I defienetly need assistance in this area. Always a chatty cathy, but my blogs seem to be red flagged and no points....any suggestions?

Dean,

Good advice....if you do not know what to write about.....than get in there and comment.....you will pick up on what is appropriate for each group and start posting yourself.

Nancy- This article is meant for bloggers utilizing a wordpress blog or stand alone blog not related to Active Rain. I can't speak to Active Rain's policies sorry.

Dan- Thanks Dan I appreciate your feedback. It's amazingly easy to find content ideas for articles; the hard part is being diligent in commenting everyday in order to build your presence online

Thanks for the tips Dean, as always very insightful.

Joshua and Kathy- You guys are too kind! I just read something of importance and a rather scary thought. I am a huge fan and student of SEO expert Courtney Tuttle http://courtneytuttle.com/

According to Courtney, a new blogger should expect to create 50-60 touches per day when starting a blog. What are touches? An introductory email to your blog or a comment on a blog with your blog url embedded in your comment.

Your target should be blogs in your niche and always bloggers with lots of juice, authority, rank, who are experts in your field. The hope is they will link to you, possibly place you on their blogroll, and others will see this and follow your url from your comment back to your blog.

It's tons of work but it will pay off big time. The problem is TIME.

dean

Dean - Simple, but great tips. So, what is your take on leaving your company homepage link when you respond to blogs? Isn't that a little too self-promoting? Plus, I figure the company email address will make it self-evident.

Kevin, I try to leave my url most times in the body of my comments. Don't worry about doing this just go for it in a low key manner.

dean

Yeah, if you continue to post valid, insightful commentary, then who would mind a URL at the bottom as a "signature"? 

Networking in blogging is all about being a good contributor to the conversation, and having people curiously ask "who is this guy/gal?" as a result.  Viewers can always click on your profile too, which is an important tool. 

I see you've utilized that profile pretty well, BTW.  Kevin, howz the golfing weather in Phoenix? 

Russell

Russ, Agreed it should be a pertinent and hopefully thought provoking comment. But Rome wasn't built in a day. Like article writing, it takes time to improve. I am still a believer in embedding your url within the comment itself but I can see how that can turn some people off. It all depends on how aggressive you want to get with your audience.

dean