You Can Take a Giant Step : Want to Get Known?

Want to Get Known? The interconnectivity of the blogging world is something that can exponentially increase attention on what you do; increase your blog readership; increase your visibility.

You, the Service you Perform, or the Art You Make can take a Giant-Step forward.

And being able to let someone else know that we have mentioned them in what we're writing is of great benefit to us - and to them. It gives each of us a nice hand up and a pat on the back as well without having to hold hands and sing kumbaya.

The way we do the job of letting them know that we're talking about them - without having to phone or email them - is through "pings" which provide a "trackback" to what we're saying  AND  who we're saying it about.

Now wait though . . .
    before your eyes roll back in your heads  I've prepared a quick (and easy I hope) "show and tell" on the subject.

If you go along with each step I think you'll soon get it. And if not? Heck - ask me questions!

. . . No brain cells will be injured in the process. Take a deep breath . . .

Let's start by setting up an example. We'll say that:

1.) I want to write a post (article) about something that someone wrote in their blog.  Of course I want to include a link so the reader can just click and see what I'm talking about.

My example to demonstrate this is at this blog entry. You can go ahead and click that now and then come back here.

2.) As you read through that entry you will find a link to the Everyday Economist

3.) My blogging platform (Typepad) has a function that automatically (no kidding) "pings" the Everyday Economist as a way of communicating to that blog that I just referenced it in something I wrote. 

Think of this automatic message as if it were just like my sister tattling on me, running immediately to her and saying "Mommy, Susan was saying a bunch of stuff about you."

With me so far?

4.) OK - so back in the bloggosphere - like magic - the beginning lines of what I wrote about him show up right there in his Everyday Economist's blog.  And even better - my words appear right below the entry that I'm writing about!

Imagine that a magic cloud appears over my sister the tattler's head . . . and in the cloud appear the words that I actually said about Mommy, right there where she - or anybody else - can see them.

...

5.) Meanwhile, back at the Everyday Economist's Blog - and right there at the spot where my words magically appear - a link to my blog also appears.

Aha! So if the reader is interested in what I say or how I come to be writing about this or whatever - voila, they hop on over for a visit at my blog.

6.) So what has happened?

       a.) The Everyday Economist has gotten traffic from MY blog - - and

       b.) I have gotten traffic in the form of anyone who may click on my link after my words have being "seen" there in his blog.

Thus the term "trackback."   His blog is "Tracking" who is talking about him. And his blog is also showing a link back to the one doing the talking - Which is me in this case.

        c.) An added benefit is that google and other blog search engines and ranking systems etc actually "count" the number of times a link to something in your blog appears in cyberspace.

Having a link there in the Everyday Economist  -  thanks to the ping sent from typepad when I wrote my blog entry -  pushes up the ranking of my blog, meaning it will appear higher on the page when someone does a search for something. 

The benefit from interconnecting with other blogs is demonstrable if you search for: artsy asylum, artsy blog, Ephemeria, or Susan Reynolds on Google or yahoo the results are amazing.

The Final Word

So in the end should you decide you must use a blog platform that does automatic pings and trackbacks?

It's not a tough call for me at all. Here's a short run-down of my experience

• I first used LiveJournal, Squarespace, and Blogger.com and discarded all of them.

• Neither LJ or Blogger supports what I think of as professional functions including pings and trackbacks, And Squarespace which I heard would be great for me was so counter-intuitive I threw up my hands in frustration.

• I found Typepad before trying Wordpress but have heard good things about both.

• I didn't want to learn any more than I was already learning and so having intuitive built in functions was essential.

• There's no knowledge of HTML or other codes or languages necessary but on the other hand it supports those essentials like pings and trackbacks, plus being able to create posts in advance and schedule them for release when I'm out of town, on vacation, etc.

• Typepad offers far more tools than I use, including multiple photo albums. Great for artists or self-employed folks.

• After building six Typepad blogs, when I set up blogs for artists or others I only use the typepad system - believeing that if I've learned it anyone else can as well.

• It's a system that makes it very easy to assist someone along the way and gradually help them do more and more of their blog entries without help.

• Notes on my personal upgrading history below if you're interested.
  

All that said, some users of the free blogger/blogspot platform say that they have installed a separate pinging mechanism and are happy with the results. Although it wouldn't be something that would work for me, if you're technology-minded it may be fine.

Questions? Comments? Issues?

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History:

1. As I said, I first used LiveJournal, Squarespace, and Blogger.com / Blogspot and discarded all of them. But I'm careful. And I'm frugal. So next I registered for a free trial at Typepad.
2. Then I went to a $5 a month plan (two free months if you pay by the year)and found it head and shoulders above Blogger even if it is free.
3. This was easy, fun, and was bringing in buyers for artistamps, buyers for my cafepress shop, and traffic to my regular website too. I definitely needed another Typepad blog! So I went to the $9 a month for three blogs with multiple photo albums etc.
4. I was still very happy with the ease of use and functionality so when I wanted to add guest authors I slid easily into the $14.95 Pro package. It lets me have unlimited blogs will unlimited bells and whistles (and more coming all the time), multiple authors with varying degrees of permission to edit the blog that they work on (all controlled by me), and all the pinging and trackbacking my little heart desires.
5. I am extremely happy with it or I would never have paid for a year of Pro level service in a gazillion years.
6. Why was am I still unhappy with Blogger / Blogspot?

• See the sad story here in the Artsy Asylum Blog, and even more at this entry

Comments

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[The Everyday Economist]

Interesting article. I have to post just to prove your point.

Today I'm going to discuss the economics of blogging as well, so you might want to read it and check it out.

One thing I would add, is that you can set up a Blogger account as well, and then have it point to your current blog. The Blogger Account blog will never show up, but now the users of Blogger will be able to search and find you on the Blogger site, and will be directed to your current blog.

It allows one to have blogs on all the major accounts, but use the functionality of whichever platform the blogger prefers. All the while, boosting the Google rating as now the Blogger, Typepad, etc. free blogs point to the central blog, the link count goes up.

Thanks for using my blog as the example, by the way.

-eE

[Susan Reynolds]

RE> I just didn't want to pay for their premium services. I rather save the money for more art supplies and chocolate.<

Good point, Amy. I thought about using Typepad's sister, Moveable Type w/ my own server but I still resisted having to learn aboutthat process. Somehow I'd rather have a professional screw up my files than trusting myself to do it. :^) And oh yes, on the chocolate. More $ for Godiva Truffles would never hurt!

[Amy Eileen Koester]

Susan, you are the first person to explain trackbacks clearly for me. I particularly am happy to understand WHY it is done. :)

You mentioned WordPress, which is the blogging software I use. My blog is installed on my personal server, so I have total control of the look as well as the data. WP also offers free WordPress blogs, which would be a good way to check them out.

I used TypePad when it was free, and really loved it. I just didn't want to pay for their premium services. I rather save the money for more art supplies and chocolate. Wait! is chocolate considered an art supply?

[Susan Reynolds]

Absolutely do-able Kathy. Your blog is clean and nicely designed and will be easy to nearly duplicate. Plus you won't have to do any more html to add links in your right column. I'd like to see my name there too :^) and you can add multiple lists easily with "typelists", using only a few easy to fill-in boxes.

My suggestions would be to go ahead and sign up for Typepad's trial period so you can get a feel for how the process of setting up your format (layout, colors etc.) works.

Next I'd add new posts in the new blog - and maybe putting duplicate content in your blogger blog just in case you hate typepad (see - I'm open minded).

When you feel comfortable doing so, you could then transfer your older files. However Blogger doesn't make leaving them easy since the last thing I read said that they don't have a decent format to export the files. And I didn't think the instructions they give at http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=130 were terribly helpful.

But continuing to post there just makes more stuff to trasnfer later when you decide to do that. Looking at Wordpress might be helpful too, just to be "fair and balanced" :^). Good luck!

[KAthy LaRocco]

Susan,

So far this is the best explanation of pinging and tracking. You did a great job and finally I am beginning to see a light. But....a lot of time was spent setting up my blog on blogger. Can you just transfer the contents to typepad? Gosh I would hate to retype that stuff but yet I think some of it would be of interest to other artists.

pondering here in northern IL.
k