Blogging

Do you have a knack for writing? Do you love to share your insightful stories with the rest of the world? If so, then it’s time for you to showcase your talent with a self help blog!

Your blog will allow you to express your thoughts and feelings. Best of all? You can inspire millions of people with your guidance.

Let’s get to it!

Write Down All Your Ideas

The brainstorming part can be the most fun part! This is where you jot down everything that comes to mind. No filter, no judgment – just your thoughts.

Spend some time thinking about what you would like to write. If you’re uncertain where to begin, consider the following questions:

• What kind of articles do you enjoy reading best?
• What are your favorite bloggers writing about?
• What kind of information is missing that you would love to share?

Don’t get too hung up on exact topics or keywords at this point. If you need to overcome fear of perfectionism, now is the time to focus on that.

Allow yourself 1-2 weeks to brainstorm and write down as many blog topics and ideas that come to mind. This will help you create a plan for writing and posting.

Deliver Valuable Content

A Google search on “how to write a blog post” will yield you millions of results in a nanosecond. And it’s true. There are many tips for structuring, organizing, and optimizing your blog posts.

But at the end of the day, quality is king. You need to provide content people want to read. If you can do that, the rest will fall into place.

Focus on your value first. After a while, you can focus on all the other nuances (marketing, SEO basics, etc.)

Commit to Consistency

If you want to create a dynamic blog, you need to devote time and attention to it. By 2020, research suggests there will be nearly 32 million bloggers in the United States. That said, most of those blogs will never get read.

To rise to the top, you need to be consistent with your blogging. This means setting aside designated time every day to focus on your writing, marketing, and web design.

There isn’t a perfect answer to “how much” you need to do. More isn’t always better, but consistency is always best.

Connect With Other Bloggers

Although it may seem counterintuitive, networking with other like-minded bloggers can improve your blog – and your reputation.

Building relationships with other bloggers can open valuable opportunities including:

• guest posting
• collaboration posts
• backlinking
• referrals for services/products
• interpersonal connection

Moreover, many bloggers are eager to share their ideas with new bloggers. Send out a friendly email and introduce yourself.

Final Thoughts on Your Self Help Blog

We’re in a time where readers are hungry for information and self-growth. If you’re passionate about helping others, a self help blog can help highlight your passion in dynamic ways.

Are you ready to get started? Check out our blogging resources today! Let’s get your site moving!

The average American has 2.6 credit cards. That means, they have 2.6 ways to spend money they don’t have, accrue debt via interest, and fall into financial ruin…

That’s what some financial experts would say anyway.

The truth about credit cards though is that, if you use them responsibly, they actually pay you to carry them.

That’s right!

When you think about it that way, the average American actually is carrying 2.6 income streams.

How do credit cards pay users you ask? Through awesome cash back and travel rewards!

There are thousands of credit cards out there that will offer you cash back or other rewards on the things you buy that you can exchange for the stuff you love. If you pay off your card in full each month, you’ll get all of those benefits without paying a dime in interest.

Here’s how to choose a credit card that offers the best rewards!

1. Understand Where Your Credit is At

Unfortunately, rewards credit cards are only for people who have decent credit. As a matter of fact, the best ones are only for people who have excellent credit.

That’s why your first step when asking “how to choose a credit card that offers rewards” should be to figure out what your credit score is.

If you start applying for rewards cards whiteout knowing your score, you run a high chance of rejection. Every time you get rejected, your credit score will go down slightly.

Armed with knowledge of your score though, you’ll be able to apply for cards that are within reasonable range of what you know you qualify for.

To figure out your credit score, consider using free credit checking tools like Mint.

2. Figure Out What Kind of Rewards You Want

Different credit cards offer different kinds of rewards.

Some offer airline points for a specific airline. Some offer travel points you can use on all airlines. Others offer cashback that takes money off  your monthly statement.

Understanding what kind of reward is the most valuable to you will help narrow down your choices substantially.

In my opinion, unless you fly with a certain airline religiously, avoid rewards cards that only give you points on a particular airline. Credit cards that offer more flexible points like BMO world elite will give you much more in the way of redemption options.

3. Do You Qualify For a Business Card?

If you think the kind of rewards personal credit cards give consumers are impressive, wait until you see what business cards offer.

Some business cards offer $1000.00 worth of travel rewards just for signing up for them (and meeting certain qualifications).

If you have a business (yes, a freelance business counts) see what your options are as far as business-focused cards go. Doing so could help you accrue rewards a lot faster than you would with a personal credit card.

4. Compare and Contrast Sign Up Bonuses

One of the biggest perks you’ll get from your credit card is a sign-up bonus. Sign up bonuses are a lump sum of rewards some credit card companies give to consumers just for choosing their card.

There is one catch though…

In order to get the sign-up bonus that’s promised, you’ll have to spend a certain amount of money within 3 months of you receiving your card.

This “minimum spend” amount varies based on how big your sign-up bonus is.

So, if a sign up bonus was $100.00, you may only have to spend $300.00 in three months. If the sign-up bonus was a $1000.00 however, you might have to spend $4000.00 in three months to claim it.

Pick the card with the best sign up bonus that you think you can meet the minimum spending requirements for.

5. Assess The Rate in Which You’ll Receive Rewards

After you get your sign up bonus, your credit card will keep giving you rewards with every purchase you make (which makes for a low effort way to earn passive income). The rate at which you’ll get rewards on purchases though varies from card to card.

Some cards may offer you 3% cash back on purchases while others may only offer you 1%.

Obviously, you should pick the card that’s offering you the highest cash back percentage.

6. Watch Out for Annual Fees

Some credit cards offer big sign up bonuses and high cash back/rewards points percentages but charge consumers annual fees.

These fees can be anywhere from $49.00 per year to $600.00 per year.

The higher your annual fee is, the better your card perks may be. Because of that, if you spend a lot each year, your perks will usually outweigh your fees substantially.

If you don’t spend that much though, you may end up losing a ton of money if your annual fee is too high.

You don’t need an annual fee to get decent rewards from your credit card. So, if you’re not sure whether or not a fee is right for you, just start with a card that doesn’t ask for one.

7. Apply

If you’ve assessed potential credit cards per my tips above, all that’s left to do is apply!

Make sure you fill our your card applications completely (and honestly) and wait to hear back.

Sometimes approval is instant. Other times it takes 2-3 weeks to hear back.

Be patient and once you get your credit card, be sure to always pay off your balances in full each month so you never end up paying any money in interest!

Wrapping Up How to Choose a Credit Card with Great Rewards

My tips above should help you to easily answer your how to choose a credit card with great rewards questions.

Take them to heart and enjoy getting paid to use your cards!

Want more information on passive income, credit card hacks, and how to make money online? If so, check out my new content Blog Ninja today!

Trying to write a blog that’s successful and efficient is often like having to learn a whole new language. Terms you’ve never heard of are now essential to communicating with the people you want to reach.

Search engine optimization, white hat and black hat, backlinks, keywords and keyword stuffing are all things you hear.

Do you really know what any of them mean or how to effectively use them to help you get noticed online?

Today we’re going to answer a few of those questions like what is stuffing and how does it apply to SEO?

Unlike the stuffing you eat at Thanksgiving, this kind of stuffing isn’t a good thing.

In this guide, we’ll tell you what keyword stuffing is and why you need to avoid it at all costs.

What is Search Engine Optimization?

Search Engine Optimization is having content that gets recognized by search engine algorithms so that you rank higher. There are several ways to improve your ranking by considering the hundreds of factors that affect your position in their results pages.

There are good ways and not so good ways to accomplish search engine optimization. Not every effort yeilds the results you’re hoping for and some are even counter-productive.

White Hat SEO

White Hat SEO isn’t just effective with search engines. It’s written with the human visitor in mind rather than focusing solely on algorithms. Content is created to fill the needs of the searcher as well as the search engine.

Blog posts are filled with information that the reader will find helpful, entertaining and educational. It is done in a way that also takes into account the factors that search engines look for.

Keywords and links are strategically placed throughout the content to benefit your SEO strategy without compromising the quality of the content. You design your website and sitemap to be search engine optimized while always focusing on the reader.

It’s a balancing act that takes a knowledgeable and experienced staff or a hired company specializing in SEO service.

Black Hat SEO

Black Hat SEO is a practice that focuses all its efforts on search engine algorithms and doesn’t care about reader satisfaction.

Many people think if they fill their pages with backlinks and stuff their content with keywords that they’ll get noticed and ranked higher by search engine algorithms. This is often referred to as keyword stuffing.

What is Stuffing? Why Shouldn’t You Do It?

Keyword stuffing is when you fill meta tags, page content or backlink text with keywords in hopes of unfairly rating better and showing up higher in the results displayed to searchers.

It’s like cheating at search engine optimization. And while it may work to get you ranked higher to begin with it can actually damage your reputation, your ranking in the long run and your business.

Once search engine algorithms discover what you’re doing, you’ll be considered less reputable and rank less.

How Does Keyword Stuffing Hurt Business?

Search engine users are looking for information. They want to find the most accurate and helpful site for the topic they’re searching.

If your site ranks in the first few results because of keyword stuffing but doesn’t provide visitors with the information they really want, they’ll go to a site that does. Often they’ll never return to your site. You’ll have lost the chance for a customer or follower to see the good things you have to offer.

Search engines want to give their searchers the most accurate and relevant results when they look for information. If you only provide keywords stuffed onto a page either visibly or in tags and link text, without giving the visitors what they want, you’ll eventually be figured out and it will hurt your ranking in the future.

So now you’ve lost ranking and customers by trying to take shortcuts and cheat on your search engine optimization strategies.

Focus on What You Know Best

Your website and blog shouldn’t be designed for search engines. Yes, you need to consider them when coming up with a strategy. When you have quality content and an effective plan you can make your clients happy and climb your way to the top of the results page.

What is stuffing going to do for you if you get penalized in the long run? Stick to quality content and a solid strategy to ensure long-lasting results.

For more tips on creating a successful blog and other website tips bookmark our website today and check out our great resources.

If your website is new, you’re going to need to find ways to generate traffic. Without an existing audience, the best way you can do that is through Google.

Over 90% of web traffic comes from the sites listed on the first page of a Google search, but getting listed on that first page isn’t easy.

You need the right search engine optimization strategy to help boost your Google ranking to end up on the first page. But what factors are Google looking for when they’re deciding on their search rankings?

Let’s help you out by listing the 7 most important site factors to remember for your website.

Good, Well Written Content

Your site is only as good as your content. You’re offering something to your users to digest, and whatever your site’s purpose, the text is going to form the majority of what’s on offer.

The quality of your content is one of the most important factors for Google when they analyze your site to determine your site ranking. Getting your website to the top of Google means ensuring your content meets their standards.

So what does Google expect from your website content?

At a basic level, your content needs to be well written and free from grammatical errors. Proofreading software like Grammarly can help you optimize your written content, and this blog can help you make sense of the pros and cons.

You should also limit your use of any targeting keywords in your content, the words that people type when they make a search. Insert them naturally, and don’t overdo it.

Well written content should also offer something. If you write 2,000 words on a topic, who is it aimed at? Does it have a purpose?

Simply writing content filled with “fluff” that doesn’t achieve anything won’t rank highly. Content like this is more likely to be poorly written and lack the SEO signals that Google look for.

Mobile Optimization

We’re not just searching for websites on our desktop PCs or laptops in the age of the smartphone. That’s why Google decided to move toward a mobile-first search platform earlier this year.

Ultimately, if you want to be at the top of search results from now on, your site has to be optimized for mobile devices. If you don’t, your site ranking will be hurt. You definitely won’t be reaching the first page.

Start by visiting your website on your smartphone. Is your site easy to navigate, and are there any obvious problems?

If your visitors can navigate your site as well as they could on a desktop PC, that’s a good start. Make it easy to scroll through, and make sure your layout resizes to suit varied screen sizes using a responsible mobile site design.

Keep mobile content short and sweet, too. Short paragraphs, with easy to read sentences that display well on smaller screen sizes. If your visitors can’t read your content with ease, the Google spider won’t, either.

Domain Age and Authority

It isn’t just the signs that you can see that affect your Google ranking. The history of your domain name itself can have an impact, as can its age.

If it’s a brand new domain with no prior history of registration, Google can’t use this metric to judge your site. This doesn’t harm your site, but it will take time to build your site’s domain profile.

One way to judge the quality of your domain overall is to use something called Domain Authority. It’s a metric developed by the SEO powerhouse company Moz that looks at various factors, from your backlink profile to your domain’s age.

Your site gets a DA score out of 100 to help you judge the health of your domain. New domains will start at the bottom, while the highest authority sites (such as government agencies or the Google site itself) will be at the top.

If you’ve got a score that’s low, your DA ranking can grow by implementing some of our ideas here. The higher the score, the harder it is for your score to grow.

External and Internal Links

One of the most important elements of search engine optimization is your links, both external and internal. They help Google to judge your content better through the company it keeps.

If your site is being linked to from authority sites within your niche, or from other sites with a high profile like news sites, Google will consider this as a positive. It also helps if your links add to the usefulness of the content.

Directing users to other pages on your site that are relevant can help the Google spider made a judgment about your content, too. External links help to do the same job, especially to or from higher authority pages.

Internal links help your users navigate and aid Google in crawling through your content, while external links help to boost (or damage) your site’s reputation.

Page Speed and Site Hosting

You’ve got two seconds to make an impression with your website. That’s how long you have for a site to load and for it to engage your visitors before they click off.

Two seconds isn’t a lot of time, so you better make it count by optimizing your site for speed and readability. Again, content is king when it comes to engagement, so focus on building content suitable for mobile.

But when it comes to site speed? That’s all about the technical elements. Every plugin you add into a WordPress installation can help to slow your site down, but a slow web host can cause you damage, too.

Here are 20 technical improvements you can make to your website to help speed it up for your visitors.

Social Signals

Google isn’t afraid to branch out from its typical quality metrics when new opportunities arise, which is why social signals are another SEO technique for users looking to improve their blog ranking.

Social signals are exactly how they sound – they’re signals of your site’s engagement on, and with, social media networks like Facebook and Twitter.

Likes, retweets, social sharing, and the number of views from social media all help Google determine whether your site is popular.

If your site has a higher amount of positive social engagement, it gives your site a better reputation, and through that, more authority within your niche. More authority means a likely higher Google rank position.

Sitemap

You might not have thought about your sitemap, but if you haven’t, you’re making it harder for Google to analyze your site and each of your site pages.

A sitemap isn’t a map for you or your visitors. It’s a map for the Google web spider to help search through your site. Submitting it to Google via the Google Search Console can help speed up the process of ranking each page.

It can help you hide pages you don’t want to rank, but it helps to build up your site’s profile through your sitemap. More high-quality content available for the Google spider to analyze shows that your site is active and useful for visitors.

Need help creating a sitemap for your website? If you’re running a WordPress site, then take a look at our sitemap creation guide to help you set one up.

Rank Your Site Well with These Site Factors in Place

If you don’t rank well on search engines like Google, you’re not going to see growth in visitor numbers to your website.

Whether your site is personal or business-related, you need a strategy for growth, and implementing these SEO site factors will help you. Good content, a social media strategy, and an optimized site are your building blocks.

Of course, if you’ve never owned your own site or blog before, you’re going to need more pointers than that. Check out our resources on building your own blog to help you get started.

In the past during the Wild West era of the Internet, many businesses struggled to connect with their audience.

They were forced to rely on non-digital methods such as print and radio advertising in order to get their name out there.

But, in 2018, the Internet offers more capabilities than ever before for entrepreneurs, and one of the most effective is blogging.

Having high-quality blog content on your company’s site allows people to find you on Google, and can lead them to provide you with their personal info or make a purchase. It’s simply too useful of a tool to forego.

Let’s take a look at seven reasons you need to incorporate a blog strategy into your business’s marketing plan.

1. Brand Awareness

While it’s important to always strive to deliver a quality product/service to your customers, it won’t mean much if nobody knows about your company.

But, having a blog that provides readers with relevant, quality content is a great way for people to learn about what your brand has to offer.

With proper keyword research and a solid SEO strategy, you’ll be able to ensure that members of your target audience find the content you post, at which point they’ll have the opportunity to explore the rest of your website and find out what you can do for them.

2. Establish Authority in Your Industry

Trust is crucial in all aspects of life.

People are much more likely to make a purchase from a company that they trust.

But, you can’t expect your audience to have this sentiment about your brand without offering them something first. That’s where blogging comes into play.

When you share useful insights and information about your industry that your audience can benefit from, they’ll develop a respect for you and begin to see you as an authoritative source in the space.

As with brand awareness, this will lead to more interest in your brand, which will, in turn, lead to more sales.

3. Connect with Your Audience

People love to buy goods and services, but nobody likes to feel like they are being sold something. If your brand comes off as a faceless entity that only wants to move as much money into your pockets as possible, your audience won’t have anything to relate to.

However, a strong blog strategy will offer your readers an inside look at who you are as a brand and provide a level of humanization that’s difficult to achieve through other methods.

It’s also a great channel to convey your beliefs, interests, and even insight into who you (and your team members) are as a person.

To learn more about what’s working well for other brands and businesses, take a look at this Zappos social media case study. At the end of the day, it’s all about relating to your audience and giving them what they want, while also gaining their trust and business in the process.

4. Increase Your Site’s Google Ranking

As previously mentioned, you’re going to have a hard time making any sales if nobody knows who you are. The simple truth is that you’re going to have to increase your Google ranking if you want anyone to see you online.

Luckily, blogging is one of the most efficient ways to get your site on the first page of Google, which will drastically increase the number of people who come across your website.

As a business, this is invaluable when it comes to boosting your online presence.

Your ranking will also grow exponentially as your site generates more traffic and you post more content, as you’ll create more opportunities for people to find you on search engines.

If you need some help getting traffic to your site, businesses like Sweetgrass Marketing have all the tools you need to help achieve this.

5. Potential for Sharing

When it comes to getting content out on the Internet, there are few things more beneficial than having someone share your blog posts.

This is especially true if a business that has a similar audience as you share your content with its followers, as you’ll have access to a vast amount of people you may have not been able to reach on your own.

To help achieve this, you should make sure that it’s as easy as possible for your readers to share your content. A simple method is having one-click buttons to share with their social media followers.

The type of content you create should be shareable, too. Blog posts such as how-to’s and “listicles” are great options when looking to encourage your audience to share your content.

6. Increase Conversions

Having a blog that you consistently upload quality posts to will show your audience that you are active on your site and constantly generating topic ideas to write about.

If you bought something online, would you buy it from a brand that’s active every day or one that hasn’t posted in three months? If it looks like nobody’s home, don’t expect anyone to come knocking.

When you convey that your site has life to it, people will be more likely to make a purchase form your business. Your high level of activity will also show that you’re going to respond quickly to any potential your customers may have.

7. Gather Contact Information

Even if you can’t make a sale right away, you can still use your blog posts as a method to acquire your readers’ contact info.

When you get their email address, you can add it to your mailing list and send them specialized offers in the future. When backed by a carefully-crafted email marketing copy, you’ll see a nice upward trend in sales over time.

Efficient ways to get this information is to offer readers something in return for it, such as the opportunity to sign up for a weekly newsletter.

Offering free downloads, such as eBooks or guides, is another great method to get your audience to provide you with their contact info.

Developing a Blog Strategy Can Seem Difficult…

But it doesn’t have to be. The truth is, a good blog strategy all starts with knowing who your audience is and what they’re looking for. The rest will fall into place as you go along.

Not sure where to start? Feel free to contact us and see how we can help you.

Are you currently happy with the look and feel of your website? What about your audience… how do they feel? When it comes to your site design, this is something you simply can’t skimp on and hope for the best.

Close to 75% of all small businesses use the power of blogging to increase consumer engagement and sales leads. Whether you’re blogging to attract attention to your business or to give the world your point of view, having an appealing website is essential.

Rushing through the building of a blogging website will usually result in several mistakes getting made. Rather than having to deal with the fallout from these mistakes, you need to take your time to ensure all your bases are covered.

Instead of trying to handle the blog design and website building process alone, you should reach out to professionals. With this professional assistance, you can bring your vision of the perfect blog site to life.

Read below for some great blog design tips.

1. Blog Design Starts with Using the Right Fonts

The first decision you’ll need to make in relation to your blog design is what type of fonts to use. Usually, a bit of trial and error is required when trying to make this important decision.

When choosing fonts for your site, avoid using too many. Having too many different fonts can be both confusing and very unappealing.

Ideally, you want to use a font that is easy to read and large for the header section. When it comes to your body text font, you need to avoid getting too fancy. If the font you choose is reminiscent of calligraphy, it may be very hard to read.

2. Utilizing the Power of Color

Making sure your blog page is colorful is also important. Having a primary color, a grey shade, and a call-to-action color is a good idea.

The primary color you choose should be something eye-catching and easy to look at. Instead of going too harsh with the coloring, think about using a lighter color like blue.

The shade of grey coloring on your site is there to emphasize certain aspects of the web design. Typically, this coloring will be found on page headers and other elements that need to stand out.

Your call-to-action color will need to be used sparingly to maintain its impact. Limiting the use of this color will make it stand out more. Making sure visitors to the website notice the calls to action your page is an essential part of garnering sales leads.

3. Don’t Make Reading the Content Hard for Visitors

Some newcomers to the world of web design have a tendency to make their design too complicated. While having an appealing and original site is important, you need to focus on functionality above all else.

If visitors to your blog site are unable to read the content due to a cumbersome design or misplaced menus, they’re less likely to come back. You want to provide your visitors with the ability to scan your content with ease.

Making this process too difficult is a recipe for disaster. Arranging your content on the page properly may require you to seek out some professional web design help.

4. Be Mindful of Page Load Speeds

While putting a lot of pictures and videos on your blog site can make it look great, it can also lead to slow page loading speeds. If a page features lots of high-definition pictures and videos, it could cause visitors to have to wait for it to load.

The modern consumer has a notoriously short attention span. This means that if your pages take forever to load, you’re bound to lose a number of visitors.

The best way to fix this issue is by compressing the media files you currently have and removing some unneeded design elements. Looking at your blog site objectively will allow you to see where you can trim some of the fat.

5. Your Content Needs to Be Readable

Another mistake you should avoid with your blog is putting large blocks of text on your pages. Failing to properly structure your existing content can make it hard for readers to scan.

Rather than putting large blocks of text on your page, think about breaking it up with subheadings and bullet points. With these elements, readers can scan the content to find the information they’re looking for.

When putting new blogs on your site, be sure to proofread them. Having blogs filled with errors can lead to readers losing interest. While proofreading all of your content will be time-consuming, it’s well worth the effort considering the mistakes it will help you avoid.

6. A Mobile-Friendly Website Is a Must

Did you realize that there are nearly 4 billion mobile users on the internet around the world? In the fast-paced world of today, people have to get their news and browse the internet on the go.

Making sure your website appeals to mobile users is a must. If your site is not responsive, it will alienate a large portion of your audience.

Are you curious about how to use a mobile design to your advantage? If so, you can check it out here and see how some of the top design agencies are tweaking client websites and blogs to not only make them mobile-responsive but also loading faster and minimizing distractions as well. They are all key factors when it comes to the overall engagement and usage of a website — especially when being accessed through a mobile device.

Most mobile users will quickly sign off of a site that requires them to resize all of the pages. With the assistance of an experienced web designer, getting a responsive website will be a breeze.

7. Showcase Your Best Content on Your Homepage

The first thing a visitor to your blog will notice is the appearance of your homepage. Using this space to showcase some of your best content is a good idea.

If you have articles that have produced a lot of traffic for your site, linking them to your homepage is a good idea. Enticing visitors with your most popular content on the homepage will usually make them stick around to read your newer blogs.

A Great Blog Design Requires Professional Assistance

Trying to figure out and implement all the elements of a blog design alone can lead to mistakes being made. This is why hiring an experienced web designer is a good idea.

Are you looking for information on how to start your own blog? If so, we can help.

Check out our resource page for valuable info. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us today!