They’re just nice enough to let us live in it.

When Larry Page and Sergey Brin launched Google out of a dorm room in 1998, they had no idea that it would one day employee 32,000 people, process one billion searches a day, and earn over US$30 billion a year.

What they had, instead, were some very non-traditional thoughts on how to run a business.

Rule #1: Stay Simple

Google’s home page is a perfect example of the company’s commitment to simplicity.

For Google, simple means faster, easier to use, and higher quality.

That’s why software developers who work at Google are taught that the best products “include only the features that people need to accomplish their goals.” When they’re creating a new product, they don’t try to stuff it full of as many features as possible.

“Simplicity is powerful.”

Google Company Philosophy

What a Tangled Web We Weave…

For some reason, it’s human nature to make things more complex than they need to be. As a writer, I’m always resisting the temptation to use long words and complex sentences.

But simple writing is usually more effective – and the same goes for business models. 

Rule #2: Collaborate

The first day Larry Page met Sergey Brin, they got into a long argument. According to Page, they “both really disliked each other.”

But their studies at Stanford soon led them to respect one another as intellectual peers. It was this mutual respect that brought them together in 1995 to collaborate on Page’s doctoral thesis: an algorithm that could rank websites based on their shared hyperlinks.

Even though it was Page’s idea (hence the name PageRank), he couldn’t have created the algorithm without the mathematical wizardry of Sergey Brin. Without a math prodigy like Brin on board, Google might have been just another thesis.

It was the joining of two very strong brains and personalities that made the algorithm what it was: a search engine so effective that it put Lycos and Excite to shame.

Google’s PageRank system rocket-propelled Page and Brin to the top of the upper echelons of Silicon Valley. Suddenly, their little search algorithm was duking it out with industry titans like Yahoo! and Microsoft… and winning.

Part of the reason for Google’s success was the collaboration they encouraged among their employees. Since the beginning, they’ve implemented something called open source software development, “where innovation takes place through the collective effort of many programmers.”

But as the company grew even larger, Page and Brin realized that had to bring another brain into the trust: this time, someone who could lead Google as a corporation and offer the boys “adult supervision.” In 2001, they hired Eric Schmidt as CEO and began running Google as a triumvirate. Schmidt began running Google like a business – and acquired YouTube in the process.

Even though Schmidt stepped down as CEO, he still serves as Google’s executive chairman, and Google continues to emphasize a spirit of collaboration in all they do.

Going it alone?

Having a partner to collaborate with isn’t a requirement. Many very successful businesses are founded, owned, and operated by one person.

With that said, two complementary business partners will motivate one another, brainstorm innovative ideas together, and each allow the other to do what they’re best at.

I can speak from personal experience on this subject. My business partner has been absolutely essential to our company’s success and I feel thankful for him daily.

Rule #3: Great Just isn’t Good Enough

“We see being great at something as a starting point, not an endpoint.”

Google Company Philosophy

When Google launched its search engine in 1998, it was already great. The PageRank algorithm was simply better than the competition, which focused too much on words and often returned irrelevant results.

It was this greatness that allowed Google to grow without spending millions on a marketing campaign like Yahoo! and Ask Jeeves. Google was so great that it spread almost entirely by word of mouth.

But great wasn’t good enough. Google believes, “It’s best to do one thing really, really well.” So, instead of spreading out into different industries, the company kept perfecting their search engine.

“The ultimate search engine would basically understand everything in the world, and it would always give you the right thing. And we’re a long, long ways from that.”

Larry Page

The above quote is from 2004, by which point Google had cemented their position as market leader. Not only were they the world’s top search engine, they were about to unleash their IPO to a market capitalization of a cool US$23 Billion.

But even at that point, Larry Page was not ready to rest on his laurels. As he said, they were a “long, long ways” from where they wanted to be.

Thanks to this attitude, Google has been churning out big improvements to its search engine year after year. Innovations (i.e. the spelling suggestions Google gives you when you misspell a word) are a big part of the reason they’re still the world’s top search engine.

How Can You Improve?

I don’t care how good you are at what you do, you can always get better. That’s why I’ve suggested that you spend 20 minutes actively learning every day. 

Rule #4: Give Value for Free

“Our goal is to develop services that significantly improve the lives of as many people as possible.”

Larry Page and Sergey Brin

People don’t expect to have to pay for much of anything online. But that’s not a problem for Google, which offers more free value to their users than any other online company.

Just think of all of their free software and services: Gmail, Google Docs, Google Analytics, Google Website Optimizer, Google Earth, Google Chrome… the list goes on and on.

Collectively, these products have cost Google millions and millions of dollars to develop. Some, like Gmail, generate revenue through advertising, but many do not make Google any money at all.

What they do is more important: build brand loyalty. Thanks to all they’ve given away, Google has an army of devotees eager to use their latest services, share them with their friends, and shell out cash when Google releases something that actually costs money (like a Chromebook).

Count me among the converts: I’ve been so impressed with Gmail and Google Chrome that I just assume everything Google does meets a high standard of quality.

Giving / Receiving

When people receive something of great value for free, it instills in them a sense of gratitude to the giver. It’s human nature to want to return the favor.

Start being more giving with your business and you will find that you’re getting more referrals, making more sales, and getting a warmer response on social networks.

Rule #5: Protect Your Market

Nikola Tesla was one of the greatest inventors of his time. He laid the foundation for radio communication, wireless technology, and electric power. Without his advances, Google couldn’t exist.

Yet Tesla died with hardly a penny to his name.

When Larry Page read a biography of Tesla as a kid, he learned an invaluable lesson: protect what makes you valuable. This is an especially difficult task your value comes from easy-to-steal ideas.

As CEO of Google, Page has been sure not to follow in Tesla’s footsteps. Google has kept a close guard on their big competitive advantage: the PageRank algorithm that Page and Brin had labored over as graduate students at Stanford University.

While Stanford actually owns the PageRank patent, Google bought the exclusive rights to use it for 1.8 million shares of stock (later sold by Stanford for $336 million).

No other company is able to use their patented method for ranking pages. That’s a big reason Google still sits at the top of the heap.

In recent years, Google has been more active working with the government to protect their interests. They spent about US$10 million on lobbying the US government in 2011 and took part in a successful campaign to deter the SOPA/PIPA legislation in January 2012.

How to Protect Your Big Idea

Every idea is different and there’s a good chance that yours won’t require a patent.

But that doesn’t mean you need to be telling your competition your secret formula:

“There are two rules for success. 1) Never tell everything you know.”

Roger H. Lincoln

Rule #6: No Hype Necessary

“Part of our brand is that we’re pretty understated in what we do. If you look at other technology companies, they might preannounce things, and it will be a couple years before they really happen, and they don’t happen in the way they said they would.

Google tends to release things without announcing them in beta, or whatever. We wait until they get really big and really good, then we start talking about them. And so that’s a really different way of doing business.”

Larry Page

Google doesn’t do hype. They let their innovative products and services speak for themselves.

I’ve met a lot of entrepreneurs who talk a big game. They’d have you believe that they’ve got all of the most important connections and that their next project is the next big thing. Talk to those same entrepreneurs in six months and chances are that last project fizzled out and they’re already onto talking up the next one.

Talk is cheap. It’s always better to let your accomplishments speak for themselves.

Three Good Reasons Not to Hype Yourself Up:

You Make a Stronger First Impression

Everybody knows how important first impressions are. When somebody’s first impression of your project is you talking about it before it’s ready, then you wasted that first impression on mere talk.

It’s tempting to tell all of your friends, relatives, and colleagues about your brilliant idea. But think about how much more powerful it will be if you wait until your project is completed, successful, and has a few mentions in the media.

Be patient – and wait until the time is just right to share your business with the world.

You Don’t Box Yourself In

Until a project is set in stone, it should always be evolving. Keeping quiet also allows you to be more versatile with your business.

If you realize that it would be better to evolve in a slightly different direction than you had initially planned, you don’t want to be constrained by the expectations of the people who already know your original plan.

You Increase Your Commitment

At a more personal level, talking up your plans too much can actually make you less likely to follow through with them.

When we tell someone what we hope to achieve, we feel some of the satisfaction of actually accomplishing that goal – and it actually makes us less hungry to pursue them.

Rule #7: Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously

“You can be serious without a suit”

Google Company Philosophy

Google may be the world’s most powerful website, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have a little bit of fun. Since 2000, Google has been playing April Fool’s Day jokes on the world.

Their first prank was a new search feature called Google MentalPlex – which claimed to scan your “personal aura and brainwave activity” and then determine which website you were trying to reach.

In 2002, they “revealed” that their search results were determined by “data coops” full of trained pigeons. They’ve since announced job openings on the moon and unveiled a sports drink called Google Gulp. Sounds tasty.

Google’s actually ramping up their pranks. In 2011, they pulled a whopping 17 of them on April 1^st.

Why does Google spend so much time joking around? The pranks earn Google plenty of press and a small bump in traffic. But more importantly, it brings a sense of fun and real personality to their brand – both for their users and for their employees.

Nobody Likes a Robot

When you interact with somebody online, they could be all the way on the other side of the globe. Just because you’re distant from one another, that doesn’t mean you have to act distantly.

Every website visitor, every Facebook sharer, and every email subscriber is a flesh-and-blood person, just like you. A personal touch goes a long way.

#8: Don’t Be Evil

“We have a mantra: don’t be evil, which is to do the best things we know how for our users, for our customers, for everyone. So I think if we were known for that, it would be a wonderful thing.”

Larry Page

In a 2004 meeting, Google employees were brainstorming an unofficial company motto. Suggestion after suggestion was met with little enthusiasm. Then one finally stuck: “Don’t Be Evil.”

Big companies like Google can often make more money in the short-term by taking advantage of their customers and employees, damaging the environment, or ignoring human rights. Google’s adoption of the “Don’t Be Evil” motto meant that they were committed to being a different type of company – one guided by a strong moral compass.

This philosophy has had a big impact on Google’s ad policy. Their search results only turn up relevant ads, clearly marked as “sponsored.” They also refuse to use pop-up ads or any other flashy ads that would interfere with “your ability to see the content you’ve requested.”

Google also does good through philanthropy. In 2004, they launched Google.org, a not-for-profit organization that looks to solve the problems of global health, poverty, and climate change.

“We believe strongly that in the long term, we will be better served – as shareholders and in all other ways – by a company that does good things for the world even if we forgo some short term gains.”

Larry Page and Sergey Brin

Still Not Evil?

Absolute power corrupts absolutely – and Google has become very, very powerful in the last few years. In 2009, Google quietly dropped “Don’t Be Evil” as their official motto.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that Google’s gone to the dark side. The slogan was simply attracting too much negative attention.

The company has drawn criticism for allowing their search results to be censored in China and for making a deal with Verizon that some journalists considered damaging to net neutrality.

Today, in 2012, Google is getting a ton of heat for their new privacy policy, which will allow the company to more easily merge personal information it has collected from across its many platforms. This means more powerful, targeted advertisements and more money for Google, but it also represents a new low in online privacy.

Do Good, Make Money

“You can make money without doing evil.”

Google Company Philosophy

We could argue all day about whether Google’s doing a good job of practicing what it preaches. It’s a worthwhile conversation to have, especially given the immense amount of our personal data sits on Google’s servers.

But here’s something where, in my opinion, there’s no room for debate: doing good is good business.

It’s not just about being a better person or getting that warm, fuzzy feeling; businesses that do good are simply more likely to be successful in the long haul.

Do You Follow Google’s 8 Simple Rules?

Google’s principles are pretty idealistic. I think this explains why they’ve become so popular but also why they sometimes have trouble living up to their own values.

Take a moment to reflect on our own businesses. Are there any of the rules above that you think your business does a great job of embodying? Are there any areas where you think you could improve by being a little bit more like Google?

Personally, I see a lot of Google in my own business (an emphasis on collaboration and a daily desire to improve the service), but there’s still a lot for me to learn (keeping things simple and protecting my share of the market).

This article has left me more energized than ever to apply Google’s principles to my company and my website.

I hope it does the same for you. The more people who follow Google’s lead and create simple, collaborative, value-packed websites, the better off we’ll be.

We here at IncomeDiary aren’t quite sold on the valuation of the company, especially when you consider there’s only 845 users on website. Lets round that up to a billion users, that means that every user is worth $100 to Facebook. So with that knowledge, Facebook could start putting a ridiculous amount of money into advertising, and so long as they’re spending less than $100 per person, they will be making money. With a revenue of $3.7 billion last year, each user was worth an average of $4 each, so there is money there, but $100 billion valuation? That might be a little bit much when you consider that it’s 100 times that of the company’s profits to earning ratio last year – Apple has a profits to earning ratio of 13 for last year, and Google has one of 22. What do you think?

Mark Zuckerberg – 28.4% – $28.4 Billion

Everyone knows who Mark Zuckerberg is, he’s famous as the owner, founder and CEO of Facebook, and made even more famous when the movie ‘The Social Network’ was released, which tells the tales of the turbulent early days of Facebook. His wealth has grown year after year, and with the new IPO released, which you can read in full here, it’s revealed that he currently owns 28.4% of Facebook, which if current estimates are correct, is going to be work $28.4 Billion. With their best year yet at Facebook, revealing a $1 Billion profit on $3.7 Billion revenue, it’s no wonder that Mark’s worth has gone up.

Here’s another little interesting fact about Facebook. In 2011, Zynga, the owner of social games such as FarmVille, was responsible for roughly 12% of Facebook’s earnings. And that’s massive. Here’s a quote from Facebook’s IPO offering:

“We currently generate significant revenue as a result of our relationship with Zynga, and, if we are unable to successfully maintain this relationship, our financial results could be harmed.

In 2011, Zynga accounted for approximately 12% of our revenue, which amount was comprised of revenue derived from payments processing fees related to Zynga’s sales of virtual goods and from direct advertising purchased by Zynga. Additionally, Zynga’s apps generate a significant number of pages on which we display ads from other advertisers. If the use of Zynga games on our Platform declines, if Zynga launches games on or migrates games to competing platforms, or if we fail to maintain good relations with Zynga, we may lose Zynga as a significant Platform developer and our financial results may be adversely affected.”

That means that Zynga users spent $308M on Facebook last year alone, which is absolutely ridiculous when you consider what they sell.

With Mark’s Facebook money, you could buy…

• 558 Gulfstream G550 private jets, at $50M each.
• Antilla, the world’s most expensive home, 28 times.

Jim Breyer & Accel Partners – 11.4% – $11.4 Billion

For those of you that don’t know, Jim Breyer is an American venture capitalist and partner of Accel Partners, which currently owns a solid 11.4% of Facebook, which for those of you who haven’t cottoned on to the maths yet, that’s roughly $11.4 Billion. In August, 2010, Fortune Magazine named Breyer one of the 10 smartest people in technology, and you can see why. It’s his smart thinking and foresight into an incredible company, that has skyrocketed his wealth over the past few years. His previous success with earlier ventures ensured that there was enough money available invest in the right company, at the right time. His firm Accel Partners own the stake in Facebook, but he’s a very large part of the success, and the face of the company.

With Jim’s Facebook money, you could buy…

• 228 Gulfstream G550 private jets, at $50M each.
• Antilla, the world’s most expensive home, 11 and a bit times.

Dustin Moskovitz – 7.6% – $7.6 Billion

Dustin is just 8 days younger than Mark Zuckerberg, making him the youngest billionaire in the world. Dustin founded the site with Mark back at Harvard and holds on to a 7.6% stake of the company, which with this current valuation is likely to net him a worth of $7.6B. He left Facebook in 2008 to work on his own ventures, such as a mobile photo-sharing site, called Path (I’m sure you’ve heard about it lately), which has already turned down a $100 million offer from Google, and now serves over 2 millions people. As good as that may well be, you can’t help but compare it to the likes of Facebook, which has grown rapidly in the 8 short years since it was created. Clearly a force to be reckoned with.

With Dustin’s Facebook money, you could buy…

• 152 Gulfstream G550 private jets, at $50M each.
• Antilla, the world’s most expensive home, 7 and a bit times.

Yuri Milner & Digital Sky Technologies – 5.4% – $5.4 Billion

DST was founded by Yuri Milner to focus solely on investments in the internet sector, where they have investments in Facebook, Zynga and Groupon. They bought into Facebook with a $200 million investment in May 2009, based on a $10 Billion valuation. On top of that, they put another $100 million together to start buying employee’s shares to expand their stake in the company. In January 2011, they co-led an investment with Goldman Sachs of another $500 million based on a $50 billion dollar valuation. This has made them one of the largest shareholders in Facebook, and their stake in Zynga means that they’re making money from more than one source, seeing as Facebook users decided to spend $308 million on Zynga through Facebook alone last year. Ridiculous when you think about it.

With Yuri’s Facebook money, you could buy…

• 108 Gulfstream G550 private jets, at $50M each.
• Antilla, the world’s most expensive home, 5 times, with some spare cash left over for some fancy cars in the basement.

Eduardo Saverin – 5% – $5 Billion

You might recognise the name if you’ve seen ‘The Social Network’, and that’s because Eduardo played a key role in the company’s founding, back when he was roommates and best friends with Mark Zuckerberg. And if you’ve seen the film, you’ll know that their relationship went sour, and that Eduardo actually used to own a third of the company, before it went down to 30% when Dustin Moskovitz came aboard. After some disputes between Mark and Eduardo about how the company was going to move forward, and whether Eduardo was going to remain as part of the Facebook team, he got pushed out the company when a group of investors (including Peter Thiel from PayPal), got onboard. After a series of legal disputes, Eduardo finally got his stake pushed back up to 5%, and even from such a small stake, he’s worth an incredible amount of money. There might be love lost between the two of them, but I wouldn’t turn my nose up at $5 Billion.

With Eduardo’s Facebook money, you could buy…

• 100 Gulfstream G550 private jets, at $50M each.
• Antilla, the world’s most expensive home, 5 times.

Sean Parker – 4% – $4 Billion

Sean parker is a name that many of you would have been familiar with since way before Facebook, due to his role in Napster, the peer2peer file sharing program. When that eventually went sour and everyone tried to sue him, he walked away with an interesting reputation and a whole lot of knowledge. It was Sean that got involved in Facebook when it was just five months old, becoming the company’s first president, and helped the company to think big with the knowledge that he had acquired from Napster, and his role as an early advisor to Friendster (anyone remember that?). He introduced the company’s first investor to Mark, in the form of Peter Thiel (PayPal Co-Founder) and was the one to implement features such as the photo sharing function. In Mark’s own words, “Sean was pivotal in helping Facebook transform from a college project into a real company.”

He has other irons in the fire, and has recently invested $15 M in Spotify, which is a rival to the new version of Napster, but none of that accounts towards the wealth that we’re look at here today. With a 4% share in one of the fastest growing and most profitable companies on the internet, he’s a sizeable part of something very special.

With Sean’s Facebook money, you could buy…

• 80 Gulfstream G550 private jets, at $50M each.
• Antilla, the world’s most expensive home, 4 times.

Peter Thiel – 2.5% – $2.5 Billion

As you hopefully read above, Peter experienced early success on the internet with PayPal, which he sold for $1.5B in 2002, which left him with some money to put to good use. He became the first investor in Facebook back in 2004 with a $500,000 investment for a 10.2% stake in the company. His share has been of course watered down in the past eight years as new investors have gotten on board, looking for a stake in the business. His business acumen and foresight for a small company, with plenty of competitors, has served him well as it’s one of the fastest growing companies on the internet, with a value similar to that of McDonalds.

With Peter’s Facebook money, you could buy…

• 50 Gulfstream G550 private jets, at $50M each.
• Antilla, the world’s most expensive home, 2 1/2 times.

Microsoft - 1.3% – $1.3 Billion

Microsoft bought into Facebook right around the time that Li Ka-shing did below, paying $240 million for 1.6% of Facebook. Those shares have now been diluted somewhat, so their stake has come down to $1.3 billion, only earning them just over a billion dollars from their investment. Poor things. All jokes aside though, they had the money, and they saw the opportunity and potential so they took it. 2008, when they bought the stock, was an interesting time for Facebook, as it was only half the age it is now, and people were only just beginning to make the switch from other social networks.

I remember learning about Facebook in 2006, and I even opened an account, but I decided I didn’t like it, and didn’t come back to it until the next year. It was only in about 2008, when the majority of my friends and I started to say goodbye to MySpace for good, and open up a Facebook account instead. Microsoft’s investment at this time meant that the company was already in a very strong position, but still had plenty of room to grow, which makes it a wise time to invest for any investor. If anyone can find out how much of Microsoft Bill Gates owns, I’d be very interested to know, because then you could see how much he personally owns of Facebook.

With Microsoft’s Facebook money, you could buy…

• 26 Gulfstream G550 private jets, at $50M each.
• Antilla, the world’s most expensive home once, with a bit of cash left over for soft furnishings.

Chris Hughes – 1% – $1 Billion

Chris Hughes is the forth roommate to Mark, Eduardo and Dustin, from when they were back at Harvard, and that was how he got involved with Facebook. As well as a co-founder of Facebook, Chris was also in charge of the social media side of Barack Obama’s presidency campaign. He appeared on the cover of ‘Fast Company’ magazine, under the title  ”The Kid Who Made Obama President; How Facebook Cofounder Chris Hughes Unleashed Barack’s Base – and Changed Politics and Marketing Forever”. Now that’s a pretty bold statement to make about anyone, but it seems that Chris really did play a big part in promoting Obama, with his extensive knowledge of social media. I don’t know about you, but if I needed someone to help promote me through social media, I’d want one of the co-founders of Facebook too.

With Chris’s Facebook money, you could buy…

• 20 Gulfstream G550 private jets, at $50M each.
• Antilla, the world’s most expensive home, once. Still though, who really needs 2?

Li Ka-shing – 0.8% – $800 Million

The Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing bought into Facebook in 2008, when the company had a valuation of around $15 billion and he only paid $120 Million. It sounds a bit ridiculous to say only when it’s an enormous amount of money, and only a very small percentage, but that very small percentage is now worth almost seven times what he paid for it, at $800 million. It makes you wonder what would happen now if you invested the same amount of money? I think that even back in 2008 there were plenty of investors who felt like they had already missed the boat, when really, that was when Facebook really started to take off and secure itself as a giant of the internet.

With Li’s Facebook money, you could buy…

• 16 Gulfstream G550 private jets, at $50M each.

Before I start, I would like to thank Steve Kamb for his incredibly insightful interview with us, where he talks about his website Nerd Fitness. It was his final section, on why he’s successful, and others may not be, that really struck me. Here’s what he wrote:

I think the biggest mistake people make in the online fitness industry is that they’re not unique.  There are millions of fitness blogs out there, so writing the same stuff that other people write is a surefire way to go unnoticed.  I actually wrote 5 articles a week for the first 9 months of my blog, and it resulted in 90 subscribers!  90!  Why?  Because I wrote what I thought other people wanted to read or what worked for other sites, rather than what I wanted to read.

After 9 months, I decided to make a change, and injected WAY more personality (and thus nerdiness) into Nerd Fitness, and almost overnight it took off.  Had I not made this change, I’m not quite sure where I’d be today.

So, if you’re trying to stand out in a crowded field (online income generation, finance, fitness), find a way to BE UNIQUE!  I’m certainly not a fitness expert, and I’m not the best fitness blogger out there, but you can sure as hell believe that I run the best fitness blog out there…dedicated to nerds.  Eventually you can cover more general topics, but in order to have an audience you need to find a way to get noticed in the first place.

As someone who write three times a week, but doesn’t quite see the sort of growth I’m looking for, it got me thinking about what I can be doing differently.

I’ve always said that when it comes to blogging, or anything in life really, if you want to succeed, you have to do the best that you can. There’s no point in providing the internet with more average content that it doesn’t need, because that doesn’t make you any better than the next person. That’s why I’ve always written the best content that I can, and it’s what I believe separates me from the competition. But there’s something else I can do; I can be different.

Now that I look back on it, I can see how some of my most popular content has helped to make my website more successful, and how some of that content differs to what I usually write. These posts were much more personal, where I would talk about my own opinion on something, and this would spark conversation. Conversation leads to sharing, and sharing leads to new fans, and so on.

Until recently, I’d never really looked at what some of my popular content had in common, I would simply say that, ‘those are top lists’, and ‘that one’s controversial’, or ‘that’s current and opinionated’, I had never said before what they all had in common, which was that they were all a matter of my opinion. I would say that I have a pretty strong opinion, and a writing style that helps people to understand what I’m saying, which certainly helps to get people on my side, and that has contributed to the growth of my website.

What should I write about?

Well, to know what’s the most popular, it’s always good to call on our old friend Google Analytics. When I go over the whole span over my website, and look at the most popular content, I can see quite clearly that 8/20 of the top 20 posts are based largely on my opinion, and three of these are top lists. Now, I’ve been through top lists in some detail before, so I’m not going to mention it again, as you should all be well aware of what they do. If not, click here.

The other five posts are as follows:

• Top 10 Photography Clichés You Should Avoid To Improve Your Photography
• 10 Embarrassing Mistakes I Made As A Beginner Photographer
• 10 Reasons Your Photos Suck
• The World’s Most Expensive Photo – What Makes It So Great?
• 10 Reasons Why Being A Photographer Sucks

Notice anything about them? Two things spring to mind when I see that list, firstly, all but one of them is in a ‘top 10′ list format, and secondly, they all seem to focus on the negative.

Leaving the forth post aside for a second, lets focus on the other four for now. It’s quite clear that people are interested in the negative aspects of a problem, which point out their mistakes (in a list in this case), rather than positive solutions. I should make a point here, that although there are posts such as 10 Tips For Sharper Photos in the top 2o, what makes these results so special is that they’re the only negatively focused titles I have, rather than a huge number of positive ‘top 10′ lists that I’ve written. Now, I’m no psychologist, and I’m not about to start writing about why this may be, but all I know is that this seems to be true.

But I don’t want to write negatively?

Good news, you don’t have to! None of these posts are negative posts, they merely highlight a problem, or a potential problem, and then I talk quite positively about how you can solve it. For whatever reason (again, I’m no psychologist), people are more interested in being pointed out where they’re going wrong, than where they can go right. The thought that they may be doing something wrong is what interests the reader, which is all about what those top three posts are about. It’s all about capturing the reader with an interesting title, then following it up with relevant content, coupled with a positive spin, and then you’re well on your way to writing more popular posts.

What about being personal?

Well all eight of the posts that I’ve mentioned (the five above, and the three top lists), all include a personal opinion on a subject, and that is what people seem to be interested in. It’s what makes you stand out from the crowd, and what makes people interested in you, and remember you. A different take on a common subject is going to separate you from the rest of the pack, and will help you to stand out to your readers, who will begin to really value your opinion… if you can support the points you’re making.

Don’t get me wrong, I get people disagree with me all of the time, but I carry on with what I’m doing, because these people are the minority, and the majority of people who comment will agree or at least provide their own take on a situation. When it comes to dealing with negativity on the internet, you really have to just pay no attention to it. Let it go over your head, and if anyone decided to leave a negative comment, that you don’t feel in contributing, then don’t accept it – it’s your website. If however they disagree, but provide their own thoughts on the subject, then accept and reply to them, and spark a conversation. All of this is good for Google, and creating interest in your posts – people read comments.

Writing an Opinion Piece

When I say opinion piece, I’m referring to a post that is largely based on your own personal thoughts, and not backed up by hard facts. So whereas Top 10 Photography Clichés You Should Avoid To Improve Your Photography may be considered a tutorial, The World’s Most Expensive Photo – What Makes It So Great? would not be, and that is what we’re going to be looking at here.

I wrote The World’s Most Expensive Photo – What Makes It So Great? on a whim really, I couldn’t think of anything good to write about, but I had recently learned about the sale of the world’s most expensive photo, which had sold for the princely sum of $4.3 million. I had done some reading about it online, purely out of interest, and the biggest problem that people seemed to have with it, was that it didn’t seem at all interesting. Have a look below, what do you think of it? Not really a lot going on is there? Well, that was a common thought, so I tackled it with what I thought was so good about it, and how I grew to love it.

This was greeted with a really positive response, which got people talking. Not only that, but I started to rank in Google for it too. Not a lot of results, but I was doing much worse with Google then, than I am now. The point is that I found a niche within my own niche to write about, using my opinion, and it became very popular.

Because it was my opinion, and an opinion that people seem to support for that matter, rather than some facts, people started to share it. That includes Google, as I previously mentioned. This contributes towards my authority status on the subject of photography, as I could point out what people couldn’t see for themselves. It may not seem like a lot to some people, but that was an incredible amount of traffic from Google for me at that point, and the same goes for Facebook. The bottom result is from a forum that I posted the link on (just in a comment reply), and it proved to be a hot topic. If you want a fast track to becoming an authority on a subject, then this is what you have to do.

How to Write an Opinion Piece

There are a few guidelines you’re going to want to follow.

Stay Current. Stay Relevant.

This is probably the most crucial element behind writing an opinion piece, because if I had written that same post now, rather than back in November, then it’s unlikely that it would have the same affect. People were interested at the time, because it was current and relevant, but if you asked them how much it sold for now, or who took it, or what it’s called, it’s unlikely that they would know. I recommend following forums, and RSS feeds for different websites, and see what’s becoming a hot topic, and then act quickly and write about it.

I wrote about Canon Vs. Nikon, which is a big debate with photographers, and even though I’m very happy with what I’ve written, it hasn’t really provided me with many visitors, because it’s not a current topic that a large group of people in my niche are interested in.

Set yourself boundaries.

Don’t start exploring other niches. Stay within the realms of your knowledge and try to write about what you know best. I’m very good at studying composition, so I could decode the photo above and tell people why I thought it was so good, which was met with a positive response. It was clear that I knew what I was talking about, and if people disagreed, then it was a matter of their opinion, but they would still respect mine. If you start writing about something that you know little to nothing about, then people are going to see right through it and stop listening to what you’re saying.

Research Research Research.

Whatever you’re going to be writing about, make sure you research it a lot, even if you’re only going to write a short post about it. Not only will you find other people’s opinions that may influence yours (I recommend looking through comments for this), but you’ll soon find the general consensus on what you’re writing about, and then you can choose to contrast or reinforce that viewpoint.

Disclaimer.

It’s an opinion piece, so make sure people know that. In mine, I said on more than one occasion something along the lines of ‘all art is subjective, and what I think is good, may be different for you, but here’s what I get from the photo…’ You want to keep your reputation, and all though some discussion is good, you don’t want people to outright disagree with you, so again, back up what you’re saying with some explanation, and make sure people know that it’s your opinion – they will start to value it.

Ask your readers what they think.

This is a great way to improve reader interaction, and the majority of people reading your post will have an opinion, it usually sparks a pretty decent discussion. Comments will appear in Google too, so you want as many as you can get really, so long as they’re relevant. It also means that if they’re willing to comment on a post, then they’re probably willing to share it too, as they will likely know someone else who may be interested.

Well there you have it, my favourite new tip to becoming an authority in your niche. If you’ve enjoyed the post, then do me a massive favour and click ‘Like’ below.

But the problem is that most bloggers don’t understand the fundamentals of a great blog post. They don’t understand how to craft an ADD-stopping introduction, how to write scan-then-stop-to-read subheads, or how to truly engage a reader with every word they write.

Before you can write that legendary blog post, you need to know how to write a good one.

Start with a Simple, Keyword-Relevant, Power-Word-Laden Headline

The headline is and always will be the first part of the post that people see:

• On Google, it’s the blue title tag.
• On Facebook, it’s the bolded text.
• On Twitter, it’s the default tweet.
• In email, it’s the subject line.
• In backlinks, it’s the anchor text.

No matter how people get to your post, they read the headline before they get to your site. Not to mention, the headline is the only reason they came to your site in the first place.

How do You Write an Epic Headline?

1. Start with the benefit: Learn How to Write a Good Blog Post
2. Edit down to the keyword: How to Write a Blog Post
3. Add power word(s): How to Write a Legendary Blog Post

Then Snag Their Attention with an Eye-Catching Image

The goal of the post image is to immediately grab their attention and redirect it to the headline. Here a few things I keep in mind when choosing an image:

• The color red does the best job of grabbing attention.
• The quality of the photo communicates the quality of the post.
• If you include people, animals, or arrows, choose photos where their eyes direct your attention to the headline.

How do You Choose an Amazing Image?

1. Go to compfight.com and filter your results to only include Creative commons.
   You can use these as long as you attribute them back to the artist.
2. Search for your headline’s power words.
   Instead of searching “blog,” “blog post,” or “writing,” I searched “legendary” and found an image of the Trojan horse.
3. Choose one of the first images that you see.
   If one photo grabs your attention amongst 40 other photos, it’ll grab attention on your blog.
4. If the license allows, you can resize and edit the image.
   The post images on IncomeDiary are 345×180 pixels. I’ve yet to find an image that fits that ratio. So I can only use Creative commons photos that also allow me to remix or adapt the work.
5. Attribute the image in the post.
   Link to the artist’s photostream on Flickr somewhere within the post or on the page that you use the image. I choose to attribute images in the bottom-right corner of the post.

Rope them in with an Artfully Crafted Introduction

Copyblogger taught me a lot about refining headlines, but they also taught me about the second most important element in copywriting: the first sentence.

As they put it, the point of the headline is to get them to read the first sentence. The point of the first sentence is to get them to read the second sentence. And so on and so forth.

Then, if they get through the intro, they’re likely to keep reading.

How do you Write an Introduction?

1. Hook
   Start with a quote, ask a question, reveal a stat, elicit imagery, and otherwise inspire curiosity. Oh yeah, and make it short.
2. Rapport
   Make yourself relatable. Empathize with they’re hopes, dreams, and struggles.
3. Problem
   Reveal a common problem and make sure they understand why it’s a problem that’s important to fix.
4. Promise
   Promise to solve that problem if they continue reading the post.

Maintain an Authentic Tone to Your Writing

The most important thing you can do as a blogger is maintain an authentic, conversational tone. This is much harder than it sounds.

I think one of the reasons Michael’s posts are so engaging (despite the dyslexia-induced grammatical errors) is because he hasn’t had any formal writing training. He simply writes what he thinks as he thinks it.

Meanwhile, the rest of us were taught to write with the goal of hitting a certain number of words.

How do you Write Well?

• Use small words.
  The point of writing is to communicate as effectively as possible. The best way to do that is with simple words.
• Write short sentences.
  It’s a lot easier to comprehend a short sentence than a long one.
• Use contractions.
  If you talk with contractions, use contractions.
• Include expletives.
  Use words like, “Oh yeah” and “You know.” If you say it when you talk, you should say it when you write.
• Edit it out loud.
  When you’re done writing, read it out loud. If you struggle to carry a natural tone, it’s bad writing.

Teach through Examples, Metaphors, and Stories

Once your introduction has them reading and your writing has them engaged, it’s time to solve that problem.

My favorite tools for teaching people are examples, metaphors, and stories. You can simply tell somebody about a concept or strategy, but it won’t stick unless you offer up an easy way for them to remember it.

How do you Include Examples, Metaphors, and Stories?

• Examples
  When I’m blogging about blogging, I like to use examples from the post I’m writing within the post (Inception-like). Follow up every concept with an example.
•  Metaphors
  Using a metaphor to explain a concept is like using counting sticks to teach math to a four-year-old.
• Stories
  Did you notice how many Super Bowl commercials used 1-minute or more to tell a story this year? Telling a story is the most powerful way to teach somebody something.

Summarize All Your Points through Subheads

When you’re writing for the web, understand that most readers start by scanning the subheads. If the subheads do a good job of capturing their curiosity, they’ll stop to read the rest of the content.

For instance, if you started “reading” this post by scanning through the subheads; let us know in the comments. This will also show that the subheads did a good enough job of making you stop to read.

How do you Write Subheads?

Similar to headlines:

1. Start with the section topic: Subheads
2. Make them actionable: Summarize through Subheads
3. Clarify: Summarize All Your Points through Subheads

When you’re reading a post, you should be able to scan the subheads and know exactly what that post was about.

Know that Principles are Merely the Foundation for Creativity

I understand that compiling a set of rules on how to write a legendary blog post is like telling a painter how to paint.

So I want to make sure that you walk away from this post understanding that these principles are simply common elements I’ve found in the best blog posts I’ve ever read.

If you want to truly be remarkable, you should be prepared to break the rules and reset the status quo. But you also need to recognize the basic elements of a masterpiece.

Image:  rubyblossom

Even if your business only requires a computer and an internet connection, you’ll need to know how to get the ball rolling and start generating income.

Here are five tips on where to start making money, plus a word of warning from someone who has experienced the battle of starting a business with an empty wallet. The best place to start is everyone’s least favorite, but ultimately the most effective opportunity:

1. Freelance job boards

Any Google search related to “starting a business” or “freelancing” and “financing” will turn up a plethora of freelance job boards.

Get started signing up for them, and be sure you complete your profile on each one.

Before you start building profiles, you should have a few things ready to go:

-Your business name and online/offline contact information
-A brief description of your business and the services offered
-Either a portfolio or a convincingly-worded description of your skills acquired elsewhere

You should know exactly what you’re offering and be able to convey it concisely. There are plenty of transferable skills learned through school, hobbies, and work that can be applied to satisfying a client’s needs – you just need to make them aware that you’re competent, regardless of whether or not you have a portfolio.

Apply everywhere, and apply for gigs or projects where you can be even remotely helpful.

Until you have a job, this is your job. Be religious about looking for updated project listings and following up on bids you’ve placed.

Remember: pricing doesn’t matter as much as the ability to say you have a client. Don’t lose that chance by getting hung up on the idea that your time is “worth” a certain amount of money.

So, know what you need, and aim for that, only go for more if your pricing can remain competitive.

Odd jobs/ Part time work

Sounds counter-intuitive, right? You’re trying to start your own business, not work for someone else.

But how badly do you want money? How badly does your business need financing?

If money isn’t coming to you easily, you scrape it together.

Look at it this way: if you were told you had six months to live and needed $10,000 for a life-saving operation, what jobs would you take and how many hours would you dedicate to getting that money?

That same urgency can be applied to your business, if you take your goals seriously.

$7 an hour is more than the zero you’re making sitting at home, reading business blogs. Get out and do something, then roll that tiny paycheck into ads, or buying leads, or creating your product.

Spend carefully, take on bit projects or odd jobs, save your change and have a clearly defined goal so that when you’ve done enough, you know it.

Family and Friends

For some businesspeople, this is the first line of defense, but I only recommend asking people you know for money as a next-to-last resort.

Put the time in elsewhere so that they can see your passion, dedication, and level of responsibility.

Talk about your work with your family and friends, share more if they seem interested. In order for someone close to you to feel comfortable investing in you, they’ll need to have a clear understanding of what kind of business person you are.

If they can tell you’re willing to do whatever it takes to become a success, they’re far more likely to help out than if they think you’re a financial gamble.

Creative Networking

I got my break in the business by chatting about work at a Superbowl Party a few years ago. All it takes is one client, one chance, one paycheck to give you an opportunity to get your business underway.

Be knowledgable, be confident, and be curious about other peoples’ lives and work.

Get out into the world, both the real world and the virtual world, and experiment with talking to strangers. The more connections you make, the more likely you are that someone will either a.) want your services for their business or b.) have you in mind for a recommendation when a colleague needs the services you offer.

Know the difference between friendship and a business relationship, and work to cultivate both via social engagements, webinars, meetups, tweetups, and other local business networking events.

VC’s, banks, etc.

I don’t have a lot of experience with these yet, because I was able to grow my business organically via odd jobs and creative networking.

I have researched the options and learned that it’s important for anyone relying on a VC to do their research. Not all loans, and not all financial institutions are created equal.

Just like getting started on freelancer boards, you’ll need to know how to convey your skills and abilities confidently. If you have a portfolio, make sure the information is organized, thorough, and demonstrates your capacity as a businessperson.

Again, you’ll need a presentation of sorts available. It’s better to have some basic financial projections and a business plan on file at all times, whether they’re needed in early phases or not. It would be terrible to get a shot at a short-notice meeting and not have the required documents handy.

Get a clear understanding of what their investment means for you in the long term. If they own a portion of your business, or your profits, determine how long that ownership lasts and whether you’ll be able to work with that down the line.

Word of Warning: Have a Plan

Money may be tight for awhile even after your business finds clients. Have a plan in mind (or written down) for where that money will go once it comes in. You should know the answers to these questions:

-Which financial obligations are the top priorities for your business?
-What specifically does your company need in order to have opportunity for growth?
-What are the minimum and maximum amount of income you will dedicate toward growing your business? (Percentages are easier to guarantee than actual dollar amounts.)

Of course, this isn’t an exhaustive list, so please add any other thoughts on how you can make money right away to the comments below.

They want a website. They want to get traffic. And they want their website to be a lead generator rather than a cost center.

Yet, they don’t want to put effort into blogging and they don’t want to pay for traffic. Well, it’s one or the other.

Let me explain.

How Blogging Leads to Traffic

Your website will not get substantial traffic without a blog.

Want proof?

Name one website that you visited today that wasn’t different from the last time you visited it.

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and every news site on the planet gets tons of traffic because they’re constantly being updated with new content.

Content, after all, is the only reason somebody visits a website. I challenge you to think of any other.

Blogging and Search Engine Optimization

Let’s recap what we know about search engine optimization:

• Search engines like sites that are regularly updated.
• Search engines like sites that have quality content.
• Search engines like sites that have lots of content.
• Search engines like sites that have backlinks.
• Search engines like sites that have lots of social shares.

Now let’s see how blogging fits in:

• Blogging is the easiest way to regularly update your website.
• Blogging is the best way to showcase quality content.
• Blogging is the most practical way to post lots of content.
• Blogging is the most effective way to generate backlinks because people link to useful content.
• Blogging is the best way to accrue social shares because people share interesting content.

If you want free traffic from search engines, you need a blog.

Let’s look at two different websites.

One is your standard business website with the homepage, about page, contact page, services page, and maybe a few product pages.

The other has all of those pages plus 500 blog posts.

Which one do you think is going to get more search traffic?

Blogging and Social Media

Now, let’s take a look at the core of social media:

People post content to their walls and profiles that they believe their friends and followers will find interesting because they want to be perceived as interesting.

Blogging gives you a chance to be interesting.

Let’s look at those two examples again. Rarely will a stranger share a link that points back to a home page, about page, or product page. But, frequently, people share links with fascinating stories, creative videos, and interesting articles.

Once your blog starts getting search and social traffic, it’s time to start converting it.

How Blogging Leads to Lead Generation

By now you should be convinced that the most high-trafficked pages on your website will be blog posts. (If not, look at your Analytics.)

With that in mind, we need to work on converting those people. The conversion method of choice for most bloggers is an email opt-in.

Blogging and Email Marketing

Email opt-ins are often the goal because saying, “I want to receive emails from you” is the most engaged somebody could be prior to becoming a customer.

From a traditional marketing perspective, let’s look at why email works:

1. Email is permission-based. People are more likely to consume your marketing message if they’re expecting and looking forward to receiving it.
2. Email is targeted. The only people on your list will be people who have visited your website and liked it enough to sign-up for updates.
3. Email is seen. Unlike most advertising, people will at least see, usually open, and ideally read every email you send them.
4. Email is consistent. It follows the marketing principle that people need to see your marketing message seven times before they’ll purchase.
5. Email builds trust. The longer people keep you in their inbox, the more they’re going to trust you.

I know there are lots of strategies and philosophies behind email marketing. One of the more popular strategies is to email out your blog posts. This does three things:

1. Gives them free content so they’ll stay subscribed.
2. Keeps you top of mind as long as you regularly update your blog.
3. Provides a platform for your email subscribers to connect with you and other subscribers.

After all, the reason they signed up for your list is probably because they liked your blog. And if you don’t send them your blog posts, what are you going to send them? If they start getting too many pitches, they’re going to unsubscribe. So you need to send them valuable content. And if it’s valuable enough to put in an email, you might as well make it a blog post.

How Blogging Leads to Making Money

Since traffic generally starts on and subscribes through your blog, how does your blog lead to your business making money?

Let’s look at the big blogging picture:

• Blogging encourages Google to rank your site higher.
• Blogging enables people to spread the word about your company.
• Blogging persuades people to keep you in their inbox.
• Blogging helps you become a trusted authority.

The reason you opened the email or clicked the link that sent you here is because Michael has done a wonderful job of building this blog.

The alternative to getting traffic is buying ads that send people to boring sales pages where some will buy but most will leave, forever. It’s a lot less work, but a lot more expensive.

Even in Michael’s case. Let’s say he pays his authors $100 per blog post and the average IncomeDiary post is viewed 10,000 times over the life of the article. That may seem pricey, but to get the same amount of traffic through ads, he’d have to pay anywhere from $5,000-35,000. (The average cost-per-click with Google AdWords is between $0.50 and $3.50 depending on the keyword.)

You see? Blogging isn’t just part of your internet marketing strategy. It’s the core of it.

If your site is getting traffic and building trust, your business will make more money.

The only difference between Facebook/Twitter/YouTube and your blog is that they found a way to get people to update the content for them.

Have I convinced you?

I’m curious. If you’ve bought one of Michael’s products or purchased something he recommends as a result of finding his blog, let us know in the comments.

For me, I use Aweber because IncomeDiary originally introduced me to it.

Image by: cloud_nine

What I’ve Learned

1 – Writing a blog is an excellent way of drawing attention towards yourself and your other work.

I originally started my blog last April because I put together a photography portfolio which I wanted to share with as many people as I could, but I wasn’t exactly showing up in Google yet. I thought that writing a blog would be a great way of putting together lots of content that was going to be seen by many people, and I could plug my photography as much as I wanted. This has been very successful, and thousands of people see my photos everyday, but as it turns out, I’ve changed directions with my photography.

I now mostly focus on my website, and I’m not actively looking for photography jobs at all (even though I know that I could easily find and complete them), because I know that if I put in enough effort now, I can be making a solid passive income in a year from now. I’ve already come a very long way, it would just be great to be in a position where I can really choose what I want to do for work.

2 – Keywords are key.

They really are. When I created my website, it was originally under my name, and no one knew what it was about. When you choose a name like ExpertPhotography, people immediately know what you’re talking about. I use keywords in all of my post titles, and I tag all of my posts. My tags actually show up in Google, rather than the posts themselves, quite often. A pet peeve for me is when people use what they think are keywords, such as ‘synergy’ and ‘intelligence’, when they’re not actually doing anything in terms of helping the reader understand what they’re about.

Using the right keywords, especially when it comes to attracting people to your blog posts, is absolutely essential. I often see really ambiguous titles like ‘What your feet have to do with business’ or something equally ridiculous, and on the rare occasion I open up a post like this, I struggle to find what it’s about, and end up closing it. Think to yourself, would this title rank well in Google. If it doesn’t, then lose it.

3 – Having someone who you can pay to do stuff for you, will save you time, and allow you to focus on what’s really important.

What I like to think is ‘what is my time worth?’. Then when a task arises, you work out whether it would cost less for someone else to do it for you, so that you can focus on something more important, or whether it’s worth your while doing it yourself. I could have spent a couple days struggling to come up with a rather pants looking logo, or I could just find someone to do it for me.

I’ve looked around, and the best person that I can find who can write content on my website, is me, so that’s what I should be focusing on. For Michael it’s slightly different. Sure, he writes excellent content that people love to read, but he also has other writers who will produce content that’s just as good. It makes more sense for him to hire writer who will do the work for him, and then that leaves him time to work on the big picture stuff. He can work on new products, and get involved in new business ventures, like he’s done with my website.

4 – Take your time and effort to cover the basics of your niche – Content is King.

Content really is king, and if you don’t have killer content, then you may as well not bother. I wrote some of my most popular content 9 months ago, which covers the basics of my niche, and that’s my ‘bread and butter’ content, so to speak. If you do it properly once, then you don’t have to do it again, and beginners in your niche will see how good it is and start to stick around. Write this content first because it will take time to be picked up by Google on a new site, and that’s what is going to help sustain your website.

5 – It’s better to excel in one niche, than to do alright in a few.

This is so important, as I found out when I was trying to grow my website. Like most people, I had trouble coming up with interesting and relevant content in my niche, and I started to get distracted by other niches, within my niche. So I might start covering advanced lighting as part of photography, but by doing so, I start to lose some of my readership. Stick to one thing, and do it well, then when you have an established following, and a good archive, then you can start to cover different content, while people can easily browse for what they’re looking for.

6 – Building a strong following is the first step.

I really wish I knew what I know now when I first started my blog. The following is one of the most important things you can build on, because posting to 3,600 Facebook fans 9 months ago would have had a dramatic difference on my growth. I did stupid things like not including the official Facebook like box on my blog because I thought it was ugly, when really, it was the most powerful thing I could include. I would place links at the bottom asking people to like my fan page, follow my Twitter and submit a photo, but I was asking them to always leave the page. The official Facebook like box doesn’t require that you leave the page at all, all the reader has to do is click like, and they become a fan. A strong Facebook following is key for most niches.

7 – Writing top lists help to earn you recognition from new readers and Google.

Oh boy does it. If you read my recent post on the best thing I ever did for my website, then you’ll be fully aware of what I’m talking about here. Nothing has helped me to grow my website the same way as a top list, because over a couple of days you can have 10,000 new visitors and 500 new fans. Top lists will open you up to the fan bases of the people/products/websites featured in them as they’re likely to share their listing with their followers. And what’s more is that Google has really started to notice the importance of social influence, so when people are sharing your content like this, they give you much more credibility and start to rank you higher, and that’s when things start to really pay off.

8 – Google takes a lot of notice to spikes in traffic, as well as people sharing your links across the internet.

This is basically what I said earlier, where Google will recognise people sharing your links, and start to rank you higher, the more pople share your content. It’s hard to know exactly what they will like, and what will be shared, but so long as you’re writing regular top lists, and excellent content, then you’ll do well. One thing I have noticed from my latest top list is that there has been no real increase in Google traffic, and I don’t know if less people have shared it (even though it brought record traffic), or I’m just past the point that Google stop caring. Either way, getting people to share your content when you’re first starting out if a great way to get Google to notice you.

9 – Google takes time.

I was just itching to get traffic from Google when I first started my website, but there’s actually not a lot that you can do to encourage it. I’ve had my ups and downs, and with the exception of the spikes in traffic from top-lists, Google has been entirely unpredictable. To be honest, there two main factors that have helped my results increase in the past few months, and that’s time, and number of posts. I have written a lot of content for my site now, over 125 posts, and it’s been 9 months since I started. I also have a fairly regular following for the site, and these are all things that Google values and gives you credibility for. I have no reason to start slowing down either, I’m going to continue to grow my website and keep up my writing, and I think that a year from now, I will have come a very long way.

10 – Google Analytics is the single greatest tool at my disposal.

I always knew there was a way of tracking visitors on my website, but I never quite knew the extent of Google Analytics. There has been countless times where I’ve gone into my GA and discovered something new about my website, whether it’s a new referrer, an increase in earnings, visitor locations, or spike in traffic. I’ve even set up alert for statistics such as Facebook, so that when I get 50% more visitors than the day before from Facebook, then I know to go and check out what my traffic is doing, and find out where they’ve come from. GA is simply just one of the tools that I can’t do without.

11 – Always use a reliable hosting.

Oh boy is this one important. I’ve had my website go down a couple of times, when it really shouldn’t have, all because my website couldn’t handle the traffic. I reckon that this alone has set my website back a couple of months. I had Adobe Photoshop share my like to 400,000 people on Facebook, and my site immediately went down for 45 minutes due to the strain. I still received a record number of visitors (at the time), but it would have been much much higher if it wasn’t for the downtime. It’s been down a couple of other times, but nothing too siginificant, and it managed to survive my latest influx of traffic. I recommend talking to your hosting company and make sure that it’s set up properly, because that can make all the difference.

12 – Social Media is incredibly important.

Facebook and Twitter have done so much good for my website over the past nine months, and they work in different ways. I use Twitter to find people in my niche who are interested in learning photography, and I do this by using Tweet Adder and following the followers of similar users. Then when they follow, I send them to my fan page or website, where they will hopefully become a fan. It’s the best form of free promotion that you can do for your website, and it can largely be automated if you know what you’re doing, so that you don’t even have to do anything.

13 – Good writing provides you with strong, regular and often unexpected referrers.

As I mentioned in my previous point, I received the recognition of a huge company, with a massive following, all because they managed to find what I had written and liked what I saw. The same thing has happened with StumbleUpon where particular posts become incredibly popular, one in particular provided me with about 7,000 hits in just two days. It’s my strong content that has proved to provide me with unexpected visitors, time and time again. If there’s one thing I pride myself on, it’s writing the best content that I can, and this just goes to show that it pays off.

14 – Linking throughout your website improves the readers time on site, pages per visit and the amount of ads that they click on.

Writing about this is kind of bitter/sweet, because it involves my favourite plugin, which I no longer use. The plugin is called SEO Smart Links, and it will add a link to every keyword, on every page, so long as you input in into the backend. The problem though was that it was massively slowing down the page load speed on my site, so I’ve had to remove it. I’m going to try it again at some point soon, but not until it’s been updated. To be honest, any plugin that changes so much on a single page is always going to slow down my website, so I’m not really hoping for much.

Instead I now add links where I deem them to be the most important, instead of just flooding my page with different links. I always try to recommend at least one other page for the reader to visit.

15 – Forums are an excellent way to find a larger audience.

I’m sure you’re all familiar with the nature of internet forums, and the way people like to talk and act when they’re hidden behind anonymity, and this is the very reason I never wanted to join a forum in my niche. It wasn’t until I started to view the top referrers for my Google AdSense, that I realised the website that was linking to me from their homepage was providing me with the most amount of money. I immediately emailed them thanking them for the link, and I joined the forum.

It’s important to not just join a forum and flood people with your links for no reason, this will never end well. There was some suspicion anyway when I went into the ‘Introduce Yourself’ section, but as I was there to help out, and contributed without links too, I was able to gain credibility. What’s more is that I’ve found more fans through this website, and they’ve even shared my links for me. I noticed one day that I’d earned a lot more from my AdSense than usual, so I went to check where it was coming from and found that one of my links had been shared. Turns out someone had shared my link to try and help a beginner, this became a popular post, and a few hundred people clicked on it.

Find a small forum that’s still growing and join it.

16 – Better content doesn’t mean a more successful site.

Sad, but true. I have no doubt by the way my site is growing, that in the long run, my site will prove to be very successful, but it’s not grown as fast as some competitors. I say competitors, but I don’t really seem them as competitors, because there’s plenty of room for all of us in our niche. We just do our own thing, and so long as we’re not ripping each other off, there’s no reason why we can’t share the same fans. Sometimes it comes down to luck, sometimes it comes down to writing style, content, or fan base, but some website just grow faster than others. You can have the best content in the world, but if you’re not helping your website to grow, and dedicating the time that you should be, then you will soon see other people overtake you.

You shouldn’t let this bother you though, because this is a common occurrence, and if you let it get you down, then you really have been beaten. Don’t let it beat you, keep up your hard word, and stick with it.

17 – There will always be negative people on the internet.

For some reason, unknown to me, people like to share their negativity if they don’t like something. Even if there’s no reason for them to not like it. If I don’t like something on the internet, I don’t get worked up about it, I just close the link and explore one of the other billions of pages instead. Some people though like to leave a negative comment, and put down your hard work, and when you’re just starting out, this can really bother you if you let it.

Whether this is on a site like Reddit, where you’re submitted a link, or a comment on your website, if you blog for long enough, someone will leave something negative. It’s a shame really, but there’s not much you can do about it, so you just need to not let it bother you. On this site, and ExpertPhotography, we have to approve every comment before it goes on the site, so that we can check for spam and this sort of thing. Remember that it’s your site, and what you say goes, so don’t accept rubbish comments like that, just delete them, they’re unnecessary and have no place being on your page.

18 – Blogging spawns new ideas.

The great thing about working for yourself, on something of your own, is that you spend the whole time focused on you. When you start a blog, or at least when I started mine, the goal quickly becomes to make money. With that in mind, new ideas start to pop up in your head all the time, one idea leading to the next like a brainstorm. I’m fortunate enough to work on this website, which allows me plenty of opportunities to work on my own website and study what’s going on, so my site is always in mind. I’ve got some big plans for this year, much bigger than anything I would have had from following my previous career.

19 – It’s not about the number of visitors, it’s about the quality of visitors.

I’m a big fan of tracking and improving my quality of visitors because they’re actually a little bit more important than the number of visitors you receive. Now, this might not sound like it makes much sense, because we all ultimately want lots of different visitors to our website, but when we’re trying to grow our site, it’s the people that come back that matter. People who visit more than one page, or stay for longer than 30 seconds are the type of people that will eventually become fans and will possibly buy something when we come to sell it. Learn more about tracking and improving your quality of visitor here.

20 – People prefer a personal touch.

This actually surprised me a little bit, because I was conflicted when I started my website, and although I wanted more people to see my photography, I didn’t want to make my blog a personal thing. I’ve always known that if I want to sell my website one day, I have to sell it as the website, and not me, and if I’m the main image for the website, that just won’t work. That’s why I stepped back from including my name. But you’ll notice on here that a lot of the comments have ‘Hey Josh, thanks…’, and that’s because people recognise the person, and appreciate the personal touch. I like to sign off my posts, and sometime statuses, with my name, or at the very least the about the author section, because it’s easier for people to identify with a person, than it is a site, and that’s part of the reason that they like to keep coming back.

So from me, Josh Dunlop, I hope you’ve enjoyed this post.

The tasks that used to thrill you now feel like a burden, your customers are getting on your nerves, and even the smallest things get under your skin.

You don’t want to quit. But it would be nice if you didn’t hate the idea of going over to your computer desk…again. You don’t want to feel so burnt out.

Burnout is dangerous. It’s what makes you want to quit following your dream and get a job in retail, where you’ll tell everyone about how you “used to work for” yourself.

When you start to hate your business, here are eight tips to get your head back in the game and fall in love all over again.

1. Get back to basics

Finish this sentence:

“I started my own business because I ______________.”

Do you remember?

At one point you had the passion to make a drastic change in your life. Pinpoint where that was rooted in and spend some time getting in touch with those driving factors again.

Which projects, blogs, possibilities, or industry leaders inspired your passion?

Revisit not only those feelings, but the actual words or places that moved you. Get involved in old communities again, and let yourself be invigorated, either be reinvigorated by the feeling of returning, or by how far you’ve come since you started.

2. Play To Your Strengths

Quick, what makes you, you?

Ok… maybe it’s more involved than that.

We all know what our strengths are or what we want them to be.

Instant gratification only gets us so far in terms of happiness. It’s not sustainable and it won’t carry you on days when work is a slog.

For satisfaction and reconnection with the passion behind your work, create a project that lets your use your strengths. What that project is is up to you, the important thing is that you give yourself the opportunity to flex your muscles over the long term. You can create something, organize an event, learn something, write something, options are limitless.

A new project utilizing your natural abilities will inject new energy into work when you start to find it dull or repetitive.

3. Take A Break

Take a real, legitimate, break.

Leaving the office and taking your phone, laptop, and iPad home to “keep tabs on things” is not a rest. Your brain keeps the work lights on even while you nap or socialize.

You’ll need to plan your break for a time when it will only benefit you and your business. If you’re taking time away that will cost you money or require extra work when you return, you’ll be losing the ground you’ve gained while you’re away.

If business burnouts are a frequent happening for you, you need to schedule regular downtime and protect it fiercely. No calls, no emails, no checking in, no exceptions.

The point of a break is to really rest, because when you’re tired to the bone of the business you’ve created, rest may be your only chance of a change in perspective.

4. Learn Something

Read a book.

Take a class.

Find a new blog.

Attend a webinar.

Education is beneficial to your relationship with your business, regardless of whether it presents an immediate change or not. Learning is a new perspective, it’s tantamount to opening a door to change. It might be the first step in a process to the kind of change you really need.

5. Practice Habitual Gratitude

The habit of active gratitude changes how we view our situation.

Instead of seeing your business through a haze of too many phone calls, irritable clients, and a miles-long list of tasks to accomplish, meditate for awhile on what you have.

• What do you have/can you do that someone just starting in your field would kill for?
• What do you have/can you do now that you didn’t/couldn’t a year ago? Six months ago?
• Who has come into your life and changed it for the better?
• What can you learn from your immediate situation that you wouldn’t have learned otherwise?

6. Re-Invest In Yourself

Paint your office, run an ad, buy a new monitor.

Get a new shirt, a new coffee mug, hell- spring for the BIG pack of pens you like.

It doesn’t have to be a grand change. Just. a. change.

It doesn’t have to cost a lot to reaffirm to yourself that your business, your goals, and your accomplishments are worth some kind of investment.

7. Make A List of EVERYTHING You Hate About Your Business

This could take days to really complete, so give it time.

Separate the list into things you can change immediately, things you can work to change eventually, and things you can’t.

Then, make a game plan for each. If you hate going to work because your office is messy, make yourself organize it now. Today.

If your business is run from a rickety building that doesn’t suit your needs, start a moving budget and do research on new locations for when your lease is up.

If what’s bothering you can’t be changed, change yourself.

Adapt.

Find a new way to look at things, reevaluate your position or opinions, analyze your goals.

Ultimately, find ways to make it better, one step at a time.

8. Write Out Your Mission Statement

Your mission statement should go beyond what you plan to accomplish.

Put your heart into it.

Anyone can write a generic block of text, with fluffy goals and padded language that, at its core, means very little.

What did you create your business for? What sets you apart, and what do you believe in not just as a business owner, but as a human being?

If any line of your mission statement doesn’t genuinely move you to your core, nix it.

You can do better.

Your business shouldn’t just inspire you, it should do it for the people it serves. Isn’t that the beauty of working for yourself?

You have what it takes, because if you didn’t, you wouldn’t have made it this far.

All it really takes to fall in love with your business all over again is a moment to reflect, and reconnect with the reasons you wanted to make the world shift in the first place.

It can be good again. You can be good again.

Just remember, you do it because you love it.

Heck, even the most powerful of CEO’s need to take a step back from their business for a little while.

You started your business to make a dent in the universe.

So what are you waiting for?

Go.

Do it.

Just be sure to leave a comment before you go.

It’s a top list. Please don’t sigh if you’re read about them on here before, because my most recent one just got a whole load more awesome, and there’s plenty that YOU can learn from it. I’ve written in the past all about how to write an awesome top list which will get lots of people talking about your website, but until a couple weeks ago, it had been a long time since I’d written an effective one. With my IncomeDiary hat on, I produced a new top list, and tracked the progress that my website and fan page has made since the release. Here is what I’ve found…

Here’s a few statistics. It’s been 12 days since I published the post and since then it’s had over 20,000 pageviews, which is now the most popular article on my website. To put that into perspective, it currently accounts for 4.26% of all the pageviews on my website to date. There’s also been a change in my social media too, I’ve also had an increase of fans on Facebook too, which is now up by over 500 more than before I posted it.

How it Works

The only reason that top lists work is because people want to share the posts with other people, whether it’s the people featured who are doing so, or fans of theirs. You might not personally share something like this, but there are always people who will, and if you want to encourage this, I would suggest making sure that you have a plugin such as sharebar installed so that it makes it easier for them.

When you release your top list, which you should have made to be pretty awesome looking, you need to contact the people that you have mentioned. The majority of these people or sites will have a Facebook page, so you go into your own fan page, like their page, and then write on their wall telling them about it. I generally experience about a quarter of the people reply to this, thanking me, or telling me that they will share it. Telling them yourself does two main things to help: firstly, it informs them of their listing, and encourages them to share it, and secondly, they start to recognise you and your website as an authority.

In my latest list of 20 different people, around five of them shared them in one way or another, and this is actually a fairly good result. The idea of the post is to create viral content that massages the ego’s of the people listed, so that they will want to share it, but the fact of the matter is that not everyone wants to gloat about it, not everyone is actively using their fan page, even if they do have a large following, and not everyone is even that interested by being listed in the first place, especially if they’re down towards the bottom of the list.

Lets have a look at some of the reactions I got from people who shared and liked my post, which will reveal some details about why they shared it, and who was sharing it. Firstly, lets have a look at the response I got from posting on people’s walls. Brooke below was number 3 on my list, and although she relies, and posts very frequently to her Facebook, she never shared it.This leads us on nicely to other people what will share it for her, and other people like her. Even though I had posted on her wall about it, a few hours later someone else did the same. Not only did they do the same, but they god a few likes on it too. Have a look below to see what I mean. If enough people are sharing it for them, then it can be just as effective. In my experience, if enough people start to share the content on a person’s wall, that person will ultimately end up sharing it themselves. I experienced this with another post I wrote last year, and I reckon that this is because they start to deem it more acceptable to share content, if everyone else is already doing it.

The ultimate goal with a top list is to want the people who you’ve listed to share the post, because they will likely have a very large following. This may influence your order somewhat when you’re putting the list together, but I would suggest exercising caution. If you order people purely by the size of their following, then this is going to be very obvious to anyone following your post, and they no longer think that you really have any authority on the subject. It just so happened that the person I listed as number 1 on my list also had the largest following, and even thought it was coincidental (I was aware), I still received comments about it, so watch out for that. The person I listed at number 1 had around 100,000 fans, whereas the person listed at number 4, had just 1,000. Remember that not everyone bothers with social media.

A great way to keep track of the people that are sharing your website, is to make sure that you like them on your fan page, and then go in once and a while and check the news feed. You’ll start to see posts pop up similar to the one below. Before long, your posts are going out to thousands of people, and driving lots of traffic to your website. The two girls below have a combined 45,000 fans. 

Facebook is constantly updating their site, which most people hate at first, but then grow to love. One of my favourite updates that they’ve done recently had blurred the line between a fan page and a profile, and that has been the ability to subscribe to people. You may have noticed that you don’t receive updates from certain pages you like on Facebook and that’s because Facebook has recognised that you don’t interact with them anymore, so they’ve stopped showing you them. This also happens when the page hasn’t updated in a long time. Subscribing to someone’s page is like becoming their friend; unless you remove them from your news feed, you’re going to see what they’ve been sharing.

This top list was my first experience with someone sharing this way, and it was with the number 1 spot on my list. The man who had over 100,000 fans had shared my content, not through his fan page, but to his subscribers, of which there were 13,500 of them. This got a great deal more attention than if he had just shared it on his fan page, as you can see below.

Website Traffic

Lets have a look at how the traffic has changed on the website, since I posted the article. I was already having a pretty good week to begin with before I it, and I was averaging 1,081 visits each day, compared to 1,342 visits I’ve had each day since the popularity of the post has gone down significantly. The extra 500 fans has definitely helped this, and even though I’ve posted less tutorials than I usually would in this time, the website has done really well. These sorts of posts constantly attract people’s attention, and will continue to do so for months, if not years to come. When we had a look back at last year’s traffic, we notice that all but one of the top 20 posts were written in the years before. Time does a lot of favours to your content.

Statistics like time on site and pages per visit are important to tracking the quality of your visitors, but that’s now what the focus of a top list is about. It’s all about bringing more people to your website in the first place, and then converting them into fans who may want to revisit and learn from your site again. The good thing about the subject that I chose – young photographers – is that the majority of the fans aren’t potential clients, but similar young, aspiring photographers, who are looking to learn. The trick is to find a post that will work like this for your website.

Now we’re going to look at the amount of traffic that I received from the post, when it came to me, and where it came from. The day that I posted the article, I recieved 5,342 pageviews, from 5,820 different visitors. This post, on the first day of being released, managed to beat my personal record for number of visitors in a single day. Something that I’ve found to be quite common, is that the following day usually results in more traffic. This is likely down to the rate at which people browse website, and the fact that I’m in a different time zone. On the second day, that short lived record was broken once again, with 6,085 pageviews, from 6,235 visits. Different people shared this at different times, and that has helped to consistently send me traffic. As you can see from below, I was still receiving 2,600 and 4,000 visits the following two days. Bearing in mind my website is just 9 months old, this is very good.

Lets have a closer look at the days with over 2,000 visitors each, which is five days, from the 6th, to the 10th. My top 4 referrers are Facebook, Reddit, Twitter and a photography forum. The Twitter traffic died down by a huge amount by the second day, so it may not have provided me with the most traffic, but it is a direct market of people who are interested in what I’m saying. The same goes for the photography forum, but a lot of those click were on different posts, because it’s harder to promote content on there.

One thing people expect to see an increase in is AdSense earnings for traffic like this, but unfortunately its’ not that simple. If you really want to earn money with AdSense, then you need to be mostly appealing to your top referrers, and for my site, that’s just not Facebook. Obviously, I’m receiving more visitors, and that’s making me more money, but nothing substancial compared to a good day of traffic from my top referrer. I talk about this in more detail here if you’re interested.

Search Traffic

If you’ve read the summary of my website that I wrote 6 months ago, you’ll know that posting a top list can have a huge effect on your search engine traffic, because sites like Google start to recognise people sharing your content, which leads them to think that ever more people would be interested. Here’s the image that I provided when I wrote the post – notice the correlation between traffic and Google traffic.This is what a boost in traffic from a top list can do for your website, and it’s perhaps one of the biggest improvements that you can make, because of the long term implications. My Google traffic came into some problems shortly after this because of some spam that was hosted on the website without my knowledge, but we got back in, and it fluctuated after this. In the past 3 months, my search engine traffic has increased by over 10 times the amount it used to be, and it’s continued to grow even further since the success of this top list.

Tips for Writing a Top List

There are definitely certain steps that you should be taking to write a top list, and I’ve detailed them all here in this comprehensive guide. The majority of what you need to know is there, but there is one more thing that I would like to add/stress. Don’t chicken out and call it ’20 Best…’, you have to call it ‘Top 20 Best…’ and then order them 1-20, so that everyone has a rank. The reason that you do this is because people are going to disagree with you, and they’re going to be much more likely to comment and share it at the same time. It sounds a little bit twisted, but I assure you, it really does work. For every person that doesn’t agree with you, there’s going to be 10 others who are happy to just see the content.

Top List Ideas

Enough already with the excuse as to why you can’t, or haven’t written a top list, I’m going to help you come up with one.

Anything related to people and websites work best, so that could be anything from the top 20 bloggers/blogs, to the top 20 rap songs of 2011. So long as it’s niched, and lists people, then there’s a good chance that you’ll get a response, even if you’re a website that no one has ever heard of before.

You may think if you’re in the fitness niche, that writing about the top 20 fitness blogs would be a bad idea, but you’d be wrong. I wrote about the top 20 photography websites as my first post, and even though it sent people away from my website, it send even more people towards it. List your competition; it’s a good way to get noticed by them.

Product posts are good, because you can make money through Amazon Associates, but they’re typically not that popular with people, because there’s less of an incentive to share them. Write one by all means, it’s always good to have the links on your site because you’ll start earning a passive income, but you won’t start seeing real money until you have a strong following.

Make sure that you list the top 20, rather than the top 10, because the list will appear to be more comprehensive as you’ve gone through more people to reach the final 20.

Finally, prepare your website for an influx of visitors. Make sure it’s looking good, and that there’s lots of other links to content they might also like. Throw in a few adverts if you want to make some money, and don’t be afraid to mention yourself, or what your website has to offer inside the list.

Call to Action

In 7 days time, I want YOU to publish a top list. Tuesday is a great day to post them because people are into their weeks, and paying attention to their computers again. Have a brainstorm now about what you can write about, whether you know the subject matter or not. I’ll be honest with you, my three most popular top lists, I knew very little about. That’s photography websites, photography bloggers and young photographers. I had a handful of names that I wanted to include, and the rest just came from extensive research.

It just goes to show that you can write an awesome top list, with just some hard work, and a little bit of knowhow. So what’s stopping you? Remember to include images for each, a good description, and to number them 1-20. Good luck, and let me know how it goes – link me.

The post did well: 100+ Tweets, 50+ comments (half mine), and Michael even told me, “when I saw it, I was like, this is what I like.”

One reason that post did well was because I followed the advice in the post (with the exception of #5).

Another reason it did well is because I followed up with many of the 10 blog post marketing steps that I want to tell you about today.

1. Schedule Instead of Publish

I always schedule rather than publish because scheduling gives me one last chance to look over the post.

I also schedule my posts to be published at midnight for three reasons:

1. So the published on time is 00:00. I’m a little OCD about it.
2. So it has the maximum number of hours with the current date.
3. So it has a few “live-hours” before Feedburner/Aweber emails out between 7am-9am. This gives it a chance to have a few Tweets, Likes and comments before it gets emailed out.

2. Read it Again

Immediately after your post is published, read it again. You should’ve already looked it over for grammar. Now is the time to look for ways to improve the final post.

If you don’t enjoy spending a few minutes reading your post one last time, then you probably didn’t do a very good job of writing it.

It’s like fixing up an old car. Once it’s complete, if you don’t spend at least a few minutes admiring it, then you know you could’ve done better.

3. Tweet it Out

Simple enough, eh?

I don’t use any auto-tweeting tools because I like to adjust the tweet and I like to be able to say, “hey world… I just now finished this post. Come be one of the first to see it.”

4. Share on Facebook

Facebook, on the other hand, is a bit more strategic.

When you publish your blog posts on your personal profile, understand that those people are primarily your friends and family. They probably don’t care too much about the content of the post but they will be interested in the fact that you wrote it. So when you add the comment to the link, include something a bit more personal.

When you post your link on your Facebook page, know that these are people who have “Liked” your blog/brand/company. So here, add a comment mentioning the benefit of taking a few minutes to read the post.

It’s important to share the article on both your personal profile and Facebook page at the same time because people who follow both are more likely to see it. It’s the same reason you’re starting to see the links that multiple friends recommend.

5. Set Up Automatic Pinging

If you’re unfamiliar with pinging, there are a number of sites and platforms (including Google, Yahoo!, and Technorati) that allow you to automatically notify, or “ping,” them when your site is updated with new content.

If you’re using WordPress, it’s easy to set up.

From your WordPress dashboard, go to Settings > Writing and scroll down to Update Services.

In that box, copy and paste these URLs:

http://rpc.pingomatic.com/

http://blogsearch.google.com/ping/RPC2

http://api.moreover.com/RPC2

http://api.my.yahoo.com/RPC2

http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping

http://rpc.twingly.com/

http://rpc.weblogs.com/RPC2

http://www.blogdigger.com/RPC2

http://www.bloglines.com/ping

http://ping.feedburner.com/

http://rpc.icerocket.com:10080/

http://www.octora.com/add_rss.php

http://ping.syndic8.com/xmlrpc.php

http://www.wasalive.com/ping/

http://ping.weblogalot.com/rpc.php

http://www.blogpeople.net/servlet/weblogUpdates

http://ping.myblog.jp

http://ping.bloggers.jp/rpc/

http://bblog.com/ping.php

I’ve gathered this collection of pinging services over the last three years. Let me know if I’m missing any.

6. Email Broadcast

Assuming you’ve started to build your email list, email out your blog post to people who have signed up for your blog updates.

You can simply write up and send out an email with a short introduction and link to the post.

Or, depending on your email marketing service, you can automate this step.

I use Aweber’s Blog Broadcast function and integrate it with Feedburner. This way, every time I update my blog, my list automatically gets an email with the blog post between the hours of 7am-9am. I chose that time so it’s sitting at the top of their inbox when they start their computer in the morning.

If you’d like to know how to set up the Aweber Blog Broadcast function, let me know in the comments.

7. Link from Old Posts

Last week I talked about interlinking by adding links to old posts before you publish a new post. You can also do the opposite.

If you’re doing a good job of optimizing and writing evergreen content, then your old posts will continue to get traffic. An easy way to get traffic to a brand new post is to dig into your archives and link from a few relevant posts to the new post with the keyword as the anchor text.

It counts as a link and a trackback. If you’re struggling to get that first comment, consider doing this because the default settings in WordPress count trackbacks as comments. I’ve found that people are more likely to comment if they see other comments.

8. Link from Other Sites

About a year ago I was considering starting a new blog by taking an existing blog and putting it on a new domain. I asked Michael for his opinion and he told me that it’s nice to have two high-traffic sites (his being IncomeDiary.com and Retireat21.com).

One reason that it’s nice to have multiple sites is that you can link between them.

Whenever I publish a post on my new blog, I search the archives of my old blog for relevant articles until I find at least one chance to link to the new blog post.

This adds a trackback, adds a link, increases traffic, and strengthens the structure of my mini network of sites.

9. Submit it to Article Directories

If you’re serious about blogging and would like to boost your SEO, consider submitting your posts to article directories.

Here’s the process:

1. Rewrite your post so it’s new content.
2. Submit it to a few article directories (EzineArticles, ArticlesBase, GoArticles, and ArticleDashboard).
3. Include a link back to the original article or one of your article directory articles.

This process takes awhile so it doesn’t make sense to do it for every post. Once a post starts getting a fair amount of search traffic, consider going through this process to boost it even higher.

10. Reply to First Comment

The first comment is the hardest to get, unless you have a site like IncomeDiary. So you want to reward that commenter by replying to their comment as soon as you can. This does two things:

1. Rewards the first commenter.
2. Shows other commenters that you listen which encourages them to leave comments as well.

For me, I choose to reply to almost every comment simply because I like answering questions and interacting with smart people. It takes a fair amount of time, but I enjoy your comments.

If this post helped you at all or taught you something new, I’d like to know. Leave a comment below and you’ll likely see my reply within a day.

Image by: Stuck in Customs