Category Archives: Uncategorized

NOTE:  This teleseminar has been rescheduled!  It will now be:
Tuesday, January 27th
3 PM Pacific
4 PM Mountain
5 PM Central
6 PM Eastern

This
one's going to be PACKED with information!  You'll discover ten ways to
make money with your blog, including ad networks, guest blogging,
affiliate relationships and more. 

We'll cover the big
questions – How do you pick an advertising network?  How do you decide
what businesses you'd like to be an affiliate for, and how you'd like
to promote products on your site in a way that's not offensive to your
reader?  How do navigate the maze of potential advertising networks,
and decide which one is best for you?

You'll
get great PDF handouts with lists of ideas for making money with your
blog, as well as increasing your traffic so you can get the most out of
your money-making efforts.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009
3 PM Pacific, 4 PM Mountain, 5 PM Central, 6 PM Eastern 

The class will be 75 minutes long. 

Just $27 for the call, MP3 recording, and PDF handouts.
*If you can't make the call, you can sign up anyway – and listen to the MP3 recording any time you like!

Register now using your credit card or Paypal!

        Have you ever tried to comment on a Blogger blog and been perplexed by the fact that the blog makes you sign in with a mysterious ID or login or some sort before you can leave your two cents?  You may have seen a screen that looks like this (right). 
With this setup, you need either a Google or Blogger account or what's called an "OpenID" in order to comment, which I think is a bummer.  Every blog author should be encouraging good, thoughtful comments, so it's best not to put any roadblocks in the way of your readers.  NOTE:  Let it be said, however, that I am a fan of the "word verification" function often used to prevent comment spam. This is sometimes called a "captcha". 

        The reason this Google/OpenID problem is so prevalent is that this particular comment mode is the default option for any new Blogger blog, which means unless the blog author changes their comment settings in their Blogger account, this is what their readers will be faced with when they want to comment.  Of course, Google makes this the default because they want more people to sign up for Google accounts.  I understand that Google needs ways of getting more people to sign up for Google accounts  – everyone's got to make a living, even Larry Page and Sergey Brin – but I think this method of "encouragement" is a little insidious, especially because most new bloggers don't even realize this default setting is stopping their readers from commenting. 

The good news is that the comment settings in Blogger are easy to change.  If you're the blog author and you've got a Blogger blog, I highly encourage you to change these options and make it possible for anyone to comment! 

Here's how to go about it:

When you log into your Blogger account, go to the Settings tab, then click on "Comments".  Your screen will look something like this: 

In this screen, make sure that you've checked  "Anyone – Includes Anonymous Users" in answer to the question "Who Can Comment?".  Once you make this change, scroll all the way to bottom of this page and hit "Save Settings".  Check your blog again (you'll probably need to hit you refresh button) and make sure the change took effect by trying to comment on your own blog and seeing what happens.  It's always good to put yourself in your reader's shoes, so this is a great exercise anyway.

If you're a frustrated reader who would like to see this change on someone ELSE'S blog, write 'em an email note if they have their email address posted on the site, and send them this link so they know how and why to make this important change.

After you try this, drop me a line here and let me know how it went for you, and whether you've seen an increase in the number of comments you receive! 

Quick update (Sept.11) - A colleague of mine point out that some bloggers might not want anonymous commenters to be able to post on their sites, but unfortunately there's only one way to get Blogger blogs out of "Google-account-only" mode, and that's to open up comments to "Anyone".   Once you've set your comment option so that anyone can comment, people can either post anonomously or by listing their name and URL.  Most people will leave you a name (and a URL hot link back to their own blog, if they're smart about marketing), so I wouldn't worry too much!

Class date and time:
Monday, September 29
6:00 – 7:30 PM
ONLINE

This will be a special ONLINE version of my popular "Basics of Blogging" class.  This online version will be shorter than the in-person class, so we'll move quickly through the material and some topics will be covered in supplementary hand-outs.  Everyone will also receive a free copy of my e-book, "What's a Blog? A Guide for Beginners" will be distributed after class. 

During this online course, we'll cover the following topics:

• What's a blog?  What blogging is (and isn't) and why it's a GREAT marketing tool for any
       business

• The parts of of a blog post and why they're important

• How to find blogs you'll like to read

• How to use feeds to make reading blogs and other sites easy

• How to get started with building your own blog

• What commenting is, why it's important for getting involved in the blog world, and how to develop a commenting strategy

After taking this course, you'll have a solid grasp on blogging basics.

This class will be online, and you'll also will be listening/talking
to me using a phone conference line.  You'll be viewing my desktop and
the class presentation using a web browser.  You'll need a phone line,
an internet connection and a working web browser in order to join in.  Registration for this class is $35. 

"Very Basics of Blogging" will be held:

Monday, September 29, 6:00-7:30 PM MOUNTAIN TIME

There are two ways to pay:

• You can submit your payment via Paypal using the
  "Pay Now" button above.

•  You can mail a check (made out to Beth Hayden) to
  Beth Hayden, 4845 Pearl East Circle, Suite 101, Boulder, CO 80301. If
  you mail a check, please include a note indicating which class you'd
  like to attend, and make sure to include your email address.

Please email me with questions, and I hope to see you there!

Class date and time:
Tuesday, September 16
6:00 – 8:30 PM
4730 Walnut Street, Suite 108
Boulder

OR 

Saturday, September 27
9:00 – 11:30 AM
4730 Walnut Street, Suite 108
Boulder

Want to know what the blogging buzz is all about? Would you like to get
started with building a new website or updating an old site using blogging
tools? Do you just want to find great blogs to read? My “Basics of Blogging” class is
for you!

During this workshop, I’ll cover the following topics:

• What’s a blog?  What blogging is (and isn’t) and why it’s a GREAT marketing tool for any
       business

• The parts of of a blog post and why they’re important
• How to find blogs you’ll like to read

• How to use feeds to make reading blogs and other sites easy

• How to get started with building your own blog

• What commenting is, why it’s important for getting involved in the blog world, and how to develop a commenting strategy

Everyone will leave with a solid grasp on blogging basics and lots of good
handouts.  You can bring your own laptop to the workshop if you like, or
you can follow along with the presentation I’ll be doing on a projector -
you’ll learn plenty either way.

Sound interesting?  Sign up for one of my September classes!  Registration fee for the class is $65.

Tuesday, September 16, 6:00-8:30 PM

Saturday, September 27, 9:00-11:30 AM

Class will be held in Boulder at 4730 Walnut Street, Suite 108.  Class size is limited. To hold your spot
in this class, please submit your full registration fee by four business days
before the class.  Otherwise, I may have to give your spot away.

There are two ways to pay - 

• You can submit your payment via Paypal using the “Pay Now” button under the class (above). 
• You can mail a check (made out to Beth
  Hayden) to Beth Hayden, 4845 Pearl East Circle, Suite 101, Boulder, CO
  80301. If you mail a check, please include a note indicating which class you’d like to attend, and make sure to include your
  email address.

Please email me with any questions,
and I hope to see you there!