Awesome Tool to Improve Your Website Speed - DailyBlogTips

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Awesome Tool to Improve Your Website Speed Posted: 22 Oct 2013 09:50 PM PDT Recently I started trying to optimize the loading speed of my websites, after the number of people using mobile devices and 3G or similar connections is exploding, and those connections are not the fastest. One of the best tools I came across for this purpose is called GTMetrix.com. You just need to input your website URL and it will run a very comprehensive speed test. Once the test is complete you’ll get a grade and recommendations from both Google’s Page Speed and Yahoo’s YSlow plugins. Going through both list of recommendations will certainly give you many pointers to start working on. Check it out! Wanna learn how to make more money with your website? Check the Online Profits training program!

Great Guest Posting Pitching Advice from Two DailyBlogTips Readers Posted: 22 Oct 2013 09:48 AM PDT Last week, I shared a guest post pitch that unfortunately got a lot wrong. Two DailyBlogTips readers, Ryan and Rahul, wrote in-depth comments on that post sharing some excellent pitching advice … and I wanted to make sure that you got a chance to see it. Ryan Biddulph, who blogs at Cash With a True Conscience, shared a great set of bullet points for guest posters to keep in mind. Any guest post email pitch which works for me: 1 – is personal 2 – lists their work 3 – lists relevant work 4 – uses my name 5 – did not come from a template 6 – signs off with their full name 7 – is genuine 8 – shows that they read my blog I'm absolutely with Ryan here: a pitch that hit all of these would work well for me too. This would be a great checklist to use when proof-reading your next guest post pitch. Ryan added some further excellent advice: Guys, if you want to get posts placed send personal emails to bloggers. Add your touch. Be nice. And when you get rejected, no sulking. Learn why, and on to the next blogger…or maybe you can just re-submit better work. One add; do not barter for bloggers to change their posting rules. This happens to me from time to time. I love feedback. But I also know why the rules are the rules, and although I am open to ideas, spare the debate attempt and keep on writing Again, he's absolutely nailed it. Be honest, be friendly, and understand that many bloggers get pitched far more guest posts than they can use. If they say no, rewrite the post and try elsewhere. Pestering a busy blogger is a sure-fire way to end up on their personal blacklist! Rahul Kuntala of Learn Blog Tips was kind enough to share his own example pitch. If you look at it alongside Ryan's points above, you'll see that Rahul hits every point on Ryan's list. (Except maybe #5, not using a template … but I'm pretty sure the kind of template Ryan has in mind is the impersonal, mass-produced type). Hi [blogger owner name], How are you doing? My name is [your name] and I'm the author of [your blog name]. I've been reading your blog from several days now. And I really like the way you take care of your readers. I know you're a busy blogger and I don't want to kill your precious time by writing a lousy email, so I'm directly coming to the point. I want to guest post on your blog. Title: [your post title] Word count: [your post word count] (optional) Few writing samples: 1, 2, 3. I'm attaching you the post in 'html' format here. [attach your post] I'm looking forward to hearing more from you [blog owner name]. Best, [your name] [your blog's name] Of course, you’ll want to tailor this a little depending on an individual blog’s guidelines … but it makes a great starting point for crafting your own pitch. Big thanks to Ryan and Rahul for sharing so much in the comments. Do you have any great advice to add? What would you love to see guest posters getting right in their pitches? Let us know in the comments! Wanna learn how to make more money with your website? Check the Online Profits training program!

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ProBlogger: How Posting a Humble ‘Selfie’ Grew Traffic, Shares and Comments on a New Blog

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How Posting a Humble ‘Selfie’ Grew Traffic, Shares and Comments on a New Blog Posted: 22 Oct 2013 08:37 AM PDT Two months ago my wife, Vanessa, started to blog. It is something she’s been planning for some time and with a little encouragement and some design help from Shayne, we set up at Style and Shenanigans. The blog is in its very early days and Vanessa is still finding her voice but I think she’s a natural. I’ve been excited to see her experiment with a variety of kinds of blog posts. Two days ago saw a new type of blog post on Style and Shenanigans – a post that I watched Vanessa put a lot of thought into. It was the first time she’d shown herself on the blog in a picture with a post called Everyday Style @ Shenanigans Central. The post included a montage of humble selfie shots of an outfit she wore and a description of the different elements in the outfit. I totally understand V’s hesitation with the post. Putting a picture of yourself ‘out there’ for all to see is something I remember pondering for a few days, before I did  when I started blogging back in 2002. Back then, I had to go and get an image scanned to be able to put my photo up so it wasn’t something I could do on the spur of the moment. I also worried about doing it. I was concerned about privacy but I also felt weird about having my face ‘out there’. I think I’ve gotten over that… as a quick search on Google Images will show (although I didn’t post all of these shots myself and at least one have been ‘doctored’). While we live in an age of the ‘selfie’ – when people constantly photograph and share pictures of themselves – many new bloggers do worry about their first time. It won’t be for everyone and you will want to consider issues around privacy and safety however, there are some definite benefits. You can see some of those benefits with Vanessa’s post this week. V’s blog post statistics were notable for three reasons: Firstly, it was a record day of traffic. While it didn’t go viral it was the best day of traffic so far on the blog and around 7 times the traffic of a normal day. Secondly, the post got shared more than a normal post. Again, it wasn’t a viral post but a greater number of people shared it around. Thirdly, the post had more comments than she’d had previously. I think this was related to more than the increase in traffic. My reflection upon V’s post was that it was a post that people connected to, a lot more than previous posts. Because of that, it generated more interest and more engagement. People relate to people. We’re wired to be drawn to others and respond to their faces and stories. It’s no wonder that by injecting some personal touches into a blog – it has a positive impact. I noticed this same thing when I first started posting images and videos of myself in my early blogging. It felt weird at first – but it helped my readers connect to me. A Surprise Benefit of Being Personal I also think that it had another benefit for my blog. It made ME feel more connected too. I noticed this in particular when I started posting videos of myself, here on ProBlogger. The same was true when I first did video streaming chats and webinars. There is something about creating content that is more personal that makes ME feel more engaged with my readers. Perhaps having been seen and heard by my readers – I feel a little more accountable to them. Whatever it is, I feel like by putting myself out there and over the years my blogging has improved. Have you posted pictures of yourself on your blog? I’d love to hear about your experience of this. Have you posted more personal content on your blog? Pictures, video, stories etc? Was it something you struggled with or just did? What impact did it have? Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger How Posting a Humble ‘Selfie’ Grew Traffic, Shares and Comments on a New Blog

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