Hear what Google’s Matt Cutts has to say about using WordPress and blogging to get better search engine rankings.

Hint: All of the Title, Description and other meta tags that he talks about are built-in and easy to optimize in WordPress.

Internet marketing can be much less expensive than traditional marketing and it can reach a huge, precisely targeted audience. Because there are no geographic barriers in internet marketing, it is truly possible to do business worldwide and to sell anything from anywhere, even from the comfort of your own home.

Following is a simple explanation of some of the most common internet marketing options that you can use to promote your business.

Article Distribution

Distributing professional articles with a resource box that directs readers to your website is a very valuable and effective method of internet marketing. The articles can be given away with permission to reprint at-will under the terms that the article content and resource box cannot be changed. Many website operators will post these articles on their websites which will direct visitors to your website as well as enhancing your internet marketing link campaigns.

Directory Listings

Directory listings are a form of internet marketing that can be very useful. Directories are a lot like search engines, only listings in the directories are managed and ranked by people rather than by automated, electronic means. Many directories accept directory listings free of charge, so they can be an inexpensive and effective form of internet marketing.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a viable internet marketing technique that is very similar to direct mail. Generally, it is best for internet marketing messages sent via email to be sent to opt-in or subscriber lists. However, third party lists can be purchased for the purpose of email marketing.

If using third-party lists, check into how the email addresses were collected and make sure that they are truly targeted lists with content gathered from individual who opted to receive information relevant to what you are sending.

Ezine Advertising

Ezine advertising, as an internet marketing option, is a lot like advertising in a magazine; only the “magazine” is delivered to subscribers electronically rather than through the mail. Companies that distribute online newsletters often sale advertising in their newsletters as well, and some may even trade out for an advertisement in your newsletter.

Link Campaigns

Building links to your website from other websites that have information relevant to your target market should be a part of your internet marketing plan. Link popularity, the number of links coming in to your website, and link relevancy, the relevance of the website that is linking to you, can improve your website ranking in the search engines as well as directing targeted traffic to your site.

Pay-Per-Click Search Engine Marketing

Pay-per-click search engine marketing is one of the most successful forms of internet marketing. Basically, pay-per-click search engine advertising is a process whereby you bid on specific keywords that will direct targeted traffic to your website. You are listed in the search engines based upon the amount you bid for the keyword. You are charged the bid price each time a visitor clicks on the search engine listing, through to your website. This is a good internet marketing option because you only pay for successful click-throughs which result in traffic to your website.

Portal Listings

Portals are similar to directories but are generally specific to a topic or industry. Because visitors to portals have interest in the topic, getting listed in a portal that is relevant to your business can be a very effective internet marketing technique for driving targeted, qualified traffic to your website.

Search Engine Marketing

Search engine marketing is a much preferred internet marketing option because the majority of visitors to just about any website come via the use of a search engine. Search engines use what is called spiders or crawlers which are really just software programs that index websites and determine their relevance, based on the search engine’s rules, to the information a person using an internet browser is looking for.

There are also meta search engines that draw from the results of other search engines, and specialty search engines that are geared to a particular topic or industry. To get listed in search engines, a website needs to be optimized and submitted to the search engines. Major search engines include Google, Yahoo!, MSN, Alta Vista and others.

Copyright Christopher J. Enders. Are you at the end of your rope, fed up and confused by all the scrambled internet marketing advice you’re getting? Whether you are new to internet marketing, or a website owner who wants to make more money from your website, learn the proven strategies that will sky-rocket your internet business at http://BiznessTips.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_J_Enders
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Pretty straight forward, right? However, there are less tangible elements that every successful blogger should consider, before setting up a blog:

1. Vision. What’s your vision? What will you blog about and who will you blog to?

Having a clear and concise “picture” of what your blogging goals and purpose are is critical to your long-term success. Too often what happens is that a blogger will “think” they know what they are going to set out to do, and basically how they are going to do it. Then they find themselves on the “Super Information Highway” where information, ideas, irresistable offers and just plain “stuff” begins pouring in and they easily and quickly find themselves distracted and way off course.

Instead of spending the next 6 months, or more, fumbling around, aimlessly, trying this and trying that, and getting nowhere, create a roadmap of exactly where you want to go and how you plan to get there.

2. Passion. What do you love to talk about? Not what do you necessarily “know” the most about, but what do you get truly excited about?

Many blogging “guru’s” will tell you to find a niche that is profitable. They don’t encourage you to consider the topic, or the content of that niche, or your personal interest in that industry. And while this may work for a small percentage of bloggers, it does not work for most.

Think about it. When you visit a blog, and read the content, can you, or can you not immediately tell the difference in the content between passion and information? If it’s facts and figures, statistics and details you need, then there are plenty of “informational” sites from which to get that stuff.

Then there are those sites, and particularly blogs, where you go for more than just “information.” There’s emotion and insight and opinions and contrast on a blog that is managed by someone with passion. Passion that shines right through in their content and their online “voice”.

When you blog from a place of passion, you will find that your blogging “tasks”, mainly filling your blog with content, will be a much more enjoyable and effective process and your readers will be more responsive and loyal as they begin to connect with you.

3. Commitment. Are you prepared to make the commitments required to create and manage a successful blog?

It’s certainly one thing to put all the functional elements in place, but what happens next is where most bloggers are blind-sided by the realities of blogging.

There’s content. Lots and lots of content. Whether you write it yourself, hire outsourcers, or use Private Label Rights (PLR) material, it requires an on-going commitment to provide your readers with fresh, updated material that keeps them coming back for more.

Then there’s building and maintaining a relationship with your readers. Staying in touch and on top of the dynamic aspects and elements of your niche. Keeping their interest and building your credibility and their trust.

And of course, there is marketing. You can’t just simply create a blog and expect it to be flooded with visitors without putting some effort behind it.

So knowing and being prepared for the many different commitments necessary to successful blogging is critical to your long-term success.

4. Content. Where will you get your content from? Will you write it all, or will it be a combination of sources?

As mentioned previously, content is a driving factor behind all successful blogs. Fresh, informative, passionate, updated content is what drives new readers and keeps existing readers coming back.

Having a clear and realistic understanding of where your content will come from, and how you will present it, and how often you will provide it to your readers are all very important elements to consider before you begin blogging.

5. Systemizing and Scheduling. What days will you post? What days will you market? What days will you perform maintance tasks?

One of the most ineffective ways to manage a blog is “on-the-fly”.

If you were to have an “inside look” at any successful bloggers daily blogging routines, you would quickly discover that there is a very organized system in place that revolves around a very specific schedule of when they do what.

Recognizing and respecting the time factors that go along with posting, marketing, and building prospect relationships, is maybe one of the most important factors to getting your blog from point A to point Z, in a timely and profitable manner.

There are many blogging tasks that are most effectively executed in a timely manner. There’s a certain order to tasks and a specific timeframe to their implementation. Knowing what these tasks are, and how to systemize and schedule them effectively, will make all the difference in your blogging results.

6. Marketing. How will you market to your audience. Where will you market? Do you know the blog marketing landscape and understand how to use it to your benefit?

The main thing about blog marketing is to first and foremost have a clear understanding of who you are and what you have to offer.

A successful blogger strives to become an “authority” in their niche. They gear their marketing towards building credibility and trust with their target audience. Your blog should be perceived, through your marketing efforts, as the “go-to” place for your market, and they should quickly and easily be able to determine that you are their preferred source.

Understanding the marketing landscape of today, for blogging, is imperative, if you want your marketing efforts to be productive, and profitable. Today’s online marketing landscape is quite different from years gone by, and requires you to be creative, intuitive, and most of all….diversified.

The worst thing any blogger can do, that is serious about long-term success, is to put all of their marketing efforts, attention or money, into one single marketing campaign. Or to focus on one sole marketing channel to support their long-term growth.

Your marketing should be modular in nature in that it builds upon itself so that you create a solid and long-term foundation from which to draw upon, and build upon, far into the future.

7. Blogging tools. What do you really need to blog? How can you maximize the tools you’re using?

Compared to other businesses, blogging is one that actually requires very little in terms of initial investments, especially when you consider one of the largest and most effective tools a blogger needs is available to them for free.

WordPress is the most effective blogging platform available today. It’s the most popular for many reasons. It is very functional and customizable. It has built-in optimization elements and features that dramatically reduce the need for you to be an optimization expert. It’s intuitive and user-friendly, and best of all, yes, it is available to everyone to download for free.

Beyond WordPress, there are a few other tools that every blogger will want to have in their “toolbox” including a good username/password/profile management program. A strong and reliable blog tracking program. And a spreadsheet program to manage your blogging system and schedule.

There are additional tools that many bloggers are drawn to, that are not highly effective, and will prove to waste your time and money. For example, mass submission programs or services. Do not let yourself fall into the traps of those offering to submit your blog to hundreds, or thousands of places, for what seems to be a reasonable amount of money. They simply don’t work and there are much more effective and productive ways in which to market your blog and spend your money.

8. Collaborating. Who is your competition? How can they help you, and you help them?

In today’s online world it’s quickly becoming less of a dog-eat-dog and more of a banning together among bloggers of the same and similar industries.

There are more and more “syndicates” being formed where online merchants in the same niche are pulling their resources, ideas and audiences together, in very beneficial ways. By joining together they can leverage each others strengths, and help others strengthen their weaknesses, and still benefit.

The target markets benefit because now they have even more information, products, and services, provided to them in one central way, sometimes in one central location. This can be a very easy and quick way for a new blogger to build their blogging business in a relatively short amount of time, and leverage off of others in a mutually satisfying way.

9. Costs. What will it cost to create and manage a blog?

Of course, common sense tells us that it will cost far less to create a blogging business than it would a brick and mortar one.

However, there are still costs involved and those include, domain registration, hosting, possibly some freelance help with writing, or a monthly fee to maintain a Private Label membership for copy, and then there may be some software costs and finally marketing.

One of the main advantages of a blogging business is that you can decide whether you have more time to invest, or more money. If you are short on cash, then you may want to consider performing those tasks that you can do yourself, for the time being. If you have less time and more cash available, then you can pay for more of what needs to be done.

Either way, you have the freedom to choose what works best for you, and a blog can be setup and managed on a very small budget, if necessary. Take the time to consider these 9 essential blogging elements, and you will discover an effective and profitable road to your blogging future and success.

To learn more about each of these “9 Things You Really Need to Know About Blogging”, meet Anne and Katie by visiting http://www.videotimesavers.com today to download a free, 70-minute audio report, where they candidly discuss what it takes to be a successful blogger and then put, you and your blog, on the solid-track to success!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Katie_Dubois
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Are some themes a lot better than others? Yes, absolutely. The designers of the best themes understand how the human brain processes visual material AND how search engine spiders view information. They are also easier to customize and less likely to have problems when you install any of the famous free ‘plugins’ that can be used to optimize a blog.

Before I list 7 ways to find great themes, here are 3 things to keep in mind:

1. As you search, think about the purpose of your blog. Will it simply be a way for you to share thoughts and ideas? Photos? Meet people who have something in common with you? Promote or sell products and services? By using ‘keywords’ that describe your needs when you do your searches, you can zero in on your best options. For example, if you want to sell or promote things, search engine optimization (SEO) is critical, so the keyword ‘SEO’ is a good keyword to search with.

2. If you like the look of a theme overall but don’t like the header (the graphic at the top that often includes the name of the blog), you can usually replace it with an image of your choice. Sometimes the designer will offer directions, but if not, you can write to them or do a search for ‘edit header graphic’ + the name of the theme.

3. Theme designers often provide instructions for how to change certain elements of the theme. If not, you can do a search for your theme’s name + edit to see if other bloggers have suggestions. If you aren’t a programmer, sometimes the directions can be confusing, but usually you’ll find someone who can talk newbies through the process clearly.

7 Ways to Find Great Themes

1. Visit WordPress.org and check out the Theme Directory. You’ll find many free options that have been reviewed by other users. The themes will likely still need to be edited, but sometimes the designer will offer how-to information on their site.

2. Type something like ‘best WordPress Themes’ plus other keywords that describe what you’re looking for – SEO, two-column, photos, etc – into your favorite search engine. The best sites will offer unbiased reviews of free and purchasable options.

3. If you like the look of Kubrick, the default theme that comes with WordPress, you can customize it by adding your own header graphic and editing other elements. How? In your favorite search engine type ‘kubrick theme + edit’ to find tutorials. I did this with one of my blogs for a while. However, I found it to be a lot of work to get what I wanted. It turns out that Kubrick is notorious for it’s limitations, but don’t let that stop you if you really like it.

4. If you’re a programmer, build what you like from scratch. Simply search online for tutorials.

5. Hire a web designer. A good designer will do their best to give you the look you want, teach you how to customize, and perhaps offer updates at a lower rate. But this can be a very expensive option, one that the average blogger can’t afford. It’s also important to remember that hiring a designer won’t completely save you from learning the technical side of blogging, unless you hire someone to write your posts, too.

6. If you find a blog that you like the look of, scroll to the bottom of the home page to see if there is information about the theme or the design company the blog owner may have hired. If you can’t find that information, write to the blog owner to ask.

7. Invest in good theme software, which is sometimes referred to as a ‘premium theme.’ There are respected, flexible, reasonably priced programs that will simplify the theme creation and editing process tremendously. When you change your blog using theme software, you’re less likely to mess up critical blog settings because your new theme will have a similar underlying structure. Often you get free lifetime updates, so whenever WordPress is updated, you won’t encounter conflicts. You’ll also have technical support if anything goes wrong. This is an advantage over many of the free options because designers who offer free themes aren’t always easy to reach, and the themes they create are less likely to be as flexible and customizable as what good software can provide.

For links to some of the Best WordPress Themes and blogging software, visit Lillea Woodlyn’s blog at http://www.speedonlinewealth.com/blog/better-business-blogs-best-wordpress-theme

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lillea_Woodlyns
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What does this mean for the small business owner? It means that a web presence is absolutely vital in growing your business. Word-of-mouth and referrals are the best way to spread news about your company, but even your existing customers may want to find out more about your hours or fees or services. And who’s going to turn down the business from a customer who chooses your business because of information found on the web?

“But I can’t afford a web designer,” you might say. It really doesn’t need to be as complicated as all that. Sure, companies like Target or Disney or Coke can have videos and close-up pictures and even games. If you’re not running one of those companies, you just want a web presence that will help people find you and the information they need about you. Even a casual computer user can get going with website-building software. Many types, such as SiteSpinner and Ewisoft, are free downloads. You will have to spend a bit of time perusing them to find the one that includes the features you want and directions you can easily follow.

You can build your web presence even further through the use of a weblog (commonly known as a “blog”). Informative articles and up-to-date information about your business can help potential customers find you and make the decision to use your services over that of a competitor. Again, you don’t need to be intimidated by the Internet. There is plenty of help for the creation and maintenance of a blog, most notably the free download WordPress. This flexible application can assist you in customizing and optimizing the content you provide.

If you consider yourself more of a business person than a creative type, you may be stumped for ideas. Again, don’t let the notion of a web presence intimidate you! Begin by deciding what information customers will most need (e.g., general introduction, directions, calendars). Find sites you admire and decide what about them catches your attention. Get started on blogging ideas by checking out a WordPress gallery to see how others have incorporated written updates.

On of the biggest advantages of the Internet is its flexibility. You can begin with baby steps, whatever minimal work makes you comfortable, and eventually lead up to a complete, customer-generating, web presence.

Elle Wood likes to share her love of WordPress with businesses big and small. For more information regarding WordPress, please visit http://www.welovewp.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elle_Wood
http://EzineArticles.com/?Why-We-Love-WordPress-For-Blogging-and-Website-Building&id=2542953

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The question “How to make money blogging” sits high on every blogger’s mind. In fact I received many questions on “How to make money blogging” when I conducted my first webcast to answer my subscribers’ most pressing questions on Blogs and Rss.

You can make money Blogging in a number of ways, and in this article I share with you up to nine strategies in which you can make money blogging.

1. Make Money Blogging by Selling Advertising Space

Before the advent of Blogs, we have e-zines and selling advertising space on ezines was a popular way to earn extra money. If you run your own Blog, you can let others advertise in your Blogs with banner ads, solo ads, sponsor ads, classifieds and so on.

Now that we have Blogs, you can repeat the same business model that e-zine publishers do, that of selling advertising space.

One popular advertising company that helps Bloggers look for advertisers is Blogads (www.Blogads.com).

Besides placing advertisers ads on your Blog, you can also make money Blogging by placing Google Adsense into your Blog.

In my “Marketing Rampage with Blogs and RSS” Videos, I show you how you can customize your Blog template to include the Google Adsense into your Blog template so that you can make money blogging.

2. Make Money Blogging by providing technical services such as Blog hosting or setting up Blog

You can also earn money blogging by providing technical services such as helping people to set up their Blogs or providing your own Blog hosting service.

One example of this is www.typepad.com . This is a Blog hosting service provider that charges a monthly fee. Typepad lets you create your Blog and they will host your Blog for you, and provide you with a number of Blog features.

3. Make Money Blogging by setttin up joint venture marketing

Joint Venture marketing is a powerful marketing strategy employed by many top online marketers.

Basically how joint venture works is this: You promote person B’s products to your subscriber and customer list, and you get a cut from whatever sale that follows from this promotion.

You can apply the principle of joint venture marketing to Blogs as well. If you have a substantial readership to your Blog, you can also promote or endorse certain products to your Blog readers and this way, and split the profits from the sales generated. This is another way to make money blogging.

4. Make Money Blogging from using the Membership model

Over time, if your blog has lots of postings and provide good quality content, you can consider turning it into a membership site and charge access for it, again giving you another avenu

5. Make Money Blogging by turning your products into

Another way in which you can make money blogging is to repackage your Blog contents into an e-book or an audio product and sell it. For example, if you run your own Podcasting show or an ‘online radio show’, you can easily compile your podcast recordings into a CD compiliation and sell it.

6. Earn Money Blogging by Swapping blogs

You’ve heard of ad swapping when it comes to e-zine publishing, where publishers publish each other’s ads in their own e-zines. This way, you save on adveritising costs.

You can repeat the same model to Blogs, as swap ads on Blogs as well. So instead of paying up front, you get to save, which means more money for you to spend!

7. Earn Money Blogging by turning your Blog content into RSS feeds and sell it as premium feeds

Your blog contents can be turned into an RSS feed. If the content is good, you can look for web businesses that are looking for good content for related topics and sell their feed to them.

8. Make Money Blogging by well, asking!

Hey, who’s stopping you from putting a PayPal donation jar or button on your Blog? After all, there are lots of generous people out there you know.

9. Make Money Blogging as an Affiliate Marketer

Another way you can make money blogging is by promoting other people’s products on your Blog. This is also known as affiliate marketing.

In affiliate marketing, you get paid a commission when someone clicks on your affiliate link and makes a purchase. Depending on the subject of your Blog, you can recommend products that solve people’s problems.

For example, I had a subscriber who asked me how she can blog about cats and make money from blogging about cats.

I shared with her that firstly, perhaps she might want to go niche instead of targeting the broad category of “cats”, and using the example of a Persian cat, which is a niche by itself, she can start a blog on Persian cats, providing valuable information as well as recommended solutions and products to the upkeep and maintenance of Persian cats.

http://www.blog-and-rss-revealed.com/category/make-money-blogging/

Brandon is the author of “Marketing Rampage with Blogs and RSS” Videos and Audio ebook “Blogs and RSS Revealed” that teaches online businesses strategies to getting more free targeted leads, subscribers and traffic, turning them into highly responsive visitors and sales without additional advertising costs, as well as increasing search engine rankings and obtaining quick listings in Google, Yahoo and MSN, by using Blogs and RSS.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hong_Brandon
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The role of an internet marketing specialist is to drive traffic to a website and to assist with the improvement of conversion rates – converting website visitors to buyers. Some individuals are good at driving traffic and others are good at creating web copy that closes sales. In order to be a full-service internet marketing specialist, you really have to have the skill to do both because enormous amounts of traffic doesn’t matter a bit if that traffic does not result in revenue.

Even so, different people have different talents and one person’s gifts may complement another’s. So, if you have strong skills in one area and not the other, you may need to work with an internet marketing specialist whose strengths compensate for your weaknesses and vice versa. Sometimes an internet marketing team achieves much more than any internet marketing specialist could do alone.

Specific tasks that an internet marketing specialist or team of internet marketers engage in to accomplish the two main purposes of internet marketing – driving traffic and closing sales – include:

1. Brainstorming

2. Market research

3. Identification of target markets and niche markets

4. Competitor analysis

5. Development of products and services

6. Creation of a unique selling proposition

7. Keyword research

8. Identification, analysis and selection of marketing

channels

9. Budgeting

10. Strategic planning and setting of milestones

11. Creation of marketing materials including sales copy

12. Website development

13. Administration of the internet marketing plan

14. Analysis of the effectiveness of the marketing program

15. Continual strengthening and improvement of the marketing

plan and marketing program

Effectively addressing all of these tasks that are necessary for productive internet marketing really requires quite a vast skill set. Everybody has strengths and weaknesses in various areas of internet marketing. It is ideal if you have an internet marketing team made up of individuals that are internet marketing specialists in all of these areas; however, reality is not always ideal. Because it is rare for any one individual to be strong in each of these areas most people need professional assistance from an internet marketing specialist with one or more of the internet marketing tasks.

If you work with an internet marketing specialist or a team of internet marketers, it is vital that everyone on the team communicates clearly and effectively. With clear communication the results from specific internet marketing tasks can be integrated to create a strong, effective internet marketing program that produces significant results in regard to driving traffic and generating revenues.

In order to determine whether or not you are capable of being your own internet marketing expert rather than contracting your internet marketing tasks to an internet marketing specialist or an internet marketing firm, do an honest analysis of your skills as they relate to the fifteen internet marketing tasks mentioned previously. In reviewing them, you are sure to find some that you feel confident about and some that cause uncertainty. If you are not comfortable with your own internet marketing knowledge and skills, you may choose to hire an internet marketing specialist to complete the tasks you are uneasy about, or you may choose to pursue training or education to enhance your knowledge of internet marketing and strengthen your own skills.

With desire, drive, time and perseverance, just about anyone can become an internet marketing specialist. To be an effective internet marketing specialist you must be willing to learn from others as well as learning from your own mistakes. As you gain experience in internet marketing, you will naturally develop expertise and as time marches on you will undoubtedly feel more comfortable with tasks that seem complex at first and you will definitely gain self-confidence as you experience the positive effects of your internet marketing efforts.

Copyright Christopher J. Enders. Are you at the end of your rope, fed up and confused by all the scrambled internet marketing advice you’re getting? Whether you are new to internet marketing, or a website owner who wants to make more money from your website, learn the proven strategies that will sky-rocket your internet business at http://BiznessTips.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_J_Enders
http://EzineArticles.com/?Can-You-Be-Your-Own-Internet-Marketing-Specialist?&id=120401

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Blogging is easy, blogging is fun. And what’s more…it can help your business in a lot of ways. A blog is a frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and web links in the cyberspace. You could call it an e-diary where you can register your thoughts, opinion and comments on anything and everything under the sun that interests you. Though people had been ‘at it’ long before the term blog was coined; it has gained currency as an effective medium of communicating over the Internet only recently. The introduction of automated published software like “Blogger” at www.blogger.com has been instrumental in blogging success. A blog or a weblog’ is conceptually similar to a website and is accessible to anyone on the Internet.

There are millions of bloggers in the world today blogging away to glory. But blogging can be more than just chatter in the cyberspace. It can be a great tool for boosting your online business’s profitability once you’ve understood how it works and what are its limitations. Take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weblog#Corporate for some more information.

How to become a Blogger?

The key to learning how to become a blogger is to start blogging! Easier said than done? Not really. There are several websites that can give you information on how to be a blogger. Blogger.com is one of them. You have three options here to choose from:

- Have a hosted service like Blogger allows you to set up an account and fire away in a matter of minutes.

- A remotely installed blog like movabletype allows you to install on a server for a small fee.

- Desktop blog programs like Radio Userland are installed on your desktop and then uploaded to a host. These are usually desktop programmes that include hosting and upgradation for a certain period of time and charge you a small fee.

You can get more information on blogging resources from http://www.blogroots.com/resources.blog.

Also see: http://www.blogger.com/start

Once you have decided what option you want for setting up your weblog/ blog you are ready to start blogging. It is that easy. It could take a while before anyone will notice your little blog in the corner and take you seriously. But you can cut down this time with some great ideas at: http://help.blogger.com/

offers some great ideas on increasing your blog’s readership. There is a Chinese saying, “ It’s a wise man who learns from others’ mistakes”. Read others blogs to see what works and what doesn’t, what are their writing styles etc. It’s a great way to teach yourself and fun too…. you are learning on some one else’s expense.

Guidelines for the greenhorn blogger

Here are some simple guidelines for a newbie blogger. Take a chance with these to increase your chances of success.

1. Get Blogging: Like I said earlier, the best way to learn blogging is to start blogging.
2. Recognize your motivation: Why are you blogging? What do you hope to achieve?
3. Link to other blogs: the best way to popularise your blog is to link to other blogs. So link you must!
4. Develop a unique style of writing: Developing a writing style is an evolutionary process. Try different approaches and formats until you find one that fits your message, audience, and personal motivations.
5. Express your personality… let your humour, your perspective on life, and your values shine in your writing.
6. Be regular with your posting: readers will quickly wander away from blogs that are not updated regularly. So this is very important.

More blogging resources are available at: (www.lights.com/weblogs)

How to profit from Blogging?

Now that you have understood what a blog is and how to get blogging, its time to make it pay. Blogging is a great way to enhance your online company’s bottomline. It is a popular and an easy medium and has potential of reaching millions.

Here are some tips for you to turn blogging into a serious profitable strategy.

1. Customer Interaction: A blog is a good means to keep in touch with your customers regularly. You can keep them updated on new events, happening in your company, new products and services and other developments. the best part is that you can do it more cost effectively and in much less time than other methods like newsletters, customer updates and customer meetings. The elements of interactivity, community and collaboration are key here. Your blog can also serve as a platform for advertising, promotion and even internal communications. One well-known business example is software company Macromedia’s use of blogging to keep customers updated on what’s happening with its products.

2. Query management: With a blog you can receive and answer to customer queries more quickly than an email. For potential customers it is very important to have a sharp turnaround and you can do that easily with a blog.

3. Link to other sites: Linking your blog to other similar, but not competing, sites is a great way to get some free publicity and traffic for your online business. It is also one big reason why Search Engines will grab your site in their result pages. Ask any online entrepreneur what getting quality traffic to a website means and you’ll know what I am talking about.

4. Get Feedback: Getting feedback from your customers on your products and services, on your company practices and other things is one of the most valuable resources you can build. With a blog, it is not just easier but also time saving for customers to leave feedback for you without filling complicated and mile long forms.

5. Get Google to work for you: Selling ad space is one of the most popular revenue streams for online businesses. With Google’s free AdSense service it just got easier www.google.com/adsense. AdSense allows bloggers to display up to three content-specific “ad units” (boxes that can hold up to four ads each) per page. Each time a visitor clicks these ads, you get paid. Need more convincing?

6. Become an affiliate: Your blog can become a cash cow by using the simple idea of becoming an affiliate for other websites. An affiliate basically carries a link to the other site and each time some one clicks on that link, you get a small commission for it.

7. Donations: If you are running a blog that people love to read and keep coming back in hordes, why not ask them for some monetary appreciation?

Put on your thinking cap and let your imagination run unbridled. You will surprise yourself with the number of ideas that will make your blog less of a personal e-diary and more of a digital cash cow. Blogging is a relatively new marketing arena for webpreneurs, but has immense possibility and potential. Be sure to get on to the bandwagon early in the game and reap your benefits later.

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Wanna Learn the Secret of Creating Passive Income Online
From a man who made $3,244,842.32 from the Internet in Only 27
months? => http://www.the1andonly.biz

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In his presentation he shows you exactly what Google is looking for when ranking web sites and why WordPress is one of the best Search Engine Optimization (SEO) web development tools.

You can view his presentation slide show on his blog – View Presentation

For those of you who are wondering who is Matt Cutts, what is WordCamp and why should I care, here’s a little background …

Who is Matt Cutts?

What is WordCamp?

Why should you care?

WordPress is rapidly emerging as the most efficient and cost effective way to build a quality web presence that Google, and other search engines, absolutely love! If you do business online then WordPress needs to be in your arsenal for better search engine rankings, content management and community building.

True Story:

Last month I started building a WordPress blog for a friend of mine who has a photography business. He’s been in business for about 5 years but is wanting to specialize in a certain photography niche. When he asked me what I thought would be the best way to market his business online I said, without hesitation, “WordPress”!

We started building his blog 4 weeks ago. Unfortunately, he had some personal issues come up and we had to put the project on hold for a few weeks. So, for 3 weeks his blog has just been sitting there with a few pages of content and about 4 blog posts. Today, we were able to finish up the blog design and add the rest of his initial content.

Just for grins we decided to test some of our target keyword phrases in Google to see how/if his new WordPress blog ranked. To our surprise he is already #3 in Google for one of his major search phrases. (A phrase that has very heavy Pay-Per-Click competition) And he has 2nd and 3rd page rankings for two others.

If it’s doing this well already just imagine what’s going to happen after he blogs for a few months.

His story is not unique. I have developed dozens of blogs and web sites using WordPress and all of them have similar results.

Want to start a WordPress blog for your business?

We can help! Checkout our WordPress Business Blog Package.

Enjoy, Barry O.

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A few of my favorites include:

• The ability to browse and install themes from within your WordPress admin. No more FTP. (Yipee!!)
• User friendly Widget layout. Finally you can see all sidebars and all widgets at the same time. Plus, you have unlimited number of instances per each widget. Meaning? You can install the same widget into two different sidebars.
• With more advanced Screen Options you have greater control of your WP Admin workspace.

Check it out for yourself. Here’s a video that covers some of most significant changes in this new version of WordPress.