Posts Tagged ‘Wordpress’

Want to add a “Tweet This” button to your blog post?

Tuesday, May 29th, 2012

michael angelo caruso getting the word out tweet this button blog post twitterOne of the best promotion techniques I know involves getting others to spread the word for me.

This means doing two things:

1)  Post original content that people are inclined to share.

2)  Make it easy for people to spread the word a la the “Tweet this” button above.

So, when I blog about speaking and presentation skills at MichaelAngeloCaruso.com, I almost always include a “Tweet This” button that allows reader to share that particular article with their Twitter following.

This is accomplished by simply pasting a simple snippet of html code.

[Note:  You're welcome to republish this article on your website, blog or in your newsletter.  Simply send Michael a message, stating your intentions.]

 

Paste a nifty “Tweet this” button into your blog post

Save this snippet in a place you can easily find it.  Here’s the code for the “Tweet this” button:

<a href=”http://twitter.com/share” data-text=”Michael Angelo Caruso is worth a look.” data-count=”none” data-via=”MichaelACaruso”>Tweet this</a><script type=”text/javascript” src=”http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”></script>

 

This is not “technical;” anyone can do it!

Michael Angelo Caruso tweet this button twitter presentation skillsYou don’t need to understand html, you just need to understand copy/paste, lol.

Be sure to paste the code into the “html” view of your WordPress site and not the “visual” view.

If you save the snippet to a Word document, remember to paste it into Notepad prior to inserting it into WordPress.  This will strip out all the invisible Microsoft code that can wreak havoc with your WordPress formatting.

See you on Twitter at http://www.Twitter.com/MichaelACaruso and good luck with all your presentations online and offline.

Oh, and consider attending Internet Marketing Training at my home in beautiful, Royal Oak, Michigan on August 28.  Again, online marketing strategies for non-geeks. 

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How to blog every day

Friday, May 6th, 2011

Like most rewarding activities, blogging requires discipline and focus.

You’re going to need both in order to post frequently.

It also helps to have a bunch of handy-dandy tricks.  Below, I share some of my blogging secrets.  You’re going to need the proper mindset, tools, time, and the need to succeed.


Mindset

In order to blog every day, you must have a free flow of ideas from mind to keyboard. If a person only has so many “attention units” in a day, it’s important that units aren’t squandered on disorganization, drama, and trivial pursuits.

In other words, clean your desk, free your mind of clutter, and stop running late all the time.

Strong blog posts require clear thinking.  Daily blogging requires expediency a creative verve.

This means always being on the lookout for blog topics and having the ability to capture the idea in written format.


Tools

I always carry a pen and paper.  Sometimes it’s a small notebook.  Sometimes it’s an 8.5 x 11 inch piece of paper that’s gate-folded and slipped into the breast pocket of my sport coat.

I also keep notes in my iPhone.  If my computer is available, I may decide to keystroke the blog topic directly into my WordPress site where it can be published immediately or saved as a draft.

I’ve even been known to take a photo of a blog idea or leave myself a voice mail message.


Time

Blogging more frequently doesn’t require more time.  You’ll have plenty of time to write, if you just stop doing other things. 

Here are five reasons why I always have plenty of time to blog:

  1. I write far more blog posts than I read.  (If you’re reading, you can’t be writing.)
  2. I can’t remember the last time I watched a complete ball game on TV.
  3. I never stand in line.
  4. I never take a meeting, especially for “networking” purposes, without at least one expected deliverable for both parties.  This saves TONS of time.
  5. I have a fantastic vocabulary (thanks, Wordsmith.org!) and write very fast.  Can rewrite even faster.


The need to succeed

Finally, successful bloggers have an almost compulsive need to enlighten and entertain others.   I’m quite dedicated to this goal, which is why I posted an article on how you can blog every day.

For more tips on blogging, check out my fun interview with Michigan soccer mom, Paula Parisot, who gets paid for blogging.

How often do you blog now?  Do you think the above tricks can be helpful for you?  Do you have others?

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Posted in Career development, Communication, Creativity, Entertainment, Growing Your Business, Internet marketing, Personal Development, Problem Solving, Sales and Marketing, Self improvement, Social Media, Weblogs, Writing and Publishing | No Comments »

5 reasons to blog–even if nobody reads it

Friday, February 25th, 2011

Michael Angelo Caruso blogging Internet marketingMost people haven’t figured out blogging, yet. That’s because blogging, that is writing, is a discipline like playing the trumpet or flying an airplane.  Or juggling.  It takes time and effort to make it worthwhile.  It also helps to be motivated, which usually happens when one is a little knowledgeable about the discipline.

Here are 5 reasons to blog, even if nobody reads it, followed by a chance for you to learn more from a soccer mom I interviewed who now gets paid to blog for other people.

1.  Search perks. Internet search engines love fresh content.  Since blogs, especially WordPress blogs, are easily updated your company is more likely to be found even if you create a blog post once per week.   Blogs are the new Web sites.

2.  Perpetual value. Time and again, I am contacted by people who tell me they read an old blog post and liked what I had to say.  Some of these folks turn into customers.  Your blog content keeps working for you year after year!

3.  Drip marketing. Periodic blog posts are a great way to keep in touch.  People will never forget about you because they are always being reminded.  Rig your social media sites to automatically post blog articles.

4.  Virtual salesperson. SAP advertises training services in a sidebar on its blog.  Wegmans grocery store blogs about recipes that use their food products.

5.  Massive public relations reach. If your blog is consistently good, you may get picked up by an aggregation service.  When this happens, your lil’ ol’ blog could be read by hundreds of thousands of people!

________

Paula Parisot

Soccer mom and paid blogger, Paula Parisot

A while back, I interviewed Paula Parisot, a soccer mom who now gets paid for blogging.  A non-techie by her own admission, Paula talks about how she does it and shares valuable tips on how you can get started doing the same.  That is, unless you can’t use the money.  Learn more Blogging for Profit by listening to this fun CD.

It was fun interviewing Paula.  She takes a “real-world” approach to things and I think you’ll like her!

-Michael Angelo Caruso

Royal Oak, Michigan

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Posted in Blogging, Career development, Communication, Creativity, Customer Service, Entertainment, Growing Your Business, Leadership, Marketing, Personal Development, Problem Solving, Sales and Marketing, Self improvement, Weblogs | No Comments »

One blog or two?

Monday, January 17th, 2011

Michael Angelo Caruso gives blogging advice.Readers always write . . .

Hi, Michael,

I was wondering if I could ask you a quick question regarding Social Media. My boss has two blogs and we repeat the same content on both of them. Should I just delete the “Blogger” and keep the “WordPress?” I know Google does not like duplicate content.

Thanks,
Blogging for Success

Dear B.S. –

Always do what works.  Sounds like you’re not getting much results from Blogger, hence your intuitive idea to abandon Blogger.

Sounds like you’re maintaining two blogs and neither are getting much attention, so I recommend isolating your blog activity to the superior WordPress platform.

You are correct about Google’s contempt for duplicate content, which makes me wonder why you’re doing it.  By the way, you can post the same topic to two separate blogs, just be sure you rewrite the content and be diligent about changing the first sentence, the last sentence and the blog title.

Here’s a way to get more attention from your blog.

Isolate some 140-character quotable quotes from a blog post and include a tiny URL of the original post.  Then, post the phrase as a status update on your social media pages.  This is a great way to tease your social media contacts into visiting the blog.

Also, according to @Scott Brills, my trusted Web guy.  Google does not currently crawl Facebook Note pages, so you can post the blog content there without rewriting it.

You’re welcome.

See you online or in real life,
Michael

P.S.  Learn more about blogging and other ways to get the word out at http://www.michaelangelocaruso.com/michael-angelo-caruso-blog/.

You can also listen to my interview with soccer Mom, Paula Parisot, who cracked the code and is being paid to blog by multiple clients!

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Posted in Career development, Communication, Growing Your Business, Internet marketing, Marketing, Problem Solving, Sales and Marketing, Selling, Social Media, Success | No Comments »