Nigel McFarlane

Two Way Communication with Your Readers

Written by admin on July 3, 2009

Calling all writers and freelance journalists, publishers and editors. It’s time to breathe more life into your copy. Turn your articles into living pieces that spark measurable debate, get closer to your readers and engage their mind and soul - we’re talking revolution.

As it was in the beginning

Publishers have for many years relied on letters to get feedback from their readers and although email has opened up this method of communication it is still time consuming and difficult to process with only a fraction of the received correspondence ever being used.

As well as being an overhead for the publisher, to most people it is an unrewarding medium in terms of the amount of effort required and response received, just consider the number of letters that go unpublished and unread.

As it is now

The Internet has brought new channels of communication and created opportunities that allow us to challenge traditional methods. The Internet is now a mature technology, no longer the preserve of the new fad brigade but a technology that has been embraced by a global population, young and old alike and it allows us now to re-evaluate the way things are done. Newspapers, trade journals, magazines and ezines now have the opportunity to change the mental process.

When people read an article that provokes thought they now expect the opportunity to comment either by writing a comment, sending an email or writing a letter. Emails make communication easier but it still takes time to compose an email and time for the majority, is what they haven’t got.

Although interesting a letters page or a list of comments are at best a snapshot of views or an endless unmanaged list of comments; a well crafted and well written letter on any given subject may hold the view of the minority, or the majority but due to the free text form it is difficult, or near impossible, to measure.

As it should be

Now consider the advantages of linking articles to online surveys where as a publisher you will have the ability to obtain valuable feedback from your readers and in a form that can be easily measured. Communicating with your readers is important but equally so is allowing your readers to communicate with you; and in a way that they know it will count.

Do you want to deliver a snapshot of opinion? Did they like the article? Did the readership agree with what was said or do they have a different view?

Now it’s easy

Historically surveys would have taken considerable effort to design and publish and altogether was a process too long winded and often reserved only for the niche and bigger topics.

However, using a hosted survey site surveys and questionnaires can be created and published via the Internet by anyone who has a pulse. Professional looking questionnaires and surveys created in minutes make the perfect complement to articles that prompt opinion and debate.

The advantages over letters, e-mails and comments are that with online surveys all the feedback gathered is properly managed and easily measured with sites like Survey Galaxy providing you with real time polls and charts that you can either keep to yourself or share with your readers.

It can even be complementary to sending an email

Link each article to an online survey and not only extend the life of the article as people have a channel to express their views, but involve your readers in the discussion where they now know their opinion will be counted.

You think people will still want to send an email? - no problem - include the facility within the survey and get the best of both worlds.

It’s fast, low cost, and easy to do; it will engage and empower the reader, provide excellent feedback and having established a dialogue you then have the opportunity to link to other related articles.

Try it for yourself and record your view of this article here:- Readership Feedback Survey

Christian Home Based Business and Web 2.0

Written by admin on July 2, 2009

There has been much talk recently, both in the IT world and in the media at large, about the new Web-based social collaboration tools collectively labeled ‘Web 2.0.  While several savvy companies have picked up on the usefulness of Web 2.0 to expand their Christian Home Based Businesses, there are many that fail to see the opportunity presented to them.   These new online services, where people and communities collaborate and share information, are known as Web 2.0.

I think the title is a bit overblown but there is some good stuff here relating to information literacy.  I think that Wikipedia is a wonderful example of human beings working collaboratively to gather and organize information on almost any topic you can think of.  The Internet has made information so readily available to share and consume, that with a little reading, almost anyone can become an expert on any topic. 

I’m going to guess that,  “Blogs, Wikis and Podcasts” will be “Hot Topics” as well as a few other new tools.  My great concern, and I blogged about this just now, is that things fall apart for grassroots organizations when they want to go viral yet aren’t well organized (I struggle with that word now) and don’t have clearly defined goals.  A lot has changed in the past decade and I expect that in the next five years the technology will be transparent and we will be energized by the collaboration that will continue to take place via blogs, podcasts, and wikis to expand many Christian Home Based Businesses.

This is an exciting opportunity for users to help one another while benefiting from the latest in dynamic Web technology.  The ability to reduce the need to click is a quantum leap forward on web sites that helps your site stay packed full of the information you want to share, without your site visitor having to scroll for eternity or click through hundreds of times to get what they want.  A normal website functions by delivering pages of information, with links that allow a user to move from page to page. 
 
Like individuals, businesses will have to give up some of their obsession with confidentiality and privacy in order to make use of these tools.  I agree that many Christian Home Based Businesses still need to see the tools and the basic ways of using them, no doubt.  Our explanations of the effectiveness of new tools needs to be detailed, persuasive, and comparative. 

From that point forward, they could turn back to the search engine at different times to assist them in the purchase.  The problem with search right now is knowing which of those multiple touch points the consumer is at.  And finally, we could start to pull away from the pure direct response tactics that restrict the effectiveness of search. 

Are you using social media to expand your Christian Home Based Business? Your Christian Home Based Business needs to be branded if you want to increase traffic.

Blogging Tips Made Simple

Written by admin on July 1, 2009

Blogs are a very popular way to create an online presence for business or personal reasons. You can easily build a blog for free and begin posting content in just a couple of minutes. But, what is great content if you have no readers. Here are ten great ideas and tactics to drive tons of traffic to your blog.

Of all the successful blogs that are {making money from blogs-make money blogging} on the Internet, hundreds more have failed. Running a blog is like running a business website. Unless you put the time in and work hard at first you won’t be a successful blogger for very long.

That is not to say that the failed bloggers weren’t serious bloggers. Mostly, new bloggers aren’t prepared for the work that goes into creating a successful blog. Just building the blog doesn’t mean that people will necessary come to you. You pursue the audience and give them a reason to see what you have to say.

1.Fresh Content – no one wants to visit a blog day after day and see the same old stale posts. Update your blog content at least twice a week. This will be easier if you write several posts ahead of time and upload them at the appropriate times.

2.Article Marketing – for niches that interests you and the subject of your blog. If it is interesting you will spend more time doing it. Always create content first for your blog but also submit to article directories and other blogs. Use the resource box to ad your link to your blog and so people can find you.

3.Web 2.0 Social Networking – these sites are everywhere. Join Facebook, MySpace, Squidoo, Twitter or a dozen others and make connections. You can join groups of other likeminded people who may also bloggers or entrepreneurs.

4.Viral Marketing – this is word getting spread about your blog by others. Talk to friends, family and strangers. Give out business cards that have your blog address on them.

5.Use RSS Feeds – RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication.” Readers can subscribe to your feed and get email updates when new content is posted. It is an easy way for them to keep up with your blog without spending all day online.

6.Submit Blog to Search Engines – doing this allows your blog to be ranked. Google and Yahoo! are two of the more important and popular search engines you want to spider your blog. It doesn’t guarantee top ranking, though. You will have to do more work for that.

7.Joining Forums – as a blogger you’re a budding entrepreneur. Right now you’re trying to get traffic and after that to make profit. Become a member of forums, work at home forums and other forums in your niche to meet new people and share ideas. You can add a link to your blog in the signature line so others can find you.

8.Visit other blogs – show your appreciation to your visitors by posting comments on their blogs. It is a kindness that shows others you are not just out to advertise your blog alone. Post your links in your comments.

9.SEO Marketing – whatever you write, use relevant keywords. Keyword density between three percent and ten percent is best for getting high page rankings in search engines. Base your postings on keywords you research to find the most popular search terms used in the search engines for your niche.

10.Social Bookmarking – submitting posts to social bookmarking sites allows others who are members of those sites to track you back to your blog.

Using any of these ideas will start the traffic moving in your direction. It will take time but eventually if you continue to work at it you will build your empire and the readership you want.

Article Feedback Extends the life of Your Articles

Written by admin on June 30, 2009

Calling all editors, publishers, journalists and freelance writers. It is time to breathe more life into your copy. Turn your articles into living pieces that spark measurable debate, get closer to your readers and engage their mind and soul - we’re talking revolution.

As it was in the beginning

Publishers have for many years relied on letters to get feedback from their readers and although email has opened up this method of communication it is still time consuming and difficult to process with only a fraction of the received correspondence ever being used.

As well as being an overhead for the publisher, it can also be an unrewarding medium in terms of the amount of effort required and response that is received, just consider the number of letters that go unread and unpublished.

As it is now

The Internet has brought new channels of communication and has opened up opportunities that allow us to challenge traditional methods. The Internet is now a mature technology, no longer the preserve of the new fad brigade but a technology that has been embraced by a global population, young and old alike and it allows us now to re-evaluate the way things are done. Newspapers, trade journals, magazines and ezines now have the opportunity to change the mental process.

When people read an article that provokes thought they now expect the opportunity to comment either by writing a comment, sending an email or writing a letter. Emails make communication easier but it still takes time to craft an email and time for the majority, is what they haven’t got.

Although interesting a letters page or a list of comments are at best a snapshot of views or an endless unmanaged list of comments; a well crafted and well written letter on any given subject may hold the view of the minority, or the majority but due to the free text form it is difficult, or near impossible, to measure.

As it should be

Now consider the advantages of linking articles to online surveys where as a publisher you will have the ability to obtain valuable feedback from your readers and in a form that can be easily measured. Communicating with your readers is one thing but having a channel that allows your readers to effectively communicate with you is just as important.

Want a snapshot of opinion? Did they like that article? Did the sentiments expressed in the article have the support of the audience or do the readers have a different view?

Now it is easy

In the past surveys would have taken considerable effort to design and publish and altogether was a process too long winded and therefore reserved for the niche and bigger topics.

However, using a hosted survey site surveys and questionnaires can be created and published via the Internet by anyone who has a pulse. Professional looking questionnaires and surveys created in minutes make the perfect complement to articles that prompt opinion and debate.

The advantage over letters, e-mails and comments are that all the feedback is properly managed and measured and sites like Survey Galaxy will provide you with a real time poll that you can either keep to yourself or share with your readers.

It can even be complementary to sending an email

Linking articles to online surveys will extend the life of the article and involve your readers in the discussion in a way where they are confident that their opinion will be counted.

If you think they would rather send an email? - not a problem - just include the facility within the survey and get the best of both worlds.

It’s low cost, fast and easy to do; it will not only empower and engage the reader but will establish a valuable communication channel that will provide you with measurable feedback and give you the opportunity to promote other related articles.

See it in action and record your own opinion about this article here:- Readership Feedback Survey

How a Blog Can Help Your Business

Written by admin on June 29, 2009

Businesses are beginning to realize that a website isn’t enough to make a powerful online presence. Marketers have started to include blogging as a vital part of their online search engine optimisation and marketing mix. There are still some businesses out there that aren’t clear on how blogs can help them.

They simply came up with a blog, not knowing how to make it work to their favor. Blogs are highly versatile tools that are capable of executing the different aspects of marketing—from the basic market researches down to creative guerrilla marketing, blogs offer businesses a lot of breakthrough opportunities.

Below are 5 of the most practical ways in which a blog can help your online business.

1. Writing blogs can create stronger links with your target market
Publishing a blog makes it easier to give your brand a personality. Your blog allows people to directly interact with your brand, and they expect some sort of reply or acknowledgement that someone in your company has received and read their messages.

Maintaining this feedback loop allows you to keep an eye on your market and gives you a better conversion rate of prospects to loyal clients.

2. Blogs attract fresh insights and inform you of new category trends
Keeping communication lines open for your blog visitors, you will undoubtably gain fresh insights and new suggestions. The beauty of this is that you don’t need to pay anyone to talk to the consumers for you, but you still get the information straight from the primary source.

It’s now up to you how you organize the information that you’ve gathered; make them work towards your advantage. You can take things one step further by cross checking your data. Visit your comptitors blogs and see what their visitors have to say about them. Doing so would definitely give you a better view of your marketplace.

3. Before launching a product or service, a blog is a great way to test the market
Before fully launching an ad or any creative promo and campaign, you can execute a mini version of your plan through your blog and see how your audience responds. Suggestions and comments will pour in, giving you ideas on how you can improve and tweak it to better suit your market.

Companies spend a lot of money conducting FGDs and researches. Sometimes these can cost more than a full blown campaign. While blogs cannot replicate the accuracy of professional research groups, they can work well for a lot of market-driven studies.

4. Blogs allow you increased exposure online
Blogging networks survive on an amazing network of links. Bloggers are usually fine with linking fellow bloggers that they find interesting. Its a good idea to befriend top ranking blogs in your own category or at least related categories.

Updated and regualr content ensures a high credibility rating.

5. With blogs there is more room for creativity
Your blog can be the fun alter-ego of your corporate website. While this doesn’t mean a complete dissent from your brand’s identity, blogs allow you to close the gap between how you define your brand and how your market perceives your brand.

Why Your Blog is Not Making Money

Written by admin on June 28, 2009

One of the biggest misconceptions about blogging today is that anyone with half a brain can earn big bucks from it, just by posting every so often and tacking up a few boxes of Google Adsense on your site.  Only when one actually starts a blog does reality sink in:  it’s not easy to make money blogging, and just because someone managed to make thousands of dollars within his first six months doesn’t mean that you will, too.

If you’re part of the latter group and would like to know what you might be doing wrong, then this article is for you.  Below is a list of the most common reasons why your blog isn’t performing, despite your best efforts:

1.  You’re jumping the gun:

Blogs take a long time before they can get recognition and be established as a credible source of information for a particular niche.  Because of this, it’s probably going to take a while before you see any rewards from your efforts.  Competition is stiff in the blogosphere, and much of the first months (or the first year!) of your blog will be spent in establishing why you’re different from the rest.  Until you’ve actually made a name for yourself (and your blog), revenue will be hard to come by. 

For some people, it takes only three months before the cash starts rolling in.  For others, however, it can take longer than a year before any rewards seem apparent.  Be patient, work hard at your blog, and your efforts will pay off sooner or later – exactly when that will happen is still a mystery.

2.  You’ve come to rely too much on advertising:

A common mistake among newbie bloggers is to become overeager with advertising in the hopes of earning as much as money in as little amount of time as possible.  The problem here is that excessive advertising is often enough to drive people away from your blog.  Remember that your visitors aren’t dropping by your site to appreciate your current advertising strategy – instead, they’re there under the assumption that you can offer them something new and interesting to read about.

3.  You don’t update enough:

Regular and frequent updating is crucial in making your blog retain a high place in search engine rankings.  If you think you’re doing a good job by updating around three or four times a week, you’re in for quite a surprise.  If you’re just new to the blogging game, you’re expected to update your blog as frequently as possible.  If you can make at least one blog post for each day of the working week, great!  If you can blog even on weekends, even better!  Constant updating pushes search engines to index your site just as frequently, eventually bumping your site up to a higher spot in search engine rankings.

4.  Money is your only purpose:
Bloggers who blog only for the money it promises often don’t meet with a lot of success.  This is usually because bloggers like these won’t think twice about resorting to shortcuts that won’t help their blogging strategy, such as putting up too many AdSense boxes or talking about a popular topic of which they have no substantial knowledge or insights.  It’s okay to want to make money blogging, but you should be passionate about your chosen niche and about maintaining and keeping your blog.

If your blog hasn’t yielded any rewards yet, don’t take it as a sign that your blog won’t go places.  Just stick to the job at hand, fine-tune your strategy, create high quality blog posts, and cultivate both the patience and passion necessary for maintaining your blog.

Do You Want To Create Blog

Written by admin on June 27, 2009

What is blogging to you and can you really make money from home using blogging?  The answer is yes and you can indeed earn money now with the proper blogging technique.

There are so many new-age terms floating around these days. This typically applies to the online world. Many older individuals and even some younger people have trouble keeping up with all the changes and nuances our high-tech world has to offer. If you had said you were going to check your email account on a cell phone 20 years ago, obviously everyone would have thought you were mad. Gadgets and medium rule the world today. Take voicing your personal opinion as example. While folks used to do this on the radio or television, they now do it on the Internet. So if you’ve ever asked yourself; what is blogging? It is a good way to vent your thoughts, emotions and opinions via the web. Do you have something to say?

In actual facts, many took to the internet for blogging about their viewpoints. As anyone guess, what is blogging merely five years ago, today it’s all the rage and in full effect. Now, think why you might want to start a blog. Now, hang on! We should establish a few formats first. Online websites such as Blogger.com and Wordpress such as.com allow you to sign up for free blogging accounts and start blogging about whatever you please. It is really that straighforward. You can published it very quickly. Anyway, what would you prefer to blog about? Maybe you want to begin a blog on politics, car mechanics, kitchen cutlery, inflation, racial discrimination, money making or movies. The endless possibilities are there and they are all yours.

Now, if you’re still not clear on what is blogging or what your motive would be to do it, you should consider the monetary gain. That’s right you guess it! Do you know that you can earn from blogging on the web. Essentially webites platform such as Blogger.com, which is affiliated with Google, allows you to place relevant ads on your blogs. This allows you to make money from ad revenue when anyone click on the ads. This is the main reason why many want to create blogs in the first place. You can earn money with your knowledge and advice. At this point you no longer have to ask anyone; what is blogging? Now you know!

More about great internet business ideas

Words For Publishers

Written by admin on May 19, 2009

I’m a highly published commentator, educator and analyst in the ICT field, with experience in newspapers, magazines, books and Web publishing. I can deliver what you need to make your publication successful. In ICT I’m informed by extensive formal training and extensive practical experience as a software technologist and business person.
Find Content Here

Many of my articles have been very popular, and are likely to raise the audience of your publication. I’m on my way to 100 articles and have written nearly 2000 pages of book material. I can offer:

* Custom material for your purposes
* Unpublished material
* Reprints
* Reprints-with-permission
* Book extracts
* Material original to this Website
* New Books and Book Proposals

For any of the above, or for samples or resume material, contact me. In terms of style I have experience with:

* News items and journalism
* Reviews
* Opinion and Editorial pieces
* Columns
* Moderation of online discussions and other e-community activities
* Tutorials and generally educative pieces
* Fully functional sample code, prototypes and other programming demonstrations
* Presentations and formal training

With very few exceptions I am timely and polished in delivery. Expect smooth sailing to be the rule rather than the exception, once we have agreement on what you need and when.

- Nigel McFarlane

Summary

Written by admin on May 13, 2009

In summary, it is very hard for a rational person to defend use of older, less capable, less standardised, or less future-proof tools. Whatever frights Open Source software delivers to the Microsoft mindset, there is no way that Microsoft advocates can avoid the professional obligation to deliver good tools to users. Tools such as Mozilla, clearly superior to the alternatives, are an excellent case in point.

- Nigel McFarlane

Paralysis Problems

Written by admin on May 13, 2009

The final resort of Microsoft advocates is to claim helplessness. Helplessness is hardly a defensible state for those supposed to be plying their expertise, but let’s leave that aside. Some advocates claim that they are tied to Internet Explorer because existing built infrastructure, such as Websites and Intranets are designed for that browser alone.

This issue is not as large as it might seem. Firstly, all modern browsers, including Mozilla, have a legacy compatibility mode that is used to digest, and display in good order, older Web pages. So there is an immediate “soft upgrade” path available. Secondly, the occasional differences between IE and the standards that Mozilla follows are now well documented. Any Web developer can point to the basic issues at hand. Thirdly, an Intranet is much like an early database. It is inevitable that at some point informal data must be migrated to more standardised formats, so that its future availability is assured. The same is true of Web content: sooner or later it must be upgraded towards the Web standards that will ensure it is available on an ongoing basis. It has been the experience of several large content-oriented companies that the combination of HTML+CSS or XHTML+CSS is an entirely manageable way to renovate old websites.

* Web pages are data. Migrating that data towards standards is an inevitable process.