The Bulls Roar » RSS http://www.thezenbull.com/blog More Meat, less potatoes! Wed, 01 Dec 2010 02:58:44 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 12 Blog Directories You Should Be Submitting Your Blog To http://www.thezenbull.com/blog/index.php/12-blog-directories-you-should-be-submitting-your-blog-to/ http://www.thezenbull.com/blog/index.php/12-blog-directories-you-should-be-submitting-your-blog-to/#comments Mon, 12 Apr 2010 01:07:13 +0000 AnnieInfinite http://www.thezenbull.com/blog/?p=140 [...]]]> Copyright © 2012 AnnieInfinite. Visit the original article at http://www.thezenbull.com/blog/index.php/12-blog-directories-you-should-be-submitting-your-blog-to/.
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Blog Directories are a dime a dozen all over the web, they are popular because they are important. But how do you sift through the many on offer to find the ones worth your time and effort?

To make it easy for you here is my list of 12 Blog Directories that are worth that time and effort, use one or two or use them all, it’s up to you:

  • Best of the Web : This is the top of the list, they have very high standard and only allow you to list with them after six months of blogging. A backlink from here to your blog remains one of the more elusive and most revered on the web. (PAID – annual fee)
  • Bloggeries : Long list of categories and subcategories allows you to categorise your blog perfectly, easy to navigate for readers. It is fast becoming a premier blog directory (PAID – one time fee and/or yearly fee for Featured)
  • AllTop : A Guy Kawasaki venture AllTop is going from strength to strength and is growing in popularity every day. (Free)
  • OnTopList: This free human edited blog directory has a full service approach to their directory where you can submit your RSS feed, set up your own mini-blog ranking directory on your profile, socialise with other bloggers, measure and improve your blogs performance, and feed your blog to Facebook and Twitter.. (Free)
  • BlogoWogo : A social blogging platform where you can add your blog, create a profile, network with other bloggers, set up a favourites blogs list – a bit like MySpace for bloggers. (Free)
  • EatonWeb : A highly ranked directory with it’s own blog rating system, one time review fee but can be well worth it. (Paid- one time fee)
  • Blogged : Another interactive Blog Directory come news site, share, rate, and follow, well worth a look (Free)
  • BizSugar : While not strictly a blog directory Bizsugar is worth a mention here, it’s relatively new but it is growing fast – bizSugar is a social bookmarking and networking site for small business and medium-sized business owners and managers.
  • Blog Catalog : is a huge directory with many categories for blogs of all types and niches, it’s search capabilities are second to none with the ability to search via country, language or user as well as the immense list of categories. Again billing itself as a social blogging directory it allows you to rate other blogs and network. (Free)
  • Super Blog Directory :  with the featured links and submissions being the latest submitted, so you can always be sure of being on the first page at least once every time you  post. (Free)
  • LSBlogs : Top ranked blog directory that offers free submission, search capabilities, networking and more. (Free)
  • Bloggapedia : one of the better looking blogging directories on the net, they have a constantly updated list of recently listed blogs on the home page as well as users profile pics. Readers can connect to the top blogs and newest posts easily. (Free)

The Zen Bull

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]]> http://www.thezenbull.com/blog/index.php/12-blog-directories-you-should-be-submitting-your-blog-to/feed/ 5 How to: Grow your Facebook Fans http://www.thezenbull.com/blog/index.php/how-to-grow-your-facebook-fans/ http://www.thezenbull.com/blog/index.php/how-to-grow-your-facebook-fans/#comments Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:14:14 +0000 AnnieInfinite http://www.thezenbull.com/blog/?p=86 Copyright © 2012 AnnieInfinite. Visit the original article at http://www.thezenbull.com/blog/index.php/how-to-grow-your-facebook-fans/.
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I hear a lot of people asking about growing their fan base on their Facebook Fan Page, and the answer is to create engagement through various means. The most important thing I can recommend is this:

If you are present and a presence on your fan page your fan base will grow just as quickly as your friends.

  1. Make sure to Add Value to your fans by posting great content and information in the form of blogs posts – your own and other experts in your field – that’s right, do not be afraid to prove that you are secure in your role by promoting others. Answer questions your fans may have and try to always to so promptly. Join in conversations, comment on other fan pages and use the @ feature to credit other fan pages for their information if you are reposting.

    Other great ways to Add Value in the form of information is to bring your own blog feed into your Pages – Notes Tab, or you could choose to feed in selected Twitter updates via the RSS feed from your favorites to keep it updating. Then all you do is favorite your own blog updates, quotes and selceted retweets for them to instantly appear on your page.
    Promote your Facebook Fan Page

  2. Add a Static FBML or HTML App on it’s own tab on your Fan Page and configure it a little like a “Landing or Squeeze page” this is almost like having a Mini Website on your FB Fan Page and you can add in an Optin box and so much more.
  3. Converse with your fans: ask them quesitons about their own businesses, their own challenges in your niche’s arena, give credit to others, give praise when it is due, quote others including other Facebookers. Find ways to create great conversation on your Page. Clue: conversation = engagement.
  4. Post photo’s of you with friends, at seminars and your own place of business or workshops, at meetups and tweetups etc.. and tag the people you are seen with in those photo’s with a personal comment.
  5. Promote your FB Fan Page on Twitter, your email signature, your online signature, your business card, and even on the bottom of your comments – when appropriate
  6. Link your page to your Twitter account so that all your FB Fan Page comments automagically appear on your Twitter stream http://facebook.com/twitter Do this with your Friendfeed and any other social profiles you have.

    Facebook to Twitter

  7. Favourite other Pages on FB, this is easily done by clicking on this link and choosing which page to link it to.

    Favorite a page on Facebook

  8. Try out the Social Ads on FB: you can easily choose to target certain areas, age groups, sex, keywords and more and they’re easy to set up.
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]]> http://www.thezenbull.com/blog/index.php/how-to-grow-your-facebook-fans/feed/ 5 How to Use RSS, Readers and Feeds http://www.thezenbull.com/blog/index.php/how-to-use-rss-readers-and-feeds/ http://www.thezenbull.com/blog/index.php/how-to-use-rss-readers-and-feeds/#comments Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:09:24 +0000 AnnieInfinite http://www.thezenbull.com/blog/?p=51 Copyright © 2012 AnnieInfinite. Visit the original article at http://www.thezenbull.com/blog/index.php/how-to-use-rss-readers-and-feeds/.

“What’s a feed?” “What is RSS?” and” How do I set up a reader?” I get asked these three questions all the time!

So let’s get started with: What’s a feed?

Every site that has really regular updates like news sites or blogs should have an RSS feed so that site viewers have the option to ’subscribe’ to their updates, just like subscribing to any hardcopy magazine or newspaper. And just like any hardcopy magazine or newspaper the more subscribers the more viewers there are of your information and therefore not only do your site traffic stats go up, your SEO ranking rise, but your branding cannot help but get noticed and these are all very good things for your business.  Creating a feed via Atom, XML or RSS is called burning a feed and my favourite feed burner is aptly called Feedburner.

Feedburner allows you to add a feed, opt in for all sorts of great options like email subscriptions for those viewers who do not have or do not like to use readers, the very important traffic and click stats and so much more in their very comprehensive dashboard.  Best of all it’s free and run by Google themselves who bought it out recently.

What’s RSS?

Basically RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication which is a special kind of code that allows your posts and information to be sent out across the web to those whose readers or emails have allowed this information to be sent to them via this code. For the more comprehensive Wikipedia explanation click on the link.

What’s a Reader?

The simplest explanation is that a Reader is a web application or widget that allows any blog or news syndicator you subscribe to, to collect in the reader for easy viewing by you. Google has one of the most efficient and easy to use readers, called again aptly enough Google Reader. If you already have a Google account you will already have it on your iGoogle page by default.

If not you will have to sign up for a Google account (a simple step by step that doesn’t really need an explanation) and then go to your Home Page. Once you have found your Reader, go looking for blogs or news sites that interest you, click on RSS or Subscribe and it will take you to a screen where you will choose your reader of choice. Choose Google, of course, or another reader if you have one already.

You can even tick the option to always use this reader to make it even easier from now on. Once you click on your reader of choice you will be taken back to your Reader home page to view the feed there. Easy!

Watch this easy to understand Vid for even more understanding:

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]]> http://www.thezenbull.com/blog/index.php/how-to-use-rss-readers-and-feeds/feed/ 0 23 Tips to Starting Out In Social Media http://www.thezenbull.com/blog/index.php/23-tips-to-starting-out-in-social-media/ http://www.thezenbull.com/blog/index.php/23-tips-to-starting-out-in-social-media/#comments Thu, 03 Dec 2009 01:57:54 +0000 AnnieInfinite http://www.thezenbull.com/blog/?p=28 Copyright © 2012 AnnieInfinite. Visit the original article at http://www.thezenbull.com/blog/index.php/23-tips-to-starting-out-in-social-media/.
My microblogging service interconnections
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So you have found your niche and you have built your site and now you’re ready to go out and get yourself known as an expert. You take a big deep breath and create several profile pages on social media sites and…..

How do you get started?

How do you get known?

How do you become trusted in your niche?

How do you become the expert, the authority?

These tips might help:

1. use Social Media well: don’t just submit links and leave participate, communicate and connect to build authority
2. network with others and even form a cross marketing group with others around your niche or your community
3. write guest posts on others blogs
4. leave quality comments on blogs and sites related to your niche (I said quality comments)
5. participate in blog carnivals or host one for yourself
6. offer great quality in your content which means researching and constantly keeping it fresh and relevant
7. offer RSS feeds
8. answer questions onsite and off
9. be a resource
10. create expert pages offering content around a certain topic
11. be interactive
12. speak on your readers level (don’t use jargon, and rule of thumb is 9th grade languaging online
13. check your spelling and grammar and most of all your information sources and research
14. be easy to contact and answer people who contact you
15. be well informed and stay on top of industry newsworthy
16. highlight your expertise
17. act and speak confidently
18. recognise other authorities and give credit where it is due
19. keep up to date with what others are doing
20. use a blog to create authoritative content
21. use an RSS reader to keep up to date
22. create relationships through social media sites and JV with others
23. use video and live streaming TV to build your status

The Zen Bull – bringing the world to your door

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