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Okay, you have been very busy today like everyday and you don’t have enough time to proof read a post. But at least why not check the URLs you are linking to from your blog? It has happened to me a few times. Now I have corrected myself from doing it. It is not a big MISTAKE. Everyone does mistake. You just didn’t know that you didn’t link out properly.

By this time, you would have understood what I’m talking about. Even if you haven’t, let me tell you.

When we are linking to blogs or any source, we normally copy and paste the URL’s. If you are using the WordPress visual editor, you will be linking to sites using the ‘link to’ option that is built it. No problem in using that. When you click on the link icon in the visual editor, you get a space to fill in with the URL. The problem here is that there will be “http://” in the space and it will be highlighted. Whatever you type now will erase the http:// and the text will start to appear. If you are copying a URL and pasting it, then no problem. If you are manually typing the URL, you might type something like this:

www.blogname.com

When you publish the blog post, it will appear as:

http://yourblogurl.com/www.blogname.com

So please be careful when you are linking to sites or blog posts and always check twice whether you have the URLs correct.

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16 Mar, 2008  |  Written by Ramkarthik  |  under General

Free ebooks

Image Source: Linda N.

A great reader makes a great writer. Every blogger (at least 99%) loves to read. Reading ebooks is one way to get new content ideas for your blog. There are many ebooks out there which you can get it for free and read it. But not all of them are worth reading. It is always best to use your time for worthy things. After all, who would want to waste time on an ebook that has nothing to tell you or teach to you?

FREE is something everyone looks for in the internet. Everyone loves free items whether they are going to use it or not. There are tones of free things available in the internet but you can’t download all of them. So here are the three ebooks that you should be reading this week:

1. How to start a business blog
This ebook comes in courtesy Michael Martine, a well known blogger and a freelance writer. He has his own business blog running successfully and he knows what he is doing to the blog. Now he has a kind heart to teach others the same thing at NO COST. Why in earth would you want to miss this type of ebook? Download the How to start a business blog ebook.

2. Blog Monetization Strategies
If you are a blogger in the make money online niche, you should be knowing Matt of blogging fingers by now. If not, go to his beautiful blog and learn about him and the techniques he use to earn money. In this ebook, he shows you how to monetize a blog in a proper way and earn money from it. Download the Blog Monetization Strategies ebook.

3. Effective Internet Presence
I found this ebook when Chris Garrett wrote about it in his blog. This ebook is written by Ted Demopoulos and it helps you in creating an effective internet presence. The ebook tell you the different ways in which you can become famous and brand your name in the internet. Download the Effective Internet Presence ebook.

If you really want to read some good free ebooks this week, I suggest you to read the above three ebooks. They are good and I have read them. Please share in the comments, the free ebooks which you found well worth the reading time.

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I said, there’s an interview coming in the blog and now it is here. As a part of the Blog Commenting series, I decided to interview Caroline Middlebrook in this blog. She is very famous for her blog commenting and has got mentioned for doing it in many big blogs like problogger, entrepreneurs journey, and more.

Without further ado, let’s move to the interview and I’m glad to have Caroline Middlebrook here with us in the blog.

Ram: Hi Caroline, Firstly can you give a short introduction about yourself
and how you came into the blogging field?
Caroline Middlebrrok

Caroline: My background is in software development and until September 2007 I was employed as a programmer in a broadcasting company. However, employment is not for me and I longed to be self employed again. I also knew it was possible to make money online so I quit my job with a dream of becoming an entrepreneur and started the blog as a way of documenting the journey.

Ram: It is good to hear that many people are moving from the 9-5 day job to online work. You have been famous for your blog at Caroline Middlebrook. Did you expect the quick success?

Caroline: At the very beginning I picked up around 100 initial subscribers from the Thirty Day Challenge that I took part in and I did expect this as I timed the launch of the blog for maximum exposure from the 30DC. However, I didn’t expect the growth that followed - I think the biggest surprise was being featured on posts by Yaro Starak and Darren Rowse within the same week. This really got me started and its been a lot easier from that point on so now I expect the growth to continue as its much easier once you’ve got to the stage that I’m at now.

Ram: It is not easy to get a back link from those blogging experts and you would have been really happy to have achieved that. Great going! Your feed reader shows 1518 now. Surely there would have been a lot of hard work. Other than that who would you point out to as the main reason for this increase?

Caroline: There have been several key factors. Firstly the two things I mentioned above, secondly I launched my Twitter Guide with quite a bang and this got featured on Lifehacker and the Delicious home page which both brought in a lot of traffic. I’ve had immense success with StumbleUpon and the recent release of my ebook has also brought in a lot of publicity, especially when big guys like Shoemoney blogged about it.

Ram: Wow! You have got links from many big blogs which surely is something not all bloggers get. Let’s move over to blog commenting. You are really know for the blog commenting and you have had success with that too. Can you please tell more on that?

Caroline: Well its a strategy that I just grew gradually - it wasn’t planned in any way. After my first month online I realised I was spending a ton of time reading so I had to find a way to streamline it. I had so many blogs in my feed reader that I just coudn’t keep up so I started trying to find ways to optimise it and I just blogged about the process. I had no idea what that post would do for me!

Ram: It indeed was a unique method to get traffic. But not many people looked upon that as a source for traffic. It would be great if you can offer few tips to follow when commenting on blogs.
Caroline: The most important factor is to be absolutely genuine when you post a comment. If you can’t think of anything to say then don’t comment or you end up as other one of those “great post!” people. I actually delete those comments from my own blog. There are other tips that I go onto in the post such as trying to be early to comment, looking out for blogs that use the Top Commentator plugin and so on but the most important factor is the quality of the comment itself. It has to be interesting or people won’t click through. You have to compell other readers to ask “who is this Caroline person who has written that comment?”. If you don’t do that, the whole exercise is a waste of time.

Ram: Very strong point, Caroline. I have to agree on that. A comment has to urge the readers to give a click. Before ending this interview, let me ask you one more question. What would be your one best tip to become a successful blogger and earn a living online? Please share it with our readers.
Caroline: Be genuine - offer value, don’t bullshit people, have your own voice, be yourself. I see people trying to force themselves to blog and that just won’t work because it comes through in the writing as forced and it turns people off. The only way people will respond to you by subscribing and commenting is for you to resonate with your readers in the words you write. Your spelling doesn’t matter, your blog design doesn’t matter - what really matters is that you have something to say and you just get out there and say it!

Solid advice there, Caroline. Thanks for spending your time in answering my questions. I really appreciate it. I wish you success in your life and I hope you will achieve more in blogging.

Hope you all liked the interview. Please make sure to post a comment and share your view on the interview.

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6 Feb, 2008  |  Written by Ramkarthik  |  under Blogging Tips

Before I talk about anything, sorry for the delay with the post. I have been learning about internet marketing and few other things these days and I will post articles on how to make money by various other ways other than blogging in the next couple of weeks.

I always suggest people and my friends to comment on other blogs when they have no traffic or when they feel bored out. To make the best out of the comments you post, try to post one of these types of comments, which ever will suit the post.

  1. Emotional
  2. Negative
  3. Praising

These types of comments will get more views and also reads. Your comment will be read by many people. After all, that is our primary aim, to get our comments read. So read the post CAREFULLY first. Then choose which type of comment to post.

1. Emotional

When I say emotional, you don’t need to tell sad stories. Just tell your normal story or what you have experienced in your life. Don’t tell it just for the sake of getting your comment read. Tell it only if it has really happened to you. Emotional comments will also get you more targeted readers for your blog.

Praise

Image Source: Starbug

2. Negative

Don’t be afraid to disagree with the point the author makes. You have to tell your opinion in the comments. If I get a negative comment, I will be happier. The reason? Simple. When you have all your readers agreeing to your point, then you will never know that you are making a mistake at times. If I get a negative comment in my blog, I will take time to read the post in his/her (the commentator’s) point of view. If he is right, I will surely appreciate him and also make sure to visit his blog.

3. Praising

Many bloggers like praising comments. Limit the praising to certain level. You cannot tell something that really isn’t true. Just tell what the author deserves. If you think he deserves a 100% praising comment, post it without any further thinking. Praising comments will boost up the author and also will let him/her to visit your blog.

If you haven’t tried any of the above types of comments, I suggest you to use them wherever necessary and wherever possible. What type of comments do you post? Do you agree with me on this post?

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I started the blog commenting series few days back and I received many good comments. In fact almost all the comments were very good and added value to the post. The series is not over yet and it has only passed half way. With exams going on, I wasn’t able to update the blog properly.

Till date, I have posted three articles in the series and the total number of comments received in the series is around 33. So that is around 11 comments per post. Though all comments were interesting and up to the point, I found few comments to be really good and actually attracted my mind to reply to those comments immediately after I saw it.

Not that the other comments are not good, but these comments were better. So here are some of the best comments I received till now.

Post Title: What Everybody Ought To Know About Blog Commenting

Best Comments: (Not in any order)

1. Chris Estes

He said “Cool Post!!!

Ok so I wont end with that. I agree that that commenting is a great way for exposure. I have formed relationships in a very short time due to commenting alone. I don’t find it as hard to become friends with “blog stars.” When posting comments you make a couple good points and contact them if you don’t hear from them. Most bloggers are trying to network the same as you and I have found they will reach out before you do.”

2. Ben

He said “First of all, good pictures, I love them. Second, I delete all comments on my sites that don’t help the conversation. I am into commenting for links and I want those first 10 comments to be something that will make someone want to see what sites that person runs.”

Post Title: Warning: Using These 7 Techniques Will Get Your Comments Read

Best Comment(s):

1. Freelance Writing

She said “Hopefully my avatar will pass the test of being unique. Since there is only one of me. I’m sorry to disappoint in not writing a huge comment since my eyes are killing me right now.

1st: The post was well structured and you raised some good points there too.

2nd: I loved the use of your images

3rd: Your buttons to submit to the social bookmarking sites are cool, did you do them yourself?

4rd: Thanks for a good post.

5th: Hopefully this will qualify for your points

6th: Merry Christmas

7th: and a happy new year”

Post Title: 3+1 Things Which Determine The Traffic You Will Get From Comments

Best Comment(s):

1. Chris Estes

He said “I am enjoying your series. Being a new blogger, or at least having my own blog, I don’t get much traffic and I can say that the bulk of my traffic comes from comments I have made on other blogs. Some people veiw being the new person on the scene as spamming and I have even had good comments voted down into the spam category.

One thing I have noticed about blog commenting is it fits into any traditional style marketing/branding campaign. It is like going to the industry holiday party and being right there handing out business cards. Eventually you will get noticed and people are going to remember you eventually. I am a fan of positive branding for the obvious reasons. But, there is always that one obnoxious business card giver that is always there and people just push aside. Moderation and finding your blog commenting “groove” is important.

Again I am really enjoying your series and look forward to your following post.”

2. Wayne Liew

He said “Getting traffic from comments might be hard but if the commenting are done based on the four guides that you have given above, I think a considerable amount of traffic will drop by.

Be the first to comment on a blog with high traffic will surely get the link some coverage. However, I see small blogs which are related to my blog as a good target for networking rather than getting traffic.”

3. Linda R. Moore

She said “It’s very refreshing to read an article that puts some thought into the commenting issue, since I am used to reading those that say “go find the dofollow blogs and comment on them to get some links back.” In actual fact I have a plugin now that makes the dofollow conditional: a person has to have a set number of comments approved before they get the nofollow tag removed.

In answer to Ramkarthik, above, I hate it when people use a keyword to comment. I’m not that pleased with them using their blog name, either. I use my pen name to brand myself and have more respect for those who use a real name or, at least, a real nickname.

In fact, it’s against my commenting policy and if people do it I replace their name with their real name (from their blog) or, if I can’t find it, some arbitrary name.

Best wishes,
Linda R. Moore”

4. Jessie

He said “your tips are very helpful. as a blogger myself, I agree that one should leave a relevant comment, not just to be noticed, but because of the good intent to contribute to the discussion. Some commentators leave behind comments (just like you implied) for the traffic. However, other readers in my view can simply recognize if a commenter is a drive-by commentator or not. a good approach to commenting is perhaps one key why other visitors will click on your link when you leave a comment in a blog post.”

Also thanks to my friend Guru who always comments in my blgos about the good, the bad and also about the things (like contact form) if they don’t work.

Thanks for all your feedbacks. I would like to see more names in the next update which will be done once the series is over. I’ll continue the series and make more posts and also interviews. I have something that might interest you and it will be there in the blog in couple of day. Stay tuned to the blog.

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