Top 3 Ways to Come Up With Topics for Blog Posts

The more you blog, the more difficult you might find it to come up with new topics to write about. You may start to feel burned out -- like there is nothing more you could possibly say about this niche topic. Thankfully, that is never true! Here are the three top ways you can always come up with fresh topics to blog about.

1. You might want to turn to Google first. Google has a great real-time search engine built into its regular search engine. Search for your keyword or niche, then click the "show options" link at the top. Then, you can sort the results by those that have happened with them last instant, 24 hours, week, and so on. Take note of the things people are talking about when the results appear. You can even sort by blogs, news outlets, and others. Take note of the latest news that has sparked some interest and debate. If you are interested in an article, blog post, news release, etc., read it and try to generate ideas for your own blog post.

2. Another way you can come up with topics is to head on over to Amazon.com and search for books in your niche. One of the great things about books on Amazon is that they often have a "search inside" feature. Look for the table of contents after you've selected to search inside. Publishers have spent a lot of money to research exactly what the table of content should include! These topics are what are of interest to those in your niche. Doing this can definitely spark some ideas for topics you might want to blog about, or even help you think of whole categories for your blog.

3. Finally, niche forums are amazing for idea generation. Look for forums within your niche and sort them by the most viewed or the most replied to posts. Take notes on what people are talking about -- think about why they get heated up, and why they are discussing this particular topic. Then, you can address some of these concerns on your own blog. In fact, this is an excellent way to generate some ideas for link bait topics!

Coming up with content ideas is not always easy on your own, but thankfully the Internet makes it simple. It's always a great thing when you can use the tools at your disposal to make sure you're covering the best topics for those in your niche.

Make Money By Setting Up Blogs for Others

The chances are good that you have learned a lot about blogging by now -- so much that you feel like you are an expert! There are many people out there who do not have the training that you have had. They think of the word "blog" and feel very intimidated about running one themselves. That means that you can make even more money by offering to set up blogs for people and businesses!

There are a few different ways you can make this happen. You can actually do all of the work; choosing a domain name, doing the market and keyword research, setting up the script, writing the content, and setting up the monetization. You can even maintain the blog on an ongoing basis for your clients. This can net you quite a bit of ongoing work and income! It all depends on how you present your offer, and what type of clients you go after (for instance, you will probably make more setting up a blog for an "offline" client than you will for someone who wants a blog geared toward affiliate marketing).

If you find that you enjoy writing the content but not the technical aspects of it so much, you can earn money by writing blog posts for people. You can even outsource this writing to others, and act as a middle-man. It's definitely possible to earn some excellent income as a ghost-blogger.

You may be wondering how you would go about setting up this type of business. First, people are going to want to see examples of your work. You might want to showcase your own blog so they know what you're capable of. Make sure they understand that you will take their wishes into account, and that your own blog is reflective of your personal style. Then, you may want to make a website offering your services. You can drive traffic to this website by putting it in your signature file on Internet marketing and business forums, and by talking about what you do on Twitter, Facebook, etc.

As you start to get some clients, they will hopefully be so pleased with your work that they refer you to other people. It's a great thing when you become a blogging master since everyone wants to run their own blog these days! You can even purchase reseller hosting and offer hosting packages for people so their blog is completely hands off for them. The sky is truly the limit when you take this on as another stream of income for yourself.

The Importance of Backing Up Your Blog

It can be very easy to get caught up in how fun it is to run your own blog. People do not want to think about the chance that something could go wrong. Unfortunately, sometimes servers crash, files get messed up or lost, or something else inconceivable happens. That is the main reason why backing up your content and your blog as a whole is extremely important.

At the bare minimum, you'll want to keep copies of your blog posts on your hard drive. That way you can get up and running quickly should anything ever happen to your blog. This is especially important if you're using a hosted solution such as WordPress.com or Blogger.com, since they can take your content down without warning.

Unfortunately, doing this will not be enough as your blog starts to grow and you put more work into it. That is why you'll want to make sure you make constant backups. This very easy to do when you have a cPanel host. There is a special area where you can backup your blog and even have the backup e-mailed to you! Save this on your computer's hard drive as well as on an external hard drive so you will always have it handy. Make it a habit to do this! There are even plugins for Wordpress that can automate a lot of this for you, such as saving the files to Amazon's S3 server for safe keeping.

In addition to backing up your actual blog, you'll need to back up your computer. Imagine if something happened to both your blog and your computer! While it's not very likely to happen at the same time, it definitely could. There are sites like Mozy.com or Carbonite.com that will back everything up for you so you don't have to worry about a thing. This can be very automated so you have to do is set up and let it run.

Remember, you are running a business. It doesn't matter how many readers you have or how much money you are making, things can always go wrong. Backing up your content is just smart for your business! You need to know, without a doubt, that you can get your blog running again in no time at all should anything happen to it. Blogging is fun -- just don't let yourself get carried away without backing up first!

Using Your Blog to Promote Your Own Products

One of the best things about running your own blog is that you can use it to promote your own products. Hopefully, you have built up a good relationship with your blog's readers. They will likely trust you and want to see what you have to say when you decide to release your own product!

When people read your blog, they are doing so because there is something unique about it. There are other blogs in your niche, but they choose to read yours! This alone should give you enough confidence to start thinking about creating your own product in the first place. You can involve them in the process once you decide to make your own product. Survey them on what they want included in the book. Giving them some ownership of the decision-making process will likely lead to increased sales later on.

You can also keep them updated on the book's process. Give hints and sneak previews as to what it will contain. This will whet their appetite for more! It is often the buildup that leads to more sales in Internet marketing. Build up your product and you will likely get many sales very quickly when it comes time for the launch date.

All of this is called a pre-launch. You can even use your blog to get people to sign up for your notification list so they can learn exactly when the product is going to be launched. People will come back for more once they realize how high quality the excerpts and teaser content is! The prelaunch is just as important, if not more, than the actual launch and sales page so do not forget about it!

In the meantime, you will want to be writing (or hiring someone else to write) the sales page. A good sales page will directly call out to those who are most likely to purchase. Many people like to give a special launch price right away to make the offer even more enticing. Perhaps you can create a special blog post where the special price is only available to your readers. You can even have a "grand opening" sale that you launch to your list.

You can continue to promote your product on your blog even after the launch is over. Get some custom graphics created to use as a banner or sidebar ad. Make it very obvious to people who may not have been around for the launch that you have a product to sell and that it is extremely high quality. The chances are good that regular readers will snatch it up right away and even recommend it to other people in your niche if it is good enough!

There is nothing quite like owning your own products, and going through the pre-launch process right on your blog. It can definitely lead to some great sales and keep your readers coming back for more!

How to Gather Statistics for Your Blog

As a blogger, you'll definitely want to pay close attention to what the traffic numbers are for your blog. You will also want to know your conversion rates for affiliate marketing offers, CPA offers, and Adsense. The good news is that there are some easy-to-use tools that can help you track all of these statistics, and more.

One of the first things you'll want to know is what kind of traffic you are getting to your blog on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. The most standard way of determining this is by using your Awstats in your cPanel.

Keep in mind that this level of tracking is only for self-hosted blogs. If you're using something like WordPress.com or Blogger.com you may not have access to this information, and will have to use other scripts or other methods instead. Awstats will give you standard information, such as how many unique visitors you're getting, how many hits you got total, when the search engine spiders visited last, and where your traffic is coming from.

Once you have this type of information, you can work on improving your rankings by focusing on the keywords you are already ranking for (sometimes all they need is a little push!). If you're not getting traffic from certain desired keywords, you will know to work extra hard on ranking for those as well. You'll also know where your referral traffic is coming from, and it's always helpful to know what is working and what isn't!

It's important to note that Awstats is limited in many ways. Many people prefer to use something like Google Analytics instead. This tool will give you wealth of information, including the top keywords used to find your blog in the search engines and how many people found your site using that keyword. You'll also get detailed information about your bounce rate, problems or issues with your site, indexed pages, and what actions were taken on your site by visitors.

Keep in mind that some bloggers do not like Google having all this information (many are worried it will affect rankings, especially if you're heavy into making affiliate sales). In this case, you may want to use a script called Piwik instead. This script works similarly to Google Analytics, but you host the script on your own domain so you know the information is safe and secure.

In addition to analyzing information such as your traffic and where the traffic is coming from, you will want to pay attention to your conversion rates. Note that in the back end of your affiliate admin area, you should be able to find how many sales you're making, what your click through rate is, which specific links are making you the most sales, and so on. You can find the same tracking information in the admin area of your CPA networks. You can even go deeper into tracking with products like Prosper 202 and Xtreme Conversions.

Analyzing this information can definitely help you to increase your conversions. It can help you determine what changes you might want to make if you're not making as many sales as you'd like. It can even help you decide when it's time to try another method of monetization.

If you manage this information well and pay attention to the statistics, you can become far more successful over time. There is definitely no reason to delay in starting to understand and utilize your statistics as early as possible for maximum success!

Using Private Label Rights for Content

Using private label rights for content is something that many bloggers do successfully. It can be a drain on your resources to have to either write content yourself or pay heavily for it through outsourcing. You might be thinking, "there has to be another way!" There is -- and that is using PLR.

Content sold with private label rights is usually released by writers to several different buyers. That means you do not get exclusive rights to the content. In general, you will be required to rewrite the content a little in order to make it stand apart from others'. However, the bulk of the work is done for you! You do not have to do any research or heavy formatting work.

You'll love that buying PLR content is quite a bit less expensive than outsourcing content. In fact, the standard market price for private label rights is usually around $1-$2 per article. This is something that most bloggers can actually afford! You will want to add your own voice and put your own spin on it, but it can save you literally hours of work. In some cases, you can even use the content as it is, if the writer allows for those rights. It's not always recommended to leave it as-is, but if you're short on time and want to have constant, fresh content, it can be a good option for you.

Though there are many perks, it can be hard to find killer content that will work for you. Some of what is out there is pure rubbish! There are definitely some providers that are better than others, so do your due diligence.

You can find some great PLR at the Warrior Forum and by doing Internet searches in Google. Be sure that you're able to see at least a small sample of the writing before you make your purchase. Also, check and make sure that the content has not been widely distributed to others. Fresh PLR content will not be saturated, and you're likely to see many more benefits with it.

This is yet another way to make sure you have killer content for your blog. You can write the content yourself, outsource it, or use PLR. The use of private label rights will help you stay fresh and relevant in your niche and in the search engines.

How to Turn Your Blog Into an Ebook

Repurposing your blog content is definitely something you will want to do. You've spent a lot of time coming up with exceptional content for your blog, so it's time to make the most of it. If you outsource, the chances are that you have paid a lot of money for this content. While it's definitely serving a great purpose on the blog itself, you can get even more from it by turning your blog into an e-book!

This works best for niches where people are constantly seeking out information. If there are other e-books already in your niche, then this is definitely a great idea for you. What you want to do is find your very best blog posts. Arrange them by topic (these will become your chapters) and format it into a book. It really is as easy as that!

Of course, you may want to add some text to tie the different pieces together, but for the most part your work is already done for you. Many people over-complicate the process of writing an ebook. Doing it this way can help you see just how easy it is. It can also encourage you to take action on releasing your own product since using past blog content makes it so easy to do.

There are a few things you can do with this book once you've put it together. You can choose to give it away for free as a bonus for opting in to your autoresponder e-mail list. You could also sell it to make some great, passive income!

You might be wondering why people are willing to pay or opt-in for content that can be readily found on your blog already. The truth is that people will pay for convenience! Also, the chances are that most people have not read every single post on your blog. If the content is high quality and there is enough demand, you shouldn't have any trouble at all making sales.

It's also the case that many people only value what they have paid for. While the information was just as good in the form of blog posts, it takes on a whole new meaning and power once people have paid money for it. People will actually take action with what they've learned!

It's definitely a winning situation for everyone involved. You get to do very little work and receive many rewards in return by repurposing your content. Your readers will get to pay a fair price for high-quality information that comes from a blogger they adore. Bloggers from all over the world do this successfully -- some even strike up deals with professional publishing houses to do so!

You don't need a publishing house behind you, however. All you need to do is assemble the information in a Word document. Then, you can save it as a PDF file. Add pictures and professional looking formatting to make it even more appealing. You can use PayPal to accept payments, and be on your way!

Turning your blog into an e-book is a great idea as soon as you have enough content to do so. You will be able to make more money from your blog with very little effort. You really can't go wrong when you have your own e-book!

Amazing Video Blogging

Do you prefer to read or watch content when you visit a blog? If you're like many people out there, then you absolutely love when people present information and opinions through video. You can do the same thing by running your very own video blog, or "vlog!"

There are some video blogs out there that are exclusively video. Every single blog post is a video with a short description of what is being shown. Many people like this format, but you do need to be careful that you do not alienate any visitors who prefer to read instead. It might be a better idea for you to intersperse written content with video content.

There are certain topics and niches that are more suited to video than others. For instance, if you're doing a product review or demonstration, then you may want to use video to do so. This will help give your readers a clear view of the things you have to say. You may also want to do some talking head videos. These are great because your readers will feel like they are sitting right across from you listening to what you have to say. It can help your readers connect with you. If you come across as likable, then your readership might increase as people will come back time and time again, and tell their friends and family members about you.

You'll need a of couple tools before you get started video blogging. First and foremost, you will at least need a WebCam. Thankfully, these come pre-installed in many computers. These are great for making talking head videos where you want to speak directly to your audience.

If you want to do product demonstrations, then you might consider getting a video camera, such as one from Creative Vado or Flip Video, since they are so small and portable.

One of the great things about doing a video blog is that you can simply upload your content to YouTube. Then, you can use your own YouTube channel as a way to draw in even more visitors to your blog! It becomes a traffic generation method all on its own. Also, keep in mind that YouTube is the second-most used search engine in the world (second to Google itself). When people are able to find your video content (which is why you want to use keywords in titles and descriptions) through YouTube, the chances of them finding your blog are very good.

In addition to these video blogs being posted on YouTube, you can embed the code within your blog posts themselves. That way, the people who are regular readers of your blog will have the benefit of being able to watch the videos right there while they are also on YouTube drawing in even more viewers and readers to your blog!

Video blogging is a must since more and more people love learning through video. Creating videos allows you to display your personality and expand your reach online.

Using Social Bookmarking to Get More Traffic

If you're just starting out blogging, it can be frustrating to just wait and hope that people start to find your blog. Unfortunately, Blogs that are just starting out may not get noticed by the search engines, or people in the niche, right away! That's why social bookmarking is essential to learn and use to start generating some traffic to your blog.

Social bookmarking was started as a way for people to bookmark the content on their favorite websites. Adding bookmarks to sites like this makes it easy for people to go back and reference whenever they need to. People still use it for the purpose of keeping track of their favorite content, but you can use these sites to your own advantage as well!

What you'll need to do is social bookmark your own content at sites like Digg, Delicious, Mixx, Clipmarks, Mister Wong, and others. Doing this will accomplish a few different things. First, it can often give you a backlink to your blog post, which is a great thing for search engine optimization. It will also help get your content out there in front of people in your niche who are interested in what you have to say. Other people may start to bookmark your content as well, if it is worthy, and you might find yourself with some regular readers. This will help even more people find your content -- it can start to take on an viral effect!

Keep in mind that there are an incredible number of social bookmarking sites out there. It can be tedious and overwhelming to have to bookmark your content at every single one of them. That's why there are some automated tools that can help you. Some of these include: SENuke, Social Bot, Synnd, and Bookmarking Demon.

Social bookmarking your blog posts can be highly effective, but you do have to be careful. You'll find that your account is quickly shut down if you do not pay attention to the rules and if you're overly scammy about doing bookmarking your sites and pages. Be sure to bookmark other people's content you find interesting as well as your own -- you really want to be an active user of the best sites so you don't arouse any suspicion.

Unfortunately, social bookmarking has lost some of its power recently. You'll find that some social bookmarking sites come and go, which is why you want to focus on the very best of the best at the very least.

Still, it's worth your time to bookmark using the top sites or to run automated software to help get the word out there about your site. There are definitely great things that can come from doing so, such as increased search engine exposure and relevancy in your niche.

The Importance of Having Fresh Content on Your Blog

It is incredibly important to update your blog consistently. There are way too many people who get started blogging and let their blogs die a slow death. Some people simply do not update on a regular basis and the readers lose interest. Other people stop posting altogether! Keep it in your mind that you are running this blog as a real business. You need to have a regular schedule of posting so that your readers stay interested and your rankings stay strong in the search engines.

Note that the search engines love fresh content. They know that people are looking for the latest and greatest information. That means that if your blog is updated consistently, the search engine spiders will visit more often! This can help to improve your search engine rankings. Not only that, but you will also have more content out on the web just waiting to be ranked and found by people in your niche. The more content you have, the more keywords your blog will tend to show up for in the search engines. All of this can lead to improved rankings and more people finding you through the organic listings.

In addition to SEO, you should update your blog with fresh content for your readers. People love to visit blogs where they know they will always get new information from the bloggers they love best. It can be frustrating to visit a favorite blog, only to find that it has not been updated for quite some time. No matter how strongly your blog started off, the second you stop updating regularly you'll probably find that your readership and earnings drop off.

Unfortunately, it's not always easy to find time to blog every day. That's why many people choose to schedule blog posts for future release. You don't need a post for every single day, but you should attempt to have them at least a few times a way. That way, people will know when to expect the content and they know that it will always be there when they visit. There is nothing quite like knowing that you are fulfilling your reader's needs by always having something new and interesting for them to read!

You also need to stay up-to-date with the latest information related to your niche so you stay inspired to write these posts. Read industry magazines, visit other top blogs in your niche, read the news, take stock of the latest products, and so on. Doing this will always give you good ideas of things to blog about and it will help your readers -- your blog will be seen as highly relevant and up to date.

Take the importance of having fresh content into consideration -- the chances are good that your blog will be much more successful as a result with both your readers and search engines.

Writing Link Bait to Attract New Readers

Nobody likes to read a dull blog! If your blog is simply boring, there is no way for you to develop a strong readership. People will simply read other content that interests them more. If you've been feeling like your blog content is getting stale, then it's time to introduce some link bait!

Link bait is basically content that is controversial or highly interesting in nature. People naturally want to link to it because it is so interesting, and fires them up in some way. Link bait pieces often get many comments as well-- some agreeing with the writer and some disagreeing. There are even some interested commenters in the middle. The most important thing is that link bait generates reader interest so your link is passed around in a viral fashion all over your niche!

You might feel a little bit intimidated to write a lengthy piece such as this. There is no reason to be! Take a look at other blogs in your niche. Then, find the most commonly commented on pieces. You'll likely find that they are link bait pieces designed to garner a lot of attention. Take notes on the blogger's style, what they discussed, and how they discussed it. What could you do generate such interest on your own blog? What got people so interested?

While you do want to be careful to not lose your own style and voice, don't be afraid to be a little bit controversial or even highly controversial. People love drama and well thought out content. Your regular readers will probably appreciate the chance to debate and discuss. They will also be more likely to pass your link along to friends and family members who will be interested in reading the piece as well. You will probably also find that your post is being discussed on forums, other blogs, social sites, and so on!

What this does for you is put out "feelers" in many places on the web. People will stumble across your link and start to read your blog. If the piece is interesting enough, they may want to go back through your archives and see what you had to say on other topics you've written about. If they like what they see, they will likely subscribe to your blog feed and even sign up to your opt-in list!

You don't have to put out lengthy link bait pieces all the time, but it is a good idea every once in a while. It will help keep your blog fresh and keep your readership expanding. Link bait content is definitely a great idea if you want to attract new readers to your blog consistently -- just be ready for people to disagree with you!

Build a List With Your Blog

Since you're a blogger, you may be more focused on writing your blog posts and monetizing them than you are with anything else. This is especially true if you use a self-hosted option since you usually do have more control over your business. However, what would happen if you suddenly lost your Google rankings? What if something else unforeseen happened? You would want a way to contact your readers and continue making money, wouldn't you? That's why it's so important to know how to create a great opt-in form for your blog so you can start to build your list.

The chances are good that you belong to some marketing lists yourself. Perhaps you signed up on another blogger's page, or after you'd purchased a product. Think about which lists you like belonging to, and what made you decide to join in the first place. Emulate this process with your own blog!

Your first step is to sign up with an autoresponder service. The service will keep track of the details of those on your list, and let you sent out follow up and broadcast e-mails. AWeber, E-mail Aces, and Get Response are all popular options. Any one of these services will give you the tools you need to generate an HTML or JavaScript opt-in form for your blog. You'll simply paste this form in on the appropriate spot on your blog -- perhaps even using a pop-up to capture even more e-mails.

You will need to give people a reason and an incentive to sign up for your list. For many marketers, this comes in the form of a free report. You can give this free report away in exchange for their e-mail! People love to get things for free, so you should find that you get a lot of sign-ups with a regular readership. Make sure the free report is finely tuned to exactly what these people are looking for, whether it be an answer to their problem or something that fuels their passion.

You may want to create a dedicated squeeze page as well. The squeeze page can be linked to from your blog -- you can also promote it using article marketing, pay per click, and other traffic generation methods. The squeeze page will have one purpose, and that is to get people to opt-in to your list.

You'll want to have a series of follow-up messages that will be sent after someone has opted in to your list. The first one should include a welcoming message, as well as the free report that you are giving away. The rest of the content is up to you! Some people like to take a more informational stand with occasional promotional e-mails. Other people like to send more promotional e-mails. It's all a matter of what your readers are used to, as well as your personal style.

Examine what other marketers do for list building in your niche to see what might work best for you. Having your own list is a great thing as an Internet marketer because it can encourage people to keep reading your blog (since you stay in their minds with your e-mails) and gives you a way to contact them no matter what happens with the search engines!

How to Host a Giveaway or Contest for Your Blog Readers

As a blogger, you always want to find ways to get people to stay interested in your blog. People lead busy lives! That means that there truly needs to be something in it for them when they visit. A great way to maintain their interest is to host a giveaway or a contest for your blog readers.

The main reason for that is because people love to get things for free! If you can secure an item to give away, you'll find that readers flock to your blog! They will share the link with their friends and family members who are also interested in the topic. There's something about the words "free" and "win" that just draws people in!

The product you give away doesn't even need to be expensive. In some cases, you can even get sponsorships from companies who will give you the product for free in order to generate more interest in their products from your readers. You will have to disclose the relationship when you accept an offer to do this, but it is an awesome way to get more readers for your blog in the long-term (that means more money for you!).

The first thing you need to do is think about what you're going to give away. Perhaps you know of a very popular product that would be a great fit. You can contact the owner or manufacturer of the product and see if there is some kind of deal you can work out. If you can afford it or if the product is not too expensive, you may forgo this process and just purchase the product yourself. Another thought is giving away digital products -- product owners usually won't mind allowing a copy for a giveaway since there is no additional cost for them!

Your next step will be generating some buzz for your giveaway. Give hints that you're going to give away a product in a blog post very soon. Start to pique their interest more and more. Whet people's appetites so they go crazy once the giveaway is launched.

Finally, you will want to write the contest post. State all the details; including what is being given away, when, and how people can win it. Perhaps they need to make a comment answering a certain question, and you'll give the prize to the winner. Perhaps it is going to be more subjective and you're going to choose the answer you think was the best -- or perhaps you'll use a random number system to choose the winner from all of the comments.

Be sure to leave a little window of time to let people pass the contest link to friends and family members so they can enter. Don't let it go too long, however, or people will forget what you're doing! Finally, you'll want to announce the winner and possibly even give out some consolation prizes. Make everyone feel great about having entered!

You will find that people start to link to your blog and come back to visit over and over because they love your giveaways, and what you blog about. It's an awesome thing to do because it can help you expand your regular readership and make more money over the long run.

The Blogroll -- Exchanging Links With Others

You'll probably find that there are many other bloggers in your niche. You may as well take advantage of that! Some of them will have many readers and high rankings in the search engines. If you're able to exchange links with these high rollers, you can benefit greatly.

You'll notice that there is a "Blogroll" or links section in your self-hosted Wordpress. This is where you can add links to other blogs or sites that you are interested in. It can be of great benefit to you to add other blogs in your niche to this Blogroll. Then, you'll have a lot more bargaining power when you ask if they want to exchange links with you!

You might be wondering how you approach people to exchange links. In many cases, all it takes is a friendly, professional e-mail stating that you've added their link (if you have), and would love for them to add yours somewhere if they find your content to be interesting. Some people will decline your offer, but others will take you up on it, seeing as how you're already giving them a link. Others will not want the links to be "obvious" to Google (which doesn't like link manipulation), and may put your link on another site they own. In any case, you can definitely come out a winner!

Don't worry if they decline your offer -- you can simply move on to the next blogger! Also, keep in mind that you can contact website owners in your niche. You might even want to branch out a little bit more.

Instead of just contacting those who are directly in your niche, you can see if any bloggers with blogs related to your niche are interested. This will still give you highly related links, and the webmasters will not feel like you are direct competition. You might get more of them to agree to the exchange!

This is sometimes a time consuming process, but exchanging links can be a great way to get more people to your site. Targeted people will click through from the other blog and you will gain more authority in the eyes of search engines like Google.

Using RSS Directories, Feed Aggregators, and Pinging

It's essential to use as many high quality ways to drive traffic to your site as you can. Some of the best ways to do that as a blog owner are to use RSS directories, feed aggregators, and pinging. Understand and utilize each of these in turn, and you should see your traffic start to increase!

RSS directories are sites where bloggers and readers can submit feeds from their favorite blogs from around the web. These syndicate your content, and make it easy to find for those who seek information in your niche. In many cases, your submission can count as a backlink -- this means good things for your standing in the search engines! Some of the most popular out there are Feedage.com, Feedagg.com, MillionRSS.com, and others. You can see a more complete list at: http://www.toprankblog.com/rss-blog-directories.

A feed aggregator is also known as a feed reader. This is a place where people can collect their favorite RSS feeds from around the web. Favorites include Google Reader, My Yahoo, FeedBucket, and many others. You can see a more complete list at: http://www.newsonfeeds.com/faq/aggregators.

There are some SEO experts who believe that adding your feed to a feed reader at Google, Yahoo, or MSN can get your content spidered and indexed more quickly. Test this out for yourself to see what you think! In any case, you'll want to include an RSS icon or link on your blog to make it easy for your visitors to subscribe with their own feed aggregator.

You should also "ping" your blog when you submit new content. If you are using self-hosted Wordpress, this is done automatically for you. You can even add more sites to ping (in your settings), or use an outside service such as http://Pingomatic.com or http://Pingoat.net. Both of these are excellent ways to alert the services that your content has been added to or changed. Be careful! You don't want to "over ping" or you could be banned from these ping engines.

Part of the appeal of blogs is that they have RSS feeds and so many great SEO benefits. Being able to promote your RSS feed (and not just your blog address) is a huge benefit! When you do it in the right way, you should start to see some great traffic as a result.

Submitting to Blog Directories

One of the biggest concerns people have when they get started with a new blog is getting as much traffic as possible. While you may be aware of some of the standard ways to get traffic to your website, it is also important to understand how beneficial it can be to belong to blog directories. Submitting your blog to directories can help get you more backlinks, become more well known in your niche, and expand your authority.

The best way to fully understand what blog directories are is to visit them! The top ones on the Internet are BlogCatalog.com, Blogarama, Bloggapedia, and Blughub. There are many, many others, so be sure to submit to many of them to expand your reach online. You'll find that they generally allow you to search for different types of blogs, join groups comprised of other bloggers in your niche, set up your own profile, and add links and descriptions of your blog.

As was already mentioned, submitting to blog directories is great because the links you are allowed to leave can count as a backlink to your website. The more backlinks you have, the more likely you are to rank highly in the search engines! Many of these have a high pagerank as well, so these are high quality links.

Many people also use these blog directories as search engines to find blogs they might be interested in. That means that you will be exposed to more potential readers from your niche! This is a great thing. The more you are "seen" around the web, the more popular your blog is bound to grow. People will start to recognize and appreciate your blog as a result (as long as it is high quality!).

Some of these blog directories even take on a social media aspect. You can join groups with related blogs in your niche. You can interact with other blog owners, and really start to establish your authority and make connections. Some of these connections can lead to even more links for your website, guest blog posts, and even JV deals that can net you some great income.

It's important to belong to as many high quality blog directories as you can. There is nothing better than knowing that your blog can be found at all of the best directories from around the web. Your traffic and readership should increase, and your sales will likely follow suit!

Turning Your Blog Into a Membership Site

If you start finding that you're getting a lot of traffic and regular readers, you may want to turn your blog into a membership site. If you've been in Internet marketing for any length of time at all, the chances are good that you are already a member of a membership site yourself. You can run your own as well and make some great money!

Note that there certain niches that are good fits for membership sites, and others that will not work quite as well. The best choices for membership sites are niches where people are desperate to solve a problem, have a hobby they are obsessed with, or have some kind of passion they seek information about. Membership sites are a great way for them to get even more out of what you're offering, and it can also give them other people to talk to if you add a community aspect to your site.

Before you get started, examine whether there are membership sites in your niche already. This will help you see if there is a market for one -- or a need for one. See how they are set up and what kinds of things they offer. You'll need to set yourself apart in the market. If there are no other membership sites, you will need to do some market research and possibly survey your audience to see if this is a good step for you. You can save yourself a lot of headache, time, and money by doing the research upfront to see if running a membership site is a viable option for your niche.

After you've decided that a membership site is a good idea, you will need to find a way to set it up. Thankfully, this is done easily with WordPress! There are many great membership site plugins for you to choose from, such as MemberWing. Some of these do everything for you from taking orders, to keeping track of member details, to keeping nonmembers out of protected areas. There will generally be some upfront investment on your part, but it is usually well worth it in the end.

Now, you likely do not want to completely abandon your blog, especially if you have a great readership base. That's why some of these plug-ins allow you to keep certain blog posts public and make others viewable only to your members. This is the perfect solution so you can have the best of both worlds. Those who are avid readers and fans of your blog will definitely want to join your membership site to see your premium content!

This is a step that is a great, additional monetization option once your blog starts to get fairly popular. Turning it into a membership site is a great way to establish your authority and make more money doing what you love. It's time to evaluate your options today, because a membership site is a great way to go!

Monetizing With Adsense and Selling Ad Space

Many people who want to get started making money online are thrilled that they can monetize with Google's Adsense. Adsense works differently than promoting affiliate products or even CPA offers. That's because you get paid every single time someone clicks on an Adsense ad on your blog!

Some people find that the niche they have entered is better suited to Adsense than to affiliate products. Perhaps you're having difficulty increasing conversions on the product you are trying to promote. In this case, you can switch those links out with your Adsense code to see what will earn you the most money. There are certain ways you'll need to place your Adsense in order to increase your clicks.

It can be helpful to visit sites that are successfully monetized in this way -- pay careful attention to how they lay everything out. In many cases, bloggers place Adsense above their post, somewhere in the middle, and somewhere at the end of the post. In general, you can only have three Adsense blocks per page, or you can get your account suspended.

You will also want to pay careful attention to which colors you choose for your Adsense ads. You don't want to trick your reader, but there is no harm in making the Adsense block links the same color as other links on your page. This can have a subconscious effect that can dramatically increase your click through rate!

There are an incredible number of people who make steady, full-time incomes with Google's Adsense. Some people love the ease of it all and the fact that they don't have to worry about people making a purchase after clicking through their link. Test and track this yourself to see if Google's Adsense is right for you. You will want to study best practices for ad placement to increase your click through rates to earn as much money as you can.

If you want an even more guaranteed and steadier form of income, you might even consider selling your own ad space. This works best when you have a steady flow of traffic already coming in. Other webmasters love getting links back to their websites because it can boost their rankings in the search engines.

When you sell ad space, you can give them a high quality link and promotional text or banner right on your blog. In general, they will pay you a flat rate per month, or per week, for as long as they advertise there. You will have to negotiate a deal and come to terms with something that will work out best for both of you.

Monetizing a blog with Adsense or selling ad space gives you even more ways to monetize above and beyond affiliate marketing and CPA offers. It is all about maximizing your conversions and increasing your income in any way you can! Definitely give these methods some thought, because they can be highly lucrative options for many bloggers.

Monetize Your Blog With CPA Offers

In addition to earning affiliate income, you might have a lot of success when you include CPA offers on your blog. These offers can be great because you get paid every time someone takes a certain action through your link. All you have to do is get set up with an affiliate network, find an appropriate offer, and strategically place links on your posts or blog in general.

Before you get started, it can be helpful to understand exactly what CPA is. CPA stands for "cost per action." The action someone needs to take in order for you to get paid depends on the particular offer. In some cases, they may only have to enter in something like their zip code or e-mail address and you will get paid a set amount of money -- usually a couple of dollars per lead. In other cases, the person will have to sign up for a free trial offer (and usually pay shipping) in order for you to get paid (these are often worth a lot more money!). Some offers do require that the person make a purchase as their action.

As you can see, there are some slight differences with this setup over standard affiliate marketing. You also have to note that you'll usually find these offers with dedicated CPA networks; such as Hydra, Neverblue, Clickbooth, and others. You'll need to put in an application to be accepted into these networks. If your application is rejected at first, just give them a call and show them that you are truly dedicated to having a profitable partnership.

Once you are approved, take a look at the offers that are available. The chances are good that there is something in there that will be enticing for the people in your niche. There are dating offers, baby and parenting offers, education offers, beauty and health offers, and so on. You may want to start out small with something like an e-mail or zip submit offer. You can place a banner or even text links on your blog. You will earn some money when people take the desired action.

Even though it can be tempting, do not to trick people into filling out these offers! In many cases, you cannot incentivize the offer (which means giving them something desired in return for filling out your form) because it's against the rules of the CPA network or specific company. Just legitimately test and track the different CPA offers to see what will earn you the most money and be of the most value for your visitors.

You will want to pay careful attention to which CPA offers you choose to promote. That's because some of them are set up as free trial offers and the government has been cracking down on the ones that are not legitimate. Only promote things you might go for yourself, and that you can feel good about offering your readers.

You'll love promoting CPA offers because they often have higher conversions than standard affiliate sales. There is nothing better than knowing that you can make great money with these targeted offers!

How to Monetize Your Blog With Affiliate Marketing

After you have figured out as much as you can about the content you will be putting on your blog, it's time to monetize it! There is nothing quite as fulfilling as knowing that when you put your words to paper, you can make some excellent money with those words. Whether you've ever sold products as an affiliate or not, there are certain strategies than can help you become more successful as a blogger.

The first step is to understand exactly what the people in your niche want to buy. You can visit other blogs in your niche to see what products they are an affiliate for. If your niche is well-suited to selling physical products or books, you may want to turn to Amazon.com/associates to sign up as an affiliate. It is very easy to add Amazon affiliate links within your blog posts. If you blog about specific products or very tight topics, your conversions can really skyrocket!

That point bears repeating -- you want to blog about a variety of things, but you will occasionally want to blog about specific products. That's because you have a good chance of ranking highly in the search engines for specific products. People who find your link in the search engines are more likely to be buyers. That means that if they are looking to buy and your review or post convinces them, they are highly likely to purchase through your link. You can earn some excellent referral income this way.

If you are dealing with a niche where there is a big problem that people are desperately trying to solve, the chances are very good that you can find a digital product to become an affiliate for. ClickBank.com and PayDotCom.com are excellent places to look for these products.

For example, if you are running a blog about how men should approach women, you'll be happy to know that there are a wealth of products on this topic. You can include your affiliate link in highly targeted blog posts, and all throughout your blogs. Since this is such a targeted affiliate product for your topic, the chances are that you can make some great sales.

You definitely have to pay attention to where you place your affiliate links. You may want to include graphics that have your affiliate link as well as text links in strategic places. You may also want to include a few banners on your blog for products that convert especially well for you. Do not overdo this, because many people have found that there is "banner blindness." You do not want to overload people because it can make your blog look spammy.

Monetizing your blog as an affiliate is definitely not difficult! You may have to tweak and test things here and there before you find the sweet spot -- but once you get the traffic and the interest in your blog going, you will likely see the income start to roll in.

Choosing a Style and Tone for Your Content

As a niche blogger, you are definitely going to want to have your own style. This will help to set you apart from other blogs in your niche. It will also keep your readers coming back time and time again, because they will be used to your style, and will want to see what you have to say all the time!

Some bloggers automatically know exactly what they want their content to sound like. Perhaps you a very distinctive personality or set of opinions and you want that to carry through on your blog. Some people prefer to be very controversial, while other people prefer to just comment on the things that are going on in their own voice. It is definitely up to you! Keep in mind, however, that you do need to fine tune the things you say to what your niche will respond to the most. Take note of what is on their minds, what problems they have, how they talk about their passion, and what they want and like to read.

While choosing how to write content is easy for some people, others have no clue how they should do it! One thing you can do is to visit other blogs that are already established in your niche. Take notes on the blogger's style and how they differ from other blogs in the niche.

Do you like one person's style of writing over the other? What makes a certain blog stand out above others in the niche? While you definitely don't want to copy anyone's style, doing this exercise can help you generate ideas to become more creative with your own writing.

There are a few main styles you might want to choose from for your blog:

Humorous -- many people like to find humor in everyday situations. Even if you're dealing with a difficult niche topic where people have certain problems, there is nothing wrong with injecting some humor into things on occasion. People love funny, and you can let your humor fly in your writing.

Controversial -- there are certain niches where it pays to be controversial. People come back time and time again because they can't get enough. Perhaps they completely agree with you -- or perhaps they think you are an idiot! No matter what, it will help your increase your readership and the number of people who link to your blog posts from all around the web. People love a good controversy.

Informative -- many bloggers find that the people in their niche respond to informative, helpful information above all others. You definitely don't have to be dry -- always write in a friendly tone that showcases your personality. Talk to people as a friend and share as much helpful content as possible.

This is certainly not an exclusive list of the tone or style you might want your blog to have. Consider what will work best for you before you sit down to write your content. Once you do, you'll have an overall easier time with writing and coming up with ideas since you have your own style.

Making Use of User Generated Content

One of the biggest benefits of using blogs versus static websites is the fact that your visitors can interact so much. They can leave comments, add their own posts and articles (if you allow them to do so), and even interact with one another. It's important that you monitor these activities, but that you also allow natural growth of user generated content. It will be one of the things that keeps people coming back over and over again!

The first thing you should realize is that getting comments on your blog posts is absolutely essential for blog growth. People love to see social proof that a certain blog is popular and worthy of reading. If all they see are "zeros" in the comment section next to your blog posts, they may subconsciously feel like your blog is not worth visiting again.

That's why you need to encourage comments in any way you can. Specifically state that comments are welcome in the body of your blog post. You can even do things like run giveaways or offer free products when people comment on your blog! This will get them into the habit of doing so and can definitely help to increase your readership since it can attract more people in your niche.

Unfortunately, the fact that you allow open commenting can cause some issues with spam. There are some people out there who spend their days spamming blogs, unfortunately. There are many more people who use automated tools to do so -- making this an even bigger problem to handle. There is almost nothing you can do single-handedly to stop this from happening -- you'll quickly find that your comment queue is completely filled with spam posts and you won't be able to sift through to find the real comments!

The good news is that there are solutions around this. If you use the highly recommended WordPress script on a self hosted blog, you'll find that it comes with the Akismet plugin pre-installed. You should definitely activate this plugin because it will save you a lot of time. No one wants to come to a blog where all there are are spammy comments!

In addition to encouraging quality comments on your blog posts, you may also want to allow for user posts or articles. There are certain plug-ins that allow you to have users write posts and publish them on your blog. This is great for you because you get free content for your blog. This is good for the users because they know they can get some good exposure for what they have written, as well as a link back to their website. Remember, fresh content always looks great to Google!

It's important for you to encourage as much user interaction as makes sense for your business model. Put methods in place to keep the spammers out, and do everything you can to get people to comment on your blog posts. If it fits in with your business plan, you can also allow for user generated content, which can be a wonderful thing!

Getting Guest Bloggers to Write for You

Since you understand how important it is to have high quality blog content, you may want to consider having guest bloggers every now and then. These bloggers will write an article for your blog. You'll attribute their name and website to the article to give them a bit of promotion. It is a win-win situation all the way around!

You'll love getting contributors to write your blog content. It makes things more hands-off for you and gives your readers a chance to experience someone else's perspective on your niche topic. Many people enjoy coming back to blogs that have high quality posts by guest bloggers -- it can be an exciting change of pace.

The guest blogger gets a lot out of it because they get more exposure for themselves. It can help them spread their authority in the niche, and it introduces your readers to their blog or website. You can't just expect people to write without getting anything in return, and the link and byline is the perfect way to entice them.

You might be wondering how you go about getting these other bloggers to write content for you in the first place. Perhaps you've noticed that you have someone who frequently comments on your blog posts. If this person seems to have any sort of expertise in your niche (and they link to their own blog or website in their comments) you might want to consider contacting them and offering them guest blog post spot. Another thing you can do is visit blogs you frequent yourself. Ask your favorite blogger in the niche (or a related one) if they would like to write a guest blog post for you. Yes, it really can be that easy!

After you've gotten someone to agree, it's time to plan the content. In some cases you may want to give them a topic you'd prefer they blog about. Perhaps you want to have a series of posts on a similar topic and you have specific requirements for the guest posters. Or, you may want to give the contributer completely free rein as long as what they choose fits with the topic of your blog. Either option is fine as long as the person's post is of high-quality and is beneficial to both you and the guest.

Keep in mind that you will not always want to have someone else write your content, as nice as it might be to have a break from doing so yourself. That's because the people who read your blog come there to read what you have to say the majority of the time. It's okay to have a nice break and to get other people to contribute, but don't use it as a crutch, because you might lose the unique style and tone of your blog -- you might also lose your readers!

Getting guest bloggers to write some content for you is an excellent way to keep your blog consistently updated in a more hands-off fashion for you. Choose the best of the best (make sure these bloggers will be exciting for your readers!) and give them a promotional perk, and you will likely have no problem finding people who are interested in contributing to your blog.

Getting Content for Your Blog - Writing it Yourself or Outsourcing

Getting content for your blog is one of the most important steps as a blogger. That's because a blog is nothing without a unique voice and high quality content! There are several different ways to go about acquiring this content; including writing it yourself, outsourcing, and using PLR content.

Writing the content yourself might be your preferred way to go at first -- especially if you have a limited budget. This will help you develop a voice for your blog that your visitors will come to love and respect. There are certain things you'll want to take into consideration before you sit down and get started writing. These things include the voice of your blog, the style or tone you'll use, the topics you'll blog about, and so on.

Many people have a difficult time coming up with topics to discuss. One thing you might want to do is use Google's real-time search (search for your niche or a certain keyword, then select "show more options" from the top tool bar). You can choose the very latest news, blog posts, and more; which will keep you up-to-date with the latest things being discussed in your niche!

You can also visit forms in your niche for ideas of the hottest topics. Remember, you want to blog about things people are highly interested in. By keeping your finger on the pulse of the niche, you will be well ahead of other bloggers who just say the same things over and over again with their dull articles!

After you've come up with some ideas for things to blog about, you'll want to get into the mechanics of writing. The length of the content will differ depending on your preferences and reasons for writing. Some people like to write fewer, longer blog posts that contain very well researched information and are sure to be attention-grabbing for some time to come. Other people prefer to write shorter blogs posts to make sure they can cover all of the latest hot topics.

You might want to do a mixture of both. You can write those longer, "pillar" blog posts that will keep people coming back time and time again. You can write the shorter blog posts to keep people's attention on your blog and to ensure that you are cover everything you need to.

The number of posts you write is completely up to you. Many bloggers find that if they do not blog for a while they lose reader interest and traffic very quickly. You'll want to keep a consistent schedule of posting to prevent this from happening to you. This might mean scheduling blog posts in advance, just in case something does come up. Note that some of the most popular blogs on the web are updated daily or even several times per day. Examine other blogs in your niche to see what they do to get a feel for what you might want to do with your own blog.

Another thing you can do is outsource the content. You should be very explicit with those you outsource to with regards to the style you want your blog posts to have. This is a great way to read a blog in a more hands-off fashion! It is an especially good option for those who do not like to write their own content, or feel that they lack the skills to do so.

There are many independent freelance writers who would be more than happy to write for you -- or you can use bidding sites such as Elance.com or GetAFreelancer.com. You can even purchase unique content on a whim at sites like http://Constant-Content.com!

Do not underestimate the importance of having great content! Your blog needs to be highly readable and informative if you want people to come back to see what you have to say time and time again. Whether you write it all yourself or choose to outsource, always keep quality, and the needs of your readers, at the top of your mind as you start to build authority with your blog.

Getting Started With Hosted Blogger.com

Blogger.com is probably the best hosted option for those who want to make money with a free blogging option. That's partially because Blogger is more lenient than Wordpress.com when it comes to allowing for monetization, among other reasons.

Getting started with Blogger requires having a Google account. This account will tie everything together for you; including your Gmail, Adsense, Adwords, and so on. You can go to Blogger.com, and sign up to start your own blog very easily. If you do not already have a Google account, you will be asked to create one. If you already have one, you'll find that it is no hassle at all to start your new blog!

You'll sign into Blogger, choose a display name (in case you don't want people to see your actual name), and a blog address. Then, you'll choose your blog's template. It's really as easy as that! You can start blogging once you've gone through these steps. You can add posts, change settings, choose your layout, and use the already included monetization options. As was already mentioned, Blogger is generally very marketer friendly.

Their system is also very easy to use. The chances are very good that you'll never feel "stuck" when you blog with Blogger. It's definitely a good option for many people out there. Keep in mind that you will still not have as much control over what happens to your blog as you would have with a self-hosted option. Still, many people consider Blogger to be the way to go when you want to be able to start a blog with affiliate products, CPA offers, and Adsense.

Be sure to fully explore the backend of Blogger and take advantage of their help section should you have any questions. It's very easy to use, in general, so don't expect there to be a huge learning curve! If you do decide to move to a self-hosted option in the future, you will have a slight learning curve to figuring out the Wordpress script instead (which is really the only benefit to using Wordpress.com instead of Blogger). Don't let that discourage you, however, since this is truly a great option.

If you're stuck on which hosted blogging platform to go with, you really can't go wrong with Blogger!

Getting Started With Hosted Wordpress.com

Wordpress.com is very commonly used by those who want to get started blogging. It's important not to confuse this with Wordpress.org, which is the self-hosted script. When you go with Wordpress.com, they will host everything for you -- you will choose a domain name on their server, such as http://yourdomain.wordpress.com. It's very easy to get started with this blog host!

First, go to Wordpress.com. You should see a button on your right signaling that you can sign up for the service. Go ahead and click that and you'll be taken to their "one step form" to fill out. You will add information such as your desired username, password, and so on. Once you have filled that out and accepted their terms and conditions, you'll be taken to the next page. You can now choose your domain name and blog title. If the domain you want has already been taken, don't despair! Simply try some alternatives.

After completing that step, you'll be asked to confirm your e-mail address. Once you do, you're in! You're ready to log in to the backend of your new blog. You'll find that your admin area contains several links on the left-hand side. This will allow you to make blog posts, create pages, change the look of your blog, upgrade the script, and so on.

It's best to check this out yourself and really get a feel for the setup. Be sure to take a look at the way your blog looks (at the URL you've chosen for your blog) whenever you make changes or add posts. Wordpress.com does have an awesome help section and community, should you ever get stuck.

Starting a hosted blog at Wordpress.com is actually a great start if you plan on having your own self-hosted blog using Wordpress.org someday. That's because the backends are incredibly similar! You won't have to learn a completely different platform when you make the switch. This is a great thing for many people.

There are downsides to using this hosted option as well. They are actually quite strict about doing any form of marketing on your blog. If you plan on making some great affiliate sales, you might run into some issues as far as monetization goes. They can yank your blog down without warning if they find that your site is too commercial or covers a topic they don't agree with!

If you're willing to risk that, it's a nice way to get started because Wordpress.com is so easy to use and segues nicely into moving up to your own self-hosted Wordpress in the future.

Your Blog's Structure - Organizing With Categories

As you start to think about posting to your new blog, you'll notice that you are asked to select a category for each post to appear in. These categories are very important to understand if you want to set up your blog the right way for both visitors and search engines.

The categories help to separate your blog into different sections. For instance, imagine that you have a blog about Wrinkle Remedies. You might want categories about natural remedies, commercial remedies, and homemade remedies. You may even want subcategories that can nest under each main category. This is all very easy to do with Wordpress!

These categories are important for a couple of different reasons. For one thing, it improves your blog's SEO. That's because these easily separated categories can help you rank more highly for desired terms in search engines like Google. Having well-defined categories is also very helpful to your visitors. Everything is easily laid out for them as they try and navigate your blog. If you've ever visited an unorganized blog before, then you know just how essential it is that everything be easy to find!

Unfortunately, many people go about choosing their categories in a haphazard way. They think that they can just add the categories in off the top of their head as they go (which you can, it's just not ideal) -- but this can lead to problems! You might end up doubling up on some categories, leaving others out, and miss-categorizing.

It's a much better to decide on categories for your blog before getting started. This will help to ensure that every category that needs to be there, will be there. This will also give you a plan for the future, and can help you to generate ideas for future blog posts.

It's a good idea to do your keyword research before choosing your categories. This will help give you ideas for categories to enter as well as what keywords to you should use for the categories for ease of navigation and SEO.

Keep in mind that even though you are doing some more work upfront to determine which categories to include on your blog, you can always add more later! It is very simple to select a new category option whenever you make a new post.

Paying attention to categories is something that too few bloggers do. If you want to set yourself up for success, it's definitely time to plan ahead.

Configuring Your Self-Hosted Blog - Themes, Plugins, and More!

After you have set up your self-hosted blog, it's time to take steps to configure and customize it. This is where it starts to get fun, because you can truly make your blog your own. Part of doing this is choosing a theme to customize the look of your blog. There are also several plug-ins you may want to consider installing.

Go ahead and browse for some WordPress themes at http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/. Think about the look you want for your blog. What is its niche topic? Choose a theme that matches the topic for the best results. Most Wordpress themes are free, but there are some that are paid, and many that are highly customizable; examples include the Thesis theme, WP Flex, and Headway.

After you have chosen your theme, you'll find it is very easy to install. You can even do it right in the backend of your WordPress admin area these days! Simply go to "Appearance," "Themes," and browse for the available options. You can easily install the one you want, and even change the look of your blog at any time if you decide to go another way in the future.

You'll also want to take the time to look through the plugins. Select the "plugins" option in the sidebar of your admin panel and browse for ones that make the most sense to use for your blog (everyone has different preferences). A must-have plug-in is the Platinum SEO plugin. This plugin will help you optimize your blog for the search engines.

You'll also want to install Google XML sitemaps, Google Analyticator (if you plan on using Google Analytics to evaluate your site's stats), Akismet (this plugin comes standard with your WP installation and blocks spam comments), and others that you think will fit your blog and your niche.

Keep in mind that while many plugins are helpful, you can potentially overload your blog and open yourself up to problems with hacking if you have too many of them.

In addition to selecting a theme and plugins, you'll want to make sure of a few things in your blog's configuration. First, select "settings" and then "privacy." Make sure that the option for everyone to be able to see your blog (including visitors and search engines like Google and Technorati) is selected.

Then, select "permalinks." The Permalink structure that comes standard with WordPress install is not the best for SEO. You'll want to select the "custom" radio button and change it to %postname%.

Another thing you will want to do is go into your "posts" area in your wp-admin and delete the standard "hello world" post that is there. You may also want to go into your "pages" area and delete the "about" page that is there. These are not needed, and you will want to add your own content instead of these standard content (it is just there for demonstration purposes).

When you do these things, you'll be starting your blog off the right way for optimal results!

Getting Started With a Self-hosted Blog

If you have decided to start a self-hosted blog, there are some things you'll need to get in order beforehand. This includes getting a hosting account, selecting and buying a domain name, and figuring out how to use cPanel and Fantastico.

Your first decision will likely be which host you want to go with. There are many options on the market. Some commonly used ones are Hostgator, Bluehost, and Hostmonster. These all have fairly good reputations, so your choice will come down to what kind of hosting package you want to go with. Many Internet marketers choose to use Hostgator because it is highly cost effective, the support is good, and it is easy to use (newbie friendly!).

When you decide to purchase a hosting package, you will notice that they ask if you have your own domain name or if you want to use one provided by them. You can do either, but it is recommended that you keep your hosting account separate from where you maintain your domain name. This will give you more control, should you decide to change hosts in the future. Namecheap.com and GoDaddy.com are common places to purchase a domain. The domain name should cost under $10 per year -- which is a great deal!

No matter whether you get your domain name through your hosting company or through a separate registrar, you'll want to put a lot of thought into which name you choose. Remember, you can have one that is keyword focused based on your niche or one that brands your blog.

After you purchase your domain name, there will be a place to enter the name servers (DNS) they should point your domain name to. This basically tells the system where your host is. It connects the two and allows your domain name to show up on your host. Your host should be able to provide you with this information.

Once you have your domain name and hosting accounts set up, you will want to take a look at the backend of your hosting account. If you've gone with one of the recommended hosts, this will be called your cPanel. cPanel is designed to be easy to use and to allows you access to information about your account, your websites (such as traffic and keywords people are using to find you), your domain names, and easy ways to install scripts. Since you want to install WordPress, you are now most concerned with an icon called Fantastico.

Fantastico is a blue smiley face icon. Once you click this, you will be taken to a screen that shows several options on the left side. You want to look under "blogs" and find the Wordpress option. Click this and you will find that you're taken to a screen that allows you to enter in information for where you want your WordPress scripts to be installed.

For most people, this will be in the main folder of their domain name (so the blog shows up on http://yourdomain.com). Other people may have an established website already and want to have their blog show up at http://yourdomian.com/blog. Fantastico will install everything for you with a simple click after you have entered in some standard information.

Be sure to make note of all the information you enter (you'll need it to log in later!) and have Fantastico e-mail it to you. Keep the information safe!

While setting up a self-hosted blog might seem intimidating, it is definitely worth it for most people in the end. You'll love knowing that you have full control over your business and that it looks professional all the way around. There is a learning curve, just don't let yourself get intimidated!

The Importance of Choosing the Right Keywords

One reason so many people love blogging is because it is usually not quite as tedious as writing articles for websites. There is also less of a formal feel to most blogs. While it is certainly the case that blogging can be very fun, don't forget to do your keyword research!

Even though you can blog about whatever is on your mind as long as it relates to your niche topic, you do need to do some keyword research. This will not take much time once you get the hang of it -- and doing so can definitely help you rank more highly in the search engines for each blog post you write!

You'll want to do some preliminary keyword research before you set up the structure of your blog. This can help you with choosing a domain name and selecting a focus for your blog. Keep in mind that you have a few different options when it comes to your domain name.

Some people choose to purchase a keyword focused domain in hopes that it will help them rank more highly. Other people want their blog to be branded and will choose a unique name for their blog. The choice is truly yours, depending on whether you want the focus to be on SEO or branding.

You will also want to do some keyword research before writing your blog posts. For instance, if you're going to blog about a certain product related to your niche, you can do some keyword research to determine which keyword related to that product is searched the most. Then, you can include the keyword in your title and have it sprinkled throughout your article. Make sure to include the keyword naturally and not just stuff it in!

You can also insert these keywords as tags with each post you publish. These tags can be picked up by the search engines to help establish relevancy and help you rank more highly for your desired terms.

Keyword research is also important if you're going to be using a plug-in such as the All-in-One plugin or Platinum SEO plugin. These will automatically search engine optimize each post, and your entire blog, at setup for you. These plugins include places to enter your keywords, a title, and a description.

There are many different ways you can do this keyword research. There are free tools like the Google keyword research tool at: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal. This tool will give you an idea of how many people search for each related keyword globally and locally. Be sure to select "exact match" from the drop down menu to determine the true figures. There are also paid tools, such as Market Samurai and Micro Niche Finder, that can help you dig down and determine information such as competition levels and more.

Choosing the right keywords can mean the difference between hoping people are able to find your blog and your posts, and knowing that they definitely will because you rank so highly in the search engines. Take the time to do some keyword research before establishing your blog, and before you write each post, and you should start to see some great results!

Spying on Your Competition to Ensure Your Success

After doing proper niche research, you are going to want to evaluate your competition. This is important to do before you go through the work of setting up and writing for your blog. Note that just because there are other blogs on this topic, it does not mean that you need to shy away and write about something else.

You'll often find that having competition means people are actively interested in this niche topic -- you just need to find a way to set yourself apart! Before you do that, you can use several tools to see what you're up against.

One of the first things you will want to do is search for keywords that are related to the niche you are thinking of entering. Take note if there are no blogs that are within the first several results. It may mean that you need to narrow your focus a little bit more. If you're having trouble finding competing blogs, you can use Google's blog search at: http://blogsearch.google.com. This will help you immensely as you examine your competition.

Make note of the competitors you find. You may want to create an Excel spreadsheet that contains information about all of them. You can then use Yahoo Site Explorer at: https://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com to check the number of backlinks the blog has. If they have an incredible number of backlinks, it can mean that it will take you quite some time to beat them in the search engines before you start to become more of an authority than they are.

If they have an insufficient number of backlinks, then you know they will be fairly easy to beat. Whether you want to take on a blog that has many backlinks or not is definitely up to you! It can be done, but it will take longer and require more work on your part.

Another thing you can do is check Compete.com. This site can help you compare competition against your blog and other sites in your niche, determine what keywords they rank for, what their traffic is like, and what the demographics in your niche are. Alexa.com is another one you can use to determine what kind of traffic levels your competitors are getting. Keep in mind that Alexa only tracks those who use their toolbar, so it is not always considered to be the most accurate.

There are a few things examining your competition can do for you. It give you a feel for what else is out there, what their writing style is, what they monetize their sites with, and what kind of traffic they are getting. If you cannot find a single blog that gets good traffic, the chances are that the interest is just not there. However, if you do find some healthy competition then you know it might be a good niche to enter.

You need to find your unique voice and unique angle for your own blog so you can start getting some great traffic and making money through blogging. Researching the competition ahead of time makes this much easier to do!

Niche Research and Selecting a Niche With Buyers

One of the most important decisions you'll make as you get started blogging is which niche you'll enter. Of course, you can blog about literally anything you want to online! That doesn't mean that every single topic will be profitable, however. If you want to make money with your blog, then you'll definitely have to put some thought into niche research and choosing a niche that has buyers.

There are way too many people who think that they can just put up a blog, write some nonsense, and start making gobs of money right away. If only that were the case! You can't just blog about your day and expect to make a lot of money online. In general, people care about themselves, their friends and family, and their needs, passions and hobbies -- not what you had for breakfast.

That's why it is a much better idea to choose a niche where people are already actively spend money. You also have to be careful to choose a niche where people are actively searching for information. When you combine the two of these things as a blogger, you will definitely have a winner -- as long as you set up your blog in the right way!

For instance, many Internet marketers choose to set up a blog in the Internet marketing niche. This niche is quite saturated, but there are definitely sub-niches that are highly profitable and easier to make a name for yourself within. This niche is one where people are always searching for information and are always spending money. These two things combined make having an Internet marketing blog a good idea for many people. Keep in mind that this is not the right route for everyone, and that other niches might be a better option for you.

For instance, perhaps you are a new mom or dad and you realize the weight loss struggles many moms face after giving birth. You could start a blog focused on this topic. You know that people are actively searching out this information and that they are willing to spend money to get their solution. It is also a lot less saturated than the standard weight loss niche. This is just one of the many niches and sub-niches that are out there to choose from!

You will want to use standard niche research practices in order to make your decision. Browse the trending topics on Google at: http://www.google.com/trends, popular blogs at: http://blogsearch.google.com/, best-selling nonfiction books at: http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Non-Fiction, magazine topics at: http://www.magazines.com, and so on to generate ideas. Then, you'll really want to dive deep with some keyword and market research to determine if there are products you can be an affiliate for in the niche you are interested in.

You definitely do not want to skip the niche research part! You are not going to make a lot of money if you do. Run a profitable blog by doing the research first.

Hosted Vs. Self-Hosted Blog Options

If you've made the decision to start your own blog, congratulations! This is definitely a great path to go down for making money online. However, there are some things you will need to think about before getting started blogging. One of those is whether you will use a self-hosted blog or a hosted blog. The differences between the two of these are substantial enough that you'll want to give it some serious consideration.

First, it's important to understand what the differences between hosted and self-hosted are. Hosted options are the "freebie" blogs. You might have come across WordPress.com or Blogger.com blogs where the URL of the blog is http://yournamechoicehere.blogspot.com, or similar. That's because these companies are taking care of all the hosting concerns for you, and your blog is attached to their domain name. This has its ups and downs.

You are at the mercy of the company when you use a hosted option. WordPress.com is known for being fairly strict when it comes to advertising. This is incredibly important to know if you plan on making money from your blog. Blogger.com is known for being more lenient with topics and advertising, but people have been known to have their blogs taken away by Blogger without warning before. This can mean that all of your content, hard work, and future income is lost for good!

At the same time, there are definitely some pros to using the hosted option. For one thing, they are completely free to use. This is a dream come true for many people starting out in Internet marketing on a budget. That's because these platforms are very easy to use and have the potential to rank highly in the search engines since they are attached to a high PR domain.

Many people will find that a self-hosted option is right for them. You will need to purchase your own hosting and domain name, but these are very affordable if you know where to look. Hosting should cost you no more than $10 monthly and the domain name should cost you under $10 a year.

Note that there can be more of a learning curve when you have a self-hosted blog. That's because you'll need to know how to do things like pointing your domain name to your host, installing WordPress blogging software, and using the software. This is truly a case where if you do it one time, you should have no trouble doing it again! Many hosts even have one-click installation so you don't need to know anything about installing scripts other than how to click a button!

There are many pros that come along with having a self-hosted blog. If you truly want to become an authority in your niche, this will help you to look more professional. You will also be able to maintain full control over your content. No one can tell you (within the law) what you can or cannot write about, advertise, and so on. This is probably the best option for those who want to build their blogging into a long-term and highly profitable business.

The hosted versus self-hosted debate doesn't have clear cut answers for everyone. You'll need to think about what will work best for you and for your business as you get started as a blogger.

Why Blogs are a Great Online Platform

You might be wondering why you should start a blog versus creating a static website. While both can be profitable, you'll probably find that running a blog is a lot more fun, is easier to use, and offers incredible search engine optimization benefits -- these are things you just can't get with a standard HTML based website. The potential for profit with a blog is huge!

Let's start off with the fun factor. It can be tedious to write article after article to post on a standard website. In fact, you might just give up after a while because it can seem like you're just treading water and not getting anywhere. You might not even need any more articles once your static site reaches a certain point. When you're running a blog you can really inject some personality into it! It can be fun to think of new blog posts and to make them unique so they stand apart from other blogs in your niche.

In addition to being more fun, blogging software will likely be a lot easier for you to use than trying to create a website with something like Dreamweaver or the ancient Front Page. This is especially true when you use something like Wordpress.com or Blogger.com. These options are designed to be very user-friendly. You operate them via a backend where you can easily add pages and posts, and take care of everything related to search engine optimization. Of course, there is a learning curve to any option, but it's nothing like trying to code HTML!

No matter how steep the learning curve, you want to be sure that your blog has a great chance of ranking highly in the search engines. That's why it's such good news that the blogging software of today makes it easy to do proper SEO. This is especially true in the case of self-hosted WordPress, (which we'll cover more later) since there are plugins that can automate a lot of this for you.

It's also important to note that search engines like Google love constantly updated content. They also like content where people can interact (live comments on your blog means free content for you!) and that adds value to those who use their search engine. Blogs on niche topics definitely fit this ideal.

Hopefully, you now understand why running a blog is the way to go if you want to make money online. It can be fun, blogging software is easy to use, and it offers great search engine optimization benefits. All of these things put together could mean that your bottom-line increases dramatically over what it would be with a boring static website.