April 30, 2021

Blogging for Business

"A blog will boost your business", the gurus say. - Does it really? - testing,
testing -....
 

It is a great tool for information, improvement of page rank, and getting known more or less personally. Is it still? - or is this information already outdated as so many other valuable and logical theories we are presented in internet marketing? 

Was blogging for business only good until 2010, when I wrote about it on Squidoo, and has long become useless due to over-use? I hope not, because I love to blog. I started it long before I started a home business - and now I am neglecting my none-biz blogs terribly for the online work.

Marketing with Content, Information, and Communication

Right, Content-Marketing is, and will probably always be, the best working method of Online Marketing. You can post banners everywhere - paid banners, of course, - But who has not become banner blind? And free banner exchanges attract only clicks from others who want to gain clicks on theirs. Without attention-grabbing content, the page shown in any kind of traffic exchange will be closed after at most 20 seconds, when the time is up, and sometimes the surfers' eyes will be concentrated more on the timer than on the pages shown.

Better traffic comes from search engines since they exist. That means for businesses: A blog is a genuine SEO tool - of course, it needs a bit of SEO too, but the most thing is included: Frequent Fresh Content.

The Blog as the Center of Web2.0

It would lead too far from the subject of business blogging if I went deeper into this now. But while I was preparing my German blogging course, I of course researched a bit on the history too, and I found a very interesting resource :

Blood, Rebecca. "Weblogs: A History and Perspective", Rebecca's Pocket. 07 September 2000. 18 September 2013 

7 september 2000

In 1998 there were just a handful of sites of the type that are now identified as weblogs (so named by Jorn Barger in December 1997). Jesse James Garrett, editor of Infosift, began compiling a list of "other sites like his" as he found them in his travels around the web. In November of that year, he sent that list to Cameron Barrett. Cameron published the list on Camworld, and others maintaining similar sites began sending their URLs to him for inclusion on the list. Jesse's 'page of only weblogs' lists the 23 known to be in existence at the beginning of 1999.

....Peter Merholz announced in early 1999 that he was going to pronounce it 'wee-blog' and inevitably this was shortened to 'blog' with the weblog editor referred to as a 'blogger.'

At this point, the bandwagon jumping began. More and more people began publishing their own weblogs. I began mine in April of 1999. Suddenly it became difficult to read every weblog every day, or even to keep track of all the new ones that were appearing. Cameron's list grew so large that he began including only weblogs he actually followed himself. Other webloggers did the same. In early 1999 Brigitte Eaton compiled a list of every weblog she knew about and created the Eatonweb Portal. Brig evaluated all submissions by a simple criterion: that the site consist of dated entries. Webloggers debated what was and what was not a weblog, but since the Eatonweb Portal was the most complete listing of weblogs available, Brig's inclusive definition prevailed.

Before I get carried away, just 2 more Quotes from Rebecca's Pocket: the first to show that the Web2.0 was not yet existing then, but precisely foredefined 

In Douglas Rushkoff's Media Virus, Greg Ruggiero of the Immediast Underground is quoted as saying, "Media is a corporate possession...You cannot participate in the media. Bringing that into the foreground is the first step. The second step is to define the difference between public and audience. An audience is passive; a public is participatory. We need a definition of media that is public in its orientation." 

 From the Weblog Handbook: Practical Advice on Creating and Maintaining Your Blog by Rebecca Blood Cambridge: Perseus Publishing, 2002. 114-121.

Weblog Ethics

Weblogs are the mavericks of the online world. Two of their greatest strengths are their ability to filter and disseminate information to a widely dispersed audience, and their position outside the mainstream of mass media. Beholden to no one, weblogs point to, comment on, and spread information according to their own, quirky criteria.

You will find that the rules she states for blogs to be taken as serious sources of information do still apply today:

1. Publish as fact only that which you believe to be true.
2. If material exists online, link to it when you reference it.
3. Publicly correct any misinformation.
4. Write each entry as if it could not be changed; add to, but
    do not rewrite or delete, any entry.
5. Disclose any conflict of interest.
6. Note questionable and biased sources.

...And Then Social Marketing Began...


Eyes shut and go for it!
... around 2005, I think. Blogging for business became the dernier cri. In my 2010 Squidoo Lens, I described how this was disturbing the blogosphere with Cassandra's eyes.

Blogs and Social Marketing - Forget it! (?) 

No Community (except Facebook, where I miss it) without  Blog --
But Does Anyone Read ? 

My Co-Entrepreneurs don't care about my News, just about their own. Why don't my Online Friends either? Still, I close my eyes and try to get through...

Oh, that reminds me... Nowadays there must be a picture in every post that wants to be seen... And if you see it pleeease somebody comment! I still hope, I was wrong, and the blogging community is not dead. Help nursing it better, communicate!

February 22, 2021

What Is PLR And What Do I Need It For?

PLR is short for "Private Label Rights". This means: Done-for-you content, like articles, complete E-Books, or software you can edit as you want and republish under your own name as author. When you have to produce tons of content for your websites or blogs, PLR comes really handy. 

The best thing about PLR is, if you need expert content for your niche you cannot only provide it, but also improve your own knowledge, and later sell your own information product. I myself am a PLR junkie. For exactly that reason: I can’t know everything about a certain subject, so, with PLR content, I can get two advantages in one. 

Well, in this short blog post I can not explain all about PLR and to use it, but I'll surely come back to this subject. There are lots of in depth coaching offers to be found on how exactly to use PLR for your profit. 

For instance Ronnie from plr.me has profound coaching materials for members and affiliates (which is basically the same and FREE to Join!) When you join from my link, I have 10 FREE CREDITS for you. (I get ten back also). For these credits, we can go shopping.

referrals
So please help me and accept my Recommendation and Offer! 

Check out PLR.me -
their Offers, the Coaching -
collect 10 free Credits
,

and don't forget to refer this membership to your friends ๐Ÿ˜‰ this way you can earn enough credits to buy the large packages! Good PLR is not too cheap of course. Otherwise, the internet would be flooded with all kinds of duplicate content. This can be a problem when you use private label content. Of course, you must pay close attention to the license. Sometimes you may not just publish it for everyone to read, sometimes you may not sell it, and almost never are you allowed to sell it with PLR license.

How To Avoid Duplicate Content When Using PLR

Don't use it as it is! Sometimes I read one could use article spinners. - Not a good idea! If you ever used one, you know what I mean. The writing style gets worse and worse. Maybe today's article spinners are better with grammar and style, but still, you must proof-read and change. - So, as you must read it anyway, you can with little effort insert your own changes and additions. When you use PLR articles as web content, your own additions should be on top, and you might google the headline. If you find it, change it on your site. 
So much for now. Please check back for more, and earn some good PLR in the meantime ๐Ÿ’Ÿ 
P.S. O-oh I forgot something: Are you in the Health- and Wellness-Industry?               Here is a Free sample of 

February 09, 2021

Neila is Back! Finally! New Biz Tips To Come

 After so many years, I am finally back to my blogs. Now I must re-arrange everything. 

Yes, I am still, or rather again an online marketer ๐Ÿ˜…. More specific: an affiliate marketer. 

Why do I blog? 

Content Marketing is still a Must. Nobody wants to see just ads. So recommendations need to come embedded in text. Not just any text, but a text that gives readers some value to make them interested in the content, and, with some luck, also in the promoted products or services. 

I must admit, right now, I have no more websites - of course, I would blog there too as I did before - so my only chance is to renew my Blogger blogs. They are the closest thing to an 'own' homepage. 

What will Neila's New Biz Tips be About?

After I worked as an Internet Coach for a while, I now know that much more than I thought is unknown to beginners, the general public, and pros even. You will find basics here about Online Affiliate Marketing - and, as I know, also online marketing pros don't know everything about what I learned from long years of experience!

I am still a freebie-junkie - without an own website, it might not make much sense anyway to buy lots of things. Unfortunately, the time of big JVs and Giveaways is over. But I still have some resources I can share and (and use). 

How has the Internet changed? Which opportunities, tools, services, platforms, have gone? What is new? What is still working?

As I already said marketing with content is still the best way to promote. The creation of monetizable content, including a bit of SEO, and how to get freely useable content when you get stuck, will be my biggest subjects. 

So far the lead-in before it gets too long. Now I must repair the settings. Content coming later ๐Ÿ˜„ Please stay tuned, in case anyone saw this!  

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