Web Design Discussion

My previous article discussed the types of products you can create to make money from your blog.

This article will discuss how to write a report or ebook using your blog.

How do you start?
What tools do you need?
How long will it take?

One of easiest products to create and market is a report or ebook. I’ll discuss how to create a report because a report can easily be expanded into an ebook.

1. Find a niche you are passionate about

It’s easier to write about a topic you like rather than one in which you have little or no interest in. Your passion for the topic will be evident in your writing.

2. Create a blog

If you already have a blog create a category for your new topic and start writing short posts or an article about it. Create a blog if you don’t have one. This serves 3 purposes:

a) You’re building content that automatically will attract the search engines and drive visitors to your blog.

b) Each post or article can be used to build your report. You can also begin promoting your report by adding a link to the sales page at the end of each blog post.

c) Time management. Instead of writing a report in one sitting you can create small chunks (posts) of it over time. This makes it easy to complete in a set period.

For example if you wanted to create a 21 page report, write a post (article) each day for 21 days. So within 21 days your report could be completed. If you want to break up your writing just write a short post each day and combine 2 posts to create your article. It will take longer to put together your report but it’s easier to keep adding content to your blog.

3. Create content

a) Sometimes it’s hard to find inspiration for a new article. To overcome writer’s block do a search on ezinearticles.com for your keyword. You’ll instantly find articles written on your topic. After reading several of them you’ll have a few ideas you can use to begin writing your own article.

b) Write a catchy headline followed by an introductory paragraph that emphasizes a specific problem. The following paragraphs should offer solutions to the problem.

4. Call to action

The content you’ve written prepares your reader to take action. Your last paragraph should summarize what you have said in your content and end with a call to action and a link to the sales page of your report. Add the call to action to every new post of your blog.

You are now well on the way to creating a report or ebook that you can market with your blog. My next article will discuss how to create the report based on the content you’ve added to your blog.

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To learn more pick up a copy of my bonus report:
How to use articles to write your ebook and promote it for maximum profits

My last article discussed the pros and cons of marketing your own products with a blog. The problem is…what types of products are the easiest and fastest to create? Once you’ve made this decision it’s easier to take action and make money with your blog.

Types of products to market with your blog

• Software
• Ebooks
• Reports
• Hard Goods

Software

People are always looking for software that will save them time and money. For example Article Architect is the best software for writing, organizing and submitting your articles.

It’s easier to market software other people have developed (become their affiliate) because it is not something you can easily create yourself unless you’re a software developer. However if you have a unique idea hire a software developer from script lance or similar locations on the Net.

Ebooks and Reports

These are the easiest products to create and market because you just need to write articles about your area of expertise then compile them into a booklet.

An ebook will take a longer time to write but you can sell it for more than a report. Put together a report of 20-30 pages and sell it for a small profit (ie $7-$10) or give it away for free (viral marketing).

The beauty of marketing ebooks/reports is visitors can just download the electronic publications automatically after making their online payment. It’s a hands free system that can be marketed from your blog.

Hard Goods

These products include items such as shoes, tools, gifts, etc…anything which are not soft goods (ie ebooks, software, etc)

Hard goods are usually sold online by setting up an ecommerce store. In this case it would be better to place the blog in a separate folder of your ecommerce site, then create lots of content that relates to products you are selling. This will help place your visitors in a buying mood and make it easier for them to purchase your goods.

The internet provides the opportunity to sell almost anything online. The key to making a profit is to find a specific niche that is not too competitive then sell them what they need or desire.

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Want to know how to drive tons of traffic to your blog?
Get a copy of my ebook:
101 Highly Effective Strategies to Promote Your Web Site

You can make more money with a blog marketing your own products than selling affiliate products. You only receive a commission with affiliate products however you receive the full amount with your own.

Pros and Cons of Marketing Your Own Products.

Pros

• Satisfaction of creating your own product.
• Receive the full product price.
• Get affiliates to market your product.
• Become recognized as an expert in your field.
• Make more money than just being an affiliate because you own the product.
• Build and expand your business.
• Build a warm customer list to offer future products.
• Generate multiple passive income income streams that run on autopilot.
• Repurpose your products into audios, videos, teleseminars, ebooks, etc.
• Own the copyright of your product.
• Create joint ventures with other online entrepreneurs.

Cons

• Takes a greater investment of time and money than marketing an affiliate
  product.
• You’re responsible for creating and marketing the product.
• Dealing with the possibility your product will not sell.

If you’re serious about building a profitable online business I highly recommend creating and marketing your own products. Your blog will be the vehicle to sell your product because you can build the sales page, add articles and market your product all from one location. This is one of the most profitable ways to make money with a blog.

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Get a copy of my ebook:
101 Highly Effective Strategies to Promote Your Web Site

One of the fastest and easiest ways to make money from your blog is to sign up for various affiliate programs. This article will discuss which are the best affiliate programs to sign up for, how much money can you make and how to actually incorporate them into your blog.

What are the most popular affiliate programs?

Clickbank

This is the most popular affiliate program. It has over 10,000 affiliate products to choose from and the commissions go up to 75%…most are less than this. You can sign up for a free account at clickbank.com. You will receive an affiliate name which you use to promote a product. To select a product visit the clickbank market place and enter a keyword or select your category from the drop down box.

Once you’ve selected a product click the affiliate link at the bottom of the home page. This is where you get your affiliate code to create the affiliate link for selling the product. Sometimes vendors will provide text, banners, email messages, etc to help affiliates promote their products.

Insert the banner or text link on your web page then upload it to the server and test to see if it works.
To help promote the product use some descriptive text. To entice your visitor to take action offer them a free report.

Commission Junction

Commission Junction is one of the worlds largest affiliate marketplace for physical products. Even if you have no web site you can set up a Google AdWords campaign using Pay Per Click and start selling your product in a few hours.

Commission junction is a third-party online payment processor that handles all of your financial processes. Commission Junction is geared towards a vast range of physical products, which makes it very popular for publishers and affiliates.

Benefits of Commission Junction:

* There are thousands of products and services to promote
* Offers accurate statistics and reports
* Promote good quality companies
* Offer options to help market the products ie banners. text, buttons.

To learn more visit:
https://www.cj.com/faq.html#affiliate

An Example of a Successful Affiliate Program

The best affiliate program I have experienced is the 5 Pillar Affiliate Program from Ken Envoy.

It’s been hailed as “the best affiliate program on the Net.”

By becoming a 5 Pillar Affiliate, you will:

* Earn $75 commission for each Site Build It! (“SBI!”) subscription.
* Get paid annual commission on each and every SBI! renewal with their lifetime customer policy.
* Even earn commissions from 2 tiers of income through sales made by your own team of affiliates.

Site Build It! is software that not only enables anyone to build a professional web site but it also drives traffic to it with marketing tools that are integrated within the software.

Over half of Site Build It! owners purchase more than one SBI! (some over 10!). Since the customer is yours for a lifetime, you earn commissions on those multiple sales. And, of course, on their renewals, too!

So your 5 Pillar earnings really add up, fast.

Click here to learn more about the 5 Pillar Program

The beauty of marketing affiliate products is that you create multiple passive incomes streams that become hands free once they are set up.

If you write lots of content for your blog on a consistent basis you can make money from it by just adding some html code in appropriate sections. The beauty of this method is that you create a passive income stream.

7 Ways to Make Money From A Blog

1. Adsense

This is one of the easiest methods because you simply add the Google Adsense code to your blog pages. When someone clicks on the ad you get paid. As you create more content containing adsense ads you make more money because you receive more clicks.

Read How to Generate AdSense Revenue From Your Blog

2. Affiliate programs

Clickbank has over 10,000 affiliate products to choose from. You receive a commission for each product you sell. You simply get your affiliate code from the clickbank vendor and place it within the content on your web site. Fort example if the commission is 75% and the cost to the visitor is $100 you will receive a commission of $75.00.

3. Market your own products

Perhaps you have written an ebook or report. If you add a graphic and link to your product on every page of your blog you may sell multiple copies of it for years to come. This can be an ongoing income stream.

4. Promote your own services

You may write “how-to” articles to help visitors with services you offer. For example I offer Web Design, Hosting and SEO services so I provide lots of tips on these subjects then leave a call to action and link to my services at the bottom of each post or article.

5. Newsletter subscription form

Sending a newsletter to your readers on a regular basis helps build long term relationships. This enables you to recommend various products you find useful for them and make money from your list. Place the subscription form on every page of your blog to make it easy for readers to subscribe.

6. Write reviews

You can get paid for writing reviews about products or services. You simply write an article of 500-600 words. One of the best paid review sites is: reviewme.com

7. Text Link Ads

You get paid for placing text based ads on your blog pages. The company provides the html code that you place within the html code of your web site. Visit text-link-ads.com to sign up for an account.

Tip
To increase the amount of money you make from a blog, be consistent about adding lots of content
ie add content at least three times a week and make sure each post is optimized so it attracts
search engine traffic.

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Learn the step-by-step formula to start and build a money-making blog by picking up a copy of WordPress Goldmine

* Provides you with a money-making formula that has been tested and proven to work

* Is inexpensive and provides you with the results you’re seeking

* Is like no other Internet marketing product, course, or membership on the market today

* Provides you with the blue print to building your very own Internet marketing empire even if you know absolutely nothing about marketing right now.

Word Press blogs have the ability for visitors to leave comments at the bottom of each post however this feature can easily be abused by spammers. Your blog may receive 1000s of spam comments that are annoying because they take time to remove and if left alone, accumulate and use up a substantial
amount of hosting space.

How to Mass Delete Word Press Comment Spam

If you want to quickly remove 1000s of spam comments read my article on
How to Mass Delete Word Press Comment Spam

How to control the volume of comment spam

1. Edit Word Press administration settings

Login to the admin panel-settings-discussion-uncheck the box…”allow people to post comments on the article”. Keep in mind this will still allow visitors to post comments on future articles.

“I have disabled comments, but comments continue to be posted”

If you have unchecked “Allow people to post comments on the article” on the Options > Discussion panel, then you have only disabled comments on future posts. To completely disable comments, you will have to edit each past post and uncheck Allow Comments from the Write Post SubPanel. lternatively, you could delete the wp-comments-post.php file, or run this MySQL query, from the
command line on a shell account, or using phpMyAdmin:

UPDATE wp_posts SET
comment_status=”closed”;

Source
Word Press.org

2. Activate Akismet plugin

This plugin reduces and automatically removes comment spam. It’s already included with your Word Press blog. To activate it go to-plugins-akismet-activate. Under the akismet plugin you’ll read:

Akismet checks your comments against the Akismet web service to see if they look like spam or not. You need a WordPress.com API key to use it. You can review the spam it catches under “Comments.”

To get the WordPress.com API key sign up for a free account at WordPress.com. You’ll get emailed the details of your login information. Login to your free blog then go to profile to view your API key. Copy and paste the code into your own blog. You’ll get prompted for it when you activate the Akismet
plugin.

3. How to completely remove all evidence of spam comments

You may ask “why would anyone would want to do this if they are running a blog…isn’t that what a blog is for..to encourage interactivity?

Well, some of my clients don’t have the time or want to reply to comments.Other people want to use their blog as a static site and have all evidence of comments removed.

Here is the procedure to remove the comment code from your Word Press Blog

Go into your template folder and look for single.php
Remove the code:


<?php comments_template(); ?>


If you don’t have the file…single.php… look inside index.php or home.php and remove this code:


<?php comments_popup_link(__('Comments (0)'), __('Comments (1)'),
__('Comments (%)')); ?>


If you have other ways or plugins to remove comment spam leave add your comment to the bottom of this post.

Resources
Combating Comment Spam

***************
Learn the step-by-step formula to start and build a money-making blog
by picking up a copy of WordPress Goldmine

* Provides you with a money-making formula that has been tested and proven to work
* Is inexpensive and provides you with the results you’re seeking
* Is like no other Internet marketing product, course, or membership on the market today
* Provides you with the blue print to building your very own Internet marketing empire even if you know absolutely nothing about marketing right now.

One of the most important factors web site owners leave out at the end of their articles, blog posts or sales pages is the “call to action.”

Why spend time crafting your content that places your visitor in the buying mood only to leave them hanging? The call to action invites them to take the next step. It helps build a relationship with them so you can offer them ongoing information or future products.

7 ways to get visitors to take action:

1. Opt-in box

Create an opt-in box on your web site asking them to fill out their name and email in exchange for a free giveaway. A double opt-in is best. This is where the visitor fills out the form first then they receive an email asking them to confirm their subscription.

2. Free or paid reports

People love to receive free information particularly if it contains valuable nuggets of information they can act on. Your report doesn’t have to be long. 10-20 pages will be sufficient. The beauty of this method is that you are first giving something to your visitor before you receive something from them ie email address.

You don’t always have to offer something for free. Often a short report priced at $7.00 will generate more visitors than a free one because it is perceived as being more valuable. You can upsell your visitor after she has read the report by offering something even more substantial ie a series of instructional videos.

3. Free software download

You could offer a free trial download of your software. By actually using the software themselves your visitors will see how useful it is to them. For example after the 7 day trial they may decide to purchase the full version of the software.

4. Free web site evaluation

This is something web designers can use to attract potential clients. Suggest ways to improve their design, optimization and web copy so they can increase traffic and sales. After sending the report offer a more comprehensive analysis or send a proposal for doing all the improvements for them.

5. Free articles

Articles are great because they prepare your visitors mind ahead of your offer. At the end of your article place your call to action. This includes any one of the free offers mentioned above, a link to your web site (or offer) and who you are as an author. You may even link to related articles where you offer the same or similar product.

6. Free contest

Most people love contests if there is a chance they can win something they want or desire. For example offer a free ipod to the person that writes the most helpful comments on your blog to increase traffic to it.

7. Autoresponder course

Not many people purchase something after one contact. Often it takes 7 or more contacts before they make the decision to purchase. With a sequential autoresponder you can create a series of messages sent over several days. This helps build a relationship with your visitor plus you’re able to market your product to them with each message you send.

Your call to action should be included in all aspects of your marketing material as there’s not just one way to get a response from your visitors. If you employ any of the call to action methods mentioned above, you’ll increase your conversion rates and make more sales.

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Learn how to start and build a profitable online business with

“Highly Effective Article Marketing Strategies”

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Maryland Web Design

In my previous article I explained how to optimize blog titles. Your content should also be optimized so it attracts search engine spiders and keeps visitors on the page.

7 Steps to Optimize Your Blog Content

1. Include your keywords

The keywords used in your blog title should be woven throughout your blog content. Be sure the first paragraph contains your keyword phrase. This is because search engines typically index content at the top of your web page first. Don’t repeat your keyword so many times that it sounds strange when you read the content out loud.

For subsequent paragraphs weave your keywords into the content naturally.

2. Split content into paragraphs

It’s better to split long paragraphs into smaller ones so they are easier to read. Include sub headlines and make use of bullets throughout your blog content.

3. Give your visitors what they expect

The purpose of your content is to expand on the title. Don’t get off the subject as it will drive your visitors away. Sometimes writers just ramble on without providing any actionable content. Make sure you provide at least one good tip your readers can act on.

4. Tag your content

Your Word Press Blog allows you to enter tags after adding content. This helps search engines to find your content. Enter the main keywords used in your title/content separated by commas.

5. Create title and description meta tags

Word Press automatically adds the title meta tag however it doesn’t add description or keyword meta tags. The description meta tag is what visitors see under your title in the search engines. An attractive description that supports the title could make the difference whether a visitor will click on your web site url or not.

Keyword meta tags are not used by the major search engines anymore but still include them for the smaller search engines.

To make it easier to add title, description and keyword meta tags, install the headspace plugin. It allows you to customize the meta tags for each post.

6. Provide a call to action

After reading your blog content visitors are ready to take action. Capitalize on their preparedness by providing a call to action at the end of your content. Introduce your product, service or subscription to a newsletter and the url of your offer.

7. Proof read your content before publishing

Spelling and grammar mistakes make your blog appear unprofessional and cause visitors to click elsewhere. Before publishing your content check it with a spell checker, read it aloud to yourself or get someone else to edit it. Word Press allows you to save it as a draft so you can edit it before it goes live.

***************
Learn the step-by-step formula to start and build a money-making blog
by picking up a copy of WordPress Goldmine

* Provides you with a money-making formula that has been tested and proven to work
* Is inexpensive and provides you with the results you’re seeking
* Is like no other Internet marketing product, course, or membership on the market today
* Provides you with the blue print to building your very own Internet marketing empire even if you know absolutely nothing about marketing right now.

So you’ve optimized the structure of your Word Press Blog and you’re ready to add some content. If you don’t optimize your content you won’t attract much traffic or visitors. One of the most important aspects of your content is your blog titles. It’s what your visitors read first and will motivate them to read the rest of your post. Before creating any titles or content do keyword research.

How to optimize blog post titles to attract search engine traffic

Keyword research

Enter your main keyword in the search box of the free Word Tracker Tool to see how many searches that term is receiving. If there are no searches try alternative keywords. Try different combinations of keywords to see which one gets the most searches. Often the one you try first may not receive the most searches.

Insert keywords in blog titles

Include your keyword at the beginning of your title. For example I placed “Blog Titles” at the beginning of this post because it gets 4 searches per month according to the WordTracker Tool. The keyword phrase “optimize blog post titles” receives 2 searches per month so I also included it in the title. This means the search engines will spider the keyword phrases in my title and rank my blog post accordingly. It may even get high rankings if there is not much competition.

How to optimize blog titles to attract visitors

Its not enough to create optimized titles just for the search engines. For example the phrase “Blog Titles” is not a very attractive title. You need to place yourself in your visitors shoes and give them what they want. The title must clearly state what they are going to receive in the content so they will want to read more. There I added the sentence “How to Optimize Blog Post Titles to Attract Search Engines and Visitors” to qualify what my visitors will receive by reading the content in my post.

In my next article I’ll discuss how to optimize blog content.

Related articles
How to start a blog
How to set up your Word Press Blog
How to optimize your wordpress blog

***************
Learn the step-by-step formula to start and build a money-making blog
by picking up a copy of WordPress Goldmine

* Provides you with a money-making formula that has been tested and proven to work
* Is inexpensive and provides you with the results you’re seeking
* Is like no other Internet marketing product, course, or membership on the market today
* Provides you with the blue print to building your very own Internet marketing empire even if you know absolutely nothing about marketing right now.

Have you been inundated with spam comments in your Word Press Blog?

Recently I helped a customer that had accumulated over 4000 spam comments on her blog. She tried removing them from the Word Press dash board however it only removes 20 comments at a time. This would take forever because there multiple pages of comments to delete.

How to mass delete comments from your Word Press Database using phpMyAdmin

1. Go to phpmyadmin in your cpanel

This is the management panel that comes with your hosting account if it uses the Apache environment. Once you’re logged in cpanel click on the mySQL databases icon then click on the phpmyadmin link at the bottom of the page.

2. Click your Word Press database link

This is located in the top left and will display all the data in tables.

3. Remove all comments

If you want to remove all comments check the wp_comments table then in the drop down box select empty then press go. Remember this will remove both approved and unapproved comments.

How to remove unapproved comments and keep the approved comments

1. Back up your database - this is to make sure you can restore all your files should you make a mistake. To do this click on your database, click export, make sure all your tables are selected, check SQL, click save file, click go. Follow the rest of the screen prompts to download the database to your computer. You can save it as a text or zipped file.

2. Click on the comments table. ( You can click browse to view all the approved and unapproved comments).

4. Click the mySQL tab. This will open up a query box. Delete the default query and type in:

DELETE FROM wp_comments WHERE comment_approved = 0

Click go
This will delete all the 4000 unapproved comments

5. Remove overhead. These are fragments still left in the database that must be removed. To delete them go to ” check all tables with overhead”, select “optimize table” from the drop down box.

Your database size will now be reduced because you’ve removed the 4000 unapproved comments.

If you check your blog you’ll notice all the comments have disappeared.

Tip
To prevent spam from accumulating install the activate the Akismet plugin. This is a spam filter which allows you to mass delete comments within the Word Press administration panel.

Here’s a video tutorial showing how to use phpmyadmin to remove WP Spam Comments: