Seven Areas on How to Conduct a Half Yearly Blog Review Many bloggers do an end of year review. It’s a logical time to do an audit of your blog and set goals. I also think that periodically checking in on those goals and setting new ones is a good idea. This being halfway through the year it is a logical time to do just that. This is a good time to just stop blogging for a day or just spend a few hours and do some analysis of your blog. How have you been traveling as a blogger? I’m going to run ...
Jul 11, 2016•28 min
When Should You Publish Your Blog Posts Today I am talking about when you should publish your blog post. What day of the week? What time of the day? For what timezone? Does it really matter at all? In the past when RSS feeds were popular, timing did seem to matter more. It matters when you publish social media, but I’m not sure if it matters with blog posts that much anymore. From the studies I link to mornings do seem to be the best time. Readers will read blog posts in the morning, but comment...
Jul 07, 2016•17 min
Note: we've now started adding full transcripts to our podcasts. Scroll down to find todays one. Three Types of Ads to Consider When Creating Facebook Advertising Today we are talking about Facebook advertising. If you are all about organic, we also have a podcast about organic Facebook reach coming up. Facebook has been putting more emphasis on advertising, and I know it something that many of you grapple with. A nice thing about Facebook advertising is that you don’t have to invest a lot, and ...
Jul 04, 2016•12 min
Note: we've now started adding full transcripts to our podcasts. Scroll down to find todays one. Getting Started With Your Own Podcast Today is this podcasts first birthday! That’s right - I launched this thing with those first 31 daily episodes back at the end of June 2015 and while we quickly scaled things back to twice a week, I managed to keep things running for a whole year thanks to the support of my team! I’ve completely fallen in love with podcasting as a medium and thought about making ...
Jun 30, 2016•1 hr 6 min
Writing That Develops a Personal Connection With Your Readers Have you ever felt a personal connection with a blogger who you’ve never met and have no real reason to feel a connection with? You read their blog day after day and in time come to feel like you know them—as if their blog posts are almost written as private messages to you. This has happened to me numerous times over the years. I almost end up feeling that the blogger is my friend, even though I’ve never actually had personal contact...
Jun 27, 2016•28 min
Creating a Blogging Will Today, I want to talk about something that may come across as a little morbid or depressing, but something that I think is important - particularly for those of us who do generate a living from our blogs (or at least a decent part time income). It’s all about how to prepare a ‘blogging will’. Note: this episode is now live in iTunes if you'd prefer to listen to it there. Have you ever wondered what happens to your blog if you were to pass away? Over the years, I’ve known...
Jun 23, 2016•14 min
Handling Critical Comments and Attacks from Blog Readers In my recent podcast on the characteristics of successful blogging, I touched on the topic a couple of times of putting yourself out there for public comment and critique. I suggested that having a bit of a thick skin might be useful because from time to time you’ll definitely get ‘feedback’ that may not be as a encouraging, helpful or constructive as it could be - and which at times may even enter into the territory of it being aggressive...
Jun 20, 2016•39 min
Using We and I in Blogging Today we are talking about using the words we and I. This comes from a question from Sally. If you would like to join us on the Gold Coast in Australia for the ProBlogger Event, you have just under two weeks left to save $100 on your ticket. You can get all of the details on ProBloggerEvents.com. Note: this episode is also available on iTunes here. This question is from Sally (not her real name). Sally is just starting out blogging and doesn’t have a team. She has noti...
Jun 16, 2016•9 min
When is a Good Time to Monetize Your Blog Welcome to episode 123. Today I am answering a question that I get asked a lot. The question is how early should I monetize my blog? I know a lot of you are starting or relaunching blogs or starting second blogs. I want to outline a couple of different approaches that I see bloggers taking, and then give you some suggestions on how I would start to monetize my blog if I was starting again today. Currently, there is a $100 off special on tickets to the Pr...
Jun 13, 2016•22 min
Do you associate your name with your blog? Today, I am talking about whether you should use your real name when blogging or blog anonymously. Often times, bloggers introduce themselves to me and then say they blog anonymously. There are definite advantages of using your name and definite advantages of blogging anonymously. I am going to talk about some of the different options that are open to you that may be in between each choice. This is one of the decisions that bloggers face when starting a...
Jun 09, 2016•30 min
Strategies for Overcoming Imposter Syndrome Today I’m going to talk about an issue I see a lot of bloggers struggling with. In fact, I see a lot of blogger’s really crippled by this. I am talking about imposter syndrome. Note: this episode can be listened to in the player above or on iTunes or Stitcher This is something I have suffered with quite a bit over the years. I’m going to get a little personal today and tell you about those times when I was pretty much paralyzed by it. I’m going to get ...
Jun 06, 2016•31 min
Note: this episode can be listened to in the player above or on iTunes or Stitcher 22 Indicators to Help Determine If You're Suited for Starting a Blog Today I want to talk about the characteristics and qualities of professional bloggers. Lately on ProBlogger we’ve noticed a bit of a surge of readers who are what I would call ‘PreBloggers’. People asking questions about how to start a blog and even wondering if they should. As a result we’ve recently published a 5 step guide for starting a blog ...
Jun 02, 2016•41 min
How to Decide on a WordPress Theme for Your Blog Today I have a treat for you. Today we have a special guest, one of our new subject matter experts, Kelly Exeter from Swish Design. Kelly is one of those people who produces a heap of great content and also runs a business on the side. Kelly is one of the go to people in Australia when it comes to blog design. I received a question from Nils from Soul Thoughts who asks a question that many bloggers who are starting a blog. What is the best WordPre...
May 30, 2016•16 min
Note: this episode can be listened to in the player above or on iTunes or Stitcher Seven Ways to Find Time to Create Your Blog's First Product Today I am talking about the topic of juggling priorities and finding time to do the work we need to get done. In our last newsletter, I asked two simple questions. What is your dream, and what is your biggest challenge? The recurring theme of the replies is that for many bloggers a lack of time is an issue. It’s about juggling priorities. There was also ...
May 26, 2016•27 min
Note: this episode can be listened to in the player above or on iTunes or Stitcher. A Blogger Shares How She Made $28,000 Using The 4 Stages of Warming Her Readers Up Today I’m wrapping up the mini series we have been going through that is all about warming your readers up. We have been talking about how to take readers from being completely unaware of who you are or cold to being fully engaged with you or warmed up. I’m going to wrap this series up by sharing a case study of how one blogger, wh...
May 23, 2016•56 min
Note: this episode can be listened to in the player above or on iTunes or Stitcher. How to Move Readers From Passive Lurking to Engagement Welcome to episode 116. I am working through a series that helps you to warm your blog readers up. In episode 112, I introduced the four stages of warming your readers up. In episode 113, I talk about how to get the first eyeball to your blog. In episode 114, I talk about getting people to give your blog a second look and become interested. In episode 115, I ...
May 19, 2016•31 min
Note: this episode can be listened to in the player above or on iTunes or Stitcher. Getting Blog Readers to Subscribe, Follow and Connect Welcome to episode 115. Today we are continuing our series on warming up your readers. This series began in episode 112 where I presented 4 stages of warming your readers up. Taking them from being completely unaware of you and your blog to taking them to becoming highly engaged readers. In episode 113, I talk about getting the first eyeball on your blog. Gett...
May 16, 2016•38 min
Note: this episode can be listened to in the player above or on iTunes or Stitcher. How to Turn First Time Visitors Into Interested Readers of Your Blog Today I’m talking about getting readers to take a second look at your blog. In episode 112, we started this mini series on warming your blog readers up to your blog. In that episode I presented you with four different stages of warming your readers up. In the last episode, number 113, I talked about how to get the first eyeballs on your blog, ho...
May 12, 2016•29 min
Note: this episode can be listened to in the player above or on iTunes or Stitcher. How to Get More Eyeballs on Your Blog Today I am talking about how to get more eyeballs on your blog. How to get more attention for your content. How to get people on your blog for their first view. This is part of my current series on the 4 different steps you want your readers to go through if you want them to be fully engaged. The 4 steps were about taking your readers from being cold about your brand to becom...
May 09, 2016•29 min
Note: this episode can be listened to in the player above or on iTunes or Stitcher. How to Warm Up Your Blog Readers to Become Fully Engaged Welcome to Episode 112. Today I am kicking off a mini-series of podcasts that are designed to help you to move your readers from being cold towards you and your blog, to being fully engaged towards you and your blog. I’m going to talk about the benefits of getting your readers warmed up, and walk you through a series of steps to do that. Then over the next ...
May 05, 2016•20 min
Note: this episode is available to listen to in the player above, on iTunes and Stitcher Why You Should Create a Start Here Page for Your Blog Today's Show Is Sponsored by the Problogger Event - Probloggerevents.Com - save $100 until 1 July Today I am talking about start here pages. This topic comes from a question by John at TheResourcefulCommunity.com Why a Start Here Page? John wants to know why we should have a start here page and the best way to create one. We recently put a start here page...
May 02, 2016•36 min
Note: this episode is available to listen to in the player above, on iTunes and Stitcher Learn All About the ProBlogger Training Event 2016 Today we are talking about the ProBlogger event. I’m going to tell you the story of how the event came about, and run through what will be happening at the event. For those of you interested in coming - you can grab your ticket (and save $100) here. If you aren’t able to make it to the live event in Australia, we also have an option to purchase a virtual tic...
Apr 28, 2016•27 min
Note: this episode is available to listen to in the player above, on iTunes and Stitcher The Benefits of Having a Personal Blog Today’s question comes from Dorothy K from DorothyK.com.au and she asks: “I'd love you to talk about the "usefulness" or "value" of personal blogging. There has been a bit of a discussion about this lately on a few blogs.” I think this question is relevant to a lot of people. I frequently get this question when I am doing Q & A sessions at conferences. People want to kn...
Apr 25, 2016•23 min
Note: this episode is available to listen to in the player above, on iTunes and Stitcher Seven Steps That Can Combat Content Thieves Today’s podcast was inspired by a question from Grant. He asks:“I just discovered another blog is republishing my content in full on their site. They seem to be scraping every post using my RSS feed. Can I stop them and is it worth my time to do that?” Is it worth your time to do anything? In the past, I would try to chase down sites that stole my content to avoid ...
Apr 21, 2016•18 min
Note: this episode is available to listen to in the player above, on iTunes and Stitcher Affiliate Marketing Tips and What Links to Use in Your Emails Today I’m going to talk about affiliate marketing and where the links should point to when sending an email promoting a product to your list. This topic was inspired by a question from Scott. “I want to try my hand at some affiliate promotions and have selected an eBook to promote. I have heard to say that your affiliate promotions work best when ...
Apr 18, 2016•16 min
Note: this episode is available to listen to in the player above, on iTunes and Stitcher 7 Things That Contributed to Allow Me to Be a Full Time Blogger Today I’m going to talk about going full time as a blogger. I received this question from Charlotte. “When did you make the transition from blogging being just a hobby to blogging as a profitable business? What was the turning point for you and/or what were the major changes you made to get where you are now?” Today I’m going to share the 7 thin...
Apr 14, 2016•24 min
Note: this episode is available to listen to in the player above, on iTunes and Stitcher. An Exercise to Help You Write Sales Copy Today I’m going to share a simple exercise that will benefit your blogging and help you with writing sales copy. You can do this exercise in as little as four minutes, and I found it to be effective. Ed Dale of The Challenge and MagCast recently shared this idea at a conference. His talk was brilliant, and I took pages of notes on copywriting and sales because these ...
Apr 11, 2016•18 min
Note: this episode is available to listen to in the player above, on iTunes and Stitcher. A Walk-Through of Reasons Why My Recent Top Posts Have Done Well Today I'm going to talk about some posts that have worked for me in the last month on Digital Photography School, my main blog. This episode comes about from a question received by one of our readers, Matthew. He asks if I could walk through a number of posts that have recently done well and why they have worked. We have done this before on th...
Apr 07, 2016•21 min
Note: this episode is available to listen to in the player above, on iTunes and Stitcher. 9 Different Things to Help You Blog Smart ProBlogger is designed to help bloggers reach their potential along with how to monetize and build a sustainable blog, but I am also interested in blogs that change people’s lives. Today’s show is a continuation of episode 102 where I talked about how many bloggers start out blogging from the heart while others have a strategic, clinical formula. The last podcast to...
Apr 04, 2016•25 min
Note: this episode is available to listen to in the player above, on iTunes and Stitcher. Blogging From the Heart and Soul I had a recent meetup with two local bloggers and they both said that they wanted to give up blogging. They each had different reasons for wanting to give up their blogs and different reasons for starting their blogs. Their blogging strategies were also opposites. Blogger #1 was under the impression that all she needed to do is blog from the heart and everything else will ta...
Mar 31, 2016•24 min
