Give Your Blog a Sneeze Page

If you have a blog, whether for your business of for personal use, you know that writing your posts takes some time and effort. You want to keep your blog up-to-date, yet you also want your reader to see your past entries since they contain valuable information. And hey—you worked hard on them, so you want them to be read! But how do you get your reader to check out past blogs instead of the most recent ones?

That’s what a sneeze page is for. By categorizing your past posts into relevant themes, you can create a list of archived blog posts that your readers will want to check out. Your readers will see a category they’re interested in, click on that link, and then be sent to the past blog posts that relate to that subject. Sneeze pages are also good for search engine optimization since the links that you include on your sneeze page will be included during the search-engine ranking process.

Darren Rowse, creator of the sneeze-page concept, recently posted an article on the subject at ProBlogger.net. I highly recommend this article; not only will you learn more about how sneeze pages work, but the article also contains priceless tips for putting together your blog’s very own sneeze page. Visit http://www.problogger.net/archives/2009/04/23/create-a-sneeze-page-for-your-blog/ and get your sneeze page started!

Effective Written Communication Starts with a Good Headline

Blogs, marketing emails, press releases and brochures – what do these promotional materials have in common? They all require strong headline copy.

You must be able to grab your audience’s attention if you want your marketing efforts to be effective. The following article provides great tips on writing effective headlines: http://www.copyblogger.com/magnetic-headlines/

How to Create Your Own Blog

Recently, one of our readers asked for additional information on how to create a blog. In response to his request, this blog entry will explain the steps for constructing your very own blog.

Creating Your Blog
The first step to becoming a blogger is to find the right tools for your project. Blogging requires ongoing involvement. Therefore, you want the entire process to be as quick and simple as possible. Blog publishing applications, like WordPress® and Blogger™, can facilitate your blogging efforts. These applications provide WYSIWYG editors, which enable users to edit/format their posts with or without the use of HTML codes. Many applications also allow users to:

• Preview their posts prior to publishing them.
• Add descriptive tags.
• Categorize their entries.
• Upload photos and videos with ease.
• Customize their blogs by adding themes, gadgets, polls and more.

Although basic blogs are usually free to create, users must pay for the optional feature they add.

Those who currently own a Web site should check with their Web hosting provider prior to selecting a publishing application. Some Web site hosting packages now include complimentary blog hosting services. If these services come with exceptional tools, as well as free customer support, then the choice is simple.

Once you’ve chosen a blogging application, select a blog title that will appropriately represent the focus of your blog and use that title in the blog URL. After selecting your title, pick the design theme for your blog. You can choose from pre-designed templates or create your own, using HTML.

Additional Tips on Blogging
It is also a good idea to put together a tentative posting schedule (e.g., how often you wish to post per week) prior to publishing your first post. No one expects you to post as frequently as a professional blogger, so set a realistic goal. Determine the number of posts you are capable of handling in the span of a week without drastically interrupting your everyday routine, and make this number your minimum number of posts per week. To make things easier, you can create a list of potential topics for your blog and add to this list from time to time. That way, when it’s time to write a new post, you can simply choose from your list of topics.

In addition, always incorporate strong keywords into your blog posts and tags. Strong keywords are words or phrases that are frequently searched and highly relevant to your blog topic. Using them will help your posts reach their intended audience. Because you will use the same terms fairly often, it is wise to put together an index of good keywords.

For additional tips on blogging, go to: http://www.mysolutionspot.com/improving-your-web-site/how-to-use-blogging-to-compliment-your-web-site-5-ideas-for-generating-traffic-to-your-web-site-1183/1249/#1249

The Internet Helps Make History

As announced last night, Barack Obama will become the 44th U.S. President. His victory proved that his campaign had the power to convince hundreds of thousand of Americans who have never voted Democrat – or voted at all for that matter – to stand in unusually long lines and cast their ballots in his favor.

Barack Obama’s campaign made history in many ways. One of its most significant successes was its effective use of the Internet. Obama supporters applied numerous Web tools, including Web videos and email lists, to convince numerous Americans to vote for Obama. They even utilized several social networking sites and created many informative blogs. Their campaign truly demonstrated the persuasive power of the Internet.