Non-Blogging Tips To Make You A Better Blogger

Well I am sitting in my living room with the wood stove burning and a blizzard outside and I got to thinking about some things I could do to make me a better blogger. So here are some non-blogging tips to become a better blogger.


Image courtesy of sean dreilinger

Adapt and evolve.
Being able to go with the flow and change when it's not working is an important trait to have in any one's life, but it is extremely important as a blogger. Recognizing trends and following them without totally immersing yourself in them will keep you up to date but allow you to diversify.

Just about everyone who runs a blog and a lot of people who run business and websites now have a Twitter profile. And if you don't have a Facebook page or at least doing some kind of social networking you are being left in the dust. The ability to adapt and evolve will make you a better blogger by connecting you with more people, which brings me to another tip.

Connect with as many people as you can.
I talked about Twitter and social networking sites above, but with them you are able to connect with so many more people than even just a couple of years ago. It use to be just your friends and the people you knew from high school that you were connected to online. But now we can connect with bloggers all over the world.

You know the saying, "It's not what you know, but who you know." It has always been true and continues to be true. Networking is a great way to get information and social networking websites make this easier. You can receive tips from a blogger in India or even find a job from someone Twitter that you might have never received because of the connection you have had online.

Sharing is caring.
Once you have your Twitter account or social network profile, make sure to give to the people following you or the people you are friends with. Giving little tips and sharing websites of others is a great way of portraying yourself as an expert. Every once in a while you can give links to your site, but shameless self promotion will lead to lots of unfollows and losing friends.

Write Better Blog Posts With These 5 Tips

Writing better blog posts is something all of us strive to do. Not only will better written posts help convey the information to our reader better, but it will make our blog better and in turn bring more readers. So here are a few simple tips to help you write better blog posts.

Write shorter more concise articles.
Most readers won't read every word you write. They will scan the first sentence and generally the last sentence in paragraphs, so if you write smaller paragraphs with more information in them, the readers will in turn come away with a better understanding of what you wrote about.

Use interesting titles with keywords. Think newspaper headlines.
In most blogging platforms the title is used in creating the page your article will be posted on. Not only will the title attract the readers to that article when you first write it, but if they search through the archive it will grab their attention then. Well written titles will bring readers to that post for months to come.

Keywords will help in tagging the post in a certain category and also allow search engines to crawl it so people will find that article when searching for certain keywords.

Do not use simple generic words like "the" to start your titles.
If you start using "the" as the first word in your titles, your articles will get lost in the archives with all the other articles titled the same. Keywords will help, but try and pay a little more attention to the title as it will be the first thing readers see.

Use bold headlines to break up your posts and bring attention to certain parts.
Take for example this article. There are bold headlines basically giving you a one sentence summary of the paragraph below it. This way readers could essentially just read the bold headlines and still get just about all the information. It also breaks up the post so it feels like it's not just a bunch of words.

Write articles with both internal and external links.
Putting a lot of links into your post will cram as much information as you can into each one. Links to your own articles will, or internal links, will intertwine your posts and will help new readers to your blog find other relevant information. External links will give readers another perspective and even more information. And by linking others and sending traffic to other sites, hopefully they will link back to your articles too.

Nine Must Read Articles For Bloggers

Todays post isn't really a post, but more of links to articles that just about everyone should read. All but one of the articles I will post today are from one site, the other is from Chris Brogan.

The site that most of the articles are coming from is useit.com - usable information technology, a site by Dr. Jakob Nielsen a co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group. He has been called a guru, a king, a leader, a czar, an expert, and a pioneer in web usability. He writes a bi-weekly column called Alertbox where he focuses on web usability. Alertbox has been going strong since 1995.

How Users Read On The Web
This is an article from 1997 where Dr. Nielsen states that users don't read on the web, they scan. I've talked about formatting posts before and just about every other professional blogger or someone blogs about blogging will you that readers scan. With so many people saying it, why not do it?

He also talks about smaller paragraphs, relevant sub-headings, bold keywords, and fewer words. Most readers won't read the whole paragraph nor the whole article, but scan through the first couple of paragraphs and look for links and bold words. Format your posts accordingly.

Using Link Titles to Help Users Predict Where They Are Going
Link titles are something that had just been invented when Dr. Nielsen wrote this article in 1998, but holds true today. He talks about the title= feature with links and how this will help a user learn more about the link they may want to click on.



The example above is from his site and is a great example of how to use the title= feature. Although he does state not to do it on every link as a user clicking on a link that says Home or About Me is pretty sure on where they are headed.

Microcontent: How to Write Headlines, Page Titles, and Subject Lines
Blog posts are generally seen just by their title as a link and unless the title tells a reader exactly what they will read about, they won't click it. He talks about staying away from "cute" and "clever" headlines that might trick the reader as they will just close the page anyways.

Another important point he stresses is not to start titles with "the" or "a" because these articles can get lost in your archives. There could be 10 or 15 articles that start with "the" and your readers will get lost and not know which ones to read. Start the title with something about the article, something with relevance.

Deep Linking is Good Linking
Just like the title of his article says, linking your articles from within your other articles is a good thing. Don't get carried away though, as Google might penalize you.

Weblog Usability: The Top Ten Design Mistakes
A must read for anyone that has a blog or wants to start one. Some of them top ten are found through the articles he has written and I've posted about, but this list simplifies them into one nice neat package.

F-Shaped Pattern For Reading Web Content
Another must read article from Dr. Nielsen for anyone who has a website or blog. Read the article and format your posts accordingly.

Write Articles, Not Blog Postings
This might seem as inconsistent with his article about writing shorter posts but if you read the whole thing, you will understand what he means. This article is a little longer than all the others but it has a lot of good information and is another must read.

How Little Do Users Read?
Like his article about how readers read, this one talks about how little they actually do read. There is research, comparisons, and graphs. Once again another must read.

The last article is from Chris Brogan
His post is titled 40 ways to deliver killer blog content. Chris is another person that can be called a leader, an expert, and a guru on the web and if you aren't reading his blog, then you are missing out on a ton of content.

Social Networks: Most Important Thing On The Internet?

Social networks are probably the most important "inventions" on the Internet. And with so many of them it's next to impossible to not connect online with anyone you have ever met in your life.

I'm a member of a few different social networks and try to keep them updated and talk with people on them regularly, but sometimes it's hard to talk with everyone. But every once in a while someone will find you online and you will be able to reconnect with them.

Now there are other ways to reconnect with people online like email and instant messaging, but unless you have their email address and/or IM name, you will be unable to find them without some serious searching. Social networks allow you to search for peoples real names and find long lost friends.

My girlfriend doesn't understand the whole reconnecting and talking online, or even the power of social networks. She is on Facebook and MySpace but rarely talks to anyone on either. But here is a cool story that just recently happened to me...

I have been a member of Facebook for a long time. I found it in 2005 or so in my sophomore year of college and became friends with 100's of people I knew through school. Now I had transfered to Oregon State after one year at Western Oregon University but still kept in contact with some people from WOU.

Since leaving Oregon State last year I have been working and not staying in contact with the people on Facebook as much. But my roommate from WOU joined and friended me. I talked to him a few times, catching up, but that was it. Two weeks ago I applied and received the JV Boys Basketball coach at Forks High School.

I talked about it a little on Facebook where you can say what you are doing. My freshman roommate from WOU wrote on my wall saying that he is coaching for a small high school. Now Forks High School is very small and we travel about 3 hours to every game we play. His high school is one of the ones we play and he is actually traveling here to play this Saturday.

He coaches the JV girls and so I will be able to connect with him this weekend after talking with him on Facebook. Social networks are an amazing thing and if you don't have a profile on any, check out my big list of social networks and my post on the importance of creating a social network profile.

Helping New Bloggers Beat The Odds

I'm always looking around the web for different topics to write about and what other bloggers are saying. Just about every day I find a new blog to follow. I use these blogs for topic ideas and information on what the rest of the blogosphere is writing about blogging. I will then usually add my opinions on certain topics but I sometimes come across an article that needs nothing added to it.

Today I came across a blog called Motivate Thyself by Eric Hamm. He has some very good articles and tips but one of his popular posts is titled 10 Tips To Help New Bloggers Beat The Odds and Push Past Their Rookie Status. It's a mouthful but one of the best articles I've read in a long time.

He goes through 10 things you can do keep yourself motivated and push through the immense wall separating you from success. It's a long article but well worth it.

Newsletter Subscription Pop-up's Are Very Annoying

Newsletters sent by e-mail can be a great way to connect more with your readers and offer them a little bit more information than is available on your blog. You can give them secret tips and tricks that you either will not post about on your blog, or send through the newsletter early. A lot of people sign up for newsletters and I receive a few everyday.

By sending out newsletters you will be adding to your site. You can also monetize them and even provide affiliate links to products that can earn you even more money. It's also something that doesn't have to be sent out every day as most people don't expect them that often. It is not uncommon for them to be sent out weekly, bi-weekly, or even monthly but make sure to have a decent amount of information in each one.

The problem that I have been seeing lately is the way some people are trying to gain more subscribers. Pop-ups. It is very intrusive and I will always close it. It looks unprofessional, but some of the most popular bloggers started to do it.

Darren Rowse has a pop-up on his blog about photography, Digital Photography School and wrote about how to drastically increase email newsletter subscribers over at ProBlogger. Even Jeremy Schoemaker over at ShoeMoney had the pop-up.

Will this be a new trend? I hope not because I see others reading about the increase in subscribers and then start doing it on their blog. So how do you increase your subscribers without the intrusive pop-up?

First, you must have an informative newsletter that comes out pretty often. Make sure to have the subscriber form or link above the fold where it is easily found. Have a little snippet about subscribing to your newsletter either at the end of every post or at the beginning. Talk about the insider tips and special deals you can receive when you sign up and either bold it or italicize it.

Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures

CLICK HERE TO LEARN HOW TO MAKE A MILLION DOLLARS TOMORROW!!!!!!11!111!

We have all seen these ads around the internet and the commercials on TV boasting about how they know all the secrets to making millions of dollars working only part time. Get rick quick schemes are every where and in times like these you might consider forking out that $60 to buy the system.

Don't. Seth wrote about the overnight millionaire scams yesterday and I thought I would talk a little bit more about it.

If someone had the secrets to making a million dollars why would they tell everyone about it? Wouldn't they just use their secrets to make them loads of money? Haven't you always heard that if something is to good to be true, it probably isn't?

To quote E-40...

You want that fast quarter, I want that slow nickel.

It's better to work hard for your money as it will feel more rewarding and most likely that money will be with you for a while. We can take this approach to that of getting money from your blog. Don't look to receive a bunch of money at first. It will come eventually.

Submit Articles, Increase Traffic, And No Penalty From Search Engines

Writing articles and submitting them to article directories to either get paid or gain traffic is popular but there is a right way to do it.

Search engines are working diligently to erase duplicate content and if you submit the same article to many different sites and use it on yours, you could potentially be penalized or even banned. That is something that all of us don't want to happen. So how do you submit articles and continue to do it effectively without being penalized?

As I stated above don't send the same article to many different sites and especially don't post it on yours. Not only could you get penalized but it looks tacky if a readers reads your article at some site and then comes to yours because they liked it and see the same article on the front page.

The best way to submit articles and still receive that traffic we all desire is to create a series of articles. Writing a part one, two, and three will allow you to submit part one to an article directory and then post part two and three on your site. Make sure to include links on the article you submitted to your site where the other parts of the series are. Also include a link on your site to the article submitted so your readers can read all parts.

Here are a few sites to submit articles too..
Constant Content
Ezine Article Submission
Zinos.com eZine digest and database
Article City
Go Articles
Article Alley
SitePoint forum thread with hundreds more links to article submission sites

Do's And Don'ts Of Starting A Website Or Blog

DO: Have everything programmed and set up before having the site go live. The design should be finished and all the links and pages should work. If your site isn't finished when people visit, they most likely won't return.

DO NOT: Expect a lot of visitors when you first start out. Your site is new and probably not in the search engines yet, but give it time. If you promote it correctly than the people will come.

DO: Attempt to start a community around your site. Blogs and forums with a large following are highly profitable. I've read of numerous sites being sold for over $50,000 all the way up to over 12 million dollars.

DO NOT: Start spamming your site every where once your site goes live. Generally people like to find new sites but if they see you posting comments with your link it on every site they visit or find you in every forum that frequent, that person won't come visit your site.

DO: Start social networking as soon as possible, hopefully before you start the site. Join social networks like Digg, Facebook, Twitter, and other sites that fit into your niche. Be active in them and this will enable you to have a social presence before your site goes live and possibly give you a small loyal readership in the beginning that can evolve into a large loyal readership.

DO NOT: Spend money on a domain or hosting unless you are going to be in it for the long haul. Domain names are relatively cheap but hosting can milk your bank account. So unless you plan on at least making some money with the site there is no reason to spend money.

DO: Write great original content that people will want to read. I've said it before and I will say it again, your site needs great content.

DO NOT: Steal content from other writers. It will make you look very bad and could prevent you from many future endeavors. Information on the internet spreads quickly and your reputation will be tarnished.

DO: Use other peoples content to enhance your site but ALWAYS give credit. I'm not saying use their words or the entire post, but if you can add a different perspective of a post you saw on another blog, link to it.

Lastly...

DO NOT: Give up. Your site will be small at first, but stick with it. The readers will come if you keep writing great stuff. The links will come if you immerse yourself into the online community.

Differences Between Hobby Bloggers And Professional Bloggers Work Spaces

Whether on a laptop in the living room or on a company computer during brief periods of busy work, the place where you blog can have a huge impact on the quality of posts. A lot of bloggers that do this as a hobby generally type their posts in a very relaxed and comfortable manner.

I started a thread at my favorite blogging forum, Bloggeries, where I asked where people sat and blogged. Most of them blog as a hobby and the answers reflected that. Here are a few of their answers...

ghing - I usually blog at my desk in our office..

sometimes on the pantry.. hehe...
I don't have PC at home so I usually blog in our office...

cjharley - I sit on my couch with my laptop appropriately in my lap while the TV is on in the background.

sadiessay-so - During the week when you see me post during the day I'm at work waiting on the other accountants to process more payments. At night, like now. I'm laying back on my couch with my laptop watching TV.

napkinpirate - I say at work in the middle of checking people in and out of the hotel...or at home afterwards on my bed with my laptop...

Now, lets switch gears and think about the people who run very successful blogs and/or blog for a living. Forgetting those people who are technically journalists but run a blog off a news site, most professional bloggers write at their desk in an office. Here are a few pictures of professional bloggers work spaces...




Images are of Zac Johnson, Super Affiliate's workspace.


Image is of Jeremy Schoemaker of Shoemoney.com's workspace.

As you can see once it becomes more of a job and the stakes are higher, blogging on your laptop while sitting on the couch with the TV on in the background just won't cut it.

I still sometimes blog on my couch while watching the television (like I am doing now), but found that I focused better while sitting at our kitchen table which is acting like our desk. The TV is out of eyesight so it cannot distract me and I can concentrate more on writing.

Where do you sit and blog? Please comment...

Social Media Sniping - The What And How

Social media sniping, or SMS (not Short Message Service - SMS), is basically searching for articles or blog posts that are starting to gain a lot of exposure and posting a comment on that site. Now this can get out of hand and look like spamming, so you don't want to do this all the time or with every article.

If you are going to snipe a post and write a comment, make sure you read the article and give something worthwhile. Don't just comment...

Cool post.

or...

I enjoyed reading this.

Your comment will actually need to answer a question of the article or another commenter or maybe even ask a question relevant to it. If you do leave a post, don't disregard this site altogether. Come back to see if anyone has either answer your question or maybe even posed another one. This will make your comment look even less like comment spam. It will also help if it's a post or article relating to your niche. Not only will this help with your credibility and expertise, but you will be connecting with even more people interested in the same things you are.

This idea isn't a new thing. A friend of mine bought a lot of stuff on eBay and always talked about snipe bidding when there are just a few seconds left. Tyler over at SMM Guru talked about Digg sniping, but I feel you can do this with just about any social media site.

So try it out and see if any traffic is brought to your site. If after a few SMS attempts

Your Posts (Should) = A $50 Ribeye Steak

The waitress brings you that juicy ribeye you ordered. It's sizzling in her hands as she sets in front of you. Your mouth starts to water and you grab your steak knife and fork and can't wait to dig in.

WAIT!!

Don't just start carving at the meat in front you. You should use all your senses to get the full picture. You've got to hear it, smell it, see it, and then cut into it to feel and taste it. This is a $50 steak, you can't scarf it down like a small cheeseburger at McDonald's. You are going to eat it slow, chewing it many times and savoring every bite. No steak sauce, just some salt and pepper. A $50 will be ruined by steak sauce.

Now how does this equate to your posts?
Basically, don't feverishly type up your post. Take your time on it. If you were to just write something without thinking it over and formatting it perfectly, than it's just going to be a wasted topic. You want your posts to read and feel like a $50 steak tastes.

Make sure you have a good topic.
All great steaks start with a great piece of beef. You should take this into consideration when you are posting about a topic. Will this topic be something that your readers want to read about? Will they want to tell their friends? If the answers are no to either or both of those questions, rethink the topic. When you eat a great steak, you want to tell everyone about how good it is and that they should really try out that restaurant. Your post should do the same.

Your post should be formatted for the readers.
When you order a steak at a steakhouse, you can order it from rare to well done. Your steak will then go on the grill with few seasonings. Your posts should be formatted in the same way. Simple and clear and concise. But, this depends on your topic and niche. For the most part, readers won't read everything you write, but will look for bulleted lists or bold headings.

Lastly, don't gussy up your posts with too much of anything.
If you order a good expensive steak at a popular steakhouse, the steak should be the center piece of the dish. Maybe some veggies, a biscuit, or some potatoes, but the steak will be the reason you ordered it. No crazy seasonings or cheap steak sauces. You are after the big hunk of charred meat.

This goes with your posts. Your reader isn't there for all the pictures and fancy things that some people put in their posts. I feel that if you are going to add a picture, it should at least have something to do with the post. Some people will just post a picture to post one. These will just take away from the real message in your writing.

Another thing that can take away from your post is all the social media web 2.0 buttons at the bottom. Not everything you will write will be diggable. The best thing I've seen is the "share this" links that kind of pop up so you can bookmark or add the post to your favorite social site. Stick with that and get rid of all the buttons.

Think of your post as a $50 steak. Are you really going to want cooked broccoli, onion rings, sauteed mushrooms, garlic mashed potatoes, buttered bread, french fries, creamed spinach, and a salad with it? No, keep your posts simple and only add things that are necessary.

10 Essential Free Directories To Submit Your Blog To

Finding traffic for your blog in the beginning can be hard. There are many great ways to find that traffic and direct towards your blog, but I'm going to talk about one today. Blog directories are basically a list of blogs categorized by their topic. Here is a list of 10 blog directories that don't cost you a penny to join.

• Blog Catalog's Directory is one of the best to join. It's one of the larger blog directories on the net and is also one of the larger social networks. They have a few widgets that will directly connect you to your readers. This one is a must join.


• Blogged's Directory is another large blog directory that you should join.


• Blog Flux's Blog Directory is another one that I joined, but their directory could fix some layout problems. It was also hard for me to find a category for mine.


• Blog Hop has me still in review, but it's another one that tote's connecting readers to blogs.


• Blog Explosion also has my blog still in review, but they will be a great source of traffic.


• Bloggernity is a great directory that added my blog quickly. I have to receive any traffic from them but it's at the top of the list for new blogs.


• Top Blog Area is another great free directory which added my site quickly, but I have yet to see any traffic from them.


• Blog Hub is another free directory.


• Blog Rankings makes it hard to stand out, but it's another free directory.


• Bloggapedia's Blog Directory is a free directory and social network like Blog Catalog.

Driving And The Bathroom, What Do They Have In Common?

Everyone has a place where they go to think about things. Those things can be everything from relationships to jobs or what to post about on your blog. These places are different for a lot of people, but can also be the same. I'm going to talk about a few of the places I go to think and get away from the world.

If I am annoyed or pissed off about something I generally will get in my car and drive around. Most of the time it isn't normal driving as I usually have my foot to the floor and mashing through the gears. The rush of adrenaline as I swing around corners and bring the car into triple digits relaxes me. My thoughts are clear and I'm able to cut through them like a samurai.

The other place I do a lot of thinking is in the bathroom. This can be either on the toilet or in the shower. Everything else in the world matters very little and I can concentrate on my thoughts. Generally bathroom tasks take no brain power as we have all done them thousands of times.

The reason I bring these things up is that they can help you if you just can't come up with something to post. I posted about some ways to get around writers block yesterday but getting away to that certain place that allows you to think freely can help a ton.

Where do you go to get away from the world and think?

What To Do When You Have Nothing To Post?

You are staring at the computer screen with your hands on the keyboard motionless. Your brain is coming up with nothing for your next blog post. It's only been a couple of months, you can't be out of topics yet. You decide to not post anything that day, but tomorrow comes and your mind is still blank. What happens now once you have nothing to post?


Image courtesy of Adam Lyon

This is a common problem for many writers not just bloggers. So if you find that posting something on a regular schedule, here are a few remedies that will hopefully help smash through that writers block.

Get out of your current surroundings.
Take a walk or go to the store. Just getting out of your house, or wherever you blog should get your mind off of the need to blog and get your brain out of a rut. I did this back in high school and college when I was writing essays. I would work on it for a little bit but would start to despise the topic I was writing on. When I put it down and got my mind off it, I was able to come back and write with a new sense and a fresh mind.

Talk to friends, family members, or members of your internet community.
Maybe someone has heard of something new about your topic that you haven't. Or if you have something you want to write about but just can't think of which direction to take it, just ask someone. Forums are a great place for this especially if you have decent presence there. Generally are more than willing to help especially if they know something about whatever you are writing about.

Research.
If you aren't researching your posts already than you should start. Sometimes doing a bit of extra research about the topic to hopefully find some untapped bit of information that will give you that extra push over the hill. This can be surfing the internet for more sources or opinions about the topic or going to the library and looking up books and older information to write about. Make sure you keep track of the sources as you don't want to plagiarize.

Revisit older posts and update them.
When you generally post something it won't be the last time you talk about that topic. Just going through your old posts and adding extra bits of information will improve your blog. Not only will it move older posts back up to the front page of your blog, but it will keep your blog updated with the most relevant information. It will also interconnect your blog posts with links to other posts you have done, which is something that is good to do (as it keeps your readers within your site as long as possible).

The best thing to remember is that it happens to everyone at some point. It's just something that you have to try and push through. Just as I'm about to post this, I whipped over to ProBlogger and searched to see if Darren had written about this subject. He had not only written about it, but quite possibly wrote a small book about the subject. Check out his article written about battling bloggers block.

What Does My Failed Job Interview Help You With Blogging?

Shaky hands and sweaty palms. These are generally what happens when anyone goes to interview for a new job. My palms are usually sweaty so my face starts to sweat when I sit in front of the people that are asking me questions about my character and past work experience. The hands are usually a little bit shaky so my voice quivers a bit. Public speaking is one of the things most people are scared of.

I am usually semi-comfortable talking in front of people, but as I sat there looking at the sheet of questions they were going to ask me I knew that I was not qualified for this job. The job was for a manager of the entire maintenance crew. The people I would have been supervising were skilled and well trained in their fields; waste water maintenance, construction, and vehicle mechanics. I only have a small amount of experience in repairing vehicles and it's generally what I know about my old 5th generation Prelude and my current Dodge Neon, nothing else. The questions I was asked were about supervising people in a large production company and planning construction projects, things I have not done.

So why am I telling you this? Well first of all I told my girlfriend I wasn't qualified for this position (but that's a different story =P ) and was most likely wasting the time of the interviewers. And second of all, you can learn from my mistakes and ------ to your next blog post.

Know what you are writing/talking about
I was unsure of what exactly this job entailed but don't make that mistake with your posts. Do a little research about what you are going to post. Read what other people have posted on the subject and try to become an expert on it for that post.

Blend in personal experiences
If you have any personal experiences that relate to your post than make sure to talk about it. This gives your blog a better voice and allows your readers to connect with you more.

Learn from your mistakes
Everyone makes mistakes, both in life and on the internet. Make sure you learn from them and don't make them again. This is big one for life in general not just blogging.

Social Media Is Very Important, But Why?

Whenever you are starting something new like a business or a blog, networking is one of the most important things you can do to get customers or readers. With the Web 2.0 there is an easier way to do this and it's called Social Media.

Networking is important because it gets your name and your business or blog out there into the public. Ultimately the public is who you are looking to connect with anyways, and social media sites make it incredibly easy.

If there is something that is of interest to you, than there is most likely a social media site that will allow you to friend others that are interested in it too. Tyler at SMM Guru wrote a post last month entitled Top 198 Social Media Sites By Niche. It's an amazing list that has topics ranging from sports to health to pets and tons of other topics.

These social media sites will allow you to connect with other people with the same interests as you and also get your "brand" noticed. Your visitors will be able to connect directly with you. I'm currently in the process of joining a bunch of them and so you will be able to connect with me through them.

Definitions About The Blogging Community

Blogging is a wonderful community with millions of members all over the world. If you aren't part of the community yet or are just getting started, you might be hearing a bunch of words that you may not understand. Here is a short list as this will be updated with more words and links to specific sites.

• Weblog - A site maintained, usually by an individual, that is updated regularly with comments on many different topics.


• Blog - Shortened version of weblog.


• Blogosphere - The community of bloggers.


• Blogging - The act of writing posts; to blog.


• Post - An entry on a blog.


• Bloggeries - The posts contained on a blog.


• Blogger - Someone who runs and writes on a blog.


• Photolog - A blog with photos taken by the blogger.


• Vlogging - Instead of posts that are written, the vlogger will record a video of them talking and post it to their blog.


• SEO - Search engine optimization is basically things done to a site to improve search engine rankings


• SMM - Social media marketing; marketing towards the social media channels.


• Microblogging - Another form of blogging that is generally short, text message like entries that is available for others to see.

9 Simple Ways To Increase Traffic

• Write comments on blogs in your niche. Make them relevant, don't just spam. Most blogs will allow you to link your site but other readers will frown upon useless comments.


• Join forums in and not in your niche.. If your signature has your site linked, it will be in every post you have posted in the past and in the future.


• Send out a press release via Free Press Release or PRFree.com about your blog.


• Join every social network and add a link to your blog; Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter.


• Add well written articles or bloggeries to social media sites like Reddit, Digg, and StumbleUpon.


• Become friends with other bloggers in your niche. This could lead to guest blogging opportunities and link exchanges.


• Add your blog to a blog directory. Here is a list of top directories to submit it to. Some of them are free and some aren't.


• Write articles and submit them to online article sites like Ezine Articles, Article Dashboard, and Go Articles with a link to your site.


• The best thing you can do is write great content that connects with your readers. This will keep the coming back and linking to your site in the future.

Blogging 101 - Driving Traffic To Your Blog

Now that you have written a few quality posts, it’s time to get some people to read your blog. There are many different things you can do to get people to your blog, but I will start with some of the easiest. If you have a Facebook or Myspace account, put a link to your site and send a quick message to all your friends and ask them to check out your site. Make sure to ask for some feedback as it will help in perfecting your blog.

The next thing is to add a signature to your email account. The signature will be added to the bottom of every email you send out. Make sure to include the title and a description of your blog. Now when you send an email to anyone there will be a link to your site.

Forums are another great way to get your site noticed. Forums are basically large communities of people that are all interested in a specific thing. Whatever your topic is, there will be a forum about it. So search Google for forums about your topic if you don’t know of any and make sure to make an account. Then just like your email create a signature with your blog’s URL and this will be seen after every thing you write on the forum. If the forum is large enough and you actually write meaningful things then you can receive a considerable amount of traffic from them. Make sure that you aren’t spamming the site as your blog will become your brand and you don’t want it to be associated with spam.

There are obviously many more ways to drive traffic to your blog and tomorrow I will post a long list with examples. Everything on the list tomorrow won’t cost you a dime, just a little bit of your time, but there are things you can pay for that might be more beneficial. I will go over them in a separate list as generally beginning bloggers won’t be able to afford them.