A recent post on Social Media Examiner goes into depth on what prevents a blog from succeeding.  I just started my first music marketing blog this summer. Check it out!

1.) Selfishness- The first trap I have fallen into as a blogger is that there is too much focus on me. HYPEorBOLE is meant to help independent artists find creative ways to get their band’s name out there, so naturally almost every article has talked about my own band. The truth is, we’re still local with a small draw most of the time, so the twenty or so people that have glanced at my blog were probably a little turned off. Posts should instead offer solutions to readers’ problems. To connect with a reader through a blog is to write about them and share common problems!

2.) Overselling- This point is pretty straightforward, and doesn’t just apply to blogs. Filling your page with gaudy ads with no relevance to the blog will send the readers back-clicking all the way back to Google. If there must be ads, keep them on the subtle side. Nothing should distract a reader from the actual text.  The closest my blog gets to advertising is providing a “Like” widget for the band’s Facebook page.

3.) No Outside Expertise- Credibility is one of the most important attributes to have when creating content for strangers. Bringing in an outside expert can prove to be extremely valuable, as it shows a blogger’s willingness to provide the best information as well as a display of his/her access to expertise. I plan on interviewing a member of a local band on the rise who can share how his Facebook page has grown to 3,000 fans in under a year.

4.) Useless Content- While it may seem like a no-brainer, posts should be valuable and offer as much exclusive information as possible. In my article about having a CD release show, it focuses on both the direct and indirect benefits of actually having a CD release show rather than just listing how to sell more CDs. Someone who believes that the CD is dead will not care about how to sell them; they will first need convincing that it’s still a worthwhile venture.

5.) Lack of Sharing Options- We’re halfway through 2011. People visiting your blog should not be copying the URL and pasting the link in an e-mail every time. Chances are, if someone is looking at your blog, they have a social networking account that goes beyond e-mail. Try using AddThis to embed Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit, StumbleUpon, and Google +1 icon buttons to your posts. This is a win-win. The reader has an easier way of sharing the post with their network and your post appears even more credible when it is shared more. Most blog creation platforms provide the option to display sharing buttons (some with share counts). Take advantage of this as often as possible.

6.) Disengagement- If you’re lucky enough to receive comments on a blog post, answer them back promptly. The readers will love the recognition and feel glad that they chose to interact with your blog. Check the spam comments as well, because even spam filters mess up now and again and mark genuine user comments as spam. Go one step further and visit the commenter’s blog to leave input of your own. This will establish an online rapport that can bring the reader back regularly.

7.) No Reason to Return- The 80-20 rule of sales applies to your blog, too. Only 20% of readers are returning to read new posts. You have to literally remind readers to return and keep them updated on the latest relevant information. It can’t hurt to include new blog post links on your Twitter and Facebook statuses. Consistency is key. The biggest weakness of my blog right now is the fact I haven’t been posting on it regularly. Consistent information and weekly articles will show readers that the blog is important to you and that it is a constant source of new information. Do not become discouraged by low readership; continue to post!

I hope that these tips can help your blog receive more recognition in the future. At the end of the day, a great blog has useful content, engages readers, and brings return visits because of high quality. If you can pretend your blog is a brand new boutique and the internet is the Mall of America, focus on what is being sold in the boutique first and foremost. If these tips are followed, success in Web 2.0 is not far from reach.

Microsites have been around for some time, but I still encounter quite a few people who either don’t know what they are — or how they can be a powerful addition to an advertising and marketing campaign.

This microsite was developed as part of our “Memorial ER Stories” campaign. The campaign was designed to extend the lifespan of the core message that Memorial’s ER was the number one choice of Springfield, IL residents.

For the uninitiated, microsites are exactly what they sound like: small websites that exist at a separate domain from your corporate website. They’re similar to landing pages in that they help with tracking and analytics, you can choose clever domain names and fun graphics — but there’s more.

Let’s take a look at the seven most important principles of microsites.

1. Each microsite should have a single purpose
Microsites tackle a specific segment of your overall market, a specific message, a particular important event, product or service, advertising campaign or geographic location. Basically they can help deliver a set of information quickly and more compellingly than your larger corporate website. The best microsites have a simple and engaging design, a highly focused message and no more than about a dozen pages (here’s a great example of a very small microsite.  So small it’s called a landing page). They’re an important spoke in the wheel of your overall herding (what’s herding?) campaign — which may involve print, social media, radio, TV, PR and online banner advertising.

2. A microsite should improve confidence
When you’re wading though search results and information online the water tends to get a little muddy. Sending people directly to your website doesn’t usually help either. Microsite visitors aren’t distracted with complex navigation choices and information that’s not directly relevant to why they’re there in the first place. By delivering only the most pertinent information — in an easily viewable way — you can promote confidence in your potential clients or customers — leading to higher conversion rates.

3. Microsites should be small but meaty
One of the biggest mistakes some marketers make can make with a microsite is making it too light and fluffy. Microsites should be meaty — but lean. In most circumstances there should never be any teasers. Without enough information to satisfy a visitor they’re likely to leave.

4. Microsites should provide instant gratification
Build it for speed. After all, you’re creating a microsite so that viewers don’t get bogged down in the wealth of content on your full site. Give the viewer what they came there for, only what they came there for — and do it fast — but never in a Flash.

5. Microsites should allow users to find information on their own
Don’t be so controlling. Unless you have a very specific story or message to tell, “guided flow” site architecture can seem a little suffocating. Provide clear navigation choices to allow a user to explore on their own terms and at their own pace. This type of navigation has a secondary benefit. Studies have shown that users who discover things on their own through information foraging can develop an information scent trail. When users feel that they have found information on their own they take ownership of it, building an affinity with your brand and less like you’ve sold them something.

6. Microsite navigation should be intuitive
If there’s one tenet of a microsite it’s simplify. Offer a few simple, quick choices on the landing page, followed up with highly targeted information. Breaking your information into several subtopics makes it easier for people to consume what they need. Each navigation link should allow the viewer to explore and learn more — without forcing them to dig for the information they really want. A big, long, scrolling page of content isn’t useful.

7. Microsites should be economical and agile
Creating a microsite shouldn’t be an ordeal. Designing one should be only a little more work than a simple landing page. Because they’re part of your marketing message and not directly tied into your corporate website they can be deployed quickly, hopefully without committee after committee tangling it up in red tape. You can even create two microsites with  A/B versions so you can conduct multivariate testing to experiment with different content, presentation and conversion offers.

If there’s an 8th principle, it’s that microsites shouldn’t be reserved for special occasions. Much like that champagne in your refrigerator, what are you saving it for? Microsites can be created for just about any purpose, quickly and easily. If they’re created on an open platform they can be changed easily and updated at little cost.

If your blog is getting plenty of comments, Thank Me Later could be of use to you. The following scenario likely plays out frequently: A visitor stumbles upon your content, likes what she sees, and leaves a comment on your article. She then continues her journey across the vast landscape of the Internet, forgetting about your blog and her comment on it.

This is where Thank Me Later can help. It sends an automatic email to the commenter (whose email was captured when the comment was submitted), and thanks her for her visit to your blog.

“Thank Me Later is great for your blog because it reminds visitors of their comment a few days later, and prompts them to engage in further discussion and reading on your blog. It gives you the opportunity to keep alive a connection with the visitor after they have left your blog.” – Thank Me Later FAQ section

Used correctly, this can be a useful tool that gives gentle reminders to those who were captivated by your blog content. Used incorrectly, it can come off as a spammy nuisance that leaves the nasty taste of a Twitter auto DM in the mouth of the recipient.

So how are the thank yous perceived as helpful rather than annoying? Send commenters one email and one email only, provide other helpful links in the thank you (such as e-list or RSS links, or a link to related articles-even ones on other blogs), and be genuinely gracious in the email.

It may not be right for your blog, but you can’t argue with the price of free Wordpress plugins. We’ve linked to Thank Me Later’s page above, but we’ll provide the link below, as well. If it’s able to retain just one additional visitor, the benefits could be exponential.

Thank Me Later – Wordpress plugin

I love Wordpress plugins. When I come across a great one I haven’t used before, I can get pretty insufferable. I’m not married and don’t have any children, but I imagine the way I talk about my beloved plugins is how I’d talk about my son’s T-Ball prowess. My coworkers probably won’t care about either. Oh, but I’ll tell them anyway. Again and again and again!

In case you aren’t sure where I’m going with this, I’m here to talk to you about a great plugin for Wordpress: Fluency Admin. On the surface, it might appear to simply be a difference in aesthetic, but there’s much more to it. Navigating your Admin area on Wordpress has a flow to it that wouldn’t be there if it weren’t installed.

Here’s how an Admin dashboard typically looks before installing Fluency. If you’re used to Wordpress, you’re used to this screenshot. Click it to enlarge.

And after installing Fluency, here’s what you’ll see when it loads up:

Ok, so it has a different look to it. But what really makes it stand out? Navigation. Normally, the Admin sidebar is organized as a series of categories whose subcategories drop down and you may have to click to access. These drop downs take up space on your page, meaning you may have to scroll up or down the page depending on what you need to access.

Fluency Admin has hover menus that load to the right of each category. Because the menus hover, you save mouse clicks; because they load to the right and not as drop downs, you save page scrolling time. It’s a small change, but it’s far more intuitive. Also, the seconds that you save add up over time.

If you’re constantly blogging, you should always be looking for ways to increase your efficiency. Fluency Admin gives you this efficiency boost right when you log in. Highly recommended.

I wanted to find a graphic or image for this post, but none are applicable. This is because WP Super Cache, an essential plugin for Wordpress users, does its work completely behind the scenes. How exactly does it make your blog faster? I’ll let the designers explain:

WP Super Cache is a static caching plugin for WordPress. It generates html files that are served directly by Apache without processing comparatively heavy PHP scripts. By using this plugin you will speed up your WordPress blog significantly.

This plugin is a fork of the excellent WP-Cache 2 by Ricardo Galli Granada. WP-Cache 2 caches the pages of your WordPress blog and delivers them without accessing the database. Unfortunately it still means loading the PHP engine to serve the cached files.

WP Super Cache gets around that. When it is installed, html files are generated and they are served without ever invoking a single line of PHP. How fast can your site serve graphic files? That’s (almost) as fast it will be able to serve these cached files. If your site is struggling to cope with the daily number of visitors, or if your site appears on Digg.com, Slashdot or any other popular site then this plugin is for you.

A vast majority of visitors to your blog will be anonymous surfers who don’t log in and don’t leave comments. These are the people who will benefit form WP Super Cache, and in all likelihood, they won’t even know it. But given the choice between a lightning-fast page and a slower page, most visitors will be far more willing to return to the more efficient site.

On top of that, if your site pulls in so much traffic that it’s affecting page load times, WP Super Cache will ease that stress. To download this useful plugin or donate to its creators, visit the WP Super Cache home page.