Some days ago I wrote a post on how a blog post template helps you save time writing content. Hendrik wrote an interesting comment how this also effects having your mind on what you are writing, and how easy it is to wander off and do something else.

Did you ever experience that day when you sat down in front of your computer and actually nothing came to mind? Or when you set time aside to blog while you are actually wasting that time doing other stuff rather than blogging? Well, to be honest, your not the only one. I think I can safely say that almost every blogger has experienced this at least once. I actually had this when Hendrik and I merged our Blogs together. My blog pattern was kind off messed up, and so I had to came up with different ideas. As I looked back over my day and the things that I’d done it struck me that there are a lot of tasks that bloggers do that are important – but that can at times become distracting from… well… writing posts… the core task of any blogger.

10 Important but Potentially Distracting Blogging Tasks

Following are 10 potentially distracting tasks for bloggers (note, I’m not saying that any of these are not important or worthwhile, just that they can actually become a distraction if we allow ourselves to become sidetracked by them).

1. Social Messaging – Twitter, Stumble, Msn, Skype, IM, Mybloglog…. (add your favorite blogging/social service here). Each can suck up your time if you don’t get focused and put some limit around them.
2. Social Bookmarking – many bloggers become somewhat obsessed with writing posts for and then gathering votes on social media sites like Digg, StumbleUpon, Yahoo Buzz etc.
3. Social Networking - building profiles and interacting upon Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace etc – all useful in building a brand and profile as a blogger, but potentially a distraction.
4. Blog Design – blog design is important at creating a first impression but when you find yourself tweaking it, reworking it (especially widgets/plugins), planning your next one more than actually writing content for your blog you might be in trouble.
5. SEO – like blog design there always seems to be something you could do a little better when it comes to optimizing a blog for search engines. It can be worth your time to do some of this, but one of the most effective ways of doing SEO is to write content that hits the spot with readers.
6. Reading other Blogs in Your Niche – yet another great use of time, but many bloggers spend so much time on other people’s blogs connecting, leaving comments and even writing about them that they fail to write anything unique on their own.
7. Networking with other bloggers – another great way to build brand and traffic to your own blog is to connect with other bloggers in your niche – however there are millions of blogs ‘out there’ and it can be an endless task.
8. Monetization – finding and testing ad networks and affiliate programs can take a lot of time. Then optimizing them for your blog and tracking the results and extending your earning potential by finding private sponsorships and ad sales can really eat up even more of your time.
9. Analyzing Stats – one of the biggest potential time suckers, that many bloggers, such as me, become distracted with at different times, is analyzing your stats (see this post on Google analytics from either Hendrik or Mark). Sure, you can learn a great deal from looking at who is coming to your blog, from where they come and what they do when they arrive. or
10. Personal Life – It can always happen some day… Your friend or someone close to you gets a car accident and loses a leg, or worse (this may sound cruel but don’t forget this can happen to anyone on a given day. Visiting him/her takes hours and there goes your time to blog anything that day.

Let me tell you this – there’s nothing wrong with any of these activities…. BUT….

While these are all great activities the danger is in those times when they sidetrack us from other core aspects of our blogging.

In my own blogging I try to guard against becoming distracted by:

• Having goals (both long term but also daily goals).
• Being aware how I’m spending time (periodically throughout each day I stop and ask myself if I’m on track.
• Setting time aside for the most important part.

What distracts you most from blogging? How do you keep yourself on the track?

To Blog or Not To Blog? That’s the question (:  Note: This is just for entertainment only.

Why do people take time out of their lives just to write blogs? Is it to tell other individuals about their life or is it to make a little extra money in the pocket? When it comes to blogging, there are individuals out there who do not want to make money with their blogs because they think it is wrong. If you believe commercializing your blog is immoral, unethical, greedy, obnoxious, or anything else along these lines, then you should not commercialize it. If you find yourself having mixed feelings about writing blogs for money then you should sort those mixed feelings out before you start your blogging adventure. If you think making money with your blog is fine, good. If you think making money with your blog is bad, good. Whatever you do, just make sure you fully choose your path so that there are no questions or regrets with yourself later on. If you are looking to succeed with your blog, then you have to be congruent. When it comes to earning money from your blog, it should genuinely feel good. Within this article, we are going to tell you just how to make money with your blog.

Getting Money with Your Blog:
If you have decided to make a blog that will earn you a little extra income, then that is a wise choice on your behalf. However, you should not be shy towards the blog and you will be expected to give it all you go, or you will fail. If you are going to put up ads to advertise your blog, then you should take putting up ads serious. When putting up ads for your blog, you should not just put up one little ad square in a corner somewhere. If you are going to request donations for your blog then really request those donations.

Do not go putting up a “donate” link that is not very visible and hope for the best. If you are going to sell products on your blogs, then really sell them. With that said, you should get the best products you are able to get. Not only should you get the best products you are able to get, but you should also give your readers reasons to purchase those products. If you are going to make money with your blog, then the trick is to fully commit yourself to doing so. If you do not have commitment, then you will have no success.

Are You Able To Make a Good Income with Blogs?

There are many individuals out there who wonder if blogging is worth it. The truth is that blogging is well worth it, that is, if you are looking to make extra money. At the least, a high five-figure annual income is an attainable goal when it comes to blogging. When it comes to making money with your blog, we highly suggest you looking into blog carnivals and take advantage over them. You should make sure to submit your blog posts that are really good to the appropriate carnival for your niche.

We tell you to submit those blogs to carnivals simply because they are easy ways to get traffic and links. The best thing about blog carnivals is that they are free and submitting to them will only take a couple of minutes. You will still have to create great content in your blog, but blog carnivals will give you a free shot when it comes to marketing your blog that is not known. Blog carnivals will give you a chance to obtain a place in the “blogging world” by letting you show off your blogs.

Making Money with Blogs:
Making money with your blogs is simple, that is if you know what to do with your blog in order to make it profitable. We highly recommend you reading lots of information on how to make money with your blogs before you can start blogging. When you are looking to make money with your blogs, you will be required to get into a specific niche. You should also be sure to keep the content within your blog updated. This means you will have to update the content found within your blog virtually every single day. When you are posting blogs constantly, this will make your readers want to come back to see what is going on. If you use this technique, you will be increasing your chances of making money with your blogs.

There are many bloggers out there who have built fortunes simply by putting their mind to the blogging they do. Blogging is also a great way to establish a mailing list and that can lead to more income in the near future. As more people turn to those blogs that are well-written in order to obtain information, this will make making money with blogs much easier. You should remember that good content will keep you on a great track if you are looking to make money with those blogs. Having good content in your blog will also make individuals want to click on the products you are offering and that is a great thing.

Content is the King:
When making money with your blogs, you should try to focus on that content. Yes, your format will have a good impact on those visitors as well, but content just so happens to be one of the most important features when it comes to your blog. Keep in mind that a true blog just so happens to be a web blog that informs an individual about a particular subject. Your dating life may not be making you money on your blog, but that escapade is going to be drawing in a lot of traffic to your blog site, as long as they are written the right way.

When it comes to blogs, you will be able to write about anything out there. If you want to write about your dog’s favorite toys, then have at it. However, if you are looking to make money with blogs, this will require you to get into a particular niche. Many individuals out there use AdSense when it comes to making money with their blogs and the more targeted your blog gets, the more targets those ads could get. If you are writing your blog on relationships, then you will need to use a lot of relationship keywords within your content.

We tell you to use a lot of the keywords within your blog so that the AdSense bots will pick up your topic, and also those topics that are around your content is going to be focused on relationship sites. As you may already know, you will be making money with your blogs from the number of clicks you receive from those ads; this means you will need to make it where your content reflects the type of ads that can be found along the side of your page. This way, the readers will read the content you have compiled up on relationships, and then they will click on the ads that are right next to it.

Keep Your Posts Clear:
When you are posting blogs everyday to make money, then you will need to keep those posts clear. You should know that there are spiders that will be crawling all over your content you have posted within your blog. What do those spiders do to your blog? Well, those spiders are looking for nonsensical content and sales pitches. When it comes to your blog, is has to be free of commercials. If you have content within your blogs that has those sales pits, then your blog will be ruined by those spiders. However, you need to write with the intent to making those readers clicking on your ads. When it comes to making money with blogs, you will need to know how to motivate someone when you write. If you are not familiar with motivating individuals within your writings, then you can always take writing classes or hire a personal tutor.
Blogging Comments:

Are you going to need comments in order to build traffic to your blog? No. Turning off the option to post comments within your blog is not going to kill the discussion. Have you ever heard of trackbacks? If individuals are looking to comment on something that you have said, they will have to comment through their own blogs and then post a link to their blog. With trackbacks, you will be able to keep up with it easier than you could keep up with all of those comments that are posted on the same site as your blog.

Conclusion:

In the end, if you are looking to make money with your blogs then you should make sure your blogging content is a big success. When it comes to making money with your blogs, you will need to make sure you have not only time to post blogs everyday, but self motivation. If you do not have self-motivation, then how can you expect to put our content that is supposed to motivate someone? There are individuals out there who make a lot of money just from their blogs and we hope that you are the next.

If you’ve decided to start a blog online, there are several different things you’ll need to take into account, but the most important of those is the design. Most first time users of a web page only stay there for around five seconds, unless they find something that compels them to stay. You can have the best content on the web for your niche, but if your blog design is horrible or users are unable to read it, they won’t bother, which could seriously hurt you in the long run.

The first thing you’ll need to take into account in choosing a good blog design is whether or not it fits your niche. You wouldn’t wear a sun dress to a funeral, and the same applies to dressing your blog with something you shouldn’t. If you’re writing about technology and modern advances in today’s world, you wouldn’t want a design that is tailored towards children. Picking a design that complements your niche is the most beneficial thing you can do for your blog.

The second thing to keep in mind when choosing a design for your blog is readability. You want the main part of your text to be readable and understandable, without the user having to squint, or adjust their own browser fonts in order to see your text. Just because it looks good on your computer, doesn’t mean it looks good on someone else’s. Many blog themes today have adjustable text sizes which switches between .CSS files on the fly, so your users can choose which text size fits them the best. This is a great option for bloggers who tend to write lengthy posts and don’t want to scare their readers away with large or small print.

The third most important thing for you to consider when choosing your design is ad placement. Many people find ads to be annoying and intrusive, but they are how you support yourself. Keep this in mind when choosing a design for your blog. If your blog allows for an ad in the header, make sure the ad isn’t an annoying, flashing banner. You don’t want to take away from your content with advertising, but at the same time, you want to offer relevant advertising to your community in hopes they’ll be interested enough to click the ads, which generates you some money.

Picking a great theme which balances all three of these points can be tough, but once you’ve found the design that’s right for you, you’ll want to stick with it. Long time readers of your blog will come to expect the items on your blog to be in the same place, day in and day out so they can access them with ease. If you constantly change your design, and place things in radically different places, many people will give up and go somewhere else to get their information, because the constant change frustrated them. It’s okay to change your design, but inform your user base before you do so. They’ll be happier, and in the long run, so will you.

SEO Blog Optimization – What You Need to Know

If you’re venturing into the world of getting yourself known on the internet through your blog, there are a few things you should know about SEO (Search Engine Optimization). You’ll need to be known search engines in order for people to find you, and in order to get search engines familiar with your site enough so that they index it frequently, you’ll have to think a bit differently.

You should start by optimizing your blog its self. Building a keyword list and then writing posts surrounding this keyword list is a great way to optimize your site to appear in early ranks in search engines. The front page is optimal, but getting several of your pages on the second or third page of a search engine is better than no where at all. You should also only use plain HTML where ever possible, as this is more friendly to search engines than graphics. In addition to your keyword list, you should always use keywords whenever possible in order to identify your resources and your link list.

The most important thing you can do to optimize your blog is write powerful keyword-rich text, and write it often. You should always have a theme for your posts, and your posts should always remain in line with this theme. Your posts shouldn’t become what’s known as ‘kitchen sink’ posts, or posts which have a little bit of everything in them. If you need to, consider splitting your posts into parts in order to extend your message, resulting in more hits. Your title is the most important part of optimizing your posts, so stay on topic and make sure it contains keywords which are relevant to your subject. Keywords are also great in anchor text for links.

Once you’ve done all of these things, you can begin to socialize your blog. Incoming links are a priceless commodity in getting your blog known, so you should value them. If need be, you can notify other bloggers in your niche about your blog via comments, or even email. You can join in on the conversation of other blogs relevant to your niche and include references to your site, which are back links. Many social bookmarking sites have skyrocketed in the past year, so you should always include these as an option to getting your blog known. StumbleUpon, Delicious, Reddit, and Digg are great sites to have your posts available to be submitted to. Keeping your site as a real resource for your niche will take you far.

You can also make your feed very accessible by claiming it on Technorati and submitting it to sites like Feedburner. Many users who read blogs via RSS are a great way to get your blog name out there and spread among the community, which means more traffic and better search results for you, which in turn equals more search recognition and even lends weight to your Page Rank in Google. SEO optimizing your blog is an important step and can be a difficult one to learn, but once you realize your keywords and begin building your site around them, you’ll have no trouble attracting the traffic you need to keep your site a float.