Could This Be A Hot Solution To My Flickr Post Problem?

If you're a Flickr user, and want to post photos to your blog, you know there is no way to add categories or tags to the post. There could be a plug-in solution, but I couldn't find it. Seriously, I looked for a long time. If there is one that does what I'm proposing, please let me know and I will update this post and back out what I've done.This...

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Build A Better Blog In 31 Days Wrap-up

Well here we are wrapping up this series, Building A Better Blog In 31 Days. There were several things I wanted to accomplish writing this series. One, require myself to write everyday for 31 days. That may not sound like a big deal but it was. I actually wrote each post everyday. Next I wanted to try some SEO techniques a friend shared with me. And I have to admit it worked pretty well. I'd share with your the secret but he might hunt us both down. Next, I really wanted to share what I thought were great tips and ideas on...

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Successful Blogger’s Share Their Insight

Build A Better Blog Day 31Today's tips come from several blogger's who I've asked to share with you what they feel are important aspects of building a better blog.Laura Moncur says - Have a long view. If you are expecting to have huge numbers the first year, you will be disappointed. It takes a good five years of consistent writing to grow a blog that will make money and give you positive feedback in the comments. On those days when it feels like all your blog entries are going out into the void and no one is reading, you NEED...

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Keep Comment Spam From Burdening Your Blog

Build A Better Blog Day 30Comment spam is the bane of most blog owners. It's everywhere and if left untreated will turn off reader in a heartbeat. It's controllable and manageable, and removing it can some times be a daily ritual. But there are solutions to make controlling comment spam pretty easy.If you host your own blog there are several plug-ins that help fight spam. On of my favorites is Akismet. It's very easy to setup and works pretty good. The basic use is Akismet check certain keyword, IP addresses and URL's in its...

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Create A Sticky 404 Page

Build A Better Blog Day 29 Today's tip is one no blogger should be without. When someone tries to find something on your blog, say a post or a static page and the web server can't find it, it usually serves up some kind of error, known as a 404. If you run a self-hosted Wordpress blog there is usually a 404.php file in your themes root folder. If your blog is hosted with a service like Blogger or Wordpress.com, you probably won't have the ability to implement this tip. Sorry. Here are some things you can put on your...

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Thank A Blogger For Linking To You

Build A Better Blog Day 28Everyone wants to be recognized and appreciated. Take the time to thank those who make your blog successful. I started a weekly Props to my Peeps post where I write about someone or something that helped me or turned a good deed during the week. I use their name, what they did and a link to a blog if they have one. I always get permission to discuss anything personal so I don't make the person upset or uncomfortable.This tip doesn't have to be real complicated. Just pay attention to who reads your...

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Protect Your Blogs Content

Build A Better Blog Day 27Today's tip is a reminder to protect your blogs content. Over time you till undoubtedly create a large amount of content. You may want some of that content protected by copyright and some you may not. It all depends on what's important to you and what's not. However I would establish a terms of use statement on your blog just so everyone knows how you want your content treated. Will this stop someone from stealing your content? Absolutely not.There is a great post over at DailyblogTips about Copyright...

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Blogging For Love Or Money

Build A Better Blog Day 26Today I'm asking a question; do you blog for love or money? You may be blogging for both but I doubt it. It's a very valid question and should be answered logically.The logical progression for bloggers is to start introducing ads somewhere in there blog in hopes of earning some much needed income. If you ask most bloggers they would be happy with enough income to pay for their hosting costs. Personally I think you should be in one of two camps. One, you should build your blog template and content to...

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Sweat Your Blogs Details

Build A Better Blog Day 25Today's tip is to absolutely sweat the details. If you are serious about building a successful blog you need to make sure even the smallest aspects are right. People have literally millions of options when it comes to blogs. If you work hard to build a solid following, making small mistakes will undermine all your efforts. Here is a small list of things to continually pay attention too: Spelling and Grammar. Have a serious problem with either of these and some people will just move on. At least take...

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Decide Your Blogs Domain Now Rather Than Later

Build A Better Blog Day 24Today I want to talk about the type of blogging platform you use. There are basically two main types; one is self-hosted, where you pay someone to provide the infrastructure to run a blog, and the other is hosted, where you use a pre-configured application like Blogger or Vox. The other part that goes along with what type of platform you choose is whether you have your own domain or use a hosted domain. Here are some examples:Self Hosted:yourcompany.comblog.yourcompany.comyourcompany.com/blogHosted:yourblog.blogspot.comblog.vox.commyblog.wordpress.comThere...

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Get Your Blog Readers Involved, Hold A Contest

Build A Better Blog Day 23An easy and inexpensive way to get your readers involved in your blog is to hold a contest. This doesn't have to be elaborate or time consuming, in fact, the readers need to do all the work. Here is an example of what you could write in your contest blog post:This months contest is a reader self portrait, with a twist. Write a blog post about a picture you take or was taken of you, standing next to your favorite car. Come back to this post and write a comment with a link back to your post. I'll pick...

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Create Catchy Blog Titles That Beg To Be Read

Build A Better Blog Day 22You've heard the old adage don't judge a book by it's cover? Well, your blog has a cover, and its your blog posts. By now you should have a well functioning RSS feed that is syndicated with several blog directory services. When someone has a number of feeds in a reader, they scan for interesting headlines, just like a news...

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Use Your Site Stats To Write A Better Blog

Build A Better Blog Day 21Today's tip is to use your blogs stats to help you decide whats popular with your readers, and write more about that. It's a proven fact people will use a search engine to find your blog more than any other way. Your blog stats can tell you exactly what words they are using to find you and what blog posts they are landing on.Over a year ago I wrote a blog post on removing sharpie ink from a white board. Its a very common problem in offices everywhere. I had inherited a white board that had a considerable...

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Stay The Course, And Don’t Give Up

Build A Better Blog Day 20Todays tip is for those new bloggers and those who are feeling like their blog isn't going any where. My recommendation to you is stay the course. There are millions of eyes reading blogs these days but there are 10 times that many who aren't. Eventually, your reader base will grow.Many people today are writing one or more...

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Keep Your Blog Posts Unique

Build A Better Blog Day 19Today's tip is this; write about what interests you and not what everyone else is writing about. One thing that disappoints me about some blogs are the regurgitated content they use from another site. I want to read original content. Find your niche then give us your spin. Make a list of the things you write about or interest you and store it with your blog posting schedule. Review it often to remind yourself what you want to write about.Breaking a news headline or an getting an inside scoop might...

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Prevent Blogging Disaster, Back It Up

Build A Better Blog Day 18 Today's tip is probably one of the most important I'll write about. You may spend hundreds of hours creating the perfect blog site, only to wake up one morning to find it all gone. I've seen it happen, and its happened to me. The feeling is gut wrenching. But it is avoidable with a little work ahead of time. Here is how I create a disaster recovery system. I have every post sent to me via email so I have all the content. If for some reason I lose my database at least I have all the blog posts and...

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Use Social Networks To Build A Blog Brand

Build A Better Blog Day 17 Today's tip is about Social Networks. These networks are becoming more important to building a strong blog brand. Believe it or not most of the work required to build a better blog happens somewhere other than your site. I'm sure you've heard of sites like MySpace and Facebook, but you should also become familiar with sites like del.icio.us, Digg and Technorati. Each of these sites is unique and should be used in same aspect with your blog. MySpace One of the planets largest network...

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Give Your Blog Readers A Way To Contact You

Build A Better Blog Day 16Today's tip is a big pet peeve of mine. Besides not having, or hiding, an RSS feed, not having some simple way of contacting the blog owner is very frustrating. Most if not all blogging tools have some type of contact system available; either built in or through a plug-in. It only takes a few minutes to set the system up. At the very lease provide some type of email link on a side bar or on an About Me page.Some people don't feel comfortable giving out there personal information. Don't. There are dozens...

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Write A Series On Your Favorite Subject

Build A Better Blog Day 15 Today I want to talk about writing a series on your favorite subject. When I decided to write this series, it wasn't because Building A Better Blog was my favorite subject, it was because I wanted to share what I had learned over the past 5 years. I also wanted to learn more about building a better blog. Writing a series on a subject is great practice. It requires you to think about your subject, plan the titles and content and deliver a quality series. Having a posting schedule and a list of ideas...

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Create A Blog Posting Schedule

Build A Better Blog Day 14This is a really fun tip. Since I've been blogging, almost 5 years, I've kept a schedule of the blog posts I want to write and when I'm going to post them. If you are a serious blogger who writes one or more times a day this is a pretty nifty idea. If you only blog occasionally, its still a nifty idea. A good posting schedule should keep you from running out of ideas.Download my Blogging Schedule SpreadsheetYou may also want to create a list of ideas to blog about. If your blog is based on a theme,...

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