The Beginning Blogger's Bible - Stephen D. Palmer

84 Pages·2009·5.94 MB·English

by  Charles Pabst

The Beginning Blogger’s Bible :
How to Make Money, Make a Difference, and
Make a Name Online
Copyright (c) 2008 - Stephen Palmer
Book design by : CharfishDesign.com

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About the Author
Stephen Palmer is a marketing strategist, consultant, and writer with KGaps Consulting,
which provides marketing products, services, and implementation for thought leaders.
Stephen has expertise and experience with blogging, persuasive copywriting, persuasion
architecture for websites, search engine optimization, social media and networking
strategies, and written communications of all types and lengths.
He is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Amazon bestselling co-
author of Killing Sacred Cows: Overcoming the Financial Myths that are Destroying
Your Prosperity.
Stephen graduated from George Wythe University with a degree in Statesmanship in 2006.
He is also a graduate of the prestigious Wizard Academy.
A dedicated scholar and promoter of personal, financial, and governmental freedom,
Stephen is a well-read student and teacher of political philosophy, economics, history,
personal finance and entrepreneurship, religion and spirituality, family, education, and
culture. He shares his passion on The Cause of Liberty.
Stephen resides in Round Rock, Texas with his gorgeous wife Karina, awesome son Alex,
and princess daughters Libby and Avery. He can be contacted here.

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Table of Contents
Introduction. ...................................................................................................................................6
Chapter 1 - Who, What, Why. .........................................................................................................8
Who Should Blog?. ..................................................................................................................................9
What is a Blog?. .......................................................................................................................................9
Why Should You Blog?. ........................................................................................................................11
Conclusion. .............................................................................................................................................18
Additional Resources:. .........................................................................................................................................19
Chapter 2 - Show Me the Money. .................................................................................................20
Advertising. ............................................................................................................................................21
Affiliate Marketing. ...............................................................................................................................24
Product Sales. ........................................................................................................................................26
Donations. ...............................................................................................................................................27
Paid Blogging Sites. ...............................................................................................................................28
Sell Text Links. .......................................................................................................................................29
Marketing Your Core Business Through Blogging. ...........................................................................30
Conclusion. .............................................................................................................................................31
Additional Resources:. .........................................................................................................................................33
Chapter 3 - Choosing the Right Platform. ...................................................................................34
Steps To Choosing Your Platform. .......................................................................................................36
Step 1: Determine Your Purposes & Goals. .........................................................................................................37
Step 2: Determine Your Budget. ..........................................................................................................................38
Step 3: Determine Your Level of Technology Savvy. .........................................................................................39
Why Choose Wordpress?. .....................................................................................................................40
Wordpress Resources. ...........................................................................................................................41
Conclusion. .............................................................................................................................................42
Additional Resources:. .........................................................................................................................................44
Chapter 4 - The Costs of Blogging. ..............................................................................................45
Domain Name Registration. .................................................................................................................46
Hosting. ...................................................................................................................................................47
Design. ....................................................................................................................................................47
Technical Support. .................................................................................................................................49
Marketing. .............................................................................................................................................49
My Story. ................................................................................................................................................50

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Conclusion. .............................................................................................................................................54
Additional Resources:. .........................................................................................................................................55
Chapter 5 - How to Market Your Blog. ........................................................................................56
Create Value. .........................................................................................................................................57
Optimize Technicalities. ........................................................................................................................58
Make Friends. ........................................................................................................................................60
Online. .................................................................................................................................................................60
Offline. .................................................................................................................................................................62
Build Community. .................................................................................................................................62
Promote. .................................................................................................................................................64
Conclusion. .............................................................................................................................................66
Additional Resources:. .........................................................................................................................................66
Chapter 6 - Writing Effective Blog Posts. .....................................................................................67
Challenges of Internet Publishing. .......................................................................................................67
Specific Techniques For Effective Blog Writing. ................................................................................69
Conclusion. .............................................................................................................................................73
Additional Resources:. .........................................................................................................................................74
Chapter 7 - Miscellaneous Tools & Tips. .....................................................................................75
Track Statistics. .....................................................................................................................................76
How to Operate a Newsletter. ...............................................................................................................77
Utilize Images. .......................................................................................................................................81
Subscribe to RSS Feeds. .......................................................................................................................82
Additional Resources:. .........................................................................................................................................82

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Introduction
Time To Harness the Power
“Until recently, 'the Blogosphere' referred to a small cluster of geeks circled
around a single tool. Now it refers to hundreds of millions of people using a vast
warehouse of tools that allow people to behave increasingly online like they do in
real life. We have entered the Age of Normalization in the Blogosphere.”
-Shel Israel, Social Media Writer & Speaker & the Co-Author of Naked Conversations
Y ou have the power. Above
all, that’s what you should
learn from this e-book. In the
past, if you wanted to write a
book, you needed to either get
accepted by a publisher or pay for
one. If you had a passion, you
were limited to sharing it with
your family and close friends. If
your interests were unique, you
were limited to networking with
people in your local area. If your family was spread out, you were limited to expensive
phone calls and inconvenient letters to stay connected. Business marketing used to be
confined to depersonalized, interruptive mass media.
Blogging has torn down walls and flung doors open that have been closed to all but a select
few. It’s leveled the playing field and brought the power down.

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Now, every writer has an immediate publishing platform, as “Your family can
well as the ability to market his or her book. You can broadcast
your passions and interests across the globe. Your family can stay connected
stay connected like never before. You can market your
like never before.”
business through intimate permission marketing to create
loyal customers.
None of this matters, however, if you don’t take advantage of it. Isn’t it time for you to
harness the power of the blogosphere?

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Chapter 1
- Who, What, Why
Who, What, Why
“The word blog is irrelevant, what’s important is that it is now common, and will
soon be expected, that every intelligent person (and quite a few unintelligent
ones) will have a media platform where they share what they care about with the
world.”
-Seth Godin, New York Times Bestselling Author of Purple Cow, Unleashing The
Ideavirus, and Tribes
T he Information Age is a
raging wildfire. Those who
are unprepared and behind the
times will get torched to the ground
and left in the dust. Those who
understand it and harness
technology will blaze new trails and
burn holes in their pockets with all
their new wealth.
Blogging is one of the best ways to control the wild flames of technology to your benefit. A
blog in the 21st Century is what a horse was in the 18th Century.

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Who Should Blog?
You should have a blog if any of the following describe you:
You’re a business owner
You have a family
You want to increase your income
You have a passion for anything
You want to make a name for yourself
You want to increase your impact and sphere of influence
You have anything to say to anyone
Is there anyone imaginable that one or more of these don’t apply to?
“Blogging is getting easier and easier and some day, we'll all have blogs of one sort or
another…I am not envisioning anything other than this; every single human being
posting their thoughts and experiences in any number of ways to the Internet. That's
where we are headed and blogging is a big part of that.”
-Fred Wilson, Managing Partner, Union Square Ventures
What is a Blog?
Imagine piling a publishing firm, TV studio, radio station, art/photography gallery, retail
store, wholesale product distributor, news outlet, living room, and community hall into one
tiny box that you control with your mind and fingers. Imagine stroking a few keys to reach
thousands of people—or a small handful of targeted people—instantaneously. That’s a blog.

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A blog can be anything you want it to be, but
the simplest explanation is that it’s an outlet
for you to self-publish your thoughts and
interests to the world. It can be a family
gathering place; a soapbox; a diary; an online
scrapbook/photo gallery; a news outlet; a
platform to share your passions, such as
poetry, photography, a love for pets, etc.; a
community. You can do it alone or you can do it with a group of friends or business
associates.
The term “blog” is a contraction of “web log.” It’s a self-managed website that facilitates
adding content on an ongoing basis. Content can include text, images, videos, and podcasts
(audio downloads). Content is added in the form of blog articles, or posts. Posts are
displayed in reverse-chronological order; when you publish a new article all old articles are
pushed down and the most recent article appears at the top of your blog page.
The beauty of a blog—and of the Internet in general—is the ability to link to other sites,
articles, and resources and to interact with your readers through discussion. Unlike a book,
which is the reader talking to you and only gives you access to the page in front of you, a
blog is a conversational approach to sharing information. While you’re speaking to your
audience, you’re linking and referring to outside resources, just as you would in a
conversation. And your audience has the ability to respond and interact with you, your
content, and other readers.
In short, a blog allows for connectivity and interactivity, which together comprise the
Information Age currency.

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