We have talked about how promising it can be for turning a hobby or passion into a money resource. We have seen how much a professional blogger can make. But how to become a good blogger? You cannot become a skillful writer from the beginning. Blogging needs practice as well. I don’t remember who said it, but I remembered, “the first 1000 posts is only a testing posts.” Well, it sounds tough, but it conveys some truth: we need to test the blogosphere, to sharpen the writing skills, to get the feel of blogging, to know what to write about and how to write them…

Writing and continue writing is a tip. Reading other blogs, on the other hand, helps fastening the learning process. How to get it started, here are some tips:

1. sign up a google reader or a MyYahoo
2. search blogs that interest you using a blog search such as Technorati
3. subscribe to the blogs you think valuable
4. read, read and read till you have an idea which niche you yourself want to dig in
5. take notes of the blogs you subscribe on the style, the design and the content
6. find 10 blogs and bloggers you would like to follow
7. start to make comment on the interesting posts without including your link, just be a part of the blogosphere
8. search for more new blogs for further inspiration

Post from: Internet Business Tips

Written by vampis06, this article raised my attention. He summarized what he has done to increase traffic in the past 1 year and kindly shared the list with the public.

1. Write posts that is hot to be read right now.
2. Bookmark your site to social bookmarking websites, i.e. digg, del.icio.us, reddit
3. Be among the first with a great blog on your topic, then encourage others to blog on the same topic.
4. Break news.
5. Post regularly.
6. Make groups like Google and Yahoo groups, and then include your URL in it – not spam alike
7. Share your expertise generously so people recognize it and depend on you.
8. Write short, pithy posts.
9. Encourage your readers to help you manipulate the technorati top blog list.
10. Include polls, meters and other eye catchy.
11. Have an e-mail signature and put your URL in your signature when contacting someone through e-mail.
12. Join mybloglog, its a good way of socializing.
13. Make your RSS subscribe button very noticeable.
14. Use a top commentators plugin to improve comments.
15. Be controversial.
16. Be original.
17. Become top commentator on big traffic blogs.
18. Write about Google, Digg and other hugely popular sites.
19. Use images in your posts.
20. Make a fresh design.
21. Answer your email.
22. Digest the good ideas of other people, all day, every day.
23. Be patient.
24. Give credit to those that inspired, it makes your writing more useful.
25. Create a lens and highlight your best posts.
26. Make a content that is worth buying but you give it free – it attracts loads of people.
27. Place alt tags – Placing an alt tag on your pictures will surely help you get a higher Search Engine ranking.
28. Write about making money.
29. Share your knowledge.
30. Use the sociable plugin, It ads all the known bookmarking websites and puts it in your posts. This makes bookmarking easier for your readers.
31. Try and become a guest poster on a popular blog. Be persistent
32. Submit your best and longest posts to article directories.
33. Use Blogrush.
34. Use Technorati.
35. Encourage your readers to digg your posts.
36. Make your blog as different as possible.
37. Never copy posts.
38. Make your SEO as good as possible.
39. Submit Themes, with your link on it.
40. Leave your footstep in forums.
41. Add a sitemap, This helps search engines recognize you more.
42. Redirect your 404 page, Redirecting it to your homepage would help lost visitors.
43. Ping your blog every after you write an article – try Ping-O-Matic
44. Write posts that each include dozens of trackbacks to dozens of blog posts so that people will notice you.
45. Post your photos on flickr.
46. Write eye catching blog post titles.
47. Use correct grammar.
48. Use YouTube and other video sites to market your blog.
49. Use social networking buttons, on all posts.
50. Admit your faults.
51. Be honest.
52. Spend entire days focusing on nothing but getting more traffic.
53. Write long, definitive posts.
54. Write about blogging.
55. Don’t interrupt your writing with a lot of links.
56. Write stuff that people want to read and share.
57. Pull off some jokes from time to time
58. Add translations
59. Never give up.

I am doing some of the things listed above; but I am too lazy or did not prioritize my time and effort on some of the tips. Got to be more consistent and diligent.

To read the whole article, please check here.

Post from: Internet Business Tips

If you have a free blog on wordpress.com, you don’t need this plugin because it is already built in. But if you have a self hosted wordpress powered blog or website, you may consider After the Deadlineplugin.

Why? Because proofreading is important!

As bloggers, we write all the time; sometimes we may not pay enough attention to the spelling or grammar. Articles with misspelled words or wrong grammar often leave bad impressions to the readers, no matter how great the content is. Proofreading before publishing is absolutely necessary.

After the deadline is a proofreading tool you can upload and use as a plugin. It scan all of your post for misspellings and grammar mistakes. If found any, it flags you with different colors.

Below is a short tutorial:

Of course, it does not catch everything. I typed “I wasn’t like it.”, it did not flag anything. But it definitely would find things you normally would overlook, so use the tool as a tool. You are the person who does the final check.

Post from: Internet Business Tips