For first time bloggers, a free blogging web site is a great way to get started in the blogosphere. Popular blogging web sites like blogger and eponym allow users to set up and host a blog without paying any fees at all. This encourages people to start blogging, because the fact that one of these sites can provide you with all of the tools that you need to get your blog up and running without spending any money means that you have nothing to lose by starting a blog. The fact that it is so easy to find a way to blog for free is one of the reasons why so many people who have never had any other kind of web presence before find themselves drawn to blogging.
By signing up with a free blogging web site, you may find it easier to get listed in search engines that you would if you were starting your own blog from scratch. For example, google runs the free blog hosting site blogspot and crawls its pages very often looking for updates, so if you have your site hosted by blogspot you are almost guaranteed to be listed on google's blog search engine. This easy access to search engines can take some of the work out of promoting your blog, and can help you gain a following with a minimum of marketing effort.
If your blog attracts a large readership, you may want to consider moving your site. Many people feel that being hosted by a free blogging web site gives a blog a kind of amateur flavor that is fine for a new member of the blogosphere, but is not appropriate for a high-profile blog. Having your own domain can help you make your blog feel professional, and finding a company that will host your domain is not difficult or expensive. Once your blog takes off, you will probably be able to sell enough advertising space to be able to afford to buy a domain and pay for a hosting package, and still have money left over. However, it does not make sense in most cases to invest in these glossy luxuries before you have a sizable readership.
Starting your blog on a free blogging web site is a great way to build a following before you spend any money on your blog. If and when your blog becomes popular and you are ready to take the next step and purchase your own domain, your readers will follow you to your new home. The fact that it is possible to use a free blog host like blogspot, blogger, or wordpress as a kind of incubator for your blog is great news for bloggers everywhere.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Using A Free Blogging Web Site
To Join a Blogging Site or Not to Join
Joining an established blogging site like live journal or blogger has plenty of advantages, especially for the blog novice. Sites that host a lot of different blogs often have very useful tutorials about building and updating your blog, and you are likely to encounter a very user-friendly software interface at an established blogging site. In addition, these sites provide a kind of instant community of fellow bloggers who can provide advice, insight, and feedback. These established sites often keep directories of their members, which can be great news for your blog traffic logs because it means that other bloggers on the site will find out about your pages.
However, there are also some downsides to linking up with a large blogging site. By posting within the established templates of a site like blogger, you run the risk of having your blog look and feel like everybody else's. The blogging movement is very much about the creation of distinctive sites and the development of individual voices, so it makes plenty of sense that many bloggers would shy away from the cookie-cutter look and feel that these blogging sites often promote. Many bloggers feel that the content of a blog is what makes it distinctive, not the look of the blog, but many members of the blogging community feel that the visual impact of a blog should match the originality of the writing.
Choosing The Right Free Blogging Tools
There are many free blogging tools on the market, but loading up your blog with all of the free accessories that you can find isn't necessarily a good idea. While it may be tempting to add a visitor counter, a flashy background, an exciting new font, and a cluster of quirky animated gifs to your blog, this kind of plan can easily backfire. The key to getting the most from free blog tools is being selective.
It is a great idea to learn about all of the kinds of free blogging tools that are available so that you can make an informed decision about what to add to your blog, but try to remember that just because you can have something doesn't mean that you need it. Practice restraint and only choose the options that you think will really be useful. If you can find out how many visitors are reading your blog by checking your traffic statistics, a visitor counter is likely to add unnecessary clutter to your page. If your blog is text-based, a flashy background can be more of a distraction than an benefit. Be realistic about assessing what kinds of blog accessories will help you realize your vision and improve your site. Remember that even a blog tool that doesn't cost you any cash may not be an asset in the long run.
How to Learn Blogging Software
A lot of blogging software is specifically designed to be simple to use, but even the least intimidating blogging program can feel very overwhelming to somebody who has not spent a lot of time learning the ins and outs of different kinds of software. Particularly for newer bloggers, learning how to use the interface of blogging software is the most difficult part of blogging. If you are somebody who feels comfortable expressing themselves in another medium, it may prove to be well worth your time and effort to learn blogging software, but that doesn't mean that the task will be easy.
The main thing that will help you find success as you learn how to use a new kind of blogging software is to try and take things slowly. Many people get so excited about learning to blog that they try to rush into the thick of it and start exploring the most complicated features of a program right away. This can lead to getting confused and feeling frustrated, and all too many potential bloggers burn out during this stage of the process. If you take your time learning the basics of your blog software program before you move on to more advanced techniques, you will be more likely to retain what you have learned, and to keep feeling positive about your ability to understand the world of blogging.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Blogging For Business Owners
If you run a small company, you may find that the world of blogging for business owners is a world that you want to be a part of. Blogging is a great way to get the word out to consumers about your product or service, and it can even be useful for inspiring employee loyalty and helping you keep your workers at peak morale. If you are looking for a way to take your business to the next level, consider what starting a blog might be able to do for you.
Blogging for business owners has a lot in common with all other types of blogging, but it has its own unique pitfalls and strengths. The key to having a successful blog as a business owner is keeping your goals clear and concrete at every step of your blogging adventure. It can be all too easy to get sidetracked, especially if you are just learning about the exciting possibilities of blogging technology, but if you want your blog to succeed you need to stay focused. Write up a plan for how often you will update, how you will promote your blog and retain readers, whether you will feature photographs or video, and other aspects of your blog, and then stick to it with the same kind of determination that you used when you built your company.
Friday, October 10, 2008
The Pros and Cons of Video Blogging
Video blogging has a lot of advantages over text-based blogging, and it is little wonder that this new technology is catching on all over the globe. Video blogs very effectively grab the attention of web surfers, and people are much more likely to become excited about the dynamic content of a video blog than they are likely to find a written posting very thrilling. The more enthusiastic viewers are about a site, the quicker the word of mouth spreads, and the more traffic the site will get.
Of course, there are plenty of disadvantages to video blogging as well. Hosting a v-blog requires quite a bit of server space, which can make it difficult to get started. It takes more time to process and upload a video file than it does to dash off a quick bit of text, which means that running and updating a video blog can be quite a bit of work. In addition, web surfers sometimes grow frustrated with the slow loading times of the files on many video blogs. Whether you opt for a video blog or not depends on what kind of subject matter you want to cover, and how much time you can devote to video blogging. Before you decide to pursue a video blog, consider if there is an easier way for you to get your message across.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
The Exciting New Frontier Of Professional Blogging
Professional blogging is a very new idea with a lot of potential for entrepreneurs who have insight, drive, and a basic understanding of today's innovative web technology. The ranks of so-called pro bloggers are still quite small, and there are very few people who make their living entirely off of their blogs. However, every day there are more and more people who have managed to turn their weblogs into cash cows that supplement their income. The number of pro bloggers is growing by leaps and bounds, but it is difficult to say whether this trend will continue.
Many bloggers dream of entering the sphere of professional blogging. There are very few people who happily devote an hour or more each day to their blog without at least occasionally wishing that they could earn some kind of financial reward for all of their work. Several models exist for making money with a blog, the most popular being to sell advertising space through Google's AdSense program or directly through a company that wishes to reach the demographic that your blog appeals to. However, there are very few people indeed who can make a comfortable living just by selling space on their blog sidebars.
A lot of the people who read weblogs are bloggers themselves, in part because of the fact that the people who use blogging technology on a daily basis are most likely to be interested in what other writers are doing with the medium. This fact begins to explain why the people who succeed in the world of professional blogging are mostly people who have devoted themselves almost entirely to learning about, talking about, and writing about blogging. More than any other topic, pro bloggers turn their attention to the phenomenon of blogging itself. A lot of pro bloggers make the topic of blogging the stunningly self-reflexive ongoing focus of their blogs.
Of course, professional blogging is destined to become much more complicated in the future than it is today. In the current moment, pro bloggers who attract the largest audiences and make the most money are mostly concerned with investigating the blogging movement and with offering advice to amateur bloggers. However, as the kinds of people who regularly read blogs changes, and the demographics of bloggers expand and diversify as blogging software becomes more user friendly, it is very likely indeed that the world of pro blogging will begin to reflect these changes. Indeed, it is very difficult to predict exactly what kinds of blogs will be reaping the greatest financial rewards five or ten years down the road. The world of pro blogging is one of constant change and flux, which is part of what makes it so exciting.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Blogging for Profit Begins With a Long Term Plan
Many people dream of blogging for profit, and this goal is not far beyond the reach of someone with average intelligence, a willingness to work hard, and a basic grasp of blogging technology. However, very few people manage to reap the profits they want from their blog. Most people who attempt to make money with their blogs do not succeed for two reasons. Often, bloggers have unrealistic expectations of how fast their readership will grow and how much money they will make, and when these expectations are not met the disappointment can crush the desire to continue blogging. The other trap that many bloggers fall into has to do with lack of planning. If you want to turn a profit as a blogger, the key to success is to make a realistic plan and stick with it.
To succeed at blogging for profit, the main thing that you will need is a large readership. The higher your traffic, the more advertisers will agree to pay you. However, cultivating the regular visitors that you will need in order to make a profit isn't easy. As more and more blogs appear each day, having a great idea or a wonderful writing style is no longer enough to get attention. You need to be able to market your blog effectively.
Too many bloggers spend all of their time writing posts and almost no time marketing their project. To be certain, updating as often as you can is a great way to keep your blog high on blogrolls and high in blog search engines like technorati, and once your readers know that you update frequently they will return to your site on a regular basis. However, it does not matter how often you update if nobody is reading your page, so don't skimp on the time that you spend drawing visitors to your site. To make your dreams of blogging for profit a reality, try decreasing your number of posts and using some of that time to draw new visitors by setting up link exchanges with other bloggers, making contacts in the blog community, and following other established modes of winning traffic.
Of course, even if you are a marketing genius or have a really great idea for a blog, success is not going to happen overnight. Building the kind of readership that blogging for profit requires takes time, and in all likelihood it will be at least several months before you are able to turn much of a profit. Try to stay committed to your blogging project during this initial rough period. To stay motivated, set goals for how often you will update and how many readers you want to attract, and then reward yourself for sticking with your plan.
Friday, February 29, 2008
How To Prevent Your Blog From Getting Chicken Pox?
How can a blog relate to chicken pox, you ask. Imagine what would happen if you are having chicken pox. People stay away from you. Your colleagues or even your Boss would ask you to stay longer at home. Your social activities drop.
If your blog is getting lower traffic each day and your subscribers are leaving every single day. You can tell that you blog is sick. She is weakening and is about to catch chicken pox. Everybody starts to abandon her.
So, what can you do to prevent this from happening to your blog? How do you at least maintain your web traffic if not increasing it? How to get your visitors or readers to come back for more?
Here are what you can do to keep your blog strong and healthy:
1. Update frequently with fresh content
Update your blog at least 2 times a week with fresh content. Make your content interesting and appealing to your readers. Understand who your readers are and find out what they would be interested in. Put yourself in their shoes, what would you like to read or find out from a blog in your niche.
2. Personal touch
Give a personal touch to your blog posts. Your writing doesn't have to be formal, some minor grammar mistakes can still be tolerable. Write as you speak. What readers want is your voice, your insight. They want to know that you are a real person behind the blog and that they are listening to a real person, not computer.
3. Be honest and truthful
Don't be afraid to admit your mistake. Human makes mistakes, everybody makes mistakes. It is okay to make mistake, but you must have the gut to confess. Your readers will forgive you if it is reasonable. If you are newbie, tell upfront, don't try to portray as an expert. People can tell from your writing. That is nothing wrong being a newbie. Be honest, it can make you and your blog more trustworthy. People will come back or even recommend your blog to others.
4. Respond to your readers
Make it a habit to reply your readers' comments. Show them you care what they have to say. Connect with your readers, befriend with them, after all blogosphere is a social network by itself. You have to communicate and interact with your readers to build relationship.
5. Invite participation
You can create activities for your blog by starting a poll or survey. Or simply post a question at the end of your blog post. Encourage your readers to contribute their point of view and their belief on the topic that you are discussing. Get them involved in your blog, make them part of your blog.
6. Be yourself
Simple, just be yourself. Tell your story and share your very own insights and belief. Do not try to imitate someone else. People can "smell" it. Further more, you can't go far by imitating others.
Monday, February 25, 2008
NOT In the Mood To Blog
What to do when you are not in the mood to blog?
1. Read Blogs
I enjoy reading others' blog especially one that's full of remarkable insights like BlogsReview and 5xMom. Don't get me wrong, I don't stalk only money making blogs, I trail personal blogs as well like Esther's .
Don't just read blog without doing any good to your blog. Leave comments on the blogs that you visit. Comments can be positive or negative. Sometimes, I found that negative comments are more moving. These comments push people to react, which in turn is good to get yourself and your site known. Make your comments more constructive instead of critique.
2. Join Forum
Find forums that you are interested in and register as a member. Participate in the forum discussion. Post to the forum using one of these powerful forum post:
a) Ask a question
b) Answer a question
c) Request a critique
d) Make a suggestion
e) Provide an opposing view
f) Agree with a post
g) Provide a link to your YouTube video if you have one
h) Suggest a resource
i) Provide an insider tip
j) Post summary of recent news that is relevant.
The above post ideas are also applicable for comments.
Don't forget to leave a link back to your blog while busy minding others' interest.
3. Watch Online Video
Go to online video website like YouTube, Google Video to search for videos that you are interested in and that your blog readers are interested in. Leave comments that move people. Read why you should leave video comments in my previous post.
4. Join Social Networking Websites
Join online communities that share the same interest and passion. Meet and talk to people online. Do your blog a favor by including a link to your blog in your profile page, let other community members that have the same goals and common interests to checkout your blog. Read how you can promote your blog while socializing online.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Photo Blogging May be the Pinnacle of Modern Technology
Many people feel that photo blogging is the most exciting kind of blogging that exists. Building and maintaining a photo blog is no more difficult than creating and updating a text-based blog, and many people feel that the internet's high speed, full-color technology reaches the pinnacle of its appeal with the transmission of images. Posting photographs in a blog format on a daily, weekly, or occasional basis is a great way to express yourself while reaching viewers in an emotionally charged and aesthetically engaging way, and surfing photo blogs can help you to get a whole new perspective on the world in which we live.
Many people who run image blogs are photographers by trade, but photo blogging is also very popular among hobbyists and amateur shutterbugs. To be certain, a lot of the most popular photo blogs have gained attention because the pictures on them are of the highest artistic caliber, and a lot of the people who run these striking blogs are graduates of prestigious art schools and have impressive professional portfolios. However, some of the most well known and most often visited photo blogs are as notable for their concepts as for the pictures themselves. Certain photo blogs, like the popular "Cute Overload" which features picture after picture of adorable animals, are more about the thematic content of the pictures than they are about the style in which the snapshots are taken.
The fact that photo blogs range from forums to display the work of highly skilled artisans to playful collections of curiosities shows that photo blogging is a truly diverse form. The fact that photo blogs are so easy to build and to update makes this kind of visual communication very democratic, and enables people at all skill levels to become a part of the global conversation about the nature and value of photography today.
Whether you are an artist or hobbyist who wants to create a photo blog, or whether you are just somebody who enjoys learning about new places and things, spending some time looking at the most popular photography blogs on the internet can be a very rewarding endeavor. You can travel to another place or another time by seeing pictures of faraway locations and long-gone eras. You can see your own neighborhood with fresh eyes by discover how local artists have photographed the town or city in which you live. Photo blogging allows people to communicate all of these things and more, which makes it a very exciting part of the modern blogosphere. If the best thing about web technology is that it allows people to reach each other in a very personal way from across great distances, then in many ways photo blogs are the most successful kind of web sites.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Mobile Blogging is on the Cutting Edge
Mobile blogging is an exciting phenomenon that is sweeping the blogosphere. One of the reasons why a lot of bloggers are attracted to the medium of blogging in the first place is that they enjoy being able to make frequent updates and posts that keep all of their visitors up to speed with current situations. Mobile blogs, or "moblogs," take this to the extreme by allowing users to post things literally as they happen. This new wave of moblogs and mobloggers keep web surfers up to date with good and bad events of importance as they occur all over the world, helping to make international communication faster and more accurate.
Many people feel that the limitations of blogging have a lot to do with geography. After all, there is only so current that a blog can be when you need to run home and boot up in order to update it. However, mobile blogging marks the beginning of an thrilling new era when web-based communication can happen spontaneously from any location. Moblogging devices mean that there is almost nowhere on the planet that remains off-limits for bloggers.
Mobile blogging is still in its infancy because the technology that makes it possible has only recently hit the global market. The first moblog technology became available over a decade ago, but it is only the past two or three years that mobile web devices have become user-friendly enough to appeal to most consumers. As camera phones and other mobile technology become more popular, more and more bloggers are getting away from their desks and are hitting the streets. Moblogging is becoming much more widespread, and mobloggers are quickly attracting a lot of attention with the blogging community. It is not yet clear whether moblogs will become the dominant kinds of blogs in the years to come, but the current trend seems to imply that moblogs are here to stay.
Mobile devices make it possible to blog from the sites where current events are unfolding, which is one of the reasons why mobile blogging has so much thrilling potential to revolutionize the blogosphere. A moblogger with a camera phone can post blog entries from, say, the foot of the podium at a presidential speech, or from the stands during the final moments of the world series. This enables bloggers to experience the same real time thrills that live television coverage provides, but in a more democratic medium. The combination of mobility and individual control that moblogging provides certainly places mobloggers on the cutting edge of today's communications technology, and it is hard to imagine that the number and prestige of moblogs will not continue to grow in the coming years.
Your New Baby, Blogging, and Modern Motherhood
For the mother of a new baby, blogging is likely to be the last thing on her mind. Taking care of an infant is an almost incredible amount of work, and between changing diapers and putting the final touches on the nursery, it seems unrealistic to imagine that there would be time left over for any mother to blog. However, a growing number of new moms are joining the blogosphere to share their experiences during this exciting time of life. There is a whole range of benefits that new mothers can reap from blogging, and the spectrum covers everything from getting through the night to helping distant relatives feel closer.
Among the reasons why, for a mom dealing with the hassles and triumphs of a baby, blogging is a great idea, is that having a blog about motherhood is a great way to blow off some steam. Babies often have very erratic sleep patterns that leave parents up at odd hours of the night, and sometimes the best way to fill those hours is on the internet. Many new moms turn to television to help them weather these dawn vigils, but by blogging through the night moms can turn what feels like a somewhat depressing situation into an actively positive and productive one.
Another reason why new moms often find blogging very satisfying is that it helps them to be a part of a community. For moms who are not able to successfully juggle a full social life with the very tough demands of taking care of a new baby, blogging can be a great way to stave off the isolation that sometimes comes with this stage of life. A baby requires constant attention, and it can be difficult to attend social gatherings or events when you are responsible for an infant. Luckily, the blogosphere is full of other moms in the same situation, and by chatting with them it is possible to overcome some of the loneliness that many new mothers are surprised to encounter.
Of course, for a mom with an adorable new baby, blogging can be as much about celebration as it is about necessity. Having a blog about living with a new child can give mothers the chance to reflect on how powerful and warm the sensation of motherhood is, and sometimes sharing the triumphs of this unique time can make them even sweeter. A blog is a great way to keep friends and family updated with news about your baby's first words or first steps, and with new technology it is easier than ever to make photos and video clips a part of your blog, so you can give far-away relatives the chance to feel much more involved in your child's life.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Blogging Teens
Every day, blogs are created by people of all ages and from all walks of life, but when it comes to blogging, teen writers are truly on the cutting edge of the movement. Because today's teenagers are the first generation of people to have grown up using the internet at every stage of their development, many adolescents have a seemingly innate sense of how to use web technology to express their innermost thoughts and ideas. Older writers often experience a kind of learning curve when they begin to blog, but many young people find that using a word processor and blogging software feels more natural and direct a mode of communication than writing in a diary ever could.
One of the reasons why blogs have undergone a kind of explosion in the teen community and are growing by leaps and bounds is the fact that they provide a unique mixture of visibility and anonymity. A teenager can invite friends and peers to read his or her blog with a simple email, thereby winning attention or possibly even praise. Of course, with visibility usually comes the possibility of embarrassment, but the fact that it is possible to blog anonymously with an invented handle or nickname negates a lot of the potential for humiliation. Many blogging teens live in fear that their parents or guardians will discover his or her blog, but by publishing under an alias a teenager can spill his or her secrets without fear of being traced.
Outside the world of blogging, teen writers often have very limited opportunities to be published. Magazines and journals are often reticent to publish young writers who may not have as much credibility as older writers with a lot of experience and extensive credits to their names. This can discourage adolescents from writing or from seeking chances to publish their work. By blogging, young people can begin to gain a following of readers without first having to win the attention and support of an editor or publisher who may not be very interested in teenage authors.
Between the fact that blogs provide young people with a chance to exercise their impressive technical aptitude, to gain visibility without compromising privacy, and to build a readership for their writing without having to jump through the traditional hoops of the publishing industry, it is little wonder that are so many teenagers with blogs. For some teenagers, blogging is even a very social endeavor that allows them to meet people with similar interests from all over the world. Many blogging teens have discovered that having a weblog on the internet is a great way to explore self-expression and, often, to win positive feedback from new friends.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
A Great Idea For a Blogging Web Site is No Longer Enough
Every great blogging web site starts with a great idea, and you can't build a successful site that will last without one. There are many great sites aimed at today's bloggers, and competition for the attention of this growing demographic is fierce. To make your blogging web site stand out from the pack, you will need to offer something that no other site is currently offering, or you will need to do the same thing that an already popular site does but in a more impressive or valuable way.
Friday, January 18, 2008
If you are already blogging ...
If you already spend a fair amount of time blogging, money may come to you literally as soon as you ask for it. Once you have an established blog with a regular readership, it is easy to turn a profit through advertising.
By hosting sponsored links or banners, you can see income from your hobby almost overnight. Even if you did not start your blog intending to turn a profit, making supplementary income from your blog may be easier than you think.
Of course, even for people who have spent months or years blogging, money from advertising revenue may not add up to a large sum. The amount of money that you can make as a blogger depends on a lot of different factors, but perhaps the most important element of the equation is the topic of your blog. If your blog is on a subject that appeals to a demographic that advertisers
have a strong desire to reach, you will be more likely to be able to turn a large profit on your blog than if your blog is on a fairly obscure subject that does not draw the kind of audience that advertisers need to appeal to.
Of course, the only way to find out where you fall on this spectrum is to try hosting some ads. If you are already blogging, you have nothing to lose.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
How to Make Money By Promoting Affiliate Products from Your Blog
If you have a blog of any topic, and you want to make money from it, the best and easiest way to get started is by promoting other's products and earn commissions.
It is different from advertising revenue like Google AdSense or Text-Link-Ads, whereby you can to just slap in some codes and do nothing else.
Affiliate marketing requires lots of pre-selling. But once you have done it properly, you can expect much more income from affiliate products than you can from picky web advertisers.
Here's the technique how you do it:
1. Post a useful product review on your blog
The keyword here is that it must be useful, not just simply any sales pitch. While stressing on the benefits of the product, do not neglect to mention the drawbacks and limitations as well.
People are smart. They know that you are telling them all the good things so that you can make a sale. They know that there must be something that you aren't telling. They will find a way to find out the "negatives" that you aren't telling. So, why don't just tell them everything, but put the negatives in a more positive light and let them decide.
2. Post an Interview with the product owner
Interview the product creator / owner, and put up the MP3 on the blog. Make sure you prepare the content / script before hand when you interview someone.
Mention your affiliate link at the beginning and at the end of the interview - tell people where to get more information on the product. You have to make the URL easy to remember, and don't ever attempt to give out a raw affiliate link during the call. Use a simple page to redirect to your affiliate link.
3. Interlink your articles tactfully
Don't scatter your affiliate links all over your blog -- instead leave them on one or two pages and link all other posts to that page.
Blogging for affiliate income is all about driving traffic to your "money pages", where you spend most of your time writing, preselling the affiliate products.
The common mistake that most people have while promoting affiliate products with blogs -- they copy and paste the promotional emails provided by the product owner into their blogs. By doing so, it serves more like a notice board instead of a useful informative site that people want to come back to.
You need to put in your share of effort by giving good and useful review and tell people what you think about the product. Make sure to promote only the quality products -- in times to come, people will associate your blog or your name with good, quality product. They will be more trustful with the products recommended in the future.
