Blogging Writer

Letting out the Write Emotions

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 08:42:00 +0000

Combating Writer's Block
Distinguishing between those who call themselves writers...

Many people aspire to be writers, some even call themselves a writer. What does it really mean to be a writer? That you should have already written a best-selling fictional novel? That you are published in major magazines? Are bloggers writers? Can a novel writer blog and maintain their credibility? What is the accurate description of what it means to be a writer today?

I have been writing for years, however, I have a friend that I didn't even know was interested in writing who revealed that there was a book that had been waiting to come out for years. The artwork was done, the theme and some details had already been worked out. We found out that we each had an interest in writing, and recently engaged in an encouraging (not competitive) exchange of written material, originally intended as a tool to get us both to begin books that we have been talking about writing, instead of writing, for years.

The deal we settled on consisted of one chapter each month, or essentially every thirty days. This is so much easier in theory than in practice. The first month we were both eager to submit our work to each other. However, by the second month, both of us were exhausted, and I wasn't even sure that the subject I picked was what I really wanted to write about.

Now, being in the third month, I can honestly say this: Working with (or in friendly competition with a partner can offer a steady stream of encouraging banter, but when working on separate projects, you are still going at it alone. So what do you do to battle through the empty thoughts? To put a stop to the blank stares at a stark white screen or paper, you must be determined to fill it. Not just with words, but with something that comes from deep within. You must find that place within yourself that your emotions flow...

This is where you should start thinking like a rapper. That's got to sound crazy, I know, but just humor me for a moment. Get a handle on what I'm saying and THEN you can say what you want. By thinking like a rapper, I mean putting your emotions into your words. If you are angry about something, speak up about it. If you have overcome obstacles that make you want to share your story with others, let it out.

You've undoubtedly heard the saying that a writer should write about something they know, and it's true. You know your emotions better than anyone else, and with your flare for words and knack for storytelling, you can either use that energy towards blogging, fiction writing, a novel, a screenplay, or anything else that you can think of putting your emotions into. The point is to be passionate about the subject. Whether it is a subject you have learned, or experienced emotionally, if you have the ability to express it to others in a way that is inviting and compelling, or even rebellious and expressive, people will read what you have to say.

Let it out... Be expressive... Be emotional and raw. Don't think about what others will say, or worry about offending anyone. If you want to remain anonymous, then do so. Otherwise, proudly vent on the public... Write what you feel, and feel what you write. Put your emotions into your work, and don't hold back what you really mean to say.
Anyone can write what people want to hear... People want to read what they don't necessarily want to hear... Let go - and see where your imagination (and your emotions) will take you.

Blogging Quick Tip: Keep Your Blog Audience Interested

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 04:16:00 +0000

What do you see for your blog? Sometimes we get so caught up in searching for the next best marketing tool, and forget all about the tried and true. Sure there are brand new marketing techniques that boost traffic and put your name out there, but it's ultimately up to you to create a buzz and generate hype. Traffic spikes may not do you any good unless you've got a great blog going, or are giving out some awesome information. But some blogs need some old school help, and using some of techniques of old really come in handy. You are your ultimate buziness card, and your blog is your product.

Let's take a moment to examine a common blogging blogging mistake:

Attempting to use mystery and enticement to draw in your visitors, and never revealing your true secrets will keep visitors coming, and keep them interested, as long as you give them enough to keep them hooked.

This might work if you're Yaro Starak, but not if you're just starting out. It sounds good in theory, and if you are a very established, highly respected blogger it just might keep people coming in, but even Yaro gives out plenty of brilliant marketing techniques, blogging tips, traffic building methods, and ideas that can help any blogger rise above ground level. Even if you have already exposed some of your best information, you can still use that as your selling point for your blog, highlighting your best work by frequently referring and linking to it from other posts or pages, including from your sidebar links.

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 03:53:00 +0000

Twitter is like a fast moving river of quick witted tourette-like tweets. But with the 140 character limit, the average twitter-tweeter must choose their words wisely!

With Twitter, the user is almost forced into self-absorption from the beginning, when you are prompted with the question, "what are you doing?".

Facebook on the other hand, is community based, and without friends, your online social status is at risk! The average Facebook user is naturally compelled to post pictures of their friends, their families, their lives. Without being able to communicate with specific people they know, life on Facebook would just not be the same.

However, with Twitter, one can become a self-indulged mini-blogger, posting blurbs about their activities, their 140 character witty remarks, and not care much about interaction - if that's what one wants. Lurking is much easier on Twitter, because you can virtually see everyone. Facebook, on the other hand, has a feature that allows the user to set their profile to private.

While are both allow users to be social or self-absorbed, apples and oranges are both still fruit. And as the title suggests, this is more of a debate than a question.

If I had to compare them, I'd put it more like this:

Twitter is more like an apple. Just bite in.
Facebook is more like an orange. You need to work a bit more to reap the fruit of your works.

Both can be sweet, or cause a bitter aftertaste in one's mouth!

Self Publishing Just Got a Whole Lot Easier

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 20:54:00 +0000

Most writers have considered the option of publishing a book, but with the high cost of traditional publishing, not to mention the monumental task of shopping your unpublished work to various publishers in attempt to land a deal, self publishing has become the easiest way to get your book out there, and quickly, through ZinePal.

Obviously, there's no short-cut to writing the book you plan to publish, you still have to produce quality content for book, or your chances of making money on your book are close to nil. However, if you've written a book, or have a great deal of content available on your blog, you can easily convert it to Kindle eBook, PDF, or ePub using ZinePal. Just think, your eBook could soon be for sale online through Google Reader, Amazon, or on your website - and even come up on the results pages of most search engines.

11 Rules for Avoiding Distractions

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 02:51:00 +0000

Avoiding distractions is just one of the many challenges that you will face as you move forward into the position of a full-time blogging writer. Whether you choose to work out of your home, rent an office, or even blog at your local internet cafe, you're likely to face a multitude of distractions throughout the day. These distractions, and how well you avoid them, will determine your success as a full-time blogging writer. Your time should be viewed the same as if you were working in a paid position. If you're serious about using writing or blogging as your sole source of income, you should be equally serious about avoiding time-killing distractions throughout the day.

Set specific work hours during which you will tackle your daily writing. Regardless of what time of day you choose to set as your work hours, treat your day as if you were working for someone other than yourself.
Treat your blog writing as if your life depends on it. If you are making the transition from working in a traditional setting to full-time blogging, your livelihood probably does depend on your ability to set regular hours and stick to them.
Set up a comfortable work space. Be sure that your writing environment is not only comfortable, but free of incoming distractions.
Avoid surfing the web. Be aware of the difference between research and internet distractions. It is all too easy to see an interesting link while you are researching, but avoid the temptation to click on it.
Schedule specific break and meal times, allowing yourself plenty of time to get some serious work done. Once you have set up your daily schedule, stick to it! If you find yourself confused about the reasons for adhering to a set schedule, refer back to rule number 2.
Periodically walk around and clear your mind. Using your breaks to surf the web, watch television, or eat a light snack can help refresh your mind, but then get back to work!
Turn off online notifications and social networking tools. Having instant notifications interrupt your thoughts can leave you feeling blank moments later. While sometimes being socially connected can be helpful – most of the time it will be the source of constant distraction.
If at all possible, turn off your cell phone, or even your land-line. Unless you are expecting an important call, avoid talking on the phone during work hours.
Insist that others respect your work hours. If you share a home or office space with others, let them know that you will be "unavailable" during specific hours or times of the day.
Value your available work time during the day. You can place a monetary value on it, or just view each moment of the day as “opportunity for advancement” in your newly developing blogging career.
Remember that you are your own boss - which means you are responsible for managing your time. Much in the same way a “9 to 5” boss would be paying for your time and work, think of your own time as a “valuable opportunity” to make money.

Could These 8 Things Be Holding You Back?

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 19:26:00 +0000

Could these 8 things be holding back your online earnings? You may not realize it, but there are plenty of things bloggers do that actually prevent them blog from making any money. Even if your goals are simple, and you just want to earn enough to make a decent living, you may be stopping your blog from making money - before you ever got started.

1. Traffic - Yep, it's true. If you lack decent traffic flow - you just won't earn. Period.

2. It's All Fluff - Even a boring blog with very little substance is capable of generating pocket change every few months - but only because disinterested readers will click on just about anything just to get away from your blog. If you're not creating interesting content, you probably won't develop a steady readership needed - or draw in the traffic to create a decent income.

3. Lacking a Basic Business Plan - If you don't know what you're selling, chances are - your readers don't either. It's not enough to just patch a blog together, throw on some fluffy articles, and slap on a few advertisements. You have to know which direction you are going with your blog, create a plan, set goals, and work towards them.

4. Undefined Goals - If you don't know where you want to go - you probably won't end up there.

5. Daily Distractions - Spending too much time on any one activity can leave you empty at the end of the day. This is why even a basic business plan can help you remember what your ultimate goals should be, and the daily activities that will help you move closer to your goals.

6. Regurgitated Information - While it's perfectly acceptable and even encouraged to be inspired by other bloggers, be careful not to repeat everything they are saying. Original content will have a better chance at raking higher in search engines, and lets your readers get a fresh perspective on the topic.

7. Your Layout - A confusing layout can cause a visitor to immediately click away from your site. There are just some sites that boggle our eyes, and registers as "irritating" in our minds. The natural response is to leave the site - regardless of what the site is about - no matter what the content consists of - it's just too annoying to stay.

8. Lack of Trust - If your readers don't get the impression that you know your stuff - they just won't trust you. Period.

How to Add Pictures Using Blogger

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Mon, 31 May 2010 05:27:00 +0000

Using pictures is a great way to keep readers visually stimulated and interested in your blog. You can emphasize a point with a few visual aids, post some artistic imagery, use pictures to sell your products, or just practice your skills in photography and post them here in blogger. So, here's a quick and easy way to add pictures to your blog posts. If you're using blogger, but haven't uploaded pictures to your posts yet, here's a quick and easy tutorial to get you started.

Start by writing your blog post as usual. If you are posting just pictures to your blog with no text, then start with your title.Click the "Add Image" button on the Blogger toolbar, which is located above the posting area, but below the title area. Clicking this will open a pop-up window, so if your browser prevents it, change the settings to allow pop-ups for Blogger.

From the pop-up window (shown below) . To search for and upload an image from your computer, select the "Browse" button at the top-left side of the window.

By clicking "Browse", a file search window will open, where you will select the image you wish to use for your blog entry, (shown below). Once you have selected the image, click "Open" and return to the Blogger pop-up.

From the Blogger pop-up, select the size and layout of the image you are uploading. For this tutorial, I have selected the "Center" layout with "Large" images. Click "Upload" and your image will be uploaded to the "Edit Post" screen, although you may need to close the pop-up after the image has finished uploading by simply clicking the red "X" in the top-right corner of the pop-up. From within the "Compose" mode of the "Edit Post" screen, you will see that your photo will automatically default to the top of your post, but you can drag and drop the picture another area within the post if desired.

Here are some more examples of layout positions, using "Small" sized images:

This image was placed using the "None" layout option. Notice how the bottom of the first line of text is lined up with the bottom of the image, and continues from there in the form of a paragraph. If you have selected this position on accident, you can either select the image by clicking on it, then delete it, or use the "Edit Html" to change the position within the HTML code, (caution: recommended only for somewhat experienced HTML users).

This image was placed using the "Left" layout option. Notice that the image is located at the left, within the body of the paragraph. This option creates a nice clean layout. Your text will wrap around the bottom of the text as you continue to type your blog post.

The next picture is located to the right of the text, using the "Right" layout option. The picture is neatly situation within the body of the paragraph, as it is with the "Left" layout option. Additional text within the paragraph that extends beyond the borders of the picture or image will wrap around it, creating a clean and neat layout for your blog post. As you can see by the positioning of the "Left" and "Right" examples, you can easily use the two layout options to align pictures to both the left and right. You can also use the alignment buttons at the top of the editing area in "Compose" mode to align your text to fit your needs.

So now you can actively create eye-catching blog posts that captivate your readers, both visually - as well as with the well-written blog content they originally came to read! Have fun with your posts, but remember not to violate any copyrights by using pictures that you didn't take, or images you didn't create. Always obtain permission, or obtain some of the many royalty-free stock photos and images available on the web.

Word Counting Basics

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:13:00 +0000

Worried about the word count of your current writing projects? Here are some helpful basics on word counts. This "rule-of-thumb" guideline can help you stick to the generally accepted word count range for a particular writing category:

Blog Posts: 150 to 500 words
Online Articles: 350 to 1500 words
Printed Articles (such as news or magazines): 1000 to 15,000 words
Short Stories: 1500 to 30,000 words
Novellas: 30,000 to 50,000 words
Novels: 55,000 to 100,000 words OR Roughly 300 pages of double-spaced typed copy

Online, success is often measured by the number of readers a particular site has. Readership is not only affected by the usefulness of the information, but also by the length of the posts. If they are too short - they may lack either entertainment value, or be too brief to be useful or informative.

In the offline publishing world, a submission that falls outside of the accepted word count range can result in your hard work never even being read. Approximately one third of the novels received by publishers and agencies are rejected simply for being either too long or too short. Novels over 100,000 are costlier to the publisher and the agent, and are therefore come with a greater risk.

Useful Tip:
Don't worry or pay close attention to the word count of your first draft. Allow the story to flow naturally, and without interruption. When revising your draft, be more conscious of the word count, tightening up the text in some areas or elaborating in others, as needed. But don't completely delete or destroy any portions of the story you cut out, either. These tidbits can be useful in creating other stories or sequels, later!

Want to Psycho Analyze Your Tweets? See What Your Twitter Tweets Say About You

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:43:00 +0000

A Blogging Writer Quickie

If you've ever wondered what your online personality says about you, here's your chance. Dan Zarrella created a service that analyzes Twitter usage (more specifically, your last thousand tweets). Just enter your Twitter user name and TweetPsych will quickly return a psychological profile on your tweets! Type in any user name and psychoanalyze your all your tweeps in seconds!

5 Little Words, 24 Hours, 100 Comments

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:58:00 +0000

Blogger Chris Brogan wrote just five little words on June 10, 2009. Within 24 hours, those five words had already provoked over 100 comments and counting!

What was it that created such a stir? With just those few words, Chris struck a chord that continues to resonate throughout the blogosphere, screaming - debate with me! That five-word post was thought provoking (to say the least) and had the necessary elements to stir up controversy, to explain his point of view on the subject of Facebook, and excellent marketing ability.

Brilliant, Chris, just brilliant.

How to Write an Article You Can Sell

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 03:56:00 +0000

Selling an article can be a little tough if you're relatively new to the field of paid writing. Starting with a layout that works for most of your articles can save you time and energy, and increase your productivity throughout the day.

Popular Article Types
Depending on the criteria of the particular articles you write, and where they will appear, you may find that you are asked to write articles that fall in to the following categories: About, How To, What Is, Facts, How it Works, or Lists of information and sources.

Structure
Develop a precise method to writing each type of article you will be selling, and even create a template that you can use each time, with defined areas for information. Use the structure that you create - each and every time you write that type of article. This is where most of your time will be spent.

Forward Moving Text
Write each paragraph so that it leads into the next paragraph. Avoid stringing your reader along in hopes of keeping them interested. The readers' time is valuable, and they want to get straight to the point. Since most people "skim" the page, looking for useful information, be sure to highlight each section with a relevant heading.

Research
Use several resources to verify the information you are presenting in your articles. Take notes using pencil and paper, rather than with a word processor, which will help you to avoid the temptation to "copy and paste" someone else's work. Your research is to help back up the information in your article only, not where you should get your words.

Resources
Provide resources that provide additional reading that may be of interest to your readers, or that further explain the process or information in your article. Use citations and quotes minimally, providing resources whenever possible.

Rewriting and Renewing
Read through some of the articles you may have in your archives. You may find that by using your newly created structure, you are able you write new articles based on research you used in previous articles. Writing articles that are similar, but cover a different aspect of a subject can be a great way of saving time on research, and provide some additional resources for rewrites, or updating old articles with newly researched facts.

Using Structure Over Time
Using a structured method will help you to develop a pattern to your writing, and eventually a style that defines you, no matter what the subject matter is. Your interest in certain details when researching will influence the direction your articles take, and a predetermined structure will help you stick to the topic throughout your article.

Blog Tip: The Flavor Comes Out When You Stir Up the Pot

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 22:06:00 +0000

Don't Be a Blogging 'Yes Man'

Being polite and agreeable has its place, but it's not in the blogging world. While there are a plethora of eager-to-please bloggers out there circulating their sheeple shit, very few bloggers are willing to share their true opinions. Too many bloggers forget that not only do we have a voice, but with the right words - we have the ability to communicate with millions. The ability to seek truth and relay facts on an international level within minutes from the homes of billions around the world is fantastic - and yet it a completely accessible communication medium to anyone with a voice and a computer with internet.

Media bloggers pumping regurgitated news blurbs on all the major networks fail to present the burning questions of our time, let alone finding answers. The internet has turned many people into truth seekers and instant researchers, obtaining answers in just a few clicks. Some argue that bloggers are the journalists of our future; others believe that bloggers are nothing more than idiots with web access and a meaningless opinion.

The fact of the matter is, bloggers have become part of a pivotal point in our social society, as well as a major contributor to the continued success of many online businesses. Bloggers are being noticed as having the ability to create hype and fame, as well as destroy lives and spread rumors that reach millions in the blink of an eye.

So what really makes bloggers and journalists different? While many journalists pride themselves on their education and their degree, believing that their credentials cause ears to listen - their degree and reputation cause them to repress many of the truths that they once sought to expose. Bloggers, on the other hand, display a fearlessness unlike that of traditional journalists. They often have no reputation to destroy, but are often discovered based on their controversial views - and the courage to share them openly.

Don't be afraid to stir up the pot; throw in a little controversy to mix it up a little. Have the courage to share the facts you find with others. Be confident enough in your research to contradicts the mainstream media coverage of a story, or the details of hidden facts kept from breaking stories on the news. Go ahead, YOU break the story!

Blogging Labeled as Dangerous, But is it Really True?

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 09:45:00 +0000

Within the past few years, bloggers have proven that it is entirely possible to make a decent living through blogging. Many people make a good income doing it, and for a select group of blogging elites, the has even brought them fame and fortune. But for at least a few bloggers, their intense drive to be the first to blog about breaking industry news may have led to their deaths.

While the simplicity of blogging for financial gain has drawn an incredible number of aspiring bloggers to dump the contents of their minds into the blogosphere at an alarming rate, it has also created the myth that anyone can be a successful blogger. But with any amount of experience as a serious blogger, one quickly realizes that spitting out regurgitated news just simply isn't good enough. Hence, the bad wrap - that blogging is dangerous to your health.

The notion that blogging could be deadly certainly is plausible in extreme cases, as many of the most successful bloggers rarely sleep, drink meals in the form of protein-caffeine cocktails, and spend nearly every waking hour in a highly competitive news breaking frenzy with global competitors. But the suggestion that blogging could bring about the levels of stress that are experienced by commercial airline pilots, or that the amount of danger that a blogger faces on the job is comparable to that of a coal miner is a giant leap over the edge of truth.

The reality of it is, blogging is what you make of it. It probably isn't fair to say that blogging in general is very competitive, because the truth of it is, a huge population of bloggers write because they enjoy it. It is considered by many to be an emotional outlet of sorts; a place of self-satisfaction, a release of words begging to come out and speak to someone . . . anyone . . . or even no one at all.

The dangers of blogging in general aren't necessarily higher than those of other computer based desk jobs. Sometimes, in order to be successful at something, you've got to put your all into your goal. To be honest, the success that some bloggers have achieved - generally comes with a high level of stress.

But don't let yourself be fooled into thinking that you would be a great blogger because you love the computer and hate getting out of bed in the morning, it takes time and a lot of hard work to build a thriving blog and an established readership. And as with anything else you may do for a living, you've gotta love it. In fact, just loving blogging isn't always enough. Darren Rowse of ProBlogger once said that he had to blog as if his life depended on it - because it did. He has since become known as a pioneer in the blogging industry, and has achieved a great level of success and respect in the blogging industry.

2008 List of Potential Wisdom from the Blogging Writer

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:30:00 +0000

Over the past few months, I've had a few rough patches - and still going. But I've also picked up a few good life lessons, and they not only apply to my life, but are well worth sharing with others - especially writers and bloggers.

Follow the things that speak to you, ignore the things that you don't identify with, and if nothing on this list speaks to you - write your own list! Maybe the first point of wisdom on your new list will be, "If you want something done right - do it yourself". So here's my 2008 List of "Potential Wisdom".

Don't be afraid to go after what you want. If you believe in yourself enough, others will believe in you, too.
People only know about you what you tell them, so only tell them what you want them to know about you.
Don't say anything you may want to take back.
Always be honest with what you say. The truth is often an offense, but never a sin.
Take time each day to accomplish a goal - even if you have to make one up on the fly.
Learn to listen to others, and let them inspire you.
When you know that you know nothing, you are truly ready to learn.
Have no regrets, just learn from your mistakes.
If you ask ten different people a question, you're likely to get ten random answers that just don't fit your unique situation. But if you ask yourself what's in your heart, you'll get the only answer that's right for you. (Although you can always use those ten answers for a heavy brainstorming session!)
You can reinvent yourself at any moment. All you have to do is FORGET WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK OF YOU. Don't worry about what people will think, you are different. You can choose at any moment to be completely different, go somewhere else, or be what you want to be. Just get up, put yourself out there, and DO IT!

The Truth About Blogging and Adsense

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 22:24:00 +0000

Warning: If you are overly sensitive to the truth, you may not continue to read this blatant post!

When I attended career guidance classes in high-school, I don't quite remember "sitting around in my underwear checking my AdSense stats" being on the list of possible careers, but it seems to be quite the dream job of today. While there are a few of us who like to keep busy, I'm pretty sure there are millions of people out there who would just love to quit working and take a permanent all-expenses paid vacation. But that's just not reality, no matter how great it sounds.

Bloggers Needed: Lazy People Need Not Apply

First of all, successful blogging is work. I'm not sure how much of that is making sense, but the keyword here is: WORK. I do agree, it's not always hard work, but it is work nonetheless. The sooner you believe and understand the fact that blogging requires work, the sooner you can begin to enjoy your job. If that was not too difficult for you to swallow, you may want to continue reading about what AdSense can do for you.

If you already have a high level of traffic, AdSense has a tendency to produce two more common results: Based on a high percentage of "clickers", you may actually start off day one earning Adsense revenue. On the flip side, if you have a lot of loyal readers who enjoy the fact that your blog remains ad-free, you run the risk of offending them. Many readers enjoy non-threatening environment of a blog that isn't trying to sell them anything, including "junk-advertising".

The AdSense Catch-22

If your site has relatively few readers or visitors, you won't necessarily offend anyone - but you probably won't make any money the first day, either. As your readers develop a loyalty to you as a writer, they will have already been exposed to your AdSense ads, and still continue to frequent your blog. As your readership grows, depending on your niche - your earnings should correspondingly increase. But this is not always true. Some niches simply produce more "clicking" visitors than others. In fact, if your niche is not product based, you may find that the relevant ads are actually not relevant at all, and may not generate interest or clicks.

By implementing your ads in higher visibility areas, you will increase the visibility of the ads, encouraging more clicks, but you also compromise your layout design, and should be careful not to give up valuable "real-estate" on your blog to irrelevant material. Be sure to place some of your most useful information in neighboring spaces, so that you ensure that your readers will not only be exposed to your ads, but have an equal opportunity to read the information they came to read. If your ads are more prominent than your content, you may find that your visitors quickly leave your site through your ads. If you simply to wish to generate clicks, I suppose this would be the way to go, but most bloggers are genuinely interested in having their content actually read! In that case, concentrate on your content - and its visibility.

Ignore your readers - and they'll go away.

Personally, I am more motivated by returning visitors, multiple page views, and lengthy visits than how many pennies I can earn per visitor. But by the same token, I am also encouraged by the possibility that I may not provide everything my readers want, and that perhaps through relevant ads, I might give them something they are looking for - while earning revenue at the same time.

When properly balanced, AdSense can be a valuable tool for both readers and bloggers, providing additional content and products to your visitors, and generating revenue for bloggers and website owners, without interrupting the blog-reading experience for the visitors.

The Decision to Write Online or Publish a Book Traditionally

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Tue, 20 May 2008 16:03:00 +0000

I am continually amazed to see how many writers and authors are turning to blogging as a literary outlet. For many years, I have known many people who say they have a book ready to be written, a lot of people who say they have already started writing their book, a few who have written a lot down and have a few books written, but nothing published - but only a couple who have actually accomplished the goal of becoming a published author.

At the same time, I have watched many of these very people make the switch from the monumental and often unsuccessful traditional publishing route - to the self-publishing power of the Internet. Most recently, this is taking place in the form of blogs, and suddenly everyone is a writer. The days of waiting months to hear form a publishing company while your sweat and tears lie in a pile of dusty manuscripts are gone. No more paying thousands of dollars to have your book published while you strip yourself of your ethics and dignity, and still get nowhere.

While this may sound like an open-invitation to flood the Internet with your ramblings, it's actually intended to be an inspirational tidbit to encourage you to look deep within yourself and decide whether you're ready to start now - or wait to write that book until you . . . perhaps don't even write it? Procrastination will get you nowhere, my friends.

While many people are worried about plagiarism and scraping, plagiarizers and scrapers are also looking to non-internet and tangible forms of literature to take from, in order to prevent detection. If you decide to brave the web, and whether you decide to blog your book one chapter at a time, or write informative posts or articles, just get writing! Keep your wheels turning, your gears oiled, and be inspired. Don't bury your talents any long, just do it. Write something!

Dispelling Myths about Blog Post Frequency

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:39:00 +0000

Sorting through all the "post frequency" garbage on the web can be a little confusing, and sometimes discouraging. But knowing how often to post on your blog could give you an edge over your competition, even if you are posting less frequently than they are. While frequent posts and mass content may have helped boost traffic and search engine visibility in the early days of blogging, web-clutter is piling up fast, and making it more difficult to find valuable sources of information on the net.

MYTH: Frequent posting will increase blog traffic and RSS subscriptions.

TRUTH: Regularly appearing posts can make it easier for readers to know how often to check your blog for new content. It also allows search engines to determine how often to crawl your site. But with an increasingly high number of readers turning to RSS feeds, too many posts bombard your subscribers, causing even loyal readers to unsubscribe!

MYTH: Daily posts are what readers want.

TRUTH: Readers want to spend their time reading quality content, juicy tid-bits, useful information, or something that specifically sparks their interest. Most successful bloggers agree that the usefulness or value of the post is much more important than the frequency. Too many new bloggers quit after just a few months, or sooner. All of these brief little posts are accumulating in the blogosphere - creating a veritable blogging landfill within the search engines. Cut down on the clutter that is clogging up the lines of communication. I'm not implying that we lobby for a virtual-green blogging ecosystem - just suggesting we all use a bit of common sense.

MYTH: Short frequent posts are better than long articles posted less frequently.

TRUTH: Unless you can string together a handful of words to brilliantly convey your point, providing your audience with something of value in just a few sentences, you may do well to avoid short frequent posting. Remember what grandma used to say - if you don't have anything nice to say . . ? Well let's put a web 2.0 spin on that old saying:

"If you don't have anything useful or valuable to post - don't post anything at all."

Restrain Yourself!

Frequent posting is (in part) what fuels low-quality posts. As a blogger, you could very well downgrade the quality of your entire blog if you allow the pressure of frequent posting get to you. It is best to take a fair amount of time researching your information and providing useful and valuable information to your readers.

How often you post is of less importance than the quality of your posts. If you have something valuable and useful to say - post it, regardless of how often you post. Articles and posts that are timeless (meaning they will still be valuable next week - or next year) will continue to draw attention long after they have been posted. Posting too frequently could bury some of your more useful posts in your archives, and new visitors may never take the time to find the value in your blog. But when each and every post adds more value to your blog, it invites multiple page views, repeat visits, and loyal readers who eagerly await your next post.

The Untold Story of How the Three Little Pigs Built Their Blogs

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:03:00 +0000

Learn From the Mistakes of Others

Well, as we all know - learning from your mistakes saves you the time and hardship of making them again. But two of the three little pigs didn't seem to learn much from their ordeal with the big bad wolf. I don't know if you ever knew the names of the three pigs, but the one who built his house out of straw - that was Gary. Larry was the one who built his house out of twigs, and George, well - he built his home out of bricks.

Keeping Up with the Jones's

All three pigs moved from wolf's territory just after he huffed, and puffed, and blew two of their houses down. They moved out near the old information highway, which is far away from the big bad wolf. The three little pigs moved into a new neighborhood called the Web, which is now almost entirely dominated and powered by Ooogle. But the pigs weren't intimidated by Ooogle's laws of the land, and each had a plan to become part of the blogging community.

Their new neighbors, the Jones family, said that almost everyone in the community has recently redesigned using the Web 2.0 model - and the pigs just had to keep up with the Jones's.
Each of them quickly began to build their blogs, each with different types of blogging platforms, different types of writing styles, and offered very different information on their blogs.

Gary's Blog Was Build from Straw

Gary actually built a pretty nice blog. The design was clean and simple, he had decent content, but his approach to getting more traffic was a little weak. Basically he just submitted to a few blog directories, trying to avoid dealing with Ooogle and the laws of the land. He sat, and he sat, waiting for visitors - but they didn't come. His traffic was close to zero, and Ooogle completely ignored his blog. He thought he could be doing more, but he didn't really know what to do. Gary would have to learn a little more about building traffic and becoming a part of the community before his blog would have the strength to stand up to Ooogle. Gary's blog fizzled.

Larry Built His Blog from Twigs

Larry wanted to build his blog quickly, so he used articles that he had posted on an old website he had. Well, one of Ooogle's laws of the land is that you never post duplicate information, so Larry's used articles quickly got Ooogle's attention. Ooogle banned him from the query results page, saying he posted duplicated information. Larry's blog fizzled.

George Gained Success through His Blog Built of Bricks

George bought his own domain right away, that way people would take him more seriously as a member of the community. He started out with great content to begin with, and often participated in discussions in forums and joining conversations by leaving insightful comments and sharing useful information on relevant blogs. He even gave away some great information for free. George's blog sizzled! Within just a few weeks, he had his first few visitors, and some even left comments! He commented back, and he visited the sites of those who left comments - leaving a comment for them as well. He was invited to guest blog on a popular blog, and a few of his posts were pretty hot on Digg! He was well on his way to becoming a valuable member of the community, offering useful information to his readers.

The Traffic Formula

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:20:00 +0000

Traffic, just like any other measure of success, is the fruition of the hard work and dedication you have put into your blog. If you don’t already have a steady flow of traffic, whether it’s five visitors a day or five-thousand, then you probably aren’t taking the proper combination of steps (or enough of the proper steps) to help people find your blog and take interest in what you have to say.

Quality Content

Basically, the successful traffic equation is simple:

Quality Content + Community Participation = Traffic

This is probably the most important factor when considering your traffic flow. As far as new visitors are concerned, if you don’t offer valuable information within the first 30-seconds of their visit – you’ve lost them. Furthermore, if your layout is confusing, or if your information is outdated, they might leave without reading the great information you offer. The combination of quality content and a good site layout is the proper foundation for a successful blog, and a growing readership.
As debates between the journalism community and the blogging community heat up, there is a more intense expectation of bloggers to produce quality content. Even if you are blogging about Aunt Martha’s favorite recipes, your information could either be jam-packed with useful information – or you could rattle on for paragraphs about nothing but her cat. But if readers are expecting to get a few great recipes from that aunt they never had and are instead pummeled with countless anecdotes about Fluffy – they’ll leave. They probably won’t even stick around long enough to find those delicious recipes – and certainly won’t be book-marking your blog!

Community Participation

Once you have a decent amount of information put together in an organized fashion, you’re ready to get out and socialize! That’s right – in order to build blog traffic in the quickly-evolving web 2.0 world of today, you’ve got to get out and join the blog party. This means joining social networks, forums, community memberships, and commenting within your niche. Find others that have blogs in complimentary subjects, and leave comments that offer value to the conversation. You’ll find that leaving useful and informative comments on highly-visible blogs can turn out to be a wonderful source of traffic.

On that same note, if you participate in community forums, you will find that by sharing valuable information within that community can help seat you in a position of “authority” within your particular niche. Basically, it’s a game of social survival – just like high-school, but in this game the goal is not only to become popular, but to become viewed as an authority in your niche. You want to get people talking about you, and what you have to say. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen people open their posts with, “I was just reading an article by Darren on ProBlogger”. I’m starting to wonder if the guy could just write 10 words about chocolate – and people would actually believe that there was a blogging lesson in those 10 words that they learned by visiting ProBlogger that day.
That’s the power of becoming an authority within your niche.

Three Things You Can Do to Improve Your Blog

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 21:04:00 +0000

Improve the Look and Feel of Your Layout

Organize and De-Clutter - Get rid of widgets and buttons that do not offer anything to your reader, or to you. Eliminate anything that causes a "cluttered" look, or is distracting. smooth out the appearance, align the sidebars and contents in a way that creates a "clean" look and fresh feel.
Create Usability - place common objects in a place that is to be expected. people will look for certain things to be in a certain area, and readers will appreciate being able to find these things easily. Thanks for the tips, Skellie!
Add - Elements, colors and pictures - in a non-distracting way, of course. Think of it as a sort of eye-candy, or entertainment for the eyes that keeps your reader interested. Plain text can appear boring and blah when you have been on a site for a while. If you want your readers to continue reading and viewing your content, you'll need a little flair and style!

Increase Traffic

Build Links - Using link building techniques such as comments, blog submissions, community forums and deep linking will help to build your blog traffic, increase traffic through search engines, and help build credibility for you as a blogger.
Social Networking - Social networks and social media are extremely useful if your content is able to generate a buzz.

Improve Your Content

What You Offer - Consider the usefulness of the information you offer
Provide Resources - In doing so, you earn the opportunity to become recognized as a resource, and you yourself may ending up an expert in your niche.
Avoid - Stay away from writing styles that could confuse or distract the reader. If you have bad writing habits that prevent readers from understanding your point, you'll quickly lose any potential readers.
Create Usability - User-friendly, easy to read information. Create content that is laid out in a way that is easy to understand, and readers know you have a point. Their time is valuable, and your content should convey to the reader that there is something of value that you have to offer. If your posts are long and indirect - readers are more likely to get bored and move on.
Study - Go back and look over past posts. Re-read some of the older ones that you once considered great posts. Compare your writing style and ability to convey your message with now - and see how you've grown or changed as a writer.
Read - Make sure that you are regularly reading other blogs, whether for inspiration, ideas, commenting opportunities, or simply to learn more about your own niche. Don't get yourself stranded on a blogging island.

What You Lose When Your Blog is not Reader Ready

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 10:59:00 +0000

What are you really losing when your blog not only fails to keep visitors interested, but isn't drawing in a huge crowd of readers? You may think that you can ruin your online reputation or credibility, or your opportunity to make money, or even pushing potential customers away. And while all of the above may be true, you are also losing something much more. You are losing valuable time.

Face it, the internet is a fast moving world, and if you don't keep up - you could be left in the dust. When your site is is shambles, you might lose revenue or potential readers. If your blog is not finished, or lacking valuable content - you allow others the opportunity to do what you aren't. You not only prevent yourself from earning your potential during that time, but you could affect your future earnings as well. But worse yet, you lose the time that others are (or could be) excelling in your niche - instead of you. If you are taking too much time on one aspect of your blog, and aren't really prooving to be a success as of yet, you may be allowing others to take advantage of your slack, and take over your niche.

Be sure that you are making the most of your blog's presentation. If you are gearing your blog layout towards keeping readers interested in your reading, you will have more time to devote to producing quality content. You only have one chance to make a first impression in the real world, but thankfully in the virtual world you have the opportunity to bring back visitors that you may have had before. People most often remember the sites that they enjoy, or want to share - but typically forget sites that were not at all useful. So even if you've chased away a few visitors in the past, you can have your site "reader ready" before they arrive again!

Search Phrases and Keywords - A Traffic Building Exercise

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 01:48:00 +0000

Try any number of combinations of a phrase, and see how different the search results returned for each phrase can be. For example, open four individual browser tabs (or windows if necessary).

Google the following phrases:

hammer tools
hammers tool
tool hammers
tools hammer

When I Googled the four above phrases, I got different results, or the same results in a different order. Without scrolling down on each page, I can already see that MyToolStore came up within the top 5 listed results in all four searches. You can experiment with this using almost any phrase, in almost every search engine, and it will produce the same result - single or plural nouns, as well as the order of your chosen words will have a direct impact on the results returned.

Why should this matter to you? Well, you see . . . your will appear in the search engines much in the same way as the tools and hammers. The average search phrase is about 4 words, and that will also produce more specified results. For example: If you are searching for a hammer, you are likely to also type in what type of hammer you are looking for. If you just typed in hammer, you would get too many unrelated results - but if you typed in "geology hammer" or "rock hammer" your results would be much more specific.

Since your blog will appear in these results as well, or articles that you write, you'll want to use certain keywords and phrases in your writing - naturally, of course. You can easily implement this tactic by replacing words like "it" and "this" with keywords and key phrases that search engines will pick up on. For example: In this article, I have used the following words: blog, blogging, write, and writing – a combined total of nine times so far. (This will increase with the next sentence!) When I ran a search for the word “blog”, the search tool included the word “blogging”. But when I entered in the word “blogging”, it did not pick up on the instances of the word “blog”.

From this simple exercise, you can conclude that the root words are more likely to produce results that include other variations, as long as the spelling of the root word remains intact. For example: “Write” will not bring up results containing the word “writing” because the ‘e’ in vary was replaced with the letter ‘i’ in writing. The more you mention a certain subject in your blog posts or article writing, the easier it will be for search engines pick up on your keywords, and will eventually regard your website or blog as “relevant” to a certain topic.

Stolen Content May Help You Advertise Your Blog through Deep Linking

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:48:00 +0000

It’s never comforting to realize that someone has stolen your hard work by ripping off your latest article. But there are some steps you can take to ensure that your blog will receive some healthy advertising through the whole ordeal. Fighting against the article skimmers could be long and fruitless, and could leave you more frustrated than the day you discovered your copy on someone else’s page. But with a little extra effort, those content thieves could be sending you some extra traffic!

The first thing you need to understand is how your article is likely to be used. In most cases, content thieves are skimming articles in order to quickly put together a blog with a seemingly long history. It’s a common scam that sploggers use to fill up their blog archives with well written articles in order to give them what appears to be longevity and “credibility” in their chosen niche. They will typically post your article along with the articles of others onto a blog with no contact information, but usually with all of the original links attached. In fact, you may even discover that by clicking the title link, you are taken to your own blog or site. While it is definitely a bad thing that your name is not included in the byline of your article, you may find a small amount of comfort knowing that the article links to your website.

But you can do even more to promote your site through potentially stolen content – other than just complain. Since it’s become common practice among bloggers to link a related article within a post, you can take comfort knowing that this will help your link building process. But how does this help you? You already know that you can make each and every post on your blog direct readers to other pages on your site, but what you may not realize is that these are deep links. (Deep links are any links that provide a direct route to specific information, without having to navigate through a site from their Home page.) These can be used to your benefit when designing your website, as they will likely appear on the thief’s blog as well. These deep links within your posts will help redirect readers towards your blog, no matter where they find your article.

Is Your Writing Style Distracting Your Readers

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 21:28:00 +0000

Because so many bloggers have begun to worry about how much money their time is worth, they often forget to have fun, and enjoy what they do. After all, a good blogger has to appreciate the written language, and enjoy writing. This can be especially true for corporate bloggers. But more recently, bloggers are beginning to let go of the formal writing style, and starting to use a more fluent, speaking-style writing. Just like you would say it if the person you were talking to were stading in front of you. If you have something of value that you are offering on your site, too much fluff around your point will make it mute.

When you loosen up the writing style a little bit, you become more free in what you want to say - and how you say it. But this doesn't mean that you'd want to use cRaZy TyPiNg styles either, that makes it just as difficult to read as a ransom note. The point is, to make it easy for the reader to understand what you are saying - or if in fact you have anything valuable to say at all. These things are important to readers, and can make the difference between someone coming back to read more - or avoiding links that point to your site!

Dress for Success - The Blogger Project

noreply@blogger.com (ms blogger) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:32:00 +0000

Your blog speaks to the reader before he or she even begins to read the words you have written. The feeling your readers get when your blog page first loads is what matters the very most. In fact, many people will leave your site in a big hurry if they don't like the way your site "feels". Their first impression of anything you have to say as a blogger is in your site layout. Some bloggers feel that their words speak louder than their blog's appearance - but this is simply NOT true if the reader doesn't feel like sticking around long enough to read anything you wrote.

Take those few extra steps towards building a better layout, and watch you'll get to watch your readership grow - along with your earnings, if that is a goal for you. Depending on how a visitor found your site, there is an immediate chance for that person to say, "Oh, this wasn't what I thought it was going to be." That's it - they're gone . . . just like that. Your job is to sell your site from the first glance. That's where your project comes in. (Don't worry, you can stay in your pajamas for now - this blog project is about dressing your blog for success!)

The Project

Take a look at your blog. Not just a quick glance, but a good long look. Think about what your blog is saying, and what level of professionalism you will need to attract the readers in your niche. Also take a look at your sidebars and header, are there things that you've been unsatisfied with, but just haven't taken the time to fix it? Well, wake up, because it's time to get your blog into tip-top shape now. The blogosphere is becoming more and more competitive, and there are an incredible amount of blogs being created each day. Unless you've got a really tight niche locked up, you'll probably need to have good looks, too!

Now, take a look at at least 10 other blogs, including 5 professional blogs and 5 not-so-professional looking blogs. For example, take a look at the two blogs below, both of which have great information, advice, useful links and tips for their niche, but one is much more professional looking than the other.

Professional looking blog: ProBlogger
Not-so-professional looking: Dummies Guide to Google Blogger Beta

The Next Step

Once you have learned what level of professionalism you want to display to your readers, spend some time thinking about what type of people your blog will appeal to. Consider your readers, and realize that you are a marketer, not just a blogger. Your readers are your consumers, and you want your blog to appeal to them, don't you? If your readers are most likely drawn towards MSN or AOL news sites, you are definitely going to need your blog to reflect a highly professional appearance. However, if you have a blog in which you post your mom's forwarded email jokes - you may not need to worry about how professional your blog looks. Remember, dress like already have the job of your dreams!

Lastly, leave a comment with a link to your new layout once you've perfected your look!