But, first, why is content so important? Here are a few reasons…

First of all, the search engines reward content. They are in the information business, so they reward more quality information with more traffic to your site. That’s right. The more information you put on your website, the more they’ll send you visitors. (Note, I said “quality” content?)

Second, great information adds value to those who come to your website. When people come to a website that offers a lot of value, they’re much more likely to tell others about it, link to the site themselves, talk about it on forums, Stumbleupon your site, and come back frequently to see what’s new.

Third, providing quality content establishes you as an expert in whatever your chosen field is. The more value you provide to readers, the more they begin to look at you as their information source. You’ll start receiving requests for interviews and joint ventures as your arsenal of information grows. You’re reading this article right now, right? Hopefully you’ll remember me as an expert in content.

So, where do you get articles for your website? Well, you have several options, each with its pros and cons.

1. Write the the content yourself. While this is a noble option, and I do write much of my own content, there are options below that will give you a bit of a break, while growing your business faster than ever. Yes, write your own articles if you can, but also incorporate some of the options below to see the biggest results.

2. Hire a Writer. This is a great option. Simply go to a site like Elance.com, Guru.com or Shelancers.com and you’ll find many qualified frelancers willing to write content for your website. This is highly recommended for article marketing if you don’t want to write the articles yourself. Even if you receive the articles and then edit them to add your personality, you’ll save a lot of time and effort verses writing all of the content yourself.

3. Team up with others. Find other online business owners looking for exposure and recruit them as featured columnists or guest bloggers. They’ll be glad to do it for the free advertising and exposure and you’ll benefit by having more content for your website or blog. This is a great way to add value to your ezine, as well.

4. Hit the Article Directories. Places like EzineArticles.com, Isnare.com and ArticlePDQ.com are packed with quality articles that you can reprint on your site, as long as you remember to include the author bio at the end. For instance, look at the bottom of this article — it’s free and you can publish it on your website, as long as you include that blurb.

5. Buy PLR articles. PLR stands for ‘Private Label Rights’ and it is content that you can edit freely, add your name to it, and publish it on your website or in your ezine without having to link back to anyone. The only thing with PLR is that you have to be careful to find a reputable PLR site that is offering quality content that has been professionally written and edited. If the content is sold in limited quantities, even better. Beware of fly-by-night PLR sites. Try to find one that has been around for a while and has an owner who stands by it. PLR content is affordable and flexible — two things that a busy internet marketer need for their business.

Now that you know how to find content for your website, I hope that you will take advantage of these recommendations and take your internet business to new heights.

Nicole Dean knows content. She has been in the PLR business for years. Check out this free PLR content with no strings attached.

Step 1 – Find a Topic of Interest

Think of a unique niche or topic that fits your personal interest and something that you would like to blog about for life. You can use keyword research services like Google Zeitgeist or Yahoo! Buzz Index to find popular searched topics.

Step 2 – Create Your blog

There are many blogging platforms to choose from. Though it is always best to blog with a domain and a paid host, if you are new to blogging, I would advice you to start with a free blog at first like Blogger because there is so many things you have to learn.

You need to include the keywords in Step 1 in the content of your blog but try not to overuse them as it sends out bad impressions to the search engines

Step 3 – Google, Google, Google

Signing up for Google Adsense is way too easy. You just need to insert the adsense code in the margin of your blog and each time a visitor clicks these ads, you get paid. Earn at least $100 and Google sends you a check. To track where your visitors are coming from with regards to direct hits or from search engine results, use Google Analytics. Also add your URL to Google’s index.

Enabled Google Analytics on your blog by inserting a tracking code in the template of your blog. This way, Google’s indexing bots can see every page of your site and tell you all kinds of information about the traffic you’re receiving on those pages.

You may also want to submit your URL to Google’s index.

Step 4 – Find Something to Sell

If you don’t want to sell anything and are happy with the income Google Adsense is bringing in then you can skip this step. If you want to maximize your income and truly learn How to Make Money with blogs you will want to find an affiliate program to join. A couple of affiliate programs I would suggest are ClickBank and Commission Junction. You can sell anything from office furniture, pet supplies, movies and clothing to PC games, Dieting tips and Audio software.

Whatever program you join will give you help inserting the code you will need to insert into your blog, but be sure you do this correctly or you WILL NOT earn money from your visitors. If you do not know how to edit HTML, W3Schools HTML tutorial is a great place to start.

Step 5 – Social Bookmarking

There is no better advertising than word of mouth, but the next best thing is social bookmarking. You will want to make things easier for people to do this. Social bookmarking sites I use and recommend are OnlyWire and SocialMarker and they are used for people to share their bookmarks or websites that they have liked with other people in their online community.

I would not suggest you add your own links to these services, but provide visitors to your website the ability to do so.

Step 6 – Write an Article

I would suggest you to write an article or a review if your blog is about a specific product. Most article directories require articles of 500 words and over so I would use this as a rule when writing to ensure your article is published.

Submit your article to any of the 100′s which are out there. I personally use a few of the Top Article directories such as EzineArticles, Article Dashboard, Amazines.com, isnare and SearchWarp. I also use a nifty piece of software called Article Submitter which will submit your articles to over 600 article directories, which saves you lots of time and leaves you to focus on writing your blogs.

Whatever your blog is used for, it can help you out in a positive way. Blogging has definitely become professional in its use. So go out and start your blog!

Setup your own free blog website with revenue sharing at http://www.com-x2.com/free-blog-adsense-revenue-sharing and start your ultimate money-making experience today.

It’s an established fact that there are many ways to make money online despite having no product or business of your own. One of the several strategies is to earn as an affiliate for the products and services of other merchants. Although one doesn’t need a blog to make money as an affiliate, having a personal blog can be immensely more profitable in the long run. Just for starters, a blog gives you an online presence and increases your earning potential exponentially.

For this, you must know the basic functionality of the web, but you do not have to learn complex coding, like HTML, or create your own website. Considering that you can get the website, capture sites and your squeeze pages developed by website developers, you would still need them to publish fresh content and add new media files. Basic computer knowledge and a simple blogging platform will enable you to have total control on your blog.

A little time invested in learning to blog can go a long way in increasing your income significantly and making your work very interesting. Once you familiarize yourself with the fundamental principles of blogging, you can make your blog more interactive by using various widgets and adding refreshing features. If you know how to read emails and get on Facebook , Youtube or Twitter, then you already know enough about blogging.

Having a personal blog is also very rewarding because it let’s you dominate the search engines. Search engines favor new and fresh content and their software crawls your blog pages to index new content. If your blog can manage to rank on Google for your products, then you can expect a deluge of targeted traffic to your site. This can potentially transform your business profits. Although there is a learning curve before you can rank well in search engines, once you know the art, you can literally rewrite your growth curve.

Another great reason why you should have your own blog is that it lets you develop relationships with your customers and get to know them. People usually buy from those sites which they trust. A blog that is updated regularly with good information, photos and videos builds that trust and wins the loyalty of your visitors. This helps in getting sales and turning them into repeat customers. So, having a personal blog could be a great step towards financial independence.

Extremely powerful methods to improve targeted web traffic to your pages.

If you’re willing to put some effort into blogging, then the truth is that it can absolutely earn you a living. It does take time, and it isn’t instant, but plenty of people earn money through this enjoyable and rewarding activity.

Getting Started With Blogging
If you want to make a blog, make money and live the life you want, then you’ll have to think about what your blog should be about. The great news is that you don’t have to be a fantastic writer to be able to blog. All you need is an interest or a passion for a topic. Blogs can be about anything – all the word “blog” really means is a regularly updated website.

Why make money By Blogging?
Although making money from blogging may not see instant results, the results can be far more rewarding than a typical nine-to-five job. People are increasingly choosing online blogging careers thanks to the freedom it gives them to do something they love, the fact that they can work at home, and the potential it has to eventually earn more than a traditional job, even when they aren’t constantly working.

What Work Do You Have to Do In Between?
Setting up a blog and hoping it’ll earn on its own probably won’t get you anywhere – there are a few other steps along the way. The writing is important, but gaining a following is even more so. Make sure to craft your content carefully and consider your market: are they desperate for answers about a problem? If so, they’re more likely to stick around and read your solution. Is your topic common enough that people will be interested? But not so common that you won’t be competing with millions of other bloggers?

All of this might sound confusing if you’ve never built a blog before, but the real key is just to focus. Find a plan and follow it. If you don’t see the results you were expecting straight away, remember this is a long-term business. Each effort you put into your blog now, every new reader you attract, will help to build the foundations of your new career – and a business that could earn you money while you sleep!

Are you looking at blogging as a way to make money easy online? The secret to making this business work is to follow and stick to a solid plan. The good news is that blogging is one way that you can truly make money with no money. Take action today and start building those foundations!

When considering how to make money with your blog, the question always comes up about whether or not to place AdSense ads on your site. Let’s go over the pros and cons of mixing ads with the content of your site.

Pros
An easy way to monetize your blog, especially if you are a beginner blogger, is to place AdSense ads on it. You decide on the format, size, and color and AdSense walks you through the whole thing. Look around at other blogs to get ideas of what you like. Keep in mind, AdSense has restrictions as to the number of ads you can add, but you don’t want to overdo it anyway.

Ads are passive income. You make money if people click on them (PPC). You just stick them up there and let them do their job. You don’t presell or tell people to click on them. Experiment on placement, type, color, etc. and track which works best.

It’s true that blogs are a creative outlet, but if you’re not doing anything else to make money with your blog, why not use AdSense? The money you make may not replace your income, but it’s still money coming in.

Cons
Placing ads on your site may feel like a cop-out if you want your blog to remain a pure artistic creation. Your readers may not like it if you suddenly start throwing up ads. If your blog is already going strong before you start using AdSense, then make the ads small, unobtrusive, and few to start with.

AdSense may not make you much money. It depends on the amount of traffic coming your way and the relevancy of the ads. Sometimes there is a better use for that spot the ads are on, especially if that spot is above the fold.

When you put ads on your site you are asking people to click away. This is not a good idea on every site. For example, if you have a one page sales page where you are selling your product, you don’t want people to click away, you want them to buy now.

It might be a big decision whether to put AdSense ads on your blog, but it’s easier to put them on in the beginning and take them off later than to add them after the fact. Either way, though, your decision can be changed. Just remember your blog content should always be your main concern.

Set yourself up with a schedule to post on your blogs. Take a realistic look at your business and figure out how blogging can fit in. The object is not to be constantly blogging, forsaking all else, but to bring blogging forward a bit from your low priority pile of things to do. Take a look at your business model and where blogging fits in. If your blogs are currently your only platform for making money, then blogging should be a high priority.

Your blogging schedule is up to you and can certainly be changed when your circumstances change. Perhaps you’re going to temporarily blog daily on your Internet Marketing blog because you’re promoting an affiliate product or you’re just about to launch your new ebook. On a regular week you might consider blogging everyday, but alternating between all your blogs.

The important things is to think about your blogging ahead of time and create your schedule for the week. Also keep in mind the time of day that is available to you for blogging, especially if you’re a part-time internet marketer. Will mornings from 7:00 am to 7:30 pm work? And how about lunchtime from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm?

While you’re thinking ahead about your blogging, get a rough plan down on paper about what your blog subjects will be for each of the posts you’re going to post in the week ahead. If you can’t think of something right away, it will be a seed planted in your mind and you’ll come up with a great idea before it’s time to write it.

Try to find ways to streamline your posting. If your blogs are in a related field, you can sometimes modify your blog post to fit all your blogs. If your blogs are in very different fields you may still want to do the same sort of post to save time. For example, if you want to post a YouTube video, you can look for different videos for your different blogs all at once.

Scheduling your blogging may not be a creative endeavor, but it can make your blogging more successful nonetheless. A blogging schedule can help you become a consistent blogger who doesn’t lose readers for lack of posts and can also help you maximize your profits.

What is pinging?

Pinging is a way of letting search engines know that you’ve created a new post, or updated an existing post on your blog. A ‘ping’ is a message sent to a ‘ping server‘ notifying it that the blog has been updated with new content.

What is a ping server?

A ping server is a web-based service that accepts messages in the XML-RPC format. It uses the information in these XML-RPC messages to publish a list of blogs which have updated content. Some of these ping servers run their own blog search engines, and some propagate the information to a number of other ping servers and search engines.

How does pinging work?

Many blog publishing platforms, such as WordPress, have a built-in pinging tool. In the case of WordPress, pinging is turned on by default and pings go out to one ping server which updates several search engines.

You can also notify a ping server that you have updated content manually by going to their website and submitting your blog’s name and URL.

One popular ping server is PingOMatic, found at http://pingomatic.com/. When your blog pings PingOMatic it then notifies a number of search engines that your blog has been updated. Many of these search engines also have their own ping server as well.

These search engines can then update their listings with new content almost instantly. This of course will give you one-way backlinks to your blog from these search engines, many of which have a high Google PageRank.

4 things you should know about pinging

1) Only ping when you have updated content. Otherwise, your site might be blacklisted as a spam blog, also known as a splog.

2) If you tend to post to your blog and then re-write the post frequently you might want to make sure you only ping when you actually post new content, not on updates. If you are using WordPress there are a few plugins that make sure that pings are only sent when a post is created.

3) It’s a good idea to ping several ping services, especially the ones that notify several search engines. Don’t overdo it though. Make sure that if you are pinging a niche search engine that your blog falls into the relevant niche.

4) Make sure that if a search engine is notified by a ping server you are already using that you don’t add that search engines own ping service to your list of servers to ping. Because blog spammers have abused ping servers, if you are pinging a search engine multiple times your site might end up being blacklisted, and not appear in the search engines at all.

Popular ping servers

Finally, here’s a list of popular ping servers you might try to get you started:

http://pingomatic.com
http://pingoat.com
http://blogsearch.google.com/ping
http://blo.gs/ping.php
http://www.pingmyblog.com/

First, you need to login to your hosting control panel. The URL for your conrol panel at HostGator is http://yourdomain.com/cpanel (if you haven’t registered a domain, or it isn’t fully setup yet, see the HostGator support area for details of how to access your control panel via a temporary URL) . Type the URL into your web broswer address bar. When the login box pops up, enter your username and passowrd. You will then see the cPanel control panel.

We’re going to use a system called Fantastico to automatically install wordpress on your server. Fantastico, which is included with all HostGator accounts, is a special application that makes it easy to install all kinds of software on your web server. It’s not just for wordpress, Fantastico has lots of other great programs that you may want to use, so be sure to look at what else is offer. To manually install dynamic web scripts, like wordpress, requires setting up a database server, downloading the software from the developer, uploading it to your web server and then configuring it. Fanstastico completely automates this process, so you don’t have to perform all the individual steps yourself. It saves a lot of hassle and is great for people who don’t have the technical skills to install scripts.

To access Fantastico, click on the Fantastico Deluxe icon in the Software / Services section of the control panel:

Fantastico Deluxe will open up in your browser. Down the left-hand side you’ll see a list of all the software that you can install, divided into categories. Under the ‘Blogs’ heading, click on the WordPress link:

You’ll be presented with a short description of WordPress. Click on New Installation:

You’ll now see the first step in the wordpress installation process. You need to enter some details, which are fairly self-explanatory. Choose the domain you want to install wordpress on. Next, choose the directory you want to install in. In the example below, I’ve chosen a directory called ‘blog’. This means that wordpress will be intalled at http://webincomeguy.com/blog. However, most people will probably want to install wordpress in the ‘root’ directory. This means that people can access your blog directly at your domain’s home page (e.g. http://webincomeguy.com). If you want your blog to be at your home page, leave the directory field blank. Next, choose a username and password – be sure to remember them, as you’ll need these to login to the admin area of your blog. Finally choose a nickname, enter your email address, the name of your blog and a brief description. Don’t worry, you can change the four ‘Base Configuration’ items once WordPress is installed. When you’ve filled out all the details, click the Install WordPress button:

In Step 2, you can review the installation details. If you need to change anything, use your browser’s Back button to return to Step 1. (Note that Fantastico will automatically set up the MySQL databse that makes WordPress work – no need for you to worry with it!) When you’re happy, clik the Finish Installation button:

Wait for a few moments while Fantastico completes the installation. You’ll then see Step 3 of the process. Enter an email address where you want the installation details to be sent, icluding the login details you’ll need to access your blog. When you’re done, click the Send E-Mail button:

On the next screen, Fantastico will confirm that the email has been sent – check your inbox. And that’s it! You now have a fully-functioning WordPress blog installed on your web server. I’m sure you agree, this is the fastest, easiest way way of seting up a self-hosted WordPress blog.

Now open a new browser window and go to your website. You’ll see the freshly installed wordpress blog:

In Part 3 in this series of posts (coming soon), I’ll show you how to change the appearance of your blog by installing a new theme.

In the meantime you may want to check out a great book that teaches you how to get the most out your wordpress blog. It’s called WordPress for Business Bloggers and is packed with information about customising and promoting your blog.

]]> http://webincomeguy.com/the-fastest-easiest-way-to-set-up-a-self-hosted-wordpress-blog-part-2/feed/ 4 http://webincomeguy.com/the-fastest-easiest-way-to-set-up-a-self-hosted-wordpress-blog-part-1/ http://webincomeguy.com/the-fastest-easiest-way-to-set-up-a-self-hosted-wordpress-blog-part-1/#comments Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:47:36 +0000 Web Income Guy http://webincomeguy.com/?p=3 If you’re serious about making money online, you need a website. And these days the best type of website to start is a blog. There are many blogging platforms to choose from, but in my opinion, you can’t beat WordPress.

In this series of three posts, I’ll go through the process of installing WordPress on your own web server. Part 1 deals with setting up a hosting account. In Part 2, we’ll install WordPress. An finally, Part 3 is a bit of bonus, where I’ll show you how to install a new theme in WordPress.

It’s easy to set up a ‘hosted’ blog at wordpress.com. But if you want maximum flexibility to run your own plugins and themes, you need a self-hosted installation of WordPress. This means you rent some web space and install WordPress yourself.

Installing WordPress on your own website is really easy by downloading the software and uploading it to your website. However, there’s an even easier way by using a service called Fantastico, which is provided by many web hosting companies.

Choosing a web host can be daunting, especially if you’re not technically minded. Believe me, I’ve spent plenty of time assessing the features and pricing of various web hosting companies. Over the years I’ve tried out lots of web hosts, and my favorite is definitely HostGator. They offer all the features you need (including Fantastico), as well excellent 24/7 customer service and technical support by email, ‘Live Chat’, and a toll-free phone number (in the USA). Most important of all, their prices are great, with hosting packages starting at just $4.95 a month.

The first step in setting up your self-hosted WordPress blog is to sign-up for a web hosting account. Head on over to HostGator. To begin with, you just need their basic package, called ‘Hatchling’, which is priced from $4.95 a month, if you pay for 3 years, or just $8.95 if you pay monthly. It’s easy to upgrade to a more advanced package later, if you need to. You can check out all the features by clicking the ‘Learn more…’ link on the home page.

You’ll see they offer all the features you’d expect from a reputable, state-of-the-art web host. When you’re ready, simply click ‘Order Now’ and complete the simple sign-up process. Make sure you choose Linux hosting (not Windows).

You can buy a domain name from HostGator at the same time (in fact, I recommend you register your chosen domain name with HostGator; it makes the whole process much easier).

Once your web hosting account is all set-up with HostGator, we’re ready to get started on the super-simple WordPress installation using Fantastico. Check out Part 2 for my step-by-step instructions.