Greetings All,
If you are looking for a way to start making money on the internet, and you have a budget that is very small or zero, blogging is a great way to get started.
Blogging has become very popular lately and the blogging world has matured a little. For one thing, it’s free. For another, you don’t need to have any technical skills what so ever to get started. If you can read and write, then you can blog.
If you have a product, service, or interest about which you are passionate, there may be no easier way to connect with potential customers, colleagues, and others who need what you have or know than through blogging.
You can use blog as a way to collect customer feedback. Do an informal survey. Add a link to an RSS feed service that includes an event calendar.
So what is a blog? A blog is a simple web page that anyone can set up in minutes. People use them as journals, diaries, and sales pages. Actually, blogs can be about anything, not only just about your daily life. As long as you make it interesting, and people will stop by to read it.
If the idea of creating a blog makes your palms sweat, fear not. Not only are blogs easier than ever to set up (even a complete amateur can create one in a few minutes these days), it also easier to create a blog, both WordPress and Blogger are provide free blogging that is so easy to set up, you can do it in less time than you can eat lunch. By creating a blog, you have the option to introduce the subjects you want to address the concerns of your clients and potential clients.
I’m not the biggest blogger in the world. But I think they’re a really great told for the right place and time.
Today, I’m going to give you a few secrets of creating blogs that are totally PRO and not amateur. In the other words, create a “social proof” blog.
A social proof blog is designed from the ground floor up to provide social proof. In the old days, before the new FTC Law interpretations in the U.S. Internet marketers mostly used testimonials, till today they’re still legal but practically castrated. However, testimonials are not and never were the goal for your blog.
The goal you want is the SOCIAL PROOF (videos or comments to your blogs). Our human beings are the social creature and this social proof thing is literally hard wired not just into the human brain but somehow in the collective genes of mankind. People like to look to others for validation of whether or not something will contribute to their survival, replication and prosperity value or not.
The technology development and social web 2.0 interactive world not only reduce the boundaries of communication between people, it provides great opportunities for us to do research, listen others opinions toward certain things from the web etc.
And if you have a cool idea, here is how you can have your blog (wordpress) up and running in 7 days.
1. Find Your Theme
The FIRST thing you need for a social proof blog is a great theme. Yes, there are tons of themes out there, but I recommend you get something really nice. Like the theme I bought from Studio Press that used for this site, also for Marketing that Works. These premium themes are awesome and the price is very reasonable, I LIKE them not because they are designed by professionals, it is also because the guys in the studiopress provide their customers with top-notch service.
Now go to Studio Press and find the theme that match with your needs, then you done. If in case you need to do some customization and you are facing the challenges, and their support forum is there for you.
2. Register Your Domain
You can go to namecheap or godaddy.com to register your domain, to get a better understanding toward the process, watch this short Video to get some help.
In general, it’s a good idea to put your keyword in your domain and blog title.
3. Install Your Blog
After you buy your totally rocking theme, install it. The installation part is easy. You can through FTP to upload the files to your hosting account.
If you need help in regarding to the hosting, watch this how to hosting Video 1 and Video 2
3. Get the Header Designed
You need a good designer for this that match with your blog and your personality, with Studio Press theme, it is very easy to do. You can just get your own header image done, upload it to your theme image folder and replace the original one, that’s it.
When I did the graphic header for my personal blog, it took me probably 30 minutes.
4. Set Up Your Layout
Once you get it all installed, there will be a theme layout options in your wordpress back office under the Appearance section, that is where you choose your options.
5. Create Your Content
On a social proof blog, this is the FUN part and it is also the challenging part.
Beside the written content, you can also add some other type of content to your blog that related to your niche market, like,
* Skype interviews
* Audio interview transcripts
* Pictures of you having fun with people at seminars you attend
* Pictures from the things you do or from your working activities
… etc …
You should be able to do this in 7 days or less.
* Installing the blog takes 20-30 minutes
* Got a professional design the theme takes less than 20 minutes
* Registering the domain name takes 10 minutes
There’s not too much more to it than that.
Keep in mind of that, your blog has to be interesting enough for people to want to read it, link to it and tell their friends about it. Your posts have to be regular and personal enough to allow potential customers and readers to feel that they’re in touch with you, that they like you and they’d like to do business with you.
Finally, consider treating your blog as an interactive newsletter. That is, write a blog post and email your list (clients, colleagues, friends, and others) that a new item has been posted. Tell them the subject of the post, give them a hyperlink to it, encourage them to leave a comment, and suggest that they let others know about your blog. Keep the discussions going when you get comments by responding to them, and keep your focus on fostering and nurturing relationships that will further your business in an organic way and always, always make sure your blog and website are linked.
*******************
If you haven’t check out our recent post, here are the recap.
* Online Global Business Center at GetaMarket
* How to Grow Your Service Delivery Business
* Make Money Website Guide Part 1
* Don’t Let It Ruin Your Site
* Make Money Website Guide Part 2
* How to Find a Market and a Product to Match
Till next time – Happy sharing 
Cheers!
