Scribe 3.0 Launched Today

One of the popular premium plugins that I know many ProBlogger readers use is Scribe. This plugin (for WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal) is designed to help your posts rank well in search engines—without compromising the quality of your posts. Developed by the team at CopyBlogger, Scribe has gone through a number of updates that have added new features and functionality. Today it has been updated to version 3.0, and it now covers pretty much all of the fundamentals of SEO—not just some of them. Search engine-optimized posts—without compromised readability The great thing about previous versions (and the new one) is that Scribe doesn't just create search engine-optimized content: it works with your own content, written for your readers. It works to optimize your unique posts. This leaves you with compelling and useful content that has been optimized for search engines, rather than search engine-optimized content that doesn't really help anyone. In the update, we now have: an integrated keyword research tool (meaning you no longer have to use a separate tool) a new link-building tool. These features help you get a little more strategic about your relationship building with other bloggers, and cross-linking your content within your own blog. Get full details on what Scribe is about here and view a video demo here. Try it free Scribe is a great tool with many features, but in the end you'll only really understand it once you try it for yourself. The good thing about Scribe is that while it's a premium/paid plugin, you can try it free by signing up and then, if you decide it's not for you, canceling your subscription within the first 30 days and asking for a refund (something they honor every time). They also have a great limited-time 'STEPUP' promotion going on. This lets you increase the number of monthly content evaluations you can access. Details of the offer are on this page.

Are these Mindsets Holding You Back from Achieving Blogging Success? "What's the biggest mistake you see aspiring bloggers making?" This is a question I'm asked a fair bit on panels or in interviews, and it's one that I suspect the people asking the question would like a technical answer to. The reality is that the biggest mistakes I see bloggers making are usually things that are going on in their minds, rather than on their blogs. A blogger's mindset and attitude is as important more important than which blog platform they choose, their blog's design, or how many posts they make a day. There are two very common mindsets that I see in many bloggers (and prebloggers), and which I think hold them back. 1. I'm gonna… One of the things that frustrates me about blogging conferences is that many of the conversations I hear in the hallways and networking meetups involve bloggers talking about the amazing dreams that they've concocted … but never seem to act on. Dreams and grand plans are great — but unless they move beyond the dreaming stage, they're pretty much worthless. The "I'm gonna…" statements that I hear range from those at the beginning of their blogging careers (I'm gonna start a blog), through to more established bloggers (I'm gonna write a book/develop my own product/start a new project). While there's nothing wrong with brainstorming and dreaming and then later rejecting the idea because it isn't feasible, some bloggers are serial "ideapreneurs" who never put anything into action. For some, the ideas never leave their minds; others are so addicted to the creative process of dreaming up new things that they start lots of projects but never see them through. These types are always looking for the adrenaline hit of the new idea, but can't bring themselves to face the hard work of seeing the ideas through to reality. 2. I'm not … enough I'm not creative enough. I don't have the technical ability. I'm too late to have an impact. I'm not old enough. I'm not young enough. I live in the wrong part of the world. My writing isn't good enough. I don't have the budget. I'm just not smart enough. The list of excuses for not taking action on some aspect of blogging — whether it be starting out, or developing an established blog — is endless. Sometimes they come as we compare ourselves to the great things that others are doing; sometimes they're related to our own feelings of inadequacy and self doubt. Either way, the end result is usually inaction. Sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking we'll take action "one day" — after we get better, smarter, older, or improve whatever it is that we're not good enough at — but the reality is that we're never going to do it. The secret of many bloggers' success So what is it that sets some bloggers apart? It's simple really: they get things done. They don't allow what's going on in their minds to distract them from actually blogging and completing the things they set out to do. They still have ideas and dreams, but they put action items around them that take them to reality. They still have doubts and insecurities, but they don't allow that to hold them back. I look at my own experience of blogging over the last eight years, and I see times where I've suffered from both these mindsets. I have notebooks full of ideas that never amounted to anything. But I realized a few years back that unless I actioned some of them, my business would never reach its potential. I also had periods, particularly when I started out, where I had so much self doubt about the things I was writing, and my lack of ability in some aspects of blogging, that I was almost paralyzed by fear. However, I managed to put that aside and blog on, only to discover that the more I did it, the better I got. All of this reminds me of a great video I saw last week from Seth Godin. It runs for 18 minutes and I think much of what Godin says applies to bloggers. Many of us are paralyzed by our "Lizard Brains", which often stop us from taking action, and actively sabotage us. I'd love to hear your thoughts on how you overcome these mindsets. I know so many of us do struggle with them. How do you snap yourself out of the "I'm gonna…" or the "I'm not … enough" ways of thinking?