Archive for Ask the Barista
How to Encourage People to Share Your Posts on Their Social Networks
Posted by: | CommentsEva Marie Everson, a writing colleague, e-mailed me a question about her Blogger blog:
How can I encourage readers of my blog to share my posts on other social networks?
I asked Eva Marie whether she wanted to add a “widget” so people who like a particular blog post can re-tweet it or post it to one of their social networks OR whether she wanted to add social media icons to her blog’s sidebar (when people click an icon, they’re linked to Eva Marie’s Twitter or Facebook account, so they can begin following her).
Many people don’t realize these are completely different functions, so I needed to make sure I was answering the right question.
Eva Marie did, indeed, want her fans to be able to re-tweet her blog posts on their own social media sites.
To do this on Blogger, you add a “gadget.”
- Click the “Layout” tab from within your Blogger admin area.
- Then click “Page Elements”
- Click “Add a Gadget”
- In the upper righthand corner of your screen, you’ll see a “search for gadgets” form. Enter the search term “share”
Here are several sharing gadgets you can experiment with:
TweetMeme Retweet – useful for people who want to re-tweet your post.
UpTweet - does the same as TweetMeme.
Share it – a helpful gadget that allows your fans to share the post on either Twitter or Facebook.
Sociable – allows users to share your blog and posts on social networks and social bookmarking sites like Google Bookm arks, Del.icio.us, Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Technorati, Facebook, Twitter and others.
Facebook Share – allows your fans to share your post on Facebook.
- Once you’ve selected the gadget you want, click the big “plus” sign on the right side of your screen.
- A pop-up form will offer you some configuration options. Configure the gadget, click Save, and then drag and drop the gadget where you want it to appear in your blog’s sidebar.
Eva Marie went through the process, and e-mailed me:
I DID IT!!!!
You have no idea how BIG this moment is.
Do you have a question for the Blogging Barista? Ask away; I regularly feature reader questions on my blog.
How to Avoid Twitter Phishing Scams
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I’m a sucker.
There. I admitted it.
Like thousands of Twitter users, I got “phished.” I’m a fairly savvy Internet user, and I’m really, really careful about the links I click.
But this scam reeled me in, hook, line, and sinker. I figure that if I got phished, you may have, too. So as a public service, I’m offering up tips about Twitter phishing scams and how you can avoid them.
What is phishing?
Phishing is the attempt to steal your personal data (such as passwords, account numbers, or financial information) by masquerading as a trustworthy person or business in a seemingly official communication.
How do Twitter phishing scams work?
The current Twitter phishing attack sends a Direct Message to you – seemingly from one of the people you follow. The DM contains a friendly message such as “I found a funny picture of you – check it out” and a link to said picture.
Another popular phishing message I just received came from a best-selling author with whom I’m acquainted. It says:
“hey can you do me a favor? take this iq test. here;”
When you click the link, it takes you to a page that looks just like your Twitter login page. When you login to what you assume is your account, you give the phishers your password.
The phishers then send the same DM (from you) to everyone who follows you.
And then your followers un-follow you in droves.
If you get phished, how do you fix it?
I fell for this scam because I received a DM from a follower who I know personally. I clicked the link without giving it a second thought, not noticing (until it was too late) that the link didn’t follow the typical bitl.y, tinyurl.com, or ow.ly condensed link formats.
Fortunately, several of my followers notified me immediately that they were receiving strange DMs from me (the DMs did NOT show up in my Twitter account’s “Sent” tab).
I immediately changed my password and that stopped the DMs that appeared to be coming from me.
Only problem was that some of MY followers clicked the link that I supposedly sent them, and they got phished, too. I started receiving fake DMs from them.
…and the cycle continues.
How to protect yourself
- The best way to protect yourself from Twitter phishing is to avoid clicking links in DMs you receive. If you’re not sure whether the link is legit, e-mail or DM the person who sent it. That way, if they’re getting phished, you’ve just alerted them to the scam, as well.
- If you do get attacked, log out of your Twitter account, clear your browser cache, and shut it down. Then re-open your browser and change your password. Use a different password!
- Delete the spammy DM from your Direct Messages folder so you aren’t tempted to click it again.
- If you have time, notify the person you received the spam DM from that they’re under phishing attack. Advise them to change their password.
- A helpful tip I found on TwiTip suggests checking your application preferences to see who you’ve allowed to access your account. Click on Settings > Connections. If you’re not sure whether the application is legit, click “Revoke Access” and then re-install each application.
- I also posted a notice on my Twitter account and on my blog, letting folks know I’d gotten phished and advising them not to click any DM links from me. That was a smart move – several of my followers replied right away, thanking me for notifying them and assuring me they weren’t going to un-follow me.
Helpful articles from other bloggers:
How to Create a Hacker-Resistant Password
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Did you know that identity thieves use password-hacking software to break into your site?
The Fall 2009 issue of USAA Magazine gives three good tips for creating hacker-resistant passwords:
1. Lengthy.
At least eight characters.
2. Multi-character
A combo of numbers, symbols, punctuation, uppercase and lowercase letters.
3. Memorable.
Build your super-long password around a sentence. For example, “In Super Bowl 43, Pittsburgh defeated Arizona 27 to 23″ becomes ISB43,PdA27t23.
Daniel Scocco of DailyBlogTips suggests developing your own password algorithm (and he explains how to do it in his helpful article).
One of Daniel’s readers, Dean at ProCopyTips, suggested an algorithm I like:
Use the longest password you can… Length is more important than complexity because if someone is going to use brute force to break your password, they’re probably going to work through all available characters. A password that is 10 to 12 characters is very hard to break. Get it up to 20 characters, and it become nearly unbreakable.
All you really need is a “pass phrase” that is variable. For example, make up a sentence you can remember but which others can’t guess: My cat Smoochy has 9 lives and 4 legs. Take the first letter or numeral of each word: McSh9la4l. That gives you 9 characters.
Now add the name of the website: Key Word Suggestion Tool. This translates to KWST. Put your pass phrase together with the site name and you get McSh9la4lKWST. So your password is 13 characters and strong. Make it more complex or longer if you choose.
It’s also a good idea to create different passwords for the sites you use most, such as your Web site, blog, Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. That way, if hackers breach one of your sites, they can’t get in to all your others.
Let’s hear from you, readers. Are your passwords hacker-resistant? Please share the methods that work for you.
How to Link to Your Facebook Business Page From Your Profile (Tutorial)
Posted by: | CommentsSometimes I think Facebook is out to get me. Functions that should be a no-brainer – such a way to link from my Facebook profile to my business or “fan” page – are either non-existent or are difficult to find and implement.
So when I discovered Dan Ronken’s post on Pullnotpush.com about how to link from my Wall to my fan page, I instantly tried it. I experienced a couple of challenges, which Dan graciously walked me through.
Here’s a step-by-step tutorial so you can do it yourself – it takes less than 5 minutes (if you do it right!).
1. Log in to your Facebook account.
2. Click this link to install the Custom Profile Box application.
3. Insert a link to the logo you use on your Business Page (or another image of your choice that’s already uploaded – more on this in a minute). To grab the link to your logo, open your Facebook Business page (in a new tab or new window). Right click on your logo, and then click “Copy Image Location.”
4. Go back into the Custom Profile Box and click “Insert/Edit Image.” In the Image Properties popup, paste the URL for the image you just copied. You can customize the height and width of your image now or later (Dan suggests resizing the image to 125 x 150 px so it’ll display correctly. (Hang in there; I’ll explain how you can resize your image once it’s on your Wall).
5. Click “OK” and your image should display in the Custom Profile Box. You can click once on the image and drag the handles to resize it if you want. You can also add text, hyperlinks, and can change text colors and background colors, just like you’d do in any word processing or blog interface.
6. To make your image link directly to your Facebook page, you need to create a hyperlink. Copy the URL of your Facebook page, then click once on the image of the logo you just added to the Custom Profile Box. Click the Insert/Edit link icon and paste in the URL to your Facebook business page.
7. When you’re finished tinkering, click “Update Custom Profile Box.”
8. Here’s where I ran into a glitch. The Custom Profile Box is supposed to appear in your Facebook “Boxes” tab by default, but it wasn’t displaying on mine. To get it to display, you have to turn it on (who woulda thunk it?). Go to the “Applications” button at the bottom lefthand corner of your Facebook profile.
9. Click “Edit Applications,” find the Custom Profile Box app (it should be right at the top), and click “Edit Settings.”
10. You’ll see three tabs labeled “Profile,” “Bookmark,” and “Additional Permissions.” Under the “Profile” tab, you’ll see two settings: “Box” and “Privacy.” Next to “Box,” click “Added.”
11. Whew! Almost done. Now go back to your Facebook profile and click the “Boxes” tab. Your new Custom Profile Box should display. But who wants to bury important info on your Boxes page? Why not move it to your Wall, where everyone will see it?
12. To move it, click on the blue pencil (“Edit Box”) in the upper right corner of your Custom Profile Box. Select “Move to Wall.”
13. Your Custom Profile box will appear on your Wall, in the lefthand sidebar right below your “Friends.” Is your image displaying correctly? If not, click “Customize.” Click once on your image, grab a handle, and drag to re-size it. Click “Update Custom Profile Box” and zip back to your profile to view the changes. Keep tinkering until you get it exactly the way you want it.
The cool thing about this application is that you can use it to create links to any page, Web site, blog post, etc. I haven’t yet found a way to use the Custom Profile Box more than once on my Facebook profile, but at least I now have a way to direct visitors to my Blogging Bistro business page.
Try it and let me know how it works for you.
How to Submit Your Business Site to Yahoo! Local
Posted by: | CommentsYesterday, I gave you easy, step-by-step instructions for submitting your site to Bing and Bing Local (Bing’s directory of business sites). Today we’re going to do the same thing with Yahoo! Local.
Yahoo! Local is a directory that lists businesses in your area. To create your free listing you first need a Yahoo account.
After logging in to your Yahoo account, go to http://local.yahoo.com/, and scroll to the very bottom of the page (they make things so easy to find, don’t they?)
Under Local Resources, click “Add a Business.”
That’ll take you to a form. Fill in as much of the requested info as you feel comfortable revealing to the world:
Be sure to click on “Additional Information” link and add:
- Hours of operation
- Payment methods your business accepts
- Products and services you offer
- Company e-mail, fax, and toll free numbers
Click “Submit” and you’re done!
Also in this series:
How to Submit Your Web Site to Bing and Bing Local
Posted by: | CommentsEverybody with a Web site or blog wants to increase their search engine rankings. But many businesses and individuals neglect to use even the most basic SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques.
I’m going to teach you how to do a couple of basic things that will make the search engines notice your site. Don’t freak out on me – YOU CAN DO THIS! Not only can you do it, but it only takes a few minutes, and it won’t cost you a penny.
Is Bing Indexing Your Site?
You’ve probably heard of Microsoft’s cool new search engine, Bing (it replaced Live Search, which was originally known as MSN Search).
You want to ensure that Bing’s search bots are crawling your site. To do that, go to http://www.bing.com/docs/submit.aspx, type in your site’s URL – http://www.MySite.com/ – and click “Submit URL.”
How to Submit Your Sitemap to Bing
You can also submit your Sitemap to Bing, to ensure that your every page on your site gets indexed on a regular basis. This is super easy to do:
Copy and paste the URL below into the address bar of your browser — be sure to change “www.YourWebAddress.com” to your domain name — and then press ENTER:
http://www.bing.com/webmaster/ping.aspx?sitemap=www.YourWebAddress.com/sitemap.xml
How to Submit Your Business Site to Bing Local
If you own a business, you’ll want to submit your business site to Bing Local (it’s kind of like a local yellow pages listing for your site, only it’s free).
First, visit this site https://ssl.bing.com/listings/BusinessSearch.aspx to check whether a listing for your business already exists. To check, enter your business name, address, and phone number.
If Bing can’t find a listing, it will prompt you to log in to your Windows Live account and create a business listing (if you don’t have a Windows Live account, you’ll have to create that first).
Next, fill in the requested information. You have the option of entering all sorts of information about your business, including operating hours, payment methods you accept, company tagline and description, specialties, brands carried, etc. You can also upload up to 10 photos (maximum image size 5MB) that will appear on the details page for your business.
You’ll need to choose a category for your business (Bing allows you to list your business in six categories and to organize them in order of importance).
Before you submit your listing, you’ll be able to review it:
Bing will send a letter to the address you entered for your listing, and you will follow the directions in the letter to complete the verification process.
For more information about Bing, visit Bing’s Webmaster Tools
Also in this series:
7 Pros and Cons of Group Blogging
Posted by: | CommentsDuring a brand development/blog consult with a client today, she asked:
“Should I start a group blog in which several people contribute articles?”
I’d read a post on that very topic (on Daily Blog Tips) earlier in the day. With thanks to Kyle Judkins for providing inspiration, here are my thoughts about multi-author blogging:
PROs
More content. 
The bane of most bloggers’ existence is finding time to write, format, and publish new articles. And everyone knows that more articles means more indexing from the search engines, which results in more readers. Inviting a trusted blogger… or two… or more… to contribute a post on a weekly basis eases the burden on you.
Topic expansion.
Let’s face it; your perspective is your perspective. You may know a lot about your topic, but you have a lot to learn. Inviting contributions from fresh blood helps you increase the breadth of your coverage.
Networking.
It’s fun to “virtually” join forces with like-minded writers from around the world. It’s even more fun to meet in person. It’s really fun when you get “discovered” and offered a job. Multi-author blogging is a wonderful networking tool. You never know what opportunities might come your way.
New skills.
If you “own” your blog and bring in new bloggers, you will discover yourself taking on more of an editor or manager role. Editing blog posts and managing a blog’s overall content (as opposed to doing all the researching and writing) usually takes far less time, which frees you up to do other important stuff.
CONs
Loss of ownership.
I blogged professionally on a group blog for over a year and it’s true: you do lose a sense of ownership and control over your words. Someone else edits your work and decides whether it’s up to snuff, and your co-bloggers tend to steal – er – borrow your ideas. If you’re a control freak, you’ll be better off blogging solo.
Less quality control.
You’re the best blogger in the world, right? When you bring in additional bloggers, you risk losing some of those fantastic posts you compose day after day. Poor quality writing (especially when riddled with spelling, punctuation, grammar and usage errors) can spell disaster, so make sure to screen would-be contributors carefully before inviting them into the fold. Ask them to contribute X number of guest posts. If their writing is stellar (and if you don’t have to spend an hour editing their post), you’ve likely found a winner. Who knows, your new bloggers could end up being better writers than you!
Dilution of voice.
Have you built a devoted following who read your blog because they love your writing voice? Bringing in a newbie dilutes your voice because the focus is no longer solely on your words. But again, adding an additional blogger who has a strong voice may be just the juice your blog needs to pick up momentum.
Have you participated in a group blog? If so, please share your take on the best/worst things about multi-author blogging.
*Feel free to reprint this post on your own blog. I’ll be happy to e-mail you the HTML, so all you have to do is copy & paste, and the formatting will remain intact. If you reprint it, please include the following byline:
Laura Christianson, aka The Blogging Barista, owns Blogging Bistro (www.BloggingBistro.com), a Seattle-based social media marketing company.
How Do I Stay Motivated to Blog?
Posted by: | CommentsThis week’s question for the Blogging Barista is one I get asked all the time:
I’ve started a blog but I’m having trouble keeping my momentum going. Do you have any tips to help me stay motivated?
I can relate, dear blogger! Even bloggers who have an endless stash of ideas struggle to keep up the pace.
You’ve probably heard that if you don’t post regularly, readership will drop off.
You heard correctly.
If you don’t update your blog three times per week, you’ll see a significant decrease in traffic.
The problem with many (most?) bloggers is that they view blogging as a sprint, rather than a marathon. And blogging is definitely a marathon. If you’re serious about blogging, you’ve got to commit to producing fresh content day after day, week after week, year after year.
Every marathoner knows that rest and relaxation are critical to the training regimen. That’s why I’m staunchly committed to taking at least one day a week away from my blogs, away from my computer, away from any enticing electronic devices. For me, a day off (or two… or three) re-invigorates me for the next round of blogging. My long-term mental health is worth more to me than a small, temporary drop in readership.
Success magazine suggests five additional tips for staying motivated:
- Write out your goals and refer to them often. (I like this! A goal-less blog is a lifeless blog.)
- Exercise – it revs up your energy level. (My fave form of exercise is rollerblading. I draft blog posts in my head while getting a great aerobic workout.)
- Imagine something you’d like to be doing when you finish your project and make the task a priority. (Rewarding myself for completing a blog post is a great motivator.)
- Keep a photo of your goal in a place where you will see it often. (I’m going to tape up a photo of you — my readers!)
- Sleep – six to eight hours of sleep per night fuels inspiration, clarity, and helps maintain healthy eating. (I’m a light sleeper so this is a struggle. But I vow to sleep more.)
Readers: What’s your single, best tip for staying motivated to blog?
Source:
Success magazine April/May 2008
