How many of you have heard of Google Voice? I heard about it months and months ago and I signed up to receive it when it rolled out. I had not given it anymore thought until last week when I received an e-mail from Google telling me I was accepted and to go and select my new phone number. “Woo Hoo” I thought, but I didn’t know why I was excited. The more I have messed with it over the last week, the more I get excited about the possibilities.

The Google Voice e-mail I received, sent me to my Google Account and it directed me to select a phone number that I desired from quite a long list of available telephone numbers in my area. All of the numbers that were listed, were in my own area code. I went through and selected a number that looked easy to remember. I won’t reveal my new number here yet because I’m not sure who I want to have it yet until I have it all figured out.

Once I selected my new number, I was instructed to select a phone number that I wanted my Google number to forward to. I selected my mobile number of course. We have not had a land line at my house in over 3 years. How it works, is that anyone you give your Google number to, when they call it, it will actually forward to whatever number you set up. What I like about this is I don’t have to give my real number to anyone that I don’t want to have it.

Here’s what happens when you call my Google Voice number. You will receive a prompt from Google the first time you call me and they will ask for your name. Google records your name and then my phone will ring. When I answer, it tells me that I have a call from Joe and I hear Joe as he spoke his name. I’m asked if I want to accept the call or send it to voice mail. How cool is that? it’s like I have my own private secretary and I can screen my calls. The number that comes in to my cell phone is always a 605 area code which I now recognize as a Google Voice call.

Folks, it gets better if you are a Geek. I love this stuff. Let’s say that I let your call go to voice mail. When you leave me a voice mail and hang up, I receive a text message on my phone telling me I have a new voicemail and also a transcribed text message of your voice mail. I don’t even have to go listen to your message. In addition, I receive an e-mail telling me I have a new voicemail and it will list the phone number it came from. Now even better, it gives me a link where I can just play your voicemail from my computer in my Google Voice account. The voicemail recording as well as the transcribed text is in my account and I can refer to it there.

I have not tried out all of the features yet but another thing it will do is record your telephone calls. This could be a very good feature, especially for someone like me who suffers from CRS. Can’t Remember $hit. If you have called me on my Google number all I have to do is press the 4 on my keypad and it will record our conversation until I press 4 again. The caller on the other end will hear that the conversation is being recorded so they will know. If you didn’t want them to know, just cough real loud for a couple of seconds when you press 4 and they will probably never hear the fact that they are being recorded. Now I didn’t just say that. The recorded voicemail will be stored in your Google Voice account and you can listen to the recording immediately. I think it will be a wonderful tool for bloggers who may want to do telephone interviews. The recording quality is excellent.

Just below is what I’m really excited about. The ability to place a Google Voice Widget on this blog that will allow you, the reader, to make voice comments about this blog or a particular article. I think that will give a new dimension to your blog and the interaction with your readers whether it be a hyperlocal blog or any kind of blog. It’s very simple if you would like to make an audio comment. It’s free. Your name and number will not be published. All that I will see is your phone number. To place the call, you must type in a name of some sort.

I would really love for you to help me with this experiment. This is a first for me and if anyone else on the internet is doing it, I’m not aware of it. If you will leave me an audio comment and if you don’t mind, I’ll publish your audio comment here in this article. I think it will be fun.

Make sure you have your phone with you

Click the Google “Call Me” graphic below. Type a name (fake if you want). Enter your phone number. Click the connect button. Your phone will ring. When you answer, you will hear it ring and then you will hear my greeting. After my greeting, just leave whatever message for me that you would like to. If you think I’m a big goober, that’s ok, tell me I am. If you are planning to name your next son after me, tell me and I’ll leave him in my will when I die. Say whatever you want to say. Hang up.

What I will do, is embed your voice message in a player here at the bottom of the article. Come back later to listen to your message and any others I receive.

Example: Here is a test call that I made using the Google Voice widget. Why don’t you give it a try, I’d love to hear a message from you!

If you are an e-mail subscriber, you may have to visit the site to listen.

Thanks to Medic who was the first to give it a go below. Thanks Medic! Give it a try for yourself!

Sign up today for your own Google Voice Number.

I found this video review on YouTube that you might be interested. The video is pretty informative but a little long and a little boring, but if you watch the videos I make you are already used to that!!

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Copyright 2009 BloggerLens.com Hyperlocal Blogs & Citizen Journalism

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Google Voice Review. How To Add A New Dimension To Your HyperLocal Blog

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I work 99% from my Mac for all of my video and graphics. I have a MacBookPro 17″ and I use a program that is part of the Apple iWork Suite of programs called Keynote. I’m using iWork 08 but there is a newer version now available, Apple iWork ‘09.

In my opinion, Keynote is sort of like Power Point on steroids. I”m not a PowerPoint user, but there is no way it can be as powerful and user friendly as Keynote. I have found Keynote to possible be the most useful application on my Mac. To say I love it, would be an understatement.

I have not made a screencast like below in a long, long time. I’m going to show you some of the steps I do using Keynote to create graphics for my hyperlocal blog. If you work primarily on a Windows PC, this screen cast will not help you. If you own a Mac and you are not using Keynote, this screen cast should open your eyes to the wonderful possibilities for design using Keynote. What you will observe in this screencast is just the tip of the iceberg for Apple Keynote. It does so many wonderful things. You can even make movies, but I’ll cover some of those details in a future post. I hope you enjoy it. If you have not added the Apple iWork Suite of software to your Mac, you should do so right away. It’s incredible what this user-friendly powerful software can do.

Thanks for subscribing to articles from: Blogger Lens. Please join me in the hyperlocal discussions and let me know how I can make the site better for you.

How To Use Apple Keynote iWork To Create Graphics For Your Hyperlocal Blog

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Everyone who has a blog and offers e-mail subscriptions through Feedburner may find this helpful. When people subscribe to your blog, they usually receive the e-mail with a static blog title that you set up in Feedburner. Now, you can go into your “Publicize E-mail” section and add a bit of code that will deliver your subscriptions with the latest title that you used.

Just add ${latestItemTitle} to your e-mail subject line. I’ve just added this to my feedburner for Bloggerlens. I’m going to also add it to my hyperlocal blog, Monroe Scoop also. I’ll check my e-mail tomorrow to see if the feature works as they claim. I hope so. I think your subscribers will be more encouraged to open and read articles when they see a relevant title in their in-box.

That’s all for today. Just a heads up that may be helpful to all of my hyperlocal brothers & sisters.

Copyright 2009 Bloggerlens.com Hyperlocal Websites & Citizen Journalism

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How To Add “Post Titles” In Feedburner Email Subscriptions To Your Hyperlocal Blog Articles

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I’ve had too many situations where I’ve shot some pretty good video only to find out once I started to edit, that the audio was so poor that I couldn’t even use the video. Do that once or twice and you will be purchasing a wireless microphone system very quickly. I have 2 set ups. I have an expensive set up that is more professional in quality that I use when the situation calls for it. I also have the Audio Technica Pro 88W that is economical and produces excellent audio for my videos. Unless you are shooting professional type video, you will find that this wireless microphone system that I’m reviewing today will meet your needs 99% of the time.

If you decide to add a wireless mic system to your video equipment, make sure that the video camera you are using has a microphone input. Most of the time I’m close enough to the camera that I could easily just use the built in microphone supplied by the camera. What you will find however, that once you start using a wireless system, you will use it a lot because of the high quality audio it produces.

I go in to depth a little on this review of the Audio Technica Pro 88W and show you it’s capabilities and features. I also have a little fun on the video also. I hope you enjoy it and it helps you make an informed decision if you decide to add this to your arsenal of video equipment.

Here is the direct link to the Pro 88W on Amazon. I use and recommend Amazon for your online purchases. Amazon’s return policies are unmatched. AUDIO TECHNICA PRO88W-R35 Microphone from Amazon

By the way, while I was on the front porch doing the demo, I got stung twice when I disturbed a wasp nest under our little table. OUCH! I can promise that I was not able to use the audio I produced when that happened. Just want to let you know what I’m willing to go through for my readers here on BloggerLens!

If you are considering starting a hyperlocal blog, don’t forget my free offer to help you.

Copyright 2009 bloggerlens.com Hyperlocal Blogs & Citizen Journalism

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Tools For The Hyperlocal Blogger | My Review Of The Audio Technica Pro 88W Wireless Microphone System

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Let me state right now that I’m not an SEO Expert (search engine optimization). I’m not an expert at anything with the one exception of enjoying an ice cold Blue Moon in a frosty mug at the end of every day. There are a few things that I try to do with every article I post in the hopes that it will help the search engines find my site. If you apply the same principals on your site, I think it will help build your traffic, it certainly will not hurt.

Doing SEO on a hyperlocal blog is not the easiest thing in the world to do. If you try to do everything perfect, you will go crazy in the process. I want you to focus on just a few things that will eventually become second nature to you. It’s easy. Two things I enjoy in my life. Free…me and free get along great. Easy…I’m a simple dude and don’t like things real complicated. I want my stuff on cruise control if possible.

Heres how I roll:

Since I’m simple, I’ll do my best to make this simple.

I’m going to assume your site is built on the Wordpress platform. If you are using a free blogging platform, that is ok as a supporting site to send links. However, stop wasting your time and effort and get on your own site and your own hosting. If you carefully read the terms of service on free sites, you will most likely find that you do not officially own the content and they can shut you down on a moments notice. Do Not Risk It!

Make sure you install the All In One SEO Pack Wordpress plugin. Every time you post an article, fill in all of the information into this plugin. I won’t go into the details of this plugin on this article. There are plenty of sites that will do it better justice than I. Just Google it. It’s a very easy plugin and pretty much self explanatory.

I rank #1 on more local terms in my community than I could shake a stick at. I try to write naturally for the most part and just let it happen. No way I can SEO for everything. I rank #1 simply because I post articles and Google has determined that I’m the authority. Google will do the same on your hyperlocal blog also. Ask Matt McGee, he’ll tell you that he can easily rank for just about any term he wants on his hyperlocal blogs.

Here are a few of my personal guidelines I try to do at least 90% of the time.

I focus on 4 terms mostly. 2 variations of my city name and State. 2 variations of my County name and State. Those 4 terms are most likely the 4 most searched terms in your community. Either through a broad search or an exact search.

• Whenever I use my city or county name in my article title I always use my state also. Ex. Over 500 Union County, NC Students Screened For Pre-Kindergarten. I could simply write Union County and everyone in my community knows what I’m talking about. To Google, how many Union Counties are in the USA?
• I always use an H1 Tag at the beginning of my articles. I start every article (mostly) with my geographical location. Check out the screen shot of the beginning of the article. See the big bold Union County, NC? That’s just my little message to Google.
  Screen Shot
  
• Now I just write naturally throughout my article or I post a press release. If the press release uses the word Union County in it, I will usually add the “NC” or “North Carolina” to it. Not always but usually. Use your best judgement.
• At the end of every article, I take the opportunity to once again mention my County or City and State, and I also add a link back to the homepage of the Monroe Scoop. I think every SEO Guru out there will tell you that deep linking within your site is very good. I show a link and I “bold” it all.
  Screen Shot
  

• At this point and time, it’s time to start adding “tags” to your article. This is very simple to do. Simply start perusing down your article and add tags for the pertinent information in your article. Names, organizations, locations etc… If you notice in the screenshot, you will find that I tagged many of the words that were in my article that someone might do a search on in Google or in my own site search bar.
  Screen Shot
  

• Always, always, always add “alt tags” with keywords to your photos. I get a lot of traffic to my site from Google images.
• Now here’s a little secret that you may or may not know about but I feel it can be very effective for your hyperlocal blog. Check your stats and look at the search terms that people are finding your site from. Look at the pages on your site they landed on. Take some of those terms and go back and edit those articles by adding those tags to that article or do some editing by adding those terms in the article. Tags will create more Wordpress pages for Google to index and give you more terms to be discovered by.
• Make it a habit to link to other articles within your site. If you are writing an article talking about the Humane Society and you have previously written about them before, link back to the previous article using good keyword terms as your anchor text. This deep linking helps greatly as the Super Duper Guru’s will tell you.

These are very easy and simple steps that will help your site with the search engines. If you start applying these ideas, it will soon become second nature.

Copyright 2009 BloggerLens.com Hyperlocal Blog & Citizen Journalism

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Have you planted any seeds lately in your hyperlocal garden? If you are wondering what the heck I’m talking about, I’m talking about networking and building relationships in your community. When you make the decision to go hyperlocal, you will immediately broaden your horizons and your your circle of friends and business relationships will start to grow.

If you are new to Bloggerlens, I started this site to share my ups and downs on my journey as a hyperlocal blogger. If I find something that works for me I will share it with you. If I find something that bombs, I will share that with you also. What may work in my community, may not work in yours and vice-versa. Wherever you are and whatever type of site you publish, it’s a good idea to plant seeds everywhere in the hopes that one day the harvest will come.

Today I’d like to share a little harvest with you. I’ve been working on a business relationship that is starting to pay off a little and I want to share how I did it and how you may apply the same principal. I created my hyperlocal blog, the Monroe Scoop, in an effort to create my own job. The site gives me tremendous personal satisfaction as well as the potential of a full time income in the future. I have tried not to be stupid with it so far as to not alienate certain parts of my readership. I want everyone to feel welcome when they arrive and I want the site to be beneficial to my community.

Here’s the Scoop. This is how it all went down from the beginning. My little case study:

Early on I republished some articles and information I found that pertained to our local shopping mall. I was basically passing on some good community information I found readily available and used my hyperlocal blog as an additional outlet for exposure to the Mall. Every time I published anything, I would go to the Mall website and use the contact form that was provided and notify them of what I did and give them a link. (you can easily do the same in your community)

I probably did this 3 times and finally received a response and a thank you from the Director of Marketing of the Mall. The Director wrote me a nice e-mail telling me how much she enjoyed my site and felt like I was filling a need in the community. She especially liked the fact that I posted a lot of community videos. That did a lot for my ego as well as send me a message that I was on the right track.

I did the same thing a couple more times. When I would send an e-mail, I always asked to let me know of any special events at the Mall so I could cover them on the site. I always received a thank you email from the Director.

One day I received an email from her with a press release that the Mall was going to have a huge fashion show which was co-sponsored by prominent local businesses. She invited me to cover it on my site. I agreed and expressed that I might even shoot some video. She was thrilled at the possibility. Long story short. I covered the Fashion Show and shot video. I met the Director of Marketing that evening as well as many local prominent business leaders that she personally introduced me to. I handed out business cards all over the place. I was pleasantly surprised when many told me they were already aware of my site and they visit everyday. I was extremely encouraged at this point.

I worked pretty hard on the video I shot that evening. My goal was to establish a business relationship with the Mall. I wanted to impress them with what I could do. I also hoped that other business would see what I did for the Mall and it might open up more opportunity. Here is the video that I shot of the Fashion Show.

As you might guess, the video was a huge hit in my community. I received a ton of traffic to my site. I gave free publicity to the Mall. I had a very happy Director of Marketing. This was actually very good publicity, not only for the Mall, but for the Director personally. These folks are usually looking for anything positive they can send to their bosses and it helps build their portfolios. I burned a copy and gave to the Director for her to use in the future and the video was also played at the next Board of Directors meeting for the Red Cross in my community.

The video was actually worth several hundred dollars if someone were to pay for such a video, but I did it for free. Sometimes you have to give before you receive.

Let’s move on. I have now basically worked my ass off for free but I have developed a relationship that I previously did not have. I have spread some good will in my community and more and more people are becoming aware of my site. One of the other features on my site that I do are called 5 x 5 videos. I shoot 5 video clips that are 5 seconds each in my community. You have to guess where I’m at. As it turns out, the Mall Director loves these videos. The 5 x 5’s are not my idea as I’ve seen them posted on other sites. The one’s I’ve seen are usually just that, just 5 x 5 clips period. I decided to put a spin on the idea and make people guess where I’m at. They have been popular on my site. These are quite easy to make. Here is an example of one below.

Here’s the good part. She liked them so much that she wants the Mall to sponsor 2 of these per month. The Mall will be giving away Mall gift certificates to the winner who guesses all 5 locations. It’s taken quite a while to get to where I’m at in my opinion. I feel extremely fortunate and a little bit lucky. Many hyperlocal bloggers will tell you that you can’t really expect to monetize your site for 2 years. I was definitely on a mission to break that time frame. Just like a hyperlocal blog that focuses on a community or even a small section of a city, I focused on a business that I wanted to be my flagship sponsor. I’m seriously hoping that Mall Sponsorship will give me the street credibility I need for other advertisers to jump on board. I can’t discuss the financial arrangement but I’m happy that the site is going to produce income.

Just this week, I kicked off the article and video interview with the Director of Marketing announcing the Mall Sponsorship. My 5 x 5 videos start next week. Here is the video interview that appeared on my site this week.

Harvest Time

Building a hyperlocal blog is not easy, it’s hard work and requires a time commitment but the rewards are out there. I consider myself to still be somewhat new at this and I never know what’s waiting on me around the next corner. Why don’t you start a 5 x 5 video series on your hyperlocal blog? They are a lot of fun and will get the attention of your community. Get out there and start building some relationships. Do you have your eye on who may be a great flagship advertiser of your site? If so, my advice to you would be to go do something for your advertiser for free and let them know about it. Plant those seeds. Plant them all over your community. At some point in time, the harvest will come.

Don’t forget my free offer to help you get set up with your own hyperlocal blog in your community.

I made the quick intro video at the top of this article with my favorite flip camera. The Kodak Zi6. I recommend that every hyperlocal blogger get one. Go get one today.

Copyright 2009 bloggerlens.com Hyperlocal Blogs & Citizen Journalism

Thanks for subscribing to articles from: Blogger Lens. Please join me in the hyperlocal discussions and let me know how I can make the site better for you.

Planting Seeds In The Garden Of Your Hyperlocal Blog

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Today I’m going to feature just one of the tools I use on my hyperlocal blog. I use many and they are all important to me. Since I do a lot of videos on my site, I thought I would give a video review of the Kodak Zi6 HD Flip Camera.

I love this camera! Ok, review over….no just kidding there, but this is one of my favorite tools in my hyperlocal arsenal. For a long time, I had a flip camera in my sights and I lusted to own one but which one? I’ll be honest with you, they just looked like they were flat out fun! Now that I own one, they are flat out fun!

As many of you, I started reading reviews and watching video reviews trying to figure out which flip camera would suit my needs the best. It was a little confusing to me but one camera seemed to be taking the lead the more I researched. The Kodak Zi6 seemed to be the overall favorite for so many people. I made the decision to buy the Zi6 and I couldn’t be happier. I have had so much fun with this camera and I never leave home without it. Literally folks, if I drive off and forget it, I turn around and go get it. I bet many of you do the same thing if you forget your cell phone. If you are, or become a hyperlocal blogger, you will feel the same way about your camera. I figure, sure as the world, if I leave home without it, I’ll stumble upon the biggest local story of the year and I will not be able to capture the event because I was too lazy to turn around and go back home. You do not want this to happen to you.

Let’s get on with the review. I could keep blabbing away but why don’t I show you? I would appreciate all of you keep the snickering to a low roar. This is my first attempt at a video review. The review goes into a little depth on the camera and I hope that if you are currently sitting on the fence, that this Kodak Zi6 Review will help you make a decision. If you have any trouble viewing the video below, here is a link to the same video on YouTube. Kodak Zi6 Review.

Ok everybody, wake up, the video just stopped. LOL! I hope you are still awake. Here is direct link to the Zi6 on Amazon. It is my affiliate link and if you make a purchase, I’ll make a couple of bucks and it helps to support this site. Kodak Zi6 HD Pocket Video Camera on Amazon

I want to show you an example of when I grabbed my camera just in case I could shoot a video and post it to my hyperlocal blog. A while back, a brand new IKEA Store opened in Charlotte, N.C. I live on the outskirts of Charlotte and for months, the news of this store was all the rage in my area. I’m a guy, I don’t understand these things but that’s ok. I understand taking a club, killing my food and cooking it over fire, that’s it. Shortly after it opened, my wife informed me that I would be accompanying her to the store for a glorious afternoon of hand holding and shopping. Oh please…kill me now I thought.

I went with a smile on my face. I grabbed my trusty little Kodak Zi6 (notice the bold-faced keyword for SEO purposes) and headed for Charlotte. I hate to admit this, but I had a great afternoon of hand holding with my wife and the store was cool as hell. We even ate dinner at the store. The Swedish Meatball Specialty they served were enough for me to break at least 2 commandments. It’s the biggest single store I’ve ever been in. The Swedes make awesome furniture and right now, I’m typing this blog article on a desk that I went back to IKEA and bought. So much for my caveman exterior I try to keep. Check out the video below and see how I turned a shopping trip into an article for my hyperlocal blog.

I shot this video realizing that my target audience would most likely be the ladies. Most guys are not shoppers. I think it’s important when you shoot a hyperlocal video, try to understand who will most likely be watching the video the most. If you notice in the video, I stop talking at one point and try to shoot the tour to give an idea of what you can expect to see when you visit.

The store is located in Charlotte and not necessarily hyperlocal to my community. However, everyone in my community was buzzing about this store for months. Here is a link to the article that appeared on Monroe Scoop. It was a great article and video for my blog. Here is the gravy. In my area, when I type into Google, IKEA Store Charlotte NC I usually find myself on the first or second page. I have been in the #1 spot many times when I check. As I write this article, I’m sitting on #13 in Google in my area. This article and video has sent my blog a lot of traffic and continues to do so.

Never miss an opportunity to post a hyperlocal video or article. Sometimes when you least expect it, an opportunity presents itself. Make sure you add some sort of video camera to your tool kit. Take it everywhere you go. Please tell me how you use video on your hyperlocal blog. I am very interested in hearing about it and I’m sure you would be helping the readers of Bloggerlens.

Here is a free download of the song I used in the IKEA video. “Shopping” by Bare Naked Ladies. Be my guest to download and put it in your own hyperlocal video if you get an opportunity. Review a local store and drop it in your video.

If you are considering starting a hyperlocal blog in your area, don’t forget my free offer to help you get set up and going. It’s never too soon to start.

Copyright 2009 bloggerlens.com Hyperlocal Blogs & Citizen Journalism

Thanks for subscribing to articles from: Blogger Lens. Please join me in the hyperlocal discussions and let me know how I can make the site better for you.

Tools For The Hyperlocal Blogger | My Video Review Of The Kodak Zi6 HD Flip Camera

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It’s something that I have been wanting to do and I would encourage you to do the same. Now, I have to give credit where credit is due. My good buddy, Allyn Hane over at Blogger Illustrated is a video blogger and he lays it on the line everytime he posts a new video. By watching him and the fun he has with it, I decided to make the jump from director to Rock Star!

To set it up…I recently had my lawnmower repaired and the shop gave me outstanding service. This is a lawn equipment sales and repair shop that is pretty far out in my county and they have a very good reputation and have been around forever. I took this opportunity to do a video review of their business. If you are a hyperlocal blogger and receive good customer service from a local merchant, I advise you to post an article about the business. You don’t have to go to the extreme of publishing a video, but an article and a few photos do wonders for your blog in your community. Here are a couple of links to two articles I have posted on my hyperlocal blog. I call these “Good Service Alerts!” Here is a Good Service Alert I wrote about Tire Town. Here is another Good Service Alert I wrote about Artistic Imprints. These articles spread good will in my community and also sent me traffic. They do not take long to write and publish. That is why I stress to you, always bring a camera or video camera when you leave the house. You never know when an opportunity for a hyperlocal article will present itself.

I shot the video in my yard and driveway. I’m talking about lawn equipment so what better way than on my lawnmower and in the grass? I was by myself so it took a little while to set up my shots and try to make them look good. I used my Sennheiser Wireless Lavaliere Microphone so I would have good audio. This is an awesome wireless mic I use that will actually transmit through walls. It’s on the upper end of the scale but it creates professional audio for your videos. *Tip, good audio is always necessary, your viewers will forgive you for bad shaky video but they will click away with bad audio. Once I shot the video, I was surprised to see just how much video I had shot. I had to edit it down to 5 minutes. I felt like 5 minutes was plenty and maybe even a little too much. Once I started editing, I tried to mix it up a little with a couple of photos of the business and also some zoom edits where it appears that I have a camera man zooming around.

The resulting video I have almost termed as a hyperlocal infomercial. I felt like Billy May’s or the ShamWow Guy. As soon as the video was published, I called the owner to let him know what I had done and he was very appreciative. Enough blabbing, have a look. Here’s a link to the article I wrote that accompanied the video.

That was my first attempt and I hope I will get better over time. Even though I got a little bit fancy with my editing with graphics and a little music, you do not have to do that on yours. That’s not what it’s all about folks. It’s about your content. Shoot videos of your local community and upload to YouTube. Post them on your blog. Do it over and over. Your community will find them, I promise. They will appreciate it. Your traffic will increase. What are you waiting on? Be a hyperlocal Rock Star in your town!

I would love to hear your comments, good or bad. Have a great weekend, wherever you are.

Enjoy or download for free, the outro music I used on the video. “Paralyzer” by Finger Eleven.

Copyright 2009 bloggerlens.com Hyperlocal Blogs & Citizen Journalism

Thanks for subscribing to articles from: Blogger Lens. Please join me in the hyperlocal discussions and let me know how I can make the site better for you.

Become A Hyperlocal Rock Star In Your Town With Video Reviews

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Actually, I think you could use this idea to market any blog but for example sake, let’s talk hyperlocal and what we can do with it. I stumbled across a blog article a few weeks ago that did a post about an RSS Footer Widget to add to your wordpress blog. DazzlinDonna.com. The idea struck me as simple and could be very effective if you approached it in different ways. Donna Fontenot posted this article and video about 2 places to brand yourself that you might not have thought about, and some unlikely places to do it. The video was produced by Dave Dugdale who is also known as Solar Dave. It was a little strange that the article did not include a link to the RSS Footer Widget and I had to track it down myself. For your convenience, here is the link. RSS Footer Widget.

Check out the video first and I’ll share my ideas with you.

I think the idea is simple and could be very effective from a branding perspective and also an advertising perspective. I set the widget up on MonroeScoop.com and also here on Bloggerlens.com. The setup is very easy. After you add the RSS Footer Widget to your blog, it will appear under your settings panel.

When anyone who subscribes to this blog by RSS, here is how it looks at the bottom of the article.

This is where you should let your ideas run wild. On my hyperlocal blog, I have around 60 RSS Subscribers at this point. I know that’s not a lot so far but my blog is new and growing. Right now, I’m using my own image and basically thanking my readers for being a subscriber. When my readership hits 100, I plan on using this feature to sell advertising. I could easily offer an advertiser an opportunity to sponsor my e-mail subscriber list for a period of time. Maybe offer a week for $100. Every article I publish that week will be delivered to inboxes the next morning with all of the branding for my advertiser including links back to his site. Even $50 per week sponsorship could net me $200 of income in a month for almost no effort on my part. Maybe you want to put an Amazon link in the footer or a link to your e-book.

Here is an example I made of how you might use the RSS Footer to sell advertising on your hyperlocal blog. I made this up of course, but you get the idea.

The possibilities are endless and I feel that this is very unobtrusive and could be very effective advertising. Once again, this is an idea right now and I’m looking forward to implementing this on my hyperlocal blog. I would enjoy hearing your ideas also and if you are already using this widget, please share your methods.

Copyright 2009 bloggerlens.com Hyperlocal Blogs & Citizen Journalism

Thanks for subscribing to articles from: Blogger Lens. Please join me in the hyperlocal discussions and let me know how I can make the site better for you.

How To Sell Advertising On Your Hyperlocal Blog Using Your RSS Footer

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“How To Start A Hyperlocal Blog And Keep Your Full Time Job”

My disclaimer here is the fact that I consider myself a full time hyperlocal blogger. The fact that you may hold a full time job shouldn’t hold you back from starting a hyperlocal blog in your community and delving a little into citizen journalism. My situation is different than most. I started my community web site in the hopes that I can eventually earn a living from it. I wrote about my situation in an earlier article. Build a great hyperlocal blog and get paid for it.

You have the rest of your life ahead of you so why not get started now? You don’t have to create an award winning site that rivals anyone. All you have to do is get started slowly and lay the foundation for what can happen in the future. What if in 5 years your local newspaper shuts down? You would have a jump start on everyone in your community to move in and provide. It’s a supply and demand issue.

Here are some very easy steps that I would do to start a hyperlocal blog and keep your full time job This is so easy and will be so meaningful to you in the future that you will actually feel the urge to send me an Amazon Gift Card or name your next son Steven.

• Take out a domain name now and a hosting package. I would use your town’s name in the url if possible. For example, Bakersfieldscoop.com or Indianheightsgazette.com. You get the idea. I recommend bluehost.com to everyone for domain names and hosting. It’s what I use on all of my sites.
• Use Wordpress for your blog. There are more free wordpress themes out there for you than government bailouts. You may want to consider some sort of magazine/news style theme. Free blogging platforms are ok but not necesarily for the long term. You never actually own your own content when using someone else’s free software. Don’t even go there for your main site. Don’t argue with me on this one, trust me.
• Once you have your blog set up, go to Google Alerts. I want you to set up a Google email alert for a ton of related searches that pertain to your county and city that will be sent to your in-box once a day. Here are some ideas:
  Bakersfield Kansas
  Bakersfield KS
  Bakersfield County
  Bakersfield Kansas Government
  Bakersfield Kansas Police Dept.
  Bakersfield, Kansas Mayor John Kingston
  Bakersfield Kansas School System
  Bakersfield Kansas Blogs
  Bakersfield Kansas Videos

  You should understand where I’m going here. Think up as many terms that relate to your community as you desire.

• I want you to take selected articles from your Google Alerts and re-post the article to your new hyperlocal blog.
• I want you to give credit and links back to the original article at the bottom of your post. Never re-print anything without without giving credit and a link back.
• If an article says that you cannot publish and it’s copyright protected, try to contact the author by phone or e-mail and ask permission. Most likely they will allow it and actually link to your article from their site. That would be good Google Juice
• Scour all of the video sites such as YouTube, Veoh, Viddler, Vimeo, Blip, Google Videos & Yahoo Videos to find any videos that were taken in and around your community. If the video allows embedding, put the video on your site and give credit and a link back. If at all possible, contact the owner of the video and alert them that you have posted their video. 99.9% will love you for it and probably link to your blog. Good Google Juice again.
• Re-publish photos of your community that you find on Flickr under the Creative Commons. Once again give credit and links back.
• Add one page on your blog that encourages readers to submit their own news story or community event. Make sure you have a contact form on that page. Here is an example of the page I use on my hyperlocal site that encourages readers to submit stories to me. Submit your news to the Monroe Scoop.
• Contact all of your local non-profits and asked to be placed on their e-mail press release lists.
• Never leave your house without your camera. Take a photo of the crowded parking lot at the mall and post it. If you think that’s silly, you don’t understand hyperlocal. SEO your article with the name of your town and the name of the Mall. Very important! Place alt tags on your photos so they will show up on Google image search.
• This is very important and you must do this on every article you post. It’s also very easy. I do not want you to get carried away with SEO. As a matter of fact, I only want you to SEO four things in your articles. If you are going hyperlocal in Bakersfield, Kansas I want you to put a variation of these 4 terms in every article. Not all 4 in every article. Pick one per article and vary them each time. Each time, I want you to put the term at the start of your article in H1 tags. I want you to repeat it again at the bottom of your article in bold letters.
  Bakersfield, Kansas
  Bakersfield, KS
  Bakersfield County, Kansas
  Bakersfield County, KS

  That’s it. That’s all I want you to SEO in your articles with the exception of alt tags on your photos

Now here’s the kicker. I want you to do this once a week, that’s all. I want you to spend time with your family and take care of your full time job first and foremost. Full time jobs are hard to come by and you must take care of those who butter your bread.

Once a week gives you 52 articles per year. In 5 years you will have published 260 articles and you will be ranking #1 for so many search terms in your town that you will send me my second Amazon Gift Card. You will have no doubt picked up a little extra money from your site with Google Adsense or Amazon links or even a local merchant may want to buy a little advertising. When you approach retirement, your hyperlocal website will be waiting on you to go full time and dominate community news in your hometown. Your site will probably be at least a Google PR5 or PR6 by then. Everyone will know about your site who lives in your community. You will own a valuable piece on internet real estate.

All of this and you only have to spend an hour and a half per week to lay the foundation for your future in Citizen Journalism. This is my simple recommendation of how each of you can start a hyperlocal blog and keep your full time job.

Copyright 2009 bloggerlens.com Hyperlocal Blogging & Citizen Journalism

Thanks for subscribing to articles from: Blogger Lens. Please join me in the hyperlocal discussions and let me know how I can make the site better for you.

How To Start A Hyperlocal Blog And Keep Your Full Time Job

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