This latest in the Top 10 Articles For…Series follows on from last weeks Twitter post and whereas last week I was focusing on the basics, this post is more about the some of the different ways that you can use other applications and tools to get the best out of Twitter together with some tips and hints.  There is always room for a bit of fun as well.

Please click on the images to read the articles.

1. 140 Twitter Discoveries

To get you in the Twitter mood lets start with this amazing article from Milana aka @rM1L published by Tech 18. Milana has found 140 different possible ways to get something out of your Twitter experience.

2. Twitter Birds (1)

Are you looking for something a bit different to adorn your website with Twitter related stuff? Try this article from @amymaeelliott published on Mashable which signposts some great fun sources for Twitter Birds, one of them is the main image on this page. (Source Flickr Marek.Sotak)

3 Twitter Birds (2)

Would you like to draw your own Twitter Bird?  The amazing Misty Belardo shows you how on her My Sketch Studio

4. Twitter Background

Have you thought about changing your Twitter background? Have a look at this article by @MarianSchembari posted on Ask Aaron Lee which goes through some of the things you should consider.

5. Who Tweets you?

This article by Dave Larson was published by Tweetsmarter and is a real mine of useful information.  Dave lists and reviews some of the Twitter Search Engines that you can use to monitor or locate Tweets that you thought might have been lost.  I find Backtweets particularly useful in finding out who has RT’d or mentioned one of my posts without adding my Twitter name.

6. Keep your Tweets sweet

How do you make sure your Tweets are noticed?  This article from @douglasi posted in Smedio lists some great Do’s and Dont’s to adopt to make sure you are a good Tweeter.

7. Twitter Tools

There are so many Twitter Tools out there that it’s difficult to pick out the best but I think that this article from @ruhanirabin does a pretty good job.

8. Make your Retweet count

Whatever your motive for RT’ing, and I hope all of yours are pure, it would be nice to know that the person you are Tweeting actually knows about it.   Until I read this article from @raybeckerman posted on Ray’s 2.0 I wasn’t aware that this is often not the case.  Thanks Ray, you can expect my RT soon!

9. Watching the Twitter world

If you want to be able to monitor what is happening then have a look at this excellent offering from @cindyking published by Social Media Examiner.

10. A day in the life

To finish a bit of fun which was brought to us by Diana Adams at Bit Rebels.  I know it’s only loosely related to twitter but I like it so much I don’t need much of an excuse.

There are many more fantastic articles out there to help us with Twitter so please let me know which have been the most helpful for you.

In this, the latest in the Top 10 Articles For.. series I am going to take a look at Twitter.

So what is thing Twitter thing all about, why as a blogger should you get involved? How do you get started? What is the etiquette? How can I use Twitter to help me? Those were some of the questions I asked my self when I started to blog and what I want to do in this article is to signpost some of the best articles that helped me to find the answers.  I will be looking this week at the why and the basics of getting into and using Twitter, next week will be Twitter Part 2 which will look at some of the other features and Tools that you might find beneficial.

Some of the articles are in depth and serious, others are a little lighter in keeping with my view that you need to know how it works but you have to remember to have some fun.  I must have seen more articles about Twitter than any other subject so I am not claiming that this is going to be the definitive list, my aim is to highlight some great advice and information, if you know of other great sources please share by adding your comments below!

Just click on the images to read the articles.

1. Why and when to use Twitter

First up an article form the excellent Aaron Lee aka @askaaronlee which considers when and why you should start to use Twitter if you are considering starting a blog.  Be sure to check out the other articles from Aaron who talks a lot of sense about how to use Twitter.

2. The nuts and bolts

Look no further than this really comprehensive series of articles published in Blog Tips which goes through all of the steps you need to take to get up and running and explains the terminology.

3. Twitter for business?

If you have a business blog or web site you may be asking yourself if Twitter is right for you, this article from Lucie Hys aka @OnlineFantastic will give you some food for thought.

4. Twitter strategy

A name you have seen before, Misty Belardo aka @mistygirlph , with an article published at Bit Rebels.  Why do you need a Twitter strategy?  After reading this you will understand better how to ‘fit in’ and connect with others.

5.Twitter etiquette

There is definitely an informal etiquette on Twitter and the sooner the user realises this the better.  This article from Guatam Hans aka @virtuosoblogger on his BlogGodown blog summarises the feedback that he got from his Twitter friends when he asked about their views on good Twitter manners.

6. Traits of a terrific Tweeter

This excellent article from Nicky aka @rockstar10 posted on The Nicky Blog lists the Top 10 common traits that she has identified in ‘Terrific Tweeters’.

7. Power Tips

Whether you Tweet for fun or for your business, whether you are new to Twitter or have been around for a while, you will find this great list from @chrisbrogan has something to add to your experience.

8. Lists

Now lists really puzzled me for quite a while when I started Tweeting, I didn’t understand how they worked at all. I found this article written by Josh Catone @catone published by Mashable cleared up all of my confusion.

9. Networking

Whatever your reason for being on Twitter it is all about connecting and interacting with others. This article from @CindyKing published at Social Media Examiner explains how you can use Twitter as a starting point to building a strong business network.

10. Want to be a Twitter celebrity?

Lets finish on a lighter note with this excellent article from Richard Darrell aka @minervity published by Bit Rebels. Great fun combined with some excellent advice.

Finally some Twitter lessons that I have gained (sometimes the hard way) in my short time as a ‘Tweep’ which I hope will help you.

1. Don’t try too hard – When I started out I would watch a lot and not interact in case I made a fool of myself.  I then veered to the other extreme and RT’d frantically to try to get some attention. I would spend far too many hours on Twitter wondering why nobody loved me! Chill Out. Just relax, be yourself, Tweet when you have something to say, RT if you think something is of interest to or will amuse your followers. That works and it’s more fun.

2. Read something before you RT, I have sometimes regretted an RT when I actually took the time to read it afterwards.

3. Don’t click on a link if you are not sure of the source.  Even if it is in a DM from someone you know, I did and sent the same spam to all my followers, Ouch! If it doesn’t look right it probably isn’t.

4. Search for your own name on Twitter from time to time. I had someone try to impersonate me using my name and bio, probably a bot and I don’t know why but I now check to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

5. Thank people for following you (as long as they are real people!) without adding links, I think that is a much more genuine way to start a friendship than trying to promote yourself.

I hope you have gained something from looking at there articles, please let me know what you think.  Another Twitter feature next week with some super articles about how to use Twitter effectively.

This is the fourth part of the series Top 10 Articles For… which signposts some of the best articles that I have come across to help budding and hopefully, even established bloggers.

First of all I would like to thank Jason Pollock for featuring last weeks post Top 10 Articles for Writing Great Content on his excellent JasonPollock.TV.

I highly recommend that you check Jason out, you can follow him on Twitter @Jason_Pollock.

So you have now designed your wonderful new blog, written some great content, hit publish and you are sitting back wondering why no one has visited!  Every new blogger faces this dilemma at the start of their blogging life and will find that it remains a constant challenge as the blog grows.  I found that the only way to learn was to follow the advice of those who had gone before.  There is a wealth of fantastic information out there, I know that you could never hope to read and absorb everybody’s advice but what I have tried to do is to highlight some of the articles and authors that helped me the most.  Please pay them a visit and be sure to roam around the other stuff that they do so that you gain maximum benefit from your visit.

Please click on the images to read the articles.

1. Review and Plan

An excellent article to start with from @chrisbrogan. This takes you through reviewing where you are, where you want to be and the best way to get there.

2. Driving traffic

A really comprehensive list of the things you need to do to make sure that visitors come to you from @DeniseWakeman published by Social Media Examiner

3. SEO?

SEO? One of those terms you will not be familiar with if you are new to all this stuff. Search Engine Optimization is the name of the game and it’s really important to get a good understanding if you are to have a successful blog. Darren Rowse aka @problogger explains in his excellent article published by Problogger.

4. Social Media

A very important factor in promoting your blog is the effective use of Social Media, Becky Holland wrote this article which explains the basic things you should consider.  I know you will soon spot that this was published as a guest post on this blog but I hope you will agree that it merits a place in this list!  You can connect with Becky on Twitter @BeckyHolland7

5. Websites to leave your mark on

There are a number of websites that you can use to promote your blog. This article from the excellent Misty Belardo, which was published by Ink Rebels, lists the main ones you should use with some tips on the best way to get the most out of them.

6. Promoting content

This article from Hadassah Levy was published by Tech’n'Marketing. The advice offered is from a slightly different angle as it concentrates on blogs promoting content rather than selling a product.

7. Contests

A different angle that you may not have thought of.  This guest post on Shirley’s Zone by James Adams discusses the pro’s and cons.

8. RSS

RSS is of those acronyms that you need to find out about.  Another Ink Rebels article, this time from Diana Adams.  Diana explains what RSS is all about and how to use it effectively.

9. Hot topics

It’s all very well writing beautiful content but to attract visitors you need to make it relevant.  This article from Aalia S published by The Blogging Meta Blog explains how to find out what’s hot and what’s not.

10. Don’t annoy your readers

A great article from a very talented young man Gloson, which was published by Search Engine Marketing Group. Gloson goes through the things you should not do on your blog unless you want to drive traffic away!

Thank you for taking the time to read this article, I hope you have found it useful.  Please let me have your comments and suggestions of any more articles that you have found helpful on your blogging journey.

Next week I will be taking a first look at articles which help you to get the best out of Twitter.

The third in the series of ‘Top 10 Articles For…..’ looks at the art of writing consistently good content for your blog. Having good content is without doubt one of the key cornerstones of a popular blog, after all who wants to return to somewhere where, on your first, or indeed your last visit, you were not entertained or stimulated.

Just click on the images or links to read these articles. Twitter links have been added where appropriate.

There is a huge amount of information out there to help you with writing content and what I have tried to do is to pick a selection of articles that I found useful and which give different angles to approach the task from.  Whether you are a beginner or an experienced blogger I hope that you will find something new to help you in that writing task you are about to undertake.

So lets start at the beginning, you have decided to write an article for your blog.  I am assuming that you have already decided where your niche is going to be and what topics you are going to write about.  How about starting with a good title, I have come to realise how vital a good title is and how it can affect how many people will find you. (More about that in a later post) Try this one for starters from Misty Belardo.

1. Title

This article was produced by Misty Belardo @mistygirlph at Ink Rebels

2. Structure

Next an interesting take on writing from Darren Rowse at Problogger

Darren, who is a must read for any budding blogger, shares how he would approach a blog post in the same way that he would a sermon.  You can watch a video of Darren in this one.

3. Be persuasive

When you are writing your blog post you are trying to persuade your reader to do something.

This post is from Brian Clark at Copyblogger. If you are writing for your own pleasure rather than selling a product you may not consider that you need to persuade.  I would however disagree, are you not wanting the reader to agree with your opinion or return to you again, your writing needs to persuade them to do so.

4. Have fun writing

Another one from Ink Rebels, this time from Diana Adams @adamsconsulting I think this a great article and teaches a lesson that we all should heed, that is don’t take yourself too seriously!

5. Overcome that block

We all have days when nothing gets done.  Try getting into these good habits as recommended by @DeniseWakeman in Social Media Examiner. I must admit I am not the most organised person but I am finding that trying to adopt good habits and a sound system in this way does help me.

6. Grammar

Correct use of grammar is, I think becoming a dying art. I have always considered that I have good grasp of the basics and I really think that the use of correct grammar in everything you write is so important. (OK I am waiting for someone to point out my failings in that direction!)

Try this article from Jay Adams published by Smedio which sets out some of the most obvious pitfalls.

7. Practice makes perfect

You can’t expect to get it right straight away or all the time so you need to practice your skills.

The excellent @chrisbrogan explains all.

8. Developing your writing

I wanted to include some more general advice about writing and I think this series of articles from author Deborah Riley-Magnus serves that purpose well.

Debbie goes through the whole process of writing and publicising your work, who knows where your writing might take you? You can follow Debbie @rileymagnus

9. Ready to give up?

Had enough, creative juices dried up? Back to Darren Rowse again with some suggestions as to how you can get things moving again.

10.Other important stuff to think about or add

There are so many other things to think about when you are writing for your blog. I think this recent article from @Lovtoo published on Tech18 sums it up quite nicely.

So there you have my list of favourite articles for writing great content.  There are so many great articles out there on this subject and I am aware that I have not even scratched the surface, please let me know which articles you found helpful so that we can all share.

Please let me know how you think this series is shaping up, are there any subjects that you would like me to include?

Back next week with Top 10 Articles for…Promoting your blog.

I have only been blogging for 7 months and while I am very far from being an expert, I have been amazed at how much information I have been able to acquire to help me to set up The Top 10 Blog and improve my blogging experience.   This is the first in a series of articles which will be a compilation of the best resources that I have found that helped me and that hopefully will become a source of reference for others.  You will find good practical advice here which I found most useful to me as a novice, if you are looking for in depth technical advice you are in the wrong place. (Although that may come later as my knowledge increases!) I will be adding my own thoughts and experience so that these authors are not doing all the work!

Please also visit the introduction to the series Top 10 Articles For…..

So you have decided you would like to blog, what now?  So many questions going through your head, what to blog about, where to blog, how to blog and many, many more.   By the time you have read these articles I hope you will have a much clearer plan of the what, how and where and be able to get cracking!

One piece of advice from me at the outset – don’t take it too seriously, relax and have fun, you are much more likely to be successful in my mind. Just click on the images or links to read the articles, I have also added Twitter links where appropriate.

1. Is blogging right for me?

That is a good question to ask your self at the outset.  Read this article from Darren Rowse @problogger

23 Questions for Prospective Bloggers – Is a Blog Right for You?

Problogger is a must read for all budding and more experienced bloggers, I could probably fill most of the Top 10 with articles from Darren but that wouldn’t have been half as much fun!

2. Five basic steps

This article by Misty Belardo @mistygirlph was published on Ink Rebels and sets out the basic steps you should consider when planning your blog. (You will see Misty’s name again, she is well worth following!)

When it came to the platform to use I started with Google Blogs to get the feel for the thing then moved to WordPress after a couple of months when I felt ready to add a bit more functionality.  I suppose it all depends what you want to to do and where you want to go as to what will work best for you.

3. Layout

How do you want your blog to look, that will depend on what type of blog you have and who your target audience are.  This article from The Blogging Meta Blog will give you some good pointers to the type of thing you should be thinking about.

A Rich Lush Template? Or a No-Frills Blog?

Have a good look around the free theme templates available on the platform you choose.  Don’t be afraid to play around with them to get the right look and layout, you can always change later on.  I found that the only way to learn what was right for me was to choose something then find out what didn’t work as I went along.  When it then came to time to invest in a new theme I was much clearer in my mind about what I wanted.

4. Good habits

Excellent article from Annabel Candy in Copyblogger

This is the sort of advice I wish I had read before I started as developing these habits right from the start will stand you in good stead.  I am trying Annabel, I am really trying but sometimes it’s hard to find the time to do some of these things. I will, I think return to these themes again and again as the series progresses as they form the bedrock of being a successful blogger to my mind.

5. Simple things to improve the look of your blog

OK so you have now decided what you want to blog about and you have set up your basic WordPress blog with a free theme. (I am using WordPress now so some articles, including this one will relate just to that platform.) This article from Shirley Osei-Mensah @ShirleyOM from her Shirley’s Zone sets out some simple things you need to do straight away.

5 Things To Do To Give Your New WordPress Blog A Great Start

I must admit That I didn’t like the ‘Hello Welcome’ page when I first set mine up but I really didn’t know there was an alternative.  I suppose that’s why it’s a good idea to actually read this stuff and learn.  Choose a Theme which will complement what you want to do.  Check out the WordPress ‘Help’ pages if you need to check out how to do this stuff.

6. Plug ins

Plug Ins, a new concept to me when I began to blog. Put simply they are the things that you can add on to your blog to make them more interesting or easier to use. Have a look at this article from Nimit on COREBLOGGERS to learn more about the best of them.

There are many Plug Ins available and many versions of the same one that will do virtually the same thing so look around before you install one.  A word of warning, some of them can affect how your blog operates, for example I was running the Disqus Plug In when I changed my Theme to Woo Spectrum and it meant that the Featured Posts feature wouldn’t work properly.  It had to come out which was a shame, had anyone found a way round this one?

7. Images

I love putting images onto the posts, I feel it can add so much, but where to source them?  There are loads of images on Google but I am aware that they might not be totally safe as I could be infringing someones copyright, not something I am keen to do!

I have come across this really helpful article from Petteri Ollila @PetteriOllila which was published by Famous Bloggers . Peter sets out the position with regard to ‘Creative Commons’ for which I am grateful and has links to some useful sites with free images.

8. Blogging as a business

Many people want to start a blog to promote a business, others want to use it as a means to bring out their creative side or maybe just to connect with other like minded people.  For my part I started blogging as a hobby with a long term hope that I might make a few bob somewhere down the line ( I guess that will be a few cents in some parts of the world).  Nothing has changed in my outlook, I am still doing it for fun but I am interested to keep an eye on how to make some earnings long term, you have to have a dream!!

This is an article that I found by @Denise Wakeman on Social Media Examiner . Denise looks at the additional things that you might want to consider if blogging for a business although it’s still well worth a read even if you are doing it for fun.

9. Content

I have heard it said that content is king and it is certainly true that if your content isn’t interesting then you won’t be getting many repeat visitors. There will be a lot to follow later about writing content but in the meantime I thought this article sums up the context of good content brilliantly.

It was written by @Dean Rieck and published in Copyblogger.  Keep it by you as a reminder of how you should approach writing your content.

10. Common mistakes to avoid

So many mistakes and I have probably been guilty of making most of them.  Diana Adams @adamsconsulting has compiled this excellent list of the main pitfalls to be avoided which was published by Ink Rebels.

Your new blog can only benefit from following Diana’s advice from the outset.

Tony’s Tip of the Week – If you are putting links in your posts check that they work and that they take you to the right place.  I also like to ‘target’ the link to a new window rather than opening in the window you are in, that means that the reader is not leaving your site. (Just checked mine again, one not working, Phew!!)

If you are new to or are thinking of blogging I hope you have found this mix of great articles and the benefit of the experience of someone who has recently done it useful.

Please let me have your comments, Of course there are many, many more fantastic authors and articles out there and I can only reflect on those I have seen. So please let me have your favourites so that we can build a great reference resource for everyone to use.

I hope you enjoy checking out the sites I have featured, remember to leave your comments on them as well.

Please return next Wednesday for the next in this weekly series, Top 10 Articles for .. Writing good Content!

Other ‘Top 10′s Articles for….’ to follow include ‘Promoting your Blog’ and ‘Tweeting’.