Make Money Quick With Google Adsense

Do you want to make money quick? In this article we are going to
talk about one of the quickest ways you can make money. Making
money quick is not only possible there are people doing
it everyday with Google Adsense.

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src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">

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Google AdSense delivers text and image ads that match the
content on your website. These are very targeted ads that you
can choose the size and color of and they come across to your
customer as helpful more than an ad itself.

Google Ads require virtually no maintenance and they help you
put advertising on your website without actually having to deal
with advertisers yourself. If you can copy and paste a small
code you can have targeted advertising on your website in
minutes.

Adsense is simple to join and it is free to join. Whether you
are an internet newbie or a veteran you can profit quickly by
placing Google Adsense ads on your web pages.

Displaying Google Adsense in Blogs

Google® Adsense® can be a great tool for making money. Blogs are also becoming a great tool for making money. Many people know that the most profitable position to place Google® Adsense® ads is inline with your article text. The dilemna many of us face is that the Google® Adsense® Terms of Service only allow 3 ad blocks per page. The reason this is a problem for bloggers is that most blogs show more than three posts on the main page or in the archives section of the site. When this is the case you can't post an article Google® Adsense® in the article.

While setting up my wife and her friend's new site (www.naturalfamilynews.com), I came up with a trick using JavaScript to fix that problem. The code I wrote works perfectly in WordPress, but you should be able to adapt it to any blog that uses templates.

Step 1. In the head section of the template (between the and tags), you insert the following JavaScript code:



Step 2. Go to the template used to display your post (in WordPress the main template). Then insert the following code inside the display area for the post:



Step 3 Insert your Google® Adsense® code directly following the tag that you inserted in Step 2 above.

Step 4 Insert the following code after the tag from the Google® Adsense® code you inserted in step 3 :



Step 5. Save your changes and test it out.

What this does is create a new DIV section in your code that is hidden if it appears more than three times on the page. So only three ads will appear on any page. If you use Google® Adsense® in other places in your blog, then you will need to adjust the number "temp" in the first step up to display less inline ads. For instance, only two inline ads will appear if you change the code to:



Only one inline ad will appear if you change it to:

How to Cash In on Blogs

Over the past year or so, more and more webmasters have been creating their own blogs (web-logs). If you don't already know, a blog is sort of an online diary which is updated at regular intervals by the author(s), and can be viewed by the public.

Blogs can have a wide variety of topics, including personal thoughts, news, sports, politics, technology, or virtually anything else you can think of. And like any other website, a blog can be used to make money.

The most popular way make money with your blog is to put some sort of pay-per-click text ads on it. Some companies that will pay you for doing this are Google Adsense (http://www.google.com/adsense) and BidClix (http://www.bidclix.com). Depending on the topic that you choose to write about, your ads might make anywhere from $0.05 to $1.00 per click.

To start publishing your own blog, visit Blogger.com, and to pick up some free traffic for it, check out BlogExplosion.com.

How To Generate Solid Web Profits Through the Blog Revolutio

Blogs were originally only meant to be 'Web Logs', or personal journals for members of on-line communities to stay in touch, sort of like 'underground news media'. But, it didn't take long for net-repreneurs (internet entrepreneurs) to catch on to their popularity and to find ways to use them to make money. The human mind is infinitely creative and nothing really stays the same.

This awesome entrepreneurial spirit transmogrified Blogs into what they are today: very powerful marketing weapons that have almost made some other forms of advertising, redundant. It never ceases to surprise me how ingenious people are when it comes to finding new ways to generate cash flow, particularly in web marketing - what a power-house!! It leaves real-world business for dead (in my opinion).

Traditional safelists are becoming somewhat threadbare. Isn't it amazing how quickly business changes on the 'Net, and isn't it weird how safelist people 'spin their wheels' by posting, posting, posting, when most messages go to 'junk' in-boxes to be automatically deleted. You can send out a whole lot of messages with safelists, but only a tiny percentage are likely to be actually read by a real person. Maybe that's why email traffic is threatening to choke the Internet. Because of this, many canny web business people have now shifted to Blogs as their main tool for promotion. Many others, like me - who continue to believe that safelists have a role (when properly used) -have made Blogs a valuable extra facility in their marketing toolboxl.

Blogs have become so popular because they are so very user-friendly for advertising. They are practical, easy to set up and very convenient to use. Keeping content up to date is very easy for webmasters who otherwise would have to spend hours uploading and downloading files. Be warned, however, that setting up a 'Free' Blog, will mean you will have a lot of other people's ads on it (There's no such thing as a 'free lunch'). It's always worth paying because, yes, you get what you pay for.

Anyway, There are probably five key methods (and a whole lot more) you can use to ensure that Blogs pump up your web profits.

1. BLOGS ARE MAGNETS FOR SEARCH ENGINES: Go on, get on to Google and, whatever topic you search, you'll inevitably see that the search engines have thrown up a number of Blogs in the top ten results. This is because Blogs are constantly showing fresh, new and key word friendly content just like your web pages should; that's a Blog's very reason for being. Imagine the value to you of having your own Blog pop in the top end of search results. The ubiquitous search engines clamor to highlight fresh, appropriate content - they love it. Constantly re-newed and freshened Blogs leave stale, ageing (and rarely updated) web sites for dead.

2. BLOGS LOVE TO LINK TO EACH OTHER: Yes, Blogs love to stick together, creating networking 'heaven'. Just one link on your Blog could see visitors drop in from all over the place. Wow - visitors queueing to click your links; how powerful is that for an advertising and traffic generating system. Awesome.

3. YOUR CUSTOMERS WILL APPRECIATE REGULARLY HEARING FROM YOU. You see, Blogs today have this great 'comment' facility which means your people - your customers - can ask you questions and give you valuable feedback almost immediately. This is almost like a 'chat' system, and is quicker than email. Forget about having to manipulate your source codes, Blogs make this unnecessary. Blogs have an amazing comment system that allows your customers to immediately post feedbacks and queries. And that's what service on the net is all about today - quick responses, dependable advice and getting what you want, when you want. Now. And Blogs can do it.

4. PUMP UP YOUR ADSENSE PROFITS: If you're into Pay Per Click marketing, well Blogs are ideal for you. Then can stimulate even more regular traffic than your basic garden variety web site. Google AdSense, god bless 'em, even lets Blog owners show as many as three appropriate ads, and these must relate to your theme and content, on their Blog pages. It's Blogging marvelous!! Here's the key reason why your Blog should have a 'niche', a specific theme, a targeted audience. Take time to give some thought to this when you set up a Blog. What about AdSense? The more visitors - and they're likely only dropping in because of what you specifically offer - who click on your Blog's Adsense ads, the more income you can earn.

5. BLOGS ARE A DREAM FOR AFFILIATE MARKETERs: Like me, I just bet you are enrolled in more affiliate programs than you can count. The problem is how to continue to promote all of them. ANSWER - You can easily use Blog 'reviews'. Simply design each Blog entry around the particular affiliate program you want to focus on that day. Extol the virtues of the program, product, service or what-ever, give good advice about the PROs and the CONs (this objectivity impresses the hell out of potential buyers who are usually pleased with honesty) and include your affiliate link, almost as an after-thought. This is not hard-sell territory. This is the 'soft-sell' Most 21st century people run a mile from 'hard sellers' but they will take time to listen if they believe you are giving good, solid, valuable advice. Providing such good, valuable info encourages your people to come back for more. Hey, you don't even need to create an individual page for every affiliate program because Blogging makes this unnecessary. What a time saver!!

Whew. Blogs do get me a bit excited. And these tips are only the tip of the iceberg. I am sure you can be creative in the marketing use of your Blogs because they have enormous potential. Just check out the exponential growth of Blogs today and you'll see what I mean. If you want fresh Blog ideas, all you have to do is cruise through a few of them. Check out what the pros are doing and, do the same. Remember, imitation is the ultimate form of flattery.

What Every Blogger Needs To Know About Their Target Audience

It doesn't matter what kind of web site you have you must
understand your target audience and know what it is that
they want. Please notice that I used the word want and not
the word need. There is a world of difference between wants
and needs. For example you might need a means of getting
from A to B and almost any vehicle would fulfil that need;
but what you really want is a top of the range BMW!

I write my blog with just one person in mind. In my minds
eye I have come to know that person intimately, I understand
his goals, his dreams and his aspirations and I know the
things that really interests him. He is my ideal reader, he
soaks up every word and he clicks every link I include in
each blog post.

Clearly, you can't please all the people all of the time.
So, the best strategy is to focus on pleasing the people you
can influence. You don't want passive readers, you want
people who will take action. Readers who will click a link
because you have recommended a new eBook or a new software
product. Readers who will click the "Buy Now" button and
earn you an affiliate commission.

So, what do you need to know about your target audience?

You will get two types of people coming to your site...
People with whom you have built up a relationship and who
like to read your blog. People who have come to your site
for the very first time. You have two jobs to do. You have
to keep the first type of people coming back and you have to
grab the second type of people's attention, persuade them to
stay long enough to engage their interest and to convert
them to loyal readers.

Just think - when you are online what is it that you want to
achieve? The majority of people online are looking for
something. It's unlikely that they are just surfing in a
random fashion, although some people will do that. When
online people are usually looking for specific information
or seeking the solution to a problem.

Your job as a blogger is to make that information, and those
solutions, available so that they can be found. In other
words your content must closely match the wants of your
target audience.

Make sure that your blog has a well defined theme and try to
stick to making posts that stay on topic. Keep up to data
with the news within the theme of your blog and provide your
readers with your opinions on relevant and interesting
items. Encourage feedback and always respond to questions
from your readers.

Use a blog script or service that allows the easy addition
of RSS feeds so that your blog site has fresh new content as
soon as it is available.

Above all remember that each and every visitor to your site
is a real person with feelings and emotions and be prepared
to reveal something yourself in your posts. Your readers are
much more likely to trust you if you allow them to get to
know you.

What Every Blogger Needs To Know About Their Target Audience

It doesn't matter what kind of web site you have you must
understand your target audience and know what it is that
they want. Please notice that I used the word want and not
the word need. There is a world of difference between wants
and needs. For example you might need a means of getting
from A to B and almost any vehicle would fulfil that need;
but what you really want is a top of the range BMW!

I write my blog with just one person in mind. In my minds
eye I have come to know that person intimately, I understand
his goals, his dreams and his aspirations and I know the
things that really interests him. He is my ideal reader, he
soaks up every word and he clicks every link I include in
each blog post.

Clearly, you can't please all the people all of the time.
So, the best strategy is to focus on pleasing the people you
can influence. You don't want passive readers, you want
people who will take action. Readers who will click a link
because you have recommended a new eBook or a new software
product. Readers who will click the "Buy Now" button and
earn you an affiliate commission.

So, what do you need to know about your target audience?

You will get two types of people coming to your site...
People with whom you have built up a relationship and who
like to read your blog. People who have come to your site
for the very first time. You have two jobs to do. You have
to keep the first type of people coming back and you have to
grab the second type of people's attention, persuade them to
stay long enough to engage their interest and to convert
them to loyal readers.

Just think - when you are online what is it that you want to
achieve? The majority of people online are looking for
something. It's unlikely that they are just surfing in a
random fashion, although some people will do that. When
online people are usually looking for specific information
or seeking the solution to a problem.

Your job as a blogger is to make that information, and those
solutions, available so that they can be found. In other
words your content must closely match the wants of your
target audience.

Make sure that your blog has a well defined theme and try to
stick to making posts that stay on topic. Keep up to data
with the news within the theme of your blog and provide your
readers with your opinions on relevant and interesting
items. Encourage feedback and always respond to questions
from your readers.

Use a blog script or service that allows the easy addition
of RSS feeds so that your blog site has fresh new content as
soon as it is available.

Above all remember that each and every visitor to your site
is a real person with feelings and emotions and be prepared
to reveal something yourself in your posts. Your readers are
much more likely to trust you if you allow them to get to
know you.

Driving Free Traffic To Your Blog

How can you drive "free" traffic to your blog? You can't. But that's only because nothing is really free. In the end you can either buy traffic with money or you can buy traffic by investing time. Time IS money, hence my statement that there's no free traffic.

If your goal is to drive traffic to your blog and pay for it with an investment of your time, instead of with gold or coin of the realm, then you're in luck because that is entirely possible if you are ingenious enough to figure out the best ways to do it.

Therein lies the problem. Let's make believe that time really IS money. Let's make believe that you only have 10 hours in your "time bank account" to spend on finding ingenious ways to drive traffic to your blog without writing checks or whipping out the charge card. How should you invest that money?

The answer for most people is to start sniffing around the Internet looking for other people's ideas and suggestions. You'll run across all of the amateur ideas like: "Advertise your blog on Free-For-All (FFA) link sites" or "join e-mail safe lists". Yeah, why not just post ads everywhere saying "Here is my email address. Please SPAM me". Because that's all you are going to get in return.

Moving a bit further up the idea chain you'll probably encounter people who say "Get links from other blogs that point to yours". Now that's a wonderful idea, and it does work, but consider this: There is new blog appearing on the Internet every 7.8 seconds! If every blogger started asking every other blogger for reciprocal links, then entire Internet would likely come to a dead stop in about a week due to the shear volume of email that all of those requests would generate. Not to mention all of the time that you have to spend finding suitable blogs to link to, contacting the owners and managing the link process.

If you've only got those imaginary 10 hours to spend on finding ways to drive free traffic to your site, then you have to zoom in on those underutilized "secret", not-everyone-and- his-brother-is-doing. "ah ha moment" methods that showcase your blog like a lamp burning at the top of a mountain at night. You need solid ideas that really work.

The best way to find solid ideas that really work is to find someone who already has invested the time in discovering and improving those ways and who is willing to share them with you.

That means that the best way to DISCOVER free ways to drive traffic to your blog is to BUY those secrets from a pro. Sure, you're spending money to acquire the information, but you'll end up with some great traffic-builders that aren't going to cost you a penny out of your REAL banking account to implement.

The end result is: You get free, quality traffic to your blog and you didn't waste 10 hours (10 weeks is more like it), trying every harebrain scheme that you encountered on the 'net while you were looking.

Go to the experts when you need help. That's my idea of investing your time AND your money wisely.

Make Money with Google Adsense

Google AdSense is easy to install on a web page or blog and constitutes additional source of income without spending anything. You have to apply on-line for Google AdSense Program and generally approval comes from Google within two days. Those having AdWord account can use AdWord e-mail address and password for AdSense account also. After acceptance of application, Google confirms creation of your Adsense account thru e-mail. You get a code for AdSense text ads and another code for AdSense search. These codes are to be installed on web page or blog and within minutes the page will start displaying ads from Google, and a Google search bar. AdSense is available in dozen languages worldwide.

The code for AdSense can be placed on any of your web pages. I think placing it on your blog will give you distinct advantage because blogs have several points in their favor. They are easily indexed by search engines. Recently two of my simple blogs were indexed by Google within 2-3 days of submission of URL's which I think is quite fast. With Yahoo! it is even easier - just add the URL of your blog to your My Yahoo page and Yahoo! will start accessing it immediately. GoogleAlert is a free tool that can be used to know when your blog is indexed by Google.

You can have your blog up and running in minutes free of cost from several sites that provide this service. I personally use blogger.com. With blogs you do not need to worry about designing websites, registering domain name or hiring web site hosting service. You simply write your content on the blog and it is ready for publication.

An excellent article by John Taylor on creating blog is re-published here:

http://sanjay-j.com/art1ab33.html

With AdSense wide range of options is available - number of ads for display, shape and size of display, color schemes. More than 200 colors are available from which you can choose color for border, background and text. 24 pre-set color palettes are readily available; in addition you can have your own custom-palette to match with the appearance of your web page. Similarly, color schemes are available for Google search bar.

When the web page is opened, Google ads are placed which match with the content of the page and are highly relevant. Google finds right ads for the web page from 100,000 AdWord advertisers.

Several options are available for the ads that you would like to be displayed on your page. Ad filters can be activated which will block up to 200 URL's of your choice which you do not want to show on your page. You may like to filter away ads from your competitors. You can even choose your own default ads for display. Google uses sensitive content filters to prevent display of sensitive material. If you find that your page is not really getting relevant ads, it may be time to look critically at the content of the page, particularly the keywords used in text, links and tags. Little SE optimization of the page should resolve this problem.

Sometimes Google places public service ads when no target ads are available. To suppress public service ad, it is possible to specify your own image ad or HTML page ad which will appear in place of public service ad. This ensures that some ad is always present there. Or, if you like, the space reserved for Adsense ads can be made to collapse.

AdSense tracker is another useful feature which tracks the ads on your pages and generates report for you. The reports can be customized based on requirement. Typically reports can give page impressions displayed, number of clicks and click-thru rates. It is also possible to check earnings any time.

Web page owner can make use of all these facilities and try to get best results. With the help of Ad tracker lot of useful information can be obtained - which ads are doing well, which color combination gets better results, which location of the web page is best for showing ads and so on. This analysis can be used to improve traffic as well as click-thru rates.

With AdSense you have virtually nothing to lose. If you have not yet installed AdSense on your website you can perhaps give it a thought. Any free space which can be created on your website to accommodate AdSense can be used to generate additional income.

Blogging Can Be A Collective Experience That Turns Faceless

I've been searching the Internet for blogging sites for a fair while now and recently I came across a whole blogging community, which has grabbed my interest greatly. It's called Joe User and it's a site that many bloggers all around the globe are partaking in. It is very well organized into categories such as Best Articles, Newest blog entries, Top blogging sites, New sites and Most hit-on bloggers. The blogs range from very personal life introspection to serious analysis of current affairs in the media.

The aspect that has appealed to me the most is the very personal type of blogging community. Many people are talking about their feelings and issues about life with people that technically they have never met face to face. However, the type of camaraderie I've 'witnessed' as a bystander has truly amazed me. These people talk to each other as though they are extremely close friends, and the strange thing is I think this is the reality.

When one person has something important happen to them in their life, up to 100 or more comments will arrive under their blog entry with advice and information as well as emotional support from their blogging friends. Of course there are some differences in opinion, but the general perspective seems to be one of a positive approach to humanity. People are really spilling out their souls to each other, and then accepting criticism as well as discussing possible solutions to problems. I just find this to be truly inspirational, a human community or 'tribe' that has formed simply because of the Internet's existence.

These people must spend a lot of time communicating with each other. Some are writing new entries everyday, as well as articles and conversations. The conversations usually happen in the 'comments' section where one can see that these people often stay up into the late hours of the morning, blogging to each other back and forth. The amount of love shared by these arbitrary acquaintances is astounding. One could perceive the whole experience as a form of therapy but I think it is much more than that. I believe this is a sign of a revolution. The coming of the New Human Tribe has begun.

If random bloggers can evolve into a community of people who trust, respect, and are intimate and united with each other this says a lot for the human condition. People are tired of the segregated, separatist reality of countries, cultures, races and religions. These group blogging sites, or collective on-line journals as I now like to think of them, are symbolic of the future connectedness of all of humanity. It may take a hundred years, or a thousand, or maybe only fifty, but it definitely looks like there's hope yet for the warring, greedy humans. One day we all may be 'one' again in our minds as well as our physical forms.

Blogging on Ecademy will boost your web site

For many people blogging is the way in which they are able to update their web site with new information and fresh content. As such, blogs are a great way of gaining returning visitors to your web site.

However, there are other places you can post blog entries which can also affect the popularity of your web site. One such place is Ecademy.com.

Ecademy is the world's largest online network of people in business. Once you sign up as a member you get access to the blogging system within Ecademy. This allows you to post entries to the Ecademy blog. You can post anything, as long as it is not an advertisement.

However - and here's the important part - if your blog entry on Ecademy includes a link back to your own web site you will benefit. That's because Ecademy is one of the world's most frequently updated web sites; it changes every minute. As a result it is adored by the search engines who re-index Ecademy several times a day in some instances.

This means if you post a blog entry on Ecademy, include in it some keywords related to your site and have a link to your site in your signature, you will be indexed by the likes of Google. Once your link is seen within Ecademy you get a bonus benefit. Not only is your link followed through by the search engines, but because your link is on a high profile site, your site is seen more favourably.

However, you need to ensure that your entry on Ecademy is real content - no keyword stuffing for instance. If your entry is not useful it can be removed by the Ecademy staff. Even if it is allowed, Google will not see your site as important if your blog entry isn't focused on what your site is about. But if you post entries onto Ecademy which are directly related to your web site you will see search engine benefits.

Furthermore, you'll also see many people visit your site as a direct result of your link in the Ecademy blog. So, don't just think of blogging on your own site; add your blog postings to Ecademy as well.

Gathered statistical data announces that Blogs will dominate

At a distinctive and stable growth rate of Blog users at an average of more than 100% within a researched 190 day cycle, the Internet should be ready for a "Blog Boom" anytime soon. Microsoft announced more than 4.5 million weblog spaces were created in MSN Spaces since 11 January 2005. On average, users are updating about 170,000 blogs on MSN Spaces every day and uploading about 1.9 million photos a day.

France music radio station SkyRock's Skyblog is no exception. They will have an estimated 3.5 to 4 million blogs by year end. On average, more than 8,000 blogs are created daily, averaging out about 39 posts and 53 comments per blog.

Blog search engines in particular, are reporting searches in the tens of millions, consisting of a large diversity in language and geographical differences.

Technorati, a giant blog tracking site, finds that its tracking volumes double for every 5 months for the past 20 months. Technorati is estimating a jump at a high 15 million blogs by the end of August 2005, and doubles up to 30 million in January 2006.

Bloggers themselves are not left out entirely by this rapid growth. It is not particularly uncommon for some to celebrate their 100 millionth visitor mark.

It is gathered, that one third of online adult Americans know blogs from a recent survey of the general public. More than a quarter of South Korea's 50 million population are bloggers.

How To Set Up A Blog

A blog is an online diary or as some people call them a weblog. They can be about any topic you would like to comment on.

Setting up a blog can seem to be a very difficult task for the non techie type out there. They(the techie types) talk about MYSQL, PHP and you need a reader to read a blog in. Then they say u gotta ping the blog.

Is that a new mixed drink or something ?

We talk to our children and they look at us as if we come from another planet.

All I want to do is blog.

My Dad being basically computer illiterate a short time ago. HMM I still think he is but I wont say it to often in this house.

I wrote these instructions for him and he had had no major problems setting up a blog.

The easiest way to start a blog in my opinion and you may wish to differ ;-) are detaled in the following steps:

You will need a reader to read the blog you make or someone elses that you subscribe to.

The 1st step is an easy way to get a reader that allows rss feeds to be pulled to your My page.

1. Go to www.yahoo.com and create a my yahoo page. If you have one already go to step 2.

2. Find a free blogging service. I reccomend www.blogger.com. They have simple and easy to follow instructions, even Dad could follow them ). Now follow the instructions on the start page. Take your time and make sure you read the instructions. Do Not speed read them like Dad usually will do .

WOW Great job!!! Pat your self on the back.

Congratulations you have now created a blog.

3. Now open up the create new post in your new blog and write new post. Now publish it.

Now your a blogger

4. Now go back to www.yahoo.com and sign in to your "MY" account.

Should You Get A Blog?

A blog is a type of website. It allows the website owner to easily write messages that get posted to the site automatically, often in a journal or diary-like style. A particularly appealing thing about blogs is that your readers can comment back to your posts fairly easily, and a continuous stream of fresh conversations result. (This is a good thing.)

Here are three reasons to consider getting a blog:

1.To Replace Your Ezine

If you currently publish an ezine, you may wish to consider replacing it with a regularly published blog. This means using your blog to publish journal entries, and then when it comes time to communicate with your subscriber list, you excerpt some items from your blog, and send those out as your ezine.

This saves you from creating special articles only for your ezine. In many cases it becomes easier for you to write in blog format (short and sweet) so you save time. Readers enjoy the practical, "reporter-like" nature of blogs instead of ezines, and gradually come to feel that they are in conversation with you on a daily basis. You become part of their everyday circle of friends and associates, which leads to you becoming their natural resource on the topic of your expertise.

2. To Create a Quick and Dirty Learning Environment or e-Campus

For those of you who offer TeleClasses or other programs that want to have a web page of learning resources, links, class notes and audio, etc., a blog can be a great way to bring together an e-Campus.

If you offer a workshop, coaching/consulting, or even a software solution, and you want to instantly add value to your clients, create a "client/student resource page" using a blog. This becomes an environment that the students can play in, study more, and soak up your materials. Your clients continue to benefit from your expertise even though you're not physically there; they do it at their pace, and at little cost to you.

Once again, because blogging makes it easy for you to continually update your website without mucking around with FrontPage or DreamWeaver, you will save time and energy publishing to the Internet.

3.) Just For Fun, And To Be Cool

Let's face it, a large part of the reason you're wondering about blogs is because it sounds cool, right? And new stuff is fun. So why not try it just because? Sometimes it's enough to try something because it stretches you, keeps you limber and awake to possibilities. There's nothing wrong with playing, UNLESS you fool yourself into thinking your business is improving, or you're somehow paying the mortgage while you play.

Rest easy, there's no pressure to get a blog. Not getting one won't negatively impact your bottom line. So although the technology can be entrancing, stay focused... what are you selling to who? How is it going? That said, do stay curious about new technology. Part of your chosen profession as an online biz owner means modeling for others by staying abreast of new things.

The Huge Marketing Potential Of A Simple Blog

A Blog (also known as Weblog) is traditionally a webpage where pre-surfer or a blogger "logs" all pages he/she finds interesting. In other words, it is a Web page that contains brief, chronologically arranged items of information. Typically updated daily, blogs often reflect the personality of the author.

Weblogs provide a series of annotated links to items such as news stories, and often include personal rants. They are maintained by one person, most commonly someone who is involved in Web design or some other tech-related field.

A blog is often a mixture of what is happening on a particular website and what is happening on the Web, a kind of hybrid diary/guide site, although there are as many unique types of blogs as there are people. Blogs can be used to introduce products to potential customers.

People maintained blogs long before the term was coined, but the trend gained momentum with the introduction of automated published systems, most notably Blogger at blogger.com. Thousands of people use services such as Blogger to simplify and accelerate the publishing process.

Blog as a marketing tool:

Blogs offer huge marketing potential. They are highly strategic tools that can strengthen relationships, share knowledge, increase collaboration, and improve branding. Besides, blogs can represent the real voice of the website.

A weblog can take the form of a diary, a news service (or summaries of and links to current news items on a topic), a collection of links to other Web sites, a series of book reviews or products, reports of activity on a project, the journal of an expedition, and much more. Businesses can use this tool to effectively advertise their products or services.

One of the most interesting ways to use a weblog is by allowing it to function as a discussion forum for customers of your products or services. In this case, the webmaster can give posting rights to other people - visitors and customers, and their posts may or may not be reviewed before they are published to the Web page. Customers, in such a way can post favorable comments about the websites offerings. Some weblogs are set up in such a way that only the owner or the owner and certain other people have posting rights, but anyone else can add comments to the posts.

Weblogs when used with newsletters present immense marketing opportunities:

- Articles within newsletters can be linked to a blog, extending life and creating a massive conversation.

- You can offer a bidirectional forum to customers to get true, personal opinions on your products and services.

- Company experts can start a blog and become industry experts, helping your company edge out competition and, through this interactive forum, draw customers into another exchange of information and thoughts.

- The beauty of this interplay is you can layer your blog with editorial controls.

How to create a Weblog?

The majority of weblogs are now created using software or services designed specifically for this purpose. Some of the software is free - and some of the organizations that provide weblog software will also provide free server space to house a weblog so that it is publicly accessible on the Internet.

There are also commercial versions of some of the free software; these commercial versions often provide more features. Some weblog software is available only as commercial software. Alternatively, bloggers can create and maintain their weblog using free software or a free weblog service, but use FTP (File Transfer Protocol) to load the resulting weblog to their own Website.

There are many blogging softwares available easily on the Internet. One of the most popular weblogger is "Blogger" which can be used for free at http://www.blogger.com. Most webloggers simplify the process of Website creation. However, they do require basic knowledge of FTP, Website structures and a few technical terms. Besides, creating an advanced weblog requires knowledge of HTML.

Blogosphere Networking

Blogosphere Networking
Blogging seems to be taking over the world, or at least everyone seems to be talking about blogs. However, there are a surprisingly large number of people who have no idea of blogs, blawgs, blogsphere, etc....

I was recently at a social gathering with some very educated and sophisticated individuals. In the conversation I mentioned my new book ("Some Assembly Required: How to Make, Keep and Grow Your Business Relationships" and my blog ("The Business Development / Networking Blog"). Everyone immediately understood the concept of a book.....but the idea of a blog created many a puzzled face.

I was asked a lot of questions (some folks had heard of blogging, others had not). The following are the top questions, and my feeble attempt to answer them:

1. Why did you start your blog?

I started it as an experiment to help educate myself about blogs. My company is interested in having an industry focused blog, and I decided to take it upon myself to jump into the blogosphere and get my feet wet. In addition, I write a recurring column for Professional Marketing Magazine, and I thought that regularly writing a blog would give me some good practice and help me uncover themes for future articles. I also felt I could use it to help promote my new book.

2. Has it been worth it?

Yes!!! On all three of the above reasons I have exceeded my goals. I now understand the commitment involved if we create an industry blog. I have already created a lot of positive material that can later be turned into articles for my marketing column. AND.....I have sold a bunch of copies of my new book .....even before it is released.

3. Are all blogs the same?

NO. There are as many types of blogs are there are writers. I have categorized them into three types, but I am sure others would have arguments about these areas:

A. Corporate Blogs. These are hosted by companies to promote their products and services or to communicate with clients.

B. Philosophical / Content Blogs. In this type, an individual (or group of individuals) writes on a specific topic and shares their opinions with the readers. Topics can range from business to sports to politics to religion, etc.... I would put The Business Development / Networking Blog in this category. The blogs from which I learn the most are philosophical/content blogs.

C. Diaries. In these blogs people record their daily experiences the way one would write in a diary. Some of these can be quite entertaining, as they allow the voyeur in each of us to look into someone else's private world. However, reader beware...some of these can reveal a bit more than you want to read (or see).

4. Why would I want to read blogs?

They are a great way to discover information on any particular topic or variety of ideas. Many bloggers have very good sources of information and they certainly have opinions. As with any media source, you need to beware of the authors intent and ulterior motives. Also, blogs can just be interesting to read.

5. What have you learned from writing your blog?

Like the term "World Wide Web" only a decade ago, "Blogs, blogging and the blogosphere" are the new new thing, and are not just a "fad". If people are not yet aware of blogs, they will be soon. More and more blogs are created every day and blogs will soon touch everyone who surf the internet.
Having your own blog, however, is not for everyone. You must be committed to writing on a regular basis, and not shy about sharing your opinions. I have learned that a blog can go stale if you do not make posts on a regular basis.

I also learned that when you blog, you are actually networking. At first it seemed like this was one sided, until I began to hear from people who were regularly reading my blog. I have developed new friendships with many bloggers who write about similar topics. Often one blogger will email another with a compliment or suggestion, and they will begin to correspond regularly. Just like any other type of business friendship, the relationship grows over time. This blog-networking leads to mutual understanding and respect between the bloggers and then can lead to business relationships and referrals.

6. Should I start a blog?

That is a question every person will have to answer for himself/herself. I
would suggest you begin by reading other blogs and getting familiar with what is out there in blog-land. If you believe that you have something to say...then by all means, start a blog. But remember to be patient and persistent. Like writing a book, it takes time and there is no guarantee that you will become widely read. However if you are dedicated, you will uncover many unexpected benefits from your blogging experience.

If you are interested in easily learning about blogs, I suggest you start by reading the posts and links in the series called "31 Days to Better Blogs" at www.problogger.net, hosted by Darren Rowse. This is the best collection of advice to the experienced and novice blogger.

Don't forget to read my blog at www.thomsinger.blogspot.com.

How To Make Money From Your Blog Content

Writing a blog can be fun and exciting, but it can also be rewarding. If you do not know how to make money from your blog content then you need to consider implementing the following suggestions in your blog.

Make Money Tip #1 Adsense
Adsense is an incredible service offered by Google to help you make money and help others advertise as well. Basically, with Adsense you choose several ads that blend or complement the information talked about in your blog. Then, when individuals click on the ads that are present in your blog, you receive money! Best of all, Adsense is free to use on your site, so this is a great opportunity to make money without really having to do very much.

Make Money Tip #2 Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate programs are another great way to make money as well and work on the same premise of Adsense. The web surfer has to click on the affiliate website's link and when they do so they are redirected from your blog to the link they clicked on. You will get paid affiliate income for the click, and if they make a purchase when they are on that website you will get paid affiliate income again.

Make Money Tip #3 Blog Ads
Blog ads can help you make money as well. Blog ads are not too different from Adsense or Affiliate marketing, but they are in the sense that blog ads connect web surfers with advertisers. Then, when any ad placements are made a commission is exchanged.

Make Money Tip #4 Business Blog
You can use your blog to simply converse about any topic that is important to you, but you can also use your blog as a tool to help you make money. Advertise your business services; make your blog a business blog by focusing at least part of your blog on your business services. This way, you can still communicate whatever it is you need to and make money as well.

When it comes to making money from your blog you can do so easily with these tried and true tricks of the trade. Whether you utilize Adsense, affiliate marketing, blog ads, a business blog, or a combination of all of the above, you will certainly benefit and make money. Don't delay and start implementing these types of money making strategies in your blog today. Not only will you make money, but your blog will become more popular as well.

Should Bloggers be Helping Google Fix Their PageRank System?

By now, most bloggers have heard the announcement that the Big 3 search engines - Google, Yahoo, and MSN - have united in support of a new tag that will supposedly combat comment spam. The new tag is a nofollow attribute that can be added to links. When added to links in comment tags, the search engines will ignore them.

An excellent discussion of this new tag and how it works can be found at Danny Sullivan's Search Engine Watch:
http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050118-204728

Google announced the new tag in a 1/18/2005 post to their own blog: http://www.google.com/googleblog/

And Microsoft added their support to the new tag in this post: http://blogs.msdn.com/msnsearch/archive/2005/01/18/nofollow_tags.aspx

At first blush, anything that can help cut down the comment spam that most bloggers are daily subjected to would seem to be a good thing. It can be pretty upsetting to access your blog in the morning and find 50 junk comments with links to casino, adult, and pharmacy sites. If your blog has any PageRank, you can expect to find more of this garbage polluting your site every day. Fighting the spread of comment spam has become a necessity.

But after first cheering the proactiveness of the search engines, many bloggers have stepped back and taken a closer look and they don't like what they see. You can read a sampling of their thoughts at Search Engine Watch Forum:
http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=3797

Brian Turner's incisive article "New Nofollow Tag Cheers Bloggers but Fails Blogs" discusses some of the potential abuses of the new nofollow tag:
http://www.platinax.co.uk/news/archives/2005/01/new_nofollow_ta.html

And Jim Pryke's article "Bloggers Cheer Google As Their Search Rankings Plummet" makes it very clear that not only will this NOT stop comment spam. But it will actually hurt bloggers as a community:
http://netinstitute.com/archives/2005/01/20/bloggers-cheer-google-as-their-search-rankings-plummet

For an hilarious take on the new tag and how it will get abused, be sure to take a look at Link Condom: http://www.linkcondom.com

I have to agree with these bloggers that the nofollow tag won't even put a dent in the problem of comment spam. You have to realize that the comment spammers who cause the most problems are the ones who use automated bots to spread their spam onto every blog they find. The fact that they find a blog using the nofollow tag won't stop the bot from posting. If you have a popular blog, you'll still wake up every morning to find 50 casino/pharmacy/adult ads on your blog. You'll still have to spend the time deleting those posts to clean up your blog.

You see, the problem to bloggers isn't that those comment links pass PR. It's the fact that those spam posts make your blog look like garbage. Whether the links pass PR or not isn't the big issue for bloggers. It's the time it takes to get rid of unwanted comments and the detraction to their sites. The nofollow tag won't do a thing about that problem. You'll still have the problems, even if you use the tag.

Think about this: how effective have email filters been in stopping email spam? As most of us know, they've hardly done any good at all. Email spam becomes a bigger problem every day. Spammers really don't care if some of their emails are blocked. They just send more of it to compensate. The same will be true of the automated comment spam bots.

The fact of the matter is, there are already much better tools in most blogging software to fight comment spam AND save the time and effort of the blogger at the same time. There are already a number of plugins for WordPress, Moveable Type, and other blogs. There will undoubtedly be more in the future. These tools are already more effective at fighting comment spam than this nofollow tag will ever be.

What is unfortunate is that the people the nofollow tag will really hurt is bloggers themselves. Traditionally, bloggers have read and commented in each other's blogs. And these comments have added value. When I write an article for my blog, I love it when other bloggers take the time to add their insights on the topic I'm discussing. These comments add content to my site and continue the discussion. This is one of the reasons blogs are so easy to grow into topic-specific information-rich sites that are popular with readers. Unlike static sites, they offer two-way communication between reader and blogger. They become communities.

When someone adds this kind of value to my blog, I am more than happy to give them a link to their blog that passes PR. That will help them build the readership of their own blog, grow the community even larger, and add to the richness of the discussion. These are exactly the kinds of links that any webmaster should want on their site!

Adding a nofollow tag to comments can only quash this discussion. It can only discourage commenters with the most to contribute from taking the time to add to the discussion. After all, if the time I spend on another blog doesn't contribute to the growth of the blogging community as a whole or aid in the visibility of my own blog, am I going to spend as much time and effort doing it?

Anything that decreases the open flow of discussion currently enjoyed in the blogging community is a bad deal for bloggers.

The question that should be asked is this: why is comment spam so profitable? After all, if it weren't profitable, so many people wouldn't be going to such ridiculous lengths to do it.

The answer to this is obviously Google's link-heavy PageRank algorithm that forces webmasters to get every link they can to get their site's indexed and ranked. Most webmasters know that in order to get ranked in Google, they had better have a ton of links to their site.

That's the problem with PageRank as an algorithm. It encourages artificial linking between sites that no longer has any relevance whatsoever to the goal of providing good resources to visitors. Do we really believe that most reciprocal link directories provide a resource to our visitors? Not likely! If websites are real estate, reciprocal link directories are the slums, the seedy bars and tattoo parlors on the edges of polite society.

Whole businesses have sprung up as a reaction to PageRank. I'm talking about the link auction and link selling sites. Under the PageRank system, sites aren't being ranked by who provides the best content, but by who has the deepest pockets to buy the most links. Or, in the case of comment spammers, whoever wants to spread their bots all over the internet spamming blogs. This system has over time totally skewed the natural linking between sites that once dominated the internet - the very thing that Google's PageRank system is supposed to reward.

Ironically, blogs are one of the few places left on the web where linking is actually about providing good content to visitors and rewarding value provided on other sites. Bloggers as a group are the most likely to link to sites because of the content value to their visitors. Their links are very likely to be very topic specific. You don't find that on other sites. These are the kinds of links that I would assume Google would want to encourage through their PageRank system, not those junky reciprocal link directories or purchased links.

6 Things to post on your blog when you're running out of idea

There is no doubt that blogs are the "it" thing today in the online world. Wherever you surf, blogs are sprouting everywhere like mushrooms, whether they're used for personal or business purposes. But for starters, what is a blog anyway? It is a diary where you can post your thoughts or feelings or whatnots, except that it is online and the public can read it. But enough of that. Gone were the days when they were used solely for personal reasons. On the business side, they can be a very useful tool to boost your business, and to keep your customers updated on the products and infos you have. But if you're still struggling to catch up on the latest thing these days and you think you're not much of a great writer either, let me give you some useful subjects you can write about to give your customers a lot of reasons to keep coming back to your site.

1. News. Okay, so maybe that's basic. After all, your company or business is the reason you put up a blog, right? Write about the products you sell. Give them a bit of the benefits your potential customers might get for buying them, with a link back to your main site to read the entire sales letter. You can also write about updates to your product. Post news about the industry you're in. If you're selling products that help people get better search engine rankings, write about search engine news. Or, if you or your service has been featured on TV, papers, or notable websites, write about it. Don't forget to post seminars or gatherings where you've been invited.

2. History of your business. Maybe this one has already been in your main website, but who cares? People forget it. They come and go and chances are, when they visit your site, they don't read it. Write about how you began, the reputation and achievements you've earned, and the accolades or awards you received, with a link back your site. That way you'll let them know why they should buy from you, and that you're a real person who's building a reputable business. Add some employee's profile if you have someone working for you, too. If you have nice traffic or site stats, that's also worth mentioning.

3. Customer's feedback. When a raving customer emails you about how your product has helped him, share it in your blog. You're giving your visitors a compelling reason to buy from you.

4. Site of the week / month. Mention a site that doesn't compete with you but complements to your won. Explain to them why you like it, and why it deserves your accolade.

5. Contests, surveys, trivia, questionnaires. If you're running a contest, post it in your blog to encourage visitors to join. Get their attention by including the prizes, a bit of the rules, with a link back to your site for more information regarding it. Or put a survey. That could give you information regarding the product you're selling, as to how you could develop it further.

6. Tip of the day. Write about a new tactic you developed or something you learned and perfected.

So there. Whatever your business is, no doubt there's always something you'll definitely want to write about. Give it a try. And it will reward you soon.

6 Things to post on your blog when you're running out of ide