Proper Blogging Etiquette (Grandma calls it "manners")

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Avoid "Bad" Manners While Blogging

- by Jim Edwards

© Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved http://www.IGottaTellYou.com/blog/
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Blogging, the hottest trend in online publishing right now, is currently spreading like wildfire across the Internet.

A cross between an online journal and a bulletin board, everyone from rock starts, politicians, business leaders and your average "Joe" or "Jane" can instantly become a center of influence online using blogs.

But, as with any social interaction, certain rules apply (my grandma calls them manners) in order to be viewed as behaving "properly."

One of the things that gives blogging such strong appeal as an online publishing method revolves around "comments."

Blogs that allow "comments" enable readers to respond and elaborate on the information posted by the blog owner.

These comments and the free exchange of information, opinions, links, and new ideas creates the dynamic and growing content that makes blogging such a popular online activity for both publishers and readers.

However, rules and unwritten customs about the proper use of "comments" on a specific blog are also where most of the problems and controversy will arise.

Since a successful blog eventually becomes a community of people (albeit in cyberspace), proper social behavior is critical to be an effective and accepted member of the community.

Keep these basic rules in mind when approaching a new blog that allows commenting by readers so you won't find yourself on the wrong end of a scolding by people who operate with a different set of rules than you.

As with any social circle, violating the group's rules and customs will instantly cause a negative backlash.

** Keep It Relevant **

Stay on topic with the post you're commenting about in a blog.

Nothing will earn you the wrath and disdain of your fellow posters and the blog owner faster than posting an off-topic comment.

** Watch What Others Do **

Different blogs operate under different rules. What rates acceptable in one blog would earn you a verbal thrashing in another.

Before posting (especially if you have not posted to a specific blog before), look to see the types and quality of posts others make regularly.

Are they long or short?

Do they contain a link to the person's website?

Is there a "signature" under their name?

** Be Polite **

It's fine to disagree with people when making a comment, whether it's the blog's author or a comment made by another reader.

It is not, however, acceptable to launch a personal attack on anyone or make nasty comments in someone else's blog.

If you feel the need to do so, do it in your own blog.

It's the same principle of you can say whatever you want in your own house, but when you're in someone else's house, you act right (and better than you do at home).

** You Can't Respond To Everyone **

If you operate a blog and someone asks a question, try to respond, but both sides should understand that you can't respond 100% of the time.

We all get busy and a blog, unless it maintains a paid membership, is often supported as a labor of love.

-- Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and theco-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you howto use fr^e articles to quickly drive thousands of targetedvisitors to your website, affiliate links, or blogs...

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Can you Really Turn Your Passion into Profits on the Internet?

by Ron Knowlton

I told a friend the other day that I had started a business on the internet. He smiled and nodded. I don't think he took it very seriously. Everybody these days is trying to make money on the internet. And for everyone trying, there are a dozen or more wishing they could do the same - with dollar signs rolling in their eyes.
The reality is that only a small percentage of those who do try ever really make any kind of serious money on the internet. I don't say this to discourage you, because the possibilities are endless if you know where to look. A dose of reality is often helpful before you begin your journey, however.
If you want to make money on the internet, you are preparing for an uphill struggle - don't fool yourself into thinking otherwise.
Here are some considerations to get you started.
Take Your Business Or Hobby Online
If you currently have a business or a skill, think about taking it to the internet. How?
First, you need a web site.
A good way to go while you're still in the planning stages (and if you've decided to do most of the work yourself) is to use a free service until you have everything together and can then get a real domain name of your own and go full steam ahead.
With the free service you can experiment and put the site together without really drawing too much attention to yourself just yet while you're learning the ropes.
A free service like Doteasy.com, Freeservers.com or Freeyellow.com is a good place to look.
These "free" hosting companys use a subdomain that looks something like this: http://www.freewebhosting.com/yourbusiness
When you're ready to do business, get your own domain name. If you want to look legitimate this really is the only route to take. With the free service, your credibility suffers and few take you seriously.
It's about an $8 investment to begin (to register the domain for one year).
Then you need to seriously consider web hosting (who will host your site on their server on the internet?). You may want to start with a service that charges around $10 per month on up.
Even some of the free services offer great bargains to begin (once you leave the concept of "free" behind - like $8 per month to eliminate those annoying ads off of your site). And you really don't want the annoying ads because they siphon away customers, who with one mouse click can be off somewhere else, leaving your site behind. Besides, the banner ads promoting the free hosting service make you look cheap.
Do You Just Want a Showcase?
The next question to ask yourself is: Do you want to make money? Or do you just want a web presence?
That seems like a strange question to ask at this point in our discussion. But look around the internet. So many of the sites are just that: a "web presence" - nothing more.
Don't get me wrong. They provide useful information and I'm grateful every day that they're there! But, they're not making much (if any) money for the site owners.
Someone has turned his or her passion into a nice hobby, nothing more, nothing less. What we have is a nice showcase for that person's hobby, and that's super! But if you want to make money on the web, you need more.
Examine Yourself - What Do You Have To Offer?
Focus in. What is it you have to offer? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What skills do you possess that could help others? What do you enjoy doing?
Or do you have a super fantastic idea?
It all boils down to this: What do you have of value that others would be willing to pay money for? When you can answer that question, then you can begin to develop a strategy.
And remember this, if people aren't willing to pay money for something, then it's useless to try to sell it to them. Find out if there's a market for what you have. (No use trying to sell ice to the eskimos - unless it's some kind of unique ice that they've never seen before that's so cool they've gotta have it!)
Wordtracker.com offers a compiled database of keywords that people search for. It can tell you how often people search for your term and how many competing sites use that same term on a search engine. Helps measure keyword effectiveness and is an excellent tool to see if there is a market for your product. They offer a free trial so that you can check it out for yourself.
Plan Your Success - To Avoid Failure
If you have writing skills, you may want to offer a proofreading or copyediting service.
If you sell fancy craft "doo-dads", maybe you want a site that will showcase your "doo-dads". That means pictures and the means to scan them (using a scanner) onto your site.
No scanner? Try a place like Kinko's copy centers. They can often do this for you.
Check It Out First Before You Leap In
Maybe you don't have anything to sell. Maybe you're seriously looking for something. Consider each offer that comes along seriously. Do some research. Enter the name of the company or individual into a search engine (like Yahoo, Excite, or Dogpile.com - a metasearch engine). See what comes up. See if anyone is experiencing problems with the company or individual and what the nature of the problems are.
You may want to ask about this in a forum or discussion group also, and see what kind of feedback you receive from others in the group.
Since I live in the United States, I found the Better Business Bureau on the internet at: http://www.bbb.org/ and from there you can find your local BBB!
A listing of international consumer agencies and organizations (as well as a more detailed listing of US agencies) can be found at: http://www.consumerworld.org/pages/agencies.htm
It pays to do a "check" before you jump into anything. Sometimes your check may not turn up anything, but at least you know you've tried and are not going in blind.
When you do find your "gem" remember, there are always skeptics and nay-sayers. Sometimes it's much, much better just to block them out completely and go forward if you are confident--despite what they say (unless it's the BBB or similar agency issuing a warning).
Don't Be Wishy-Washy - Go Full Steam Ahead!
Whatever you decide to do. Make the decision! Focus in! Then go for it. Develop a detailed plan or strategy. Then follow your plan.
Here are a few resources that can help you plan:
MARKETING PLAN TEMPLATE
Here is a great template you can use. Just answer the questions and fill out the marketing plan form:"The Entrepreneur's Marketing Plan" by Arnold Sanow and Girard Perone at:http://www.smartbiz.com/sbs/arts/asp5.htm
PUTTING THE PLAN TOGETHER
The following sites will give you more great ideas as you start to put your plan together:
http://www.aaabiz.com/i%20mi/plan.htm
http://www.webpageprofits.com/marketing.htm
http://www.bizplans.com/html/planning.htm
http://www.onlinewbc.org/docs/market/index.html
MARKETING PLAN ARTICLES
And finally, here are a few great articles on the subject:
"Creating Your Business Plan" by Liz Folger at:http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol5/LizFolger.htm
"Purpose of the Marketing Plan" at:http ://www.online wbc.org/docs/market/mk_plan_why.html
. . . and finally:
PLANNING YOUR PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY
"Creating Your Website's Promotional Strategy" at:http://www.soaringprofits.com/promostrategy.htm orhttp://www.web-source.net/articles/Promotion
This article provides an excellent promotional strategy to follow including daily, weekly, and monthly promotions and how to organize and follow a detailed plan.
Ron Knowlton is a former journalist and the founding editor at http://www.soaringprofits.com/ "Articles To Boost Your Success Online!". Subscribe to the Soaring Profits Success Ezine! Like a free monthly internet marketing course by email! Eight great lessons each month! Subscribe: http://soaringprofits.com/spsubscribe.htm

Uncle Sam Cracks Down Online!

by Jim Edwards http://www.thenetreporter.com/

In a recent move that rocked the online world and left many Internet marketers shaking in their boots, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) initiated a sweeping crackdown on what they termed "Internet Scammers" and "Deceptive Spammers."
The FTC, along with state and federal officials, filed 45 criminal and civil law enforcement actions and froze the corporate and personal assets of some defendants.
According to the FTC, they went after a wide array of deceptive schemes and illegal scams including auction fraud, illegal sale of controlled substances, bogus business opportunities, deceptive money-making scams, illegal advance-fee credit card offers, and identity theft.
In other words, Uncle Sam gave notice that people can no longer treat the Internet like the Wild, Wild West!
I welcome this long overdue crackdown on real Internet evildoers. For years, honest business owners suffered because Internet scammers caused consumer fear and reluctance to conduct business online. As the government cleans up the back alleys of the Internet, consumer confidence will rise and sales will increase.
However, as with any crusade to bring about law and order, innocent and honest businesses stand a REAL chance of getting caught in the crossfire.
Let's face it, if you get named in a lawsuit by the government - even though you may be innocent - you'll still lose a lot of time, energy, emotion, and money defending yourself.
If you operate any business online, or plan to set one up, the following guidelines should help you avoid problems.

Always Tell The Truth

Actually, this basic lesson from your Mom ranks the best way to avoid all kinds of trouble! "The truth shall set you free" ranks just as appropriate in the online world as in the offline world.
In fact, in the light of recent events, the truth might actually keep you out of jail!

Avoid Outrageous Claims

Don't make outrageous claims you can't substantiate. A big difference exists between good copywriting (salesmanship in print) and making claims that no sane person, or at least the average person, could ever achieve.
It's one thing to tell people you can show them "how to get thousands of hits to their website." It's quite another to say you will "show them how to get 10,000 hits to their website by tomorrow and make $15,000 this weekend."

Get The Correct Legal Documents

Every website should maintain certain legal documents in order to operate within the guidelines set forth by the FTC. As with any law, ignorance of the law does not excuse disobeying the rules!
You must know whether your business needs a disclaimer, terms of service, privacy notice and other legal documents. And, by the way, the time to find out you should have posted them on your site is NOT after you've been served with legal papers by the government!

Turn the Tables

Look at what your business promises and actually delivers from the standpoint of a consumer.
Would you feel happy or sad once you did business with yourself? Would you feel like you got your money's worth, or would you feel like you'd been held up at gunpoint in the middle of the night in the mini-mart parking lot?
Your gut answer to that question will go a long way toward keeping you out of trouble with the government.
Sort of funny how the "Golden Rule" of "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" keeps cropping up in life as a way to consistently avoid trouble and heartache.

Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new ebook, "Turn Words Into Traffic", that will teach you how to use free articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or affiliate link!

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