Do you know about Alltop.com? It’s Guy Kawasaki’s creation, and according to the site, is an “online magazine rack” of popular topics. Pick a topic by searching, news category, or name, and they’ll deliver it to you 24 x 7.

Here’s a great way to research content published on other blogs dedicated to content marketing: Go to http://contentmarketing.alltop.com/

They’ve aggregated Joe Pulizzi’s Top 42 Content Marketing blogs. Since we’ve been honored to make this list twice now, you’ll find us there. More importantly, all the other great content writing blogs are there, from a variety of perspectives and angles.

The association between Kawasaki and Pulizzi came about through their connection on Twitter. So you see, this social networking stuff does work for business. Want to follow me?

The truth is, it’s not about having a website anymore, is it? No, you can’t get massive visibility online with just a website.

You need a website and a blog, of course. All Internet marketing gurus will insist: you must write and publish a blog. And, they’ll tell you, you must write frequently on your blog, at least 3-4 times a week to generate search engine traffic.

As The Blog Squad™, you’d expect us to join this chorus: "Gotta have a blog, gotta have a blog…" But there’s more to it than that.

We’ll tell you, from our own personal experience and those of our clients, you need the following four elements in order to gain massive visibility and win the trust of readers in your niche:

1. A business blog (where you communicate in a conversational tone)
2. A brand (where you use design to help people remember you)
3. Valuable, relevant content (to educate and engage with readers)
4. Participation in Social Networking sites (where you become easily accessible)

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Denise and I recently ran a contest for people to submit their biggest blogging challenges. We did this blogging challenge contest both on our Build a Better Blog and our Blog Squad Facebook fan page. Lisa Braithwaite was picked as the winning entry.

She says her biggest challenge is getting readers to leave comments. Which is why we presented this week on how to include a ‘call to action’ in your blog posts with the Master Business Building Class teleseminar series this week.

This is the most common of blog challenges that we hear our clients mention. There are things you can do to encourage audience involvement and participation. I write about how to get readers to act here.

What other ways have you found are effective in getting people ‘out there’ to come ‘into’ your blog and participate? (I don’t recommend a megaphone and shouting at them like the person in the photo!)

How does writing content shape the course of your professional evolution? We’ve seen many entrepreneurs start off in one direction and discover new strengths and talents through writing online content. I think regular blogging where you document and share your daily journey helps shape the trip.

Des Walsh comes to my mind. His entrepreneurial journey has been visible online through his blogs and social networking participation. He’s been a pioneer in online content publication.

We met Des Walsh back in 2004 when we first started blogging and we’ve watched him evolve and gain massive visibility on the Web. At the time I think he had recently retired from a government/public service position and focused on helping others with home-based businesses. My memory’s a bit foggy on this, but what really counts is what he’s done since then.

He’s often speaking at big conferences and generously shares his knowledge and networking talents with  everyone. Read his responses to this interview about content marketing for more insights.

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"There is too much BS content on the web already. Don’t add to it! Make it good, and make it uber-easy to share!" Shama Hyder advises businesses who want to market on the Web to post content consistently but with quality.

She should know. Shama heads up the company After the Launch.com. This young entrepreneur and web wizard gets 80% of her business through writing Web content that only takes about 2 hours a week to write and post. I’d say that’s a pretty good investment of time and energy, (and low cost to boot.)

Shama Hyder is a dynamic professional who met with Denise and I last week in Las Vegas. She was one of the presenters at Blog World Expo 08. I asked her a few questions about content marketing. Shama has become very visible on the Web in a short period of time due to her active participation on sites like Facebook and Twitter.

She is a "young star to watch." You’ll be seeing a lot of success from Shama all over social media sites in the coming year. Here are her interview responses…

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