This was a recent issue Blog Tips Newsletter by Yaro Starak creator of the Blog Mastermind Mentoring Program. Thsi info is so good I just had to pass it on to you. Click here to join the Blog Mastermind Mentoring Program
If you just started blogging chances are you don't have many readers, if any at all.
If you are wondering what you are doing wrong and what you need to do in order to build an audience, this newsletter will help.
---------------------
Why is it that some bloggers have all the traffic and others are lucky if they have about 10 visitors per day?
You may write regular content for your blog but because no one reads it, you feel like you are wasting your time.
All blogs are not created equal. Guy Kawasaki started a blog and a few weeks after launching he had over 4,000 daily readers. So what made him different?
Guy is a famous author and business speaker so he had the benefit of lots of other bloggers and media spreading the word about his blog for him.
Chances are you don't have the same advantage as Guy. I didn't, I had to earn my blog traffic the hard way.
DO YOU KNOW HOW TO MARKET?
Blogging is like starting your own print newsletter or "fanzine". First you put the hard work in, gather a collection of articles, images and other content and launch your new publication.
Once the first issue is ready it's time to get out there and show it to everyone.
You won't have a marketing budget or the benefits of a public relations officer drumming up free publicity for you. You have to do all this for yourself. You wear all the hats for your blog - author, publisher, marketer and public relations.
This is why a lot of bloggers fail. You produce good content but you don't know how to MARKET your blog.
Most bloggers do not know where the best places are to drum up traffic and instead use "shotgun" tactics - haphazardly shooting for traffic all over the place using as many random methods as possible with no thought into exactly what is the smart way to get traffic.
No methodology. No process.
START AT THE BEGINNING
The first step to build blog traffic is accepting the fact that you will have to *work* for your traffic. No one is going to do it for you. No one is going to help you. Your blog is your baby and you are a single parent, solely responsible for its growth.
Are you okay with that? Do you accept the burdens?
Yes? Good! Okay, let's move forward.
Blog traffic building begins, just like a magazine, by creating something worth reading. You would never go out and hand out copies of your fanzine if it had only one or two articles in it.
Before we even talk about finding readers for your blog you have to ask whether the readers you are chasing will read your blog once they get there.
Is your blog AMAZING? Do you have great content? Do you even know what great content is?
Take a good look at your blog and review whether your starting content is worthy enough to capture and retain the attention of readers.
If you just switched the "on" button for your blog then there is only one thing you need to worry about. Forget about traffic. Sit down, get your writers hat on and start writing articles.
If you haven't done so already, cover at least these topics before properly launching your blog -
1. Your About Page
Who are you? What you are blogging about and why would a person want to read your blog? What is in it for them?
Talk about the BENEFITS for your readers, NOT the features of your blog.
2. Your Contact Page
You need a contacts page because you want to make it easy for your readers to get in touch with you. If possible, include a nice smiley picture of your face on your contacts page, to make your blog more personal.
Other possible contact details you might want to include in your contact page:
- Phone number (if you are comfortable with this)
- Mailing address (ditto)
- Skype, MSN Messenger or Google talk contact details
- A link to your Linked-In, Facebook or MySpace profile
- Your Twitter, StumbleUpon or Digg profile
You can place anything you feel comfortable making available to the public on your contact page.
3. Pillar Articles
I'll discuss the concept of "pillar articles" in more depth in an upcoming email newsletter, but for the moment you need to start working on some nice, fat, juicy, meaty...okay, you get the picture - SOLID articles.
Something substantial. Something worth reading that teaches your audience about the subjects relevant to your blog topic. Not just news reposts from other websites. This is ORIGINAL content from your mind.
Be creative, be interesting, be inspirational and demonstrate these elements through your blog articles.
LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS
Do you know what a pre-launch is?
A pre-launch is what you do before you *launch* your blog. You take certain actions and set up the foundations at your blog before you tell anyone about it.
The purpose of a pre-launch is so you don't go wasting time marketing your blog to build traffic before there is anything there. There's no point trying to sell an empty book.
I tell my blogging students not to bother looking for traffic in the first month of blogging. Your blog may be online, but it's better if people don't know about it until you get something there worth reading. Once the content is in place and you finish all the pre-launch activities, then you can officially "launch" and get the word out about your blog.
Knuckle down, work on your pre-launch and you will be ready and confident when you start to drum up your initial traffic that the new readers you attract will stick around and not immediately click away from your blog.
WHAT GOES INTO A GOOD PRE-LAUNCH?
If you need help with your blog pre-launch and want to know what steps to take during the first month of creating a new blog, I have a private blog training program you can join.
My mentoring course is called Blog Mastermind and provides a step-by-step guide to take your blog from zero to hero, explode your traffic and build a solid income stream, so you can quit your job and earn a full time income from blogging part time.
During the first month of Blog Mastermind I provide you with lessons that reveal the common mistakes most new bloggers make and how you can avoid their fate and launch your blog with all the right elements in place.
I've helped over 1,000 students successfully launch blogs. Here's some feedback I received from one of my students -
******
Where do I begin? I started getting into the idea
of blogging from a friend of mine who earns a
decent living from running websites and the one
piece of advice he gave to me was to learn as much
as possible. Whilst I have used many resources to
assist my blogging process, yours has been the
easiest to understand and the most informative.
-- Andrew Weber, arsenalfcblog.com
******
I'm inviting new students into my program now and I'd love to have you as one of them. Click here to join the Blog Mastermind Mentoring Program
Monday, September 7, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
How To Cure Bad Breath
This Info Provided By Mark Belmont Author of How To Be Handsome.
A couple of days ago, I met with a real estate agent named Bruce
who had been recommended by a friend. I'm thinking about selling
my condo, and this guy seems to be pretty highly regarded, so I
decided to meet with him and discuss my options.
As soon as he opened his mouth to say hello, I couldn't help but
cringe. Bruce had absolutely HORRIBLE smelling breath. I can
usually handle a bit of bad breath if I just keep my distance,
but this was too much. Even sitting across the table from him, I
could still smell it. Awful.
Needless to say, I ended the meeting as soon as possible. Bruce
could have been an exceptional real estate agent, but
unfortunately he'll never get my business. I couldn't even
listen to what he was saying because I was concentrating so hard
on avoiding the stench of his breath.
This was a particularly bad example, but bad breath (or
"halitosis" as it's clinically known) is actually a very common
problem. And it's also a very good way of alienating people,
losing business, and killing your chances with a woman.
In this post, I'm going to share with you some of the most
effective methods of eliminating bad breath.
-------------
- There's only one surefire way to test and see if you have bad
breath. First, wash your hands thoroughly. Then, lick the back
of your hand. Yep, you read that correctly... LICK the back of
your hand. Then, smell your hand. If it smells a bit funky,
then chances are your breath is worse. If there's no smell at
all, then your breath is probably fine. Always wash your hands
first (and probably after, too) so that you don't lick up a bunch
of germs.
- Brush your teeth and floss twice daily. Duh! Flossing is
equally important, though, because plaque buildup can cause
bacteria growth and lead to bad breath.
- Clean your tongue every morning after brushing your teeth.
This is crucial. To do so, you can either buy a tongue scraper
at the store or use a kitchen spoon. Gently pull the white gunk
at the back of your tongue forwards, and rinse the tongue
scraper/spoon in the sink. You don't need to get all the white
crap off, just give it a couple wipes to get the excess. Trust
me, doing this regularly helps a lot... just be careful not to
reach too far back and activate your gag reflex!
- Drink lots of water. Yep, staying hydrated is a great way to
prevent bad breath. In fact, when you wake up in the morning the
reason you have such awful breath is because your mouth has been
dry all night. Your saliva is an important part of oral hygiene,
and drinking lots of water keeps your saliva glands working
properly.
- Chew gum. This activates your saliva glands and also
temporarily masks bad breath. This won't necessarily "cure" bad
breath but it can definitely hide it.
- If you have an important engagement coming up, try to avoid
things that really stink up your breath: coffee, alcohol,
onions, and spicy foods are some of the worst offenders.
- If you have persistent bad breath that isn't cured through
regular use of the above tactics, then you should see a doctor.
Halitosis can occasionally be caused by a different underlying
problem, and a doctor will be able to diagnose this.
A couple of days ago, I met with a real estate agent named Bruce
who had been recommended by a friend. I'm thinking about selling
my condo, and this guy seems to be pretty highly regarded, so I
decided to meet with him and discuss my options.
As soon as he opened his mouth to say hello, I couldn't help but
cringe. Bruce had absolutely HORRIBLE smelling breath. I can
usually handle a bit of bad breath if I just keep my distance,
but this was too much. Even sitting across the table from him, I
could still smell it. Awful.
Needless to say, I ended the meeting as soon as possible. Bruce
could have been an exceptional real estate agent, but
unfortunately he'll never get my business. I couldn't even
listen to what he was saying because I was concentrating so hard
on avoiding the stench of his breath.
This was a particularly bad example, but bad breath (or
"halitosis" as it's clinically known) is actually a very common
problem. And it's also a very good way of alienating people,
losing business, and killing your chances with a woman.
In this post, I'm going to share with you some of the most
effective methods of eliminating bad breath.
-------------
- There's only one surefire way to test and see if you have bad
breath. First, wash your hands thoroughly. Then, lick the back
of your hand. Yep, you read that correctly... LICK the back of
your hand. Then, smell your hand. If it smells a bit funky,
then chances are your breath is worse. If there's no smell at
all, then your breath is probably fine. Always wash your hands
first (and probably after, too) so that you don't lick up a bunch
of germs.
- Brush your teeth and floss twice daily. Duh! Flossing is
equally important, though, because plaque buildup can cause
bacteria growth and lead to bad breath.
- Clean your tongue every morning after brushing your teeth.
This is crucial. To do so, you can either buy a tongue scraper
at the store or use a kitchen spoon. Gently pull the white gunk
at the back of your tongue forwards, and rinse the tongue
scraper/spoon in the sink. You don't need to get all the white
crap off, just give it a couple wipes to get the excess. Trust
me, doing this regularly helps a lot... just be careful not to
reach too far back and activate your gag reflex!
- Drink lots of water. Yep, staying hydrated is a great way to
prevent bad breath. In fact, when you wake up in the morning the
reason you have such awful breath is because your mouth has been
dry all night. Your saliva is an important part of oral hygiene,
and drinking lots of water keeps your saliva glands working
properly.
- Chew gum. This activates your saliva glands and also
temporarily masks bad breath. This won't necessarily "cure" bad
breath but it can definitely hide it.
- If you have an important engagement coming up, try to avoid
things that really stink up your breath: coffee, alcohol,
onions, and spicy foods are some of the worst offenders.
- If you have persistent bad breath that isn't cured through
regular use of the above tactics, then you should see a doctor.
Halitosis can occasionally be caused by a different underlying
problem, and a doctor will be able to diagnose this.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Tips On How To Get Your Ex Boyfriend Back
Getting dumped by your boyfriend is no fun and if you're still in love with him then you're probably desperately trying to find help on how to get your ex boyfriend back. Following the tips I'm about to outline for you is a great start that will set you on the right road to winning him back.
The worst thing that you can do in your quest to understand how to get your ex boyfriend back, is to get desperate and needy. Desperate and needy spells out of control and high maintenance. Boyfriends hate out of control and high maintenance because it means they never know what you'll do and where you'll do it and so they're never at ease. Letting your ex boyfriend see that you're out of control is a surefire way to drive him away, so if this is you, you need to stop.
Not only that in this state, you hand over far too much power to your ex boyfriend and you could find yourself taken advantage of big time. So if you want him back, don't set yourself up for a possibly painful and frustrating time.
What you should also avoid is to make yourself too readily available to your ex as you try and work out how to get your ex boyfriend back. Show him that you value and have pride in yourself and that you're not sitting home waiting for him to call. Get out and about and show him that you've got your life together and that you've taken the breakup in your stride. Having him believe anything else makes your goal to get him back an up hill battle that you will probably lose. So don't sit at home obsessing about what he might or might not be up to. Get yourself out!
If you want to get him back, make sure that you're looking after yourself. After all, you need to give him something to want to come back to and that means not letting yourself go. Instead of staying home consoling yourself with chocolate and soda make sure that you hit the gym and keep on hitting it! Start eating healthily and be sure you're always looking your best when you're out and about. Not only will all of this make you look good, but it will do the world of good for your self-esteem which has no doubt taken a huge blow through all of this.
Now everything outlined works together, so if you're after the best results don't apply each step in isolation. They all impact on each other and that's how you should use these steps when you're trying to understand how to get your ex boyfriend back.
The worst thing that you can do in your quest to understand how to get your ex boyfriend back, is to get desperate and needy. Desperate and needy spells out of control and high maintenance. Boyfriends hate out of control and high maintenance because it means they never know what you'll do and where you'll do it and so they're never at ease. Letting your ex boyfriend see that you're out of control is a surefire way to drive him away, so if this is you, you need to stop.
Not only that in this state, you hand over far too much power to your ex boyfriend and you could find yourself taken advantage of big time. So if you want him back, don't set yourself up for a possibly painful and frustrating time.
What you should also avoid is to make yourself too readily available to your ex as you try and work out how to get your ex boyfriend back. Show him that you value and have pride in yourself and that you're not sitting home waiting for him to call. Get out and about and show him that you've got your life together and that you've taken the breakup in your stride. Having him believe anything else makes your goal to get him back an up hill battle that you will probably lose. So don't sit at home obsessing about what he might or might not be up to. Get yourself out!
If you want to get him back, make sure that you're looking after yourself. After all, you need to give him something to want to come back to and that means not letting yourself go. Instead of staying home consoling yourself with chocolate and soda make sure that you hit the gym and keep on hitting it! Start eating healthily and be sure you're always looking your best when you're out and about. Not only will all of this make you look good, but it will do the world of good for your self-esteem which has no doubt taken a huge blow through all of this.
Now everything outlined works together, so if you're after the best results don't apply each step in isolation. They all impact on each other and that's how you should use these steps when you're trying to understand how to get your ex boyfriend back.
Monday, August 10, 2009
How To Get Web Traffic
I was going to do a post on how to get web traffic by doing exactly what Google wants you to do. This was figured out by basically backwards engineering Blogger pages to determine what Google thinks is important as far as what sites they rank high. Turns out the article has already been written
How To Get Web Traffic
How To Get Web Traffic
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