Jack of All Blogs

WordPress Plugins Every Blogger Should Use

Gracielou — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 13:16:00 +0000

There’s no question that WordPress remains the top choice as a blogging platform today. Its ease of use is the primary reason private individuals and organizations have opted to use it.

To make a blog more interactive, though, plugins must be used. Numerous WordPress plugins have been developed and continue to be developed to help bloggers achieve their goals and make their blogging work easier.

Here are several new plugins worth using this year and moving forward.

Page Builder

Developed by SiteOrigin, Page Builder is a user-friendly content builder with a drag-and-drop feature. It’s fast and easy to create blog posts and page layouts with this plugin even if you don’t have a background on coding.

Currently the most popular WordPress plugin, Page Builder ensures you maintain a responsive blog using the widgets you’re already familiar with. It works with any theme and the standard widgets you need. And even though you want to change themes every now and then, your content will not be affected.

WP Smush

If you’re particular about disk space and the quality of the images you upload to your blog, you need to install the WP Smush plugin. This tool is free to use and optimizes your images so that your website loads faster than usual.

What WP Smush does is reduce image file sizes while maintaining their quality and boost your site’s SEO. When resizing images, this plugin lets you set a maximum width and height.

Keep in mind that large images can slow down your website or blog hence, it is a must to use WP Smush if you want to keep your followers and attract more people to your site.

WP Forms

The WP Forms plugin is a must particularly for business owners. This will allow your customers to get in touch with you easily. And with its drag and drop feature, you can create any form you desire whether it’s the contact form type or for subscription, order and payment. A lite version is also available for people looking for a simple solution while the pro version is recommended for those who want more advanced features.

Backup Buddy

Publishers need to back up their blogs to secure it from possible server or other hardware problems that can make your content and other vital business and customer information disappear. A reliable backup system that’s popular today is Backup Buddy.

This backup plugin is very easy to use and is capable of restoring WordPress sites in a few clicks. The best part is it can backup your entire website from your posts and pages to your themes, media library, widgets, database, settings and comments. And since you’re safe from all possible threats, you can enjoy your peace of mind moving forward.

6 Features of a Good Ecommerce Site

Gracielou — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 12:27:00 +0000

If you want to become the next Amazon, you’ll need to keep a few things in mind as you prepare your e-commerce site. Here are just a few tips for becoming a new online juggernaut!

1. Flexible Buying Options

This is especially important if you’re selling clothes, tools, household goods, or anything else where shoppers expect a certain level of customization. They might not want to buy a red shirt when their favorite color is blue, or they might not be willing to spring for a power saw with a four-inch blade when they really need a six-inch one. Make sure that you’re offering plenty of variety in shapes, sizes, colors, patterns, and textures.

2. High-Quality Graphics

You can have the best products in the world, but if you’re trying to sell them through grainy, low-quality pictures that were clearly snapped by an amateur, you won’t have a lot of takers. Today’s consumers expect sharp images without any kind of pixelation. They also want the ability to view the product from multiple angles and with zoom-in features. If you lack any of these things, they might just take their business elsewhere.

3. Quick Checkout

Your choice in ecommerce shopping cart software can make all of the difference in your brand’s success. You want it to encourage repeat business, so it’s good to have options for logging in and creating new accounts, but you don’t want your customers to feel forced into subscribing for something. Not only will it raise privacy concerns, but it will also increase their overall checkout time. You should aim for something speedy if you want to decrease cart abandonment among your demographic.

4. Detailed Product Descriptions

A good product description can elevate even the most basic or boring of items. For example, a plain white t-shirt can become “the staple of a layering wardrobe” while a pair of black tights are “the perfect slimming accessory for your favorite dress.” On that note, don’t be afraid to link other recommended items in your product descriptions. Go ahead and connect your customers to your dress section while they’re looking at tights that will pair well with dresses.

5. Well-Advertised Sales

There’s no use in having great sales if your customers don’t know that they’re happening! You should be splashing sales events all over your website. Whether it’s embedded in your header image or hanging around as a floating banner at the bottom of the screen, your customers should always know that a sale is taking place. Be sure to mention when a certain product or category is experiencing a discount, too. Slash their regular price right there on the checkout page.

6. Useful Search Functions

There’s more to creating a search function than just plopping a search box at the top of the screen. You’ll want your customers to find whatever they’re looking for without getting frustrated or leaving your site in a huff, and this means advanced search options. If you sell video games, let them search by year, console, rating, and price. If you sell candles, let them sort their search results by fragrance and size. They’ll appreciate the options, and you’ll benefit from the sales.

These are just a few tips for improving your e-commerce site. Good luck!

How to Successfully Blog via an iPad

Gracielou — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 07:05:43 +0000

Mobility is a priority for many people these days particularly the busy professionals and entrepreneurs. As such, they prefer to bring with them their mobile devices notably their smartphones and tablets. A growing number of writers and bloggers who need to travel often and those who want to continue working even while they’re out and about are also now using their tablets more than their laptops. Not surprising at all because apart from being lightweight, tablets have become very versatile with sleek designs and can be used with an external keyboard and mouse. Statistics show that people who have bought an iPad and who also own desktop computers and laptops use their Apple gadget more. They also use their iPad every day of the week from as short as half an hour to as long as more than two hours each day.

Blogging Using an iPad

An iPad may not be as easy to use as your laptop or desktop computer for blogging but it definitely has benefits. The trick here is to use mobile apps to help you continue your online blogging jobs even while on the go. There are many iPad apps available these days even those ideal for bloggers and writers. Just make sure you get to know each one before deciding which ones to use and installing them on your device. WordPress. Installing WordPress is a must particularly for the more experienced bloggers as it will allow you to create and edit your posts and pages wherever you may be. You will also be able to upload photos and videos, moderate comments and view your site’s statistics. The best part is this app is free to use. Tumblr. The Tumblr app suits people who blog as a hobby. It allows shorter posts but it can accommodate lots of visual content which means you can share photos, videos and a lot more. You can even create and edit your post whether using your iPad or iPhone and publish it right away. Blogpress. If you manage several blogs in different platforms, it’s best to use a third-party app such as the Blogpress. This app allows you to access various blogging accounts including WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr and Squarespace among others. It also lets you manage social media accounts such as Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, YouTube and Vimeo. Hootsuite. This app helps in sharing your blog posts with the various social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn at a time you want them published. It’s a scheduling tool which enables users to post their updates and other content on specific dates and times. It also lets you monitor messages, likes, comments and click-through stats.

Why Your Blog Should Be On Online Directories

Gracielou — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 13:17:47 +0000

Directories, whether online or the print version, serve a similar function. They exist to provide people with an organized list of names and business names including their contact details to make it easy to find persons or organizations they’re looking for. Online, however, directories are of different types. They can be about businesses, articles or blogs. They are as important as the print version particularly when it comes to increasing exposure of one’s business and offerings. Private individuals and organizations that manage blogs should definitely consider submitting their site including a short description, anchor text and keywords to blog directories. Eatonweb is the oldest blog directory on the web and as such, it is the right place to build your blog’s online authority. Until today, the site continues to receive submissions from various locations worldwide. It is a major advantage to be listed in a blog directory because of the many benefits to be gained.

Boost Web Page Traffic

If you want your blog to attract more followers, submitting it to a directory is an ideal move. People searching for businesses and blogs online, particularly the busy ones, normally want to save time and prefer to look in a directory. If your blog is listed, there’s a greater chance it will be seen by more people.

Increase Brand Awareness

It follows as well that when your blog gets greater exposure such as in a directory, people will be more aware of its existence. This helps greatly in promoting your brand to a wider audience and keeping it on top of their minds.

Improve Search Engine Indexing

Blogs listed on directories have a higher chance of being indexed by search engines. On Eatonweb, blogs are ranked according to three types of metrics – strength, momentum and overall. The strength component takes into account the individual web metrics gathered from different sources. The momentum aspect refers to the growth of a blog whether it’s healthy or weak while the overall metric measures the conjunction of strength and momentum. What this means is that when blogs are shown on the top of each metrics page on the Eatonweb site, they have a high ranking. When submitting to directories such as Eatonweb, do remember to include your blog UL, its RSS feed, a short description and tags. This way, you can be sure to gain incoming links and traffic to your site. Keep in mind that it’s not enough to update your blog on a regular basis. Submitting it to directories is also very helpful in getting more exposure.

Must-Do Steps in Creating a Business Blog

Gracielou — Fri, 22 May 2015 13:46:07 +0000

Businesses today need to establish an online presence to attract more people from all over the globe. Regardless of their size, it is must to maintain a good reputation not only offline but as well as on the internet. One of the most effective ways of reaching more people is by starting a business blog. This should be an important consideration in addition to the company’s social media accounts. There are many designs and features to choose from these days when creating a blog. Beyond them, however, a business entity must take into account a few vital features that will provide the best results.

Layout Design

A blog’s layout makes a huge difference in creating an appealing site. Basically, there are three types – the three-column, two-column and single column. The three-column layout normally features the main content column and two sidebars while the two-column features the main column and a single sidebar. A business that offers several products or services can choose the three-column layout to allow it to provide various information. While the different sections can distract visitors, they can also be beneficial in that readers have lots of information to check out while on the site. On the other hand, the two-column and one-column layout have less distractions as they allow readers and visitors to focus more on reading the blog’s content.

Create a Mobile Version

Business owners should also make it a point to create a mobile version of their blog. They don’t even have to spend so much for this because there are online tools that will help you build a mobile blog at no cost. By doing this step, you can be sure to attract more people particularly those that prefer to browse the internet using their mobile devices.

Add Opt-in Forms

Opt-in forms are another way to prompt visitors to follow or subscribe to your blog and get updates. It’s also an effective way to build your list. A blog featuring a writers job board, for example, can entice people wanting to find freelance writing jobs to subscribe to the site. This way, they are updated regularly of new writing jobs that become available. Adding several opt-in forms is strongly recommended particularly for businesses that offer a number of products or services. To get the attention of your visitors, place your opt-in form on the top right of your home page and include a call for action.

Add SEO Plugin

If you’re using the WordPress platform, an SEO plugin can be added to ensure that your blog is easily searched and is shown in the top search results. The WordPress SEO plugin is free to use and allows publishers to include a title, meta description and keywords for a blog’s homepage and other blog posts.

Include Social Media Buttons

The social media buttons should not be taken for granted as well. They perform an important function which is to make it easier for readers to share your blog posts on their favorite social networking sites. For this part, you have two options You can choose to add the official sharing buttons that includes Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Pinterest among others or use a plugin that allows you to create share buttons for more than 80 social networking sites.

5 Criminal Law Blogs Worth Following

Gracielou — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 13:50:12 +0000

As crimes continue to be committed around us, it is always best to be in the know about what’s happening and what you can do to protect yourself. Sometimes, it’s never enough to have the best security equipment at home. Additional knowledge will arm you better in case of emergencies notably when you become a victim or a loved one falls victim. Fortunately, the internet is there to provide vast information to people. Blogs and websites focusing on criminal law are aplenty many of which are authored by lawyers. They are great resources that can give you valuable information on the justice system, how it works, the role of law enforcers and the steps you can take when you or a family member become a victim, among other topics. Here are some of the top criminal law blogs you can follow. They are written by defense lawyers, prosecutors and professors. If you’re a resident of L.A. in California, you can turn to the website or blog of a Los Angeles criminal lawyer where you can be updated of the latest in your area.

Sentencing Law and Policy

Owned and authored by Douglas A. Berman, a professor of law at The Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law, the site is regularly updated with the latest legal news across the U.S. Berman not only shares news but also incorporates his personal views on important topics that matter to him. The site is very helpful as it also provides links to government and non-government sites and other criminal law blogs that people can check out.

Simple Justice

The Simple Justice blog is also a trusted site for general criminal defense topics. Behind this blog is Scott Greenfield, an attorney and counsellor at law with vast experience in trials and appeals. The author here has a lot to say about legal and personal matters that affect the general public. He also shares videos that are provide lessons and are therefore worth your time and attention.

White Collar Crime Prof

The White Collar Crime Prof blog is backed by a team of law professors and lawyers and is part of te Law Professor Blogs Network. In existence since 2004, the site offers news, reviews of books related to law and updates on the justice system and other legal cases.

Crime and Consequences

Sponsored by the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, this blog provides fresh news every day and is most ideal for people looking for snippets of news right on the home page. The news being shared here are the latest happenings in the administrative and judicial departments of the government as well as the progress of criminal cases. The main authors behind the blog are Michael Rushford and Kent Scheidegger. Also contributing to the blog are student interns and other guest authors. Being free from any advertisement, the site lets visitors focus on reading the content without distraction.

A Public Defender

This blog shares the personal views and opinions of the author on a variety of legal topics. Gideon, the writer and owner of the blog, says sharing his views on the site is his way of unwinding after a hard day’s work. These are only a few of the many more online resources you can find on the internet if you want to search for information on criminal law. Take the time to do your research and it will be worth it.

Popular Blogs on Divorce

Gracielou — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 12:47:22 +0000

Divorce is a reality particularly in the western world. People fall in love and marry, encounter problems and when they can no longer settle their issues and differences, they call it quits. Sometimes, no matter how married couples try their best to stay together, there comes a point in their lives that they fall out of love due to certain personal reasons. But it’s not the end of the world when two people end their marital relationship. Yes, it can be devastating to both spouses but then again, life has to go on. It’s just fortunate that with the presence of the internet today, people who go through divorce or who want to help a friend going through the process can get help from blogs that offer advice and emotional support. There are plenty of them today and we share some of the best ones we recommend you visit.

Divorced Girl Smiling

This blog authored by Jackie Pilossoph is more than a year old and offers information on common problems among couples as well as advice. A divorcee herself, the author here shares her personal experiences and the lessons she learned from her past marriage. Pilossoph describes her blog posts as written with honesty but are sometimes funny, entertaining and inspirational. Everything a man or woman wants to know about divorce including the litigation and mediation process, the Divorced Girl Smiling blog tackles.

Road Mom Blog

This Road Mom blog shares the reflections of a divorced mom who wants to be called Renee. It delves on othe triumphs and struggles of the author with no apologies included and provides spiritual inspiration to both women and men. According to Renee, her blog is about her stories, failures, triumphs, past and current struggles. It is her way of reflecting on her past life and healing as she moves forward as a single mom, employee and small business owner. Various pages you can explore on the site are on Causes, Dating, Divorce, Ex Files, Family, House and Home and Little Things.

Divorce Blog

This blog by the Hufftington Post shares posts from various contributors. Most are personal opinions shared by authors who have gone through divorce themselves while the others offer practical advice. Although some of the posts here were written years ago, they are still relevant and are worth reading.

Since My Divorce

Since My Divorce is a blog authored by a divorced mom, Mandy Walker, who wants to share vital information on the divorce process, the experiences (and lessons learned) of divorced people and some of her personal experiences with readers. Apart from the blog posts, you may also visit the other sections of the site such as the story catalog, resources, topics, wisdom from divorce, inspiration, publications and divorce pal. Walker also offers an online divorce coaching program through her My Divorce Pal which provides guidance and support to people in the process of divorce or who is moving on with their lives after divorce. If you’re in a rocky marriage, you can visit these sites to get advice on how to deal with your marital issues. And if you’re thinking about filing a divorce, approaching a Pasadena divorce lawyer is the best step to take. Embarrassment should never be used as a reason not to consult with a legal counsel. Your future and that of your children are important so take the courage to find a good lawyer in your locality. Know that these lawyers are not only there to help you go through the legal process, but they can become your friend as well from whom you can get advice on how to move on after the divorce.

What You Need to Know About Blogging and the Law

Gracielou — Sun, 24 Aug 2014 22:00:52 +0000

Law firms today are recognizing the usefulness of blogs in sharing legal knowledge, building credibility of lawyers and gaining clients. For years now, the number of law firms using blogs has been growing. A survey done by Greentarget, a communications firm, has revealed how legal counsels are using blogs today and their sentiments on this social networking platform. The research showed that 84 percent of in-house lawyers trust blogs and most read blogs authored by attorneys or law firms over those written by journalists. Law firms have also been found to be increasing the number of blogs they publish. For instance, 68 of the top 100 firms are creating a total of 272 blogs. This number is up by 74 percent from the 2010 figure of only 156 blogs. What this means then is that competition is getting tighter as more law firms are creating blogs in addition to their main websites. It is up to the lawyers and their staff then to come up with a well-designed blog filled with quality content to drive traffic and gain them more clients moving forward. Blogging experts strongly recommend implementing a strategy that will not only share valuable legal information but also promote engagement with you audience. So how do you get started?

Getting Started in Blogging

An important strategy is determining the clients and the kind of work you want to gain. Instead of covering general legal information, it’s a good idea to focus on a specific practice. It can be family law, divorce, bankruptcy or personal injury. This way, internet users who may be searching for a law firm with a specialization that they need will be immediately attracted to your blog. If you’re focusing on bankruptcy, for example, you can share tips on how to use credit cards wisely, how to find a financial advisor online and Chapter 13 bankruptcy lawyer. Make sure you also identify your target audience. Apart from prospective clients, you should also consider influencers such as media reporters, publishers, expert bloggers, association leaders and even conference coordinators. They are people who can also utilize legal information in their respective work and spread the word about it. When it comes to creating content, choose topics properly and ensure that they can attract visitors. A good way to come up with attention-grabbing topics is by listening to what is being shared and relatively feel but product. It!

on the internet. Also, do make it a point to check and respond to comments on your blog posts. Feedback from your regular readers and new visitors is a great source of possible topics for your blog’s content. Establish your presence on other social media sites. Never underestimate the power of social networking sites in expanding the reach of your target audience. The best way to incorporate social media in your blogging efforts is to add social buttons on your blog and on every post if possible. And here’s a tip – there are useful and time-saving applications that you can use to schedule posts to several social networking sites without having to log in to each of them.

The Benefits of Updating Your Blog

Gracielou — Sat, 29 Jun 2013 13:39:53 +0000

In the blogosphere, updating is essential. This is not only in terms of content but as well as the plugins and other tools you use. Keeping your site fresh is the best way to drive traffic and achieve your goals, be it business or personal. Updating content means providing interesting and engaging articles with images on a regular basis. This can either be once or twice a week or more frequently as your time permits. Blog posts need to be something that’s useful or relevant to your readers. Quality over quantity is still best and do remember to avoid very long texts. Internet users are often on the lookout for information that can solve their issues so be sure to give a new twist to what’s already commonly available on the internet. Make an effort to provide posts that hit the spot and not one with a lot of explanation that only strays from the main topic. As with tools such as plugins you use on your blogs, they have to be updated as well. Plugins are regularly updated by their developers and you will notice the different versions being created. If you’re using the WordPress platform for your blog, you will normally get a notification about updated plugins in your dashboard. Make it a habit then to visit the plugins section regularly to ensure the tools you’re using are updated and your content displaying properly on your readers’ browsers. One of the best tools you need to use is an RSS reader. Feedly is strongly recommended today as Google Reader will no longer be available effective July 1. What this tool does is it allows users to receive, read, organize and share content from their favorite blogs. It can be used with mobile devices so you can access content even while on the go. Additionally, users can save the content they want to read at a later time. Image via ihpacific

Bringing More Leads Via Your Blog

Gracielou — Tue, 28 May 2013 06:10:43 +0000

Promoting a business today is fast and easy particularly when you do it over the internet. There are so many ways you can use to spread the word out about your business offerings.

Blogging is just one of the many avenues you can tap. When using this tool, though, there are several factors to consider to make sure that your blog gains traffic and you gain more leads moving forward.

Opt-in Forms

While you may be providing updated content on your blog, it would also be a good idea to put opt-in forms on the site.

Putting two or more forms on the different parts of your blog is even okay. You can offer a free report or audio that they can download in exchange for their name, email address and business name.

An option for your opt-in form is to use the pop-up style. This is common among many blogs which displays the form before you are able to view the site’s content.

Free Downloadable Content

Internet users love to receive freebies from blogs and websites they frequently visit. Why not give away a digital product that’s useful for people? You can give a free guide, report, ebook, template or even a free audio file. You can then ask for their name, email address and a little info about their business in exchange for the freebie.

Referral Program

You may want to start a referral program as well. This works by providing your readers incentives when they refer more people to download your digital product or sign up on your blog. Again you will have to come up with a useful freebie for them, either a digital copy or a hard copy.

Launch a Contest

Launching a contest is another effective lead generation tool. You need not use expensive items because you can always come up with a great digital product or a physical product that your readers can make good use of.

Image via yurteh

Key Areas to Focus on to Make Your Blog Mobile-Friendly

Gracielou — Thu, 09 May 2013 13:21:23 +0000

Blog owners who want to reach out to people who frequently use their mobile gadgets should seriously consider making their sites mobile-friendly. You need to do this as soon as possible if you don’t want to reduce the number of your regular readers. With a growing number of people now opting to use their mobile devices to browse the internet, this should be made a priority. If you want to be sure about this, you can use Google Analytics to check the number of people accessing your blog from a mobile device. When a keep same which SPF! blog to find out for yourself how it looks in a mobile gadget. Use Google’s How to Go Mo then go to the Mobile Meter page and enter your website address. An image will next appear showing how your blog will look in a mobile device. There are certain aspects of a blog that you need to modify in order to have it display better in a mobile gadget such as an iPad or smartphone. Text should be made shorter and the images have to be in the right size without requiring people to zoom in and out on your content all the time. When you are able to adjust them, you can be sure your readers will have a fast and easy access to your site. You have an option to build a separate website exclusively for mobile devices. This has its own advantages being easy to do, cost effective and requires no technical skill. But there are also downsides particularly as you will need to update two sites every time. Perhaps the best option is to use a mobile-optimized theme that instantly displays a mobile version of your blog when a person visits your site via a smartphone or tablet. Image via blogger

Easy Steps to Create SEO-Friendly Content

Gracielou — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 06:28:21 +0000

Content is vital in any website or blog and making it search engine friendly will ensure your site will drive traffic onwards. To achieve this, you don’t need to hire an SEO firm because the steps are fairly easy. You just have to take the time to learn the skills and do it on your own to save on costs. It should be noted that the results of search engine optimization do not come overnight. They can take time but if you do the steps consistently, you can be sure to obtain the results you desire at the right time. Having a blog is a great opportunity to share valuable information and increase exposure to a wider audience. But then again, SEO building should be part of your strategy if you want to improve your rankings in search engines. The keywords are key. Based on your site’s niche, you should be able to come up with words that people use to search for your blog. Consider words that best describes your brand, products or service. You will have to research about this using a free keyword tool such as Google. Just a word of caution, though, be sure to use only three keywords in one page at the most. Too little or too much is not good SEO. Do use titles, heading and subheadings. These three aspects you need to use not only on your home page but also on your blog posts as they are indexed by search engines. Make sure that you use your keywords in creating them. Do use images in your blog posts. A post that is all text can be quite boring but one with a photo can increase the interest of your readers and encourage them to read the entire post. Also, there’s a good chance that your image will appear in an image search which translates to greater exposure for your blog and articles. Include valuable links. When you include one or two links to sites that support your I smell without was is to.

Mega: Piracy or Privacy?

Gracielou — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 02:19:05 +0000

A growing number of people and organizations are recognizing the value of cloud storage in keeping their most important files. With cloud technology, the burden to store and manage large volumes of files in their computers and in their servers is greatly reduced. This then enables consumers to focus more on their priorities such as in running their business. Mega is new file hosting service in the data recovery industry. As a cloud storage provider, it offers both free and paid plans but regardless of the package chosen, the company ensures subscribers of safe storage of their files round the clock, every day of the week. A 2012 survey on storage purchasing intentions by companies, data showed that 20 percent have already implemented private cloud products, 18 percent have it and will implement hybrid cloud storage while 34 percent plan to use it on a limited basis. In addition, 20 percent of the respondents claimed that cloud storage is already a major part of their storage infrastructures while 25 percent are strongly considering it in their future plans. In terms of volume, the average data stored in the cloud was 17 TB. Late in 2012, 29 percent of respondents reported having more than 20 TB in the cloud.

Mega: Piracy or Privacy – An infographic by the team at Who Is Hosting This.com

Great Apps Ideal for Microvideo Blogging

Gracielou — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:31:15 +0000

Are you into blogging? How about video blogging or microvideo blogging? Obviously, these are three different things. Traditional blogging involves posting text and images only while video blogging involves posting videos saved on various video sharing sites such as the most popular YouTube. Microvideo blogging, on the ot her hand, involves posting short video clips that can be easily shared on social media, SMS and through email. It’s easy to record videos today what with the availability of the handy smartphones. With this handheld device, you can bring it anywhere and take videos of just about anything that fancy you. The best part is it lets you easily share short videos whenever you get internet access in wi-fi hotspots near you. Fortunately, there are now plenty of apps that you can use for microvideo blogging purposes. Here are a few of them that you might find useful.

Keek

Image: vtechbots

Keek lets users record 36-second video and share them right away on social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. It also has its own networking site where people can share their videos and follow others. This app can be used in both iOS and Android powered smartphones.

Tout

Image: inflexwetrust

Tout allows for shorter video recording up to 15 seconds only via iOS and Android powered smartphones. Videos captured can then be shared instantly on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, SMS and through email. Similar to Keek, it also has its own social sharing site where people can create accounts, follow other users as well as view and comment on videos.

Klip

Image: venturebeat

Klip is for iOS devices only and is capable of recording longer videos up to one-minute long. Videos can be readily shared on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, email and SMS. Users can sign up to open an account on the site where they can connect with other members, video and comment on videos. ideos.

Blogging and Social Media Make a Perfect Match

Gracielou — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 09:42:51 +0000

There’s no doubt that blogging is a powerful marketing tool. Companies and small business owners who have been using this method can attest to its effectiveness. In fact, this online tool is also helpful in improving an organization’s marketing efforts on social media platforms. And with a strategy combining blogging and social media, a company or any business owner for that matter can be sure to reap the rewards moving forward. One way to maximize the potential of your blog is to share every blog post on social media. On Facebook, Google Plus and Twitter, you can share the link to your post. Experts recommend not to do a hard sell kind of status update on the social networking sites. If people see that the post looks like a sales page, they tend to move to another site and not read through what you’ve written. An ideal way to share a blog post on social media is to make your status update 80 percent informative and 20 percent self-promotional. This is a better way to encourage readers to click on your link and bring them to your blog particularly when they see the first part of the post as interesting to read. If they find the post valuable, they will likely read other articles on the blog and find out more about the author or publisher. When sharing your blog post, make sure that the image included in your article is also being displayed. Research has shown that a post with photo normally gets more engagement on social media compared to those that provides only a link. Also, you can mention certain people or businesses in your status updates particularly those you include in the blog post. You can use the hashtag on Twitter and tag them in your Facebook update. Fortunately, there is now a way to schedule posts on social media sites. This will enable you to share status updates several times in a day without having to log in to your account every time. Facebook allows this but if you want to use only one site to automate your posts, Hootsuite is a popular site to use. Photo via smashinghub

Blogs Edge Out Social Networks

Gracielou — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 09:16:31 +0000

The media, in general, greatly impacts a consumer’s decision to purchase products and services. These days, however, the social media plays a vital role. But if you think that the popular social media sites such as Facebook is a major influence, you’re not quite right. Blogs are currently the winner when it comes to influencing consumers. A new report by Technorati entitled 2013 Digital Influence confirmed that consumers now rely on blogs when deciding on their purchases. Specifically, blogs ranked third as the most influential digital resource when making purchases after retail sites and brand sites. Compared with social media, blogs occupied a higher spot than Facebook, YouTube and even Twitter. Those that provide valuable and compelling content were found to be the most trusted source of people when they decide on what to buy and where to buy them. For this reason, the experts suggest that companies start a blog if they want to be a major influencer to their regular and prospective customers. The key, they stressed, is to gain the trust of people by providing useful and compelling content on a regular basis. The report also found that the size of an online community matters. More than half of the people surveyed said a smaller community have a major influence on a particular topic. This means that popularity does not always translate to positive results. When it comes to promoting an important topic, trust and influence counts. As for social media, there’s no doubt that Facebook is the top choice of brands in their marketing campaigns. Research has shown that most people hang out on Facebook and companies have recognized its significance in their promotional efforts. Photo via zachbussey

Resources Businesses Can Utilize in their Blogging Efforts

Gracielou — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 04:10:10 +0000

Blogging, in order to be successful, takes commitment, creativity, excellent writing and research skills as well as updated knowledge of the industry a company belongs to. Many business organizations have attained their goals through this marketing initiative while the others are still to start on this route. There are various reasons why blogging should be part of any company’s marketing strategy. It attracts more website visitors, it gains more inbound links and it results in more indexed web pages. A HubSpot report revealed that updating a business blog with at least 20 posts per month can gain five times more website traffic and four times more leads than companies without blogs.

Your own expertise and knowledge on the products and services you offer.

If you have created content earlier, they can still be repurposed. For example, you can create a 3-part series from a long article or old posts can be compiled to create an ebook.

Various resources are already available for businesses to tap for their blogs. Companies with more than 10 employees may have staff who are in the know about industry topics and are able to write well.

Industry contacts are a good source of information as well and can be interviewed.

Information and advice from keynote speakers at conferences are another resource.

Comments and questions from clients can also serve as sources of ebooks, blog pots and whitepapers.

If you do webinars and podcasts, you can always transcribe the audio file and then share the content on your blog.

Keep these in mind and you’ll never run out of blog posts moving forward. Photo via serverplus

Google Tips to Secure Yourself and Your Sites Online

Gracielou — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 05:20:55 +0000

It pays to be safe not only offline but even online. As scams, frauds and identity thefts continue to exist on the web, every internet user needs to be vigilant and take the necessary steps to protect his privacy. Google marked the Safer Internet Day on Tuesday, February 5, to raise awareness on the ways people can protect their personal information online. Unaware to some of you, Google launched a site called Good to Know in 2012 as a venue for promoting its educational campaigns particularly on staying safe online. The site also provides guidelines on how to best secure your computer and mobile devices. Emails and even blogs today are not spared from hacking and Google definitely has some surefire tips to help you deal with these issues. The search engine giant revealed it identifies more than 10,000 unsafe websites on a daily basis and they are taking action to keep internet users informed. Google said it displays warnings on up to 14 million Google search results as well as 300,000 downloads informing users of something suspicious in the site or link. To ensure that your sites, blogs, social media and other accounts do not get hacked, here are simple yet very important steps you can take moving onwards.

Password

When creating passwords, use long ones that contain numbers, letters and symbols. Do not share them with others and avoid sending them via email. There’s also a way now to set up your password recovery options. This can be done through your mobile phone, another email address and through the security question feature.

Content

Do report and flag content that you feel is illegal or contains abusive information. You can also adjust your privacy settings with regards to how you want to receive and share content.

Browser

Be sure to update your browser and operating system as well. Always check your source, though, to avoid virus and malware attacks.

Web Address

Most often, we’re asked to sign in before entering a site such as social media and online banking services. To ensure that you’re connecting safely, check that the web address starts with https:// which means the site is encrypted. Photo via geekersmagazine

Blogging Popularity Remains, the Stats Have It!

Gracielou — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 13:57:26 +0000

Blogging is valuable and helpful. For the private individuals, it’s an avenue to share their thoughts and feelings about their life experiences. For the business organizations, it’s a way to reach out to their target audience and provide them with useful information.

Platforms

Blogger is the top bog site used in the U.S. with 46 million unique monthly users. This is based on the 2012 blogging stats. As for WordPress, there are now more than 60 million sites worldwide that use this platform. Each month, some 33.9 million new posts and 40.9 comments are made on WordPress.com while more than 399 million people view more than 3.5 billion pages. On a daily basis, data from 2011 showed that more than 100,000 new WordPress sites are created.

Bloggers

Bloggers fall into five types, according to the 2011 State of the Blogosphere Report. They are the hobbyist, part-time professional, full-time professional, corporate and entrepreneur. Most bloggers are also young with nearly 60 percent aged between 25 and 44, educated and with experience. The business bloggers were found to be managing an average of three blogs.

Blogging Habits

Among entrepreneurs, 60 percent normally spend from one to five hours blogging on a weekly basis. Majority are also updating their blogs about two to three times each week. Most have been blogging for at least two years. Technorati also revealed that one-third of bloggers have experience working in the traditional media usually as journalists. It also found that 65 percent of bloggers follow brands on social media and that most of them write regularly about these brands. It’s never too late to start blogging. You can find many resources on the web to help you get started. Photo via perfectenvision

Easy Blogging Tips to Help You Gain More Readers in 2013

Gracielou — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 03:05:56 +0000

Blogging provides so many benefits to private individuals, companies and other organizations. It’s a great way to share valuable information and to reach out to people.

But in order to have a regular stream of readers, there are vital tools you need to include in your blog. Some of these are the basics which many, unfortunately, overlook.

Start with the anti-spam plugin called Akismet. This is free to use for personal blogs and costs $5 a month for business blogs. This tool keeps track of spam comments and trackbacks and stops them to ensure you have a clean blog that drives traffic.

Allowing comments is a good way to build relationships with your readers and to get feedback. When you know what people are saying about your blog, you can find ways to improve your content. Ideally, asking a question at the end of a post is a very effective method of encouraging readers to post comments and engage with them.

Your blog’s design is as important. The simple, the better. Ensure a clean layout and get rid of clutter in your sidebar. Use text fonts that are eye-friendly and create an attractive header to customize your blog.

Create attention grabbing headlines all the time if you want to attract readers. If possible, use numbers and adjectives to spark the interest of people visiting your blog. An example would be 5 Simple Steps to Write a Blog Post.

Don’t forget to include images in your posts. They can be photos or screenshots particularly if you’re posting how-to articles. Images help improve your post and keep them interesting.

Keywords and links should also be included. They help in having your blog and blog posts easily searched.

For links, you can link to authority sites and request other bloggers in your niche to link to your blog.

Finally, ensure that your blog is mobile-friendly. With more people now having smartphones which they use for a lot of tasks, it’s a must to make your web display properly on mobile gadgets.

These are all for now but stay tuned as there will still be part two of these blogging tips.

Photos via 1stdesigner.com and devilprince.com

How to Share Your Music on Your Blog

Gracielou — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 14:07:48 +0000

Music is a great way to capture attention on the internet and you can share it in many avenues free of charge. We all know that YouTube is the top social media site where internet users turn to for music and videos. But there’s also another way to stream your favorite songs online and this is through your blog. Streaming music on your blog or blog post is not as complicated as some of you think. It’s an effective way to set the mood when people visit your blog and read your posts. A popular method in doing this is to embed a video music from YouTube. All you need is get the embed HTML code and then insert it in your blog or blog post. Remember that when you create or edit a post in your blog, it needs to be in HTML so you can easily add the embed code in there. Make sure as well that you preview your post before publishing it so you’ll know that your player is working fine. Once you’ve published it, try the player again to ensure that it is working properly. If you want to stream a playlist, however, you will need to use music stream services. These online services allow users to download MP3 music and videos in the thousands or even in the millions at no cost at all and without legal impediments. The popular ones are Spotify, Rdio, Last.fm. Grooovetube and BearShare. It should be noted that these services differ in what they allow users. Some allow a limited number of songs or limit your tracks to a few artists only. There are also others that require a fee before you can access their playlist. To use the sites, you will have to create an account and download the streaming music player. The others require downloading of an app before you can download songs from the site. So make your blog more interesting by adding music to it. Just make sure that it does not get in the way of visitors who want to read your content. Give them the option to adjust the volume level and pause the music when they want to. Photo via smallbusiness.chron.com

Social Media Trends in Asia

Gracielou — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 06:25:47 +0000

When it concerns social media usage, a lot of people think that those in Asia are so far behind. But in truth, Asians are not to be outdone when it comes to engaging in their favorite social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Reports have it that internet usage is rapidly on the rise in the Asia Pacific region. For a 10-year period from 2000 to 2010, the growth rate among internet users went up with Vietnam topping the list at 12,035 percent followed by China, India, Indonesia and the Philippines. The Chinese are the number one social media users and RenRen is where they often hangout. Among Facebook users, India is on the top spot with 29.4 million users followed by the Philippines with 25.3 million, Malaysia with 11.1 million, Thailand with 10.6 million and Australia with 10.4 million. Internet wise, it’s the Australians that lead. Among the country’s more than 21.2 million population, 80.1 percent or more than 17 million are internet users. Their preferred social media channels are Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia, Blogspot and Twitter. China comes in second with 477 million internet users. This is 35.6 percent of its total population of more than 1.33 billion. The top five favorite social networks of the Chinese are Qzone, Pengyou, Renren, Sina Wriba and Kaixin001. Hong Kong, for its part, has 4.8 million internet users or 68.7 percent. The preferred social media sites of residents of this once British colony are Facebook, YouTube, Blogspot, Wikipedia and Twitter. A research group, eMarketer, earlier predicted a rise of social network users in Asia from 1.18 billion in 2011 to 1.4 billion this year 2012. The forecast was based on the growth of Facebook and other social networking sites in Asia. By 2014, the number will have gone up to 1.8 billion. According to eMarketer, the emerging markets such as Africa, the Middle East and Asia Pacific will experience the fastest growth. In addition, the group forecast an 18.5 percent growth of users in the Latin American region. While these statistics especially for Facebook penetration may still be low when compared with those in North America, Europe and Latin America, it is considered to be a significant growth. In fact, Facebook growth is expected to be fastest in Asia Pacific. Specifically, usage rates in India, Indonesia and Japan are expected to go beyond the average growth worldwide of nearly 27 percent. This only means that Asians are keeping up with the use of internet technology as a way of connecting with friends and colleagues and reaching out to their target market. Many people from Asia also love to travel to other countries within their region and in fact, some of those who often visit Thailand for business or leisure have decided to learn Thai through the short courses available in Bangkok or through online as advertised on their favorite social platforms.

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Easy Ways to Promote Your Blog

Gracielou — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 05:47:51 +0000

Whether you’re doing something personal or related to business on the internet, it is very important to spread the word all the time to make people aware of your blog and what you do. Constant promotion is the key to success. There are lots of ways you can promote your blog and using as many as you can will ensure increased traffic moving onwards.

Links

Building links can be done on various platforms. This means displaying the URL of your website or using an anchor text link. An anchor text link refers to a word or several words that link to the website or blog. It’s also a good disguise when you’re on sites that don’t allow users to display their blog URL. On your email, for instance, you can use an anchor text link by including the URL of your blog in your signature or hide it in your name. If you’re submitting to article directories, you can also do it in your resource box. Avoid including a link in the body of your article as most sites don’t allow this.

Social Media

On your social media accounts, you can freely include your blog URL in your profile. Normally, users are allowed to post the URL link of their various websites. Facebook and LinkedIn allow the inclusion of two or more URLs. Apart from the profile section, you can also include links in your status updates specifically on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn. You can include it in your message or you directly share the link of your blog. On Pinterest, you may include a URL in the photos you upload and share on the site. You can edit them anytime as well.

Bookmarking Sites

Bookmarking sites are another way to share your articles and blogs. They have millions of users who are constantly on the lookout for interesting and useful posts. Popular sites you can use are StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, Delicious and Tecnorati.

Other Blogs

Did you know that you can also promote on other blogs? It’s possible and you can do it in a number of ways. Comment on blog posts and include a link to your blog or submit a guest blog post on another site closely related to your niche. You may also request for a link exchange or join a blogging community and share information with other members. Photo via aimzo.com

Tips to Write Better Blog Posts

Gracielou — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 03:20:25 +0000

Serious bloggers should know how to manage their blogs well to ensure they drive traffic. Those running a business should also learn the ropes of maintaining a blog that provides quality content and attracts the right audience. You can find numerous tips and guides about this particular topic online but it won’t hurt if you learn more with what we’re sharing here. These are simple and practical tips for the aspiring entrepreneurs and those starting out in business. They are easy to follow and can surely help you maintain an engaging blog worth visiting by internet users who can become potential customers.

Target Audience

Knowing your target audience is vital. It’s similar to planning a business in that when you are able to determine your specific audience, you’d know how to tailor your content to keep them informed.

Quality Content

With regards to quality of the information you’re writing, you’ll have to ask yourself if it’s worth sharing by readers with their friends. Keep in mind that an engaging content is one that’s well researched, provides examples and offers solutions to every day problems.

Structure

The structure of your blog post is also essential. Make sure to write an introduction about your topic then proceed with expounding on it and end with at least three useful tips that will solve an issue or can help carry out changes. Remember as well to use short sentences for easy understanding by readers and subheads to break your sections. Subheads should also be catchy to grab attention and highlight some text for emphasis.

Image

Finally, don’t forget to include an image in every post that you make. They make a big difference in attracting readers and encouraging them to read through the entire article. Photo via problogger.net

How to Blog Right to Grab Attention

Gracielou — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 03:32:18 +0000

Blogging today is no longer limited to the hobbyists or those who simply blog to share their personal experiences. Even business owners and companies now utilize this tool to reach out to their target market. And they’re definitely on the right track. What matters in blogging is you continue to learn about the latest in utilizing this tool and not stop at what you now know. Here, we share some tips from the experts that you can practice moving forward. Leo Widrich, co-founder of the BufferApp pointed out the importance of treating articles as the product. This means that if you’re writing posts, think about its usefulness to people and if it worth’s paying for. Make sure that you write on topics that people are interested in and provides tips that can help solve their issues. It has to be well researched with statistics if possible to spark the interest of your visitors when dropping by your blog. Widrich also added that business owners should never forget to reply to comments on their blogs. This will make visitors know that you’re listening and that you value their opinions. For his part, Jim Belosic who is CEO and co-founder of Shortstack said there’s nothing more valuable than creating original content and sharing your own images and videos. This, he added, improves a blog’s SEO as there’s a big chance other bloggers will link to your post and images. But again, make sure that your photo is relevant to the topic you’re discussing in your article. Search engines are very particular about relevancy so keep that in mind. Meanwhile, Emeric Ernoult shares that he only shares his best ever content. Quality blog posts, he said, means sharing content based on your expertise without asking for a fee. When people read and learn from your posts, they often see you as an expert and when you continue with what you do, it’s not impossible that you’ll get more clients in the end. Finally, don’t forget to engage your audience by asking questions at the end of your post or encouraging them to comment on what you’ve written. Make sure to reply to their comments as well. Photo via blogwritingcourse.com