Morten Juul's

I’ve moved this blog to my new blog called Biz Blog Blueprint. Please visit me there for future blog posts. Thanks.

Did you enjoy my Twitter list that I posted in January? Over at Squidoo, I just posted a follow up on my list post “27 People to Follow on Twitter in 2010”, adding a few great Twitter peeps to the list of “need-to-follow”.

In the Squidoo lens, “6 More People You Need to Follow on Twitter in 2010”, I name another 6 people that have stood out in Twitter, since my original post. They also about creating value to their followers, giving advice and coaching both you and your business.

I’m amazed at how much value is provided through tweets and blog posts. I particularly enjoyed a recent blog post by Johnny B. Truant (new member to the list) about setting the right life goals for the right reasons. It’s entertaining as hell and after you read it through, you don’t doubt that you were just reminded a valuable lesson in life.

Anyone you find inspirational on Twitter? Please share.

Photo by Per Ola Wiberg

Do you regularly leave comments on blogs? If you think about it, a comment on a blog has a life span equal to the blog post itself. It might not get read as many times as the blog post itself, but it will get read and on a regular basis too. With a potential “unlimited” life span, your blog comments are a permanent testament of what you represent online.

Blog Comments Builds Empires

One thing that you can be 99% sure of when you post a comment to a blog is that the blog owner will read your comment. Post comments regularly and the blog owner will begin to notice you, look at your website and maybe post a comment on your site, if it’s a blog. Maybe, you’ll even connect on other social media platforms? The networking potential is clear.

Your blog commenting can create a network spreading over various different business territories.

Obviously your comments on other people blogs are not only read by the owner, they’re read by the blog’s readers as well. There are many tips on getting your blog comments noticed, one of which is that you’re one of the first to comment on a particular post, chances are that blog readers will see and read your input. This is particularly the case, if you add a comment that stands out from the rest. Most importantly however is what you write. You want to include one or more of the following:
- Provide value that relates to the blog post (make the reader think)
- Give your opinion and thoughts (making it interesting)
- Ask a question (someone might respond)
- Leave your comment open ended (someone might contribute)
- Amuse (everybody wants a smile on their face)
- Compliment (sometimes you just want to say thanks)

If the reader found your comment enticing, chances are that they’ll click on your link and look at your website. If your site lives up to their expectations, they might come back on a regular basis (or subscribe, if that’s an option). Also, they might let their friends and network know about you.

Your blog commenting can provide you with an army of readers.

You now have what every empire needs, which is numerous territory and an army to defend itself, however…

Blog Comments Destroys Empires

The easiest way to add a comment to a blog is to write a generic “Wow, what a great post”-comment. That it’s easy doesn’t mean that it’s wrong. If you mean it, post it, and it’s much better than not leaving a comment just because you think you need to write prose. Depending on the blog, this type of comment won’t get much attention though. It’s certainly not an empire destroyer.

What is an empire destroyer however is posting the exact same comment word-for-word on multiple blogs and websites or even worse posting the exact same comment word-for-word with a link to your site in it on multiple blogs and websites.

If the site owner doesn’t notice it, the reader’s who might follow many blogs in the particular business area and they will notice. Inevitably, it will be discovered and if enough people notice your empire will start to show signs of stress.

Posting a comment without reading the blog post is not wise either. Even if it’s a beautiful comment, if it’s not related to the article, it will make the commentator look like a spammer, even if the person isn’t. Getting tagged as a spammer is very difficult to recover from and so your empire will start to crumble.

Having different opinions and proclaiming them in a comment is wonderful (and recommended, if that is your opinion), but there’s sometimes a fine line between different opinion and a negative, flaming or hateful comment. A blog comment section in no place for the latter type of commentary. Starting down that road will certainly get a person noticed (if the comment is not deleted by the blog owner), but in such a negative way that your once so grand empire now lies in ruins.

When posting comments do so to compliment the writer, add value to the blog post or contribute in another positive way to the conversation. Think about what you want to achieve with your comment and think about how it’s helping you build a social media relationship.

How often do you comment on a blog post after you’ve read it? One in ten? One in five? Always? Please leave your comment and let me know.

Photo by icelight

Are you achieving enough value for what you produce online? In a recent post by Sarah Prout called “5 Tips for Authentic Connection”, she has listed 5 great tips for achieving online business success by pushing your own personal vibrancy into what you produce.

Sarah’s 5 tips (“write copy in your own words”, “add value”, “get involved”, “know when to outsource” and lastly “collect inspiration”) are without a doubt some of the cornerstones of building your business into a successful online brand.

I’d like to add the following 3 tips to Sarah’s list that in my experience plays a huge role in online business success.

1. Choose Your Brand

You must choose to either promote yourself (by name) or your business name as your brand, not both.  Hereby I’m not saying you can’t use both, but it will be to your advantage to choose one primary brand. The key here is to take in account what your goals are and in what direction you want to take your business.

John Jantsch of Ducttapemarketing.com posted an interesting blog post in this regard named “Your Business is Worthless if it Depends on You”. In it he presses the point of the importance of knowing where you want your business to be in 5 or 10 years.

I think many people start promoting themselves and their name as “the business”, because it’s easier since they themselves already know of who they are and what they stand for. Also in the social media world, people tend to relate better to a person, than a brand.

There are numerous examples of successful brands finding success in social media such as ProBlogger (Darren Rowse) and CopyBlogger (Brian Clark) to name a few.

So it’s a good idea to weigh your options, before locking in on one thing or the other.

2. Brain Trust

Whichever social media platform you choose, it’s sure to be filled with people that can help you find success in your business as you can help them find success in theirs. In this vast pools of wisdom that are social media websites find people that operate in your business area and then make a point to learn what they know through their posts, their website, their feed, wherever they express their thoughts. Also remember Sarah’s third point of getting involved, interacting, asking questions and providing information.

3. Go offline

Offline promotion and conferences, meet-ups (or tweet-ups) or any kind of real life meet-and-greet, is a great way to get your online business out in the open, seen and talked about. Meeting your social media relationships and building upon them in person, will not only cement your relationship, but also open up for new opportunities that transcends the reach of online social media platforms.

As Sarah also points out in the post, utilizing social media to achieve worthwhile business results is about taking action, surrounding yourself with the right people, adding value to your business market and letting as much inspirational information encompass you and your business to create the perfect online environment to grow your business.

What social media websites do you find are the best fit for your business? Do you have any social media online business success stories, you’d like to share? Please feel free to leave comments below.

In a recent post on ”how not to drown in email when using RSS feeds to keep your business informed” I wrote about setting up an email system in order to get the most out of your newsletter, blog and other RSS subscriptions. In using this system you’d create a business resource of knowledge that you’d be able to draw from whenever needed.

When browsing and reading through your library, you’ll undoubtedly find some blog posts more relevant to your business (or to you personally) than others. Some will be get your ideas flowing, some not.

What I do, whenever I go over my RSS feed is have an open Word document where I’ll jot down ideas (mine or others) as well as anything that stands out from what I’m reading. Spending time writing it down makes me remember the great points better and it’s also easier to come back to and browse through next time I need it.

It took a little getting used to having a Word document open, while reading. To me it has always felt more natural jotting notes down on paper, when reading from a computer. However afterwards I find it a lot more practical and easy to access to have my notes digitally. Either way, you want to start taking notes when reading your RSS subscriptions.

Depending on the subject, I have several documents where I take notes. I don’t make a new document for each post, but I do try to keep the source of the information easy to find. This way I can see whose input appeals to me and inspires me the most.

How do you keep track of your ideas? Is it the pen-and-paper method or are you jotting it down on your computer?