Profitable Blogging

Links traffic:
Vaulting to the front of Social Networking sites is not as difficult as it seems. I have been successful with digg and del.icio.us (and others as well), several times and have noted the steps that have helped me succeed:

1. Headlines
Many great articles go unnoticed on social bookmarking sites because their headline is not catchy enough. Your headline is the first (and very often the only) thing users will see from your article, so if you don’t make the effort to provide a catchy headline, your chances of getting to the front page are small.
Here are some examples to start with :

2. Write a short, precise description
The headline is important to draw attention but if you want to keep your reader’s attention, a meaningful description is vital. It must be enigmatic and provocative because this draws more attention but, never provoke interest using lies and false facts. For instance, if your write “This article reveals 10 sure ways to cure cancer forever and live like a CEO on $10 a day.” visitors will hardly think that your story is true and fact-based.

You might be tempted to use a long tell-it-all paragraph to describe your article, but most users will not bother to read anything over 100-150 characters. Also, some of the social bookmarking sites limit descriptions, so think in advance how to describe your article as briefly as possible.

3. The first paragraph
Hemmingway stated that to keep your readers, you must grab them in the first paragraph, but for successful social bookmarking it is even more important. If you have successfully mastered Step 1 (headlines) and Step 2 (description), don’t let a bad first paragraph make them leave your site.

4. Content
The next necessity in drawing (and keeping) the reader’s attention, is Content. If your articles are just trash, bookmarking them is useless. If you cheat users just once don’t count on repetitive visits. What’s more, you can get your site banned from social bookmarking sites, when you consistently post junk.

5. Allow users an easy way to vote / bookmark your site
When other people, not you, bookmark your site, it goes a lot further toward credibility. So, make it easier for them to do it. Put a bookmarking button at the end of the article, so if they like it, they can easily post it. If you are using a CMS, check if there is an extension that allows to add Digg, Del.icio.us, and other buttons but if you are using static HTML, you can always go to the social bookmarking site and copy the code that will add their button to your pages.

6. When to submit
Knowing when to submit can be crucial for your attempts to get to the front page. On most social bookmarking sites you have only 24 hours to get to the front page and stay there. So, if you post when most users (especially your supporters) are not active, you are wasting valuable time. By the time they arrive to look for your work, you might have dropped to the tenth page. In generally posting earlier than 10 a.m. US Central Time is not good. Many people say they get more traffic around 3 p.m. US Central Time. Workdays are often better in terms of traffic but then you have more competitors for the front page than on weekends.

7. Choose the right category to submit to
Some sites may not work for you because there is no correct category for you. Or because you didn’t submit to the right category – or just as bad– to categories that are too generic like: General, Miscellaneous, etc. where all unclassified stuff goes. And since these categories fill very fast, your chance to get noticed decreases.

8. Build a top-profile
Not all users are equal on social bookmarking sites. If you are a long-time and respected user who has posted a lot of interesting stuff, this increases the probability that what you submit will get noticed. Posting links to interesting articles on other sites is a good way to build a top-profile. Also when your profile has links to only one site, it looks very suspicious. Many social bookmarking sites frown when users submit their own content because this feels like self-promotion.

9. Cooperate
Being a loner on sites like StumbleUpon, Digg, and Netscape is not a productive strategy. Social bookmarking sites are just that…. social. As such, many stories make it to the front page not just because they are well done, but because they are backed by the writer’s network of friends. If in the first couple of hours after your submittal you get at least 15 votes from your friends and supporters, it is more likely that other users will vote for you. 50 votes can get you to the top page of Digg.

10. Submit in English
Linguistic diversity is great but the majority of users are from English-speaking countries and they don’t understand exotic languages. So, submitting anything in a language other than English is not advisable. The languages that are at an extreme disadvantage are Chinese, Arabic, Slavic languages and all the other that use non-latin alphabet. German, Spanish, French are more understandable but still they are not English. If you really must submit your story (i.e. because you need the backlink), include an English translation at least of the title.

11. No old news
Submitting old news will not make you a respected user.No one wants yesterday’s news . But if you still need to submit old stuff, consider feature articles, howtos and similar pieces that are up-to-date for a long time.

12. Facts
You will hardly be flattered when users prove that you haven’t got the facts right. In addition to scathing comments, you may also receive negative votes for your story, so to avoid this, check you facts – or your readers will do it.

13. Spelling
Some sites will not allow you to edit your posts later, so if you misspell the title, the URL, or a keyword, it will stay this way forever.

14. Choose your topic carefully
Sometimes great content and submitting to the right category just isn’t enough to get you to the top. One possible reason could be that your stories are about unpopular topics. Many sites have topics that their users love and some that don’t sell all that well. For instance, Mac and iPhone sells well on Digg and The War in Iraq on Netscape. Negative stories – about politics, Microsoft, evil companies, corruption and crime also have a chance to make it to the front page. You can’t know in advance but some research on how many stories tagged with keywords like yours have made the front page in the last year or so can give you a clue.

15. Related Articles / Popular Articles
Many users will come just following the link to your article, have a look at it and then they are gone.Traffic gurus say that traffic from social bookmarking sites is like an invasion – the crowds pour in and in a day or two they are gone. This is unfortunately true – after your listing slides from the front page (that is assuming you reached the front page), the drop in traffic is considerable. One of the ways to keep them longer on your site is to have links to Related Articles / Popular Articles or something similar that can draw their attention to other stuff on the site and make them read more than one article.

16. RSS feeds, newsletter subscriptions, affiliate marketing
RSS feeds, newsletter subscriptions, affiliate marketing are all areas in which the traffic from social bookmarking sites can help you a lot. Many people who come to your site and like it, will subscribe to RSS feeds and/or your newsletter. So, you need to put these in prominent places.

17. Don’t use automated submitters
After some time of active social bookmarking, you will find yourself spending hours on end posting links. Automated submitters might look like the solution but it isn’t. Automated submitters often have malware in them or are used for stealing passwords, so unless you don’t care about the fate of your profile and don’t mind being banned, automated submitters are not the way to go.

18. Respond to comments
Social bookmarking sites are not a newsgroup but interesting articles can spark heated discussion with hundreds of comments. Always respond to comments on your stories and even better – post comments on other stories you find interesting. This is a way to make friends and to create a top-profile.

19. Prepare your server for an increase in traffic
Hardly a minor point, but make sure you are hosting your site on a reliable server that does not crash twice a day. Having your site featured on the front page of a major social bookmarking site can drive you a lot traffic, which can cause your server to crash – literally!

If you are hosting on a so-so server, you’d better migrate your site to a someone that can handle a lot of simultaneous hits. Also, check if your monthly traffic allowance is enough to handle 200-500,000 or even more visitors. It is not very professional to attract a lot of visitors and then not be able to serve them because your server crashed or you have exceeded your bandwidth!

20. The avalanche effect
Despite differences in the likes of the different social bookmarking communities, there are striking similarities. You will soon discover that if a post is popular on one of the major sites, this usually drives it up on the other big and smaller sites. To use this fact to your best advantage, concentrate your efforts on getting to the front page of the major players only and bet on this to drive you to the top on other sites.
An additional benefit of this is that if your posting is interesting and people start blogging about it, you can get tons of backlinks from their blogs.

Take advantage of online forums and online communities. The great thing about forums and online communities is that you can target a certain group that fits the certain demographic that you are looking for. You can discuss about lots of things about the niche that you represent or offer. Another great advantage is that you know what you are getting into and you will be prepared.

Links passive income:

With social bookmarking sites you can build a reputation for your site. Show them what you are made of and wow them with your range of expertise about the subject, with that you can build a reputation and build trust with the people in your expertise and knowledge that will bring them flocking to your site. But only if what they see of your skills is polished, informative, factual and utilizes these steps to convince the readers that what you have to say is worth investing more time in you. Today’s social network navigator is both savvy and discerning, and will not waste their word of mouth on insincerity or shoddy work.

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