Entries from March 2010 ↓

Blogging is a casual form of writing but that doesn’t give you an excuse to be careless and ignore typos and grammar mistakes.

If you use your blog to promote a product or service, being a poor writer will cost you sales.

For example, when I see the phrase “loose weight” (the most common typo on the internet) in an article or sales page about weight loss, I stop taking that person seriously.

And let’s not discuss all the glaring apostrophe errors I see in sales copy.

Above all, let’s not discuss how often I see “could of” instead of “could have.”

When your sales page has sloppy grammar and typos, it’s like showing up for a job interview in flip flops and distressed jeans. You disrespect your reader.

Here are 3 ways to improve your writing skills as a blogger:

1. Regularly read a grammar blog, such as the Grammarphobia blog and FWJ’s Grammar Guide.
2. If you can’t afford a proofreader, ask a friend or relative to subscribe to your blog and alert you any time they find typos or grammar mistakes.
3. Read The Elements of Style by William Strunk & E.B. White once a year. It’s a very slim book but packed with suggestions about how to write clearly and also outlines the basic grammar rules.

If you have a different favorite book about writing and grammar, read that one once a year.

Saying that the writing isn’t important is like a carpenter saying nails aren’t important. I like for my carpenters to care about little things like the proper use of nails. So you should care about little things like typos and grammar.

Also, part of the fun of writing is occasionally breaking the rules.
But you have to know what the rules are first before you can break them.

So go to it!

Your reward for all that great writing will be increased sales.

Blogging to the bank will show you how to capture sales from your blog.

Related articles

• 5 Ways To Better Proofread An Article (shoutmeloud.com)
• 3 Sources of Grammar Inspiration (ducttapemarketing.com)
• Apostrophes and Plurals Don’t Mix (ryanmcintyre.com)
• Yes, spelling matters for screenwriting (viciousimagery.blogspot.com)

Writing awesome blog posts is great but it won’t do you much good
if no one reads them.

After your blog is up and running and you have several posts under
your belt you should start driving traffic to your blog.

Here are four ways to do that:

1. Register your blog with a community such as BlogBurst, BlogHer,etc. Some of these sites will put your blog in front of major newswebsites and newspapers. Other of these sites are blogdirectories that receive a huge number of unique visitors
2. Blog Carnivals. BlogCarnival.com is one of the most common sites for blog carnivals. At any given time there are carnivals in a wide variety of categories. Pick a category that applies to your blog topic and submit a post.You’ll receive a surge of traffic by entering as many carnivals as possible.
3. Comments on other blogs. This is my favorite source of traffic. Visit high profile blogs in your niche and leave comments. If you leave a comment that has helpful information and not just a “great post” comment, people will click on your blog link and come visit your blog. This also puts you on the radar screen of the blog owner. Connections with high profile bloggers are valuable.
4. Forums. Visit forums in your niche that let you put a link to your blog in your forum signature. Traffic from forums can be hit or miss because people have signature blindness. But if you post regularly you’ll see steady traffic.

You’ll learn even more traffic secrets at Blogging to the Bank.

Blogging to the bank

Even better, you’ll learn how to convert that traffic into
sales from your blog.

Pretty cool, huh?

The best thing about Blogging to the Bank is that it’s
a step by step guide that even a newbie can figure out.

Related articles

• Online Money Making Ideas That Work 100% (tlmarketing.net)
• How to Make Money from Your Blog Without Using Advertisements (shoutmeloud.com)
• Clickbank Stealth ? Want To Improve Your Clickbank Sales? (ronmedlin.com)

Image via Wikipedia

If you’re stuck for an idea for a blog post, go to Google News.

For example, I  recently typed the word “golf” in Google News and found a cool story about how coyotes have made frequent appearances on a certain golf course.

The article goes on to talk about how, over the years,
seagulls have whisked away golf balls,thinking they are eggs,
and how alligators sometimes make cameo appearances in water
hazards on golf courses in Florida.

It also mentions that rabbit holes were the inspiration for the
invention of the sport of golf back in the 1500s. Continue reading →