Blogging

Blogging For Internet Newbies

noreply@blogger.com (Blukor) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 09:33:00 +0000

Blogs means different things to different people: to journalists they are unofficial sources of information, to the ordinary Joe they are an Online diary or forum, to repressive governments they are subversive and a threat and to the Internet marketer they are a marketing tool!

Starting as humble “Web Logs” kept by Internet Geeks, blogs have moved fast to occupy center ground. A good example of what a professional quality blog can look like is Jim Edward’s blog http://www.igottatellyou.com/blog/

This is not a diary entry this is entertainment!

Jim Edwards is an experienced journalist and user of multi media. But Newbies can learn some great lessons from this site. The obvious thing is that Jim Edwards character jumps off the page! You can do this. You have a character too! You have interests, passions, obsessions even!

And why would Jim Edwards provide first class information and entertainment at no cost? Because you will keep going to his blog and you will learn about the books Jim has written. Maybe you would even buy one! Very nice “un-pushy” advertising.

The importance of Blogs to the Newbie will take a while to become clear. For now I just want to say that a blog is a website. You can enter whatever text you desire, pictures too! You can allow other people to contribute if you want (I’d recommend against that unless you review and moderate the content!)

For anyone who is nervous about building a website or about getting content for a Newsletter or eZine, having a blog is a perfect practise tool to build up confidence and material

How to get started

Internet Newbies who wish to start Blogging must first find Blogging software.

The three main varieties of blog software are

1. Blogger, free and very easy technically
2. Wordpress, free ( and priceless as Wordpress fans remark ! )
3. Typepad, monthly charge
4. Squarespace, monthly charge

We will use the free one – Blogger. which is very “Newbie friendly”

First visit Blogger http://www.blogger.com/home

You find yourself at what I call the front page of Blogger and what Blogger calls “The Dashboard”.

Now use the “Create a Blog” button. You are then asked for a Title or name for the blog and then a web name. The name should reflect the desired subject matter of your blog and the web name is probably going to be shorter and conform to the usual rules – no spaces etc.

Mostly people Blog either by going to http://www.blogger.com/home and entering their password and username clicking on New Post and just typing straight in or by downloading the Google Tool Bar with the little orange Blogger button. To get this, go to Google.com and click on the “more” link on the right. You will find the little orange Blogger button and can download it and install it.

You may have the Google Toolbar already. In Internet Explorer, click on View and then on Toolbars, if you see Google there tick it and use it, otherwise you need to download it. The exact details may depend on the version of Windows you have etc.

After opening an account at Blogger jot down a few notes, Remember this is a website, the whole world will be able to read it so don’t put anything in it that you might regret!

Happy Blogging!

If you want to build a business on the Web Blogging is a good place to start. You get used to writing and when you click the little orange “Blogger” button your words will be “live on the internet”.

Before we end this “Newbie Guide To Blogging” lets just comment on Adsense.

When you sign up for a Blogger blog you will be able to add “Adsense” to the blog. This is a clever form of advertising and in principle can earn you money when a reader clicks on one of the Ads”. If you have a high traffic blog with thousand of visitors per month it is true that income from such advertising can be substantial – earning hundreds or even thousands of dollars. For the Newbie Adsense is just a distraction in my view and is not likely to earn a substantial income.

If you can use a blog and add to it regularly and build an archive of content you may soon be ready to think of putting a website together and that for most people is much more lucrative.

About The Author
Alex Newell taught Physics and Information Technology and now helps Internet Newbies cut through the hype and confusion and get their first Internet victory http://www.newbie-on-the-net.com.

Seven Reasons Why Blogging Should Be Part Of Your Marketing Effort

noreply@blogger.com (Blukor) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 09:31:00 +0000

I started my blog (www.jimestill.com) 18 months ago as an effort to increase communications with my staff but very quickly realized the power of it with my customers and my suppliers. Now I consider my blog to be an integral part of my marketing efforts.

As an active blogger I have come up with seven reasons blogging should be part of any marketing program.

1. Blogs increase communication Anytime you increase communication, you increase profile and sales.

2. Although blogs have been around for awhile, they are still new and topical. People who see that you have a blog will think you are more leading edge. Even if you do not sell technology products, it helps.

3. Owning a blog is like owning a media. Similar to a newspaper, magazine, or a radio station. The advantage of owning a media is that you can say whatever you want where all other media tend to filter what you have to say.

4. You noticed that I said a blog should only part of a marketing program. Blogs on their own tend not to get much readership, rather they have to be crossed promoted so you need to put it on your email tag line, your website, your business cards, etc. People who see your blog address in another media are likely to come to it.

5. Blogging like writing tends to make you an expert. People tend to believe what they read. For this reason you don’t want your blog to be totally self-promotional. Add value. Provide information that helps your customer, amuses them, teaches them etc.

6. A blog should have an angle. People don’t want to log on and hear some promotional material about you and your company. They want to hear something that is a bit edgy, interesting, humorous, and resonates with them. Although you own a media, you still are in competition with all of the other media available. In my case, I have chosen Time Leadership/CEO as the title of my blog and I blog about personal self-development with a focus on time management and efficiency.

7. Blogging will often get picked up by other media and this added press can help you sell. For example, because I blog I have been featured twice in the Globe and Mail and once in Forbes magazine, as well I have been in our industry trade journals. I have also had many speaking engagements as a direct result of my blog.

Blogging doesn’t need to be technically intimidating. Anyone can set up a blog in five minutes. My suggestion is to get an experienced blogger to show you how to start. Or ask your kids.

Blogging is not for everyone. If you want to blog, you need to be willing to dedicate some time and you must enjoy writing. Because I blog about efficiency, I spend a lot of time focusing on my blogging efficiency and I spend less than 20 minutes on each of my blog entries. I do four or five a week; so I spend less than two hours a week on my blog.

I have received some direct sales as a result of my blog. I know from the feedback I have received that many of my customers and suppliers read it.

Blogging is one part of the marketing program.

About The Author
Jim Estill started his business from the trunk of his car and grew into to $375 Million in sales before selling it to SYNNEX. He is now CEO of SYNNEX Canada a $1 Billion computer wholesaler. he is a regular blogger at http://jimestill.com.

Blogging - Developing A Readership

noreply@blogger.com (Blukor) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 09:22:00 +0000

You've finally created a blog and you've made your first post. Now how do you get people to actually read what you're blogging about?

Here are some tips on promoting your blog.

1) Quality Content - Interesting content will keep your readership returning. Update your blog regularly.

Googlebot, which is Google's web-crawling robot loves content. The more you update your blog, the more frequent the search engine spiders will return to it.

2) Take part in forums that are related to blogging. Ask other bloggers for their opinion on your blog and take their suggestions to heart.

3) Publish an RSS/Atom/XML feed. If you're using Blogger, you can turn on RSS feed by clicking on settings in your dashboard and then clicking on site feed and make sure that your settings are set to yes.

4) Carefully choose your subject titles, taking into consideration what other internet users may be searching for.

Use keywords in your title. I suggest subscribing to Word Tracker. Their report of the most popular searches is published each Tuesday and distributed to over 30,000 subscribers.

Technorati.com , is a blog search engine that also lists the top search words. The more targeted your keywords are, the greater your return in search engines will be.

5) Involve yourself in commenting on other blogs. You can gain a loyal readership just by offering feedback to your fellow bloggers. The comment feature allows you to add a link back to your blog as well.

6) Be sure to include your blog address in forum signatures and in your email signature.

7) Submit your blog to directories.

Submit your blog's url to Technorati, Daypop, Blogdex and Popdex.

8) Write articles. Include a resource box in your article and submit it to article directories such as http://iSnare.com

9) If you're using blogging software such as Blogger, there is an option to notify the central blog update services (such as http://weblogs.com) whenever you've made a new entry to your blog. Make sure that this option is turned on! In blogger, click on publish in your dashboard and make sure that your settings are set to yes under notify weblogs. Alternatively, you can go to http://pingoat.com and send out a ping each time you update your blog. This lets everyone know that you've just updated your blog.

10) Link to other blogs. Use services like blogrolling, which is similar to linking. Blogrolling allows you to maintain an updated list of your favorite blogs. But, don't build a long blog roll of sites that you have no intention of returning to. There is nothing more annoying then visiting a blog that has a humongous blogroll.

Be patient, traffic doesn't happen overnight. The best way that I've found to increase traffic is by getting to know people. Spend what free time that you have, reading blogs, leaving feedback and building friendships. Try to leave comments on the blogs that you visit as often as you can. While you are waiting for the traffic to come, just enjoy blogging. You'll be improving your writing in the process.

Eventually you'll build a network of not just readers, but friends and loyal supporters. Blogging is not just about marketing; it's about creating lasting relationships.

About The Author
Rose DesRochers is the founder of Blogger Talk Blog Community http://www.bloggertalk.net, a friendly fast growing blogging portal, offering bloggers support, advice, tools, tips and information about blogs and blogging. She is also the administrator of Today's Woman Writing Community http://www.todays-woman.net, a supportive online writing community for men and women over 18.

How to Start Video Blogging?

noreply@blogger.com (Blukor) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 04:43:00 +0000

Videoblogging is the next generation of posting ideas and products over the internet. Everybody knows about textblogging. Now they use videos for a better way of expression. This form of communication may entail a lot of resources, but it is all worth it. If pictures say a thousand words, videoblogging exceeds that by far.

A videoblog requires larger disk spaces on websites, a faster server, and a whole new set of programs to support it. Videoblogs can be fed through RSS. This is technology of syndicating your website to other RSS aggregators.

Videoblogging works with people on the internet expressing their selves. Now if you put this on a business prospective, you are up to a lot of benefits. Think of it as a powerful tool in making showing your prospective customers your line of products or your services. It’s just like showing a commercial all for free. And if you videoblog through RSS, then most probably you are getting your target market.

People like to see what they are going to buy. Some would like to see proof and be sure that they are getting their money’s worth before shelving their dimes on it. All of us know the influence of a thirty second commercial. The effect of videoblogging is similar to that. You show your product, people watch it. If they like it, they buy it. If you present it good enough, they’ll buy the product even if they don’t need it.

Now on the web, things are pretty much static, unlike in television in which all are moving. If you post something that is mobile, it would most likely catch attention. Now imaging your product parading in all it’s royalty through videoblog. You’ll get phone call orders in no time.

If your business is just starting up, you can create a videoblog right at your own home. All you need is your web camera, microphone, video software, and lights. For as long as you know how to use your camera, then you can create a videoblog.

Invest in a good web camera. The higher its resolution is the better the output. And you like to present your goods in the optimum way so get the best one possible. Make a short story, or just capture your goods in one go. Just make sure you are getting the best profile for each. Get those creativity juices flowing.

Lights are important in a production. Make sure you illuminate entirely the area you are going to use to create videoblog. The brighter the area, the crispier the images will be. You can also use lighting effects for added appeal to the presentation.

Should you require sounds for your videoblog, you need a microphone. Record you voice as a voice over for promoting the product and its benefit to consumers. Sounds are as important as videos on a videoblog. It is advisable to make your sound effects as enticing as the video.

Your video editing software can be any program. You need this to finalize your work. You can add sounds, delete some bad angles, or insert some still pictures in there too. Some programs are user-friendly and can be used even with zero knowledge on video editing. Even simple video editing programs should do the trick. Select your background carefully too. The light affects the presentation so make sure that the background and the light complements each other.

Videoblogging is a great tool but it also has it downside. It may slow down the computer so other may steer clear of it. Download time may also be time consuming especially if customer is still on a dial- up connection.

But don’t let those stop you. Let videoblogging be an alternative for you, though it is best to still keep the text and pictures present in your presentation to accommodate all possible viewers of your site.

Nowadays, the more creative you are in presenting your product to the market, they more you are likely to succeed. Videoblogging offers an interactive way of selling. You involve the customers. You instill in them the advantage of your goods. And at times, those are enough to make a sale.

About The Author
Kanicen Nichathavan is the owner of Kanicen's Blog, Kanicen's Blog welcomes everyone who intends to share knowledge, interesting products, ideas and those who want to start Internet Online Business. You will find all kind of Internet Marketing Tools and resources. For Newbie and Internet Marketers this blog will be the best option for lowest prices of all kind of Internet Marketing Tools at http://www.kanicen.com.

The Age Of Blogging. What Is This Thing Anyways?

noreply@blogger.com (Blukor) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 04:43:00 +0000

Everyone is taking about it, you hear it everywhere, in the forums, in articles its everywhere. What is Blogging. The definition of blogging is something that is very much in a state of constant movement, as the new technologies that appear every day they redefine what a blog is, what a blog can be, and what a blog should do. For many years, blogs were defined as text-based websites that kept records of days, similar to a captain's log on a sailing ship. However, this started to change as the group of people who kept blogs became more diverse. The more bloggers began to explore the limits of the medium and of the technology that made it possible, the more the boundaries of what could be called a "blog" expanded.

Today, there are an abundance of photo blogs, and there are even video blogs as well. Mobile blogging devices may well change the definition of blogging entirely by making it possible for bloggers to create new kinds of posts. Another element of the blogosphere that is starting to redefine blogging is the corporate blog. As more companies hire writers to keep blogs with the sole purpose of creating positive buzz about their brand, bloggers across the globe are arguing about whether these manufactured blogs are really worthy of the name. Between all of these different forces that are constantly expanding and reshaping the blogosphere, it is difficult to imagine that the definition of what is and is not a blog will ever remain fixed for very long.

To understand blogs, you need to know the terms blog, platform, domain, and web host. Once you have mastered these key elements of blogging, you can enter any conversation about blogging with confidence. After you know what exactly a blog is, you will be on your way.

Blog is short for weblog, which simply means a series of online posts presented in reverse chronological order. That's all! Most blogs are text, but there are also photo blogs and video blogs. If you are setting up a blog, you will need a platform, a web host, and a domain. A blogging platform is a computer software program that allows you to write posts and to update your blog. Your platform is also what you use to design the look of your blog, from color scheme to font size. The web host is sort of like the virtual file cabinet where your blog is stored. Your computer communicates with the host when you upload or edit a post. The domain is the online address of your blog, and usually ends in ‘dot com'. Now that you know what a blog is, what a platform is, and what domains and hosts are, congratulate yourself!

Begin Blogging… Good Luck .

Get more information and tips by visiting my blog: http://www.a-new-start-today.blogspot.com

About The Author
TJ Klock is an Internet Marketer in Internet Home Based Businesses As well As an Authority on Developing Home Based Internet Businesses Part Time. To find the best home based business, and work at home ideas and opportunities Visit: http://A-New-Start-Today.com

Blogging Tips When Writing Content for your Blog Readers

noreply@blogger.com (Blukor) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 04:42:00 +0000

The common mistake that bloggers do is to go straight to writing after they're done constructing their blogs. This is definitely no problem is you have a clear idea of what you're suppose to write, who are you writing for and how you should write it. Writing content for your blog plays a crucial role to your blog's success and therefore, it requires skills and knowledge to do it.

Today's article focuses on writing good content for your blog readers and in order to do so we have to deal with these three questions:

1. Who are you writing for?
2. What are you suppose to write?
3. How should you write it?

Millions of people surf the Internet everyday to look for some specific information. The information ranges from anarchism to zionism, the latest to the oldest, or from 0 to infinity. Given this case, bloggers have so much to blog about. Unfortunately, not every topic can be possibly covered by a single or a few bloggers. Even wikipedia does not have all the information in its database. Moreover, thousands of blogs or weblogs and websites are created everyday making the competition fiercer. What can we infer from these data? Simple. We need a strategic approach in blogging to secure our blog's survivability and success.

Who are you writing for? Blog Readers

Yes, I know that you are blogging for your blog readers but do you know who are your blog readers?

If you are blogging for everyone who visits the Internet then you lack strategic approach in blogging. If however, you have a specific target reader, then you'll probably be successful.

Because we cannot cater to every netizen, the need to segment them arises. I call it Concentrated Blogging. Concentrated Blogging is the process of segmenting or subdividing blog readers to identify a specific segment or subdivision where you can leverage your blog. Concentrated Blogging allows bloggers to focus writing to a specific group of people. Catering to a specific group of people provides the benefit of being able to understand them better, know what they need, what they want etc.

Let's take the case of bloggingmix.com. For my blog, I have decided to write about blogging for bloggers. But bloggers can still be further subdivided into beginners, intermediate, and experts. I've finally decided to write for beginners and intermediate bloggers because I believe I know them better. I have been in the stage of starting my own blog and developing it so I know the needs and wants of beginners and intermediate bloggers.

What are you suppose to write? Quality Information for Blog Readers

What do you think will happen to bloggingmix.com if I start to write about my favorite color or when I blog about my friend's friend's dog? I'm sure, by the time I know it, my blog readers found a better blog that will provide them information about blogging. This is where the idea of continuity (consistency), one of the 3Cs of blogging, comes in. Details about continuity will be discussed thoroughly in the succeeding articles.

People go on-line to search the Internet for Quality Information, information that they need, relevant and useful to them. If you don't have it, expect that there will be few people who will be visiting your blog. Or you might not have any visitors at all. So what are you suppose to write? The answer is obvious. You should write about something that your readers need and want. It should not be a bunch of useless article but rather informative, relevant and useful to them. Try to do this in your blog and see how amazing quality information can do to it.

I have to say however that writing about your personal experiences, or personal stuffs about yourself is not wrong. This is of course assuming that your target readers are limited to your family, relatives and friends. Otherwise, you need to be very controversial or popular for people to be curious and become interested of your life.

How should you write your blog entries? Consider the Nature of your Blog Readers

If you are blogging for Investors then it's perfectly fine to use terms such as Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, Discounted Cash Flow etc. But if your blog is dedicated to the average Joe, there's simply no need of using panoplies of multi-syllabic words and quintessential examples if you can decipher the intricacies of your thoughts into fundamental ideas that everybody can comprehend. In short, your objective as a blogger is to send the message across to your target blog readers. Failure to do so, is failed blogging.

There are several ways that bloggers write. Darren Rowse of Problogger.com writes short articles while Steve Pavlina of StevePavlina.com writes elaborate and long articles. Both of them are successful bloggers but their ways of blogging are different. What does this have to tell you about how to write blog posts? Simple. Writing for your blog should not necessarily be elaborate or short… the bottom line is Quality Information. My advice is write freely and objectively. If your topic calls for an elaborate writing, then elaborate is should be but if you don't need too much words to make yourself clear and send your message across, then say it briefly.

In my succeeding articles, I will be writing about how to write search-engine-friendly blog posts. Your primary priority is to blog for your readers and second on the lists are search engines. I'm sure that you are aware that search engines (i.e. Google, MSN, Allthewebs, Lycos etc.) are great sources of traffic for your blog, hence, you should write your blog entries in such a way that it pleases these search engines. Watch out how in the coming posts.

If you have found this article useful, I hope you take the time to share it with others by Digging it, or bookmarking it. I will also appreciate if you take the time to leave your comments or tell us what you think about this article.

MORE READINGS

1. Cost Free Blogging Services
http://www.bloggingmix.com/2007/06/cost-free-blogging-services.html

2. Blogger: Blogger's Choice for Blogging
http://www.bloggingmix.com/2007/06/blogger-bloggers-choice-for-blogging.html

3. Construct Your Own Cost Free Blog with Blogger
http://www.bloggingmix.com/2007/06/construct-your-own-cost-free-blog-with.html

About The Author
Rocky John Tayaban

I'm just a simple guy who's passionate about blogging. An MBA student at Durham University, UK. I blog at http://www.bloggingmix.com

Blogging for Beginners - A Guide

noreply@blogger.com (Blukor) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 04:41:00 +0000

Exactly what is a "blog"? A blog , shortened from "weblog", is basically an online journal where you can digitally put down your ideas, thoughts, opinions and practically anything that you want people to read. Blogging is very popular all over the world and basically there are no rules when it comes to blogging. Bloggers have the freedom to express themselves how ever way they want, and the best thing about blogging, is that most blogging sites are free.

Blogs can come in all different styles, formats and settings, depending on the users preferences. Many blogging sites, offer built in features such as hyperlinks, pictures, mp3's, videos, etc. Some bloggers choose to make their blogs more audio friendly, by using spoken word entries. This is called audio blogging. There are also video logs.

Blogging is really for everyone. Overall, it can be lots of fun, very simple and easy to do. Basically, a blog will contain these features at a minimum:

archive- list of older articles,

title- where you label your post,

body- the content of your post,

blogroll- other sites can be linked back to your blog,

comments- this allow readers to post comments on your blog.

Unlike other websites that are made up of numerous individual pages, blogs are usually made up of only a few templates making it easier for blog users to create new pages. This can be very helpful for beginners, since they can start blogging right away once they've set up their account. One of the appeals of blogging is that it creates a community of people sharing similar ideas, thoughts, and comments with each other.

The most popular blog type by far is the personal journal. This is the type that is normally used by first time bloggers. Individuals who want to document the daily struggle of their everyday lives, rants, poems, writings, ideas, and opinions find that blogging offers them a medium in which to express themselves.

Blogging is not just limited to personal usage. There are a lot of blogs that follow a theme such as: philosophy, mobile technology, sports, politics, social commentary, web design, pets, etc. These blogs focus on their specific themes. In this way blogging becomes a medium where people can share their knowledge and opinions about a variety of themes and topics.

There are a lot of other things you can do with a blog. Some bloggers use their blogs as a means to advertise and earn money. Some authors advertise their books or products on their blogs while other bloggers use their blogs to shed light on currents issues, news, family issues, personal thoughts and discoveries, events or catastrophes.

A lot of entrepreneurs benefit from blogging by promoting their products and businesses on their own blogs. With millions and millions of people logging onto the net each and everyday, blogging has become a lucrative move. Some bloggers who run online businesses promote their merchandise online. Others profit through advertisements placed on their blogs.

Blogs can also play an important part in education. Professors can use blogging to document the lessons that they have previously discussed and taught. This is one way students who missed class can easily catch up with their assignments.

Want to learn more about blogging in general or a topic in particular? Blogs varying in topics, themes, and set-ups, and can be found in blog directories. First time users who want to get an idea of what the blogging world is all about can browse through a number of blogs using these kinds of directories. In this way people can get an idea of what these blogging communities, and blogging in general, are all about.

Want to find out more about blogging? Go to Google and search for blogging directories. You'll get a list of a lot of blogging sites that are available on the net. In this way you can find exactly what you are looking for and are interested in. After that you can decide whether or not you want to enter the world of blogging to share yourself with the world.

About The Author
Debbie Ray, owner of http://www.pedigreedpups.com , http://www.the-website-doctor.com , http://www.total-german-shepherd.com and http://www.cheap-legal-help.com is a dog owner, teacher and an internet business owner. Want to learn how to build a website by yourself? Interested in purebred dogs? The German Shepherd? Let me teach you more.

Of Blogging And Art

noreply@blogger.com (Blukor) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 04:41:00 +0000

If writing is an art, then, blogging is one way of using words to come up with an art. This is because people who are into blogging are the ones who are artistic on their own sense, carefully choosing words that would best describe their feelings, sentiments, wishes, desires, and everything.

Basically, blogs were first introduced as weblogs that refer to a “server’s log file.” It was created when web logging hit the virtual market. Since its inception in the mid-1990s, web logging gradually saturated the virtual community making the Internet a viable source of greater information.

However, with web logging, you still need a web site and domain names, but with blogging, you do not need anything just an account with blog providers. In most cases, these kinds of blogs are free of charge.

With the onset of blogging in the industry, personal journaling had been a common ground for people who wish to be known all over the world. However, not literally famous as this is not a case on being popular or well-known personality.

Generally, blogs are created for personal use. Like a journal, people can write their daily adventures, sentiments, and whatever ideas they want to express online.

Nevertheless, with the advent of the online businesses, blogs had gradually taken the limelight in providing businesses a chance to boost their productivity online. This is where the business blogs have taken the limelight.

Business blogs are, basically, created to advertise the services or products of a certain web site or online business in order to increase online sales.

Moreover, business blogs are also one way of promoting the company so that the other readers will know that a certain company exists online. With blogs, entrepreneurs are able to establish a name in the virtual market through articles that can be very useful in the reader’s life.

From there, you can make money out of blogs by simply syndicating it to your business’ web site. This can be done through the RSS technology.

So, if you are thinking to create a blog, whether for business or for pleasure, you need to know some tips that could help you get through and make your blog one of the interesting blogs online.

Here’s how:

1. Consider your audience

Even if your blog is generally personal, still, it would be better to consider the minds of your readers. You have to think of something that would interest them.

After all, most of the reasons of people who write blogs are not at all confined to their own personal motives. Most of them would love to be “heard” (or read) and would love to be known, in some way or another, even for just a minute. Hence, it is very important to come with a write up that everybody can understand, not necessarily that these people can relate to it but they can understand it.

2. Pictures speaks a thousand words

To make your blogging worth the browsing effort of your readers, it would be extremely nice if you will put some pictures in it. It does not necessarily mean you have to place a picture of yourself. Any photographs will do as long as it does not pose danger or insult to anyone who will be reading your blog.

3. Make constructive and beneficial blogs

Even if you are free to write anything you wan to say to the world, still, it would be better to create some write-ups that would be beneficial to your readers.

After all, its information technology that you have there so better be inclined to provide information rather than sheer quirky entertainment.

4. Avoid making multifaceted and complicated blogs

In order to have an interesting blogs, try not to use some highly technical and highfalutin words. After all, it is not a science discourse or a debate that you are making, so better stick to simple facts and short blogs.

Bear in mind that most people who use the Internet usually do more scanning than scrutinizing each site word for word. Therefore, it would be better to come with blogs that will not bore your readers just because you have these lengthy articles.

5. Make it interactive

As much as possible and if your capacity will allow it, make your blog interactive. You can do this by placing some video or audio clips in your blog.

You can even place an area for comments or for some feedbacks. In this way, you can get some impressions or reactions of other people. Who knows, you might even gain some friends just by making them feel at home in your blog site.

Indeed, blogs are not created just for the mere fun of it. It also has its own purpose in the world of the Internet. Therefore, for people who wish to harness their craft, as far as writing is concerned, blogs are the best way to do it.

As they say, blogging is the contemporary term of creative and commercial writing.

About The Author
Carl Hendricks is the owner of http://www.cehmagic.com He writes about internet marketing and self improvement.

How to Make Money From Blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Blukor) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 04:40:00 +0000

Blogs are a great way to share facts, ideas and opinions directly between people, but also, they are a viable way to earn money. In fact, earning money with blogs is something just about anyone can do. Making money with blogs is completely dependent on your audience and you’re ability to attract people to click on the advertisements. Blogs are simple to set up, and relatively easy to update. As many as 75,000 blogs are created every day—almost one per second!

If you are looking to start making money on the internet and you have a budget that is very small or zero, blogging is a great way to get started. You can set-up a free blog and join advertisement programs for free. The only cost involved in setting up a blog is your time.

Although there are many factors involved in making money with your blog, there are a few vital keys to remember when setting up, maintaining and promoting your blog in order to achieve success.

1. Your blog needs to have the right layout in order for your adsense ads to be “clickable” by visitors. Choosing an advertisement’s location, size and color is very important and is something you will need to constantly test and tweak to determine which formats produce the most clicks. It’s amazing how one small change can produce monumental results. There are also many other ways to make money with your blog than with adsense alone. You could promote affiliate products and implement contextual advertising such as Kontera.

2. Your blog will need lots and lots of traffic. This is really a no-brainer, yet it’s the greatest challenge of any website owner. The encouraging reality is that there are more ways to generate traffic for your blog than ever before. This is due to the emergence of Web 2.0 sites like YouTube and social bookmarking sites. Many of these sites provide great sources for one-way links to your blog. Getting hundreds, even thousands of quality links is a must if you expect significant traffic to your blog. There are also many SEO tools on the market now such as directory and article submitters that will help you get thousands of backlinks to your blog quickly and save lots of valuable time.

3. Your blog will need to be updated frequently. You cannot expect return visitors if your blog is not a source of fresh information. You can use RSS feeds to provide your blog with relative information, however you will need to add personal posts as well at least once or twice per week. This will increase your blog’s search engine rankings and also help brand you as an expert in your niche.

Blogging is a great way to share your thoughts and ideas online, but it’s also a powerful money-making tool. Making money with blogs is fairly simple if you know what to do and if you’re willing to invest the time and effort necessary to make it profitable.

About The Author
Scott Brooks is a successful entreprenuer with over five years in internet marketing. For a FREE, comprehensive guide that will teach you everything you need to know about making money with your blog, go to http://downloadsuniverse.com/make-money-blog.html

Traffic Series - Part 1 - Blogging As A Means Of Traffic

noreply@blogger.com (Blukor) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 04:40:00 +0000

In this Traffic Series I will be talking about different methods to use to drive traffic to your list. Today we will talk about how to use blogging to bring traffic to your site.

First thing you will need to do is setup a blog. To go thorough all of the steps to setup a blog is beyond the scope of this article. There are two ways you can go one would be to use a service like blogger where you can have your blog setup in minutes and be blogging. The second would be to install a blog yourself on your own domain. The latter has much more benefits but requires you to have some technical abilities. If you are not technical and wish to have your own blog on your own domain consider outsourching to get it done. There are lots of places like that you can hire a professional to install your blog. To name a couple elance.com freelance.com.

The nice thing about blogs is that people are members of blogging communities and these people will see your articles and come to your site. Instant traffic. Now for you to get hooked up to these blogging communities can be automatic or you may need to submit your site. Pingomatic.com is a great source to get your blog sent to many of the biggest communities.

Blogging software like wordpress already has this built in.

To get good quality traffic you need to post to your blog frequently. Stay away from using automated software to ad content to your blog. It is always best to have unique qualtiy content. If your not a writer consider outsourcing for your articles. You can get articles done for around $4 to $5 dollars each. Don’t pay any less than that or your articles will not be of a good enough quality.

Now most important add a place for people to signup for your list. Having something to give away for free is a good way to get more signups. Unlike the squeeze page method this requires you to have something of benefit to give your customers. Your good content and any quality item you have to give them will ensure a higher rate of signups.

Make sure your signup form is above the fold. Above the fold means it’s viewable without scrolling down.

Once you have your blog up and you have posted lots of good content you can then begin to use other ways to drive traffic to your blog and get even more traffic.

In part two of our traffic series we will talk about article marketing.

About The Author
Glen Barnhardt is owner of List Advice Blog

You can get a free copy of his List Advice Report.
http://www.listadvice.com

Blogging For SEO: How To Get Maximum Search Benefit From Your Small Business Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Blukor) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 04:39:00 +0000

If you have a small business blog, or are thinking of starting one, you should be aware of the ways you can use your blog to drive traffic to your Website. It's simpler than you think.

The first thing to understand about your blog is that each entry is counted as one Web page. Even if you have your blog set to display 10 blog posts on the same page, each of them is counted as a separate Web page by the search engines. That's why it is important to treat each blog entry as an SEO tool. The following tips should be kept in mind for each blog entry in order to optimize them for the search engines and drive more traffic to your Website from your blog:

1. Optimize each blog post around a single keyword
2. Make sure your keyword is in your blog post title, preferably at the beginning
3. Use subheads with or tags that also use your keyword
4. Include 1-3 keyword links (anchor text) in your blog posts
5. Sign every blog post with a signature link that uses your keyword
6. Use bold and italics effectively to emphasize certain keywords and phrases
7. Be sure to ping the directories
8. Include tags for all of your blog entries
9. Use categories effectively
10. Make links appear natural by linking to internal pages of your Website

Because each blog entry is a separate Web page, the search engines will crawl them and index them just as they do your Web pages. Optimize each one heavily around a specific keyword related to your Website and that's an extra doorway into your Website for each page indexed at the search engines. Also, by adding anchor text to a couple of those keywords and pointing those links to relevant internal Web pages of your Website you are improving the SEO effect of your blog entry. A poll of top SEO experts by SEOmoz revealed that a majority of those SEO experts said these type of keyword links are among the top 10 most important SEO factors for ranking Web pages. Don't give up on keywords and anchor text.

You'll also want to include keyword tags with each blog entry. Those tags will be used by the search engines to index your pages appropriately for your keywords. Also, social bookmarkers will find it easier to tag your blog entry if they like it and this makes it easier to share among their social group.

Your blog category should indicate an important element of interest as well. Unlike tags, you should only choose one category for each blog post. Don't use "main" or "uncategorized." Those are too generic. Use a specific keyword-related category as that will make your blog posts more crawlable by the search engines.

There are more than 100 blog directories that you can ping to let them know you have updated your blog. I suggest you do this every time you update your blog. With WordPress, and several other blogging software platforms, you can input each directory into a field and the software will send out an automatic ping each time you update your blog. If you are not using WordPress you should go to Ping-o-Matic and use it to ping your blog for free.

Finally, if you sign your blog posts with a keyword-rich signature that points to a relevant internal page of your Website, this will make your Website more crawlable and give you another anchor text link. Use something like, "Find Out More About Keyword." Then add another link that points to your home page.

The important thing to remember about keywords and links, whether on your blog or your Website, is to make them appear natural. The benefits are enormous.

About The Author
Caroline Melberg is President and CEO of Melberg Marketing. She has over 20 years of experience creating exciting marketing campaigns for some of the most successful companies in the world. She publishes the popular eZine, "Blue Chip Tips: The Secrets of Blue Chip Marketing...Revealed!" Learn more today at http://www.melberg.com.

How Blogging Affects Mainstream Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Blukor) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 04:39:00 +0000

here has been a lot of buzz around blogging lately, and for good reason. Weblogs, or blogs for short, are changing the way people market themselves and their businesses.

If you aren't familiar with blogging, the concept is relatively easy to grasp. Blogs first began as a shared online journal. A blogger posted diary-like entries about his or her daily life for others to read.

Recently though, blogging has evolved into a new form of business writing and advertising. Many business owners now use blogs to promote their goods and services. Others use blogs to promote their website and get higher search engine rankings. Some politicians even use blogs to reach voters.

The typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media that is somehow related to the blog topic. Though most blogs focus on textual contant, a blogger may include videos, pictures, and even audio in blog posts. A blog comprised of videos is called a vlog and a blog that uses pictures is called a photoblog.

The Benefits of Blogging

By adding blogging to their marketing campaigns, business owners are able to market their product with virtually no out of pocket expense. In some cases, bloggers may even be able to make large sums of money with their published blog. For example, a blogger who employs the Google Ad Sense program can make money from blog readers. The more readers a blogger has, the more money can be made from the Google ad.

A blogger can also be a guide for shoppers who are looking for specific products and services. This makes blogging an excellent tool for retailers or affiliate marketers. Blogs can also be a source of valuable information and niche industry news.

Because there are virtually limitless possibilities provided by blogging, it is easy to see why blogs have begun to have a significant impact on mainstream marketing practices. Many companies have noticed this and have chosen to hire a blogger to write and post up to date information for customers, shareholders, and employees.

Some blogs now get millions of readers every single day. There are so many blog readers out there, that experts speculate that the world of blogging is rivaling the mainstream media. New blog search engines are also being created to make searching for a blog easier than ever before.

If you have not yet established a blog for your business, you may want to consider doing so as soon as possible. Keep in mind though that it will take work to attract readers to your blog. It must be interesting or valuable to them in some way. A blogger must also concentrate on creating informative pieces that are as honest and up to date as possible. Blogging is serious business and if you make a mistake, it will not go unnoticed by your readership.

If you need help developing your blog, there are many different browser-based software programs on the market that can help you get a start. Blogs can also be hosted by dedicated blogging services or regular web hosting services.

Last, but not least, a blogger must remember to optimize blog writing for search engines. Blogging is an Internet medium and needs to be approached with Internet principles in mind.

Blogging Example

A typical blog entry includes a title or headline, a body of text, a permalink or URL for another web page, and a post date, which indicates the date and time that the post was published. A blogger may also choose to include a link at the bottom to allow readers to post comments on the blog.

About The Author
Cliff Posey, owner of CRP Marketing, owns and operates http://webbusinesstoolsonline.com. Cliff Posey has also operated several other successful web businesses including Love Song Cards and Radio Career Consultants. The content in this article was developed from his experience in these businesses.

Blogging for Fun and Profit

noreply@blogger.com (Blukor) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 04:38:00 +0000

A blog is an online version of diary where people write and display almost anything - their opinions, photos, jokes, thoughts for the day and more. People also share stories about their pets, their passion for soccer, stamps... the limit is only your imagination!

In the last few years, blogging has emerged to become a much more meaningful activity than simply maintaining a personal diary. People use it to advertise their products and services, in fact, quite a number of companies even create their online presence by using a blog instead of a website.

Create Your Own Blog

Starting a blog is free. You can create one at http://www.blogger.com - a free service from Google Inc. You don't need to register a domain name or buy hosting. When you sign up at Blogger, everything happens online. Your blog will be hosted by Blogger and you get an URL like http://yourdomain.blogspot.com. You simply log in to your account and start to write. This is much easier and cheaper than buying your own domain and hosting, then hiring someone to do the web design, writing and coding.

Another free blogging service available online is WordPress which is also very popular and easy to use. WordPress supports more features than Blogger while allowing you to customize your blog with various plug-in. You can check it out at http://wordpress.org.

Monetize Your Blog

While blogging for your own interest, you can in fact maximize the potential of your blog for many marketing or commercial purposes.

The quickest and easiest way to turn a blog into a money-making enterprise is to include advertising on your blog. This can be done with contextual ad programs like Adsense - an advertising program by Google. Basically, you get paid when people click on the ads displayed on your website or blog. Google Adsense program is free to sign up. You can visit http://www.google.com/adsense to learn more about the rules and guidelines of the program. Other Adsense type ads that you can use for blog monetizing are SearchFeed, AdBrite, and Yahoo's Publisher’s Network (YPN).

Affiliate program is another potential way to make money blogging. By focusing on the subject of your blog post, you can promote relevant products from cost per sale affiliate programs like ClickBank and Amazon. You can write a review about the product or service with your affiliate links embedded inside so you get the commission whenever a sale is made.

Boost Your Blog Traffic

Blogs are quickly indexed by search engines, but you need to update it regularly. Search engines love fresh content and regular update will ensure that your website is indexed and ranked high up as well. The higher up it appears, the more traffic will come to your site, which means more sales. You can actively participate in forums discussion or post comments on other blogs to get more link back traffic.

Whether you use your blog for fun or for work, remember that it’s a highly potential tool any which way. So what are you waiting for? Start blogging away right now!

About The Author
Lewis Low is the founding editor of OnlineBizPromo.com. For more Practical Online Business Ideas and Work-From-Home Opportunities, visit his Work-At-Home directory at http://www.OnlineBizPromo.com