Success Starts With 'Out of the Box' Thinking

I just posted a reply to one of Dekat's topics on 'making money as a SAHP'

I use to paint for a local 'craft' wholesale company that sold folk-art type stuff to hardware and grocery stores. The pay was not good, but the hours were. I could usually work in my own time, and paint when I had time. I got good enough that I could line items up and paint ten at a time.

Eventually, I was good enough to paint items that people would pay $10 - $50 for. I use to paint folk art designs on discarded kitchen cabinet doors, painting the trim to look like a frame. I got as much as $50 for one that was 10 inches square and $75 for a regular one. My success was based on the fact that I could do original work that wasn't seen elsewhere.

It just brought to mind the fact that I didn't just 'get here' because I got lucky. This has been something I've been arguing with my son over.

We live in a very rural area, and my son has been facing a lot of flack at high school. The teachers have been making him feel like university is a pipe dream for him, and he should do factory work or learn to milk cows. (not that there isn't good money in that)

One teacher said to him, 'well, maybe you'll be one of the people who just luck-out.' Well, I had to flip over this. We make our own luck.

If I never took that painting job, I wouldn't have learned how much rich people were willing to pay to have their house cleaned. If I hadn't worked in the flea market, I wouldn't have met people who taught me that anyone can succeed.

If I hadn't met those people, I wouldn't have tried to start a house cleaning service in a city that already had the 2 major franchises in it. Then, I wouldn't have learned that no one is dealing with the 'Persian rug/tropical shower' types of homes properly. My clients actually taught me the right way to look after their homes. Of course, I learned the hard way that you cannot hold clean crystal shards, one in ten will slip out of your hand :(.

But, if I hadn't been working for these people, I would not have learned about networking. Networking people taught me about diversification, surviving recessions, and rebuilding.

That is why, three years after a major crash in the IT industry that crushed 3 of the major IT companies, and put 42% of our clientele out of business, and cost me $35 000.00 - That is why I am now just about back on my feet.
Luck? - Bah! humbug
Go make your own luck . .


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Office Decor

I have a blog where I spend a lot of time telling work at home writers how to decorate their offices. The decor of a home based office is vital. It effects the writer's production, their self esteem, and their ability to work longer without stressing.

I tell people to get a few novelties. I didn't come up with this. Bradbury did the same thing. Of course, I would rather have a digital photo frame than a skull, but to each their own.

Work At Home Survival

I often read blogs and articles written by other bloggers. One of the easiest ways to reduce the loneliness, and feelings of alienation, are to connect with other work at home freelancers.

WHAM, is a community of people who work together. There is no university to teach us how to survive and thrive. We must teach each other, and learn through trial and error.

A blogging community like communiati.com can help us meet friends and mentors who can teach us. I have learned, and I have taught, over my 14 months as a blogger.

I am still learning.

The most important thing I've learned is not to neglect my physical or emotional state for the sake of a deadline.

Sometimes, it is better to go to rest fora couple of days, even if it means passing a deadline. A couple days rest can make the difference between health and spending a week sick in bed - like I just did.

This is the hardest lesson for me to learn. I naturally view resting, waiting, or just needing a break as procrastination or wasting time.

I am trying to consider my health as an asset to the business, and my key to success.


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Blogging For Money - Or Not!

I often wonder if I blog for money, and to talk with people, or if I am addicted to blogging. I missed my daily fix. For 17 months the morning routine included one blog post a cup of coffee and checking emails. If the day was stressful, I stopped and wrote another blog post.

I am a habitual creature. I'm the first to admit it, but blogging feels different. Is it really possible to experience something socially through a digital venue? Do people really connect when they blog at a community site like this one?

I write at 11 blogs, but only one social blog. I wouldn't miss any of the others if they went down - not emotionally. However, I did miss my other gracepub blog when things went wild in January. I missed the morning routine. I missed seeing your familiar.... username.

Is the ability to work in a community like this, and make friends that you miss, proof of society's enduring ability to adapt to any situation? Or, does it mean that we all work too hard?

Or - are we using the few dollars that Google pays us as an excuse to continue our addiction with blogging? I do make money every month, but nothing near the promised $1200 – but then, I didn't know that I was loosing as much as 90% to the blog host from my Google code, and not given anything on the 'admin's' ads.

It is something I've been pondering for a few weeks while I hunted for a new 'home.'

Reviews

Making money online with Google takes some practice. I am not a Google guru, but there are some things that will help writers earn more money with Google - writing reviews.

Price comparison sites do a big business. People want to find products to buy, but they also want to find the best price. The Internet made it easy to shop for an mp3 player, wood stove, or even an automobile.

Google Attacks My Wages Again

I read the following article and had to cringe. My main blog went from PR3 to PR0 - that's right. PR-ZERO. It was a hard blow. It isn't like I qualify for payday loans. This is how I make a living.

Welcome to webmaster's paranoid hell!

For SEO reasons I have very few external links on my main page. Can't see why Google downgraded my main site. I have been at PR6 for years.

Herein lies my main beef, with Google you never really know where you stand; you are constantly walking on eggshells. No matter how good your content or your site is - one misstep and you could be in the doghouse. All your hard work can be taken away in a heartbeat.

It wouldn't matter so much if it was one of the other two major search engines downgrading your site but this is Google.

Free organic traffic from Google is vital to any online site or business. I would take traffic from Google over any other source of traffic on the web, except for traffic coming from my articles on other sites, and even that traffic probably originated from a search in Google.

Google and Google PageRank have always been important to me - that's one of the reasons a sudden large drop causes so much concern. There's another important reason Google PageRank is important to me.

Most SEO experts mistakenly believe PageRank is meaningless because Google is not giving us the true ranking of any site or revealing all the backlinks, which is supposedly one of the major factors in how Google ranks sites. While this fact is obviously true, it has caused many to jump to another conclusion.

Because Google is not giving us the real ranking, many webmasters have dismissed PageRank as a vital element in their sites. Don't make the same mistake.

Google PageRank is extremely important if you're doing business on the web. The higher PR you have, the better. But it has nothing to do with keyword rankings or first page SERPs.

What many SEO experts fail to realize (not really their business) is the whole "perceived" value of PageRank.

Google, hate it or love it, has become the most respected company on the web in the eyes of the majority of the web's users. It carries enormous weight and prestige. The "perceived" value of a high PR7 or PR8 is extremely valuable.

We are not talking about link selling; we are talking about how a perspective business partner or customer will treat your site or business.

The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous websites, including two sites on Internet marketing. For the latest web marketing tools try: http://www.bizwaremagic.com

Google Basics for Business

Google dominates the search engine world, despite the fact that the conversion-to-buyer rate at MSN is much higher. This forces most ecommerce businesses to try and dance Google’s waltz, without fully comprehending the ins and outs of how Google works.

Navigating Google is difficult. Most SEO optimizing specialists and SEO Internet marketers do not understand what they are doing. In fact, most of them are so far behind the times that their information is useless. Summer 2007 saw the latest change in Google’s algorithm leaving many ecommerce businesses with sharp decreases in traffic.

What is a Google Algorithm

The Google Algorithms are basically the math formulas used to determine which web pages rank high in the searches, and which ones rank low, or are banned. Google changes the rules every 18 - 24 months to help them sweep away websites that are not optimized and MFA (Made For AdSense) static sites.

Google also makes changes to meet the needs of the webmasters. When Google brought in their inbound link ranking system, it gave many webmasters an opportunity to build link farms, gaining an unfair advantage. In response Google now looks for content around a link. If there is no content, then the link has no value.

When Google started to focus on content, webmasters and programmers created Content Management Systems. Unfortunately, until recently, Google could not read database pages. Now, the programmers have created a static page method of page creation, and search engines learned how to read content off databases.

Search Engine Optimization

Many webmasters do not understand what this means. And, many SEO optimizers do not understand what this means. To many, it still means coding a page so that the keywords are highlighted, and under .05% of the content (including link bars). They believe it is a method of web design.

Ecommerce businesses are still scrambling to pay SEO optimizers big bucks to make their pages rank high, when meta tags and SEO tricks have very little importance. Now, the search engines are looking for good content, with heading titles, and a site full of similar content, with articles linked together using the same ‘keyword anchors.’

Google’s new algorithms have made it possible for many small ecommerce businesses to build their page rank, and search engine rank, without ever paying a dime to a SEO specialist.

The Google Sandbox and Supplemental Index

Both of these cause chills to run up most webmasters spines, but only because they are not understood, Google does not have a Sandbox. Yes, it may take a few months to get your website listed and showing up, inbound links may not appear for a long time, and a website may not show up when searched - but that is not a sandbox. It is just a backlog. One way to overcome it is to take part in Google’s PayPerClick program. Even if you only invest $20 a month, being a part of that program immediately links your site, so you do not need to wait.

The supplemental index is as easy to get out of. First, take a look at the meta information - is it too generic? If so, then do not use keywords but use keyword phrases. The keyword ‘ecommerce’, is too generic, so is ‘ecommerce business.’ However, ‘learn how to start an ecommerce business’ will help that page target.

Next, make sure the page is linked to a high ranking page. This can be done by putting links inside the page - or by adding it to the website’s navigation system. Within a short time, that page will no longer be in the supplemental index.

Should You Put Google Ads On Your Ecommerce Site?

One of the biggest debates in the ecommerce world is whether to post PayPerClick advertisements on a website, or not. Many sites are using video advertisements to improve the look and feel of their sites. Others are hoping that PayPerClick will offer a passive source of income, but this short-term thinking may cost the company serious profits.

The purpose of a PayPerClick ad is to take a visitor from your website and put them on another website. This person leaves before they ever see the host company’s squeeze page, buy-now page, or Social Networking tools. This means that a potential customer is gone for good. The problem is - the ads on the host company’s website represent the competition.

PayPerClick Passive Income

On one side of the debate is the idea that PayPerClick lets ecommerce businesses generate some revenue from people who were going to leave the website anyway. The problem arises when the website looks at the actual numbers.

It takes several months before Google starts registering clicks, even if thousands of people have already clicked the link. Even when Google does start registering links, they rarely register more than one half of the actual links. In many cases, Google counts less than half.

Then, there is the Page Rank Trap. Google only pays a percentage of the money promised, based on the site’s page rank. A site can build more than 10 000 inbound links and 1000 pages of content and still have only Page Rank 3, earning about .05% of Google’s promised payout. Many sites (non MFA - Made For Adsense) work for 2 - 3 years before they earn $100 a month.

A website can make hundreds of dollars a month from Adsense, as long as the primary purpose of the site is to generate PayPerClick traffic.

PayPerClick Traffic

Many ecommerce businesses sign up for a PayPerClick program through Yahoo or Google to generate traffic. While the search engine advertising companies promise that they do not favor their advertisers, it is foolish not to. They are only cutting their throats letting sites which do not use their ads to rank higher than the sites who do use their ads.

From this side of the fence, PayPerClick is a good deal, because you are the company stealing customers from the competition. However, very few PayPerClick programs give the advertiser control over sites they appear on.

Google does, to a certain extent. It is possible to visit a major competitor’s site, which generates millions more hits than your site does, and place an ad on their pages. However, this does not guarantee that these same people will not click off your website.

Rule #1 of Sales
The first rule of sales is to hook a potential customer. This means keeping them on the host ecommerce site, and encouraging them to click through the links until they reach the buy now page.

There are some crafty ways to do this. For example, make the link bar to squeeze pages and buy-now pages look like PayPerClick ads. Another trick is to lead people from one website owned by the host company to another of their sites, in effect, creating a big circle.

However, make sure that the main pages are optimized with no=follow code in the links. Search engines penalize this type of ‘black hat’ SEO trick. The no=follow code in the ads will prevent the search engines from penalizing the site.

Both of these tricks will keep potential visitors inside the company’s ecommerce sites.

Another trick is to use a ‘default’ internal search tool. Instead of Google’s search, use one that defaults inside the ecommerce network’s sites, instead of on the world wide web.

Keeping customers is the only way to increase profits, and retain customers.

How Do I Get So Many High Ranking Posts?

I've read a few posts where people ask me how come I have so many posts in the Hall of Fame. It is fairly simple. I follow the outline in my course, and I follow the advice in this blog.

Directory Submissions

That said, there are a few ways to fast track. If you want to make money from your blog, and you want to increase traffic and hits, there are a few ways to do it.

I mentioned one good method in the last post. Another is to submit through a directory submission tool. This is different than a website submission. Directories are not search engines.

http://www.directorymaximizer.com/

This is the service I use. They have 1000 directories in their list, and are always adding more. There is no 'reciprical link needed' increasing the value of the links. Each one costs $.14 and you can submit to as many as you need at a time. If you only have $15 to invest this month, then that is good.

After a few months you will have submitted to them all. This service has a 60-80% acceptance rate on the PR3 and higher sites.

I submit to the PR3 and higher sites first, while they are still new and looking for members. The PR0 sites will take anyone. The PR3 and higher sites will also pull your page rank and traffic exposure site up faster.

Page Rank Increased

But, beware of buying links based on the PR of the home page. A directory with a PR8 will not help you if it is on the home page, and the page your site appears on only has a PR0. (PR zero)

I have heard of the sites promising that if you pay a high price for a listing on a site with PR8 pages that your site will increase. I understand the theory. I was taught the theory in class. But, I've never actually seen a person who paid $200 for a listing on a PR8 site - a single link - actually benefit from it.


PS. If you don't use heading titles and the meta tag section of this blog, or any blog, this advice probably will not work as well as I say it will.

Pay Per Post

I think one of the hardest PPP companies to get started with is Pay Per Post. They only allow the submission of one blog. It must reach a certain level of rank, hits, and posts before it is accepted. Then, you need 10 accepted posts before you can submit more blogs.

To make about $1000 a month a blogger needs 10 blogs that are 'attractive' to advertisers. So - PPP doesn't want to see your 'main' promotion or focus blog. They want to see a general blog that will attract as many posts as possible.

I haven't been there long enough to find out what blogs earn the most money on PPP. The categories are business, entrepreneur, marketing, - and have given me access to about 3 - 5 posts.

The trick to making money online is to visit these sites daily. The jobs appear and disappear quickly - however, some sites also give more opportunities to bloggers who post the most blogs. This means that you want to post a lot of posts. I do not know if PayPerPost does this, but I'll let you know.

Feel free to send an article on PPP or post a reply if you have any thoughts.

Using Paid Directory Submissions 101

I've read a few posts where people ask me how come I have so many posts in the Hall of Fame. It is fairly simple. I follow the outline in my course, and I follow the advice in this blog.

Directory Submissions

That said, there are a few ways to fast track. If you want to make money from your blog, and you want to increase traffic and hits, there are a few ways to do it.

I mentioned one good method in the last post. Another is to submit through a directory submission tool. This is different than a website submission. Directories are not search engines.

http://www.directorymaximizer.com/

This is the service I use. They have 1000 directories in their list, and are always adding more. There is no 'reciprical link needed' increasing the value of the links. Each one costs $.14 and you can submit to as many as you need at a time. If you only have $15 to invest this month, then that is good.

After a few months you will have submitted to them all. This service has a 60-80% acceptance rate on the PR3 and higher sites.

I submit to the PR3 and higher sites first, while they are still new and looking for members. The PR0 sites will take anyone. The PR3 and higher sites will also pull your page rank and traffic exposure site up faster.

Page Rank Increased

But, beware of buying links based on the PR of the home page. A directory with a PR8 will not help you if it is on the home page, and the page your site appears on only has a PR0. (PR zero)

I have heard of the sites promising that if you pay a high price for a listing on a site with PR8 pages that your site will increase. I understand the theory. I was taught the theory in class. But, I've never actually seen a person who paid $200 for a listing on a PR8 site - a single link - actually benefit from it.


PS. If you don't use heading titles and the meta tag section of this blog, or any blog, this advice probably will not work as well as I say it will.

*Best of Both Worlds

The objective of this blog is to teach people how to make money writing paid posts. While I love work at home, I occasionally run across a sponsor that makes me miss certain aspects of the 'work for hire' world. When you are working for a paycheck, receiving credit is so easy.

Payday Loans from paydayloanquotes not only offers short term quotes, you can pick your own terms and interest rates. I was never familiar with the payday loan idea until I ran a cleaning company. Our teams would receive their checks on Wed, and cash them using a payday loan service.
The idea of using an internet service is not new. I've been writing articles for 'free content' sites on the benefits of payday loans for about three years. They are just another form of obtaining credit, but easier than approaching the banks, and cheaper than using credit cards.

I checked out this site and decided to write for them. They appear to be one reputable and have a great FAQ section.

Fast Track Your Blog to Higher Page Rank and Traffic

There is a quick way to fast track your blog and get it ranked. It will only cost $20.00. Join Google AdWords. Here is how it works. You sign up for a Google Adwords account. Invest $20, Google says the minimum is $50, but they will accept $20.00 https://adwords.google.com/select/Login

To enter your blog or website into the program, they must rank and spider (read your website) within 24 hours. Your website is instantly submitted - no sand box. Your site is instantly ranked. And, it is rated for the campaign. Also, you will receive traffic to your site for the $20.00.

This reduces the time needed for your blog or website to be added to searches, receive search traffic, and to receive a Page Rank. A higher page rank equals more money from Google Adsense, more traffic from searches, and more exposure on the web.

However, there are a few 'tricks'

1. There should be 20 - 50 posts in the blog, even if these are 'free content' articles, reviews you wrote, or daily muses.

2. There should be at least 30 - 50 back links to the site. These can all be from another blog, forums, or directories. Many of these can be inside your blog, navigation links.

3. There should be inbound links from your site to other 'relevant' sites to help make your keywords solid. a) only use keyword anchor that matches the keywords you want Google to focus on. b) make sure the site you link to has the same keywords in the titles, links, and meta. c) use the keywords in meta information and titles on your blog

Following these rules will fast track your blog or website.

Ethical Blogging Rules

I must admit that Trick Falls made me start to think. One of the problems I face is that much of what I do, and how I do it, has become habit. When I am writing for new writers and work at home professionals, I often forget the 'little things.'

Trick falls asked about disclosure in a blog, and making readers feel like they have been 'advertised to' when they are reading. This forced me to take a good hard look at my blogs. I knew that I had disclosure. But, I never really thought about how I do it.

First, there are organizations that help bloggers with disclosure and ethical problems. There are several companies like womma that help bloggers learn how to use full disclosure and ethical blogging.



There are also disclosure badges from PPP and other places that let people know a post has been sponsored. I also use a comment such as:

This post is my thoughts and my message for the day. I thank XXX company for sponsoring it and allowing me to continue bringing this information to you free



Pay Per Post is one of the most ethical, and profitable, paid posting sites.

If you would like to make some money by writing a review for my blog, and let the world know about the information I give away free, then please click the red bar above. PPP will pay you to review my site.

Family & Work at Home

I've recently seen an increasing number of web blogs that are dedicated to the concerns of elderly care. There are more options now than there were more than a decade ago. Today, people can expect to live longer. In fact, I recently read that people at 60 are now as healthy as 40 year olds were only twenty years ago. This means that before I retire, my parents will need my help.

It brings up a few questions. My father is becoming violent as he grows older. I am sorry, but I do not want to live with a violent person in my house. It will make it difficult to continue working. I have secretly started looking at care homes. I have been looking into the options available so I can arrange the right kind of care when it is time.

I've been focusing on news and tips from care experts that manage community forums. I haven't contacted care yet, but I am also starting to plan for my own retirement. I don't want to force my children into the place I am now.

How to Buy Website Traffic

Guest Writer: Mark Walters http://www.CashFlowInstitute.com


There are several reasons to buy web traffic. An ecommerce business will not be in business long before they realize that 100 000 visitors does not generate much income. Instead, they need to be attracting 500 000 – a month. Even at that, their success rate will be low.

This causes many people to consider buying ‘hits’ to their website. There are several reasons why a website might need to buy hits. If they are a social networking ‘content management’ site, built to pre-sell a product, then they might want to consider buying hits to increase their statistics. The higher their stats, the more they can charge for advertising.

An ecommerce business needs to increase their hits to increase the Return On Investment (ROI). But, is all traffic good traffic?

Quality Traffic

Even if you have read everything about Internet Marketing Expert alive on this planet talk about web traffic. Some claim that websites need as much traffic as possible, others claim that 1000 target audience visitors are worth more than 100 000 random visitors. One things most gurus believe, is that a website will earn one sale from 10,000 visitors, even if the website breaks every ecommerce rule in the book.
First step is to build a sales page, and then used Google’s Adwords to drive traffic to the website. In fact, build several. Keep stats on which ones do well, and even measure whether one does well in the winter, another does well in the summer.

Bad Traffic

Driving traffic to a site is easy - give something away free. But, like a bricks and mortar business, those people must be willing to purchase something. Most sites will receive comments from visitors demanding the paid products free. They will not pay. They have no money. This is ‘bad’ traffic. These people have money, they are just not willing to pay for the product.

Bad traffic drains the company’s bandwidth, increases the load on the Server, and makes it expensive to continue giving the product away for free.

This is where Google can come in handy. Changing a few keywords, for a few weeks, can help the business owner ‘find’ the Good Traffic.

Good Traffic

Generic keywords can bring in the wrong type of visitor, but so can using the right keywords. Offering something free will bring in traffic, but most of it won’t have any interest in the service or product. They will just want something free.
Good traffic will still only provide a 5% click through rate, but that is often enough. Instead of offering a product free, offer the ‘introductory’ or ‘sample’ free. This alerts people to the fact that there is something for sale on the other end.

"Good Traffic" equals "Targeted Traffic!"

Targeted Traffic

One of the best ways to find targeted traffic is to go to social networking sites that ‘pre sell’ your target audience and then advertise on their sites. Another way is to advertise, or write for, newsletters aimed at people who are interested in purchasing your product.

Buying Traffic

There are hundreds of sites that promise to drive targeted traffic to your site. Their initial cost is fairly reasonable. If the number of people hitting the site is the only factor, and the income is generated from advertising or Google, then buying hits may be profitable. If nothing else, it will work to increase the page rank of the site.

Unfortunately, these lists go out of date almost before they are created. It may take a website more than a year to build a list of ‘people interested in learning how to start a business.’ By the time the list is public, those who signed up are probably already in business, the majority are looking for free information and are not buyers, and the remainder will just delete the emails.

New Paid Blogging Site

I've been reviewing sites that have paid blogging. I am trying to find ones that do not have a lot of rules, take newer blogs, pay more than $5 for each post, and let bloggers pick and chose the advertisers they want to post on their site.

I found that in smorty. click the link below. It gets a 5/5 review from us.

What Do You Do to Relieve Stress?

I've tried all sorts of fun ways to take a break while working online, from playing games like tetris to online casino. There are advantages to all of them. The poker sites - no cash ones - let you connect with real people, take a 10 minute break, and then go back to work.

The important thing is to research the game sites. Find one that rates the different sites and gives warnings. It isn't very important, unless of course you want to use real money, or you want to go into tournaments. The important thing - as in all internet businesses - is to find a good review site first, and then compare the sites.

There are dozens of ways to relax. I've tried most. I've played RPG games, and signed up for game sites. I've kept fun blogs, and I've kept daily journals. It doesn't matter what you do, the important thing is that it is fun, and it helps you relax.

Google Basics

Google dominates the search engine world, despite the fact that the conversion-to-buyer rate at MSN is much higher. This forces most ecommerce businesses to try and dance Google’s waltz, without fully comprehending the ins and outs of how Google works.

Navigating Google is difficult. Most SEO optimizing specialists and SEO Internet marketers do not understand what they are doing. In fact, most of them are so far behind the times that their information is useless. Summer 2007 saw the latest change in Google’s algorithm leaving many ecommerce businesses with sharp decreases in traffic.

What is a Google Algorithm

The Google Algorithms are basically the math formulas used to determine which web pages rank high in the searches, and which ones rank low, or are banned. Google changes the rules every 18 - 24 months to help them sweep away websites that are not optimized and MFA (Made For AdSense) static sites.

Google also makes changes to meet the needs of the webmasters. When Google brought in their inbound link ranking system, it gave many webmasters an opportunity to build link farms, gaining an unfair advantage. In response Google now looks for content around a link. If there is no content, then the link has no value.

When Google started to focus on content, webmasters and programmers created Content Management Systems. Unfortunately, until recently, Google could not read database pages. Now, the programmers have created a static page method of page creation, and search engines learned how to read content off databases.

Search Engine Optimization

Many webmasters do not understand what this means. And, many SEO optimizers do not understand what this means. To many, it still means coding a page so that the keywords are highlighted, and under .05% of the content (including link bars). They believe it is a method of web design.

Ecommerce businesses are still scrambling to pay SEO optimizers big bucks to make their pages rank high, when meta tags and SEO tricks have very little importance. Now, the search engines are looking for good content, with heading titles, and a site full of similar content, with articles linked together using the same ‘keyword anchors.’

Google’s new algorithms have made it possible for many small ecommerce businesses to build their page rank, and search engine rank, without ever paying a dime to a SEO specialist.

The Google Sandbox and Supplemental Index

Both of these cause chills to run up most webmasters spines, but only because they are not understood, Google does not have a Sandbox. Yes, it may take a few months to get your website listed and showing up, inbound links may not appear for a long time, and a website may not show up when searched - but that is not a sandbox. It is just a backlog. One way to overcome it is to take part in Google’s PayPerClick program. Even if you only invest $20 a month, being a part of that program immediately links your site, so you do not need to wait.

The supplemental index is as easy to get out of. First, take a look at the meta information - is it too generic? If so, then do not use keywords but use keyword phrases. The keyword ‘ecommerce’, is too generic, so is ‘ecommerce business.’ However, ‘learn how to start an ecommerce business’ will help that page target. Next, make sure the page is linked to a high ranking page. This can be done by putting links inside the page - or by adding it to the website’s navigation system. Within a short time, that page will no longer be in the supplemental index.

Are You an Opportunist?

The definition of an opportunist is a person who takes actions, makes decisions, and incites changes without regard to principles or consequences. In the business world an opportunist is someone who builds wealth by taking money, often unscrupulously, form another. Another business definition is one person who skips from one business opportunity to another, like an MLM junkie, staying with each long enough to cause problems in the community and then leave.

There is a third trend in the business world. This involves someone who exploits trends, conditions and the marketplace to cut a niche that may not have been there before. On the bad side is the ticket scalper. On the good side are the multitude of companies taking advantage of global warming and consumer’s environmental enlightenment by bringing them products and educating the public.

Out of the deluge of opportunist will arise two types of business people, the entrepreneur and the solo-preneur. Each of these classes have worked hard to make success a habit. These people make an art out of finding good opportunities. But, where do you find an opportunity?

If you are an opportunist, then you want to pave the way, not follow the crowd. By the time the scam artists have posted the ‘get rich quick’ sites, you have totally developed the market and may be on the cutting edge of new breakthroughs.

But, where do you find opportunities. The first place to find them is among the general population. In the brick and mortar world, an opportunity is found by offering people something that helps them take life easier, solves a problem, or increases their wealth.

In the Internet world, an opportunity is something that makes the world a little smaller. If you can find a way to bring products and people, or people and people, together then you found a powerhouse.

One of the most difficult aspects of the ecommerce world is to convince people to buy. While internet shopping is growing by billions a year, most people do not go online to shop. They go online to socialize. That is where most opportunities are found - in the social circles.

A good listener will find opportunities. They will follow the forums and blog communities, listening to people’s rants and social concerns. An opportunity is hidden behind every rant. Every web site that solves a problem also creates one. The new problem is an opportunity.

Opportunities are also found in the areas where current businesses do not want to venture. Remember that the web lets people experience things from the comfort of their own home that they would not normally attempt in the real world.

When online gambling became big, many opportunity seekers asked themselves, ‘what is the problem with this industry.’ They found their opportunities in the problems, namely gambling and social weakness. Now you can find fun and safe ‘no cash’ gambling sites, you can find free gaming sites that offer a sterile version of gambling, and you can find support groups online. None of these industries existed before online gambling created a problem.

Online education is another area where may savvy businesses jumped in and made life easier. Now there are hundreds of tools that make it easier to teach an online course, platforms where people can manage their courses, and student services. Each of these did not exsist five years ago.

There are new markets and products waiting for an opportunist to turn them from a problem, or an idea, into a sound business product.

Why Small Business Owners Need a Networking Group

The number one benefit of a networking website, or group, is that it gathers resources that group of business owners knows will work, and brings together people who can make the programs work.

Surfing for Business Opportunities

Most work at home business owners start by surfing the net, looking for business opportunities. They usually become victim of a few scams, or a program that will not work for them, before finding a networking group.

For example, many new work at home business owners are quickly attracted by the affiliate programs on the web. They expect to build a passive stream of income. While the possibility is there, the probability of a new small business owner making a substantial amount of money is very low. Content Management Systems do well in the affiliate field. They have thousands of pages, with hundreds of thousands of hits. Their sole purpose is to attract people who are looking for the products they promote.

Most new business owners fall into two or three scams before they find a network where the webmaster has worked to bring together resources and tools to help their members succeed. Once a small business owner finds a good network and resource website, they have a place that will help them succeed.

Save Money

Small business owners who belong to a networking group will save money in the long-term. They avoid wasting money on programs that do not work – like Pay Per Click, and focus on programs that do work, like niche marketing.

Each new member benefits from the collective intelligence of the group, and by the intelligence of the web site owner. We mentioned above that affiliate marketing does not work, but a web site that is designed to help business owners succeed can only succeed if the information and products are good.

Trust

This can reassure new business owners. Any website that has built up a vast list of inbound links, is willing to give away free information, and prepares a plan for success, can be trusted based on the time needed to build up a vast resource, and the cost of building a complete ‘small business start-up’ kit.

This cannot be started over night, it takes time. Most ‘get rich quick’ schemes are here one day, and gone within three or four months. They never have time to build up a list of inbound links. Other websites do not link to them. In the end, the only websites that succeed are the ones who benefit small business owners and have them link to the site, refer other potential business owners, write reviews, and come back to buy more of the proven products.

Learning

The small business world is constantly evolving. The Internet world evolves faster than the brick and mortar world. What works today, may not work tomorrow.

It can take new business owners months to learn the current trends and find ways to increase their profits. However, belonging to a small business organization will save them time by brining all the learning resources needed into one place. A network can also save time by weeding out the weak performing products and techniques, warning against the scams, and explaining how to use the new resources properly.

Page Rank & Promotion

The internet works on page rank. The higher the Google Page Rank, the higher the web site will rank in Google searches. A small business owner that networks with other similar businesses can exchange links. Each member in the network is in business, so when they link, they are joining business-to-business websites. A few dozen B2B web links will increase page rank higher than a thousand Business-to-communities, or business-to-online store, or Business-to-private website links.

So, next time you think that those web sites with all the products are just ‘out for your money’ and have very little to offer – think again. They can save time, money, and help you find places and methods to promote your business, reducing the time between start up and wealth building.

How to Write Paid Reviews

You'll have noticed a couple of paid reviews in the last few posts. I chose obvious ones, because I wanted you to see that you can stay on topic, while writing reviews. The important thing is to 'not trick' your blog's readers.

Do not write 100 words about your love of chocolate, and then hit the readers with an ad for an online chocolate store. This is rude, and can turn people off. Instead, write about your topic, and include the link. Even if you mention only briefly the keywords.

The important thing is the link, and the keywords. Not the message. So, write the keywords and links for the advertisers, and the message for the readers.

Writing Reviews For Your Blog

Writing a review can be tricky. For example, to have a high page rank, a blog needs to stay on topic. However, writing reviews for online poker sites and travel can easily take the blog post off topic. Eventually, this will lower the page rank.

The important thing to learn is that a review does not need to stand alone. It also does not need to go off topic. Even a poker site with a zero PR can have benefits for almost any blog topic.

One of the best ways to write a review is from the perspective of the blog. For example,take online poker. A poker review site that compares other web sites, and is working hard to build page rank by offering visitors 'free' information and links to popular gaming sites is a great tool for people.

Which 'Get Paid to Blog' Company To Start With?

There are several factors to consider when selecting blogging ad companies.

1. Do they let you turn down posts - like www.loudlaunch.com?
2. Do they accept lower PR blogs like - www.smorty.com?
3. Do they have someone who will answer your questions within 24 hours like www.payu2blog.com?
4. Do they pay better for high PR - like www.loudlaunch.com

Each blog site has their own flavor. The important thing to remember is to keep on top. For example. At smorty, you mustmake sure your blog is cached. I wrote a post about that a couple days ago.

Your http://myblog.com may be cached, but http://www.myblog.com is not cached. So, submitting the right URL is vital to acceptance. Smorty is one site where you can be rejected, accidentally, just because you submitted the wrong URL.

Ecommerce Shopping Cart

I wanted to mention a bit more about shopping carts before leaving the topic. There are several good ones, and several that can cost more than $100 a month, but offer nothing of value.

Always try a demo or make sure there is a trial period. This is because you want to make sure that your definition of easy matches the company's. I was with prostores and their idea of easy was horrific. It took me more than 20 hours to just set up the template. Then, it wouldn't do half of the things their features page promised - without me knowing a bunch of coding, or hiring a programmer. This makes the service of little value to a small ecommerce site.

All ecommerce software should be easy to use, and state clearly whether a programmer is required. I personally have purchased 3 scripts that I had to abandon because I didn't write PHP code or have the proper scripts on my hosting service.

Now, I do three things before looking at any new shopping cart software, cgi scripts, forums or other software. First, I research the web until I find 5 that fit my needs. Second, I look for reviews. Third, I look for forums that discuss problems with the product. Only then will I buy the product.

Tools For Web Businesses

You will not be blogging for long before you run into the over abundance of shopping carts and shopping cart scripts. Bloggers do not need a shopping cart script - but many bloggers build empires from a single blog.

The important thing is to start researching the internet tools. Whether you need to know the difference between different shopping cart software packages for your own use, or to write reviews. Or, whether you will need it. Waiting until the last moment is never a good plan. Instead, start keeping an eye open now.

I've personally used several scripts and learned a few things. The free ones are useless. If you can figure out how to set them up, they look cheap, they work poorly, and there is no service

Other shopping cart scripts cost money, but they offer service. Six of One - Half a Dozen of Another. The important thing to consider is the shopping cart service.

Is Paid Blogging For Your Blog?

I Started five blogs this summer, to help the students of my course 'make $1000 a month blogging wat writersonlinecourses.com' learn the ropes and actually see that the claims in the course are true.

Paid Blog Posts and Page Rank

This blog now has a PR2. That is good enough to get started, but it does bring up some good questions. Will blogging for pay lower the site's PR. The simple answer is no.

One reason it does not lower the page rank is because paid blog links almost always lead to a page with a higher PR than the blog post. So, in fact, the opportunity to increase the PR of the blog is real.

Communati mentioned that I helped increase the Page Rank of this site. In a real way, I did, by linking back and forth from this site to web pages and blogs with PR3 and PR4. This increased the value of the communati page.

Understanding Page Rank

Now, if the blogger were using heading titles, and were 'breaking' their posts every 150 words. If the blogger were building 'keyword anchored' links to a specific post, then yes. There may be an argument that the blog is being degraded by the paid ads. But, as there are few blogs in a site like communati that meet the criteria:

-No more than 10 keywords which are repeated through the entire blog
-Staying on topic
-Using proper coding and H1/H2/H3 titles

Then the effect of paid blog posts is minimal and on the 'plus' side of the scale, as apposed to the minus side.

Not everyone is intrested in writing for pay. This is totally acceptable. For others, the concept is a natural progression from hobby writer to professional blogger status. Will it offend your readers? I will talk more on this later, but the answer is basically - no, not if done right.

The Question of Ethics

It is difficult to decide whether you write about a post - or not. While you can make $1000 a month, easily, especially with 10 blogs at PR3 or higher, it is important to remember to read the fine print.

Blogitive and blogvertise expect bloggers to post every post. Now, you can let the posts laps, but over time, this will have a dramatic effect on the number of offers in the dash board. But then, accepting every one requires balance.

It is okay to talk 'on topic' for most posts, while still including the link. You'll notice that I do it. What is not allowed is including the word sponsored, or indicating that the post is paid for. I get around this by writing a lot of my own content, and leaving tags off the paid posts. This way, they just disappear into the background.

Still, it is a good way to get paid to write. It took me 3 years to start making money from Google. This year I received 3 checks in 10 months, with less time between each check. I have a friend who makes more, but she works hard to please Google.

This also raises a question. The only way to make Google money is to build a site that people will leave. Most bloggers want to keep their blog readers. So, optimizing for Google is not an option.

What Do You Write About?

When you are paid to blog, the tasks come into a dashboard at the paid to blog site. These can vary from diet pills and top us online casinos, to valuable tools that will benefit your readers such as online shopping and health care.

I am not a fan of the online gambling sites. However, my son does visit one and plays poker with his grandfather. They started this last summer when my son visited for two weeks. At first I was alarmed. Then I found that there was no money involved. After a while my son learned a few truths about gambling and I've seen the site for the valuable resource it is.

However, I do visit review sites and use their tools to evaluate whether my son should visit one of the sites reviewed, or I should keep him off it. I will admit that this is the very first time I have ever written about a gambling site. For the most part, they are nothing more than money grabs. But, being able to compare gambling sites and pick the 'safe' ones is a bonus.

Google Page Rank Calculator

A friend of mine was expressing her confusion over page rank. She didn't really understand it. So, I thought I would write a post to try and explain what Page Rank really is.

First, it is nothing more than a grade, like you received in school. Google grades your blog. It uses this grade to rank you in searches, drive traffic to your site, and determine how much google money you will earn from them. At PR2 and PR3, I rarely receive more than 5% of what Google promises for a certain keyword. That is okay, it still works out to $15 - $25 a month. A friend of mine who optimizes for Google earns about $100 + a month.

So, if you would like to see what grade Google gives your blog, then visit this page rank calculator and enter your url. Remember that you must try it with and without the www.

I Started This Blog to Prove a Point

I started this blog to prove to my students at www.writersonlinecourses.com in the 'make $1000 a month blogging' that it is possible to make good money writing blogs, in less than five months.

I reached the mark this month. This blog has a few dozen posts. I have not purchased any directory submissions - yet. But, it is active. I checked the ranking yesterday, and had a PR3. So, I submitted it to a couple of directory ad sites.

The first one to bite is smorty. Smorty is a service that connects advertisers with bloggers. the advertisers pay bloggers to write opinion posts, much like this one. The purpose is not to promote the service, but to build links back to the advertisers site.

This is how bloggers get paid to blog. They are paid for their blog advertising, from about $5 - $100 per ad. The ad does not need to endorse the product although I find that smorty pays my above norm to advertise on blogs.

This is all there is to the program. You will notice over the next few posts that some are reviews of products, some are just links. I use my discretion whether I feel a product is worth promoting. If not, I will just skim over the advertiser's blog and write 'on topic' and include the link, but not actually promote.

If your blog has PR2, and you want to get started in blog advertising then visit smorty.

Increasing Page Rank

Not only does your blog need a Page Rank, but it also needs to be cached on Google before advertisers like bloggingads will pay you to post their ads and reviews on your site. My one blog http://www.communati.com/main/blog/gracepub has a PR three, with some posts receiving more than 2500 views, but it is still not chached.

Several things can cuase this. The blog may be cuaght in the Google Supplimental Index that I've talked about in other areas of this blog.

I've 'digg' some of the post, stumbled posts until I reached the 15 blog limit, and submitted posts to delicious, facebook, technorati, as well as created links. By all logic, Google should have cached the sites by now.

Have you submitted your url? www.google.com/addurl.html Using Google's own tool can help.

To determine whether your site is currently included in Google's index, just perform a search for your site's URL. For example, a search for [ site:www.google.com ] returns the following results: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site%3Awww.google.com+

You should also link from as many other places on the web to your site. This will help, especially if there are coding issues on the page.

What I Love About Work At Home

I Love work at home because . . .
When I have a birthday, I have cake for breakfast for two or three days becuase I can :)
I can turn the television on and listen to my fav movies while working.
I have a good excuse to stay up until 4 am.
I can read a novel while my computer is booting up.
I am home when my kids get home from school.
None of my relatives think I have a job, so they don't ask me to do things for them.
I can read my favorite magazines and call it research.
I can play on the computer for 10 hours and call it promotion.
I need to work hard, but I do not need to put up with office gossip.
I can dress up in comfe old clothes to work.
I can get to work with other writers.
I can turn down work that I don't feel good doing.

Google's Duplicate Content Filter - Urban Legend?

If you are on a blog like writingup, then yes, use original content, and ping after every post.

I have posted at five major blog sites for three years. I am not big here - yet, but I make more money from this blog because of the traffic.
However, your personal website is different.

The Duplicate Content Penalty

Let’s look at the “Duplicate Content Penalty.” It has been around for years, and haunts society like an urban legend.

It is feared despite the near total lack of reasonable proof that it exists in the form that most web owners understand.

The Penalty suggests that if my site has the same content as yours, one will be penalized.

Then, you do a Google search and what comes up as #1 on the search? An article directory, and an article that has 15000 downloads.

As usual, Google's duplicate content penalty has nothing to do with duplicate content. And it’s not a 'real penalty. It’s just a by-product of how the search engines work.

What happens is 'authority' sites get ranked. So, your little site with 100 articles on how to make the world's best short bread has the same article on mixing batter as a massive, 10 000 page website that focuses on cooking cookies - they get ranked - you don't. This is not a penalty, it is the 'natural consequences of living in the net environment.'

But, let's say that you've dutifully posted your article on 50 000 other websites, with an inbound link to a single article (never your index page) - then wham - you've just knocked the poor cooking cookies website off the charts.
What to do --- What to do?

You can do two things.

1. Put new content on your site weekly. Syndicate actively. And build links.
2. Toss the whole thing and become a Social Networking expert like Sharon Hurley Hall - and laugh at the search engine crawlers all the way to the bank.





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Changes at Blogitive

Blogitive is making changes again. Now they only want bloggers who are using a wordpress blog on their own domain name.

There have been some changes with Wordpress that has made it very 'search engine' friendly,and I can understand that. But, is it worth it to run out and make the new blog?

Blogitive wants 10 000 bloggers on their site. Yet, I have gone for many weeks without a single job posting. At one time, I made about $100 a week from them. Now - nada.

If you are a paid post blogger, then you want to be listed at every site. However, I am not sure that it is good business to start making blogs, paying to host them, buying domains, and embarking on a search engine and directory submission program - just for a company that hasn't proven they are able to keep bloggers working.

I know that there are still some bloggers who are making good money. And, I know that blogger is favoring bloggers with their own domain and wordpress like Sharon Hurley Hall's www.getpaidtowriteonline.com. But, I wonder how much it is worth it.

I believe that one reason they are making this change is because Wordpress accepts their directories. This is all good for them, but what about 'my' readers on 'my' blog. I know that a lot of bloggers are building blogs to get clicks and money from Google and other venues - but what about those of us who want to keep our visitors right here, on our blogs?

I will probably start an experiment soon - but I just wondered if anyone has current positive results.

Basic Tutorial

There are so many sites that tell writers they can get paid to blog. Most of them have something to sell. Few are written by people who are actually doing it. Except now.

I am making about $300 - $700 a month blogging, and that is only after ten months.

HOW TO BUILD A BLOG

You can get paid to write blogs. The first step is to set up about 10 blogs. You need to also set up a squidoo lens and a myspace lens - at least one. The most important thing to remember is that this is 'not' a get rich quick scam. You will need at least 400 posts online before you will start seeing any income.

TYPE OF BLOG

-ADSENSE
The most important thing to do is find out what type of blog you need. If you want to make Google Adsense money and learn from an expert then go to www.writingup.com (Here is my referral code. If you do sign up, please give me the boost. http://www.writingup.com?referer=4062)

Another good site is bloggerparty.com. These two sites get hundreds of thousands of hits, and more important, they come up on Google searches. I make 90% of my Google Adsense money from blogs on these sites.

Yes, I have received Google Adsense checks. I expect to be receiving one every month within the next four to six months.

It may take several weeks, or even months, to learn which blog communities people are clicking at, and which ones they are not.

www.writingup.com, www.bloggerparty.com, www.blogger.com are good for this. Wordpress.com is good, but you need to download a plugin.

-PAY PER POST
This is where companies pay $5 to bloggers for posting their client's press releases. This can be tricky. You usually get 20 at a time, and only 24 hours to post them all. If there is a mistake, the post is kicked back into your inbox and it must be fixed before you are paid.

One such company is Bloggingad.com another is reviewme.com
If you are going to use PPP then do not use www.wordpress.com - they ban sites with PPP ads.

www.writingup.com, www.blogger.com, www.bloggerparty.com is great for this.

-AFFILIATE
I was paid to write one person's blog. This person had so many affiliate codes on the page it was impossible to navigate the blog. I have Amazon code, and I write book reviews and then link to the code. I also have code for my web hosting - a great webhost company that offers me server quality and size, for only $4.50 a month. This is all the affiliate I do.

I also don't try to use general code. If you go to my blog www.Historical-Novel.blogspot.com, you will notice that I have linked single book pictures and code.

www.wordpress.com is a great place for this because the blogs look professional and have credibility. I receive very few clicks from my www.writingup.com or www.bloggerparty.com blogs.

-ALternatives
Along with blogs, there is also Heliumknowledge.com, ww.reviewstream.com, etc.

HOW TO BLOG

Each blog should have similar topics, but not the same. If all the blogs have different topics then it will be too hard to make a living. The best bloggers write one article or post and then write 5 versions to put on five different blogs.

The content must be personal, conversational, based on your own experience, and link to references.

Write as if you are talking to a friend on the telephone. Do not preach or teach. Conversational language uses simple sentence structure and a grade nine vocabulary. All posts should be based on experience. Do not write a post 'how to make money.' Write 'How I make money.'

Reference links are important. 1. Google will use them to increase the rank of your blog. 2. Readers will know that you are not making the information up.

LINKING

This is as important as hits. The more incoming links the better. The best way to get dozens of inbound links is to write free articles with a link to your blog at the bottom.

NETWORKING

Post in other people's blogs. Reply to threads. Talk to people. This will attract readers to your blog.

You also need to promote your blog on Tecnorati and then go to www.pingoat.com and ping it 'AFTER EVERY' post.

For more information read www.writingup.com/gracepub There are more than 500 posts to help you learn to start a career as a work at home freelance writer.

Do You Use BlogCatalogue Properly?

At another blog community, I found a post stating that Blog Catalogue is a waste of time. I had to look twice, before I realized that the author was serious. Then, I went to their blog neighbourhood and found why.

1. This blogger never helped promote other people's blogs

2. There was no 'recent visitor' widget (high enough on the bog that the screen shot captures it and show other blog catalogue users) So, the big bloggers who will trade a 'view' for appearing as a recent visitor will over look him.

3. He did not collect a neighbourhood of similar blog communities - so no one knew he was there.

4. He obviously didn't appear on other blogger's 'recent viewed' widget (my neighbourhood is good - but it offers no incentive for people to repeatedly visit your blog)

5. He himself had not chatted with other bloggers or even participated at Blog Catalogue

So, there is nothing wrong with Blog Catalogue - there is something seriously wrong with this person's expectations. If you give nothing - you get nothing.

Directorie Enteries

The SEO world is buzzing with the news that Google is now giving 'exec' status to links from inside directories. This is leading many bloggers to rush out and start listing in directories, but instead - stop and think.

You need at least 500 links, think of how many widgets this will add to the bottom of your blog. This will make a big mess. Buying for links means that you do not need to put a widget on the website - but -

Paying for links is not a fool proof method of being listed. Many directories are started by people who want a 'get rich quick' scheme and then just abandon the directory when submissions get to the point where their 'get rich quick' scheme turns into a 'job.'

My experience shows that if you pay for 250 directory submissions, then you'll actually get about 70 - 80 links. Now, if you are paying less than $.50 each - this is still good value.

There is also a 'scheme' to make people think that paying $200 for one link to a PR8 blog will 'do the trick' and pull your blog up. While it is true that high PR pages pull up low PR pages - it is not true that paying $500 for one link on a PR8 page will not increase your blog's PR.

The important thing is to remember that blogging is a job. Part of that job is linking.

Now, what can you do? Well - Forums are also receiving a big boost when it comes to PageRank. As much as directories, but few people make money from forums, so no one is writing about it. If you want to build great PR, I suggest that you start participating in forums - and leave the directories alone until you have the money to buy links.

Freelance Writers - Five Reasons Why You Need A Website

By Sharon Hurley Hall

These days, if you're starting a career as a freelance writer, it's no longer enough to ring up a few editors and distribute a few business cards. Most of the people who want to hire you will ask if you have a website. If the answer is 'no', you could lose out on some valuable sources of income. Here are five reasons why you should have a web presence.

1. Developing the brand of you

As a writer, your name is your brand. People will like or hate your stuff, trust or distrust your opinions. Either way, they'll have positive or negative feelings every time they see an article with your name on it. So your job is to build editors' and readers' trust in that brand.

2. Writing is your business - you need to treat it like one

Every reputable business has a website that showcases its products and services. You should too. How else are people going to know what you have to offer? A website allows your potential clients the luxury of accessing your information in their own time. You should include a resume, references, services (types of writing), samples of work, links to where you're published on the net.

3. Efficiency

A website is a time saving way of showcasing your past and current work (an online portfolio or selection of clips). You can point editors to it as well - a time saver for you and them. No longer do you have to spend time selecting and printing your best work. Instead, upload examples to your site and link to other places where your work has been published.

4. Make your passion work for you

Some of the writing you do will be for love rather than money, but that's no reason why you can't make it work for you. Upload your short stories, poetry, novel chapters and so on to show how creative you are.

5. Skills development

If you do the web development yourself, you'll also be gaining another valuable skill. The discipline of editing your material for a website will be invaluable when you're trying to get a commission to write 40 web articles for a pittance (we all have to start somewhere).

So what are you waiting for? Get your stuff on the net and start building the brand of you.

Sharon Hurley Hall is a freelance writer, ghostwriter and editor. Sharon worked in publishing for 18 years, writing articles and editing and designing books and magazines. She has also lectured on journalism. For more information or to contact Sharon, visit doublehdesign.com. Read more of Sharon's writing at her blog

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sharon_Hurley_Hall

writing, brand development, freelance writing

Freelance Writers - Five Reasons Why You Need A Website

Freelance Writers - Five Reasons Why You Need A Website
By Sharon Hurley Hall

These days, if you're starting a career as a freelance writer, it's no longer enough to ring up a few editors and distribute a few business cards. Most of the people who want to hire you will ask if you have a website. If the answer is 'no', you could lose out on some valuable sources of income. Here are five reasons why you should have a web presence.

1. Developing the brand of you

As a writer, your name is your brand. People will like or hate your stuff, trust or distrust your opinions. Either way, they'll have positive or negative feelings every time they see an article with your name on it. So your job is to build editors' and readers' trust in that brand.

2. Writing is your business - you need to treat it like one

Every reputable business has a website that showcases its products and services. You should too. How else are people going to know what you have to offer? A website allows your potential clients the luxury of accessing your information in their own time. You should include a resume, references, services (types of writing), samples of work, links to where you're published on the net.

3. Efficiency

A website is a time saving way of showcasing your past and current work (an online portfolio or selection of clips). You can point editors to it as well - a time saver for you and them. No longer do you have to spend time selecting and printing your best work. Instead, upload examples to your site and link to other places where your work has been published.

4. Make your passion work for you

Some of the writing you do will be for love rather than money, but that's no reason why you can't make it work for you. Upload your short stories, poetry, novel chapters and so on to show how creative you are.

5. Skills development

If you do the web development yourself, you'll also be gaining another valuable skill. The discipline of editing your material for a website will be invaluable when you're trying to get a commission to write 40 web articles for a pittance (we all have to start somewhere).

So what are you waiting for? Get your stuff on the net and start building the brand of you.

Sharon Hurley Hall is a freelance writer, ghostwriter and editor. Sharon worked in publishing for 18 years, writing articles and editing and designing books and magazines. She has also lectured on journalism. For more information or to contact Sharon, visit doublehdesign.com. Read more of Sharon's writing at her blog

Page Rank - Hitting the Top

I tell a lot of people that inside links count. Refer pages, from inside your website count. At www.inspiredauthor.com I have several pages with only an internal link menu (static) linked to other pages in the site - no off site links. The archive has 1000 pages in it. Most of the pages on this site have PR2 and PR3. Now, that shouldn't give them PR3, because there are not enough links. But you need to remember that the pages are all linked from similar keyword pages, and similar topics. They are also attached to the main page with a higher PR.

I have also been on a PR8 page that was nothing more than a form. However, several thousand pages linked to that form, even though only a few dozen people had access to the actual form.

Take a look at your blogger dashboard. I am sure that you haven't built up more than 100 000 links to your dashboard, but it has PR7 or PR8. That is because of the inside links.

Page rank is also not first level only. Second level will also effect your PR. Obviously, www.inspiredauthor.com proves that 1000 links from similar keywords, to a level 5 depth, will equal PR3 when the stats say that you need 3000 - 4000 links to achieve this. All intersting, as www.inspiredauthor.com is just a landing page. The home page of the site is www.inspiredauthor.com/v3/blog

So, the important thing to remember is that linking from one post inside your blog to another of a similar topic, will also work toward increasing your PageRank.

Now, if you get a couple of PR8 pages hidden deep in your blog or your page, can you link your home page to them and increase the PR of your homepage? Yes - because search engines cannot think. They cannot understand words or language - they just do what they are told.

Page Rank the Easy Way

There is an easy/cheap way to increase your page rank, but it will take a year or two. The best plan is to submit to every directory possible. Eventually, most of those blog directories will increase in rank, as they do, their PR value will increase.

Submit a link and it is submitted forever. Directories do not work like search engiens. They do not dump old sites, and wait to see who resubmits. This means that if you submit your blog to a site with a PR0 and in 2 years that site has a PR8, you will benefit from that PR.

While your site will not be directly linked from the PR8 page, there is still value to being listed on that site.

One tip about paying for links to increase PR- once you get the benfits, you can stop paying for the link.

Page Rank - Buying Directory Links

I spent most of today linking to directories. I did use one service that submitted my site to 250 PR3 and PR4 sites, but I am not sure yet if it is a scam. I will bet $30 against that. 250 links in 10 minutes is a good deal. But, most sites demand a link-back - I'll let you know if I received any value for my money.

There is a trick to paying for links. Remember that Google ranks Pages not Websites.

The price of some directories is $50, others are $500. I've even seen a few at $1000. The problem is, you want to see the PR ranking of the page your website will appear on. That doesn't mean the category page - but the actual page your site will appear on. In many cases, directories with a PR8 on the home page have a PR0 (zero) on the category pages.

This means you are paying your $50 for nothing. There are hundreds of directories with a PR0 that will let you rank free. I've heard the argument both ways - that the home page PR will help - and that it won't. The fact is, Google tell their secrets.

Is it worth paying for a link on a page with a PR6? Yes, that PR will increase the PR rank of your site - but make sure that your site 'does' have a PR6 on the page you are linking too.

Do not loose heart. It takes time to build links. A website/blog needs about 3000 inbound links from PR3- to achieve a PR4 or a PR5. This is time consuming, and can take several months to see the fruits of your labour.

The best plan of attack is to submit one single blog - with your other blogs linking to it. That will save money, and help you get ranked.

PageRank: Link Words

In the last article I linked you to a website that talked about pagerank. Part 2 of that article also talked about internal linkes. A lot of bloggers and web owners never think of putting links inside their website to their home page (to increase its web rank). You may also want to make 'promo blogs' These are blog posts that you actively build inbound links to - from inside your site - and from other articles/posts.

You never know which page will reach a PR5 and pull the rest of the pages up with it.

But - not all links are created equal. A link exchange from a page with nothing on it but a big lists of links is useless, and if that page has nothing to do with your topic, then you can actually damage your page rank.

However, if the first page uses Heading titles every 100 - 150 words, with a keword in them ...say MAKE ME MONEY... and the keyword in the article that is being linked is MAKE ME MONEY...we want to link this to a page with a URL, title, sub titles (as many as possible) called MAKE ME MONEY. And better, we want that page to link to other pages called MAKE ME MONEY on your site and off your site.

Now - I heard several of you scream 'how do I control links off my site' - I can't make people create pages for me.

Why not? In Diva networking, we are going to do just that. We are going to get everyone who wants to participate to pick a keyword. Let's say that five of us write an article on MAKE MONEY BLOGGING. Each of us can title the URLS - MAKE MONEY BLOGGING. Each of us can have a H1 title with MAKE MONEY BLOGGING. Each of us can link to our friend's articles called MAKE MONEY BLOGGING.

Now - we have one article in our blog with the title MAKE MONEY BLOGGING, and it has 5 outbound links in it. And, 5 people have articles with links to our site.

Only 5 links? Does that really matter? YES. Because these are 5 links that google will pay attention to.

Now, here is where you can get creative. You can write another 5 posts an spread them through your network, each with MAKE MONEY BLOGGING, and each linking back to that one page. You can even put 2 or 3 links in each of those posts.

Now, you have the original 5 inbound links.... you have 10 blogs x 5 posts x 3 links = another 150 inbound links to that page. So, after a few weeks (months) that page has a PR4.

To expand this, you can write free articles on MAKE MONEY BLOGGING, and say 'if you want to read another article on this go to my article MAKE MONEY BLOGGING - this can generate 20 - 20 000 more inbound links (but don't count on them all being from pages called MAKE MONEY BLOGGING)

Now - you put a link in that article to your home page - and the PR of that page pulls up the PR on your home page.

Page Rank and Inbound Links

One of the problems with people who are in the business of blogging is that they do not understand page rank. They have a vague idea that Google wants lots of inbound links. At first they generate dozens, then realize that Google counts very few of these - and stop.

Unfortunately, they do not realize that it may take several weeks - to months for Google to actually apply the pagerank to their site. If you use the Google page rank tool to test www.inspiredauthor.com's back links, you'll see about 20. If you use yahoo, you'll see 175. If you use an actual web software program that tracks, you'll see 280 for Google and 3000 for yahoo. This doesn't mean that the sites do not count them. It means that it will take time for Google to apply the page rank to my site.

One the other hand - WHERE the links come from is important. For example, if you have 2 or 3 inbound links from a PR8 site, then you'll have a PR 4 or PR5 site. But, it may take thousands of links from a PR1 - PR3 site to bring up your rank.

Why do you want to do all this work?

One - so Google AdSense will pay you more. When you check your AdSense earnings, you'll notice that at PR1 - PR2, you may only earn a few cents, even if the CPC (Cost Per Click) is $20 - $200.

Two - so your site's pageranks higher, and Google will include you in more searches. The higher you rank in searches, the more traffic your site receives. And, of course, the more traffic you receive, the more hits you get.

Inbound links are not the only aspect that effects Google page rank, but it is a good place to start.

Why Post Often

Bloggers are consistently told that they should blog daily. Most of us do not have the time to do that, even if they cross post articles between their different blogs.

What the articles do not tell new bloggers is why they should blog daily. There is a lot of competition out there. Each blogger wants readers and wants hits. Most of this traffic will come through 'pings.' Unfortunately, very few blogs rank high enough to receive hits from search engines. The only way to attract a new audience is to ping blog search engines and remain active in the blog directories.

Another way is to join blogging communities, but be careful. There are several solid blog communities that are owned by serious companies - mypace, www.squidoo.com, www.bebo.com, www.authorsconnection.com, www.communati.com, www.bloggerparty.com

Blog communities receive hundreds of thousands of hits. They usually have a higher PR than a personal blog, meaning that links from there are good for your blog's ranking.

The problem arises when new bloggers do nothing but promote 'off site' products. People in the communities want to make friends and communicate. If you don't participate, you won't benefit.

This is the same with blog communities - you'll only benefit if you remain active.

Does this take a lot of time? Maybe at first, but after a while, you can network with 20 or 30 bloggers in less than an hour.

Why Blog Daily

We wrote a course that helps bloggers learn how to make $1000 a month. Basically, this number is not high when it comes to blogging. I personally know a blogger who works part time, about 15 hours a month, and makes $1500 - That is $100 an hour.

We've been talking about increasing pagerank to get more money from Google, and to increase hits. But, we are bloggers, so the blogsphere offers us more tools than webmasters are limited to.

We can submit to search engines - every one possible. We can submit to all the manual directories like DMOZ. But, we can also list in the blog directories and ping them.

Take a look at this article on Data Recovery. It received hundreds of hits when the rest of the posts received only 50 - 100. This blog community is set up to ping automatically, but I tagged this article with technorati, stumbleupon, voted with Google's new tool, digg, delicious, etc. You can see the difference.

This article does have good content on avoiding a computer hard drive crash, so other people will link to it, but the Tagging and pinging brought hits.

How? Well - one thing you can do is to update your blog post, and re-ping it.

The secret is pinging. If you write daily, the search engines send people to your site - daily. If you write monthly then they will send people to your site monthly.

I have met many people who will pay for traffic, but they will not write blog posts daily. The thing is - if you write 2 posts a day, your blog will be pinged twice a day.

You Can Get Mega Hits on Your blog

It always amazes me how people appreaciate good writing, whether it appears on a blog, in an article, or in a novel. The thing is, anyone can write well. You can write something that receives hundreds, even thousands of views. You can write a novel that sells thousands of copies. The secret is to write something that people want to read, by writing about life.

Take a look at two blog posts I wrote that received top hits, despite the fact they are on a blog community, www.communati.com, that has hundreds of great writers on the site.

My first article received almost 500 views in less than a few hours. Within 4 hours of being written, it was on the ‘most popular list.’ Gladiolas, Dahlias, Pear Trees and The Secrets of Life . This is nothing more than a look at a quiet summer afternoon that I spent with my family, and how it touched me, and also touched my readers. The writing is not literary and flowery. There is nothing poetic about it. I just wrote it in a way that made readers look into their own lives. This is the secret of great writing, making people look at their own lives instead of forcing them to see life through your eyes.

The second is a tutorial on saving time. I did not tell people to save time. Instead, I showed them how I save time. There is a big difference between talking about what to do and how to do. The world is full of tutorials that tell people what to do, but never gives them the tools to help them do it. How Much $$ Does Multitasking Costing You?
You’ll also notice that I made some great titles. Are titles important? Yes. They are so important that I have even returned to my blogs and changed titles. In some cases, the hits increased.

So, next time you write, don’t just put words on paper. Think about your readers. “Take care of your readers and they will take care of you.”



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Visit More Learning Sites:
inspiredauthor
Get Your Book Published
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How I Built a Career

Blog Writing: Getting Started

The life of a writer appears to have many perks. The uninitiated envisions us working in our pajamas while writing fluff about far away places, beautiful people, and spectacular adventures. After chuckling, we patiently explain how many hours it can take to research an article, or the number of times an article is submitted before it sells.

We possess an intangible element, which prevents us from taking the well-worn route. A regular paycheck with benefits is attractive. I even tried it once, and almost died inside. Face it, we are not free to enjoy an easy life while others toil, writers must write.

The life of a freelance writer is burdened with unpaid bills, deadlines, and rejection letters. But, there are a few blessings outweigh the heaviest burdens, like the joy of being published in a national magazine, studying a truly fascinating topic for a client, or enjoying the spiritual journey only a writer can understand.

Still, it is nice to be paid.

The initial lack of income is where most new writers give up. They soon believe the desire to write is a prank their muse is playing on them. It doesn’t have to be this way.

View the world of freelance writing as a forest. On one side is the writer; on the other is a client willing to pay to have something written. All a writer needs to do is climb through the scrub and deadwood to find the elusive client. It isn’t hard, it just takes a different method of thinking, and a little caution.

The number of companies intent on ripping writers off is daunting. There is no way to avoid every scam. Writers sign with organizations that promise to locate work, only to find they must pay and bid against other writers. We all signed up for at least one newsletter that promised to help us earn a living, only to learn it is only a clever marketing tool to sell products.

Making a living shouldn’t be this frustrating. There are paying jobs out there. There are clients willing, even eager, to pay a professional writer. It just takes a little skill to find them.

Make a Client

This can be fun. There is only one rule, never confess what you write. Many small businesses are more than willing to pay a writer for a good press release, especially if the writer submits it to the newspaper too, but only if the business is named as author.

They will also pay you to promote on your blog. However, you need statistics. It is vital that you keep good stats, and can prove they are real. Click through rates, are an important statistic to track. This will increase the amount of money people will pay.

However, saying that you have 10 blogs, can put 3 links in a blog, and will post 5 blogs each, equaling 150 links to a main website - for $25, will attract many local businesses. Remember, as a blogger you will only write 5 posts and 'cross post' them to different blogs.

Building Revenue Generating Blogs

All bloggers will have a few core blogs, but then they will have several that are for advertising and generating revenue. Making money from a blog is not difficult, but you can branch out farther than using the online blog companies.

Look at it this way. Making 40 blogs increases the inbound links to 500. You spend more time pasting your original 5 posts, but you can earn $100 - $200. All you need is 5 - 10 clients a month, and work 20 - 50 hours in the month to make $1000.

New Google Toolbar

Have you downloaded the new Google tool bar. If not, you will probably do so after reading this post. I put the toolbar on my new system, and just copied over the old system, on my other computer. Both methods worked.

The toolbar you want is the Google Toolbar 2008

Spyware

This includes a spyware software package that cleared 271 trackers and 4 malwar from my son's computer. It also includes a free- but fairly useless version of Norton, but, take it anyway. You never know when it will route out spyware and help your computer.

Social Networking Tools

You really want it for the social networking tools. It does not have stumbleupon - yet. You still need to download that toolbar, but you can download a delicious, dig, and technorati widget. When you find a page you like, just TAG them. When you are in a network, tagging articles becomes super easy.

In fact, just copy the first few 'intro' lines from the article and paste that into the description line. It may take some time to set up, but trust me. It has already saved me time.

Blogger Resources

I also added the blogger widget, so I could find my blogs. Other widgets I included were the spell check, youtube, yahoo home page (which is my home page), Facebook, Readdit (great for research), and most important....

VOTE NOW TOOL

That is right. Google has now gotten on the WEB2.0 bandwagon and included a tool that lets users vote for a web page - in essence - effecting page rank. I am sure that it is much more advanced than it looks ( a happy/a sad smiley) but time will tell.

Beware of Google AdSense Clicks

There are a few things that new bloggers must realize with Google AdSense. The idea of clicking friend's ads, or asking people to click yours, may sound interesting - after all - who knows.

The truth is - Google does. They can track any web site visit, its duration, where it came from, how many pages each visitor viewed, what links they clicked, and now long they were on the next site.

You can get this information if you sign up for a Google Account (different from your AdSense account). Then, go to the web analytics site. Will the stats be better than the ones from the stat counter I suggested? Not really. In fact, because of config problems and the advanced level of Google Web Analytics - you may get less results.

I had one site that the server based software cited more than one million hits, but Google only showed 2000 - because my view was not configured right. However, you can bet that Google's view is config'd right.

The warning is - do not click on Google ads, have your friends click. If you do notice an unusual number of clicks. If you are checking your Google AdSense account (which must be done once a week) and see an unusual number of clicks, just contact customer service and tell them. They are very nice, and will not ban you if you appear to be concerned.

Do You Use Drupal or Wordpress?

Running an online business is frustrating. I know that there are several people here running IT businesses that can add their own horror stories to this blog post.

Building a web platform (website) on a software program that promises to do 10 times what you need, and then only produces half of what you need - and that is with continual updates, bug reports, and a multitude of widgets and plug ins. We did that this year - twice.

Then there are programmers. I can say one name Bxxca and a cold child will run down the spine of any TE at www.inspiredauthor.com who was with us about 15 months ago. Yes, the programmer who did half the job and then demanded more money than my car is worth to finish, that is after we found porn running out of the back end of our server. That hit our Page Rank hard for a good long time.

I have been trying to hire a programmer for months at places like ifreelance. Most of the time I get people who want to be paid to learn their trade. When asked, they don't know the software program - but that is no problem..they are use to being paid to learn. I can't afford that. I doubt many of you can.

Then comes a good day. You find someone that actually knows what you are talking about. I found someone like that in Sheldon www.gamedevguru.com who is not expensive, because he doesn't need to spend fifteen hours figuring out the software before he gets started. He did more on my www.inspiredauthor.com in 2hours than anyone else I've met.

I wanted to let you know about him, one - because he not only knows Drupal but he is great with Worpress, too. I know that many of you are on wordpress - which is a good content management system (as Sharon HH has taught me :).

So, next time you are stuck, want to do something new, want to fix a bug. Don't panic - there is someone who can help you at: www.gamedevguru.com