Blog-Blogging to the Third Power-Nicholas Cardot

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BLOGGINGTO THE THIRD POWER


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BLOGGINGTO THE THIRD POWER

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO BUILDING

A POWERFUL & INFLUENTIAL BLOG

NICHOLAS Z. CARDOT

WWW.SITESKETCH101.COM


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This book is dedicated to my beautiful wife and daughter who

have steadfastly supported my writing and my blogging.


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CONTENTS

PREFACE ....................................................................... 9

FOREWARD ................................................................. 13

INTRODUCTION ........................................................... 15

AWESOME CONTENT .................................................. 25

Avid Consistency............................................................ 29

Bold Creativity ............................................................... 43

Compelling Articles ........................................................ 49

Distinguished Value ....................................................... 61

BRILLIANT DESIGN ....................................................... 73

Amazing Experience ...................................................... 77

Better Coding................................................................. 87

Clear Navigation ............................................................ 93

Detailed Layout ........................................................... 105

COMMANDING INFLUENCE ....................................... 113

Authentic Connections ................................................ 119

Bold Vision ................................................................... 135

Community Presence .................................................. 145Dependable SEO .......................................................... 173

BONUS MATERIAL ..................................................... 193

Brandon Cox: Chasing the Elusive Target of Success . 195

Nathan Hangen: A Different Kind of Success ............. 201


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PREFACE

T H E K E Y T O O N L I N E S U C C E S S I S

W O R K I N G S M A R T E R A N D H A R D E R

My eyes are steady and my hands are calm. My body is stretched

out prone on the ground. My knee is bent out to the side to

provide comfort and support. I pull my M4 rifle firmly into my

shoulder knowing that this will help reduce recoil allowing me to

aim my next shot faster.

My hand is wrapped around the pistol grip with my thumb near

the safety and my firing finger resting alongside the trigger well.

My eyes are vigilantly scanning the horizon searching for targets

to engage.

At 300 meters a green silhouette rises from the ground. I prepare

to fire. I move the rifle to focus the red dot of my optics on the

chest of the silhouette but with this much distance between me

and my target I find that my slightest breath moves the red dot


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in and out of the target. I slowly breathe in and hold it. My rifle

is now steady and the red dot comes to rest right where I need it.

I move my finger onto the trigger and gently squeeze careful notto move the rifle from its intended target. Boom. Just as fast as

it rose from the ground, I lay it back down. This all happens in a

matter of a few seconds and I prepare myself to engage the next

target.

As an Infantryman in the United States Army, I'm a trained

professional and I know exactly what I have to do to achieve

success. I've studied, practiced and observed the military tactics

that will allow my fire team to accomplish every mission that

gets handed to us.

Every day I stand confident that I can achieve success. It's not

because I have an overgrown ego. It's not because I'm naive. It's

because I've worked long hours to prepare myself to face the

obstacles that may come my way in the Military. I've worked

hard to arrive where I'm now at and to achieve the successes

that I now enjoy.

This principle is so incredibly universal. If you want to experience

success online then you're going to have to take this lesson from

a United States Army Infantryman: Success demands hard work

and long hours of preparation.


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If you're taking the time to read this book then you're... well...

smarter than most people. I'm not even puffing my ego at you

by stating this. I'm being honest.

You aren't looking for a chance to get rich quick overnight and

you probably realize by now that making it big like Chris Brogan

or Darren Rowse requires a lot of work and an incredible amount

of study. It's all about working smarter andharder and it's not

about chasing pipe dreams.

You're smarter than most people because you're actually looking

for solid advice on how to focus your efforts into meaningful,

productive work. You want to know how to build your blog from

having 1 reader to having thousands of readers.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand the

principles found in this book and to begin growing your

readership but you do have to be mentally challenged to believe

some of the fairy tales that are being marketed online.

Success isn't built in a day...it's built day by day. Success requires

a steadfast character and work ethic that your grandparents

probably lectured you and your parents about combined with a

knowledge of writing, marketing, networking and more.


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FOREWARD

B Y D A N I E L S C O C C O

Nicholas has been a fresh and reinvigorating addition to the

blogging scene. The articles on his blog, Site Sketch 101 are

always creative and packed with value, and that is why I

accepted promptly when he asked if I would like to write the

foreword for this book.

After reading through "Blogging To The Third Power" I must say

that the book puts together all the information you need to startbuilding a successful blog. And what is more interesting, Nicholas

is not just regurgitating what other people have said in the past,

he is giving you his own take on the issue.

His three pillars of blogging success - awesome content, brilliant

design and commanding influence - create a really efficient

framework that will channel your blogging efforts in the right

direction.


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You might think that once you know about these three pillars

that you've already got the meat of the book, but this is not the

case. Inside each of these sections Nicholas dissects the concepts

and techniques that you must master if you want to achieve your

blogging goals. For example, inside the "Awesome Content"

section he talks about the need for consistency when producing

quality content, and why being bold and creative often times will

yield outstanding results for your blog.

Finally, you'll find that the pragmatic approach used throughout

the book makes the reading very pleasant. Most chapters are

illustrated with real examples, and you'll also find links to

relevant resources around the web. Put it all that together and

you get a reference document that should remain close at handwhenever you are working on your blog.

Now roll up your sleeves, read through this book, and

immediately start implementing what you'll learn.

As Nicholas says in the very beginning, and I couldn't agree more,

the key to online success is working smarter and harder.

Good luck,

Daniel Scocco


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INTRODUCTIONT H E 3 P I L L A R S T H A T W I L L E X P L O D E

Y O U R B L O G ' S S U C C E S S

What is it that separates the millions of mediocre bloggers from

the ones who build traffic and achieve amazing results? What is

it that propels some onward and upward into fame and fortunewhile others find themselves struggling just to get a small

handful of readers?

If youre like most bloggers, then youve probably been kicking

yourself trying to figure out the answer to these

questionstrying to find the key that unlocks the large steel

doors that are holding you back from the success you've been

looking for.

Im very excited because Ive discovered the essential elements

necessary to connect with people on a large scale. I've found the

three principles that can exponentially magnify the success of a

blog.


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Put these tools to work at your blog and you will see your traffic,

comments, and subscribers skyrocket. Ignore them and you will

continue to wallow in the mediocrity in which so many of your

peers are trapped.

THE 3 ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS FOR REAL SUCCESS

There are three essential elements of a blog that must be

absolutely maximized in order to see success at the highest

levels. It takes all three of these concepts to propel your blog to

the top.

Awesome Content:Articles need to be fun, compelling, easy-to-

read, meeting users needs, providing excellent information,

and well-written.

Brilliant Design: Blog layouts need to be easy on the eyes, be

easy to navigate, be professional looking, be able to set you

apart from the crowd, and be warm and inviting to the

readers.

Commanding Influence:You as the author must be connecting

personally, answering questions, exhibiting strong leadership,

demonstrating sacrifice by putting the readers needs before

your own, and getting involved in the greater bloggingcommunity.


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THE TOTAL PACKAGE = MULTIPLICATION

Don't be mistaken. There are millions of blogs. It's not enough

anymore to simply be strong in only one of these three powers.

If you want to set yourself apart from the millions of mediocre

bloggers then you have to have all three. It's all or none if you

want to make it big.

Each of these principles has a multiplier effect on your influence

throughout the internet. In our next exercise here, the idea is to

openly and honestly rate you and your website in each of these

categories using a scale of 1-10. If your content is a 10, your

design is a 2 and your influence is a 4 then your overall potential

is 10 x 2 x 4 = 80 points of online success potential.

CONTENT IS KING...NOW BUILD HIS ARMY

Youve heard it said that content is king and that is true but

only if it is supported by the principle of the total package. Its

not enough anymore to havejustgreat content. You absolutely

have to have all three elements in order to accelerate your

success.

Arguing about which one is the most important is a dead point.

The most important of these three is the total packageand not

any single element. In other words, if you want to experience

online success then its either all or none.


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Lets say that in our example you increase your design until it can

be rated a 4. Our new equation would look like this: 10 x 4 x 4 =

160 points of online success potential. Push them all up to 10s

and you would have something like this 10 x 10 x 10 = 1000

points. Great content all by itself will only give you a fraction of

what you can achieve when you combine it with an amazing

layout and a personalized, genuine style of connecting with

people.

I disagree with the spirit of the popular adage Content is King.

In fact, Ive written much about this at Site Sketch 101. I believe

that at one time content was all that was necessary but is no

longer.

Now don't mistake what I'm saying. I agree with the fact that

content is king, but I don't agree with the spirit of it.

The truth is that content is vital. You can't build a successful blog

without it. But the attitude that often accompanies this truth is

to forget everything else. Too often I see people forgetting every

other aspect of their online presence in an effort to simply write

articles. That simply doesn't work anymore.

I do believe that you can build a strong following with nothing

more than content. It will, however, take you a very long time.

If you want to accelerate the growth of your site then you are

going to have to back up your king with an army of design,


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to have all three.

A CASE STUDY PROVING THAT IT TAKES THE

TOTAL PACKAGE TO MULTIPLY SUCCESS

In an article at Site Sketch 101 on this topic, I had several people

point out that Jacob Nielson at useit.com has built up a huge

following by simply providing great content even though the

layout of his site is poor and the navigation is difficult. This was

my response to those comments and I firmly hold to them today.

YOU GUYS MAY LOOK AT HIM AS AN EXCEPTION TO THE RULE,BUT I

WOULD ARGUE THAT HE IS AN EXAMPLE PROVING THIS RULE.

ACCORDING TO HIS SITE,HES BEEN DOING THIS SINCE 1995.

IVE BEEN RUNNING MY SITE,SITE SKETCH 101,SINCEJUNE OF 2009

AND ACCORDING TOALEXA.COM,MY SITE RANKED HIGHER THAN

NIELSON'S SITE ON THE DAILY RANK FOR SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE PAST

FEW WEEKS.IT HAS TAKEN ME 31/2MONTHS TO GAIN WHAT HAS

TAKEN HIM 14YEARS.

IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW HIS EXAMPLE THEN IINVITE YOU TO DO SO

BUT IWOULDNT RECOMMEND IT.

ITS ALL OR NONE IF YOU WANT TO QUICKLY

AND BOLDLY GET YOUR MESSAGE OUT.


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If you dont have a great environment for your readers to view

your content then many will choose not to stick around. If you

dont engage with people personally then the content may not

mean as much to some readers. Some visitors are looking for

engagement or authority which adds to the power of our

influence.

When we successfully build the total package of content, design,

and influence then we can really brand ourselves and our sites.We must cater to every visitor: the ones looking for great design,

the ones looking for connections, and the ones looking for

information.

Why only take the time to please one of those three people

when you can multiply your effectiveness by having all three?

I hope you understand that my disagreement with the adage

Content is King is a very minor one and in the greater sense I

still agree with the determination to produce great content. Its

just that it is a mandatory part of something more than that.

BUILD A GREAT BRAND AROUND YOUR BLOG

Brand marketing is everything if it can be done to actually drive

people to action.

Ive heard people say that branding is sometimes an excuse for

lack of actually accomplishing anything. For example, someone


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might say that they are not seeing any traffic but that is because

they are more focused on just branding their website,

themselves and their content.

But brand marketing that is not delivering visitors isnt really

branding. If people arent actively searching for you, then your

branding is basically worthless.

Real branding is that which drives people to seek you out. It

compels people to read what youve written, to follow your

advice, and to purchase your products. Branding that doesnt

lead to action is not branding.

THE GENERIC BRAND VS. THE NAME BRANDThose brands at the supermarket that cost only half as much as

the box sitting right next to it are referred to as generic brands.

They are considered to be less valuable than the name brands

even though they are often very similar.

Somehow the company behind Cheerios has developed

themselves as a respectable household name and Wheatie Os

are laughed at. Cheerios has developed a better marketing

campaign. Theyve produced a better product. Theyve created

real value and consumers know it.

So what kind of value are you creating at your blog? Are you

creating content that is fun to read? Are you providing


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information that is in demand? Are you meeting the needs of

your readers? Because if not, then you might as well pull up a

chair next to the Wheatie Os because youre playing second

fiddle now.

HOW DO YOU DEVELOP A SOLID NAME BRAND?

The three principles found on the pages of this book are the keys

to developing powerful branding that people will come flocking

toward. Ive listed them below to help cement them into your

mind as we begin our journey.

Awesome Content

Brilliant Design

Commanding Influence

These three concepts have the power to provide you with a

massively successful brand. You will be able to attract and builda large number of readers.

These three concepts are the pillars of online success.

And so our journey begins...


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THE FIRST POWER

AWESOME CONTENT

C O N T E N T I S T H E F O U N D A T I O N F O R

A N Y S U C C E S S F U L B L O G

If you've been around the internet for any period of time then

you've probably heard it repeated: Content is King.

In fact, many of us have heard it so many times that it probably

sounds redundant. Yet there are so many people who still don't

get it...or if they do they don't put it into practice.

The adage has been around since the dawn of blogging: Content

is King. And it's true. Content is king.

Content is the foundation upon which the rest of a successfulblog is built. It's the information that consumers are searching

for. It's the meat and potatoes at a nice dinner. It's the

pavement on the internet superhighway. Content is the first step


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on our journey to the top of the blogosphere.

NOT JUST CONTENT...BUT AMAZING CONTENT

Amazing content is all about creating articles that are easy to

read, full of information, funny, engaging, and well-written. It's

about consistently creating value at your site day after day. It's

about pouring your personality into your writing and creating

masterpieces in every post.

It's not the only point, but it is the first. Without great content,

you have nothing on which to build your blog and you have

nothing of value to provide to your readers.

Content is so incredibly important and yet so many people focus

so little of their time working to improve the quality of their

articles.

Lets change that today. Lets learn new writing styles. Lets

explore new ideas. Lets grow as writers and authors andultimately lets build stronger, better blogs.

There are four key areas to building great content that we're

going to explore throughout this book.

Avid Consistency:Success isn't built in a day... it's built day by

day. Producing terrific content once in a while isn't good

enough. We've got to learn how to deliver top quality, award-


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worthy content day after day.

Bold Creativity:Dazzle your visitors with new and bold ideas. If

you do the same thing as the millions of other bloggers thenyou're most likely going to experience the same results as

them: dismal failure. Be creative. Explore new ideas. Think

outside the box.

Compelling Articles:As an author, you have to learn how to

entertain your readers as well as educate them. Even those

who are looking for clear advice, instructions, or information

will still be impressed if you can make use of all their emotions

while delivering your content. Tell jokes or use sarcasm to

make people laugh. Tell stories that make people cry or even

get angry. Inspire your readers passions to fuel their cravings

to keep reading your content.

Dynamite Value:How much is your site worth to those who

follow you? Value is determined by how much people would

be willing to pay for something if they had to purchase the

same product a second time. Or if your product is free, it's the

amount that they would be willing to pay if your site actually

cost something. Would people be willing to pay for your

advice and expertise? Do people feel ripped off when they

make purchases at your blog or from your affiliates?

As we dive into this, you'll learn quickly that creating highly


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successful content is not the same as chasing a get-rich-quick

scheme. There's no easy step by step guide to building the

foundation of our online presence.

Success requires developing yourself as an author who really

knows how to provide information and connect with people in a

way that draws them in and leaves them longing for more.


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CHAPTER #1

AVID CONSISTENCY

S U C C E S S I S N ' T B U I L T I N A D A Y . . .

I T ' S B U I L T D A Y B Y D A Y

The word prolific means producing abundant works or results. As

bloggers, we want to be able to produce a plethora of useful,

meaty articles about topics within our respective niches.

I want to be able to produce well written articles on blogging and

website design that are so dynamic that people flock from

around the web to read them. I want to be able to produce

article after article that meets needs, delivers information,

teaches blogging and web design principles, and reaches out and

grabs readers driving them to come back again and again for

more.

Yet its so difficult to keep up with an aggressive writing


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schedule. One award-quality post per day is really what it takes

to drive people to your site by the thousands but how in the

world can we begin to keep up with a schedule like that? Sure we

know a lot of information about our subjects, but that doesnt

mean that we know enough to keep pouring out an unlimited

supply of information to our readers. More often than not,

bloggers very quickly reach the end of their supply of wisdom

and instantly begin scaling their article production rate back.

So what are the keys to producing quality articles on a consistent

basis? What are the principles that the most proficient online

authors practice in order to maintain a steady stream of posts on

their sites? The simple answer is hard work. The more accurate

answerwell for that youll have to keep reading.

READ EXPERT BLOGS ABOUT BLOGGING

Each day I read several articles from others who blog about

blogging. I read articles that cover every topic related to this

subject including search engine optimization, professional

design, creative writing, link exchanges, traffic building, and

more. I have several blogs that I visit nearly every day in order to

ensure that I am practicing every last principle that may

influence the success of my blog. Here are a few blogs to get you

started: Problogger, Daily Blog Tips, Copy Blogger and of course

my blog, Site Sketch 101.

I highly recommend that you subscribe by either email or RSS to


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each of these blogs and that you devote time each day to read

each article. These will fill your mind with ways to continue

growing your blog into something that will reflect expertise in

your field.

READ EXPERT BLOGS IN YOUR NICHE

I have heard it said that our mind is like a barrel with holes. As

we take in information about a subject it is like pouring water

into that barrel. As you pour the water in some of it begins toleak out just as we tend to forget things that we have learned or

as we use that information in articles.

As you climb closer to having the barrel filled with water you

have to increase the amount of water that you are pouring in to

compensate for the increased amount that will be leaking out.

The same is true with knowledge. As you increase the amount of

information that you are pouring out to your readers, you need

to increase the amount of knowledge that you take in so that

you can keep up.

You need to keep learning enough about your subject in order to

have enough expertise to continually write new posts and keep

up with your readers questions.

The best way to take in information in your niche is to read and

follow other bloggers. This is also a great way to build

relationships and even further establish yourself as an expert


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throughout your niche.

BALANCING YOUR LIFE & YOUR BLOG

Are you juggling lifes demands like a job and a family while

struggling to figure out how to blog with the power and passion

necessary to make it big? Youre not alone.

For those of you who dont already know, I currently serve as an

Infantryman in the United States Army. Each week, I work an

average of 50 or more hours while at the same time maintaining

my amazing (in my opinion) blog, Site Sketch 101.

In fact, just last December, I was gone for field training from

Monday morning until late Thursday night. During that time I

had no access to any electronics including laptops, cell phones or

any means of accessing the internet. I arrived home Thursday

night at about 9:30 pm and was back at work on Friday morning

at 5:30 am. This is a regular occurrence in my line of work.

SUCCESS DEMANDS HARD WORK

Now Im not saying this to brag on myself for being able to do

this, but rather to encourage you. If I can handle this then

anyone can. Its not because Im so great at doing this stuff, but

because Ive learned a few simple principles that can help tosimplify a complicated lifestyle. Grab these principles from me

and put them to work in your own life.


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Juggling a busy life and a successful blog can be a difficult task.

Those who tell you that you can rise to the top without working

very hard are mistaken, lying to you, or trying to sell you

something. Success demands hard work.

Most people arent full-time bloggers. We have to work and

sometimes that means long hours away from our blogs, our

families and our passions.

SIMPLE TIPS TO BALANCE YOUR LIFE & YOUR JOB

Let me share with you some of the things that I do to help me

write, design, interact and work a job.

Pen & Paper:Always carry a pen and paper with you. You never

know when youre going to think of something useful. When

you do, write it down immediately.

We all forget things. For most of us we probably forget more

than we remember. Because of this it is vital that we write

down everything that we read or think of related to our blog.

If you are mowing your yard and you think of a great topic for

a blog article, pull a pen and notepad out of your pocket and

write it down. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing,

you should always write down information that can help you

grow your site.

Brainstorm:Make use of time that would otherwise be wasted


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by brainstorming ideas for your website. Use the time that

youre in the shower or the time that youre in the car driving

to or from work.

Discipline:Schedule time to work on your blog and then stick to

your schedule. Use the ideas that you brainstormed

throughout the week and put them into articles.

Streamline:Figure out what it takes to produce a great article

and then speed up that process. Get rid of anything that

slows you down and develop your system so that you can

quickly and efficiently produce high quality content.

Relax:Dont get overwhelmed. If you feel like youre too

stressed out then take a break. I blog because its a way for

me to relax. I enjoy it. I love interacting with my readers.

Enjoy what you do. And when necessary, take breaks.

It is possible to operate an amazing blog and work a full-time job.

Dont think that your limited by your situation. Youre not. You

can accomplish amazing things.

Don't stop learning and growing. Those of us who work full time

have a major disadvantage. We have less time to learn and

develop ourselves as bloggers than those who blog full time. But

that is no excuse. Lets continually strive to be the best that we

can be.


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BUILD YOUR BLOG WITH IDEA MAPPING

As bloggers, one of the worst setbacks that we can face is the

daunting task of coming up with and developing topics about

which we can write.

Corporations spend millions of dollars a year on research and

development so that they can come up with the products and

services that will sell. You probably dont have millions of dollars

to put into this task, but you do need to find a way to develop

new and exciting ideas for your blog.

I am bombarded with questions from bloggers related to this

idea. Sometimes it can be incredibly difficult to come up with

ideas day after day. Well, heres some good news. It doesnt

have to be such a miserable task. In fact, generating ideas for

your blog can actually be a fun project when you learn how to

put into practice this amazing concept.

ARE YOU STRUGGLING TO DEVELOP TOPICS?

Idea mapping is the practice of creating a diagram or chart to

layout your ideas and organize your thoughts.

It might sound complicated but its actually incredibly simple. It

can be done on paper or by using some popular mind mapping

websites likeMind Meister. I useMind Meisterto create mine.
http://www.sitesketch101.com/affiliates/mind_meisterhttp://www.sitesketch101.com/affiliates/mind_meisterhttp://www.sitesketch101.com/affiliates/mind_meisterhttp://www.sitesketch101.com/affiliates/mind_meisterhttp://www.sitesketch101.com/affiliates/mind_meisterhttp://www.sitesketch101.com/affiliates/mind_meisterhttp://www.sitesketch101.com/affiliates/mind_meisterhttp://www.sitesketch101.com/affiliates/mind_meister


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Its free and its a lot of fun.

The easiest way to explain this unique concept is to simply start

by showing you a picture of my idea map. Notice how I break mydiagram down into the basic categories of my website. I then

work to think of topics and ideas that could be covered under

each category.

4 STEPS TO BUILD YOUR IDEA MAP

Heres a few simple steps to get you started on your idea

mapping journey. Take them and use them or modify them into

a system that works for you.

Write the name of your site in the middle of the page.

Write the name of 5 categories surrounding the site name.

Work to create at least one topic in each category.


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Repeat step 3 until you have 5 or 6 topics in each category.

If you apply those steps then you can come up with 25-30 topics

for your blog in about an hour or so. Thats enough topics towrite for a month or more every single day. Since most bloggers

dont post every daythis can last you even longer.

This single practice can provide an amazing jolt to your work of

generating topics for your blog. Get out a piece of paper or head

over to Mind Meister and create a free account and start getting

your ideas down on paper today.

HOW TO EFFECTIVELY RECYCLE OLD BLOG POSTS

If you really want to build content on your site that's worth

visiting then you need to learn the art of writing articles that are

timeless in nature. In other words, it's acceptable to write about

things that are taking place this week, but visitors six months

from now are going to click away immediately if they land on

that article.

It's important to be writing about subjects within your blog's

topic that can be used both today and a year from today. Once

you've mastered the concept of writing timeless articles then you

can move onto this lesson with ease.

WHY SHOULD YOU RECYCLE BLOG POSTS?

The art of recycling an old post simply means that you take an


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article that was previously published, let's say five or six months

ago, and add new life and excitement to it and republishing it.

It's a great practice to get yourself into for several reasons.

It saves time:If you're stuck trying to think of what to write or if

you want to get a head start on your coming articles then this

is the perfect way to do it.

It builds Page Rank:I'm very fortunate to receive back-links on

the articles at Site Sketch 101. In fact I have several articles on

the site with a 2 or 3 Page Rank. Bringing a six month old PR3

page back to the front of everyone's attention is a great way

to snowball the success that article has already achieved.

Here's an example of a recycled PR3 Article on Site Sketch 101:

15 Incredible WordPress Plugins You Need

After having affectively recycled this article, this post now

receives hundreds of visits from Google each day. This

method really does work.

It builds on previous successes:If you have a topic that was

incredibly popular in the past then what better way to rebuild

excitement and momentum on your website than to bring it

back to life?

MAXIMIZE THE QUALITY OF A RECYCLED ARTICLE
http://www.sitesketch101.com/15-incredible-wordpress-pluginshttp://www.sitesketch101.com/15-incredible-wordpress-pluginshttp://www.sitesketch101.com/15-incredible-wordpress-plugins


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Now if you think you can simply change the date on the article

and bring it back to your front page then you're most likely going

to be met with dismal failure. Here's some tips to keep in mind

as you work to revive an old article.

Leave the Permalink Alone:If you want to keep growing the

page rank of your article then be sure to leave the permalink

alone. This allows you to bring in a fresh wave of links to a

page that already has links.

Build Fresh Excitement into the Title:The first thing that people

see is the title. Take everything you know about writing titles

and put it into practice. Make it bold, exciting, and catchy.

We'll cover more about this in chapter 3.

Revise / Rewrite the article:Now when you recycle the article

don't think that you're going to get away with republishing the

exact same thing. Use the old version as a starting point for a

new more vibrant article.

Add Fresh Ideas and Experiences:Infuse into your writing

everything that you've learned or experienced since you first

published the article. Don't leave the experiences in there that

you lived six months ago. Make it fresh.

Remove Obsolete Concepts:If you made reference to something

that's no longer valid like something in the news or a personal


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opinion that is now developed in a different direction then

pull it out and replace it with your new ideas.

CHAPTER REFLECTION

People aren't going to come flocking to your website if your

posting schedule is sporadic or nonexistent. Whether you post 3

days a week or every day of the week, choose a schedule, be

consistent and use the principles outlined in this chapter to guide

you as you work to consistently create content that your readers

are looking for. Putting these principles to work for you at your

blog will lead to amazing results.

As you go away from this chapter be sure to remember these

important concepts.

Read expert blogs about blogging.

Read expert blogs in your niche.

Always carry a pen and paper.

Brainstorm during your spare time.

Streamline your workflow.

Relax and take breaks when necessary.

Practice idea mapping.


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Effectively recycle old blog posts.

PERSONAL CHALLENGE

Now seriously focus on taking the lessons that you encountered

in this chapter and work hard to make them your own. Take

these blogging principles and start acting on them today.

Revolutionize your posting consistency.

As you work to take these concepts home with you, challenge

yourself with the following questions:

Have I been posting consistently or has my sporadic schedule

been driving users from my site?

Which of these concepts can I use to improve the consistency of

my blog the most?

Which of these can help me find the strength that I need to

develop a consistent posting schedule on my blog?

How many posts per week can I reasonably post? On which days

of the week should I consistently aim to publish them?


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CHAPTER #2

BOLD CREATIVITY

D A Z Z L E Y O U R V I S I T O R S W I T H N E W

A N D B O L D I D E A S

As they say in the corporate world, Think Outside The Box!Or as

they used to say at Taco Bell, Think Outside The Bun!

When you create headlines and articles that are unique and eye

catching then you grab the reader's attention. Dont follow the

same mold that everyone around you seems to follow. Be bold.

Challenge people to think differently. Use personal and creative

stories to illustrate your articles. Be different.

The more creative you can be, the more effective your writing

will be.

Though I can't provide you with the exact ideas for you to use on


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your site, I can show you some of the tools that have worked for

me. Hopefully, you'll learn from my example and work to

develop your own creative essence.

CREATIVITY MAKES WILDLY POPULAR CONTENT

At Site Sketch 101, I've been fortunate to have several articles go

viral across Twitter, Delicious and other social websites.

Some of these articles have quickly become very popular.

They've received hundreds of retweets. They've secured

hundreds of delicious bookmarks. They've had over 50+

comments on them by the morning after they were published

and many of them are still receiving new comments each day.

They even spiked my visitor count by the thousands. It brought a

lot of attention to Site Sketch 101.

In my mind these article are a success. They are a huge success

and Im incredibly happy with them. But although Im happy with

what happened, Im not happy to just sit back and enjoy a one-

time achievement. And I'm certainly not just sitting back and

gloating in a successful achievement. I want more. I want to

experience this again and again. And I want you to experience it

as well.

So I sat back and I began to break these articles apart. I began to


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worked. Comments and emails came pouring in that people

were installing amazing plugins that they were so thankful to

have now found. Asking people to do something complicated

will always minimize the outreach and effectiveness of an

article.

Its content was rock solid.If you saw the title and came into it

looking forThe 15 Best WP Plugins for 2010then you would

have found exactly what you were looking for. I didnt choosenasty plugins that nobody uses. I chose the ones that are

highly rated, highly useful and highly needed. The quality of

the content supported the bold title and the calls-to-action.

It added value to those who read it.The core concept of the

article was to provide people with incredibly easy-to-use ways

to enhance their online experience. I was providing ways for

people to grow their blogs and add new features to their

websites. The value of each plugin was far more than the

price: free.

CHAPTER REFLECTION

If you dont want to create wildly popular content then

something might just be wrong with you. I cant imagine that

there are many people who wake up in the morning who want to

be failures. I know that I dont.

Here's a recap on what it takes to make it big:
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Be Bold.

Appeal to Large Audiences.

Have easy calls-to-action.

Provide rock-solid content.

Add value to your readers.

PERSONAL CHALLENGE

Now get out there and revolutionize the way that you blog. Add

that new vibrancy that you've been lacking and show off to the

world that you can be bold and creative.

Challenge yourself with these questions:

How can I be creative in such a way as to add a new level of

excitement to my blog?

What can I do to rally the community at my blog that I've never

done before?

Who do I know that is highly creative that I can learn from?


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CHAPTER #3

COMPELLING ARTICLES

S M A C K Y O U R R E A D E R S W I T H A

C O M P U L S I O N T O K E E P R E A D I N G

Hey. I was just reading your blog and I got so bored that it

actually hurt my head.

It was so bad that it made Moby Dick, Herman Melville's 2,000

page epic about a whale, look like an exciting children's fairytale.

In fact, I'd rather be hanging out with Chuck Noland, Tom Hanks'

character from Castaway, trapped on a deserted island with

nobody to talk to except for a volleyball named Wilson.

After reading your blog, I had to go take two Tylenol and then go

stand with my face in the corner. It was more exciting than your

article. Then after my head stopped hurting, I had to jump in

here and write up this chapter right away to let you know about


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it.

Which one of you am I writing this about? Oh, you know who

you are.

Most people think that their articles are much more exciting than

they actually are. I think that it's the same instinct that makes

people talk about their kids.

I think that my daughter is the cutest thing in the world, but

sometimes I get bored hearing other people talk about their

kids. I don't care if they did just win the 1st grade student of the

week award.

NOBODY THINKS YOUR BLOG IS AS CUTE AS YOU DO

Nobody thinks that your blog is as cute or as exciting as you do.

You've really got to think outside of your usual scope of things

and find out how other people feel about it. You've got to put

yourself in your reader's seat and see things as they see them.

Most websites about creating successful blogs seem to cover a

wide variety of topics. Each day I find articles about connecting

with other bloggers, setting up link exchanges, building page

rank, using social media, and marketing your blog.

And yet, even though I hear bloggers seemingly shouting out

from the housetops that content is king, I still find very few


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articles about content. If content is king then why do bloggers

focus on everything except content? If you ask me, it seems kind

of backwards.

Generally speaking, people visit your site for one of two reasons.

First, they come because you engage with them personally. They

are your friends and they visit to connect with you. Second, they

come for your articles. They come because they view you as an

authority in your field and they want to learn from you. Ormaybe they come because your writing entertains them.

You can certainly get a long ways by engaging with your readers

personally. Answering comments and reaching out to them will

fuel your drive to success.

But it wont get you very far in grabbing the attention of the

Google crowd. If someone finds your site in a search engine like

Google, Yahoo, or Bing they want information. They want to find

an article that is well-written, that entertains them, that engages

with them, and that provides them a reason to dig through your

site for more articles.

ELEMENTS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE ARTICLES

Heres the bottom line: If you want to keep a majority of yourvisitors then you have to be able to produce amazing articles.

Period.


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Here's some principles about successful writing that you need to

keep in mind if you plan on building awesome articles.

Excitement -After you write a post, go back through it and try toadd adjectives anywhere you can. Put in power words that

add strength to your writing and demonstrate your passion for

the topic.

Personality -Let yourself shine through your articles. Blogging

isn't like writing college essays. Sure, it's about sharing

information but it's also about sharing yourself.

Proper Grammar -When you fail to use proper grammar you

make yourself appear less intelligent than you really are which

takes away from your credibility and authority. Take the time

to proofread your work and make edits when necessary.

No Jargon -I know that you want to impress your readers but

using big words is the wrong way to do it. Use simple words

and sentences to make reading easy and fun. Readers don't

want to have to open a dictionary to understand your content.

Personal Experiences -One of the most effective ways to

connect with your readers is to share yourself with them.

Dont be afraid to put your successes and your failures out for

everyone to see. There are few things more effective to

building your credibility in an article than being genuinely


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open with your readers.

Humor -A great way to captivate your readers attention is to

make them smile. If you can intermingle jokes, irony or satireinto a post people will stick with you much longer. Laughter is

an incredibly powerful tool for conveying information.

Stories If you want your readers to understand the point you

are trying to make then tell them a story. Remember Aasops

fables? Spruce up your points with some captivating stories.

Readable in One Sitting Long posts can be useful, but Ive

found that more often they scare away readers. Readers

either leave the article or they only skim the highlights. The

solution: Keep em short.

A Call to Action Whens the last time you asked your readers to

get out and do something after reading your article? Theres

never a better time to do it. Get out and call someone to

action in your next article.

A Call to Interaction Most bloggers wonder why they dont get

a lot of comments. Heres a quick tip: ask your readers

questions and ask for their feedback. To quote the Bible, "Ye

have not because ye ask not."

Vital Information Explain how something works. Provide a


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how-to. Build a step-by-step tutorial. Provide really valuable

information and people will read it and then they'll tell their

friends to read it.

Organization People are skimmersso you might as well make

it easy for them. Provide your readers with lists and large

headlines throughout the article. Make information easy to

find throughout your articles.

These are just a few ways to get your reader's faces off of their

keyboards and help them ease up their snoring.

ELEMENTS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE HEADLINES

Headlines are drastically under rated. Most bloggers fail to

realize that their post titles are the number one advertisements

for their articles. Post titles have to put on the gloves and go

head-to-head with dozens of other post titles in peoples RSS

readers, email accounts and search engines.

It's your job to get your post titles ready to perform like the

champs they have the potential to be.

I want my headlines to be so compelling that they seemingly

smack my readers in the face with a sudden compulsion to readit. I want my post titles to be so dramatic that casual internet

browsers cant help themselves but to dig deeper and find out

what I have to say. Heres how Darren Rowse from


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problogger.netputs it:

MANY BLOGGERS POUR A LOT OF EFFORT INTO WRITING ENGAGING AND

INTERESTING POSTS,BUT THEN JUST SLAP ANY OLD TITLE ONTO IT

WITHOUT REALIZING THAT IN DOING SO THEY MIGHT BE ENSURING THAT

THEIR POST IS NEVER READ.~DARREN ROWSE

Heres 10 tips that have assisted my blog in rapid growth:

Be bold:Just as we emphasized in chapter 2, boldness adds

tremendous power to our blogs. Strong, powerful headlines

grab peoples attention much more effectively and

dramatically than passive ones. Make a bold statement about

your topic that is sure to get their attention like 14 Ways to

Increase Your Blog Trafficor 5 Vital Reasons to Use List

Posts.

Use dynamic words:There are certain words that quite simply

sound more exciting than others. Try to make use of words

like awesome, killer, amazing, heart-pounding, thrilling, sure-

fire, etc. Select exciting words that that you could use to

review your favorite action movie. Heres a few examples:

Notice the word Sure-fire in '5 Sure-Fire Strategies For Better

Blogging' or the word Crucial in '5 Crucial Tips For Wordpress

Users.'

Get personal:Personal stories are much more meaningful than
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articles that appear as if they were written by a computer. Try

some article titles like these: Why I Dont Use NoFollow on

my Links or How I Made $10,000 From Google Last Month.

Be short: Enough said. Really though. I preview all of my articles

using the Wordpress preview button in the editor. If the title

pushes onto a second line on the post page then I shorten it

until it only uses one line. Find a rule like that that works for

you on your blog and stick with it.

Be direct:If your headline isnt a clear representation of what

the article is about then the reader will likely not take the time

to actually read your post. They will more likely feel like you

tricked them and they will just leave your site and not return.

Ask a question:I see a lot of intriguing post titles that come in

the form of provocative questions. Let me share a few

examples with you: Would you like to quit your job and make

money online? or How would you like more traffic to your

website?

Be commanding:Tell your readers to do something amazing.

Throw out an order that is extreme and your readers will

follow. Heres some examples: Get More Traffic to your

Website or maybe something like Create Awesome Content

and Keep Your Readers!


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Be creative:This one is really the key to the whole list. Your only

limitation in creating effective headlines for your blog articles

is your own imagination. If you can create ways to break the

mold on your post titles then you will be able to draw in users

like never before.

Use lists:Every day that I visit delicious.com nearly half of their

bookmarks that made it to the front page are some form or

another of a list. List posts are extremely attractive to a lot ofreaders. Check out these examples: 5 Things You Need to

Know About Trackbacksor 11 Beautiful Free Wordpress

Themes. These also make excellent link bait for others

bloggers to link to and tweet about.

Use Keywords:I listed this one last because I view it as the least

important. Using strong keywords in your title can help your

listings on Google but using them in the wrong way can take

away from their effectiveness to human readers. Strike up a

good balance here and youll be setup for success.

Sometimes its hard work to create the kind of websites and

blogs that bring visitors flocking to them but that doesnt mean

that we should give up or that it cant be done.

We need to step up to the challenge and do what it takes to

create content that educates, entertains, and engages our users.
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Developing powerful post titles is paramount to driving people

into your articles and winning the competition against other sites

in your readers' RSS reader accounts.

Make your titles boring and people won't even read the most

well written articles on your site. Make them exciting enough

and it be as if you are receiving free advertizing around the

internet.

CHAPTER REFLECTION

As we reflect on this chapter, here's a few of the core concepts

that you need to keep in mind.

Use humor to entertain your readers.

Let your excitement pour out into your writing.

Tell stories to convey the information that you're sharing.

Let your personality shine through.

Use proper grammar to demonstrate your credibility.

Call your readers to act and to interact.

Develop headlines that compel your readers to dig deeper.


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PERSONAL CHALLENGE

As you go away from this chapter, you've got to find a way to put

this into practice at your site. It you don't make it personal then

reading this has been a waste of your time.

Challenge yourself to be a better writer. Challenge yourself to

engage your audience more effectively than you have ever done

before. Here's a few questions to get you started.

Which of the questions above busted your bubble? Which one

really nailed you to wall?

What about number six? Oh thats right. There were only five

questions. Well then why dont you go ahead and give us a

number six? What else can you think of that might be holding

us back from really connecting with our audiences?

What other things can you think of that can spice up a good

blog? Can you think of some other elements of writing that

can make our articles more enjoyable?

Are my headlines bold and exciting or are they most likely the

type of headlines that get quickly overlooked by casual

browsers?

Do my post titles accurately describe my article's content or are

people quickly clicking back out feeling deceived?


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CHAPTER #4

DISTINGUISHED VALUE

H O W M U C H I S Y O U R S I T E W O R T H

T O T H O S E W H O F O L L O W Y O U ?

There were few things in life as relaxing and as enjoyable for me

during 2009 as my Christmas leave. My two brothers, my sister

and our families moved back into our parents house for a week

and half of holiday celebrations. It was 13 of us living together

under one roof.

We laughed like hyenas. We broke the buzzer on the Taboo

game. We gorged ourselves with turkey, ham, stuffing and

biscuits. And then we gorged ourselves with leftover turkey,

ham, stuffing and biscuits.

I even made it successfully all the way through several days

without ever changing out of my brand new fleece superman


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pajamas. Theyre so comfortable. If you saw them then youd

understand.

THE INTANGIBLE VALUE OF RELATIONSHIPS

But as I lounged around, slept in, and wrestled with my brother

and his kids, I began to realize that the time we were having

together had real value. In fact, it was so valuable to me that I

was willing to drive for 15 hours from Washington DC to

northern Illinois. It was worth spending hundreds of dollars in

gas and tolls and then spending the same on the return trip.

I cant place a number on it. In fact, I feel like the amount I spent

was incredibly cheap compared to the value that I got from being

there. I dont know exactly how much Id be willing to spend to

do it again next year. But I know that it would take a lot to stop

me.

Those times and those experiences are valuable. Theres an

intangible price that we all place on connections and

relationships. And its important to recognize that as we work to

provide value at our websites.

Ive come to believe that there are three primary reasons that

people are exploring the internet and two of them are directlyrelated to the value I experienced on Christmas break.

As you look at these three areas, I dont want you to sit back and


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think about which category you are the strongest but rather

figure out how you can build strength from all three of these

areas. Success wont come from power-housing in any one of

these categories. You need to work to build strength in all three.

Education:Many visitors, especially those coming from search

engines, are looking for information on specific topics. They

want guides that explain how to do something in a way that is

quick and easy to understand. They want to be educated on aparticular skill or on a specific bit of knowledge. Wikipedia is a

perfect example of a site that appeals to users seeking

knowledge.

Entertainment:Many users browse the internet simply to pass

the time, to amuse themselves, or to find something to make

them laugh. Many television networks are now broadcasting

their programming across the internet to draw in this group of

online traffic. Youtube is an amazingly popular example of a

site that appeals to entertainment focused users.

Engagement:With the advent of social media like Twitter,

MySpace and Facebook, there is an ever growing demographic

of users online who are searching for ways to connect and

engage with other people. People are drawn to sites where

the authors respond to readers' questions and comments.

PRICE VS. VALUE


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me about it. People with little or no experience about certain

topics were asking me if they should create membership sites so

that they could get in on the explosive potential of this type of a

passive income.

I even had a couple of people suggest to me that I do the same

thing with Site Sketch 101. Some people offered to coach me

how to make it big with this business type.

I'm very familiar with how to make it work but I operate on a

different business model than most people. I'm patient. I

develop my products and I wait until I believe that I can provide

much more value than what I'm charging. I want to give people

great value.

If I want people to make a purchase on Site Sketch 101, then I

believe that I have to be able to provide tremendous value. I

believe that you have to be able to provide $100 worth of value

to make a $25 sale. I don't want a single visitor to my site to feel

slighted or cheated.

Value in its simplest form is the amount of money that someone

would be willing to pay for something if they were to make the

purchase all over again.

Once your reader has made a purchase for $25 from your site, do

they feel slighted? Or do they feel like they've just been given a


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great deal?

Here's a checklist to go over the next time you're trying to figure

out if your product or even your blog articles provide real valueto your readers.

Qualified:Have you made $100,000 online? Then why are you

trying to teach something you don't know? If you really know

how to do something then you'll do it yourself first as proof

and then you'll have the credibility necessary to teach others.

Helpful:Is your article or product actually going to help someone

or solve someone's problem or are you just putting it up to

take up space? Many of you are talking a lot but actually

saying very little. There are words and pictures all over your

website but they don't actually mean anything to the readers.

Legitimate:Is it going to give what it promises? Does the

product provide what you advertise? A lot of online salesman

try to create killer sales pages and prop it up with strong

adjectives and overbearing promises that aren't ever

delivered.

Timely:Are you writing opinions about news and events that are

current or ancient? Is your product out-dated or up to current

standards? If you're still writing articles about Michael

Jackson's death, you might be a little behind the times.


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Easy to Use:Is your material easy to understand and simple for

your readers to put into practice? Complicated solutions

aren't worth anything to your users. People are looking for

fast and simple solutions to their issues.

When you think of value, I'm sure you think of products that

people pay for. Certainly we want to make sure that people feel

like they're getting their money's worth from the content that

we sell on our websites.

Real value, however, goes well beyond that.

If you're not striving to make every piece of content at your site

contain real value then your site probably isn't worth visiting.

You may have just discovered why you can't get people to come

back and visit your website. You're not adding enough value to

your work.

Add value to your articles, not so you can charge for your

articles, but so that your readers don't feel like their time is

wasted just by looking at your website. I want Site Sketch 101

readers to feel like they're receiving entertainment, education,

and engagement that is worth paying for...and they're getting it

all for free. You should be doing the same.

WORK HARD AND MAKE YOUR OWN LUCK

I receive a lot of requests each week to link to other blogs.


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Smaller bloggers are constantly asking larger, more established

bloggers for links to build their direct traffic, their search engine

listings and their online exposure.

Most smaller bloggers mistakenly believe that if they can just win

the lottery and score one or two big links that their site will be

set and they can roll in the cash and traffic that will result.

LINKS, LUCK & LASTING SUCCESS

Far too often when the link is not given, the smaller blogger

becomes upset and they start expressing that the larger blogger

is stuck up, selfish or that they dont care about the little guy.

The fact is, however, that this couldnt be farther from the truth.

In the world of websites links are as powerful as dynamite. If

used right they can clear a path for our users to find amazing

resources but if used wrong they can explode in our faces leaving

a trail of carnage and casualties.

THE POTENTIAL HARM OF A BAD OUTBOUND LINK

Often times we overlook a huge part of the equation when we

randomly ask someone for a link. When were denied the link

we feel that the webmaster is unkind but in reality we are failing

to realize that if they link to our sites then it could be potentially

fatal for their website. Lets discuss a few of the reasons why

links can be dangerous to a webmaster.


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Quality:A link to a low quality website will cause readers to no

longer value the recommendations of the linking website.

Relevance:A link to a site that has little to do with the linkingsite will confuse readers and encourage them not to return.

Value:A link to a site that doesnt present an absolutely amazing

level of value to its visitors will make readers skeptical about

clicking on any links on a website.

Search Engines:Many people believe that Google weighs the

value of our sites as much on the sites that we link to as by the

sites that link to us. This means that if your site becomes full

of links to websites that Google considers as spam then

Google will assume that your site is spam.

Credibility:In essence, each of the first three points either build

or destroy a websites credibility and authority. If they

selectively present their readers with only the most high-

quality links available then people will value and respect that

blogger and his or her recommendations.

WORK HARD PROVIDE VALUE MAKE YOUR OWN LUCK

Let me be honest. If your plan at making it big is praying that you

get lucky and strike up an awesome link from a professional

blogger then you probably arent going to find much luck on the

internet. Youll probably get discouraged and feel like everyone


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Educate, Entertain and Engage.

Provide more value than the price you charge.

Share what you're qualified to share.

Be genuinely helpful.

Provide resources that are easy to use.

Provide current, up-to-date information.

Deliver what you promise.

Provide something that people can be proud to link.

Link to only the best possible resources.

PERSONAL CHALLENG

Now let me stick it to you. As you work to apply this chapter into

your own blogging journey, I want you to challenge yourself with

these questions:

Am I providing value at my site or am I ripping people off of their

time and money?

Are my readers and customers go away feeling ripped off after

doing work with me or do they come back time after time


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bringing their friends with them?

Am I delivering so much value at my site that people feel like

they are getting a good deal just being allowed to read it?

What are some actions that I can do right now to make my site

appeal to more people with these principles in mind?

What can I do to make my site so amazing that people want to

link to it without us having to ask for it?


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THE SECOND POWER

BRILLIANT DESIGN

F I R S T I M P R E S S I O N S R E A L L Y A R E

L A S T I N G I M P R E S S I O N S

Now that you've established a solid foundation for your blog in

the amazing content that you can now produce, it's time to take

it to the next level. Without content you have nothing but now

that we've built the core of our blog it's time to move on.

Having a brilliant design at your blog that makes navigating your

site and engaging with your content fun and easy will multiply

the effectiveness of your writing.

Have you ever been to the Microsoft website? Unfortunately I

have. Even for an expert in all things internet, I have a hard timenavigating it. Its painfully difficult.

I have to admit that it's much better now than it used to be but I


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still remember how miserable their site was to browse.

I remember the one time that I was searching for some

information there. It was nearly impossible and every minutethat I wasted made it more and more painful to continue. Finally

I broke.

Excuse me, Microsoft. Ill be right back. I pushed my chair

away from my desk and stepped over toward the door.

Immediately I began bashing my head into the door frame until

my face was bruised, bloody and swollen. After several minutes

of mercilessly smashing my face into the door, I finally reached

the point where the pain in my face was more than the pain of

navigating their site. I returned to the desk and tried to continue

my quest.

Visiting some sites is simply more painful than getting a root

canal with a plastic spoon. Is your site like that? No, really. Is it?

If youre wondering why nobody visits your site then maybe its

because its so painful for people to visit it that they would rather

play leap frog with a unicorn. The guys know what Im talking

about on that one.

Dont get your feelings hurt thinking about this. We all have to

learn and grow. Thats part of life. In fact, thats why this book


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exists to help you transform your site into something beautiful.

Just study, work hard, and get better.

There are four key points to maximizing the potential of your

websites design.

Amazing Experience:If you want your readers to come back

again and again then you have to give them something theyre

going to remember. Deliver an awesome first impression and

watch as people flock toward it.

Better Coding:Take the time to ensure that every browser

displays your content the same and by doing so you can

gaurantee that every one of your users enjoys the same

outstanding experience.

Crisp Usability:Usability is the measure of how easy it is for your

users to navigate your site, locate information that theyre

looking for, and engage with the content. Simplify the layout

of your site. Make it easy for your users to interact with it.

Dynamite Features:Pay attention to the details of your site to

deliver an enjoyable visit to everyone that stops by. Clean up

your sidebar, use a fresh font, and streamline your site toreally stand apart from the crowd.


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CHAPTER #5

AMAZING EXPERIENCE

G I V E Y O U R R E A D E R S S O M E T H I N G

T H E Y ' L L N E V E R F O R G E T

Just three short weeks before I made the plunge into married

life, I decided to take a chance on something that was at that

time quite unfamiliar to me. I logged onto Priceline and for the

first time ever, I named my own price. I placed a ridiculously low

bid for a hotel in Chicago where my wife and I could stay during

our honeymoon.

Back then I was a college student and I didn't have much money.

I was willing to take the chance in the faint hope that I might

score a great deal.

At 55 dollars per night, I was sure that there were no results that

were going to come up positive. But I was wrong.


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As the screen flashed and the Priceline website notified me that

my hotel room had been reserved at that low price, there was

immediately a swelling lump in my gut. At that price, I reasoned,

the hotel must be trash. There's no way that I can rent a nice

hotel room in the Chicagoland area at that price.

Fortunately I was wrong again.

We soon discovered that Priceline had landed us on the 11th

floor of a Hyatt Regency just outside of Chicago in a suburb

named Lisle. As we excitedly approached the building, our jaws

dropped to the ground. Neither of us were from wealthy families

and so as we looked in front of us we saw the nicest hotel that

either of us had ever stayed at. We were both amazed and

incredibly grateful.

When we checked in and found our way to our room, the

excitement intensified. Inside we found an enormous king size

bed that was raised high off of the floor. The room was

decorated in the nicest contemporary fashions available. The flat

screen TV was huge.

We stepped into the room and quickly began to explore. As I

pushed the curtains apart, we discovered a view of the

surrounding cityscape that went on for miles. Over the course of

our week at that hotel, we would stand by that window holding

one another and staring off at the lights late into the night. The


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view was amazing.

The lump that had been in my stomach was gone and replaced

with excitement. Over the course of the next few days, my wifeand I would enjoy an amazing experience. We stared out the

window at the horizon. We watched TV on the huge flat screen.

We saw the sights around town and we had a terrific time.

People are visually stimulated critters. We judge books by their

covers. We form opinions about cars by how they look. We see

king sized beds, big screen TV's, and beautiful scenery and it

creates memories that last a lifetime. We see something that

looks professional and as a result it sticks out in our minds.

PEOPLE ARE INSPIRED BY WHAT THEY SEE

As I think back over the course of my honeymoon, the things that

really stand out are the things that we saw. I remember taking in

the sights. I remember enjoying a contemporary hotel room. I

recall exploring the city and taking pictures of the historic shops.

Those things that looked amazing stood out to me. They left an

impression that I won't ever forget.

This same principle carries over into the online world. Websites

that look nice and deliver dynamic first impressions are the onesthat really grab their visitors' attentions.

When we find a website that is so much fun that we can literally


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describe it as an amazing experience then we tend to bookmark,

share, and return to that site again and again.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS ARE LASTING IMPRESSIONSAverage bloggers tend to fail on this onea lot. Most people get

into blogging because they have a passion to write about

something. The majority of bloggers assume that as long as they

write about what they love then they will be successful. Instead

of ever beautifying their site they just plug away creating articles.

The problem is that every visitor that hits a less-than-amazing

blog ends up leaving before even looking at the first post titles.

Visitors never even make it far enough to see the amazing

content that the blogger has put together. First impressions are,

after all, lasting impressions.

Let me give you a specific example that demonstrates this

principle perfectly. In an article on my blog, Site Sketch 101, I

recommended to my readers that they should read and follow

one of the more prominent bloggers in the blogging tips niche.

The author there produces a lot of useful advice for creating and

growing successful blogs and he has certainly achieved a certain

level of success himself with over 40,000 RSS subscribers.

In the comments section of the article where I praised that blog,

one of my readers left me this comment:


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IFIND THAT BLOG TO BE PROOF OF THE IMPORTANCE OF DESIGN.IT

LOOKS BORING.IVE SEEN THAT BLOG RECOMMENDED A FEW TIMES AND

IVE NEVER BOTHERED TO EVEN READ THE FIRST TITLE,BECAUSE OF ITS

APPEARANCE.

My reader's comments are very insightful. In fact, he's hit the

nail right on the head. He and many other users have found that

blog and have simply passed it over not even looking at the first

title because the design was not appealing.

THE IMPORTANCE OF FIRST IMPRESSIONS

There are two ways to increase the number of visits to your site

each day. First is to get out and attract as many people as you

can through advertising, dropping links and telling friends about

your site. The second is to have such a great site that a large

percentage of your visitors decide to return day after day and

share it with their friends..

When a user stumbles upon your site, they only need a few

seconds to decide whether or not it is worth their time to dig

into your material. If your site isn't making a powerful first

impression then you can probably rest assured that you're losing

potential readers and subscribers every day. In fact, the next

time they see your link at another website they will most likely

just pass it over as they remember their last experience at your

less-than-desirable blog.


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We all love hearing people tell us how great our blogs are. I love

to hear that a principle from my blog helped someone achieve a

higher level of success or that something I wrote motivated

someone to try something at their site. I enjoy it when people

tell me that the site looks great or that they are enjoying what

they find.

I love hearing those things but the truth is this: critical, negative

comments are usually more helpful. When those people whodislike our site are willing to tell you why they won't be back, it is

then that you can find out what elements you've been

overlooking.

Most of the time bloggers get discouraged or hurt when

someone attacks them or their site. This is the wrong answer.

We should happily accept criticisms. We should value people's

complaints like gold and we should seriously consider every

piece of advice regardless of how negative it may seem.

LET YOUR USERS SHOW YOU THE DEFICIENCIES

THAT YOUVE BEEN OVERLOOKING

Remember all the times that you've complained about the cell

phone company, the cable company, the car dealer, or someone

else? If they would just change some silly policy then their

services would be great but you can't just call up the president of

their company and let them know to adjust something.


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You blog is the same way. People get frustrated with it or they

don't like it and they often never take the time to let you know

how they feel. So when someone does take that time you need

to realize that this is your opportunity to hone your product and

create something much better.

ARE YOU STRONG ENOUGH FOR THE TRUTH OR

DO YOU JUST WANT TO FEEL GOOD?

If you ask a friend to review your site and provide you with some

feedback and they tell you that it is great...then they aren't really

helping you. If you ask me to look over your site and provide you

with some feedback for improvement then you had better have

some thick skin because I will make it my goal to point out what

is wrong with it.

It's not because I think I'm better than you or that my site is

amazing. That's not the point of critical feedback. It's because I

want you to understand what you can do to make your user's

experience more enjoyable. It's because I want to help you

become the success that you have the potential to be.

When I've invited my friends to review my site I've expected the

same kind of brutal honesty. I want the comments that tell me

what people like and dislike. I want to know what I can fix and I

value people's criticisms. You should too.


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CHAPTER REFLECTION

Design is so incredibly important and yet far too often it is the

most underappreciated aspect of blogging. Too often we forget

about creating a site that our users enjoy navigating and

interacting on.

Bloggers become blind to the fact that their designs are often the

very reason that they are struggling to retain visitors. We forget

that people dont just want great content. They want great

content thats also easy to read, to look at, and to interact with.

As you think back on the concepts that we discussed throughout

this chapter, remember these highlights:

People are inspired by what they see.

First impressions really are lasting impressions.

A great design allows readers to be drawn to your content.

You are the master of your sites layout.

Negative feedback is crucial to finding our design weakness.

PERSONAL CHALLENGEDont leave this chapter without taking what youve learned and

making it real in your life. If you dont go away from these pages


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