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Improve your search engine ranking – optimize your blog for better results and more traffic.

24 January, 2008 (10:43) | Blogging, Google, Increasing Traffic, Search Engine Optimization, Wordpress | By: clive

How To Optimize Your Blog For The Best Search Engine Results by Gregg Hall

If you are interested in trying to make money from your blog, you probably want to know how you can best optimize your blog for great search engine results. After all, most people stumble upon blogs when doing a search for something. If you use these optimization tips effectively, it may be your blog more people are drawn to. So, check these tips out and experiment with your own blog. Note what has the best results and stay with it. Change the other things around a bit until you get the results out of them that you want.

Simple Content

Many experts say that the best way to optimize your blog is to keep everything very simple. You can choose one quality content topic and make it your base. Then from there you can use variations of the topic in order to keep everything going. This may seem like a broad and useless tip, but once you get into blogging more and more, you understand how important it is.

Put More Out There

If you are trying to get more of a presence on search engines, be sure that you have something to show. The more content you have, the more likely you are to show up on a search engine. Bigger sites always do better than smaller sites. It is simply a numbers game. Search engines will see your site in a different manner, depending on how much content you have. The more content you have, the more there is a chance there will be that someone will stumble onto your site.

Ask Search Engines for Help

Few people know that you can actually submit your site to search engines. Submit your site's URL and ask to be put into the index. This can take a while, but if they do list you in the index, you will see a larger increase in traffic. Beware however of a service that asks for money in exchange for getting your sites into search engines. These can be a little misleading at times. There are ways to do this without needing to pay anyone at all.

Keyword Pay

A great idea for optimization is to identify the most popular keywords. By doing this, you are essentially targeting the keywords that people most often search for. When you do this, you have an edge over the competition. When you know exactly what the people are looking for, you can give them just that. Once you have a list of keywords, simply create articles that use these keywords. By creating these articles, you are putting yourself out there to be found. When someone does a search for those keywords, your blog just might pop up on their screen. Be careful not to use the keyword so much that your article does not make sense however.

Daily Updates

If you really want the best optimization, you should update it daily at the least. The more you update it, the more often search engines will index your blog. Therefore, you will want to be sure your blog is always fresh. Adding new information is the best way to update your blog. The more new information you have, the better off you will be! Just be sure that when you do update, it is for a good reason. You should always remember that content can have a purpose, but it should always be quality content. If you compromise content, you are only allowing yourself to strip the creativity from your project. If you are happy with doing that, by all means go ahead. However, as a writer, you will have a certain responsibility to web surfers. Unless you want everything on the web to be useless, do your part!

Use these tips to help optimize your blog and get the most from search engines. The more you post and use these tips, the more results you will see. If you earn your living from the number of clicks your blog or your ads get, this will essentially mean more money for you. You can use all of them or some of them. Experiment with them to see what works best for you and your blog. Put these tips to use and watch your results rise today!

Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida. See more articles on blogging and internet marketing at http://www.theinternetmarketingsecrets.com

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Make Money, Build Traffic, and Increase Sales

22 December, 2007 (08:15) | Increasing Traffic | By: clive





by Jo Mark

When you are just starting out with your Internet business, you want to keep expenses down to a minimum. Yet, you must still attract people to visit your website. Without traffic, you have no business. Fortunately, there are many free or low cost ways to attract visitors to your website. One of the best free and easy techniques to make money, build traffic, and increase sales is through the use of online Internet forums.

Internet forums are websites that focus on the exchange of information. Some people are asking questions and others provide answers. And others just want to vent or discuss topics that are related to their niche. Most forums are targeted to one particular area. An advantage of using forums is the fact that almost all of the people on the site are interested in the same topic.

Almost all forums allow you to participate for free, but in most cases, you must first register in order to participate. You can find forums related to your website by going to Google. Once there, go to Groups and enter your keyword information.

An important matter related to forums is the fact that you must take the time to read their terms of service. Those who repeatedly violate the rules will quickly be banned and prohibited from using that forum in the future.

That brings us to the main focus of this article. How can you advertise your business, make money, build traffic, and increase sales using online forums? Most forums allow you to add a signature (sig) file to each posting that you make. Develop a signature file that promotes the website or product that you are promoting. Your sig file should read like a small two or three line classified ad. When you set up your account, check the box to indicate that your sig file should appear with each posting that you enter.

Don?t start posting blatant advertisements on your first visit to a forum. If you do this, people will view your postings as spam and will ignore the information you post. Start out by answering questions in your area of expertise. Of course, with each question you answer, your sig file will quietly advertise your site. After you have answered a number questions, people will begin to see you as an expert in the field, and you will begin to see increased traffic to your site.

Make sure you register with as many related forums as possible. To get maximum advantage from your forum sig file, post information every day on each forum you are registered with. By using this technique, you will be quite surprised at the amount of traffic that you can generate through forums.

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The Race Is On For Social Media And Search Engines Rankings

12 December, 2007 (11:49) | Increasing Traffic, Search Engine Optimization, Social media | By: clive

By Gillian Meier

Don?t be fooled into thinking that the new consumer has no relevance to your business? reputation. Today?s Internet user is an experienced on. Your reputation on the Internet should be one that users want to blog about. It?s no longer just up to Search Engines to get you those top rankings? if you want to succeed on the Internet, you need to consider the importance of both Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) as well as Social Media Optimisation (SMO).

We have barely digested the term SEO and already we?re hearing new jargon such as SMO (Social Media Optimisation) creeping in. Don?t be fooled into thinking that this is simply a preview of things to come on the web. It?s already here and pioneering companies have already grasped the concept and are ensuring that their internet marketing strategy extends beyond traditional e-Marketing and into the area of Search Engine Optimisation, Search Engine Advertising and Social Media Optimisation.

Pioneering companies will win: Sadly, few South African companies realise the significance of optimising their websites for top search engine rankings and social popularity. There are many extraordinary looking websites being launched onto the Internet daily, yet their splashy entry pages and dazzling creative?s seldom does the company any good. These websites occupy space on the web; however they are by no means optimised to attract the correct target audiences. Few web designers are taught the skill of optimising the websites that they design for search engine rankings. From the start of the web development project, companies should commission experienced search engine marketers or analysts to be involved in preparing the website brief for the developer by defining the essential elements that should be incorporated, if the website is to be positioned anywhere of significance on search engine results pages.

There are more than a hundred varying criteria that search engines include as part of their ranking algorithm. Website owners, web designers and marketers should take cognisance of the fact that it is simply not good enough to publish a fancy looking website onto the Internet and expect it to start attracting and converting customers in the hope of producing income from its online presence. It takes skill and careful planning to create a website that will be recognised by search engines as relevant enough to rank in the top ten results, and then to take this one step further by ensuring that the user experience is one that will convert a researcher into a customer. And remember the modern customer is one that is in control.

Today?s consumer is in control: The new consumer is actively participating in social networks, they are bookmarking websites on social search engines and they are blogging about you. Ensure that your website is optimised to generate publicity through social media, online communities and social networks. There are websites that consist of user generated ranking systems. Make sure that your website can be bookmarked, linked to and tagged easily enough by the user. Create a company blog or user community within your own website. If you create something that allows your user to engage with you, and it is compelling enough for them to spread the word and to bookmark you then you are half way there.

You can?t fake it until you make it: Getting ranked highly on search engine results is not a quick fix. It is a process that requires a great deal of planning, editing and monitoring in order to first climb into the top ranking positions and then to try to remain there. With the algorithms changing at will, there is no one technique ?cast in stone? that will guarantee top rankings. If you want to reap the rewards, you need to invest time and effort into properly researching your competitor?s position, and then carefully plan a strategy that will hopefully outrank them, while at the same time attracting the long tail. Beware of companies promising to have websites ranked in the top ten results pages within weeks. Although some websites do rank much faster than others, those companies practicing spamming techniques may get websites ranking in a matter of weeks but, in return they can expect to be dropped from the rankings ? or even worse, be blacklisted by the search engines within as little as six weeks.

Companies should be careful to approach search engine optimisation from an ethical ? spam free ? perspective if they want to thrive in this very competitive environment. Until such time that a website ranks highly, there certainly is a place for paid advertising (pay-per-click).

Blue Magnet has launched a one day Search Engine Marketing training course that teaches the skill of SEO and SMO. Blue Magnet Web Intellect is an Internet Marketing Training and Consulting company, specialising in Search Engine Optimisation, Online Copywriting, PPC Campaign management, Web Design and Project management and Internet Marketing Strategies. Visit http://www.bluemagnet.co.za

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Writers, Don’t Waste Time On The Wrong Niches In Online Writing

12 December, 2007 (10:39) | Article publishing | By: clive

By Jo Ann LeQuang

Online marketers talk a lot about niches. Niche marketing involves creating highly specific material for a limited (but sharply defined) audience. Sports would not count as a niche. Neither would tennis. But start writing material for tennis players over 50 or people who like to travel to tennis resorts or teaching your under-10-year-old how to play great tennis ? and you?re in a niche.

Many writers have the wrong idea about niches. As writers, we tend to go for the scoop. We seek the unusual story and the odd angle no one has ever used before. We writers cross article ideas off the list as soon as we see other people writing about them.

After all, in the ink-on-paper world, the fastest way to get a rejection is to propose an article on a subject that a competitive publication recently wrote about. If you?re writing for a magazine or newspaper, a very unusual, one-of-a-kind story can be an easy sale.

Internet marketing does not work like that.

When you write for online sources, your work can be deep, but it has to be narrow. The Internet has become the medium for specialists. It?s the best place to get information on how to grow roses in the tropics or make your own yogurt or learn about the symptoms of Brugada?s disease.

The risk in focusing so sharply on a specific subject is that it is much easier to miss the mark than to hit it.

A good writer is looking for readers and a good online writer is looking for customers. So online writers need to become marketers in terms of finding their niches.

Most online marketers research niches to find traffic before they embark on projects. The idea is that you don?t want to venture into a niche where there isn?t already at least some conversation and activity going on.

That?s right, online marketers want to find competition in their niches of choice, because competition means there is already interest, buzz, and business in that sector.

In other words, many niches that are possible are not viable. In a sense, Internet writers need to think like ink-and-paper publishers. A publisher would hesitate to publish a book on the best shoes to wear on an airplane simply because it seems unlikely that anyone would buy it. An Internet writer has to think about niches the same way. Is there an audience for the material?

Finding the answer to that is easier online than in the brick-and-mortar world. Internet marketers look at keywords in an effort to find profitable niches. Keywords are the words or phrases that you type into search engines when you?re looking for something.

There are lots of ways to perform keyword research; some of them can be done for free. By visiting the inventory at Overture.com (http://inventory.overture.com) you can find out how many searches on Yahoo took place in a recent month (which may be six months ago) for any keywords you type in. Yahoo is not the Internet universe, but most authorities feel that Yahoo results can be extended to the other major search engines. In other words, if lots of people searched Yahoo for ?hula lessons,? it is quite likely that many people also searched Google and other search engines for the same topic.

There are more sophisticated ways to do keyword research; it?s practically a science. However, for most online newbies, using a simple, straightforward keyword search will likely provide more than enough information to get your project off to a good start.

The problem with keyword searches is that you have to suggest keywords and then you can find out what is there. If you?re stumped or just want to see where there is a lot of buzz, type in things like ?how to? or ?secrets? or ?tips? or ?free? and you?ll see things with those words that were most searched for.

This is the part that can get confusing for writers. Most writers think that a keyword search with few results means the keyword is hot, while a keyword that?s getting a lot of hits is a dead end. Wrong! When it comes to Internet marketing, it?s the other way around.

Lots of activity on a keyword means that there is interest in the subject, a demand for information in that niche, and possibly a ?community? that?s already built up of folks interested in that particular topic. If you find a keyword with very little activity, you have more likely found a subject that nobody cares about than some great untapped opportunity. In other words, if nobody is searching for information about knitting hats for Chihuahuas, it?s probably not a niche you want to invest in.

The next step is to type in those keywords and related keywords to see what comes up. Again, there are many very advanced techniques to this kind of research, but writers can make do with the basics. Just see what turns up. This is what the people searching those keywords will find. You may even want to see what kind of sites they are: are they selling physical products? Selling information? Offering free content? How would your proposed product or site fit in? Writers can get scared off when they find their subject is already quite well covered. If you venture into some well established niches, you?ll find content-heavy sites, blogs, information products, courses, and products for sale. But competition online is a symptom that there is a lot of interest in the topic.

Just as people don?t necessarily own one pair of jeans or eat in only one restaurant, competition can be welcome.

There is another huge benefit to writing in a busy niche: you may be able to tap into pre-existing traffic. If there is a rabid group of people eager to talk about setting up an at-home design business, your information product on tax guidelines for the at-home artist-entrepreneur has a ready-made customer base.

How do you find your niche? Some niches find you, in that you may know all about a certain unusual subject or you may have a personal passion. An Internet marketer would also try to discover ?hidden? niches or secret niches by trying to find busy keywords that were being serviced by some (but not many) matching information sites. If you can find where the demand is not being entirely met … you have a winner!

Once you identify the niche, you next have to identify how you care to participate and how you want to monetize your activities. As an online writer, you can develop a content-rich site on the topic to sell advertising or an information product that can be sold with a sales page type website. Information products include books, electronic books, special reports, courses, CDs and other media.

Of course, there is always a risk in any business. There?s probably more risk in Internet business because it?s fast-paced and everyone is new at it. To be fair, many Internet ventures can be launched with minimal financial investment, especially compared to brick-and-mortar businesses.

But there is still a risk. You?re going to be spending a lot of time and energy creating a product that may or may not sell. That?s why you need to pick the right niches. Go to niches where there is already a lot of energy and activity; you?re more likely to find customers where there is also some healthy competition.

Ready to quit whining about not finding work as a writer and get busy as an online entrepreneur? Check out http://www.workingonlinewriter.com to find out why writers actually have a massive advantage in Internet marketing. Jo Ann LeQuang wrote this article and earns her living as a writer. Check out her site at http://www.LeQMedical.com.

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How to win at blogging – choosing winning ides for your blog.

7 December, 2007 (14:43) | Blogging | By: clive

How To Find Winning Ideas for your Blog Topics

by Gregg Hall

Blog topics are an important part of a successful blog. Some bloggers simply write about whatever is on their mind, creating an online journal of sorts. Successful bloggers know however that to have a great blog, you cannot always write about what you want to write about. You must also keep the interests of your readers in mind when writing. After all, if you want a successful blog, you have to depend on the readers to show up often. To keep your blog as fresh as possible, consider using these five ways to find winning ideas for your blog topics.

Do Your Research

Smart bloggers know that each day there are popular search terms listed on large search sites. Bloggers can use these search terms to help them get more traffic to their blogs. Each day a blogger can look at these popular search terms and creating posts using them. If the blogger is lucky, they will increase their traffic due to more people looking for that term. By researching the topics that are hot with readers each day, bloggers can create things specifically for the readers. Doing research may take a little time and you might never be writing about what you want to write about, but you will likely have more traffic than ever.

Ask Around

If you have been blogging a while you might have began to hit low points where you really have no more topic ideas left. Some writers call this "writer's block" while others just see it as a small hurdle to be surpassed. When you have come to this difficult point, the best thing to do is ask around. Talk to interesting people you know. You can ask them what topics they find most interesting at the time. If you would rather be a little more subtle, simply bounce a few topics off of them to see which ones they respond strongly to. Use the topics that they respond strongly to in order to gather ideas for posts.

Use the News

The news is a great place to gather topic information for your blog. News teams research and investigate for hours to gather their topics. By using similar topics, you can skip all of the hard research work and still be a success. Never use their ideas exactly, just take them and use them to develop your own. For instance, if there is a major political issue going on in the news, consider creating a post about what you think about it. You don't have to use the news story, just the topic idea along with your own words.

Follow the Lead of Others

When you are looking for great blog topics, consider visiting popular blogs to see what they are talking about. Don't steal their ideas, but use the visit to stir up great ideas of your own. Sometimes when you see others working at their highest potential it can spark new potential in yourself. You can see which topics get the best response for their blog and decide if you could get the same response with a similar topic.

Sleep On It

If all else fails and you are still trying to come up with a list of interesting blog topics, consider this interesting strategy. Go to sleep each night with a clear head. In the morning, before you even open your eyes, target the first thing on your mind. Write it down immediately so you don't quickly forget. Then use these things to develop interesting blog topics. You would be shocked at how inspiring our first thoughts can be. They are so interesting because they are not clouded with any outside stressors from reality. They are simple thoughts typically that can be used successfully on a blog.

These five ways to find winning blog topics are proven to be among the best. A blog topic is one of the basic important aspects of your blog. Be sure that you pay attention to which topics get the best response on your blog so you will know which ones are most effective. Use all or some of these tips to help you get on your way to better blog topics right away!

Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida. See more articles on blogging and internet marketing at http://www.theinternetmarketingsecrets.com

Article Source: High Quality RSS Feeds and Articles on 350+ Topics

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Blog or website – what’s the difference between a blog and a website?

7 December, 2007 (14:35) | Blogging | By: clive

What's the Difference Between Blogs And Websites?

by Gregg Hall

Online journals, better known as blogs, are becoming more and more popular. When the Internet was first getting started, users rushed to build personal web sites. Web sites are still very popular among web users, but many are now turning to blogs. What's the difference? This article will examine the main similarities and differences between a Weblog and a website.

While blogs and website are intended to be different, there are a couple of similarities in blogs and sites. Mainly, they are both found on the Internet using a URL or a web address. Both also must have some sort of host to keep the information online. Another similarity of the two is that they both can be maintained by virtually anyone from individuals to companies. Both Weblog and websites can also contain information, pictures, link and keywords, as well. These two types of sites will target readers.

With a blog, information that is entered on the site is generally updated very frequently depending on the writer. Sometimes blog writers even update several times a day. Usually with a website, information is not updated regularly. Websites generally contain information about something that does not change often. When a website is updated, usually the entire page is altered. With a blog, just one entry at a time is updated. After a website has been changed, that information is gone and cannot be seen again by the reader. On a blog, new entries are added, but the old ones are not deleted from the site. Instead, they are stamped with the date and time that they were created, given a title and indexed on that blog page. It makes it easy for a blog reader to go to a certain blog page and read past entries without having to search.

Another main difference between and blog and a website is that a website is generally a little harder to maintain and oftentimes requires a solid understanding of the way the Internet works. With a blog, almost anyone can easily and quickly update a blog. It does not require any special working knowledge of the Internet. In addition, there are many sites that offer blog features and most of the time these can be used for free.

Blogs also encourage people to communicate with each other much more so than with a website. A websites primary function is to provide some sort of information to a reader. While there may be a place to leave a comment or an email address for writing that is not why that site was created. Blogs are used for communication. Writers may choose to make their site private, but most choose to publish their blogs making them public to any one who wishes to read. Most blog hosting sites offer options to add to the site so readers and the writer can leave comments to each other on the site. In addition, there are entire web communities built just for blogs. Blogs encourage those who have similar thoughts, interests or even businesses to share their blog site so readers can find them easily. Blogs offer guest tracking, keyword tracking, hit counters, comment areas, and even tag boards for both the reader and the writer to use.

Blogging is extremely popular right now. As more people begin sharing their thoughts with others, there are more blogs created each day. Blogging gives writers, journalists, professionals, moms, dads and even teenagers an instant way to publish their thoughts on a regular basis. For those who enjoy writing, blogs give a unique opportunity to practice writing skills and experiment with what others want to read. Businesses use blogs to show off their expertise and knowledge in their fields, whereas websites do not always get this type of message out to the readers.

Blogging and websites do have some similarities. They are both found on the Internet and contain information. However, blogs give a writer the unique opportunity to communicate with their reader and update their entries on a frequent basis. Anyone who tries blogging will love the instant gratification of getting their opinions and thoughts out on the Internet right away and getting instant feedback from readers that visit their site.

Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida. See more articles on blogging and internet marketing at http://www.theinternetmarketingsecrets.com

Article Source: High Quality RSS Feeds and Articles on 350+ Topics

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Want a successful blog? Then don’t make these mistakes

6 December, 2007 (19:28) | Blogging, Increasing Traffic | By: clive

Mistakes that Can Bury a Blog

by Gregg Hall

Too often bloggers complain that after a great start, a year later their blog is as dead as can be. This is a common problem that almost always revolves around a small list of common mistakes made by the blogger. A blogger can sit back and expect the blog to do all of the work for him or her, which is a terrible way to approach blogging. A successful blogger would tell you that great blogging takes a certain amount of dedication and hard effort to make it work. You have to put effort into a blog to sustain it, especially after the first month or so of completing the design. Many people work so hard during the initial design phase that they get lazy after it is complete. To avoid this happening to your blog, check out these five common mistakes that can bury a blog.

Infrequent Updates

One of the biggest mistakes a blogger can make is to "forget" about posting. The most successful blogs are updated with new posts at least once a day. Some larger blogs are constantly being updated. You should try to create new posts as often as possible. If you miss a day here and there, it will be no big deal. However, if you miss a week or more without posting, you might as well consider the blog dead already. You have to take a few moments, even as few as five, a day to create interesting posts or content. If you are writing short and concise posts like you should be, this should not be that challenging. It is easy to keep your blog updated, if you make it a priority.

Too Much Advertising

Most bloggers today do want to make a profit from their blog. This is a trend that can get out of control quickly however. If you are interested in adding ads to your blog, do so with caution. There is nothing wrong with a few appropriately places ads that offer viewers links to places that correlate with your blog's content. However, adding a massive amount of advertisements on your blog is a mistake. If you have a bunch of flashy ads on your blog, your content will get lost within the hoopla. Therefore, you should always limit your ads to three or less per page. Make sure you place them in appropriate places that let your content shine through. Don't allow enormous ads to fill up your pages either. They will simply annoy readers. Be smart about including advertising on your blog!

Unprofessional Look

Looks do matter when it comes to your blog. The more professional and crisp your blog looks, the more your readers will take you seriously. If you are interesting in boosting traffic, you should try a more serious layout or presentation for your blog. If you can afford to hire a professional, you should. If you choose to do it yourself however, you must make sure the end product is good. If you have a sloppy blog that looks "homemade" you will not likely have a great response. Try different layouts and approaches to see what gets you the most traffic.

Graphics Overload

Pictures can add a ton to your blog and draw in more readers. However, when done excessively, much like ads, pictures can drive people away. The main reason too many pictures can ruin a blog is because there are many web surfers who still use slow internet connections. When they try to load your page, it will take an excessively long time to do so. This in turn will likely drive them and anyone else with this problem away. Try limiting to a few pictures per page.

Inappropriate Content

Everyone knows that the web is a place where you can freely express yourself. However, if you want your blog to survive, you might want to think about that freedom of expression. Although you should always say what you feel, you can do so in appropriate manners on your blog. There are ways to say anything on your mind, without using profanity or any offensive lingo. If you want your blog to be successful, you cannot be inappropriate with your content.

Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida. See more articles on blogging and internet marketing at http://www.theinternetmarketingsecrets.com

Article Source: High Quality RSS Feeds and Articles on 350+ Topics

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Want to start blogging – here are 5 things you should know before you start

6 December, 2007 (19:22) | Blogging, Increasing Traffic | By: clive

Five Things You Should Know Before You Start Blogging

by Gregg Hall

So you want to join in on the blogging phenomenon? Before you get started, there are a few things you should know about blogging. Blogging is a lot like an online journal. There are thousands of bloggers online posting each day. It is a trend that started in 1997 and has continued to grow steadily. If you are interesting in blogging, but have not yet began, read over these five things you should know before you begin.

You Can Be Personal

Many times new bloggers are really not sure what to post. They know that their blog is a personal space, but they are afraid to make their posts personal in any way. The best bloggers do put themselves out there via their posts. They will post what's on their mind and their views or opinions on pressing issues. They may do so in a humorous manner or be quite serious. Sometimes new bloggers are afraid to post their true thoughts because their blog can be commented upon. The fact is however that not everyone will agree with your thoughts and posts, but you should not let that hold you back. These are people who don't personally know you, so their comments really don't matter much anyway. Don't be afraid to let your true feelings show on your blog, after all, that it what an online journal is all about.

Don't Be Too Personal

Although it is fine to be personal in your posts, you might not want to be too personal in how much you disclose about yourself. For example, including your phone number or address in a post or on your profile is probably not a good idea. You should think smart and only allow people to know things that you want them to know. For your own safety, you might not want to post your last name either. When someone has a lot of information about you, it is easier for them to victimize you through identity theft, harassment, or other crimes. So, stay safe and never post really private information.

Never Use Real Names

When you are posting, and keeping it personal and real, there can be times in which other people in your life come up in topic. Be very careful including other people in your posts. First, never use their real names. This is a huge mistake. Unless the person gives you permission to write about them, you should never do so. It will only lead to trouble. If the person you mention reads your blog, they could get offended that you are writing about them. Even if the post is positive, it can be seen much like talking behind their back. Try to keep the posts about you or celebrities or other public figures. Let everyone else's business remain their own.

Keep It Fresh

One of the best things you can do as a blogger is to keep your blog fresh. This means that you should be posting often and changing things around when doing so. Post on different topics so your audience can stay interested. Also, post at least twice a week. People who will become fans of your site will want to read as much as possible on your blog. Updating your blog regularly will allow them to be entertained. If you only post once a month, chances are no one will remember to keep checking your blog and your traffic will not be impressive.

You Can Blog For Free

Before you pay an arm and a leg for a blogging space, you should know that there are sites where you can blog for free. Yes, for no charge at all you can set up your own blog. These sites are great for the new blogger. If you want something a little more sophisticated, you might have to pay for it. The free sites are very well maintained however. They are easy to use and offer several different templates for you to use when designing your blog. They automatically update your posts for you, which make them a breeze! Remember, you should not pay a large fee for your blog, especially if you are new to blogging. Do your research and find the free sites!

Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida. See more articles on blogging and internet marketing at http://www.theinternetmarketingsecrets.com

Article Source: High Quality RSS Feeds and Articles on 350+ Topics

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How To Build A Successful Blog

6 December, 2007 (19:10) | Blogging | By: clive

How To Build A Successful Blog

by Gregg Hall

If you want to build a successful blog, there are three main things that can certainly help you get started. Although many people think that building a successful blog is one of the easiest tasks out there, they are wrong. A successful blog takes more than just setting up a blog page to chat about your life. You need to focus on these three building blocks in order to even have the framework for a successful blog. Even these three building blocks are not enough however to make your blog successful. Read on to learn exactly what you need to make your blog as successful as possible.

The Look

The first building block for a successful blog is The Look. What this means is that your blog should start with an appropriate style. You can begin when you first start your blog. Many blogging software programs will help you out with the style of your blog. If you are using a blogging program that caters most to beginners, you will see that it will offer different templates for you to choose. There will be something for everyone. You can go through the templates to choose which colors you like best for the layout. Experiment with the layouts to see which templates look best on the computer screen. You can always go back and change the template later if you want to change the look of your blog. Make sure that if you are creating your own blog, without using a pre-created template that you make it look as professional as possible. You can even hire a professional to do the job for you if you wish. The more professional your blog looks, the more seriously your readers will take your posts.

The Content

The content of your blog is the second key building block you will need for a successful blog. While you can choose to create posts that have no direction or purpose, you will find that when you post interesting commentary or short information filled articles that your traffic will increase. Although you may think it is interesting, most readers will not enjoy reading about your day to day activities, unless you make them into humorous stories.

It should also be noted that the more content you have on your site, the more successful your site will be. It is basically a numbers game at this point. The more you post, the more chances you will have the one of your posts will attract the eye of someone searching for a related topic.

The Ads

The third building block is advertising. Bloggers can make a steady income using advertising on their blogs. The trick is to have a good mixture of ads and content however. If you fill your blog with ads and have no content for readers, they will be distracted and not visit your site again. A good rule to remember is that you should never have more than two or three ads per blog page. This is an important rule to remember. You should not overwhelm you readers with ads. You should only present them so that the readers can further explore them if they wish. Don't use flashing ads or other bold ads that will annoy your readers. Choosing the right type of advertising program is part of it as well. Look into an easy to use program such as Google Adsense if you want a quick way to get started in the advertising arena.

The Dedication

The most important building block of a great blog is dedication. You must be willing to be dedicated to the blog. You have to put in the time and energy to get positive results. Even if you have the other three components, unless you take the time to update your posts each day, you will not be getting optimum results. Dedication can help a lot. It can hide the fact that you are a beginner and allow you to create a beautiful and functional blog. No matter how little experienced you are dedication can cover that up. You can have a great blog as long as you take the time to give some of your energy to the project.

Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida. See more articles on blogging and internet marketing at http://www.theinternetmarketingsecrets.com

Article Source: High Quality RSS Feeds and Articles on 350+ Topics

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Blogging – making a real living from your blog

6 December, 2007 (18:58) | Advertising, Blogging, Increasing Traffic | By: clive

How to Start Making a REAL Living with your Blog

by Gregg Hall

There are many bloggers who make incomes of several thousand dollars per month from their blogs. These are not casual bloggers who only want to see their words and their name online or who just want to put forth a point-of-view, these are serious bloggers who have made blogging into a full-time (or nearly full-time) job.

Here are some of the ways they make money from their blogs and ways you can also blog for bucks:

Advertising! There are many advertisers waiting for you to approach them, these are programs such as Google's Adsense where you allow companies to place their ads . . . ads related to your topic . . . on your blog. Each time one of your readers clicks on an ad on your blog, you earn a small amount of money (a predetermined amount). A slightly different approach is used by companies such as CrispADS. With this type of service, you tell them how much you want to charge for advertising space on your blog and they will attempt to find an advertiser who will pay that price (plus a commission for the go-between company). These are just two of a large group that is expanding daily.

Blog Feeds! RSS (Really Simple Syndication) and ATOM Feeds are two of the dominant blog feeds. The object of a blog feed is to distribute every new post you add to your blog to a list of subscribers; you make your blog posts available to RSS or ATOM, people who want to read your stuff on a regular basis can subscribe to your posts and read them on a newsreader. The latest trend is to include advertising to these blog feeds and, as before, if your subscriber clicks on an ad that is included with your feed, you get some money. There are no BIG bucks here yet but its a rapidly growing field.

Affiliate Programs! Online companies have been offering affiliate programs to bloggers for years, some of the big ones are Amazon, Linkshare and Clickbank. They work by providing you a unique URL that you add to your blog. Any readers that click through to the company and buy something are providing you with a commission. Another version of the affiliate program is the "mini-mall" concept offered by companies such as Chitika eMiniMalls. The mini-mall works (like the affiliate program), through a link on your blog that takes your reader to a page with a variety of merchandise -- all sales earn you a commission.

Sponsors! Large corporations are very aware of the blogosphere and of the growing number of people who read blogs and, in response, they are using blogs to advance their business interests -- blogs may never replace the Michael Jordan-type superstars for corporations but blogs are already gaining many fairly lucrative corporate sponsorships. If you have a blog that is dedicated to a particular topic, e.g., digital cameras, that is published on a regular basis, that has a good readership and is recognized as an authoritative source for digital camera information, your blog may draw the interest of a corporate sponsor and you may be approached to run their advertisements for new products on a long-term basis. If and when you reach that point you know you've made it to the big time, professional blogger's league.

Your Product! The methods mentioned above are just a few of the very many ways you can start making money from your blog . . . but there is a catch!

As you probably noticed every scheme mentioned and every other money-making blogging scheme you'll find requires a great blog . . . a blog that draws hundreds of readers (as a minimum) on a regular basis. To reach this stage of readership you need a blog that offers the reader some type of unique, quality content.

If blogging is to be a money making business for you, you'll need to treat it like a business by dedicating your time, energy and creativity to its success. Also, like any successful business, you need a product or service that is a 'customer magnet.' Your "product" is your content: it could be news or information or entertainment but whatever it is, it must be unique and interesting.

Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida. See more articles on blogging and internet marketing at http://www.theinternetmarketingsecrets.com

Article Source: High Quality RSS Feeds and Articles on 350+ Topics

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