Basic Podcasting Tips

Libsyn Podcast Player, New Logo and Site Redesign

2013-03-23T16:26:00.001-04:00

Libsyn Gets a New Logo and a New Look

Libsyn, short for Liberated Syndication, is one of the most popular podcast hosting services around. Recently they redesigned the front end of the Libsyn website and updated their logo. I think the new logo looks great, don't you?

I switched my podcast feed for iTunes from Audioboo.fm to Libsyn back in October of 2012. I decided to use Libsyn as my podcast host after listening to an episode of Ray's podcast when he interviewed Rob Walch from Libsyn and they talked about the stats dashboard.

The other featured that appealed to me about Libsyn hosting is the OnPublish feature with Blogger. In case you don't know, I am using Google's Blogger platform for The Ms. Ileane Speaks Podcast so I was really pleased to hear that Libsyn is integrated with Blogger.

Most bloggers who use self-hosted WordPress (wrongly) assume that they can host the media files for their podcast with their blog host. However that is not a great idea, you need to get additional webhosting, because when you end up getting more traffic as your audience begins to grow your blog host might shut your blog down.

I found out years ago from listening professional podcasters like Dave Jackson from School of Podcasting and Ray Ortega from The Podcasters Studio that it's best to obtain separate web hosting for your media files. That applies to both audio and video podcasts.

Switching the Libsyn Podcast Player

There is one thing I didn't like about using Blogger for the podcast. The default podcast player that Libsyn uses with their OnPublish integration isn't very attractive. I ended up finding a way to make the player more attractive and engaging and I recorded this tutorial for it.

How To Convert The Libsyn Podcast Player

If you use Libsyn this tutorial will be helpful for you even if you don't use Blogger, because it shows how to switch to any of the available Libsyn podcast players. (click to enlarge image)

I switched from the Legacy to Standard Online Podcast Player

Here is what you can discover from watching the video:

How to Login to Libsyn and set the dimensions of your player
Generate the code you will use for Libsyn's Standard podcast player 475 x 45
Go to "Destinations" and select the episode to get the embed code for the player you want to replace
Edit the blog post in HTML mode and take out the old "iframe" code from the legacy player
Replace it with the new "iFrame" code for the nicer looking podcast player

Let me know what you think of using Libsyn for your podcast webhosting and if you changed the podcast player on your blog.

How To Insert AdSense Units Inside A Blog Post

2012-12-23T23:49:00.004-05:00

Using Google AdSense To Monetize Your Blog

Many bloggers are using Google AdSense to monetize their blogs. Certainly this can provide an income for you if you have a good amount of targeted traffic coming to your blog or website. You can apply for the AdSense program with your Google Account and typically your blog should be more than six months old.

In a previous post I mentioned that one of my favorite podcasts is AdSense Flippers and these guys are making a decent living by creating AdSense sites and selling them for a profit. Although they have acheived success through selling AdSense sites I think most bloggers would be happy if they can just earn a few dollars to pay for web hosting or other online expenses.

Adding AdSense on a Blogger Blog

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Last year I recorded a video demonstrating how to monetize a Blogger blog with AdSense using a Blogger "Gadget". At the time I was using Blogger's Dynamic Views template. You can see that video here:

How To Add AdSense To a Blogger Blog Tutorial

I no longer use the Dynamic Views template on Blogger because the down-side is that you cannot edit the template manually and I wanted something more flexible.

I got this request in the comments on that YouTube video. Arlene wants to know:

How To Insert AdSense Units Inside A Blog Post

I think this is an excellent idea for a follow-up video and blog post. I get a lot of questions about AdSense from new bloggers over in my Facebook Group so I'm sure this video will be helpful to those of you who are new to AdSense. This is also a good tutorial for some veteran AdSense users who haven't turned on targeting for their ads yet.

If you've been using AdSense on your blog for months but your ads aren't performing well there are three possible reasons:

1. You're not getting enough traffic
2. You're not using targeting
3. You're not testing different placement, types and ad sizes

In this video I'll show you how to create and insert the ads and address the issues of targeting and ad types and sizes. Here are the steps you need to take:

Go to My Ads

Create a new Custom Channel for your blog and pick an ad size

Create a new Ad Unit for your custom channel using the same size

Name the Ad Unit and set-up ad targeting

Describe the content of the blog or the post you will insert the ad on

Save and copy the AdSense code

Go to your blog's post editor

Switch to the HTML or Text view

Pick the spot you want the AdSense unit to appear and insert the code

Update the post

Your Ad should appear immediately on your blog. I recommend testing it for a few weeks before you decide to make any changes to the size or ad type.

One more thing I want to mention. Many bloggers are using too many AdSense units on their blogs and this is not a good idea. Be conservative and limit yourself to no more than 2 AdSense units on a page in the beginning. If you find that these are working well for you gradually you can add more but Google recommends that you don't have too many ads at the top of your page.

Further reading: How to get a new AdSense account even after being Banned

What about you, do you earn money from AdSense on your blog? What's your best strategy for AdSense placement?

How To Install The Audacity Extension for Chrome

2012-11-25T20:04:00.000-05:00

Audacity is Available as an Extension for Chrome

For years podcasters, musicians and audio technicians have relied on Audacity to edit their audio files.

Typically you can download the open source software from SoundForge.net and it is available for PC and Mac.

The other day I was browsing the Google Chrome Web Store and I was pleasantly surprised to see that Audacity is available as an extension for Chrome.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/audacity-2-on-roozz/ddclebdnhjochbflkmbekijcopnmlemm

In this video, How To Install the Audacity Extension for Chrome, you learn:

How to install the Audacity application
Agree to the terms from Roozz and Audacity
Open Audacity in Google Chrome
Open the standalone version of Audacity
Play and Edit an audio file inside the application
*this interactive video is courtesy of Viewbix if you visit their site I earn a small commission but you can get free access to the software

This extension is brought to us by Roozz and they have some other applications you might was to download. Visit their site for the complete list.

Will you install the Audacity extension? Let me know if you want to learn more about how to use Audacity. You can find more podcasting news on my Scoop.it magazine for Podcasting.

Lynette Young Presents Google Plus for You

2012-11-16T18:55:00.000-05:00

Google Plus For You

Presented by Lynette Young from Purple Stripe Productions

Lynette Young presents on how entrepreneurs and small businesses can get started with Google+. This presentation was given at the Greater Philly Small Business Marketers Meetup on November 14, 2012.

Philly Small Business Marketers Meetups

I had the pleasure of meeting Lynette and my daughter took this picture of us.

Lynette Young and Ileane Smith

Here is a picture I took of my daughter Nikki Purvy. Ironically she asked me earlier that day to explain Google Plus to her. That was some timing wasn't it.

Nikki Purvy

Liz Cies helped organize the event along with the other wonderful AWeber staff members.

Liz Cies from AWeber

Key points from the presentation:

Lynette has over 1.5 million followers on Google Plus and she is the founder of the Women of Google Plus so it is safe to say she knows the platform extremely well. She shared several reasons that small business owners and marketers should hangout on Google+.

She discussed the benefits of setting up your profile correctly including your profile picture and Google Authorship. There is a new feature rolling out that will show Authorship stats on your profile.

Share your content publicly so that it can be found in the search engines and in Google + searches and add the Google + sharing buttons.

Google + Hangouts and Hangouts on Air are powerful tools for promoting your business.

Look forward to Lynnette's book which will be available in 2 weeks but you can pre-order Google + for Small Businesses now.

JOIN THE GREATER PHILLY SMALL BUSINESS MARKETERS MEETUP GROUP

More about Google Plus and YOU!

Have you started using Google + yet? How many followers do you have so far?

Add me to your Google+ circles today!

More about Google Authorship

If you need help with getting your Google Authorship, let me know and I can give you a hand. Having your Google Authorship is your key to getting more traffic from Google search. Be sure to check out the workshop I did with Chris Lang and friends to find out how you claim your Authorship and build your Author Rank. You can also get more intense training for Google + by joining Chris Lang's membership training program.

Post Planner Rolls Out New Content Curation Features for Facebook

2012-11-03T18:07:00.001-04:00

Post Planner is known at The Ultimate Facebook Management Tool and for good reason.
I started using Post Planner a few month ago and it has helped me juggle the task of managing 5 Facebook Pages and 2 profiles. I know that's a lot but even if you only have one page and one profile, Post Planner can be the answer to your Facebook posting nightmares.

One of the reasons I like Post Planner so much is because it lets you post to Facebook pages, profiles AND groups.
Posting to Facebook groups is a huge plus because this is something that you can't do with Buffer or HootSuite. Now that I have Post Planner, I rarely use any other tools for posting to Facebook.

You can schedule posts so they don't overlap. This is really important if you belong to multiple Facebook groups and it helps stagger the posts to all your groups so it doesn't look like you're spamming your friend's streams.

There's one more advantage of using Post Planner over HootSuite or Buffer for scheduling posts to Facebook. Post Planner let's you brand your posts by including a link back to your blog on everything you share. Here is what it looks like:

If you post with those other services, it will have their branding. Wouldn't you rather have your own? This post happens to be from a podcast and anyone who sees it in their stream can listen to it right on Facebook, which is another feature that I really enjoy. You can drive traffic to your blog or your podcast from Facebook and Post Planner just makes the job so much easier.

Curate Content with Post Planner

Ever run out of ideas for what to post on your page? Post Planner will help you curate content that is targeted to your audience and can help increase your EdgeRank. Recently they added even more features to Post Planner and John Haydon recorded a screencast to shoe you how to use them.

John did such a wonderful job with the video I was inspired to write this post to share with you (again) what an awesome social media management tool you can get with Post Planner.

If you use my affiliate link I will earn a small commission but it doesn't cost you anything extra. Give Post Planner a try and keep me posted with your progress.

Visit my Facebook Page and you can leave a link to your page in the comments below.

Bloggers.com a Network all Bloggers Should Join

2012-10-21T12:10:00.004-04:00

I joined Bloggers.com back in 2010. I found out about it from my friend Brian Belfitt the owner of Blog Engage (which is another popular network I recommend).

In this message from Park, owner of Bloggers.com, he describes the site in simple terms:

"This re-designed community site is even better for letting talented bloggers know each other and share resourceful contents. Here, I hope you will introduce yourself here, enjoy great contents and invite friends with similar mindset."

I agree that this is exactly what you will find at Bloggers.com and here's why I think you will benefit from joining the site:

Be Featured on the homepage of Bloggers.com

Each day new blogs are featured on the home page of the site as Editors Picks of the Day. This gives everyone a chance to be noticed in the community.

Share your content on Bloggers.com

Add the RSS feed for all of your blogs to Bloggers.com and get more exposure and traffic.

Get Backlinks from Bloggers.com

Here's a screenshot from Google Webmaster Tools showing the number of incoming links from the site. Bloggers.com currently has a page rank of 6 [October 2012]

Meet New Friends on Bloggers.com

Chat and mingle with other bloggers on the site. You will find some talks with hundreds of comments from other like-minded bloggers you can connect with.

Discover Blog post ideas on Bloggers.com

You can search Bloggers.com by topic, country, popular bloggers, top blogs and new blogs. Get enough votes from your blogging peers and you can be listed as one of the Best Bloggers in the World!

My experience with Bloggers.com

If you're thinking to yourself I don't have time for another social network, don't worry you don't need to spend time on the site to benefit from signing up. Most of the time I don't visit the site yet I get friend requests all the time. Have you ever heard the saying "set it and forget it" - well that is what you can do with your account on Bloggers.com. The backlinks from the site will add up each time to publish a blog post. Others can vote on your content if they wish but it's not mandatory. Sign up with Twitter and this will also might the process quick and carefree on your part. This is one of the few sites that you can get noticed quickly without a huge investment of time.

When you create your account and add the RSS feeds from your blogs, you will need to place a small badge in your sidebar or footer.

Bloggers.com A Network All Bloggers Should Join from Ileane Smith

TIP: link the Bloggers.com badge to your profile page so that people can easily find your account and add you as a friend.

Have you joined Bloggers.com? What's your experience with it so far?

My Top 5 Favorite Make Money Online Podcasts

2012-10-17T04:18:00.000-04:00

Finding a podcast that holds your interest is no small feat. Searching through the podcast listings on iTunes or in Apple's new Podcast app can be frustrating to say the least. Apple can learn a lot from Bing and Google when it comes to search engines, and not to mention maps :)

My Favorite Make Money Online Podcasts

With that being said I decided to put together a list of my favorite podcasts that talk about making money online which will make them much easier for people to find. The reason I picked this specific genre of earning income online is because I get so many questions and I know that a lot of bloggers are struggling with this.

Many bloggers want to monetize their blogs but they don't know where to begin or how to develop strategies that are effective and profitable.

→ Click To Tweet This Post

I also want to encourage my blogging friends to get into the habit of listening to podcasts and eventually start their own show.

# 5 ClickBank Insider Radio

"ClickBank Insider Radio is the ultimate source for Internet marketing tips, techniques and strategies that work today. Join your hosts Beau Blackwell and Molly Lane as they introduce you to the people who are making waves - and making millions - in Internet marketing. Whether you're just starting or you're already an expert, listen here for the latest ClickBank features, secrets from fellow entrepreneurs and quick tips that will have you earning more, NOW"

MY FAVORITE EPISODE: Episode 13 Jared Elvidge on Creating Information Products Making my own information products is something I need to know more about and I bet you need this info too! Read more about using Clickbank here.

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# 4 Make Money On the Internet Podcast by Chris Guthrie

"Chris Guthrie from MakeMoneyontheInternet.com teaches you how to build an online income that can replace your day job while only working a few hours per week. Learn how he and others are making a full time income online and how you too can be your own boss living the lifestyle you've always dreamed of. Covering online income, websites, money, blogging, seo, adsense, outsourcing, marketing, self employment, advertising, social media, facebook, twitter, youtube, amazon, ebay, podcasting and anything else that helps you build your online business."

MY FAVORITE EPISODE: What I Learned from 2011 and What I'm Changing in 2012 I love when people share the downsides to Internet Marketing. It's called keeping it real

#3 AdSense Flippers - Niche Websites and Passive Income with Justin Cooke and Joe Magnotti

"The AdSense Flippers Podcast cuts through the noise to deliver actionable information regarding the creation, optimization, monetization, and flipping of niche AdSense websites for profits. Discussions include keyword research, various monetization methods, and how to get the largest multiples when selling your websites on marketplaces like Flippa."

MY FAVORITE EPISODE: Episode 8 AdSense Unit Layouts and Strategies I actually listening to this episode 3 times within a 24 hour period to make sure I didn't miss anything!

#2 Income Press Podcast: Blogging | Internet Marketing | Lifestyle | Online Business | Making Money Online by Joey Kissimee

"This is just another damn podcast show created by Joey Kissimmee, and it's about anything and everything on automation, outsourcing, search engine optimization, niche sites, social media, blogging, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Podcasting, eBooks, online courses, affiliate marketing, email marketing, list building, and anything else that has to do with making money online. Joey from IncomePress.com has been making a full time income online for the past few years. Joey's an Email Marketing Expert, Product Launch Consultant, Info Product Creator, Expert Blogger, iPhone App Developer, and a Private Coach. He is not a gazillionaire, let alone a millionaire nor desires to be one. He says it's to much damn work! Joey is here to share his experiences on things that worked and didn't work. Learn from his gains, loses, and mistakes."

MY FAVORITE EPISODE: IP #13 Q&A Session Joey takes questions from his listeners and the first one comes from your's truly.

#1 The Smart Passive Income Podcast: Online Business | Blogging | Passive Income | Lifestyle

"Pat Flynn from The Smart Passive Income Blog reveals all of his online business and blogging strategies, income sources and killer marketing tips and tricks so you can be ahead of the curve with your online business or blog. Discover how you can create multiple passive income streams that work for you so that you can have the time and freedom to do what you love, whether it's traveling the world, or just living comfortably at home. Although Pat confesses he is not a millionaire, he's been supporting his family 100% with passive income generated online, easily earning a six-figure salary while working only a few hours a week. Automation, outsourcing, crowdsourcing, search engine optimization, building authority and trust, niche sites, social media, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Podcasting, eBooks, online courses, affiliate marketing, getting things done and everything that works (and doesn't work) to help you better understand how to crush it with your online business."

MY FAVORITE EPISODE: SPI028: Be Everywhere - Building a Profitable BRAND by Thinking Outside The Box Pat is working on a book called Be Everywhere so I guess this is his favorite episode too.

What's your favorite Make Money Online Podcast

Here is a playlist for you to have easy access to all of these shows

Now that you have seen my list of podcasts, I'd like to know what's on your list of favorite podcasts. Let me hear from you because I'd love to find more podcasts to listen to.

Subscribe to the Ms. Ileane Speaks Podcast

Related articles:

Logitech C920 HD Pro Webcam Review

2012-09-29T18:05:00.002-04:00

Logitech is at the forefront of the HD Webcam "prosumer" market. The first webcam I purchased was the Logitech C910 which I reviewed back in January 2012 and included on my list of must have equipment for podcasting.

Watch the Logitech C920 Webcam Unboxing

The Logitech C920 HD Pro is like the big brother of the C910 and what caught my attention immediately is the built in tripod mount. I love this feature because I want the camera to be slightly elevate versus eye level. I purchased a little mini-tripod a few years ago for about 99 cents but its worth so much more now that I can use it with the C920 webcam.

Logitech C920 Webcam Feature list:

Full HD 1080 video
Facebook uploads with H.264
Dual microphones
15 MP pics
Carl Zeiss Lens with 20-step autofocus

Even though the C920 has dual microphones, I don't recommend using the mic on any webcam to record the audio for your podcast or Google+ Hangouts. Personally I will continue to use my Samson C03U USB condenser mic to capture the audio for The Ms. Ileane Speaks Podcast, and my YouTube videos.

If you care about quality (and you really should) I'm sure you want a webcam that delivers the best quality at an affordable price. That's why I recommend purchasing the Logitech C920. I picked mine up from Amazon and at the time it cost around $85.

What's your favorite webcam and where did you get it?

Google Authorship A to Z Workshop

2012-09-26T18:24:00.000-04:00

Google Authorship Workshop

My friend Chris Lang hosted a Google Hangouts on Air on the topic of Google Authorship. This is a panel discussion. The following panelists were on hand for the discussion:

Jack Humphrey

Todd Hartley

Shira Gal

and of course your's truly Ileane Smith

Google authorship is the process where by Google will assign authorship and Author rank to your content in Google's index. Your image will appear next to your content when it shows up in Google's search results page. In theory this will make your article stand out in the search results and people will tend to click on your link instead of the other links that show up on the search results page.

The process of claiming Google Authorship can be done through a link in your Google Webmaster Tools account or by going directly to this link for Author Information in Search Results.

SIGN UP FOR GOOGLE AUTHORSHIP

You can also sign up for Google Authorship here. On this page you will notice Google states clearly that you need to have a profile photo with a recognizable headshot.

Once Google confirms your authorship, you will receive an email like the one in the image above.

What does Google Authorship Look Like?

Here's a search for "blogging tips" and an example of my authorship in the results page. Note that this also includes the number of people who have me in circles on Google Plus.

How To Test Your Google Authorship

You can enter your url into Google's Structured Data Testing Tool to see how your listing will appear in Google search. This is also referred to as the Rich Snippets Testing tool.

In Google Webmaster Tools you can find all of the content that you currently have Google Authorship for (this feature is in beta). Click on any blog in your Webmaster dashboard and on the left hand side look for LABS and Author Stats. You'll see the following data:

URL of the article
Number of Impressions in search
Number of clicks
CTR (click through rate)
Average position in SERP

Sort these results by clicking on the column heading. I like to sort by "Number of Clicks" to find out which post showing my authorship is getting the most traffic. You will find that this is not always the post with the highest position in SERP. This can be a clear indication that people are ignoring those listings that have a higher position and clicking your link instead simply because they see your Google Authorship. Of course there is no guarantee that this will happen every time someone sees your picture, but at least this gives you an idea about the importance of having Google Authorship.

How To Fix iTunes Download Problems

2012-09-21T20:02:00.002-04:00

How to Fix iTunes

As a podcaster myself, I subscribe to a ton of podcasts on iTunes. Since I don't have an iPhone or any kind of SmartPhone, I always use the desktop version of iTunes to subscribe to podcasts and quite often I will burn a CD so I can listen to them in the car.

I guess iTunes gets confused because for some reason, it will stop downloading podcasts that I listen to regularly.

Has that ever happened to you?

Well when it does, you just need to give it a kick to get it going again. I recorded this video so you can see How To Fix iTunes Download Problems when they happen to you!

I hope you enjoyed the video and when you get a chance, please subscribe to my podcast. If you don't hear from me for awhile, most likely it's because you need to give iTunes a kickstart!

New Collage Blocks for Timeline Slicer Pro

2012-08-15T05:23:00.000-04:00

Timeline Slicer Pro Gets New Templates

A few months ago my friend Joey Kissimee came out with the Timeline Slicer. Basically Timeline Slicer is a mini version of Photoshop that you can use to create gorgeous Facebook Timelines right on the internet.

You can learn more about it in this post called Introducing Facebook Timeline Slicer Pro or if you have a Facebook page and you want to increase your engagement and Facebook EdgeRank just get the slicer right now!

READ:

12 Must-Know Tips to Improve Fan Engagement on Your Facebook Page

Ching-ya is well known as being a Facebook Guru and a wealth of information when it comes to social media. She highlighted one of the Facebook Timelines I created with the slicer in a recent blog post which got over 350 comments on Facebook!

NEW FEATURES ADDED TO TIMELINE SLICER

One of the things I love about Joey and this product is that he is constantly listening to feedback from his users and affiliates. The latest new feature he added is the collage blocks that let you create covers just like the ones Coca-Cola uses on their Facebook Page!

Joey also prepared a video with step-by-step instructions on how to create your own "Coca-Cola" Timeline Cover.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlzmpiPEulg

Btw - if you ears perked up when I mentioned "affiliates" earlier, check this out. If you have a ClickBank account you automatically qualify to be an affiliate for Timeline Slicer Pro.

Since I joined the program I was finally able to get my first ClickBank payout after 2 long years of being in the program, thanks to Timeline Slicer Pro. (thanks Joey!!)

FINAL WORDS ON USING FACEBOOK

Listen up guys, just because you have a Facebook Page with lots of fans, that doesn't mean your fans are seeing your updates in their streams. You need to increase engagement with your fans and creating new Timeline covers is the perfect way to do just that! Use these new collage blocks to feature your fans so you can tag them when you upload the image (don't tag them unless they are featured!) and you'll get tons of engagement and increase your EdgeRank scores in no time!

Additional reading:

Bonus video:

How to Add Your Facebook Page Link On Your Facebook Profile

Google Plus Training for Business with Chris Lang

2012-06-25T17:27:00.001-04:00

Google Plus Training with Chris Lang

Exclusive Offer

My friend Chris Lang is one of the top users of Google+ and he has over 27k followers; here is a recent chart from social statistics.
I am honored that Chris has invited me to share this offer exclusively with the readers and friends of Basic Blog Tips. Here is some of what Chris has to say about Google and their plans for Google Plus.

"Google, the giant, is now the largest social networking platform imaginable! It's so big that Facebook and Twitter are peeing in their pants like little boys trying to duplicate it. And they can't, because Google has been developing this behind the scenes for 10 years. So what is Google cookin' up that is creating such a hype and uproar among Internet marketing circles? Google has created a social networking platform where all its online services will be merged. Google has tied it all together with the new social sharing platform, Google Plus. G+ as we are calling it is creating the most powerful and user-rich experience imaginable. So it's going to be something BIG and marketers will be able to reach their target audience without paying big bucks or waiting for ages. It is going to be marketing nirvana. That's the prime reason I am so freaked out and want to tell people about the most unique and small time-sloted window open for anyone wanted to grab the opportunity and become rich."

Here's what Jack Humphrey has to say about Chris Lang!

Mari Smith knows the deal about Chris Lang too!

Google Plus Training is a must for local businesses

If you are local brick and mortar business owner, your Google Plus Local Page will have a direct affect on how you rank in Google local search and integrate with Google Maps. Bottom line, your business page should be your starting point and your personal profile should be almost like everyone else's, just one of the people sharing it's great content.

Don't waste any more time! Start your Google Plus training with Chris Lang today.

Reprinted from http://basicblogtips.com/gplusknights

Subscribers: A Content Marketers Greatest Asset

2012-06-04T09:58:00.000-04:00

Subscribers: A Content Marketer's Greatest Asset

Download the Slides here:

Subscribers a content marketer's greatest asset

View more presentations from Ileane Smith

Overcoming The Fear Of Doing Live Webinars with Google Hangouts on Air

2012-05-25T16:02:00.002-04:00

Overcoming the fear of holding a webinar by doing in a:

Google Hangout on Air

I hung out with Adrienne Smith from http://Adriennesmith.net and we talked about overcoming the fear of public speaking and doing online webinars. We explored the Google+ Hangouts on Air interface and discovered that it is a fantastic alternative to some of the paid webinar hosting software available.

Google+ Hangouts on air has several features that help eliminate our "webinar fears". For example:

Easy to use interface
SlideShare integration
Live broadcasting to your blog, YouTube and Google+
Audience interaction
Screensharing
Chat integration
Unlimited number of viewers
100% Free!

People and resources mentioned in the video:

Adrienne Smith
Donna Merrill
Blog Engage
Mitch Mitchell
Fear - Don't Let It Stop You
Chris Lang
Carol Lynn Rivera
Toastmasters
Lujure Facebook Page App Builder

Please share this video and give it a +1 on Google!

UPDATE: Google+ Hangouts on Air can be live streamed right inside of Facebook on a custom app created with Lujure. I will demo this on the next upcoming HOA (final date is TBD).

Introducing Facebook Timeline Slicer Pro

2012-05-13T12:38:00.000-04:00

Facebook Timeline Slicer Pro is so easy to use that you can make a new Timeline cover for your Facebook page in around 2 minutes, and you never need to worry if it's going to be the correct size. This tool was introduced by Joey Kissimmee from Income Press a couple of days ago and I'm really excited to introduce it to you in this post.

I was using the free version of Facebook Timeline Slicer and it was good, but I still needed to open my graphics program to size the image and add text or layer more graphics. Timeline Slicer Pro takes this process to a whole new level and I know you are going to love this tool!

Let Joey show you how easy it is to use Timeline Slicer Pro!

Facebook Timeline Slicer Pro Features

You can drag-and drop images and text
You can change text fonts
You can change background colors
You can resize images and text
You can crop images
You can download Timeline covers at the exact size required
You can download Facebook Page profile images
You can download App Cover images
You can make money

Yup, that's right I said make money. I wanted to make sure you were paying attention and if you are a Click Bank affiliate all you need to do is add your affiliate name to the link you'll find right inside the tool. If you're not an affiliate already, you can apply at check out.

Even if you are a graphic artist and you're already designing Timeline covers for people, just imagine how much time this is going to save you and how many more covers you are going to be able to make for your clients once you have Timeline Slicer Pro.

Joey has put together a series of videos showing you how to sign up for Click Bank, send your affiliate links to all of your networks and even email it to your email list.

BONUS: 40 high quality customizable templates that are ready to use!

Check out these additional resources for your Facebook Page:

Create an iTunes Podcast Widget for Your Blog

2012-04-22T08:07:00.001-04:00

Once you start podcasting, the next step that will help take your show to the next level is getting your podcast listed in iTunes. I recently submitted my show and in no time I got the approval from the iTunes staff. You can easily subscribe to the Ms. Ileane Speaks Podcast and listen to it on your iPhone, iPod (like this Apple 64GB Black 4th Generation iPod Touch - MC547LL/A) or any other iDevice. If you like the podcast (I'm sure you will) :) please give it a 5 star rating in the iTunes store and leave a review and let others know what you think about my show.

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WARNING SHAMELESS PODCAST PLUG ALERT!

I would really appreciate any reviews or ratings as this will help my show get found in the New and Notable iTunes search listings.

Another handy feature provided by iTunes is the podcast Widget Builder which can be used to show off your podcast and other shows that you follow. It's really simple to set up. The most important step is to select widget type "podcast playlist" at the top of the page, then just give your playlist a title and description, and use the Add/Edit playlist button to search for shows to add to your widget. Here's the widget I created to show off a few of my favorites.

There is a limit to the width and height of the widget you can create and I think the sizing works best when 3 podcasts are added to the playlist. Here is a screenshot of the iTunes Podcast Widget Builder. Notice that the height limits are 250 - 325 pixels and the width limits are 300 - 370 pixels.

iTunes Widget Builder

Step-by-step tutorial on how to get your podcast listed in iTunes!

Ditch the Fake Like Button on Your Facebook Timeline

2012-03-04T09:44:00.000-05:00

Earlier this year Facebook launched Timeline for Facebook Pages. I really like the new Timeline for pages much better than I did when they launched this feature for profiles. That's pretty ironic considering I never like when Facebook makes major changes like this because everyone has to scramble around to figure out which way is up!

-->

Lucky for me, I have wonderful friends like Kim Castleberry to help me navigate through all of this Facebook "mess". Do yourself a favor and head over to Kim's page when you're done here so you can keep yourself abreast of all the changes and find out how you can market effectively on Facebook (and just about anywhere else for that matter) :)

Kim recently held a two hour webinar where all my geeky friends attended as well as some new ones.

(btw if you were there, let me know and I can add your name to the list).

As Kim was guiding us through every step of these changes we came to the topic of the Facebook apps and how they are now mostly hidden. Currently this is what you'll see - I like to use Starbucks as an example since they have a tons of Likes.

When you switch to Timeline you're page will show only 4 apps! So all of those Facebook apps and tabs you had before are no longer visible right away.

Photo apps - this one can NOT be removed
Fake like button (watch the video and you'll see why it's fake)
Your third app
Your fourth app

Notice that I have an arrow pointing to the "real" like button and I also point to the place where you can switch these apps around. Watch the video and you'll see what I mean. It's called Ditch the fake "Like" Button on your Facebook Page Timeline

This video is part of Barry Wells Video Blog Challenge and you can find a list of all the videos and contestants in the challenge on this page The Video Blog Challenge.

You can check out my Facebook Page and like it now if you want (with the REAL like button).

Yup, it's true you should ditch the Fake Like Button On Your Facebook Timeline!

Before you go, I want to here your thoughts. After watching the video do you plan to get rid of the "Fake" like button? Let me know in the comments below.

For more information about Lujure click here.

Updated: At the end of the video I added a bonus tip for increasing engagement with your Facebook fans. Credit for this tip goes to Easy Street Social.

What You Need To Guest Post on Basic Blog Tips

2012-01-08T17:20:00.001-05:00

What You Need to Guest Post on Basic Blog Tips

Guest blogging has many advantages, and during 2011 many guest authors had their posts published on my primary blog Basic Blog Tips. It's a popular blog for many reasons and here are just a few things that make Basic Blog Tips an attractive place to submit a guest post. The blog has:

An active and engaging blog community
A good flow of traffic from search engines
A Google Page Rank of 4
An Alexa Rank in the range of 17,000
A great blog theme and blogskin
A gorgeous author bio box with links to your blog and social networks (great for SEO too)
And much, much more!

I must admit that many times I have to turn down some offers from people who want to submit posts. One of the big reasons they get rejected is they don't know how to use WordPress, therefore they can't take advantage of the SEOPressor plugin that I have installed. When they send me a post as an email attachment, I don't even open it! WordPress is not that hard to learn compared to Blogger or any other blogging platform. On top of that, the SEOPressor plugin tells you exactly what you need to do! (you can watch my video tutorial to see exactly what I mean)

This issue has been brewing in my mind and this morning it came up again when I was reading an awesome post on Famous Bloggers that was written by the owner, my good friend Hesham Zebida, titled How Do You Handle Guest Bloggers. Here's an excerpt from of the comment that I left:

"...I have a lot of guest bloggers on Basic Blog Tips but I also turn away a lot of them because on my contact form I clearly state where to go for the instructions and requirements for guest blogging. When people bypass this, I get a pretty good idea that they are careless or some other undesirable characteristic and it’s my first level of weeding out those bloggers..."

In the end, I decided that perhaps I need to be more proactive and explain the instructions and requirements for guest authors more clearly. I recorded an episode of the Ms. Ileane Speaks podcast to encourage anyone who would like to become a guest and let people know how the system works. After you've had a chance to listen to the podcast and if you're still interested, use the contact form to send me your request.

Guest Blogging at Basic Blog Tips by Ms Ileane Speaks on Mixcloud

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about guest blogging. You can also visit Hesham's blog and submit a guest post there if you like.

You can read all of the guest posts on Basic Blog Tips and get yourself featured in the Latest Contributors widget like this wonderful bloggers.

So what do you think? Are you interested in becoming the next guest blogger featured on Basic Blog Tips?

How To Show AdSense on Your Blogger Blog with Dynamic Views

2011-12-31T06:09:00.000-05:00

How To Show AdSense on Your Blogger Blog

Google redesigned their products during 2011 and Blogger blogs are no exception - YouTube, Gmail, Google+ and even Google search were all given a face lift and are now much more eye appealing and customizable for users. One of the cool things about Blogger's redesign is called Dynamic Views. They give your blog a much cleaner look, however many might be disappointed to see the banner ads in the sidebars disappear.
--> On the other hand, with Dynamic Views you can attract more traffic to your blog and you can also use Blogger's new Dynamic Views to easily monetize your blog with AdSense.

Image via Wikipedia

In this YouTube video tutorial, I demonstrate how to toggle through the choices for dynamic views on your Blogger blog. I also show how to manage the placement of ads and how to display AdSense on your sidebar and at the bottom of your blog post along with other alternatives.

How To Add AdSense to Blogger Blogs Tutorial

Read more about Dynamic Views on Blogger Buzz.

You should always test placement of your AdSense adds to see what works best for your audience and gets you the most exposure for your ads. Also be sure that your ads are targeted to your audience by checking the settings in your AdSense account.
Keep up to date on all the latest blogging, social media and YouTube tutorials by subscribing to my YouTube Channel and signing up for Ileane's Tips via email.

Here are a few more tips to enhance your blog in 2012.

Replace your Blogger Profile with Your Google+ profile

Submit your Blogger Sitemap to Google Webmaster Tools

Google Chrome Extension - Extended Share for Google Plus

2011-11-20T15:40:00.001-05:00

Extended Share For Google+ and Google Shortcuts

Google Chrome is an extraordinary browser and there are a ton of reasons you should be using it. But in reality, getting the Chrome Browser without adding any extensions is like someone handing you an empty plate for dinner. Because the real power of Google Chrome lies in the extensions that you have installed and all the added functionality you gain as a result.

In this episode of the Ms. Ileane Speaks podcast, I mentioned that while listening to Social Media Today over on Blog Talk Radio, I was introduced to another reason to use one of my favorite extensions.

Dr. Ron Capps is the host of the show along with Mr. Ken English aka MediaMojoGuy. Dr. Capps, also known on @NicheProf, mentioned a unique way to use an extension called Extended Share for Google Plus. Listen as I describe how this extension allows him to move Google+ to the front of his social media sharing pipeline so to speak.

Options for Extended Share for Google+

I also shared in the chat room on today's show another extension I found last week called Google Shortcuts.

"Choose from 160 Google services to show up as buttons in a space-saving popup...next to your address bar...The extension includes more than 150 Google services and websites."

Take a look at adding these extensions and if you want more here are some fantastic extensions that I've already covered on my blog and YouTube:

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How To Record a Podcast Using Spreaker

2011-11-06T18:21:00.000-05:00

How to Record a Podcast Using Spreaker

In August I did a review of a podcasting service called Spreaker. At the time there were some features that I wanted to see and so the post was called My Wishlist of Five Things to Change on Spreaker.
Well it seems that Spreaker is listening to the feedback from their users and they have turned my wishlist into a reality. Best of all is this wonderful new embed player, with pause and scroll controls that we can embed in our blog posts or on our websites.

Get this ebook from JontusMedia

The player can be customized is size, color and function and one of nice little surprises is that you can now share your tracks on Twitter, Facebook and even Google+.

You can listen to the updated review of Spreaker for Podcasting above, or watch the video on my YouTube Channel. You'll get to see the fabulous DJ Console for live Broadcasting or standard recording.

What else is new with Spreaker? They just released a free Spreaker for iPhone app! Now you can record your podcast on the go.

Here's a blurb from the ZDNet blog:

"Spreaker (free) just went live in the App Store this morning and it does for audio what Twitter does for text (and YouTube does for video): it makes it easy to share audio content across social networks."

Let me know what you think or if you plan on starting a podcast on Spreaker!

Apple iPhone 4s (16gb, LOCKED to AT&T, BLACK)

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that you can upload a pre-recorded podcast to Spreaker too. In fact I rarely Broadcast with the DJ console myself. I record my audio in Audacity first and then upload the wav file to Spreaker. Thanks for the reminder Clinton!

Promote Your Blog With The Blog Engage RSS Service

2011-10-23T09:42:00.001-04:00

Promote Your Blog AND Your Guest Posts with Blog Engage RSS Service

Blog Engage is by far one of my favorite blogging communities. Since I joined 2 years ago, I've come in contact with the best world class bloggers in my niche and made some powerful connections. First and foremost, Brian from Blog Engage is one heck of a fellow who is always there to support the community and offer a helping hand to new bloggers and seasoned veterans like myself as well.

Guest Bloggers from BBT Who are Blog Engage Members

I've also been able to connect with a wide variety of wonderful people who have ended up guest posting on my blog Basic Blog Tips. So if you're looking for guest bloggers, let me tell you - Blog Engage is a great place to start.

For example, here's a list of Blog Engage members, that I'm extremely proud to say, have written some fantastic articles on Basic Blog Tips!

Brian from Blog Engage
Robert Bravery from Integral Web Solutions
Sharon Hurley Hall from Get Paid to Write Online
Karen Woodham from Blazing Minds
Suresh Khanal from Bivori
James Pruitt from IM Relations
DiTesco from IBlogZone
David Leonhardt from SEO Consultant
Kharim Thomlinson from Webmaster-Success
Jeevan Jacob John from Tech Pupil
Argie Monroy from SEO Blogger
Ben Jackson from SEO Discovery
Aussie Sire from Wassup Blog
Ivin Viljoen from AuthoPublisher
Wong Chendong from The Bad Blogger
Jane Sheeba from Problogging Success
Sanjeev from Make Web World
William Caleb Rodgers from Market Secrets
Faissal Alhaithami from Fans Bridge
Nikki Purvy from Estava Morioka

There's one more person I met on Blog Engage that I need to add to this list, and although he hasn't done a guest post on my blog, he has helped me behind the scenes in more ways than anyone can imagine and his name is Hesham Zebida from Famous Bloggers. He is also the brilliant mind behind the ThesisAwesome Blogskin that I use on Basic Blog Tips.

I signed up for the Blog Engage RSS Service at the Platinum level when it was first introduced by Brian and I simply love it. The reason I recommend the RSS Service is because anyone signed up for the platinum service can add three blog feeds to their account. That's perfect for me because I have so many blogs.
This is also a big time saver for all of my guest bloggers as well. Some of them have multiple posts on my blog and as you can see from the list, they have their own blogs too. With the RSS service, they never have to worry about going through the process of manually submitting their posts to be promoted within the Blog Engage community.

In addition, every level of the Blog Engage RSS Service - Gold
Platinum
Business
and Business +
includes your content being syndicated to the following sites:

Blog Engage (PR5), Blog Serp (PR3), Top Blogged (PR3), RSS Leak (PR2),Blogger Ink (PR3), Tag Serp (PR2), and Blogger Tag (PR2)

The more blogs you have, well that's just all the more reason to use the Blog Engage RSS Service! Even if you are a regular guest blogger on someone's blog and they don't belong to Blog Engage, you can submit the feed for your guest posts to your service. If you're not sure how to find the feed for your guest posts, here's the tip I included in an article I wrote on Blog Engage called Be Good To Your Guest Bloggers and They'll be Good To You!

BONUS TIP: When you want to find all of the posts by a given author on your WordPress blog, take the url of your blog and add /author/username to the end. For example, in order to find all of my posts here on Blog Engage, this is the url:

http://www.blogengage.com/blogger/author/ileane/

Business Owners! Take Your Business To the Next Level With a Business+ Package

The Business + package offers the most benefits and it's perfect for anyone who has clients with multiple blogs. Here are some details:

The Business PLUS Membership comes with Free Blog Engage Accounts (up to 5) (29.99 Value Each, 150 USD Value Total). (Great for Contest Giveaways , Multi Author Blogs, or SEO Companies with Blog Clients). You also get 1 Giveaway where we allow you to offer one free year subscription of our gold service to any member by hosting a contest on your blog. We will also help you market and promote this contest driving traffic and new readers.

Marketing and Promoting

Every month your blog will be spotlighted on our community blog and featured on the Blog Engage home page and upcoming pages. This is where we get the highest volume of traffic. These features can be about your blog, contests you're in or throwing or events you need help marketing and promoting. Let us help build your online brand.

Head over to Blog Engage to get more details and find the level of service that is right for you.

One last thing! Did you know you can earn income by joining the Affiliate Lights program and promoting the Blog Engage RSS service? Yes it's true. Not only do you get to syndicate your content, build backlinks, find guest bloggers, reach new readers and make some awesome connections - you can earn money too. Now do you see why I love Blog Engage so much? I thought you would :)

This post was inspired by Justin Germino of Dragon Blogger

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Promote Your Videos on YouTube Using Playlists

2011-10-09T11:09:00.002-04:00

Promote Your Videos on YouTube Using Playlists

In the last episode of the podcast we talked about using YouTube Annotations to Your Videos which to get more subscribers to your channel. Today's tip is about using YouTube Playlists to get more views on your videos.

You can create YouTube Playlists to organize related videos into a collection that you want to promote to your audience. You can also embed playlists on your blog just like you do individual videos.

YouTube Playlist on Sidebar

Here some advantages of YouTube Playlists:

Listed as the first item on the sidebar
Sorted by number of views
Reordered according to your preference
Customized with notes and thumbnails
Featured on Channel Page

Playlist Featured on Channel Sidebar

Explore the flexibility of YouTube Playlists and use them to your advantage. One thing I noticed when I took a look at my Social Media playlist is that I could do a better job with the titles I'm using, which in turn will make my video much more easy to find in YouTube searches and on Google.
For example, I created a video tutorial for using HootSuite early last year which I called HootSuite 2010 - Ms. Ileane Speaks. But a much better title is the one I'm using now HootSuite Tutorial and how to use Ht.ly and Ow.ly. (that's a little SEO tip for you). ☺

Check out this post for more YouTube Video Marketing Tips and techniques.
Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow my Audio Podcast on MixCloud.

UPDATE: Be sure to watch my YouTube Tutorial Training Playlist

How To Add YouTube Annotations to Your Videos

2011-10-01T09:25:00.002-04:00

How to Add YouTube Annotations to Your Videos

YouTube annotations are a great way to brand your YouTube videos. Adding annotations might sound intimidating, but it's not hard to do and using them has some great advantages. For example you can:

Show the url of your blog, Google+, Twitter or Facebook page
Get people to subscribe to your YouTube Channel
Link to your other videos and playlists on YouTube
Pause your video
Add a Title to your video
Set the duration of the annotation

One of the benefits of having annotations on your video is that when someone embeds your video on their site, who ever sees the video will also see your branding. They can also click on the hyperlinks to subscribe to your channel and to your other videos.

Move the annotations around to any point in the video you like. I recommend adding a "Subscribe" or "Like" annotation that pop-ups after your introduction and lasts for a few seconds. It's also a good idea to place another annotation reminder near the end of the video. If they watched all the way to the end, most likely they will give you a thumbs up and subscribe for more.

Check out annotations in action on this video which is one of the most popular videos on my YouTube Channel with over 5,000 views. Diigo Bookmark Chrome Extension.

For more how to tips on video marketing check out these posts:

Get Tracking Statistics for Multiple Video Services with Tube Mogul

2011-09-10T19:35:00.000-04:00

I was excited to get an email from YouTube that stated:

"Your YouTube account MsIleaneSpeaks might be eligible to earn revenue from the playbacks of your videos"

Eventually my account was approved and if you visit my YouTube channel you will notice ads appearing on the page, similar to AdSense.
I've always wondered how many video views I would need before being accepted for this monetization program with YouTube. So I logged into my account with TubeMogul to take a look at how many views my videos are getting. I know that I can see the view count on YouTube, but I want to compare YouTube views against the other networks I distribute my videos to.

In this image you can see my statistics from:

YouTube - 18,070 views
MetaCafe - 941 views
Daily Motion - 463 views

*I just started tracking views from Viddler today

Here's a video

There are many other video services you can connect with your TubeMogul account, just be sure to read the TOS for each service before you sign up because some have more restrictions than others.

--> TIP: Find out how you can get more views on YouTube in this post:
Video Marketing - How To Get Views On YouTube

Have you uploaded your videos to other sites besides YouTube? What is you favorite service?

Basic Podcasting Tips

Libsyn Podcast Player, New Logo and Site Redesign

Libsyn Gets a New Logo and a New Look

Switching the Libsyn Podcast Player

How To Insert AdSense Units Inside A Blog Post

Using Google AdSense To Monetize Your Blog

Adding AdSense on a Blogger Blog

How To Insert AdSense Units Inside A Blog Post

How To Install The Audacity Extension for Chrome

Audacity is Available as an Extension for Chrome

In this video, How To Install the Audacity Extension for Chrome, you learn:

Lynette Young Presents Google Plus for You

Google Plus For You

Philly Small Business Marketers Meetups

Key points from the presentation:

More about Google Plus and YOU!

More about Google Authorship

Post Planner Rolls Out New Content Curation Features for Facebook

Curate Content with Post Planner

Bloggers.com a Network all Bloggers Should Join

Be Featured on the homepage of Bloggers.com

Share your content on Bloggers.com

Get Backlinks from Bloggers.com

Meet New Friends on Bloggers.com

Discover Blog post ideas on Bloggers.com

My experience with Bloggers.com

My Top 5 Favorite Make Money Online Podcasts

My Favorite Make Money Online Podcasts

What's your favorite Make Money Online Podcast

Logitech C920 HD Pro Webcam Review

Watch the Logitech C920 Webcam Unboxing

Logitech C920 Webcam Feature list:

Google Authorship A to Z Workshop

Google Authorship Workshop

SIGN UP FOR GOOGLE AUTHORSHIP

What does Google Authorship Look Like?

How To Test Your Google Authorship

Other Topic of Google Authorship Discussed on the Hang Out

How To Fix iTunes Download Problems

How to Fix iTunes

New Collage Blocks for Timeline Slicer Pro

Timeline Slicer Pro Gets New Templates

READ:

NEW FEATURES ADDED TO TIMELINE SLICER

FINAL WORDS ON USING FACEBOOK

Google Plus Training for Business with Chris Lang

Google Plus Training with Chris Lang

Exclusive Offer

Google Plus Training is a must for local businesses

Don't waste any more time! Start your Google Plus training with Chris Lang today.

Subscribers: A Content Marketers Greatest Asset

Overcoming The Fear Of Doing Live Webinars with Google Hangouts on Air

Introducing Facebook Timeline Slicer Pro

Create an iTunes Podcast Widget for Your Blog

WARNING SHAMELESS PODCAST PLUG ALERT!

Ditch the Fake Like Button on Your Facebook Timeline

What You Need To Guest Post on Basic Blog Tips

How To Show AdSense on Your Blogger Blog with Dynamic Views

Related articles

Here's a great video from the AdSense Team to help ensure you are serving relevant ads on your blog

Google Chrome Extension - Extended Share for Google Plus

How To Record a Podcast Using Spreaker

Promote Your Blog With The Blog Engage RSS Service

Promote Your Videos on YouTube Using Playlists

How To Add YouTube Annotations to Your Videos

Get Tracking Statistics for Multiple Video Services with Tube Mogul