• How to Install Google Feedburner on your Blog – Simples!

    Now that you are aware of the benefits of Google Feedburner you’ll want to know how to install it on your blog. As someone who looks for the easiest way to get something done I suggest you check out one of my favourite Blogs from WordPress Beginner which covers the more technical side of WordPress [...]

    How to Install Google Feedburner on your Blog – Simples!

  • 10 Benefits of Firing up your Blog with Feedburner

    No doubt you would have heard of RSS (Really Simple Syndication), which is a way for interested visitors to get your new content sent to them rather than having to come to your site. If you want to make your RSS feed even more effective then using Google’s free Feedburner service is essential to your [...]

    10 Benefits of Firing up your Blog with Feedburner

  • Google Search Robots – Friend or Foe?

    Google have recently changed their search algorithm, PageRank, which helps them to rank pages on the internet. Their search robots are sent out with specific criteria to search for and if you hit the right buttons you’ll get ranked highly. If you don’t, you’re toast. This time they are targeting the content farm sites and [...]

    Google Search Robots – Friend or Foe?

  • If you want Google to love you .. love Google

    If you have ever taken a close look at your web statistics, the hits you get from the Google search engine far outweigh the ones you get from the likes of Yahoo, Bing, AOL, Ask and Search. You could say they have cornered the market and are now the engine of choice for browsing the [...]

    If you want Google to love you .. love Google

May 9, 2012

Blogging made easy

Blog coaching with Katie Macdonald VA Virtually Does ItToday I have a lovely bit of feedback from Katie Macdonald who was lucky enough to win the prize in my Twitter competition, which was a free 1-hour coaching call for one of my first 100 followers on Twitter. Katie is a virtual assistant (VA) who has just started to work from home. Here’s what she says about our chat:

‘Blogging seems to be the buzzword that never goes out of fashion. Anyone and everyone either has one, follows one, or knows someone who blogs. Blogs are also well thought of as being a key tool to have on a business website to open a more interactive and personal window on that business. Indeed, some business websites are blogs.

‘So, a blog was a must for me on my own website, I liked the idea of being able to write about my business in a way that wasn’t static like a web page, and it would add a different dimension to the site too.

‘I started with great enthusiasm, great topics and was blogging regularly. This was a piece of cake! My blog was fresh, flowing and attracting comments. Then the inevitable happened, I ran out of topics, began to wonder if people actually wanted to read what I had to say about virtual assistance or my ‘Top Tips to be more Organized’. Were they really interested in what I could do? My blog posts dwindled and the blog page became just another web page.

‘Knowing this must change, but not knowing quite how to go about it, and having read so many other blogs on how you should be blogging and still being none the wiser, I was thrilled when a tweet flew in from Andy @seemanaboutblog saying I had won a blog coaching session with him.

‘Think coaching session with a difference! The session was great. Not only is Andy knowledgeable, he is realistic and relates his advice to you, your business and your blog. So it’s not all ‘blogging text book’ stuff, but real, proven ways in which your blog can aid your business development, and your personal development as a business owner. It was so refreshing not to have techie-speak thrown in, and have something that was tailored to me and my style.

‘We spoke about potential topics, different ways to blog, how to link your blog to other platforms as well as how to work on building a community around your blog. We also touched on how a blog helps SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and what to put where to help your rankings. I learnt so much, but the most of all it took me back to basics, and made me think on a far more practical level about what I do in my business. Ideas were flowing and my blogging mojo was on its way back.

‘Andy made my realise that if I blog, people will read and probably far more people than I think will find what I write about useful and informative. The most important thing is to keep it up!

‘So, if you take a look at my blog now, you’ll see the ‘Before Andy’ version, but in a few weeks feel free to pop back and have a look at the ‘After Andy’ version!

‘If your blog needs rescuing from being just another web page, you need to see this man about your a blog!’

You can follow Katie Macdonald on Twitter or check out her ‘Virtually Does It’ website

The same competition is running for one of my next 150 followers so if you fancy getting some great advice for free follow See a Man About a Blog on Twitter.

By Andy Britnell Shaggy Blog Stories 9 Comments Tags: , ,

Apr 20, 2012

Inspiration for Blogging

Sometimes we need to step back from the screen and remind ourselves what real life is all about. I’ve just viewed this amazing video I found a few months back and realised it was worth sharing with you.

I’ve been amazingly busy recently working on a big project to launch a new product which has meant learning many new systems (more about this later). This helped me put things into perspective.

View this on full screen and let me know what you think.

Enjoy :)

Murmuration from Islands & Rivers on Vimeo.

By Andy Britnell Creativity, Shaggy Blog Stories 24 Comments Tags: ,

Feb 29, 2012

Blogging and personal development

Blogging and personal developmentApart from blogging, one of my lifetime passions has been personal development. So much so that I left a very well paid job to start my own business helping people to grow and learn using personal development tools and techniques I had learnt along the way.

So what has personal development got to do with blogging?

Well, a recent comment from one of my readers and stumbling across a blog post about creating a better life has prompted me to make the connection. Here is my list of personal development issues that prevent us from moving forward with our blog:

1. Fear of failure

The thought of blogging and getting your message out usually provokes fear. Fear about what people will think of you, your opinions, your writing and your articulation of an idea. Plus people can ‘comment’ which might leave you open for criticism and feedback.

Get over it! Making mistakes is how everybody learns – remember there is no failure only feedback. It also makes you more human. Sometimes it’s the small imperfections that make things beautiful.

2. Perfectionism

Getting perfect copy and design for your site to match that pristine state in your head just won’t happen. Unless you have lots of money to invest in top notch graphic design and copy writing. Besides if you get someone else to write your blog it’s never going to be about you.

So stop thinking you are not ready. Going for something that you think is bigger than you is going to make you stronger and when you succeed you are going to go for an even bigger opportunity. Keeping yourself in your comfort zone will not help you grow. Comfort zones have a habit of shrinking!

Oh and remember that Facebook have a sign in their office that says: “Done is better than perfect!”

3. Resistance

This is a tough one and is something that we all go through. It helps to remember that a feeling of resistance is a clue that we are onto something important. Often when we have a great idea and get fired up about it there is a subsequent feeling of fear, doubt and resistance as though something inside has decided we are not good enough. This can present itself in the form of procrastination, distraction and thinking we have to learn more before we are ready.

4. Negative internal dialogue

Do you talk to yourself? Do you have a negative internal voice that talks you out of doing things? A lot of us do and tackling this insidious imp can be a constant battle. What’s even worse is that it is sometimes an unconscious habit. We don’t even realise that we are doing it. Becoming more aware of our internal dialogue is an important first step.

So how do I deal with it?

This is my top tip for tackling a negative internal voice:

Become aware of where the negative voice comes from. Is it on your shoulder, inside your head, to the left or to the right. Now shift it so that the voice comes from your right big toe. How does it sound now? Does it have the same effect?

If that doesn’t work change the sound of the voice to a silly character like Donald Duck or Roland Rat. How does it sound now? You can play with the direction the sound comes from, the tonality, how loud it is and who is saying it to see how it changes the effect.

5. Well formed outcomes

One of the things I get my clients clear about, both in blogging and their lives, is a well formed outcome.

What’s one of those?

A well formed outcome is:

1. A goal or objective that is positive – moving towards something that is exciting and inspiring rather than away from something they don’t want

2. Specific and concrete – the person has a sensory (see, hear, feel) ‘landscape’ of the outcome

3. Under their control – they have the resources and skills to achieve it themselves (which might mean the cash to get someone else to do things for them)

4. Quantifiable – they can measure what success looks like

5. Ecological – it does not affect them, or those close to them, in a negative way

Often just helping a client create this well formed outcome makes the desired goal much easier to achieve. Without this clarity of their objective they are unlikely to succeed.

So that’s where I think blogging and personal development come together. I hope it gives you some food for thought and if you have any other personal development tips to help us bloggers become more successful I’d like to hear your views.

By Andy Britnell Personal Development 45 Comments Tags: , , , ,

Jan 27, 2012

Tough love to deal with procrastination

Tough love to deal with procrastination I always say to people that they should put procrastination off until tomorrow! I think most people procrastinate – it’s a strategy many of us use to put off doing the stuff we need to get done but are afraid we will fail or succeed at.

I was checking out paper.li, a great resource to publish a niche online newspaper about your interest if you are on Twitter and very simple to set up, when I came across this brilliant framed poster.

Sometimes you need to be tough on yourself to get out of the procrastination rut. Give yourself a good talking to and listen carefully. You also need to recognise the difference between procrastination and when you have just driven yourself so hard you have lost your mental energy. We are often intolerant of our perceived failures especially if we work from home. Remember one of the useful beliefs for blogging success – ‘There is no failure – only feedback’. It’s no good beating yourself up when you are already battered from a long day at the office.

Perhaps the point I’m trying to make is that we need to use both high challenge and high support in equal measure in order to maximise our performance and be as productive as we can be. Too much self challenge stresses us out. Too much support makes us too comfortable and leads to distraction and procrastination to fill the time.

So stop messing around and get on with it – and throw a bit of love into the mix.

Poster image thanks to Neil Humphrey of Studio Maximus

You can buy the anti-procrastination poster here

By Andy Britnell Personal Development, Procrastination 18 Comments Tags: , , , ,

Jan 6, 2012

Blog posting desert

Blog posting desert - writing a blogIt happens to the best of us!

Sometimes you are too busy with other projects or get out of the habit of blogging regularly. Obviously if you are making money looking after clients then that isn’t a bad thing but there is always that nagging thought that you are not giving your loyal followers the attention they deserve.

So please forgive me for my lack of content recently. My plan is to remedy that this year – unless I get invited back to Switzerland to deliver more training! One thing that always works for me is committing to do something for 10 minutes every day. After 21 days this becomes a habit. I know there are lots of blogging ‘challenges’ out there but the logistics of doing a blog post everyday just doesn’t fit into my schedule. I think it can become negative as you feel you must keep up with the schedule. That kind of pressure can become counter-productive.

I also think that you tend to write better when things bubble up unconsciously. Better to spend 10 minutes every day doing one of the following:

  • Brainstorm ideas for blog posts
  • Write in a different space – go to the library or a cafe and see if the muse meets you there
  • Read relevant blogs about your niche to get ideas
  • Comment on other blogs – sometimes a blog post arises whilst I am responding to a post or even to an email
  • Clutter clear your newsletter subscriptions – sometimes you get information overload. Be strict about what makes it into your inbox

To get you in the mood you might like to buy yourself a nice notebook and pen. New stationery cries out to be used. Another tip is to do it at the same time everyday – you then start to positively programme yourself to do the right thing in the right way.

So good luck with writing your blog, look out for more blog posts from me and I hope that 2012 is going to be a great year for you.

By Andy Britnell Writing a blog 20 Comments Tags: , , , ,

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8