There are certain requirements that you need before using wordpress as your blogging software.

First, I order for wordpress to run, the web host you are using must support the execution for PHP scripts which is an interpreted programming language. WordPress is written in PHP scripts. Almost all commercial web hosts support PHP.

Second, at least 1 MySQL database must be allowed by your host. WordPress stores data like your blog entries in specific files called the database where you can retrieve it easily and fast.

Though it is not really a requirement, it is best that you own your own domain. By using a domain name supplied by a web host, in the long run, you are at the mercy of your web host. They have the power to close your blog anytime they want forcing you to start all over again from scratch. WordPress give you more options on configuring your sites structure ad links if it runs on Apache, which recommended yet optional depending on you.

To install wordpress, first inquire the name of your MySQL database, the username you need to connect to the MySQL database and the password from your web host. After doing so, download the latest wordpress software in the zip version. Then unzip all the files in the archive where you downloaded it. Afterwards, open the “wordpress” folder and look for the file with the name “wp-config-sample.php”, if there is none, look for the file named “wp-config-sample”.

Start up a text editor and open the file “wp-config-sample.php”. I the file, you will see lines like:

define(‘DB_NAME’, ‘putyourdbnamehere’);    // The name of the database

define(‘DB_USER’, ‘usernamehere’);     // Your MySQL username

define(‘DB_PASSWORD’, ‘yourpasswordhere’); // …and password

Replace ‘putyourdbnamehere’ with your database’s name making sure it is enclosed between the single quotes. Replace the ‘usernamehere’ with your MySQL username as well as the ‘yourpasswordhere’ with you MySQL password.

Save the file under a new name “wp-config-php” including the quotes so that the text editor will not add ‘.txt’ to the file name.

Now for the tedious and long part; uploading the files to your web host account.  You need an FTP program which transfers files from your computer to your web host. First connect to your web host and transfer all the files found on your wordpress directory directly into the main web directory of your web host account.

After uploading the files, open your browser and go to your website so that you may complete the installation process of your blog using wordpress’ browser interface. If an error occurs stating that wordpress could not connect to your database, it probably means you entered a wrong data on the database name, user name or password. If so, then you have to correct the error and upload the corrected file again to your website.

Once you connection has been established, fill in the name of your blog and email address and click ‘continue to the second step’. WordPress will then set up your blog and display a page that will give you your blog username and password. Remember this username and password because you will need to use this every time you want to manage your blog or entry posts.

Viola, you have now successfully installed WordPress. Now start posting your blogs in your website.

Technorati Tags: blog installation, blogging, wordpess installation

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However, because of the success of blogs, many businesses are now willing to pay bloggers to write about topics that may benefit their company. That is how profit became another motivation for creating blogs. Blogging will not make you rich, but it can certainly help you pay the bills. Anyone can become a blogger with the right set of skills and tools. Your biggest obstacle will be the starting process. I’m sure this applies to almost everything in life, where getting started is the most difficult part.

There are tips or guidelines, however, which may offer some help to get you started in making some extra cash through your blogs. There are methods that you can apply to help you generate a hefty income from blogging. You will have to adopt these strategies or methods right from the start, before you create your first blog, so you can maximize its potential. If you are serious in making money online through your blogs, you can think of these methods or strategies as guidelines that will point you to the possible options you may have.

First, there is the Pay per Post, also known as Get Paid to Blog. This route is quite simple. You will need to set up a variety of niche blogs on those free blog hosts like of Blogger, or if you have your own domain, you can post you blogs there. You will need to maintain your blogs for a certain amount of time, so you can build up their page rank or link profile. After a while, you can start to submit your blogs to different get paid to blog websites such as Blogsvertise, Review Me, and Blogitive. You can then start writing sponsored blogs.

Another route you might want to check is the Flagship or Big Blog. This method is actually considered as the most profitable and the most time consuming blog undertaking as well. This method takes all of your focus on a number of blogs to make them well known in their particular niche. Big blogs or flagship blogs should acquire a huge number of audiences and must also have a high number of online traffic. Before you try out this route, you have to be certain of your networking skills, your niche knowledge, and marketing talents, as these attributes are necessary in this type of blogging venture.

Technorati Tags: blogging, earn money through blogging, retirement income

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First things first. Your blog should be about something that you really love; something that you are passionate about; something that you are exceptionally knowledgeable about. If your blog is about something that you do not really care about or something that you are not familiar with, your articles will not be as effective or convincing.

Once you have properly set up your blog, there are several options for you to earn while blogging. If you employ one of these tools, you will be able to earn from your blog without really sweating out!

• Use Google AdSense. This tool places topic-related ads on your blog. If your readers click on these ads, Google will pay you. The more readers click on the ads, the more income you earn.

• BlogAds/AdBrite are marketplaces that allow you to create a space on your blog for a certain amount every month. Once businesses get to notice your blog, they help you earn by choosing which spot to rent for their ad.

• BlogKits are quite similar to Google AdSense in the sense that there are ads that match a target audience. However, instead of basing your earnings on a per-click basis, BlogKits give you a percentage whenever one of your site visitors click on an ad. The percentage is only given if the visitor s makes a purchase on the site that they click. This is called a per-action model and is best suited for blog sites that have heavy traffic. Compared to Google AdSense, the money increases faster.

• Quigo is also quite similar to AdSense since it matches your articles with ads that are paid. The main difference of this income generating blog tool is that it allows you to monitor where your ads are being positioned.

There are other ways to earn income through your blogs, and one of them is by using SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. SEO uses keywords that are maximized enough to land your blog on Google search pages. The better the keywords are maximized, the higher your blog’s page rank will be. If your Google page rank is constantly high, people will flock to your site and you’ll get more clicks every day, thereby increasing your ad clicks.

A good number of people, whether technology geeks or not, are now into blogging because it is a good means of self-expression and of connecting with people of the same interests. The fact that it can provide you with a lot of chances to earn additional income is also a big reason for its popularity. So if you’re not really contented with the amount of money you are making, try blogging. It’s the best way to earn while also having fun!

Technorati Tags: blogging, retirement income, second income

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I’m sure most of you grew up observing some kind of etiquette instilled on you by your parents. Sometimes, though, some of us take it for granted or just simply forget. The fact is proper etiquette can take you a long way in life. What all of us should realize is that with all the advancements in social media and social networking, proper etiquette is essential.

The comment sections on blogs are possibly the most probable mode for misunderstandings and disagreements. With the freedom to express opinions and the luxury of opting to be anonymous, it is quite unlikely to assume a blogger to portray an impartial view of the world. However, it is sensible to expect them to work together with their sources, prejudices, and actions.

The following are considered blogging etiquettes that should guide bloggers in their efforts to create better blogs.

• Blogs are supposed to be enlightening or useful. The main point of a blog is essentially to impart helpful tips and information that can help the society. This is most suitable for a better and a more honest blogging practice.

• Anything that you post on your blog is wide open for the world to see. Are you willing to open up your private life to everyone across the globe? If there is something bothering your personal life, keep it just that, personal. If you wish to write about something that actually affects people, in general, then by all means post it.

• Blogs are supposed to help people learn from each other. Unfortunately, some bloggers are not quite keen on that idea. They choose to use blogs to counter-attack each other with negative criticisms. Although criticisms or disapprovals can help us progress and better ourselves, deliberate and spiteful criticisms don’t.

• Showing gratitude and appreciation will go a long way. Your readers will appreciate a little gratitude coming from you once in a while. Always keep in mind that without your readers, your articles or blogs are worthless.

• If you are already quite a celebrity in the blogosphere, don’t let it all get inside your head. Always remember where you come from.

Keep these etiquettes in check and you’ll get far into the blogging world.

Technorati Tags: blogging, blogging etiquettes, blogging manners

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WordPress, for example, is quite efficient at allowing search engines to know what is going on. On the other hand, there are a lot of different things that you can do to help your blog rank better in search engines. Luckily, there is an endless supply of plugins available that can aid you to get better rankings for your blog without you having to dig deep into the code of your blog just to get good results from search engines.

There are many plugins for WordPress that is available, but not all of them are really that effective. The following are just some of the plugins for WordPress that is both useful and efficient.

• All-in-One SEO Pack – this plugin can help you in setting the basic SEO stuff for your blog. This will require Meta tags, page titles, keywords, and descriptions, which you can then configure for your whole blog or on a post-by-post basis.

• Robots Meta – as a default, search engines crawl and index all of the pages on your blog. This process may result in a formation of duplicate content that can get you in trouble with search engines without you even knowing it. This plugin allows you to inform the search engines which segments of your blog to crawl. In return, you’ll get more respect, as well as traffic, from search engines

• SEO Smart Links – internal links are essential in every blog. The more internal links you have in your blog, the better structured your site is, at least that’s how search engines perceive it. If you have to manually create links on every relevant word on your blog, it will seem endless. This is where this plugin can help you. All you have to do is specify a particular word, and every time that word appears on your site, it automatically turns into a link that you’ve already specified.

• SEO Friendly Images – for bloggers who use images on their posts, this plugin can be pretty useful. This helps you tag your images correctly, so you won’t have to spend many hours organizing your images.

• Google Positioner – in SEO, keywords mean a lot. This useful plugin can help you determine which keywords are providing traffic and which aren’t.

The plugins previously mentioned are just some of those that can help improve your site’s ranking in the search engines. Most, if not all, bloggers know how important plugins are in creating traffic for their blog sites. There is no point in updating blog sites that no one ever visits.

Technorati Tags: blog plugins, blogging, seo plugins, wordpress plugins

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A few basic things that new bloggers need to know are:

First, the main source for all this process is the internet.  Surf through the net and gather informations using search engines.

Article writing is the best option. Write anything you want about anything you like. You will need to sacrifice time and effort in order to do this, but if you are determined and dedicated, in course time, you will become an expert.

The most common mistake people make after owning a domain name and web hosting is that they host their blog in other external services. You can actually host your blog in your own site if you own a website with dot com.

Keep in mind that hosting your blog in a third party service blocks your blog giving the third party service the control over your blog. This also allows them to remove your blog anytime they want.

These are just some basic things that beginners ought to know before starting their own blogging business. Now, to earn more money through blogging, you have to know the following strategies.

First, the “flagship” or known as the big blog route. Though it is most profitable, it is also a time consuming blog venture. This method directs all your focus to a few blogs to make them more popular. It should have a large audience with high daily visitor traffic numbers.

Next is the “pay per post” or the get paid to blog route which is rather simple. You set up multiple niche blogs on your own domain or free blog hosts and maintain them over a period of time focusing on content writing. Then submit your blogs to get paid to blog websited like PayperPost, Review Me, Blogitive, then start sponsored post writing.

Another way is the automated blogging or splog route. This involves setting up blogs that automatically retrieve content from search engines to serve as content for your website.

The text link selling blog route is selling text links to various webmasters and businesses that want to improve their site ranks in Google.

Another way is the blog network or contract blogging route which is joining a network and getting paid to create and maintain blog contents. Payment is according to page views.

There are a lot of strategies to choose from if you are interested in making money through blogging. These strategies can help you succeed in the world of blogging.

Remember, success comes to those who are willing to invest time and effort in their field of work. Blogging is constantly learning to grow your blog. Develop your skills and knowledge and blog away to earn money!

Technorati Tags: blogging, online money

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Blogs benefits seniors in ways one will never imagine. Aside from helping them earn extra income (apart from their pension), blogs also serve the following purposes for the senior population:

* Blogs help keep seniors up-to-date with current events and other important issues that come out in the news headlines.

* Blogs help seniors meet other people from different parts of the world.

* Senior blogs are the best venues for senior bloggers to share their ideas and views on particular issues, as well as their wisdom and experiences – especially to the younger readers or site visitors.

* Best of all, senior blogging helps seniors practice their wit and humor, therefore keeping their minds sharp. It helps keep their intellectual juices running despite not having to hurdle the everyday hassles of corporate life.

Most senior bloggers find blogging an enjoyable activity that helps them discover many wonderful things about themselves. In the process, blogging helps seniors develop more self-confidence.  These are just some of the many reasons why senior blogging has become such an “in” thing. It has become such a popular activity for seniors especially since the Internet is something that they spend a lot of time using. Statistics reveal that Americans aged 65 years and above use the Internet regularly; in
fact, 22% of the total population of this age group are Internet users. And these numbers have grown over the years. From the year 2000 to 2004, the growth or increase in number was estimated to have grown to 47%. Of the total number of senior American bloggers, about 3% maintain their own blogs while 17% of our senior friends regularly read the blogs of other people.

So if you are one of the many American seniors looking for something exciting and fun to do, try something productive like blogging. Earn extra income while staying at home; get to know a lot of interesting people; learn about what’s new around the world – all while having fun online!

Technorati Tags: blogging, Blogging For Seniors

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However, like old style journalism, blogging also follows several standards. And if you want to make sure that your blogs make an impact, you will have to keep these standards or guidelines in mind:

• It is always practical to include photos and videos into your blog content.
• Do not make your posts or articles too long. Short paragraphs are more readable and attract readers.
• Your blog posts should come out as if you are speaking to your audience or readers. They should be easy-to-read and understand. Imagine yourself talking to a good friend when writing your blog posts.
• You should come up with a structure that is easy to use; one that makes it easy for your readers or visitors to find the post or article that they are looking for.
• Allow comments to be posted on your site. This is one way of ensuring communication with your readers/visitors. Manage the comments properly and make sure that no comment posted will offend any of the other readers who commented on a particular post.
• To keep your blog continually interesting and fresh, make sure that you update your blog 3x a week. Make sure that the content you come up with every time you post is relevant and interesting.
• Always keep in mind the rules and regulations, or the conditions, of your hosting company or site.
• Do not copy blogs or articles that belong to other people. This is pure plagiarism and will give you a bad reputation not only on your readers, but also on the entire blogging community.
• Market your blog. If you do not know how to do so, ask for help from experts in blog advertising or marketing. You can also look for online sources that may give you ideas on how to effective sell or market your blog. Marketing your blog will help readers find you online.

If you follow these blogging standards by heart, your blog will definitely rise in popularity; and your blog will ultimately its way into the hearts of many blog readers and enthusiasts around the world.

Technorati Tags: blogging, blogging standards

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Blogs are like web pages that contain posts or articles that talk about various issues, events and even hobbies. Basically, blogs are like journals and their concept came from the term weblogs, a word that was created in 1997 by Jorn Barger.

There are generally two types of blogs: personal and business. Personal blogs are like personal journals or diaries that also contain a bloggers views and opinions. Business blogs are the ones that companies can use to help them keep in touch with both their employees and their clients. This type of blog has become increasingly popular over the years, and more and more businesses are now using blogs. Aside from providing additional ways to help your company keep up with its employees and customers, blogs also have other uses that businesses can greatly benefit from.

• Blogs can be a cost-efficient option to giving your company significant online presence. Developing your own website is not only expensive, it is also time consuming. If your business is just starting out, blogging is definitely the best way for you to go in order to be noticed online. With a company blog, you will be able to attract a variety of people who can be probable customers and partners for your company.

• Blogging will give you a chance to showcase what your business has to offer while also letting people know what your company’s knowledge and expertise are. This will help bring in more interested customers.

• Business blogs will help you become known in the business world and are a good way of establishing your reputation among fellow business owners and companies.

There are several business blogs already popular among many in the corporate world. These blogs specifically focus on particular types of products or services, which make it easier for consumers to find what they need. You can pattern your company blog from these popular ones to make sure that you will be able to get the proper visitor demographics and feedback for your site.

Some examples of business blogs are Research Buzz (an information provider that has a newsletter and advertising options); Gizmodo (a web magazine that focuses on everything and anything about gadgets and consumer electronics); and MacroMedia, a software company’s customer service blog.

If you want to make sure that your business stirs up the online community, start creating your company blog now. It’s the most cost-effective, easiest, and viable solution for gaining customer interest and satisfaction.

Technorati Tags: blogging, blogging for business, business blogs

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Almost all blogs contain the same parts or sections:

• The BLOG HEADER is the part of the blog where you will find the blog name and a short description about what it is all about.

• A BLOG CALENDAR shows the number of blogs posted on a particular month and visitors will be able to access specific articles posted on a particular day of a chosen month.

• The BLOG ARCHIVE is a very common feature that allows site visitors to jump from one blog article to another based on the month or year they were posted. It functions in pretty much the same way as the blog calendar.

• An important blog function is the BLOG SEARCH because it lets people search from particular terms or phrases on your articles.

• A blog’s ARTICLE CATEGORIES allows you to group your articles or blog posts by categories. You have the option to choose what categories you want to put in. Categorizing your articles will allow your site visitors to access blog articles of interest in the easiest manner.

• A list of your latest blog postings can be viewed in the RECENT ARTICLES section while your favorite links have a place of their own in the FAVORITE LINKS corner.

• There are blogs that have RSS FEEDS. RSS Feeds give you the option of connecting with and content sharing with other web sites. RSS Feeds also provide an easier option for people to automatically receive articles through what is called the RSS Feed Reader.

• Of course, if you have articles, you also need top have titles. The BLOG ARTICLE TITLE should be able to catch your visitors/readers’ attention.

• And then, of course, with the title comes the BLOG CONTENT. The content is the most important part of your blog. Your content should not only inform, it should also encourage, inspire, astound, and leave your visitors/readers longing for more.

Other essential parts of a blog include the PERMALINK (a link that takes visitors to the individual pages of your blog), the COMMENTS section (where readers can leave their comments about your articles), the SEND ARTICLE section (which allows visitors to send the link/s of your article/s people they want to share them with), and the IMPROPER BLOG (which informs blog/site administrators to track articles that are inappropriate).

Technorati Tags: blog parts, blogging, essential parts of a blog

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