Make Money Online: Steps to Start Blogging Today

Contributor: Hunbbel Meer

This blog post is to guide and teach you how you can start blogging today and make money online. Many people like to make money online through blogging, but very few of them actually have the knowledge on how to do this. If you want to learn all the steps to start a blog and ways of making money out of it, this article is going to help you a lot.

So, we start with the most basic thing first i.e. what is a blog?

1. What is a Blog?

A blog is a short form of the word, “weblog.” It looks like a website; however, there are various differences between a website and a blog. Basically, a weblog or a blog was designed on the idea of a journal or a diary, where every post is arranged in a chronological order. This arrangement or order of published post is one of the significant differences between a blog and a website.

A blog can be on any topic. You can start blogging for promoting a business, reaching out to your customers, getting connected with your audience, or just for personal use and fun. In today’s world of internet, blogging is one of the most vibrant and effective forms of communication. Furthermore, it is also one of the greatest sources of making money online. People believe that you need to be a technical savvy in order to start a blog, but, the truth is that anybody can do so. In this article, you are going to learn, how.

2. Find a Domain Name:

If you have decided to start a blog for making extra money online, you first need to find a domain name. For beginners, a domain name is just the name of your website or blog. YouTube.com, Facebook.com, Amazon.com, are all domain names for their respective websites.

Finding a domain name is an easy task, if you know what you are doing. First of all, you need to determine the topic or theme of your blog. This can be anything; however, preferably, it should be something in which you have complete command and knowledge. Your domain name must be able to relate to the topic of your blog.

Availability of the domain name is an issue, though. Different variations can be used to find the most suitable option for your blog. Following are some important tips for finding a domain name:

Important Tips:

1. The .com domain is the most valuable one. However, as most of them have already been taken, you can go for the .net extension as well. It is believed to be a good alternate for the .com.

2. Try to avoid taking a domain name of .net extension when you have a competitor having the same domain name with a .com extension. In this scenario, it is advisable to find a different domain name.

3. Try to find a domain name, in which your primary keyword is clearly visible. This will help your blog to do better in the search engine’s ranking for that keyword, as the domain name is one of the ‘hot-spots’ for keyword placement.

3. Get a Domain Name:

Once you have found your desired domain name, you can purchase it now. GoDaddy.com – World’s No.1 Domain Registrar is believed to have the most competitive and reasonable prices, and their services are top-notch as well. A .com domain name – subject to its availability – can be purchased at an amazing price of $9 – $13 per year. Detailed pricing plans can be viewed on the website. As I was told that the availability of domain name is a big issue, and you must not wait for even a single day. This is because it does not take long for a domain name to be sold. So, hurry up and register your domain name NOW, before someone else does, Go to www.GoDaddy.com now, and register a domain name.

Your domain will now be hosted at a web-hosting service. A webhost is technically a “host,” which keeps your blog alive and accessible to the visitors. There are many webhosting services; however, Reliable, Affordable Business Hosting from Bluehost.com. is one of the most popular and favorite webhosting services. They offer extremely competitive prices, which begin from a reasonable Web Hosting – $6.95/mo! now at $4.95/month. The prices may fluctuate later (because of the immense popularity of their services) so it is highly recommended to grab the opportunity as soon as you can. Moreover, if you sign up with the hosting services, you will have the opportunity to take this article as a practical guide. You can perform the following steps – as they are taught in the article – and your blog will be setup in no time.

After you have finish signing up with the webhosting service your domain name will be pointed to your webhost. This will start your blog or website. (I assume that you have signed up with the hosting services. It is important for your blog’s easy setup, so make sure that you have done it by now).

4. Install WordPress:

 

After the initial setup, you should install wordpress in your website. If you have signed up through Bluehost.com, then installing wordpress is a breeze. Bluehost.com offers a one-click installation of wordpress, which makes it extremely easier for the beginners.

There are several other platforms available as well, by which you can start your free blog. Tumblr.com, Blogger.com, TypePad.com, etc. are some of the major alternatives of self-hosting. For instance, Blogger.com is a platform, which is owned by Google. It has a very big fan base of its own as well. However, the major disadvantage of acquiring the free blog services is that you do not get your own domain name e.g. www.yourblog.blogspot.com. If you are serious for earning money online through blogging, it is highly advisable to have a self-hosted blog by purchasing your own domain name.

Furthermore, the blogging platform of WordPress is incredibly awesome for every person – whether a novice or a professional. Therefore, it is highly recommended to use the WordPress CMS system. Even this blog is working on the WordPress platform. Therefore, this fact evidently speaks about the quality of WordPress. Following are some notable advantages of WordPress, which make it best fit:

1. Lots of themes (both free and purchaseable)

2. Almost infinite customizable options

3. Tons of plugins

4. Easy SEO optimization with lots of integrated tools

5. Extremely user-friendly

5. Login to WordPress:

After you finish installing WordPress in your newly created blog, you can now login into WordPress dashboard. The WordPress dashboard is a control panel, from where, you can control everything related to your blog.

In order to login to your wordpress dashboard, you need to:

1. Go to: yourblog.com/wp-admin

2. Login with your username and password, which you would have assigned at the time of WordPress installation.

6. Install WordPress Theme:

WordPress offers you an extremely wide variety of themes to be selected. Click the wordpress dashboard, go to Appearance > Themes and you will see a whole lot of installed wordpress themes. Pick up a theme, which suits best to your style of usage.

Moreover, if you do not like any of the shown themes, you can download and install any other theme that you like. Thesis, Semiologic, Headway Theme, Genesis, uDesign, etc. are some of the most famous WordPress themes.

Steps to Install a WordPress Theme:

Installation of a WordPress theme is extremely easy and simple as well. If you decide to go with a different theme, following are installation steps for your guidance:

1. Download the theme which you would like to apply to your blog. It is usual in a .zip file. Extract the .zip file to any folder. Make sure to extract the right folder – the folder with all the files in it.

2. Upload the folder to: www.yourblog.com/wp-content/themes/. If your webhosting service offers you any FTP client, it is recommended to upload the file via the FTP client.

3. As the files have now been uploaded, all you need to do is to activate the theme. You can do so by going to the Dashboard > Appearance > Themes and by selecting the theme that you have now installed by clicking the ‘Activate’ button. Refresh the website to start using your new blog theme.

7. Setup Permalinks:

Setting up the permalinks is a simple and easy-to-do setup, which makes your URLs nice, readable and SEO friendly. Following are a few stepups, by which you can easily setup the permalink structure:

1. Go to your WordPress Dashboard > Settings > Permalinks.

2. You will now be seeing more options, like, Default, Day and name, Month and name, Numeric, Custom Structure.

3. For better search engine rankings, select ‘Day and Name.’

4. Click ‘Save changes’ and you are good to go.

8. Installation of Plugins:

Plugins are important parts of your blogging journey. They make your life easier because of their excellent functionalities and varied features. You can install many different plugins in WordPress. The easiest guide to install plugins is as follows:

1. Go to WordPress Dashboard > Plugins.

2. Search the plugins that you would like to install.

3. Click the install button – next to the plugin’s name at the right side.

4. After the plugin in installed, click the ‘Activate Plugin’ button.

5. Configure the settings, as you would like the plugin to operate for you.

The above method is used for installing only those plugins, which are already in the WordPress plugin directory. If you want to install a plugin from external sources, perform the following steps:

1. Download the .zip file from the external source.

2. Go to WordPress Dashboard > Plugin > Add new.

3. Activate the plugin as you did above.

4. The plugin is ready to be used. Configure the settings as per your preferences.

9. Setup RSS with FeedBurner:

Another important aspect of using WordPress is to setup the RSS. It allows your users to subscribe to your blog. It also helps you track the number of your subscribers. Furthermore, the RSS feed plays a vital role in increasing a blog’s traffic and credibility.

Following are the steps on how to setup RSS with Feed Burner:

1. Sign in the FeedBurner with your Google account.

2. Claim your feed by inserting your blog’s URL.

3. Customize your feed title, if you like.

4. Most of the themes now come with the FeedBurner integration. However, if your theme does not support this, install the FeedBurner FeedSmith plugin.

5. You will just need to let the plugin know about your feed’s URL, and it will integrate and redirect to it.

6. Customize any settings that you would like to do, in accordance with your preferences.

This detailed guide clears each and every answer about starting a blog today. This blog can be then optimized and monetized in different ways to make money online. I will be writing a whole lot of different articles explaining how to make money from blogging. So, subscribe to the blog and do not forget to check back soon, or you may miss some useful information.

 

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A Business Mentor: An Essential Business Investment

Many entrepreneurs go into business believing they can succeed on their own. They use a lot of tired and tested methods to help them grow their business, but along the way, they get frustrated and waste money. However, the best way to learn the business know-how is to get a business mentor. A mentor is someone who has extensive experience in running a business and is ready to share his or her abilities with an entrepreneur in order to navigate through the new challenges of their company. Learning by experience can be difficult and time consuming for the first-timers, and I believe that getting a business mentor is the best way to become business savvy and be successful. In addition, more often than not, it’s the lack of knowledge and strategy that causes a business to fail; a small capital, if invested wisely, will grow. But how will one know how to do this? Simple, learn from someone who has been there and has done it. Here are a few reminders when looking for the right mentor:

1. Look for a good advisor who seen the INS & OUTS of business:

Beware of those who claim to have a magic formula for business or have a new system that’s guaranteed to give you success. Pick up the veterans in the business field, someone who does not only have achievements to tell about but who has failures to share as well. These stories will be able to help you in the future and will let you have an idea of what to expect.

2. Establish a good and comfortable relationship with this adviser:

You don’t have to find someone who will agree with you every turn, but find someone who is firm enough to disagree with you and tell you the negative as well as the positive points or steps in your business.

3. Look for an advisor who is successful in the field:

It is best if you find a good advisor who takes  your whole enterprise into consideration and presents good solutions or ideas to increase sales and revenues. Be wary of those who have complicated plans and methods that are difficult to follow.

4. Accountability is important:

You should allow your mentor to hold you accountable for every step you make in your business. This adviser must guide you and correct you concerning potential mistakes and decisions you’ll make.

5. It is free:

Starting a small business can be expensive, when you have a tight budget. If you are going to hire a consultant to assist you with your business; it can cost a lot, especially when you are paying on a monthly basis. However, you can get a mentor through organizations. A popular one is called SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives), and there are many more. Always remember that when you get a mentor for free, return the favor back sometimes with a free lunch. You never know-your mentor might share more secrets with you on running your own business.

6. Grow your social networks:

A mentor who is already successful in the field will have a large network already established. Therefore, your mentor can offer you new networking connections to meet new customers and learn from others in the business as well.

Finding the right mentor is not an easy task but it is a very invaluable gem to have. Recent studies show that businesses that have had outside help from other businesses generated a return on investment up to ten times. To put it in simple terms, do not go and do it alone when you can have help and cut years off the learning curve. As a writer once said. “Everyone needs a coach, whether it’s a top level executive, a graduate student, a homemaker, a homeless person or the President of the United States.”

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Entrepreneurs can change the world – Grasshopper

Interesting video.

Alexander Amosu: A One Man Business Idea & a Nigerian Who Made Millions in the UK

I believe you can do whatever you want to do; however, by doing that, you are always going to find a brick wall. You are either going to climb over the brick wall, walk around it, find your way underneath it, or physically hurt yourself going forward. Whatever you do, do not turn around and walk away. Alexander Amosu is a one man business idea who grew up in a north London council estate and was born to Nigerian parents. His parents were not well-to-do and he promised himself never to be poor again. He worked hard to make things happen. He is also proud to have achieved his goals today and he is still making contributions to the entrepreneurial world.

Alexander started earning 10 pounds a week doing paper rounds at the age of 12. He moved on and started several businesses, from cleaning services for pregnant women to organizing parties and deejaying. While he was working at these many different jobs, he stumbled upon a business that encouraged him to drop out of the university where he was studying Sound Engineering. He made his first millions in the UK at the age of 25.

His break-through occurred when he used his Nokia phone to compose ring tones based on lyrics, like Jay-Z and Big Pimpin, using his phone composing facility. His brother took it to school and showed his friends, and he returned back to Alexander with 21 of his friends wanting those ring tones. Alexander put on his entrepreneurial smart and instead of giving it out for free, he charged his friends 1 pound each, which resulted in 21 pounds for one ring tone.

He saw a huge business opportunity; if he could sell more ring tones, he could make more money. So Alexander decided to start his own ring tone business. After studying his competitors, he noticed only two people were doing pop music, and no one was doing R & B. He took it upon himself and advertised his ring tone business at several universities. He started earning 6 pounds a day and it grew aggressively. Over the next three years his company sold 6.3 million pounds of ring tones. He had soon sold his business to a German company for a whopping 9 million pounds.

Alexander is currently married with two children and recently moved to Edmonton where he bought a three bed-room pent-house. He is ranked number 98 in the UK’s most powerful British business people in technology and telecoms and was awarded Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the Institute of Directors by Black Enterprise Awards 2002. He is also sought after motivational speaker. He recently launched his luxury phone and accessory company and the world’s most expensive suits going for 70,000 pounds each. Visit www.alexanderamosu.co.uk.

Alexander Amosu has also expanded his influence outside the UK, particularly in the country of his origin, Nigeria and has started businesses, such as Naijacities, the launch of the popular UK program, Dragon’s Den in Nigeria, and the launch of a popular British Magazine, OK Magazine Nigeria.

One thing is for sure, wherever and whenever this one man business idea, Alexander Amosu, starts to make a fuss in business, it is definitely something worth waiting to watch out for. This is because this man is obviously someone who prefers to make things happen rather than wait for things to happen for him.

 

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Failure is Simply the Opportunity To Try Again

 

 

I found this motivational quote on Twitter derived from a popular blog called “Young Entrepreneur.” I thought it was inspiring. As entrepreneurs, we enjoy creating new businesses; however, some are successful and some aren’t. Try not to be discouraged. From the businesses you start that are not successful, you can learn from your mistakes, create new strategies that works, start another business, or revamp your existing business and turn it from a failure to a success story. If you don’t try, you will never know how to get it right. So try and try again until you get the right business strategy that works for your company and make break-even profit.

Do you have an inspiring entrepreneurial story to share with us of how you went from a failed business to a successful one? If yes, feel free to e-mail us at info@inspiretheentrepreneur.com and you might be featured on our blog.

How to Write a Small Business Marketing Plan

The marketing plan, same as the business plan is an important and essential factor in starting up any business. It explains the who, what, where how’s of any start-up. The difference between a business plan and a marketing plan is fairly simple. A business plan explains the overall details of the business that you are starting up, as the marketing plan is just a part of the bigger picture. In analogy, the marketing plan is a detailed portion of an elaborate painting, as the business is the painting itself.

Marketing is the backbone of every business, big or small. A marketing plan helps you distinguish how to get your company exposed, who to expose them to, as well as to project how your company will perform in a certain period of time. This applies to Fortune 500 companies or to your fashion accessory retailing business. A marketing plan adjusts to the nature and size of the business. If you are coming up with your own start-up business, a small business marketing plan will be of great help to get you up and started.

GETTING STARTED – HOW TO WRITE A SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING PLAN

In creating your marketing plan, you need to have the essential components that makes the marketing plan an effective tool (You don’t just want a pile of papers with fancy paragraphs). These are:

1. Target Market:

This describes your specific client base or your target segment in the market. Although you can aim for all, there are just some segments, if researched thoroughly that can prove to be most beneficial for both your business and the clients.

2. Competitive Analysis:

This component should describe your competition, or any factor that could pose a threat to the success of your business. The more detailed this section, the better it is for you to get an objective picture of your position in the market.

COMPOSITION

Your marketing plan needs to have the following as a basic structure:

1. Unique selling point or niche:

This portion describes what you can put on the table to entice customers to support your business and buy your product. Normally, you need to point out how you are different from your competition in terms of service, quality, features, price and more. The more you can point out, the better.

 2. Pricing strategy:

There are many pricing strategies that can be employed (like price skimming, cost-plus pricing, premium pricing, etc). However, the main goal of coming up with pricing strategy that suits your business is to create mutually profitable customer relationships. You want both ends happy.

3. Sales and distribution strategy:

This strategy is not limited to just marketing the company, but involves promos, logistics of products and locations to name a few. Here, you distinguish how you conveniently get the customers to come to you or “draw in the crowd.” Your distribution strategy is how your products reach the hands of the end consumers.

4. Advertising and promotions strategy:

Although the best marketing tool one can ever get is word of mouth, this may take some time until people preach the wonders of your products and services. In this component, you need to identify how you want to let your presence be known, and how much you are willing to spend for it.

A marketing plan should be as detailed, yet as simple as possible. The less cluttered your strategies are the easier it is to manage. Keep in mind that your business exists because of your customers; therefore, always put yourself in their shoes when making marketing related decisions.

SAMPLE SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING PLAN TEMPLATE

1. Rationale:

Briefly explain the reason and goals behind your business. Basically, it answers why your business is in existence. You can also put a time frame should the plan be long-term or short-term.

2. Market description:

Briefly enumerate and describe the market you wish to target. Examples are:

  • Professionals
  • Young professionals
  • Retirees
  • Social classes in terms of income (A, B, C or D)
  • And more

3. Target Market:

From your description, give details that distinguish the needs or wants by population, spending habits, routine and others within the scope of which your business caters to. With enough research, this could be achieved. Key factors you need to know is:

  • Age bracelet
  • Gender
  • Location
  • Population per area
  • Income
  • Industry/profession
  • Lifestyle
  • Habits
  • Motivation
  • Total population

4. Competitive Analysis:

Enumerate and describe your competition. This could be, if not the hardest part of the marketing plan as you need to know everything about your competitors. Just as how you would not give out your strategies, they won’t expose their bag of tricks either. Extensive research is needed for this. Key points you need to know are:

  • What are their target markets/target segments?
  • What is their niche?
  • Why do customers flock to them?
  • Find out all you can about their products/services, pricing strategy, and promotions.

5. Unique selling point or niche:

Once you figure out your market and weed your competition, enumerate and define what makes you unique and what plans you could develop to capture the market. Examples are:

  • Price
  • Quality
  • Location
  • Accessibility
  • Logistics
  • Ambiance

6. Pricing strategy:

Different businesses, products and services employ different pricing strategies. Describe how you intend to produce quality with profit. Give the details and figures how this will be done. Remember that pricing strategies are mainly aimed to create mutually profitable customer relationships. Examples of pricing strategies are:

  • Cost-plus pricing
  • Penetration pricing
  • Psychological pricing
  • Price leadership
  • Premium pricing

7. Sales or distribution strategy:

Describe how you intend to sell and distribute:

  • Store locations
  • Partner establishments
  • Delivery scope
  • Delivery details
  • And more

8. Advertising and promotions strategy:

Enumerate and describe the details you wish to reach your market. Examples are:

  • Advertising type
  • Cost
  • Projected outcome
  • Promos & Gimmicks
  • Cost
  • Projected outcome
  • Return of invested amount projection
  • Benefits
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Would You Drop out of College to Start your Own Business

Peter Thiel, billionaire and co-founder of Paypal.com, started an initiative called 20 Under and 20 Thiel Fellowship. The program is based on the perception that college tuition is increasing, and most students can’t afford to go to college as before. Peter also believes that colleges are not properly equipped and do not teach students how to become future CEOs and innovators of the future. He mentions that large businesses, such as Microsoft, Virgin Atlantic, Facebook and Apple were started by innovators who began their business at a young age and didn’t finish college.

The program 20 Under and 20 Thiel Fellowship brings together young entrepreneurs, younger than 20 years, and offers a $100,000 grant. The idea of the program is to skip college and explore their own research and entrepreneurial spirit. With this grant, students can now be confident and flexible on starting their own business, can grow connections, can promote their business, and can build relationships with investors. This incentive the program offers its students is not offered at colleges or universities. This makes the program competitive and builds future CEOs and innovators in the fast track, helping to build businesses, which will, generate jobs and help boost the economy.

A success story from the program is Dale Stephens, who at 20 years old founded UnCollege, which is a social movement on the idea that college isn’t the only option for success in life. Preigee/Penguin Press recently signed Stephens to publish his first book, “Hacking Your Education,” a how-to book on developing skills that schools don’t teach.

Also, Eden Full, 19, recently won the Staples-Ashoka Youth Social Entrepreneurship Award of $260,000 to continue her efforts to improve social energy technology in developing countries. She founded her own company, Roseicollis Technologies.

Do you agree with Peter Thiel? Will you drop out of college to start your own business? Do you think a college degree is necessary to the success of a business? Feel free to participate with the poll below:


Reference: cnn.com

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Powerful Inspirational true story…Don’t give up!

10 Qualities of Successful Entrepreneurs

Contributor: Georgia Jauslin

When reading the Forbes list of richest individuals, people cannot help but wonder how on earth they did it. What makes them tick. Although people have different understanding of success, it is noteworthy to say that successful entrepreneurs have many common characteristics.

Presented below is a list of qualities possessed by many of the most successful businessmen and women, which also in the process defines what entrepreneurs really are.

SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS

1. Love what they do:

As cliche as it sounds, the quote “Love what you’re doing, and you’ll never work another day in your life” is true. Successful entrepreneurs are passionate.They do not venture

Richard Branson, CEO - Virgin Atlantic

into a certain business simply because Entrepreneur Magazine said it would be a great idea. Successful entrepreneurs follow their own dreams.

2. Keep an open mind:

Successful entrepreneurs listen to suggestions and are open to new ideas. They are humble enough to take criticism positively, yet are also self-assured not to break apart when someone tells them something they didn’t want to hear. Because of being open to new ideas, many successful entrepreneurs started out by going against the grain. They take initiative.

3. Know that customer is king:

Simply said, successful entrepreneurs treat their customers well. They are creative enough to render an experience and not just simply a product or service. That’s what gives them a competitive advantage.

4. Know how to motivate themselves:

When starting a business, most people are disheartened by all the persons telling them “This won’t work; it’s not done that  way.” It doesn’t just discourage them, it also brings out fear. Therefore, successful entrepreneurs are brave and take risks. Also, they do not take things too personally.

5. Know how to sell themselves:

The business brand is in many ways one with the entrepreneur behind it. Therefore, successful entrepreneurs know how to promote not just their business but also themselves. They are confident and have excellent interpersonal skills.

6. Mastered the art of planning:

Successful entrepreneurs know how to strategically plan: The business concept, the financial plan, the contingencies – everything. They are visionary, yet realistic. They are meticulous creatures, and pay attention to detail.

7. Understand money:

Successful entrepreneurs know how to spend, save and invest money. They know that it is a major artery to their business and therefore use it wisely.

8. Have “the sixth sense”:

Entrepreneurs are not soothsayers of course, but most of them are very intuitive. They know how to listen to their gut-feel. Although a strong intuition is believed to be something that you are lucky to be born with,  it can developed by being more keen and observant of surroundings. Successful entrepreneurs pay attention to detail.

9. Know how to reward themselves:

Successful entrepreneurs are well-balanced individuals. They take time to relax and to reward themselves for a job well done. In the end, all work and no play is no fun anyway. Always remember, you don’t want to be just a rich entrepreneur. You wan to be a happy one too.

10. Are socially responsible:

Successful entrepreneurs are fulfilled enough to give back to society. They get involved with the community that supports their business making them not just rich individuals but also someone worthy of respect and patronage.

 

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Inspiration: Coldplay – Fix You

This song inspires me and I hope it does for you as well. Good luck with your business and keep working hard.