Friday, November 23, 2012

The Ins and Outs of Blogging

I honestly don't know what I was thinking when I started blogging. I mean, sure, its easy to start, but honestly, I'm a guy that when he puts time into something, he's going to do it right. I got lucky many times along the way, but what I've learned along the way, has been astounding.

In the beginning its simple. Jump on Bloggers.com and create your profile, and then start writing. It really couldn't be much easier. Write to your heart's content, but just know, that unless you start networking, readers just won't come and find you.

Then comes the next step, networking. Yeah, maybe I'm repeating that word a bit much, but honestly, I spend 2 to 3 hours a day networking, and more if I can get a few minutes at the computer every now and then. And what I've learned is pretty amazing, but before I started, I ended up getting lucky.

Out of all the people I've befriended while blogging, one of the first was a Nigerian guy who was into SEO. That three letter acronym is something that took me a while to even understand, let alone find out it was somewhat important. From him, I learned that you have to branch out, to expand.

So that's what I did. I joined social sites for bloggers, and though most are full of spam, some are really great message boards with interesting people and amazing discussions. I read other people's blogs and found out what works for them, and integrated it as best I could into my own blog. I made friends, and continued writing comments and discussing, and soon I realized, I was getting traffic.

It wasn't much at first. So I branched out more. I joined Twitter, and made a Facebook Fanpage. I worked those for a bit, then started to understand Twitter better, to understand hashtags, and understand the tools for twitter. I joined retweet websites such as Justretweet.com and worked it as best I could.

The next step was looking for other places to post besides my own site. EzineArticles is a great site for just that, along with Broowaha. I even looked into guest posts on sites that I really enjoyed, and knew I might be able to contribute to.

Next thing I know, after all this work, I have traffic. Sure, its still not as much as some well established sites, but as I enter the 4th month of stats, I can look at that spike upwards and know I have done my best. Is there more I can do, you bet. And I'm going to keep working at it.

But what it all boils down to, at the end of the day, is that I work intensely to put out the best quality articles I can. All that networking and such is for nothing, if I don't follow that "Quality is King" creed. But if Quality is King, the 'marketing' is Queen. People have to find your site, and trust me, there are PLENTY of ways to get out there and network. I fully admit, most of my time is spent networking, but its all been well worth it.

I started doing this, because I love to write, and wanted to spend my time doing something fun. I ended up making friends around the world, reading so many wonderful websites, and joining a community that gives me faith in the Internet, and humanity once again. And somewhere along the way, I found readers, a fanbase, and fun.

Making the Most of Your Garden - Patio Equipment and Furnishings

Not too long ago a garden was something that you looked at out of a window and kept tidy so that the neighbours and passers by had something to make small talk about.

Those days are however long past and now the garden has become a mix of a quiet retreat and an area used for socialising, eating and partying. In fact many people now see their garden as being nothing short of an extension to their home and they take every opportunity to use it.

So how can you make the most out of your garden?

The first challenge that most people face when it comes to maximising garden (back yard) use is the climate.

For all but the lucky few, a four season climate sees cold and often wet weather dominate major periods of the year. This means that the garden can appear to be a cold, muddy and inhospitable place - not the kind of environment that you want to spend time in, let alone invite friends to.

There is however a solution, or rather a number of solutions, that can make any garden a warm, friendly and sociable place to be and all are affordable and practical.

Keep a garden warm

The big problem with using a garden out of season is warmth, so the solution to this problem is to buy a garden heater. These heaters can be gas burning tower heaters that use butane or propane, or electric heaters that produce infrared rays.

If you want something more interesting, then you can go for a traditional terra cotta or wrought iron chimenea (wood burner) or even a fire pit. Ether way, there are a number of options and all will add interest as well as some much appreciated heat.

BBQ

The best way to entertain and satisfy most groups of people is with food and drink and therefore having a barbeque is a great idea. BBQ's can burn wood or BBQ coals, or they can be powered by gas or even electricity.

If you want to combine the two, then the chimenea and fire pit, although often used as garden heaters, are actually really intended for cooking and they work very effectively.

Hard landscaping

If you want to use the garden when the lawn is wet and muddy you will need a dry area and this is where a patio comes in. The patio can be constructed out of just about anything that is solid, level and resilient, so pavers, paving slabs, loose gravel and timber decking are all ideal.

The patio area then becomes the centre of any garden activities and the area where the heater and barbeque are placed.

Furniture

Even with a solid floor, heat and food you still need somewhere to sit and somewhere to put down plates and drinks. The answer is garden or patio furniture.

Garden furniture sets come in wrought iron, wood, plastic and metal and fabric combinations and they can convert your open patio area into an outdoor room. The only possible problem that you can now face is rain and inclement weather and even then there is a solution.

Cabins and summerhouses

If your garden is big enough you can always add a summerhouse or log cabin. These outdoor buildings can be big or small and you can use them as store areas, or as outdoor rooms with light and electricity supplied to them.

Having a summerhouse gives any guests or family members the choice of staying outside, or going indoors, but without actually leaving the garden environment.

Taking Care of Business

"The more I study the wealthy...in an effort to learn how to help more people around the world become one of them...I'm stunned by how many people are actually not rich." - David Bach

Most of us are old enough to remember the lyrics to Bachman-Turner Overdrive's (BTO) song Takin' Care of Business. The song is about someone who works hard at their job but doesn't seem happy. Their goal is to be self-employed and free of the stressful life. Does that sound familiar? A lot of us would love to do what we want, but aren't sure how to do that financially. I'm not here to say that I have the answers, but I've got a great resource on how to get a little closer to your financial goals.

I'm usually the last person people think of when they want to discuss financial matters because of my lack of knowledge and interest, but I'm changing that perception, thanks to this great book. It's called Smart Women Finish Rich by David Bach (finishrich.com). Bach talks in the book about the necessity of getting your financial house in order. Coincidentally, Lori and I are always talking about the necessity of getting your life in order. Can a comparison be made between getting organized to becoming financially secure so that you can enjoy doing what you want when you want?

When we work with our clients, one of the first things we try to determine through a serious of questions is the answer to "Where are you stuck?" We try to determine what's working and what's not working. Most of the time (99.9% of the time), our clients can come up with a pretty extensive list as to what is not working, but have a really hard time even coming up with one or two things that are working. As in many things in our lives, it's easy to focus on the bad, not the good. But for us to recognize where the client is and where they want to be (their goals), we need for them to answer both questions.

Bach is suggesting that a similar process be done in regards to your finances. He helps his clients create a "Values Ladder" when he works with them to try and determine what's important about money to them in order to build their financial foundation. Now, I don't know about you guys, but I'm not used to having to think about my values when I think about my financial matters. I usually don't think that much about this type of stuff, but when I do, it's not with that focus. It's more on the lines of is there enough money for this, or that, not necessarily long-term visioning.

In the book, Bach tells a story about clients that have met with them in his office for financial advice, and have brought their financial documents in plastic grocery bags and dumped them onto his desk. He talks about the fact that many of these people have both spouses working full time and not having any time or energy in their life left to attend to their financial matters. They are fiscally responsible and are putting their money into some sort of savings/investment plans, but are just too darn busy to do the work that they need to do to maintain their investments routinely. They money just goes in, and then they get all of these statements and everything just gets dumped into the plastic grocery bags.

This story reminds me of many of our clients who are so busy with their jobs and life and there are no systems in place to deal with all of their incoming paper or clutter. We often hear "I just don't have the time to get organized". Daily planning and prioritizing takes very little time once some changes have been made and systems have been updated. Can you afford to be disorganized when it comes to your finances? Isn't it time to make some small changes towards becoming more financially educated and responsible? It is for me.

© 2006 All Rights Reserved.

Sendong Hits Iligan City - Philippines: Worst Nightmare

Christmas may be the time for rejoicing but this year, it is a different story. I may have faced hard trials in my own journey in life but as I witnessed the tragedy of Sendong (the name given to the latest typhoon that hit Iligan City - Philippines), I am blessed that I have these things of mine right now - a simple house, not so nice dress, friends, and above all, a happy family. I became a volunteer to help the victims of Sendong and be able to talk to some people inside the evacuation area. They have lot of sad stories but when I have an interview with an 18 years old boy, I can't keep my tears from falling.

" It's raining... it's dark.. and it's cold.."

There may be people with volunteers on their chest in front of me offering food but I can't hear their voices. Their voices are overpowered by the deafening screams from children, mother, father, and innocent newborn babies asking for help. It has been four days since I arrived in this place but for me, I am trap with that tragedy four days ago; the tragedy that took everything from me. Our house, our properties, and most of all, my family - they are all gone.

Tell me, how can I talk? If everyone I love is gone! Tell me, how can I smile? If my heart is in pain! And please, tell me, how can I live? If my reasons to breathe are dead! Christmas is coming and we have lot of plans this year. But because of this happening, I can't feel the essence of Christmas anymore.

We are five in the family and they are all nowhere to find. I have two younger brothers in the age of four and the other one is three. How can they survive? They don't even know how to swim. They are too young to die! They have plenty of dreams and a lot of plans in life. James wants to be a doctor someday and Burt wants to be a soldier. I can't even breathe whenever I remember their strong desire to achieve their dreams. Their innocent faces that make me smile before, now, these figures are killing me softly. I can still hear their voices calling the names of my father and mother. Their voices are fading slowly from my ears that time but now they are as clear as this pain in my heart. I really tried to save them, I really do. But fate is so unkind to us; we are all separated from each other by the strong current of the water and by the darkness of the night.

That night was full of surprises. When everybody was sleeping, I heard a gushing sound of water. I rubbed my eyes to awaken myself and think of it as a hallucination of mine. But, I still hear the sound that was why I went downstairs and found out that there was already water in our floor. I abruptly woke my brothers as well as my parents. The electricity worn out and we were all in panic. My father and mother led us to our roof and there I was relief from my fear because we were safe from the devouring water. But, death was really chasing us. There were huge logs that hit our house and torn it into pieces. We were all hugged by our parents to ensure that we will not be separated from them but the current was really strong that we can't even save our very own selves from drowning. That time, I was not thinking on how to survive but on how to save my brothers rather. I was under water and trying to breathe but there were huge logs above which kept me from going above the surface. Just when I thought that I won't be living anymore, I was able to go above the surface of the gushing water. I tried my very best to scream for their names but no one answered. There were screams from other people asking for help but all I can do was to listen to their dying voices. I can't even help myself to save me; to save my love ones.

It is a big miracle that I was able to survive. There were people who managed to find me in the midst of the sea after three hours floating in the water with the help of a branch of a tree. They brought me to this place physically alive, because emotionally I am really broken into pieces. I want to find my family but I don't know what to do! It has been four days and I am very worried about my brother and parents. Are they okay? Are they looking for me? Or even, are they still alive?

Suddenly, someone hugged me... This hug is very familiar. This is the hug whenever I have problems and whenever I am crying - the hug of my beloved mother! At this time, I am totally awake from my worst nightmare!

Top Tips For Maximizing Your AdSense Profits

One of the best ways to make money online is through Google AdSense. The Google corporation is the best at paying webmasters so that they can place ads to various products related to your site.

The smart website owner takes advantage to this great deal and uses it to the best of his abilities. Although, he does have some concerns. Could he be doing it better? Is there a way to get even more money through Google AdSense that he doesn't even know about? Here are some of the tips that he might be able to learn from.

Top Tip #1: Be Specific

If you want to get good ads for your website, then you should place good quality content on your page. To make sure that you get a good click through rate for your ads, though, you want to have a VERY SPECIFIC topic. By doing this, it ensures that your AdSense ads are as relevant to your readers as possible. Always remember that Relevance is King!

Top Tip #2: Pick Vertical Ads

Years of pop-ups and spam have trained all internet users to completely ignore banners that show up horizontally towards the top of the screen. As a result, if you place a horizontal banner across the top of your page, you risk the chance of your readers dismissing it as pop-ups, or they might be so used to dismissing it that they don't even see it. Google recommends that you place vertical ads, and your ads help make them money too, so it would be wise to listen to them.

Top Tip #3: Place Your Ads Up To The Right

Through research and experiments with Google users, Google has determined that the most effective place to position your ads on your site is up and to the right. You want to place plenty of white space around it so that it doesn't look jammed in as an after thought. You want your ads to look nice, and apparently they look nicest when placed up and to the right.

Top Tip #4: Place Pictures Near Your Ads

Your eye is immediately drawn towards a picture when it is placed on a page with text, so you should place you ads near you pictures so that your customers also look towards your ads.

You should make sure that you follow these top tips because they can definitely help you make as much money possible from Google AdSense. Just make sure to follow the rules, because they have no problem kicking you out of their program. Follow their rules, and follow my tips to you, and you will have no problem getting a paycheck on complete autopilot.

Insurance for Caravans - Why You Need It?

When going for vacation one of the best things would be not having to worry about accommodation that is why owning a caravan comes as very useful when traveling form place to place. A caravan is basically like a mobile home on four wheels and traveling in such a vehicle can be very enjoyable but at the same time stressful in the event of an accident. In order to be able to enjoy your vacation to the maximum and not worry about anything you need to consider purchasing insurance for caravans. Insuring your caravan means that you will be financially protected in case an accident happens. Since the caravan is a four wheel vehicle insuring it is also needed in order to drive it legally.

Before you start searching for insurance for caravans you should establish a few things that will help you choose the best suited insurance policy. Fist of all you need to establish what type of caravan you own. Since there are two types of caravans, one type is the static caravan and the other type is the touring caravan which is mobile, you also need to choose your insurance according to this fact. If your caravan is mobile you will need a specialized insurance which is designed for touring caravans and if your caravan is static you will have to choose the insurance policy designed for static caravans.

After you have established which type of insurance for caravans you need, you should keep a few things in mind regarding your caravan. If you own a touring caravan you will probably end up taking with you quite a few things when going for a holiday. Keeping that in mind you should probably search for an insurance policy that will provide coverage for all the items that you have in your caravan such as furniture or kitchen appliances. If you choose, you can also insure any valuable personal belongings that you decide to take with you in your trip. Doing so will allow you to get reimbursement of the value of the items in the event of damage or even theft.

For those that own a static caravan the insurance for caravans that they need to search for should provide coverage for some basic things. A good policy should cover for things like the steps or the fencing of the static caravan and even for the patio surrounding the caravan. Always check if the policy provides such coverage before buying it.


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