I wanted to share some advice with you today to help you write a better blog post.

Headline is Important

The headline is your hook in the sea. You need that hook to be attractive enough to lure the reader in and make them bite (click). So, make the headline catchy.

A few quick guidelines:

1. Focus on “YOU”. And here, I mean the reader. What benefit are they going to get by reading your post? Make your headline make some kind of intriguing promise to the reader that just makes them want to click.
2. Use the pattern interrupt. People surf the internet is a state of hypnosis. Wake them up by throwing them a headline which wakes them up.
3. Spike their curiosity. Make them want more. People hate mysteries. They don’t like not knowing.
4. “How To”… works in the headline. Immediate benefit to the reader.
5. Give a reason why. For example, “Here’s why your blog traffic sucks.”. You’re giving them a reason. You’re spiking their curiosity. It is also a pattern interrupt.

Study headlines which work. It is an art, and when you master it, your readership will increase and you’ll draw them in like crazy.

Be Real

Don’t do formal writing. Let the English teachers get their jollies off on that one. It doesn’t work on a blog.

Be conversational in your writing style. Be interesting.

Shakespeare would make a crappy blogger. Don’t be that guy.

Your Reader Has CRAZY ADD

Your typical blog reader is just riddled with ADD. Those eyes are going all over the place, and they’re operating in a bored emotional tone. Boredom doesn’t work if you want to hook your reader, so your job is to move them up from boredom into some form of interest.

So, your first sentence needs a hook. Draw them in. Make them want to read the rest of your post.

In the post, you want to use sub-headlines. It allows for people to scan the post.

If you came across a blog where each paragraph was really long, you wouldn’t read it. Because you’re lazy. And so is the rest of the Internet.

Short paragraphs. Easy sentences. Words that don’t require a dictionary. And sub-headlines to allow speed-readers to size up the post as worth their time.

Also, use bullet points and lists to break up the flow of the post (where appropriate). This is the pattern interrupt concept taken right into the structure of your post. Break up the flow a little bit.

This is Communication – Don’t Forget That

Communication, for it to be true communication, needs to consist of understanding on the receiving end. Just blurting crap out there isn’t communication. Just talking to yourself and hoping others listen to you is not communication.

Talk TO them. Get them to talk to you.

Write with the purpose of being completely understood on the other end. Your job isn’t to impress them with big words to make you seem smart. If you pile them up with words they don’t understand, they’ll just use the back button and leave. And they’ll think you’re an idiot.

Have a message to communicate to the reader when you make a post. Before you hit that publish button, ask yourself “Why am I posting this? What do I want my reader to walk away with?”

If you’re not thinking about that, then you’re doing it wrong.

Now, go blog something.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like...

1. Everything You Need To Know About Writing Blog Headlines
2. How To Get Blog Traffic By Pissing Off Your Audience
3. Is It OK To Ask Your Readers To Submit To Digg?

Last week, I got an email from Mike Filsaime. Now, Mike is a well-known internet marketer. I follow the world of internet marketing. After all, I’m, too, a marketer. What was surprising about this email from Mike was that he was talking about his new Twitter app – Tweetglide. This spiked my curiosity because “Mike Filsaime” and “Twitter app” just don’t go together in my mind.

Tweetglide is developed on Adobe AIR, just like Tweetdeck. The website is impressive. So, I was both surprised and impressed to see a guy like Filsaime getting involved in mainstream social media to this degree. He’s even got an Iphone version coming.

When you first open the app, you’ll immediately see that this was designed by a marketer. You’ll get a one-time offer (OTO) to upgrade to the “pro” account for $97. This will give you 500 ad credits and allow you to do things like customize your ad to make it stand out. Which brings me to the major difference between Tweetglide and another client…

Advertising on Twitter

Essentially, by using Tweetglide, you are able to send out advertisements for your own stuff. Plus, in an MLM approach, you can actually create your own downline and have your referrals help you earn more ad views. So, you’ll earn ad credits by:

• Tweeting. If you send 5 tweets in 3 hours (just normal conversation, not ads), you’ll earn an ad credit which shows your ad. They smartly put a cap on this, so tweeting 100 times isn’t going to earn you more ad views. No spam there.
• You refer people to Tweetglide and you get credit for all the tweet activity of your downline, up to 4 levels down. 5 tweets from you or anybody in your downline earns you an ad view.
• You can also pay for sponsored ads with Tweetglide.

Now, all of this uses the Tweetglide application to display advertising. What is unique about this is that the sponsored tweets show up in a separate column which you can close if you want. Now, I don’t believe you’ll get any credits if you shut down the sponsored column, but it will allow you to simply use Tweetglide as a Twitter client without using all this other stuff. The column separation also makes Tweetglide comply with the new FTC disclosure rules since we clearly know that these are sponsored messages.

Tweetdeck Versus Tweetglide

This app immediately will make you think of Tweetdeck. It uses columns in the same exact fashion. But, how else does it compare?

Like Tweetdeck, you have columns for all tweets, replies, DMs, etc. You can set up your own groups if you want, however it doesn’t appear to save those groups to any servers for sync purposes.

You can fully manage your Twitter profile from inside of Tweetglide. You can follow/unfollow/block users. You can tap into the common URL shorteners and view click-through stats inside the app (nice touch). It doesn’t have all the options of Tweetdeck yet, but I’m guessing it’ll get there.

The interface is a little bubbly compared to Tweetdeck.

One thing that annoyed me quite a bit about Tweetglide was the ease of tweeting out affiliate promos for Tweetglide itself. 3 separate times I accidently tweeted out my affiliate link when I didn’t intend to. That needs to be changed.

Daddy Like?

At the end of the day, what’s my verdict on Tweetglide?

Well, I’m impressed, but I’m not quite feeling it.

I think the model is fairly innovative if your purpose is to promote yourself. I think the marketing aggressiveness is a little ill-placed on the Twitter audience, however. Twitter is about being social, not overt marketing. And, as of now, Tweetglide is designed for overt marketing. It is far too easy to promote your affiliate link. The OTO on initial launch is going to immediately put a bad taste in the mouth of many Twitter users.

Due to the nature of internet marketing, you’re going to see most people out there singing the praises of Tweetglide. They’ll all be sporting their affiliate link, of course. I’ve even seen some call it the Tweetdeck replacement. That’s overkill and I think its being said as a way to earn more commissions, quite frankly.

As I see it, the audience who will end up using Tweetglide are the people who are using Twitter for the wrong reasons – to pimp their stuff. The sponsored ad column is already full of “make money” stuff (as I would expect).

It comes down to the overall vibe. As an app, Tweetglide is actually pretty good. As an innovative business model – check. It most certainly is. It is the first client to have a separate column for sponsored messages and that alone is innovative.

There are a LOT of people on Twitter who are not into affiliate marketing and MLM, however. And, for those people, I just don’t think Tweetglide will sit well.

As for me, I’m sticking with Tweetdeck as my main Twitter client. I might play around with Tweetglide from time to time. I like using Twitter a better way – to build relationships. The money stuff comes second.

If you want to check out Tweetglide for yourself, click here.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like...

1. Twitter Marketing: Insider Tip
2. TweetDeck: Cool, But Not Quite
3. Book Review: Twitter Revolution

I am a big believer in the idea that the only person capable of improving or messing up your life is you. Nobody else. You get what you expect to get.

This email I got was unfortunate. I don’t want to quote the whole thing (out of respect), but I want to point out a few things in the email.

This blog stuff is way over my head, I don’t have anything to talk about that anyone would be interesting in listening to.

If you have decided that that is true, then it is.

I am disabled and house bound, and am so sick most of the time I can just barely check my email….. I am just an old wore out jack of all trades and master of none. I live on Social Security Disability, and my Wife works Two different jobs most of the time.  We are just broke Christian simple people waiting to go to Heaven.

I have to be careful here. I understand that some people are in dire straights and that life can be an uphill fight. We all understand that. But, look at this from a standpoint of personal power. This statement is full of self invalidation.

Forgive me, if I am taking advantage of you by seeing your daily tips. If you would rather I unsubscribe, you just don’t hesitate to tell me.

This is the first time I’ve ever had anybody apologize for reading my blog and being a subscriber to my mailing list.

What stands out to me here is an apparent self-degradation. He is propitiating to me for no reason. Almost every statement in the email is a statement of weakness and invalidation of himself.

If you go around saying bad things about yourself, they’ll manifest in real life. You get what you put out there.

I fully believe that the only way that you can become the punching bag of life is if you make the decision to allow yourself to be a punching bag. Things don’t just happen. They’re made to happen.

Call it the Law of Attraction if you like, but you get what you put out there. And what really tugged my heart strings about this email was that he is bending over backwards to lessen his own personal power, to be smaller, and in his own words, just waiting to go to Heaven.

You get what you create. Your life is the result of your own self-determinism. I don’t believe in luck. Go out there and make the life you want.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like...

1. Internet Marketing And The Power of Trust
2. Personal News Made Public – Baby Dave
3. The Power of Giving – Azim Jamal

Are you Frickin’ kidding me?

You don’t have to be the superman of writing to be a good blogger. You just need to learn how to leverage your time effectively.

Leverage is getting the absolute most bang for your buck. Or, in this case, your time. Can you make one piece of content fit many purposes? Sure you can.

Be Everywhere

You don’t want your blog to be a little island, all alone out there in the vast sea of the Internet. In real life, sole survivors die. That’s you on your blog unless you do something to get people to your island. So, you need bridges.

All of the video sites. Podcast directories. Itunes. Article directories. You want to be out there, everywhere and anywhere. You want to encompass the Internet with your brand and your message, and all of it should point back to your blog.

So, does that mean you have to make videos? Then make podcasts? Then write some articles for the article directories? And sprinkle in a little actual blogging into the mix? Of course not.

The Magic Bullet

The magic bullet is simply leverage.

Here are some ideas to get you thinking:

• Write a blog post, then repurpose it, shorten it to 400 words or so, and post it in the article directory.
• Do a video. Take the audio and turn it into a podcast. Then, get the audio transcribed. There’s a blog post. Then, repurpose that yet again, there’s one or more articles for the directories.
• Write a report? Dictate it and turn it into a podcast.
• Recording a podcast? Ustream yourself doing the podcast and invite your readers to watch? Then, post the video directly from Ustream into Youtube. Again, transcribe it into print format for blog posts.
• Do a webinar? Record it, transcribe, yada yada.
• Need a product to sell? Take your blog content which is good and compile it into a digestible product and sell it. Don’t think that is shady. All the top people do it. A lot.

You get the idea? It is all about leverage.

Lastly, get help. If you’re serious about blogging as a business, you need a virtual assistant. That person can help you with transcription, repurposing, etc. Ideally, you should be able to create the content once and be done with it. Have the rest of it taken care of.

You can blog in first gear, or you can shift into overdrive. Your call.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like...

1. Problogger’s Secret To Massive Amounts of Content
2. Using Content Hubs to Promote
3. How To Never Run Out of Content For Your Blog Again

It is simply the art of creating a recognizable brand around yourself. The goals are:

1. Be recognized whenever the brand is seen.
2. Have that brand represent certain ideas in the minds of the viewer.

Here are 9 quick tips to help you build up your personal brand.

1. Decide between using your name or a made-up name. If you build a brand around your name, then do so for the purpose of raising your reputation. On the flip side, any brand built around you is not sellable. When you decide to quit, the brand dies. If you build a brand which is separate from you, then you can sell it. For example, this blog is branded around myself. However, PCMech is a separate brand and could be operated completely independently of myself.
2. Own your domain. Whatever brand you use, you need to own the dot-com. If your name is available as a dot-com, go buy it. I also specifically recommend the dot-com as opposed to other domain extensions like dot-net or dot-org because dot-com is assumed by all. It is easiest to remember.
3. Invest in a professional blog design. One of the biggest mistakes bloggers make is trying to design their own blogs when they have no idea how to do it. Saying that you’re not going to invest in a professional design until you make some money is to put the cart before the horse. Realize that you need to treat your blog like a business if you want it to be a business, and sometimes that means investing in it at the beginning.
4. Use professional photo of yourself. You are going to use a photo of yourself in various places on your blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc. You want that photo to be professional and attractive. You also want it to convey the mood expressed by your brand. If your brand is about fun, then look happy and fun in your photo. You can pay somebody to take very professional photos of you. It isn’t necessary, but you’ll get better results.
5. Go for visual consistency. Preferably, you want your Twitter background, your blog, your Youtube channel layout – all of it – to have the same overall design and color scheme. It maintains visual consistency for the brand. Also, I recommend you use the same photo of yourself in all online profiles.
6. Get a logo. You need a professional logo for your brand. Don’t use your photo as the logo. Also, make sure the logo would work equally in color and black-and-white. In other words, it should translate well into print.
7. Invest in swag. Ever thought about building out your brand into the offline world? Perhaps shirts, cups, hats, mousepads, USB sticks, business cards, etc. If you give away some swag at a conference, you’ll be easily remembered.
8. Nail down your brand keywords. This was something that Ted Murphy talked about recently. In the same fashion you might add tags to your blog post, sit down and tag your brand. What words describe the brand you want to create? Then, see if you can further nail down the brand description to a single phrase.
9. Be Everywhere. I know, easier said than done, right? But, this is part of being a pro blogger. You need to be out there on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn, etc. And it all needs to lead into your blog where you are posting quality, helpful content designed to bolster your brand. You can build your brand visually all you want, but it isn’t a brand if it is not out there in front of people.

As with everything, the basics are easy. It just requires follow-through. It is one thing to read this post and ultimately do nothing different. Or you could come up with some steps to actually DO IT.

Now, go build your brand. And share in comments what you’re going to do next when it comes to building up your brand.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like...

1. 10 Branding and Marketing Tips For Any Website
2. The Importance of Branding And Why You Might Be Screwing It Up Badly
3. 5 Important Tips For Your Blogger Business Card

Membership sites work. Period. I have made a bunch of money this year from two membership sites. Here is why I like this model so much:

• Sell once, get paid many times.
• Electronic delivery – no shipping costs
• It works with a blog almost like magic.
• You can market/promo it any time you want. Essentially, you write yourself a check whenever you need it.

This isn’t marketing hype. Sure, it’ll take work. But, the model is strong. My only surprise is that more bloggers aren’t doing it.

So, along that line, Yaro Starak recently released his Membership Site Masterplan free report. The report is thorough. It most certainly isn’t some marketing gimmick where all the good stuff is given to you after you pay for it. This free report has real meat to it. Yaro, seriously, well done on the report. Good stuff.

This morning, Yaro has officially opened the doors on his training program, Membership Site Mastermind.

Now, if you are a blogger, you are lucky. Because, bloggers are positioned to get the most value from Yaro’s program. I cannot even BEGIN to overstate the power of a membership site with a blog. I mean, having a blog isn’t a requirement, but you’re going to be much better off if you have one.

Now read on, because I’ve got a very special offer for you today. You’ll like it.

Talking Price

There are two choices in how you will pay for Membership Site Mastermind. The first is 3 payments of $297. He also has a one-time payment option where you will save some money. In addition, you’ll have the opportunity to take Yaro’s Blog Mastermind course as well at a drastically reduced rate.

Now, let me just inject something here. Chances are, you’re thinking something along the lines of “That’s expensive”. Or… “let me make some money first then I’ll consider it.”.

Let me tell you why you’re shooting yourself in the foot if you do that.

This is a business. A real business. It takes knowledge to make it work. For many, having a helping hand from somebody who has done it makes all the difference.

Also, those who are willing to do something a tad uncomfortable to make it are the ones who usually succeed. There is a REASON why so many bloggers fail to make money – because they’re not willing to do anything to create that success. Enrolling in a course like Yaro’s is a huge step toward creating that success. It puts you ahead of the vast majority of bloggers out there who just won’t ever make it because they’re not willing to do anything.

My Personal Offer To You

If you’re going to take this step toward your success, I really want you to have the full package. So, here’s what I’d like to offer you.

I would like to offer a FREE enrollment in my own training course for budding professional bloggers, Blog Masters Club.

My current students will tell you that I over-deliver like crazy. This is a 16 module course designed specifically to turn any willing blogger into a true problogger. What makes my course so different is that I approach everything from a marketing angle. I get into the real in’s and out’s of internet business, including how to sell, how to influence people and win sales using your blog, how to write content to inspire action, etc.

I will warn you. It is a lot of material. I am currently working on Module 10. Some of these modules contain about 2 hours of video. The total value of the course (using pricing from my last launch) is $582.

Oh, and the doors to the Club are currently closed. This is the first time I’ve allowed anybody new into the Club since I launched back in July.

So, for this week only, I will grant you complementary access to Blog Masters Club, but only if you enroll in Yaro’s program using my signup link. You MUST use my link from this post otherwise your name will not appear in my control panel. I have to see your name before I’m going to set you up with a profile in Blog Masters Club.

Yaro’s Fast-Action Bonuses

Yaro’s offering a special bonus pack to readers registering for Membership Site Mastermind within 24 hours of it opening. There are five bonuses, including:

• Two live workshop presentation recordings from Yaro (he rarely speaks on stage, so this is unique content from his latest talks in 2009)
• A series of 13 videos of Yaro revealing his techniques to build a successful and profitable blog (this is really comprehensive stuff!)
• An interview and coaching call discussion with Gideon Shalwick on how to create video using a basic PC or Mac computer
• A detailed discussion of advanced conversion tactics with Will Swayne, the man who helped Yaro sell more of his products in 2008

You only qualify for these bonuses if you join Membership Site Mastermind within 24 hours of it opening, so you need to be quick!

Ball Is In Your Court

I’m pretty confident you won’t get an offer like this for awhile, precisely geared toward you as a blogger.

For the next few days, you have a chance to gain access not only to Yaro’s powerful training program on membership sites, but you can get into the Blog Masters Club training program.

There’s a good chance that the Blog Masters Club won’t actually reopen for another couple months or so, and it most definitely won’t be complementary.

You’ve got until Friday to partake in this offer. And until the end of today (Tuesday) if you want Yaro’s fast-action bonuses.

Yaro’s got you covered on the money-back guarantee and everything. Plus, he’s a standup guy. You’ve got nothing to worry about.

So, now the choice is your’s. Stick with the status quo? Or do something you’ve never done before and take it to the next level?

I have always preached on this blog the importance of action. Well, now is the time.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like...

1. Blog + Membership Site = More Than Beer Money
2. 3 Day Money, HALF OFF Until 9/8
3. Go Go Go! Become a Blogger is Launched!

Essentially, the debate was over the ethics of it. As the reach and influence of bloggers increases, companies find themselves wanting to reach those audiences. The way to do that and have control over it is to engage in sponsored conversation. In short, things like paid blog posts, sponsored tweets, etc.

Izea, based in Orlando, is the poster child for sponsored conversation. The CEO, Ted Murphy, was on the panel along with a few others. Now, Ted has found himself under attack more than once over the nature of his business. Some people vehemently disagree with the very idea of receiving money for coverage.

The debate fired up again with the recent announcement from the FTC regarding disclosure requirements. In short, if you get stuff for coverage, you must disclose it to your readers.

Why Debate It?

For me, the panel proved a little boring for one simple reason: It didn’t matter. Not one bit.

Debating the ethics of sponsored conversations is meaningless because it IS happening and it will happen. And there is nothing any utopian blogger can do about it. It happens in magazines. It happens on TV. Radio. The internet. What’s the difference?

Each blogger needs to make up their own mind on how they want to approach it.

In short, the FTC ruling changed nothing. Any decent blogger was already disclosing. The FTC ruling only serves to specifically mention blogs, but essentially nothing has changed. As Ted mentioned, just makes sure you have a disclosure policy on your website.

Regardless of how you feel about sponsored tweets, it was a natural evolution. It was inevitable. Deal with it. Nobody is forcing you to participate.

Getting into debate over this issue is just mental masturbation for people with nothing better to do.

Photo Credit: Zac Johnson

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like...

1. Sponsored Tweets: Polluting The Party?
2. Miraserver Gets Sponsored Placement in Hotscripts
3. Twitter Meets Multi-Level Marketing = Tweetglide [Review]

All the talk (you and others) focus on how to get all this money in a short amount of time- but nothing discussed about paying taxes on all this income.

So, I thought I would address this for everybody.

Yes, just like any other business, we pay taxes. I maintain my accounting records for the business in Quickbooks, and I have an accountant who does my taxes for me every year. I could do my own taxes if I were so inclined, but it is worth it to have a CPA do it. I am not a tax expert. I don’t follow all the different rules regarding deductions. And at the end of the day, I just hate accounting.

The taxes which would need to be addressed are:

• Sales taxes (if applicable). If I sell a physical product to somebody within the state of Florida, I collect sales taxes. I have to pay that to the state once per quarter.
• Employment taxes. I have to deduct income taxes, social security and Medicare and pay that to the tax man once per quarter.
• Income taxes. I have an S-corporation, so my income carries over to my personal taxes and that’s where I pay it.

As for any tax breaks or tax loopholes, I only apply the same basic stuff anybody else does. To my knowledge, there are no loopholes. But, I do deduct things like:

• Hosting expenses
• Cost of goods sold.
• Labor/Service costs.
• Travel expenses when I travel for business.
• Any educational/service subscriptions I pay for.
• Internet service, business phones, etc.
• Etc…

Essentially, if it is a legit business expense, I deduct it. On top of this, my wife and I have other deductions on a personal basis which helps gets the tax bill down at the end of the year as well.

Generally, I do not pay estimated taxes. Perhaps I should, however it doesn’t appear to have ever been an issue. I just pay the whole bill at the end of the year.

I personally do not set money aside for taxes. With all the deductions and everything, my tax bill has never been unmanageable for me. Plus, I try to get my taxes back from my accountant as early in the year as possible so that I have some time to prep for the tax bill (if necessary).

In general, it gets to a point where you can begin to ballpark your tax damage. I know how my income compares to the year prior, and I also know what my expenses and deductions are.

Blogging for a living is no different than any other business when it comes to dealing with the tax man.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like...

1. Legal and Tax Aspects of Professional Blogging
2. Where Does Your Money Go?
3. January 2009 Blogging Income Report

Hope you enjoy. I tell ya one thing, this video makes me look like a damn whale. I should call Jenny Craig.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like...

1. Tony Robbins, John Reese, Frank Kern On The Power of You [Video]
2. Economics of Giving It Away
3. I’ve Been Interviewed

Nothing personal, but many times I end up with a card for somebody I barely remember.

So, as a person designing your business card, put yourself into my shoes. I don’t really remember you. And all you’ve given me is some phone numbers, a snail mail address, your name, your email.

Well, I’m not going to call you if I don’t even know who you are. Likewise, I’m not going to email you unless I have something to say.

So, it is your job to build the relationship. Let me form a little line between you and I which doesn’t have a commitment to it and doesn’t put me in the awkward spot of asking “I know I’m emailing you but who are you again?”

In other words, PUT TWITTER ON YOUR DAMN BUSINESS CARD!

How can you show up to a blogging conference without this stuff?

Even worse, some of the people I’ve got cards from are “PR professionals” (or so they say). Yet, they’re not using Twitter? What gives?

Some people did put AIM or Skype on their business card, but that is pure interruption. Am I going to chat you up just to ask you who you are again? That’s a douche maneuver.

Twitter isn’t a toy, guys. It is a powerful tool for relationship marketing. It is important. If you don’t have Twitter on your business card, throw it away and make a new one.

Without Twitter, you’re just future trash can liner. With Twitter, I’ll be able to get exposed to your tweets for the next year. And guess what? Next time we meet, I’ll recognize you and I might even approach YOU and say hi.

Here, if you need some help, check out some of the things that went through my mind when I did my latest biz card. Check out these 5 tips for your business card.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like...

1. 5 Important Tips For Your Blogger Business Card
2. Top 10: Signs You’re Addicted to Twitter and/or FriendFeed
3. Using Adwords PPC to Get Twitter Followers. Smart?