When I first started to dabble in Internet marketing it became clear pretty early on that it was all about links, so the next thing I had to figure out was where to get them which lead me to the article directories. The concept couldn’t be any easier, you write an article put your links in it and submit it to one of the directories. With a little more research I started to come across the term “bum marketing” which in truth was a little off putting at the time. Since then I have learned a lot and realized a lot about article submission and now when I see the term bum marketing it brings a smile to my face because if the person really knew the potential of article marketing they wouldn’t refer to it that way, so I can only conclude that they either don’t know how to use it properly or they just overlooked this tactic in favor of a more glamorous method. [Read more…] about Why Do They Call It Bum Marketing?
4 Ways to Blog Yourself Fit
The road to fitness can be lonely. If you’re overweight and self-aware enough to do something about it, that makes you incredibly brave, but you still probably don’t want to advertise your mission from the rooftops (at least not until you’ve gone down a couple jeans sizes). Coworkers, friends, and family can be less than supportive when you’re trying to achieve something that they’re too lazy to attempt themselves. And if you stumble, it’s never fun being humiliated in front of your peers.
However, accountability can be a powerful motivator. The right cheerleaders can get you out of bed at 6am for that much-needed kickboxing workout. Admitting your daily calorie count to a crowd makes that Big Mac combo a lot less appetizing. And when you succeed at your weight loss goals – which you will eventually – it’s so much more fulfilling to share the victory with others. [Read more…] about 4 Ways to Blog Yourself Fit
Choosing Between Facebook Profiles vs. Pages vs. Groups for Your Business
Back in the olden days, there was a saying that goes like “if you want to spread news fast- tell a woman”, fast forward to the age of Internet, and the saying can be rephrased to “if you want to spread news fast – share it at Facebook”. This online social giant has sprawled into much more than just a place where friends wander around, checking and commenting on each others’ profiles- Facebook of today is a massive network with more than 500 million users (and remember that it’s not even one percent of the entire internet population, so there’s some huge potential of further growth). For businesses, especially ones who are looking to blog, Facebook is a great place to find and reach out to your targeted customers. You can do so by creating, either a Facebook profile, fan page, or a group (or using all three of them in tandem). However, as it is the case, with all social networks, you need to lay down your goals and a clear cut strategy before embarking on your journey of cyber success, or you will end up getting overwhelmed by so many options. [Read more…] about Choosing Between Facebook Profiles vs. Pages vs. Groups for Your Business
The Pros and Cons of Article Marketing
Article marketing is a lot like writing a press release. You write an article about the field in which you specialize, make it available for publishing by other Web sites and publications and, hopefully, garner attention and business when others publish it. How will people know where the article came from? Just like in a press release, there’s a “resource box” (essentially a biography with a link back to your site) which should be attached to each article no matter where it’s published. If readers find your article useful, they can click back to your site and learn more about you and your business. [Read more…] about The Pros and Cons of Article Marketing
Boost Your Blog Awareness With These 6 Tips for Successful Blog Contests
Running a popular blog contest is a powerful weapon to kick your tired old blog into overdrive. Not only will you attract a ton of new visitors – who hopefully become subscribers – but you will likely have a lot of fun. Blog contests have graced the blogosphere for years, ever since blogs became the buzzword of the 21st century.
Savvy bloggers run several contests throughout a calendar year because it always revs up their readership, hence paying them a healthy ROI on their time and in some instances on their money.
The following success tips will make your next blog contest a raving success – one that the blogosphere will remember for months to come.
1. Prize It Right
When picking a prize for the winner(s) of your contest you should look at your industry first. What is it that really gets people’s hearts all warm and fuzzy? If you are a web designer holding a contest for fellow designers and wanna be professionals you could organize things like free content from freelance writers for the next five projects (saving them money they would otherwise have to pay), free software to simplify their lives, free tutoring to help fellow professionals reach the next milestones, etc.
If all else fails and you can’t think of something useful, consider offering a popular gadget; think iPhone, iPad, and Android tablets or a smartphone, or if the budget can stretch that far a trip always goes down well. However, this is likely too expensive an option for most
bloggers. [Read more…] about Boost Your Blog Awareness With These 6 Tips for Successful Blog Contests
Staging Your Blog to Attract Advertisers
Note: The post is meant for attracting advertisers or sponsors, and it’s not about selling links to SEO guys or link brokers.
Everybody knows that the well reputed blogs have their own following, and unique content is appreciated by both readers and (more importantly) the search engines, which means a blog happens to be one of the best online platforms to place ads as compared to any other kind of websites, and smart advertisers are fully aware of this little perk. Therefore, the first thing bloggers need to do (at least those who are doing it for money) after having established a blog and its readership, is to stage their blog for attracting advertisers. The better the blog is, the better the prospects of you getting one of those lucrative offers. However, not all quality blogs manage to catch the attention of the advertisers, on the other hand some pretty mediocre ones manage to exert a pull on advertisers. Have you ever wondered that how come these second tier blogs end up with more ads than your blog which is far more superior, both in terms of content and quality?
Almost certainly, the problem lies in your staging skills.
What exactly is Blog Staging?
For those who haven’t heard the term, I’ve borrowed this term from the real estate sector, where home staging happens to be a well known ploy. Home staging is the process in which someone makes small improvements to their properties to attract and get better offers from the buyers. Now, that is a little over simplified explanation but hopefully, you have got the idea? Going by the same logic, blog staging is all about setting up your blog to act as a magnet for advertisers. And remember, whilst home staging can be a little thorny for an amateur, blog staging is relatively easier and you don’t need to hire some professional to do the job.
1. Prop up your advertising space:
Ideally your theme should be supporting some advertising space and banners by default, and you can start your staging from placing some captivating graphics or text to catch the attention of advertisers. Do not just stop at placing the default image that says “Advertise Here”. Set up a separate page with the details and pricing plans, and clicking on that image should take the prospective advertisers to that page where you have explained the advertising options for businesses that will be interested in offering some products or services to your readers. Jot down a compelling marketing copy for this page that emphasizes on the number of visitors and the fact that the majority of these visitors are looking for the information or resources related to the their business (which is of course the main theme of your blog), and how advertising at your blog will provide maximum exposure to their business. You can also use some charts, comparisons, and statistics to prove that this targeted marketing will be far more rewarding as compared to other advertising options. [Read more…] about Staging Your Blog to Attract Advertisers
Making the Most of Live Chat WordPress Plugins
WordPress is one of the most commonly used platforms of blogging, currently supporting a large number of blogs. It is known for its ease of use (you can install and use it even if you don’t have a technical bone in your body) adding quality and distinct features to the blogs, furthermore, the search engine friendly script goes a long way in improving your organic traffic. WordPress plugins are the user friendly web clients, which are used by almost all WordPress users. Live chat WordPress plugin is a great live interaction and customer support tool that facilitates live chat by adding a customizable plugin to your WordPress website. Live chat WordPress plugins are especially beneficial for all e-commerce businesses in a number of ways. Let’s discuss how using a live chat WordPress plugin can help you in making the most of your WordPress site. [Read more…] about Making the Most of Live Chat WordPress Plugins
6 Tools to Monetize Your WordPress Blog
While many writers blog because they are passionate about their subject matter, no one can deny that getting compensated for your efforts is a huge plus! But monetizing a blog can be time-consuming and tricky. For instance, promoting an irrelevant or scammy product can wear out reader trust. Thankfully there are a number of tools that bloggers can utilize in order to make the process easier.
For monetization purposes, WordPress is an unbeatable platform that will help you get the best of almost everything. Its strength lies in its user-friendly interface and a thriving community of developers who continually create new plug-ins for the platform. This makes it a lot easier for bloggers to automate routine tasks to become more efficient and up-to-date. In this article, I have compiled a few top WordPress monetization tools that are designed to increase your blogging income… [Read more…] about 6 Tools to Monetize Your WordPress Blog