It happens to everyone about this time of year. All those shiny new New Year’s resolutions don’t look so pretty any more. Those 5:30 am spinning classes just arent’ as much fun as they were back in January and the diet…well, let’s just say that I’m still eating ice cream at night.

The key to keeping any resolution is to get over the February hump. By March, what once felt new and different in January is becoming a lifestyle change and the further and further you go, the harder it is to get back to your old routine.

With that in mind, what better way to get over the February hump then to do a quick check to both monitor progress and make needed adjustments. If your resolution involved blogging, now that you’re a month in, it’s a good time to step back and give the blog the old fitness checkup.

Here’s 10 things to do to check to be sure your blog is on the right track:

1. Forget the traffic numbers
In the beginning, we all get addicted to the traffic. Most new bloggers check in over and over throughout the day. At this point, don’t worry about it. Instead, be sure that you’re doing everything now to build the foundation that will help your blog continue to grow.

2. What has worked so far?
Here’s the one place where traffic numbers can help. Go back and see which post is getting the most action. What is it about that post that is bringing in the traffic. Determine what people like about the post and use that information to guide you in future posts.

3. Is the Blog User Friendly?
How easy is it to navigate your blog. Is it open to comments? What gets in the way of reading and commenting on the blog. You want to make your blog as open and as easy to use as possible. Anything that turns a reader away may turn them away for good.

4. Is your RSS feed working and is it easy to find
With the recent change from Feedburner to Google, it’s probably a good idea to check in to see that everything is working and links are active. Also be sure that your RSS feed is clearly marked with an RSS icon. You want to make it easy for repeat readers to keep in touch.

5. Do you share well with others?
Is it easy for users bookmark your posts or share them on Digg, Facebook or other social networking sites? If you’re using Wordpress, be sure that your Socialble or Share This plugin is working and offers the most commonly used services. Those little icons on the bottom of the post are one of the most powerful tools you can include on your blog

6. Are your URLs search  engine friendly?
Your blog headline is one of the first things a search engine will read. If you’re using Wordpress, the default URL setting uses numbers which is about worthless when it comes to SEO.

Also be sure to use search-engine friendly headlines. With Wordpress, you can easily change the URL and fill it with key terms. Keep it simple and to the point but be sure the terms are there. For example, notice the headline on this post and the address in the web browser.

7. Is your blog roll healthy and up to date?
When I’m not blogging about social media, I also blog about the Ohio State Buckeyes. My Ohio State blog is very well indexed on Google and other search engines. One reason may be the number of incoming links and the strength of the blogroll. By working with other Big Ten bloggers, I’ve been able to build a very strong blog roll and have received a number of very strong links.

I don’t know if this is what has pushed The Buckeye Blog to the top of the Google results but I bet it has something to do with it.

This is the number one mistake I am making on this blog and is the first thing on my list (when I get time). When you add a blog to your blogroll, the blogger will see it and will often return the favor. It also never hurts to send a nice letter asking for a link exchange – especially in the early days of a blog.

8. Are you using appropriate categories?
Search engines like categories. Be sure to use key word appropriate categories and categorize your posts. It also makes it easier for readers to find related information on your blog.

9. What’s on your “About Me” page?
Your About Me page doesn’t need to say much. However, people read a post and they often want to know more about the voice behind it. Sometimes, they just want to verify that the information comes from a knowledgeable source.

Be sure to also include a way for readers to contact you. If you’re worried about spam, use a contact form (there are a number of good plugins available).

10. Is your blog integrated with your other social networking activities?
If your using other social networking sites such as LinkedIn or Twitter, let the world know. Include easy to find links where readers can connect. Blog readers like to engage and talk to others. Make it easy for them.

Seeing how SocialMarketing20.com is a fairly new blog, I’m sure that you can spot a few areas I need to target. If you’re like me, it looks like I’ve got the start of a pretty good “to do” list. I’ve you’ve got any other tips or ideas, please share them in the comments below.

Jim Lodico is a freelance copywriter and social media consultant. Contact Jim to find out how he can give your business a boost at jalodico@bizwritings.com

As we create public relations and media plans for the new year, my clients are increasingly looking for ways to reach out to and communicate with bloggers and other online influencers. It’s not just about the traditional media anymore. It hasn’t been for a while, but many businesses are just now catching up.

But with more than 112 million blogs out there, how do you find the ones you need to connect with?

In its recent study, the Society for New Communications Research asked social media power users in a number of industries to share how they evaluate the relevance of bloggers, podcasters and other online influencers.

Here’s what they had to say:

The number-one criteria is the quality of their content.

A close second is the relevance of the content to your business, brand or industry, followed by the influencer’s web site search engine rankings. Power users also cited a number of other factors to check out, such as name recognition, blog search engine rankings and overall traffic.

Less important, but still relevant was whether the influencers are affiliated with a traditional media outlet or have been quoted extensively within the traditional media.

Least important? Surprisingly, typical measures of audience engagement, such as active commenting on blog posts, content syndication and distribution methods, and the longevity of the blog, were ranked last.

Looking to target new media influencers in your PR efforts? Start with blog searches on your industry or business (try Google and Technorati for starters). Sort what you find with the criteria above. Then go ahead and start a conversation.

Sally Anne Giedrys is the founder of artisan communications, an independent copywriting and communications consultancy that works with businesses and nonprofit organizations to craft compelling marketing and PR messages. For more than 15 years, Sally has been making businesses “sound good” in print and online through a potent combination of great writing, savvy strategy and high integrity communications. Learn more about artisan’s services at www.artisancopy.com. Or reach Sally directly at sally@artisancopy.com.

Blogging evangelists will tell you that every business-large, small or solo- should have a blog. I disagree.

Sure, blogging is a great way to increase visibility, build your brand and interact with customers and clients. It’s a gatekeeper-free platform for putting your message out into the world. And there are many examples of blogs that have completely changed the way companies communicate with their customers and clients. (Check out this Washington Post article for a few.)

But a blog isn’t an automatic add into your marketing toolkit. In fact, for many companies, starting a blog is simply a bad idea.

Here’s when not to start a company blog:

When you have nothing to say. It sounds silly, but think about this for a minute. Do you know what your blog is about? Can you give it a tagline that sums that up? Do you know who is going to write it? What is the point of view? How will your brand messages be communicated? Who would be interested in reading that and are they really your target market? What exactly will you be writing? Is there an editorial calendar? Ask questions first, blog later.

When you want to sell, sell, sell. Do your eyes (or those of your sales folks) light up at the opportunity to send a constant stream of sales messages into cyberspace via your blog? Being the gatekeeper doesn’t give you license to bombard your audience with sales messages for your products and services. In the right context, blogs can be great sales tools. But information is the key here. If the content you’re providing isn’t interesting, no one is going to read it. And I don’t know anyone who searches Google in hopes of finding daily sales messages.

When you know you’ll never maintain it. I’ve seen this happen a number of times: a company leader gets it into his or her head that a company blog is a fantastic idea. Not just a company blog, but one he or she will write personally. All goes well for a few weeks. But no one’s commenting. The blogger loses interest. If this sounds like you, stop. If it’s your boss, head them off at the pass. Before launching any blog in the name of your brand, be sure you have a firm commitment and schedule for posting on a regular basis, or hire someone to do that. Understand that it might take time to build readership and commit to the process.

When you need to control the conversation. You know who you are. If your business operates rigidly from the top down and every single line of copy you write must be run through legal counsel at least twice, then blogging is not for you. Blogging is all about interaction. You can’t necessarily control where your content goes after you post it, or whether people will comment on that content elsewhere in a way that you’d rather they didn’t. So if a need for control is deeply ingrained in the business culture, save yourself a lot of time and headache. Pick something else.

Don’t get me wrong. Done right, a blog can be an effective marketing tool. But as with anything else in your marketing communications toolkit, having a solid game plan makes all the difference.

Sally Anne Giedrys is the founder of artisan communications, an independent copywriting and communications consultancy that works with businesses and nonprofit organizations to craft compelling marketing and PR messages. For more than 15 years, Sally has been making businesses “sound good” in print and online through a potent combination of great writing, savvy strategy and high integrity communications. Learn more about artisan’s services at www.artisancopy.com. Or reach Sally directly at sally@artisancopy.com.

By now you probably know that one of the quickest ways to bring traffic to your website or blog is to leave good comments in the right places. An interesting comment will often lead readers to click on the commentators name (you do leave your web site address don’t you) and in turn, find out more about you.

What makes this interesting is that you never know for sure which comment is going to be the one that drives traffic.

On something of a whim yesterday, I submitted a haiku to Copyblogger’s Twitter Haiku contest. For those of you who don’t know, Copyblogger has a very active readership and has really generated some buzz with this contest. In a great example of blog promotion, Copyblogger is giving away a Mac Airbook to the best Haiku submitted through Twitter. As of this morning, they have received more than 650 submissions.

I submitted my Haiku late last night and mine was buried way down at comment number 641. While I spent a little time reading the Haiku’s, I didn’t think anyone would make it that far down the page.

However, I woke up this morning, signed into my site (www.jalcommunication.com) only to find that the traffic had seen a huge spike. I had no idea why because I hadn’t done anything spectacular in the past day to cause the spike. As I looked deeper, I found the incoming link from copyblogger and sure enough, the traffic was being driven entirely by people clicking on the link in my comment.

Who knows what was leading readers to click on my link. Maybe the Haiku was that compelling but I doubt it. Maybe it’s a sign that I’m in the running for the Mac but again, I doubt it. It is more likely due to the fact that the Copyblogger contest has generated a ton of attention and my link is accessable on a very active web page. Get enough people to look and somebody is bound to click the link.

The important thing to take from this is that if you try to hard with your comment, it shows through. Comments designed strictly to bring people to your site come across as what they are – advertisiments. When it comes to commenting on your blog or forum, be yourself.

As I’m sure some Zen master somewhere once said, don’t overthink it, let it happen.