Sunday, July 31, 2011

Starting My Own Company

Starting my own company

Guest post written by my buddy Aldo Mays

When I was seventeen I decided to start my own business…of course it was small since I was so young but basically I sold my services as a copywriter online. I’m 21 now and I have a full-fledged writing company and things have never been better! I never went off to college like all my peers since I was running the business but it was okay because I spent all my time growing this business from the ground up. I’ve now got everything taken care of from the http://Bank-card-PROCESSING.com credit card solutions to my certification classes and I’ve even got three younger writers working part time underneath me! I love having enough work to dole some out and business doesn’t show any signs of slowing so that’s great with me. I like being my own boss and working from home and I’m proud that I started this business from scratch and made it into what it is today! Life is good and it’s only looking like it’s going to get better!

Saturday, July 30, 2011

New blog - Blogger Helping Bloggers

I signed up for Blogger a few years ago.  I had the intention of writing a blog.  That was the point that I really realized I wasn't a writer...not even close to it.  I wrote a line or two every now and again and didn't think much of it.  Until recently, I never thought that I could actually make any kind of money from blogging, because I didn't think I could write anything that people would think would be worth reading.

About two weeks ago, at this time anyway, I was wondering of what I could do to make a few extra bucks while still being available to take care of my 14 month old baby girl outside of daycare hours.  I thought long, thought hard, searched the Internet for ideas, got frustrated because I couldn't find anything and called it quits.  I then made dinner and it was delicious.  I thought to myself, "What if I blog about what I cook for dinner?"  And there is the creation of "What Is Cooking Now?" 

Since then I have been posting recipes, pictures, and some witty and humorous comments about what I've been cooking.  I've also been spending even more time researching what I need to do to get my blog out to the public.  I think I've seen the term SEO(search engine optimization) about one million times already.  It can be very intimidating to do what seems needs to be done to get traffic to your blog. 

My goal here is to blog about my methods of increasing traffic to my blog and how effective they have been.  I want to help you, the reader, to take control of your blog and make it visible to the most amount of readers, without all the headaches that they usually incur.  It will also help me keep track of what I have been doing, what works, and what can be skipped next time.  It will be like a diary that I will be updating constantly.  Please feel free to leave comments, ask questions, or just promote your blog here as well.

I have put in many upon many hours researching how to get the traffic to my blog.  I assume you will/have done the same.  Sometimes it's all about doing the work for yourself and learning what does or what doesn't work for you.  If your blog does become successful, then you should feel quite the accomplishment!!  If your blog doesn't become successful, the either you need to write better content or try different methods.


Domain Name - GoDaddy
One of the first things I did was sign up for my own domain name.  I wanted to make sure that the name I wanted to use would be available when I was ready to move my blog to my own site.  One of the bonus perks of that is advertising credits. 

Facebook
Share your blog with your friends.  Ask for their feedback.  Start a page for your blog and spread the word.

Twitter
I hadn't used twitter much until I was getting ready to promote my new blog.  I signed up with the blog's name as my username.  This is a great way to connect with users interested in things that your blog is about.  Just make sure not to start spamming, because that is a quick way to get people to stop following you.

Google Adwords
Adwords works wonders for increasing traffic.  Chances are you will get a coupon from your webhosting service when you sign up.  Take full advantage of every coupon code you are given as they do pay off.

Google Adsense
Google places advertising on your page and they pay you when the ads are clicked.  I'm still learning what is what with the Adsense nonsense so stay tuned.

Blogsvertise
Bloggers, generate extra cash with your blog! Advertisers, generate buzz and traffic. Don't just advertise, blogsvertise!  They provide great services and junk for the beginning blogger.

Foodbuzz
If your blog is surrounded around food, FoodBuzz is a great site.  It allows you to connect with other food bloggers and share your stories and recipes.  A lot of my traffic to my blog is directed from this site.

Other people's blogs
There are several people's blogs that go in depth about the ways to increase traffic and make money from your blog.  I will list the ones that I found to be most informative and useful.  www.problogger.net , www.meekwatcher.com ,

Blog Community Sites
www.postamigos.com , www.blogger.com , www.foodblogs.com  , paper.li ,

Guest Posting
Guest posting is a great way to draw traffic to your site.  Most places will offer you a place to insert your website address when posting a comment to another person's blog.  If you make a great comment regarding the post you are viewing, chances are people reading the comments will want to see what you have to offer.  Avoid posting generic comments like "good post" because it will not encourage readers to click on your user name and view your blog.

Comment on other people's blogs

Backlinks

Wordpress
I just started trying to use Wordpress.  I'm finding it to be pretty complicated so far.  That might not be much of a bad thing.  May sites that I've been reading recommend using Wordpress because it is much more customizable than Blogger.  I don't know if Blogger will let me post this one hahaha