Pinterest is an emerging social network which allows it’s users to share and organize the photos in different boards or groups. It enables its users to connect to both their Facebook and Twitter friends.

When we ourselves first used Pinterest, we felt it was mainly meant for the women. But after we started using it, it gave us an clear idea of how beneficial it is to us and our blog.

So below is an Infographic by JMBlock, which describes few ways for Men using Pinterest and maintain their manly-men card:

Infographic

Source

So how do you use Pinterest and for what purpose?? Drop your answers in the comment section

Thanks for reading

Previously I wrote about a tiny Chrome Extension which allows you to to access your blog stats without logging into Dashboard. This extension is a time saver, but I wanted some more extensions which allows me to be more productive on WordPress.

So I found few more extensions which will surely help in saving your time and increase productivity on WordPress. Before having look at the below extensions maks sure you have :

1. Enable the Remote Publishing:  Got to your blog’s Dashboard-> Settings -> Writing -> Check both “Atom Publishing Protocol” and “XML-RPC ” as shown below :
2. Chrome Browser

Here are the 4 Best Google Chrome Extension for WordPress:

1. WordPress Stats

This is the extension which will save your time by providing you access to your blog stats. It supports both WordPress.com Free blogs and Self Hosted WordPress blogs. You can read it more about here ~>[How To] Access WordPress Stats via Chrome Extension

Click here to Install WordPress Stats

2. WordPress Checker

WordPress Checker checks for the New Comments, Spam Comments in your blog and notifies as shown above. You can add multiple blogs in the options of the extension by right clicking on the WordPress Checker icon.

Click here to Download WordPress Checker

3. Delectable

Delecatble turns your blog into a Delicious kind of bookmarking site by allowing you to post the current link of the page you are viewing with Title and tags. It also supports WordPress.com blogs and in this extension you need to add the login details and the XML-RPC url of your blog.

Click here to Download Delectable

4. RemotePress

RemotePress is a simple chrome extension which allows to write and publish the post without logging into the Dashboard. Currently this extension allows only publishing of post with Title and Body, but this extension will soon have many features, so make sure you install this and stay tuned with it’s upcoming features ;)

Click here to Download RemotePress

=======================================================================

If you’re a Firefox fan then have a read here => Top 10 Firefox Add-on for WordPress 

So friends, which chrome extension would you love to use more and why ?? Hit the Comment Section. Thanks for Reading

Hello friends , I’m very much glad to say that today WordPress completes 8 years of Blogging service and hence all it’s users are enlightened with regular use of this open source web application.

WordPress, the ultimate blogging platform which has turned many bloggers ( both part-time and full-time) enhance their blogging skills and hence earning $$ to quit their daily job.

Before blog was used as only personal dairy and hence was limited to access to only those persons who wants to share their personal information, but things have changed now, now bloggers blog to earn money  through various channels like Google Adsense, Affiliate Marketing and more services and hence improvise their writing skills.

WordPress was first released by Matt Mullenweg in May 27,2003 as a fork of b2/cafelog. [via: Wikipedia ]

Matt Mullenweg : WordPress Founder

Matt Mullenweg started blogging in 2000 and was very much frustrated with the existing blogging  standards and hence started with his own idea of creating a blogging platform using the b2 codebase which was used by his current blog. Later in the year 2003 on May 27,2003 he released his own blogging platform “WordPress” and below is the screenshot of the WordPress.org site which allowed users to download the first release of WordPress 0.7 and WordPress 0.71 Gold is still available for Download in WordPress Release Archive.

Matt recently posted in his blog that he’ll be on his soapbox on Friday, May 27th 2011 (Today) at 12:00 noon to chat about the following points :

• WordPress Redesigning Journey of 7 years
• His views on Advertising and how it is employed with WordPress
• His philosophy on the decision making process when adding, removing or changing the functionality of WordPress
• His effort to fight against spam and the recent incident which WordPress experineced
• His thoughts and excitements towards HTML5 and Twitter

[via : Zurb]

To catch the live stream of the event you can subscribe to http://justin.tv/zurb

You can still know more about Matt Mullenweg from his own blog => Ma.tt

Thanks to WordPress

I would love to thank Matt Mullenweg for creating such a fabulous blogging platform and hence enabling us to express ourselves in the form of variant blogs.

Now I feel it’s time to show some Love to WordPress, here are few ways to show your true love to WordPress :

1. Add WordPress badges to your Twitter/Facebook Profile using Twibbon , as I’ve done with my Twitter profile => @gupshupblog
2. Cast your votes to WordPress for being the most free web application here.
3. You can create your own free blog at WordPress, by signing up at WordPress.com
4. Last but not least you can share this post with your friends and hence spread it

HAPPY BLOGGING

Many of the Internet users might know what a blog is but, not legion of members might be aware of proper and profession marketing of the blog. A blog is just similar to a normal site. You can load your blog with your very own matter. Many people govern their blogs to distribute their own entries.

It is an absolute thing to admit your posts released on the World Wide Web, enabling your work to be viewed by everyone. So you get hands on a blog or website together and like to market them, moreover turn it into an advantageous blog. Accordingly how will you drag viewers and have every element in your blog to make them coming back for additional information?

You are instantly an amateur blogger, but you choose to use your blog to make it to reach the further step. Weblog Marketing is the next point towards turning each blog into a blooming weblog.

Marketing your blog properly in all respects is the key to win your web marketing race as having an immediate online channel, which you call it as A Blog.

There are considerable tactics for enabling your blog to get promoted, moreover accepted by rest of people around the world. This is frequently bewildering for someone together with, instead easy for rest. If you initially had an advantageous blog then you appreciate the techniques wanted. You get on hands to familiarize your blog. This is the location where weblog marketing reflects in.

1. Strong interest plus enthusiasm

Your weblog quality content must be concentrated on the needs of your element category or the focussed niche which can serve the best. Because we all are aware of the fact that information is king. That is the only thing maximum visitors are willing to visit your blog again.

Enjoyable, concentrated content handed over with strong interest plus enthusiasm. All your weblog entries will hold on a certain field, thereby consistently communicating with your weblog users.

Alternatively, you shall deliver effective quality content in your blog on matter in which your prospective users will be interested.

2. Advance Vivid Control of SEO

Understanding what Search engine optimization is, along with the fact that how you may employ it will lead to awesome achievement. If you don’t have enough content with respect to constitute your weblog and it is not possible to dream about a great successful. Confirm as legion SEO tips and logics as attainable.

3. Focussed On Your Niche Blog

My Next suggestion could be easily entertaining. As long as you are functioning on your fans base, plus looking to learn traffic, you will particularly find out that allocation words on websites which are focussed niche to your own will assuredly avail.

Choose a blog that is favourably other to the matter thesis of your weblog or coordinated to it and leave comments. Number people viewed these comments moreover kick on who wrote it, moreover then they will then be connected advice to your weblog.

4. Bookmarking

Other chief channel is to bookmark your weblog in barely some of the most demanded social networking websites. For instance consider social bookmarking sites like, delicious.com, stumbleupon.com, digg.com etc.

Note that, you do not spend your duration in networking your blog in legion of these networking websites. You barely rely on Social bookmarking sites, to submit your blog to some of the top acting bookmarking websites to admit in extremely large users to your blog.

Thus these 4 were considered as most useful tips to Market your blog.

If you have anymore to share please hit the comment box now We respect your view!

We all know that whatever we tweet on twitter will get indexed and is displayed in Google search engine results pages. The individual tweets can now be viewed as a unique listing in Google search engine which can affect your rankings by sending visitors to your website.

The outbound tweets to be promoted must be SEO optimized by adding niche keywords to these tweets. These tweets can be crafted to be unique until and unless it is not considered as spam from other users. If you are able to get visitors to your blog from Twitter which is indeed an SEO advantage that you cannot afford to miss.

Tech Link: Top 40+ Twitterrific Google Chrome Extensions

Twitter adds many advantages to your blog if you use in right way and proper manner. Well here are the few killer tips which can make your Tweets popular and SEO friendly.

1. User Name / ID

While choosing a twitter username, make sure it is relevant to your blog or website and  easy to remember as it is the part of the SEO title for the tweets appearing in Google search engine. You should handle Twitter name strategically. This is the first and most important step to make your tweets SEO friendly.

Tech Tip: For example, Our blog is Tech18 so the twitter name is @Tech18Blog . What if we had some asdf as twitter ID? Will it make sense?

2. Twitter Bio

Your Twitter “bio”, is actually your meta description. Make sure to include keywords as compared to meta description of your website/blog. Twitter bio acts as best source for SEO.

3. Show URL

Do not forget to display URL of your blog /website prominently on your twitter profile page. This will eventually increase the organic traffic as people often click the URL for seeking more information. It is important to note that this link does not provide any SEO link juice due to a “No follow” attribute in twitter.

4. Twitter Page Description

Use target keywords on your profile page and make sure to use keywords in your Tweets. Do not forget to use “#” key in front of the important keywords in your tweets as it acts as a SEO keyword in Twitter.

5. Inbound Links

Just post articles with an anchor text link to your Twitter profile on article syndication sites. This strategy helps in boosting your profile’s page rank.

Tech Tip: Increase in your profile page rank will indirectly have a effect on your blog ranking as your profile linked to it

6. Followers

If you have lots of quality or loyal followers you will be popular among the twitter users, which will eventually boost page rank of your profile page.

Tech Tip: More the number of  quality users, the more RT’s

7. Twitter Link in your site

Place Twitter profile Link in footer or sidebar, which is accessible via every page. If any of your blog visitor likes your blog, they may like to follow you on twitter as well. This will increase your online identity and hence increases number of followers on Twitter.

8. Follow Related Theme Profiles Only

Search engines increases your twitter profile link juice when you are able to get followers from good PR twitter profiles. Make sure that you add only those twitter users that are related to your blog content or  tweets on similar interest. This will increase number of RT’s and thereby traffic of your blog.

Tech Tip: Try to RT the tweets related to your theme. This may force your followers to RT your own post

9. URL Shortening

TinyURL, bit.ly, tr.im, su.pr are some of the popular URL shortening services that redirect users to the real URL via 301 (permanent redirect) and provide backlinks to your content. Search engines do not index these url shorteners, but index and pass PageRank to the actual URL’s instead.

10. Tweet Title

The most important SEO aspect  of your post for consideration is the first 27 characters. It’s this first part that becomes part of the <TITLE> on your Twitter static pages. Twitter uses the following <TITLE> format:

Twitter / Your Username: 27 Characters..

Tech Example: Google Chrome version 6, 7 and 8 by this year end! http://su.pr/24kdMC

In the above example, the main SEO keywords are “Google”, “Chrome” and “Version”. If you count the letters, all these three words comes within 27 characters.

The same SEO rules that you apply to write optimized titles for the post must be used for twitter tweets as well. The only difference is that you have a restriction of 27 Characters as compared to 65 Characters in Blog Posts. For optimized tweets use keyword rich Titles within first 27 characters.

11. Keywords in Tweet content

Twitter does not allow you to tweet for more than 140 characters. Instead of automatically shortening the links on twitter.com, it is strongly advised to use URL shortening service like bit.ly (as said in above point). Once your URL is shortened, you have much more space to include more target keyword into twitter content.

Tech Tip: again! DO NOT forget to use “#” key in-front of the important keywords.

12. Hashtags

Hashtags are similar to keyword meta-data. Basically, these are tags that  help those who seek similar content and  discover your Tweets. They’re like tags on Blog, only added inline to your post. Hashtags are created by prefixing a word with a hash symbol: #hashtag. This will help the visitors to view your tweet around a particular topic.

13. Re-Tweet strategy

An indexed tweet provides 27 characters or so for title post excluding twitter username. Make sure your tweet’s character limits allow for optimal re-tweets. It is important to keep the tweet under 100 characters, allowing your followers to add “RT @Tech18Blog” in front of the tweet.

14. RT username deletion

If your post starts getting many number RT’s in chain, it may exceed twitter rule(140 characters). Many a times link will only get deleted. To show link some of us delete all the “RT @Tech18Blog”  text before re-tweeting into the Twitter Network. But it is not advisable, as the strategy could have adverse impact on your twitter profile pagerank. Instead you can add the RT @Tech18Blog at the end of the Retweeted content.

15. RT others posts

This is the most important part for getting huge twitter traffic. In order to get more traffic and relevance to your tweet make sure that you re-tweet other blog articles and encourage your followers to share (re-tweet) your Twitter content. Keep in mind the Re-tweet strategy discussed above.

16. Direct Messages

Many of your followers may not be subscribed for RSS feeds in your blog. So they may not be knowing whether you published any new post. So its advised to send DM’s / Direct Messages to your loyal followers, which can get more views and RT’s of your post.

================================================================

These are the best tips which each and every twitter user as well as blog owners should follow to SEO optimize your tweet. Personally we advice everyone to follow these tips.

Are you following all these tips? What you feel? Anything missing here? Please let us and everyone know about it. Have a tweeting day ahead

As we discussed before Facebook is having some or other problems everyday and in news for almost two or three months. In our previous post also we explained you one of  the big mistake by Facebook.

At the same Facebook is coming up new features everyday, which is making it to stay on top the social network. This time around we got to know its cool feature “Facebook Questions”, that allows user to post questions and get answers from the entire Facebook Community.

“Facebook Questions,” as the beta, or test, product is called, lets members “tap into the collective knowledge” of other members, Facebook’s director of product management Blake Ross said.

Facebook Questions is a beta version and it is available to selected users only. These selected members will see an “Ask Question” button at the top of their homepage.

“Since we like to develop products carefully over time with your help, Facebook Questions is available to a limited number of people right now, and we’ll be developing it rapidly based on their feedback. We’re aiming to bring this product to all of you as quickly as we can.” Ross said in Facebook Blog.

Following are few notable features in Facebook Questions.

1. Quality answer for your Questions

Facebook has recently reached 500 million users mark, which covers 80% of the world’s population. Don’t you think at least a one in 500 million can answer to your question?

Of course this is a great move by Facebook. It may find few big rivals like Yahoo! Answers, Ask.com etc. Still it all depends on how it going to get changes.

2. Ask whom you like

Yes, this time Facebook has given a chance to its your user. They can fire a question to there friends group of to whole community. For instance, if you have a question about what type of camera you should buy, you could tag it with “Photography.” If you want to find the best bike routes in the area, you might tag it with “Cycling.”

The questions you ask will be shown to people who have expressed interest in the particular topics you tag, as well as to your friends and friends of friends.

3. Explore any Topic

Tagging themes also helps others benefit from the knowledge of everyone on Facebook. For instance, if you’ve always wanted to learn more about technology, social life or even how to train for a interview, Facebook Questions lets you see what others are asking about those subjects.

You can browse answers from people with deep knowledge on a topic or click “Follow” under any question to receive a notification each time someone submits a new answer.

4. Publish on wall

If a user posts a question, a small link referencing the question shows up in the “recent activity.” At the moment, Facebook Pages are not able to publish the questions onto their walls, a place that showcases all of the page’s activity and is a resource for users.

Being able to publish questions to the wall will let everyone to track a questions more easily and will feature questions in a familiar setting for easy interactions.

Tech Tip: The feature would be better if it was integrated with profile and page walls.

5. Like and Comment

Like any content on Facebook, users will expect to be able to comment on Questions and “like” them. Users are able to mark questions as either “helpful” or “unhelpful,” and these notes are tallied next to each question. But it isn’t the same as the familiar “like” functionality. Commenting is especially crucial, but is limited to answers of users your are friends with.

6. Type of Question

User can ask any kind of question, and they have the feature of adding a multiple answer kind of questions as well.

For an instance, if you to plan for  a trip and need to ask all your friends. Will you go and write on each and everyone’s wall and ask? How about having voting kind of question with Yes and No buttons? Isn’t it useful?

7. Analytics

Analytics will especially be important to brands using the feature on their pages. Brands will want to track and learn how to best engage their audience with Questions and most effectively use the feature. This would include tracking the number of people who responded to a poll question, how many followers a question received and similar metrics.

8. Post photos in Photo Questions

User can even ask a question by showing some photo. Isn’t a cool feature? Just imagine you want to ask a question to your friend on the photo they have added. You can use this feature right?

====================================================================

Well these are the best features which each and every user should know about Facebook Questions.

Even Google earlier this year bought Aardvark, a “social search” service that relies on a user’s social network contacts – including their Facebook contacts – to provide answers to questions. May be Facebook Questions will challenge to Google’s Aardvark. Let us wait and watch more space about it.

Got any new feature and like to be added under your name? Please do share it using our comment box and we will add it. Sharing is also Respecting

Last week, we posted an article on the “9 Must-Do’s of Professional Blogging”. Well, we can’t just talk about what to do, without talking about what Not to do, can we? So here it is “9 Do-Not’s of Professional Blogging” =D

1) Don’t Steal

< credit >

The actual word is “plagiarize”. This is something we have to emphasize on. Stealing of content is a definite No-No! If you did your research, and obtained a part of your content from elsewhere, make sure you give credit accordingly.

Tech tip: when you use images from Flickr or other sites give credit just below the image as we give in < credit > tag

2) Don’t Spam

< credit >

If you’re going to send your readers updates on your blog via their emails/selected medium, make sure that they are expecting it. (On a side note, make sure you make it easy for them to unsubscribe too.)

Sometimes when your users comment on the post, check are they provided proper mail ID with gmail, yahoo or other well known mail ID providers. Some one can simply comment with abc@abc.com. These are spams. Be alert and move them to spam list as soon as possible

Tech Tip: have a look at the commenter’s blog as well. They may add non-existing  url’s.

3) Don’t Neglect your Readers

If you don’t want to engage, Don’t. Engaging your audience takes time and effort. If you’re not going to be there, don’t encourage your readers to leave comments that you don’t intend to reply to.

If you are getting comments on your post, its better to reply to that on same day or with-in 2 days. This makes your readers feel that you are genuine author who respects the readers.

Tech Tip: reply to comments with-in 2 days

4) Don’t Confuse your Readers

< credit >

Your blog has a theme. All blogs do. And the reason readers come to your blog is because they are interested in what you have to say regarding the said theme. Make sure your message is relevant to that theme. Don’t confuse your readers by giving them content which they didn’t expect. (Likewise with misleading titles)

5) Don’t be Mean

No matter how strongly you feel against something/someone, don’t vent your anger or displeasure on your blog. Understand that if your blog is a professional one, it is a part of the company’s or the brand’s image. If you have an opinion, it’s okay to voice it out and stay opinionated. But make sure you don’t come across as intentionally hurtful.

Tech Tip: DO NOT give link to other blog in negative way! Better leave a comment in professional way by asking “if i am correct me” Makes good sense right?

6) Don’t do “Me Too” posts (Not too Often)

People come to your blog because you hold content that can’t be obtained anywhere else. If most of your posts are complementing other posts and just agreeing with them, without the slightest hint of having a unique perspective, then you’re not very interesting.

Tech Tip: Explore about the topic before posting!! Make unique post and get visitors!

7) Don’t be a Hypocrite

Practice what you preach. Or at least, really try to. Showing people that you walk the talk can often be the most convincing way to prove your point.

Tech Tip: write a post such a way that readers feel like chatting with friend

Don’t “Over-sell” your Blog

Okay, so you have written a post that you feel good about. You post it. Then what? You advertise it via the mediums available to you (E.g. on Twitter and on Facebook.) So far so good. But when your stream starts showing the same post over and over again, it starts to annoy. Try to moderate your “selling”.

9) Don’t include a background tune

Have you ever visited a blog where a tune starts playing in the background? I have, and it catches me off-guard. My ears don’t expect to be invaded by pleasant tunes all the time! Also, the songs that one person enjoys may not appeal to others. It can really deter your readers from spending more time on your blog.

Tech Tip: Don’t add annoying graphics or songs that may end up irritating your readers when they visit! There may not be a next time~

===============================================================

Here’s you go, the 9 Do-Not’s of professional blogging.. If you’re guilty of any of the above, time to stop. Like.. Now. Hope this helps~

Do you have any points to add to the list? Leave a comment! We would love to hear from you Cheers!

Blogging is a great way to share your views with people. However, what are the rules? What is acceptable and what isn’t? What violations should we avoid and what can we do to effectively broadcast our views?

The truth is there really aren’t any rules. What we can say, however, is what we personally observe as effective. On that note, here are our “9 Must-Do’s of Professional Blogging” *Mouths swishing noise for added effect*

1. Include Links

Try to include links to interesting/relevant content. It helps new readers to your blog keep up with the progress of your content! It makes it easier for people to navigate around your blog and at the same time, URL’s are extremely useful for  SEO (Search-Engine Optimization).

2. Give Credit

< credit >

If you get some of your resources from another person/location, give credit accordingly; it is just common etiquette.

If someone has helped you out in your blogging career, say thank you. Let people know that you appreciate them.  (On that note, I’d like to thank Sunil (@gupshupblog) for allowing me the honor of blogging on Tech18)

3. Be Transparent

< credit >

Blog from your own perspective; your views are what people are reading for. Your honest thoughts can be the best of contents. As my friend, Jason Viglione (@jayvig) puts it, “Build relationships. It starts with trust. Trust starts with the transparency.”

4. Make it Easy for Readers to Share Your Posts

Okay. So you have wrote a great post. It is attracting lots of readers. But when it comes to sharing the post, we are forced to realize a cruel fact; that there is no “retweet button”!

Making it easier to share your posts on different platforms is definitely a plus. Many a time, whenever I come across an interesting post, and when my RT senses are tingling, I get turned off by the fact that the only way I can share the content, is by doing so manually.

If your blog doesn’t have those features yet, it’s time to get them. Really.

5. Ask Questions

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could hear from your audience? Engaging your audience can help you identify them and understand what they think about your content. In the long run, it can also help build up a loyal fan base!

But how would you accomplish that lofty goal? Here is what I do, at the end of every blog post, I ask my audience a question related to the post. I’ve had cases where these engagements end up sparking off more interesting topics!

Communication is a two way street. Both sides need to have a voice. Ask a question. Spark off that conversation. And listen to what your readers have to say.

6. Research

There are two sides to this; research for content and research for inspiration.

People need to know that the content they get from you, is reliable and of quality! Do your research. Make sure that the info on your blog is as true as the Sun. =D

On the other hand, do your research beforehand. Read from other blogs and talk to people. I’ve found that my greatest arsenal against the writer’s block, are often gotten through plain, solid research.

7. Illustrate Your Content

Employ the use of pictures and videos to help illustrate your point. Let’s face it; a sea of words can be extremely depressing and boring. With the help of relevant, preferably colourful pictures, and captivating videos, you can capture your audience’s attention and relay your message more effectively! And that, my friend, is a “WIN”.

8. Check for Errors

< credit >

Read and re-read your posts for spelling and grammatical errors. It may just be me, but the grammar/spelling-nazi in me will never condone such atrocities.

Tech tip: For an easier time, I use Microsoft Word’s grammar and spelling check.

9. Have a Catchy Title

They say that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. I ask, “then what can we judge it by?”

The fact remains that people will always judge a book by its cover; especially today when there are so many to choose from! There are many factors that contribute to whether or not a post is read; and amongst them, ranking at the top, is the title.

A good title effectively tells the potential reader what the post is about. It also provokes the potential reader and forces him/her to raise an eyebrow uncontrollably due to an intrigue so intense that it can trigger the said response.

Tech Tip: I have also noticed that good titles that have a quantifying factor, like “9 Must-Do’s of Professional Blogging” often attract more attention. =D

10. Point Forms!

This point is proposed by @whiztechy. It is important that your posts are easy to read. Having point forms to simplify the layout can be a great idea!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Well, there you go. I hope you find this useful in your quest for blogging greatness! I will be posting on “9+ Don’ts of Professional Blogging”! Be sure to check back then~ =D

Do you have anything to add to the list? If so, please post a comment! we will add it to the list under your name~ (we would love to hear from you!)

Blogging is an extremely useful medium to share your thoughts and views with people. And it really doesn’t take much to begin~ Anyone can step into this field easily by just creating a blog (Check these out if you’re interested in creating a blog> 5 things to know before creating a blog and 10 tips to make your blog complete) via a blog host site like WordPress.com or Blogspot. You can even host your own page!

And that’s really all you need to get started. For tips on writing a successful blog post, check this out: How to effectively write a blog post

I’m a new blogger myself. As such, I’m about as qualified to proffer advice on blogger as an over-caffeinated chipmunk. Instead, I’ll be sharing with you, my personal experiences and how i deal with them~

When I started writing, one of my greatest fears, was the possibility of running out of topics. If you share that fear, you might be interested in checking out my “10 ways to overcome Writer’s block” (True story)

1. Write about your passions

< credit >

Choose your topic wisely. Love what you write and write what you love. I have found that by focusing on your passion, you  can generate good quality content on a regular basis.

I mean, it’s what you love, you should know more about it than anyone else! Why shouldn’t you have more to write about?

2. Be yourself; write about yourself

Transparency is something you often see in many blogs which attracts more readers. However, it can also help you to fuel your creative juices . Pay attention to what you feel and what you observe, then write about it. You’ll be surprised!

3. Research

< credit >

This is an old trick , but that doesn’t make it any less true. Follow these steps to successfully research on any topic of your interest :

• Read up on relevant articles.

• Check out interesting videos.

• Actively search for topics or viewpoints that are similar to your topic. They don’t have to be in tune with your message. They just have to be relevant. Some of the best articles I’ve read are good debates on concepts and ideas!

Note: Be sure to link back to the original content though~ It’s just good etiquette.

4. Relax

This is not a writing process, but just emptying your mind, enjoying some music and enjoying your favorite beverage, can be the best weapon against that damned writer’s block.

5. Write in advance

Make sure you  have at least 2 topics ready at any given point of time. Set aside a small amount of time to decide on what comes next. Take the time to draft them out.

6. Pen down your thoughts

< credit >

Inspiration can come at any given point of time. You may be walking, reading, talking, dreaming, it doesn’t really matter. The trick is to note down your thoughts immediately. I personally have a notepad on my desktop that documents all my thoughts. Whenever, I’m looking for a topic, I just head to my desktop and double-click on “ImThinking.txt” and pick my own mind~ =D

7. Talk

<credit>

Talk to people. Listen to their views. Bounce your ideas off them and see what they have to say. Also, don’t forget to listen to yourself! This can really help shape your next topic!

Note: If possible, record the conversation. Tip via: http://bit.ly/aZAPPU

8. Have an identity

< credit >

It’s important to understand who you are as a blogger. How you position your “identity” will guide you in writing posts based on the relevant topic.

Check out => 7 Steps To Building Your Online Identity

9. Random writing

< credit >

Having a topic in mind doesn’t give you a post. Sometimes, I find myself staring at a blank word document for hours trying to think about how to put across the right message.

My solution: Randomly write words that are relevant to the topic. Keep going till you have about 5 lines of senseless Jargon. Then make sense out of it.

10. Environment

< credit >

Write in an environment that’s writer friendly. By that, I mean good lighting, comfortable seating, clean, cool and tidy.

Imagine writing in an environment where you have to strain your eyes, constantly adjust the way you sit, ignore the sweat/shivering and ignore the mess. It’s not very writer friendly.

Note: Writing has forced me to make my room cleaner. If you want a cleaner room, start writing today.

11. Take a break

Sometimes, the best step forward is a step back. Whenever you feel overwhelmed, staring at the piece of paper or at your computer screen isn’t going to help. Take a walk, read a book, do anything that will get your mind off the issue for awhile. Of course, don’t wander off and never come back. Set a time limit that works for you. Place an alarm so you don’t have to worry about it till you hear the time’s up. Try it, it helps!

Note: Credited to Paul and Matt~ ;)

So there you go~ Writing has been an interesting and enjoyable experience for me. But it’s not bed of roses. Plenty of work goes into each post but it’s all worth it in the end!

“I’m new but I’m doing it.”

“Happy Blogging “

“Blog” , what comes to your mind when you hear this word for the first time ? Is it just a  glimpse of a simple article kind of a picture in your mind? Not at all!! Blogs are those which carry a lot of information about various topics designed in such a way, which makes the topics even-more efficient and elegant and easily understandable by any-one.

So creating such type of Blogs is not an easy task and  its very-much  necessary to follow some important steps that has to be kept in mind while you create a Blog from the beginning to till its conclusion part.

Just keep in touch with the following easy tips to make your blog- A Complete one.

1. Language

<credit>

First of all, use of language is a very important one to deal-with. According to the topics you choose, make slight changes with your presentation of the language too. Make sure that you make use of those words which go hand-in-hand along with the topic you have chosen. Simple and elegant sentences are a good workouts for lifestyle related topics or articles.

2. Images

Add some interesting images related to your topic, which makes your blog look “complete”!! And if you are not so good in building impressive sentences, worry not… the use of  images  makes your blog, speak about your intention of your topic  easily! But in-turn should be able to choose the exact images that suits best to the topic mentioned. So be cautious while selecting the type of images.

3. Content

<credit>

Don’t ever build any stories, instead stuff the blog with the contents concerned to the topic! Your blogs should be presented in such a way that readers would get into the exact topic content, easily so that they should not get into a thought of ‘what exactly the matter here is??’. I have come across some of the blogs which fail to present the exact topic and contain useless explanations, which are not at all recommended. Be clear and perfect regarding your content.

4. Design

<credit>

Your blog design plays a major role in attracting visitors, which provides repeated visitors for your blog and hence increases your blog readers base. Blog Design can be done in two ways :

• Pre-plan : In this phase, you decide the deign of the blog by visualizing and making into an complete design from scratch.
• Post-plan: In this phase, you start off with blog with any simple design and then later step by step you must keep on customizing the design to make it more efficient and attractive.

5. Live Examples.

Develop the blog by adding interesting live examples that are quite familiar , which makes the readers to continue reading further for more info. Presenting  some current on-going topics is a good workout which makes your topic even more efficient and interesting.

Providing live examples are one of the most beneficial tools in a blog because it also makes sense that you are in touch with the latest tech too!

6. Social Networks

<credit>

Jump onto the Social networking sites like twitter,facebook,digg and many more. Connect with like minded people, build and maintain your online entity to make sure that your blog is not left all alone.

7. Interactive words

Be clear and perfect with the usage of words which are  simple and easily understandable! The readers should  feel that they are interacting with someone while reading the blogs. So make sure that your articles include simple  social words, that can make any one to enjoy reading them!

8. Paragraphs

Avoid big paragraphs in the blogs which are really useless! The readers lose their interest to proceed further with that topic!! Don’t think that all users will be having patience to go through  each and every line in your post! The topic should be presented in short tips like or through short sentences which makes the users feel comfortable in reading those. So present your blogs  stepwise and in short sentences.

9. SEO

<credit>

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. Using SEO you can get into the top results pages of the search engines. Use proper meta tags and avoid basic seo mistakes to make your blog gain more vsisitors from search engines.

10. Conclusion

Concluding part of the blog is also an important task! After providing the detail info about your topic, make sure that you also conclude your topic in a better way. So  once you are done with the blog, its necessary to end-up the topic perfectly, to make it a complete blog-post.

Well, I hope these tips work out in a better way  and make your blog- A perfect one!!! I would be glad to know your views and ideas regarding my topic through your comments.   HAPPY BLOGGING.