I wrote a post a while back entitled – Top 10 things bloggers debate about . I want to focus on the age old debate of – Is Content really King?  I know what you are thinking…not again, I have heard all of this before.  Don’t worry; I am going to approach this from a slightly different angle.

I have been blogging here at TycoonBlogger.com for 18 months now and I have gone through many stages and I have learned a lot along the way.  When I first started blogging here, I was compelled to write new content every day.  I was living the “Content is King” mantra.  I would put a lot of pressure on myself to produce fresh content on a daily basis.  It did not take me long to start to show signs of blogging stress.  I then switched over to the thinking that content was important but Blog Promotion is the true king.  After all, if no one knows about your stellar content, what good is it?  My two –three hours a night of blogging time was spent mostly submitting my posts to social networking sites, forums, blog directories, etc…

I guess you can say I have evolved into the third stage of thinking.  I realize the importance of content and promotion but I think the real King is ENGAGEMENT.  The ability to engage with your readers and build a community around your blog is what ultimately separates average bloggers from great bloggers.  I will be the first to admit that when I first started blogging, I would keep pushing out content and I did not focus as much on engaging my readers.  I left many comments unanswered and I could have visited many more of the blogs of my visitors and engaged with them on their blog.  I will be making a conscious effort to make Engagement my top priority.  I feel that sometimes I spread myself way to thin, I will pull back a little and really focus in on:

4 major components of my Engagement First strategy.

• Respond to all most comments.  I crossed out most because I do not want to have to say “Thanks for comment” if I have nothing else to say.

• Visit and Engage everyone that comments and engages with me here on this blog.  I will be putting this as a top priority as sometimes this falls off due to a lack of time.

• Be Better on Twitter – A couple of months ago, I cleaned up my Twitter account and I am now only following 90 or so people that I am truly interested in .  I will selectively add to list and more importantly, I will strive to engage more on Twitter.  An extra 15 minutes a day could go a long way.

• Engage more on select social sites – Instead of spreading myself out, I will make an effort to dedicate more time to a select few social sites.  At this point, I have decided to spend more time engaging and adding to the community at Blog Engage .

[stextbox id="info"]I know the whole: Content vs. Promotion topic is a hot topic, so I am eager to hear all of your comments on the topic.  Do you think my new strategy makes sense or do you think I should churn out the content and keep the marketing engine revved up?[/stextbox]

Tycoon Blogger - Promote your Blog - Promote Your Business

Over the past year, I have written several articles about the importance of branding your blog.  One of the biggest ways to create a memorable brand for your blog is through your blog design and logo.  Take a second and think about some of the most successful bloggers.  Chances are names like ProBlogger and ShoeMoney are floating through your head.  One of the reasons you think of them first is because they have done an amazing job of branding themselves and their blogs and they both have awesome logos.  We know a professional logo is important for blogging but is essential if you are looking to business on the Internet.  In my opinion, a quality website and a quality logo separate the real players from amateurs.

I have actually been thinking a lot about changing up my site and switching up my header and actually getting a more professional looking logo.  I actually really like the lettering of my logo but not sure that I am crazy about the “character” anymore.  I have been thinking about a new theme as well, I just can’t decide between Thesis and Headway.

Due to the fact that web design and logos were on my mind, it was ironic that I was approached today to write a review for a leading logo design company called LogoBee.  Chances are good that you are familiar with this company as they are one of the most visible around the web.  One thing that struck me when I visited their site (besides their killer logo designs) was the fact that they have been in business for 10 years and have worked with over 10,000 clients.  To me that says a lot.  You know they will be around to provide support and have the credibility to stand behind their work.

I must admit that I have not used LogoBee (yet) but I am very impressed with their work.  Check out some of these logos:

The Tech Deals logo is my favorite, if you want to see more logo design samples visit their gallery.

Since many people that come through and read my blog are looking for additional ways to make money online, I also wanted to bring up the fact that LogoBee has a great affiliate program that pays out at $20 per transaction.  They also provide $20 coupons as well to make it easier to get those affiliate sales.  For more info on the affiliate program follow this link —-> LogoBee Affiliate Program

Tycoon Blogger - Promote your Blog - Promote Your Business

As February winds down, I wanted to write a wrap up post and highlight some of the most popular and most read posts of the month here on Tycoon Blogger.

Be sure to subscribe to my feed for more blog promotion tips and general blogging tips as I have dozens of ideas for posts in the month of March.

Tycoon Blogger - Promote your Blog - Promote Your Business

Just a couple of days ago, I wrote a post of checking in on your blogging goals and taking steps to make sure you are on track. When I was asked to review Blast Off! , a new book by Allison Maslan that launched on January 19th, I thought that I could learn a lot.

The book is a self help book that offers tips, suggestions and inspiration for you to experience positive change in your life. The thing I really like about the book is that it does not just preach to you but actually gets you pumped to reach your goals and then walks you through exercises to help you take action to reach your goals. Although this book is not about blogging or making money online, I feel that it help me personally by giving me a framework and road map to work within. The lessons learned has giving me inspiration and tools to make this my best year ever for making money online.

I think this book is worth checking out.

You can find it at all major bookstores as well as Borders and Barnes and Nobles. The book sells for $24, but is available on Amazon for less.

Tycoon Blogger - Promote your Blog - Promote Your Business

It takes a lot of time to promote a blog and create solid blog content. There are a small percentage of bloggers that blog full time and earn a living from it.  The vast majority of bloggers have day jobs and blog at night and on the weekends.  If you are married or have a significant other, this could cause some issues and tension in the relationship.  In this post, I wanted to share a little about my personal situation and I also want to open it up in the comments and see if anyone else has similar issues and perhaps some suggestions on how to strike a balance.

I work a typical workday, Monday through Friday 8-5.  My blogging routine starts at around 8:00 pm, I will lay in bed with my laptop and watch TV while talking with my wife and doing some blog related activity.  I have always been good at multi-tasking so this routine seems to work well for me.  More times than not, my wife will fall asleep around 8:30.  She blames me for not being engaging and  not talking to her for the reason that she goes to bed early.  On the weekends, I like to spend more time with my blog and last weekend my wife was very angry because in her opinion I was spending too much time on the computer.  I feel that my wife does not truly understand blogging and how much I enjoy it.  When I try to share some success stories with her, I feel that she does not really care and just humors me by saying good job.

I realize that there has be a balance but I guess I am having a hard time getting my wife to undestand what blogging is and what it means to me.

I really wish that she would get off that stupid Facebook and spend her time starting a blog, but I doubt that will happen as she thinks blogging is stupid.

[stextbox id="info"]What does your significant other think about your blogging?  Are they supportive?  Does your significant other blog?[/stextbox]

Tycoon Blogger - Promote your Blog - Promote Your Business

[stextbox id="alert"]Have you optimized your blog  for mobile devices yet?[/stextbox]

I am happy to say that I can now cross this off my to do list.  It took me about 6 months to get around to this but I have finally made my blog “mobile friendly.”  I have spent the last couple of hours researching the wordpress mobile plugins and wanted to summarize my thoughts here to save you some time if you have not installed a mobile plugin.  Let me start with the plugins that I did not choose and then I will get into what I selected and why.

WordPress Mobile Plugins I did not select:

• WordPress Mobile Edition Plugin – I had problems activating this one, so obviously this one is out.
• Wp-Wap 2.30 – I read some mixed reviews on this one and it does not seems to have any support or recent upgrades
• WordPress Mobile Plugin- This is a pretty popular one and there are many happy users out there.  I actually installed this one and took it for a spin.

WordPress Mobile Plugin I did select:

• Wapple Architect

This plugin just blew me away with the amount of features they have any what is coming next.

Here are some of the cool features:

• No redirection to a mobile version.  The same url will display on your mobile device as the web.  This is helpful from an SEO perspective.
• Easy commenting capabilities on your mobile device.
• If you are a css junkie you will be thrilled at the ability to customize the look and feel.

1. Have you installed a mobile plugin?  Which one?

If you have your mobile phone handy, check out my site and let me know what you think.

Tycoon Blogger - Promote your Blog - Promote Your Business

I am going to share a secret that will have a profound impact on the future success of your blog.  All bloggers know that SEO is vital and everyone wants to dominate Google for their selected keywords, right?  Wouldn’t be awesome if Google would just tell us the formula for success.  I am looking to dominate for several keywords, some of which are pretty competitive like, promote your blog and make money blogging .  How much would you pay for someone to tell you exactly what to write about and what titles you should focus on to achieve success in your focused area?

Did you know that Google will give you this information for free?  Ok, enough with the questions and let me explain what I am talking about here.

SEO Tip for Bloggers

It is called Wonder wheel.

Here is how you get there:

• Go to Google and search for your keyword phrase.  In my example, I will be using “promote your blog”
• When the results pull up, look right under the search box and you will see a little blue hyperlinked text that says show  options.  Click on that.

• On the right hand side, you will see the Wonder Wheel, click on it.

• What you will see is what Google would like to see as content for a site with that keyword phrase.  There are 8 articles to write about.

• You can click on one of the topic links and it will dig deeper and provide more content suggestions.

Pretty awesome, huh.  Did you know about this tool before?

If you liked this tip please consider retweeting to your buddies and don’t forget to vote me up on Blog Engage!

Tycoon Blogger - Promote your Blog - Promote Your Business

We are now down to ten days left before Christmas.  What do get for the gadget lovers on your list?  Consider picking up the Yamaha PDX-60 speaker system.  If you are unfamiliar with the Yamaha PDX -60, it is an iphone/ipod dock that was introduced into the market this year.  Iphone docks are a hot item this Christmas season and it is no surprise as it seems that everyone has an iPhone these days.  I bought an iPhone about 6 months ago and my wife has had one for several years now.  The thing is permanently attached to her.  She is typically on Facebook, but when she is not, she is listening to music and watching videos. For me, my iPhone wakes me up in the morning and doesn’t leave my side all day long.  I listen to music all day in my office, and listen to my iPhone in my car.  I never turn my radio on anymore. I am seriously considering buying her a docking station for her iPhone and have spent some this before writing this post looking into the available products on the market.  There are quite a few choices and it seems like the Yamaha PDX- 60 has some pretty cool features.The coolest  feature is something called yAired technology, you can hold your iPhone or iPod and take advantage of the speaker system.  This works for me because I always have my phone in my hand and do not want to dock it to get speaker sound.  Another thing that I like is that this system comes in a variety of colors, of course I will be choosing pink for my wife.

So what do you think?  Sound like a good gift?

Tycoon Blogger - Promote your Blog - Promote Your Business

I was checking out my Google Analytics this morning and I discovered that the top three keyword phrases driving to my blog are all related to Twitter Follower Tools or Twitter Follower Management services. Hey, I got to give the people want they want, right? So I have compiled the top ten twitter directories that I have used so far in my quest to grow my twitter follower count:
Top Twitter Directories:

We Follow – This is the most popular Twitter directory.  If you only submit to one, this should be it.  Over 700,000 people have added themselves.  You can select 3 categories to submit to and it takes about 10 seconds.

TwitR – This is another popular and simple directory to submit to.  Very similiar to We Follow, you login via Twitter authorize and add three category tags and that’s it.

Twello – This directory is known as the Twitter yellow pages.  Once you register you can add yourself to 10 categories.  Very comprehensive listings, everything from abstinence to zohar and hundreds of categories in between.

Tweeter Tags – This directory allows you to tag yourself based on interests and also lets you find others with similiar backgrounds.

TwitDir – The absolute easiest, no frills Twitter directory.  Just type in you twitter id and hit submit and you are listed.

GeoFollow – I like this directory, they let you add three tags and your location.  They then will feature you on the front page for a limited time.  They have a one click follow option to add twitter friends easily.

TweetFind – This is a “web directory” styled directory for Twitter.  Easy to submit and easy to search for people and businesses.

Twitter Passion – This is an “old school” directory, where you manually add your link for approval just like any other website directory.

Local Tweeps – Another geography based Twitter directory.  Easy to find and get found by tweeple near you.

Do you have any more Twitter directories to add to the list?  Let me know…

If you are looking for more Twitter followers – I personally recommend TweetAdder – click on the banner below to learn more:

Tycoon Blogger - Promote your Blog - Promote Your Business

This is the second installment in a new weekly feature here on Tycoon Blogger where I highlight some cool blog contest happening in the blogosphere.  If I miss any or you would like to promote your contest, feel free to leave a comment with a link.  If you would like to be featured next week, the best way to notify me is via email at tycoonblogger at gmail dot com or through the contact form.

This weeks blog contests:

• You Tube Video Contest – Murray Newlands is giving away $100 to the vlogger/blogger that comes up with the best video submission
• Twitter Contest – Murray is holding a $100 twitter contest to support his You Tube contest.
• Blog Engage Contest Update – Brian from Blog Engage posted an update and clarification to his contest.
• Content King Contest – Blaine Blogger is hosting a best content blog contest.  This should be a good one!!
• Couch Campus Contest – This site is giving away video games for comments.

What did I miss?  Do you know of any other blog contests going on?

Tycoon Blogger - Promote your Blog - Promote Your Business