With 6 months of blogging under my belt, I am currently taking a shot at learning the basics in improving my blog’s design. Besides, I can’t always rely on someone else to do it for me. I’m learning slowly, just one step at a time. Of course, what has been helpful to me are the unending resources in the web available with just a few clicks. While the web continues to expand exponentially, more and more people are eager to go one step further than surfing. Web development is now considered a skill from which anyone can capitalize on.

StylishDesign.com is an example of a valuable resource in the internet that can provide useful and practical information on web development. When I visited the blog, I was amazed at the expanse that it covers to discuss web development. The blog also covers topics on web design, PageRank, backup and recovery. And being new to blogging, I found an article on Adwords optimization which can help me further in the improvement of my blog. With a little help from other resources similar to StylishDesigns, I’m actually looking forward to giving my blog a new look soon.

Tags: adwords optimization,blog,stylishdesigns,web development
Categories: Technology & Internet
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After months of blogging and making decent money from it, it has now become a way of life for me. Even my 3 boys help me watch out for campaigns or opportunities if I have to be away for a while. They also give me ideas for topics on my blog. I admit it hasn’t been easy when I started. Finding topics to write about while my youngest baby asks me for help with his Xbox 360 games was a bit difficult. It was also frustrating waiting endlessly for opportunities for a blog with no Page Rank. When they do come, the pay was so minimal compared to the other opportunities given to those with higher page ranks. In time, I learned to take it with a grain of salt. Minimal income is still income nonetheless. I was confident something will happen to turn everything around soon.

I believe my wait is finally over. Izea’s long-awaited SocialSpark launched its beta phase. I registered my blog immediately. The system was a little more complex than PayPerPost but I was eager to start knowing that the Izea team worked hard on the new system that improves on all the chinks that PayPerPost had. Izea combined the features of a paid-to-blog model with a social network. Now, they have definitely created an authentic community of bloggers and advertisers coming together to widen further the horizons of the blogosphere. With SocialSpark, there are 2 ways to earn money from a blog. You can earn income by taking opportunities from advertisers and writing about them in your blog. Or you can earn through blog sponsorship. Blog sponsorship works for niche blogs that focus on specific categories such as technology, health, or entertainment. For this option, an advertiser can choose a blog that deals in his area of business to market his products or service. Aside from making money, a blog can also exchange posts with other blogs for free to improve traffic and increase followers.

More than the improvement on its features, SocialSpark is set apart from PayPerPost and other get-paid-to-blog models by its code of ethics. Under the code of ethics, bloggers are required to include a disclosure badge on the sponsored posts to make sure that readers know that the content is being paid for. This elicits trust from readers and avoids the appearance of impropriety. Second, every participant in SocialSpark is viewable by the public. The public is made aware of transactions between advertisers and bloggers to keep the community transparent and honest. Third, there are no restrictions on how a blogger wishes to write about the product or service, subject to an agreement with the advertiser. Thus, bloggers are encouraged to take opportunities that they believe represents the principles that the blog adheres to. Finally, each sponsored post now carries the “no follow” attribute to avoid penalties given by search engines. Almost all blogs doing sponsored post were penalized by search engines within the past year with a substantial reduction in page rank. It has been the major concern in the blogosphere for so long which Izea now has resolved. Moreover, SocialSpark now utilizes RealRank as a major criteria to segregate the opportunities that blogs are qualified to take.

I’m still learning as I go along. And I look forward to meeting new people and learning more from the community. I finally see a brighter future for my blog as Izea ignites a revolution in the blogosphere with SocialSpark.

Tags: blog,bloggers,extra income,IZEA,paid to blog,PayPerPost,Social Spark
Categories: Anything Under The Sun, Online Earning Opportunities
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Certified Blogaholic’s page rank to date still remains at zero. I have been browsing through the net trying to learn much more about increasing traffic but I haven’t had the time to implement the changes. I also feel the need to improve the design of my blog. Since I am an avid internet surfer on my free time, I realized that those sites I keep patronizing or I enjoy reading have been designed well and is pleasing to the eye. This gave me the idea that maybe I should start with the web design of the blog rather than keep working on other means to increase traffic. A good design will definitely make readers remember the blog which increases the chance that they would come back again to check out the site.

I found a good web designing blog that provides a lot of information for web site owners and webmasters. Stylish Design is a blog that focuses on web design and other web related information. The home page was quite organized despite the numerous posts and subjects already available on the blog. Website templates as well as tools and software, search engine optimization, web directories are discussed in Stylish Design. I believe this would be a good place for me to start learning if I do intend to improve this blog.

Tags: blog,search engine optimization,web design,web directories
Categories: Technology & Internet
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I entered the blogosphere too late. I was so focused on my current job that I neglected my real first love — computers and technology. By the time I realized the web was teeming with opportunities, everyone else has taken the plunge. How could I, the first person to have a desktop PC in our class, come in too late to the huge opportunities that the technology offered?

Now, even my talent in writing couldn’t help me catch up with the rest of the pack. Opportunities are so rare for new blogs like mine. I read other blogs and know that mine is world’s away from theirs. I feel I’m moving at snail’s pace. But I’m a fast learner. I know I will make it soon. I am learning everyday. A couple more sweat, a little perseverance, and I will make it.

Tags: blog,blogosphere,computers,technology
Categories: Get Paid To's (GPTs) programs, Online Earning Opportunities, Technology & Internet
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The smell of my mint tea wafts through my nostrils as I struggle to finish my annual reports at the office. Everything I’m writing about the company I’ve already written before. As I try desperately to drag myself out of this sluggish mood I woke up to, I rise from my workstation and walk around the room slowly. I know this feeling. It comes to me when my brain gets information overload. I also know the cure. I have to shift momentarily to another task. I go back to my laptop and open my blog.

Blogging has been my rescuer on days my brain refuses to work right. After an article or two, I can get back to my task at the office with a little more fervor. Other than the welcome distraction my blog offers, I am also given an opportunity to earn cash with blog advertising. I joined Smorty recently which widened my chances to connect with more advertisers worldwide. I get paid to blog about products, services and websites in various categories. For once, my opinion is worth something more. My skill to concoct and combine words helps advertisers to reach out to more people through the web.

As a matter of fact, there are several more sites bridging the gap between advertisers and bloggers. However, the glut in bloggers in the market has made it difficult to get opportunities. Smorty has given me an alternative source of opportunities. With so many people trying to blog for money, advertising jobs are difficult to grab especially for working people like me. Smorty has proven that having alternatives is better for the industry. Moreover, it drives every player in the field to do better. Inferior service or writing skills are not acceptable. At Smorty, bloggers like me get to choose from a variety of topics and even earn from their referral program. On the other hand, advertisers get more high quality bloggers from Smorty. Smorty assures that its bloggers are screened and evaluated to deliver excellent blog advertising to its customers.

Now, my head feels refreshed and ready for action again. Thanks to my blog. Thanks to Smorty.

Tags: advertisers,blog,blog advertising,blog for money,bloggers,blogging,Smorty
Categories: Anything Under The Sun, Get Paid To's (GPTs) programs, Online Earning Opportunities
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My eyes begin to water while I stare motionless at the LCD screen of my laptop. If I start drooling, people around may just have to lift me together with the chair to rush me to the hospital. These cataleptic moments of mine are exactly the reason my friend suggested I join PayPerPost to take me out of the doldrums. Writing reports for 10 years now in a company dominated by Cruella de Vil has taken its toll on me. Not even imagining the boss to look like Shrek’s wife, Fiona, can make me smile these days.

Look who’s smiling now? My blog just got the nod from PayPerPost. I guess I owe this life-saving wake up call to a friend whose previously comatose existence was likewise revived by PayPerPost. More than the money, the opportunity adds a bit of zing to a monotonous life. White-collar jobs do pay the rent. But doing it for years can turn anyone into a zombie sometimes.

Show me more… »

Tags: ,blog,bloggers,PayPerPost
Categories: Anything Under The Sun, Freelance Writing, Online Earning Opportunities, Technology & Internet
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