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Establishing Your Freelance Niche Authority

This is the third post in the Series of Part Time Money Making! To view all posts in this Series, you can visit this page. I welcome your suggestions or opinions to make this Series more helpful to you.

Once you identify the Freelancing or Part Time Skill, the next step is to establish your Authority in the Skill (or Niche as I prefer to call it). Some people have a misconception that Authority comes with Time & Experience, but that’s not True. It is an essential part of your “Freelancing Bootstrap” and we will look at a few simple ways to establish the “Freelance Niche Authority”
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Filed Under: Freelancing, Part Time Money Series
→ October 31, 2010
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Blog Achievers : Pradeep of HellBoundBloggers

Here I am with another edition of the Blog Achievers Series!  I am happy to interview Pradeep of HellBoundBloggers.com, who is in College pursuing his Degree and running a Highly Successful Blog.  In addition, he also runs a WordPress Freelancing Business and I am sure his Blog has helped him make a Good Money!

He is definitely an inspiration to all those budding Bloggers out there, who are looking to Start and Blog in a Big Way.  I enjoyed Interviewing him and I hope you find it interesting to know about his Journey so far!

The Interview

Ashwin: Hello Pradeep! Nice to have you here at BigSalesCoach. Can you Introduce yourself and your Blog to our readers?

Pradeep: I am S.Pradeep Kumar, Founder and CEO of HellBound Bloggers (HBB). Am a part time blogger, freelancer, consultant, typical engineering student and a recent Open Source Addict.

HBB is about Technology, Blogging, Product/Website Reviews, Social Media and Tutorials. Almost covers all the major technical topics on the web.

Ashwin: What are 3 Key Techniques you use to attract Quality Traffic to your Blog?

Pradeep: Unfortunately I learned how to treat my blog properly only after 5-6 months after launching my blog. The techniques am using till now are :

1. Commenting : Normally branded comments on branded blogs/websites brings good no. of visitors. I tried this trick, and worked fantastic.

2. Guest Articles : Backlinks + Targeted Traffic. What else you can expect? ;)

3. Social Media : Even for Social Media, I came to know the power of it after several months. Facebook and Twitter are the top referral sites for me.

Ashwin: That’s great to know. Can you Share when and how did Your Blog Start Making Money?
Pradeep: Since I didn’t know the fact that I can earn some hard bucks through my blog, I didn’t care about it. But all of a sudden, I got an Email from a lady, requesting me to do a sponsored review.

That was the beginning, I even have that Email safe with me.. :D

And after that I monetized my blog with some direct ads, Adsense, TechnoratiMedia and others.

Ashwin: What are the Additional Channels or Prospects that Your Blog opened up for You?

Pradeep: I started HBB at the age of 17 I believe and I had no intention, no aim, nothing on my mind. Just wanted to share something I know, and it later developed into a web community.

Ashwin: What are your 3 Tips to anyone Starting with Professional Blogging and looking to Make Money?

Pradeep: #1 – Forget the money factor – Just blog and do your best, and then money flows.

#2 – Choose the right niche – Think twice and decide which platform you are talented in.

#3 – Encourage others to blog – Maybe your school or college mates.

Ashwin: Great! Thanks Pradeep for all your time and I am sure our Readers will benefit from your Blogging Tips and Experience

Hey Reader, I am sure you must have enjoyed this Interview. Young Bloggers achieving a Lot, is a Great Motivation for all of us and we should learn some good lessons from these Blog Achievers! Signing off, until I see you in another Edition of the Blog Achievers!

Filed Under: Blog Achievers, Post Series
→ September 24, 2010
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How to Keep your Blogging Motivation Alive?

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

Filed Under: Blog Business
→ June 29, 2010
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10 Tips to Make the Blogging Process More Efficient




When you started blogging, you probably had no idea of the time that it would take. You wanted to make content that was easily readable and distribute it to the world. Writing 300-500 words a day sounds easy, but it takes a lot of time and planning to do it efficiently. Here are ten tips that will help make the process more efficient.

1. Keep a list

Carry a memo pad with you to capture the moments when you say, ‘I should write a post about that,’ or ‘that’s pretty interesting.’ When you sit down to write a blog post, you will have a ready-made source of ideas so that you can spend your time writing instead of daydreaming.

2. Schedule posts

Most blogging software allows you to schedule your posts. With scheduling, you can get ahead of the game and pre-write posts that are fascinating or important to you and still keep the schedule that you’ve set up. You can also back-date posts in case you miss a day.

3. Stay focused

Writing in a Notepad window with your browser closed is the best way to stay focused on what you are writing. That way, you are not distracted with the latest and greatest events which are occurring in the world. Turn your phone off for a few minutes, and put your hands on the keyboard.

4. To-Do lists

There are plenty of things for you to keep track of. To do lists act as reminders of what needs to be done for that day and the coming day. Throughout the day, keep a list of the things which need to be done to keep your blog running. You won’t be suck for something to do.

5. Use Pen and paper

Hand writing is a wonderful way to disconnect from the fast-paced internet world. You write slower and have more time to think about what you’re writing down. As a result, the quality of your posts will improve. If you type too many words a minute, the meaning can be lost from the brain to the keyboard.

6. Develop Recurring Series

Inspiration can often strike to write a series of posts about one specific subject. These posts often build upon one another and are written concurrently. Give your readers bite-sized posts which tackle a specific topic. Write a story and separate it into parts.

7. Create time limits

Working under deadline produces some amazing results. Set yourself a time limit for how long you will work on the blog post. Make sure that it is a hard limit, and your brain will soon conform to the schedule that you’ve set. This is a great method that can be used for people who are constantly running.

8. Don’t worry about SEO

A lot of time gets wasted in discovering how the proper keywords are going to be put into a post. Writing the post naturally will make it more entertaining to read. You will save yourself a lot of time by eliminating the SEO restrictions.

9. Use your passion

Passionate writing makes for fast writing. There is little time spent for the research because your topic has already been studied. Readers are much more interested in hearing what you have to say if you’re writing from the heart.

10. Don’t edit your content away

Editing often removes the passion from a piece. Bloggers sometimes spend hours working on a post, crafting it so just the right words are used. Sometimes a post can be edited away to nothing. Stick with only one or two editing passes and your readers will be thankful.

Blogging efficiently takes focus, inspiration and practice. When you sit down at the keyboard, you should have something which is itching to get onto the page. Good luck, and happy blogging!

Filed Under: Blog Business
→ May 9, 2010
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How to NOT Suck at Blogging?

Many People start their Blog with a Bang. Everything goes Great and Traffic starts coming in. Suddenly, they start sucking at Blogging! Their Content Sucks! Design Sucks! And, Ultimately the Traffic!

Hmm… Sounds dramatic but this can happen to your well-nurtured Blog too! So, How to NOT Suck at Blogging?

Don’t Post a Set of Links, because you don’t know what else to!

You have a Series of Drafts and Start Posting them one after another.  One fine day – you realise, there is nothing to Post.  You can’t think of anything, that’s worthy of posting.

Resist your temptation to post a Set of Links to News Items or Others’ Blog Posts.  Though an occasional shot at this might be useful, don’t make this a Habit.

Web is full of links, and nobody wants another bunch at their RSS Feed.

Don’t Blog (only) for Money!

A Blog full of Affiliate Links and Banners – makes you look desperate for Money.

Worse even, your Content might be lost among those links.

Avoid Excessive Affiliate Banners at any Cost!

Don’t Switch your Blog Niche, every Week!

Identify a Niche for your Blog and try (your best) to stick to it.  Though occasional Niche Switches are acceptable, depending on the Traffic and Popularity – frequent niche changes confuse the readers and sometimes you!

If you desperately want to switch the Niche – think through it and perform it in a systematic way.  Again, don’t do it every week!

Don’t Live with a Shabby Design

Though you may start with a Moderate Design, when your Blog is still naive and looking for Traffic – make sure to give it an uplift once the Blog grows.

A Shabby Design always sucks!  Grab a nice theme, Hire a Designer (if required) and make your Blog look good.

Though Shabby Design don’t affect the Traffic – it leaves an impression (many times, a bad one!) in the minds of your Readers.

Don’t Be Monotonous

Not all your Readers want to know, what you did the last weekend.  Neither all your Readers want to know, what you think about the Recent Elections.

Maintain a Healthy Type of Posts and keep writing across them.  Write a Tutorial, Give a Tip, Post a Review and if possible, Interview someone in your Niche.

Being Monotonous, is no less than Sucking!

That’s all I wanted to say.  So what do you think about Sucking at Blogging?  Let’s talk.

Filed Under: Blog Business
→ January 26, 2010
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Why Professional Blogging can be really dangerous?

blogging-dangerous

The recent celebrities in the Social Web, are the Professional Bloggers.  They blog for others and grow themselves in the process.  Are you longing to be one?  But do you know that professional blogging can be really dangerous?  Read on to identify, if you are ready to get into this dangerous world of Professional Blogging.

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Filed Under: Blog Business
→ December 28, 2009
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Beyond Blogging – an eBook from the Experts

beyondblogging

There has been a flurry of eBooks around – but this promises to be a good one.  Beyond Blogging is an eBook featuring case studies on the Top 15 Bloggers in the world and their interviews, which promise to be extremely motivating. Some of the Prominent names in the list include – Darren Rowse, Brian Clark, Chris Guillebeau, Chris Brogan….

The eBook authored by two exciting guys – Nathan Hangen and Mike CJ – is already out for purchase.  An affiliate program is soon to launch – so sign up here and watch out for the updates in your Inbox.

Also an interesting Twitter Contest from Beyond Blogging is on and it just takes a bunch of tweets from you to participate.  So what are you waiting for?  Join the party and enjoy the happiness of reading and sharing, this holiday season.

Filed Under: Blog Business
→ October 6, 2009
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Start your Professional Blog with a Bang, using these Power Tips

Professional Blogging involves a lot more commitment and planning, when compared to casual blogging. So how to start your Professional Blogging journey with a Bang? This post will give you all the essentials.

What is Professional Blogging?

By Professional (or Pro) Blogging, I mean running a Blog that has a dedicated niche and targeted group of audience. Also such a Blog would eventually become a platform for selling related services, products and ultimately start making money.

Tip #1 : Choose your Brand Name wisely

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Filed Under: Blog Business
→ October 4, 2009
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How to Retain your Blog Readership?

You have hard earned the readers for your Wonderful Blog.  Now the most important question comes up – How do you retain your readers?  How do you make sure that none of the readership is lost, during the course of your Blogging journey?

Follow these simple but useful techniques to make sure that your readership curve is always on the steeper side.  After all, readers are the sole purpose of your Blog’s existence, aren’t they?
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Filed Under: Blog Business
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