Ron Davies

So you are interested in blogging but are not sure where to start…

This secret is free – start at the beginning.

Right, what a smart ass huh? I am amazed, though, by just how many would-be professional  bloggers start somewhere other than the beginning, intending to come back to it later.

How much sense does that make?

So, where is the beginning. This could probably be argued a bit, but I suspect the beginning is when you select what your blog is going to be about. This is known as the “niche”, though I think “topic” will do just fine.

How do you select a topic?

Don’t do keyword research just yet. This is where so many people go wrong. Your passion is not about keywords in a Google search, it is about who YOU are. We don’t care at this point how many people are searching for your area of interest. Let’s keep going one step at a time.

Imho, it should be selected by weighting the following factors .  I think your selection should come from as high on this list as possible, with the weaker choices further down the list

Think of something you:

1. have a great deal of passion for; (gardening, woodworking, quilting. raising kids)
2. tend to focus a great deal of your attention and energy on. (raising kids, teaching at cubs, local charities)
3. are trained or professional in; (nurse, mechanic, lawyer, author)
4. get asked your opinion on all the time; (relationships, interior design, raising kids)

Yes, raising kids is in there 3 times to show you that a subject that fits into a number of these for you might be the best subject for you to blog on. Sometime these blog are incredibly successful. I know one blog on making frugal clothing purchases for kids that pulls in $1500/ month from each of 4 advertising spots on the front page alone.

If none of these seems to be turning on any little lights in your head, think about the last time someone asked for your advice. It might surprise you a little to discover what other people see you as an expert os demi-expert on.

Don’t just grab the “most economically sensible niche” because they have been done to death. Blog where your passion is if at all possible, and go down the list from there. Expertise is great, but people respond to passion just as well as expertise, and usually find their visit to your blog much more memorable when it is obvious that you are passionate.

Now, this in mind, there are a couple of areas I strongly recommend you avoid like salmonella poisoning:

• work from home;
• affiliate marketing;
• gambling;
• business opportunities, etc.

These are about as far from possible to dominate as anything could be, and I don’t honestly feel it would be easy to be genuinely passionate in them.

So think a little on what drives you. You need to be a little vulnerable for people to respond to you, and get close to you, as absurd as it may sound across the vast nothingness and anonymity of the web. It really does happen.

Ask a friend for suggestions, dig deep. and write down 10 topic choices or niches.

Agonize over them a bit, and narrow those down to two choices.

Write them down on a sticky pad, and stick them on your monitor for a day or two staring you in the face. You will know which of them is right by them time you come back for the next step.

Please don’t continue to the next step until you have finished the above.

Cheers,

Ron

Looking to expand your online enterprise? Well, if so, backlinks are the way to go. They have real long-term growth advantages, and immediate exposure results when done properly.

One of the easiest way to do this is with your Twitter RSS feed. Now, lots of Twitter users don’t even know they have an RSS feed there, and just as many don’t know what to do with it to help their backlinks. I am going to give you the easiest way to grow your Twitter backlinks there is:

1. Create your free account at Tweetwire.com and login
2. Go to the Submit page and select your category from the drop-down menu.
3. Go to your Twitter user page. No need to login. It will look like: http://twitter.com/RonDavies but with your Twitter username where I have mine, RonDavies. The page will look like this:

   

4. Scroll to the bottom to the RSS button.

   

5. Right-click on the RSS button, select “Copy Link Location” and then paste it in a Tweetwire where it says “RSS Feed URL”. Type in a couple of tags ;ike “Ron Davies Twitter” or whatever, and hit “Submit”

That’s it!

Now, click on “HOMEPAGE” at the top ot Tweetwire, and you will see  creenshot of your Twitter page appear within seconds, putting you at the top of the list, and getting you spidered within minutes as well.

You can add any number of feeds, including feeds from WordPress blogs. A WordPress blog feed is almost always located at: http://www.yourwordpressblogdomain.com/feed

If you are using WordPress.com for your blog, the feed will be at: http://yourwordpressblogname.wordpress.com/feed

You can invite friends to Tweetwire, and do a number of other very social Web 2.0 things #;>)

That’s it for now. I can do this post as a vidoe if someone needs a little help. The kind of back links these sites provide your blog or Twitter is really worth the 3 minutes it takes to do it.

Cheers!

I wrote a post to the Twitter time line a day or two ago asking followers to post in 140 characters why anyone should elect to follow them on Twitter. Now I know this isn’t a truly original idea, but I thought it a great opportunity for the cream to rise to the top.

What is important to note here, other than the varied and interesting reasons given for people to elect to follow these responders is that they all took the extra bit of time to send me their reasons in a DM, or Direct Message” to me. Among other things, this shows that these folks will take the time to answer your questions as well.

Please read through the posts below, and consider following some or all of these excellent people.

Ron

	ZaraGreen I provide daily nugget-sized tidbits in audio, video & text blog posts that improve individual decision-making & interpersonal relationships 9:22 AM yesterday
	pegbaron I’m pretty new to Twitter,but I’m going to implement JamesAllen’s TwitterVirus.It’ll be fun to watch my list grow &see what I tweet about. 9:22 AM yesterday
	CoachCharrise My posts are insightful and inspiring. I design them to make people think about what they’re up to in life. Nothing mundane from me. 9:19 AM yesterday
	SashaKane Hey There. I see Twitter as a grand adventure. I love exchanging ideas, information, warmth and pleasantries. Hope Followers feel the same. 12:55 AM yesterday
	tomforce7 Ron I am one of the funniest, spontaneous, sacreligious, genius types on all of twitterdom. Your peeps will love me and praise you as a god 12:50 AM yesterday
	timbuchalka Would love the chance to show people how to use rss and web 2.0 properly. See our blog. heaps of free stuff there. cheers 12:45 AM yesterday
	CarolAnnB Tweeters can follow me on the yellow brick road to natural everything…healing, education, self-help, and yes – even poetry. Namaste 12:44 AM yesterday

[tag]twitter,tweet,tweeps,top tweeters,tweetsig,twitme,ron davies,affiliate marketing[/tag]

Amaze, Dazzle & Thrill Them & They Will Tweet You Well!

DM Ron

Here’s your chance to be in the spotlight with my list, which is about 85,000 today. They are almost all IM’s, most are affiliate marketers, and some are IM curious.

It isn’t an original idea, I know, but it does help a lot of people get seen when they are starting out on Twitter.

Send me a DM, and tell them in 140 chars why they should follow you once they join Twitter. I believe in spreading the wealth, so here is your chance to dazzle them.

Results from all DM’s will be posted here in my blow, and will be open to comments, and linked from the email I will be sending my readers about the virtues of Twitter socially and economically.

So, get your DM in to me. My Twitter user is rondavies

Cheers,

Ron

[tag]twitter,tweet,tweetsig,twittersplitter,ron davies, mrtweet,mr.tweet[/tag]