1. Keep it short

There are places which let you register names up to 63 characters. You need to keep in mind that people won’t remember such big names. You should register short names which visitors and customers can remember. I always recommend my clients to restrict the domains to seven characters (suffix excluded).

2. Dot com, dot net, or something else?

There are plenty of extensions out there right now and I would recommend you to go for .com for businesses. This extension is used the most while searching for Websites. It is also the oldest extension around. This will show that you business is old enough and that you have a good presence on the Web.

3. Stay away from the trademarked names

I am saying this for two reasons and they are really good. First – it doesn’t look nice. You might have heard stories about someone who bought a “some-huge-multi-million-dollar-company.com” and then sold it to the company for a lot of money. But you need to remember that these companies have spent a lot of money and time for creating their brand and what goes around comes around. Also, the companies aren’t really signing checks for getting their names back; they just call lawyers.

4. Register your domain RIGHT NOW!

Domain names are getting snatched at lighting speed and hence you will have to register your domain fast or else you will end up with something that no one wants. You don’t need to have any ecommerce department or Webmaster or Web design consultant for this. You can book a domain even if you do not have any Web pages. Register fast or you will lose out.

5. One might not be enough

Sometimes, it is a good idea to register the similar domain names at once. You can register Chris.com and Chris.net at the same time or someone else might take it. You can also register the full company name and easier, shorter version for remembering it well. Some people might make typos for your company name. Don’t get a separate Web page for each. The typo domains can just point to the same Website.

6. Character types

You might know about this; domain names can only contain dashes, numbers, and letters. Symbols and spaces aren’t allowed. Also, the domain names aren’t case sensitive.

7. Ask around

If you have a shortlist containing your preferred names; then it is recommended that you ask your clients and friends about what they have to say. It isn’t hard to get a name that is too hard to remember for other people. Your domain should be easy to say, easy to spell and you shouldn’t need any explanation about why you choose that particular domain name. It should ideally be self-explanatory.

Finally, if you have got the right domain name but aren’t sure if it is the one .. then register it right away before someone else does it.

Keywords - Keywords play a really important role in any domain. Good keywords help you to get a higher rank in search engines. Getting something like Webhosting.com can be pretty hard and you might need to spend a lot of money for it. However, niche markets are coming out these days and hence the keyword possibilities are increasing. So you should use your creativity for getting one keyword in your domain.

Branding - We sometimes forget about our audience and users in a quest for getting keywords. You should make sure that your domain is catchy and also easy to memorize so that the users can get back to your Website without forgetting about it. Sometimes, catchy and unrelated domains get the job done for you. For instance – Google; it has nothing to do with the search engine but still dominates the Web. Branding should be kept in mind while registering domain names.

Length, hyphes, etc. - Shorter domains are easier to memorize but you shouldn’t just buy looking at the length. If you get something like psju.com then it won’t be of any use because it doesn’t relate to your niche. You can use hyphens in the domain but try to avoid them because the value goes down as the domain name gets bigger. It is also recommended that you avoid double letters or else you might lost traffic to typos. Stay away from things like wordpresssetup.com; it will confuse the readers.

Extension - The most popular domain extension is .com but you shouldn’t limit yourself to just that. You should get an extension that suits the site the most. If your blog relates to any organization, then it should be .org. If you are being informative and your blog is an informational site, then .info is good too. .com is a big plus simply because people type .com without thinking anything else.

Domain age – Google prefers Websites that are relatively older and hence I would recommend you to buy older domains for your new projects. Or if you are buying a new one, keep it for at least five years.

Upgrade the blog at regular intervals – It is important that your blog is updated regularly. Google likes sites which are up-to-date. I make sure that all my online properties are updated at least once a week and my blog posts are regularly updated too.

Write for visitors – It is recommended that you publish articles which provide information not for Google but to the visitors. I am not saying that you should ignore the concept of keyword density but your visitors should enjoy reading the article. A high keyword density doesn’t guarantee you a higher ran. Also, you should use LSI keywords.

Press release submission – This is another great way to get powerful backlinks and traffic. But your press releases should be powerful. A press release that is written well will attract a lot of publishers and this will give you a lot of links in turn.

Flash – Flash might look very attractive to you but it is useless from Google’s point of view because Flash can’t be read by Google.

Meta tags – Using meta tags can be effective in SEO. They aren’t so important now but I still use them anyways.
Heading tab – Use heading tags like H1, H2, and H3; they are useful provided you use it in the right way. Heading tags should follow up each other and I don’t use 2 H1 tags. Also, you should put the targeted keyword in heading tags.

Setting sitemaps – Sitemaps are important. For my WordPress blogs, I don’t just set up simple sitemap but also video and image sitemap.  All these sitemaps are then submitted to main search engines. This is really important and shouldn’t be ignored.

Mark out the keywords – Highlight your keyword by making it bold, underlined, and italicized in all your posts.

External links – The external links should be built for almost all the pages of your site and not just for the home page. This will show Google that the post has useful stuff to offer.

Distribution of articles – submitting articles to the article directories are effective but aren’t as powerful as they used to be some time ago. These days, I first publish my articles and then submit them to many article directories. This can be done by some kinda article submitter software too.

Images – You should use images as illustrate your article and it is also good from the SEO point of view. The image should contain a title and description along with the keyword.

1. Your skills should have a price tag – The big problem I often notice is that a lot of people do have all the necessary skills but don’t get paid for it. This is primarily because they don’t put a price tag on themselves. If you know all about social media and know how to use it strategically, then you should work around it. There are chances that people will pay you for it.
2. Work for free but just once – You will have to prove how good you are at growing the online communities both to your potential clients and to yourself. I will recommend you to find some cash strapped tiny business or any non-profit organization and then offer to do the work for free. This will go on your resume and will also build your knowledge and self-confidence. You will end up growing your network too and there will be clients who will recommend you.
   
3. Landing your first paid client – You might find it hard to work for free but it is ideal to start like this because you get a lot of experience. Also, you will get more clients through your existing one. So how to sign that first client? For me, it happened through my existing friends and contacts. You can tap your networks through Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and your own blog. Also, don’t hesitate to tell your friends, they will help you spread the word and you might get to a gold mine through this.
4. Decide what are your services – Your offerings shouldn’t just say ‘do social media work’. Are you going to teach people how to use Facebook and Twitter? Will you make blog strategies for the companies to implement? You might even grow online communities for the clients. You should also consider the type of clients that you wish to work for – organizations, businesses, individuals, or all. If a new acquaintance asks you about what you do, then you should be able to explain everything in simple terms and you should use examples too.
5. How much are you going to charge? – Social media consulting prices can start from free and go up to several hundred dollars per hour. Irrespective of your price tag, there will be people who will either think that you are dirt cheap or that you are too expensive. It is essential to find a sweet spot between the experience and skills.

Your charges can change from one client to the other. If one client can afford to pay you more then you can charge more money per hour or per project. Some times a client can lose interest in you once you reveal your price. If you are worried about this, then you can offer that client several tiers of services having different price tags.

If you are struggling with something and are finding it hard to complete a job then probably you should quit. One cool thing about online work is that there are a lot of people who can substitute you. I am not saying that you should quit your online job the minute you get frustrated or upset while trying to complete anything but there has to be a line drawn somewhere and you should decide this line.

One thing that I can suggest you is that you should finish the work that you have taken and then talk to your client. Tell him you feel that there might be someone else who is more qualified to do the work. They might be able to help you with the work and teach a few tricks of trade.

You don’t even need to get that far. If you are uncomfortable with the job in the initial stages; then you can leave it there itself. You don’t have to start working instantly just because someone wants to hire you. There are plenty of companies trying to hire freelance writers so you can be picky about what you want.

When you are first working online, you might find it hard to pass jobs just because you are trying to sink in your foot. Also, you might like to try different jobs to see what you like the most. I was too taking all kinds of jobs when I first started working from home. I let my employers know that “I haven’t done this kinda work before but I’d like to try and you can hire me if I meet your expectations.”

I have been upfront and honest and it has given me great results to date. Some might argue that it isn’t a professional way of getting things done but then I don’t care because things have worked for me that way. I like to be honest 100% while working with anyone and I am not just saying this to make myself sound better to you. Believe me, honesty will take you a long way while working with people who you won’t see face to face everyday. It helps in building a trust and bond which can last for a long time.

Kontera is a great way to make money but there is one problem – Kontera ad earnings are very low. Every Webmaster and blogger is complaining about this and some of them have even disabled Kontera because of this and I am writing this article to tell you how to increase Kontera earnings by making some small changes. Here are my two bits -

• Link colour : I always recommend to change the Kontera links colour. The default colour is blue and this might be successful for some people but I recommend changing this colour to the default colour of the Website links.
• Link density : If the articles are relatively bigger then I would advise you to contact Kontera directly for adjusting the link density accordingly.
• Using the keywords : The best parts of your Website should have the highest paying keywords because Kontera will give links to the keywords that are used most often.
• Filter the ads : If the blogs are showing ads of any particular company which isn’t related to your Website or blog, then you should ask Kontera to restrict these ads from these companies.
• Keyword Variet : Use different keywords. For instance, if you are writing about online games then instead of just online games, you should use ‘Facebook Games’ or ‘ibibo games’.

These tips are simple but are very powerful for increasing Kontera earnings.

Hunt for the clients that you want

Look around for people that you want to work with. There are people who are looking for freelance writers and there are also people who are willing to spend money on freelance writers. People like private tutors, Web designers, doctors, and lawyers know that written words are precious and will be willing to hire you for generating more revenue for them. This is a win-win situation for both of you.

• Go on the Internet and look for professionals in your area. There are some people who just want to deal locally and you can use your hometown as an icebreaker.
• You can ask your friends if they know any professionals in their families.

Reach out for getting in touch with them

Not literally and certainly not lawyers. But you can contact them for letting them know that you are there and willing to help. You will need to make a phone call or send a mail but don’t be discouraged about this. The worse thing that can happen is that they will say no or they won’t answer at all. On the other side, you might end up with a lot of money if you get the contract. If this is just one amongst those 50 emails or phone calls, it is totally worth it.

• Friendly and short emails can do wonders. You can start with something like ‘Hi, I went through your Website while surfing the Internet and wanted to tell you that I am a copywriter just in case you need my services’.
• Don’t get nervous about calling people. In worst case scenarios, you will end up learning flowery new language if you are interrupting during lunch. Just call up the guy and tell him that you are a writer. Also tell him that you have some experience that will help him in growing the business.
• They might ask you for samples straight away so be prepared about this. You can simply fire up an email showing them what you can do. Keep your freelance writer resume updated.
• If you have a Website, make sure that it is fashionable and upto date. People do peep to check in and if it looks bad, then they certainly won’t have any faith in you.

If you have any other tips about getting more clients do let me know in the comments section below.

I am jotting down ten skills of leadership for businesses.

• Leading by example – This is really important. If you want to be a leader, you should lead by example and pitch in when people need you. You should als lend a helping hand to people when they need you. Also, you should make sure that you team members understand the work that you are doing.
• Passion – It is hard to think of a leader without passion. He might be a leader at the lowest level but passion drives a lot of things. You should inspire others with your enthusiasm and passion. This doesn’t mean that you need to be cheery all the time but you should know what is your role in the company and your company is doing.
• Good organization – Disorganized leader can never lead well because he is always chasing his own tail. You should avoid being disorganized because it will lead to further disorganization. If you are messy and frazzled, your team will end up doing the same. Your productivity increases when you are well organized and you end up with better results.

• Delegation – It is not possible to do everything and hence a good leader needs to delegate his tasks well. When it comes to delegation, you should give your employees a sense of ownership of the work that you assign to them. They need to feel that they own the work.
• Take full responsibility and ownership-You might have delegated the work well but you also need to take ownership and responsibility of what your team is doing. Every team will go through a good and bad time. You will have to face both the situations.
• Effective communication – It is known that great leaders need to be good communicators. But there are some communication points that people forget. For instance, you need to tell your employees about the work they are doing and how beneficial will it be to the company in the long run. You should tell them that the work you are doing makes a big difference to the company. You need to be precise while communicating.
• Be honest and brave – Cowardly leaders will be shy of facing the different challenges that turn up when they are leading a team. But you will have to be brave and face any kind of situation that you might face in the organization. Honesty too is important. Do not sugarcoat or obfuscate. Learn to present things well.
• 

  Great listener -This is another part of communication – good listening. If you just talk and don’t let your people talk, then you are a bad leader. It is important to keep your people motivated by asking questions and listening to them. You should also understand their issues well. You will respond more effectively if you listen more. In the end, you will get to the heart of the things faster.

• Know your people – You need to know your people. You do not need to be best friends and don’t need to socialize after work but you need to know them well. It is important that you know thing about their personal lives because this matters a lot during work. You can keep a track of their marriages, children, birthdays, etc.
• Be a follower – Great leaders are good followers. If you don’t follow anyone, it means that you are a dictator and not a leader.

During my experiences as a blog writer, I realized that there are some things that you cannot avoid. Here are four cornerstones or pillars for building and marketing any business.

Relationships – You need to create strong relationships with your audience and this is important everywhere. Instead of hunting for the new customers, I would recommend you to create a valued environment which benefits the existing customers and readers. You should be able to keep them coming back for more. Your readers should spread the word for you and bring in more people to your blog.

Direct response copywriting –

You need to keep yourself updated with the latest social media trends or create them sometimes. Once you find a good topic to write on, sit back and come up with killer headlines. Then move through your story strategically for creating something that holds the attention of your readers. Follow the old-school copywriting advice for making a difference between a blog which fades in to oblivion and the one which flourishes successfully.

Content marketing – This is my ace – delivering great content is of utmost importance. You should deliver great content and it should be focussed in one direction. It is also recommended that you develop a strategy for this. One great way to do this is to offer some cash money to readers or come up with something else where the reader benefits.

Have something that is worth selling – Everyone out there is looking to sell something. This might be product, service, idea, download or even a worthy cause. The thing that you are selling needs to be worth the price. You should never forget that the attention of the reader is a very valuable commodity and it is also limited in supply. When you ask for dollars, pounds, yen or any valuables, you need to deliver on something which is worth the asking price.

I have given my four bits above and it is up to you to bring these four pillars together while blogging. Together, these four can do wonders but if you miss even one of them; you might not get the desired success.

Overall design of the blog

This is the most obvious thing in a blog. If the content that you put is going to make your blog grow and if you are attempting to attract a lot of people then the design of your blog must complement all the time. Simple design too might do the trick and there is no need for high end eye candy everywhere. Also, it is really important that your WordPress Blog theme highlights your content first. If you do this, your readers will get what they came for in the first place.

Comments

For me, the comment section is one of the only place to interact with your readers and I don’t understand why people put a lot of different plugins or features which crowd the comments place. For instance, there are some blogs who have messy comment fields and you don’t know where to begin. It can get very confusing.

Social sharing

Social media and social networking is seen everywhere these days; it is simply unavoidable and in one way, it is a good thing. You’d want people to engage with the content but you would also want to make people share it with others. Here too simplicity is the key. I go through a few blogs everyday and see a lot of mess in social sharing etiquette. There are sharing icons cloase to the blog, on a single post layer and also close to the comments! You need to choose wisely and you will be rewarded well.