Archive for October, 2009
Online Office Suites
Posted by Kent in Internet, Technology on October 27th, 2009
A certain study concluded that about 75% of US citizens never heard of online office suites. This might change with the recent introduction of Microsoft Office Live workspace. This is a free web based service, which acts like a central hub for home users and teams to upload and share documents. While bigger companies that have a lot of money to spend on servers or group software might not benefit from Office Live workspace, it is quite clear that this will be a very useful tool for an average Internet user. You will still be required to have Office’s desktop software components to be installed in order to perform any editing, but it will not be a problem if you have Office installed. A plug-in for Office 2003 and 2007 is provided for Windows that allows smooth interaction with workspaces and files.
I am certain that bloggers can benefit from such tools, because this way they can work on their articles from almost any location. You could even visit an Internet cafe to write and publish a few posts. After all, Office provides more flexibility when it comes to editing documents compared to other text editors, including a powerful spell checker and formatting options. Even thought it will cost you some money, the fact that you will save a lot of time by utilizing many features of Office means that it might be worth the investment.
Affiliate Plug-in for WordPress
Posted by Kent in Blogs, Internet, Technology on October 27th, 2009
There is an interesting plug-in I would like to present to you. First of all, this plug-in allows webmasters to monetize traffic by taking the keyword that a visitor used to find the site in any major search engine, and turns it into an affiliate link. This will not only save you a lot of time, but also bring you money. If you refer people to Amazon or eBay, then this plug-in will be especially useful.
Naturally, you can also customize the link to go anywhere including your site search page if you do not want to sell products. It is hard to obtain a lot of traffic, and if a website achieves that it means that the webmaster put a lot of work into it. That is why I believe that such webmasters deserve to monetize their site if they have a chance. While this plug-in will not automatically generate income for you, it is a great way to get credit for future purchases your visitors will make. You can check it out by visiting the following page: blogstorm.co.uk/automatic-keyword-inserting-affiliate-plugin-for-wordpress. Even if you are not interested in affiliate marketing, you have to admit that the way this plug-in works is very interesting.
Rewriting Best Posts
After blogging for a few months or years a blogger usually writes a lot of posts. Some of them are obviously more valuable then others and it would be a shame if they were very hard to find. One solution to make sure that people will read what you wrote in the past is to actually rewrite your old posts. In order to do this you should use up-to-date information and publish them again. I have seen this done on the top blogs in the blogosphere and if your older posts are able to stand the test of time, there is no reason why you would not want to do it. Very often there is a lot of valuable information in older posts and rewriting them might be a very good idea.
Another approach would be to link to your best posts from the sidebar, but on the other hand rewriting posts might be more beneficial, as it would update them with more recent data. If you do not plan to rewrite your older posts, then you may at least want to link to your best posts on your sidebar. If you visit many blogs, then you will notice that many other bloggers link to their posts from their sidebar.
Blogging About Yourself
Blogs are often referred to as online journals, and so many people tend to blog a lot about themselves. Is it a good or a bad thing? Before you start blogging, I think it is important to decide what your target audience will be. Do you plan to blog for your family and friends? If that is the case they will probably appreciate the fact that you write a lot about yourself, and might even expect you to do so. But what if you plan that your blog will be interesting to visitors from all over the world? First of all, since they do not know you really well they might not be interested that much in your personal life. Many bloggers make a mistake blogging about themselves too much, because they assume that everyone is interested in them. Very often that is not the case. Visitors are often more interested in the content of the site, rather then the author. I suggest deciding what your target audience is and blogging accordingly. Generally, if you want to blog to a larger audience, you may wish to write less about yourself, but more about the topic of your blog. Naturally, celebrities are in a different situation.
Signs That Your Blog Needs Some Work
Having a blog is not easy and requires dedication. Here are some signs your blog needs some work:
I think that if you are looking for some advice, then there is some knowledge to be gained from reading the list. Remember that we can always improve our blog by making some changes.
Original Content and Blogs
When it comes to blogging, bloggers want to have the most interesting articles and information posted on their site. While there is a lot of cooperation between bloggers, you can sometimes feel some tension. This is especially true when a blogger feels that some harm was done to him. This is often the case when it comes to copying and pasting articles from other blogs and posting it on your own. Writing an article is not an easy task, as it requires time, focusing on your task, ideas, and so on. Nobody wants to have his articles posted all over the Web without his permission, and this includes technology blogs. That is why I encourage bloggers to write their own articles, which they can be proud of. I am aware of the fact that many people prefer to spend as little time on their blog as possible, yet they want their blog to be very popular. However, I strongly believe that if a blogger chooses to copy and paste posts from other blogs, he is not going to be respected in the blogosphere. Soon other bloggers will start noticing that he is stealing posts, and they are going to take some action against him.
Internet Home Business Ideas
Starting an online business is never easy, but it can be a lot easier if you know what kind of business you want to start. I would like to list a few home business ideas, so that it will be easier for prospective entrepreneurs to set up their business. Here are some ideas you may be interested in:
-EBay and Auction Selling. Many people sell or even resell products via an online marketplace such as eBay or Craigslist. You can make money this way if you have some attractive products to sell. You will need to make sure that your prices will be competitive.
-Consulting. Some entrepreneurs decide to provide their specialized knowledge to various businesses. This can be a good source of income, but it requires you to be an expert in your field.
-Offering various freelance services. This may include web design, programming, graphic design, copywriting, photography, and illustration. There is a lot of need for such services, but most clients will prefer an experienced freelancer.
Take into account that it requires time before your business generates enough money to replace your current salary. Many people forget about that, but the truth is that you should wait at least a few months to have a good income.
Dedicated Readers
From a blogger’s perspective, there is no better reward than having loyal readers. Since you write posts for readers, it is essential that they read them. Having a genuine relationship with your readers can help you become a better blogger. Dedicated readers will always try to help you and they will support you when you do not feel like writing. If you publish a book, set up a Twitter account, or start publishing a newsletter, they will always be the first ones to read it. A genuine relationship with your readers starts with you. Of course, building a relationship takes time. Do not expect your readers to be encouraging you when you first set up your blog. Give them some time to become loyal, generous, helpful, positive, and supportive. There are many blogs with loyal readers, so you can achieve it as well.
Link to Other Bloggers
The Internet is a great place for those who like interactions with other people. Many people are attracted to blogging because blogging involves maintaining close relationships with other bloggers. No blog can survive for too long without being linked to other blogs. Blogs are linked to each other for many reasons, such as increasing traffic, increasing Google’s Page Rank, etc. Of course, there are many other benefits that should be taken into account. Participating in the linking to other blogs gives you the opportunity to participate in the conversation. It also allows you to get the attention of other bloggers and readers. Finally, it allows you to get the respect of other bloggers and readers. Every time you link to somebody, you help that person achieve success in the blogosphere. You can expect the same in return, because other bloggers will be grateful. While choosing with whom you will want to exchange links, do not link randomly to anyone. Try to be selective and link only to those blogs if their content is relevant to the content of your blog. If you do so, then both other bloggers and your readers will be grateful to you.
Attracting Traffic To Your Site
If you would like to read about some ways to attract free traffic to your site, here they are:
1. Submit your blog to many directories. There are so many of them that I would not be able to list all of them here. However, finding them should be easy, just use any popular search engine.
2. If you can afford it, buy a blog with already existing traffic. This will be especially beneficial for you if you know how to effectively monetize an established blog.
3. Participate in various exchanges like Technorati favorites exchange. This has brought a lot of traffic to many sites.
4. Get listed in blogrolls like the one organized at various forums. Just make sure that the blogroll is updates regularly, and that the participants have established websites.
5. Participate in contests that offer linkback as a prize. Apart from attracting traffic, this will also increase your Page Rank.
6. Ask for a free review of your website. There are actually webmasters who review other sites on a regular basis. To find such bloggers, simply browse through blogs and forums.
7. Be a guest blogger on a famous blog. To do it, just ask around.
Whatever you do, make sure you enjoy doing it.