Day 10: Set up alerts to monitor your blog’s niche
I probably have way too many Google Alerts set up.
I monitor “mom blogger” daily; It’s interesting to see what’s being said about us, especially from a marketing perspective. I also keep an eye on my blog’s name and URL, as I’m not always notified (pinged) if someone links to me; it’s nice to be able to go and thank them right away. I create alerts for topics that interest me at any given moment. Right now? “BlogHer scholarship” and “iPad accessories,” among other topics.
I also get Twitter keyword alerts. I use SocialOomph for this (formerly TweetLater). I track my Twitter name (@ohMariana) so I never miss a response or a mention of my name. I can track basically any keywords that I can think of. All of this gets filtered into a special folder in my inbox.
Today’s homework?
- Set up a system of alerts to monitor what’s going on in your blog’s niche. Read more about this at ProBlogger. I’ve printed it out and placed the pages in a binder that I can access at any time.
- If you’re open to monetizing your blog, join an affiliate program today. Something that’s a right fit for your blog. Think about what you write about often. Music? iPhone apps? You might be the perfect iTunes affiliate, for example. If you’re already writing about those topics, you’re potentially missing out on good money! Well, not that great necessarily. But it adds up. If you’re active on Twitter, that’s another way to get click-throughs. These are the affiliate programs I’m a member of:
Amazon ~ Affiliate Future ~ Commission Junction ~ Google Affiliate Network
Linkshare ~ Pepperjam Network ~ ShareASale
PopShops is a site where you can add several of your affiliate programs and combine them into one “shop” where it’s easy to find what you need all in one place. FYI: some of those links above are affiliate links. 😉
*Please let me know if you need any help setting up Google Alerts or joining an affiliate program.*
If you’d like to participate, leave a comment so we can visit your blog and see how you’re doing! You can also link up specific blog posts relating to today’s challenge below. Just joining us? Feel free to go back and look through the previous tasks.
This is a great idea. I used to use google alerts a lot more than I do now. It seems my interests change so often and I always forget to go turn them off. I end up inundated with alerts. Do you use tweetdeck or something similar for twitter? That’s how I keep track of all the replies to my name (and fb and kw on twitter) ~ just wondering. I too have the 31 days to a better blog and it’s a great book to have. Going through once, and then again and again ~ works a charm. 🙂
.-= Jackie Lee´s last blog ..Living the Law of Attraction and Parenting With It Too! =-.
I also get inundated with alerts sometimes. That’s why they all go into one folder so I can easily sort and delete, if necessary. Otherwise, the clutter in my inbox would drive me insane!
I do use TweetDeck. I also keep track of when people tweet my giveaways, so the SocialOomph emails are really helpful with that.
Thanks for stopping by!
I actually did this over the weekend! I did an alert for my site so I could check on that and then I did one for freebies and one for coupons.
.-= Sharon @momondealz´s last blog ..My Thirty-One Boardwalk Bag Giveaway =-.