Afrigator Blog

If you’re a die hard blogger, this post is not for you. Ok, well maybe it could be. Have a read and find out.

If you’ve been reading the past few editions of the Tuesday Tips series, then you may have noticed that most of the posts have been about you. There was the one about what you should read, the one about which tools you should use to get traffic, the one about linking and of course, the one about how you can make your blog just be cooler.

This one, however, is about your readers. The people you write your posts for and the ones who keep coming back for more. These are a few things that you can do to keep us, your faithful readers happy, which of course means we’ll tell all our friends just how wonderful you are and buy you cake.

Promote your old posts

I like your blog, I come here all the time, but I haven’t been around since day one. So, this means there is probably plenty of good stuff that I don’t know about and haven’t had the time to find. This is why I like your related posts plugin that you installed. What’s even cooler is when you tell me about the things you’ve written before, it makes it easier for me to find your cool content. Here – let me show you how as I shamelessly link to this post about how to add related posts on your blogger blog.

Clean up your categories

Categories make getting around your blog a little easier. It lets me know what you write about and if I find something interesting, I can go read a few of your posts about it. This, however, all goes out of the window when you have a squillion (read: a helluva lot) categories. It just becomes too much to sift through and feels like I’m being textually assaulted. Stop it. Keep things nice and simple for me. Create specific categories for the things you write about often and wide categories for the other stuff. Like Life or Music. Don’t have My Kids, My Kids and the Dog, My Dog and the Ball. Just stop it. Please.

Reply to comments with a post

Sometimes I feel like you never listen any more. You talk and talk and talk but when I say something, all you do is drop an off hand comment. I wish you would take the time to respond to me properly. Like in a post. As your reader, I’m telling you what I want to read, and if you keep ignoring me, well, I’ll just stop reading because this relationship doesn’t have a future.
Creating a post in reply to a comment a reader has left on your site is great for a number of reasons: a) It gives you content, so there’s less worrying about what you should write. b) It helps create a sense of community – if someone writes a post in response to my question, I feel quite special. And I tell my friends. c) It shows that you’re paying attention. We see loads of blogs where the authors simply write, but never engage. In my opinion, you should jump at any chance you get to interact with your readers.

Make your point right up front

I um, was going to say that you should, well, sort of start writing and like, kind of just say things near to the top of your erm post. You see what I did there? I bored you for an entire sentence. Make your point up front when you write. Don’t feel pressured to fill pages and pages with text. If I agree with your point, you have me hooked right away. If I disagree, I’ll keep reading to get more ammo for My point in the comments section. But I’ll never make it to the comments if you take too long to spit it out

Ask me a question at the end of your post.

This is probably the easiest one to understand. I ask a question, you give an answer in the comments. I get comments, you get to voice your opinion. I can’t spot the down side here
So with all this in mind, I hope you’ll start treating your users like reader, and not just some two-bit page impression on the side. Do a few of these things and it’ll be like you’re buying them flowers.
Now, I have a question for you – was this post too cheesy? My cheesy radar went crazy when I read it back. Either that or I have sinus problems. What do you think?
Till next time, keep on blogging.
Lester

Blogging, when you think about it, is writing. Now this is by no means a revolutionary disclosure, but I think that often it’s very easy to lose sight of this. It’s especially easy when tools such as twitter, posterous and GatorPeeps have made blogging so much more than just raw writing. One tends to lose sight of the reason you started blogging in the first place. And most of the time it was to write. But what should you write? How should you write and who should you write for?

While I was trying to figure out what today’s Tuesday Tip should be about, I went scouting in all my usual online hangouts hoping that I would read something that might spark an idea for today’s post (with writing in mind). And I did find the spark I was after, only it didn’t look the way I expected it to. You see, I spend a lot of time browsing the net. A LOT. And along the way I find lots of cool things. Again, there’s nothing revolutionary here. But most bloggers don’t have the time or the freedom to browse as much as I do. And with that in mind I though that it might be of more use to you to point you in the direction of bloggers who I think add value to my blogging life. So, here’s an intentionally brief list of blogs that I think you should give a shot at reading:

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

http://jessenewhart.com/

http://gaspedal.com/blog/

http://www.problogger.net/

http://www.gottaquirk.com

Originally I had added a description for each blog, but I think that this might inadvertently put some folks off if I represent the blog in the wrong way, so I decided to go with out. Now, here’s today’s real tip – check out all of these blogs, but subscribe to two or three. They’re all great blogs in their own right but each is aimed at a slightly different reader. They may not all be for you, but when you find one you like try and stick with it. My favourite way to stay up to date is with RSS to email. I receive the blog posts in my inbox which means that I can read them in my own time, even when I’m not online. Sometimes I even wind up reading them on my phone ( it’s a matter of preference).

The point is that there are lots of smart people out there with loads of cool, smart and quirky ideas. The only way that you’ll find out about them is by reading more blogs. Unlike the ‘for dummies’ books of old, blogs don’t cost a cent and you won’t feel bad when you don’t make it to page 300!

I hope you guys don’t mind that the post is a little late, but both last night and today have been a little hectic, so I didn’t get to schedule the post. If you have any blogs you think are worth reading, please drop a comment below so that we can all get a little better at our blogging!

Till next time, keep on blogging,

Lester

Sometimes I hate writing this blog. It means having to actually think, sometimes for long stretches of time. Sometimes late at night, or early in the morning. But write it I must and once I get going I realise why I actually enjoy it so much. Boring though this little confession may be, it forms the basis of today’s Tuesday Tip.

Today’s tip isn’t about technical wizardry or the latest and greatest plugin to get for your blog. These are simply a few thoughts on ways to make your blog a little more reader friendly. When you think about it, it’s readers that count at the end of the day. If you create great work that’s well thought and laid out, this can often trump awesome SEO (search engine optimization) skills. I’m not saying throw the SEO tips out of the window, but you know what I mean.

Now, when you read the tips below for the first, some of them might sound all smart and others might sound like they could even be real advice. But the actual value in these tips is the fact that this is what worked for us, so it’s not just theory or speculation.

As regular as blogwork

I know from habit that Monday nights are good TV nights, so I generally try and get home early on Mondays. The same principle applies to blogging. If people know when to expect new or specific content on your blog, chances are that they’ll come around to have a look. Sort of like what we do with this Tuesday Tips section. Outline a schedule and stick to it. Just as important is to let your audience know what the schedule is. Put it up on your blog somewhere if you can. Even better yet – include the schedule in the name – like Women Wednesday. People are creatures of habit, so make it easy for us by letting us know when to come around to get the goods.

Play Niche

Trying to be all things to all men (and women) is difficult. It means that you’ll need to write about a whole bunch of topics that you’re not really an expert on. Sticking to what you know allows you to be genuine when you write (which is important) and also to create knowledgeable content. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like people going around calling me a fool. If someone does, I pity the fool…anyway. Stick to what you know and if you’re playing around with something unfamiliar make it known that this isn’t your home ground. The internet being what it is, your comments section can easily turn in to a mud slinging section before you know what hit you.

For example
Blogging about stuff we know – Tuesday Tips.
Blogging about stuff we don’t know (but are keen to learn about) – Country Close Up.

The difference is the way in which it is presented.

Keep on keeping on

Consistency is a key part of being a successful blogger. One of the most common blog posts I see on Afrigator is “sorry that I haven’t written anything in so long.” Consistency is important if you’re chasing a certain type of audience and rely on Google or other search engines for traffic. If you stop writing about your subject, someone else will soon fill your spot on SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). Being consistent is important if you’re going to stick to the schedule we talked about earlier. We’ve seen first hand that if you miss a post or a day, chances are that your audience members won’t return because they figure if you’re too bored to post, they may as well not bother visiting.

In my opinion writing is like any other skill – it needs practice. So, the more often you write, the easier it becomes and the more fun you can have with your blog. Pretty soon all you’ll need to do is boot up and before you know it a bog post has spilled across your text editor. Oh, that reminds me…

Type your blog posts in a text editor first

When writing your blog post, do so in your favourite text editor first. There are 2 reasons for this. 1.TIA. Many times internet connections are not stable or very fast and if you’re typing your post directly in to your blog editor there’s a chance things could go wrong. I’ve lost countless posts due to my browser crashing, a save/publish going wonky or the internet stalling. For this reason I advocate typing your post out in your favourite text editor first. That way you can save a copy on your flash drive or hard drive so if something does go wrong, you’re covered.

Text Editor beats Word Processor

If you write in a word processor (like MS Word or Apple Pages) it might add extra mark-up (bits of code) to your content. Things like styling or formatting so that it looks cool in the processor. Once you copy this to your blog editor, all the alien code goes along with your posts and can lead to some pretty strange results. Your blog client might not understand the way the word processor does things. So, stick to a plain text editor like NotePad. If you’re using windows, try Edit Pad Lite . If you’re using Mac, give Smultron a go.

I hope that I didn’t waffle on for too long (I know how I get) and that some of the tips above make sense and will be of use to you. If you can think of any other tips that you think should be in this post, please drop a comment below so that we can all get a little better at our blogging.

Till next time, keep on blogging,

Lester

Social Media is a tricky beast. On the one hand it offers amazing tools which show great potential to help your personal brand, your company and your website. On the other, it is a densely populated jungle that has proven very difficult to navigate through and get results from. Today’s ‘Tuesday Tip‘ is aimed at helping you see through the shrubbery a little clearer and make the journey through the jungle a little easier. And now that the cheesy analogy is out of the way, let’s start with the good stuff;)

GatorPeeps

When we launched GatorPeeps (a micro blogging service for Africa) we caught a lot of flack for being Twitter clones. But the fact of the matter is that GatorPeeps is not out to replace Twitter. We launched #peeps because there is a vibrant African community out there NOT on Twitter. And we wanted to help Afrigator users connect and interact with each other.

Value and Engagement

If, after reading this post, you can remember nothing else, try and remember these two words. They are the foundation of everything else outlined below. Offer value and engage with the community. Key to this is understanding that different peeps use the service in different ways. Some come looking for something cool or fun, others come with questions looking for answers, and other still come to spread knowledge they have found online. You’ll need to respect these motivations and interact with each kind of user in a way that makes sense to them.

It’s probably a bit trite by now, but in order for this to work, you’re going to have to participate in the conversation and be a part of the community. Once you’re trusted within a community and other members can see that you’re a real person, chances are that your submissions will get clicked on and you’ll see some traffic coming through to your website. It’s the equivalent of walking in to a room, making a few friends and then voicing an opinion. Chances are that if you participate in the other conversations in the room first, the crowd will take a listen to what you have to say. But if you simply walk in and start screaming links, you’re bound to get left out in the cold with no one wanting to listen.

Okay, now that the warm and fuzzy stuff has been dispensed with, let’s get down to a few practical tips to help you gets some traffic.

Sign up to GatorPeeps

If you have an Afrigator account then signing up is a piece of cake. You can also sign up with your Google or Facebook accounts (and more). Once you’ve signed up, add your blog URL to your GatorPeeps profile. GatorPeeps uses Afrigator to automatically index your blog and pulls in your latest blog post so that followers can see what the last thing was that you posted.  GatorPeeps is indexed really fast by Google. We’ve seen cases where a peep is indexed and returned in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) within an hour.

Promote your posts (sounds easy right?)

Promoting your own posts sounds like a pretty straightforward task, but here are a few tips to help your links do even better:

• Create a short,  interesting headline that grabs attention. Add your URL right after
• Use keywords in your description. Like we said, peeps are indexed by search engine and since we don’t use a no-follow tag on peeps, it’s important that you use your keywords in your description for when search engines pick up the peeps.
• Keep it short so that others can quote you. This is probably the best way to get traffic. If someone likes your update, then they’ll quote it to their followers. If your description is too long it won’t work though. GatorPeeps adds “via @user” at the end of a quoted peep. If your update is too long, users simply won’t bother.
• An easy way to create really short URLs is http://gatorurl.com, it really helps.

Promote others posts

If you find a post that has value, spread the word. Whenever someone spreads the word of one of my posts, I’m grateful and usually return the favour by promoting their links too. It’s a delicious circle I tell you.

Follow the leader

Follow more people than you think you need to. Chances are that if you follow more people, more peeps will follow you. This means more peeps to interact with and more peeps to read your content once you put it out there.

Don’t be a spammer.

This is the easiest way to get dumped and left with a bad name. Posting nothing but links looks spammy. Remember the rules – you need to be part of a conversation, not a one way screaming match.

Answer questions

If a question comes up that you think you know the answer to, then do a post on the answer and let the peep who asked the question know. You’ll be surprised at how often people all have the same question but never ask.

Ask questions

This is a great way to engage within your community. Ask and ye shall receive.

Upload a profile picture

I am of the opinion that folks will trust someone who has taken the time time to add a picture more readily than they will a system generated image. Go to http://www.gravatar.com and get a cool avatar for your profile. It makes you look friendlier and more approachable.

As you can see from the waffle above, participation is the key to success. GatorPeeps (and social media in general) is a great way to get legitimate organic traffic as well as meeting new people and generally having a good time

I hope that this info has been helpful. If you can think of anything that I’ve forgotten, please drop us a comment below, we’d really appreciate it.

Till next time, keep on blogging.

Lester and the Afrigator Team.

Today’s edition of Tuesday tips is especially cool (for me at least). Here in South Africa it’s a public holiday (or bank holiday as some call it) and it’s also my birthday.

So , tip #1 – Have your birthday on a public holiday. Trust me on this one, it’s a good tip

Today I’m going to be talking about linking for a bit. Now, as always, these tips are here to help but we can’t promise overnight success, it’s just some things you need to do in order to get the big internet ball rolling. If you have any tips or tricks or advice of your own to offer, please drop us a comment on this post.

If you’d like to check out your own page rank, hop over to the page rank checker and have a look. Don’t worry if you’re site is still ranked very low, you’ve got time to build your site up.
Search engines use a closely guarded set of rules to rank and judge websites. Google’s scoring system is called Page Rank, so the higher your popularity, the higher your Page Rank will be. One of the deciding factors for Page Rank is linking. A link is created when one blogger directs readers off to another blogger’s website. Those blogs are now linked. It’s the blogosphere’s equivalent of saying hi, and like a wave it doesn’t cost anything so don’t be selfish with your link love.

Blogs are about conversations, it’s not a one way street. Linking helps keep the conversation alive by pointing people in interesting and fun new directions.

Now, when you link to another blog or site, the first thing that you need to do is decide which text to link. The text that eventually becomes the blue underlined link is called Anchor Text. It’s your way of giving search engines a clue about where you’re linking to, so try and be descriptive and close to the subject matter. There’s a pretty good post on anchor text here. Granted, this is more for the page that receives the link, but you can also use this when linking internally. So if you’re going to link to one of your old posts, be sure to use descriptive anchor text to let search engines know what its about.

One of the best ways to advance your link popularity is to offer quality and informative content to your visitors and hope for natural links. If they find the information interesting enough, they will naturally link their blogs to your own. Search engines are not just looking for the number of links that point to a website. The most important aspect of the process is obtaining quality links.

Link building is the practice of encouraging other websites to link to your own website. If other websites are linking to your website, your link popularity will increase, search engines will deem your website important, and in turn, you should receive more traffic from them.

So, to very briefly sum up today’s tip

• Use descriptive anchor text in your links, especially when linking to posts on your own blog.
• Share the love  – don’t be shy to link. Th more you give, the more you get.
• Create linkable content. If it’s good, others will want to show off the fact that they know where the good content is at.

As always, apply liberally, spread evenly and your mileage may vary so play around with the tips and see what works for you.

Till next time, keep on blogging.