Posts filed under 'Blogging tools'
By Ran Aroussi
Do you have a blog you want to make some money from? How do you go about monetizing your blog? Blog monetizing is becoming increasingly popular using affiliate products.
One of the ways people are using for blog monetizing is Google AdSense which is a pay per click affiliate program. There are also a number of other pay per click affiliate programs which one could use to monetize your blog. Other AdSense type adverts that one could use for blog monetizing are SearchFeed, AdBrite, ClickSor, or Yahoo’s Publisher’s Network (YPN).
Though pay per click affiliate programs generally offer a low cost per click rate, another method you could use is cost per sale or cost per lead affiliate programs such as ClickBank products, PayDotCom, or Amazon products. An easy way to integrate ClickBank and PayDotCom products into your website is to create AdSense-style ads with the same look and feel but where you can earn more money on a per sale basis.
Another way to advertise affiliate products on your blog is to recommend them in your blog posts. Focusing on the subject of your blog, you could advertise different products related to it in each blog post. If you are careful to build up a relationship with the people who visit your blog, they’ll begin to trust you and as a result will be more likely to buy your affiliate products and create a blog monetizing focus for you.
Offering a paid newsletter is another way of blog monetizing. Start by offering a free newsletter and then have a way that people can upgrade to a paid newsletter or eZine. Your paid eZine for example could be in PDF format and look more like a magazine than your free newsletter which could be a simple email. You could also offer your affiliate products in your newsletter and eZine to earn extra money from it.
Another way of monetizing your blog is to sell advertising space on it. Many people are looking for places to advertise their website or blog and if you have a popular blog pulling in good page views then they will be prepared to pay you something to have their website advertised on your blog.
Although blog monetizing is normally done using affiliate programs you can also use other ideas such as having a paid newsletter or selling advertising space on your blog. You could advertise affiliate programs using AdSense style ads or by recommending affiliate products in your blog posts.
This article was written by Ran Aroussi of http://www.AffiliatesGarage.com - a free service you can use to display ClickBank & PayDotCom text-ads on your website or blog. Go to http://www.AffiliatesGarage.com to get your “AdSense-style” affiliate ads that are relevant to your content and earn up to 75% commission. |
October 14th, 2006
By Jag Senghera
Here are some ways you can get web traffic to your blog for free. Getting traffic to your blog is not easy. A new blog might get 10 - 20 vistor’s daily. If your blog is good and updated frequently it will give you up to 100 - 200 vistor’s daily. Some blogs like MrSikhNet will have up to 1000 vistors daily. For those who are using adsense to generate some income from your blog, then having 1000 vistors daily will help in the revenue thats generated. However if you just want your blog to be read by an international audience, then its essential you promote your blog. Below is 5 ways I find the most efficient in generating traffic to your site.
1. Tell your Family and Friends
Send an email out to all your friends and family members telling them about your new blog. Send an instant SMS or print the address of your blog on your business card and give it out to people. You could make a Car bumper Sticker with your blog address and Drive your car around town. Finally, add a Tell-a-friend script on your blog, this will enable vistors to invite their friends to check out your blog.
2. Submit to Blog and RSS directories
Whenever I start a new blog, the second thing I do after adding content is to list it on all the blog directories out there. Bloggers will read other people’s blogs and they find these blogs via blog directories. The more directories your site is listed the better. You can find a comprehensive list here .
3. Use Technorati.com
Technorati is the best for bloggers when it comes to getting traffic. Using technorati tags on your blog will make it easier to be found when searched. Technorati uses a blog ranking system too. Based on the number of links to your blog from various websites, your blog is given a rank. The higher your rank the easier your blog is to find when people search for things.
Go to www.technorati.com and register your blog with them. They will give you a code you need to add on your blog. Technorati is the authority on what’s going on in the world of weblogs. By adding your blog to technorati you will double your traffic.
4. Post comments on other people’s blog’s
When you add a comment to another person’s blog, you will be able to add your blog URL to that comment. Curious readers will surf to your blog from the comment you left. Posting comments will increase your link-popularity and hence increasing your standing in search engines. Commenting will build blogger communities and ensure a steady flow of traffic from the blog communities.
5. Participate in Forums.
Some forums will allow you to add your Blog URL on the signature. So when you reply a post or create a thread, what essentially you are doing is promoting your blog to the readers of that forum. Participating in forums will increase you link popularity as well, which means that your blog will be listed higher in search engines like google and MSN.
October 14th, 2006
By Richard Pettinger
1. Include Short biography and photo. - People like to know who they are reading. It gives the blog a personal aspect. People are more likely to trust a real name and photo. It gives them something to relate. to. This is a nice feature of ezine articles - having a photo for every article.
2. Make it attractive and easy to read. Give people short pieces to read. If its a very long article you can link to the main text from your blog and just give a snippet. When you read a newspaper we usuall read headings and the opening paragraph, but how often do you read everything?
3. Try to stick to a regular publishing schedule. Little and often is better than all at once and then nothing for several months However don’t post for the sake of it. ( Not every one may share your enthusiasm for an in depth account of your recent visit to the local supermarket. ) - However it is surprising how many blogs go into this kind of detail
4. Good photos and an attractive design help. However don’t focus all your attention on the minute CSS details. The most important aspect of blogging is content
5. Use good Headings which are descriptive of content. This is good for search engines and also helps people to know what the blog entry is about.
6. Links should be descriptive of where they go. e.g How to write a good blog. This is much better than follow link here
7. Make your best postings easily accesible. Don’t let them get buried in archives. At the same time you will want to avoid cluttering up the navigation bar. Too many choices confuses readers.
8. Look for ways to promote your blog. Try to find people with similar interests. Use services like Ping o matic.
9. Try to offer something original. There are so many blogs that it is important to offer something different.
10. Avoid too much personal detail. It depends on your personality but a blog doesn’t mean you have to share all your inner thoughts often these are pretty embarrassing. Don’t forget what you share is available to everybody possibly for ever. Think twice before writing anything you may regret later. As an idea you could think would I be happy if my collegues at work read this.
In general you have to be interested and passionate in what you write this will show up to others.
Richard is an economics teacher in Oxford and is a member of the Sri Chinmoy Centre Richard edits a couple of sites related to poetry and Sri Chinmoy and contributes to a weblog at Vasudeva Service for Plone |
October 14th, 2006
By Sharon Hurley Hall
If you want to increase traffic to your site, it’s good to get a blog. Once you’ve got a blog, you need to let people know it exists. Blog carnivals are an excellent way to promote your blog and website and bring new visitors.
What Is A Blog Carnival?
A blog carnival is where you get to show off the stuff you’ve been writing about in your blog. A carnival is a collection of blog posts around a theme. In most cases you submit your own posts to the carnival or carnivals. There are carnivals for everything, it seems - dogs, cats, the kitchen sink, family life.
Listing A Blog Post
Submit it to the blog carnival of your choice, but make sure the content is appropriate. Almost all the carnivals have rules about what they will and will not accept and the age of the blog post. There are two good places to start. First, conservativecat.com has a carnival submission form which makes the process easy. The page has a list of several blog carnivals, the deadline for submission and space to put in the blog post title and author, your email address and any comments. There is also lots of other carnival related information on the page. A second option is a similar list on blogcarnival.com. This makes it even easier to see the carnival name, category and due date for the next edition.
Building Traffic With Blog Carnivals
Once you’ve submitted your post, whoever is hosting the carnival does a roundup of the posts. An email is then sent out to all participants to let them know the carnival has been posted. Submission to blog carnivals can get new attention for old blog posts.
Another option is to host a blog carnival. This means reading and summarizing all the blog posts submitted. That will bring even more traffic to your site.
Additional Blog Carnival Benefits
Another benefit of blog carnivals is that they can tell you who else is posting similar material and give you new blogs to visit. The more blogs you visit and comment on, the more comments and visits your own blog will attract. Seems like a good deal.
Sharon Hurley Hall gives writers advice on how to get paid to write. Sharon is a freelance writer, ghostwriter and editor who writes on freelance writing skills and writer promotion for InspiredAuthor.com. For more information or to contact Sharon, visit doublehdesign.com. |
October 14th, 2006
It seems like everyone is blogging these days, but should you jump on the bandwagon?
The answer is a resounding yes!
Blogs help build content quickly on your website, and the more content you have, the easier it is for a potential buyer or seller to find you through a search engine. However, once you have your blog ready to go, what do you do with it?
What is a Blog?
A blog is really like an online journal. You can write as much or as little as you want, about any topic that strikes your fancy. It’s a great way to talk about new listings, open houses, and any special events coming up.
Getting a blog up and running is simple. Check out the various blogging services, such as blogger.com or typepad.com, and decide which one best meets your needs.
How Will My Blog Bring Me Business?
Search engines scan your blog at a higher rate than the pages of your website, so updating as frequently as possible and using keyword-rich text will bring new business to your site in droves. The easiest way to get into the swing of using a blog is to begin a routine of entering new listings. Open two windows, one with your blog page and one with the MLS. Begin with the subject, or title, of your blog entry. Use keywords that will cause your listing to show up in search engines. For example, using the title “New Listing at 123 Main Street” won’t do you much good unless someone searches for an exact address. Using a title like, “Beautiful New Listing in the Detroit Suburbs with Lake Access: 123 Main Street” will gather more viewers. People are much more likely to search for “Detroit suburbs” or “lake access” than an address.
Adding Your Blog to Your Website
Being able to easily integrate a blog is a major reason why it is important to have a quality website, customized to fit your needs. If your new blog can’t be easily added to your site, you’ll want to invest in a new and improved design. It’s worth it to be able to have the latest technology, because buyers and sellers will respond to your cutting edge site!
Remember that the first two hundred words of each blog entry will be seen on your site, even if users don’t click to read that entry, so make sure that you include the most important information early on. Use keywords that will catch potential buyers’ eyes. When customers don’t have to click all around to find the information that they want, they will be more likely to keep coming back to your site.
Copyright 2006.
Brett Miller is the founder of HoopJumper.com and has created the best lead generating Real Estate Websites in the industry for hundreds of Real Estate Professionals. Visit http://www.HoopJumper.com to learn how to make your first impression your best impression with HoopJumper. Call 888-Hoop-Jumper for a free web analysis today!
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October 14th, 2006
By Rupert Macia
Looking to jump on the blog-bandwagon? It may look like easy money, but in reality it isn’t. There are many pitfalls if you don’t know what your doing. Getting popular on the blogosphere is no easy trick. You have to be up for the challenge, and you need to know some things before you start blogging for money.
First of all, do not use someone else’s platform to blog. The best idea is to get your own domain. Without your own, you don’t actually own your blog. You are stuck with their platform, even if it turns out that you don’t like it. If you risk a move to a whole new site, you will have to start all over from scratch and you will most likely lose your following. To profit from a blog, you need a steady crowd, otherwise it’s pointless.
You should plan your blogging. Don’t just jump into it. Invest in quality blogging software. Make friends with other bloggers. This is not only great for your promotion, but you can exchange links while promoting each other’s sites. Research the market and find out what’s hot and what’s not. Don’t just copy someone elses style, create your own that has a clear aim toward a narrow niche. Find that specialized unique subject that the other bloggers haven’t thought of yet.
Your own opinion will sell. Don’t be afraid to sound controversial, it’s alright. That is what will draw the audience. Which brings me to another point: set up your blog so that others can add comments. Making an interactive blog is what people like. Make sure your linked pages have an easy way to get back to your home page for easy navigation, and so they won’t get lost and forget what your site looks like.
The tedious part is keeping fresh blogs regularly. A truly money making blog will have current posts at least five times a week. It’s your own database that needs constant refreshing. You have to be willing to put in the time to keep things circulating.
Make your posts attractive. You can dress them up with pictures and images that will draw their attention and make it more interesting than just some words on a page. Try to come up with some that will stir an emotional response. Try to really touch your audience.
After reading all this you might be disenchanted. If you aren’t and really want to dive into the adventure, remember that the blog market has grown exponentially, but there is no telling how long it will last. It’s a waste of time to try to get rich by blogging. If that is your goal, then you are probably at a loss. Blogging is a new fad and everyone is doing it. If you want to blog for money it is extremely time consuming to keep them fresh and to post all the time. You have to make sure that the people that started coming to read your blogs keep coming and you have to keep a steady stream of new comers, plus you need ads to keep your income rolling. All things considered, if you have the time and money to put into it, along with creativity and lots of opinions, go for it. Don’t forget that every big wave comes crashing down eventually.
October 11th, 2006
By Loretta Miller
Blogging for profit is a goal many people hope to be able to obtain. This endeavor is not out of reach for someone with a willingness to work and who has a knowledge of blogging. Very few people, however, ever obtain the profits they want from their blog because they fail to have a plan.
There are two reasons most people who try to make money with their blogs do not succeed. One reason is that bloggers often think that “if I build it, they will come”. This expectation is unrealistic. They often expect their readership to grow immediately and begin producing money just as quickly. This just does not happen. The other reason is that a lot of bloggers fail to have a realistic plan. The key to making money as a blogger is to have a realistic plan and sticking with it. When these expectations are not met, this disappointment often puts an end to their willingness to continue blogging. Some think that blogging is more “work” than they thought it would be. If you want to make money using blogs, you have to treat is as a business and a business requires work.
To be a success at earning money with blogs, you will need a lot of traffic. The more traffic that comes to your blog, the more likely you are to make sales. However, obtaining the regular visitors that you need isn’t easy. Because more blogs are started each and every day, there is a lot of competition. You need to keep your content fresh, unique, informative and interesting. Once people know that you have content on your blog that is updated regularly with useful information, they will return to your site. However, as mentioned above the “if I build it, they will come” approach just doesn’t happen.
You also have to market your blog. You can have the most interesting and informative information there ever was put on a blog, but if you don’t get visitors to your blog, who is going to read it. If you have a brick-and-mortar business, you advertise. A blog needs to be treated the same, you advertise.
You need to spend time getting your blog noticed. Take some time to visit other blogs and making a comment or visit forums related to your blog and make a post. Always be helpful and informative, and be sure to add your blog address with your signature, thereby creating a link to your blog.
If you’re an affiliate, try writing a review of the affiliate product you are marketing. You might find that it will get added to the products sales page if the review is honest and informative. Again, be sure to add your blog address with your signature.
It may take several months to build the traffic to make your blog profitable. Make a realistic plan and stick with it. To keep on track, make a daily schedule. Spend a set amount of time adding content to your blog, writing articles, visiting other blogs, visiting forums, and, if you are an affiliate, reviewing products to promote. Set a goal and when that goal is reached, set another one. Don’t set unrealistic goals as this will only discourage you. Don’t get discouraged, it takes time to build traffic to get the readers you want.
Earning money with blogs is a business. It takes time and patience to build a successful blog. It doesn’t matter if you are a marketing genius or have the best blog on the internet, success takes time. Staying motivated and setting goals will reward you with success.
Loretta Miller has a site where the goal is to help people increase traffic to their website. increasesalesinfo.com/ |
October 11th, 2006
By Leroy Brown
Everywhere you look, more and more people are jumping aboard the video blogging bandwagon. Matt Cutts, Google’s own SEO expert, has done quite a few video blog posts lately. Just this morning, I read a post at Problogger about blogging tutorials - in video format, called Tubetorial. Some are saying that video blogging is the future of blogging, and that one day that will be the only way to read blogs.
I think that video blogging is more of a fad, or perhaps a niche market. Some people do enjoy the personalization that video blogging offers - so I’m fairly certain that video blogging is here to stay. However, I’m not convinced that there’s a big market for these types of blogs. You are probably wondering why I say this. Why would a person rather read paragraphs rather than watch an entertaining video? Don’t more people watch the news rather than read the newspaper?
Video blogging, by it’s very nature, isn’t a very friendly format. For example - I cannot watch video blog posts from my Treo smartphone - that’s a real problem. Often that’s how I access my RSS reader, or individual blogs. You Tube and Google Videos don’t yet work on many mobile devices, and certainly not efficiently. I also cannot view video blog posts at work. Let’s face it - many people spend some of their work day doing personal things - such as reading blogs. Video and sound do not lend themselves to inconspicuousness. ( I think that’s the biggest word I’ve ever used in a sentence. ) For those people not fortunate enough to have internet access at home, video blogs are not very appropriate for places like public libraries, and other public internet access areas.
In closing, video blogging is an interesting trend - but it’s not the future of blogging. Good old fashioned text is - because it works.
October 11th, 2006
by Allen Taylor
Blogging has become quite the popular sport. People blog the news, sports, politics, their personal lives, and even business. But should you?
As a marketing tool, there’s no question that blogging is a powerful tool. But is it right for everyone? Probably not. However, it is a great way to add valuable content to most web sites.
The popular search engines – Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask – expect webmasters to update their web sites frequently. In fact, one of the best ways to climb in search engine rankings is to keep those sites updated with fresh content. Blogs provide that content so naturally and effectively.
Blogs don’t have to be huge tomes to be successful. In fact, some of the best and most successful blogs are short and sweet. A well-written short blog is actually better than a long, boring Moby Dick-like piece that no one wants to read. Fifty words with two or three dashes of a useful keyword phrase will score big points with the search engines, and if it is useful information for your target audience then you’ll also gain ground with those human visitors you want to turn into customers. Do that three to seven times a week for a year and you’ll have a web site that search engines can’t say “No” to.
It won’t even take a full year. You can build a successful and useful web site in three to six months with valuable blogging that inspires, entertains and enlightens your readers into being valuable, paying customers.
If you do see blogging as a part of your marketing future, don’t develop a narrow view of the skill. It takes more than just throwing out a few phrases and keywords to make a successful blog. You must ensure you are communicating with your audience so ask them what information they want to see and provide them with benefits. And blogging doesn’t just have to mean writing your journals online either. There are two other forms of blogging that are gaining more popularity every day. Which you use depends on your company’s goals, personality, and vision.
Audio blogging and video blogging can be powerful forms of communication. Again, they aren’t for everyone but don’t rule them out. Are you a singer or someone who makes a living with their voice? If so, you might consider a blog that incorporates audio. Maybe not every day, but in some kind of creative and useful way that promotes your voice skills so that potential customers can evaluate your voice and audio technique.
This principle also applies to video blogging. Perhaps you are a struggling actor or video engineer. If one of your core competencies involves corporate video production then video blogging could help sell your services. It’s worth considering, don’t you think?
Blogging is here and so is the 21st century. This powerful marketing strategy can be of benefit to almost any business. I’d encourage you to check it out.
October 11th, 2006
by Brian Clark
Your blog post title (or headline) is the first, and perhaps only, impression you make on a prospective reader. Without a post title that turns a browser into a reader, the rest of your blog may as well not even exist.
At its essence, a compelling headline must promise some kind of benefit or reward for the reader, in trade for the valuable time it takes to read more. Your headline is the first critical step to getting a link to your post.
Why? Because it’s got to be read before it can be linked!
According to some of the best copywriters of all time, you should spend half of the entire time it takes to write a piece of persuasive content on the headline. So if you have a blog post that is really important to you or your business, one that you really want people to read, you should downright obsess over your post title.
Advertising legend David Ogilvy knew the power of headlines, and how the headline literally determined whether the advertisement would get read. He rewrote this famous headline for an automobile advertisement 104 times:
“At 60 miles an hour, the only thing you hear in the new Rolls Royce is the ticking of the dashboard clock …”
Master copywriter Gene Schwartz often spent an entire week on the first 50 words of a sales piece — the headline and the opening paragraph. Those 50 words are the most important part of any persuasive writing, and writing them well takes time.
Even for the masters.
So, if you want to be an effective blogger, spend a little extra time on your post title.
October 11th, 2006
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