This is business. It is not playtime.

You might be surprised by the number of people who complain that they do not make any significant income from their AdSense campaigns. When we ask them how many markets they're in or how many domains they have, their answer is usually 10 or 15 markets, and only 1 or 2 domains per market.
Here is another truth that many people do not want to face head-on. You cannot make any money with AdSense unless you are in a lot of markets. And within those many markets, you must have many websites if you want to really penetrate your niche market and make the most profits from that market. In today’s world, you need to have a lot of smaller sites.

So how can you do all of that?

Well, you cannot, unless you first address some important issues. In order for you to accomplish all this work, you need three things:

1) Procedures
2) Achievable Goals
3) Help

PROCEDURES: As mentioned above, in order for you to maximize your profits and exposure, you must have a lot of websites working for you. With that being the case, you need to have some system of generating a lot of websites and be able to get those sites up and running in as quick a fashion as possible. So how about an assembly line metaphor? Let’s assume you want to get into 20 markets. One way to do this would be for you to do the keyword research for all 20 markets. Then purchase your domain names. Then setup your hosting accounts. And lastly build and upload your web pages. Your procedure, in this case, allows you to work in a systematic, organized way which is much more efficient than attempting to build each site, one at a time,
and one domain at a time.

ACHEIVEABLE GOALS: Anyone who is self-employed, either full time or part time, understands the importance of setting realistic goals and then achieving those goals. You need to set daily, weekly, and monthly goals to keep yourself on track and give yourself a clear picture of where you are and where you want to go.
Your goal list is your roadmap to success. However, each goal that you set for yourself must be achievable. Do not set your goals so high that failure is almost assured. That sort of action will kill your selfconfidence
and cause you to lose faith in your work. If you are just getting started out, you might set a monthly goal of 10 markets, with 3 domains per market.
Is that too much?
How about starting with 5 markets with 2 domains per market?
You would then set weekly and daily goals to ensure that you meet (and even exceed) the goals you set.
Without goals you can't keep score, and if you can't keep score you don't know if you're winning or losing in business, or in life, for that matter.

HELP: The last element that is vital to your success is help. In order for all the work to get done, you will need to outsource as much as possible.
This is vital. You must understand why outsourcing is so important. Your mission is to perform a task only until you know it well enough to teach someone else how to do it. The faster you can duplicate yourself, the faster you
can expand your business as you focus on the most profitable actions that need to be taken. For this to work, you have to be management, not grunt. Our entire page generation business is 100% outsourced. We have one person who selects my markets, another does the keyword research for those markets, and yet another who actually builds and manages all my pages. This frees us up to concentrate on the markets that are truly profitable. It allows us the time and the mental space to think through our next move. That freedom to think would be greatly diminished if we had to spend the majority of our time doing work that others can do just as well, and, in some cases, better than us.

From the Desk of: Roy Oron & Maayan Marzan

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How to hide Navbar on Blogspot

Blogger has started advertisement above the navbar (the usually blue navigation bar at the very top of a blog) on a random basis (now you see it, now you don't) and this has taken valuable space. See screen shot below:

advertisement above Blogger navbar

Since that is taking valuable real estate plus the fact the the Blogger TOS (Terms of Service) did not specify that one must have it for the blog, I have decided to hide the navbar.

There are various ways to do that, not all of them effective. I have found that the hack by Aditya to be effective.

Aditya's hack is simple. Here is my interpretation of his hack: Go to LAYOUT > EDIT HTML to open the template editor. Look for and paste the following after that:

/* hide navbar */
/*-------------*/
#Navbar1 {
margin: 0px;
padding: 0px;
visibility: hidden;
display: none;
}

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Facebook Launching the Google Adsense Killer

Earlier today Lee Lorenzen of Altura Ventures sent me a message referencing a note where he postulates about Facebook’s upcoming ad network. He brought up something that I previously hadn’t thought of: the opening of Facebook’s ad network. Imagine if Facebook, who now has access to over 50 million users’ personal information could target ads based on those profiles anywhere on the web. It’s not far fetched and it is exactly what Facebook will be announcing on November 6th when they announce the SocialAds network.

After speaking with an individual with specific knowledge of how the network is being structured, I was informed that Facebook will be leveraging the cookies installed in users’ browsers after logging into Facebook in order to target them across the web. In the instance that the user doesn’t have one of the Facebook cookies installed, ads similar to those of what Google currently provides will be displayed. Now for those wondering why on earth Microsoft would invest $240 million in Facebook (while Steve Ballmer strategically played down the value of Facebook), this is it.

Thanks to their advertising partnership, Microsoft will now be able to provide targeted ads not only based on demographic data (location, age, gender, etc), but they will also know that the person visiting your site is interested in skiing and guitar. So how much money will Facebook make from this? A ton. Higher CPMs and CPCs will create a new competitive landscape between Google and Facebook. Facebook to Google: we are gunning for you.

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Getting quality content for your blog

All Internet marketing guides stress the importance of using only quality content for the blog pages, yet, the question remains: how can one decide which is good content and which not? I simply suggest that we start from the very nature of the blog: a highly informational and personal site which tackles with subjects in a specific domain. Hence, when designing the blog, don't make it too complex, stick to the simple structures that allow users to perform actions easily on the page. The frame should also be very simple and the eventual ads and links need to naturally blend in the content of the blog as such. Web design provides the great advantage of using similar fonts and formats, so that only some elements on the page should stand out.

Furthermore, you may have learned by now that you need to create the site content around some high-in-demand keywords that users type in the search box of the engine. The more the keywords, the higher the chances to have your blog appear in the first result pages. However, many bloggers understand keyword density the wrong way. The blog content should naturally include the keywords in an easy-to-read kind of way; a keyword density that goes higher than 2 or 3% could make the articles less appealing to the reader.

There are some tips you may consider when creating quality content for a blog. First of all, regardless of the domain and the target audience, it should be reader-friendly and even reader-oriented if it be the case. This means that even when you deal with a scientific topic, you can still keep the reader's attention vivid since not everybody who visits your blog has a professional cultural background. Write everything in short or medium-sized paragraphs so that the information naturally flows without being hard to track in case of an interruption.

Statistics show that blogs that include links in the very article content are more successful than those who present links at the bottom of the page for instance. Inserted links allow the reader to get a puzzle-explanation of a concept or provide the opportunity to show interest for specific products or services. Furthermore, the blogs that make a happy combination of written content, pictures and videos are considered a lot more appealing to the average Internet user, and thus receive a lot more traffic. The key to being successful within the blogging system is definitely the continuous adaptation to the requests of the market.

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RSS – what's it all about?

Before creating a blog as such, it is most advisable to learn what type of helping tools you may need to design and update the pages when necessary. One fine example is the famous RSS, a group of web feed formats that are mainly used to keep the blog content new and fresh as often as possible. Why is RSS the first choice of a large number of users? Simple, an RSS document includes the very text you have on the blog or a summary of the content in some other cases; thus, one can keep a close watch over the blog without checking the pages in detail.

To give you a further glimpse into the utility of the tool, we should mention that the abbreviation RSS stands for Rich Site Summary. Therefore, besides the advantage of delivering fresh web content, RSS allows many Internet users who need to stay informed; thus you can easily retrieve whatever item of information you are interested in from a specific site. From this perspective, RSS comes as a great alternative to subscribing for email newsletters since it doesn't require your giving away the email address. Presently, RSS has become the choice of many sites that need to keep a permanent contact with their visitors.

If you decide to use an RSS, you won't need anything else except a special feed reader, and even here there is a wide variety to choose from: Newsgator and FeedReader made by Windows or Amphetadesk that works for a variety of platforms including Mac and Linux. Moreover, there is also a large number of RSS feed readers that are totally web-based, they include Bloglines, Google Reader and My Yahoo. Once you install the reader on the computer, all you have to do is actually find the sites that summarize content and add the RSS feed on the page to your feed reader.

Presently, you can find many RSS blogs and sites that provide information on the best means to use this tool; nevertheless, we should mention that the information is constantly updated since there is more to say on RSS as it spreads out more every day. Thanks to the content synthesis, work on the web has become a lot easier, particularly since sites that have available RSS feeds use special signs to let you know about the facility. In a nutshell, on the long run, you'll see how much time you save by the use of a software such as RSS.

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How to promote your blog

Regardless of the reasons for which you have created a blog, it can become a success only if you know how to promote it: in other words, you have to attract traffic. There are several ways to do so, depending on what you aim at with your blog; first of all, you need to get a look on the web and see what the competition is like. Blogging is something you learn and improve as you acquire more experience; actually we could say there are no boundaries related to the possibility to promote something online. The best help you can get is from domains related to yours, by the use of friendly links.

Once you've got the pages ready don't hesitate to have links to your blog posted on other sites, which you may have to do the same in exchange to help others. Nevertheless, it is good to mention here that you must pay attention to the web page quality to make sure that you don't promote something that contradicts your principles. Then, you should probably know that there are all sorts of blog directories where you may submit your pages so that you make it more easily accessible. Generally such sites require a description of your blog, and it is here that you need to show your skills.

In case you have to describe the blog as clearly as possible, try to focus on the general topic and aim of the blog. The title you include here will be part of a category that you must select very carefully, so that it reflects your intention completely. This introductory part should not be too long, though you'll have to include some descriptive details and high-in-demand keywords. If you manage to do all these insertions correctly, then you can expect to get great traffic to the blog.

When you are new in the blogging world, you have to let people know that you're available with great subjects, pictures, articles, products and anything else specific to your field. The best way to spread the news about your blog is to write press releases and submit them to free directories; statistics show that many bloggers chose this promotion method as it is the most profitable in terms of attracting friendly links and good positions in search engine rankings. Forum postings are also great to be used in parallel with press release listings, and results should not be late to appear right away.

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Ten sites you need to know

Now that you are part of the blogging phenomenon that has spread all around the world, or you simply aspire to learn something about the online community, there is plenty of assistance you can find online to help you optimize your own blog the best way you want.

For instance, a host giant like www.xanga.com provides a great chance to start a blog on your own; it is a good opportunity for anyone interested in joining a world-wide community that shares pictures, videos, thoughts and points of view. Furthermore, you'll also get precious information from many domains.

Another such great host site is www.myspace.com where you may register your blog under a variety of categories depending on the theme and topic. There is a wide selection of users and definitely good quality traffic if you make the blog worth visiting.

For those who want to make some money with their blogs, by advertising, I strongly recommend www.adsense.com, a Google-joint program that enables bloggers to make a really good income. How come? On this site you closely follow all the necessary steps to choose the ads (both images and text) that best match your blog content.

It is the same business direction that triggers lots of queries in terms of Internet marketing: you may learn more about the bright or the dark sides of the web by having a look at http://www.marketingquickiesv2.com/ionut/first20.html.

Blogging takes time and effort, and you can definitely avoid some mistakes other pros warn against by permanently inquiring on new stratagems to use with Adsense; after all you have to make as much money as you can. Hence, http://www.marketingquickiesv2.com/adsense-adwords-marketing.html is a site that should teach you something.

You should also need to subscribe to one of the many sites that provide blog lists so that you may be more easily found by interested users. http://www.blogcatalog.com/ is a good choice to promote your blog and create traffic.

In the same listing categories we have to mention the giant http://dir.yahoo.com/news_and_media/blogs/ that is one comprehensive directory where you'll definitely want to have your blog subscribed. The same stays true for http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Weblogs/ that functions according to the same working principles.

We should also point out to a “blog on blogs” that is definitely worth visiting given the large amount of information on the topic: http://www.problogger.net/. For someone who is just learning the rules of the game, there is much to find out here!

Last but not least, there are all sorts of professional sites that can help you with the tools you actually need for blogging. Here I refer to http://asymptomatic.net/blogbreakdown.htm and other similar pages that may guide and assist you in the attempt to find the software that best matches your blog. Good luck!

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The best blogging tools

Due to the extended dimensions that the blogging phenomenon has achieved, one can hardly image the richness of tools that bloggers may use to improve the performance of their pages in the web circuit. What tools should one look for? First of all you need to select a specific platform to set up for the blog, then other tools complete the picture in case you want to include photos or videos. Last but not least, you definitely need some special software to allow you to easily moderate the comments and fight unwanted mails, labeled as spam.

Let's take a look at the way some tools can help you post entries on the blog with the help of the platforms. Due to the wide variety of available software, format may vary, nevertheless the working principle is the same: type the title and the text you want to accompany it in the platform. Not all tools provide italics, bold and large font sizes, and you may have to get this by using HTML in order to achieve the desired results. In case you have to copy-paste Microsoft Word text, you need to check whether the blogging platform allows it without interference with RSS feeds.

In order to upload videos and pictures on the blog we have to mention Adobe Photoshop as one of the best tools here; yet, you may have to resize the images in order to make them easy to download by visitors. Furthermore, such tools enable you to align the photos in the way that matches your entry best. Embed multimedia files are also widely used by bloggers, mainly with the help of third-hand utilities like those offered by YouTube. All you have to do is include a JavaScript in the posts in order to allow the blog users to access the photo or video files you upload.

The RSS support may also prove crucial for the success of a blog, particularly since most Internet users are mainly concerned with accessing blog content via RSS feeds. You can find a variety of RSS formats available, not to mention that most tools include some sort of RSS help. To make sure you really get what you want, and the blog looks professional to the targeted audience, it is advisable that you should check the RSS formats a special software offers before actually purchasing or installing it.

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Business blogging

Many large and small businesses alike have recently discovered the great advantages of blogging in maintaining good communication relationships with both employees and customers. It is obvious that for some people, blogs have become a means of sharing information and expertise at very advanced levels and this can only mean increased profit for the company. It is a common knowledge by now that small businesses profit the most from blogging. Why? Because a highly specific web page such as a blog, successfully substitutes an extensive online presence. Instead of a static page, you offer a very dynamic blog where feed-back is encouraged and various issues get tackled with.

Many Internet experts consider blogs a very informal, yet popular way of developing business contacts, since, the informational content receives a different approach than in the case of classic promotion sites. Business owners can definitely enjoy great recommendations from users, but there are also dissatisfied customers who could review the products or services unfavorably. You'll have to be prepared to handle such situations with the utmost diplomacy in order to avoid a worsening of the situation. On the other hand, a business blog provides the opportunity to run market research and avoid hiring employees that don't fit requirements.

Business blogs also function as the right tool to spread news to all the employees at once; this kind of blog application is usually preferred by larger companies who can reach the staff in a more comfortable way and on a daily basis. Statistics claim that blogging significantly contributes to team building and communication between the departments of the same company; hence, there has been an increased preference for blogging over newsletters. Nevertheless, we also have to mention the more difficult aspects of business blogging as well.

For instance, maintaining an updated blog requires quite a lot of time and work, it may even be necessary to have someone perform all the operations on a regular basis. Then, the e-commerce possibilities are fewer when it comes to using a blog over a regular site; you may find it very advantageous to start blogging when you just initiate your business online, but then, you may choose to use it in parallel with a regular promotion site, once things get to look brighter. If at the beginning you take advantage of the minimal costs required by a business blog, later you need to monitor efficiency first and foremost.

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Personal blogging

The variant of the online diary, which we are all used to call blog, goes sometimes well beyond the boundaries of simple communication: there are great articles, essays and a lot of interactive stuff that create a very entertaining environment for any Internet user. Furthermore, it is not uncommon to even find future brilliant writers who shape their skill online; it all begins with the regular recording of personal thoughts, ideas, comments on books, films or music. Personal blogs also allow limitless space for the expression of critical opinions from various domains, not to mention that they preserve a record of one's development.

Nevertheless, what most Internet experts advise is that one should keep personal and business blogging as separate activities, since mixing them can be detrimental particularly for the special online promotion of some products or services. Many analysts argue that personal blogging is often characterized by an ascending evolution since steady writing develops good thinking and synthesis skills. However, there are a few rules you must follow into making sure that your personal blog is a good, yet trustworthy mirror of yourself. The first thing you need to work on is the topic of the articles, essays that are responsible for the overall image of the blog.

There are not few the examples that include very poor personal blogs, with uninteresting topics, grammar and punctuation mistakes and very few substantial links. Keep in mind that there should be a so-called self-censoring when it comes to exposing all sorts of personal details in the pages of your blog. Unfortunately, there have been cases of stalking or stolen identity; keep in mind that you can be personal, without revealing anything from your intimate life. Why this precaution? Because, some of the comments you'll receive on the blog may truly hurt your feelings and even change your life.

Some bloggers have chosen to limit access to their pages by the use of a digital password; thus, only family and friends are allowed to log in. People actually consider this a good means of protecting their families from possible external threats when the virtual world may overlap with the real one. Things will stay bright as long as you are able to monitor blog content and information quality on a regular basis. The good thing about blogs is the fact that you can always go back to a formal entry and make some changes or analyze things from a different perspective and this stays valid for bloggers and users alike.

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