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8 Essential Blogging Terms for Beginners

Posted on June 27, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

blogging terms image via bloggingbasics101.com

Here are the definitions to some of the most used terms in the world of blogging. Relax, grab a (healthy) drink and go over some of the most used terms in blogging. And remember, in this glossary, I don’t get technical. Just practical.

Blogging platform: This is basically where you blog. WordPress and Blogger are the most famous ones. I like to use them both.

Blogger is free, and you can monetize it. WordPress has a lot more options, but any monetization comes after you buy your own hosting. So there are pros and cons to both.

For instance, this blog is a self-hosted WordPress blog. My entertainment blog is also on WordPress.

For a Blogger example, you can check my Dating and Relationships in the 21^st century.

Webhost: Webhosting basically means that you pay to have your own websites and blogs to be out there. Why should you pay when there are many free platforms? Well, it depends on your intent.

The webhost lets you choose your own domain name. And even though my platform is WordPress, my blog URL doesn’t have WordPress, a benefit of having a self-hosted blog.

Webhosts also allow you to be free with your storage capacities (obviously up to a certain point, but you are much more comfortable with space than you are on the free platform), create an e-mail address (many advertising networks) require you to have a hosted email address and not a free one such as from Yahoo or Gmail).

And there is the fact that WordPress.com (free WordPress platform) doesn’t let you put advertising on your site. If you are in this for making a living for yourself, you need to get a webhost. Mine is Justhost. While it has its ups and downs, I have been using them since late 2009. They are cheap, and the customer service is pretty accessible. I occasionally get the message that I need to upgrade. I handle this by getting rid of the things I don’t use for the site.

But alternatively, you can monetize Blogger with Adsense, Amazon and other advertising opportunities – as long as you are allowed to have a URL on a free platform. It is best to check with the Publisher FAQ’s of the advertising company you want to use.

I heard that Bluehost is pretty good, but I have been too lazy to move. As long as Justhost keeps it up with the customer service and prices, I am happy.

Monetizing: You can put ads, make affiliate deals and sell other people’s stuff, sell your own product and services, make paid reviews…but these all have pros and cons. One of the cons is money is hard to make, especially if you are low on traffic.

Traffic: How many unique visitors do you get? Daily? Monthly?

Guestblogging: Writing for other blogs or other bloggers write for you. Guest-writing for popular blogs will be great for prestige and your popularity. There is a couple of lines for writing your bio, which includes your website link. You’ll also get to interact with people who comment on your piece. Just apply to guest-post and abide their guidelines. Then give it your best shot.

* Carol Tice pays her guestbloggers $50, but of course she selects them carefully.

Link building: How powerful your blog is usually dependent on how many (powerful/quality) sites are linking to you.

One great method is networking with others. Another fun, albeit less effective, way is blog commenting.

Problogging: Blogging about blogging- how to monetize, attract readers, etc…

Some of the problogging blogs I like are Problogger, Blogginglabs, Blogging Teacher (especially if you want to make money writing blog posts) and Carol Tice’s Make a Living Writing (especially if you are a writer who blogs). I have a lot more, but these four should get you going for starters.

Seo: Seach Engine Optimization. You need to optimize your blog for search engines like Yahoo, Google, etc… so that your blog will be easier to find on the Internet. In order to do that, you need to pick the right keywords.

What are your blog posts about? What keywords are in demand? What words are people typing into search engines? What are they interested in?

You can either search first and prepare a post accordingly or write your post first and make the search and optimize it later.

Frankly, I have read so many blog posts and e-books about SEO that I wouldn’t be able to direct you to one individual source.

Let me know if you need/want any other concepts explained. I’ll either explain here on the comments, or will link to a resource I like. Or both:)

6 Reasons Why Every Writer Should Blog

Posted on June 25, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

love blogging — image via ezgi.murekkep.org.

The article is short and to the point. It lists 5 reasons why you (as a writer) should blog:

1) The fun. Life is short and it is very important that if you find something that you enjoy, you should go after it. And if you like writing, there is a chance you’ll like it the colorful world of blogging.

2) The freedom. Part of t reasons why blogging is so much fun is that you can write about absolutely whatever/whenever and however you want.

3) Promotion. Do you write? What do you write? What are your strengths? Put in samples, talk about your credentials. It is your platform. Rock on. You can even put on a “hire me” button/page.

4) Interaction with like-minded people. It is amazing to share what you are passionate about with people who really care about that stuff.

5) Reputation. Get your name out there. Put in the hours, display the work, write the content. Then fingers crossed, things will eventually go viral- thanks to you and your n networking efforts. I started because of 1 and I got addicted because of 2. Then I realized, 3 was an opportunity and 4 made it even more fun.

6) Money. It may not the best idea to start blogging purely to make money, as it takes some time to start earning from it. But this is no reason not to monetize your site either. You can sell advertising space, promote others’ products, and a lot more.

Want to read more fun & useful stuff on blogging and writing? You might like:

4 Reasons Why Every Writer Should Use Twitter

Why Every Writer Should Watch ABC’s Mystery Thriller Castle

4 Reasons Why Every Writer and Blogger Should Use Twitter

Posted on June 3, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Twitter is important for your business. It is not about regular Joe’s or Jane’s online popularity although it might be a indication of it. But it is mainly about how you make use of social media, how strong a personality you are online, and how well your business is making use of the web. Sure, twitter isn’t the only micro-blogging platform out there but it is still one of the most popular and influential. Books are written and e-books are published every single day about this medium. This article is about the reasons why writers can’t afford not being in tune with it either.

1) Promotion. You have a blog and/or a website. Or maybe you have a website with a blog, or maybe you are running several blogs. Whatever your situation is, if you are writing, you need to have a Twitter account.

You also should personalize that Twitter account by providing a relevant & attractive background image, a full profile and relevant Tweets. If you don’t want to deal with tweets every time you post an article, there are tools for automating the process. However, you can’t neglect to reflect your persona, and your expertise on your Twitter profile. Like-minded people will follow you, retweet stuff that they enjoy, send you messages…In short, Twitter is a great medium to share your business, opinions, posts and passions with others. The traffic (and the relationships) you acquire through Twitter are great perks.

2) (Brand) Image. It is of course much more essential and practical to have relevant people (and/or companies in your list). But to the untrained eye, 2000 followers look better than 200. On a similar note, 20.000 followers look even better. Are there bloggers you like? Follow them. How about writers? Entertainers? If you are in advertising, following advertising blogs and companies is a good idea. Because more often than not, people follow you back. Not only you look more popular and important, but you also have a whole new medium to catch up with the events and industries you are in. Instead of skimming a whole website of news and ads, you will read tweets. You are not allowed to write more than 140 characters so you can choose to be informed about the most interesting stuff.

3) Improving the ability to write better. As mentioned above, you have 140 characters you can use, including a link if you need to use one. Since you have such short space and an impatient audience, you are forced to write better in shorter forms. What better exercise is there?

4) Making connections without much effort. I told you needed to work to promote yourself, but the beauty of Twitter is that others are trying to socialize or get their names/brands out there as well. So people will start following you too. It is your call whether to follow them back or not, but it feels good that your list might end up growing even when you are not actively working on it.

Yes, a lot of people are using Twitter for unnecessarily insignificant updates about their lives. So? Don’t follow them. But don’t let your prejudice about twitter block your success.

I tweet @zoeyclark. What’s your Twitter handle? Share away in the comments.

4 Reasons Why Every Writer/Blogger Should Use Twitter