My blog token for Technorati is B9EMVW5HVS7P. Please ignore this number as it is only listed here in order to get index myself with www.defactomind. Please read on.

With over 250 million blogs indexed by Technorati is hard to ignore such a powerhouse if you want to promote your blog. The process is easy and joining it’s free.

Before we start please make sure that you have an RSS Feed for your blog. You can find it here: http://feedburner.google.com. In order for this to work you should also have a Gmail account. The article “Subscribe via Email to Feeds in 5 Easy Steps” will explain how to do this.

Here are the steps:

Step 1: Go to www.technorati.com and click the “Join” link.

Step 2: Next, you need to claim your blog by clicking on the button called “Claim”. Pretty straight forward, huh?

Step 3: Just fill in all the required information and don’t forget the URL for your own blog. You do this in the box at the bottom of the page where your “Profile” is. The box is under the heading ‘My claimed blogs’. Once you are done, just click “Claim”.

Step 4: Fill in all the relevant tags related to your blog in the box provided.

Step 5: You will also be required to fill in your RSS Feed URL. Refer to the Notes before these steps.

Step 6: Now you wait until you receive an email from Technorati with your token. Sometimes it’s minutes but sometimes it could take days. The email will say:
“Thank you for submitting your blog claim on Technorati. Technorati will need to verify that you are an author of the site [your site URL will be here] by looking for a unique code. We have just assigned the claim token [your number will be here] to this claim. Please visit http://technorati.com/account/ for more details, including how to use the claim token.”

The number inserted in the beginning of this post is my “Claim Token”. It has to be in a post to prove that I am the author of the blog.
In order to post your token you can create a simple post with the title as “Token post for Technorati – Please ignore” or something of that effect and within the post copy & paste your claim token number.

Step 7: After your post is live, you need to visit http://technorati.com. Sign in and click on the ”Check Claim” button at the bottom of your account page.

Step 8: You will be asked if you have already made a temporary post – and you have – so confirm by clicking the button at the bottom of the page.

Step 9: You will then receive an email confirming that Technorati has successfully indexed your blog and found your pesky “Claim Token”.
Once accepted, you can view your blog listing on Technorati. This listing will help others find your blog much easier.

“What Should I write about? Who would be interested in what I know?” I hear this a lot when entrepreneurs start being active on their blogs. They are all experts in their field of interest but somehow they assume everyone else is too.

What do you think? Try it out and let me know if this method works for you.

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After you create your blog post ask yourself the following 10 questions:

1. Is your copy on point and describes accurately your message?
2. Is it interesting and makes your readers want more?
3. Is your blog post under 250 words?
4. Does each sentence have a “Twitter” like structure (i.e. 140 characters or less)?
5. Can you spot titles easily on your copy?
6. Is your blog post message credible and expert like?
7. Do you have clear “Calls to Action” throughout your copy?
8. Do you have a conclusion?
9. For the “scanners”, can you make your post even smaller than it is?
10. Do you speak your reader’s language (in other words – do you cater to your audience)?

The point of good writing is knowing when to stop – L.M. Montgomery

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Commenting on blogs similar to yours is one quick way to promote your own blog/website. I discovered this a while back but wanted to beef up a bit my own blog before jumping on the “comment on other blogs” wagon.

Although a lot of them are very well designed I found it hard to write about some mistakes I kept on seeing on other blogs. In fact I have learned a lot.

The most important thing to remember is this:

Scan not read

People do not have the time to read a whole lot now-a-days (unless they are really interested in a particular subject) so “Good bye Reading” and “Hello Scanning”. In order to capture attention you have to create breaks in your text such that the human eye can easily scan, stop and read small bits.

This can be accomplished by using colors, bold fonts or a combination of the two.

Here’s an example of bad text on a blog:

Bad Blog Structure

Now here’s something I would scan rapidly and read portions of it (if not the entire post). Notice the titles, bullets and other breaks in the text.

Good Blog Structure

If I made it a goal to comment on several blogs each day, this approach will save me time and rapidly move onto the next one. In the same time I retain some good information because the major points in the blog captured my attention.

Sometimes even a picture comes in very handy by tickling the viewer’s curiosity so use them in your blog. Don’t just copy some image from Bing or Google images. Besides being copyrighted, you won’t get brownie points on originality either.

So, bloggers out there – make your readers’ life easier and incorporate these tricks into the flow of your post:

• Write posts that are 500 words or less (this is just under 360 words)
• Break the post in several chunks of text (each chunk consisting of 3-4 sentences)
• Emphasize titles, important ideas or key elements in your text for easy reading
• Do use bulleted lists (just like here)
• Ask questions and spark interest such that comments are welcomed
• Draw conclusions at the end of the post

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Sometime towards the end of 2009, a Syrian hacking team hijacked my blog and changed the theme to always display their information. Founding their logo in poor taste and not appreciating their action in the least, I immediately decided to take the appropriate safety measures and make my blog more secure.

Here are the steps I took in order to accomplish that:

Step 1 – Always Backup your files
This is your very first line of defense. And it’s always a great idea to keep a fresh copy of your installation files and a backup of all your posts. Check with your hosting company to see if they offer automatic backup. Do this task on a weekly basis – it only takes minutes if not seconds (depending on the size of your blog).

It is also a good idea to store your files in 2 separate locations (see this article for good backup procedures) 

Step 2 – Immediately Change the Admin Password
Make sure you know the email address you provided for the “admin” account. This is where you’ll receive the new password. Login and change the password to something a bit more complicated than your pet’s name. Remember and use a combination of numbers, special characters, lower and upper case letters. For instance – Fluffy is a very weak password while fLu55Y$ is much harder to guess.

Here’s a link on how to reset your password http://codex.wordpress.org/Resetting_Your_Password#Through_phpMyAdmin

Step 3 – Create another Administrator Account
Login as the “admin” of the blog with the newly acquired password and create another account with Administrator privileges. Use the principles of finding a strong password as described above.

Here you can find the step by step on how to add a new user http://codex.wordpress.org/Users_Add_New_SubPanel

Step 4 – Change/Delete the “Admin” Account
The most common method to break into a blog/website is the brute force – the hacker will try to guess the name or password of the admin account and revealed, (s)he will use scripts to try thousands of password combinations with that account name.

In almost all cases the WP install files come “prepackaged” with the “admin” name as the default administrator account.

Fortunately changing this account name is very easy to do:

Log into your blog using the new user account created in Step 3 and delete the “admin” user. If you have posts published with “admin“, WordPress will ask you if you want to move those posts under a new user. I chose “yes” and indicated who the author should be.

As a side note – it’s a very good idea to create this admin account and keep the name and password secured but most importantly is to create another user (I chose “Editor” privileges for this account with my name so I can use it every time I create a new post).

In case your “admin” account does not have a “Delete” command (which happened to me), right next to the “Edit” one, install this WP-Optimize plug-in and rename or even delete the “admin” account.

Step 5 – Hide Your WordPress Version
Another “hole” hackers use to infiltrate is by publicizing the version of your WordPress blog. The fact of the matter is that it will be harder for the hacker to hijack your site if (s)he knows as little as possible about your blog.

By default WordPress broadcasts to the world the version that you are running, and this information can be used against you, because hackers know the security holes on each WordPress version.

Hiding that information is not difficult though. First of all you want to disable the “generator” meta tag. You can do that by adding the following code to the functions.php file of your theme:

function hide_wp_vers()
{
return ”;
}
add_filter(‘the_generator’,'hide_wp_vers’);

Step 6 – Delete the readme File
There is also another place where hackers can find the version of your WordPress – the readme.html file. GO ahead and FTP into your site, find the file and delete it.

Step 7 – Disable Folder Browsing
This is another item you should hide on your site – the content of your folders. If people can browse your folders, they will be able to collect lots of information (themes you are running, plug-ins, etc.) Again – the less they know – the better for you and the safety of your blog.

If your web hosting is based on Linux, you can easily disable folder browser within your .htaccess file placed at the root of your server. You can create that file or open the existing one and add the following line:

Options -Indexes

If your hosting is not based on Linux, you can still protect the content of your folders by uploading a blank index.html page inside each folder.

Step 8 – Rename Your Table Names

I would not recommend any plug-in to accomplish this. You can find some, but they are known to cause problems. Best way – manually and it’s safer.

Here’s a step by step instructions on how to do it:

• You need to locate “phpMyAdmin” which for most people’s setup will be in your cpanel. Look for “MySQL Databases” and click it like so:

• You should now see “phpMyAdmin” opened and the logo at the top left. Click on the database title under the logo. NOT the one titled ‘information_schema’ THE OTHER ONE!! You are of course looking for the database that has all the tables with ‘wp_’ prefixes.

• Across the top of the screen there is now a menu. Locate “Operations” and click it.
• Locate “table options’ then “rename table to”. This is where you rename the table prefix only. That’s the part before underscore “_”. Once you’re done, click “go” to save you change.
• Click back on the database name on the left which should now be BLUE and rename each table from step 4 until you’ve changed all of them.
• Click again on the database name on the left. Then the “Structure” tab next to the table ‘yourprefix_options’. Click on the menu option “Browse” and use arrow buttons to locate the page the option_name “wp_user_roles” is on. Click on the edit/pencil icon and again change the prefix. Then click “Go”
• Click back on the database name on the left. Then the “Structure” tab next to the table “yourprefix_usermeta”. Click on the menu option ‘Browse’ and use the edit/pencil icon on each “metakey” that uses the old ‘wp_’ to your new prefix. Click “Go” each time you’ve altered the prefix.
• Click on the exit/logout icon at the top left of the screen.

Step 9 – Modify the “wp-config.php” File
FTP into your site and find the file called “wp-config.php”. Edit the line that says ”$table_prefix  = ‘wp_‘;” and change the “wp” to your new prefix. Save the file and upload back up.

Step 10 – Always Update Your WordPress Version
Every time a new WordPress version is released hackers have to scramble and try to find new ways to damage it and thus hit other blogs and deface them.

Sometimes they find them, but the WordPress community usually responds quickly and releases an updated version protected against the new threats.

That’s it! Happy blogging everyone!

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2010 is just around the corner, and we’re working on our new years resolutions! Here are some ideas for bloggers out there that want to start the new year with a bang!

Article published on UX Booth by David Leggett on Decmber 29th, 2009.

When I decided to start blogging I did not know anything about WordPress, themes, etc. so, for all of you new bloggers out there I decided to write a tutorial which will show you how easy it is to set up your own blog.

Step 1: Find a Theme for Your Blog
Go on line and search for WordPress themes and find one that you really like. There’s a ton of free resources out there. I use a WordPress Theme called Fusion.

Other FREE sources can be found here: 100 Amazing Free WordPress Themes for 2009

Download the files onto your hard drive and proceed to the next step.

Step 2: Establish a Domain Name for Your Blog
Establish a domain name for your new blog. You can use a variety of sources to research a new domain name , unless you already have one in mind. You can use justhost.com to see if the domain name is available. I would also recommend justhost.com for hosting your new blog. I use it and if you are wondering if this is reliable, let me assure you that they have some of the best service out there, and the prices are very good (they usually run a special for only $3.45 per month). I recommend selecting a “.com”.

Step 3: Setup Hosting and Wait for the Domain Name to Propagate

Once you signed up and already received your “welcome” email with all the necessary information, make a note of the FTP account settings and go ahead and follow the directions on how to set your WordPress theme with the hosting company.

Step 4: Install WordPress Theme on the Domain Name

Now we are going to add WordPress to your hosting account.

Open a window in your browser and type in “http://www.yourdomainname.com/cpanel”. The Control Panel will allow you to access your account. For example if your domain name is mynewblog.com, you will type www.mynewblog.com/cpanel into your browser. It will prompt you to log in so enter your user name and your password. For that you’ll need the login name and password furnished in the “Welcome” email you received from justhost.com.

If you get an error message saying that the domain cannot be found then you will need to wait for your domain name to finish propagating.

Once you’re into your Control Panel scroll down and look for the header called “Popular Choices” and select the icon called “WordPress”, like in the screen below:

On the next screen click on “New Installation” as indicated in the screen below:

On the next screen enter the following:

Install on domain – Select your domain name

1 – Install in directory - Leave Blank

2 – Administrator-username - Enter the username you want to use to login to your blog’s admin panel (I suggest you use “admin”).

3 – Password – Think of a password you want to use to login to your blog administration panel.

4 – Admin nickname - The name you want people to see on your blog whenever you post or reply. I suggest you maintain an administrator login name and then after the blog is installed you can add yourself as an editor.

Admin e-mail – You can replace what’s there with your own email address or as I did, leave it as is.

Site Name - Enter the name of your blog unless it’s already there

5 – Description - Enter a short description of your blog.

Once you’ve completed the above click on “Install WordPress.” And there you have it. Easy as pie.

Make sure and keep a copy of all the information you just added for future reference and that’s it!

Step 5: Log into Your Newly Created Blog

In order to log into your blog admin page, open a browser window and type “http://www.mynewblog.com/wp-admin“. You will be prompted for the login name and password you just established:

You can now start posting your new articles. Good luck!

Please feel free to look around this blog for tips and ideas on how to market your blog and how to make money with your blog. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please contact me  any time.

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I just upgraded to Wp version 2.9 and already encountered one problem – 1 scheduled post missed the scheduled time. Without going into details of why this happened, here is the fix that worked for me:

http://www.semiologic.com/2009/12/21/wp-2-9-three-bugs-and-how-to-fix-them/

If you have this problem, please post your fix.

“Building quality content without marketing is like locking Shakespeare in a room to write for himself” – Michael Grey, SEO Expert

Content without marketing is nothing.

See the 5 Golden Rules of Blogging
You write like a pro but you’ve got no idea what you should do so people flock to your blog and read your unique pearls of wisdom. Is that you Blogger? I know that’s exactly what I was worried about for a long time. Well, I’m here to give you some shortcuts so you don’t have to go through the pain and aggravation I had to endure.

First of all remember this:

The more you try to sell your blog and convince people to follow you, the more you will encounter their resistance. People buy you first, your expertise and the experience you so eagerly display in your posts.

How do you get them to like you? Simple – give, give and when you are done give again. People love free stuff and when they see your willingness to help and provide resources others are charging for, they will not only like you, and they will follow your posts.

Great article how to establish trust online.

So, before you do any type of promotion, start thinking about the things you can offer for free; resources you know you can offer to potential visitors.

To help you out, here’s my list:

• FREE 30 minute consultation on (insert your own text here) web design, SEO services, marketing critique, etc.
• Answer and help people find solutions on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, etc.
• Offer a free report, eBook or whatever else you have in your expert panoply.
• Organize a contest and offer a free book to the first 5 people what post significant comments on your blog for the next 30 days. Don’t forget to post the results at the end of the contest.
• Write for other blogs and give your honest opinion about the topic at hand. Just commenting “Thanks that was a great post” will not make you too visible and will not convey that expert aura you are after.

In a way, you are already promoting your blog but you are not really engaged in direct selling at this point. The more detached and nonchalant appear vis-à-vis your scope of getting more traffic to your blog, the more people will appreciate and want to come back for more.

Also, although many blogging experts advocate the “create a controversy” approach, I tend to “navigate” towards a softer approach and command attention through my willingness to extend a helping hand rather than criticize and spew controversial remarks.

Do all these things for several months and you’ll see significant improvement in your traffic numbers. Guaranteed.

After lots of online and offline research I came up with a schedule for those who want to blog successfully and even make a living out of it.

Day 1 – The Groundwork

1. Install a custom WordPress theme for your blog

Although the web is full of blogging platforms, I believe WordPress is still the most powerful blogging platform with awesome versatility.

Resources:
18 Alternative Ways to Use WordPress
Free WordPress Themes from Smashing Magazine
Free WordPress Themese provided by Free WP Themes
Top WP Themes

2. Install and place your RSS icon above the fold (just like here)

Resources:
The Ultimate List of Free RSS Icons from Hongkiat
ProBlog Design
Free & Fresh RSS icons from Smashing Magazine

3. Provide an RSS-to-email option

Resources:
Aweber
MailChimp

4. Create an opt-in mailing list

Resources 
Aweber

5. Create a free product

or service so you can get people to sign-up and capture their email addresses

6. Link to your social profiles

Resources
Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter

Day 2 – Write for Your Blog

1. Start posting and do it often; daily if you can but don’t sacrifice quality over quantity
2. Link to other posts within your blog and outside of it too
3. Create your posts with these must-do’s in mind:

• Use header tags (i.e. H1, H2, H3, etc.) for your titles
• Use keywords in your titles
• Create killer headlines for your titles
• Break down your post into sections by using header tags, bulleted lists, bold or italic text
• Use images and videos (when possible) for your posts
• End the post with “conclusions” and / or open end questions to generate comments

Day 3 – Write on Other Blogs

1. Find other blogs within your niche market and write for them or post comments on a daily basis.
2. Don’t be a “me too” blogger. Write interesting copy by adding your own opinion to the comments. Don’t just type in “thanks that was great”.
3. Write product and book reviews.
4. Once a week write and publish an article for ezines.
5. Once a week create a Squidoo lens
6. Create accounts for Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, etc. Be active within your social media network and post at least 2 or 3 times a day.

Blogging is one of the easiest ways to promote yourself. Consistency is the hard part. Lots of people start blogging, only the ones who persevere are really the successful ones.

The power bloggers are the ones who stick through thick and thin by engaging a regimented approach towards this activity. Ultimately they are the ones who succeed. In fact they are the ones who end up making money by blogging. So when you hear about internet self-made millionaires – think of them and ask yourself why you aren’t among them.

What do you think? Have I missed any of the activities for these 3 days in order to become a power blogger? If so, let me know and I’ll make sure your comments are introduced in the list.