If you have ideas and opinions to share, a product to sell, a brand to market…then blogging is an excellent option for you to consider. As you work hard to maintain your viewers by offering passionate content, you will begin building your online credibility. After all, credibility is truly what you are after.

If you do not already have a blog that is associated with your business or your website, then now may very well be an excellent time for you to start blogging. Blogging takes lots of time. A well written post might take several hours to write, but unlike email, the shelf life is much longer. Stay committed and keep your heart in it!

To learn more about blogging, and how it can benefit your small business, you can sign up today for one of our introductory blogging courses.  Our free online Get Ready To Blog course will introduce you to the basics of blogging terminology, platforms, and promotion.  This course will fully prepare you for our eight-week instructor led course, Blogging 101.  This course will guide you every step of the way through setting up your first blog, designing it, writing your first posts, and growing your readership.  Blogging your small business can be a key aspect of your small business marketing strategy, and we are here to help you get started.

Have you ever considered your reasons for wanting to blog? Is it because you really love writing, or you feel you have something to share with family, friends, or others. Maybe you like engaging strangers in debate. It’s fine to blog or want to blog because you have an interesting hobby or craft and want to share your expertise. Are you one of millions who want to create a presence in the blogosphere, or be a part of the bigger community of like minded folks. Perhaps you have a great eye for fashion, architecture, graphics… and want to share your knowledge with others.

Do you see a pattern in the paragraph above? No matter your reason for wanting to blog, everything is tied to YOU…what you produce! It doesn’t matter how many readers you might have, or how many comments are left. If you don’t have your heart in it, it’s all for naught. True ownerships reaps rewards.

Some of you might say, well I want to blog because I want to build my business, develop my brand, earn money from affiliate links… Those things can and do happen via blogs, but if they are the sole purpose of the blog, you might be in for an uphill climb. Whether your blog is a personal blog or a business blog, viewers come expecting to find frank and personal perspectives on a topic that you are passionate about. Make sure you are offering a quality blog that gives the reader helpful, meaningful, consistent content. You must put your heart into it

Where is YOUR heart?

Never blogged? Try our free blog writing course. It’s a great way to get off on the right foot!

I read the most interesting article today!  Over at WebProNews, Chris Crum writes that: Blogs Can Still Drive Big Traffic

Here is what Chris said:

You would almost think blogging was dead, the way headlines are dominated by Twitter, Facebook, and social media in general. I’ve always considered blogging to be a part of social media anyway, as the commenting factor lends to engagement between author and user. But blogging is so five years ago right? It’s all about microblogging and status updates now isn’t it?

If you think that’s the case, think again, because blogs can still drive big-time traffic to websites. An example of this has been illustrated by the launch of e-commerce site Alice.com. How much traffic are you getting from blogs? Let us know. If you are not familiar with Alice.com, it is a site where consumers can buy everyday household items like toothpaste, toilet paper, laundry detergent, diapers, etc., right from the manufacturers, rather than through middleman retailers. It launched in June, and by July it had doubled its traffic to 387,000 unique visitors, according to Compete. Alice.com Guess where the majority of that traffic came from. According to Compete, it came from word-of-mouth from blogs. In fact, its number one traffic source was Blogger.com. Not Twitter. Not Facebook. Not search. Although each of these no doubt played valuable roles as well., Blogger.com has been the biggest factor in driving traffic for this site, and from the looks of things, that traffic is showing no signs of slowing down.

So that got me thinking about the differences between Twitter/Facebook and blogs.  Twitter and Facebook, I think, are probably more useful for fluid content.  In other words:  promotionals, sales, site updates, new product additions and news.  Whereas blogs are perfect for highlighting static information.  Product details, explanations, human interest stories, behind-the-scenes info, letters from the president, and editorials.

That might possibly mean that Twitter/FB has more appeal to bargain-hunters and promotion-junkies, but that true potential, long-term customers might be more persuaded by the more substantial content of a blog post.  It also might be true that blogs have more weight for SEO purposes.  After all, tweets generally link BACK to blogs!

So if you are a business owner, and are trying to decide how to best integrate blogs, Twitter, and Facebook into your marketing scheme, remember to save your in-depth copy and strongest content for your blog, and then drive traffic to that copy via the microblogging avenues.

For more information on blogging, and how to start a blog, check out our course offerings at BlogWritingCourse.com.

Most of the articles online today are about blogging “BIG.”  Writing for the masses.  Building traffic.  Networking with other bloggers.  But sometimes, bigger isn’t better.

Sometimes you just want an easy way to let your family and friends keep up with what  is going on in your lives.  And blogging is the perfect vehicle for that.  Sometimes you simply don’t need a complicated website with all the bells and whistles.  You just need a place to share the highlights of your life with your family.

Writing a family blog has a lot of advantages…

• It is a place to keep all your memories in one place.  No more traveling to one place for photos, another place for videos, and yetanother place for journaling your experiences.  A blog lets you do ALL that – – in one simple posting.
• It is an easy way for your loved ones to keep up with what is going on with you.  Long gone are the days of sending a yearly “newsletter” with your holiday card each year.  People who care about you want to hear from you more often than at births, deaths, and weddings.  They want to feel like they are part of your lives.  A family blog provides just that.
• It serves as a multimedia family album.  Trying to remember when Joey lost his first tooth?  Or the name of Kaitlyn’s first friend in preschool?  By blogging those memories, they are permanently weaved into the world wide web – – ready for instant access anytime you need them.

The great news is that you don’t have to be a professional blogger to start a  family blog.  Just by familiarizing yourself with the basics of blogging, like the information you can learn in our free blogging pre-course.  Some blog hosts are even designed particularly for family blogs, with easy tools for adding text, pictures, and video. 

If you have been dreaming of an easy way to archive your precious family memories, then blogging may be just what you have been dreaming about!

I did some surfing through blogland recently, and tried to compile a list of random taglines.  Here they are, in no particular order:

• Musings of a Mom of 3
• The Unholy Marriage of Blogging and Writing
• A Conservative’s View of the World from the Heartland
• An Ordinary Layperson Stumbles Toward Sainthood
• I’ll be here the rest of the week
• Everytime I try to go where I really want to be, It’s already where I am
• I am a girl in college that thoroughly enjoys music, friends, and Disneyland
• Promulgations on a life spent in graduate school
• Prepare to be Educated and Entertained!

So if these were the taglines of blogs you were visiting, which ones would make you say, “Hmm. I’d like to know more” and which ones would have you clicking your “Back” button?

Taglines have a function  – – they are the welcome mat of your blog. So, it is important to create a tagline that makes new readers want to stick around and get to know you and your blog a little better.

To find out just what makes a strong and effective tagline, and many other tips and tricks that will make your new blog attractive to readers, why not sign up for our eight-week blog writing course, Blogging 101?  This course will guide you step-by-step through the process of creating, designing, writing, and building traffic for a blog that is all your own. 

Or if you feel you aren’t ready to jump into blogging with both feet, you might want to try out our free Blogging Pre-Course, to help you get comfortable with the terminology and basics of blogging.  That way, when you are ready to create your own tagline, you will already be way ahead of the game!

When folks are just starting out in the big, unfamiliar world of blogging, the first thing on their list of concerns isn’t usually search engine optimization.  First time bloggers just want to be able to get a few blog posts under their belt, not worry about keywords and permalinks.

But a forward-thinking blogger will do well to learn some of the basic elements of SEO before creating their new blog.  Why?  Because every new blogger wants people to visit them, right?  And unless you’ve got friends and family coming out of the woodwork and knocking your door down to get a chance to read your blog, then you are going to depend heavily on search engine traffic to build your blog audience.

So what do you really need to know as you build your first blog?

1. What keywords are the most popular for your blog theme?  If you are writing a blog about your favorite television show, for instance, you want to find out what terms people use most when searching information about that show.  Programs such as Good Keywords or Google Adwords are immensely helpful with this.  Once you have determined the relevant keywords, be sure to use them often in your blog posts, and in your post titles.
2. Use images and tags that are appropriate to your theme.  Search engines favor images and captions that tie in well with your blog theme and keywords.  And photo sharing sites that allow for tagging, such as Flickr, are one of the best sources for your photos.  If you create links back to your blog on the photo sites, you are creating yet another inroad for your blog.
3. Knowing when to use bold and italic fonts when learning to blog.  Search engines give weight to words that are in bold and italic print.  So when you want to emphasize certain keywords or search terms, highlight them with these features. (But be careful not to go overboard with this technique – – readers can get overwhelmed by too much “emphasis.”)
4. Give thought to your blog design.  When you pick out a blog host or blog theme, one of the most important features as far as search engines are concerned is the presence of your navigation tools on every page.  Make sure that your sidebar content is accessible from all areas of your blog, especially your archives, and previous posts.

This is just a basic introduction to making your new blog search-engine friendly, but there is much more than SEO to creating a successful blog.  If you want a more thorough introduction to the world of blogging, why not sign up for our free “Get Ready to Blog” course?  This automated online course is packed full of information that will help you get started in your new blogging venture.  Sign up today!

In tough economic times, every penny counts, right?  Some of you may have been wondering if you could make money from blog writing.  It is definitely possible to make money blogging, and one of the most popular ways is through affiliate marketing.

At its most basic, affiliate marketing is simply promoting a product or service on the web using a special link.  For a blog, this would involve either direct advertising, reviews, or posts about this product that readers would click on. 

Some affiliate programs pay you just for that click.  Others require that those readers purchase the product through your link, and then you receive a percentage of commission off of that sale.

Amazon.com is probably one of the best known affiliate programs.  They have a multitude of ways to promote themselves via your blog.  One is by simply creating customized links to their products on your site.  Another is by displaying Amazon banners on your blog. Amazon has also created many different widgets that you can highlight in your blog sidebar.  They even have recently created the ability to embed a professional looking online store right within your blog.

But if you are thinking of blogging about a particular topic, it might be more applicable to choose affiliates that are relevant to your blog theme.  For this you might want to search through some of the many online affiliate directories to discover affiliate programs you are interested in.

No matter what type of affiliate you choose, the important thing is drawing traffic to your blog.  No matter how many affiliate links you have within your blog, if there is no one to click them, they won’t be doing you any good.  So creating a quality blog that has a steady readership is a must.

If you would like to find out more about creating a blog, and growing an audience, sign up today for our free online blogging course.  This course will give you valuable information on designing a blog, writing quality content, and building traffic. 

You can make money with affiliate marketing, and we would like to help you get started, so sign up today!

For the next few months, we’ll be featuring some of our best posts from the

BlogWritingCourse.com wants to help you get started in the big, wide open world of blogging.  We know it is daunting to chart new territory, so we would like to be your free guide.  The main things that keep people from blogging are:

Time Constraints – “I hardly have time to put on socks in the morning.  How can I possibly add blogging to my list of to-dos?”

Perfectionism – “What if I’m not good at blogging?”  “What if nobody reads my blog?”

Lack of Know-How – “Where in the world do I start?” 

As far as time goes, it is true that blogs don’t write themselves, but you might be surprised at the way blogging begins to blend in with your schedule.  I find that it takes the place of some of my aimless web surfing, and wasted channel surfing.  Instead, I am focusing my energies onto something I actually want to be doing – – sharing my thoughts. Blogging can be therapeutic, as well, and just might take the place of that useless “worry time” you have built into your daily schedule!

If you have read any blogs lately, you will also come to realize that no one is a perfect blogger.  Even the most successful bloggers with huge audiences have off days where almost no one visits their blog or leaves gushing comments.  And you can’t become a successful blogger without plenty of practice and plenty of mistakes.  So if fear of failure is keeping you from blogging, just go back and check the beginning posts of some your favorite blogs.  You will probably be surprised at how far they have come since their first blogging attempts.

With all the information on the world wide web about blogging, lack of know-how shouldn’t keep anyone from stepping into the ring.  There are blogs about blogging, articles galore, and step by step guides to getting started.  And thanks to BlogWritingCourse.com, there is even a free blog writing course that will guide you gently and easily into the blogosphere, and help you figure out exactly how to begin. 

Starting a blog is a worthwhile goal, and we’d like to help you achieve it, so why not sign up today?

So, you have somehow managed to exit the rat race, eh?  No more rush hour traffic.  No more rushed lunch hours.  No more rushing home after work to spend a few quality moments with the family before dropping exhausted into bed.  No more rushing…period. 

So what are you going to do with all that extra time?  Well, if you are a smart home businessperson, you will want to spend a large part of that time marketing your product or service.  Word doesn’t always travel quickly or easily about a dedicated home business, especially if it is in its fledgling stages.  So one of the best ways to speed along the process is by trading in your rat race for a good mouse (connected, of course, to a good computer). 

Internet marketing is something anyone with basic computer and internet skills can succeed at.  Your first job, of course, is to create a web site that is well designed – – meaning it it pleasing to the eye, easy to navigate, and clearly describes the products and/or services you offer.  Unfortunately, most home business owners go this far, and then stop.  Their website is a static placeholder in cyberspace, with little if any regular updates. 

A frequently updated website can be the key to making your home business stand out above the rest.  Website updates tell potential customers that you are engaged with them, and are interested in helping your business evolve to meet their needs.

One of the best ways to keep your website relevant and engaging is by writing a blog.  Not only can a blog update your actual and potential customers of news and information about your home business, but it also provides an easy avenue for customer feedback via the blog comments feature. When customers are able to not just read, but interact with promotional content, they are more likely to spend more time on your site, which is exactly what you want them to do!

Another important feature to include with your blog is the ability for subscribers to receive updates by email.  This way, you don’t wait for customers to come to you – – you go to them!  In this way, your blog can become an ongoing promotional effort for virtually no cost. 

If the idea of blogging your home business sounds a little “far out” and unachievable, we would like to help. We are offering a free blogging course for anyone who wants to familiarize themselves with blogging before jumping in with both feet.  Then, when you are ready to take the plunge, we invite you to sign up for our eight-week Blogging 101 course, which will guide you every step of the way through creating and designing your blog, writing your first content, and growing your audience. 

By taking one or both of our blogging courses, you will be doing all the groundwork necessary to create a blog that will make your home business stand out, and keep you out of the rat race for as long as you want to be!

Have you ever wasted valuable time reading a poorly written blog?  Maybe the title was catchy, or had a tag word that pulled you in, and you took time from your very busy life to read what was essentially virtual birdcage liner.  I’m thinking that there should be an official complaint service for that.   When people get gypped out of their money, they have recourse.  But time is money, right?  So if I put my hard-earned time into reading a boring blog, I want to be able to protest my loss.

I mean, what if there really were a "Better Bloggers Bureau?"  Don’t you think people would put a little more thought into what they blogged about?   If they knew that they could be reported for a dull business dinner story, a useless list of links, a regurgitated TV show review…would they write it?  Probably not.

Unfortunately, as bloggers, we’ve all had posts that could probably get us on the BBB radar, but there are specific things we can do to help us not waste our reader’s precious time:

• Know our audience.  Who is your blog aimed at?  Although we may envision the whole world wide web as our oyster, realistically our scope has to be narrower, especially in the beginning.  By understanding our target reader, we are able to cater our writing to their interests, and keep them around for the long haul.
• Know what makes good writing.  Doesn’t matter the medium – - books, magazines, newspapers, or blogs – - good writing is good writing.  We all recognize it, but we don’t all exercise it. But the good news is you don’t have to have a Ph.D in literature to be a successful blogger.  You just have to read a lot of blogs, and find out which ones you enjoy, and which ones made you fall asleep on your keyboard.  What is it about each of the interesting blogs that brings you back for more?  What do they have in common?  Those common threads of interest are the keys to helping you keep your blog off the BBB list.
• Know your limits.  If you haven’t taken a single course in botany, you probably aren’t the key candidate for an informational blog about gardening.  The blogiverse is savvy…they know an imposter when they see one.  Even if you adore Japanese culture, you probably shouldn’t dedicate a whole blog to it if you’ve never even set foot in Japan.  It’s cliche, but true – - WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW.

One of they key ways to keep yourself off the Better Bloggers Bureau database is to find out everything you can about blogging.  Do your research, and avail yourself of the wonderful courses Getting Ready To Blog and Blogging 101. Your blog doesn’t ever have to be a waste of anyone’s time – - especially yours!