3 Free Tools to Promote Your Blog

Taking your blog off the ground can be a daunting task. There are hundreds of blogs around and everyone seems to be flocking to a handful. Before you delete your blogger account and move on to do some other great things in life, try the following free tools:

1. TECHNORATI

Despite its technically sounding name, technorati is a fast and easy way to add your blog. Once you have added your blog, the chances it will be noticed are much higher. Just to give you an idea of the its scale, technocrati boasts of currently tracking 112 million blogs and over 250 million pieces of tagged social media.

In addition to this promotional service, technorati is literally buzzing with blogging activity. There are hundreds of bloggers keen to share and exchange their experience and ... links.

2. ZIMBIO

Zimbio is different from technorati. It has a more relaxed and less geeky feel to it. The best feature of Zimbio are wikizines - interactive magazines that anyone can create or edit - with coverage of current events, cultural reference points, and niche areas of interest. What is amazing about wikizines is the speed with which they are disseminated across the net. Google pulled-out mine in just seconds after it got published.

3. BLOGSHOWOFF

Last but not least is the blogshowoff. It´s a nice little tool that makes you smile because of its simplicity. Blogshowoff works in the following way: first, you select the category that fits your blog; second, click on a couple of links listed in that category; third, post your blog. Once you have posted, your blog will appear at the top of the page. The oldest blog will be pushed out from the page. Nice, you get a chance to sit at the top until your are pushed out as new blogs are added. By the way, you can always come back and post your blog again. Clever!

How to Write a Business Plan? (2)

Due to popular demand, MonkeyFool.com just launched a new blog dedicated to business planning. It´s hosted on Blogger and ibusinessplan.blogspot.com. Once again, the emphasis is on free and useful resources.

How to start your own social network site (2)?

The number of hits that this blog is receiving has visibly increased after I published a short article about social networking. This made me think that maybe some people should really give it a try. So, what does one need to start a social network site?

1. Reliable platform

Find a good solution, both software and hardware, that would support your site. There are many who offer their services. Don´t overpay. Have a look at a free solution joomla.org You might still have to pay for extra modules etc. However, keep your costs low at the beginning. Use your cash for promotion.

2. Differentiate

Make your site different. Find a niche that suits your interests and is a potentially responsive target, e.g. if your hobby is poker, make a social network for poker players.

3. Promote

Promote your new-born site among your friends and through AdWords. You will need some money for promotion.

4. Find partners

If your social network takes-off, first of all in terms of growth in members, find financial and technical partners who could help you develop your site further. Don´t forget that the competition is fierce. The life of all late-comers will be tough.

Franchise or not franchise?

We just posted a brief and revealing article about advantages and disadvantages of becoming a franchisee. Some of the lessons/ ideas discussed in the article can be easily applied to the online world. Here is the link (ad-free):

Becoming a franchisee