Free Blogging Tips from Successful Bloggers

Free Blogging Tips, Advice and "How To"
From Successful Bloggers
All Info Packed on One Page!

 

Welcome to our free educational project about blogging!

This blog is part of the big Free Blogging Advice Guidelines project that was started to share with you - those who do blogging for profit or for a hobby - the best blogging tips, advice, how to and ideas from really successful bloggers.

How to Start Blogging and Get Successful?

Ask Successful Bloggers…

We did the same: we contacted successful bloggers in different niches and asked them just 8 questions (the same questions to all experts), and many of them agreed to answer and share their knowledge with you. You can use these answers as your guide to blogging and a motivator to success, because from the answers you will see that it is really possible to be successful with blog. You just need to know how to do that.

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Down to Answers of Successful Bloggers
REMEMBER
This is Just the Beginning…

These answers are just the beginning of a very large, real time developing free educational project about blogging. Many of the blog gurus already agreed to participate on a bigger scale in this project, and we'll have several private interviews from blog gurus coming up on this blog shortly.

If have any questions to blogging experts - we are in charge. Send your questions about blogging, and we will do the best to get answers from the expert bloggers. We will keep you updated about upcoming interviews in advance, so that you have enough time to prepare the questions for this blogging star!

Your participation and feedback are very important in this project. That is why don't be afraid and don't be shy to contact us and say how we can give you more help about blogging in all its apsects. Your voice matters indeed. And we recommend you to bookmark this blog, because it's really easier than typing our URL into the browser You can check what is faster later on.

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Ok, now that you understand how to use this project for the success of your business blogging or hobby blogging, let's get down to the answers of our successful bloggers who agreed to participate in the first event of Free Blogging Advice Guidelines project.

OK, INTRODUCING OUR BLOGGERS!

We picked these bloggers from different niches: Internet marketing, non profit, business, celebrity, legal issues, cars, marketing, etc. We did it to make sure that you see the bigger picture about successful blogging. Plus this variety of niches hints you that no matter what niche you pick - if you do it properly, your blogging can be a real success and with time become an example of the best blogging experience.

Now, give each of them a nice wave of welcoming applause, in alphabetic order

Alan Liew with http://moneymakerinfo.blogspot.com
Alain and Stefan with http://blog.futurelab.net/ 
Alice Seba with http://www.InternetMarketingsweetie.com/blog/
Bernie Dietz with http://www.internet-legal.com/blog/
Brian Turner with http://www.ibrian.co.uk
Chris Rudolph with http://www.chris-rudolph.com
Denis de Bernardy with http://www.semiologic.com
Gobala Krishnan with http://www.gobalakrishnan.com
Jai Nischal Verma, admin of http://www.styleikon.com
Jens Thraenhart with http://jensthraenhart.com/cblog/
Joe Hayes with http://www.moddedmustangs.com
John Jantsch with http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog
Katya Andresen with http://www.nonprofitmarketingblog.com
Michael Fleischner with http://marketing-expert.blogspot.com
Matthew Henrickson with http://www.BlogaboutyourBlog.com
Matthew Ng with http://InternetMoneyBlog.com
Spicy Pants with http://celebritysmackblog.com
Steven Wong with http://www.stevenwongblog.com/
Terry Dean with http://www.terrydean.org
Webmaster of http://whiskybeach.com/blog

Guys and gals, we are all happy that you decided to share your best blogging knowledge. Thanks a lot for it, and let's start squeezing your tips.

Here They Go!
Blogging Questions and Answers:

 

Question About Blogging #1.

What is your most successful blog (maybe you have other blogs as well)?

Alan Liew with http://moneymakerinfo.blogspot.com

http://moneymakerinfo.blogspot.com is my most successful blog.

 Alain and Stefan with http://blog.futurelab.net/

Our most succesful blog is the Marketing and Strategy Innovation blog at http://blog.futurelab.net, with roughly 35,000 regular readers. More recently we have also started up http://businessandgames.com/blog, which is starting to gain traction only now. Both blogs are a combination of original and aggregated content, as we found that there is too much good stuff around out there, which is almost impossible to track. So we collected over 20 of our favourite bloggers and republish the best of the best.

Alice Seba with http://www.internetmarketingsweetie.com/blog/

I guess it depends on what you define as successful, but my main blog and most visited blog is at http://www.InternetMarketingSweetie.com/blog. It’s a blog that talks about my experiences, opinions and advice on marketing online.

Bernie Dietz with http://www.internet-legal.com/blog/

Law Blog located at http://internet-legal.com/blog

Brian Turner with http://www.ibrian.co.uk

The most successful blogs I run operate as news sites – effectively on the basis of “we, the media”. Interestingly enough, the more niche the topic area, and the most emergent the topic area, then the easier it is to generate traffic and position yourself as a market leader. General subject sites I find too easily swamped by established media.

Chris Rudolph with http://www.chris-rudolph.com

My most successful blog is www.chris-rudolph.com. I also run www.landscaping-ideas.co.uk

Denis de Bernardy with http://www.semiologic.com

Semiologic.com is the only blog I run (and it isn't much of a blog in practice).

Gobala Krishnan with http://www.gobalakrishnan.com

My most successful blog in terms of branding myself is www.GobalaKrishnan.com. In terms or making money, the most successful blog is www.EasyWordpress.com/labs/

Jai Nischal Verma, admin of http://www.styleikon.com

www.styleikon.com

Jens Thraenhart with http://jensthraenhart.com/cblog/

The "Tourism Internet Marketing Blog" (www.tourisminternetmarketing.com) is the only blog I focus on, and I have been amazed by the traffic growth. Other blogs I am involved in is the "Canada-e-Connect Blog" (www.canadaeconnectblog.com), which gives an inside view of the development of the Canadian e-Tourism Strategy Conference and the Canadian e-Tourism Awards in November in Vancouver - which I both chair.

In my day-job as Executive Director of Marketing Stratetgy & CRM at the Canadian Tourism Commission, I am experiementing with different social media sites - so we launched the first phase of our Canada.travel blogs (www.blogs.canada.travel), and also added pages to Facebook, MySpace, as well as Yahoo! Canada.

Joe Hayes with http://www.moddedmustangs.com

http://www.moddedmustangs.com

John Jantsch with http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog

http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog

Katya Andresen with http://www.nonprofitmarketingblog.com

www.nonprofitmarketingblog.com

Michael Fleischner with http://marketing-expert.blogspot.com

"The Marketing Blog" available at http://marketing-expert.blogspot.com

Matthew Henrickson with http://www.BlogaboutyourBlog.com

I run and contribute to many blog, but my most successful blog is http://www.BlogaboutyourBlog.com

Matthew Ng with http://InternetMoneyBlog.com

My own successful blog would be my own personal blog on Internet Marketing Home Business Blog located at http://InternetMoneyBlog.com

Spicy Pants with http://celebritysmackblog.com

http://www.CelebritySmackBlog.com

Steven Wong with http://www.stevenwongblog.com/

My most successful blog is www.InternetOn9.com & I am starting out a new one at www.StevenWongBlog.com to reflect my actual identity in blogging.

Terry Dean with http://www.terrydean.org

My most successful blog determined by monthly income is http://www.terrydean.org

Webmaster of http://whiskybeach.com/blog

This is my best blog creation for now, I am planning to make another one soon.

 

Question About Blogging #2.

How long have been working with it?

Alan Liew with http://moneymakerinfo.blogspot.com

13 months

Alain and Stefan with http://blog.futurelab.net/

 We started preparing in January 2006, and launched in March 2006. Readership numbers have gone up in a straight line ever since.

Alice Seba with http://www.internetmarketingsweetie.com/blog/

The blog was moved to its new location earlier this year (2007), but I’ve been working on it since July 2004. It used to be hosted on my namesake domain at aliceseba.com, but has its new home under the brand of “Internet Marketing Sweetie” which is my line of Internet Marketing courses.

Bernie Dietz with http://www.internet-legal.com/blog/

I have been working on my blog for more than a year now, having started it back in July, 2006.

Brian Turner with http://www.ibrian.co.uk

I work with a stable of blog-built sites, and have done so for about 3 years. I think experimentation is a great way to learn, not least in topic area covered.

Chris Rudolph with http://www.chris-rudolph.com

I have been running to blog for only about 6 months - I started it when I was at home recovering from an operation.

Denis de Bernardy with http://www.semiologic.com

Since January 2005

Gobala Krishnan with http://www.gobalakrishnan.com

I've been working on my blogs since March 2006, a little over a year ago.

Jai Nischal Verma, admin of http://www.styleikon.com

More than Two Years

Jens Thraenhart with http://jensthraenhart.com/cblog/

I started October of 2006 with the Tourism Internet Marketing Blog, but became more active and focused in January 2007.

My first hands-on experience with blogs was back in 2003, when I started a company called WOW Traveller (www.wow.travel), a company that we with luxury hotel book-publishing company Kiwi Collection. But we built a blogging platform with a third party travel community website to show the travels of our travel writer, and bring her experiences to life.

Joe Hayes with http://www.moddedmustangs.com

About 2 years

John Jantsch with http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog

First post was March 2003

Katya Andresen with http://www.nonprofitmarketingblog.com

I launched it in October of last year.

Michael Fleischner with http://marketing-expert.blogspot.com

I launched the blog about a year and a half ago after a number of my customers suggested that I begin providing tactical information that would help them improve their day-to-day Internet marketing.

Matthew Henrickson with http://www.BlogaboutyourBlog.com

We have been running with the idea and the blog since November of 2006. We started on blogspot and in January we moved to our own domain. Not until lately did we catch fire. We have been one of the best blogging communities, I think we launched before our "time".

Matthew Ng with http://InternetMoneyBlog.com

Since November 2006

Spicy Pants with http://celebritysmackblog.com

I started Celebrity Smack in 2004, after having surgery and needing something to kill time as I healed.

Steven Wong with http://www.stevenwongblog.com/

I started this blog in May 2006 together with my good friend Gobala Krishnan.

Terry Dean with http://www.terrydean.org

I have been running it for just over 1 year.

Webmaster of http://whiskybeach.com/blog

About an year.

 

Question About Blogging #3.

What was your biggest mistake/failure with this blog?

Alan Liew with http://moneymakerinfo.blogspot.com

I didn't pay to register my own domain name for the blog at beginning. http://moneymakerinfo.blogspot.com isn't owned by me actually, it is a second level domain of Blogger.

Alain and Stefan with http://blog.futurelab.net/

From a conceptual or content point of view, can’t really think of anything. Operationally there is one clear mistake – we tried to categorize all posts, which failed miserably. There are just too many subjects in the field to do this in a meaningful way. Now we switch to tagging, but with 2000 posts on the blog that is a gargantuan task to do. So – every new blogger take heed – start tagging NOW!

Alice Seba with http://www.internetmarketingsweetie.com/blog/

I always have trouble with questions like this. Even though I make a lot of mistakes as I go along, I always consider them to be learning experiences. Then when I’m asked a few years later, I’ve forgotten the mistake but still remember how to do things right.

Bernie Dietz with http://www.internet-legal.com/blog/

Not starting sooner. I have been online since 1992 and while I have always had a web site, I was late to the blogging medium. Blogging makes updating so easy and accessible, I wish I had done it sooner.

Brian Turner with http://www.ibrian.co.uk

Biggest failures include poor targeting, poor updating of content, and generally running out of energy. Security is also worth mentioning – one of my most successfully blogs these days is 3 years old, but was hacked at least twice during the first year – but was updated so irregularly that I probably didn’t realise for weeks on the first occasion.

Chris Rudolph with http://www.chris-rudolph.com

Not starting it sooner - I have always enjoyed writing, but never got round to starting a blog.

Denis de Bernardy with http://www.semiologic.com

Never finding time to give it some love.

Gobala Krishnan with http://www.gobalakrishnan.com

My biggest mistake with the blog is getting distracted by the way other people are building their blogs, instead of focusing on creating a unique direction for my own. I should have posted more content related to my subject matter, and posted more regularly.

Jai Nischal Verma, admin of http://www.styleikon.com

None.

Jens Thraenhart with http://jensthraenhart.com/cblog/

The only mistake I can think of is that I built the blog on my personal domain (www.jensthraenhart.com), instead of www.tourisminternetmarketing.com , so it is just a redirect.

Other than that, it has been a great learning process, but the blog becomes like a little child that needs constant care. And if it is sick (pages don't load properly, etc.), you do anything to get it healthy again…:)

Joe Hayes with http://www.moddedmustangs.com

Assuming that people would automatically find your blog just because you write it.

John Jantsch with http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog

Waiting until this year to switch to WordPress.

Katya Andresen with http://www.nonprofitmarketingblog.com

I think it took me a while to find my voice. It reminded me of the process of writing my book. I didn’t start really humming till I was halfway through. I ended up finishing the book, then going back and throwing out the first half. I had to completely rework the beginning once I had hit my stride as a writer. It was painful but necessary. With blogging, it took me a few months to settle into a tone and approach that worked for me and my audience – and flowed enough that I could summon the energy to post often. Of course since it’s a blog, that evolution was a public process. All in all, I’m not sure this was a failure as much as an unavoidable part of my personal writing process. As they say in Russian, the first pancake is always bad. My first pancakes (chapters, posts) have a tendency to fall flat.

Michael Fleischner with http://marketing-expert.blogspot.com

My biggest mistake, which has turned into one of my greatest opportunities, was assuming that I knew what to blog about. What I've learned is that you need to blog about those topics your loyal readers find most valuable. This is in essence what blogging is all about. Ranting is fine if you rant with a purpose that can benefit others.

Matthew Henrickson with http://www.BlogaboutyourBlog.com

I wish we would have started on our own domain. I started the blog after about a month of sports blogging. I hardly knew the in's and out's of blogging.

Matthew Ng with http://InternetMoneyBlog.com

hahah.. good question. In terms of personal failure, I would say it's my lack of knowledge of technical know how. My blog has some scripting problems cause I edited the scripts too many times resulting some errors in commenting and layout.

Spicy Pants with http://celebritysmackblog.com

Not getting my own domain name sooner. I had a blogspot blog for the first few years and only switched to my own domain this year. I should have done it ages ago!

Steven Wong with http://www.stevenwongblog.com/

I started off with no direction on what to blog about in www.InternetOn9.com and I bought the wrong domain name. After so many months of analysis and review, I decided to start a new one which able to tell my reader about my identity. You can check out my new blog at www.StevenWongBlog.com, it's just launched in end Sept.

Terry Dean with http://www.terrydean.org

I had two big mistakes with this blog. The first one was not marketing enough in the beginning. I gave a lot of content, but didn't concentrate on marketing the blog and networking with other bloggers in the beginning to drive traffic to it.

The other big mistake was waiting too long to start offering my products and services on the blog. As a business coach, the blog is mainly used to build relationships with my visitors by providing content. And the purpose of this is to bring them into a coaching relationship or sell one of my products to them. I should have been a little more aggressive in offering my products and services earlier. I would never want to be in a position where I only had to earn money from selling advertising on my blog.

Webmaster of http://whiskybeach.com/blog

Don't know, may be that at first I haven't make the URL static.

 

Question About Blogging #4.

How often do you update content on your blog?

Alan Liew with http://moneymakerinfo.blogspot.com

I add new content every 2 days.

Alain and Stefan with http://blog.futurelab.net/

 We aim for 3 posts per day, every day. Some days it’s only 2, some days 4 or 5 if there is too much quality out there…

Alice Seba with http://www.internetmarketingsweetie.com/blog/

It has varied over the years, but I’m on a steadier schedule of a minimum of 4 posts per week…but it is usually more. Each week, I make a schedule of 4 topics I’ll be covering the following week to ensure I stay on track and update the blog regularly. Then, as the week progresses, if I want to share anything else, I post more.

Bernie Dietz with http://www.internet-legal.com/blog/

It seems to ebb and flow based on the volume of other work I have to do. I try for at least a post a week. Sometimes I post multiple times in a week, sometimes not for a couple of weeks.

Brian Turner with http://www.ibrian.co.uk

My personal blog I update infrequently because I’m so damn busy! News blogs pretty much need updating each day, usually multiple times. The better you can cover a topic area, the better you can position yourself.

Chris Rudolph with http://www.chris-rudolph.com

2-3 times a week usually

Denis de Bernardy with http://www.semiologic.com

Variable. I'd like to be posting something new every day. In practice, I (sometimes) update it when I publish software updates.

Gobala Krishnan with http://www.gobalakrishnan.com

I post about an average of once every 2 days, which is way below what some other bloggers are putting up. But, I really decided to have a different direction for my blogs so when I'm not posting, I'm marketing it in other ways.

Jai Nischal Verma, admin of http://www.styleikon.com

Every Day.

Jens Thraenhart with http://jensthraenhart.com/cblog/

I try to post a new article either every day or every second day. I mostly pre-post articles on the weekend or late at night, so I don't have the risk of having a gap if I don't have time to post.

Joe Hayes with http://www.moddedmustangs.com

About once a week.

John Jantsch with http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog

Daily for the most part.

Katya Andresen with http://www.nonprofitmarketingblog.com

I try to post five times a week, although my average is more like four posts.

Michael Fleischner with http://marketing-expert.blogspot.com

More often than not, I'm providing posts on a daily basis. The only caveat is that I won't complete a post if it isn't valuable. I don't want to waste anyone's time - especially those who use the information to better themselves or their business.

Matthew Henrickson with http://www.BlogaboutyourBlog.com

We update daily, and sometimes up to 3-5 times per day. Since it's a multi-author blog I really count on other bloggers to contribute.

Matthew Ng with http://InternetMoneyBlog.com

I have many things to post but due to my time constrain and work, I hardly blog nowdays unless it's really an important subject. I hope to blog at least 3 times a week…

Spicy Pants with http://celebritysmackblog.com

Monday thru Friday religiously.

Steven Wong with http://www.stevenwongblog.com/

There is no fixed formula on updating the site, but I normally do it beginning and end of the month if I am very busy. My number of post is around 6-10 a month on average and I intend to increase to 15-20 post if possible. I am working on it now. Otherwise, I will blog on the important issue on ad-hoc basis.

Terry Dean with http://www.terrydean.org

Normally 3 times per week.

Webmaster of http://whiskybeach.com/blog

Once a week.

 

Question About Blogging #5.

Do you do any search engine optimization for your blog?

Alan Liew with http://moneymakerinfo.blogspot.com

Yes. I spent a hard time doing SEO.

Alain and Stefan with http://blog.futurelab.net/

We try to stick with basic hygiene – not do anything stupid that gets us banned for instance. Our blogging software (MT) takes care of most of the rest. The core search engine effect is simply organic search. As we have a pretty decent pagerank and backlinks, any article on our blog immediately gets high ranking in google, leading to 500 natural search hits per day – many of whom convert into RSS subscribers. So, without much specific attention to it, we’re doing pretty fine. And it goes to show once more that the ultimate SEO tactic is still TRUE relevance.

Alice Seba with http://www.internetmarketingsweetie.com/blog/

I don’t. I have other, more formal content that is optimized for search engines. I like to keep my blog very interpersonal and write for my readers, not for search engines.

Bernie Dietz with http://www.internet-legal.com/blog/

Not really, I just post on topics that are interesting to me and that I think will be interesting to Internet business owners and entrepreneurs and let Google do its thing.

Brian Turner with http://www.ibrian.co.uk

My day job is SEO – so on-page SEO is always a prerequisite, while link development is prioritised for those sites which start off well through the gate, and therefore show good potential.

Chris Rudolph with http://www.chris-rudolph.com

Yes, I have various SEO plugins installed and have done some link building. I also use MyBlogLog (http://www.mybloglog.com/) and Blogrush (http://www.blogrush.com/r78128572) to generate traffic.

Denis de Bernardy with http://www.semiologic.com

I just stick to using Semiologic Pro.

Gobala Krishnan with http://www.gobalakrishnan.com

Yes, but it's mostly basic search engine optimization.

Jai Nischal Verma, admin of http://www.styleikon.com

Link Exchanges, Mod_Rewrite

Jens Thraenhart with http://jensthraenhart.com/cblog/

It is funny, I am a fanatic when it comes to search engine optimzation, and when I headed E-Commerce at Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, we excelled in SEO and SEM. With my blog I don't focus on SEO at all, and it is getting optimized by the engines very quickly. I guess in the end, it is all about content…!

Joe Hayes with http://www.moddedmustangs.com

Yes, quite heavily. Mostly just making sure it's search engine friendly when it comes to url's, good page titles, unique and compelling content. Most of that makes for a user friendly and easy to navigate blog as well, so you win on both sides.

John Jantsch with http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog

Rewrite the URLs to show titles and am very cognizant of important keywords – everything else is pretty much handled by the 65,000 backward links I somehow gathered.

Katya Andresen with http://www.nonprofitmarketingblog.com

I hired someone to help me think about SEO from day one.  SEO was in mind when naming the blog, selecting the URL, creating tags, generating content, etc.

Michael Fleischner with http://marketing-expert.blogspot.com

Some. My primary SEO tactics to date have been related to "on-page" optimization but I also do a little off-page SEO (article marketing, reciprocal linking, etc.)

Matthew Henrickson with http://www.BlogaboutyourBlog.com

I recently started working on SEO for the blog and we rank highly on "Increase Website Traffic" and many other longtail keywords regarding those keyterms. Our next project is to rank well on "Blogging Tips" and "Blog Tools".

Matthew Ng with http://InternetMoneyBlog.com

Yes I do.

Spicy Pants with http://celebritysmackblog.com

No, but it's something I am looking into now that I moved domains.

Steven Wong with http://www.stevenwongblog.com/

Yes, I did but mainly using the plugin available. There are many plugins that can do fantastic job.

Terry Dean with http://www.terrydean.org

I don't focus intensively on seo for the blog, but I do research longtail keyword phrases (search engine keywords of 3 or more words), and try to run at least one post a week targeted after those keywords. And of course, you're always working on creating additional incoming links to your blog which helps with the seo as well.

Webmaster of http://whiskybeach.com/blog

I do SEO for my blog, for my keyword I am # 6 in Google.

 

Question About Blogging #6.

How do you monetize your blog?

Alan Liew with http://moneymakerinfo.blogspot.com

I monetize my blog with Google AdSense and affiliate programs. Whenever I find a advertising program or affiliate program that can potentially increase my blog revenue. I'll use the program on my blog for few weeks to test whether it works. If it works well, I'll continue to use the program but if the program produces poor result, I'll stop using the program and look for another money making program.

Alain and Stefan with http://blog.futurelab.net/

We don’t monetize directly. We have no ads or sponsoring on the blog. There is an indirect monetization effect for us and our contributors as we raise the profiles and get speaking engagements etc. We will start a publishing service in the near future though, which will hopefully thrive on our existing contributors and readers.

Alice Seba with http://www.internetmarketingsweetie.com/blog/

I sell my own products and products through affiliate programs. Some of this is done through the template of the blog, but mainly I strategically place promotions within the useful content in my blog entries. I also encourage sign ups to my various topic-specific mailing lists, so I can follow up with my readers on an ongoing basis.

Bernie Dietz with http://www.internet-legal.com/blog/

I don't directly monetize my blog with ads but do use it to attract clients. I think it helps give prospective clients a view into how I think and how I approach situations, which helps them make a decision about whether I'm a good fit for them.

Brian Turner with http://www.ibrian.co.uk

Poorly, usually via adsense, though there are some link sales. I think the key is to invest in developing a presence first, and worry about monetisation second. If you can develop real traffic, multiple monetisation opportunities can open up. Because ads can be quite off-putting, I put them off for as long as possible.

Chris Rudolph with http://www.chris-rudolph.com

I promote some affilaite products, use Google Adsense and have experimented with Kontera. I've also tried PayPerPost.

Denis de Bernardy with http://www.semiologic.com

I sell software on the site. I also sell consulting ever now and then, as well as (in the past) text links, and I promote a few products as affiliate.

Gobala Krishnan with http://www.gobalakrishnan.com

My main monetization is from affiliate programs, followed by my own products and Google Adsense.

Jai Nischal Verma, admin of http://www.styleikon.com

Blogads, Link Sales, Text link ads, Affiliates.

Jens Thraenhart with http://jensthraenhart.com/cblog/

I don't. Maybe I should, but at this point, I just use it to share my personal views as it relates to Internet Marketing trends and strategies in the tourism, travel, and hotel industry.

Joe Hayes with http://www.moddedmustangs.com

Google Adsense and Vibrant Media.

John Jantsch with http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog

Use Federated Media to bring ad deals to me – these are usually some combination of page views and offline sponsorship.

Katya Andresen with http://www.nonprofitmarketingblog.com

I don’t try to monetize my blog, and I don’t take ads. I write to get out of the weeds of my daily work and to engage in an invigorating conversation with people who care about nonprofit marketing. That said, I find the blog useful in raising awareness about my book and in my nonprofit, Network for Good.

Michael Fleischner with http://marketing-expert.blogspot.com

I monetize my blog in a couple of ways. First and foremost is Google Adsense. I think its a win-win because my blog readers gain access to relevant tools and information. The second, but much less frequent way is through affiliate marketing. After a product has met our product review standards, we may choose to suggest it in response to a post. That said, if a consumer purchases the product based on our recommendation, we receive a small commission. Again, a win-win because we connect product seekers with viable products that have proven to meet a need in the market place.

Matthew Henrickson with http://www.BlogaboutyourBlog.com

What is nice about our blog is that it isn't heavily monetized. You actually won't see many ads on our actual homepage. We only host google adsense on our single pages. We rely heavily on private ads as well as website and blog reviews.

Matthew Ng with http://InternetMoneyBlog.com

By means of affiliate marketing, email marketing and advertising.

Spicy Pants with http://celebritysmackblog.com

Let me count the ways…I work with numerous companies from Vibrant Media, to Google AdSense to Hype Council. There's many others as well.

Steven Wong with http://www.stevenwongblog.com/

Text link ads, google adsense, local blog advertising, private ad placement and I am looking into pay per post and review me advertising.

Terry Dean with http://www.terrydean.org

My blog income comes primarily through selling coaching services along with my training courses and DVDs. Some of the best income comes in when I run 24 hour to 48 hour specials for whatever I'm offering.

Webmaster of http://whiskybeach.com/blog

Well, just see what blog I want to make and I do it, I run another 4 blogs with different topics.

 

Question About Blogging #7.

What is the key to success with blogs in your understanding of it? (2-3 sentences maximum)

Alan Liew with http://moneymakerinfo.blogspot.com

I would say frequent update of unique content and blog marketing. When your blog is frequently updated with unique content that people want to read, other blogs will start linking to your blog content and thus boost your search rankings. Also your quality blog content will attract your visitors come back often to read your new content.

Alain and Stefan with http://blog.futurelab.net/

The most important thing is to have your own voice, and stick to it. Don’t try to pander to a group or target audience, but be yourself (as an individual or company) and let your real audience find you. Obviously it’s important to post regularly, and to have basic tools such as search and RSS available. Make it easy for people to find and read you.

Alice Seba with http://www.internetmarketingsweetie.com/blog/

In addition to keeping your blog up-to-date, if you want to make money from your blog, you don’t have to be shy about it. Post honest reviews give helpful advice and show people how they can get more help or find useful products. Don’t turn your blog into a daily advertisement, but carefully blend information and opinions with promotions.

Bernie Dietz with http://www.internet-legal.com/blog/

The key to a successful blog, in my opinion, is valuable content that cannot be easily found elsewhere. With my blog, I try to answer questions and educate my readers as much as possible, which I think readers appreciate.

Brian Turner with http://www.ibrian.co.uk

Target a specific topic area, niche if possible; really focus on coverage of that niche; let the subject write the story; don’t try to cash in quickly; build up relationships with similar topic sites; push on updating the site as regularly as possible.

Chris Rudolph with http://www.chris-rudolph.com

The main keys to success, in my opinion, apply to all blogs - make the content interesting, don't just keep trying to sell, sell, sell - it will turn your readers off. Making the blog attractive to look at also helps.

Denis de Bernardy with http://www.semiologic.com

1. Worry about content
2. Worry about marketing

Gobala Krishnan with http://www.gobalakrishnan.com

From my understanding, the key to a successful blog is to have your own voice and style of writing. The more unique you are, the better reason for someone to subscribe to your blog and recommend it to others.

Jai Nischal Verma, admin of http://www.styleikon.com

Constant Updation is the key.

Jens Thraenhart with http://jensthraenhart.com/cblog/

Do it Yourself. I get a lot of calls from people that praise themselves as "Social Media Experts and Strategists" but they themselves don't a blog (maybe in their teams does - but the key is to do it yourslef to really learn about the impact).

Joe Hayes with http://www.moddedmustangs.com

Writing compelling content and networking with others in your niche. Let your competitors know your there while at the same time acknowledging them in a respectful manner. Sharing information and becoming part of the industry's authoritive voice.

John Jantsch with http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog

I think it’s just like most things – stick with it, work it hard and network like crazy before it ever starts to make sense from a return standpoint.

Katya Andresen with http://www.nonprofitmarketingblog.com

Three things

1. Study the landscape first. Find out, what other blogs cover your topic? Does the world need another blog on that topic? Are you sure? Okay, then go to step 2.

2. Engage with fellow bloggers on your topic. I developed relationships with smart bloggers in my space and commented on their blogs – as well as sent them books to review – for a good six months before I launched my blog. That process helped me refine the focus of my blog. It also ensured that when I launched my blog, it complemented not replicated related blogs. And the bloggers I’d gotten to know were happy to link to me from day one – meaning I could quickly build an interested audience.

3. Be tirelessly generous. Be generous with your intellect and talents – most really good stuff. Be generous sharing credit. Be generous linking to other bloggers and highlighting their work. Be generous to your readers and commenters. It feels good and it all comes back tenfold.

Michael Fleischner with http://marketing-expert.blogspot.com

Value… what you blog about must be targeted to our audience and provide sufficient value. Information is only valuable if your readers find it valuable and if it solves a need.

Matthew Henrickson with http://www.BlogaboutyourBlog.com

Build your network. To become a successful blogger you really need a lot of contacts. No blogger would be anything without other bloggers supporting them.

Matthew Ng with http://InternetMoneyBlog.com

Hmm.. This is quite a subjective question…From my point of view, the key success would be having the "right" unique content which people are searching for, lots of traffic and ranked on the first page of every search engines. Having a lot of traffic and readers on your blog is the key that will make you more money (if you know how to monetize it).

Spicy Pants with http://celebritysmackblog.com

Stay fresh, stay unique. So many blogs just copy and paste articles, even using the same photos. This happens to me all the time. It kills me. Write your own stuff, show some personality!

Steven Wong with http://www.stevenwongblog.com/

As far as I am blogging concern, the key to success is really simple and many people is talking about that: Your own niche topic. You must have a strong topic to blog about. Don\'t try to dump in every topic in the blog, it doesn't work well.

Terry Dean with http://www.terrydean.org

Write good valuable content that builds your credibility to your readers. Market your blog by networking and linking to others in your niche. Sell related products and services to your blog readers.

Webmaster of http://whiskybeach.com/blog

Just keep it ALIVE, fill it out with content (once or twice a week is ok), get related links to it, submit it to some directories, RRS submission and everything else is all about waiting.

Question About Blogging #8.

What tools/solutions/plugins/platforms do you find to be the most useful for your blog?

Alan Liew with http://moneymakerinfo.blogspot.com

So far I have not used any tools for my blog. And I find that blogger's dashboard provides the simplest and easiest ways to manage blog(s).

Alain and Stefan with http://blog.futurelab.net/

Feedburner is an absolute requirement. My other favourite is MyBlogLog. The funny thing is that MyBlogLog has started as a service to see which outgoing links where clicked, and has turned itself into a community in the meantime. To us however it’s a live thermometer on whats going on – where are people coming from, which articles are they reading. I use StumbleUpon occasionally for small advertising campaigns, or to promote an already popular article a bit further. Obviously Technorati is important.

Alice Seba with http://www.internetmarketingsweetie.com/blog/

I actually use Blogger and even though some Internet marketers scoff at the idea, I love its simplicity. I use WordPress as a CMS (content management system) elsewhere and have used it as a blog in the past. I like it fine, but Blogger is how I started this blog and quite enjoy it. For my purposes of building relationships and connecting with a loyal reader base, I don’t find most of the plugins available on WordPress and other platforms are necessary.

Bernie Dietz with http://www.internet-legal.com/blog/

I blog using WordPress, which I think is great. I use a lot of plug-ins, all of which I like. It would be hard to pick a favorite.

Brian Turner with http://www.ibrian.co.uk

Wordpress is my default install, with a whole range of plugins used, usually to help present information better (popular, daily read, related, etc) as well as presentational tweaks which can help make the blog more professional, such as email & print options.

Chris Rudolph with http://www.chris-rudolph.com

I use Wordpress because it is so easy to install and there are some many great plugins available. My favourite plugins are: Adsense Deluxe (http://www.acmetech.com/blog/adsense-deluxe/), Akismet (http://akismet.com/), Dagon Design Sitemap Generator (http://www.dagondesign.com/articles/sitemap-generator-plugin-for-wordpress/), Similar Posts (http://rmarsh.com/plugins/similar-posts/), Contact Form (http://green-beast.com/blog/?page_id=136), Ultimate Tag Warrior (http://www.neato.co.nz/manyfaces/wordpress-plugins/ultimate-tag-warrior/) and Wordpress Heat Map (http://www.engadgeted.net/projects/wordpress-heat-map-plugin/). I've also added an affiliate programme to the blog using the Viral Profit Machine script (http://www.chris-rudolph.com/Recommends/ViralProfitMachine).

Denis de Bernardy with http://www.semiologic.com

My backoffice scripts (memberships + affiliate program), which are in perpetual state of development. There are a bunch of solutions out there to tackle this kind of thing, but I never found one that really fit my own needs.

Gobala Krishnan with http://www.gobalakrishnan.com

I use Wordpress for all my blogs. It's simply a better publishing platform. I use Windows Live Writer to write post on my PC and then publish to my blogs. There are also a lot of publishing tools I've listed here: http://www.easywordpress.com/labs/wordpress-tools/

Jai Nischal Verma, admin of http://www.styleikon.com

Wordpress.

Jens Thraenhart with http://jensthraenhart.com/cblog/

I use Serendipity (www.s9y.or) for my blog, and have been happy with it for the most part. If I did another blog, I would probably use Wordpress as it is more userfriendly, but Serendipity is certainly very flexible.

Joe Hayes with http://www.moddedmustangs.com

We use Wordpress. Some of the most useful plugins are bad behavior and akismet for keeping spam out, ddsitemap generator and a google sitemap plugin, share this for social bookmarking, related posts for seo and to help visitors find other posts that interest them, and a post teaser so that I can keep the bulk of the posts on their own unique page.

John Jantsch with http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog

WordPress, Related post plug-in, Share This plugin, AddThis plug in, Sphere related content plug-in, ScribeFire Firefox extension.

Katya Andresen with http://www.nonprofitmarketingblog.com

I use Expression Engine and Sawmill and like both.

Michael Fleischner with http://marketing-expert.blogspot.com

One feature that I absolutely love is the ability for individuals to sign up to receive blog updates by email. I can't believe how popular this has been. I think its because its so easy to use - you just enter your email and receive updates automatically. This negates the need for feed readers and so on.

Matthew Henrickson with http://www.BlogaboutyourBlog.com

Keeping up with the times has really helped us. Really pay attention to the new plugins, websites and new trends that are going on around you. If you aren't up to date with the current trends you can really miss out on something great.

Matthew Ng with http://InternetMoneyBlog.com

Semiologic Wordpress theme.

Spicy Pants with http://celebritysmackblog.com

Blogger was a great place to start but don't stay there forever. I love WordPress after trying pretty much every platform out there. Connect with other bloggers, networking is key to success!

Steven Wong with http://www.stevenwongblog.com/

There are many tools & plugins that I use. I think I just mention the core components that I highly recommend to my student in wordpress blogging workshop. I will suggest using Wordpress blog as your platform, All-in-one SEO, Advance Editor, Askimet, Contact Form, Social Bookmark site submission service, Technorati, share-this, image manager, feedburner, google sitemap & instant upgrade.

Terry Dean with http://www.terrydean.org

I use Wordpress to manage my blog. A couple of my absolute favorite plugs are Ultimate Tag Warrior from http://www.neato.co.nz/ultimate-tag-warrior/ which allows you to add tags to all your posts and What Would Seth Godin Do from http://www.richardkmiller.com/blog/wordpress-plugin-what-would-seth-godin-do/ which allows you to feed a subscription form at the top of your posts to brand new visitors.

Webmaster of http://whiskybeach.com/blog

Most of my blogs are not using tools or any kind of solutions.

 

 

B I G

DIGEST OF BLOGGING TRENDS.

Surely the answers of bloggers speak for themselves, but some of the essential blogging trends and phenomena are very interesting as they are pointed out by different people, who did not communicate "behind the curtain" about this project with each other.

So, the digest of the best blogging business tips and trends…

No need to do blogging for years to be successful.

Check it yourself, some of the bloggers started at the end of 2006 and already climbed up the ladder in search engine results. Surely a lot depends upon the niche and competition in the niche, but all project participants were gathered in very competitive niches.

That is why don't think that it's too late to start blogging. If you are ready, if you invest some time into learning how to start blogging and do that properly, if you are devoted to the blog - the chances for your blog success are truly realistic.

It's never late to start blogging! Are you still waiting?!

Get Your Own Domain for a Blog!

You saw the answers - many bloggers regreted about not building a blog on their own domain from the very beginning. Perhaps, they did not even trust into such big success of their blog. But now they changed their mind.

Good blog is great. But good blog on your own domain is an asset that has value. And this value can be very big. Think about blog in terms of financial independence. Now that you see that success with blog is real, the decision to invest some money into the domain a really wise decision. That is why if you don't know how to start blogging - start from buying a good domain.

Creation of Content for Blog.

No one from the interviewed bloggers is a professonal copywriter. They simply write about their passion - business, hobby, share ideas and tips. And they use very simple and down to earth langauage.

This is the beauty of the blog. No one expects from you to be the guru in writing. Just be fair and give people useful and interesting information. It's not a big deal to come up with nice blogging ideas that can become a topic for a new post. Today's life is super dynamic; new stuff appears all the time in different spheres of life. One of the best blogging tips is not to be shy and find your own voice.

And, of course, you saw that the vast majority of successful bloggers update content on regular basis. Some do that every day, some - several times per week, some - once a week; but in any case regular content growth is very crucial for the success of your blog.

Blogging is Easy!

Yes and no. You don't need to be a blogging guru, but some of the bloggers confessed to make a big mistake of not preparing in advance.

Do tiny market research, check what is happening in your niche, brainstorm a little how you can be unique - these simple step will help you to squeeze the maximum. And don't forget that Internet is full of free blogging tips, versatile blogging how to and ideas. Sometimes you need to sign up to get them and most probably from tim to time together with blogging secrets you will be receiving some ads, but for the sake of getting real guide to blogging success you can read ads.

That is why blogging is easy, but don't expect all fruits to come into your hands. Sometimes you need to shake the tree a little to get some apples.

Best Blogging Platforms - How to Choose One?

This is a very personal issue. Some of the bloggers shared their preferencies. We just want to add more blogging statistics data that was gathered in this Blog Platform Research. Read it and make your own choice about blogging platforms or blogging software or blogging script.

Blogging and SEO.

This issue showed a split of opinions with our bloggers. Some of them simply don't care about blogging SEO. Others report to optimize heavily. Perhaps a lot depends upon the person and his/her point of view about SEO in general.

If you know SEO basics - great! If you don't have any SEO knowledge, just focus on the keywords and can you this free keyword tool for it. Once you know what keywords have nice search demand and moderate competition - simply mention this keywords or keywords or key phrases in the title and body of your blog post. This is already the beginning of SEO.

Blogging for Profit.

Not all bloggers monetize their blogs according to the interview. Still, the majority of the owners of these best blogging sites resort to the typical 'making money blogging' strategies that include:
- selling their own products (we can say it's more of a business blogging)
- affiliating
- AdSenses and other contextual pay-per-click programs.

No one was reporting to gather the base via blogging, but this does not mean that this make money blogging strategy is not used by the interviewed bloggers. In any case, it is wise to gather a base on the blog, if you can give something of interest to the subscribers of your list.

A nice summary about blogging for profit was given by Alice Seba "if you want to make money from your blog, you don’t have to be shy about it" - very wise words.

PROJECT IS NOT OVER!

This is just the beginning of a big line of blogging tips, tricks, how to, ideas and solutions shaed by the successful bloggers. We have already negotiated exclusive interviews with famous bloggers.

You Can Ask Blogger a Question!
We Will Help You!!

We have access to the blogging stars, and we will be glad to share with you the knowledge and skills they possess. This is a place where we share quality info and tips about blogging. You are welcome - it is your right - to ask questions and blogging pros will answer them.

Before arranging any interview, we will notify all subscribes of our list (the subscription box is in the right column or on this subscription link) in advance about this interview. You will be able to send us questions and we'll personally pass them to the blogging experts so that we could cover this topic in the upcoming interviews. In this way we shortcut you to the latest hots from the knowledge base about blogging.

So, feel free to comment to the posts for the information that you see on this page, this will help us to understand your point and provide more suitable materials. And also feel free to join our list and be notified in advance of all interactive educational campaigns and bonuses that we have for you in the pipeline.