There are times when you are blogging when you realize that you need a certain something to get your blog to the next level. Especially when you have a social networking blog, some things would just seem to make sense. But, alas they do not always make sense. So, when you finally add that little extra touch you realize to yourself how it easy it was, and why you did not just stop hitting yourself with a dumb stick for not doing it earlier to my social networking blog.

Social Networking Blog Duh List 10 Times Over

1. Google Sitemap

I could not for the world figure out how to connect the sitemap to Google Search Console. It just sat there for about 6 months, and I said to myself, “Self! I really do not need a sitemap do I?” The answer is yes!

2. SEO

Have you even swore off traffic from a site that has over 150 million people going to it on a monthly basis? I never expected to get a lot of search engine traffic when I started a social networking blog. Unsurprisingly I did not get more than a dozen hits from Google on my site until May 2010. I started my blog in January 2010. According to Google Analytics, 37.47% of my traffic over the last 30 days was from search. 90% of that was Google. Duh!

3. TSA

This is a new duh to add to my list. I knew about the Tribe Syndication Alliance last year, and still decided that it would be better for me to start up my own group (which never took off). I got an email from a Facebook friend reminding me about the site (Alexander if you are reading this Thank You!). Actually, this list came from a conversation with a TSA member as well (Shari Weiss). Note 4/10/13: I have started using Triberr instead of TSA, because of time constraints.

4. Revive Old Post

I had been looking for something like this for over a year. Then I got mentioned in an old Tweet from someone I do not keep in touch with anymore. My first reaction was what the? My next reaction was why did I not find you earlier, my dear, dear friend? (Note 4/10/13: I have not used Tweet Old Post in some time now. Note 9/23/19- I now use the Revive Old Post plugin to share content to my Facebook and Twitter page.)

5. Conversion is key

I sort of, kinda, maybe forgot to concentrate on conversion until I started getting traffic. I had the basics there, but no real plan. If you forever stop reading this blog right now, I forgive you. Go in peace! For those of you who want to learn from the master of disaster schedule a free 30 minute Skype consultation with me.

6. Fan Page

I did not understand the benefits of Fan pages until 20% of my traffic started coming from my Andy Nathan and Smart At The Start fan page. Surprise they work! Oh by the way! Please sign up for my fan page. 🙂

7. Facebook Comments

I was so excited when I first started blogging and got all these comments saying how great my blog was, and that I was doing a great job. Naturally, I agreed with them, until I discovered they were robots. You are so smart I could just eat you up for additional intelligence! (Note: 4/10/13 I much prefer GrowMap Anti-Spam Bot after the Comment System debacle of 2011. Note: 9/23/19- I started using Facebook comments a few years ago because each new comment now goes to peoples Facebook news feed as well. That means potential social traffic with each comment. Plus, it turned comment spam into a crawl.)

8. RSS Feed

My RSS feed did not work until July 2010. I could not figure out how to set up Feedburner and was too embarrassed to ask anyone. People were actually commenting on my blog asking for me to get them signed up, and I just dropped the ball. I sat at that Starbucks for 1 hour figuring it out, because the shared disaster of this not working had become too much for me. High Five! (Note: 4/10/13 Feedburner is being phased out by Google.)

9. Active Campaign

This goes along with conversion. I have had my Aweber form up pretty much since I started my blog. The challenge has been that I had not really created a great offer until the last few months. (Note: 9/23/19- I switched to Active Campaign in 2017. They have a more dynamic automation system and integrate with a lot of different marketing tools. I am also an affiliate of the email automation software I believe in it so much).

10. Do it yourself

Blogging for me started out as a way to learn about social networking, and possibly add business. I thought that all bloggers were people who developed huge followings by themselves and that I did not need anyone else to help me with this. Partner up with people. Whether it is a joint venture or full out partnership.

Update: 8-19-2013: Let’s add to this list having your backup go straight into your website database for two years without you knowing it. Fortunately, I did export my content to my computer every month or two over that period. However, not knowing that the content might be gone if the website disappeared. Kind of a Duh Moment! Downloading your site via FTP and finding out it is 12 GB of data, definitely a duh moment!

Final Thoughts on Social Networking Blog Duh List

So why would I sit here and tell you all the things that I did wrong? Is it encouragement? No, I can do a rah-rah blog if you really want it. The fact is that learning how to blog is a learning experience. Do not feel embarrassed to ask, do not be ashamed that something does not work, and most of all feel good because I am sure that I erred before you ever did. If you ever need help with your social networking blog, or any type of blog let me know?