Welcome to another fun packed week folks. As usual I’m going to kick-off with an interview with one of our community members, this time with the ever so friendly and kind Mr Arvind Devalia. However keep your eyes peeled for notice of our next Meetup and a special event discount just for LBM’ers both coming here soon too.
Now on with the interview. I first met Arvind towards the end of last year when he approached me to ask if he could introduce a charity project he was working on to our community. As you may know, I’m always happy for charities to come along to our events, particularly those that are doing something interesting.
Arvind struck me as someone very genuine, who was gliding through life surfing on a wave of talent and goodwill, and nothing has changed my opinion on that. You can usually find Arvind at the London Bloggers Meetup talking, listening and offering ideas to other bloggers. I must admit to having not read Arvind’s blog quite as often as I’d like, something I’m going to try to rectify (or I might just sign up to his newsletter).
Well anyway, enough introduction, over to you Arvind to tell us all about yourself and how we can all be better bloggers (and people)…
2. What’s your blog all about ( in 20 words or less)?
Simple and practical strategies to help you become a better person and make the world a better place at the same time.
3. When and why did you start blogging?
I started dabbling with a blog in 2007 but really only started blogging seriously in September 2009. Since then, my subscriber numbers have gone up six-fold.
4. Which blog platform do you use?
WordPress – and that’s the only solution I recommend to my blog consultancy clients (I run a service whereby we consult with clients about their social media needs and then also create their blogs).
5. Can you give an example of how blogging has enriched your life?
Where do I start? Firstly I have met some incredible bloggers, both online and also in person at LBM meetings.
And I have learnt so much simply by reading and commenting on the many brilliant blogs out there.
Blogging has also given my life a new meaning and direction in that it allows me to articulate my life purpose and bring it to fruition.
6. Are there any blogs you recommend reading and why?
There are many outstanding blogs that I read daily but the top one for me is Zen Habits by Leo Babauta. This blog is all about simple living and productivity – and was nominated by Time magazine in July as the number one blog for 2010.
I also read The Daily Brainstorm which was launched only recently and brings together in one place some top bloggers from around the world. I have been honoured as a contributing editor – and I expect this blog to really grow in the coming months. It could become The Huffington Post for daily inspiration!
7. What three tips would you give to someone just starting out in blogging?
My three main tips for a new blogger are this:-
Focus on writing great content first. Only then look at other aspects of blogging. Looking back I spent far too long trying to get my design perfect and fine tuning my blog offering. Identify your niche and just start writing quality stuff, even if your chosen area seems too broad. Over time, your niche will become more defined and will naturally evolve. The key is to write quality articles on a consistent basis – and then to keep the momentum going
The look and design are important. So as soon as you can, get a decent design done – it doesn’t have to be world class from day one. The design can then evolve as you develop as a blogger and as your following grows. I would also highly recommend that new bloggers start with WordPress from day one, ideally with their own relevant domain name and their own hosting space. This will give you complete freedom to create your own design and incorporate the many WordPress plugins available.
Connect with other bloggers offline and online. This will help you learn from them and show you what’s working and what’s not working. Blogging can get lonely so having this virtual support community will help you maintain momentum. Also your new friendships could evolve into joint venture opportunities. And you will also create openings for guest posts, which are a great way of building a following quickly.
8. If you could change one thing about your blog what would it be?
I would change the design. The current design is now 8 months old and though it looks great, I intend to revamp it soon. I would welcome all suggestions from other bloggers for making it better!
9. What is the key to getting readers to your blog?
Always put your reader’s interests first. Before you post any article, ask if the article fulfils your target market’s needs. It’s about them and nothing else. If you focus on your stuff and start self-promoting, readers will see through this and soon unsubscribe. Provide great content, build a great relationship with them and then look to monetise in the long term.
One strategy for getting new readers to your blog is to write guest posts for other key blogs in your niche. Offer your best articles to other bloggers in return for a back-link and exposure to their readers. Writing many guest posts on a consistent basis will create your profile out there and bring you many new readers in the long term.
10. And finally, why do you come to the London Bloggers Meetups?
I came across LBM last October, soon after I began taking my blog seriously – and I was struck by the energy and enthusiasm of the other bloggers attending. I have made many new friends and also learnt a lot from the excellent speakers every month.
In summary, I now come to LBM to meet new and old friends and learn about new facets of blogging in a social, relaxed setting.
This was the attitude of some before the launch of Google Instant last month. There was much speculation about what Instant would mean for search. It has now been around for just over a month and I can safely say it has not contributed to the death of seo, but in actual fact has helped bring seo to the forefront of people’s minds.
Clients attitudes
Clients that did not know much about seo or had thought it was not that important suddenly woke up since the announcement of Google Instant. Now they want to know about seo and what their company is doing in terms of search. There has been a complete shift in client behaviour (in some clients) and I am pleased to see people are sitting up and taking note of the “natural” search landscape.
Long tail
Another speculation before Google Instant launched was that it would mean the end of the long tail. People would stop typing long queries as Google would give them the answer or an alternative result before they completed their search. If someone is really interested in a particular query, they will continue to look for it. They may be given more ideas, but only if they are logged in. Where I see Google Instant taking off, is mobile. Google Instant has helped with mobile search as it is now even easier to search when on the go, giving quicker results.
Search strategy
Some thought they would have to change their search strategy to reflect Google Instant and optimise for these partially complete words. However, analytics reports tracks search queries as previously, on the complete word. Google also assured seo professionals that seo would not be affected by instant and they do not need to optimise for it.
It is still too early to really tell what the long term effects from Google Instant will be. One thing is for sure, the search landscape is constantly changing which means no one can rest on their laurels. If you want to stay ahead of the game, you have make sure you are using the seo best practices on your website. Of course those in seo that are already using these techniques will have little to worry about.
Guest post from Jo Turnbull, a freelance seo consultant, blogs about seo, ppc and mobile.
As we kick off another week, it’s time for another blogger interview. This week we’ve been talking to Cristiano Betta, also known as @cbetta on Twitter. Cristiano has been coming to London Bloggers Meetup events for a couple of years and you’ll no doubt have seen him with his other half and fellow blogger / geek / technologist Melinda Seckington.
Cristiano is someone who says what he thinks in a fairly direct way, which is good because often he has something interesting to say. See one of his tips below on getting started in blogging: “just do it”. His blog is a place online where he shares thoughts and updates largely on his world and technology. If you’re in to code and web design, you’ll probably find his list of links pretty useful.
Well, without further ado I’ll hand you over to Cristiano.
A resource of things I figured out and want to share, and a list of things that happened to me.
3. When and why did you start blogging?
I started in 2006, on a small group blog I wrote with 3 friends. We all finished Uni and started our “real” lives. The sire was called FourStarters.com and we wrote about the things that kept us busy.
4. Which blog platform do you use?
WordPress, self hosted, always have, always will
5. Can you give an example of how blogging has enriched your life?
My blog has given me work opportunities, a better web presence, better recognition in the web community, and in general, a good place to vent any frustrations I might have.
6. Are there any blogs you recommend reading and why?
Most of the stuff I read is quite technical. I actually don’t read any of the mass media blogs, to me they are just as valuable as old media. Instead I read a lot of good old fashioned web-logs where people write about their work. Good examples are:
Dan W’s Scrapbook – Dan W likes to bookmark a lot of interesting stuff he finds online in his Tumblr and it’s often quite interesting.
MissGeeky.com – Melinda writes about anything geeky, often focussed on girls, but not at all inaccessible to guys.
Simon Willison’s Weblog – Simon is a developer extraordinaire and most of the stuff he writes about is very inspiring to anyone with a technical insight.
7. What three tips would you give to someone just starting out in blogging?
Just do it
Don’t worry about SEO, just make sure you write something interesting and worth reading
Don’t set up your own server, write your own HTML, and build your own design (all of which I did). Instead go with a hosted service (wordpress, blogger, tumblr) or have someone do it for you. Want a special design? Buy one. There are loads of sites out there that sell of the shelf designs.
8. If you could change one thing about your blog what would it be?
I would write more on it. I aim to ADD a steady stream of posts but I rarely do. I have a lot of drafts that never get published.
9. What is the key to getting readers to your blog?
I think the key to getting readers is simple: have something interesting to read. Marketing your blog might get you far but in the end it’s all about your content being relevant to your readers.”
10. And finally, why do you come to the London Bloggers Meetups?
To learn from others. To inspire others. And to relax.
What a good Bloggers Meetup. Seriously, nice to see a lot of new faces at October’s LBM but also plenty of bloggers I haven’t seen for some time. We also had the guys from Wired and Muzu shedding light into the world of online music videos and I had a particularly interesting conversation around people’s preference for access over ownership of music. I will certainly be spending some more time on Wired.co.uk and Muzu from now on. Thanks to Duncan and Ciaran from Wired and Muzu respectively.
I had first heard about Muzu when they were pitched to me by a PR agency earlier in the year. But now I have spent some time looking at and playing with it I’m definitely hooked. I signed up for an account this morning and have been watching the playlist from LBM last week. Some great and some horrific records in there… don’t believe me, here it is:
What an exciting prize draw too. I think we finally got a winner on the 7th or 8th draw in Ann Fenech who has promised to come back and write about her music gig experience. Correct me if I’m wrong Ann, but this may be one of your first music gigs right?
Thanks to everyone who came along and took over Red Soho for a thoroughly enjoyable evening.
Arvind struck me as someone very genuine, who was gliding through life surfing on a wave of talent and goodwill, and nothing has changed my opinion on that. You can usually find Arvind at the London Bloggers Meetup talking, listening and offering ideas to other bloggers. I must admit to having not read Arvind’s blog quite as often as I’d like, something I’m going to try to rectify (or I might just sign up to his newsletter).
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