Guest blogging is one of the best ways to get a blog or website known and target new audiences, we all agree with that. Welcoming guest posters is also a great way to provide fresh content to your readers and target the crowds the invited author already appealed to. By analyzing these two sides of the guest blogging scene, you can easily tell this is a win-win promotion practice.

No wonder it has spread throughout the blogosphere and it has created a need for the proper tools! A while back I wrote about the launch of My Blog Guest, a place where guest posters and blog owners could meet, connect and see how they could help each other out. It looked promising and I decided to try out Ann Smarty’s project and see for myself how it worked. Continue reading

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Guest post by Jayson Jones

Of the many blogs that pop into existence (at the rate, in fact, of one blog per second), the vast majority are a form of “personal space.” These intentionally personal blogs are a sort of online journal, more about having a sense of territory than of really developing a following. However, for those who care about having a truly successful blog, the focus must shift to accommodate one group, and one group only: the users.

There are plenty of things you can do to make your site better for visitors; you can get an online web design degree, look up everything you can find on successful blog designing, or better yet follow these five simple tips that will help improve user experience on your blog.

1. Streamline Everything

On most blogs, there are links, pictures, design elements, advertisements, and just about everything else you could imagine, all littering the site haphazardly. Not only is this unattractive, but it’s nearly impossible to navigate through. Continue reading

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Alex Cristache, the mastermind behind Blogsessive.com and the QBKL Media design studio, has just release a free PDF eboook called “Corporate Blogging Guide”. This comprehensive collection of useful tips and back to the basic explanations of the whole blogging process is meant to help companies assess their need of a blog, draw some goals, come up with a blogging strategy, choose the best available tool and start reaching out to the blogging community.

All you have to do to get this business blogging ebook is to subscribe for free to Blogsessive’s RSS feed and you’ll spot the download link at the end of each article in the feed. If you’re already a Blogsessive RSS subscriber, you only need to click the link, it’s already there

Yours truly played a little but significant part in the process of getting the Corporate Blogging Guide published, meaning I helped Alex translate and did a bit of editing as well. So download it, read it and let Alex and I know what you think Oh, and happy blogging!

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What I think you shouldn’t have missed last week…

Nice to see you all at a fresh new edition of our Monday Reading Roundup! I’ve prepared some cool articles from the week past for you to enjoy.

But I want to start on a hillarious note. We’ve all been dealing with spammers for a long time. They waste precious moments, never take no or an answer and basically are so many we can’t possibly add all the addresses to our blacklist…So here’s a little laughing of them and our own problems: Mihaela Lica discovered that spammers are stupid and can definitelly prove it!

When promoting your business on the internet, you will make some mistakes. Some might harm more than you could ever predict, so here’s a list of what not to do when promoting your business online from Cath Lawson.

Janelle asked a great question on Create Business Growth: while we know we are extremely dependent on the internet as individuals, have businesses become too dependent as well?

RSS subscribers come and some are lost along the way. If you’re thinking of getting them back, you should definitely read this guest post on ProBlogger by Glenn Allsopp.

When the winter holidays are approaching, we all think of the gifts we want to give to others. Karen Swim recommends a few gifts to give ourselves, to make us happier and stronger for the new year.

Thinking of pitching a blogger? Not all of them have personal “how to pitch me” guides, but if you use Diana Huff’s you’ll probably throw in a successful one. And here’s some advice from the other side of the border, the PR person’s view on pitching by Alan Weinkrantz.

And to end on the note I started with, here’s a little something from Jeff Pulver: The Twitter Girl Song!

Have a great week and see you next time!

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What I think you shouldn’t have missed last week…

Today is Wolrd AIDS Day and also Romania’s National Day! Thank you all for joining me on this week’s monday reading list on such a special occasion!

We’re all crazy about all things social media, both general and niche. But while there are plenty of niche social media sites, only a few can be considered successful. What differentiates a good site from a bad one? Find out on Traffikd.

When you run a business blog, turning your readers into buyers is one of your major goals. Danny Thompson of Busines and Blogging explains how to achieve your goal without annoying your readers through shamless sales pitches.

Cath Lawson discusses the “Free” concept. Find out more about when and how offering free producs or services helps your business.

In a guest post on Women on Business, Mark Tewart teaches 4 politically incorrect lessons aimed at helping women succeed in their career. Go on and read it, it really is wonderful advice!

Businesses count on holiday sales to increase their incomes. But with this year’s recession on our doors, it looks like holiday sales won’t be as easy as before. So here are some tips from Noobpreneur to get sales in this year’s season.

Comparisons seem like the perfect way to get a clear image of our own accomplishments. Yet most of the times, given interests, abilities and fields are extremely different, it’s like comparing apples to oranges. Michael Martine explains why comparisons are not good for your blog’s (or business’) health.

The economic downturn is driving everyone to cost reduction. Costs are diminished, while also trying to boost sales. In this economic environment, consultants, coaches and creatives still need to maintain their current rates. Here’s a simple Q&A post aimed at helping you keep your rates and still get business from Barbara Rozgonyi.

Ian Lurie has done it again: another post that will make you laugh to tears yet still be extremely useful. A guide for an SEO’s wife/girlfriend/significant other to the perfect Christmas Gift!

Brian Fetherstonhaugh of OgilvyOne has launched an interesting theory on how the 4Ps of Marketing (Product, Placement, Price, Promotion) have become the 4Es (Experience, Everyplace, Exchange, Evangelism). To get you started, read Katherine Liews’s (Brand Curve) review of this theory first.

That’s it for today! Don’t forget to add your recommendations in the comment box

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