You’re ready to work with a mentor once you understand the basic blogging concepts and techniques (you don’t want to burden someone with questions you can easily answer yourself by reading a couple articles). Then, take a stab at propping up a blog for yourself and posting some content. After you’ve familiarized yourself with the basics and created a fledgling blog, a mentor can help you get to the next level.

Top Reasons to Get Yourself a Blogging Mentor

Motivational support. Blogging can be a lonely experience, and at first, your blog may not receive many accolades or much attention. In addition to being a teacher and a guide, a mentor is a coach who wants to motivate you to reach your goals. If you’re feeling lost or distressed about blogging, communicate this to your mentor and talk through it. You’ll probably find that your mentor has experienced some of the same feelings and has surmounted the challenges in certain ways that you can follow.

Guidance. For design, you’ll find out what works functionally and aesthetically, and what should be avoided. For writing, you’ll learn about using catchy headlines, following the rules of grammar and employing good structure. A mentor will look at what you’ve created and give you advice on making your content more entertaining, inspiring, and engaging while also being useful to readers. They will be willing to teach you about SEO and how to open an income stream with ads or an online store.

Name recognition. A well-known mentor who has been featured on other sites is probably a knowledgeable mentor. Being connected to other high-profile bloggers helps establish your own authority. Their name will lend credibility to your own blog and help drive traffic to your site, especially if they’re willing to add you to their blogroll. Make sure to get their authorization before advertising that they mentored you.

Networking. Not the computerized kind, but professional and personal networking. Knowing a successful expert in your field will connect you to others and expand your social circle to include other knowledgeable people. Look outside of the blogosphere for networking opportunities. “A successful professional career does not exist in a vacuum,” comments John Foy, attorney and founder of John Foy and Associates. “You need to build up your online presence and your brand if you want to make headway in the future.” If you blog about pets, for instance, find out if your city hosts any associations or conventions for breeders, trainers, veterinarians and such, and attend some of their meetings. When you’re there, be sure to tell people about your blog and what you’re trying to achieve, and you’ll probably receive lots of advice, whether you want it or not.

How to Find a Blogging Mentor

Finding a mentor is probably easier than you think because you may already know him or her. Think about someone online or in your life who’s a success in their field and blogs about it. Are you currently following any blogs that you respect as good examples? Check their media history and look for lots of followers on social media. Look for a blogger who is demonstrating a willingness to give away information generously, since that’s a good sign that they’ll be willing to help you. Have they published courses or eBooks to help people learn more about their field? If so, that means they have an aptitude and desire to teach.

Begin interacting with this person by commenting on their posts and videos. After you establish a rapport, inform them of your blogging project and ask for some advice. Show your appreciation by thanking them and, above all else, putting their advice into action. Repeat the process by asking for further input on what you’ve done.

The final stage is to become a mentor yourself. Mentoring, like blogging to some extent, is a matter of giving people more than you receive. Teaching also has its own intangible rewards. Helping others as you have been helped is gratifying. It will also help you codify your ideas into useful lessons, which you can then share with others by (what else?) blogging about it.

Helping people in a friendly way is really what blogging is all about, and that factor should take precedence over Google ranking, Twitter followers, and ad revenue. A good mentor is, above all, a good friend. Friends try to understand what you’re going through, whether good or bad. Mentors, like friends, will celebrate your successes and help pick you back up when you slip. This is why you should not be shy about seeking a mentor, because a good one will welcome taking on that role for you.

Let us know how you found your blogging mentor in the comments below!

First published in 2018; updated December 2021

The post How Do I Get Myself a Blogging Mentor? appeared first on The Blog Herald.

That’s all well and good, but designing a good guest post can be a project in itself. There are a lot of things to consider when writing this piece – it needs to be your best work to impress the blog’s editor, as well as the readers. You’ll need to ensure it’s properly researched, fits with your blog’s niche, hasn’t been done before on that blog, etc.

It can seem overwhelming when you first set out – there’s so much to do, and no definitive order in which to accomplish everything. Where do you start?

After going through the struggle of trying to decide how to write my guest blogs, I finally designed a step-by-step guide on how to write an amazing guest blog without too much hassle. If I follow these 5 steps, I find that I can write a good, well-received guest blog in half the time as if I didn’t have a plan.

Find a Place

You can’t start writing until you know what you’re writing about. Everyone knows that. But when it comes to guest posting, this can be a little more complicated than just finding a topic. Your first step should be to figure out what website (or websites, if you can find more than one with the same niche) where you can publish your post. Knowing where you’re going to publish your piece will be a huge boon when you start narrowing down your topic.

If you can find more than one blog that accepts blog posts in your niche, I recommend having some backups in case your first choice for blog doesn’t like your pitch or your article. Make a list of three, and keep your pitch on file. That way if you’re rejected, you can use the same pitch – maybe with some adaptation – for a different blog. This saves you time and energy. Plus, having your pitch saved will help you adapt new ones if you decide to submit some more guest posts.

Look Over Guidelines

This one is pretty important – once you find a site that accepts guest posts, you should figure out what their guidelines are. Normally, bloggers have their guidelines for article submissions (or pitches) contained in a blog post, or linked to their “Submit” or “Contact Me” page, making them easy and accessible for potential contributors to see and utilize. Sometimes this isn’t the case, however. In that case, it’s always best to use their “Contact Me” page and send them an email or message, asking what their editorial guidelines are, and what type of posts they prefer.

You should try and figure out these things before starting your pitch/post:

• How long a post should it be?
• What topics are accepted?
• Do they want you to pay for the post? Alternately, do they pay you for your post?
• Will they give credit for your post?

If they ask for payment or don’t credit you as an author for your post, then you may be better off finding a different blog on which to publish your post.

Find Your Topic

Once you know where you want to submit your post, you have a better idea of what your topic should be. You simply need to find where the blog’s topics and your blog’s niche intersect. That way, you know where to start when you start looking for ideas.

Related: Starting a Blog? 5 Topics People Care About in 2017

Once you have a vague idea of what you want to write about, spend a little time researching the blog where you’re pitching. Do they have pieces on this topic before? How recent are said pieces? Can you offer a unique enough take on the topic to justify revisiting it? If you think you can, your next step is to refine your topic, until you’re sure you know exactly what you’re going to write about.

Design a Pitch

This step is optional – you only need pitch your article if they require it. You may still choose to – if they allow it – so that you don’t waste your time writing a post that they won’t use. And – some blogs require a pitch when you send in the article, to make sure that they don’t waste their time reading something they don’t want. In any of these cases, you need to make sure your pitch is unique and stands out.

Marketing Director at George Sink, P. A. Injury Lawyers explains in a recent interview that to make a strong pitch, you have to “make sure your topic is strong, and your email is personal. If your topic is weak, or it seems like your email is generic, you won’t get the attention that you need to make sure you can publish your post.”

Write the Piece

The last step is by far the easiest. Once your pitch has been approved, you simply need to write the piece. Make sure you put your best foot forward, so to speak – your writing and research should be at its best quality for your guest post. But if you can manage that, and get your final post approved by the editor, you’re finished! You can either return to writing for your own blog or find some more places to publish guest posts, to drive up your traffic even more.

The post 5 Easy Steps to Writing the Perfect Guest Post appeared first on The Blog Herald.

But there can be roadblocks to enjoying your professional blogging experience. Coming up with fresh content every week and editing the work of others who guest blog for you; all the while keeping to a posting schedule that you yourself probably did not have any input about. Here are some tactics gleaned from professional bloggers to help you stay fresh and post fresh:

Find Out What Readers Want

Who is your blog primarily for, customers and consumers, or in-house? Either way, your first priority is to find out what your readers want to read about. To do this you have to do some research. Not in-depth. If it’s an in-house blog, ask the department heads what they’d like to read about. If they’re reticent or just don’t know themselves, dig a little deeper by asking what seems to be causing the most problems in their department, and then write a series of posts on how it can be resolved.

Related: How an Industry-Specific Writer Can Improve Your Company’s Blogging

For customer-based blogs there’s no better source than the sales people; they know their customers inside and out, and are constantly getting feedback from them and from prospects and leads they deal with. Ask your salespeople what their clients are telling them, and then write about that. You’ll never run out of subjects.

But remember Rule Number One of corporate blogging: Always keep it positive.

Get Into the Holiday Spirit

Did you know there’s a national ‘Talk Like a Pirate’ Day? It’s February 15 each year. Subscribe to a holiday calendar app such as timeanddate.com for constant updates on upcoming holidays, both religious and secular. Halloween is a great time for adults to dress up and have fun, so do the same with the company blog. Invite guest posts about holidays, both silly and serious. The trick is to plan your holiday blogs ahead of time, so you can fill up as many slots as you need before going on vacation. Below is a great example of a blog taking advantage of National Dog Day:

Check Out the Competition

There’s nothing wrong or sneaky about regularly checking what your competition is blogging about. You can bet they are checking your blog out on a regular basis! When you see something you like or that seems to be getting a big response, adopt the idea and then (this is most important) adapt it to your blog.

One example would be a blog I’ve worked with that features an infographic about eSignatures in Australia. See what angle you can take to go off of that idea and spark your thoughts. Find a few of your own original sources to quote, and the article practically writes itself. Of course, be sure to use Copyscape to double-check you haven’t poached too much on the other blog’s ground–there is nothing worse than completely stealing an idea with no original angle of your own.

Use a Little Humor

While nobody expects you to be Jerry Seinfeld, it can be fun to come up with some humor for your blog once in awhile.This can range from a groan-inducing pun to a brief humorous narrative. For instance, if your company is involved in makeup, you could use this old chestnut: “A duck buys a tube of lipstick and when the sales clerk asks for payment the duck says Just put it on my bill”.

You get the picture. You can Google all sorts of jokes and stories that tie in to your brand.

But never make fun of your competitors. That’s considered poor sportsmanship. Most people enjoy a little bit of self-effacing humor in a blog — it lets them know that the blogger, and by extension the company, doesn’t take themselves too seriously.

Use Guides or Resources

Writing out a guide or having an indexed resource on the company blog can really bring in the traffic. It should be updated frequently. So, for instance, an automotive business could post a guide about current prices of electric vehicles. These electric vehicles have been on the market for quite some time, but it is only recently that they started to become affordable for most folk. So your guide would be one that educates readers about each brand, its cost, and its plus and minuses. When a customer, or prospect, feels like you care enough to give them some solid dependable and useful information, they are more likely to stay loyal to your brand.

Below is an example of a Buyer Guide from Resource Nation about Office Furniture. Notice that they include a Table of Contents with resources that help keep the guide organized and thorough.

Be Interactive and Think Outside the Written Word

Is there any way a reader can let you know what he or she thinks of an article you’ve posted? Can they leave a comment? Do you have an email address on the blog? Or a phone number? If there’s no way to leave a comment about a post, it automatically loses some of its interest for a certain portion of the reading public who like to leave their mark behind on everything they read.

It’s also important to use graphics and video on your blog. With today’s technology, anyone can snap a great photo and post it in minutes, or record a brief video to embed in a blog. Variety, they say, is the spice of life — and it most emphatically is the spice of a good blog!

Finally, don’t forget to make sure your blog is linked to the company’s landing page and other social media, such as Twitter and Facebook.

Don’t put your blog under a bushel. You’ve worked hard at it, now let it shine!

The post Company Blog Tips: How To Keep Your Company Blog Out Of A Rut appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Yet so often people create a blog with high expectations, and then get discouraged and neglect their work. Cyberspace is full of abandoned blogs. If you’ve had this experience, don’t despair. Don’t give up on the idea of creating and maintaining a powerhouse blog. Below lists the five fundamentals that will help you turn your blog into a life-changing experience:

Start at the Beginning

Every great blog begins the same way; by obtaining a website/ platform of your own. You secure a domain name and install a platform, such as WordPress. This is very basic, but it’s surprising how many blogger wannabes try to begin their work with other priorities. Successful bloggers begin by using a web hosting company, either dedicated or shared, to get this fundamental work up and running.

A vital part of this beginning is to pick a good domain name (i.e. “www.asitename.com”). Always start by securing your own legal name for a dot-com, if it’s available. It gives you some immediate copyright protection. Start with your full name; it that’s been taken, then start working on variations on your name until you hit on one that is not already in use. It’s also important to stick to the most recognized dot-coms, that is: .com; .net, or .org.

WordPress is one of the easiest platforms to set up your domain and hosting on (although it is shared). No need to hassle with uploading software or files. In most cases you can use a one-click installation.

Content is King

Your blog is all about created content. Your blog must stand out with either brilliant originality or extremely useful and timely information and/or news. After all, the competition is tough and growing; 50 thousand new websites are added to WordPress each day.

Your content needs to be focused and niched down. In other words, avoid generalities and deal with specifics. For instance, if you’re doing a blog on Game of Thrones you’ve got to narrow your focus to one particular aspect or character of the blockbuster show. Instead of a blog that is “All Things Game of Thrones”, you want something like “Love Letters to Tyrion Lannister”. This is how you become a cyber authority; when Tyrion Lannister is Googled, your blog stands a good chance of being the first item displayed. Shun posting anything generic on your blog; SEO doesn’t like generic.

To create killer content always check out what other blogs with similar themes are doing; then go them one better. Get better graphics. Get better information. Use video. Invite more comments by responding to them as soon as possible. Think of yourself as a visitor to your own blog; would what you see make you want to linger, or would it send you away? Get some friends and family to view your blog and encourage them to give you an honest reckoning. Anything that distracts, discourages, or deranges a visitor to your blog should be pulled and reexamined, even if you consider it some of the best work you’ve ever done.

Pick your Passion

Because setting up your blog has become so simple, it can be easy to take the whole process for granted and forget the passion that initially lay behind your desire, your passion, for a quality blog. Your blog should focus on one or more of these ambitions:

• Hobby/Obsession: This is where you will expand on what really interests you/moves you.
• Enhance Your Personal Brand: A blog is an ideal location to nourish your resume and create an online profile that will sparkle when others access it.
• Professional/Business: To share information about your organization by creating the kind of quality content about your products and services that will inevitably increase traffic.

In the long run, your blog is only going to be as good as the passion you put into it; that means maintaining and increasing its quality to the point that you’re getting the traffic, readers, and revenue that you want. This doesn’t mean that your blog has to make you a millionaire overnight, but that it meets the original standards and goals your passion set for it.

Building Your Audience

When your content is good you’ll attract some traffic automatically. Your audience will grow organically as more people learn about your site. This is a slow process that takes patience and belief in yourself. But there are things you can do to speed up the process including writing guest blogs on other sites similar to yours, linking your blog to your Facebook and Twitter account, and all other social media accounts you’re using, and finally, contacting all other sites in your niche-world to leave comments and make offers to share information.

The best part? These growth strategies usually won’t cost you anything but your time.

When You’re Thinking Outside the Box, Think Outside Yourself as Well!

Your blog is an extension of yourself, of your business, of your brand. But always keep in mind that unless you WANT to do a monolog in cyberspace, you’ve got to keep your readers in mind. What do they need from your blog; what do they want? Are you giving it to them — and how do you know if you are or not? Constantly task yourself with the goal of finding out why people are accessing your blog and what it is that keeps bringing them back. WordPress has some simple-to-use apps to keep you informed of reader statistics. Use them to gauge interest in your blog.

Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, a powerhouse blog isn’t going to just spring up overnight. With careful planning, patience, and a willingness to learn from other bloggers, your site can become everything you want it to be — and more!

The post The Five Fundamentals to Creating a Powerhouse Blog appeared first on The Blog Herald.

When I first started to blog many years ago, I used to reference other writers’ blog posts. I then used the available technology, in the form of vanity RSS feeds and trackbacks, to stay up to date on mentions or opinions about our own blog. Nowadays, however, the volume of the published content is so massive that vanity RSS feeds and trackbacks are essentially useless.

As a result, on one hand there is massive output, but on the other hand, nobody seems to be listening. And if there are no receivers, there is no engagement. Engagement is nothing to look down on. It’s what reputations and relationships are built on.

You may find it hard to believe, but Facebook could be the solution when it comes to increasing your blog’s engagement. It’s a well-established fact; to find people on the internet, you have to go to a website with a large pool of people, all different ages, locations, interests, etc., and today that website is Facebook.

So, what do you have to do to increase your blog’s engagement through Facebook? Dave Winer (@davewiner), entrepreneur, technologist and a blogger for almost 20 years, wrote that he began posting his full blogs on Facebook. And engagement is why. He wrote:

“There is zero engagement on my blog, to start with. I have switched comments off. The situation is almost identical on Medium, excluding three hearts and one highlight that my post got – still no comments.”

On Facebook, however, regardless of the primitive typography and the absence of links, my post has a few comments and twenty reactions. I can’t tell how many the views are, since Facebook doesn’t offer that information to users, to my knowledge.”

Winer makes a valid point on the need for engagement adding, “There is an explanation behind my need for connection. I missed looking at people’s thoughts, and receiving feedback from readers who go through my stuff. Facebook offers that.”

Why Putting A Full Blog Post on Facebook Could be Your Ticket to Success

I have been following the same strategy. I either put my whole post, or at least a large part of it, on Facebook, so that my readers get what I am trying to say. This way, readers can show engagement (share, like or comment) without having to go to my blog.

The best things about blogging are thinking out loud, expressing ideas, addressing opinions I read somewhere else, meeting new people, knowing people better, making friends or, when that’s not possible, building respect, and becoming better in subjects I am really interested in. With Facebook, you can have this, but if you are blogging without exposing your posts to the world for engagement, you can’t.

By publishing blog posts on Facebook, there’s no need to feel like you’re slighting your independent blog. As a matter of fact, owning your own blog is probably the most important part of using Facebook effectively.

While you build and enlarge your social network on Facebook, you will need a place of reference where you can showcase your work to the community. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can just do it all on Facebook. You need to be in control of your content and of how your site looks, which can have a lot to do with your office and how you stay in control. You also need to make sure that your content can be accessed in numerous ways: email sharing, search engines as well as social media.

I agree with Winer on making my blog more engaging through Facebook. My blog is poor with comments; however, my Facebook presence is way more popular. Learning, collaboration, friendships and other blogging goodness combined with Facebook. Try it, and then let us know what you think in the comment section below!

How to Moderate Blog Comments

The post Why Publishing Blog Posts on Facebook Can Help Increase Your Blog’s Engagement appeared first on The Blog Herald.

It fills the gap in invoicing that the online industry is missing without having to charge you an arm and a leg. Check out the review below, improvements I think need to be made, and the verdict that talks about who can benefit most from this particular tool.

How It Works and How to Get Started with Due.com

To get started, all I had to do was visit Due.com, click “Sign Up,” and then fill in basic contact information. I was then taken to my dashboard and set to go. For non-disclosure purposes I chose to use screenshots in this piece with generic and made up company names (but you get the idea). The best way to really understand the tool is to go through the basic features, or tabs, including in the tool. If you’re only interested in the review, just skip down to the next section!

The Dashboard Tab

Below is a screenshot of the empty dashboard you start out with. As you might imagine, as you add information your dashboard will change and you’ll have a full calendar and full list of Reports. Pay attention to the tabs on the left hand side of the screen—that’s where all of the action and features happen. It gives you a quick look at everything you’re working with at once (as dashboards do).

As you can hopefully see, it’s a very intuitive dashboard. You have all of your options in the left-hand side bar, you just have to click them and get started. If you want to add a client, click the “Client” tab to add, if you want to add an invoice or a recurring invoice, you can click the “Invoice” tab, and so on and so forth.

The Invoice Tab

Because this tool focuses on invoices, let’s look at the screenshot you’ll see when you click the “Invoice” tab on the left-hand side of the page:

This gives me a quick look at how many invoices are pending, paid, and the ID numbers all listed out neatly in a chart at the bottom of the page. I can also easily click to Recurring Invoices to make sure everything is set correctly. To create a new Invoice, I simply click the Blue Button on the top right-hand side of the page.

The Client Tab

This is a pretty straightforward feature that makes it easy to create an address book of your clients, both new and old, so that you can navigate to his/her contact information and find him/her easily when creating and invoice or a project. You may also notice that there is one Project associated with this client (which brings us to the next tab), but ultimately it’s nice to see everything in one place.

The Projects Tab

This tab has two different layers: Projects and Tasks. What you do is create a project and then you can add tasks to that project (almost like a subcategory of a topic). You have the ability to add a budget, client name, due date, and of course can make edits and changes at any time. This Project is associated with the client “Joe Smith,” which again, you can see above in the Client tab.

Prices: And here ends all of the free options. To unlock the other tabs you have to pay a monthly fee anywhere from $10/ month, $25/ month, or $100/ month. You can check out more of the pricing here.

Looking at the paid version and giving it a quick try, larger businesses would benefit because it opens up features like PayPal integration, Invoice Export Options, a Timeline of your Activity, and allows you to add other Staff members to your projects and activity. For smaller businesses or freelance work, like me, the free version is more than enough.

Notable Features of Due.com

A few of the features below you can only find with the paid version, so it’s up to you to decide whether or not you would benefit from some of these features. Nevertheless, Due.com does offer some cool stuff that you may just want to keep in the back of your mind if your company does end up growing:

• Embed Invoices. This tool has a feature where you can embed one of their invoices (yes, they’re customizable) right onto your website so that customers never have to leave your site to pay your invoice online.
• Invoice Multiple Countries & Tax Systems.com is supported in more than 100 countries and supports the majority of all tax systems. Obviously, this makes it a great option if you expect to someday have international customers.
• PayPal Partnership.com has a partnership with PayPal that offers a $.50 transaction fee if paid through PayPal balance. This helps you save money on fees.

Where Due.com Could Use Some Improvements

The first thing I thought of when using this tool was the importance of sinking it to oDesk. There are also other invoicing services out there such as Zoho, Xero, eLance, and even Venmo for small projects that Due.com didn’t seem to mention. The paid version of the tool will include PayPal and QuickBooks integration, which is great, but I know that we personally use oDesk all the time and would love the ability to sync it with Due.com. For smaller businesses, having to pay to even just get PayPal integration may not be worth it.

The Verdict

I get asked to write a lot of reviews, but this was one that I really had my hopes set on as I sat down to check it out. If the tool were as good as the idea, then my life would get a whole lot easier. Fortunately for me (or anyone out there managing a lot of invoices and projects), it did not disappoint. The verdict here is a big “YES everyone should try this tool.”

Because the tool is so new it is unsurprising that there are still a few kinks to iron out and improvements to be made, but they have a solid foundation. As discussed above, the best thing about Due.com is the interface. It’s so easy to use and straightforward that it actually does make things easier, which so many tool that try to do-it-all simply just can’t master. It’s intuitive, the navigation makes sense, and it automatically tracks everything for you so you know when something is completed and what’s coming up on your calendar.

A different way to think of this tool, and something that came to my mind immediately, is to compare Due.com to Mint. Your bank always has its own dashboard that you were probably using, just like you probably use the PayPal dashboard for your invoices. However, as things start to get more complicated you need a tool that does it all while still keeping things easy. In other words, Due.com is to Mint the way PayPal is to your bank. You love PayPal, but it just won’t cut it as your work continues to grow.

Again, you can sign up to start using the tool at Due.com. Once you give it a try, let us know what you think and what you would improve in the comment section below.

The post Due.com Review: It Really Is An Easy Way to Keep Track of Your Invoices appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Fortunately for us, some personal finance companies have managed to create a blog with interesting and engaging content. If you’ve been searching for a blog to learn more about personal finance but can’t find anything quality, check out some of these options below.

8 of the Best Personal Finance Blogs on the Web

The Popular Options

1. Saving Advice

This is a great blog because it offers more than just your typical articles. They offer forum discussions, a ”Saving Money” daily tip, and a featured tool that you may want to use. They also have member blogs where you can publish your own articles and see the type of feedback and comments you get, which helps keep the blog interactive. Overall, it’s one of the best.

2. Wise Bread

This is by far the most popular personal finance blog out there today. Although personal finance is just one small section of what the website has to offer, it has some of the more detailed and well-written articles on its blog compared to others. They update their content frequently and keep up with the latest trends, so you never have to worry about reading something outdated or incorrect. Between interviews and video, Wise Bread knows how blogging works.

3. Money Crashers

This is another blog that publishes content very frequently and has an excellent portfolio under its belt. They let you know what content is popular each week and offer recommendations of what to read in case you’re visiting just for fun and need somewhere to start. They do cover a wide range of topics, so it’s crucial that you use their tabs listed at the top of the website to find the subjects you want (otherwise it’s easy to get overwhelmed here!).

4. Money Ning

This blog has been one of the more popular blogs for several years, but it’s much simpler than the others discussed above. You visit the blog and you scroll down to see each piece of content. In other words, it is formatted much like a traditional blog as opposed to a newspaper or magazine website. There is great content here with great readership so there are always lots of comments to engage in. If you’re just looking for something interesting to read (as opposed to researching something specific), this is a good option for you.

5. Mint Life

Mint Life is actually the blog of popular company and tool Mint.com. Mint.com is a tool and app that helps you manage your money and will do all of the organizing and categorizing for you if you have several accounts, so it’s safe to say they know their stuff. Although the blog might not be the main focus of this company, it’s constantly up to date and offers great pieces. It’s set up like a blog as opposed to a magazine style layout, so it’s easy to read and browse through quickly.

The Up-and-Coming Options

6. Banking Sense

This is a much newer blog on the scene, but it is already making a name for itself with an array of great content and creative topics. The blog specifically mentions in its mission statement that it understands the wide spectrum of where people may be when it comes to understanding personal finance, so they try to have content for everyone. With categories broken up nicely, it’s easy to get around this blog and find what you want for any topic from bank accounts to insurance to investments.

7. Daily Finance

This blog hasn’t gained much traction in the personal finance world yet, but I anticipate it will in the coming years because of its modern design and strategy toward blogging. This is a blog that actually creates great videos, which is something rare for a personal finance blog, and it keeps you up on the markets right there on the homepage. Daily Finance even pulls articles from around the web to offer the best possible information, so I see this one going far.

8. Good Financial Cents

Jeff Rose, certified financial planner, the CEO of his own wealth management firm, and author, primarily runs this blog and likes to give his own opinions with his own personality. He gives real-world advice and makes you feel like he’s been there and he’s talking right with you, so it’s more of a personalize blog than many of the others. He also has a podcast to help connect with those on the go, so it seems that this blog will only grow in popularity. What this blog is lacking is several different perspectives being written on the blog, but that may come in the future. For now, he’s giving great advice.

Do you know of any other great personal finance blogs? What makes them so great? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

Photo Credit: bloggingpro.com

The post Top 8 Personal Finance Blogs You Should be Reading appeared first on The Blog Herald.

How Hummingbird Update Works

The Hummingbird update was actually launched about one month ago and nobody noticed, so it’s safe to say that this isn’t as severe as the usual Panda and Penguin updates. Nevertheless, this update was designed to improve the search engine by revamping the entire engine to fit the needs of today’s results, which should be both precise and fast (get the name now?).

Search Engine Land described the update like an actual car engine. They explained that if you had an engine built in the 1950s it might still work, but it would be lacking things it needs for today (fuel injections, needs to use the right kind of fuel, etc.). The Hummingbird update is almost as if Google took this old engine out of the car and dropped a new one right back into place.

What Experts Are Saying About the Hummingbird Update on Social Media

Naturally experts in the SEO/SEM industry wrote up their own reports about the update and then shared all over social media. Consider some of the most popular quotes and opinions from some of the most authoritative bloggers of today:

• Alex Moss, Co-Founder of 3 Door Digital. This is going to be a bigger change than people may realize as, especially when it comes to mobile SEO, long tail keywords are becoming more commonplace and are also generally of higher quality than that of someone entering a short tail phrase.
• Kevin Gibbons, UK MD at Blue Glass Interactive. The biggest impact appears to be towards ‘conversational search.’ At such an early stage of an algorithm update you normally can’t go too far wrong with reading what Bill Slawski has to say.
• Bill Slawski, President of SEO by the Sea. My intuition tells me that they are significantly related to better understand the contexts and syntax of queries […]. Hummingbird will enable people to create longer, more complex, and more natural language type queries and receive higher quality results, even if all the words used in the query don’t appear upon the pages being returned.
• Jayson DeMers, Founder and CEO at AudienceBloom. Hummingbird is a clear step toward improving the intelligence of Google with regard to more complex, conversational search queries. With this change, Google is anticipating an accelerated rise of mobile device usage, and specifically more voice input search queries.

As you can see, there is a clear trend amongst many of these bloggers and industry leaders: It’s all about conversation and understanding more than just the words in a search query. Naturally, this has a lot to do with bloggers.

What The Hummingbird Update Means for Bloggers

Because being a blogger often means you’re the writer for a website (whether it’s your own blog or a company’s blog), you have to understand how Google is crawling content and how this change affected their old ways. In the past, search engines would look for keywords and so the blogger needed to focus on including keywords and conducting keyword research. With the hummingbird update, Google is going to be looking at more of the whole picture. In other words, they are working to understand the meaning behind words and phrases. Take the following example:

à If someone typed into the search box “Italian restaurants near my house” then Google will now prioritize “near my house” and bring location factors into search results. In the past, words like “Italian” and “restaurants” would have been the priority.

As a blogger, it’s important to realize this and start putting less of a focus on keywords and more of a focus on semantic SEO and semantic search, which you can learn more about here.

Do you think the Hummingbird update was needed a long time ago? Have you noticed anything different after this update? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Photo Credit: hummingbirdhelocopters.us

Amanda DiSilvestro  gives small business and entrepreneurs SEO advice ranging from keyword density to recovering from Panda and Penguin updates. She writes for the nationally recognized SEO agency HigherVisibility.com that offers online marketing services to a wide range of companies across the country. 

The post The Google Hummingbird Update and What It Means to Bloggers appeared first on The Blog Herald.

As of October 9 of this year, Google will bring street view to mobile browsers. It?s not the most exciting news in the world, but it?s something that will make a difference in the long run for the mobile user as well as Google itself.

Why a Google Street View Matters

This latest update is helping Google Maps stay on top when it comes to mapping software on a mobile phone. For those who are unfamiliar, Apple tried to out-do Google Maps a few weeks ago by coming up with their own mapping software, but failed fairly miserably. In the end, the devices were back to using Google Maps. You can read more about that story here.

A few of the perks that users get with the Google Maps street view include:

• Panoramic level imagery to help you see where you are going and check out places nearby. This will work even when you?re on the move.
• If you save a link to Maps on your iOS device as a bookmark, you can use it on any browser (not just the usual Safari).
• You still have the option of keeping the traditional Maps layout; however there is an option to see both images side by side.

The question then remains: With Google Maps only improving and Apple failing, will they ever find real competition? Are you excited about the new changes, or are you hoping to still see Apple or another company come up with something new? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Photo Credit: trickybloggers.com

Amanda DiSilvestro gives small business and entrepreneurs SEO advice ranging from keyword density to recovering from Panda and Penguin updates. She writes for Highervisibility, a nationally recognized SEO firm that offers online marketing services to a wide range of companies across the country.?

The post Google Bringing Street View to Mobile Browsers appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Many individuals have started blogs about the food industry, and the vast majority of companies have some sort of blog on their company website, yet most restaurant websites skip this step. With blogging becoming a more and more popular choice for readers, restaurants should be asking: Why aren?t we getting involved?

Tips and Tricks to Blogging Successfully in the Restaurant Industry

One of the biggest reasons restaurants probably ignore the blogging phenomenon is because they don?t understand how it can help their business. Although consumers might be initially going to a restaurant?s website for the menu, a blog is a great feature. Below are a few different ways that you can successfully utilize a blog on your website:

• Education ? Use your blog to teach your audience about aspects of either the restaurant industry or your restaurant specifically, as well as topics related to your genre of food. Give advice on what you do so that other restaurant owners and future customers can see you as an industry leader.
• Opinion/Newsletter ? Use a blog to give your opinions on different menu items or different things going on in your restaurant. If you?re having an event, write a blog post that describes the event and why people should attend.
• Guest Blogging ? Guest blogging (having someone outside your company submit articles to your blog) is becoming more and more popular as a way to earn backlinks and share information. Take advantage of this and ask your customers to send in guest blog posts that relate to your blog. People will be excited to recommend your website and your networking will only improve.
• SEO ? A blog will ensure that your website has a lot of content. This makes for easier search engine optimization (SEO), or helping your restaurant show up at the top of a Google search engine results page.

The greatest thing about starting a blog is the idea that you don?t have to add content everyday. A blog is simply another way for visitors to connect with your company and learn more about your industry and restaurant. Even if you only update the blog once or twice per month you can still earn the benefits of a blog.

Does your restaurant have a blog on its website? Have you found that the blog has been successful? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Photo Credit: blog.successfulwriting.com

Amanda DiSilvestro is a professional blogger that writes on a variety of topics including Memphis restaurants. She writes for?Restaurants.com, a leading directory of top restaurants.

The post How the Restaurant Industry Can Take Advantage of Blogging (And Why It?s Not Yet Happening) appeared first on The Blog Herald.

What Is a Google Removal Request?

For those who are unfamiliar, a removal request is something that Internet users can submit if they want a page removed from a Google SERP immediately. A removal request can be used if you want to remove content from your own site; however it is most often used when you want to remove content that comes from another site. For example, you may want to remove a page immediately if it holds confidential information such as a credit card number. Copyright holders are also amongst those who take full advantage of Google?s removal request system because more and more websites are offering copyrighted content for the public to read and download.

There are also a few instances where you should not utilize a removal request: If you want to clean up your site and delete pages, remove crawl errors from your Webmaster Tools account, help your site if it?s been hacked, or just start over.

The Removal Request Numbers Google Saw

The month of August came with nearly 6 million removal requests, which is a huge leap in the numbers from last year. According to Search Engine Watch, ?requests submitted to the search giant peaked at 1.49 million the week of August 13, compared to 156,708 in the same time period in 2011.? The article went on to say that other weeks in August had significantly different numbers, including a jump last week from 91,985 in 2011 to 1.42 million in 2012.

Google received thousands of requests from major corporations such as Microsoft (681,227 requests) and NBCUniversal (254,527 requests). So what does this mean for Internet marketers? The real answer lies in whether or not Google will listen to all of these requests.

What This Means to Online Marketers

This spike in requests is significant because it proves that copyrighted or confidential information is being used improperly. This means that online marketers need to be on high alert about when their company is mentioned online. You can do this by setting up virus tool such as McAfee and Copyscape, and even creating a Google Alert for your company name to screen for any potential duplicated content.

Whether or not Google is listening and taking action on all 6 million requests is still unknown; however Google did fulfill 97 percent of the requests that were filed last year between July and December.

You can visit the Google Webmaster Tools to submit a removal request to Google.

Are you surprised by the huge jump in numbers from last year to this year? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Photo Credit: housingwire.com

Amanda DiSilvestro gives small business and entrepreneurs SEO advice ranging from keyword density to recovering from Panda and Penguin updates. She writes for Highervisibility, a nationally recognized as a Top SEO Company that offers online marketing services to a wide range of companies across the country.?

The post 6 Million Requests Sent to Google to Remove Search Results appeared first on The Blog Herald.

How the Olympics Helped Companies Create Great Campaigns and What You Can Learn

Because content and engagement is so important in the world of online marketing, it makes sense to constantly be watching the news and trying to connect a story to something that is occurring in your city (or around the world in this rare case). Below is a list of 5 marketing strategies where different companies took advantage of the 2012 games:

• Create videos that show how your service can connect to the lives of your audience.

Creating video is becoming more and more important for companies because videos can catch a readers attention much faster than a piece of traditional text. After all, YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google, and even Google+ has started incorporating YouTube with the new YouTube app for Google+ hangouts. Most companies create ?how to? videos for their businesses to help explain complicated information. It?s important that you have your audience in mind when creating the video and that you have a call to action, or a reason that the content of the video really matters.

Olympic Example: Many different companies tried to incorporate the Olympics into their marketing videos, but the Procter and Gamble ?Kids? video was one of my favorites. It helps pull in the audience because it explains how and why the Olympics can relate to your life. It shows that the athletes and the games are real, and someone had to raise them.

• Create interactive content and contests.

Nothing draws in people more than something that is interactive. More and more companies have been creating interactive infographics so that visitors can get a customized message, and even content such as polls can get visitors involved in your website. Contests are also a great way to get people to keep coming back to your site and tell their friends.

Olympic Example: Google decided to create what are called Google Olympic Doodles, or little, interactive games that Google users can play in just a few seconds. You can win gold, silver, or bronze, and it?s easy to compare scores with friends. They?re addicting and most certainly catching the attention of many.

What the Olympics Themselves Can Teach Companies about Marketing

• Controversy isn?t always something to be afraid of.

Many new websites get a little bit nervous when it comes to posting controversial content. While this isn?t appropriate for all businesses, being the best in your industry means tell the truth and giving your honest opinion. If there is an issue in your field that?s getting a lot of press, show that you have an opinion.

Olympic Example: Kim Collins, sprinter from St.Kitts & Nevis, was disqualified from the Olympics because he visited his family, which is breaking the rules. Some thought that this was absolutely absurd while others agree with the Olympics decision. Although the Olympics may not have had a choice when it came to getting this story out to the public, they embraced it with open arms. The rules are the rules, and it?s too bad if you don?t like them.

• Pay attention to your competition and create a strategy accordingly.

It might sound cheesy, but no one understands competition better than Olympians. It?s extremely important to always be aware of your competition and then create your strategy based upon where you can really thrive.

Olympic Example: Cameron van der Burgh, South African swimmer, admitted to cheating at the Olympic games. His reason? ?If you?re not doing it, you?ll fall behind.? Now you should never cheat just to get to the top, and we?ve seen plenty of swimmers win the gold while following all the rules, but if this isn?t an example of really knowing your competition and using it to your advantage then I don?t know what is!

Have you seen any companies create a great campaign because of the Olympics? Is there any lesson that you could take from watching the actual games? Let us know in the comments below!

Photo Credit: masterfile.com

Amanda DiSilvestro is a graduate of Illinois State University. Although she graduated with an English Education degree, she found herself working as a full-time blogger at Highervisibility, nationally recognized as one of the best seo firms in the country. Connect with HigherVisibility on Twitter to learn more!

The post What Internet Marketers Can Learn from the 2012 Summer Olympics appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Targeting and social media go hand in hand because people are so willing to offer up personal information on social networking sites—Facebook being one of the most tempting. After all, your friends may want to know what your major is in school or where you’re currently working, and we can’t forget about the all important relationship status and birthday. This information doesn’t seem quite as necessary to share with your Twitter followers or your LinkedIn connections, but Facebook makes it easy to share this information. This information has been huge when it comes to advertisements, but what about targeting organic updates and posts?

Unfortunately, Facebook would only allow businesses to target their organic page updates by a user’s location and language. Although this worked OK in the past, adding more advanced targeting options has been a long time coming—and the time is finally here. Just two days ago on July 31^st, Facebook announced that they will soon be rolling out “Page Post Targeting Enhanced.”

How Facebook Enhanced Targeting Works

In the past, business page admins were allow to make specific posts visible to certain people in terms of location and language. While these two filters will still be an option, there are several other new options that are expected to roll out to all business pages over the next few weeks. TechCrunch explained that a few of these enhanced targeting features include:

Page admins will also be able to see just how many fans would be receiving a message based on a specific filter. This will allow a company to better understand who their fans really are and where their messages are going.

How Your Company Can Take Advantage of Facebook Enhanced Targeting

This is a huge step for online marketers that utilize Facebook. According to Hubspot, “targeted and segmented lead nurturing emails generate an 8% click-through rate compared to general email sends, which generate just a 3% click-through rate.”

Facebook has realized the potential that their network has for businesses as well as users. Not only will businesses benefit from being able to send specific posts to specific groups of people, but users will benefit because their messages will be more relevant. Now that Facebook is on board and users are on board (whether they realize it or not), it’s all up to your company.

Photo Credit: sproutsocial.com

Amanda DiSilvestro gives small business and entrepreneurs SEO advice ranging from keyword density to recovering from Panda and Penguin updates. She writes for Highervisibility, a nationally recognized SEO Company that offers online marketing services to a wide range of companies across the country. 

The post Facebook Rolls Out New Enhanced Targeting Options appeared first on The Blog Herald.

A web host is an important aspect of your company because it controls so much of your social media. There are free web hosting companies as well as commercial web hosts. Since web hosting is so important to your company, it is often worth the money to find a good, quality web host. Below lists a few things to look for when choosing a web host:

Top 5 Things to Look for When Choosing a Web Hosting Company

1. Disc Space/Domain Space – This will depend on whether you want to host one website or many, and whether your website will include things such as mp3 files or a collection of videos. If you have just a normal website, 50 MB should work, but if you have large files you should splurge for something with at least 100 MB of space.

2. Uptime – A web host should guarantee an uptime of at least 99%. There are many web hosts that offer refunds if the uptime falls below 99%, so do not settle for less.

3. Bandwidth – According to Christopher Heng, writer of “How to Choose a Web Host,” most new sites use less than 3 GB of bandwidth per month, so this is a good place to start. Once your site gets more popular and drives more traffic, you may need more GBs, so also check to see how much the web host charges you if you need to use more than your allotted bandwidth. It is a good idea to start small first since you never know when your site will become more popular or by how much.

4. Control Panel – This is the place where you add or delete accounts, view visitor statistics, and make any changes to your website. Many times there will be a demonstration you can try before purchasing a web host, so make sure you feel it is easy to use.

5. Phone Support – Most web hosting will offer support, but it is not always a service where you can call and ask a question. If you ever have a problem, it will most likely be with your computer, so having someone you can speak to directly on your mobile phone will be extremely helpful.

Web Hosting Terms to Know

One of the most confusing things about choosing a web host is understanding all of the jargon that goes along with it. Here are a few keywords to help make sure you have all the tools to pick the right web host:

• Uptime – This refers to the time when the web host is functional.
• Bandwidth – Simple put, bandwidth tells you how much information can be transferred over a connection. In other words, how much can be transmitted from your site to visitors.
• In-house hosting – This is the opposite of web hosting. With in-house hosting, the company manages a server to hold all company data in the office.

Web Hosting Quick Tips and Prices

• Many who have gone with web hosts that promoted unlimited bandwidth still end up getting charged. Often times these web hosts think they can offer unlimited bandwidth, but they are the ones paying for the bandwidth. If you happen to go over because your site is so popular, someone has to pay, and it isn’t going to be your web host!
• Most web hosts only cost $4.00 to $12.00 per month. The difference in price occurs because of the different features listed above, so evaluate your company’s website and pick the features that best fit your business.

Have you had a good experience when working with web hosting? Let us know your experiences in the comments!

Amanda DiSilvestro is a writer on topics ranging from social media to web design. She writes for an online resource that gives advice to small businesses and entrepreneurs for the leading business directory, Business.com.

The post Choosing a Web Hosting Company: Five Things You Shouldn’t Let Pass You By appeared first on The Blog Herald.

1.    FreeAuthNet.com

FreeAuthNet.com is an affordable payment processor which is commonly used for retail stores, restaurants and of course Internet businesses. The company offers low rates and dependable service. FreeAuthNet.com works with processing banks to negotiate the best possible rates available. There is no risk to sign up for FreeAuthNet.com, and clients can cancel at any time without any penalty.

Rates: The discount rate is 2.04 percent, and the per-transaction fee is $0.24. These fees are some of the lowest in the industry. The set-up fee, license fee and application fee are free. The annual fee and the check-by-phone fee are also free.

2.    Flagship Merchant Services

Flagship Merchant Services is affordable and reputable. The company has been recognized by numerous authority publications in the industry. Customers are not required to sign a lengthy contract. Most merchants sign up for a month-to-month service. Clients have nothing to lose by trying the service because there is no termination fee associated with the account.

The account can be canceled if the business suffers financial difficulty or if business owners prefer another credit card processor. This particular payment processor does not have a specific mobile application nor can it accept international credit cards.

Rates: Rates start from 0.38 percent.

3.    iTransact

iTransact is one of the most affordable credit payment processors. Business owners can use the Perl-based shopping cart called RediCart. RediCart is designed to accept credit cards, EFT payments and checks.

Only three small PERL scripts are required to install this cheap payment processor on the website. The header and footer HTML pages are included for quick set up. Cart contents can be tracked with the customer’s IP address.

Rates: There are not any per-transaction or usage fees associated with this payment processor. All payments can be processed through a SSL server. The application is available free of charge.

4.    National Bankcard

National Bankcard is another reputable payment processor in the United States. The tool accepts credit and debit cards from customers. The company has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and is known for providing exceptional service. Currently, the company serves retail stores, ecommerce businesses, restaurants and other industries also.

Rates: Rates range from zero percent to $0.25. The services can be obtained without paying a setup fee.

5.    Merchant Express

Merchant Express is accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and is one of the top-rated credit card processing companies. This company offers numerous solutions for its customers. Both wireless and phone processing are available. Point-of-sale terminals are also offered by this company. Clients have nothing to lose by trying Merchant Express. The company offers a 30-day risk free trial.

Rates: Merchant Express rates are significantly below industry average. For instance, the retail account rates are 1.69 percent, and the retail transaction fee is $0.19. There is no annual fee, no application fee, no setup fee, no programming fee, no monthly maintenance fee, no Authorize.net transaction fee, no shopping cart fee or no overlimit fee.

Photo Credit: lethoff.com

The post 5 Cheap Payment Processors to Help You Take Credit Card Payments appeared first on The Blog Herald.

I thought it would be helpful to compile a list for the blogging community to help those who need to guest post. I have therefore created a list of my top ten favorite blogs to offer up a guest post. I based my decisions on three things:

• Is the editor easy and friendly to work with? I personally feel that this is one of the most important things when it comes to guest blogging because it changes the experience entirely.
• Is the guest post either acknowledged or live in a good amount of time? In my eyes, a good amount of time is within the week. The post does not have to be live within a week, but it’s nice when an editor at least gets back to me and lets me know the status of the article.
• Does the blog get a lot of visitors and activity?

There are also two different kinds of places where many people guest post: Sites where there is direct contact with an editor and sites where there is not. I have split these up into two sections for the guest bloggers who have a preference. And so, in no particular order, a list of some of my favorite guest posting opportunities:

Blogs with Direct Editor Contact

1.Get Busy Media:’I feel as though I am part of the team when I guest post for this website. I am looped in on the emails that ask the staff to promote my content and am always given a big thank you. PR 4 site.

2.Tribal blogs:’Jen is incredibly quick to respond and always thankful to have a guest post. Although still a PR 3, this site has a great design, great content, and a great editor, so it also has great potential.

3.Brazen Careerist:’You always know that the editor Alexis is going to get back to you. Although it will take a while to hear whether or not your post has been approved, I give her a ton of credit for being able to sort through the many posts I know she receives and still taking the time to touch base with each author. PR 5 site.

4.Under30CEO:’Jared is extremely easy to talk with and always gets back to me in an appropriate amount of time. His blog is also a PR 6, and it’s rare to find such an authoritative blog with such an easy going guest posting routine.

5.SEM-Group:’This blog attracts great writers and will work with you to make sure your post will do well in the social media sphere. Gerald is a real social media guru, so I always know my posts will get tons of promotion. PR 4 site.

6.Who Design Today:’While this blog is also only a PR 3, I see tons of potential. It could not be left off the list because Darryl is easy going and attentive.

7.PR Breakfast Club:’Nathan (or Peter as I met him!) treats you as though you are a friend. The best part is that Nathan allows you to have full rights to your writing. He doesn’t appear concerned with search engine rankings or making a ton of money, he just loves blogging and loves the site. PR 4 site.

8.Skyje and Social H:”You get one editor for two sites with Ayman. You email him, he reads your article, he sends you the link when it’s live. It’s as simple as that. And oh, did I mention both sites are PR 5? Very hard to find this type of situation.

9.About Public Relations:’Steven R. Van Hook is interested in more than just your article. I really feel like he cares about his writers, and his site gets great publicity. PR 5 site.

10.Web Marketing Therapy:’Writing for this site does make me feel as though I’m part of a community. Although my articles are not always accepted, I am told exactly what I need to do to fix them by different editors who are all nothing but nice. PR 4 site.

Blogs Without Direct Editor Content

1.’Social Media Today:’The most tweets I’ve ever received on a post. Need I say more? PR 6 site.

2.Lakeshore Branding:’I happen to know that the editor of this site is incredibly friendly and positive about the posts that go through to her site. However, now all you need to do to submit a guest post is just upload it right onto a page for review. PR 4 site.

3.’She Writes:’This is a community of all women (obviously) and you can publish your article the minute you upload it. Easy, quick, and a PR 5 site.

4.Recruiting Blogs:’This site also allows you to upload your article and publish it immediately. A dream for guest bloggers who specialize in recruitment advice. PR 5 site.

5.Business2Community:’I have a feeling that most people are already aware of Business2Community. The site gives you a login, you upload the article, it is reviewed, and it is published all within the time frame of around 24 hours. Not bad for a PR 5 site.

I will add that these sites are simply those I find most pleasant, not easiest. These sites put out what I classify as excellent content, but they do it without needing constant follow-ups and with nothing but kindness. While I have written for others sites that I greatly respect, they might be a bit more high maintenance, which is not a bad thing by any means. Still, it’s nice to have an easy going guest posting opportunity sometimes that will really give you some great visibility, and these sites always provide that for me.  Also if you dont’ have your own guest blogging out reach team and are too busy to do it yourself there are always niche specific  guest posting service sites out there that can take all the hassle of writing content and reaching out to bloggers away from you giving you more time to handle your business!

What are some of your favorite sites to offer a guest post? Let us know in the comments!

Photo Credit: invisibleheartstrings.com

Amanda DiSilvestro is a writer on topics ranging from social media to 401k services. She writes for an online resource that gives advice on topics including payroll companies to small businesses and entrepreneurs for the leading business directory, Business.com.

The post My Top 15 Favorite Places to Submit a Guest Article appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Just the other day and editor explained to me that my content could be featured on the blog for $700, and a few weeks earlier an editor wanted to charge me $250. Naturally, both blogs were very authoritative and had a list of reasons why their blog was so wonderful, but I couldn’t help but think to myself: Shouldn’t you be paying me?

The Pros and Cons to Paying for Exposure

It seemed bad enough to blog for exposure and not get paid, as in offer your content for free, but paying for content seems to bring things to an entirely new level. I can see both sides to the issue, which makes this dilemma a bit harder to solve. On the one hand, paying to put your content on an authoritative site can be very beneficial:

• Paying for Exposure Pros: Your content gets put in front of the eyes of thousands. The site that was going to charge me $700 to feature my content would promote that content to 200,000 social media contacts and it will be seen by over 100,000 visitors per month. Naturally I would do a bit of research to see if this were in fact true, but if so then this is a great way to help kick-start my brand. I can let people know that I was published on this very authoritative site, and that would make me look great.

On the other hand, I keep thinking of reasons that I simply do not want to pay that fee.

• Paying for Exposure Cons: There are quite a few very authoritative websites out there that will allow me to publish my content for free including Social Media Today and Kissmetrics. These sites have turned down my writing before, but in general they are open to posting content that is really valuable to readers. When my writing finally made it to the site, I had almost 400 tweets on each article. If you’re a site that asks writers to pay to be on the site, isn’t there a chance that you’re just getting a bunch of content from rich people and not good writers?

As of now, I have never paid to have my writing featured on a site. I want my writing to be placed on a site that really values my writing, and so far I haven’t gotten that feeling from the sites that ask me to pay for the exposure they have to offer. If I was willing to pay, which I’m not opposed to, I’m not sure how much “exposure” is really worth.

If anyone has an answer to this question or an opinion they would like to share, I’d love to hear some more thoughts on this topic!

Photo Credit: stevecozartphotography.com

Amanda DiSilvestro is a writer on topics ranging from social media to business credit cards. She writes for an online resource that gives advice on topics including 401k plans to small businesses and entrepreneurs for the leading business directory, Business.com.

The post Should a Blogger Pay To Post Content on a Website? appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Unfortunately, there are quite a few things wrong with this picture. Guest blogging is about more than simply getting a backlink. A website should want to guest blog on other websites for several reasons:

• Gain visibility from a new audience.
• Show off your expertise; therefore improving your company’s reputation.
• Educate your target audience.
• Create connections with other editors that are part of your niche.
• You also must worry about the blog where you are posting the article. That blog does not want to be stuck with a stagnant article and an absent author.

In many cases, putting your content and your company name on a new blog in front of a new audience is actually more important than any backlink you could earn. Whether you’re just starting a business or are trying to get involved in the blogging sphere, it is extremely important that an author understands that there are quite a few other advantages that the author should take after a post goes live.

How to Take Advantage of Guest Blogging Benefits after the Post Is Live

More experience bloggers understand that there are author responsibilities after a post goes live, so it’s important understand what you can do right off the bat. Consider some of the ways you can make sure you’re following proper blogger etiquette and taking full advantage of your guest posting opportunity:

Step #1: Promote the article via social media.

When a post goes live, it is very important that the author shares it on all social media accounts. This is a great way to not only promote the article and get more eyes looking at something you wrote, but it’s a great way to offer publicity to the website where the article was published. This will help give you more guest posting opportunities in the future and help your article gain visibility. Try and promote the article on social media networks that are appropriate to the subject of the article. For example, articles about getting a job or recruitment work well for LinkedIn, whereas Twitter is more a place to share things that might be a little out of the box, but you found interesting.

Step #2: Respond to all reader comments on the post.

Some editors get very angry if an author does not respond to reader comments because readers who comment are the ones who usually keep coming back for more. For most blogs, loyal readers are the most important aspect of the business. If someone asks the author a question and the author does not respond, the reader might get upset. Responding to reader comments is also a great way to show all visitors that you know what you’re talking about and that you really do care about teaching something through your articles. You may want to subscribe to reader comments on the site so that you will be notified via email each time someone comments.

            Step #3: Link back to the post internally and externally.

Linking back to a guest post in a future post is another great way to increase the visibility of that post. Linking internally will help drive your loyal readers to your other work that isn’t on your blog, and linking externally will help give you even more SEO benefits. It is important to note that whenever linking back to a post is should be relevant and helpful to readers and not just linking just to link.

Step #4: Keep in touch with readers and the editor.

Keeping in touch with those that have read your article is a great way to open up future opportunities. Find those who commented on your post and the website where you posted the article via social networks. This will give everyone yet another avenue to potentially find your work and find your website.

Although many of these steps require extra work by the author, they are a crucial part of the guest posting process. Many experienced bloggers actually find that what happens after a post is live is much more interesting that what happens before. In other words, don’t feel overwhelmed by all the work that goes along with guest blogging—it’s a lot of fun and is well worth it in the end.

Photo Credit: dcincome.com

Amanda DiSilvestro is a writer on topics ranging from social media to phone systems. She writes for an online resource that gives advice on topics including workers compensation to small businesses and entrepreneurs for the leading business directory, Business.com.

The post Guest Blogging Isn’t Over When the Post Goes Live appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Users were starting to realize that the Pinterest terms and conditions simply were not safe. Since most people do not read the terms and conditions, this problem went unnoticed by many for quite some time. Nevertheless, the truth came out quick to a large number of people; forcing Pinterest to make a change. Below are some of the terms and conditions that caused the uproar:

• When you pin something, you agree that you own whatever it is you pin or have permission from the original owner.
• Pinterest is allowed to sell anything you pin.
• If any legal fees need to be paid or dealt with, you must pay the legal fees for Pinterest.
• Any risk you may be taking by using the site (copyright issues, ownership disagreements, etc.) is entirely your responsibility.

The word was spread quickly by this graphic written by Jon Contino. This caused many to remove photographs or stop using the site out of fear that something would go wrong and they would be entirely responsible for all fees and blame. Fortunately, Pinterest listened.

The Latest Pinterest Terms and Conditions Changes

This past weekend the Pinterest team sent an email message out to all users to help solve the situation. Pinterest decided that they would be changing their terms and conditions and apologized for any inconvenience the terms may have caused. The terms will not be split into three sections: Terms of Service, Acceptable Use Policy, and Privacy Policy

Splitting the terms up into three sections should help make the terms easier to understand for all users. However most importantly, the site is going to change some of the “rules” that had so many users up in arms. Below are some of the changes discussed in the email:

• Pinterest will not be selling any content published on the site.
• Pins that explicitly encourage self-harm or self-abuse will not be tolerated (such as unhealthy diets or bullying).
• There will not be simpler tools for anyone to report any copyright or trademark issues. Every pin will also have the option of a “Report Pin” button to help make this easier.
• New features such as a Pinterest API will be added. This will allow developers and third party services top get involved in the site.

All of these changes will be set into motion on April 6, 2012. Although we still haven’t seen any changes about legal fees or responsibility of the images on the site, this is certainly a set in the right direction.

Will this change the way you use Pinterest?

Amanda DiSilvestro is a writer on topics ranging from social media to payroll processing. She writes for an online resource that gives advice on topics including merchant services to small businesses and entrepreneurs for Resource Nation.

The post Pinterest Listens to Users and Revises Terms and Conditions appeared first on The Blog Herald.

For the sake of a TV show there was obviously some elaboration, but this led me to wonder: What do people really think about bloggers? According to this TV show, there are a few things that were made clear:

• Some bloggers look like what most people would call a “hipster.” Schrute even decided to have one of their employees dress like a hipster and flirt with the bloggers to make sure that they were interested in the product. She spent her day wearing thick rimmed glasses, a top hat, and talking about Zooey Deschanel.
• Bloggers all love technology. They never go anywhere without their phones or computers, and they know how to work them.
• Bloggers have power when it comes to a young demographic. Young people today love technology and they love blogging. If you can get a blogger to praise your product, you will get more publicity amongst the “social awkward cool” crowd of 20 somethings.
• On that same note, they have power when they’re online, but not so much when they leave their computers. Bloggers typically stay inside and write.

Although one of the employees was spotted by a blogger using a different phone than the one they were selling, the grand opening seemed to go well. The store was closed one episode later, but nonetheless the flashy presentation and hipster eye-candy seemed to work.

NBC’s The Office Gives Insight Regarding Bloggers

The more I analyzed some of the things mentioned in the episode, the more I realized there was a slight clash. There are apparently the hipster bloggers who are cool because they are so-not-mainstream, and then there are the nerdy bloggers who stay inside on their computers all day.

Now you and I know that all bloggers do not fit into one of these categories, and I do believe that The Office was only trying to be funny (and it worked). Nonetheless, it’s interesting to consider what others think when I say I’m a blogger. Do people really buy into these stereotypes? Even worse, am I the one who is missing something because I don’t look like a hipster or act like an Internet-obsessed blob?

You can watch the full episode at NBC.com until April 20, 2012.

Photo Credit: nbc.com

Amanda DiSilvestro is a writer on topics ranging from social media to workers compensation. She writes for an online resource that gives advice on topics including business credit cards to small businesses and entrepreneurs for the leading business directory, Business.com.

The post Was NBC’s The Office Correct in its Portrayal of Bloggers? appeared first on The Blog Herald.

1. Work as a blogger for a company. The company will pay you to contribute articles to blogs across the Internet. All you need to do is incorporate a link back to the company for SEO purposes.

2. Do freelance writing/blogging. Many websites will offer payment for quality content.

3. Own and manage your own blog. By owning and managing your own blog you are setting yourself up for a platform for advertisers. However, this takes a great deal of time, money, and work to create a profitable blog.

Now starting a business and creating a profitable blog is a long and sometimes frustrating process. In other words, most bloggers begin their careers as one of those first two options. I am one of the lucky bloggers because I blog for a company who pays me full-time. No matter how many articles I get placed and no matter where they get placed, I know I’m getting paid. Unfortunately, most bloggers aren’t quite so lucky and they have to jump from blog to blog to try and find websites that will pay for content.

However, I can’t help but notice that more and more blogs are beginning to offer links back to a website as opposed to payment. There are, of course, many blogs that still pay for quality content, but slowly more and more are moving away from this idea. This led me to wonder: Is it a good idea to offer content to a blog who doesn’t offer payment?

Top 3 Things to Consider before You Blog for Exposure

This has actually been a huge controversy for quite some time. Many websites and blogs used to make promises to writers about payment and never follow through, so many writers have spoken out about how wrong it is to not pay a writer for great content. I have to say, regardless of the fact that I am a writer, I couldn’t agree more with these arguments.

However, now that many businesses are catching onto the fact that they can get great content for nothing but a link in exchange, finding places to publish your content is becoming increasingly difficult. Even if you do find a website that will pay for your content, you need something to show for it. For this reason, many bloggers are working simply to gain exposure in the hopes of landing a job with a company or build a portfolio. There are a few things I would keep in mind if you’re going to blog to gain exposure:

1. Metrics – If you’re going to blog for exposure, you want to make sure it is for a site that will really deliver. In other words, check the Google PageRank of the site, the social media efforts of the site, and ask the editor questions. See how many unique visitors the site gains per month and ask them what they will do to promote your article and help it rank well on a Google search engine page.

2. Time Limit – You should definitely stop yourself from blogging for free after a certain amount of time. Tell yourself that you will try it for one month, and then if you don’t see any paid opportunities popping up then quite blogging for free. If you really are gaining good exposure then keep it up, but don’t continually extend the time you’re going to “give blogging for free a try.”

3. Savings – It may sound obvious, but you will want to really analyze your finances before singing up to blog for free. Although exposure may lead to a paying job, you must be able to afford getting there.

In general, I would say that I find more authoritative blogs who do not pay for content as opposed to those that do pay for content. I would also say that I have gained a ton of exposure through blogging and it absolutely has opened the door to many well-paying writing gigs. Nonetheless, it took me a long time to gain this exposure. I would not have been able to get to where I am today by blogging for free. It would have been impossible for me to live five months without getting paid.

My advice: blog for free only occasionally. Do not make it a habit. Your writing and your time is valuable, and it deserves compensation. In most cases, no one would ask any other profession to work for free; writers should not accept this kind of treatment unless they know they are getting something (great exposure) out of it.

Do you ever blog for free? Has your experience been positive or negative?

Photo Credit: anatomyofadinnerparty.com

Amanda DiSilvestro is a writer on topics ranging from social media to credit card processing. She writes for an online resource that gives advice on topics including 401k limits to small businesses and entrepreneurs for the leading business directory, Business.com.

The post Should You Forget the Money and Blog for Exposure? appeared first on The Blog Herald.

I would like to preface this list by saying a few things: First, I do not write for most of the editors that I have quoted below, so no use looking up my articles and trying to figure out which editors said what (I know you have a lot of time to do that). Second, the majority of these quotes were not taken out of context; in most cases, this was the only thing written in the email. Third, this is all completely true and was in no way exaggerated or made up (I couldn’t make this up if I tried).

So, without further ado, I give to you the top ten craziest things I’ve heard from editors:

1. (Automated Message) Thank you for emailing *name of blog.* If you sent an article to this address, I will be sitting here wondering why you felt you were too good to read the guidelines.
2. I don’t edit on Fridays.
3. Thanks. I probably won’t email you back because this is a busy time of year for me.
4. In response to the picture you will find on my Twitter and gravatar: Can you send another picture? You look like you may have been drinking in the one you sent us because it looks like you were at a party.
5. You are the f#$%ing s*#%@ !!!
6. Oh…looks like you didn’t see the note at the bottom of the page. I no longer accept guest posts honey. But it’s okay it happens to everyone!
7. After explaining some of the revisions necessary: Anyways, do you want to get coffee sometime?
8. Wow your article is so great! Can you write a few for us every day?
9. Despite the fact that the blog had guidelines for guest posting: You want to post an article on our site? I guess we can take a look…
10. This is really only funny to me because I had no idea what it meant upon first reading. I’m a sheltered American I suppose: If you could do one like that say once a fortnight I would be happy :)

Now I would love to have a little bit of fun with this article. What are some of the craziest things you have ever heard from some of your editors?

Photo Credit: vibranthealthworld.com layoutsparks.com

Amanda DiSilvestro is a writer on topics ranging from social media to credit card processing. She writes for an online resource that gives advice on topics including document software to small businesses and entrepreneurs for the leading business information directory, Business.com.

The post Top 10 Craziest Things I’ve Heard from Editors appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Why I Hate Giving Out My Blog Contacts

• It takes a long time to find a quality website that allows guest posts. It’s hard work, and I don’t think I would appreciate these sites quite as much if someone just handed the contact over.
• It is difficult to get your article posted on a blog, so why would I want even more competition? You never know if someone else is writing about something similar and there may be a select number of guest posts allowed per month.
• Finding a great editor isn’t easy. I have worked with some wonderful editors, and some editors who were not so wonderful. This had made me appreciate my relationship with each and every one of them for what it is. In fact, this is one of my favorite parts about the job. I think going through these experiences is important for a blogger.

So when someone comes to me and says, “I’m starting a small business. What are some good websites that will allow guest posts?” I have a hard time giving up all of my information. I know how many links my contacts allow, how long it will take them to publish my article, and what specific details they like in an article, but it is only because I went through a back and forth with them.

When it comes to the sites that have all of their guidelines explicitly listed on their webpage, I really get irritated. I usually will just point people to that page, but part of being a blogger is being resourceful. If you want to know what sites I contribute to, visit my Google+ page. If you want to know how to submit a guest post, visit the website’s requirements page.

However, after all of the hesitancy and negativity is over, I realize that giving away some of your contacts may not be the worst thing in the world for a few different reasons:

Why Giving Out My Blog Contacts Is for the Best

• The more people you know on a site, the better. If you have a personal relationship with other writers on a website, you can certainly help each other out with comments and social sharing. This will not only help you look good in the eyes of the editor, but it will help ensure that your content gets out to more people. It’s a “the more the merrier” attitude.
• If you give out your contacts to someone, they should be willing to do the same. Once they get more familiar with the process, they will be able to find quality sites on their own. In the end, both people could benefit greatly.
• When I look back to when I was a new blogger, I remember it being somewhat overwhelming. It truly is tough to even know where to begin. I was grateful that I had someone to help get me going, and there is no reason I shouldn’t help others

It may seem a little bit immature to have such a debate about something so simple, but who doesn’t have those moments in their career? It’s easy to fall into this selfish pattern and mindset, so it’s good to take a second and consider whether or not it’s really worth it. What are your thoughts on blog contacts?

Photo Credit: writetodone.com

Amanda DiSilvestro is a writer on topics ranging from social media to employee background checks. She writes for an online resource that gives advice on topics including blogging advice to small businesses and entrepreneurs for the leading business directory, Business.com.

The post Are You Territorial Over Your Blog Contacts? appeared first on The Blog Herald.

I continued to write my own blog posts and as time went on, I found that I was beginning to sound cheesy. I wanted something original, so I would force some extended metaphor onto the article. It started to seem as though this type of language was the mark of a good blog, so I began to adopt this tone. This led me to wonder: Have all the other bloggers done the same? Does anyone really like a cheesy sounding blog post, or is that just expected?

I decided to weigh the pros and the cons of the issue to see if the annoyance is actually beneficial:

“Gotta’ Love the Cheese” Pros

• Grabs Attention – If someone sees a picture of a cute dog, they are much more likely to stop and read the article than if they saw a picture of a bar graph. Getting the attention of readers is the hardest part, so although the article may have nothing to do with a cute dog, the cheesiness makes sense.

• Creative – It can be very difficult to come up with a clever metaphor for a topic that is typically boring. Even though you may sound cheesy, your article will be more creative than the rest. This will help your article stand out and get extra publicity.

• Entertainment – If you want to write an informative article about postage meters, for example, chances are the material will be somewhat boring. A little joke to lighten up the article might help keep readers on the page and have them coming back for more.

“I Can’t Stand It” Cons:

• Audience – If you’re writing about something serious, your target audience is most likely serious. For this reason, trying to spice up something straight forward may actually annoy those who actually want to read the article. They will see it as filler and a waste of time. You should be focusing on your target audience, not capturing the attention of any reader on the Internet.

• Credibility – If you spend most of your article discussing a cheesy metaphor and only a little bit of the article discussing real information, you will lose credibility. If you have nothing to say about a topic, you should probably be writing about something else.

• Confusing – It’s much more difficult to write a cohesive article if you’re worrying about being creative with different examples and comparisons. Sometimes words make sense to the writer, but the reader cannot follow. If this happens, then you will lose your readers entirely—and they probably won’t come back.

Whether or not you want your blog to be cheesy is entirely up to you. There have not been any studies about whether or not this creative tactic works or does not work for the majority of readers, so it’s tough to say which is “better.” I personally think that cheesy lines and metaphors are a waste of my time, but then again I just wrote “Gotta’ Love the Cheese” Pros. When you blog as often as I do, it’s hard to turn it off.

Do you like it when blogs use cheesy titles and metaphors?

Photo Credit: blog.fooducate.com

Amanda DiSilvestro is a writer on topics ranging from social media to document scanning. She writes for an online resource that gives advice on topics including document software to small businesses and entrepreneurs for Resource Nation.

The post Does Your Blog Have to Be Cheesy to Be Popular? appeared first on The Blog Herald.