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"To blog or not to blog" seems to be the modern day version of Hamlet's famous soliloquy. We're all told that "you need a blog" and it seems like a simple task. But once started it turns into a hopelessly futile commitment with no short-term gain. So this month we look at the reasons for blogging, how to make the blog easy to do and why blogging may or may not be for you.

First of all, and this is something I learned the hard way, don't expect ANY results from your blog in the first six months if not year. Although search engines do pick up blogs much faster than normal copy on a website you have to understand that like any other branding mechanism it takes a while for blogs to work. And because internet promotion is organic you can't manage it as easily as you might an ad campaign or even a traditional public relations campaign. Blogs work by the laws of ATTRACTION rather than promotion. But once they get going it's amazing what can happen. I was on a shoot the other day and the broadcaster casually mentioned how much she liked my blog. Huh? I had never met her before. Talk about credibility. My blog's been up for about nine months now.

I've attached some articles on the "how to" of blogging so I won't go into that here. The beginner's article still has some great stuff in it too even for the experienced blogger. I encourage you to visit Zimbio too, for more info.

I will say that as a business owner, author or consultant a blog gives you several unique advantages.

A blog improves natural search tremendously in the long run. Use blog directories (or have your VA do it) and keep the copy fresh.

It's the only mechanism that allows you to give your brand your own personal voice. Unencumbered by spin doctors or ad agencies. You can tell your customers EXACTLY what you want them to know and hear. How cool is that!

It's cathartic. Get started and you'll see what I mean. You can rant or praise in as thickly or thinly disguised of a manner as you want.

Eventually, you could generate revenue from affiliates. If you get enough traffic you might be able to have people PAY you to be on your blog. I just got my first request.

Finally, don't worry if folks don't comment. Unless you're talking about timely or provocative topics they just read. And one day, you might be standing at a shoot and have someone you've never met comment on it.

What are my favorite blogs right now? Visit the Blue Zones and find out how old you really are from New York Times bestselling author Dan Buettner and his team of longevity experts. Or go meet the sassiest gal in the world at Alytude.

Bonnie Harris is the president of Wax Marketing, a marketing and PR agency for small business. She also operates http://www.waxcoach.com, a DIY marketing and PR site for entrepreneurs. Bonnie can be reached at bharris@waxmarketing.com.

I put off starting a blog for a long time because I thought it would be hard. I thought it would be technical. I thought I'd have to install scripts and tear my hair out getting them to work. At that point, most of what I'd read about blogs and RSS was just so much geek-speak.

Was I ever wrong!

When I finally got the courage to give it a go, I went to blogger.com and signed up for an account. To my amazement, I had a blog set up in about 5 minutes. My first post was uploaded to my site about 10 minutes later.

The only thing even remotely technical I was required to do was enter the FTP settings for the website my blog would be published on. But even that wasn't a requirement. With Blogger, you can set up a blog on their site, Blogspot, and not even worry about FTP settings.

Since then, I've started 3 Blogger blogs on different sites. Blogger remains one of the most popular blog applications in the world simply because it is so simple to use and set up. If you're a technophobe or don't have the time to learn something completely new, I would urge you to drop by Blogger.com and take a look. You could be blogging - and enjoying the benefits - almost immediately.

Another very simple blogging tool is Wordpress. This blog is my first Wordpress blog, and I'm very impressed with how powerful it is - as well as simple.

Wordpress is installed on your own website, but don't let that stop you. Most hosts that have Cpanel already have Wordpress ready for you to install. Look in your Cpanel for the Fantastico application, click it open, and then choose Wordpress to install. It will automatically install it on your site for you, and you can start blogging right away.

If your host doesn't already include Wordpress in the scripts on your server, you can still pick it up at:

http://wordpress.org/

Then go to the Wordpress Wiki for instructions on how to install it in 5 minutes:

http://wiki.wordpress.org/?pagename=5MinuteInstallation

Wordpress is free, open-source software. It is very simple to install, even for technophobes, and has a lot of online documentation. There are also many sites with free Wordpress add-ons and templates. I'm using a template for this blog that I picked up at Alex King's site:

http://www.alexking.org/index.php?content=software/wordpress/styles.php

The Wordpress Wiki is a wealth of information on all things Wordpress, including installation instructions, help files, a long list of template sites, and all kinds of hacks and extras you can use to modify your blog and make it original.

If you're a Wordpress user, another place to visit is the Wordpress discussion forum:

http://wordpress.org/support/

If you're a new blogger, both Wordpress and Blogger are very user friendly. There isn't a long learning curve. And you won't have to learn any new technical tricks. Why not give one of them a try?

For more tips and ideas on how to make money blogging, be sure to visit my "Why Marketers Should Blog" weblog at (what else) http://www.WhyMarketersShouldBlog.com

Blogging is big business right now, everyone has a blog from the big guys at Microsoft to next-door's angry teenager. It's quick, it's easy and it's a great marketing tool for a business.

Business blogging can be used to keep customers and visitors up to date on what's going on in a business, what's coming up, general chit-chat that doesn't fit anywhere else on the company site but might be interesting. It also brings a personal feel to the site when it's done right.

No matter how corporate and professional the web site may be, business blogging should be kept on a conversational level. It's an informal contact that can be used to communicate and to sell at the same time. Keep up with comments made from visitors and reply to them if necessary - it shows that their comments are valued and they'll likely return.

It doesn't always have to be the guy in IT who does the blog just because it's a technical thing. Anyone can write it, it's the person who knows what they are talking about on that particular subject that makes the blog work.

Link to other blogs and articles of interest around the web if it's appropriate to. Linking is a big feature of blogs and it can encourage return links. Use trackbacking, if possible, a form of notifier between blogs to say they've been commented on. This kind of networking can provide both valuable visitors and some good links to feed the search engines with.

Linking the blog to an RSS feed is a good idea too, as it will automatically tell interested parties when it's updated, to save them having to keep checking back. They may even forget to occasionally, so a gentle prod will bring them back to keep up with the news.

The regularity of a blog is important, therefore it needs to be thought out before setting it up to make sure there will be things to say. Try to set a regular sort of time for postings. Daily, every three days, every week, it doesn't really matter as long as it is regularly updated - that is the point of a blog.

The search engines will read the blog and will like it for being kept up to date. So, make sure to get a few keywords in there without going overboard and it will know the content is relevant to the site, helping keep it's spiders busy and listing positions as high as possible.

If a business blog should not work out for any reason, collect pertinent posts for a news archive and close the blog gracefully over a period of time rather than immediately, making sure to inform regular users.

And finally, enjoy it! People will know if the blog is enthusiastic or if it's being done as a chore - guess which one they will prefer to read.

Julie-Ann Amos is a professional writer and business consultant. She has over 14 books published in many countries. She runs Exquisite Writing, a large freelance writing agency that produces a wide variety of articles, web pages, website contents, books and ebooks as well as daily/weekly/monthly blogging services for an international client base. Topic experts available for a wide range of subject areas, such as blogging.

In the UK, online gambling is progressively becoming one of the most preferred gaming options. May be it is because of the ease at which it can be accessed by anyone from anywhere and played without much of complexities involved. Increasing numbers of visitors and participants in online gambling sites say a point or two about the growing popularity of these sites. What ever may be the reason, presence of many free gambling sites online have enabled all with the option of easy and harmless way to enjoyment.

With rising competition and user demands, the world of online gambling has also got more exciting with vibrant graphics, improved sound systems, and better over all experience.

Besides all, there are other advantages too that contribute to the popularity of the online gambling.

It all begins with attractive welcome bonus that many online casinos offer. It simply means that a beginner can play the game for free of cost. That is why; beginners are advised to check the promotional offers being awarded by many online casinos. Make sure you check the rules and regulations properly to reap the maximum benefits.

For playing online, a player needs to create his or her own environment. Whenever you feel like gambling, just open your computer and sign-in to gamble online. If you are unsure about making monetary investments, opt for free online gambling to enjoy free gaming.

Online gambling saves you from the chaos of the crowded and noisy playing atmosphere, which might distract your concentration. Here, you need to enjoy yourself and place your bets after careful thoughts.

Confused about the rules and regulations? Internet can answer your queries within minutes. Also, while online, a player can check several gambling forums or read user testimonials and gather reliable information - helpful in building a gambling strategy.

Online casinos offer higher payout ratios as compared to what given in the land-based casinos.

Online gambling is the smart way of betting. So, when you ever feel like playing, gamble online - all from the comfort of your home.

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