Prior to the domain 5NorthMarketing.com changing ownership in 2017, a wonderfully informative marketing blog lived at this address. Below is one of the archived articles from back then. Please note that the content below is not property of the current owners of 5NorthMarketing.com but, we believe, contains wonderfully written and insightful information worth sharing.

5 Excellent Posts for Bloggers from August 2011

Posted on October 1, 2013

If you're like me, you're doing your best to keep up with the latest posts, but it's difficult with the sheer number of articles published each month.

Shouldn't there be a list of the top posts so that you don't have to wade through them all to find the good stuff?

To help with that, I've compiled a list of five of the most valuable posts for bloggers from the month of August. Each article has a lot to teach about writing, marketing, and blogging.

I've also included links to two posts that I wrote for major blogs this month. They're listed below the five excellent posts from August.

Enjoy!

1. 5 Sure-fire Ways to Boost Your E-mail Subscribers by Martyn Chamberlin of TwoHourBlogger.com. Martyn happens to be my business partner, and he also happens to be a big fan of Derek Halpern. Derek knows his stuff when it comes to marketing, web design, and blogging, and he especially knows how to increase conversion rates for e-mail subscriptions. What are his secrets? Martyn covers five of them in this post, and you won't want to miss out on these easy ways to boost e-mail subscribers.
2. Small is the New Big: How Small Conversions Equal More Sales by Danny Iny from FirePoleMarketing.com. Danny is a co-founder of Firepole Marketing. He's also been blazing a trail through the guest posting circuit during the month of August by appearing on KISSmetrics (for the post referenced here), Copyblogger, Make a Living Writing, and Jeff Goins Blog. He probably wrote more posts that I'm not even aware of. One thing I can say is this: His advice in this KISSmetrics post is solid. Everyone focuses on closing sales, but Danny points out why it's worthwhile to pay attention to softer conversions that eventually lead to subscribers and sales. You'll need to read the post to find out more.
3. The Number One Conversion Killer in Your Website Design (Are You at Risk?) by Derek Halpern from SocialTriggers.com Like I said earlier, Derek knows his stuff. He's one of the internet marketing guys at DIY themes, and he knows what he's talking about when it comes to conversions and internet marketing. In case you don't want to take my word for it, head over to Social Triggers and check this post out. Derek discusses the number one conversion killer which happens to also be one of my pet peeves: clutter. There's no excuse for it, and you'll need to read this article to find out why Derek says it's the number one conversion killer.
4. 3 Basic Reasons Many Freelance Writers are Broke by Carol Tice of MakeaLivingWriting.com. When it comes to making money from writing Carol has great advice. She started Make a Living Writing to help writers become successful freelancers and support themselves by writing. I'm suscribed to her blog and I've done a 30 minute mentoring session with her. Based on that, I can attest that she's doing a great job of helping writers make more money. In case you're interested in her three basic reasons that many freelance writers aren't making money, head over to her site and read this post. If you're a writer, you'll be happy that you did.
5. The 7 Essential Elements of Social Media Marketing by Sonia Simone of Copyblogger.com. This article snuck onto the list at the list minute by getting published on the 31st. The good news is that it's well worth it. Sonia presents 7 basics of social media marketing that are fundamental for any business. In the article, she helps to make sure you don't waste time on social media and, instead, get a return on the time that you do spend. It's definitely worth the three minutes it will take to read.

In case this list doesn't include enough goodness for you, I also wrote two posts this month for major blogs. The first is an article titled "Don't Let Your Blog Get Caught with Its Pants DownWritten" written for ProBlogger.net.

It begins with an unusual story set in the grasslands of West Africa and goes on to apply lessons from the story to blogging. It's also a really personal story for me, so I hope you enjoy it.

The other post is titled "Are You Losing Sales by Giving Customers Too Many Choices?" It was written for the KISSmetrics blog, and the article discusses the paradox of too many choices for customers that can also be applied to blogging. It includes a jam study about choice by a professor from Columbia University that exposes the paradox of too many choices. You'll have to read it to find out more.