What to Do When Your Website Goes Down: Advice for Those Who Make Money Online

This post has been moved to http://inkwelleditorial.com/blogging-tips-one-way-to-breathe-new-life-into-old-posts. Same great content; new blog design.

Enjoy!

Yuwanda (Wanna know what I'm up to? Check me out on Twitter)

Contact: info *at* InkwellEditorial.com

P.S.: Where are all the freelance writing jobs? Find out in the 2008-2009 Freelance Writing Jobs Report
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Freelance Success Stories! There are freelancers who make very good livings at what they love. Inkwell Editorial’s newsletter features these successful professionals who put to rest the phrase, “starving freelancer.” Current Issue: How to Make Money Using Constant-Content.com and by Writing Special Reports. Subscribe to read this, and all previous, issues.
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Copyright ©2009 InkwellEditorial.com. Except where noted, no part of this site may be reproduced in any manner without the express, written consent of the publisher. Violators will be prosecuted.

Blog Networks: What Are They, How to Make Money w/Them & More

This week over at BloggingTips.com, I'm writing a series on blog networks. You don't see them discussed much on the web, but they can allow you to make money online quicker than if you stayed an independent blogger.

BUT as with most things, there are pros and cons. In today's post, I covered what a blog network is and listed four advantages of joining one. Tomorrow, I'll discuss the cons and Wednesday I'll go over a list of questions you should ask yourself before joining a blog network.

Happy President's Day to my American readers!

Yuwanda (Wanna know what I'm up to? Check me out on Twitter)
Contact: info *at* InkwellEditorial.com
P.S.: Where are all the freelance writing jobs? Find out in the 2008-2009 Freelance Writing Jobs Report
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Freelance Success Stories! There are freelancers who make very good livings at what they love. Inkwell Editorial’s newsletter features these successful professionals who put to rest the phrase, “starving freelancer.” Current Issue: How to Make Money Using Constant-Content.com and by Writing Special Reports. Subscribe to read this, and all previous, issues.
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Copyright ©2009 InkwellEditorial.com. Except where noted, no part of this site may be reproduced in any manner without the express, written consent of the publisher. Violators will be prosecuted.

9 Useful Tips for Bloggers: How to Stand Out from the Crowd

Well, you have a blog now and want your voice to be heard out loud? So does everyone else. It’s no surprise to see that the blogsphere is getting more and more crowded. Proof? Technorati recorded that 7,200 new blogs were established per hour in 2006. I'm sure the figures have increased exponentially since then.

As such, it's impossible for a blogger to achieve success by modeling what others are doing. In fact, being different is now the key to success. There are of course,tons of good ways to make your blog stand out from the crowd. Here, I compile a list of 9 crucial ways to do just that. I hope it helps.

1. Choose a unique topic

Yes, it’s not easy to select a unique topic to blog about. However, being unique is a good way to stand out from the rest. Even if you can't find a unique subject, viewing an old topic from a different point of view is good enough. Think about EduBlogs.org – there are thousands of free blogging platforms, but by focusing their services on teachers and students, their blogging service stand out from the rest, and hence is remarkably successful.

2. Write in-depth content

Don’t just brush over a topic. There are too many “me too” blogs that write short postd in a hurry. These blog posts are so brief that it hardly delivers any value to the readers. Writing in-depth posts earns you creditability in your niche. It encourages people to read further; subscribe; and even link to you. All in all, writing in-depth posts helps your blog to stand out from the rest (who are too lazy to do their research).

3. Build a blog with a professional design platform

Stop using that free blog templates that are used by other 7,809 bloggers (yes I'm fully aware that this blog using a free platform; ie, blogger)). It’s boring to stumble thru tons of blog with the similar designs and layouts. It doesn’t take a huge effort to create a special blog designs. Spend some time (or money) to get your blog template customized, ensuring that it is unique and user-friendly. Every blogger should be aware that visual impressions count and you should enhance your blog design from time to time.

4. Write eye-catching headlines

A good headline attracts readers -- and encourages them to read further. As mentioned by Brian of CopyBlogger.com, 8 out of 10 readers will bypass your main content and read headlines only. This shows the importance of blog headlines. Polishing your copywriting skills is a must if you wish to stand out from the rest and increase your blog readership.

5. Write list posts and sub headlines

Readers don’t read thru everything; they browse and the Internet. I tend to scroll down and scan thru before I read a blog post every time. Constructing your post in lists and with sub headlines simply improves the readability of your blog. It helps readers to learn what your blog post is about and encourages prospective readers to read in detail.

6. Optimize your blog for search engines

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is something every blogger should learn. Making correct usage of your header tags; building incoming links; and writing with SEO in mind is crucial to increasing your blog visibility.

7. Build your blog on its own domain

While starting a blog on blogger or WordPress is good because it's free, you are actually missing a lot by not hosting your blog on its own domain. A blog with its own domain/hosting enjoys better advantages in term of branding and web marketing. It doesn’t have the amateur image like a free WordPress blog, and it comes with better flexibility in term of web functionality.

Finally, it’s cheap and easy to host a blog on its own domain. A shared hosting normally cost $5 - $10 per month, In case you need help with hosting, read my web hosting review.

8. Show your personality

Revealing more about yourself is important to gain trust from your readers. It is, in fact, crucial to stay in touch closely with your loyal readers as this encourages feedback from your readers. Furthermore, readers tend to recommend your blogs to friends and families when they feel respected by you.

Build an ‘About’ page, connect to your readers via Facebook and MySpace; contact readers who leave comments. These are the basic ways to extend yourself to readers.

9. It’s okay to have a fight

Sparking a debate and starting a fight on controversial topics is a good way to increase your blog visibility. By speaking with a different voice, you stand out from the rest. Of course I am not telling you to be controversial just for the sake of controversy.

What I mean is is okay to stand by your beliefs, even if that means sparking controversy. After all, you get buried in the crowd if there are too many ‘Me Too’ postings on your blog.

Bonus Tip 10. Blog with consistency

Bloggers are often stimulated when they first start their blogs. After the initial thrill wears off, their postings tend to become more sporadic, until they finally stop altogether.

To succeed and stand out from the rest, you will need to be disciplined enough to blog consistently. As a reader, I am rather skeptical towards blogs that seldom gets updated. Posting regularly builds trust among your readers; and increases your creditability.

About the Author: This guest post is brought to you by Jerry of Web Hosting Secret Revealed. Jerry inspects and reviews web hosting services based on his own usage and experience. You can read more about his work at his blog.

Submit a guest post! Hope you enjoyed this one.

Yuwanda (Wanna know what I'm up to? Check me out on Twitter)
Contact: info *at* InkwellEditorial.com
P.S.: Where are all the freelance writing jobs? Find out in the 2008-2009 Freelance Writing Jobs Report
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Freelance Success Stories! There are freelancers who make very good livings at what they love. Inkwell Editorial’s newsletter features these successful professionals who put to rest the phrase, “starving freelancer.” Current Issue: How to Make Money Using Constant-Content.com and by Writing Special Reports. Subscribe to read this, and all previous, issues.
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Copyright ©2009 InkwellEditorial.com. Except where noted, no part of this site may be reproduced in any manner without the express, written consent of the publisher. Violators will be prosecuted.

A Recession-Proof Freelance Writing Job (& More)

This week over at BloggingTips (BT), I tackled a subject that not many think of as related to making money online -- your home environment. As in, can your relationship be costing you success? One single mom who makes her living online commented:

I never even considered this until I read this post, but now that I remember back to when I was married, I realize I’m in a much better place now (blogging-wise) than before. Even though I don’t have any help looking after my 3 and 4 year old now, it’s a healthier, more relaxed environment so I find I work with a lot more focus and efficiency now.

Read Make Money Blogging: Is Your Relationship a Help or a Hindrance to Your Blogging Success? for some interesting insight.

Today's post at BT was inspired by an email from a newsletter reader. He asked, , “. . . do you feel SEO writing is something profitable to get into given the current state of the economy?” My answer was a resounding yes, for the three reasons I list in the post, 3 Reasons SEO Copywriters Thrive During a Recession (it really is practically a recession-proof freelance writing job).

Tomorrow's Post: Want to be a better blogger? Jerry from webhostingsecretrevealed.com will tell you how to go about it in his guest post, entitled How to stand out from the crowd – 9 useful tips for bloggers. Learn how to submit a guest post.

Until tomorrow,
Yuwanda (Wanna know what I'm up to? Check me out on Twitter)
Contact: info *at* InkwellEditorial.com
P.S.: Where are all the freelance writing jobs? Find out in the 2008-2009 Freelance Writing Jobs Report
***********************************************
Freelance Success Stories! There are freelancers who make very good livings at what they love. Inkwell Editorial’s newsletter features these successful professionals who put to rest the phrase, “starving freelancer.” Current Issue: How to Make Money Using Constant-Content.com and by Writing Special Reports. Subscribe to read this, and all previous, issues.
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Copyright ©2009 InkwellEditorial.com. Except where noted, no part of this site may be reproduced in any manner without the express, written consent of the publisher. Violators will be prosecuted.

$40-$50/Article: Constant-Content.com Call for Freelance Writers

As the current issue of the Inkwell Editorial newsletter reveals how to make money at Constant-Content.com (CC), I thought I'd post this listing I just received. As I said, I receive calls for content from CC 3-5 times a week, sometimes multiple times a day. And, the requests have been increasing lately. So if you want to pick up some extra freelance writing jobs, give this outlet a try.

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with CC other than having a writing account with them. I 've submitted one article in the year or so since I signed up. Luckily, I stay busy enough that I've never had to actually use this site. But if you're new to freelance writing, or just don't feel like marketing directly to companies, this is a good outlet. Following are the particulars.

TOPIC: America's Economy: Dead or Alive

REQUESTED BY: Customer Davidearlrogers has requested a new article on Constant Content, below are the details:

ARTICLE DETAILS: A picture of how our economy is performing. How many jobs have been lost in the last 5 years? Last Year? Current state? Are the jobs lost primarily in the non-degree sectors or people with college degrees and above? Any real numbers would be great. America borrows a lot of money from other countries, who do we owe and how much? Is there a plan to ever really pay the money back? Does this stimulus package help in anyway? What do economists think about our future economy?

WORD COUNT: 300-500

RATE: $40-$50

NEEDED: ASAP. You can view / reply to this message from constant content. http://www.constant-content.com/mail/read/1205591/ (must have a CC account so you can sign in and read all Calls for Content.

QUESTION: Anyone know of an auto ebook delivery/payment program like e-Junkie/Lulu? I've been having some delivery problems with e-Junkie on my affiliate site (it's 100% perfect on delivery of my Inkwell Ebooks), so I'm looking for an alternative. If so, shoot me an email (info *at* InkwellEditorial.com). Thanks.

Until tomorrow,
Yuwanda (Wanna know what I'm up to? Check me out on Twitter)
Contact: info *at* InkwellEditorial.com
P.S.: Where are all the freelance writing jobs? Find out in the 2008-2009 Freelance Writing Jobs Report
***********************************************
Freelance Success Stories! There are freelancers who make very good livings at what they love. Inkwell Editorial’s newsletter features these successful professionals who put to rest the phrase, “starving freelancer.” Current Issue: How to Make Money Using Constant-Content.com and by Writing Special Reports. Subscribe to read this, and all previous, issues.
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Copyright ©2009 InkwellEditorial.com. Except where noted, no part of this site may be reproduced in any manner without the express, written consent of the publisher. Violators will be prosecuted.

Article Marketing: The Plan I Use to Bring in $100-$200/Day

That was the title of my post over at BloggingTips.com yesterday. I just wrapped up a three-week series over there detailing my foray into affiliate marketing and how I'm using article marketing to make $100-$200/day promoting one affiliate product.

The last post in the series can be found here, along with instructions on how to access all nine posts in the series.

The 3 Most Important Things I've Learned in My Limited Foray into Affiliate Marketing

1. Choose Products/Services You Know About: Or, at a minimum, those you have an interest in learning about. The reason is, affiliate marketing takes a sustained, consistent effort to make money. This means putting in some marketing elbow grease. You must be interested in a product/service in order to do the marketing tasks it takes to make money with it.

Note: IMO, you don't have to be passionate about a product/service -- as many will tout. But, you do have to have a sustained interest in it; it must be more than just than passing interest.

2. Try to Choose Products You Can Build On: For example, my product has to do with foreclosures. Right now, I'm just promoting the one product. But, my partner and I are creating 4 more products that complement this existing product.

By doing this, we can increase our sales without putting in any more effort. How? We'll list those products on our same affiiate websites. So all the marketing we've done to drive traffic to our existing sites will benefit us.

Now, this won't be possible in all cases, but it's just something to think about (ie, stay in the same niche to maximize the results of your marketing efforts).

3. Do Something Every Day to Promote Your Affiliate Product: And by every day, I mean every weekday (I take weekends off). If not every day, then at least every other day. The web is a very competitive place, and I'm amazed at how "slacking off" for a few days decreases my sales.

So, keep the marketing metal to the pedal. It's why I like article marketing. I'm a writer, so I bang out 3-5 articles a week for my affiiate product. I put in on my calendar, right alongside the work I have to do for clients. That way, it's a "must do", instead of a "if I have time to do" project.

Yuwanda (Wanna know what I'm up to? Check me out on Twitter)
Contact: info *at* InkwellEditorial.com
P.S.: Where are all the freelance writing jobs? Find out in the 2008-2009 Freelance Writing Jobs Report
***********************************************
Freelance Success Stories! There are freelancers who make very good livings at what they love. Inkwell Editorial’s newsletter features these successful professionals who put to rest the phrase, “starving freelancer.” Current Issue: How to Make Money Using Constant-Content.com and by Writing Special Reports. Subscribe to read this, and all previous, issues.
***********************************************
Copyright ©2009 InkwellEditorial.com. Except where noted, no part of this site may be reproduced in any manner without the express, written consent of the publisher. Violators will be prosecuted.