Twitter Puts The Squeeze on Tiny.ly URL Shortener

Achtung! About a week or more ago Twitter blocked Tiny.ly the URL shortening service.

Much to my dismay seeing as it's the only shortener I've been using and I'm sure a lot of you guys have been using it as well.

I've switched over to goo.gl which seems to be a great alternive.

It features a nice bit of analytics too for all your links.

Also if you need it goo.gl goes a step further and even creates your very own QR barcode. Those are those weird looking alien barcodes you may of seen all over the place.

A little look at Goo.gl

If you're using any of the Google services it's probably a good idea to just start using goo.gl seeing as in the future I imagine your goo.gl link data will be integrated into all your other services such as Google Analytics.

If they do that it would take the URL shortening to the next level.

It has it's own API now so expect to see it in your favorite apps soon.

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Gain Extra Traffic By Submitting Your Blog To Zemanta

Zemanta is a brilliant blogging tool made for Chrome and Firefox that allows bloggers to enhance their blog posts as they write.

It works on a number of blogging platforms such as WordPress, Blogger, Typepad, Tumblr, LiveJournal and more.

A sidebar (shown left) is placed next to your compose window and users can see related articles so they can link to them or check them out for research etc.

Either way that means if your blog is in the Zemanta article pool you'll get some traffic.

The good kind of traffic too, in the form of related links placed on other blogs and no doubt the blogger will come to your site and discover something they're interested in as well.

To add your blog go here: How to get your feed into Zemanta? and make sure you read the guidelines before you submit your feed.

You shouldn't have anything to worry about if you have a normal blog with original content.

It is up to them though so make sure your blog is established before considering submitting it to them.

If accepted this is a great way to extend your reach and provides more dynamic traffic than blog directories and the like.

7 Great Ideas On How To Promote Your New Post

So you have another new post, now what?

You've just spend hours and maybe days creating a new post and just hit the publish button.

Do you have a plan on how to help promote the post?

If you don't have some sort of check-list in place for your newly minted creation you could be missing out on its potential.

Unless your blog has a massive following and will virtually share your post in every conceivable way you better get out there and knock on some metaphorical doors.

10 Most Useful Blogging Communities To Help Promote Your Blog

On the many paths to blogging promotion one avenue some bloggers seem to overlook are blogging communities. Just like social media, these type of sites offer a chance to share your ideas and posts with others and meet like-minded people. Not only that they're all dedicated to one thing, blogging.

Blogging communities are not to be confused with blogging directories, although some of the better directories do have a community aspect such as Blog Catalog and Blogged which is a good mix of all of it.

Most directories offer no chance to communicate and share with the other bloggers in directory, where communities have all kinds of features that promote networking. Which essentially is one very best things you can accomplish while blogging, making blogging friends.

It's never better to go it alone, just imagine if you as a new blogger could get in touch with someone who could really help you out? Blogging communities give you that chance to make new connections with other people in your niche.

Updated Nov 13 - 2010

GoTwitr, An Amazing Free Alternative to TweetBig's Twitter Tools

A few weeks ago I introduced you to TweetBig, a wonderful Twitter tool designed to get you targeted followers and much more. While it is outstanding, it costs money. I have received a lot of feedback on my post and it got me to thinking, is there a free counterpart to TweetBig out there?

After a bit of scouring and testing of a few other Twitter tools I came across GoTwitr and tested it out for about a week or so. While I still use TweetBig I can honestly say GoTwitr is an awesome free service that allows you to accomplish nearly the same thing as TweetBig.

When it comes to gaining Twitter followers there are three main things you need the ability to do, find like-minded people and follow them, wait for them to follow you back and unfollow the ones who don't. GoTwitr easily meets these requirements with their two main features.

Keyword Follow

Much like TweetBig's "Keyword Gatherer" tool, Keyword Follow searches for users using a particular keyword related to your blog. In my case I want to target bloggers so I type in "blogging" and I'm presented with a list of around 30 users who either tweet about blogging or have it contained in their bio. You can see an example below.

You have the option to click the "Follow" link on the right of their description or check the box to the left and at the bottom click the "Follow Selected" button. This is primarily how you can gain friends and followers with GoTwitr and it works great.

Smart Purge

Smart Purge is your ticket to get rid of those pesky non-followers. Granted TweetBig's Follow Time bomb feature is infinitely better since you can choose the number of days to allow the user to follow you back but GoTwitr's Smart Purge gets the job done just the same.

There is a limit to how many people you can purge and follow a day on GoTwitr since the API calls are very intensive and its free. Rarely do I get stopped because I hit my limit though. When it comes to Twitter you don't want to abuse it, Twitter doesn't post it's rules and it's a bit unclear what they are exactly. When it comes to following/unfollowing and massive tweeting, moderation is key.

'Grow, Build, Tweet'

Besides those two core features GoTwitr hosts much more. The site features a complete way to manage your tweets, direct messages, followers and friends. You also have the ability to set up groups to help manage your Twitter community a bit better. Which comes in handy for certain situations as you're able to make group members immune from the Smart Purge feature and see what your group is tweeting etc.

If you're looking for an impressive Twitter management tool that's 100% free and safe to use, GoTwitr is your website.

I'd love to hear what type of Twitter tools you're using out there, how do you manage your Twitter following?

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Get 5,000 Free Entrecard Credits Absolutely Free

Happy friday everyone, even happier friday for me because I just scored 5,000 EC credits just from doing what I normally do, blogging. Today Entrecard started a "contest" where everybody wins! To the left is the proof there is no catch, I got them a few hours after I submitted my post. You can see my post at the bottom of the post, luckily I already had my Entrecard post written already. Read the details below.

Ok, if you need Entrecard credits, this is by far the easiest way you’re going to get them with minimal work and it’ll cost you nothing. We’re giving away 5,000 credits ($15 value) free if you do the following:

Just write a review about Entrecard on your blog. Share the pro’s and the con’s (hopefully, there will be pro’s ;) ). And in your blog, please place a link back to this contest (Here’s the URL: http://entrecard.com/blog/?p=1593). Tha’ts it! Once you’re done go to http://entrecard.com/blog/?p=1593 and post the link to your review in the comment section. Also include your Entrecard profile URL (example: http://entrecard.com/details/132139). This is the ONLY way we can issue the 5,000 EC credits to you. Good luck and have fun! :) Team Entrecard Entrecard.com

Do not pass this up guys, even if you don't have an Entrecard account yet sign up and get involved, it's a great source of extra traffic.

My submitted post:
Entrecard Review: Boost Targeted Traffic With Entrecard Free Advertising

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Video: How to Get 5 Million People to Read Your Website

I was going to save this video for my Monday Blogger's Insight Link Roundup but I thought it deserved a closer look. Matthew Inman creator of The Oatmeal gives a quick 5 minute presentation on how he became successful.

Much of this can be boiled down to this, be extremely funny and create professional looking graphic comics and you will have lots of visitors.

With that being said most of us aren't comics with amazing graphics skills, but the basics of what Matt is talking about still can apply to almost any blog if done right.

WATCH:

I think the point he most wants to convey is "find something that everyone thinks about but no one is really talking about". I think this formula could be used for almost any website.

NOTES:

1. Use topics that everyone can relate to.

2. Find topics that aren't explained well and write about it.

3. Use topics that are popular and take a stance on them.

4. Use titles that demand attention and are self explanatory.

5. Be informative without being boring.

He kinda reminds me of Dennis from Always Sunny In Philadelphia if Dennis was a web designer. Anyone else see it? Hehe.

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Entrecard Review: Boost Targeted Traffic With Entrecard Free Advertising

Entrecard.com

After signing up not that long ago I'm already seeing a lot of traffic coming from this service. Best of all it's completely free and easy to use. Entrecard is a website that is similar to what BlogRush was, basically you are buying and selling 125x125 Ad space using a virtual credit system. Every member has the space for a "card" on their website, it must be placed near the top of your site so people can actually see it.

How to Add Custom Social Media Buttons to Blogger Posts Easily

Social media is a wonderful way to promote your blog, and adding the option to share your blog posts is important.

If a visitor thinks your post is interesting they will want to share it fast and easily.

You don't want to miss the opportunity of your post being spread throughout the internet on some of the world's most popular sites.

You may also want to get a bit stylish while doing so, this guide will show you how to add whatever share buttons you want to the bottom of your posts.

This tutorial works well so take your time and go through the steps one by one and I'm also here to help so comment below if you have any questions.

If you're leary about doing DIY template tweaks make a dummy blog to test it out first before you add them to your main blog. And always make a backup of your template's file before attempting any editing.

Over 20 great sites to submit your articles

Looking to do some article marketing?

Submitting your posts as well written articles is a great way to gain some back links in conjunction with search engine optimization.

Here are some excellent recommendations for places to submit your articles and start generating some traffic. I have ranked them based of the Alexa ranking. The ranking is proportional with how much traffic they get. It's not to say though that the ones with the higher number aren't great sites, they just don't get as many hits.

EzineArticles is on top and for good reason. It is widely known as one of the best article directories on the internet. If you only wanted to sign up for one site this may as well be it. Goarticles.com and Articlecube.com are two other great sites I have to mention.

For more information about articles: Build incoming links with articles

For additional blog promotion: Over 25 great sites to submit your blog and get it noticed

Updated Sep 14 - 2010   Remember to bookmark for reference.

Top Picks

EzineArticles	GoArticles	ArticleCube

Article Directories	Alexa Rank
EzineArticles Submission - Submit Your Best Quality Original Articles For Massive Exposure, Ezine Publishers Get 25 Free Article Reprints	121
Free Articles Directory | Submit Articles - ArticlesBase.com	340
Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web	687
Article Directory - Free Expert Article Directory - GoArticles.com	1,637
ArticleSnatch Free Article Directory	1,808
Article Dashboard Directory | Submit Articles | Search Find Free Content | Author Submission	3,174
IdeaMarketers | free content directory	4,273
Free Articles at Amazines.Com - Author Publishing and Free Article Database	4,905
Free Content Articles Directory and Search Engine for your Ezine or Website - Isnare.com	5,256
SearchWarp Writers' Community for Do It Yourself and Current Events Commentary	5,500
ArticleCity.com - Free Articles for Reprint. Free Articles for your web site and newsletters. Submit Your Articles to Our Articles Directory.	5,756
InfoBarrel - Crowdsourcing How To Guides | Earn Money Writing	6,482
Free Ezine Articles Directory | Submit Articles - ArticleRich.com	6,904
Free Articles | Submit Articles | Article Directory - ArticleCube	7,513
Free Articles, Free Web Content, Reprint Articles	10,737
Free articles - Article collections - Article database | Free Article Submission	15,123
Free Articles Directory | Submit Articles - Articlebliss	15,539
ArticleMotron Article Directory	18,146
Article Land	57,209
Submit Your Articles | Get Free Content | Add an Article to Article Showroom	61,986

Did I miss your favorite one? Let me know in the comments. "Get Unlimited Supply Of High PR Backlinks And Laser Targeted Traffic From Article Marketing... All Done In Minutes On Autopilot!"

Over 25 great sites to submit your blog and get it noticed.

In the mood for some submitting are we?

So you have yourself a blog going but the only person reading it is you it seems. You may be thinking about promoting your blog but you're not sure where to begin. A good way to get the ball rolling is submitting your blog to the various blog directories out there.

These can start to bring visitors with not too much effort after the submission process is done. Knowing which sites to submit to is important. Some are a flatout waste of time, others require hefty fees to get listed. Here you will find a comprehensive list of places to submit your blog.

Most of these are directories that accept free submissions. Things to bear in mind here --- many of these directories have actual humans who review your blog's content before they add it to their directory. Mainly to ensure it's in the right category and to make sure it actually does contain something of worth. If your blog is brand new with 1 post you may want to work on content before you submit your site to ensure it will cut the mustard. Lots of sites have a long list of requirements so read them carefully and make sure you blog can stand a chance. If not keep on working and try submitting in later.

Submit it and forget it.

The truth is the main thing that will help build visitors is CONTENT. You can submit your blog to all these sites listed below but without building a healthy blog with lots of original content to keep people coming back it will not matter.

Some are harder to get into than others. With the sheer volume of blogs some directories can be kind of picky as to what they list. I'll try to indicate the difficulty factor and ease of use of each one and weather or not it is human edited.

= Link Medic's Top Picks
= Easy Submission
 = Human Reviewed

Updated Sep 21 - 2010

Blogged - Social Network Blog Directory - Blogged meets all my critera, it's easy, quick, free and it's more than just a directory. It has some social elements as well which makes it a much more of a usefull resource for you. Once signed up you'll definitly want to spend some time promoting your blog here. My Blogged Profile is here stop by and follow me, i'll return the favor.

Blog Search Engine - - For the annual fee of 14.99 they will review your site and add it on their site. If your looking to invest some cash to gain some traffic this isn't a bad choice.

Blog Catalog - - Much more than just a blog directory. It's a powerful website for any blogger. Your website is reviewed but it doesn't take much to get in. Another plus is you can manage a few different blogs. Sleak and easy to navigate dashboard design. It also hosts a number of blog tools and widgets.

Zimbio - Interactive Magazine - - A lot of potential here. Zimbio can ping your blog and look for articles then you can post them on their website in one of the suggested categories.

OnTopList - - I like this site for several reasons. One being that it's free and easy. Fill in the basics and put their link somewhere on your site and wait for your site to be reviewed. Also they have the option to pay to be featured. Most of all I see visitors coming from this site.

Blog Top Sites - Directory of the Best Blog Sites - - Very clean easy to use dashboard.

http://www.blogexplosion.com - - Interesting idea for a blog directory. Earn credits when you browse other peoples blog that you can apply to help get your blog more traffic. If you're looking for something a bit more deep than just a directory check this out.

http://www.bloglisting.net - - Super easy and quick well categorized blog directory.

Blogorator.com - - Alows users to rate blogs for the directory.

Link Back Link - - This is a blog where the guy will essentially link back to after you link to him and give you and give a small review of your site.

Bloggeries Blog Directory - THE Human Edited Blog Directory - - This one is not free but the pricing is reasonable that was it's only saving grace.

EatonWeb Blog Directory - Self proclaimed oldest blog directory.

Globe of Blogs - - Free and easy blog directory submission here.

http://www.bloguniverse.com - - Lengthy requirments and a fee to join.

http://www.bloggernity.com - - Easy to join but human reviewed for suitability.

http://www.biggerblogger.com - - Easy to sign up, small recurring fee.

http://www.bloggapedia.com/ - - Nice looking directory that's very easy to navigate. Free listings as well as a featured option for 50$.

http://www.spillbean.com - - Very nice setup and delivery, must leave a link on your site or pay a fee.

Blogging Fusion - - Small one time fee or pay more for a speedy submission.

http://www.blogdup.org - - Easy signup and link submission.

http://www.blogtoplist.com - - Easy signup, get votes to gain more visitors.

http://www.blogarama.com - - Another quick and easy directory.

Blogdigger : Blog Search Engine - Search Blogs - - Nice directory, easy submission.

-- Sites not yet fully reviewed --
http://www.blogbal.com
http://www.sutradirectory.com/
http://www.blogsweet.com
http://www.getblogs.com 
http://www.lsblogs.com
http://www.allforblog.com/
http://www.n1directory.com/
www.bigblogmedia.com

Related Posts

7 Great Ideas On How To Promote Your New Post

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