Blogging Tips

Ebay Store Wordpress Plugin

2011-12-28T15:02:00.000-08:00

An eBay store is a smart way to earn extra income if you are a blogger or have your own website by making commission on any eBay fees generated. One way to advertise that you have your own eBay store is by adding a plugin on your blog or website. Your regular fans from your blog already have trust and interest in you, therefore they will be interested in what your interested in. There are many different things you can use to connect with your eBay store and all the other features through your personal blog. Here are a a couple different eBay WordPress plugins you can utilize on your blogs: eBay auto poster, eBay store, auction affiliate, wordBay, eBay sales lister, free eBay store, etc.

eBay Auto Poster
The eBay auto poster plugin makes it easy to post eBay listings to your blogs automatically. This plugin is used with affiliate marketers usually.

eBay Store
The eBay store plugin makes it possible for store owners to display and sell their products through their WordPress website/blog.

Auction Affiliate
The auction affiliate plugin gives affiliate marketers the ability to include upcoming eBay auctions to their blogs. They are able to customize the theme and define what products they want included in the blog.

WordBay
WordBay is a step by step process dedicated to create a WordPress website featuring eBay listings based on chosen keywords. This is mainly available for people who want to create eBay-based WordPress websites.

eBay Sales Lister
This plugin allows a person to add eBay auctions/sales listings to their sidebar or blog in a simple way. It will display the title, the remaining time, and current bid on your listings. The settings on WordPress might have to be altered to include a convenient sidebar for your listings.

Free eBay Store
The free eBay store plugin is great for fans of the eBay affiliate program. This wonderful feature enables you to add an eBay store to your blog. All the requirements needed is your account information, a keyword, and how many rows and columns the store is going to have.

Furthermore, these are just several well-known plugins used dealing with the eBay business. Not only are you advertising your own personal eBay store and profiting, but you are sharing with other bloggers the positive benefits.

WordPress Reblog Plugin

2011-12-19T14:58:00.000-08:00

A dedicated blogger thoroughly enjoys creating and posting original blogs on a regular basis. Another enjoyable activity is coming across another person's blog and having the desire to share the blog with more readers. There has always been a way to do this but the process can be frustrating and lengthy. WordPress wanted to make it easier for regular bloggers to be able to share other posts to their own blog.

In WordPress, there is a simple way of re-posting another person's blog. The reblog plugin feature is a link that will automatically bring you back to the QuickPress tab on the WordPress.com home screen. The first thing you need to do when interested in re-posting a blog is to like the post. Once you have liked the post, that area will change to "You like this" and a drop down menu will appear for you to browse the options. The drop menu will have an option called "Reblog this post" that you click on. This will create a snippet of the post text, the link to the original post, and a link to the blog. You may also add your own comments to the blog explaining why you enjoyed reading it. If there are any pictures in the selected blog, they will be automatically be included in your new re-posted blog.

The reblog plugin feature in WordPress is a great way to share blogs and get the message out to more people. Re-posting blogs will ultimately attract more people to read the original blogger's posts and also the other the person's material. It is a great way to share the same ideas and bring today's bloggers together.

Free Modular Wordpress Themes

2011-12-09T10:59:00.000-08:00

There are tons of different themes to choose from when it comes to WordPress, many of which you can find for free. I'm going to share with you some of the best websites to look at. These websites have selections of free themes that you can choose from to put into your own page. So you can incorporate the newest styles and HTML code with WordPress.

You can view these websites and more for some inspiring layouts and themes that you can use with your WordPress for free.

Professional Blogger Layouts

2011-12-09T09:20:00.000-08:00

If you have a blog, it's true that you want it to be unique and stand out, but it's important, especially if you're writing this block for a professional business, that you have a professional layout. I'm going to show you some examples and links to some really good professional-looking layouts that you can take advantage of, as well as a website that has many more of these examples for you to choose from.

Magazeen

Pointe Du Lac

Girl in Circles

Grunge Superstar

Japanese Fleur

And here's the link to several pages of professional blogs for you to choose from.

How to Make Headline Font Bigger

2011-12-08T13:23:00.000-08:00

If you want to change the font size in WordPress, it's a very simple HTML change. All you have to do is go into your coding and add in this:

#logo a { font-size: 18px !important; }

or for the tagline underneath that:

#tagline { font-size: 18px !important; }

If you want to change it up a little bit more than that, this is what you can do:

#header h1 a{
font-family: Arno Pro Bold Italic; (removed the other font families)
font-weight: 100;
color: #e7dede;
text-decoratoin: none;
font-size: 52px; (the default was 46px)
letter-spacing: 1px;
}

So that's very specific to your heading. You can change the color and fonts there to give your headline a unique look. So if you want to make your WordPress headline stand out a little bit, you can use some of these tricks to spice it up.

Good Blog Names

2011-11-17T14:25:00.000-08:00

Naming your blog is definitely an important part of the blog process, and many times, it even aids the success of blogs. When choosing a name, there are a few things you want to keep in mind and consider while creating it.

Is it original and unique?
Is it descriptive?
What kind of image does it convey?
Would you remember it after seeing it just once?
Could you spell it after hearing it just once?

These factors all add up to a catchy name for your blog, but thinking of it only gets more difficult as the best names get more and more scarce. So here are some tips for creating the best blog names. A good name is readable, pronouncable, spellable, memorable, concise, and unique.

It also describes what it represents, but the amount of content it describes directly or over time with exposure is up to you. Don't go too far into invented names that you need massive buzz or a huge budget for people to know what it is. To keep it descriptive, think of it this way: combine target audience with benefits; your audience + benefit = targeted and attractive name.

Avoid being generic. It might be tempting to go with words like "world," "place," or "thoughts," but try to aim for something more specific and unique that will stick with the audience. Try to steer away from having a name that has the word "blog" in it. Don't just use a keyword and ad blog to the end. That's not creative or unique, and it's likely that the name is already taken.

Lastly, of course, have fun with your name. If your blog isn't about something super serious, use humor and fun. They actually show to be effective for getting noticed and being memorable. Some good examples of this are "MenWithPens" and "RottenTomatoes." Avoid inside jokes because they would probably exclude visitors, rather than invite them.

Blog Header Design

2011-11-16T14:13:00.000-08:00

Blog headers should be simple, right? Most people don't put that much thought or effort into their headers on their blogs - but they should. Despite what you may think, there's more to your blog then just the content; looks actually do matter here. And your header is what's going to grab the visitors' attention, so don't you want it to be appealing?

You want something that's going to be memorable, and something that will represent your brand or business or have some kind of relevance to whatever it is your blogging about. You want it to give the people that visit your page a feeling - make it give them some kind of emotion when they look at it. Is it warm, cold, professional, classy, happy, or boring? What do you FEEL when you see your header?

So stop hiding. If your business is about you and your name and you're trying to make a living from that website, then you need to quit hiding, put a picture up of you and make your header stand out.

Following, I'm going to share with you a list of blogs you should check out and look at their headings. They're eye-catching and give a sense of emotion.

Look at some of those headers and incorporate the ideas into one for your own blog. Use a picture of the writer or at least a picture that incorporates something to do with your blog. Your header is the first thing that your visitors will see - right at the top of your page, so you want them to notice it and remember it. Be creative and have fun and make it something that nobody can ever forget.

Top 10 Blog Sites

2011-11-15T13:02:00.000-08:00

If you like to write and be creative, something you might want to consider is creating a blog. Maybe you want to share your knowledge, your discovery, or your opinions and just want to write for fun. The first thing you need to do is choose a website to create your blog and then host it. The following 10 blog websites are the most popular ones and are all free to the users.

Check them all out if you'd like and see which one fits your needs/wants the most. Compare them with one another to find out what would be the most relevant to what it is you're looking for.

Free Blog Templates

2011-11-15T08:35:00.000-08:00

So you've got your blog all set up. You've got your domain name and you've started posting. However, it is still important that your blog looks neat and professional. Most blogs that you can set up come with a basic template, but you can customize your blog and add whatever template you'd like. There are thousands of free (and paid) templates out there that you can use.

I'm going to offer you a list of websites that you can check out which will offer free blog templates that you may want to download them and integrate them into your blog.

Check some of those templates out and look around online for even more free templates. Your blog is your place to express - not only your opinions, but your creativity. So find a template that is unique and that represents you and your blog.

Blog Widgets

2011-11-11T13:20:00.000-08:00

Widgets are pretty handy, as well as easy and simple. They add a little bit of flair to your blog. Whether you want to display the number of current online visitors or just post the weather report, you can do all of these things, and more, with widgets. I'm going to give you some widget resources and suggestions that you can use, but just keep in mind to not overdo it.

One really awesome resource to find some tools to put on your blog is here. They have downloads that you can add for news, quotes of the day, sports, and even a daily motivator. Take a look around on their website and install some cool widgets for your page.

You can get a countdown clock, which will count down to any date that you give it, whether it's your birthday or a big event taking place for something relevant to your blog.

You can find a way to put in what the weather is like in your city. The attached link there will take you to Houston because that was the information I put in, but you can, of course, change it to your location and post it on your blog so visitors will know what it's like outside.

This last one I'll show you is an Answer Box. This is a way to have a search box on your blog where users can easily type in a keyword and it will automatically pull up information from Answers.com to give them suggestions for what it is they're searching for.

See this other widgets page for more links and resources to make your blog look and be awesome. Remember, don't put too much on there so it's over crowded, but put pertinent information that has to do with what it is you're writing about or where you are, anything that helps your users and visitors want to come back to read again.

How to Promote a Blog

2011-11-10T14:09:00.000-08:00

We all want to have successful blogs that bring traffic to your page. Blogging is an enjoyable habit, especially for people who love to write and express their opinions to others. But gaining profits in blogs is not an easy task, especially if you're just starting out. Of course you need to write relevant content, but you also need to drive traffic to your website, which is not easy. It takes time and persistence and a lot of patience to build history and gain traffic. Without traffic, there is no money.

To get traffic, you have to be effective in promoting your website, which includes your blog appearance, SEO, social media promotions and email marketing.

Let's start with your blog appearance. There are several good, and free, blogging website online, like WordPress and Blogger. They can help you get your blog set up easily and quickly, but they do limit your creativity. You could create a blog site from scratch but that, of course, will time more time and much more effort. If you use a site that is already up and running, you're able to choose from several different modules and plugins that are ready for you to use. In addition to that, there is support from around the world of communities that are willing to help you out with any issues you might be having (yes, there are forums for just about anything).

Going along with that you need to choose a color theme. This is very important for your blog's appearance. Colors can trigger different emotions and responses from your visitors and readers. Many blogs use light colored backgrounds with dark color test which makes the content more readable for users. You also need to make your blog navigational. What I mean by that, is that you want to organize your links and blocks well so your recent posts and most famous articles are accessible to readers. Study and experiment well for your ad positions and put them in the right places so you can make your number of click through higher.

SEO (search engine optimzation) has become very important in driving traffic to websites, including blogs. You need to make your content relevant for your focused niche. That means making sure that what you write is helpful to readers. Users are continuously looking for good content that relates to them so aim to publish new content on a daily, or at least a weekly, basis that will link to your audience. Build back links onto your page. The number of back links is important if you want higher page ranks. Search engines will determine your relevance by the number of link presence you have on the web.

Promote your blog through social media. Twitter, Facebook, and other social media websites can be linked to your blog. Whatever you Tweet or post in connection to your website will affect your online presence. Be creative with your posts. Investing in online forums and other sites can also give you more exposure. Comment on those forums and comment on other people's blogs that you would read on a regular basis. If they relate to what you're writing about, leave a comment that's useful to them and, again, be creative by writing comments that provide extra value to the post and it's readers.

Email marketing can be more beneficial than you might think. Sending out an attractive ad corporate-looking e-newsletter can prevent your recipients to hi the "spam" button. Be creative with the layout and write good content. Put links that will take them directly to your website. You can even offer games, rewards, and other promotions to give readers a reason to visit your blog. Don't send e-mails to people who don't give you permission. Instead, create a pitch page on your website where readers can submit their e-mail address to subscribe to your newsletters.

These are just a few ways that you can go about promoting your blog. There are other ways, but these here can be very effective if done correctly. So start writing and having fun. Once you've got some content going and a decent-looking page, take some of the advice here and promote the work you've done to get traffic coming through your page.

Best Blog Design

2011-11-09T13:07:00.000-08:00

Some of the best blog designs are those that are unique. But even the most unique blog designs typically follow some sort of predefined or established style. There are plenty of design styles to choose from, whatever your style may be. There are patterns that can be adapted to suit your own ideals and the needs of your site. Often times, working with a predefined pattern can actually enhance your creativity by helping you focus.

One such style is something hand-drawn. It creates a relaxed, yet artistic style. These are all over the place. Some are very doodley, while others are more like fine art. They can lend a relaxed feeling to a blog and a dose of creativity. One of the best parts about this style is that it is incredibly customizable. The illustrations you use can reflect the style of the owner or writer.

Another popular style is grunge. This has been on the web now for a few years, and is still going strong. Part of this group are those designs that are minimalist grunge, where the theme is minimal with the exception of the grunge elements, and more refined grunge that isn't as messy as earlier productions. This room also has a lot of room for creativity and personal expression.

A very popular style these days is that of the minimalist. These can be some of the hardest to pull off, despite their seeming simplicity. When less is more, every single element becomes extremely important. Some of the best minimalist designs incorporate lots of white space, simple typography, and just a few images.

Grid and magazine style brings order to chaos. These themes have been around for years now. If you have a site that is very information-heavy, this can add a sense of order and structure to a design. They also still leave room for creativity, though.

Collage styles vary greatly. They are basically designs that take a number of elements like photographs and realistic illustrations and put them together to form a background that resembles a bulletin board or messy desk. It's unique and allows for a lot of individual expression through what's included in the collage.

Gallery blogs, despite what you may think, aren't limited to just displaying images. Many blogs that focus mostly on text are using this style because it can fit more information in a smaller amount of space, while leaving things looking uniform and organized. There are still many sites that use gallery layouts for their original intended purpose: photos, illustrations, and design work.

Typography is more than just pretty lettering. Excellent typography can really set a blog apart from others. It's not only more aesthetically pleasing, but it can also make your blog easier to read.

Use a unique combination of textures and patterns to bring life to an otherwise simple design. This can lead to a very creative and exceptional theme. There are massive amounts of textures available, many of which are for free for personal or commercial use, so this style is largely accessible to all sorts of designers.

Be bold. Bold artwork, illustrations, and graphics can make a big impact on visitors. Use bright colors, original illustrations, and vector artwork for a unique design.

Transparency adds polish without weighing things down. When transparency is combined with a unique background, it can create a whole new level of elegance that many other blogs lack. Some blogs use this design throughout their page, while others use it only in select locations to add some flair.

3D design elements, like folded paper, letterpress effects, and similar designs, are newer trends being used in blogs today. But it is a beautiful style that can be combined with many other unique design elements, like collages and grunge.

These are only a few popular design ideas that many blogs have displayed on their pages. You can use any of these, or a combination of a few of these, to help create a unique and exciting blog that visitors will look forward to visiting. So put your thinking cap on and get some inspiration and design the best web page you can.

Tumblr Blogs

2011-11-08T09:25:00.000-08:00

Tumblr is a microblogging website that allows users to post text, images, videos, links, quotes, and even audio to their "tumblelog," a short-form blog. Users can follow each other or choose to make their blog private. The service emphasizes ease of use. It is ranked as the 10th largest social network.

With tumblr you're able to customize everything, from colors to your theme's HTML. There are hundreds of themes to choose from, but you can create your own theme. Tumblr is alos mobile, offering one of the best iPhone publishing apps in existence. You can post anything, but can keep things to yourself, if you choose to. Create a custom domain name. From Tumblr, you can even update your Twitter and Facebook accounts by connecting them to your Tumblr account. One of the best parts is that it's free!

The average user creates 14 original posts each month and reblogs 3. Reblogs are similar to retweets, in which you can click a button to "reblog" another users blog, which gives them more visitors and they get to bee seen by more people.

Go sign up for Tumblr and start writing today. It's free and easy to use and you can make it your own. Speak your mind and share your opinion with others and be able to follow other people who have interesting blogs or represent something important to you.

Free Blog Software

2011-11-02T13:58:00.000-07:00

There are many different blog websites that you can easily use for free to create your own blog. With these free downloads, you follow their step-by-step instructions and they help you create and start blogging in just a few simple steps.

One such blogging software is called WordPress. You download WordPress straight to your computer and in just a few minutes you'll have a blog set up and ready to write for. There are many popular WordPress users like Martha Stewart and CNN. You can also use Blogger. It works much like WordPress. It helps you create an account, however, you don't have to download anything... you simply do everything online. They make it easy and simple to blog.

With a little bit of research you can find the right blog software for you. The best part is that many of them are free to join and you can get set up in minutes and begin your blog today. Why wait? Go find a blog site that you like, join now, and start writing and sharing your opinions.

How to Blog for Money

2011-10-31T14:05:00.000-07:00

If your aim is to blog for money, then you need to create your own content; lots and lots of content. You also need to implement ad programs and of course, you need to have traffic roll through.

I'm going to share with you a few tips on how to turn your blog into a moneymaker. First thing you need to do is sell advertising. The way that works, is you post ads on your blog, and you get paid for how many times visitors click that link which sends them to the ad. Adsense, for example, is a free program that does this. The ads are generally not obtrusive to your blog, but brings you in some profit.

You can also help sell other people's products. Affiliate programs allow your blog to become a connection between readers and online sites that offer goods and services. For example, you can mention Amazon.com when you offer book reviews or just mention a book in passing in your blog. An affiliate program gives your readers a way to click directly from your blog to Amazon to get further information about what you posted. Then if they purchase something from there, you get paid, too.

Market your services in your blog. Your blog isn't just a place to put out your opinions and whatever else. Blogs are a good place to share those thoughts, but use it to your advantage for a business, as well. When you blog, work in references about what you do and what you may be able to do for possible clients and customers that are reading your blog. That will then spread your opinion and your business at the same time.

In the same sense, use your blog to further your relationship with existing customers. Communicate with people who are already clients by informing them about everything your business does. It will enhance the understanding your readers have about your business and products or services.

You also want to post comments on other people's blogs. This will attract other people to your blog when they see your opinion voiced out, they may be curious as to what else you have to say, so put your name on other people's blogs, as well. Similarly, register with several different forums. Again, when you post your opinion and what you think about things, people will be attracted to your blog to read further from you to see what else is on your mind.

In short, what you need to do to make money off of your blog is to attract people to it, sell advertising, represent other people's products, market your services within your blog, and use your blog to enhance your relationships with current customers and to reach out to new potential customers. Do these things and people will come and read and come back some more.

How to Blog Successfully

2011-10-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

From previous blogs I've posted, I'm going to assume if you're reading this then you have your blog site up and running. Now you're just trying to figure out to do so successfully. If you don't have a blog yet, I would suggest reading previous blogs to get set up first.

Once you have everything set up, you can follow these tips to ensure that your blog will be successful.

First, have a consistent URL. I know we talked about how to be creative and make it short, but you also want to KEEP it the way it is. If you don't change it, people will get confused and not know where to go to find your blog, so leave the URL the way it is the whole time you're working with that particular blog.

Choose a good topic to blog about. Each blog should mirror your passion and knowledge and what you love to do on the subject. Make sure each blog represents your main blog title. If you're talking about women's fashion as your main headline, don't suddenly turn around and write a blog about computers. You want to pick a subject that will never die out. Even if it's popular right now, think about it with care and consideration, and make sure that it is a subject that will stick around for a while.

Content gets harder and harder the more you write about a topic. You might have many genius ideas on day one and so you blog high quality stuff on the first few blogs. But once your ideas are gone, they're gone. Make sure you keep creating new material constantly, and don't let the high quality die out. Make your posts even and level so readers will keep coming back for more.

Keep marketing your blog. If you have Facebook, Twitter, stubmleupon, or any other social media site that you're on, let your fans, friends, family, whoever, know that you have a blog up and running. Anytime you post a new blog, publish that on your other webpages with a link so they can read your latest update.

Have some technical background. You want to be able to tweak your blog and give it some finesse. You can dabble with HTML, Javascript, and Flash for your blog. This technology can give your blog a sense of uniqueness and functionality that makes it stand above the rest. Invest some time to learn new web technologies that can enhance your blog.

Do some research. Each blog you post is going to be news. Read around to see what others have said about that topic and reflect on what they said to make sure you giving the best opinion possible. This involves work, patience, and persistence to read other peoples' content and then create your own. Reflect deep within yourself to come up with how you might respond to what you've read and researched from others and you've got yourself a blog.

Expect some ups and downs. Sometimes, you'll have no comments on your posts after putting what you thought was a lot of hard work into a blog. Then the next day you can post a one-liner blog that gets rants and raves and everybody is talking about it. There will be days when you'll have no clue what to post about, but then they'll be days when you have so many ideas in your head, you won't know where to start. It can be a bumpy, but fun, ride.

Be prepared to sacrifice something in your personal life. With all this hard work, it's difficult to keep up with all aspects of your life. If you have a full time job, your personal or work life may take a hit by starting up a blog. Maybe some of your hobbies or interests will be affected. Decide carefully what you will be willing to give up to become a successful blogger.

Writing a good post does take time and patience. Most people consider writing blogs to be hard work, from coming up with the title to the way the post is structured to the content posted. Read and reread your posts and make edits and take time to make sure that you want to post the blog you've written. It may take a few tries, a few redos, before you have a finished product you're proud of.

Once you do have a blog written that you think is amazing, post it. You want to feel a sense of accomplishment for what you've just written. If you publish it and then sit back and think to yourself all of the things you said that didn't make sense to you, then go back, do some more research, and feel comfortable in what you're talking about. Blogging does take quite a bit of effort, but it can be very rewarding. So have fun with it, and learn something new.

How to Make Your Own Blog

2011-10-27T10:10:00.000-07:00

If you want to create your own blog, now is the time to do it. It has never been easier and it's a fun way to express your opinions on common topics.

First thing you need to do is create your blog and get it online. You can do this within minutes and there are many different websites to choose from that will help you create your blog, like Blogger, WordPress, SOSBlogs, and more. Just venture out there, do a search, and see which blog site would work best for you.

Once you have the actual blog created, you need to decided what it is your mainly going to blog about - have a key topic that your blogs will be consistent with, whether it's fashion, fish, video games, whatever, come up with a topic. Once you have that set in place, choose a domain name for your blog. Think of that in the long-term. You want this name to be unique, catchy, and easy to remember, as well as short, simple, and easy to spell. Make sure the topic, or keyword, of your blog is in the domain name - you want it to be relevant. Then you register that domain name with the company that is hosting your blog.

Now that you have your domain name, topic, and blog in place, you want to get a design. You want to make it modern looking to keep up with the times and what will interest the visitors, visually. Make sure you have easy navigation someone on the blog site so people can go back and forth to homepage, or to outside links. Have different colors displayed for different parts of your blog. Your main page can have one look, while your actual blogs can have a different look - mix it up. When thinking and creating your design, make it something appealing that people will want to come back and not only read what you have to say in relevance to your main topic, but to see the design of your page.

Once the design is all set, you want to being creating content. You want to write headlines that will grab people's attention. Common ones that people like to view are "how to" and "top list" headlines. They like to learn "how to" do something that you may be an expert on, and they want to know your opinion about the top 20 dessert recipes. Whatever your topic is, create how to's and lists for their interests so they can venture into it further. Once you have an eye-catching headline, you want to make sure you stick to it in your blog. For a list, you can keep it simple and make bullet points with what all you want them to know. You can even do the same for how to's, using numbers and listing how to do certain things step-by-step.

Those are the basic concepts you want to follow to get your blog started. Once it's up and running and you have some content on there, with an awesome design, you want to make sure and get visitors to look to your page. So read up on how to market your blog and get some action coming through. Once you have visitors, as long as you keep your content current and appealing to the viewers, they'll keep coming back to see what you have to say about new subjects within your topic, so stay on top of current events that involve what it is you're talking about so you can make a valid and reasonable opinion for them to be interested in.

Blogging Tips for Beginners

2011-10-21T09:11:00.000-07:00

To start off, let's go over what exactly a blog is. It is an online journal where you can share your personal thoughts and ideas easily. They are the other form of web pages where you can update information on a regular basis. The word originated from Jorn Barger in1997 when the two words web and log came together to make blog. They can be maintained easily and developed by anyone.

A benefit to reading a blog is that you can you can give your opinion with complete freedom to be open and honest. Following are some tips for blogging beginners.

Give your blog an attractive title.
Choose a topic that you like and know.
Writing for a blog should be a passion, not a force.
Your main concept for a blog should come out in the first paragraph and the following paragraphs should just be the details, background information coming last.
If you post content that is really useful or helpful in some way, it will be shared by others.
Target your audience and write content that will be liked by them
Get involved with the people who read and comment on your site. It will create a good impression on them, and visitors.
Write short paragraphs, and break up the content with bullet points and headers.
Be informal and friendly in your content.
Don't mention negative things or things you don't like
Don't mention any specific names, places, or contact details
Spend a lot of time on social networking sites.
Be careful for spam comments being posted and comments that aren't spam being sent to spam
Blog name and domain name need to contain keywords and be concise. Don't be generic.
Find your writing style and stick to it, and write enthusiastically.
Proofread your blog before submitting and posting (change the title, heading, content, images, grammatical errors, etc).
Do not completely cover a topic. Leave it open so others can comment on it and add their say.
Follow some SEO (search engine optimization) techniques if you're not getting results.
Comment on other blog sites too.
Interact in blogging forums.

Blogging can be done by any individual successfully as long as you have a thorough understanding on how to do it. Follow some of these tips (and I'm sure you can find more if you venture out there on the internet) and you'll be successful. Even if blogging is just a fun thing (you're not doing it for money), it can still follow these guidelines and be interesting to others. Make your blog FUN, and others will have fun reading it, too.

How to Be a Guest Blogger

2011-10-20T09:08:00.000-07:00

When you are in the mood to blog; if you love to write and speak your opinion, there is a certain method you should follow. You are someone's guest, and they are allowing you to post on their blog, so be courteous.

First, you need to search for a blog that you have an interest in. Be specific; if you like fashion, perhaps you could look into fashion for plus size women.

Then you need to verify that the blog you find allows blog posts from visitors. Some blog sites have certain guidelines that guest bloggers must follow, so be sure you know what is expected from you.

Look at the blog. See if it appears to have high traffic, look at comments, number of tweets, and the amount of content the blog produces. Check to see if there is a pattern in the number of posts per day or week. If you find a blog with decent traffic, people will become familiar with your work.

Once you've established that, choose a topic that hasn't been covered on the blog yet. Aim for a unique angle. For example, if you're writing about plus size fashion, you could write about swimsuits and cover-ups that flatter the tummy.

Then, write the actual post. After doing so, e-mail the post to the owner of the blog. Most blogs will have a page that consists of ways to contact, where you can find the e-mail address.

Wait about a week before responding with a follow-up e-mail if you don't hear back. Make it short and simple. Something like "I wanted to make sure you received my guest blog post 'Flattering That Tummy at the Beach.' I sent it on Tuesday, April 26. Will you be able to publish it?" And you can even attach your post again to make sure it doesn't get overlooked.

Wait another week. If you still haven't heard back, use that blog post on your blog, and pitch it to another relevant blog or for marketing purposes.

Following these steps ensures that you get to write about something that interests you, but at the same time, you'll know that the host did receive your blog and approves of it. This is a fair way to make sure that everybody is happy.

Video Blogging Tips

2011-10-18T13:37:00.000-07:00

Many of us know about YouTube as the leading website for posting videos online. Millions of people go there ever day to view and post videos. What I'm here to talk about today is how to get people to your YouTube page and get traffic looking at your videos.

The first goal is to not make videos for profitable reasons, but to make videos to help other people gain an advantage by watching those videos. The videos don't have to be very long, in fact try to keep them under five minutes, or people may lose interest as they're watching. The most important thing to do in your video is just discuss. Think of questions that people might ask you if you were doing business with them.

For example, if you are an author and you just finished writing a book that has not been published yet, your viewers might be interested in purchasing. Think of some questions that may arise from them. What is the story about? You could something to answer that as easy as reading your synopsis to them. What type of book is it? Horror, romance, sci-fi, whatever it may be, you can give them a little background on it and what other authors or books inspired you to write about that topic.

So in general, when making a video, you want to talk about your products, your business, whatever it is you do, but you want to make it about the consumer or the viewer. What do they want to hear. Try to focus on saying stuff like "You would benefit from this because..." rather than "I think this is awesome because..." Believe it or not, customers like to hear about themselves, so make it about them!

In your videos, ASK people to subscribe to your page, or to comment on that video. Feedback is always good to have, even if it's negative. Negative feedback gives you ideas on how to turn them around and make it into a positive outcome.

Once the videos are made, just wait and see what happens. Being successful is about taking action and being consistent so just be patient.

Don't wait any longer. Go out and buy a webcam or video camera, come up with some ideas for discussions, and start taping! Nothing you do is set in stone; it can always be recorded over (and over and over and over) until you think it's how you want it!