How To Promote Your Most Successful Blog Posts In Your WordPress Sidebar


Highlight

Creating quality website posts takes time. Many of us spend days getting things just right before we hit that ‘publish’ button and share our creation with the world.

If we’re lucky, we then experience a few days of buzz, retweets, and traffic spikes before it’s time to start working on our next post. We repeat the cycle and in a matter of a few weeks, what was once a prized creation is sitting at the bottom of a blog archive, rarely to be found again.

A few weeks ago I decided that I wanted to give a second life to some of my favorite blog posts. I also wanted to highlight those posts that were particularly good at creating conversions to my email list.

So I spent more time than I’d care to admit trying to find a WordPress plugin that would display the posts I wanted to in my sidebar. Yet all I found were tools that would choose the most popular posts based on the number of comments or views received.

Though a fun piece of data to share with your visitors, these “popular” posts are not always that useful. At least, they aren’t to me. Just because something gets a lot of views or comments doesn’t mean it’s a post that helps me reach my website goals (you have website goals that you’re measuring, right?).

I wanted to hand-select the posts that were displayed, so instead I found a plugin called Category Posts Widget. Here’s how I set it up to display the posts I wanted in my sidebar…

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The Ultimate Guide To Finding Partners Who Deliver New Fans And Engaged Customers


Partnership

In a matter of a few months, this website has grown by leaps and bounds. The audience for this blog, as well as the number of people taking my free course, continue to build each and every day.

There are many factors that have contributed to that, but one of the most significant boosts to the growth of this site has come from the partnerships I’ve forged. I’ve been lucky to connect with extremely smart and talented people who have offered me their feedback, support, and promotion of my work.

Partnerships have been invaluable in growing this website and community.

Getting started and getting seen can be tough. But the single best way I’ve found to get past some of the early road blocks and to start getting eyeballs on your content is to find and work with good partners.

This guide tells you exactly how I’ve found and connected with my partners.

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The Art Of Conversation In Building A Better Website (Bonus: Video)


Startup Remarkable Interview

On most weeks I share with you a blog post covering an aspect of improving your website or web presence. While this week’s content does the same thing, today I’m going to share these insights a little differently.

Below you’ll find a video interview in which I answer questions about building websites from Howard Kingston of Startup Remarkable.

Howard is a talented entrepreneur and likeable fellow, and he does two things with his website that I love. The first is that his website has a rock-solid focus: to make $1,000,000 in 999 days and tell the tale. Purpose and clarity are so important in building a successful website.

The second thing that Howard does is let his personality come through his website. His video interviews (as seen below) not only provide great value to his website visitors, but they let his audience see the person behind the website. We get to see his sense of humor, his sincerity, and all the other pieces of personality that allow us to connect with who he is.

Finding ways to share a more personal side in your work connects you with your audience. We should all look for ways to do so.

On that note, follow the link below to go to Howard’s site, where you can get a feel for my personality as well. In addition, we cover:

  • The easy steps to take to create your own website
  • The four different ways you can make money with your website
  • How to build an email list and why you absolutely need one
  • Tools and techniques for getting your website visitors to do what you want

Check it out:

When you’re done with the video, come back here and leave a comment. Tell me if you’d like to see more videos like this from me.

Social Media Strategy Is Dead. Actually, It Never Existed.


Social Media

Every real trick or secret for becoming a social media star is actually something you probably already know.

I’ll explain.

Imagine a great salesperson or marketer. Someone who can sell ice in the winter.

Now imagine that they do their work over the phone. They call up prospects and make their pitch. They make sales in minutes.

Would you say that salesperson had great telephone strategy? Would you call them a telephone expert?

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How To Make 2012 The Year of Your Web Launch


Paper Airplane

Each new year brings new plans and new resolutions. It is a time of big dreams. Dreams of what the year will bring, of what steps we’ll take to finally achieve our goals.

I do it. Most people I know do it.

Nevertheless, I see a lot of people having years just like the years they had before. How quickly January’s promise can become February’s procrastination.

So instead of making a New Year’s resolution, let’s take a New Year’s action.

Let’s launch a website.

Let’s launch the website you’ve been thinking you should start. The website that will change everything.

And let’s not wait until it’s the perfect time, because there isn’t one. Let’s not wait until you have the perfect content mapped out, because that will evolve.

Let’s not wait any longer.

One of my goals for 2012 is to bring as much success as I possibly can to others. So I’m starting the year by taking action. Today I’m releasing a free course that will guide you through each step of planning, building, and launching your own website.

In four days.

It’s called The Web Launch.

The course is completely self-paced, and I walk you through everything you need to know via videos, worksheets, and clear, step-by-step written tutorials.

You can learn more here, or you can get started right now:

I hope to see you inside the course.

A Naughty And Nice List: How To Create Holiday Content For Your Website


Holiday Ornament

Holiday content is tricky.

‘Tis the season that many bloggers, stores, and marketers will try their hand at weaving holiday themes into their website content. You might be thinking about doing so yourself. But before you do, please check my quick list of things to consider about creating content during the next few weeks:

Keep it short. People are travelling, packing, shopping, wrapping presents, and attending parties. Your online audience is smaller and more distracted than usual. Don’t expect much, and don’t use this time to launch the project you’ve been dreaming of all year.

Stand out. Know that many of the other people creating content at this time of year are also going to be using similar holiday themes. Try to be unique.

Give. Focus more on the giving part of the holidays than the receiving. Spend some time talking about causes you believe in. Consider making a donation to a charity you care about and encouraging others to do the same.

Be personal. The holidays offer an excuse to share a bit about yourself, whether it’s talking about what zany traditions you celebrate or what you hate most about sleeping in your childhood bedroom. Take the opportunity to let your tribe know a little about you as a person.

That’s it. A quick list to check twice before posting content this holiday season.

But before you go grab yourself a glass of egg nog, do me a favor. Leave a comment below and tell me either a) your favorite holiday tradition or b) a charity you support.

For each of the first 20 comments, I’ll donate $5 to my local food bank. During a time of the year that I feel a little indulgent with the food I eat, it’s important to remember how many people are struggling to get a nutritious meal.

And while I’m waiting for you to do that, I’ll be working on a funny New Year’s card that highlights the good times I’ve had this year. Like camping with my wife less than 15 miles away from our house. Or catching a foul ball at a minor league game in Albuquerque. Go ‘Topes!

Happy Holidays,
Seth

The Great Google Hoax: Why You’ll Never Be #1 (Plus 4 Ways To Actually Get Your Website Seen)


Searching

Are you being found?

In over 15 years of working online, there is one request I get more often than all others combined. It’s usually the first question someone asks me when they learn I build successful websites.

“How do I get my website to be #1 on Google?”

My answer used to be more nuanced. But now it’s simply “you don’t.”

Trust me, I get why this is so appealing. It’s enticing to think of thousands of visitors actively searching for what you’re offering and finding your site without you having to pay a dime.

And that’s exactly why it’s probably not going to happen. That’s because…

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Why Failure Is The Absolute Best Thing That Can Happen To You


Dog Fail

Sometime we just miss.

Failure is a scary thing for a lot of us.

I’ve seen it stop people from building websites before they even got started.

And I’ve seen a few early setbacks derail some pretty good ideas.

Failure gets us confused, discouraged, defeated, or all of the above.

Earlier this year, I had a few significant failures. And they were the best possible thing for me. Here’s why:

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The Five Key Elements Your Website Must Have, No Matter What You’re Offering


Checklist

Image: Rawich

There are very few universals in the world of websites. In fact, I often preach the value of finding strategies and solutions that fit your specific website purpose, rather than using cookie-cutter formulas that are often irrelevant to what you’re trying to accomplish.

However, there are a few things, no matter what, that your website absolutely must have. I’ve put together the following list of five key elements you should be sure to include with your site:

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A New Year, A New Opportunity: Win A 2012 Website Strategy And Roadmap Package From Me


Let's start something new.

Let's start something new.

I take yearly transitions seriously. Every year on my birthday, I write a letter to myself which I then seal for one year, to be opened on my following birthday. The practice encourages me to think about what I’ve accomplished in a year’s time, and what I might want to have happen in my next 12 months. It’s exciting to envision where I’m headed.

I could just as easily follow this ritual for New Year’s, and I still use that yearly transition to do some reflecting and goal setting. And I know I’m not alone. As we draw near the end of 2011, many of us already have an eye towards 2012.

I plan on doing some amazing things in 2012. I want you to do something amazing, too, and I’m ready to help.

Here’s how: I’m running a contest to award 2 lucky winners a FREE and complete website strategy and roadmap package with me.

This contest is now closed. Winners were announced by email on Wednesday, November 23, 2011.

The best way to stay informed of upcoming promotions, as well as to receive tips, insights, and strategies for building a website that changes everything, is to join my email newsletter:

Email: