A blogging notebook, also known as a blog fodder notebook, is a small notebook that you carry with you at all times. In this notebook, you will write down ANY ideas that occur to you that have even the remotest thing to do with your blog topic. Have multiple blogs? Try a divided notebook of some sort. Don’t want to carry anything that big? Use those little stick-on tabs to divide up a moleskine notebook or gregg-ruled pad. If you only have two blogs, use the notebook from the front for one blog, and from the back (backside of the pages) for the other.

A lot of people suggest moleskine notebooks for this purpose (and most of those people are big into lifehacks, etc). Personally, I use a simple Gregg ruled notepad. One of those greentint “Steno Book” pads. Some people call these a steno pad, although that’s a slight misnomer, as a steno pad is a slightly different size and style. (Steno pads are still good ideas, though.)

Do I actually carry a blog notebook? You bet I do. Actually, my blog notebook winds up containing ideas for multiple sites - blogs and not. I carry it everywhere I go, though. It sits in my truck, when I’m not out of the house. (Why? When I’m in the house, I’m constantly surrounded by notepads, papers, or keyboards on which I can make notes that can later be transferred to the notebook, if I wish. Also, a lot of ideas come to me when I’m sitting in my truck, smoking cigarettes (which I do, pretty much every night that it isn’t raining). Also, it keeps me from forgetting it as I’m rushing out the door.

Oh, one other thing. Keep your old blog notebooks, and go back through them every so often. You’ll often find old ideas that are perfect for a new article. (Oh, yes, mark which ideas you blogged on, so you don’t repeat unless it’s neccesary. Don’t mark them out, though, as they may generate more ideas, later on.)

So, go… go get a notebook. I’ll wait…

…See, that wasn’t so hard.

EVERY time you reference another blog in your post, you should use trackbacks. EVERY time. The only exception is when a blog does not allow trackbacks, or you simply can’t find the trackback data.

First off, WordPress blogs will - usually - contain the appropriate RDF data in each post so that WordPress (if you’ve selected the option to do so) will automatically trackback, or pingback (a pingback is WordPress’s version of trackbacks. WP handles both ping and track backs).

The above is not always the case, however. The best bet is to find the trackback link for each post (usually posted just below the post, or just above the comments). Copy the link (or the link location, if they’ve simply linkified the word “trackback”), and paste it into your blog’s trackback field.

For WordPress blogs, there is a default trackback url to each and every post. That URL works like this: http://www.blogdomainhere.com/path/to/post-title-here/trackback/

For MoveableType and TypePad blogs, the URL is a script-based URL, and you’ll have to track it down within the post. If you can’t find it within the post, do a VIEW SOURCE on the page, and search for the word “Trackback” or the acronym “RDF”. You’ll find it, if it’s there.

If you’re reference a post on a blogspot (blogger.com) blog, you’re out of luck unless they’re using a third-party trackbacking service (like Haloscan). Blogger is a bit behind the times in that respect.

Make CERTAIN, if you track back to a blog, provide a link to the entry in question in your post, somewhere. If you’re insistent on not providing links, then don’t bother to track back. (A cheap, annoying, and easy-way-to-get-branded-as-an-asshole way around this is to make a single period “.” a link to their entry). Why? Simple. Most spam control systems require the post’s URL to be in your post, somewhere. Mine certainly does.

By using trackbacks, you’re able to get visitors to drop by your blog who are interested in the topic at hand, and saw the trackback link on another blog. Plus, it’s a way to trade links and traffic with another blog (it’s considered a backlink by Google, and helps increase your page rank).

It’s very simple. Use. Trackbacks. Every. Time. You. Reference. Another. Blog’s. Post.

The top-referring website (not including search engines) to this blog is referring traffic through a track-back I initiated. How’s that for telling.

Adding a “send to a friend via e-mail” link will allow people to send your posts to others who might find them interesting. This is great way to increase viral and social marketting. It’s as simple as adding a little bit of code from a service that provides “send via e-mail.”

Add this option to your posts, and watch the social/viral marketting increase!

Use FeedBurner (http://www.feedburner.com) for your feeds. Feedburner allows a lot of tracking options. They track the number of readers of your feed (updated, up to the moment), the number of click throughs to specific entries, and a plethroa of other statistics.

Not only does FeedBurner allow for tracking, it also allows you to add things like “add to del.icio.us” links, and “e-mail to a friend” links, greatly increasing the opportunity for social and viral linking.

Set up with FeedBurner (the FeedBurner WordPress plugin makes this easy for you WordPress folks. A simple Google search should locate it), and use it to track your feeds.

Using a recent posts plugin allows you to highlight your recent posts on every page. This way, people who are viewing an individual entry page can see the topics (or subjects) of your recent posts, and be able to click directly to them. I suggest highlighting the latest ten posts, although if you have limited space, highlight at least the lastest five.

The reason for using this plugin is, very simply, keeping people reading on your blog. Increase the time people spend on your blog, increase the likelyhood of them clicking on ads, participating in discussions, or just generally reading more content.

Grab a recent posts plugin, place it near the top of your page, and watch the amount of time people spend on your blog, per visit, increase - often, dramatically.

Meta tags are one of the cornerstones of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). A strong meta keywords tag, and a strong meta description tag are imperitive to your SEO technique.

A Meta Description tag does precisely what it sounds like. It describes your blog. Like this: <meta rel=”description” content=”This is your blog description, in one or two sentences.”> For me, my description is something like the following: “MindBlog: Amateur blogging for amateur bloggers. Blogging and blogosphere information for the amateur blogger - filling the niche between personal diarist and professional blogger.”

The meta keyword tag lists the top keywords for your blog. The “content” section will contain a comma seperated list of keywords. My keyword tag for this blog might look like the following: <meta rel=”keywords” content=”blogging, blogs, how to blog, make money blogging, blogosphere, blogging news, tips and tricks, blogging tips”>.

Write a strong meta description and keywords tag. It will definitely help in your search engine rankings!

Google News is a great method on keeping up with what’s going on with your blog’s topic, in mainstream media.

Signing up for some Google news alerts will keep you aprised of the latest info out there. You can set up a news alert on pretty much any topic you desire, and on specific media sources. Go give it a look.

With some solid news alerts set up, you can consistently blog about breaking news - a great way to keep more regular readers.

Sign up for some, and see!

Writing a series is a great way to get return visitors to your blog. After all, chances are, you might be coming back to catch this series, regularly.

Not to mention, a good series is a great way to get links back. Plus, it’s a great way to promote your blog on other blogs - in comments. Something like: Assume a blogger was discussing monetization tips. In comments, “Oh yes, I wrote a [link]series[/link] about monetization. I covered everything your talking about, plus SEO techniques, etc… You might benefit from some of the tips in it - specifically, ____, ____, and ____. Check it out and let me know what you think. (If you consider this a spam comment, feel free to delete, but I’d appreciate you letting me know, so I don’t do the same in the future.)”

Writing a series is a great way to impart knowledge to your readers about specific subjects. Series are also great ways to expand on posts you’ve already written. Go check out my post on how I write a series, for a start on writing your own.

Write a series, send me a link, and I’ll promote it here (if it has to do with blogging, or another topic this blog would find interesting).

This is different from a newsleter. In a sense it’s like RSS, via e-mail. Your blog posts will be sent via e-mail to anyone who signs up. This enables people who don’t understand RSS to receive your posts in a syndicated format, each day. Some services send each one, as it’s posted. The majority of them - and the one I reccommend - send out a single e-mail each day containing all of your posts from that day.

I highly recommend Feed Blitz (http://www.feedblitz.com). Feed Blitz will integrate with FeedBurner, as well.

Setting up e-mail sign-up on your blog is as simple as inserting some HTML code containing a form.

Try it out, and see if people like it!

Ever been a member of an e-mail newsletter? They’re often full of tips that don’t make it into the regular blog. Newsletters also are a great place to feature posts that you think should get more attention.

I will tell you this. Newsletters require time. Even if it’s a monthly newsletter, it still takes time to write the e-mail, and comb your blog for the best posts to include.

Here’s some tips to an effective newsletter:

• Publish at least once every two weeks.
• Include links to “top” blog posts, especially that have been written between newsletters.
• Include links to some older “top” posts, on occasion.
• Every newsletter has a single topic. Usually a broad topic that you can narrow down a bit within the newsletter is best.
• Post information, tips, etc… that you do not include in your normal blog. In other words, reserve some info especially for the newsletter.
• Promote affiliate links - when appropriate to your content.
• Write in a conversational style.

A newsletter is a great way to increase readership to your blog.

A newsletter is pretty tough to keep going, though. It takes dedication, and ideas. If you have trouble coming up with ideas, then you may want to delay starting a newsletter for a bit until the creative juices start flowing.

For a good introduction to newsletters, sign up for a few. You can always unsubscribe, later.

First step, set up an account at del.icio.us.

Second step, add every single entry you ever post on your blog to your del.icio.us account.

Third step, tag the entries with appropriate tags.

Why? It gives a chance for people to find your entries on Del.icio.us. Plus, there are plugins for popular browsers that will tell you what bookmarks may be similar to pages you’re currently reading. Bingo, even more readers.

It’s quite simple. Social bookmarking breeds viral linking. Viral linking is a great way to bring in hundreds of new readers, often all within the same week.

In addition to bookmarking every post on your own account, you can place an “add to del.icio.us” link at the end of every post (see the links at the bottom of this post, for example). Try encouraging people to bookmark their favorite posts. You’d be surprised how many people are willing to do so.

Don’t stop at Del.icio.us, though. As you can see, I’ve added links to digg, reddit, spurl, furl, etc… The more, the merrier (just try not to get too cluttered).

Whether you design it yourself, or have someone else do it, a custom template ads flair to your blog.

A custom template makes your blog stand out, amongst all the other blogs that use generic templates. It’s psychology, really… A blog that has a good-looking custom template will be visited more often than a blog that has a generic (or widely used) template - even when they are blogging on the same. exact. subject.

I’ve seen B-list blogs that are B-list, only because their template really kicks butt. Their content isn’t that great, but their template is fricking awesome!

What makes a good template?

• Clean layout
• Easy to find important things
• Entries are easy to read
• Contains the important stuff
• Doesn’t have too much excess… junk

Oh, don’t forget a good looking color scheme (says the guy whose blog looks like a clown exploded).

Play around for a while, and try to get a custom template. Even if you download a generic template, try playing around with it and see if you can customize it into something awesome!

Almost every blogger knows about Google’s AdSense - the contextually based ad system from Google. Well, AdWords is the flip side of that. AdWords is the advertiser’s side.

Sign up for an AdWords account, choose a relatively low amount (unless you want to spend a lot) to cap at, and pick some highly targetted keywords. Then, design an ad for your blog, and there ya go. You’ll get traffic.

Now, you will be paying for that traffic. But, if your keyword CPCs (Costs Per Click) are low enough, and you have a well-targetted blog, you’ll likely wind up making money with the influx of traffic.

This tip is crap shoot, really, but it’s worth a shot. If you’ve got a few bucks to spare, try this tip… Oh, and let me know how it works!

If you’ve got some programming knowledge, you can write a plugin for your blogging system. Then, submit it to the various plugin lists, and make sure it gets onto the search engines. Boom! Instant traffic.

Please try to make sure your plugin is useful, though. And make sure there aren’t fifty-eleven other plugins doing the exact same thing.

You can even take an existing plugin and - with the original author’s permission - improve it, and release it under your name/blog. An example? The SimpleTagsPlus plugin I wrote. I simply expanded on the SimpleTags plugin, got permission from the author, and released it.

Can’t code worth a flip? Well, can you design? Try releasing a template. If you’ve got a custom template for your blog, consider releasing it for everyone to use. Nearly EVERY template released contains a link back to the original/release blog, somewhere (usually in the footer). BOOM! Even more instant traffic!

Be prepared, though, to handle the bandwith of downloads of your plugins, or themes. Sometimes, when a new one is released, this can get a little hefty. It’s worth it, though. Especially when people start pimping their great new plugin, or great new template.

Using lists within posts is a very good idea for the following reasons:

• Posts are easy to read.
• Points are easy to follow.
• A lot of information, a little space.
• Easy to understand.
• Easy to write.
• Quick to read.
• Quicker to skim.
• Skimming still lets you get the most from the post.
• …and many more reasons.

Get the idea?

But it doesn’t stop there. Instead of just using lists within posts, why not make your entire post a list?

Top 10 posts draw in readers, like crazy.

Nearly every day, you’ll see a new top 10 (or list) post on the front page of the major meme trackers (digg, del.icio.us, reddit, etc).

Why? These posts are quick to read, impart information easily, and are often very telling.

Try your hand at a top ten post or two. It doesn’t even have to be a top ten. It can be a top five, or a top twenty, or a top eight, or a top thirteen… you get the idea. Here’s another tip… make it funny. How about one like “The top ten reasons I would marry Matt Mullenweg if we were both gay, and Texas allowed that sort of thing…” heh.

Writing a how-to post is rediculously simple. Take something you know how to do, and write a post explaining it, step-by-step.

Here’s an example:

I often use plugins in my WordPress blog. Here’s how to install, and activate, a WordPress plugin:

1. Download the plugin to your computer.
2. Unzip it, and set and settings you need to set.
3. Upload it to your wp-content/plugins folder, on your web server.
4. Log into your WordPress Dashboard, and click on the “Plugins” tab.
5. Find the plugin in the list, and click “Activate.”
6. Done!

Sure, that’s over simplified, but you get the idea.

A good how-to post will draw in traffic like you wouldn’t believe. The top performing entry, of all time, on my blog (based on search engine traffic), is my “Implementing GTD in Mozilla Thunderbird” post… A how-to.

That post is quickly followed by one on installing Tracks on Windows XP… another how-to post.

One other nice feature of a how-to post? The advertisements on that page will often be highly targetted to the topic at hand, and people will often click on them.

You’d be ab-so-lute-ly shocked at the amount of traffic a well-written how-to post can pull in.

When you write your posts - especially op/ed (opinion/editorial) posts - you’ll often be able to ask your reading audience, their thoughts.

Inviting discussion is as simple as asking a question to your audience. Often times, it’ll be as simple as “what do you think?” Other times, you’ll be asking things like, “What blogging system do you use?” or, “What plugins do you use?” or, “What’s in your blogging toolkit?”

Ask questions of your readers. Invite them to comment. Make it relatively easy.

Another option, that is rapidly gaining purchase, is to install a chat system on your blog. Personally, I use 3bubbles live chat. It’s in beta, right now, but they’re taking sign-ups. The 3bubbles model is to place a live chat room on each and every single blog post on your blog. Obviously, they’re hoping to target high-traffic websites. To be honest, their model is having some trouble catching on, but I think that if it does, it’ll be great! A simple chat room, that covers your entire blog, might be a better idea, for right now. There are a lot of great systems out there.

Yet another option is to sign up for a site like campfire.com (although they are pay-for-play), and have a hosted chat, every so often. Pick a topic that you’re knowledgeable in, and set up a time for your readers to join and ask you questions in a live chat-forum style discussion.

Overall, inviting discussion in your blog is a relatively easy thing to do, and - believe me - makes you feel a lot better. (Come on, it’s one thing to write entry after entry. It’s another thing entirely to see people commenting on, and discussing those entries.)

You shouldn’t be afraid to ask for links.
You shouldn’t be afraid to give links, either.

Even if a blog does not link back to you, don’t be afraid to give that blog a link, and let the link stand. In the future, the blogger may link back to you - especially if a lot of traffic comes from you.

Although the majority of the blogging links I list are true exchanges, some of the blogs I link to do not link back to me. It really doesn’t bother me. I figure that - eventually - they’ll throw me a bone. If not, well, they’re all blogs I enjoy, and I figure some of my readers might enjoy them, too.

So, if there’s a blog you like, link to it… then hit them up for a link back. heh.

Link exchanges are mutually beneficial agreements between two blogs (or websites) to link to one another. This helps you get traffic from new places, and also helps increase your Google page rank.

Asking for a link is as simple as, well, asking for a link.

A sample link exchange e-mail I might send, may look something like this:

TO: blogger@someblog.com
FROM: fyre@fyreplace.com
Subject: Could we exchange links?
Body:
Hello, my name is Eric Scalf, and I blog over at MindBlog (http://www.fyreplace.com). I’ve been reading your blog for a while, now, and think that it would be a pretty decent idea if we exchanged links. We blog on the same general subjects, and I think our readers could benefit from discovering each others blogs. I’ve already put a link up to your blog (links section, left hand sidebar), and I hope you’ll be willing to do the same. If not, no worries, just please let me know.

Thanks!
Eric Scalf
–
[signature]

An e-mail signature is a special file, or bit of text, that is placed at the end of every e-mail you send (including replies). This is a great way to market your blog. Place a link to your blog in your e-mail signature. You’ll get people clicking through, trust me.

My signature file looks like the below:

–
[e-mail address]
[other e-mail address] (boxtrapped)
MindBlog: Amateur Blogging for Amateur Bloggers
\-http://www.fyreplace.com
MindSpeak: Progressive Politics With a Twist
\-http://politics.fyreplace.com
Random Chuck Norris “Fact”:
[Random Fact]

Yes, I know it appears lengthy, but really, it’s not. It’s simply my contact info, and blog addresses. Besides, it appears at the end of my e-mails. If you don’t want to list your blog’s title, then you can simply put the URL. If you send HTML e-mail (and most every web based service (hotmail, yahoo, gmail, etc…) does), you can use link code to create a link to your blog.

Don’t just place your blog in your e-mail signatures. Try placing it in your forum signatures, as well. If you’re on forums, you can create a default sig for your messages. Place your blog link in there, as well.

Pimp your blog, every place you can!