You are here: Home / Archives for Blogging

Blog Redesign – Easy Tips for Your Next Blog Makeover

July 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

profitable niche ideasA blog makeover may be just what you need to take your blog to the next level. That said, transitioning from an old design to a new one can sometimes be shocking to regular readers. How do you make sure the transition is a pleasant one? How do you make sure your readers will like your new design?

Here are a few tips for doing a successful blog redesign.

=> Start with the “Why”

Perhaps the most common mistake blog owners make with makeovers is to do a makeover when one isn’t necessary.

It’s easy to get bored of a blog’s design when you’re looking at the same thing many hours a day. Your users, however, who may just spend an hour or two on your blog a week, won’t get bored of your design as easily.

Before you launch a blog makeover, it’s crucial to ask yourself why. If you have a really good reason, such as you’re rebranding yourself or you’re appearing in the New York Times and need a more corporate-looking website, then be clear about that goal as you begin the design process.

Don’t change a good working design unless there’s a real business reason to.

=> Do it Right This Time

There are an astounding number of wonderful premium blogs – many of which offer outstanding, professional designs with clean, fast-loading code. Two of my favorites: Studio Themes and Elegant Themes. They aren’t free, but considering all you get, they’re close!

=> Stage It and Work Out the Bugs

Don’t just push a makeover live. Instead, stage it in a subfolder. There are several WordPress plug-ins that can create a staging blog for you on a subdomain. Alternatively, you can just copy your entire site to a new domain and work with it from there.

This allows you to work out the technical and design bugs before the new design goes live. Often times makeovers may seem like they work perfectly on the surface, but invariably there’ll be one or two bugs in the system once you get down to it.

=> Get Some Feedback

Before you push it live, get some feedback from your loyal readers who you have a personal connection with. Ask some of your friends as well.

Ask them for their overall first impressions. Then ask them to browse the site. How easy is it to navigate? Did they get stuck anywhere? Do they have any suggestions?

Once you have the answers, make a round of changes before going live.

=> Watch Your Stats

After your blog goes live, watch your stats. See if your bounce rate or length of time stayed goes up or down.

If people are staying longer on your site, that probably means people liked your new layout and found it easy to use. On the other hand, if people are leaving quickly that probably means they found your new design harder to use.

Watch your stats carefully in the first couple of weeks after a new design goes live. The numbers can tell you a lot about your visitors’ reaction.

In summary, start your redesign process with a purpose. Create the design, then stage it and work out the bugs. Ask for feedback from friends and fans. Finally, watch your stats after you push your blog live.

 

For further study:

Business Blogging Secrets Revealed
Business Blogging Secrets Revealed
Price: $13.92
Rarely does a communication revolution result in a marketplace transformation. The New Media Revolution is one of those extraordinary events. “There is a powerful and profitable pattern unfolding rapidly in business. In this masterpiece, Secrets of Online Persuasion, Deborah and John-Paul Micek take you on an incredible business-building journey from blogging to Podcasting and beyond. What they reveal about the New Media Marketplace will forever change your business. and make it more profit
Start Your Own Blogging Business, Second Edition
Start Your Own Blogging Business, Second Edition
Price: $13.19
Turn Your Blog into Big BucksBlog’s are still one of the internet’s fastest-growing phenomena – and one of the best and easiest ways to make money online. Packed with the latest blog tools, tricks, and up-and-coming trends, this fully revised edition teaches you the ins and outs of creating an eye-catching blog that captures millions of eyeballs and reaps huge financial rewards-all within hours and with little to no financial investment! We’ll rev

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: ,

Building a WordPress Blog People Want to Read

June 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Building a WordPress Blog People Want to Read
Building a WordPress Blog People Want to Read
Review by: ACMSam
If you are new to WordPress blogging, you will find the book “Building A WordPress Blog People Want to Read” by Scott McNulty a very easy-to-read starter guide.

This book is purely a guide about getting your WordPress Blog installed and running; the book doesn’t cover how to manage your content and your readership.

First, you’ll learn the basics of installing WordPress, for example how to set up a MySQL database and choosing the blog’s URL. If you encounter problems, the trouble- shooting guide on common installation problems will be of great help. The Managing User Accounts section guides you through managing user profiles and adding and deleting users. The Dashboard chapter gives information on working with plug-ins, QuickPress and customizing your dashboard for ease of use. Other topics include working with images, pages, templates and anything else you will need to know to post your first blog successfully.

Overall, this book is a good book for beginners. It guides you through the process of taking your first blogging steps to finally hitting ‘send’. In my opinion, it is a good read for people new to blogging and WordPress, as it covers all relevant topics in an easy-to-read format, but is not really suitable for people looking for more in-depth information on WordPress.

Here’s more information about this book, from Barnes & Noble, which currently has this book in stock for $20.30.

Building a WordPress Blog People Want to Read
Building a WordPress Blog People Want to Read
Price: $20.30
Having your own blog isn’t just for the nerdy anymore. Today, it seems everyone-from multinational corporations to a neighbor up the street-has a blog. They all have one, in part, because the folks at WordPress make it easy to get one. but to actually build a good blog-to create a blog people want to read-takes thought, planning, and some effort. From picking a theme and using tags to choosing widgets and building a community, creating your blog really starts after you set it up. In this book by blogger extraordinaire Scott McNulty, you learn how to: Install and get your WordPress blog running. Set up your site to ensure it can easily grow with you and your readers. Be the master of user accounts. Manage your site with the WordPress Dashboard and extend its capabilities with plug-ins. Make the most of images. Work with pages, templates, and links and-of course-publish your posts. Deal with comments-if you even want readers commenting at all. Find a theme-or build one yourself. Maintain your site and fix common problems.

profitable niche ideas

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: , , ,

7 Easy Ways to Boost Blog Traffic with Digg

June 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

profitable niche ideasThere are many ways to increase traffic to your blog. You can advertise your blog. You can optimize your content for the search engines. And you can take advantage of social networking sites like Digg. In fact, social networking interaction can be one of the easiest and most effective traffic-generation tactic.

Here are seven tips:

When Using Digg, Submit Your Most Compelling Blog Posts

Submitting everything you write to Digg is a good way to alienate people. If you want users to take you seriously, then only submit content that is entertaining, very informative or useful.

Submit Other Content Too

Digg is a social networking site. As you might have already experienced on other social networking site, individuals who only promote and don’t interact don’t have too many fans. Once you’ve registered with Digg, install the Digg toolbar on your browser. Spend a few minutes every day submitting relevant and useful content. This is a key way to build your profile and to interact with other users.

Build a Compelling Profile

Simply being a Digg user and contributor will drive some traffic to your website. People will want to know who you are and what you’re about.

Install Digg Buttons

Integrate Digg buttons into your post and blog. You can prompt visitors to “Digg this.” Each time a post is submitted it moves up the results. You reach more people and increase your search engine ranking.

Use Your Resources

The more Digg votes your posts receive, the higher they move in up the results and the higher up they are, the more people see them. This in turn drives traffic to your blog which is your ultimate goal. Don’t hesitate to ask for Diggs from your readers, customers and prospects.

Optimize Your Submissions

When you submit a post from your own blog, optimize the title and description with keywords. Choose the right category for your niche and consider including a photo.

Make Friends

Digg is a social networking site and that means interacting with other members. Get online and chat with fellow Digg members. Ask for reviews or votes and reciprocate when fellow members connect with you.

Digg is a great way to promote your blog and drive traffic. It’s free, powerful and can be your most effective traffic-generation tool in your marketing strategy.

Resources for further study:

Perspectives on Social Media Marketing
Perspectives on Social Media Marketing
Price: $11.02
PERSPECTIVES ON SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING addresses 89 of the most compelling and important issues that marketers face on a regular basis when it comes to social media, providing advice and insight on how to deal with each issue from the perspective of two thought leaders in this arena: Stephanie Agresta from Porter Novelli and B. Bonin Bough from PepsiCo. Together, they discuss what social media is, how it has changed the marketing landscape, how to implement a tactical and strategic social media plan across your organization, how to best measure the ROI of a social media campaign, and more.

Success Secrets of Social Media Marketing Superstars
Success Secrets of Social Media Marketing Superstars
Price: $8.18
Mitch Meyerson, Paperback, Edition: 1, English-language edition, Pub by Entrepreneur Press

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: , , ,

What Should I Blog About? How to find exciting blog topics

May 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

profitable niche ideasAnyone can start a blog, but it takes some serious dedication to keep a blog going.

You may have tons of ideas in the beginning, but after a few weeks or months, you might find it difficult to come up with fresh, new topics for your blog posts. This is often the reason why blogs are abandoned.
But if you’re blogging for business, it’s important to keep your visitors coming back for more. If you’re willing to put a little extra time into it, you can find exciting new topics for your blog.
If you find yourself asking “What should I blog about?” (and who hasn’t?) here are some ideas for generating exciting, fresh, new blog posts:

* Read news related to your blog’s topic. If there’s nothing in the top headlines, search Google News or your favorite news website. There’s a good chance that you’ll find something relevant that you can write about and share your thoughts on. Subscribe to Google Alerts on each of your targeted keywords, so you  know when something new has been published on your topic.

* Ask your readers questions. One of the best things about blogs is the way they encourage reader interaction. While some readers may be too shy to comment, many will savor the opportunity to share their opinions with you and your audience.

* Encourage your readers to ask questions, either in the comments or by contacting you directly. Use these questions as the basis for future blog posts. There are probably other readers out there who have the same questions but aren’t asking them, and they will appreciate the advice.

* Read other blogs on topics related to yours. When you find an interesting post, write about it and share your opinion or expand on the subject. This isn’t stealing the ideas of others; it’s simply giving your own take on what they’ve written. Just be sure to include a link to the original article, and attribute any direct quotes.

* Write a top ten list. If you think about it, there are probably lots of things you can write such a list about. How about a list of the top websites, blogs or books on a subject related to your blog?

* Do a how-to post. Find a subject that will be useful to your regular readers, but also has the potential to attract new readers. These types of posts tend to get lots of search engine traffic!

* Do a round-up of great posts in your niche. Write a post in which you spotlight great videos, informative articles, photos, podcasts and more helpful items that you come across. Many bloggers choose to act as “content curators” on a particular day of the week (publishing Friday Round-ups, for example).

Sometimes blog topics flow freely. Other times you have to put on your thinking cap to come up with something worth writing about. But keeping your blog exciting is worth the effort, because it will keep your current readers interested and keep new ones coming in.

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: ,

How to Find Paid Blogging Work

February 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

profitable niche ideasBlogging can be a lot of fun. It can also be quite lucrative. In fact, some college students are paying their way through school by blogging for others. You can get in on this fascinating career. Here are six ways to find paid blogging work.

Create Your Own Blog

It’s important to have a body of work to show potential employers. If you want to blog for pay, the first step is to create your own web presence. Create a blog on something you’re passionate about. Add to your blog on a regular basis. Make sure your content is compelling and valuable. Also include a page on your blog that markets your blogging services.

Get Active on the Blogosphere

In addition to creating your own blog, comment on other blogs you find interesting. Get involved in the blogging industry. Connect with other bloggers. Comment and engage. If there is a particular blog you’d love to blog for, get involved on it. Make your mark. Engage lively discussions and get the owner’s attention.

Ask

Connect with blog owners in your areas of interest. Let them know you admire their blog. Offer your services. Be sure, in your query, to include a link to your own blog so they can review your writing style. If you’ve been active on their blog, chances are they already know who you are and have taken note.

Guest Blog

While guest blogging is generally not a paid writing gig, it’s a way to garner more attention and credibility. Offer guest blogging services to a few friends and associates. Consider swapping posts. Have them guest blog on your blog as well.

Visit Freelance Job Sites

There are paid blogging opportunities on freelance job sites. They’re very competitive. However, with a notable blog, good samples and a compelling application you can get the job. There are many blogging opportunities on freelance job sites so be patient. If you don’t get the first position, keep trying. Once you get your foot in the door with a blog owner, you can show your stuff.

Network

Last, but certainly not least, networking pays off. Connect with others both online and off. Let people know you’re a writer. Let them know you’re looking for blogging work. Being in the right place at the right time pays off. You may land the blogging job of your dreams.

Blogging for pay is an ideal lifestyle. While you’re searching for paid blogging work, stay active and engaged online. Blog, comment, and interact. Your dream blogging opportunity is just around the corner.

Filed Under: Blogging

Six Figure Bloggers

February 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Do you want to earn more income as a blogger? Here’s what it takes, along with three examples of six-figure bloggers and how they got to where they are.

=> Know Your Stuff

To become a top blogger, you really need to know a lot about a specific topic. Whether that topic is acting or marketing, gardening or travel really doesn’t matter – but you cannot have a generic blog and succeed.

If you’re able to make a specific subset of people say “Wow, this person really knows their stuff” in a specific market, they will love you.

One example is Gary Vaynerchuk. His father owned a wine store that was making $4 million a year. Through video blogging and by showing that he really knew his stuff when it came to wine, he took that business to $60 million a year in under four years.

=> Position Yourself as Number One in Something

It’s hard to make a good living if you’re just another “me too.” If you don’t think you can beat the #1 person, pick a specific subset to be an expert in.

Aaron Wall didn’t try to become an expert in everything about internet marketing; but he did know a lot about SEO. When he first got started in the early 2000s, that was a very specific niche with few people competing.

Today, his blog and his membership program generate high five figures every month.

=> Express Your Personality

People aren’t here just for your information. They’re here for the experience of being on your site. They’re here to experience your personality.

The internet is filled with quirky personalities. From the Lonely Island (I’m on a Boat, I’m the Boss) to the Annoying Orange, quirky personalities get attention, period.

One example of a successful blogger who really puts his personality out there is Steve Pavlina. Pavlina makes a six-figure income from writing his blog “Personal Development for Smart People.”

There are tons and tons of personal development blogs out there. Why do people read Steve’s and not others? It’s simple: Because he has an amazing personality that people can really connect with.

In addition to other things, Pavlina has a habit of doing 30-day challenges where he makes certain commitments and sees what it’s like to stick to them. For example, his raw-foods -only 30-day challenge.  His 20 minutes of sleep every four hours instead of eight hours a night challenge.

People don’t just read for the content, but to see what this wacky guy is up to this week.

These are just three examples of successful bloggers. To be successful, pick a topic you really know something about, post consistently and express your personality. Remember that success doesn’t happen overnight, but as your brand becomes more and more well known, success will come.

For more information:


Read Secrets from Zen Habits

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With:

How to Achieve a Higher Ranking for Your Blog

December 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

writing your first articleDo you blog to support your business? Maybe your blog is your business. If so, then a high page ranking would help you grow and profit.

Strive to achieve a higher ranking for your blog. Grow your profits and your traffic. Here’s how to resolve to achieve a higher ranking for your blog this year.

Step One: Where is your blog right now?

The only way you can set and achieve goals is if you understand where you’re coming from. Take a look at your blog’s current ranking for your identified keywords. What page are you on? Also take a look at your analytics. What keywords do people use to find your blog? This is valuable information.

If you don’t use analytics right now, then consider installing it. Google Analytics is free and it’ll provide a wealth of information. It’ll be difficult to plan and achieve your goals without a means of measuring success. Analytics will help you measure success.

Step Two: Where do you want to go?

Now you might automatically say, “I want to go to number one, of course.” That’s a noteworthy goal. However, consider breaking that ultimate goal into smaller, more manageable steps. For example, if your blog is currently ranking on page nine for your primary keyword, then you may want to first aim for page eight. However, also take a look at your supporting keywords. These generally have less supply and you may be able to reach page one more quickly for these.

Step Three: How are you going to get there?

Once you’ve identified where you are and where you want to go, it’s time to plan. Consider starting with the easiest goal first. For example, if you rank on page two or three for a supporting keyword and are on page nine for your primary keyword, it may be easier to focus on your supporting keywords first.

The key to improved page ranking includes:

* Linking – internal and external
* Keyword-focused content
* Tagging and categories

Create a plan for each keyword you want to focus on. Start with your easiest goal. Create an internal linking strategy to support that keyword. Participate in online activities that motivate others to link to blog posts on that keyword topic. For example, social media is great for driving traffic to a blog.

Finally, create more content focused on that keyword. This isn’t something that’s going to happen overnight, so create a plan to accomplish it. For example, write one blog post each week that focuses on your keyword.

Make sure you’re tracking the results. When you reach your goal, celebrate your success. Give yourself a hearty pat on the back. Then turn your attention to your next keyword.

Through a systematic approach you ca achieve a higher page ranking for all of your primary and supporting keywords.

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: , ,

Finding the Inspiration to Blog

October 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

public relations for home business ownerBlogging isn’t easy – there’s no doubt about it.

As a blogger, you’re requried to come up with frequent, original ideas for frequent, original posts.

Some bloggers blog weekly. Some blog daily and some blog several times a day.

That level of frequency requires a few sources of inspiration.

Here are seven ways to find inspiration as a blogger.

#1 Read the newspaper. Current events are a great source of inspiration. Find articles that relate to your industry and blog about them. You can offer insight, your opinion or add to the content by sharing your knowledge and expertise. One great way to get daily news delivered right to your email box is to sign up for news feeds or Google Alerts. Then you don’t have to subscribe to a paper to have access to current events and information.

#2 Read magazines. Magazines tend to take a more consumer friendly approach to content than newspapers. They’re written to be reader friendly. Read and stay current with industry magazines. In addition to helping you stay current and informed, and provide inspiration you’re your blog, they can alert you to trends. Trends are a very helpful source of blogging inspiration.

#3 Network, online and off. When you’re interacting with others online and off, you’re exposed to new ideas, new viewpoints and new questions. You also experience new things which can also be fuel for your blog. You’ll be amazed the number of blog topics and ideas that can transpire from one meaningful conversation. Simple eavesdropping on online conversations can also generate blog topic ideas.

#4 Visit your competition. Your competition can be a source of inspiration. Often it’s a contrary or backlash approach. You may read an article or blog they’ve posted and have an emotional response to it. This is great fuel for blog content.

#5 Read other industry blogs. Your competition aside, reading the leading blogs in your industry accomplishes several business building tactics. You put yourself in contact with experts in your industry and you increase your exposure. Additionally, you’ll glean great content inspiration not only from the blog post themselves but also from the reader’s comments.

#6 Subscribe to a blog idea generator. There are services available that will generate daily, monthly or weekly blog ideas for you. They’re based on general topics like, health, parenting and business, but they can be a good source for inspiration.

#7 Look outside the standard format. Look for things to review, resources to provide and opinions to share. Every blog post doesn’t need to be a how to article.

Blog inspiration is all around you. The trick is to open yourself up to it and to capture the ideas as they come to you. Keep a notebook or recording device with you at all times. You’ll never be without a blog idea again.

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: , ,

Blogging Inspiration: “What Should I Blog About Today?”

June 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Do you find yourself asking “What should I blog about today?”

Do you sometimes have a little trouble with blogging inspiration?

Even the best bloggers get writers block on occasion. Here are some tips to use when it happens to you.

Don’t wait to feel inspired. A lot of writers sit around and wait for inspiration. If you do this, you will likely end up never writing again.

One of the best methods is to set aside a block of time each day, and make sure you write during that time. Even if the writing is not great quality, at least you are getting the wheels rolling. And, if you are in a regular habit of writing, it will get easier to face that blank page each time. I find that, even if I skip a day of writing, it’s harder on me the next time to get started. Develop a routine and write daily.

But how do you find good blogging  ideas?

It’s true: one of the main problems frequent bloggers have is finding compelling things to write about. Here are seven of the most effective strategies for finding blogging ideas:

#1) Examine blog comments

Take note of the problems and questions your readers consistently comment about, and write on that. If you have a blog related to golf, and every other comment is about slicing, then write a post on that.

#2) Ask your readers what they want you to write about.

If you are still stuck after reading your comments, this can be a very effective strategy.

#3) Look at your most popular posts.

If they are the most read, it’s because there is interest in them. Focus on writing more posts related to that topic.

#4) Tell stories about your life

When all else fails, just write about yourself. Every post doesn’t necessarily have to be about the niche you are in. If you look at the most successful marketers, all of them have developed a very unique personality by incorporating themselves into their writing. Ideally, you’ll find a way to tie the story with your niche somehow.

#5) Look at the keywords for your niche.

The best way to get traffic for a blog is by ranking in the search engines. So just picking a keyword and writing on that is a great way to see the problems people are having in your niche. Then come up with a solution.

Just use your favorite keyword tool and generate as big a list as possible.

#6) Brainstorm

Shut yourself in your office, turn off your email and phone and any possible distractions. Then come up with a list of every conceivable post you could write on that’s related to your topic.

#7) Look at Yahoo Answers as well as other forums in your niche.

What are people asking questions about? Find out what people most want to know, then research the answers and give real solutions to their problems.

cover-284x273For more help with your blog, sign up for Leo Babauta’s free report “How I get 100,000 subscribers in 2 years”

Leo is the mastermind and incredible blogger behind Zen Habits – and other successful blogs.)
In this report, Leo will tell you:

  • What three things make a blog go viral.
  • How to skyrocket your subscriber count.
  • His most effective strategies.
  • How to build a successful career as a blogger.

It’s free. Click here for details >

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: , , , ,