Radical Reasons to Register Your Blog with Technorati

This is icon for social networking website. This is part of Open Icon Library’s webpage icon package. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the beginning, blogging is a lonely business.

Only your mom reads your blog. Not to be harsh but there are a lot of blogs out there and maybe mom doesn’t even read your blog. Lack of quality content is a possible reason. Write what your readers want to read. You have to provide information that people are looking for -and-  find that “voice” as a writer that is both a trusted authority and a person that you would choose to sit down with for a conversation. We all have that person in our lives who “knows it all” (and maybe they really do know their stuff) but when we see them coming we turn the other way. Don’t be “that guy”. No one owes you their time. We are all one quick mouse-click away from Facebook or Twitter. That’s reality.

It takes time to find your followers and attract a steady readership. Unless you like the idea of blogging into a void, you have probably wondered how to increase traffic to your blog and have a chance to earn the regular readers that you know your content deserves.If you are doing what you can to write quality content in a style that invites readers to keep reading but it feels like notes in a bottle set out to the whims of the tide, don’t despair. Take action.

The number one reason that no one is reading your blog is no one is seeing it. 

Do something about it. I will talk more about promoting your blog with social media later. Right now…

Let’s talk Technorati.

One of the ways that you can quickly and easily draw more traffic is by registering your blog at Technorati. Many beginning bloggers might never have heard of the service and meanwhile many veterans of the blogosphere are starting to question it’s usefulness; not whether it works but rather how well it works in the changing culture of “new media”. To pro-bloggers, Technorati is an old tool. Many tout instead Google Blog Search which is a useful tool. That shouldn’t stop you from wanting to register with Technorati. It is a very useful tool for any blogger. You might have an electric screwdriver that you use but I bet you back it up with a manual in your tool box anyway. No matter what new technologies come along, there will be still be the trusted basic tools.

But if you are a new blogger, you might have just shrugged and said…

Yeah, but what is Technorati anyway?

Technorati is a blog search engine with a few uses for the smart blogger.It is a search engine just for blogs. The site itself is a Goliath  and has indexed an army of over one hundred million blogs to date. There must be an excellent reason over 10x million blog owners decided to claim their blogs on Technorati.

Why should I register my blog with Technorati?

Let’s take a look at a few advantages of registering your blog with Technorati:

Boost Your Search Engine Rankings

Technorati gives a big boost in search engine traffic, as people are able to find your blog  easier there and your rankings will increase. Technorati is expert at indexing your blog, and sorting it into appropriate categories for searchers, more people will be able to find your content because they will be looking for it in the right place.  Google, Yahoo and Bing search results will all boost as people find you easier with Technorati.

The Tag System will Increase Traffic

Technorati has a tag system that efficiently sorts your tagged blog post into the correct category.  The more you tag with Technorati, the easier people will find your blog. Getting your blog to the right readers is what it is all about. If you blog with WordPress, there is even a plug-in to suggest the best tags to get your posts noticed.

See What Bloggers are Saying About Your Blog

With the right keywords, it is easy on Technorati to see what (and face it, if…)other bloggers are talking about you.  Check out when other bloggers are mentioning your content and what they have to say about you. Your credibility will grow as other bloggers are able to refer their readers to your posts.

Someday You Might Be Ranked With The Blogger Big Boys

Over time, you can watch your blog rise in the rankings. It won’t be immediate but as your content gets better and your blog is found by the right readers (and really that’s any readers) then you might find yourself becoming ranked with the big boys. Go ahead, get your hopes up.

Imagine being selected as a featured post and enjoy the spike in traffic that will produce. You have my permission to dream that it’s possible. It is possible.

How do I register with Technorati?

The WordPress Help has an excellent how-to for registering with Technorati. I won’t repeat the steps here but do recommend that you use the help they offer. It is what I used to register my own account.

Have you registered with Technorati? Can you endorse it for others? Let’s continue the conversation in the comments.

Related articles

• How to Get Traffic Without Google (famousbloggers.net)
• How To Submit your Blog on Technorati (premiermicrosoft.wordpress.com)

Everybody Blogs

Do you remember when you learned that everybody does it? Your parents, your friends, your teacher and neighbor all do it. Point at someone. Yep! He does it. Someone else? They do it too. Everybody does it.

Everybody blogs.

The truism is that “Writers write”. In the new millennium, it would be just as true to say, “Writers blog”. In fact, just about everybody blogs. As I was preparing to start this blog, I began to read many other blogs. There are blogs for writers (of course), teachers, photographers, musicians, stay-at-home Moms, knitters, surfers, and children’s clowns. There is a blog for every conceivable profession,hobby, or interest. Many businesses have even become knowledge about the power of a blog to draw customers.  I discovered just how true it is to say, “Everybody blogs”.

Now you want to start a blog.

Let’s take it step by step.

Establish a topic. What do you want to talk about? We established that there are blogs for everything. Do you have a purpose for the blog. What do you want it to do? What action do you want readers to take? Visit/read regularly? Visit your Web site? Comment? Link to your content? And how do these actions fit into the bigger picture? Or do you just want to share interesting stories and humorous anecdotes about your life? Maybe you just want a place to showcase your poetry and art.

When I started this blog, I had an idea of the two things I most wanted to talk about: Writing and My Novel Writing Progress.  Hopefully, it is that easy for you and you know exactly what you want to share.

If not, it might be time for a little brainstorming.

Identifying and defining your blog will lead into your next step.

Plan your content.  Defining the subject of your blog should make it easier to determine topics to cover, as well as tone and content of your posts. Make a list of things you want to share about your subject. Hopefully, you have a long list of things that you want to say to your readers about your topic. It is a good idea to do a bit of brainstorming and planning at this time. Try to come up with at least 7 solid subjects. You will want to know that you have plenty to share on your topic. The more possible topics that you can come up with the better but if the topic of your blog is something that you are passionate about then a short list may suffice for beginning but return to brainstorming each time you run low on topics. What makes for good topics?

• Did you learn something new about your topic that others might not know?
• Do you have a tip to share?
• Is there a new trend or some news about the subject of your blog?
• How did you discover your interest in the subject?
• Did someone say something interesting on the topic that you want to share?
• Have you finished a project and want to share it?
• Did something funny happen to you that somehow relates to your topic?

Start writing.  Set a schedule for yourself and start writing. Set aside an hour of your day at least for your writing. If you are too busy to take an hour for writing, then question your intention to write. Publish consistently and regularly. For your blog to be successful, you must focus on both quantity and quality. Quality means that you post informative content in a consistent, recognizable voice. Quantity, of course, means regular updates.  Is it a choice between Quality or Quantity?

Choose Quantity.

The single most important thing about blogging, I’d suggest, is to post regularly. If you haven’t yet found your “voice” or need to adjust to the medium of blogging, practice makes perfect. Regular, consistent posting pulls in a readership. You won’t have readers if there is nothing to read.  Engage your readers in conversation. Choose a few comments on every entry and reply back. In the beginning, this might be easy as there won’t be many. There won’t be any if you are not posting regularly and consistently. Readers do not comment at empty or abandoned blogs. Extend the conversation beyond your blog through links and trackbacks.

Be patient.  It takes time to establish  your “voice” and it can take a year to build a steady readership. Quality is important. Quality takes patience and diligence. It will take time to develop your blog.

Nobody is The Bloggess over night.

I’m sure not even The Bloggess was sure from here first post exactly what she was doing. That is one big secret about blogging and about writing, nobody knows exactly what they are doing. It is better to be doing it and developing than to just wish that you could do it.

Promote yourself. Now you are writing. Get at least a week of content up before you begin really letting people know about it. Then promote it like crazy. Include your blog URL on your email signature, web site, Facebook profile, LinkedIN profile, Twitter bio, business cards, and anywhere else that you promote yourself.

Submit your URL to blog search engines and directories such as Technorati, Blogarama or Alltop.

There are some radical reasons to register with Technorati that I wrote about in this post and a look at the verification code needed to register your blog are behind the link.

Click the button to learn more about Blogarama (while I receive no money for this link, I do receive some preferential treatment if you follow back to their service and you should).

Read and Comment on other’s blogs. Read. Read. Read. Writers read. Allot some time during the day to reading and commenting on other’s blogs. I take part of my morning before I sit down to write and read all of my neighbor’s blogs. It not only helps you keep in touch with trends and popular topics but also can help you build conversations. Join in the conversation. Show people you have something to say and they may just want to know more about you. Blog readers may follow your link back to  your blog.

Measure your growth. Use analytics to show you how your readership is growing. Notice what searches lead them to you. Watch what topics draw the most readers and comments. This can show you what topics that people are most interested in reading your take on.

These are the basics. There are many tips and tricks that you can learn along the way. You will. Remember…

Everybody blogs.

Even Grandma…

Related articles

• How to Plan Your Blog Posts for a Year in Advance (contentmarketinginstitute.com)
• Are You an Insecure Writer? (blogher.com)
• Two Easy Brainstorming Techniques (verynovel.wordpress.com)
• Register Your Blog with Technorati (verynovel.wordpress.com)