Thursday, November 27, 2008

Can You be Quick Off the Mark? Effective Blog Comments.

Following on from the previous post about effective blog comments and the use of a new software called Blog Talk Monitor here is an example of the software in action.

The comment below which was posted to Boyd Productions just a couple of hours ago was in response to an Alert from the software in our Learner Drivers niche.The post we responded to had only just been published and we were the very first to comment


" Looking forward to seeing the Documentary. It’s about time the whole
Teen Driving Syndrome is exposed for what it is! Mayhem on Wheels!
Each generation of new drivers come to the table with preformed ideas which they have garnered from their Parents.

Parents behaviour behind the wheel and their attitude to other road users is picked up by kids from the moment they are strapped in the Baby seat restraint. As time passes, certain behavioural traits become accepted as the norm by kids, to which is added their own interpretation.

It should be no surprise that the figures for Teen fatalities are as high as they are. Here in Ireland we are no exception to the rule and our figures, which are starting to improve with better legislation, have been amongst the worst in Europe for many years.

It’s about time Parents the world over took the lion’s share of the responsibility for the demise of their offspring. It always irks me, no I will be more vociferous and say it annoys the hell out of me when the local Parish Priest gets rolled out to say “they were a lovely family”, after yet another fatality.
We continue to write extensively on this subject in our blogs and web site for those who might want to hear it from the inside track.
"

As I write this post more alerts are continuing to arrive from Blog Talk Monitor which will keep you rather busy I suspect when you sign up and install this fantastic tool.Don't wait until your competition beats you to it.Be Quick off the mark for once and you will reap the benefits!

Effective Blog Commenting!

Here is something all Bloggers will benefit from, whether you are just starting off, planning on setting up a blog to promote your business or have already done so and have lost your way! Here is some good news for those attempting effective Blog Commenting

It is a well known fact that placing suitable comments on another persons blog is an effective strategy, particularly if the host blog has plenty of street credibility. You will gain some knock on effect from this. Comments get placed in search engine results so this could be a very worthwhile strategy if pursued regularly in your particular niche

One of the ways to improve your own reach with comments is to be quick off the mark when new content is posted and be one of the first to express an opinion.

The days of posting something on the lines of “Great blog you have here... please visit my blog on blah blah blah” are well and truly over unless you belong to that exalted group of the Spam 2.0 Community! Spam posts are a pain in the proverbial so you are going to have to stretch yourselves somewhat with some useful and pertinent comments if you are to obtain any benefit.

We have just discovered an amazing piece of software that can help you in your quest to becoming a recognised expert in your particular field and thereby generate more traffic and a loyal following to your blog. Blog Talk Monitor is quite simply an astounding concept and once installed, the software will inform you instantly a new post or piece of content, relative to your chosen niche, appears on the Web.

This will enable you to review the content, create a response quickly, or even produce some fresh slant on the topic for your own blog or web site. Writers Block will be a thing of the past and Blog Talk Monitor is your solution. It's quick and easy and you have the facility to set up different keywords related to the niches you operate in .You could very easily become an authority on the subject before your competitors have even struggled out of bed.

Once in a while someone comes up with an idea that is simply awe inspiring and in this case it's stating the obvious. We are using it to great effect and think you should give it a try yourself. You've nothing to lose especially since it is readily affordable. The Price ? Well there isn't one! It's free gratis, although I have my doubts as to the sanity of the author who is the renowned Jack Humphrey of Authority Site Center

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Effective Writing for the Web. Who Cares?

Your target market will dictate to a certain extent your choice of language and this is O.K up to a point. But suppose you are trying to educate that market and move them a few rungs up the ladder to a higher understanding of your subject matter. Are you going to leave them behind if your piece takes on a different hue? What is it going to take to pen an effective contribution?

That's a dilemma that has to be faced and perhaps a compromise is called for. Either way the time spent in crafting your article or report, needs to be justified by not just hoping for a response but aiming to achieve an objective. You may be attempting to inform in a general sense or educate in a more detailed fashion.

Start off with a focused objective and this will aid your choice of words and sentence structure.
Getting visitors to read what you have to say and come back again to your site or blog is not such an easy task to accomplish. Looking at your web site statistics will very often give you quite a shock when you discover that vast quantities of people come and go in the first 30 seconds!


Here's an Article penned a few days ago on a subject about which the author knew very little and was preceded by 45 minutes of research.The objective was to inform about the basic facts and not drift off into dreamland with flowery verbiage! Straight forward facts and figures get to the point and provide value to a reader who wishes to gain a quick insight into the main benefits of this important Vitamin.

So here's an approach to informing an audience with very little personal author comment added.


What are the benefits of Vitamin D?


Vitamin D is produced naturally in the body as a result of exposure to the sun. If you happen to live in the Northern Hemisphere with long dark winters then Sun is going to be absent and therefore so will your production of Vitamin D!

It is the exposure to UVB rays (short wavelengths) produced by the Sun that triggers the production of Vitamin D in the body

Vitamin D is typically found in many of the oily fish group therefore providing a readily available source for those living in Sun deprived areas either through consuming the fish directly or via a supplement.

Each sector of the population has factors that it must address in order to ensure sufficient production of this essential vitamin.

Breast fed Babies are known to be deficient in Vitamin D so therefore Health consultants recommend an additional supplement.

The over 50’s are also likely to be in need of a Vitamin D supplement since skin at that age has greater difficulty in producing the vitamin.

Post Menopausal women who are at risk of osteoporosis, a disease where bone structure deteriorates, are a group that should consider a Vitamin D supplement. This supplement will help the body to absorb the Calcium needed for healthy Bone tissue.

It was recommended that women in this group should be taking a level of 1100 Units of Vitamin D (International Units or IU) per day.

Recent medical studies have shown that people with higher levels of Vitamin D in their bodies were deemed to be at significantly less risk from Breast Cancer. Figures of between 50 and 60 per cent less likely to contract the disease were uncovered during special trials.

It was suggested that following these studies, a daily intake of 2000 Units of Vitamin D (IU) would be suitable to reduce the risk of contracting this disease.

In other scientific studies recently, it has been found that Vitamin D can be instrumental in helping blood vessel and immune system functions which can obviously improve general health standards.

The proliferation of recent scientific studies and their results give a very clear message to the population that production of substantial levels of Vitamin D is not only advisable but essential . If natural sunlight is not available, then taking a suitable supplement at recommended levels is extremely advantageous.


Thursday, November 20, 2008

Don't Read this Unless You are a Tyre Kicker

In order to persuade the web site visitor to start reading you need a compelling and catchy Headline that is impossible to resist.

The attention span of the average web surfer is fairly limited, so short sharp segments are the order of the day. It’s important to realise that you only get a matter of seconds to ensnare the reader, after that it’s game over!

Imagine you are reading a book which you have probably paid good money for .You are not going to toss it away after the first five seconds are you ? You are going to stick with it until some pattern emerges. It either interests you or it doesn’t.

The chances are that you will give it time to develop. It’s either a subject you are passionate about, a hobby for example, or one that is going to teach you something you absolutely need to know. Either way you are not going to throw a tantrum and start throwing toys out of the pram!

A web site is different! If it doesn’t grab your attention immediately or if there is just too much clutter, then you are out of there aren’t you? You can throw as many toys as you want in your search to find the perfect byte that is eluding you! Clicking the back button with gay abandon is something you learn quite quickly isn’t it?

I suppose when starting off writing for the web or even your own web site, there is a feeling that you should be providing as much content on the page as you can cram in. You are so afraid that if you miss something out then the visitor will be gone.

Well they will be gone soon enough so at least make their stay a pleasant one and ditch the flashing widgets and in your face ads and replace these with some well thought out headlines and a few morsels that will whet their appetite.


That first impression is the all important one. Ignore it at your peril



Monday, November 17, 2008

7 Secrets 2 Effective Writing

You might question that there must be more than Seven secrets to effective writing and you would probably be right. Just as there are many more ways to skin a cat as the old saying goes.

Seven actually is a comforting number but also is an optimum number when setting out to complete a project. Many more numbers on your list and it's likely that you will be discouraged at just how long it is taking you to tick them all off. So as a general rule seven items on your to do list is fine and will be manageable.

For success in writing to be achievable you must set out a strategic plan to begin with and this is where the seven comes in. For sure, when starting with a blank canvas as it were, you need to maintain your impetus or enthusiasm by not putting too many stumbling blocks in your path. With a manageable to do list you should be able to let the juices flow and your writing take shape.

Each successful writer has his or her secret formula kept reasonably hidden from view although each formula is likely to be quite different if the truth be told! There will be some must haves on your list, but it will be up to you, the individual writer, to prioritise them and make the list your own.

Some writers have a special time of day set aside for their writing; some prefer to scribble notes long hand on a pad; some insist that to maintain the flow you absolutely must not stop to punctuate or spell check. All of these are legitimate ways of getting the words out of your head and onto paper.

In order to create your own Seven Secrets you will need to spend a little time brainstorming and come up with a list of your strong points and those that can be crafted into a logical , manageable template for all your future efforts .

Call it a goal if you will, or a formula and then apply this formula to each and every writing project and you will maintain your flow, your enthusiasm and the end result should be more than acceptable.

Have you ever experienced the satisfaction of ticking off to do items from a list? Most people have . It's satisfying and gives you a sense of achievement without a doubt. Put more than Seven Secrets on your list and discouragement often quickly sets in. This is a state of mind that a writer may have to battle with constantly.

Producing your very own Seven Secrets to effective writing will be a challenge in itself but once completed and dare I say, followed emphatically, you will be ahead of the posse. The Posse not being other writers as such, but your own inner fears.