Lots of people have been asking me about video recently. Partly because I am pretty vocal on Twitter about finding it difficult but keep doing it anyway, and partly because I have been encouraging my clients to do more of it. If it is so hard, why do some people make it look easy? And if it is so uncomfortable, why bother? Fact is technically it does not have to be difficult. In fact I am going to show you that it is very easy technically. There are many benefits, not least of which are … [Read more...]

What makes a successful blog? What makes a successful blogger? I have been reflecting on these questions as I start planning out the next stage of my Authority Blogger course. It's important to me that people get real results, and honestly the only way I can do that is by basing my advice on what has worked for me and other clients, and my getting people to take action. It Takes a Long Time to Be an Overnight Success Most of the bloggers you know who write about blogging didn't start off … [Read more...]

It's Blogworld coming up in a few days. Another big conference with busy halls, packed sessions, and loud parties. That might sound like heaven or hell to you, and believe me I understand both perspectives. I am doing up to six sessions this year. Around six more than my nerves are built to take. You can see my schedule here. That nifty calendar shows where I will be as far as talks and panels are concerned, either on stage or heckling from the audience :) When people hear that I have … [Read more...]

Here we go again. Another week, another "revolution", another "rebel" stirrs things up. To paraphrase a line from a movie ... "He's not a rebel, he is a very naughty boy." Ideas should be free, says the latest link-bait, attack-post, call-to-arms, etc. Whatever. It seems even in 2010 there are still people out there who think that bloggers should not profit from their content. Somehow they have come to the conclusion that even advertisements and affiliate links are unethical. We are, … [Read more...]

The chap in the photograph is called "Chambers", despite the freezing cold water and the 15c temperature of the dock he enjoyed repeatedly diving and the adulation it bought him. I think there are a lot of folks just like the Chambers dude. We can say he did some things very well. He was getting attention, inflating his ego, and he worked his audience. While he was clearly enjoying the thrill, it was just as clear as he grandstanded for the onlookers that he wasn't doing it just for the … [Read more...]

I don't remember exactly when I first shared my "flagship content" concept at Performancing.com but it came from looking at how we were going to achieve growth. We were hovering around the top 20 blogs on the internet, as ranked by Technorati. Each successful website reaches the same stage, but each gets there in its own way and on a different timescale. What happens is you work hard to acquire any attention at all, you determine what works, get serious growth and then hit a plateau. This … [Read more...]

The Headway blog theme is now powering chrisg.com and so many people asked me about it that I thought I would write up my thinking behind the decision. Mostly people were either shocked or congratulated me. Shock came from the fact a lot of people know me as an advocate for the Thesis Theme from Chris Pearson and Brian Clark. Why would I recommend this theme so much and so often, but then go with their main competitor for my signature blog? Of course the congratulations came from all … [Read more...]

I nearly called this article "Everything I know about blogging I learned from comic books" but I was afraid too many people would take it literally, ha. In fact, there might be an element of truth to it. My formative reading material was dominated by muscly, spandex-clad guys and gals fighting crime and shooting laser beams out of their eyes. Like most geeks who grew up in the 1980s, I have been heavily influenced by Marvel, 2000AD/Judge Dredd, and to a lesser extend, DC comics. Other than … [Read more...]

Steven Aitchison has a strong blog. Most people would regard his site as a success (in fact he claims it as the "biggest personal development blog in the UK) .. It looks good (using a slightly customized Thesis install) Steven is a good writer therefore the articles are excellent (in fact freelance writing is one of the services Steven offers) He has a large blog and email audience, with nearly 7k RSS subscribers alone (dwarfing some blogging and internet marketing blogs) Traffic is … [Read more...]

Today's blog critique is for Medical Practice Trends, an information resource for doctors and medical practice administrators. This blog is a perfect example of how content, marketing and user interface need to come together to deliver an overall experience, as the team here have excellent expertise that is currently being let down by conflicting and competing design elements. … [Read more...]