Now that we have had a weekend to recover, here is the action plan for this week:
- All six mentees need to ensure that they have a basic blog and a Facebook account and a Facebook fan page up and running. Here is what a Fanpage looks like. I suspect that all of you have a facebook account (but not a facebook fan page) and only one, possibly two have a blog. So lets fix this.
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For those who already have a blog, please ensure that you have a Google account and then also have a Google analytics account. If you are using word press for your blog, please install the following plug-ins
- Statpress – for stats
- Google Analyticator – for GA
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SEO Toolkit
- Update the about me page with an updated write-up and an image
- Do one post a week, posting progress on your milestone in that week and send me and Rabia the post link
- Once you have your GA setup, also start posting your GA dashboard results, once a week. We can use that to track progress and traffic
Please make sure that this is done by this Thursday and I have your blog urls in my mailbox, so that I can give you more homework for the weekend.
Welcome to the four hour plan.
Wow you got them running
What would be the focus of Farrukh’s Blog? I mean he can write what ever he wants but if he has to get a dedicated following he needs to focus on a niche area some thing where he comes off naturally,
Because if the end goal is to generate revenues steady increase in traffic is must, also a name for the blog to show the focus (startupinsights, sizlopedia etc to name a few).
Farrukh here is a zabardasti ka dose of pointers just hint of what is working in blog world (besides the review and tech stuff)
Here are some blogs with dedicated following (I am not listing down the tech and gadget review blogs) removed the http to try to pass the spam system
http://thegoriwifelife.blogspot.com
http://khamba.blogspot.com (Warning strong indecent language but a humor blog with following Indian focused )
http://www.thevigilidiot.com (well not typically a written blog but with interesting content )
and the recent hit
http://www.fakeiplplayer.com
Woah! It’s hotting up now!
What’s with the Fan Page thing, Mr. Jawwad?
Farrukh, the term to look up is social media, the platforms at your hand are
1. Blog
2. Facebook
3. Twitter
Key is to create a successful web of all three so there are people who prefer one over the other for access of info, if you want to tap in all of them you need to investigate how to weave the web for your audience so he/she flows from one to other.
Each one has its own monetization opportunities. Facebook further has fanpages, groups and notes see which one works for you fan pages in facebook are publically indexed meaning they turn up in google searches (there is also a way to add analytics but probably you can figure that out )
Example of someone who uses blog and twitter in a good way is guykawaski
enough for today i guess
Build one dude, for yourself, so your admirers can snooze in your blissful presence on facebook
So Furrukh, could you answer Qazi’s question. What are you going to write about.
This seems interesting as well as a challenge!
I am certainly not intending to brag through my Fan page.
Since I believe more in BLOG being the icon, I ask my mentor to please let me make a fan page for my blog, instead of me myself, for I don’t wish to pose myself as an idol, being a rising blogger in the first place.
Its not about ego or bragging rights. Its about distributing content…
Farrukh, agree to Jawwad above, its about persona, remember a blog has to have a personal touch other wise there is no difference between it and a normal news site, even the most non personal ones (engadget, techcrunch) have their personas, Micheal Arrington is behind techcrunch he made to 100 most influential people of Times magazine just because of his blog, but his blog is his personality.
just as a case study read through the history of Engadget vs Gizmodo two of the most influential tech blogs, if you read atleast 10 posts of each you will detect a writing style unique to each one of them, there are more than 10 writers who write for each of them but still the blogs maintain their identity.
so it has to be personal that is the value you are providing to a main stream content, tell me what can you tell about Jawwad as a person after following him for a while besides his insight into startups and risks, how he lives what kind of a person he is what are his likes and dislikes, same from Jehan blog, although that does not effect the content that creates a unique relation ship in which you don’t read the person you know him.
How do Guy Kawasaki and Seth Godin do that over mediums is what connects them to virtually unlimited people over websphere.