How To

One of the best ways to unlock the potential of your blog is to cede as much control as possible to your readers. With that in mind, one of your goals ought to be to offer potential subscribers different (yet meaningful) ways to consume the content of your site.

Of course, simply offering an RSS feed is a huge step in the right direction.

But what if you’ve been blogging for a while, and now you realize that one RSS feed just isn’t going to cut it anymore? By offering a couple of different feeds, you could really do your users a favor, and this would also allow you to make a more direct appeal to both your existing and potential audience.

What if I told you that this would likely result in more subscribers and more repeat visitors to your site?

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Have you ever entered a Zen-like state of productivity? You know, where your thoughts and execution seem to operate in perfect harmony with one another? It’s a place where you are literally thinking less and accomplishing more, and I’m sure that given the choice, most of you would choose to live on that edge rather than simply experience it every once in a while.

In reality, these Zen-like states are not nearly as unpredictable or as unattainable as you might think. In most cases, they occur as natural fallout from a well-constructed creative process. If you want to live on that free-flowing edge, then you must learn how to force your brain through the sequence of triggers that will result in your own cognitive Zen.

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I’ve made a lot of poor decisions since I graduated college, and the only thing positive I can say at this point is that I now know exactly why those decisions were bad ones. I endured a lot of heartbreaking crap because I simply didn’t understand how to make the right choices for my future.

And while you may be reading this thinking you have all your ducks in a row, all I can say is that I feel you - I honestly do. All I’m asking today is that you listen to my story, because I think I can help you to make more positive decisions about your future.

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It’s late. It’s 1:34 am - the twilight of a Sunday morning here in Kentucky - and I really have no business being up. Problem is, I’m heading down to Orlando on a flight at 7:00 am, and I’m trying to finish up all the crap that I didn’t do today. Apparently I was too busy playing Tiger Woods 2006 on the XBOX 360, but we don’t have to go telling people that now, do we? Oh, and did I mention the bit of schizophrenia I develop in the wee hours of the morn?

Anyway, I thought you all might get a kick out of this letter I left my housesitter, so without further ado, here’s my thoughts on how to get results while you’re out of town…

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If you’re serious about the scope and popularity of your blog, then you know that the old adage definitely holds true: it’s not just what you say; it’s how you say it. Whether your goal is to sell a product or simply to build an audience, the effectiveness of your copy could be the difference between success and failure. Learn to tweak your words for maximum impact, and start reaping the benefits right away!

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Does the idea of a corporate gig give you that warm, fuzzy feeling? Is a raise of 6% per year until you retire to a $20 storebought cake and a Rolex your idea of financial well-being? Did you know that health insurance really isn’t all that expensive? Hey, college boy, do you run around campus to hit up interviews each spring?

Stop already! There are tons of myths out there that protect the corporate lifestyle, but you need not be fooled. If you want to be continually robbed of your freedoms, be my guest, and don’t let the door hit you on the way out. On the other hand, if you want to know how to avoid the corporate rut forever, read on!

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Adding uniquely-styled Flickr photo streams to your blog is easy, and it’s just another thing you can leverage to make your blog stand out among the crowd. Today, my goal is simply to walk you through the process of creating your very own photo stream so that you can end up with something like this:

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