There are probably as many reasons for writing a blog as there are people writing them. In my travels around the internet I have seen a huge variety of them, some wonderful, some weird.
The kind of blogs I like to read are those that are neat and tidy in their layout (like my one!) making it easier to read them. I prefer if there are not too many ads littered all over the page, but its actually nice to see some ads on a page. Many is the time when I have clicked on an ad on someone's blog and found it led to something that I have later used a lot.
I don't really like blogs that seem to be shouting at me. You know the kind, blaring loud ads, or some kind of political harangue. And I also detest those stupid pop ups that float across the screen at you and tell you that a customer adviser would like to have a one to one chat with you. And those boxes that come up and say things like, Please don't leave!
I think I'm not alone in having the above likes and dislikes, I think that most people feel the same way. After all, we do not like to feel that we are just ciphers, or that we are just ad fodder. And we like to be treated like we are just a little bit intelligent and that we are capable of making our own decisions. I mean, think about it, how do YOU want to be treated when you are reading someone else's blog. That is, or should be, your criterion when you are making a decision about what to put into your blog or what to leave out.
So my advice is, when you blog, don't shout or beg or wheedle or try to con your readers, keep it calm and reasonable. Just be yourself, treat your readers nicely. They will love you for it!
The Blogs We Like
13 Tips on Writing Blog Posts That Sell
By Jane Robinson
If you are struggling to write posts on your blog and want to improve your style there are a few things you can use to create more interesting blogs.
1. Think of a catchy headline. Your potential reader surfing the net, often stumbles across you via a search engine and all they have to go on is the title, so think of short catchy titles that might catch their attention. It also means you can practice your own skills in writing headlines for your sales letters of the future.
2. Keep your sentence structure short and simple. This isn't about using big words and convoluted (there's a big word for you!) sentences, its about being understood and getting your points across.
3. Get to the point. Put the most interesting information at or near the beginning and engage your reader. There is no point in waffling on, people will lose interest.
4. If you are unsure about anything, research it,don't make it up. Go and look at reputable sources. Check and double check your sources
5. You could make bullet point lists, its easier to scan and your readers will often scan rather than read fully at least to start off.
6. Make your posts consistent in style. Don't chop and change style.
7. Proof read. Copy and paste it into word and do a spell check. Simple (you can do a word count at the same time).
8. Write with your reader in mind. You are giving information,they want to know what is in in for them. Let them know about the information on offer early on .
9. Keep it lively. Write like you are talking to a friend but make it short and snappy.
10. Think about using keywords. Use them naturally when you are blogging.Think about what keywords people might search for and drop them into the posts where you can. Pepper your posts with keywords without losing the natural flow.
11. Time is money. People don't stay around for long. Give them maximum information and minimum words. Write short sentences and use commas and dashes. This breaks up the post and makes it more appealing to the eye.
12. Ask a question at the end or invite a comment. Encourage interactivity!
13. Be opinionated when possible but only if you feel like it and don't mislead. Creating conflict and tension is what writing is all about and people want to know what other people think, that's the beauty of blogging.
So before you hit the save and publish button ask yourself the following:
-Does it engage?
-Is it clear what the post is about?
-Can someone read the title and have a good idea?
-Do the opening paragraphs give an idea of the content and why someone should read on?
-Would someone who knew nothing about the topic, understand the post?
-Have you got some keywords in?
-Have you written with the reader in mind?
-Have you asked a question at the end or invited them to engage in some way?
There are a lot of things you can do to improve your blog posts.
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I provide help and information on blogging for newbies. FREE tips for you,how to start on the internet, problems you will face and how you solve them. I have been there believe me!
Jane Robinson
Why Should I Start a Blog?
Do you find yourself wanting to write about the things you enjoy? Do you have something of value to share? Will your expertise in a certain topic help others?
The above are questions you may want to ask yourself to find the answers to "Why should I start a blog"?
I've asked myself that question many times before actually launching my blogs. My niche is business entrepreneurship so I decided to express my thoughts and expertise by writing what has helped me along the way. My passion is to help others benefit through my experience and knowledge.
The questions that helped me along the path to deciding why should I start my blog (s) are:
1. Why
2. What
3. When
4. Where
Why start a blog?
Why not? I can list hundreds of reasons why starting a blog would be beneficial to you and your business. First, it allows me to express myself through my writing. I can share my expertise in a blog that can be seen by many. It is a form of promoting myself and my knowledge on a certain topic.
What do I write about?
I write about things that will interest those seeking information about starting a lucrative home-based business. What inspires you? You can post photos and write about what inspired that photograph. You can also post videos of your favorite song and write about what makes it so special and why you feel others may think the same. You can write anything that has helped you become successful so that others won't have to re-invent the wheel so to speak. There are hundreds if not thousands of blogs that are unique in many ways. Think of the things that bring you joy and share them with others. If you enjoy writing, then showcase your writing skills.
Provide basic, real, useful information as well as resources to go along with the information you're writing. What are your interests? Will it interest your readers as well?. Offer "how to tips", "top ten tips", etc., did it make you successful? Be creative!
There will be times when you are going to encounter writer's block. It happens to the best of us. Not to worry, look for other interesting articles that are related to your blog theme. Remember to ask for permission to use an article and never alter the content of a guest article. These can help when you're experiencing writer's block big time.
When do I blog?
Personally, I love to write and post to my blogs 4 times a week. Others, may want to blog on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, it's up to you. Perhaps you may want to get your feet wet first and start off slowly, that's fine also. Remember that the goal is to write often so that you can create a long lasting readership for your blog visitors.
Where do I host my blog?
There are many hosting companies out there. Visit VisionThisHosting.com or if your a new blogger, blogger.com is a great place to start. Do you prefer to have your own domain name? Check out NameCheap.com. Again, there are hundreds if not thousands of hosting and domain registration sites out there to choose from.
Most of all, have fun! Find something that does not feel like a task but is fun to write about. Show your personality through your content writing and make your readers comfortable.
There are many other ingredients to spice up your blog and add important value to your readership. Remember start with your own writing first and everything else will fall into place!
So, with that said. Why should you start a blog? Tell me what you think.
Sonia Yvette Colon is writer/publisher of http://www.myfashionemallblog.net & http://thebizbuzzofalatinamom.blogspot.com
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Smart, Efficient and Productive Blogging - Boosting Your Blogs Benefits
The more efficient you become in your blog posting and blogging endeavors the more time you will have to do research to improve the accuracy of your content. Additionally, you can use the extra time to edit and improve the use of white space and format of your posts, so you can create quality content that your readers and subscribers will be glad to come back to; time and time again.
Think about how much time you spend considering what to post on your blog, how much time to write it up, and edit it. Then consider the time you spend to post it and find the appropriate pictures. If you are a seasoned blogger perhaps you can do all this in under 35 minutes for a 150-200 word quality blog post. Now then, if you can cut this time down, you can boost your blogging benefits by creating a second or third blog to attract your target audience or in the case of a business blog, your target customers.
What I recommend and realize I have nearly 10,000 blog posts already; is to carry with you a small note book and when you think of a title write it down and jot down a couple of thoughts about what you want to post. Then resume your day. By the end of the week you might have ten or more ideas and this will be much easier than trying to force creativity when you finally decide to sit down and pick out topics.
Bloggers Block, like writer's block may not be real, it may all be psychological, but like the pain we often feel, it sure seems real to us. So, see what you can do to cut down this extra time you spend trying to dream up blog posts and this will definitely help improve your blogging efficiency.
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The Best Free Blog Hosts On The Net
by Don Alexander
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 Eponym as a kind of incubator for your blog is great news for bloggers everywhere.
Don Alexander is owner of leading-online-business.com
and writes on a variety of subjects. To learn more
about this topic Don recommends you visit http://www.leading-online-business.com
http://www.websuperaffiliates.com, and
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Using Your Blog to Promote Your Affiliate Programs
by
Creating a blog is a great way to popularize your affiliate programs because you can achieve greater results for the affiliate program you are working with. When blogging, consider the type of people who may be surfing your blog; find out if they are looking for any specific products or related accessories and find out what it is that may inspire them to make a purchase. Using these points, start a blog that generates interest in your affiliate program. This in turn helps you to make even more money through your affiliate programs.
When mentioning your affiliates within your blog try to give genuine recommendations of your products and services. Blog readers or bloggers will come back if you gain their trust and respect through your own honesty. Don't give glowing reviews of your products expecting more sales. If you provide sincere reviews, you are sure to get more orders than with fabricated reviews. This is because everyone wants to know what exactly it is that they are buying, before buying it!
It is always better to use contextual deep links. There is no point in just placing some banner ads, thinking that upon seeing this banner ad, surfers will visit the site. Contextual ads prove to be beneficial only if you advertise products that are related to the blog that you write. Place links of services or products that are relevant to the content found. It is with this tactic that your blog on affiliate programs will become profitable.
When placing links of products or services of affiliate programs, make sure that the links are placed on the hotspots of pages. The hotspots of a page may be the top of the left hand side bar or at the end of your comments. Basically, the parts of a page that are most likely to be read by a surfer. Never clutter all of your affiliate programs within a single blog.
Don't use too many affiliate program links within one blog, as with this, you stand to run the risk of reducing the effectiveness of your links. With this reduction of the effectiveness of your links, you only disillusion the readership of your blog. Be as transparent as possible about your affiliate programs. Don't attempt to trap readers into clicking on links hoping that they will buy your product or use your service.
Labeling your affiliate links is not that feasible an idea for your blog. However, you will have to somehow make people know what link they are clicking on by putting a note under or beside your affiliate links. This note is just to inform what the link is; and not to force them to click on the link to make a purchase for you. However, sometimes the name of the product or service is sufficient to inform the blogger on the product or service you offer.
Finally, consider combining your affiliate programs with other revenue sources on your blog. The best means of finding out the effectiveness of affiliate programs on your blog would be by using some tracking package to track which links are most effective. Find out which links sell more products, and which do not.
Keeping a track of the best positions for your affiliate program links, the products that sell the most and which wording works well with your links all help in improving your affiliate program blogging strategy.
Scott White has the top SEO Tips, Facts, and Articles and Jet Charter Arizona, White Inc.,
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Blogging, Can It Make Money For You?
By Jim Swank
Blogging is a good way to meet people. Blogging isn't dead but it has sure narrowed down to those who update their blogs regularly. Blogging is bringing new voices to the online world. Most bloggers focus on personal experiences, not politics 7/19/2006 | Release. It is more about speaking out and meeting other people that agree with your narrow point of view. Blogging is easy, almost instant, publishing of content to a website, where every entry is preserved in a database and is therefore categorizeable and searchable.
Blogging
Blogging combined the personal web page with tools to make linking to other pages easier - specifically permalinks, blogrolls and trackbacks. Blogging was used to draw attention to obscure news sources. It can sometimes have unforeseen consequences in politically sensitive areas. Blogging by established politicians and political candidates, to express opinions on war and other issues, cemented blogs' role as a news source.
Bloggers
Bloggers began to provide nearly-instant commentary on televised events, creating a secondary meaning of the word "blogging": to simultaneously transcribe and editorialize speeches and events shown on television. Bloggers think that good argument and strong opinion cause people to seek information, an equally logical sequence. They post about their day or their opinions on different matters. Bloggers consume and extend the shelf life of our reporting, and they scrutinize it at a new level of intensity. They can critique, fact-check or applaud journalists on their own platform, as well as offer their own analysis of world events.
Journalism
Journalism is defined in the Penguin English Dictionary as "a profession managing editing or writing for newspapers or perodicals'. Journalism is always up for grabs, because it only exists in a free society, which is free to redefine itself and always does. Journalism, for many who blog, is one thing they are blogging against. Established schools of journalism began researching blogging and noting the differences between journalism and blogging. It's about how blogs and participatory journalism are changing the business of persuasion.
Google should realize that controversy and selling ad space does not go hand in hand and make sure it doesn't happen again, otherwise people will stop seeing Google in terms of 'not being evil' and see it just as another service provider which would massively decimate not only the good will but also the value of the brand name. Google already crossed a line by setting up a blog specifically to cater to the health care industry. Google can't tell the difference, and customers googling may not care that an opinion they find distasteful is "only being done in off hours. But Google is shamelessly using structural information and photos culled from blogs in its own products (like restaurant search in Google maps).
Personal
Personal bloggers take pride in their blog posts, even if their blog is never read by anyone but them. Personal blogs may not be important to readers, but for the people who write them, they are works of art. Personally don't feel what I'm putting would be that interesting to most people. Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. The modern blog evolved from the online diary, where people would keep a running account of their personal lives. Blogging combined the personal web page with tools to make linking to other pages easier - specifically permalinks, blogrolls and TrackBacks.
Money
There's a good chance that if you are reading this you make money online or want to. I think that making money while blogging is like watching grass grow. The reality for most chasing a quick buck from blogging is that few except those at the top of the blogosphere succeed in raking in a lot of money. The vast number of people looking to make a second income from blogging already own and write their own blogs and don't make much money; simply a low paid network blogging job is often more than what they are making from their own blogs. Blogs don't generate that much money so there's no reason to have minimum wages and benefits for bloggers.
Blogging is changing, and for the better. It is a good way to meet people. Blogging isn't dead but it has sure narrowed down to those who update their blogs regularly.
For more information about blogging and other marketing methods, go to Jim Swanks website at: http://www.MultiAffiliateIncomes.com
Jim Swank has been in the internet marketing field for a number of years. His particular area of expertise is showing others how to make a second income on the internet.
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