Blogging

This week on The Lede … How A Copywriter Evaluates A Great Website The Unexpected Antidote to Procrastination The Daily Rituals of the World’s Most Creative People 4 Things That Lead to Success (or Failure) with Email Signup Forms How to Do More By Planning Less: The Power of the Anti-Plan Want to grab even more useful links (beyond those that make The Lede)? Follow @copyblogger on Twitter. // The Unexpected Antidote to Procrastination Procrastination: that merciless thief of our time, creative output, and potential reward. Mr. Bergman delivers a unique — but convincing — argument on how we can put an end to it for good. // How A Copywriter Evaluates A Great Website Like Square Some websites immediately grab your attention with impeccable design. But without equally skillful copy, the reader drifts away. Mr. Robisch deconstructs the copy of one particularly good website to show us how it’s done. // The Daily Rituals of the World’s Most Creative People This headline’s a little much for my taste, so if you don’t feel like clicking it, here’s the tl;dr … cigarettes, showers, coffee, and walking. Though you’ll have to handle these creative tools at your own risk, I would generally vouch for their effectiveness. Sometimes. // 4 Things That Lead to Success (or Failure) with Email Signup Forms We’d respectfully suggest that email marketing might just be the content producer’s most powerful weapon. But if you don’t get the permission-based opt-in, you can’t deliver the rest of your message. Mr. Crestodina illustrates the four factors that make the difference between success and failure in email marketing. // How to Do More By Planning Less: The Power of the Anti-Plan Mr. Newport is a reliable source of counterintuitive but thoughtful ways to get more done. If you find that traditional productivity planning hasn’t served you well, consider his “anti-method” instead. Miss anything on Copyblogger this week? How to Become a Content Marketing Expert 11 Compound Word Errors that Might Make You Look like a Numbskull Could Mobile Responsive Website Design Hurt Your SEO? 5 Ways to Bond with Your Blog’s Audience Why We Still Need to Write, Even When We’re Scared About the Author: Robert Bruce is VP of Marketing for Copyblogger Media, as well as its Resident Recluse. Get more from him via Twitter or Google+. Related Stories5 Links You Can Thank Me For Later …5 Writing Links You Can Use in the Field5 Writing Links You’ll be Glad You Clicked

So you’ve finally decided that blogging is what you want to do for a living. The good news is it’s a really fun and fulfilling job. The bad news is it’s not easy to do at first. No, don’t think that I am discouraging you from blogging. What I’m simply trying to say is you have to brace yourselves for the hard work required. Don’t get me wrong. It’s challenging especially at the beginning and you’ll even face some as you go along your blogging journey, but if you really like it and have what it takes to succeed as a blogger, then these challenges should not be a problem. Once you’re in, it’s important that you don’t forget some really important tips on  blogging. Don’t forget to implement these tips on blogging Write regularly. To be a successful blogger, you need to be consistent. Write regularly. It can be daily, weekly, or even monthly. The important thing is to write regularly. Whether it’s your own or someone else’s blog, regular posts are necessary. It shows your commitment. Spend a lot of time researching for facts. A post that doesn’t have anything to say is useless. Make sure that your posts are backed with accurate facts. Research is a very important skill for a blogger. Nothing attracts readers more than blog posts that have relevant, useful, and accurate facts. Have something to say and say it differently. In this age, almost everyone has a blog. That’d also mean the topics we blog about have already been written by others. When you blog, make sure to say something different. Tackle every topic differently. Find a new angle and write about it. That’s going to help you stand out. Always put your readers in mind. If you’re a businessman, you’ll want to give your customers everything they want. That’s how you’ll make money. Similarly, bloggers need to put readers’ needs first. When you write, make sure to structure your post according to what your readers want. Some helpful tips on blogging effectively for your readers include these questions: What do my readers want to know? What kind of language are they comfortable with? How can I present technical terms and facts in easily? Stick to your schedule. This is similar to the first item on the list. Sticking to a schedule is important. The last thing you want is for your blog to sit for days and weeks without a new post. Know how  to identify relevant images. Images can add so much appeal to blog posts. Make it a point to include a photo in all blog posts. The most important thing here is images need to be relevant. There are sites that will allow you to use their  images for free as long as you attribute properly. Know the benefits of interlinking posts. Interlinking posts is beneficial for SEO, so don’t forget to do that. This will also allow you to promote other posts that are not doing as well as you expected. It can improve traffic and linkjuice. Part of interlinking posts effectively is using the right anchor texts. Keyword research is an important skill. Blog posts have to be centered around a certain keyword. Know how to pick the best and most profitable keywords by using Google’s Keyword Tool. If you have cash to spare, you can purchase keyword research tools that are just as effective and even offer other features. Plan your posts. An editorial calendar is a must-have. This will make your job easier. Also, knowing what you have to write will give your blog a sense of direction.    Encourage reader interaction. At the end of your posts, it won’t hurt to write a short line encouraging readers to share the post or add a comment below. You’d be surprised at how effective that can be. Respond to comments promptly. When people do comment on your posts, make sure to respond promptly. This will let your audience know that you’re sincere in establishing a relationship with them, which is very important in obtaining a loyal following for your blog. Go all out. Give as many advice as you can. Whenever possible, give away freebies. Or point your readers to other places whe

So you’ve finally decided that blogging is what you want to do for a living. The good news is it’s a really fun and fulfilling job. The bad news is it’s not easy to do at first. No, don’t think that I am discouraging you from blogging. What I’m simply trying to say is you have to brace yourselves for the hard work required. Don’t get me wrong. It’s challenging especially at the beginning and you’ll even face some as you go along your blogging journey, but if you really like it and have what it takes to succeed as a blogger, then these challenges should not be a problem. Once you’re in, it’s important that you don’t forget some really important tips on  blogging. Don’t forget to implement these tips on blogging Write regularly. To be a successful blogger, you need to be consistent. Write regularly. It can be daily, weekly, or even monthly. The important thing is to write regularly. Whether it’s your own or someone else’s blog, regular posts are necessary. It shows your commitment. Spend a lot of time researching for facts. A post that doesn’t have anything to say is useless. Make sure that your posts are backed with accurate facts. Research is a very important skill for a blogger. Nothing attracts readers more than blog posts that have relevant, useful, and accurate facts. Have something to say and say it differently. In this age, almost everyone has a blog. That’d also mean the topics we blog about have already been written by others. When you blog, make sure to say something different. Tackle every topic differently. Find a new angle and write about it. That’s going to help you stand out. Always put your readers in mind. If you’re a businessman, you’ll want to give your customers everything they want. That’s how you’ll make money. Similarly, bloggers need to put readers’ needs first. When you write, make sure to structure your post according to what your readers want. Some helpful tips on blogging effectively for your readers include these questions: What do my readers want to know? What kind of language are they comfortable with? How can I present technical terms and facts in easily? Stick to your schedule. This is similar to the first item on the list. Sticking to a schedule is important. The last thing you want is for your blog to sit for days and weeks without a new post. Know how  to identify relevant images. Images can add so much appeal to blog posts. Make it a point to include a photo in all blog posts. The most important thing here is images need to be relevant. There are sites that will allow you to use their  images for free as long as you attribute properly. Know the benefits of interlinking posts. Interlinking posts is beneficial for SEO, so don’t forget to do that. This will also allow you to promote other posts that are not doing as well as you expected. It can improve traffic and linkjuice. Part of interlinking posts effectively is using the right anchor texts. Keyword research is an important skill. Blog posts have to be centered around a certain keyword. Know how to pick the best and most profitable keywords by using Google’s Keyword Tool. If you have cash to spare, you can purchase keyword research tools that are just as effective and even offer other features. Plan your posts. An editorial calendar is a must-have. This will make your job easier. Also, knowing what you have to write will give your blog a sense of direction.    Encourage reader interaction. At the end of your posts, it won’t hurt to write a short line encouraging readers to share the post or add a comment below. You’d be surprised at how effective that can be. Respond to comments promptly. When people do comment on your posts, make sure to respond promptly. This will let your audience know that you’re sincere in establishing a relationship with them, which is very important in obtai

We all know how important it is to optimize our content for search engines, but if you look at latest search engine trend, Google is focusing on ranking honest content more than content written for search engines. A good Rule of thumb is “Would you write this if search engines didn’t exist?” Beside ranking and indexing you also need to gain popularity and authority among your community and readers. So you must write articles that help them and provide solution to their problem. It shouldn’t be “only” aim to appear in search engine result. What happens when you search for a particular keyword, and as a results X site appears and when you clink and land on X site, you find there is not much information that you have been looking for on the subject. The simple reason is article was just design to get the traffic from search engine for that particular keyword. It’ll definitely makes you frustrated and probably within a second you’ll click the back button to check the next indexed site. Why you should write for readers first? #1 Users Google their problem, give’em the solution.  Rule of thumb is “Don’t deceive your users”, give them the solution if you are an expert on that subject. Don’t write if you’re not proficient with that  niche or subject.  Don’t write an article filled with keywords and search phrases related to the problem but have no real solution for it. #2 Read the article after finishing it and ask yourself “Does this help my users?” Whenever the answer is “no”, you should know you need to change something. As a blogger I think your job is not to just spread and share the popular news on the blog actually your articles should have your essence and must dwell your unparalleled style of writing. #3 What makes your website unique, valuable, or engaging. Rule of thumb is “Whether your website stand out from others in your field”. Site design is one parameter, but most importantly the quality content is which counts. You can be prominent in your niche if your writing is unique, content is expectant and articles are helpful. If you still think design matters, have a look at this blog, you can’t get more neat and clean design than this guy have here. It is almost design-less, still regarded as one of the best blog in blog-sphere. (obviously for its unique and impressive content)  #4 Search engines hate when you use these techniques.  Rule of thumb is ” being a nice guy doesn’t mean you can’t succeed in a difficult game”.  You can be on the top without using improper tricks intended to improve search engine rankings. search engines ( or should I say Google) hate following ideas; Automatically generated content Scraped content Link schemes Cloaking Hidden text or links Doorway pages Automated queries #5 Keep it Simple straight and to the point.   Rule of thumb is “Your readers are only interested in them”. Don’t make it unnecessarily lengthy. Cut the crap and come to the point without polluting screen with excessive examples, ramblings and stories. If you follow above points while writing articles, it will definitely help build a strong community around your blog niche at the same time help you do better with search engines. How writing for Users can Benefit you? #1 Social Share They comes, They read and if they like it they”ll share. If users get their problems resolved through the tricks, tips and solution explained in an article on your blog, I don’t think there a reason why they would not be sharing your article in their social community. If the article is worth reading It’ll be share further in many other communities and groups instantly. #2 Users can make your content go Viral If your content is great, futile, funny or  resolving, couple of things can happen; It can ranked and indexed at #1 position in SERP for that particular k

Instagram is a fast and easy way to share your photos with friends and family free of charge. Snap a picture, choose a filter to transform its look and feel, then post to Instagram. Share to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr … Continue reading →

Sure, it may have a pretty form factor and some slightly different components, but at it’s core the latest and next generation of big consoles is just PC with a different name. It may not be a titan like the Prodigy Overclocked GT but consoles are being argued as being low to mid range gaming [...]Author informationJustin GerminoOwner at DragonBlogger.comWorking in the IT Industry for over 13 years and specializing in web based technologies. Dragon Blogger has unique insights and opinions to how the internet and web technology works. An Avid movie fan, video game fan and fan of trying anything and everything new.TwitterFacebookGoogle+LinkedInThe post The New Console is Just a Gaming PC appeared first on Dragon Blogger. Be the first to comment... Related Posts:10 Days of Giveaways: Win a Hauppauge HD PVR 2 Gaming EditionDo You Prefer PC Gaming or Console Gaming?Next Generation Xbox to Have Never Before Seen Graphics Capability in Console SystemReached 6000 Entries in the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 Giveaway ContestGameStick Console Fully Funded in Less than 2 Days RSS Feed Powered by MaxBlogPress Bring My Blog Visitors Back

Performing covert surveillance has always been a tricky task, but our free keylogger makes it far easier. If you are worried about the safety of your computer or the programs on your computer, it is a good idea for you to utilize this software to your advantage. While it might seem as though the tracking system for emails, chats, and passwords is not easy to use, the reality is quite different. Even beginners can get used to the free keylogger program and start their surveillance quickly and easily. The best part of this keylogger is that it is free. There are no other software solutions that will allow you to maintain surveillance over so many aspects of a computer in this way. Tracking the online usage and all of the other aspects of the computer will ensure that you maintain your computer without viruses or content that is not right for certain age groups. Perform Covert Surveillance Using Free Keylogger is a post from HellBound Bloggers (HBB)

This is a guest contribution by Asher Elran of Dynamic Search. I thought emails were a waste of time and that they are ignored, but then I learned how to do it right and watched the numbers flip. After you published a great post and pushed it through your social network, the third step is to leverage your email list too. This is where the auto-responders can help you gain new subscribers while you’re busy writing your next blog post. The majority of email marketing services are the same. I prefer Constant Contact or Mobilizemail’s new email feature. Following the steps below you can use almost any email marketing service to set up an auto responder system in just three days. Setting a Auto-Responder Campaign that Actually Works in 3 Days Day 1 – Building Your Page Offer If you want to bulk up your subscriber list, it can help to offer something in return. People online are impatient and can get irritated quickly if they feel that their time is wasted. Giveaways can spark interest, desire, and a sense of urgency. You might consider a short eBook or report, or something like more adventurous like access to a web tool, a widget download, or access to a member’s only area with key features and valuable information. It’s really important to make sure your giveaway is relevant and valuable. During our auto-responder experiment, we chose to offer an eBook and built a landing page on our website to capture new subscribers. On your landing you have the control to work on your CRO (conversion rate optimization) and here are some key factors that will help: Have a clear call to action Include a great offer with a visual element Include trust signals – testimonials are always great tool for this purpose Also, the instructions to obtain your giveaway should be clear and relatively simple. If you make your prospects leap through too many hoops, you’ll lose them. Use relatively simple language to ensure Simple is better if you’re really focused on good conversion rates. Here is how we did it: Pay attention how we simplify the process and leverage the situation to gain likes on our Facebook page too. Prominently display authority and trust signals to potential subscribers. This will not only show that your blog can be trusted, it will remind your potential subscriber of how good you are and why your appealing offer will help them with their problems. Day 2 – Increasing your list size Now you have an offer in place, attracting people to reach your landing page is the next challenge. It can take some time and resources. There are a variety of options out there but I’ll speak only on the ones we applied during our auto responder experiment. Effective methods can change from one industry to another; the key is to be creative and think out of the box. Some of the methods we applied include: Using Facebook apps to collect email subscribers – your Facebook page connects with the people that like you. It also connects you with greater pools of prospects such as friends of friends. If you explore the paid ads section you will find that you can reach even millions of people. Leveraging current blog traffic by promoting subscription incentive in key places – your blog is a goldmine and you should take advantage of your new traffic and persuade them to subscribe. Consistently sharing our posts through social media – your post should always be found on social networks, as mentioned in the three steps to gain post’s exposure above. Don’t be shy about sharing old blog posts with new readers. Connecting with decision makers on LinkedIn and offering our incentive – this is particularly relevant to B2B blogs as LinkedIn is one of your best resources to grow you audience. Placing a subscription opt-in on our website – that’s a no brainer which you have probably already done but if you haven’t, it’s really important. The key is to make it easy for potential subscribers to action once they’re on your blog. Asking

Writing is scary. Sometimes when we publish something, it makes us feel like our insides are hanging out, for all the world to see. We feel vulnerable. We feel naked. We feel … terrified. But here’s the thing — we have to keep writing, in spite of the fear. If we let fear stop us, our content will have no spark, no life. And everything we write will be completely unremarkable. Right now, I’m working on a blog post (on a different topic) that scares the living heck out of me. I am afraid of the strong opinions and passion that are rising from some long-buried place inside me. I’m worried that I won’t write well enough to clearly communicate what I need to say. I’m worried about what people will say when I publish this piece. Bottom line — I’m scared. And it got me thinking — if I feel scared, I’ll bet you do, too. And maybe together, we can come up with a way to get through the fear and keep ourselves on the path to continually creating amazing work — even when we’re scared. Meet Brené Brown … Everywhere you look, people seem to be talking about sociologist and researcher Brené Brown. You may have seen her powerful TED talk — it’s a featured talk on the TED website, and it’s been seen nearly 9 million times. Since that video went viral, Ms. Brown has been featured on Oprah’s prime time show, Super Soul Sunday, and she’s published a bestselling book called Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead. Brené Brown’s area of expertise is connection, vulnerability, and shame. If you haven’t heard her TED talk, take 20 minutes now to absorb her extraordinary advice about what it takes to create deep, meaningful connections. Can’t see the video? Click here to watch it on TED.com. Here’s the short, short version: We are put on this earth to connect with one another. Connection is what gives meaning and purpose to our lives. But if we want connection, we have to be willing to be vulnerable. Even though vulnerability is often hard — sometimes even excruciating — we’ve got to put ourselves out there in order to experience connection. And here’s what very few people are talking about in the field of content marketing — vulnerability not only makes us better human beings, it also makes us better writers, and better content marketers. We have to be willing to put our ideas, opinions, and deepest fears out there, so we can truly connect with our audiences. Content that isn’t vulnerable — that doesn’t scare us, just a little bit — isn’t necessarily going to draw a huge audience of raving fans. It’s not going to get shared on social networking sites thousands of times. It’s not going to really impact the world. Vulnerability is the missing piece in content marketing. How social networking misses the mark We might feel like posting short updates on Facebook or Twitter about our day-to-day lives makes us vulnerable. I’m not sure it does. Sometimes social networking sites lead to true, honest-to-goodness human connection. But more often than not, I believe it gives us a way to feel like we’re being vulnerable … without actually have to truly put ourselves out there. And it allows us a way to numb ourselves and stay small. I think one of the things that makes us vulnerable is being willing to sit down and write a detailed article about something that really matters to us, then finding the courage to publish that post. And to do that, we need to keep writing, even when we feel afraid. Especially when we feel afraid. If we’re willing to write what we truly believe — the stuff that scares us — we get to experience true vulnerability and connection with our readers. And I believe that connection will not only make our lives better, but will also make us successful beyond our wildest dreams. What to do next I don’t have a bulleted list of tips to help you break through fear. I believe

Review of the Torch web browser which does social media, music, torrents and more.Author informationRaymond StapletonI have worked in and around many different types of computers. In the Navy, I used a magtape drive computer that was a step down from pen and paper. I later worked for a big computer company and after tat, taught computer class’s nation wide. I had the privilege of teaching 14,000 students in a 2 years period of time. Afterwards, I owned a small computer training and repair shop for a few years. I have owned C-64’s, Pc’s of various types, Amiga’s, and even Mac’s. I now have included the android to my collection. At any time, I have close to 15-20 computers or combinations of computers and game systems in the house. I look forward to more.The post Torch Web Browser Review appeared first on Dragon Blogger. Be the first to comment... Related Posts:Opera Mini A Solution To My Blackberry ProblemsBrowser Selection: What is the Best Choice for You?Rethink Internet Browsing with Tab CandyWhich is the Fastest Internet Web Browser?Hands On with FireFox 4 Beta 1 RSS Feed Powered by MaxBlogPress Bring My Blog Visitors Back