Small Things Make a Difference

Today I want to talk about a couple of things that can make a big difference.

1. Make sure your "Email this Post" is turned on. A good friend of mine pointed this out. This is a good way to get it distributed to people who may not have knowledge of your site.

2. Have your links open in a new window! I think this is a very important one. If someone clicks on a link you have provided you want them to be directed to that site but you also want them to stay at your site. If you don't have them to open in a new window, then you risk their attention being redirected to other possible links at other sites. It requires basic html knowledge so I will give you an example:
Say you are going to check out some credit resources.. notice that in the second link I added target="_blank". This is what makes it open in a new window.

Fight Back Against Stolen Content

Publishing your website can be one of the most exciting times for a business owner. After all of your hard work and persistence, the whole world now has access to your products or services. You have either paid hundreds of dollars to have someone write your site content for you, or you have put your heart and soul (not to mention hour upon hour of hard work) into creating content of which you can be proud. In either case, you've invested time and/or money into your website copy. Now that it is out there for the whole world to see, it may be a target for all kinds of unscrupulous individuals.

Copyright infringement is a very common occurrence on the World Wide Web. How do you protect yourself? And, what can you do if someone steals your content?
It's important for you to know that anything you have written is copyrighted. You can register a copyright, but you don't need to in order for it to be illegal for someone to copy or reproduce your work without your permission. Any written text, painting, drawing, musical composition, photograph or computer program, be they published or not is protected by copyright law. Unfortunately, just because your work is copyrighted doesn't mean it is safe. Some individuals don't know that copyright laws apply to the internet, and others simply don't care.

With millions of websites out there, it's difficult to know if your website has been targeted by thieves. A great tool to use in the protection of your website content is www.copyscape.com. Simply enter your website URL and it will scan the web for you. This is a free service, but if you have been a frequent victim of copyright infringement, you might want to consider their paid service, which automatically scans the web regularly for any duplicates of your content.

What do you do if you are one of the unfortunate victims of copyright infringement? How can you deal with the offender and avoid the high cost of litigation? The following are some simple steps that you can take to ensure that the infringer removes your material from their website.

1. Contact the offender. You can usually visit the "contact" page of the offender's website to obtain their contact information. If for some reason you can't find their coordinates that way, you can perform a search for "who is" to find many sites that can provide information about the website owner by simply entering their URL. The website owner's contact information should be posted here, but if not, their website host will be and you should contact them. Keep your first contact civil. Calling or emailing the responsible individual with a stern, yet professional demeanor will be much more effective than yelling or name calling. Remember that the owner of the site isn't necessarily the writer, and if they are, then being nasty may not have the desired effect and in fact may create more problems for you in the long run.

2. Send a cease and desist order. If your initial contact didn't get the desired results, your next step should be to send a cease and desist order. You do not need to hire a lawyer to create one for you. A simple search for "cease and desist order templates" should give you an order that can be altered to meet your needs. Send one copy by email and one copy by registered mail and make it look as official as possible. Include a date by which the material should be removed. You want the offender to know that you mean business

3. If action is still not taken, send a cease and desist order to the offending party's web host. Again, the host information is available by performing a search for "who is". The majority of hosts will take action by temporarily removing the offender's site until the copied material is removed.

4. The situation should be resolved at step 3, but one more step that can be taken is to notify search engines of the infringement. Performing a search for the "DMCA" or "Digital Millennium Copyright Act" policies for each search engine will provide the information you need to contact each of them in order to request that the offender's website be removed.

Finally, it's always advisable to protect yourself by keeping records of the dates your content was placed on your site. This ensures that the other party can be proven wrong it they claim to have posted their content first.

Placing your website and it's content on the internet for the world to see is a proud moment. It's nearly impossible for you to be able to prevent the theft of its content, but the next best thing is knowing what to do if it does happen

Hire a Programmer to Create Your Logo

I have always had a secret passion for web design, however, I stink at it. If you're like me then you are probably better off hiring programmers for this sort of thing. If you are a serious blogger then you either want a custom web design or your own logo to make you stand out. This is something I'll be working on in the future to help brand this blog. What are you doing to help your blog stand out?

Forums Are Our Friend

I wrote on my other blog 'Blogging with Cents' about the benefits of forums and thought I would mention it here. It's a great way to increase traffic, gain friends, and take in a huge amount of knowledge. I would be lost if it wasn't for many of these forums. You can get answers to your questions fast. If you haven't been to that blog, then head on over and check it out. I provided a list of the ones I'm a part of and that may interest you as well. Just a tip: Make sure you keep up where you start threads and don't overwhelm yourself by registering with all of them. Start with one and go from there.

A Loan For Your Blogging Career

Are you a serious blogger? Would you consider personal loans just to setup your money making venture? If you did get a loan, what would you use it for?

I know some people have thought about this and you really need to evaluate your intentions and potential first. It's really easy to want to get a cash loan so you can get a new blog design, your own host & domain, and stuff for your home office but if you're not sure you'll succeed in your money making venture, why spend the extra dough. Start out free and work your way up. Make a plan and if you're going to buy anything, buy a domain name first. You can always transfer that from a free host to a paid host later. Take baby steps and don't get caught up in all the hype to redesign and such. Do what's best for you.

10 Tips for Becoming a Great Blogger

Successful blogging is not just about being the best writer on the web or even the most prolific. Being a successful blogger is about creating a connection with an audience by providing relevant content, nurturing that relationship with comments and links and keeping the dialogue flowing. Here are ten tips to get you started...

1. Understand the fundamentals of Blogger Relations

While anyone can set up a blog in a day and start publishing articles, it takes far more work to be a great blogger and see the real benefits of blogging. First, you need to have a blogging strategy that is in line with your PR strategy and business goals. Next, you have to provide relevant content. Most importantly, you must conduct what is called Blogger Relations. Blogger Relations is what blogging is all about—starting and maintaining a conversation. Unlike Public Relations or media relations where you are trying to pitch your story, with Blogger Relations you initiate and participate in ongoing discussions with other bloggers and your target audience. As the conversation progresses, you get to know the other players in your industry; you gain credibility by listening as well as commenting; and you gain new readers as other bloggers provide links back to your blog to give you credit for your ideas. The more you conduct Blogger Relations, the more successful your blogging will be.
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Unorganized

I have been so busy with my new blog lately that I haven't kept up with my other 2 blogs like I should. I think I need some kind of time tracking book to manage my time and business matters better. All my blogs are very important to me so I need to get it together and get organized! If you have any blog organizing tips or management tools, let me in on them please.

Linky Love with My New Blog

If you're still on blogspot or some other free hosting, and are ready to make the change to paid web hosting, then you should out my top 10 web host picks on my other blog. I would love to see what you think of my new blog as well. I also wrote another post on Blog Advertising for Free so if you're cheap like me, then you may want to check that out as well!!

If you are interested in link exchanges on this blog or my new blog, please contact me in the comments or via email.

Start Your Marketing Campaign with Emails

If you are someone looking for a more professional email promotion internet marketing service, then you might want to check out emailexpressdirect.com. They basically provide you with the super easy tools to create professional messages for your email marketing campaigns. They are self-serve which means you don't have to know any html to create these emails. They also offer a full service email management. You no longer have to keep up with everything. They oversee your subscriber list, delivery, and more.

They have a subscription plan or a pay as you go plan. If you are not sure about it, you can always try their awesome free trial. Send a free email campaign to 30 contacts or less each month. Run as many free trials as you want with no risk or obligation!!!

I think if you are serious about making money online like I am, then an email marketing campaign is essential! This is definitely a great program to get started with.

Take Action Against Spammers

I just recently noticed my entire content on another site without my permission. They are getting it through my feed. Don't ask me how because I really don't know how it all works. I will tell you this. If you come across a site that has "taken" your content, then you need to do a couple of things.
First, you need to leave a comment asking them to remove the content from their site.
Second, you need to report it. The site I found was on Blogspot, so I reported it to Blogger, as well as, Google.
Third, you can put a warning in your feed footer. Something like "if you are not reading this at ______, then you are reading stolen content." I would also include an email so they can inform you of any thieves they come across.

I came across an informative article on this just a few minutes ago. Check out "How to Complain and Report Spam Blogger Blogs" over at Quick Online Tips.

Darren, over at Problogger was kind enough to reply to my email about this situation. He was already aware of the situation because his content is on this site as well. Thank you Darren for the lightning fast reply to my email.

DoshTalk Forum

I love to browse forums these days. You can learn some valuable information, as well as, meet some great new friends. One that is new but quickly becoming one of my favorites is DoshTalk. I really like the layout. It's more eye appealing than your average forum and is very user friendly. One of my favorite things about it, which I just learned this evening, is that there is only section where you are allowed to post your affiliate links and such. The rest of the forum is off limits to this kind of marketing. I think this is great. It means, there is a better chance of getting REAL infomation instead of someone trying to "sell" something. I recommend you check it out when you get a chance. I have found it informative and enjoyable.

Blogspot to Website for FREE

I have been contemplating on getting my own website. Blogspot is fine for "A Cowboy's Wife" but for my B Money Savvy, it's not.(Which is need of a HUGE overhaul!)

One of the main issues that has kept me from switching is, of course, the cost. I was lucky enough to come across a featured article about How to Make Your Own Website for Free. Yep, you heard it right...for FREE! Obviously, a free website may have certain limitations that a paid website might not have but it would be a great start. Not to mention, a website has more respect than blogspot.

Jay over at Online Opportunity explains in a 4-part series how to get started and even provides images for us morons;) I think, after reading the article, I'm ready for this change and feel confident that I can set it up myself. I really want my "money" blog to succeed and having a website will be an enormous improvement.

If you have any advice, tips, or just want to put your 2 cents in...then please feel free to leave a comment.

4 Effective ways to increase traffic volume

It’s not difficult to drive traffic to your site, once you know how to. Below are 4 simple ways that can help you achieve that:

1. Post topics that are interesting. Be creative, and make sure you brand what your writing about. Add your own personal spin to it. Make your post simple, conversational and short. Try to make it strait to the point without rushing things. You should also regularly update the blog so that more visitors will check your blog every now and then.

3. Make sure to take full advantage FeedBurner and provide a FULL RSS FEED. This really simple syndication will allow others to subscribe and syndicate your blog. This can also make it easier for other sites or blogs to link you, as well as providing yourself some authority and credibility as well.

3. Although some people may disagree with this, I personally find it effective. I from time to time try to add links to other websites in my post as it will greatly increase the change of search engines indexing me. So don’t be afraid to put links in your website from time to time.

4. Always, always, always reply to your comments. I personally like to reply on my both my website, and theres. This way you show your readers that you really care about there contributions. Not only do you build friendships this way, you are in turn earning yourself backlinks as well.

These are just a few simple tips that I find to be very effective. Previously I made a more elaborate post on what I feel is the most important traffic generating techniques (Getting New Readers) I highly recommend you check out.

Blogging with Organization

After 3 solid months of blogging, I have come to realize that I need some sort of organization. Implementing some kind of time management is essential too otherwise I'm on the computer ALL DAY!!!

I was over at ProBlogger today and found a great post on

Staying Organized with a Blog Binder. Whether or not you use the binder, it provides some excellent tips on how to stay organized and be more efficient with your blogging.

I have already started setting up my blog binder so maybe I can spend a little less time on the computer and more time living life!

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Ebooks~~FREE 50+Page BLOG RESOURCE

I was checking out one of my favorite blogs yesterday and saw they you can get a free 50+ page resource report called Blog Profits BluePrint.

This would be a very useful resource, especially, for beginner bloggers. I think you'll find that it's well worth the download(pdf). Get Your Copy Today.

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5 Tips To Get Your Blog Started and Make Money Online

New to blogging, ready to earn some money, and not sure where to start?? Here are some quick tips to get you going in the right direction.

1. Setup your blog. I recommend blogger.com. I find that is super easy to use. Great for an amatuer. If you would rather have a website, then I recommend Start Logic. They have great customer service, 4.95 a month, and an easy to use dashboard. Be sure to think of a catchy title.

2. Make your first post. If you are having a hard time thinking of something to write for now, then I suggest using Article City. Here you are allowed to copy and paste the articles..just be sure to include the author's info. I recommend that you try to come up with your own content though.

3. If you haven't signed up with Google Adsense, then do so. I also recommend you try Bidvertiser. They have a lower threshold and I have made more with them than Google Adsense. Add adsense in your page.

4. Add some ads..especially relevant to your blog. I personally have made more money through affiliate programs. I recommend these... ClickBank, LinkShare, Traffic Payouts, ROI Rocket, PayLoadz Sell Downloads.....these are just a few. Take a look around my page and you'll find others you can use.

5. Finally, I would add a counter. Just so you can see how much traffic you're getting. Many people use StatCounter because they provide several statistics, however, I use Amazing Counters. I think it's simple and easy..and I use Google Analytics for all my "technical" info.

These are just a few tips to get you started. Check out other blogs to give you some ideas. Good luck in with your ventures.
This is my last post this week...I'll be out of town for the weekend!!

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A Good Article for Bloggers

I found this article about an issue that "wanna-be-successful" bloggers face. I hope you enjoy it.

The Pressures of Blogging Consistently


At some point, all bloggers feel the pressure of trying to blog consistently. No one ever said blogging was easy. Sometimes it can be a fun activity while other times it can feel like a daunting chore. A little bit of pressure is a good thing, because it can motivate you to write high quality articles on a regular basis. However, too much pressure can get in the way of one’s natural ability to post frequently.

Fortunately, there are many ways to effectively deal with the pressures of blogging. The following is a list of the pressures I have experienced and the methods I have used to overcome them:
Read them here

Getting New Readers-3 Part Series---PART 3

I combined parts 1 and 2...if you didn't get to read them you can scroll down or
Read them here.

16. Blog Carnivals - submitting posts to Blog Carnivals.

17. Memes - I’ve picked up a handful of wonderful friends and readers through initiating the “Thursday Thirteen. Yeah, a meme. Bloggers want to know about bloggers, not just the business aspect of it but the *person* writing the blog. Reading a quick list of “getting to know me” type tidbits gives me instant inside information on whether or not I will become a regular visitor. Some participants have used it solely to gain business, but frankly I think that turns people away. People are interested in people first, and what they do second. It works.

18. Frequent Posting - I also try to post frequently. I find that the more I post, the more readers I have. The less comments, but the more readers.”

19. Guest Bloggers - I invite other bloggers to guest blog and allow always one link back to their site. I have 3 active guest authors … and in return they link to my site from time to time.

20. Get Links from Other Blogs - Getting mentioned on other sites and blogs in the same niche, I think, has been the best way to get a readership who keeps returning to a blog. Make contact with other bloggers in yoru niche via comments, email, AIM, skype, homing pigeons - whatever.

21. Newsletters - The Zookoda newsletter provides nice spikes and people tend to forward the newsletter to their friends.

22. Social Networks - Submit your story to Digg and reddit and, regardless of whether it makes the front page or not, you get 50-100 free hits. The easiest way to generate quick exposure. Failing that, comment frequently on blogs that you like. With any luck, the blog author will want to find out more about you, follow the link to your blog, and perhaps write a post referencing one of your posts.

23. Pitch Your Posts - I view other bloggers as a PR pros view journalists working in traditional media. I reach out to bloggers using tactics successfully employed in the world of professional media relations. For instance, I “pitch” specific posts that they might find adds value to topics they are writing about. I also send email introducing them to my blog, but only if there’s a good fit between my blog and theirs. The key is to be very selective in approaching the “media gatekeeper”–just as successful and smart media relations people do.


These are just some ideas to help get new readers...Good Luck!

23 Ideas for Getting New Readers~~3-Part Series

This will be a 3 part series on how to get new readers to your blog.

1. Comment on Related Blogs - Commenting on related blogs is
probably the most effective strategy early on in the process. And responding to
comments when people leave them on your blog (this encourages them to keep coming back). I visit other blogs in my niche, add them to my feed and
participate in the discussion on their blogs via the comments. Writing interesting comments often gets people to click through to see your site.


2. Join Forums - I’ve found that one very quick way to infuse
readers to a new blog is to be active in discussion forums related to your blog topic. Locate posts that ask for help with something you are familiar with and share your experience.

3. Write Effective Post Titles - Simple and to the point. The title should
create an instant urge to read the entire post… But of course it should be related to the topic of your blog.

4. Interviews - One example being to interview fellow bloggers who are in
the same niche as me. This has gone down well, and has been great for both myself and the interviewee as traffic flows between us.

5. Persist - Persistence is key. After starting up a new blog last month and letting go of another this month, I notice that traffic (quality traffic) doesn’t
happen over night.

6. Connect with Local Bloggers - The other thing I’ve been doing just
recently is connecting up with other bloggers in my city and the neighboring towns. We’ve got something of a link exchange going and a nice side-effect to this is that I/we have discovered that there are quite a few more bloggers and/or website authors in the area than ever expected.

7. Give Away Free Stuff - There have been some success with giving away
free stuff, like free templates for WordPress. It doesn’t give a lot of new readers, but the templates give lots and lots of new links to the blog, giving it a much better pagerank in Google, which in turn should mean more readers from search-engines.

8. Be Opinionated - Be opinionated, but encourage opposing viewpoints in
the comments. Opinionated makes you interesting - encouraging other perspectives makes you essential.

Read part 2
I hope you got some ideas from part 1..now here is part 2


9. Ask Questions of Other Bloggers - Ask questions of other moderately successful bloggers and try to network. If you shoot too high, you’ll often get blown off because these people have so much stuff to read and deal with.

10. Use Trackbacks - Sending highly creative and penetrating trackbacks about a blogger’s original post.

11. Advertise - Buy advertising space on related websites.

12. Educate Readers about RSS - Create a page in WordPress called Feeds which not only has the RSS icon on it but a description of what a “feed” is and what are some of the most common ways to subscribe and use feeds, mostly pulled from a CC article.

13. Offline Promotion - Talk to friends, family and coworkers about them… you’d be surprised how much the traditional way of “networking” really does work…. also Business cards, depending which blog I’ll post on a community board at a grocery store.

14. Search Engine Optimization -Properly optimizing my blog has been a big boost to my readership. Once I figured out how to play around with SEO I started getting a regular 25-35% of my hits from Google.

15. Quality Content- Posting only quality content.. obviously! Better posts are discussed more, increasing both the number of comments and references in other blogs.

Income Streams for Bloggers - How they Make Money from Blogs

Advertising Programs - Perhaps the most obvious changes in the past few months have been with the addition of a variety of viable advertising options for bloggers. The most common way bloggers seem to earn money online is via the contextual ad program from Google Adsense. Another popular one with many is BlogAds. A more recent addition that many are using successfully are CrispAds, and Text Link Ads.

Element Ads, Bidvertiser, Adbrite, and Axandra just to name a few.

RSS Advertising - The past 12 months have seen some advances in RSS Advertising also. I’m yet to hear of any bloggers making big money through it to this point - but as improvements are made to the ad programs exploring this I’m sure we’ll start to see examples of it being profitable.

Incorporating Affiliates- Obivously, affiliates are a big part of a bloggers income. ClickBank, LinkShare, AuctionAds, PayLoadz, ROI Rocket, Traffic Payouts, and Agloco. These only name a few.

Donations - Tip Jars and donation buttons have been a part of blogging for years now but this last year saw a number of bloggers go full time after fundraising drives. Perhaps the most high profile of these was Jason Kottke of kottke.org who through the generosity of his readership was able to quit his job and become a full time blogger.

As time rolls on there are more and more ways that bloggers make money from their blogs opening up. Feel free to suggest your own ideas and experiences in comments below.