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One of the things I am trying to do is provide real information and value to my readers. I can see from my Feedburner stats (numbers tell the truth, sad to say!) that there is some improvement to be done. However, to improve my blogging I’m always looking for tips and ideas.

John Bennett over at ThingsThatAreFun.com sent me this and I thought it was worth a try. Plus, you get to know a whole lot of ideas that can help your blogging and become more effective.

John found this over at Cash Quests so let’s see how it goes:

-Start Copy-

It’s very simple. When this is passed on to you, copy the whole thing, skim the list and put a * star beside those that you like. (Check out especially the * starred ones.)

Add the next number (1. 2. 3. 4. 5., etc.) and write your own blogging tip for other bloggers.

Try to make your tip general.

Then tag 10 others at the bottom to keep the list going

Just think– if 10 people start this, the 10 people pass it onto another 10 people, you have 100 links already!

1. Look, read, and learn. *****
-http://www.neonscent.com

2. Be, EXCELLENT to each other. *****
-http://www.bushmackel.com/

3. Don’t let money change ya! ****
-http://www.therandomforest.info

4. Always reply to your comments. *****
-http://chattiekat.com

5. Spell check is your friend. ***** (damn right!!!! (see last post) )
- http://thingsbymike.com

6. Be the blog. ****
- http://www.meandmydrum.com/

7. Your readers are your treasure. **
- http://www.brownbaron.com/blog/

8. Titles Are Everything **
- http://www.realitywired.com

9. Your blog. Your money. Your rules. **
- Cash Quests

10. Content is King! *
- Things That Are Fun

11. Write Well! *

- www.billwallaceonline.com

-End Copy-

I’m going to pass along the tag to some sites I enjoy now:

- Freelance Switch - http://www.freelanceswitch.com

- Miles Burke - http://www.milesburke.net/blog

- Merlin Mann - http://www.43folders.com

- David Allen - http://www.davidco.com

- Leo Babauta - http://www.zenhabits.net

- John Bennett - http://www.thingsthatarefun.com/ (Of course , get on over there!)

- Mark at http://www.meandmydrum.com

So there you go, feel free to copy the list and add to it.  Let’s see where this goes.

As coaches and consultants in solo businesses we all want to make a reasonable salary. There are certainly benefits to working on your own but sometimes getting down to paid work can be hard when there are so many other enjoyable activities to be had.

You know what I’m talking about:

• coffee
• lunches
• drinks
• blogging
• reading
• researching

All those things we like to do and convince ourselves to do because it will pay off in the end. But in the meantime, money isn’t coming in and we wish it was.

So, in my “reading and research” I came across a really great site Freelance Switch. Which, according to the subhead is a “Community & Resource for freelancers of all varieties - designers, writers, programmers, illustrators, photographers …”

There’s quite a bit there already but the post that caught my eye from Digg was “10 Essential Habits for Freelance Workers” and there’s plenty more where that comes from.

And a very kewl tewl (cool tool) is the Rates Calculator which allows you to calculate what you need to earn to support the lifestyle to which you want to become accustomed to. (Read that slowly.)

It’s something (calculating your hourly rate) that all consultants and coaches do from time to time and this was a simple yet reasonably comprehensive way to do a quick reminder of why you charge what you do.

Go check it out. Great site.

Back in the distant past I wrote a post on Business Blogging - Where do you Stop? and asked the question “Are there industries that should or shouldn’t blog at all?” My point was, does blogging solve a whole lot of problems or potentially create them, so it’s best left alone.

Banking was the industry I picked on as here, in Australia, and I’m assuming in other parts of the world, they have suffered a bad reputation of late.

John, from ThingsThatAreFun.com then commented that Not-for-Profits are an industry that would benefit from having a social commentary such as a blog. It was a ‘blinding flash of the obvious’ and I appreciate John’s time to let me know.

A Not-for-Profit (NFP) is all about building community to ensure they receive the necessary funds for their research and activities. And it’s a highly competitive field. I did some work with the Multiple Sclerosis Society in Perth, Western Australia a couple of years ago and found that is extremely tough to secure funds and there is ‘no rest for the wicked.’

So how, specifically, would blogging help?

Here are six benefits of a blog for NFPs.

1. The key to communication is it’s timeliness and understanding. To have a tool that alerts constituents what is happening, real time, would be invaluable.
2. The communication of ideas to the general public who don’t currently support the charity.
3. Communicating to supporters how each initiative is tracking can achieve a momentum that is lost if the result is only communication after the event is finished.
4. Building momentum. Having a common portal (the blog) can act as a meeting point for those wishing to know what is going on, build energy and promote events.
5. The RSS feed is now the easiest way to keep up to date with your chosen charity. You will now, right away, what is happening.
6. More than a website. A website, by comparison is static and if you visit it, you generally have to find the information. A Blog is the opposite - it pushes information to interested parties which can promote activity, energy and, most importantly grow a list of loyal supporters who will support the charity.

I am sure there are many other reasons that NFPs will benefit from a blog. I’m off to find some examples. Drop me a line if you know of any.

I admit it, I’m cheating a bit here.

I’ve listed a few blogs that have posted on how to build a better blog. And I’m going to keep adding to the list.

Why? Well, firstly, because I want to know how to build a better blog and I know there are hundreds thousands millions of others out there who want to know as well. So over the next few weeks, I’ll be hunting good blogs for good ideas to create good blogs. If you’ve written a piece on how to build a better blog let me know and I may add it.

May? you ask.

Well, yeah. I only want to add great info, so the post has to be at least 3+ months old. So it’s more than just a good idea or just good theory - it has to be proven to work. Otherwise, what’s the point?

Okay, here we go folks!

Brian Bailey’s Leave It Behind Blog - post is now over two years old but has some good tips for those just starting.

Problogger’s 31 Days Project - probably the all time classic and Darren is certainly in the “A-League” regarding blogs.

Neil Patel’s Pronet Advertising - a good start list for better blogging, be sure to read the comments below the post.

Alister Cameron - a good article on the specifics of how Alister grew his traffic. He also lists all his plug-ins, so you;re getting quite a deal of information here. Wade through it, it’s worth it. (”wading” isn’t mean to mean it is arduous!)

The Simple Dollar - December 2006 was a big month for Trent Hamm. 31 Posts on how to grow a blog! Buy the man a beer!!!

SEOMOZ - a great post from ‘06 and one you can follow with confidence. Note that some of the tips here aren’t simply ‘implement and succeed’, such as “Write Title Tags with Two Audiences in Mind”, this is an ability that may take time to develop, it is nevertheless good advice we should follow.

Okay, that’s it for now. There are dozens of others. If you know any, drop me a line.

Blogging has become the communication tool de joeur.

It is a magnet for building communities, momentum around issues, (abusing people) and engaging audiences in some form from all over the world.

But is there a point where you don’t blog?

What prompted this line of thinking was a thought about which industries might actually be hurt by blogging.

Take Banks for example. Once a shining light of credibility and integrity they have slipped back recently to be just above carsales people in trustworthiness according to a few surveys (Still looking for the formal results, will come back to you.)

I would have thought a blog by a bank on customer service or updating their members/customers on upcoming changes would be a superb idea to get the engagement happening and by opening up the two way communication, actually build loyalty through openness and transparency.

However, a summary search on Google, brings the banks up a little short. Zero on page one of a search of “bank blogs”.

So is it a case of no bank blogs because:

1. We don’t have the time (really, who does?)
2. We don’t know what the reaction will be (that’s half the point - plus you can moderate comments)
3. What’s a blog? (Er, ok!)

Having been in banking for the past 20 odd years and knowing the actual person who would be responsible for this in a few banks, I can see a world of possibilities and a world of wins.

But in the broader sense, would it be commercial suicide for an industry like banking & finance to run a blog? A legal minefield?

I believe banks would actually gain some serious momentum in customer loyalty circles with a well managed, open and honest blog.

Here are the top 10 benefits of a blog for industries like banks:

1. communicate directly with customers
2. create announcements around significant changes at no cost
3. supply information customers can comment on
4. build loyalty through ongoing community contact
5. viral communication of bank policies
6. real issues being raised and dealt with
7. customers supplying workable cost saving solutions
8. banks re-inventing their ‘personalities’
9. reduction in complaints being escalated to ombudsman level
10. communication of resolutions to common problems

It is true this can be accomplished by a website but not in the same communicative way a blog can.

I’ve focused on banks here, as I said because that is my background, but there must be other industries where blogging hasn’t caught on and yet could make a difference.

Enlighten me!