Chatting About Blogging

Blog Material For Life!

2008-12-21T01:02:00.000-08:00

Impossible! No! It can't be! You're telling me if I follow what you say to do next I can have as much blog material as I want for the rest of my life?

Yes you can!

So how do I do this magical feat you're so brazenly letting out of the box?

It's simple:

Keep detailed notes of your processes.

Now what exactly does that mean? And why should I do that?

Well let me start with the why -

What is it that most people seek online?

Information.

And not just information - how-to!

They want to know how to apply something to their own lives.

Here's a great example:

Let's say you wake up one day and you decide you wanna learn how to row a boat (ok how about learn to water ski, who rows boats anymore - I feel the need for speed!)

So here you are sitting at home. You turn on your computer and open an internet browser. What do you do next? You type into a search engine: "How to ski"

Why? Because, that's what you want to find out.

So how can your blog posting be the page they find when they click enter on that search?

Very simple. If you've ever water skied you just write down the process of how you learned to do it yourself. This goes for anything you have learned and you can also apply this to anything you want to learn - yes that's right folks - you can become an expert almost instantly on any topic you want to blog about with just a little leg work and a little brainstorming.

Remember even if you're a beginner blogger that doesn't mean you have to have the mindset that keeps you at the beginner level! How fast you progress is up to you!

I'm going to give you a specific example related to blogging.

Say you want to learn how to write fantastic blogs!

Well you too are going to begin a search on finding that information.

This is where your "process" begins:

1. First you ask questions.

2. Then you seek answers.

3. Then you get information which you can apply.

4. Then you try out this information.

5. Then you improve upon this information with new ideas/methods.

It's these "new" ideas that you're going to use for your writing material.

This is what people want to know - how to do everything:

1. Better.

2. Easier.

3. Faster.

It you accomplish those three things then you've got it made baby! lol

And if you REALLY want to succeed I suggest you cite the original sources you used because they were key to your being able to write your own post.

So what are you waiting for? Start asking questions right now!

Endearingly yours,
CB Webmaster

P.S. Here's a link to a post I wrote which outlines the process I use for coming up with my blog posting ideas.

101 Things I Learned about Blogging in my First 12 Days of Blogging

2008-12-21T00:48:00.000-08:00

1. Set yourself up to succeed. It starts with your attitude that you will succeed.

2. Writing a blog post can trigger a new post! So start writing!

3. You have to be more than just excited about what you're writing - it has to be like - "If I can't write about this then I wouldn't know what to do with myself"

4. Approach blogging like you would a new job which you have no previous training in. When you start a job you don't start off trying to get the "partners" to make you a partner right off the back. You earn the recognition by performing well - in blogging this means you write the best you can and you do it often.

5. You don't need any special training to become a blogger.

6. Learn the Rules then Break Them!

7. Blogger.com makes it very easy for anyone to create and effectively use their blog almost instantaneously!

8. Blogging takes a lot of time. (Hence why #3 is so important)

9. Getting people to your blog takes a lot of work.

10. Tips on blogging are really scattered - it's hard to find an all-in-one blog tip website for the information you need.

11. Finding Your Niche is not just an abstract concept or piece of useless advice.

12. Being yourself matters.

13. One of the number one concerns of bloggers is how to get readers to their blog.

14. If there's money in blogging it's like how there's money in modeling. Most of us fit into the category of advertisement models for weekly circulars as opposed to Top Supermodels.

15. Blogging is an intimate experience.

16. Blogging is the new form of a personal website.

17. Blogging takes very little technical know how.

18. Blogging is more interactive than social networking sites.

19. If you have any background in HTML code your blogging life is going to be a sweet experience.

20. Many Bloggers are very protective of their "ideas." They don't want you stealing them!

21. It's hard to contact many bloggers because they simply forgot to put an email address on their blog!

22. The majority of blogs out there are individually run as opposed to group blogs.

23. Bloggers have a tendency to think what they write is always prime rib.

24. If one of your blog posts ever disappears and you didn't back it up you're going to pee your pants.

25. Blogger.com doesn't put the word: permalink next to the permalinks for your posts!

26. Some bloggers will actually personally respond to you if you contact them.

27. Writing into the night is very productive (no interruptions).

28. Obsessive personalities will excel at blogging.

29. Perfectionists will be frustrated with blogging.

30. Your list of blog chores never seems to get any shorter.

31. If you have no social life then blogging will fit into your lifestyle very easily.

32. Readers who don't comment are like ghosts in the rain.

33. The attitude of self-interests seems to consume a lot of bloggers.

34. Finding a site that creates a sitemap that works on Google is really hard to find!

35. Google's blog search engine often gives an error and doesn't work!

36. Linking has somehow gotten way outta hand! I think the original intention of linking somehow got lost!

37. Bloggers have personalities (just like people in the "real" world!) Just remember people are not their behavior.

38. Getting linked by someone has become almost like a rite of passage.

39. The whole drama encircling blogging is like standing in the middle of a cafeteria filled with different cliques deciding which table won't reject you if you try and sit down.

40. Any research you want to do to improve your writing, your blog, or any aspect of your life can be found for free online. (Beware of people trying to sell you information!)

41. You don't need to sell anything on your blog to be successful.

42. There's a rise in "Professional blogging"

43. If you bring up the word "blogging" in your everyday conversations you'd be surprised how recognizable it has become.

44. Google promises much....I'm not sure it delivers it all though.

45. Everyone wishes they could make money from their blog!

46. There's a lot of advice out there that sounds like cliches but are really practical advice. (i.e. Know your audience, Be passionate about what you write, Content is King, etc.)

47. Authoritative Advice is a rare find.

48. The number of hours you need to churn out a high quality blog is more than you could ever get good paid for! (Don't quit your day job)

49. You can't just sign up for a forum and begin sharing your blog link right away! (That one shocked me - when did people make it so hard to let people know about their blogs?)

50. Don't let "statistics" discourage you.

51. Many blogs comment areas require approval from a moderator before your comment gets a chance to be heard.

52. You can really get trapped in the muddy waters surrounding blogs and forget your blog in the mess of trying to figure out what keywords you should use to get people to notice your blog.

53. Once you get into the groove of creating thoughtful clear blog postings it isn't that hard to repeat.

54. Blogging is like life - you never stop learning.

55. You're going to make errors. It's ok. Just go back and fix them.

56. If you don't know how to hyperlink you're going to want to learn that ASAP.

57. Blogging is supposed to be fun. Remember that!

58. If you wake up and think "oh man I have to write a blog posting today" - then it's time to stop blogging. Or join a group blog so you don't have to blog as much.

59. Traffic Exchanges take a lot of dedication - that means you've got to do it a lot! And doing it doesn't guarantee you targeted traffic

60. You should never feel an obligation to reciprocate a link.

61. Writing for an audience is important, but so is writing for yourself.

62. It's okay to pat yourself on the back when you write a really good blog posting. In fact if you ever say something really interesting you may want to consider submitting your quote to: CB Blogger Quotes - which exhibits quotes made by bloggers

63. Ads can be detrimental to your blog.

64. People can spot insincerity - so keep it real at all times.

65. No one knows about your blog? Don't worry you're in good company! lol Have patience and always keep your reason for blogging at the front of your mind - and if your desire to blog fades then it's okay - just because you began a blog doesn't mean you're chained
to it for life! lol

66. If you center your blog around trying to please everyone else you're never going to be satisfied - I guess the same goes for life as well!

67. Not every blog has to be "informative."

68. You can't forget to attend to your physical needs when blogging (showering, sleeping, eating, drinking enough water, taking breaks from staring at a computer screen for hours, going outside - there's an outside?)

69. There's a weird imbalance in the relationship between bloggers and their commentators. The need for validation and the emotional aspect of feeling appreciated vs. the need for finding an in to getting the ever so unreachable backlink!

70. Pretty much any value or principal you have in "real" life is applicable in the world of blogging. Don't abandon your principles out of desperation.

71. If you can't find your blog on Google neither can anyone else!

72. No one will ever really remember the URL for your blog off the top of their heads.

73. What matters to you matters to you. Don't expect it to matter to someone else.

74. If you think blogging is easy think again. It takes a lot of effort on your part. Yes that's right I said on your part.

75. You don't have to assimilate every little aspect of blogging from the onset - thinking you can will drive you crazy! And trying to will skip the driving part of that equation.

76. If you're a person who needs constant reassurance then blogging isn't for you - cause you're going to have to rely on your instincts and your intuition.

77. Confidence isn't just a state of mind - it's a state of action. In this case the actual act of blogging is in itself an act of bravery! You're telling the world watch out here I come whether you like what I have to say or not. Don't apologize for what you have to say. Speak your mind.

78. Blogging isn't about reaching an end goal - it is the process.

79. Blogging can be whatever you want it to be! Find out what you want then make it that!

80. If you use labels and make a list of those labels appear on your blog, people can readily find blog posts they're interested in by clicking on a topic rather than feeling overwhelmed by having to weed through a multitude of varying posts to find what they're looking for.

81. You may start off thinking you're going to stick to one topic but then find yourself writing posts that are "off-topic." That's okay no one ever said you had to lock yourself into one box. Branch out - heck even create another blog if your interest in another topic is that great! Or create labels so people can easily locate those different topics in your blog.

82. Writing well is important.

83. You can link your related blog postings to each other - it's okay. And it's good.

84. What You Write is Not Written in Stone!

85. You can become a successful blogger overnight.

86. With blogging you can reach for the stars but you'll never reach perfection.

87. If you make going back through your posts a habit you'll be able to improve your posts.

88. You can write long posts, just don't expect anyone to read them unless you make it worth their time.

89. Your readers will appreciate it if you find related links for them and place them within the context of your blog posts.

90. You can make changes to your blog template!

91. Check your hyperlinks. No one wants to stick around a blog that's "broken"

92. Give your readers more than what they asked for!

93. Most 101 lists only give a handful or really good tips. Why? Because people whip them out just trying to get linkbait. instead of trying to create 101 useful tips.

94. If you can, make your site an authority in its subject matter.

95. You don't have to go at blogging alone! You can create a group blog and invite people to join!

96. If you really immerse yourself in blogging you'll be able to write 101 tips on it in no-time flat!

97. Don't push yourself or you won't be able to move forward.

98. Don't forget to tell your readers why your blog is different! How many blogs do you think are out there on the exact same topic as your blog? Well let's not think about that we do want to keep our spirits up afterall! lol

99. Whenever you ask someone to link to one of your posts make sure you give them the permalink to the post not just the URL for your blog.

100. Be courteous to your fellow bloggers.

101. If I was able to write over 80 high quality blog posts in 12 days anything is possible!

102. If you type google with a lowercase g your internet spell check will underline it, but when you type it with a capital G then it recognizes it as a word. Freaky!

103. Blogger.com allows you to write your blog in different languages! Soon they're updating their available languages to 40 different languages!

104. People have different writing habits. Find out what works for you and then do that.

105. With media the way it is now you don't even have to know how to type to start a blog! You can create a video blog (vblog) or an audio blog called a podcast.

106. Become introspective. That's how I'm able to write my posts for CB Blog Success and that's how I came up with this list of 101 Tips for Blogging.

107. When you see your page appear in Google for the first time you may actually tear up!

108. Proofreading is a step you cannot delete - trust me I graduated college with a degree in writing and even I proofread my work.

109. You gain a new vocabulary as a blogger - SEO (Search Engine Optimization!), permalink (a permanent link), blogosphere (the world of blogging), linkbait (something that entices people to read your blog), ping (a computer action that allows sites to take into account new blog posts), Rss (Real Simple Syndication aka a Feed - a digest of a blog's posts which readers subscribe to).

110. You can find blog material for life as long as you follow a process which takes your idea from its inception to its completion.

111. Hey why is this list 111? I thought you said it was 101 Tips? Like I say always give people more than what they expect and you can't go wrong!

-CB Webmaster

P.S. I almost forgot one very important tip! Use a tape recorder to capture your ideas and to do lists. Once you start blogging you'll have plenty of both!

Sincerely Yours

2008-12-19T13:27:00.000-08:00

Boring! How many times can you sign-off this way?

Why not try a new creative signature?

Here's some of the ones I've used in the past:

Sincerely, (yep you can use it, just not every time!)

Take care,

Very truly,

Love ya,

Always providing titles,

Always at the top,

Wishing you much success,

That's all for now folks,

Phew,

Brief works,

Keeping it clean,

Simply walking amidst bloggers,

Creating wacky approaches for you,

Free-wheeling reigning-in thinker,

Not as cheeky as you thought,

Feeling quite sheepish,

Have a groovy day,

Awaiting your response (and not with baited breath - or linkbaited breath lol),

Toodles,

That's all I've got for now,

Hope this helps,

Breathing in a deep sigh of relief,

Simple works,

Always learning,

Being bold as ever,

So how do I come up with these unusual sign-offs?

I just glance up at what I just wrote and use it as inspiration.

That should give you some ideas and if it doesn't (lol!) feel free to use any of mine - nothing I ever write is for keepsies.

But if you are creative I'm sure you'll come up with some better ones than mine!

See ya,
CB Webmaster

P.S. Just think how a different sign-off may make your post and your name stand out, and even possibly make it easier for you to find your post when you need to!

Blogging Chores When to Do them!

2008-12-19T04:05:00.000-08:00

Onset:

(when you decide to first create a blog)

Considering joining a group blog so you only have to do 1/3 the work.

Select template carefully.

Optimize and Streamline the template.

Create a Profile

Create Your Blogging Goals

Create a Plan of Action

Determine your targeted audience

Set up a Rss Feed

Create lists for new posts, posts to edit, post done, to do list, urls to look at, urls to share, etc.

Create directories on your computer to:
Keep track of correspondence
Place backups of your blog postings
Research
Advertising
etc.

Figure out your best writing method:
ex: hand writing, voice recording to type out later, or direct typing

Find your writing voice,

Find the best time to write (where you won't be distracted)

Write down your strengths and what areas you need to do research on to improve your skills

Optimize adsense (if you're using it)

Write up your brief description of your blog that promotes it best so you can use this when needed.

Determine the process you'll use to generate ideas for your blog posts.

Decide how you will drive Targeted Traffic to Your Site

Daily:

Write New Posts. (or at least every other day if your schedule permits)

Write down/Tape Record ideas for new posts.

Write down/Tape Record ideas you have to edit posts.

Add things to your TO DO List

Do Research

Bookmark interesting sounding articles/blog posts you want to read

Ping Your Blog

Weekly:

Create labels.

Update labels on old posts.

Respond to correspondence related to your blog (this can be done daily depending on the amount you have to respond to)

If you're on any traffic exchanges, do your duty.

Try and do some of the things on your to do list! Important don't let them back up!

Monthly:

Re-Prioritize Your TO DO List

Go Back and Read Your Posts

Edit posts

Unclutter Your Blog: Delete old posts that are not high quality content/relevant anymore.

Check for new features offered by your blog host. (Here's: Blogger.com's updated Features)

3 Months:

Back up your blog

Submit your blog to 9 Rules

And of course whenever you can network with other bloggers and self-promote your blog!

Keeping it clean,
CB Webmaster

What if I need to write a long post?

2008-12-19T03:31:00.000-08:00

Then you're out of luck!

No just kidding! lol

It's okay just make sure 95% of it is informative.

95% that seems pretty high?

Well not really.

The point of long blog posts, generally speaking of course, is to provide information your reader is seeking specifically on how-to do something which they've never done before - think of it as a tutorial.

So what about that 5%?

That I reserve for that for my self expression.

The problem I notice with most long posts is people interject their opinions throughout the entire post making it harder for the reader to extract the meaning of the post.

So by keeping your commentary to a minimum the reader can actually learn how-to do a process they've never done before!

Quite neat huh? :)

Very truly,
CB Webmaster

P.S. Go here for more info on suggested blog lengths.

Poor? Good? Great!

2008-12-19T02:42:00.000-08:00

Think of Goldilocks for a moment. She didn't settle for just poor or good - she wanted great! And so should you!

So go back and make your good postings even better!

I have some posts I frequently link to because they have useful content - but I ran across one today that I had an idea to make it even better after I read it.

Which is why I suggest you review old posts regularly.

Just think about what you can do with a post which was good that is now fantastic?

1. You can use it as an article to advertise your blog.

2. You can file it under the label of Best Posts.

3. You can use it to entice new readers.

4. You can put it in a newsletter to reignite old subscribers interests in your blog.

So pursue greatness and you'll reach new heights of blogging success!

Aged success seeker,
CB Webmaster

Choose a Template that Helps Your Readers!

2008-12-19T02:33:00.000-08:00

Make sure your template makes it easy for your readers to:

1. View hyperlinks.

People generally associate underlined blue words with hyperlinks. So you might want to make sure your template has this or allows you to change this option.

But you don't have to stick to this guideline - as long as you don't deviate so far that people have no idea it's a hyperlink.

Generally stay away from light colors and dull colors - you want people to be able to tell right away that it's a hyperlink.

For example on CB Blog Success the hyperlinks are red against a white background and very easy to see!

Oh and if your template does not underline the hyperlink you may want to change templates because less people recognize non-underlined words as hyperlinks.

2. Background color + text color

Make sure this combo is literally easy on the eyes. If it's hard to read then you may lose readers as a result.

3. Font Size.

Although many sites ascribe to font size 12 as it looks professional considering the eyesight impairment of many adults I suggest a slightly larger font size such as 14 pt or 16 pt.

That's it for now if I come up with any more tips I'll create another posting!

Take care,
CB Webmaster

P.S. I just came across the criteria Bloggy Award uses for picking out the best blogs and it actually corresponds to some of the things I listed above so I thought you might want to check it out.

Can I have too many labels?

2008-12-19T02:13:00.000-08:00

No.

Well flatly that's my opinion.

As you can see from CB Blog Success right now we have over 35 labels/post topics.

And although some of the blog postings overlap and are referenced in multiple labels I find it really useful because some people are only looking for one thing and won't look in another "directory" so to speak. So you have to make sure they have all available resources at hand.

Not to mention, I think people are looking for specific topics and the more clearly you can define this with your labels the easier it is for them to locate what they need and they'll thank you for it! (Okay well they may not literally thank you but you know what I mean ;)

But won't people get upset if they go into one directory and then another and see the same posting? Well they may, but you have to decide if that's something you're willing to risk. How much of an annoyance do you think it causes your readers?

If they are complaining it's probably because you didn't cross-reference the material correctly - because I think people can deal with the fact that you're trying to get the information out there to all people - they just don't like to put up with information being presented falsely under a title that doesn't actually represent the content.

So start organizing your labels today!

Cheers,
CB Webmaster

5 Reasons to Go Back and Read Your Posts

2008-12-19T01:36:00.000-08:00

Why?

1. You'll see that you've created new labels you can organize the old post in since it was created.

2. You'll have new links you may want to included as hyperlinks within it.

3. You may recognize errors you didn't notice with the post before that you can fix.

4. You can get spin-off ideas!

5. You can edit them for length (so you're readers can get the same information but only faster!)

Kickin' it Old School,
CB Webmaster

P.S. For more reasons to review your posts see: Heed Your Own Advice

P.P.S. Remember to occasionally weed out your undesirable posts.

Confident - Not Cocky

2008-12-19T00:07:00.000-08:00

Do you love the sound of your own voice?

You may be the only one.

Wow that's harsh! lol

I just want to hit this point home - your readers want to hear what you have to say - but they want to hear it in a brief manner.

They don't want to hear you drone on about how horrible your day was and oh by the way here's my tip blah blah blah.

Just the facts, m'am.

Or at least not so much gobbly-goo! lol

Keeping it brief,
CB Webmaster

Sucess Means Not Fearing to Fail

2008-12-18T23:49:00.000-08:00

What's one thing you'll never hear a successful person say?

"I just sat home and bam - success knocked on my door!"

What makes people successful is the willingness to try!

Sure the odds may be against them but that doesn't stop them.

So the same applies to the world of blogging!

You may think - "But I just started blogging why would an expert blogger ever reply to me if I contacted them?"

Why? Because the world of blogging is a world.

That means that people are interacting all the time.

In fact every blog post you write is your way of reaching out to the blogging community and speaking to your readers saying - what I have to share is valuable.

If that's true (and yes it is - trust yourself),
then that means you have as much right to play in the same big pond as the big fish.

But what if they won't play with me?

Then that's their loss.

The key is to persist - don't just say whelp that's it! I wrote one blogger and he didn't respond so I give up!

Say okay this one's not responding let me see if there's anyone else out there who will.

The sheer numbers of bloggers out there basically guarantees that at some point you'll make contact (take us to your leaders!)

So blog on and strike out on the pavement of the blog streets and say hi to the bloggers you pass by.

Simply walking amidst bloggers,
CB Webmaster

How to Approach A Potential Linking Source

2008-12-18T23:29:00.001-08:00

I know you've come across blog posts online which you really liked.

That's great!

So why not use this to your advantage?

Instead of just reading the post and not taking it any further - take it further!

Contact the person who created the post.

Tell them what specifically you liked about the post.

Then you can tell them you'd like to link to their post on your blog (if you want to)

Then the ball is in their court!

But if you don't want to wait for them to "grant" you permission to link to their blog you can link to it to begin with and then say in your comment:

I hope you don't mind but I really loved your post and linked to it on my blog. If for any reason you'd like me to remove the link just let me know.

If the blogger has a direct way to contact them such as an email or a contact form use that, but if they don't you can make a comment at the bottom of the blog post. Generally these comments are moderated by the bloggers themselves so they'll read your comment.

Wait what about the potential linking source you mentioned in the title?

Well because you're linking to something you like, there's no harm in it, and it may additionally earn you a link from the blogger you linked to.

Of course you're leaving it up to them to decide to link to your blog or suggest it to their readers and/or friends.

But I find this non-pushy approach is much nicer than saying "If you link to me I'll link to you" - that just reminds me of a second-grader mentality. Why not just link to them because you enjoyed it?

Not asking for a link could = getting a link

Who knew?

Creating wacky approaches for you,
CB Webmaster

P.S. If you want to link to a specific post you liked you may want to make a brief blog post about it. Here's what I suggest.

Spin-Off Ideas!

2008-12-18T23:21:00.001-08:00

What are spin-off ideas?

They're ideas you get from another blog posting you're writing or have already written!

Groovy! Talk about a way to do double duty!

This will happen a lot so you've gotta be quick with your sword! (your keyboard or pen if you're old school ;)

The second a "new" idea comes into your mind while you're writing a post quickly write it down! Phew! It comes fast so be ready to record it.

If you think "oh I'll write down that idea after I finish this post" because you're really focused on it and don't want to become distracted - think again!

It sounds practical but actually by the time you're done writing your post that idea may have flown the coop!

So cage it in now!

Sometimes cage-free is not the route to go! lol

Free-wheeling reigning-in thinker,
CB Webmaster

DISCLAIMER: No ideas were harmed in the making of this post.

Blog Length

2008-12-18T23:10:00.001-08:00

I've spoken about this topic before, but I want to clarify what blog postings I think tend to fit into different blog length categories.

Tutorials - LONG

I consider these full length tutorials that really teach a process.

How-to MEDIUM

These are going to give the reader information on how-to do something. What makes it different from a tutorial is that it's not a step-by-step process. It's more of a general concept.

Quick tip - SHORT

This is something which a person can initialize pretty much immediately. And so why not just make it really easy for them to grasp by not weighing it down with tons of observations.

Sharing a Link - SUPER SHORT

Sometimes I find a blog posting that I didn't write which is just far superior to anything I've read online. When that happens I'll create a blog post just to notify my readers of its existence. And say a few lines about why I think it's so great!

Oh an just think how much happier your readers will be getting the information they need in a speedier way!

Whoopie!

Love ya,
CB Webmaster

See how this one was medium? And it was a how-to! Well there ya go!

P.S. In case you need it here's my post on: How to Hyperlink.

Not All Blog Ideas are Created Equal

2008-12-18T22:56:00.001-08:00

You've gotta know when to hold em, know when to fold em, know when to walk away, know when to run." - Don Schlitz

The same goes for blogging.

Not all blog ideas are created equal.

Some are just absolutely great and deserve a Bloggy Award.

While others sounded good at the time but.....

So there's no need to clutter up your blog with the ideas that should've been thrown out way long ago like those socks you have with holes in them.

Just because you wrote a post doesn't mean you can't delete it any time you want!

Just think - if you came across a blog with 95% great ideas wouldn't you be thrilled? I know I would!

So toss the junk and add more valuable content to your blog by simply generating better material!

There's no doubt this will make your existing readers even happier and happier readers could definitely lead to more referrals!

-CB Webmaster (creator of CB Success - home of the happiest blog readers! lol)

P.S. I know how personal blog writing is - like your babies - but just because you delete a blog post from your blog doesn't mean you have to wipe it out of existence - you can always save it on your hard drive and then some day down the road you can read through them and laugh and say to yourself "What was I thinking? :)

Triggered Ideas

2008-12-18T22:32:00.000-08:00

So a lot of my posts come as spin-offs from my other posts and others are triggered ideas from something I read.

So how do I get these triggered ideas?

It's really this simple:

1. Whenever you can visit blogs that have similar content to your blog.

2. Scan through their blog postings archive.

3. When a headline catches your eye as appealing click on it.

4. Now you're going to scan the text quickly for key words that trigger a thought of your own. It's important that you don't actually read the blog post because then you'll just start to assimilate that person's ideas and that can lead you down a treacherous road.... so instead just briefly scan the text for the words that trigger a thought of your own.

5. Okay so now you have a word that triggered your own thought and you're going to get a whole slew of ideas related to that triggered thought. So now you go directly to your blog and begin writing your post. Wait no rough draft? Nope! Blogging is supposed to be spontaneous! Get it all out! Then you can go back and "pretty it up" - proofreading and editing your post so it's clearer - as your thought may not always look as well on paper as it sounded in your mind - just rewrite it until it conveys the message you want it to.

That's it! Wait, what about blog etiquette? Don't I have to link back to the URL of the post that "triggered" my idea?

Here's my guideline for this situation - as long as you didn't read the post and use the ideas that person had in their post in your post then there's no need to link back (unless of course you just want to share it with your readers).

However, if you didn't listen to me and read their entire post and found yourself referring to some of the points they brought up then yes definitely hyperlink to them in your blog posting and you can even thank them for their contribution if you want!

So there you have it! A new way to generate many new ideas for your very own blog postings!

Not as cheeky as you thought,
CB Webmaster

P.S. You can also pay attention to cues in your environment. I was just looking at a hole in my sock and it gave me an idea for a whole blog post - read it here.

P.P.S. Don't forget to bookmark the blogs that give you triggered ideas - so you can always go back for more!

Breathe - Just Breathe!

2008-12-18T22:19:00.000-08:00

Pressure?

I know I don't need any more in my life! So how the heck did something I decided to do for fun start to add more pressure to my load?

When I sit back and think about it I honestly feel duped - not by all the people out their claiming this and that - but duped by myself - for falling into the trap of believing if I don't do everything in my power in every minute of my free time to promote my blog then I'm never going to get any readers at all!

Wow talk about a load to push onto someone!

And there's a lot of that going on right now. And it's not as explicit as all that.

Very subtly people are "persuading" bloggers that to get any results they have to dive in full force and put in more effort into blogging than they even put into other important areas of their lives - like family, career, and even personal free time.

The "ALL-IMPORTANT" getting your blog to the top of Google's search results is ever so daunting yet ever so ridiculous in the grander scheme of things.

How did I get so duped into believing that I should invest all my efforts into this one tiny aspect of blogging? Actually it's not even an actual aspect of blogging!

Geez! It's really amazing how subversive text can slip into our unconsciousness if we're not paying attention.

So keep alert! Don't let anyone dictate to you how you "should" invest your blogging time.

After all you began blogging for fun! So do it for that purpose and that's all that really matters!

But wait I have no reader base? So? Is that the end of the world? Does that mean you should stop writing? Well if you answered yes to that last question then maybe you should stop writing because that means blogging is not a fun hobby for you, it has become something far removed from its original purpose.

So evaluate what you want in your blogging life and then create it! Forget the rest!

Feeling quite sheepish,
CB Webmaster

Fulfill Your Promises!

2008-12-18T22:04:00.000-08:00

There's a difference between a snappy title and a crappy title - and it's only crappy because you don't fulfill your end of the bargain! The title can't just sound great - you have to deliver the great content which the title indicates!

A big disappointment for me is to click on an amazing sounding headline like - "25 Ways to Get to the Top of Google's Results" - only to find out that none of the "25" things mentioned have any way of helping me get to the top of Google's results. Talk about a way to bum a person out!

If this has ever happened to you then you know what I'm saying.

So the simplest way to avoid disappointing your readers is to fulfill your promises.

If you promise to tell them 25 Ways to Get to the Top of Google's Results - then do it.

If you only know 2 ways, then tell them those 2 ways. I'd rather hear two great methods as opposed to 25 useless ideas.

What if you don't know how to get to the top of Google's results? Then don't say you do! lol That seems like a pretty simple obvious thing to me, but it brings to mind stories I've heard of people interviewing for a job who say they have the qualifications but they really don't!

So the easiest way to avoid this trap is just to make a comprehensive list of your qualifications and then write on those subjects in detail. The clearer you can be, especially if you are sharing some instruction of some sort the more grateful your readers will be!

What if you don't have any qualifications? Don't panic. It's okay - you can teach yourself! Yep, just like in life, when you've wanted to do something you taught yourself how to do it, right? Same goes for blogging.

Just begin by investigating a topic that really sparks your interest. Then if you follow the steps I've outlined in the process for becoming an expert on any topic you'll be on your way!

So good luck! And I can't wait to hear your ideas!

Sincerely,
CB Webmaster

P.S. If you've read several of my posts you can see how I always fulfill my promises (well to the best of my ability!)

P.P.S. I know there's all kinds of pressure out there to make sure and title your posts well just don't let that pressure get to you. Keep your head and you'll make out alright.

Feeling Overwhelmed By Your Blog To Do List?

2008-12-18T21:48:00.000-08:00

Well I have to say I'm feeling that way myself right now. My TO DO list seems endless and I'm constantly jumping back and forth between things and trying to determine while I'm doing it if it's the best possible action I can be doing for my blog right now.

Well I came across this blog posting yesterday (which I just read today! lol well that's pretty good considering it wasn't on the top of my priority list! haha)

Any ways this article is very helpful in helping you organize your blogging efforts so you can reach your goals effectively.

So definitely check it out!

4 Tips For Making 2008 Your Blog’s Best Year Yet

And remember blogging is supposed to be fun! Try and not get too bogged down with all the little details. I know it feels like no one is ever going to read your blog or even link to it. But they will, they will. Heck you may be the first person ever to read my blog and I've posted almost 60 posts. So I can related to feeling like no one's ever going to find your blog. Have faith.

Love,
CB Webmaster

P.S. Remember if there's anything I can do to help you get your blog into shape I'd be happy to help. And I'm even willing to look over your blog and give you feedback on how I as a reader perceive it. I know we all can use another perspective, blogging doesn't have to be so lonely. Just email me your blog url. Take care.

Best 101 Lists for Blogger Tips!

2008-12-16T01:12:00.000-08:00

Here's some 101 Lists on Blogging that I recommend:

101 Posting Ideas that will make your Blog Sizzle

SEO Blog 101 Blog Posting Ideas

101 Ways to Make Your Blog More Popular and Successful

101 Essential Blogging Skills

101 Blog Tips I Learned in 2006

101 Articles That Will Make You "A Complete Blogger"

That's all I've gone through so far folks when I come across more that I think are worthy of bringing to your attention I'll make another post. If you don't want to miss it then you can subscribe to CB Blog Sucess RSS Feed

Have a groovy day,
CB Webmaster

P.S. Oh and of course in case you missed mine it's: 101 Things I Learned about Blogging in my First 12 Days of Blogging Nice title huh? lol

Authoritative Advice

2008-12-14T23:40:00.001-08:00

The world of ideas that you enter into when you blog is pretty expansive.

In fact, many people, come across the same idea time and time again only encased in different wrapping paper.

Somtimes it's good to get all those different perspectives on the same topic, but sometimes you want to read something that no one has written about (ok maybe not no one - how bout - no one has extensively and with expert knowledge written about ok)

So that's why I've decided to put postings that are the "new writing on the wall" under the heading Authoritative Advice.

This doesn't just apply to Chatblog posts alone - but to any post we come across on the internet that is talking about something that no one else has really addressed yet.

And of course, many of these authoritative posts will probably be related to the topic of blogging because that's my passion and it's what I'm researching the most.

But feel free to send me any links to any blog posts you come across (or have even written yourself) that you feel are relevant to people's needs and offers some new authoritative advice.

Awaiting your response (and not with baited breath - or linkbaited breath lol),
CB Webmaster

How do I link to a blog posting I like?

2008-12-14T22:49:00.001-08:00

I was reading an article just a moment ago which was discussing linking and I realized some people do not know how to link. I don't know why people assume everyone knows how to do that! So I thought I'd write this quick post to show you how to do that.

How to link:

1. You're going to need to copy the URL for the article or blog posting you like.

To copy:

Place your mouse cursor over the beginning of the text you want to copy. (If it's a URL that's the http://www....)

Then drag the mouse to the right to select the text you want (you need the entire URL for it to work correctly)

Then right click with your mouse

Select: Copy

Then open whatever place you want to copy the text into - for example your: create post window.

Then with your mouse click into the empty large white space on the page and right click with your mouse, then select: Paste

Yeah you did it!

Now if you want the URL to appear as a hyperlink (which means when you click on the text it actually takes you to the website)

then you need to add this HTML code around it:

<a href="url text you pasted">Type in Title of Article here</a>

Now you're done! It should work!

If for some reason it doesn't work then check out our article on how to fix hyperlink for some ideas on how to make it work! And you can always email me directly if you have any questions!

Sincerely,

CB Webmaster

P.S. One reason the link may not work is the URL address is not a permanent address - go back to the page you want to link and look for the word: permalink

To search on a page use this shortcut key: first press your CNTL button and hold it down then press the letter "F" This should allow you to "find" text within a page. Type in the word: permalink. When you find it right click on the underlined word (the link is hidden behind the underlined word) then select: copy. And a shortcut key to paste the text is: CNTL + V.

P.P.S. Feel free to link to any of Chatblog's posts - you don't have to ask permission - we want you to share!

How to Display Your Profile On Your Blogger.com Blog

2008-12-14T22:28:00.000-08:00

So you wanna put your profile on your blogger.com blog, eh?

This is easy and definitely a good thing to do!

Here's how:

1. Login to your blog. On top right of your blog click on: Customize.

2. Next click: Add a gadget (in Layout view)

3. A window will pop up. Scroll to the bottom, and you'll see it says:

Profile
Display information about yourself.
By Blogger

Click on the plus sign to add it.

A window will pop up allowing you to edit your profile.

Just make sure these boxes are checked:
"Share my profile"
"About Me" Show on this blog

Click SAVE.

Then Click: SAVE in Layout window

Voila!

See I told ya it was easy!

Toodles,
CB Webmaster

P.S. Make sure you're Sharing Your Profile first.

What Should I Put On My Blog?

2008-12-14T18:29:00.000-08:00

Thought you might ask that!

What you Should Have on Your Blog:

1. A link to what the blog is about.

First create a blog post describing in detail what your blog has to offer, and how it is different from other blogs. Then make sure and add a link to this at the top of your blog.

If you're using blogger.com you can do this by going to LAYOUT, ADD GADGET, select: TEXT, then add a hyperlink to your post. And save your settings.

2. Contact information - how people can contact you directly!

I've been to so many blogs where I wanted to contact the blogger but they didn't provide a way for me to do that! Heck even I forgot to put that on my blog at first - I guess I just assumed my contact information was already on there - but it wasn't! In Blogger.com if you choose to share your email - it only appears on your profile permalink page - it does not appear on your blog! I have no idea why! But anyhow if you want your email displayed you have to do it yourself!

3. Rss Feed link.

That way people can subscribe to your blog to get the latest updates of your posts.

3. Labels.

Basically a list of blog posts categorized by topic.

4. Your Profile.

On blogger.com you can display your profile on your blog! And if you don't use blogger.com there are many sites that offer free "widgets" that will allow you to display a profile on your blog.

Read my post on Profiles - What to Put in Them!.

5. Links to sites that are similar in nature to yours. Why?

Isn't that just promoting my competition? No, it's actually you're way of doing 3 people a favor.

1- You - heck if this person's blog/website has information you're interested in then you're going to want to go back and check it out often!

2- Your Reader - I wrote a blog post on how you should give your readers more than what they asked for. If you look this principle up in a search engine you'll see a lot of people recommend doing this.

3- The person who you linked to - it's a nice way to send "business" their way - and it doesn't "take" readers away from your blog as you would expect. In fact it probably will bring more readers your way because if the person you linked to checks out how they are receiving traffic to their blog and they see a lot of it coming from your site they may feel inclined to put a link to your site on their page as a "thank you" - and that means whatever number of readers they have already enlisted can potentially become your readers!

And what you might want to think twice about before adding to your blog:

1. Tons of Widgets.

And there are tons of out there from clocks to astrological readings. I'm not saying omit them entirely - just be selective and think minimalistic and you'll be alright!

2. Ads.

Unlike links to similar topics most ads will take readers away from your page rather than bring you more readers! Yikes! I know!

Plus you've been to sites/blogs that are loaded with tons of ads - what do you do? Well I know I get overwhelmed and frustrated because it makes it harder for me to find the content I was seeking! In fact if the ads interfere to much with my ability to locate the content I just leave the page and try another site. So keep that in mind!

3. Buttons.

I've been to a lot of blogs that have all these buttons on them saying that they are "pro bloggers" or giving you a link to their profiles on digg.com, technorati and such. I guess I understand the purpose of these buttons but really they do seem to clutter the page a lot.

If you really want to give your readers a way to view those things why not just create a link to them and put them all on one page thereby eliminating the clutter it creates on your blog.

4. Photos.

The current trend is to add a photo to each of your blog postings. I'm not sure how this trend got started but I find it a bit like trying to "dumb-down" your site to your users. If people come to your site for high quality content and you provide that for them then it shouldn't matter that you don't have tons of pictures taking up a lot of space on your blog. Of course if your blog is a photo blog then it would be silly to omit the photos! lol

Things that are a personal decision to put on your blog:

1. Counters.

Some people argue that counters are "bragging" and detract from the tone of your site. I personally don't use a counter, but I've been to sites with counters and when I see they have had 20,000 visitors I have to say that it does make an impact on me - the impact it makes is it gives me MORE of a reason to stick around and see what they have to offer. Of course it doesn't affect my reasoning faculties - if I go through their blog and find that little or none of what they've written is exciting to me then that's it I pack up my bags and say goodbye! Just because 20,000 other people found it interesting doesn't necessarily mean you will.

2. Polls.

I'm sure you've seen these - a little list of usually trite questions no one really cares about asking for your opinion.

Well if your blog is just about being social than I guess you might be interested in this feature.

That's all I've got for now,
CB Webmaster

Profiles - What to Put in Them!

2008-12-14T17:49:00.000-08:00

So what should you include in your profile?

You may notice my from my "About Me" section on the right side of this blog that my profile isn't really about me as a person. That's what most people usually use it for.

But as you can see, you can write it up to address the needs of your readers instead of just blabbing on about how you like monkeys.

I think that's probably the biggest thing you can do for your profile - make it about your readers instead of making it about you!

As you saw in my profile instead of writing about me I hyperlinked to a blog posting about me - and actually if you followed the blog posting to the page about me called The Creator then you saw how even there although I spoke about my personal experience I made the entire story's goal to be about why I am like my readers and how every thing I do is about making the best possible site for them. One word of caution here - be sincere - people can spot insincerity instantly even on the internet!

As you may have noticed in my profile I took my readers on a little walk - I let them click on different blog posts and even go directly to my webpage to find out more instead of just letting them sit on my profile. Here's why I did that.

Of course this is just a suggestion, if you want to list all your interests then go right ahead and do that! Just think in terms of universal appeal to your readers and you'll be fine.

Sincerely,
CB Webmaster

P.S. I excerpted this post from another of my posts called: Create a Great Blogger.com Profile because I kept finding myself wanting to refer to this part of the post, and since it's a long post it was hard for my readers to find this part. So I apologize if you've already read that post.

Give Me Less, Give Me More!

2008-12-14T16:51:00.000-08:00

Can these two opposites exist in the same space?

Why yes they can!

Here's how:

1. Give me less - less length is basically what I mean.

There's no denying we live in a fast pace society. People value their time - and they want to get what they need fast.

So make your blog posts short enough to make it easier for them.

I recommended 5 paragraphs - each paragraph no longer than 2-3 lines.

2. Give me more - more means more quality not more content.

This actually is still part of saving people time - if you give your readers high quality content they'll return and especially if you can give them that content in half the amount of time it would take them normally to get.

This is a no-fail approach to blog writing that will make your readers happy!

And remember to ping your blogs whenever you add new posts so people can find your new posts!

Sincerely,
CB Webmaster

Your Philosophy Affects Your Success!

2008-12-14T14:09:00.000-08:00

I've spoken many times about my "philosophy" which is about coming from a place within yourself where you want the best in life - not just for yourself but for everyone.

Well I came across an article today that really hits that point in terms of blogging:

Want. Want. Want. Blogging is About Giving.

It's pretty great to get a confirmation like that!

It's almost like realizing that what you're thinking is not only in your mind - that there are people "out there" who also grasp the same concepts/experiences.

I guess that's why people get so much out of support systems.

It's a way of reassuring ourselves that we're on the right track.

Hope this helps,
CB Webmaster

P.S. With this perspective I believe you can create success for your blog.

P.P.S. out of control!!!

2008-12-13T21:59:00.000-08:00

lol okay I've been there done that!

Sometimes I have one more thing to say and oh one more and wait just one more and I end up with three extensive P.P.P.S.'s!

So if it really is more a part of the blog posting rather than an afterthought - then just integrate it into the posting.

Which would you rather read a posting that:

-tells you its over?

-gives you one more great tip in a P.S.

or

-one that said it was over (aka signed off with a signature) and then goes on and on and on

It's like the bell ringing in school and the teacher keeping you ten minutes late!

Ay-yi-yi!

You just want to get out of there!

Which means your reader (most likely) won't stick around to hear your relevant comments because they've moved on to another post.

Brief works,
CB Webmaster

P.S. I know you're laughing right about now if you've read any of my posts because they are usually let's just say the "opposite" of brief - but I have my moments! ;)

Blog Post Disappeared - Don't Panic!

2008-12-13T21:10:00.000-08:00

Okay I have a blog post that is really one of my best posts! And because it's one of my best posts I have a tendency to link to it within my other posts.

It's called: Blog Material for Life - you can imagine my panic when I clicked on a hyperlink to it today and blogger.com told me the page does not exist!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaagggh! (that's me running around in circles)

So I sat down and put my thinking shoes on. First I began searching my hardcopy files on my computer (how many times have I lectured on the importance of backing up your blog posts????)

And I found it immediately - phew - okay load lifted.

Then I realized sometimes my "backup" versions aren't exactly well the final draft - eek!

So instead of spiraling downwards again I decided to see if there was some way I could locate the "vanished" blog posting!

First I went to blogger.com's help and had no luck whatsoever! Quite a shock to me! And then when I scoured their help page for a contact email I realized - THEY DON'T HAVE ONE! OMG! How did I miss that fact before?

So silently trying not to spin out of control I thought well they MUST have a contact email somewhere!

So I opened a google search engine and was prepared to type in: Blogger.com contact information

but then I was suddenly struck with inspiration - instead of going down that track (which would probably leave me more frustrated than when I began)

I decide to search this phrase in google: blogger.com post disappeared

And guess what?

I wasn't alone!

The second search result looked promising and so I clicked on the result.

And to my great surprise and relief it had exact details on how to find my post!

Phew! Man that was a relief!

Well on that page Ted said:

"You have searched the Edit Posts list to make sure it isn't there?"

And I thought, well no.... (instead I panicked!!! lol)

So that's what I did.

I went to the edit posts option and scrolled back through my posts until I found the one I was missing (I used CNTL + F to search for a word I knew was in that title)

And bam! There it was on the list still!

I couldn't believe it! I really thought it was going to be gone - but there it was! *picture me awed like a kid who got what he asked for on Christmas*

But I noticed that instead of the usual options on the left which are EDIT and VIEW

only EDIT appeared!

So I clicked on that and - like the wings of an angel I was swept back to my post!

And all I had to do to make it reappear was click: PUBLISH POST.

And like magic it was back as well as its permalink!

I still have no idea how or why it disappeared (although I have to admit for a moment there I thought there was a conspiracy to keep the information I was presenting in this post hush hush! lol!)

Well afterall it is very pertinent information that when applied could make a vast difference in bloggers success rates!

So, alas, conspiracy or not, my blog posting is nestled safely back in my blog's welcoming arms and I can rest well.

Breathing in a deep sigh of relief,
CB Webmaster

P.S. Go here for more info on backing up your posts.

Link showing up as code?

2008-12-13T17:19:00.000-08:00

Here's 3 Easy Steps to correct that error:

1. Make sure there are no double spaces in how your hyperlink appears in your post edit window - take them out and your link should work correctly.

2. Make sure your code is complete. It should have a < at the beginning and end >

Also it needs to have quotes around the entire url:

<a href="http://cbblogsuccess.blogspot.com/2008/12/how-to-create-hyperlinks-in-your-blog.html">How to Hyperlink</a>

3. Make sure you have an end tag.

If you've typed it in like this:

<a href="http://cbblogsuccess.blogspot.com/2008/12/how-to-create-hyperlinks-in-your-blog.html">How to Hyperlink <- you're missing the end tag:

</a>

Simple works,
CB Webmaster

New Post or Add to Previous Post?

2008-12-13T17:16:00.000-08:00

Important note when you're thinking about adding something new to an existing post first ask yourself:

Could this thought/link stand on its own as a new post?

If the answer is yes - great!

Just create a new post and in that post hyperlink a reference to the old related post.

Not only does this save you time of tracking down that old post but it gives your readers a whole new post to read!

I found this out one day when I wanted to add some notes to a post I had written on ... and what I wanted to add ended up becoming several paragraphs of new content and I thought - hey this can be it's own post - because it was too much information that if I added it to the old post it would detract from it's original essence/intention.

Always learning,
CB Webmaster

Keep a To Do List

2008-12-13T16:25:00.000-08:00

Anyone who's ever blogged knows it isn't as simple as just typing some thoughts into a post and voila that's it!

There's a lot that goes into it and your blogging life will be much happier if you stay organized!

To keep your sanity I suggest you create a "To Do List" text file on your computer.

If you have a Windows Computer just click on: Start, programs, accessories, and open: Notepad.

Then enter things you plan to do on your blog in the new text file.

And of course since this list will grow and grow - you may want to prioritize the tasks you want to do first at the top of the list.

The great thing is you can copy and paste and delete text to move it around to easiily arrange what you want to be priority tasks at the top of your text file.

Note: If you need to learn how to copy and paste scroll to the bottom of Quote Posting Guidelines for instructions (it's right under the text: How to Hyperlink).

Things you may want to consider priority tasks:

1. Errors you come across on your site.

Especially broken links, improperly loading "widgets", etc.

People get flustered easily - and if your site doesn't "appear" in order they may not return.

Just remember every day your blog and blog postings have an oppotunity to appeal to new readers!

So basic upkeep like this will safeguard you against people's impulses to find another site that isn't "broken"

2. Optimizing your blog settings.

Don't delay doing this! You'll save a lot more time in the long run if you label your posts up front instead of doing it down the road.

Your blog probably has tons of features you're not even aware of!

At blogger.com you can subscribe to their Rss Feed of their New Features called: Blogger Buzz

And remember you can always check your blog's help files

Some blog sites even have forums where users exchange tips for improving the functionality of their blogs.

One of the most important features you want to display on your blog posts is an RSS feed.

3. Self-Promote

Once you have at least 5 or more quality blog posts you're going to want to get the word out to people about your blog!

Check this out:
The Importance of Linking Your Blog Posts!

4. Things you want to research

5. Things you need to finish

And the best way to avoid more tasks accumulating on your ever-to-do list is to prevent them from accumulating in the first place!

Also I keep a text file called Blogs to Post - where I write down any ideas I have for blog posts - even if it's just one line describing what I want to write about - that way I don't forget it. And if I don't have time to write the post right now I'll have something to trigger me to remember what I wanted to write about. I also like to make notes to myself about what labels I should add to the post - to make it easier for myself later when I'm posting it and selecting labels for it!

And to keep things really organized I even have a text file called Blog Posts to Edit. This is a list of posts I've already posted that I have something new to add to (either a new thought or a link). Because I usually don't remember the title of the post off the top of my head I just write down the thought/link for each post I want to update. Then I use a dotted line to distinguish that the information below each line is for a different post that needs to be edited. Can't decide if your new thought should go in a New Post or Add to Previous Post?

You can even create a seperate list just for URLS that you want to reference in your posts - remember you can go back anytime and edit your posts and add hyperlinks to relevant blog postings or articles you come across.

Phew,
CB Webmaster

Permalink How To in Blogger.com

2008-12-13T15:27:00.000-08:00

At this time Blogger.com does not clearly display the permalink on each blog posting for your readers to easily view.

You can fix this!

This is the method I came up with to show people how to find the permalink on my blogger.com blog postings.

First off, in case you didn't know the permalink for your blog postings IS actually at the bottom of the post - the problem is blogger.com has it labeled as the timestamp!

And trust me most people won't realize that if they click on the timestamp they'll be brought to the permalink for that post.

So here's how you can edit the text of your to timestamp to state it's a permalink.

In case you're thinking of using another word/phrase such as "Link to my blog post" -you should be aware that the reason I suggest the word "Permalink" is because it is the word most people will be looking for on your page when they want to link to your posts.

Steps:

Go to your layout page

In the center of that page it will have a large box labeled

"Blog Posts" and in the bottom right corner of this box it will

say: Edit

Click on that.

A window will pop up with a list of settings you can change (by

the way you can change any of these! Cool, huh)

Under: Select Items

Go to the third item on the list

By default it will say: at

and then there'll be a box next to it with the date/time options

Click into the box with the word: at

Now erase the word "at"

Then copy or type in this: Permalink =>

Note: By default on my blog the comments were displayed right next the timestamp making it even harder for readers to distinguish the permalink.

At the bottom of this pop-up window you're in look for this phrase:

Arrange items

Then simply drag the comments box down to make it appear below the permalink instead of next to it.

I also dragged my labels down so they appear on their own line.

Then scroll to the bottom and click on: SAVE.

Then make sure you also click on the SAVE button on the Layout page.

Then your changes will be saved successfully.

Although it doesn't actually create a hyperlink for the word "Permalink" like most sites do - the little arrow we've created using the equal sign => should make it clear enough to people that the permalink is to the right.

When people place their mouse cursor over the timestamp a little label will pop up saying: permanent link

That will confirm to your readers that you're not making it up - that yes the time stamp is the permalink they need to use.

So who knew life could be this complicated? Maybe someday blogger.com will give us the option to clearly display permalinks at the bottom of our blog posts and then I'll celebrate being able to delete this post as it's purpose will become obsolete!

"Destruction, hence, like creation, is one of Nature's mandates." Marquis De Sade

Being bold as ever,
CB Webmaster

Help I forgot to Add a Title!

2008-12-13T15:15:00.000-08:00

Help I forgot to add a title and now the URL for my post is the first line of my blog post!

Yikes!

I know scary! That happened to me! (You won't believe it but I made this error when I first posted the Quote Posting Guidelines! lol! I know I know tsk tsk lol)

Here's what happens in blogger.com

If when you create your post and you do not create a title for it initially then it will by default select the first line of text in your post as the URL for the post.

Note: If you have tons of comments on your post - you don't need to re-title it - people have found it! That's the only reason to re-title a post's URL in the first place. Skip doing this whole process and just manually enter a title in your post's edit window.

To find out why is it so important to title your posts - click here

So Here's how you can fix your Permalink to display the Blog Posting's Title:

1. Copy and paste your entire blog post into a text file.

2. Delete the blog post.

3. Create a new blog post.

4. Copy and paste your entire blog post into the new post.

5. And most importantly remember to put a title on it this time!

Then click: PUBLISH POST

Oh and if this doesn't solve the error, if you're using blogger.com, make sure your: Show Title Field is set to ON. If it's off it will not use the title of your blog for the URL.

And If you need to learn how to copy and paste scroll to the bottom of Quote Posting Guidelines for instructions
(it's right under the text: How to Hyperlink).

And remember to add the existing labels before you delete your old post - because if this is the only post under a specific label that label will "disappear" from your labels and you'll have to do it over again! Just click: Show All. Add the labels THEN delete the old post.

And don't worry - even if you had tried to correct the title error by making a title after you posted it and now both the old and new post have the same title it won't affect the title. You'll still be able to create the "new" post even with an identical title and then be able to delete the old post as soon as you're done labeling.

Aaaagh but how can I tell which one's the old post when I'm deleting?

Good question.

Before you create the new post - make note of the timestamp on the old post.

That way you can differentiate which one's the old post (which you will be deleting)

and

which one is the new post (which will essentially take the old post's place)

What about existing comments and links to your post?

Well I don't know but I assume they'll be deleted so you'll have to copy those over to the new blog posting as well. Simple enough if you only have 1 or 2.

That's all for now folks,

CB Webmaster

P.S. To avert the title problem get yourself into the habit of adding your title before you begin writing your post.

Who Are Your Readers?

2008-12-13T06:06:00.000-08:00

More likely than not - other bloggers!!!

So that's perfect because you're a blogger - you already have something in common!

Now just think what do you want as a blogger?

Make a list of your needs, wants, and wishlists for:

blogging

blog improvement

blog success

blog readers

etc.

then you've got an idea of what your readers want too!

This should help you always keep your readers at the center of your posts - remember they're why you're doing this in the first place!

Meeting the needs of your readers will make your blog a success!

Wishing you much success,
CB Webmaster

Place Your RSS Feed at the Top of Your Blog!

2008-12-13T05:58:00.001-08:00

This is very important people!

Now if you know anything about me, you know I value labels very highly and definitely believe they should be at the top of your blog.

RSS feed is the one exception to this rule!

Trust me once you get going on the labels you're going to get quite a long list of them and your RSS feed will get buried somewhere midway down the page - making it hard for people to just sign up for you RSS feed instantly.

So if you're on blogger.com - on your layout page you can drag your gadgets around with your mouse! That's how I do it - it's really easy to do!

Remember your RSS feed is how people stay up to date on your new blog posts - yep that's why its sooooo important that it deserves its "Reserved Space" at the top of your blog!

Always at the top,
CB Webmaster

Title Your Blog Posts! Don't Skip This!

2008-12-13T05:21:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I missed this one - title every single one of your posts! I guess I just assumed everyone would do this automatically - but if you haven't made this your habit make it now!

People use the title as their "IN" into your blog post.

Without a title why should they dig into a posting which they know nothing about?

And this is not to mention of the most important things about why you should create a title for each and every blog posting - titles are how people find your blog in the search engines!

So please please don't get lazy and think - oh I can title it later - or even worse miss it altogether because you're so busy creating the content of the blog post.

Always providing titles,
CB Webmaster

P.S. Here's a link to blogger.com's help article on how to change the settings to your blog to use the title as your permalink URL: How do I add title tags to my template?

But you should know that unless you altered the code of your template, this setting should by default automatically be set to display the title of your blog post as your permalink URL.

Save Yourself Time!

2008-12-13T05:06:00.000-08:00

Menial tasks got that name for a reason - that's why it helps if you get them out of the way every time you post a blog posting.

Trust me if you don't they'll accumulate over time and you'll feel so overwhelmed it's unlikely you'll go back and do your essential housecleaning!

So here's some things you should do after you publish a post:

1. Label it - for the love of God do this please!

2. Title it - I cringe at the very thought that you aren't doing this!

3. Add hyperlinks - click here for my post on what to hyperlink.

4. Check your Hyperlinks - make sure they actually work!

5. Proofread - your and you're are not the same! Accuracy is a nice quality you can give to your readers for free!

6. Hyperlink your signature - I just have this code in a text file so I can copy it whenever I'm posting!

7. Backup your post. That means copying and pasting it in its entirety (hyperlinks HTML code and all!) to a text file on your computer! That way you won't end up flipping out in the event that your blog posting one day just ups and disappears! Just think if you do this now then you won't end up crying into your cheerios about how you've lost your baby! By the way blogger.com actually offers its bloggers a way to Backup their entire Blog! I haven't tried this yet but when I do I'll let you know if it works.

8. Ping Your Posts - well even I'm guilty of forgetting to do this one! But it's essential because it's basically how the search engines and RSS Feeds know that you've created new posts on your blog.

Think about how many thousands of blogs are out there that are outdated - well if you are keeping yours up to date you might as well get credit (and readers) to your blog! Here's a link to a site that submits the ping for your blogs

Personally I could really stand to find an excellent free automatic ping service because at Chatblog I have to ping over 50 blogs and that's just tooooooo much upkeep for me! But I guess if you have only one blog it's not that big of deal to enter your URL in a ping site every time you update your blog.

Though I have to think even you could stand from an automatic submission on your behalf - sign up once and bam it does the work for you! lol! Well I can dream, right? Heck, if you know of any free automatic ping services tell me about it so I can share it with all our bloggers! Thanks!

Well that's all I can think of right now, if I come up with any more I'll make a Part 2 for this post. Oh and if you can think of any I missed let me know!

Take care,
CB Webmaster

P.S. In case you're wondering - keeping it clean isn't only for your readers - it is for your ability to retain readers, gain new readers, keep your blog improving its rating, and increase your blog's success. Maintaining high quality is one of the best self-promoting things you can do for your blog!

Advertise Yourself!

2008-12-13T04:57:00.000-08:00

Shameless self-promoting?

Nah, that's not what I'm talking about!

I'm talking about making a habit of linking to your other relevant posts.

If you do that you'll gain more blog readers and people will stick around because you're giving them more than what they asked for!

Don't you just love getting 2 for 1?

And even if you have another blog or a website you can link to those too whenever it's appropriate - the key word here is appropriate - people don't wanna hear you going on and on about how great your other blog is - unless it's relevant to the topic they're reading about in this blog posting.

I often mention my website Chatblog whenever it comes up "naturally" in context. See an example of how I do that here.

So there you have it! Be your own spokesperson!

Free advertisement never hurt anyone!

Plugging along,
CB Webmaster

Don't Worry About Pissing Off Your Readers

2008-12-13T04:51:00.001-08:00

What? Shouldn't I care about that?

Well what I mean to say is - you don't have to tip toe around your readers.

You have the right to express your opinions as you choose - and trust me if you do express it the way that's most natural for you then your blog postings will become much more reader friendly than reader repulsive!

People are more likely to read a post by someone who is confident than someone who's so concerned about pissing them off that they never have any stimulating remarks to make at all!

BORING!!! Zzzzzzzzzzzz.....wake me up when you have an actual opinion!

People can pretty much get whatever information they are seeking anywhere online for free - so why would they choose to read what you have to say over that other guy?

Because you've got spunk, hutspa, an original comment, a quirky sense of humor - whatever it is you've got - you've gotta share it!

Thats all folks!

Your sparkling genius,
CB Webmaster

Don't Piss Off Your Readers

2008-12-13T04:36:00.000-08:00

Remember my post on not being stubborn when it comes to changing titles? The same goes for labels!

If the label you originally used to categorize posts of the same topic is no longer fitting or just isn't doing its job well enough - you can change it too!

For example I had this label: Keywords Tags and Labels

I originally labeled it that because I figured keywords and tags are key search words people are going to be looking for - the only problem is I hadn't done enough research in that area yet and had no postings on it - I only had postings on Labels - so this was not really "labeled" correctly for my readers.

Just think how disappointed you'd be if you clicked on it because you wanted to learn about keywords and then found out there wasn't even one single post about keywords in that directory?

You'd be pissed, I mean I know I would! And that's definitely not a way to gain
readers - by misleading them to believe there is material there they are interesting in only for them to find out (and very soon at that), that there never was any information they sought there.

Let's just I don't think you'll be getting any repeat "customers" that way!

So make sure to label your posts correctly and relabel as necessary.

Hopefully pleasing my readers,
CB Webmaster

P.S. You know how I said above to think about "how disappointed you'd be"? Well I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that should become a guiding principle for you when you're writing your blog posts - that if you find that you'd be disappointed after reading it (pretend of course that you are the reader of your blog) then it's probably time to take that particular blog post back to the drawing board (rewrite it), or do more homework on it, or scratch it entirely - better to have a blog with less posts than one cluttered with drivel.

Heed Your Own Advice

2008-12-13T04:31:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when I get on a roll I write so much that even I miss something I could get use out of!

I was recently scanning an old post when suddenly my eyes bugged out when I read that I could: label several blog posts at once in blogger.com - I don't even remember writing that! But wow I'm totally going to use that technique!

So keep track of your best tips because heck you're a blogger too! You can use them! Whoo-hoo!

Oh and this is especially good if you've written a HOW-TO post and you've "forgotten" how to do it yourself! lol! Hey don't laugh we all forget! lol Okay you can laugh I am!

Finding the humor in my mistakes,
CB Webmaster

P.S. I guess on the path to becoming an expert one must not set their sights only on the end-goal! An expert is an expert because they retain what they learned!

Make Your Post Titles Easy to Remember

2008-12-13T04:00:00.000-08:00

I have this post that I could never find just because I couldn't remember the name of it! And I always wanted to link to it but it was a pain to find.

Finally I just ended up changing the title so I could find it easier!

So why not make your posts easier for your readers to find faster as well!

Take a moment and think: What is this post essentially about?

Then that becomes your title!

Simple is good.

And what does this teach us class?

Don't be a stubborn old mule! It took me about five times looking for this seemingly lost post before I realized all I had to do was retitle it!

How in love was I with that old title?

Well let's just say I can't even remember it now!

Kicking myself,
CB Webmaster

What You Write is Not Written in Stone!

2008-12-13T03:48:00.000-08:00

Seems pretty obvious but how often do we overlook this basic fact?

Many times I find myself having an idea I want to add to one of my posts or even a relevant link to add.

So I just edit my posts whenever I feel the inclination to make my post even better!

And I'm pretty happy about the fact that in blogger.com they allow the bloggers the option to either keep the original post dates/times on their edited posts or put the edited date/time stamp on it.

I prefer to keep the original date for several reasons:

1. Because for the most part the majority of the post was written on the "original date" and for prosperity sake I like to keep it that way.

2. It makes it easier for me to keep track of my postings by their original dates.

3. A lot of times my postings above and below the original post date will be relevant to the post.

So there you have it!

Feel free to edit your posts any time you want!

Never static,
CB Webmaster

P.S. Oh by the way, I often find myself editing posts just to add a label so that my readers can locate the posting easier!

Beginner Blogger Tips

2008-12-13T03:38:00.000-08:00

I came across this list today of 101 Blog Tips I Learned.

Well I thought that many of them are things you might want to find more information about.

So to do that just take any of the things on the list and type it into Google and start your journey!

Have fun,
CB Webmaster

Write from Experience

2008-12-13T03:23:00.000-08:00

Speak from experience.

For example I use blogger.com to blog with - so since every day I am becoming more and more familiar with their features I am able to write about my experience using them.

Now I know that there are several important and popular other blog hosts out there such as wordpress but since I don't have any hands-on experience using them and I don't have a particular interest in them I don't write about them.

But because I have users who are interested in them I make sure to keep my eyes open for other people's posts about the features of these services that sound fantastic - then I just make sure to write a quick blog post linking to their post.

Why not just write about what you know and let other people write about what they know? Then you don't waste your time and anyone else's time!

Who wants to read a blog posting by someone who knows little or nothing about the topic?

Or even worse, who is only writing about it out of an obligation to write blog postings that will bring in the masses?

Stick to what you love and what you've got under your belt and you can't go wrong!

Oh and keep open minded! Just because you don't know something, as long as you have have a passion to learn about it - you can write about it and even become an expert in it!

No kidding,
CB Webmaster

P.S. What if you have no experience but tons of passion? Well then I recommend joining one of Chatblog's 50+ topics because they are group blogs which means the pressure is taken off of you to be the only one producing posts!

P.P.S. In case you missed my post on how to get new material you might want to check it out: Blog Material For Life!

How do I Add a Label to an Existing post?

2008-12-13T03:14:00.000-08:00

Well in blogger.com you can do this by clicking on the icon at the bottom of the post that looks like a pencil. That will bring you to the edit window. (Or from your dashboard you can click on: Edit Posts - and this will give you a list of the posts which you can edit)

Now that you're looking at the posting at the bottom of the page you'll see the: Labels for this post. Just add the labels that you want there. Click on show all if you want to include the post in a label/topic you've already created!

There ya go!

Sincerely,
CB Webmaster

P.S. Remember to click PUBLISH POST after you add the labels to save those labels.

P.S. You can edit the labels for multiple posts at once from the Edit menu - and don't worry about accidentally relabeling 10 files simultaneously incorrectly - they have an UNDO button! hehe

How should I label my posts?

2008-12-13T03:09:00.000-08:00

I figure out what labels to make for my posts by doing a search within the blog (see that search box at the top of this blog) for a phrase I think I've used often.

Then I edit the relevant posts by adding that label.

Example: Say I know I've spoken a lot about how to advertise a blog - well then in the search box I type in the word: advertise.

The search will return ONLY postings that have the word "search" in them.

Then I use the find shortcut: Control + F to search for that phrase on that page instead of manually scrolling down and scanning the text for the word/phrase I searched.

This brings me directly to each hit of that word/phrase.

And then I can determine if the reference to the word is worth placing in that category or if it was just a reference that is not really about that topic.

So that's it!

The ever so thoughtful,
CB Webmaster

P.S. Find out more on how to label here

Share What You Learned How To Do!

2008-12-13T02:47:00.000-08:00

If you notice you're using a blog posting technique a lot in your posts why not tell your readers how you're doing it?

They'll be interested, especially if they're bloggers and will want to learn how to do that in their own blogs!

Plus it automatically means another link you can include in your post to another one of your posts!

Hey no one ever said you couldn't advertise yourself! ha!

See I found myself hyperlinking frequently and I thought I bet there's a lot of people out there who would like to do that but don't know how so I wrote a post on it!

In life we're all students and teachers...

Your Master (lol j/k),
CB Webmaster lol

Display Blogger.com Labels on Your Blog!

2008-12-13T02:31:00.000-08:00

When you create labels they automatically appear at the bottom of the post you add it to, but unless your readers know that if they click on this label it will bring them to all your posts on this topic then they are losing out!

So make it easy for your readers to clearly see all your blogs by topic by adding a gadget through your LAYOUT called: LABELS

Click on it and a window pops up. It allows you to customize your title for these labels - I call mine: Posts by Topic:

That way people can clearly understand what these links mean.

It also allows you to organize these topics alphabetically or by the topics with the most posts - you decide!

So get to it - trust me this is one thing you should do immediately on your blog!

Don't have any labels yet? Start creating labels now.

Just call me the labeler (lol),
CB Webmaster

P.S. Just think how many readers you can gain this way? People often want to find out more information about SPECIFIC topics - you're just saying "Hey I get that - so here you go - here's everything you've always wanted to know about Dolphins Breathing Underwater" lol

P.P.S. If you've noticed on this blog I've intentionally put the blog labels - what I call "Posts by Topic" at the top of the blog so people can easily and immediately view the "Table of Contents" so to speak.

Tell Your Readers Why You're Different!

2008-12-13T01:43:00.001-08:00

Same ole same ole is boring!

Plus it doesn't spark excitement in your readers minds!

So what your readers really want to know when they find your blog is:

WHY SHOULD I READ WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY?

Now you can tell them this in a couple of ways:

1. Create a profile about why they should read your blog (on blogger.com you can choose to have this profile displayed on your blog!)

2. Write a blog post telling them why you're different and worth their time. I wrote one here that you can see as an example:
How CB Blog Success is Different from other Blog Tip Blogs

People have busy lives - they need to know why they should spend any time reading your blog - so tell them now!

See ya in the presses,
CB Webmaster

P.S. Also check out my post: Profiles - What to Put in Them - which discusses why your profile should not be "ABOUT ME" (of course me means you lol) A very important and often overlooked point.

How CB Blog Success is Different from other Blog Tip Blogs

2008-12-13T00:58:00.000-08:00

I've noticed most blogs which are labeled as providing blog tips to bloggers generally limit their blog topics to gadgets and other less useful tips.

Here at CB Blog Success you'll find a different approach for helping you succeed as a blogger.

10 Ways We're Different:

1. We're a group blog. Pretty much all blog tip blogs are individually run - which means here you'll get more bang for your free buck!

2. We give you tips that will help you in these Top 3 Areas:

~How to promote your blog!

~How and what to write in your blog!

~How to gain readers for your blog!

3. We give you hand-selected links to the best sites and specific blog postings related to blogging. (Just think how much time that will save you - first off not having to hunt down all this scattered information on multiple sites and secondly not having to weed through disorganized sites for relevant posts)

4. Regular updates means new posts - not just old outdated info! I'm sure you've come across blogs and posts all the time which are so old the information is no longer pertinent. Here you'll always get the best fresh information to make your blog succeed!

5. A well organized blog that is very user friendly. You can finally find the blog postings you want to read about under one label! Or use our search box at the top of the page to do a hard target search on what you're looking for to improve your blog at this very moment!

6. We display the full content of our blog posts so you don't have to click on a link to read the full post - it's all right there in front of you!

7. Archives are listed on the bottom right of our blog to make it easy to see a list of all our recent post titles!

8. Plus we'll teach you tricks to make your blog posts be more productive! Such as how to hyperlink (<-like this) within your blog posts!

9. Our blog posts are almost like simple tutorials that you can implement immediately on your own blogs!

10. We're not exclusive - that means if you join our group blog we will link to your personal blog - you don't have to be a popular blogger or have a large reader base for us to link to you.

So make sure and sign up for our RSS FEED. It's free. And it will allow you to get regular updates of the best and most useful information for making your blog all that it can be!

Thanks for checking us out,
CB Webmaster

Best Internet Tip of Your Life!

2008-12-12T10:42:00.000-08:00

How do I know this is the best internet tip of your life? I tried it! So am I the smartest person in the world? Nope. But when I see a good thing I check it out and see if it lives up to its hype!

Important note: If you have Vista Home or XP Home this tip will not work for you! I'm soooooo sorry!

So what's the tip?

Well first off I didn't come up with this tip I found it on another person's blog.

Here's the link: Get 20% More Internet Browsing Speed from Windows!

So I followed the clear steps this person outlined and completed it in less than 2 minutes. Then I went online. I have a cable connection and I thought it was fairly fast because it usually loads pages within 3-10 seconds.

But right after I performed this task when I did an internet search I got the results back in 1/4 second flat! I was absolutely floored!

And just to make sure my results were accurate I then clicked on one of the search results and it took 3 seconds to load the page fully. To compare this I tried it on another computer I have connected to the internet - it took 7 seconds! So I'm definitely going to change this setting on all my computers!

In all honesty I didn't think this tip was going to do anything - I mean why would Microsoft deliberately slow everyone's internet speed down by 20% by default? What could they possibly gain by this?

I don't know and I don't really want to know. But I am fully aware of the repercussions this Internet Tip is going to have for millions of users! That's why the second after I did it I wrote this post - I can't imagine holding onto this gem and not telling anyone about it immediately!

It's probably the best thing that has happened to me this year. (Yes I'm an avid internet user as you can probably tell from that statement) But if you use the internet even semi-frequently then you cannot afford to miss out on this tip!

So what are you waiting for? Set it up now and you'll be broswing 20% faster in 2 minutes!

Clock it!

Your VERY exuberant,
CB Webmaster

P.S. I know the first thing you're going to want to do is optimize all your computers that are connected to the internet. And then you're going to want to tell all your friends. So here's how you can do that. You can either link to the permalink for this article or you can click on the envelope icon at the bottom of this posting.

P.P.S. For tons more useful tips for Bloggers make sure and check out CB Blog Success

Blogging Success at its Best!

2008-12-07T01:32:00.000-08:00

Well I've written a blog posting which is on my personal CB Webmaster blog about how I created CB Blog Success and about how I've become as successful blogger.

I think it might give your some ideas on how you can succeed and may even provide some inspiration!

Wishing you much success in your blogging!

Always thinking of you my reader,
CB Webmaster

CB Blog Success Search Results for keyword: success

Group Blogging = No More Pressure

2008-12-06T16:26:00.000-08:00

I predict that within the next two years we're going to see a major growth in group blogging.

So what is group blogging anyway?

It's a blog in which more than one person can create posts. Cool, huh? Talk about an interactive approach to sharing information!

So how is a group blog different from a forum?

Well forums are generally used for people to make brief comments on a question which creates a thread of comments.

So what are the benefits of group blogging?

1. It takes the pressure off of you to write posts every day! This reason alone is enough to make it worthwhile to join a group blog!

2. It allows people a venue to communicate about one topic they all love! Haven't you always wanted a place online where you could talk with other people from all over the world about your favorite things?

Sure there are newsgroups which have offered a place for people to talk about topics. Yet newsgroups are very similar to forums in that the users basically ask a question and get feedback from other users.

3. A group blog is unique in that it allows each person to create blog posts thereby creating a collection of informative "mini-articles" making it a hub for anyone interested in a one-stop site where they can stay updated on articles on their favorite subjects.

Not only that, at blogger.com you can search the group blog postings just like you search for things in search engines like yahoo or google. That means you can find all postings related to what you seek instantly!

Blogger.com even has a feature called post labels which allow the bloggers to categorize all related blogs onto one page!

At the very bottom of a blog posting the person who wrote the blog has the option to label their post - so you can find it under a common heading. Just click on the label to see the rest of the related posts.

What's great about a group blog is the related posts may come from different people - meaning you get many "different takes" instead of just one person's perspective on a topic.

Also each blogger has the option to create hyperlinks to related blog posts directly within their own post. Cool!

At blogger.com their group blogs (they call them "team blogs") allow 100 people to join! Isn't that fabulous?

4. A group blog means you don't have to create the blog or keep it updated yourself. Swell! No set up involved - you just get to join the existing group and start blogging right away! You can sign up right now and begin sharing your own blog tips!

5. Group blogs allow for group members and the public to make comments about each blog posting! Here at CB Success we moderate the comments. That means CB Webmaster will personally review them to make sure they are "actual" comments as opposed to people just serving their own self-interests.

CB Success is also enabled with instant reaction which lets people say whether or not they liked your posting with one click.

6. Our blog has RSS feeds - a great way to stay up to date with recent blog posts in one digest. If you're a blogger.com member you can "follow" our blog - which means at the bottom of your Dashboard you can see all new posts for CB Success in short form.

7. Group blogs can provide links to useful sites on the same topic.

What more could you ask for?

CB Creator,
CB Webmaster

P.S. At CB we even link to your personal blog - so if you already have a blog you don't have to give it up.

Exclamations!

2008-12-06T03:58:00.000-08:00

I'm sure when you learned English Grammar you were told to not use exclamation marks very often. That they are supposed to be used sparingly so as to emphasize true excitement only.

Okay I buy that rule of true excitement - no problem!

lol Yes as you know if you read my postings regularly I throw caution to the wind when it comes to exclamation marks and use them automatically whenever I'm excited about something! (And that happens to be often! hehe)

You can easily avoid your page drowning in exclamation marks by using them properly - to display that excitement.

Here's an example of improper and proper exclamation use:

I went to the party today! It was fun. I thought my banana pudding was too soft! I should've tried the chocolate cake instead! Next time I will!

I went to the party today. It was fun! I thought the banana pudding was too soft. I should've tried the chocolate cake instead. Next time I will!

I'll even go as far as to say that you could even throw in another exclamation mark after "chocolate cake instead" if that really was something you felt strongly about.

So the first example had 4 exclamation marks and the second version had only 2.

If you read the first example out loud to yourself intoning the exclamation marks you'll automatically see how it's overbearing and how "it's fun" should have been exclaimed.

So be yourself and have fun!

Ever yours,
CB Webmaster! lol

The Blog Posting Machine Effect

2008-12-06T03:08:00.000-08:00

Well you've written an intelligible funny blog posting that is original and......are you sure it's original? Well of course it's original I just thought it up...sounds great in theory...but....

In actuality an idea you had for a blog posting in all probability already exists somewhere online

WHAT?!?!?! Are you kidding me? Nope.

It's OKAY - don't worry - it's a GOOD THING!

How can that be a good thing?

Well I'm glad you asked!

It just means you now have the opportunity to add hyperlinks in your blog posting.

How did this happen?? I mean two people with the same thought?

Well, you got an idea that happens to be on the verge of becoming a hot topic - how? How on earth did you get this idea? Well it's rather simple actually.

I call it: The blog posting machine effect.

Once you start posting passionately about something you keep cycling through the process.

Questions....answers..trials..new thoughts...new blog posting by you...

And you get into this groove where the ideas keep spilling out!

Now some of these ideas may already have hit mainstream and you are finding out about it at the same time someone else is - that's fine.

All it means is you get to become one of those forerunners in your topic field - remember my motto - there's enough success for everyone to go around.

What I do when I come across similar blog posts by other people is link directly to their posts in my own blog post.

It doesn't matter if I had the idea first or if they did - the important thing is passing on the information to the readers - and by adding your "competitors" link to your own blog post - you're giving your readers what they want and giving them more for their money - they get a more comphrensive view of the topic for one low price lol

Your Definitively thinking,
CB Webmaster

Top 3 Reasons to Create a Profile at Blogger.com

2008-12-06T02:54:00.000-08:00

Here are my top reasons:

1. It looks professional. You don't have a profile that is crammed full of useless details and links to other peoples profiles (such as in Myspace)

2. It is customizable! Check out my blog post titled: Create a Great Blogger.com Profile

3. And here's why your profile is extra important in blogger.com - because it will appear on each of your blogs (if you select that option in your blog's layout). Which means it's a very visible way to connect to new readers instantly!

Thought you'd like this one,
CB Webmaster

P.S. You might want to also check out my post called: Do I really need a Profile?

Psssst....One more thing!

2008-12-06T02:43:00.000-08:00

Always give your readers: one more tip!

Yes I've said before that you should keep your blog postings focused on one idea - and while that's true (in most cases) that doesn't mean you have to give just the "bare minimum!"

If you can give your readers just one more tip, they'll appreciate it!

And if you're really focused on your idea a new tip will come more readily to you.

But how will my readers know it is a "bonus" tip?

Well since it happens to be my last thought - or sometimes even an afterthought I use our basic letter format of P.S.

It's a friendly approach that makes that last tip stand out.

Your friendly Webmaster,
CB

P.S. Btw your new tip may give you an idea for a whole other blog posting! Great, huh? (see how I used the P.S. here - it makes you feel like I'm talking to just you! As in "Psssttt...I have one more thing to tell you!

P.P.S. Not to mention that one more thing you can say is "Here's a post I wrote that's related" OH YES! I know you like that one ;)

Create a Great Blogger.com Profile

2008-12-06T01:29:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you want a profile that stands out from the rest! Well since I use blogger.com I can give you some pointers on how to make your blogger.com profile do more for you!

First off, did you know you have a profile? lol Well just login to your blog and you'll see an option on your dashboard to edit your profile. Click on that.

Now you're ready to plug in information about yourself so your readers can get to know you a little bit better.

So let me run you through the steps.

1. Check the box that says: Share my profile (trust me you want to share your profile)

2. Next decide if you want to disclose your name. To help you with this decision you may want to consult a blog posting by Lisa titled: Being Anonymous Can Hurt You

3. Check the box that says: Show my email address. (but wait I don't want everyone to know my e-mail address!! That's okay you can give them a way to contact you by providing an email address which forwards the emails to your private email address)

4. The next step says: Show my blogs (Select blogs to display) - in the event that you have more than one blog this option allows you to select which ones you want displayed on your profile - I suggest you display them all! Right now I have nearly 60 blogs on blogger.com and I've chosen to display them all on my profile. Why? Because it makes it easier for people to find blogs they may be interested in all at one place.

5. Next is identity - you may choose an anonymous name or enter your favorite nickname or even your real name if you like.

6. Then you get to choose a photo to display for your profile. This photo is very small and it can be of whatever you like. Instead of a picture of myself I made a little logo image and uploaded it here.

7. Then you can include an audio clip if you like. I haven't taken advantage of this myself yet but it's a great idea! Because it allows people to put a voice to the text they're reading! Just remember to keep whatever you say short and upbeat!

8. Next you can disclose if you are male or female and your age if you like. Personally I think the male/female can either work for you or against you depending on what your users opinions are. But then again if you feel it can work for you go ahead and disclose it. As for age, that's up to you, I did not disclose mine but I'm 31. So what happens when I told you that? Did you think - then this blogger is too.... you fill in the blank - you get my point.

9. Next comes your website URL. If you don't have a website you can make one for free. But you don't have to have one.

10. Next is a shopping "wishlist" - unless your blog is about shopping I don't recommend filling out this one.

11. Then you've got your location. Again this is entirely up to you - you can say exactly where you're from, or just be general as in USA or California, or not disclose it at all. The more "personal" information you disclose the more at risk you are for turning off someone who doesn't like people from Texas for example. Just think in terms of universal appeal to your readers.

12. Then you can list your job - again unless your blog is specifically about your job, or you job is a computer programmer or professional blogger I'd leave this one empty.

13. Now for the good parts: Interests, About Me, Favorite things. Let's start with interests - if you make a list of your interests here it gives your readers an idea of what you'll probably eventually be blogging about - but if one of your interests is crocheting and you have no intention of ever bringing this up in your posts then there's no need to tell folks about it in the first place.

Next we have "About Me" - this is my favorite and I believe most important section on your profile.

So what should you include in your "About Me?"

Well here's what I wrote in my about me:
(I'm showing it exactly as I wrote it with the HTML code and all, so you can see how you can customize this section on your blogger.com profile. To see the end result click here)

Click here to read more < a href="http://cbwebmasterblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/about.html">About Me< /a>
 
< a href="http://cbwebmasterblog.blogspot.com/">Check out my personal blog!< /a>
 
 What does CB Stand for?
 
It's Chatblog! 

< a href="http://cbwebmasterblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-baby.html">See our Motto< /a>

 
< a href="http://chatblog.net78.net/">Chatblog< /a> allows people to Blog and Chat! Members communicate through their own private chat rooms and through group blogs. The blogs may be viewed by the public, but only members have full rights to publish and comment in the blogs. < a href="http://chatblog.net78.net/signup.html">Sign Up for Free!< /a>

Please note in reality there should not be any space between the < bracket and the letter. For these html codes (which are normally hidden in web pages) to appear I had to leave a space.

Phew! That's it! It may seem long but look at how relevant the information is!

You may notice my about me section wasn't really about me as a person - that's what most people usually use it for - but as you can see you can write it up to address the needs of your readers instead of just blabbing on about how you like monkeys.

I think that's probably the biggest thing you can do for your profile - make it about your readers instead of making it about you!

As you saw in my profile instead of writing about me I hyperlinked to a blog posting about me - and actually if you followed the blog posting to the page about me called The Creator then you saw how even there although I spoke about my personal experience I made the entire story's goal to be about why I am like my readers and how every thing I do is about making the best possible site for them. One word of caution here - be sincere - people can spot insincerity instantly even on the internet!

As you may have noticed in my profile I took my readers on a little walk - I let them click on different blog posts and even go directly to my webpage to find out more instead of just letting them sit on my profile. Here's why I did that.

Then the last section is about your favorite things like movies, music, and books. You can list these of you like if you REALLY feel it's necessary to tell everyone you liked Planet of the Apes (just remember there's going to be at least one reader out there who didn't like that movie and will be turned off by you sharing that about yourself)

So that's it! Just click SAVE PROFILE and you're done! You can edit the profile any time you want - put a new photo on it, change your about me spiel and adjust your ever-changing list of interests.

I hope this post was helpful for you, if it was please click on the small box below this posting to leave your instant review.

Oh and if you want some feedback on your profile I'd be happy to look it over and give you some suggestions on it! You can email me at: webmaster@chatblog.net78.net

Oh and for help on HTML codes to use in your blog postings click here

Take care,
CB Webmaster

P.S. One more thing - and here's why your profile is extra important in blogger.com -because it will appear on each of your blogs (if you select that option in your blog's layout). Which means it's a very visible way to connect to new readers instantly!

Do I really need a Profile?

2008-12-06T00:41:00.001-08:00

Yes.

But why?

Because, a profile allows people to get to know more about your, your interests - see the man behind the curtain so to speak.

Don't you feel more comfortable knowing who you're talking to, instead of some "blank" faceless person? Oooh scary image man! lol

A profile lends credibility to your blog postings.

Without a profile or a bare profile people are going to wonder who is this person anyway? Why should I value or trust what they have to say?

This is important, especially since the goal you should always shoot for in your posts is to come across as an expert.

Although you can retain your anonymity if you desire you still should explain why you've chosen to write your blog.

If you had to choose between two blogs on the same topic and these were their profiles, which blog would you rather read?

Hi all! I'm Judy. I live in Tennessee! I grew up with four brothers and a father who treated me like one of the guys. Now thanks to them I'm an avid sports fan! I can't miss Monday night football for a drink with the girls - they have to wait until Tuesday! So make sure to subscribe to my Rss feed to get regular updates on all the sports news you can handle!!!

or

I love sports. All of them. I'm going to write about them for you whenever I get time. And I'll keep you informed of how my favorite teams are doing.

Well some may prefer to read the postings by the second author, but I bet most people are going to cast their votes for Judy! Sure she may be a girl, which may normally be perceived as a set-back for sports knowledge - but she told us how she has more knowledge than your average Joe. And she told me how I can get the information I want about sports fast!

Lisa (yep she has her name on her blog) has a blog posting which talks more about the benefits of creating a profile page about yourself.

Toodles for now,
CB Webmaster

P.S. Also you may want to visit our tips on how to Make a Great Profile and on a Profile's Purpose

Your Blog Signature

2008-12-06T00:01:00.000-08:00

I've always heard people say to create a signature to use whenever you write anywhere on the web. They say it should include a URL to your webpage and any contact information you wish to share.

Well I've got an even better idea than this - create a hypertext link OF your signature.

If you look at the bottom of all my postings you'll see I sign it
CB Webmaster

This allows anyone to click on it and go directly to my profile where they can find out more about me and invariably about my website Chatblog all also check out links for all CB Blogs!

Here's the actual HTML code:

<a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/yourprofile">Your Signature</a>

Go here to learn more about how to make a hyperlink.

Signing off,
CB Webmaster

The Importance of Linking Your Blog Posts!

2008-12-05T23:42:00.001-08:00

Why should I link to my other blog postings within another blog post?

If you look at your blog you'll see all your current blog postings are neatly displayed sequentially in the order you wrote them and people can easily make the connections between each post.

But when the posts get individually archived they are no longer within the context of the preceding and following posts.

That means the posts that have relevant information in them will not be viewed alongside your post in the long run.

There are 4 quick ways to rectify this problem:

1. Hyperlink your relevant posts within the blog post.

2. Create a label for the post.

3. Create a blog just for your best posts!

4. And always always hyperlink to your profile through your signature.

You can do any or all of the above. I personally do all of the above to make it that much easier for my readers to locate relevant information in a snap!

Adding hyperlinks to your other posts is also important because:

1. You're going to get new readers who have not read those old posts.

2. You're going to get readers who may end up at your site by coming directly to that posting and by linking to your other posts they can see that you have a collection of high quality posts and will then want to subscribe to your Rss Feed.

Ever keeping the readers in mind,
CB Webmaster

P.S. Check out my other blog postings on profiles:
Do I really need a Profile?
Create a Great Blogger.com Profile

Deciding What to Hyperlink

2008-12-05T23:10:00.000-08:00

Let's say you write a 6 paragraph post with each paragraph being 5 sentences long. That's approximately 275 words. So you don't want to overdo it with the hypertext. So how do you choose which words/phrases to link to?

I do it like this:

1. Provide hyperlinks to any blog postings/articles that inspired me to write the post. Give credit where it's due.

2. Locate any words/phrases that refer to another posting I made and link to those postings. To find out why read this post.

3. Select interesting concepts that not everybody may be familiar with and link it to the definition of it on wikipedia or an interesting article on the topic.

4. And always always hyperlink to your profile through your signature.

The How-To Blog Postings

2008-12-05T22:54:00.000-08:00

People just love easy to assimilate How-to blog posts!

So here's how you do it - take all those studious notes you put together on your process and narrow it down to less than 20 steps (preferably 10 or less).

Then you're gonna need to make each step as concise and clear as possible (aim for 5 lines or less per step)

Then just list your steps with a title like: 10 Easy Steps to Water-Skiing

That's it!

Now go for it!

With my blessings,
CB Webmaster

Get Your Creative Juices Flowing Again!

2008-12-05T10:54:00.000-08:00

I'm dying! Help me please! My blog postings are stale and boring and people are throwing out their Rss subscriptions to my blog! lol

Okay okay I know I know it's going to be okay. We'll make it all better.

I've got one sure fire fix for you (you're gonna smack yourself on the forehead when you hear it, but here goes)

Take a break.

WHAT????? Noooooooo are you serious? Yes truly I am.

How's that going to help?

Let me count the ways:

1. When your mind is no longer stressing over what to write it magically frees up! I'm not kidding ppl!

2. Your brain cells need time to recharge. What? Now that's not scientific - is it?

3. The time away allows time for ideas to seep into your brain. Especially effective if you take a nap/go to sleep - why? Oh I'm sure you know the answer to this one - when you're falling asleep what happens? - your subconscious takes over and all those ideas which were locked in before are suddenly free to pop out and start running wild!

When you return, refreshed, you won't believe it - it's a whole new thing! You will see with eyes anew!

Oh and don't forget to keep a notepad or tape recorder by your bed side - trust me you don't wanna let those good ideas get away - you may think you'll remember them in the morning but come morning you're cursing yourself for not writing it down as the ideas have all slipped away, and even if a few linger - you'll be pissed at yourself for letting the good ones - you know they were good ones get away!

So say goodbye to dry spells and start writing!

Cheerfully yours,
CB Webmaster

P.S. If you are too impatient (no need to hide it here, we're all friends) you can do a jump-start exercise right now and get to this "daydreaming" experiment at a later time.

Lightning Fast User Critiques of Your Blog Posts!

2008-12-05T02:55:00.000-08:00

Google's done it again Gilligan old buddy! Giving us another AWESOME feature for all us blogger.com bloggers! They call it "The Reaction." lol I like I like!!

So here's what it does -

It adds a quick poll to the bottom of each and every blog posting!

Any one who reads the posting can with one click check a box providing you with instant feedback on your post! How great is that? Okay you know I think it's great lol

Check out mine - I put it on this blog - just scroll down to the bottom of this blog posting and you'll see it for yourself!

See what I mean? Cool, huh?

And what's even greater is that it's fully customizable (what else could a user ask for? *Toyota* okay jingle in my head, phew it's gone - sorry!)

The default poll looks something like this:

Reaction: cool, weird, bad

But you can change any of these items to say whatever you want!

I even have one blog where I wrote it like this:

Free Money is: possible a myth horse-pocky

Now I don't think anyone even remembers the phrase "horse-pocky" any more lol but I somehow churned this word out of the recesses of my mind. I think it's a funny comment to make about a person's blog though! lol

Not only is this fun to play with funky words - but it can actually provide you with useful feedback on your blogging.

Like if you change it to read:

I thought this was: helpful stunk boring!!!

then you have some idea of what people are thinking immediately after they read your posting - which means it's their gut reaction! (Hence why Google called it Reaction!)

You can see how many people voted for each item and then based on that feedback you can "improve" your blog postings or "pat yourself on the back for a job well done!"

Or you can forget utilizing it for feedback and just have fun with it:

Your writing: smells worse than cockroaches

or how bout this one:

Review: My blind grandma could write better!

lol well you get my drift....

See ya in the polls,
CB Webmaster

Labeling = Organizing Your Blog Posts for Your Readers to Find!

2008-12-05T00:57:00.000-08:00

If you use Blogger.com you may have seen this at the bottom of your blog post screen and thought - what the heck is that for? Is that for keyword ranking? Well those were my questions anyway - but alas my dear sweet fellow bloggers it is not for improving your blog's ranking - but...it is something even cooler! NO WAY MAN! YES WAY GARTH!!

When I read Google's help file on Posting Labels I was floored!

You mean I can categorize all my blog postings by keyword? How awesome is that! So anytime I have a blog posting on "how the man sticks it to me" I can enter that phrase into the label post box. lol Then whenever I'm in the mood to read all my postings on that topic I can click on that label and see them all! WHOOPIE! lol

And of course you know what that means - your readers can do the same!

What a great way to provide a string of related blog posts without having to create a blog just for the best postings.

Of course right now this feature only works within one blog not across multiple blogs - but hey Google is always working on new features maybe you should suggest it to them and see if they do it!

And check this out you can even label several blog posts at once !

Especially good if you've already written them and didn't know about this feature!!!

Plus you can add more than one label per post - you can add it to as many categories as it is relevant in. As you'll notice from my posts I sometimes get excited and include information that belongs to other blog topics within one post, so with the multi-labeling, people who are looking for either topic can find the post!

You'll gain more readers by labeling because some people may be only interested in one topic you're discussing in your blog and if you've written something about that topic elsewhere and not labeled it under the topic they are looking at it's very unlikely that they'll ever find it. Cross-reference baby!

Oh and you can show all post labels when you are labeling. There's a hyperlink at the right of the "Labels for this post" textbox which is called "Show All" - click on it and a drop down list will appear will all your existing labels. This is a great feature because then you don't accidentally call the label something different - like: Blog Success one time and another time Blogging Success. Using
this feature allows you to make sure all your related posts end up in same category.

As if that wasn't enough - you can also link to search results for whatever keyword or phrase you enter.

For an example scroll to the bottom of the posting titled: Blogging Success at its Best and you'll see I've included a link to search results within our blog for the keyword: success. How awesome is that?

You think we're done? Not yet! Here's one more great thing you can do:

You can hyperlink directly to the post labels! For an example see number 3 on this posting.

As you can see blogger.com has tons of great features! To anyone interested in an easy to use blog host I highly recommend blogger.com - it's really intuitive!

In fact I'm so glad I chose blogger.com as my blog host because now that I have almost 60 group blogs on their site I can easily manage them all with the greatest of ease!

So if you're interested in joining a group blog then check out my website called Chatblog. It's free to join and you can begin blogging without having to set up your own blog! To see what other benefits Chatblog offers click here.

Peaking your interests,
CB Webmaster

P.S. If you need any help learning how to use blogger.com I'm more than happy to help you - you can contact me directly at: webmaster@chatblog.net78.net (oh and you don't have to sign up for chatblog for my free help - I just like to help bloggers succeed!)

How to Create Hyperlinks in Your Blog Postings!

2008-12-04T23:54:00.000-08:00

Wait a minute what the heck are hyperlinks? It just means instead of people having to look at unsightly long urls you can hide those and just show the name of the link.

So you don't need to have any HTML experience to do this - you just need to know the exact HTML code.

What's an HTML code? You do not need to know this - trust me (but if you really wanna know then click here).

Just enter this code in to your blog posting and it will do the "magic" for you. Of course that's assuming your blog host allows hypertext markups - if you're using blogger.com they do!

If you're not using blogger.com and your host doesn't allow hypertext you can easily start your blog in blogger.com in less than 5 minutes if you really want to. Or you can just join Chatblog and we'll set up your blog for you for free!!!

First things first, see if there is any icon on your blog posting screen that says "insert link" when you move your mouse pointer over it - it should be right around the options to Bold and Italicize text. If you do great! Click on it.

If nothing happens you'll notice at the top of your web browser a note asking for your permission to open a window. Click on it and select that option that says you want to grant permission.

Then click on the icon again and a window should pop up with a space to copy and paste a URL. Just paste the URL that you want hyperlinked into that pop-up box, then click OK. This is what should appear next:

< a href="http://urlnameyoutyped.com">< /a>

Now all you have to do is enter a title for this link right before the < /a>

Here's an example:

< a href="http://url.com/long/isok.html">Title of Link< /a>

That's it! Voila! You're done! Check it out! And you'll see the text is highlighted and when you click on it it goes to the website you wanted! Yippee!!!

In the event that your blog host does not have an icon you can still do this don't worry! Just copy and paste the following HTML Code into your blog posting and enter the actual url and link title:

< a href="http://"> < /a>

Just remember to put the link title before < /a> for the link to work properly!

Please note in reality there should not be any space between the bracket and the letter.

For these html codes (which are normally hidden in web pages) to appear I had to leave a space with these brackets:

< a href

< /a>

So make sure when you copy and paste the HTML code to remove those spaces. If you have any questions feel free to email me.

That's all there is to it!

So why not try it right now?

Looking forward to your success,
CB Webmaster

Hey that's MY idea!

2008-12-04T23:09:00.000-08:00

When you get ideas - a lot of times they are triggered by something you read from someone else online - that's okay. But I like to do the following:

Provide a hyperlink to the blog posting/article that inspired me within the content of my blog posting.

Why?

Well because:

1. It's nice to give credit where it's due (we do live in a society afterall ppl! lol Common decency is making a comeback or so I hope :)

2. You are providing a solid helpful link to your readers.

Which creates happy readers because they just got a helpful link handed to them without having to do any of the leg work to locate it! (look closely and you will see your readers jumping for joy and nodding their heads - "Yep that's what we want!")

And what do happy readers mean? More Rss subscription sign-ups, more references, more links to your blog posting, etc, etc, etc. This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

3. It gives me an easy way to return to the original posting whenever I want! (My very own personalize bookmark system!) I can always go to the blog and at the top of each blog there is a Search button to search within the blog which will easily locate the bookmark for me in the event that I forget which posting it was in.

Just think - your bookmarks can travel with you whereever you go instead of sitting uselessly at home while you're off and about having a good time! Put those lazy little buggers to use! lol Give them their walking papers...oops I mean shoes :)

Oh and in case I didn't mention it don't just rip off other people's ideas (see note above on common decency). I'm talking about using their posts as jump off point for your own idea.

Respectfully yours,

CB Webmaster

10 Easy Steps to Become a Successful Blogger Overnight

2008-12-04T22:44:00.000-08:00

You can become a successful blogger overnight - no joke!

How do I know this? Well....the proof is in the pudding (okay I have no idea what that means, but I do know what I mean! lol)

I did it! (does that make me the pudding? lol *shrugging shoulders*)

How and the heck did you do that? I have no idea! Nah just kidding! lol! But I bet that's what you thought I was gonna say!

The truth is I began my first Chatblog post on November 18, 2008. Hey wait that's not overnight today is December 4, 2008 Ok ok don't take things so literally I mean we're talking two weeks I think that counts :P

So this is how I did it (yep I'm sharing my trade secret with you, click here if just have to know why)

10 Easy Steps to Become a Successful Blogger Overnight

1. I came up with an idea for a blog (well actually in my case it was for a site that combines chatting and group blogging for tons of topics!)

2. I began my search. (see what I mean here)

3. I took notes and bookmarked URLs of best sources of information.

4. I found out what users needed right now.

5. I combined my interest with what users need.

6. I began writing posts.

7. I recorded my ideas for new blog posts.

8. I followed through on my ideas for new blog posts by actually writing them up.

9. I posted my blog posts.

10. I focus each post on conveying one idea - why? Because if you have 10 ideas and you put them all in one post you get what? Only one post.....but if you take each idea and make it its own post you achieve the following:

Easy chunks of digestible information for your readers (perfect for rss feeds! Ppl can get what they need quickly!)

Why is this so important? Well because honestly which would you rather read a lengthy homework looking article or several jaunty to the point pieces that give you what you need?

So how does this make you successful? Well for an illustration let's take two blogs that have just begun:

On the first one is a person droning on and on about why they began the blog (BORING!)

and

On the second you have a person who has answers to YOUR questions! And these answers are brief and just what you wanted to know!

And which one would you think is more of an expert? The one who has only 1 blog posting or the one who has 20 insightful engaging answers to your questions? I think the answer is pretty obvious.

If you've ever heard the concept of acting AS IF then you get what I'm saying.

You don't have to be an expert to start becoming one!

You are setting up a format to succeed - by acting as if you've already succeeded - you will in fact succeed!

Woah, heavy, isn't it? Yeah...but scientists boil it down to this - if you can try out an experiment and get desired results time and time again - then your theory becomes a fact.

Live the fact, and it will become what it is.

Your very humble,

CB Webmaster

P.S. I thought you might like to take a look at the scientific method:

1. Define the question
2. Gather information and resources (observe)
3. Form hypothesis
4. Perform experiment and collect data
5. Analyze data
6. Interpret data and draw conclusions that serve as a starting point for new hypothesis
7. Publish results
8. Retest (frequently done by other scientists)

How to Get Great Ideas for Your Blog Posts Every Day!

2008-12-04T21:40:00.000-08:00

Since most people focus on just one blog - make it great! How does a blog become great? Content - or in other words many many posts! Be a blog posting machine! lol

But I don't know what to write about? No problem. It's easy all you have to do is brainstorm a little.

Open up a document on your computer or if you like doing things the old school way grab a pen and paper (actually you may want to try this method because there is something powerful about the physical act of writing down your ideas - I don't know how to describe it - I only know from DOING - that it can bring out a new level of creativity in you).

Now that you're armed with your writing media stare off into space! What??!? lol Seriously - you want to just sit there and IMAGINE. That's what you're going to do. Don't worry if you feel silly at first, trust me once it works once you'll never doubt this method again!

So what should I imagine? lol That is a funny question but an apt one no less!

Imagine yourself asking questions - to begin with all you need is one little idea or question.

Let's say your question is: How can I make money selling dog toys online?

Instead of going - I have no idea how to go about answering this question and just giving up - give yourself a chance first.

Let's try your question out for a stroll down a busy city street.

So here you are walking down store fronts and there's one that's selling dog toys! Wow! What a coincidence! lol

Now peer in the window - what do you see? A store owner behind the register smiling and counting big wads of cash...okay...let's keep looking around....a variety of dog collars on a rack some with different features and some even on sale.

BAM! This is what I call your first jump off point....are you ready to fly? Here we go!

Right away these questions pop into your mind:

How many collars should I sell?

What collars should I sell?

What collars are popular?

What color collars are popular?

Does my dog like his collar?

What features do I like in my dog's collar?

Can I make my own collars to sell?

How much do collars cost?

How much could I sell collars for and still be reasonable for my clients?

How many collars should I buy and keep in stock?

Can I purchase some dog collars wholesale and then be able to sell them for cheaper than my competitors?

What about people who have several dogs - what are the best collars for them to walk their dogs at the same time?

What about decorations? What are the current trends in dog bling?

Should I cater to girl's dogs because a lot of girls like to dress up their toy dogs?

Should I only sell toy dog collars?

Is their a better market out there right now for toy dog collars instead of just all collars in general?

If I specialize in toy dog collars what would be the benefits? The repercussions? etc.

How can I become the specialist everyone turns to to buy their toy dog collars?

Well....you get my point....zooom zooooom zooooooooooooom! It flies by really fast - if you're not a fast typist or writer I suggest you get a tape recorder and tape your ideas as they fly out of your mouth!

So now what? I've got all these great questions which can help me but what do I do with them????

It's so simple it's staring you right in the face - pick the question that is the highest priority to you in the moment and do a straightforward internet search on it - such as in google or yahoo.

Don't be surprised if you immediately come across some helpful tips, answers, or information which can aid you in your decision to specialize in toy dog collars or not.

Have fun! Just make sure you do this when you won't be interrupted - trust me - when you're on a roll and someone says "Hey it's time for dinner" You're going to dread that meal! lol

What if I don't have any free time? Nice try! We all have to go to the bathroom sometime during the day and most of us (I hope) take a shower or bath daily - just put your tape recorder and a towel nearby and you'll have at least 10-30 minutes a day of uninterrupted time to brainstorm!

Get going I want to read your great blog postings!

Your friendly,

CB Webmaster

P.S. Hey if you've got any left over free time you might wanna try this technique too!

Learn the Rules then Break Them!

2008-12-04T20:02:00.000-08:00

Rules for creating a successful blog:

1. Keep blog postings to less than 500 words
2. Put an image in each blog posting
3. Put Ads on your blog
4. Write great content
5. Promote your blog
6. Mispell words so bad spellers can find you

How I broke these rules:

1. My favorite blog posting is over 2000 words long. Are you serious? Yes. And people stick around to read it? You tell me: How I made money (someday!) from my website without selling anything!

2. So far I've only put one image in one posting and I have over 50 blogs - why? Because it was a relevant graph I wanted my readers to check out - not just some pointless picture of a person's head.

3. Technically I don't have Ads on my blogs - although I do have google adsense.

4. Well this one isn't broken literally - you do need to write great content - I'd alter this to say: Don't pander to your audience. They don't want to hear a sales pitch. Trust me they rather hear the truth. See how I did this in my blog posting titled: Who's really selling you?

5. Okay well maybe I haven't broken this rule really - but let's just say I haven't gone out in every possible direction spending countless hours writing in forums trying to get people to view my blogs.

6. Why sacrifice good spelling? Besides which you would you rather read:

nemona is the leding cause of ilness this seson

or

pnemonia is the leading cause of illness this season

Plus most search engines give spelling suggestions at the top of the search results: Did you mean....? with the correct spelling and the user only has to click on it to get the right results.

After you've learned the rules, and have broken a few, then go back and apply the rules. What??? Seriously, go back.

Break down lengthy paragraphs into 3-5 sentence stanzas.

If you're way over the "suggested" 500 word length - see if you may have 2 posts you can derive out of this one and split it up

Put appropriate ads on your site but not necessarily right across the top - ads are okay just not intrusive ones - you know what I'm talking about

Check your content to make sure it is "great" - are parts of it "lifeless?" Spice them up! Use your adjectives! Add hyperlinks! Make a joke! People like to laugh and there's bound to be at least one more person online who thinks you're funny

Be yourself - don't try to pretend to be something you're not - but what if I'm totally cheesy? That's okay some people want cheesy and those who don't probably know someone who is cheesy who they can refer your site to - who do you think is going to come to their mind when they see your cheesy commentary inside your blog posts? Their cheesy friend of course! "Hey Bob you should check out this website - they are cheesier than you man!" See what I mean about breaking the rules this paragraph is now longer than 5 sentences! OH NO MR. BILL!! lol It's okay, you're still reading it, right? Why?

Well here's something that may be new to your ears: Put your best information at the top of your blog posting in the suggested length of 2-3 sentences per paragraph and that will hook your readers! Once hooked, they keep reading! Yeah, isn't that great? I think so! Of course it doesn't hurt if your entire post is full of great information and pithy and dare I say funny comments.

Do go to relevant related blogs and comment on their postings that you enjoyed and put a link back to your blog posting - the worst that can happen is the moderator doesn't publish your URL

and

Last but not least don't be self-conscious about errors - one or two may get away from you - it's okay people do not expect you to be perfect - in fact being imperfect proves you're not an automaton.

Yours Truly,
CB Webmaster - Rule breaker ;) lol