Top 10 Places to Find the Most Popular Blogs

Top 10 Places to Find the Most Popular Blogs by: Andy Wibbels The easiest way to get acquainted with the conventions of the blog format is to start reading them. The more blogs you read, the more you'll get a feel for the depth and breadth of style and subject matter they have to offer. Here are a few sources: Blog Monitors - Blogdex (http://blogdex.com/) - Daypop (http://daypop.com/) - Technorati (http://technorati.com/) These three sites monitor millions of blogs every minute of every day, searching for the top key words being mentioned in blog posts or in the most popular links and sites. It's like being in a huge convention hall eavesdropping on billions of conversations at the same time. This is a fantastic way to do market research and to see what everybody is buzzing about. The collective 'hive' of blogs is often called the blogosphere. Often, links and news bubble up in the blogosphere first, even before they reach your evening television news program. Blog Search Engines and Directories - Blogarama (http://blogarama.com/) - Globe of Blogs (http://globeofblogs.com/) - The Open Directory (http://dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Weblogs/) Just like web sites, there are also directories and search engines devoted to cataloging the ever-growing global network of blogs. Try searching by topic or geographic location. Search Engines - Google (http://google.com/) - Yahoo! (http://yahoo.com/) - A9 (http://a9.com/) As usual, Google and friends to the rescue! These are the more traditional and widely known search engines. Type in some topic and the word 'blogs' and see what results come up. The more specific keywords, the more likely you are to find bloggers talking about what you're interested in. Blogrolls And number ten is the blogroll. Most blogs have a blogroll, which is a list of a blogger's favorite blogs and websites. If you find a blog you like, try checking out the other sites that the blogger likes. You might find other valuable sites and blogs to read. The more your read blogs, the more you'll catch the nuances and conventions that have made them the fastest, easiest, cheapest way to publish online.

Attractive Enhancements For Your Blog

Attractive Enhancements For Your Blog
by Ken Stevenson

Deciding on a blog design solution and implementing it is certainly a sound business decision and should reward the online web site owner with a vast amount of traffic as well as paying customers. Creating a blog is simple, painless, and easy to maintain. Popular blogging sites like WordPress and Blogger offer personalized services, numerous template designs, friendly search engine rankings, and helpful tutorials. Taking advantage of these opportunistic offerings should be a component of any successful online business venture. However, there is more to a blog than simply setting it up, performing routine maintenance, and providing periodic entries. Potential customers and visitors need to have good reasons for visiting your blog and remain as regular loyalists. Several enhancements to a blog can entice and deliver more web surfers when used effectively.
One enhancement that should be seriously considered is the use of video clips. Written text is obviously important and it's the cornerstone of any blog, but adding the occasional video clip can only serve to magnify an online web site's existence. Stephanie Collen, an online business marketer for a major clothing firm, describes the changes when video was introduced to the retailer's site. "Our site was text driven with many pictures and it seemed to be working effectively. When we added video clips to the mix, the results were amazing. A thirty-seven percent increase in traffic and sales rose by twenty-one percent. Video clips are here to stay at our site". Video supplies and software can be found at many places on the internet.
Another blogging business tip involves the use of audio clips and should be another feature for your blog. Collen also suggests using audio as an enhancement for your blog. "When we added video to the site, audio clips were phased out. Many customers complained and the audio section was restored much to their delight. We quickly learned that sound bites sell and never go out of style. It will continue to be a part of our marketing". Adding a few audio clips at opportune spaces on your blog will increase traffic flow and yield new customers. Audio equipment, supplies, and software can also be found at many places on the internet.
If the aforementioned enhancements are too much for your budget at this time, consider using pictures as a tool for driving more visitors to your site. Visual enhancements can sell far better than text only and is appealing to virtually every visitor. Also, if you have a blogging site such as 360 Blog Yahoo, Blogger, or WordPress, you can insert custom-made graphics . Graphics and photo editing software can easily be found with an internet search. Be sure to use the tools that meet your standards.
A blog design solution that incorporates stunning enhancements will make every blogging experience a rewarding endeavor. By using video, audio, and graphical improvements, your online business blog will witness a surge in visitors and customers.

About the Author
About the author: Ken Stevenson is a charter member of Earners Guild. For more information about a blog design solution, visit Earners Guild, where you'll find step-by-step video training for anyone interested in starting or growing an online business.

Paid Blogging: Is This A Scam?

Paid Blogging: Is This A Scam?
By Daniel McGonagle

For those of you who are new, this is the time to start making money through blogging. Profiting from paid blogging is rewarding not only for bloggers, but for advertisers as well. The controversy with paid blogging is more of an issue of the trust a reader has in the blog they read. One of the great things about paid blogging is that the offers/opps give you some great writing prompts. Well there is no doubt in my mind that paid blogging is here to stay and it will definitely have the potential to create many future bloggers who are paid for their writing. Blogging has becoming a way for regular “Joes” to generate an income. Profiting from paid blogging is rewarding not only for bloggers, but for advertisers as well.
Blogging
A new form of online advertising has emerged in the form of paid blogging. The three most important websites associated with paid blogging are ReviewMe, PayPerPost and SponsoredReviews. Thus, while in the case of ReviewMe, advertisers select and contact bloggers, in case of PayPerPost, bloggers themselves make their offers to advertisers after selecting from the posted blogging opportunities on PayPerPost website. If they meet advertiser's conditions they are awarded blogging reviews. But if you're going to make a career outof blogging, you've got to earn money -- enough to live on -- doing it.
Here, paid blogging is a respected job and many rewrite 10-15 posts daily to make ends meet. Like it or not, paid blogging is here to stay.
Tired of failing at making money online? Visit my blog to get a free email course and report http://firsthandmarketingreviews.blogspot.com

Make Money Blogging; Blogging to the Bank 2.0 Review

Make Money Blogging; Blogging to the Bank 2.0 Review
by CL Talbert

Affiliate marketing has become a lot tougher as advertising costs keep going up. One can easily go broke using pay per click search engine marketing sites such as Google AdWords and Yahoo. When these costs get too high you need a solution. How can you find an easy and low cost way to promote your products with out a website? Blogging is a great way to do just that.
Rob Benwell, the author of Blogging to the Bank 2.0, knows what it is like to nearly go broke advertising other people's products. He decided to ignore what all the gurus were saying and do things his own way using a low cost blog. What he calls his "underground techniques" resulted in $1,000 a day in sales. He is now sharing these techniques with affiliate marketers in his latest EBook, Blogging to the Bank 2.0.
This EBook will teach you several different ways to make money blogging such as, how to create cash on demand without a product or a website. He also explains why you should make sure you own your own blog and which hosting company you should use if you are just starting out. He has laid out the most successful step by step blueprint for long term blogging success like, how you can tap into the hottest new niches that have little or no decent competition and which key phrases to target to generate the most money in as fast a time as possible.
Benwell does an amazing job explaining in simple steps how anyone can make money blogging. The information in Blogging to the Bank 2.0 has helped me learn more about blogging and what it can do for my business. If you are searching for a less expensive way to promote other people's products I suggest that you purchase this EBook. Mr. Benwell offers a 100% risk free guarantee. If you do not see a profit within the next 8 weeks he will personally refund you cost for the book.
Blogging to the Bank 2.0 is a great resource for the experienced affiliate marketer as well as the advanced. This will show you how you can save money and earn more promoting other people's products through blogging. Anyone trying to earn a living online should add this to their EBook library. For more information please visit: http://www.bttb.12w.net/

About the Author
Ms. Talbert has been an online marketer since 2003. She has sold on eBay, has been involved with SFI and numerous other Affiliate programs. Currently she writes reviews of marketing and advertising products to aid affiliate marketers and webmasters. To subscribe to her free newsletter visit: http://www.freeinformation.12w.net/. Or visit her blog at: http://cltsmarketingresources.blogsavy.com/

Major Search Engine Submission

Major Search Engine Submission
by Rose DesRochers

Bloggers often ask how to get their blog listed in the major search engines.
Here's how:
1. Submit Directly: Submit your blog via Google's free submitting form. http://www.google.com/addurl/?continue=/addurl
2. Submit your sitemap to Google. http://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/
3. Submit your site to DMOZ, the Open Directory Project. Keep in mind that DMOZ is run by volunteers; therefore it may take some time before you are listed and a submission does not guarantee listing.
4. Get a Qualified Backlink: Get linked from a website that search engines crawl regularly and add your link to forum signatures. Google states, "Google's robots jump from page to page on the web via hyperlinks, so the more sites that link to your pages, the more likely it is that we'll find them quickly."
5. If your blog isn't already listed in Google's Blog search engine, you can submit it manually. Add your blog to Google's Blog Search. http://blogsearch.google.com/ping
It usually takes a new website about a month before it's fully indexed by Google. Google Blog Search indexes blogs by their site feeds, so be sure that you publish a site feed.
Keep in mind that, while Google dominates the web, it isn't the only search engine on the web.
Yahoo Search is one of the major search engines and directories online as well, so you are going to want to submit your blog to Yahoo's Directory. http://add.yahoo.com/fast/add?17051064
It could take eight to ten weeks before you are listed in Yahoo.
Yahoo Site Explorer allows you to explore all the web pages indexed by Yahoo Search. siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com
Submit your blog to Yahoo Site Explorer. siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/submit
Submit Your Feed to the Yahoo! RSS Browse-by-Topic Directory. http://add.yahoo.com/fast/help/us/my/cgi_rss_submission
Submit your Media RSS Feed to Yahoo! Search -http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/submit?
You can submit your blog to Msn at http://search.msn.com.sg/docs/submit.aspx?FORM=WSDD
SubmitExpress.com will submit your blog free to the top 20 + Search engines.
If you don't already have a Technorati account, sign up for one at Technorati.com and claim your blog at Technorati. Technorati is a popular weblog search engine.
Bloggertalk.net offers a list of blog directories where you can also submit your blog to increase your exposure online. http://www.bloggertalk.net/blog_resources-cat-369.html
When submitting to directories, be sure to take the time to read the submission guidelines provided by each blog directory.
Getting listed in the major search engines alone doesn't guarantee traffic. Your blog content guarantees that. Update regularly, provide interesting content and the visitors will come, as will the spider bots.
About the Author
Rose DesRochers is the founder of Blogger Talk Blog Community http://www.bloggertalk.net, a friendly fast growing blogging portal, offering bloggers support, advice, tools, tips and information about blogs and blogging. Visit her blog at Rose DesRochers- World Outside My Window. http://rosedesrochers.todays-woman.net

Secrets Your Competition Does Not Want You To Know About Blogs

Secrets Your Competition Does Not Want You To Know About Blogs
by Karen Cook

There's just no stopping the blog! Whether you have a blog for personal reasons or for business, the blog is here to stay.
If you visit a website looking for information, chances are good there will be a blog on the site. Actually, we've been spoiled. The websites that don't have blogs look like they're missing an appendage.
The reason for this is that websites are known as being static. Updating them can be a hassle. If an online marketer doesn't have a webmaster to turn to, the prospect of getting around to doing it themselves is a little daunting.
Blogs, on the other hand are anything but static. This is why the search engines love them. Search engines love great and constant content.
Of course, the be-all-and-end-all of the great blog is that updating it is downright EASY! Who doesn't want less hassle and headaches while going about your business?
Many marketers just have blogs instead of websites. Yes, it can be done. Especially starting out.
The fastest way to get an internet marketing business up and running is to create a blog to promote your product.
Blogging about your own product or one in which you are affiliated with gets easier all the time. The blogging software is constantly changing. Users are listened to. Their concerns are noted and developers come up with new ways to make the blogging experience even better.
For free blogging platforms:
"Blogger" at https://www.blogger.com/start
"Wordpress" at http://wordpress.org/
Try working with both. It's the only way to find out which one meets your needs. And causes you to do your dance of joy.
When you have your blog set up, you'll begin writing your posts. Don't get all frazzled. Just write as if you were talking with a friend. Visitors will like you better.
What should you be paying strict attention to if you want your blog to be found anytime soon?
KEYWORDS! There isn't anything more important than keywords. You should name your child "Keyword". That's how crucial they are to online marketing.
If you choose, you can purchase superior keyword software to help you with your mission. You can find the software by putting "keyword software" in your search browser.
If the word "Free" causes your eyes to tear up, then check out:
http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/
http://www.goodkeywords.com/
And...never, ever stop researching keywords. It will take time but it's time well spent. You have to research what words your potential buyers are using when they are looking for information online. Single words, phrases and questions. Put yourself in their shoes. What are they thinking?
Then you will put your research to work in creating your blog.
Highly important is the title. Your keyword or phrase MUST be in your title! This is what you want the search engines to notice. When you write your post, you will use them throughout. Not so many times you come off as a raving lunatic. It has to make sense. Read everything aloud. Any glitches will catch on your tongue. It has to sound natural. If not, change it.
When you have your post written as best you can, you'll want to "ping". Yes, there are free services for your "pinging" pleasure.
http://www.technorati.com/
http://pingoat.com/
When you get to these sites, you'll find out what "pinging" is if you don't already know. Briefly, it's a way that sends a message "out there" that you have updated your blog with fresh content. Much better than smoke signals. And the search engine spiders are happy too. So you have a higher ranking.
So if you want to excel at blogging for business, there is a way to do it. And, the only way to do anything is the right way!

About the Author
To get the only information you'll ever need about creating sure-fire money-magnetizing blogs, head to http://www.clickaudit.com/goto/?62855
Karen Cook works in a Public Library where she loves helping her patrons with their blogging requests.

Blogging For Business - Great Reasons For Every Business To

Blogging For Business - Great Reasons For Every Business To
by: John Jantsch

If Howard Dean’s failed political campaign accomplished anything, I would say that it brought to the mainstream the use of something called a weblog or “blog” as it known in cyberspace.
A blog is really nothing more than a diary uploaded to the Internet and until about the last 12 months was the realm of the individual who saw it as a way to publish there random (and sometimes disturbed) thoughts. The great thing about weblogs, and the growing set of software that is being created to publish them, is that they are a tremendous business tool.
Weblogs allow you to create content and contact…and that is what your clients crave more than anything.
I use a program (there is a free trial version) called PMachine to publish my weblog at DuctTapeMarketing.com/weblog.php. This program allows me to simply make many entries and updates and also allows readers to add comments. Better still, now seemingly random articles can be sorted and searched by content or subject. My weblog is more like a content management system and my readers seem to love it.
Another great reason to explore the use of weblogs is that search engines seem to love them. Within 30 days of launching my weblog it became the most visited page on my fairly high traffic website.
So what is it about blogs that those little spiders love so much?
Here’s a little secret, search engines crave content. Okay so maybe that’s not such a secret but to look at many websites you would think it so. The fact is that too many websites just sit there doing nothing that the search engines admire. Providing content, not to mention fresh content, is one of the toughest chores of anyone who maintains a website. But when it comes to generating traffic it is the most important job.
Blogs, by their very nature, are all about content. In a commercial environment every blog entry is fresh content. Get in the habit of making two, three, even four entries a week and you’ve got a content building bonanza on your hands. Everyone knows you need new content to give visitors a reason to come back; blogs just make the task so much easier.
Another advantage that blogs seem to currently possess over traditional web pages and sites is lack of competition. While the number of bloggers grows daily, there are still relatively few commercial blog sites. When I created my blog I found that it showed up in the number 3 spot in Google for the term “Marketing Weblog” within about 3 weeks of launch. Not bad considering I did nothing to make it happen.
There are a couple of other things you should do to make your weblog a traffic magnet. They aren’t really that different than tradition SEO tactics but the names and faces are unique to the blogging world.
Use targeted keywords in your entry titles
No rocket science here but this tip can’t be stated enough. Forget cute…go for titles that fit your targeted keywords and phrases…even if they seem a bit awkward. (You do have targeted keywords and phrases don’t you?)
Register with Blog Search Engines – Search engines that specialize in blogs
http://www.daypop.com/
http://www.blogvision.com/
http://www.blogsearchengine.com/
Register with Tracking Services – These services note when a blog has been updated and publish an ongoing list. They even keep track of the most updated and most visited weblogs. Plus you get to learn what pinging is.
http://blo.gs/
http://www.weblogs.com/
Trade Some Links
You don’t need to get out of control on this one but a few “relevant” swapped links to related blogs can boost your traffic.
Syndicate your content
This one is way to technical to cover here but do some research on the term RSS and you may discover ways to have your content and entries fed to sites that are hungry for the type of stuff you write. Many of the popular weblog software packages have this capability built right in.
http://www.feedster.com/
Copyright 2004 John Jantsch
John Jantsch is a marketing consultant based in Kansas City, Mo. He writes frequently on real world small business marketing tactics and is the creator of “Duct Tape Marketing” a turn-key small business marketing system. Check out his blog at http://www.DuctTapeMarketing.com/weblog.php