This might seem a little strange, but I’m going to put something to the test here.

As I’m typing this blog post, I’m tired and I’m feeling a little frustrated. I’m ready to shut down my computer because I’ve looked everywhere for inspiration to write, and have found absolutely nothing that sparks my fire.

But here’s one thing I do know. I haven’t written to my blog in a couple of days and I need to get back on it. So… I’m going to practice something I read probably a year ago. When you can’t think of anything to blog about, write any way. So that’s where I am, and I expect that my result will be this.

1.  I’ll have a new blog post written that others can benefit from

2.  It will unlock my brain and prove that there’s always something there.

So how did getting through this blog post work for me…?

I want to prove to you that even when you feel stuck, you can un-stick yourself. Even when you can’t think of a topic that you feel would be inspiring to someone else, you always have something to say… even it’s about how you broke through your own feelings of being too uninspired to blog.

Math and science is always an absolute. The fact that 1+1=2 will always be just that. Whether you feel like sharing that information with someone else or not, the fact still remains true.

Likewise, it’s a fact that you always have something within you that may seem insignificant to you, but would be extremely significant to someone else. It’s somewhat like that saying… “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

As I’m writing about being stuck with nothing to blog about, it seems foolish that I would spend the time. But guess what… You’re reading this right? I’m not sure what drew you to keep reading, but obviously for starters… something in this blog title made you want to read more… even if for a brief moment.

So what has that proven to me?

When you’re experiencing writers block, start your blog post with a good title, even if you’re not sure what you’re going to say about it.

The fact that you’re still reading indicates that you’re at least a little curious as to how this blog post is going to turn out. Hmmm. That’s good. It works because you’ve chosen to read on and I’m really happy about that. Will it be my best work? Of course not, but could it help you the next time YOU get stuck? Absolutely!

I love blogging for this very reason. Yes, there are expectations from my readers and myself. And in my mind it’s always been, “if it’s not perfect, leave it alone.”  I never want to give people junk.  Junk doesn’t sell, and only makes you look ill-prepared as a blog author. But the funny thing is… even when you think it’s perfect, it’s never is. So don’t worry about it.

So, while I started out with absolutely no topic at all… there actually is a very strong message here.

This is not a blog post about nothing. It’s a post about what to do when you feel stuck. Your solution? Write. Write what you’re going through at that very moment. I promise you… you’ll never be the only person who’s experienced what it feels like to get stuck when it’s time to blog.

The best way to walk when you’ve fallen is to stand up first, then take the first step, right? There’s something about muscle memory that will force your leg muscles to keep moving. Next thing you know, you’re walking.

Writing for your blog is no different. When you sit down and start to type, your brain muscles remind you that you have words that have still not been written. You have thoughts and words that someone else can benefit from. Your job now is to just start typing and let nature take it’s course.

There… I’ve done it. At about 15 minutes later, after spending hours looking for inspiration and finding nothing, I just started typing. The result… an article of over 800 words! (Quite a bit for someone who had nothing to say…)

Granted, this may not be the most profound post that you’ve ever read, or that I’ve written, but I’ve accomplished my goal which was…  write something down that will prevent you from going another day without posting something of value… great or small. Just write.

The end result. I have just written a brand new blog post that will go all over the internet. And I have no doubt that somebody… somewhere… some day… will read this post and say to themselves–how weird… but it will be exactly where they are right then. And they’ll sit at their computer and start typing, and that thought makes me feel good. Their end result will be a complete article that somebody will be very glad they wrote.

Wow! 850+ words later. How cool is that!!

Filed Under: blog

So, what do you do to reduce your bounce rate without spending any more time than you normally would?

Very simple.

You’re probably going to think I’m crazy… but it’s true. Read on.

Now this little trick is going to depend on the theme that you’re using, but when I tell you how simple it is, you probably won’t believe me… but do, because it works.

Do you know how to change the font size of all of your blog posts?

For some it might be tweaking your CSS in your control panel. Here’s a quick lesson.

Go to the “appearance” section of your admin panel of your blog and wherever the line is that sets the size of your font, just make it bigger. If this is confusing for you, just pay someone on Fiverr.com to do it for you. For others it might be as easy as changing the typography of your blog theme.

Either way… that’s it… you’re done!

Did you know that tests have been done that prove that increasing the size of your font actually reduces the bounce rate of your blog?

It does.

I don’t know if it makes it easier for the maturing population to read, if the fact that so many people spend so much time online that they end up with tired eyes, or if the ideas behind more white space on the page helps with your blog font size.

When you start getting into screen resolutions and graphic sizes, you’ll discover that most of your visitors seem to react in a way where size really does matter.

Making it more comfortable for your readers apparently makes it better for everyone. Increasing your font size and reducing your bounce rate is better for your readers because your visitors can see your amazing content better… and it’s better for you because they stay on your blog longer!

Now don’t take this as something that will give your blog a 50 or 100% less bounce rate. It won’t be nearly that large, but keep in mind… every little bit helps. So even if your change is just 1 to 2%, there’s still a benefit!

Test it out and let us know what happens with your blog bounce rate!

And if you want more of these quick little tips, don’t forget to subscribe to my RSS feed!

There definitely is a difference. Writing for your college professor is one thing. Writing a good blog post is completely another.

When you think of blogging, you want to write in a way that helps people, and at the same time… attracts them to you while keeping their attention.

With this post, I’d like to share with you some tips to help you become a good blogger. So many bloggers make those little seemingly insignificant, but huge mistakes with their writing. You’ve gotta know that it’s not going to be easy to separate yourself from the blogging crowd if your writing doesn’t do the job.

Ask yourself this all-important question. What are your blog readers thinking about when they come to your site?

When you began your blog, what was your thought process.Was it more about you or were you thinking about your blog readers…? If you really want to get things going on your blog, you have to consider the mindset of your readers. What are they looking for when they arrive at your blog? Satisfy that need and you’ll be off to a great start.

So how do you write your posts for your ideal reader?

First you need to know that in many instances, by the time your visitors get to your blog, they’re almost desperate. Not always, but many times your readers have been frantically searching for information. If they finally find the answer on your blog, you’ve just caught their attention, and in a big way.

Keep in mind… every site that they visit is trying hard to grab their attention, just like yours. Eventually, one blog starts to look just like the next, and the next, and the next… If they don’t find what they’re looking for, they start to get frustrated or even worse… bored.

This is one of the main reasons that visitors come to your blog and don’t read your posts. Not that your writing isn’t good… but usually, there’s nothing there that’s any different than the rest.

My point is… write your blog posts in a way that lets your readers see that you care about them. …that your writings reflect your desire to please them more than too much talking about you.

Write Your Blog The Way You Speak!

I know we usually think that what we learned in school about writing a 5-part essay might be the way to go, but that couldn’t be further from the truth when it comes to writing for a blog. Nobody, (and it doesn’t matter what the niche is) wants to read blog posts that sound like a term paper or PhD thesis.

In reality, people who right stiff and staunch articles make the worse bloggers. So while you may have those amazing skills, save them for something else… not your blog.

Remember… you’re in a very competitive industry as a business blogger. If you want success in this arena, you have to be able to attract the attention of your visitors and turn them into faithful readers.

The Top Rules That Most Successful Bloggers Should Follow

If you learn, and then apply these simple rules, you’ll find your own blogging success.

To get your blog visitors paying attention to YOU… pay attention to your headlines. You almost want to startle your visitors into reading further because your headline was so compelling.

A Few Proven Headline Formulas

The headline is super important. You can have an AWESOME blog post, but a poor headline can absolutely kill it.

Your best education on headlines is observation. Look at blog posts that perform well in the blogosphere, visit some of your favorite bookmarketing sites 

Look at social bookmarking sites to see what headlines those popular posts are using. Study those headlines. Another place to learn how to write effective headlines is magazine covers. Take a trip to your favorite newsstand or grocery store. Check out how the headlines are written. The really good magazines have gotten people to buy them based on the headline alone!

There are many types of headlines that you can use for your blog posts. Here are a few:

• Give your readers a reason why. When you write your headline, consider how you’ll use it to let your reader know what the post can do for them. Remember… everyone wants to know… “what’s in it for me”? Do what you need to do to learn how to make your headlines more compelling.
• List headlines are very successful. When you tell people that you’re going to share with them 5 ways to accomplish this or 7 ways to handle that, it makes them want to know exactly what those points are. So don’t hesitate to write a specific list of things about your topic.
• “How to” is always a winner. There will always be people who want to know how to do certain things. When you can find them… or should I say, when they find you… if you show them “how to do it” they’ll love you for it!
• Don’t be afraid to be controversial. If you write headlines that occasionally put your readers in shock, that’s a good thing. Remember… new visitors to your blog were searching the net then they found you. Now they see a headline that’s different because it’s not all flowery and fluffy and isn’t making false promises. Also use things like current events and celebrities in your headlines… Anything that grabs your readers’ attention.

Now that we’ve talked about headlines, let’s get back to the body of your post.

1.  Always, make sure that the first few lines that you write are compelling, as well. You captured their attention with your headline. Now you’ve got to draw them in to the body of your article. This is exactly what the first few lines of your blog post will do. Draw them in, or run them away because of boredom.

2.  You don’t want the sub-headlines of your post to look like the rest of your text. Help your sub-headlines stand out with bolder and bigger fonts. These sub-headlines give you another opportunity to compel your readers to keep reading.

3.  Make your paragraphs short. We were taught in school that a paragraph represented everything that was within a single idea. As you learn to blog, you’ll discover that a lot of those rules are intentionally broken. Now, your paragraphs purpose is to control the ‘flow’ of how your readers navigate through your post. The attention span of most blog readers is extremely short. If you give them paragraphs that are too long, you’ll start to lose them.

4.  Bullet points and numbers are a great way to help the ‘flow’ of your blog post. They give your readers an easy way to scan through your article and it’s easy on the eyes.

5.  Use your writing to communicate a message to your blog readers. So make sure you’re writing in a form that people can relate to. Don’t be so scholastic with your writing that your visitors click away faster than you can bat your eye.

Learning to blog effectively is something that you’ll continue to read about. There are different ideas about how to write your blog… depending on who you’re listening to.

But one thing will always hold true. Your blog is a representation of you. What are you saying to people? How is your message coming across?

Learn to blog like a pro. Put these habits into action and you’ll be very happy with the results your blog will start to get.

If you’re still at the beginning stages of setting up your blog, be sure to grab my video tutorials on How to Blog 101. It will walk you through the beginning stages of setting up your blog the right way. Then you can focus on the necessary tweaks to make your blog work the way you intend for it to.

1.  When you set up your social media profiles, monetize them!

We’ve talked a lot about affiliate marketing in the past few posts. There’s a reason for that. Believe it or not, making money through social networking get’s a whole lot easier when you implement affiliate marketing. This is also one of the simplest ways to create multiple streams of income.

Making money through social networking is a lot easier than most bloggers think. Check out these simple steps.

     a.  Select one of your affiliate products
     b.  Set up a campaign for that product on your social media sites

Don’t get mixed up and forget the social media aspect, which of course, should have already been taking place. Never forget that your social media sites are primarily for networking… not advertising.

However, it is a fact that many online marketers are successfully making money through social networking with a simple tweet or Facebook status update.

2. Start making money through social networking by offering a Free Report

If you’ve been reading some of my previous posts, you’ll already understand the method of building your list by offering a valuable, free product through your squeeze page. Well guess what… your social media site is no different!

Writing a simple report of about 10 to 15 pages on a topic that’s very important to your niche and offering it to your friends, fans, and followers is another way to connect and start making money through social media.

You’ll start to see your list growing and the result will be more cash in your pocket!

3.  Offer your Followers and Fans a Discount on your products.

If you want to start making money through social networking, give your followers and fans some really good, exclusive discounts for whatever product or service you may be offering. This will make your followers feel like they’re special, and if you include a “limited time” element, you could see a major surge in the number of sales you make. Then, encourage them to share and tweet the great discount they received with their fans and followers.

4. Find leaders in your niche within your social network, and network with them.

One way to start making money through social networking is to tap into the networks of leaders in your niche.  Connecting with other leaders is also one of the best ways to grow your own list. You’re not there to “steal” their contacts. But this is a great place to start connecting with those who would also like to connect with you. Who knows… you may even connect with the leader herself! This can be extremely rewarding when it comes to joint venturing.

5.  When you’re interacting on your social media sites, find those who are sharing news that’s relative to your niche and make comments. 

Whatever you do, don’t spam! Read what they’re writing about and if you’re genuinely interested in the topic, join the conversation! If your thoughts are actually valuable and thought-provoking, not only your followers, but the followers of others will start to see you as a leader within the niche. Just another great way to connect and start making money through social networking.

The bottom line… this information can help you understand how to start making money through social networking by using these tips to grow your list. The list, in turn, will give you more online relationships with people who could eventually become one of your loyal customers.

If you haven’t started using these little tips to start making money through social networking, begin implementing them right away!

It’s never too late to add these simple little tricks to your social media networking. And just in case you’d like to add me to your friends… you can find me here.

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Filed under: making money through social networking

Before we get deeper into this post, I want to make sure you’ve read my two previous posts on bloggers who are also affiliates. If you haven’t, you can find them here…

Can Bloggers Really Make Money With Affiliate Products?

A Few Good Lessons For Bloggers Who Are Also Affiliate Marketers

Now that you’re all caught up, we’ll just pick up where we left off.

What every affiliate marketing blogger should be aware of…

• Your blog readers don’t want to be “over-sold”

Have you ever been to a blog where there are more sales pitches than anything else? Yuck! Remember… your blog readers come to your blog to get information about something specific, not to buy products. They go to shopping sites for that. So, unless your site is designed specifically as a shopping site, be careful not to “over-sell”. An overselling affiliate marketing blogger is usually a major turn-off for most people.

One of the most effective ways that an affiliate marketing blogger finds success through their blog is to write a post that demonstrates a strategy that works. Then, subtly mention a product or service that can help your readers do what you’ve written about.

So in essence, what you’re doing is offering good, helpful information in the process of making a sell. This type of affiliate marketing blogger will generally get the highest conversions for their efforts.

Back to that principle that I always write about. Give, give give! Give out important and valuable information, offer benefits, and find ways to help people. In the process, recommend products and services that will still help both you and your blog readers.

• Even if you need to be negative… your product can still sell.

You have a choice here. The average affiliate marketing blogger won’t make negative comments about products because they don’t want to hurt their sales. What you don’t realize is that giving your honest opinion about a product–good or bad–will help you more than hurt. Being honest will actually help your credibility.

I was reading a post from one of my favorite bloggers… Lisa Irby

Read what she wrote about writing an email she received in response to one of the “negative” comments about a product she promotes…

“Hey Lisa, just wanted to tell you that I bought Site Build It this morning.  What’s ironic about my decision is that it wasn’t the positive stuff you had to say but it was when I saw you on your forum talking about what needs to be changed/updated.  It was actually the first time I’d ever seen an affiliate saying something semi negative/constructive about a product they were promoting.  You won my trust right there.  I wish more affiliates were this honest.”

Thanks, Lisa for sharing this. It’s a great example of how an affiliate marketing blogger who actually wins the trust of their readers can go a long, long way.

• Use your own Landing Page to “Pre-Sell” Your Affiliate Products

I don’t know of any good affiliate products where the company or product creator doesn’t include a sales page. But my recommendation is that before sending your potential customers there, every affiliate marketing blogger should send them first to their personal landing page to pre-sell them.

Your personal landing page is where you can provide your blog readers with examples of how you’ve been able to personally benefit from the product you’re promoting yourself. You can also add that special touch with a personal video, audio, or even a demonstration of you using the product.

The experienced affiliate marketing blogger will have their own landing page  so their blog readers can see for themselves how they will benefit by getting that product through them rather than someone else.

Do you really want to be a successful affiliate marketing blogger?

What are you offering that other the next affiliate marketing blogger isn’t? Perhaps a bonus or two, your personal help through email or conference calls, a buy one get something else half off… There are many things you can offer over and above the product itself.

Always keep this in mind. People who do online searches for products will often find the same product offered through many affiliates. You have to do something to cause your offer to be sweeter than the rest.

If you’re seriously considering becoming an affiliate marketing blogger, I personally think you’ve made a very good choice. The key is doing the right things the right way and staying away from the things that will turn your potential buyers away.

Becoming a affiliate marketing blogger is an amazing way to generate online income. But just as with everything else, learning how to do it the right way is what will determine whether you’ll actually make money or lose your shirt (or your credibility) in the process.

If you’re really interested in how bloggers are finding success online, you may want to follow the system laid out in the “Blogging for Cash” workshop. This video workshop will give you a step-by-step detailed guide on exactly what to do to become a successful affiliate marketing blogger.

If you haven’t read my last post yet, Can Bloggers Really Make Money With Affiliate Products?… be sure to check it out when you get a chance. In this post I want to share a few more tips that will help bloggers with their affiliate marketing endeavors.

1. Affiliate bloggers have to remember that exposing a product more than once is key to your success.

In most successful bloggers experience, their customers don’t become buyers the first time around. They typical rule of thumb is that you need to expose someone to your offer 7 to 10 times before they’re actually ready to pull out their check-book.

A lot of bloggers will mention the product on a page that’s specific to that topic, but you never see it anywhere else. You want to get in the habit of reminding your readers about your product, so mention it on several pages of your blog.

Keep in mind… if you only talk about a product within a blog post, once that post is gone from your first page into archive land… the chances of it ever being seen again drop dramatically.

If you want to make certain that your blog is performing well for your product, include a page that’s specific to that topic that will always be visible. Using your menu or your sidebar will help this along. Don’t be afraid to mention the services in your blog posts regularly.

2.  Bloggers… Stop hiding behind your affiliate sales pages!

Don’t make yourself anonymous if you’re branding yourself on your blog.

 

There was a time that people would be so afraid of “exposing” who they are. Social Media has changed all of that. If you’re not a criminal on the run, don’t worry about it. If someone wants to find out who you are or what you look like… believe me… there are ways!

When it comes to doing business online, going incognito can sometimes hurt you. These days, people want to do their research before they spend their hard-earned money. And the more comfortable they are with who you are, the more comfortable they are with spending money with you. Avoid the skepticism by proudly and openly expressing who you are and why you do what you do.

 

Now, please understand that I’m not talking about exposing all of your personal stuff here. Just be willing to be transparent… so that people will feel that they can trust doing business with the person that you are. This alone will do wonders for your credibility in the market place.

3. Don’t Be a Phony!

What’s a phony when it comes to bloggers promoting affiliate products? Well… if you’re blogging about how great something is that you haven’t tried yourself, you’re being a phony. If you’re talking about how you’re making a six figure income in blogging after only 6 months and you can’t back it up… you’re phony. If you’re paying for your “likes” and testimonials… need I say more?

In my last post I talked a little about the downside of promoting products you don’t own yourself, so I won’t repeat it here… Just be honest. If you haven’t tried something, be cautious before you recommend it to someone else. If you have tried it and it didn’t work for you the way it was projected to, be honest about that to. You’ll be respected for it.

The only time I’ve promoted a product that I didn’t use was when it was referred by a source that I highly trusted and knew that their word was good. And I don’t mean someone I knew from within the internet marketing circle alone. I mean someone that I had a close enough relationship with that I knew they would stand on their word.

One of the best way for affiliate bloggers to promote affiliate products, in my opinion, is to demonstrate how you personally use the product with a video. Now, we’re talking proof!

These are just a couple of points I wanted to cover on the subject of bloggers who sell affiliate products.

Tomorrow, I’ll conclude the matter, and hopefully you will have a much clearer understanding of what bloggers who promote affiliate products should be doing regularly.

Again, if you haven’t ready part 1 of this series, click this link.

Can Bloggers Really Make Money With Affiliate Products?

I have many friends who are bloggers, who also cringe at the word “affiliate”. They actually want to have nothing to do with affiliate marketing. I usually laugh at this because what so many people forget is that 99% of those selling online are selling other people’s products more than their own. And if you’re doing that, you’re an affiliate!

I think one reason is that many bloggers don’t delve deeply into affiliate marketing is because they haven’t mastered how to choose affiliate products that will actually pay them well. Another reason is that they’ve actually tried affiliate marketing and failed miserably.

No one wants to keep chopping at the bit only to end up losing more time and money than it’s worth. Bloggers who market affiliate products are no different. But there’s a way that this can all be avoided.

So… what should bloggers look for in affiliate products?

1.  For starters, ask yourself what type of products will the people within your niche relate to?

The effort that bloggers put into affiliate marketing should definitely revolve around the type of content that they post on their blogs. That’s the very first thing that readers who come to your blog sill see. The type of impression that your personal content leaves on your visitors will often determine how successful you’ll be when you start to offer affiliate products.

Here’s the formula that I personally like to use, and I recommend to almost all bloggers that I personally coach.

     a.  Find a product that appeals to you first.
     b.  Put that product to the test by personally using it before you promote it.
     c.  Measure your passion about that product.
     b.  Measure a content that you can effectively build around it.

Being able to write about a product from your personal experience is one of the most powerful steps bloggers can take toward being a successful affiliate.

Your own words and your personal experience gives you the most ammunition when it comes to writing good content about a product. If you’re like most readers, you can recognize a ‘fake’ right from the start… and no one wants to business with a person who comes across as being dishonest.

Here’s an example. Someone could tell you how a ripe, juicy kiwi tastes and have you write about. Or… you can taste the kiwi yourself for the first time and explain the taste from your own words. Which writing do you think would be most effective? Which do you think would be more convincing?

I tell bloggers all the time. You need to ‘know’ your topic well enough to be able to write not just intelligently about it, but emotionally, as well.

2. Effective bloggers need to know the needs of their market.

We already know that bloggers need to select products that will pay a nice commission and that they’re passionate about. But the most important element of choosing a good affiliate marketing product is the market. Is this a product that your visitors can actually benefit from?

Hopefully, you’re not JUST looking for a product that has little to no competition.

If you find a product that appears to be a standalone with very little competition, there’s probably a reason for it. If others are having a hard time making those sells, it might be the same situation for you. If the market isn’t solid for that product, it will go nowhere. So be sure to do your research first.

3.  Know how to handle a product with too much competition!

Some bloggers think that it’s a really bad thing when products have a lot of competition. But that’s not necessarily the case. Just the opposite of products with no competition, many bloggers actually look for these products because they already know the people are biting.

Good bloggers will figure out how to stand out from the crowd when there is a lot of competition. So what can you do to stand out from the crowd?

Using pre-sells and bonuses works well. You’re doing more than just offering the product, but there are some added benefits. It would be worth your time to make sure that you have something to offer with the product that’s over and above what your competitors are doing.

4. Avoid marketing products from merchants who have crappy stuff.

Again… I had to laugh a little when I heard other bloggers refer to them as “Loser Merchants”.  They constantly get complaints from affiliates, their products are no good, and for the most part… they can’t be trusted.

Here’s where the problem comes in. Everything you do from your blog is a reflection on you. If bloggers promote products that are bad, it affects their reputation, and nobody wants to have to fight a battle to gain it back. If you do your homework, you should be able to avoid this happening to you.

Really good bloggers, want to make sure that they’re only representing products that they’re not ashamed to stand behind. That means you’re willing (and able) to answer questions or point your customers to a place where they can get their questions about the product answered.

Some merchants only go as far as their sales page and that’s it. If that’s what you find, you may want to question or do further research before you decide to promote it.

Are you a blogger who is successfully marketing affiliate products?

Out of everything that you try to do to get top search engine traffic, Google which is still #1, continues to look for quality content when it comes to ranking sites.  Google changed its algorithm with the Panda update. And it case you didn’t know, every time Google changes its algorithm, we bloggers need to take note and rethink whatever we’re doing to get to the top and stay there.

So, if you don’t know about the Panda update yet, you’re behind on your SEO news… so let me take a second to fill you in.

When Google made this Panda update, the outcome was reduced rankings of those sites with poor or “low quality” content. That meant that some of the article sites that some marketers used just for the purpose of getting quick and easy back-links, wouldn’t work the same way they used to.

This wasn’t the first time that Google updated its algorithm. They actually make changes hundreds of time a year. But this one was pretty significant. A lot of blogs and websites noticed a huge drop in their traffic and rankings when this Panda update happened.

With this change in Google’s algorithm, some of the hardest hit articles sites were:

• Articlesbase.com
• EzineArticles.com
• AssociatedContent.com
• Buzzle.com
• Hubpages.com

These article sites used to be at the top of the “A List” for article marketers. The link juice bloggers would get from these sites had seo experts submitting to them almost daily. But with the Panda update, a few popular directories decided to disallow external links in the articles submitted to their sites.

So… how has this Panda Update affected article marketing now?

There are strong arguments on both sides of whether article marketing is still a powerful way to boost your site rankings.  I can’t give a yay or nay on this one. However, I do believe that if article marketing stays around as a top method for SEO, some changes will need to be made by bloggers and web designers.

So with the new Panda Update, what new strategies are suggested when it comes to article marketing?

1.  Make sure you’re providing quality content on your blog:  If you’ve been using ‘spam type’ or low quality content in the past, it’s time to step it up. The saying used to be that “content is king”. With this Panda update, only quality content is king.

2.  Strive to become an authority in your niche:  If you’re writing a blog and you want it to be significant in the marketplace, do what you need to do to get recognized as an authority. The search engines will now be able to tell whether your are or not.

4.  Always submit unique articles. I remember the time that bloggers would submit the same copy to hundreds of sites. It’s never worked that well, and is even worse now. So… learn how to make your articles unique when submitting to multiple sites.

5.  Become Social Media Savvy. Just like with article sites, with this Panda update, you need to submit site specific and unique content to your social media sites. And if you’re not using social media yet, I don’t even know what to say except… “shame on you… what are you waiting for?”

6.  Don’t totally discount Hubpages and Squidoo.  Keep in mind that these are online communities. Using article marketing on these sites can still work when you know how to use them the right way.

Article marketing will still work to increase Google rankings, but with the Panda update, site owners are forced to rethink some of the strategies we’ve relied on in the past. In essence, we need to become ‘real bloggers’… focusing on what we’re blogging about and how we’re writing our content to maintain our rankings.

So here’s my point. If you’ve relied on ‘cheap’ content… stuff that’s not relevant… posting just for the heck of it, you can keep doing it, but don’t expect it to do anything for your Google Rankings.

The Panda update is not having it!

If your blog was affected negatively by the Panda update, please comment and share with us. We’d love to know what strategies you’re using to make your site better for the search engines even with the Panda update in place.

WHITNEY HOUSTON
1963 – 2012

Why do I write this post about that has nothing to do with blogging? There are some things and some people who have had such an impact on the world, that they deserve for ‘business as usual’ to take a temporary back seat.

I grew up to her music and being a church singer myself, I thought she had one of the purest voices I’d ever heard… it was almost unreal and in my opinion, her gift was unmatched.

When the news of her death first broke, it was almost like with Michael Jackson. I didn’t even want to believe it. Are you serious? Yes… they were serious. Whitney Houston dead at 48.

One of my favorite movies was where she starred in the Body Guard. And one of the best renditions of the National Anthem was once again… Whitney Houston.

The purpose of this short post is not to give a history on the life or career of Whitney Houston. I just wanted to take a moment to honor a legend who, in my heart, will never die.

There are some people who can sing, and there are others who voices just seem to send you into a zone where many can’t reach. She set the standard for how a truly talented female vocalist should sound.

So, I don’t take this time to reflect on her troubled times, but to remember the gift that she gave to the world for well over a decade.

That being said… God bless you Whitney. Heaven just got one of the most angelic voices to date. We’ll love you and will miss you tremendously.

Whitney Houston Rest In Peace

There are times, though, that you feel like you’re facing a brick wall with your blog. Your blog traffic starts to slow down, op-tins almost stop, and nobody’s commenting. It’s because your blog is in a rut.

Your blog traffic needs a booster shot!

I’ve been there so I know how not having enough blog traffic feels. It’s not good. This is a time where you need to look at what you’ve been doing to increase your blog traffic and perhaps do a few things a little differently to get that “power surge” going again.

Here are 5 tips that can help you give your blog traffic and lift and get you going again…

1.  Interaction with other bloggers is a great way to help your blog traffic. Create a list of 10 of your favorite blogs. These blogs should be popular (meaning they’re getting a lot of web traffic) and definitely part of your niche. Make it a point to make comments on each of these blogs at least once a week. Your goal is to get some interaction with readers of that blog so they’ll start interacting with yours. If you find that you’re active on a certain blog and you get no interaction at all, this isn’t going to help your blog traffic. Remove that blog from your list and replace it with a different one.  Continue with this process until you’re interacting with people on 10 separate blogs within your niche. You’ll start to get more blog traffic which will result in new online relationships developing. You’ll also get new subscribers and potential future customers and business partners.

2.  Offering greater value to your readers will also help your blog traffic. Do some research and find five solid products that you know would really help people within your niche in a major way. Write a solid, separate and informative (not a sales pitch) review on each one with your affiliate links included. Keep in mind… the purpose of these blog posts is not to sell a product (even though a product will be sold). The purpose is to show your readers how valuable the information is that you have to share with them. They’ll come to realize that being a part of your blog community will benefit them because you’re turning them on to things that can solve some of the problems they have.

3.  Ping all of your blog posts. Every time you write a new article, you need to let the search engines know about it. Don’t just wait for your content to get “discovered” on Google. Take action and notify them yourself! This is huge when it comes to getting more blog traffic. Install the cbnet Ping Optimizer plugin to your WordPress blog. Once installed, copy and paste the list below to the plugin. When you use ping services, you’ll be notifying blog directories automatically that your blog has been updated, which will greatly increase your blog traffic.

http://blogsearch.google.com/ping/RPC2
http://1470.net/api/ping
http://api.feedster.com/ping
http://api.moreover.com/RPC2
http://api.moreover.com/ping
http://api.my.yahoo.com/RPC2
http://api.my.yahoo.com/rss/ping
http://bblog.com/ping.php
http://bitacoras.net/ping
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/XMLRPC
http://blogdb.jp/xmlrpc
http://blogmatcher.com/u.php
http://bulkfeeds.net/rpc
http://coreblog.org/ping/
http://mod-pubsub.org/kn_apps/blogchatt
http://www.lasermemory.com/lsrpc/
http://ping.amagle.com/
http://ping.bitacoras.com
http://ping.blo.gs/
http://ping.bloggers.jp/rpc/
http://ping.cocolog-nifty.com/xmlrpc
http://ping.blogmura.jp/rpc/
http://ping.exblog.jp/xmlrpc
http://ping.feedburner.com
http://ping.myblog.jp
http://ping.rootblog.com/rpc.php
http://ping.syndic8.com/xmlrpc.php
http://ping.weblogalot.com/rpc.php
http://ping.weblogs.se/
http://pingoat.com/goat/RPC2
http://rcs.datashed.net/RPC2/
http://rpc.blogbuzzmachine.com/RPC2
http://rpc.blogrolling.com/pinger/
http://rpc.icerocket.com:10080/
http://rpc.newsgator.com/
http://rpc.pingomatic.com
http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping
http://rpc.weblogs.com/RPC2
http://topicexchange.com/RPC2
http://trackback.bakeinu.jp/bakeping.php
http://www.a2b.cc/setloc/bp.a2b
http://www.bitacoles.net/ping.php
http://www.blogdigger.com/RPC2
http://www.blogoole.com/ping/
http://www.blogoon.net/ping/
http://www.blogpeople.net/servlet/weblogUpdates
http://www.blogroots.com/tb_populi.blog?id=1
http://www.blogshares.com/rpc.php
http://www.blogsnow.com/ping
http://www.blogstreet.com/xrbin/xmlrpc.cgi
http://www.mod-pubsub.org/kn_apps/blogchatter/ping.php
http://www.newsisfree.com/RPCCloud
http://www.newsisfree.com/xmlrpctest.php
http://www.popdex.com/addsite.php
http://www.snipsnap.org/RPC2
http://www.weblogues.com/RPC/
http://xmlrpc.blogg.de
http://xping.pubsub.com/ping/

Once you install the plug-in, pinging happens automatically. Now get ready for an increase in the amount of blog traffic you’ll be getting regularly.

4.  Post our blog post in news-groups and blog carnivals related to the niche you’re in. This just gives you another place other than typical forums to tap into an audience of people who are interested in your blog topic. When you’ve got new groups of people finding out about who you are and what you do, you’ll get more blog traffic coming from that direction.

5.  Use social networking to build a community around your blog. Don’t simply interact on the social network exclusively, but use it to redirect people to interact with you on your blog. These days, Google puts a lot of weight to the amount of interaction you have with the social networks. The more people who “like” and “share” your content, the more relevant Google thinks your site is, the better your ranking will be, and the more blog traffic you’ll get. So, while you do want to use Social Networking to make connections with other people, also use it to get new interactions on your blog. This is some of the best blog traffic you can get because these readers are following you from another location.

6.  Get a Squidoo Lens, a Hub Page, and an Ezine Articles account. Each time you write a new blog post, include it on each of these sites, as well. These sites are just a few of the place where you’re able to brand yourself and develop a powerful web presence. As always, the content that you place on these sites will direct people back to you, which in turn, is giving you another way to generate quality blog traffic every day!

Blog traffic is the lifeline of your business so don’t ignore it or take these tips lightly.

These are just a few of my favorites when it comes to working on my own blog traffic. If you have more ideas that have worked well for you, please feel free to comment and share.

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