10 Blogging Tools That Can Make Your Life a Lot Easier

By Aashish Sarma

Irrespective of the size and nature of your business, blogging should be a part of your content marketing strategy. A well-crafted blog post has the power to drive traffic to your website, maximize your SEO efforts, create a strong brand positioning, and develop long-lasting relationships with your audience.

It's also interesting to see how online blogs can increase your cash flow, thus helping you survive in a constantly evolving digital scenario. This is why blogging has become an important part of a brand's online marketing strategy.

Despite the n number of tasks involved in the process, managing a blog shouldn't be difficult if you have the right tools. Here are a few of them that make blogging a breeze and simplify your life to a great extent:

WordPress

WordPress is perhaps the best content management system (CMS) that bloggers can have today. The platform hosts an enormous number of websites and simplifies blogging with its easy-to-use content editor.  It also provides a large collection of templates and themes to make their blog look professional. The best part of WordPress is its ability to integrate several other tools, thus helping you achieve more in less time.

Yoast SEO

If you are hosting your blog on WordPress, you may be looking for some useful plug-ins. Yoast SEO is one such WordPress plug-in that makes blog optimization an easy task for bloggers. You simply have to fill in the required fields and adjust your entries until the light turns green. This is an ideal tool for bloggers who use social media because it can help them set a title for their post, give a description, and provide a featured image. It's a tool worth trying.

BuzzSumo

If you are managing a multi-author blog, you might be interested in knowing the authority and expertise of your contributing bloggers. This is where a tool like BuzzSumo is needed. The tool lets you find mentions of your contributing authors across the web and alerts you of the same. It's a great way to ensure that only reliable and expert bloggers are contributing to your blog.

Canva

If you are wondering how to integrate images into your blog post, then Canva is the tool you need. This free tool lets you create custom images, graphics, charts, and infographics that would make your post visually appealing. The best part: it provides a wide range of templates so that your images can be sized to fit each social media site.

DrumUp

Your blog content is likely to get lost in the archives unless you promote it. DrumUp is a good social media tool that lets you push your content into various social media feeds. The tool allows you to customize your blog posts and automate the scheduling process without being repetitive. It's a great way to promote your post a few times in the future.

Feedly

You need to do some content research if you want to be relevant to your audience.  Feedly lets you discover a wide collection of content from across the world. You can add your favorite posts to the tool and add their feeds to find new content. You can use Feedly on both desktop and mobile devices, thus helping you discover the latest content anytime, anywhere.

MailChimp

MailChimp is an email marketing tool that delivers your post directly to your subscribers. This free tool even lets you create a comprehensive email list. You can use it to automate your blog marketing efforts, thus helping you save a lot of time. Following up with subscribers through emails has never been so easy before MailChimp came into being.

PlagiarismCheck

Originality is what drives blogs towards success. Hence it's important that you avoid any form of content duplication. PlagiarismCheck is the tool you need in order to ensure that your post has no duplicate content. The tool is extremely easy to use. You simply have to copy and paste your post on the tool and check if your post has been published already on the web.

The Search Monitor

If you are concerned about keyword tracking, perhaps the Search Monitor tool can help you. Not only does it track keywords but also maximizes your affiliate marketing efforts. The tool allows you to track organic and paid website traffic and set it side by side with competitor websites. It's a great blogging tool if you are looking for all-inclusive affiliate marketing, search engine monitoring, and ad monitoring insights.

Portent Title Maker

Perhaps the most challenging part of blogging is generating ideas. But you can use Portent Title Maker, which is a tool that helps you come up with blog titles. You simply have to enter your blog's subject in the bar and press enter to get interesting (sometimes really funny) titles that you can revise to suit your post. You should certainly try it if you are struggling with writer's block.

Aashish Sarma is a content strategist at Godot Media, a leading content agency. His interests include social media and content marketing. Writing, travel, music and socializing are hobbies that he pursues wholeheartedly.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/aashish884

 

Source: 10 Blogging Tools That Can Make Your Life a Lot Easier

2017 #Blogging Research That Will Make You A Better #Blogger

2017 Blogging Research That Will Make You A Better Blogger You may wonder why I ask. Because Orbit Media's 2017 Annual Blogger Survey reveals that blogs have evolved into full-fledged professional media entities. As such, business attire is required at least if you work in an office! To remain competitive with ... read moreWhat is Blogging and How Does It Work? That works whether you're a business or not. Something about the casual, friendly tone many blogs use makes it easier for readers to connect with the person writing. This works even better ... a top-rated blogger. Whatever you choose, make sure that ... read moreHow I Quadrupled My Nonprofit Blog Traffic in Less Than 1 Year We were even featured as the 14th top nonprofit blog in Feedspot's Top 75 Nonprofit Blogs of 2017 ... tackle which tools make it easy to create engaging visuals that get shared on social media. And if you're looking to get better at writing and ... read more

30 Behaviors That Will Make You Unstoppable Even though they don't compete with you, they make you compete with them. Are you unstoppable? By the end of this blog you will be ... New York Times by June 1, 2017). For most people, behaviorally-focused goals are the better and more motivating ... read more12 Types of Awesome Visual Content You Can Use in Your Blog Posts How many times have you ... make it easier for your audience to comprehend your message than with text only. QuickSprout research reveals that articles with data-driven visuals rank fourth in shareable formats. More noteworthy, the same research shows that ... read moreEurophile Left deluded if it thinks reform process will produce functional outcomes In trying to defend the abandonment of sovereignty and make a case for continuing with the so-called reform dialogue, he wrote (October 27, 2017): "Unemployment in ... in the foreseeable future? Recall my blog – Wolfgang Schäuble is gone but ... read moreZ06 Pickup? Chevrolet Straps a Vette Supercharger to the Silverado Since the truck is devoid of any 4×4 badges, we'll assume that it is rear-wheel drive—all the better for burnouts ... Editions Quick-Take Review: 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Research: Reviews, Specs, and More GM isn ... read moreForrester Research Recognizes 360i as a Leader in Search Marketing Forrester Research has just released "The Forrester ... adapt internally to fully realize those strategies…" You can view "The Forrester Wave™: Search Marketing Agencies, Q4 2017" report here. read moreAmazon to Expand its Presence in Georgia: LIVE MARKETS BLOG "We are working with our partners to make aviation data accessible and useful to ... so Jim Cramer created a better one at Real Money and blogs there exclusively. We then added legendary hedge fund manager, Doug Kass, with his exclusive Daily Diary and ... read morePhilosophy Professor Tells Bisexual Student Who Criticized Islam 'We're Not Going to Let You Damage the Program' MacDonald attributes his tardiness to a medical condition, but notes that he has been doing better ... trying to make other graduate students feel terrible for our emotional attachments. MACDONALD: Um...all right. BROWNING: And, if you don't understand ... read more

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Source: 2017 #Blogging Research That Will Make You A Better #Blogger

Why #Blogging Is Still Good for Your Career

Why Blogging Is Still Good for Your Career "Blog" is not a beautiful word. In fact, it conjures a range of negative perceptions. Aren't blogs just online diaries — like food blogs, mommy blogs, antique-railroad blogs? Isn't blogging what people did 15 years ago? As a communication medium ... read moreYour bad habits could actually boost your career Your bad habits could work to your benefit on the job. Procrastinating, gum chewing and complaining ... on a task and then do something else while the original project is still in the back of their minds, they're able to form new ideas and solutions. read moreJameis Winston is the same QB he's always been, and it's still not enough for the Bucs In 39 career starts in the NFL ... the ball isn't going to bounce your way. You're not going to see me pout. It's time for us to step up and rise to the occasion. Are our backs against the wall? Yeah. Did I play good? No. Am I going to come out next ... read more

The 2017 Spartans have overachieved — so why does the Northwestern loss feel so deflating? Hats off to Clayton Thorson, Pat Fitzgerald and Northwestern for getting the job done. I don't want to take anything away from them. But I still feel ... thus far. So why does this Northwestern loss feel so deflating? It's because good football teams ... read moreTrump Has a Big Problem with the Middle of the Electorate First Read is your briefing from Meet the Press and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter. WASHINGTON — Given all of the focus on President Trump's political base — and how he's still holding on to ... read more7 Things to Do When Blogging Is Seriously Hard We type a bunch of garbage, hoping that if we get the lame, trite, cliched thoughts out, we'll get to the good stuff. We fidget. We frown. We wait some more. But still ... things you blog about. Because if you don't, then why would your readers? read moreHere's How to Build Your Own DIY MBA in Digital Marketing Related: This Is Why You ... t have a job in digital marketing right now, you can still actively practice digital marketing. Start a blog and practice writing content. Teach yourself SEO. Play around with Google Analytics. Establish your own personal ... read moreA Psychologist's Tips For Making Small Talk When You Have Social Anxiety I never enjoyed making small talk, but I have come to learn the great value that beginning conversations with strangers can have in your life and I no longer avoid striking up conversations. But, I still get ... about doing a good job, and that matters ... read moreHow bedbugs could be the culprit for anemia The doctor started his patient on vitamin supplements, but still the man ... the anemia for good will mean extermination of the bed bugs in your home. Experts agree that you should hire a professional exterminator to get the job done quickly. read moreWhy blogging is good for your career Magazine covers were devoted to blogs. What does "blog" mean? Is it going to kill traditional media? Who should be blogging? Why do we care what you're blogging? Now, blogs are something more akin to traditional (but still new) media. They're not on par ... read more

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Source: Why #Blogging Is Still Good for Your Career

"It Takes More Time" Versus "It Wastes More Time" And Blogging

I see something funny quite commonly when the word "blogging" pops up.

Folks tend to say it takes more time than other online approaches.

But here's how a critical thinker - or a heart centered entrepreneur - thinks of this idea:

Many of the other tactics folks use to try to make money in internet marketing waste more time, effectively bringing them back to square 1 months, years, or even a decade or more down the road.

I have flubbed up royally online in my early days, and even mucked up as of a few years ago with some aspects of my blogging campaign. But when I cleared out a lot of the "I don't have the time for this" fear I embodied Steve Pavlina's piece of advice, that he repeated again and again: if you plan to be around 1, 2 or 3 years down the road, it makes sense to do whatever you are doing, right.

Yesterday, someone emailed me asking to place a link on my blog. He was a stranger. I advised him to build a relationship with me, to comment on my blog, to retweet me. I'd happily do the same if his content was up to snuff. Then maybe I place the link, a few months down the road, because I trust him them. He emailed me back saying that unfortunately, he was up against a deadline, and didn't have the time to do those things.

Of course, his fear of taking more time is goading him to waste more of his time.

It's a mental block: I don't have the time to do something that would bring me some success now, and more success later, so I'll do something that totally wastes my time now, and later.

You can prosper through other channels of course and have loads of success. Just remember that when you do it right - following your passion and solving problems - going the blogging route is not wasting your time, unlike many of these other marketing or business-building schemes people are using. Blogging effectively builds your success 1 day at a time. Almost like moving into a massive mansion that you build 1 brick at a time, at first, then as you building your content, and your blogger friend network by promoting other bloggers and not looking for anything in return, you have a team of contractors around you, piling up those bricks quickly, and you get more excited as you see that house getting closer to being built.

Blogging may take a bit more time to build something meaningful, and profitable, but many of these other tactics waste more of your time in building something worthless, or at the very least, fleeting.

Ryan

Source: "It Takes More Time" Versus "It Wastes More Time" And Blogging

How to Identify High-Quality Guest #Blogging Opportunities

How to Identify High-Quality Guest Blogging Opportunities Although Google's former Distinguished Engineer Matt Cutts declared guest blogging "dead" in 2014, it's honestly more alive than ever today. Modern marketers understand the benefits of using guest blogging to accomplish business goals. These ... read moreFour Ways Guest Blogging Grows Your Blog Audience Quickly Your entire blog ... opportunities to do interviews for other blogs and podcasts. You may even land yourself a public speaking gig -- which really boosts your visibility. Even though you're publishing guest blogs for free, always focus on creating high ... read moreHow Branding Through Published Content Can Rapidly Grow Your Small Business You are presented with business opportunities that don't require capital ... Simply put, producing visible, high-quality content can help accelerate your digital footprint rapidly. If you're a plumber, aim to publish content about different ways ... read more

$1000 for Influencer Marketing: Top Guns Tell You How to Spend the Money If they consistently post high-quality content that is relevant to my brand ... about $200 a SEMrush subscription for one month and a few additional services. Guest blogging will give you the best bang for your buck. For about $800 you can hire good ... read moreHow to Write Awesome Blog Content for Your Nonprofit First, you should create great blog content so that people will understand the cause you support, the mission you're advancing, and the impact donors can have. This will be much more likely if you have a high-quality, well-written post, whether it's a ... read moreCould This Be The Best Blogging Tactic No One is Talking About? How is Relaunching Old Blog Posts going to Increase Traffic to my Blog? You wouldn't go back over all of them, but you should at least have a look and identify if some can ... so does their demand for high-quality content. Modern consumers are self ... read more9 Ways Influencer Outreach Can Help You and Your Blog Here are just a few of the resources we have available: How to Approach Influencers in Your Niche (podcast episode) How to Grow Your Blog by Interviewing Influencers 7 Powerful Non-SEO Reasons to Try Guest Posting But in this blog post I want to talk ... read moreAnswers for Modern Communicators on #PRStudChat To help modern communicators be at their best every single time, the October edition of #PRStudChat featured a very special guest. This October ... Today's communicator has opportunities to learn everywhere: through podcasts, online courses, online ... read moreHow to taste wine like a pro And the best way to do this is to find exceptional wines that offer high quality, without an inflated price tag." Developing tasting ability is a lifetime pursuit, as there is an unending array of characteristics to identify. "My goal for better ... read moreBuild Your Brand and Acquire Links Through Podcast Guesting While I think producing a podcast is a great idea and can provide many benefits for your business, there are also a plethora of opportunities ... high-quality content and awareness to the podcaster's audience (podcasts get shared more than blog posts ... read more

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Source: How to Identify High-Quality Guest #Blogging Opportunities

Is blogging the best way to sell my information product?

I'm asking because I have been blogging for a year now (I've written 40 articles with videos for each) and have got very few results... I acquired a couple people (25) on my list but do not get regular traffic and have not made a sale yet...

Is blogging the best way to start making money? Many people told me that it is since I'm trying to build a brand, but that it takes a very long time to start working...

I am getting discouraged because of my lack of results and I am starting to second-guess every decision that I take. I don't know if I'll be able to withstand another year of no results...

I would LOVE to start making money soon, even if its just a 1$. Just the fact of making 1$ would change everything for me... I taught that I would be making money by now and I am extremely scared that my project is never going to work. I feel defeated and really want to make this work. My niche is not the problem because many people are making money in this niche.

I just fini shed a 90 day challenge and I am starting a new one. I am trying to figure out what to focus on but would like you guys 2 cents.

Do you know of any online business coach? I would love to talk with someone that actually sits down and takes a look at my business to help me figure out what my next move should be.

If you have any questions plz let me know.

Source: Is blogging the best way to sell my information product?

Friday Squid Blogging: Steel Mesh Giant Squid Used as Artificial Reef

Researchers in the British Virgin Islands have sunk a giant squid made out of steel mesh to serve as an artificial reef.

As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven't covered.

Read my blog posting guidelines here.

Tags: squid

Source: Friday Squid Blogging: Steel Mesh Giant Squid Used as Artificial Reef

How to Get Started With the Ghost #Blogging Platform

How to Get Started With the Ghost Blogging Platform The Ghost blogging platform is the brainchild of John O'Nolan. Ghost was first conceived in 2012 in a blog post while O'Nolan was working for WordPress on the User Interface team. He felt WordPress had moved away from its blogging roots to focus more ... read morePlaybook Fridays: How to Query Abuse.net with Playbooks We also released the Abuse.net ThreatConnect Playbook app open source to give you an example of the power behind the Platform's orchestration tool ... a "Tag Applied" filter on a Host indicator to start the playbook when a tag of "spam" or "phishing ... read moreHow Google Goggles Won, Then Lost, the Camera-First Future Lots of projects within Google start the same way: one person builds something, shows it around, generates enough excitement to get a few more people interested ... showed off for its Facebook Camera platform in 2017. Google was years earlier to the ... read more

How to Start a Vlog for Your Business the Right Way As I am a newbie to vlogging, you will find the basics in this blog. Why should a company be vlogging and how do you get started? Are there things you ... provide a service to your viewers as well as a platform for the expert, no matter where that person ... read moreHow To Jumpstart Your Online Profile With A Podcast With the best will in the world, even if you started a blog today, it would take months if not years for ... that are more likely to get shared – that's a big time commitment. Podcasting could be a solution. Not only is it a lot easier to record ... read moreHow Floyd Mayweather Helped Two Young Guys From Miami Get Rich "Get yours before they sell out," he wrote above a picture ... The first cracks in the project appeared in early August when a programmer, Harry Denly, wrote on his blog that Mr. Edwards appeared to be made up. The photo on Centra's website was ... read moreChildren's Literary Agents Roundup: How to Write for Young Audiences John Rudolph's (Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC) list started out as mostly children's books ... If we go on to work together, there is time to build platform and branding after we get a book deal. A smart platform is important to have in place once ... read moreWordPress Killer? Welcome To Ghost (and How to Install it on a Raspberry Pi) Keep blogging simple. Ghost is a new blogging platform built upon Node.js ... Pi via SFTP – I'm going to assume you know how to do that much. Next, SSH to get started. ssh pi@10.0.1.10 (or your RPi IP address) sudo su apt-get update apt-get upgrade ... read moreNode.js-based Ghost blogging platform opens to the public a Node.js-based minimalist blogging platform. The application blew through a Kickstarter goal and has been under heavy development; last month, Kickstarter backers were granted early access to the application to get started with it (my own Ghost-based blog ... read moreThe 18 best blogging sites and publishing platforms on the internet today Despite ongoing cries that blogging is slowly dying, there are still tons of people looking to start a new free blog for ... A beautifully designed minimal platform for getting blogging done. If Medium and Ghost had a child, Silvrback would be the result ... read more

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Source: How to Get Started With the Ghost #Blogging Platform

Senator: Mocha Uson has to draw the line on blogging

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 25) — A senator believes Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson should "draw the line" between her blog and official work.

"It would be weird for me to say na stop blogging. It would not be right for her to blog about something na affected yung work niya [that affects her work]. You have to draw the line," Senator Joel Villanueva, author of the anti-fake news bill, told CNN Philippines' The Source on Wednesday.

"What I'm saying is, you can still be a blogger, but do not cross the line. If you can't tell that line, then you have to decide to give it up," he added.

Villanueva said Uson can blog, for example, about lifestyle subjects or topics that do not conflict with her work. He said it could also be okay to report on what the President is doing, as long as she did not "add spice" to his statements.

"The moment you add spice, like galit si presidente sa isang tao, dinagdagan mo — minura mo, et cetera, hindi na yun [if the President is angry at someone and you add onto it — you curse him, et cetera, that's out of line]," said Villanueva.

His statement echoes that of his colleague Senator Nancy Binay, who urged her to choose between being a blogger or an assistant secretary during a Senate probe on fake news in early October.

Related: Senators urge Mocha Uson: Use your power wisely

Uson's controversial social media blog has been accused of peddling false and misleading information. She also went head to head with administration critic Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, posting unverified proof of his alleged offshore bank accounts.

 

Villanueva is pushing for Senate Bill 1492, or the proposed Anti-Fake News Act of 2017, which lays down penalties for the malicious spreading of false information. He is also a member of the Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, chaired by Sen. Grace Poe.

Villanueva expressed admiration for Poe's "patience." He said he was disappointed at the turnout of the Senate probe. Some netizens said the hearing became a platform for pro-administration bloggers, such as Thinking Pinoy blogger RJ Nieto, to peddle more fake news.

"I was a little bit disappointed with the fact that the hearing went to that direction, put so much weight on the ideas of the bloggers -- yung mainstream, hindi masyadong binigyan ng weight [input from mainstream media didn't get much weight], and the legal experts. In the next hearing, I would suggest we dwell more on that," said Villanueva.

He added blogging was a "gray area" that legislators had to look into when examining measures for accountability.

Villanueva's proposal falls short of providing an exact definition for fake news. The senator said this was because the law should "give the court the leeway to realize if this is indeed fake or not."

Instead, the bill lists four elements for fake news:

malicious intent

publication, distribution, circulation or spread of information via print, broadcast, or online media

causes "panic, division, chaos, violence, hate or which exhibit... a propaganda to blacken or discredit one's reputation"

if the person "knowingly comits" the act with full knowledge or reasonable grounds to believe that such information is false

Under the bill, all elements have to be proven in court before a person is held liable for spreading false information. Violators will face a fine of up to P5 million, and imprisonment of up to 5 years.

Villanueva said he is open to suggestions on improving the bill.

Source: Senator: Mocha Uson has to draw the line on blogging

#Blogging about a new paper about #Blogs

BLOG: I think I just received a threat If a newspaper editor is going start attacking peoples character ... It just so happens that we have a new phone system that provides a phone log. read more"You Grow, Girl!" blog series amplifies voice of female farmers See all of the posts in the "You Grow, Girl!" series, here. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/you-grow-girl-blog-series-amplifies-voice-of-female-farmers-300543922.html read moreMedia Speculates About Ivanka Trump's Potential 'Sex Playlist' President Trump has a new reason to rail against the liberal media. Forget speculation about his own sex life, the media is now speculating about his daughter's sex life. In an allegedly investigative piece, the Huffington Post's Ashley Feinberg claims ... read more

2 Former Female Engineers Filed a Discrimination Complaint Against Uber Two former Uber engineers have filed complaints with California regulators alleging unfair pay and other workplace discrimination, the news website Axios reports ... Fowler is the former Uber engineer whose blog post from earlier this year about the ... read moreLabour suspends MP Jared O'Mara over misogynistic jokes about rape & teenage girls — RT UK News On Monday, O'Mara resigned from the Women and Equalities Committee after right-wing blog Guido Fawkes unearthed offensive comments made by O'Mara some time ago. He claimed he had been on a "journey" since posting the comments more than a decade ago. read moreNo, Facebook Is Not Planning To Split News Feed Into Separate Feeds For Friends & Pages Facebook has issued a clarification on the new experimental news feed that was put ... This impact of this move was noticed by a journalist at a Slovakian newspaper named Filip Struhárik who wrote a blog post about this on Medium. He noted that pages ... read moreESP8266-Based E-Paper Wi-Fi Weather Station When Daniel Eichhorn tweeted about his new version using an e-paper display module ... The setup guide is available at https://blog.squix.org/espaper-setup-guide. Because I was familiar with his other weather stations, I had the module up and running ... read moreUber Sexual Harassment Movie in the Works With Susan Fowler Fowler disclosed the ride-share company's problems in a Feb. 19 blog post titled "Reflecting on One Very ... Schroeder is also repped by Good Fear. The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood. read moreMiranda Lambert, Anderson East Did NOT Split, Despite Speculative Report The blog then asserts, "Wait a minute ... Did they actually break up?" But real news outlets don't look to its readers for answers. They're expected to investigate and then provide them. Instead of fact-checking to find out if these breakup ... read moreMeet the children blogging about their world A bald-eagle skull – now his favourite – arrived wrapped in brown paper and addressed ... but Maelo has free rein to blog whenever she wants, about whatever she wants, as long as it is political or in the news. Following the rape and murder of a ... read more

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Source: #Blogging about a new paper about #Blogs

Is blogging the best way to sell my information product?

I'm asking because I have been blogging for a year now (I've written 40 articles with videos for each) and have got very few results... I acquired a couple people (25) on my list but do not get regular traffic and have not made a sale yet...

Is blogging the best way to start making money? Many people told me that it is since I'm trying to build a brand, but that it takes a very long time to start working...

I am getting discouraged because of my lack of results and I am starting to second-guess every decision that I take. I don't know if I'll be able to withstand another year of no results...

I would LOVE to start making money soon, even if its just a 1$. Just the fact of making 1$ would change everything for me... I taught that I would be making money by now and I am extremely scared that my project is never going to work. I feel defeated and really want to make this work. My niche is not the problem because many people are making money in this niche.

I just fini shed a 90 day challenge and I am starting a new one. I am trying to figure out what to focus on but would like you guys 2 cents.

Do you know of any online business coach? I would love to talk with someone that actually sits down and takes a look at my business to help me figure out what my next move should be.

If you have any questions plz let me know.

Source: Is blogging the best way to sell my information product?

How to Smash Your #Blogging Goals in Just 5 Days

How to Smash Your Blogging Goals in Just 5 Days Here's a thought: What if life is never easier? What if you never find more time, money or confidence? What if tomorrow and the day after and the day after that are no different to today? How will you ever achieve your goals and get those 'one day ... read moreThe Inbound Investment: How to Plan Your Marketing Budget According to the Wall Street Journal, companies on average spend 7.5 ... goals fall into one of two areas – awareness and conversion. All of this takes time, which means if your company has a content team of one, then adding more resources is essential ... read moreHow To Always Be Right In Business You don't need to be afraid of those people rather bring them onto your team and work together toward the same business goals. Yes ... people who do more than just stand or sit for eight or more hours five days a week. You want people who are going ... read more

How the New Era of Marketing Requires 'Flipping the Funnel' In Killing Marketing, I shared how we took an innovative approach to help B2B marketers wake up to the fact that the days of ... started to blog consistently in hopes of bringing awareness to the community. Revenue can come from outside of your company. read moreHow To Be Happy In The Morning Even If You Cringe At The Idea Of Waking Up Early But I promise you that waking up hours before noon, or even 10 a.m., will have you seizing the crap out of your day. Here are a few ways to ease yourself into it. No one expects you to wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy at 5 a.m. if you're used ... read moreToo Few Shares and Comments? Check Out 5 Steps and Tools to Engage Your Readers! Check Out 5 Steps and Tools to Engage Your Readers! What is the goal of a content creation strategy ... One could have 10,000 monthly unique views to a blog, but it doesn't mean anything if those visitors are just peeking at the pages to then scamper ... read moreHow to Make Your Homepage Actually Convert Your homepage ... that long blog posts convert better than short ones. Shorter homepages can increase conversions. I found this out the hard way on Crazy Egg when I was trying to optimize it for conversions. At first, I wanted to include just about ... read moreBase Body Babes: How To Smash Your Lifestyle Goals ... and achieve your goals. 2. Get organised – Plan your week in advance. Schedule and organise your training as you would a regular work meeting. No matter how you feel, if you're low on energy or having a bad day, JUST TURN UP, you will feel so much ... read moreBest Ways to Make Money on Facebook But it's not just a way for you ... are very important these days—people want to watch them. And they don't have to be professionally produced. If you have a blog, you should also post a link to every new post on your Facebook page. read more

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Source: How to Smash Your #Blogging Goals in Just 5 Days

Why mommy blogging is now a big thing—but it has rules

Shari Santillan Poquiz with Selene, 4, and Tristan Gabriel, 1

In recent years, blogs, particularly by mothers, have burst into cyberspace. An online journal of personal interests has become a source of income and empowerment for mothers who have found their own voice.

However, there are issues that come with blogging. Some mothers are too gushy about their kids that they post every activity. How far can they go with their family lives without "oversharenting," or going overboard on social media?

Then there are real-life stories that come with product placements. Heather Armstrong, one of America's most powerful bloggers, wrote, "This used to be called mommy blogging. Now it's called Influencer Marketing."

Interviews with mothers with high-profile social media accounts reveal what has become a legitimate business. Followers see the sponsored content, which features the bloggers' children, as harmless. These bloggers are on their toes, striking a balance between earning the trust of their followers and pitching to potential customers.

Although their children have also been gaining popularity in cyberspace, the mothers have set boundaries.

They told Lifestyle that while they may be conscientiously photographing their kids' daily fashion, there are things that remain off-limits to maintain privacy.

Charisse and Sheikha Villegas

Charisse Kay D. Villegas, 32, is a lawyer and a mother of two, Julia Francesca or Sheikha and Jeorgia Farrah. Sheikha, 5, is dressed in a black high-neck top and black-and-white gingham pants, a nod to mommy blogger Cat Arambulo-Antonio's style.

Sheikha is like Villegas' Barbie doll whom she enjoys dressing up and showing off on IG: @sheikha_bella. The six-month Instagram account has already gained 13,200 followers. Most of them are "kiddie bloggers"—mothers using their children's names.

Eventually, stores started offering Sheikha clothes. Followers began mimicking her style, with the hashtag #twinningwithSheikha.

Villegas said she can't measure the engagement because she turned off the business profile setting. She doesn't believe in paying for increased visibility to attract more followers or business. "People just follow on their own. If others want a collaboration or sponsorship, then they send a DM (direct message)."

Sponsors send Sheikha clothes and accessories in exchange for Villegas posting photos of her using their products. The young account has no rates yet. Other companies give Sheikha gift certificates for goodwill.

SM Beauty sent Sheikha lead-free lipstick for children. After the child modeled it for IG, Villegas took it away from her.

Charisse Villegas with Sheikha

With her increasing popularity, Sheikha gets invited to children's events. At Old Navy, she was photographed in an asymmetric check dress, toting a bag with the logo. In exchange, she gets freebies or loot bags. "If there's an event with a toy company, she's happy to get free toys," said the mother.

Villegas doesn't post photos of her daughter wearing anything revealing. She avoids "ATM" (at the moment) posts. She does it after they leave the venue.

Villegas is planning to set up her own lifestyle blog, which will include Sheikha. Asked how she will handle compensation for Sheikha's promotions, she said she'll deal with it when it happens. "For now, it's just for fun. I didn't expect that sponsors would be sending products to her."

Andi and Olivia Reyes

DJ, TV host and actress Andrea Bianca "Andi" Manzano Reyes, 30, started her show-biz career at 18. Inevitably, her fans became her followers in her IG, Facebook and YouTube accounts, @andimanzano.

Her Facebook page has attracted two million followers, her YouTube has 30,000 subscribers, and her Instagram has half a million followers from as far as England, Dubai, Norway and Australia.

Asked if the contents are like reality shows, Reyes replied: "Nowadays, there are so many orchestrated posts. People just want to see the real thing, too. They will get to know you better, who you are as a parent or a woman."

Reyes credits technology for instantaneous interaction with followers, unlike the days of fan mail.

Gushcloud, an influencer marketing company, organized a meet-and-greet in Singapore with Reyes' followers.

Like any first-time mother, Reyes was excited to share milestones in the life of her toddler daughter Pilar Olivia. Barely three years old, she has 307,000 followers on her Instagram, @oliviamreyes.

"As proud parents, we wanted to tag someone so that when she grows up, she would see her photos," said Reyes. Sharing on social media is always spontaneous and never an obligation.

"I'm aware that I have many followers, but I want to share because I'm happy," she said.

A few months ago, she started vlogging (video blogging), "when my daughter and I went to Disneyland. I took the video as a memento. When she gets older, she will see what happened," Reyes said.

Reyes limits posts to photos showing typical toddler activities. There are videos poolside showing Olivia feeding her mother taho, and the toddler wearing Minnie Mouse ears and ribbons while dancing to a Justin Timberlake song. Although Olivia endorses brands, these are absent from her account.

"The brands come in a photo shoot or TVC," said Reyes. Olivia's product endorsements appear in Reyes' accounts.

With her large following, Olivia is sometimes recognized by strangers in a mall.

Andi Reyes and daughter Olivia

As a parent, Reyes set a rule: Post sensibly.

Shari and Selene Poquiz

When Sharina Marie "Shari" Santillan Poquiz, 28, was pregnant with her firstborn, the morning sickness made it difficult for her to work. After quitting her job in media planning, she took to blogging at home.

With the birth of daughter Michelle Poquiz Macainag or Selene, Poquiz's cyber lifestyle journal continued with beauty product reviews. Lately, she has been classified as a mommy blogger; www.mistymom.com gets 150,000 views a month and has an international reach.

Most of her followers are millennial mothers who enjoy beauty products. Eventually, mothers started asking for tips, such as what diapers and other products she favored for Selene, 4, and Tristan Gabriel, 1.

"Some feel as if they've grown up with Selene. They saw her when she was a baby," said Poquiz.

Her website has collaborated with mom brands. Selene was brought to the event Absolute Disney. Tristan was photographed playing with a puff of Belo Talc-Free Powder. The entry ends with an advertisement of social media celebrity toddler Scarlet Snow sharing tips on how kids her age should keep fresh.

Poquiz is prudent about sharing her family life. She describes herself as a liberal parent, but doesn't want to be misconstrued. "If the child wants chocolate today, I say okay. If I reveal that in public, I'd get comments," she said.

For the longest time, she resisted writing about parenting: "Some moms can get preachy. They cannot accept how other moms raise their kids. You can't impose your parenting techniques on others. Parenting is like learning on the job. I have my own style and it's not perfect. But I wouldn't go as far as telling another mom what she should do.

"I'm just sharing how I live my life, how I'm a mom to my kids and, if followers can relate, then let's connect."

Asked if children should have their own social media accounts, she noted that parental guidance is needed, and it shouldn't interfere with a child's normal activities or school.

"It has to be regulated," she said. "Selene knows we work for some brands. They send this item. We need to take a picture and show them how we use it in our lives. But I don't force her if she doesn't want to be involved." —CONTRIBUTED

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Source: Why mommy blogging is now a big thing—but it has rules

How to Find Your #Blogging Niche with #WordPress

How to Find Your Blogging Niche with WordPress As a new blogger, you may be a little uncertain about how to get started. Especially if you want to gain a large audience or earn income from your blog, you can easily get overwhelmed by the number of decisions you have to make, such as what to write about. read moreHow to Create a Content Strategy for Your WordPress Website or Blog No, if you want to use content marketing to grow your business, you need a structured approach and a plan. For that reason, in this article, we will show you how to create a content strategy for your WordPress site. Below, you will find a six-step plan to ... read moreHow to Reduce HTTP/S Requests in WordPress So, you need to find a way ... the header of your website. Your JavaScript file then needs to go in the footer. The most common example of this shows up in the comments feed of a blog. Did you know that if you leave the default WordPress commenting system ... read more

From Building WordPress Sites to Selling Plugins in One Year Since then, I've learned that you can have your cake and eat it too ... A client wanted a table listing all of their blog posts. We didn't find any WordPress table plugins that could do this dynamically, so we developed a bespoke plugin for the ... read more17+ Best Fashion WordPress Themes (2017) for Blog & Magazine Sites Browse through this curated selection of fashion WP website templates, stylish WooCommerce themes, and fashion blog WordPress themes, to find just the right one for your site design in 2017: The first fashion WordPress theme on our list, Kloe, features a ... read moreFirst Steps Before You Start With the WordPress Tutorial For example, if you are going to create a WordPress blog ... to find competition. The competition indicates that there is demand, that there is a market and that you can take advantage of your share of the pie. Rather, focus on a hyper-specific niche ... read moreHow to Create a Successful Coupon Website You need to identify a potential niche, or location, that isn't already crowded with other coupon websites. If you can target the right market and audience, then your coupon website will quickly begin to generate revenue. There are many WordPress themes ... read moreOur WordPress Content Curation Guide – What You Need to Know Nowadays, it seems like everyone and their mother has a blog, so content curation is a ... you could curate content on a specific topic (like WordPress), or a medical condition, or anything else that tickles your fancy! You have a few different options ... read moreHow to start a blog and create amazing content ideas for it? You can choose from readily built WordPress themes for your blog interface. There are numerous free ... Read popular blogs and get to know the trending topics in your niche. 2. Read news and find the latest advancements in your niche. read moreHow to Become a Self-Made Expert in Digital Marketing Find ... as well as your blog page. Promote your page through Facebook advertising, which you can do for as little as $10. Make sure your blog has an option to like and share on Facebook, and embed social sharing, which you can do through WordPress plugins ... read more

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Source: How to Find Your #Blogging Niche with #WordPress

Three Tips to Blogging Author Chats, Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of Three Tips to Blogging Author Chats. We will explore some easy-to-use technologies, as well as share some possible solutions.

Tip #2 – Blend in simple, easy-to-use technologies that empower your conversation.

"Ok," you may think, "I know how to do Socratic Seminar. But how do I work technology into all this?" You can use technology in a variety of ways. One easy way is to establish an online space where conversations can take place. A perfect location for this is a web log, or blog. The blog organizes its latest entries–think of them as multimedia journal entries that allow for text, video, audio–in reverse chronological order, and allows people to leave comments. And these can be moderated to prevent inappropriateness.

Some blog platforms that you should consider include:

KidBlog

Write About

Edublogs

Seesaw Class Blog (view sample blog)

In addition to these four blogging tools, consider taking advantage of tools like the new Google Sites or Microsoft OneNote. Each allows for open-ended questions that students can respond to, or develop questions in response to a prompt. You can have these prompts available and roll them out for inner/outer circles to ponder and discuss, or, better yet, have the students create the prompts themselves.

Tip #3 – Take the Well-Worn Path to Success

Why not follow tried-and-true approaches taken by other teachers?  If you can find a book author on Twitter, you have a great opportunity for initiating an online conversation. For example, I've easily connected with my favorite fantasy authors (Jonathan Maberry and Jonathan Moeller) via Twitter. They might be willing to join in on a conversation with students.

You can also invite other well-known educators, community members, university professors, and/or writers. Each can participate in conversations with your students online. The goal is to nurture a rich, free-flowing, wide-ranging, academically-focused conversation. This allows modeling for students as to how this happens in real life.

Adapt Socratic Seminar for a Blog

Here's an approach you can take, adapted from the work of other educators online:

Read one chapter a week.

Students in center circle (in the fishbowl) lead the discussion.

Students in the outer circle (outside the fishbowl) listen to the inner circle and have their own conversation via the blog.

Invite adults learners from around the world to discuss chapters and leave comments.

At the end of the process, have the author respond to questions students in both circles have generated.

At the end of each session, have students share their reflections online in the blog or blog comments section. You could even use Flipgrid or LetsRecap to mange an asynchronous exchange with the author. Watch this 38-minute video of Arapahoe students and teachers sharing how they approached this.

Live or Pre-Recorded Author Chats Made Easy

Given the wide availability of desktop video conferencing solutions such as Skype, Google+ Hangouts, Adobe Connect, and Appear.in, there's no reason why your students couldn't meet other adult learners and/or author(s) face to face for short discussions (15-20 minutes), discussing key concepts in the text. There are many ways to engage young writers and authors. Blogs and Twitter are simple ways to "shrink the world" and bring people closer together.

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Source: Three Tips to Blogging Author Chats, Part 2

Robert Natelson guest-#Blogging about leading framing-era thinker John Dickinson

Robert Natelson guest-blogging about leading framing-era thinker John Dickinson | Latest News Robert Natelson guest-blogging about leading framing-era thinker John Dickinson I'm delighted to report that Robert Natelson, long a University of Montana law professor and now, following his retirement, senior fellow in constitutional jurisprudence at the Independence Institute, Heartland Institute and Montana Policy Institute ... read more

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Source: Robert Natelson guest-#Blogging about leading framing-era thinker John Dickinson

Online Lives: Meet travel blogging couple Elaine and Dave

Blogging couple Elaine and Dave Murray have a globe-trotting relationship which they share on their website, thewholeworldisaplayground.com, writes Denise O'Donoghue. 

"We're an adventure loving couple with an incredible passion for travel — we're always planning or taking off on some sort of adventure and love exploring new destinations and embracing all that the world has to offer," they said.

"We're on a mission to experience as much as of the globe as possible and have travelled to 60 countries so far. We aim to visit 15 countries each year and also hope to visit all Unesco World heritage sites in the world. We're currently at over 200."

The couple share travel inspiration with their followers, from short-haul city breaks to longer trips.

"We're passionate about all types of travel: From hiking in the Norwegian mountains to road tripping across Africa to city breaks in Europe we just love travel and our bucket list gets longer every day."

Social media plays a huge role in their blogging.

"Dave is a travel photographer so it's no surprise that Instagram is our favourite social media tool. We love presenting a destination through beautiful pictures and Instagram is also a constant source of inspiration for us when we are planning our travels."

Elaine and Dave say they enjoy the freedom their lifestyle offers and they have made some great friends along the way.

"Our happiest times are watching the sunrise in some remote corner of the planet, with a camera and notebook in our hand, producing creative content and enjoying the surroundings. To us, that's true freedom. Meeting amazing, like-minded people across the world has been an added bonus — some of our strongest friendships have stemmed from the blogging industry and it's fantastic to have friendly faces in every corner of the globe

The stamps on their passports would make anyone envious.

"We've swam on the edge of Victoria Falls in Zambia, flown into the Okavango Delta in Botswana in a private jet, watched the sunrise over the temple plains in Bagan, slept under the stars in the Jordanian desert, navigated glaciers in Norway, danced with Mariachi bands in Mexico City, slept in monasteries, caves, ryokans, tents and capsules as well as some of the most luxurious hotels in the world. It's such a privilege to experience as much of the world as possible and we try and embrace every second of it.

"It can be exhausting but it's very rewarding and we love every second of it."

© Irish Examiner Ltd. All rights reserved

Source: Online Lives: Meet travel blogging couple Elaine and Dave

You Have To Have A Side Hustle (Like Me With My #Blogging) — Here’s Why

You Have To Have A Side Hustle (Like Me With My Blogging) — Here's Why This whole blogging thing you see me do is my ... a side hustle. Start with what you like doing and then design a side hustle around it. Ensure that at least one action is taken every day. Then, let that momentum build into a side hustle. Once you have ... read moreI Wish Thought Leaders Would Stop Trying To Sell Me Their Garbage This is my side hustle. I've got a day job that pays me very well ... I might have to work more than four hour workweeks but I'll never ask my audience to pay my bills: I've already got that figured out. So, if you like what I write and want more ... read moreGot a Hobby? How to Turn What You Love Into a Paying Business And when we have time, we'd rather spend it watching ratchet TV to give our overworked neurons a break. Ok maybe not everybody, but you know, some of us… [Related: A Side Hustle ... to my love for writing. The first time a friend asked me if ... read more

Know When a Side Gig is More Hurtful Than Helpful The reality is that, had I not decided to start blogging in 2009, it's unlikely that I would have developed ... on the side: You can find a million articles about how to start a side hustle or business, but very few about… We'd all like to think that ... read moreI turned my side hustle into a full-time freelance job — a year later, here's what I can tell you about working for yourself Then I enjoy dinner with my boyfriend, Paul, before going back to work or relaxing, depending on the night. Time management is a work in progress for me, but I'm happy to say I'm getting there. If you ... have sprung up as a result, like October ... read moreWhat to Consider Before You Leave a Salaried Job to Work for Yourself You don't, for instance, get the money and have ... me, 'It must be great to work for yourself. You can take a day off whenever you want.' Yes, you could, but you won't get paid," she says. "Don't get into this if you don't like to hustle." Launching a ... read moreAlternative Income Update: September 2017 We have to warn everyone what is going on, but then it makes us feel like ... gives me time to do some basic family errands (shopping, cooking, dishes, laundry, walking my own dog, etc.). At blogging conventions a popular question is "Are you a full- ... read moreWhy Your Team Sucks 2017: New England Patriots I have zero conception of what it is like ... right. My partner is a Steelers fan, and still everyone I know who isn't from NE takes his side when it comes down to it. Need I say more? Dave: You can still troll any Patriots fan (including me) and get ... read moreIf You're On A Bike And An App Tells You To Take The Lincoln Tunnel, Don't I'm not a genius, which will become increasingly clear to all of you, but I urge you to not do at least one simple ... was intercepted by Port Authority police on the New Jersey side of the tunnel around 7:30 p.m. He explained to officers how he came ... read more

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Source: You Have To Have A Side Hustle (Like Me With My #Blogging) — Here's Why

Three Tips to Blogging Author Chats, Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of Three Tips to Blogging Author Chats. We will explore some easy-to-use technologies, as well as share some possible solutions.

Tip #2 – Blend in simple, easy-to-use technologies that empower your conversation.

"Ok," you may think, "I know how to do Socratic Seminar. But how do I work technology into all this?" You can use technology in a variety of ways. One easy way is to establish an online space where conversations can take place. A perfect location for this is a web log, or blog. The blog organizes its latest entries–think of them as multimedia journal entries that allow for text, video, audio–in reverse chronological order, and allows people to leave comments. And these can be moderated to prevent inappropriateness.

Some blog platforms that you should consider include:

KidBlog

Write About

Edublogs

Seesaw Class Blog (view sample blog)

In addition to these three blogging tools, consider taking advantage of tools like the new Google Sites or Microsoft OneNote. Each allows for open-ended questions that students can respond to, or develop questions in response to a prompt. You can have these prompts available and roll them out for inner/outer circles to ponder and discuss, or, better yet, have the students create the prompts themselves.

Tip #3 – Take the Well-Worn Path to Success

Why not follow tried-and-true approaches taken by other teachers?  If you can find a book author on Twitter, you have a great opportunity for initiating an online conversation. For example, I've easily connected with my favorite fantasy authors (Jonathan Maberry and Jonathan Moeller) via Twitter. They might be willing to join in on a conversation with students.

You can also invite other well-known educators, community members, university professors, and/or writers. Each can participate in conversations with your students online. The goal is to nurture a rich, free-flowing, wide-ranging, academically-focused conversation. This allows modeling for students as to how this happens in real life.

Adapt Socratic Seminar for a Blog

Here's an approach you can take, adapted from the work of other educators online:

Read one chapter a week.

Students in center circle (in the fishbowl) lead the discussion.

Students in the outer circle (outside the fishbowl) listen to the inner circle and have their own conversation via the blog.

Invite adults learners from around the world to discuss chapters and leave comments.

At the end of the process, have the author respond to questions students in both circles have generated.

At the end of each session, have students share their reflections online in the blog or blog comments section. You could even use Flipgrid or LetsRecap to mange an asynchronous exchange with the author. Watch this 38-minute video of Arapahoe students and teachers sharing how they approached this.

Live or Pre-Recorded Author Chats Made Easy

Given the wide availability of desktop video conferencing solutions such as Skype, Google+ Hangouts, Adobe Connect, and Appear.in, there's no reason why your students couldn't meet other adult learners and/or author(s) face to face for short discussions (15-20 minutes), discussing key concepts in the text. There are many ways to engage young writers and authors. Blogs and Twitter are simple ways to "shrink the world" and bring people closer together.

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Source: Three Tips to Blogging Author Chats, Part 2

Blogging Over Breakfast: Start, Grow + Rock Your Own Blog

Whether you're interested in blogging as a hobby or designing a profitable business, this series of classes is designed to help you move forward with your goals. Topics will include getting started, blog creation, branding and logo, and content creation. There will be instruction, discussion, and work time built into the class.

Source: Blogging Over Breakfast: Start, Grow + Rock Your Own Blog

How to Smash Your Blogging Goals in Just 5 Days

This post is by ProBlogger expert Ellen Jackson of Potential Psychology

Have you ever uttered the phrase, 'One day I'll…'?

Of course you have. We all have.

One day I'll schedule my social media

One day I'll improve my web site

One day I'll organise my images (a personal favourite)

One day I'll start a podcast…

Next we say, 'When…'

When I have more time

When I have more money

When inspiration hits

When I've developed my skills

When I feel more confident

When life is easier….

Here's a thought: What if life is never easier? What if you never find more time, money or confidence?

What if tomorrow and the day after and the day after that are no different to today? How will you ever achieve your goals and get those 'one day' tasks done? What if 'one day' never comes?

Procrastination researchers have discovered that our tendency to put things off is a self-delusion designed to make us feel better about today.

'We think that our future self will be better able to handle feelings of insecurity or frustration with the task,' psychologist Dr Fuschia Sirois says. 'That somehow we'll develop these miraculous coping skills to deal with the emotions that we just can't deal with right now.'

Oh dear.

Recently I challenged my audience to see if together we could make some progress on our 'one day' goals. Science tells us that public accountability can help motivate you to achieve your goals, so we teamed up and made a commitment to work together.

We each picked a 'one day' goal – something that had been on the to-do list for months or longer. Tasks we'd been avoiding – important but not urgent. Goals that languished in the backs of minds, niggling, without ever launching forth to a point of urgency.

Our aim?

To follow five simple, science-based steps over five days to make major progress on our 'one day' goals.

The goals were diverse:

'Make a plan to buy my first home'

'Digitise my client files'

'Tidy my spare room'

'Write my ebook'

'Build my potential client base'

We were all filled with enthusiasm, posting images to Instagram each day to share our progress.

The results were gratifying.

"I am well on the way to finishing my ebook. I produced 65 pages of a 100-page book, created the template, designed the cover AND worked out a distribution plan. All in five days! Prior to this I had done… not much for two years."

"I have officially ticked off everything I set out to do this week. Feeling chuffed."

And the steps to get there?

Let me share the five science-based steps to making your 'one day' today.

Step 1: Know EXACTLY What You Want to Achieve by the End of the Five Days

'Fix my web site' is a goal too overwhelming to contemplate. What does 'fixed' look like? How will you know when it's fixed? Will 'fixing' one piece break another one?

No wonder you never start.

When you pull a goal apart and specify exactly what you want to achieve, you do two things:

You get clear on all the little tasks involved. This will help you estimate the time you need, and help you figure out where to start.

You paint a picture of what success looks like. A clear, specific goal like 'By Friday I will have updated the background image on my home page, created links in the menu to my new product pages and rewritten my About Me copy' feels achievable. 'Fix my web site' feels like a task you want to avoid.

Step 2: Take Conscious Action

A clear, specific goal is necessary but not sufficient if you want to achieve your 'one day' project. You need to know where you're going, but it's action that will get you there.

Step two involves two tasks.

Task One: Write it down. Did you know you are 42% more likely to achieve your goal if you write it down? It's not clear how or why this works, but the evidence confirms that it does.

Task Two: Work on your 'Why?' For many of us, motivation comes not just from what we're trying to achieve, but why. Studies have shown that if we connect our goal to something larger and more important ('I want to make money blogging so I can spend more time at home with my children') we are less impulsive, less likely to give in to distractions, and more likely to plan and execute the required actions to reach our goals. When you've articulated your goal, spend some time thinking about why you want to achieve it. Who's involved? How will they benefit? How will achieving this goal improve your life?

Step 3: Stop Looking for Motivation

Motivation: We're all looking for it. Somewhere along the line someone convinced us that when we find our motivation, goal success will be effortless. We just have to find it, and then making client calls will be easy. We'll sit at the laptop and schedule our social media. We won't procrastinate or be distracted. We'll just get stuff done. Simple.

But motivation isn't  'thing.' It can't be found. Motivation, in simple psychological terms, is the desire to do something. You won't find the desire to do something hiding anywhere. You have to create it.

Here's a tip from the world's leading researchers in goal-setting: Make your goal difficult.

Challenging but realistic goals – goals that stretch us but not quite to breaking point – activate motivation. They push us, encourage us and reward us when we achieve them. If a goal is too easy we don't get the get up and go to… well, get up and go. If they're too difficult we're too overwhelmed to start. A stretching, challenging but achievable goal is like Baby Bear's porridge – just right.

Step 4: Use my Favourite Productivity Tip

It's called 'The 15-minute rule' and it rocks. I know because I use it all the time.

Here's how it works:

If there's a task on your list that you're avoiding, commit 15 minutes to it today.

It could be:

15 minutes of writing

15 minutes of client calls

15 minutes tidying your office

15 minutes on that proposal you've been avoiding.

Why does it work? Because getting started is the hardest part of any task. The good news is that once you've started, you're likely to push on beyond the 15 minutes you committed to. It's called the Ovsiankina effect. Your brain doesn't like starting a task and then stopping partway through. It will linger on your unfinished business, niggling at you until you get the job done. Get started and you'll find the motivation to do more.

Step 5: Celebrate Every Step

What do you do when you finish a project or task? Do you tick it off the list and move straight on to the next one? Do you get on a roll, morphing into a task-completion machine? How long can you maintain momentum before you collapse on the lounge with the remote and Netflix?

A critical step in making progress towards difficult goals is celebrating the steps along the way. Yes, a big win feels great. But it's the small wins – the incremental tasks you nail each day – that sustain your motivation and keep you happy and engaged for the long run.

Day five is all about reviewing your progress and celebrating your successes. Make a list of every little thing you've achieved on your 'one day' goal so far. Every little tiny thing. Give yourself a mental high five and put your feet up for a while. You've made a big start on a long-time goal. That deserves a reward. What's more, you're set up to rock on into next week.

Ellen Jackson from Potential Psychology  is a workplace psychologist, consultant, writer and speaker. Her mission is to help others to live, learn and flourish. You can join her next free Quick Win Challenge to nail your 'one day' goal here.

Source: How to Smash Your Blogging Goals in Just 5 Days