The bloggers guide to profits (5)

RSS and Blogging
 
What is RSS?

RSS stands for “really simple syndication” and is a new, easy, low cost method
for distributing content on the web, using a newswire model.

How does RSS enhance Blog Performance? 

A blog can be read with a standard browser, or alternatively, can be read by an
RSS reader (or “aggregator”). Blogs and even web pages can be syndicated to
form an RSS  feed. This RSS  feed  then can be made available unfiltered  to a
client’s desktop via a well-known URL.

Hint: WordPress automatically creates a RSS feed for your blog.
The url below is an example of an RSS feed generated by WordPress
http://www.elitelinksnewsletter.com/newsletter/wp-rss2.php

Many content  rich sites use RSS and Blogging  to keep  the user up-to-date with
information,  breaking  news  and  other  stories.  Subscription  by  RSS makes  the
content come to the user rather than the user having to go to different web logs to
fetch it. Hence, RSS utilizes ‘pull’ technology which means users ask for content,
unlike  email  marketing,  which  relies  on  ‘push’  technology  to  push  content
unasked for.

RSS  offers  the  potential  of  endless  opportunities  to  the  Internet  marketing
community right now. Cleverly written blogs are relatively easy to maintain pages
that contain enough information about a product or a service to soft-sell it.

Major benefits of using RSS for Blogging

Higher Search Engine visibility

Several major  search engines  such as Yahoo! and MSN are offering  to  index
your RSS  feed along with  your website  (or Blogs)  if  your  visitors  include  your
RSS feed in their search engine specific accounts. 

For instance, Yahoo! will spider your RSS feed and blog if a visitor to your blog
includes your feed in his or her My Yahoo! account. Yahoo! is doing this within
48 hours of such an occurrence – a remarkably fast indexing time for Yahoo! 

To  top  it all,  this happens without costing you a penny! You can  further speed
up the process by subscribing to your RSS feed in your My Yahoo! account.

How To Add Your RSS Feed To Yahoo! 

After you regularly start posting to your blog, you should add your RSS feed to
Yahoo!

If you don’t have a My Yahoo! account, go create one now by visiting this url:
http://www.yahoo.com/

Simply click on the My Yahoo! icon and register.

Adding Your Content

The first thing you will need to know, is what your RSS feed url is. Once you are
armed with this information, log onto your My Yahoo! Account.

When you first log into your account you will want to click on the “Add Content”
button

On the next page you will see a search box, and to the right of this box, there is
a link you need to click on titled “Add RSS by URL”

On the next page, simply copy and paste your RSS feed into the box and click
on “Add “

If your feed is valid, you will see it listed in the next step. Now simply click on the
“Add To My Yahoo!” button.

You should double check that the feed was added, by going to the front page of
your account. If you did everything correctly, you will see your feed listed
towards the bottom. 

If you don’t see your feed, repeat all of the steps as necessary.

Once you have registered, and are logged into your account, Copy and paste your RSS feed url into the box and click the green arrow.

Your feed will then be displayed on the next page. Place a checkmark by your
feed and click “OK.”

You will then be taken back to the main page, where your feed should be
displayed.

That is all there is to it!

Each time you create a new blog, be sure to add it to both Yahoo! and MSN
using the steps listed above.


Websites and Directories for hosting/submitting your blogs

This is a comprehensive list of websites that allow you to post your blogs. Many
of these also provide the functionality of hosting your own blogs. In other words,
these are third party service providers we discussed earlier. 

http://apcala.com/ 
http://anthonyjhicks.com/aussieblogs/
http://www.20six.co.uk/ 
http://www.birminghambloggers.contactbox.co.uk/
http://allafrica.com/afdb/blogs/ 
http://www.bitadir.com/
http://www.somethingjewish.co.uk/jewish_blogs/ 
http://blo.gs/
http://blogarama.com/ 
http://www.blogcatalog.com/
http://www.journalfiend.com/ 
http://www.bloguniverse.com/
http://technorati.com/blogs/top100/ 
http://www.blog-city.com/
http://www.blogger.com/ 
http://www.bloggernity.com/
http://www.bloghosts.com/ 
http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/
http://blogomania.com/ 
http://www.blogscanada.ca/
http://www.blogspirit.com/ 
http://www.blogster.com/
http://www.blogstreet.com/ 
http://www.blogsweet.com/
http://www.britblog.com/ 
http://www.blogscanada.blogspot.com/
http://www.experienceproject.com/ 
http://www.diaryland.com/
http://johndoe.org/ 
http://www.inknoise.com/
http://www.blogeye.com/ 
http://www.lexblog.com/
http://www.blogdrive.com/ 
http://www.blogstudio.com/
http://www.blogmosis.com/ 
http://www.libdex.com/weblogs.html
http://www.lsblogs.com/ 
http://www.blogger.de/
http://www.blurty.com/ 
http://www.livejournal.com/
http://www.textamerica.com/ 
http://www.livelogcity.com/
http://www.digitalexpressions.nu/ 
http://www.blogsome.com/
http://music-blogs.com/ 
http://web.pitas.com/pitas/
http://www.ebloggy.com/ 
http://www.mindsay.com/
http://www.geeklog.net/ 
http://www.deardiary.net/
http://www.nycbloggers.com/ 
http://www.my-journal.com/
http://www.opendiary.com/ 
http://www.my-diary.org/
http://www.weblogs.nu/directory/ 
http://www.mydeardiary.com/
http://www.phlog.net/ 
http://www.myitblog.com/
http://www.pitas.com/ 
http://www.myst-technology.com/
http://sandiegobloggers.com/ 
http://negimaki.com/
http://www.scribble.nu/ 
http://www.nolablogs.com/
http://www.seo-blog.org/ 
http://www.tabulas.com/
http://www.blogsforsmallbusiness.com/directory/ 
http://quickblog.org/
http://www.bloghunter.com/ 
http://scribblejournal.com/
http://www.talkingforest.com/ 
http://www.plugsocket.com/shade_of_grey.html
http://www.tonguewag.com/ 
http://www.tblog.com/
http://vancouverbloggers.com/ 
The Big Blog Company
http://www.weblog.ro/
http://newleftblogs.blogspot.com/
http://www.weblogs.com/ 
http://www.typepad.com/
http://www.wilsdomain.com/ 
http://www.upsaid.com/
http://www.memebot.com/ 
http://www.weblogger.com/
http://www.fawny.org/xenoblogs/ 
http://www.xanga.com/about/premium

the end
enjoy

The bloggers guide to profits (4)

Blogging Resources
 
Blogging software & tools

Now that you know what a blog is, and how it can benefit your business, let’s
look at some of the most commonly used ways to get your blog up and running.
WordPress

WordPress is the most popular blogging software used online today. This is
because it is not only free to use, but has a huge support community that helps
new and veteran users alike.

The biggest advantage to using WordPress, is that it is constantly being
updated and improved upon. In fact, because it is open source software, there
are hundreds, if not thousands of programmers constantly creating WordPress
plugins.

These plugins are basically like bonus features you can use with the software,
to upgrade its functionality (Making your life much, much easier).

You can view a list of these plugins at:

http://codex.wordpress.org/?pagename=Plugin

One major feature of the software, is that it automatically creates a RSS feed for
your blog (The benefits of RSS will be discussed later on).

Each time you post to your blog, the software automatically updates your feed.
This is a dynamic feature that will help expose your blog to a wider audience,
and best of all, requires no extra work on your part.

Installing WordPress

The first step you will need to take, is to download WordPress here:
http://wordpress.org/download/

You can then follow the detailed installation instructions. Should you run into
any problems, don’t hesitate to use the support forum at: 
http://wordpress.org/support/

After you have installed the software, you will want to change your theme. The
theme is simply the layout/design of your blog. You can make it look as simple,
or as creative as you wish.

To choose a theme for your WordPress blog, visit:
http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/

Once you have chosen your preferred theme, simply download the file to your
hard drive. The zip file should contain easy installation instructions for changing
your theme in a few simple steps. 

These are just the basics you need to get started using WordPress to power
your blog. As you become more familiar with the software, you can slowly begin
to use more of the advanced features and plugins.

Popular WordPress Plugins

As we discussed earlier, there are a vast amount of helpful plugins you can use
for WordPress. Here are some of the most popular plugins available:
Grunion Contact Form – A simple contact form plugin that is also used on
WordPress.com  http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/grunion-contact-form/
Gravity Forms – A high tech plugin that lets you build custom forms and is
extremely extensible.  
https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?cl=54585&c=ib&aff=138786

One Click Backup v. 1.3 – Quickly and easily backup your blog using this plugin. 
http://weblogtoolscollection.com/archives/2005/01/28/wordpress-one-click-backup-version-13/


Google Sitemap Generator – One of the hottest ways to get your Website/blog
pages listed on Google is by using a Google Sitemap. 
http://www.arnebrachhold.de/2005/06/05/google-sitemaps-generator-v2-final

Use this plugin to instantly generate your own Google Sitemap, and you should
see a dramatic increase in the pages Google indexes from your blog.

WP Subscribe To Comments – This plugin will give your readers instant email
notifications when there are new comments to your posts. 
http://www.scriptygoddess.com/archives/2004/06/03/wp-subscribe-to-comments/
This is a great way to keep your visitors coming back to read your blog! 

Blogger
If you are searching for the easiest way to start a blog, then perhaps Blogger is
the solution for you.

You can setup a Blogger account and add your first post, literally within minutes.

The drawback is that you only have so much control over the design/layout of
your blog, and a limited amount of features.

If you can live with these shortcomings, then a Blogger account is your best
option.

Setting Up Your Blogger Account

Step 1 – Getting Started

Follow the link below and click on the “Create Your Blog Now” arrow.

http://www.blogger.com/

Step 2  –   Create Your Account 

Once you have clicked the arrow, you will be taken to the “Create An Account”
page.

Here you will create your account username/password (Be sure to write down
this information and put it somewhere safe).

Don’t forget to read over the Terms of Service agreement, and check the
acceptance box.

Click on the “continue” arrow and move on to step 3.

Step 3 – Name Your Blog

The next step is to name your blog.

It is a good idea to name your blog after the theme for which you intend to use it
(I.e. Water Gardening, Ice Hockey, etc). Simply naming your blog, “My blog” or
“Jane’s Big Blog” is unprofessional and generally won’t catch people’s interests.

Putting some extra thought into your blog name can pay huge dividends down
the road.

Once you have decided on an appropriate name, you can fill out the forms.

Hint: To keeps things simple, keep the blog title and blog address the
same.

Ignore the advanced settings option, and click on the orange “continue” arrow.

Step 4 - Choose Your Blog Template


You are almost there, just one more step to go!

This is where you get to have a little fun and let out your creative side, by
choosing your blog template. 

Keep in mind that this template can be changed at anytime. Some people like to
try out all of the templates, until they find one that is just right for them.

Or if you prefer, you can create a custom template for your blog. However, this
can all be done at a later date.  

For now, simply click the tab by the design that catches your eye and continue
on to the next page.

Step 5 – Generate Your Blog

Now comes the easy part. Just sit back and relax while Blogger creates your
blog.



After your blog has been created, you will see the following page: 

Click the “Start Posting” button to make your first official post.

Congratulations! You are now a blogger! How easy was that?

--->

The bloggers guide to profits (3)

Blogging for business

A few simple rules to follow while developing your B-Blog are:

a.  B-blogs  should  be  updated  on  a  timely  and  routine  basis.  Never
should stale information be left lingering on a b-blog. 

b.  As a blog  is  informative,  its content should be crisp and natural, and
not  ordered  or  planned  like  that  in  a  newspaper. Also,  it  should  be
easy to access old blogs in an archive.

c.  Develop  a  theme,  and  form  an  original writing  style.  This will make
you a unique blogger, and give you a strong and loyal audience.

d.  Clarity and simplicity in a blog is of utmost importance! 

e.  Use  keywords  extensively  to  entice  search  engine  robots.  This
includes visibility in search engine listings. Use key words in titles as
well, though titles should not be more than 10 or 12 words long

f.  Frequently published blogs will mean search engines will come back
later to index the site. 

g.  Use your spelling and grammar checkers!

h.  Syndicate  your  blog  with  RSS  service  (discussed  later)  to  boost
readership.

The bloggers guide to profits (2)

Business Blogging!

What is business blogging?

When  the world of blogging got buzzing with activity,  the  interest  it generated
did not go unnoticed by profiteers. 

Business Blogging, sometimes called B-Blogging,  is a recent development, but
it’s growing fast and you’ll see why.

Today blogging emphasizes being informational rather than promotional. Unlike
mass marketing, blogging gives the organization a human face. In other words,
marketing  your  business  with  blogs  is  as  close  as  it  gets  to  face-to-face
marketing.  And  this  is  something  that  is  seen  as  the  biggest  advantage  of
blogging…it’s a personal thing. Not some scary company talking, but a real guy
or gal. 

Hence,  blogging  for  business  is  a  strategic  activity  designed  to  promote  the
organization’s vision, provide an online brand, secure untouched markets, and
establish  the company as  the  leading voice  in  the  industry…all by making  the
company seem more human, low-key, and accessible.

Small Businesses and B-Blogging

Small businesses have the opposite problem – they often want to seem bigger
and less personal.

You will  find  that a  large number of small business owners are partnering with
business  bloggers  and  search  optimization  firms,  because  of  the  potential
rewards it holds for them. 

It’s  increasingly  obvious  that  large  numbers  of  eyeballs  don’t matter  to most
online  businesses  –  it’s  the  right  eyeballs.  The  key  is  to  get  visitors who  are
actually interested in your products and services. Blogs do just this. 

According  to  recent  studies,  around  10 %  of  small  businesses  have  already
incorporated blogging as part of their marketing approach. Further, another 16%
plan  to  include  blogging  in  their  plans  in  the  next  two  years!  These  are  big
numbers, and growing. 

What’s the appeal? 

You  will  find  many  instances  where  blogging  can  be  useful  for  the  small
business community. A few segments, where blogging can be especially useful,
are as follows:

1.  Business Consultants: As a business consultant, you almost certainly
need  to  maintain  closely-knit  contacts  with  the  business  and  industry.
You also need to nurture these links with a lot of hard work and skill over
long  periods  of  time.  Blogging  can  help  business  consultants  keep  in
touch  with  wide  spectrum  of  the  business  community,  nurture  further
contacts and keep networked with other business consultants.

2.  ‘Bread  and  Breakfast’  Businesses.  Bread  and  Breakfast  business
depend to a great extent on seasonal traffic; hence keeping in touch with
old  clients  is  important  to get  repeat business  from  them. You  can use
blogging to stay in touch with these individuals through the year. 

3.  Specialist Retail Agencies: As  a  specialist  retailer,  you may  have  an
edge  over  other  retailers  if  into  selling  specialist  products,  say,
mountaineering  equipment  or  exclusive  skiing  equipment. Blogging  can
help you  to  interact with a niche clientele, by  including news and posts
about such specialist equipment and exclusive product updates.

4.  Non  Commercial  and  Not  for  Profit  Agencies:  If  you  are  a  non
commercial  agency  spread  over  a  large  geographical  area,  you  can
include blogs  to keep members  informed about meetings, activities, and
further developments. 

5.  Crisis situations: Blogs maintained in crisis situations help people keep
in  touch with  the  latest developments,  rescue operations and  can even
provide information about missing or injured loved ones.

You  will  also  find  that  encouraging  customers  to  provide  feedback  is  an
excellent way  of  utilizing  blogs.    They  help  generating  new  ideas  as well,  as
they  are  an  excellent  way  of  getting  a  customer’s  message  across  to  the
company. 

Advantages of Business Blogging

Simply  put,  blogging  is  another  way  of  getting  the  message  across  to  an
intended  target  audience.  It  is  all  about  optimizing  sales  by  maximizing
relationships with your  target audience. Blogging  is cheap compared  to almost
any other marketing method.

Boosts Online Branding

As  the  owner  of  a  small  business,  you  can  effectively  boost  your  online
presence by blogging about the products and services offered, the industry and
related  interests, which can help generate  interest and can enhance sales  too.
Just like nobody knows how tall you are on the radio, nobody knows the size of
your business on  the Web. Talk  like you own  the market and before  long you
probably will.

Enhancing customer relationship programs

Business Blogging  is  a  sure way  to  get  in  touch with  a  large  customer  base
without  using  email  and  other  potentially  annoying  and  ineffective  techniques.
You can make this happen by keeping updated blogs about customer interests,
new products and services, current and industry related news and such. 

The benefits you can obtain here at low to no cost can be equivalent to an email
marketing campaign at a  fraction of  the costs and without potentially annoying
your client base.

Enhances Search Engine Optimization

As blogging does not require any  fancy graphics, or complex HTML code,  it  is
virtually the darling of search engines. Many search engines frown upon heavy
and unnecessary graphics, but tend to index text. 

Many search engines  like Google  rank a site based upon  the number of  links
that point  to  it.  If you provide useful and  interesting content  increases  interest
among  readers,  it  makes  the  blog  site  even  more  popular.  Linking  to  other
interesting  sites  and  including  important  keywords  while  writing  the  blog  can
increase  viewers. Blogging  can  promote a website  by  virtue  of  the  number  of
links you as a blogger could put in your website.

These  links  can  cause  a  domino  effect  because  they  will  refer  to  another
website, which in turn will refer to another, and so on and so forth. If a myriad of
links  start  pointing  to  the  website,  this  can  do  wonders  for  website  search
engine rankings. This is also sometimes known as a ‘viral’ effect, referring to the
way a virus multiplies in a host organism. When a blog links to websites similar in theme or idea, webmasters may reciprocate by linking back.  This increases
the  affinity  of  search  engine  robots  which  may  give  a  higher  ranking  to  the
website.  

Better Tool for Media and PR 

Blogs  are  an  excellent  PR  and  media  relation  tool  too,  as  every  marketing
manager might have found. If you place advertisements in traditional media like
newspapers  and  television,  they  can  be  extremely  expensive. Whereas,  the
cost benefits offered by blogging could be peanuts compared to a television or a
newspaper campaign and your material will generally have much longer life – in
theory, forever. 

Enhances Niche markets 

If  you  sell  something  online  that  other  websites  also  cater  to,  as  an  online
retailer it could be extremely difficult to obtain and edge over others. Selling to a
niche market can be an advantage because  there  is something unique  to  talk
about  in  detail,  which  others  lack.  You  might  regularly  blogging  new
developments, also specialist  talk. This can attract niche customers  to  the site
and can significantly increase customer attention and consequently your sales.

--->

The bloggers guide to profits (1)

Why Blog?

As  described  earlier,  blogging  does  not  need  any  sophisticated  programming
skills, and even does away with complex coding. With almost no barrier to entry,
it  is estimated  that  there are more  than 10 million blogs on  the  Internet  today
and growing. 

Since  bloggers  enjoy  the  freedom  and  power  of  posting  their  thoughts  and
views instantly, blogging empowers visitors with a sense of instant gratification.
We all might want  to blog –  just  ramble on and often complain! –  for personal
reasons or for fun. We perhaps want to stay connected to the big wide world out
there, get something off our chests, or try to entertain far-away friends.

Blogging, much  like a website, gives you a worldwide  reach. Besides creating
and  maintaining  a  blog  is  far  easier,  quicker  and  cheaper  compared  to
managing a website. 

Are you starting to see the business potential here?

The bloggers guide to profits (intro)

Introduction


What are blogs?

As you might have experienced, surfing  the web was a fairly passive activity
in the past. Like reading or watching TV or a bit of a combination of the two. The
website as such, was all designed to be a rather one-way informative medium.
Then came the advent of the ‘blog… 

So what on earth, er, the World Wide Web, is blogging?  Abbreviated from “web
log” a blog is simply a stream-of-consciousness kind of writing. Whether you are
a major celebrity or a high school kid, you can blog. It requires no technical skill
at all and costs almost nothing. They have become amazingly popular and are
continually  in  the  news.  Recently,  some  people  have  been  fired  by  major
corporations  for blogging about  the goings-on at work! So you know  there are
plenty of readers out there.

What’s the buzz and what’s in a blog anyway?

What can be included in a Blog?

What could you include in a blog? Practically anything that comes to your mind. 

In many instances, the discussion depends upon the theme of the website or a
web  page  itself  that  is  associated with  a  blog. Blogs  are  an  excellent way  of
expressing personal opinion. These range from discussions about news, current
events,  sports,  hobbies,  careers,  and  various  other  topics.  If  you  can  think  it,
and you can type, you can blog it, more or less.


Blogs are being used effectively now by businesses as well. As stated earlier,
Blogs are fast gaining popularity as an efficient marketing & advertising tool that
helps businesses promote  their products and services. Much more on  this  in a
moment…

--->

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