While every blog will have slightly different needs depending on the goals and needs of each individual blog, these plug-ins are generally ones that I recommend every blog should have. You may need more depending on the function of your blog. But, these are a good place to start because they are either simply cool or functional for the maintenance of your blog.

1. W3 Total Cache

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Getting blog traffic is probably one of the biggest concerns for blog site owners.  Without traffic, it is pretty difficult to make any money.  The question,  “How can I get more traffic?” is often asked by bloggers.

These days there are tons of ways to “buy” traffic including purchasing web backlinks, buying targeted traffic, going on traffic exchange sites, and more.  These methods may work for short -term, but eventually the search engines will catch on or people will simply just stop by once and not return. For long term success and traffic, you have to build a readership.  These readers will hopefully subscribe and come back again due to the value you provide.

There is no easy button for this, but you can still build traffic by doing it old-school style.

1.  Content is king – how cliche, but true!  Take time to create quality, original, helpful content. on a regular basis.  When people find your blog and it is interesting, they will likely come back for more and potentially provide a backlink.

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Blogs have long surpassed a simple platform for sharing personal stories and pictures with family and friends.  The world of blogging today has morphed into money making online business.  With blogging platforms like WordPress, there are virtually unlimited designs and functions you can use for an online blog.

The ease of creating a blog shares both edges of the proverbial sword.  On one hand, it makes it simple for anyone wanting to start his or her own blog very easy.  Conversely, with there being so many blogs out there in cyber world, how do you make yours known?  Not only do you want any old traffic, but you want quality traffic, especially if you are trying to make money from your blog.

Even if it is not a money-making blog, unless your goal really is for only family and friends to read, you still want traffic.  I am going to go ahead and assume you want people to read it.

There are several things that you can do to make your blog marketing a success, and we are going to cover some of them right here. Continue Reading

WordPress is one of the most common software programs  available to blog owners.  WordPress is free software that makes it incredibly easy for users to publish their own blog. This software is easy to use, provides a variety of templates and offer excellent support to bloggers.

There is a difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org.  While the software is free for both sites, WordPress.org also requires a host site, while WordPress.com hosts the site for you for free.  In this blog, I will be referring to the WP.org platform.

There are other blogging program options available to bloggers which offer different features but many bloggers are quite pleased with WordPress. This article will offer some useful information for bloggers who are considering starting a blog with WordPress such as reasons to choose WordPress, tips on starting a blog and information about the support offered by WordPress. Based on this information as well as their own research bloggers can decide whether WordPress is right for them or whether they should seek out a different blog platform.

First, I want to show you a video on a quick explanation of what WordPress is.

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In my opinion, this should be one of the first things you do when deciding to create a money-making blog.  Honestly, without a domain, you can not have a blog set up.  It is the starting point to getting a blog up and running.  So, how the heck do you choose a domain name?

Many people new to blogging simply pick a name they like without doing any keyword research.  I was guilty of this as well.  I have since learned the importance of a domain name.  It really will be your brand.

Should you use your name?

Generally, you want to have the actual blog topic in your domain name. However, some people use their name as their domain.

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Blogging has become more and more popular in the last few years. Today, a blog is not just a personal website where you can share your thoughts or update your family and friends about what is happening in your life. Blogs are now used to earn money either by promoting products or services or getting increased traffic to your site.

While blogs on a hosted domain such as Blogger or WordPress.com are still an option for making income, having your own self-hosted blog gives you complete control over your blog. If you are ready to take your blog to the next step, getting a self-hosted blog may be an option for you.

Getting a Blog Host

Putting your blog on a host will give you the freedom to make your blog a money-making machine. Your own hosted blog is the first step.

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Not every blogger needs (or wants) to have their own self-hosted blog. In many cases it is more appropriate to have a free hosted blog whether the reasons are financial or practical, this video will show you how to create a blog in Blogger.
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It is 2011!  Wow!  It is a new year and with a new year comes – new goals!  Outside of the classic New Year’s resolutions like losing weight, saving money, etc, take some time to figure out your blogging goals.  This can be done for the year, then broken down into months, weeks, and days.  One of the things I have done to help me with my online goals is to buy a detailed planner.

This has been a Godsend!  It keeps me accountable.  I have daily goals, and in the back of the planner, I write monthly goals, and long-term goals.  Over the last few months, this has been more valuable to me than any other tool.  And it is simple – no technical skills needed.  Plus, it is in front of you all of the time, so no need to start up your computer to bring it up.

Whatever you need to do, write down some goals for your blogging plan.

Here are some ideas to to consider:

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