Squeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Well, it looks like my readers are going to have to prepare themselves for boudoir pics of me and MY NEW iPAD! Trada announced on Saturday morning that our collective voting efforts worked and that I was the proud owner of a new iPad.

In all seriousness – thank you.

This is what community is about. It’s not about ME winning an iPad – it’s about being ABLE to reach out and garner a response. I’m fortunate that I’ve build a community where people listen when I write. So I owe each and every one of you a HUGE thank you.

For reading, commenting, voting, emailing, tweeting, sharing and coming back post after post. Without you – my readers – I’m just a crazy lady with a keyboard. (Fine – I’m a crazy lady with a keyboard already, but since you listen, it keeps me out of the asylum.)

Now, a bit about Trada – have you ever wondered what it would be like to have HUNDREDS of  PPC experts working on your online marketing campaign (instead of just one or two)? Here are just a few cool tidbits you might like to know about this Boulder-based gem:

• Advertisers reduce their CPA by an average of 10% after joining Trada
• The average campaign has 24 (!!!) PPC experts working on it at one time
• Trada campaigns have an average of 10 times more relevant ads than before joining the market place.

Don’t believe the hype – see how it works. I was turned on to Trada by seOverflow, an incredible Denver-area SEO firm that I’m fortunate enough to work with on a regular basis. I’m looking forward to their full report!

Now – go forth, prosper, do all that Vulcan shit and tell Monday to kiss your ass. And thank you for being part of my community.

RedheadWriting reaches thousands of people each month and The Head Redhead has guest posts on high-profile sites like Copyblogger that bring new visitors each month. All posts are promoted on the Redhead Writing Facebook Fan Page and bookmarked in places like StumbleUpon, Digg and Delicious. Why not bring what you’ve got to the table and be an honorary redhead for a day?

Here’s how to apply:

1. Go to my contact form and in the subject line, write GUEST BLOGGER QUERY.
2. Write me a little letter (little, I say) and explain what you bring to the table.
3. Include links to your favorite three blogs you’ve written. Don’t attach the text – I know how to clicky-click
4. Tell me three ideas you have for posts that would be a fit for Redhead Writing.
5. In your post ideas, give me a title and a one to two sentence synopsis.
6. Put your right arm in put your right arm out, hit the “submit” button and shake it all about…

I look forward to hearing from you!

Enjoy!

I met Brian Clark (finally) back at Blog World in 2009. He knew I was a SEO copywriting geek and he pinged me early this year with a question: he had a cool new WordPress SEO copywriting plugin and would I mind giving it a beta test?

Does a monkey fling poo?

Not a moment later, I found a nifty zip file in my inbox. Enter Scribe.

If you’re using a WordPress-powered content management system or blog, it’s essential. If you’re a copywriter producing article marketing content for distribution around the web, it’s like mother’s milk. Here’s why:

• It Thinks Like a Search Engine: It’s all very well and good to think you’re TELLING the search engines what you want them to see through coding meta data like page title, description and keywords, but what do search engines really see? Scribe tells you and helps you pull your head out of your backside before your content goes live.
• It Acts Like a Coach: When you run the Analysis tool, it not only tells you what it sees, but it tells you how to fix it. Hells yeah.
• No Blog Needed: Maybe you’re a copywriter who churns out article marketing content and you have to be careful about keyword density (I’m talkin’ eZines here, folks…). Scribe had a web-based standalone version accessible from anywhere (one you sign up) that catches any boo boos before the big bad submission engines get ahold of you. I lurvs. A lot. (Not alot.)
• It Ain’t Free (and nor should it be): If you want cool free tools, check out HubSpot’s awesome arsenal. The Scribe tool ranges from $27/month to $97/month. Don’t believe it’s worth the cash – try it 30 days for free and see for yourself. I did.

Here’s a screenshot of the analysis tool once it’s run (these are the results for the post you’re reading right now):

Here are a few things you need to know about WHY I’m pimping this plugin:

• I work in the SEO space and have sent referrals for this tool over to SEO firms with whom I work.
• I’m all about anything that’s going to make my job easier.
• Brian’s group is all about feedback and he PERSONALLY responded to a list of improvement/expansion suggestions I sent over.
• They’ll be releasing versions for additional blogging platforms in coming months.
• It takes writers out of the position of thinking like writers and makes you look at your content in a different way – a way that better serves clients.

Will it make you a SEO copywriting pro overnight? Hell no. But it WILL make your path to understanding how search engines read content less bumpy. Read more about the Scribe SEO Copywriting tool and see why I’m jazzed. Have a delightful Monday.

I get my best information from you, my readers. You send me DMs, Facebook messages and post things to my fan page wall. You @ me links on Twitter and brighten my days with emails about Alicia Keys looking for a community manager and blogger (and thanks to all of those who have, thus far, thought of me for such a hizzy gig!). You’re my conduit for information, so don’t stop sharing.

Today, share in the comments section something you’re reading. Whether it’s a book or a blog or something you want to surprise me with – SHARE! (click those links and you’ll see my faves!). The interwebz are fer sharin’ so git on it. My reader is bursting at the seams, but there’s always room for great content from any source.

And for the record, I’m working from Los Angeles from today until the 22^nd. If you’re in the ‘hood, ping me on Facebook or Twitter and we’ll see about saying hello. While not a vacation trip, I’m sure I can find some time to say hello if the schedules work out! Have rental car, will tweetup.

And in closing, this is fucking hilarious. Enjoy the post-tax day hilarity (and if you’re a freelancer, you’ll love it even more – thanks to @pwcarey for sharing!)

Welcome to the new look of Redhead Writing! We worked over the weekend and I want to thank a few people for making this happen:

• Courtney over at JudithShakes Designs for the theme bling
• Erin Pheil and Josh Petrucci at TimeforCake for the behind-the-scenes work on the move from the dev site and some plugin debugging
• Cali Harris for her tireless work into wee hours editing posts to get formatting up-to-date

The new site is still a work-in-progress and you can look to see this pubescent gal’s figure fill-out by the beginning of May. Till then, here are some cool new features of Redhead Writing for you to explore:

• Fan of my weekly Bitch Slap series? You can find the entire collection in its new home on a dedicated tab for easy reference.
• Have you heard about Redheaded Fury? Well, it’s my personal blog and it’s new home is here on Redhead Writing. Read my ramblings back to 2007 in their very own category and on a special page.
• Like Porn? You know you do. You can read all of my top-rated/commented on posts on the Porn tab.
• Do you like my new favicon?
• Check out the Blogroll. I’m running the Collapsible Blogroll plugin, which worked right out of the box and I totally dig.
• Related Posts: I’m running the Thumbleated Related Posts plugin, which is admittedly a bitch. While it pulls the first image in any posts as its thumbnail, it won’t pull images with captions. We spent the day yesterday pulling image captions and updating alt text. Entirely sucky and it still seems to be performing questionably.
• Bookmarks – So Sexy! At the end of each post, you’ll see the Sexy Bookmarks plugin. I like it a lot , Jen-ney (in my best Forrest Gump voice).

So now, if you’re not a subscriber to my RSS feed, use the handy box at the top right of any page on the site. RSS, email – your choice. You can also find quick links to my Twitter and Facebook Fan Page there as well.

As always, thanks for reading – we’ll see you tomorrow!

Is there a hot knitting blog? A gluten-free living blog you dig? A rant, rousing environment or something just plain’ ol silly?

My best reads come on the recommendations of my community…so out with it! Here’s my list of current faves:

The Oatmeal (biggest laughs + biggest time-waster in the history of mankind = FTW!)

Janet Reid, Literary Agent (snark + confidence = views I appreciate and a nice wakeup call in my Google Reader. And her Twitter avatar is a shark. Hells yes.)

The Rude Pundit (no apologies + topical content = just my style and appreciation that he doesn’t pump “popular” lines of thought)

V3 Blog (social media insights + boxer shorts = fresh content in a world that doesn’t need another social media blog…a brand new addition to my reader)

So out with it: old faves, new additions, shit you deleted, what replaced it…do tell. I’m a pervy gal and wanna peep in yo reader. If you like my schiz and wanna never miss any schiz, add this blog to your reader now. You can also be my fan on Facebook. We have mimosas on Sunday and Taco Thursdays!

Comments and traffic: crack for bloggers. All blogs have their share of “lurkers” (those folks who read and never comment) and then there’s the segment of regular readers who never actually visit your blog on your site because they get your content in their reader or via email. Convenience is a conundrum for bloggers looking to increase interaction and traffic figures. Unfortunately, there’s no Easy Bake Oven for blogging success – but I can give you tips on how to get people out of their readers and inboxes and back INTO your blog…and garner new readers in the process.

Entice Them

Why would anyone want to come out of their warm RSS reader womb and back into your blog? Because you’re offering something for their time. Step 1: Think of where you’re spending your marketing dollars and time. Step 2: Consider what your readers are worth to you. I write for a living, so my readers are the heart and soul of my day to day. How do I thank them for their time? A reward.

Readers: This week, there is a $25 iTunes Gift Card up for grabs. Just leave a comment with a verifiable email address (required) and in that comment, give me a link to a site you frequent that runs a kickass promotion for its readers. It can be ANY site – you are my eyes and ears. Tell me what other people are doing and WHY you like it. Next Friday, I’ll announce the winner. It’s the WHY you like it that will win you the gift card. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts!

Do Your Homework

When’s the last time you actually looked at your blog subscriber email list? Get off your ass and get your nose in a book – your blog’s Little Black Book. It’s amazing what you can learn by doing a little homework. Pay attention to the people who Retweet, consistently comment and Stumble or bookmark your content. THANK THEM. Interact with them. Engage. Why would anyone leave a comment on a blog where the blogger doesn’t bother to interact? There’s an old adage in the writing world that goes something to the effect of “If you don’t read, you have no business writing.” I stand by that 100%. When you begin to consider your blog as a classroom, your readers as students and yourself as the teacher, it becomes evident that your class can’t go on autopilot. You need to interact and give them a reason for showing up.

Run an RSS Subscriber Contest

When the new RedheadWriting.com site goes live in February, you’ll see a sexy little RSS Subscriber contest come online. I’ll run it for 30 days and then pick a grand prize winner and 4 additional winners. But how the hell am I going to track who truly subscribes? This great post about tracking RSS contest subscribers from Weblog Tools Collection has it down to a science. Be sure to read through the comments as well – a gem of a find and thanks to Thaya Kareeson for a kickass post that is actionable and on-task for the blogger looking to grow their reach. And a tip about running contests: give away something with a high perceived value. The last contest I ran, I gave away an iPod Touch as the grand prize. It’s why I use iTunes gift cards as weekly prizes. I’m not giving away an mp3 player – I’m giving away an iPod. Whether you’re an Apple fan or not, the iPod/Apple brand carries weight with a large audience. Don’t give away shit people don’t want. It’s like forcing people into a crappy white elephant gift exchange and all you’re going to get for your time is a used tea cozy.

Tonight’s Special Guest

If you’re looking for traffic, look for guest blogging opportunities. I’m a paid contributor for my weekly Dear Redhead column at ToyWithMe.com. I love it! It’s another reason to do your homework – leverage your network to offer your services for a guest blog post. While paid opportunities are difficult to come by and usually require you have a fair-sized following to back up your case, look at it this way: an hour of your time twice a month for unpaid guest blogging opportunities on other blogs gives you exposure to new audiences and the opportunity to build your brand affinity outside your own readership. This gets people out of their reader and into your blog (or your GUEST blog on another site). A few tips on how to make the most of this:

• When you have a guest post, create a post on YOUR blog that gives a lead-in and link to the other blog. Your readers have no choice but to click through and check it out!
• Request that the guest blog link back to your home page or a particular related article on your blog. This encourages NEW readers on that blog to click through to YOUR site.
• Better yet, embed links in your guest post (without being a spammy asshat, mind you) that link back to your blog. It’s best to discuss this in advance with the blog owner. Don’t kick someone in the balls for giving you a chance to grow your readership.
• Offer a reciprocal guest post on your blog in exchange!

A note about requesting guest blog opportunities: When you contact a blog for the opportunity, give them reasons to say YES. List your Twitter following, current subscribers, other key audience factors and how you’ll promote the piece. Many sites have submission guidelines – be sure to follow these. Can’t find anything? First, be sure that they accept guest bloggers. Secondly, send an email through their Contact page. And spell check, for the love of all that’s holy. Spell check.

I write. For a living. Glory be – people pay to hear what I have to say. Today, I take on Proposition 8 in my weekly column at ToyWithMe.com.

Perhaps I’ll lose some fans. Perhaps I’ll gain some. This is how I feel, and if you know me, I have no problem telling you how I feel. The GLBT community isn’t asking for better or different treatment from the U.S. Government. Rather, they’re asking to be included in the system that their taxpayer dollars support day in, day out.

Enjoy the post…or not. If you like it, share it with your network and leave a comment. Your thoughts are what earn me a living. Otherwise, I’m a crazy gal on the corner with a megaphone that people point and laugh at as they drive by.

Thank you.

I sat down this weekend and said to myself: “Self, where will Redhead Writing go in 2010?” After we crossed Tahiti off the list, the more important question came to mind: “How will I know when we get to where we’re going?” Since there’s no GPS for blogging to get you from where you are to where you want to be, the best I figured I could do is put together a set of metrics as a move-forward tactic for Redhead Writing. Hell, I do it for my clients. Time to sack-up and start doing it for myself.

Metric 1: Blog Subscribers

Subscribers come in two formats and a few iterations: email and RSS feed. RSS feed can be broken down further into Google Reader subscribers (easily tracked), other readers and pure RSS feed.  You need to monitor all three of these to establish move-forward metrics for measuring blog growth and success.

Email subscribers: I burn my feed with Feedburner. It has a robust set of marketing and subscription tools and also tracks email subscribers to your blog for you. To view this information, just go to Publicize/Email Subscriptions and scroll down until you see View Subscriber Details. They even let you export your subscriber list as a .csv file. Booyah.

Google Reader subscribers: Just go to Google Reader and click the “Add a Subscription” button in the top left corner. Enter the name of your blog (or anyone’s for that matter) and you’ll see how many people subscribe to your blog via Google Reader. Note that this number does NOT include other reader types. As everything Google, it’s an island. I have boatloads more RSS subscribers than Google Reader subscribers and I have to track each independently.

RSS subscribers: Since I use Feedburner to administer my RSS feed, I can just log into Feedburner and check my growth stats regularly. Doing this monthly (along with the other tracking above) will keep me apprised of what’s hot, what sucks and what I should emulate moving forward.

Metric 2: Tease and Tweet

It’s not dirty, so stop it. If you have a blog and you’re not using Twitter…umm…what? I’m not even going to discuss it. You need to track a few things to measure blogging success: teaser headlines and retweets.

Teaser Headlines: How do you lead in a link to a blog post? People are curious by nature but they want to be enticed to click on something. That’s where headlines come in. I track not only the headlines I attach to a link but the blog link itself. I will generally tweet a blog post morning and afternoon during prime reading times and use a different headline each time. Make yourself a spreadsheet to track your headlines and be sure to use a trackable URL shortening service like bit.ly for all links to your own domain. (Why you shouldn’t use Ow.ly for links to your domain….)

Retweets: If you’re running a self-hosted WordPress installation, there are many plugins out there that will track your retweets. I personally use Digg Digg, and you’ll see the Digg and Tweet icons at the top of this post underneath my SocioFluid social bookmarking bar. You can encourage people to retweet directly from the post, or if they retweet through Twitter, the plugin will pick up those pings and add them to your count. Go through your posts on a monthly basis and see what’s hot. Your URL shortening service will also help you track most clicked and shared content through the system’s built-in analytics.

Metric 3: Google Analytics and Lijit

If you don’t have Google Analytics installed for your blog, get thee to Google and get that shit taken care of, yo? There’s a simple WordPress plugin for Google Analytics. Just set up your GA account and plug in your tracking code – and in BAM! You’re tracking stats Emeril-style. I use GA in conjunction with Lijit. WTF is Lijit? One of the coolest tracking tools EVAH. It enables a high-powered search function on your site. Your blog visitors can search your site, your social content and your network’s content for awesome results. It doesn’t replace GA but is a dandy compliment to GA’s stats. Need more info? Well, first of all – it’s FREE. Download and plugin. Secondly, give @tarable a follow on Twitter (one of my lovely co-presenters at the upcoming Chicks Who Click Denver event this coming weekend, 1/23). She’ll be happy to hook you up with answers and the people who can help you make your blog more “Lijit.”

Metric 4: Data, Data, Data

Why do you have a blog if you’re not tracking this stuff? Set goals. I want X number of subscribers by X date. I want to send out email communications X times per year. I will tweet content X times per day. I will bookmark all posts with X social bookmarking services. I track ALL of this information for my clients and yet – I have been lax in doing it for my own business. Well, no more. All of this data is mine for the asking. It takes 1 hour per month to gather your stats, so don’t you owe yourself an hour to grow your reach, audience and brand affinity? Tracking is as simple as an Excel/Numbers spreadsheet. Personally, I’m delighted I am weaning myself off of the hateful Microsoft products since I now own a Mac (applause, please). But I digress. Track your shit, just don’t track it in the house. Wipe those shoes and keep your blog clean, organized and growing.

The bottom line: you can’t track your blog’s success by just looking at Google Analytics or Subscribers. If you see one, you’re missing the other. Never forget that your online community, while seemingly united, is actually highly fragmented. Everyone has their own preferred method of content delivery. You may have 500 RSS subscribers who never EVER click through to your site per month because they’re getting you in their feed or reader. Now the key is: how do you get people to click through and visit your site if they get content in your reader? Tune in Friday, my pets. Tune in Friday.