I was checking out the Convince and Convert Blog this evening while watching the Colts game. I ran across this Blog Post Worksheet that I had to share. It’s a great resource to make sure your next blog post covers all of the basics. It is very easy to get caught up in your blog posts and miss the basics that make a blog successful. Thinking through all of the items listed on the worksheet below is a great plan for success!
Sharing: Blog Post Worksheet
September 27, 2009
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Blogging | Tagged: blog post worksheet, convince and convert | 
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Posted by derekmcclain
Fusework Studios Blog Links
September 3, 2009Today I want to share some blog posts we have been working on over at Fusework Studios. These posts are packed full of information that will help with developing an internet marketing strategy for your business. Check them out below:
The Complete Internet Marketing Lifecycle
Leave a Comment » | Blogging, fusework studios, internet marketing | Tagged: blog indiana, conversion, fusework studios, internet marketing lifecycle, social media advertising | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
Write Bold Blog Posts and Stake the Vampires
September 1, 2009Today I was turned on to a great blog post over at Copyblogger entitled “Are Vampire Words Sucking the Life Out of Your Writing?” that I just had to share. This post gives a key point of advice that will help you write better.
Here is the basic gist:
As writers we can often play it safe by using words like: quite, fairly, often, sometimes and may. These words are boring, show a lack of confidence and thus turn readers away. This is where the vampire analogy comes into play- these words act like vampires and suck the life right out of your sentence. So the next time you are thinking of writing a headline like “You May Gain More Customers and You Might Make More Money” you need to stop and stake the vampire words to keep your readers coming back for more.
Douglas Karr did a great job of this today over on the Marketing Technology Blog with his post entitled “Why I Don’t Like Facebook.” This instantly caught my eye and I had to read it. Now if his blog title had been “Why I Kinda Sometimes Don’t Like Facebook” I would not have been as inclined to read it. Heck he even went so far as to put “facebook-sucks” right there in the URL. It’s not every day a social media superstar proclaims that!
So the next time you are writing a blog post title, take a moment to review and find those vampires there as well. Today’s theme: Be confident. Be Bold.
3 Comments | Blogging, facebook, social media | Tagged: Blogging, copyblogger, douglas karr, facebook, vampire words, write better blogs | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
My 100th Blog Post – What I’ve Learned and What’s In Store
August 5, 2009This is my 100th blog post! The first of many milestones for this blog. I originally created D-Mac’s Blog with the intention of learning as much as I possibly could by obtaining first hand blogging experience. As I started blogging regularly, I began to open my eyes to all of the benefits of blogging. It truly is amazing. I’ve learned that blogging is great for creating, building, and maintaining relationships. Both on a personal and business level. My blog has given me the opportunity to meet a lot of great people and I have also been able to generate some leads for business in doing so, which was not its original intent.
Check out some of my earlier posts for more information on why I started blogging:
What can you expect from D-Mac’s Blog in the future?
I will continue to vary my posts in style and make an effort to include more posts that really reflect a strong opinion about a particular topic. Robby Slaughter suggested including a rant and more constructive critcism…and I have to agree I need more of these posts.
I will include more Reviews and How-To themed posts. I continue to see a great deal of feedback from these types of posts with our clients at Fusework Studios and also on my personal blog. My BlackBerry Storm reviews and Facebook How To posts really helped some people out which is always an awesome feeling.
Finally, I will be changing the design up a bit and including more videos, slideshows, and other interactive. But make no mistake about it…my number one focus will always be to deliver quality content.
Thank you for being a reader and I look forward to sharing my next 100 blog posts with you!
1 Comment | Blogging | Tagged: blog ideas, blog posts, Blogging, Blogging tips | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
Improve A Blog Today – Helping Other Bloggers
July 27, 2009Here is a challenge for today…
Find another blogger that you respect, it can be someone you know or do not know. Then take a few minutes out of your day to help improve his or her blog. Many people will go around leaving the same comment on every blog they run across, but your challenge is to spend some quality time here helping someone else out. Here are just a few ways you can do that:
- Leave insightful comments
- Promote the blog post on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter
- Offer to write a guest post on a particular subject
- Link to their blog in your next post
- Suggest topics you would like to see them cover in future posts
We often spend so much time with our own blog that we miss out on some great things that can happen when helping out someone else. I have met a lot of great people and had a a lof of great conversations doing this. Give it a try and I think that you will find Karma does come back around.
1 Comment | Blogging | Tagged: Blogging, Blogging Challenge, Blogging tips, problogger challenge | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
Creating Landing Pages is Important for Conversion and SEO
July 20, 2009Continuing my trend on blogging calls to action, case studies and landing pages – today I would like to pass along a great post from Douglas Karr. Douglas Karr is the Founder and CEO of DK New Media. He brings an enormous wealth of knowledge in the blogging and Internet marketing realm to the table, most recently serving as Vice President of Blogging Evangelism at Compendium Blogware.
In a recent blog post entitled Landing Pages and Search Engine Optimization, Douglas dissects the landing page found at BloggingForSEO.com. This post is a great 9 bullet point reference on the key elements to include in a well structured landing page. Everything from the basic Header (H1 Tag) to the more advanced Google Voice Widget, Douglas tells all in this post. This is yet another example on why we are very fortunate to have such knowledgeable individuals in the Indianapolis Internet Marketing arena that are so willing to educate and share.
The below image is borrowed from his blog post, but you will have to click it to find out the 9 points of Landing Pages and Search Engine Optimization.
1 Comment | Blogging, case studies, internet marketing | Tagged: Blogging, blogging calls to action, blogging for seo, blogging landing pages, case studies, compendium blogware, dk new media, douglas karr, search engine optimization | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
New Blogging Calls to Action Update
July 19, 2009I wanted to follow up on my earlier post this month – Blogging Calls to Action – What Are Yours? to let you know that some progress has been made in this ongoing case study. At Fusework Studios, we have come up with 4 different calls to action (CTA’s) for our Fusework blog. The goal of these is to target people visiting our blog with different motives and interest levels. Here are three different scenarios we envision:
One person may be ready to go right now with a Web site or Internet marketing 
strategy – they can now contact us to set up a meeting over coffee and we will pick up the tab.
Someone kind of “on the fence” can contact us to receive a web site evaluation.
Other visitors may simply want to gather information on email marketing or Search Engine Optimization. They can do that now as well.
We will continue to work on these CTA’s to see how our inquiries are affected. The next step is customized landing pages for each of the different buttons. I will continue to keep you posted as I hope this blogging CTA case study will be valuable to you as well.
Leave a Comment » | Blogging, fusework studios | Tagged: blog calls to action, Blogging, contact fusework studios, fusework studios, internet marketing strategy, web site strategy | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
Improve Your Blog by Analyzing “Old” Mainstream Media
July 10, 2009ProBlogger brings up a great idea in Day #24 of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge – analyze “old” mainstream media – particuarly magazines – to get ideas for improving your blog. This is something that makes perfect sense, because in a lot of ways blogs about similar topics are just like a shelf of magazines – all competing against eachother for the same group of readers. So how do you make your publication stand out?
Look at the headlines. What are some current hot topics?
Are the magazines including lists of any kind? Many advertise the Top 10 or 20 Tips. Or a Top 50 list of celebrities.
Is there some type of incentive? Is the magazine offering a vacation getway or a chance to win something else? Douglas Karr does a Monthly Subscriber Contest.
How are photos used in the magazines?
Flip through the pages, not reading the articles, but rather paying attention which ads and headlines stick out. ProBlogger suggests using sticky notes on the magazine to remind you of the elements that you feel make the magazine successful. Give it a try!
2 Comments | Blogging | Tagged: blog magazines, blog mainstream media, Blogging, Blogging Challenge, Blogging tips, problogger | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
Blogging Calls to Action – What Are Yours?
July 1, 2009So you write a great blog post. You post a link to it on Facebook. You Tweet all about it. It even gets retweeted and the next thing you know it’s one of your more popular posts. But then what?
Yes, you gain a great deal of exposure from this, exposure that you might not have received otherwise – but do your readers take any type of action? Better yet, what exactly is the call to action for your blog? 
Is it having someone contact you through a standard contact form? Is it encouraging someone to leave a comment for that particular post? Or do you just want to continue to connect with people through other forms of social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn?
I will admit, this is where I really struggle. What should my calls to action be? Promoting Fusework Studios? Encouraging other businesses to advertise on my blog? It is a tough decision. But something that you must address in order to get an ROI from your blogging efforts – be it for personal or business use. No one wants to just write blogs and get nothing from it.
So I am challenging myself to come up with clear, solid calls to action on my personal blog. We are also going to be redesigning the calls to action on our Fusework Studios blog. Over the next few weeks there will be some changes and I am looking forward to learning from this experience. Hopefully it will result in developing a successful case study to share.
The call to action for this blog post – leave a comment to share with me. What are your calls to action? Do they work? How have they evolved over time? Let me know!
Fortunately the team over at Compendium Blogware have put together a great slideshow presentation to help with this quest:
4 Comments | Blogging | Tagged: Blogging, blogging calls to action, compendium blogware, facebook, linkedin, twitter | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
Blog Reader of the Week
June 29, 2009Taking a moment to recognize a loyal blog reader can be very beneficial for both you and the reader. On Day #22 of ProBlogger’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge, ProBlogger encourages you to Pay Special Attention to a Reader from time to time. So today I am going to try something new and name my first ever Blog Reader of the Week.
This person has been very encouraging to me and always offered support with my blog. She recently started her own blog, Forgetting 2 Remember. She allowed me to be part of the blog set up process and putting a plan in place to get things going. This was a very rewarding experience and I am VERY impressed with how far she has come. She has been a dedicated, hardworking blogger submitting a blog post nearly every single day since its creation. We all know creating content is king when it comes to the web, and she does it extremely well. But this isn’t just content. These are deep thoughts that really cause you to pause and take a moment to think about life. They often serve as motivation to learn more about yourself as part of a self-discovery/improvement process. This is a unique niche that not many blogs can fill and hers does it extremely well. That is why my Blog Reader of the Week is Derinda Kempa. Take a moment to check out Derinda’s blog and Web site. Derinda is a very talented woman with alot of great stuff going on that you will want to check out.
Thank you Derinda for all of the blog comments and support!
So now I challenge those of you reading this. Who are your blog readers of the week?
Leave a Comment » | Blogging | Tagged: 31 days to build a better blog, blog reader of the week, Blogging, Blogging Challenge, derinda kempa, forgetting 2 remember | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
Blogging Archives – Show Them Some Love
June 28, 2009Have you ever written a blog post that you just were not 100% satisfied with? Do you sometimes change your opinion on a topic you have already posted about? Well, now is your chance to go back and give that archived blog post that has been long forgotten a bit of attention. In Day #21 of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge, ProBlogger calls this “Breathing Life Into An Old Post.”
Think about how you can improve upon this post. Ask yourself these questions:
- Is my blog post title effective?
- Do the first few lines of my post do a good job on setting the stage?
- Did I rush through this post? Could I add a bit more content to really explain things?
- Does the post look good? Sometimes the right image can make a big difference.
- What is the call to action from this post?
Taking the time to bit just a bit of effort into an old post can really go a long way. Remember these posts are still alive and still drawing visitors – let’s show them a little love too!
1 Comment | Blogging | Tagged: Blogging, blogging archives, Blogging Challenge, Blogging tips, problogger challenge | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
Facebook – For Personal Use or Business?
June 7, 2009
Do you use Facebook for personal use or business use? Is it okay to post “party” pictures on Facebook that your employer or future employer may see? What is your opinion?
When looking to diversify your blogging portfolio, consider the opinion post. Expressing your opinion helps keep things from getting boring. It is also a great way to encourge others to share their opinions on a particular subject. This goes a long way to build interaction with your readers. These are just a few of the reasons why ProBlogger suggests writing an opinion post in Day #19 of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge.
So, now back to the Facebook question. I do not think you have to make a decision to use Facebook for personal or business. The beauty of Facebook is that it can be used for both. In fact, that is when Facebook is most valuable. How else would you know that your largest client’s daughter just won her softball tournament? And then be able to connect right away and send your congratulations comment. Creating a personal connection with business partners can be very difficult and Facebook helps make this easier by removing social barriers. You may not hang out with the same group of friends. You may not even live in the same state. But through Facebook you can still connect on a personal level.
And as for the party pictures. Everyone is a human and likes to have fun from time to time. Just use your common sense. If you have to second guess the photo, take it down.
4 Comments | Blogging, facebook | Tagged: Blogging, facebook, facebook for business, facebook personal use, problogger challenge, social barriers | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
Social Media Saves the Day
June 4, 2009Doctors using social media during Hurrican Ike? Twitter being used to obtain medical care instead of the phone? Blogging to raise money for the homeless?
Check out 5 Unique Stories of Social Media Saving the Day from Mashable. Very interesting. Next time you are stuck in an elevator you might give Twitter a try as well.
Leave a Comment » | Blogging, social media | Tagged: Blogging, mashable, social media | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
BlackBerry Storm – Using Blogging Archives to Create Sneeze Pages
June 3, 2009Creating blog posts can take a lot of time. More often than not, we only receive a one time value from each of our blog posts. This is why ProBlogger suggests creating Sneeze pages for your blog posts in Day #18 of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge. Sneeze pages use your archived posts to create a nice directory of posts all relating to a particular theme, series or time. Creating these posts will show off your archives and improve your Search Engine Optimization. A great way to repurpose your hard work and get the most value from it. 
So, without further adue – here is my BlackBerry Storm themed Sneeze post:
- Will the BlackBerry Storm be an iPhone Killer?
- BlackBerry Storm in the Forecast – Launch Day
- BlackBerry Storm Less Than 24 Hour Review
- BlackBerry Storm Month Review
- Twitter and Facebook in One App for Your BlackBerry
- BlackBerry Storm Resources and 3 Month Update
- BlackBerry App World Open for Business
So, where are we at today with the BlackBerry Storm? Verizon finally released OS update 4.7.0.148 for the BlackBerry Storm on May 31st which has really helped the overall performance of the phone. And of course just when the BlackBerry Storm is starting to perform at a near flawless level….rumors about the release of the BlackBerry Storm 2 are surfacing online.
2 Comments | Blogging, blackberry | Tagged: blackberry application, blackberry iphone, blackberry resource, blackberry review, blackberry storm | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
First Time Blog Reader
June 1, 2009How does a first time reader see your blog? Is it easy to navigate? Do they know what your blog is about? These are just a few questions that ProBlogger suggests you consider on Day #17 of the ProBlogger’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge.
While returning visitors and blog subscribers are great, most blog traffic comes from first time visitors. This is the reason an exercise like this is so important. Typically you have someone for 3-5 seconds before they are going to make a decision whether or not to stay on your site/blog. First impressions are crucial and you only get one chance.
Have a friend, relative or co-worker check out your blog for the first time. Take 5-10 minutes to watch their behavior. You are guaranteed to learn a few ways to improve.
Leave a Comment » | Blogging | Tagged: bloggin, Blogging Challenge, Blogging tips, problogger | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
How to: Facebook Updates to Twitter, Twitter Updates to Facebook
May 26, 2009Day #16 of ProBlogger’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge reminds us that solving a problem for our blog readers can be very beneficial in developing loyal readers. Check out the below scenario which I hope can help with a common social media problem.
So, this blog post has now been published. Should I post a link to it on Facebook? Should I post a link to it on Twitter? Or should I do both at the same time?
As each social media giant continues to grow, so do the number of ways to manage both at the same time. Some allow for options to post to just one or both with each update. Others post to both by default.
Check out Mashable’s Twitter to Facebook: 5 Ways to Post to Both. Pick your favorite from the list. I suggest using Tweedeck to manager both. And happy facebooking and tweeting.
1 Comment | Blogging, facebook, twitter | Tagged: Blogging, Blogging Challenge, facebook update, problogger challenge, tweetdeck, twitter, twitter facebook update, twitter update | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
Find A Blogging Buddy
May 25, 2009Blogging Buddies can be your greatest allies when maintaining a blog. Day #15 of ProBlogger’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge was all about finding a blogging buddy to help strengthen your blog content. It makes perfect sense. Working together as a small team can help push new ideas and better content resulting in a high performance blog. Here are some of the benefits in finding a blogging buddy(slightly revised from Darren’
s list):
1. Your posts can be reviewed prior to being published. It always helps to have a 2nd set of eyes on your posts.
2. A Blogging Buddy is someone you can relate to. This makes it easier to exchange ideas.
3. Blogging can become a collaborative effort. Sometimes it is nice to invite a guest blogger to post.
4. You can link to one another’s blog. Show the love!
5. Your message is more likely to spread. Use social media to allow both of your blogs to travel further.
6. Blogging buddies help each other stay motivated.
I would suggest finding someone in your niche or an individual that you are connected to in some other way (business relationship, friendship, networking partner). Remember a blogging buddy equals twice the blogging power!
1 Comment | Blogging | Tagged: Blogging, blogging buddy, Blogging Challenge, blogging partner, problogger challenge | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
Blog Page Updates – Blog Spring Cleaning
May 18, 2009Blog pages can often get overlooked when thinking about maintaing the actual front page posts. Day #14 of ProBlogger’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge was all about focusing some attention to the pages, side bar, headers/logo and other elements of your blog that also need some attention from time to time. What page of your blog do you think is the most important? Is it the About page? Do you need to pay some attention to your side bar? ProBlogger suggests some “spring cleaning” to freshen things up on your blog.
My personal favorite pages of any blog are the About page and the Contact page. The About page is where you are going to learn where the blog is coming from while finding out a little bit about the author’s personality. The Contact page is a very important call to action. If a reader is compelled for more information or follow-up, contacting you must always be a click away.
Does you About page tell your story? Is it easy for your readers to contact you if they wish to do so? Take a look at these pages today and do a little Blog Spring Cleaning.
Leave a Comment » | Blogging | Tagged: blog ideas, blog posts, Blogging, problogger, problogger challenege | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
Blog About A Shopping Mall Visit
May 5, 2009I am going to skip over Day #12 of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge because it discussed setting a schedule for blogging which I have already included in one of my previous blog posts. I am going to go right to Day #13 and the task on visiting a shopping mall. At first I was not sure what to make of this blogging assignment, but after reading the description, it makes a lot of sense. A shopping mall is a great place to see many types of people and many types of marketing all in one place. Here are some things ProBlogger suggests for observation:
One thing that I noticed was the large amount of families that went shopping together. I also noticed marketing efforts targeted toward families. It makes perfect sense, why just target one age group when you can pair your products up to target the entire family? One of the best at implementing this family marketing approach is Old Navy. Imagine making your product something that not just one person can’t live without, but something that an entire family can’t live without. I took a photo with my phone to show the Old Navy marketing display so you can see what I mean. Pretty clever.
Leave a Comment » | Blogging | Tagged: 31 days to build a better blog, Blogging, family marketing, old navy marketing | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
Blogging Without Comments
June 22, 2009Blogging without comments. It’s like peanut butter without jelly. Like salt without pepper. I am a firm believer that all blogs should allow comments. Whether or not you post them is up to you, but you MUST give your readers the opportunity to engage. Great blogs are a two way street. If you are going to share your opinions and thoughts with the world, you better be prepared to receive their thoughts and opinions back.
Leaving comments on other blogs is also a great way to get your blog off the ground, however, your participation must be authentic. Demonstrate that you have actually read the post and have something insightful to say. It really does go much further than the classic “great post” comment. This not only allows you to generate new content ideas, but you are also able to open many doors of communicaton with other bloggers. Many times this is the first step to a partnership in improving each other’s blog.
So the next time you read a great post, don’t forget to take a moment to leave a comment. It goes a long way.
Check out Day #20 of ProBlogger’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge for more benefits on leaving comments.
Also check out my earlier blog post entitled Discovering New Customer Touch points with Comments.