Tris & I recorded the third in our pro blogger podcast series (well, technically the fourth). We talk about event blogging and some tips for successful blogging.

We both just came back from Gnomedex, where we each event blogged in our own ways. I put them up as close to live as possible (see the Blogaholics archives). 23 posts in total. Notes plus commentary. Tris took some time to mull over some issues then added more of a personal spin.

I love the excitement of writing in the moment. And I love the feedback I get from it.

Anyway, our podcast is a fun one. Hope you enjoy. Visit Blogaholics for all the details and files, and stay tuned there for future podcasts. More to come!

Technorati Tags: gnomedex, podcast, blogging, event blogging

Well, we gave it a shot. Tried out AdSense for Feeds for over a month. And now we’re pulling the chain. I’ve already talked about why. But now’s the time to just do it.

If ever the feed program improves in context and formatting options, I may reconsider.

But, until then, I think we’ve found a better alternative. See below:

I won’t spill all the beans yet. I’m still testing. But everything looks amazing so far…

Technorati Tags: adsense, rss, advertising

Keith of To-Done has an interesting list of how to be more productive as a blogger. I take a lot of these tips to heart, as I’ve found switching over to pro blogger mode has been chaotic at times. The article has been around for about a month now, but I got a little behind in some of my folders. That said, it is a great article so I kept it around for when I had more time to read it all. So, after reading through the whole list, I think the synthesis of tips I’d like to share are:

- write quickly

- have a set time to write every day

- write down all your ideas in a separate book. They are good “fodder,” as I like to say

- write when the passion hits - sometimes outside of your set time you just get bombarded with ideas. Take advantage of it!

- schedule “off” time. Daily. And take time out for a day or two here and there.

- look for new things to read about. More sites, new books.

- relax. be you. let your ideas flow out.

- IM or chat with other bloggers for creative zest

- look for new topics, familiar or not

I think this topic is very much akin to a recent podcast between Tris & myself on having a blogging voice. A lot of people struggle to find their voice, and this can slow things up a bit. Some of the same ideas that help you be productive can also help you establish your online presence.

Ok, just like many other blog owners out there, I jumped on as soon as I heard that AdSense was available for RSS feeds. After leaving them there a few weeks, I do indeed have to question whether or not they are worth it.

Ok, overall my AdSense earnings are going up on a fairly regular basis. I am learning how to place them, how to wean out some ads, and just overall make it better. My CTR is getting much better. Ok - let’s look at my month (almost) with AdSense for Feeds. An average of 0% CTR - the clicks are so low that it averages to 0%. I’d say that it’s not working, don’t you think?

Here are the problems I see with the current feed system:

1. It’s too easily recognizable as an ad

2. You cannot control the size or look

3. You cannot control where it goes

4. The targeting is much less specific for some reason (my ads lack relevancy)

There is one flaw with the whole AdSense program that I would like fixed. The ability to keyword drive the ads rather than have them based on context. Don’t we know our readers just a little better than Google?

Here is my theory - Google has taken the very well proven search model for delivering ads in search and just modified that into AdSense. But, in so doing, they make the ads much less specific for Some, not all, blogs and websites.

Here is why. Your readers may be reading you because you talk about a topic. However, they may be just as savvy as you on that topic. They don’t need the beginner-type ads or maybe even ads in your exact topic - they may want complementary ads. This is especially true, I think, if you have a metablog site that is read by other metabloggers. You don’t need the “build a blog” ads - maybe you need the “Skype headset” ads or somesuch.

So, aside from my one beef with AdSense, I think the feed version of AdSense is so much worse performing in my case that it will have to go.

So, when can you start calling yourself a professional blogger? What makes you qualified?

Well, I am sure the answer is different for many people. But here are some of the things I have noticed - although most people only meet a couple of these points each:

- blogging for more than 2 years

- making more than $100 per month on AdSense ads for one blog

- archives over 2000 on one blog

- writing on more than 2 blogs….

Continue reading on Bloggeropoly.

What is the role of the professional blogger? To predigest the news. To put it all in one place. To amass the opinions.

So, what does this all mean? That we, as professional bloggers, have a role greater than just syndicating material - greater than just taking others’ work and linking to it with a sentence or two. We should contextualize the information, link to it, and find other relevant information to link to.

Doesn’t all that linking kind of eliminate the whole predigested thing? I don’t think so. I think we have a reseponsibility to review the information within the post, but offer ways for others who are interested to read more.

Inspired by a post on Recruiting.com

Cross Posted from Bloggeropoly.

Paul Chaney has just made the announcement that Bloggeropoly is now being officially launched. If you’re a professional blogger, or want to be, listen up to this news.

What is Bloggeropoly? The first, if not the only, blogger recruiting agency.

Bloggeropoly is here to match up bloggers with companies who have full-time or contract blogging jobs. No guess work. No need to go looking for your perfect match. It’s your traditional recruiting agency, but with all the knowledge and specialization needed for matching bloggers with jobs. Plus, there is a 90-day guarantee.

Disclosure: I helped Bloggeropoly get off the ground. Ianiv build templates and I’ll be populating a lot of the blog content. I’ll be blogging there regularly on recruiting specific to bloggers: how to get hired, being a professional blogger, and overall job tips such as resume advice and that kind of thing. I might even cross post some like content here.

When we hear of job opportunities we will try to match them up with bloggers. We may also post them to our site, minus the company and contact info.

Add Bloggeropoly to your feed and see what we’re all about.

We made it! QumanaLE 1.0 is officially out and being downloaded. And the new Qumana website, designed by the amazing Travis and Susie of Hop Studios. w00t! Susie is also the fabulous designer behind our newest DropPad design.

So, what makes QumanaLE kick some butt? Well, first, it’s free. That’s a great bonus. It also comes packed with features to achieve one simple thing: easy blogging.

Qumana offers:

WYSIWYG editing
Seamless publishing and cross-publishing to all the major blogging platforms from a drop-down menu
Easy uploading of images and documents for blog posts
Simple image alignment
Simple, integrated Technorati tagging
Spellcheck
Saving/opening HTML files for offline blog writing

Plus, tons of new stuff planned to come out soon.

Tris & I recorded a podcast in honour of the occasion. Granted, it was 1:30am and we were quite tired, but it’s a good little infocast.

Qumana Release Podcast
(4.9 megs 5 min 23 sec)

View the press release for QumanaLE! Then, go download it and give it a try. :)

If you have any questions, send us an email or go visit the Qumana site!



Technorati Tags: Qumana, QumanaLE, blogging, blogs, blog software

The countdown for the release of QumanaLE 1.0 is in its last few hours. The Qumana countdown clock is sitting at just under 7 hours to public release. Our set of worldwide beta testers have already received a pre-release of the software. And, as you can imagine, we’ve been operating on lack of sleep for about a week now, and will probably have a couple more days of it while we work hard to support the release.
It’s not been really announced here, but I am the newest addition to the Qumana team. I started working on the team a couple of weeks ago. Official title as Senior Blog Marketing Specialist. Nice, hey? I’m really excited to be a part of Qumana, especially at this time. It’s been a hard week, I can say that. But really invigorating. My contract with Qumana and Qumana Services is one of the first to go under our company - Blogaholics Consulting. Great feeling to be moving along my chosen path. :)
Anyway, Tris & I have been Skyping so much that I start to feel odd not wearing my headset. We have a mutual To Do list going right now for the release. We’re still a little heave on the “still to do” side but the “done” is getting there. Of course, tomorrow is a whole other story.
We are really pleased with the release of QumanaLE 1.0 tomorrow with everything that is going to be around the corner over the next 3 months. It’s an exciting time for Qumana.
Tune in tomorrow for the release!
If you have any questions, send us an email or go visit the Qumana site!

Technorati Tags: Qumana, QumanaLE, blogging, blogs, blog software

Technorati Tags: http://www.technorati.com/tags/blog software, http://www.technorati.com/tags/blogging, http://www.technorati.com/tags/blogs, http://www.technorati.com/tags/qumana, http://www.technorati.com/tags/qumanale

For those of you following the start of our Canadian Professional Blogging series, thanks for turning in. We’ve really appreciated the feedback! Keep it coming!

To follow up with our last podcast on your blogging voice, Tris and I recorded this podcast with tangible tips on how you can go about developing your blogging voice. We go through a whole series of steps and discuss them in detail. We also posted our show notes up to our blogs - you can view them over on Blogaholics. They are good to follow along while you listen.

Series in snapshot:

podcast #1 - becoming a ProBlogger
podcast #2 - your blogging voice part 1 of 2
podcast #3 - your blogging voice part 2 of 2 (today’s release)

Technorati Tags: professional blogging, podcasting, podcasts

The second podcast is out for the the Canadian Professional Blogging series - your blogging voice. This is part 1 of 2 on the same topic which Tris and I recorded a couple of days ago.

Part one examines what Tris and myself think of our own professional voices and our struggles toward making these realizations. Part 2 in this mini “voice” series will examine some more tangible things you can do to find your blogging voice and to keep it evolving. Tune in to Blogaholics for all the info.

Series in snapshot:

Series podcast #1 - becoming a ProBlogger

Technorati Tags: professional blogging, podcasting, podcasts

Ok, perhaps I got a little carried away today. I was making some little buttons for Qumana (coming soon!) using this little web generator, then I decided it was a good creative break and just kept going. First, I created one for Blogaholics. Just because. Really no reason.

Ok, so then I came across this interesting reference to “how to spot the ProBlogger” - so, I blogged about it. And, midway, I had the lovely idea to create a ProBlogger button. A button that you can use on your site or in your posts to clearly identify you as a ProBlogger - indeed, I even argued for the importance of doing so. So, here is that button. Feel free to download and use.

Technorati Tags: ProBlogger, blogging

Dana Blankenhorn of Moore’s Law lays out seven easy to follow tips for corporate blogs. I’ve been reading more of Dana’s blog and am more often than not in line with what he has to say. The same goes for this post.

Corporate blogs are most definitely a different thing than personal blogs. They have rules they must follow, sorry to say. Corporations can’t just go spilling out all their secrets. Nor can they assign blogging blindly to just anyone in the company (and here I refer to the blog which represents the corporate opinions and news, not those created by employees and supported by corporations). Your PR guy will usually give it the wrong voice and your marketing associate will use it too often to sell. Lastly, corporations don’t automatically get that trust we are so willing to afford to most bloggers. So, there is a fine line to tread in how to write your corporate blog, and what to write about.

So, what do you do? You must create a blog that gives out the information you want to share in a fun and inviting way. It is not just any press release or e-newsletter. It is a conversation. And that gives it a whole other voice.

Well, Dana has 7 great tips that I’m going to share with you:

1. Have an outsider do it. An insider has better things to do and they’re too close to the story.
2. Make the blog about your space, the lifestyle or industry you’re a part of, and not about the company.
3. Think of the blogger as a reporter. Encourage insiders with something to say to run their stuff by him (or her), but to understand it’s going to be dressed to go out before it goes out.
4. Lay down the “thou shalt nots” beforehand, but don’t pre-screen. Nothing takes the life out of a blog more than editing.
5. Put the blog in a unique, corporate name, so if you fire the blogger you lose no equity in the blog.
6. Encourage feedback, and let the blogger pass it along through the chain of command. The blogger’s supervisor can be a gatekeeper for this communication.
[7.] Most of all, know what the blog’s going to be about, its purpose and goals, before you start out. Have measureable goals, evaluate progress based on the goals. And pay enough to make this worth a blogger’s while — think of it as corporate outreach, which is different than corporate communication because it’s pro-active.

Bolding is my effect.

What Dana puts forth is a strong argument for professional bloggers. We are experts in our field. We write well, we write often, and we know how to maneuver in the blogosphere. We are dedicated to fostering communication and to achieving corporate goals. And, more than anything, we fill a need. We offer an outside, less biased perspective which can lend credibility to your blogging. We are able to gather news, digest it in an unbiased way, and create a discussion around it.

Great work Dana in outlining the market for professional bloggers!

Here is an excerpt from Chapter 2 of Naked Conversations - Why Blogging Matters:

Every few years, something comes along to change the way everything is. In the middle 1990s, it was the Internet. Previously our lives were changed by email, computer networks, PCs, fax machines and photocopiers. The continuum of change extends all the way back through TVs, phones, cars, trains, the telegraph, electricity, the Gutenberg press, perhaps all the way back to when the wheel first rolled out.

Blogging has not yet proven itself to be on this same level of significance. We think it will. It takes a while before revolutionary technologies prove themselves to be such. Revolutions are often declared to be such only when you look back on them, not forward as we are doing. As we write, many business people are still scratching their heads wondering what the big deal is about blogging. The challenge is to finish scratching and start acting befor the same heads get hit on the side with 2 X 4s.

It comes down to the conversation. Conversations are at the essence of the way people communicate, always have been. And we doubt any future technology will replace the essential value of face-to-face meetings. Conversations build trust. We walk into an office, see a photo or a trophy and start knowing something about who the person on the other side of the desk is. We talk about a local event and trust starts to build—or it doesn’t. We like to do business with people we can talk with. Do we get deceived? Of course, we do. But most of us feel, the more we talk with someone, the better we understand what they are up to and the more comfortable we become.

The book has been coming along for quite some time now. I hope it will be a good one after all the fanfare is said and done. It is well written and edited, from what I can tell.

There is a really innovative job resource that I’d like to share. It’s a collaborative resume and job information site called ResumeWiki. ResumeWiki is a community-edited resume centre - a wiki for resumes.

How does it work? Well, you go in and create your profile and resume. Other people will post comments and editing ideas to you - all for free. You can gain some insight by looking at the resumes already there. There are also some resources for you there - cover letter assistance, tips & advice, and more. Plus, you can request some features that you’d like to see.

Ultimately this is about giving everyone the best resume possible so that they can find the best job / position / career.