I decided to have an end of month Entrecard free credit points give away. Yaay!

How to play?

All you got to do is comment on this post. You can say things like, “Hey Mona! I want some credits!” Stuff like that, or comment on anything else you like. However, here is the catch! Tomorrow evening, I will ask my mother to pick a number between 1 and the maximum number of comments on this post. The number she picks will be the winner. So, the more times you comment on this post in the next 24 hours, the more likely chance you will win.

Easy eh?

Start commenting and spread the word while you are at it to win 6000 EC points tomorrow evening!

Update!!

I decided that the contest will end tomorrow at 8:00 pm EST! That gives people around the world time to enter. I know there are many FAQs in the comments, and I will just address them here.

1. Mom will pick a number, and she really doesn’t have a favorite. I will not video tape it, and just tell you guys honestly what she said. I have no reason to pick anyone in particular.

2. This contest is just for fun so I can meet other Entrecard users, and stay in touch with the community.

3. There will be another contest soon (July 1 or July 2nd), but it will be more of value (money) and a bit more challenging but fun. (Not restricted to Entrecard.)

Last Update!!

If you DO NOT have a website link posted in the comments AND you DO NOT have an Entrecard on your site, then I will delete your comment. It’s not fair to the rest.

Advertising, Blah Blah, Random Thoughts, Thank you

A lot of people ask me to share some tips on how to keep maintaining their online personal blog, drive lots of traffic, and keep people coming back.

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How to get a personal blog started

1. Choose an overall theme to your site. I know it is personal, but you have to have some type of focus point to your site. For example, I am known to write very direct and to the point posts. I don’t sugar coat anything, and I chose the idea of rebellious as a way to represent my ideas to the world. Quick and dirty, but to the point, because that’s who I am. So, ask your self these questions:
   1. What do I want to represent to the world? A reiteration of what happened in my daily life or journal of thoughts that lead to discussions about certain issues related to my daily life?
   2. What writing style should I follow? Should it be complex or simple?
   3. Who are my main target audience?
   4. Should I stay focused to one idea all the time, or be unpredictable every day and bring something new to my audience?
2. Should you start a blog from scratch? Scratch means the following:
   1. Buy your own domain name. I prefer this route, because you want your web presence to be unique online. It’s like your name. You are a unique person, so why not have a unique name online?
   2. Install a platform that you are already familiar with and practiced using. I have used Wordpress.org for a long time. Before I started this blog, I already knew how to use Wordpress and I have used it for other projects. My suggestion for those that are familiar with programming or web design, to test Wordpress first and play around with it before committing to it. If not, get someone else to do it for you.
   3. Choose an interface style or theme. I know many people have the hardest time with this, and would rather download a free Wordpress template, or buy cheap ones if they are deeply committed. However, if you spent the time buying a domain, buying hosting space every month, then why not spend a bit of time to customize your site? Make it personal. It has your name on it. You don’t want to dress like half the people out there, right?
   4. Spend time upgrading your site. There are many plugins out there that will enhance your site’s functionality.
3. Should I monetize my blog? I know many people want to make money online, especially with their blogs. It’s not that easy, and I don’t recommend you doing it from the get-go. You need to attract visitors first, and many of your visitors are not stupid. If they don’t know who you are, and they realized that your site is still new, and they see advertisements permeated all over the site, then they know you are not being sincere in your writing. You are no longer writing for your self and them, but to only make money off of them. I didn’t start putting advertisement on this blog till after 1.5 years maybe into it.

How to drive traffic and maintain a loyal audience

I know this is the hardest thing about maintaining a site. How to get audience? Is submitting your blog to search engines enough? Should commenting on several blogs just to get your name out there enough?

1. Write a lot of different things. Write anything, and everything possible. Don’t limit your self, or think that “someone” out there is watching. Everyone is watching. Stop this fear from writing and knowing people you know in person might be reading it. Who cares?
2. The more you write, the more search engines are attracted to you. Search engines’ bots love new content. The more you write on a daily bases, the more the bots will go through your site and index new content. The more differing thoughts you have, the more keywords it can pick up.
3. Join social networks.
   1. I use Entrecard on a daily bases, and it is the number one tool for me, as a personal blogger, to attract various audience, and to also see what is out there. The more you drop, limit 300 a day, the more exposure you have online to various people all over the world.
   2. I use Stumbleupon every now and then. I find it a great tool for others to help you advertise certain posts to certain categories.
   3. I use Facebook every day. I find it the most personal way to tell others, I will talk to you. I will be more personal with you, using PM, Wall posts, comments, etc. I am not just a person sitting behind a screen writing blog posts. I am like you, and I don’t mind being friends and getting to know you personally, and vice versa.
   4. I use Twitter all day long. It is the number one way to find me online, and quickly ask me a question. I try my best to answer as soon as I can. I try to write about what I am thinking, how I am feeling, and share some cool links I find online.
4. Get others to subscribe to your site. Everyone will tell you that you must have an RSS feed, and an email subscription link. I agree, however, what I really love is when people bookmark your site to their favorites, or know your link by heart. That’s when you know what you really attracted others and gained a loyal audience. You made your mark online, and people now know who you are.

How to make money from a personal blog

I honestly don’t have a definite answer. I make money because my website traffic is high, and I have great internet exposure from the several keywords or phrases from my blog posts. However, I had this site for over three years. In the beginning, I read a lot about making money online in the 1000’s of dollars, but I didn’t know how to take those tips and apply it to a personal blog. I found it to be a great challenge. So I decided to focus more on attracting people to come on a daily bases, and have fun with my blog instead. I stay interactive with my audience and show them that I am really just like them. If I end up making 1000’s of dollars from advertisements every month, then great. I know it is nearly impossible and I doubt I will ever, but we can only hope eh? Otherwise, I will do what I have always been doing, writing to tell a story about me, the world that I live in, and the way I perceive many issues in life. Then, things can keep developing from there, right?

And like the song says, “Que Sera Sera! Whatever will be, will be!”

Cheers!

Advertising, Advice, Blah Blah, Facebook, Random Thoughts, Tweets

I was watching a clip of Robin Williams the other day, and one of his hilarious jokes was that when he was growing up, his parents had to shove oxygen and hydrogen together just to get water. I wonder what he would come up with when he sees this sign. Hmm.

Unfortunately, this is what our capitalist world has come down to. The bare neccessity of life has been given attractive adjectives to get more people into buying it. I am going to stick to water. The last two make me feel like I am at a gas station.

Advertising, Blah Blah, Confused, Funny

I got a store up with all the technical and writing services that I provide. Also, for those that want to advertise on my site, you can do so from now on through the store.

What do you think? Busy weekend for me trying to get it up!

Advertising, Blah Blah, Random Thoughts

I was thinking of making another website to start a custom Wordpress template business. However, I was too lazy to do that right now and I need people’s opinions first. I know some of you wanted to know how I made this template, or want your own custom template. Sure. Ok. Since I am super duper bored, and I need to work for at least 7 hours a day on something, I have decided to start making custom Wordpress templates.

However, before I begin or buy a domain or do anything, I want to see what people will roughly pay for one, because I don’t know how much to sell it for, and what options to sell with the template.

I decided that if you pay $500, I will make you one custom Wordpress template, one year free domain name that you choose and must be available, I will host it forever for free, I will upgrade it for you, and do any technical tweaks you need. Great deal eh?

So, what do you think, and if anyone’s 100% interested then email me to rebelliousarabgirl@gmail.com.

Why am I doing this? I told you I am bored, and I am also frustrated from many bloggers that use the same free templates. I can’t even tell the difference anymore in people’s blogs. This is also a good opportunity for people that use blogger.com to move to Wordpress, get free hosting, and an awesome looking site. I also think this is a great opportunity for people who never had a blog before to start with a great looking site! I just want the blogging world to be eccentric and stand out.

I can make templates look cute, funky, business like, etc.

Advertising, Advice, Blah Blah, Random Thoughts, Sleepy Post, Whatever!