ProBlogger — Created and maintained by Darren Rowse, this seminal classic blog about all things blogging, is a paragon of blog education. Simply browse the main page and you’ll see many posts with titles that are ripe for your further education and perusal. You could easily spend hours hear learning all about blogging, from design and functionality, to attracting readers and providing for their needs. This is blogging dreamland! Try this link to get you started — Blogging Tips for Beginners: Best of Problogger.

Also, don’t miss out on the classic ebook, 31 Days to Building a Better Blog. Picking up this ebook before you create your blog can make a world of difference in how you design it and how successful your blog and your business will be. This is a MUST PURCHASE for anyone starting a blog for business purposes (or any purpose, really)! These are some of the best blogging tips in one ebook from one of the first bloggers to start making money through blogging. Darren Rowse has put years of experience and learning through trial and error into this ebook. At a time when most ebooks command fees pushing $100, you can purchase this ebook for pocket change even though it actually is worth $100! Whether you’re just starting out or want to improve your established blog, this book will help you do it, if you take the time to apply what you learn.

Lynda.com — From their site: “Whether you’re into digital photography, web design and development, motion graphics, or just need to brush up on Excel, you can learn all the software skills you need to gain a competitive edge with our online tutorials.” I’ve used some of their material and it’s 100% first-rate! They have in the neighborhood of 720 online training courses which include video with step-by-step instruction and optional exercise files that are used during the training videos. They use working experts for each of the training videos. You’re getting direct, hands-on training that you can instantly use and apply in your craft, whether you have experience or if you’re training to learn a brand new skill.

If you’re serious about blogging or starting an Internet business, you might decide it’s worth a little money to learn a new skill that you can later translate into a service that you can get paid for providing. If this sounds like you, then you may want to check into the following classes through Lynda.com: Web Design, Blogging (including Twitter), WordPress.com, MySQL, CSS, HTML, XHTML, PHP, SEO (Search Engine Optimization),  Podcasting, and much more! They have various payment plans; from month-to-month plans currently priced from $25.00 to yearly plans, currently starting at $250.00. Taking these classes may not give you a college degree, but if you apply what you learn, you’ll easily develop new skills that can translate into better-paying jobs or the ability to offer services through your newly designed blog. Besides, $250 is a lot cheaper than taking a full load of college classes and what you learn will be more focused to a specific skill. Think about it! I’m convinced that once you try one of their offerings, you’ll see the immense value of Lynda.com. Before you know it, you’ll have created your own successful work from home online business! Go to Lynda.com and watch some of their free offerings to see how great their training is. You’ll love it!

Internet Business Mastery Academy — If you are designing a blog with the intention of starting an online business, this may well be your best option. In signing up for classes at the Academy, you will learn all aspects of starting an Internet-based business from scratch; setting up a blog, selling a product that your customers actually want, making your product available as an instant download and ready for immediate customer consumption. I can personally vouch for the effectiveness of the courses in the Academy since I’m a currently-enrolled student, myself.

If you would like step-by-step instructions for starting your online business as well as dozens of resources, you can find them in the Internet Business Mastery Academy along with video tutorials showing exactly how to use them. To get a 30-day, no-risk, trial membership to the Internet Business Mastery Academy, simply click on this ad and receive a free audio course –it’s a good intro to the Academy and you will receive instructions on joining after signing up for the free audio course. If you decide to join, please consider using the affiliate link to give the hosts of this lecture credit for referring you.

ClickNewz! Internet Marketing Blog with Lynn Terry — From her site: “Lynn Terry is a full-time Internet Marketer with over 12 years of experience in online business and marketing. ClickNewz is where she shares news on the latest eBiz trends and marketing strategies, as well as her unique case studies, creative ideas & personal reviews…” I think it’s safe to say that if you visit ClickNewz and browse around, you will be impressed. Such high caliber education at no cost! Can you afford to pass this up? I think not. And to get you started in the right direction, here is an excellent introduction for implementing SEO (search engine optimization) into your blog posts: SEO Content: Choosing Keywords & Phrases.

The Smart Passive Income Blog with Pat Flynn — Pat is a graduate of  the Internet Business Mastery Academy and a wonderful example of success. One day he found himself unemployed, months later, he was making more money after starting his own business then he was before he got laid off from his day job…and he was working for himself. We interviewed Pat and I must say, the interview is an inspiration for anyone who want to start their own businesses so they can quit their day jobs. You’re going to want to read our interview with Pat, so here is where you can find it: Quitter Profile: Pat Flynn. His blog is ripe with theories about developing “passive income” that Pat has put to the test. You can follow his escapades and learn right along with Pat. While you’re there, don’t forget to sign up for his newsletter and receive a free ebook on writing and launching an ebook. This site is required reading…and there may be a quiz later.

MIT Open Courseware — How would you like to take classes at Massachusetts Institute of Technology? Most people can’t afford it, let alone be admitted. What secret wonders exist in the classes at such an esteemed educational facility? Well, I’m going to give you a chance to find out…for absolutely no charge! Yes, kids, you heard me correctly. I have it on good authority that MIT has opened access to its course materials, which includes free lecture notes, exams and videos. Obviously, a great number of courses may have nothing to do with blog design or starting an Internet business, however, many courses are directly related. And even though you will get no credits or recognition from the completion of any course material, this is priceless information that, in the right minds, can be put to the most profitable use…whether for blog design or saving humanity. For anyone who aspires to have a higher education, remember, it’s not how you get an education, it’s what you do with it. This is pure gold so do stop by and make use of MIT for further education. You’ll be glad you did.

1stwebdesigner — Here you will find a graphic and web design blog that will provide you with inspiration, resources and tools. Here’s a specific example: 110+ Massive WordPress Video Tutorial Collection. If you want to learn more about designing a blog, browse around some of the blog posts here. I guarantee you will find great information and tools that will serve you well as you learn more about blog design.

Smashing Magazine — From their “About” page: “Smashing Magazine delivers useful and innovative information to Web designers and developers. Our aim is to inform our readers about the latest trends and techniques in Web development.” Though I haven’t yet fully explored the site, myself, I found them after finding this specific, eye-opening post: 10 Useful Usability Findings and Guidelines where they cover various elements of web page design and how to best implement these best practices. They also dispel a couple myths about web pages. When you are actually ready to start designing a blog, you simply must read this post first.

Please take the time to visit all of the resources listed here. I cannot emphasize enough just how valuable each one is. I know there are plenty of other really great sites and resources out there. So now it’s your turn. What’s your favorite site, tool or resource for blog design? Drop a link in the comments and tell us why it’s awesome.

Tammy and I are weighing out these choices carefully. The process is made tougher when we see these really slick-looking sites with neat, flashy graphic things going on where the graphics just seem to burst to life on the computer screen and dazzle the imagination. We do so enjoy the creative talent that goes into designing these one-of-a-kind blogs. It grabs our attention and then we start blissfully spinning out of control.

Eventually, we come to our senses again and put our feet back on the ground and pull our thinking caps back onto our feeble and overwhelmed heads. So what are we actually considering when making these choices for our own individual blogs? I’ll share with you some of what we’re thinking about as we’re going through this process. This is, by no means, comprehensive, but it’s a place to start, especially when you’re just getting started. This post will cover some of the basics of blog design. First, I’ll talk about the marriage between your audience and the purpose of your blog. Who are the people you want to find your blog and what interest or need has brought them to your blog? Next, I’ll talk about visual communication. What is the unspoken message you want your blog to convey to your readers when they arrive? What is the first impression you want to create in the minds of your readers and how do you create it?  I’ll conclude by giving you a collection of great resources for more education and tools for help with blog design. So, let’s get started…

Audience and Purpose

Before you even think of starting your blog, you need to be extremely clear on why you are even starting the blog to begin with. If you’re just starting a blog because everybody is doing it, you’re in the wrong place…class dismissed! Likely, you’re reading this because you’re starting an Online business and you’re going to need a blog for your business. So before you start your blog, here are some questions that need to be answered.

• What product or service are you going to be providing to your customer?
• What is the niche that your product or service will fit into?
• Do people exist who want your product, service, or your information that you’re planning to provide?

Knowing your purpose comes first. Once you know why you’re starting a blog, you need to begin to think more about how your blog can meet the needs of your audience. For this you must do your due diligence in researching the needs of your audience; find out who, exactly, will be your typical reader and why they will come to your blog. But for now, we’ll make the assumption that you have a product that, in one form or another, your audience wants and your blog is going to be the way you promote and deliver it.

How do you achieve this using your blog? It’s a well-known fact that if you create your blog and constantly try to push your product or service on your readers, they will reject your site and services or products. Making the connection between your audience and your purpose requires a gentle touch. To put it simply, people trust friends and distrust complete strangers. Therefore, your purpose should include developing a relationship with your audience…become a trusted friend. Here are some ways to do this:

• Write at a level that is appropriate to your readers, but never talk down to them
• Give away valuable, free content that shows you know what you’re talking about
• Write what your target audience wants to read…not only what you want them to hear
• Ask for audience input and respond to it graciously — create a two-way conversation
• Never try to be something you’re not, people can spot a phony a mile away
• Always be respectful of your readers and commentors and thank them often

These are some of the ways to build trust and a sense of community. This takes time and cannot be forced. But let’s explore other ways to merge audience with purpose. For instance, let’s take a look at your delivery. Obviously, you’re going to be writing posts on a regular basis. You can post whatever you want, whenever you want. But sometimes, it helps to mix things up a bit to keep things fresh. You can do this by having specific features, like periodic interviews, mini posts that highlight tips, or resources on the Web, or perhaps include a video or audio with relevant information. Also, it’s important to think about what topics would attract your specific audience and write post titles that will attract readers’ attention while also concisely conveying what the post is about. This also helps with SEO (Search Engine Optimization). SEO is very important once you’re blog is up and running, but that’s a topic for another time.

I know that talking about your content may seem like I’m jumping ahead because you haven’t even designed your blog yet, but many of these things should be considered before you even start to deign your blog. Planning ahead will help you in ways that you can’t even guess at. So before we more on to the more specific details of blog design, there are a few more things to consider. Such as, the scope of your blog. If your blog is too broad and you’re trying to please too many people, you may eventually find cobwebs growing on your blog from lack of visitors. Not pretty, I assure you. The way to prevent this is to narrow your focus to a specific sub-genre or niche in your field in interest. For example, you can have a blog about all stringed instruments in a typical orchestra or you could further refine it to Great Cellists of the 20th Century. In the second example, who would your target audience be? Well, that would likely be cellists, conductors, and music aficionados with an appreciation of modern, classical cellists. That’s still broad…it includes all 20th century cellists of renown but is specifically about cellists, not all stringed instruments of all times in history.

The next question is, does anybody really care about your niche? If you share this passion, there are likely others. Certainly, there are plenty of cultured people out there who enjoy 20th century cello playing at its finest. Though that doesn’t guarantee that your blog will succeed, doing some research should give you an idea of how great you chance of success might be. So do your research to make sure you’ve selected a niche that anyone even cares about. If there are similar niche blogs out there, that’s another good indicator that there’s an audience out there for your blog too. And if there’s an audience for your specific niche, you should be able to find ways to offer something of value to them that they would be willing to pay for. People don’t mind parting with their money when they feel what they get in return is of equal or greater value. Your goal, as the saying goes, is to under promise and over deliver.

What appears on your blog–the content, topics, and usable knowledge–is what will inform the reader and from which he or she will decide whether or not to stay awhile and give your material a chance. You must be clear on the purpose of your blog, the niche into which your blog fits, and determine if there is an audience for your niche. You must plan your content and how you want to present it before you even begin to think about the pretty colors and flashy gewgaws which may appear on your businesses new blog. In the end, if your post titles are attractive enough and revolve around the purpose of your blog (in addition to your products or services), you will find a wonderful union (audience and purpose) that will last a help you build trust and a sense of community. But what about those pretty colors? Let’s turn, look at that next…

Your Blog’s First Impression

When an interested reader lands on your blog page, they will, in a matter of seconds, assess your blog and form an opinion. The first thing they will notice will be the colors and layout. Assuming they’re not repulsed by your design, they’ll read any bold titles or words that attract their attention, typically, this will be the phrase or keyword association that brought them to your site. As mentioned before, your post titles and your purpose must be clear and easy to identify to your readers as something meaningful to them. Now let’s take a closer look at design regarding color and layout by considering these questions:

• Have you chosen a colors scheme that is comfortable to look at?
• Should your site be spacious or tight?
• If you’re using ads on your site, where should you place them and how many should you use?
• How hard will the reader have to work to read each post?
• Should you choose two or three columns?
• Do you want your sidebar(s) on the right, the left, or both?

Your blog needs to cater to your readers. If your readers are young, the design, colors, and blog posts must reflect this. Therefore, you may use brighter colors and more of them. Also, use interesting fonts, but not too many…you mustn’t tire your reader’s eyes prematurely. You would want to consider presenting a more playful look and style the younger the reader. If your readers are young adults or perhaps “30-somethings”, then going with a more Web 2.0 look and feel might be more appropriate. Decisions on whether to have one or two sidebars, more or less empty space, and where to put adds have more to do with subtly persuading your reader into a frame of mind that increases trust and a mood that is appropriate for your purpose. Keep in mind that more empty space evokes a more tranquil mood, less empty space introduces tension; each serves a purpose depending on your intention. If your readers are into heavy metal music, for example, having an austere, sparse-looking blog with pastel colors and graceful fonts wouldn’t convey the rough-edged style that your readers will respond to.

I don’t know about you, but when I look at the art of Leonardo Da Vinci, I get all a-tingle and my mind goes awash with new ideas; great spires of creativity jut high into my mental stratosphere… And when I listen to the music of Mozart or Bach, my soul is renewed with possibility…my enthusiasm and creative impulses start throbbing and I…um…ahem. What I mean is, design elements are important to your blog in order to influence your reader’s experience and guide his interaction on your site. It’s the art of subtle persuasion…give to them what they came to your site for. Do this, and you’re inviting them to stick around for a while. And that’s a good thing.

Soon, I’ll post part 2 which will include a bunch of great resources that you’re going to want to check out. I hope you’ve found some useful ideas in this post. Any thoughts or questions? Leave a comment.

Two Suggestions

When you ready yourself to read the first post of the series, please consider two suggestions I have on how you should read it. 1) Before you actually buy your next domain name and throw together your blog, read the entire series. This should absolutely be step one, long before you’re ready to open your blog to the public so you can follow the suggestions right from the start. 2) If you already have a blog going, don’t worry about it. While reading this series, you’re going to realize that there are some things that would have been helpful to know ahead of time. But if you already have your blog going, I suggest you read the entire series with an eye for improving your blog so that you can smartly tweak it for increased traffic. Some steps are related to things you can do outside of your blog to attract more visitors, but on the whole, it’s all about increasing traffic to your blog.

Aside from this excellent series of posts, the financial information found on this site is endlessly helpful, but my focus for this Web Candy is specifically the “How to Get Your Blog to 100,000 Visitors and Beyond” series. Unless you’re an experienced blogger, this series will likely give you some real meat to chew on if you want to get more traffic to your blog. But that still leaves the question, what’s a series like this—about increasing traffic to your blog—doing on a website that’s all about money and personal finance? I eventually figured out the connection that I missed initially; many people are starting blogs as a form of a micro business with the hope that they can sell a product or service using their blog as the vehicle. Whether you’re in that group or not, you’re going to want to give your blog the best chance of reaching the most people. With that in mind, read this series and, by all means, enjoy the rest of the blog while you’re at it.

Got any suggestions for increasing traffic to your blog that are not covered in this series? We’d like to hear about it…leave a comment and share your ideas.

If you’re still in the planning stages of your online business, make sure you put some serious consideration into your monetization strategy. Know exactly how you will make money now and in the future. The beauty of continuity products is their ability to earn you more money without any additional work. This is why the Membership Site model has caught on and become so popular. There are a few things to keep in mind so that you get the most return from your continuity product.

• Know Your Customer. You can’t make everybody happy. Trust me, I’ve tried. Doesn’t work. I don’t care how nice and well-intentioned you are. Focus on who your customer is, and be willing to let the rest of ‘em go elsewhere. What problems does your customer have? What solutions can you offer? What information are they looking for? What can you offer that they’re willing to part with their money for?
• Know Your Niche. Your customer knows your niche, so you’d better keep up. If you want to offer value to your customers, you need to be able to walk the walk.
• Offer Obvious Value. We live in a fast-food culture these days. People know what they want, and they want it yesterday. The Internet has made it even easier to find information faster, find products faster, and spend money faster. Once you attract customers to your site, give them an obvious reason to come back and hang around for a while. They need to know that they can count on you to deliver a quality product or service over time. Have you ever gotten on an email list only to have your inbox flooded with worthless junk? Or worse yet, you get flooded with one sales pitch after another. Your customers are human, treat them that way. If it pisses you off, chances are it would do the same to your customers. Here’s a tip: Don’t piss off your customers. Ever. Use surveys or email to find out what they want and what they need. Then give them that.

If you can come up with a product or service that offers value over time and is delivered in a way that “speaks to” your customer, you’ve got a winner. Membership sites do that. They cater to a very specific niche market and offer that market exactly what it is they’re looking for. And when you get it right, members will pay month after month. Better yet, in many of these niche markets, your customers have friends with similar interests, and they’ll spread the word about you, bringing you even more customers. I know, it’s a beautiful thing, right?

Is This Your Opportunity?

We’ve been learning about this whole continuity concept through Internet Business Mastery Academy, and it’s something they do well. Their product IS the Academy, which is a membership site. They charge a monthly membership fee to help folks like us learn how to start and succeed with an online business. Scott and I were recently tossing around some ideas with a friend who you may remember from a recent Quitter Profile (Ian Anderson). What happens when 3 entrepreneurs get together and brainstorm? Well, I’m pretty sure the off-gassing from the vaporized brain cells will eat a small hole in the atmosphere by the year 2013. Hate it when that happens. But, at least no animals were harmed in the process. Well, there was that one platypus…never mind.

This is the result of our brainstorming: MotorcycleSoulMates.com. It’s a dating website specifically for motorcycle enthusiasts. They’re passionate about their hobby, they like to socialize with others who ride, and they have definitely carved out their own “niche market” based on their lifestyle. Here are some pretty cool results from keyword research:

~Google Search Data for July~
“Motorcycle”  – 24,900,000 (Local) / 20,400,000 (Global)
“Motorcycles” – 7,480,000 (Local) / 20,400,000 (Global)
“Soul Mate”   – 135,000 (Local) / 135,000 (Global)
“Soul Mates”  – 33,100 (Local) / 40,500 (Global)
“Soulmate”    – 246,000 (Local) / 673,000
“Soulmates”   – 74,000 (Local) / 246,000 (Global)
“Online Dating” – 1,830,000 (Local) / 2,740,000 (Global)

We think it has a lot of potential. Time will tell. If you’re interested in owning a membership site yourself, make sure to check out the Flippa Auction soon! There’s also a customized Twitter account page to go with the dating site!

So, have you thought about your continuity product? Had any success with one already? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

Read the original post about the ProBlogger challenge HERE

Just got an email from Darren Rowse at ProBlogger. The start of “31 Days to Building a Better Blog” challenge has been delayed one week. The original start date was set for April 1st. The new start date is April 6th. Here’s more news from Darren’s email:

Forums are coming

As I wrote on ProBlogger last weekI’ve decided to make this year’s #31DBBB more interactive with the introduction of a forum area exclusively for signed up members (that’s you).

My hope is that in doing so this will become a much more communal experience for everyone involved. Together we can achieve a lot in the 31 days!
I’ll be in touch with details of how to access the forums in the days before we start.

Darren reports that there are currently over 6500 people registered for the Challenge. Are you one of them? If not, don’t miss out. Go HERE and register before APRIL 6.

I’ve written before about the ProBlogger blog and the massive pile of awesomeness you can find there. Have you checked it out yet? If not, now’s the time. Beginning April 1st, Darren Rowse (Mr. ProBlogger dude himself) will be starting a project called (Drumroll, please)…

31 Days to Build a Better Blog

What the hell is that all about? Well, Darren promises this isn’t an April Fool’s joke, because well, that just wouldn’t be funny. He’s done this twice before and from what I understand it’s been a pretty successful gig. Each day beginning April 1st, there will be a big fat juicy post for you at ProBlogger that will consist of a teaching component and something for you to do on/for/to your blog. The focus is on doing something to improve your blog. So, if you’ve been feeling like you need to do something, but you don’t have a clue what that something is, or how to do that something, then this 31-day thingy just might be the something you need to get your blogroove on. And best of all, it won’t cost you a penny. But wait…

31 Days?! Isn’t that, like…Almost a month?

Wow, I thought I could slide that past you. And yes, I know you’re not very good at the whole commitment thing and 31 days is like, a really long time and maybe something else might come up, or you have previous obligations, or another job, or you have to wash your hair and clip your toenails in April. Yeah, I get it. It’s tough to stick to one project for a month when you’re juggling 12 other things and trying to keep up with who got voted off of American Idol this week (or, ya’ know, whatever). But, think of it this way. You can spend 31 days focusing on improving your blog with the help of a pro, or you can struggle to figure it all out on your own. I’m guessing going it alone would take longer than 31 days, and probably wouldn’t give you the best results.

I’ve registered for the ProBlogger project and I’ll post updates in April about how it’s going for me. If you’re in on it, good on ya! Come back to Quitters and let us know how it’s going for you. Or you know, you can just hang out in the corner and clip your toenails. I’d prefer the conversation, though.

Take Action

So, if you’ve stopped hyperventilating and sorted out the commitment issues, you need to move soon. Not trying to pressure you or anything. Just saying. If you want to get in on this, you need to register ASAP by going HERE and filling out a simple form. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

See how quick and easy that was?

Drop a comment and let us know if you’re onboard.