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Blog Distribution Channels To Earn More Traffic

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Blog distribution is rarely thought of, and I’m here to tell you that has to change! Your blog posts, the most valuable pieces of owned media you have in your archives, should never just be published on your website and forgotten. These stories need to be distributed on a wide variety of channels and in a wider variety of repurposed creativity.

Let’s explore further, shall we?

Blog Distribution Channels — A Long List

1. So easy and obvious, is the very first place a blog post is published and greets the world. Ensure your website is owned by you; it’s your created domain name, and it’s on a hosting platform you’ve selected.

1a. A blog post comment section is key for links to others’ content to get added. Sometimes a blogger asks for shares, and these can get added manually. If you sign up for Livefyre, a blog comment platform, your latest blog post is automatically added to your bio descriptor.

2. LinkedIn posts are another obvious pseudo blogging channel. In fact, I had elected to craft this post and publish it on LinkedIn FIRST. Then, as I kept writing and writing, I realized how dumb that would be. I need the content and link juice for my own blog! Remember, that when you publish original content elsewhere first, you miss out on the strength of that content for links and traffic. Do build up your own archives first. Because I’ve been blogging since 2010, I have archives of more than 650 blog posts to my credit. A blogger’s life is never over; there is always a fresh audience seeking content with a twist. Stand out! [Read more…]

The Happy Friday Series: Seven Happy Peeps

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Soulati-thank-you.jpgUsed to be, I’d look out the window and be able to spot my social media BFF in the stream. Today? Not so much…times, they are a-changin’. People come and go, and this The Happy Friday Series has seen so many amazing contributors who have been part of this community since the earliest days. It’s not that friendships are fleeting, it’s just that we know how much of a time suck social media truly is. When there are bills to pay, mouths to feed, and billable gigs at which to work, that means there is less time to stay connected.

This multi-tribute recognizes seven authors in this highly popular and longest-running series. Without each of you helping with your personal stories and shares, there is no way I could have made this series happen. Fact. Where else have you seen a year-long series every Friday without fail about a toughie topic like happiness?

Happy Friday Gratitude

Nowhere. You guys made this happen; I am forever grateful. In no particular order, here is my gratitude for this Friday:

  • Geoff Reiner. Oh where oh where has the little dog gone? Geoff? Your contribution to this series was so heartfelt and showed the work you do to always grow into maturity. Geoff wrote about the science of happiness and do-overs. I still love this post because it shows that Geoff isn’t going through life happenstance; he’s a serious young man on a mission. Come back and see us again, Geoff! Happy New Year!
  • Betsy Cross. Ahhhh; there’s absolutely no one on the interwebz more genuine and generous with her love, blessings, carings, and friendships. She writes the most heartfelt posts on her blog, and she wrote here about being the sun and about serving. If you ever need a dose of authenticity, please stop in to Betsy’s house. About now, she’s snowed in huge and perhaps without electricity (be safe Betsy!), so perhaps you’ll consider waiting for spring?
  • Stan Faryna. Oh, Staneo, Staneo, wherefore art thou? I miss you profusely, Mistah. I have not had the pleasure of hearing your voice on the phone, and I haven’t seen you about these parts in quite some time. We established a strong thing, you know, and I really want to rekindle; stop in, Friend…say hi, let me know you’re well. Miss you mucho. Happiest of the season! Thanks for contributing here with your so-fitting piece.
  •  Brian Meeks. When Kaarina Dillabough and I decided to blogjack Brian’s lonely blog one day it was the start of a firestorm. Brian, who goes by @ExtremelyAverage (I have never liked that negative, but there’s a story about it that pertains strictly to him), was a budding author back in the day, and now he’s quite famous. He timed a series of guest posts and interviews on a number of blogs, including this Happy Friday Series so he could launch his first book, Henry Wood Detective Agency Series https://soulati.com/the-happy-friday-series-five-seconds-and-happy. Brian is one analytics guru; I’ve never met anyone who knows his book sales to the minute. I need a bit of his sauce to give a care about mine! Thanks for writing, Brian!
  •  Nancy Jean. Although we’ve never had the privilege of speaking, Nancy pops up in the stream to tell me she’s paying attention (when I least expect it and what a lovely surprise!). She jumped in to write, and her piece is so personal and therapeutic; I applaud her for sharing the work she does to create and sustain happiness. As a communications professional, she is one of the most private personally. We spend our lives promoting others, and that means we don’t want or wish the spotlight. Get further acquainted with Nancy here.
  • Brad Lovett.  Of all the gems on this page, I’ve had the privilege of meeting Brad not once, but THREE times IRL at Social Slam in Knoxville! How’s that for the odds? Brad was a Dayton, Ohio resident (gahh, we never met here); yet, I had to drive five hours annually just to say hi to Brad in person. If you don’t know Brad, he’s a trivia treasure. I cajoled him to write here because I knew it would be a tribute to a walk down memory lane in the days of radio. Heck, he just posted something on Facebook about Larry Lujak on WLS in Chicago when I was there, and I went crazy! Hey, Brad…why don’t you resurrect Social Slam?
  •  Sharon Gilmour-Glover. I have had the privilege of getting further acquainted with Sharon in the last several months of this year. There’s absolutely NO ONE on this Earth more committed to our planet, to curing the heart of a company, and for nurturing businesses one person by one person. She’s brilliant, and in tandem with her husband and business partner, Tim Glover, the two are formidable. She is co-owner of Jump-Point and is the voice and trainer in the amazing online business course, Clarity For The Boss. Sharon knows that happiness drives success; read her piece and see if that’s so. Thanks, Sharon, for your contribution! Here’s to awesome 2014!

With that? Indeed…here’s to an awescious  and #RockHot 2014!

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The Happy Friday Series: How Is Happiness?

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jayme-soulati.jpgFor practically a year, just a few weeks shy, we’ve read all semblances of happiness interpretation in this series. My heart is brimming with thank yous to each of you for your contribution; do you know what an accomplishment it’s been to bring in single authors once weekly to share a personal happiness story? It’s huge, especially in this era of blogging when folks have little time and engagement is minimal.
There were personal stories so revealing and shocking to some; there were stories about loved ones gone with happy memories that remain; there were other stories about family and friendships, and hobbies that brought smiles.

Based on all these wonderful stories, is happiness elusive? The 40 or so authors who have graced these pages in the last year, have had many obstacles facing them; yet, they found happiness.

I’m going to try and add another perspective to happiness with this story:

Are You Happy?

Used to be when someone asked me, “Jayme, are you happy?” I’d scoff and say, happiness is relative, it’s elusive and fleeting. I didn’t have an answer; I had a poor taste because I didn’t know HOW to answer.

As I challenged people to write for this series, some jumped at the chance; others struggled for just the right topic. I was in the latter category knowing I really didn’t have anything to write until this post right here.
What that experience, earning my white belt in taekwondo, taught me was the opportunity to truly feel a variety of emotions that burgled up into pure happiness. Although another mom attempted to publicly minimize my accomplishment, it didn’t matter; I knew how much I had struggled to achieve and stuck with the challenge in spite of my limitations. I got out of my adult comfort zone and pushed the barrier envelope. How often do you do that? When I arrived home that evening, I immediately sat down to write knowing I had to capture my feelings.

Today, as drama in life continues to unfold, I hold that experience in highest regard. It may sound funny, but do you know how you survive turmoil? Do you know how you remove obstacles from the path often littered with negativity and people who attempt to belittle?

You focus and recall the happiest moment you can, when you were on top. When you face the obstruction, squeeze your hand and let all the empowerment from that happy place and time rush back to overwhelm the negativity and fuel you your own powerful strength. When you take charge of that moment using these tools, you will continue to grow from within to the next level. Your happy feelings will consume the negativity, and the people facing you will be disarmed. It works, I know this from doing it; and, I will continue to practice it the rest of my life.

I thank Sharon Gilmour-Glover of Jump-Point for that tip; she is one helluva woman with incredible teachings from her 13 years as a management consultant and change agent.

I do believe happiness comes in levels. When my 12-year-old squeals like only little girls can do, I giggle inside and register that sound as happiness and excitement. When I earn a new client, I’m happy the fruits of my labor worked. When I belly laugh with genuine sincerity, it washes through me from the tips of my toes to the ends of my curls.

Today, right now, if someone were to ask, “Jayme, are you happy?”

I would say, “No, I am at peace.”

The Happy Friday Series: Books And Scoliosis

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X-ray-Scoliosis.jpgThere are people living online and in social media spheres with serious maladies and diseases. Sandy Appleyard is one of them, but until she wrote about having scoliosis, a curvature of the spine. Sandy, as many others, doesn’t necessarily keep this secret secret, she just doesn’t share it often.

I am so admiring of people who will be forthright with a possibly judgmental audience and share this kind of personal information. She does intense yoga to help her get through the countless hours of writing.

Sandy Appleyard Authors Books

I first met Sandy in my Google+ community (which is on the rocks, by the way). She shared her blog posts about books she had written, and we exchanged tips about WordPress and commenting systems. When you dive in a bit deeper to learn more, here’s a giveaway:

“I always write happy endings because I want my readers to leave my stories feeling intrigued, uplifted and entertained. I never leave a loose thread.”

She writes a blog, too, and it’s full of her travails through and around the publishing world. As she gains more experience, she shares it, like with this piece about understanding publishers’ rejection letters  or with this one about whether book sales are akin to product sales — hmm, interesting question!

I bet you most want to know about Sandy’s books, right?

From what I can tell, she has four available for the extremely reasonable price of $2.99 via ebook for Christmas and they are The Wife of a Lesser Man, I’ll Never Wear a Black Dress, Blessed and Betrayed, and The Message In Dad’s Bottle. The awesome quote on her website says she writes romance thrillers, but I leave you to investigate further.

Sandy is one of those authors doing it right. She engages on social media, she teaches others about her experiences, she is accessible and lacks arrogance, she’s responsive, and is so transparent about how she’s growing — page by page.

She’s a Canadian living in Niagra Falls (is that the U.S side or the Canadian side, Sandy?) with two kids who keep her too busy.

There’s one other secret I just have to share, a previous conversation had Sandy asking about whether she should use a pseudonym to write intriguing books of the sexual persuasion. Hmm, Sandy, how’s that going for ya, eh?

Thanks for writing for The Happy Friday Series: Finding Happy With Scoliosis.

The Happy Friday Series: She Loves to Heal

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Michelle-Quillin.jpgWhen a woman the likes of Michelle Quillin gets on your good side, and she’s never on anyone’s bad, you have the privilege of a friend for life, a supporter extraordinaire, and the most loving individual you’ve never met.

It’s a good thing we now can all G+ Hangout, for it took me about three years to “meet” Michelle in sorta IRL. She’s worth the wait.

Michelle is the better half of New England Multimedia, the WordPress design and development firm in Rhode Island. Back in the earliest days of our ‘raderie, she was part of the SMB Collective with Neicole Crepeau, Jon Buscall, Jenn Whinnem, and me. We blogged together in 2010 for awhile, and it’s been nothing but a building relationship ever since.

Michelle is one of those people who makes instant friends with most everyone. On Facebook she has a scourge of admirers from foreign lands who insist on getting to know her…LOL…I’m not supposed to share that with her husband, Scott!

What always impressed me about Michelle is her command of Facebook community building. In the earliest days, she took to the channel like a fish to water and had oodles of likes and comments on her posts. She asked questions, and got people to reply; she posted surveys and earned responses…she knows her Facebook!

In her real other life, Michelle is a youth minister guiding troubled youths through troubled times. Yet, she serves over and above and home schools teens (not hers) who need attention. She has played nanny to infants and toddlers whilst the teen mother attended school. Michelle keeps this side of her life private to the extent she can; however, a woman so devoted to nurturing, giving and caring needs to also be recognized in some small way. She is an angel and messenger who loves and lives to heal.

She has always been part of this community, and she wrote a piece for The Happy Friday Series, too. I thank you, Michelle, for always contributing, being there and here. My warmest best.

 

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