The passion to create, the energy to fly, and the brains to keep it all organized – Julie is a copywriting, content marketing, rockstar that knows that when the marketing gets tough, the real artist gets creative. Julie is the lead Copywriter at Todaymade, and a licensed pilot. More than once, she has been called “the best thing that has ever happened to the Facebook status box.”
Hopefully, this Mother’s Day will be a celebration of mom because she’s a great parent, and not because she’s your only blog reader. While it’s great if your mom loves what you’re writing, here’s hoping she’s not your only reader. And if she seems to be?
Why is it that only mom is a loyal reader? Where are the rest of the readers?
You can’t rely on luck to get your blog posts read.
We’ve talked about having a good mix on your blog, and how you should create a regular blog schedule that takes into account different types of content. This time, we’re not talking about types of content, but the way in which you write the actual post.
There are four methods of approach for any topic or content piece, and understanding how best to use these four methods can make or break your blogging (and guest blogging) career. Readers will read your blogs based on your ability to use these four methods, not on luck.
Most of the information you find online regarding negative publicity is how you should respond to it if it is directed towards you. What do you do, however, if it is directed towards a competitor?
Everything is a response, now, even a non-response.
What do you do when a competitor has a stumble in the public eye?
Vinyl is popular, record players are everywhere, and vintage style is back. We thought we’d do the same for your tweets.
That’s where TweetCaller comes in. Instead of sending a tweet to your friend using Twitter, TweetCaller lets you send your tweet over the phone, fax, or in the mail. And, not only that, but it gives you different options on how you want that to happen.
Let’s back up the truck for a second, and start from the beginning.
A style guide is meant to keep multiple authors on the same page, which could be a complicated thing.
It could have every last bit of information your blog writers need to know, answering every question they might ever have. It could be complex and complete and, unfortunately, a reason for your team to blog terribly.
Why would blogging suffer because of a comprehensive style guide?
We remind ourselves of our goal, every day.
UPDATE: We are no longer accepting guest post submissions at this time. Thank you.
We love great content.
It’s what motivates us. In fact, our goal is to help the world create and distribute content. And that’s where you come in.
Are you passionate about content marketing? Do you read our blog and have ideas of topics that you’d like to share with our audience?
We’re looking for great writers who are:
We like excellence in writing, unique ideas that aren’t a re-hash of what’s already out there, and content that is, quite frankly, amazing. It might be a how-to, a tutorial, something inspiring, or great advice. We like blog posts that:
If you’re not sure if your post fits, review the posts on our blog. Read several posts. Read about our Todaymade blogging style guide to get a feel for how we write and what we want from blog posts.
You’ll get an idea of how long our posts are, the topics we cover, and the detail and content quality we’re looking for. We’d love it if, inside your guest post, you could link back to a previous post or two here on our blog. It gives our readers a chance to connect with our other content.
It’s simple, really. We’re not looking for:
Most guest posts are rejected because of poor writing, or overly generic content that has nothing new, nothing specific, and no real value to readers. If your post has nothing specific for readers to take away, is full of generalities, and adds nothing new that hasn’t been said before, do not submit it here.
Any content that you submit to us for consideration must meet these extremely important guidelines. As a serious content creator, we’re sure you will understand:
We will not accept posts with any questionable content. We will remove links from the body of your post if we feel that they are suspect.
It’s important to submit a post that’s ready to go.
Post: You should email the HTML of your post as a plain text file (no Word files, please), including any image(s) with it. It should be formatted and ready to be put directly into WordPress. Your post should have no H1 tags within the body, but should use at least H2. It should have paragraphs, headings, and be proofed. Spelling, punctuation, and grammar should be impeccable.
Headline: Include a headline. Please read this post for ideas on creating great headlines.
Bio: You may include a bio of up to three sentences. We allow you to include two links. These two links should link to your blog or a legitimate website of similar content of our site that you are a part of, or a social media account. They should not link to any site you are being paid to promote, or any site promoting loans, shopping, etc. We reserve the right to request a different link if we find the link questionable.
We reserve the right to edit your headline, post, and bio so that it fits with our blog. We will also edit the formatting to fit our blog style for tweets, quotes, and questions. If we like your post but feel it needs work, we’ll give you an opportunity to do so.
If you accept these publishing guidelines, and have a great blog post ready, send an email to julie@todaymade.com and attach the post to the email (not in the body) as a text file in HTML, as well as the image(s) that need to accompany it.
We can’t wait to work with you!
Are you blogging for your reader’s benefit, or are you just wanting to use them for your benefit?
This is not a post about writing tips.
It is not a post about making your writing last. It is not going to tell you how to refresh a stagnant blog. I’m not going to tell you about social media, or marketing, for your blog. It is not a post about creativity, or writer’s block, or using your blog to change the world. I’m not here to give you a kick in the pants to get you writing, or tell you how to shape up your writing habits.
That stuff has already been covered.
This is a post about three things you must understand before you begin to blog. Three things that, if ignored, will find you squirming uncomfortably in your blogging chair.
UNDER A BRIDGE, SOMEWHERE – Internet users rejoiced on Monday, April 1, 2013, upon hearing that the International Troll Registry was opened up to troll registration.
“Internet users have grown tired of dealing with trolls,” said Garrett Moon, one of the founders of Todaymade, a content marketing and web development company. “You try to ship something and make some forward progress and trolls do their best to take you down.”
While no surprise to Internet veterans, new users to the internet are often shocked at how innocent comments and requests can bring down virtual fire from above into their router and onto their screen.
Trolls, and their patented “trolling” techniques have wreaked havoc on many online industries.
“It’s a real problem,” said Moon. “Whether you’re writing about food, politics, or social media, trolls are on the alert. They have a well-developed artillery and are skilled at human psychology.”
Trolls are often found in locations where people expect to transact business or get help, such as Craigslist, Apple/Android forums, reddit, hackernews, and Yahoo! Answers. Unsuspecting Internet users stumble into elaborate traps, unaware that they are dealing with a troll.
“What we hope to see happen with the troll registry is at least let trolls form some kind of a cohesive group for their own internal support while simultaneously alerting the public to who they might want to avoid engaging online,” said Bert Morgoth, an admitted troll and vocal supporter of trolls. “Eventually, we’d like to see levels of certifications based on trolling ability, and possibly a forum dedicated just for training trolls and helping them improve their skills.”
Currently, the registry only allows for the creation of a database of trolls and the saving of kittens. Future benefits, such as Morgoth’s certification and training, are in the works.
Interest in the International Troll Registry has been growing. Though the creators, Todaymade, have been unwilling to release the proprietary algorithms which they claim perform the kitten-saving, they have made registration free and open to anyone in need.
Register as a troll: The International Troll Registry
Freelancers struggle with pricing.
They might be new and uninformed about their market. They might be desperate for income. The temptation is to price low in order to get the maximum amount of work. They think they can’t say no to any job, and undersell in order to get as many jobs as possible.
Wrong move.
Your content shouldn’t go dormant. Like these trees, for example, which are evergreens.
Who knew you needed trees on your blog?
Well no, you don’t. You do need content that keeps working for you long after you hit the publish button, though. You need content that doesn’t go dormant, content that doesn’t die or fade away. Without evergreen content, your traffic will bounce like crazy.
