Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Promoting Your Business With Blogs - The Art of Business Blogs

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Terra_Andersen]Terra Andersen

Blogs are the news and educational outlets of the future. They have pushed themselves up as a leading presence on the internet. For those who once wanted to create a website, but perhaps they had no interesting content. The blog has made it possible to earn some massive traffic for even the smallest of websites. If a person blogs daily on a blog website their site will become over 365 pages large! (each blog post becomes it's own page....well, with blogging programs like blogger and wordpress). With all that content and a niche, traffic is sure to come. Well, not exactly.

The whole "build it and they will come" philosophy does NOT apply to the internet any longer. Perhaps at the internet's conception, and during the following 2 years, this may have been true. Now, even the largest and best blogs may be elusive if not advertised or networked by some means. It would be nice to toss up a nice website with targeted content, and watch the traffic flow in. If this were the case, there would be MANY more rich bloggers out there. Blogging has also become the best way to learn the latest and most important news in any industry. Now, I read about current events and funny stories sometimes days before they appear on the news or radio. Blogs are a bigger power-house than most even realize.

If you are thinking of starting a blog, make sure it has a niche, or a targeted audience. You could start a gardening blog, a marriage blog, a business blog, an internet business blog, a marketing blog, a web design blog, a graphic design blog, and even a super hero ninja-clown blog. You'd be extremely surprised at how many people are creating blogs these days...and even more surprised at WHAT people are creating blogs about. Reading blogs regularly is not only a great way to gauge your audience in your target industry, but also a great way to keep up with the latest techniques and trends in whatever it is that you are interested in. In reality, blogs really are the newest media form... and with sites like Digg, Twitter, Reddit, and stumble upon, your blog is sure to get noticed by someone!

So how does one slip some shameless self promotion into your own blog, or better yet...even others blogs? If you are writing a targeted blog, in YOUR industry, this shouldn't be too hard. Say you are a martial arts teacher. You start a martial arts blog, and promote it. List your business and your expertise in the blog every now and again. As others in the industry find your blog, they'll link to it from their site if they enjoy your content. This is the art of basic blog promotion. There are also a ton of feed websites to submit your blog to, such as Technorati, and a few other biggies that you must submit to to start monitoring traffic, incoming links, and so on.

Another obvious key to business blog promotion is to network yourself and your blog. Many bloggers believe that it is considerate to leave comments on blogs to show appreciation, and to add to the community experience. Commenting also leaves behind your blog's link, so others can find you through more popular blogs within your industry. Making friends in the blog world is a great way to get your blog and your name out there. It's also a great way to generate regular readers of your blog.

I strongly suggest that if you already have a business and a business website, to add a blog to it as soon as possible. Whether it is an industry news blog, or just a blog about the news and current events within your own company. It's a great way to add more content (words) to your site that are like food to the search engines. Industry experts have also said that adding a blog to your company's site is a way to better connect with your consumer, since they can comment and address issues they have with pretty much anything. Many consumers see it as a better way to access an authority figure within the company as well. Large companies that utilizing blogging include Toyota, Google, HP, and many more.

When it comes down to it, blogging can be a great tool to promote your business if used correctly. Remember, the blogging world is immense, so if you are ready to sit down and start a blog, make sure to design a strategy of how to market that blog. Submit it, Submit it, and Network! Don't be shy when it comes to commenting. If you enjoyed another's blog, make sure to comment and let them know! bloggers enjoy feedback, and it usually elicits friendships and new readership.

Terra Andersen is an Entrepreneur, Industry Veteran, and an [http://www.terraandersen.com]Internet Business Consultant, with over 12 years of Internet Business experience behind her. With expertise including CRM, e-Commerce, User Experience, Internet Marketing, and Branding. View more of Terra's high-powered advice at http://www.TerraAndersen.com/blog

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Terra_Andersen http://EzineArticles.com/?Promoting-Your-Business-With-Blogs---The-Art-of-Business-Blogs&id=467726

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Net Ads Make Money Online

Why AdSense Isn't Performing Well on Your Blog
By TC Thorn

I'm fortunate enough to make a nice living from running Google AdSense on my blogs and websites, and I often get questions from folks who are trying to figure out why the program doesn't perform for them. How can you make dollars - even hundreds of dollars - a day instead of mere pennies?

In this article, I'm covering some of the most common reasons people have trouble making money from AdSense.

1. AdSense works best on niche consumer-oriented blogs

To those of us who have been making money online for a while, this seems obvious, but lots of new folks haven't had that ah ha realization yet.

If your blog is a journal of your life or serves mostly to entertain, it's not going to be a good candidate for AdSense (and - I'll be honest here - it's probably not going to make much from other programs either).

The best performers are blogs that are focused on a specific niche. Even more, that niche should have lots of products or services associated with it.

For example, a blog on home improvement (many of my sites are in the home and garden niche) can do well since there are all sorts of tools and products people buy when they're looking to remodel or otherwise improve their homes. There are also plenty of services related to this niche, everything from roofing companies to pool maintenance outfits. All of those companies that offer products or services in that niche will want to advertise on your blog, and they're willing to pay well for qualified clicks.

On the other hand, if your blog is unfocused or attracts people looking more for entertainment than information related to products and services, you'll find advertisers less likely to pay well (that's when you see those 1 and 2 cent clicks).

2. Ads must be placed prominently in order to attract attention

I noticed a gal on Twitter complaining that AdSense was making her something like 18 cents a day. I checked out her site, and lo and behold, her tiny 125x125 AdSense block was way over on the right side of her blog below the fold.

If you want to make money with AdSense, stick those ads where people will see them!

This means getting them as close to your content as possible (if you can wrap the ads right into the blog post, it's best) and keeping them above the fold (people shouldn't have to scroll down to see your ads).

Also, don't be afraid to use big ad blocks. Those large rectangles are the best performers - people can't miss them. If you want to make money from your blog, you can't be shy about placing those ads prominently.

3. Write about products or services that cost a lot

It's a foregone conclusion that you'll make more per click from a blog that reviews $500-$1000 backyard grills than one that reviews books or cds that cost $20. The profit margins are a lot higher on big ticket items, so advertisers can afford to bid more per click.

It's also helpful if the items you're writing about are easily purchased over the internet. Even though hot tubs cost thousands of dollars, they tend to be items that people try out first and buy locally. On the other hand, software packages that cost a few hundred dollars are logical choices for ordering online.

As you can see from this short list, the real secret to doing well with AdSense is to pick your niche - and start a blog - based on the potential for profit rather than adding AdSense to an existing blog and hoping it will make you rich.

If your existing blog isn't at all consumer oriented, but it has a lot of traffic, you can always use it to drive traffic to a new blog that does work well with the AdSense model. Don't give up - you can definitely make good money from AdSense (and other affiliate and advertising programs as well), if you're willing to build a site that will appeal to both visitors and advertisers.

The author earns a full-time income from running Adsense on her blogs and websites. For more advice, check out the AdSense section of her writing blog.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=TC_Thorn
http://EzineArticles.com/?Why-AdSense-Isnt-Performing-Well-on-Your-Blog&id=1814710

Labels:adsense, Google adsense, blog info, blogs, blog for income, blogging for money

Networkers Club Blog

Most Profitable Adsense Blog: What Does It Look Like?
By Christopher Kyalo

What does the most profitable Adsense blog look like? What can a blogger intending to take advantage of the Google Adsense program learn from such a blog?

The most profitable Adsense blog tends to have plenty of pages of useful content. The Adsense program feeds off content-hunger. It is widely believed that the availability of so much free information online has dramatically reduced the hunger for information. Actually the very opposite is true. The World Wide Web is to information what the radio was to pop music sales. The most profitable Adsense blog owners have long realized this fact.

Would you believe the fact that initially record companies resisted having their songs played on radio. That is until they realized that rather than quench people's thirst and demand, radio dramatically increased it. Folks would listen to a song on the radio and line up in music stores to purchase it. The most profitable Adsense blogs will tend to serve their content in such a way that they help to create even more hunger for information rather than quench it. They do this by providing such interesting information that visitors to the blog immediately desire to know even more.

This is one of the most important distinguishing factors about the most profitable Adsense blogs.

Find out how you can learn more about the best Adsense make money secrets from an expert who makes over $19,000 a month from Adsense. Or grab my ezine on Adsense secrets for free by sending a blank email now to clickaffiliatesecrets-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_Kyalo
http://EzineArticles.com/?Most-Profitable-Adsense-Blog:-What-Does-It-Look-Like?&id=196304

Labels:adsense, adsense blog, blog profits, money blog, blogging for money, blog info

Make Money With Blogger
By Tracey A Edwards

Want to make some extra cash? Well with all the great free resources on the internet it is now even easier to do that and my favorite way is to make money with Blogger. Blogger is Google's free blogging platform and one of the easiest and simplest ways to get started. All you need to do is decide on a name and theme (what you are going to write about) and start posting. Now of course there are still some extra things that you need to do to make your blog profitable than just start writing so get comfortable while I fill you in on the best ways to earn some nice money from a free Blogger blog.

Before you set up your blog you need to spend a little bit of time thinking about what you are going to write about. The reason you should do this first is so that you can decide on the best name for your blog. Having keywords in your blog's title will give it a tiny boost in the search engines so choose wisely. Obviously it needs to be something that is tied in with the theme of your blog, so if you are going to write chocolate recipes then something like cookingwithchocolate.blogspot.com would be a good name. Oh and if you do decide to blog about chocolate then let me know because I'd love to try some of your recipes!

Now you can go ahead and start your blog. Head over to Blogger.com and follow the easy instructions to get started. Once you are done you can start by writing your first post.

Unsure what you should write about? Think about how you can offer your readers great value. My recipe example from before is great, or you can offer tips on how to make money online or even choosing the perfect lipstick for your skintone. Obviously you'll need to tie each post into the theme of the site so you can't just write about random topics and hope to gain a following. Pretty soon if you write everyday or at least a few times a week your blog will start showing up in search engines and people will begin to visit.

Now that you've got traffic you can put some money making features onto your blog. One of the easiest ways to earn some cash is to write reviews for products in your niche that you earn a commission on. Every third or fourth post make a review about a product that is helpful to someone in your niche. So going back to our chocolate example, perhaps you can recommend a great fondue set or chocolate moulds that your readers might like.

You can find lots of different items to promote where you earn a commission from places like Amazon, eBay or digital products on Clickbank. Pretty soon your free Blogger blog will be making some great money for you.

For more great money making ideas grab your copy of Blog Cash.

You can get a free sample chapter of Blog Cash at http://www.traceys-ebooks.com/blogcash/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tracey_A_Edwards
http://EzineArticles.com/?Make-Money-With-Blogger&id=1567691

Labels:blogger, make money with blogger, blog info, Google blogger, blogger and affiliate programs

How to Build Your Money Blog
By Liam Smith

With the growth of the World Wide Web, blogging has given a platform and a voice to those of us who may not have had one previously. Blogging will help you get your message out to the public, and you can make money blogging as well.

If you would like to know how to start a blog, here is what you do. Simply do a blog search, and when you find a blog style you like, the homepage will have a link that you can follow to create a blog. After you fill out a short online form, you are on your way to becoming a blogger!

A common beginner blogging mistake is thinking that once you create a blog, viewers and money will start rolling in. Before you learn to blog for money, you should know how to build your blog. The most important thing you can do is post original quality content. When you post your content, always use the spell checker. Proper grammar and spelling will give your blog a more professional look. For more information, do a keyword search for "beginner blogging course" and "beginner blogger products."

Now that you know how to blog, you will need to get some readers. The best way to do this is to visit other blogs, and post quality comments on them. The authors and readers of the other blogs will see your comments, and they may visit your blog and post a few comments themselves. Posting on message boards and forums are also a way to advertise your blog. When you do this, search out message boards that share a common interest with your blog, and offer a link. (If you visit a blog about stamp collecting, and you post a link to a blog post about how to grow tomatoes, you might get banned for spamming.)

Building a good-sized readership is important if you are going to build blogs for money. The more readers you have, the more money you can make. There are many paths to becoming a big time money blogger. One way you can make money with your blog is by using contextual ads. Contextual ads scan your post for content, and automatically put up links to products they think your readers might be interested in. When a reader clicks the ad, you make money. The amount of money ranges from a few cents to a few dollars, but these can build up after time. Contextual ad companies have the blog tools and blog software you need to maximize profits.

A more profitable way to make money blogging is to join a network that will give you access to advertisers who will pay you to post about their products. The more popular your blog is, the more money advertisers are willing to pay you for your posts. (I've seen some that pay as much as $75 dollars for a 200-word post!) If you go this route, remember that you must still post non-advertisement quality content on your blog, and you must continue to advertise your blog for maximum profits.

Now that you know how to build a better blog, and how to make money blogging, the rest is up to you. There is no magic formula that will help you make tons of money overnight, like everything else in life; you will need to work at it. But take my word for it, blogging can be very rewarding.

For more information on Beginner Blogging visit our website at http://www.learnbuildingblogs.com for comprehensive advice, reviews and tips on Blogging Programs that you can use to build your first money blog.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Liam_Smith
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Build-Your-Money-Blog&id=1856714

Labels: blogging, money blog, blog info, money blogging, contextual ads

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