in the time.

Building Knowledge

It begins with an interest in a topic. That interest turns into an obsession of sorts. You find yourself reading everything that is available on and offline about your topic. Suddenly, you are writing articles about this topic to help others. People are seeking that information and finding you. That’s how it starts.

Give Credit Where Credit is Due

There will always be bigger experts than you. That is a good thing. Consider these people your mentors and teachers. Consume their work and give credit where it is due. A little of their credibility will rub off on you. In the future, you may want to seek these people out for guest posts or to advertise to their audiences.

Building Trust

To be a successful blogger you must gain the trust of your readers. It is more about demonstrating that you are secure and honest about the information that you have to offer. Be yourself and never pretend that you have more knowledge than you really do. Your readers will respect you more if you are honest and they will hang you out to dry if you lie.

A good place to start is on your ‘About Me’ page. Let your readers know your background and how your blog came about. For example, if you are a cancer survivor and your blog is about the same topic, your readers will find value in knowing this information. In addition, the disclosure will add to your credibility.

Everyone is an Expert

Everyone is an expert at something even if that something isn’t favored in society. But when you find your strengths you can use them to help lead to your status of ‘expert’. For example, say you have a sister who suffers from a debilitating disease. Because of your love for her you research cures or ways to manage pain. The next thing you know you are answering questions from the information that you’ve gathered. That is how experts are born.

Stay Above the Trends

Keep on top of the most recent information in your niche. Your audience will come to expect and value getting this up to date information from you which helps lead to your authority in the field.

A side note: Don’t jump from trend to trend. There will always be the latest and greatest trend that is here today and gone within a year. There are likely some foundational ideas/topic around your niche that you should be grounded in.

A Word about Credentials

People like titles. Credentials confirm a person’s education at the very least. But don’t let it stop you if you don’t have a PhD or an MD behind your name. Look at Tony Robbins, he has never been to school for what he teaches but his years of experience would trump any newly graduate from a degree program.