The Definition of Blogging

The definition of blogging is something that is very
much in flux, as the new technologies that appear every
day redefine what a blog is, what a blog can be, and
what a blog should do. For many years, blogs were
defined as text-based websites that kept records of days,
similar to a captain’s log on a sailing ship. However,
this started to change as the group of people who kept
blogs became more diverse. The more bloggers began
to explore the limits of the medium and of the
technology that made it possible, the more the
boundaries of what could be called a “blog” expanded.

Today, there are an abundance of photo blogs, and there
are even video blogs as well. Mobile blogging devices
may well change the definition of blogging entirely by
making it possible for bloggers to create new kinds of
posts. Another element of the blogosphere that is
starting to redefine blogging is the corporate blog. As
more companies hire writers to keep blogs with the sole
purpose of creating positive buzz about their brand,
bloggers across the globe are arguing about whether
these manufactured blogs are really worthy of the name.
Between all of these different forces that are constantly
expanding and reshaping the blogosphere, it is difficult
to imagine that the definition of what is and is not a
blog will ever remain fixed for very long.

Article Marketing Tips and Strategies

Article marketing is a great way to increase your traffic, establish yourself as an expert in your field and gain publicity. Writing and distributing articles online really can do all of that for you.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when marketing with articles:

Write quality articles – Don’t write articles just for the sake of building incoming links. Sure this is a great reason to write and distribute articles but you also want your article to work extra hard for you. By writing a quality article you can get those incoming links but also get other business owners to place your articles on their websites (even more incoming links – not to mention traffic).

And for the icing on the cake your article may get picked up and published by a large offline or online publication… wow talk about being in the spotlight then. Mediocre articles just won’t get you the same results. So if you’re going to spend the time writing and distributing articles, why not make your articles really work for you?

Be the Expert – When writing see yourself as the expert. You chose this field and it’s your job to communicate your knowledge with your customers. Believe you’re the expert and let it show in your writing. Remember if you don’t class yourself as an expert in your field it’s unlikely anyone else will do it for you.

Write Author Bio’s that Sell – Many people may the mistake of writing the same mundane author bio “Mary Sweet is the owner of a website called maryswebsite.com and enjoys writing” – Don’t waste that valuable real estate at the end of your articles. If you’ve written a good article the reader will look at the author bio and if intrigued will click over to learn more.

Be precise and write a benefit oriented author bio – To learn more about how to build websites that sell visit maryswebsite.com – or – For a free 15 page report on building sales producing websites visit maryswebsite.com. See the difference? Concentrate on the benefit to the reader at all times.

5 Ways to Keep Visitors Coming Back

A lot of successful websites depend on returning visitors to account for a major part of their traffic. Returning visitors are easier to convert into paying customers because the more often they return to a site, the more trust they have in that site. The credibility issue just melts away. Hence, keep your visitors coming back to your site with the following methods:

1) Start a forum, chatroom or shoutbox

When you start a forum, chatroom or shoutbox, you are providing your visitors a place to voice their opinions and interact with their peers — all of them are visitors of your site. As conversations build up, a sense of community will also follow and your visitors will come back to your site almost religiously every day.

2) Start a web log (blog)

Keep an online journal, or more commonly known as a blog, on your site and keep it updated with latest news about yourself. Human beings are curious creatures and they will keep their eyes glued to the monitor if you post fresh news frequently. You will also build up your credibility as you are proving to them that there is also a real life person behind the website.

3) Carry out polls or surveys

Polls and surveys are other forms of interaction that you should definitely consider adding to your site. They provide a quick way for visitors to voice their opinions and to get involved in your website. Be sure to publish polls or surveys that are strongly relevant to the target market of your website to keep them interested to find out about the results.

4) Hold puzzles, quizzes and games

Just imagine how many office workers procrastinate at work every day, and you will be able to gauge how many people will keep visiting your site if you provide a very interesting or addicting way of entertainment. You can also hold competitions to award the high score winner to keep people trying continuously to earn the prize.

5) Update frequently with fresh content

Update your site frequently with fresh content so that every time your visitors come back, they will have something to read on your site. This is the most widely known and most effective method of attracting returning visitors, but this is also the least carried out one because of the laziness of webmasters. No one will want to browse a site that looks the same over ten years, so keep your site updated with fresh bites!

The Importance of A Good Design

Your website is the hub of your online business; it is the virtual representation of your company whether your company exists physically or not. When you are doing business online, people cannot see you physically like how they could if they were dealing with an offline company. Hence, people do judge you by your covers. This is where a good design comes in.

Imagine if you are running an offline company. Would you allow your salespersons to be dressed in shabby or casual clothes when they are dealing with your customers? By making your staff wear professionally, you are telling your customers that you do care about quality. This works simply because first impressions matter.

Similarly, the same case is with your website. If your website is put together shabbily and looks like a 5 minute “quick fix”, you are literally shouting to your visitors that you are not professional and you do not care for quality.

On the opposite, if you have a totally professional looking website layout, you are giving your visitors the perception that you have given meticulous attention to every detail and you care about professionalism. You are organised, focused and you really mean business.

On the other hand, you should also have anything related to your company well designed. From business cards to letterheads to promotional brochures, every little bit matters. This is because as you grow your business, these items become the face of your business. Once again, think of the “salesperson dressed shabbily” anology, and you will get my point.

Free Website Promotion…Why Not?

Can you ever avail of free website promotion? Is that even feasible?

Of course yes! Nowadays, your baby website can amass huge traffic in no time thanks to free website promotion.

How does this free website promotion go anyway? What are things to be done?

1. Enlist your website.

Look for the hottest Internet directories and enlist your site there. This is the easiest and most effective free website promotion tactic. Start with this step and the rest of the good things will follow.

Just don’t forget to prep your website and make it all spruced up for a higher chance to get accepted in your directory of choice.

2. Know your forums.

One reason why forums are created is for free website promotion for everyone. Log in, post actively, let them know about your site in every post and you attract instant visitors right there.

3. Write a press release.

Release your writing prowess and start up a press release that advertises your site! This is a free website promotion tactic that you can do anytime. Type a brief paragraph or two and email it to your friends, colleagues, internet e-zines, newspapers and other media and massive traffic will come to you pronto!

4. Be friendly online.

Free website promotion means you need to be friendly to other webmasters. Why, you ask? So they can link you immediately! Establish contacts and never tire of link requests and exchanges.

5. Write an article.

Say, your website is about your travel agency. Write an article about the perks of traveling or the hottest travel spots in the world. On the concluding paragraph, mention your website in passing. This article works as an advertorial and doubles as a free website promotion approach.

6. Just let the whole world know about your site.

What is free website promotion without the word of mouth? Insert your website, its URL and features in daily conversations and let the good news spread from one mouth to another!

7. Make a banner ad.

Make a banner ad for your site and ask another webmaster to do the same for his site. Then swap!

8. Take up a free website promotion course online.

Yes, there are free website promotion tutorials. But don’t you know that you can actually take a free website promotion course that can help you out further? Part of the free website promotion program is signing up for newsletters.

When you make a website, you need not pay anything to promote it. You just read it — there is such a thing as free website promotion!

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