A Blogger's Books

How To Write An Article Online - 4

2012-02-14T13:57:00.000Z

How to write an article online - 4 is the fourth in the series designed to help writers, bloggers and online content providers get the best out of writing. This series is especially useful for new writers and those looking to improve their skill. However, this series will also definitely bring insight to older and more experienced writers because it looks at writing articles from a very modern viewpoint and addresses issues of online writing they may not have considered or even been exposed to recently.

How to write an article online - 4: making loyal readers and gaining their respect

The how to write an article online series has already discussed these issues:
How to write an article online - 1: good practices
How to write an article online - 2: developing skill and technique
How to write an article online - 3: finding ideas for articles

How to write an article online - why you need to keep the readers you already have

We all know it's extremely hard to get traffic to your website/blog, right? It takes a lot of work and most of your time. Many website owners employ writers to create articles for them, so they can spend all day on traffic and SEO. You're not that lucky. You have to write all your own articles and edit them yourself. You're not left with enough time to do the SEO, social networking and learn all the technical stuff about optimizing a blog. Your best bet is to keep the people you already have reading your work. But how do you keep them sweet? If you know anything about angling you’ll know that catching a fish does not stop at the point of it biting your bait. You have to reel it in and place it inside your bucket. Sometimes even this is not enough, because fish are known to jump out of buckets and back into the freedom of the sea. Let's see how you can make your readers keep coming back for more.

Earn your readers respect for your abilities when you write an article online

I’ve read so many articles on the Internet which have made me feel ashamed of being a writer who publishes articles online. I wish there were some sort of automatic editing system on the web which chewed up and digested any piece of work which was substandard. Maybe someone can develop an app like this :-)

Since there is no such device (yet), writers have to rely on our own standards to produce high-class, well-edited articles online.

No employer would keep paying her/his employees if the product they came up with at the end of the day was faulty. Writers, though self-employed, have to follow the same laws of employment. If you want anyone to respect you or your work, you’ve got to pay attention to quality control. Publishing three or four top-class article per week is 100% better than churning out six half-cooked pieces every day. I know that earning money is key here, but a good name is worth a lot when it comes to getting clients to pay for your work or invest in you.

Pay attention to the small details when you write an article online

The finer details are always the first indications of a writer's potential and worth. If they never seemed important to you, now's the time to change that train of thought. You must have read over and over again that potential employers can and do use your Facebook and LinkedIn profiles to check you out. If you're a writer this is especially important to you. Writers should know how to write and spell, even when they're talking to their friends. You wouldn't expect a doctor to talk about his patients on Facebook. This is an essential element of his job detail. So is writing and all it encompasses, to a writer.

Use the uppercase version of the letter ‘I’ when you talk about yourself.
Use your spell checker, and if you have the grammar suggestions’ option, please don’t be shy. Ask it for help.
You shouldn’t hit the publish button without first re-reading your work at least four times. A writer’s abilities can be judged by reading the first paragraph of her/his profile page or message to ask for submission guidelines. If English is your first language, you should be able to write in perfect, comprehensible sentences. If it’s not, then I salute you, because you’re braver than I am to make that difficult decision to write in your second language.

Make every article your own when you write

The temptation to copy from others is a big one these days. So much information can be easily had from online sources. Of course, there's no harm in getting inspiration from others If you simply trot over to Wikipedia and copy the information you want into your word document you’ll soon be found out and will never make much of an impact as an online content provider. Sadly, you won't get any sort of recognition for your art. You'll also lose the readers you've worked so hard to attract.

If you find that Wikipedia is useful to you, it won't take long to consume a pageful of information then write it up in your own words. This would enable you to add your knowledge, style and information to the piece. The end result of such an article is one that's fresh, readable, and original - the very thing which will earn you respect as a sought-after writer. Make sure your research is thorough, that you always find something new, and that you’re using at least 6 different sources for your research. This way all your creations will be truly yours because they would’ve come from your wealth of knowledge. In the end, it’s you who benefits, because whatever you’ve learned from your studies will only add to your progressive knowledge. Knowledge, as we’ve read, is power. Keep your readers coming back by showing them you know what you're talking about.

Keep your writing attractive

Plenty of original content - demonstrating an increasingly high standard, and appropriate pictures in the right places will do it. If you see an image you’d like to use, write to the owner and ask permission to use it in your work. They usually say yes, as long as you can write a decent letter and you promise to link to their site. More often than not, as soon as you make contact, they'll check you out. The better your profile, the more likely they are to say yes, because it means serendipitous exposure for them. I once had a letter similar to the following: 'Can i use yr picture for my article i wanna right {sic}?’ I feel ashamed, but I never replied.

Keep reading widely and making a contribution to others' work, and you will maintain a steady stream of online business for your articles. Remember we’re all the same here, we know that it’s a two way street when it comes to being successful with your writing. If you appreciate people, they'll return the favour. They'll respect you, your work, and keep coming back for more.

How to write an article online tools: see here for writing technique.

Social networking helps to make loyal readers

The friends you make on social networking sites will read your work because they know you, and are in constant contact with you. You may be the most brilliant writer and know everything there is to know about writing articles online, but if you don't get people to click on, or buy your stuff you'll get no where. This is where social networking comes in. Don't underestimate the power of social networking for writers. I know more than 800 writers on Facebook and another few hundred on other writing sites (not to mention the wave of writers who're now on Twitter etc). I've read that writing -especially online writing - is the fastest growing modern occupation. I believe this. So keep building your profiles on social networking sites so that your friends will be happy to share your work there, in the knowledge that when you do the same for theirs, your high rating means that their work will become viral in the Internet scene.
Caution: social networking can be a serious time sink and take away your valuable writing time. I suggest making a time table for social Internet interactions and stick to it.

Keep fixing, retagging and editing old articles

What has this got to do with making loyal readers and gaining their respect? Well, everything, if you want your old articles to stay current and keep on earning! As writers we want to keep making money from our earlier, AS WELL AS our latest projects. Why else would we keep producing them? Writers grow and improve every time we publish something new. This is why it is important to spend a few hours every week going over the old articles and fixing them (if needed) to make them current.

As we said before, it’s very difficult to edit one’s own work, because we’re so familiar with them. It gets easier though, if you read them with a fresh eye. Going over the articles you wrote a year ago, gives you a new perspective and enables you to be a better, more objective judge of what works and what doesn’t. You will find mistakes you didn’t know were there. I know I do. Sometimes I'm surprised that I made such simple mistakes!

Retagging your articles at regular intervals means that you are more likely to catch topical issues (which weren’t topical at the time of writing) now pertinent to that specific article. This new tag puts a new engine on your old project and sets it up to a possible revival into the current Internet scene, and out of the slush it had inadvertently fallen.

Use your keywords throughout when you write your articles

It can be a bore to think up different ways to use the keywords (words that describe what the gist of your article is) throughout your piece. I admit this. Nevertheless, it helps search engine to figure out where to place your article when people type in random words related to the subject.

For example, this article gives tips and ideas about how to write an article online, right? Right! Therefore, I had to think up ways to express this idea over and over again, throughout this piece - without repeating the same thing several times.

How do I decide which words to use in this article to enable Google (for example) to throw this article your way when you search for this topic? What words are you MOST likely to type into your search panel if you were searching for such an article? My guess is you would use the following: 'how to write an article,’ ‘writing for internet sites,’ ‘how do I write an article,’ ‘writing better articles,’ ‘how to publish good articles,’ ‘tips for online writing,’ etc. If you go through this article you will find all those words and phrases hidden among the sentences.

Follow these simple tips, and your readers should keep coming back for more of your work. It can never be guaranteed that a particular writer will remain popular indefinitely. However, having a sound quality control in place, along with the other factors discussed here, you should find that (all things being equal) your work will remain in the minds of those who’ve come across it because they would’ve recognised it for the original, well-presented gem that it was.

Stay tuned for the next article in this series. If you haven’t yet read the first one, there is a link provided at the top of the page. Subscribe to this blog for the rest in the series.

Revision: how to write an article online - 4

I’ve got to keep working hard to maintain friendships and my fan base, by showing my support for their work.
I have to pay attention to quality control by always taking the time required to produce top quality pieces when I publish articles online.
If I don’t know the rules of grammar I should learn them. I won't become a successful writer if I don’t pay attention sentence construction and rules of grammar.
I shouldn’t copy and paste. I should read, digest and write instead.
I should remember that original work earns me respect.
I should keep building my profile on social networking sites, so that my rating helps the original work I share to go further.
I have to remember that retagging and editing, are like new polish to older articles.
I have to know the importance of keywords.

Post Other People's Content on Your Blog: 5 Benefits

2012-02-10T10:41:00.002Z

You should never copy content from other blogs or websites. However, there are several benefits of posting other people's content on your blog. Sounds strange? This article will show you how to tap into this aspect of writing without stealing other people's work and without offending them. This article will show you how to post other people's content on your blog to help them (and you) reach more readers and enrich both your sites. Using other people's content could not only add life to your blog, it can help you promote them, your own content and your brand. I want to make it clear that this post is definitely not about copying and pasting other people's hard work on your site.

you too can tap into these blogging tricks to help yourself and other bloggers

Post other people's content and create your own signature edit

Although you are not the owner of the content you post from other sites, you do still own that particular “edit” of online content. Most of the time, you combine your own personal content with relevant or interesting things from other locations and then credit that source. Doing this can actually enhance your personal blog posts because you have outside points of view to reference.

Method: collect points of view from other bloggers on a particular subject. Link to them, and add your own remarks and opinions.

Post other people's content on your blog to build relationships

The great thing about sharing other bloggers’ content is that you then begin to form an association with that blog. When you post you provide a link back to source their blog or website, so you will automatically be doing them a favor. Sharing content that you think is great or content that is very specific to a particular niche can really help build connections online and bring you more users.

Method: once your post is complete, contact the bloggers you've referenced and tell them you've done so. Say something nice about their work because you admire them and let the relationship build naturally. They may even return the favour.

Post other people's content on your blog to cut down on your content production

Post other people’s content on your blog once in awhile when you need to focus your energy elsewhere. It can save you time and effort while still maintaining your traffic flow and giving your users a constant output.

Method: be careful not to copy other people's content and use it as your own. This is totally wrong. However, when you use small parts of others' content (with appropriate links) you can create several great articles with sound information from people who know their stuff. If you need more ideas for blog posts, here's a great article.

Post other people's content on your blog to make yourself relevant

The best way to get people to notice your brand is to edge your way into the inner circles of that niche. So, if you have something to say or a unique point of view, feel free to make your presence known. Do round-ups and recaps. Promote awesome content and ideas, and you will make yourself relevant within your user base.

Post other people's content on your blog to get attention

Pay attention to what’s going on in social media to see if your content could apply to anything that is currently trending. This is a bit of a 24/7 job, so you may want to create some Google and Twitter alerts. But try to draw attention to yourself by re-posting or stating thoughts about popular topics, hopefully creating some buzz along the way.

Byline:
This is a guest post by Kimberly Wilson. Kimberly is from accredited online colleges, she writes on topics including career, education, student life, college life, home improvement, time management etc.

Conclusion; (by Anne). This post was written by Kimberly Wilson. The italicized portions and the introduction were written by myself. If you like 'Post other people's content on your blog' please share it on your social networking sites. What other ways to you use other people's content on your blog and how do you think this helps you and them to gain a wider readership?

How To Write An Article Online - 3

2012-02-01T22:00:00.002Z

I designed the How To Write An Article Online series to give bloggers, new online content providers and writers a sound resource they can refer to for help. We've already discussed these elements: How To Write an Article Online: developing skill and technique and How to Write an Article Online: good practices. In this third tutorial we'll discuss the actual writing process and talk about a topic that proves very difficult for most writers - ideas for articles.

How to write an article online: finding ideas for articles

Ideas can sometimes evade us, especially if we’re doing this as a full time job, on a constant basis. The best ideas come from real life. Why? Because this is the only way to find an original perspective on a given topic. Sometimes I have a eureka moment about something I think is fantastically original, only to find that someone has already given the idea a good scouring and airing in the Internet. At the risk of sounding cynical, there's hardly anything we can come up with these days that’s not already been beaten to death on the web. Your job is to make your version unique. The best way to do this is to put your individual spin on it. Only the people who put their individuality into their articles have work that stand head and shoulders above the rest.

Question: Is it possible to produce brand new content when writing an article?

Yes. If you always research thoroughly, i.e don’t let the total sum of your research be one page of Wikipedia (we know that Wikipedia, useful as it is, is not a dictionary. It’s a site that anyone can add anything to. By nature of this, there are many inaccuracies there), but at least eight or nine other sources as well. Why so many? The answer to this is easy. One page gives you one person’s viewpoint. Looking at a case from all angles gives you a total picture of what the nucleus of the story is (like the four gospels give you all-round viewpoints of the same story, because it comes from four different writers). This is the only way your product will stand out above the rest of the grit on the Internet. We’ve already said that there aren’t many new projects you can think about doing, but your content will always be fresh and new if it’s coming from you. The world has already heard the lies and the facts from other people. Copying or rehashing will make your article old news - expressing the very same ideals and, worst of all, other people’s views. If all else fails, when writing an article put yourself and your opinions into an old story to make it new again. It'll becomes your story - your spin.

Ideas for writing articles 1: your life

The best and most ‘original’ ideas come from real life. Always carry a note book with you. Little things create a spark in the minds of creative people like writers and photographers. When my daughter was four she had a little notebook which she hid under her bed (yes, go ahead and judge me. I read it). The book was was named, ‘my book of evil plans'. She had listed nasty (funny) things she could like to do, including chucking a piece of carrot at my head when I was telling her off. I found this hilarious, and immediately set out to write an article of the same title, outlining the evil things that I'd like to do and get away with. That article was an overnight success, and made me a substantial amount of money. Another time I was sitting behind someone on a bus, who was carrying on a very interesting conversation on her mobile phone. The thought struck me to write a short story, comprised of just a one-sided phone conversation, so the reader had to guess what was happening on the other side of the phone.

Note: This article is now different from all the others you'll read about how to write an article online. Why? Because I’ve just illustrated my point by telling you a personal story, a story which I can guarantee you will not find anywhere else.

How to write an article online extended reading: you can practise writing snippets from your life for these hard copy writing opportunities
Want your well-written work to stand out? Here are some great ways to promote your articles.

Ideas for writing articles 2: read, read, read

Magazine subscriptions: Every year when my present subscription runs out, I subscribe to different magazine. Reading gives you ideas and shows you what works in the current writing arena. If you write about cars or internet games, you should be subscribing to a magazine which deals with those subjects. This is not to copy their content, because that would be stupid and wrong. Besides, if you get caught you could be sued for plagiarism. Reading within your subject of expertise makes you more of an expert (reading and studying material in their field is what makes experts, experts) and it gives you genuine ideas for articles of your own.

Upcoming events: Look for what’s ‘coming next month’ in your magazines. They’ve done the expensive surveys to find out popular trends, (Viola! You’ve had a free survey done on your behalf) so do your own article before they’ve come out with theirs. Having said that, it’s not completely free, since you’re paying your subscription and are entitled to read and devour anything they’ve printed. 'Read and devour’ is far better than ‘copy and write-up.’

Think beyond every experience: A piece on a wedding for example, could give you an idea about vows that people make. Your research on this topic would reveal quite extraordinary and humorous information on various kinds of vows that are made in the world around us.

Reading also gives a vital boost to those who’re less versed in English language rules and correct punctuation. These are vital writing knowledge which are lacking in many internet articles.

How to write an article online: extended reading - Online English lessons

Ideas for writing articles 3: use radio and television

As a writer or blogger, you're no longer allowed the privilege of watching TV and listening to the radio, just for the pleasure of it. You’re now doing these activities as part of your job as well. Keep your eyes open for subjects being researched, and news and reviews about the weird and wonderful. Ask yourself what spin you can put on stories in the news. What ideas do they give you? Does a piece about a plane crash give you an idea about natural disasters? Does a story about a murder in your area give you an idea about unsolved crimes?

As an aside, you shouldn't make the mistake of following the popular trend on the Internet which makes fun of the dead, the dying, or the sick. Always treat these subjects with respect. Remember that no matter what the dead were like, they’ve got living relatives who should be considered. Once your articles are published they go out into the world where anyone, and indeed, everyone can view them. Your handling of a story, no matter how despised the subject or individual covered, reflects on you - the creator - not them. Remember to make use of your humanity and pay respect to the people about whom you write. You are not the paparazzi.

Ideas for writing articles 4: your day job can work for you

Many people don't remember that they have at least one hundred unwritten articles under their sleeves. Do you have a day job? What is it? If you don't have a day job now, did you ever have one? Are you a mother taking care of children? There’s your hundred articles covering something about which you have a remarkable amount of knowledge. Are you a gardener? Give your fans advice about plants. Are you a fantastic cook? What about teachers? Do you give your students topics to research? Are they studying Winston Churchill this month? Why not do your own research and write about him. You must have tons of advice on how to study. Your colleagues on the website you write for may not need that particular advice, but they know a good, well-written article when they see one. They'll put your work out there for the hundreds of thousands of people who do need it. Once you've worked out how to write an article online, you'll have no trouble finding what to write in them if you let your day job do the talking. I’ve beaten this one to death so I’ll move on.

Ideas for writing articles 4: become an expert in your hobby

Your hobby, by definition is something you spend a lot of time doing. This can offer you at least another hundred articles. Do you like redecorating? Are you a dab hand at fixing up old cars? Do you take a run every morning? How about TV? Do you love watching TV? Why not choose a few of your favourite shows and do weekly reviews of them. Now we’re talking not 100 articles, but a lot more than that.

How to write an article online 3: Revision

Add a bit of myself to everything I create. This is the only way to make my articles original.

I should use more than one source for thorough research.

Real life throws up the most original ideas, but I always have to be on the look-out.

Prolific reading gives me great ideas for writing articles.

I must not discard the stories I watch and listen to in the media. If I think long and hard enough about them they’ll open up new ideas for me.

I have a vast amount of knowledge about my day job (or former day job). I should use this wealth of knowledge to become an expert in my field.

My hobby can provide me with lots of ideas for writing articles.

Please read the other 2 posts in this 'How To Write An Article Online' series linked above. Other posts you may find helpful are:
20+ must-read articles for the new blogger
More ideas for super blog posts

How To Write An Article Online - 2

2012-01-28T18:34:00.001Z

The How To Write An Article Online series is designed for creators of online content, new writers, and anyone looking to improve their article writing skill. Our first post in this series talked about good practices when writing an article. You can read it here: How To Write An Article Online: Good Practices. This post deals with developing the skill and technique needed to make your internet content stand out from the thick, muddy pools of the cyber slush pile.

There're several ways you can make your articles positively stand out. This of course is what you’re aiming for as a serious writer. We're only going to skim the surface in this tutorial, and aim for the factors that are generally troublesome to the majority of online writers and creators.

How to write an article online: developing skill and technique

Broaden your vocabulary or buy a thesaurus

It's great to produce well-written articles, but are yours exactly just like a hundred other pieces on the Internet? In order to wow your reader you must have a style and a special knack for the craft to enable your article to climb to the surface of all the dross. Your style should flow freely. This means that if you write in a hiccoughing sort of way your readers will have problems getting your meaning clearly, and may have to read a particular section over and over again. Broaden your vocabulary so that you’re not using the same word repeatedly. Here is a little, very lazy example to illustrate my point.

~My sisters and brothers are the best sisters and brothers a girl can have.

~My sisters and brothers are the best siblings a girl can have.

Admittedly, this is a very simple example, but it demonstrates my point succinctly. If you haven’t got a simple right-click thesaurus on your computer, buy a little one and keep it with you when you’re writing. I use mine all the time because it's a great help to me (especially when I'd just started my writing course). Note: you'll need to create your articles in Word to make use of this tool.

How to write an article tool: In case you've never used your computer’s thesaurus, here's what you do: place your cursor in the middle of the word you wish to change (find an alternative word for) and right click. A box will appear on your screen, which should give you several options, two of which are, ‘synonyms,’ and/or ‘look-up.’ Follow either of these and they should bring you to the thesaurus. This feature will give you other suitable words you can use in favour of the one you’ve written. Play around with this and eventually you can wean yourself off it. If you've never heard of it, here's an extremely useful Thesaurus for writers you should get your hands on.

Lay out article nicely

Pictures work well in articles because it's true that a picture is worth a thousand words. Many people who read online content prefer pictures because it means they don't have to read yet another one of our drab articles :-). Ideally, pictures are great for wooing viewers to your web content. Of course, in a tutorial like this one, images wouldn’t do much good because you’re reading this for a totally different reason than you’d read an article about unusual plants found in the Amazon rain forest (for example). To fully understand how to use and optimize images in your articles see immediately below.

How to write an article tool: Optimising images on your blog and How to store pictures online

Be sure that your article is laid out web-style. Have clear, separate paragraphs, and section out your Internet content with nice bold headings to allow for skimming (this is covered in part one of this series).

Use good grammar

A how to write an article post won't be complete without this section. This is the foundation of good writing. Creating great Internet articles should follow the same rules as other writing projects.

Make use of the built-in grammar check on your computer if you’re not sure. If my answer to this is that grammar is not my strong point, then what am I doing as a writer? I'm not that good at painting, so I'd think twice about painting awful pieces and then subjecting you to the abuse of having to view them on the Internet.

Then again, I suppose lots of rubbish singers, go on the X-factor/American Idol and belch out their corroded larynx to the entire world.

How to write an article tool: Free, quick English tutorials
The above is free, but here's an easy to use, simple grammar books you can buy.

Be yourself and express your thoughts skilfully when writing an article

Stay away from big words and wordy phrases. Large important words, unless they’re needed, do not necessarily express the feeling and the emotions you want your reader to ‘see.’ Write simply. Using big words doesn’t necessarily mean you write well. Your writing worth is judged by what you say and your ability to transmit your thoughts clearly to your reader. Get people to truly care about something you’ve said by: 1. Put a part of yourself into your article. 2. Develop enough skill to present it in such a way that they'll be enticed by the pictures you paint for them with your words. 3. Help them. 4. Give them something to laugh at.

People who read your work know what you sound like. If your ‘sound’ is not you, they will know that you’ve been messing around with the copy and paste thingy again. I’ve stopped reading a few of my friends’ pieces because when they make comments or write to me, they sound like themselves. However, when they produce an article, I can tell that large chunks of the work is someone else’s.

How to write an article tool: Forget copying. Instead, Get super ideas for blog posts
Some great places that accept original and expressive articles and pay for them, writing opportunities

How to write an article: edit, research, get facts right

If you’re creating a factual piece make sure you re-check your information for any flaw or inconsistency. Leave it out if you’re not sure of it. Wherever possible, leave your sources - not only for images, but for facts as well. It goes without saying, you do not cite as your source, one single Internet page when writing your article.

If you find information worth sharing that you suspect is flawed, inform your online audience of your suspicion. Put your own thoughts and experience into your work and let your readers know that even though you’re reporting the event/information as an objective body, you think it may be less than the truth.

If you’ve come across additional information after publishing your project, go back in and have it fixed. By the same token, if one of your readers suggests that something you’ve said may not be accurate, send them a message of thanks and submit a fix to your work. The last thing you want is to be known as someone who professes to know the truth, while propagating a series of lies and inaccuracies on your articles. Wipe the face of your articles clean with strict editing scourers, making sure that there are no mistakes, no misspelt words, and no incorrect sentence structures. Practice certainly makes perfect where editing is concerned.

How to write an article? Read

We’ll talk about this more in-depth in another one of the articles in this series, but I have to include a short note about reading here. One of the most important technique/skill building exercises for creating internet content and writing articles, is to be an avid reader yourself.

This is the only way you'll systems and tactics that work, and of course, those that don’t. When you find an article that catches your eye study it and decide why it’s so attractive. It goes without saying that emulating the writers and creators of great web content is a good idea.

Reading also helps you to see good and bad sentence structures; great and mediocre wording; and fantastic and idiotic project ideas. This will help you in your own work. If you start out as an okay web content provider/article writer, reading should make you (at least) a fine one at the end of your first year in the business.

Revision: how to write an article online - 2

~If I’m serious about writing, I have to teach myself new words. I won't make it out there with just the few I’ve managed to pick up along the way. In article writing it's not quality versus quantity, it's quality plus quantity where vocabulary is concerned.

~I’ve got to pay attention to how I lay out my work. Attractive layouts and wholesome images get my articles read by more people.

~I’ve got to use good grammar.

~I have to be skilful at expressing myself and my thoughts. I have clearly say what I want my readers to ‘see.’

~I’ve got to be careful to get my facts right, and humble enough to correct them when they’re wrong.

Reading helps me to be a better writer.

Here’s what we’ve been studying so far in this series:
How to write an article online - 1 Good practices
How to write an article online - 3 Finding ideas for articles
Please subscribe to this blog or join us to get the next update in this series. If you think this How To Write An Article series can help someone you know, please send this to them and/or share it on your favourite social networking sites. Thank you.
Extended reading:

How To Write An Article Online - 1

2012-01-23T15:08:00.001Z

How to write an article online is designed for new writers and creators of online content (and for those looking to improve their skills). This shows you some good practices to keep your readers satisfied and informed even if they haven’t got the time to read your entire article. Watch out for the rest of this series by subscribing to this blog on the right. This series is beneficial for those wanting to start a career writing online; whether you're a new blogger, a freelance writer looking to break the online market, or someone seeking to write content for online sites that pay you to write for them.
NB: There are some additional helpful links to get you started at the end of this tutorial.
You can read part 2: How to write an article online: developing skill and technique.

How to write an article online: good practices

People who regularly read online content generally tend to skim though the works because of lack of time. If, however, they find material that offers help in a way that relates to their specific need, works that amuse them, or content in which they’re interested, they'll stop and take the time to indulge in a more thorough read. This considered, if you don't enable easy skimming on all of your work, you may lose fans to writers who are more succinct in their articles. Here are some common ways to ensure that your internet articles are ready for easy reading and skimming.

Use pictures to illustrate when you write an article

Pictures work well to illustrate your point without having to go into too much detail. If you have a good digital camera, start taking your own pictures. You alone know exactly what you want to say, and using your imagination to set up and capture just the right image for your article could reap you benefits. You may even discover that you actually have a talent for photography. When you learn more on how to write an article online, you'll see that having your own pictures is a lot more practical than using existing ones online.

In my writing course I was told that a good writer always carries a camera because you may find yourself in a situation where you’ve taken an on-the-spot photograph which may be worth a lot to a newspaper. In addition to this, you may get your big break of acceptance by a large publication, simply because you have a unique picture to go with the story you want to tell. These articles show you how to use your pictures to optimize your work.
Optimizing pictures on your blog increases page views
How to store pictures online

Separate your sections when you write an article

If you take a look at this article you can easily assimilate the important points by looking at the heading of my sections. This not only helps your reader to focus on which part of the piece he/she wants to digest, but it works wonders in helping you, the writer, centre your thoughts precisely. If it helps, write your section headings before you write the article.

If you write in one long paragraph capturing several main thoughts, but scattering them throughout the piece, your writing can read very confusing and clumsy. Most readers won't take the time to sift through to the 'good' bits.

Use bold or larger headings when you write an article

Writing an article online is different from writing for traditional publications - bold headings may be required but not vital. However, if you’re an Internet content provider, your employers and readers will expect your sections to be headed in bold print. This not only makes it easier for the fans to capture the essence of your work, but it gives a better skimming result to the casual reader, not to mention SEO (but we won't talk about that here).

If this article is important to you, you would read the entire piece. However, if you were in a hurry and only wanted to skim the gist of the message, you could do so in less than one minute.

Remember to edit when you write an article

There is no point paying attention to the other factors if you aren’t properly editing your work. If you want to perfect – or at least improve – your writing skills, editing should be a large part of producing quality product. I’ve edited this article six times so far, but I’m sure that you can still pick out at least one typo or error in the content. This is because you’re looking at it with completely fresh eyes - another reason to leave your article for a few hours (or a day, if you've got the time), then read it one last time before publishing it.

Why is editing important for skimming? Because if your content is accurate and well-written, it should be easy to understand with merely a brief look-through. If your writing is less than adequate, it would be difficult for skimmers to make any sense of it at all. Editing is a large and very important part in learning how to write an article online.

Here are some brilliant, English tutorials on getting the grammar, punctuation and spelling right.

Use revision blocks when you write an article

While these are not always necessary, it’s a good idea to have one at the end of tutorials or articles that instruct. If your reader cannot finish your longer sections, having a revision block at the end of the tutorial gives him/her an option of just reading that section. If it makes sense to them, they will return for a more exhaustive read. Remember that as the creator, it’s your job to do the research and provide your reader with the information you claim to have. Regardless of how your reader chooses to peruse your work, your pieces should always provide good and accurate information. This is your responsibility, one that you took upon yourself the minute you decided to put your thoughts into words and publish them. This is not something you should take lightly when writing articles online.

Use bullet points when you write an article
Bullet points are very useful if you want to write an article online for proper Internet skimming. Stay away from wordy phrases and express yourself as succinctly as possible. Bullet points also allow you, the creator to highlight the facts in the article that you want the reader to pay attention to. Not only does this look neat and professional, it also hones your skill in focusing on one point at a time.

Revision and conclusion to 'How To Write An Article Online - 1'

I should use pictures to illustrate points when writing an online article.
I should section off my articles so that I can focus my thoughts in orderly patterns when I write.
Bold headings make my work appear neater, and make them easy to skim through.
Edit, edit, edit. Well-written work is easier to read, than pieces littered with mistakes.
Revision blocks like this one are helpful to the reader for skimming purposes.
Bullet points lend a professional look to my articles, and help my readers to focus on the main points I want to bring to their attention.

If you liked 'How To Write An Article Online: Good Practices', please share it on your favourite networking sites. As always, thank you for visiting A Blogger's Books and for leaving your comments. If you have any questions please leave them in the comment box too.

Other articles related to this topic:

Get super ideas for blog posts

10 ways to create a popular blog post
How to write an article online 2: developing skill and technique
How to write an article online 3: finding ideas for articles

Blog Tools You Need For 2012

2012-01-15T16:17:00.000Z

Blog tools you need for 2012 will explore what you need for better blogging this year. Proper blog tools are essential in order to give your visitors the complete reader experience they deserve. Blog tools can also increase your earnings by making your blog more attractive, work more efficiently, and preform better in SEO results. I have - and am using the following tools for blogs and find them extremely helpful. Now it's your turn to try them. You can also go here for the best in Blogger tools if you're with Blogger.

Blog tools you need for 2012

Note that some of these are free blog tools and others are paid ones. Also, some of them require you to sign up to receive them. It's okay to do so because I have. All this means is that you conveniently receive any updates to these blog tools in your inbox. This can be quite helpful, especially in cases where Google changes its policy on practises etc.

Blog tool 1: Global CommentLuv Site Search Engine

This free blog tool enables you to search for sites that allow your last post to show up in your comment. This is a great and easy way to spread your posts globally. You get a whole lot back for a little bit of time and effort (with no guest posting in site). The commentluv site is free to use, and if you bookmark anything this month, this should be it. Type in your niche and look for sites similar to yours. Click on them and leave your comments. Did I say that most commentluv enabled sites encourage you to leave comments by giving you do-follow links? This simply means that when you leave a comment, the link to your last post appears with it and this link is do-follow, thus helping your blog rank better on Google.

Blog tool 2: 7 Steps to Complete Search Engine Domination

This blog tool helps you to build a popular blog in less than a year. And yes, it's completely free! I'm still reading it at the moment, and am finding it insightful. You need to go to this page to get it. Just stick your email address in so it can be sent to you in your inbox. You'll get regular updates, but you can unsubscribe any time you like. I don't think you'll want to do so because the updates are pretty cool and always helpful if you're serious about blogging. This is one free tools for blogs you don't want to miss out on.

Blog tool 3: Tasty Tuesdays freebies page

I don't know what we would do without Tasty Tuesdays freebies page. No prize for guessing why this is another one of my top, amazing free blog tools. You'd be right in thinking, because it's free. Most of the plugins and tools offered on this page are made for Wordpress sites, but bloggers in general can still make use of a lot of them. There are free sales hosting page. Do you want to sell something online and want your buyers to click on a professional sales page? Do you want free 'buy this' buttons or 'download this' tabs?

Then this Tasty Tuesdays freebies page will be something you'll be going back to each week.

Blog tool 4: CommentLuv premium

I use this blog tool (or plugin) at my new Wordpress sites, and I think it's doing a fantastic job. CommentLuv encourages people to comment on your site because it gives them a do-follow link (in most cases) back to their last few blog posts. It also keeps spam at bay and gives you a ton of customisation you can do to improve your blog. I think it's the best blog tool I've seen in a long time. You have to buy CommentLuv, but you can then redesign it and do whatever you want with it. Once you purchase it, you can use it on all of your sites - no matter how many you have. Then your blog is added to the comluv search engine where more people are able to find it. This blog tool is the best one around for link building. It's also perfect if you want to increase your readership and decrease your bounce rate. I recommend it whole-heartedly. If you haven't seen my wordpress sites yet. They're here and here. If you buy one blog tool this year, it has to be commentluv. Blogger users can download commentluv by signing up for an account on Intensedebate . Wordpress users - just purchase and instantly download. There are videos to show you how to install it, but it's very straightforward.

Conclusion: So how about you? What blog tools have you used and have become impressed by? Please share them here so we all can make full use of them. These are mine for 2012, and I suspect I'll be talking about them for a very long time. If you liked 'Blog Tools You Need for 2012', why not share it on your favourite social networking sites, please. Tell us what you think in the comment boxes below. Thank you for visiting and commenting on A Blogger's Books!

Startup Business

2012-01-12T11:03:00.000Z

At this time of recession, it’s ironic that one of the fastest growing money-makers are people with a startup business. Writing e-books, blogging, and launching online businesses are all the rage these days and it seems like 1 in every 10 parent I meet has got a startup business. People always say everyone has got a book in them – and this may be the case. But nowadays it seems that everyone has got a business in them too! Many of us start our business and fail. Many go on to be quite successful and even move on to teaching others how to start their own business like this incorporate company in Hong Kong

are you nurturing a startup business?

I think the key to all of these elements is to have the right people helping you. I’m an author, and I’m very good at what I do. However, when it comes to website coding and design; or building up my own business from scratch, I’m a small fish swimming in a very huge lake.

I’ve been recently toying with the idea of getting an online partner, someone who’s not a writer, but who’s able to fix a problem on one of my blogs in the click of a finger. I saw the company formation in Hong Kong on the Internet which will help you with things like registering your online, company formation etc. My blog needs something like this because I’m ready to hit a higher deck where writing and blogging is concerned. Please let me know if you’ve used anyone affordable.

I've come to the realisation that I'm not cut out for tech stuff. This hit me towards the end of last year because while my writing has gone from strength to strength, my technical skills (or lack thereof) are at a standstill. My mind bends with all the stuff I've read online and I need some help.

Blog Statistics: 2011 Numbers

2012-01-05T11:48:00.000Z

My blog statistics in 2011 have been quite encouraging. It's really progressed in terms of page views and Google PR rating. (If you'd like to check yours, go here). I'd like to share some of these statistics with you because you're the reason A Blogger's Books is where it is today. Thank you. Here are my blog statistics for 2011.

Blog statistics for 2011

Blog statistics for top 10 posts

Free gadgets to improve page views

Free blog gadgets for Blogger
Make more from adsense: tips for small time bloggers
How to create a blank page in Blogger
How to resize Facebook Networked blogs widget
Free gadgets to monetize your blog
Writing opportunities
4 brilliant online sites to write for
10 ways to make your blog post popular
Free, quick English lessons

Blog statistics for top 5 referrers
Blogger.com
Direct
Google
Viperchill
Relationship Blog

Blog statistics for top 5 visitors (by country)
United States
United Kingdom
India
Canada
Malaysia

Other stats
#48.67% (almost half) of my traffic comes from search engines
#The search engine that sends more traffic to A Blogger's Books is still Google -with a whopping 97.67 % (if all search engine traffic).
# Alexa traffic rank - 583,115
# Google PR rating - 4

Thank you again for your support in 2011. Please let me know what you'd like me to focus on this year. Leave your comments in the box below and I'll try my best to do that for you. If there's anyone you know that can benefit from the things we talk about on this blog, please send them this way. Thank you for all the comments, the visits, the links and your presence here. It's what keeps this blog from shutting down altogether.

Hopefully I can figure out this year how to earn from all the hard work I put in here and on my other sites. Please let me know if you have any ideas that'll work for me.

Reverse Google Pagerank Algorithm

2012-01-04T23:06:00.001Z

Reverse Google Pagerank Algorithm seems to be some sort of made up term to get high-ranking sites to link to various spam websites and suck some of their hard-earned pagerank.

Have you received this letter? I just wanted to give you the heads-up. If you receive the following letter or anything like it, please do your research before adding any links to your site. If you know anything about an actual reverse Google pagerank algorithm please let me know so that I can update this post.

(Name removed) I just wanted to drop you a line and invite you
to be a link partner for our website (name removed).

I've found your website with the "reverse google pagerank
algorithm" which indicates that we both would get better google
rankings, when we exchange links.

I've already gone ahead and added your site abloggersbooks.com
to our link directory, could you please verify the description
before it will go life {sic} at: (link removed)

There is no site (that I can find) like the one this guy mentioned. As far as I could see, there's also nothing called Reverse Google Pagerank Algorithm. In fact, Google has specifically advised against link exchanges.

Have you received any emails mentioning reverse Google pagerank algorithm from this company? If so, did you add their link to your site?

Win Computer System For Your Office Space

2012-01-01T22:01:00.001Z

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Contest Factory for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Yes, you read that right! I'm about to tell you how you can win a high-end computer system for your office space. Ideally, I'd just blurt it out, but I'll suffer you with a bit of prancing around first :-) You're all aware of how hard we work here to bring you the best deals when it comes to books, writing and all that cool stuff you do in your office space. Now we're at the start of a new year, we want to maintain that service, but we also want to add a new twist to A Blogger's Books. Our resolution is to bring you fun things like links to computer quizzes, contests (and hopefully some freebies along with them).

Speaking of freebies, yes - I shall get on with telling you about this computer system you can win. Pimp My Cube Contest is on the look out for the worst, most untidy and pathetic office or cubicle, so they can ride in and pimp it for you. Is your office dingy, dark and old? Do you have peeling paint on the walls - in fact, do you even have walls? Has your old computer time-traveled from the 80s? Does your filing system consist of old, brown papers strewn across the old, carpeted floor? If you've answered yes to one or more of these questions, you're a prime candidate for this contest.

Win Computer System

How to enter the competition

1. Upload a video of your office space/cubicle at the link and explain why it's so terrible and why you need the contest factory to swoop in and pimp your space for you.

2. Make sure you tell all your friends, relatives and work mates to view your video and vote for it. Simple as.

3. You can easily upload your video from your phone or webcam.

The prize

The grand prize is a total value of approximately $1,200. The first prize will include one of three packages:

1. New high end computer system

2. New desk, office chair and decorations

3. New entertainment package with stereo, espresso machine etc.

There's a second sweepstakes prize of $200 which will be given to a randomly chosen registered user at the end of the contest.

Rules of contest

1. Your video will win the contest based on your explanation of why your space is terrible to work in, your video, and the amount of votes you get - so make a great video, then really promote it.

2. Make your video as funny, as witty or as strange as you want. Be creative.

3. Deadline for uploading your video is the 31st of January, 2012, at 12:00PM

New Years Resolutions for Bloggers

2011-12-28T23:31:00.001Z

‘New Year’s Resolutions for Bloggers’ will help you make plans that will propel your blog to lasting success beyond 2012. In order to improve our lives and that of our families we often make new year’s resolutions. Sticking to them may be slightly problematic, but we make them nevertheless, right? The drive behind resolutions in general is to achieve, advance and improve. The solution therefore, to making a better blog is to apply these same resolves to our site. Babbling over, here are the top six (I like the number 6) new year’s resolutions every blogger should be making right now.

what are your new year's resolutions for your blog?

New year’s resolutions for bloggers

Resolution 1: Make a work diary

If you were working in an office you’d have a timetable with tasks you need to complete daily. Of course, there would be the odd memo (or two) you’d completely ignore, or the boss who’s a bit too much into group games which require staff hugging and falling into each other’s arms. However, you’ll basically know what needs to be done by 5 pm, when you rush out the door.

If you’re a serious blogger your top new year’s resolution should be to make out a rota of things you must complete each day – and stick to it. If you don’t have a blogging work-diary, make one right now. You’ll see all your Facebook and Twitter time decreasing, but this could only be good for your blogging career, and will get rid of a lot of the distractions bloggers face on the Internet.

Resolution 2: Add your blog to at least 2 RSS directories each week

RSS directories are important because you only ever have to add your blog to them once. Here’s one RSS list you could use to do your research. This list is updated weekly and includes a brief review so you know exactly what they are. It features more than 400 directories and search engines. Adding your blogs gradually avoids the risk of being mistaken as a spammer by bulk-adding your links all in one go.

Resolution 3: Join Yahoo answers

As a blogger, one of the important new year’s resolutions you should make is to join Yahoo answers. ‘Ah’, you say, ‘But this will take up even more of my time!’ Thing is, once you’ve gotten to level 2, Yahoo! Allows you to put live links with your answers. If you’re answering questions based on your niche (which is what you will do, no doubt), you can always back up your great, helpful answers by leaving a link to an article you prepared earlier on your blog. The better your answers, the more viewers would be moved to visiting your blog to find further information. I have a DIY blog and give some very insightful answers in Yahoo’s Home section. The result is that I have many visitors clicking through to see a ‘more detailed’ resolution to their problem. Cute, right?

Just make sure you log in each day, even if you’re not answering questions. You get 1 point just for logging in. If you’re an author, this is a great place to sell your book once you’ve amassed some sort of expertise.

Resolution 4: Join Tumblr

Here's a fabulous post on how to make the best of tumblr. I’ve actually followed this step-by-step tutorial and have benefited from it. It shows you how to get free PR7 links just with one click. Apart from the links, keep updating micro posts of your new articles. Remember to add your original article link to them and watch your traffic rise. You wrote the post so you know what they say. It only takes a minute to write a short ‘review’ of them.

Resolution 5: Make an effort to give back

Your new year’s resolutions as a blogger would not be complete without making a huge effort to give back to your readers and subscribers. Make your links (at least, some of them) dofollow. People love to comment if they’ll get a do follow link from it. You can make even scammers behave properly and leave you sweet and charming comments if they know they’re going to get a do follow link from their efforts. Do you have loyal readers who comment on almost all your posts? Give them a shout out by sometimes visiting their PR 1 blog, and leaving a comment for them. (If you're just starting out as a blogger, here are some more newbie blogging tips you simply must read to make an impact.)

Resolution 6: Do top ten blogs every quarter

Your last new year’s resolution as a blogger is to make an effort to share the love to big bloggers, top risers, and next best thingers. The reason you don’t want to make a top 10 list of the biggest names in your niche is because the big boys and gals may not even notice your post (even if you let out little spits while yelling it in their faces). The top risers will. And you bet, the ‘next big thing’ blogs will do too.

People are always searching for the top ‘10ers’ and the top 7 ‘besters’ in their chosen field so they can leave comments on these sites to build up your own. (What’s wrong with the number 6?) Make your top 10 post the one they find. You don’t have to do this often, just resolve to do it on a regular basis – like just before the big holidays in the year when your mind is elsewhere and you’re suffering to find great ideas for blog posts. Trust me, this is an easy, but really helpful way out.

Conclusion: ‘New Year’s Resolutions for Bloggers’
Whatever you do, don’t go away and forget to do these things today. Even if you don’t fancy all of them, do at least half of the things on this list and you will see a marked difference not only on your site, but in the way you blog and your productive levels. If you have other super ideas of new year’s resolutions in which bloggers improve their sites, please add them to the comments below. Please share this post so that bloggers everywhere can resolve to have a better, more successful blogging career in 2012. Here’s to all of us and may our resolutions last throughout the year!

Did You Get Your Book Deals?

2011-12-28T21:00:00.001Z

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of My Travel Checklist for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Did you get your book deals? Well, Christmas is over and the new year is swiftly approaching. I hope you've been able to buy all the books you need in the fabulous book sales I've seen online this season. You know, it's possible to stock up on all the books you'll need this year, all in one go. Why pay full price later on when you can grab them for half price now, right?

We do the same for holidays. This is the perfect time of year to look around for a smashed-price getaway. Holiday companies need the business because most people have spent so much during Christmas, spending money on a holiday (or on anything else) is the last thing on their mind. However, you can save yourself a huge amount of money (as long as you're not paying interest on any of your out goings) by shopping for your summer holiday now.

There's another way you can get help with your holiday this year. Mondial Assistance is launching My Travel Checklist. This is a free, clever little widget available to download either on your desktop or mobile device. It helps you to pack like a professional, where ever you're going, regardless of the time of year.
You can build your personal packing list from a group of suggestions or add your own personal touch based on your travel details. What's more, you can save, update, email or print your lists. This is going to be the way forward for every traveler, because you'll never forget anything, ever again. So if you're traveling for business or pleasure, this free, user-friendly widget is something you should check out.

Computer Quiz Questions

2011-12-28T17:22:00.001Z

Hope you all had the most perfect Christmas ever!

One of my new year's resolutions is to include something fun on this blog for you regularly. I know so many of you subscribe because you love books, writing, publishing and the many popular 'how do I blog' tutorials for newbie bloggers we publish here. Having said that, I think you'll also love - and enjoy - these computer quiz questions because they're extremely useful if you're a computer user.

These computer quizzes are quick and give you a challenge to see how much you really know. They also provide the answers at the end, so don't worry that you won't know enough to take part.

Click on the link for the newest computer quiz on Tips4PC.com

I'll sneak back very shortly to tell you more about my new year's resolutions where blogging is concerned. I've still got family staying, so I've got to pretend I'm staying off my blogs ;-) Enjoy your quiz while I try to smuggle my laptop upstairs to the bedroom.

Merry Christmas From Us

2011-12-22T08:46:00.001Z

A Blogger's Books would love to wish all its subscribers, customers and sponsors a Merry Christmas and a blessed, prosperous and healthy 2012. We look forward to spending more time with you next year. Please use the comment box to let us know what we can do to help you and how we can serve you in 2012.

Meanwhile, if you would love to add some more books to your bookshelves, this Christmas, have a look at mine.

Here's a big holiday gift to my sponsors: They're listed below and would love your custom (and so would I).

iPad review (all you need to know if you're buying an iPad
Bookcase superstore
Lighting: http://www.lightingbycsn.co.uk/
Textbooks: here
Writing jobs: link
Vista print
Speedo Gift certificate

Thank you once again for making 2011 a great one!

ING Direct: Savings Widget

2011-12-21T21:00:00.001Z

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of ING Direct for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I get a large percentage of my traffic from people looking for blogger gadgets and widgets. Today I'm featuring a different kind of widget that has nothing to do with blogging, writing or books. ING Direct recently developed a brand new widget which enables people in the UK to see, on average, how much householders are saving in selected areas.

Do you save?

I know it's a difficult topic to broach, especially when most families are suffering from the inflation figures we've seen in the news recently. My husband travels on a train to work, and we've just heard that train companies are going to put up their rates in the new year. This will bring their prices to about 5% above the national inflation rate. In the UK, the price for everything has gone up, except our wages. Why am I talking about Savings Accounts then? Surely, if you have less to spend, you won't bother saving, right?

Savings unlikely?

Not really. I think we've realised that our present situation means credit is harder to attain. If anything should happen with our families or business, banks are less likely to lend us money. Therefore, saving for a 'rainy day' is even more important.

ING Savings Widget

UK householders can use this widget to discover how much they’re saving in selected areas. This is a great way to check out your own local area and see for yourself. Why not try out the ‘My Comparison Table’ in the widget below and leave a comment to let me know how much you could be saving. You may surprise yourself.

Find out more about ING Direct Savings

Best Blogs I Visited in 2011

2011-12-17T09:14:00.000Z

Best Blogs I Visited in 2011 seeks to highlight the writing and blogging sites I've found most helpful this year. This is a post I want to do to give back something to those site owners who've helped me in my own blogging career. Thank you very much for all the information and selfless knowledge and know-how you've extended to me. Many of you have never visited my blog, I know. However, you've been my virtual support and I want to share you with my subscribers, faithful readers and passing visitors (and of course, give you my support through my testimonials, screenshots and links). You have been my writing and blogging based favourite blogs in 2011!

Best blogs I visited in 2011
I've landed on several amazing sites this year. If I'm one of your frequent commentator and you're not listed here, I'll bear you in mind and feature you in another post. If your site is not in this niche, look out for more best blogs articles on my other sites in your niche, especially if you have a relationship blog. In no particular order, here we go!

1. Wordpress Website Builder Tag line: Building websites to make money online.
This site is the reason I could blog on my new Wordpress blogs with some efficiency. Even though Mitz, (the owner) writes for people who've been on Wordpress for years, she also cleverly adjusts her language and descriptions to be extremely helpful to Wordpress virgins like myself. If you've read my Blogger to Wordpress Migration (ongoing) diary, you'll know that I mentioned a very supportive 'M'. This is she.
Wordpress Website Builder is my recommendation for anyone who's considering starting up a Wordpress blog like I recently have, or already blogging on this platform, but have some questions about it.

Why I subscribed to, and visit this site each day: there's always an answer for my blogging question. It's without a doubt, one of the best blogs I've visited in 2011 because new posts as well as old ones always have a valuable nugget of something I can use straight away and/or implement on my own site. I don't always know how to do the technical things recommended, but the tutorials on this blog are pitched at the perfect level, that even tech-disabled people like myself can manage to implement most of them. Wordpress Website Builder is also a do-follow ComLuv blog.
I know you'll love this article I found there: How to find 'dofollow' comluv blogs with high page rank internal pages http://wordpress-websitebuilder.com/how-to-find-dofollow-commentluv-blogs-with-high-page-rank-internal-pages/

2. Increase Web Traffic Tag line: Easy Strategies to increase your website traffic today.
This blog is owned by Ana Hoffman. She's a great blogger and a terrific, honest individual, so you can trust what she says. Her articles are based around getting traffic and making money from your blog as she clearly does. Ana also has a large number of articles on list building, link building and social media. If you need information on any of the above, this well-attended site is definitely where you'll find them. Ana's subscribers are well-informed bloggers themselves. This makes for a rich, diverse blog.

Why I subscribe to, and visit this site several times a week: Unlike a lot of big bloggers, Ana still remains very approachable and makes sure she can be easily reached. Her blog feels like it's on the other end of the phone because it's really that accessible. I've read and implemented quite a number of elements on my blog, based on Ana's step-by-step tutorials. She's not scared to share her 'success secrets' and whenever I have questions, they're quickly answered. This is one of the best blogs to subscribe to if you need help with enhancing your blogging career. TGC is also a do-follow ComLuv blog, so commenting does a great deal for you.
I know you'll love this article I found there: Why does my blog make money and yours doesn't http://www.trafficgenerationcafe.com/blog-makes-money/

3. ProBlogger Tag line: Blog Tips To Help You Make Money Blogging
This blog is owned by Darren Rowse, and was an easy choice for this article. You wouldn't expect me to make such a list and not include this blog. While this site is mainly for bloggers who're no longer beginners, newbie bloggers can still gain a vast amount of really helpful information. I always wish I had more time to spare when I sign into ProBlogger. I know that if I read every last article on this site, I'd be one of the best bloggers in the world.

Why I visit ProBlogger at least once a week: ProBlogger gives me challenges to step up to. I'm no way near where I want to be as a Blogger, but this site enables me to fight for and do more. There are several guest posters on this site, I suppose it's every bloggers dream to write here. This element of publishing means that the reader gets a great cross-section of talent and advice. The articles are diverse because they come from various, brilliant minds. You can be assured that only the best is good enough for Darren - an ideal which is great for his subscribers.
I know you'd love this page I found there: ProBlogger Jobs Board http://jobs.problogger.net/

4. The ComLuv Network Tag line: Reward your readers.
The ComLuv Network is owned by Andy Bailey, the creator of the fabulous Wordpress plugin CommentLuv (which I have on my WP sites). This is simply the best blog in blogosphere when it comes to rewarding your readers and subscribers. The plugin allows a link to their last - or popular - posts to show up when they comment on your site. It's built mainly for wordpress users, but Blogger users can also benefit from guest posting and commenting on this site (any niche). I've also seen comluv on some Blogger blogs (even though I didn't get it to work properly on my own and had to remove it).

Why I subscribe to, and visit this site several times a week: The ComLuv Network is a real community. Guest posters and other users alike, work together to create something great that all can and do benefit from. You can be assured that whenever you sign in, there's something useful for you to read and/or implement on your blog, regardless of your niche. The act of commenting is never a chore on this site because (among other goodies) you always get the name of your last post published on a PR 6 site which is visited by thousands each day .
I know you'll love this: CommentLuv Enabled Blogs http://www.commentluv.com/buy-commentluv-premium/commentluv-global-search-engine/

5. Young Pre Pro Tag line - How To Write For Traffic.
This site is owned by Oni, a young writer who shows other writers how to make money from writing online. He has clear and concise articles detailing each aspect of how writers can search for clients they want to work with, and earn properly for the work they do. He often publishes lists of writing jobs which actually pay dollars instead of pennies.

Why I subscribe to, and visit this site several times a week: Oni writes for several clients and his blog is frequented by bloggers and writers all over the world, who're serious about creating a career for themselves in the writing market. This is really one of the best blogs I've seen for budding writers. It's clear from the amount and content of the comments Oni receives, that his blog is valued by his subscribers and loyal readers. He's doing something (a lot of things) right, and will show you how much he earns each month - just from online writing.
I know you'll love this article I found there: 51 Do Follow Blogs To Comment On http://www.youngprepro.com/list-51-dofollow-blogs-comment/

Conclusion: Best Blogs I visited in 2011
I've been with Blogger for many years and was told that in order to start getting some financial returns for all the the hard work I do in blogging, I needed to have a self-hosted Wordpress site. This was when I started to do some intensive research online. I was fortunate to come across these very helpful and talented individuals and their blogs. It was with their (different) help that I managed to start DIY Projects and Build Confidence. If, like me, you are thinking of setting up a new Wordpress blog, don't go it alone. You simply must sign up with Hostgator because they have a brilliant 24-7 live chat service. And with my coupon code: AnneLGarner you can get 25% off the cost price.

Do you have a list of the best blogging or writing blogs you've visited in 2011? Please use the comment box below to share them with us. I think it would be a great idea to consult each other's lists and perhaps visit the sites and leave them an encouraging message about the hard work they put in to impress and teach us. Feel free to say you found them here. Please also share this post with others who will benefit from it. Thank you.

Is This The End Of Books?

2011-12-14T13:15:00.000Z

'Is this the end of books' may seem like a harsh and insane question. Of course, people love taking paper books on holiday, kids will always love reading books and many people like the weight and smell of books in their hands. I ask this question because I was vaguely listening to a BBC programme my husband was watching last night. They asked the same question and mentioned a few things which got me thinking that our generation may indeed be seeing the end of paper books. Wait before you judge me, though. I was like you before I listened in on (some) of this programme. I strongly felt books were here to stay, no matter how popular e-readers became, but here are some facts you need to think about seriously (based on highlights from the programme). Are we the last generation of people who will actually buy paper books?

Remember the end of the LP (records)

Remember how we loved those LPs and 45s? (For younger people, these are what we called records.) They were nice, smooth, round and could be considered larger CDs. I remember my uncle playing his Bob Marley LPs when I was a little girl. He had some black ones and some gold ones (he took special care of those gold ones). I wasn't old enough to buy any of my own, and have never owned any, but I know people who had vast collections of records. We never thought we'd see the day when we would and could no longer buy LPs in music stores, but that day came and went and we hardly noticed. We just shopped for CDs and let the tide roll in and swallow up our beloved records. Nowadays, we don't even buy CDs any more. We leave that for the elderly. I have kids who would never own a CD. Why would they buy them when they can easily download cheaper music and get exactly what they want without having to buy the tracks they dislike too? Like records, is this the end of books?

Remember the end of the dial telephone?

No one kicked up a fuss when we were first introduced to the touch pad telephone. Remember those ones with the little holes that you had to put your finger through and follow round? Did you rave when they went? Do you miss them? Were you one of the first people to buy one of the touch pad ones for your home? Did you show it to all your friends? Did you think you were progressive when you got rid of your dial telephone in favour of a touch pad one? My kids don't know what they are. And unless we go to a science museum, they won't ever see one. They think that my new touch pad mobile (cell) phone is old-fashioned. It seems that touch screen is the way to go. Like the dial telephone, is this the end of books of the paper kind?

Remember the end of old cameras with the black curtains?

I'm sure you're not old enough to have ever used one. But do you remember seeing pictures of those old cameras where the photographers had to cover them - and his own head - with a thick, black curtain? I bet they were glad to see the back of those. Then came the cameras which took pictures you had to take to the chemist to get developed. I still own one of these, but I haven't used it in years. My kids would never own one of these. Why would they, though? They'd prefer to store all their pictures digitally and delete the ones they don't like before they were printed. Instead of storing pictures in heavy albums they had to invite people home to see, they'd rather walk around with a small collection of their pictures, housed inside something smaller than their bunch of keys. Like the old cameras with the black curtains, is this the end of books?

Is this the end of books, really?

Once there were scrolls, the only form of 'books', where all the writings of the world were stored. Most of them are gone now and the few which are left are kept in museums. We've forgotten about them and never use them as a reading 'device'. The world realised we could make paper, write on them, and make better 'books'.

Then there were Monks who were put in charge of writing out books by hand. They worked well and relatively fast, but once the world realised that we could do the work much faster, easier and cheaper by using a printing press, we did!

The printing press worked wonders for the world of books. The elite held the 'print strings' and even to today, publishers and literary agents are the ones who dictate what we would like to read, what we should read, and who we read. Then the world discovered e-books. At the same time we realised that the elite few need not decide for us. That we could determine for ourselves, what we want to read. Remember when we played the game, Patience (Solitaire) with cards? Those were the days when we read books from paper and followed the rules few publishers set down in concrete for the multitude of us.

Is this the end of books? Conclusion

If this is the end of books I do feel sad. And yes, even a little anxious and scared. After all, I love books and even write them. A lot of the other 'funerals' I mentioned above happened when I was younger and still forming who I was. I wasn't really concerned. If the end of books hits us it will be during my adulthood, and of course, I'll have to change the way I see and do things. I don't want to do this. The end of books - if it does occur - will not affect the next generation as much as it will affect us. However, it's actually the next generation that matters because they'll be the one living on long after we're gone. They will be the ones shopping for e-books, downloading free e-books and buying Kindles for their kids.

Which begs the question; will I ever have to buy a huge desk for my daughter to keep her university text books (when she eventually gets to that age), or will I simply be buying her something like an i-Pad on which she'll store her entire text-book library? If the end of books does occur, what does this mean for the present Literary Agents and book publishers? What do you think? And for those people who fight this saying, 'But I love the smell of books' our kids - the next generation - would they be bothered? Besides, as I thought (just before the voice of the BBC programme said it) someone will develop an app that gives you a particular smell with every book you download.

Additional question:

If this is the death of books? What 5 books would you always keep on that dwindling bookshelf of yours?

And speaking of e-books and e-readers. Did you know you could buy a kindle for as little as £79.00. I bought my husband one last year for nearly twice that amount. Swindled! I was :-)

Please share this article on your social networking sites. Thank you.

Family Cook Book: Perfect Gift

2011-12-08T19:19:00.001Z

I just wanted to update you with a really quick post about a family cook book you can all create - yourself. Do you have favourite recipes from your grandparents, parents or other family members? Do you run a blog that publishes recipes regularly or now and then? Are you a great cook? Do you know a great cook?

If you've answered yes to any of the above questions, this may just be the ticket for you. Easily create and print your own cookbook. It's the perfect gift for the holidays. And since A Blogger's Books can't pass up a fantastic book deal, I couldn't resist passing this onto you too. I hope you can make full use of this. The price is now $39.00. This is a 61% discount from $99.00

This is a perfect time to grab this book deal because who knows when you'll get such a great discount again! Your family would certainly love this personalised present. What better way to preserve all your family's traditional recipes is there, right? Don't put this off.

Get family to help you update this book
Upload cool colour photos
Create an instant family heirloom
Print to your PC
Works on PCs MAC and iPad

Blogger To Wordpress Migration: Diary 3

2011-12-05T19:07:00.001Z

My Blogger to Wordpress migration diary - part 3. Okay, so you’ve read the first part of my diary of migrating from blogger to wordpress in horror. Then you followed as I told about choosing and purchasing my domain in the second part. Here I continue my diary of the migration process and show you what happened in the days closely following the start of the wordpress site.

well, I felt like it did, anyway.

Right after the blog migration

After the actual migration, when all 41 articles were displayed on the new site, I realised that not all of my widgets had co-operated and come over. Added to this, the internal links I’d put on my articles all led to posts which no longer existed. Forget the pictures! They just went totally berserk and anarchic on me. They stood where they wanted. The ones I wanted in the middle remained on one side, and the ones I decided were going on the left, just didn’t want to stand still. There may’ve been an easy way to sort them out (isn’t there always?), but in my state of tech and coding idiocy, I didn’t know about it. It dawned on me that the only thing I didn't have to do was re-write the posts. All the links, images and heading fonts had to be changed. It was time to stop panicking and shouting inside my head, and work my fingers until they hurt - literally! It was then I made the following:

Note to self: start a blog from scratch. Never migrate from a different platform!

The only great thing about this sad situation was the fact that all the images were mine and I could easily find them again. The solution I came up with was to reload the whole bulk of them onto my new Wordpress site. If you’re familiar with this site, you’ll know that most of the articles are about home improvement, interior design and our extreme home makeover. This means lots of images per article, let alone the entire blog.

Wordpress image-optimising system
When I started this impossible upload, I found a great thing about a sad situation. Wordpress has the best system for optimising pictures on your blog: You can choose where people are directed when they click on your image in a search result page. You can give each picture a name, an alt tag and a description. You can even edit them while uploading each individual one to your post. As Blogger doesn’t allow alt tags or picture description, I found this Wordpress element a revelation! This meant that the task of uploading hundreds of pictures again was made a whole lot better by the fact that I could now optimise the pictures fully and effectively.

Once the images all had their places and were fully re-saved (now on my new blog’s very own library) I could easily view them, their details, and edit them - all from my dashboard! I still wanted to rip my hair out though, as my pages were all showing up as clickable links. I’d write a nice intro to my pages so that I could include some key words, but mainly to explain what they were to my readers who chanced upon them. Nothing I did worked. Hours were spent in vain trying to figure out things I had no idea about. (Why didn't I use the free help that came with the live chat set up by my blog's hosting platform? I was too busy panicking to think straight.)

My blog migration guy dumped me

After a few days, the person who migrated the blog understandably said he wasn’t going to spend any more time on it. I hadn’t paid him the world, so I wasn’t surprised. I was then left on my own to figure out how the side bars worked, how to edit my posts and pictures and how on earth to put some blogging directories' widgets on the blog. These all may sound easy to you, because you may have been with Wordpress for ages and know exactly what to do. For me, it was a gigantic task. However, just like the messy images, him quitting on me was a blessing in disguise.
I figured out on my own that the pages had been migrated, but not ‘Published’. On Blogger, I’d write a post, then ‘publish’ it. On wordpress I was trying to ‘Update’ the pages after editing them, without first ‘Publishing’ them. Once I gave myself a hard kick, the editing and republishing seemed to move a lot faster.

Another Wordpress wonder of wonders!
After 3 weeks, I’d edited all the posts and pages, plus all the images. While doing this I found another Wordpress wonder of wonders: You can actually change the url of your post! If your post's heading is too long, you can simply edit the url to say something shorter and more search-engine friendly.

With all the editing done, the hard part was over, but I still had all the most important jobs to figure out: How to make sure my categories, keywords and tags were search-engine friendly.

My very stop therefore, was to figure out how on earth my Blogger tags had come out as categories on Wordpress, and what I could do about it since there were about a hundred of them.

If you're thinking about starting your own wordpress blog, please use the comment box below to let me know if you have any questions. I have confidence you can do it. As I said before, starting one from scratch is much easier than going the way I did and migrating a blog. If you're interested in Blogger tutorials I have a fantastic page of them on this blog. As always, thanks for visiting A Blogger's Books. Please share this post with someone else, or on your favourite networking sites.

BTW, my WP blogging platform is doing some offers on domains at the moment. Visit the link below to see what could be yours.

Amazon Bargain Books Give Away!

2011-11-28T14:36:00.000Z

Amazon Bargain books' sale for this time of year is an annual feature for A Blogger's Books! This year with so many book deals on the go, I have to show you the entire discount books' page, which boasts up to 65% off gifts and Christmas presents. I'm going to take advantage of these sales for my Christmas gifts, and I just wanted to share it with you so you can get in there early.

If you're interested in some bargain books of great quality and style, hop over now to the Amazon page linked to find your own bargain for family and friends. There's no time like the present to stock up on all your Christmas presents. But why stop there? This is your chance to get quite a number of cool bargain books for the entire year for birthdays, kids presents, party give aways and much more. I usually stock up at this time of year, so I have presents to wrap when my kids are invited to their friends' birthday parties.

Let me know if you find anything fantastic, and I'll keep you up-to-date with any book sales that follow. If you're looking for an e-reader to read your new books on, this may help:

Guest Posting Is A Waste Of Time

2011-11-21T12:50:00.001Z

Guest posting is the craze that's created a pandemic on the Internet at the moment. If you do a search for "guest posting" you'll find more than 77 million results. All the big lads and lasses are extolling the virtues of guest posting. Darren Rowse from Problogger actively encourages guest posts and even adds his 'voice' to these posts on his site. Bluedelta said about guest posting: One of the methods that professional bloggers use to gain more traffic is guest posting... SEO Moz said: Guest blogging is a great way to build relevant links to your website from authoritative websites within your niche. Andy Bailey from ComLuv has actually built up his PR6 site with high-quality guest posts. Well, here is what I think.

guest posting - a time consuming journey. Is it worth it?

What is guest posting?

Simply put, guest posting is writing a free article to be posted on someone else's blog or website. If you're a good guest poster, you'll submit only your best articles. You'll subscribe to the post so that you can answer the questions or reply to the comments left on your guest article. You will also share the post on all your social networking sites.

Why guest post

There are some advantages (I do admit) to guest posting. Mainly, a guest post may get you new subscribers, more traffic and a back link(s) to your site. If you guest post on a site with a higher PR rating than yours, (which is advisable) this of course counts for Google ratings. This - in short - is why people guest post. But what about the disadvantages? No one ever talks about these, and it's not because they don't exist.

Why guest posting is a waste of time

1. Many serial guest posters spin their articles and submit them to several sites. You won't be aware of this when you write your well-researched article for one of these sites and will be tainted by association, to sites with bad practices.

2. One of the things you should do as a guest poster is to submit your best articles to other sites as guest posts. After a while, your site will become less than what you've worked so hard to achieve. Eventually, all your works of art will be elsewhere. You'll be enriching other sites with traffic for years, and diminishing the value of yours. Sure, you'll get a few subscribers here and there, but what will you have to keep them coming back? Your best works are no longer where they belong.

3. You don't get paid for your articles - nuff said!

4. Guest posting is not a good investment of your time. You first of all have to search for blogs that accept guest posts. You have to make sure they're in your niche and they've got some sort of decent PR. Next, you have to research their past articles to see what they publish and their theme. You also have to make sure they haven't recently published the article you have in mind. Then you have to write or outline the article, send them a message and wait for their reply. You could be using your time more effectively researching your own great article, writing it and putting it on your own site; or researching real writing jobs that pay for your hard work.

5. You have to spend time answering questions on yet another blog. Some readers don't usually read the tagline where it says the article is a 'guest post' and address the questions to the owners of the site (a big let down).

6. If you're doing your job well as a guest blogger, you should spend time sharing these guest posts - yet more hours you could be writing an article for payment.

7. What happens to all the ad revenue generated by your guest posts? Yes, what happens to them?

8. You could lose subscribers if your content suffers as a result of your galavanting (guest posting) ways.

Conclusion

I have used guest posts for all the advantageous reasons stated in my third paragraph above. I will continue to guest post because I'm aware that it can be beneficial for bloggers/writers like myself who need to build up traffic and buzz about their work and e-Books. However, I'm also aware that guest blogging can be bad for my own blogs, and that my writing time can suffer from doing too much of it.

I'm all for guest posting if we understand that it has as many drawbacks as it does, advantages. Are the advantages worth the discomfort? Sometimes, but it depends on who and what are involved, obviously.
I also accept guest posts on all my sites and will continue to do so. However, I always, always look at the guest bloggers' previous work and never publish submitted articles without first editing them.

Now, what do you think about guest posting? Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages in your experience?

Submissions: Do This Now

2011-11-12T17:38:00.000Z

I've just discovered that Mslexia runs a fabulous 'Get Published' workshop on their website. This is just a very quick post to get this out to you so you can get your submissions ready. This page on their site covers the submissions process, literary agents, finding an agent/publisher etc. Before you click off to that page, make sure you look at the note below. Get published page.

Mslexia also invites writers to submit their work, both for their online and hard copy versions of the magazine. Their contributors' guidelines are very detailed so make sure you look at the relative information before sending in submissions.

New additions to writing jobs page

Before I go off to enjoy the rest of my week-end, here are a couple of writing opportunities to add to my writing jobs page. Follow the link for some amazing writing and verse jobs.

Pages of Stories

Follow the link to Pages of Stories. They're an online Canadian short story magazine and accept stories of most genres. There's a link on their home page for you to send them an email requesting a submissions' guideline. They pay $150.00 for published stories.

Oatmeal Studios

They publish humorous greeting cards and will pay handsomely for your submissions. The guidelines are quite detailed, so take time to read them before submitting. You don't have to be a writer to do this one, just have a great sense of humour.

So get your submissions ready and send them in as early as you can. Mslexia has a cut off point for some of their submissions requests, so don't get left behind. If you find this page useful, please add it to your favourite networking sites or send it to someone who can benefit from it.

Happy submitting!

Writing Competitions: November 2011

2011-11-08T13:54:00.001Z

Winning writing competitions can really boost a writer's confidence. But it's not just winning, merely entering writing competitions give writers a reason to write every day and keep the creative buzz going. A Blogger's Books brings you monthly (ish) updates on real, paid writing opportunities. We even cater for those who're not really writers, but have a talent for writing verses or greeting cards. All those writing jobs can be found on the writing jobs' page.

Now, I just wanted to give you the heads up about a few writing competitions you can enter in November 2011. Hang in there and keep writing every day!

Subscribe to this blog for more writing competitions, contests and writing jobs updates.

Writing Competitions For November 2011

1. The Plough Prize

Follow the link and enter your poem. The competition is for open poems in various categories. First prize is a whopping £1,000 (sterling). So get your writing contest hat on!

2. Segora Open Poetry Competition

This is another open poetry competition. Entry fee is very cheap and you can submit several poems and pay by Paypal. First prize is £150.00.

3. Cafe Writers Open Poetry Competition

Again, follow the link for the details. The first prize is £1,000. There is also an additional prize for the funniest poem.

These should keep you going for the month of November. Don't forget to submit on time. All the above deadlines are the end of November. When you've done that, visit the writing opportunities page because I've recently updated it with even more writing jobs.

Have you got a free e-book to give away? Join us at the free e-books page and add your masterpiece there in the comments box. If not, send me an email (from my contacts page) and I can add your e-book to the original post.

New Book Release

2011-11-06T16:25:00.000Z

A Blogger's Books brings you new book releases and all the low-down on free e-books available on the Internet. Today we introduce you to, 'NOT a DIY Diva: How to Create an Authentically-Inspired Life in a Pinterest World'.
Writers, if you'd like your book release featured here, or you have a free (or very affordable) e-book you want added to the extremely popular free e book page linked above, please let me know.

DESCRIPTION:
Are you tired of chasing an image of the perfect life at home?
NOT a DIY Diva gently challenges you to alter your perspective and state of mind to what it takes to create a beautiful home.
From overcoming the obstacles of unrealistic expectations and misplaced priorities to cultivating simple ways to find beauty and stay content even on a limited budget of time and money, this book will inspire you to nurture an authentic life and home.

AUTHOR BIO

Melissa Michaels is NOT a DIY Diva. But she is the author of the ebook NOT a DIY Diva and the writer and creator of the popular decorating blog The Inspired Room. She is a wife and a mom of three kids. Melissa is a writer for DaySpring and (in) courage.me (a division of Hallmark) and a guest contributor to Williams-Sonoma Designer Marketplace. Melissa and The Inspired Room have been featured on HGTV.com, Apartment Therapy, Better Homes & Gardens, Ladies Home Journal, Coldwater Creek, and other publications in print and around the web.

Available at: NOTaDIYdiva.com
Price $3.99

How To Blog – Google’s Top Tips For Success

2011-11-01T19:31:00.000Z

How To Blog - Google's Tip Tips For Success, is a brief outline of the advice Google gives to Webmasters (bloggers) to help them blog better and improve their sites. I've picked out the most important points from the horse's mouth - so to speak - and created small chunks for your quick perusal below.

Google's best tips for blogging success

How to blog: design and content

Here are Google's top tips on the design your blog should follow, and the content you should create for it. Many of these are quite straight forward, but it's always good to remind ourselves. It's easy enough to forget.

Create a hierarchy so each page can be found from static links (I like to group by categories like I’ve done on this blog in the link bar above (where you can see my books etc). Wordpress will do it for you easily.

Make sure you have a short description of your site (140 – 156 words) in your title page. This makes it easier for people to find and understand what your site is about. It enables search engines to also read your blog better. For example if you manage a writing site, make sure your description includes the word, 'writing'.

Avoid using dynamic text like (?) in your blog titles. Search engines can’t read them. In addition, use words to describe your images. Search engines can’t understand them without these. (Remember you and a millions other people search for images each day. Don’t miss out on visitors by not optimising your images for traffic).

When creating your blog post, make sure you’re writing great and helpful content. Write in paragraphs separated by bold or h1 or h2 texts. If you don't quite understand how to write for online viewers you need to read these tutorials.

How to blog: technical guidelines

This section tells you about the technical guidelines Google has recommended to make your blog search-engine friendly.

Create and submit a sitemap of your site.

Make sure your privacy settings allow search engines to crawl your site. Wordpress default is set so that they can’t.

Check your site in different browsers to make sure it appears the way you want it to.

Make sure your site doesn’t take too long to load. You can use Page Speed or Webmaster tools to check and maintain this. You can use free gadgets to monetize your page views, but don't go overboard with them because they can seriously affect your site's loading time.

How to blog: quality control

Write your posts for people to read and be helped by. Don’t pack them with keywords just for search engines. You could be penalised for this.

Don’t copy content from other websites. This is classed as duplicate content and will harm your rating on Google.

Of course there are several other points in blogging the right way. I've certainly not covered all of them in this brief article. I just wanted to highlight Google's important factors in their own words (well, my words, gleaned from their words :-). I don't think anyone has all the right answers - I certainly don't. Having said that, reading on the web can uncover some great ways to make blogging easier and more successful. If you have any other questions on how to blog check out this group of articles designed for new bloggers.