Passion vs. Demand When Choosing A Blog Topic

There are literally 2-3 new blogs being created every second. Everywhere you turn you are hearing about a blog, whether it's a personal blog, a group blog, or a business blog. So why, if there are so many blogs on the internet, do we only hear about a small group of them being very succesful? Because most bloggers who are interested in being successful or making a ton of money with their blogs, aren't doing it right. Reading Between The L...

You can probably remember back to when you started blogging.  The excitement you felt at getting your thoughts out on your own website, or the nervousness of beginning a long journey to making money from your content. While that excitement is great, and you hope it lasts the rest of your life, you don't want to let it cause you to lose control of your blog, especially if you are interested in running it as a business. Losing control can be...

I live in what seems like one of the least technologically savvy places in the world.  Western Kentucky.  While there are many that are technologically savvy, there are just as many, if not more, that probably don't even own a computer.  And if they do it's only to send and receive email. So it's no surprise that when I tell others I'm a professional blogger, they ask me, "What's a blog?"  I think I get asked this at least once or twice a ...

Much of the focus put on Wordpress plugins revolves around those that are most popular.  Those that you use just because everyone else is. While most of the popular plugins are very worth having on your blog, there are some plugins that aren't talked about as often, but they help give character to your blog and put focus on the all of the small details. Here is a list of the 7 Wordpress plugins you didn't know you needed: 1. Exclude Pages...

While most bloggers know what you mean when you say RSS, the fact is, there are still a majority of blog readers that have no idea.  So I want to answer your burning questions about what you should do to cater to the majority of readers, what kinds of things you should avoid, and more. 1. Potential subscribers may not know what a feed is. If you're targeting people who are already tech-savvy, that's one thing, but otherwise - don't assume that...

As bloggers we all have certain other bloggers that we look up to or sometimes wish we could be like.  We wonder what it would be like to walk in their shoes.  To have the fame and the wealth that they have. And in our excitement to try to be like them, we often do just that. But what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another. The best way to stand out is to be yourself. Be original in everything you do.  Don't add somethi...

As a writer or a blogger, your number one goal when writing articles is to make them as timeless as possible.  If your content isn't timeless you face the danger of all of your hard work quickly becoming irrelevant.  And once this happens, you start to lose readers, traffic, and credibility as a writer. Creating timeless posts is as simple as following a few guidelines when writing.  You don't have to completely change your writing style. ...

For those of you at the Blogher Advanced Social Media session last weekend in Chicago, you'll recall one of the panelists mention of using Yahoo Pipes to find out what others are saying about you and your brand. But with no explanation of how to do it, I realize it may have left some of you wishing they would have done a demo.  So for those of you who may not understand how to use Yahoo Pipes, here's a step-by-step guide to building your ego ...

With the rise of Social Media sites like Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed and so many more, it has literally become a contest to see who can get the most friends or followers.  But is that really the goal you should be striving for? Social Media is different from mass media like television and radio, and should be treated as such. Using Social Media The Right Way Social media is for building relationships.  Meaningful, deeper relationships wi...

Social media is a key factor in building your business' success, whether that business is a more traditional one, or one of blogging.  There is no denying that if you use social media correctly and efficiently, you will have a more successful and profitable business. One of my good friends (Joselin Mane) created a social media kit and he sums up how to use social media correctly with these 5 different phases. 1. Research Determine where you...

Can you imagine what kind of traffic and profit a blog would generate if Jeremy Shoemaker, Darren Rowse, John Chow, and Brian Clark all got together and co-blogged on it? I'm picturing the biggest and most popular blog the world has ever known! Co-blogging, even if the authors aren't big names in the industry, are marketed and maintained better than a single authored blog.  And I believe that as more and more people start becoming interest...

Call it "womb awe" or even "womb worship" but it's not simple envy. I don't remember even wanting to be a woman. But each of the two times I have been present at the birth of one of my children, I have been overwhelmed by a sense of reverence... It was quite suddenly, the first day of creation; the Goddess giving birth to a world... Like men since the beginning of time I wondered: What can I ever create that will equal the magnificence of this ne...