Dec 2008
06
Article sites are still, stickiness wise, one of the single best ways to drive traffic and build a name as a expert, all at the same time. So how does this tie to your blog?
Well, for a start, if you’re blogging on the same topic as you’re writing content on, you should have a fairly good niche to promote into – and can use any of your longer, more coherent posts as article content. But if you want it to work really well, there are a couple of steps you MUST follow.
1) Make sure your article is coherent. Blog posts, by their nature are supposed to be less informal than the standard ‘article’ – like you’re having an intimate conversation with a group of friends, instead of a more impersonal discussion with your readers, but at the same time, the best blog posts make TERRIBLE articles. So a blog post that is also going to be used on article submission sites should be both interesting, and slightly more ‘formal’ than standard blog posts.
2) Post it on your blog, and add your resource box at the end – you can make it clear that its a free reprint if you want, or you can simply post it in a category for your reprints. That way, you can offer a feed of your reprints too, and include the link in your resource box. Also include the permalink to the post itself in your post – which means you will need to edit the post after posting the first time.
3) Wait a month – in that month, submit the article to any bookmarking sites, and ensure that you maximize its impact by encouraging your readers to ‘vote’ for it too.
4) Ensure your post is in the search engines by searching for the first line of your article. If its not in the search engines, work on getting it there – read up on site maps and other products designed to get you in the search engines.
5) Submit your content to a maximum of 10 reprint sites. Make sure your resource box doesn’t break any of their rules, and make sure that you leave comments OPEN on these posts (if you close them ordinarily.
Following these five steps won’t guarantee your success in using article marketing, but they will eliminate most of the serious beginner mistakes people make when submitting to article reprint sites.
Dec 2008
04
Mistakes That Bloggers Make
Categories: Blogging
Bloggers make mistakes all the time. But most of them are easy to avoid, and even easier not to create in the first place.
Mistake one – not sticking to the topic of your blog.
Blogs are designed around a theme – and the more focused the theme, the more likely you’ll attract interested traffic. Most new bloggers however either ‘cast around’ for a theme, hoping to hit on something that works, or are just scattered in general.
Solution – keep your posts as focused as possible on the overall topic that you set out for your blog.
Mistake two – Not driving traffic to their sites.
Blogging isn’t just about posting content. Unfortunately, most people think that ‘if they build it, they will come’ and thats simply not true. not updating often enough – most bloggers start out really well – they write lots of posts and then, it tapers off. They become discouraged, or worse, they think they aren’t doing ‘it right’. Blogging needs just as much attention as any other site, sometimes more so – and like most sites, unless you hit on something really big, you’ll find that you don’t make much of an impact at first.
Driving traffic to your site CAN be fairly simple though – you can do it by taking part in other sites, and using your url in your sigline, you can comment on other blogs, or bookmark your site – with wide exposure you’ll gain far more traffic than simply relying on SEO.
Mistake three – not connecting with others in your niche
Solution - its important to contact others in your niche, because it gives you a chance to participate in link exchanges. One of the best ways to do this is ‘mutually’ recommend one another’s sites – you can do this, quite simply, by asking the site owner to review your site, and you can do the same. That way, you’ll build a more valuable ‘link base’ for the person you’re reviewing, and though they are creating a two way link exchange with you, the review style link exchange is always more valuable.
No matter what mistakes bloggers make, there’s always a way to fix them – by working on the solution, you’ll find that implementing the solutions will help immensely.
Nov 2008
12
This is one of the questions every newbie to adsense always ask. And the answer is simply “it depends on you”. Let me elaborate.
The income from adsense is a function of traffic which is the number of human visitors to your website. The more traffic, the more income.
Example.
Assumptions: $0.10 per click.
Click Through Rate: 5%
To get the number of clicks to earn $100, divide $100 by the cost per click assumption.
$100/$0.10 = 1000 clicks
With a 5% click through rate, you need to have 20,000 visitors.
You can make 1 website with 20,000 visitors or
You can make 2 websites with 10,000 visitors each or
You can make 10 websites with 2,000 visitors each.
So the question is, how fast can you develop websites, and how fast can you promote each of them to get the numbers you want? At end of the day, it is basically a numbers game.
Oct 2008
31
15 Important Guidelines to Blogging
Categories: Blogging
Some basic guidelines on blogging, if you use a service blogger.com or wordpress.com they have their own terms and conditions for posting content. You can’t just post anything, so always read the t&c’s. If you don’t follow their rules, your blog will probably get deleted.
If you host a blog on your own hosting account, using software like WordPress. You have full control over the content you post, so your blog won’t get deleted.
What are the DOs and DON’Ts of blogging?
First the DOs:
- Do put pictures and multimedia sources to enhance the content. Could either be a vlog, photoblog, etc.
- Do base your posts with a good category structure to make it easy to find content for a particular topic.
- Do put paragraphs and sub-ideas. It’s not entertaining to read one block of manuscript. Digest it into pieces.
- Do create mutual communication between you and your readers. Answer queries without leaving your readers hanging for an answer.
- Do make your article as simple and as understandable as possible. Avoid beating around the bush. Not unless you wanted to captivate your readers with your literary prowess. Write like your talking to a friend.
- Do respect your reader’s opinions. That’s the essence of being a blogger. Accept truths. Do away with the insults.
- Do update. If you make blogging a part of your life, post as often as possible with fresh content.
Second the DON’Ts:
- Don’t go against your host’s legal boundaries. Respect their terms and conditions.
- Don’t ignore the quality of your content. Be specific with posting information.
- Don’t provoke fights. Sometimes comments can be a pain. And sometimes, none of it is true. Let it go and don’t waste your energy.
- Don’t waste a post with inappropriate details that would just confuse your audience.
- Don’t copy the works of others. They might sue you for plagiarism for this. Produce something original. Imitations trigger criticisms.
- Don’t be afraid to advertise. It’s one way to make your blog famous among the masses. Go to other sites and leave your blog address. It’s a matter of give and take.
- Don’t attack individuals, companies or fellow bloggers. Show respect. If you disagree with an opinion, tell it with caution.
- Don’t disregard your responsibilities. Journalism still has its price. Being able to write in a liberated way doesn’t erase you of your obligations.
Most internet sites like Yahoo! and IBM publish their guidelines on blogging. It is intended to be read, understood, and accepted by the blogger. Obey certain rules and policies. It won’t do you wrong. Libelous materials could cause you problems, so better follow the rules.
Oct 2008
29
What Is Video Blogging?
Categories: Blogging
Much as it’s appealing effect to the people who sees it and who sympathizes with its content, video blogs are treated as a phenomena. Mainstream entertainment is wired with video blogging. You are the director of your own video. Popularly known as vlogs (short term for video blog), usually it contains scenes of everyday life.
Not just an outlet for media response, vlogs can also be profitable. According to some experts, by creating a video advertising sensible products and linking it up with various web directories, fast income is a possibility.
Youtube can be a very typical example of a resource for the numerous vlogs being done today. A lot of people posts their videos either sensible or of no sense at all. You could learn from it or you could trash it. It’s a media-friendly digital file anyone could author and direct anytime, anywhere, anyhow.
What should be the content of my vlog?
Basically, everything you can think of. A mixture of humor, downfalls, heartaches, struggles, and life’s simple pleasures. You could feature anything -your favorite food, an MTV you proudly taped, vices, poor sleeping habits, health problems-ANYTHING. This issue is inevitable.
Majority of the experimental vlogs signifies a liberated take of documented short videos of gatherings or events like birthdays, graduations, weddings, etc. It doesn’t have to be a crowd-pleaser; it just has to be real.
How can I start my own video blog?
Gather up a camcorder or a mobile phone. Put the lens in front of something that you think would be interesting and would catch your viewer’s attention like your face or your neighbor’s bathing habits. Then start recording. The time will depend on how you would visualize your vlog’s appeal and resolution to the masses. Be in control.
When is the right time to start?
After you’ve assembled the right equipments, make a go for it. Take it as you wish. Record it as you please. Anytime is the best time. Just make sure viewers end up understanding what you’ve wired.
Below are 3 easy steps for beginners and first timers on how to put up a vlog.
1. Visualize – of how your vlog would look like. Think of the means. Think of the filling. Think on how it would start and how it would end. If you have no idea on how a vlog really looks like, browse your way through the internet RIGHT NOW!
2. Design – after streaming the content of your videotape into the computer, its best that you find a suitable and familiar blog site.
3. Upload – post your vlog on your favorite website. And voila! You’re very own video blog. At last, a tiny space amongst millions! Easy isn’t it?
An amateur vlog is always welcome, no one will sue you for showing your butt-crack. But don’t just go with the basics. Make your vlog more appealing by advertising creative words people would search for.
Oct 2008
27
A few weeks ago, I mentioned to some of the people who texted me and would like to learn how to make money by blogging, that I would look for products and create a package specifically for newbies and bloggers who want to start making money on their blogs.
I know it would be hard to teach people remotely, by SMS, or even by email so I found a couple of products that have video tutorials and bought the RIGHTS to these products so I can legally resell these to my blog readers at a very low price.
If one buys each of these products separately, it will cost them $100+.
The ProBlogger’s Starter Pack (as I call this package) consist of 5 really good products containing about 35 video tutorials, and a couple of really good ebooks.
Currently, you can get it at 50% discount. Just use the coupon code “probloggerdiscount“.
Check it out here.
