guest post by Nancy

Guest posting on blogs is a funny thing – you spend a lot of time and effort putting together a fantastic article only to give it away to someone else and let their blog readers benefit from it. At times it can be frustrating to let your best work go, as most web hosts don’t want you reposting the content on your own site or on other sites; as soon as you send it to them you immediately forfeit the article rights’ to it. So why do so many people guest post?

The Obvious Reasons

There are the reasons, of course, which everyone talks about, such as expanding your blog’s readership and forming new relationships with other bloggers. And those are great reasons on their own.

By guest posting for someone else you do expose your writing and your blog to a whole new audience that – hopefully – will make their way over to your blog and become regular readers. It makes perfect sense to provide well-written and well-thought out content because that is what will drive people to your site – no one will read it or want to continue to read your content over on your site if you provide a guest post that is poorly written and not cohesive.

In the same respect, providing great content will also help to solidify a positive relationship with the blogger you’re guest posting for because you’re giving them something of value. If they know that they can count on you for informative content you have the potential to guest post regularly for them and swap links – and building up links is something every blogger strives to do.

But what about the other side of guest posting? The reasons that people don’t talk about often, but are still just as true?

The Non-Obvious Reasons

Aside from the points that everyone focuses on, guest posting also allows you to do a couple unique things.
For one, it allows you to become a better editor. You’re much more likely to really pay attention to your grammar, spelling, punctuation, and overall cohesiveness when you’re writing for someone else then when you’re writing for yourself. The better you get at editing as you go, the more well-rounded and efficient of a writer you’ll become.

It also teaches you selflessness with your writing which may sound cheesy, but it’s true. When you’re guest posting for someone you’re attempting to win over their readers and bring them to your site. This means you have to come to terms with giving up your best works. The better the article you write the more people likely to convert to regular readers of your own site.

Gaining from Giving

Guest posting encompasses a broad range of benefits and will not only make you a better writer, but will also make you a more cognizant and balanced writer.
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Nancy Parker was a professional nanny and she loves to write about wide range of subjects like health, Parenting, Child Care, and Babysitting, find a nanny tips etc. You can reach her @ nancy.parker015 @ gmail.com.

Well, all’s well that end’s well. Surely it was not the same with my case. However, I couldn’t regret much on the same as it was never ever going to happen anyways. Why would anyone buy a blog which doesn’t even fulfill the basic requirements? I was very honest with whatever details I had shared in the online form and if I hadn’t done the same and had decided to fill some misleading details then could things have gone in my favor...I don’t know...maybe yes..!! This blog was rejected because this blog doesn’t make $300/month. Interestingly, if I were to make so much from my blog then do I really need to consider my blog for the sale? Honestly, not..! I think it would have been my foolishness but anyways there were some obvious reasons to consider my blog for sale  -

• Blogging has become hectic these days and it is never easy to keep it fresh and updated so often and again.
• Lack of time has made it really difficult to blog as I was able to do it 2 years back when I was more enthusiastic and free for the same.
• Money from sale could have been used to launch some other blog on some other or the same niche.

hmm...just few simple reasons.  What say ?? Did I made the right decision to consider my blog for the sale ? Was I being too money-minded ? Did you had ever thought of me being into such indecision?

Please do share your thoughts...!

Email spamming is a leading concern for the Internet users today. No one is happy to receive hundreds of spam mails in their inbox. Many Internet service providers have upgraded systems to protect the subscribers from the annoying prospects of unwarranted spam mails. All the Internet service providers that assign their users with an email address has a special spam filter system in place. To have success with email marketing you have to understand how these spam filters work. It is only after understanding ir system that you will be able to make sure your email messages reach the subscribers.

Spam filters are a vital component in email communications and as email marketer you will need to understand how this system works and then work with the system to achieve high success rate in your marketing efforts. One of the important tools used by the Internet service providers to protect the customers from receiving spam mails is based on volume threshold or the total number of emails sent from a specific source in a given period of time. For example calculations will be made how many mails were sent in a 30 day period.

But as an email marketer you should know some of the basic ways in which you can write email messages without getting barred as spam. This can be done by assuring that you do not use certain words in the subject line of the mail. Words such as “offer” or “free” should not be used. Using excessive punctuations such as putting ten exclamation marks after the subject line should be avoided too. All the Internet service providers use content based rules for their spam filters to make sure the users are not harassed by unnecessary mails. It is the content that determines which mails get through to the inbox and which are dumped into the spam box. So pay attention to not only the subject line but the overall content of the email.

If you place yourself in the role of an Internet service provider, it should make sense why they put such great emphasis on spam protection. Spam mails are an irritation for the users and they are never happy to receive useless mails in the midst of their important mails. Most professionals use email accounts for their official purposes and spam mails can be a deterrent in their workflow or productivity. Some country wise acts also make the Internet service providers protect their users from unsolicited and unwarranted mail communications. It is a compulsion for the service providers that their users get a clean and spam free inbox every time. So the trick lies in understanding the psyche of people and then writing emails in such a way that it gets through to the subscribers.

Though there are problems posed in email marketing by the spam filters but these can be overcome with some intelligent thought. Excessive marketing claims should be avoided in the mail body and subject line. With some considerations you can reap benefits of email marketing and improve your sales significantly.

guest post by Charles

Online competitions offer an opportunity of winning lots of money, as well as prizes such as vacations, luxury cars, free groceries and computers. There are many offline competitions you could participate in. However, the best thing about online competitions is that you can enter them easily and fast. You don’t have to collect vouchers or anything else before you participate. Since everything happens online, you can enter as many competitions as you wish.

There are many kinds of online competitions. The most common is the one which has a multiple-choice question to be answered. After answering the question, you submit your personal details so as to enter the competition. Usually, the questions asked are very simple. Even when you get stuck, you can find the answer by researching on the internet for a few minutes.

To increase the likelihood of winning, you will need to participate in as many online competitions as possible. Prizes offered vary from one competition to another, which means that some competitions are more popular than others. Some competitions end up receiving very few entries. This means that if you enter every online competition you come across, it won’t be long before you win something.

Even if you end up with a prize you don’t want or like, you can sell it through the local paper, on eBay or sell it off to a relative or friend. This is another strategy of making an income from online competitions.

Many firms run online competitions with the aim of creating an email list for promoting their future products. Therefore to enter the competition, a valid email address, and at times a telephone number, will be required. This means that you will be getting promotional emails from the company in future. To prevent such emails clogging your inbox, it is advisable to open a new email address dedicated to competition entries. Make sure you check your inbox frequently since you might just win a prize anytime.

By typing ‘online competitions’ in search engines, you can find numerous on-going competitions. Many websites allow you to sign up for free and offer access to different competitions. Being able to find all this information in one place saves you lots of time and effort.
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Charles Mburugu writes for www.techblogke.com. He is passionate about subjects such as technology, social media, internet marketing, blogging and SEO.

Mistakes do happen and even if you commit them , you don’t realize it till you are made aware of the same. It happens sometimes but believe me it was not a minor mistake. I must be thankful to all those who have helped me out in dealing  with the issue which has been troubling me from the last few days. It  was all a result of a mistake which I had committed unknowingly and now, I am relieved to be out of the same..!

Now, here is the whole story. Before that, can you just check through the source code of my homepage so as to find the total number of AdSense code on my blog. I know you can even count it without passing through the source. But looking through the source gives actual and correct reading...I have realized it the other day. The whole issue lied with one of my Google ads. Unlike all other ads, I was not seeing my 250x250 google ad clearly on my blog. It was placed on the top right sidebar of the page. The ad was showing clearly in the required format just a week back but then all of a sudden, it was all gone making me clueless.

Initially, I thought it as a temporary bug from Google but I must have been foolish to think so. I tried a lot to get into the depth of the same but somehow, I found myself helpless. And to add to it, I could never ever think of it being a result of any mistake committed from my part which eventually, was my fault. I was using a 250 x 250 banner ad on top right sidebar of the page along with the ad between posts and just 2 days back, I had added one ad on top just below the navigation bar. The ad between posts was enabled from the blogger layout. All ads were placed through blogger default and everything was working fine till I started seeing an error with my 250x250 Google ad on the top right sidebar of the page. The ad just wasn’t appearing the way it should have. You can know more from the screenshot below.



Never have I been so frustrated before because even after trying out each and every thing, it just wasn’t happening. But I couldn't give up. I need solution badly and this is where I thought of adsense forum. If it was not anywhere else, it was here on the Adsense Forum. I tried finding solution to my problem from related forums, answers but then I was simply wasting my time. So, I thought of starting my own thread by posting my question and I did the same. Below is what I posted -

Hello, I am facing this strange problem with google adsense. I am unable to see my 250x250 google ads clearly on my blog. I just see a small incomplete ad in a rectangular size. I don't know why. The ad was showing clearly just few days back. But now, it is not visible clearly. And there are some, who are not not seeing any ad there on my blog. My blog is - http://www.aksindiblog.com

Please help me out with this issue. It is really frustrating to see this happen. If you want to see screenshots of the same, I can provide it. No problem.

And then I was waiting for the much needed reply which I got it after 10-15 minutes from a fellow member -

How many ad codes unit do you actually have on your home page? You are allowed a max of THREE (together with 3 xlink units  and 2xsearch boxes).

Any more than three ad units and the rest won't show (and you risk getting an email from Google as using more than the allowed number is a breach of program policies.) If you strip down your 468 ads to just 2 then the 250 box should appear.

I appreciated his reply but I didn’t find it specific. So, I kept on asking questions till he came out with an answer which shocked the hell out of me -

Sorry, I can't help because you say there are only three ads on your home page, I've checked the page source and there are at least seven ad codes there. Beacuse of that your 250 ad won't show but maybe someone else who can't count to more than three can assist :)

7 ad codes ???? I must have been the biggest fool on this earth to have committed such nonsense. Still then , I was not ready to accept it. And he kept on pointing me my mistake...which resulted in so much of confusion. I would better consult any of good blogger friends...which I did and he also pointed out the same thing. Still not believing him, I decided to ask one more of my friends and then he also came up with the same reply. To confirm me about my mistake, he even allowed me to check those codes on his PC through remote access. I did check it and  Gosh...Can you believe it?? I had committed a grave mistake..!! How on earth I allowed 7 adsense ads to run on my homepage and why didn’t I realize all these days ??

I was finally made to accept my mistake which I had committed unknowingly. You are free to say me anything as I deserve it. But honestly, I will tell you what exactly I did. No doubt, initially I had three ad blocks on my blog homepage. But I don’t know how many of you know that I have also been adding 468x60 ad codes on my post pages in the middle of the content. I have been following this strategy from last 6 months and it is completely legal as far as AdSense policies are concerned. But this clever strategy became the root of whole problem which started with 250x250 ad. I know you are allowed to run max 3 Google ads on your web page and I was also following the same. There were only 3 ads running on my homepage but what about all those ads which I had placed them manually for individual posts. I have been adding it all manually and since those ads were visible only while seeing the post pages, it never ever came under my counting for total ads on my web page. Ads being not visible directly created this mess. Had if I went through the source code, things could have been different. I could have stripped off the extra ad codes from my page which I had added to the middle of the content for my last 6-7 posts. Because of these extra ad codes which numbered more than 5, I wasn't able to see the 250x250 ad display on the top right sidebar...huh!

Now, the issue has been completely solved. I have removed all extra codes from my homepage by deleting the same for my last  6-7 posts and I will be doing the same for older posts too. You cannot find any Google ad in any of my last 6-7 posts. I haven't removed ads from some of my older posts which I had chosen individually for adding ad code thinking it would allow me to get  much better results through higher better click rate. The ad codes are still there for some older posts and I don't see any problem as long as the ad count remains max 3 on my web page which is in adherence to Google Adsense Policy...but still then I need to make some quick changes or I am bound to suffer later...looks very likely..!

Well, it can happen to anyone. In my case, it was a complete ignorance from my part. But as I said earlier, it happened unknowingly. I had no such motive to trick Google. I thought it as a smart move without looking into the downside of the same. Glad I am out of the mess now. I have learnt one big lesson - Try out everything but do check for the possible negatives. I could have been banned by Google for breaching their Adsense policy but better late than never, I was quick enough to realize my mistake..credit goes to all those who made me aware of my mistake and then finally correct it...Thank you so much...!!

Further readings -
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/AdSense/thread?tid=54e5ad6dd929d56c&hl=en&fid=54e5ad6dd929d56c0004b674861c5641

guest post by Amelia Hill

A business cannot do without online marketing strategy today. To grow a business the business houses are planning online strategy which is supporting the offline presence. Social media has come up as one of the most effective means of online marketing strategies in the current time.

In the world of social media Google+ is the latest buzz which has unfolded a new avenue for business and brands. Undoubtedly a new dimension in social media development, Google+ allows the business houses to create their own page with an aim to target and follow the clients or customers. A big advantage of Google+ over its competitor is it provides a business the option of following its fans. While the largest competitor of Google+ allows its fans to follow a business, there is no provision for the business to follow its fans. Google+ sets up a new opportunity for marketing for business and brands by facilitating and encouraging a business to follow its fans. If you have a small business you can see a considerable growth adopting this simple online social media strategy.

Here are some of the tips for setting up and optimizing your Google+ brand page :

For setting up a Google+ Brand Page you need to have a Gmail account at first. When you have a personal Gmail account you can create new business page which is accessible to multiple number of people or any person dealing with the company page. For accessing Google+ you need to go to plus.Google.com from where you will be headed to how to sign up for a Gmail account.  Once you log on, a Google+ icon, visible at the top of your webpage, will land you on the Google+ page.

After signing up to your account what you need to do is to click on "Create a Google+ Page". This will allow you to choose from five major categories -:

• Local Business or Place
• Product or Brand
• Company, Institution or Organization
• Arts, Entertainment or Sport
• Other

Once you select you category you have to provide some basic information like your company name and website. After a matching result is found by Google, this information will be used for your profile; in other cases by adding your business info you can continue. You need to agree with the terms and conditions and on the basis of content of your page you need to determine the suitable age group to whom you page will be visible.

After you are done with the initial set up of your page, you can start with customizing your public profile. For profile basics a profile photo and your tagline for the page are needed. For profile photo your company logo will be great.

Once you complete with the basics of your page you will get an option from Google+ so that you can spread news about your brand. By clicking on to “Finish” you can make desired changes to your page information or add important contents and make it completely customized and ready to be open to the public.

Google+ offers you a great opportunity to optimize your business presence. By promoting your page on your website or blog, encouraging people in sharing your posts and recommending links you can make it a great platform for online business promotion. Google+ enables you to understand the current trend by seeing who likes your sharing and who does not.

As a business owner you need to make sure that your visitors get to join any of your “circles”. Make them interested in your products or services and keep on updating about anything new. Send invitation for "hangout". With Google+ you can create multiple pages for your brands, but it is wise to keep it simple. Google+ tends to attract a large number of tech savvy users. Therefore, make sure that the contents and comments are relevant to your business.
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Amelia Hill is a social media specialist who has been associated with this field for a long time. She loves to write blogs and articles on various topics on social media marketing. We have also seen many of her informative articles on Comcast, Time Warner Internet, etc. In the article she is sharing some valuable information with us on Google+

guest post by Sarah Waters

The New Year has come and gone. The heavy traffic during New Year (I mean internet traffic) brought down Twitter to its knees as it spluttered along on the internet highway. Obviously, the traffic was good news for some who are in the business of internet marketing.

It’s time for love once again

Valentine’s Day is the time when love blooms once again. Thousands of millions of guys and gals wait for this special occasion to spread love and share stuff.  It’s celebration time for businesses, especially online. But ogling at Valentines won’t get you anywhere. While others are preparing for love, you must prepare a keyword strategy which would ride on the Valentine keyword and this must begin in earnest right now.

The valentine keyword

Perhaps, Valentine would reign as the supreme keyword for organic search in the coming month or so. Your online marketing campaign must therefore make use of this opportunity. If you are into roses, you need not bother anyway.  The best part about the whole affair is that you need not be selling roses or for that matter any other valentine products and services. For example, you can sell car title loans using the keyword phrases like ‘discounts on car title loans on Valentine’s Day’ or ‘ lowest rate on auto title loans this Valentine’s day’. The idea is to find suitable keyword phrases which seem natural and thematically relevant.

Pay Per Click and Valentine’s Day

PPC is a great way to drive traffic to your blog or website and Valentine’s is a huge opportunity to piggyback your way to success. Here again, it’s the keywords which will get you there. However you must know how to choose the right combination of keywords.Local search and Valentine’s Day.

Google is putting its weight behind local search. Once again you must know how to capitalize on both local search and Valentine’s Day. For example ‘Have a great Valentine’s Day with car title loan in California’ or ‘Valentine’s Day discounted car title loans in Los Angeles area’. You will notice that the keyword phrased has both an element of local search and Valentine together. You are sure to drive traffic to your site if you use this strategy.

But Valentine’s Day is a highly competitive keyword

True, but unavoidable. The plus side is that the number of searches is so huge that even if you can draw little juice from it, you will make it. There are SEO experts who shy away from competition. But you must actually look at competition as an opportunity. Anyway you have nothing to lose. One of the ways to improve your chances is to begin early. Some website owners leave it to the very end to begin their campaign. This can be frustrating. A month or even earlier is the best time to start working for the V Day. Even those looking for love on Valentine’s Day begin their search quite early.

Conclusion

This is the season for feverish search, both for people and businesses. Earlier you begin this search better for you.
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Sarah Waters lives in Los Angeles and blogs on various subjects including tech and financial news. She writes to help consumers maximize their potential. She also writes for websites offering car title loans in Los Angeles and California area.