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Overview

I came across how2blogger last month when looking around for a couple of blogs in a similar ‘start-up’ position. At first I thought that how2blogger would be another mind-numbing blog that would be posting about how to blog, where to blog and why, as the first post I read was about setting up your first blog post for newbies, but to my surprise it wasn’t!

Posting daily and producing interesting (and sometimes funny) content, I knew that this blogger had something interesting to say about a whole range of areas. Actually writing about ‘how to’ do certain tasks or overcome certain obstacles is the object of the how2blogger and he has enlightened me to a certain few facts, with of course a little humour.

About How2blogger

How2blogger covers a range of different (and sometimes unusual) topics, which are helpful to everyone most people and enjoyable to read. How2blogger’s about page has the following:

I like to help people.

If I could afford a private jet I’d probably fly around the world adopting skinny babies.

But lucky for you I can’t, I can only afford the monthly hosting of a website.

You know, I get asked all the time, “How2Blogger, how is that you know how to grow a mullet but you don’t have any hair?”

Well, I used to have hair and it was glorious.

A unique about page, as you usually get a drone about how the blogger has got where they are and where they want to go, their home life and how many kids they have – whilst this is interesting, an unusual page does bring some curiosity to read more. Also, how2blogger brands his blog (and their profiles throughout the internet) with the character Stan from Southpark . This adds to his credibility and builds on the blogs brand and reputation.

Established Blogger?

How2blogger has been posting regularly for a few months now and has been rising through the competition over at entrecard. I think this is a blog to watch very closely in 2008 as I think if he keeps posting on a continual basis,he will become more established and a well known blogger to many.

I’m getting a tendency to compare the how2blogger with John Cow because of his funny posts, as well as his very brandable image that is appearing more and more as I surf and read posts throughout the blogosphere. More so I’ve been hearing a lot from Copyblogger about having ‘how to’ posts to help entice readers to read your blog – how2blogger has them all. Only time will tell to see if how2blogger can become a leading blogger that many people will read.

Funny Posts

Producing a post that makes me giggle will always draw me to subscribe to an RSS feed, and how2blogger’s writing on how to deal with junk mail just made me chuckle inside, here’s an excerpt:

1. Let’s start off by ‘recycling‘ the junk mail that you do receive.

Instead of getting annoyed with the fliers and coupons and other crap you receive in the mail, send it back out. I don’t like to throw away perfectly good envelopes, especially if the postage is paid for - that would be tragic!

So, if today you got an offer for a credit card that you simply don’t need or want, take the postage paid reply envelope and stuff it with the fliers for the ham that’s on sale for .69 cents a pound. Lick it and send it for free!

If by some chance you didn’t receive any flyers or other material to send to the credit card company, take a post-it and write a note. Perhaps - “Hope your having a fantastic day!” That ought to brighten up the day of whoever’s job it is to open all those things for mega-bank.

Sometimes instead of a note I’ll send some cheerios or whatever else is handy. I just like to make sure there’s something in the envelope for somebody to enjoy.

This is such a good idea, I think I’m going to have to do this tomorrow with the junk I got through the mail today *laughs to himself*.

How to effectively neutralise a mugger is a post of comedy, kneeing a mugger in their ‘particulars, or wacking them with your nun-chucks (and describing a step-by-step process of this) is very funny to read; but, who the hell carries nun-chucks around with them?

Design of the Blog

Whilst I’m no expert I do believe that an archives page (not just the standard wordpress monthly archive) would be great to include on the how2blogger home page, as searching for previous posts in the tags can sometimes be frustrating. Also, I read on many blogs that bloggers should remove the ‘meta infromation’ from their blogroll, a must do for how2blogger, as this is filling up space that could be taken by something more interesting and valuable.

This post was written for bloggin-ads.com by Nick Sanders (edited by Bloggin-Ads.com), who blogs over at road2blogging.com – a newbie blogger’s project to become a problogger in just 24months.

Background - ZenHabits’ About Page

Achieving goals, productivity, being organized, GTD (Getting Things Done), motivation, eliminating debt, saving, getting a flat stomach, eating healthy, simplifying, living frugal, parenting, happiness, and successfully implementing good habits begins with Zen Habits. Leo Babauta is the man behind the success of this huge blog. Some of you readers might think he is a doctor, coach, or a consultant that have answers to everything, but he is just a father of six kids, a husband, and freelance writer that created Zen Habits for setting and achieving goals of others or his own.

Consisting of Zen habits in Leo’s life, he was able to achieve many of his own goals listed below:

• Quit smoking
• Became a runner
• Ran a marathon
• Began waking early
• Became organized
• Began eating healthy
• Became a vegan
• Doubled income
• Wrote a novel
• Took control of finances
• Began eliminating debt
• Began saving an emergency fund
• Simplified life
• Lost weight
• Began training for a triathlon
• Began commuting to work by bike
• Began the habit of clean-as-you-go
• Read more about Leo’s achieved goals

That sounds like a lot, and looking back on it, it is. But I didn’t tackle it all at once, and by building on and learning from each previous success, I was able to achieve each new challenge I set before myself. And I had a blast doing it (and still do).

Provides

ZenHabits.net provides the tips that many of us seek, but if we were to commit to the goals, we must also follow Leo’s techniques. With 2-3 posts a week, Leo is really hitting it big time with over 20,000 unique visitors a day reading his tips and help on providing zen. I decided to give ZenHabits a try and I started reading one of his posts, A Simple Method To Avoid Being Judgmental, and he is absolutely correct about how we view strangers on their cover and not what is inside. His great steps surely made me realize that I am absolutely a judgmental person because I like to talk shi* about others and the way they look. Leo’s posts are such a huge help towards my life and surely would work for any other person. With each post he makes, he describes what needs to be changed in order to receive perfect zen. For example to the post I read, Leo points out that a person needs to be concerned with the following points:

• Don’t pass judgment
• Understand
• Accept
• Love

Everything is described in so much detail that any person can reach their full potential after reading the 2-3 posts a week.

A forum is also an addition that ZenHabits provide, where subscribers start conversations with each other discussing certain habits and what can be done. In addition to that, the forum is the place for the monthly Zen Habits Challenges, where any member may choose a habit and report daily on the productivity.

Inspiration

Leo is not the man he used to be now that he follows by what he says. He creates new habits when he feels that something needs to be changed. Usually when a person wants to do something new, it is only committed for about a week or so. Leo inspires many of us by the great feats he has accomplished and is still accomplishing because he feels he is just not there yet. It is difficult for a person to come forward blogging about their own life, but ZenHabits is available for everyone to receive tips and help to succeed.

The first habit we must commit to now is making ZenHabits.net our daily habit.

Update: I’m sure you guys already know that Darren has already beaten me to a review of ZenHabits and his new eBook. Darn that ProBlogger , but hopefully this review will bring some extra kick to some of you readers.

Interested in submitting your own review for your blog or someone else’s? Submit A Post and if you’re review is chosen, it will be featured here on Bloggin-Ads.com.

The 10 commandments - we have all heard of it, most of us have read it and hopefully all of us try to incorporate it into our lives as well. As I was reading the 10 commandements, I thought there should be commandments for blogging as well. I could relate some of the 10 commandments directly to blogging.

There needs to be rules, expectations and do’s and dont’s in everything we do and blogging is no exception. The 10 commandments of life guides us to lead life as a better human being and hopefully my 10 commandments of blogging will guide me ( and you if you find it useful ) to become a better blogger.

The Ten Commandments Of Blogging

1. Thou Shalt Not Steal

If you want to grow as a blogger and make a name for yourself in the field of blogging, this is a big NO! A lot of times we find bloggers longing for good content and they can’t seem to write one. It’s ok. Go ahead write what you can and slowly you will find your content and writing maturing along with your blog. Do not copy and paste other popular articles, if you are using a post from somebody else as a reference, give them the credit that is due. This is one of the most important thing starting out a blog, do not cheat the system and your readers because you will be cheating yourself.

2. Thou Shalt Not Spam Comments

Ahh, the ever so important comments. Although it’s seen as one of the effective ways of pulling traffic to your blog, leaving irrelevant comments can hurt you as well. Leaving comments on popular blogs can be a sure fire ways to get traffic, but make sure they are relevant to the post. Write something thoughtful, don’t just analyze the heading and whip up something so that you can get the top spot.

Read the article, analyze how you can provide value to the post and other readers who read your comments. If you provide value through your comments, that is exactly how other commenters are going to see you as ” a value adder “ and the chances of them visiting your blog become higher.

3. Thou Shalt Concentrate On Content

” Content is King “ we have heard the phrase thousand times and it still holds true. You might get 50,000 visitors today but after reading your content if it doesn’t provide value or interest to the reader, they are not going to come back. Your main motive is to make first time visitors/readers a repeat visitor. So focus on your content. Good content is the key to a successful blog.

4. Thou Shalt Not Insult

Your blog is your own media. You can use it to promote yourself or anybody else. But again you can use it to insult or bash others as well as you can reach so many people through your blog. Bashing somebody or hurting somebody’s reputation might seem like a fun idea but remember the old saying ” what comes around, goes around.” If you want to point an incident that you unapprove of or something that you want to talk about, don’t point out the person or the blogger through your blog. Just point the incident, do not point fingers. Might sound like fun but if you don’t like it done to you, don’t do it to others.

5. Thou Shalt Recognize Readers

Your readers are what makes you a better blogger. Their loyalty, their suggestions and their insight into your articles helps you grow. They can be one of your greatest asset both in terms of gaining popularity and marketing as well. You provide them with good content, they talk about you and you gain more loyal readers through them.

Acknowledge your readers and visitors, show them they are appreciated. Participate in comments when readers comment so they know when they comment, you will be back to provide your views or answers to their questions. Participate!

6. Thou Shalt Not Lie

Don’t start the foundation of your blog as a lie. If your blog has only 25 visitors a day go ahead and say it so. Saying your blog gets 20,000 visitors a day won’t do you any good because there are ways to find out. Also once somebody finds that you have been lying it will certainly hurt your reputation and the overall growth of your blog. So be honest and let the truth out, it might hurt now but in the long run this might be the key to your sucess. Honesty rules!

7. Thou Shalt Post Frequently

This is one of the things I find myself and other bloggers pondering quite often. Yes, frequency of posting is very critical for the success of your blog but what is the point if the posts don’t provide anything valuable. There are blogs that do not update for 3-4 days and when they do the content is really good and that is exactly what readers want. So go ahead and post but do it in moderation.

For instance, if I post on a Monday night my next post usually is up on Wednesday night, this way that particular post circulates the blogosphere monday night, tuesday all day and night and the whole day on wednesday. This gives more exposure to your posts. I personally think 3-4 posts a week is fine, think about what you are writing before you sit down and start typing. It’s ok to take a break.

8. Thou Shalt Create Interest

If you have an idea but can’t put it in words very well, this might hamper your blog. Try to create interest for your readers. The most effective way of doing ths is by using catchy headlines or titles. Use something that will make the readers atleast scan your post and this in turn might result in a loyal reader. Use headlines that will create interest , that will make others think ” Huh, this is something new, let’s quick read it “. Generate curiosity!

9. Thou Shalt Help Other Bloggers

So, you are a popular and established blogger? If you are, you need to make sure you help other bloggers out as well. Darren Rowse from problogger is a prime example of this. Try and help other bloggers as well. When you were new in the field of blogging there must have been someone who helped you out as well. And if there weren’t anybody, remember you wished it so bad that there was somebody. The blogger who is asking you for help feels exactly the same way, so go ahead and lend a helping hand to other bloggers.

10. Thou Shalt Read Other Blogs

I find many bloggers trying to market their blog but never reading other blogs. If you are not into reading other blogs and are not a reader at all then may be blogging isn’t for you. You need to share the passion with other bloggers. Besides, reading other blogs gives you an idea of what to expect, how to change the way you write. Analyze their articles and the ways they do it and you will learn from them. It’s a process, you will grow as you learn. So, make sure to read other blogs as well, we are all in it together!

These are the 10 commandments of blogging I live by? Do you think these ten commandments are worth following? Share your views.

source: http://worknplay.net/my-10-commandments-of-blogging/