Q: For our readers that are unfamiliar with HubPages, why don’t you give them a brief description.

HubPages is a social content community where authors write about what they know and love, with over 900,000 topical articles (what we call “Hubs”) published by over 170,000 authors. The breadth of topics, vibrancy of our content base, and constant weeding out of substandard content ensures that great-quality content enjoys quick provisional ranking by the search engines, and a steady stream of revenue-generating traffic for years after publication. Our authors earn via Google AdSense and other advertising-/commission-based vehicles, with many earning hundreds of dollars a month on what they’ve already published, and more than a handful that are earning thousands every month. We’re the 57th largest site in terms of US traffic (according to Quantcast) and get more than 28 million visitors monthly.

Q: As the need for Web content has grown exponentially, so has demand for bloggers. So have empty ‘get-rich promises.’ Sell our readers on why your publishing methods are legit.

Well, we’re certainly not a “get-rich” scheme and never promise that. In fact, it takes diligence and patience to earn on HubPages, but both are rewarded. We are is a site that helps authors realize the lifetime value and retain ownership of their content, instead of surrendering both at the outset. What this means is that writers can publish and unpublish/delete their content at will, and can see a steady stream of income through their Hubs that attract traffic for years.

I’ll use my personal account as an example. I’ve published 140 Hubs on the site over the course of the past 4 years, and have earned a bit more than $7,000 from them (and I continue to earn). I figure that based on the time I spent researching and writing my Hubs, I’ve earned about $75 per hour writing on HubPages (although that doesn’t count moderating and responding to comments, although I find that fun and it’s optional; factoring that in, it’d probably be more like $65 per hour). So, while I haven’t gotten rich from publishing on HubPages, I have certainly earned more here than anywhere else I’ve written online and it’s been enjoyable because I write about the things that actually interest me.

Q: How do bloggers earn money with HubPages?

They earn via the ads served up on their Hubs. Google AdSense is the most popular earning option, and ads appear automatically. Authors can also optionally earn via Amazon Affiliates, Kontera, and the eBay Partner Network. We split impressions with our authors on a 60% (to the authors), 40% (to us) basis.

Q: Since I know many bloggers are skeptical that they can earn real
money from their content, would you mind sharing one or two success stories?

I’ve shared my personal success, but we also profile a handful of the authors who have come out to share their success in our blog’s Payout Chronicles. One story I’d like to share also is of AskSusanPeters, a pet groomer from Oklahoma, who had written hundreds of Hubs on pet food reviews shortly after she started over 3 years ago. Then the pet food recall broke in April 2007, and people were scrambling to find out if their particular brand of pet food was safe. AskSusanPeters’s Hubs were there to share information on many specific pet food products, and she earned about $2,000 that month alone in ad revenue. Her earnings continued to stream in even when she took a year-long hiatus from publishing on the site.

Q: What are three qualities that you believe a strong blogger must possess? What makes a great “hub?”

The ability to write niche “evergreen” content – the kind of informative article that people will be searching for years after they’re published, is one key factor, as is the ability to learn from our extensive lessons in our Learning Center. We are invested in our authors’ success, so we (and other successful members of the community) share best practices that we’ve seen work. Finally, I would say patience is critical, since the earnings don’t happen immediately. Most Hubbers report having to wait 6-9 months before they earn their first $100 payout from AdSense (I had to wait 8 months) but then the traffic and earnings climb.

As for a great Hub, it should be informative, ideally tackling a niche topic that people are searching on, written well, with judicious use of other rich media elements that we enable, including maps, pictures, embedded videos, polls, quizzes, etc. An often overlooked but critically important thing is titling Hubs correctly.

Q: You are nearing 1,000,000 published hubs. Planning and celebrations?

We just passed our 4th year anniversary and our billionth Hub view, but our millionth Hub is a milestone that we’re certainly looking forward to. We’ll have to keep our celebration plans a surprise for now…

Q: What is your goal/dream for HubPages?

We want HubPages to be a household word among those who love writing online, among bloggers who want to write off-blog articles that will enjoy an audience and earn for them for years, and even people who are writing more casual content who would like to experience the joy of having a readership and ongoing ad royalties. I’d love for our authors’ content to be as well-known and accessed as Wikipedia’s.

Interested in writing a hub of your own? Sign up here.

The post All About HubPages – An Interview With Jason Menayan appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Years later, as I made the transition from print media to digital media, physical clip packets evolved into e-mails and links. Not only was it a time saver, but I saved money on envelopes and postage too.

Through the years I picked up more blogging gigs and the world was grand. Who needed newspapers and magazines anyway. The writing seemed to be on the wall: Print was a dying relic, the future of the Web bright. That still might be the case. But suddenly I have the urge to take a step “backwards” and concentrate on scoring more print gigs. Hmmm.

One reason might be purely ego-driven. The printed word, whether on life support or not, gets greater respect in the court of public opinion – even when it comes to young folks. I know this because I will often “sell” myself in different ways to gauge people’s reaction. For example, if I walk into a party and say I’m a blogger for BlogHerald vs. saying I am regularly published in the hometown paper, the latter generates greater interest. Little do they realize that the blogs I write for are far more read than the print stuff.

Another reason that print is still king is that A LOT of people do not understand blogging. Despite the medium growing by leaps and bounds in recent history, many people still write off blogging as drivel about what you ate for lunch.

Finally, bloggers themselves look down on their own medium. Just look at how bloggers flaunt their print work and the story tells itself. They are proud about their blogging accomplishments — beaming over print contributions. These same bloggers also understand that anyone can blog. There are factors that might dictate a bloggers’ success that has nothing to do with their talent/skill level.

The times are a ‘changin, annd as of this moment, print is still held in higher regard than blogging when it comes to most people. What do you think?

Here I am years later preparing an old school clip packet. Go figure!

The post Print Is King, Blogging a Prince appeared first on The Blog Herald.

1) Write about them. Bloggers are not a vain bunch, but they do check their referring traffic on a regular basis. Insult them on your Website and they will defend their honor. Compliment them and they will be thankful.

2) Ask them for help. It’s a generalization but I’m going to go there anyhow; people love to hear themselves talk. The blogging community is a verbose bunch that is passionate about what they do. A clear understanding that reciprocity is what makes the blogosphere work, coupled with the fact that today’s newbie could be tomorrow’s Darren Rowse, increases the odds that a blogger will help you if you are willing to ask.

3) Track them down. I don’t mean in the I’ll-run-a-Whois– and-call-you-at-home stalker kind of way, but by contacting the blogger at an alternate e-mail address or via message board. When you fill out a form you will likely get routed to a general mailbox and get lost in the shuffle.

4) Snail mail. Sometimes you have to go old school to rule new media. Heck, even Twitter employees are passing around paper businesscards. Send a physical mailing that includes a clear message of what you are looking for. You don’t want to buy the blogger off, but including some kind of free item (it should be inexpensive but relevant to your message) can help you be memorable.

Whatever you do, do NOT send a press release, even if it’s personalized. Most bloggers are not idiots. Just cause you plugged in my first name or blog name, I’m smart enough to know you’re working off of a template. Save your time – and mine.

Any other ideas to get a blogger to notice you?

The post How to Get a Blogger’s Attention appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Starting today, Blogger is rolling out the Blogger Template Designer, a tool that will give users much greater control over how their blog looks and operates.

New professional designs, full color control, stock photo backgrounds and HTML/CSS implementation open up the door to the best looking Blogger blogs to date.

The feature can currently be accessed at Blogger’s beta test lab.

Blogger was revolutionary when it launched last century but has failed to win the hearts of many regular bloggers. Miraculously, however, Google claims the number of users has doubled over the past two years. If it weren’t for the strong reaction to Blogger’s recent abandonment of FTP support, I would not have believed them.

This could be the biggest enhancement to Blogger in over a decade, and while it’s an improvement, I would have liked to see the feature released with more than 15 templates.

What’s your take? Is Blogger worth another look?

The post Blogger Rolls Out New Template Designer appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Ideally, that’s where a mentor comes in. A wise and trusted counselor who influences our work and supports us along the way. You know, the older guy who has earned our respect by example. Now all he has left to accomplish is helping shape today’s youth. I’ve yet to find my blogging Mr. Miyagi (See Karate Kid), and I have a few ideas why:

1) A numbers game. Perhaps there simply aren’t enough success stories. Sure there are a lot of bloggers, but how many of them have achieved success and notoriety? With very little room in the penthouse, the number of top bloggers is seriously limited.

2) There’s no time. Blogging is not most people’s full-time job, meaning that would-be blogging mentors don’t have time to commit to taking people under their wing. With the little time they have, they are constantly developing and growing their own blog(s).

3) The load is shot. If bloggers took the time to mentor, they’d have less to write about. Simply put, many bloggers use their blogs as a primary forum to offer advice. If they started to mentor people away from their blog, they’d potentially be stealing their own content.

There are some Websites where you can pay for a blogging mentor, but that’s not up my alley. Last time I checked, Mr. Miyagi never charged Daniel Larusso. A mentor does it for the passion of the sport, not a pay day.

Do you have a blogging mentor? Any ideas on where to find one?

The post A Blog Mentor Is Hard to Find appeared first on The Blog Herald.

My wife, who is a teacher but still takes advanced education classes, recently asked me to help her with an assignment. My job? Read the paper she wrote aloud. And you know what? The tactic that she employs with her second grade class could be beneficial to bloggers.

You might look like a fool, but here are a few reasons to read your blog posts aloud.

DOES THE POST CAPTURE YOUR VOICE?

It’s easy to lose your way when you’re churning out blog posts and juggling a million tasks (on top of your already busy life!). One of the first things writers tend to lose is their tone. By reading your posts aloud you will be able to discover if the words sound like you. Ask yourself: If this post were to get picked up by major media, does it do me justice? Listen to hear if your main points are strong enough and if your arguments compelling.

SPOT GRAMMAR/SPELLING ERRORS

If you read the way I do, you occasionally catch yourself skipping over blocks of text. Call it ADHD or a product of the digital age, whatever it is, it could lead to some ugly errors. By consuming your post in a different format, you get to double-check that the punctuation makes sense. These little symbols exist to bring law and order to our wordy world. Without them we would have chaos.

CHECK THE LENGTH

Maintaining a person’s interest is difficult work (see ADHA reference above!). If you read your blog post aloud and don’t find that you are captivating YOURSELF, then there’s a problem. You can pepper your post with all the stylistic flair and photos in the world, but if the copy reads flat – it is flat. Time for a re-write.

After reading my wife’s paper to her, I asked her to return the favor. I had her read several of my own blog posts aloud, and I found room to improve each one. Reading your own work aloud is great, having someone else read your work aloud is even better.

I’m sure there are other benefits to reading your work aloud. Share your advice and feedback below.

The post Blogging Lesson From the Second Grade appeared first on The Blog Herald.

As I was sitting in traffic this morning thinking up ways to promote my blog offline, it occurred to me that a great opportunity could be staring me right in the face…literally.

What about a vanity license plate?

PROS

Promotion: For a $50 fee and $31.25 annually, my blog’s name will be visible to everyone who spots my car. In this day and age of “Googling” everything that strikes an interest, I’m sure the name might stick with a few people who will search it at a later date.

Forced promotion: Growing up my dad had a vanity plate at one point, it was an acronym comprised of our family member’s first initials. I can recall several times when he was questioned on the plate’s meaning. Every query is a chance to promote my blog to a stranger.

Brand awareness: It also helps raise general brand awareness. When driving 12k miles a year, someone is bound to notice the name. If they happen to see it again down the road, the seeds have already been planted.

CONS

Drivers can “find” me: Anyone who has driven a vehicle knows how a perceived action can turn a mild-mannered individual into a raging lunatic. If that guy thinks I cut him off on Broadway and is pissed off, he might end up slamming my blog – or worse yet – combing through domain records and associations to track me down.

Anonymity shattered: As much as I strive for world blog domination, I don’t want everyone to know what I do in my spare time. A license plate would make it difficult to hide the blog from work colleagues, friends, neighbors, etc. Vanity plates also are easier to remember than random plates, therefore they are more likely to get tied to the scene of an accident – even if you were not involved.

I’ve been going back and forth on the idea. I feel fortunate that my blog name is short and available in my state, but am unsure that I want to take on that level of transparency.

What do you think? Is a vanity license plate a worthwhile vehicle to promote your blog or business?

The post Promote Your Blog Via License Plate appeared first on The Blog Herald.

That genius was Ferris Bueller, the fictional namesake of the ever-popular 1986 movie written and directed by John Hughes.

Time as a blogger flies by. When you’re not busy pounding out quality content, you are researching post ideas, reading about SEO, promoting your work on social networks, etc. At any given point, you are juggling a dozen different balls, and like most of the bloggers I know, you are amazing – because you keep most of them in the air. But there’s one I’ll bet you are dropping.

If you’re a hard-working, trying-to-make-ends-meet, creative-type like me, you are probably so hell-bent on being “successful,” that you don’t take enough time to enjoy your blogging accomplishments.

This thought occurred to me as I accidentally noticed that today marked my 900th blog post (online career advice) and my 1,000th tweet (which has been a concerted effort to bring in thousands of additional readers). I’m also closing in on my 100th podcast.

I don’t tell you this for a pat on the back – why on earth should you care? But I’m telling you so I can tell myself. My blogging advice today is to take a look at what you have accomplished, whatever that means to you, and feel good about it. Allow yourself a few minutes to reflect on what you have built. Because when you start a blog, you are building something, something that was not on this earth until you decided to put it there.

So thanks, Ferris. I’m taking a few minutes to smell the roses, then I’m going to put my head down and work harder than ever before.

The post Respect Your Blogging Accomplishments appeared first on The Blog Herald.

An argument on the validity of the test is for another day. Plus you have to pay (anywhere between $29 – $100) to take the questionnaire. Since most of us are fiscally-challenged, let’s take an unofficial poll. Which personality type do you THINK you are? Realizing, of course, that your self-view might be off the mark.

View the 16 MBTI® Types here.

It’s a lot to read through but worth the time. The better we understand who we really are, the more realistic we can be about our goals and future plans, and that my friend, can lead to greater blogging success.

This morning I’m lumping myself in with the INTJ crowd. Do I have any company?

The post What’s Your Blogging Personality-Type? appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Here’s my blog reading routine.

I log into my work computer, open up Outlook, get my music stream on, and then I start to knock down my “must-read” blogs, one-by-one. It’s an informational breakfast buffet.

After I’m satisfied that I’m in the loop, I start my day “on the clock.” Like most office workers, I experience periods of downtime. It could be waiting for a program to load or for a meeting to start. Sometimes it’s 30 seconds, other times it’s 15 minutes. This is when I visit my “time-killer” blogs; Websites I enjoy to read but don’t find essential to my day.

At night I’ll stuff my face with a yummy dinner and then visit several more blogs. These are in the Not Safe for Work (NSFW) category. It could be that they are too provocative, career-related, or simply blogs that I do not want my employer to know I visit (at least not on their time).

After sitting back and viewing my blog reading habits, I’ve decided that the morning blogs are not only my favorites, but they have experienced the greatest amount of success. The biggest reason they succeed is because, like me, readers feel they MUST read them in the morning or risk being left out of the ‘next big thing.’

If you had to file the blogs you read into categories, what would it look like?

Check back soon. I’ll let you know what all of those “morning” blogs have in common.

The post Blogging: Breakfast of Champions appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Other dog owners have been stumbling across my work and writing me with their stories. In turn, I’ve begun very lengthy e-mail exchanges with other Shiba owners. We laugh about the breed’s inherent traits that drive us batty. We swap stories on how to train the stubborn pups. Overall, I think the e-mail trails are fun to read; valuable to any dog owner.

But that’s the problem. To put it bluntly, I’ve been blowing my blog load behind closed doors – sharing my thoughts with a single person rather than the world. These are conversations that should be taking place on my blog…especially since they are being generated by the blog.

I realize this observation is not groundbreaking. You’re already aware that content is all around us. Today’s conversation spawns tomorrow’s post. However, it couldn’t hurt to take a few minutes today and evaluate your inbox. Go back and look at your e-mail communications with friends, colleagues and readers. I’m willing to bet you’ll find a few ‘lost’ blog posts. Perhaps you’ll even be able to take a few and tweak them for publishing. The inbox that you dip in and out of everyday is really a lost & found for ideas.

Let us know what you turn up!

The post Stealing Blog Posts From Yourself appeared first on The Blog Herald.

When people land on your blog, you should not assume that they will hit your homepage or the landing page you have put so much effort into. That’s why it might be time to consider an FAQ.

I’ve been spending a lot of time defining what exactly my blog is and who it targets. During the process, I’ve realized that I have taken for granted that people will ‘get it.’

An “About Us’ page is important to answer important questions, but you also don’t want to get too long-winded. That’s why an FAQ page, though it might sound very ‘last decade,’ makes perfect sense. You get a chance to get more detailed, without eating into other valuable real estate.

Among the questions it’s important to answer:

Who are you?

What are you blogging about?

Who is the blog primarily for?

How frequently do you blog?

What makes you an expert?

Do you accept advertising?

Will you accept pay-for-play?

Are you associated with any other blogs?

Are there any other blogs you recommend?

Do you employ an FAQ on your blog? Is it something you would consider?

Help us round out the list of important questions to answer by leaving a comment below.

The post Why You Should Add an FAQ to Your Blog appeared first on The Blog Herald.

That’s a lot of noise to cut through. There are several tactics you can employ to help increase your odds of landing a freelance blogging gig. Here are a few that have worked for me. Follow them and you might grab that next gig right out of my hands!

– THE HIRING AGENT IS BUSY, VERY BUSY. In my experience, the folks making hiring decisions for blogs and/or blog networks are busy. They normally wear multiple hats and are subjected to more Web noise then the average person. Unlike typical Human Resources professionals, these people are not trained to hire/fire. Therefore, you must approach them differently. That means no long cover letter or resume attachment.

– PLAY WITH THE SUBJECT LINE. Much like e-commerce campaigns, your first goal is to get the individual to open the e-mail – a major challenge in itself. Your subject line should be concise, descriptive, and unique. If there is a default subject line when filling out a form or clicking an e-mail link – change it. If a job asks you to list the title of the job in the subject line, do so, but put your own spin either before or after the requested information.

– GET THEM TO THE CONTENT. If you are applying to be a blogger, the hiring agent will be most interested in examples of your previous work. If you include a link to past posts, be sure that it is obvious that the post belongs to you when they land on the page. You want to avoid giving the employer any extra work to do. If they have to hunt for answers, they’ll likely just move on to a different applicant. I recommend using a link shortening service. It keeps the e-mail free of long URL’s and it lets you know if the employer actually viewed the page.

I also recommend that you copy and paste your strongest writing sample at the bottom of the e-mail after your closing/signature. People can be wary of clicking links from strangers. Plus you’ll combat a potential broken link.

– TIME IT RIGHT. This one is out of your control, but the bulk of applicants will apply for the freelance blogging job within the first few days that it’s posted. Based on sheer volume, you are likely to get lost in the shuffle. Applying for a job after it has been posted for at least a week might give you a better chance of getting the hiring agent’s attention. Also, I’m a big believer that the first people to apply come across as ‘job board patrollers.’ To me that means they are not interested in a specific job – but any job. And in my world, that takes you out of the running.

– BANK ON BEING GOOGLED. Just accept the fact that an employer will plug your name into a major search engine. It’s your job to make sure that every Tweet, picture and post makes you a desirable employee. Use common sense!

Share your success stories below! How did you land that freelance blogging gig?

The post How to Apply for Freelance Blogger Work (Yes, there’s a right way) appeared first on The Blog Herald.

These stretches of time find me allergic to the keyboard. I suddenly don’t have much to say, and that my (temporary) preference for real-life interaction outweighs the desire to write.

If might be my post-Super Bowl hangover, but I think these periods are happening with greater frequency, and I’m not sure what to make of it. I can only compare it to an old high school girlfriend. It starts out hot and heavy. You guys spend every waking moment together. Next thing you know, you take a “weekend for yourself.” That’s usually followed by ONLY seeing each other on the weekends. Then every other weekend. And then, of course, the imminent breakup looms over your head for several weeks…at least until someone has the courage to step up and call it off.

In most cases, the boyfriend or girlfriend will move on to another person to date. But if I am getting tired of ‘dating’ blogging, who should I move on to? Does blogging have a sexier cousin I should know about?

The thing I find ironic is that these blogging blackouts always come at a time when I NEED the extra income. At a time when I am relying on blogging to open up new doors. Perhaps I am putting too much pressure on myself. Blogging wants a ring and I’m not ready to take the plunge.

So how’s your blog dating going? Please tell me I’m not the only one with trouble in paradise.

The post Are My Blog and I Breaking Up? appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Create Personas. Latin for “mask,” a persona can give the flexibility and creative license you need to take a stance that you might normally avoid. Like an actor on stage you get to ‘ham’ it up, and at the end of the day, return to your normal self. There’s no guilt about what you did or said on stage, because you know what your true morals and beliefs are.

Write as an Inanimate Object. One of my more popular posts had me pretending I was a keyboard.

Writing from a different perspective can open your mind to thoughts you would not otherwise have. It’s an interesting way to tackle a topic you’d like to cover – and you might be surprised by the results.

If you do decide to blog as a character, I would recommend considering a second or third pen name. There are often things we’d like to write about, but understand that everything we publish can come back to bite us. This is where using a different blogging name can come in handy. You still get the authentic, real-life experiences that make blogs great – but without endorsing any ideas with your “real” name.

Do you ever blog as someone else? Is it something you would consider doing?

The post Having Multiple (Blogging) Personalities appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Aditya Mahesh recently blogged about How To Overcome The Disconnection of Working Alone.

And it is going to be the tipping point for me when it comes to blog conferences. I have never attended a blog expo. In fact, I’ve railed against them, chalking it all up as a business card strokefest; a way to bilk your employer out of money and time. Guest speakers talk about things you can read online. Companies pitch their products…and you have to pay to listen?!

But I could be wrong. And I won’t know for sure until I attend one myself. That’s right. THIS guy is looking to schmooze and mingle with like-minded professionals, and there’s probably no better place than at a conference.

I’d love to hear from you! What blog expos have you attended? Was it worth the time and money? And most importantly, what was the biggest lesson you walked away with? I’m searching for one in the New York area during 2010, so if you know of a good one, speak up!

In the meantime, I’ll read up on how to maximize my time at a blogging expo.

The post Is Attending a Blog Conference Worth It? appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Blogging saw a busy week to round out the first month of the new decade. Between the announcement of Apple’s “truly magical and revolutionary product,” the first State of the Union address by President Barack Obama, and Pope Benedict XVI’s plea for priests to embrace the Internet to communicate with followers, I think it might be time to ask the question…

Has blogging peaked?

Think about it for a second, a hobby that was once reserved for an 18-year-old tech geek toiling away in his parent’s basement has become a medium – actually, a media – all to itself.

As the number of blogs on the Web grows, and the number of posts they produce multiply, it would appear there is nowhere to go but up. However, doesn’t everything have a saturation point?

Newspapers are crumbling, terrestrial radio has taken a massive ratings tumble, and even television is no longer the entertainment king it once was.

To say that blogging has jumped the shark, is nutty. My gut tells me there’s still plenty of growth left. But when my inbox is filled with e-mails from the White House and His Papelness is making social networking pleas, I think it’s fair to debate the topic.

The post The iPad, Obama and the Pope appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Citing a drain on their “engineering resources,” the Google-owned platform has made the decision in order to concentrate on new features and improvements in 2010.

According to Blogger Buzz, the official Blogger blog (say that fast three times!), FTP users will not be left flailing in the dark. A migration tool that allows users to shift to a Blogger-managed URL (can be a custom domain or Blogspot URL) will be made available on February 22.

While some users might not be happy about the change, Blogger has been soliciting opinions and advice from their base for quite some time via Twitter.

Are you a Blogger FTP user? If so, please voice your opinion in the comments section below.

The post Blogger Kills FTP Support appeared first on The Blog Herald.

The WordPress Foundation has established as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with the goal of democratizing publishing through Open Source, GPL software.

Current projects being supported include WordPress, WordPress Plugins, WordPress Themes, bbPress and BuddyPress.

Over the next few days donations will be accepted online.

Check out the official WordPress Foundation Website and read a bit more about their thinking:

Philosophy

In order to serve the public good, all of the software and projects we promote should support the following goals:

1. The software should be licensed under the GNU Public License.
2. The software should be freely available to anyone to use for any purpose, and without permission.
3. The software should be open to modifications.
4. Any modifications should be freely distributable at no cost and without permission from its creators.
5. The software should provide a framework for translation to make it globally accessible to speakers of all languages.
6. The software should provide a framework for extensions so modifications and enhancements can be made without modifying core code.

According to founder Matt Mullenweg, the Foundation hopes to gather broad community support. Are you in?

The post WordPress Foundation Launches to Protect Open Source Projects appeared first on The Blog Herald.

It’s actually not a total waste of time…

Writing an acceptance speech will help you take the time to reflect on who you should really thank.

The folks who have influenced your blog and kept you motivated might not be top of mind. Sure there’s God and mom and dad, but beyond that, there are countless other people who teach, cheer and inspire. Some you might know well; others might be virtual ‘friends.’ These are people who have helped shape your blog and YOU.

Robert Downey Jr. recently snagged a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. Rather than the usual acceptance speech junk, he boldly told the world that he had no one to thank. It was of course a joke, but it got me thinking how unprepared I am. I realize I won’t be wining an OSCAR or a Razzie any time soon, but still, I’m the kind of guy who likes to be prepared.

Let’s pretend I just awarded you with the first ever Blog-Heraldy Award (yes, before we hand anything out, we’ll need a better name!). You’re dressed to impress. With the red carpet walk out of the way, the lights dim, and your name is called. You saunter up the stage in a fog. Thankfully, you wrote your acceptance speech in advance. Save us the bologna about not expecting to win. Use the time to pay homage to those who matter most.

What does your acceptance speech sound like?

Type quickly, we’re about to roll the music and cut to commercial.

The post Write Your Blogging Acceptance Speech appeared first on The Blog Herald.

My boss at the time would plead with us to read Reader’s Digest, claiming they had mastered the art of “catchy” headlines.

The way we digest our media has changed, but the tried and true methods of creating a powerful headline have not. Effective elements include…

1) Scare tactics – Warning: Blogging Could Be Killing You

2) Secrets Revealed – How Blogging Makes Me $5k a Month

3) Numbers – 27 Ways to Grow Your Blog

We can go back to the August 1949 issue of Reader’s Digest (see below) and find page-turners such as “High Blood Pressure? Don’t Be Alarmed” and “The World’s Strangest Factory.” Who wouldn’t want to read those!

But in the 1940s there were only a few magazines to choose from. These days, there are thousands of printed publications and hundreds of millions of Web pages. Can all of this fear-mongering, number-dropping and secret-revealing keep grabbing readers’ attention?

Saturation is defined as “the supplying of a market with as much of a product as it will absorb.”

Do you think the way headlines are written will change over the next decade? Or will the same methods continue to yield good results?

Personally, I already find myself tuning out these tactics. However, if I look back at the 2009 stats for my primary blog, over 75% of the stories in my top 20, contained some sort of number within the headline.

What are your thoughts on the future of blog headlines?

The post Using Numbers in Headlines: Is the Game Changing? appeared first on The Blog Herald.

– Mobilize Your Readers. There are dozens of ways people can contribute money.

Musician Wyclef Jean, who’s from Haiti, says you can donate $5 by texting YELE to 501501 and by visiting www.yele.org

You can text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to Red Cross relief efforts. Read more from the Red Cross.

CBS News has a comprehensive list of charities that are offering Haiti aid.

– Keep the Story Alive. After rescue and recover efforts, and the initial Twitter flood, the Haiti story will lose steam. That’s the harsh reality, despite the fact that it will take years for the presidential republic to recover. Do what you can to remind readers that they can help after the initial blow.

– Steer Clear of Politics. We are talking about human lives here, and we should not split hairs over what country is doing what and what different political parties are up to. Let’s just aim to help!

We wish our brothers and sisters in Haiti the very best.

If you know of any additional ways to help, please include them in the comments below.

The post What Can Bloggers Do to Help Haiti? appeared first on The Blog Herald.

During discussions with bloggers, I have found that the average blogger (not a superstar, but not a slouch) earns around $10 per 250-word post. Of course, most people exceed the word count to please their employer. (Heck, this post is contracted for 250 words and it’s closer to 500!).

So we’re looking at $.04 cents a word. But there are other factors that bring down that fee considerably. Here are a few things to consider when trying to determine if a blogging job is worth taking/keeping.

– Do they supply topics?

When I speak with fellow bloggers, I often find that they share a consistant thought: finding topics to blog about is the most time consuming part of the process. If your blog employer expects you to come up with your own topics, keep a watchful eye on the amount of time it takes you to determine what to write about. Also, if you need to get topics approved before writing them, factor in the time you spend going back and forth with an editor.

– Do they want you to supply images?

Another silent time-eater is searching for royalty-free images that have a public-use license. After you find a photo that matches your topic, it is often necessary to crop, correct, or create a new image.

– What blog platform are they using?

News flash: not everyone is using WordPress! Your blog employer might be using a different platform, and that means you’ll have to spend some time learning how to post. I understand that most systems have a quick learning curve, but as soon as you are asked to login to a system – any system – you are using up your time.

– Assigning categories, tags and SEO.

It takes mere seconds per posts, but if you are writing a lot, that time can quickly add up. A strong blogger will devote time to these areas, and therefore should build it into their required compensation.

Each of the aforementioned tasks will take different people different amounts of time to accomplish. In the case of THIS blog post, here’s my time breakdown.

TOPIC: 10 minutes
IMAGE: 5 minutes
WORDPRESS LOGIN: 1 minute
TAGS, etc.: 1 minute
WRITING/EDITING: 20 minutes
PROOFING: 8 minutes

That’s a total of 45 minutes. Now if I was making the average $10 per 250-word post, I’d be at around $7.50 an hour. Is that worth my time? Only I can answer that question.

There’s an abundance of writers waiting in line to take your blogging gig. And the fact that they’ll take half the money you earn and write twice as well, doesn’t help. Before you go demanding more money, be sure to approach cautiously and be ready to back up your worth with real data (traffic increase, comment generation, industry standards, etc.).

Are there any methods you use to determine if freelance blogging is worth your time? Or are you simply happy to have the opportunity to make a few extra bucks doing something you love?

P.S. – I forgot that I’d also need to minus out the 4% that Paypal keeps! So in total, if we pretend I’m earning the ‘going’ rate, I’ve earned $7.20 for around 45 minutes of my time writing a 500-word blog post.

The post Calculating Your Worth as a Blogger appeared first on The Blog Herald.

Seeing your work in print no longer guarantees wide distribution. There are plenty of blogs and Websites that get traffic a published author can only dream of. It might be gratifying to see your name in print (at least it will be for your parents), but it is no longer a benchmark of true success for a writer.

American entrepreneur Russell Simmons, co-founder of the hip-hop label Def Jam, once told me that if you want to be something, just be it. If you want to be an artist than create art. If you want to be a lawyer then read law books and start acting like a legal eagle. His point was that advanced education and assigned titles should not be road blocks to achieving our goals. So if you want to be a writer, all you have to do is write. And yes, blogging is writing.

I’ll give the character from Julia & Julia a break; I believe the movie takes place in 2002, and at that point, blogging was not the beast it is today.

That’s my take, now I’d love to hear yours in the comments below. How do you define being a writer?

The post How Do You Define Being a Writer? appeared first on The Blog Herald.

And like any strong institution, The Loeb Awards are evolving. This year marks the addition of a new category, Online Commentary and Blogging.

According to an e-mail from Loeb Awards Program Manager Jonathan Daillak, “The new Online Commentary and Blogging category was created to specifically recognize the excellence in analysis and commentary that originates online as it contributes to the mission of the Loeb Awards.”

If you know a business blogger who has wowed you, submit an entry here. Hurry! The deadline is February 1, 2010.

The panel of judges doesn’t have a single slouch on the panel; participants include execs from CNN, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, LA Times, and more. So be sure to only enter a blogger who has had “excellence in analysis and commentary that originates online.”

Entries will be based on news value, originality, reportorial quality, writing quality, analytical value and production value/visual impact.

The post Loeb Awards Add Online Commentary and Blogging Category appeared first on The Blog Herald.