Useful Blogging Techniques

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Blog to Book:

The content of your posts can build up very quickly if you post a couple of times a week. This can all be assembled together to create an informational book. Even guest posts or interviews with other experts can be used to make a book very quickly. It's like hitting two birds with one stone. Not only that, all of your written content can be read by you and recorded as a CD or MP3 product.

Audio blogging is a great way to deliver content to people who want to get their information auditorily. Audioblogging is essentially like podcasting. This is another great way to deliver your content. You can podcast your entire book so it's like an audiobook that you can get at:

http://www.Audible.com

Selling audio files creates a loyalty and can attract and different kind of crowd, expanding your customer base.

Flipped the other way, all of your regular podcasts or audio blog posts can be transcribed by someone you can find on Elance.com

Doing interviews for a book, especially for a nonfiction book, is a great idea. Not only can you generate instant content from interviewing famous or semi-famous people, but most people who are in your book are going to get the book and talk about it to their people.

While you're at it you can use a service like:   http://www.AudioBlog.com    that you can actually call in postings from your cell phone, and they post automatically to your blog, saving you writing time.

Take your professional blogging to the next step.

Using Fonts on your (WordPress) Website

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Typography is the art and technique of making language visible.  Most people don't think twice about typography, yet it's everywhere.  Anytime you are reading, someone has carefully chosen the way words appear to the reader.  The size, the spacing, the very forms of the letters.

It's obviously not a very cut and dried subject.  Certain fonts can elicit feelings or emotions from the majority of readers, certain fonts don't read easily but can sure catch someone's attention.

Almost everyone who owns a computer has a little bit of knowledge about fonts/typography.  A font is basically a style of letters and it's spacing.  All computers come installed with some fonts that are packaged with the operating system such as Windows or OSX.

It's possible to acquire more fonts, through packages or software bonuses.  The point I am leading up to is that, just because you have a font on your computer, doesn't mean any one else will be able to see it. If you were to print it directly from your computer, the paper would be in that font.  If you made an image with the font, the type would be in that font.

If you tried to use that font on the web, it wouldn't work.  The web is a different animal.  Unless the person had the font on their computer, the font would default.  Considering the font was chosen for a particular reason, that information the font was trying to convey just disappears.

Enter Google, center stage.

Google does some very interesting work in the world.  From driving cars to a shared repository of fonts.  Yes, Google has created “Web Fonts” that people can use.  For us WordPress folks that aren't afraid to use CSS, it's as simple as installing a plugin and selecting one of the over 500 available Google Fonts.

Now that we have the possibility, let's talk about whether or not you SHOULD.

For years we've had the ability to “define” a font.  And like I said, if it was on the computer it would show up.  This gave us some limitations, but also gave us a little control over how information displayed.  The fast and hard rules were you used a sans serif (without flags) since it was easier to read and “serif” type worked well as a large headline or with printed material.  These rules still apply.  If you want something that reads well, you stick with the basic sans serifs: Helvetica, Arial.  I would really only recommend “fancy” fonts/typography for headlines.  And then, I would also say to use them sparingly.  For every font you enable through your plugin, there is a “call” to the Google repository.  Some people have said that this slows their site down (since this call goes out before the page displays, and the page won't load until it gets the information it asks for.)

When you are thinking about fonts:

Size matters.  The large the font, the easier it will be to read, and more likely it is to catch the eye.  Unless of course it's all the same size, then obviously, that doesn't work.

Weight Matters. A bold font will draw more attention than a regular weight font.  It's thicker and has more “mass” to it.  Unless of course all the type on the page is bold.

Italics should be avoided.  Italics don't display well at smaller sizes and become hard to read. If you must use italics, use them at larger sizes.

Decorative fonts will all have “emotive” information to them.  Scary, cheap, professional, funny, zany, etc.  Use these infrequently and never as the “body” or main part of the content.  When it's small it will be difficult to read and a lot of it will lose it's impact.

So that it's!  Some tips and advice about fonts on your WordPress Site.  Just remember the tips above and use your favorite “Google Fonts” plugin.  Of course you can also use Google Fonts on regular websites, you just have a few other hoops to jump through.

To learn more about growing your “web” or “marketing” skillset, check out what we have to offer, just click here.

Adding Affiliate Links to Your Ebooks = Big $$

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Signing Up

The first thing to do is to sign up for all the affiliate programs you like. Signing up for an affiliate program is usually easy. The affiliate program you sign up for will email you your user ID and Password and give you instructions on how to use their program. They will also issue you their affiliate links. Some will put in your specific ID into the link and some will show you where your ID number goes.

It is imperative that you get the link thing correct so you can get your commissions. Also, don't think you can lump tons of affiliate links all together and make lots of money. The most successful affiliates promote only one product at a time and they endorse the product too. This means they say something nice about the product and they build interest in the product by showing the potential buyer the need for having the product or service.

If you can't find a link to join the affiliate program, it doesn't mean they don't have one. Some companies don't really want everyone signing up for their program. A large percentage of the people that sign up never even put their links up. Companies just don't want to mess with these people that don't know what they are doing, so they'll make their program “by request only.” If you find a company you really like, email them to see if they have an affiliate program.

In your ebook, this means that your recommendations should be worked into the text of the book in a natural way. Yes, you can have lots of affiliate links in a book, but just don't make a big list of them.

Putting the Links in the Book:

There are two ways to put affiliate links in your book.

1. Simply put the entire link in the Word document before you convert it to Adobe PDF or

2. Make a separate page in your website for each affiliate product like

http://www.greatinternetmarketing.com/rudl.htm

On this page you will say more about the affiliate product and, if you wish, you can put the long affiliate link under a “click here” for more info button that would take the visitor to the affiliate site.

Method 2 is more work, but actually better because if you find a better affiliate, you can switch the links on your site easier than redoing the links in your book. Diligently put affiliate links in your ebooks and watch your overall profits soar.

Learn to make more money with your home-based business.

 

 

Internet Marketing – Web Based Career Training

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http://www.imtcva.org

Getting an education online gives you the freedom to study at your own pace. Learn how you can discover the hottest and most in demand jobs available today. At the Internet Marketing Training Center of Virginia, you can get a dedicated certificate in as little as six months and be on your way to a great job. Visit the site to download your free career guide.

Certified to operate by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia

Great Copy For The Web: Sub-Headlines

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As a person scans down a webpage, he/she quickly scans the subheadings along the way. If the subheadings aren't quickly understandable and enticing, then it is doubtful that the person will decide to go back and read the entire page.

Subheadings can be interspersed throughout the copy to help keep the reader going down the page. There is usually a subheading just beneath the main headline to help add a bit more information to or to re-inforce the main point of the headline. They have a larger font than the rest of the main text, but not as large as the main headline. The font color should be different than the rest of the text above and below it, red or blue works well. A subheading should provide highlights of each section of the sales copy.

Keep your subheadings as short as possible, but still pack a psychological punch. They should be strong enough to almost stand on their own, and compel a scanner to stop and start reading the copy.

A great place to get the subheadings. . . . use all the headlines that didn’t make it as the main headline as subheadings.

Some examples of subheadings:

* How Much Would You Pay For Powerful Training Like This?

* The Times Have Changed and Now It's True!

* Take a Good Look and See Fees That Would Be a Good Month's Salary For Most People!

* Who Would Benefit From This System?

* This System Is a Professional Speaker's Treasurehouse!

Learn how writing great copy can dramatically increase your sales.

Search Engines and Meta Tags – Common Misspellings

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One good trick is to put common misspellings in the META Keyword Tag. Many people are tired, in a hurry, or just can't spell that well and end up misspelling words.

If you have the misspelling in your keyword META tag, there is a good chance your page will come up in the search. A common misspelling of the word “speech” is “s-p-e-a-c-h.”

You can use the tool at https://majestic.com/  or one of the other keyword tools to help you find the most common misspellings of words.

There are even misspelled keyword generators all over the web that you can find just by searching in Google.

You probably don't want to have these misspellings on the visible page, because people might think you are not too smart.

Unlike the “description” META Tags, the Keyword META Tags are totally behind the scenes. The public does not see them, but the search engine spiders do. This is the area where you place your appropriate keywords and their synonyms.

Earn a certificate in Internet Marketing in as little as 6 months…

Tips To Avoiding Google Penalties

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When starting out in Internet marketing we have a tendency to get excited and carried away with all of the new found knowledge concerning search positioning.

We all want to be on that first page of search results as quickly as possible to see the money start rolling in. But using short sighted techniques to try and game the system can backfire.

You might not think up these bad strategies on your own, but there are numerous instances where innocent website owners were banned because they listened to behind-the-times pseudo experts who used old techniques on their website.

You don't want to be temporarily in the highest results, you want to stay there as long as possible. This takes time, dedication and a willingness to avoid gray areas that promise big results but actually may hurt your results permanently.

Getting banned or penalized by Google could take months or more to correct (sometimes you can never fix the damage and have to throw away the domain name) so let's take a look at what kinds of Google penalties there are and how to avoid them.

Why do sites get penalized?

Simply, …if Google doesn't like what you are doing on your site, who your site is affiliated with, or how you are attracting traffic to your site, you run the risk of being penalized.

The Google Webmaster blog states that site builders are welcome to make their sites however they want, but Google reserves the right to protect the quality and relevance of their index. And this is true. Google is a business and they are in the business of providing a quality product (search results) to their customers (everyone doing online searches).

Search results are where the new business comes from on the web, so keeping in their good graces means money for you in the long term.

Information that can make you a valuable asset to employers…

Excellent Customer Service on the Web

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Good customer service skills are required in almost every business, but especially so on the Internet. Good customer service maintains current customers and helps attract new ones, so it's important that you develop and refine effective skills that will assist you in meeting the demands of customer service. While good customer service involves a wide array of skills and experience, there are several skills every person should have.

Product Knowledge:
The best customer service representatives are the ones who have a firm understanding of their company's products and services. These representatives understand the processes and procedures and can easily explain them to others. Whether they have obtained this information through the company's continuing education programs or hands-on company experience, they are able to assist customers quickly and efficiently.

A majority of Internet sales are made up of training systems and software. This presents a unique problem over brick-and-mortar, physical based products. Customers are often under-educated in basic conputer techniques such as opening PDF files, downloading .zip files and other ways to deliver electronic products. This makes it more crucial that the employees of any Internet company are well versed in how the product is sold and delivered, how to walk through its use, and the practical applications that it can be used for.

Communication and Listening Skills:
Strong communication and listening skills complement product knowledge and enable you to provide clear instruction and assistance. Your verbal communication should be clear and include proper word selection. Your tone should be pleasant and friendly. You must listen to the customer, ensure that you clearly understand the question or concern, and respond in an effective manner. On the Internet, a majority of customers will contact the company via telephone when they have problems. Exceptional telephone skills will be required to solve these problems effectively. This includes being able to pace your explanations, not talking to fast and not talking in ‘jargon' or words that only insiders are aware of. This will confuse the customer quickly and turn into a bad customer service experience.

The Internet business world requires strong written communications as well. Your written language should be free of grammatical errors, include the proper punctuation and read in a clear and concise manner. This includes proper wording on email instructions, autoresponder messages and on webpages such as the Terms of Service. Writing in clear, concise wording will avoid costly mistakes and headaches later.

Customer service skills will make you more desirable as an employee. Learn the skills you need in the fastest amount of time.

 

 

Career Options

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http://www.imtcva.org

There are thousands of career options available to you. The Internet is providing fun and exciting careers that you can learn from home! Learn how you can discover the hottest and most in demand jobs available today. At the Internet Marketing Training Center of Virginia, you can get a dedicated certificate in as little as six months and be on your way to a great job. Visit the site to download your free career guide.

Certified to operate by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia