home base business

Very few people go through life hoping no one will notice them. This is especially true if you have been bitten by the blogging bug and spent the last few month, weeks or even days churning out post after post of clever repartee. But in order to build the fan base you secretly crave, you have to let blog surfers know where you?re at and why you are worthy of their undying devotion.

1. First, be sure your blog is search engine friendly. It will help the search engines pick up and categorize your site easier. Edit your blog template to include a meta tag with search terms related to the content of your blog.

2. Then hang out your ?open for business sign? by getting your blog listed in directories and on topsites. Choose your directories wisely as most require a link back and you do not want clutter up your blog with fifty pages of directory links. Ideally, you want to get listed in directories with a high page rank but don?t completely discount newer directories. You will, usually, get included into newer directories much faster because they are trying to build their database as quickly as possible.

3. Submit your RSS link to syndication directories. Many aggregators look here for content to offer their subscribers.

4. Write and submit articles to article repositories. Content is king and article directories have exploded on the scene as a great way to get it quickly. It doesn?t matter if you are the CEO of a megastore or a regular ole Joan, they?ll take what you have to offer. Be sure to edit for grammar and spelling and include an anchored link to your blog in the author bio section.

5. Weigh in on controversial topics related to the content of your blog. Let?s face it, we are a nation that loves drama and people will search for and visit places that offer information or opinions on the latest scandals.

6. Be sure to provide a link to your blog on your website and vice versa. Also most forums allow you to add a signature to your posts. Write something witty and include a link to your blog.

7. Join a blog community such as Blog Explosion or Blog Clicker. You earn credits by visiting blogs listed in the community directory which translates into return visits to your site. You can also use earned credits to purchase ad space in the form of a banner rotation or being featured on the opening page of the site.

8. Be active in the blogosphere. Most bloggers will allow you to link to add a link to your site so visit other blogs and leave comments. DO NOT SPAM! The quickest way to lose fans is to spam them. You are much more likely to receive visits if you offer thoughtful comments relevant to the post.

9. Take part in a banner exchange. It is the same type of situation with the blog communities. You advertise banners on your site in exchange for the partner site advertising yours.

10. Join a webring or two or three. Webrings are a great way of hooking up with likeminded bloggers and to gain traffic via the host?s marketing efforts.

11. Exchange blogroll links with bloggers whose internet homes you like to visit.

12. Slap your slogan and blog address on a t-shirt or coffee mug and either sell or give away as apart of a contest. Cafepress is a wonderful resource for creating and selling personalized items.

13. Write a Meme and tag others with it and/or submit it to Meme directories.

14. Give out awards. Be sincere about this and make sure it is related to the content of your blog. (i.e. if you are a blog template designer, give out awards to blogs whose designs you like.) Make sure the award links back to your site.

15. Tell people about it. Recruit visitors offline by talking to internet savvy friends and family about your blog. A guerilla marketing tactic is to print a bunch of business cards with your blog address and leave them in public places. Cheesy, yes but hey people are curious.

Despite what you see on reality television, there is no such thing as instant fame. It takes patience, persistence and perseverance to snag and keep worshippers. These tips will help put you on the road to deification. The rest, my friend, is up to you.

Happy blogging.

Indigo Black is the administrator of Blogilepsy, the place to go for blogging tutorials, news and gossip. Got questions about blogging, visit the forums.

So, you?re blogging. Congratulations! Are you thrilled with your site or do you wish it had more to it? More traffic?more pictures?more ad revenue? I know exactly what you mean! If you want a jam up blog, then going with the status quo is not something that you want to do. Instead, set your blog apart from the pack and your blog will really rock. You might even make a little extra income too!

Jet Movements and The Article Writer are the two blogs I currently manage. I also blog on a few other sites and I am considering becoming a paid blogger for a popular business site. Still, my blogs have to perform to the level I want them to perform and that involves some hard work and dedication on my part. I?m up to that challenge!

Traffic Patterns ? I?ve built traffic to my blogs by linking them to several other sites that I manage. Might as well take advantage of what I own to promote what I manage. In addition, when I blog elsewhere I am not shy about linking back to my blog. Finally, I add tons of links to each blog and this move has kept the traffic flowing.

Get Pictures ? Yes, including pictures with your blog entries is a must. Maybe not with every entry, but at least with some of the entries. On my Jet Movements blog, I frequently contact companies and ask them if I can get a logo or some other picture that they own and use it with a blog about that company. Naturally, I am not about to bash the company, so don?t go that route if you want their help. Many are only too happy to oblige as they see you helping them promote their business.

Get Press Releases ? Okay, copying and pasting press releases verbatim is a bit dull. However, quoting parts of the press release and linking back to it can be good. I have seen blogs where a passing reference is made to a press release, but the words are strictly the author?s. Gives the blog a unique and interesting touch to it.

Get Templates ? I uses WordPress and the number of different templates associated with this blogging software is amazing. Still, the default WordPress 1.5 template is rather nice and I still use it for my Jet Movements blog. For my The Article Writer blog, I downloaded an uncluttered, but bright template that is easy on the eyes and nice looking.

Ad Mania ? All right, no need to overwhelm your visitors with ads, but going ?ad-less? doesn?t make all that much sense either. The requisite AdSense ads can be helpful as can any banner ad space that you can sell. You might as well bring in a bit of income for all of your hard work!

Truly, there is much that you can do to build a better blog. If you want to shoot your blog to the top, it does take work?and plenty of it! Put the sweat equity into your blog and you will reap the reward of more traffic and greater income. Get noticed and get blogging today!

Copyright 2006 — Matthew Keegan is the owner of a successful article writing, web design, and marketing business based in North Carolina, USA. He manages several sites including the Corporate Flight Attendant Community and the Aviation Employment Board. Please visit The Article Writer to review selections from his portfolio.