One of us moms here at Mom’s Blog Resource was convinced she could fix the problem on her own. So she stubbornly refused to ask for help and attempted to do what she could, which wasn’t much. Finally, she gave in and turned to Hostgator, the hosting company of the site, to see if they could help. Within an hour, one of the Hostgator techs had the site back up and running.

So if you’ve ever considered hosting your own domain, if you don’t already, but the thought of weeding through hosting companies was intimidating, Hostgator is a fantastic option. We recommend them with 100% confidence. Now, no one and no company is perfect all the time, but Hostgator comes pretty close.

Hostgator’s “Baby Croc” plan allows you to host an unlimited number of domains for just $9.95 per month. They also guarantee 99.9% uptime. And perhaps best of all, as we know from first hand experience, they have live chat support available 24 hours per day. They are currently running a special summer promotion off 20% off by using the code “BEACH.” This offer expires August 1st.

If you have any questions about hosting your own domain or Hostgator in general, please feel free to ask and we’ll do our best to answer.

Of all the successful blogs on the Internet, hundreds more have failed. Running a blog is like running a business website. Unless you are willing to put the time in and treat it seriously, you won’t be blogging long.

That is not to say that the failed bloggers weren’t serious about blogging. Mostly, new bloggers aren’t prepared for the work that goes into creating a successful blog. Just building the blog doesn’t mean that people will necessarily come to you. You pursue the audience and give them a reason to see what you have to say.

1.    Fresh Content – no one wants to visit a blog day after day and see the same posts. Update your blog content at least twice a week. This will be easier if you write several posts ahead of time and upload them at the appropriate times.

2.    Article Marketing – the niche you’ve chosen for your blog is one that interests you. If it is interesting you will spend more time doing it. Create content not only for your blog but also to be submitted to article directories. Use the resource box to advertise your blog so people can find you. There are tons of article directories out there. If you’re not familiar with them, here is a great list of the Top 50 Article Directories.

3.    Social Networking – these sites are everywhere. Join Facebook, MySpace, Squidoo, Twitter or a dozen others and make connections. You can join groups of like minded people who are also bloggers or entrepreneurs. These communities are loyal to those in their “following,” and in addition to upping your traffic, you can create friendships with loyal supporters.

4.    Viral Marketing – this is where you spread the word about your blog. Talk to friends, family and even strangers. Give out business cards that have your blog address on them.

5.    Use RSS Feeds – RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication.” Readers can subscribe to your feed and read in a reader or get email updates when new content is posted. It is an easy way for them to keep up with your blog without spending all day online. Visit Feedburner to set up your RSS feed.

6.    Submit Your Blog to Search Engines – doing this allows your blog to be ranked. Google and Yahoo! are two of the most popular search engines you want to crawl your blog pages. It doesn’t guarantee top ranking, though. You’ll have to do a little more work for that. This step is becoming less neccasary though as search engines, especially Google, are huge supporters of blogs and seem to crawl blog content without any extra work on your part. A quick way to test this is to “google” your blog or some topics you’ve written about and see where you come up in the search listings.

7.    Joining Forums – as a blogger you are a budding entrepreneur. Right now you are marketing yourself to find traffic and then profit. Become a member of forums to meet new people and share ideas. You can add a link to your blog in the signature line so others can find you.

8.    Visit other blogs – show your appreciation to those who visit you by also posting comments on their blogs. It is a kindness that shows others you are not just out to advertise your blog alone. Add links to your blog in your comments. But remember to keep these Commenting Do’s and Don’ts in mind.

9.    SEO Marketing – whatever you write, use relevant keywords. Keyword density between three and ten percent is good for getting higher page rankings in search engines. Base your keywords on a research you do to find the most popular words used in search engines for your niche. Wordtracker offers a fabulous free tool for researching keywords.

10.    Social Bookmarking – submitting posts to social bookmarking sites allows others who are members of those sites to track you back to your blog. Some of the most popular social bookmarking sites are Digg, StumbleUpon, Kirtsy and del.icio.us. However, make sure you read through the terms and conditions of these sites before you submit your own posts. Some of them will penalize you if you do that, perhaps even suspending your account. It’s also a good idea to have bookmarking links on your blog to make bookmarking easier for your readers.

Using any of these ideas will start the traffic moving in your direction. It takes time but you will build the readership you want.

If you’re interested in studying an in-depth course on blogging for profit, check out Blogger’s Paycheck. The program is chock full of information, ideas, tips, and proven methods.

There is! It’s called Blog Energizer.

Blog Energizer is a fantastic blogging resource site that is filled with endless content ideas, promotion opportunities, and networking and connection opportunities.

If you have a busy life with a strong desire to keep your blog full of content on a daily basis, even when the kids are sick or you’re on vacation, Blog Energizer is the answer.

There is a ton of free content on the site that is yours for the taking. Go grab some of it and put a little energy back into your blog!

The nicest thing about the drafts of a blog is that no one will ever see them but you. Until you hit that publish button, you can play around with your drafts as much as you want.

Say you have a great idea for a blog post and a few perfect sentences already written in your mind but no idea where to take it from there. Start a draft post, add those sentences, and then let it sit until you have more time or more thoughts.

Or say you are hit with a brainstorm of post ideas. Start a draft for each idea, give them a generic title (unless you already have the perfect title) and maybe a few words to remind you what you want to write about. Next time you are ready to blog but aren’t sure what to write about, you can just look through your drafts and see if inspiration hits.

Best of all, when you use your draft section, you’ll never have to worry about losing a handwritten list of thoughts or not having them with you when you sit down to blog. All of your ideas will be there already, just waiting for you to finish them.

We do this at Mom’s Blog Resource and it really is a great way to keep track of posting ideas.

1. Ask questions. At the end of your post, invite readers to share what they think about the subject.  Or ask them for a tip or to share their experience or expertise.
2. Respond to questions. Make an effort to answer all questions asked in comments.  Many times I’ll email the commenter directly.  However, if it’s a question or particularly poignant comment that others might be interested in, I respond in the comments section also.
3. Reciprocate. When a blogger comments on your site, try to visit their site also and leave a comment.  This will become more difficult as your traffic increases and you receive more feedback, but do it as time allows.
4. Write from the heart on an emotionally-charged topic. Vanilla posts will only get you so far.  It is sometimes difficult to share strong opinions, and you very well may hear from readers who disagree with your point of view, but heartfelt posts do encourage reader interaction.

Do you have other tips for getting your comment-fix?  Please, do tell!

Photo by AllPosters.com

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. The vast majority of blog readers aren’t readers at all; they are skimmers.  If that.  Give your readers a reason to pause. Reel in an audience by implementing the following blogging fundamentals.

• Eye Candy – Very few successful bloggers write posts without any visual stimulation.  Include your own photos or a graphic to draw wandering eyes.
• Length of Post – Because most readers skim through posts, there is no reason to use more words than necessary.  Whenever possible, keep your posts short and to the point.  If a topic requires more explanation, consider breaking it into two or more articles.
• Grouping Information – It’s easier to read bullets or numbered lists than endless paragraphs.  Highlight the main points with bold text or a different font size or color.
• Paragraphing – Long paragraphs will not be read.  It is incredibly difficult for they eye to track more than 5 or 6 lines without spacing.  Use that return key often.
• Editing – It is difficult to take one seriously if their spelling or grammar are off kilter.  Be sure to edit all posts before publishing.  If this is a challenge, consider swapping editing duties with a blogging buddy.

As a reader, what makes you pause and really read a post?  What causes you to skim through or skip a post altogether?

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.

Graphic from AllPosters.com

One easy way to increase your traffic and build readership is to participate in blog carnivals, or memes. Memes are hosted by another blogger and are usually based on a weekly or monthly theme.  For example, Frugal Friday is hosted every Friday over at Life as Mom.  FishMama includes Mr. Linky and invites other bloggers to link up a frugal ideas or tips post they have written.

Not only does meme participation increase traffic to your site, but it also helps you to focus your writing. On the days when you’re suffering from writer’s block, a meme topic might just get those wheels a turnin’.  If you join in regularly with a certain meme, you will quickly become part of that blogging community, building readership and relationships.

Meme etiquette is fairly universal, and it’s polite to follow the rules.

• Link to your specific post permalink, not your blog’s main page.
• Always include a link in your post back to the meme.
• Stick with the host’s intended theme.  Don’t link up a random post just for traffic purposes.
• It’s also nice to visit other participants’ linked posts.  While not necessary to click on every single one, do pick a few to visit and leave a thoughtful comment.
• When entering your information into Mr. Linky, be sure to keep it brief and leave spaces.  Long words cause formatting problems for the host.

Visit our Memes page for a comprehensive list of blog carnivals.

Photo by AllPosters.com

As a new blogger you have high aspirations for sharing your endless knowledge, your funny stories, and your most humble (or not) opinions.  You want others to try your tastiest recipes and your favorite household tips.  You desire to unleash your inner writer and make a difference in your corner of the blogosphere.

But what do you really want? What you really want is for someone to read your posts! I can remember refreshing my stats page every hour 30 minutes after those first few posts, giddy when I saw that someone was reading.  Even better was when one of my posts received a comment.  Oh, happy day!

If you want readers, you’ve got to get the word out that you’re writing.

• Linking to memes, or blog carnivals, is an easy way to direct readers to your site.  Try this comprehensive list of memes to get you started.
• Read and comment on other blogs. Make it a thoughtful or thought provoking comment, and other readers might click on your comment to check out your blog and see what else you have to say.  Commenting is also an excellent way to build relationships with other bloggers.
• Use SEO friendly titles in your posts. Skip the cutsie stuff, and get right to the point.  You want a search engine to retrieve your article.  Think like a reader and use keywords that would help find your post.
• Join Twitter and/or Facebook and leave a link to your latest work.
• Write a guest post for another blog. I’ve seen many a request for guest posters via Twitter.  Also, it can’t hurt to email a blogger with a guest post proposal.
  
• Apply as a contributing writer for another website.  Blissfully Domestic and Happy to be at Home are often looking for bloggers.  Be prepared to offer writing samples from your site.

What other ideas do you have for increasing blog traffic?

Graphic by AllPosters.com