The world of blogging has been flooded with resources over the past few years. There are many self-proclaimed ‘experts’ that have no portfolio, limited experience, and horrible blogs.
Part of becoming successful in the blogging world is being able to filter through the mess to find the gems that do exist. No matter how successful your blog is or eventually will become, there is no doubt that you’ll have to learn from others on a daily basis. Whether you choose to lean on Darren Rowse or take a more creative approach, you WILL have problems arise.
The following is a list of 10 Mostly New Things that will help you speed up the learning process and ultimately Make Your Blog Rock! Check out this mixture of tools, reading material, design and seo themes, and other resources.
1. 31 Days to Build a Better Blog by Darren Rowse
31 Days to Build a Better Blog takes you through the day-to-day process of maintaining a successful, growing blog. Not only does it offer advice and suggestions, but it shows you how to implement them into your web presence.
At less than $20, this 188-page book is not simply a means for income for Darren, but it is truly a phenomenal resource for today’s bloggers. Don’t be afraid to take the plunge, and do it knowing that it will increase your productivity and your readership!
Here’s what Darren has to say about it:
If you have big dreams for your blog but have been putting improving it in the ‘one day’ basket – you’re not alone.
31 Days to Build a Better Blog is a downloadable e-book designed to help you revitalize your blog by giving you 31 tasks that will all help to turn it into the page view powerhouse you’ve always dreamed of.
2. The Thesis Theme for Wordpress by Chris Pearson
The Thesis Theme is hands-down the best theme available for the powerful Wordpress Platform. Despite attempts by others, it really has no competitors in the premium theme world. Not only is it highly customizable, but it is an absolute SEO powerhouse.
It’s so popular, that I can guarantee that you’ve stumbled across it at some point. The Thesis Theme, developed by the amazing Chris Pearson, can be seen on popular blogs such as: Chris Brogan, CopyBlogger, Matt Cutts. Yes, it looks different in every case. Yes, it’s that customizable!
And just in case you were wondering, MattFlies is built on Thesis as well!
3. Screenr.com
One of the most impressive resources of 2009 has to be Screenr.com. If you haven’t heard, it allows you to take short screencasts of anything (Mac or PC) in High Definition and instantly upload them for public viewing. In addition, you can cross post the video to youtube, embed it on your site, post it to Twitter, and watch it on your iPhone!
And did I fail to mention — It’s free, requires only your browser, and is quite fun too!
Here’s a short screencast that I just created:
4. Authority Rules by Brian Clark
Authority Rules, a free ebook by Brian Clark, takes a look at the importance of authority in online marketing. It’s a short read, but uses real-life examples that will open your eyes to the importance of being a leader and innovator in your niche.
Let’s look at Brian’s simple introduction to the book:
Authority is powerful stuff.
Authority can be abused and it can definitely corrupt…
But it can also build trust, admiration, and respect.
And when it comes to online marketing…
Authority is what works.
Direct and Powerful. Read it Today.
5. TweetMeMe.com and ReTweet.com
While I was tempted to list Twitter as a “New Thing,” I couldn’t bring myself to refer to something so widely used already. However, these complementary (and complimentary) services made the cut.
TweetMeMe and Retweet both allow bloggers to keep track of how often their posts have been posted to Twitter. Additionally, they provide readers with an easy method of twittering about a particular article.
TweetMeMe is the clear leader in the market, and they have continuously enhanced their service. ReTweet is very new, but no one should ever complain about healthy competition! For now use TweetMeMe, but keep an eye on ReTweet.
6. LinkWithin
LinkWithin is a free service that simply provides a sleek looking “Related Posts” widget to your blog. It works like most other related posts plugins, but with some very cool added functionality. If your posts has an image, it will grab it, resize it, and display it as a thumbnail – all formatted perfectly! It loads quickly, looks stylish, and works as advertised.
Currently customization is limited, but in an email from Liliya, I was assured that new features would be added soon. They do provide a simple-to-use, lightweight plugin for Wordpress. LinkWithin is visible at the bottom of every post on MattFlies.
7. ProBlogger Secrets for Blogging by Darren Rowse
Darren Rowse (with Chris Garrett) makes the list twice! ProBlogger Secrets for Blogging focuses on creating and maintaining a successful Money Making blog. It details the journey they took and tells you how to do the same thing.
While the details of blogging success are ever changing and evolutionary at best, this book is a terrific starting point if you are looking to monetize your blog. It’s an excellent cross-niche book that looks at creating income online.
8. Posterous.com
Posterous, a very simple and potentially robust blogging client has recently burst onto the scene. While you can use it as a replacement for your current blog, I highly suggest using it as a complementary device. It can effectively save you a great amount of time by doing some heavy lifting for you.
For instance, send an email to post@posterous.com with 20 photos attached and watch as they are automatically uploaded to Posterous and Flickr, all the while being posted on Twitter and Facebook. Oh, and they offer a (still growing) list of about 20 other services as well.
9. Pretty Link Pro (Wordpress Plugin
Still in beta, Pretty Link Pro offers some amazing features for your Wordpress hosted blog. URL shortening and tracking, managing pay-per-click campaigns, tracking affiliate activity, beautifying PHP, and adding a tweet this badge and counter are just a few of its features.
Unfortunately, the full version will cost you $150 ($100 until Sep 1, 2009).
Buy It Now | Grab the Free Version
10. Trust Agents by Chris Brogan & Julien Smith
Perhaps the most current book on influence and the internet, Trust Agents is shooting up the best-selling charts. It’s definitely a worthwhile read, but I’ll let you read the official description below. Also, a sample of the book.
In Trust Agents, two social media veterans show you how to tap into the power of social networks to build your brand’s influence, reputation, and, of course, profits. Today’s online influencers are web natives who trade in trust, reputation, and relationships, using social media to accrue the influence that builds up or brings down businesses online.
The book shows how people use online social tools to build networks of influence and how you can use those networks to positively impact your business. Because trust is key to building online reputations,, those who traffic in it are “trust agents,” the key people your business needs on its side.
- Delivers actionable steps and case studies that show how social media can positively impact your business
- Written by authors with over ten years of online media experience
- Shows you how to build and wield influence online to benefit your brand
- Combines high-level theory with practical step-by-step guidance
If you want your business to succeed, don’t sit on the sidelines. Instead, use the Web to build trust with your consumers using Trust Agents.
Have you used any of the above? If so, what did you think of them? Are there any others you’d suggest? Let me know in the comments below!
