"It's Too Hard to Make Money Online" ::: NO KIDDING! With every click of the mouse there's another "expert" beckoning me to download his/her pdf, throwing up an annoying pop-up screen screaming at me to subscribe - sending me another email thanking me for visiting. ENOUGH!

A month or more ago I ran across a relatively new blog that had more than 40 amazing comments. What was so amazing about these comments? Commenters included:

Mavis Nong from Online Business Tools

Kristi Hines from Blog Marketing

Stacy from Blog Tips

Janet from The Natural Networker

Devesh from Twitter Marketing

Marlon from productivity bits

Obviously, this blogger was doing something RIGHT! A "right" collection of comments, from all the "right" people, including some of the hottest bloggers of 2011! How was this accomplished? the blogger stopped by one of the blogs that these other bloggers were featured on, leaving a comment there, and in some cases asking that blogger to return the visit and check out a particular post. It worked like faery dust! (before YOU try anything like that, you'd better make sure you've posted a quality kick-ass article. This is one of those things you only get ONE chance at!)

Onto "too many visitors" - I have "too many" on this very blog! I briefly discuss the problem here.

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Help cbs2 Find New York’s MVBs.

Calling all foodie, sport and mommy blogs! CBS is looking for the best

and brightest bloggers in New York to compete for the title of

Most Valuable Blogger in each of six different categories:

• Dining/Entertainment
• Sports
• Lifestyle

• Local Affairs
• Health/Fitness/Medical
• Everything Else

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Nominate the best bloggers in your community, as many blogs as you’d like. They can be your own, a friend’s, or just one you think deserves the title of New York’s Most Valuable Blogger.
2. Vote for MVBs in each category from August 16 – September 9. You can vote once in each category per day.
3. Come back and see who won. We’ll tally the votes and award a $50 Amazon Gift Card to each category’s winner. In addition, we’ll choose one editor’s choice winner per category for another Amazon Gift Card. Feel free to check out the rules for details.

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To All You 'Aggregator Haters' Out There

Splitting hairs regarding journalistic ethics aside, readers familiar with HuffPo and many other blogs (including mine) have come to expect that they will encounter active aggregating every now and then. I've had brushes with those who would accuse me of "over-aggregating" - and I've had to address the issue - even though regular readers have come to recognize it is something I do (in some instances just to save a lot of time, not at all for 'SEO').

Aggregating, when done properly (see Global Voices) provides a valuable collective portal of information. LAweekly comes to the defense of suspended HuffPo blogger Amy Lee, taking aggregation by its horns and showing it for what it is: "...a staple in blogland. Love it or hate it. Let's debate it by saying it's a prominent model and we all do it..." The following has been "aggregated" from New York Magazine:

Earlier this week Simon Dumenco published a column in Advertising Age griping that, for all Arianna's promises that she drives traffic to outside sites, the Huffington Post actually takes ideas and hands out few page views in exchange. His example was a column of his own, which was liberally quoted and minimally linked by HuffPo. In the end, the massive "traffic-driver" sent only 57 page views his way. It was an egregious but not uncommon example of the site's aggregation philosophy, on the far end of a sliding scale that often tries and succeeds in proper attribution. (Some of our posts get big bumps from a HuffPo link. Others don't.) In response to Dumenco's column, HuffPo's executive business editor, Peter Goodman, profusely apologized and suspended the young blogger who had "over-aggregated." (Read the complete NYmag article)

TechMeme founder Gabe Rivera is irked that the term “aggregator” is being misapplied ::: he argues that the Huffington Post is not an aggregator --- What irked me was the reminder that “aggregator” is a rather broad-brush term that paints systematic news-rewriters like the Huffington Post (who bury links) as cousins to snippet-quoting sites like Techmeme and Mediagazer (which link prominently). Dumenco’s piece, whose subtitle begins with “The Blog Queen Defends HerAggregation Practices” also cites Bill Keller’s famous column from earlier this year, entitled “All the Aggregation That’s Fit toAggregate“, which goes as far as coyly utilizing the term “aggregate” repeatedly as a euphemism for “steal”.

You may also enjoy:::

Successful aggregation

and here's a snippet of a "post from the past" :::

To All You 'Aggregator Haters' Out There

A bit of misplaced criticism has come to my attention: a statement that this humble weblog "publishes pages and pages of information that may be found elsewhere on the world-wide web but provides no added value to it." Here's another: "You ape what others write and publish through your unstoppable cut and paste routine."

To those above allegations from windbag Windy, I answer:

My blogging work includes, but is not limited to, reporting and editing in the traditional way, as well as aggregating information from a variety of sources, sorting and presenting the data to make it understandable.

Those who would criticize me for "cut and paste" would do well to look at their own blogs and tweets to search for occurrences of fleeting instances of originality.


Tags: aggregator, Huffington Post



Permission to reprint this blog post in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author (or authors) and Dave Lucas are properly cited. Permission to reprint any comments below is granted only for those comments written by Dave Lucas and staff.

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BlogLab ::: eXperiment FAIL

"The mechanics of search engines and emergence of trends are changing the quality of googles." ~ J. Felonious Fisch

What?

Search engines like google are powered by algorithms that have been refined to a point of near pseudo-self-awareness.

Earlier this year the title I gave to a particular post atracted search engines (and visitors) like flies: "Paris Hilton Sex Arab Britney Nude Charlie Sheen Photo Video Shakira Hot Free Hareega Bush Libya Man Men Girl Teen Obama Osama Sexxx XXX Nokia TV Bin" - it was done intentionally, experimentally, after I'd seen a similar headline on another blog. I tethered it to a post about traffic and my dear internet friends Windy and Lainy.

And it worked like a charm. I got 7X the usual daily traffic for nearly 4 days in a row before it trickled off.

Fast forward to THIS WEEK. I chanced upon an article all about tinkering with searches, search engines, social networks and SEO. Before proceeding, read "Experiments on Google+ and Twitter Influencing Search Rankings"

A very interesting article, yes?

Inspired by that article, I constructed a new post, entitled "Assist a Mom Euclidean Taeniasis of Galapagos Portly Domesticus Connochaetes mta Elizabeth Smart Shuttle Launch Rupert Murdoch Euclidean Perry Euxlis".

Now, based on what you've seen so far, you'd think my new post would be an SEO "Slam dunk". It was not. It attacted ZERO search engine-directed traffic!Here's my analysis:

New algorithms recently put into service are pouring through topics, headlines and keywoprds faster than mice through a sack of grain. By the time I published MY experimental post, the terms seomoz used in its experiment had decayed in importance and relevance to such degree as they no longer mattered.

The "curve of deterioration" was short for my first post, and my second, experimental post could best be compared to a horse race: there was a race on Tuesday, I entered my horse, but me and my horse didn't show up athe track until Thursday. We ran in record time! We beat everybody. But we missed the actual race, so "nothing counts."

MORAL: You're going to have to get up awfully early (or be extremely lucky) to impress the search engines!

Good Luck, and BLOG ON!

ANOTHER HEAD-SCRATCHER ::: I've seen a lot of 'contest posts' where blogs encourage bloggers (and others) to win a cash prize by essentially making the visitors jump thru hoops in competition for the prize. So, I decided to offer my own unique contest. I decided to give USD $100 away to one lucky player. But there's been no 'buzz' and ZERO search-engine traffic. And although the URL is high-ranked on one of the stat-widgets appearing in the right-hand column on this humble weblog, I haven't seen one single instance of anyone arriving on the blog from another URL to that particular post. Frankly, I'm PUZZLED!

Permission to reprint this blog post in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author (or authors) and Dave Lucas are properly cited. Permission to reprint any comments below is granted only for those comments written by Dave Lucas and staff.

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Blogging With No Crutches ::: A lot of long-time bloggers (Steve Rubel immediately comes to mind) have been embarking on quests to set their blogs and blogging habits free. Or I Gues what they really want is to remain popular but not tethered to their blogs as they are now, a la ball-and-chain.

The One Minute Blogger (WordPress) comes close to what I'd like to achieve. My experimental blog on the tumblr platform even more so.

Which of the "top three" - Blogger, WordPress or tumblr, do you think has the best chance of being deleted or taken down? Comments are open for your remarks.

Let's take a brief look at Entrecard ::: I see a lot of people dropping out or criticizing the EC program. You shouldn't rush to eliminate your EC or adgitize widget. Take a look at your visitor statistics. Here is a screenshot of mine from June. Of the "returning visitors" approx. HALF swooped in and out dropping on my ec widget. No worries there! (Of course on days when my advert is being displayed across some of the more popular blogs in the EC system, like for example, Seek No More or The Ad Master, those numbers can shoot up into triple digits!)
Stop, Go, Blog! ::: Protect your blog from litigation (and attract a bigger following) by providing original content!

I realize that we bloggers cannot always 100% of the time do that.

TIP ::: Using Images: do not use copyrighted images without the permission of the author. Thumbnails, however, tend to be considered “fair use” under the Copyright Law.

Many bloggers copy images and text around the Internet thinking that in the worst of the cases they will receive a take down notice from the author and remove the material from the website. The removal of the copyrighted material will not remove the copyright infringement at all. Should the author decide to go after you in count you will be in trouble all the same. [1]

Not all bloggers are aware of the fact that they do not own the comments that are posted on their blogs. Once a person publishes a comment on your blog he or she will be the copyright holder of it. You can solve this issue by having a “Terms of Service” section on your blog. [2]

BE VERY CAREFUL when commenters leave whole articles or lyrics to poular songs on your blog! while the people commenting on your blog will retain the ownership of the content you might still be liable if they commit intellectual property violations.

In June 2011, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved S. 978, a bill that would expand the scope of felony criminal copyright infringement under federal law. While the legislation enjoys broad congressional support, a number of bloggers have slammed the bill on the grounds that it would allegedly impose criminal liability on lots of innocent U.S. Internet users.

Bblogger Luke Pelican answers a few “Frequently Asked Questions” about the legislation — and explains how he monitors infringement of his own online content, as well as how he advises clients to do the same.

Of course, content thieves in places like Malaysia and India will continue stealing and scraping --- or will they? Word's out Google will suspend adsense and cripple PR of any Malaysian blog guilty of content theft!

CAUTION! DANGER! ::: http://righthavenvictims.blogspot.com/

This is interesting. Righthaven going after people who used an image in a parody or criticism. Parody has a long history and numerous court precedences that put it square in the realm of not only fair use but free speech especially in the realm of political speech. Righthaven owns the copyright to an image of a TS agent touching the junk of a passenger. A website owner used this image to criticize the TSA’s handling of airport screeners.

Righthaven has to know this and will surely lose in court but again they are not about fighting the merits of any case but to get settlements.

It is interesting also that the Denver Post’s website where the photo can still be viewed it says nothing about Righthaven being the copyright owner, infact Denver Post still claims copyright. Sounds like there is some deception here. I would leave a link but I will not link to the Denver Post.

WIRED.COM ::: Righthaven Loss: Judge Rules Reposting Entire Article Is Fair Use

john_sealander John Sealander

A few things we're learned by being online for 16 years...http://vltb.com/4ba07078?30419

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It's on! Battle for control of the interverse!

Stargate TV-show fans know that as Teal'c has told the Jaffa many times that the Goa'uld may be powerful but they are NOT gods, I will tell you bloggers that Darren Rowse and Steve Ruebel may be a-list respected bloggers, but they also are NOT gods.

You hear about it whenever Rowse and Ruebel are right about something, but it gets "forgotten" when thay are not (anybody remember "lifestreaming" which was going to replace blogging? hahahahaa!)

Why Lifestream? To Model Leonardo Da Vinci - Steve Rubel

www.steverubel.com/why-lifestream-to-model-leonardo-da-vinci - Cached

Jun 26, 2009 – There have been a number of posts since I wrote yesterday that I am quitting blogging in favor of lifestreaming. A few of you wrote in ...

And who can forget that groundbreaker, Google BUZZ?

Google Buzz: We Might Be On To Something

www.dailyblogtips.com/google-buzz/ - Cached

Feb 11, 2010 – To illustrate my point: I received a Google Wave invite early on from a friend,... Darren Rowse also posted a similar post on Problogger. ...

Now, in July 2011, everybody's suddenly an expert on Google +1! It's amazing! They're spilling out of the woodwork! (there's also a lot of confusion about the Google+1 button and the Google facebook alternative. Are they one and the same? Related? Totally different? What is YOUR understanding of that? Care to leav it in comments, please?)

I was moved to comment on one of these "Google expert" articles. I wrote (see image above) that bloggers shouldn't act like lemmings and walk off digital cliffs on the say-so of Rowse or Rubel.

Here's a new knee-slapper for ya! Rubel now thinks TWITTER should be SCARED!

He bloggeth thus: "Social media networks have typically have one of two lineages - not both. They either first catch on with teens and twenty-somethings or they catch on with nerds (of which I count myself as one). Eventually there’s overlap.

Group A Graduates (Youth) Friendster, MySpace, Facebook and now Tumblr I would argue

Group B Graduates (Geeks) Blogs, Twitter, Friendfeed (RIP) and now Google+ I would say

I am seeing a lot of the same patterns here as when Twitter took off at SxSW several years ago. Except this time it’s much faster! Media, brands and celebs are jumping in. And, by it’s nature, Google+ can be a much more public network than Facebook will ever be."

"The bigger they are, the harder they FAIL."



Tags: problogger, Micro Persuasion



Permission to reprint this blog post in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author (or authors) and Dave Lucas are properly cited. Permission to reprint any comments below is granted only for those comments written by Dave Lucas and staff.

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Big Brother 13 premieres tonight (July 7) on CBS
Did you know that those so-called "scraper" blogs could actually be your friends? And those fake twitter followers too?

Hello! Thanks for dropping by! How on earth did YOU arrive HERE? Can you tell me by leaving a message in my "comments" area below?

You may have noticed that I am running a few experiments here on this humble weblog. Here is one. The fascination with these experiments has temporarily sidetracked my blog redesign plans. And the I wonder if I should really bother with a re-design at all, considering... ah yes, considering WHAT, you ask? Well, that "WHAT" is something I am not willing to share right at this moment.

COMING SOON: a contest where you could win $100!

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...and the bloggers are correct! Heck even GOOGLE agrees!



The guru bloggers have been quiet lately. Maybe they've been counting the money they made selling their latest PDF's and eBooks!

I've told you that I've been considering a new template - and I came THIS CLOSE to activating it this week - but I'm holding off - something whispering in my ear "not yet".

Meanwhile, the latest "blogger buzz" (and battle cry) seems to be "LESS IS MORE" ---, minimalists would definitely agree!

Brankica posts that cry of "LESS IS MORE" right out of the gate in an article on weblogbetter.com ::: "For those of you that have been reading my blog for awhile, I guess you may have noticed that I am removing social buttons left and right. There are also some numbers displayed and some hidden.

Brankica goes on to discuss what one should display on one's blog when it comes down to numbers of followers, subscribers, alexa rank, etc. To which I commented "Numbers mean nothing. You can buy 2000 twitter followers on fiverr for $5 – you can buy subcribers to your blog and purchase ‘hits” as well. There are A-list blogs that have 0 page rank. There are crappy scraper blogs that are autogenerated with PR5 and “5000″ subscribers!

I don’t display too much in the way of twitter and very little facebook information. I have a personal cap of 300 I follow on twitter. My facebook is my business. I do have some google connect numbers displaying, but I feel those are kinda sketchy, and they’ll probably be gone when I redesign the blog.

I have a bunch of sharing buttons on my blog. I keep them there just in case someone wants to use one of them. They rarely do, but WHEN they do, I get beaucoup visitors!

As for alexa: there are so many conflicting stories about it! I think I might still have the widget (or at least a link to alexa) on my blog.

I use 3 different sitemeter services PLUS the google/blogspot one that now comes with the platform. None of them ever agree. There was a day in May one hitcounter racked up 212 visits for the entire day, while google showed 1,511 “unique’ visits! Did you know that if someone is reading your blog via Google Reader that visitor is never counted? (Except maybe by Google – is that where those higher numbers come in?)
I think that there is a fashion rule that we can and should apply to blogging – Less Is More (most of the time)."

Hasan of MarketingTheInternet posted "Lessons Copywriters Can Take from Charlie Chaplin" on blog.2createawebsite.com ::: "Make sure your blog or website’s template is clean, simple and visible. The template of your blog or website should not be complex with too many graphics and pictures. It should easily be able to load on all a web browsers." - to which I commented - "The latest trend appears to be 'less is more' so your article is right on track!" - and it absolutely IS on track. I recommend you study the article!

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Blogger Frank Dickinson put up a post entitled Three Social Media Mistakes And How To Fix Them... If you don't want to read the entire post, here are a few fine points, along with my comments.

FRANK: If you would not want someone coming to your “hub” and throwing up their feet on your coffee table and acting like ol’ asshole Uncle Ernie – why would you go to another bloggers’ hub and act the same way?

Blog commenting (which some have mainstreamed as blog hopping) is all about being social (yep – more on that in a sec) with your fellow blogger neighbors. It is about contributing, enhancing, developing.

It is not about taking, promoting and getting all jiggy with your wants and desires.

Do I enter my website when I leave a comment? Do I use CommentLuv when it is available on a blog?

Yes – you bet your ass I do."

ME: I don't need to use cusswords to say I will comment on a blog whether it has comment luv or not. I will comment on a blog if it doesn't display my link.

FRANK: We are all tempted to join up with the newest wizz bang phenomenon that is ready to take Social Media by storm. The newest craze comes on like a hot chick in a short skirt and lasts about as long as Aunt Gertrude in her flannel PJ’s. But, by god, we are going to join it!

Every time you do that you contribute to your Goggle (SP) paper trail.

ME : I don't think people pay all that much attention to the "paper trail" as you describe it! I joined twitter and facebook when they were brand spankin' new and forgot all about 'em - until the day they were 'hot" and I went to sign up and found I already had an account WITH THE EXACT NAME I WANTED! Rejoice!

FRANK: Social Media is about being social. It is about relationships, engagement and interaction. It is all about being a real person in a real way with other real people and their real life concerns, desires, needs and dreams.

Let me just say it straight out – if you cannot have a decent, respectful, engaging conversation with your next door neighbor and then translate that over to Social Media – heaven help you.

We don’t “do” Social Media as bloggers. We are a part of a HUGE community and we should treat each other like community members.

ME : The Blog neighborhood is not a Communist "Utopia" - just as disagreements in real life are part of analog life, they appear in digital life as well! You gotta deal with it, baby!







Tags: Social Medai Tips, Social Networking Tips



Permission to reprint this blog post in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author (or authors) and Dave Lucas are properly cited. Permission to reprint any comments below is granted only for those comments written by Dave Lucas and staff.

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In blogging, "sticky post" refers to a post that remains "above the fold" or at the top of the author's page indefinitely.

On Wordpress? No problemo!
In the Post editor find the "Publish" section.
Next to "Visibility" click "Edit" and then check the "Stick this post to the front page" option there.
Click save and you're done.

If you are using the old or "classic" blog*spot template, and you are comfortable poking around in the html code, you should be able to find the spot beneath your header where you could manually insert a post. A little tedious, but the post will remain "forever sticky" without having to fool with the date.

The easiest way to make the sticky post is like you would any other. Write, edit, embellish and post. THEN you can go back in to the post html and copy/save into notepad. You will have to tinker with the fonts if you want a headline for your post. If you'd rather not do that, create an original graphic or overlay text on to an image that will serve as a "title". There may be a bit of trial and error involved (which is why you should always do an export/save so you have a back-up copy of your original template that you can re-install if anything goes wrong) but eventually you'll get it right. Results may vary depending on the original template that you are using: that's why I'm not telling you specifically where to insert your html. Don't be afraid to experiment!

The 2nd easiest way to make a post sticky is to assign it a future date. It will stay at the top of your blog until that day comes and goes. This is also the simplest method!

Below is a method for the NEWer blogger "Layout" based blogs. I found these instructions via Google. I am reposting the article here because the original page is being hijacked (as soon as it loads halfway it's gone and you'd be taken to a spam website). Click on the URLS below at your own risk!

In blogger post rule, a new post will be shown on the top, while the older one place below/after it or become archive (depending on your post setting), but with this very simple trick you can remain your post sticky at the top.

Actually this trick is very simple, The key is add the "Add a Gadget" widget above Blog Post in Page Element

By default this widget isn't there, we must doing a little trick first to get that widget. If you do not have Add a Gadget Widget yet, please follow this link http://doit2us.blogspot.com/2009/11/add-add-gadget-on-header-and-blog-posts.html

The rest step is just to add our Sticky Post (or you can put picture, message, HTML/JavaScript ) by Add a Gadget Widget above the blog post.

If you want to add a "post form" exactly like your post, then you can add a "Text" gadget.
Please not to write your post title in Title Column because it will show up as a "Gadget Title" not as a Post Title, you better write it in Content. and set the display as a Post Title.

The Problem is: to do this trick, we must use HTML code to make up the text... But don't worry, if you are not capable with HTML Codes, there are simple and fast way to make your sticky post without learn it. Use your "New Post" to make a sample of your sticky post, set the display as close as your real post, use the Preview to check your sticky post display then copy-paste into your content collumn text add gadget.

Open your Blogger Dashboard >> New Post. Write your sticky post.

Use Preview to check your final displal, Block your Sticky Post text.

Open your Dashboard in a new Tab >> Layout >> Page Element >> Add a Gadget (above your blogpost) >> Click Text >> Paste your Sticky Post into content column. and Save it.

And this is the final example...

Tags: sticky post, make a 'sticky post'



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Maybe you did something to invoke the wrath of the googlegod. Or maybe you're not getting the right keywords out. Or maybe your blog is getting buried beneath tons of other blogs. Relax. There is hope.

NEW: GOOGLE MUSIC BETA

Google Apps manager attacks Microsoft Office 365 http://tgr.ph/lRhdju

Google generally fails at all things social.... Google Now Showing Local +1 Counts http://t.co/ytJk

As of today, I have a PR3. If that dropped to 0 or rose to 7, would it make any difference? Honestly, I don't know for sure. I've been in both places, and nothing seems like it really changed...

This morning Hesham posted "Have You Noticed Google PageRank Update Today?" on Famous Bloggers. He writes:

Check your Google PageRank Now!

Here is the link to Google PageRank checker tool.

I wonder if Google will keep the update going, this is July 2011 update, so the next update should be in three months from now, the next PR update will be next October if I am right!

Have you notice any changes to your site’s PageRank? Positive or negative?

What you did to get higher Google PageRank?

Please, share your blog’s PR and let us know whether you think it’s fair or not!

Now here's a semi-updated traffic article I wrote in 2010:

So you wanna know how to increase traffic without relying on Google or Bing or Technorati?
Here's how! Before you begin: this will take a little EFFORT on your part, but you'll be rewarded in the end!

1 - Twitter - You don't tweet? Open an account NOW. Follow the rules and recommendations. Do a little research. Once you fly with the twitterati, and your blog is linked from your twitter homepage, you'll get a few links every day that go direct to your blog. If you write a great article, others will tweet about it!

2 - Facebook - FB is currently THE place to be! You can get services your automated so that your blogposts show up on Facebook and pass through to twitter. I do that! Now, traffic to your blog isn't going to jump overnight. But in time, if you produce quality stuff, you'll get readers. Trust me, 25 regular solid readers are better than 225 one-time visitors! BTW: MySpace is good too, especially if you are associated with music.

3 - C-Box - *** UPDATE: Unfortunately, SPAMMERS took over C-Box and I had to remove it from my blogs. If you have a small audience with targeted content in a niche area, you may not have any trouble with spammers. But, as soon as ONE appears, others inevitably follow.

Do you have an avatar? Y'now, a little picture, a little graphic image of you - something people will associate with you and your web presence by sight... once you have one you like, get it up there on your blog, on Facebook, MySpace, twitter, MyBlogLog etc. etc.

4 - email - put the URL of your blog in the signature of every email you generate!

5 - Blogs - if you read other blogs regularly, be sure to comment. Don't say something stupid, like "nice blog" or "check out MY blog." Start off by just commenting. Leave your name but NOT your URL. If the blogger you're following happens to write about something you've blogged about in the last 5 or 10 days, THEN add your comment with a link to what YOU posted. Be sure to explain why you agree or disagree with the other blogger's article!

FORGET Digg, StumbleUpon and Technorati. Unless you've written a truly SPECTACULAR article. be honest. When's the last time that you (or I) have done that?

Which brings us to

6 - PRESS Releases - for when you actually DO come out with a SPECTACULAR article (or an EXCLUSIVE - you've got that cellphone in your pocket - most now have cameras - if you snap a newsworthy photo and you can write something about it (interview the person if you're the only 'reporter' on the scene) you have the makings of a SPECIAL article! (You may even catch the attention of MSM (main steam media)!

7 - Business Cards - if you are a problogger or you are in business, as long as your blog isn't some craxy x-rated thing or all about some kooky off-topic subject you'd be ashamed to let people who know you read, add the URL to your business cards.

8 - local newspaper ads - if you blog about things in your area or city, check out some of the weekly tabloids - some accept ads for blogs and they don't charge more than $5 or $10. Ask if they'll give you a discount if you order 10 weeks in a row. Especially NOW, the Autumn-Winter times of year when people will be indoors (and right after Xmas when people will be test-driving new netbooks and laptops) are extra good times to get your URL out there!

9 - PING your blog each and every time you write something new! Try pingler.com for starters!

10 - YouTube - I really don't use YouTube as much as I should. It works VERY WELL for bloggers who have video to share. I mention it here because I've heard so many positive comments from those who do use it. Like Multiply or Mobi, it's a niche group, but if you're "in" with that group, it will help you build traffic!

Feel free to share your feedback with me by leaving me a comment using either "comments" feature below. If you have any questions, I’ll be happy to help answer them for you. Take a moment to subscribe to my RSS Feed and be sure to start following me on Twitter.



Tags: blog traffic, hits

Permission to reprint this blog post in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author (or authors) and Dave Lucas are properly cited. Permission to reprint any comments below is granted only for those comments written by Dave Lucas and staff.

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Who says you can't earn an income via blogging?

Who says you can't earn an income via blogging?

There are a lot of bloggers out there who are hoping to turn that little weblog into a cash cow. Much easier said than done, but one can always try!

On this very weblog, there are opportunities hidden in plain sight! Feel free to click around - on badges - on images - wherever - and FIND them! Good Luck!

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Does this happen to you too? You read a great blog post, compose a great comment, and you can't leave it.

#1 Always compose your comment in notepad ::: that way if the blog commenting system rejects it or freezes, you still have your comment. Maybe you could use it as the basis for a blog post on your own blog (I do this all the time!)

If you really think you need a 3rd party comments app, I would say of the various services out there, INTENSE DEBATE has been reliable 99.9% of the time. Facebook comments are very unsteady, apparently targeted toward hardcore facebookers who hang on the social network all day 24/7. Disqus really sucks, and the app like the one the blog below uses work maybe half the time, if at all. And I wonder if the blogger knows about this?

#2 Let the blog author know - someway, somehow... maybe just by linking back to the article you tried to leave a comment on... Here's what happened a few minutes ago when I tried to leave a comment on POWERLINE blog via facebook log-in: a bit fat FREEZE!


MORE!

1. Dave Lucas: Dave to Disqus: HELP!

   Feb 21, 2009 ... I'm sending out an SOS to the folks at Disqus (and others)

   looking for help ...http://dave-lucas.blogspot.com. Can you tweak my template? ...
   dave-lucas.blogspot.com/2009/02/dave-to-disqus-help.html - Cached
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2. Dave Lucas: Another Blogger's "Disqus Dilemma" (Guest Post!)

   Apr 20, 2009 ... No Disqus! Just blogger. I was bummed and assumed my lack

   of tech skills was the problem. After a little googling, I came across Dave's blog ...
   dave-lucas.blogspot.com/.../another-bloggers-disqus-dilemma-guest.html - Cached - Similar
3. Dave Lucas: Nananana, Nananana, DISQUS, Good-bye!

   Mar 2, 2009 ... News and analysis of pop culture, religion, politics and current events.
   dave-lucas.blogspot.com/.../nananana-nananana-disqus-good-bye.html - Cached

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