PRO-BLOGGING: MAKING MONEY FROM BLOGS

PRO-BLOGGING: MAKING MONEY FROM BLOGS


A weblog (or simply blog) is a website that 'publishes' or features articles (which are called 'blog posts', 'posts', or 'entries'), written by an individual or a group that make use of any or a combination of the following:

· Straight texts
· Photographs or images (photoblog)
· Video (videoblog)
· Audio files (audioblog)
· Hyperlinks

PRO-BLOGGING: MAKING MONEY FROM BLOGS

Usually presented and arranged in reverse chronological order, blogs are essentially used for the following purposes:

· Online journal or a web diary
· Content managament system
· Online publishing platform

A typical blog has the following components:

· Post date -the date and time of the blog entry

· Category - the category that the blog belongs to

· Title - the title of the blog

· Main body - the main content of the blog

· RSS and trackback - links the blog back from other sites

· Comments - commentaries that are added by readers

· Permalinks - the URL of the full article

· Other optional items - calendar, archives, blogrolls, and add-ons or plug-ins

A blog can also have a footer, usually found at the bottom of the blog, that shows the post date, the author, the category, and the 'stats' (the nubmer of comments or trackbacks).

There are numerous types of blogs. Some of them are the following:

1. Political blog - on news, politics, activism, and other issue based blogs (such as campaigning).

2. Personal blog - also known as online diary that may include an individual's day-to-day experience, complaints, poems, and illicit thoughts, and communications between friends.

3. Topical blog - with focus either on a particular niche (function or position) that is usually technical in nature or a local information.

4. Health blog - on specific health issues. Medical blog is a major category of health blog that features medical news from health care professionals and/or actual patient cases.

5. Literary blog - also known as litblog.

6. Travel blog - with focus on a traveler's stories on a particular journey.

7. Research blog - on academic issues such as research notes.

8. Legal blog - on law (technical areas) and legal affairs; also known as 'blawgs'.

9. Media blog - focus on falsehoods or inconsistencies in mass media; usually exclusive for a newspaper or a television network.

10. Religious blog - on religious topics

11. Educational blog - on educational applications, usually written by students and teachers.

12. Collaborative or collective blog - a specific topic written by a group of people.

13. Directory blog - contains a collection of numerous web sites.

14. Business blog - used by entrepreneurs and corporate employees to promote their businesses or talk about their work.

15. Personification blog - focus on non-human being or objects (such as dogs).

16. Spam blogs - used for promoting affiliated websites; also known as 'splogs'.

Blogging is typically done on a regular (almost daily) basis. The term "blogging" refers to the act of authoring, maintaining, or adding an article to an existing blog, while the term "blogger" refers to a person or a group who keeps a blog.

Today, more than 3 million blogs can be found in the Internet. This figure is continuously growing, as the availability of various blog software, tools, and other applications make it easier for just about anyone to update or maintain the blog (even those with little or no technical background). Because of this trend, bloggers can now be categorized into 4 main types:

· Personal bloggers - people who focus on a diary or on any topic that an individual feels strongly about.

· Business bloggers - people who focus on promoting products and services.

· Organizational bloggers - people who focus on internal or external communication in an organization or a community.

· Professional bloggers - people who are hired or paid to do blogging.

Problogging (professional blogging) refers to blogging for a profit. Probloggers (professional bloggers) are people who make money from blogging (as an individual blog publisher or a hired blogger).

Below are just some of the many money-making opportunities for probloggers:

· Advertising programs
· RSS advertising
· Sponsorship
· Affiliate Programs
· Digital assets
· Blog network writing gigs
· Business blog writing gigs
· Non blogging writing gigs
· Donations
· Flipping blogs
· Merchandising
· Consulting and speaking

The following are a few things that you need to consider if you want to be successful in problogging:

1. Be patient. Problogging requires a lot of time and effort, not to mention a long-term vision.

2. Know your audience. Targeting a specific audience or group is a key to building a readership.

3. Be an 'expert'. Focus on a specific niche topic and strive to be the "go-to" blogger on that topic.

4. Diversify. Experiment with various add and affiliate programs that enable you to make money online (aside from blogging).

5. Do not bore your readers. Focus on the layout. White spaces, line spacings, and bigger fonts make a blog welcoming to read.

Certainly, it is possible to earn money from blogs. One just needs to take risks, the passion, and the right attitude in order to be a successful problogger.

Email Marketing and Opt In List Building

Email Marketing and Opt In List Building

Email Marketing and Opt In List Building:  On Keeping Online Businesses Profitable

Since the advent of the information technology, the Internet had been a valuable commodity to most people. Here, they find ways on how to earn more money even without having to spend more capital on building a business.

Nowadays, many business people are realizing the importance of email marketing. Through emails, an online business can market their product directly through their customers.

Generally, the main purpose of email marketing is to reach their target audience as quickly and as direct as possible. They need to reach their target market so as to promote their products and services that would benefit their customers.

However, some businesses use email marketing in order to maintain their contact and relationship with their customers.

The reason why email marketing has grown in such unprecedented rate is based on the fact that people in the virtual community are always hungry for information. They subscribe to information that they are interested in.

On the other hand, not all people are willing to subscribe to such information. They may be interested on your products once but may no longer be interested to buy again. Moreover, when you continue to send those emails that do not have their permissions, you can be accused of spamming.

Today, spamming is a serious offense especially in the world of information technology. Because the Internet is such a wild place, most authorities regard the privacy of each person as valuable and they continue to uphold this thinking even on the Internet.

With this, the creation of opt in list had gained tremendous acceptance. Because of its viability and feasibility to most online businesses, a lot of people have realized how important opt in lists are in email marketing.

Basically, opt in list refers to the list of email addresses of people who have agreed to subscribe to your mailing list. In this way, you can freely send emails that entail promotions, brochures, new product announcements, and every aspect of your marketing campaign.

When you build an opt in list, you do not only increase the probability of being successful in email marketing but also boost your sales and profits as well. This is because building an opt in list will give you the chance to stay in contact with your customers by getting their email address.

In this manner, you can continue to promote your products and services in which they are interested in because they have opted to subscribe in your mailing list. Hence, whatever it is that you feed them, chances are, they will most likely respond positively.

In reality, building an opt in list is actually letting the people realize the charisma and magic of email marketing. In this way, spams will be avoided, if not eliminated, and will not ruin the positive image of email marketing.

With spamming, email marketing becomes a disgraceful activity in the Internet. But with opt in list, online businesses can continue to boost their businesses through email marketing without having to worry about being accused of spamming.

In building opt in list, there are two types to be considered. The first one is the single opt-in and the other one is the double opt-in or the confirmed opt-in.

In building single opt-in list, online businesses would simply use a “sign-up tag” in their web sites so that every time a person visits their website, he or she can opt to subscribe in the business’ email list.

On the other hand, a confirmed opt-in list or double opt-in entails a confirmation message after the customer had subscribed to the particular web site’s email list.

Usually, the confirmation takes place by replying on a system-generated message that asks for a confirmation of the subscription or by clicking on a link that entails the confirmation of the customer.

Whatever type of opt in list you would prefer, each has its own pros and cons when it comes to email marketing. But nevertheless, both are designed to give your online business the best solution possible in order to generate emails and permissions without having to get into trouble.

Indeed, email marketing is such a profitable business in the Internet. But it would not be complete and will never succeed without the help of the opt-in lists. These two must always go hand-in-hand in order to be successful in the virtual world of Internet marketing.

Affiliate Marketing Rules

Affiliate Marketing Rules

Top Affiliate Marketing Rules

So you have been wanting to get into affiliate marketing, and want to know the rules. You have your website and or blog all set up and ready to go. You have chosen your niche and market that you want to promote and make money off of. You just need links to start making money. Promoting other’s services and products is not something that is difficult to do. However, you will find that with all of the many companies that offer affiliate programs, and referral options, they all have their own rules that you must follow.

Affiliate marketing is pretty easy to follow, that is unless you have many different programs that you are a part of. When you start getting so many that you cannot remember the rules, or the guidelines that you have to follow, you might have a problem. This is because the rules for affiliate programs are as different as the companies. Each company is allowed to make their own rules. However, you might see many similarities. That does not mean that they are copying one another, or cloning their affiliate program so to speak, but yet it means that they have the same rules.

Affiliate marketing rules can be so very different. They can range from not mentioning the brand names that they sell anywhere on your website, to not have that particular market in your website URL. Because they are so different for each program and company that you promote, you are going to have to be sure that you read each one well and make sure that you understand it fully. If you all ready have your URL for your website, you may not be able to participate in some of the affiliate programs. This is because you will not meet the requirements for the rules.

Another rule that you are going to see often when you are into affiliate marketing is the page rank rule. Some of the companies that will allow you to promote their services or products will not want you to have a higher page rank than they do. Nor will they allow you to have a website that is higher in the search engine rankings. For example, if you were promoting coffee, and you wanted to become an affiliate for Folgers coffee. Your website would not be able to come up above the official Folgers coffee website in the search engine results when coffee, or Folgers coffee is used as the search term. The companies that have this rule in place for their affiliate marketing programs feel  as if your website were higher than theirs for the product that they are selling, that it would hurt their business tremendously. And, it just might. They would rather have the straight sales any day, than the commissioned sales. Who wouldn’t?

Keeping a spreadsheet of the affiliate marketing programs that you are a part of and their rules is a great idea. This way you are never confused and know just where you need to stand to be a part of that program. This is the best thing that you can do for your affiliate marketing business. Not only that, you will also find that some of the sites that have broken rules and have been caught have resulted in law suits. Cover your tracks and make sure that you are following the rules that are set by that company for the best results.

You will also find that there is a thing that is called affiliate marketing software. If you can find a program that fits your needs and will help you keep everything straight, you may not have to worry about keeping track of them yourself. Use your software to keep track and make sure that you are doing your affiliate marketing the right way. Your efforts will pay off eventually, and you will be glad that you went by the book and followed the necessary affiliate marketing rules.

How to Find Great Deals at eBay

How to Find Great Deals at eBay

Find Great Deals at eBay

Everyone loves a great deal! Many people spend quite a bit of time searching for good deals on the items that they want and need – and when they find those deals, they experience a certain amount of satisfaction. These people typically haunt garage sales, stores that are holding sales, wholesale warehouses, flea markets, and especially online and offline auctions. With the incredible number of auctions that are constantly going on at eBay, it can be difficult to find the items you want, at the price you want to pay. But it isn’t impossible to find great deals!

There are steps you can take to ensure that you are getting a great deal on the items you purchase through eBay. In fact, these same steps will also help to protect you against fraud. Participating in online auctions is a great deal of fun, but you must use caution as well. This caution entails doing your research before you place any bids.

Start with the auction in question. Make sure that you read every word of the description and the auction details. You can never have too much information – especially if that information is about an individual that you may be doing business with. Pay special attention to what the description and auction details do not say. For instance, is a guarantee mentioned? Is the item new? Is it authentic? Is there proof of authenticity? Look for auctions that provide the right information – and the right amount of information. Avoid those that do not.

Who will pay the shipping and handling costs? Often, the buyer pays these costs, and sometimes, the seller tries to charge more than the actual shipping and handling costs are. Beware of high shipping costs, especially for items that will be auctioned off at a very low price. Also note when the item is supposed to ship after the bidding has ended. Depending on what you are trying to purchase the item for, it may not arrive in time.

Don’t make the mistake of bidding on an item simply because it is a ‘good deal.’ It is only a good deal for you if the item is something that you really want or need. Many people simply bid for the sake of bidding – or winning – without having any real need or desire for the item in question. Before bidding on items that you do want or need, check prices around the Internet and the prices available from offline sources as well. Just because it is on eBay does not guarantee that it is the cheapest price
available!

Finally, learn more about the seller. Can you trust them? What is their rating? Read their feedback page! Failure to learn more about the seller can be costly. Not everyone is as honest as you are – and the seller may be trying to take advantage of people that simply don’t know enough to find out more about them. Sometimes scammers make their auctions sound like really great deals. Beware of
prices that seem extremely low!

The Internet Nightmare!

The Internet Nightmare!

The Internet Nightmare!

I have been exploring internet marketing since around 1999 – that’s 16 years!  I’ve bought more programs than I could possibly count and I’ve also requested many, many refunds.  Anything that looked remotely legitimate and achievable hooked me.  I would get into the training only to find that what I had purchased was only partially what was needed to achieve success.  I could either shell out more money or request a refund and continue looking for something that actually delivered on its promises.  Well, this is the first article I have ever written about this subject and the reason I write it now is because last week I actually found something that was the “whole enchilada!”  Yes, it has EVERY single component needed to succeed.  I have just started to get training but I know in my heart that these people are honest and they aren’t playing games.  

This is a win-win for the marketer and their company and they succeed big when the little guy succeeds.  And when I say succeed I mean it is very achievable to make a good income – a life-changing income.  I’m not looking to get rich, buy fancy cars, mansions, or anything like that but I certainly think all that is possible and it’s kind of “matter-of-fact” on the training calls that everyone succeeds.  In fact there is a guarantee that if you don’t make $20,000 in six months, they will hold your hand until you do!  There are people in their company office who actually answer the phone!  I even received a “welcome call” from a live, friendly person.  As I said, these guys are not playing games.  Their program is genius!  They don’t have to be “hypy” or misleading because they honestly provide every detail any internet marketer needs to be successful.  I have to say I’m very relieved to find this program because I always KNEW people were making money but no one seemed really willing to share EXACTLY HOW.  This is different!  I hope to be writing many future articles to update my success but for now I’m just happy as can be that these guys put this together.  They are honest and they really care and that is most refreshing in the dog-eat-dog world of internet gurus and scam artists!

  Please check it out here!  You’ll be glad you did.  

How to Make Money Blogging Online

By Angela Wills

Over the past few years, blogs have risen from an almost unknown “computer geek” secret to the “it” thing on the internet. It seems that almost everyone, from celebrities to your local junior high students has a blog.

While it is very common to find blogs as personal diaries, people that own service based businesses can definitely profit from having a blog. First and foremost, a business blog helps to build your web presence. In today’s society, having a strong web presence is a key factor in your business success.

When a potential client is thinking about hiring you, there is a good chance that they will do a little investigation of you online. The potential client may go to Google and do a search on your name, just to see what comes up. If they find a lot of links, including blog posts that include helpful information, they will feel more secure in hiring you.

Using your blog to showcase your knowledge in your chosen field will help you establish yourself as an expert. When people see you as an expert, they will automatically think of you when they need your product or service, and they will also refer others to you.

You can communicate your knowledge in a variety of different ways. Of course, keeping your blog current and full of information your target market would appreciate is the main goal, but you can find ways to make it fun. A life coach, for instance could hold a series on reducing stress, and each Monday they could post a relaxation technique. You can also include audio and video messages. This is a growing trend, as more and more people are getting video iPods.

In addition to using your blog as a way to build relationships and gain publicity, there are various ways to make money blogging online. One of the most popular is by displaying contextual ads, such as Google AdSense.

When you sign up (at http://www.google.com/adsense), you will be given a small amount of HTML code to add to your blog; Google will read your blog content and display text ads your reader may find interesting. For example, a blog about golf may display ads for golf clubs. When one of your readers clicks on these ads, you will be paid a commission.

Another option is to join affiliate programs for products and services your target market would enjoy. When you join as an affiliate, you will be given special links that you can use on your blog; when one of your readers clicks on these links and purchases the product or service being advertised, you will earn a commission.

There are also companies that will pay you to write about their products and services. The payment will vary depending on the company and how popular your blog is. There are several websites dedicated to bringing companies willing to pay bloggers to post and bloggers together. A popular choice is http://www.payperpost.com.

Your business blog can benefit you in many ways. It can help you earn income by raising the public’s awareness of your business and cementing yourself as an expert, and by applying the above suggestions, you can also begin to make money blogging online. This will give you an additional income stream, and more than likely, it will also help you create additional buzz around your business.

If you are ready to start your own business blog then join me as I teach you through my online video, webinar and email coaching program how to create a great business blog with WordPress.