Monday 22 December 2014

What to Charge to Manage Social Media For a Company

So you might be a cool dude on Twitter and Facebook and now it your efforts are starting to pay off in terms of companies actually wanting you to spend your time tweeting for them and managing their social media efforts.  Good for you.  But I am sure by now the biggest question that might have come to mind is, "what do I charge for this task"?  That is a good question and by industry standards.....there are none as of now.
What I would suggest is to get a good idea of what the company you are going to be running their social media for, tells you what they intend to accomplish with their social media.
Companies want to be apart of social media but some want to because their kids are on it, and hey it must be cool right? Others are trying to maintain a good brand online and know what their customers are saying about them. Others are trying to expand and grow their fan base and loyalty through social media, you just have to know up front what it is that they want to accomplish.
So first step is to have a good sit down with the potential client, determine what the goals are and what your benchmarks will be.  Once you have this established you will at least have a general direction that you can go in.
Second thing you will want to do is assess the company in its current state.  Do they have a presence online in social media already and just need you to manage it?  Or are they starting from scratch?  Is this brand something that has a lot of potential fans that you could talk to, or is it something boring like a paint manufacturer?  Is this a company that will be managing bad press or building fans?
I have tried in the past to manage clients social media that really had no people in their industry using social media.  I was talking to myself and it ended up not doing much for them.   So it is best to assess the industry before you go out and end up doing a bad job of their money and your reputation.
So WHAT DO I Charge??
Ok, I hear you.  I would do it on an hourly basis.  Then set aside that number of hours to tweet, add friends, research and manage the relationships.  Be specific of whether or not this will include managing their blog as well and finding new content there and managing the comments.
You will want to be upfront with them, with costs that could incur such as setup (if there is no current social media presence).  That should be a flat rate for that.  A typical client amount that I would suggest is a total of 15 hours a month at $600.  Now why do I suggest this rate?  Because you will have people that will come in under you in price and then their will be people that will come in over you.  You want to be that happy medium, where they can afford you but not wonder why you are so cheap.
Why only 15 hours?  Because if you plan on taking on other clients as well, (once your good deeds start to spread virally), you will want to be able to manage all the clients and still give them the amount of attention that is needed.   Basically you will be giving each company 4 hours of your time a week to manage their social media.  Which for the average company should suffice.
Now this is for a typical sized corporation, I am not talking about running Walmarts social media.
How Do I Know When I Have Hit My Time?
This is where a good time tracking software comes in place.  There are many out there to use, the 47 signals team has a great suite that you can use once you really get going and start having more than one client. But if this is for your first client use something that is simple and free, like paymo.biz.  When I started I used this system and it is perfect for the beginner and the more advanced user as well.  Kind of wish they had an iPhone app, but there are others that do.
If you really want to go all in there is fresh books and that does have an iPhone app.
The point is here to first focus on getting the work tracked, and having a simple way to invoice.  Don't make it too difficult in the beginning.  Get familiar with tracking and then once you get a handle on that, spend a weekend and really go through it all.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4595454

Social Media for Business(7) - Top 3 WordPress Plugins for SMM and SEO Boosting

WordPress offers excellent plugins that can help you boost your blog visibility for SEO and SMM purposes. As we explained in previous articles, both of them have become so intertwined after the social media boom. Here are 3 WordPress blog plugins to help you leverage both of them in parallel for optimal results.
1. All in One SEO
True to its name, the all in one SEO plugin takes care of your blog SEO (search engine optimization) automatically. The beauty of this plugin is that it will work like charm if you are a SEO beginner but it does include advanced features for SEO savvies. You can enjoy it for free or go for its pro version for $39.Here are some of its amazing features:
  • optimizing your blog titles for search engines automatically
  • Generating appropriate META tags for your blog pages automatically
  • Integrating SEO for WordPress e-Commerce sites (The only plugin that has this feature)
  • Removing duplicate content normally found on WordPress blogs
2. Add to Any
A great social media sharing plugin designed to help your blog visitors bookmark, share, and email your blog posts to 100+ sites including social bookmarking sites (such as Digg and Delicious), social networking/microblogging sites (such as Facebook, Twitter, Google Buzz) to name just a few. It also comes with a Twitter button and a Facebook page Like button.
It also comes with email sharing tab that allows sharing to popular email services (gmail, yahoo, AOL...etc.).
The Add to favorites button of this plugin is compatible with major browsers (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari, Opera, etc.).
On top of that, this plugin comes with a customizable Smart Menu, which places the sites your visitors use for sharing purposes on top of the menu. This way, you could easily tell where you content is shared at a glance.
3. Twitter Tools
This Twitter tools plugin integrates and synchronizes your WordPress blog and your Twitter accounts so that every time you create a new post, it will be tweeted automatically. Sweet!


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5420616

Thursday 18 December 2014

Blogging Tips - How to Create a Blog That Attracts Thousands of Visitors!

Whether you want to use a blog to get your name out there as a writer or to promote a website when you are internet marketing, you need to read up on as many blogging tips as you can. Keep in mind though that it may well nigh be impossible for you to try and implement everything that you've read and learnt. When reading blogging tips, it is important to shortlist a few that you can use and build on those few first. Trying to do everything can leave you frazzled and overwhelmed and will take away from what can be an extremely enjoyable online experience.
Interestingly, blogging started off as an online diary and bloggers used this platform to express their opinions and reveal their emotions. Blog entries were almost always in the first person and bloggers did not read blogging tips about how or why they should mind their p's and q's. It did not matter what they said or who they offended.
However, that was then. Nowadays, blogging is increasingly being used more as an internet marketing strategy, which means it is used as a way to attract people and get them to buy a product or service. As such, it has become important to read as many blogging tips as you can so as to make sure you do not offend or drive away potential customers. If you are new to blogging, take it easy. Along with reading tips on blogging you may also want to read other successful blogs so you can pick up a few nifty ideas that you can use. Take time to also visit a few unsuccessful blogs as these will give you a pretty good idea of some of the things you should not do.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2070179

How to Create Successful Blogs

When any one asks you to define blogging, the answers that come to mind will be varied. There are many different kinds of blogs that serve many different purposes, but the ones that we'll deal with here are designed with profit in mind. By all accounts, business blogging is here to stay as a means to promote and draw traffic to the online business and the best way to get high quality product is to hire the SEO trained ghostwriters that work for the content or blogging services that can be found exclusively on the Internet.
Bottom Line
Fair enough, you might say, that all sounds really quite high tech and interesting, but what should I expect if I go to one of these services? How will they be able to help me with the blogs that I get written for me and how will hiring these people increase my bottom line?
Optimization and Keyword Ranking
First off, this kind of business blogging is all about increasing traffic to your website and that means that properly written and optimized blogs with use both the keywords and links to get the search engines like Google to reward you with a better keyword ranking. They'll be placed on your site (the best results have come from the WordPress custom installations that the best of these companies provide) and because the keywords are professionally researched and the content sprinkled with just the right amount of links, you can expect to draw attention and converts to sales.
Magazine Advertisement?
Remember too that the best content makes for the best results when it comes to blogging and here there's one major kind. The keyword blog is generally written like a 200 word advertisement that you might have seen in a magazine or newspaper, but here there are a few differences and unique characteristics.
The blog will only stick to one topic and the body of that content should not overly concern itself with selling the product or service. One of the cardinal rules of blogging is about hooking the reader with some useful information that will get them to read on and explore the rest of the website or follow the link to it. So a blog for a website for a specific real estate company might talk about the ways that you could lower your monthly payments on a mortgage.
There's no need for the hard sell with the keyword blogs since their real function is to supply some interesting but relevant information while the keywords and links do their jobs.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1728952

How To Create A Blog - A Short Guide

INTRODUCTION
People say that unless you don't have any knowledge about your car, the mechanic will gradually eat up your pocket with the never-existing problems in your car. Every affording person can own a car, but the owner of a best-maintained car has knowledge about its technical things. Similarly, every person is a blogger, however, a successful blog needs proper technical understanding. Here is a short guide about the basic but very important technicalities.
INITIAL START-UP STEPS
1. DOMAIN REGISTRATION - HOW TO GET A REGISTERED DOMAIN NAME
Domain registration requires a significant thought process that suggests a catchy but to-the-point name of your blog. For the registration process, you need to find out an authentic but lucrative forum. Generally, such forums are easily available online. However, 'GoDaddy' is the most competent and flexible one, which will enter you into a page suggesting you several relative domain names.
The ideal state is to get a yearly package from the given options. They will also offer you web hosting services and privacy protection. If you want web hosting services, it is better to try some other forum, as explained in the next step. Remember to save the email that you will receive after registration.
2. WEBHOSTING - HOW TO GET A WEBHOSTING SERVER FOR YOUR DOMAIN
Seeking a webhosting provider is not a big deal at all! Keep two key points in your mind and you will get the best webhosting provider. The first point is, that your provider is well-recognized and established as a perfect host. The second is, that your provider is offering you ideal services at your affordable rate. One of the popular providers is HostGator with amazing services, lucrative prices and astounding traffic capacity. Click 'web hosting plans' and then click 'hatchling plan', as you already have gotten your domain. Enter the required information, and click 'make account'. Its done!
3. SERVER SETTING - HOW TO SET YOUR SERVER ACCOUNT WORKABLE WITH YOUR DOMAIN
This is the most critical step, however if followed exactly according to the given instructions, it would surely be a piece of cake. Firstly, open the GoDaddy website and log into your account.
Open the main page of your account, and scroll down till the end.
You will find a heading 'Account Manager', with a given tab 'My Account'.
Now, a click on 'Domain', and the next click on 'Launch' (your desired domain) will take you to a new page.
Now, configuration of your nameserver starts.
Click on 'Set Namseservers', and enter the webhosting information given to you while registration process in 'I have specific nameservers for my domains section'. Provide information for first and second Nameserver, and click 'OK'. Check the applied setting after at least two hours.
4. INSTALLING WORDPRESS - GETTING THE CREATIVE MOST TOOL OF THE BLOG
This is the most fun part for all. WordPress is better than any other forum,since it has far more creative features and chances of incorporating innovativeness. WordPress installation is a long process, however, HostGator offers a 'one-click' installation of it. Open your domain's cpanel by typing your complete domain plus /cpanel. Go to software/services and click 'Fantastico Deluxe'. Click on 'Install WordPress' and get started!
If you are a software genius, you can also download WordPress and configure its installation.
5. WORDPRESS LESSON - AN INTRODUCTION TO WORDPRESS
WordPress is an interesting thing to play with. And till the time of installation, your curiosity will definitely rise to such a higher level that you would love to experiment with your blog. A few basics include:
Appearance: How your blog would look like. This includes theme, color etc.
Plugins: This needs a further technical study or experimentation of WordPress, which will definitely increase the performance and visibility of your blog.
Media: This part deals with media tools like pictures, videos etc.
Settings: This part is about the settings other than the blog's appearance. From here, you will start third-party plugins, if you desire to.
Links: This tool deals with the customization of your blog, and its promotional strategy, as described later in this article.
Posts: It is simply related to posting the content on the blog, name of the author, summary etc.
Pages: This tool helps you include new pages, and maintain the existing pages.
Users: This tool helps you add new users, or blog operation officers. It is useful if you have planned to hire a manager.
MAKE YOUR BLOG STRONGER
Now, you have done the basic work. However, you would definitely love if maximum number of people reach your content. For this purpose, you need to bring your blog to a better place on the search engines.
Try to put unique content on your blog. An already existing one might raise legal issues against you, or would definitely be unattractive to the people.
Build off-page links, or do off-page optimization. It would raise your blog's visibility and place up to 80%. Off-page optimization is mostly done by developing Backlinks. These are the inter-connective links that connect your page with the other blogs or pages. One-way backlinks are the one in which either your, or other's blog gets appearance. Two-way backlinks are supportive to both the connecting pages. For the purpose of generating backlinks, it is better to take help or direct services from an SEO expert for a new comer.
A FEW STRENGTH-GAINING TIPS
Seek a long-run success. Remember! Your blog will not become the top most on the search engines in a single night. It requires time, patience, and continuous effort.
It is better to use your own name as your blog's domain. This will increase your visibility and approach.
Seek the tactics of other bloggers and analyze them, however about your blog, use your own strategy, ideas and concepts. Try to make a 'leader' image of your blog, not a 'follower' one.
Post frequently! If you lack content, or even time to write a well-researched article, then capture a nice and attractive picture from somewhere around you and post it on your blog. Don't let it go empty for a whole week.
WordPress offers SEO customization. Customize your blog for SEO and start using keyword placement tactics to increase your visibility.
Google is the most used search engine. Use its tools like sitemap, analytics, webmaster to know the problems in your blog, and foresee the coming business hazards.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7465235

How To Create A Blog - A Short Guide

INTRODUCTION
People say that unless you don't have any knowledge about your car, the mechanic will gradually eat up your pocket with the never-existing problems in your car. Every affording person can own a car, but the owner of a best-maintained car has knowledge about its technical things. Similarly, every person is a blogger, however, a successful blog needs proper technical understanding. Here is a short guide about the basic but very important technicalities.
INITIAL START-UP STEPS
1. DOMAIN REGISTRATION - HOW TO GET A REGISTERED DOMAIN NAME
Domain registration requires a significant thought process that suggests a catchy but to-the-point name of your blog. For the registration process, you need to find out an authentic but lucrative forum. Generally, such forums are easily available online. However, 'GoDaddy' is the most competent and flexible one, which will enter you into a page suggesting you several relative domain names.
The ideal state is to get a yearly package from the given options. They will also offer you web hosting services and privacy protection. If you want web hosting services, it is better to try some other forum, as explained in the next step. Remember to save the email that you will receive after registration.
2. WEBHOSTING - HOW TO GET A WEBHOSTING SERVER FOR YOUR DOMAIN
Seeking a webhosting provider is not a big deal at all! Keep two key points in your mind and you will get the best webhosting provider. The first point is, that your provider is well-recognized and established as a perfect host. The second is, that your provider is offering you ideal services at your affordable rate. One of the popular providers is HostGator with amazing services, lucrative prices and astounding traffic capacity. Click 'web hosting plans' and then click 'hatchling plan', as you already have gotten your domain. Enter the required information, and click 'make account'. Its done!
3. SERVER SETTING - HOW TO SET YOUR SERVER ACCOUNT WORKABLE WITH YOUR DOMAIN
This is the most critical step, however if followed exactly according to the given instructions, it would surely be a piece of cake. Firstly, open the GoDaddy website and log into your account.
Open the main page of your account, and scroll down till the end.
You will find a heading 'Account Manager', with a given tab 'My Account'.
Now, a click on 'Domain', and the next click on 'Launch' (your desired domain) will take you to a new page.
Now, configuration of your nameserver starts.
Click on 'Set Namseservers', and enter the webhosting information given to you while registration process in 'I have specific nameservers for my domains section'. Provide information for first and second Nameserver, and click 'OK'. Check the applied setting after at least two hours.
4. INSTALLING WORDPRESS - GETTING THE CREATIVE MOST TOOL OF THE BLOG
This is the most fun part for all. WordPress is better than any other forum,since it has far more creative features and chances of incorporating innovativeness. WordPress installation is a long process, however, HostGator offers a 'one-click' installation of it. Open your domain's cpanel by typing your complete domain plus /cpanel. Go to software/services and click 'Fantastico Deluxe'. Click on 'Install WordPress' and get started!
If you are a software genius, you can also download WordPress and configure its installation.
5. WORDPRESS LESSON - AN INTRODUCTION TO WORDPRESS
WordPress is an interesting thing to play with. And till the time of installation, your curiosity will definitely rise to such a higher level that you would love to experiment with your blog. A few basics include:
Appearance: How your blog would look like. This includes theme, color etc.
Plugins: This needs a further technical study or experimentation of WordPress, which will definitely increase the performance and visibility of your blog.
Media: This part deals with media tools like pictures, videos etc.
Settings: This part is about the settings other than the blog's appearance. From here, you will start third-party plugins, if you desire to.
Links: This tool deals with the customization of your blog, and its promotional strategy, as described later in this article.
Posts: It is simply related to posting the content on the blog, name of the author, summary etc.
Pages: This tool helps you include new pages, and maintain the existing pages.
Users: This tool helps you add new users, or blog operation officers. It is useful if you have planned to hire a manager.
MAKE YOUR BLOG STRONGER
Now, you have done the basic work. However, you would definitely love if maximum number of people reach your content. For this purpose, you need to bring your blog to a better place on the search engines.
Try to put unique content on your blog. An already existing one might raise legal issues against you, or would definitely be unattractive to the people.
Build off-page links, or do off-page optimization. It would raise your blog's visibility and place up to 80%. Off-page optimization is mostly done by developing Backlinks. These are the inter-connective links that connect your page with the other blogs or pages. One-way backlinks are the one in which either your, or other's blog gets appearance. Two-way backlinks are supportive to both the connecting pages. For the purpose of generating backlinks, it is better to take help or direct services from an SEO expert for a new comer.
A FEW STRENGTH-GAINING TIPS
Seek a long-run success. Remember! Your blog will not become the top most on the search engines in a single night. It requires time, patience, and continuous effort.
It is better to use your own name as your blog's domain. This will increase your visibility and approach.
Seek the tactics of other bloggers and analyze them, however about your blog, use your own strategy, ideas and concepts. Try to make a 'leader' image of your blog, not a 'follower' one.
Post frequently! If you lack content, or even time to write a well-researched article, then capture a nice and attractive picture from somewhere around you and post it on your blog. Don't let it go empty for a whole week.
WordPress offers SEO customization. Customize your blog for SEO and start using keyword placement tactics to increase your visibility.
Google is the most used search engine. Use its tools like sitemap, analytics, webmaster to know the problems in your blog, and foresee the coming business hazards.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7465235

WordPress - How to Create Your Own Blog in Wordpress


Wednesday 17 December 2014

Blogging Made Simple - How to Create a Blog That Will Have Your Readers Begging For More

Successful blogging takes time and patience. Start-up blogs can go weeks or longer without attracting any amount of traffic worth mentioning. Most people give up on blogging because they put so much effort into designing the blog and populating it with content, but nobody will come to the blog. When it comes to blogging, giving up is one of the worst things that you can do.
Before you get started with blogging, ask yourself if you are willing to dedicate some time every single day to grow your blog. If you're not willing to give it your all, then what's the point? Blog readers expect value, entertainment, and consistency. If a blogger does nothing but promote affiliate products, then why should people even bother visiting? If a blogger posts erratically, then why should people check back every day for updates?
Determine how often you are going to post to your blog and stick with it. If it's once every other day, then do your best to stick to that schedule. If it's twice a day, then stick to it! Train your readers to know what to expect when they land on your blog.
Providing value to your readers is very important. If you have an online marketing blog for example, then your readers will obviously expect tips from you. However, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. What I mean by that is that if you only have tips on your blog and nothing else, then your blog will become dry. People will like your tips, but what's to stop them from going to someone else's blog and getting all their marketing tips from them?
Some bloggers like to mix business with personal stuff in their blogs while others like to keep those things separate. If you don't want to mention your personal life in your blog, that's fine. The point of doing so, however, is to increase "stickability" and to build trust in your reader. You could have amazing marketing tips on your blog, but if your blog is boring, then readers won't be jazzed up to return to your blog first thing in the morning tomorrow.
Find ways of engaging your readers and to make them feel at home at your blog. Encouraging comments is a good start. Once in a while, stir up some discussion or controversy to encourage more participation. For example, if you made a blog post about why PC's are so much better than Macs, you'd stir up a hornet's nest.
Get creative when trying to make your blog more fun and interactive. Try running contests and giving out great prizes. Let your readers write guest posts for you in return for some exposure on your blog. Shoot videos of yourself answering questions or talking about stuff.
The possibilities for creativity and monetization on blogs are virtually limitless. Some successful bloggers rarely post on their own blogs and still enjoy a six-figure income from affiliate sales, ad sales, and other types of ad revenue. Imagine having a blog so popular that people ask for the privilege of writing your posts for you and to have people paying you money to display their ads on your blog! With hard work and dedication, you'll get there.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2926435

How To Create A Blog That Makes Money

One of the most popular activities online nowadays is blogging, and with good reason. It gives every person a chance to voice their thoughts and opinions to the entire virtual world. This has never been possible to do so easily, really anyone can and that's the beauty of blogging.
Blogger and Wordpress have to be the two most popular blogging platforms used today. Wordpress is definitely the most customizable and easiest to use of the two. Beginners should have very little trouble learning how to use it.
Regardless of your web site knowledge, you can create a Wordpress blog in mere minutes by taking advantage of their free blog hosting service. All you have to do is sign up, and you're ready to go, and it doesn't cost you a cent. I do recommend however that if you are truly serious about blogging, you should have your own hosting and domain name, but using the free blog hosting service is a great way to experiment and tinker with Wordpress risk free. Then, when you feel comfortable with it, you can proceed to invest in the domain and hosting.
The beauty of blogging is that you can blog about whatever you want! But, if you want to make money by blogging, I would recommend that you follow these suggestions to maximize your earning potential.
To begin with, pick a niche and stick with it. The goal as a blogger is to become an authority, someone that readers can trust. If you just blog about random things, no one will think you are an expert at anything. Become a resource for a specific topic, and as an authority people will trust and respect you, and you will be able to monetize based on that trust.
Most importantly, provide an abundance of value. Don't think that people will continue to read you blog just because you post. You have to bring them valuable information, things that they want to know about, often. By doing so, you will develop a solid readership base and they will subscribe to your RSS feed. If you just spam them with a bunch of ads or offers, you will have no credibility whatsoever.
Next, be patient. Blogging does take some serious work, and some time to grow and become capable of earning you substantial income. Remember that even though you may not make money fast, in time your earnings will be able to grow and grow.
Last but not least, choose the most effective monetization method for you specific niche. There are tons of ways to make money from a blog, such as with paid posts, advertising, or widgets; but only you can determine what works the best by testing them out. The one method that is super effective in almost every niche is affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing is the greatest way to make money with your blog. As you become more popular, and are viewed as an authority, you are able to make strong recommendations to your readers whom are willing to follow your advice and act upon it.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1013184

Start a Blog, How to - Creating a Blog

Why the title is important.
So many people get this wrong they come up with a name for their blog site without even thinking about how they will market that name. If you want to get free traffic then you should pick a title that is traffic friendly. You don't have to have the word blog in your title but it should have something to do with the market you are blogging about. For example if my blog's topic is about pets I'm not going to name my blog after my dog. It's just not wise it may be cute and it would be nice to have a website with your dog's photo and the title of your blog named after your dog, but if you wish to have a successful blog it's the wrong way to go. In fact to break it down for you deeper if I have a blog about pets I'm not going to name it something as board as pets. When you type in the word "pets" on google.com you're going to have 237 million competing pages, 10 links a page you do the math.
There is no way you're going to be able to drive in free traffic. This is why the title is important because with a little thought and effort the title should bring you in the traffic you desire. The phrase "pampered pets" only has about 191,000 competing pages this is still a little high you want to type in different titles on google.com make sure you put the phrase in quotations and don't stop searching and thinking until you found a name that has less than 35,000 competing pages. Once you've picked your title you then want to go to a domain website and check to see if that title is available as a domain. This is why the title is important because when the title is in the domain name it moves up higher on the search engine list. This is especially good for blogs sense the search engines already rank blogs higher than normal websites. If you want another secret little tip of mines go to google.com type in keyword tool. Type in a word and you will then be able to see how many times a certain phrase is searched for each month globally. So now you not only will be able to see the competing pages but also how much traffic you could drive to your site if you get on the first page of Google
After getting a domain name/title you want to get the website hosted. So many people get a domain name and they really waste it by transferring the website to another webpage. The reason they waste it is there are a lot of good domain names taken but if you Google the phrase you won't see the domain name on the first page of Google. This means someone has a really good domain name and they aren't even getting the free traffic to go with it (foolishness!) Wordpress.com is the leading blog creating website they have free templates that allow you choose different options and set ups. With a little time and effort you will have your blog up in no time.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5833444

How to create a blog and get approved for google adsense.


Friday 12 December 2014

How to Create a Blog From Scratch - A Simple Guide to Starting a Blog

If you want to make serious money online, the highest return on investment today is blogging. That's because it is virtually free to start a blog but the reward is huge. And the best part about blogging is that it's incredibly easy for even a beginner to start their own blog and earn a living online. This article will discuss the simple steps you need to take in order to get your own money making blog up and running and earning you a significant income today.
The first thing you'll need to do to kickstart your blogging career is to get into the right niche. Many people simply choose the wrong topic to blog about and then wonder why the money never comes in. As someone who has made my living blogging, I recommend you choose starting out in any niche within one of the three following markets: health/fitness, relationships, or money/finances. Those are just about guaranteed money makers and you'll see an income fast.
Next, you'll need to pick a great name for your blog. This name will not only be your blog's web address, but it will also be the first impression people get of your blog, so it needs to really say something about what it is you have to offer and what people can expect to find on your blog.
Finally, you're ready to get your blog set up and filled with content. The easiest way to do this, and the way I recommend to seasoned bloggers and beginning bloggers alike is to choose a hosting company that offers one-click blog installation. That way you can get started earning money without having to make the initial investment of hiring a web designer.
Creating a money-making blog should be simple but many people find the process difficult and confusing. If you want to learn how to set up your very own blog for free, sign up for my Make Money Blogging Challenge today!


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5512328

How to Create a Blog

A Blog, or Weblog to give it its full name, can be about almost anything you want it to be. In its simplest form it's an online diary or journal where you can record your personal thoughts and observations about any topic you wish. The most popular blog writers, or bloggers as they are known, post every day and can have a daily readership of tens of thousands. Many bloggers now make a full-time income from their writing by selling advertising on their blogs. The subjects of blogs cover every conceivable topic from politics to fish-farming. Many blogs simply act as an online diary to describe the writers daily activities.
So how do you start a blog?
The easiest was is to sign up with one of the many free blog hosts available. More of these are springing up every day. Search for free blogs on google.com for some selections. Two of the most popular blog hosts are blogger.com, now owned by Google, and wordpress.com. Their service is completely free, not even advertisements will appear on your blog.
Starting a blog is as easy as visiting the blog host's website and signing up. Most of them ask for only your name and email address so your personal details are confidential. You can even sign your posts with a pen-name if you like. By signing up at blogger.com, you will get your own URL (your internet address) like http://yourname.blogspot.com. Once your blog is created, and this is immediate, you can start typing your first post. Most people start with simple text entries but as you find your way around their software, you can start to add images, hyperlinks and even videos.
Once you have started your blog there are many ways to get visitors to read your writing, if that's what you want. There are whole directories full of the best blogs and it's quite easy to get listed in these if you have a quality blog. Once you are know, you will find many repeat visitors coming to read your daily journal. Alternatively, if it's a private blog for friends and family this is fine as well.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/342185

Blogging Made Simple - How to Create a Blog That Will Have Your Readers Begging For More

Successful blogging takes time and patience. Start-up blogs can go weeks or longer without attracting any amount of traffic worth mentioning. Most people give up on blogging because they put so much effort into designing the blog and populating it with content, but nobody will come to the blog. When it comes to blogging, giving up is one of the worst things that you can do.
Before you get started with blogging, ask yourself if you are willing to dedicate some time every single day to grow your blog. If you're not willing to give it your all, then what's the point? Blog readers expect value, entertainment, and consistency. If a blogger does nothing but promote affiliate products, then why should people even bother visiting? If a blogger posts erratically, then why should people check back every day for updates?
Determine how often you are going to post to your blog and stick with it. If it's once every other day, then do your best to stick to that schedule. If it's twice a day, then stick to it! Train your readers to know what to expect when they land on your blog.
Providing value to your readers is very important. If you have an online marketing blog for example, then your readers will obviously expect tips from you. However, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. What I mean by that is that if you only have tips on your blog and nothing else, then your blog will become dry. People will like your tips, but what's to stop them from going to someone else's blog and getting all their marketing tips from them?
Some bloggers like to mix business with personal stuff in their blogs while others like to keep those things separate. If you don't want to mention your personal life in your blog, that's fine. The point of doing so, however, is to increase "stickability" and to build trust in your reader. You could have amazing marketing tips on your blog, but if your blog is boring, then readers won't be jazzed up to return to your blog first thing in the morning tomorrow.
Find ways of engaging your readers and to make them feel at home at your blog. Encouraging comments is a good start. Once in a while, stir up some discussion or controversy to encourage more participation. For example, if you made a blog post about why PC's are so much better than Macs, you'd stir up a hornet's nest.
Get creative when trying to make your blog more fun and interactive. Try running contests and giving out great prizes. Let your readers write guest posts for you in return for some exposure on your blog. Shoot videos of yourself answering questions or talking about stuff.
The possibilities for creativity and monetization on blogs are virtually limitless. Some successful bloggers rarely post on their own blogs and still enjoy a six-figure income from affiliate sales, ad sales, and other types of ad revenue. Imagine having a blog so popular that people ask for the privilege of writing your posts for you and to have people paying you money to display their ads on your blog! With hard work and dedication, you'll get there.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2926435

Thursday 11 December 2014

Anyone Can Create a Blog and Create Website Traffic With WordPress

Starting your own blog doesn't have to be as intimidating as you think. Like many types of new marketing (email, social media, et al), it's easy to feel like you're the only one who's not blogging. But with a little help, you'll soon find yourself up and running and giving others some advice.
I've had a great experience with WordPress and setting up my blog/website. I've done Marketing for years but had no web programming experience (unless you consider making copy bold and underlined). In the past I've always leaned on my team of experienced web gurus. But when I started poking around and doing some research, I found that it's not all that difficult.
Unless you're a web designer, creating your own blog means you have to do a lot of reading to figure out all these new functions. Try this Forum section on WordPress, there's lots of info on how to get started, go to WordPress and it's under "support."
I also recommend going to YouTube. I'm a visual person so I like to "see" how things are done. They have a lot of video tutorials that show you how to do different things. Just type WordPress in the search field.
I created my own site/blog on Wordpress within a day or two and have been able to add plug-ins that add forms, get traffic stats, help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and much more. I've had a few issues adding photos but I'm about to upgrade to the newest version of Wordpress (2.7) to see if it helps.
You'll want the name of your company in the title and on an "About" page. You can create static pages, to let people know about your company, products, services, etc. Then use blog posts or articles to discuss things that are of interest to people who may buy your product/service.
As far as optimizing your site for search engines, you'll want to look at some of the plug-ins available to help you with optimizing and measuring traffic. I recommend All-in-One SEO and Google XML Sitemaps. These will make your site easier to search for the search engines. Also add plug-ins like AddThis Social Bookmarks, to encourage visitors to bookmark your site and make it easier for them to come back and visit if they like what they see.
For content you don't necessarily want to have your company name mentioned over and over to help increase traffic, unless your company name is so well known that thousands of people will be searching for it. You want to make sure you include relevant keywords that your potential customers will search for.
Also try a plug-in called WordPress Stats. It will allow you to see how much traffic you are getting. Eventually you will want to set up Google Analytics to see where traffic is coming from and which keywords are most popular.
It all sounds intimidating. But when you jump in and get started, it will all start to make sense. If anything, you know you can always come to [http://www.understandingmarketing.com] to get more tips.
Chrisanne Sternal is an independent marketing consultant that has built highly effective and profitable marketing campaigns for many well-known brands and small businesses alike.
Sternal Consulting helps small businesses make the most of their budgets by avoiding costly mistakes with their marketing efforts. Creating emails, websites, landing pages, blogs, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, public relations, direct mail, newsletters, social media, branding and more.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1728127

How to Create a Blog From Scratch - A Simple Guide to Starting a Blog

If you want to make serious money online, the highest return on investment today is blogging. That's because it is virtually free to start a blog but the reward is huge. And the best part about blogging is that it's incredibly easy for even a beginner to start their own blog and earn a living online. This article will discuss the simple steps you need to take in order to get your own money making blog up and running and earning you a significant income today.
The first thing you'll need to do to kickstart your blogging career is to get into the right niche. Many people simply choose the wrong topic to blog about and then wonder why the money never comes in. As someone who has made my living blogging, I recommend you choose starting out in any niche within one of the three following markets: health/fitness, relationships, or money/finances. Those are just about guaranteed money makers and you'll see an income fast.
Next, you'll need to pick a great name for your blog. This name will not only be your blog's web address, but it will also be the first impression people get of your blog, so it needs to really say something about what it is you have to offer and what people can expect to find on your blog.
Finally, you're ready to get your blog set up and filled with content. The easiest way to do this, and the way I recommend to seasoned bloggers and beginning bloggers alike is to choose a hosting company that offers one-click blog installation. That way you can get started earning money without having to make the initial investment of hiring a web designer.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5512328

Wednesday 10 December 2014

How to Create & Test Blogs on Your Own PC

Remote server or your hosting server is used to present your blog or website to internet visitors. Therefore this is when your site is fully ready for public viewing. Ideally, there is no need for you to upload your website content to the remote server until it is complete and ready to be published.
In other words, it is not necessary to do file uploads to the server while you're at initial stage of developing a blog or website. Fortunately, a major chunk of this process can be done on a local test machine or local server. You only need to get your local PC to emulate a web server. This is easily achievable with the help of appropriate software.
Using such a software or a suite of software will allow you to do thorough testing of your blog or website without the constraints of doing the same thing on a remote server especially on a live site active with internet visitors. Here are several benefits of doing offline web testing:
  • Your site is safe from any risk of downtime due to development phase errors
  • Reduce frustration of your visitors due to site unavailability or errors
  • Increase your productivity and efficiency for not having to do upload to remote server. Instead you work interactively with your own local PC. This is worst if you're on a relatively slow internet connection.
  • Not showing your visitors what are considered still under development.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1678186

How to Build a Blog - Do it Right the First Time and Start Earning Money

Learning how to build a blog isn't easy, especially if you've never done anything like it before. The truth is that it can seem very technical - but there are many ways to cut down on the trouble and the time it takes to get it going. And this is absolutely crucial if you want to start making money with your blog.
Finding Instructions That Work
One of the easiest ways for people new to blogging to find success is to find an instruction program that not only teaches you how to blog, but also teaches you how to make money from that blog. For absolute beginners you need a program that teaches from the very beginning, and 'The Niche Blogger' is a great example of this.
Screenshots of what to do, and videos explaining all the steps, are absolutely crucial to understanding how to build a blog. This is what helped The Niche Blogger to stand out in my mind, especially due to the fact that there are always people willing to help if you ever get stuck.
Start Making Money
Since joining the membership program I've been able to develop a number of profitable blogs, and have even sold many of them for profit. It doesn't take long before you start to feel like you're an expert at blogging! You might not be able to imagine that right now, but it really is possible.
It's also a good idea to make sure you're not spending too much money while you're getting started, which is why a membership like this is perfect for getting everything you need together in one place. You won't need to bother with anything else.
So, if you've been delaying your chance at earning money with a blog, you can get going now! It really isn't that hard: learning how to build a blog just takes the right plan!


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2873204

How to Create a Blog

A Blog is similar to a personal website, where you can add whatever information you feel like. Having your own Blog will help you to share your ideas and views on particular topic with the whole world. To get a Blog is as easy as creating an email. To own a Blog, first you have to sign up for an account with a particular Blog provider. There are many players in the field, the most popular one being the Blogger.com.
Once you enter this site you can create your account within minutes. Once the user Account is ready, you can start creating Blogs. For this first login to your Blog account with the created Username and Password. Click on the Create Blog button and type a Blog name. You will get this Blog name if the particular name you requested is not taken by anybody else. Once you own this blog, you can select a template from the available list of templates which are elegant and beautiful.
After the selection of the template, you can start posting in the Blog you just now created. For this, click on the New Post button and start posting your content. After posting the data, you have to publish your posting with a Publish button. You can notice your url in the address bar. You can link this url in your email or in other sites where people will find your site and click it to read your content. Also, every Blog template contains a button called Next Blog. This button will guide the user to the next blog.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/345525

How To Create a Blog For Free Using Blogger


Monday 8 December 2014

How to Create a Successful Blog

Starting a blog is one of the easiest things you can do. All you need is an internet connection and an email. You don't need a plan, any money, or any special knowledge. However, if you fail to plan your blog and the blog's direction then you have little chance of being successful.
To get started on the right track, you should create a blog plan. Get out a piece of paper or open notepad and start writing your plan.
What should your plan include?
Here is a typical plan for me: 
  • Determine the best blogging platform to use (WordPress and Blogger are the most popular)
  • Determine what your blog will be about and what it will not be about (This is your niche)
  • Decide on a theme (Will you use a paid or free theme)
  • Pick the plugins you want on your blog (top commentators, all in one seo and more)
  • Determine how often you will update your site (once a day or once a week, it's up to you)
  • Determine how you will get traffic (search engines, blog commenting, forums, paid)
  • Determine if you want to monetize and if so, how (AdSense, ads, linkshare, affiliates, amazon)
If you follow these steps and come up with a blogging plan then you have a better chance of creating a successful blog. No matter what options you choose, come up with a plan and try to stick with it. If you can't stick with it then make sure to update your plan.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4843633