Is your blog making money? Got some spare time? If either of those questions are true for you, then you might consider reinvesting some time and/or money into your blog. It makes sense to continue pushing your blog to the limits, as it is almost a waste to settle for anything less.

Here are a few ways to reinvest your time and money you have earned back into your blog:

Advertising

Advertising might be worth a try if you feeling somewhat outgoing. This is especially true if you have an idea for a great advertising campaign—it might be worth the bigger bucks to advertise your site on various ad networks. I know it works as I have seen numerous bloggers successfully take a barren or new blog and make it popular by utilizing successful advertising techniques and services.

If you do decide to pursue advertising, remember, never put all your eggs in one basket, and always take the time to evaluate the effectiveness of your advertising so you can re-allocate your focus accordingly. Certain niches will always perform better on specific advertising networks. This is why diversifying your advertising efforts will reveal what works and what doesn't. When you find what works, you now know what to do.

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What could be better than reading quality content? How about actually listening to it! Podcasting is still a relatively new phenomenon that has had its ups and downs, and while it might be fairly difficult to monetize a podcast on its own, it could be a valuable asset to your blog. However, be warned, podcasting is not for everyone.

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This is a guest post by Alan Johnson, be sure to check out his contest (with prizes worth over $1000) over at TheRatingBlog.com

Most online entrepreneurs out there make the mistake of launching a blog just because they see it as a potential moneymaking machine. Is that your case, do you only blog in order to make money or are you actually passionate about what you’re doing?

Can you make a lot of money as a blogger? Most definitely, and not just from monetizing the blog in itself. You have to understand that, as a blogger, you are also building a brand around yourself and, as a result, every new project you’ll be launching will automatically receive an impressive jumpstart. Being a blogger opens a lot of doors, you will be able to take advantage of a lot of opportunities you didn’t originally have access to. And just think about the possibilities as far as networking is concerned. The fact that you’ve build solid relationships with other bloggers, many of which you will consider close friends, is an important advantage and, just like you will always be glad to help one of your friends out by mentioning a new product he or she has launched, they will be more than willing to return the favor at any point.

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If you're running a blog or a website, you know about the problems of using copyrighted material such as graphics.

I really love those designers who offer us such a wide range of nifty icons or graphics for a free usage in our sites.

Maybe you like icons in a grunge look? Then you should visit these grungy olive icons - and the best thing is: they are coming with a (CC) 3.0 license...

Also take a look at the main Index of free icons...

Looking for a multiple site software?
Do you want a 'post once publish many' feature?

Building a blog network with Pivot looks easy.

I recently stumbled across a blog software which has outstanding publishing options. Normally I am using Textpattern as my preferred CMS for single site projects and I am very convinced about it. But Textpattern is not able to handle multiple sites as are most of the other blog CMS.

• Pivot is able to post to multiple sites in different article formats based on individual templates.
• Based on the categories for one article Pivot automatically knows on which one of n sites to publish the article.
• Having the full article on one blog and having the title and permalink only on n additional blogs is an out of the box and easy to realize Pivot core feature.

Yes, automatic publishing to different domains by only posting once. Blog networking made easy.

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I'm always surprised when I'm asked to analyze a blog for someone and find that their blog is missing something fundamental. But I really shouldn't be surprised. Why not?

Well, for one, some of my blogs fall into the same category (Look at the plank in your own eye before criticizing the speck in your neighbors'). But also, not everyone runs a blog as a full time job. Many bloggers are primarily part-time writers, not full-time blog technicians.

But what if I told you that in order to drastically increase your chances to succeed, you need to make sure that at least 5 fundamental things are in place at your blog?

Well, don't fret. That's what we at Performancing are here for, after all...to help bloggers succeed. Just make one improvement at a time, and soon you'll be on your way to success.

In my opinion here are 5 things that all blogs should have:

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1. Static, Title-Reinforcing URLS

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Instead of the dynamic URLs with meaningless numbers, you should use static URLS with semantically relevant keywords

Bad URL: http://www.yourblog.com?p=123
Good URL: http://www.yourblog.com/ten-things-blogs-should-have/

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2. Strong, Descriptive Titles

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Instead of generic, pronoun loaded, bland headlines, why not kill two birds with one stone: 1) grab your reader's attention 2) make sure the search engines know what your article is about.

Bad Title: He Got Sick
Good Title: Jeopardy Host Alex Trebeck Has Minor Heart Attack

Bad Title: What Was She Thinking?
Good Title Jessica Alba Not-So-Hot in Pink Tutu Dress

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3. Backlinks from relevant sites

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Until you get links from other, relevant sites, your blog sits in isolation from not only the great World Wide Web, but also smaller "niche" networks. Your goal from day one should be to network with and engage other topically relevant sites.

How do you network? Well, for starters, you should spend sometime on other blogs leaving high-quality, insightful comments. You might do the same on some forums.

The worst sin of blogging is to speak a monologue. Get out and network. It'll make your job a whole lot easier in the end.

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4. An attractive, distinctive design

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At some point, to really succeed, your blog is going to have to do better than a cookie-cutter theme template. Now I'm not diminishing the role of free, template themes. Afterall, Performancing releases a free WordPress theme each month.

However, you aren't going to make it into the "big time" without a sleak, customized theme that screams "we care enough to make ourselves look good" (note to Performancing team - > get that redesign done sooner rather than later!)

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5. Top-Of-The-Class Content

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Most bloggers are under the illusion that they need to write 10 posts a day to be successful. Not so. Especially at the beginning, you are much better off writing a few EXCELLENT articles, rather than a bunch of medicore, rehashed articles.

The goal here is to set yourself apart as an expert. Spend the time you need up front to create a killer resource base. When you've developed five or so EXCELLENT resources, then feature them in your sidebar.

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Conclusion

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Many of you have probably heard these tips before. If you have...then great. But over 90% of the blogs that I analyze are missing one or more of these features. More often than not, a blog is just a collection of short 200-500 word posts that do absolutely nothing to distinguish the blog from all the others in its niche. More often than not, a blog does not feature its best content for everyone to see. More often than not, new bloggers use terrible URL structure and make-me-cringe headlines. More often than not, a blog has a terrible link portfolio.

So how's your blog? Do you have these five fundamental things in place? If not, then stop your daily routine for a few weeks and make sure you get the foundation of your blog in proper order.

If you'd like Performancing to not only get your blog's foundation in place, but to have it built into a mansion, then consider using one of our Blog Management Services.

Have you heard the saying in relation to working, “Find something you love and you’ll never have to work another day in you life?” It makes perfect sense. If you are able to do what you love for a living then most of the time it won’t even feel like you’re actually working.

Of course, the trick is to find that which you love so much that you won’t get sick of it. Usually that’s easier said than done.

Sometimes it’s very easy to find that which you love. You just know it. You love cars so you become a mechanic. You love writing so you go into a field that allows you to write. You love working with kids so you become an Elementary teacher. But it’s not always this
easy.

So here are a few tips on how to choose a job that you’ll love:

Don’t Worry About the Money

Too often we make decisions about what we want to do for a living based on how much money we’ll make. Sure we all want money but money isn’t everything. Besides if you get into a job that you absolutely love, chances are you will succeed and wind-up making a
lot of money anyway because of your passion for the job.

Pay Attention to What You Like To Do, Not What You Hate

Don’t get into a job just to get away from something you hate. Get into a job because you’ll be doing something you love.

Always chase your dreams instead of running from your fears.

Take Your Time

Don’t feel like you have to decide what you want to do with the rest of your life in a short amount of time. There is no pressure to decide within days or weeks. As long as you are willing to work another job – any job – while you decide, then you should definitely take your time. It’s better to take a long time to make the right decision than to quickly make the wrong decision.

Analyze Your Life

To help find that perfect job, sit down and take the time to think about your entire life. Think about a subject you loved in school or an activity that you were good at and thoroughly enjoyed. Think about all your interests in you life – both past and present. Then try to find a job that matches what you like and what you’re interested in.

This advice (the four tips above) can be used to decide what you want to do for a living and the advice can also be used to help you decide which niche you want to be in (if you are into Internet Marketing). Just follow the same advice that’s given above.

The bottom line is that you want to put yourself in a position where you are making money doing what you love to do. You want to be able to use your passion so that you can achieve success, have money, and be happy every single day. If you can do that, then you
really won’t feel like your working another day in you entire life.

If need extra help in turning your passion or hobby into a business you can make a living from then check out the "Super Mailing List Strategies” that will help you do just that within the next 90 days. {...}

More... http://dzesire.net/2007/12/07/discover-your-passion-and-you%e2%80%99ll-never-work-again/

A few week ago everything was going well. I was pretty healthy, had many clients and assignments, and I was working with an organization specialist to organize my office space. A few days ago things changed. I had several tests done and diagnosed with some serious illnesses. I have been told that I will require at least one surgery if not more. I am not prepared.

I am prepared for the trials ahead of me. I have arranged care for my children, taken care of housework, and researched different options available to me. I am NOT prepared for the effect it will have on my work. As soon as I found out, I notified clients. I unfortunately had to cancel a few assignments I was excited about, including a travel blog that I would have loved. I hired a few other writers to finish up a few articles I needed as it was a one time client and felt it would be better to hire out than to upset the client. I did not want this client to think badly of me or expect other writers to flake out as well.

Illness is not the only emergency we should be prepared for. Other emergencies may include computer crash, internet failure, sick child, death in family, or natural disaster (or fire). Are you prepared for an emergency? Here are a few things that all freelance writers and bloggers should do before an emergency occurs.

• Join forums and participate regularly so other writer will learn about you. When people "know" you they are more willing to help in an emergency. This will also help you know which writers are reliable and provide quality work when other writers recommend them.
• Have back up posts ready for your blogs. Writing extra posts that can be posted at any time will give you time in case you are unable to write for a few days. The goal should be a weeks worth of posts, as you don't know how long the emergency will be.
• Be organized. Have a list of all articles or blogs you need done with a list of due dates. Keep this list in an easily accessible area. If you use a computer system, print a hard copy just in case something happens to your computer.
• Have a list of all clients email addresses or phone numbers printed out, so they can be reached easily. If you are injured and can't get to your computer, having the list on your desk will allow a spouse or friend access to it to notify your clients for you.
• Be ahead of deadline. If at all possible, do not wait until the day before deadline to start your work. If you are ahead of schedule, you are less likely to miss a deadline if an emergency happens.

After my illness is under control, I hope to return to writing and blogging regularly. If I had been dishonest with my clients, or not reliable before the illness, they would be less likely to take me back. I notified my clients immediately, instead of waiting until deadline hoping I would be able to complete the assignments. The lack of pay will hurt, but losing clients because of a missed deadline would hurt more.

What have you done to prepare for an emergency?

By the way, this is my first article here at Performancing. I came here looking for a more interactive place for talking about blogging. My usual hangouts are ProBlogger and Warrior Forum. I've been in the game for a few years now.

What I'm really trying to say is: Wazzup!

The first 3 months of growing a blog is difficult. I'd like to share with you what I did differently on my 3-month-old guitar blog ATOMIC Guitarist that's already surpassing my old blogs. With 3 years of frustration and failure comes wisdom.

Here are 5 ways I've gotten through the first 3 months of my new blog.

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By the way, this is my first article here at Performancing. I came here looking for a more interactive place for talking about blogging. My usual hangouts are ProBlogger and Warrior Forum. I've been in the game for a few years now.

What I'm really trying to say is: Wazzup!

The first 3 months of growing a blog is difficult. I'd like to share with you what I did differently on my 3-month-old guitar blog ATOMIC Guitarist that's already surpassing my old blogs. With 3 years of frustration and failure comes wisdom.

Here are 5 ways I've gotten through the first 3 months of my new blog.

1. Unconventional Use of AWEBER

This time around I immediately started using AWEBER opt-in e-mail service to grow my e-mail lists. But I did it for the sake of blogging. My list doesn't see many broadcasts about buying affiliate products or my own products. I've been using AWEBER to drive my list back to my content pages, which provides growing traffic on a daily basis. I've also found that more guests opt-in to my e-mail list than subscribe to my RSS feed.

2. Networking

What makes the first few months of blogging so hard for me is the lack of comments and interaction. So what I did was find a list of other guitar bloggers with quality material, I put them on my blog roll, and made friends with them. I interact on their fronts sometimes more than they do mine. With my blog being of quality (according to my pals), and with the use of my blog roll, they've also added me to theirs. Besides having the ability to be social, this tactic had a lot to do with the instant PR4 I received the other day with Google's update.

(Some of my best pals include Guitar Noize, and Stratoblogster, IG Blog, and the Mad Stratter.)

3. Predicting Searches

Most of my search engine traffic has come from predicting what guitarists will be searching for in a few weeks/months/seasonally, a piece of advice Darren Rowse personally gave me. I tell you. It works. When the buzz about Radiohead circled the net, I saw gobs of traffic pouring in every minute.

4. Correctly Using StumbleUpon

Although StumbleUpon doesn't send the best quality traffic, SU has eased my hardships in my first few months of blogging at ATOMIC Guitarist. SU traffic doesn't convert into dollars with your blog's advertising, but I saw some serious opt-in numbers to my e-mail list. What you have to remember about StumbleUpon is that you can't submit a page for the same site within something like 48 hours apart. So I Stumble the pages I like on my friends' blogs around the same time every other day.

5. Make a Post at Least Once Every Night

For ATOMIC, I developed a strategy I didn't use prior. I actually set my time on my blog to 4 hours earlier than my timezone, so when I post at 8pm, it publishes an entry marked as the next day. I do this so that anyone who regularly visits my blog the next day will read something "up-to-date." I don't know exactly how big of an effect it has, but it seems more professional.

* Bonus Tips for Getting through the First 3 Months of Blogging

• While other blogs are crashing after just one month of frustration, keep yours pumping. We're all going through the same thing. I doubt Techcrunch took the net by storm its first few months. Then again, maybe it did. Point is: very few take off that early.
• Set small goals. For instance, vow to double your traffic to your blog every month for the first 3 months. You can do this by focusing on SEO.
• Hey, every post doesn't have to be a novel. From my experience, readers who hang around your blog every day like informative content, but they also want blurbs and they want to get to know you.
• Don't take too much advice. Just focus and simplify your blogging strategy with goals in mind. For example, 1) post every day (often with a focus on SEO), 2) comment on others' blogs every day, 3) work on getting your link out there, 4) build your lists, 5) know that everyone has a hard time the first 3 months.
• If you hate your blog, change your niche to something you can talk about every day. Don't blog just for bucks. But blog for bucks so you can continue blogging.
• If you're just starting out, think of your first few months of blogging as blogging college.
• If someone tells you blogging for profit is easy, laugh out loud until your stomach hurts.

Again, this is just one dude's thoughts on blogging for the first 3 months. Hope it'll be helpful for someone out there.

Good luck soldier.

Lately, I have read many posters on forums talk about blogging. The questions aren't about the best approach, best sites, or best topics. The posts always start like this: "I heard blogging was a great way to make money. So what do I do?"

Well, the first thing you need to do is realize that blogging will not make you rich, at least not without hard work, dedication, and knowledge. I have "met" some amazing bloggers that do make a living through blogging. However, they are the not lazy, get rich quick people, they are hard workers. To make serious money on a blog, you need to work.

Building up a readership is not as easy as starting a blog. Actually, setting up a blog is as easy as filling out a simple online form and choose a template. Well, at least a simple blog is, I'm sure many profitable blogs required more work than that. My point is, setting up a blog and adding content is the easy part. Gaining the attention of the millions of internet users takes work. You have to dedicate yourself to advertising your blog in a way that makes people want to visit. Then once you do get them there, your content better be excellent if you want to keep them.

I hate seeing someone talk about a great article they just posted on their blog only to go visit the site and realize it is all about ads. I don't mind a few ads, I understand and respect that advertisements help increase pay. However, when I spend time out of my day to visit a blog, I want something for it. Whether that something is a great and interesting article or a link to a great resource, I want a reason not only for taking the minute or two to visit, but a reason to link to it and share it. When that is met, I will return to the blog, even if there are ads plastered everywhere.

Blogging takes a lot of hardwork. If you want a get rich quick job, you should reconsider your career choices. However, if you are passionate about a topic (or more, as having more than one blog may increase your revenue) then by all means, set a blog up. Then nurture that blog as if it is your life. Beacause if you want to make money with it, it is.

Use mini blogs to enhance your blog and your single articles!

The idea of using asides is not new but still something most bloggers don't think about. Why? Simply because most bloggers are article oriented. Beside publishing the 'big' content you should always have an eye on enhancing your content.

One of the easiest ways to cover small aside content on your blog is to find a way to publish the small snippets in your template automatically at an appropriate place. If you use the grid concept or simply little divs floating at the right place doesn't matter.

How to create a mini blog for your site

How to get those snippets? I find it very easy and useful to write mini blogs by using good and short notes for my del.icio.us bookmarks and/or good descriptions on Flickr.

If you use the (tag) feed output of those sites you can have a nice publishing form on your blog. If the produced content is directly in your code and not generated by some JavaScript widget you will gain additional search engine love too!

My workflow for a mini blog

Very often I do a research on a certain subject and during that research publish a lot of useful mini-blog content by bookmarking found pages on del.icio.us. Tag those bookmarks appropriately and you have a great enhancement for your blog.

On my local news site in Hamburg Sankt-Georg.Info you will find the latest ten of my del.icio.us bookmarks tagged 'Hamburg' in the sidebar (which is only on that homepage not in the single article template).

The same technique is reproducable for every single article. You just have to tag your mini blog content right.

I am using the SimplePie plugin for Textpattern to fetch the RSS feeds and publish them directly in my code (Links to d.i.u. feed outputs).

It is up to your imagination what you can do with those mini blogs...

I was blogging for a new website for three weeks when I was informed my services were no longer needed. The website owner expected to make more money than he was (in the three weeks it was live) and could not afford to keep me. "Thats the breaks" I was told. It is, and I understand that. I didn't understand not trying to keep it going for another month or two. I offered to even write for free for two months. He shut the website down anyway.

What makes me most sad about this, was I loved writing on the topic. It was a pregnancy website and I loved to write about pregnancy. I loved researching new products, finding more resources, and sharing my experiences. So I decided to start my own. Immediately, I ran into a huge problem. My new blog needed a name.

I didn't want just a pregnancy blog on a big free blogging site. I wanted a unique web address that would be simple, to the point, and cute. For me, this has been a difficult task. I know what I want to blog about, I just don't know what to call the blog. After several weeks of thinking and asking for opinions, I settled on a name, went and bought the domain name, and that is it. I second guessed myself and have not pursued it any further.

So many wonderful bloggers are able to create unique and sometimes witty names for their blogs. How do you name your blogs? Is there a special formula you use? Is there a particular method to choosing a name?

The following Blogs are offered for sale by the Gadget Inspector:

Office Gadget Inspector
Sailing Gadget Inspector
Games Gadget Inspector
Video Gadget Inspector
Computer Gadget Inspector
Audio Gadget Inspector
Tiny Gadget Inspector
Medical Gadget Inspector
Gadget Inspector
Green Gadget Inspector

More Info Here:
http://blogger-blogs-for-sale.blogspot.com/

Until I read Raj's post last night, I did not know that anyone could register and blog on Performancing.com. I am so grateful to know that know, I just wish it was something I new earlier.

As a fairly new blogger, finding resources to assist me in the goal of becoming a professional writer, has been a difficult task. Weeding out the bad advise from the good, spotting the scams and spammers, and finding support take a great deal of time and energy. I will continue to push on however, as I want to be a sucessful blogger and writer.

I marvel at how many "normal" people are sucessful freelance writers and bloggers. I count myself lucky to even associate with them. I will be blessed when I am one of them.