Randy Roedl

posted by Randy Roedl on Dec 3

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Five Mistakes You Make When Writing For Your blog

Okay, you have a blog started and the layout looks just the way you want it to.  All the features you wanted to be functioning on it are there.  All the top of the line and most popular plug-ins are activated and in use.  You’re even marketing your blog for both search engine success and also using great link building techniques.  What else is there, right?  Let talk a little bit about your writing and the five mistakes you’re making.

The first and most glaring mistake that you may be making when writing for your blog is not proofreading.  This is easy to do because many times blog posts are written in a largely quick and casual manner.  While this makes for an embracing type of interaction with the readership and is a very valid form of writing, when writing in a casual tone make sure there are no misspellings and grammatical errors.  Everyone makes mistakes, but proofreading is not that hard and most of the writing software on the market comes with spell checking capability.  When any writing, whether it is used online or off, is filled with spelling and grammar errors the effect it has on the reader is to lose confidence in the intelligence of the writer.  This is not the effect that your writing should project to your readers.

The second mistake you might be making with your blog writing is going too in depth about a broad subject.  Instead of writing one 3000 word post about a broad subject, consider writing three to six posts in the 300-600 word range that explore different aspects of that broad subject.  This serves two purposes, it makes it so your readers don’t risk getting bored by committing to a large article, and it also means that instead of one post you’ve written yourself a week or more worth of material.

The third blog writing mistake that may be affecting your writing output is burnout.  It isn’t uncommon that after planning out your blog, designing and redesigning its layout, tweaking its features, and finally writing the content that at some point you could become burnt out on the topic of it.  Regardless of how much you love the subject you blog about, burnout is a possibility.  Your readers can tell when they read what you write if you are just going through the motions and not as passionate about your blog or topic as you once were.  To solve this problem, take some time away from your blog periodically.  It might take writing an extra blog post now and then and not posting it.  Let these accumulate so that you can take a week away from your blog but still have fresh content to post.

The fourth problem your blog writing may be experiencing is that of being too informal or casual.  While a certain amount of casualness can be a great match for some blog topics, if you are covering more serious issues or are looking to gain a certain amount of respect in a given marketplace, writing that is too informal may actually turn people away.  People want to at least think that the authors they are reading are educated and informed about their subject matter.  They may take the subject very seriously, and if you aren’t writing for these readers then you may be losing them.

The fifth problem you may be having with your blog writing is the topic you’re writing about.  The sad fact about many struggling blogs on the internet is that there is truly either very little or no market at all for the subject they are talking about.  In a perfect world, your subject matter hits a viable niche market that you can capitalize on and market to.  What you need to try and stay clear of is either a subject matter that is too broad and is already overcrowded with other blogs and websites covering it or a subject that has such a limited niche that the possibility of mining it for any traffic or profit benefit is non-existent.

Many people think that tackling the task of running a blog or even blogging full time is easy.  Not only is this not true, not only is running a blog difficult, it can be difficult each and every day.  One of the best ways to get the most out of your blog is to have high quality content and the best way to do this is to constantly work at both improving your writing skills and proofreading what you have written.  Having a well written blog with frequently updated and quality content is the one and only way to make sure that it is successful.

posted by Randy Roedl on May 22

Here is a little used technique you can implement to build your mailing list for no additional cost. I call it “using subscribers to make subscribers” like much in the context of “using money to make money”.

This simple list building formula can be summed up in two words: ad swap.

Generally, you trade advertisements with other eZine publishers, preferably of the same mailing list size or bigger. You broadcast the eZine publisher’s advertisement to your mailing list while the eZine publisher endorses your ad to his list. Yes, you are actually cross endorsing or cross promoting each others offer to each of your mailing list.

Your advertisement’s goal should be to get as many subscribers possible from the other eZine publisher’s mailing list to sign up for yours.

The result: you grow your mailing list. This method does not require money, which means it can be done for free. And the return of subscribers? Infinite!

You only have to do this with one eZine publisher at least once, because his subscribers who are also your subscribers can now be followed up within the boundaries of your mailing list.

Perform ad swaps with as many eZine publishers as possible and soon, you will have a huge mailing list of your own – built free.

posted by Randy Roedl on May 9

Putting up a company would of course require a lot of things, to get straight to the point, you need a capital. To make money requires money as well. But of course, with the versatility the internet offers, there are many ways you could find that could help optimize the potential of your site or business in generating traffic.

While there are ways to jumpstart your traffic flows, many sites don’t have the resources that others have to generate more traffic for your site. Well, you don’t have to spend a cent; all you need is the proper mindset and a lot of eagerness. You also must have the drive and perseverance to do hard work and research to generate more traffic for your site.

How sweet it is to have more traffic for your site without spending a single cent.  Now it’s a sure thing that many sites have articles that offer tips and guidelines in how to generate traffic using only free methods. Because it is possible, you don’t need to speed a single cent, it may take time, to say honestly, I’m not going to beat around the bush with you. You get better chances by paying for your advertisements, but at least you get a fighting chance with some of these free methods I’m about to tell you.

Take advantage of online forums and online communities. The great thing about forums and online communities is that you can target a certain group that fits the certain demographic that you are looking for. You can discuss about lots of things about the niche that you represent or offer.  Another great advantage is that you know what you are getting into and you will be prepared.

With online communities and forums you can build a reputation for your company. Show them what you are made of and wow them with your range of expertise about the subject, with that you can build a reputation and build trust with the people in your expertise and knowledge.

You can also make use of newsletters. Provide people with a catalog of your products and interesting and entertaining articles. If you make it really interesting and entertaining, more people will sign up for your newsletter and recommend it to other people. The more people who signs up for your newsletter, the more people there will be that will go to your site increasing your traffic.

Another great idea is trading links with other sites. You don’t have to spend a cent. All you have to do is reach an agreement with another webmaster. With exchanging links, the efforts both sites do will benefit both sites. Every traffic that goes to the site could potentially click on the link of your site and visit your site as well. This works well especially when both sites feature the same niche.

Write articles that could pique the attention of people that have interest in your product. Try writing articles that will provide tips and guides to other aficionados. Writing articles that provide good service and knowledge to other people would provide the necessary mileage your traffic flow needs. 

Many sites offer free submission and posting of your articles. When people find interest in your articles they have a good chance of following the track by finding out where the article originated. Include a link or a brief description of your company with the article and there’s a great probability that they will go to your site.

Write good content for your site. Many search engines track down the keywords and keyword phrases your site uses and how they are used. It is not a requirement that a content should be done by a professional content writer. You could do your on but you have to make content for your site that is entertaining as well as informational. It should provide certain requirements as well as great quality.
Generally, internet users use search engines to find what they are looking for. Search engines in return use keyword searching in aiding their search results. With the right keywords, you could get high rankings in search engine results without the costs.

All of these methods and more will drive more traffic to your site for free. All it takes is a bit of effort and extended man hours. Learn all you can about the methods depicted here and you will soon have a site with a great traffic flow without the usual costs that come with it.

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posted by Randy Roedl on May 7

There are so many success stories you will hear about businesses making it good in the internet. The troubling thing is, there are maybe a tenfold or even a hundredfold of stories contradictory to theirs. Many have unsuccessfully launched a business enterprise that is internet based but only a handful shall succeed.

Is this through luck? That is even more remote. It takes good business sense and a lot of help and team effort. Most importantly, it is the eagerness to succeed and the determination to learn and the willingness to invest in a lot of hard work and some money.

The Very Basic

Like Neo, traffic is “The One”. Without traffic, all your effort would just go to waste. Every business needs customers, without them you wouldn’t have anyone to sell your products to. In the internet world traffic is the walk in customer. The more traffic you have the more people would be able to sell your products to.

But like any business that’s in every corner building or in the mall, not everyone that goes in will buy, but the greater of number that do come in to browse your merchandise, the greater number of people that will buy your products. It is a simple and known fact.

But, how do you get traffic, traffic large enough that could make a small percentage of eventual buyers enough to make a good profit. Many big companies generate traffic of tens of thousands a day and a measly ten to fifteen percent actually buys, but that small percentage is enough to provide them with good business.

Many of these success stories get their traffic from paying others. Yes that’s right; you have to spend money to make money. Advertising is the key. The more people that knows that your site exists; the more people would of course go to your site, that’s common sense.

While there are many ways that can get you advertising for free, this do not generate the same high volume as those methods that are getting paid. These paid advertisements include advertising schemes by Google and Yahoo.

The Value of Searches

The search and will be the easiest and fastest medium in finding what a person needs in the internet. Search engines have been very popular because they provide a vital service to many people. They are free and easy to use. With this popularity, they get many visitors and clicks that they are the most common sites that people go to. It is easy to understand why so many companies would pay to advertise with these search engines.

Search engines provide information to the millions of users that they have each day. They provide links to many sites that a user may be looking for. If your sites link pop up in the high ranks of the search results page, you get a great chance that they will go to your site. While search engine optimization is a cheaper and low cost way to get your site a high rank, paying for advertisements will ensure that you will be on the top ranks.

When you pay for your advertisements, it is like paying for your traffic. This may sound like not such a good idea, but the payoffs would tell a different story. When you pay for your traffic, you are guaranteed of a consistent traffic flow to your site. You will never go with an empty sales day.

Paying for your Traffic

Usually, you will be charged with the number of hits a link gets when your ads is clicked, this is called pay per click. For some search engines, you will be charged with the number of times your ad shows up when a certain keyword or keyword phrase is searched. It is imperative that you have good keyword content in your ad. There are many tools that aid you in using the right keyword for the right moment.

All the money you spend in paying for your traffic will not be for naught. You will get an impressive boost in traffic which will also result to a great boost in your sales figures. Paying for your traffic would be a really good idea and you will get all the benefits it has to offer.

posted by Randy Roedl on May 6

If a person visits your website and leaves, chances are that he or she will not come back, especially if there are no compelling reasons to do so. After all, we all behave rather impulsively on the internet, so much so that we can easily forget where we were 10 web pages ago.

But the bottom line is that your visitor may not come back to your website again. If 1,000 visitors visit your website, leave and never come back again, you can imagine the amount of potential revenue lost, simply because they do not come back. You could have converted a fraction of the visitors into your customers.

Some may say that creating unique content can keep some of the visitors coming back, but very often, unique content is not the solution. The real, long-term solution lies in converting your visitors into subscribers of your mailing list.

Before your visitor leaves your website, you want to convert him or her into your subscriber via a simple opt-in to your mailing list. You do this by asking for your visitor’s name and email address through your opt-in form.

And if your visitor signs up to be on your mailing list, you can still follow up with him via email. You can get your subscriber to consider your offer, or endorse another offer to him or her.

All in all, you want to convert as many visitors into subscribers as possible and obtain the potential revenue you rightfully deserve – the easy, wise way.