#INFOGRAPHIC: WordPress vs. Blogger

This infographic captures the comparison between two blogging platforms: Wordpress and Blogger.

Infographic by ID Yeah.

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#INFOGRAPHIC: The Best Times To Post On Social Networks

This infographic from Fannit proposes the best times to post on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest and blogs. Published by Media Bistro.

Explore more infographics like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually.

#Freebies: 30+ FREE Responsive #Blogger & #Wordpress Templates

Download 30+ Responsive Blogger templates and Wordpress themes for free when you like Sociable360 on Facebook

Click here to like and download

100 Useful Blogging Tools

Via DailyTekk:
Some awesome-looking new blogging platforms, tools that can help optimize blog content creation, ways to engage readers and encourage loyalty, tools for enhancing blog performance and security, creative ways to embed media in your posts and much more.

NEW & EMERGING BLOGGING PLATFORMS

1. Jux - Your pictures and words fill the page edge to edge.
2. scriptogr.am - Converts markdown text files in Dropbox into a blog.
3. Svbtle - The essence of blogging.
4. Hoydaa - Lightweight and scalable blogging service for Google Apps users.
5. Compendium - Content marketing software (blogging for businesses).

OPTIMIZE BLOG CONTENT CREATION

1. Zemanta - Blog publishing assistant (recommendations and related items).
2. List.ly - List making made easy, fun and social.
3. DivvyHQ – Spreadsheet-free editorial calendar application.
4. SourceBottle - Connects expert sources with bloggers for free.
5. Webdoc – Enables you to create rich media posts in seconds.
6. ScribbleLive - Cover news in realtime with LivePage and LiveArticle.
7. StoryCrawler - Information-gathering engine. Find unique and meaningful content.
8. CurationSoft - Meet your new content assistant.
9. Listiki – Make lists, share lists, read lists.
10. HARO - Help a Reporter Out. Get qualified sources when you need them.
11. Demolistic – Create, manage and discuss lists.
12. Editz - Allows readers to post corrections (grammar, spelling, factual accuracy, and more).
13. Listography – Create a collection of lists and try the list topic generator.
14. After The Deadline – Spelling, style and grammar checker for WordPress.

ENGAGE BLOG READERS & ENCOURAGE LOYALTY

1. socialbungy - Next-generation social content builder.
2. Livefyre - Supercharge your outdated comment system. Go realtime.
3. BuddyPress – WordPress-powered social networking in a box.
4. Wibiya – Boost your website with interactive features.
5. Zooshia - Create your own social widget.
6. E-MAILiT - Helping social syndication happen better.
7. Disqus - Comments platform with awesome features and powerful tools.
8. Gremln - Professional social media tools (starting at free).
9. NewsPin - Become a social media rockstar. Coming soon.
10. Shareaholic - Social bookmarking and sharing plugin.
11. blogfrog - Communities and conversations for bloggers and brands.

BLOG PERFORMANCE & SECURITY

1. Akamai - Web app acceleration and content delivery.
2. Yottaa – Site speed optimization and website monitoring.
3. AlertBot – Website and service monitoring.
4. CloudFlare - Protects, accelerates and keeps your blog online.
5. VaultPress – Automattic’s official WordPress backup offering.
6. Load Impact – Website load and performance testing.
7. GTmetrix – Website speed and performance optimization testing.
8. Blog Metrics - WP plugin that calculates raw author contribution/conversion rate.
9. Pingdom – Uptime and performance monitoring made easy.
10. Which Loads Faster? – Have two sites compete head to head to see which one’s faster.
11. Site Trail - All-in-one free site analysis tool.
12. XCloner – Website backup and restore (PHP/Mysql).
13. blogVault – WordPress backup service.
14. BackupBuddy – Easily backup and move WordPress.
15. Tynt - See what gets copied/pasted from your site.

EMBED MEDIA IN YOUR BLOG

1. Pixlr - Like Photoshop but free and online (fast and no registration required).
2. SoundCloud – Share your sounds.
3. Skitch – Annotate, edit and share your screenshot and images… fast.
4. Screenr - Instant screencasts (just click record).
5. Blip.me – Turn your mobile phone into a voice broadcast network.
6. Curate.Us - Share screen clips everywhere.
7. Cinch – Create and share micro podcasts, images and text updates.
8. BYOAudio – Put audio and video on your website.
9. Aviary - An awesome photo editing solution for web/mobile.
10. Odosketch - Very cool web-based sketching tool.
11. PodSnack – Flash MP3 player.

BLOG DESIGN & THEMES

1. WooThemes - Premium WordPress themes and plugins.
2. PageLines - Drag and drop web design for WordPress.
3. Blogic - Instantly creates a WordPress theme that matches your website.
4. Headway Themes - Drag and drop WordPress design tool.
5. StudioPress – Premium WordPress themes and design frameworks.
6. Graph Paper Press - WordPress themes for creatives.
7. Theme Forest - Premium WordPress themes, web templates and mobile themes.
8. Elegant Themes - Premium WordPress themes.
9. Themify - Awesome WordPress themes.
10. NewWPThemes - Free WordPress themes.
11. RocketTheme - Joomla templates, WordPress themes, Magento templates and more.
12. WTS - WordPressThemeShock. WordPress themes and web design sets.
13. Mysitemyway - A new breed of WordPress themes.

AD NETWORKS FOR BLOGGERS

1. SAY Media – Digital publishing company that works with the best editorial voices online.
2. Skyscrpr – Advertising, simplified. Sell advertising directly to buyers.
3. iSocket – Self-service advertising and direct sales tool for publishers.
4. BuySellAds – Makes buying and selling ads incredibly easy.
5. The Deck – Self-described as the premier ad network for creative culture.
6. Yoggrt – The creative ad network.
7. Carbon Ads – A premium, invite-only ad network.
8. InfluAds – The quality-only advertising network.
9. Fusion Ads – Making advertising beautiful.
10. Advertising.com – Get more return for the same inventory.
11. adBrite – The largest independent ad exchange.

BLOGS FOR BLOGGERS

1. ProBlogger – Blog tips to help you make money blogging.
2. Copyblogger – Content marketing and copywriting articles.
3. Blogging Tips – Daily blog tips plus info on themes and design.
4. TentBlogger – Blogging for fun and profit.
5. BloggingPro – News, plugins and themes for blogging applications.
6. Spice Up Your Blog – Blogger tips, blogging gadgets and design tutorials.
7. For Bloggers By Bloggers – Helping you make your blog the best it can be.
8. The Blog Herald – News, information, tips and commentary on blogs.
9. Daily Blog Tips – Tips for bloggers.
10. Blogging Without a Blog – Your blogging classroom on the web.

OTHER & MISCELLANEOUS

1. dlvr.it - Feed your blog to Twitter and Facebook.
2. OnlyWire - Automated submission to social media sites.
3. Scribe - Simple SEO software from Copyblogger Media.
4. Stribe - Link your website to others to share social interactions.
5. Plinky - Inspiration. You have answers. Plinky has questions.
6. Tagaroo – WordPress tag suggestion plugin.
7. Ping.fm - Update all of your social networks at once.
8. Penzu - Write in private.
9. TestSize.com – Test any website in any browser size.
10. Behappy.me - Inspiration. Receive an inspiring, happy quote in your email daily.
11. MarsEdit 3 – Desktop blog editing for the Mac.
12. Ping-O-Matic – Pinging search engines so you don’t have to.
13. timekiwi - Create beautiful timelines from your blogs/social media.
14. Blog2Print – Print your blog.
15. CoveritLive - Easy to use, scalable live-event platform.

#INFOGRAPHIC: All About Blogger

By Amanda Kennedy at BloggerBuster
I was disappointed at being unable to find an infographic celebrating my favourite blogging platform. So I decided to create my own!

For your enjoyment, here is my "All About Blogger" infographic. It is a rather large image which is best viewed at full resolution, so you ma want to click the graphic and view in the lightbox mode or right-click to save to your computer

All About Blogger infographic

#INFOGRAPHIC: Blogging for Business, Blogging for Profit

The infographic project was created to help the average business owner, or aspiring blogger, understand the ins and outs of blogging. Easy to understand and full of amazing content, this infographic answers critical questions like: How often do most businesses blog? Are consumer buying decisions influenced by blogs? What are the Top Earning Blogs and how do they create revenue? It also breaks down the Top 7 Blogging Platforms and their features, who’s blogging and how blogging can help your business.

Blogging for Business, Blogging for Profit infographic by skyboxcreative.

5 Facebook Tips For Driving Traffic To Your Blog

By Laura Burkey at Spice up your blog: 
Every blogger uses Facebook to drive traffic to their blog but are you using the right techniques ?.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Blogs and social media sites go hand in hand. They reference one another and drive visits to one another, as well. There are many aspects of Facebook that can help boost clicks on your blog, but you have to be wise about the tactics.

Posting too often on Facebook turns off your friends and page fans. If they “hide” your posts (or worse yet unfriend / unlike your page), you’ve lost a connection and a few extra clicks all because of your overzealous posting.

 Managing your Facebook page ethically is vital for your online reputation. Without monitoring what people are saying about you or your work publicly could damage your success severely. Also, it could cost you readers.In addition to keeping an eye on your reputation, there are ways to increase traffic to your personal or company blog by utilizing your Facebook page.


First, there are a few ground rules to obtain a solid foundation.

1) Post no more than two or three times per week, and limit the status updates that mention yourself. Include links to topical articles, photos, or other content that isn’t self-advertising. Remember that posts throughout a week should be 85 percent about them and 15 percent about you. No one wants to read a 24-hour commercial. Slip in posts about your company, but it’s more important to position your company as the No. 1 in the industry.

2) Never delete a comment or post, unless it contains vulgarity or prejudice slurs. People might not always agree with what you have to say, and that’s OK. Respond respectfully, acknowledging their opinions, and move on.

3) Be yourself. Allow your personality – whether it’s serious, goofy, or a mix of the two – to shine through your posts. Remember that the “voice” of a page is as important, if not more so, than the actual content contained therein.


Now that you have the background, let’s go through five top ways to drive traffic from Facebook to your blog. 

1) Share links to fellow bloggers and ask them to do the same. This could include you writing a guest blog for them and vice versa.

2) Include a link to your blog in your bio, as well as in your bio on other social media sites, such as LinkedIn and Twitter. Social media sites are one in the same and drive traffic to one another. Usually, the most active people on social media have multiple profiles on different social media sites.

3) Schedule updates using Hootsuite or Buffer when you can’t post a live status update. Remember to time posts throughout the day, not just during business hours. After all, most of us look at our social networks while at lunch or before/after the work day.

4) Use the tabs to engage fans on the Facebook page and then direct those followers back to your blog. Present useful information, but don’t post everything on Facebook because you need to give them a reason to click to your blog. Any tab can be set as the default landing tab for those who have never “liked” your page.

5) Present a 10-second “commercial” of what you can do. The teaser mentality has been successful for thousands of years. (Think television news.) Commercials are strategically placed during popular shows, but the anchors only divulge a headline or two. This isn’t something that you’ll want to do constantly, but it’s an effective way to link back to your blog.

 The next tactic is to grow your Facebook page likes and friends, which increases the blog clicks. Run a contest. Have a drawing for a company coupon or gift card, or run some sort of promotion on Facebook and your blog. For example, the visitor is entered to win a random drawing of a $25 Starbucks gift card for every comment posted on your blog.



By Guest Author - Laura Burkey contributes to several websites including Reputation.com and writes about a wide range of topics such as parenting and small business topics

Must Have Apps for Bloggers

Working remotely is one of the biggest benefits of bloggers. You have the freedom and control of setting up a mobile office with your laptop wherever you please. The increased popularity of mobile devices and the plethora of new apps available allow even more freedom than before. Manage your blog and your business from the comfort of your tablet or smartphone. Read on to learn our top 10 apps for bloggers.




1. Dropbox

Keep your mobile blogging lifestyle by accessing your files no matter where you are. Dropbox allows you to access all of your files from any registered device.


2. WordPress & Blogger

If you happen to host your blog one of these popular blogging platforms, you can conveniently update your site while out and about, read postings & comments, edit postings, manage comments and perform other tasks.


3. PayPal

Many Infolinks bloggers monetize their sites via PayPal. This mobile app allows you to completely manage your Paypal account with a wireless connection.


4. Evernote

Quickly access for easy organization of all your videos, images and other items saved on your phone with Evernote, the archive app.


5. Adobe PhotoShop Express

Easily use the professional photo editing capabilities of Adobe Photoshop to touch up or edit photos and graphics from your mobile device.


6. Hootsuite

Manage all of your top social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare from this easy to manage mobile app. Hootesuite is a great way for you to update all of your social media platforms and monitor what is going on while on the move.


7. SkypeFor important business meetings and phone calls, Skype is the only way to go. Stay in touch with your partners, guest bloggers or anyone else for free with an internet connection and your mobile device.


8. Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a must! Discover who is reading your blog posts, where they are coming from and how many site visits and page views your blog is receiving. Effectively analyzing this data will reveal which blog posts are the most popular to help you optimally tailor your content for the future.


9. Byline

Reading other blogs and articles on the regular is crucial for good bloggers to get even better. With byline, you can read the latest news from your favorite sites and blogs, even when you’re offline. It easily syncs with your Google reader account. Overcome your writing block with this useful app


10. Infolinks Real-Time

Infolinks mobile app, delivers real-time reports so you can always know exactly how your Infolinks ads are performing on your blog. Check on your payments and have a fast connect to our blog and other info as well.






This entry was posted in Blogger Tips

INFOGRAPHIC: All About Blogger

Via BloggerBuster:
After curating DailyGraphics.info for quite some time, I was disappointed at being unable to find an infographic celebrating my favourite blogging platform. So I decided to create my own!

For your enjoyment, here is my "All About Blogger" infographic. It is a rather large image which is best viewed at full resolution, so you ma want to click the graphic and view in the lightbox mode or right-click to save to your computer.

5 Tips To Writing Better Blog Posts

By Radhika Roy :  As an affiliate, you know the importance of content in terms of your overall success. In other words, the better your posts, the more traffic you receive and the more sales you make. To help you make the most of your writing efforts, take a look at these five tips to better blog posts:
	Talk like your customers No matter what you're writing about, no one likes to feel talked down to. Avoid this by removing jargon from your posts and communicating casually.
	Write great headlines Readers need to be enticed to click on your post, so create a headline that grabs their attention, either by asking a question, creating a list or using catchy words.
	Identify and solve a problem. Write about topics that provide relevant insights into questions or concerns that your readers have ? try to provide utility or entertainment, if possible.
	Make your post digestible. Most users don't read every word of your blog post. Help them get the main idea by breaking your post into chunks, utilizing headers and bullet points.
	Practice, practice, practice. The more you write, the better you'll get, so keep at it. You'll soon start writing posts much faster and with more confidence, which always leads to better content.
By using these tips, you'll help turn your blog into a traffic driving, selling machine. And that, of course, makes writing better posts more enjoyable than ever. Happy selling!

Top Apps and Tips for Mobile Bloggers

By Jane Johnson at SpiceUp Your Blog:  
Today’s smart phones and mobile devices are making it possible to blog from anywhere, anytime. I take my iPad with me whenever I travel so that I can post a daily blog from the airport, train station, or aboard a bus whisking me to another state. I’ve even been known to take a coffee break during road trips so I can post a quick blog from the comforts of a padded booth with an apple fritter at my side.

However, it wasn’t always like this. It took me some time with my iPad figure out all the little tricks and shortcuts that I could take advantage of. Once I did, it became my favorite device, and now I use it far more than my laptop—and it’s much lighter to transport too.

Why I love blogging from mobile devices as opposed to desktop or laptop computers:

• Tablets and smart phones are extremely light weight and specially designed slide into any carry-on bag
• I personally find, that when I use my iPad, I’m less likely distracted because its software architecture is basic compared to my laptop—so fewer distractions
• Mobile devices have pretty good battery life—I find my laptop dies after about 4 hours while my iPad lasts up to 10 on a single charge

Now that you see the benefits of using your smart phone, I’d like to share my personal tips for using one to blog effectively using some easy downloadable tools:

For brainstorming ideas and capturing notes I use…

Must have blogging tools for publishing on the go!

1)  iThoughtsHD ($9.99 – for iPhone and iPad)

As a blogger, having a tool to generate ideas for my blog posts is important. The iThoughtsHD app is a mind mapping app that synchs up to Dropbox (a central storage app) so I can create a mind map to help me brainstorm blog topics, themes, drafts, and then save everything back to Dropbox, so I can take my drafts with me and access them whenever the mood to write strikes.

2) Evernote (Free – for Android & iPad, iPhone)

As far as free apps go, Evernote is the best note taking and storage app you will find! Simply take notes whenever you have a “eureka” moment and know that all will be saved and stored across all devices—your desktop, laptop, smart phone, and tablet device. Evernote provides peace of mind for bloggers like me who like to transport all of their work with them when they’re on the go.

3) Blogger (Free – for Android & iPhone & iPad)

The must-have publishing platform is available for your mobile device. The Blogger app makes it easily to publish quick blog posts, and even upload pictures, add hash tags, and location information. However, the thing I like the most about Blogger is the list view of posts that it offers—you can view all blogs across multiple accounts and easily switch between them with ease.

4) Dropbox (Free – for Android & iPhone, iPad)

When it comes to reliable storage, you can’t ask for more than Dropbox. This all provides storage and synchronization for all of your photos, documents, and videos for free. Any file you save to your Dropbox will be instantly accessible from all of your computers and mobile devices. You can even save items to your favorites for fast access and viewing.



Author - Jane Johnson is a writer for GoingCellular, a popular site that provides cell phone related news and commentary as well as reviews on popular providers and devices like the popular Samsung phones.

New Enhancements To Google Affiliate Ads For Blogger

By Blogger Buzz:  
Back in April, Google introduced Google Affiliate Ads for Blogger, a gadget that can help you earn money by adding an ad for a relevant product to a blog post and earning a commission when someone clicks on your ad and makes a purchase. We’ve received positive feedback from Blogger users and the advertisers who have made their products available through the gadget, and wanted to let you know about a couple of recent enhancements we’ve made to this gadget:

• Increased availability: When this gadget first launched, you may not have been able to see the gadget even though you have an AdSense account. We’ve changed this so that all Blogger users located in the U.S. with an AdSense account have the ability to see that gadget in their post editor and can sign up to use Google Affiliate Ads for Blogger. If you tried to find the “Advertise Products” gadget and didn’t see it before, try again!

• More advertisers and products: The types of advertisers and products available when the gadget became available were in categories such as Department Stores, Sport and Fitness, Office Supplies, Home & Garden, and Apparel & Accessories. We’ve now added 40 more advertisers and expanded our offering to include products in the Health & Beauty, Jewelry, Flowers Edibles & Gifts, Education, and other categories.

Google Affiliate Ads for Blogger is easy to use, and is a great solution for those users interested in choosing the products and brands they want to promote in their blog posts.

Here are two examples of a Blogger user finding a relevant affiliate ad:

Get started today.

Top 10 Blogger Widgets Of 2012

By Rahul Ippar at HelperBlogger: 
In 2012 HelperBlogger have published/shared many great blogger widgets but many of you are missing such great widget that's why I have decided to share today's post

They had collected some great blogger widgets for you. I hope all of you will surely like them :)

1. jQuery Popup For Facebok Like Box (V5)

2. Static Pop Out Facebook Likebox (V2)

3. Custom Facebook Like Box (V5)

4. Pinterest Pin It Buttons

5. Custom Facebook Like Box (V4)

6. Beautiful Social Sharing Widget Just Below Of Blogger Posts

7. Slide Out Social Bookmarking Gadget

8. Popup Email Subscription Form

9. Updated Mashable Style Widget

10. TechCrunch Style Widget