Blogging Product Review: Blogger's Paycheck

Blogger's Paycheck is a breath of fresh air among the blogging how-to guides. It was actually written by a guy who is relatively new to the world of pro-blogging, but he's pretty darn good at it! The fact that he is newer means that he was able to put together a guide that will literally answer all your questions about making a full time income from your blog.

Author John Yeo's story about how he got started blogging is pretty neat. He was about to get married and wanted to document the experience for his wife. It soon turned into a huge project, and his blog started getting amazing levels of traffic. That traffic led to some lucrative paid advertisements, and the rest is history.

The Blogger's Paycheck approach is different than that of the other guides out there. John breaks things up into 5 separate manuals. These range from around 10 pages each to more than 100 pages! This separation is a great thing for new people and more experienced people alike because you can pick and choose what you want or need to read.

Probably the most important section is the one about focus...you know, the thing Internet marketers DON'T have! His points are very valid and helpful, and can really make it stick in your mind that in order for you to successfully make money online you need to choose a method and see that method through to the end.

The first section also discusses how to set up your blog in the first place. Everything is covered from choosing a blog platform to where to find pictures to make your blog more appealing. Subsequent sections talk about writing content and finding keywords so you can rank highly in the search engines. The next section on traffic contains some pretty standard, but helpful, information.

You'll want to pay close attention to the marketing PDF! That has some tips in it that will be easy enough for newbies to implement, but that many of the old pros are missing out on right now.

The monetization section focuses on a grab bag of methods, but eventually settles into the steps you need to take to get companies to advertise on your blog. The proper layout for this sort of thing is very important. Thankfully, John does spell it out for you.

He even talks about creating an optimized page that will really intrigue advertisers, leading to more ad sales for you. This section is particularly interesting because we haven't seen it discussed in anything else we've reviewed.

This package is huge, and you'll also find videos to help you get started. Since learning Wordpress can feel like you're wading in a world of confusion, these videos are essential for newbies. You'll also find a ping list, which we all know is essential to getting lots of traffic from blogs. There are other bonuses as well, which you can see on the sales page (did someone say massive free PLR?).

You really can't go wrong with Blogger's Paycheck, unlike with some of the 'guru' packages out there. John literally takes you by the hand, and we don't see how you could NOT make money if you follow his steps.

Click here to visit Blogger's Paycheck for more information

Blogging Product Review: Blogging To The Bank

Blogging to the Bank is basically a brand these days. That means as soon as author Rob Benwell releases something people flock to it like crazy! Unfortunately, that's a trend that likely won't continue if future products are like this one.

It's not that Blogging to the Bank 3.0 is completely unhelpful. It can certainly help some newbies who have no idea how to get started. However, the promises of making thousands upon thousands of dollars will not likely come true as a result of reading this book and implementing the methods.

While we don't doubt that Rob makes a great living from his blogs, he certainly doesn't disclose very much information about how to do it here. He barely scratches the surface of making any income online, much less a six figure income! The steps are just not there. For instance, he talks about selling the blogs for fast income, but doesn't go in depth as to how or where. It's details like that that will make this book a pass for many people.

This is a little bit nitpicky -- but it really has to be said! The proofreader must have been busy because Rob gets you all excited to learn about the 3 big changes in blogging that you need to pay close attention to. The first two are great and then...there is no third! We'll have to wait for the next update to find out what that revelation was.

With that being said, there are some good sections people who enjoy collecting the Blogging to the Bank series might enjoy. The opening section is quite and good talks about building a real business and steering clear of free blogs. This is a huge departure from the first B to the B, which mostly discussed using free blogs to make money. There are also 5 blogging commandments that Blogging to the Bank 3.0 covers. These are essential for every blogger to follow.

In addition to that you'll find:

• Monetization options
• Where to find content so you don't have to write all the time (covers free and paid content)
• Where to get traffic (Web 2.0, article marketing, etc.)

There is an intriguing section at the end that talks about how to get indexed fast. People who've had to deal with slow Google indexing will appreciate the free service Rob discusses here. Another cool bonus section at the end talks about a little known tactic to get high quality backlinks for free, for just a few minutes work. This is something we'll try on our own blogs and hope to see success.

Overall, this book is a lot shorter than others we've reviewed and it just doesn't deliver on the goods. Still, if you are curious about the Blogging to the Bank craze you might want to pick this up -- it also includes the first edition. If you want a package that contains a lot more meat and helpful steps, you will want to go with one of the other options. Sadly, it seems like this ebook was just thrown together to cash in on a series that once held a lot of weight.

Click here to visit Blogging To The Bank for more information

Blogging Product Review: Super Affiliate Blogger

It's hard not to be interested in Affiliate Marketing. What could be better than selling a product, getting paid, and not having to handle order fulfillment or anything else? It's a great way to make money, and when you combine affiliate marketing and blogging the results are unstoppable.

Super Affiliate Blogger is an ebook on blogging at its core, but it takes a different slant than the other books we reviewed. This one helps you get started on blogging much like the others, but the focus on affiliate marketing really sets this one apart.

You'll discover how to:

• Set up your blog (basic and advanced information is covered)
• Use keywords and implement SEO strategies
• Optimize your posts and creating compelling titles
• Use Link exchanges and other methods of driving traffic

Now, those are things you'll find in most ebooks that tell you how to get started with blogging. Super Affiliate Blogger also contains a very large section (this is not a short ebook) on affiliate marketing. Everything you need to know is covered from what affiliate marketing is to more advanced techniques.

This information is really wonderful, but it does lead to more advanced concepts -- a little too quickly. While much of the book focuses on fairly easy strategies, it soon turns to things like setting up an entire affiliate marketing funnel, complete with Pay Per Click and landing pages.

This shouldn't be an issue at all for people who have been doing this for a while, but those who are new will probably become very frustrated. Not only do they need to learn how to blog using this strategy, they also need to learn how to code a landing page, figure out their opt-in box, AND take the chance on PPC, among other things.

With that being said, this section is highly valuable for people who are ready for it. Newbies can probably handle it with some patience, but some will likely become a bit overwhelmed.

Moving along to traffic -- we really like this section! It went more in depth about using RSS feeds and submitting them to directories than any other guide we've reviewed so far. This is a great thing because rankings on the Internet and best practices for getting traffic are always changing. At this point in the game, knowledge about RSS feeds is critical.

This package comes with some bonuses that really helps to make it complete. First, there is a list of codes that will help you optimize your blog. These are must-haves. They are easy to implement, but not too many people do. That will give you a big advantage over the competition.

In addition to the codes, Super Affiliate Blogger also comes with custom templates. These come in a variety of different styles to suit different niches. Finding good themes can be hard to do, and customizing them is even harder. These themes are great for newbies and experienced people alike.

Super Affiliate Blogger is a no-brainer choice if your main goal is to become a top affiliate to pull in a great income. If you don't want to build landing pages, build a list, etc. You may want to go with a different product. If you want follow in the footsteps of blogging affiliate marketers who are already successful, you really can't go wrong with this product.

Click here to visit Super Affiliate Blogger for more information

Using Free Blog Themes To Spice Up Your Blog Design

It used to be that if you wanted a professional looking site you had to pay big bucks to get a designer to do it. These days all you need to do is a quick Wordpress installation and you're well on your way to a site that looks like it took thousands of dollars to design. Finding free themes is the fastest way to give your blog the makeover it deserves.

You might be wondering why people would give away themes for free in the first place. The main reason is because they often include a link to their website in the footer of the theme. This is great for them because they get tons of relevant links to their site from people who install their blogging theme. You can benefit from this because the link is hardly noticeable, and you get the the design for free!

There are many different free blog themes out there so it can be hard to decide which one to go with. The first thing you should do is a search in Google for "your niche WP theme". If there is a theme out there that is a match you'll likely run across it that way.

If you're very stuck and just can't find a good theme you can search through the database they have at Wordpress.org. That site allows you to sort by color, style, and many other criteria as well.

Hopefully you will have found a great theme that you can put to use right away. If you can't seem to find that one perfect one -- don't get too hung up! It's very easy to change the theme down the road. All you need to do is upload the theme folder that you download from the Internet to the wp-content area under themes. Then, you'll activate the theme in your wp-admin area, and you're done designing!

While you can certainly choose any theme you prefer, there are some things you should keep in mind when choosing your theme. The first is to make sure your background is white. There are successful sites out there that have a dark background, but studies have shown that people can read darker colors on top of white better than they can the other way around. Always keep your reader at the top of your mind.

You also need to carefully consider how many sidebars you're going to choose. This is very important as some sidebars will allow for better ad positioning than others. Test different ones and see what you like!

If you can't find anything you like, browse through other blogs. You're bound to see something that interests you. When you choose one you can scroll to the very bottom to see which theme they are using. The free themes usually have the name present. You can follow the link through to download it yourself and you're done!

Using free blog themes is a great, instant, way to make sure your blog has a professional design your visitors will love. Get inspired today!

To your Blogging Success,

Sally McKinley

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For more blogging tips, please visit: bloggingGuides.org

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How To Write Compelling Blog Posts That Get Attention

Writing compelling blog posts is one of the most important aspects of blogging -- if not THE most important. It doesn't matter how well you market and drive traffic, if the content stinks it's going to get you nowhere. The good news is that you can learn how to write compelling blog posts that will really draw the attention of your target audience.

There are a few different kinds of posts you might want to create. You can write a pure content post that is well-written and contains incredibly helpful information. Another option is to look at the news results for your niche in Google news. Capitalize on the trends by posting high quality opinion pieces on what's being reported. Yet another option is to write product reviews to help people make buying decisions.

These all have a place on your blog, and all three types are things that visitors look for. It's important to know the differences between them, but it's also important to understand how they are all the same. It comes down to the A.I.D.A formula.

Attention

The first thing you need to pay attention to in your blog posts is how the reader's attention will be captured right off the bat. You can do this with a great headline and a great first few sentences that really suck the reader in.

Interest

You really only have 10 seconds to keep someone's attention going as they read through your post. Remember, people are very busy these days and they've got a million other blogs to read. Keep your article interesting and focused on the aim of the post (informational, newsworthy, review, etc.). Make sure your writing isn't dry!

Desire

Now, this section changes depending on your goal. If you are writing a review article as an affiliate you're going to want to create a very strong desire for the product or service. If you're writing an article that is purely informational you can still use this principle, just in a different way. You still want to stir people's emotions and get them to think.

Action

This last piece is very important. There is always something you want people to do on your blog. You either want them to buy something, comment, or sign up for your list. You don't want them to just go away! Make sure you include a call to action that is related to the post you've created. This fits best when you're selling a product or writing a review, but it certainly works with any post you make on your blog. A huge part of being a successful blogger is getting people "stick around" and take some kind of action.

There are many different ways to write compelling blog posts, but the AIDA principle is something they all have in common. People move quickly on the web, so you need to write something that will call out to them and possibly stir their emotions.

To your Blogging Success,

Sally McKinley

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For more blogging tips, please visit: bloggingGuides.org

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How To Choose Top Converting Affiliate Programs For Your Blog

Many people have had the issue where they choose some affiliate products to promote, only to find that the traffic is there but the sales aren't. There is nothing more frustrating! The best way to prevent this from happening in the future is to make sure you are choosing the right affiliate products from the start.

It can feel like you need to be psychic to figure this out. Luckily, there are many tools at your disposal -- no special powers needed! These tools are also free, and can help you immensely when it comes to choosing profitable affiliate products.

The first thing you need to do is some market research. Search around on the Internet to find where people in your niche hang out. The chances are good that you'll find a forum or message board, You can read through these posts to see what kind of product these people would be most interested in.

You see, some markets are better suited to digital products. Other markets are much more attuned with physical products. This is very important for you to know so you always choose the right kind of product.

You can take this a step further by "spying" on your competition. If there is a major blog in your niche you should go look through it. Figure out what they are promoting and how they are doing it. You can't be sure, but the chances are good that if they are established and highly ranked they have done a lot of market research themselves. You can simply use this data to help you figure out what the best fit for your site will be. Remember, a product that is not targeted will make far less sales (if any) than one that is targeted.

After you've decided exactly what kind of affiliate product to promote you can start to look into the specific product or affiliate network. Many of the networks will give you some kind of data that you can use to figure out if it's an offer that sells (look at present and historical data). It is important to remember there are many variables that go into these numbers, so use them as a guideline.

Once you think you've chosen a good product you should look at their sales page or website.

The site should:

• Have well-written copy
• Have symbols of trust (verification signs, trusted company logos, etc.)
• Include a Phone number (increases trust)
• Have few distractions (increases conversions)

The site you link to can truly either make or break you! Even if you've done a good job of pre-selling the product (described below), the customer will ultimately make her decision based on the sales page and whether or not she things it's a good offer.

Last but not least, you need to do a good job of pre-selling the product. That means letting your visitors know that this is a great product for them by either showcasing banners on your site, writing a review about it, etc. In order to learn how to write a good presell, you should consider learning the basics of good copywriting.

When you put all these pieces together you'll have a much easier time making great affiliate sales on your blog!

To your Blogging Success,

Sally McKinley

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For more blogging tips, please visit: bloggingGuides.org

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How To Choose A Niche Topic To Blog About

After you've made the decision to become a blogger, you need to figure out what your blog is going to be about! It can seem like an impossible choice since there are so many topics out there. Luckily, there are some easy ways you can narrow the choice down. It's important to like the niche and know that it's possible to earn a good income from it.

Step One: Brainstorm Ideas

The great thing about niche blogging is that there is no shortage of topics you can blog about. There are billions of people in the world and they all have varied interests, hobbies, and things they need or want to spend their money on. You're simply going to choose one of the many options.

First you've got to get some ideas! Don't worry -- you don't have to think of them all on your own. You can browse through magazine stands, look through online forum sites, browse the categories at sites like Amazon, etc.

For now, write down anything that sounds like a great blogging niche. There will be time to perfect this choice later. Keep the idea that you want to be able to have plenty to write about and that it needs to be easily monetized in the back of your mind.

Step Two: Narrow it Down and Do Some Research

There are bound to be some potential niche topics that you like more than other ones. Choose the three you think have the most potential.

Now, you're going to do some searches in Google to see if there are already blogs and sites set up in each niche. Also, pay close attention to the ads that appear on the right hand side of the search results in Google. If that niche's keywords are showing a lot of ads, the chances are that it's profitable. You just need to find a sub-niche that you can sneak yourself into easily to get noticed by the market right away.

Step Three: Choose Your Niche!

The final thing you need to do as part of choosing your niche is narrow things down a little bit. As you can imagine, something like "parenting" is a huge niche. It will be awfully hard to rank for such a general niche. One good idea is to choose a smaller subset of that niche. You might do first time mothers. You could even break it down even more into something like "first time Christian mothers." You just need to be sure it will a topic you're interested in blogging about and that you can easily monetize. Browse through sites like Clickbank.com, CJ.com, and others to make sure there are monetization options.

If you follow the important principles that are found within these steps it will be easier than ever for you to choose a niche to blog about. Don't get too caught up in the details and try to perfect the decision, however, because then you'll never get started. There are literally thousands (if not millions) of great niches out there that you can earn a good income from. These steps will help get you there.

To your Blogging Success,

Sally McKinley

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For more blogging tips, please visit: bloggingGuides.org

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