Saturday, December 30, 2006
Hottest Topics to Blog About in 2007
Happy New Year bloggers! This time I wanted to post something for you as a gift for 2007 to start the year on the right foot. That´s why I´ve been doing research, this time I wanted to see which topics are going to be the hottest and most profitable ones to blog about this year. As you know there are some topics and subjects that are more interesting than others, so if you want to get a lot of traffic the entire year and to make a lot of money you have two options, create a blog exclusively for these subjects or talk about them in the blog you already have, you´ll see how your traffic increases and also your earnings, but remeber to promote. To compile this list I analized different sources looking for trends , experts predictions and new product announcements. Ok, now take a deep look to the most profitable topics for 2007 and start posting, good luck!Broadband Internet for cell phones
The use of mobile Internet services is increasing, and for this year all the new technologies and services focused on attending this market are going to be very profitable, therefore millions of users of these services are going to start searching for information about the benefits and functions on the use of broadband in mobile devices like cell phones and pda´s they will want the latest news and infromation about the new technology and most of them are going to start looking in blogs. Just give them what they want.
Wireless Cities
The use of wireless technology is also going increasing, and some countries are investing millions on wireless technology. There are many cities in Latin America and Asia that are beginning to use this technology to improve their infrastructure. The use of free wireless access points in public areas like parks ,museums and libraries in the cities is increasing the number of Internet users. Many fans and followers of the wireless culture will began to search for information, update your blog and make it a rich source of knowledge for thousands of new users.
Internet and TV
Both very powerful mass media tools, but what happens when tv and Internet are combined? well the result is an enormous number of people looking for the best television services on the Internet, which will also increase the number of new television networks looking to offer their services on the web, a blog about the best online tv options will attract thousands of visitors. Another good ideas for this topic is to create a blog about revies of these new kind of websites. Tv advertisers will also want space for their ads, another good opportunity to make money.
Microsoft´s New products
The giant is going to surprise us all again this year with new tools and products like the new Windows Vista and all its features and add-ons. According to Microsoft there is going to be Windows Vista in each new pc, this means that all users that are not very familiarized with this product is going to start looking for information, create a blog exclusively about Vista.
VOIP
This technology is hotting up and new players will arrive, Skype´s competitors are growing in number and size and they want a piece of the telecom industry.
Online Advertising
The online advertising market is going to grow this year. Google is still going to be the leader with its AdSense program, but Microsoft and other are going to take part in the game. This trend will benefit webmasters and advertisers that are going to find new ways to create fortunes with their websites.
The war of Browsers
The war between Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox is going to increase and other browsers like Opera and Flock will contune to gain users this will lead to a continuous search for the best browser, great for a blog about reviews.
Video Games
A multi millionaire industry that is growing with new announcements like the Nintendo Wii and the Play Station 3, if I wanted to create a new blog I think it would be about game reviews for these gadgets, just think about it, how many people are fans of this technology.
That´s it I´m sure there are many hot topics to blog about but these are the ones that I found most profitable and with more possibilities to make money, if you have another idea please share it with us.
Top 10 Search Engines
Internet is a great source of information, we can find almost anything we want if we use the correct tools and terms, with more than 300 billions of websites, it is almost impossible to find something without search engines, but thetruth is that we are all devoted to Google or Yahoo! when there are other alternatives. These mega corporations are controling the world of information and they have a market value o several billions of dollars, because those who control information will rule the word. Remember that. Here is our Top 10 Search Engines list.1. Google: I think we all know what we are talking about, here is a company that needs no introduction, in less than 10 years has become a real giant some people say that in a few years Gogle is going to become the world´s largest corporation. Gogle´s mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.
2. Yahoo!: There was a time in which Yahoo! was the number 1 and rules the Web, it was the first search engine I used, but still now this tool remains in a very privileged position in the world of searches.
3. Windows Live Search: Formerly MSN Search , Microsoft´s second attempt to rule the world of information, they still can´t beat the giants. The software developer doesn´t want to stay behind in this billionaire race to take control of the web.
4. Ask: Formerly askjeeves.com, this is our fourth player. On september 11, 2001 (what a day) acquired Teoma another search engine who now gives power to ask.com. Since it's founding in 1996 this search engine has been growing year by year.
5. A9: Amazon´s searching tool, the master of online sales want´s a piece of this multi millionaire cake.
6. Snap: Offers a very clean interface and some very useful features like a preview the websites displayed on the results, navigation hints and a prediction of your searches, you have to try it one day I really like it.
7. AOL Search: Owned by TimeWarner (95%) and Google (5%) eventhough it has the support of Google and Time Warner it still has a long road to walk before it reaches his brother.
8. Alexa Search: A subsidiary of Amazon.com it is best known for providing information about web traffic to ther websites. In 1999 Alexa was acquired by Amazon.com for about $250 million.
9. Altavista: This company was launched on 1995 by a hardware company, I remember that whe I was 15 years old I used to play with this search engine at school, Altavista began as a showcase for new lines of products of its parent company, eventually they realized the enormous potential of web searches.
10. AlltheWeb: This norwegian searching tool ha lso a very nice interface whih allows users to search the web, images and news, AlltheWeb had a few advantages over Google, such as a fresher database, more advanced search features, search clustering and a completely customizable look.
That´s it, all these powerful resources are changing the Web day by day but remember no to stick with just a single one, be flexible and use the other alternatives.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Traffic Ideas for Brand New Blogs
Lets say you have a brand new blog with some posts and a good design, what happens next? We all know that if you want to make money with your new blog one of the things you have to do is get traffic, lots of traffic. There are blogs that after 6 months they are not getting readers, why? An asnwer to this question is because the owner is not concient that he has to promote it. Most bloggers are just waiting for readers without doing anything at all and that´s a fact. There are many ways to get traffic, but why many blogs are not getting readers at all? Well here are some points and tips you might want to try to increase your traffic, all of them are for those who don´t want to spend money getting traffic because what we are trying to do is to make money not to spend it. There are a lot of ways to generate traffic on the internet. If you dont want to wait, and you just want to start making money with your blog, let me give you an advice, be patient, and focus on how are you going to get traffic. Here is how to get traffic for your brand new blog.
1. Start visitng other similar blogs and posting comments on them, but remember to include your blog´s URL in each comment. Many readers read comments.
2. Submit your blog to directories, there are lots and lots of free directories out there submit to each one of them, also remeber that ywith each submition you are getting backlinks very important for your search engine ranking.
3. Join forums and introduce yourself and your blog. Add a link and invite people to visit your blog, explain them what it is about and what it offers.
4. Submit an article, there are many article submition sites where you can share your knowledge, remeber to include something like “For more information visit my blog” add your URL.
Use these techniques and you´ll see how your traffic starts to grow, remeber this simple formula: Traffic= Money!
Signage and Branding of your Blog
As we said in previous posts your blog is your brand thats why it is not enough just a name and a a logo, your blog needs something more. Once you have your blog up and running you have to create an identity, a brand identity involves more than just names and logos thats why in this posts I would like to talk you about “Signage”. The image is a very important part of the branding process and signage is going to help us increase our blog´s image.But, what exactly is signage in a blog?
Well signage is a combination of visual elements that create an atmosphere or an enviroment inside the blog, in this way readers and visitors can feel comfortable and identified. The signage of a blog goes from the header to the footer and includes buttons, graphics, logos, solors and fonts. Your blog has to have its own “Soul” or its own identity, If you are usign red for links then you have to use that same color for all of them, you cannot have green links and others with red this tends to confuse your readers. Another useful tip is to use the same design for all your buttons, if you do so your visitors are going to know that all similar icons in your site are buttons and no other thing.
Always mantain the same ssize and color for the text, let me give you an example: Use read for tittles , blue for links and black for the body of your text. Let me talk again about buttons, if you have metalic buttons use the same design for all of them, if you have glossy buttons use the same glossy effect. There are many ways to give an identity to your blog be creative and have fun but always remeber the priciples.
How to define your blog as a brand
Hello bloggers , let me give you an advice: Always think in your blog as a brand and as a business. If you think in your blog as a business and as a brand they you´ll act like its CEO, therefore you´ll try to make the most of your blog. Here are some steps to successfully define the brand of your blog. Ask yourself these questions, answer them and writte down the results.1. What kind of products, services or information do you offer? Define their qualities.
2. What are the core values of your products , services or information?
3. What is the mission of your blog? Is it just to entertain yourself? Or to offer something to others?
4. What does your blog specializes in?
5. Who is your target market? If you define your market then it´s going to be easier to drive targeted traffic to your blog.
6. What is the slogan of your blog? What message do you want to transmit?
Review your answers and create a profile of your brand (Blog) . Focus on your target audience when answering each question. Think in what kind of brands they like and make your blog one of them.
Learning from Rich People
The following is a large post because it is about how to become rich learning from rich people, the other day I was reading an article about “The secrets of rich people” and I found a phrase that caught my attention : “Think like the rich, act like the rich and you'll be rich” simple but I think that there is a lot of truth in that phrase, so lets review some points. What does rich person believes?
1. Rich people believe that they are creating their own destiny and that nothing in their lives is already decided.
2. Rich people are always thinking about winning while most people are just thinking about not loosing, this attitude gives rich people an advantage, because if they fail in something they are going to try again and again until they succeed, remeber that rich people do not surrender.
3. Rich people are commited to be rich. They have a strong desire to be rich and successful. And nothing less than that.
4. Rich people focus on opportunity. Other people focus on obstacles. If you are always looking at the black dot inside the white snow then you wont be able to focus on the opportunities. But remember that with every opportunity always comes an obstacle or many but , remeber what we´ve just said in point 3, keep trying and you´ll succeed.
5. Rich people are visionaries and they think BIG. They set challenging goals for themselves and they have the ability to see further.
6. Rich people admire other rich and successful people. Because as we are doing they learn from their experiences.
7. Rich people are open mind and they are always open for new ideas. They are aslo positives and they mix with other successful people because they want positive energy and motivation they dont have time for negative and pasive relations.
8. Rich people are willing to promote themselves and their values.
9. Rich people are BIGGER than their problems. Never forget that, no matter what, the sun is always going to shine. For rich people each second is a new opportunity.
10. Rich people get paid based on results. They chose not to get rich by time. Rich people know that the wost possible way to be financially independent is to sell your time.
11. Most people think that if you want to earn a lot of money, you'll have to sacrifice other things. Rich people believes that you can earn millions without sacrificing anything. Remember?, They have open minds!
12. Rich people are constantly learning and growing. Rich people are willing to learn from other people without looking at others' education, age , gender etc.
13. Rich people have their money work hard for them. They are making money even while they are sleeping.
No matter what your goals are always try to avhieve them, if you want to be rich and successful people try hard and visualize your dreams but never forget that success is more than just money. But hey! We love money!
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
How to use Templates in the New Blogger
As you know with New Blogger we are unable to use some hacks like hiding the navbar. But maybe the worse thing for some bloggers is that they are not going to be able to use some Blogger Templates with this new platform. Wel for those bloggers trying to use their own designs on Blogger (new version) let me give you a hot tip so they can successfully change the template. Try it remember that one of the steps to build a successful blog is the image and your blog has to have a good design even though it is a template but not the generic one. Here are the steps on how to use templates with the New Blogger.1. Login to Blogger using your Google account.
2. On your dashboard choose the blog you want to edit and go to the "Template" section.
3. After that click on "Edit HTML"
4. Once you are in the "Edit HTML" section where you have the template code scroll down to the bottom of the page and choose "Revert to Classic Template"
5. Now copy the code of the template you want to use and paste it where you have the old code, jus replace it.
6. Check preview and if everything is ok then click "Save Template changes" and you are done!
You can use this simple technique to change all your Blogger blogs. Thee are many good templates out there for your blog just select the one that fits your needs. I hope this tip was useful for you. Please feel free to leave a comment.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
How to Hide the Blogger Navbar
Ok bloggers, lets say you have a Blogger blog and you already have some published posts you have a descent number of readers but, your blog still looks like, well, like a "Blogger Blog"! why? because it still has what it is called the Navbar, you know, the one that has 50 pixels high and spreads across the entire width of the browser window, the one that has a search field and all that stuff. Well let me give you a tip to remove or just to hide that annoying thing.
They allow you to change the color of the navbar to match the design of your blog, but that doesn´t solve the problem, your blog is still marked as a "Blogger Blog". Blogger has to mark all blogs that are powered by them but I think it is enough if you have a button that links to them or something like "Powered by Blogger". Follow this simple steps to successfully remove the navbar. With this technique your blog is going to look more professional.
1. First of all go to your blog´s control panel.
2. Go to the "Template" section and save template changes.
3. Now copy and paste the grey code in your template as it is shown here.
<style type="text/css">
#b-navbar {
height:0px;
visibility:hidden;
display:none
}
</style>
4. Now save Template changes and republish.
This simple code should solve the problem ,if you did it well you might notice that now you have a gap between the header of your blog and the top of the page, if that´s the case let me give you a solution for that.
Insert the grey code in your Blogger template as it is shown just after the "body" tag , save changes and republish.
body
{
margin-top:0px;
}
Now you should have a professional looking blog without the annoying navbar.
How to add a Favicon to your Blog
First of all a Favicon is an icon or a logo of a website or blog, some browsers display these icons next to the address or next to the title of the page. These icons are also used to identify a website or blog when you add it to your "favorites" they are very small (16x16 or 32x32 pixels) and they are usually in .ICO format. Blogger has a generic favicon for all blogs, but you can custumize your blog with your own favicon, these are the steps to do so.
2. After that, once you have created your favicon you´ll have to download it to your PC, your file has to be "favicon.ico".
3. Once you have your file in your hard drive you will need to host it somewhere different from your pc. Blogger does not support .ICO files so let me give you the trick I used, go to Freewebs and create an account, upload your favicon to your account and copy the URL where it is hosted.
4. After that copy this code:
<link rel="icon" href="YOUR_FAVICON_URL" type="image/ico"><link rel="shortcut icon" href="YOUR_FAVICON_URL" type="image/ico">
5. Paste the code into your blogger template html code after the tag but before the tag and save the changes.
And thats it! after this you shall see your icon next to your blog's title on the browser bar. Favicons allow you to improve the identity and the image of your blogs by making them more unique.
Top 10 Largest Blog Networks
Blogging has become one of the most profitable business on the Internet, I imagine that it is because the advertising industry is growing, many bloggers are earning thousands of dollars with their blogs. Just imaginehow much money a 100 blogs can make. The following is a list of the Largest Blog Networks on the Internet, the list is huge but we are just listing the first 10, who knows maybe one day our own networks will be in the list. Say hello to this 10 giants of the blogging business.1. Weblogs Inc..- Now owned by AOL it is the largest blog network with more than 100 blogs from traveling to technology and from fashion to business was founded by Jason Calacanis. This monster was making about $3000 per day with AdSense, just imagine.
2. Gawker Media.- Second blogging empire, from Manhattan to the world, this company owns some of the most popular blogs on the Web.
3. b5 Media.- Is one of the largest blog networks in the world has almost 100 blogs and with more than 110 bloggers from all around the world.
4. 9rules.- This is a diferent king of network because it groups more than 100 blogs from different owners but there is no doubt that 9rules is truly a giant, they also have the nicest looking blogs.
5. Shiny Media.- With almost 28 blogs this network reaches more than 1 million unique users per month.
6. Weblogs SL.- Spanish blog network, with currently 21 blogs up and running.
7. InstaBlogs.- Asia´s largest blog networ really knows how to treat asiatic bloggers.
8. Bloggy Network.- Really nice looking blogs of fashion and busines
8. Blogo.- With more than 20 blogs it is the leading networkfor italian bloggers.
9. Mink Media.- Is the larges uk blogging network with more than 25 units this company has also a place for chinese and german speaking readers.
10. TechCrunch.- Cool network with 9 units.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
How to choose a profitable name for your blog
Choosing a domain name for your blog is a very important and tough decision, and should not be taken lightly. A bad choice of name could seriously affect the potential profitability of your online business, and prevent it achieving as much success as it should do.There are many factors you should consider when selecting a domain name for your blog, as you can see many successful blogs have simple and direct names, if your blog is about cars then you need a name that reflects that, you dont need something like. www.myblog123.blogspot.com, remeber that simple and direct names are more successful and profitable.
First of all , you should try and include your main keyword in your name ans see if the domain is available. This will keep your site optimized for the search engine rankings, because search engines generally rank websites and blogs slightly higher if they include their main keyword in their domain name.
Ideally it should be relatively short and easy to remember. Try to keep them as short and as memorable as possible. If the name you are looking for is not available any more you can add a dash between your keywords. If you cant find a good name usign the .com suffix you can also choose one like .net. A good name is essential if you want to make a successful blog.
Monday, December 11, 2006
How to attract advertisers for your blog
First of all, what you need is obviously a blog full of good content, You will also need to have a targeted audience. Then promote your blog, you can find all the information you need to promote it in our archives. If you want to make real money from advertisement, dont wait for advertisers to com to your blog, visit their sites and offer you blog, show them a brief description of the blog and also show them some of your latest stats. Look for similar blogs see if they have ads and what kind of advertisers and sponsors they have, analize their content and see if it looks like yours, if it does then this means that you can have also the same advertisers and sponsors but remember the stats, you need traffic, lots and lots of traffic, if you dont have readers then no one will see the ads, and your sponsors will leave.To contact the advertisers send them an e-mail that includes your name, where are you from and for how long you have been blogging ( they will want to know who is behind the blog) after that add your blog´s address and explain them what´s your blog about, what it offers and how frecuent you update it, then explain your reasons why you are looking for advertisers, and show them your stats just an overview. Remember to include your future plans for your blog.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
How to analize your blog
Do you really know how good is your blog? Do you know if your visitors really like it? Or do you know if they really enjoyed it? To make any businesss successful you need to look to the inside. Think in your blog as your own business, it´s true that there are many tools that help you analize your blog or your website using stats, but remember they are just tools. To successfully analize your blog you have to review it as if you were another visitor, try finding mistakes or something that is not right, try reading the content, the posts and then ask yourself, is this really a good blog? How about the design? Does it has a good looking? Is the content reliable? By doing this you will know which parts of your blog need to be modified or removed. Try doing this task each moth as your blog grows and you´ll see that your traffic and your income are going to start growing also.Tips on how to successfully promote your blog
Each day you update your blog with new posts and new articles. You keep writing everyday about your life or about something you really like. But no one reads it. At that point you notice that something is not working, then you try something else you start writiting about the latest technology and gadgets hoping that you will get some visitors and some comments from readers on the next day but still, not many people comes to your site. But you still continue posting and updating your site everyday, every night. After some days, you realized that you need to promote your blog, but you just dont know how.Here are some tips on how to successfully promote your blog to get more traffic.
First of all visit other blogs, similars to what your blog is about but also try other successful blogs to see what makes them special and unique. Dont wait people come to your blog, first visit theirs, comment about their posts and remember also to include after each comment your blog´s URL.
Another tip to promote your blog is to join bloggers forums, participate in them, introduce youself and your blog and describe it , tell them what your blog is about and remember one more time to include your blog´s URL.
Submit to blog directories, submit your blog to as many directories as you can. Many of them are free, but there are others in which you will have to include a backlink to their site
Dont forget search engines, they are maybe the best source to get traffic to your blog, submiting to search engines ia very easy you just have to add your blog´s URL to their index and that it but there are some basic principles about search engines that you have to have in mind, like backlinks, you need many backlinks to your blog, your articles and posts need to be optimized for search engines also, you can find many posts about SEO in this blog.
