DIY: Make A Free Professional Blog

The Process Of Transferring From One Host To Another

 

The Process Of Transferring From One Host To Another

Word Count:
888

Summary:
The idea of transferring from one host to another can be a little intimidating. You may not be happy with your current host, but you do not want to interrupt your website's activity. There are effective ways to transfer to another host; you just need to know what you should do ahead of time.

If you are considering leaving your current host you probably have issues you are not happy with. Look for a host that can eliminate these issues, give your website all the features it...

Keywords:
transferring web hosts, moving hosting, web hosting directory

Article Body:
The idea of transferring from one host to another can be a little intimidating. You may not be happy with your current host, but you do not want to interrupt your website's activity. There are effective ways to transfer to another host; you just need to know what you should do ahead of time.

If you are considering leaving your current host you probably have issues you are not happy with. Look for a host that can eliminate these issues, give your website all the features it needs, and evaluate as much as possible so you can stay with the new host for the long-term. Some things you may want to consider when choosing a host are:

• The web host's terms and conditions
• Do they require a long-term contract or can you cancel at anytime?
• How accessible is the customer service department?
• Are you locked into the current price?
• Do they want full payment in advance? If you are unhappy will you be refunded?
• Email service(s).

Once you have found a web host you feel you will be happy with, you need to sign-up for a new account. Before you go any farther with the new host, you need to back up or upload all of the files and databases from your current site. You can use an FTP utility to download all the files from the current host to your computer. Dreamweaver users can use the "Get" command to copy all of their files. Another thing you could do is to store a local copy in your computer. Whether it is PHP or another format you can always up-load the info later if there was a mishap. You can save the HTML information by viewing your source page, which opens up in Notepad. Just go to "File" and then save that page (make sure your file names match up with the current names for each web page).

Upload or Transfer Files to the New Web Host

Now you can upload all the files to the new server or web host. If you saved the HTML information from your source page you may be able to just enter the information and be done. You need to test the site to make sure the new IP address is working and make possible adjustments to coding (depending on the server situation). Although it may be a tedious job, you need to check every page, every link, every image, and the formatting on your website.

Your New Email Server

You will need to re-create all email accounts you currently have in use. You can create –auto-responders and aliases and/or forward emails at the same time. Your new email address(es) will not work until the transfer of your domain is completed. Therefore you cannot test your new email until the transfer is completed. This may make a few business owners nervous, but you can always set up an auto-responder on your old server and the new server. By doing this, your customers will receive an email explaining the situation during and after the transfer. Another idea is to start the transfer process on a Friday, a weekend, or over a holiday if possible. Choose a time when the traffic on your site will be slow.

Domain Name Server (DNS) Transfer

Next, you need to transfer your domain name. You can contact the domain name registrar, which is where you registered the domain name. You need to change the Domain Name Server (DNS) to your new web host's DNS information. When you set up your new server first and then update your DNS second, you will experience zero downtime. The idea is to move from your old server to the new server that is already set up and functioning which allows your site to appear as if it never moved at all.

Transferring the DNS is a critical part of transferring to another web host. If you move your site your website's IP address changes. The DNS servers route traffic to your site with the website's current IP address, not the domain name. If you transfer to another web host without changing the DNS information people will not be able to find your website. The new web host's DNS information will let all of the DNS servers know your website's new IP address and customers will then be able to find your site. This process will take 24-72 hours to complete.

Additional Tips

Leave your old web hosting account open for at least a couple of weeks and if possible an entire month. This will help you make sure you are receiving all your emails that may be switched around during the transfer and it will be a backup if there are problems with the DNS servers. Once things are working smoothly and reliably you can cancel the old web host.

Some domain registrars will confirm a web hosting change by sending an email to the address you used when your registered the domain name. This email will require a reply and the transfer will not take place if you do not reply. This email is for your website's security; the registrar needs to make sure that it is really "you" asking for the transfer and not someone trying to hijack your site.

 

MCSE v/s MCSA

 

MCSE v/s MCSA

Word Count:
681

Summary:
Technology is advancing rapidly with each passing day. The world of Information Technology today is a forever growing vast expanse. Infact, the IT Certification industry has witnessed a significant turn in the past few years. In today's arena, certified professionals are considered a step higher compared to others. Certification  in the relevant IT technology has become an effective way to augment your career in that domain.

Keywords:
MCSE, MCSA, Test Exam

Article Body:
Certifications, offered by various vendors are a good way for IT professionals to seek validation for their skills. In today's arena, there are lots of vendors offering specialization in particular domains. Professionals often get confused about which certification to go for as some of them have as little as hair thin difference between them. It is best to first identify your job role, the knowledge and skills required and accordingly select to take a particular certification to ensure career success. 

Let us in this article try and get some clarity between two major certifications of Microsoft i.e. MCSE and MCSA which are often confused upon.

Why MCSE?

For a MCSE  candidate, it is preferable that he should have at least two years of experience in implementing and administering desktop and network operating systems, and designing a network infrastructure in the typically complex computing environment of medium-to-large organizations. The candidate should also have at least one year of experience administering Exchange Server environments involving multiple physical locations, mixed connection protocols, and Internet messaging. 

MCSE has two tracks Microsoft Windows 2000 and Microsoft Windows 2003. The 2003 track requires 6 Core Exams, 1 Elective Exam and 2 Upgrade Exams to be cleared.

Core Exam include:

Group I: 70-290, 70-291, 70-293; 

Group II: 70-270, 70-210; Group III: 70-297, 70-298. 

Elective Exams include:

70-086, 70-227, 70-228, 70-229, 70-232, 70-281, 70-282, 70-284, 70-285, 70-297, 70-298, 70-299, and 70-301.

Upgrade Exams include 

70-292 or 70-296.

Either CompTIA Security+ or Unisys UNO-101 can be substituted in place of the elective exams. 

Why MCSA?

The need for qualified system administrators is very real in today's business market and the excitement for MCSA  is growing daily. A candidate for MCSA should have at least one year of experience working with a desktop operating system, a network operating system, and an existing network infrastructure. As soon as candidates pass their first qualifying exam for the MCSA program, they achieve a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) certification.

MCSA also has two tracks Microsoft Windows 2000 track and Microsoft Windows 2003 track. MCSA 2003 requires 3 Core Exams, 1 Elective exam and 1 Upgrade exam to be cleared. 

Core Exams include:

Group I: 70-290, 70-291 

Group II: 70-270, 70-210 

Elective Exams include 

70-086, 70-227, 70-228, 70-284, and 70-299

Upgrade Exams include

70-292

What's the difference between MCSE & MCSA?

Let us look at a few major differences between the two certifications which will help you get a clearer idea about them: 

MCSA  when compared to MCSE  is a basic level certification. As an MCSA you must know every thing about implementing, managing, and troubleshooting the existing network and system environments based on the Microsoft Windows Operating Systems. However, you will not be responsible to set up new networks and systems as a part of your job function. But as a MCSE knowledge about designing and deploying new networks and systems is necessary.

Being an MCSA professional means that you will be able to implement, manage, and maintain the typically complex computing environment of medium-to large-sized companies. On the other hand, being an MCSE professional you will be able to plan, design, and implement Microsoft Windows server solutions and architectures in medium-to large-sized companies.   

The experience that is required for both these certifications is also different. MCSA requires 6–12 months of experience of administering client and network operating systems while MCSE requires at least one year of experience in implementing and administering network operating systems and desktop operating systems.

Jobs for an MCSA include systems administrator, network administrator, information systems administrator, network operations analyst, network technician, or technical support specialist. For an MCSE jobs include systems engineer, network engineer, systems analyst, network analyst, or technical consultant.

MCSA provides you with a credential that represents a set of skills which will be advantageous if you plan to pursue MCSE Certification. Therefore, earning an MCSA will qualify you with the option to use these credentials and acquire MCSE through Upgrade path to MCSE.

If you look carefully, both these exams although similar to each other specialize in different domains. A clear understanding of both the certifications is necessary before you decide which one to opt for. So make the right choice and get going!!

 

Online B2B Lead Generation

Title:
Online B2B Lead Generation

Word Count:
912
Summary:
This article gives information on online b2b lead generation including autoresponders, opt in mailing lists, business to business referrals etc.

Keywords:
b2b lead generation, website marketing, web development

Article Body:
From the warm climbs of Mexico City, Mexico to the cooler lands of Calgary, Alberta businesses are using the Internet to advance their business models and successes.  The Internet is a unique resource for creation of sales leads and connecting with customers, called B2C sales, and other businesses, B2B sales, all around the world.  As an owner, or web developer, for a company there are many things that can be done on your website to help generate business leads and bring customers and business to your site and through the site to your company.  Some of these methods are as follows:
• Use of auto responders
• Generation of free reports
• Offerings included in, or just after, registration forms
• Creation of opt in mailing lists
• Business to business referrals
Many of these methods tie closely together as can be seen by taking each in more detail.
Autoresponders
Autoresponders are software packages that are created to automatically respond to input from any customer, fellow business owner or otherwise.  The job of the autoresponder can be as simple as acknowledging receipt of information from the user and providing future contact information, or can be as complex as monthly mailings.  Once a customer has show interest in your business it is critical that they are kept returning to the website, whether it is for information, offers or contests.  An autoresponder can help you to keep track of leads automatically in a much more efficient way than manual tracking.
Free Reports
The offering of free services is a powerful marketing tool for bringing customers to your company website.  Many sites use offerings of credit reports, personal profiles, horoscopes and such to encourage users to come to their site.  The initial report is free, but then can be used to link into services and products that the company stands to make a profit on.  In order to best use this type of lead generator you must determine what on your site can be appropriately connected to a free offer.  What is your base product and therefore what branches can spring from it.  Don't be tempted to use a free report that is completely unrelated to your product as this will more likely result in the user clicking away from the site once they have the report they want, instead of looking more deeply into your offerings.
Registration Offerings
These leads generally tie into a sign up or registration form.  This form may be a registration for a forum or in order to receive a report, catalog or other company service.  At the end of the registration form offerings can be made for other services or products that the user can opt in for, sometimes at a much decreased price, as part of registration.  For example a site on photography might use a registration offering to give users a year's subscription to their photography magazine with a 15% discount if it is signed up for as part of the registration process.  Like the free report these offerings need to tie into your company's product or services so that a connection between the product and the company is maintained, bringing the customer, no matter if it is an individual or a company, back for future references or purchases.
Opt In Mailing Lists
Mailing lists are a well prove and very valuable way to keep in touch with other businesses and customers and to quickly get word out to interested parties about promotions, sales, new product lines and changes in business.  The temptation with such lists is to purchase lists from other businesses and flood businesses and individuals with your company information.  This is a danger as such mailings are often classified as junk mail or spam mail and can result in your site being blocked by various ISPs at the request of their users.  Better than purchasing unfocused lists is to allow for users to opt in to the mailing list.  Provided a link where users can register for a newsletter or other company mailing list and then focus your efforts to these parties, who have already shown interest in you and your product.
Business to Business Referrals
Of all leads you can generate, none hold the sway as positive word of mouth and referrals from other trusted businesses in similar or related fields.  Many businesses are willing to exchange referral links or articles in exchange for the same kind of reference from your site back to theirs.  These links can create a powerful symbiotic relationship between companies in order to exchange goods and services both between businesses, and in bringing in outside customers to both.  Often these referrals are not difficult to obtain, as other businesses are just as eager as you are.  Be sure that any company you give a referral to is a company that is reputable and will keep your customers as happy as you keep them as your referral ties you to this alternate company in the mind of your customers and other businesses and you wish to keep the impression of your business as positive as possible.
While these methods are by far not the only ways to generate online leads they are some of the most frequently used, and, by far, the most effective in the current online community.  The online market space is only going to increase and companies that wish to work strongly with other businesses and their consumer base must take advantage of this space if they wish to succeed!

Amazing Trackback Tips For Successful Blogging!

Amazing Trackback Tips For Successful Blogging!

Word Count:
711
Summary:
Trackback is a system used to associate posts on different blogs and, in a greater sense, it allows blogs to "share" readers.
An example! Just as a simple example of how Trackback works: If you have just posted an article discussing Admiral Byrd's second Antarctic expedition and then happen to run across a similar or related post on another blog, you could use the trackback mechanism to notify the other poster of the existence of your post. When your trackback notification...

Keywords:

Article Body:
Trackback is a system used to associate posts on different blogs and, in a greater sense, it allows blogs to "share" readers.
An example! Just as a simple example of how Trackback works: If you have just posted an article discussing Admiral Byrd's second Antarctic expedition and then happen to run across a similar or related post on another blog, you could use the trackback mechanism to notify the other poster of the existence of your post. When your trackback notification (which is the permalink to your post and, possibly, some basic information about your blog) appears on the post in the other blog that blog's readers will also be notified that you have something to say on the subject and they may pay you a visit.
Everyone can have it but not everyone does! Some blogs have this Trackback capability built in and others do not but the good news is that Haloscan, a very popular comment tracking program, now offers a trackback feature for those who don't have it and the better news is its FREE! If you are interested you can go to  to sign up. Note that signing up for Trackback (if you don't already have it) will give YOU a trackback capability but you will still not be able to Trackback to a post on a blog that does not have Trackback.
Trackbacks vs. comments! Normally you will see a post you have something to say about and comment on it. Using a Trackback when you don't have an honestly related post -- one that adds something relevant or clarifies the subject post -- is not an accepted practice. If you become known as a "trackback spammer" by sending unrelated trackbacks you may be banned from the offended blogs.
How it works! Trackback works by sending a "ping" (an electronic notification) from your blog to another blog to notify them of your post. This ping also notifies their Trackback program to list your post. Some bloggers moderate their trackbacks, i.e., they manually review each trackback notification and verify that it is indeed a related post -- this prevents spammers from relating their junk posts to real blogs. If the blogger reviews your post and finds it relevant he or she can permit the trackback and your post will then be listed as a trackback on the other blog.
The first step in creating a trackback is getting the "Trackback URL" from the post where you want to send your Trackback notification. If the post does not have a Trackback URL, they either don't have a Trackback capability or they have it turned off.
Next, copy that URL into the appropriate place on your blog's post. This will usually be identified by some reference to "Trackback URLs" or "Trackback pings."
Next, republish your blog -- your trackback software will automatically send the Trackback ping to the target blog's post.
That's all here is to it, your trackback, featuring a permalink to your post, will be sent to the target post and, after being approved (if the blogger is moderating trackbacks) your Trackback will be listed.
Other functions! On some systems it is possible to send simultaneous Trackbacks to more than one target posts. Another capability of Trackback allows you to send a trackback ping to yourself, linking a post on another blog -- this lets your readers know that the other post is out there and can be considered a "recommended reading" type function.
Just a review of four important Trackback points!
Not every blogger has a Trackback capability and some that have it do not have it enabled.
Some bloggers moderate their trackbacks to avoid unrelated posts being linked. Some however do not moderate or even monitor their Trackbacks, so trackback spammers can sneak in. Don't be a Trackback spammer and don't tolerate them.
Haloscan is now offering Trackback capability packaged with their commenting program (both are free).
Installing Trackback on your blog will not allow you to send Trackbacks to blogs without that capability.
More information on Trackbacks! Wikipedia has a very comprehensive entry on Trackbacks you can find it at:  Wikipedia articles are always comprehensive and will provide you with information you can rely on.

Great Idea For a Blogging Web Site is No Longer Enough

Great Idea For a Blogging Web Site is No Longer Enough

Word Count:
427
Summary:
Because there are so many blogs and web sites about
blogs on the internet, it can be tough to distinguish your
blogging web site from all of the others.

Keywords:
A Great Idea For a Blogging Web Site is No Longer Enough

Article Body:
Whether you
are starting up a new web site aimed at bloggers or
whether you are looking to make your existing blogging
site more distinctive, the key to building and
maintaining a site that will capture the interest and
attention of the blogging community is finding your
niche. If you can fill a unique need in a way that no
other web site does, you'll be able to build a lasting
readership among web surfers. Once you have
discovered a niche, you will still have a lot to do, but
finding your place in the blogosphere is the place to
begin.
Every great blogging web site starts with a great idea,
and you can't build a successful site that will last
without one. There are many great sites aimed at
today's bloggers, and competition for the attention of
this growing demographic is fierce. To make your
blogging web site stand out from the pack, you will
need to offer something that no other site is currently
offering, or you will need to do the same thing that an
already popular site does but in a more impressive or
valuable way.
One way to discover an ideal model for your blogging
web site is to look at the sites that have successfully
captured a blogging audience already to determine if
you can appropriate some of their strategies to help
realize your vision. Of course, you will also need to add
a unique flair to your project in order to stand apart
from your competition. Many people agree that the web
sites that do the best in today's market are the sites that
have the most personality. The fiercely individual
surfers who are bloggers are a demographic that
responds especially strongly to personality, so consider
how you can give your site a unique and attractive
feeling by lending your own voice and sensibility to
your site's design and content.
Once you have a great idea for your site, have
pinpointed a special niche that you are well equipped to
fill, and have infused the site with personality, the next
step is figuring out how to get the word out to bloggers.
In the long run, a great idea just isn't enough to propel
your blogging web site to success. You will need to
draft a smart and realistic marketing plan in order to
draw readers to your site. Once you hook a blogger,
your great content will keep them coming back, but it is
vital to get that first glance or your site won't have a
chance to shine.

Blog Farm, Why You Must Have One If You Want Huge Amounts Of Traffic

Blog Farm, Why You Must Have One If You Want Huge Amounts Of Traffic

Word Count:
395

Summary:
You will get better results if you build a "Blog Farm". A blog farm has one distinct advantage, it is under your complete control. Instead of having to go asking for links, you will have the ability to post a link from your blog farm to your new Wordpress blog yourself. You will have the power to add a link to "any" new blog that you build in the future.

Keywords:
blog, wordpress, blog farm, blogger, traffic, search engines,google,yahoo,msn

Article Body:
Someone wrote a comment on one of my articles at EzineArticles that I had written about the need to have a Wordpress blog. The point made was that whether you have a Wordpress blog or one of the other types of blogs, you still have to have people coming to your site.

Traffic is a part of the formula that you must have for the success of your Internet venture. Without people coming to your web site you will have no sales. Without sales, you have no Internet income.

In this article I will discuss how to get links to your  Wordpress blog. If you just bought a new domain and put a Wordpress blog on that domain you will not get any traffic. That is, unless you have lots of links pointing to your blog. Remember, "no links equals no visitors". Let me say it another way, you have got to get links pointing to your site or you will not succeed!

These links should be high in terms of quality. If you get twenty five links from sites that are not authority sites it will not do you much good. It would be much wiser to get five links from web sites that have good page rank and are closely matched to the overall theme of your blog.

There are basically two ways to get these types of links. First, you can research the web and find high quality web sites that are theme related to your's and email them asking for links to your site. However, why would they want to link to your new page rank zero site?

You will get better results if you build a "Blog Farm". A blog farm has one distinct advantage, it is under your complete control. Instead of having to go asking for links, you will have the ability to post a link from your blog farm to your new Wordpress blog yourself. You will have the power to add a link to "any" new blog that you build in the future.

This is what happens, the link to your new Wordpress blog draws the search engine spiders which is mandatory in order for your blog to be indexed in the major search engines, which are Google, Yahoo, and MSN.

I will go over exactly "how" to build a blog farm in my next article.

 

Free Tips for Marketing your Blog

Free Tips for Marketing your Blog

Word Count:
584
Summary:
With so many blogs being created every day, it's a mystery to many bloggers how to make their blog stand out. It's simple. People want to read good content, and with good content comes ad revenue. Well, maybe it's not that easy… We've finally unleashed the secrets of successful blog marketing. Do note that these are not guaranteed to increase your click-through ratios and they will not bring good karma to you or your ads.. If only..

Keywords:
blog, marketing, blog marketing, optimization, SEO, internet, website, affiliate

Article Body:
With so many blogs being created every day, it's a mystery to many bloggers how to make their blog stand out. It's simple. People want to read good content, and with good content comes ad revenue. Well, maybe it's not that easy… We've finally unleashed the secrets of successful blog marketing. Do note that these are not guaranteed to increase your click-through ratios and they will not bring good karma to you or your ads.. If only.. Nonetheless, these tips should benefit your blog and make it more user-friendly, more easily accessible, and more content-enabled.
There are many types of blogs or purposes for blogs and a certain number of tactics are applicable to just about all of them, so here is a -short- list of tips for marketing and optimizing a blog:
1. Decide on a stand alone domain name  or directory of existing site. Sub domain is also an option blog.mysite.com. Avoid hosted services that do not allow you to use your own domain name!
2. Obtain and install customizable blog software - WordPress and Moveable Type are my favorites.
3. Customize blog look and feel templates - aka design.
4. Research keywords and develop a glossary - Keyword Discovery, WordTracker, SitePoint, SEOBook Keyword Research.
5. Optimize the blog:
 * Template optimization - RSS subscription options, social bookmark links, HTML code, Unique title tags, URLs, Sitemap
 * Add helper plugins specific to WordPress or MT
 * Create keyword rich categories (reference your keyword glossary)
6. Enable automatic trackback and ping functionality.
7. Create Feedburner Pro account and enable feed tracking.
8. Setup Google acount for Sitemap, validate and prep for future submission.
9. Identify authoritative blogs, web sites and hubs for outbound resource links and blogroll.
10. Format archived posts, related posts.
11. Enable statistics for tracking - Performancing, Google Analytics, ClickTracks.
12. Submit RSS feed and Blog URL to prominent RSS and Blog directories / search engines.
13. Engage in an ongoing link building campaign.
14. If podcast or video content are available, submit to Podcast and Vlog directories.
15. Submit blog url to paid directories with categories for blogs - Yahoo, BOTW, bCentral, WOW, JoeAnt.
16. Optimize and distribute a press release announcing blog.
17. Request feedback or reviews of your blog in relevant forums, discussion threads. If you have a resourceful post that will help others, point to it.
18. Research and comment on relevant industry related blogs and blogs with significant centers of influence.
19. Post regularly. If it's a news oriented blog, 3-5 times per day. If it's an authoritative blog, 3-5 times per week, but each post must be unique and high value.
20. Monitor inbound links, traffic, comments and mentions of your blog - Google Alerts, Technorati, Blogpulse, Yahoo News, Ask Blogs and Feeds.
21. Always respond to comments on your blog and when you detect a mention of your blog on another blog, thank that blogger in the comments of the post.
22. Make contact with related bloggers on AND offline if possible.
23. When making blog posts always cite the source with a link and don't be afraid to mention popular bloggers by name. Use keywords in the blog post title, in the body of the post and use anchor text when you link to previous posts you've made.
24. Use social networking services, forums and discussion threads to connect with other bloggers. If they like your stuff, they will link to you.
25. Remember when web sites were a new concept and the sage advice to print your web address everywhere you print your phone number? The same advice applies for your blog.

Steps to Successful Blogging

Steps to Successful Blogging

Word Count:
2317

Summary:
This article contains information which details the art of successful blogging.  It explains how blogs can be successful while growing an everlasting experience.

Keywords:
blog, blogs, blogging, free blogs, free blog, make money with blogs, successful blogs, professional blogging, successful blogging

Article Body:
Blogs can be a very marketable and very profitable tool if used correctly. Profiting from blogs is just a matter of grabbing the attention of an audience and not doing any actual salesmen selling. In this article you will learn the 13 most essential steps to successful blogging.

1) Where to start?

You should begin your blog with a free blog hosting service such as Journal Home. I don't say that because I'm the owner, but a free blog host is very rewarding for a new blog.  Starting with a free blog hosting service allows you to begin blogging instantly without having any advance knowledge of scripts, hosting, or programming. It allows you to build an audience and buzz for your blog.  It allows you to focus on your content and not the internal maintenance of the blog. The best benefit of starting with a free service, is in the case your blog doesn't become successful you do not lose any money or are you left holding the bill. The great thing about a blog is that they are organized in chronological order, your latest entry is displayed first. When your blog traffic grows greatly and you are ready to upgrade to your own domain then you can simply make your last blog entry the announcement of your "move".  Simply add a last entry stating that your blog has "moved" and type the new blog URL address. Which directs visitors to your new blog site, keeping your following, without a major inconvenience to anyone. Upgrade as you need to...but only when you need to!

2) Niche

A niche is a targeted product, service, or topic. You should first decide on a product, service, or topic which interest you. Choose an area which you can enthusiastically write about on a daily basis. You can use keyword research services like Google Zeitgeist or Yahoo! Buzz Index to find popular searched topics. It does NOT matter if your topic is popular as long as there is a audience for your topic and the topic is precisely focused then your blog should be successful. Anything can be considered a niche as long as it has a target audience no matter how large or how small the audience is. A blog about your cat can be a niche or a blog about the species of the cat family can be a larger niche market, if there are people who are interested in hearing about your cat or the species of the cat family, then you have a niche...you can even choose to build your audience for a market which an audience does not exist, but first you must build your blog.

3) Update Daily (nothing less)

This step is a must and not a suggestion. Updating your blog daily not only keeps your blog more interesting to readers, but it also gives your blog fresh content on a day to day making it more appealing to search engines. Not updating your blog on an occasional holiday or one day here and there is understandable to most, but missing days at a time or weeks is unacceptable and will most likely result in your blog being unsuccessful. To keep your blog traffic and retain your visitors interest it is a must to update your blog daily with multiple entries. Though, I am seeing a growing trend of successful blogs that are not being updated daily, but they are successful and have a stable audience who continue to visit their blog daily.  Regardless, these blogs are still updated weekly with multiple entries.  Until you have a steady audience you should try to update your blog everyday with at least 3 or more daily entries. The best way to accomplish this is to set aside 1-2 hours a day for tending to your blog and adding new entries. It may even be wise to schedule a set time which you dedicate to your blog each day. Give yourself work hours and treat your blog as a job, what happens if you don't come to work for days or weeks...you lose money or worse you get fired! Same applies here...if you don't update your blog for days or weeks you'll lose visitors.

4) Traffic

It's no secret. You must have traffic to profit from blogs. There are numerous ways to build traffic. Paid advertising, free advertising, viral marketing, search engine marketing, RSS/XML feeds, and word-of-mouth. You should always use your blog URL address in the signature of your email, forum discussions, message boards, or any other communication media. You should submit your blog URL address to search engines and blog directories. You should submit your RSS/XML URL feed to blog ping services like Technorati, Ping-O-Matic, and Blogdigger. You should confidently share your blog with family, friends, co-workers, associates, and business professionals when it relates. Many blogs can be considered as a collection of articles, for this purpose you should submit your blog entries (those that are valuable and lengthy articles) to content syndicators like GoArticles.com or . Once submitted your articles can be picked up and published by others. The trick is to make sure you include your Blog URL address in the "About the Author" passage. What this does is create link popularity and backlinks for your blog, when someone picks up your article from the syndication then publish the article on their website the "About the Author" passage is included with each publication and the link you included is followed, crawled, and indexed by search engines. Imagine if your article is popular enough or controversial enough to produce 10,000 publications across the web. The search engines is bound to find your blog in no time with that many publications and credit you a authority on the topic, in return increasing your rank on search engines. The small effort of writing a well written article is rewarding. You should try to write at least 1 full length article every week for syndication and submit your article to at least 10 article syndicators.

5) Track Your Blog

How do you know if your blog has traffic? Just because no one is leaving comments doesn't mean your blog isn't growing. Many visitors do not leave comments but they are returning visitors. I know it sounds crazy but with blogs people are more interested in what "you" have to say! Many visitors do not comment their 1st, 2nd, or 3rd time. Some do not comment at all, but are active daily visitors.

Tracking your blog does not have to be overly sophisticated usually a simple free page counter like StatCounter.com or Active Meter will do the trick. Install (copy/paste) the code into the html of your blog template and start tracking your visitors. Its better to use a service which gives you advanced traffic analysis, such as keyword tracking information, referral information, and search engine information. Visitors, returning visitors, and unique visitors should be standard for any page counter service you choose.

6) Listen to Your Audience

When using the proper page counter you should begin to see how others are finding your blog and if through search engines then which keywords are being used to find your blog. If constantly your blog is being found by 1 or more keywords then focus your blog around those keywords to make it even more powerful. When writing entry titles and entries use the keywords as often as possible while keeping the blog legible and interesting.

7) Multiple blogs

Use multiple blogging accounts (free) to attract more people. This means you should have a blog with JournalHome.com and others. The more blog accounts the better (be sure to read and adhere to the Terms of Service for each site). You can copy/paste from 1 blog to all others. Having different blog accounts is like having a publication in different newspapers. This enables you to attract more visitors and this also increases the chance that 1 of your blogs will be in the search engine results for your focused keywords.

8) Short & Concise

Aside from the lengthy article a week for syndication and publication your blog entries should be short & concise (if you can help it). Sometimes there are exceptions to the rule and you have no choice but to blog lengthy entries, but try to avoid this as much as possible. You do not want your blog entries to become hours of reading. Visitors like to easily find information and skim through your entries. It is good to be detailed and provide useful information, but do not include useless information or run away sentences that veer away from your topic.  Stay keyword-focused.

9) Digital Art

Try to include non-advertising graphics, pictures, photos, and art in your blog entries. Not too much. Once a week is fine. Graphics can sometimes bring your blog to life. Of course, the content of the blog is the most important aspect and you do not want to overshadow your content with graphics, but displaying graphics can add a bit of spice to the blog. Be choosy about your graphics and make sure they fit your entry topic. You should add content with the graphic, at least a caption. Original graphics, photos, pictures, and art is recommended.

10) Keep it Personal

A blog is most successful when it is kept personal. Try to include personal experiences which relates to the topic of your blog entry. Stay away from the business style of writing. Write with a more personal style and use first-person narratives. Do not write any of your entries as sales letters, instead share product reviews and personal endeavors.

11) Interact With Your Visitors

You now have the traffic you deserve. You should begin interacting with your visitors. Create a regular theme such as: "Monday Money Tip" or "Picture of the Week" which entices your readers to look forward to each week.

Give your readers advance notice about a product, service, or topic which you are going to review and then talk about later. If the President was scheduled to give a speech then in your blog you should state that you "will discuss the speech and give your opinion after the speech airs. Comments will be appreciated".

Try your best to find exclusive information that not many have. Do not disclose any confidential or secret information which is deemed illegal or can potentially get you into trouble, but try to get the scoop before everyone else does. Such as: If your blog was about Paris Hilton (the socialite) and you had a blog entry about "Paris Hilton Getting Married" then it would be interesting to your readers if you had a actual picture of Paris Hilton engagement ring. Give your best effort to dig and search the internet for exclusive information and you will possibly come up with something useful. Your readers will appreciate this and they show their appreciation through word-of-mouth referrals. Imagine how many readers will tell their friends, family, and others about information they only can find at your blog.

12) Make Money

Once your blog has gained some real momentum and your blog traffic is increasing then it is time to start thinking about turning your traffic into profit. You should use contextual advertising, like Google Adsense or Chitika. Contextual advertising is usually text links which use the content of your blog to publish targeted ads on your blog. The payout is usually based on a pay-per-click model, meaning for ever click an ad receives you are paid a small percentage of the profits. In addition to contextual advertising it is good to also use graphical advertising such as: BlogAds Amazon, MammaMedia, or General Sponsored Advertising.

13) You're a Professional

You're a professional now! What are you still doing with that free blog hosting service? It is time to upgrade to a domain hosted solution. You need to get a web host and choose a domain name for your blog then check its availability. Select the blogging software you wish to use, such as: Squarespace.com, WordPress.org, MovableType.org, TypePad, etc. When you have your new blog domain setup and ready for traffic then it is time for you to announce your move on all your previous blog accounts. Your last entry to the blog should be a "move" announcement. The title should be "Moved" and the blog entry should state something like "I have a new home for my blog, please bookmark and follow This way all returning visitors and new readers should not have any problem finding your new blog domain.  Plus, search engines can easily index and crawl your new blog, since your old blog should already be popular with the search engines.

At the level of a professional blogger you may want to team up with 1 or more other bloggers. This will create a more interesting and more powerful blog. The old saying "two heads is better than one", more authors mean more advertising and exposure because each author will have a vested interest in the blog. The idea of a team blog is to make it profitable and rewarding for all authors, while continuing to target the blog topic and keeping the blog interesting for visitors.

Following these blogging techniques should make your blogging experience much more rewarding. There is no guarantee that your blog will become popular or a household name, but the effort should at least put you one step closer. Making money online is not an overnight experience like many may think, but making money online is definitely a foreseeable possibility. As well, growing popularity on the web is not an overnight experience, but through time, dedication, and persistence you will be rewarded with all the royalties of blogging.