5 Business Building Blogging Tips

 

Blogging can help your business. It doesn’t take rocket science to know that you won’t get far in the online world if people don’t know you exist. So, how do you get your name out? How can you generate buzz for your business? Well, it’s simple. You do it by blogging. In order to be successful in your blog marketing campaign you simply have to take a step back and understand how people use the internet. You see, people go online for two reasons – they’re looking for answers, or they want to watch cat videos. Basically, people hop online to find information or to be entertained. Your goal is to become one of those reasons (or a combination of both).

Are you ready to start your adventure into blogging and see what it can do for your business? Good. Let’s get started.

Tip #1 – Answer Questions Your Customers Are Asking

People need answers to their questions. Why not be the source? Offering the solution or answer to someone’s problem is the best way to paint yourself in a new light. Do this often and you’ll gain a reputation as an authority figure in your niche. You have to own it! This is the best way to bring in targeted traffic to your website. Think about it. When you run into a problem or are trying to learn something, what do you do? If you’re like me – or just about anyone else, you simply plug your question into Google and wait for an answer. The key here is to use that same process when you create your post. What is it that your potential customers are searching for? What are the answers they need? Zero in on that and you’ll be set.

Tip #2 – Blogging Doesn’t Happen On An Island

If you think that all it takes to be successful at blogging is to set up a WordPress blog, plug away at a few posts and - voilà, become a success story you, my friend, are sadly mistaken. If you want visitors voraciously reading your posts like rabid dogs you have to get out there and make a name for yourself. The important thing to do here is to find key players in your industry, along with people that share your interest, and get noticed. This may sound difficult, but all you have to do is to think about what your goals are. You’re online trying to get noticed and get new visitors to your site, right? So, is everyone else. By giving other people recognition, you’ll end up receiving the same thing. How to do it? It’s easy. Start following people on Twitter – and then take it one step further. Respond to their tweets, visit their fan page, comment on their blogs. Pretty much start stalking people – but in a good way.

Tip #3 – Um.. Use Keywords

When you first start out blogging you can’t expect to appear in the top of the search engines. As a matter of fact, you probably won’t even be close, at least not at first. Search traffic is the holy grail of website traffic, so even though you can’t expect too much traffic from the search engines (at first), you should structure your posts with SEO in mind. Have a purpose for each post. Be sure to include your keyword in the title, url, image tags, and body of your post. Keep it natural though.

Tip #4 – Embrace Social Media

Search and social are becoming nearly one and the same. You really can’t talk about one without including the other. You have to learn how to use social media as a tool for both research and networking. Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ are now your allies. Not only should you be using social media to stay up on industry trends and connecting with peers, you should also be using it to share your content.

Tip #5 – Post Regularly

This is often the most difficult part of becoming a successful blogger. Consistency is key. You want to post content regularly to your blog. This will help you in a lot of ways:

• More keyword-rich content for your website (which the search engines love).
• Regular content that you can share across your social media accounts.
• An opportunity to share your expertise, building your reputation as an expert.

In the end, you’ll benefit greatly by blogging for your business. Google loves fresh content. Updating your blog regularly will help pull in traffic and raise your website in the SERPs.

You didn’t think this would be easy, did you?

by Rivalhost

 

Make Money Online (Without Spending a Dime)

Making money online used to pretty much require you to have your own Web site, products to sell and some marketing savvy. But a new generation of dot-coms have arisen that will pay you for what you know and who you know without you having to be a web designer or a marketing genius.
But it's hard to tell hype from the real deal. I did a search on "make money online" and "making money online", and much of the information out there is just promoting various infoproducts, mostly about Internet marketing. I see why people sometimes ask, "Is anyone making money online besides Internet marketing experts?"
So I put together a list of business opportunities with legitimate companies that:

• Pay cash, not just points towards rewards or a chance to win money
• Don't require you to have your own Web domain or your own products
• Don't involve any hard-selling
• Aren't just promoting more Internet marketing
• Give a good return on your time investment

In the interest of objectivity, none of the links below are affiliate links, and none of them have paid or provided any other consideration for their presence here. These are legitimate companies with business models that allow you to get paid for a wide range of activities.

1:Help friends find better jobs.
Sites like ReferEarns, Zyoin, Who Do You Know For Dough?, and WiseStepp connect employers with prospective employees, many of whom are already employed and not actively job-hunting, via networking - the people who know these qualified candidates. Rewards for referring a candidate who gets hired range from $50 on up to several thousand dollars - not chump change. If you know a lot of job-seekers (and who doesn't these days?), this is a great way to break into the recruiting business with no overhead.

2:Connect suppliers with buyers.
Referral fees are a common practice in business, but they haven't been used much in online networking sites because there was no way to track them. Sites like Salesconx, InnerSell and uRefer now provide that. Vendors set the referral fees they're willing to pay (and for what), and when the transaction happens, you get paid. uRefer also allows merchants to set up referral programs for introductions and meetings, as well as transactions.

3:Write.
A growing number of sites will pay for your articles or blog posts. Associated Content and Helium will "pay for performance" based on page views for just about anything you want to write about. Articles on specific topics they're looking for can earn direct payments up to about $200. The rates are probably low for established writers, but if you're trying to break into the field and have time on your hands, they're a great way to start. Also, a lot of companies are looking for part-time bloggers. They may pay per post or on a steady contract. Our Weblogs Guide posts blogging jobs weekly in the forum.

4:Start your own blog.
You don't have to have your own Web site, or install blogging software, or even figure out how to set up the advertising. At Blogger you can set up a blog for free in less than five minutes without knowing a thing about web design, and Blogger even automates setting up Google AdSense so you can make money off your blog by displaying ads and getting paid when people click on the ads. To make even more money from it, set up an affiliate program (see below) for books, music, etc., and insert your affiliate links whenever you refer to those items. You'll have to get a lot of traffic to become a six-figure blogger, but pick an interesting topic, write well, tell all your friends, and you're off to a good start.

4:Create topical resource hubs.
Are you an expert on a particular niche topic? Can you put together an overview of the topic and assemble some of the best resources on the topic from around the web? Then you can create topical hubs and get paid through sites like Squidoo, HugPages and Google Knol. Payments are based on a combination of ad revenue and affiliate fees. You'll get higher rates doing it on your own, but these sites have a built-in supply of traffic and tools to make content creation easier.

5:Advertise other people's products.
If you already have a Web site or a blog, look for vendors that offer related but non-competing products and see if they have an affiliate program. Stick to familiar products and brands - they're easier to sell. To promote those products:

• Place simple text or graphical ads in appropriate places on your site
• Include links to purchase products you review or recommend in a blog, discussion forum or mailing list you control
• Create a dedicated sales page or Web site to promote a particular product

They all work - it just depends on how much time you have to spend on it and your level of expertise with Web design and marketing.

6:Microstock photography.
You don't have to be a professional photographer to sell your photos for money. People are constantly in need of stock photography for websites, presentations, brochures and so on, and are willing to pay for the right image. People generally search for images on stock photography sites by keywords, not by photographer, so you have the same chance as anyone else of having your image picked. Just be careful that you don't have images of trademarked brands, copyrighted art or people's faces that are readily identifiable (unless you have a model release), but just about anything else is fair game, and I promise - you'd be amazed what people need pictures of, so don't make any assumptions. If it's a decent photo, upload it. Some sites to get you started include Fotolia, ShutterStock, Dreamstime and iStockphoto. The great thing about this is that it's truly "set it and forget it".

The above list is by no means comprehensive, but it highlights some of the new and interesting ways to make money online without investing any money, without having a product of your own, and without having expert sales and marketing skills. Most of all, unlike taking surveys or getting paid to read e-mail, the potential return on your time investment is substantial.

By Scott Allen

Article source: http://entrepreneurs.about.com/od/homebasedbusiness/a/makemoneyonline.htm

Laptop Entrepreneur Vs Bricks-And-Mortar Entrepreneur

Today, thanks to the Internet, entrepreneurs still in their 20s or 30s are setting up home-based Internet businesses that they run in their spare time, bringing in $5,000 to $30,000 a month.

They can travel anytime they want, and they have the freedom to run their business from anywhere in the world. And best of all, their websites are making money for them, while they sleep!

In his book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", author Robert Kiyosaki explains that to escape the 'rat race' you need to spend less than you earn and invest the difference in buying income-producing assets (e.g. shares or rental properties).

The goal is to eventually have the income from your assets replace your earnings from your job. That's how you achieve financial freedom, he explains.

When I was starting out with my business I was $12,000 in debt, I had zero income, no job, and I was homeless. Buying income-producing assets wasn't an option. Instead, I decided to build income-producing assets. Eventually, these web businesses would grow to generate thousands of dollars a day.

By the time I reached my late twenties I had 64,000 clients in 116 countries worldwide, and 16 different income streams. I could work from home... or whilst travelling around the world... or from the luxury cabin of a cruise ship in the Caribbean... in fact I could do this from any place on the planet where I could get an Internet connection!

Furthermore, my first Internet business only cost $400 to set up, and yet was bringing in more than $10,000 a month in income! When you compare the costs of running a normal bricks-and-mortar business to those of an Internet business, the differences are striking!

***********************************************
Costs of running a simple home-based Internet business
***********************************************

Internet connection $20/month
Getresponse autoresponder service $60/month
Gotowebinar webinar service $99/month
Hosting $15/month
2 Outsourcers (web design, customer service) $500/month
-------------------------
Total: $694/month

Imagine having a business that...

- Costs practically nothing to set up
- You don't need staff
- You don't need offices
- You don't need a shop
- You can work from home
- You can work from anywhere in the world
- Other people are selling your products for you, for FREE! (e.g. affiliates)
- Your business runs on autopilot (e.g. people buy your products from your websites automatically)
- You get to leverage incredible technologies such Email, Search Engines, Affiliate Programs, Voice-Over-IP, Online Auctions, Video streaming, Webinars, and Social Media!

... And all you need... is your laptop!

Other benefits of the Laptop Entrepreneur Lifestyle include:

* Total flexibility! You can work when you feel like it... You can get up as early or as late as you want... no more alarm clocks... You can take days off whenever you feel like it...

* You don't have a boss! No more taking orders from a nincompoop! You can even experience the satisfaction of 'firing' your boss! (Laptop Entrepreneurs often start their businesses in their spare time, whilst still working at a job. Eventually when their income from their Laptop Business exceeds that of their salary, they 'fire' their boss!)

* You don't have to deal with annoying coworkers anymore! No more bickering, no more office politics, no more endless pointless boring meetings...

* You can be a stay-at-home dad, or a stay-at-home mom! No need for nurseries, or a nanny... You get to see your children grow up...

* You can spend more time with your loved ones, your family, your friends... you can visit them and stay with them in different countries around the world...

* No more commuting... getting stuck in traffic every day... wasting hours every day... spending a fortune on petrol...

* You can travel any time you want, visiting different countries... you can go to seminars, take a course, learn new things, expand your horizons...

* You can live by the beach... you can 'retire to the sun' now, rather than wait until you're 65!

* You can live in a low-tax or zero-tax jurisdiction... no more spending a fortune and weeks of your time on accountants every year!

* You can give yourself a pay rise every month! (e.g. you can increase your earnings every month, simply by growing your mailing list every month!)

**************************************************
A typical day in the life of a Laptop Entrepreneur
**************************************************

My typical day looks something like this. I wake up, take a shower, and step outside to take in the fresh sea air, admire the view and play with my Golden Retriever, Leo.

I then have a breakfast of fresh 'Green Juice' (cucumber, celery, apples, spinach, avocado) with my partner, while relaxing on the loungers by our swimming pool.

I then sit at my laptop, answering some emails, to arrange a joint venture or a webinar or product launch, or to give assignments to my team of outsourcers.

I then take a break and go cycling through the mountain trails next to our house, taking Leo for a run. In the summer we usually end up on the beach in front of our house, where we love to swim.

In the afternoon I'll usually write, creating products, blog posts, content for my membership sites or my books, and emails to send to my mailing list. Or sometimes I'll study a new course, to find out new business strategies.

In the afternoon my partner and I go play tennis, or we go out with our friends for a meal, or for some relaxation at the spa on our resort. In the evening, we like to just relax by the fireplace, have a nice meal, and watch a DVD.

Once a week, on average, I do a 90-minute webinar for my clients.

We go on 6-7 trips a year, around Europe, or to more 'exotic' locations such as Thailand, The Maldives, Bermuda, The Caribbean, Senegal, Egypt, Australia, etc.

If I want to take a 4-month break or a 6-month break to write a book... then I do just that!

If you like the sound of this, welcome to the world of The Laptop Entrepreneur!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_L_Anastasi

By Mark Anastasi

The 3 Most Commonly Accepted Affiliate Myths

Affiliate marketing has become really vast, which is why it is surrounded by a number of myths. If you want to know what those myths are, keep reading. 

One affiliate marketing myth that's still around is the one where affiliates think they need to spend countless hours making websites and various blogs and then keeping them up. It's important for you to understand that affiliate marketing doesn't require much effort at all when it comes to designing a website and keeping it up with the intent of offering products. Why, you ask? That's because you don't have to keep adding to it to keep it up. An example of this would be if you had a site that was intended to review a product that you happen to be promoting. This site could stay like it is forever, unless there was something that changed with the product. There are times when you'll see that such review pages remain the same for years, without any addition of new content. It should now be apparent that you don't need to spend a lot of time making a page for the purpose of selling affiliate products. Not only that, but blogs and Squidoo pages that have your products for sale only require you to do what you can to make sure you have enough backlinks to keep your same search engine ranking. Beyond that, it's completely your call as to what additional products or information you want to add. 

Another wrong impression about affiliate marketing is that you can't get positive results because of all of the people that are doing the same thing. Yes, there are a few niche markets where there is tons of competition, but that also means that there is opportunity in there. But on the other hand, there are also niche markets that have low numbers of competition. If you are serious about creating success, you must be able to do better than the competition because this will let you see what affiliate marketing is all about. 

Also, it's a myth that you need many visitors to actually get sales for your affiliate product. Although you want targeted traffic coming to your particular site, it is even more important. There are sites that receive huge number of visitors but don't have many conversions. This basically means that in order to continue making consistent sales, you have to ensure that you provide what your visitors are looking for. So you see there are plenty of affiliate marketing myths, new ones as well as ones from several years ago. It's your ability to look past these myths to the goals you've set for yourself that will determine your success or failure in this business.

Turn Your Computer Into An ATM Today For Free....

Unhappy, unfulfilled and broke...

That was me. 

I had a good job in the grand scheme of things but I was just getting by.  The few euros left over in the kitty at the end of the month weren't going to give me the finer things I desired in life. The future was bleak. I needed a plan. So the search began.

After spending nearly a month in the library with all the best entrepreneurial literature available I realised this could be done. My problem was money and time. I had little to none of both! After attending a few seminars I found what I was looking for and I couldn't believe it! I was to enter the unfamiliar online world of blogging, list building, online marketing, product development and affiliate marketing.

If you were offered resources to generate as many income streams as you like for free, would you take advantage of that opportunity? I did!

It answered all my problems:

1. It required no start up costs
2. I could work at my own pace on my laptop at home in my pyjamas
3. I didn't need to buy any products
4. I didn't need to set up any website
5. I worked for myself and it was enjoyable
6. It's money making prospects were endless

Some of you may not be aware but setting up an online blog is completely free(www.blogger.com). You can design it any which way you please. The first step is to choose a niche. It can be anything. You should focus on finding one which solves a problem which many people suffer from. It has to be an area you are very interested in and are willing to learn about. Whether it be fitness, business, personal development, weight loss or how about turning your laptop into an ATM!! 

Once you have your niche, Its design time. Its as simple as cycling a bike if your a professional mountain biker! All the tools are readily explained. Your blog will now need content. Fill it with information that provides value to interested visitors. You can do this in many ways, some like to write, some like to study and combine other peoples articles on the subject.

Time to Monetize!!

Ever heard of Affiliate Marketing???

People with products to sell need your help and will pay for it. Check out a website called www.clickbank.com. On it you will find thousands of products that vendors will pay you up to 75% commission for selling their products(It's FREE!). This doesn't involve knocking on every neighbourhood door with a tangible product. This involves basically copying and pasting a link on their site to your blog which leaves an attractive advertisement on your blog. Now if someone visits your blog and clicks on one of these products advertised  and purchases it you have money in your bank account! Once set up its money making capabilities are endless. How is it free?? :)

Ever heard of Google Adsense????

Did you know Google will also offer you money in return for advertising on your blog? Its beautiful really. They advertise relevant products to your niche. You have complete control over what goes on. The best bit is that every time someone visits your blog and clicks(no purchase required!) on a Google advertisement they pay you. 

But of course you'll need one important thing. TRAFFIC!! We need people to come to us and that's where social media comes in and where the money rolls in. Guess what, traffic is free too!! Ever get one of those annoying adds telling you you can make crazy amounts of money from just facebooking or twittering? I've learnt this can be true. On this blog I'll go through how I began turning my laptop into and ATM. I'll update again soon. Make sure to sign up to receive my free eBook above"Six Tips To Help Turn Your Laptop Into An ATM".

Its important to note that I am in no way a computer whiz. Trust me when I say this is easy. Anyone can do it. Although I was working heavy hours in my own job I committed only 2 hours to this every night starting off. It can be built much faster. I hope you can see the potential something like this has. I will enjoy educating you all!