Getting Traffic to Your Blog - All About Blog Traffic Exchanges

By Jason DeVelvis

If you’ve been into Internet Marketing for a while, you probably remember the old traffic exchange programs and the banner exchange programs. Things change fairly fast on the Internet, and now there are blogs and blog traffic exchange programs. If you have a blog, and getting traffic to your blog is important, than you need to know about blog traffic exchanges.

First, blog traffic exchange programs work much better than the old traffic exchange programs did. If getting traffic to your blog matters, getting set up with one or more of these exchange programs is vital – no matter what your niche market is. This will considerably increase your readership very quickly.

However, there are some blog traffic exchange programs that really aren’t worth joining. Participating in a blog traffic exchange program does take time. In some cases, you will be able to purchase your credits, but in order to get the traffic without paying for it you will be required to visit other member’s blogs. This typically gets you one visitor for every two blogs that you visit – and the visitors that come from blog traffic exchange programs are not targeted. This means that there is no guarantee that the visitors coming to your blog from the program have any interest in what you blog about.

If your blog is highly specialized, meaning that it is a very specific niche, you probably won’t do well with blog traffic exchange programs. However, if your blog is of general interest, meaning that it isn’t specific to any particular niche market, blog traffic exchange programs may work very nicely for you when it comes to getting traffic to your blog.

Blogazoo at [http://www.blogazoo.com] is one blog traffic exchange program. However, there are many steps you must take before you can register your blog. For instance, you must visit ten other blogs before your blog will be listed. You must register to use the program. However, there are many features at Blogazoo that will be useful to you if getting traffic to your blog is what it is all about for you.

If you’ve been into Internet Marketing for a while, you probably remember the old traffic exchange programs and the banner exchange programs. Things change fairly fast on the Internet, and now there are blogs and blog traffic exchange programs. If you have a blog, and getting traffic to your blog is important, than you need to know about blog traffic exchanges.

First, blog traffic exchange programs work much better than the old traffic exchange programs did. If getting traffic to your blog matters, getting set up with one or more of these exchange programs is vital – no matter what your niche market is. This will considerably increase your readership very quickly.

However, there are some blog traffic exchange programs that really aren’t worth joining. Participating in a blog traffic exchange program does take time. In some cases, you will be able to purchase your credits, but in order to get the traffic without paying for it you will be required to visit other member’s blogs. This typically gets you one visitor for every two blogs that you visit – and the visitors that come from blog traffic exchange programs are not targeted. This means that there is no guarantee that the visitors coming to your blog from the program have any interest in what you blog about.

If your blog is highly specialized, meaning that it is a very specific niche, you probably won’t do well with blog traffic exchange programs. However, if your blog is of general interest, meaning that it isn’t specific to any particular niche market, blog traffic exchange programs may work very nicely for you when it comes to getting traffic to your blog.

Blogazoo at [http://www.blogazoo.com] is one blog traffic exchange program. However, there are many steps you must take before you can register your blog. For instance, you must visit ten other blogs before your blog will be listed. You must register to use the program. However, there are many features at Blogazoo that will be useful to you if getting traffic to your blog is what it is all about for you.

BlogClicker at http://www.blogclicker.com is also worth consideration. You visit other member’s blogs to earn credits. For every two visits to other blogs, you will receive one. You can also purchase credits instead of visiting the other blogs. Two other blog traffic exchange programs are Blog Crowd at [http://www.blogcrowd.com] and Blog Exchange at http://www.blogexchange.com.

The best blog traffic exchange program available today is Blog Explosion at http://www.blogexplosion.com. Like other blog traffic exchange programs, Blog Explosion is free to join, and only one account is allowed per person. However, you can add multiple blogs to your account. You can refer new members and earn 10% of the traffic that they earn. Blog Explosion has full statistical reports that you can view, and many member features and tools.

At Blog Explosion there are monthly contests with free visitors as prizes, there is a monthly traffic lottery, and the Battle of the Blogs. You can also win daily mystery credits. There is a member’s profile directory where members can find blogs of interest, chat rooms, a Podcast directory, and a knowledge directory. You can even rent your blog space to other members. This is why almost 30,000 bloggers choose Blog Explosion over the other blog traffic exchange programs. Remember if you are trying to build up a readership for a niche blog, blog traffic exchange programs may not work well for you.

Jason frequently gives tips like this to the subscribers to his newsletter. Visit Adventures In Internet Marketing and subscribe to his newsletter today!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_DeVelvis

Getting Into the Blogging World

By Javier Garcia

From some years back weblogs (or simply "blogs") have become one of the most popular ways of online publishing and communication. While still most of them have no commercial purpose, blogs as a makerting tool (or even as a business by itself) are increasing its presence on the Internet.

WHAT ARE BLOGS?

Though there are different approaches to weblogs, they can be defined as web sites where users post entries (news, articles...), updated frequently and normally reflecting the thoughts of the blog's creator. Those entries (posts) are typically listed in reverse chronological order (the most recent entry on the top).

Most blogs allow visitors to leave their own comments on the diverse entries or even references from other blogs (trackbacks). This communication between different blogs and bloggers is one of the main factors involved in the fast growth of the so-called "blogosphere" (the whole community of blogs) and its current influence.

HOW A BLOG CAN HELP YOU?

Blogs are constantly creating new business opportunities. While some time ago blogs were almost an exclusive territory for non-professional bloggers sharing their thoughts, experiences and ideas, currently small and large business have a wide presence in the blogging world. There are a number of potential benefits of adding a blog as part of your marketing strategy or as a business model:

• Blogs spread information: Blogs allow you to publish information instantly and frequently, and the conversational nature of blogs will help you spread that published information. Not only your visitors will read it, but also other blogs will reference your content through reviews, news, comments... and will link to your site, allowing other Internet users to access that given information. In addition, your blog can capture the attention of the media, which frequently uses the blogs for source material.
• Blogs give you feedback: Most blogs allow readers to comment on your posts or link to them (and notify your site) on their own blogs. This is an automated mechanism that provides you instant feedback on any issue. You can know what your readers think of you (or your product/service/company) almost in real time.
• Blogs build you a reputation: Always you provide useful and honest content, a business blog can help position you as an expert in your niche. Blogs can be considered as a platform for expressing your knowledge, expertise and experience, so they are a powerful tool for building you a solid reputation.
• Blogs are marketing tools: Blogs are a useful and low-cost marketing tool as they improve the awareness of your product/service/company and strengthen the loyalty of your customers (readers). The word-of-mouth will provide you a way into audiences that couldn't be reached efficiently in any other way.
• Blogs are an easy content management system: The ease of use of blogs as a content management system (CMS) will allow you to forget the programming and the design of your web site and will also help you reduce costs. You can create your blog using free blog hosting services like Blogger or run free software like Wordpress on your own web hosting (preferable for business blogs). In both cases you can adapt the appearance of your blog through free professional-looking templates (themes). This makes creating and updating web sites faster, easier and cheaper then ever.
• Blogs are search engine traffic generators: Lastly search engines have been driving their efforts to reward rich-content sites, due to the great amount of poor-content sites built with the only purpose of generating revenue with advertising. As blogs are generally based on valuable and original content, they are specially appealing to search engines. The linking structure inherent in blogs is another determinant in the equation. As other blogs reference your web site articles, they will link to them. Moreover, comments and trackbacks frequently include a link back to the blogger's site. Because incoming links are one of the most important ranking factors in major search engines, it's obvious that blogs are great platforms to generate search engine traffic.

Original article published by Javier García: Getting into the blogging world [http://www.monetizingtheweb.com/2006/03/14/getting-into-the-blogging-world] in Monetizing the Web

Read more articles on Blogging [http://www.monetizingtheweb.com/tag/blogging]

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Javier_Garcia

How To Make Money With Blogs
Maureene Reidy

Short answer? Yes, it is still very possible for anyone to make money with blogs. In fact, there are more ways than ever to do so...

The beautiful thing about blogs (or even just online marketing in general), is there is an almost endless supply of topics that you can write about.

There's just one important thing to remember, when trying to make money with blogs:

Although, yes, people may search for what you decide to write about...some topics are more profitable than others. Other topics may even be better to pass up, altogether.

For example, a fitness blog will very easily blow past a site dedicated to how to knit sweaters for your cat.

Obvious? Maybe. But some people insist on sticking only to their passion.

The best thing to do would be to make a list of topics you're interested in and then work your way down that list until you find a niche you can write about.

Here's the basic criterion for choosing a topic, when trying to make money with blogs:

1. Your market is social. They aren't afraid to comment, interact with other members, etc.

2. Your market is passionate. Really, this is "marketing 101"...but it's worth repeating.

3. The topic you're writing about gets a worthwhile amount of traffic.

What you'll consider "worthwhile" really depends on the niche and your ability to market within it. In other words, your term might only get a low amount of searches per month, but if there is a high-ticket product to promote then you may still be able to do significantly well.

4. Your market isn't afraid to spend/invest money, especially online.

The topic is one you won't mind having to create regular content for.

By taking those things into consideration, it's very likely that your original list of topics and ideas will decrease in size.

Still, it's better to do your research up front and actually be able to make money with blogs you create, as opposed to just writing your heart out and hoping to see a few bucks trickle into your bank account!

Of course, the real question is...

How Do You Actually Make Money With Blogs?

Honestly, I think it would be best to dedicate an entire post to show you specific options I've found to monetize your content. After all, I mainly wanted to write this article to address the fact that it is still possible to create an income with blogs.

But, for now, here is a basic list of ways to monetize your blog:

1. Membership Blogs

Having your own membership blog is essentially like having your own online magazine!

You can either choose to charge for access to all the content, or ask users to create a paid subscription for access to additional parts of the site.

2. Automated Advertising

Some marketers make money with blogs by making certain terms clickable in their content, which then directly link to a related affiliate product.

For example, clicking the link above will take you to a great site that lets marketers of all experience levels earn extra money online with blogs.

3. Paid Advertising

Once your blog gains popularity, you can charge other companies or product owners to advertise on your site.

You've probably noticed already that a lot of people make money with blogs by using ads, such as banner ads.

Sometimes, however, these banners may have been provided by affiliate programs and only earn the blogger money when someone clicks through and buy.

On the other hand, selling advertising space is great, because you only have to worry about hosting the ad itself!

4. Affiliate Programs

We've already touched on this one.

Basically, any of the major ways to monetize blogs (like above) can be used specifically for promoting affiliate products.

Some affiliate programs even allow you to earn 100% commission for each time you drive traffic and make a sale!

Really, there are many different ways you can make money with blogs. As I mentioned above, maybe I'll create a post specifically about the different resources that you can use.

About the Author

Maureene Reidy is a "50 something" mom of 3 happily married and on a mission to help the love of her life semi-retire so that she can spend quality time with her family. Her mission is help others succeed by teaching how to make money online using the 'Empower Network' home based online opportunity and would love to teach you how to make money online the easy way.

Are You Committing These Social Media Mistakes?
by Darren Olander

When used properly, social media can be very effective medium to help you grow your business. You will want to proceed carefully, however, and make sure that you avoid committing these social media mistakes to get the most benefit from this strategy.

Failing to Plan Your Social Media Strategy,

Simply being aware that social media exists is not the same thing as using it effectively. Before you venture into using Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites, spend some time working on them to get a feel for how they are used. It's a good idea to look at how top performers in your niche are using these strategies so that you can adopt similar tactics yourself.

When you plan your own social media strategy, you want to set out in advance how often you'll use these resources. You will also want to have a general outline of what type of information you will be providing to your readers and followers online. Having a guideline to follow will help you stay on track and use the sites appropriately as a business tool.

Lack of Focus on Your Target Market

If your goal is to use social media sites to grow your business, you want to make sure that you're appealing to your target market. Simply posting on these sites and hoping that your target market will find you is not enough. You will want to figure out where your target market is hanging out online and take steps to engage them directly.

Not Posting Often Enough

Part of your overall social networking plan must be to post regularly. Think of these sites as a way to have a conversation with your target market. To create an effective presence on them, you will need to be talking regularly. Keep in mind that Internet users have very short attention span and you need to show up at the party regularly if you want to be remembered.

Failing to Respond to Questions or Concerns Promptly

Once you have the chance to engage with your target market or existing customers, make sure that they're not being ignored. One way to drop the ball on using social media to market your business is by failing to respond to people who get in touch with you. You want to make sure that any questions or concerns are dealt with in an appropriate and positive manner.

Keep in mind, too, that your posts on social networks can be viewed by others. You have the potential to bring in new business by the way you conduct yourself online. Your posts may be the first opportunity for potential customer to get to know your business, and you want to make sure that you are presenting it and yourself in the best possible manner.

The successful use of social media is an effective way to reach out to potential customers and grow your business. Make sure to avoid these social media mistakes, and you'll be well on your way to reaching your goals.

About the Author

Darren Olander is dedicated to teaching others how to create a success online through internet network marketing strategies. He is a site owner, article writer, coach & marketing consultant enjoying the benefits of working full time from home. You can learn more about him at DarrenOlander.com