“Most of the time, we deal with the obstacles by persevering. Sometimes we get discouraged and turn to inspirational writing, like stuff from Vince Lombardi: `Quitters never win and winners never quit.’ Bad advice. Winners quit all the time. They just quit the right stuff at the right time.” Seth Godin.

It’s coming up to a year now since we posted our first post here on the Apollo Media Blog. And we have something special in the works: a completely new blog!

So for the next few weeks, rather than researching and developing new content for the current blog, the Apollo team will be refocusing efforts on our new social media blog. We will be devising a novel strategy, considering a new target market and reinventing our design!

Of course, during this phase we will also be working on web projects for clients so if you own a business and need an effective Internet marketing solution, please feel free to contact us.

If you’re a reader and you’re into everything social media, then hang tight for July 15^th as we plan to launch Apollo’s fresh social media blog. And if you have any feedback or suggestions for direction, please share them in the comment section below.

More good news has flooded Apollo Media’s offices at 439 King St. West, Toronto, although it has us all standing a little straighter and watching our p’s & q’s. We are excited to work with our new client, leading image consultancy, Corporate Class Inc. and welcome the improved posture.

As one of North America’s leading image and protocol consulting firms, Corporate Class Inc. helps individuals and companies outclass the competition - at home and abroad. Focusing on business etiquette and training seminars, including international business etiquette, Corporate Class teaches clients how to project the image that will allow them to keep ahead of the competition.

Leading the company, Diane Craig is an inspirational woman who has helped hundreds of men and women (including some high profile figures like politicians) realize their professional and personal goals. Her 20 years industry experience and unique background in haute couture and fashion design lends Corporate Class Inc. a singular aspect to their image consultancy services. She is a sought after speaker at national business meetings, regularly gives comprehensive workshops to corporate groups, and offers private consultations on business etiquette, dress and dining.

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A sure fire way to generate more discussion, sharing and page views on your blog is to celebrate your readers. While we have touched on responding to comments and questions in a timely fashion, there are other key areas that will show your appreciation and keep those readers coming back, retaining their valuable loyalty.

Here are some ideas of how to reward your dear readers:

Link to their blogs, even if they don’t ask you. If a reader happens to post their URL when they comment, or you see it on a forum or an email, its in your best interest to add it to your blogroll. Linking back shows the readers that their participation is rewarded and will also keep them coming back to your blog. They will also be more likely to return the favour.

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Writing blog tips on a regular basis can often be frustrating. Looking at the best and most popular blogs within this niche, including the likes of Problogger, Dosh Dosh etc, there’s a lot of similar content, the same core tips and ideas being repeated over and over again, in different phrasings and angles.

On Problogger for example, there’s only the slightest variation between articles like “How Bloggers Make Money From Blogs” and “How I Make Money Blogging”. Despite all these articles containing the same information, they still manage to attract literally hundreds of comments. I find this phenomenon to be rather strange and have a feeling that our own blog is guilty of rehashing the same tidbits again and again.

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In response to threats and misogynistic comments left on the blog of Kathy Sierra, Tim O’Reilly of O’Reilly Media proposed a Bloggers Code of Conduct, self-regulated rules that bloggers would abide by as they run and develop their site.

We thought the concept was worthwhile and that any disciplined effort to deal with inflammatory or bigoted comments is essential for established writers online. So, courtesy of Wikipedia, here is the conceived Bloggers Code of Conduct:

1. Take responsibility not just for your own words, but for the comments you allow on your blog.
2. Label your tolerance level for abusive comments.
3. Consider eliminating anonymous comments.
4. Ignore the trolls.
5. Take the conversation offline, and talk directly, or find an intermediary who can do so.
6. If you know someone who is behaving badly, tell them so.
7. Don’t say anything online that you wouldn’t say in person.

I think that’s a pretty comprehensive and fair set of commandments, wouldn’t you say? Do you follow any blogging creed to help you deal with the pressures of writing in the open?

The BBC has reported that Web 2.0 is set for a massive boost from major enterprises over the next 5 years, as a new Forrester survey shows that over half of American and European businesses are setting social networking as a top priority. This news coincides with The Web 2.0 conference held in San Francisco last week, which hosted developers and businesses who are introducing new web technologies to maximize customer-employee relations online.

“The report found that consumer giants such as General Motors, McDonald’s, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance and Wells Fargo Bank will drive much of this growth and have already embraced tools like blogs, RSS feeds, podcasting and social networking.

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We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: blogging is a continual learning process. Even the most successful and popular blogs have to revamp their designs, plug-ins and content development to suit changing tastes and trends in the blogosphere.

For many bloggers, the amount of room they give their visitors, in terms of how they control the experience of the blog, presents a particular challenge. Certainly there are optimal ways to read certain types of content but it is recommended that bloggers take a more liberal stance on how their work is accessed.

Here are several common sense methods, and their rationale, that will help bloggers yield more control to their readership:

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Starting and maintaining your blog takes a great deal of self-discipline, honesty and perseverance. Why? Because developing strong content and earning a dedicated readership can be a long and turbulent process. At Apollo Media we recognize the common frustrations and difficulties involved in keeping focused and getting the most out of your blogging time.

The following is a short list of missteps and false starts that frequently occur in the blogosphere. Learning from these mistakes can help you keep your composure online and refine your writing, editing and designing techniques. Here are some common pitfalls bloggers often find themselves in:

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Last week, WordPress made the newest version of their blogging service available for download. There are a lot of new additions to 2.5, far too many to review in this post (check out the official WordPress Blog post for full details). Instead, we thought we’d briefly go over some of the major improvements that are suited to the average blogger:

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Apollo is pleased to announce our new partnership with Air Tech, one of Ontario’s most respected and successful air conditioning technicians and specialists. With over 25 years of experience and with 9 locations in Ontario, Air Tech has been addressing both personal comfort and vital health concerns. Bringing their wealth of technical experience to residential, commercial and community centers, they offer their expertise in air conditioning, heating and air quality.

Now that Air Tech has established themselves as an industry leader within Ontario’s communities, they want to continue their success by expanding their marketing efforts online. With Apollo Media at their side, their commitment to their clientele’s well-being will be extended with a brand new website equipped with everything they need to ensure customer satisfaction.

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