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By David Jackson in Featured

spn_exclusiveWhen it comes to marketing blogs, we all know what the “authority” blogs are, right? After all, they’re hugely popular and many of us follow those blogs faithfully. Blogs like ProBlogger, DailyBlogTips, SearchEngineJournal, ShoeMoney, CopyBlogger, just to name a few. You know, the usual suspects.

But there are many other outstanding marketing blogs flying under the radar, whose marketing content is just as impressive, but perhaps not quite as well known to the average online marketer. I call these “the unusual suspects.” And since they may not be quite as well known, chances are, you probably aren’t familiar with them.

Following are 20 Little-Known Marketing Blogs You Should Be Reading:

1. Content Marketing Today

When it comes to content marketing and content marketing strategies, I can say without the slightest bit of exaggeration, Newt Barrett’s Content Marketing Today blog is as good as it gets.

2. Brian Carroll’s B2B Lead Generation Blog

Brian Carroll’s blog focuses on B2B lead generation, sales leads, and marketing.

By Writer Fox in Featured

spn_exclusiveThe 21st birthday of the World Wide Web is on December 25, 2011. This ‘coming of age’ WWW birthday marks the maturity of the first generation that was born with the Web and has always known it as an ordinary tool of life.

This immeasurable gift to the world was created by Tim Berners-Lee (Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee) while working for a physics research center in Geneva, Switzerland. CERN, The European Organization for Nuclear Research, approved Berners-Lee’s request to work on a system which would facilitate collaboration among researchers via the Internet.

“I invented the Web just because I needed it, really, because it was so frustrating that it didn’t exist,” said Berners-Lee in a 2009 interview with the BBC.

In September, 1990, he began coding the WWW. The first link using Hyper-Text Markup Language (HTML) communication was made on December 25, 1990. It was the birth of the World Wide Web. And that Big Bang of creation has literally lit up the world, launching the opportunity for all of humanity to connect, to find information and to share information.

Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google, has said, “If this were a traditional science, Berners-Lee would win a Nobel Prize. What he’s done is that significant.”

WWW History

The WWW went through its puberty years with easy to find porn sites, malware, the birth of Google, SEO and SEM, the advent of e-commerce, the dot-com boom, bubble and bust.

The teenage Web was known as Web2.0. Its teenage years went social with MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and the like. It played games, downloaded the latest music and movies, and joined virtual communities.

As any teen loves to talk on the phone, Web access moved to mobile phones. This platform created a vehicle for anyone to reach the Web without a computer. It is a significant opportunity for the 75% of the world’s population who are not now connected to the Web. In a world with 7 billion people, there are over 4 billion cell phones.

The words ‘Internet’ and ‘Web’ are now used interchangeably, even by the Web’s inventor. The World Wide Web is the Internet. The same is about to happen to the words ‘Internet TV’ and ‘TV’, according to City University New York Associate Professor Jeff Jarvis: “Just as our kids don’t understand the difference between broadcast and cable, the line between TV and Internet TV is about to disappear.”

The Web began with freedom, says Tim Berners-Lee. “The Web took off in all its glory because it was a royalty-free infrastructure… When I invented the Web, I didn’t have to ask anyone’s permission. Now, hundreds of millions of people are using it freely.” What began in freedom now has serious privacy issues.

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt has said, “We don’t need you to type at all. We know where you are. We know where you’ve been. We can more or less know what you’re thinking about.”

The invention has somewhat turned into a Frankenstein for its inventor.

Interviewed by New York Times reporter, Steve Lohr, at a 2009 technology symposium at the Embassy of Finland in Washington, Berners-Lee said:

“I have worries about the Web, about the Internet, about any one, large party getting to control it. Because if you can control the Internet, if you can control the Web, if you can control what somebody sees, make it much easier to get into the website of one political party rather than another one, make it difficult for them to look at sites which are the wrong side from your point of view, then that’s a very, very powerful tool.

“Also, if you can spy on everything that I do, if you can spy on the clicks I make as I browse through the Web and what comes back, you know a lot more about me than if you had a camera set up permanently in my living room. It’s very boring in my living room. But, when you see what I am anxious about, what I am querying for on the Web, and you know the types of cancer that people I know are suffering from, you might incorrectly conclude that I am suffering from that cancer and someone might be very tempted to up my insurance premiums.”

The governments of free countries are also concerned about vulnerability on the World Wide Web.

In late 2007, the United States launched the U.S. Air Force Cyber Command (AFCYBER). At the inaugural ceremony at Barksdale Air Force Base, Maj. Gen. William T. Lord announced, “In light of the looming threat to U.S. cyberspace, the 2006 National Military Strategy for Cyber Operations recognized cyberspace as a war- fighting domain… Mastery of cyberspace is essential to America’s national security.”

To the Next WWW Birthday

The Web has changed the lives of those connected to it and has opened indescribable vistas.

The World Wide Web has been lauded as ‘the biggest thing since the invention of writing.’ Now at 21 years of age, with 25% of the world’s population online, the WWW enters its next phase of life.

Just as no one can predict the future of the new college graduate, no one can predict the future of the Web.

One thing that can be said is that the future of the World Wide Web will astound us.

The world thanks you, Tim Berners-Lee, for the great gift you gave to the world on December 25, 1990. To your invention, the WWW, may it be blessed: May you grow, may you endure and may you bring peace on earth and goodwill toward mankind.

Happy Birth Day WWW! – and to many more.

Writer Fox is a Web content writer who has posted a free, online database of over 100 Quotes about the Internet, documenting Internet history, famous Internet quotes, and quotes about Internet websites.

By Terri Seymour in Featured

WebmastersA web hosting service allows you to make your website accessible to the world wide web. You generally upload your site files via FTP (File Transfer Protocol) to your host and they go “live” and become a part of the internet. There are free web hosting services for personal sites but if you have a business site, you will want to pay for a better hosting service. There are countless hosting services on the web but there are things you need to look for when shopping for a good host. Below are ten things you might want to check before choosing your host.

1. Support System – One of the most important things to look for in a host is a good customer support system. When you are having problems you don’t want to wait days for answers. Test the support system of the host before you purchase. See how friendly, helpful and fast they are. Do they have an email, support forums, phone number? They might even have a live chat option available.

2. Disk Space – You want to make sure the host offers a good amount of disk space but you want to also make sure they do not offer too much just to charge a higher price. An average business site might use about 50 MBs of space but if you offer images, ebooks or other downloadable files, you will probably need much more than that. You will need to consider what you will be offering on your site to determine how much disk space you will need.

3. Bandwidth – Bandwidth is the amount of data transfers that occur on your site. This would include visitors downloading your web pages to their computer, you uploading files to your site and any other data transfers. Again, if you offer downloadable items on your site you will need more bandwidth than the average site. As your site gains in popularity, you will be using more bandwidth. The average business site will probably not have to worry about bandwidth, but it is best to check it out thoroughly including what the penalty will be for going over the allotted bandwidth.

4. Programming Services – Websites can be built just using HTML and CSS but most sites will require additional programming languages and database capabilities such as PHP, CGI, MySQL and SSI. Be sure to check to see if your potential host is compatible with these programming languages and services.

5. FTP Access – FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is an easy way to upload files faster and more efficiently then through your control panel. The easiest way to access your ftp is by using your domain as your FTP. Not all hosts have this easier FTP access.

6. User-Friendly Control Panel - Control panels can be very intimidating and frightening. Your potential host should be able to provide a demo of the control panel they provide. Check to see that it is easy to use, navigate and understand.

7. Site Builder – Web creation tools can be a big help for people building new websites or additional sites. Most hosts will provide these website building tools but always check to be sure.

8. Web Statistics Tools – You will surely want your host to have web analytics because you need to know how many visitors you are getting, when you are getting them, to where they are going, how long they are staying and more to produce a successful, efficient website. These tools are invaluable in helping you to find out how to improve your website so it can grow!

9. Email Accounts and Mailing List Feature - A good web host should offer you numerous email accounts. You might also want to check for a mailing list feature to help you build an email marketing mailing list.

10. Uptime – Another very important service a good host should provide is reliable uptime. One thing you do not need is for your site to be down more than it is up. Most sites will claim 99.9% uptime but do some research and find out if it is actually true.

Web hosting services are a dime a dozen online and sifting through them all to find a good one that provides you with everything you need can be a daunting task. See if you can get someone you know and/or trust to recommend a good host. Do a search for web host reviews and read some real experiences of people who have used the host. Find out everything you can before choosing a host because that can be one of the most important choices you make in building your website!

Don’t be one of the 95% of people who fail at their online business. Terri Seymour can help you make money online. Find out how to increase your traffic and sales with her popular “How to Build Your Online Business” ebook for FREE at: ==> http://www.SeymourProducts.com

By Titus Hoskins in Featured

google+Recently, Google+ further opened up its platform to now accept “Brand” or “Company” based accounts or profiles. This means that business and site owners can now promote and brand their companies within Google+. This might seem like a small change, but one only has to look at the tremendous success of Facebook’s Fan pages, to see why this move is very important for companies and site owners.

While Google Plus doesn’t have anywhere near the numbers Facebook has, it does hold one major trump card in its hand, that being the Google brand itself. Not only does Google bring its well respected reputation to the table, but you can’t dismiss all those countless free programs and services which Google now offers to an ever admiring audience. Associating your own business or company with a brand like Google does score you some brownie points, not to mention the whole issue of trust. On the web, building instant trust with your potential customers is vital for your overall success and building a large community via Google+ will definitely help in this regard.

Besides its stellar reputation, Google brings much more to the table than Facebook, especially when it comes to marketing on the Internet. As you have probably already noticed, Google does run a little search engine that controls much of the world’s lucrative search traffic. And you can bet your last dollar, Google will be keeping track of the number of followers a Google+ brand receives and how vibrant that community becomes when voting or clicking those +1 buttons for your content. All of this will no doubt have a significant effect on your SEO and rankings within Google.

Google+ also presents an attractive and inexpensive way to build buzz and momentum towards any product or company. Especially when it comes to SEO and getting your brand out there on the web and in front of the marketplace. However, it is the SEO aspect of Google+ that could make it a very useful marketing tool, especially for those businesses just starting out and/or that have small marketing budgets. Google+ can help build your brand’s visibility both in the SERPs and in the real world.

In addition, any marketer will also have to consider the advantage of buying ads on Google+ which can be displayed all over the web. These social ads have already been very successful for Twitter and Facebook, but just imagine the extra marketing power Google can bring to these types of ads. One only has to look at Google’s Adwords program to realize this could be another major advertising venue for
Google and another way for companies to fully expand their advertising dollars.

One of the main reasons Adwords has become so effective – it closely targets your marketing to exactly match what buyers are looking for at the exact time they’re ready to buy. Now with Google+ any business has the potential of reaching a very specific targeted group of potential clients via the circles and hangouts features in the Google+ social network. It is this targeted marketing that could possibly make Google+ the ultimate web marketing tool. Only time will tell how effective Google+ becomes, but all signs are pointing in the right direction.

The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous websites. For the latest web marketing tools try: http://www.bizwaremagic.com If you liked the article above, why not try this Free 7 Day Marketing Course here: http://www.marketingtoolguide.com Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

By David Jackson in Featured

spn_exclusiveMost of the time when I write an article, I share my own personal marketing experiences, viewpoints and opinions – my OWN marketing tips as it were. Today, I’m going to change things up a little and share with you some of the best marketing tips of other successful marketers.

I compiled these remarkable marketing gems from the thousands and thousands of quality blog posts, articles, newsletters and interviews I’ve had the pleasure of reading over the years. The hard part was narrowing my list down to only 20. I could easily have listed 100. Oh well, perhaps I’ll write a sequel or two or three… Enjoy!

- Tim Berry, Planning Startups Stories – “One of the most expensive myths in marketing is that lower price produces higher volume. That might be true for coal or gasoline, but not for most businesses. Lower price means, well, ask yourself: do you always eat at the lowest price restaurant? Buy the lowest price clothes? Do you drive the lowest priced car? Pricing is your best statement of value.”

- Drew McClellan, Drew’s Marketing Minute – “Do Less. One of the most tempting aspects of marketing is the veritable smorgasbord of different marketing tactics that you can toss into a marketing plan. It’s almost overwhelming.

Many marketing professionals make the very understandable mistake of believing that more is better. But they’re wrong.

By Victor Arcuri in Featured

spn_exclusiveWhen the Internet was conceived, it was developed as an ‘information highway.’ It has evolved into an e-commerce solution that is a mandatory component for every business. However, the Rules of E-commerce have changed.

In this article we introduce the new rules and how they impact Web Hosting Companies.
• In Part 1, we discussed how the new rules impact consumers.
• In Part 2, we discussed how the new rules impact online merchants.
• In Part 3, we discussed how the new rules impact shopping cart software developers.
• In Part 5 we will discuss how the new rules impact smart phone application developers.
• In Part 6 we will discuss how the new rules impact smart phone banking applications.

How the PPOS Operates

The new PPOS is not a storage device, but rather a payment application. None of the data entered on the application is saved or stored within the application. All saved and stored data resides in a cloud computing service, which is usually owned and operated by the bank or the company that issued the credit cards.

Consumers concerned about identity theft need to know that the new digital wallets equipped with a PPOS are guaranteed to protect your identity. The safest place to store your credit card details is with the bank or institution that issues your credit card. The second safest place to store your profile and card data is in one of the cloud computing services designed specifically for that purpose. After all, they already have this information.

When the PPOS is initially launched, you are presented with data collection forms to create your profile and enter your card details. The submit function uploads the profile to the gateway server that encrypts the data, returns an unlock key, and then stores the encrypted file with the appropriate cloud. The returned unlock key is stored within the PPOS, along with a description of the card, but not the card details. For example, the stored description might read Capital One MC Platinum.

Web Hosting Developers

It is estimated that less than 40 per cent of merchants who accept credit cards have an e-commerce enabled website. The new rules for e-commerce mean there will no longer be a requirement for these merchants to purchase SSL Certificates, pay for PCI compliance, or install extra security to protect stored data. There is an extensive list of cost savings.

When merchants learn of these new rules, the reductions in cost, discount rates, incidents of chargebacks, and the lowered incidents of fraud, they will want to enable e-commerce on existing sites and launch new or first time websites.

As the PPOS gains acceptance, there will be a heavy demand from merchants for specific smartphone applications that allow merchants more detailed communications with the consumer. Interactive smartphone applications will become the norm, attracting merchants to launch or upgrade their e-commerce websites.

Businesses offering services related to web hosting will now have an opportunity to be an exclusive supplier of new services, which will help build their businesses.

We are inviting web hosting businesses to partner with us in the promotion of our services to their clients. As a reseller they will earn a minimum of $20 per merchant per month. In addition, we will provide full administration services.

If you want to learn more about our reseller program, click Resellers.

Other Requirements

As the PPOS gains acceptance, there will be a heavy demand from merchants for specific smartphone applications, which will allow merchants more detailed communication with the consumer. Interactive smartphone applications will become the norm.

The same XML file can then be tied to smartphone applications specific to the needs of the merchant. We believe the shopping cart suppliers will be the ideal developers of these new applications, and as such we have a separate API that may be built into these new applications.

Income Opportunities

A limited number of web hosting companies and developers are being invited to participate as part of the launch of these new services. It has been estimated that, during 2012, only 35% of existing e-merchants will convert their shopping cart applications to accept online payments via the PPOS. However, this represents over 100,000 web sites.

Summary

The digital wallet will protect the cardholder’s identity and will provide a new and convenient way to make purchases, both online and on multiple hardware platforms.

The PPOS will be a welcome solution for merchants who wish to save costs on card-not-present sales, chargebacks and fraud attempts. With its ease of implementation for merchants and the inherent acceptance by consumers, merchants will benefit by using the PPOS.

Victor Arcuri is a Canadian businessman who, for greater than 10 years, has operated CQRPAY, Inc., a secure gateway for credit card processing for Internet-based merchants. Our independent gateway service is unique in that it is the only application that connects to every merchant account provider and every bank in Canada and the USA.

Our platform enables merchants to use the service regardless of any affiliation they may enjoy with a merchant account provider, bank, POS device supplier or shopping cart software developer.

We invite your questions by phone 403-234-0844 or e-mail.

For more information visit: CQRp@y.com.

By Amanda DiSilvestro in Featured

zippycartAs the holiday season approaches, many retail stores begin to prepare for the sales ahead by getting ready with credit card processing systems and seasonal workers. However, one question that stores commonly deal with is how to set their sales schedule. When sales are placed too close to each other, customers may ignore or lose track of the promotions. However, relying on a single big sale may cause a business to miss out on other opportunities throughout the season. By effectively spreading out sales, retail stores and small businesses can get the most out of their holiday promotions.

How to Determine the Ideal Sale Schedule

In order to increase sales during the lucrative holiday season, businesses should have a number of sales and promotions. However, businesses should not have a constant stream of sales in an attempt to attract customers. An ideal sale schedule should be tailored according to various factors such as target audience, type of industry and budget. The following strategies can help businesses understand when and how often to have a sale:

1. Sales Forecasting
Does your store have financial records on sales in the past years? By using this data, store owners can conduct sales forecasting to determine when it is the best time to have a sale. Sales forecasting is the practice of using past financial records to make short-term and long-term predictions. This will then help businesses make goals and set sales on dates that are likely to have a high turnout.

Sales forecasting can also provide the business with additional benefits. Examining past records can give the store owner an indication on the health of the business. In addition, forecasting data can give tips on how to run efficient operations and conduct cost-effective promotions. By using the information provided by sales forecasting, businesses can determine their ideal sale schedule.

2. Customer Buying Behavior
Store owners should schedule their sales based on when customers are most likely to purchase. Examine your target audience’s purchasing behavior and when they have shopped during the holiday season. Did your store increase in customers during a particular date? Which products sold the most in a particular time period? By answering these questions, store owners can determine ideal dates for sales.

Another way to determine when customers frequent a store is to identify the type of shopper. Some customers tend to be early purchasers (the older crowd), completing their holiday shopping early in the month. Other consumers may be procrastinators (the younger crowd), waiting until the last possible moment to shop for friends and family. In addition, certain individuals may only decide to shop when there is a particularly attractive sale. Understanding what type of customers frequent the store can set the ideal schedule for the upcoming holidays.

3. Predictions:
Depending on the type of industry, your business may want to focus on a particular product for sale. Certain toys, games and other products may be popular, and businesses can benefit by factoring such items into their schedules. One example of an exceedingly popular toy is the Tickle-Me Elmo, a fad that emerged during the late 90s. During “Elmo-mania”, many parents and other customers would scour stores; rapidly purchasing from stores with Elmos on hand. Keep abreast of products and items that are in particular demand and schedule sales accordingly in order to meet the needs of the customers.

A timely sale can have a dramatic effect on a business’s holiday profits. Therefore, an optimized sales schedule can determine whether the business experiences a successful holiday quarter. By understanding when customers are likely to visit and purchase products, the business can increase their sales and end their year with a strong finish.

Photo Credit: zippycart.com

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

By Karl Walinskas in Featured

videomktgThere are a zillion ways to use video for business, varying from stylish, high-priced ad crusade commercials to complex landing page pieces designed to pull someone into a purchase. What are the greatest types of video for Small Business owners that can be created cost-effectively and published quickly and produce leads? Here are the Elite Eight.

Introductory Clip

Well-known and regularly underused, the video Intro to the Business is a brief, 5 minute or less (2-3 works well) homepage introduction that tells who you are, what you do and why customers should care. This can be done using a narrative in a commercial replete with lots of motion shots of the shop floor, the office, and merchandise; a talking head of the CEO to a blank camera; or use the 3rd party perspective of an authentic Video interview (see below) Business FAQ.

Development costs can range from free (CEO riffing into a webcam) through a few hundred dollars to thousands for a videographer shot commercial. Google doesn’t care; either will index well given the suitable keyword tags. The question you have to answer is, what is going to be quickly informative, entertaining, and referable (as in Re-tweeted).

By Charles Kiyimba in Featured

emailmktgSelecting a good auto responder service is a prerequisite for the success of your email marketing campaigns and effective communication in your company. There are many web hosts that provide their customers with automatic email services and if you have a website, you might be having access to this service with your web host. But if you want to send follow-up messages to potential customers, then you need to consider sourcing for an advanced automatic email service and it’s important to select a good auto responder service that will best work for you.

When you are selecting an auto responder program, you need to think about several factors. You need to select a program with the best features, options and benefits. I would like therefore to take you through some of the key aspects you need to consider when selecting a good auto responder service that will serve you to your satisfaction.

1. A good auto responder service should be able to send personalized messages to the people in your opt-in list. It’s important for the recipients of your automatic emails to feel that the mails are sent specifically to them. You stand to benefit when they get that perception, which psychologically can turn them into buyers. The ability to send personalized messages is therefore one of the major factors to consider when selecting a good auto responder service.

2. Before you purchase any auto responder program, find out whether the program you intend to buy has the ability to send follow-up messages. Auto responders provided by your web host can only send one-time messages to your subscriber list. But you need to send at least seven follow-up messages to your subscribers to close a sale. It’s therefore important to select an auto responder service that has this feature.

3. Select an auto responder program that allows you to freely update your messages and auto responder campaigns at no extra cost. As a marketer, you are most likely always exploring new opportunities that necessitate making changes to maximize your earnings. If your auto responder service limits you in this aspect, it will be very hard for you to make updates and changes. Consider free unlimited updating when selecting a good auto responder service for your marketing campaigns.

4. Good auto responders should help you to track the performance of your adverts. Having an option for tracking your emails and other advertising campaigns is an important consideration. The auto responder program I use enables me to track all my advertising campaigns to find out what works and what doesn’t, what needs improvement and what needs dropping.

5. Buy an auto responder program that has the ability to notify you each time someone requests your information. These notification messages are sent directly to your email address. This enables you not only to know the progress of your marketing campaigns, but it also makes it possible for you to track your adverts’ performance. Think about this feature when selecting a good auto responder service provider.

6. A good auto responder service should not limit you on the length of your text. The amount of text your auto responder may contain should not be limited at all. It’s important for you to write your marketing messages with any length of your preference. Limited text length may force you to leave out some of the important parts of your sales letters. Unlimited text length is another factor you need to consider when selecting a good auto responder service.

7. You need to know how to use the auto responder program. It’s therefore important to select an auto responder that provides support in the form of training articles, videos, tutorials and a discussion forum. These are tools that enable you to learn how to use the various features of the auto responder program and how to write effective email marketing messages. It’s therefore advisable to focus on the support given when you are selecting a good auto responder service to effectively manage your email marketing campaigns.

8. The best auto responder service should be user friendly. I have never used an auto responder program that I found difficult to use even if other marketers recommended it. You need to look for a program that is easy to use.

9. Availability of various options to write and format your messages in the way you want is important. It is counter-productive if you cannot write and format your messages in the way that you feel will compel your subscribers to take the desired action. Choose an auto responder service that allows you to play with your text messages in the way you like.

10. Last but not least, it’s to your benefit to select an auto responder service that has an affiliate program which you can promote to others and from which you can earn earn commissions. The best programs to market are those that you use. You can easily promote them from a informed point of view and gained expertise. It doesn’t help you to use a program which you cannot promote to
earn some money back. Once you start using the auto responder program, you are most likely to continue using it forever in your marketing campaigns. If you do not earn anything from it, then you will always be paying monthly service fees for using the service. That’s not a win-win situation.

I conclusion, I would like to remind you that the first step to your email marketing success is to select a good auto responder service. Good auto responder services should have all of the above benefits to effectively market your products and communicate to your customers.

Charles Kiyimba owns http://www.CashWithGoleza.com and http://www.golezadesigners.com where popular home business ideas and opportunities are tested rigorously to find out what works and what doesn’t. Visit today to discover the secrets behind building a successful home business.

By Adam Bauthues in Featured

bloggingBlog marketing is a wonderful way to connect with your audience, to provide valuable and useful information to prospects and customers, to sell your products and services, and to drive traffic to your website. However, before you begin to blog or even start to set one up, you
have one very important decision to make. Which blogging platform will you use? Here are a few tips on how to use blog platforms successfully.

The Big Three and Beyond

A blog platform is essentially a product which a blog or website is based on. In many cases they’re the service you use to host and publish your blog. In the blogging world, there are three big players with a host of smaller platforms. The big three are:

* Blogger, now owned by Google
* Typepad
* WordPress

There is also MoveableType.org, which is an open source publishing platform. Another is Joomla, which offers blogging capabilities but is considered more of a website platform than a blogging platform. There are many other website hosts which offer blogging functions; however, they’re not traditional platforms.

When you choose a blogging platform, you’re looking for a few key ingredients. You’re looking for:

* Ease of use - If you have to jump through hoops and read a 1000 page manual to get a blog up and running, you’re not going to want to do it. Intuitive interfaces and easy to find information are essential.

* Functionality - It needs to be user friendly for your customers and prospects, and that means easy to navigate and easy to use.

* Features - You want your blog to be able to do what you want and need it to do, including sell products and services, host contests, take feedback and so on.

* Price – Always a consideration.

* Customization - You want to be able to make your blog look and feel exactly like you want it to without a ton of work, time and money.

* Reputation - You want a platform that’s going to be around for years and years to come so you don’t have to switch your blog to a different platform.

Before you choose a blogging platform you’ll want to spend some time determining what you want your blog to accomplish. If for example you want to optimize your blog for the first page of the search engines, you’re going to want a blog that is easy to optimize and maybe has search engine optimization plug-ins. This means making a list of your requirements before you even begin comparing blogging platforms.

Another important thing to consider is where your blog is going to be hosted. TypePad and Blogger are both hosted blogs, meaning your URL will be http://www.yournamehere.typepad.com/.

The same is true for Blogger. WordPress gives you the option. You can host your blog on WordPress or redirect it to another host so your URL is whatever you want it to be.

Read everything about your blogging platform before you go through the work to customize it and set it up. Some hosted blogging platforms do not allow advertising, for example, and if that’s something you want to do, then you’ll need to consider those restrictions before you
sign on.

The good news is that blogging is free and unless you hire a professional designer to customize it then your start-up expenses are nominal. (There’s a $10 fee to redirect a WordPress blog to another host.) Choosing your blogging platform just takes a little time and research.

Happy blogging!

Article by Adam Bauthues. And now I would like to give you free instant access to a secret blogging video, that shows where I do all of my blogging and why. Visit: http://projectmarketer.com/empower.php today, or come by my Blog to see it in action at: http://www.EmpowerNetwork.com/kadmon.

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Not many people will recognize the name Art Clokey. But a lot more people will recognize the green c...
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Reader Rescue : Should My Meta Description Tags Just Duplicate My Title Tags?
Hi Everyone From early days learning SEO, I went ahead and did all my meta descriptions with a bi...
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Death of Steve Jobs Fails to Break Twitter Record
We all heard the sad news yesterday that Steve Jobs, founder and visionary at Apple, had died at...
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