Screenshot of TwitThis! in Action

1. Go to Feedburner.com and navigate to Optimize > FeedFlare on the blog you want to modify.
2. Copy this link (right click with your mouse and press COPY) and paste it into the “add new Flare” box.
3. Choose if you want the new FeedFlare to appear only on your RSS feed and/or your website.
4. Press “Save” to save your changes.

For some additional FeedFlares, check out the FeedFlare Catalog or “101 FeedFlare Ideas” list from Feedburner.com.

H/T to BlogCoach for these instructions.

Related posts:

1. Power up your feed with Feedburner
2. Show off your Feedburner Subscribers
3. Geek Girl to Google: Fix Feedburner

Updated to reflect changes in today’s blogging climate, this e-book is full of tips and tricks to help even the most experienced blogger learn more about blogging!

Read about how to personalize your WordPress blog with plugins and code!

Get inspiration on blogging topics, staying focused on blogging and getting publicity for your site.

Take advantage of the geek girl’s research, and avoid the pitfalls of blogging.

And as a bonus, download the e-book, leave a comment on this post, and get entered in a drawing to win a $10.01 via PayPal!

Related posts:

1. 101 Ways to Becoming a Better Blogger E-book Winner
2. Blog and Ping – Step #9 in 101 Steps to Becoming a Better Blogger
3. 101 Steps to Becoming a Better Blogger

There are many ways to get internet popularity – but I’ll focus on the two that I think conflict and complement each other the most. Digging and Stumbling upon request from the author (or a friend), or only Digging and Stumbling articles that you genuinely enjoy.

I read over 100 feeds a day – that is hundreds of articles per day, thousands of articles per week and I often get emails from blog authors asking me to Digg or Stumble their posts. For a while there, I was trying to be a “good” online friend and Dugg and Stumbled posts when asked, but I realized that I was sacrificing the value of my vote for the “value” of being a “good” online friend.

Now, I’m practicing Digging and Stumbling posts that I feel are of good quality – do they have great grammar/style/appearance? Does the author have some authority on the subject, or are they just making up posts to generate traffic?

A few things that will turn me off from a post – no matter how interesting the subject matter:

• A lot of grammatical errors; we will all make grammatical errors, but try to minimize them with editing and proofreading. If English is not your first language, have an English-speaking friend read your posts, to make sure that you are using syntax that is used in “real life.” I’ve noticed from teaching English to non-native speakers that English can be difficult to read and write, especially for those who are relatively new to English!
• Does your post make sense? Or are you trying to cram 20 different ideas into one post? It is one thing to have a post that follows a specific theme or to have a post that connects topics like cats, airplanes, SEO and cell phones (unless you know of a cell phone using cat who knows SEO and flew an airplane to New Mexico – but if you honestly do, perhaps you should be hanging out with the cat instead of blogging! )
• Long posts can be informative, helpful and even entertaining. However, break things up a little bit. Don’t use one big paragraph for your entire post – nobody will read that! On the same token, use pictures and bullet points to break up the monotony of a longer article. Write your article so that a reviewer or somene doing a quick “read-by” can quickly acertain the point of your post – and either hang around and read it, or go on elsewhere.

Does Digging and Stumbling posts give you a huge boost in readers/traffic? In a recent discussion about this, Daniel from Hack Your Day says that actually reviewing a Stumbled or Dugg post gives a website up to 400 visitors. Sounds like a lot of people, but only 3-4% of them will become return visitors. That’s 12-16 repeat visitors on average!

I can infer that if you just Digg or Stumble a post, you are not going to generate as much traffic – people want to know what drew you to the article – and if you don’t say a word, they may assume that you just Dugg or Stumbled the post on request, rather than because you really enjoyed it.

Use your Diggs and Stumbles wisely – the value of them may not seem like much – but 12-16 repeat visitors over time can add up to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of new readers per month!

So what say you? Do you Digg and Stumble on Request? Or do you only Digg and Stumble articles that you enjoy or find some value in? Let’s hear it in the comments!

photo credit: Richard Stebbing, Evan Sims

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1. Survive the Digg-Effect with WP-Cache
2. Follow these 12 Steps and Get MORE Readers!
3. Is your page Stumbled?

Blog Writing Tips:

82. Learn to write great headlines. Writing good great headlines can be challenging, especially when you want to get the best keywords into the headline! Some writers suggest just filling your headline with keywords, while others suggest to write a headline which accurately describes what your article is about. My suggestion is to practice writing great headlines – and over time, great headlines will be easier and easier to write, so you won’t have to stress so much about grabbing a reader’s attention AND getting search engine traffic! I write my headlines with keywords and readability in mind – so try that technique, and see how it works for you!

83. Make your articles scannable. “People don’t read on the Internet. They scan.” — Hmmm. This is an interesting concept. While I think that many times we do scan online articles, if the headlines (see #82) and content is quality, we will stop and read the entire article! I have dozens of “Starred” items in my Google Reader, ready for me to have time to read them thoroughly.Scannable articles do make it more likely that someone will stop and say, “Hey, I really do need to read this!” And of course, the better the content (i.e. edited well, focused on one topic, etc.) the more likely the reader will return to read yet another article of yours!

84. Use numbers in your titles to attract attention. I don’t know if it is the organization that is implied by numbers or the measure we can draw from numbered lists that makes everyone love lists. However, take a look at Digg’s or Technorati’s top articles – and many, if not most of them – will have numbered lists!

85. Vary your content. Be unique. Create a quiz. Interview a fellow blogger. Poll your readers. Review a book. Shake it up a bit to keep your readers interested. Don’t go overboard with “mixing it up”! Keep your readers interested with various article styles and types. For example, include a poll in a post – ask for your readers’ opinions on a matter! Review another blog that is similar, or create a link roundup post. Keep your readers coming back because they know you’ll have fresh and interesting content every time!

86. Edit your writing ruthlessly. Since I’ve been freelance writing, I have been able to pick up on some of my most annoying writing habits, and work to eliminate those habits. Do not hesitate to ask someone else to edit your articles for you – maybe you can trade article editing with another blogger – and get free feedback – and give free feedback, too!

87. Write like you talk. This one is a favorite. You should write like you talk – trying to write like the Associated Press or another blogger will do you no good. Keep your writing fresh and unique by being YOURSELF! Your readers will appreciate it in the long run and it will be easier to continue writing if you stick with this tip!

88. Write with passion. It will come through in your writing. If you’ve been a reader for a while, you can probably guess that I love Google products and anything that makes my life easier. When I was writing posts about other things, like lamps, credit counseling and buying homes, it showed in the lack of passion and depth of my articles. Stick with what you know or what you are passionate about, and you will become a better blogger!

89. Say something worth reading. Giving your readers quality content goes a long way! The number of comments, visitors and feedback you get will increase, which will, in turn, convince you to keep writing quality content! Everyone wants positive feedback – and when blogging, it comes in the form of comments, visitors and emails!

90. Always write with your reader in mind. Imagine that you are chatting with them over lunch at a local cafe. Remember to KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid). When making how to posts, I try to break it down into the most basic directions ever, for the newbies to understand, and the more experienced to “get it” too. Remember that your blog might be seen by people of all age groups – and no matter your topic, it should be easy to understand by everyone.

91. Make your important points up front. We learned this in English or Composition classes – do not wait until the end of your article to make your point! State your goal and point up front, then write your article to support this thesis. If you wait too long to introduce your point, you will lose the reader, perhaps forever!

92. Include bullet point lists. Ah, lists again! Bullet point lists can provide:

• A way to focus the reader on your main points or objectives;
• Quickly organize your post into a scannable article;
• Or promote social bookmarking.

Feel comfortable with making bullet point lists, but do not go overboard. Too many bullet points and the reader will become distracted and frustrated.

93. Create a “top 10″ list. Top 10 Lists (or top 7, 44, 12 or 101, for that matter) focus the reader on a specific topic and list of information. You can make each number as long or as short as you want – but remember to be descriptive and informative. If you start with 100 items and want to whittle it down to 10, see how many similar themes are repeated throughout your list, and combine them. Take out those items that really do not fit, or will take you away from the very narrow theme you have. If you want to keep a longer list, think about using the technique found in this series – divide the list into separate sections, yet keeping an overarching theme.

94. Create a “How To” article. One of the trademarks of ultimate geek girl are the how to articles. Helping other people with a problem or finding a quick way to complete a task makes you, the blogger, feel good, and helps your reader form an impression of you as a “caring” blogger. Be sure to keep your explanations simple and to the point – and if you can, use screenshots to illustrate your points.

95. Create a weekly or monthly roundup of great posts from around the blogosphere. Tay at Superblogging has some great tips on how to make a “link roundup” post work for you. The value of these types of posts come from the quality of the articles you link to and the timeliness. Would you click on a link on this website about what I did for New Years’ Eve – and it is after the Fourth of July now?

96. Watch for trends in your industry. Many bloggers consider themselves to be in a “niche” – so take a look at what other blogs in the same topic area are writing about! You don’t want to copy a post word for word, but put your own spin on it. Think about other ways to look at issues than the party line that every other blogger is spewing. Watch the comments and visitors roll in once you publish a post that is along the same theme, but looks at the issue from another angle!

97. Read voraciously and bring your readers the golden nuggets of everything you learn. While you might not think romance novels give a technology blogger any blogging ideas, think again! A lot of my best ideas come from reading about romance and love. I learn new vocabulary, learn new ways to convey information and best of all, hone my story-telling skills! I also take the time to read dozens of blogs, and I walk away with plenty of opinions, feedback and ideas on how to and what to write. I often bring these back to my readers in the form of improved blog design, new features, and guest posts on other sites.

98. If you ever find yourself with writer’s block, check out 101 Great Posting Ideas. This tip piggy backs on #97. When I am feeling totally frustrated with blogging, or just can’t get my ideas onto the screen, I take a few minutes to surf the blogosphere and check out what everyone else is writing about, visit my “Starred” items in Google Reader, or my “Follow Up” folder in my bookmarks toolbar. After I feel refreshed, I can return to the computer and write another article. If I still can’t write, perhaps it is time to take a walk, do a little yoga or even take a nap!

99. Leave your readers hungry for more. Give them a quick preview of what you’ll be posting the next day. They are much more likely to come back if they are already excited about the next days post. Anticipation is one of the greatest marketing tactic. I cut back from posting every day, but everyone knows to expect posts on Monday and Wednesday. Occasionally I’ll post on a Friday or Sunday, but it really depends on how much other work I have to do! Keep your readers excited about reading or visiting your site by letting them know what you plan on writing about in the future or even telling them, “Hey, vote in this poll, whatever gets the top # of votes will be _____day’s topic!”

100. Have fun! Blogging doesn’t always have to be serious. Feel free to make your posts fun and entertaining. Use a variety of tactics to entertain yourself and your readers. Whether it is cool photos, smiley faces or colored text, make blogging fun! Write about a web app that has no “real” value or a book that you read just for fun!

101. If you’re still looking for blogging tips, then here are some great resources: ProBlogger, JohnChow, and Successful Blog. There are dozens of other great resources, but these three are a great place to start; check out the people who comment on these blogs – visit their sites and see who reads them, and so on, and so forth! Ask your readers for suggestions on “great blogs” and even use Google Reader’s Top Recommendations feature to get more blogging tips and ideas!

This post covers steps 82-101of 101 Steps to Becoming a Better Blogger.

photo credits: William Hook, James Jordan, slava, Shereen M, A?????} and Blyzz.

Related posts:

1. Keep Working at Becoming a Better Blogger!
2. Blog and Ping – Step #9 in 101 Steps to Becoming a Better Blogger
3. Tips to get more out of your WordPress blog

But as a blogger, I am always interested in how often my pages are Stumbled (added to StumbleUpon’s databases).

I found a simple JavaScript bookmarklet for Firefox at The Internet Entrepreneur Diary that can let me know with one click whether or not a page has been Stumbled.

Stumbled?

Simply drag and drop the “Stumbled?” link to your “Bookmarks Toolbar Folder”. Now, you will have a shortcut on your Firefox Bookmarks Toolbar.

photo credit: Bull3t

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1. Tweak your Firefox 3 Toolbar Bookmarks
2. Fix broken Firefox bookmarks icons!
3. Tweak your Firefox Toolbars – Part II

Here are 11 tried and true methods to monetize your blog, according to research and personal experience.

Some bloggers have had success with selling links on their blogs – however, be aware the the Great Google does not condone selling links that pass PageRank.

Top sites for getting listed and selling your links or linking to products for sale include:

1. Kontera ContentLink
2. Text Link Ads
3. BlogAds
4. Ad Brite
5. ReviewMe (offers an option to buy or sell reviews of websites with link text of your choice)
   
6. Bidvertise
7. AuctionAds

There are quite a few plugins that can help you with direct ad sales and sponsorships – but again, you want to be sure that you do not pass PageRank. Some of my favorite plugins include OIOpublisher Direct and AdRotator. You could also sign up for Google Adsense, which has a variety of methods for ad publishing on your site – and they are customizable, too! There are also quite a few Adsense related WordPress Plugins available – check out some of them at the WordPress Plugins website.

The benefit in using a plugin versus manually selling ads is that clients can order and pay for the service without contacting you – and you can even have the code set up to automatically update images and links – so you have more time to write and enjoy life!

My most successful method of making money online is Affiliate Sales. This is a very passive method of making money. However, it is not dependable, stable income. Unless you have a lot of traffic and tons of people who want to buy the product or service you are offering, you will not be making $1000/month just from affiliate sales. But, it can be good extra income to spend on a night out, a day trip or pay extra on a bill!

And last, but definitely not least, think about monetizing your RSS feed! Some of your readers only read via RSS, so adding ads from the FeedBurner Ad Network and Text Link Ads can be a great way to add affiliate links or sell text links. Also consider using a WordPress plugin such as RSS Footer, which allows you to add a line (or more) of HTML or plain text content to the end of your RSS feed articles.

Do you have any methods of monetization that haven’t been mentioned here? If so, let’s hear it in the comments!

This post covers steps 71-81of 101 Steps to Becoming a Better Blogger.

photo credit: me and the sysop

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You can become a successful blogger! It doesn’t matter if you are young, old, educated or not. Patience, a little bit of work and experimenting with various products, programs and advice will have you accomplishing your blogging goals in no time at all!

When it comes to blogging, the most important thing is to write about things you love. If you do not have a passion for your blog’s topics, it will show in your writing and approach to blogging. Do not hesitate to ask other bloggers and even a blog consultant for help on topics, themes, posting frequency, etc.

One of the first things you should do as a new blogger is to claim your blog on Technorati, like I did. Now, I can track what other bloggers are writing about as well as what others say about my blog! I have been able to target my writing a lot more because of Technorati’s tools and free services. You can also claim your blog at Feedster.

Think about using Google Analytics to get feedback on how your blog is performing. Visitor stats are useful, but more detailed information can be even more helpful when it comes to developing your “Better Blogger” strategy.

Validate your feeds. Do not ignore RSS! More and more people are picking up on RSS functionality because it helps them read more websites than if they had to manually visit them daily or weekly. Like email, new posts appear in their RSS “inbox” for immediate viewing.

An offshoot of feeds is trackback and ping functionality. You want to edit your WordPress settings to enable automatic trackback and ping functionality. This will help you interact with other bloggers. How?

If someone mentions your website on their blog, you will get a notification and be able to thank that blogger in the comments of the post and communicate with commenters on their blog. You can monitor any mentions of your blog using Google Alerts or Technorati.

You also want to make sure that you are replying to your commenters and providing them with an opportunity to provide you feedback via comments after posts and an email webform. My favorite bloggers and the ones I look up to often ask for reader feedback and reply to emails personally.

Usually the blogger who will link back to your site is a blogger writing about similar topics, so it is good to continue to cultivate relationships with them online and offline, which will build up your readership in the long term. Think about attending blog conferences, so you can learn more about blogging and meet other bloggers in a more formal environment.

Some will suggest that you purchase advertising, such as through other blogs or a service like StumbleUpon Ads. It is really up to you on how to approach generating buzz for your blog, but remember, becoming a better blogger is about more than just pageviews and a nice WordPress theme!

You must edit yourself ruthlessly. I cannot stress this enough. During my early days as a blogger, I spent a lot of time writing, but very little time editing. Balance the two – and you will generate even better content for your readers. It isn’t even a bad idea to go back and edit your old posts – or even rewrite them for greater clarity. Don’t forget that your blog is YOUR voice – so your personality should shine through in every post!

As you continue to generate more and more great content, you may be approached to be a guest blogger on another blog – this is an honor that shouldn’t be taken lightly. However, think about the impact to your own blog – do you have posts stored for a rainy day? Will you have time to contribute to another blog?

On the other hand, consider asking readers to submit their own articles to your site for submission. Provide the opportunity for a free link back to their blog or website as well as feedback as to how successful the article was on your site.

As Dale Carnegie once said, “People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.”

Don’t forget that while blogging can be a “job”, you should still try to enjoy yourself! Happy Blogging!

This post covers steps 54-70 of 101 Steps to Becoming a Better Blogger.

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3. 19 Final Tips to Becoming a Better Blogger

1. Turn your articles into videos using PowerPoint to create an entertaining slideshow. Submit your video to all of the popular video sites, including Google Video, YouTube, and others. Video is increasingly popular with internet users, especially teenagers and young adults. What better way to capture their readership by posting a great viral video on YouTube?
2. Submit to blog carnivals. Blog carnivals can be a fun way to meet other bloggers in your areas of interest. Be careful to stick with topics that fit your blog – the last thing you want is to lose readers by writing about totally unrelated topics or losing your personal touch when it comes to writing in a carnival.
3. Participate in and submit to social web 2.0 sites, including Reddit, Digg, Delicious, Netscape, and Stumble Upon. Digg and StumbleUpon can be extremely helpful in gaining new readers, but don’t submit your own articles! Encourage your visitors to submit your articles if they enjoy them.
4. Turn your articles into downloadable reports/ebooks. Everyone loves ebooks and downloadable reports! What better way to capture new readers than to create a ebook of your best posts? There are several ways to do this, from the old fashioned copy-paste-print as .pdf to using a program like LaTeX!
5. Join Blogburst, which is a syndication service that places blogs on top-tier online destinations, such as CNN, MSNBC and more. Who doesn’t want to get quoted by one of the CNN Anchors and get thousands of hits?
6. Syndicate your articles to EzineArticles, GoArticles, iSnare, American Chronicle, and other high-profile article directories. Syndicating your articles is another way to generate traffic. If someone enjoyed your article or found it informative, they are probably going to at least visit your blog – and as long as you have been writing quality content on your blog, also, you should be able to convert them into a regular reader or subscriber! Note that you can’t recycle content from your blog to these sites, so put your thinking cap on and write some fresh, new content and submit it!
7. Exchange guest posts with other bloggers. One of the best things I did in 2007 was guest blog on a few sites – believe it or not, I got a lot of fresh visitors and I was able to increase my profile in the blogosphere. Contact some of your blogging buddies or bloggers who write about the same topics you do, and see if you can work out an exchange. Why not even offer to pay the other blogger for an article placement? The traffic you’ll generate will be worth it, in my humble opinion!
8. Participate in group writing projects and memes. I’m on the fence with this one, because it really depends on what your blog’s niche is as to whether or not memes can be a good way to generate buzz, but group writing projects do have some benefits. Why not partner with a couple of other writers and create a weekly series or write an ebook?
9. Create a Squidoo lens that links back to your blog and established you as an industry expert in your chosen field. This tip is pretty self-explanatory. Utilize the internet to enforce your authority as a blogger on a particular topic. Those who want an “expert” will find you – which generates more traffic and readers!
10. Interview industry experts. This is one of the best ways to create original, engaging content, if done properly. Ask engaging, yet open ended questions. Don’t hesitate to record your interview and transcribe later. Read “Twenty-five Steps to a Good Interview” for more tips.
11. Offer an e-mail newsletter in addition to RSS. Email newsletters, like those from FeedBurner or FeedBlitz, can be incredibly helpful when you are dealing with people who do not or cannot use RSS. Amit over at Digital Inspiration has a great article about why to choose FeedBlitz over Feedburner for email newsletters.
12. Ask your visitors for suggestions on how to improve your website’s content because in the end, it’s really all about your readers. Occasionally, I ask for feedback from my readers, but I love hearing from readers all of the time. A quick email to me about a broken link or a feature they’d like to see really helps me target my audience a lot more AND continue to get new readers.

This post covers steps 42-53 of 101 Steps to Becoming a Better Blogger.

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3. Keep Working at Becoming a Better Blogger!

The process is actually pretty simple if you follow these steps. Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean you have to record your posts or pay an actor to do it for you!

Odiogo is FREE and the quality is actually pretty good! After signing up, Odiogo will contact you to confirm your enrollment within hours. The computerized voice is easy to understand and very professional.

While there are other options out there, try Odiogo first – it’s a FREE service and has a good reputation for providing quality podcast service to its users.Check out the demo if you want to hear a sample or any of thousands of Odiogo sponsored podcast feeds!

This post covers step 41 of 101 Steps to Becoming a Better Blogger.

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3. Tips to get more out of your WordPress blog

Here are a few more tips to help you get more out of your WordPress blog – from traffic, post ideas and functionality!

1. Share the link love. Don’t hesitate to do “link roundup” posts. Save them for the weekend or a “not so busy” day on your blog, so these posts don’t scream, “I ran out of topics to write about!” Instead, use these posts as an opportunity to provide additional resources for your readers. Creating resource or link roundups will further the impression of you, the blogger, as an authority on a topic – and increase the credibility of your blog! If you write a post that is inspired by a post from another site, link back to the inspiration post! It shows goodwill AND increases your chances of getting traffic via trackbacks.
2. Publish a full feed instead of a partial feed. WordPress does not natively publish full feeds if you use the “more” (<!-- more -->) code in your posts. A quick and painless way to ensure your RSS subscribers (or potential subscribers ) get your full feed is to install and use Full Text Feed, a WordPress plugin that prevents the “more” code from being recognized in your RSS feeds. I use this plugin here, and it works perfectly!
3. Consider approaching newspapers with a story about your blog. Remember, journalists are hungry for content and if you can come up with a unique twist, then you could get some great coverage. I just read a novel which had the main character blogging about her “list of things to do before I’m 30.” A journalist found out about it and the next thing you know, people were approaching her in the street, remarking on how much they LOVE her blog and writing style! While this was fiction, this story can become reality for you! Blogging is a really hot topic, and journalists want to stay on top of current trends. Do you have a blog about a specific topic or a series that ROCKS? Contact a journalist, even in the smaller local or regional newspapers, and pitch a story to them.
4. Don’t forget: Persistence is the key. I’ve had some setbacks while blogging – including loosing my archives to a twitchy finger, gaining a Google PageRank of 4 and watching it drop to ZERO, but I never give up. I know that with patience and persistence, I can increase my readership, traffic and most important of all, the quality of my writing!
5. Submit exclusive content to high-profile sites. Submitting original posts to high-profile sites can lead to more traffic and more RSS readers. Perhaps the most popular way of submitting content is to guest blog on someone else’s blog. It’s best to catch a site owner while they are actively seeking a guest writer or you know your content would be a good fit for their site. Of course, write and submit your best content to the blog’s you’d like to write for – and let your work speak for itself. However, don’t just send articles all willy-nilly; send articles that you’ve written for your blog and let the author know that you are available to write. At first, you may want to guest blog for free, but feel free to charge for your services. Do a little research and find out the going rates in your industry, so you do not overprice or underprice yourself.
6. Syndicate a press release. Press releases are a time proven method of getting information in the hands of those who need it! You can send press releases to media, other bloggers or even your readers; and let it go viral! Imagine that you send your press release to 10 people, and those 10 people share it with 5 people, and those people share it with 5 more people, soon, you could have hundreds, if not thousands of potential new readers and visitors!

This post covers steps 34-40 of 101 Steps to Becoming a Better Blogger.

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3. 19 Final Tips to Becoming a Better Blogger