Tag: blog writers

Can You Value Each Blog Post at $10,000?

How Do you Value a Blog?
How Do you Value a Blog?

It takes less than a single minute to find somebody willing to write a blog for under $10 per article. There are thousands of writers begging for business. Not unlike the phenomena that anybody with a camera can be a photographer, it seems that anybody with a computer is an eloquent writer. That’s fine, but with such a low cost to have a blog, it is easy to confuse cost with value.

What is the value of a blog article? There are obviously some variables, right? Do you know the variables, and do you value them appropriately? Some important considerations are the time or money to produce the article, its usefulness to the public, the accuracy and experience of the writer, and the longevity of its circulation. These are easy factors for many people to overlook, and can inspire a lot of confusion about the value of a blog.

When you consider your business efforts, we can all surely agree it is important to stop doing things that do not benefit the company. Doing things that cost the company more than they benefit the company is popular, and we see it every day. When done in enough volume, that kind of math will break even the biggest bank account.

Whether the benefit you seek from a blog is improved customer relations, brand awareness, attracting investors, increased sales, or otherwise; if you spend more money on blogging than its potential benefit, then it is time to stop it! This means blogging is worth some evaluation and serious consideration of the downsides, weighed with the potential benefits. Many companies fail to consider the benefits, and so there should be little wonder why some companies still do not have a blog.

I have written about good reasons to blog, and it is not filled with a bunch of talk about making money, but it does address the importance of value. Many bloggers will agree that it is important to give more value than we take. That absolutely does not mean to imply we should give more value than we receive … and there is the confusing part.

Providing more value than you take is just as simple as providing value. If somebody receives benefit from it, and you have not taken anything from them, except perhaps an email address, you have met this value objective. You gave more than you took, as it should be. At the same time, you have added potential for your own benefit. At least it should happen that way.

Value of a Blog Article From a Longevity Perspective

Many of the best blog articles remain useful for years, and it is why smart bloggers keep them around in a blog archive. Some people like to assume the latest is the greatest, but this is very often not the case at all.

I spend a lot of time preparing each of my blog articles, but I also expect them to perform very well for a long time. It would be easier to just whip out my thought of the moment and keep my fingers crossed, but that would not be worth as much to others, or to me.

I value the average article on my blog at over $10,000. This may sound totally absurd to some people, but only on the surface. If you look a little closer, it makes sense. Of course, the exact amount is between me, some taxation fellas, and my wife. The exact dollar value I place on a blog post is irrelevant for this example, but I’ll explain.

I should add that this is about business blogs, and not blogs about where your family spent their holiday. This is also about blogs, like most, that do not charge a subscription fee.

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In my instance, the math is easier, because I have been here on this Internet a long time, but each of us must begin somewhere. On this particular blog, this is the 77th article I have written in 2011, and the 334th since I re-purposed it in 2008. If I did not believe what I have written in 2011 is worth a minimum return of $770,000 ($10,000 each), I would not have done it. It took a lot of effort, a lot of time, and a lot of experience.

Here’s the part where people often get confused: That’s not just to say these 77 articles of 2011 will yield an immediate return on investment of $770,000 … but they will.

Consider how I look at this. There is an article I wrote about H1 tags on another of my websites. H1 tags are in the programming code of a website, and they are a web page heading. The topic relates directly to my industry, and most people who search for and find that article have an actual need for my services. That particular article has been there for over 10 years, and still consistently receives over 2,000 unique visitors per month from search engines.

Another instance is a little piece I wrote about screen resolution. I wrote an article explaining screen resolution, and also a handy javascript to help users open their website in a browser at different sizes to see how it may look to others. That particular piece receives well over 3,000 visitors per month … every month … for over ten years!

In a more recent instance, I wrote an article titled “How Much Does SEO Cost?” is The Wrong Question. I wrote that one in February 2011, and in the past week alone, I have received enough telephone calls from people who found that article by searching “how much does SEO cost” that I wrote new business proposals totaling over $50,000. Yes, just as a direct result of that single article … this week alone.

These are just a tiny sample to consider, but what about the many other hundreds like them which support them? They are not so shabby either, and each one provides value to readers, and also returns a value to me. Looking at it like this, doesn’t it begin to make sense what the value of an article may become, over time?

I count on each and every article on my blog to return its cost in multiples, and they do. Sometimes the exact dollar value is not obvious at the time you publish something, but if you are doing it well, the value will become clear, in time.

To answer my opening question of “Can You Value Each Blog Post at $10,000?”, my answer is yes! I believe you can, too, if you give it the appropriate effort, usefulness, and longevity.

Blogs Provide Compounded Value

We surely all heard how popular the Internet has become. When it comes to blogging, there is value on top of value. Aside from the value to me as a blog owner, the value to any given subscriber is often far greater than $10,000 if they implement the experience I share freely … even if they don’t pay me a penny. I feel really good about that!

Although many businesses may think of blogs as a burden, or that they must only be for purely altruistic purposes, they are an excellent source of additional business. This holds true for nearly any type of industry. For example, in my job role, this blog is the primary way people get to know what I do, and to discover if they want to hire my services.

Some people who believe that blogs are only for giving away free information and that nobody ever actually receives any business benefit from them may hate me for valuing this article at over $10,000. Some may even think I am evil or conniving for seeking a profit from my hard work. In their mind, it should just be about providing information for free … you know, like it’s a hobby.

I believe in giving away a lot for free, but the fact is that most people cannot implement everything I know by themselves. After all, I do this professionally, day in and day out, and I have done so for many years. Some of those few who do not know everything there is to know about online marketing call me to help them. The value to me of that minuscule few who do become customers is more than $10,000 per instance. So, again … my answer is an emphatic “Yes!”

What about you? Do you think a blog is an altruistic burden? How do you value a blog article? Go ahead … add your thoughts to my blog.

More Valuable Articles About Blogging

Just one more thing, before you go: Here are some articles about blogging that I think you may find interesting and useful. It will not zap your brain and render it useless to read them, either. In fact, you may find that they are significantly useful to you. At least read the titles before you decide. 😉

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9 Bloggers Who Teach the Value of a Strong Blog Community

Bloggers Who Understand Community
Bloggers Who Understand Community

There are some blogs I feel bad to neglect, yet delighted when I make time for them. They are the blogs where I intend to be more active, and I want to share some of those with you. These are blogs by people who truly understand the many good reasons to blog, and they work hard to be useful to their communities.

First, I want to explain a bit about why I am recommending these blogs, and how I think you can learn a lot from them. If you don’t have time read, just hit the play button (top of page) to flip on my podcast and skip right to the list.

Did you ever go to a blog and find that the other people there were actually communicating with you? I don’t mean just a short and pithy answer, but rather an actual conversation that takes place. I mean the kind of blog where you see the same people every time, answering questions, solving problems, sharing ideas, and actually conversing just like they would in a coffee shop, or over lunch.

I know some blogs like that, and I enjoy them very much. It is not only because of their topics, either … I enjoy the people. Of course, I don’t spend a lot of time with blogs about things which don’t interest me, but if these blogs were about termite ranching or how to grow poison ivy, I would still be there … time permitting. I learn from them, and on good days, they learn from me.

Tip: Acquaintances will come and go, but if people genuinely like you, they will not just watch you succeed. They will make you succeed!

Take a Lesson from These Blogs!

If you have ever wondered why your blog is not as active as you would like, as a community filled with familiar faces who subscribe and come back regularly to read your work, there is probably a good reason. If it is filled with stuffy language about your industry, it will make many people yawn. If it is packed with a bunch of “buy this now” language, it will make people feel like the vacuum salesman just arrived at the door.

News Flash: It is easy to throw you out and slam the virtual door on you. All it takes is a click! If you want to avoid that “click” of people throwing you out the door, I suggest doing some reading and participating. Yes, of course I want you to read every one of the 300+ articles in my blog archive, and I want you to share your thoughts on every last one of them. I also want to help you to meet others to inspire you, teach you, and keep you moving forward.

If you want to learn how to build a blog community where people come to read what you have to say, and to see what all their friends are up to, take a lesson from the blogs listed below. I am not listing them in a specific order, or even by their topic. I am lumping them together as blogs where you can meet and get to know great people … people you will probably like. In fact, if you like my blog, and if you like me, you will find a lot of similar thinking people in these blogs.

These are blogs where people interact, learn, and share ideas. Some of them represent overlapping service offerings, but they don’t compete … they collaborate. They are blogs where people come together, and not just to spam a link to their website, or wear people down by being a blog troll. They are blogs where the community is consistent, and where that kind of thing would be pinched off like a wet turd.

A couple of these may not have the highest level of community involvement, but in those cases, I listed them based on the people writing them, and their involvement elsewhere in blogs. I read these blogs and pay attention as much as time permits, and they are on my RADAR … right near the center.

How Do These Bloggers Do It?

I am an observant guy. In fact, it is an important part of my job to be observant. A commonality I see in these blogs is that they each have a lot of the same people. This makes it pretty obvious that it is not all just about the topic of a specific blog, but largely about the people. They meet and interact across many blogs, and it becomes very social. After all, this is social media we are talking about. So let’s be social, people!

You will see many of the same people commenting and interacting with each other at several of the links I will provide. It is not some kind of secret club with a membership application. The application is just to come and get to know people and not act like the new kid in town who has to prove that his bicycle is faster than the local kids. These are very real and human communities that represent the greatest value of online communications. They are about the people, and not about the technology that so many people treat the Internet as.

Why Building Your Blog Community Matters

Let’s look at this from a business standpoint. A lot of business blogs focus on how to get people to buy their stuff. They want brand recognition, and they want a return on their investment of blogging. That is the focus of a business … more business. A common, yet tragic result is that they overlook the even greater value in finding people who love, love, love them enough to recommend them to every friend, acquaintance, and complete stranger. Those other people are the ones you want buying your stuff!

Do you want to know why the friends, acquaintances, and complete strangers matter more? They add up … huge! There are multiple reasons, and I will give you some examples.

I will use myself for the first example. If you think you want to sell me something, just imagine how much more potential you have of selling your goods or services if you make me a fan and I spread it to the squillion people I encounter and who read my blog, my Facebook, my Twitter, and my honorable mentions of others. You don’t really just want to sell me something do you? Sure, maybe that is good enough if you are short sighted in your marketing, but the real value is in my community. If you grab my attention with your community, my community becomes your community. Now doesn’t that sound nice?

Neglecting and Irritating vs. Cultivating and Nurturing

Now, to snap you into a seriously messed up potential reality, consider what happens if you are doing this all wrong. How tragic it is if, instead of making me a fan, you creep me out. Maybe you come and lurk around my blog, and maybe even get comfortable enough to spam my readers.

What if you never took the time to know more than just that my blog ranks really highly for a squillion different industry terms, and you want to throw your name and website link in my comments. Consider the example of a company that does not comprehend the value of community, or how to work with others. I made a case study of a company called “Suture Express“. Search Google for Suture Express (Google search) if you don’t already know that story. I hold roughly half of the top 10 listings on Google for their company name and the names of each of their corporate officers. Trust me, it is not the stuff that helps companies sell more, but it is what happens when companies get SEO and social media all wrong, and ignore the value of building their network, and working within a community.

It is my community that slaps the piss out of companies who cheat, lie, and spam. Companies such as Suture Express and Ray Skillman Auto Dealerships simply cannot match the power of a community.

Why do I tell you this? Because it shows the value of community, and the value of having more people who know you, like you, and defend you than you have people who are indifferent, or even despise your brand.

What if They Say You Are an Awesome ‘Possum?

Next, I want you to consider how much more valuable it is for somebody else to say you are awesome than when you say you are awesome. As an example, I will say it right now … I am awesome! I am awesome like sex, bacon, and a cold grape soda. Awesome is my job. In fact, my new mantra is this: “My job is to create marketing as awesome as sex and bacon. Even when I fail, it is at least as good as ham and a hand job.”

Fine, some people will believe it if you say you are awesome. Some people will do the research to see that it is true, but there is still a much better way!

Now consider how valuable is it if somebody else says “Mark is awesome!” It kind of sounds more valuable then, right? There is an implied credibility when it comes from a third party. I hope you get the point.

Stop Playing Opossum, and Be More Awesome
Stop Playing Opossum, and Be More Awesome

Is Your Blog Community a Waste of Time?

When you hear words like “blog community”, it may seem like a completely crazy concept. It may almost sound impossible, or a complete waste of time. Where does it begin? Where do those bloggers meet all these great people?

Building your community will not happen very efficiently if you are just sitting there staring at your own blog waiting for people to come and add their comments or to send their friends. It will happen when you get out of your shell and make time to meet people elsewhere. Spamming your blog to anybody and everybody will not help, either. I could write a squillion page dissertation on that formula for failure. Here is some thought candy on the topic for you to consider: “How to Comment on Blogs and Why You Should (or Should Not)“.

The SEO lies you may have heard will not help you, either. Good SEO (search engine optimization) happens when people such as some of the ones listed below whip out their keyboard and say the equivalent to “Mark is Awesome” about you.

Awesome Bloggers Who Attract Other Awesome People

If you want somebody to say that you are awesome, you had better get started building a community. I said I have some blogs to list, and I don’t plan to let you down. Here are some good people to learn from. Watch them, get to know them, and meet the great people who contribute to their blogs. Find out why I took the time to commend them. If you do that, you will better understand the value of reaching out of your shell, and why building a community by participating instead of siting like a bump on a stump is worth every bit of the effort.

Ingrid Abboud’s Nitty Griddy Blog

Ingrid Abboud
Ingrid Abboud

Ingrid Abboud (a.k.a. Griddy) shows many signs of being nothing short of awesome. She is a great connector of like-minded people, and deserves the description I once gave her of “sweet, silly, and super smart”.

In a recent version of Ingrid’s “Superpost Sunday Weekly Roundup“, the blog is compared to Central Perk from the hit television show, Friends. It really is that kind of a place where all we need is Gunther the barista to bring coffee and we are all set. Do you make a great cup of coffee? Read this blog and find out why it is loved by many, and nobody is a stranger.

Erika Napoletano’s Redhead Writing

Erika Napoletano
Erika Napoletano

Erika Napoletano is a witty, intelligent, outspoken blogger who is a bit aggressive by some measures. I like her. In fact, I like her a lot.

Erika recently landed a gig writing a business column for Entrepreneur Magazine, and her rants draw people to communicate, for better or worse … usually better. You can give her a hard time about how loose she is with dropping the F*bomb, but she knows how to bring a crowd to their feet.

Considering that she is the author of “The Bitch Slap”, there should be little wonder about Erika’s free spirited style.

Mark Harai’s Blog: Define. Imagine. Master. Execute.

Mark Harai
Mark Harai

Mark Harai is a great guy. He lives in Costa Rica and, I’m not sure if he knows it yet, but I die just a little more every time he is on a beach while it snows here in Kansas.

Mark is the father to a squillion kids (actually just seven), and he is one of those guys you just know this kind of stuff about … because you like him. His likability sets him apart from others, and his blog consistently offers up thought provoking articles about business growth and better human relations.

When I find more time to break away, I will meet up with Mark for a tour of his local beaches. For now, we have the Internet.

John Falchetto’s Expat Life Coach

John Falchetto
John Falchetto

John is very active with several of the blogs in this list, and a heck of a cool guy. Here is his take on being active within the communities he supports: “Why commenting isn’t for you“.

If you can’t like a guy like John Falchetto, your problems are much worse than blogging.

One day, when I make it back to France, or he makes it here to USA, we will go and enjoy a day at the gun club. Until then, we will enjoy our two-way communications across multiple blogs we each frequent, as well as Twitter, Facebook, and anywhere else I can track him down.

Mark Schaefer’s {Grow} Blog

Mark Schaefer
Mark Schaefer

I have made a number of interesting trips to Mark’s blog, and I am a bit guilty of lurking without jumping in with my comments. I am not sure why this is the case. I am doing the same thing I wish people wouldn’t do with my blog (keep their thoughts to themselves).

We have a lot of the same friends, and I hope to get to know Mark more and become more active at his blog. A recent visit turned up this article titled “How do you REALLY build a blog community? A love story.“

If you like my community, I think you will like Mark’s as well.

Gini Dietrich’s Spin Sucks

Gini Dietrich
Gini Dietrich

This is another of those people, and blogs that I am a bit ashamed to neglect. It is all my fault, but it is on my “To Do” list, and blinking away on my RADAR.

Have a look at this recent article titled “Executives and the Ostrich Syndrome“ It is so sickeningly familiar to me that I didn’t even know how to reply … but I plan to … when I stop procrastinating.

Spin Sucks … and Gini knows it! Check her out and find out why I respect her work.

Ruhani Rabin’s Technology, Lifestyle, and Interestingness

Ruhani Rabin
Ruhani Rabin

Ruhani does not blog as much as he used to, but I like him, and I like his style. I have to give him a serious shout out here, because of his active participation across multiple social media channels. He has built a community that sticks with him wherever he goes, and whether he blogs often or not.

What do I really think of Ruhani? Well, I can say this: Ruhani is one of only a few people I put on the back cover of my 2009 book “Twitter for Business: Twitter for Friends“, and not just because he said something nice about me.

It seems very appropriate that Ruhani is VP of the company that created “Friendster” (friendster.com), because he sure knows how to make friends. Ruhani Rabin is one of the most friendly guys with a blog you could ever know.

Marcus Sheridan’s, The Sales Lion

Marcus Sheridan
Marcus Sheridan

Some call him Mufasa. Actually, maybe only Griddy (Ingrid Abboud) calls him that, but most call him Marcus. I don’t directly communicate with Marcus very much. I am not sure just why that is the case. I hope it is not because I gave HubSpot a harsh review once upon a time. I know he is pretty tight with HubSpot.

We bounce into each other on a lot of the same blogs, and we have a lot of mutual friends and acquaintances. I read his blog, time permitting. I kind of feel like I know him. That is a mark of a blogger who “gets it”.

Here is a recent article by Marcus about building a blog community: “Massive Blog Growth: Do You Really Have the Time it Takes?”

Jim Rudnick’s Canuck SEO: Canadian SEO for Google Success!

Jim Rudnick
Jim Rudnick

Jim Rudnick is one of those guys who soaks up information like a sponge. He is an “old-timer” like myself, who has been in the SEO business since most search engine optimizers were in diapers, eh?

Of course, with Jim being a Canuck, he feels more comfortable if you end each sentence with an “eh?” You know, because that’s what they do up there in Canada, eh?

Jim is active across many channels of social media, outside of his own blog, and because of that, I think it would be awesome to see Jim’s own community at Canuck SEO grow like a weed. Jim gives more than he takes, and you can find a lot of great blogs just by keeping a close eye on him.

Here is a recent article by Jim: “Affiliate Scams: I Must be Lost!” Stop by and say “hi, eh?”

My Summary:

I don’t read every article from every blog I subscribe to. I also sometimes forget to subscribe to some of the blogs I encounter. I have found many great blogs over the years, and I simply cannot read and respond to everything on the Internet. I try my best to keep up with the good ones, and I try to participate in the community, as my limited time allows. I will be working on this, and trying to give closer attention to these blogs. I hope that you will, too.

Now that you have the list, and I gave you some thinking points about working as a community, are you going to sit there like a bump on a stump, or are you going to kindly introduce yourself to my community of readers? You may just end up being the tenth blogger on the list. Go ahead … impress me!

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Why Disqus May Be The Best Social Network of 2011

Let's Disqus This Network
Let's Disqus This Network


Even if you are the least tech-savvy person since my mother, it is clear that you will see this company popping up in more places during 2011. The name, “Disqus” (pronounced as discuss) is spread far and wide across the Internet, and its exposure is growing quickly as top tech and news blogs implement the service.

In November 2010 TechCrunch reported that there were over 500,000 communities using Disqus for more than 160 million conversations between 18 million profiles. According to Quantcast, Disqus is moving up quickly. Maybe you are not so sure about its importance just yet, but I am, and I want to share why Disqus is quickly climbing my list of favorite social networking tools.

I named Disqus a while back in an article titled “6 Essential Blogging Tools for Bloggers and Non-Bloggers” and that is certainly worth a read. Since the time I wrote that back in March 2010, my opinion of Disqus is better than ever.

The idea of using Disqus as a networking tool may sound completely off the wall to the many people who never heard of Disqus or took the time to understand its greater value. Likewise, sending a bunch of Twitter updates sounded pretty absurd in 2007, but we all watched how Twitter took off. I suppose I don’t need to say much about Facebook. The 650 million Facebook users pretty well sum up the public interest in that platform. So, how can Disqus be placed in the company of these massively adopted networks? I will explain, and I think you will have a much different view of the service by the time I am done.

Something many people may overlook about Disqus is how seamlessly it pulls together a broad picture of a user’s interests, and how well it can connect people.

Disqus will not become the next Facebook, threaten Twitter, or replace LinkedIn. What Disqus can do is to tighten people’s existing networks and create many opportunities for new and stronger network connections.

In the face of social networking becoming “looser” than ever for a lot of people, tighter networks of like-minded people are not only important, but something many Internet users are begging for. Disqus delivers on this need, in a big way, for people who choose to use it.

Let’s take an under-the hood look at Disqus for a moment. A lot of people may simply see Disqus as the commenting system on some of their favorite blogs, but completely overlook its best assets. First, let me explain what Disqus is, on the surface, for people who are unfamiliar. Then I will move on to the reason that Disqus is useful for networking, far beyond just its value to blog administrators.

What is Disqus?

Disqus is a service that is used by many blogs for moderating and responding to readers’ comments. It allows users to comment on blogs the “old fashioned” way, by entering their name, email, website address, and comment, or they can choose to use their photo and information based on a variety of other profiles, such as Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, OpenID, or simply their Disqus profile.

Optionally, readers can choose to share their comment, on a comment-by-comment basis, with their extended network. This is good for readers to share their point of view, and also good for bloggers who enjoy their work being shared. It is a win-win relationship.

Disqus provides for real-time updating of comments. In an active discussion, this allows readers to see new comments without even refreshing the page.

Disqus also provides options for users to receive updates of replies to their comments by email, or simply within their “Disqus Dashboard” where there is a section titled “Replies to you”. It makes blog commenting more interactive than ever, and opens a lot of possibilities for people willing to look three inches beyond their nose. It is a lot easier than other methods of subscribing to follow a thread, and much tidier for monitoring replies.

Disqus Dashboard is Easy and Searchable
Disqus Dashboard is Easy and Searchable

Disqus Creates Deeper Conversations!

Maybe you have hoped that posting a link on Twitter or Facebook to an article that you read will give people a feel for what you like, what interests you, and what you read. The trouble with this is when it leaves them hanging without knowing what you thought of it. Believe me when I say that most people are not going to dig through the comments to see what you said about something. Most of the time, they will not even click to see the article, but rather draw conclusions and comment on the title.

Maybe you can add in a little bit of flair with your commentary, but then the conversation is all broken up between the article, the shortness of a Twitter post, and your Facebook comments versus the comments of the other people who read the blog. That all tends to create a lot of off-topic discussion, and dilutes what you and others had to say about the topic.

On the other hand, if somebody sees it in your Disqus profile and follows what you read and have to say on a topic, the whole character starts to change. Disqus makes it very easy to follow other people. It is a chance for others to be more involved in your conversations around the web. If they like communicating with you, it can give a good feel for who you are and your points of view. It can also help you to gain a closer relationship with the people you choose to interact with. For example, if you happen to come across my political views, you may find that I am feisty but fair. If you come across my business views, you may find that I read carefully, think a whole lot, and try to bring a my ideas to the discussion.

It is noteworthy that commenting on a blog article reflects a greater commitment than most other social networking quips and snippets that people leave behind. Blog comments are commonly lengthier and more thought out about a specific topic than comments elsewhere. It really does generally allow for a closer sense of a person’s views on a topic. I invite you to see an example of this in my Disqus profile. If you click on “Activity” at the top, you can scroll through and see comments I have made here and on other blogs.

Turn Any Website Into a Blog

I can point out a lot of reasons that Disqus is growing quickly, and this is certainly a big one. Disqus makes it simple to add commenting to any existing website. With their simple “Universal Code” Disqus commenting system can be added to any web page.

Let’s say you have a boring old static website and you want to add commenting to a page, or a set of pages. There is more to a blog than the commenting features, but many people would consider comments the most obvious feature of blogs. Disqus makes it simple to add their commenting system to any boring old website, and has excellent code and documentation for many popular platforms. They have made it extremely easy, even for a relatively novice web developer.

Disqus Security Considerations

You can certainly post on blogs using Disqus with an alias, or anonymously, but the things you have to say are the things which interest people. It is really not much fun to have people like you for one reason, but then find out they think you are horrible when they dig a bit deeper. If you posted it anywhere on a blog and somebody wants to find it, they will find it. This is the Internet, and most bloggers do their best to be sure a lot of people will see it. I think of this in a way similar to my article titled “Facebook Privacy Fears Are Absurd!“. Living in the fear of your own shadow is something that will be there with or without Disqus.

I guess this realistic view of the Internet and social media is why “social media transparency” has become such an overused buzzphrase.

Disqus and SEO

I know that a lot of people wonder about how Disqus affects search engine results, whether as a blog administrator, or as a commenter. I would stop at simply pointing out that I use it here on my SEO and Social Media Marketing blog, but that may not be enough to comfort you.

Many people who comment on blogs really love those links to their website they leave behind. After all, more links is a good thing. Disqus still allows you to leave your link, and it is still as valuable from an SEO standpoint as any other commenting system … perhaps even better. I may write about this at a later time, but I can tell you that the comments are well-indexed in search engines, and the links associated with those comments are also just as valuable as any other commenting system.

What I think sometimes confuses people about Disqus links is in the layout for non-logged-in “Guest” users. Disqus simply shows a “post as” link, but once you type your comment, you have the opportunity to add your website link and your Gravitar.

Disqus creates multiple links. If you click on the thumbnail picture of a user, it will show you their Disqus profile information, including their other communities and even their most recent Twitter update, if they associated their Twitter account. If you click on their name, it will link directly to their website of choice. If they have associated their Twitter account with their Disqus profile and you click to share your comment on Twitter, it will also send a reply to their Twitter username.

Disqus Signup and Other Links

If you made it this far, you are probably pretty curious to look a bit closer at Disqus. Here are some links to get your started.

I could keep writing all day to help you understand the ways to get the most from Disqus. There are a lot of excellent potential uses. For example, you can search with an email address to see what a person is saying on other blogs … did you know that? I wrote a 140 page book about Twitter, but I don’t plan to repeat that with Disqus. Instead, I will share what they say in their own words, invite you to discuss this, and happily answer your questions and comments. Here is what Disqus has to say:

What is Disqus?

Disqus (dis·cuss • dï-sküs’) is all about changing the way people think about discussion on the web. We’re big believers in the conversations and communities that form on blogs and other sites.

Now what do you have to say? Here is your chance to use Disqus and jump in the conversation. Please add your comments and don’t be shy. Another great feature of Disqus is that if you screw it up, you can go back and edit the comment.

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Grammatical Reasons They’re Taking Their Business Over There

Meet Rude Cousin Prolly
Meet Rude Cousin Prolly

There are spelling and grammar errors that can make you look astonishingly lazy, and then there are spelling and grammar errors which simply make you appear stupid. The lazy errors happen to the best of us. I have never read a book that did not have an error, somewhere, even after many rounds of professional editing. Hekc, you may even find an error here on my blog.

I cannot expect people to be perfect, but what I can do is have a whole lot of fun at their expense. Perhaps you do not feel strongly about these failures of education, but do you ever read something which indicates that you are shopping in the wrong place?

I encounter horrible spelling and grammar every day, and I often wonder how these perpetrators of illiteracy keep up their fight to grow a business. Below are some brain-failures I hope to one day see eradicated.

Your Prolly May Hate Me For This

I think the first time I saw “prolly” used in somebody’s marketing material, I wondered what other kind of seafood they had. A “prolly” is the deep sea cousin of a prawn, right? Otherwise, I am at a loss to understand how anybody could slaughter a word so horribly.

I later learned that they were probably referring to the probability of business failure for being so damn lazy. “Prolly” is not a word, but if it ever becomes a word, I imagine that it will probably be used to describe a deep sea crustacean.

You’re Not Using Your Head

“You’re” is a contraction that means “you are” and “your” is a second-person pronoun meaning something belonging to the subject, you. “Ur” is deep sea text messaging code that the prolly kids use to keep grown-ups from understanding what the heck they are saying.

If you try telling me “your going to love our stuff” you had better be giving it away, because I am not buying it. My what is going to love your stuff? My wife, my kids, my libido? If you say “your going to love our stuff” you need to add something to help me understand you better. Perhaps you meant “your prolly is going to love our stuff!”

If you use “ur”, I may boil you in a seafood gumbo. There is not even a “dumb camp” for people so dumb to try and pass off “u” or “ur” as words. That is, unless you’re a 14 year old prolly girl and want to disarm the boys by downplaying your intelligence.

The words “you’re” and “your” are not even close to the same thing, and they are pronounced differently as well. Maybe understanding the pronunciation will help you to remember the correct usage. “You’re” begins with the sound of the word “you” and since it is a contraction, it slurs in the word “are”. Try it out and begin with “you” and add “are” and keep slurring them together faster until it sounds right.

The pronunciation of “your” rhymes with lore, more, store, and whore. So if you think about using the word “your” try using it as follows: “Your store is creating more lore.” Now remember that if you are talking about somebody’s whore, you can use the word “your”, because it is something they posses. It is their whore, and it shows possession. On the other hand, if you say “You’re whore”, you just called them a whore, because you said “you are whore”. That makes it more personal and is more likely to start a fight than simply talking about the whore they possess. You might just as well talk bad about their prolly while you are tossing around the insults.

One more thing: “Youre” is another prolly word. Please refrain from using it unless you are deep in the ocean and related to prawns.

They’re Going to Take Their Money Over There

If you don’t get this one by the time I am done, you should be sent to swim with the prolly. Again with the damn contractions. I largely avoid contractions, in speech and in writing, but they are widely accepted in the twisted version of the Queen’s English that is used in my country.

“They’re” means “they are”, “their” means that they possess it, and “there” means somewhere else or the existence of something. Here is some practice for you to consider: There is a good chance they’re going to take their money over there if you screw these up. Now read this sentence again and think really hard.

There is a good chance they’re going to take their money over there if you screw these up.

“Their” is a personal pronoun. If you remember that lesson about “your whore”, just flip that around and now you are talking about their whore. If you get this wrong they’re probably going to take their money somewhere else … over there.

Your Till Will Ring Less ‘Til You Stop Abusing This

Note that I have edited this for clarification after receiving a comment (below) assuming I had a problem with using “till”, which is not the case. The problem is in trying to make a contraction of “until”. Think for just a moment about the word “until”. Until is just five letters long, but I see a lot of people who try to shorten it. If you want to shorten “until” consider how you may do so with the least absurdity. Would you add another letter to the word that did not previously exist and say “‘till“. That seems kind of useless, considering that you just removed one letter and added another letter plus one more character. In this case, maybe you mean the word till. Otherwise, “until” is still five characters long in this iteration ( ‘-t-i-l-l ), but it makes you look five times as stupid! I suppose you can get a down home feel by using “’til“, which would be the correct usage if there were an acceptable contracted version of until. On closer inspection you may notice that it is still only one character shorter.

A “till” is a place where money is stored, or something you do to the field before you plant corn to make your whiskey. Until you understand that “until” only has one letter “L”, and that till is not a contracted version of until, you may sound like you are drinking from a still. At least you will sound like a hillbilly for trying to make a contraction of the word until, in case that is what you are after.

The Alot Eats Prolly

I find a lot of people who like the “Alot”, but they abuse him. The Alot is a unique creature, and should not be taken for granted. I do not have a lot better way to describe the Alot than to introduce you to the creature in a blog article titled “The Alot is Better Than You at Everything“. Here is a snippet for you:

The Alot is an imaginary creature that I made up to help me deal with my compulsive need to correct other people’s grammar. It kind of looks like a cross between a bear, a yak and a pug, and it has provided hours of entertainment for me in a situation where I’d normally be left feeling angry and disillusioned with the world.

For example, when I read the sentence “I care about this alot,” this is what I imagine:
(see Hyperbole and a Half)

I have just one more thing to mention on the subject. Get your “‘s” (apostrophe s) and “s'” (apostrophe s’) right. If it needs an apostrophe or does not, you should learn the difference and also the correct placement. Otherwise, don’t blame me if your customer rides their alot over there to another store to buy their prolly.

What Makes You Want to Rant?

I could go on with rants about bad grammar until I am as blue as a prolly. What makes you want to rant? Perhaps it is people who correct your grammar? 😉

Improve Social Media Interaction With Wibiya

Wibiya Interactive Web Toolbar
Wibiya Interactive Web Toolbar


I am such a fan of this product that I want to tell you this right upfront: I have not been hired by Wibiya to market for them, and I do not have anything at stake here. My reason for blogging my review of Wibiya is nothing of the sort. It is just so cool that I was compelled to give my testimonial. Now, shouldn’t we all be so fortunate to have fans who feel like that?

Wibiya is kind of a funny name, and it may not just roll off the tongue the way Twitter, Facebook, or Squidoo does. All the same, I think this is a social media service you will see in use a lot more in the future.

Website Toolbars Are Not Created Equal

I have used toolbars on various websites before, and some were pretty cool. I have even scripted my own website toolbars from scratch and made them work really nicely with social sharing links, custom URL shortener, and all of the neat stuff you can pack into the little 50-80 pixel space you would expect from a toolbar. I am kind of geeky like that. I very often choose the hard way of programming, by doing it all myself from beginning to end. That way I get the exact result I am looking for, and not include all of the extra junk that most off-the-shelf programming code will include for meeting every possible scenario on every possible type of website. As you can see at the bottom of each page on my blog, I have chosen Wibiya on this website, and for some good reasons.

Here are just a few things I like about Wibiya:

  • Non-invasive and fast-loading (unlike some web toolbars).
  • Wibiya is highly customizable.
  • Simple site-search function located out of the way of other site elements.
  • Easy photo and video gallery implementation with multiple photo sites.
  • Nice RSS features.
  • Users can do more and see more without leaving the site.
  • Additional statistics reporting for Wibiya application usage.
  • Many available applications ready for use.

Social Media Interaction and Wibiya Toolbar

Social media interaction is clearly an important part of my job. I interact with blogs (mine and many others), Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and a big list of other social networks. There is no better way to know if my work is useful than to share it with others and hear from others to gather their opinions. That is why most bloggers love comments on their work. It means people are paying attention.

Another way to know if people are paying attention is how long they are on your website and how many pages they visit. My blog has an average time on page of over four minutes, over two pages per visit, and a bounce rate around 20-25 percent. To me, that is about as awesome as bacon (I love bacon)! So, any way that I can improve these stats would be even more awesome … like cigarette and coffee flavored bacon.

One great way I have found is to not just let people see that little piece of you, but to see a bigger picture. This goes for big corporations and individuals alike. If you have something valuable to share, you should share it in whatever way people want to receive it. That can mean meeting them where they are, on their terms, and on their preferred networks. This is something Wibiya can help to improve.

Try it out and see what I mean. There is a Wibiya toolbar on the bottom of each page on my blog. Click a few things and find out why I like it. I will also include a couple websites by friends (and my wife) who chose to use Wibiya. Check them out and see how they used it.

If you decide you want one for yourself, you can get yours at Wibiya.com. There is a free version and multiple upgraded packages available to choose from.

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