Blogging has become a phenomenal trend of the century with the birth of free web hosting such as WordPress, Blogger, Xanga and LiveJournal. One of the most prominent webs hosting in blogosphere, WordPress is most preferable for its versatility in tutorial posting and editing. Layouts in WordPress blog are designed by Kubrick, which is also known as Default Theme. Kubrick has been around for years as the main template of WordPress. However, custom theme has soared as the next big thing in WordPress.
Custom theme in WordPress is slowly replacing Kubrick theme as blog layout. Users prefer to customize their blogs to make them outstanding among millions of blogs in the Internet. This especially true for famous and influential bloggers who hired professional IT individuals to encode new CSS and HTML required for new layout design.
Although changing codes might be difficult for beginners, there are various tutorials that can be learned via World Wide Web. With advanced technology, there are even websites that offer to customize blog theme for free. WordPress users take this advantage to revamp the whole layout look. Beautiful and extraordinary layout or theme displayed in the blog is believed to attract more readers and create heavier traffic into the blog. People do this to increase online income through advertising in their blog. Hence, custom theme is preferred as the first step to better layouts for their blogs.
Some people also love to create layouts from scratch. They believed that their layouts need personal touch to make their blog really special and one-of-a-kind. Tutorials in YouTube are big help in such matter. Professional IT individuals sometimes created blogs of their own to spread knowledge about customizing blog layouts. In their blogs, some innovative suggestions are given that makes Kubrick theme seemed so outdated and old- fashioned.
Fresh layouts and themes are also available in design-oriented sites. All WordPress users need to do is downloading the theme that caught their attention. Later on, they just need to upload the custom theme onto their WordPress sites. Such convenience made Kubrick theme less popular because rigid theme is no longer applicable to cyber world that requires constant makeovers.
The smart ones designed more themes to be sold to big companies and famous bloggers as side income. People see this coming as the next revolutionary change in WordPress which created job opportunity for graphic designers. This is why Kubrick theme is much forgotten by users especially to experienced bloggers. In the Internet, you might find plenty of sources to provide new design themes to WordPress blogs.
WordPress documentation and application tabs also makes layout changing less frustrating to many. Instructions are stated for people to follow which makes more users opt for major layout makeover. Some users alter Kubrick theme instead of the old Kubrick theme to make their layouts less boring. However, the downside to Kubrick re-adaptation is sometimes the CSS files are in header files, not in style sheet that might be confusing for beginners. It is not recommended if users want totally different design since altering Kubrick theme means you will still stuck with Kubrick look with minor changes.
Although Kubrick theme has served people as the main theme in WordPress all these years, it is time that people move on to world of creativity and changes. Custom theme is here to stay to dominate WordPress sites unless Kubrick theme changes into a better and more eye-catching theme.
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Blogging for Money
Blogging for Money
Blogging for money is one of the loosest terms in the blogosphere lately and almost everyone who’s anyone has there own blog now. Celebrities, sports stars, rock stars and even kids have blogs nowadays and with them being so easy to function it’s no wonder they’ve become so popular. Blogs are now used to earn an income from and after the likes of ShoeMoney who is a blogger who became rich from it everyone wants their piece of the action. Now there are many methods of monetizing your blog and your efforts won’t be unnoticed. The more work you put into your blog the more return you will see in the long-run and it’ll be completely worth it.
In the beginning you shouldn’t be looking for methods to monetize your blog but instead you should be aiming to try and target traffic. The most important part to running a successful blog is the traffic and without the traffic you won’t be able to get very far in the industry. Millions of blogs are on the internet and with so many being on the internet it’s difficult to make yours stand out from the others. This is why you should avoid adding ads in the beginning until you’ve established a good amount of steady traffic to your blog and once you do that then implement your ads.
When it comes times to begin implementing your ads to your blog you will need to take a look at the many different options you have. First and probably the most popular is your cost per click ads like Google Adsense, where you place a block of ads on your site and every time someone clicks it you receive a certain amount of money. This can add up over time and the more traffic you have viewing the ads the higher your earnings will be, which is why I stress leaving ads off your blog until it would be worth having them on it. Many people get turned off by ads, especially badly places ads. Try refraining from having Google Adsense in the content of your blog and try keeping it off to the side in one of the themes sidebars.
Another form of monetizing your blog can be from CPA offers which is a cost per action usually either an email submit or a sale of a product. There are many networks hosting many different CPA offers and some can pay very nice amounts of money depending on the niche that you’re involved in. Some great networks to join are Commission Junction and MaxBounty, one is for product sale commissions and the other offers many trail and free cost per action offers.
There is a lot of money that can be made in the blogosphere and depending on your skills you could have a head start to making money, but no matter your experience you’ll have a chance of making money. It’s rather simple to maintain and set-up a blog so you should have many problems with that and the networks for ads all have great support and guides for you to follow. Make sure you take the time to read the guidelines and also the rules so that you don’t break them, and then start implementing the ads throughout your established blogs.
Improve Your Shopping Cart
Improve Your Shopping Cart
If you want visitors to your site to use your shopping cart you need to make improvements to the usability of the cart and to make the purchase process as simple and short as possible.
Did you know that the checkout process is where more sales are lost than any other time during the buying process? Check your analytics and see if you have a large number of individuals leaving your site before finishing the checkout process, if this is happening than you know that you definitely need to make improvements. In order to determine where you need to make shopping cart improvements you can ask someone who is not familiar with your website to go through the process and check out the usability of your shopping cart. Ask them to specifically comment on how accessible the shopping cart is, if it is easy to use, if they ran into problems were they able to find instructions on how to use the cart, and did they find the shipping and payments methods that they prefer to use?
Investigate how easy it is to navigate around finding products. Do you have a search feature and does it give accurate results?
If you belong to any business forums ask members to rate your site and their shopping experience.
Ask yourself how organized your site is, how secure do people feel making purchases and how user friendly is the shopping experience on your site?
Your shopping cart is one of the most important parts of your Website. Periodically evaluating the shopping cart from a user’s point of view can improve not only your shopping cart but improve your sales as well.
Look at your shopping cart objectively does it meet all of your needs as the administrator? Can you manage all of the product fulfillment, payment and shipping needs in a timely manner without mistakes? Evaluate the hosting, customer service and technical support of the company who’s shopping cart you are using. How happy are you with the features? When upgrades are available is there an additional fee or are upgrades free to existing customers?
Does your shopping cart blend in well with your Website? Do you receive the information you need about your customers and their sales? Does your shopping cart have the capability to have an affiliate program, produce a newsletter or evaluate the shopping experience of your customers?
Does your shopping cart grow with your business or have you outgrown the shopping cart?
What do reviewers say about the shopping cart you are using? Can you find customer reviews of the shopping cart and if so, are they favorable?
After evaluating your shopping cart is customer service responsive to your need to make improvements? Do they give you suggestions or upgrades?
Seeing how important your shopping cart is to the success of your online business spending time evaluating how well your present shopping cart is performing and finding out what your customers think about your shopping cart is important and should be done on a regular basis.
New to WordPress
New to WordPress – How to Start a Free Blog
Are you new to WordPress? There is no need to worry as here are the simple steps to start using WordPress in creating free blogs. The following are the 9 steps in using WordPress to start blogging:
Step 1: Sign up for a free WordPress account
The very first step is to visit http://wordpress.com and register for a free WordPress account with only a valid email address. An email address is used for only one WordPress account only.
Step 2: Entering information
Next, you would have to choose a username which no other users are using and password. After reading the terms and condition and if you agree with these, you will be directed to a page. Here, one can choose to start blogging straight away or leave until you have time to start creating blogs.
Step 3: Creating new blog
To start, a name for your blog domain is required and the name ends with ‘.wordpress.com’ to make it easier for visitors to access the blog pages that they want to visit by typing the name into their internet browsers. The domain name cannot be changed once decided, but users choose put titles of their blog and users can change these anytime. Users can choose the languages and decide whether their blog pages are opened for public or for members only. If a user chose public viewing, search engines will be able to search these.
Step 4: Active account
An account is active when every detail in the previous step has been filled in. you will be notified when you have completed that step and an email will be sent to confirm the login details.
Step 5: WordPress Dashboard
Once login details are confirmed, you can log into you own WordPress blog and you can start personalizing your dashboard. Here, you can choose the themes, colour, updating profile, adding users, writing posts and designing your blog page. Whenever you come across a problem that you cannot figure out, there is always a help section and forums where you can search and ask for solutions to the problems.
Step 6: Dashboard Toolbar
The toolbar allows users to navigate WordPress for creating posts, personalization and adding additional features for easy access.
Step 7: Choosing a Theme
Users can choose from a huge variety of themes to suit their taste and personalize the pages to their own creativity. From the dashboard toolbar, direct your mouse to ‘Presentation’ tab and select ‘Themes’ to choose which themes that you like. You can choose according to the content of your blog. After some time fiddling around, you will turn into an expert and from then you can upload other features that suit your blog.
Step 8: Sidebars and widgets
Adding widgets allow customization of the sidebar of blogs and this feature can be found under the ‘Presentation’ tab in the dashboard toolbar. Widgets let the users to add features such as RSS feeds, calendar, search tools and text boxes and this is much easier with only the used of the mouse without the need to enter codes.
Step 9: First blog post
You are ready to start writing up your blog posts once you are familiar with the features. Coming up with a title and there you go: you can start writing up. When you are done with writing and customization, you can just click on ‘Publish’ button and the post is there in your blog page.
Blog users have turned themselves into graphic- savvy people
Blog users have turned themselves into graphic- savvy people. Some famous and popular blogs are very distinctive not only their contents and posts but also their designs. Even if you are not an influential blogger, you still prefer to create a blog that portrays your personality. Themes featured in websites are not merely there to decorate sites. They are created to show individuality and personalization. Kubrick theme has become WordPress staple in terms of site theme. However, there are several reasons why custom themes are chosen over Kubrick theme.
The theme chosen is crucial to portray the type of blog you want show to public. Photography blogs adapt more photo- related layout designs than bland and boring theme to show more attitudes. Beauty blogs will of course feature cosmetic-related headers and pastel- coloured layout designs. That is why Kubrick theme is slowly fading from blogging scene. Kubrick theme has simply failed to bring the X- factor in blogs no matter how well the posts are written. People feast their eyes first before reading the contents.
Another reason to the rising popularity of custom theme over Kubrick theme is practicality. Custom theme can be changed many times according to your liking whereas for Kubrick theme, you can only re-adapt it. If it is total makeover that people want, Kubrick theme loses out big time because no matter how you re-adapt the theme, it still retains the Kubrick look. That is a turn- off to many users which explains the declining popularity of Kubrick theme.
For beginners, Kubrick theme is used to start a blog. However, after they are well- versed in site application they might want to change themes for fresher look. People do get bored easily with the same theme. In this case, people will get bored of Kubrick theme if the theme is used for a long time.
Custom theme is created to make blogosphere merrier with bright hues and pictures. If everyone is using Kubrick theme for WordPress sites, reading blog is going to be so boring since you will be looking at the same layout over and over again. Therefore, custom themes are the best solution to re-create websites with a dash of personalization and attitude.
Creating new themes out of sheer enjoyment seems to be popular for people who have basic HTML, CSS and Photoshop skills. More people are utilizing their talents to customize their own sites. Sometimes it is not about reputation, people do enjoy being creative. Using only Kubrick theme in websites only makes your creativity stagnant.
People also download many themes at the same time to keep in case they want to test which theme suit their blogs the best. Unlike Kubrick theme, custom themes can be studied and reproduce to create new and better designs. Even if you are IT illiterate, there are always free design websites that give a variety of designs to be chosen. To take your WordPress website to a higher level, you can either choose to hire professionals to design theme of your choice or download limited version of designs form paid websites.
In conclusion, we live in a world where illustration and graphics matter. Kubrick theme used to be the trendiest thing until we discover custom themes.
Blog Posting Tutorial
Blog Posting Tutorial
When you decide to start a blog the most important thing you need to do is post to your blog and often it requires daily posts in order to keep up with readers needs. Most people who blog feel that they can skip a few things when posting blog posts in order to make the process quicker, but in fact it only hurts your content if you don’t spend the time posting it properly. It can take a mere ten minutes to post to your blog once you’ve gotten the article written and you should make sure you spend the time it takes to post effectively. Posting effectively means taking the time to add features that most people don’t spend the time doing. Some are simple and you may already do them which would be great, but if you don’t already utilize these options then you should implement them immediately.
There are a few things you should always do when posting new blog posts and I’m going to discuss those with you right now in case you don’t already know what needs done. The first thing and most obvious thing are to make unique descriptions and use unique keywords for every post. I know the option is available on the newest update of WordPress to simply use old keywords and descriptions but then the SE will read it as the same as other posts and will hurt your rankings. This is obvious and most people already do use unique titles, descriptions and keywords so I won’t stay in this one too long just make sure you take the time to make your blog posts including the titles, keywords and descriptions.
Apart from the obvious that was stated above you should also make your blog posts attractive and do this you simply need to make some minor adjustments to the formatting of your post. Millions of people use default formatting and font which is fine, but if you want to stand out then make sure you do by creating attractive posts. Begin by making sure your content flows well and that there aren’t too many big paragraphs. People prefer reading through smaller paragraphs then longer ones so it’s clear that you should make sure your paragraphs aren’t too long. You should also use sub-headings for your posts and make them in bold so they pop, also take time thinking of the sub-headings because since there in bold it’ll be some of the first text read by everyone who visits the page. The next thing you need to do is change the font so that it’s more attractive then the default font. Also enlarge the font depending on how your theme displays the font because if it’s too small your posts will be harder to read as well as look smaller. Finally you should add a picture or two and incorporate them into the post, meaning make them aligned so that they fit with the content. Don’t just post two pictures at the bottom of the posts because that just makes it look rushed and doesn’t really add any real value to the post.
If you can manage to do this every time you make a post on your blog then I have no doubts in my mind that you will have a great blog filled with visitors. Content is also preached to be king and well if that’s the case then you need to make sure you’re doing your part to make sure your content is the best it can be. If you follow the steps above then sometimes poor writing can even become more attractive and therefore popular. I suggest taking time to write the content so that it’s not poor, but nonetheless if you follow the tips above you’ll have much more success at blogging and you’ll stand out more to the crowd.
Blog Posting Networks
Blog Posting Networks
There are plenty of blog posting networks out there now and over the past couple years they have made people thousands of dollars. Blogging has become a great way for advertisers to advertise to a targeted market and many companies are taking advantage of this. Basically a blog posting network is a middle man between the blogger and the advertiser.
The network works on finding advertisers for their network marketplace and then as a blogger you can sign-up to the network and apply for jobs from the marketplace. There are some big networks out there already that offer quite a larger amount of advertising availabilities so you should be able to find some offers for your blog. Advertisers will post their needs in the marketplace and if your blog meets the requirements then you’ll be able to take on the job. Once you make the post, the network will confirm it’s been made and then in one month they will confirm that the post is still there and pay you for it. Most networks can pay you with either Paypal or a check. Before you can utilize blog posting networks you’ll need a blog with some traffic and preferably some page rank. If you have both of those then you won’t have a problem making a part-time income.
Most blog networks allow the advertiser to establish their own budgets for each blog post, so the price you get paid ranges from $3-$50 depending on how good your blog is. If you have a good blog then you can make $20-$50 per blog post that you make which is a lot of money. Some of the other blog networks out there pay a flat rate for each blog post which is alright, but I prefer working with the networks that don’t set a flat rate. You’ll make more money with the other networks, and there more ethical and not trying to take a huge cut.
Blog post networks don’t become valuable until after you’ve put a few months into blogging, but then you can reap the benefits. Many people have small personal blog networks that run solely off of these blog posting networks and make them a lot of money. If you have the time then the money can be made fairly easily, it just takes hard work and commitment. I want to take some time to give you a little bit of information about some of the popular blog posting networks out there that you should join once you have an aged blog with traffic.
PayPerPost – www.payperpost.com
This is by far the most popular blog posting network out there and the busiest. There are always hundreds of opportunities and if your blog is good enough then you’ll be able to do a lot of them. They pay new members $20 to do an introduction post onto their blog, and then you get paid by the advertisers for each post you do. They pay on a monthly basis and the easiest and quickest way to get paid is through Paypal.
PayU2Blog – www.payu2blog.com
This network is coming along and they have quite a few offers. They simply email you when they have a job that fits your blog and then they pay you on a monthly basis. Many people have found this network be good for a couple months and then the offers die down, but you can easily make a few hundred dollars in a few months doing the offers that they do have.
Smorty – www.smorty.com
Smorty is a well established pay per post network and they have been around for awhile now and I don’t think you need to worry about them going anywhere. They have a knack for attracting advertisers and therefore also have some awesome blogs in their networks arsenal. Smorty always pays it’s bloggers on time and they offer decent compensation for your work.
ReviewMe – www.reviewme.com
ReviewMe is one of the biggest marketplaces and there are tons of offers in the marketplace. They have a strong foothold in the marketplace and a long list of bloggers ready to make money. They attract some of the highest paying advertisers in the blogging industry and therefore have tons of bloggers looking for opportunities from them. If you have a good blog then you can easily make a part-time income with this network.
SponsoredReview – www.sponsoredreview.com
This is the last network that is on this list and should be all you need. This network has some high paying opportunities and although they don’t have the biggest marketplace you get paid almost twice as much here on average. I recommend this network highly if you’re serious about writing sponsored blog posts.
These five pay per post networks are plenty enough to get you into the world of blog post networks and you should be able to get going immediately pending you have a blog. If you already have a blog then you can join today and get paid within the next thirty days for your first few reviews. There is a lot of money spent in advertising dollars online so grab your piece of the pie today by writing sponsored reviews.
Blog Link Building
Blog Link Building
Bloggers absolutely need to obtain backlinks on their blogs or they won’t ever result too much and there will be hardly any traffic. Ideally as your blog ages you should be getting search engine traffic and if you’re not then it’s probably due to not having enough backlinks pointing to your blog. You should not only work on getting backlinks for your homepage but also for important blog posts and pages. These are called deeplinks and help a lot when you’re trying to rank in the search engines. All of the search engines use different methods for ranking sites but one of the main techniques used is through backlinks. If you have a lot of relevant backlinks on the topic of your blog pointing to the posts and pages then you’ll generally have good search engine rankings. If you have only lousy links that aren’t even on topic with your blog then you will need to begin looking for some better ranking links so that you can then begin ranking better. Many forums can offer good link opportunities but you can also use many techniques to find high page rank links to get backlinks on.
You should start building links for your blog as soon as you begin posting on it and make sure though that you only use natural methods of building backlinks and none other or else you face the risk of getting banned by the search engines. Article submissions, social bookmarking and directory submissions are all things you should do in the early existence of your blog. Make sure you spread your time out amongst these different options so that you build links in many different areas. You should also become active on blogs in your niche so that you can begin gaining some reputation. It doesn’t take long for the owner of a blog to notice someone commenting daily on their blog and in most cases as long as you’re not spamming the owner will usually begin talking with you. This can result in future joint ventures and having relationships with the other bloggers in your niche is vital to the success of your blog.
There is never a time that you shouldn’t be looking to build links to your blog, but over time you’ll get help from that through link bait. This is where you post a good article or report on your blog and people link to it and post it on there blog. This can gain you hundreds of backlinks a day and is the most effective method to one way link building. Blogging is a ton of work and you haven’t already notice this then you soon will as you start building backlinks and having to post daily to your blog.
Try exchanging links with other bloggers in your niche, but make sure you don’t crowd your blog up too much with other people’s links. Try spreading the other people’s links across different pages so that it doesn’t eat away at your page rank juice. Only exchange links with blogs that are the same calibre as your blog and don’t accept a link exchange with a blog that isn’t updated.
Over time link building becomes easier and takes a lot less time but in the beginning you need to set-up the blog to ensure it will do well in the search engines. Building links is part of ensuring that traffic from the search engines is steady and this is why every serious blogger needs to allocate the right amount of time each day for building links.