The Blog Plan

23 Free Blog Directory Listings

noreply@blogger.com (Torkona) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 11:57:00 +0000

Getting your site listed on blog directories is a great way to increase your Google ranking. Check out as many of these blog listings as you can to add your blog to today.

Review'd
directory.campusti.org
Blog-directory.org
Technorati.com
Bloglisting.net
Blogged.com
Linkdirectory.biz
Norlinks.com
Freelinksdirectory.net
Addsitelink.com
Webzdirectory.com
Suggest-url.net
ReadaBlog.com
Blloggs.com
Sarthak.net
TopBlogArea.com
Blogpulse.com/submit.html
Blogrollcenter.com
Bloggapedia.com
BlogCatalog.com
Globeofblogs.com
Plazoo.com
Blogville.us

Add CommentLuv to Blogger with Recent Post Links

noreply@blogger.com (Torkona) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 10:58:00 +0000

The Blog Plan – Latest Update

Add CommentLuv to Blogger with Recent Post Links

Blogger has a terrible commenting system. Whenever I am on a blog that uses the default commenting system that comes with Blogger, I tend to turn the other way and don't comment as much as I should. Terrible, I know, but time is a fragile thing for a blogger like me.

So I want the best commenting widget that any blogger could want or ask for. CommentLuv from IntenseDebate. It has been added at the bottom of each post as a widget once you click the "Comments" link. How you can add this to your own blog can be found here.

Why is it important

Comments are a great way to keep in touch with your readers and for them to get in touch with you. CommentLuv is the one you want. Whenever someone makes a comment and link to their own post, they are increasing their own Google Ranking!

Yep, the CommentLuv widget is never set as rel="nofollow". A lot of commenting systems (including the default Blogger one) won't give you credit for commenting. I like to reward anyone that takes the time to leave me a comment with a bit more exposure and Google backlinks in return. It also helps to promote people subscribing to my blog and returning with a comment, which is fantastic in my books.

Tips to remember

Using CommentLuv to allow others to link to their own posts in return for commenting slightly decreases your own link juice. Totally worth it, but if you are a shrewd for sharing, it's something you should know.
Setting up an IntenseDebate account is required. It would be good to create your own avatar to display when commenting on your blog yourself. Check out the IntenseDebate site for any help.

Do you use CommentLuv? Would you consider returning to The Blog Plan often and commenting to increase your Google Ranking?

Tork @ The Blog Plan

Writing to NOT Make Money

noreply@blogger.com (Torkona) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 11:31:00 +0000

Own a blog? You want to try and make some money by blogging, don't you? At least, you want to get plenty of traffic for your site. Thats why you're here! That's why you are reading my blog, otherwise you've clicked your way here to find out why I would say something strange about writing to not make any money. Writing for no reason.

Well, there is a reason.

Why Do You Blog?

Let's first figure out why you are a blogger. Are you doing it because you want to make some fast cash? And are you then writing what you think people will want to know?

If you fall under both these two categories, then forget it. You're not going to last.

Writing to make some fast cash only works.. well, it just never works. It takes a whole lot of time to build a following and rankings on the search engines.

Writing about what you think people will want to know only is useful when you love what you are writing about.

This is my point of the day, doing and writing about what you love.

What you LOVE people. Write about what you LOVE!

Then you're headed in the right direction.

- tork

ps. Thanks for the tweets at Torkona3. I've been real sick lately but on the road to recovery! Stupid flu.

Featured Sites for Blogger Gadget Hack

noreply@blogger.com (Torkona) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 12:52:00 +0000

The Blog Plan – Latest Update

Featured Sites for Blogger Gadget Hack

I've always been jealous of WordPress users and it's really cool plugins. Just like this Featured Posts plugin.

Damn you WordPress!! *shakes fist*

The Blog Plan is hosted by Google's Blogger platform. It's a blogspot site, so it doesn't have these nifty plugins that Wordpress does. Or does it?

A hack is a cool word for changing your blogspot with code that ordinarily blogger wouldn't offer. I've always wanted to have a featured post widget/gadget displayed on the homepage of my blog. So I hacked my blog, and so can you! Here's how to do it.

Adding Featured Posts on Blogger

After weeks of tormenting myself on test sites and forums, trying to figure out how this code works, I finally have it up and running. Here is a still image of what it looks like:

So it will be links to four of your favorite posts that you want people to see. Let's just jump straight into how to get it working for all you blogspot bloggers out there. Here is how I did it.

1. Go to Design ... Edit HTML.

2. Click Download Full Template incase you make any mistakes so you can revert back to your original settings (I can't highlight this step enough).

3. Check the Expand Widget Templates check box.

4. Find the code </head> and directly above it, insert the following:

<script src='http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.3.2/jquery.min.js' type='text/javascript'/>
<script src='http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jqueryui/1.5.3/jquery-ui.min.js' type='text/javascript'/>
<script type='text/javascript'>
$(document).ready(function(){
$("#featured > ul").tabs({fx:{opacity: "toggle"}}).tabs("rotate", 5000, true);
});
</script>

5. Next, find the code ]]></b:skin> and directly above it, insert the following:

#featured{
width:336px;
padding-right:250px;
position:relative;
height:250px;
background:#fff;
border:5px solid #ccc;
}
#featured ul.ui-tabs-nav{
position:absolute;
top:0; left:336px;
list-style:none;
padding:0; margin:0;
width:250px;
}
#featured ul.ui-tabs-nav li{
padding:1px 0; padding-left:13px;
font-size:12px;
color:#666;
}
#featured ul.ui-tabs-nav li span{
font-size:11px; font-family:Verdana;
line-height:18px;
}
#featured .ui-tabs-panel{
width:336px; height:250px;
background:#999; position:relative;
overflow:hidden;
}
#featured .ui-tabs-hide{
display:none;
}
#featured li.ui-tabs-nav-item a{/*On Hover Style*/
display:block;
height:60px;
color:#333; background:#fff;
line-height:20px;
outline:none;
}
#featured li.ui-tabs-nav-item a:hover{
background:#f2f2f2;
}
#featured li.ui-tabs-selected{ /*Selected tab style*/
background:url('https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDigJdf2EBwn3pjZT7tV1oSup4hoFFbjZmTRzvIKajzE_1CuXNnu9k4SRifrMIcdmMyPPT0bBpPb5KgtJUoSCZKtJjWcfezD-4r1otu2IRfur3JvdTdftYZWDmjT0Y_Nj718ycl26cMR8/s1600/selected-item.gif') top left no-repeat;
}
#featured ul.ui-tabs-nav li.ui-tabs-selected a{
background:#ccc;
}
#featured ul.ui-tabs-nav li img{
float:left; margin:2px 5px;
background:#fff;
padding:2px;
border:1px solid #eee;
}
#featured .ui-tabs-panel .info{
position:absolute;
top:180px; left:0;
height:70px; width: 400px;
background: url('https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiogMvt4t6vNMG8NQOfGl_RKj6yos7QPSpz7q8LXlf7vh1jSrE0l4nqgW1YimBjaDTebLrVLJVwn1rrdhcNgv3i9-E4Vy8GbLqjbsgea9awOvf9uIhR_CVrf_yU-X4dpE2bkCBvEiaHbtM/s1600/transparent-bg.png');
}
#featured .info h2{
font-size:18px; font-family:Georgia, serif;
color:#fff; padding:5px; margin:0;
overflow:hidden;
}
#featured .info p{
margin:0 5px;
font-family:Verdana; font-size:11px;
line-height:15px; color:#f0f0f0;
}
#featured .info a{
text-decoration:none;
color:#fff;
}
#featured .info a:hover{
text-decoration:underline;
}
.ui-tabs-nav-item img {
width:45px;
height:45px;
}

6. Click Save.

7. Return to your blog's Design and create a new gadget.

8. Click Add a Gadget ... HTML/JavaScript.

9. Copy and paste the following code into the Gadget:

<div id="featured">

<ul class="ui-tabs-nav">
<li class="ui-tabs-nav-item ui-tabs-selected">
<a href="#fragment-1">
<img alt="" src="http://www.muyinternet.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/amazon-logo.jpg" />
<span>15 Best Sellers for Blogging on Amazon</span></a></li>

<li class="ui-tabs-nav-item">
<a href="#fragment-2">
<img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLDQNP9JEXSogkKJ0DQG90ZX-JocvCDYI5dHsQGIRQUHD0yZnRWbbcbKElHA73g3DtwP8lJ-dycMXUIvCkfbKh-4e33hEizMtYvx72uA95kfqnrkWCV82OKYEE5-iYPkYvWLg5BgijUsc/s320/optin.jpg" />
<span>Email Subscribe Positioning</span></a></li>

<li class="ui-tabs-nav-item">
<a href="#fragment-3"><img alt="" src="http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae167/Glowless/WMGButton20.jpg" /><span>Interview: Glowless</span></a></li>

<li id="nav-fragment-4" class="ui-tabs-nav-item">
<a href="#fragment-4">
<img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcc-5eWMYNHJWGKhBrKmFObOTiTQzd0_sbRKYPW4e5i_IUUq9WLXsSZcL9Vniqezbs-ECsepmZUGRfAS2QWwEIojUodlseFEAsQ5vFSeA-w8GbPzoPKAp5-VTbQj0eMpZhxMSYZIsSkwo/s320/keyboard.jpg" />
<span>Secret to Blog URL</span></a></li>
</ul>


<div id="fragment-1" style="" class="ui-tabs-panel">
<img alt="" src="http://www.muyinternet.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/amazon-logo.jpg" />

<div class="info">
<h2><a href="http://theblogplan.blogspot.com/2011/10/15-best-sellers-for-blogging-on-amazon.html">15 Best Sellers for Blogging on Amazon</a></h2>
<p>List of Top 15 Amazon Best Sellers for 2011... <a href="http://theblogplan.blogspot.com/2011/10/15-best-sellers-for-blogging-on-amazon.html">Read more</a></p>
</div>
</div>


<div id="fragment-2" style="" class="ui-tabs-panel">
<img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLDQNP9JEXSogkKJ0DQG90ZX-JocvCDYI5dHsQGIRQUHD0yZnRWbbcbKElHA73g3DtwP8lJ-dycMXUIvCkfbKh-4e33hEizMtYvx72uA95kfqnrkWCV82OKYEE5-iYPkYvWLg5BgijUsc/s320/optin.jpg" />

<div class="info">
<h2><a href="http://theblogplan.blogspot.com/2011/09/add-email-subscribe-below-each-post.html">Email Subscribe Positioning</a></h2>
<p>A big player in the blogging world, Daniel from Daily Blog Tips does it. He wrote about... <a href="http://theblogplan.blogspot.com/2011/09/add-email-subscribe-below-each-post.html">Read more</a></p>
</div>
</div>


<div id="fragment-3" style="" class="ui-tabs-panel">
<img alt="" src="http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae167/Glowless/WMGButton20.jpg" />

<div class="info">
<h2><a href="http://theblogplan.blogspot.com/2011/08/interview-glowless-on-weekly-link.html">Interview: Glowless</a></h2>
<p>Something has always intrigued me over at Where's My Glow?. Recently I asked the owner Glowless about it... <a href="http://theblogplan.blogspot.com/2011/08/interview-glowless-on-weekly-link.html">Read more</a></p>
</div>
</div>


<div id="fragment-4" style="" class="ui-tabs-panel ui-tabs-hide">
<img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcc-5eWMYNHJWGKhBrKmFObOTiTQzd0_sbRKYPW4e5i_IUUq9WLXsSZcL9Vniqezbs-ECsepmZUGRfAS2QWwEIojUodlseFEAsQ5vFSeA-w8GbPzoPKAp5-VTbQj0eMpZhxMSYZIsSkwo/s320/keyboard.jpg" />

<div class="info">
<h2><a href="http://theblogplan.blogspot.com/2011/08/secret-to-picking-blog-url.html">Secret to Picking a Blog URL</a></h2>
<p>Your blog URL is your brand. It's what sticks you out from the crowd... <a href="http://theblogplan.blogspot.com/2011/08/secret-to-picking-blog-url.html">Read more</a></p>
</div></div></div>

10. Change all the blue links to your own pictures related to your posts. Change all the red links to the URLs of your posts.

11. Hit Save.

Hopefully you can get this up and running so that your blog and its readers can enjoy your favorite posts as well.

Additionally, if you don't want to have this featured displayed at the top of every post, you can do the following just like I did

1. Go to Design ... Edit HTML.

2. Check the Expand Widget Templates check box.

3. Find (Ctrl + F) the widget you created, called something like HTML6 (if you can't find it, temporarily change your widget's name to something, then search for this name and change back once you are finished).

4. Add the following just after the b:includable code

If you want to show the widget only on the blog post pages:

<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == "item"'>

If you want to show the widget only on the index page or homepage:

<b:if cond='data:blog.url == data:blog.homepageUrl'>

5. Now add </b:if> before the </includable> code.

Thanks to Suhas Tech and especially Hack Tutors for your work in helping me with these codes.

Why is it important

Having a featured posts shows the user arriving to your site of a post that you love, one that's very popular, or perhaps a link bait post. Why that's important is because you are showing users a post they may not have seen previously. You are also giving your site a professional look and feel to it, with sharp coding that hits the person right in the face as soon as they stumble in.

It's also great to improve your bounce rate. Aiming to improve your bounce rate where people don't leave your site after one pageview is definitely what you want. In upcoming posts, I will share with you how (hopefully) my bounce rate has improved after this addition.

Tips to remember

CSS coding has its flaws. Sometimes it wont work on certain browser version types. Something to watch out for.
whenever a site says "back up your HTML", do it. You wont believe me until you stuff something up. I have in the past without being able to fix a thing. I'd hate for you to do the same.
Don't name the HTML gadget otherwise it will affect the look of the hack (unless you like it)
Don't remove the "#fragment" links with your own links, as it will make the gadget bug-out. (this took me ages to figure out myself)
I recommend placing the widget above your posts.
You can change the widths and colors of the tool to your heart's content.

What do you think? Any Questions?

Tork @ The Blog Plan

The Blog Plan New Logo - Decisions

noreply@blogger.com (Torkona) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 11:47:00 +0000

Hey there. Recently, this went down on Twitter:

Sweet! I won me a competition to improve upon my logo here at The Blog Plan.

Although I am very proud of my current logo, it is rather shabby and needs improvement. Getting a pro to do it though is just what I need. Having Little Hero Hosting to help me out has been fantastic.

But now I need your help too. I have narrowed it down to four choices for a logo. This one is my favorite:

But don't let me sway you! I still haven't decided 100% anyway! That's where I need your help. Please see them all at The Blog Plan Fan Page and hit Like on which picture you like the best.

Hopefully you'll help me make up my mind, they are all just so good!

I will leave it open for about 24 hours. Soon enough, you'll find out which one I've chosen.

Thanks all, and thanks again to Little Hero Hosting for a great idea for a competition.

I look forward to finding out your favorite too!

- tork

Prepare Blog for a Traffic Spike

noreply@blogger.com (Torkona) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:16:00 +0000

You're plodding along with your blog, writing post after post of what you think is great content.

Your site is full of images and full of really good posts.

You've got buttons on your site for users to subscribe. You've got buttons for users to share to social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, perhaps also StumbleUpon.

Then, it hits you. Traffic!

You are getting hundreds of hit an hour.

You start getting a thousand.

You start getting thousands!

CRASH!! Your site crashes.. All this traffic you were getting starts to dissipate and you miss out on getting new subscribers, affiliate dollars and AdSense clicks.

Are you prepared for a traffic spike to occur?

Preparing Yourself for a Traffic Spike

It has happened to me on a test site that I run. I increased my site traffic by 53000% solely through the use of one social media tool, StumbleUpon.

Are you using StumbleUpon to increase your site traffic for free? Read more about it in my free eBook of free methods to increase site traffic.

I was receiving 3000 hits per hour via my test site. It was a humor site with lots of images. These images were stored on a free image storage site called PhotoBucket. The PhotoBucket site has a limit on it for free users of its system. You're only allowed a certain amount of gigabytes to be downloaded per month. I took that limit through the roof.

All my images stopped displaying. My traffic started to slow. StumbleUpon users will downgrade a website if they don't like it, hence why it is a great system and something every blogger should use. Downgrading my site slowed the traffic, saying bye bye to thousands per hour and bye bye to my AdSense clicks. My site has yet to return to its glory. Too many thumbs down may have hurt it for good.

You don't want the same to happen to you. I'm lucky enough it has occured to my test site, a site I'm not particularly too worried about. But it would have been nice to get that sort of traffic still.

So, are you ready for a wave of hits for your site? Lets see is you are.

Are all your downloadable items, such as images or files, stored on an external site with unlimited download limits?
Does your site host have an extremely high or unlimited download limit?
Do you have all your "subscribe/follow my blog" buttons and links set up?
Do you have your "subscribe to newsletter" up and functioning?
Is your site designed for people to easily know what it is all about?
Are you easily contactable via your site?

These I would think should be your top priorities. They are all very important to stop your site from crashing as well as gaining those followers and repeat traffic that you are after.

If you think you've ticked all of these off, perhaps double check that you are sure, even by asking others in the know. The old saying goes "Two heads are better than one, but fifteen is more awesome!". Or something like that.

Again, be prepared for a traffic spike! You never know when it might hit you, so be prepared.

- tork

The 15 Best Sellers for Blogging on Amazon

noreply@blogger.com (Torkona) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 16:17:00 +0000

Here are a list of Top 15 Amazon Best Sellers for 2011.

1. WordPress Power Guide

Go Beyond The Basics and Make Your WordPress Site Rock.

Purchase for $3.97 but the price is going up to $10 soon!

2. Social Media Marketing for Writers

For just $0.99, In Social Media Marketing for Writers, Edie Melson reveals the top tips every author needs to know to rocket their book to the top of the best seller's list.

3. Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Plain & Simple

Learn the simplest ways to get things done with Microsoft® SharePoint® 2010!

4. Above the Fold

Above the Fold is a book about the fundamentals of effective graphic communication set in the context of Web design. Unlike other books that focus on the intersection of design and technology, Above the Fold explores the relationship between the stakeholders of a Web project-- the designer, the user and the client -- and how this continuous cycle affects the decisions made by successful Web designers. Above the Fold is not technical manual or a how-to book, nor is it about timely trends; it's about the timeless fundamentals of layout, usability and measurement that lead to a successful digital product.

5. How To Get Free Traffic

I'm giving this to you for free in my eBook about free traffic tips, but for $0.99 you can elarn more useful tips that will show you some common and unique ways to get free traffic.

6. Grow Your Blog

Within this e-book for just $1.99 you'll find out how "The Simple Dude" started his blog with very little knowledge of the blogging world. Through trial and error he discovered little used methods for adding targeted readers and followers. These are tips he continues to use to build his following to this day.

7. Creating a Website

Think you need an army of skilled programmers to build a website? Think again. With nothing more than an ordinary PC, some raw ambition, and this book, you’ll learn how to create and maintain a professional-looking, visitor-friendly site. This Missing Manual gives you all the tools, techniques, and expert advice you need.

8. Inbound Marketing

Traditional "outbound" marketing methods like cold-calling, email blasts, advertising, and direct mail are increasingly less effective. People are getting better at blocking these interruptions out using Caller ID, spam protection, TiVo, etc. People are now increasingly turning to Google, social media, and blogs to find products and services. Inbound Marketing helps you take advantage of this change by showing you how to get found by customers online.

9. & 10. ProBlogger's Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six Figure Income

This book takes out 9th and 10th. Firstly for the Kindle version, secodly for the paperback.

Thousands of aspiring bloggers launch new blogs every day, hoping to boost their income. Without solid advice from experts, most will fail. This bestselling guide, now fully revised with new and updated tips and tricks from two of the world’s most successful bloggers, provides the step-by-step information bloggers need to turn their hobby into an income source or a fulltime career.

11. Using WordPress

WordPress has grown into the #1 blogging tool in its category: several million bloggers have downloaded this powerful open source software, and millions more are using WordPress.com's hosted services. Thirty-two of Technorati's Top 100 blogs now use WordPress. Using Wordpress is a customized, media-rich learning experience designed to help new users master Wordpress quickly, and get the most out of it, fast! It starts with a concise, friendly, straight-to-the-point guide to Wordpress. This exceptional book is fully integrated with an unprecedented collection of online learning resources: online video, screencasts, podcasts, and additional web content, all designed to reinforce key concepts and help users achieve real mastery. The book and interactive content work together to teach everything mainstream Wordpess users need to know. This practical, approachable coverage guides readers through getting started fast, and covers the recent release of Wordpress 3. This major upgrade includes built-in image editor and the ability to host multiple blogs from one WordPress install. This new version of Using Wordpress adds a DVD, so that all the interactive material previously available only online is now also available for offline reading and study.

12. WordPress Web Design for Dummies

Once only a platform for bloggers, WordPress is gaining popularity as a tool for creating individualized Web sites. WordPress expert Lisa Sabin-Wilson makes it easy for anyone with a basic knowledge of the WordPress software to create a custom site using complimentary technologies including CSS, HTML, and PHP. This easy-to-follow, full-color guide helps you identify the tools and technologies you need to create the site you envision, build a user-friendly navigation system, select colors and layouts, work with existing WordPress themes, and even develop your own theme to personalize your site.

13. Blogging for Pleasure and Money

You can spend years figuring out what works and what doesn’t. Some testing and research is unavoidable, but why do more than you have to? Author Lambert Klein poured years of experience into “Blogging for Pleasure and Money” so you can avoid the pitfalls and go straight to profits for just $3.47.

The report is easy to understand and follow. Step-by-step instructions show you how to set up a blog and the critical steps that are commonly overlooked. With the tips and tricks included, you will quickly understand how to turn any blog into a highly profitable, moneymaking machine!

14. Cruel Intent

This book somehow has been labelled about Blogging by Amazon. It's not, but it still somehow makes the top 20. It is a thriller! Oh well, if you want to read a thriller to give you a break from blogging, this book is pretty popular.

15. Web Marketing All-In-One Desk Reference for Dummies

Everyone’s doing it — Web marketing, that is. Building an online presence is vital to your business, and if you’re looking for Web marketing real-world experiences, look no farther than Web Marketing All-in-One For Dummies.

Latest Blogging Tool. Install a Hello Bar

noreply@blogger.com (Torkona) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:58:00 +0000

The Blog Plan – Latest Update
Latest Blogging Tool. Install a Hello Bar

See that thing at the top of this page? Something referring to my free eBook?

That is my Hello Bar! It sits on top of every single page of my site and links to my eBook. Pretty cool huh?

The Hello Bar is a new tool from Digital Telepathy. I talked about it in a recent post 8 Important Free Accounts to Utilize When Blogging and about how you can get it yourself. But, I felt it important to talk about in its own post, mainly because it's a change made to the site.

It is just a cool little widget/plugin, whatever you like to call them, that you can add to your own site.

The Blog Plan, as you can see, is used on the Blogger platform. On the top of every page with Blogger, there is an annoying bar referring you to create your own blog or sign into your own blogger account. The problem with this bar is that it kind of camouflages the Hello Bar, therefore, why have it there at all?

Hmm, good question. Can I get rid of this blogger bar? Perhaps something I will look into at some stage later down the track.

Why is it important

It's great if you own a website outside of Blogger (one where the Hello Bar is easy to see). It is a great way to get the attention of someone landing on your page to be taken to a page that is important for them and for you.

It stands out, so it's worth giving it a go, even if you are on blogspot.

Tips to remember

The Hello Bar only allows a certain number of clicks per month, which is (as of time of post) 25 clicks per month. This is stuff all for popular sites. If you love it, you may want to consider purchasing an upgrade.
I'm uncertain whether the link shown in the tool is set as rel='nofollow'. If this is the case, that would spoil its handiness for your SEO purposes. If it is set as follow, then that will be a great help to have a link at the top of every one of your pages all point to your most important page of your site.

Are you using the Hello Bar? What do you reckon? How is it working for you?

Tork @ The Blog Plan

This is My Uninteresting Blog Post Title

noreply@blogger.com (Torkona) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 17:04:00 +0000

Worried about what to name your next post? You really want people to click it and read it, don't you. I know I do!

It is really important to have a suitable title for your post, but not always. I'm not talking about being lazy or making it something misleading, I'm saying that it is not always as important as people might tell you.

Sure, you want something catchy for the title of your post, but do you really want to spend hours or even days for every post title? I think it doesn't matter a stuff what you make your post title. So long as it's not misleading. The number of times I've clicked something great on YouTube only to be Rick-Rolled, it gets annoying after a while :-)

So it's not important what you call your post.

But why? Don't you want more people to open your post and read it? Of course you do! But, a majority of your readers will usually read every post you create anyway. All the blogs I subscribe too I open every post and read. I might skim over some, but I still open them all.

This is why it doesn't always matter what you call it.

The people subscribing to your blog are those that you have already won over. They loved your content enough to want to subscribe. You don't need to entice them every time to open your posts and read them.

Where it does matter what you call your title is when you are after a new reader. When you want to entice them to click your link and open it. List posts work great for this, just like my 8 Important Free Accounts to Utilize When Blogging. But sometimes, you aren't after the attention, so you don't need to always waste your time.

When are there occasions when you don't want to grab someone's attention? Aren't you always after those new followers? Well, yes you are. I'm not saying to never work on your title, I am suggesting that you don't always have to. Think about what you are writing about. Is it something that people would hit the subscribe button in their droves? Or is it simply you talking about something simple, like how cute your puppy is?

So don't worry so much what you call every post. But don't forget, don't miss out on opportunites to get new followers in the process.

Tork @ The Blog Plan

Add Email Subscribe Below Each Post

noreply@blogger.com (Torkona) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 13:13:00 +0000

The Blog Plan – Latest Update

Add Email Subscribe Below Each Post

A big player in the blogging world, Daniel from Daily Blog Tips does it. He wrote about it once that the best place to display the subscribe to newsletter opt-in box was below each post. Why? Well, it's on every page! It's always there and tempting you to join my list. Oooh, how tempting it must be!

I'm still up in the air about this one, but The Blog Plan is all about experimenting. It's about showing you everything that I do and figuring out what works best.

Here's how it currently looks:

I don't like it. It's too big. It takes up too much space below my posts. I prefer it to be more squished, a bit smaller.

That's not to say that I don't want it there at all though. I've left it like this for now to show you what you probably shouldn't do. Saying that, I am not quite show how I'd change it just yet.

So far, I've gained about 20 subscribers. Not too bad really, considering I'm yet to do any real marketing. Still, it's a bit disappointing. I want thousands already!

Greedy aren't I? But, I'm not doing any favors by not having a 100% crisp sign-up form. Something to work on.

HTML Code to Add Your Newsletter Sign up Form

Here is the code I used. It's entered under Design > Edit HTML section of blogger.

Click 'Expand Widget Template' and find the code <data:post.body/>

Here's the code:

<table border='0' cellspacing='15' width='135'>
<tr>
<td><a href='LINK TO MY EBOOK LANDING PAGE'><img height='300' src='MY EBOOK COVER IMG' width='300'/></a></td>
<td><center>COPY AND PASTE FORM CODE HERE</center></td>
</tr>
</table>

So I have created a landing page for my eBook, where I talk about what the book is about. This link is marked in red. Your link would be your own landing page for your product.

Marked in green is the link to my eBook cover picture image.

Marked in orange is the code of your sign up form. This can be gathered from a few places as discussed in How to Use Email Marketing Service for Free.

Why is it important

As I said previously, we shall see why it is important. Trying to put myself from a reader's point of view, I don't want to be flamed with a "Oi! Sign up to my newsletter" that might take over my browser. No thanks, I hate those and rarely ever hit subscribe. I also don't want it to appear in any of my side bars. I'd like to keep that open for my Facebook fan page or future sponsors.

For now, I'd like at least anyone willing enough to read a post all the way to the bottom to be hitting subscribe. I don't want to have people subscribing just because they want a free eBook. I want to reward those for getting far enough to read through my ramblings (my awesome and helpful ramblings, of course hehehe). They.. You! You are the people I want as my subscribers. Those that find me as helpful and could keep on being helpful towards.

I think it makes more sense now having it below each post because of this. Valued readers subscribing is what we are all after, aren't we?

Tips to remember

Keep images small, but easy enough to read.
Keep sign up form small as well, with email address only, making it easy as possible for folks to sign up.
You can adjust image heights and widths from 300px to whatever you wish, enclosed in the <img src> brackets.
This code will make the sign up opt-in form appear at the bottom of every single post. If you are only showing one post per page, then you wont have a problem. If you are showing more than one post at once, you might just like to add the code as a HTML widget instead.

Do you have an email sign up form? Where have you placed yours? What do you think is the best location?

Tork @ The Blog Plan

How to Use Email Marketing Service for Free

noreply@blogger.com (Torkona) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 13:34:00 +0000

The Blog Plan – Latest Update

How to Use Email Marketing Service for Free

I've never had an email list before. Everyone talks about it.

"You have to get a email list".

"Make a newsletter so that everyone can keep in touch with your site via email"

Yes, it makes sense. It's a great way for people to subscribe without being bombarded with post after post, as well as a great way to maybe sell advert space. Getting people to subscribe to a list however is the tricky part.

That's way I created my FREE eBook, 49 Free Ways to Increase Blog Traffic.

It's a book that has been in my brain for a long time. There are a lot of ways to get traffic to your site, so I wanted to offer a resource where a lot of these ideas were in one place.

The eBook has been a great way for me to gain subscribers. Offering this book for free if people subscribed to my newsletter.

Is my newsletter working for me yet though? Well, I am yet to actually send one out. BUT.. I've got it all worked out.

How to Use Email Marketing Service for Free

This had me stumped for several days. The most popular email marketing service online is Aweber. Everyone uses it, so it seems like the one to sign up with.

Wrong. (sorry Aweber).

Not everyone uses it. There is a fantastic alternative. I love using it. What's better, it is free.

I have been using MailChimp for my site Review'd (a free blog directory with a list of blog topics). It has worked great, but to gain lists I've also had to utilize Google Documents to create sign up forms.

MailChimp works to set up an email campaign. It helps you design an email format with fantastic ease. It's also quirky, which is why I love it. The only problem is their autoresponder when people subscribe is not offered to you for free.

Well that sucks. How do I notify someone of a link to download a copy of my eBook after they subscribe? This is where Google Documents steps in.

With Google Documents, you can create a sign up form for folks to add themselves to your subscribers list. Once someone signs up, you can provide them with a thank you message. This is where you can type in your HTML code with a link to whatever you like. When you are ready to send out a newsletter in your email marketng campaign, you simply copy your list from Google Documents over to MailChimp.

Now you are providing your free product whilst growing an email list and not paying a monthly fee. How great is that?

Creating My Free Product

I created the 49 Free Ways to Increase Blog Traffic eBook before creating The Blog Plan site. I knew it was important to provide a resource that people will (hopefully) want, need and often refer to when ideas were needed. I don't want to miss an opportunity for someone to sign up right from the very start and providing this eBook for free to intice someone to sign up is an important first step.

It was difficult to compile, but anyone can do it. All you need is Microsoft Word, a way to convert Word into PDF and lots of research.

It also take lots of time. Don't take a week to create your product. Take longer, perhaps a month. I sat on it a few hours every day or so to provide the end product.

Once finished the document, I created the eBook cover over at MyEcoverMaker.com as mentioned in 8 Important Free Accounts to Utilize When Blogging. Then it's just adding the sign up form to the site and Bob's your uncle (that means "There it is" and "Easy as that" for the non-Australians).

Why is it important

You will want to have an email list. Maybe not so much at the start of your site, but more as you create content and have people wanting to use your site for advertising.

It is a fantastic way to talk to your readers without posting, and it is much more direct when your message is sitting in their Inbox.

It's also great to be able to do it all for free. It costs $19 a month at Aweber. Why pay that when you can do it for free?

Tips to remember

MailChimp is free to use only if you have less than 2000 people in your list. So if you have more, you are doing great and should cash up and join MailChimp. It won't let you down.
Aweber is seen as perhaps the big player in email marketing. It may seem more professional using it over MailChimp. It's up to you, but I honestly don't see the big difference in the overall scheme of things. You can always take your list once you reach 2000 over to Aweber and sign up with them if you can afford their fees.
Creating a form with Google Documents can be tricky for the first timer. It was for me. Remember, select Forms to create your form. Follow the instructions from there.
Whilst creating your Google Documents form, under 'More Actions', click 'Edit confirmation' to create your message for directing folks to your product.

What Email Marketing service do you use? Do you recommend providing a free product to intice people to sign up for your newsletter? Love to hear what you think.

Tork @ The Blog Plan

Why Being Yourself Leads to Awesome Shadow Puppetry

noreply@blogger.com (Torkona) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 12:19:00 +0000

Blogging is a tough gig, especially when you have one that you want to do well.

What do you define as well though? The number of hits you get? The amount of dollars you receive from AdSense? A high subscribers list?

This really is a hard term to define. It all depends on what you are after. But the way to get to the success of your blog that you desire is to learn from others. It's the best way to learn how to blog.

Find a blogging buddy, subscribe to helpful blogs in your niche, follow blogging tips sites, but there is one important thing to remember.

Be yourself.

Read tips. Learn from friends, but never lose who you are.

It's all good to follow and learn from others, but don't forget to write your own way, to be your own person. Don't let others totally make what sort of blogger you are.

I've found after months and months of researching I started to lose myself. I started to try and emulate those with success. That was all well and good, but I should be writing as if I were speaking. Writing to put myself in my work instead of a bland post that no one knows there is a person behind it typing away at the keys.

Aim for Greatness in Your Own Way

You is what makes your blog and what makes people come back. We want to know what makes you tick! Your blog isn't about lists like 6 Ways To Increase Subscribers but more posts like 6 Ways To Make Bunny Shadow Puppets.

Yes, the first post might be useful, but God that sounds boring. What I would much rather make is something as awesome as the second one. Something fun. Something that would be personal from me to you.

So don't forget, when you write your next posts, make us laugh. Make us cry. Make us want to read and return. Put yourself in whatever you do and you can't go wrong.

Unless you're a really bad sperler (hahahaha), you might want to keep that part of you to yourself and your spell checker.

Got a great post you are really proud of? Why not leave it as a link below!

- tork

8 Important Free Accounts to Utilize When Blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Torkona) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:23:00 +0000

The Blog Plan – Latest Update

8 Important Free Accounts to Utilize When Blogging

I want to run this Blog Plan blog on zero dollars.

I don't want to purchase a domain name, I don't want to spend money on marketing or advertising. Lets see how long I can last for!

Essentially it could last for years, and I know a lot of you also don't want to spend a cent. The blogosphere makes life hard for people like us, that don't want to spend any money until 'the dust has settled', but everything in the first few weeks on this blog has been at no cost.

So, to run for free, I will need to use a few external sites. I wont go into great details about how to use them (otherwise we'll be here all day), but here they are for you to at least set up.

These are free accounts that I created for the Blog Plan.:

Gmail

Google's free email service is what I use for you to contact me (theblogplan@gmail.com). Ooh, that reminds me, I should already have a contact page set up here. That should be one of the first things that you do. But to be contacted, you need an email address, and Gmail is the best.

So why not Yahoo or Hotmail? Maybe in the past these two were good, but there is so much more uses that Gmail has such as using it with anything Google plus other sites such as YouTube and Feedburner.

If I had my own domain, I could use my domain name email address, but that would cost me money.

Twitter

I don't think that you can get by as a blogger without having a Twitter account. It's a great way to increase exposure for your blog, get new followers, find new clients and get that elusive traffic. The only draw back is I find it very addictive.

My Twitter account @TheBlogPlan was created. At the moment I am averaging only 11 new followers per day. This isn't very much and something that I can improve upon, but not a bad goal to achieve.

Facebook

You'll need a Facebook fan page. Here's mine. If you don't want people to see your personal account, create one for your blog like I did. Torkona Exon was created. That profile is what I use to create all my fan pages for my blogs. This is what you want to mainly use Facebook for, the fan pages.

Feedburner

If you want anyone to RSS subscribe to your posts, Feedburner is a must have. Also handy if you want to automatically post your new posts to sites like Twitter.

I love my RSS reader. It is the main program that I follow blogs with. It is everywhere on the blogosphere, so you don't want to miss out on having those subscribers following you with it.

MailChimp

If you plan on building an email list for your blog, MailChimp is a great free site to send newsletters with. I currently use it at Review'd. Similar to Aweber, but it doesn't cost you a cent until your email list reaches 2000 people.

HelloBar

A new widget exists called the HelloBar. I've only recently discovered this. It's very new, but a lot of top blogs seem to be using it. I have it installed at the top of each page and it links to my free eBook of site traffic tips.

You can only get the HelloBar with an invite. I have 10 invites to giveaway. The first 10 people to comment on my Facebook page "I want a HelloBar Tork!" will get one.

Dreamstime

People love photos. I love them too. It is great to make your own custom photographs, but there are also free sites that offer you use of professional photographs. Dreamstime has a large online collection of free photographs that I use from time to time.

MyEcoverMaker

Last but not least, MyEcoverMaker. It's how I made my eBook. You don't need to make an account to use it, so it technically shouldn't be included in this list, but it is a fantastic free tool to make any eBooks that you offer look professional.

Why is it important

For my blog to function, I need four important areas to cover. Being able to be contacted, showing my info via social media, creating a email list and doing it for free. All of these are required to cover these areas.

Tips to remember

The carefully about what you create as your feed or usernames. It can be difficult to change down the track if you feel you need to.
Remember, you aren't always going to be able to run for free if you become successful. It's going to be a fantastic problem to have when it occurs.

Have you got any other free accounts that you use that you swear by? Would love to hear from you.

Interview: Glowless on Weekly Link Sharing

noreply@blogger.com (Torkona) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 06:26:00 +0000

If you'd like to guest post or think you have an interesting blogging topic to be interviewed on, please contact me via theblogplan@gmail.com.

Something has always intrigued me over at Where's My Glow?. Recently I asked the owner Glowless about it.

I've been a fan boy of Glowie ever since I started blogging over on my dad blog. During my first days, somehow I stumbled across her mum blog. She was one of the first bloggers that said hello to me. Strange how that works hey? Eight months later and I still pop back every now and then. Just goes to show that you should always try and help someone new in the blogging world. I learnt that lesson fast.

Glowles runs a post series every Friday called 'FlogYoBlog Friday'. It is a great idea for her to get return visitors to her blog, so I wanted to know more about it and to show you an idea that you could implement on your own blog.

Flog Your Blog Friday (FYBF) is a great idea. Can you quickly summarise for my readers what it is?

FlogYoBlog Friday is a blog hop where bloggers from any niche can link up their best post from the week, regardless of what it's about, and present it to a wider audience.

How long have you been running FYBF?

I've been Flog-Sitting FlogYoBlog Friday since February this year (2011).

I can see FYBF was originally started by another blogger. Why did they stop and how did you start?

FlogYoBlog Friday was the brain child of the fabulous Brenda at Mummy Time. She was becoming increasingly busy with Digital Parents and The Mother Media so sent her baby to be looked after by Lori at Random Ramblings of a SAHM for an extended stay. When Lori's circumstances changed it came for a visit at Where's My Glow?. I was chosen because it was noticed that I used to comment on all the posts that linked up - see, good things come to those who comment!

Have you seen it increase your followers/subscribers dramatically?

It took a few weeks for people to realize FlogYoBlog Friday had moved from it's previous home, but eventually they found it and started Flogging. The response has been great and it definitely brought some new followers - it's such a privilege to be able to host it.

Is being in front of your computer posting FYBF once every week tiresome?

It's not tiresome, but it can be pretty full on. Originally I committed to commenting on every single blog post that had been linked up, but after a few months I found I just couldn't keep up any more and my entire weekends were being spent reading and not with my family. From the beginning I tried to put my own spin on FlogYoBlog Friday and created a theme for each week and called them Editions - thinking up new and exciting Editions is probably more tiresome than actually hosting it!

From your blogging experience, what is the best blog tip that you can give others?

Join FlogYoBlog Friday of course! Then if you're able to, attend a Blog Conference - the things you will learn there are amazing, plus the networking opportunities are endless.

Glowless is a wanna-be crunchy mama of a one year old boy and blogs with tongue very firmly in cheek at Where's My Glow?. She claims that blogging is cheaper than therapy and just as effective - the blogosphere has become her happy place where she finds solace away from housework. She is a makeup artist, writer, prolific tweeter, sponsorship seeker and the 2011 Aussie Mummy Blogger with the X Factor.

Tork's Note

Thanks to Glow for the interview. I find this to be a great way to gain traffic to your own blog. It provides something that both parties want. The reader, a chance to easily share their posts to a greater audience. The blogger, a method to gain traffic and new followers. The only downfall of Glow's system is always having to be in front of your computer on a weekly basis. If it isn't tiresome, or you can somehow get around being at your computer (scheduled posts perhaps) then this idea is fantastic.

What do you think? Would you post often at something like FYBF? Would you run something similar?

Why I Added Meta Description to Increase SEO

noreply@blogger.com (Torkona) — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 13:29:00 +0000

The Blog Plan – Latest Update

Why I Added Meta Description to Increase SEO

The importance of updating your meta tags is widely debated these days.

In the past, websites would take advantage of them. This is why Google doesn't take into account meta description or keywords as much as they used to.

Let me explain what a meta tag is though before I go much further on the subject.

What is a Meta Tag?

A meta tag is HTML code that contains data that describes a webpage. It normally consists of two areas of information, website description and keywords.

The website description is exactly as it sounds. It describes what my site is all about, remembering to find what keywords to use to Google rank my site and implementing them into a short sentence.

The keywords are what words or phrases that I want to rank high in Google with.

How to Update Meta Tags

Open the Layout panel of your blog and go to Edit HTML. (fyi - Click the Download Full Template link and save a backup copy of your current template so you can undo the following changes in case anything goes wrong.)

Locate the following lines of code:

<head> <b:include data="blog" name="all-head-content" /> <title><data:blog.pageTitle /></title>

Add the following code immediately after the <b:include data="blog" name="all-head-content" /> line:

<b:if cond='data:blog.url == "http://abcdefg.blogspot.com/"'> <meta content='DESCRIPTION' name='description'/> <meta content='KEYWORDS' name='keywords'/> </b:if>

Replace the http://abcdefg.blogspot.com/ line with the URL of your homepage.

Replace the word DESCRIPTION with a description for your homepage.

Replace the word KEYWORDS with a list of keywords separated by commas and relevant for your homepage. (Eg blog,blogging,how to blog)

Tips to remember

Meta tags don't greatly influence Google ranking.
I'd rather have the tags than not. It doesn't hurt including them.
If you decide to often change your keywords, you may want to also change your meta tags description and keywords as well. I'd suggest to bookmark this page if you often change keywords.

What do you think? Are you going to implement the use of meta tags? Or if you are currently using them, do you think they are doing you good? Leave to hear what you think.

The Secret to Picking a Blog URL

noreply@blogger.com (Torkona) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:40:00 +0000

The Blog Plan – Latest Update

The Secret to Picking a Blog URL

Your blog URL is your brand. It's what sticks you out from the crowd. As soon as you choose a blog name, you really don't want to change it.

The very first thing I did with The Blog Plan was to decide which keywords I will aim to rank high for on Google.

The key to picking your blog URL is a few simple steps.

1. Know What Your Niche is

You need a niche, don't kid yourself on this. I started out with "Don't you tell me what to do, you stupid blog-o-sphere, I am going to blog about whatever I like!"

My Dad blog went in all different directions. I had several niches in the one blog. This doesn't lead to a great amount of followers/subscribers.

I eventually led towards talking a lot about what it is like to be a dad and decided I needed to write solely about that.

Understand your niche, then you can take on the next part.

2. Find Important Keywords

You want to rank high in Google, so you need to find important keywords so you can improve your ranking.

If your blog is going to be about Photography, you know that photography is your keyword.

Using Google's Keyword Tool, type in photography and you get the following:

83.1 million times the word photography is searched for every month. Landing top rank on that keyword would really get the traffic rolling in!

But landing this position is a dream. It may be possible a long long way down the blogging track, but highly doubtful.

What you then do is define your keyword to a narrower target. Lets say, your passion is Australian photography.

40,500 searches per month. That looks much more attainable. Also, look at the competition for the keyword. Not too bad!

Adding a few more keywords can also improve your chances of finding a keyword with low competition.

The lower the competition for unique keywords, the better your chances are at ranking high in Google.

3. Try to Use Your Keywords as the URL

Once you've found your keywords, try to incorporate them into your URL. AusPhotography.net.au ranks at number one in Google for 'Australian photography' partly because the keywords are part of the actual URL.

4. Make it Awesome

If your blog is about making money online, don't be lame and call your site MakingMoneyOnline.blogspot.com.

Make it Awesome! Yes, incorporate your keywords to help your Google ranking, but make it something you will be proud of.

So if your blog is about making money online, call it OnlineMoneyNerd.com or something like that. You want to stand out as well as incorporate your keywords.

Why is it important

Google is the biggest search engine online today, probably will be the biggest for many years to come. You want to rank as high as possible to reach an audience of viewers from around the world. Simply dropping links on other people's blogs doesn't work as well as hitting the numero uno spot for a certain keyword. Even landing on the first page is good.

How to increase your Google ranking? That is a question that will probably take me several posts to answer. Hopefully over the coming posts I can help to answer that one.

Tips to remember

You don't have to include your niche keywords into your URL. It does help, but you can get rank high without doing it. Although it does help Google ranking to have a keyword as part of your URL, it's not essential. My daddy blog sits on the first page of Google (depending on the day you look) with only my name in the URL (torkona.blogspot.com), so there are other ways of ranking if you aren't comfortable with this method.
Even though a keyword or phrase may have no competition, it might be unattainable. Try ranking for a keyword like 'Google' or 'Yahoo' and you'll understand, there is no way of beating Google for the number one page ranking!
99% of the time your first choice for URL will be taken, so have a few names in mind.

What tips do you have for picking a blog URL? What has worked for you in the past or is currently working for you now?

The Blog Plan goes online

noreply@blogger.com (Torkona) — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 12:01:00 +0000

It's official. The Blog Plan has been announced via my dad blog.

We are launched!

My post about Splitting a Blog was a difficult decision to make, but after 8 months of blogging, it's time to do things properly.

It is time that I develop my sites as a niche blog. I've learnt a lot of things that I want to share and hopefully you find this step by step process useful.

Learn a bit more what The Blog Plan is about.

Well, I suppose it's time to get cracking with this blog. Wish me luck!

- tork

49 Free Ways to Increase Blog Traffic

noreply@blogger.com (Torkona) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:09:00 +0000

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Building a blog without a budget?

Want your blog to get exposure without paying for anything? Hell yes!

My eBook 49 Free Ways to Increase Blog Traffic is what you need

What's more, it's free!

Here's a teaser:

Simply sign up below to receive The Blog Plan's Newsletter and get your free eBook copy today.

You'll be well on the way to improving your blog traffic for no cost at all!

About The Blog Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Torkona) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 10:38:00 +0000

The Blog Plan is a step by step guide on how I have built this blog you are looking at, with blog tips that you can follow.

As owner of Tork's blog and after blogging for 8 months, I feel like I've learnt all the basics that I need to know about blogger. Now I want to create a new blog to help you and others with blogging. Let's see how it goes!

It is time to step away from my dad blog and show you how to create a working blog that hopefully will turn into a great money maker with advice for you to follow.

Every post will be about blogging, with my added style of crap dad jokes, to show you how I am building this blog.

I can't do it by myself though. I still want to hear what you think along with any tips that you wish to share that you have learnt with your own blog.

Let's work together to help each other and the blogging community.

This is The Blog Plan for everyone to share.