Seriously, guest posting might sound like a lot of work to you, and it is if you’re doing it right.  But is it worth the bother?  Some don’t think so.  I strongly disagree and I think that if you really want to get in front of a targeted audience guest posting can be your best tool.

Why?

Well, think about it – how do your find new readers?  You need to get in front of your audience right?  Right.  And how do you do that?  There are lots of ways – forum posting, yahoo answers, article marketing, and so on.  But guest posting – this is one way that you can be sure of being in front of a targeted audience because blog readers tend to be quiet loyal.  When they find a blog they like, they come back to it again and again.  And they already want the information.

So, when you guest post for someone else’s blog they are essentially letting you borrow their readers!  What more could you ask for.

When you guest post for someone’s blog, you usually get a resource box somewhere in the blog post where you’ll be allowed to add links.  Spend some time creating a great bio that is funny and engaging at the same time.  Leave links to the places that you want to be found most and don’t forget to tell them whatever the most important thing about you is.

Also, when you guest post for someone’s blog they might let you leave links within the body of the post.  These links should be to specific blog posts within your blog.  This will help you get targeted traffic even more!

Check out some of the guest posts I’ve done this past year:

• 10 Ways to Build a Killer Web Presence Without Social Networking (Job Mob)
• 10 Reasons Your Writing Blog Isn’t Helping You Get Jobs (The Blue Inkwell)
• Writers - Are You Filling in Your Profiles? (Get Paid to Write Online)
• Why WordPress is the Leading Content Management System(Ben Wan Web Solutions)
• How to Keep Your Business Writing Simple (Simply Stated Business)
• 5 Techniques You Can Use to Take Your Internet Marketing Business to the Next Level in 2012 (Famous Bloggers)

Guest Posting | Is It Really Worth the Bother? is a post from: The Social Freelance Writer.

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Guest post  by Hajra Khatoon

WHO IS ANNABEL CANDY?

Annabel Candy runs Successful Blogging  and a travel blog called Get in the Hot Spot. She has been featured on Copyblogger, Problogger and Zen Habits. With over 16 years of experience in web designing and copy writing; she is a power to reckon with especially if you want to tap into the power of blogging. Her travel blog has over 20, 000 readers per month! Yes, that’s a five digit number.

WHY I LOVED THE BLOG?

Successful Blogging isn’t like any other blogs that shouts the WHAT OF BLOGGING in your face all the time. It has some very unique things to offer and here’s why we love it :

• It takes the tour from scratch – talks about starting a blog, building it and so on.
• There is a topic categorized as Blogging Succes Stories where bloggers from various realms talk about their rise to the blogging hall of fame
• It talks about the dreaded topic – making money from blogging. Whether it can be done or not and how?
• The personal touch : her posts over the holidays reflected that there’s more to Annabel than just being the blogging wiz.
• The look of the blog is clean, crisp and fresh. Makes you want to keep surfing. No jazzy colors, no in your face advertisements and just the right mix of sidebars.
• She’s got the Pinterest button! Yup, that is the latest craze.
• She is featured in the media way too many times. She is a print celebrity. Check out her media accolades here.
• When you subscribe for free updates you get three chapters of her book for free and you are updated every time she updates! You keep in sync with her!
• She offers 1 on 1 consultation. And her pricing packages are all mentioned right away on the blog

So, if you are looking into working on your blog and making it click, Annabel is the lady to get in touch with. That’s more than good enough reasons to be stalking Annabel Candy on her blog right away!

For the Problogging Success’s Blogging Tips 101 Contest.

Blog Review: Successful Blogging is a post from: The Social Freelance Writer.

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Guest post by Hajra Kahtoon

WHO?

Jane Sheeba  runs many blogs!!! That is probably the first thing you notice about her.

She blogs about blogging at Problogging Success.

She tells you all about the technological buzz going around at Tech Buzz.

She runs a relationship advice blog at Merry Relationships.

Besides this, she is a team member at We Blog Better, works as a scientist by day and don’t ask me how; but manages to run her family and raise a kid!

Now that you have done gasping; read on.

WHAT?

Jane has authored an amazing book called Pro Blogging Action Plan. The book is a 132 page of action packed blogging guide. It can very well be your blogging guru all in itself. Not only is the book explanatory, but it walks you through EACH AND EVERY step of the blogging process. From selecting your niche, to naming it, to hosting it, to writing posts, having schedules, SEO’s, links, plug – ins, to, hear hear…MAKING MONEY!

Not only is this book  a walk-through through your blogging journey; it tells you how to maximize benefits at each step.

WHY?

Why should I buy this book you ask? Here’s why:

• Everyone talks about making mistakes. Pro blogging action talks about improving on them. What you should NOT be doing and what you SHOULD be doing and HOW you should be doing it.
• There is absolutely nothing a newbie needs to know that hasn’t been covered. You name it and it is there in the book.
• Illustrations :  probably my best loved feature in the book! Not only does Jane walk you through; she illustrates how!
• DEFINITIONS! Yes, Jane’s book defines many terms that technology cripples might find hard to understand. Terms like content syndication, quality link building, do follow links are comprehensively described.
• Not only will you know what blogging goals are; you shall know how to identify them.
• It’s a tried and tested formula. Jane mentions how she went wrong and how she worked on it.
• Recommendations: The book lays out the resources available and compares them to each other. Also, Jane mentions what she uses herself and why.
• Wonderfully explained methods to increase traffic to your blog and also optimizing your blog for search engines.
• MONEY: Everyone is here to make money, at least some money. This book might help you get just that!

HOW MUCH?

Priced at 27 $ this book is probably the best bargain you get! Also, there is so much to learn that money really won’t be an issue. Also, letting you on a little secret; if you are a subscriber at Jane’s blog you might just get yourself a discount!  And it comes with a 100% 30 Day Money Back Guarantee. What more can you ask for?

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING?

Check out what others are saying about the book.

Brankica Underwood of Blog Like a Star: If you are searching for actionable steps to make your blog bigger and better, Jane has the solution for you. Her e-book is filled with great advice. She served all the things on a platter for you. Do you know how much time we would have all saved if this book had been published sooner? She tried and tested everything and handpicked the things that work the best. Can’t ask for more than that! ”

Ana of Traffic Generation Café: “Jane’s book is a goldmine for any aspiring blogger. It’s filled with the kind of thorough and practical advice on setting up and running a successful blog that others charge hundreds of dollars for. If you already have a blog up and running, don’t think this ebook is not for you though. Her chapters on content creation, SEO, and blog promotion are definitely something that can give your blog the push you’ve been looking for. In short, this ebook is definitely a winner in my book. ”

So, given all that you stand to benefit, go book shopping here!

For the Problogging Success’s Blogging Tips 101 Contest.

Book Review: ProBlogging Action Plan is a post from: The Social Freelance Writer.

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Do you want to increase the feature rich content on your blog?  Do you want to give your guest authors a little more love?  Want to take advantage of the rich snippets that Google is using to highlight the information that people can find on sites?  Then the Author+ Premium plugin is just what you are looking for to rock your blog.

For Authors on Your Blog

Your guest authors on your blog will get extended author bios that can give them the opportunity to connect with your readers in a more in depth way than ever before.  The plug in turns your author pages into content rich pages that Google and your authors will love.

Google Rich Snippets

You may have noticed that Google has started adding Rich Snippets to showcase the content on a blog.  These rich snippets, if used properly, can result in more click throughs from real people that are looking for information that can be found on your blog.  Both your authors’ pages and your blog posts will be compatible with rich snippets when you use the Author+ Premium Plugin and that means more organic traffic for you!

There are some other pretty great features that this plugin offers like being able to reward your top authors and more.

And, not only is Author+ Premium Plugin already marked down to $25 but you’ll get another $5 off if you use the coupon code FAMOUS20!  You can’t go wrong with that!

Click here to get it before the discounts are gone!

Author+ Premium Plugin Will Rock Your Blog is a post from: The Social Freelance Writer.

Why not subscribe to the newsletter and get your free copy of Fire Your Boss! today?

So, as you all likely know by this point, I’ve been participating in the blog contest at Famous Bloggers with my post on 5 Techniques You Can Use to Take Your Internet Marketing Business to the Next Level in 2012.  So far, I’m doing pretty good – I’m in first place!  But it is no where near over because I know that in order to keep first place I’m going to have to keep promoting it and coming up with new ideas to get people there to tweet it, like it, +1 it, share it on LinkedIn, and especially, comment on it.  First place could be gone tomorrow if one of my fellow competitors makes a big move.  There are some great bloggers taking part in this contest, including the well known Ana Hoffman of Traffic Generation Cafe (Ana, if you’re reading this, I have to tell you that when I saw your entry go up it scared the living *(&* out of me!)!

I’ve also participated in the JobMob blog contest, with the entry 10 Ways to Build a Killer Web Presence Without Social Networking, which was based on views to your blog post.  I did ok in that – I got third place, which I was pretty happy with considering it was the first contest of that kind that I had signed up for.  I’ve also won two blog contests that were based on the quality of writing on a specified topic.

This year I’ve won about $300 in prize money, plus about $800 in products and services.

Blog contests are certainly not easy but they are worth the time.  Not only are they fun, but you learn a whole lot from them.  Each blog contest you participate in you learn more about social media, your networks, and blog promotion.  You get a chance to really think creatively about getting the word out about your blog post and you can take what you’ve learned and apply it to your blog or other sites that you want to promote like your email list or your Facebook page.

One of the most useful tools that has helped me on my journey into the world of blog promotion and blog contests has been Kikolani’s ebook, Blog Post Promotion: The Ultimate Guide.  This ebook is simply awesome and once you read it you’ll be on a whole new track.  In fact, she’s just come out with her second edition, which includes additional information about utilizing Google Analytics, the new version of CommentLuv, Google+, and Facebook Timeline Profiles.  Of course, you’ll also find the information that was included before like how to use Twitter and Facebook, instant messaging, and email.

Seriously, I thought I knew something about blog promotion before I read this book but now…it’s literally changed the way I look at my blog and how I promote it.

And, because I love my readers so much, I want to give you the opportunity to read this book, too.  For free.  And to sweeten the deal a little bit I’m also including a copy of Twitter in 15 Minutes a Day or Less AND Freelance Writing Tips for New Writers.

What do you have to do?

You’ve got multiple options.  First and foremost – leave a comment and tell me why you want these ebooks!

Then there are several other options including following me and/or Kristi Hines (aka Kikolani) on Twitter, Liking the blog post, and liking our Facebook pages. If you’re feeling extra nice you could write a blog post for an extra 5 entries or you could go to my contest entry at Famous Blogger and leave a comment for another 5 entries!

The form below will help you complete the contest entries.

When the contest is over the winner will be notified.

Blog Post Promotion: The Ultimate Guide Plus BONUS E-books Contest is a post from: The Social Freelance Writer.

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I mean really – aren’t they all about the same?  Does it really matter where you host your sites?  No one else will know but you, right?

Well, there is one thing that your readers will know and that is whether your site is up and running or not!  They’ll also know if your site is running slowly, which can be affected by the amount of other people that have hosting on the same servers.

Types of Hosting

First, let’s talk about the kinds of hosting you can get.

Shared Hosting is what most people will get when they are starting out and just need to have a blog or two going.  They don’t have a boat load of traffic and they might not even be sure if they can make a go of this online business thing or not.  Its affordable, which is a plus.  The downside is that there could be several hundred other people sharing space and using resources.  This is all fine and dandy if everyone keeps to their limits but if there are some that are using more than their share of resources it can cause everyone to suffer with slow loading times and even down time.

Reseller Hosting can be good for the person that wants to make a little bit of extra money by renting hosting to others or they might have clients that they will let use their hosting services as a part of a package.  This costs a little more but how much space you keep for yourself is up to you.  Of course, you also have the added hassle of having to manage the hosting.

Virtual Private Servers (VPS) and Dedicated Servers are for those who want maximum security and assurance that their site will be up virtually all of the time.  These will cost you but if you plan on hosting many sites or have a high traffic site or have a site that uses up lots of resources this could be your best option.

The Best Web Hosting?

Now, the big question is who has the best web hosting.

Well, I can’t tell you that for sure.  What I can tell you is that you need to do your research!!!

I can tell you that I love HostGator because I’ve been with them for over 6 years and had no major problems.  The one time I had to contact them because of downtime they got to me really quickly and the issue was fixed in short time.  I love that getting a hold of them is easy – phone or chat.  And I love that when you have a chat with them you are offered a record of the chat to be sent to your email.  I love that their CPanel is easy to use and I love that payments are fast and easy through PayPal.  I really have nothing to complain about with them.  I have Shared Hosting and for now, that works for me.

But, I really don’t want you to think that they are best for you because they have been best for me.  You should find out more.

One of the sites where you can find more information about web hosts is Web Hosting Deals.  They have real reviews by real people and loads of info on each site.  Each web host is ranked based on the personal experience of the owner, Daren, and the experiences of real site owners.  Some web hosts even offer discounts through the site.  When you read the review you can see how many people – real users – thought the site was a deal and how many did not, even by country!  Plus, their blog is filled will great information like how to choose a domain name, free ways to generate traffic to your site, and why you should/shouldn’t use a site builder.

So, does web hosting matter? Yes, it does!  If you’re looking for hosting go to Web Hosting Deals to do some research and find the web host that is best suited to your needs.

Does Web Hosting Matter? is a post from: The Social Freelance Writer.

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It’s another Sunday and there have been some great blog posts out there worth reading.  Do you do your blog reading on a particular day or do you read throughout the week?  One of the reasons I like to try to do my blog reading on Sunday (sometimes on the weekend in general) is because then I don’t worry too much about what I’m missing throughout the week.  When I see something I want to read I just bookmark it (or star it in my Google RSS Reader) and go back to it on Sunday.

Here are some great posts from this week:

Freelance Writing

• 5 Tips for Handling Client Complaints Gracefully – It’s always hard to deal with complaints but it can be done gracefully.
• Writing for Residual Income Tomorrow: What are You Writing Today? – If you’re not writing for residual income yet start planning today!
• Do You Find it a Struggle to Secure Writing Jobs In Your Specialty Areas? – It isn’t always easy to find jobs in the niche we want to write in and Dan has some thoughts.
• Six Common Writing Excuses (and How to Overcome Them) – Keep making these excuses?  I know #2 is a big one for me!

Social Media

• Getting Back To Basics with Social Media – whether you’ve been doing social media marketing or are brand new to it, this post will get you on the right track.
• How to Charge for Social Media Services – if you’re a freelance writer and you want to add value to your services, offering social media services can be a great way to do that.  You can upsell when the opportunity is there, too!
• 10 Productive Tasks You Should Be Doing on Google+ Right Now – If you’re still not sure what the heck you’re supposed to be doing on Google+ this should help.
• 25 Google Tips and Tricks – And if the one before didn’t help this one should!

Other Stuff

• 7 Morning Hacks to Start Your Day – I don’t know about you but getting started is usually the hardest part of the day and these tips should help.  I will start implementing these tomorrow!

Sunday Reading #16 is a post from: The Social Freelance Writer.

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If you have been reading this blog for awhile, you might remember me talking about the cool kid that I wanted to get the attention of.  If you don’t remember that read about it here (it will open in a new window so go read it).

Well, I was looking at that post the other day and I thought that I should give you an update.

What happened? Well, I did indeed get the attention of that cool kid.  He gave me the input that I wanted about my blog.  We’ve chatted a few times.  And he’s now one of my clients!

Image by caribb via Flickr

How did that happen?  Well, I like his page on Facebook and one day I saw that he was putting up a new request for a writer on ELance.  I don’t use bidding sites because I’ve never had good results from them.  They aren’t my thing (of course, I know that they do work so watch for a special guest post in the next few weeks from a writer who IS getting results).  I asked him if he’d consider letting other writers apply and explained that I don’t use bidding sites and he said for sure and that I should contact him through his site contact form and he would send me the specs and I could put in a bid.  He sent out the specs and…

I panicked!  I really wanted to impress him and I just got scared.  So I put it off for a day or so and then he contacted me and asked if I was still interested and that he’d like to pick someone for the writing job very soon.

I got my act together and put in the bid and 15 minutes later I got a reply back from him saying that he wanted me to do the job and he loved my proposal.

Well, I was so damn excited I broke out in tears!  I laughed and I cried and my husband didn’t know what was going on.  When I finally told him about the writing gig he was like, “Ya so?” because he didn’t realize that this was the COOL KID!  The COOL KID was going to hire ME!

I finally calmed down and replied that yes, I would love the job.  I did an ebook for one of his niche sites and he loved it.  In fact, he actually mentioned me in a blog post as the writer of his ebook and of course, I very quickly took a screen cap to add to my testimonials page!  :)  But then I started getting emails like crazy from people who wanted me to write for them because I’d written for the cool kid.  It was really crazy for awhile.

I’m working on my second project for him now.

So, I’d say I got his attention.  Am I going to tell you who it was?  No – you have to guess!  or maybe he’ll stop by here and out himself.  Who do you think the cool kid is?  Is it you?

What Ever Happened to the Cool Kid? is a post from: The Social Freelance Writer.

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I am super stoked, and frankly a little bit terrified, about entering the Famous Bloggers Online Marketing Blog Contest. Soon as I found out about it I knew I wanted to do it. But truthfully, the people who have won their contests before are among the best bloggers on the net. So, I had almost talked myself out of it until I chatted with Lisa on Skype. And I talked to my husband.

And I realized that I couldn’t win if I didn’t try.

So, I’ve been working on my entry all night and it is going to be good! I hope you all will support me when my entry goes up and tweet, share, google+ and comment your little hearts out!

Thanks to the great sponsors for giving us such a great opportunity!

This Blog Contestis organized by:

• Technology partner → FamousBloggers.net
• Technology partner → BloggersNetwork.net
• Media partner → MyBlogGuest.com

Contest Soponsors:

Main sponsors $500

→ Brick Marketing: Full Service SEO Solutions Company

→ Best Life Insurance

→ Web Hosting Deals

Ideal Sponsor $300

Promote → daily dealson your website with the Deal Zippy API

Basic Sponsors $150

• Fansbridge.com → How to market on Facebook
• Team Lane → Tri Cities Wa Homes
• AIDY → Movie Reviews
• Resume Writing Services
• Author+ Premium WordPress Plugin → Use coupon code FAMOUS20 for 20% off!

Getting Ready for Another Contest! is a post from: The Social Freelance Writer.

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It’s been ages since I’ve had Sunday Reading here on the blog and I was inspired to get started with this again when I found out that the Beginner Weblog Reference mentioned me in their post about getting inbound links.  The post they wrote is about various ways you can get natural in-content and editorial links and one of the things they mentioned was writing roundup posts.

Roundup posts are great for getting inbound links but when you write them you also get the chance to connect with other bloggers.  Connecting with other bloggers can open up all sorts of opportunities for you – guest blogging, joint ventures, new readers, and more.  I encourage you to try it.  Plus, it is just a nice way to introduce your readers to more valuable information.

So, without out further adieu, here are some of the great posts that I’ve been reading this week:

Financial Tips for the New Freelancer  - This is a post that every freelance writer should read.  If you are new to freelance writing you need to learn to handle your finances properly.  If you’re not new but you are struggling, these financial tips can really help you get ahead.

Working with Kids: Boosting ProductivityAll Freelance Writing - Many freelance writers get into the business because they want to be able to stay at home with their kids instead of sending them off to daycare.  And that is a darned good reason as far as I’m concerned.  I wish I’d started writing online when my kids were young so that I could have been there for them more often.  But even with teenagers they have needs and I’m glad that they know I am here, even if I am in the office a good part of the time.  The trouble is that you still need to be productive.  This blog post should help you see ways that you can increase your productivity and still be there when your kids need you.

10 Brand New Productivity Tools You Probably Missed - Of course, there’s more to productivity than just keeping your kids under control and sometimes we need a little help there.  Personally, I’m a big fan of productivity tools and I was surprised to find out that these 10 tools were all new to me!   Chances are, they are likely new to you, too, so check them out and see if there are a couple that could help you be more productive.

Social Media Fail: 5 Reasons I Will Unfollow You | Cat’s Eye Writer Blog - I encourage freelance writers to get involved with social media all the time.  But sometimes you get unfollowed or unfriended.  If you’re not sure why, you should read this post.  Judy has some very valid points.  Of course, you can’t please everyone all of the time but you can be aware of some of the reasons that people might unfollow or unfriend you and decide whether that is something you need to take into account or not.

The Power of a Small Website - John has put together a web site for his house-sitting service.  I know, it’s not freelance writing.  But when you read this post you will understand why I think you should read it.  If you want to get some local clients, John’s small website marketing plan can help you become more findable in the search engines.

5 Reasons Part-Time Freelancers Shouldn’t Quit Their Day Jobs - Now that’s a different one isn’t it?  Usually you hear the opposite!  This is a guest post by James Patterson who also writes at The Part Time Freelancer.   He has some very good reasons for you to NOT quit your day job and I think that you should read it if you are at that point.  I think that quitting your job is a big thing and unless you really hate what you do, you should give it careful consideration.

And that is it for today!  If you have a great blog post that you have written I might not have read it – there are a lot of blogs out there you know!  But, I’d encourage you to use the Contact form on my blog (go to the top of the page) and send me a message.  I will for sure read it and I might feature it if I like it.  And did you know that this – contacting people about a blog post you’ve written – is actually day 3 in the 31DBBB book?  It is!  And it is something I’ve yet to do myself but I have a few people in mind so I plan to!

Sunday Reading #15 is a post from: The Social Freelance Writer.

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