Are you new to blogs and blogging? Then this primer is for you.

The word blog, is actually a blend of two words, web and log; which leads to weblog, and finally blog. A blog is a website that is used like an online journal. It can let you express your feelings or thoughts on a particular topic.

Like other media outlets, blogs often focus on varied topics. These subjects can range from discussions about politics, sports, music, fashion, foods, etc. and can be very instrumental in reaching others, letting them know your thoughts, feelings, ability, passions and even create profits for your business. Whatever those passions are, they likely are shared by millions of people around the world.

Since their first appearance in 1995, blogs have dramatically course of communication, affecting public opinion and mass media around the globe.

The term blogging is the process of authoring a blog, maintaining a blog or adding an article to an existing blog. The person who posts blog entries is called a blogger.

Blog posts typically consist of:

• Title- main title or a headline

• Body- main content of the post

• Comments- added by readers

• Permalink- the URL(Uniform Resource Locator) of an individual article

• Post date- date and time the entry was posted

Some blog entries optionally include:

• Categories or tags- subjects on the content the blog discusses

• Trackback- links to other sites that are connected to the entry

HOW BLOGS ARE MADE

Blogs have characteristics that separate them from standard web pages. Blogs allow for easy production of new pages, new submissions can be entered into a simple form, with the title, the category and the main content of the article.

These forms are called templates. The templates are programmed to be fully automated, they create a new full article page, which is then added to the homepage, with the appropriate date.

Some notable web hosting companies like, America Online, and internet portals like, Yahoo or Google, as well as social networking sites like, MySpace, facebook and Youtube provide blog production and hosting services.

DIFFERENCES OF BLOGS

Blogs differ from forums or newsgroups because only the author the blog posted can create new subjects for discussion. Networks of blogs can serve like a forum because every blog in the network can produce subjects.

TYPES OF BLOGS

• Personal- your online diary. You can post thoughts or daily experiences informing the world what is happening with you.

• Career- usually focused on one’s professional ability and passion

• Cultural- discusses about sports, theatre, music and other arts. These are among the most read blogs.

• Business- starting, operating, promoting, financing, all areas of business are written about

• Science

• Religion and Spirituality

• Moblog- a mobile blog, in which the content is posted to the internet from mobile device

• Vlog-video blogging via a webcam and posting to sites like youtube

• Educational- that is used by students to record what they learn and mentors to record what they teach

Blogs are like a camera lens to your life, in which people can peer through and catch a momentary image of you.

Stop the Presses: “Old Dog Learns New Tricks!” 44 year-old Former print shop owner shares his money making web 2.0 business building strategies. Ink & paper no longer required: http://www.becomethehuntednothehunter.com

http://30secondcommute.blogspot.com

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If you’re a political news, pop culture and gossip junky, you can turn your passion into a blogging gig by taking over a neglected blog — StarkedDC (www.starkeddc.com).

Political news and gossip, pop culture, current events, breaking news, personalities, are all fair game.

Pay is based on base plus traffic bonus.

Minimum posting of six times a week is required, and more is encouraged. Knowledge of Word Press is preferred, but not required.

How to apply: Fill out online application at www.b5media.com/jobs

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Bloggers/Content Writer

We are currently assembling a remarkable team of Bloggers. We need talented writers who enjoy researching and writing mini-articles to be posted on the Internet.

We are looking for individuals who enjoy writing articles of varying lengths on a variety of topics. We currently manage blog articles with topics ranging from apartment living, parenting trends, and current medical hot-topics. This is a great opportunity to work flexible hours around your busy schedule.

About Army of Moms: Started by a WAHM and her husband, Army of Moms provides an array of consulting services. Uniquely designed to be flexible for Moms and affordable for businesses, Army of Moms appreciates that some of the best talent in the marketplace works at home.

How to apply

To be considered, please provide a writing sample and the following to jobs@AmericanWorkforce.com:

1. Resume
2. How many hours you would like to work on a daily basis.
3. How much you would like to earn per hour?

There are a lot choices when it comes to marketing your podcast.  One way to market your podcast and grow your subscriber list at the same time is to keep your podcast private.  All you need to do to get started is set up a mailing list within your autoresponder for the subscribers to your podcast, and include the sign up link on your blog. 

If you already have a mailing list, you could send them an email, letting them know that you are offering a new and exclusive podcast and encourage them to sign up for your new list. 

A great way to get people to sign up is to offer a freebie. You could offer an ebook, free advertising, or some sort of drawing. Use your creativity.

When you are ready to launch the podcast, send an email to the people on your list.  You can also use this list to market other products and services you offer.

If your goal is to attract traffic and find new customers through your podcast, you could choose to make your podcast available to the public. Similar to blog directories, there are many podcast directories that allow you to submit your podcast.  People come to these directories and search for podcasts they may be interested in. 

The more places you list your podcast, you increase your chances of someone finding your podcast.  Podcast.com and Podcast.net are both large directories and great places to start.  Also, doing a Google search will help you find more podcast directories to help you market your podcast.

Copyright © Top Notch Blogs

Some starting WordPress hints. Change you login name to the name you want people to identify with the site. Don’t use the default name ‘admin’ to post articles unless you really want to get into the admin niche. Seeing your name makes it more personal and professional.

Create a Category

WordPress has the default category called uncategorized. Having any articles uncategorized is bad SEO and similar to calling a Word document ‘Untitled’. If it is called Untitled, it actually does have a title and if you put a post in the category uncategorized, well, it has been categorized. Hasn’t it? This setting can be changed in WordPress by going to Manage and selecting Categories

Make a Blogroll

People that come to your site will leave at one point or another. No one gets to one site and remains there for weeks on end. With a Blogroll you can at least point your visitors to places that you like, those sites may point visitors back to you. This setting can be changed in WordPress by going to Blogroll and selecting Categories

Link to other sites

Visitors come to your site from somewhere, often through comments you leave on other blogs. You should not just make comments on blogs, but write articles on your blog about other blogs and people referencing people by name and by website. This post: www.cindyking.biz/web-content-conference-in-french has links to 5 people and 3 other sites. This generates good will and encourages the people and target sites to link back to your site.

Then go to the blog you reference and in your signature link back to your post and not you home page. A link on a blog should end with “.com/?page_id=2″ and not just a .com as most people do.

Customize Your Permalink Structure

Which of these two links tells you something about the topic of the post that is presented on the website?

…biz/?page_id=2

…biz/web-lingo-getting-on-foreign-search-engines/submitting-your-website-to-a-chinese-search-engine

Both may get you to your destination, but the top option - the default - does nothing to help a reader get an idea of your post. This setting can be changed in WordPress by going to Options and selecting Permalinks

Write all your own articles

Or at least you should write most of your own articles. This is not a plan to pull sales from any PRL site, just stating that readers can tell when the article is not original. If really necessary, when you have a real writes block and can’t write one post you can use them for the base on an article that you build on. Don’t use them for your core.

Writers Block

When blogging a post you discover that you don’t have a topic in mind - true writers block. Go to a blog related to your topic and give pointers that makes a 6 point how-to article.

Will you guess where the idea for this article came from?

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Nobody likes you. It’s sad but true, eh? You get traffic, but nobody subscribes. You get emails saying “hey I liked your blog,” but nobody ever comments or comes back. I have seen countless bloggers struggle to produce effective content, competitive traffic, retained readers or all of the above. There are many fish in this sea, and unless you are confident and unique… you are going to fail. Don’t fall into this trap!

Hate to be a downer, but it needs to be said.

There are many ways to turn off potential “regulars” like myself, and I have literally seen them all. You need to separate yourself from the pack, and to get on the map… so without further ado, here is the top five list of why people aren’t sticking around.

1. Your Content is Bland and UnoriginalThis is an obvious starter. If your content is composed of mindless ramblings about what you did at work today, or useless commentary about how great Stumble Upon or EntreCard is… why even have a blog? Realize that nobody wants to read about what kind of sandwich you prefer just as much as nobody wants to be batted down with common knowledge that they can probably find more about by just visiting the creator’s website. This was really brought to my attention by my blogging buddy Jason Periera in his recent posting, and the kid has a point. What he misses is that it is fine to have the basics. I think that every start up blog needs to have some generally understood information like “how do I buy stock?” and “how do I boost my RSS subscribers?” before continuing. It’s a fact, you need the starting point. However, if you don’t branch off and start telling people how you are running things in a unique way… why would anyone stick around?

I think the best lesson here is that after you write a post, always to back over it and say to yourself “would I want to read this?” If you yourself think that your writing is water under the bridge, then delete it and start over, as painful as that might be.

2. You Draw Up Lame Metaphors About BloggingStop it. There is nothing I hate more than posts that start out “blogging is like a race car” or “writing a post is like climbing a tree.” Seriously, blogging is usually going to be about one of three things: making money, getting famous or teaching/helping readers. If you can’t help yourself but tell us how much boosting traffic is like baking a cake, sell your website now and save us the hassle. Please. When people read posts like this, they are thinking to themselves… wow I just wasted five minutes of my life, I wish he/she had some actual advice for me. I’m sorry for calling you out, but it had to be said. This is just like the girl in school that takes black and white pictures and everyone says “wow, you are so artistic” when they are really saying to themselves: “wow, that was just a bad picture.”

Don’t be that black-and-white artist. Give us something we can use!

3. You are Selling Your Soul, and Your Soul Isn’t Worth a Dime

If your website has less than 100 readers a day and you are trying to load up your content with Adsense advertisements, you better know what you are doing. I’m all for effective advertising, pestering readers with “subscribe to my feed!” requests and writing up the occasional sponsored posting. But only if you are qualified.

Before you monetize your website, ask yourself if you would pay $5 a month to read your own material. This is basically an understatement of the opportunity cost foregone when someone is an active reader of your blog, roughly five bucks. If you wouldn’t pay a measly five dollars to subscribe to your own content, nobody is going to want to break through advertisements in order to read your stuff.

I could care less if you are giving up profit for a month or two, it just isn’t worth it. There is nothing that is more of a turn off than blogs that are chock-full of ads and bad content (and a bad design too perhaps). If you yourself wouldn’t want to pay for your content, why impose a toll (advertising) on your readers for doing the same? Don’t sell your soul if the devil ain’t buying.

4. You Use Freebies Instead of Paying Your Dues

You know exactly what I am talking about. If you are trying to boost your traffic, your readership, your income and you are sitting on a “.wordpress.com” or a “.blogspot.com” domain name… you don’t deserve it. If you are using free web hosting from I-care-more-about-my-2-bucks-than-my-readers.com instead of paying the CHEAP fees involved with reliable web hosting in this day and age… you don’t deserve it.

It’s time to get serious about blogging folks!

The blogging universe is a crowded place, and if you haven’t paid your 6 bucks yearly for a cheap domain name, then you aren’t going to be noticed (save a few). It’s the cheapest way to guarantee a shred of respect around. Buying a domain name is very easy, very cheap and very effective. If you don’t have one, people feel turned off from the get-go… believe me. Save yourself the trouble and open that wallet, you won’t regret it.

Buying the domain name is a must. But I would recommend going a step further and paying for web hosting from one of the big resellers like Host Gator or 1&1. This will run you just a few bucks a month, and boy is it worth it. You now have peace of mind that your website wont take more than 7 seconds to load (I click out of these immediately) and that everything functions as it should (crashes, debugging messages, etc.). It is very cost effective nowadays, and you don’t need much space at all (50mb - 250mb should cover this requirement with ease).

The Bottom Line: If you don’t like your blog enough to spring for some extras, people aren’t likely to find your material interesting or worthwhile.

5. You Don’t Post Regularly, So I Don’t Visit Regularly

The title says it all. Unless you are writing some brilliant articles 2 times weekly, you probably should be aiming to post every day or at minimum 4-5 times a week. After all, your competition is doing it!

Even if I have nothing original for the day (rare), I will still at least put up an announcement post that lets you guys in on how I am doing and what to expect coming up. As much as you want to escape the issue, the fact remains that you have bloggers in your niche, and whoever is putting out more unique content will win the race in the long run.

When I first started blogging, I made a list of 25 websites I wanted to visit regularly. After about a week, I noticed that a few of these bloggers weren’t updating at all… and guess what happened *guillotine sound effect.* Don’t put your blog on the back-burner, and neither will the public.

I know this is more of a rant than anything else, but heed my word because it represents what the world thinks about your blog site. Fix it! The simple metrics I have mentioned like buying a domain name and posting useful articles can go for miles. Globalization of the blogging world is upon us, where will you be?

The author of this article is Jim “The Net Fool”. He is owner of theNetFool.com If you’d like to learn more about blogging, you can visit http://www.thenetfool.com You’ll find all the information you need!

Podcasting is a great way to get your message to the masses and extend your reach.

Here are seven ways you can profit from your podcast.

1. Paid Podcast - The simplest way is to charge your prospect a small fee for your podcast. Keep the bar low so your prospect and get in and consume your information and offers.

2. Episode Sponsor - Have other marketers and entrepreneurs sponsor an episode of your podcast in exchange for being able to advertise their product or service on your podcast.

3. Sell Your Own Products - Just like in a teleseminar, you can have a featured product on each podcast.

4. CDs - You can create a single CD or a CD series with your podcasts. While some still may not be familiar with podcasting, by now everyone knows how to slip in a disc.

5. Pre-Loaded Media Player Sales - You can preload your podcast into a media player, have it branded with your information, and either sell it separately or as part of a package.

6. Transcripts - The more modalities in which you deliver your information the more customers you will reach. Podcasting is an audio experience. Have your podcasts transcribed and then sell them separately or as part of a package.

7. Ebooks - Another way to repurpose the audio from your podcast is as an ebook. This makes a great package to sell, as the podcast is in audio and the ebook is in text.

And when you take just one podcast and use these strategies you can create a massive web presence with your podcasts.

And are you ready to learn more about how I do it?

Then I invite you to check out http://www.PodcastSecrets.com and discover how to use podcasting to accelerate the growth of your business.

The ideal candidate will be passionate about small business, an excellent writer, and have experience blogging. We’re ready to take our blog to the next level, and are looking for someone to take it there with us.

As a blogger for SmallFuel you’ll need to write two 400-800 word articles per week in a friendly-yet-professional style. Each article will include one or more lists, quotes, links, images, etc. to spice things up. You will also be responsible for reviewing your posts to ensure they are free from errors.

Payment will start at $200/month ($25/article), and will increase with your experience. Once you have established yourself with SmallFuel, we will add traffic incentives to your pay as well.

How to apply:

When you’re ready to apply please email the following to jobs@smallfuel.com:

1. A paragraph or two about yourself and why you think you’re a great fit for the position.

2. Links to any previous blogs or websites you’ve written for.

3. Some sample articles that are in a similar style to what you’ll be writing on SmallFuel (if you don’t have any, feel free to write a new one).

4. Any other qualifications you think are applicable (HTML, image editing, social media, etc…)

If you have any questions, feel free to email jobs@smallfuel.com

Do you hate they way that you are being told what to do at your job and how things should be done? Well what if I told you that you are able to tell people the way you think things should be? To tell you the truth you are one step closer to getting there by finding this article. The way I am about to tell you about that will allow you to do this is very lucrative and you don’t need any college or high school degree to do so.

The way this can be done is with blogging. When you blog you will be able to run your own business meaning you can be your own boss, set your own hours and work however much you want too. You may be a bit skeptical about this because you have probably owned a blog or something similar before for your own personal use. Well, if you have you should know that it is a free thing to set up and very easy to use as well.

The way this blogging business works is that you will be the one that will provide people with information that they are looking for on the internet from your blog. The reason why I want you to use a blog is because it is free and you will not be losing any money from this business. You would choose a topic you want to talk about and make sure that you stick with that topic only per blog.

So, let’s say you want to set up a blog. I would head on over to Blogger and create one. Next you need to add some content about whatever topic you choose and start writing about what you know about it. It is good to post in your blog a 3 times a week that way your blog will always stay fresh and unique.

Now, the way to make money from your blog will be done with affiliate marketing and Google adsense. The way to get started with these is follow the easy steps to set up Google adsense with blogger from the template. The way to set up your affiliate links can be done with either Click bank or Commission Junction.

So, hopefully I have taught your something today that you didn’t already know! I hope you are able to tell your boss to shove it now!

For more information, you can check out: Blogging to the bank. If you are wondering what Blogging to the bank is, it has said to be a 7 step blogging for profits blueprint.

Many blogs are successful for one main reason. They are consistent. In this article, I will explain why consistency is needed in your blog and how it will improve it.

How many times have you gone to your favorite blog with the anticipation of reading their next great post only to find out they have not made a post? What do you think when this happens? Does it irritate you?

Most readers will tolerate inconsistency once or twice, or even a few more. But if you are consistently inconsistent all you are doing is training your readers to stay away.

What do I mean by this? Well just like Pavlov’s dogs became trained to look for food when they heard a bell, your readers will start stopping by your blog every couple of days, if they see nothing, then it becomes longer between their visits.

Eventually your blog will fall off of their radar and most likely replaced with another and your readership will suffer. And we all know that no readers to your blog will destroy your blog, especially if you are writing your blog to make money.

To avoid all of this, just be, you got it, consistent. By that I mean if you make daily posts, then make sure you make a post each and every day. If you know that your are going to miss a post or two, take the time to write one ahead of time to fill in or have some spare posts available for just an occasion. Most blogging platforms allow you to schedule a post ahead of time, so use it to your advantage.

I hope this article has helped you understand how important it is to be consistent with your blog. Although this alone may not make your blog successful, it will give you a great base for you work with and your readers and advertisers will see that.

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First Opportunity:

Company: BigThink.com
Location: U.S., United States
Ad Expires: April 2, 2008
 

Description: Big Think, a novel Web start-up, is looking for regular bloggers. The blog tries to bring buried site content up for air — clips from notable guests on race, politics, art, etc. — by pegging them to relevant news stories. We are looking for someone to write at least two posts a day in one of several categories we follow (everything from science to faith & beliefs); each of the posts is short (about 400 words) and includes a byline. Compensation to be discussed. Preference will be given to individuals with prior blogging experience, especially those with a track record of working with others blogs to build links, etc. If you’re interested, email julia@bigthink.com.