What are you doing this weekend?
March 1, 2010 at 10:18 am
Yes I know it’s Monday and the weekend may seem far away, but if you haven’t got any plans yet, you’d do well to get yourself down to Kilkenny for Wordcamp.
Like the name suggests, Wordcamp is a two day camp for Wordpress. If you’ve heard of Wordpress and how great it is for constructing (all types of) sites, then go. If you’re thinking of perhaps setting up a website of any size, shape, or form in the next while, go – as you’ll meet all the brightest and the best from the Irish web scene… all in one place… talking about what we love – Wordpress.
Tickets are extremely reasonably priced at just €50 for the two days including your meals. There are three tracks: intro, bloggers, and tech. I’m giving a little talk on the Saturday morning. It’s my online copywriting day course distilled into 40 mins! I’m really looking forward to hearing some of the other talks both from local heroes and international guests being flown in especially for the event.
Hope to see you there. This Saturday and Sunday, Kilkenny: Wordcamp.
Tags: wordcamp kilkenny 2010
I Got A Gold Medal
February 26, 2010 at 10:41 am
Last night this here blog won gold!! A very pleasant surprise indeed. We’d made it to the finalists at the 2010 Digital Media Awards in the Best Blog Category, but I really didn’t expect to get anywhere. Imagine my surprise this morning when I saw on the wires that we’d won a Gold Medal – came second.
The award went to Ronan Lyons and well deserved too. Check out his blog – it’s economic commentary and analysis – bleak reading, but tells it like it is. I commend Ronan because it must take a fair bit of time to put the thought and research in that he so obviously does. I also have a little snigger every time I see his name in print because my madser nephew who is 5 is also called Ronan Lyons. His larger than life personality kind of supercedes any impression of thoughtful economic analysis!
I was also glad to see Kavaleer win in the Best Animation category. I’ve been working with them recently on developing a social media strategy for their kids cartoon Garth & Bev. Check out the blog here. All design lovingly created by CookieWeb.
Tags: digital media awards 2010, social media strategy garth & bev
Is 2010 the Year You Start Blogging?
January 7, 2010 at 2:14 pm
If it is, and you’re itching to put that new year’s resolution to good use, then put Wed 20 January in your diary.
That’s the day of the first Brightspark Blogging Training of 2010.
It’s not about blogging, and how great it is, and other tihings like that. I’m assuming that everyone who comes to the blogging training to be held in Dublin city centre already knows all that.
What we will be doing is setting you up with your own blog which you will be working on over the course of the day. By noon you’ll have written your first blog post. By the end of the day, you’ll be wondering why you didn’t do this years ago.
Other important and meaty topics we’ll be covering include:
- Blog etiquette – how to engage with other bloggers
- How to keep on top of things – using RSS to save time
- Promoting your blog
As always, any questions you may have will be answered knowledgeably and you won’t feel stupid for asking them. There’s great coffee and cakes from The Cake Cafe (no less!) available all day.
All this and it’s just €295. There are only 6 places left, so if you want in – book your place now.
Read more about blog training from Brightspark.
Tags: blog training dublin, Blog Training Ireland, blogging training, how to blog
Next Training Dates
December 3, 2009 at 8:43 am
Due to the general mayhem of work before Christmas, I’ve decided to put all the training courses off until after Christmas. Next training dates for Web Copywriting Training, Blogging Training, Internet Marketing Training, and the Social Media Widgets will be announced as soon as the training rooms are booked.
Tags: blogging training, internet marketing training ireland, social media training, web copywriting training
Wordpress Lovers
November 23, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Lovers of the world’s finest content management system and blogging platform unite this March in Kilkenny.
Wordcamp Ireland is a two day extravaganza where you can learn all about our favourite blogging software, network with top Irish bloggers, and party on til the wee small hours in that great party town that is Kilkenny.
I’ll be giving a little talk about how to make your blogs be read online. I’ll be up on day 1 right after Sabrina Dent. If anyone has ever heard the great lady speak, she should moonlight on “Saturday Night Live”. If there are any comedians or presentation skills people out there who can counsel me through until March – I’d love to hear from you.
Tags: Wordcamp Ireland Kilkenny 2010
iQ In The Nick Of Time
July 23, 2009 at 8:00 am
I’m delighted to be one of the 4 bloggers who were selected to drive a Toyota Iq around for the next 6 months. Call me a blog whore if you want, but for me this opportunity came exactly at the right time.
Take a look at my insurance disk:
Note to my MX5: my beloved, you won’t be neglected. Angel has a nice warm garage and will mind you. I’ll come visit on weekends when I want to go far far away.
This Is How To Use Twitter
July 13, 2009 at 3:08 pm
I’m asked the question at least 5 times a week: “Is Twitter any good? Why would I use Twitter? I logged on to the site and frankly I don’t see what all the fuss is about”…
I usually point people to my blog post of a few weeks back – Advice for New Twitterers - but now I’d like to draw your attention to a nice use of Twitter from Toyota.
* * YAY I GOT PICKED * * Picking up my new motor on Monday 27 July.
To promote the new Toyota IQ, they are offering 4 bloggers the chance to drive around one of the IQ’s for 6 months. In return they must blog about their experiences of it. They require at least 1 blog post a week and pictures of you in the car. How did I hear about this? On Twitter. Someone posted a link and it’s been retweeted.
This is really very smart.
- Create a buzz about your car using bloggers (opininated connectors)
- Promote the whole thing on Twitter
- Generate sales through word of mouth (assuming that the bloggers like the car)… assuming that they don’t, at least they’ll tell Toyota why not and give the car company a chance to respond or readjust
- Link love will aid the search engine ranking
- Another first from Toyota. PR plus. If another car company tried this now, it wouldn’t work as well. (Unless of course you’re Jaguar
)
I’ve put myself forward for it.
Anyone who knows me will know I love my little car – it’s an MX5. Here’s a picture:
I have been thinking of changing car. Someday I’m going to need to update my motor and there’s no way I’m going to go for a ubiquitous looking generic model. The iQ is groovy and cool just like my MX, and it’s got the added benefit of not being 17 years old like my car is! I feel awful guilty every time I fill it up; carbon emissions were not on the agenda when my car was being made.
I’d love the idea of getting to test drive a potential buy for 6 months! So watch this space around 20 July and see who gets to drive the Toyota iQ.
Tags: Toyota IQ, Twitter Business Use
Great Value Training Courses
June 8, 2009 at 5:12 pm
My top three training courses are:
- Writing for the Web
- Internet Marketing
- How to be a good Blogger
I run these as public courses from time to time. I also run them on behalf of industry bodies. And now I run them in association with Europa Training Academy. That’s the one that Bill Cullen is involved with. It’s a really smart venue located just off the M1 and, importantly, they do a really good lunch as well!
Europa is offering some amazing value right now – check out all its training courses here.
The really great news is that you can get ME for just €195!
I normally charge way more than that; Europa are much more generous than me!
Check these dates and if you’re up for increasing your knowledge in these areas, book your place now:
- 25 June: How to be a good blogger
- 26 June: Write for the web
- 29 June: Internet Marketing
Tags: Blog Training Ireland, internet marketing training, Write for Web Training
Blog Content Planning
April 20, 2009 at 7:00 pm
It’s all very well setting yourself up with a swanky wordpress blog and away you go, but what happens a few months down the line when you’ve been really busy and you’re a bit stuck for inspiration about what to write about? That’s when it’s useful to have a trusty blog plan in place. All you have to do is cast your eye over your calendar and you’ll see what you need to write about.
When we deliver blogs to clients, part of this is around planning the content. We sit down with the client and work out some stories they can most definitely write about in the coming 12 months. Once these have been identified, they go into the client’s own calendar so they get a reminder when the content becomes due.
As foodie blogs are hot right now, let’s look at how a foodie blogger might plan their content for the year ahead.
1. You start off with a blank calendar for the year ahead and begin by filling it with seasonal items. In the case of food, you might expect some summer picnic tips around July. Harvest time pickling tips for September. Christmas party food in December. So now we have some spaces filled with relevant content.
2. Now look at your marketing plan for the year ahead. Say this foodie blogger also sells products – a savoury range of sauces and a sweet range of treats. We’ve got to build blog posts into the plan that promote these. At a minimum aim for one post per range, but if you’re really utilising the blog to sell your product, you could include one a month. We’re not talking shameless plugs here. Think about sporting, cultural and other events you can tie your stories into. For example, if the European Cup is going to be hosted in Italy in June, then that’s the time to write a post about your Italian seasonings. French dressings can be mentioned while the Tour de France is on in July, etc. 
3. Spread the load. Consider inviting some guest bloggers to contribute. Most people will be flattered to be asked to write, and if you pitch it correctly (ie. “Just give us a couple of hundred words – and you can promote your business”) it won’t seem like an onerous task.
4. Now we’re shaping up. Only 3 months where we’ve no content. Think now about food issues – be political – take a stance on nutrition or obesity or skinny models. Don’t be afraid to have a controversial opinion on a subject, this will get lots of comments flying – and in the case of our foodie blogger will fill up the lean month of January!
5. Now we’ve got a plan for content. Let’s add another layer – this time about type of content. Are you doing text, video or images? I like to use colour to denote posts that will be image rich and ones that will contain video. Including a variety of media can add to the quality of your blog – but if you’re producing it yourself from scratch, it can take time. But if you’re in the business of selling food products and writing about food, you’ll know that we eat with our eyes first, so it’s wise to be including video.
Useful Resources:
Good sources of video: youtube and vimeo
Good sources of images: istockphoto, flickr – contact the owner directly
And Finally:
We can’t be talking about food and not show it! One of the best food bloggers around is Niall Harbison. He mixes video with text, and the right amount of images. Here’s a mouth-watering excerpt from his website about rhubarb crumble (one of my favourites):
Tags: Blog Planning, food blogs
Why Do I Blog?
April 20, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Because I have something to say. Most of the time. And I like to write. Plus it allows me to get things off my chest.
Search engine benefits of business blogging:
- If you’re writing 1 blog post a week, that’s one time per week more than your competitors that your content is changing. Google likes frequently changing content and will give a higher ranking to you than your competitors cet. par. (Wow, I haven’t used cet. par. since Trinity days!)
- Your site’s ranking will be further assisted by quality inbound links when other bloggers link to you. Or indeed, when you comment on their blogs and leave your name and website address.
- If you use tags correctly and tell Google what each post is about, this will facilitate deep ranking, ie. it’s not just your home page that will be ranked, but individual blog entries too.
Other benefits:
- If you’re selling professional services, it’s a great chance for you to show off your knowledge on your subject. If you do it often enough, it will soon attract the attention of canny journalists, so there’s even free PR.
- Blogging makes email marketing even more of a no-brainer. Your blog is your email’s content. Come email marketing send date time, simply repackage the best of the blog and ship it on out to your list who will love you for it.
- It’s a great discipline. Writing regularly hones your skills at communicating your thoughts concisely and effectively. You can plug things that you like through your blog. And diss things you don’t like. And even threaten to write about things in your blog when people are being assholes and are refusing to pay for services you’ve provided in good faith.
Soft and fluffy benefits:
- You make new friends! Because blogging is not just about writing your own one, it’s about reading and commenting on other blogs too, you will get to know loads of new people with similar interests to you. Bloggers are generally a nice bunch so you will end up falling in friendship with your new love.
- Puts people off you. By this I mean that people who do not like your style will not come knocking on your door once they read your blog! That’s a good thing. The corollary is that like-minded potential clients will read it and be turned on by it – and that’s the type of person you want to do work for.
So what are you waiting for?
If you haven’t got a blog, and you’re itching to get writing, then get in touch and we have you up and running in an incredibly short amount of time. If you’ve suddenly been tasked with writing the company blog and you’re a bit unsure about how to start, you might want to attend one of our writing for the web or blog training courses.
