As we are nearing the closing chapter of 2008 2009, this is the time to reflect on what went right, what went wrong, what we’ve learned in 2008. Well, many of which are still relevant today.
And please allow me to resurrect what I wrote in 2008 for the greater benefit of everyone as we look forward to a better year ahead.
101 Blog Tips I’ve Learned in 2008 2009
- Choose WordPress
- If you use blogspot, get your own domain
- Choose the right hosting provider
- If possible, have keywords in your domain
- Use dashes for long domain name
- Opt for .com or .net and avoid the rest
- Have the post-install checklist
- Optimize your permalink
- Plugins does wonder to your blog
- Choose the right plugins
- Too many plug-ins will slow down your blog
- Pick your niche carefully and stick with it
- Be passionate about what you write
- Aim to be an expert in your niche
- Don’t lose your credibility by faking it
- Be accountable to what you say write
- Posting frequency is over-rated
- Read more than you write. Organize your RSS subscription
- Avoid chunk of long article. Break it down into paragraph
- Use bold headings
- Use list
- Write long article to get traffic
- Picture speaks a thousand words. Use images
- Start and end with questions whenever possible
- Proofread twice before you publish
- Focus on keywords in post title
- Write for both readers and search engines
- Your readers come first, everything else second
- Learn the importance of keyword research
- Being #1 on Google doesn’t necessarily brings in the traffic
- Keywords must be searchable. Check its average search volume.
- Don’t be afraid to link out
- To get attention, link out to inner pages and not homepage
- Explain What is RSS? Not everyone is tech-savvy
- Use feedburner
- Offer email subscription
- Don’t display your subscribership too early
- The first 100 is the hardest. The next 100 is easier to achieve
- Back up your blog
- Speed up your blog
- Optimize your blog
- Design matters, first impression counts
- Get a premium theme (better yet, use Thesis)
- If budget isn’t an issue, get a custom theme
- Unclutter your sidebar
- Have an “About Me” page. It makes it more personal
- Don’t hide behind your blog
- Mascot is the trend but real picture improves your credibility
- Always have a “Contact Me” page
- Dofollow your blog to get your community off the ground
- And nofollow it when it gets too many spammy, useless, irrelevant comments (just like this blog)
- Promote your blog via commenting and article marketing.
- Leave relevant comments. One-line comments are frowned upon and often deleted.
- Get yourself a gravatar and see #48
- Link to inner pages when commenting
- Use Fast Blog Finder
- Be the first to comment
- Avoid A-list blogs when you are new since
- No one cares about your opinion unless you are John Chow (no pun intended!)
- Moderate your comments. Use Akismet.
- Always reply to comments
- Don’t underestimate the use of keywords on your comment
- Visit your commenters’ sites. Reciprocal commenting is the key
- Activate top commentator plugin (you have no idea what kind of comments this blog is getting each day, really)
- Enable “Subscribe to Comment“
- Join my PageRank list
- Learn the art of pin-point commenting
- Reward your top active commenters
- Don’t monetize too early
- Adsense isn’t going to make you rich overnight
- Adsense works best with organic traffic
- Cost-Per-Click (CPC) is higher on niche sites
- Subscribers don’t click ads
- Learn the art of affiliate marketing
- Write product review
- Setup Amazon Store i.e Wii Fit Accessories, Kindle Covers or Black Wii
- Check your stats
- Study your popular pages and monetize those pages
- Optimize your old articles for search traffic
- Learn basic SEO
- Make use of SEO tools
- Duplicate content is a myth
- Google sandbox is real
- Focus on one-way link building
- Have keywords on footer
- Write a guest post and invite guest posters
- Promote your blog site with article marketing
- Learn the power of outsourcing
- Use signature links on “dofollow” forums
- Join Twitter and use it creatively.
- Digg is useless
- Use Squidoo HubPages and promote with SheToldMe
- Join Technorati and claim your blog
- Be patient. There isn’t any shortcut to blogging success.
- Have perseverance. Your passion is your passport to success.
- Find out what people want and help them get it.
- For blogging tips, read ProBlogger
- For copywriting tips, read CopyBlogger
- For personal development tips, read Steve Pavlina
- The ‘gurus’ are not always right
- Create a 101 list
What blogging tips have you learned in 2008 2009? Share with us in the comments!
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Hey Yan,
That was a very helpful post. If one follows all the 101 points, he/she is definitely going to get succeeded. I am on that way. Thx a lot.
Regards
Laksh
http://makemoneyonline-withme.blogspot.com/
Yan-
Great list… I picked up some good ideas as always.
I especially like #19- it is so hard to read a post when it is just one long block.
#94 is a good one also and can apply to pretty much every aspect of life…
I am working on #85 for you- it has been crazy with the holidays and I want to make it a good one. :)
Hey Jen
Thanks for dropping by. I’m still waiting for your guest post but take your time and send it my way when you are ready.
I’m glad you find those blogging tips useful. Look forward to seeing more of you in 2009.
Yan
wow great list,
once i tried to create a 101 list, ended up making a 30 list,
anyways cheers!
Uttoran Sen´s lastest post..Tech Nascent Completes One Year – The Journey So Far
This is one of the largest list I have ever seen. If I want to follow your list now, I might be one year back from you. As long as we can make good money and traffic is good. Happy New Year!
Work At Home´s lastest post..Search Engine Traffic
Hey Yan,
I recently tried my luck with 45n5.com after reading one of your tips here and I was quite surprised by the outcome.. I didn’t know I could break the top 100 list and it indeed has added some value to my blog. =)
Love it!
Ben
Make Money Online´s lastest post..9 Indications That You Should Quit School And Start Blogging
Ben
Congrats! It doesn’t come as surprise to me that you manage to book your place at the top 30. Judging by the way you are dominating the top commentator list, you’ll soon be at the top 10. Good luck, pal and keep commenting. All the best in 2009.
Yan
Aww Thanks for that affirmation! Great year ahead for you too =)
Make Money Online´s lastest post..Looking Back 2008 And Welcoming 2009
Just completed reading the list.
Rocking list :)
I feel the most imp. one is “Choose WordPress” ;)
Happy New Year!
Farrhad A´s lastest post..farrhad: @coreyfreeman Am watching the review :)
Haha, I started off using Wordpress and so, haven’t looked much into blogspot. Are there some things that are just really bad about it?
Something was usefull.
simple life´s lastest post..七十年代生人(下)经典flash mtv
Hey Yan,
Happy New Year, I’m glad I’ve found your blog so early in my blogger career :-)
It’s a great list, some of these were entirely new to me others were worth mentioning over and over again.
Just wanted to let you know that the link under #15 is broken.
Cheers, and thanks for everything,
Zsolt
Zsolt Balla´s lastest post..Skies of Rome
Hey Zsolt
Thanks for the nice compliment and also thanks for your continued support.
Yan
PS: I’ll look into the broken link
hey this is a great post, it really cleared up my concepts about lots of things i was unclear to… thanks and keep them coming…
Thanks and don’t forget to subscribe too.
nice post here buddy… i agree to all except one thing… why u hate Digg? ;)
reply
edison´s lastest post..Busby SEO Test and Top 10 Google PR Tips Updates
Thanks so much for visiting my blog and for the great comment. You have a great site. Lots of useful information.
Janna
wow.. that’s alot :)
Awesome list, thank you
accord´s lastest post..How to Return to Financial Solvency Using Debt Consolidation
Great list. Thanks. I, too am a new blogger and I love it. I swear I learn something new every day. I have 2 blogs devoted to 2 things I love–running and the stock market. Thanks again for all the neatly organized tips. Good luck to you.
bartolomo´s lastest post..Top Ten List of CBOE Put/Call Ratio 2008
hey bartolomos, it sounds like we’ve got the two same interests haha. What’s the url for your running blog?
Fix Grammar ;-)
That shows you are really reading the list from head to toe or did you not?
Nice remark, Shawn. Care to show ‘how’?
What a fantastic list full of spot-on advice! I have bookmarked this page for ongoing reference. Thanks!
Best wishes from the UK.
Russell´s lastest post..Money News Round-Up 15th January 2009
Welcome to TSB, Russell. I’m glad you bookmark the list. Let me know if there is anything I can be of help.
Yan
Man this was one of the most awesome article I ever read and it is really very much useful.
Thanks alot for writing this all.
tAALz´s lastest post..Sertified 2GB USBs Rock On !!
Man this was a tremendous list but it really does cover everything! From the pre-posting tips like getting a domain and using wordpress, to the promotion of the blog, you’ve got everything covered.
Thumbs up! I’m impressed!
This is a great list of tips. A wonderful place for beginners to start, since it covers domain creation, choosing the right platform ,when to monetize, keywords in post titles (and URL’s), etc.
~ Kristi
Kikolani | Poetry, Photography, Blogging´s lastest post..Dobby’s First Schnauzer Haircut
Great post with an excellent list for newbies and experienced bloggers who forgot the basics. One that I would add is to get a affiliate link hider. Instead of showing http://blabla.hop.clickbank.com to show only the root of the affiliate products. There is a challenge for you to blog about. Enjoy and keep it up!
Jacques´s lastest post..Social Bookmarking Software For Losers?
Hi
That was a great article! I just started blogging at the end of September 2008. Like many people, I have learned through my own mistakes. These are the most important lessons I have learned this year:
1. Don’t use a free host. You don’t have as much control over your blog as far as design and advertising.
2. Choose a niche to write about. As far as I’m concerned this choice alone can make or break you as a blogger. If you write about on a hodgepodge of subjects, even if your content is great, it is far harder to promote your blog.
3. They say content is king. That is only true to a point. People have to be able to find your content first. Therefore, I think backlinks are even more important than content. No backlink means no traffic means no one can find your blog.
Jennifer Jacobsen´s lastest post..Do You Have Diabetes?
Jennifer
Regardless of your niche, content is indeed king. You’re right. With little or no promotion, all the best contents in the world is pointless. Gone are the days of “If I built in, they will come” mentality.
Thanks for sharing and welcome to TSB.
Yan
This is a great round up of tips. When I first started blogging a couple of years ago would have killed to know some of these things. Oh well I guess we get a little wiser day by day.
That was a great tips. Thanks for share.
clickktdotcom´s lastest post..Make Money From Blog ( Part 5 )
This is a nice list. I am building my list two and I am sharing it to my fellow bloggers in our province. Your lists give me some broader ideas that I can make use this 2009. Thanks!
Hectic Capiznon Bloggers 2009´s lastest post..Burn Your Hectic Capiznon Bloggers 2009 Feeds
thanks for the 101 tips. It’s very useful. Will go through it one by one and maybe I can create my own 101 list. Great job!
Yan,
This was a great post… one that I’ll be referring back to over and over again. You’ve got everything covered from jumpstart to the back-end stuff. I’ve bookmarked this page, and will be subscribing to your blog!
Listen To Hip Hop Music´s lastest post..Raekwon – Staten (Go Hard)
Thanks for the awesome comment. I’ve been seeing you lately around the blogosphere. Look forward to seeing you again.
Yan
OMG! I can’t beleive I was paying to read this sort of stuff. Thanks!!!
Daniel´s lastest post..A few Things on Internet Security
Welcome to TSB. I don’t get it. What do you mean by “paying to read” this sort of thing?
Yan
I hope #17 and #90 are true.
Lbug@Dubai Dreams Blog´s lastest post..Security fears could take cricket test matches to Dubai
The list is too huge. I wonder there is still anything left to learn for you.
Clement´s lastest post..Honda and partners develop a technology that controls robot by using human thought alone!
wow… that’s a good link. i want to try this tips. I want make more 3,000 visitors a day to come to my blog?? thanks for your best tips.
Use wordpress is the best advice one could give to those looking to blog. I have tried a few others and have been sorely dissapointed.
Wow, that’s a pretty good list. I guess you can only really hope to learn 102 things about blogging this year.
I love the list! Will have to hold onto it thanks :)
Awesome post. It is always great to learn from an established blogger. I heard some of these before, however, many of these are new ideas. I will certainly implement them. I will also add you to my blogroll. Thanks again for the information. I wish you success in all your future endeavors.
Have a great night,
Bruce Carl
Government News & Views
I love number 100
Hi, Yan! It’s such a pleasure to visit your blog again after a while. So sorry, the last time you wanted me to have a chat via Skype, I had to go out of town. I was trying to find a hotspot area and I did find one. But alas, it seemed the network was secured by passwords because I couldn’t connect my laptop to the network. Sorry once again. I hate breaking my own promise.
Btw, your template and your new profile photo look awesome! But one thing I love from your blog most is the simple look. It looks simple and clean. My template looks like yours, having dark background, but I have no idea why mine looks more crumpled, stuffed. haha. Sadly mine is blogspot, it’s impossible for me to apply WP neat themes like this.
The year 2009 is definitely full of struggle, pain, sweat and tears to me. I started on August 10 so I’m now blogging for 5 months. I just bought my domain a couple of weeks ago. My traffic development isn’t fascinating but thank God I still stick with blogging.
Your list is great. I’ve just learned only some so far though. Well, it looks like 5 months is far than enough to absorb all. One big lesson I learned is that blogging succesfully isn’t that easy and simple. It takes a lot of things from us to be a successful blogger. I read on problogger and many other A-list blogs that success doesn’t come easily. In fact only 2% of bloggers are real bloggers, who earn a living solely by blogging fulltime. But maybe you’re right about choosing WP. I heard WP is light enough to get viewed by browsers (if I’m not mistaken, that’s what I read on someone’s blog). Well, no remorse since I’m blogging on blogspot now. haha LOL :)
Hey Akhlis
Good to see ya too. And I’m glad that you decided to ‘brand’ your blog with its own domain. True, you have more control over its design with self-hosted WP.
Anyway, honestly speaking, you’re NOT gonna make lots of money by pure blogging. But it’s a cool platform to let the world know who Akhlis is. If it is your second religion, I’m assuming you’re doing it out of passion and if that’s the case, yeah it can be addictive at times.
However, if it IS your bread and butter, then I’ll advise you to write on something else. Something that will “help solve someone’s else problems”. For example, “how to cure insomnia?”.
You got the drift?
2009 is coming to an end so what’s done is done. Let’s look forward to a better year ahead. And should you need any help whatsoever, please do not hesitate to contact me in person. Demi negara, kan? ;)
Thanks for dropping by.
Yan
Thanks for dropping by, too! ^_^
When you said ’second religion’, I just grinned upon reading that tagline. Somehow it sounds a little bit weird to hear or read someone else saying that.
“You got the drift?” What do you mean?
Something that solves others’ problems? Hmm, sounds great and worth trying. I’ll take your advice.
“Someone’s else problems” sounds strange. “Someone else’s problems” sounds better, Yan. LOL ^_^…..(Anyone, hire me as a proofreader?haha)
Thanks a bunch for the offer to contact you in person. I’d be glad to bother you, brother ;)
Yan,
Excellent stuff! You always deliver the goods. Cheers! What’s new? We should catch up via email. :)
Hey Yan,
I thought I had come to the wrong blog. That goes to show how long I last visited it. Good list.
Me too Peter! It’s been a while. I hope all is going well Yan with your online ventures, and great post as usual!
Hey man. There are some things I would like to say to you.
1. I think your blog is truly awesome, fantastic and all of those fancy words. I’ve subscribed to your RSS-feed, and everytime you update your blog – I read the latest post… no matter where I am. It could be on my mobile or on my computer. It doesn’t matter. Your blog simply owns. I will therefore link to it from one of my tech blogs if that’s okay with you.
2. Why does everybody keep spamming your blog? Gah, all the comments are invaluable, and will be counted as spam-comments by Google. How about enabling Akismet or turning on comment moderation? It gets a bit annoying when you’re trying to look for valuable information.
Anyway, don’t let me waste your time… keep up the good work!
I have my own blog but I don’t have my own domain because I’m just an amateur blogger.How can I have more traffic with in my blog? thanks for the tips.
The best tip I can suggest to anybody starting out blogging is to just keep with it, do you best to get at least one post out each week. You will never get fame and fortune over night, you need to battle on and on
Good list, pretty extensive. We just opened up a new site and new blog, and learned a lot of these the hard way. We’ll be going back over this list tho and double checking haha. Thank you
Very helpful post! Wordpress is the way to go and posting regularly to keep the momentum up.Also, page rank seems to be over rated.Blogs with PR 0 can be ranked higher than a blog with high PR.
This is a great list of things to learn about blogging. I really like #1, especially since I’m a WordPress fanatic. Thanks for sharing all of these, I’ll be sure to pass this on to people that need help!
Hi there, :)
I am writing just to introduce myself. My name is Louie , and I also have a blog in the SEO, Web Develepment and Blog Tips niche.
The URL is http://www.dreamhousewebsolutions.com
I found your content very interesting, and I will definitely be recommending it to my readers. Your site ROCKS!
Best wishes,
Louie
Optimize my permalink? Yes! A must do. Wordpress autosaves it about 30 seconds in, so be sure you do your title first — or copy your title and paste it back in to the perma-link before making your post live.
Those are great tips. I like the very first one. I use blogger so that one stood out a little. A lot of different tips in their…SEO, content..Like it.
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