How to Start A Blog To Make Money Online: Part One

Welcome back!

If you are like many others that are thinking of starting your online business and you are ready to take that leap and establish your presence on the web.Then you might be wondering how you can go about creating your own website. However when the thought of price and budget come into mind you probably wanted to just stop all together.

With the economy the way that is and many offline businesses are hurting, you can find relief that online business and sales have gone up by almost 15% in the last year alone. People are starting to trust the internet enough with technological advances and more exposure to it that they are now willing to rake over the cash for products and information.

Even if you are just wanting to start a site to express who you are and your personality you can even make money by referring products on a time to time to basis.

Well how do you start this endeavor with out incorporating all the cost!

For one I recommend that you start by using Wordpress. Wordpress is a free open program that you can use to create sites and publish your own content; you can use Wordpress.com to sign up for a free account and start publishing content.

Another one that you can use is blogspot.com another free blog platform. However I have to warn you that although you are able to sign up for these free content publishing platforms for free once the content is up there. You do not own the site or the content it belongs to that publishing platform.

You are basically just borrowing space to put your ideas.

You are also limited in how different you can change the design atmosphere of your blog limiting your own creative juices and you are also limited in the amount of plugins that you can add to your site decreasing the overall functionality of the blog.

The first thing that I recommend that you do If you are ready to start a Wordpress blog is to get your own domain name with your own hosting. When you have your own hosting that is cpanel enabled you are able to have total control over all the backend of your own blog.

This will give you all control over the look and feel of your blog and also the ability to change settings and programs as you see fit.

Now that you are ready to start your Own Blog Lets Begin.

The first thing you need to do is get a domain name with your keywords placed in your domain name. This will give your site more relevancy and help to increase your search engine ranking in the long run.

For more information on keyword research please read:  Search Engine Optimization for Dummies

The next thing is to get hosting for your domain name and the one that I highly recommend and use myself Is Hostgator. You are able to host an unlimited amount of domains under one account saving you money in the long run. Hostgator is already cpanel enabled which means that it comes with Wordpress already for you in the back-end to set up with a few clicks of the mousse.

You Can Get Unlimited Domain Hosting Only $9.95 a Month by Clicking here with Hostgator.

Then you will see why besides being friendly to the budget, Wordpress offers many additional free opportunities to grow your business. With nearly limitless plugins available and the list growing daily, you can customize your site to include classifieds, blogs, job posts, product sales, contact forms, instant chat capabilities, and RSS feeds.

Further you can incorporate tools to analyze your site and capture important data including number of hits, site popularity and more. The possibilities for what a site designed with Wordpress is capable of are endless

I am doing a three part series on blogging so stayed tuned for part two!

5 Keys To Becoming A Successful Blogger

Becoming a Successful Blogger

Today, let’s take a break from information marketing, autoresponder sequences, search engine optimization strategies, and squeeze pages. Instead, let’s return to blogging.

As you know, there’s no shortage of bloggers. It’s unclear how many blogs exist, but Technorati reported over 100 million back in 2007. It’s safe to say that number has grown. The problem is that most bloggers never break out of their small circle and make money. That’s a shame. Blogging is one of the most important tools at your disposal for generating an online income.

Today, I’m going to reveal 5 keys to becoming a successful blogger. If you’re already blogging and have wondered why you’re not able to gain traction and build momentum, use the following list as a litmus test.

#1 – Authenticity

You want your readers to trust you. In fact, being able to cultivate that trust is the only way you’ll be able to draw people to you over the long run. I’ve seen many bloggers post wonderful information about cars, electronics, relationships, and more, yet lack a personal flavor in their writing.        

When people read your posts, they want to get a sense of you. They want to know what you’re about. That’s why John Reese, Jimmy Brown, and other marketers who blog can generate enormous interest. They’re authentic.

#2 – High-Quality Blog Posts

Being a blogger is partly about selling yourself to your readers. While authenticity is critical, you also need to give your readers something valuable to chew on. One without the other is a recipe for failure.

For example, suppose you blog about information products and earn an affiliate commission for each sale. You’re not going to convince any of your readers to buy the products unless you provide them with a thorough review.

“Value” doesn’t have to mean information. It can come in the form of humor, creativity, or sheer playfulness. If your readers find your posts entertaining, you’ll be a hit. For instance, I’ve mentioned dooce.com in the past. Its blogger, Heather, has a massive following who look forward to her entertaining posts. So loyal are her readers that her blog generates enough money through advertising for her to work on it full-time.

Remember, quality attracts attention.

#3 – Post A Photo Of Yourself

Sounds simple enough, right? A picture of yourself goes a long way toward drawing your readers in and gaining their trust. Yet, I stumble on blogs every day that lack a photo of the blogger.

Post a picture of yourself on your blog. It doesn’t need to be a professional shot. Any photo will strengthen the connection you share with your readers.

#4 – Promote Your Blog

You’ll need to get the word out about your blog if you hope to build a large readership. The only way to do that is through marketing and promotion.

I’ve mentioned guest blogging in the past. That’s a powerful way to attract readers because you’ll gain exposure to the host blog’s readership and you’ll gain valuable links back to your blog. But, don’t stop there. Commenting on blogs, participating in social media, and even advertising on popular blogs in your market can bring a lot of readers quickly.

Exposure is the currency of blogging.

Consider:

• Secrets of Guest Blogging
• Blogging for Money
• How to generate traffic to your site fast
• Using autoresponders to build traffic
• Link Building Tutorial
  
• 
  

#5 – Learn To Communicate

Being able to write well is important if you plan to be a successful blogger. But, communicating with your audience goes far beyond good writing. You need to be able to “get through” to your readers with a writing style they find engaging.

Sometimes, that means violating rules of grammar. Like this. Other times, it means using a turn of phrase to drive a point home (for example, put a little elbow grease into your marketing or you’ll be back to square one). The goal is to connect with your readers. And that requires being able to communicate with them.

Related Posts for Recommendation:

• How to develop a compelling Blog Writing Style
• Learn to give good Blog
  

Making Money Online With Your Blog

You’ll notice that I didn’t mention the types of products you should promote on your blog to generate an income. The fact is, blogging can support nearly every type of online business imaginable. You can promote your own information products or membership sites. You can review affiliate products, market your services, or build your authority as a professional speaker.

If you’re not blogging, now’s the time to start. You’ll find that once your blog gains traction and builds a readership, it can generate an impressive online income.

Shhh….The True Business Behind Guest Blogging

Blogging these days has become so main stream that now everyone is practically doing it. Huge corporations now have all if not most of their sites hosted and ran through content management systems. Stay at home moms and even kids are kicking into the blogging hype and getting in on the bandwagon. Blogging is big business these days and is also a great way to stay in contact and communicate our thoughts and feelings to our family, friends and people that we want to relay information to online.

However, blogging is not just for family and friends but is a great way to get your name known and noticed by others in your field. Especially if you are an online business owner like myself.

It can build your brand, and give you your very own “usp” (unique selling point). Huge companies like Gap, and Earth Baby Foods use their trademark to market in a way that fits with their usp. But in the beginning no one knew who they were until they took time to market themselves and reinforce there brand into America’s heart and ears that they were save and people could trust them.

They built up there Brand.

Know – Like- Trust

1.The more people come to know you the more they like you

2.When they like you they come to trust you

3.Once they trust you and know that you are save they will eventually buy from you.

So, how can guest blogging help you?

Well, first of all you have to have a blog or website of your own. You can’t establish a brand unless you have a place to showcase it in the first place. It may take a while, but your blog can establish a loyal following you can count on to follow you other places.

• If you don’t have one yet you can get a domain with free blog installs through Reliable Webs

Bloggers are not dumb they are very smart people, especially if they have been around a while and know the ins and out business blogging. Many bloggers will catch on very quick if you are just trying to guest blog on their site because of their name and the following they have.

Before you approach them with your request (probably one of hundreds more popular bloggers get), get involved in their blog. Post comments on a daily or weekly basis. Pose thought-provoking questions. Join their membership sites and purchase some of their products, get to know their flow and then offer to write something for them.

All of this shows that you are attempting to understand what has made them such a valuable brand on the Internet. Also, they get to know your “face” as it were because you are always around. The only thing that works better for a new blogger trying to establish them self is nepotism (and it is always welcome!).

Another thing that you could offer to get your name known is your services, if you ever want an endorsement later on down the line this is a good way to get your feet wet and works out a win situation. Doing so is a courtesy that will pay off for you in the end.

Guest blogging on other blogs is a great way to talk about new topics related to your niche with other audiences. If you talk about the guest spot on your own blog, many of your loyal fans will pop on over for a look see. And, through your bio blurb, the existing audience on that blog will know where to find you. This is not to steal their readership but to share it since you are not necessarily in a competing market.

In an effort to gain a loyal readership and get your name out there., this is great to get some great blogging traffic. When done in the correct manner you will reap the rewards!

P.S. Nicole Dean Has an awesome Case Study that she did on her very own Blog like a Rock Star Journey!

•Blog Like A Rock Star – The Complete Newbie Guide

Also,  Nicole is officially a member of my blog now and will be contributing guest blog posts on a on going basis. Take it from me ~ it counts to learn from a Pro.

Wordpress Seo Tips

WordPress Seo tips to save the day!

WordPress offers their users many different plugins that can increase their visibility and presence on the Internet. However, even using this platform there are still a few key rules to search engine optimization that every website owner should know and implement.

1.Watch Your Titles -

Front running words receive the most attention in a search string. Also, research shows that the typical user reads a search result page from top to bottom, then left to right. The closer your keywords are to the beginning of your title, the more weight and attention they will receive in a search.

2.Increase Your Speed -

Have you ever noticed that the links in the beginning of a search engine result load faster than those near the end? This is because search engines weigh the length of time it takes a site to load in their crawling for matches. Increase your site’s loading speed by removing un-needed code, slacking down on the video, increasing cache speed, etc.

I have a post on essential wordpress plugins you can’t live with out here!

3.Tag and Connect -

Do you have related articles on other blogs or sites? By tagging each of the posts with the same or similar keywords, you increase your web presence. Also, since pages are weighted heavier than posts, consider creating a page that links all the similar articles or blogs together with a “Read More”, or similar link at the bottom of the page.

4.Keep Your Traffic -

While sidebars are an attractive way to lure readers to your site, by offering them a link and presence; they actually can hurt more than they can help. Links out of your site mean just that; the opportunity for your reader to leave and not browse your site further.

These tips will enhance your site presence using any website platform. The advantage of WordPress is that it supports several functionality s  that other platforms do not, including optimized descriptions, tagging, related posts, and defining titles. It provides ease of use, allowing the small business owner to customize their site and build an online business presence through search engine optimization without having to spend tons of time learning the ins and outs of SEO or hiring someone else to do it.

P.S I highly Recommend you take a look at Remarkabloggers “WordPress Seo Secrets” For a complete explanation on optimizing your wordpress blog.

Essential Wordpress Plugins- You need to have!

I want to share with you some of the plugins that I use and feel that you might want to seriously consider using on your wordpress blog .   Plugins give you the ability to accomplish things techie wise that a you probably would not be able to do if it came down to it. Getting your hands dirty with coding and stuff and I can say who has time to do that.

I mean really!

So I have a list created below of some Essential Wordpress Plugins you might want to use for your blog when you are just starting a blog and if you want to kick it up a notch.

All in one Seo Plugin- gives you the ability to optimize your site keyword, header, title and description tags. Something that Google and especially yahoo looks at a lot when it comes to rankings.

Google Xml Sitemap- This plugin generates a XML-Sitemap compliant sitemap of your WordPress blog

Wp-Cache- Helps to handle spikes in traffic and make your blog faster.

WP Auto Upgrade- Allows you automatically upgrade to the latest version

Rss Footer- Adds extra content to articles in your Rss Feed with an editable anchor text.  So if anyone tries to Scrap your content at least you would be getting some link love back with your anchor text!

Meta Robots Plugin- helps to improve seo functionality of your blog.

These Six essential wordpress plugins will help to make your blog a more self efficient Seo Machine!

For more Information on Seo see my Resource on it  Click Here! And My SEO BOOK teaching Search Engine Optimization!

How to use the Robots Meta Plugin from Joost de Valk on Vimeo.

How to find Advertisers for your Blog

Finding  Advertisers For Your Blog

If you want to make money from your blog, you need to plan how you intend to do it before you begin posting. Most bloggers spend an enormous amount of time and effort writing and marketing their blogs without giving any real thought to how they plan to monetize their work. That’s a mistake that leads to frustration.

There are a lot of different blogging revenue models. Today, I’m going to show you how to create a blog that advertisers will fight to claim space on. I’ll also explain how to find those advertisers and whet their appetite.

Stick To Your Niche

Years ago, sponsors wanted exposure to raw traffic. If you could deliver enough eyeballs, they wanted space on your blog. That’s changing. Advertisers are realizing that blogs that are tightly focused on their core topic may deliver fewer eyeballs, but the readers are far more targeted. As a result, sponsors enjoy higher conversions. Pick your niche and stick to it.

Say Goodbye To Adsense

Adsense can be a fantastic way to generate income from your blog. Unfortunately, it can also become an obstacle to growing your advertising revenue down the road. First, it’s too easy to rely on Adsense as your primary blogging income. That makes it hard to wean yourself from it. Second, it lowers the perceived value of your advertising spots. A small 1-ad or 2-ad block may be fine, but multiple 4-ad Adsense blocks can make your blog seem unprofessional to potential advertisers.

Here is a Great Free Report on Blogging: Click here to download the Blog Profits Blueprint

Targeted Search Traffic Is Key

Blogs are especially well-suited for attracting organic search traffic. Before you begin writing blog posts, identify the keywords that are being searched most often by your audience. Include those keywords in your titles, tags, and throughout your content. Once your blog begins ranking for them, you can show potential advertisers who want to reach your audience.

For example, suppose that you maintain a blog that is focused on mountain bikes. Let’s further suppose that, after some effort, you rank in the top 3 on Google for the keyword “discount hardtail mountain bikes.” Hundreds of businesses that sell hardtail mountain bikes would love exposure to that search traffic through advertising on your blog.

Create An Advertising Package

For potential sponsors who find your blog (as opposed to your approaching them), create a page that provides the information they need to make a decision. For example, list your available ad space sizes, advertising rates, traffic stats, and visitor demographic data. Include the number of RSS readers, notable search rankings, and even Alexa information. By providing these details, you’ll make it easy for sponsors to contact you to reserve ad spots.

Approach Smaller Advertisers First

If you’re just starting your blog, you probably won’t be able to attract the largest companies in your space. Start with the smaller companies and offer lower rates. Even though you’ll generate less advertising revenue in the beginning, you can raise your rates as your traffic grows. Over time, the smaller sponsors will be replaced by larger sponsors at much higher rates.

Don’t wait until you have hundreds of readers to plan your blog revenue model. Think about how you want to generate income as you’re creating your blog. If you choose to pursue the advertising revenue model, plan to attract direct sponsors in lieu of Adsense. There are many popular blogs which generate six-figure incomes through private advertisers. With time, effort, and planning, you can join their ranks.

Here is a Great Free Report on Blogging: Click here to download the Blog Profits Blueprint

What Makes A Good Blog and How to give Good Blog.

What Really Makes a good Blog and what goes into having a Great blog?

If you are one of those people that feel like you can’t or even get into the swing of blogging. Then have no fear my good friend Crissy Herron has put together a great short report that will teach you how to give good blog.

In this comprehensive short report Crissy teaches the importance of having a great blog and how to attain one. She describes in detail many of the methods she has used in a short amount of time to generate a large amount of traffic to her site in a short amount of time. And believe me you will not be disappointed. Below are some of the topics Crissy discusses in her How to Give Good Blog report.

1. What blogging Is
2. Blogging Basics
3. Content Creation
4. The design of the blog
5. Make money Blogging
6. Marketing your Blog

As I went through the report I can defiantly say that Crissy knows what she is talking about when it comes to blogging and how to Give Good Blog!

Crissy also has another short report on How to give a great Press Release! She walks you through step by step in 3 Systematic videos on the process of setting up a press release. Along with a awesome in depth workbook teaching you how to build buzz around you business.

This is a no brainier when it comes to checking it out!

Resources Mentioned: Get Crissy’s “How to Give Good Blog here!”

Click here for “How to Create a Awesome Press Release!”

How To Create A Blog: The Quick-Start Guide

How To Create A Blog: The Quick-Start Guide

Blogging has become one of the most popular free internet marketing methods used today. Not only is it easy to publish content, but it also creates an instant and ongoing channel of dialogue with your audience. Plus, by using the right plugins, you can expand your search engine exposure and generate traffic from a growing number of keywords.

Today, I’m going to explain each step involved in creating your own blog. We’ll focus on using Wordpress because it is the most popular blogging platform and the easiest to work with.

Step #1: Install Wordpress On Your Domain

There are two ways to install the Wordpress blogging software on your website. The first method is the easiest, but requires that your website host provides access to the Fantastico module through cPanel.

Login to your cPanel and click the Fantastico icon. On the left side of the following screen, click the Wordpress link (located under the “Blogs” section). Then, click “New Installation” on the right side.

On the following screen, you’ll be asked to provide a number of details, such as your preferred location for your blog, username, password, and email address. Once you have provided this information, click the “Install Wordpress” button.

The next screen will ask you to confirm the installation. Click the “Finish Installation” button.

If your host does not provide the Fantastico module through cPanel, visit Wordpress.org to download their blogging software to your computer. Then, review Wordpress’s installation instructions to manually install the software to your website.

Step #2: Select A Wordpress Theme

Even though the default installation includes a couple of simple themes, you’ll probably want to upload a theme that has a more stylish or professional appearance. There are hundreds of thousands of free and paid Wordpress themes online.

Once you find a theme that suits your preference, download it to your computer. Then, extract the files (they’re typically batched in a .zip file) and upload them to your “/wp-content/themes” directory using an FTP client.

After you have uploaded the entire batch of files, login to your Wordpress blog’s admin panel. Select “Design” to view the uploaded theme. Then, activate it.

Step #3: Install Important Plugins

Plugins are batches of code that add new levels of functionality to your blog. Some are more popular than others. For example, the Akismet and All-In-One SEO Pack plugins are two of the most popular among dedicated bloggers. Installing them is similar to installing a Wordpress theme.

Once you’ve chosen a plugin to install, download it to your computer. Extract the files from the .zip and FTP them to your “/wp-content/plugins” directory. Login to your admin panel and choose “Plugins” from your Dashboard. Then, locate the uploaded plugin and activate it.

Step #4: Start Blogging

Once you have installed the Wordpress software along with your chosen theme and plugins, you can immediately begin blogging. Navigate to your login page at domainname.com/wp-admin/ and click the “New Post” button. Once you’ve finished writing a post, click the “Publish” button. Your post will be available on your blog for your entire audience to enjoy.

Marketing Through Blogging

How To Give Good Blog

Blogs will continue to be one of the most important online marketing strategies. They can play a key role in establishing your presence in your chosen market while building a loyal readership among your visitors. If harnessed correctly, they can be used to launch products, encourage your affiliates, and support your search engine optimization strategies.

Creating your own blog is simple, even if it seems intimidating at first. Use the steps I’ve described above to install Wordpress onto your domain. Then, get started blogging. Once you do, you’ll wonder why you waited so long.

What is Blogging?

What is Blogging?

If you’re asking yourself, “what is blogging,” then you’ve probably heard this buzzword in conversations with friends, family, and even on the news!

Blogs are an amazing way to share information, give opinions, and make some great money.

Blogging actually started as a way for people to catalog their visits to different websites. They would talk about the interesting things they found and link to the sites.

These became increasingly popular, and eventually became sort of a personal diary for some people.

Many bloggers also started creating informative blogs in different niches and now pull in amazing part or full-time incomes!

Blogs are great because they create loyalty from the visitors. Once people start enjoying the things you are writing, the chances are good that they will come again and again to see what you have to say.

As you gain more followers and add more content you will probably start to rank highly in the search engines.

This is a good thing because it means that more people will be able to find you. As you can probably tell, when you have advertisements on a popular blog it can generate some amazing passive income!

So, hopefully after reading this you have decided that you want to become a blogger too.

The trouble is that there are some technical things that go along with setting up your own blog, and it can be difficult to choose something to blog about.

Not everything will be profitable, so if making money is your goal then you need to focus on the right topics and setting up your blog the right way to pull in income.

When I got started blogging I was very worried about all of the things above! I had to find a way to eliminate the steep learning curve.

Thankfully, I stumbled upon The Niche Blogger

The first thing that got me was the fact that it was created by a mother who is just like me.

She makes it very clear that if you follow her instructions and focus, you may be able to make the same level of income she does.

The next thing that got me was the fact that the price was so low. It really is a no-brainer when you consider the amazing, life-changing, value that you get from having expert advice on setting up your blog, choosing a profitable niche, and making money online.

I highly recommend this site if you’ve decided that after learning the answer to “what is blogging?,” that this is the thing for you!

Niche Blogger Review

The Niche Blogger for Blogging Money!

Blogging Money — Passive Income is able to attain.

Blogging for money is a lot easier than you might think. The most important thing you should realize is that you need a rock-solid plan of action if you are going to have any hope of earning a good rate of return from your blogs.

It’s not enough to just put a blog up and hope that they will come and blogging money will start to roll in!

So, how do you go about finding a plan of action so you can earn as much money as possible from your blogs?

The first thing you need to do is find a mentor or model from someone who is already in your niche and emulate then. Remember to wash and repeat to become a winning niche blogger.

In fact, the best source we’ve found is called “The Niche Blogger!” This is a complete program that was put together to help new people get their own start in blogging.

This will cut down on your learning time and help to ensure that you don’t make mistakes that will prevent you from making money.

When you become part of the ” The Niche Blogger“, you are going to have to devote yourself to it.

One of the problems with trying to earn money blogging is that there are many different methods out there. Do yourself a favor and don’t fall prey to this.

If you choose a good model from the very beginning it will be easy to dedicate yourself to it because you know you will be able to succeed. Succeed at one niche first then go on the next blogging for money niche sites

You should also realize that even though you can start earning very quickly, you won’t become rich overnight.

Blogging money will most likely start trickling in and then build upon itself over time. Before you know it, you can be earning a great part or full-time income from your blogs!

One of the best things about blogging is that once you have your blog set up it is relatively passive income.

You may need to tweak things and add posts along the way, but for the most part they will be your 24 hours a day, seven days a week “salespeople.”

Earning money from blogs can literally change your life for the better. In fact, you might find that you can quit your day job and become a full-time blogger!

All you need to do is make sure you find follow The Niche Blogger instructions, and that you dedicate yourself to it until you are successful.

The chances are very good that you look back on the moment you decided to become a blogger a year from now and know that it was one of the best decisions you have ever made.

Blogging money is truly the way to go for a full time work at home passive income!

Try The Niche Blogger for FREE! Click Here for a FREE 3 Day Trial

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