Showing posts with label WordPress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WordPress. Show all posts

How to Add Your Blog to Blog Directories: A Primer

Sphere: Related Content
There are over a million blogs now online, and there are thousands and thousands of readers who have to sift through all the intellectual and creative sedimentation in order to find the things that they would like to read. After all, there are as many tastes and thoughts as there are people on the planet, and having a blog can be a bid for anyone to be heard. If you have a blog, surely you’ve had dreams of making it big in the blogosphere and of getting people to read your work no matter where they are in the work. In order to do this, however, you will need to find ways to promote your blog.

Thanks to the power of technology and the Internet, you have a lot of techniques to choose from when it comes to promoting your blog. For one, you can post on forums that have topics that are related to your blog, and that have members who might be interested in the things that you have to say. Another way that you can promote your blog is through posting on mailing lists: you can extend help to people who you know can benefit from your expertise, or you can simply join a mailing list where people share your interests.

One more way for you to make more people come to your side of the bloggin universe is to add your blog to blog directories.

In the same way that Google indexes individual websites and puts them under the right keyword, so can you add your blog to an online blog directory. The blog directory is a great way for you to get noticed. By placing your blog under certain categories or keywords, and by placing it in a place that can be searched, and where individual entries can be categorized and filtered according to topic, you can get more readers – and not just casual readers who are passing through, but those who actually may share your interests.

How do you get your blog onto online blog directories?

There are many different directories available, and you will need to find one that not only offers free listing – there are many of these, so you need not worry – but those that will allow you to gain the most visibility. Moreover, you are not limited to a single blog directory: try placing yourself in about four or five, as there are readers and browsers that often stay loyal to a single blog directory. This technique may allow you to spread yourself farther, and faster.

Before you enter your blog onto an online directory, make sure that you know exactly what your blog keywords are.

These will be required when you register your blog site. You do not want to put down random keywords in an effort to get your blog noticed anywhere and everywhere. You know what it feels like to stumble onto a website that has absolutely nothing to do with your search term, so imagine what a blog reader would feel when he or she finds your blog but isn’t interested in its content!

Don’t turn potential readers away!

In the same way, make your content readable and worth going back to. There are many blog writers out there who do not even spell properly or write with sense, and you do need to set yourself apart from the rest. Make sure that your blog is ready for the world before you put it on a blog directory.

These are only a few tips that you may want to take note of before you start putting your blog down in a blog directory. For more information, go through the About and FAQ sections of blog directories to see what rules you need to follow, and the extent of the reach of the directory. With good planning and good keywords, not to mention good content, you will succeed in blogging.
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Do's and Don'ts for Reciprocating Traffic to Promote Your Blog

Sphere: Related Content
Some mockingly call it as the mutual admiration society and wherein people praise – and link to – each other in order to generate traffic. No matter how way you look at it, reciprocating traffic works not just for promoting websites but blogs as well. Here are several dos and don’ts to take note of if you’re in the mood for sharing some love with your fellow bloggers.

How to Reciprocate Traffic for Blog Promotion

Reciprocating is easier than you think. You just have to take note of what other bloggers are doing for you and return the favor. Of course, you can also consider initiating things by being the first to post a comment, include a link in your directory, respond with a blog entry, or review another blog.

As long as what you’re doing places focus on you and the other blogger, you’re doing the right thing!

Make your reciprocation valuable

If you are going to reciprocate a favor, be sure to make it valuable and meaningful for the other blogger. It would simply be a waste of web space if all you’re going to say is hi and goodbye. If that’s what you’re going to do, it’s best not to reciprocate at all.

To make reciprocation valuable, consider which areas you can make the greatest contributions – pages which, even better, the other blogger would appreciate to gain more traffic for. Look for questions that coincide with your fields of expertise.

Make it mutually beneficial

Reciprocity is not merely an exchange of links. It also includes mutual acknowledgment – and maybe even recommendation – of each other’s expertise. When you post a comment or display a link in your website, make sure that the information you provide not only reflects positively on the other blogger but on yourself as well.

Pay attention to house rules

Reciprocation means visiting another person’s blog and as they say, when in Rome, it’s important to do as the Romans do. Every blog has its own set of house rules and you must pay attention to them. One example of house rules is the inclusion of links in your comments. Some bloggers prefer not to have any links displayed without their express permission.

Acts of rudeness commonly result from simple misunderstanding and ignorance of rules. If you’re unsure about your statement, you can always email the other blogger and ask for confirmation as to whether your reply is adequate or not.

Don’t be condescending

It’s easy to be so without even being aware of it. When you are visiting a blog that’s less popular than yours, don’t act or speak in such a way that you’ve made it very clear to everyone the other blogger should be grateful for you little act of reciprocation. That’s a big no-no to do, and you’re sure to receive unpleasant feedback even if it’s true. Such things are better left unsaid.

Always return the favor

Last but not the least, remember to return every favor you receive! This is the golden rule of all golden rules and to violate once or several times is something that no Internet marketer forgets. Soon, tales of your infamy will spread and you shouldn’t be surprised if the popularity of your blog starts declining.

Regardless of how much or how little you’ll benefit from reciprocating the favor, do it anyway. It’s called good business!
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Top Blog Directories to Submit Your Blog to

Sphere: Related Content
If you have a blog, then you can count yourself among the thousands of other people on earth who have a blog, who can sell their products and services online, and who find ways to network through friends, former classmates, relatives, even acquaintances, in order to make more money. There are thousands upon thousands of blogs on the Internet right now, and you will need to shine through the muddle of language, or, at the very least, be known to a few well enough in whatever niche you choose to place yourself.

One way for you to establish your audience is to actually have a niche that you proclaim yourself to be in, and one way for you to do this is to place your blog address in a blog directory. You also have the pick of the litter: you are not limited to placing your blog in a single directory, which is advantageous if you consider how these blog directories have their own audiences whom you might lose if you aren’t meticulous enough.

If you are interested in submitting your blog to a blog directory, make sure that your blog is ready for the viewing. Do not simply place your blog address and then expect people to read half-baked essays, poor stories, or no entries at all. Have a lot of good content to welcome your new and current readers. Moreover, be aware of exactly what keywords your blog will have.

This means that you will have to go through your content, and then evaluate what keywords to use, so that you can properly categorize your blog and then provide the right keywords if the blog directory service asks for it.

Here are some blog directories that you may want to consider when you are finally ready to sign your blog up.

1. Blog Catalog (http://www.blogcatalog.com) allows you to not only place your blog into a category. It also shows which categories are the most popular, so that you can be better guided as to what market has the biggest readers. Through blog catalog, you can join discussions and form or join groups.

2. At Blog Hub (http://www.bloghub.com), you can add your blog and chat at a forum, chat with your fellow bloggers, and get news on affordable web hosting services, as well as other articles that might be of interest to you. Blog hub also offers information on how to use services to monetize your blog.

3. You can also add your blog to the directory at Blog Hint (http://www.bloghints.com), where you can view the latest blogs added, the most popular, and the highest rated. Blog Hints will even suggest a category for your blog, and you can access some Wordpress themes if you are using that service. There are many different blogs in this directory that you can search through. The blogs are also arranged in folders that are readily visible on the front page of the site.

4. At Blogging Fusion (http://www.bloggingfusion.com) you can also readily view the available categories, and you can even get your blog featured. There are also available blog ratings systems and popular blogs lists for you to browse.

5. Another directory is Blog Flux (http://dir.blogflux.com) where you can look through an alphabetical directory, see featured blogs, and see the latest updates to blogs listed in the directory.
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]