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Black Friday HostGator Deal: 50% Discount on All Plans

2011-11-26T01:38:00.000-08:00

Black Friday HostGator Deal: 50% Discount on All Plansby Daniel Scocco

If you have been hosting websites for a while you probably know that Black Friday is the best day of the year to get a new hosting plan. This year shouldn’t be different.

HostGator (which is the company I use and recommend) will be offering a 50% discount on all plans, from shared hosting to dedicated servers. The 50% discount coupon will be applied automatically to your bill if you purchase between the midnight of November 24 (that is right now) and the midnight of November 25.

Here are some of the deals you can get:

Shared hosting for $2.48 monthly (paid upfront)Reseller hosting for $12.48 monthly (paid upfront)VPS hosting for $9.98 (first month)Dedicated servers for $87 (first month)

Current clients can also benefit from those discounts as long as they use them for new accounts. Just head to HostGator.com if you want to check all the details and sign-up.

5 Pop Culture Quotes for a Memorable Blog

2011-11-19T19:37:00.000-08:00

Geeks and nerds. When they’re not fixing our computers, they’re reeling off reams of quotable material. Whether it’s something they saw last night, or a movie they saw as a child, they’re quoting it to the letter.

Imagine if your blog could be that memorable. If, ten years down the line, people still remembered that post you’ve written yesterday.

If you heed the advice contained in those pop culture quotes, you won’t need to imagine. Because there’s some great nuggets of insight that can be the difference between a memorable blog and a total flop.

Hang on, lads; I’ve got a great idea – Charlie Croker, The Italian Job

It doesn’t matter whether you’re starting a new blog, or hanging over a cliff in a coach full of stolen gold. You’re going to need an idea. And if you want to succeed, it’d better be great.

Don’t just dive in blindly. Take the time to sit down and ask yourself the difficult questions: Who is my blog aimed at?

Who is my competition?

What makes me stand out?

What’s my long-term objective?

How can I achieve that?

If you can’t answer those questions convincingly, it’s a safe bet that your plan isn’t a great one. And as you’ll see in our next quote

Stay on target! Stay on target! – Gold Five, Star Wars

The un-named Y Wing pilot “Gold Five” might not have known how to use the force, but he sure knew how to succeed in blogging. Exactly the same way as you succeed in destroying a planet-killing battle station.

Remember those questions you asked yourself about your long term objective? If you want to produce a truly memorable blog, you’ll need to keep those answers in mind. Because the whole point of a good plan is that you stick to it, and it helps you through good times and bad.

Change, and not a moment too soon – The Sixth Doctor, Doctor Who

That’s not to say that you need to cover every single eventuality with your plan. How could anyone blogging about the internet in the early 2000’s have forseen Facebook or Twitter?

There will always be something that you haven’t planned for, and that’s where advice from our eponymous Time Lord comes in. The reason that the BBC show has thrilled audience since the ‘60s is that it embraces change.

And if you want your blog to be memorable, then you’ll need to be prepared to regenerate once or twice.

Don’t think you are, know you are. Stop trying to hit me and hit me! – Morpheus, The Matrix

If you’ve got a plan, you’re sticking to it where appropriate and being flexible where needed, there’s just the small matter of being great at what you do.

“Faking it until you make it” doesn’t work with Blogging, especially when you’re trying to be noticed. Any falsehoods and posturing is going to make you look like a fool. Plus, who remembers the fakers?

So stop pretending to be great. Just go out there, create great content and become a leader in your niche. You’ve got the potential to do it, and without a homicidal race of machines to contend with, the only thing holding you back is you.

Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room! – President Merkin Muffley, Dr Strangelove

Well it’s probably a safe bet to suggest that your blog won’t have a War Room, it’s almost certain that it will have some form of discussion area. And if you don’t want to come across as borderline insane, you will need to allow discussion in the discussion forum.

The discussion areas of your blog, be it a comments section or dedicated forum, are key to making your offering memorable. You’ll want to encourage robust debate from interesting characters. And that means that sometimes you’ll have to take criticism.

And yes, you will have to tolerate the odd fight in the war room.

So there you have it. Five memorable quotes for a memorable blog. I can’t promise that geeks will be attending YourBlogCon 2020 or quoting your work verbatim, but if you follow this advice, you’ll be sure to stick in the memory.

Andrew Nattan is the lead blogger for The FirstFound Blog and a contributor to FirstFound’s Optimise Magazine. He also looks after his own blog, Unmemorable Title.

Read original article here

How Blogging and Dropshipping Go Hand in Hand

2011-11-19T19:28:00.000-08:00

How do blogging and dropshipping go together?

Or do they?

My experience with drophipping and blogging actually started way back in April 2005. My first blog was more an “after thought” that I only set up because my Arizona SEO friend recommended it.

Since then, I’ve come to firmly believe that without a consistent blog presence, an eCommerce business can’t survive amongst younger, more “socially savvy” online marketers.

Blogging is one of the easiest and most efficient ways to promote your dropshipping products. Blogs do so many things for your eCommerce business.

What a Blog Can do for an Ecommerce WebsiteAttract customersEstablish trustCreate product value

Darren Rowse has this to say about selling products on a blog:

As bloggers trying to make a few dollars from our online activity many of us get stuck thinking about making money by slapping ads on our blogs – but in doing so perhaps we’re doing the equivalent of busking for tips (not the perfect illustration I know). I know I’ve fallen into that trap myself over the years but in working to develop products to sell I’ve seen a variety of benefits including:
Revenue
Credibility/Authority
Opportunities
Deepen Relationships with Readers
Lengthens Relationships with Readers
Accelerated Learning
Traffic

To illustrate even more, let’s analyze Meaghan Mountford’s blog:

The Decorated Cookie blog is classy and effective. The lady who runs it regularly posts recipes and simple directions for making fancy decorated cookies. She includes plenty of pictures, and her blog is clean and well-designed.

On the side she includes clear links to purchase her book or visit her shop. At the shop she sells cookie-decorating kits to make the projects on her blog.

Why is her blog so effective at selling products?1. Provides value for free

People visit her site for the free recipes and directions. They subscribe to her blog, visiting time and time again to see the new posts, and they send the links to friends.

Maybe they don’t buy her cookbook or her decorating kits the first time they visit, but they keep coming back to see the new recipes and eventually she hooks them with a super cute mustache cookie-cutter or a fondant set and they make a purchase.

2. Establishes trust and professionalism

Meaghan obviously knows what she’s talking about. Her cookies are attractive and professional and her impressive credentials are posted in her bio, so you believe her when she says you should use this particular cookie scraper or that particular food coloring.

Oh, they happen to be for sale on her website? Well then I guess I’ll buy them.

3. Creates a bond with the customer

Meaghan’s blog is well-written, warm, and inviting. By reading her articles you come to know a little bit about her and to like her. She includes a few personal details, like the fact that she has a two-year old son, and soon you want her to succeed, you want to give her your business and recommend her to friends.

But remember, she always maintains her professionalism. Mentions of kids and cats = good, details about your husband’s vasectomy = too much information.

4. Tasteful use of keywords + Attracts inbound links

If you type the words “cookie decorating blog” into your Google search bar, The Decorated Cookie site is the first one that pops up. Getting your website to the top of the search engine response pages is one of the most important things you can do to bring in business.

Why is Meaghan’s website at the top of the list? First, because she has plenty of relevant keywords in her blog posts, and second because her blog attracts inbound links. Inbound links are when a website posts a link to yours; they’re very important for search engine optimization (SEO).

How can you get inbound links? By having valuable content on your website that people want to share. Most people probably link to her site so they can pass along her recipes and tips. I linked to her because she’s such a great example of e-business marketing.

How can you create a successful blog for your dropshipping product?

Obviously products that are craft or project-oriented are easy to create a blog for. Cake-decorating, rug-hooking, pottery-painting, wood-working, jewelry-making, and sewing all fall in this category. However, you can create a blog like Meaghan’s around almost any product. All you need is a subject you can write educational articles on, and that could be anything from fishing to chess to fitness to parenting.

The important thing is to write quality articles and to post regularly so people keep checking back. You provide something of value – information on how to deal with a tantrumy toddler or how to find the perfect diaper bag – and in return people are motivated to purchase your baby carriers or maternity clothes or toddler toys.

Nate Moller has helped thousands of new online entrepreneurs start an online business. He does SEO consulting for a variety of clients, including a wholesale dropshippers directory. He also works with clients to build their online reputation via social media marketing strategy. Follow him on Twitter @mollermarketing.

Read original article here

Does Spontaneous Writing Lead To Awesome Posts?

2011-11-19T19:22:00.000-08:00

"the journey" by AlicePopkorn

While I usually plan my blog posts, writing posts without any planning can produce interesting results. Here are 5 benefits I’ve noticed when writing my posts spontaneously.

1. More Posts

Quality not quantity. Less is more. And so on. There is some truth in this. However, writing more posts means more potentially good posts, more experience as a writer, and more opportunities to connect with a wider audience.

2. A Broader Focus

When you plan everything to the last detail, blogging can start to feel a bit dry and boring. Writing more often means you can cover a far wider range of topics in much, much more detail.

3. More Time to Post

I often feel busy; perhaps too busy, but I like being busy. However, it sometimes creates this illusion that I don’t have time to blog as often as I think of new ideas for posts. When you’re in the mood to write, spontaneous blogging can be a quick way to knock out a post or two, and then have more time left over for other things.

4. Making Connections

If I’ve just finished writing a blog post and I publish it right away, I can go onto Twitter or Google Plus and share it. The post is still fresh in my mind, and I can answer any comments as they come in. This level of immediacy can build up quite a bit of momentum very quickly, if the post is well-received.

5. Staying Relevant

Forcing yourself to write often means you have to look everywhere for things to write about. Whether it’s a new site that’s just launched, a topic that’s been shared on Twitter, or something you heard on the bus, writing about what’s going on right now can help to make unexpected connections with people you’ve never met before.

On the other hand, this may not lend itself so well to achieving a good position on Google. Is a post that’s still relevant in a year or two after it’s publication date more likely to be picked up than a post that goes out of date quickly?

Discussion

Do you plan ahead or just write and see what happens? Are you happy with the results?

original article

8 Tips To Hit the Ground Running After a Blogging Break

2011-11-19T19:07:00.000-08:00

"Meep Meep..." by Nick Chill Photography

Welcome back. This is the first post at Quick Blog Tips in two weeks. We all need a break from time to time. Here are some ways to ensure you make a big impact when returning from a blogging break.

1. Treat It As a Relaunch

Returning from a break is a good opportunity to consider changing your blog’s theme. If you have time, you could completely rebrand your site. Make your design recognisable, memorable, and striking. Make it slick. Make it great!

You should also review all of your widgets, plugins, and ads. How many are essential? How many could you live without? Take the opportunity to clean up anything you don’t want or need anymore. You can also install new addons if they will bring value to your blog.

2. Tell Everyone When You’ll Be Back

It’s impossible to hype up your return if you don’t tell anyone when to expect a new post. Tell people on social media sites when to expect your next post. The last post on your blog should also do this. Also, make sure you stick to the date that you give out.

3. Make Your First Post Awesome

When returning from a break, you’ll need to work harder than ever to grab the attention of readers. Let them know that you mean business with a fantastic comeback post. Find a topic you haven’t written about before. Revisit a previous topic with a fresh new angle. And make it GOOD. Who knows – you may start to build up more momentum for your blog than it had before.

4. Review Your Posting Frequency

How often did you post before you took a break? Did you find yourself running out of steam? If so, maybe it’s time to reduce your posting frequency. You do not need to blog every day – and it’s very hard to stick to a daily posting schedule in the long run. If you can do it, great – but don’t force yourself to blog daily if you think that’s what made you take a break in the first place.

5. Schedule Plenty of Posts

It’s good to have at least a week’s worth of content ready to go. It’s generally a good idea to do this anyway, but particularly important for your first week back – you don’t want your blog to become a one-post wonder. Queuing up a few posts allows you to focus your efforts on social media and promotion when your blog comes back, instead of having to keep going off and writing another post when you could be networking.

6. Ask Other Bloggers to Create Some Buzz

To build our blogs into communities, we need to network with other bloggers. So if you really want to hit the ground running when you relaunch, ask other bloggers to help by sharing the link to your comeback post on Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus. Perhaps you’d like to help me by doing the same? Thank you!

7. Stay Positive

Getting back to blogging should not feel like returning to work after a holiday. Be glad you’re returning! Be happy to see your readers. Be excited to share new content and get people talking about what you have to say.

8. Engage Your Community

A blog is much more interesting if the posts receive a healthy number of comments. Ask questions and encourage readers to add their views. Reply to comments to keep the discussion going.

Discussion

Have you ever taken a blogging break? How did you do it? What might make you take a break?

original article

Where There’s Traffic, There’s Hope

2011-11-19T18:55:00.000-08:00

Where There’s Traffic, There’s Hopeby Daniel Scocco

A couple of months ago I wrote a piece titled Do You Know The Most Important Metric Online?. My main argument was that, contrary to what many people believe, the main metric online should be profits, and not traffic.

For instance, would you rather have a website that receives 200,000 monthly visitors and makes $1,000 monthly in profits, or a website that receives only 20,000 monthly visitors but that makes $3,000 monthly? I am sure the second, and this gap in the traffic/earnings ration happens in real life, too.

That all being said, traffic remains a very important metric online. It’s not more important than profits, but it probably comes in a close second place.

The reason is quite simple: unless you have people visiting your website you won’t be able to engage them, to spread your message, to gather feedback, to sell your products/services and so on.

And you could go a step further: even if the money you are making with your website is pocket change right now, as long as you have traffic, you can always change your monetization strategy and perhaps improve your earnings.

In fact I both got burned and profited with this rule of thumb in the past.

When I got burned: I bought a website that was making around $1,000 monthly, despite having only 15,000 monthly visitors or so. I figured I would be able to increase the traffic and consequently the earnings, but within months of my purchase traffic dried and the earnings almost disappeared, probably because of fluctuations in search rankings.

When I profited: I bought a website that was making only $300 monthly, but it was receiving over 100,000 monthly visitors and it had some strong search rankings. I figured the low profit margin was probably related to a poor monetization strategy, and a couple of months after the purchase the monthly earnings jumped to $1,500 monthly.

So remember: where there’s traffic, there’s hope.

What Makes Bloggers Disappear?

2011-11-19T18:50:00.000-08:00

"Les Disappears" by Dicko2007

I’ve been blogging since 2007. Since then, I’ve seen a lot of bloggers come and go. Often, there’s no announcement – the blogger just vanishes. What makes bloggers disappear?

1. Time

Blogging is very time consuming. There’s more to it than writing a post every now and again. Planning your posts, networking with other bloggers, replying to comments, making tweaks to the layout and settings, participating in forums – it all adds up. Sometimes, you may not have much time to spare for your blog. What would you do with your blog if you started a new job with long hours and a long commute?

2. Money

If you’re paying for a domain name and web hosting, but your blog hasn’t “made it big” yet – what’s going to happen if you hit financial difficulties? Maybe you won’t keep your blog running.

Even a blog that uses a “free” service is not truly free – you have to keep the blog updated, and that time may be better used on things that will make you money. Some people make money from their blog, some don’t. If you don’t then it’s hard to justify spending hours and hours on your blog when times are hard.

3. Christmas/New Year

Christmas is often a time when blogs go quiet. So as the New Year approaches, people try and kick life into their blogs again.

But instead of coming up with achievable blogging resolutions, bloggers set their sights too high, or forget to set any goals whatsoever. Come February, they find themselves in need of a change.

Once the New Year celebrations have been and gone and we’re well and truly into the year, it’s time to get on with things much as we did before – and not everyone likes the thought of yet another year that’s just the same as the last. So they give up on things such as their blog.

4. Boredom

If you do anything for a long time without making any changes along the way, you may well get sick and tired of it. Bloggers do get bored with blogging – especially if they start with a burst of energy, post far too often and exchange endless comments with other bloggers.

There’s no harm in being enthusiastic, but when your initial enthusiasm dies down, are you still going to stick with your blog? Everyone thinks they can be different, but while it’s possible to keep blogging for a long time, it seems that a lot of bloggers just get bored with the whole thing.

5. Realisation

Want to make a fortune from your blog? Want to become the leading voice and rise about the crowd? Unfortunately, a lot of bloggers will never reach this point. There are plenty of things you can do to get ahead, but once you realise it requires a lot of hard work, some people won’t go much further.

You do have to face this issue, and it can be overcome – but setting up a blog does not guarantee anything. You have the opportunity to make it your own.

6. Lack of Focus

It’s a lot harder to blog if you don’t have any kind of focus. You might think that if you write about anything and everything, you’ll have more topics to cover – but it also means you have more to choose from. Failing to write a focused blog can result in an unenthusiastic author, and a disengaged audience.

7. Lack of Topics

Even if your blog is very well focused, what happens if you exhaust all your possible topics? This can happen quite quickly for blogs that are in a very specific niche. Meanwhile, a long-term blogger may hit a wall eventually no matter how broad their topic is. Running out of topics to blog about makes it very difficult to keep things moving along.

8. Lack of Comments

I’ve heard many bloggers saying they’ll keep writing for themselves, which is all well and good, but how long can you keep up a blog if nobody comments? What about if you used to get loads of comments and suddenly they just stopped? I’ve been through this many times before…

9. The Domino Effect

It’s great to have blogging friends – but what happens when one blog closes? Does it set off a chain reaction whereby several other blogs close down too? It’s quite possible, as bloggers often comment on each other’s blogs – so leaving the blogosphere can create a huge void for that blogger’s friends.

Discussion

Have you noticed other bloggers disappearing or quitting blogging? What makes people stop blogging? What might make you stop?

original article

Passive Income: Myth Vs. Reality (and How to Make it Happen)

2011-11-19T18:36:00.000-08:00

Most of us got into blogging (and Internet marketing in general ) because we were sold the dream. Whether we read about in “The Four Hour Workweek” or a super slick sales page, or were lured into a high priced “business seminar”, it’s safe to say most of us literally “bought” into the dream.

And oh, what a dream it is. Jet setting around the world, staying in fabulous hotels, driving sports cars, and — during all this fun — a never-ending passive income flows effortlessly into our bank account.

Champagne wishes and caviar dreams.

But ask yourself: how many people do you actually know — in real life, not in a forum or on a sales page — who actually are living the dream?

My guess is: not many.

As an entrepreneur marketing online for five years now, I can attest passive income is possible, but requires more work than what you’ve been told. The truth is, most people fail to make money online because they lack one thing: dedication.

It’s almost impossible to stick with a business idea for six months or more without making a dime. But once you work your way through the learning curve, that small trickle of income continues to flow into your bank account, freeing up your time to work on new income streams. And over time, those income streams really add up.

Notice the key phrase is: “over time”.

Now, let’s separate the “myth” of making money online with the “reality”.

The myth: no work (except pushing buttons) >>> passive income

The reality: lots of hard work >>> a little passive income >>>> more hard work >>> some passive income >>> still more hard work >>> lots of passive income.

So why does this “myth” get blasted all over the internet?

In short, there are two groups responsible.

The first are those with a vested interest in “selling” you the dream. Common examples include get-rich-quick infomercials and $37 eBooks (sometimes called “secret software”) sold on Clickbank. These guys make millions – yes, millions – of dollars each year promoting marketing 101 courses disguised as a “magic bullet” designed to make them rich, not you.

The second group propagating the myth are successful online entrepreneurs.

These entrepreneurs talk about launching companies which go from zero to six-figures almost overnight. And for a seasoned marketer with years of experience it’s very possible. But “newbies” have a tremendous learning curve to climb before they can reach that point.

You see, it may take six months or more just to become familiar with necessary technologies like domains, hosting plans, FTP, autroresponders, payment processors, content management systems, advertising programs, pay-per-click, and building an SEO friendly site.

And that’s before you even think about your product or service.

“Many overnight success stories actually took a long time to succeed.” – Steve Jobs

So – as someone earning a full-time income online – I’d like to share my average work day:

7 AM: use the home gym and take a shower. I love the sleep Inn, scratch that I’ve always been a morning person, so this part is optional. I do find that exercise helps clear my head and prepare myself for productive workday. What? Work? Yep… I put in (at least) eight hours a day working on numerous marketing projects.

8 AM — 8:30 AM: check e-mails, and respond to any questions/concerns from customers and/or potential partners.

8:30 AM — 11:30 AM: write two high-quality pieces of content. Usually I’ll write one post for my own websites, and another for promotional purposes (like this one, for example). Each post I write is a minimum of 1000 words, includes original research and at least one interesting photo from Flickr.

11:30 AM — 12 PM: lunch. During this time I do not look at a computer. Sometimes I’ll eat, other times I’ll go for a short walk around the block. In either case, I’m already working out the details for the rest of my day.

12 PM — 2 PM: I usually spend this time building relationships with prominent bloggers and decision-makers within the industry. For example, I spend at least an hour a day building a list of prospects that I can partner with. These partnerships come in many forms: guest posts, interviews with industry professionals, link exchanges, and cross promotions are just a few examples. As you can see, I balance creating content on my own site with marketing them.

2 PM — 3:30 PM: write another 1000 word article for distribution. Often times, I’ll submit this to top article directories like EzineArticles or GoArticles, or post them on third-party sites such as blogger.com, hubpages.com and squidoo.com.

3:30 PM — 4:30 PM, write one press release about my new post or article. Then I’ll submit the press release to top press release directories like PR Log and Pr Insider. Note: there are many pieces of software available that do this for you automatically. Two I’ve used with great success have been PRbot and SENuke.

4:30 PM — 5:30 PM: respond to all e-mails, and occasionally meet with outsourcers over Skype.

5:30 PM — 6:30 PM: Cook and eat dinner with my wife. Then go on a short walk, where we discuss our long-term strategy.

So that’s pretty much an “average” workday for me.

Of course, there are many, many things that come up each day. For example, if I’ve interviewed an industry leader that day, I’ll listen to the interview and create a PowerPoint presentation to go along with it. I’ll edit the audio so it sounds professional, and record a PowerPoint presentation which highlights the key points. Then, I’ll transcribe the entire interview into a PDF format and offer it on my site.

And that’s just one example. Other fires inevitably come up throughout the day which I try to handle as quickly as possible.

Now this may seem like a lot of work, and it is. But after doing this for over five years, the benefits are certainly worth it.

I get to travel around the world, live where I want and take time off whenever I feel like it. And the best part is: all the work I’ve done in the past continues to bring in a residual income.

So as you can see, the dream lifestyle of Internet marketing is possible, though you better be prepared to work hard at it. Think of it like a rocket ship: it takes tremendous effort to get your business off the ground, but eventually it reaches orbit, and requires no additional work.

What have been your biggest obstacles to making a full-time income online? What were the hardest things to learn, and what would you do different the second time around?

About the author: Adam Costa is a professional writer and traveler. He is the author of “Business in a Backpack” which explains how to build profitable businesses while traveling the world.

Read original article here

5 Blogging Basics You Can’t Live Without

2011-11-19T18:21:00.000-08:00

Why do you blog?

What do you hope to achieve by taking time out of your busy day to write a blog post?

Do you want to become a professional blogger and make money blogging?

Or do you blog to vent, rant, or talk about your boss? (be careful, he/she may subscribe to your blog secretly)

Whatever your reason for blogging, if you’re like me, you want people to READ what you have to say and comment.

To help you achieve whatever blogging goal you have in mind, I’ve compiled a list of 5 steps to help you better promote your blog post.

Step 1: The Power of the Title

Your content could be the BEST out there, but if your title sucks, the content probably won’t get touched.

Write a blog post with a catchy title!

Brian Clark calls this “The Law of Headlines and Hooks“:

Your post titles must stand out in a crowded, noisy blogosphere, and you must quickly communicate the value of reading further with your opening.

Some of the titles that have worked best for me:

5 Performance Goals All Bloggers Should SetHow To’s in List Format

Love them or hate them, informational posts presented in list format are easily digestible and allow for an efficient transfer of your value proposition to the reader…creating an excellent list gives you an extra boost in terms of presentation and connecting with your readers.

10 Social Media Books to Read in 2010A title in the form of a Frequently Ask Question(ie. Is Blogging Really Worth It?)Step 2: Blog Posts Must Be Reader Friendly

Make sure the blog post is “scannable” so readers don’t have to sift through all the “words” to get the gist of the content.

How to Make a Blog Post ScannableBullet PointsHeader TagsNumbered ListsPicturesQuotesShort ParagraphsBold TextGood spacing between lines (this is CSS technical stuff)Step 3: Pictures are Worth 1,000 Words

Include pictures in ALL blog posts.

Not only does a picture “liven the mood” of an article, but it’s more likely to get passed on in the social networks, especially if it’s funny, creative and applicable to the content you’ve shared.

(My client will LOVE this!)

Step 4: Use Video from Time to Time

I’ve seen video used really effectively.

And I’ve seen video OVER-DONE. Use it from time to time if you feel it’s adding value to what you’re sharing.

One small recommendation I give clients is to add at least a few paragraphs of text after a video. Not only does this show you’ve put in a bit of time to get the content ready, but it will help with SEO too.

I’ve even “transcribed” or “summarized” video content about social media marketing in the form of text to emphasize key points.

Step 5: Keep It Simple Stupid

If you’re blog posts are way too long and wordy, you’ll lose readers right away! I usually shoot for 500-750 words max.

I don’t care how good your writing is, most people won’t read more than a few sentences. Any more and they’ll start scanning. You probably aren’t reading this article exactly from top to bottom are you? In fact, you’re probably not even reading this sentence. Man, for a discussion about brevity this sure is dragging on. You can fight it by being more entertaining, but the best policy is to just write less.

How have these steps helped you promote your blog and achieve your life’s purpose?

Nate Moller has helped thousands of new online entrepreneurs start an online business. He does SEO consulting for a variety of clients, including one of the best dropship companies online. He also works with clients to build their online reputation via social media marketing strategy. Follow him on Twitter @mollermarketing.

Read original article here

5 Reasons You’ll Love the WordPress Editorial Calendar

2011-11-19T18:11:00.000-08:00

5 Reasons You’ll Love the WordPress Editorial Calendarby Guest Author

This is a guest post by Annabel Candy. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

Do you struggle to organize your blog posts in advance? I did too for my first two years of blogging.

I’ve got a background in journalism so when I started blogging I knew the importance of having an editorial calendar and planning my blog posts in advance.

I’ve also created clear topics on my blogs because it helps my readers see what information they can find on my blog and get there fast.

But despite my best intentions I didn’t have a good way of planning and scheduling my blog posts.

In fact it was a real rigmarole.

First I created my editorial calendar in a text document then I constantly had to switch between that and WordPress to work out what I was posting and when. It caused a lot of time-wasting and many grey hairs.

Until finally I discovered there is a better way. Namely the WordPress Editorial Calendar plug-in which was created by Zack Grossbart.

Here’s what I love about the WordPress Editorial Calendar plug-in:

1. It makes planning blog posts easy

Now I can view my editorial calendar with up to five weeks of blog posts at a time and even schedule further ahead than that by clicking ahead to the next month. I can see at a glance which blog posts are already scheduled to be published and when as well as which posts are still drafts and need to be finalized.

2. You can see your whole editorial calendar on one screen

Instead of having to browse through all my draft posts now I can see them all on one page. This is a huge benefit for me because I have a lot of draft posts. Some of them are just headlines, others fully fleshed blog posts waiting to be edited and everything in between.

3. It’s easy to reschedule blog posts.

The editorial calendar is drag and drop so if I’ve got a blog post scheduled for Tues 24th I can just drag it over to Tues 31st and that’s when it will be posted.

4. It helps you structure your blog content

I can see all scheduled posts at a glance so it’s easy to see if a specific topic is missing or if I’m writing too much about one topic at the expense of others. There’s also an option to quick edit and change blog post titles, content, and publishing times if I need to.

5. It allows you to be more creative

I don’t waste so much time wondering what I’m going to post and when so that frees up more time for doing what I love best – writing top content and coming up with compelling headlines.

The Drawbacks of the WordPress Editorial Calendar plug-in

The editoral calendar has limitations but not many. The most annoying thing is that draft posts you created before installing the plug-in don’t automatically appear in the calendar. Once the plug-in is installed the best option is to use the editorial calendar to create your draft posts.

But heck what do you expect?

It’s free! It’s simple to use and it works.

Is the WP Editorial Calendar Right For You?

Check out the five minute slideshow to find out more and you can even log into the handy sandbox where you can play around with the plug-in and make sure it’s right for you before you install it.

I recommend you check it out, liberate yourself from struggling to plan your blog posts and free up your time for more creative blogging.

What do you think?

About the author: Annabel Candy is a web designer, web copy writer and travel fiend with three children, two blogs and one husband. She has British and New Zealand passports and lives in Australia. Her blogging adventures started with the popular travel blog Get In the Hot Spot. Annabel now shares her blogging tips for writers and small business owners at Successful Blogging.

How I Build Links Automatically With Posterous!

2011-11-19T17:58:00.000-08:00

Posterous isn’t just a dead simple way to post everything online using email but beyond it’s simplicity, it’s a great SEO tool to automate the boring, manual work of link building.

While blogging via email isn’t new, Posterous took the idea and made it dead simple to blog. All you need to do is to attach anything – photos, video, MP3 or any form of content and send it via email to your account.

Yes, it’s just so dead simple.

Touted as a direct competitor to tumblr, it’s been one of my favorite blogging (bookmarking, link building) tools of late, not because of its simplicity and ease of use but simply because it does allow me to build link automatically.

Why I love Posterous

Posterous isn’t just a micro blogging tool. It’s nothing micro about it. In fact, it’s packed with awesome features.

One of them that should deserve enough attention is its ability to instantly auto post content to your network of blogs AND many of the social networking platforms you are a part of such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Identi.ca.

As you can see from the diagram above, whenever you post to posterous, your content will be instantly autoposted everywhere else across the networks you have pre-assigned, thus automating the task of link building which otherwise requires a fair amount of manual work.

Well, not all of these social networks are dofollow in nature. At the time of this writing, the following web properties do follow

1. WordPress.com
2. Blogger.com
3. Identi.ca
4. Live Journal
5. Tumblr
6. Friendfeed
7. Typepad
8. Drupal

Here’s how you can build links automatically with Posterous!Create an account if you’ve done soAssign the dofollow social networks for selective auto postingInstall the posterous bookmarkletChoose the site you want to build links toFor brevity’s sake, copy the first paragraph of your main article,Click the bookmarkletAt the end of the excerpt, (yes, this is important!) change the anchor text of your inbound link.Click post and voila, you’re done!

Just about the only thing to need to do next is to ping your social networks using this tool where you copy all the urls and ping them all at once.

Pretty neat, huh? Of course, you can selectively autopost to Facebook, Twitter for extra visibility if social traffic fits into your marketing campaign.

Sure, Posterous isn’t just a dead simple way to post everything online using email but beyond it’s simplicity, it’s a great SEO tool to automate the boring, manual work of link building and it’s free to use. Then again, a tool is just a tool unless you make good use of it.

On the other hand, don’t forget to build links manually as Google always loves quality link building.

So take advantage of it! And I’ll see you next time. Oh by the way, if you like it, please posterous it.

Read original article here

Guide to Finding the Best PHP Hosting Deal

2011-11-19T17:45:00.000-08:00

Finding the most cost effective PHP hosting deals on the internet can be a challenge if you are new to the search for dedicated web hosting.

However, if you know where to look and how to search, there are a number of services available for cheap dedicated server hosting, and it is possible to get the plan you want without sacrificing speed or quality.

This article will provide some tips that are both general and practical to help you locate PHP hosting deals on a budget.

Before diving into the tips, it is worth reflecting a bit on the state of the existing hosting industry.

Dedicating hosting services, which are also known as managed hosting services or dedicated servers, are types of internet hosting where clients who lease internet space can lease complete servers that are not shared with other individuals.

This is different from shared hosting, where individual servers are shared across multiple clients; dedicated hosting is more flexible since an individual client can have complete control over the server or servers he or she uses; this includes the ability to choose hardware and operating systems.

However, the tradeoff of using dedicated hosting services rather than shared ones is that dedicated servers are usually going to be more expensive.

PHP refers to a dynamic scripting language that more than 20 million websites all over the world use, from the biggest social networks, including Facebook, to the smallest blog sites.

There are a few common factors you will come to discover when searching for PHP hosting deals; these are found throughout the existing hosting industry. For example, you will generally spend more money the more bandwidth you are looking to use on a monthly basis through your server.

Similarly, the more server space you are asking for, the more money you will pay for the privilege. You will also find a mixture of Linux and Windows hosting systems, and ardent supporters of both. Security will be another area that different hosts advertise, as will the levels of support they offer and the amount of uptime they promise per month.

When searching for the most cost effective PHP hosting deals, a good place to start is with Linux based hosts. Because Linux operating systems tend to be free, web hosts tend to charge less for servers based on Linux (e.g., RedHat, Mandriva, Ubuntu, Slackware) than they do for servers based on Windows (e.g., 7, Vista, XP, NT, 2000). You are also likely to find more secure servers when using systems based on Linux or Unix operating systems due to the designs of the operating systems, but generally, regardless of which operating system you choose, measures for security will be in place.

Another way to potentially reduce costs is to sign a longer contract at a time with a web host. The longer the amount of time you promise to send a company money, the lower the monthly rate they are likely to charge you. However, be careful not to sign a contract containing too many months, as you might want to switch to a different host later, and you won’t want to be trapped into one for years to come.

A final tip is to sign up for only as much bandwidth as you anticipate needing by the end of your lease. Bandwidth means money, and the less you use, the less you’ll spend.

Read original article here

5 Reasons Why You Should Plan Your Blog Posts

2011-11-19T17:39:00.000-08:00

"Blank Page" by Samyra Serin

Some posts are planned, others are spontaneous. These approaches can produce very different results. I think your posts will be a lot better if you plan them. Here are 5 reasons why.

1. Think of New Posts Faster.

When planning posts, the first thing I do is to write a list of potential post titles. When you’re only writing the titles, it’s a lot quicker than if you were to write a complete post before moving to the next one. If you’re in need of some new post ideas, this can really help you on your way.

2. Waste Less Time on Bad Posts.

For each post title, write the headers to map out the structure of the post. This will give you an idea of what you’d include in the post, without taking the time to write the whole thing. You’ll soon be able to tell if it’s a post that you’ll be able to complete.

3. A Solution for Good Posts You Can’t Write.

If you’ve got a great post idea but you’re struggling to come up with the detail, set it aside and invite someone else to write it as a guest post. This means you won’t lose the good idea, but you don’t have to force yourself to write a post that you don’t think will come out all that well. Guest posts give people the opportunity to write a post for you.

4. Write Better Post Titles.

If you’re writing a post without doing any planning, by the time you get to the end, you’ll probably want to publish it. The trouble is, the post title will probably be something like “My thoughts on planning a post” – not the most compelling title. However, with a planned post, you’re more likely to go back and improve the title before the post goes out.

5. Have Multiple Posts On the Go.

The good thing about working on multiple posts is you don’t have to finish them in one sitting. If you write a post on the day you want to publish it, you’ll write it until you’re done. You might not think of everything when you first try to write a post, so it’s good if you can come back to it later.

Follow-up

On Wednesday, I’ll be looking at the benefits of writing spontaneously. Make sure you don’t miss out – follow @quickblogtips on Twitter.

Discussion

Do you plan your posts? Do you find that a planned post comes out better than a spontaneous post?

original article

How to Recycle Your Existing Content?

2011-11-19T17:33:00.000-08:00

Every Internet marketer knows about the importance of creating content. Whether it’s creating content for their blog, or creating content in the form of articles to submit to article directories, or creating content by writing guest posts on other people’s blogs in the same marketplace – it’s all about creating content.

You’ve most likely even heard of the phrase “Content Is King”.

It’s common to see or hear people in forums talking about writing 5 articles daily and submitting them article directories to gain backlinks and exposure.

While that is easy to say (in terms of theory), the reality is that NOT everyone has the time to write 5 articles per day, and NOT everyone likes to write articles. Some people just plain do not like writing.

I’m one of them. However, even though I don’t like writing, I still do it on a CONSISTENT basis because I know every time I write and create new content, my exposure and backlinks are going to increase.

It takes time and effort to create content. Especially if you’re talking about GREAT content (NOT like those low quality content you find on article directories), it takes even longer to create because of the extra research and thoughts involved in creating it.

Instead of creating NEW content all the time, there is another SMARTER way – which is to recycle or repurpose EXISTING content so that you can SKIP the research and thoughts/ideas process that are involved in creating new content.

This will save you time and effort, which eventually are going to cost you money.

So what is this smarter way to recycle your content?

You see, when we think of content, we often think of it in terms of TEXT content. However, in today’s more interactive and demanding world, audios and videos are also a form of content that should not be underestimated.

You can turn your EXISTING written articles into an AUDIO recording using a free software like Audacity. You just need to read your article out loud using a microphone and then record your voice. Once you’ve converted it into an mp3 file, you can distribute it to your audience as a podcast.

You can also turn your EXISTING written content into a VIDEO training using Powerpoint AND a free video recording software like CamStudio.

Here’s what you can do to recycle your content

You take your article and extract the main points. Then create a Powerpoint presentation to cover these. Finally create a video where you go over the presentation and you have just created a video training.

(hint: use the phrase “video training” instead of just “video” – it’s just MORE enticing and powerful…)

In addition, when you convert your written articles into an audio or video format, the PERCEIVED value for your content increases as people tend to regard video as having a higher price tag than audio, and audio having a higher price tag than text.

Apart from that, you can also connect with your audience on a more personal and deeper level since they can now hear your voice. If you use a camera to shoot yourself in video, they’ll be able to see your face talking to the camera. This is something that written text alone can’t achieve.

Up to this point, we’ve been talking about converting written content to audio and video. What about the other way around? What about converting audio and video to written content?

Well, that can be done too.

You can have your audio transcribed and you have yourself a small report or a series of articles. You can also get your video transcribed, then you add in some images, and you have a report ready as well.

So the next time you want to create NEW content, remember that you can also REPURPOSE or RECYCLE existing content to create NEW content. If you can work SMARTER, you should.

By the Author:
Welly Mulia’s FREE Cheat Sheet “This Is How You REPLACE YOUR JOB On The Internet…” Is Finally Available For The Average Beginner. Click Here Now To INSTANTLY Claim Your FREE Cheat Sheet And Learn How To Make Money On The Internet.

Read original article here

How I Use Two Notepads To Write My Blog Posts

2011-11-19T17:22:00.000-08:00

"New handcrafted notepads" by Christian Sisson

There’s something to be said for writing blog posts with a pen and paper. But it’s not just about writing by hand. I’ve found that two notepads are better than one.

Here’s What I Do

I have one big notepad and one small notepad. Actually, I have many more than just these two, but for the purpose of this post, I only own two notepads.

The big notepad is where I tear off a page and draw a mind map. This is a great way to come up with lots of ideas for future blog posts.

I then use a second page in the big notepad and write a long list of post titles, using the ideas I sketched out in the mind map.

Many of the post titles will not see the light of day. The goal is to write as many titles as possible, and come up with some really good ones that I can then write.

I can now pick out one of the titles and take it to the small notepad. Writing the title at the top of the page, I can now write a short list of the points I’d like to cover in that post.

If all goes well, I can now start writing the post, or go onto the next post and plan that one too. On the other hand, if the points aren’t flowing very well, I can turn over and start a fresh page with a different post idea.

Why it Works

It may not sound particularly clever, but it does work.

I find that the separation between the big notepad and the small notepad allows me to use each one for a specific purpose. The big notepad has much more space for ideas, whereas the small notepad is good for planning a single post. If a post doesn’t go too well, I don’t end up feeling like I’ve wasted a lot of paper if I’m planning on the small notepad.

I could just type on the computer, but sometimes I need a break – and it’s good to write with a pen sometimes!

Discussion

Do you plan your posts? Do you ever grab a pen and paper or do you only write on the computer?

original article

Shortcomings of Duplicate Content

2011-11-19T17:11:00.000-08:00

As internet users, we all more or less go through the same problem of duplication of content. But before going any further let us first get acquainted with the word “duplicate content“.

When content is available word by word on more than one different URL then the content is considered to be duplicate content. The duplicate content is also termed when the same site have several copies of the same content on its different URLs.

Besides the word ‘duplication’ is also sometimes used when the search engines get confused between pages with same description when displaying search results.

Different popular search engines always discouraged the duplicate content because they want to give internet users unique results which will become food for their thoughts while eliminating same content available on different websites from their result pages.

Types of Duplicate Content

The issue of duplicate content is circulating among many internet users from quite some time which has created disturbance among many online peers. So it is a real dire need to settle down the dust of disturbance.

Basically there are many shortcomings of a duplicate content but here we will first dissect the types of duplicate content and then discuss the shortcomings of it.

One type is deceptive or malicious duplicate content and the other kind is non-deceptive or non-malicious duplicate content.

Shortcomings of Deceptive Duplicate Content

Deceptive duplicate content is categorized when the content is intentionally duplicated on various websites to manipulate the ranking categorized by search engines or to improve the page ranking of a particular site.

The shortcomings of this type of duplicate content and deceptive technique will ultimately cause the page ranking of the site to suffer or in severe cases the site might be entirely removed from the index of search engine.

Search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc absolutely discourage and hate the duplicated content. These search engines, mainly Google is totally aware of this technique and have implemented back end crawling tactics to dig out the sites involved in duplication of content.

Shortcomings of Non-Deceptive Duplicate Content

Non-deceptive duplicate content is considered by search engines when the same content is placed more then once in same site under various URLs.

For instance if any one of you have clothing business and the product red trouser is your newly added product or it’s the main item on your website then for sure you will place the same content about red trouser on your different pages. Google will instantly consider it as a duplicate content.

Even if you write copyright policy of 300 words at the end of every page then again it will be considered as a duplicate content because Google will see it as keywords stuffing on every single page. There are also some shortcomings of this type of duplicate content. When Google finds same content on same site it only choose one page of that site and discard the rest.

How to avoid Duplicate Content and its Shortcomings

Now as a matter of fact now there are many ways to avoid non-deceptive duplication of content to outrun from its shortcomings. You can block content of some pages of your website with ‘noindex’ meta tag or adding ‘robots.txt’ meta tag in the head section to stop the spiders of search engine to index that page.

But the best way to become Google friendly website is to use canonicalization. Canonicalization is used when there is more then one identical content on your website and you want to stop Google to consider it duplicate content then you pick a canonical URL (preferred URL) to consider for indexing.

On and off you should also check the content of your website for any replication. If you found yourself a victim and your content is theft and duplicated then you can report the matter to Google under their DMCA guidelines.

Besides this, there are also some disadvantages of Google’s policy of removing duplicated content which is hampering the page rank of many sites. But this topic is a subject of totally another topic which will be discussed afterwards.

Stephen Royce is a Wholesale expert and has a good understanding of supply chain management. He writes frequently for Wholesalers on topics related to blogging, internet marketing, Finance, ecommerce and dropshipping.

Read original article here

Google Changed Its Search Algorithm Again

2011-11-19T17:05:00.000-08:00

Google Changed Its Search Algorithm Againby Daniel Scocco

First of all keep in mind that when we talk about “changes in Google’s algorithm” we are talking about big ones, like the latest Panda update. Small changes are implemented almost daily and you never notice them.

So over the past weeks Google rolled out a new algorithm change. According to Danny Sullivan from Search Engine Land the main aspects affecting search rankings are:

Better “Official” Page Detection & Boosting: This means that official pages will now be detected more effectively and will also show up higher in search queries. For example, it will not be pretty much impossible to outrank an official brand with an affiliate website (in this past this could happen).

Image Search Loses A Ranking Signal: The ranking signal are references from different pages around the web. So even if multiple websites link to a certain image this won’t push its rankings up.

Fresher Results: Newer content will be pushed up no. Google said this change will affect around 35% of the search queries (which is quite a lot compared to previous algorithm changes).

Check the full article on Search Engine Land if you want to check all the changes. There were some design-related ones as well (e.g., related to snippets and page titles).

Taking a Break: Back on October 31st

2011-11-19T16:56:00.000-08:00

"Taking a break" by Crisologo

It’s important to know when it’s time to take a break from your blog. At Quick Blog Tips, that time has come. It’s the first official break I’ve taken from the blog since it started back in February 2011, although there have been weeks where I’ve published fewer posts than normal (and some weeks with 5 posts).

Write a Guest Post

If you’d like to submit a guest post to go up during this period, please use the “Contact” link at the top of the page. There’s no need to send a note asking if you can write a post – please just submit the post with your name and blog URL. If it’s a good post, I’ll be happy to publish it at Quick Blog Tips.

Staying in Touch

My next post will go out on Monday 31st October. To make sure you don’t miss it, here’s how you can stay in touch:

“Like” my Facebook page Add me on Google Plus Follow me on Twitter

You can also check out my other blogs:

TV in Quotes Spam Comment Ben Barden

And if you like, you can join my new blogging community – Floor15. I’ll still be active there during the break.

original article

Why Great Content Matters So Much

2011-11-19T16:46:00.000-08:00

Why Great Content Matters So Muchby Ali Luke

As bloggers, we’ve got an awful lot to think about: SEO (search engine optimization), widgets, plugins, stats, design, monetization … oh, and creating content.

It’s easy for content to slip to the end of the list. After all, checking your stats or installing a shiny new plugin often seems more fun than sitting down to write yet another blog post.

But content is crucial. However great your design is, however optimized your pages are, your content is what really pulls readers in – and keeps them coming back.

Here’s why it’s so important:

#1: Many readers won’t come to the blog itself. Anyone who’s a regular will probably subscribe by RSS or email. That means they won’t see the careful work you did on your sidebar or your header. They won’t even read the fantastic discussion that’s taking place in the comments. All they’ll have is the content – and that content has to be good enough to keep them subscribed.

#2: Great content gets linked to. Let’s face it, unless you’re in the design industry, no-one’s going to link to your blog to say “check out this great header!” They’re going to link to specific pieces of content – maybe pillar posts (also called “cornerstone content”) or a series.

#3: The content of your blog is what readers value (and what they’ll pay for). Sure, great design and useful plugins help to make your blog engaging and authoritative – but the reason readers stick around is because they’re enjoying the content itself. And that content can lead to an ebook, ecourse or even a membership site.

This week, try to create one great piece of content for your site. It’s better to blog once a week and produce something awesome than to churn out a mediocre post every day.

Do you agree that great content matters? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!

Ali Luke is a freelance writer and coach, offering a wide range of courses and services on Aliventures.com. She writers a weekly column about online content creation for DailyBlogTips.

How To: Maintain Traffic Without Posting New Content

2011-11-19T16:43:00.000-08:00

"Traffic light" by broodkast

One of the best ways to get more people to your blog is to keep posting new and insightful content. While I was having a 2 week break from posting at Quick Blog Tips, I came up with a few ways to stop my traffic from crashing. Here’s how you can do the same.

1. Number Your Posts

It sounds silly, and shows the completist in me. When I like a musician or band, I buy all of their studio albums and listen to them in order. In much the same way, I’ve been numbering my posts at Quick Blog Tips so you can see how many there have been.

To do this, you need to tag each post with a unique identifier – I’ve used qbt001, qbt002, qbt003 and so on. If you have a lot of posts, this will take a while.

You can then refer to your posts by their unique ID – and readers may go hunting for the next in the sequence, so they can read your blog in order. It’s a good way for new readers to find out when they started reading your blog, in terms of its chronology.

If you have a few posts that you don’t want to number, such as a post about a contest that’s no longer open, you can skip those posts and not use up any numbers on them. I’d be inclined to delete any posts that are no longer relevant, but that’s another post for another day.

2. Update Your Posts

When I start a blog, I usually focus on writing the content and I don’t worry too much about using images. Somewhere down the road, I start using images for some of my posts, before eventually using images for every post. And I put more effort into my posts once the blog has been around for a few months.

This means that my oldest posts are inconsistent in terms of layout, style and length when compared to my most recent posts. If the same is true for you, it’s a good idea to go back and update your oldest posts with images, or new text. You don’t have to do them all in one sitting. Just do the oldest ones first, as you’ll need them for the next step…

3. Showcase Each Post On Your Homepage

Once you’ve numbered and updated your posts, you can start showcasing your posts, one at a time, on your homepage. I find the best way to do this is to start with the very first post, and show a new post every day or two.

If you’re using the Genesis framework, install the “Genesis Featured Widget Amplified” plugin and you can feature posts based on their tags. This is why you gave every post a unique ID. However, with a lot of posts you may find that the list is very long, and it’d probably be better to grab the unique post ID instead. But as WordPress uses up post IDs with auto saves and revisions, your posts will not have IDs that run in sequence (1, 2, 3, 4, 5…) – there will be gaps. So unfortunately, it seems like using tags is the simplest way if you don’t want to go and hunt for the next post ID every time you need it.

4. Share Your Posts

When I share one of my old posts on Twitter, I don’t just include the title of the post and the URL – I also include a couple of hashtags. Like this:

Don’t Fall Victim to Comment Spam – Learn How to Identify It http://is.gd/UHmnYv #blogging #qbt019

Sharing the unique ID is not really necessary, but it does give dedicated followers a way to keep track of whether they might have seen the post before. One issue with plugins such as Tweet Old Post is that they randomly spit out posts that people may or may not have seen before. As time goes on, you may find that some posts have similar titles, and this makes it difficult for readers to determine if the post is new or not.

In reality, there’s not much benefit in including the unique ID unless people are expecting to see it. I think it’s a nice little extra for those who pay attention.

5. Keep it Flowing

Even while I’m not adding new content, I’ve been updating old posts and sharing them every couple of days at Quick Blog Tips. I’ve found this to be a great way to improve the overall quality of the blog, while drawing new readers to old posts and keeping things fresh without adding new posts. My stats have stayed relatively stable, with a couple of spikes.

And now, as I start putting up new posts, I’ll continue to showcase older posts – hopefully getting more readers to my blog overall.

Discussion

Have you ever showcased your oldest posts? How many of them would still be worth reading now? How else would you stop your traffic from crashing while you’re not writing new posts?

original article

Top 5 Tips to Build Blog Traffic

2011-11-19T16:31:00.000-08:00

"Traffic Bridge in Saskatoon" by Scott Prokop

A blog can be an excellent tool for creative expression or to help build your online business. However, even the most well-designed blogs can see a slump in traffic if they don’t build traffic correctly. To help drive quality traffic to your blog, take a look at these top 5 tips.

1. Update on a regular schedule.

Even if you provide quality content and promote yourself across the right channels, you have to update your blog regularly with fresh content or you’ll never see steady traffic. What defines “regularly” will depend on your subject matter, but in general, once a week is a good. When you post regularly, you’re more likely to turn one-time visitors into repeat customers, which is the key to building and maintaining any business.

2. Make your content interactive.

Your blog can become interactive just by adding photos, but you should also consider things like videos, tutorials, polls, checklists, and more. Interactive websites are among the most visited on the web, across all niches, and they are bookmarked and shared more often by visitors. This interactivity also makes visitors feel important and engaged in the business.

3. Keep things organized.

Use post categories and tags effectively so that users can find information in your archives easily. Between 5 and 7 tags is usually good for an individual post, and just one or two well-defined categories. Be specific. For example, a blog about food and cooking could be divided into such categories as “Breakfast Recipes,” “Restaurant Reviews,” “Ethnic Recipes,” and so on, while tags may be “recipes,” “breakfast,” “reviews,” “techniques,” etc.

4. Limit the number of ads.

Nothing screams “amateur” louder than a page crammed with ads. A few are fine, but make sure they don’t overpower your content. Don’t use glaringly-bright ads, those that play videos or audio or use Flash, that move, or those that may have inappropriate adult content. Even better, try to make your ads relevant to your blog’s subject. For example, the aforementioned food blog may place some sidebar ads for culinary schools, a restaurant you reviewed positively, or for deals on cooking tools.

5. Get involved with your audience.

This means that you should respond to comments, ask for reader recommendations, and comment on other blogs in your niche. Customers want to know that business owners care about them and are genuinely interested in them. Otherwise, you become another faceless corporate entity.

Use these tips and build traffic to your blog. Quality visitors and engagement don’t have to come from expensive paid ad campaigns, but from a little effort and ingenuity.

original article

Before You Take a Break, Here’s How to Prepare Your Blog

2011-11-19T16:22:00.000-08:00

"Feet on the Beach" by Brian Auer

Earlier this week, I listed several tips to help you hit the ground running when returning from a blogging break. This is a follow-up, but it’s actually what you should do before taking a break. So if you’re planning to take a break, make sure you read both posts.

1. Treat It As the End of a Phase

Readers need to be assured that this is not the end of your blog. Don’t let them think for a moment that you won’t be back. We all need a break sometimes. Look at what happens when a TV show goes off the air, then returns with a new season. Of course, every show ends eventually, but the end of a season is not always the end of the series.

2. Make a Final Post

It’s very important to explain that you’re taking a break, and why you feel it’s necessary. Be honest, and your readers will appreciate this. Also, set a date for your return. Even if you’re not sure when you’ll be back, it’s best to give a realistic estimate rather than saying you don’t know when you’ll be back – as this sounds like you’re not sure IF you’ll be back.

3. Decide When To Plan Your Return

Although taking a break means you should take the time to relax (or in my case, focusing on your work as that’s why I took the time off), don’t get too relaxed while you’re away. Remember that you’re coming back. Don’t lose sight of your goals for the blog, and don’t get too used to being away from it. If you feel like a weight has been lifted when you go away, and you also begin to dread the day when you come back, it’s a sign you need to shake things up a bit and make some changes for your return.

4. Promote Your Subscription Options

Don’t give readers the option to forget to check your blog when you come back. Subscribing to the blog feed or subscribing to your newsletter is a great way to allow readers to come back when you do. Encourage readers to use the subscription option so they don’t miss out on your big comeback.

5. Drop Some Hints

What’s going to happen when your blog reappears? Will it be the same old posts and the same old design? Wouldn’t you rather make an event of it, and make some improvements? You don’t have to give the game away – but you can drop a hint or two in the run-up to the comeback party. Don’t promise things you can’t deliver – but do get people interested in what’s coming when you return.

6. Always Stay Positive

This tip is so good, I had to mention it in both posts. Don’t leave your blog in a bad mood, where you say how you’re sick of blogging, but you’re going to come back anyway. The negativity may ring true for some of your readers, but ultimately, they won’t thank you for it if you’re going to bring everyone down with you. Stay positive and make your blog a great place to visit.

Discussion

Is there anything else you’d do before taking a break? Have you ever taken a break from your blog? How did you handle it?

original article

Some Tweeting “Secrets” to Maximize Your Online Profits

2011-11-19T16:15:00.000-08:00

Is there any secret strategy for productive use of twitter? Or it’s just different techniques and tricks that you can learn through experience?

Now-a-days twitter is considered to be one of the most popular social networks that can help you promote your website or Blog without spending anything (except of course, your time).

In this article, you will find some tips on how to effectively promote your business through Twitter?

Twitter

Twitter is a social networking website (AKA micro blogging platform) and people from all sorts of professions and fields use this platform to interact with each other. There are people who more taking full advantage of this platform but they’ll hardly share their “Secrets”.

But to be honest, there are no secret techniques. It is just common sense and smart use of the available options. On twitter, people are only looking for social interaction, so you cannot make any direct business offers, so those who log in to their twitter account and start promoting their businesses, it’s not going to work.

The secret is to not let your contacts know that you are there solely for the promotion of your business; just be natural and make friends and in the meanwhile let them know about your business gradually.

Customizing User Name & Real Name

Even before you make an account, think twice before choosing the user name. It should be short, memorable and relevant and should not be of more than 15 alphabets (your business name is not always the right choice). Instead, you can use names like: Stephen (marketing analyst), Stephen (tech blogger), and the likes.

Filling the Bio-Data

The space for bio data on the upper right corner of the twitter page is not to be filled with your childhood dreams but with the professional information. Almost 160 words characters are allowed and you should try your best to use all of your keywords and other business information in this description.

This information will let your profile appear in related searches and help those who are visiting your profile for the first time, to know about your business.

More than one Accounts?

At times, you can opt for maintaining more than one account for different markets, products, or services that you are dealing in. You can go for different categories that fit your business and create a separate account while targeting those categories. It is impossible for one person to maintain all of these accounts so hire some assistant to maintain all of these accounts (maintenance doesn’t mean tweeting some of your website link after every 15 minutes). You can also create a public twitter index page that can have links of all accounts and you can paste the index page link to your website, blog and other portals.

Customizing your Page

People on twitter are no longer attracted by simple default themes, you will need to customize your page and use customize theme to make it stand out. Your profile page needs to have its own personality, and you can achieve that by your display picture, background image and theme.

The balance between the Followers & Followings

Even though it is not some rule, but typically you need to have more followers than the number of people you are following. Because when the potential buyer sees that you are following thousands of people and only a couple of dozens are following your tweets, they will take it as a sign of little or no customer base, and it will prove to be detrimental for your credibility.

To get more followers, try to be interactive on twitter and use your Facebook page or Blog to entice people to follow you on twitter.

What to tweet?

Twitter is social networking website and you need to focus on nothing but interacting with people. Share your expertise, knowledge, industry news and express your thoughts on latest developments in your field.

Again, do not try to blatantly promote your business via every single tweet. Never do extensive marketing of your business, as it will be considered spam and you will lose all serious followers (if there are any).

Read original article here

Why You Should Write List Posts On Your Blog

2011-11-19T16:00:00.000-08:00

"to do list" by roboppy

A list post is a post that contains a list. Funny, that. List posts are great for a number of reasons. Here’s why you should write list posts on your blog.

1. List Posts are Easy to Plan

I plan my posts by writing the headers first, then writing the detail. This is even easier with a list post. If you can’t think of enough good items for your list, don’t write the post.

And once you’ve written the items for your list, most of the work is done. Just fill in the gaps and you have a complete post!

2. List Posts are Easy to Read

Reading a list post couldn’t be easier – it’s all nicely broken down for you. I’d much rather have a post split into sections than a big sprawling paragraph in the middle of a wall of text.

3. Commenting is Easy

A list post is one of the easiest posts to comment on: readers can suggest an addition to the list. When readers can easily come up with something to say in a comment, they’re more likely to have their say.

4. Thinking Outside the Box

Pushing yourself to think of more items to add to your list can result in a really great post. These are the things you might not think of when writing a non-list post. On the other hand, stretching your list to “just one more item” can make it feel like you’re scraping the bottom of the barrel. Don’t force the list to be longer than it needs to be.

5. The Well-Structured Post

Writing a list post forces you to split up your posts with paragraphs and headings. This makes the post easy to read (see #2). You can also use heading styles to optimise your blog for search engines.

6. The Shareability Factor

Want to write content that travels? There’s not much better than a list post. Well, except for a post that isn’t a list but that ticks all the other boxes in Ben’s Secret Formula for Writing an Awesome Post. Which, incidentally, is also a list. Well, it would be if I got around to writing it.

7. Future Reference

Once a reader has read your post, it’s easy for them to skim the list and get the info if they need it in future. Referring back to a series of lengthy paragraphs is a lot harder than skimming through a list to remind you of what was said.

Discussion

Do you write list posts? Do you find list posts easy to read?

original article

Google Adsense Account Disabled? What’re Your Alternatives?

2011-11-19T15:57:00.000-08:00

“While going through our records recently, we found that your AdSense account has posed a significant risk to our AdWords advertisers. Since keeping your account in our publisher network may financially damage our advertisers in the future, we’ve decided to disable your account.”

Ouch!! That hurts.

In fact, the no. of people receiving this dreaded letter is on the rise in the recent months. In most forums, there is a never ending discussion on why ‘my Google Adsense account is disabled‘, how to get it reinstated, and whatnot.

Are you experiencing the wrath of Google? Got your account disabled recently because, according to the email, it “has posed a significant risk to our Adwords advertisers?”

And you wondered why?

Here’s an on-going discussion of the top 30 reasons why your account is disabled. Are you guilty of any of those? Or you think the Big G with its “No evil” philosophy has done you an injustice?

“But it’s not my fault” I hear the usual denial.

Google doesn’t have to have a reason to ban you. And as much as you would like them to prove you did something wrong. They don’t have to do that either. While you’re given the option to appeal, it’s very unlikely that your account will ever be reinstated.

Go ahead and write your appeal. Your chances of reinstatement are slim to none.

Well, don’t cry over spoilt milk. It’s pointless. It’s pretty much final. But it isn’t the end of the world, given the fact that there are many other Google AdSense alternatives.

Sure, monetizing a blog with Adsense is by far the most popular choice for many – newbies or even seasoned bloggers. No doubt about it. As Google is controlling more than 75% of all search queries on the net, Adsense is still the best and most profitable CPC network if you know what you’re doing.

But when you lost it, it is really (I mean really real) tough to get back into the door as a Publisher but not impossible!*

So what are the alternatives to Google Adsense?

John from One Man’s Blog who made a decent income from Adsense shares the 8 best ways to earn money from Google Adsense alternatives that should give you a wide variety of alternatives to choose from.

If you want a simpler way to monetize your sites, try Query Ads. It claims to pay a minimum of .10 cent per click via paypal (with min. payout of $50). If you have a high quality site, with regular content updates, you can make money by displaying ads customized to match the content on your pages the way Adsense does.

Don’t be afraid of CPA too! If run properly, CPA campaigns can generate substantial income that could easily rival Google Adsense. Keep in mind that it’s not easy to accepted into CPA network as most networks are very selective of their publishers.

If you want to try CPA, two networks come to mind – Prosperent & CPALead. Both are great for either gray or white hat methods of monetizing search traffic. More importantly, approval is almost instant.

There you go. Possibly the best 10 Adsense alternatives for you to consider if your Adsense account were disabled by Google for all the wrong reasons or you want diversify for all the right reasons.

If you are a still Publisher, here’s the parting message. Don’t cross Google the wrong way. Don’t even try to outsmart it. It isn’t just worth it, especially if it’s your bread and butter. Best still, diversify. You can still make money without doing evil.

* Yes, there is a loophole on how to get back into the program which I hope I’m able to cover it in due course. So stay tuned and do subscribe if you have not already done so.

** Did you know that T3leads is one of the highest pay-per-lead program?

Read original article here

Dominate Google: 7 Steps to Keyword Research Success

2011-11-19T15:43:00.000-08:00

Dominate Google: 7 Steps to Keyword Research Successby Guest Author

This is a guest post by Tom Ewer. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

If you have a website, you should be doing keyword research. It’s that simple. Whilst you can produce a popular and successful website without considering keyword research or SEO, you will vastly improve your chances of success if you invite Google to the party.

If you haven’t previously done much keyword research (or even if you have), you may feel overwhelmed by its apparent complexity. But when first starting out, you can avoid that feeling by ignoring a lot of the so-called important datasets and focusing on just a few key variables.

Let’s push all of the complexities to one side and get started with some effective keyword research.

Step 1 – Stop Focusing on #1

I had a major mental block when I first started out with keyword research that took me a few months to overcome. I felt that if you couldn’t get to #1 in Google, there was no point in trying to rank at all. I was just plain wrong to think that.

If you rank anywhere from #1 to #10 for any worthwhile keyword, you will get traffic. The amount of traffic will be a percentage of the total number of searches, and that percentage will be affected in part by where you rank.

In reality, there are many factors that affect the click through rate – your ranking position is just one piece of the puzzle. More often than not, if you can get onto the first page of Google for a keyword, it is worth targeting.

Instead of focusing on reaching #1, consider your ranking efforts as an attempt to exceed the average. Treat the first page as a whole, rather than 10 different pages. I’ll explain the logic behind this shortly.

Step 2 – Collect Measureable Data

Whilst keyword research is often more of an art than a science, there are parts of it that you break down mathematically. So let’s do just that.

Say I was looking to rank for the keyword “freelance writing” (I have an interest in this keyword, as I am a freelance writer). There are some key pieces of information that I want:

PageRankDomain AgeNumber of links pointing to the pageNumber of domains linking to the pageNumber of links pointing to any page on the domainNumber of domains linking to any page on the domain

There are a number of ways in which you can get hold of this information. I personally use and recommend Market Samurai, but if that’s not your cup of tea, you can source the same link data with a free account at Majestic SEO. Alternatively, SEO Quake gives you a whole swathe of data that you can use for keyword research.

Step 3 – Exclude Huge/Brand Domains

Once you have collected your data, plug it all into a spreadsheet. If you are following my example, you should have something that looks like this:

Something should stick out like a sore thumb here – that’s right, the Wikipedia page. If we are going to take an average view of the competitiveness of a keyword, that one page is going to skew our numbers wildly. I want you to remove that from your dataset, so that your spreadsheet now looks like this:

You always should look to exclude any huge domains (such as Wikipedia) from your calculations. Additionally, be on the lookout for brand domains, which are given special treatment by Google. They should also be excluded – the inclusion of data from such sites will affect the usefulness of your results.

Of course, if your results are littered with huge and/or brand domains, you may wish to think twice about targeting the keyword!

Step 4 – Average Out Your Data

You now want to find the average for each of the datasets you have collected. In Excel you would use the formula ‘=AVERAGE(firstcell:lastcell)’.

For the purposes of ascertaining whether or not you should target the keyword, these are your numerical points of reference. You should now have a set of numbers that look something like this:

Step 5 – Analyze Your Data

Whilst PageRank and Domain Age feature as data sets, they are the least important factors. However, when you are presented with high numbers (as we are in this example), you should certainly take note. If you are a brand new site, attempting to rank amongst aged domains with high PageRanks is likely to be tough.

The rest of the data is what really interest us. What we will be mainly focusing on is the number of linking domains, rather than the number of backlinks. Google doesn’t get too excited by multiple links from the same domain – it much prefers to see multiple links from different domains.

So let’s assess the available data. According to the averages we have calculated, we will need to have approximately 8,000 domains linking to our site as whole, and some 3,000 domains linking to the specific page that we wish to rank for, in order to get onto the first page of Google.

At this point, you might say “wait a minute – the domain in 9th spot only has 983 domains linking to it – shouldn’t that be our start point?” There is an argument for that, but quite frankly, I don’t like it. If you see sites ranking well despite a relatively low number of backlinks, there is likely a special reason for it (for instance, Google loves sites with domain names that match the keyword). Don’t be fooled by potentially erroneous data – averaging out the figures is a far safer play.

Step 6 – Consider Onsite Optimization

There are a few different onsite factors you want to consider. Check to see if the keyword is featured in:

The URLThe titleThe header tagsThe meta descriptionThe content

You can do this manually, or use a tool such as Market Samurai, which will return you something looking like this:

How well optimized the pages are can have an impact on your analysis in Step 5. For instance, if the sites are not well-optimized for the keyword in question, you should be able to rank on the first page with less linking domains than the average.

Onsite optimization is a strong ranking factor. The better optimized your content, the higher your chances of ranking are. But please don’t take that as an excuse to use your keyword at every possible opportunity. Your content should still present “naturally” – do not resort to keyword stuffing.

Step 7 – Trial, Error & Experience

This is probably the most important step. Whilst you can read about how to carry out keyword research all day long, you will only ever truly advance your skills by practically executing the advice you have read.

This short guide serves as a good introduction to keyword research, but I’m only just scratching the surface (after all, I recently wrote a 9,000 word eBook on the topic!). In time and with experience, you will learn what works for you and what doesn’t.

Footnote – Search Engine Optimization

I have deliberately excluded any references to SEO up to this point. This is, after all, an article on keyword research, not SEO. But since the two topics are intrinsically linked, it would be remiss of me not to point you in the right direction.

Fortunately, Daniel has already done the hard work for me by listing the Top 25 SEO Blogs. My pick of the bunch, without hesitation, would be SEOmoz.

About the author: Tom Ewer builds both authority and niche websites, and recently released a free keyword research guide . Check it out!

How To: Maintain Traffic Without Posting New Content

2011-11-19T03:21:00.000-08:00

"Traffic light" by broodkast

1. Number Your Posts

To do this, you need to tag each post with a unique identifier – I’ve used qbt001, qbt002, qbt003 and so on. If you have a lot of posts, this will take a while.

2. Update Your Posts

3. Showcase Each Post On Your Homepage

4. Share Your Posts

When I share one of my old posts on Twitter, I don’t just include the title of the post and the URL – I also include a couple of hashtags. Like this:

Don’t Fall Victim to Comment Spam – Learn How to Identify It http://is.gd/UHmnYv #blogging #qbt019

In reality, there’s not much benefit in including the unique ID unless people are expecting to see it. I think it’s a nice little extra for those who pay attention.

5. Keep it Flowing

And now, as I start putting up new posts, I’ll continue to showcase older posts – hopefully getting more readers to my blog overall.

Discussion

Have you ever showcased your oldest posts? How many of them would still be worth reading now? How else would you stop your traffic from crashing while you’re not writing new posts?

original article

How I Use Two Notepads To Write My Blog Posts

2011-11-19T03:13:00.000-08:00

"New handcrafted notepads" by Christian Sisson

There’s something to be said for writing blog posts with a pen and paper. But it’s not just about writing by hand. I’ve found that two notepads are better than one.

Here’s What I Do

I have one big notepad and one small notepad. Actually, I have many more than just these two, but for the purpose of this post, I only own two notepads.

The big notepad is where I tear off a page and draw a mind map. This is a great way to come up with lots of ideas for future blog posts.

I then use a second page in the big notepad and write a long list of post titles, using the ideas I sketched out in the mind map.

Many of the post titles will not see the light of day. The goal is to write as many titles as possible, and come up with some really good ones that I can then write.

I can now pick out one of the titles and take it to the small notepad. Writing the title at the top of the page, I can now write a short list of the points I’d like to cover in that post.

Why it Works

It may not sound particularly clever, but it does work.

I could just type on the computer, but sometimes I need a break – and it’s good to write with a pen sometimes!

Discussion

Do you plan your posts? Do you ever grab a pen and paper or do you only write on the computer?

original article

What Makes Bloggers Disappear?

2011-11-19T03:09:00.001-08:00

"Les Disappears" by Dicko2007

I’ve been blogging since 2007. Since then, I’ve seen a lot of bloggers come and go. Often, there’s no announcement – the blogger just vanishes. What makes bloggers disappear?

1. Time

2. Money

3. Christmas/New Year

Christmas is often a time when blogs go quiet. So as the New Year approaches, people try and kick life into their blogs again.

But instead of coming up with achievable blogging resolutions, bloggers set their sights too high, or forget to set any goals whatsoever. Come February, they find themselves in need of a change.

4. Boredom

5. Realisation

You do have to face this issue, and it can be overcome – but setting up a blog does not guarantee anything. You have the opportunity to make it your own.

6. Lack of Focus

7. Lack of Topics

8. Lack of Comments

9. The Domino Effect

Discussion

Have you noticed other bloggers disappearing or quitting blogging? What makes people stop blogging? What might make you stop?

original article

5 Reasons Why You Should Plan Your Blog Posts

2011-11-19T03:09:00.000-08:00

"Blank Page" by Samyra Serin

Some posts are planned, others are spontaneous. These approaches can produce very different results. I think your posts will be a lot better if you plan them. Here are 5 reasons why.

1. Think of New Posts Faster.

2. Waste Less Time on Bad Posts.

3. A Solution for Good Posts You Can’t Write.

4. Write Better Post Titles.

5. Have Multiple Posts On the Go.

Follow-up

On Wednesday, I’ll be looking at the benefits of writing spontaneously. Make sure you don’t miss out – follow @quickblogtips on Twitter.

Discussion

Do you plan your posts? Do you find that a planned post comes out better than a spontaneous post?

original article

Taking a Break: Back on October 31st

2011-11-19T03:03:00.000-08:00

"Taking a break" by Crisologo

Write a Guest Post

Staying in Touch

My next post will go out on Monday 31st October. To make sure you don’t miss it, here’s how you can stay in touch:

“Like” my Facebook pageAdd me on Google PlusFollow me on Twitter

You can also check out my other blogs:

TV in QuotesSpam CommentBen Barden

And if you like, you can join my new blogging community – Floor15. I’ll still be active there during the break.

original article

Top 5 Tips to Build Blog Traffic

2011-11-19T02:54:00.000-08:00

"Traffic Bridge in Saskatoon" by Scott Prokop

1. Update on a regular schedule.

2. Make your content interactive.

3. Keep things organized.

4. Limit the number of ads.

5. Get involved with your audience.

Use these tips and build traffic to your blog. Quality visitors and engagement don’t have to come from expensive paid ad campaigns, but from a little effort and ingenuity.

original article

Shortcomings of Duplicate Content

2011-11-19T02:42:00.000-08:00

As internet users, we all more or less go through the same problem of duplication of content. But before going any further let us first get acquainted with the word “duplicate content“.

Besides the word ‘duplication’ is also sometimes used when the search engines get confused between pages with same description when displaying search results.

Types of Duplicate Content

Basically there are many shortcomings of a duplicate content but here we will first dissect the types of duplicate content and then discuss the shortcomings of it.

One type is deceptive or malicious duplicate content and the other kind is non-deceptive or non-malicious duplicate content.

Shortcomings of Deceptive Duplicate Content

Shortcomings of Non-Deceptive Duplicate Content

Non-deceptive duplicate content is considered by search engines when the same content is placed more then once in same site under various URLs.

How to avoid Duplicate Content and its Shortcomings

Read original article here

Some Tweeting “Secrets” to Maximize Your Online Profits

2011-11-19T02:36:00.000-08:00

Is there any secret strategy for productive use of twitter? Or it’s just different techniques and tricks that you can learn through experience?

Now-a-days twitter is considered to be one of the most popular social networks that can help you promote your website or Blog without spending anything (except of course, your time).

In this article, you will find some tips on how to effectively promote your business through Twitter?

Twitter

Customizing User Name & Real Name

Filling the Bio-Data

This information will let your profile appear in related searches and help those who are visiting your profile for the first time, to know about your business.

More than one Accounts?

Customizing your Page

The balance between the Followers & Followings

To get more followers, try to be interactive on twitter and use your Facebook page or Blog to entice people to follow you on twitter.

What to tweet?

Read original article here

Where There’s Traffic, There’s Hope

2011-11-19T02:30:00.000-08:00

Where There’s Traffic, There’s Hopeby Daniel Scocco

That all being said, traffic remains a very important metric online. It’s not more important than profits, but it probably comes in a close second place.

The reason is quite simple: unless you have people visiting your website you won’t be able to engage them, to spread your message, to gather feedback, to sell your products/services and so on.

In fact I both got burned and profited with this rule of thumb in the past.

So remember: where there’s traffic, there’s hope.

Google Changed Its Search Algorithm Again

2011-11-19T02:20:00.000-08:00

Google Changed Its Search Algorithm Againby Daniel Scocco

So over the past weeks Google rolled out a new algorithm change. According to Danny Sullivan from Search Engine Land the main aspects affecting search rankings are:

Image Search Loses A Ranking Signal: The ranking signal are references from different pages around the web. So even if multiple websites link to a certain image this won’t push its rankings up.

Fresher Results: Newer content will be pushed up no. Google said this change will affect around 35% of the search queries (which is quite a lot compared to previous algorithm changes).

Check the full article on Search Engine Land if you want to check all the changes. There were some design-related ones as well (e.g., related to snippets and page titles).

Dominate Google: 7 Steps to Keyword Research Success

2011-11-19T02:11:00.000-08:00

Dominate Google: 7 Steps to Keyword Research Successby Guest Author

This is a guest post by Tom Ewer. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

Let’s push all of the complexities to one side and get started with some effective keyword research.

Step 1 – Stop Focusing on #1

Step 2 – Collect Measureable Data

Whilst keyword research is often more of an art than a science, there are parts of it that you break down mathematically. So let’s do just that.

Say I was looking to rank for the keyword “freelance writing” (I have an interest in this keyword, as I am a freelance writer). There are some key pieces of information that I want:

PageRankDomain AgeNumber of links pointing to the pageNumber of domains linking to the pageNumber of links pointing to any page on the domainNumber of domains linking to any page on the domain

Step 3 – Exclude Huge/Brand Domains

Once you have collected your data, plug it all into a spreadsheet. If you are following my example, you should have something that looks like this:

Of course, if your results are littered with huge and/or brand domains, you may wish to think twice about targeting the keyword!

Step 4 – Average Out Your Data

You now want to find the average for each of the datasets you have collected. In Excel you would use the formula ‘=AVERAGE(firstcell:lastcell)’.

For the purposes of ascertaining whether or not you should target the keyword, these are your numerical points of reference. You should now have a set of numbers that look something like this:

Step 5 – Analyze Your Data

Step 6 – Consider Onsite Optimization

There are a few different onsite factors you want to consider. Check to see if the keyword is featured in:

The URLThe titleThe header tagsThe meta descriptionThe content

You can do this manually, or use a tool such as Market Samurai, which will return you something looking like this:

Step 7 – Trial, Error & Experience

Footnote – Search Engine Optimization

Fortunately, Daniel has already done the hard work for me by listing the Top 25 SEO Blogs. My pick of the bunch, without hesitation, would be SEOmoz.

About the author: Tom Ewer builds both authority and niche websites, and recently released a free keyword research guide . Check it out!

Why Great Content Matters So Much

2011-11-19T01:59:00.001-08:00

Why Great Content Matters So Muchby Ali Luke

As bloggers, we’ve got an awful lot to think about: SEO (search engine optimization), widgets, plugins, stats, design, monetization … oh, and creating content.

It’s easy for content to slip to the end of the list. After all, checking your stats or installing a shiny new plugin often seems more fun than sitting down to write yet another blog post.

But content is crucial. However great your design is, however optimized your pages are, your content is what really pulls readers in – and keeps them coming back.

Here’s why it’s so important:

This week, try to create one great piece of content for your site. It’s better to blog once a week and produce something awesome than to churn out a mediocre post every day.

Do you agree that great content matters? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!

Ali Luke is a freelance writer and coach, offering a wide range of courses and services on Aliventures.com. She writers a weekly column about online content creation for DailyBlogTips.

Introducing GadgetsForBlogger.com - A Searchable Directory of Gadgets for Blogger

2010-09-03T11:05:00.000-07:00

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post4533503220185586050..comments2009-09-30T14:08:31.770+01:00Comments on Blogger Buster: Introducing GadgetsForBlogger.com - A Searchable D...Amandanoreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-12292590808557632012009-09-30T14:08:31.770+01:002009-09-30T14:08:31.770+01:00Ya of course i agree with gadgets for bloggers. Aw...Ya of course i agree with gadgets for bloggers. Awesome presentation. Very useful information though. Thanks for the post.Altaxhttp://freephpcms.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-19647507646763409152009-09-09T18:19:23.797+01:002009-09-09T18:19:23.797+01:00Gadgets For Blogger is a another awesome site from...Gadgets For Blogger is a another awesome site from you.. great to see the network growing!

Thanks for the links :PAneeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04518363055297434057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-65799014268609662962009-09-07T09:43:37.908+01:002009-09-07T09:43:37.908+01:00Yes, it absolutely will be. Even if it's just to s...Yes, it absolutely will be. Even if it's just to see what's available and what you can actually do. It may just encourage more developers to develop gagets to showcase.The Belly Fat Busterhttp://iburnbellyfat.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-51763708044291443982009-09-02T12:10:17.622+01:002009-09-02T12:10:17.622+01:00You should check the Blogger/GFC help forums befor...You should check the Blogger/GFC help forums before you pick your featured gadgets:

"These gadgets are all of exceptional quality in terms of coding, appearance and usefulness."

The "Get Answers" gadget has different results on IE and FF and a couple of others have Blogger specific installation issues. These were reported directly to your friends at Blogger at the beginning of July, yet they are still there!!

The Google event gadget also has some issues and the screenshot/description that you got from the gadget is NOT accurate for the blogger version.SVBillabonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967620614882271927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-19631724671126025102009-08-31T12:17:37.912+01:002009-08-31T12:17:37.912+01:00I have been waiting a long time for something like...I have been waiting a long time for something like this! I have implemented a lot of things that you suggest into my ebook blog. Check it out http://omgebook.blogspot.com/

Thanks for all your great adviceKingDestroyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973896258399956841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-38337954198185088692009-08-31T08:56:09.393+01:002009-08-31T08:56:09.393+01:00I still have no idea how you figure out what the n...I still have no idea how you figure out what the new gadgets are, it is soo hard to figure out within the Blogger gadget gallery (any tips?).

You also need to keep track of the ones blogger deletes (ex. the GFC comments gadget has FINALLY been removed).SVBillabonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967620614882271927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-46836794329035411842009-08-29T18:25:34.600+01:002009-08-29T18:25:34.600+01:00Thank you amanda. I like all of your activity.aR...Thank you amanda. I like all of your activity.

aR
Bangla Hacksarhttp://banglahacks.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-81339827756215248812009-08-29T12:08:34.796+01:002009-08-29T12:08:34.796+01:00thanks http://maryjanemarkets.blogspot.com/thanks

http://maryjanemarkets.blogspot.com/mjs983http://www.blogger.com/profile/01069441423566884804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-29431082865357406782009-08-29T08:30:28.353+01:002009-08-29T08:30:28.353+01:00A very good idea. RegardsA very good idea. RegardsRa?l Monterohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16897348206307719957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-47476937789459861892009-08-29T07:21:55.565+01:002009-08-29T07:21:55.565+01:00I think the type information you have available sh...I think the type information you have available should be linked DIRECTLY into the Blogger gadget gallery. The ratings should be extractable so you can build a list of gadgets in order of feedback/ratings! Gadget developers also need one spot where they can get feedback and support their customers.

I wish Blogger would make a clear gadget support statement like you do!!SVBillabonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967620614882271927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-73691814303934443622009-08-29T03:25:00.452+01:002009-08-29T03:25:00.452+01:00Ey this is a nice post! I really hated Blogger bec...Ey this is a nice post! I really hated Blogger because of its limitations in customizations but this may finally change my mind!Reel Advicehttp://www.reeladvice.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-45490478512494184312009-08-29T02:04:49.480+01:002009-08-29T02:04:49.480+01:00Amanda, Good work. I'm sure you'll get it close to...Amanda, Good work. I'm sure you'll get it close to perfection.9uyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11012328555050586789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-296642185716991962009-08-29T01:47:02.611+01:002009-08-29T01:47:02.611+01:00I've just started playing around with Blogger and ...I've just started playing around with Blogger and I think this is not only a great resource but a much needed one.

Regards,

KarlKarlhttp://www.foxleymarketingsolutions.com/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-92039826805360039002009-08-29T01:19:14.836+01:002009-08-29T01:19:14.836+01:00Thanks for the suggestion, Rebecca. That would def...Thanks for the suggestion, Rebecca. That would definitely be possible :) I'll work on this tomorrow, and will make a link to the list from the main menu.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09275117357119687015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-62438796964831896352009-08-28T23:34:38.414+01:002009-08-28T23:34:38.414+01:00Thanks, it will be very usefullThanks, it will be very usefullDarkUFOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08464721245509617190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-29229524101746225442009-08-28T23:26:32.388+01:002009-08-28T23:26:32.388+01:00It would be nice to have a complete list of all th...It would be nice to have a complete list of all the gadgets on the site without having to look at all the previous entries, and maybe even have them listed by category.Rebeccahttp://myadventuresinhistory.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com

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Better Post Previews - See how your post will look to readers

2010-09-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post5938223665578291013..comments2010-07-10T07:04:01.344+01:00Comments on Blogger Buster: Better Post Previews - See how your post will look...Amandanoreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-38877456993513973152010-06-08T01:17:40.298+01:002010-06-08T01:17:40.298+01:00exellentexellentMatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06232508893884901957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-79447606382181049022010-05-31T12:10:50.805+01:002010-05-31T12:10:50.805+01:00this is awesome, thanks for this, it is so usefull...this is awesome, thanks for this, it is so usefull.Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14789594661768222909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-37978950492465389982010-05-30T05:33:18.428+01:002010-05-30T05:33:18.428+01:00Yeah, this is a really cool feature for Blogger th...Yeah, this is a really cool feature for Blogger thanks for sharing!DShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046990886420049776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-7396017194132884052010-05-22T05:56:47.159+01:002010-05-22T05:56:47.159+01:00I don't know about this a lot, but I think it's be...I don't know about this a lot, but I think it's better to test your new template on a dummy blog to see how it works.Reza Winandarhttp://www.bloggermakemoney.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-59561924283023925242010-05-21T20:41:42.951+01:002010-05-21T20:41:42.951+01:00I forgot to mention that Windows Livewriter is fre...I forgot to mention that Windows Livewriter is freeware. And it comes without any Microshaft tech problems that I've found. So if the new feature isn't working for you, you might give that program a try.TheLabRathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519299790907271971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-40704807635800809072010-05-20T18:12:31.421+01:002010-05-20T18:12:31.421+01:00Personally me I don't like Blogger. But it's true ...Personally me I don't like Blogger. But it's true and amazing - lot of nice blogs still use this platform.Real estate Montenegrohttp://www.8walls.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-46755787511612618102010-05-19T21:12:16.500+01:002010-05-19T21:12:16.500+01:00Hi Amanda.Wow- it looks nice around here!Have a...Hi Amanda.
Wow- it looks nice around here!

Have a great day!Harrietnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-5830725673438615502010-05-19T03:50:28.748+01:002010-05-19T03:50:28.748+01:00Awesome! This is just what I am wanting to have on...Awesome! This is just what I am wanting to have on my blog. It's kinda odd to publish a blog and doesn't have a clue what it would look like to your readers. I was even sending the link to my friends and ask them how it looks like. But with this, TWO THUMBS UP!Faith | UPrintinghttp://blog.uprinting.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-43942059714962374852010-05-19T01:48:23.320+01:002010-05-19T01:48:23.320+01:00Thanks you share :DThanks you share :DDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16077776570541044361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-16478745731362764462010-05-18T20:05:30.551+01:002010-05-18T20:05:30.551+01:00Actually I use template previews with the same aim...Actually I use template previews with the same aims. Just to see do the pics fit in the text well or not.
thanks for sharing your ideas.Kiev apartmentshttp://apartments.com.uanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-48577809231231470712010-05-18T13:39:55.178+01:002010-05-18T13:39:55.178+01:00Thanks for the heads up.Thanks for the heads up.Family Healthhttp://familyhealth365.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-31106172504042983292010-05-18T03:45:18.327+01:002010-05-18T03:45:18.327+01:00Thanks for the information! Was checking it out la...Thanks for the information! Was checking it out last night! Your absolutely right.. It's AWESOME! Finally, us, Bloggers can post at ease! Cheerz! :)Swayam Dashttp://swayamdas2010.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-34015720877269050602010-05-18T03:39:18.494+01:002010-05-18T03:39:18.494+01:00Good new. I am checking it out :)Good new. I am checking it out :)Hack Tutorshttp://www.hacktutors.infonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-24781920373120776692010-05-18T03:04:18.606+01:002010-05-18T03:04:18.606+01:00hey it is not showing for me..in the blogger..i'm ...hey it is not showing for me..in the blogger..i'm in the new updated editor..only..but still not coming...Vinod Kumar Tadiparthihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02475632181637701206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-33179847374955453662010-05-17T22:53:39.130+01:002010-05-17T22:53:39.130+01:00Saw it yesterday. Great!Can anyone tell me how t...Saw it yesterday. Great!
Can anyone tell me how to change the default font in my posts?
www.coldstreamau.blogspot.comMario "Coldstream" Galterihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02506924784208477160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-26564042451330541112010-05-17T22:06:36.368+01:002010-05-17T22:06:36.368+01:00I just noticed it this morning and I love it. I ag...I just noticed it this morning and I love it. I agree with you about how useful it is to see how photos look on a post before publishing, especially when I use more than one photo in a post.Jennifer Wagnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06172669729680090982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-54431302949322522492010-05-17T21:37:13.291+01:002010-05-17T21:37:13.291+01:00I've been using Windows Livewriter to post my blog...I've been using Windows Livewriter to post my blogs (which I haven't had a chance to update in eons) and have, therefore, had no problems with my post preview. Is see it how it will look on the post page. The only problem is that, as Anara noted, I don't see how the "read more" will look. This is why I keep a test blog that is identical to my real blog so I can double check the spacing of the read more paragraph breaks before committing a post to the real blog.

Still, I'm stoked that draft is adding this feature. My blog template is customized to holy heck and back but I realize most people's aren't and this will likely be very handy for them.TheLabRathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519299790907271971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-52507644380328456132010-05-17T19:45:57.829+01:002010-05-17T19:45:57.829+01:00I saw it and feel happy. This new feature is reall...I saw it and feel happy. This new feature is really helpful to view the preview.
I like to get your new blog design, but you are neglecting me. why?Mayahttp://netgator.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-4330197382195800962010-05-17T19:14:55.297+01:002010-05-17T19:14:55.297+01:00I would love to see how my "read more" looks to re...I would love to see how my "read more" looks to readers - that drives me nuts. I also have a problem with creating captions for pictures. I would make the text smaller and italicize,and after the first picture Blogger starts inserting extra close span code so that all the pictures appear on my condensed post. I stopped making captions because it was too time intensive to clean this up. The screw up also does not appear in my preview, so I no longer felt comfortable scheduling a picture/caption intensive post in advance. If I missed one extra piece of code than it was really making by blog look sloppy. Kind of a pain!Anarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143809735962301731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-7759396741965055972010-05-17T18:00:10.460+01:002010-05-17T18:00:10.460+01:00It doesn't display a "jump break" if you use one. ...It doesn't display a "jump break" if you use one. On the other hand when I tested this I did notice that the break no longer appears AFTER "LinkWithin" which was why I hadn't been using this long awaited feature.West Wight Sanghahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12100145053628113280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-30900414816113734502010-05-17T17:20:07.445+01:002010-05-17T17:20:07.445+01:00Thanks for the heads-up, Amanda. I haven't tried ...Thanks for the heads-up, Amanda. I haven't tried it yet, but will look for this improved feature.Lynda Lehmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10914824862008453219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-67351012735133356722010-05-17T17:01:09.193+01:002010-05-17T17:01:09.193+01:00My favorite of all my blogs is still at Blogger. I...My favorite of all my blogs is still at Blogger. I love the simplicity of Blogger, even though I know the rest of the writing world is just wild over Wordpress. I'm one of those writers/readers who believes 'content is king'. I can look past the minimalist look of a page and find the meat of the matter. I'm very excited about this new development. I haven't used it yet, but I'm definitely going to check it out. Thanks for the heads up.Trina L. Granthttp://www.destinationfreelance.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-81456988614924720312010-05-17T14:37:19.141+01:002010-05-17T14:37:19.141+01:00Ceci est très utile et évite de republier plusieur...Ceci est très utile et évite de republier plusieurs fois le même post Très bien merci!!!!!Sonieta ladeloslibroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13557529342077659750noreply@blogger.com

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Nexus 5 - A New Blogger Template for Free Download

2010-08-15T02:15:00.000-07:00

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post4985903470739271708..comments2010-08-11T16:43:54.939+01:00Comments on Blogger Buster: Nexus 5 - A New Blogger Template for Free Download...Amandanoreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-25729893987849138552010-05-21T03:15:31.070+01:002010-05-21T03:15:31.070+01:00Hello, my featured article is not displayed I do n...Hello, my featured article is not displayed I do not know what I did wrong. I did put Featured in the lable, but still it is not appearing in the featured section.Nor Farhanah Hj Sulaimanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12995825218289851018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-67355243205513348832010-05-19T15:00:47.974+01:002010-05-19T15:00:47.974+01:00Thank you for this great resources. I love it very...Thank you for this great resources. I love it very much.Budihttp://www.ldii-sidoarjo.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-2553292038920294842010-03-05T23:43:30.081Z2010-03-05T23:43:30.081ZCan't download it... I press the Download button a...Can't download it... I press the Download button and this shows up:

Not Found

The requested URL /files/Nexus5.zip was not found on this server.JBanthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17536223635695673046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-19646094730246038042010-02-05T06:12:04.852Z2010-02-05T06:12:04.852ZAmanda I am having an issue using the blogger "p...Amanda

I am having an issue using the blogger "pages" with this theme when using the nav bar at the top. The "continue reading" does not bring you anywhere.

http://familyhistorytracing.blogspot.com

Its still a work in progress but if you click on wills you can see what I am talking about. I only know the very basics of setting these up so.

thanks

daveDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182089182703721118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-27409457454372407132010-02-05T03:51:20.867Z2010-02-05T03:51:20.867Zany updates on side barany updates on side barDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182089182703721118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-72916967516127772922010-01-16T04:19:16.760Z2010-01-16T04:19:16.760ZAny news on the sidebar?Any news on the sidebar?Yvettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13583511281285538799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-60004391309944586562010-01-15T17:50:06.148Z2010-01-15T17:50:06.148ZI liked the posting & think that it will be helpfu...I liked the posting & think that it will be helpful for others. Keep up the good work. Good luck.

Web RoyaltyNick Matyashttp://www.webroyalty.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-83380285183654537582009-12-29T09:02:59.107Z2009-12-29T09:02:59.107ZAmanda, please help me. I downloaded this template...Amanda, please help me. I downloaded this template, but its only workable when i set the privacy settings of my blog to "authors only"

When its on public, the boxes get jumbled together and the wordings are slided to the right side and out of the template altogether.

How do i fix this?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-61485105338287664112009-11-17T21:56:33.498Z2009-11-17T21:56:33.498ZThanks for the light and stylish temlate! This is ...Thanks for the light and stylish temlate! This is my first on to install on blogspot!
For some reason the feature article thing does not work. I do use the tag Featured in my new post - no luck, the feild Featured article stays emptydvolshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01036748576166637001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-39428463497779469452009-11-14T17:55:40.334Z2009-11-14T17:55:40.334ZI am having trouble editing the nav bar and adding...I am having trouble editing the nav bar and adding my links. Any suggestions?Jennifer Mitchell Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13142724428354556594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-46299971854191295812009-11-11T07:24:16.633Z2009-11-11T07:24:16.633ZAwesome template, and very easy to modify.I am u...Awesome template, and very easy to modify.

I am using it but I have two problems. One, The image in the featured article doesn't show, just the place holder. Two, the social widget doesn't show any icons. Help.

Other than that, I love it! Can't wait until the 2 column version.Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15066392534689526600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-5759173643466402842009-11-10T20:32:42.360Z2009-11-10T20:32:42.360ZAny news on the sidebar version?Any news on the sidebar version?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-46051149301962982782009-10-21T23:47:29.132+01:002009-10-21T23:47:29.132+01:00Solved one problem: you have to have at least one ...Solved one problem: you have to have at least one post labeled "Featured" for the content to display properly. Images are still squished, probably because of:

script type='text/javascript'>var thumbnail_mode = "no-float" ;
summary_noimg = 430;
summary_img = 340;
img_thumb_height = 100;
img_thumb_width = 120;
/script

I can change the height and width, but nothing will keep the images in proportion. If I remove either value, the summary shows the entire post.

Also, is there any way for the summaries to respect line breaks? They look weird when lines run on the way the currently do.

Thanks again.Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05686465069530291040noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-88743444215847026282009-10-21T23:03:22.862+01:002009-10-21T23:03:22.862+01:00Thanks for the template, but I am having issues wi...Thanks for the template, but I am having issues with it. Despite following the instructions to the letter, it only bears a superficial resemblance to your demo: images are stretched, items are placed too far to the right, and the page is not split into sections, it's all one big white content section. I've bee trying it on my test blog http://iwilldeleteitsoon.blogspot.com/, and would appreciate it if you could tell me if I've done something wrong.

Thank you.Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05686465069530291040noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-47984784522787516312009-10-16T20:11:23.502+01:002009-10-16T20:11:23.502+01:00Hi Amanda,I LOVELOVELOVE this template. But does ...Hi Amanda,
I LOVELOVELOVE this template. But does every post need to be summarized? Is there a way I can have only select (lengthier) posts summarized, and the others just show up in full?

Thanks,
Amanda Diaz7772http://www.blogger.com/profile/05129986276311610970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-48746013899533918652009-10-11T19:59:36.659+01:002009-10-11T19:59:36.659+01:00Great template, thank you so much! I just have pro...Great template, thank you so much! I just have problems with the "Featured Article". The article doesn't appear in the section, even though I applied the right label. What could have gone wrong?brinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06994286291815405999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-87436169843352952122009-10-11T03:25:59.417+01:002009-10-11T03:25:59.417+01:00Hi there Amanda,I always love stopping by and se...Hi there Amanda,

I always love stopping by and seeing what new things you have to share! Thank you so much for all the work you do and for sharing all your wisdom with us so freely! :-) You're a blessing!

One question, how do I move the Nav Bar down a bit? I have a design on top on my page and would like the NavBar to be a bit lower.

It's on my Test Blog. Here's the URL http://testblog7ss.blogspot.com so you can see how far down I would need to move it. Any other suggestions you might have are welcome.

Bless you & thanks again!
SunnyJesusRulzMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674475342718080024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-2833432843858437522009-10-08T21:21:50.449+01:002009-10-08T21:21:50.449+01:00This is great!!! for some reason I can not get the...This is great!!! for some reason I can not get the Featured feature to work any thoughts?
Thanks.ROHOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07221152207184160813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-20881833779841289782009-10-04T20:03:20.797+01:002009-10-04T20:03:20.797+01:00It does n't support Blogger Avatars! :(It does n't support Blogger Avatars! :(-????ku-http://www.blogger.com/profile/05836959714501118882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-63093653799663007662009-10-02T00:50:15.058+01:002009-10-02T00:50:15.058+01:00thanks for Nice template http://firyfriends.blog...thanks for Nice template

http://firyfriends.blogspot.comJoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17506172958915369997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-71261315512785238182009-09-30T16:25:57.321+01:002009-09-30T16:25:57.321+01:00why just using CSS 3, how about HTML 5 ?why just using CSS 3, how about HTML 5 ?choenhttp://deconstructioncode.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-4456106302605169062009-09-24T01:09:24.521+01:002009-09-24T01:09:24.521+01:00I wait anxiously this template whit sidebar. =DI wait anxiously this template whit sidebar. =DFabriziohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07983351887219462408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-51049236829210980242009-09-20T14:20:54.061+01:002009-09-20T14:20:54.061+01:00Amanda,For some reason, I having quite the diffi...Amanda,

For some reason, I having quite the difficult time posting comments today...

Anyway, any word on when the sidebar version is going to be available?

And thanks for all the hard work you do!

JoeJudokaJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17534444097187212444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-79047360676044856162009-09-16T16:11:09.041+01:002009-09-16T16:11:09.041+01:00Excellent.This sets the standard for future blog...Excellent.

This sets the standard for future blogger template design.Miguelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13587715294605375659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-75433633560096001062009-09-13T21:50:00.799+01:002009-09-13T21:50:00.799+01:00new breakthroughs,thanks.new breakthroughs,
thanks.Sennonoreply@blogger.com

View the original article here

How to Create a Sitemap with Google Feed Control

2010-08-15T01:46:00.001-07:00

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post3098875782713387576..comments2010-08-06T19:32:42.068+01:00Comments on Blogger Buster: How to Create a Sitemap with Google Feed ControlAmandanoreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-52599186520363192392010-03-08T14:58:06.057Z2010-03-08T14:58:06.057ZReally excellent, thank you!I have a question, i...Really excellent, thank you!

I have a question, is there some way how to display the post titles in reversed order (from earliest to the latest)?Juananoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-57988829503008882412010-03-05T17:07:44.807Z2010-03-05T17:07:44.807Zi saw that staff while editing essays, thats a ver...i saw that staff while editing essays, thats a very interesting thing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-32896731051466796582010-01-25T19:18:27.432Z2010-01-25T19:18:27.432ZGreat post.. Nice tip.. I was needing a sitemap to...Great post.. Nice tip.. I was needing a sitemap tooJohn Paul Aguiarhttp://www.johnpaulaguiar.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-39692230967928203522010-01-17T15:07:17.615Z2010-01-17T15:07:17.615ZHi,Though, this comment does not apply to this p...Hi,

Though, this comment does not apply to this post, I however have a question.

I am looking at having a different backgroud image for each post(only in the POST area and not page).
is it possible to achieve this?Pensivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556982874502232901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-51272983308520148982009-12-12T12:53:50.127Z2009-12-12T12:53:50.127ZThanx for this very useful tips.but its work only ...Thanx for this very useful tips.but its work only limited feed.alternately you can use webmaster.Adsense Tipshttp://adsensetippsandtricks.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-47725639479140694612009-12-09T05:23:16.606Z2009-12-09T05:23:16.606ZThank you so much for your article, Amanda! It giv...Thank you so much for your article, Amanda! It gives me enough hint to overcome my 25-post limit in my Neo Template, after many hours of searching and trying in frustration!

??ng k?
nh?n bài

You are so benevolent!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-62654436048904888922009-11-03T10:06:29.081Z2009-11-03T10:06:29.081Zhi amanda,can we put the url of the individual b...hi amanda,

can we put the url of the individual blog posts instead of label url ??

I actually have my business website made out of blogger and there aren't many pages to be classified into labels.

www.MultiProducts.inMustafahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05045904254131068915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-25934685221629900602009-09-19T17:16:56.916+01:002009-09-19T17:16:56.916+01:00Thank's for your infoThank's for your infotedyhttp://101info.co.ccnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-33802328656668021142009-09-17T09:01:46.428+01:002009-09-17T09:01:46.428+01:00i use rss and atom feed for google webmaster sitem...i use rss and atom feed for google webmaster sitemapt4-trixhttp://t4-trix.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-87610880231776853192009-09-13T01:49:31.064+01:002009-09-13T01:49:31.064+01:00U miss the "default" in this pharase...http://yo...U miss the "default" in this pharase...

http://your-blog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/-/LABEL-NAME [u missed the"default"]

please correct it... it's not working...

it should be:
http://your-blog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/-/LABEL-NAME

note: this error under:
Your label feed URLs will be something like this: < in your post.

I think I guess correctly..

http://man-sur.blogspot.comblog-gempaqhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17878340569887898082noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-56200276383156146952009-09-08T11:50:59.787+01:002009-09-08T11:50:59.787+01:00Im not sure, if this is recommended to be used on ...Im not sure, if this is recommended to be used on blogger. Blogger do automatically sitemap and not need to submit anything.Klodianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00887079560452344680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-76434823886593918702009-09-07T17:35:27.702+01:002009-09-07T17:35:27.702+01:00Walah ga mudeng mba Amanda..!!!………………….._,,-~’’’...Walah ga mudeng mba Amanda..!!!

………………….._,,-~’’’¯¯¯’’~-,,
………………..,-‘’ ; ; ;_,,---,,_ ; ;’’-,…………………………….._,,,---,,_
……………….,’ ; ; ;,-‘ , , , , , ‘-, ; ;’-,,,,---~~’’’’’’~--,,,_…..,,-~’’ ; ; ; ;__;’-,
……………….| ; ; ;,’ , , , _,,-~’’ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ¯’’~’-,,_ ,,-~’’ , , ‘, ;’,
……………….’, ; ; ‘-, ,-~’’ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;’’-, , , , , ,’ ; |
…………………’, ; ;,’’ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;’-, , ,-‘ ;,-‘
………………….,’-‘ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;’’-‘ ;,,-‘
………………..,’ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;__ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ‘-,’
………………,-‘ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;,-‘’¯: : ’’-, ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; _ ; ; ; ; ;’,
……………..,’ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;| : : : : : ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ,-‘’¯: ¯’’-, ; ; ;’,
…………….,’ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ‘-,_: : _,-‘ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; | : : : : : ; ; ; .|
……………,’ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ¯¯ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;’-,,_ : :,-‘ ; ; ;|
…………..,-‘ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ,,-~’’ , , , , ,,,-~~-, , , , _ ; ; ;¯; ; ; ; ; ;|
..…………,-‘ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;,’ , , , , , , ,( : : : : , , , ,’’-, ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;|
……….,-‘ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;’, , , , , , , , ,’~---~’’ , , , , , ,’ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;’,
…….,-‘’ ; _, ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ‘’~-,,,,--~~’’’¯’’’~-,,_ , ,_,-‘ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ‘,
….,-‘’-~’’,-‘ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; | ; ; | . . . . . . ,’; ,’’¯ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ,_ ; ‘-,
……….,’ ; ;,-, ; ;, ; ; ;, ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ‘, ; ;’, . . . . THAT'S JUST WRONG---‘’’
………,’-~’ ,-‘-~’’ ‘, ,-‘ ‘, ,,- ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ‘, ; ; ‘~-,,,-‘’ ; ,’ ; ; ; ; ‘, ;,-‘’ ; ‘, ,-‘,
……….,-‘’ ; ; ; ; ; ‘’ ; ; ;’’ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ‘’-,,_ ; ; ; _,-‘ ; ; ; ; ; ;’-‘’ ; ; ; ‘’ ; ;’-,
……..,-‘ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;¯¯’’¯ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; , ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;’’-,
……,-‘ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ,, ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; |, ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ‘-,
…..,’ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;,’ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;|..’-,_ ; ; ; , ; ; ; ; ; ‘,Rembahttp://kelincex.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-60400205530310090542009-09-07T17:05:50.372+01:002009-09-07T17:05:50.372+01:00Nice Script and thanks for sharing. I got this fro...Nice Script and thanks for sharing. I got this from a friend via a link in an e-mailwebdesignhttp://www.soft-media.dknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-59625383778208095912009-09-07T15:50:35.186+01:002009-09-07T15:50:35.186+01:00Update: for some reason display:none works for .gf...Update: for some reason display:none works for .gf-snippet but not for .gf-author -- is .gf-author the correct name for the class?mattandelizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13088817837502449605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-47480339604044249412009-09-07T15:39:56.868+01:002009-09-07T15:39:56.868+01:00I'm trying Amanda's version because I want a targe...I'm trying Amanda's version because I want a targeted map of just a few of my labels. Several troubleshooting issues:

1)I edited style in my Blogger layout. .gf-title seems to control the format for the title of each post. What's the code to edit style for each LABEL title?

2) I had the same trouble as Richard -- the "supress" coding isn't working. I also tried display:none for author names in my Blogger layout and that didn't work either.

3)There are a lot of blank lines at the beginning of the post that I don't seem to be able to get rid of.

My trial post is here:

http://thenaturalcapital.blogspot.com/2008/12/index-posts-about-animals-on-natural.htmlmattandelizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13088817837502449605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-42416633130318386522009-09-06T20:43:57.424+01:002009-09-06T20:43:57.424+01:00Hiya,This is great! I'm using this in the sideba...Hiya,

This is great! I'm using this in the sidebar to list my previous posts, sorted by label (see Mind Over Matter). I have one question: how do I hide the snippet, author and published date?PseudoRandomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993144590186704387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-40024425368338171062009-09-05T03:34:13.470+01:002009-09-05T03:34:13.470+01:00Sir....Can i create a sitemap for blogger blog?Sir....

Can i create a sitemap for blogger blog?Vineethhttp://www.newclassifieds4u.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-87998106937050363242009-09-04T14:58:32.827+01:002009-09-04T14:58:32.827+01:00Hello Amanda,Thanks a lot.works very well. ...Hello Amanda,

Thanks a lot.works very well.
click here.
wait a moment..My Best Choiceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03754014038867909838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-28976448740303626132009-09-04T01:54:43.993+01:002009-09-04T01:54:43.993+01:00Me again from last question (sorry, I misspelt the...Me again from last question (sorry, I misspelt the word TITLE): h

How to make thumbnail of first image in post display in this feed? I already use the endgageteer one, but it displays only 25 posts max ...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-59014437273298859712009-09-04T01:49:14.111+01:002009-09-04T01:49:14.111+01:00Great tutorial: one question - how to make the tit...Great tutorial: one question - how to make the titel of each category BOLD to make them stand out from the list of posts?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-58587947978686370232009-09-03T23:49:10.717+01:002009-09-03T23:49:10.717+01:00Hello Amanda,Do you put this sitemap in your das...Hello Amanda,

Do you put this sitemap in your dashbord of Google webmaster' s tool?A GOOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00197119161829020931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-61663184048710397532009-09-03T11:21:17.925+01:002009-09-03T11:21:17.925+01:00Hi Amanda! A very big thank you to you and Abu Far...Hi Amanda! A very big thank you to you and Abu Farhan for this. Loads fast, works great and very professional. A nice touch to my blog! Something I have been looking for, for sometime now!

Take Care,
PeterPeterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12097919387041286154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-51602922693120362462009-09-03T10:04:42.091+01:002009-09-03T10:04:42.091+01:00To: Raghu (aka Salvatore) Yes. I used the 'Dynamic...To: Raghu (aka Salvatore) Yes. I used the 'Dynamic Feed Control' (Google) within the first sidebar on the item page. See:

http://blog.cidec.ch/2009/08/mitarbeit-in-google-gruppen.html

http://googleajaxsearchapi.blogspot.com/2007/10/ajax-feed-api-addition-dynamic-feed.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-40659421027649990652009-09-03T07:27:10.330+01:002009-09-03T07:27:10.330+01:00Abu Farhan is a great blogger from Indonesia and m...Abu Farhan is a great blogger from Indonesia and me too!And you are a great blogger too! Thanks for tutorial and let me do this!Reza Winandarhttp://www.bloggermakemoney.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-53681227098653929012009-09-03T04:58:37.403+01:002009-09-03T04:58:37.403+01:00Used Abu Farhan's method to get a really great tab...Used Abu Farhan's method to get a really great table of contents going. It was super easy to install. Just pasted the two lines of code into an empty post (Edit HTML section), backdated it and then published it and ... that's it. It works.

I have 200+ posts and 16 labels and it doesn't take too terribly long for that page to load.

If you wanna have a look for yourself you can click here.Brad Farlesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07631055865439844292noreply@blogger.com

View the original article here

101 Awesome Free Blogger Templates.

2010-08-12T08:10:00.001-07:00

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post3101433556676993735..comments2010-08-01T04:31:33.556+01:00Comments on Blogger Buster: 101 Awesome Free Blogger Templates.Amandanoreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-16066459946666149462010-06-09T05:51:55.675+01:002010-06-09T05:51:55.675+01:00Really a great collections of Blogger TemplatesReally a great collections of Blogger Templatesthapasagarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14351398458774712194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-54705493080891907012010-05-31T08:06:13.927+01:002010-05-31T08:06:13.927+01:00What a gorgeous collection!Blog Templates DesignWhat a gorgeous collection!
Blog Templates DesignAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-14290876350876675172010-05-29T11:04:25.924+01:002010-05-29T11:04:25.924+01:00I use the Flower Garden template on my blog, and I...I use the Flower Garden template on my blog, and I love it! ^_^ Several people have said my blog looks very professional, and I have to give credit to the template. It looks great!

http://funmoneygames.blogspot.comMirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327896811175406788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-58710805340645283552010-05-15T12:31:28.899+01:002010-05-15T12:31:28.899+01:00Hi, thanks for sharing its very nice. i like so mu...Hi, thanks for sharing its very nice. i like so much!...:)
Regards
www.itemplatez.com daveskarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09343939346824342772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-54690541905713622792010-05-14T19:05:35.020+01:002010-05-14T19:05:35.020+01:00This collection is superb. I really like gamezine ...This collection is superb. I really like gamezine for instance. I'll add it to my templates site to portuguese speakers if you don't mind.templates gratishttp://www.templatesgratis.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-67984356301938088122010-04-26T01:40:09.885+01:002010-04-26T01:40:09.885+01:00Here is 50+ New blogger Template With New Author;h...Here is 50+ New blogger Template With New Author;http://vkbhardwaj.blogspot.com/search/label/My%20%20Blogger%20TemplateVKBhardwajhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09282442026457814482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-6513929685283305102010-04-20T04:16:59.841+01:002010-04-20T04:16:59.841+01:00Nice & cool!Nice & cool!fotosCRhttp://fotos.xo.crnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-22387626703638272432010-03-28T23:45:09.807+01:002010-03-28T23:45:09.807+01:00I like that you think. Thank you for share very mu...I like that you think. Thank you for share very much.KINGRPGhttp://www.kingrpg.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-83003527309416885952010-03-19T04:08:17.799Z2010-03-19T04:08:17.799ZWhat a huge collections of templates. I wish one d...What a huge collections of templates. I wish one day I could use one your template for my new blog.
I'm going to bookmark this one.

If you have time, visit my blog Latest Technology News,

Nice Share

thanks!Latest Technology Newshttp://www.technotrixs.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-79113937160394576492010-03-18T13:00:23.304Z2010-03-18T13:00:23.304ZThanks nice template good collectionThanks nice template
good collectionchrishttp://cintatips.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-43278424481245035482010-03-08T01:05:03.376Z2010-03-08T01:05:03.376ZHi there-I am using the Garden Rs one (near the bo...Hi there-I am using the Garden Rs one (near the bottom of the page with the pic of dog)and everything works great with the exception that whoever created it wrote it as "Reed More" instead of "Read More" Can somebody out there please help me figure out how to correct it? It would mean so much to me! Help!!!Jennifer Robin Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18238186904917101769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-69662254642115373402010-03-04T06:52:16.312Z2010-03-04T06:52:16.312ZVery Good! Thank you very much for all the templat...Very Good! Thank you very much for all the templates you share for us. I really love it. I was hoping to use your templates to the following blog I own below.

Watch Free Tv shows Online
Latest Technology NewsNenethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444720600003283045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-40009947806657699192010-02-08T03:06:45.321Z2010-02-08T03:06:45.321ZWow.........beautiful collections, you are great. ...Wow.........beautiful collections, you are great. What about the church theme.R Khttp://www.topsol.co.ccnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-70945976006349478262010-02-01T06:54:33.401Z2010-02-01T06:54:33.401ZVery beautiful collections!!!!!!!!!!!!Very beautiful collections!!!!!!!!!!!!rajkumarhttp://elixirofknowledge.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-23714156465870347032010-01-03T12:53:58.531Z2010-01-03T12:53:58.531Zvery nice collectionvery nice collectionSajalhttp://vedicmathsblog.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-40212243884815069472009-12-31T11:00:24.766Z2009-12-31T11:00:24.766Zthe best templated ever..however, i cant get them...the best templated ever..
however, i cant get them to my blog. can u help me out?
i get a message:

Please correct the error below, and submit your template again.
Your template could not be parsed as it is not well-formed. Please make sure all XML elements are closed properly.
XML error message: Content is not allowed in prolog.

Pls help me: priyaaa15@gmail.com_Priya Raj_http://www.blogger.com/profile/00721974909415725678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-36200727412560758352009-11-26T19:44:13.374Z2009-11-26T19:44:13.374ZAwesome collection of templates here. Thank you ag...Awesome collection of templates here. Thank you again.

Regards,
David
Malaysia AsiaDavid Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00891446281572407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-19410752689149260562009-11-13T19:42:14.651Z2009-11-13T19:42:14.651ZAwesome collection! Thanks for this.Awesome collection! Thanks for this.David Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00891446281572407445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-62700274089274827802009-11-12T08:35:31.626Z2009-11-12T08:35:31.626ZGreat Collection of Templates! But i am unable to...Great Collection of Templates!
But i am unable to find my casino theme template.

Casino Slots GamesANDYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759382373202665805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-61825427652372097922009-11-09T07:53:42.471Z2009-11-09T07:53:42.471ZYou have a lot of great templates here, I like how...You have a lot of great templates here, I like how I don't have to click through 1000 pages to see a couple of templates. Thank youBloogle AdSensehttp://bloogle-adsense.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-4347123725684196342009-11-03T17:03:09.200Z2009-11-03T17:03:09.200ZWow, great templates... Let me try it.. :DWow, great templates... Let me try it.. :DAndi Syahputrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07012215390860669599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-67795467231614435012009-10-27T02:05:52.864Z2009-10-27T02:05:52.864ZOther free Blogger templates elsewhere are incompa...Other free Blogger templates elsewhere are incomparable to the collection you have got here in terms of aesthetic, quality and the quantity of templates on this site.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-19867948088363654952009-10-15T05:36:41.972+01:002009-10-15T05:36:41.972+01:00i had seen most of the templates before also had w...i had seen most of the templates before also had written about them and used them on several blogs even at least for the demo or preview purposes. Anyway its great to have this collection of free templates from you on this blog.Travelhttp://www.yootravel.co.uk/voucher-codes/Thomson-Holidays-217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-72043346094082495652009-10-09T10:29:20.410+01:002009-10-09T10:29:20.410+01:00Thanks you ! That is template very nice. But not t...Thanks you ! That is template very nice. But not template Wordpress. I would like to introduce to you a great template WPLine 1.0 officially released on September 10, 2009 day.
Designed by:HUTECK FROM VIETNAMES
Website: http://hutek.info
Some outstanding features of WPLine:
1. Design standard of correct CSS / W3C XHTL
2. Running good on most popular browsers (especially IE 6 children)
3. Use the optimal measures for css, js help theme extremely high speeds and very light load
4. Support the layout: magazine and blog.
5. Integrated two Widget advertising with effects move special.
6. Integrated components into a common system tab on the sidebar (new feedback, new posts, articles more comment, tag cloud).
7. Special assistance to the article related with Artwork (requires use Yet Another Related Posts Plugin)
8. Continue to use the comment system Webzine.
9. Support nine positions widget helps you to customize comfort.
10. Continue to use automated systems take pictures illustrate article has successfully developed the Webzine.
11. And the future will integrate many others.
you can see demo and download here: http://template.choicepro.net/2009/10/wpline-10-officially-released.html
Thanks you !Seca Aracelyhttp://template.choicepro.net/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-724793682641096478.post-90915037623363439622009-10-08T02:02:53.486+01:002009-10-08T02:02:53.486+01:00Im having trouble applying the template to my blog...Im having trouble applying the template to my blog help some one?Alexander S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00427161299515099206noreply@blogger.com

View the original article here

101 Awesome Free Blogger Templates.

2010-06-27T02:58:00.000-07:00

Blogger template design has evolved so much since I posted the showcase of 101 Excellent Blogger Templates and the follow-up of 125 more...

This past year, we have seen some incredible changes to the sheer quality and quantity of free templates available for the Blogger platform! From incredible magazine style designs with automatic post summaries to beautiful photo showcases, lifestream templates and everything between - there are high quality designs to suit every requirement, or inspire you in the creation of your own unique designs.

For your browsing and inspirational delight, here is my showcase of awesome Blogger templates for summer 2009. These have been selected because of their outstanding quality, attention to detail, beautiful layout and feature-rich design.

I've categorized these themes under nine headings to help you find the perfect template for your site: Simply Awesome, Magazine and Gallery Styles, Bright and Colourful, Minimal and Simple, Dark Designs, Feminine and Flirty, Travel Themes and Miscellaneous Templates.

Each template includes a high-resolution screenshot, a link to a live demonstration blog and links to the Blogger designer/coder's download page where you will find instructions, licensing and further details for the design.

Due to the sheer number of images, this page may take a while to load. Please be patient - I promise the wait will be worth it!

Simply Awesome!This selection includes some of the most stunning and well-designed templates I have found. These templates are image-heavy and highly stylized, but I'm sure you'll all agree they are awesome!

Papelys y Color
Blog Amuki is one of the most astounding Blogger based designs I have ever seen! I was awestruck to discover this hugely talented designer has released some Blogger templates for free!

This is the first template by Amuki, which features a very interesting effect to hide the sidebar. Be sure to check out the demo to see this effect in action!

View Demo | Download Papeles y Color

Paper Wall
Originally designed for Wordpress by Indezigner, this theme has been converted for Blogger three times, by BloggerThemes, Blogger FAQs and Deluxe Templates. Each conversion is slightly different but both look absolutely superb and deserve these links to their download pages ;)

View Demo | Download from BloggerThemes | Download from Blogger FAQs | Download from Deluxe Templates

Showcase
This is a perfect template for anyone wishing to showcase images/templates and the like using Blogger.

Created by the talented Dante araujo, this showcase-style design works almost right out of the box and even includes javascript-based summaries so that text is hidden on non-item pages.

View Demo | Download Showcase Blogger Template

Eden's Garden
This beautiful template was designed by RayCreations. Featuring a stunning background, stylized headings and date headings, this is bound to impress visitors to your blog.

View Demo | Download Edens Garden

Tree House
Designed for Wordpress by Skinpress, this adorable theme has been converted for Blogger by FalconHive.

This theme is surprisingly easy to set up: full instructions are provided on the download page, while the navigation and 125px ads can all be configured using widgets in the layout.

View Demo | Download Tree House Template

Craftwork
This theme was originally created by EzWpThemes and converted for Blogger by Blogger FAQs. A feminine and quirky design, the appearance has been considered in all areas and makes for a stunning theme.

View Demo | Download Craftwork Theme

Gamma Ray
This stunning dark theme includes an animated featured posts section and very stylish typography. An original design by Insight Your Blogger.

View Demo | Download Gamma Ray

ImpreZZ
This fabulous template offers a three column layout with integrated Twitter updates and beautifully styled headings in the central column. Converted by Falcon Hive from the original design by Gopal Raju.

View Demo | Download ImpreZZ

Art Template
Here's another memorable EzWpThemes conversion, this time by Gosu of FoolBlogger.com. Designed to appear like a scrapbook, this highly stylized theme is colourful yet very functional.

View Demo | Download Art Template

Magazeen
Designed by WeFunction for Smashing Magazine, this Blogger template conversion from Zona Cerebral is simply awesome! Don't be deceived by the apparent simplicity of the layout: once you see this template in action you'll understand why I like it so much.

Beneath the header section is an area of thumbnails which link to recent posts. When you hover over a thumbnail, the title of the post it links to will fade in (and out) above the thumbnails. The footer too is well-styled, and while this template will require personalization for your particular blog, I promise the results will be well worth the effort!

Demo | Download Magazeen Template

Wooden Fence
Here's another stunning conversion from Alvaris Falcon, converted from the Wordpress theme by TemplateLite.

This three column theme is beautifully designed with image-heavy backgrounds in the style of a sunny garden.

View Demo | Download Wooden Fence Theme

Magazine and Gallery StylesIn recent times, magazine and gallery style themes have become very popular.

Magazine-style themes are ideal for niche blogs which are regularly updated, and where the showcase of a particular category assists readers in navigation.

Gallery-style templates are perfect for photo-bloggers, artists and designers to showcase their works as in portfolio fashion.

All of the following templates make excellent use of functions and CSS styles to ensure magazine and gallery style themes showcase the potential of Blogger as a powerful publishing tool.

Dreamy
Here is a simple, elegant and fresh template by Dante araujo which includes automatic post summaries and thumbnails on the home page.

View Demo | Download Dreamy Template

Clean Milano
Here is an elegant design with an unusual colour scheme, particularly effective for a business/corporate blog. Converted from the WP theme by Jinsona, Falcon Hive's Blogger template is excellent and well worth a look.

View Demo | Download Clean Milano

Falkner Press
This design is simply fabulous! Converted by BloggerTricks from the original design by CamelGraph.com, this features automatic summaries, recent posts with thumbnails, a featured posts section and integrated YouTube embed.

View Demo | Download Falkner Press Template

The Latest
This is a clean, magazine style theme with read-more feature for posts on the home page and split header section (perfect for adding wide adsense banners above the fold).

Converted from WpThemeDesigner's template by Anshul.

View Demo | Download The Latest

Photoplus +
This template by Dante araujo is a fantastic template for photo bloggers, designers and artists! Only the images of each post are visible: these thumbnails expand into a larger version using the JQuery FullSize feature.

Be sure to check out the demo for this template: I am very impressed by this template as it demonstrates the full potential of Blogger as a web-publishing tool.

View Demo | Download Photoplus +

Infinity
When I saw the Wordpress version of this theme on Smashing Magazine, I wondered when it would be possible to see a conversion of this for Blogger. And finally it is here!

Originally designed by Vikiworks.com, this has been converted for Blogger by Blogger FAQs and features thumbnails for posts on non-item pages, integrated Flickr photostream and stunning graphics in the background.

View Demo | Download Infinity for Blogger

Gumball Special
A clean, magazine style theme, Gumball Special was originally designed by Evan Eckard and has been converted for Blogger by Blogger FAQs.

View Demo | Download Gumball Special

Magasin
A stylish magazine layout from Falcon Hive which has been converted from the original theme by PaddITsolutions.

Features a featured posts slideshow, automatic post summaries and excellent use of space in the sidebar.

Demo | Download

Zitizen
A fully functional template with featured posts slideshow and recent posts thumbnails in the header. This is converted from a template by Jinsona by Cahaya Biru.

View Demo | Download Zitizen

Showcase Light
A pale version of Dante araujo's Showcase theme, which includes automatic thumbnails and a fresh take on the colour scheme.

Demo | Download

Schemer Mag
This is a stunning, unbtrusive magazine style design which makes use of all available space in a truly elegant manner. Converted from the WP theme by Wpthemedesigner.com by Blogger Tricks.

View Demo | Download SchemerMag Template

Zinmag Futura
This is a truly stylish, magazine style theme converted from Jinsona's WP Theme by Cahaya Biru. With bold contrasting colours, a sliding featured posts section and integrated Twitter updates, this is a stylish and highly functional template.

Demo | Download Zinmag Futura

Cellar Heat Light Gallery
This is a pale, gallery-style version of the popular Cellar Heat theme by Evan Eckard, which has been converted for Blogger by MagzNetwork.

View Demo | Download

Mahusay
Here is a stunning, elegant template which has been converted from PaddItSolutions' WP theme by FreeBloggerTemplate. It features a slideshow "featured posts" section in the header and stylish presentation throughout.

View Demo | Download Mahusay Template

GameZine
This is a tremendous theme which really needs to be seen in action in order to be fully appreciated! Gamezine is converted from the WP theme by Jinsona Design by Cahaya Biru. It is designed to be a showcase style template for gaming Bloggers, and includes a wonderful magazine-style on the main page.

View Demo | Download GameZine

Bright and Colourful TemplatesThe use of strong, bright or contrasting colours can really make a blog design come to lie. Here is a selection of colourful and memorable templates to enhance the appearance of your blog:

Spring
A stunning design from RayCreations with tabbed navigation and high-res background image.

Demo | Download Spring Blogger Template

Magasin DiezThis cheerful, bright coloured theme uses few background images and is very pleasing on the eyes. Converted from the WP theme by Deluxe Templates.

View Demo | Download Magasin Diez

Night Whimsey
This three column layout was converted from the original theme by Scribblescratch by DeluxeTemplates.

Demo | Download Night Whimsey

Retrograde
Harking back to designs of the past, this bold and colourful template will brighten any blog! Converted from the original CSS template from Dawghouse Design Studio by Blogger FAQs.

View Demo | Download Retrograde Template

Paradise Valley
Fresh, colourful and beautifully designed, this theme by RayCreations is simple yet truly awesome.

View Demo | Download Paradise Valley

Nature BlogA clean and fresh blog theme, converted from the WP Theme by WebDesignLessons by Deluxe Templates.

Demo | Download Nature Blog

Red Light
This bright and eye-catching template was converted from Template Lite's WP theme by Blogger Styles. It offers a three column layout with stunning large background image and many stylistic features throughout.

Demo | Download Red Light Template

Green Scrapbook
Converted from the WP theme by SimplyWP, this muted colour theme is simple yet effectively presented. Blogger template coded by Ipietoon.

View Demo | Download Green Scrapbook

Maroon King
This is a simple, red-toned theme was created for Blogger by Skinpress and offers a clean simplistic layout and an integrated feed link in the header.

Learn more and download

Minimal and Simple DesignsColour, layout and typography alone can serve as the basis for a great design. These simple, minimalist templates use few (if any) images, ensuring that the blog content is the main focus of the readers' attention:

Scrappy
This fast-loading three column blog features three narrow columns and lots of eye-pleasing white space. Ideal for micro-bloggers, this was designed for Blogger by Dante araujo.

View Demo | Download Scrappy Template

Extreme Georgia
This simple typographic template was converted from Mentariwork's CSS template by Deluxe Templates.

View Demo | Download Extreme Georgia

Typoork
Antonio Lupetti of Woork has always had an exceptional eye for design. Typoork is his latest free Blogger template offering, featuring an exceptional clean layout and beautifully ordered typography.

View Demo | Download Typoork

Quick Chic
An elegant, vaguely feminine theme with minimalist layout. Based on the theme by Quick Online Tips and Bloggerized by ChicaBlogger.

View Demo | Download Quick Chic

Halo 01
This is a two column template of my own design which features a unique approach to presenting the meta-data for each post.

View Demo | Download Halo 01

Showoff
A simple, yet highly effective design which includes integrated Twitter updates beneath the header and navigation links. Designed by Dante araujo.

View Demo | Download Showoff template.

Showoff Light
A pale white and red version of Dante araujo's Showoff template.

View Demo | Download Showoff Light

The Summer
A simple two column theme with only one backgroud image which instead focuses on CSS based colour and typography. Designed for Blogger by Deluxe Templates.

View Demo | Download The Summer Template

Smash My Typo
Originally designed for Smashing Magazine by Alexander Dahlberg, this elegant minimal template was converted for Blogger by Blogger FAQs.

View Demo | Download Smash My Typo

Excess
This simple green-toned template is based on the CSS template by FreeCssTemplates and has been converted for Blogger by Blogger FAQs.

View Demo | Download Excess Template

Think Simple
This elegant simple theme features three columns and integrated RSS subscription links. This was designed for Blogger by Deluxe Templates.

View Demo | Download Think Simple

Dark DesignsTemplates of a dominant dark colour scheme work beautifully where bright contrasting images are presented in the posts.

Many designers choose to adopt a dark colour scheme for their blogs, though these templates may also be adapted for personal, business and technology-related niches:
Gotham Nights
This stunning dark theme was originally created for Wordpress by Evan Eckard, and has been converted for Blogger by Blogger FAQs.

View Demo | Download Gotham Nights

Black Power
This theme includes Twitter updates in the header, well-designed comment counts, plus integrated search, feed and navigation links. Converted from the WP theme by Skinpress by Falcon Hive.

View Demo | Download Black Power

Dark Mistry
Another stunning original design by RayCreations. Features a two column layout with unique styling of the different widget types and breathtaking main background image.

View Demo | Download Dark Misty

Tagland
A dark and serious theme by Dante araujo with a keen focus on each element of style.

View Demo | Download Tagland

Rock My World
Originally designed by Pelangipetang, this awesome grunge-style theme has been converted for Blogger by Deluxe Templates.

View Demo | Download Rock My World

Evidens
A stunning, simple dark theme which offers three columns in the layout and perfect attention to details. Originally created for WP by Design Disease and converted for Blogger by Blog and Web.

View Demo | Download Evidens for Blogger

Blue Diamond
This is an image-heavy, beautifully toned design featuring Twitter and RSS links in the header and a stylish approach to the layout. Converted from Skinpress' WP theme by Falcon Hive.

View Demo | Download Blue Diamond

BCute
Here is another conversion of a Skinpress theme by Deluxe Templates, this time a dark theme with a stylish and highly functional header section.

View Demo | Download BCute Template

The Conservative American
An unusual niche-style template with a patriotic feel, this two column template is not short of features including: automatic date, Twitter integration and navigation links. Converted by Zona Cerebral from the Wordpress design by Jeremy Buff.

View Demo | Download Conservative American

Zinmag Remedy
Converted by Falcon Hive from the Wordpress theme by Jinsona Design, this dark intriguing theme offers many great features, though requires a good deal of customization to install.

View Demo | Download Zinmag Remedy

Template Black
An original dark design by Templates Novo Blogger.

View Demo | Download

Woody
A wood effect template with semi-transparent backgrounds, converted from Frozr's design by ChicaBlogger.

View Demo | Download

Feminine and Flirty DesignsThis round-up would not be complete without a selection of feminine and flirty designs for ladies who prefer a girly appearance to their themes:

WP Polaroid Pink
Adii's excellent WP theme was originally converted for Blogger by eBlogTemplates, and has been given a wholly feminine makeover by ChicaBlogger.

View Demo | Download WP Polaroid Pink
Meet the Chef
Gisele Jaquenod's designs are always cute, well designed and perfectly laid out. Here is her latest offering: Meet The Chef, a three column feminine design with unique header banner.

Read more and download
Flower Garden
This cheerful theme was designed by IpieToon and features a split sidebar, widgetized footer section and unique header banner (watch what happens when you move your cursor around...).

View Demo | Download Flower Garden Template

Nature Gift
This simple two column theme was originally designed by Top Tut and includes a beautiful header image. Converted for Blogger by BloggerThemes.

View Demo | Download Nature's Gift

Tired Girl
Tired Girl offers a beautiful header design and quirky approach to navigation. Designed by Skincorner for Blogger users.

View Demo | Download Tired Girl Template

Baby Cute
A cute theme by Ipietoon, which is perfect for those blogging about a new addition to the family. The PSD file may also be downloaded for customization of the header banner.

View Demo | Download Baby Cute

Vector Flower
A beautiful Blogger template offered by Klodian of Deluxe Templates, this two column template was converted from the original design by EzWpThemes.

View Demo | Download Vector Flowers

Girly Nature
This ethereal theme offers a beautiful colour scheme, and includes integrated search and RSS feed link. Converted from the WP theme by TemplateLite by Deluxe Templates.

View Demo | Download Girly Nature

Retro Book
A simple, retrospective design in sepia tones, this theme was converted from GetTemplate's original design by Chica Blogger.

View Demo | Download Retro Book

Floral Day
Subtle and feminine, this template was converted from SimplyWP's theme by ChicaBlogger.

View Demo | Download Floral Day

Glamorous
This original theme by Dante araujo offers a three column layout which can be easily customized by swapping out the background image. The PSD file is included for easy customization of the logo.

View Demo | Download Glamorous

Green Mile
I love the balanced layout of this subtle theme, which is based on the design by EzWpThemes and converted for Blogger by Deluxe Templates.

View Demo | Download

Water Color
With a stunning background image, tabbed navigation and stylish sidebar section, this template is impressive while pleasing to read. Converted from TemplateLite's original design by Falcon Hive.

View Demo | Download Water Color Template

Unusual Layouts and StylesI love to see new design styles where the author has chosen to break out of conventional layout schemes. We tend to consider a blog layout as having at least one sidebar to the left, right or either side of blog content; that the header section should span the width of the blog, and other assumed layout options.

This set of themes defy convention: some are single column themes (ideal for showcasing photos!) while others do not appear like blogs at all!

Mainstream
Based on the WooThemes template, this Blogger conversion includes tabbed navigation buttons, social media links and stylish sidebar headings.

This has been bloggerized by WP Blogger Themes and is well worth a look!

View Demo | Download Mainstream

Launchpad
Are you launching a new blog soon? Launchpad is the solution to help potential readers subscribe for updates. You can write blog posts and simply upgrade your theme once the site is ready for launch.

This template was converted by ejner69 from ThemeShaper's original design.

View Demo | Download Launchpad

RS Garden
Please do take a look at the demo for RS garden to appreciate it fully - my screenshots do not do justice to this unusual theme!

Featuring a single, wide column on the home page and a narrow, left sidebar on item pages, this clean layout is ideal for photobloggers.

Converted from Rambling Soul's theme by BlogAndWeb.

View Demo | Download RS Garden

Photoblog
This simple one column theme is ideal for photobloggers and designers to showcase their works. Converted from ClipThePhotos' theme by Deluxe Templates.

View Demo | Download Photoblog

Stripped
This is a very clean, single column theme which features the post-meta-data in a column to the right of the post body and a widgetized three column footer. Converted from Nathan Rice's theme by Quite Random.

View Demo | Download Stripped

Halfbaked
This theme offers a highly unusual, fluid layout in which the sidebar and posts are separated by a central vertical line.

Converted from Guy Fisher's WP theme by Template GoDown.

View Demo | Download Halfbaked

Dark Flower

This unusual two column theme is left-aligned: a rare layout style in recent template design. It appears as a grunge-style notebook with highly stylized widgets in the sidebar and integrated navigation links. Converted from the EzWpThemes template by Deluxe Templates.

View Demo | Download Dark Flower

Tiny Studio
A narrow, single column theme converted from Pelangi Petang's template by Zona Cerebral.

View Demo | Download Tiny Studio

2Plus
Another left-aligned theme, this original design was created by Dante araujo. It offers a clean and simple layout with excellent use of contrasting colour and minified header logo.

View Demo | Download 2Plus

Travel Themed TemplatesHere is a small selection of "travel" themed templates for Blogger, specifically chosen for those who wish to blog about their travels and world adventures!

76. Sailing
A bold, bright theme with integrated RSS link in the page curl. Converted from the EzWpThemes template by BloggerThemes.

View Demo | Download Sailing

Exotic Vacation

This is a beautiful, artistic template for travel bloggers. I particularly love the signpost for navigation around the blog! Converted from the WP theme by TemplateLite by Falcon Hive.

View Demo | Download Exotic Vacation

Lembrete
This notice-board style template was designed for Blogger by Lecca and features a split sidebar section.

View Demo | Download Lembrete

Traveling
Another template designed for Blogger by Lecca, this features a useful integrated Flickr photostream in the header which displays the latest Flickr uploads - perfect for updating with images on the go!

View Demo | Download Traveling Template

Travel and tour
Here is an elegant, simple theme for travel bloggers which features integrated navigation links and a quirky "polaroids" section in the footer.

Converted from Free CSS Templates' design by Deluxe Templates.

View Demo | Download Travel and Tour

Miscellaneous TemplatesHere's a final selection of awesome free Blogger templates which were difficult to categorise elsewhere. All are of excellent quality and truly deserve a place in this showcase:

Community
An elegant and highly functional theme which offers integrated Twitter updates, email feed subscription and "SexyBookmarks" for easy syndication of posts.

Created by BieTempltes.

View Demo | Download

Business Talk
This stylish blue business theme was originally designed for Wordpress by EzWpThemes and has been converted for Blogger by FalconHive.

View Demo | Download Business Talk Template

Brilliance
Simple, elegant and well laid out, this template will perform well for a multitude of blog niches. Converted from Blog Oh Blog's original template by Deluxe Templates.

View Demo | Download Brilliance

MobiPress
MobiPress in another feature-rich template from Cahaya Biru, with a bold colour scheme and interesting layout. This was converted from the WP theme by Jinsona Design.

View Demo | Download MobiPress

NotebookThis is a beautiful grunge-inspired theme by Ray Creations, which inuludes a stylized welcome message and integrated navigation links.

View Demo | Download Notebook

Hanging
Originally a WP theme by Web Design Lessons, this lush green theme was converted for Blogger by Deluxe Templates.

View Demo | Download Hanging

The Business Templates
A professional theme, this can be adapted to have 2-6 columns for all your widget needs. The header image also may be changed to suit the requirements of your blog.

Coded by OurBlogTemplates.

View Demo | Download The Business Templates

Zinepress
Based on Andrew Lindstrom's beautiful Wordpress theme, this Blogger conversion was coded by Blogger FAQs.

View Demo | Download Zinepress

The Clam Shell
An awesome theme with big bold icons! Converted from Michael Soriano's template by Free Blogger Template.

View Demo | Download Clamshell

Wiking
This is a simple, grunge-style theme with a huge RSS icon in the header, integrated navigation links and beautiful typography choices. Converted from the Skinpress theme by Dante araujo.

View Demo | Download Wiking

Papercon
This elegant white theme was created by Denshou and may be downloaded from BTemplates.com

View Demo | Download Papercon

Chocolate
This delicious template was coded by Lawny and is based on a PSD tutorial by PSDVibe.

View Demo | Download Chocolate

Typebased
Typebased is a beautifully elegant design, originally created by Woo Themes and bloggerized by BTemplates. This design features two columns in the layout, and post data is separated in a column to the left.

View Demo | Download Typebased

Acosmintech
This stunning, glossy theme is based on the original template by Alexandru Cosmin and converted by WP Blogger Themes.

View Demo | Download AcosminTech

Night Sky
This design includes a breathtaking background image and stylized sidebar column. Another intriguing and original design by Ray Creations.

View Demo | Download Night Sky

Vixilus
This grey and blue themed design puts the blog's description in central focus - a feature noted among portfolio blogs and websites - while the blog title is minimal in the upper left corner. An original Blogger design by Dante araujo.

View Demo | Download Vixilus

Tonos Cálidos
Last - and most certainly not least! - this amazing theme by Blog Amuki is adapted from Falcon Hive's excellent Zinmag Tribune template.

Tonos Cálidos uses the magazine template, but injects this with subtle grunge overtones and a warm colour scheme. This is even more beautiful when viewed in the browser, and would make an excellent choice for a portfolio blog or personal site.

View Demo | Download Tonos Cálidos

Final ThoughtsBlogger templates have truly evolved over the past twelve months. It's been a pleasure to find such great templates and talented designers who offer their works for free download in efforts to improve the resources available to the Blogger community.

Each of these templates is the product of hard work, patience and perseverance. Wherever possible, I have linked to the download page on the Blogger template coder's site and - where applicable - to the original designers website (in cases where templates have been converted from another platform). For any of the templates you download, be sure to check the license and adhere to any conditions of use. After all, attribution for the work of these talented designers is the least reward we can offer for their efforts!

If you have found this a useful or inspirational resource feel free to share, bookmark or re-tweet! I truly appreciate your help to spread the word about the posts you enjoy most from this site :)

Please also take a look at my previous showcase posts to find even more beautiful Blogger templates which are completely free to use:
The Top 20 Free Blogger Templates of 2008125 More Excellent Blogger Templates12 Free Photoblog Templates for Blogger
101 Excellent Blogger XML TemplatesLet us know which designs you love the most by leaving your comments below!

Image credit (top of post): Swisscan.

View the Original article

Tagnetic Poetry for Blogger?

2010-06-27T02:43:00.000-07:00

Here's something interesting I've been working on lately: a "Tagnetic Poetry" widget/add-on for Blogger.

Based on Roy Tanck's Tagnetic Poetry plugin for Wordpress, this widget can be used to add interesting stylized links for label pages or other interesting posts. It uses Flash to create and display the links and their titles, and chooses a different layout each time the page is reloaded. Try refreshing this page and you'll see how this works.

Here's an example of how this Tagnetic Poetry widget displays linked label tags from this blog:

Tagnetic Poetry by Roy Tanck and Merel Zwart requires Flash Player 9 or better.

Ideally, this widget needs lots of space and short labels/titles to display properly. The script will not display lengthy tags unless there is enough room for them to be rendered properly, so where many tags are displayed, one or two tags may be missing.

So... it's not ideal, and certainly not a useful function for bloggers who require a great many links to be displayed, but you've got to admit it looks pretty good ;)

I understand that many of you would like to install a tag board like this in your template, so I am working on an installable widget/gadget which will enable you to add this to your layout or within a post page.

However, installation is rather difficult. We cannot simply use labels to auto-generate the links because the script requires the tags and links in "escaped" HTML, and I'm unable to replicate. We would also experience the problem of lengthy (or many) tags interfering with the display and unescaped spaces in URLS (which would break the script altogether)... I'm sure this is a lack of experience with JavaScript on my part, and would welcome any ideas to improve this widget!

So in the meantime, I'll work on a tutorial to explain how I add this to Blogger templates and pages. This will be complex, but will enable you to install with a bit of work. And if there are any JavaScript developers who would like to help me work on an installable version - please do get in touch!

Thanks to Roy Tanck, upon whose hard work this Tagnetic Poetry widget is based. Don't forget to check out Blogumus - the Blogger version of his excellent WP-Cumulus plugin, and feel free to leave any comments below.

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Thank You to my 10,000 RSS Subscribers

2010-06-27T02:28:00.000-07:00

As I logged into Feedburner today, I realised Blogger Buster has reached an awesome milestone - we now have 10,000 RSS subscribers!

It doesn't seem that long ago when I set my first target of achieving 500 daily readers, when Blogger Buster was in it's infancy. How far this site has come since then!

So today I wanted to extend a great big THANK YOU to everyone who subscribes to this site! I'm awed that 10,000 of you enjoy reading my Blogger posts enough to read my updates in your feed readers and by email subscription. This truly makes my blogging ventures worthwhile :)

For those of you who may read on occasion, who have bookmarked Blogger Buster for future reference or have simply stumbled upon this post, why not join the other 10,000 subscribers and also receive regular updates on the latest Blogger tips, tricks and news? Just click the subscription button below and choose how you would like to subscribe - I promise it will take only a few moments of your time.
Subscribe to Blogger Buster
Once again, thank you all for subscribing to Blogger Buster, for leaving comments, sending news tips and templates, and for your engagement in improving the Blogger community!

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Introducing GadgetsForBlogger.com - A Searchable Directory of Gadgets for Blogger

2010-06-27T02:13:00.000-07:00

Since Blogger launched the Gadget directory, I've been keeping track of new submissions and developing several gadgets of my own. While Blogger's directory is searchable, I realised that many bloggers would find descriptive reviews, screenshots, developer details and installation instructions a useful addition to the brief descriptions offered in the directory listings.

So I decided to create Gadgets for Blogger - a searchable directory of gadgets which have been developed specifically for the Blogger platform.

Each gadget listed in this directory features:
The gadget titleA full description of the gadgetScreenshot of the gadget in actionDetails of ads included in the gadget (where applicable)Contact/website details of the gadget developer (where possible) Quick install link, to add the gadget to your blog without having to navigate to your Blogger dashboard and through various menus to locate the installation link.All gadgets listed on Gadgets for Blogger have been tested first, to ensure they display properly when installed in a Blogger blog and also to provide instructions where installation techniques may not be immediately obvious.
Featured GadgetsThe very best gadgets are assigned to the "Featured" category. These gadgets are all of exceptional quality in terms of coding, appearance and usefulness. The most recent additions to this category are highlighted above the main listings in the Featured posts showcase:

You can also find all Featured Gadgets by viewing the Featured gallery.
Submit Your Own GadgetsIf you have developed any gadgets of your own, feel free to fill in this form to submit your gadget for inclusion in the directory once they meet the following requirements:
Your gadget must have been developed for use with Blogger powered blogsThe gadget should be tested and workingSpam and malware gadgets will not be included. If your gadget contains ads, this will be described in the listing page.Include the URL where your gadget is hosted. This enables us to create a link for readers to add the gadget directly from this site.

Here are some useful resources for Blogger gadget developers:
Blogger Gadget Developer's Guide Google Gadget Developer's Guide Best UI Practises for Blogger GadgetsGoogle Code (for hosting your gadgets and associated scripts)Submit your gadgets to Blogger for inclusion in the official directory
Regular UpdatesI'll be updating Gadgets for Blogger on a weekly basis (at least) to include any new submissions to the official Gadget directory in addition to any direct submissions on the site.

Feel free to suggest any gadgets I may have missed and I'll try to get these included as soon as possinle.
See also...If you're searching for Blogger gadgets and plugins, you should also check out Aneesh's sites:
Blogger Widgets, which offers tutorials and articles to help install widgets, gadgets and other add-ons in Blogger templatesBlogger Gadgets - a similar, searchable directory of Gadgets for the Blogger platform.Your Thoughts?Do you think Gadgets for Blogger will be a useful resource for the Blogger community? Do you have any suggestions for how it may be improved?

Please feel free to let me know your thoughts about this new project by leaving your comments below.

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Share Posts from the Blogger NavBar

2010-06-27T01:58:00.000-07:00

Yet more treats for Blogger's 10th birthday celebrations were released for us today!

An additional button in the Blogger Navbar now enables us to share our posts via Twitter, Facebook, Google Reader and by email:

When a reader clicks the "Share" link on your blog's home page, they can opt to share the URL of your blog by Twitter, Facebook or Google Reader. On item pages, the pop-up box includes the additional option to share by email:

When readers share your blog and posts, additional parameters are added to the URL which helps you track the syndication of these posts using Google Analytics in the format "?spref=nn" where the nn part is changed to fb for Facebook, tw for Twitter or gr for Google Reader.

For example:
http://buzz.blogger.com/2009/08/share-from-nav-bar.html?spref=tw (sharing the announcement post on Twitter)
http://www.bloggerbuster.com?spref=fb (sharing the Blogger Buster homepage on Facebook)You can then search for URLs ending with these parameters when using Google Analytics to view details of how your posts have been shared.

Of course, this new feature is only available to those who have not chosen to hide the Blogger Navbar!

If your Blogger template does not display the Blogger Navbar and you would like to make it reappear in order to use this new feature, here is what you should do:

1. Go to Layout>Edit HTML in your Blogger dashboard.

2. Using your browser's search function, locate the following section of code:
#navbar-iframe {height:0px;visibility:hidden;display:none;}This should be located within the or

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The

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Once you have finished adding the Label feed URLs and titles to your Sitemap post, you can publish your post and enjoy using your new Blogger sitemap!

Troubleshooting your FeedControl SitemapHere are a few issues which you may encounter when installing your sitemap:

The sitemap takes ages to load!
This may happen if you use a large number of labels in your sitemap. Few label feeds will load quickly, while many will take a long time to load.

If this is of particular issue, try to reduce the number of labels/feeds in your sitemap.

The sitemap does not display!
If the sitemap does not load at all, this may be due to an error when pasting the initial template code, your API key or a label feed.

The best advice would be to begin the installation again, making sure you use the Edit HTML mode of your post editor and are careful not to accidentally delete any other elements of the code.

You should also take care not to switch to "Compose" mode while editing your sitemap as this sometimes makes involuntary changes to HTML code which could corrupt the sitemap script.

Certain Labels do not display any posts
This may happen in cases where the URL of your label feed is not quite correct, for example, the title is not capitalized, or spaces are not replaced with %20.

In this case, edit your template and check the URL of the offending label feed carefully for any involuntary errors. Make changes as appropriate, and save your template.

I have more than 100 posts filed under a particular label. How can I display all posts?
Google's Feed Control can only be used to display up to 100 posts from a particular feed. In order to display more results, we need to add a new feed variable, in which the start index is 101.

In the Blogger Buster sitemap, for example, I need to display more than 100 posts for the Customize your Blogger Template category. In the line after the first 100 results for this category, I paste a new line where the start index of the feed is the 101st post, like this:

feedControl.addFeed("http://www.bloggerbuster.com/feeds/posts/default/-/Customize%20your%20Blogger%20Template?max-results=100", "Customize your Blogger Template");
feedControl.addFeed("http://www.bloggerbuster.com/feeds/posts/default/-/Customize%20your%20Blogger%20Template?start-index=101&max-results=100", "Customize your Blogger Template (Part 2)");If your label includes more than 200 posts, you can add a third variable where the start index is 201, and so on.

Adding extra content, and styling your sitemapIt is possible to add extra content to your sitemap page, for example, a explanatory paragraph or links to other important pages of your template.

Ideally, you should add this content while editing your sitemap in Edit HTML mode. Be sure to add this content above or below your sitemap script to prevent any errors which would prevent the sitemap displaying properly.

If you would like to style elements of the sitemap, you can achieve this using CSS (either by adding to the

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