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Article by Sharon Housley

Not all web marketing needs to cost money. Aside from website submissions, there are a number of things that web marketers can do that are free, though they may be rather time-consuming. Other marketing tactics are relatively inexpensive, and are often well worth the investment.

Follow these basic steps to market your website and business.

1. Sign It

Include your website URL as part of your “signature” in any online forum and newsgroup posts. It is not uncommon for someone who appreciates the comments to click through to the websites found in the signatures of forum posts. This will not only increase link popularity, but will help establish your industry knowledge. It goes without saying that URLs should also be included in email signatures.

2. Utilize Social Bookmarking

There are a number of social bookmarking websites, where the collective users select the materials that they determine to be popular. If you have created resources that are worthy, be sure to bookmark them in the social bookmarking networks.

3. Niche Networking

Network with key players in niche markets. Schmoozing with authorities in niche markets can often pay big dividends. Learn the “Who’s Who” in any given niche market.

4. Donations

Goodwill goes a long way. Donate a percentage of sales to a non-profit organization or charity. If revenue is an issue, consider donating products or services to fund-raising auctions or other fund-raising efforts. Donations will often reach an audience outside the parameters of your normal market, and will show that you care… and aside from all that, your donations will actually benefit the organization or charity.

5. Answers / Askville

Use Yahoo Answers and Amazon’s Askville to answer questions. The more answers that are endorsed, the more your advice will be valued. Provide genuine, honest answers and build your reputation. It appears that many “top” answers appear high in Yahoo search results, and Yahoo Answers captures a lot of long-tail traffic.

Yahoo Answers – http://answers.yahoo.com Amazon Askville – http://www.askville.com

6. SEO

Spend the time it takes to properly optimize your website for the search engines. This is not an area to cut corners or skimp on. Proper search engine optimization, while an ongoing process and very time-consuming, can pay big dividends and will often result in long-term search engine traffic.

7. Classifieds

There are a number of free classified listing services. Add your products or services to any free classified listings that might be relevant.

8. Recommend It

Add a “Recommend To A Friend” script to the product pages on your website. Nothing beats a referral from a friend. Leverage viral marketing by providing your website visitors with the tools to easily spread the word for you.

9. Blog / RSS / Podcasting

Generate your own publicity using a blog, RSS feed, podcast, or video cast. Use these alternate communication channels to expand your audience.

10. Related Content Site Develop a content website that contains related information and materials. Content sites are often defined as “authority” websites. Authority websites are often quick to garner search engine favor and top ranking for relevant search terms.

11. Wiki

Update wiki listings with useful and helpful content. Good wiki editing will reinforce your reputation and help educate your audience.

12. Forum Participation

Actively participating in related forums will generate goodwill and increase your brand reputation. And be sure to add a company tagline and website link to the signature of your forum posts.

Marketing efforts need not break the bank for a fledgling company or struggling small business. Use the tools available, and build your business through smart marketing.

About the Author

Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com audio recording and editing software.

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Even after your blog is ready, your job is yet not over. You also have to learn how you can make money with blogging. Here we would look into the different ways to make money-using blogging. First, let us take a look at the prerequisites.

? Dedicate your blog to your niche market.
? Always remember to update your blog regularly.
? Consider links- Directory submissions are ok to start with.
? Write good quality news items and articles.

Some Easy-To-Use Methods

Have the above points in place and Yes! Now you are ready to make money with blogging. Here are some ways.

? Google Adsense sends the text as well as the images to other websites, which are authorized. A little code has to be pasted on the webpage and Google will recognize the page. An amount of the revenue generated will be shared by Google whenever a visitor visits the site. Advertisers will be billed on the price per click basis and they have to pay only when any visitor clicks on the ad. So be careful to choose attention-grabbing keywords, which would pay more per click. This would definitely help you make money with blogging.
? Amazon Associate program is yet another interesting method by which you can make money with blogging. An opportunity is given to the blog publishers by adding a predefined code to their blog. You can promote your product as whenever a visitor clicks on your code they are directed to your page. A commission would be charged to the website owner once the visitor buys the product.
? Blogards is another very effective tool by which you can keep a control over your advertisers on your blog. Your can be compared profits with other online agencies and analyzed. Beograd keeps 20% of the generated money and the rest is paid to you by checks or Paypal.
? Some other alternate services, which can help you make money with blogging, are Crispads and Tagword. Within minutes, your ads will be displayed on the net and you can claim your amount using the above mentioned blogging tools.

Your blogs should be filled with attitude and emotion, as people are drawn to such writing. Be certain on what topic your blog has to be, and choose the correct keywords to help your blog move up in the search engine ranking. You can promote your product or service, and make money with blogging by driving lots of free traffic to your blog. Just keep your blog alive and kicking by updating regularly. And with some amount of patience you would soon be able to make money with blogging.

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Today every computer savvy person wants to know how he can use blogging for money. You too can join the band wagon. To make money through blogs, your blog has to be dedicated to a niche industry of your product.

Blogging Matters

Here are a few requirements you would need to take care of before you can use blogging for money:
? You will have to customize your blog so that you can generate money out of it. Remember that the blog needs to be dedicated to a niche market.
? You will also have to update your website regularly. To begin with, make a directory submission and have enough back links.
? You will require a good blog application or host. Try out some popular hosts like blogger, Xanga and Typepad.
? You will have to create high quality articles with images and other interesting content writing.

Making Money With Blogging

When all the above are in place, you are ready to use blogging for money. Now let us take a look at the different ways used to make money online through blogging.
? Google Adsense- By this method text and image ads are delivered to other websites. The websites have to be authorized, but this depends on the content of your blog. A small code will be pasted at proper areas on the webpage and automatically Google will recognize the page. A small share would be charged by Google by the PPC method. Prices for each keyword would be different from each other. Advertisers would bid against each other for better placement of words.
? Amazon- AAP or the Amazon Associate Program is another great method to use blogging for money. It allows blog owners like you to promote any product from its own inventory. Once a visitor buys the product, a commission would be given to you.
? Blogards- Helps you to keep a control over your advertisers. You can analyze and compare profits with other online agencies. Blogard will retain some amount generated, which is usually around 20%, and pay you the remaining.
? Affiliate Programs- If you have selected products and services then this should be what you are looking for. Through this you can use blogging for money making, as it takes an in-depth approach to help reach better. By looking into catalogues of Link Share and Commission junctions, you can gather more information regarding commissions.
? Text Links- Text Links have come out to be the best form as you can use it instead of cluttering you page with ads. Generally, you will find these links at the bottom of the page. This would definitely help your rankings grow. The best part is that the publishers keep sending and accepting links as the market grows.

I am sure that if you go through the above-mentioned ways and fulfill the mandatory prerequisites, you would go a long way. You would emerge as a satisfied entrepreneur and be able to effectively use blogging for money.