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Learn Blogging & Affiliate Marketing with Rosalind Gardner

Are You Playing Nice with Blog Spammers?

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comment-spamA few months ago, I helped a friend set up his first blog – sending him to Bluehost to arrange for his domain name (for free) and hosting – after which I did the installation with very basic plugins and told him to start writing, which is what he did.

I had access to the WordPress adminstration panel under my own name and set things up so that I would be notified of updates and blog comments.

Then I went offline for awhile.

Upon getting back to work, I noticed that he had made several posts to his blog and had already approved and responded to numerous comments.

Examples of those comments include:

ÔœonÉ—erful work! ThÑ–s Ñ–s the type of info that are supposed to be
ѕhared across the web. Disgrace on Goоgle for noԝ not positioning this post hiɡher!
Come on over and visit my site . Thanks =)

Howԁy just wanted to give you a quick heads up. Thhe text
in your article ѕeеm to Ьe running off tҺe
screen in Internet explorer. I’m not sure if this is a format
isѕue or something to do with աeb browser
ϲompatіbilitƴ but I thought I’d poѕt to let you know.
The layout look great though! Hope you get thee
problem solved soon. Tɦanκs

My friend responded to those blog comments with…

Thanks for your support.

and…

Thanks for the heads up.

UGH!

I totally understand how someone who is new to blogging doesn't ‘see' beyond a spammer's charm.

But here is the reality.

Name, URL and IP address information (I've deleted the email address) included with the first comment was:

parka chilliwack canada goose
parka-chilliwack-canada-goose.wintp.com x
142.4.212.217

Name, URL and IP address information included with the 2nd comment was:

belstaff xl 500
belstaff-xl-500.jewdi.com x
142.4.212.217

OTHER spammers that posted to his blog to which he responded included comments from:

  1. top rated gps 2014
  2. nike air max 90
  3. moncler doudoune pas cher
  4. Woolrich Pris
  5. chanel sac
  6. chaussure mercurial
  7. sweat superdry femme
  8. vente chaussure en ligne

LESSON: You need to look at the names, URLs and email addresses of those who post comments to your blog to decide whether they are real people / commenters before you respond to them.

Look for names that appear real, i.e. Mark Smith as opposed to a product name such as ‘nike air max 90'.

If the domain URL coincides with the name, i.e. parka chilliwack canada goose / parka-chilliwack-canada-goose.wintp.com, trust that this is a spammer.

Do NOT approve or respond to their posts.

All they want is a link to their site from your blog, with the hope of increasing their blog's ranking with Google.

However, allowing those links will eventually hurt your Google rankings because you are linking to ‘bad neighborhoods', i.e. spammers.

Do NOT play nice with spammers.

Mark their comments as spam and teach Akismet how to filter comments on your blog.

Comments, questions or suggestions? Please leave a comment below!

Cheers,

Ros

Case Study: A Step-By-Step Strategy to Accelerate Your Google Rankings

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What’s the most important strategy of getting your blog to the number 1 spot in both Google and Yahoo and keep all the search traffic to yourself? Definitely the ideal answer is proper keyword research and building authoritative backlinks.

In this blog post you will learn how I used Google Insight tool and press release service (webwire.com) to accelerate my Google rankings to top 4 within 3 days.

The use of Google Insight Tool was to generate highly profitable keyword with considerable search traffic and the purpose of using press release was to generate authoritative backlinks to my blog site.

How I nailed down the top 4 spot in Google within 3 days

The main reason why i decided to push my blog site to be on the top spot in Google and Yahoo, was to generate highly targeted long tail keyword with commercial intent.

The reason why I am advocating for long tail keyword, it’s because they can convert results into sales and hence generate more business for your service or product.

How did I use this strategy to be on top 4 spot in Google?

It’s simple and clear: I used both Google Keyword tool and Google insight Tool to generate narrower long tail keywords.

Below is a step by step procedure of what I did:

Step 1:

I went to Google Keyword tool and I started with the main keyword and I selected a narrower search term which had a global traffic of 300,000 monthly search volume. The niche I selected was ”Greek Yogurt” as below:

Step 2:

I took the narrower search term from step 1 and I put it on Google Insight tool. The results were as per below screen shot:

Some of the example of narrower keywords that I found were:

  • Recipes with Greek yogurt (Monthly search 22,000)
  • How to make Greek Yogurt (Monthly search 9,900)
  • Greek Yogurt nutritional facts (Monthly search 4000)

Based from the above keyword analysis I managed to settle with recipes with Greek yogurt as my main keyword.

Link building strategy that accelerated my Google rankings

As we all know quality content and authoritative backlinks will make Google deliver results to your business. One of the strategies that I used to build high authoritative links was with the help of press release service.

I took 3 good months to learn how to write a press release that will be of high interest to the media and journalist. My first objective was to make sure that my blog site has all the required information such as high quality content, resources and links.

I wrote a powerful top notch news release that I distributed via press release service (webwire.com) and after 3 days my blog site sky rocketed to top 4 in Google and it was as a result of high quality links that I received from the press release service.

Below is a screenshot of the news release that was distributed with the help of webwire.com

After 3 days I managed to get the below results:


From the above results my blog site started to get more attention from the major search engine and other referral sites. If you plan early with the right mind set, i can really assure you that will achieve the same results that I did.

From my own experience, I really don’t think you need any Degree or Masters or any special software. The real truth is that you can follow the above simple steps and then replicate my results.

Do you have any results that you have achieved based on the above case study?

5 Ways to Make More Money Blogging in 2012

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I am willing to wager that one of your goals for 2012 is to make more money online than you did in 2011.

If so, great! I want to help you figure out whether you need to do more of what you did last year and/or add new business-building activities to your repertoire.

Read the recommendations below for ideas that will increase your bottom line.

  1. Test Your Market and Commitment

    If the blog you started in 2008 has never made a dime and the thought of trying to write yet another blog post about contact lenses leaves you cold; it's unlikely that the blog will start producing big fat commission checks this year either.

    Take a good hard look at your blog topic.

    Is there a market for its related products and services or did it decline with middle class disposable incomes during the recession? If the market has vaporized, it's time to reassess your investment in that blog. You can let it age and return to it when the market improves — or sell it.

    You should also re-evaluate continuing your blog if the market remains strong, yet your interest in the topic has vanished. If you can find the spark that originally inspired you to start the blog, fuel that fire! Otherwise, let it go and spare yourself the pain of boredom. Let it go, try to sell it or find someone to write for you on a regular basis.

    If you decide to let your blog go, start another in a more profitable and interesting niche.

    At a bare minimum, start building your portfolio / business card site this year.

  2. Use the Right Tools

    Bloggers have access to many awesome free tools such as:

    • YouTube
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google Analytics
    • Google Reader
    • Google Webmaster
    • and many more…

    Making good use of those tools can help you make piles of ‘extra' cash in commissions.

    For example, you can decrease your blog's load time by using Google's Page Speed. When readers can access your content faster, your conversions will increase and you make more money.

    However, there are a few essential tools on which bloggers must not skimp — even if free options are available.

    Those who want a hobby site to entertain friends and family, can do so for free with Blogger or WordPress.com. Or, just stick with Facebook.

    However, to be a money-making blogger; you must invest in their own domain name and a web hosting service for that domain. (NOTE: Bluehost offers free domain registration with their hosting service).

    Need convincing that owning your own domain is an absolute necessity?

    OK, here's one of the most compelling reasons — Merchants decline applications of affiliates who use third-party hosting providers, i.e. WordPress.com, as they are regarded as unprofessional.

    You also need an autoresponder service.

    If you rely on Feedburner for blog broadcast delivery, make this the year that you start building a real list of blog subscribers whom you contact, even when you don't post to your blog.

    Every successful money-making blogger uses a professional autoresponder service to build their subscriber lists. I've been using Aweber for over a decade, and recommend them above all other services. If you're a new customer, you can test out an Aweber account for just a $1.

    A list of people who are interested in your topic and what you have to say will always be your greatest business asset.

    Better yet, you might make some friends amongst those readers…

  3. Start Connecting with People

    I've remained in this business for over a decade because I enjoy connecting with the people I meet online who share my interests.

    Feedback – positive or negative – helps me make my business better. Positive feedback tells me I've hit the mark and that I need to do more of the same. Negative feedback indicates that I need to review and revise my approach in one or more areas.

    Learning something new everyday encourages me to foster even more relationships and there are so many different ways to connect with people online.

    Responding to folks who comment on your blog is first and foremost. Not each and every one, but certainly to those who have asked a question or left a very thoughtful and detailed response. In doing so, you forge relationships and build credibility as a trusted authority in your niche.

    Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Flickr accounts increase your online presence. When those accounts are properly connected, posting to one will show up on others, i.e. with your YouTube and Facebook accounts connected, a video upload to YouTube will result in a notification on your Facebook page or profile. Each notification is an opportunity to bring visitors back to your blog or find new readers.

    Posting thoughtful comments on others' blogs not only builds backlinks, but your reputation as well. Make sure the blogs on which you post comments are in a niche relevant to your own — and don't pull any ‘cheap shoes‘ tricks.

    Meeting with merchants at an industry conference is another fine way to build relationships and increase your commissions as many will offer higher payouts to affiliate marketers whom they meet in person. Trading war stories with fellow bloggers is also fun, highly educational and bound to increase your bottom line.

  4. Blog Early, Blog Often

    If you blogged once a week last year, try to double or triple your output in 2012.

    Increasing the amount of unique content that you publish is a sure way to get Google to reward you with more free traffic. More visitors always means better earnings.

    Don't have the time to blog more often? Consider partnering with a writer, hiring a freelancer or buying PLR.

    Review, revise and re-use your existing blog content.

    Frustrating readers with out-dated content or broken links is a sure way to make LESS money, so review your blog for posts that are out-dated or no longer relevant… but do NOT delete them.

    Old posts that still attract traffic can be used to redirect visitors to newer, more relevant material. Simply add a bolded notice to the top of the post with a link to the new material. Make the sentence highly noticeable by using a color not used elsewhere on your site.

    Check your blog regularly for broken links – I use the Broken Link Checker plugin.

    Check for links that DO work, but which do not link to the site or product that you intended! Sad, but true – I've come across a small percentage of merchants that will change the landing page in such a way that you will no longer be compensated for referred sales.

    Another option is to update and re-post articles. For example, if you promote a particular event every year (such as I do with Yanik Silver's Underground Seminar), simply put the post back into Draft mode, enter the new information and re-publish it.

    Too, review posts for opportunities to link to other relevant posts on your blog. Consider creating a new post that lists 5 – 7 articles and call it a ‘series'. 🙂

  5. Make a Plan and Work Your Plan

    Read the Affiliate Marketing: Month-by-Month series of articles which highlights holidays and events.

    Use it to create a publishing schedule for your blog and get suggestions for products and services you might consider promoting throughout the year.

    To help you create a plan and stay on track with your plan without getting overwhelmed, here are some helpful articles.

    1. Wash on a Monday
    2. End Procrastination: Eat that Frog
    3. Feeling Overwhelmed? Here’s My Cure

I wish you all the very best of blogging success in 2012!

Comments, questions or suggestions? Please leave a comment below!

Cheers,

Ros

10 Words that Make Bloggers Seem Dumb

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I could write about many more than 10 words that make bloggers seem dumb, but let's keep it simple to start. 🙂

I recently heard a CNN broadcaster use the word ‘orientate', and she was NOT discussing a map, or its orientation.

Grrr… How VERY wrong.

Incorrect word and grammar usage frequently frazzles my brain (and others with average English language skills) to the extent that we lose the overall message while we ponder how the speaker or writer managed to graduate from grade school, let alone university.

Note: My grade school comment does NOT apply to those who blog in English as a second language.

I admire you!

However, it IS worth your time to learn the lessons below. 🙂

As for all you native English speakers – here's a review…

  1. Irregardless – NOT a word, despite the fact that some dictionaries include it, for the following reasons:
    • Containing the suffix ‘less', regardless already means ‘without regard'.
    • Adding the negative prefix ‘irr' to regardless, is therefore redundant.
    • Moreover, ‘irr' nullifies the existing ‘less', making it a double negative.
    • Ergo, ‘irregardless' actually means ‘with regard', yet those using it typically mean to say (write) regardless.
  2. Orientate – The word is ‘orient'. The only time ‘orientate' or ‘orientated' is acceptable is when referring to the orientation of a map to its compass points – BUT ‘orient' will suffice and simplicity always works best.
  3. Ironical – Use ‘ironic'.
  4. Conversate – Use ‘converse'. We don't conversate, we converse.
  5. Lie vs. Lay – Instructing your dog to ‘lay down' is going to confuse him as he wonders ‘lay WHAT down?'. The correct phrase is ‘lie down'. Lie means ‘to recline', whereas ‘lay' means ‘to place'.
  6. It's / Its – Apostrophes seem to pose problems for many bloggers. ‘Its going to rain' is wrong. It's is the contraction for ‘it is', therefore ‘it's going to rain' is correct. ‘Its' on the other hand is possessive pronoun, indicating that ‘it' owns something, e.g. ‘its name'. By the way, never use Its'.
  7. There / Their / They're – They are over ‘there' at the river and ‘they're' getting ready to go canoeing.
  8. Than / Then – Than is a conjunction used in comparisons. That hamburger was more than I could eat. Then is an adverb usually denoting time. They are coming at Christmas, we'll see them then. Then can also mean in addition or in that case. If you plan to ski, then you'll have to buy tickets.
  9. Your / You're – Your is possessive – that's your hat. You're is the contraction for ‘you are'.
  10. Accept / Except – Accept is a verb that means “to receive, admit, regard as true, say yes.” His application to Stanford was accepted. Except is a preposition that means “excluding.” I know everyone here except the fellow standing in the corner. I can't accept this gift.

OK, go ahead, find all the bloopers on my blog and I'll correct them. 🙂

Did you find this post informative and useful? Do you have pet peeves about grammar and word usage? If so, please share it with others! If you have a comment, question or suggestion, please post it below!

Cheers,
sig-ros

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Where are the Jobs?

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As it is highly unlikely that U.S. Congress members will see past their differences during the current term to pass the Jobs Bill and put people to work, I did some research to find out what types of jobs are available.

Fortunately for those of you interested in making money online, the news is good!

I did a job search at SimplyHired each of the terms I selected showed an increase between 77 and 722 percent since November of 2009.

Here's the graph…

And here are the terms I searched…

  • Blog jobs increased 722%
  • blogging jobs increased 106%
  • web Design jobs increased 76%
  • facebook jobs increased 375%
  • wordpress jobs increased 734%
  • social Media jobs increased 257%
  • affiliate Manager jobs increased 132%
  • marketing jobs increased 77%

Hmmmm…. the 2 terms with the largest increase? Blog and WordPress.

That alone should tell you that there are jobs out there for those with writing (blogging) and WordPress design skills.

You got 'em – USE 'em to earn some coin.

For some ideas on how to use your skills, please see my Make Money Helping Local Businesses Start a Blog article.

If you don't know how to blog, learning has never been easier or less expensive than that available through my Academy (aka Affiliate Blogger PRO).

We supply tutorials, videos and a community forum to help you learn everything you need to know about blogging and affiliate marketing.

BlogWorld Expo Hits the Big Apple in May

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Join the top bloggers and new media experts in the world at BlogWorld Expo 2011BlogWorld and New Media Expo just announced the addition of a conference to run from May 24-26 in New York City.

This conference is an opportunity to learn from some of the most successful New Media experts in the world in the areas of content creation, distribution, and monetization.

Just a few of the Keynote speakers listed include:

  • Mark Penn – CEO, Worldwide of Burson-Marsteller & CEO, Penn Schoen Berland
  • Karen Hughes – Worldwide Vice Chairman, Burson-Marsteller
  • Hugh Hewitt – The Hugh Hewitt Show
  • Reid Wilson – Editor-in-Chief, The Hotline
  • Darren Rowse – Problogger
  • Brian Clark – Copyblogger

And there are many more speakers yet to be announced.

Take advantage of early bird pricing. Here is a table showing the advantages of early registration:

Pass Type By March 15 By April 14 After April 14
Full Access Pass $695 $995 $1,295
2-Day Pass $350 $450 $550
1-Day Pass $275 $325 $375
Exhibits Only $25 $35 $50
Virtual Ticket $149 $199 $299

Please note that Early Bird pricing ends on March 15th and the savings is nearly 50%…definitely a reason to register early!

Learn more about the BlogWorld and New Media Expo now.

Affiliate Marketing in March: Go Green

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Affiliate Marketing in MarchCheck out the holiday calendar and you'll notice that there are a number of holidays and observances which lend themselves to affiliate marketing opportunities in March.

The most popular dates and events are:

  1. St. Patrick's Day – March 17th
  2. Spring equinox – March 20th
  3. NCAA March Madness

Month-long Celebrations in March

  • Irish American Month
  • Music in Our Schools Month
  • National Craft Month
  • National Frozen Food Month
  • National Irish American Heritage Month- designated by Congress in 1995.
  • National Nutrition Month
  • National Peanut Month
  • National Women's History Month
  • Red Cross Month
  • Social Workers Month

Celebrations by Date in March 2016:

  • 1 National Pig Day
  • 1 Peanut Butter Lovers' Day
  • 2 Old Stuff Day
  • 3 I Want You to be Happy Day
  • 3 If Pets Had Thumbs Day
  • 3 National Anthem Day
  • 3 Peach Blossom Day
  • 4 Employee Appreciation Day first Friday in March
  • 4 Holy Experiment Day
  • 4 Hug a GI Day
  • 4 National Walk to Work Day
  • 4 National Salesperson Day – first Friday in the month
  • 5 Multiple Personality Day
  • 6 Dentist's Day
  • 6 National Frozen Food Day
  • 7 National Crown Roast of Pork Day
  • 8 Be Nasty Day
  • 8 International (Working) Women's Day
  • 9 Panic Day
  • 10 Middle Name Pride Day
  • 10 Popcorn Lover's Day second Thursday
  • 11 Johnny Appleseed Day
  • 11 Worship of Tools Day – guys, you can relate
  • 12 Girl Scouts Day
  • 12 Plant a Flower Day
  • 13 Ear Muff Day
  • 13 Jewel Day
  • 14 Learn about Butterflies Day
  • 14 National Potato Chip Day
  • 14 National Pi Day- Why today? Because today is 3.14, the value of Pi.
  • 15 Everything You Think is Wrong Day
  • 15 Ides of March
  • 15 Incredible Kid Day
  • 15 Dumbstruck Day
  • 15 National Agriculture Day – date varies
  • 16 Everything You Do is Right Day
  • 16 Freedom of Information Day
  • 17 Submarine Day – the hero sandwich or the boat??
  • 17 Saint Patrick's Day
  • 18 Goddess of Fertility Day
  • 18 National Agriculture Day (date varies)
  • 18 Supreme Sacrifice Day
  • 19 National Quilting Day – third Saturday of month
  • 19 Poultry Day
  • 20 International Earth Day
  • 20 Extraterrestrial Abductions Day
  • 20 Proposal Day
  • 21 Credit Card Reduction Day
  • 21 Fragrance Day
  • 22 National Goof Off Day
  • 23 National Chip and Dip Day
  • 23 Near Miss Day
  • 24 National Chocolate Covered Raisin Day
  • 25 Good Friday – date varies
  • 25 Pecan Day
  • 25 Waffle Day
  • 26 Make Up Your Own Holiday Day
  • 26 National Spinach Day
  • 27 Easter Date varies
  • 27 National “Joe” Day
  • 28 Dyngus Day always the Monday after Easter
  • 28 Something on a Stick Day
  • 29 National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day
  • 29 Smoke and Mirrors Day
  • 30 National Doctor's Day
  • 30 I am in Control Day
  • 30 Take a Walk in the Park Day
  • 31 Bunsen Burner Day
  • 31 National Clam on the Half Shell Day

The defining color for the month is decidedly green.

But your blog doesn't need to be dedicated to basketball, holidays, all things Irish, green living or gardening to profit from those topics.

Here are examples of how to integrate these topics into a number of different niche topics.

  1. Community blog – Write about planned festivities in your town.
  2. Personal blog – Post about how you plan to celebrate the events.
  3. Sports – Not a basketball fan? Blog about teams that go green for St. Patty's.
  4. Fashion blog – pretty green handbags for spring.
  5. Cooking blog – your favorite green recipes… and don't forget to talk about the green beer!
  6. Health blog – Best greens for healthy nutrition.
  7. Travel – spring break destinations. Greener travel.
  8. Mommy blog – kids' St. Patrick's Day party.

Use your imagination. Almost any two niches can be married successfully with a little thought.

What should you sell?

Well, you can sell just about anything related to the niche and the theme – i.e. t-shirts, cookbooks, team jerseys (any type of clothing), event tickets, gift cards – you name it.

Be unique in both your content product offerings.

Search your favorite affiliate networks for St. Patrick's and spring specials. Shareasale in particular always has “Prepare for the Upcoming Holidays” near the top of its interface with holiday names linked to promotions from your affiliated merchants.

Here's a unique product / service that I came across recently that would work for so many different types of blogs, and not just in March.

It's called Going Green Today and it's on the Performance Based ECO affiliate network. What they do is create action plans for 90 day Green Makeovers through free lifestyle assessments. Visitors take the assessments to see if they can save $2000 from their costs of living.

Look for it in the near future on http://RosalindGardner.com which sports a Greener Living section.

See… no matter what the month, you can blog about almost anything. 🙂

So, what are you blogging about in March?

Did you find this post informative and useful? If so, please share it with others! If you have a comment, question or suggestion, please leave a comment below!

Cheers,
sig-ros

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