An education annex of the Coutorture.com Community

Social Media: Build A Comment Community With Disqus

Blogging continues to evolve with the help of independent companies, enhancing the blogging experience and providing interactive services.  Platforms are slowly updating their content management systems (CMS) and even slower to update their comment systems.  Disqus recognized the need for an upgraded and interactive comment system, allowing users to create a unique profile usable across all blogs using the Disqus system.

Social Media: The Benefits of Twitter

Twitter is a social networking/social broadcasting service centered around the question “What Are You Doing?”.  If you haven’t yet discovered this obsessive service, stop by Coutorture’s Twitter, where we update the latest posts, photoshoots and live from events.  Twitter has become a reliable source of news, from reporting an earthquake 3 minutes before the US Geological Survey reported the event to helping a student regain his freedom after being arrested during a protest. 

Essential Blogging: Building Your Brand, Part One

What brand do you think of when you see the color combination of red & yellow? McDonalds or Shell gas stations.  How about the slogan “Don’t leave home without it”? Even though American Express no longer uses that tagline as their main slogan, it is still instantly synonymous with the brand.

Blogging Strategies: 8 SEO Tactics To Avoid

During our BlogTalkRadio Seminarwith Vyque of Fasshonaburu.com, we discussed how effectively using SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can boost your blog’s traffic.  It’s easy to go overboard with keywords, metatags and alt titles, so we appreciate Search Engine Land’s 8 Keyword Research Mistakes That Are Costing You Money.  While you’re probably not paying for your keyword research or hiring an SEO engineer, you might be making these mistakes.

During our BlogTalkRadio Seminar with Vyque of Fasshonaburu.com, we discussed how effectively using SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can boost your blog’s traffic.  It’s easy to go overboard with keywords, metatags and alt titles, so we appreciate Search Engine Land’s 8 Keyword Research Mistakes That Are Costing You Money.  While you’re probably not paying for your keyword research or hiring an SEO engineer, you might be making these mistakes.

1: Targeting keywords people never use

Don’t add unnecessary keywords into your photo or post tags.  Think about how you use a search engine, and tag accordingly.  Try to be as descriptive as possible without overanalyzing. 

2:  Confusing keyword popularity with keyword appropriateness

Using a tool like Wordtracker’s Free Keyword Suggestion Tool seems to be an easy way to add key words to your posts.  After searching for “fashion”, it becomes clear that it’s easy to go overboard quickly.  Additional search results include “jojo’s fashion show”, “emo fashion”, “80’s fashion”, “fashion tote bags”, and “fashion games to play”.  Not only will adding in excessive keywords clutter your site, but it will also cause a visitor to spend less time on your site once the realize you don’t have what they’re looking for.

3: Not considering user intent in keyword selection

If you use keywords correctly, it’s a great way to turn potential readers into loyal subscribers.  It’s important to think about what they might be searching for when tagging your post or photo so you can lead them right to it.

4: Using a single word

Simply tagging your post “fashion” will throw it into the mix with millions of other posts tagged fashion.  Examine your post to determine what sets it apart and tag it appropriately.  If you’re writing about Dior Cruise 2009, simply tagging Dior won’t draw in as many views as tagging your post “Dior Cruise 2009 Fashion Runway Show”. 

5: Using the wrong keywords

Lumping all your posts about shoes into the accessories category seems like a natural choice, but it can throw off your search engine traffic.  While it’s not necessary to have an entire category devoted to platform sandals, don’t forget to add those descriptors in the keywords.

6: Remember your competition

While it’s important to remember that your fellow bloggers aren’t specifically your competition, they are in search engine land. Every blog that is meta-tagged “fashion blog” are competing for the same top spot in the search results.  Be sure your meta-tags set you apart from your competition.

7: Review your keywords

When you first started your blog a year ago, you used the most appropriate keywords you could think of.  After a year of evolution and learning, it’s time to review your tags. There are most likely several that could (and should) be updated.

8:  Make time for SEO

Search trends change as fast as the latest fashion trend.  Periodically review what users are looking for and adjust your strategies.  In a market that is always changing, be sure to leave time for self-education.

What brand do you think of when you see the color combination of red & yellow? McDonalds or Shell gas stations.  How about the slogan “Don’t leave home without it”? Even though American Express no longer uses that tagline as their main slogan, it is still instantly synonymous with the brand.

While your blog probably isn’t going to turn into an international media conglomerate, it is important to make your site instantly recognizable across all platforms.  The more web savvy we become the more we should fully control our online identities and turn this presence into a strongly recognizable brand.

About.com’s Guide to Marketing lists the following 5 good branding objectives:

1. Clearly delivers the message
2. Confirms your credibility
3. Connects your target prospects emotionally
4. Motivates the buyer
5. Concretes user loyalty

Marketing and branding strategies aren’t always applicable in the blogging world, so we’ve created our own top 5 list.  Here are our top 5 beginner’s tips for solidifying your brand:

1: Create a unique look

Upon visiting your site, your readers should immediately get a sense of what your blog is about. Create unique graphics like banners and icons using a consistent color scheme and unique graphics. In our previous post on banner exchanges, we discussed the many free ways to create your own graphics.  Find a vibrant photo representative of your blog for little to no cost on stock photo websites such as iStockPhoto. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can even create your own font using tools like FontStruct and FontForge. The key is to make your site as distinct as possible while keeping your reader’s focus on your content.

2: Connect with your readers socially

Even if you have your own personal Myspace, Facebook and Twitter accounts, create one specifically for your blog.  Use the graphics, logos and color schemes to instantly associate these spaces with your brand.  Using these tactics will create a level of comfort and familiarity with your readers.  

3: Spread the word

Actively promote your site(s) in your email signatures, and place links to social sites in your sidebar. Also make it ridiculously easy for your readers to subscribe to your site. Do everything short of placing a blinking arrow pointing at your subscription options.  Customize your feed and email options to include as much of your blog’s look as possible.  Consistency is key. Don’t forget about reaching out to other bloggers for link and banner exchanges. 

4: Give them something to look forward to

Have a passion for lipgloss? Write a review of a new gloss product every Thursday.  Are you a music junkie? Feature a new artist every Tuesday.   Readers love consistency, in your look, your voice and your posts.  Another way to draw readers in is free stuff.  Readers love a good giveaway, and free stuff blogs love to link to them.  Encourage your blogger friends to promote your giveaway by offering them additional entries for promotion.  

5: Get to know your readers

If a tree falls in the forrest and no one hears it, does it make a sound? Similarly, if you’re writing a blog and no one reads it, what are you doing wrong? Daily Blog Tips offers 5 strategies to get to know your readers. Reader loyalty is one of the most powerful tools your blog can have, but it’s not easily earned.  Ask your readers questions, get to know them on and off your site, and make them feel important.  If ad dollars, notoriety, and/or community are what you crave, your readers hold the key.

Everyone’s approach to branding is unique.  What strategies have worked for you and what have failed?

Twitter is a social networking/social broadcasting service centered around the question “What Are You Doing?”.  If you haven’t yet discovered this obsessive service, stop by Coutorture’s Twitter, where we update the latest posts, photoshoots and live from events.  Twitter has become a reliable source of news, from reporting an earthquake 3 minutes before the US Geological Survey reported the event to helping a student regain his freedom after being arrested during a protest. 

Twitter’s popularity has soared over the past year, spawning such services as TwitPic, which allows you to upload a photo and twitter it instantly from programs like Twhirl. Twitter also allows users to send and receive updates (Tweets) via their mobile devices. Mashable alerted us to StrawPolls, a feature that allows users to create TwitterPolls and receive instant feedback.  Looking for post topics? MathewIngram.com points us to several services that scans the Twitterverse for the most popular topics during any time period.  

In 140 characters or less, Tweets can contain feelings, topics, songs, urls or even what you ate for lunch.  A combination of newsfeed, blog, diary, and service information, Twitter allows users to broadcast anything describable in words. Through following users with similar interests and websites, Twitter allows you to connect with others in in a more personal manner.  

The Blog Herald brings up an interesting topic to consider: Is Twitter Helping or Hurting Your Blog? Twitter allows you to instantly update readers and friends on your latest happenings, however there is a danger that Tweets can become replacements for blog posts. Additionally, the time spent Twittering could be better used writing a post.  For all the negatives, the site offers many unique social networking aspects which can enhance your blogging experience. Your next follower could also be your blog’s new guest author. 

What are your favorite features of Twitter? How has your Twitter experience enhanced your blog? 

Blogging continues to evolve with the help of independent companies, enhancing the blogging experience and providing interactive services.  Platforms are slowly updating their content management systems (CMS) and even slower to update their comment systems.  Disqus recognized the need for an upgraded and interactive comment system, allowing users to create a unique profile usable across all blogs using the Disqus system.

Discqus is currently supported by WordPress, Typepad, Moveable Type, Tumblr and Blogger.  Installing the system on your blog allows for threaded comments, emailed replies, and even Twitter updates.  The Blog Herald highlights 3 Reasons To Use Disqus, the majority of which include email updates and replies. Additionally, Digging In A Habari Sandpit has compiled a list of of 25 Reasons You Should Use Disqus.

Disqus is a convincing option for bloggers who would like to use their comment section to build community. Additionally, the service allows you to interact with other commenters and build relationships through the social profiles.  Will you try Disqus? Leave a comment letting us know if these types of services are a valuable addition to your blog.

When you sit behind your computer and begin to write a post, who are you writing for?  Do you cater your content to your readers by answering questions and targeting search results or are you simply writing about topics you like for your own benefit?  If you’ve never examined your blogging intentions, perhaps a few moments of self reflection are necessary.

The Blog Herald wrote about this thought provoking topic, mentioning the interaction and not the actual publishing is where he finds his joy.  Where does your joy come from?  High search engine traffic? Comments? Page views? For some bloggers simply publishing a story is a cathartic relief, for others a highly trafficked link is a validator.  Determining your motivation to blog can revitalize your focus and ultimately your posts.

Catering your content to your readers can lead to higher traffic stats, but it can also cause your blog to lose it’s focus and unique voice.  Blending topics your readers enjoy with topics you are passionate about creates a community that engages your readers.  

Finding the balance can be like walking a tightrope.  At first finding the balance can be difficult, but the more you blend the desires of your readers with your own, the easier it will be to create engaging posts. How do you find the balance on your own blog? 

After our BlogTalkRadio Seminar with Vyque of Fasshonaburu discussing SEO strategies, many bloggers saw an increase in traffic from simply tagging their photos correctly.  When readers discover your blog via a keyword search, they either find what they were looking for or immediately leave.  How do you keep your visitors from leaving your site within 30 seconds of their arrival? ProBlogger put together a comprehensive list of ways to keep your readers engaged.

1:  Related posts

Include related post links in every post, whether your blogging software automatically inserts them (ie WordPress) or you have to manually include related posts.  For example, if your latest post is on Kate Moss, link to photoshoots or other newsworthy stories relating or containing Kate Moss.  You’d be surprised how many people want to see related information.

2: Interlink your posts

If your latest post includes information about Fashion Week, link to other information on your blog about about Fashion Week, either via a category or search within your blog.  Try to interlink as much as possible within reason. 

3:  Series posts

If there is a topic you cover frequently, turn it into a series.  Brand your posts as a series with a series title, categories, and tags.  Be sure to link to other series posts in each post so that your readers can see your previous work.  Focus on being as consistent as possible to give your readers something to look forward to.

4: Excerpts in RSS

More tech savvy readers will read your blog via an RSS reader such as Google Reader.  You want as many people as possible reading your content, but full posts in your RSS feeds don’t translate to page views.  In order to tease readers to click over to your site, only provide an excerpt of your post in RSS.  

5: Make your blog searchable

Be sure there is a search box in your sidebar.  If readers want to know something, be sure you’re the first place they look. 

For more ideas, view ProBlogger’s 11 Techniques to Increase Page Views On Your Blog.

This past December, we had the pleasure of chatting with Michelle Madhook of SheFinds on blogging strategies for one of Coutorture’s BlogTalkRadio Seminars.  During our conversation, Michelle suggested the idea of banner exchanges.  A banner exchange consists of trading an advertising-type banner with a blog of similar traffic and/or topic.  Don’t know how to create your own banner? Follow these easy tips.                                                                                                                                      

1: Make blogger friends!  Enjoy a blog but have never spoken with the author? Email, leave comments and do a shoutout on your blog. You’d be surprised how far a link goes!

2: Compare traffic stats. Unless you have a great relationship with the author, don’t ask for their stats outright.  Use Alexa to compare their traffic to your own.  Both blogs should be relatively similar in the traffic neighborhood.  The purpose of a banner exchange is for both blogs to mutually benefit from the visibility, and that becomes difficult if one blog has significantly less traffic.

3:  Ad sizes of 728 x 90, 300 x 250, and 160 x 600 work best.  Don’t try to create anything too flashy, detailed or animated if you’re new to creating your own graphics.  Be sure to stick to your blog’s branding (ie colors, logos, font styles).

4: If you don’t have access to Photoshop, there are other graphic creation and photo editing tools out there.  Danae of Knickers uses Picnik, and Photoshop just launched a free online editor called Photoshop Express.  If you have access to Photoshop but are unsure of how to use it, Network Partner Lyon of Beauty Secrets Revealed and Let’s Go Shopping has created a Photoshop Tutorial e-book available here. 

5:  Create an agreement.  Determine how long the ads will run and where they will be placed. Above the fold ads (the portion of the page you see when the site loads) are preferred but the space should be reserved for paying ads.  Make the agreement fair and equal.

6:  Don’t over extend your efforts.  Focus on one or two banner exchanges for a couple of months, and then target new audiences.  There are more than enough blogs on the internet with unique readers to keep your banners circulating.

As part of Coutorture’s BlogTalkRadio Seminar series, we were joined this past Sunday by Community Partners from The Daily Obsession to discuss team blogging.  

Carolyn, Connie, Nina, Stacey and Beckie talked about what it’s like to work in a team, collaborate on ideas, and maintain a posting schedule.  Each of the ladies live in different parts of the country, brining their unique perspective to their posts.

One of the biggest tools necessary in maintaining a group blog is organization. The Daily Obsession maintains an editorial calendar, mapping out who is responsible for which post on what day.  In addition to covering topics in their respective cities, the ladies also create quality posts on their respective passions.  Their synergy works on quality over quantity, allowing each author to thoroughly examine the subject.

Keys to writing a successful group blog

1:  Communication is key: Whether it be through email, im or telephone, keep in touch with your fellow authors.  Shop online together, chat about the latest beauty products or trends, and discuss whatever topics you’re feeling at the moment.  The conversation doesn’t always have to be about a post for the blog, as long as you keep the lines of communication flowing the post ideas will flow freely.

2:  Maintain your unique voice while keeping the blog’s voice cohesive. It’s important to feel comfortable enough to express your opinions while keeping the best interest of the blog in mind.

3:  Organization is key.  Whether it be an official editorial calendar or just emailing each other your latest post ideas, make sure everyone knows what everyone is doing at all times.

4:  Make sure your blog software allows for collaboration.  The Daily Obsession chose WordPress because of the platform’s flexibility allows for collaborative editing and allows everyone to see what drafts are in progress.

Listen to the full show here, including these tips and more.  All of Coutorture’s BlogTalkRadio Seminars are available here.

Beckie, author of Girl-Woman-Beauty-Brains Blog recently wrote the following post to her readers. Sometimes as bloggers we forget that our words, whether written for recreation or education, can have an unintentional impact on those who read them. 

For the past 24 Sundays my husband has heard the same words: “I am going to stop blogging.”

Why on Sunday? No. 1, Catholic guilt. No. 2, Catholic guilt: I feel shallow and superficial parading my picture on the “About Me” page and my passion for beauty and fashion through the blogosphere.

But Monday arrives and so do the emails. One of my readers has left me an email with regard to the post about anorexia and bulimia, thanking me for helping her rethink her life of vomiting after every meal. A woman dying of breast cancer shares with me her courageous battle with her breasts. A mom whose son suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome writes a genuine thank-you note for the online gift certificate she won from Girl-Woman because she now can shop in the privacy of her home without worrying about her son’s Asperger-induced impatience while shopping in a department store. So I once again get all psyched up for the week and write about beauty products reviewed or style tips and an occasional self-help article.

A month ago, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia (which I am having trouble putting my brain around — pun intended — because it’s such a nebulous disease). Bulging discs at most levels of my spine have caused chronic pain syndrome, which, in turn, allegedly rewired my brain.

Five days ago, I was diagnosed, at a minimum, with essential tremors and possible multiple sclerosis. Although it’s a learning curve, for the most part, I just shake, rattle and roll with the punches.

Two days ago, I had a brain MRI. In my brain, I imagined the radiologist saying, “Hey, Walter. Look at the picture of this woman’s brain. In place of her hypothalamus is a black and pink Sephora store. Jeez, Walter. In her left cerebral hemisphere is Nordstrom. OMG, Walt, her cerebellum is shaped like a Louboutin shoe!”

Today is Sunday. Was my husband going to hear the same, old words that he had heard for 24 previous Sundays? No. On the 25th Sunday, I cheerfully said to The Hubster, “I love writing the blog! I would miss connecting with my readers. They motivate me and inspire me to be a better person. Maybe the way they handled their personal obstacles with grace prepared me for my new level of normal.”

Tomorrow is Monday. I won’t give up the fight to help girls and women feel comfortable in their skin, whether it be through a new beauty product or an updated style or a new lifestyle. If I impact the lives of any girl or woman in my blogging lifetime, whether it be their health issues, fashion issues, or beauty issues, then I have done my job well.

So on Monday, like Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Terminator, “I will be baack.”

With heartfelt thanks for sharing your amazing lives with me,
Beckie