When you’re at a loss for words and have nowhere to turn for the perfect blog topics, Google Wonder Wheel is there for inspiration. This highly effective tool brings the topics to you. All you have to do is type in a keyword and related words pop up. Click a related word for even more related words and continue until you find the perfect word that inspires your next blog topic. View the tutorial below for details on how to use this wonderful wheel:

Message from Michelle

Welcome to this issue of Sumèr’s Secrets. Mama and I are finally settled after our trip to see the family (although she really misses her son, Moose).

Recently, a client came to us concerned with dwindling traffic on their YouTube channel and requested we critique their videos. It didn’t take long for us to figure out why no one was watching their videos. Before I continue, it’s important to note that Sumèr does not record or edit videos. We write the scripts and we are in the business of helping our clients create and share a strong brand message.

We figured that if one company was having this problem, there must be more. My team and I surfed business videos on YouTube and were shocked with what we found: video after video had boring, invaluable content.

This issue of Sumèr’s Secrets focuses on the common mistakes businesses make when posting videos on YouTube. From the video content to the messaging, and your dress to the footage quality, your videos should work to strengthen your brand image.

Connect With Me Online at:
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/writtenbysumer
Facebook: www.facebook.com/michelle.salater
Blog: writtenbysumer.com/articles

Feature Article:

Are You Boring Your YouTube Viewers?

These days, it seems more and more companies (and individuals) are making videos and posting them on YouTube with the expectation their videos will help with search engine rankings and attract new clients. While video marketing has the potential to promote a business and attract clients, many companies find no one is watching or reviewing their videos.

Do a quick search on YouTube and you’ll find videos without sound, ones that make no sense, poorly produced videos, and boring content. The worthless video is everywhere.

These poorly produced videos are fine if you’re uploading footage of your cat chasing your hamster or showing your kids playing in the ocean. But if you are a company using YouTube to promote your services, products, or expertise, then poorly produced videos will do the opposite of what you intended.

Before taking the time to film your video, ask yourself “What is the purpose of this video and how does this video promote my brand?” Perhaps you want to explain a specific product or service, illustrate your industry expertise, or strengthen your brand image by providing viewers with valuable tips and strategies. Once you know the above, you will know what action you want your prospect to take.

Here are some common mistakes to avoid when posting YouTube videos:

Yesterday, I was messing around with my blog, checking the stats, adding a new widget, and answering comments. Something prompted me (or perhaps it was plain old procrastination) to click on page three and four of my comments.

I was happily reading through comments that were months old until I discovered six comments that I had not approved.

I didn’t even know they were there.

I make it a point to reply back when people leave comments because I like bloggers to write back when I comment on their blogs. Also, we market blogs for clients on a regular basis and actively market our blog as well. My number one rule is: leave comments and comment back. It’s the polite thing to do and it helps build relationships.

So, you can image my shock when I stumbled upon these unattended blog comments. To make matters worse, someone had left a message asking to expand on the topic. And another person left me a message on a post that was about how communication is the key to business success. Talk about embarrassing.

How these comments managed to slip past me isn’t important. What matters is that not only did I miss an opportunity to connect with other bloggers, but I may have also lost readership as a result of my neglect.

Let this be a lesson to those of you who blog: stay current with your incoming comments. Reply back in a prompt manner. And it wouldn’t hut you to check comments from months ago. You never know what you might have missed.

I’d love for you to leave a comment. Oh, come on, you know you want to. Or share it on Digg or StumbleUpon.

Celebrated for her creative, one-of-a-kind designs, Hannah Craner, graphic and print collateral designer and owner of Sherbet Blossom Designs, has positioned herself as a blogsite designer and custom-designed print collateral guru. In this exclusive interview, Hannah shares with Sūmèr her design expertise and her inspirations:

Sūmèr: What is your design background?

I graduated with a BS in social marketing and took some computer / design classes in school, but most of my design experience came after I graduated. My husband started a nonprofit organization that sends doctors and dentists to third-world countries. Since we were a true nonprofit organization with little money to spare, my husband asked me to design a logo and website. I had a graphic design friend who mentored me through the process and helped me gain the passion I have now. I soon began doing websites and wedding invitations for a wide clientele and landed a job as a graphic designer for a magazine publishing company. I have been designing my magazine for almost four years now and absolutely love print work.

Sūmèr: Why blogs? How did you get into blog design?

Print work is actually my passion, but blog designing fell into my lap. I began Sherbet Blossom Designs two years ago and immediately had people asking me who designed my site. When they found out I designed my own blog, they asked if I could do theirs. After more than fifteen people asked me to design their blogs, I decided I should make a business of it. My greatest passion is still print work, but I do love blog design as well.

Sūmèr: How do your blogsites differ from traditional  websites?

Each of my blogs is custom designed. I design to the client’s taste and work with my client to create a site that is uniquely his or her own.

Sūmèr: What do you love most about what you do? Why?

I love to see the design in my head become a reality on screen and even more in print. To hold something in my hand that I created is a thrill. I love that I am constantly looking for beauty and shape in everything around me. Everything is inspiration.

Sūmèr: What is your source of inspiration?

Inspiration comes from everywhere. Shapes, signs, magazines, fabric, antique books—I have a hard time looking at anything without analyzing the design. I keep a sketchbook and camera with me to draw or take pictures whenever I get an idea.

Sūmèr: You have quite an extensive portfolio. How long have you been designing blogs / banners / websites / print collateral?

I have been designing blogs for about two years, but 80% of my designs have been done in the past ten to twelve months. It seems the more I do, the busier I become.

Sūmèr: What does the future hold for Sherbet Blossom Designs?

I plan on selling premade blog designs at bargain prices and also revamping the print work section of my site to focus more on invitations, ads, and packaging. I am very excited about the changes coming in the next three to four months.

To view Sherbet Blossom Design’s exceptional portfolio,     visit https://www.sherbetblossomdesigns.com/.

Message from Michelle

Hope everyone had a fantastic Fourth of July. I had a wonderful weekend relaxing and boating. This year, I experienced a firework display as never before. We anchored the boat in Charleston Harbor and had an amazing opportunity to watch the fireworks right in front of the USS Yorktown, where the fireworks were launched.

This issue of Sūmèr’s Secrets is about blog marketing and promotion. Too many people put up business blogs and neglect them. Or they frequently post but don’t do anything to interact with readers or other bloggers.

Having a successful blog requires more than simply posting on a regular basis. To be a successful blogger, you need to have readership, and you need to interact with the online community. Using a blog to its full potential means you’re marketing and promoting it online in a proper manner and writing posts that offer valuable industry tips, statistics, and information to readers.

Connect With Me Online at:
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/writtenbysumer
Facebook: www.facebook.com/michelle.salater
Blog: writtenbysumer.com/articles

How to Get the Most Out of Your Blog

Blogs are an excellent online platform to provide valuable industry news and tips to your target market, but they are also an integral part of marketing and promoting your business online. Blog posts that provide value to your readers help position you as an expert in your field and a credible source for viable information.

If you want a successful blog–one with a large readership and one that brings you customers–simply posting regularly isn’t enough. You need to market and promote your business blog. Setting aside an hour or two each week to market your blog will help increase readership, position you as an expert, and grow your client base. If you’re not using your blog properly and to its full potential, you are missing out on increasing website traffic and boosting sales.

Below are 9 steps to effectively market and promote your blog:

Step 1: Attach the RSS feed widget to your blog: RSS feed stands for Really Simple Syndication, which is a file containing a brief amount of information–a headline and synopsis–and a link to the full content on the blog. Voluntary subscribers to specific blog RSS feed will receive this information through their RSS readers. Search engines can detect if your blog is high quality based on how many people subscribe to your blog’s RSS feed. In addition, search engines can detect how many people visit your blog from their RSS readers and how many times they click through to your blog.

Step 2: Import blog posts into your social media sites: With a large concentration of companies and individuals using social media sites to communicate, it’s important to import your blog into social media sites. Nearly all social media sites allow you to import your blog into your profile, including some of the most popular social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Importing your blog allows your target market to post comments and share posts with friends. Whenever a comment is posted on your blog from a reader via Facebook, the comment is visible on the reader’s minifeed, which can be seen by all of the reader’s friends.

Step 3: Create a blog marketing and promotion schedule: Creating a strict marketing and promotion schedule ensures you will stay organized and current with its promotion. Each week, set aside time to comment on like-minded blogs, ask other bloggers if you can be a guest blogger, or ask others to guest blog for you, and request to be on like-minded blogrolls. Don’t forget to set aside time to track your blog posts and recycle posts into articles.

Step 4: Comment on like-minded blogs: One thing many bloggers don’t realize is the importance of commenting on other blogs. Commenting on like-minded blogs is a powerful networking tool and works to increase inbound links to your own blog. Your comments should be relevant to the blog topic, add value and your expertise to what is being said in the blog, give positive feedback, peak the interest of the author and other viewers, provide links to similar pieces you may have written about the subject, and have a link to your email and website below each comment.

Step 5: Approach popular, like-minded bloggers, and ask if you could be a guest blogger: Search engines look highly upon blogs mentioned on other blogs because it illustrates that your blog provides intellectual material that ignites curiosity and discussion in the online community. Aside from other blogs, if search engines find your blog’s URL on social media sites and social bookmarking sites, these social media sites consider this a positive indicator that your blog is high quality.

Step 6: Approach popular, like-minded bloggers, and ask if they would be a guest blogger on your blog: Requesting like-minded bloggers to be guest bloggers is the perfect way to build relationships online and increase exposure. The more people you can touch and build working relationships with, the more likely you are to successfully market and promote your blog. Having guest bloggers also shows you are interested in what others have to say and are striving to find the best possible industry information available. 

Step 7: Request to be on popular, like-minded bloggers’ blogrolls: After commenting on other blogs and requesting to be a guest blogger–and vice versa–it’s time to request to be on those bloggers’ blogrolls. Since you have a basis of a relationship with most of these bloggers now, you are more likely to receive a yes to be on their blogroll. Being present on other blogrolls helps increase inbound links and drive targeted traffic to your blog and website.

Step 8: Track blog posts: Tracking the popularity of specific posts helps you see what topics are of interest to your readers. Regularly tracking your blog also helps you track key phrases people use to find your blog and the amount of click-throughs you receive.

Step 9: Recycle posts into articles: Recycling past blog posts into online articles helps to increase inbound links, position you as an expert in your field, and reach thousands of potential customers. Articles are the perfect way to recycle important and valuable information and share it with thousands of individuals who have never visited your blog before.

Tip of the Month

Although it is hard to judge how many blogs are created, Wordpress (a very popular blog platform) reported 2,906,086 new blogs created on just their platform in 2008.

Visit Part I of this blog post.

If you’ve already read Google’s Blog Ranking Criteria Revealed: Part I . . . I’m sorry to say, that Google uses even more criteria to rank the quality of your blog. It’s a tough life for blogs when it comes to Google Blogsearch, but with the right attitude, effective strategies, powerful networking techniques, and stellar writing, your blog will reach celebrity status on Google Blogsearch in no time.

So, what more could Google possibly be looking for to prove your blog’s popularity?

• The number of clicks on your blog link when it appears in search engines: If your blog link is continuously clicked on, it illustrates to Google that your blog is receiving a high concentration of readers. If your blog is clicked on more times in search engine results than other blogs, Google sees this as an excellent indicator of blog popularity.

• Inbound links on other blogrolls: The more reputable blogrolls your blog is linked to, the higher Google will rate your blog. Google takes blogrolls seriously because they contain constant outbound links to other blogs. This shows Google you probably have a high respect for and enjoy reading the blogs on your blogroll. Approach your favorite, reputable bloggers and request for them to put your blog on their blogroll. If they agree, you’ll have a strategically placed inbound link to your blog. This also expresses to Google that your blog isn’t SPAM. The more of these reputable inbound links you have, the higher Google will rank your blog.

• Appropriate tags for each blog entry: Tags are your blog’s keywords and are an extremely important factor when determining what your blog is about. Make sure your tags describe the blog post accurately. This will help viewers and Google determine what your blog post is about. Inaccurate tagging and over-tagging is frowned upon by both visitors and Google because it is a false representation of your blog content. It’s important to effectively use tags if you want to become a reputable blogger and increase targeted traffic while ranking high in Google Blogsearch.

If you’re looking to interact with prospects in a unique and effective way, BlogTalkRadio is an excellent platform to look into. Not only is it free, but it’s also a fantastic way to increase online presence, gain brand recognition and credibility, and increase inbound links. With BlogTalkRadio, internet users can listen to a variety of channels, choose the category they’re interested in, and participate in a deeper, interactive experience.

Attracting your specific target market with BlogTalkRadio is simple. Choose from a wide variety of categories that best fit the description of your blog: dream, golf, culture, comedy, film, marketing, pets, spirituality, travel, and so much more. BlogTalkRadio is an excellent tool to use if you want to weed out those who are not in your target market—only the ones who are interested will click on your category.

So, what are the features and benefits of BlogTalkRadio for listeners?

• RSS feed, iTunes, and other feed readers, allow listeners to subscribe to shows and join in weekly for the next dish of news.

• No software download is required for using BlogTalkRadio—just a feed reader.

• No money is required to subscribe or listen to talk shows—they’re free!

• Listeners with questions have the opportunity to interact with the host and better understand the talk show content.

What are the features and benefits of BlogTalkRadio for businesses?

• BlogTalkRadio is a revolutionary, online social networking tool that enables businesses that blog the opportunity to directly connect with their target audience. All a host needs is a phone and a computer.

• BlogTalkRadio offers hosts the opportunity to create live, call-in talk shows, which anyone can listen to. Once the show goes live, it will automatically be saved and can be used as a podcast in the future.

• BlogTalkRadio allows businesses to measure how many people are listening and downloading their talk shows.

• BlogTalkRadio provides hosts the opportunity to customize their personal profile by including a blog link, a link to their website, a video, or any other widget.

• BlogTalkRadio requires no software to be downloaded. All viewers and hosts need is a computer and phone.

• BlogTalkRadio offers hosts the opportunity for hosts and listeners to interact during and after the show. Listeners’ questions can be answered, and businesses can build credibility and online exposure.

The number of internet users has dramatically increased in recent years and is still climbing. More people are using RSS readers to provide them with new articles, blogs, website updates, and more from their favorite sites.

RSS feed stands for Really Simple Syndication, which is a file containing a brief amount of information (a headline and synopsis) and a link to the full content on the website / blog. Voluntary subscribers to the website / blog RSS feed will receive this information through their RSS readers. Some examples of RSS readers are My Yahoo, NewsGator Online, and Bloglines.com.

If a website has an RSS feed, it will alert people who have subscribed to it with links to new articles, information, and blogs, which have been posted on the site at that time. This saves people the time and aggravation of going through all the websites they enjoy to search for the newly added elements.

If you know you have a great site with useful information and excellent products / services to offer, then it’s important to recognize all the ways in which you can help increase traffic to your site and reach out to thousands of potential clients.

Bottom line: having an RSS feed on your website / blog will greatly benefit your site.

* It will bring people up-to-date on your achievements, tips, hints, industry news, and express your expertise to clients.

* Viewers who love your site will subscribe to your RSS feed and click on fresh updates from your site on their RSS reader, increasing traffic to your site.

* Newly added information will reach thousands of potential clients and increase SEO.

Increasing targeted traffic to your website can cost a small fortune. But it doesn’t have to if you know the right tips, tools, and strategies to get a significant amount of targeted traffic that you need right now. 

·       Post comments on blogs, forums, and discussion boards related to your target market. It would be highly beneficial for you to join a discussion board / forum related to your industry in order to post comments, get consumer feedback, and be introduced to new industry information you may not already know. Posting relevant and helpful comments can increase your credibility and lure more readers to your website link. After every comment, include a link to your blog or website to increase targeted traffic.

·       Social bookmarking is a great way to increase targeted traffic. Bookmarking your online articles and website on a site, such as Digg, under specific categories allows you to reach out to your target market. It permits you to share your web content with others and allows them to vote on its content. If it becomes popular among viewers, it will be voted to the front page of the bookmarking site and be viewed by thousands of potential clients.

·       Utilizing RSS feed and email lists allows you to reach subscribers interested in what your company has to offer. RSS feed and emails are similar since they’re both sent to subscribers, providing them with updated information. RSS feed makes it easy for subscribers to be alerted immediately and allows them to click on the link to your website. Using these combined marketing strategies will increase your client base and will likely ensure an increase in visits to your website.

·       Exchange links with others to increase targeted traffic. If your link can be found on a handful of sites, it can dramatically increase the number of clients visiting your site.

·       Online Article Directories allow you to place niche-oriented articles into specific categories. Your target audience is more likely to be searching for articles in a specific category. For example, if your real estate company writes an article for ezinearticles.com and submits it under the Real Estate category, you’ll receive viewers who are specifically searching for Real Estate articles. This will eliminate viewers who are not in your specific target market.

For more helpful tips on marketing in economic crisis and to learn about our many marketing services, visit Michelle Salater Writing and Editorial, LLC.