Got a blog? No, why not? Are you afraid you can’t write? Maybe you think you can’t set one up. Or, is it because you think you don’t have the time. That’s the lamest excuse of them all!
List building requires traffic. You need people to see your squeeze page, if you want them to join. Blogs will help with that because the search engines love them. They’re mainly text, so search engine spiders can view them easily, rather than having to navigate around complicated java scripts, flash, or too many images. They just breeze right through. If you post every day, you’ll soon rank high.
Stick to a theme in your blog. So, if you’re writing about dogs, don’t go off on a tangent and write about the basketball game last night. Stick to dogs, include words that are germane to dogs in each post, and you’ll gain ranking. On of my blogs came out a PR5 within just a few months! If you don’t understand the significance, let me explain:
Google ranks web pages (not sites, pages) from 0 to 10, with PR10 being the highest. Even Google’s own front door only has a PR8, so a PR10 is pretty hard to get. A PR5 site will show up higher in the results pages than a PR1, for instance, so it will get more traffic. The goal is to be on one of the first three pages. However, page one for the search term is still the most desired, with the #1 spot on the first page being the best of all. It gets the most traffic. So, having a blog ranked high in Google is a good thing.
Now that you know why you want a blog, let’s address your worries:
You’re afraid you can’t write.
Well, you can. Anyone can. If you need something to help you, get a home study course and learn it. Then, sit in front of your computer or a blank sheet of paper, and just sit there. Soon, you’ll begin to form ideas. Write them down. Do this for one hour, at the same time, every day. Eventually, you’ll train your brain to think, “It’s writing time!”
If you still think you can’t write, use articles that are already online. Go to one of the 1,000+ directories and choose an article about a topic in your niche. Then, write a paragraph introducing the article to your readers. At the end (after the author’s resource box, and never forget to include this), add a closing paragraph. Wrap the article.
You’re still not convinced? OK, so hire a ghostwriter. You can find them easily at Elance.com or Craigslist.com, and look to pay around $10 – 15 an article. Buy all rights with the article and then, you can do anything you want with it, including rewriting, repurposing, rebranding with your own byline, selling it, etc.
You can’t set up a blog.
Sure you can! If you have cPanel hosting with Fantastico, it’s a snap. Just go into cPanel and look for “Fantastico.” The icon is a big smiley face. Once inside, you’ll see something that says, “WordPress 2.0″ If you click on that, you’ll be asked to fill in a few blanks, and BINGO! You have a brand new blog on your server. Simple! Customization might be a bit more difficult because it requires knowledge of HTML.
If you don’t know HTML, no worries. You can hire a programmer at places like RentaCoder.com. Tell them what you want and what you’re willing to pay and you’ll find someone to do the heavy lifting for you.
There’s no time for a blog.
Right. Well, that’s just dumb thinking. You NEED to MAKE time. Blogs are great for traffic, but they’re also great for search engine optimization (SEO) when you link back to your main site. This one-way link helps your main site’s page rank and its standing in the results pages, too.
People need to see your squeeze page for you to start list building, right? If you don’t take some action to make this happen, you won’t get a very big list, so get that blog going. Join some Web 2.0 sites on blogging, too, like MyBlogLog.com, Technorati.com, or FeedBlaster.com. You’ll see your traffic pick up. Maybe overnight!
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I wish I started my blog right away. It has helped tremedous in traffic. It is an awesome way to get traffic.
Amanda
Is there a way to open the link in a new window ?
Sure, right click on the link and select “open in new window”