It’s shocking how rarely I come across a Twitter bio that inspires me. Most are blank, bland, irrelevant or say almost verbatim what I’ve seen a million other times on the interwebs. But sometimes I come across bios that are snappy, witty, laugh out loud funny and make me immediately want to follow said tweeter (and be their Bestie 4 Life).

Like these five…

I clearly have a thing for writers, but they obviously know how to clearly and cleverly talk about themselves. The bio of @akharlamova just so perfectly describes the life of an author in so few words. And it also does a great job showing that she’s dedicated, consumed and in love with what she does. Nicely done, Arina.

It would have been so easy for @showmethesun to have written, “Book lover. Works in Publishing. From Melbourne.” Instead, she eats books for breakfast! She’s a curator instead of just a blogger. She doesn’t just work in publishing, she loves it. She doesn’t just live in Melbourne, she’s happy there. I feel like I know her already.

I love it when a major corporation isn’t afraid to add a little humor in their bio. What @Staples does is genius in that they quickly sum up what they do, then tap into the joys of every office worker on the planet. Like starch.

@KatjaPresnal clearly has a lot going for her. She tells us why she’s great, what she’s up to, what she does for living, then throws her personality at us in full force. This is a girl I could be friends with. And “carpe the shit out of diem” obviously needs to be my life motto. (Thanks to @aodt for sending this bio my way!)

I’m in love with @IsaChandra and think her loud and clear voice on this bio coupled with such simplicity is pretty unique. Sometimes (aka “all the time”) you just don’t need to over-explain. For Isa, four words is all she needs. I like her style and for those of you who eat more than just meat and potatoes can also appreciate her location quip.

Takeaways

1. A few choice words can make all the difference. Take a page out of Steph’s half-eaten book (see what I did there? I crack myself up) and stay away from over-used descriptions when talking about yourself.

2. What’s a really obvious stereotype about your industry/job/passion? Are you an accountant? Poke fun at the fact that you’re not absurdly boring. Social media strategist? Mention you’re sure as hell not a guru/ninja. Make like Staples and stand out from the crowd by being good-natured about the judgments surrounding what you do.

3. Do you have a specific writing style? Do you swear a lot? Have a rad vocabulary skills? Write poetry? Translate that strong style à la Isa Chandra so that voice shines in your bio!

Want more Twitter love? Read parts 1 and 2 here. And if you’ve seen any great bios lately, please share them in the comments!

This is a brilliant guest post from my friend David. It’s the email he wish he’d sent to a to a generic LinkedIn connection request. Hope this guy learns his lesson.

Dear Guy-who-sent-me-a-generic=LinkedIn-request,

You sent me an invitation to connect on LinkedIn, even though you don’t really know me. Of course, I know you, or at least know who you are. With about 7,000 Twitter followers, blog, Facebook profile and fan page, YouTube channel and Flickr account, you’re kind of a big deal in the Chicago social media scene. People I interact with regularly know you or have heard of you. You come up in conversations. I’ve run into you at networking events and even tried to introduce myself. You were too busy being social with friends instead to talk to me (instead of actually, you know, networking).

Your LinkedIn invitation consisted of the generic text provided by the network: “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.” How lazy and impersonal. Why don’t you send me an auto DM on Twitter while you’re at it? I thought everyone who knows anything about LinkedIn knows this is the ultimate faux pas. Perhaps I’m wrong though. You list “Social Media” among your specialties.

The invitation also says you’ve indicated I am “a Friend.” I recognize “Friend” is a relatively loose term when it comes to social media. People who have never met in person are Facebook friends. If you have no other connection and want to get around having to look up an email address, “Friend” is the viable only option on LinkedIn. But aside from knowing the same people, we aren’t really that chummy. Perhaps you’re using the term “Friend” just a bit too loosely in this case.

Your LinkedIn invite would have been more effective if you had said something like this:

Hi David,

We seem to operate in similar circles.  Why don’t we connect?  Perhaps we’ll meet in person sometime soon.

Regards,
________

That probably would have resulted an acceptance of your invitation. For the time being, though, my response is, “You can do better.”

David Salkover works in the Meeting and Events industry. He’s passionate about tradeshows and conventions, and is never without a good book to read.  Far from being a social media guru/ninja/expert, he’s more of a social media nerd. David tweets about whatever happens to be on his mind at twitter.com/dbsalk. 

Welcome to part 2 of Twitter Bios That Will Rock Your Socks.

After publishing last month’s post I realized the majority of the people featured were writers. Apparently writers can write well. Go figure.

While authors may have the upper hand in crafting short, sweet and memorable bios, I did try to avoid that “mistake” this go around. I even feature a company or two!

Alright, so maybe @joelharperfit was a client of mine back in the day, but his bio is still a work of genius. It establishes him as an expert (re: impressive clients) while also showing he’s not snobby about it (re: 10 year old kids). It subtly hints at a product you can buy without shoving it down your throat (re: FIT PACK) and then makes him relatable and easygoing with the dessert comment. Pretty much the perfect bio.

I featured @AuckTransport recently and for good reason. Every Aucklander without a car (and sometimes with) can relate to the ridiculous inefficiencies of Auckland’s public transport system. What I love about this bio in particular is that it starts off almost like it’s an official account, then throws you the “shit” curveball. (And I’m nothing if not a girl who loves her potty language.) Finally, they round it out with an extremely identifiable quip about transport delays. Genius, I tell you!

@RedheadWriting (aka Erika Napolentano) makes me think, cry, laugh out loud and is one of my favorite bloggers of all time. So it comes as no surprise that her bio is both impressive and self-deprecating. She makes other Twitter-lovers feel some sort of connection AND it says what she does while giving us an idea of the kind of writer she is. She’s a digital girl without looking like every other digital girl.

Food blogger (and another personal favorite of mine), @joythebaker has such a simple and perfect bio there’s not a lot else I can say. This fits her online personality and makes me want to immediately make a batch of her cookies (a recipe I most likely found on her blog).

Yeah, it shocked me too when I found myself screenshotting the profile of @BNZBank. But come on, how great is this bio? Very simple, to the point and clear they understand how Twitter works. They’ve managed to combine their long history (150 years of banking) with new digital technology (140 characters). Plus, when a bank give us a glimpse of humor they become a-okay in my book.

Another company profile I just had to include. @threadhelp is so great because they walk the walk. I had a question the other day and they responded within the hour. They’re true to their word and while this profile is nowhere near as fun as the official Threadless account, it serves such a great service and you can feel the smile coming right out of your screen.

Takeaways:

1. Relatability is huge. Make people feel like they know you and have had similar experiences.

2. Be impressive. Highlight your mad skills, but don’t get cocky. Feel free to list a snazzy award, column or hot client, but don’t forget to round it out to point #1.

3. Sometimes you don’t need to list all your hobbies, job titles, URLs, etc. Sometimes a simple sentance that sums up your Great Passion is enough to grab our interest.

A few months ago I made a video tutorial for the subscribers of my newsletter. To be honest, I never really liked making “exclusive” content so the newsletter is now defunct and I’m re-purposing some of the good ones that went out last year.

As you’ll see below, this tutorial is a demonstration of how I use HootSuite and keep it organized. While I’m a big proponent of “different strokes for different folks”, I personally love taking a peek into the quirky ways people use things. While my setup below is by no means unique or all that creative, it does work hugely well for me in terms of keeping up with searches, conversations and not losing my life entirely when I sign in.

Enjoy!

For those of you who aren’t into the whole video thing, here’s a quick summary:

1. HootSuite is more awesome than TweetDeck because it’s web based and there’s more flexibility in terms of organizing followers, topics and events.
2. Use the “pending tweets” stream to start scheduling posts to go out so you can reach as many followers as possible.
3. I organize my main tab with my home feed, @replies, sent tweets and pending. This way I can see everything at a glance and avoid sending a post out more than once.
4. Go through your home feed every morning and see if there’s any conversations you can jump into.
5. If you have a blog, organize a separate tab to include people who regularly comment/retweet so you can return the favor and stay in touch!
6. Use well organized and highly specific lists so you can keep tabs on interesting people in your industry, coworks, real-life friends, etc.
7. Set up a tab for any Twitter chats you join. Create columns for mentions, the hashtag and the moderator’s username so you don’t miss any questions or important comments in the flurry of the chat.

Any questions, don’t hesitate to ask below in the comments. And if you have any tips for me/us or if you’ve found different aspects of HootSuite useful, please share with the class!

Update: A few of you have asked to embed this video on your own sites and you’re more than welcome! A link back as credit would be a nice, but isn’t required.

I’ve made it pretty clear that one of the best things you can do for your blog is to branch out from reading bloggers who only blog about blogging (I’ll let you decide for yourself if this post is too ironic to read). I learn most from bloggers who talk about food and travel and design more than I’ve ever learned from people who have no experience blogging about other things than blogging.

(Let’s play a drinking game – you drink every time I say “blogging”.)

That said, almost every blogger worth his or her salt will occasionally write about blogging, regardless of niche. This is usually after they’ve become moderately successful and get bored with all the emails from fans saying, “How did you get your blog to be so popular?”

So they write posts. They answer questions, they give you a day in the life and generally impart their wisdom.

This post (about blogging on a blog that posts about blogging quite frequently) is compilation of those posts. The posts by people who don’t blog about blogging regularly but have occasionally posted on the subject.

Blog: Joy the Baker
Niche: Food
Post: 10 Real Talk Blog Tips
Takeaway: “I don’t think this blog would work if you didn’t know how silly bonkers my life is. You know that there’s cat hair everywhere. You know that I burn toast. You know that I date boys and get dumped.”

Blog: Young House Love
Niche: DIY
Post: Time, Money and Pies
Takeaway: “Our philosophy is that if you take the time to read what we write, the least we can do is return the favor.”

Blog: Carrots ‘n’ Cake
Niche: Healthy Living
Post: Blogging Tips for the 9 to 5
Takeaway: “I don’t have much free time, but I love blogging, so I make sure it’s part of my day… If you have a laptop or a mini laptop/notebook, blog on your commute. Use Windows Live Writer or Ecto if you don’t have access to Wi-Fi.”

Blog: The Happiness Project
Niche: Happiness
Post: 13 Tips for Beginning Bloggers (Which I Learned the Hard Way)
Takeaway: “Post every day. It’s counter-intuitive, yes, but strangely it’s easier to post every day than to post three or four times a week. You don’t procrastinate, you loosen up, you stay engaged with your subject, and you’ll be taken more seriously by readers.”

Blog: Design*Sponge
Niche: Design
Post: Online Etiquette and Ethics part 3
Takeaway: “Collaboration, like contributors, can be the key to a blog’s success, growth and pushing past those pesky creative blocks we all run into now and then.”

Blog: The Pioneer Woman
Niche: Family
Post: Ten Important Things I’ve Learned About Blogging
Takeaway: “Be varied. Change things up. Offer a smorgasbord of content. Unless you’re, say, a fashion blog. And in that case, you should probably continue to blog about fashion. But never blog about the same top twice!”

Blog: Penelope Trunk
Niche: Career
Post: Penelope’s Guide to Blogging
Takeaway: “Blogging is a conversation, and it is much more fun if you are part of it, instead of just talking at people. One of the great pleasures of blogging is linking to someone who I don’t think knows that I read their blog. A link to someone is like saying, ‘I really like what you’re writing and in fact, I want to share it with everyone I know.’”

 Any of these posts/takeaways resonate with you? Have I missed anyone?

For the past few months I’ve been making a point to take screenshots of Twitter bios that have made me laugh, think or are just plain brilliant. Bios that find a way to – in 160 characters – sum up a person, what they do and why we should follow them. And I figured it was high time I started posting them here. Every few weeks I hope to update you with more, but for now, take a look at these rad five:

@montoure has found a way to give us the feeling of his genre rather than just telling us about it. This bio could not be more brilliant. That last line gets me every time.

@KatieDavisBurps lists all the things she does, but they’re not boring, overused interests like “loving life” and “eating food”. She’s written a solid, interesting list that ends in a way that’s incredibly relatable and made me want to be her friend. Or make her a pot of coffee.

@jamievaron always cracks me up because every time she opens her little blogger mouth, an absolute truth no one ever mentions comes out. And, without fail, she’s nailed it in her bio while also being crystal clear about what she does. Funny + informative = WIN. (p.s. why hasn’t Entrepreneur magazine bought entreprenuer.com? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve misspelled it in my browser.)

@mariancall not only has a beautiful first name, but her bio makes me want to listen to her music rightthissecond. THIS is how artists should be using social media, y’all. She lets us get to know her with the word “wanderlust”, helps us understand her style with musician comparison and adds a little funny in there to make us like her. Then she tells us to buy her album without actually telling us. I don’t know about you, but I’m sold.

@neilhimself has been on my list of Top Bios since day one. When I was working with authors I always sent them to his profile as a great example to follow. Basically, we all know who Neil Gaiman is; he doesn’t need to list his books or hobbies. Instead, he shows us how passionate he is about what he does and he writes it in typical Neil fashion.

Looking back at the bios that have caught me eye, I’m finding: Humor is always a good idea. So is passion. Lists can be great if you’re creative. And, at the end of the day, show – don’t tell.

Anyone come across a great bio recently they want to share? What do you think about these five?

Back when I was doing five blog critiques per week, I started noticing a few trends. Mistakes I see over and over again. While none of these is a huge detriment on their own, if you make a few fixes here and there, you could really start seeing some improvements on your site.

So if you feel like your blog is just missing that special something or you really want to start to be taken seriously, go through these 32 tweaks you can do in 10 minutes or less:

1. Add a photo (this can be in your sidebar or About page, but personalizing yourself can make a huge difference in connecting to your readers).

2. Update to the latest version of WordPress.

3. Add matching social media buttons.

4. Spell check all the major pages. Use a site like EditMinion if you want a “second pair of eyes.”

5. Remove unnecessary sidebar features like generic blog awards or silly memes that aren’t adding anything to your blog.

6. Download a trial of Scribe to check on the SEO of your posts.

7. Test each of your share buttons. Make sure they work and look the way you want.

8. Resize large photos. Use a plugin like Smush.it if there are lots to resize.

9. Test your site speed.

10. Check your site in different browsers (Chrome, Firefox, IE, Safari…) to make sure your site works for every reader.

11. Write 10 new blog post titles.

12. Approve any pending comments and delete spam.

13. Pare down your navigation menu. More doesn’t mean better.

14. Spend 10 minutes tagging old blog posts, recategorizing and generally making posts easier to find.

15. Test your blog’s search capability. (Add a search bar if you don’t have one.)

16. Do a quick Google search for your blog to make sure the preview doesn’t look messy. Make any changes on your dashboard if it does.

17. Get a favicon.

18. Break up big chunks of text. Blog readers skim. Make sure your posts and pages are easy to digest.

19. Write down the main thing you want your blog to accomplish. Post it somewhere you can see when you’re at your computer. Remember that one thing whenever you post.

20. Check for broken links.

21. Switch to a self-hosted domain. Seriously, just do it.

22. Download a related posts plugin to encourage readers to stay on your site.

23. If you’re looking to make money, spend 10 minutes checking out OpenSky, Amazon Affiliates and/or Adsense.

24. Write a page specifically for advertisers.

25. Write a list of 5 websites where you’d want to guest post.

26. Remove any “meta” stuff from your footer and sidebar if you haven’t already. It’s not useful for the reader, so why have it?

27. Do you really need that blogroll or do you just have it to get links back? Think about it, then consider deleting.

28. Start putting together a “Best Of” page.

29. Comment on your top 5 favorite blogs.

30. Sign up for HARO.

31. Do you have a newsletter? If so, look at it. Are you giving people a specific reason to sign up?

32. Organize your navigation menu from most important page to least important.

Got anything to add? Leave your suggestions below in the comments and I’ll be sure to add them as an update to the post!

Most of the time, I have a backlog of post titles just sitting in my drafts. But sometimes I just get stuck. I’m out of opinions (surprise!), out of tips and out of motivation.

Ages ago I wrote a post about 9 different ways you can create new content, but over the years I’m constantly jotting down new ways I come up with posts. And what better way to spur your inspiration than share those ways with you? Here are a few tricks I’ve picked up along the way, along with suggestions from the Twitter community and further resources you HAVE to bookmark so you never run out of material.

 12 Blogger’s Block Busters

(say that three times fast)

Go through old content. Has your opinion changed? Have there been updates on a lesson or tutorial you wrote about?

Advanced advice. You see “beginning guide to blogging/fashion/pet care” everywhere, but what about tips for more advanced users? Even thinking about it from that perspective can change your posting tune.

Daily tasks. What do you do every day that has an effect on your blog? For instance, I go through my Twitter email folder and either follow or delete new followers. And every day I get annoyed with people’s lack of bio or too many hashtags in their tweets. So I’ve written a number of Twitter rants that always do really well.

Ask your readers. A great way to do this is through your blog’s Facebook page as it’s easier for people’s ideas to feed off one another. Poll plugins also work, as does asking people to share what they want to learn in the comments.

And that said, pull from comments. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used a reader question or suggestion as an idea for a later post.

Check out the top conversations on relevant Facebook pages. Facebook is one of my biggest sources of inspiration: photos, polls, competitions – they can all be so clever sometimes and it’s great for sparking the ole creativity engine.

What’s on your mind? This is an easy one, but every time I find myself struggling with something (i.e. blogger’s block) I just write about it. Instead of constantly worrying about what I should write, I write what I want to write. And you know what? It means I never get sick of my blog.

Spread your wings. I rarely read social media blogs – mostly because I find they say the same things over and over, but also because I simply enjoy food, design and travel blogs more. And these are the guys I learn most from. Leaving your niche is often the best way to get new post topics. For example, I’m working on a behind-the-scenes post that’s inspired by a lot of design blogs I read.

What’s going on in your life? While I worry about turning this site into another travel blog, Nicole Antoinette said it best on a recent post of hers, “If you’re a personal blogger whose blog is an online chronicle of your daily life, I think it’s completely natural for the topics you write about to grow as you grow and change as you change. You won’t have the same audience forever, because you won’t be the same you forever, and that’s okay.”

What X taught me about Y. While I usually scoff in the face of metaphor posts, sometimes one completely unrelated thing in your life can help you better understand whatever-it-is-you-blog-about. So sort of as an extension of the idea above, take something that’s happening in your personal life (in my case, travel) and relate it back to your niche. For example, “What Travel Has Taught Me About Social Media.”

Friends. If you’re anything like me, your real-life friends don’t really understand what you blog about. But those conversations with my friends? The ones where I try and simplify, explain or analyze what my site is really about? Those are what really get my creative juices flowing.

Idea journals. Okay, okay, we all know this is a smart thing to do, but seriously… do it. My brilliant boss carries one with him at all times and his blog is constantly being updated with great posts. While I’m sort of crap at carrying anything with me, I’ve started using Evernote (at Ben’s suggestion) and I now have a massive notebook filled with spur of the moment ideas I get while running, on the road or in the air. I’ve written some of my favorite posts using this method because you never know when a great idea might strike!

Hot Shot Suggestions

If you thought this was going to be a post on specific ideas, sorry y’all. Check out these great epic list of blog post ideas. I might just steal a few myself:

100 Blog Topics I Hope YOU Write ~ Chris Brogan

20 Types of Blog Posts – Battling Bloggers Block ~ Problogger

101 Great Posting Ideas That Will Make Your Blog Sizzle ~ I Help You Blog

Are You Hoarding Ideas? ~ Men with Pens

Community Suggestions

When I asked my followers how they beat blogger’s block, here’s what two brilliant minds had to say:

Now it’s your turn. How do you come up with great ideas? Do you backlog like me or write by the seat of your pants?

I think I actually need to put together an epic list of reasons why I love Twitter. Because every week I read awesome stories (like this one on Healthy Tipping Point) about fun, quirky, useful, life-changing things that happen because of Twitter.

In January I wrote about how Twitter saved my blog. And every day I’m reminded of the power connection.

This past Saturday night I attend a Josh Pyke gig. Now, if you don’t know Josh Pyke, he’s awesome. When I finally got my ass to Australia I knew I had to see him live. As luck would have it, he was touring Sydney during my two week stint here.

Anyway, halfway through the show, Josh paused and said, “Is Chris here?” (can’t remember the guy’s name, so we’re going with Chris). Some dude raised his hand.

Josh said, “For those of you who don’t know Twitter, it’s a thing on the internet. And Chris here mentioned that it was his birthday today.” And so Josh Pyke, one of Australia’s top singer-songwriters, sang Happy Birthday (along with the rest of the audience) to some dude named Chris.

All because of Twitter.

Doncha just love stories like that?  THIS is why I love social media.

Now to jot down the other #492 reasons….

Pay the toll of the person behind you.

Leave positive notes (à la Operation Beautiful) on public bathroom mirrors or people’s windshields.

Smile at a stranger, high-five a fellow runner, let the mom with threes kids go ahead of you in line.

Good Karma. On the Internets….

Paying it forward. Good karma. I’ve loved the idea of little acts of kindness, but for people who live online like yours truly, we need a solid list of nice things we can do for people around the world. Just because.

1. Donate to a blog. Ever see those sites that ask you to help them pay their hosting fees or buying  project materials by giving a little PayPal love? Well, how many of you actually do that? Today, I want you to give a couple dollars to that blogger you adore. That, or click on an ad, use their Amazon affiliate link, whatever…

2. Give your readers something special. Contests are a great way to do this, but if you don’t have a sponsor or the money to do this, bake your readers some cupcakes or send your top commenters a postcard.

3. Email your favorite blogger. Tell them they’re pretty. Or that you loved their latest post. Or that their about page makes you happy.

4. Any time someone mentions your or your site on their blog, share the post and don’t forget to leave a comment! While this is less a random act of kindness and more a way to thank people for mentioning you, it still bears repeating. Make an effort to comment on any blog that links to you (found through Google Alerts – get on that) to show you appreciate them. End of story.

5. Advertise someone on your site for free. Find a really great Kickstarter project you absolutely LOVE, but don’t have the money to support them? Feature the project on your latest post or create an ad to feature in your sidebar. Do this for charities, companies you love, blogs you read or anything else you want to spread the word about.

6. Send a handwritten thank you note to someone who’s really helped you – either through inspiration, leaving comments or mentorship.

7. Help someone with yard work. No, not real yardwork, this is online karma guys. But remember that post I wrote ages ago about people who saved my ass on Twitter? Pay it forward by doing the same. See someone bitching about their broken WP theme/grainy photo/overbaked cheesecake and you know how to fix it? Go forth and prosper.

What have you done or seen recently that’s been an awesome act of online karma? I only have seven ideas here and we need more! All your ideas will be featured here in the next couple of days…

{Photo credit}

UPDATE 8/27: Reader Ideas

Make Introductions – “I enjoy taking time out to email and tweet and say ‘Hi X, you should meet X because of X’ – I love seeing people who should get to know one another chatting away.” ~Sian Meades

Offer A Service – “If you offer a service, give it away for free to your most frequent comment-leaver, or a have a pay-what-you-can day,especially if your service is on the pricey-but-totally-worth-it side.” ~Kristin Offiler