Archive for September, 2008

Before I get on with how to get started on MySpace, here a short brief on what is Myspace about. MySpace is simply an online community. An online community which offers register members the tools they need to create a website for other members of the community to view. MySpace will hosts your websites and provides many features and one of them is the search features which enables you, visitors to find information about particular members or members who have certain hobbies.

Getting started on MySpace

Opening a MySpace Account

The process of opening a MySpace account is fairly simple and takes place almost instantly. Members who wish to join the online community only have to provide some basic information and agree to the terms of service to be granted membership. The basic information which is required to request membership is a full name, a valid email address and a password containing alpha and numeric characters.

After supplying this information and checking a box which states you agree to the terms of service your application process is complete. You are then sent an email with a welcome letter and a link which will activate your account. You only need to click on this link and enter your email address and password to activate your account.

Understanding the Terms of Service

Reading and agreeing to the terms of service is required for membership to the MySpace community but members should review these terms regularly and should be sure they understand all of the terms. This is important because violation of these terms could result in the member’s account being deleted or legal action being taken against the individual. Some of the highlights of the terms of service are:

* Members must be at least 14 years of age and must report their age accurately.

* Members are responsible for keeping their password secret and reporting suspected cases of others using their password.

* Commercial use of MySpace is prohibited unless prior authorization from MySpace is received.

* Users must not publish any copyrighted materials on their website without permission.

* Members may not post content which is prohibited by the terms of service.

Designing a MySpace Website

The process of designing a MySpace website is one of the most exciting parts of membership for many. It is also one of the most complicated part of the membership. However, it is not incredibly difficult and even those with limited HTML or other design skills can create a great website.

MySpace members have a great deal of control over the appearance and content of their website. They are only limited by their own design skills. The homepage for your MySpace account features the following links:

* Edit Profile

* Account Settings

* Add/Edit Photos

* Add/Change Videos

* Manage Calendar

* Manage Blog

* Manage Address Book

The “Edit Profile” section is the one which allows members to add the bulk of the content to their profile. This section is broken down into subcategories such as interests & personality, name, basic info, background & lifestyle, schools, companies, networking and profile songs. Some of these subcategories, such as the interests & personality section, contain titles with text boxes where members can add text and HTML code to modify the appearance of their website.

During the design process, members can preview either individual sections or the entire profile. Other sections, such as the background and lifestyle section, have a series of questions where members can supply answers with pull down menus or radial buttons.

These features make it easy for members to supply basic information about themselves in a quick and easy fashion. They only have to give an answer to the questions and MySpace integrates the answers into the design of the website.

Technorati Tags: ,

Leave your Comment

Most webmasters publisher know that Adsense can generates a sizable source of additional advertising income. This is the reason why most of them go after high paying keywords. They have with them the lists that tells what the keywords are and have already used various methods of identifying them. And yet, after putting up these supposed-to-be high paying keywords into their pages, the money they expected to come rolling in is not really coming in.

So what went wrong?

Well, having pages with the high paying keywords is one thing. But driving visitors to those pages is another matter and often the factor that is lacking. You need to optimize your website navigation in order to get visitors to your high paying keywords pages.

Stop for a moment and think about how visitors are using your website. After a visitor has landed on a certain page, they have the tendency to click on another page that sounds interesting. They get there because of the other links that appears on a page that they initially landed on. This is site navigation. It is all about enabling visitors to move about your site. And one way of maximizing your Adsense earnings.

A typical website have menu links on each page. The wording on these links is what grabs a visitor’s attention and gets them to click on one of the links that will take them to another page of that website. Links that have “free’ or “download” are often times good attention-grabbers. This navigation logic can also be applied to driving traffic to your high paying pages. There are some websites that are getting a lot of traffic from search engines, but have low earnings. The trick is to try and use come cleverly labeled links to get the visitors off that pages and navigate them to the higher earning ones. This is one great way of turning real cheap clicks to real dollars.

Steps On Testing and Tracking

Before you begin testing, you need to have two things done. Something to track and compare and some high earning pages you want to funnel your site traffic to. An option is to select a few of your frequently visited pages. This is ensuring fast result to come by.

Catchy Description

Think of ways to get visitors viewing a particular page to try and click on the link that will take them to your high earning pages. Come up with a catchy description for that link. Come up with a catchy and unique description for the link. Think of something that people do not get to see everyday. That will trigger their curiosity enough to try and see what that was all about.

Use Graphics

Use graphics to grab your readers’ attention. There is no limitation to what you can do to make your link noticeable. If you are after the success of your site, you will do everything it takes just to achieve that goal. Just be creative. As far as many Adsense advertisers are concerned, there are no written and unwritten laws to follow regarding what they write. Just as long as you do not overstep the guidelines of the search engines.

Location of Link

Place graphics or attention links at the right location on your website. Once the perfect attention grabbing description has been achieved, you have to identify the perfect spot on your page to position that descriptive link to your high paying page. One way is to visit other websites to see how they are going about maximizing their site navigation. “Hot pages” or “Most read” lists are very common and overly used already. Identify the ones that many websites are using and do not try to imitate them.

Use Different Texts on Different Pages

This way you will see the ones that work and what does not. Try to mix things around also. Put links on top and sometimes on the bottom too. This is how you go about testing which ones get more clicks on your high paying keywords and which ones are being ignored.

Let the testing begin. Testing and tracking until you find the site navigation style that works best for you site so as to achieve higher adsense earnings with your defined high paying keywords.

Technorati Tags: ,

Leave your Comment

No doubt about it that there are many blogs and web sites about blogs on the internet, it can be tough to distinguish your blogging web site from all of the others. Whether you are starting up a new web site aimed at bloggers or whether you are looking to make your existing blogging site more distinctive, the key to building and maintaining a site that will capture the interest and attention of the blogging community is finding your niche.

If you can fill a unique need in a way that no other web site does, you’ll be able to build a lasting readership among web surfers. Once you have discovered a niche, you will still have a lot to do, but finding your place in the blogosphere is the place to begin.

Every great blogging web site starts with a great idea, and you can’t build a successful site that will last without one. There are many great sites aimed at today’s bloggers, and competition for the attention of this growing demographic is fierce.

To make your blogging web site stand out from the pack, you will need to offer something that no other site is currently offering, or you will need to do the same thing that an already popular site does but in a more impressive or valuable way.

One way to discover an ideal model for your blogging web site is to look at the sites that have successfully captured a blogging audience already to determine if you can appropriate some of their strategies to help realize your vision. Of course, you will also need to add a unique flair to your project in order to stand apart from your competition.

Many people agree that the web sites that do the best in today’s market are the sites that have the most personality. The fiercely individual surfers who are bloggers are a demographic that responds especially strongly to personality, so consider how you can give your site a unique and attractive feeling by lending your own voice and sensibility to your site’s design and content.

Once you have a great idea for your site, have pinpointed a special niche that you are well equipped to fill, and have infused the site with personality, the next step is figuring out how to get the word out to bloggers. In the long run, a great idea just isn’t enough to propel your blogging web site to success. You will need to draft a smart and realistic marketing plan in order to draw readers to your site.

Once you hook a blogger, your great content will keep them coming back for more, but it is vital for them get that first glance or your site won’t have a chance to shine.

Technorati Tags: ,

Leave your Comment

For first time bloggers, a free blogging web site is a great way to get started in the blogosphere. Popular blogging web sites like blogger and eponym allow users to set up and host a blog without paying any fees at all.

This encourages people to start blogging, because the fact that one of these sites can provide you with all of the tools that you need to get your blog up and running without spending any money means that you have nothing to lose by starting a blog. The fact that it is so easy to find a way to blog for free is one of the reasons why so many people who have never had any other kind of web presence before find themselves drawn to blogging.

By signing up with a free blogging web site, you may find it easier to get listed in search engines that you would if you were starting your own blog from scratch. For example, google runs the free blog hosting site blogspot and crawls its pages very often looking for updates, so if you have your site hosted by blogspot you are almost guaranteed to be listed on google’s blog search engine. This easy access to search engines can take some of the work out of promoting your blog, and can help you gain a following with a minimum of marketing effort.

If your blog attracts a large readership, you may want to consider moving your site. Many people feel that being hosted by a free blogging web site gives a blog a kind of amateur flavor that is fine for a new member of the blogosphere, but is not appropriate for a high-profile blog.

Having your own domain can help you make your blog feel professional, and finding a company that will host your domain is not difficult or expensive. Once your blog takes off, you will probably be able to sell enough advertising space to be able to afford to buy a domain and pay for a hosting package, and still have money left over. However, it does not make sense in most cases to invest in these glossy luxuries before you have a sizable readership.

Starting your blog on a free blogging web site is a great way to build a following before you spend any money on your blog. If and when your blog becomes popular and you are ready to take the next step and purchase your own domain, your readers will follow you to your new home.

The fact that it is now possible to use a free blog host like blogspost, blogger, or eponym as a kind of incubator for your blog is great news for bloggers everywhere.

Technorati Tags: , ,

Leave your Comment

Videoblogging is the next generation of posting ideas and products over the internet. Everybody knows about textblogging. Now they use videos for a better way of expression. This form of communication may entail a lot of resources, but it is all worth it. If pictures say a thousand words, videoblogging exceeds that by far.

A videoblog requires larger disk spaces on websites, a faster server, and a whole new set of programs to support it. Videoblogs can be fed through RSS. This is technology of syndicating your website to other RSS aggregators.

Videoblogging works with people on the internet expressing their selves. Now if you put this on a business prospective, you are up to a lot of benefits. Think of it as a powerful tool in making showing your prospective customers your line of products or your services. It’s just like showing a commercial all for free. And if you videoblog through RSS, then most probably you are getting your target market.

People like to see what they are going to buy. Some would like to see proof and be sure that they are getting their money’s worth before shelving their dimes on it. All of us know the influence of a thirty second commercial. The effect of videoblogging is similar to that. You show your product, people watch it. If they like it, they buy it. If you present it good enough, they’ll buy the product even if they don’t need it.

Now on the web, things are pretty much static, unlike in television in which all are moving. If you post something that is mobile, it would most likely catch attention. Now imaging your product parading in all it’s royalty through videoblog. You’ll get phone call orders in no time.

If your business is just starting up, you can create a videoblog right at your own home. All you need is your web camera, microphone, video software, and lights. For as long as you know how to use your camera, then you can create a videoblog.

Invest in a good web camera. The higher its resolution is the better the output. And you like to present your goods in the optimum way so get the best one possible. Make a short story, or just capture your goods in one go. Just make sure you are getting the best profile for each. Get those creativity juices flowing.

Lights are important in a production. Make sure you illuminate entirely the area you are going to use to create videoblog. The brighter the area, the crispier the images will be. You can also use lighting effects for added appeal to the presentation.

Should you require sounds for your videoblog, you need a microphone. Record you voice as a voice over for promoting the product and its benefit to consumers. Sounds are as important as videos on a videoblog. It is advisable to make your sound effects as enticing as the video.

Your video editing software can be any program. You need this to finalize your work. You can add sounds, delete some bad angles, or insert some still pictures in there too. Some programs are user-friendly and can be used even with zero knowledge on video editing. Even simple video editing programs should do the trick. Select your background carefully too. The light affects the presentation so make sure that the background and the light complements each other.

Videoblogging is a great tool but it also has it downside. It may slow down the computer so other may steer clear of it. Download time may also be time consuming especially if customer is still on a dial- up connection.

But don’t let those stop you. Let videoblogging be an alternative for you, though it is best to still keep the text and pictures present in your presentation to accommodate all possible viewers of your site.

Nowadays, the more creative you are in presenting your product to the market, the more you are likely to succeed. Videoblogging offers an interactive way of selling. You involve the customers and you instill in them the advantage of your goods. And often those two things are enough to make a sale.

Technorati Tags: , ,

Leave your Comment

MySpace is an online community which can be a fun way for members to meet new friends, reconnect with old friends or make romantic connections. MySpace members who are interested in pursuing these types of activities online are free to create a website which reflects their personality. This will help others to understand who they are and to learn more about their preferences.

Although MySpace offers all of these fun entertainment type activities, there are some members of MySpace who utilize the community for business purposes. They may use MySpace to network, make business connections or to promote their business. In these cases care should be taken to create a MySpace website that is attractive and interesting while maintaining a professional appearance.

Avoid Slang and Abbreviations

One way to maintain a professional appearance on a MySpace website is to avoid the use of slang or abbreviations. Many MySpace websites feature slang, abbreviations and terms which are not grammatically correct. While this type of Internet language may be entertaining and may be considered acceptable among members of the community, this type of writing is not likely to appeal to potential customers or business partners.

Additionally, not everyone understand the cryptic language often used on message boards, text messages and emails and those who do not understand may have trouble reading the information presented on the website.

Keep the Design Tasteful

As previously mentioned, those who are using MySpace strictly for entertainment purposes can design a website according to their personal preferences. This may include unusual fonts, garish colors, offensive images and blaring background music. While this type of design may provide a great deal of insight into an individual’s personality it is not a good idea for a business related website. Therefore those who are using their website for promotion of a business should create a more tasteful design.

There are a few generic tips which can make a website appear more professional. The use of muted colors that complement each other can make a website aesthetically appealing. Users are more likely to spend time on websites with these types of color combinations because it is soothing. Additionally, the use of a common font type and size which makes reading the text simple is recommended. The use of background music should also be avoided in professional websites as many users either do not have speakers or may view the website in a location where they do not want to hear music.

Avoid Embarrassing Photos

Finally, special consideration should be given to the use of photos on a website which is striving to maintain a professional appearance. While those who are using MySpace for entertainment purposes only may opt to plaster their website with embarrassing pictures of them and their friends, those who have business intentions should use photos more judiciously.

The photos used on a business website should invoke a professional sentiment. This may include posed photos of the website owner in a dignified location, landscape photographs or pictures of products sold by the company. Alternately those who are using MySpace to promote products or services might come to the conclusion not to use images as at all. Whether or not pictures are used on a website is a matter of personal preference but when they are used, care should be taken to ensure they contribute to the overall design of the website rather than distract from it.

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Leave your Comment