One of the great things about having a blog is the "community" you can create. One of the ways to make this easier is a service called MyBlogLog. You can see an example of it in the center column of this blog, under "Recent Readers."
Here's how to Set Up a MyBlogLog Account...
MyBlogLog is a Yahoo owned membership site that actually tracks who visits your site, where they go, and what they like. This kind of information is invaluable because it enables you to create more of the content your visitors prefer. If you have a Yahoo ID, you can log in now, even if you're not a MyBlogLog member. Otherwise, you'll need to register.
Step 1. Visit www.mybloglog.com and register for an account. Again, if you already have a Yahoo ID then you can log in using your Yahoo account information.
Step 2. Logon and you will be taken to a Create Your Profile page where you will be asked to create your profile URL. If you're tying this to a business, you can use something related to your business name. Here is what MyBlogLog suggests you use to create your profile URL:
"You can add any word or word combination (no spaces) that is relevant to your blog. If you blog about celebrities, you might add celebritynews or celebphotos to this box. If an error that the url is taken occurs, that means another MyBlogLog member already has his MyBlogLog community at that url. Try another keyword phrase here."
Step 3. Now you can add edit and add to your profile including adding your website, blog, tags, pictures, an about me page, you can also add Twitter to your profile to update members with messages, changes etc.
Step 4. Add your website or blog to your profile. Once you've successfully added your site they will generate a script for you to get started. You will add the code to your blog template in between the OPEN body (<body>) tag and the CLOSE body (</body>) tag and republish. Tracking will begin immediately after the code has been added to your blog. The code will look like this:
<script type='text/JavaScript' src='http://track3.mybloglog.com/js/jsserv.php?mblID=2007122617322967'></script>
Step 5. MyBlogLog does more than track who visits your blog or website and what they like and what they read, it enables you to build a community. You can link up with other members, share recommendations and network.
That's it. Once your profile is up and your website or blog is linked, then you're ready to get started using MyBlogLog and tracking the valuable information to build your music business.
This service isn't for everybody, but I've used it for over a year and had good luck with it. Give it a try and feel free to post your results below...
I'm a big fan of MyBlogLog, especially now that Yahoo! owns them (their service is way more reliable and faster).
I saw that you didn't mention their new API, which lets you do some very cool things. We were able to create a members area on our Raven Blog
http://raven-seo-tools.com/blog
And also convert that code into a MyBlogLog WordPress plugin.
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/mybloglog/
It allows you to do a lot of cool things. You should check it out if you haven't already.
http://developer.yahoo.com/mybloglog
Posted by: Jon Henshaw | February 29, 2008 at 09:56 PM
I'd forgotten that I signed up on MyBlogLog, a year ago. I just signed up. Then, I had to delete my new account in order to sign up again, and associate my existing account with my Yahoo! ID.
We'll see what happens. I'm going to check out some of the tools.
Posted by: Jonathan Ramsey | March 07, 2008 at 03:09 PM