So how many of you have a site and absolutely love it? For some of us, it’s second nature. We can sit down crank out a site based on how we envisioned it on our heads.

However, for some other folks, it’s not quite that simple. One of the challenges with building a website is that we usually don’t have all the skill sets needed to create a good one. On one hand, you’ll need your creative juices flowing for the design and on the other hand, you’ll need to leverage your technical know-how to make it come to life. Most people don’t exercise both sides of their brains to the full extent; that’s why it’s a big hurdle that leaves some at ground zero.

When we find that we’re not perfect for certain jobs, what should we do? We hire help to fill the gaps!

Wildfire Marketing Group can provide you with a web design that is based on your input and tastes. Just tell them what you want and they’ll work with you to get you to that goal. We’re talking about pros who can not only customize a site for you but also help drive success, however you may define it. If you want more visitors, they can help. If you want more conversions, they can help.

For those of you who think you’re all set on your website, take a look at Wildfire’s website checklist. This thing is packed things like:

• Marketing planning and strategy
• Creating a search engine friendly website
• Proper HTML and CSS coding
• Design principles
• Proper use of multimedia
• Branding
• Usability
• Website performance
• Conversions
• Improving credibility

All that for a measly $17 with a money back guarantee!

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An inspirational guest post today!

Blogging is very much like beginning any new hobby. Whether it’s learning to play an instrument, writing a novel, or any other creative endeavor, there is a “beginner’s luck” phase, in which you only see clear skies and smooth sailing. You have tons of ideas for your blog, and they all come out flowing. Then, after a few weeks or months, the flow slows to trickle. Writing anything seems infinitely hard, let alone writing full-length content consistently. Then you get discouraged, and you may feel like throwing in the towel. What most bloggers at this stage need is inspiration. Here are a few common and exciting places to turn to.

1. Read a controversial book or essay and write about it.

In an age in which reading blogs and Facebook status updates is the only form of reading done, picking up a book and writing about it is a good way to distinguish yourself. Of course, you probably aren’t a book reviewer, so it won’t do to pick up any old fiction bestseller. Find a book or lengthy essay that is related to your niche. The more controversial, the better. Then write a response to it, in which you lay out your thoughts and opinions.

2. Go out and experience something unusual, then blog about it.

Sometimes inspiration is right around the corner. And sometimes it’s in another country. If you’ve run out of material for your blog, chances are that you need a vacation. And a vacation doesn’t necessary mean an overseas one. Visit something local that you’ve never seen before, or go on a road trip with friends. You are bound to find something unusual that can inspire a blog article.

3. Ask your friends and family for ideas

Your closest friends and family probably know how your mind works better than anyone else does. Approach loved ones who are at least marginally acquainted with your blog, and pick their brains for ideas. Cast your nets wide, and discuss with those friends of yours who suggested the best ideas. Using this collaborative strategy is one of the best ways to renew interest and get inspired about your blog all over again.

4. Read a bunch of other blogs in your niche, and see what other people are talking about.

At this point, you probably do read a few blogs, but try reading a bit more. Use a spreadsheet to tally the most popular topics and the topics that are just starting to gain ground. Of course, copying is not a good source of inspiration, but it is good to take a popular idea and write about it better than anybody else. Do more research and try to see if you can find the “next big thing.” Trying to keep up with what is popular in the blogosphere is a fun game of cat-and-mouse, especially considering that what’s popular changes so quickly on the Internet.

Of course, only you know yourself very well, and you know what, precisely inspires you. These sources are simply designed to get the ball rolling again. If you feel frustrated, know that losing motivation to blog is completely normal. At some point, you’ll start back up again, after actively seeking inspiration. Good luck!

This guest post is contributed by Patricia Garza, who writes about gadget, technology, design, social media, e-learning related articles at online university rankings.

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Back to back guest authors! Today we have a post from a gentleman from Down Under…

Blog content is the basic defining element in terms of a blog’s viability. Lack of new content means death. Lack of good content is another killer. Lack of effective content or well-written SEO content has become a serious problem as the big search engines tighten their quality standards.

Let’s establish the real quality control principles:

• The content issues are very much front and centre in everything to do with a blog, from page ranking to searchability.
• “Searchability” doesn’t mean gimmicks – It means content.
• SEO is based on real science, not circus tricks.
• Quality and content are inseparable.

Quality control for content- basics

People tend to underestimate the depth of the internet and its core demands for service. Working online, garbage content is not in high demand. The need is access to information at multiple levels of difficulty.
Consider these external quality demands:

• Business blogs want information, preferably verifiable information with good links.
• Media want source information.
• Consumers want efficient searches.
• Nobody needs non-information and things they’re not looking for.
• Everybody wants new information to be available all the time.
• Low grade blogs go nowhere on the basis of the above.

The days of the old “rant” blogs were fashionable for a year or so, then steamrollered by higher quality blogs with more and better content. That’s been the working methodology for blogs generally. From a de-specialized, almost random collection of anything and everything to a steadily developing specialist series of niche outlets has been the pattern ever since.

Quality, the baseline demand

With the broad spectrum demand has come definite, unambiguous demand for content quality. The old “text speak” is long gone. Typos and unprofessional text are now considered pitiful, not folksy as they were in the early days of blogging. This has been a blessing for the best blogs, where good quality material is finally improving their rankings.

Blogs are also outsourcing on this basis. They need quality material. Demand for content inevitably outstrips supply from a single blogger. Some bloggers also have multiple specialist sites, requiring professional-level content on a regular basis.

The blog reality- Demand drives supply, which drives demand for quality

There’s currently a pretty absurd rumor flying around the net that “Google’s new algorithms have killed the demand for new materials.” Nothing could be further from the truth, which is the exact opposite. The demand for content is increasing on an almost hourly basis. That’s not because people suddenly want to read more. It’s because information is never static. The demand for new information increases in direct proportion to the amount of basic news and information generated.

This is a quality issue, because Google’s new algorithms were specifically targeting quality issues. The fact was that the old algorithms and search techniques were vulnerable to abuse. Content based on nothing but tags was distorting search engine optimization values, and producing some truly ridiculous results. The new algorithms are effectively based on site content, and much better able to read and rank content.

The result has been enforcing the demand for quality content which has been driving the evolution of the internet. Quality content is here to stay.

Tom Mallet is an Australian freelance writer and journalist. He writes extensively in Australia, Canada, Europe, and the US. He’s published more than 500 articles about various topics, including SEO and Search Engine Optimization.

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If only blogging for money was this easy.

How many of you started a blog thinking it’s an easy way to make money and do almost nothing? So you start your blog and it didn’t take long for you to realize that doing almost nothing will get you nothing to show for it. So you try to do just a little bit more and … still nothing. That, my friend, is where 90% of bloggers give up.

There’s just so much information (and misinformation) on the web today, how do we sort through all the garbage and find the real useful stuff that will actually help us earn an income by blogging? Let’s set the record straight on some common myths.

Top 5 myths of blogging for money

1. You can get rich quick. Not at all! In fact, it’s the opposite. If you poured your heart and soul and every waking moment of your day into your blog for a month straight, you would probably making more money flipping burgers during that same time. Whether you plan on being a full-timer or a hobbyist, your blog site is still a business, one that requires nurturing and time to grow. In the long run, you will out-earn a short-order cook but it will take plenty of time on your part.

 

2. It is easy to make money with a blog. Also totally untrue. Anyone who tries to sell you a “secret” to making money fast is a scam artist. So let me add a caveat to my previous myth: you cannot get rich quick unless you are a scam artist, then you have a small chance. Not only will growing your blog take a lot of time but it will also require focus and energy. You will have to pay attention to it closely and perform many experiments. Then you have to find solutions for your problem areas, which require creativity, patience, and lots of trial and error.

 

3. You can start your money making blog for free. Of course you can start a blog for free but if you want to make money, it will cost you. It’s an investment in yourself, after all. Your upfront costs are a domain name and hosting, usually less than $100 for the year combined. However, before your first year is up, logos, themes, email service, and advertising are among your other costs, which can add up real quick.

 

4. There is a recipe for success. There are general road maps but there is no “system” that works for everyone; there are just too many variables. Even if you were to try to reproduce the niche, the strategy, the tactics, and the theme of a successful blogger, the timing isn’t the same. Furthermore, you don’t get to see what strings are being pulled from behind the curtain. Take the time to learn from experts, digest the information, and as Simon, Paula and Randy would tell you, “make it your own”.

 

5. Once a blog is successful, it can be put on autopilot. The internet is organic. As a result, there is no autopilot button that would work well long-term. Let’s say you were able to create amazing success after a few months or a year, in order to continue that success you would have to keep up with trends, adapt to changes, grow existing relationships, create new relationships, rethink your strategies,  fine-tune your tactics, continue to market your blog, perform regular SEO and tweak your ads. And did I mention that you still have to write fresh content?!?

Not exactly what some of you want to hear, is it? There’s a bright side to it. I’m not trying to de-motivate potentially great bloggers, rather, save bloggers who wouldn’t make it anyway several months of their time.

So, if you still want to blog for money, go for it. Now you know what you’re up against.

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After spending weeks thinking about it, you think you have the perfect domain name for your blog. You finally get the nerve to spend the $10 or so to buy it but it’s not available. You knew there was a chance of that happening so you reach for your backup domain name and that’s gone too. So is your third choice. You end up buying one that you don’t love but you tell yourself that it’s good enough. But is it?

Look, we’ve all been there. As much as we’d all like to think that we’re unique and have a unique idea, the reality is that it has likely already been done many times over. We still have to make do with what’s available though. Here are some tips to making the most out of your domain name.

• Use keywords in it. There are exceptions, like johnchow.com, but for many of us, having a domain name without keywords hurts, especially in the early going. I know you might be building a brand and that’s perfectly fine. As long as you weigh the pros and cons, and you know that one con is a slightly uphill battle when making a name for yourself (or blog). For example, do a Google search on free blog help and you’ll see that this site comes up pretty quick. It took only a few days for that to happen!

• Stick with a .com name. Unless you’re not planning on making any money because you’re working for a non-profit, in which case I would recommend a .net or .org, your domain name should end with .com. You will lose too many people because they won’t remember that your site is .biz instead of .com.

• Keep it short. I know, almost everything is gone! Over 90% of any combination of any two words with less than five letters are gone! Even made up words are gone! Still, don’t be tempted to use a long phrase unless you have to. Get creative if you must. Instead of projectmanagementtestcenter.com, go with pmtestcenter.com, which is easier on the tongue and the fingers.

• Don’t use numbers, hyphens or strange spellings. There are countless sites with success using these, such as suite101.com, but generally speaking, if you have to explain that learn2blogtoday.com has a number 2 in it or mygoodfriendz.com has a z in it, then you’ve already dug yourself a hole.

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Who hasn't been here at some point?

Let me begin by stating that I’m not sexist. I just don’t know what it’s like to have a boyfriend (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

Secondly, as some of you already know, I’m married so I haven’t had a “girlfriend” in what seems like eternity. I am a one-woman kind of guy. Luckily, I have a pretty good memory of what it was like to have girlfriends.

On with it. Here’s why I think having a blog is like having a girlfriend.

The first several days are euphoric.

After reaching your goal of having one, you feel absolutely great. You’re almost in disbelief how amazing it feels! Time passes so fast and you’re taking in every moment. You wake up with a smile on your face and go to bed with a bigger smile. (I’m talking about being happy, what are you thinking about?) What could go wrong?

After a two weeks, you still feel great but realize that you are in a committed relationship.

You’re still having a great time and the butterflies are still floating around in your stomach. In fact, you’re so wrapped up in your new relationship that you don’t even have much time to think long-term. You just know that you’re attached to it and, as a result, see less and less of your friends. BTW, your friends notice more than you since you’re blindly smitten and have no concept of how much you’re leaving your former life behind.

Within a month, you can’t imagine life without your new  plaything.

Although the honeymoon period is over and you start noticing things that you don’t like about her, you feel that the good still outweighs the bad by a landslide. Reality sinks in that you are no longer free to do whatever you want but you convince yourself that it’s OK. You continue to spend money on her to show her your affection.

After two months, you learn that you have to nurture the relationship.

After a few minor disagreements, you realize that you just can’t “be yourself”. Keeping her happy keeps you happy. That means you have to constantly look at her needs and fill them. This requires more time that you originally bargained for. You also start to miss the things you did before you jumped into this relationship.

After six months, the constant attention that she demands is taxing you.

You don’t even remember what it was like before she walked into your life. However, you continue to do what it takes to meet the everyday demands of being in a relationship like this. A good part of your life is spent making sure that she doesn’t have a reason to make you unhappy. By now, you’ve burned several holes in your pocket in order to satisfy her. (That means you’ve spent money, you sicko!) If you had known six months ago how much work this is going to be, you might have never started this in the first place.

In a year’s time, you know you have to make a decision.

You question whether or not you’re truly committed. You either have to cut her out of your life or be ready to take it to another level. You need guidance so you start asking your friends (who barely know you at this point), talking to strangers about your relationship, and even soliciting the advice of [gasp] your family.

And after that?

Hopefully, it turns out great for you. You forge ahead and continue to build a wonderful relationship with her. Through good times and not-so-good times, you really are in a relationship. Doing it half-assed is worse than not doing it at all.

Maybe the timing isn’t right. Maybe she’s not the right one. Maybe you’re not meant to be a good partner. Maybe you have other priorities that you need taken care of first.

Your girlfriend blog will need TLC. It requires a bit of money but more importantly, a lot of your time. Furthermore, you can’t really measure ROI on it since there are so many non-monetary benefits.

At the end of the day, you can get all the counsel you can want but no one can decide but you. Just don’t leave her hanging…

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Last week, I posted a question that a new reader had for me. She basically wanted to know whether or not to switch her PR3 wordpress.com site over to a wordpress.org. Oh, and in case you were wondering, I asked her permission to post it on here.

Here’s essentially how I responded to her:

First, congrats on your stats!

In hindsight, it would obviously be a much easier decision if your site was newer. If it was me, I would switch over.

Although it may be painful in the short term, I would like my own domain for the long haul. I would look at it as an opportunity to do things better a second time around and treat the first site as an incredible learning experience.

If you’re planning on hanging around for a while, cut over now. The longer you wait, the harder the decision will be.

Many of you were spot on: she should make the switch! Although some hobbyists could simply keep the site and be totally content, it does not make sense to stay at wordpress.com. Among many reasons, you should want to own your own content and showcase your own domain.

She already purchased the domain so she was obviously already leaning toward that decision. All we did was provide an awful lot of reinforcement.

As one visitor mentioned, she should also be leveraging her wordpress.com site to help accelerate her new site’s growth. I would use the wordpress.com site to provide a ton backlinks so it will add related-content support and give it some PR juice. Don’t we all wish we had a head start from a PR3 site when we first started!

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