Here is the reason Jeannette’s blog was chosen:

“As soon as you open up the blog, you know what’s available and where you need to go to get it”

So, watch this video and send a shout out to Jeannette for this accomplishment.  She was one of the first bloggers in our Become a Blogging Maniac class, and she has really gone full throttle with her blog.  Congrats Jeannette!

Watch video of why Jeannette’s blog is so great and why I think it won.

1.  You don’t have a well defined niche, so you write about everything under the sun…one day it’s about how to tap dance, the next day it’s about your business and the next day it’s about the latest cooking show you watched (and it had nothing to do with what I thought your blog was about).

2.  You are more concerned about the way your theme looks than blogging.  Let’s face it…people are coming to your blog to read your content. If you are a perfectionist, then just go with a blank white template and call it a day.  Some people spend six months getting their template “just right” only to end up posting entries that are not worth reading.

3.  You abandon your blog.

4.  You are infatuated with plugins and widgets, so you keep adding more until your blog is so sluggish, your visitors feel like they are using dial up mode to connect to you.

5.  It is impossible to find your blog.  You have one, but no one can find it on your home page or other pages of your blog.

6.  You use your blog to do nothing but advertise, so you are running off people who could actually become your followers.

7.  You have content, but it is just regurgitated from a book or newspaper.

8.  You write as a scholar…not in conversational mode that invites people to connect with you.

9.   You go for weeks or months without blogging, and you then wonder why you don’t get any followers.

10.  You put up a blog, and you only want to use pages for your blog, and then you complain that “no one is finding me on my website!”  (If you aren’t blogging, you more than likely will not get followers, and your competitors who are blogging are rising higher and higher in the search engines).

11.  You have disabled comments.  Blogging is all about creating a conversation.  If you are not giving people the time to talk with you about your posts, then the blog is really all about YOU!

12.  You are using your blog to spam people by dropping in comments that say “I like your post!”

13.  You keep thinking you are going to make millions off your blog, and you don’t, so you whine about the time you spend on your blog.  Just give up the idea of your blog making millions, and just write great content!  If you write great content, and if people spread your content around, you will get followers who will eventually become clients.

14.  Your whole blog is black or you are using a font that is a color (yellow, teal or lime green).  Many people are color blind, so black text on a white background is a must.

15.  Your blog looks like a circus gone wild.  If your blog is packed with opt-ins, pop-up boxes, animation and flash, forget it…people will just move on!

16. You don’t have a clear strategy for your blog.  This totally confuses your readers!

17.  You don’t give attribution to people who have given you a tip or sent an article your way.

18.  You have no way for people to opt in, and you are not giving them a reason for opting in.  If you are asking people to opt-in, offer them something as an incentive to opt in.  This can be a free report, a small gift or admission into a webinar or seminar you are leading.

19.  You are pulling in articles from article directories and using them on your site as opposed to writing your own content.  Unique content is what people want.  If they want an article from Ezine Articles, they can go there to read it.   You will also more than likely stumble upon a plugin that you can purchase that will pull articles in for you to post and claim as your own.  Forget those plugins…your blog needs to written by you in your own voice!

20.  Your blog is all about you.  Your blog should be written for the reader.  If you go on and on about you and your life, your recent vacations, name dropping about the people you know, potential readers will get bored and move on.

While I realize this post shows the negatives, when I tell people the methods to use to actually get readers, they still often just go and do their own thing.  So, if you are doing any of the above, you are more then likely not getting readers or you are not getting the quality and quantity of followers you want.  So, just do the opposite of the above 20 blogging mistakes, and you should see a dramatic change in your blog and the number of readers who come your way.

The answer?  I use AWeber. for my opt in boxes, email campaigns and to send out blog posts to my mailing list.

I am going to share with you 4 videos to show you what their system can do and why I chose them over other email management systems. If you have any questions, contact me, and I am happy to walk you through my side of the system.

Creating an Email Newsletter:

Send Your First Email Newsletter Today – AWeber CommunicationsUsing Autoresponders

Try AWeber’s Autoresponders for $1

You can sync your blog (RSS feed) with AWeber (your mailing list can automatically receive your blog posts by email if you are not using something like Feedburner)

Simple RSS to Email by AWeber Communications

You can manage multiple email campaigns at one time:

Automate Your Email Marketing with AWeber

I am an affiliate of AWeber, so please know that I do receive a small commission if you buy from this post. The tool has served me well, so I am pleased to share it with you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC_6RNbujvI

This is just one of the many tricks you will learn during our Marketing Your Self Hosted WordPress Blog course coming January 9 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.  For full information on the course, visit this page.

Sign Up Today for the Marketing Your Self Hosted WordPress blog:

Marketing Your WordPress Blog

Meeting Dates and Times: 01/09/2012-02/13/2012 from 1:00-3:00 PM US/Eastern. This 6-week course will be focused on all of the ins and outs of marketing a WordPress blog that is hosted on your own domain. If you are using another blog platform, you will still benefit from the program, and there will be times when the information will not apply to your platform. The program includes 4 (90 minute) private coaching sessions with Bea Fields. For more information, visit this page for full details.

Price: $375.00

Marketing Your WordPress Self Hosted Blog

Dates: 6 Consecutive Mondays from January 9-February 13, 2012

Location: Phone and Webinar

Course Includes: 4 (90 minute) private coaching sessions with Bea Fields and access to the past Become a Blogging Maniac library.

Cost: $375.00

Calls will be both video and audio recorded for playback.

Please Note: This course will be focused on using the WordPress platform. If you are using another blog platform, you may still benefit from the program, yet we will be focusing on the use os WordPress. This course will not cover how to set up a blog or the technical issues of using WordPress. This course is designed for people who have an existing WordPress blog hosted on their own domain.

Week 1: Writing Your Blog Marketing Plan

During this lesson, we will focus on:

1. Defining your target market. The more refined your target market, the better your chances are of attracting readers to your blog.

2. How to write blog titles so that it pulls your target market to you.

3. Partnering with other bloggers who are also attracting your target market. Collaboration on guest posting is key.

4. Using assessments and forms on your blog which address the needs of your target market.

5. Choosing 10 critical keywords that will draw your market in your direction.

6. Introduction to social networks and finding networks that are filled with people you want to attract.

Week 2: All About SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

During this lesson, we will focus on:

1. How to configure an SEO plugin so that it clearly identifies what your blog is all about and pushes your blog to the top of the search engines.

2. Using your SEO plugin to optimize each page and post for your WordPress blog. The more you optimize each post and page, the more your blog will be found through the major search engines: Google, Ask.com, Yahoo and Bing.

3. Post Headlines to Get Readers Excited and to Jump from the Search Engines to Your Blog.

4. How to link your blog posts to maximize your search engine results.

5. How to use the Digg Digg plugin to invite others to share your blog. The more your posts are spread around, the more you will be found through search.

Week 3 : Using Video and Podcasting to Help Your Blog Reach the Masses

During this lesson, we will focus on:

1. Basics of creating a video and audio (we will not be spending a great deal of time on this subject)

2. Building a YouTube channel for optimizing your blog.

3. How to share and tag videos on your blog to pull your target market to your blog.

4. How to share your videos for free with the top seven video sharing sites.

5. Turning your video collection or podcast collection into a mini “feed” to submit your blog to iTunes.

6. Becoming a radio start using the largest internet radio site on the internet: Blog Talk Radio

Week 4: Social Networking

1. How to choose the social networking sites that will be most useful for your marketing goals.

2. The “Big 5″ Social Networking Sites: The pros and the cons.

3. How to schedule your week for social networking.

4. Connecting your blog to the social networking sites so that current blog posts are automatically sent to the world of social networks.

Week 5: All About Feedburner

1. How to “burn” your feed so that anyone, anywhere can read your blog.

2. How to optimize feedburner for the best results for your blog.

3. How to publicize your feed, including getting people to subscribe by email to your blog feed.

4. How to invite people to add your feed to their favorite reader.

Week 6: Using Your Sidebar to Market Your Blog

1. The most important information to add to your sidebar.

2. Choosing a subscription management system for your business and adding an opt in box to your sidebar using a compelling offer to get people to sign up for your mailing list.

3. How to add social networking icons and “like” buttons to your sidebar to co-market your social networking sites on your blog.

4. Promoting your authored books in your sidebar using the Amazon widget system.

5. Plugins and widgets available for use in your sidebar.

These are just the “basics” of what we will be covering. There are over 100 methods used to market your blog, and you will be given a list of these during the course.

Marketing Your WordPress Blog

Meeting Dates and Times: 01/09/2012-02/13/2012 from 1:00-3:00 PM US/Eastern. This 6-week course will be focused on all of the ins and outs of marketing a WordPress blog that is hosted on your own domain. If you are using another blog platform, you will still benefit from the program, and there will be times when the information will not apply to your platform. The program includes 4 (90 minute) private coaching sessions with Bea Fields. For more information, visit this page for full details.

Price: $375.00

If you are unable to check out using the above system, you may check out through the catalog system through the Bea Fields Companies, Inc. website: http://beafields.com/catalog. The item is at the bottom of the page.

Today, Monday, December 19, Dr.  Ron Paul has raised over $4,100,000.00.

His secret?  Online social networking through Facebook, Twitter and You Tube.

He also has a powerful tool in his pocket:  The under 30 voter.  While voter apathy is a concern with this demographic, voter turnout for President Obama showed that the under 30 crowd pushed him over the top.  There are over 78 million voters under the age of 30.  While all are not registered, even 5% of this demographic is close to 4 million voters.  The reason for Generation Y’s support of Dr. Paul?  Generation Y’s biggest value is freedom, and Dr. Paul has been talking freedom for the last 24 years

Just watch this video below, and you will hear more about why the youngest demographic is behind the veteran Congressman.  And…just a side note.  Most Gen Y’s will tell you that they listen more to their grandparents than their parents.  They see wisdom and experience in our more senior leaders.

The point here is this:  You may or may not like Ron Paul, but he has proved to us all that if you are blogging and bombarding online social networks with your name and message, that online social networking works!  As a business owner, you too can make this happen, but only with commitment and a team of people who can spread your message to the masses.  This approach to fundraising worked for President Obama and it is working for Dr. Paul.

Video from the Jay Leno show last week:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMUZIVYuluc

Are You Ready To Blog? Answer These 5 Questions Before You Get Started

Before you begin to blog, you must know your target audience and as much about them.  As a blogger, these are the 5 most critical questions you need to ask before you write your first post.

1.  Who is your target market?  Gather this information:

• Age
• Education level
• Gender
• Do they own or rent?
• Hobbies
• What is keeping them awake at night?

2.  What is your target market searching for online?

If no one in your target market is searching for your topic, chances are pretty good they won’t find you.   If you don’t know what your target market is searching for online, the best way to find out is to ask them.

3.  What does your target market most want to achieve in life, business, family, community or politics?

Everyone has a goal, and as a blogger, it is your job to find out what your target market really wants out of life.

4. As a blogger, are you going to be a reporter or an original writer?

Many bloggers simply report news.  Many write original posts.  I recommend doing a bit of both, yet writing original content is what the public is searching for online.

5.  What is the most current trend circling around your target market?

The attention span of the public is short, so do your best to take advantage of a current trend that is important to your target market.

How Will Google Plus Affect SEO? (readwriteweb.com)

I just discovered a new tool to learn the rankings of key words you are searching. It’s called LSI Keywords.com.  From How it Works: “This tool searches the top 10 in Google for a phrase you like to rank highly for. Then it collects all the text from these 10 result pages and calculate the most used words and phrases on these pages. It then orders them by number of times used. With this data you know exactly why these pages rank highly in Google. It’s all about theming and using LSI Keywords.” You will see your key phrase in the top ranking pages, and how often your key phrase is being used in the top search engine results. It searches every sentence, titles, H1-H3, image alt tags, Meta-keywords and Meta-description.

Here is how a sample query result looks for “executive media training.”  If you go the site there is a video by a user that describes just how it works.