bobangus.com » Links of the Week

Angus Prime Filets – How to Guest Blog Links

Bob Angus — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:12:38 +0000

Writing guest posts on popular blogs is a proven best practice for bloggers or anyone who wants their work published online. This week’s edition of Angus Prime Filets serves up links to guest blogging articles that will help you learn how to successful publish your guest posts on the top blogs. The basic steps to guest blogging are

Why guest blogging? Your benefits
Finding a blog to connect with
Getting your proposal accepted
How to write an exceptional guest post

Why guest blogging?

Ann Smarty is authority on guest blogging and runs the successful MyBlogGuest community. She offer up how you can benefit from publishing a guest post and how not to think of it as a shortcut. Hint: You develop positive brand awareness, reputation and engaged fans… not SEO backlinks and instant traffic.

20+ Reasons Why You Need to Start Guest Blogging

What Guest Blogging is NOT: Getting It Right

Finding a blog to connect with

You need to find blogs who you’d like to work with and make a connection. Here are several excellent articles to help you find blogs that are relevant to the value you offer and are open to guest posts.

My 3-Step System for Finding Guest Post Opportunities – Problogger.net article by Jocelyn Ann

Want Guest Post Links? Find Them Via Twitter – Ethan Lyon created a great tool which he explains on SEOmoz

5 Reasons Why MyBlogGuest Is My Best Find After 5 Years As Webmaster - Daily SEO Tip explains why the aforementioned MyBlogGuest community is the place to make connections.

Getting your proposal accepted

Next you need submit your guest post proposal. Here are some helpful tips on what to do and what not to do. Hint: Put yourself in the blog owner’s shoes. Always remember guest blogging is not a numbers game. If you spam and send half-baked mass proposals, you won’t get the benefit.

12 Ways to Guest Post on the Greatest Group Marketing Blog – MarketingProfs

4 Tips for Pitching Guest Posts Like a Pro – Problogger.net post by Aman Basanti of ageofmarketing.com

The 2 Biggest Guest Blogging Mistakes You Can Make – DailyBlogTips

Write an exceptional guest post

Now it is time to write and publish an excellent post. Here are the fundamental elements to include in your guest post that will help you successfully develop your brand and reputation.

A Quick and Dirty Guide to Your First Guest Post – Neil Patel offers the ultimate guide to writing a guest post on Problogger.net

Creating a Funnel with Your Guest Posts – DailyBlogTips

What additional resources do you recommend to help learn how to guest blog?

Picture of the Week

Image: Two Cows in Pt. Reyes National Seashore in California by AnnaOne

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Post tags: angus, blogging, content, how-to guide, Links of the Week, tips, traffic

Angus Prime Filets – Links of the Week 11-11-11 Edition

Bob Angus — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:35:23 +0000

Happy 11-11-11! A wild way to end a wild week of amazing tradeshows – Ad:Tech, Pubcon and Blog World Expo. Alas, I had to watch from the sidelines. I was paying attention to the recaps though. This edition of Angus Prime Cuts delivers links to my favorite sessions from Blog World Expo LA.

Why Guy Kawasaki and Chris Brogan are Betting Big on Google+

This week Google launched Google+ Pages. To create the Google+ Page for your business simply click the “Create Page” link found in your profile. Check out the BobAngus.com page.

Now may be the right time to put more focus on Google+. Why? Because mega trendsetters Guy Kawasaki and Chris Brogan say so! SmartBrief’s SmartBlog highlights 4 key takeaways from Guy and Chris’ Google+ session at Blog World Expo:

It’s where passionate people hang out.
Better sharing than Facebook.
It’s great for SEO.
They were right about Twitter.

10 Steps to Engaging Online Influencers

How do you contact and engage a valuable influencer? More importantly, how do you cultivate and nurture your contacts in a way that they will actually recommend your brand or product? Just broadcasting your message and praying it gets picked up is not going to be successful. Arik Hanson and Greg Swan delivered 10 great solution tips in their Blog World Expo session, Blogs, Bribes, and Blasphemy: Engaging Influencers in a Changing World (view the presentation slides).Vertical Response provides an excellent recap of the session.

Giving Substance to Online Influence

Matt Ridings also spoke on the subject of how to improve your online influence at Blog World Expo. Matt brings up a great twist to the common advice that I think really speaks to getting results – focus on the “infuenced” not the infuencer. Makes sense. Listen to people you have already engaged, then find more like them and have them be amplifying advocates. That is much easier and more directly impactful than trying to convince a lot of busy influencers. Here are the presentation slides on Slideshare.

What’s the Most Valuable Thing You Learned at Blog World

Amy (@SavvySexySocial) from TweetFindBlog posted this cool video. She interviewed bloggers at the show and asked them what was the most valuable thing they learned at Blog World Expo. I especially liked Scott’s (@thatguyduece) insights on “always think about your customer.”

Have a fantastic weekend!

© Bob Angus for bobangus.com, 2011. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bob Angus, events, Google, Links of the Week, social networks, tips

Prime Angus Filets: Links this Week 2-1-2008

Bob Angus — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:34:36 +0000

Demo 08 was held this week in Palm Desert, CA. For those that do not know about DEMO, it is the high powered gathering where startups can demo to venture capitalists, press, and other influential technology elite.

Since my fortunes are used for mundane things like a mortgage and not angel funding, I simply watched the demonstrations online. Here are some of the companies that I will be doing further research on or using this year:(...)
Read the rest of Prime Angus Filets: Links this Week 2-1-2008

© Bob Angus for bobangus.com, 2008. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: blogging, business models, Links of the Week, social networks, web 2.0

Prime Angus Filets: Links this Week 1-18-2008

Bob Angus — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 06:20:24 +0000

Woo hoo! We made it to the weekend. Have a great time this weekend and, if weather permitting, I highly recommend getting away from your computer. Personally, I am attempting to break out of my current running plateau by making a big push and seeing where it takes me.

If you are not lucky enough to break free from the keyboard, then here are a few gems worth reading.

The Philosophy of Social Markers

Hugh MacLeod is a edgy cartoonist and marketing philosopher. His blog, Gapingvoid, is a fresh read for anyone tired of the same how to make money online blogs. You must subscribe.

This week Hugh posted a thought-provoking discussion on how we humans interact through “social objects” and how good marketers can use “social markers” to initiate and engage our audience on a personal level. Here is the definition of social objects in an excerpt from the social marker – the “social object” on steroids.

The Social Object, in a nutshell, is the reason two people are talking to each other, as opposed to talking to somebody else. Human beings are social animals. We like to socialize. But if think about it, there needs to be a reason for it to happen in the first place. That reason, that “node” in the social network, is what we call the Social Object.

The Crunchies

Tonight Michael Arrington of TechCrunch announced the winners of the Crunchies 2007. More coverage elsewhere across the blogosphere.

My personal favorite is Zazzle, who won for Best Business Model. While I can probably debate the business model point, there is no doubt that Zazzle has successfully harnessed the complex American psyche of fierce expression of our desired individuality through rampant consumption.

Image of the Week

In a country known for great food, my wife and I came across a Chinese restaurant in Siena while on our honeymoon in Italy. Needless to say, we did not eat there.

My wife has edited the original picture using Photoshop’s film grain filter (all settings dialed down to 0) to give this picture a painted feel. This version of the image has been blown up and now hangs in our bedroom.

Check out other pictures and images on my Flickr photos.

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Post tags: Links of the Week, social networks

Prime Angus Filets: Links this Week 1-11-2008

Bob Angus — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:00:28 +0000

More on Twitter

Sam Harrelson mentions my Twitter post in his daily Affiliate Fortune Cookie podcast and provides some great insight on how he uses Twitter as a communication tool. My takeaway from his recommendations are that Twitter spam and self-promoting broadcasts are the same unwanted communication as the telemarketer that calls you during dinner. Do not do it.

I have also ventured across several other great posts and examples of companies using Twitter to market their products.

Eirik Solheim at eirikso.com provides solid Twitter tips that he has learned in his early days of using Twitter.
Allen Stern at CenterNetworks questions Twitterâ€™s business model, but mentions that companies like IconFactory are using the Twitter APIs to drive revenues.
Check woot and Amazon Gold Box Deals via Twitter or read about it on Read/Write Web.

Entrecard

Entrecard is red hot right now. On the surface, it is yet another social network for bloggers to drive traffic by swapping links. If traffic is Entrecardâ€™s only benefit, it will die out within 4-6 months. However, it is becoming its own financial economy. Here are two great posts on how Entrecard is driving for success:

Darren Rowse has an informative interview with Entrecard founder, Graham Langdon.
Bloggingmix discusses why Entrecard is Winning Over Blogrush.

You are not on Facebook?!

I have my ups and downs with social networking, but I enjoy the connections and believe in its business value. However, many businesses have knowingly ignored or rejected social networking. Here are the biggest objections to social networking and how you can overcome those objections when you come across a social networking naysayer.

Image of the Week

This landscape picture was taken from a hilltop outside of Cortona, Italy by me on my honeymoon.

Check out other pictures and images on my Flickr photos.

© Bob Angus for bobangus.com, 2008. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: blogging, Links of the Week, social networks

Prime Angus Filets: Links this Week 1-4-2008

Bob Angus — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:00:24 +0000

The first week of 2008 has gone in a blur. It took all my will power to not spend too much time this week reviewing the many eye-popping 2007 stats posts. After all, I know that the key to John Chow’s 2007 success has been action, not daydreaming about somebody else’s fortune. Here are some of the articles that I found incredibly useful in taking direct action to hit my own blogging goals.

First, I spent time analyzing where I can improve using basic SEO strategies. I started with keywords. My goal is to maintain a #1 rank for anyone who searches for Bob Angus, but I need to improve significantly across several other sets of keywords. SEO Design Solutions offered a good guide with SEO fundamentals called How to Extend your Keyword Empire in 3 Simple Steps.

Updated: Terry at SuperAff.com posted a good tip on Tracking Hot Keywords For New Blog Subscriptions.

Next, I am addressing link building. I refuse to take the shortcut, blackhat route or just buy links. One should build links that are sustainable, valuable, and trustworthy. One starting point is to analyze the competition and develop an external relevance profile for them. Hamlet Batista unleashed something that you will not find in any ebook with Revealing your Competitor’s FULL External Relevance Profile. Also, Earner’s Blog continues his series on link building with a good reminder to think outside the box in Link Building Guide Part 3 – Aboutus.org

Finally, I am quickly coming to a realization that I need to change my blog design. Skellie of Skelliewag.org delivered a great guest post on Blog Perfume called 8 Clever Ways to Lower the Bounce-Rate on Your Blog. The tips are design-oriented more than content-oriented, but they address a critical issue for low traffic blogs like bobangus.com. Each visitor who â€˜bouncesâ€™ out of your site is a lost opportunity to gain a loyal reader or new subscriber. It is time to change my WordPress theme.

Image of the Week

Rue Pachinko by Renaud Bec is amazing concept art for the Red Steel video game by Ubisoft. For more incredible video game concept art, see the annual collections from IntoThePixel.com.

Check out other pictures and images on my Flickr photos.

© Bob Angus for bobangus.com, 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: blogging, Links of the Week, SEO, web design

Prime Angus Filets: Links this Week 12-28-2007

Bob Angus — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 04:42:52 +0000

2007 is coming to an end. 2008 is straight ahead and is shining bright with opportunity. As always, the week between Christmas and New Year’s is chocked full of “best of 2007″ year end lists and 2008 resolutions lists. The top celebrity meltdowns of 2007 have been particularly popular here at Commission Junction…

More Boy George escapades than we all really need in NY Observer’s Top Ten Celebrity Meltdowns of 2007
Babies remain the “in” accessory of the stars. There are now a slew of celebrity pregnancy blogs including a list of 2007 Favorite Celebrity Pregnancies.
Or of course, I am sure that everyone spent an inordinate amount of time procrastinating by watching the top videos on YouTube.

I like to look forward too. Making goals, setting personal challenges, and guides on how to completely breaking free are seemingly more popular than ever in the blogosphere.

I re-read one of my favorite inspirational posts of the year How to Achieve Ridiculous Goals on Self Made Chick. Christine should know because she took the plunge into full-time online entrepreneur.
Dosh Dosh provided some helpful blogging hints to clean the slate and start fresh in 2008. It’s all in the preparation.
Or if you do not want to spend New Year’s day on the couch, check out Active.com’s list of New Year’s Resolution Runs in your area.

May you have a great 2008!

Image of the Week

Running the Jet to Jetty 10k race in Playa del Rey, CA. I did not even need the help of HGH like Roger Clemens and most of professional baseball.

Check out other pictures and images on my Flickr photos.