Characteristics of a Good Blog

Blogging has become very popular.
People blog for many reasons. I
have found blogging to be
enjoyable, I make new online
friends, I learn new information,
and I can vent if I need to and
people listen and offer advice.
However, there are some things
you should and should not do
when creating your blog. Here are
some things I have that make
characteristics of a good blog:
1. Don't go with the default
templates in Blogger, or in some
other free blogs, it does matter
how your blog comes across, if you
are serious and plan on using it for
business than it is best to hire a
professional designer. If you can't,
I have found many free beautiful
templates at websites such as
templatesblock among others. You
can add your own pictures,
gadgets and you need to know just
a little bit of HTML.
2. Be aware of the color of your blog.
We all want something trendy,
fancy and even bling bling, but
many times, it will take away from
your content and writing, and
that's what we are blogging for.
You can pick beautiful colors, just
keep it relatively simple, such as a
magazine style or business
template.
3. Try to avoid long posts, about 300
words is enough, if your post is too
long you could lose the reader's
attention. If you are writing a "how
to" post then consider making it
into parts.
4. SPELL CHECK, avoid spelling and
grammar mistakes. Proofread
thoroughly, and use the spellcheck
option, but also read through it,
spell check will not pick up a word
if it is spelled correctly but
misused.
5. Fonts are another point to watch
for. Do not crazy fonts or too
much italic, and use proper size
suitable for all readers. Do not use
wild and crazy colors, unless it is
pertaining to your individual post.
Standard formatting is just fine
and if your post is good it will
keep them reading.
6. Use drop down menu's, they do
not clutter up your blog, they are
easy to navigate and helps your
reader find what they are looking
for.
7. When you create tags, make sure
you use tags relevant to your blog
to be found in the search engines,
if you want to be ranked high in
the search engines, be sure to use
keywords that are searched often.
8. This is the BIG ONE and the one I
noticed most often with some
blogs, it annoyed me to the point
of never returning. PAGE LOADS,
some blogs have so many widgets
and gadgets and too much content
the page doesn't load or it takes
forever. Sometimes the page will
crash and shut down your entire
browser. Too much flashiness is
also a turn off, be creative, but
keep it limited so your blog
functions well and your readers
return.
9. Post daily or every other day, it will
bring the Google bots to your blog
and help rate you higher in the
page rank and search engines.
Plus, do not forget, your readers
want something new, so keep
them on the edge of their seat
wanting more. If you are away, let
your readers know, and if you are
busy, just write something real
quick to let them know what is
going on.
10. Be unique, don't copy others
content unless you ask to use
something, I have seen this often.
Some blogs will have your exact
content repeated, I have had this
happen to me. It's fine to share,
we are all here to help, but be
respectful, and contact the blogger
to ask permission to use their
content. You can always comment
on their post if you want to
elaborate on the subject, that is
what the comment section is for.
11. Something extremely important, BE
AWARE in reading and adding
blogs to follow I have come across
several blogs that contain Malware
or spyware, not purposely I am
sure, they may have linked to
something they liked not realizing
it contained malware, and then it's
on their blog. When you have
something with Malware on your
blog, you will not get readers when
you get a big flash on your screen
warning: Malware.
12. Let your readers comment on your
posts, if you don't want
anonymous comments, moderate
them before allowing to publish, or
set your settings to subscribers
only, or members. However, if you
restrict your blog you won't get
many readers, so moderating
comments can be useful.
13. Remember, a blog is a
conversation, so write it the way
you speak, don't use words that
you don't normally use, be natural
but courteous, this will depend on
the type of blog you write. You
may like to have a blog to rant and
rave, if you do, go ahead and do
so, just do not slander anyone, it
can get you into legal trouble. You
can also have a debate with
someone, and this is a good idea,
without being hurtful, you can get
your points across, or share your
differences of opinion. This type of
blog will bring in a lot of readers.
14. When you are going through your
day, think about blog topics to
write about on your alone time at
home, especially if you are a
serious blogger, pay attention to
what you did that day and blog
about it later. It is great therapy
and can be of great interest to
your readers.
15. When to catch up.......like writing
the same day each week...or same
day each month...
16. Once you have your blog all laid
out and you check that it loads
quickly and has all the necessary
gadgets and links for good
information, you can start adding
it to social networking sites, like
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
Now you should have a better idea
on how to begin a good blog, have
fun, but remember, always respect
others.


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Comment on Same Topic Blogs

People are blogging more now
than building websites. Blogs were
mostly used by people for online
journalism. Now it has emerged
into a money making machine.
Most blogs will allow you to leave
comments and also allow you to
trackback to there website. It's
important that you leave
comments related blog to yours
because there viewers are similar
to yours.
When commenting on a blog don't
just spam there blog site and say
"view my site". Not only will that
prevent your comment to be
approved but there is no value in
that comment.
The goal in building credibility to
make people want to visit your
blog. So make your comment
valuable to the blog post and add
some useful information that will
catch of their commenters and
even the blog author.
A good way to leave a comment
would be, write a comment about
a product that is talked about on
the site. The author has just
written a post on the new Canon
Camera product. But he left out
some key information of the
product. You can comment on how
good the article is first then
mention some key information you
felt that was left out from the
article.
Commenters will see your
comments, they will respect the
fact you offered some good
information to the site. This will
make the commenters come
interest in you and find there way
to your website.
It's very important you comment to
the blogs that resembles your site.
Webmasters generate a lot of
traffic from comment on related
blogs. Do it right because it will be
a waste of time.

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


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Can You Really Earn Money Blogging Online?

In the world of blogging there are
only two types of followers: a cynic
who doesn't believe s/he can earn
money blogging online, and a
determined optimist who'll do
everything to make money in
blogging. Do you belong in any of
this group or neither?
Blogging is an addicting online
activity for millions of Internet
users across the globe. Some are
happy to just make it an outlet to
express their feelings and opinion
about something they strongly
believe in, whereas, a growing
number are using various blog
platforms to earn money blogging
online. But despite several claims
of success, there are still people
who remain doubtful.
PAID REVIEWS
Here's a good way to earn money
blogging online and it's really
effective if your blog has high
traffic. Payperpost and Smorty are
two of the popular websites that
connect a blogger to a wide-array
of merchants who are willing to
pay to have someone write about
their products or services. But
again, work on getting high traffic
on your blog first in order to get
constant offer from merchants.
Read about Internet marketing to
know how you can bring more
people to your blog.
AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
While joining them are mostly free
and easy, you'll have higher
potential of earning if you go for
niche affiliates. This means, do not
sign up for every affiliate program
you see online; otherwise, you only
end up wasting your blog spaces
displaying banners that do not get
clicks and conversion, and this isn't
a good tactic to earn money
blogging online because in reality
you don't earn anything at all. And
if you ever do, it can probably take
years before you reach the
minimum payout of earnings.
SELL PRODUCTS
This is an option but it can also be
quite effective. You can sell
anything such as: Ebooks, used or
brand new stuff, or even your blog
ad spaces. But just like doing paid
reviews, the more visitors you get
in your blog, the more potential
customers you have. Create good
contents for your blog and sell
items that have good online
demands. Do research and
promote your blog by posting
comments in forums and other
people's blogs related to your
niche.
In general, there is a good chance
to earn money blogging online;
however, you have to work on
marketing your blog, writing good
content, and finding ways and
means to monetize your blog. Your
blog's success relies in your effort
to make it known to people.
Without doing so, your blog is just
another blog people will pass
through once.


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

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How To Make Money Blogging Online For Beginners

Learning how to make money
blogging online is not just purely
about knowing and testing the
different strategies that would
result to monetizing a blog. Of
course, veteran bloggers know this
already. After all, they must have
invested so much energies and
time already just to get what they
are earning now. But for neophyte
bloggers who are already thinking
of using affiliate programs or
bidding for sponsored reviews just
because they have their site up
and running with a custom domain
name, it'll be wiser to step back a
little and read on.
If you are new in the blog
monetization world, consider
asking the following questions:
1. What do I want to achieve? -
While money is the obvious
answer, think about the other
elements, too, such as the number
of visitors you are aiming on a
daily basis. You can post
sponsored reviews on your blog as
part of your strategies on how to
make money blogging online, but
it doesn't necessarily follow you're
getting an excellent number of hits
daily. Likewise, think about
advertisers, too. Do you want them
to buy ad spaces in your blog in
the future, or are you contented to
just doing product reviews for
them to post on your blog?
2. What type of readers do I want
to cater to? - Think of a niche
market. A blog that contains a
smorgasbord of topics is hard to
promote and categorize. And when
you cannot promote your blog, you
may still probably earn, but not as
much as you wanted to.
3. What articles will interest them?
- This comes easy if you know your
target audience. If you are
planning a health and fitness blog,
write contents that are beneficial
to health enthusiasts. Cover topics
about nutrition, diet plans, healthy
meals, etc.
4. What money-making method
should I use in my blog as a
beginner? - Sponsored reviews and
affiliate programs are two of the
easiest ways on how to make
money blogging online. Most of
the marketing sites that offer them
do not require a joining fee, and
therefore, you do not risk losing
money while you are still starting
in your money-making venture.
5. How do I keep my visitors
interested? - Truth is people get
bored easily and if you have
nothing new to offer them,
chances are, you lose your visitors
one by one. Losing visitors simply
means losing earnings. What other
things can you offer on your blog?
Selling Ebooks in the future can be
a hot idea, because it allows you
to give visitors teasers on your
blog that will prompt them from
coming back.

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

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