Scatter mini-notebooks or notepads. Always keep a mini-notebook at hand’s reach. Have one on your office desk, in your car, in your bag, in your baby’s diaper bag, on your home computer table – every spot where you stay often. Your mini-notebooks don’t have to be too fancy, noticeable or expensive. This way, it won’t hurt to purchase several.

Install virtual sticky notes in your computer. Sticky notes can be set to be available on your computer’s desktop at all times. Thus, whenever an idea pops up, it will be much easier for you to type it on a sticky note for future reference. You can choose to change the color of the sticky note that you reserve for blog ideas for easier reference.

Find and use an online to-do planner that you can easily access when needed. There are a lot of online planners and to-do lists that you can use to store your blog post ideas. Due to technology advancement, you can also access these even while you’re away from your computer (yes, via your smartphone or tablet).

Yes, via your smartphone or tablet. In reference to the last statement, a smartphone or tablet can be your greatest blogging companion these days. It has programs that you need – notes and recorder. You can audio blog on the spot through your phone or tablet. You can also take a photo of something that triggered your blog ideas. You can even start writing a blog post on the spot using your gadget.

Recording your ideas through these various ways is just the first step. You should further organize your lists and outlines. Once you find time, shortlist the ideas you have recorded. Eliminate those that you think you have already tackled or those that don’t deserve to be tackled at all, then combine ideas that can be talked about in a single post. Once you are done with your final list, you can already move forward to mind mapping and scheduling your posts. Blogging can be an easy activity if you begin by stock piling your ideas.

Earning a passive income is possible but it is actually harder than you think. There are countless individuals who have spent six months or more of their time building an online business without making a single dime. We’ll tackle some of the common myths in internet marketing in this article:

Myth 1: Push-button income streams can make you thousands of dollars overnight

There is little truth that you can earn passive income through pushing a couple of buttons a day on the internet. The fact is that hard work will yield a bit of some passive income. You need to work harder on the right strategies to get to where you want to be.

Remember, there is no magic bullet. Whoever tries to sell this to you is either bluffing or exaggerating. Either way, you should take their claim with a grain of salt.

Myth 2: I can get rich through this “secret (insert product here)”

Do a quick search and you’ll find hundreds of marketers claiming to have the “secret software”, “secret technique”, or “secret strategy” that will make you rich tomorrow. Guess who’s the only one who will make money here? That’s right, the marketer selling the product.

The group that’s propagating the myth that there’s a secret way to earn money online are the only ones getting rich because thousands of people buy into this dream.

Myth 3: It’s just a matter of patience

Then there is also a group of marketers who claim that their system will help you produce thousands of dollars over the long-term even if you are not making money now. Don’t expect anything when you hear this claim. There is a better likelihood that their system won’t work at all. It will either be outdated by the time they say you’ll see results or it would never have you made you anything in the first place. They’re probably just wasting your time and waiting until the “money back” guarantee expires.

There are simple ways on how you can get readers to comment on your blog posts. Yes, writing high quality content and promoting it are necessary. But sometimes, it may not be enough. Adding some elements to your posts can do the trick.

Below are some of the techniques to get more blog comments.

1. Invite readers to comment. If you haven’t tried asking your readers to leave comments, it is now time to start doing so. Although readers can comment anytime, they seem to ignore or just simply forget the idea. Non-bloggers may not realize the importance of blog comments. Thus, invite them to comment and their response may just be the trigger you are looking for.

2. Leave a question for your readers to answer. A good blog post talks “with” the readers, not “at” them. So, ask questions and encourage sharing of opinions. You can start by using a question as a title. Then, by the end of your post, ask a question interesting enough to make your readers decide to answer.

3. Leave the ending open. If your post already has it all, your readers may no longer feel the need to share their opinions and ideas. Yes, you need to provide informational and valuable content at all times, but you can always ask your readers to add more ideas, tips and recommendations if they have some. This way, you can make them feel appreciated and they are given the chance to be somewhat an expert on the niche too.

4. Interact, reply to comments. Once someone comments, keep the thread alive by replying to it. This way, ideas and opinions will keep on coming and everyone else will be encouraged to leave their own comments too.

5. Make it easy for readers to comment. Do not complicate the method of commenting. There are some blogs that require logging in before one can comment. Some readers may find registration either a waste of time or a dangerous way of giving their personal information away. Although registration for comments is necessary to avoid spam, your reader might just end up leaving your blog without leaving the comment you want. It would be best to leave the battle against spam to captcha.

Individuals who are not fond of reading extensive amount of texts find podcasts a good alternative. An increasing number of people are also starting to use it because of its flexibility. They can listen to tutorials, stories, and motivational speech on the way to work or when they are traveling in general. Podcasts are also being used by large companies these days to attract more customers. So if you are interested in giving this a try yourself for your blog, what are the tactics you should adopt? Below is an overview:

Start with the content – podcasts aren’t like articles. In many cases, the writing styles on most articles are not good for podcasts because it has a sales tone. In general, it is important to have the same idea on the blog posts as on the podcasts. To minimize the work, be conscious of how you write the article and given it a light-hearted spin that is direct to the point.

Get the equipment – some believe that podcasts equipment is expensive. This isn’t the case. There are kits available at an affordable price. These already include the microphone, headphone, recording software, and editing software. There are even free audio recording programs that are available for free. Basically, the cost is minimal but the benefits of podcasting are great.

Record and publish the podcast – after getting the equipment, the next step is to use it of course. Instructions should be included in the kit you get; these may vary depending on the software. Once the recording and editing is finished, the podcast is ready for publishing. Be sure to put it on a prominent place on your website. Make it a point to create a RSS feed for the podcast as well.

Advertise the podcast – make your community aware that your website has a brand-new feature. Promote the podcasts through email, write an announcement, and get your contacts to promote it for you. Using your social media accounts, especially Facebook and Twitter, is another sure-fire way to generate interest.

It is always easier to follow a schedule when blogging. The schedule will make it easier for you to write and market your blog and posts. Normally, publishing two to three posts per week can provide your blog with normal growth as long as it is accompanied with proper marketing efforts. Publishing a post everyday can provide steady growth while publishing more than one post a day can make for maximum growth. Depending on the boost you’d like your blog to receive, schedule how many posts you want to publish in a week, when you will publish it and what topics you would like to focus on.

Below are the simple steps on how you can schedule your blog posts efficiently.

1. Set goals. For you to be able to schedule your posts easily, you should first set blogging goals. Blogging goals are essentially what you want your blog to achieve: do you want to boost its ranking fast and receive maximum traffic? Or do you simply want to provide valuable knowledge to your readers?

If you wish to rank up in search engines and get traffic, post as much as possible. If you want to retain your traffic, create posts that are of the highest quality possible. When it comes to blogging, quantity and quality both matters – keep this in mind while scheduling and planning your posts, and you can begin your journey towards successful blogging.

2. Consider your time and availability carefully. A lot of bloggers are still working for a full-time, 8-hour job, and you may be one of those. Considering your time and availability is necessary to be able to come up with a realistic blogging schedule. If you wish to publish at least one post a day, see if you can spare an hour or two everyday for doing so. Try to stay on schedule as your readers might be waiting for your posts on a regular basis. It may be difficult at first, but you’ll get the hang of it eventually.

Scheduling two or three posts per week may be easier. So once again, consider your goals and availability.

3. Determine your own blogging style and stick to it. Staying on schedule will be easier if you follow your own blogging style. This way, you can write and finish posts easier and faster.

“Duplication” can mean different things though. In this article, the types of duplicate content and its shortcomings will be discussed.

What is Duplicate Content?

Duplicate content has received a lot of flak for a variety of reasons. For original article writers, it is theft if the other publisher has not been given permission to publish the content. But it is also damaging to the site where the duplicate is published because the search engines strive to provide unique content to their readers. There is a problem with this too though because of “semi-unique” articles.

To exert minimal effort while receiving maximum benefits, a number of website marketers have resorted to “spinning” articles using rewriting software. This makes the content 70-90% unique. In essence, duplicate content can come in three forms including complete copy (100% copy pasted), semi-unique, and rewritten articles (same ideas, different words).

How to Avoid Duplicate Content

If you’re writing and publishing original content on your website and blog, you’ll certainly want to stop others from piggybacking on your efforts. There are countless people who will unscrupulously publish your content and give no credit to your site. Similarly, there are also those that will rewrite and spin the articles on your site for their own ends.

An increasing number of web owners are now disabling the right click function on their sites. This discourages most content thieves from grabbing your articles. You can do the same. Then there is also the challenge of auto-blogging software that takes the text of your site through RSS feeds. You can also block some web pages with the “robots.txt” in the meta tag; this stops the search engines from indexing the page.

At the end of the day, people will still try anything they can get away with. It would be very difficult, if not impossible, to stop marketers from stealing the ideas you publish and rewriting your articles. Just focus on providing fresh and interesting insights to your readers and they will keep coming back to your site.

As many in the blogging world will tell you, creativity is something that you need to strive for. There are big demands when it comes to writing something witty, funny, and interesting for the audience. Similarly, there are also a number of blogs that thrive on clever infographics and other design elements. The creativity can be sapped from you if you don’t take care of it. In this article, we’ll give you a lowdown on how to stay creative in blogging:

Source relevant information – in many cases, inspiration comes from other sources. So you want to have as many great and relevant sources available at your fingertips. Cluttered working habits as well as the general misinformation on the internet can stop you from writing something amazing. It is critical to set up a process, such as using RSS, to source information that is within your industry.

Locate your “zone” and stay there – creativity can come in bursts. That means that in some instances, you can do hours’ worth of work without breaking a sweat. At other times though, you might have a hard time even coming up with a couple of sentences. The key to remaining productive is to find the “zone” that helps you work at your best. If it’s listening to music, do it. If it’s sitting in a quiet area in the library, then go to the library.

Try mind mapping – this idea has gotten a surge of popularity recently. It is because the most creative people think in non-linear ways. You must find a way to take advantage of it. There are now a variety of mind mapping tools that will show you how you think. This results to better ideas, articles, and output. Mind mapping techniques can also be used within a group.

Talk to others – many bloggers work in isolation, resulting to a dearth of ideas. You need other people to remain creative. If it is impossible for you to meet up with a group on a regular basis, then make it a point to join discussions on Skype and other tools on the internet.

Blog directories are similar to a phone book. They list down content and sites according to several categories. This is why they are also known as “link directories.” Users of these directories are directed to the websites and blogs that may contain the information that they need.

Below are the reasons why you should submit your link to blog directories and how it can help generate more traffic for your site.

1. Blog directories normally have high page ranking. Basically, websites with high page ranking land in the first pages of search results. If you get your blog link in one of these popular blog directories, your site practically gets a share of its page ranking.

2. Blog directories often receive high volume of traffic. These sites are often visited by online users who are looking for content that offers the information that they need. Thus, the chances of getting noticed are higher if your blog is listed in such directories. Moreover, those who also have their sites listed in the directory tend to visit their fellow bloggers’ sites.

3. Blog directories are great avenues for back linking. These sites are basically supposed to present links to blogs. Thus, it is one of the best venues where you can post your links. Aside from generating more traffic, back links from blog directories help your site get indexed in search engines faster.

4. Blog directories may offer RSS feed updates. Some blog directories may allow you to post an RSS feed which you can update regularly. This will make subscribing to your blog easier. Moreover, the blog directory will also regularly receive your site updates.

5. Blog directories will stay on the Web for eternity – unless the owner decides to shut it down, but it is very unlikely. Just like phone directories, blog directories are here to stay. Information may be exchanged and distributed in a number of ways, but it still helps online users to easily find what they are looking for. Thus, the services and convenience offered by blog directories will stay trending for years.

6. Blog directory submission is so easy. Submitting your site to blog directories is so easy. Normally, you will be asked to create an account in the directory, provide basic and necessary information and voila! You can already enjoy the benefits it has to offer.

An easy way to overcome this blogging bane is to plan your blog posts. Here are few simple steps that you can follow if you wish to plan your next blog posts and save more time.

Step 1: Find or Choose a Topic

If you are managing a niche blog, you can visit forums and other blogs related to your particular niche. You may check out articles written about your niche, see what’s trending in Twitter or what your fellow bloggers have recently talked or blogged about. Read through forum threads to see what concerns the key players in your niche have. To make the task easier, list down several topics at once, whenever you have the time.

However, choose your topics carefully. Make sure that there are enough sources about the subject so that you will not have a hard time researching and writing about it. Weigh your interests, too. Make sure that you are intrigued by the topic enough for you to be willing to learn about it.

Step 2: Mindmap

Mindmapping is similar to outlining. From your chosen topic, think of sub-topics or sub-heads and note new ideas that may suddenly cross your mind. Connect and categorize these sub-topics and notes to come up with a more organized outline.

Step 3: Determine Your Main Points

Blog posts do not have to be too long. Focus on just a few ideas at a time. With the use of your mindmap, determine if every point noted are related to each other – if there are some that do not fit, remove it from the list. However, do not set aside the removed ideas entirely. Save them for future reference since you may write a separate post about those.

Step 4: Organize the Order of Your Points

To complete your outline, organize your points according to your desired order. You may choose to begin with the least important points and end with the most important ones – or vice versa.

Step 5: Turn Your Outline to a Readable Prose

Now, it is time for you to turn bullet points to sentences and outlines and finally, to paragraphs. Write your post according to your plan and you can easily publish a fresh and unique blog post.

While the signs might be discouraging, it is also important to note that countless bloggers have been in the same situation but has still made it. In this article, we’ll explore the different reasons why your blog isn’t as effective as it should be.

You don’t enjoy the topic

If you find a particular topic uninteresting, redundant, and unappealing, it will show on your writing. Even freelance writers who write about anything and everything have some topics that they won’t feel particularly keen about. Basically, if your website doesn’t contain anything exciting or new, people will go elsewhere because your blog is found to be wanting when it comes to substance.

Your blog isn’t becoming an authority site

In many fields, the only way you’ll make it is if the blog makes it on the first page of the search engine results page. There are also other ways to promote such as direct advertising, joint ventures, and social media marketing among others. By and large, you need to be seen as an authority in one particular area because you’ll generate enough money to matter.

Your market isn’t spending

While receiving thousands of unique visits on a daily basis may look good on first glance, it should be noted that some sites have impressive numbers yet fail to make money. Consider someone on the “freebie” niche, for example. The visitors that this site inevitably attracts are freebie-seekers. They would be unwilling to pay for stuff on your page, even if you try to upsell.

At the end of the day, only you can decide if you’re in the wrong niche. There are countless bloggers who write and update their blog on a regular basis simply because they enjoy the topic. If you make money from these endeavors, then you can treat it as a bonus.