Blog To Great

Bloggers - Help With the Haitian Relief

As you know, the citizens of Haiti are currently dealing with devastation and suffering that few of us can imagine. The major earthquake this past Tuesday has reduced large parts of the the country's capitol, Port Au Prince, to rubble and has devastated an already poor infrastructure making the task of delivering aid extremely difficult.  The port has been ruined and the airport is overwhelmed, but aid is starting to arrive with the USA and other nations giving support and relief.

Official estimates from are that nearly 3 million people have been affected by this disaster and that  between 15,000 to 50,000 people possible are dead, with many more at risk of dying. Now's the time for you to donate and ask your blog's readers to donate to organizations providing aid to Haiti.  Use your blog or website to motivate others to give. It will take you only a few minutes to add a donation widget to your blog to remind people.

Help Let Customer Buy What They Don't Want

     BLOG TIPS - Thought this story appropriate, especially with of the swine (H1N1) flu fears & pork craziness around the globe this week.  It's a remarkable report nonetheless, a counter-intuitive study recently was published that uncovers the food choices people make.  The Journal of Consumer Research's basic conclusion is that, if you're a restaurant like McDonald's and you really want to increase french fry sales, the very best thing to do is add a side salad to your menu!   The effect is called "vicarious goal fulfillment," in which a person can feel a goal has been met if they have taken some small action, like considering the salad without ordering it, said Gavan Fitzsimons, professor of marketing and psychology at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, who led the research.  Wow!

Does this relate to blogging, websites and retailer?  I'm not a scientist, but the consumer behavior is likely to be the same.  So note what you're trying to "sell" and how you present your products (or brand) to the consumer and how to overcome their resistance.  Consumers, we now see from this report, will buy what they know they shouldn't if they can somehow have their guilt level reduced.  Having the right product mix is key in order to increase sales of your "core" item/s.   That's certainly good info bloggers and businesspeople that can help your blog and business.

See report at Journals.uchicago.edu and news release at Eurekalert.org

Blogging is Dead, Blogging Lives...

      BLOG TIPS - It's been said with the huge growth of real-time social media services like Twitter, the future of blogging is uncertain.   We've talked about the issue before, but at BtG, we see blogs as the focal point, the "tent pole", in people's social networking lives, from which all other tech "limbs' grow.  Could you manage only with Twitter or Flickr or Linkedin ?  It's doubtful.  Blogs and blogging, on the other hand can be your base for all things internet and the best way to archieve much of your written thought.  And, blogs are still an amazing vehicle for monetization,and with cheap domain names, it's so easy to set up shop.  Sure, it's unlikely that what we think of as a blog today, will be the same in one, or certainly, five years.  But, in some form, blogs will remain and companies like Wordpress, TypePad and others will continue to help improve blog's features.   See Andrew Keen's post for more.  

New California Sales Tax Law Could Impact Blogs

    BLOG NEWS- You may be aware that there are proposed California bills that could require collection of sales tax for online purchases.  This is similar to bills proposed in other states and could be similar to the law that recently passed in New York State.  Currently, a hearing date for AB 178 is scheduled for April 13, 2009. If passed, these laws may possibly impact your blog and your revenue stream, but are mainly focused on big internet operations, like Amazon.com.

Bloggers and ad networks are generally opposed to the legislation and several are working with lobbyists and other groups in hopes to get bills rejected.  This is a big deal bloggers, as passage will have great impact on the internet sales and revenue based blog industry.  As a blogger, you should learn the details of the bill and how it might impact your blog /  business. See links to some good info on the bills, and, if you reside in California, contact your state representatives to voice your concern!


More info?  View democrats.assembly.ca.gov  and  leginfo.ca.gov .

Blog Action Day Announced for 2008

   

BLOGGER NEWS -Blog Action Day, this year October 15, is an annual nonprofit event that works to unite the world’s bloggers, podcasters and videocasters, and to have them post about the same issue on the same day. This year's topic is POVERTY.  Their aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion. By doing so on the same day, the blogging community that you're part of can change the conversation on the web and focus audiences around the globe on this issue.  Join BLOG TO GREAT in participating in this important event!  Take time to view their site (link below) and learn how you can help with your blog. Check out details and register your blog, here.