The internet has changed the dynamic of the work force allowing blogging to become a career instead of just a past-time hobby. Now thanks to incredible advances in mobile broadband and smartphone technology, we can take our work with us wherever we go. There are several blogging applications that have been designed for use with the iPhone. These apps can be downloaded directly onto the iPhone, creating the ability to manage your blog while on the go.
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Using iPhone for Mobile Blogging
By | August 24, 2011 | Leave a Comment
Top 5 Reasons why You are Losing Traffic on your Blog
By | October 18, 2010 | Leave a Comment
A Blog is hale and healthy, as its Traffic. Once the Traffic starts Decreasing, eventually the Conversions and Sales through the Blog, start moving South. So, it is absolutely essential that you keep your Blog Traffic on the Rising Mode.
Do you know the “Top 5 Reasons” why Your Blog might be Losing Traffic?
1. Stale Content
You must keep pumping New Content in to your Blog, on a Regular Basis. A Blog with Stale Content can lose Traffic very fast.
Maintain a Blogging Schedule and Stick to it. Find out what your Readers like and Post more of such Content. “Action brings Traffic” – and that’ very true with your Blog.
2. No Promotion
With so many Blogs and Sites existing, it is hard for People to read your Blog all the Time. Also, Search Engine results keep varying based on the Relevance and Popularity of the Sources.
Thus, you must Make Sure to Promote your Content through Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon etc.) and Blog Networks. Never wait for the Search Engines or your Readers to Promote – though that is important too.
Proactively Promote Blog Content for Better Traffic
3. Content Not Optimized for Search Engines
If the content in your Blog is not optimized for Search Engines, then over a period of time the Traffic decrease.
Though you have been writing and promoting Content, the Search Engines are unable to find them. Since, most readers reach Blogs or Sites from Search Engines results – it is essential that your Content is optimized.
4. Poor Design
Though this is not a direct cause for Losing Traffic, a Bad Design can prevent one-time and occasional readers to reach your Blog again.
This is more of a non-verbal reason than a tangible one, but it can surely impact the Traffic.
5. Poor Networking
Network with your Readers. Network with your fellow Niche Bloggers.
Without these networks, it is difficult for your Blog to Survive and attract more Traffic. Your Blog is part of the “huge” Blogosphere and Networking is essential to thrive.
To Summarize…
Here are the Top 5 Reasons why your are losing Traffic on your Blog (make sure to correct them, if there’s a problem):
- Stale Content
- No Promotion
- Content not Optimized for Search Engines
- Poor Design
- Poor Networking
Know of any other Reason to lose Traffic on a Blog. Share it with us!
Ethics and your Blogging Business
By | October 1, 2010 | 3 Comments
Professional Blogging is a Business. As with every Business, it is absolutely necessary to be Ethical with Blogging.
We all take care to be Good to ourselves, when running a Blog.
But how can we be Good to our Readers and Fellow Bloggers?
No Plagiarism
Plagiarism is one serious thing, that can greatly affect the Credibility of your Blog. The Primary Attribute of a Blogger is Authenticity and Credibility – and plagiarism can do serious damage, to both these!
But, never confuse Plagiarism with the usage of Excerpts and References to related content. They are always good and healthy to your Blogging Business. As a thumb rule, make sure to keep in mind the following, before including relevant content in your Blog Posts:
- Check if the Content can be Referred or Used with Attribution (Best way is to the check the Copyright Information on the Source Website/Blog)
- Make sure the Source Content is not Paid/Premium. If yes, chances are high that it cannot be Referred or Reused
- If in doubt, contact the Source Content Owner to clarify any questions before using the content
No Spam
When your Blog gets Subscribers – you not only Get their Email Addresses, but also their Trust.
Avoid Misusing the Trust or their Email Addresses at any cost. Don’t Spam your Subscribers. Before publishing content to your Subscribers make sure to ask yourself the following questions:
- Will I be happy to receive such content or promotion in my Inbox?
- Does it add Value to your Subscribers?
- Did you experience the Benefit yourself, before recommending to your Subscribers?
No Promotion to Illegal Content
At any cost, don’t promote Illegal Content. It marks a scar on your Blog’s reputation and though you may get immediate benefits, they may not work well on a long term.
Some examples of Illegal Content include:
- Pirated Software
- Illegal Distribution of Copyrighted Videos
- Sharing Paid eBooks or other Material for Free
- Selling Email Addresses
- Sharing or Promoting Confidential Information
In short, don’t promote or share anything, that you won’t do, if it was your own!
No to Offensive Content
Never publish anything on your Blog that can be offensive to your Primary Readers. That not only hurts their emotion, but also can damage the reputation of your Blog.
I want to be clear on the message here! Your Blog’s primary niche may be a generally offensive content – but that’s not what I am talking about.
Don’t do or publish anything that might be Offensive to the Primary Readers of your Blog, in your own Niche!
To Conclude
Be always nice to your Readers. Not just that – be nice to your Fellow Bloggers and other Internet Marketers you deal with. After all, your Blog is part of the Big Ecosystem and it cannot flourish without being nice to others in the System. Being Ethical also makes you an Inspiration and Illustration for others to emulate! Happy Blogging.
Photo Credit: Creative commons
A Lesson learned from Bryan, put to use!
By | September 25, 2010 | 2 Comments
I had the privilege of watching the session SEO Copywriting Made Simple for Freelance Writers, by Brian Clark yesterday in the International Freelancers Day.
Here is a lesson I learned and put to use, almost immediately!
One of the important SEO tip he shared, was to maintain a single page repository of your Prime content. This not only helps in Internal Linking, but also helps you focus on promoting and tracking the SEO of just the repository page rather than all the individual Blog Posts. Awesome!
I followed his advice and created my first repository page on Blogging tips – click here to view the tips
By the way, International Freelancers Day seminars have been awesome so far. It’s running today too – if you have still not registered, do so here! There are some awesome sessions to come yet.
How to Keep your Blogging Motivation Alive?
By | September 24, 2010 | 5 Comments
I have seen many, who Start a Blog, Love and Live with it for sometime and finally Lose the Motivation and let it die. A lot of hard work in Building the Blog, gets wasted for the Loss of Motivation. If you are one, don’t worry!
There are many others like you and I am one of them too. Here are a few solid tips to keep your Blogging Motivation Alive!
1. Keep Reading
Believe me – the more your Read, the more you feel the urge to Write. Don’t just read content on your Blog’s Niche. Read everything around, that makes sense to your Profession and your Life.
Another side effect of Reading is – you get a lot of Potential Topics and Ideas to write about. Think about reading on a Top Product and the urge to Write a Review about it!
2. Run Blog Series and Regulars
Another main reason to lose motivation – is running short of Content to write. A Simple Way to over come this problem, is to maintain a Blog Series and Regular Posts in your Blog. This also lets your readers know, when and what to expect from your Blog. Some Ideas around this are:
- Choose a Topic and Write a Series of Posts around it
- Write a Weekly/Monthly roundup posts, with links to Top Content in your Niche
- Write Periodic Product Reviews
- Run a Video Tutorial or Interview Series…
3. Invite Guest Writers
What’s better than getting more traffic your way – with not writing a post for sometime. This can be easily achieved, by building a Network of Guest Writers for your Blog.
Deliberately advertise in your Blog, that you are looking for Guest Writers and Invite Applications from them. Offer incentives like AdSense Revenue Sharing, Paid Writing etc.
4. Write in the Mornings
This is my favorite. I write most of my Blog Posts in the morning – at least the Post outlines! I complete them probably later in the day.
You write the best, when your mind is fresh after a Good night’s sleep. Try this magic tip and let me know if that works for you!
5. Keep Promoting your Blog Posts
Use Social Media to constantly promote your Posts. Don’t restrict yourself just to the new posts – but also the old ones which you think are worth propagating. Believe me, the feel of people sharing and talking about your Blog Posts goes a long way towards boosting the Blogging Motivation
Can you think of something else to keep your Blogging Motivation Alive? We are all ears…
Photo Credit: Darcy McCarty
Setup GoDaddy Nameservers for VPS Hosted Domains [Tutorial]
By | September 17, 2010 | 6 Comments
Are you planning to move from Shared Hosting to Managed VPS Hosting? Do you have the Domain Names registered with GoDaddy and want to use them with your VPS?
Here is a step-by-step tutorial to help you do it!
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The Client Machine – A New WordPress Theme!
By | September 3, 2010 | 4 Comments
Here is an incredible WordPress 3.0 Theme just released by FreelanceFolder and you are going to love it as a Freelancer! And, it’s called the Client Machine!
What’s so cool about this Theme? Read on to find about it.
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Have WordPress Questions? Your Answer is here!
By | August 29, 2010 | 1 Comment
Ever encountered a situation where you were scouting for WordPress developers to solve a problem in hand? Ever spent hundreds of dollars in getting an answer for otherwise simple WordPress problem? Your life is about to become simpler.
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