Pro Business Tips

8 Tips for Choosing a Winning Domain Name

For those of you interested in setting up a niche blog to make some cash, you need a winning domain name or it isn't worth the effort. So before you plunge into the world of blogging, I recommend registering a killer domain name. Here are my top 8 tips for getting there:

1. Keep it short and memorable. Pretty much all three, four, and even five-letter names are long gone but a couple of clever words strung together are always a good bet.
2. Consider type-in traffic. Don't make the name impossible to spell or remember.
3. Make your domain name consistent with your topic and better yet, make it the same as your company name. Once you register the domain as your company name, it's in effect copyrighted.
4. Try for .com. Nothing else is really worth it, with the possible exception of .net.
5. Secure other variations. Even though you should always go with the .com variant, make sure to lock up the .net and .org alternatives. There are others too but start with those first, as they are the oldest, most established, and most important.
6. Avoid trademarked names unless you enjoy getting threatening letters from lawyers and getting sued.
7. Do the friend test. Throw the name out to your trusted friends and families before locking it in.
8. Use a domain name generator to find name ideas for your blog business. A great one is MakeWords.com

Related Posts

• Blogging - Should You Host or Take a Pass?
• Widgets and Plug-ins for Your Blog
• My 9 Favorite Blogs for Making Money Online
• The 4 Most Important Types of Blog Posts
• Blogging and SEO
• Making Money Blogging

Making Money with Donations

Donations are good method for blogs starting up, especially if you can get some friends and family to chip in. One possible solution is to head over to Paypal and create a free "Donate" button which allows you to create the equivalent of a tip jar for your blog. It's free and easy to sign-up.

A counter-point to consider: A tip jar can also make you look like a beggar. This strategy tends to work better for a small-time blog with limited aspirations or a non-profit concern.

Building Blog Traffic with Google and Technorati Submissions

Technorati is the leading blog directory, sort of like the Google for blogs. It's very heavily trafficked and is a great resource. Make sure you get an account at Technorati so you can get it indexed in the directory. In Technorati parlance, this is called claiming your blog.

And of course, you want to make sure that Google indexes your blog as well. Google now has a special blog search engine, called Google Blog Search, and you want to go to it to submit your URL.

Building Traffic with Wikipedia

A free online user-edited encyclopedia, Wikipedia is one of the most trafficked websites in the world. Used as a reference by consumers, casual internet surfers, college students and hobbyists, Wikipedia is a massive online collaboration run by volunteers and enthusiasts.

Wikipedia dominates Google search results because of the presumed quality of its content. Search for almost anything and chances are that a Wikipedia entry will appear on the first page.  

How Wikipedia Can Monetize a Blog

1. Credibility from being listed in Wikipedia increases customer and visitor trust, which might lead to repeat visits, bookmarking and a bigger audience base. If you are pushing products on some other pages of your website, you might have a higher potential for affiliate conversions and product sales.
2. Wikipedia traffic is ultra-targeted. Visitors arrive through a keyword search onto a Wikipedia page and then onto your blog via a link.
3. Getting listed in Wikipedia has a direct correlation to any website’s long-term monetization strategy and should be considered a strategy to explore within any traffic building or marketing campaign.

But, before you get too enthusiastic... Keep reading to find out what to watch for before you sign-up and start using Wikipedia to market your brand.

Advertorial Blogging

A few years ago when I worked at one major media company, there was a lot of internal debate between business development and editorial when a Volvo advertorial appeared on the network of sites. Why? The advertorial was so subtle it was indistinguishable from content, with the sole exception of a virtually invisible 7-point disclaimer buried in grey text at the footer of the piece.

These days, a more extreme example is raging in the blogging community. Several sites, including Blogsvertise, PayPerPost.com, ReviewMe, and SponsoredReviews.com are paying bloggers to review sites and products for advertisers, as well as link to their sites to increase SEO.

To many bloggers, this is a sell-out and naked shilling. But other bloggers say that as long as they maintain editorial discretion, why shouldn’t they be able to make some money through reviews.

If you can live with the ethical gray boundaries, it's another way to make cash. But you have to balance that against the integrity of your content and what sort of relationship you want to build with your users.

What do you think of advertorial blogging? Would you do it?

The Blog Advantage: The 4 Reasons Blogs Are So Popular

What makes blogs so popular with publishers and readers alike?

1. Content - Blogs are updated frequently and the content is usually ordered in reverse chronological format. It makes a static website seem more than just a brochure or catalogue by comparison.
2. Syndication - All blog platforms include a technology called RSS (Really Simple Syndication). Basically I can subscribe to your blog and each time a new article is posted, I am notified. If I no longer want to read the information I just unsubscribe. So distribution and consumption is painless and easy.
3. Conversation - The conversational, intimate tone of blogs encourages community and loyalty. Since blogs are updated by individuals (or a group of individuals), the ‘voice’ of the blog author(s) will often shine through. Adding personality and approachability to your blog encourages two-way communication.
4. Easy publishing - A lot of people find website building and maintenance daunting. That’s why many people don’t have a website or pay a web designer to not only design and build the site but to also update content. The current technology available for content management in blogs removes this hurdle. Now, more than ever, it has become easier to run a site and update content yourself--even if you have no technical knowledge or interest.

Related Posts

• Blogging - Should You Host or Take a Pass?
• Widgets and Plug-ins for Your Blog
• My 9 Favorite Blogs for Making Money Online
• The 4 Most Important Types of Blog Posts
• Blogging and SEO
• Making Money Blogging

Blogging - Should You Host or Take a Pass?

There are several platform choices but they can principally be divided into hosted and non-hosted solutions. Both have their advantages and disadvantages:

Hosted (Blogger, Typepad, Tumblr)

Good

• Easy to learn, set-up, and maintain
• Cheap (Typepad) or free (Blogger, Tumblr)
• Software is updated automatically so you always have cutting edge technology

Bad

• Not as customizable in terms of design, configuration, plug-ins
• Difficult to port over to a non-hosted platform like Wordpress
• Generic URL at free or lower cost level

Non-Hosted (Wordpress, Movable Type)

Good

• Complete customization
• Large developer community create widgets, add-ons, especially in the case of Wordpress

Bad

• Finding a dependable host can be tricky
• Complicated set-up
• Updates aren't always easy and require some fiddling around

Related Posts

• Widgets and Plug-ins for Your Blog
• My 9 Favorite Blogs for Making Money Online
• The 4 Most Important Types of Blog Posts
• Blogging and SEO
• Making Money Blogging

Marketing with Google AdWords

Google's AdWords is the default paid advertising vehicle of choice for many members of the blogosphere. I've used it pretty effectively on some other products but it takes a lot of practice and trial and error. You can certainly open an account and do some investigation but I don't recommend that you do much more than that because you can get fleeced very quickly, if you aren't sure what you are doing.

But the point to understand is that Google Adwords is part of the core tool-set of traffic building strategies many blogs use. So while we're not going to cover it detail yet, it's something you should consider once you get some traction, traffic, and revenue. 

If you are keen to dabble, I recommend that you head over to the Adwords Beginner's Guide first.

Google's AdWords is the default paid advertising vehicle of choice for many members of the blogosphere. I've used it pretty effectively on some other products but it takes a lot of practice and trial and error. You can certainly open an account and do some investigation but I don't recommend that you do much more than that because you can get fleeced very quickly, if you aren't sure what you are doing.

But the point to understand is that Google Adwords is part of the core tool-set of traffic building strategies many blogs use. So while we're not going to cover it detail yet, it's something you should consider once you get some traction, traffic, and revenue. 

If you are keen to dabble, I recommend that you head over to the Adwords Beginner's Guide first.

Widgets and Plug-ins for Your Blog

Widgets and plug-ins are self-contained little applications that add functionality to a Web site or blog. These include interactive polls, search, RSS, and tag clouds. Most of the major blogging platforms offer these for free. For example:

• Wordpress Plugins
• Typepad Widgets
• Blogger Widgets

If you want to see zillions of free widgets that can be used no matter what site software you use, head over to WidgetBox for the largest offering on the Web.

But don't get carried away adding widgets. They can clutter your page and make it slow to load. Also, make sure the widgets are consistent with your topic. It may take some testing and discarding before you find one that works with your niche.

My 9 Favorite Blogs for Making Money Online

There's a ton of good, free resources out there to help you make money online. If you are looking to supplement your reading beyond this blog, I recommend the following sites:

• Copyblogger - Features indispensible blog writing and marketing tips.
• Dosh Dosh - Superb internet marketing and money making advice blog.
• Mashable - Social networking and must-read Web trends blog.
• ProBlogger - Best of the best for making money blogging.
• Internet Business Mastery - Outstanding resource for creating and building an online business.
• Get Elastic - Excellent blog for e-commerce entrepreneurs.
• Inside AdSense - Must read for Google Adsense users.
• Silicon Alley Insider - Great site for getting the big picture view on technology and business movers and shakers.
  
• The Blog of Tim Ferriss - The "The 4-Hour Work Week" provides key insights into lifestyle design, which is why we are trying to make money in the first place, right?

What are your favorites?