My Blog

Just wondering, how can I make a good writing.. regarding for posting in my blog??

As a Blogger, we need to write in a conversational tone in order to be effective. We must write as though speaking to a friend. Marketese and business speak do not work in blogs. "If you ever went to business school ignore everything you learned about writing while there," is very popular advice that lots of people give and not far off the mark.

Let says, if you have trouble writing conversationally, try saying your thoughts out loud as if speaking to someone before writing them down. As silly as it may sound, some people find holding a telephone to their head helps.

One of gentleman I know had such trouble initially, even though he is a great writer. He is a better writer than I am or will ever be, but he had such enormous trouble writing conversationally initially. He would speak into his phone to a secretary's voice mail and she'd then transcribe his words into a draft message which he would then take a quick look at, make sure she'd transcribed it right, perhaps make some minor changes and publish. In fact we found that if he didn't take just a quick look, he'd sometimes edit it back to business speak.

Most people don't have this much trouble writing conversationally, although many new bloggers find it difficult at first. Conversational writing is simply much different than the traditional business communications you may be familiar with, but most new bloggers quickly get the hang of it as it's not difficult at all. For example, after a couple of weeks this gentleman was writing conversationally and very effectively. A good way to see a lot of conversational writing is just to read some blogs because blogs of course, the popular ones, the well done ones, are all full of conversational writing.

Effective blogging requires a writing style closer to speaking to a good friend than the business writing you may be familiar with. It is fairly easy to learn although it may seem difficult to learn. Once you master the basics of conversational writing, you will find you can write faster and easier than ever before!.

As we know, there are several important steps involved when setting up a blog.
Here are some step for setting up a blog, in my opinion.. of course.. ^_^

Step 1
First you have to sign up with a web hosting service. This will be the place where your files are hosted so be sure you find a reliable company. It would be hard to subscribe users to your blog if it was consistently unavailable. Look for services that offer 99% uptime or better (even when 99% is guaranteed it is still around 4 days per year).

Step 2
Next you need to choose a niche you want your blog to be about. In a nutshell, your niche should be something you are interested in and/or know information about that you can use in your posts. Also make sure you know your audience and that your niche is not too specific or not too general. The amount of revenue in your niche should really play no part in your decision, however, if you choose a niche that has no potential for making money, you guessed it, you'll make no money.

Step 3
Now, you need to choose a domain name. It's best to buy a domain that ends with .com because .com domains are most commonly used and will be easier to remember. Do not make your domain name too complicated, try to make it as short as possible and avoid using hyphens because they tend to confuse people. Be as creative as possible, you need a catchy easy to remember domain name that reflects the niche of your blog.

Step 4
After you have set up your web hosting and domain name you need to decide which software to use on your blog. There are many free and paid blogging services and they all have their advantages and disadvantages. Your best option is to use WordPress, not only is it the most popular and most commonly used software but it is very easy to use and there are plenty of themes and plug-ins to enhance the look and functionality of your blog. To download WordPress for free, visit wordpress.org.

Step 5
Installing WordPress may take some time if it is your first attempt at installation, so plan accordingly. The next step is the best - choosing the design you will use. It is strongly recommended that you do not use the default theme because it is very common and your readers will recognize it from other blogs and know you didn't take the time or expense to upgrade the look of your blog. There are many free themes available, simply search "WordPress themes" in Google. If you want to improve the originality of your blog then you might want to pay a professional designer to make a custom blog for your site, this will go a long way in showing you are a professional.

At this stage, you might presume that most of the hard work has been done when in fact the hard work has only just begun. You now need to make high quality posts on a regular basis. You should make daily posts to begin with to build up the amount of content on your site. You also need to start promoting your blog and gaining more traffic. There are many ways to do this but if your blog is filled with high quality content, the word will get out, the search engines will find it, and your blog will automatically build traffic and subscribers. At this point you can start thinking about revenue.

Writing…Blogs…Blogs are on-line journals where people express themselves through writing. Writing…Writing is the process where one puts down words of a language on a format that others can read. This process has not been around very long, to use one of my writing teacher’s favorite sayings, “Writing has only existed for one day in the one year that humanity has existed.” Speaking and thinking come much easier than writing.

These processes just flow out naturally like a river of consciousness; sometimes we hardly have to think about doing them. Anyone and everyone can write words down on paper but that doesn’t mean it’s ‘good writing’, myself included. Like most things in life, our society already takes writing for granted which is proving to expose more of our ignorance. Writing is a new form of expression, and if we want to do it in a way that the masses can connect with our ideas, we have to think much more simply and clearly about this art.

Now that was quite a big paragraph, you’ve got to wonder if I really needed to say as much as I just did to introduce this article on the best way to write your blogs on the Web. I didn’t even mention this main idea, and that’s what an introduction paragraph is meant to be for. This is a common mistake in many blogs out there. We try to get too many ideas across in one paragraph, sometimes even in one sentence! The key, as in all things in life-is to keep it simple. Simplicity means that readers won’t get confused about what your journal entry is actually about. Introduce your main general topic at the start, and use the subsequent paragraphs to discuss separate ideas that relate to this topic. Try to tie everything up in the concluding paragraph, your main argument and the reason why you’ve written in the first place.

Grammar and sentence construction are not easy systems to master, especially if you come from a school system that spent more time telling you about historical battles and quadratic equations than on how to read and write. This is a real problem. When we speak we can get messages across to others easily, but if we put these words down on paper, the writing just isn’t interesting and doesn’t connect with people’s curiosities and fascination. When you write you are not talking to a close friend. You can’t use slang and colloquialisms that only your local community can understand. The aim is to connect with all the people in the world, so let’s make it crystal clear and enjoyable to read.

Your computer has spelling and grammar checks, as well as access to a thesaurus. Use them, but remember that the machine can’t decipher all the intricacies of language. Language is a world in itself, and much of its territories are undiscovered by the masses. So, again keep it simple. Short, precise sentences with single ideas are great. Many words in the English language have the same meanings (synonyms). Use the thesaurus so you don’t repeat the same word over and over throughout the text. It keeps the story fresh and doesn’t turn the reader off. There’s nothing more boring than repetition. Using different words can be a lot of fun and a learning experience, just make sure you use a dictionary (also on the computer/Internet) to make absolute sure of the word’s definition.

Readability…Simplicity…Make your blog accessible by all people. You can even take into consideration that many readers will have learned English as a second language. As I’ve said in previous articles, keep to the point-don’t go on tangents. Stick with the article’s topic, and definitely stay within the realms of your blog’s main area. If your blog is entitled “Jazz music”, people who go there don’t want to hear about how your football team won on the weekend! Please be consistent. How irritating is it to visit a blog that hasn’t been written on in months or years?

I hope these little tips will help you on your quest to producing ‘good’ writing that brings new friends and acquaintances of similar outlooks into your world. If you want people to read, the aim is to produce an emotional reaction in your reader. Pretend you are writing to another form of yourself, if it were not readable, interesting and fun…would you stick around?

cheers,

continued from part one..
This time, “Make money from your Blog” (part two) are gonna talk about CPA and Affiliate Networks, Text Links, Alternatives way.

Soo.. just relax.. prepare for a cup of coffee and some snack.. read and enjoy it.. ^_^

CPA and Affiliate Networks


1. AzoogleAds
AzoogleAds is a Cost Per Acquisition network, which certain people have major success with. Let’s say you have a blog about mobile phones, then you could offer a free ringtone download that would then pay out a few bucks once the customer downloads the ringtones. AzoogleAds have an excellent reputation in terms of their customer care and revenue share, you’ll find that they pay out more than any other affiliate network. On the downside, AzoogleAds do not have the widest range of offers, but if you are in the auto / finance / tech sector you’ll be well catered for.

2. CJ
These guys have been around for ages and have an absolutely gigantic number of affiliate programs to sign up to. If you have a blog that reviews products, chances are you will be able to find a suitable affiliate program in the CJ network and make money from your affiliate referrals. Your cut of each sale is not constant though, so make sure and check what % you get from each advertiser you sign up with.

Text Links

1. AdBrite
If you have a high traffic blog and some room in your sidebar, then I would highly recommend signing up for AdBrite. This is a marketplace where advertisers can browse for sites and pay for their textual advertisement to appear. It isn’t contextual and can be used alongside AdSense and YPN. The cost for a link on your blog is worked out by your traffic and sector. So the more traffic you have, the more you make. Get writing!

2. Text-Link-Ads
This network is run by Andy Hagans and Patrick Gavan. Originally it was a one way street, Text-Link-Ads were the brokers between the advertiser and a select number of large websites such as Answers and How Stuff Works. Now you can apply to have your blog included in their marketplace so that advertisers can pay for their static text link on your site. Most of the buyers using this network are doing so because they want the benefit of the link from your site, but luckily you can choose who gets to appear. Implementing Text-Link-Ads on your site is quick and easy, with code available for RoR, PHP, Drual, Serendipidy. Check out their calculator and see how much you could be earning!

3. Under-The-Radar Paid Links
Some would argue that having a paid link on your site can actually affect your ranking. If you are concerned, go under-the-radar. The easiest way to do this is to post availability on popular forums such as Digital Point and SitePoint. You will have complete control over how the text links are implemented, making them look much more natural and hence reducing your liability.

4. Presell Pages
if you have a blog that covers a particular niche (let’s say … your local area) then you can arrange presell pages. You would contact advertisers and inform them that they could have a page on your site where they can write whatever they link, and link back to their site. Again, this is a clean and easy way for you to generate revenue without much effort. However, getting the most out of this type of revenue generation requires decent PR.

Alternatives

Donations
Honestly, I’ve never tried this one, but apparently, for some people they said it works. Having said that, you would need a big chunk of loyal readers and a lot of very good content (updated regularly) before anyone will even consider dropping you a cent. Not the best way of generating revenue, but you can give it a try. PayPal is the best option of receiving funds. Or you could set up an Amazon gift list, its not a bad idea. Don’t you think??

Are you ready for get money from your blog? Want some money to buy some iphone or maybe a nice new MacBook? I’m sure that everyone absolutely want it. Soo.. why not start to monetize your blog? All you need just a commitment, a little vision and good monetization. Now, let’s take a look on how you can make money using blog and turn it into something that will actually benefit your bank account. Excited isn’t it?? Here we go..

in this part, I only write about a CPC Ad Networks, later on the next part.. I’ll write and make it series about CPA and Affiliate Networks, Text Links, and Alternatives way.

CPC Ad Networks

1. AdSense
Google AdSense as far as I know, is probably the best known and most widely used way of monetizing a blog., offers ads relevant to your content from a large number of trusted advertisers, it is very simple to setup (at least for most people have testimony for this) ,pays about 60% of the click to you and pays out reliably. Sounds great doesn’t it? Ouw yeah..Well, AdSense does have some downsides. You can be ‘Smartpriced’ and your revenue per click can drop dramatically overnight. As well as this, there is the possibility that your readers have become AdSense-blind, having been exposed to similar ads on other sites they frequent. But if you want to monetize a very niche-oriented blog, AdSense would be right up there at the top of my list of revenue generators.

2. Chitika
Chitika is a new slant on CPC that has really taken off in the last year. Basically Chitika will contextually pick a product and display a price, image and short description. Payout is reliable and can be sent straight to your PayPal account, something which is sure to attract many. While there have been varying tales of success and woeful performance, Chitika is most suited to commercial blogs. If you blog on a topic such as iPods, PSP, gaming, electrical accessories you will more than likely find Chitika generates a good revenue stream. But the one single benefit offered by Chitika is that it is AdSense-compatible. When you generate your code in the Chitika admin panel, simply turn off the contextual mode and enter a string of keywords such as ‘ipod’ or ’sony vaio’. Chitika will then serve ads based on your keywords. There are numerous plugins available that will automatically insert a keyword string based on your title tag, making this a very worthwhile program to sign up to.

3. YPN
For about last year Yahoo!! opened their contextual ad network, called Yahoo! Publisher Network, to beta testers based in the USA only. It has since become the main alternative CPC network to Google AdSense. People who have used YPN have said that they earn more per click when compared to AdSense revenue generated from the same site. While this sounds encouraging, there have been serious issues with YPN in terms of targeting accuracy. Payment is also reliable, offering the choice of payment via check or direct deposit. However, if you run a very topic-specific blog, YPN would not be my first choice CPC program.

That’s for now, like I said before.. next.. we will talk about CPA and Affiliate Networks, Text Links, and Alternatives way.

That’s the same question that spinning around in my head that I’m asked every week via conversation, blogwalking, emails and Instant Messaging chats with a many people to define: ‘what is a blog’. If you’re reading this post now, normally you may well be asking the same question. For some reason, there are a number of ways I could answer this question ranging from the broad to the highly technical. But in this post I’ll try to explain some of my point of view about what is a blog???


And before I define the ‘what is a blog’ question - here are some definitions from other people to get us started:

‘A frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links.’

‘A weblog is a hierarchy of text, images, media objects and data, arranged chronologically, that can be viewed in an HTML browser.’

‘From “Web log.” A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is “blogging” and someone who keeps a blog is a “blogger.”‘

‘A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is “blogging” and someone who keeps a blog is a “blogger.” Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog. Postings on a blog are almost always arranged in cronological order with the most recent additions featured most prominantly.’

‘A weblog is kind of a continual tour, with a human guide who you get to know. There are many guides to choose from, each develops an audience, and there’s also comraderie and politics between the people who run weblogs, they point to each other, in all kinds of structures, graphs, loops, etc.’

‘A blog is a website in which items are posted on a regular basis and displayed in reverse chronological order. The term blog is a shortened form of weblog or web log. Authoring a blog, maintaining a blog or adding an article to an existing blog is called “blogging”. Individual articles on a blog are called “blog posts,” “posts” or “entries”. A person who posts these entries is called a “blogger”. A blog comprises text, hypertext, images, and links (to other web pages and to video, audio and other files). Blogs use a conversational style of documentation. Often blogs focus on a particular “area of interest”, such as Washington, D.C.’s political goings-on. Some blogs discuss personal experiences.’

Are you confused yet? Don’t be!!! - its really quite simple. To put it as simply as possible - a blog is a type of website that is usually arranged in chronological order from the most recent ‘post’ (or entry) at the top of the main page to the older entries towards the bottom.

Usually (but not always) blogs are written by one person and are updated pretty regularly. often (but not always) blogs are written on a particular topic - there are blogs on virtually any topic you can think of. From technology, to spirituality, to sport , to politics issue ,personal diaries to hobbies - blogging has as many applications and varieties as you can imagine. Whole blog communities have sprung up around some of these topics putting people into contact with each other in relationships where they can learn, share ideas, make friends with and even do business with people with similar interests from around the world.

Blogs usually have a few features that are useful to know about if you want to get the most out of them as a reader. Lets examine a couple briefly.

Comments - Not all blogs use comments - but most do. This blog is not a monologue but a conversation. You can give some feedback on almost everything I write simply by clicking the ‘comments’ link at the bottom of each one of my posts. This will take you to a little form where you leave your name, email and a link to your own blog if you have one as well as your feedback, comment, critique, question, etc.

Archives - You might look at the front page of a blog and think that there is not much to them. A few recent entries, some links to other sites and not much else. However its worth knowing that there is a lot more going on under the surface that might initially meet the eye.

A great way to learn about blogs is to read a few. Leave some comments, ask questions and bookmark your favourites. And this is what I’m doing now.. An even better way to learn about blogs is to start your own. Ok - you might be laughing at me now - you think you are not web savy enough to have your own site? You wouldn’t know where to start? You don’t know how?

Are you still confused? Would you like more information? Below are a few helpful articles on the topic - there are many more on the web - just do a search on your favourite search engine.

- WordPress: Introduction to Blogging
- Harvard Law has a helpful article titled What makes a Weblog a Weblog
- Rebecca Blood has written a helpful history of blogging for those who are interested in learning more about the -
blogging evolution over the past few years
- Trudy Schuett writes a good article title What is a blog and why do we need one?

So now you know WHAT a blog is – soo.. let’s learn how to start one, get use to it and earn some at the end ^_^.