It’s a cycle, and it can be really easy to get into a habit of producing more, more, more without stopping to check-in on your progress. Is what you’re working so hard to create actually working? What’s your definition of success? How can you better promote the pieces that do work and give some more love to the pieces that maybe didn’t do so well?

In the spirit of spring, which I am certain is just around the corner, I thought it’d be a good time to turn our attention towards our blogs – but instead of looking forward, let’s take a step back and assess what we’ve already created. There’s a simple process you can use to clear up your existing content so that you’re blogging more effectively without all of the clutter to distract from your success!

1. Identify your success metrics
   How do you determine whether a piece of content is successful or not? This will be different for every blogger, but it’s probably some combination of traffic and social shares. If you don’t have metrics for success defined already, now is the perfect time to start – how will you know whether or not something is working if you don’t have a clear understanding of what “working” means?

2. Sort recent blog posts by success metrics
   Easy-peasy. Whether you’re tracking these metrics in GA or through a social analytics tool, export the data you need so that you can sort blog posts from the past 6 months or so by your success metrics. Go back as far as you’d like – generally 6 months to a year will be a good timeframe, depending on how large of an archive you maintain!

3. Determine top 5 and bottom 5 performers
   Moment of truth. Which 5 posts have performed best in the timeframe you determined? Which posts performed worst? Are you surprised at these findings or is it pretty much in line with what you were expecting?
   Note: if you’re working with a large amount of content, it may make more sense to use 10 or 15 posts at the top and bottom instead of 5. Go with your gut and do what makes sense for your blog.

4. Analyze the findings
   Now that you know what performs well and what doesn’t on average, what information can you glean from the data? Were all of the posts in the bottom 5 published without images? Maybe adding more visuals to your content will boost engagement levels. Do collaboration posts with other bloggers tend to bring in more traffic? Try focusing on relationship building over the next few months to replicate that same success. This step is the most personal and customizable – no two blogger’s results will be the same (although there are definite trends that ring true throughout the industry). Take the time to really reflect on what the data is telling you.

5. Promote the top 5
   You already know that the top 5 batch of posts were big crowd pleasers. How can you repurpose the content to share it with a wider audience? Some bloggers tweet out older posts so that newer followers can still be exposed to content that is likely to engage them. Check out how Ashley from Our Little Apartment executes this idea:

6. Revive the bottom 5
   What takeaways did you come up with in step 4? Apply some of your learnings here to boost the success of your worst performing pieces. Maybe it’s adding in some imagery or updating some broken links. Maybe it’s removing the posts completely from your archive – no need to waste people’s time with posts that don’t reflect your best work.
7. Schedule a time to repeat this process again
   Spring cleaning is complete! But as you may have guessed by now, this is a process that works best when it is repeated regularly. Taking the time to frequently review your work will ensure that your archives remain relevant and interesting to new and future readers. Set a reminder for yourself to come back to this process in 6 months or so to see what else you can improve on at that point! For now, you can bask in the joy of having a squeaky clean archive and focus on the truly important spring activity of shopping for some new shoes that are not made of rubber and are not snow boots!

The post Spring Cleaning: Blog Edition appeared first on AmpliFound.

Thanks again for a wonderful year and here’s hoping 2015 is an even better year for you and yours!

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Wishing each of you and yours Happy Holidays and a wonderful New Year in 2015!

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Of course, it should go without saying that growing your readership just for the sake of increasing your numbers should never be the goal – you want these new readers to be truly engaged and valuable to the community you’re building. So let’s focus on ways to achieve growth while maintaining and enriching the quality of your readership.

The Basics

Contests are run in many different ways on social media. Some require contestants to simply fill out a form to enter, or maybe even just give your email address. Others require contestants to produce content (submit a photo or blurb), or take some sort of action to be qualified for entry (following a brand, sharing a post on their feed, etc).

The goals of most social media contests are usually related to lead gen (capturing email addresses) or brand awareness, which may be tracked by increase in followers or traffic to site. Understanding what the goals of the contest are at the onset will help successfully drive the process and ideation of your contest.

Kahlua: A Pin-teresting Example

I always think it’s helpful to see how large brands are approaching strategies that I want to try out, even if it’s on a smaller scale. Kahlua is a great example of mapping a contest strategy to a specific goal and seeing valuable and long lasting results.

Kahlua ran a contest (http://go.curalate.com/case-study/kahlua-drives-engagement-with-pinterest-campaign) asking people to use Pinterest to pin images that represented their ideal holiday party. The winning pinner would receive $5,000 to create that party in real life. The goal of the contest was to increase brand visibility and encourage people to use Kahlua products in real life, not just online.

The contest ran for a month and at the end, Kahlua had collected 16,000 new email addresses and increased their following on Pinterest 14x! This growth proved to be sustainable – even after the contest had ended, pinning grew by 4x the next month, and repinning of Kahlua recipe pins increased by 6.5x. Traffic to their site increased as well, and their goal of increased brand visibility was definitely achieved.

The Tips

I like this contest example for a few reasons – I think it’s great to integrate online/offline behavior by offering to host a party for the winner. Here are a few tips for anyone thinking of testing out a similar strategy:

1. Keep it on brand
   Although the prize for winning a contest can be anything you choose, it’s generally best to keep the prize related to your actual brand. If your blog is all about fashion finds and daily outfits, giving away a month’s worth of free Starbucks might be fun, but could attract the wrong crowd.The worst contest execution is one where you’re able to collect 200 new email addresses to your mailing list, only to see 30% or more unsubscribe soon after the contest ends. I think that Kahlua did a good job in keeping the prize aligned with its brand – the success of the campaign even after the contest ran shows that it’s possible to reach an interested audience and keep them engaged even after a prize is awarded.
2. Promote it well
   Consider creating a hashtag to track entries and engagement. Paid promotion is also something to consider, especially if the end goal is increased brand awareness. This could be anything from sponsored tweets to full-blown content acceleration, depending on your budget and goals.
3. Follow the rules
   There are always legalities to consider when running any kind of promotion or contest. Make sure you carefully research each social platform’s individual guidelines before moving forward.

Are you thinking of testing a similar strategy? Let us know your plans in the comments below!

The post How Social Media Contests Can Help Grow Your Readership appeared first on AmpliFound.

1. Do not get your heart set on a name for your blog without checking to see if the domain is available. I have come up with amazing names for things and been really disappointed when the domain was already taken. Especially when no one is doing anything with the domain so it’s basically just a waste of space!

2. If the domain is available, buy it immediately! I have also come up with a great name for a blog with an available domain, and closed my browser with plans to purchase it the next day. NOPE. I’m 99% sure there are people who keep an eye on recently searched domain names and snatch up the ones that seem kind of good in the hopes of making a lot of money. So when I went back to buy the domain name the next morning, it had already been taken. Don’t be like me – if it’s available, grab it while you can.

3. If you have an idea of what you want your blog name to be, but you can’t find an available domain, try using Bust A Name. You can type in a lot of words that you’re thinking about including in your blog name, and it will randomly combine them and only serve you the ones that have available domains.

4. I think it goes without saying that your blog shouldn’t be thefabbrunetteandherclosetfullofshoes.com. If it’s too long to be your Twitter handle, then it shouldn’t be the name of your blog.

5. Use Wordoid to create a unique, made-up word to use as your blog name. This tool is really fun and actually works better than any other “name generator” tool I’ve seen. You can filter through settings of quality, pattern, word length, and language to get a set of new, made-up words. If there’s a root word that you like, you can include it in the tool. Like Bust A Name, there’s an option to only show words that have an available domain.

6. Old-fashioned whiteboard brainstorming! This is how my co-worker came up with the name “AmpliFound.” We spent a few hours writing down every related word that we might want to include that had to do with “getting your ideas found.” We really liked the idea of “amplify” or “amplification” and she came up with AmpliFound and it felt pretty perfect.

For those of you who have been blogging for awhile, how did you come up with your name? Share your story in the comments below!

The post Help! I Don’t Know What to Name My Blog appeared first on AmpliFound.

Although good photos are needed for a successful account, this is pretty easy to achieve with the many photography editing apps that now exist for smartphones. Aside from just adding filters to a photo you’ve taken, try playing around with settings such as contrast, temperature, and exposure to brighten and soften your photos, making them as appealing as possible.

Editing Apps

There are lots of available apps that provide these editing options and each one has their pros and cons. I recommend downloading a bunch at once, and playing around with each one until you find a couple of apps that feel intuitive and fun to use with the features you need. Since I could hardly talk about Instagram without mentioning the editing apps that I rely on, here are some of my recent favorites:

1. VSCO Cam: Robust editing tool with its own set of unique filters. I love this app because you can edit the intensity of each filter, so you’re given more freedom than with the standard Instagram filters. (It’s also worth noting that VSCO Cam has its own community of people who share photos, so if your blog has a heavy photography component, it might also make sense to explore sharing your photos here, as well)

2. InstaSize: I use this app constantly to quickly crop photos that would normally not fit into Instagram’s strict square border. Instasize adds white space around your photo that you don’t need to crop out any of your favorite details from a shot!

3. Flash for Free: This app’s not as slick or fancy as the other two, but I still use it all the time. I don’t claim to be the best photographer in the world, which means that a lot of my shots end up having less than ideal lighting. This app quickly processes your photo with different degrees of lighting. I’ll save the one I like back to my camera roll and continue editing from there or just post it immediately!

4. Regram: Super simple way to repost someone else’s photo on Instagram. Comes in extra handy for quickly entering contests! (No idea why this hasn’t been integrated into the actual Instagram app yet… but this is an awesome workaround)

Tips & Tricks

There are lots of ways to integrate this platform with your existing blog, but some of the best examples I’ve seen of bloggers who also use Instagram tend to follow these guidelines:

1. Post original content

It’s definitely okay to share a photo from a blog post you’ve written on Instagram with a link to your post, letting readers know you’ve updated your blog. But you want to make sure you’re also providing your followers with unique content on every platform. You may find that your audiences don’t completely overlap from blog to Instagram, and if your followers start to see that all you do is post blog updates, they might get bored and move on!

Bloggers who rock this tip:

@mackenziehoran
Mackenzie does a great job of balancing content from her blog with unique photos solely for her Instagram feed. She recently went on a trip and reminded readers on her blog to follow along with her travels on Instagram so they could see some exclusive photos.

@jillianguyette
Jillian is another blogger who does a great job with balancing unique Instagram posts alongside updates from her blog. Plus, she likes Loco Pez (only my favorite taco place ever ever ever)!

2. Mini-blog

If you’ve been lagging between posts lately, using Instagram to share a photo and a few sentences about what you’ve been up to lets you connect with your readers quickly without dedicating lots of time to a full post.

Blogger who rocks this tip:

@littleleafash
Ashley is a great example of someone who updates her Instagram feed regularly with small updates on what she’s up to. As people continue to favor Instagram for the quick gratification it provides, this is a great way to maintain a community.

3. Use hashtags strategically

Using fun, made-up hashtags has a time and place (#iknowweveallbeenthere), but using them for their intended purpose can build new relationships and bring followers to your feed.

Bloggers who rock this tip:

@_sheenarae
Sheena started a hashtag #howweweekend that people can use for pictures of things they do on the weekend. This is a great way to get to know your readers, and involve them more closely. She frequently posts roundups of the Instagram pictures on her blog, giving many readers the chance to connect through her platform.

@streets_stripes
Chaucee is another blogger who routinely incorporates well known hashtags into her posts. In the example below, she uses popular hashtags used in Philly on her post, to increase exposure and connect with others who are interested in the same topics.

Gotta say, after writing this post I am definitely feeling inspired to post more often on Instagram (you can find me at @mbwdimarco). Got any questions or have another great app to share? Let me know in the comments below!!

P.S. Want more? Sarah Von Bargen shared some more great tips from Tara Swiger on her blog not too long ago for using Instagram for your business. Check it out here!

The post How These Bloggers Do Instagram Right appeared first on AmpliFound.

The answer lies somewhere in the middle, and as you become more comfortable with the tool, you’ll discover what type of approach works best for you.

Basics of Google+

Before we go any further, let’s go over some basic vocabulary associated with Google+.  If you’re just starting out, check out our Intro to Social Media Tools for Bloggers post before reading on.

Stream

This is really similar to the Newsfeed on Facebook. As you add people to your circles, the posts that they share on their page will show up in your stream.

Circles

Circles are the way you categorize the different people you follow and connect with. If you stay in touch with a lot of family members on G+, but they’re not necessarily interested in all of the gardening tutorials that you post, you can easily segment them into their own category. When you share a new post on gardening, you can choose to only share it with your “Blogger Friends” circle – that way, your family won’t even see the post come through their feed.

+1

This is similar to liking a post on Facebook or favoriting a Tweet on Twitter. It’s a way to show support and appreciation of a piece of content, and a way to share it with more people. If you +1 something, it will show up in the streams of people who have you in their circles

Extended circles

These are people in your circles’ circles. Say what? It’s really similar to sharing content with friends of friends on Facebook. Sensing a pattern here? Yup. The good news is, if you understand how to use Facebook, it will be pretty easy for you to adapt to using Google+, too.

Hangouts

These can be private, text-only chats, like the old Gchat. Hangouts can also be Skype-like sessions with two or more people, video chatting together. Finally, you can broadcast publicly from your G+ account with Hangouts on Air – I’ll go into more detail on this below.

Communities

Discover communities of people discussing your interests – and if you can’t find what you’re looking for, it’s pretty easy to create your own community in Google+.

Okay… so you can share content and +1 it if it’s something you enjoyed reading. What makes Google+ any different from other social platforms? Why should I start using it?

The power of Google+ lies in the basic fact that so much of our online footprint is based around Google already. Many of us use Gmail and YouTube constantly, and by linking your blog to your G+ profile, you’re saying to Google, “Hey there, this is original and unique content that I’ve created! These blogs posts belong to me!”

When it comes time for Google to serve a page of search results related to a topic you’ve written about, if the user is choosing between clicking on an article written by an anonymous author with no credibility, and your post, written by a real person who has a robust and integrated online presence, chances are that your content will be more appealing.

Guidelines

Here are a few tips and tricks to make your time spent on G+ as successful as possible!

1. People love to share images – so, make your posts visual! If you’re sharing a blog post that you’ve written, always include a photo from the post, as well. Photos are displayed really nicely on G+, so if you have a photography blog or focus a lot on creating quality images, this is an ideal platform to utilize.
2. Try to share content that is interesting and informational. Most people on Google+ are interested in learning something new or coming across a technique that will save them time or make their lives easier or more interesting. Play into that – share content that people will find useful. Save the cat memes for Facebook.
3. Post regularly. If you’re going to start incorporating Google+ into your social media repertoire, don’t forget about it after the first couple of weeks! As your content starts getting shared with new audiences, new users may circle back to your G+ profile to see who you are. Make sure you have fresh content there to keep people engaged!
4. Use hashtags to appear in relevant categories related to the content you post. You probably are used to doing this on Twitter and Instagram, and it’s helpful to do on Google+, too. Just don’t overdo it! #No #one #likes #to #read #a #million #hashtags #in #a #row. #onemillionhashtags #winning #lovemyhashtags #lovemycat
5. Incorporate a +1 button option on posts directly on your blog.
6. Supplement your existing video content with Google Hangouts. Do you regularly post video tutorials? Schedule a Hangouts on Air to answer follow up questions to your readers. Hangouts on Air will automatically publish to YouTube, so your video gets saved and can be watched later. Webinars, Q&A sessions, mini-workshops – all are perfect ways to utilize Google Hangouts. These can be public or private, depending on your goals. If you’d like to set up a Hangout on Air, here’s a good guide to getting started.

By naturally increasing your online visibility by through posting on Google+, your authority on the topics that you write about will grow. As people +1 the work that you share, it will spread further on the platform and introduce you to new audiences that you may not have reached otherwise.

How do you use Google+ to increase the success of your blog? Have a question? Let us know in the comments!

The post Introduction to Google+ For Bloggers appeared first on AmpliFound.

We’re comprised of a bunch of blog-reading, Internet-obsessed folk from SEER Interactive. We work with lots of bloggers every day, ranging from those that are new to the blogging scene to the seasoned veterans. In fact, some of us are even bloggers ourselves! After seeing one too many awesome bloggers feel stressed or discouraged about an issue with their blog (that we knew we could help them solve), we decided to create AmpliFound. All the information you need to grow a successful blog – all in one spot!

Across our four main categories (Content, Social Media, SEO, and Tech Tips), we’ll be posting tips, tricks, guides, and how-to’s every Tuesday and Thursday, so be sure to check back often.

We have lots of big ideas and plans for what’s to come, but we really want to help you as much as we can. If there are specific things that have been tripping you up lately, don’t hesitate to let us know! We’ll be sure to address your questions as soon as we can.

Enjoy!
-The AmpliFounders

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