Archive for the ‘Blogging’ Category

Grow Your Blog By Making A FREE Twitter Bot

Friday, March 5th, 2010

Twitter BotEveryone is interested in growing their blog audience.  Twitter is a great way to get more people to visit your blog. 

When you tweet you can get people interested in your content.  Actually retweeting others tweets is even better.  The person you retweet will generally see that you have an interest in their information, and they will respond in kind.

I am not interested in tricking people to visit my site.  I just want as many people as possible to look at it.  If they like the content, they will be back.

I came across this site called Digerati Marketing a while back and I was intrigued by a post about creating a twitter bot.  This is a well done tutorial that will enable you to automatically post to your twitter account based upon the topics you select.   I would rate the process of making this automated ReTweet Bot a little complex for the novice user, but the tutorial walks you through each step. 

How to Make A Twitter Bot With No Coding

Be sure to check out some of the other posts on this blog.  He doesn't post too often, but when he does, the content is well done.  As the author of the post comments, don't let people try to sell you a bot when you can make your own.  One of the extra benefits is that you will learn how to use Yahoo Pipes.  Pipes is an excellent application that I never knew existed until I dug into this Bot building project.

So go ahead and try it!  Create a twitter bot see how your traffic can grow.  Let me know how it works out for you.  You can visit my Twitter Site to see how it is working out for me.
http://twitter.com/theteachingbox/

-Loren

 

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Online Learning – University of Phoenix

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

The University of Phoenix is the standard by which online education is judged.  Here is a short article on this educational institution.  I have never  taken any of their classes, but have talked to some people who have.  My sister in law got a PhD from The University of Phoenix, and she liked the program and the staff.  Do you know anyone who takes classes or has gotten a degree from this institution?  Let me know what you think in the comments.

-Loren


As the demand, and supply, for online learning and distance learning of all kinds continues to increase, it's fascinating to look at what a fully developed and highly acclaimed online university is like.

The University of Phoenix is a relatively new institution. Founded less than 30 years ago (in 1976), it was not only one of the first accredited universities to provide complete degree programs as an online college, but it has now become the leader in the field in the United States.

The size of their operation is astonishing. They've developed into the largest accredited university in the United States. Here are some of the numbers they provide: more than 17,200 instructors, 163 campus locations and learning centers in 33 states, Puerto Rico, Canada and now Mexico, and over 171,600 earned degrees since 1976. They provide, naturally, world spanning online learning through the internet.

Their curriculums are developed by working with industry and business in order to provide the skills and knowledge that are in demand. Focused on providing not only the content needed by today's professionals and businesses, they continue to upgrade their formats and methods as well as their curriculums.

An innovative program put in place by the University of Phoenix is called FlexNet. Rather than being a purely online learning experience, a portion of each course is held at a campus or learning center location. For many this feature adds a sense of personal and community involvement, giving the student a chance to interact directly with instructors and classmates.

Courses at the University of Phoenix Online are concentrated. Students need to be willing to make a serious commitment.

While online learning courses vary they tend to have certain features in common. In today's hectic environment, the ability to flexibly schedule your hours is critically important for many prospective students. Being confined to fixed hours in a fixed location for a traditional offline course just won't work for many. The demands of work and family too often cause missed classes.

Traditional college education may also involve taking subjects with little application to the professional's working life. Online education can allow you complete a degree in two or three years.

In many online college environments, all your courses will be focused on your professional needs. Generally, you'll also be able to focus on one course at a time rather than having to split your attention among several over a long period. This intensity and focus can be a significant benefit.

Since most online and distance learning is oriented toward professionals, working people, generally the materials you'll study will be up-to-date and can be used immediately in your working environment. This combination of studying things that you can implement, materials relevant to your work, can make online learning a uniquely rewarding and pleasant way to earn a degree.

You do want to make sure that wherever you decide to study, that it is accredited and that any degree or certification in a field that requires licensure or state certification will be accepted by your state. If your employer has an educational reimbursement plan, be sure to verify that the college or university you chose will be acceptable. In some cases, part of your expenses may also be tax-deductible. Accreditation is important not only for employer acceptance, but also if you are going to seek scholarship funds to help with the cost.

The University of Phoenix is not the only place offering online learning, but it does give you a pretty good introduction to what's possible. They offer everything from AA degrees to Doctoral programs with a large variety of specialized Bachelor of Science and Master's degrees as well as professional certifications and non-degree courses. You can explore their offerings at http://www.phoenix.edu/ .

With today's demands for highly educated and specialized professionals, the value of online learning has never been clearer. The fast paced and mobile lifestyles so common now demand solutions that can fit into our lives, not ones that require us to squeeze into them and disrupt our careers and families for 3 or 4 years. The growth and acceptance of online education makes it virtually certain that you can find a program and a university or college that offers what you need to get ahead – and a way to fit it into your life.

Copyright 2005 Richard Keir

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Writing and Publishing Online – Free Video Series

Sunday, December 27th, 2009

Do you enjoy writing online content?  Do you want to bring more visitors to your Website or Blog?  Then this video series is for you! 

Here is another great Online Video Learning Series from TheTeachingBox.  These 6 videos will increase your knowledge of writing online content.   

These videos are all in flash video format and will open up in a new browser window.  The author talks about making money online, but the methods for marketing and getting traffic to your are very good.

I you want to learn more about writing articles and publishing them online these 6 videos are worth your time to watch.  Let me know what you think!

If you are interested in your own Copy head over to EbookPackageDeals.com.

On to the videos!

 

Video 1: Getting Started – What is Article Marketing

In this video, you'll learn just that and how Article Marketing can boost your Search Engine Rank and save you time in the long run. Article Marketing is such a great way to get exposure for your product, Website or Blog!

 

Video 2: What tools you need to get started with Article Marketing

Before you get started, you will need to know what topic you will be writing on as well as where and how you will find the content for the articles. You may be one of those people who suffer from a case of "writer's block" and it may keep you from getting started.

That won't be a problem anymore because you'll learn some tips that will allow you to get past this by using private label articles and where to find them.

 

Video 3: How to rewrite PLR (private label rights) articles.

PLR Articles give you a foundation to get over the "writer's block". Finding private label articles isn't hard, however taking the usual factual, dull articles and adding spice to them is more of a challenge.

You see there is a trick to re-writing PLR articles correctly, because while you want to re-use these articles, you will want to write them in a way that it reflects you as the writer as well…but don't worry, you'll learn more about that in the video.

 

Video 4: Finding Profitable Affiliate Programs to promote

By now, you've come to realize that a good article can be used as a effective pre-selling tool. You'll want to use the article to gain the trust of the reader. If you can find profitable affiliate programs to promote that deal with the topic of the article, then you can increase the conversion rates of the reader and get them to buy the product.

In this video, you'll learn a several step process to doing just that, along with a few tricks and shortcuts that can keep you ahead of your competition.

 

Video 5: Creating a Resource Box

After reading the article, the reader will want more! You've gained their trust by giving them something valuable that will solve their problems. But now they will want to know about you, the writer.

Creating a resource box that is short and sweet will allow you to build your credibility as well as drive traffic to your site, your free report, free video, and more. This is where you get the one way back links or traffic to your website.

 

Video 6: Marketing Your Articles

While a lot of your time should be spent on the marketing end, it doesn't need to be a time consuming project.

Submitting your articles to article directories can be very time consuming and there are many sites out there that take articles so you'll want to choose the ones that are most effective. We'll talk about Article Marketer, EzineArticles, ArticleDashboard, and much more.

You will find that some sites allow you to have direct links to affiliates products, but there are some that don't' allow this. Knowing all of this beforehand will allow you to be equipped with the knowledge you need to choose the right ones.

 

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Successful Blogging – Free Ebook from TheTeachingBox

Saturday, December 26th, 2009

You can have a successful blog without being a writer.  This e-book will help you get started.  A free download compliments of TheTeachingBox.

I ran across this e-book and found it worth my time to read.  It is less than 20 pages, so it is not a large commitment of your time.  It is in Adobe .pdf format, and you can download it free at EbookPackageDeals from the link below or just click on the graphic to the right:

Blog Without Writing

As the graphic says, "Not a Writer? – Not a Problem".  This ebook will walk you through creating a successful blog even though you may not be a great writer.  Blogging is not all about writing, actually a successful blog is about Content.  TheTeachingBox is all about Education and Technology.  Here is a quick way to get some new ideas! 

Web search engines love content, and if you have superior content on your site you will get a good ranking on the search engines.  There are many places that you can find content to place on your blog.  

  • Guest Writers
  • Article Directories
  • Video and Audio
  • Training Topics
  • RSS Feeds
  • PLR Content
These are just some of the suggestions and topics covered in this book.  The author goes through the advantages and pitfalls of finding quality content to add to your blog. 
 
As with most e-books the goal is to make money online (doesn't everyone want to do that?).  TheTeachingBox doesn't make anything for me, It is a hobby more than anything, nevertheless you will find good ideas in this book that you can use immediately on your blog.
 
I discovered a few new ideas to help me find content for TheTeachingBox.  If you have been following the site for a while you will see that I focus on Teaching and Technology.  I try to keep the content interesting by using multimedia such as video tutorials as well as reviews for software that I find useful.  
 
An interesting point, I recommend writing content on Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  I started posting a set of video tutorials a few weeks back concluding with this one.
 
I have gotten more hits to TheTeachingBox on these three posts than any other content I have used.  Of course the content is good, so the hits come. 
 
A friend of mine has a blog dedicated to helping people learn more about "how to blog".  It is called Path to Success.  Visit her website for a bunch of good posts on getting started as well as tips and tricks once you have your blog going.  Tell her TheTeachingBox told you to stop by!
 
Give this ebook a quick read, you may just learn something new.  Where do you find good quality content for your blog?  Let me know what you think.
 
-Loren

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Learn to Write Online Articles – Free Ebook

Monday, July 6th, 2009

I am a firm believer that everyone can write.  It just takes practice and the right information.  TheTeachingBox is dedicated to make this happen for everyone.

I have been blogging for over three years now.  The impetus to start blogging was given to me by a Professor I had in Graduate School.  She had a PhD in Communication and taught in the field for over 40 years.  By virtue of her life experience she was a "Trained Professional", and she was good at it.  I spoke to her about wanting to become a better writer, and she said JUST DO IT!  Thus TheTeachingBox was started.

Along with practice, it is always good to be on the look out for good information.  I have made available this ebook titled "Get Paid to Write". 

The author targets this article on writing for the internet to make money.    Well I don’t make any money through this blog (or any other blog for that matter).  I liked this ebook because it gave me some solid ideas on how to write content for the internet. 

My favorite section of the article is on page 6, it is "Article Writing for the Web – Top Five Secrets to Success".  Maybe the information Angela puts out in this article is basic, but as with all educational endeavors, more information is always good. 

So feel free to take a look at this article and let me know what you think.  You can download it by clicking on the picture, or right HERE.  It is in .pdf format, so you will need the Adobe Acrobat reader to view the ebook.

-Loren

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