Have a Blog? Don?t Do This to Your Email Sig!
If you send out emails a lot, and if you write to a lot of friends and family, then you may be aware of the power of your email signature. A lot of businesspersons use their email signature in order to show their contact information, which can save them the effort of having to provide all of it in their email, and which can also save them the effort of having to sign every single email. Some business owners also use their email signature to post information about their offerings, or to advertise big discounts or sales that their customers might want to hear about or be updated on.
Even writers need an email signature in order to post their favorite quotes, or even their favorite passages from their own works.
An email signature acts as an identifier, and if used well, it can be a great way for you to post information about yourself and get a lot of people to visit your blog. However, you can also overestimate the power of this email signature, and if you do not make your email signature carefully and with your audience in mind, then no one will visit your blog. If you are interested in promoting your blog through a great email signature, then here are a few tips that you may want to take into account when knowing what not to do.
- Be considerate of people who have to work with slow Internet connections: avoid placing multimedia files in your email signature.
Some email software will allow you to place photos and videos in your email signature. If you are working with people who have fast Internet connections, these files can load properly and quickly. But if you are working with people who are still using dial-up Internet, then you may put their computers in a whole lot of trouble. Save them this trouble by keeping your email signature to a text-only format.
- Don?t overload on the text, either. You may be tempted to put in paragraphs and paragraphs of text, with smilies and other emoticons that you think will make your signature look ?cute.?
The thing is, such a signature stops being cute when someone is forced to read through it. Think of how tired your eyes would be if you were made to read through a sea of words; now, transfer that to an email signature, and think of what your email reader would think if you had to post information on your blog using a thousand words!
- Don?t just hyperlink: put your blog address down. Some blog owners will often put the words ?click here? and hyperlink it to the blog. This may not show up when email readers select a ?text only? option when reading their emails, and clicking on a hyperlink while the browser is not open can tax on a computer?s resources. Keep your blog address readable.
- Avoid putting colors in your text: the simpler, the better. You don?t have to overload on the text formatting in order to make your email signature nice to look at and appealing. Stay with the staid and simple black, and avoid having to change colors or have words that need to be colored in or formatted. Again, if you have email readers who have the ?text only? option on, all your colors and formats will be gone.
- Stay with three lines of text, and avoid going for more than this. Think of the succinct compactness of a dog tag: dog?s name on one line, owner?s name on the next, and then contact information on the last line.
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Tags are generally ignored by site owners and bloggers in terms of potential. They’re small, for one and very often easy to overlook. Furthermore, those who do not understand their use or significance or at least why and how they work may not often appreciate their value. This is unfortunate because tags can help increase the traffic coming in to your blog from blog directories. Learn what tags are and how they work so you can maximize their use.

Tag you’re it

A tag, also referred to as a meta tag, is a keyword that is used to label specific information found on a web page. A meta tag uses HTML tags that are hidden from plain sight but clearly ‘visible’ to web crawlers.

A tag functions mainly for identification of an article, for example, or a title, subheading, site description or image hence the name ‘tag’. They are often used as tools to ping multiple search engines, create a presence for use in social bookmarking and to drive traffic to your site, especially your blog. With tags, it will be easier for your site, article or web page to be found in search engines where they are supported.

Put simply, a tag is a small piece of identification on your blog that informs a search engine bot or spider what your site is about and how it should be indexed. If you can choose and design the right combination of tags for your blog, you will be able to manipulate the number and type of traffic that reaches your site from blog directories legally.

Using tags on your blog to drive more traffic

Blog directories are repositories of information and news regarding the types of blogs available for a particular topic or subject. As such, they can be very useful sources of highly targeted traffic for your own blog. To maximize the use of blog directories for this purpose, consider doing the following:

Choose your words carefully

Keep in mind that your blog is just one of millions out there vying for attention. Even if you’re trying to build a reputation within a relatively smaller niche industry, you will still be competing with at least a dozen others in your market segment. Careful consideration in choosing the specific keywords (or tags) to use with your blog will help you stand out in blog directories.

There are three important tags that you should focus on when designing your blog for traffic increase from blog directories. These are the title tag, the description tag and the keyword/s tag.

The title tag. The title of each blog entry you have should contain the most essential keywords that appear in your write-up or are relevant to your content. This will help optimize your entry and make it easier for search engines to find and index.

Prospective visitors who perform a search using Google, Yahoo! or MSN Search, for example, will be able to reach an optimized blog, since it’s more likely to appear in a search engine list. As a result, you drive more traffic to your blog.

The description tag. Although description tags are ignored by some search engines, adding this to your blog can help influence how your blog (or at least its web pages) is described.

The keyword tag. The keyword tag is the word or phrase that you will repeat within the content body or web page in question. Used strategically, these keywords can help increase your blog’s results in search engines and bring in more traffic to your site by allowing visitors to easily find you.

Don’t be afraid to combine keywords, though. That’s how you will be able to create highly targeted key phrases to optimize your blog. Three- to four-word key phrases will do. Multiple word tags are advantageous to single word searches as well. If you use a keyword phrase tag that says ‘rock paper scissors’, for example, your blog still has the potential to show up in case someone uses only the word ‘rock’ or ‘paper’ in his search.

Don’t overdo the use of tags

If you don’t watch out, tags can be addictive. It could reach a point where you might find yourself using tags that have little relevance to your blog. This usually happens when you try too hard to make sure that your blog or web page appears in more listings.

Although it may seem like a good idea to help increase traffic to your blog particularly as a means to shine in blog directories, overuse of tags can be counter-productive. Try to be careful in choosing only the kind of tags that your blog truly needs. Leaner but highly targeted tags are much more effective than generic ones.

Follow through

A good tag can gain initial interest in your blog and increase traffic coming from blog directories. However, it can only do so much. Now that traffic is beating at your door, you should be able to throw a real party thereafter. Make sure that the content associated with your tag/s is well worth your visitor’s click. It should offer specific information for a specific purpose and should include the content that you so readily promised in your links.

Otherwise, you won’t earn the trust of a loyal readership or following. A baited title that lacks the backing of useful content will be viewed as a cheap trick and won’t earn you a lot of respect or traffic.

The best type of advertising has three characteristics. It is free, impactful and viral. What kind of advertising fulfills all three characteristics? Word of mouth! It is free because it is spontaneous, unsolicited and natural. It is impactful because the persons spreading it were impacted and they spread the news out of their own impacted emotions. And it is extremely viral because it spreads exponentially. Imagine if your blog posts could be passed around this way.

What kind of blog post can achieve such a viral nature? A viral blog can be one of several kinds:

1. A HOW TO blog post

The HOW TO blog post shows the reader how to do something that many people want to know. If you know how to do something that most people do not, you could post a step-by-step guide on how to do it to your blog. Once the right people discover your blog post, they will naturally and spontaneously spread your blog post to others. You could write about how to speak in public, how to write HTML, how to play the piano by ear, how to take great photos etc. There are literally thousands of how to things you could post about.

2. A UNIQUE TWIST blog post

This type of blog post is closely related to the first HOW TO type. This is where you blog about something that is common knowledge but you put your own unique twist to it, something that most people have never thought of. It may well be totally contrary to conventional practice. One example is article marketing. The conventional practice in article marketing is where you write articles and submit them to article directories. But if you have a better and more effective way of article marketing, post about it in your blog. For example, instead of submitting articles to directories, you could offer your articles to blog owners or newsletter owners in your niche. Tell them they can make your article available to their readers for free as long as no changes are made to any of the content. This way you get much more targeted readers reading your article and more powerful link juice back to your blog because it comes from another blog that is related to your own instead of from a general article directory.

3. A HOT REVIEW blog post

This type of post follows the principle of the early bird catching the worm. This is where you blog about the latest hot topic in your niche and give an honest appraisal of what is good and what is bad about whatever is happening. Since the topic is new, virtually no one has much knowledge, much less a view about it. This works tremendously well for political blogs. But the review can also be about the hottest gadget or the latest book or the newest trend in your niche. One great place where you can find out the latest happenings is Google Trends. If you are the first to blog about whatever is happening, you can capture the initial interest of the public and people will start passing your blog post around like wildfire. When that wave dies down, simply find the next sizzling development and review it and the process repeats itself.

These are just three ways you can make your blog viral. Obviously, you will not succeed every time, but if you keep at it, you will hit the jackpot sooner or later. And as a result, the readership of your blog experiences an exponential spurt of growth.

Because there are so many blogs and web sites about
blogs on the internet, it can be tough to distinguish your
blogging web site from all of the others. Whether you
are starting up a new web site aimed at bloggers or
whether you are looking to make your existing blogging
site more distinctive, the key to building and
maintaining a site that will capture the interest and
attention of the blogging community is finding your
niche. If you can fill a unique need in a way that no
other web site does, you’ll be able to build a lasting
readership among web surfers. Once you have
discovered a niche, you will still have a lot to do, but
finding your place in the blogosphere is the place to
begin.

Every great blogging web site starts with a great idea,
and you can’t build a successful site that will last
without one. There are many great sites aimed at
today’s bloggers, and competition for the attention of
this growing demographic is fierce. To make your
blogging web site stand out from the pack, you will
need to offer something that no other site is currently
offering, or you will need to do the same thing that an
already popular site does but in a more impressive or
valuable way.

One way to discover an ideal model for your blogging
web site is to look at the sites that have successfully
captured a blogging audience already to determine if
you can appropriate some of their strategies to help
realize your vision. Of course, you will also need to add
a unique flair to your project in order to stand apart
from your competition. Many people agree that the web
sites that do the best in today’s market are the sites that
have the most personality. The fiercely individual
surfers who are bloggers are a demographic that
responds especially strongly to personality, so consider
how you can give your site a unique and attractive
feeling by lending your own voice and sensibility to
your site’s design and content.

Once you have a great idea for your site, have
pinpointed a special niche that you are well equipped to
fill, and have infused the site with personality, the next
step is figuring out how to get the word out to bloggers.
In the long run, a great idea just isn’t enough to propel
your blogging web site to success. You will need to
draft a smart and realistic marketing plan in order to
draw readers to your site. Once you hook a blogger,
your great content will keep them coming back, but it is
vital to get that first glance or your site won’t have a
chance to shine.

(Word count 468)

PPPPP

The best type of advertising has three characteristics. It is free, impactful and viral. What kind of advertising fulfills all three characteristics? Word of mouth! It is free because it is spontaneous, unsolicited and natural. It is impactful because the persons spreading it were impacted and they spread the news out of their own impacted emotions. And it is extremely viral because it spreads exponentially. Imagine if your blog posts could be passed around this way.

What kind of blog post can achieve such a viral nature? A viral blog can be one of several kinds:

1. A HOW TO blog post

The HOW TO blog post shows the reader how to do something that many people want to know. If you know how to do something that most people do not, you could post a step-by-step guide on how to do it to your blog. Once the right people discover your blog post, they will naturally and spontaneously spread your blog post to others. You could write about how to speak in public, how to write HTML, how to play the piano by ear, how to take great photos etc. There are literally thousands of how to things you could post about.

2. A UNIQUE TWIST blog post

This type of blog post is closely related to the first HOW TO type. This is where you blog about something that is common knowledge but you put your own unique twist to it, something that most people have never thought of. It may well be totally contrary to conventional practice. One example is article marketing. The conventional practice in article marketing is where you write articles and submit them to article directories. But if you have a better and more effective way of article marketing, post about it in your blog. For example, instead of submitting articles to directories, you could offer your articles to blog owners or newsletter owners in your niche. Tell them they can make your article available to their readers for free as long as no changes are made to any of the content. This way you get much more targeted readers reading your article and more powerful link juice back to your blog because it comes from another blog that is related to your own instead of from a general article directory.

3. A HOT REVIEW blog post

This type of post follows the principle of the early bird catching the worm. This is where you blog about the latest hot topic in your niche and give an honest appraisal of what is good and what is bad about whatever is happening. Since the topic is new, virtually no one has much knowledge, much less a view about it. This works tremendously well for political blogs. But the review can also be about the hottest gadget or the latest book or the newest trend in your niche. One great place where you can find out the latest happenings is Google Trends. If you are the first to blog about whatever is happening, you can capture the initial interest of the public and people will start passing your blog post around like wildfire. When that wave dies down, simply find the next sizzling development and review it and the process repeats itself.

These are just three ways you can make your blog viral. Obviously, you will not succeed every time, but if you keep at it, you will hit the jackpot sooner or later. And as a result, the readership of your blog experiences an exponential spurt of growth.

Blogging on a Social Network

Blogging is becoming increasingly popular and social networks are also
becoming more and more popular as well. Social networks include popular
websites such as MySpace.com where users can create personal websites and
interact with other users. These websites may include a wide range of
components including text, images, audio, video and blogs. Here system
users can voice their opinions, provided updates on their life, offer
insight into current events or accomplish a number of other goals. However,
bloggers who utilize a social network to maintain their blog should
consider a few different factors . This article will discuss some of these
factors including whether to make the blogs available to the public or keep
the private, considering the audience of the blog and dealing with
harassment through the blog.

Making Blogs Private or Public

Most social networks enable users to make their website either private or
public. Private websites are only available to the user and other users he
specifically approves to view his website while public websites are
available to all users of the system. These same capabilities also apply to
the blogs which are maintained on a social network. For this reason
bloggers must determine whether or not they wish to make their blog posts
available to the entire social network or to only a fraction of this
network.

This decision will be largely based on a matter of personal preference.
Social networks can be quite extensive and some bloggers may be
apprehensive about their blog being available to such a large audience
while other bloggers may have no apprehensions about the size of the
potential audience. Bloggers should carefully consider this option before
staring a blog but always have the option to change these settings after
the blog has been established if they change their mind about the choice
they originally made.

Considering the Blog Audience

Bloggers who utilize a social network to maintain a blog should also
carefully consider the potential audience for the blog. Most social
networks include a broad cross section of the general public. Therefore
bloggers should be aware of this audience when posting a blog and should
consider how the blog entries will be interpreted by blog audience members.
While it will never be possible to avoid offending all potential audience
members some bloggers may wish to consider at least attempting to ensure
the blog entries they post are appropriate for all members of the social
network. If this is not possible the blogger may consider making the blog
private.

Dealing with Harassment through the Blog

Another aspect bloggers who use a social network to publish their blog
should be aware of includes the potential for harassment from other members
through the blog. This can be in the form of offensive comments posted in
response to blog entries. Depending on the degree of the harassment the
blogger may choose to ignore these comments or take stronger actions.
Bloggers should review the policies of the social network and solicit their
assistance in dealing with harassment from other users. In most cases
dealing with the problem may be as simple as blocking the user from making
comments on the blog but in some cases it may be necessary to contact the
social network administrators in an attempt to get the user banned from the
system. In this situation the administrators will review the situation and
make a judgment regarding whether or not the user has violated the terms of
service.

PPPPP

Word count 580

Does that mean you can never take a week off (or longer) for vacation again? If you use Blogomator, you can have the best of both worlds – keep your free time plus maintain frequent postings.

There are a couple of ways to use Blogomator to your advantage.

First, you can upload your blog articles before your vacation ever starts. The program allows you to upload articles and schedule exactly when you would like to post them on your WordPress blog.

You could schedule blogs for an entire year or more and your readers would never know you were enjoying time with your family on a cruise!

The other way to fully utilize the Blogomator system is to blog while you are on vacation. You will not need to drag along your laptop or any special equipment!

Because there are no files to download when you use Blogomator, all you need is a computer and an Internet connection. So, whether you are vacationing on a beach along the United States coast or seeing all the sites in Paris, you can write your blog from any computer with an Internet connection.

Jaunt into an Internet café and tell your readers about your vacation as it is happening. Your readers will be impressed to know that even on vacation, you make time to stay in contact with them through your blog site.

Blogomator is very unique in that it requires no special files downloaded onto your own computer. That feature makes blogging truly portable for you! Entering a new blog entry is as easy as logging onto www.Blogomator.com and uploading the file.

You can even choose when you want the file to post. Post blogs on your vacation immediately or set them to post at another time. With Blogomator, you will never need to download updates or install plug ins. You will not even have to do any formatting of your article. It is as simple as writing your thoughts and clicking a button. Blogomator does all the rest for you!

If you happen to write more than one blog, that is not a problem. Blogomator allows you to post articles to one or one hundred blogs. And, with each, you control when your articles are posted!

Another added advantage to the Blogomator program is that if you use the services of a ghost writer, the writer may post your articles on your behalf. That will set you free to concentrate on other aspects of developing your business!

There is no need to look at blogging as a chore any more! Blogomator’s easy to use, common sense approach to posting delivers what every blogger wants: a way to make frequent posts without spending hours each week just to maintain a blog! After all, in most cases, a blog is one aspect of public relations for your business. You will be less likely to maintain an effective blog if it takes up too much of your valuable time!

Blogomator not only increases your writing efficiency by making blog posting easier, the fact that no special files or downloads are required makes the program truly carefree. To take advantage of all that Blogomator has to offer, sign up for the program today at www.Blogomator.com.