START HERE: How YOU Can Start a Blog That Matters

"Life begins at retirement."

"Without the right tools, little is possible. With the right ones, everything is."

Hello friend:

Both of these quotes are anonymous; I wish I knew the names of the writers so that I could give due credit. First, I am happy to be at the retirement stage of life, and still want (and need) to be actively engaged in life. This includes doing something that is important to me, writing civil rights print and eBooks while making extra money so that I can live comfortably, and do the things that I want to do right now.

After many years of working at various careers and activities, I have finally found the RIGHT tools to help me produce blogs that help sell my books-- making going into retirement easier than ever, skipping the money worries -- and having fun. (I especially needed this help, since social media is rapidly changing, making it more difficult to keep up with all of the changes.)

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Just the other day, a friend asked me, "Susan, what resources do you use for blogging? Are they difficult and/or expensive? I haven't found any classes at the community college or elsewhere on exactly what is needed to get started to create a professional blog. What about blogging seminars?" 

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FOR THE PAST FEW years, I have been blogging to publicize and sell my civil rights eBooks, develop my speaking career, and more recently to pass on helpful information about retirement issues on my Retirement Monologues blog. 

All of my books-related blogs are getting more and more attention every day, and my book sales are climbing. People often ask me how I got started, if blogging is difficult, costly, and effective...and many other important questions about what I'm doing.

I would say that blogs are a critical way of communicating related and important information on the Internet, along with a way of meeting new friends and tapping into important information and advice.Blogs can be a critical social media tool, if done well, and they are often quite fascinating to create and keep up. 

Just the other day, a friend asked me, "Susan, what resources do you use for blogging? Are they difficult and/or expensive? I haven't found any classes at the community college or elsewhere on exactly what is needed to get started to create a professional blog. What about blogging seminars?"

In answer to this question, recently I have found some very helpful and inexpensive resources for setting up blogs (I have 7 active blogs at the moment) and I am always happy to share information about what I've recently found that works the best for me.

But real quick, here are several important questions and answers ...

Does everyone NEED a blog?

Well, not everyone in the world needs a blog, even if they are fun to have and even if do a great job of selling yourself or your products. 

I do admit that I am a bit biased because in no time in Internet history have I seen a more valuable, simple and inexpensive tool for exploring a passion, helping your friends and others, and building an Internet business around a blog. 

WHETHER YOU WANT to lead others in organic gardening, get people to think about alternative or wholistic medicine, to make a political statement (such as I've done with my social justice blogs), build a business that can be run from nearly anywhere on the globe, or simply make someone feel good every day, (and sell print and eBooks, like I do), a blog and social media are the most powerful tools I've come across for doing so.

Blogs really can and really do change the world every day, and they have the potential to enhance or even redefine any project that you are working on.

So, you want a successful blog? I can certainly understand this desire,  and since creating and maintaining a good blog takes a good deal of time and energy, who wants to spend time on doing something for your business or pleasure that is NOT effective? (Not me. I don't think you want to, either.)

So now that we have defined the problem, now where do we start?

Well...

(If you have heard enough, believe this blogging system could help you, and would like to get started, go ahead and


CLICK HERE.

You will be taken to blog guru Corbett Barr's site, where you will learn more about Starting a Blog That Matters, from Corbett, himself. Otherwise, keep reading and I'll tell you more!)

So...

How many websites, good, bad and really horrible, would you guess are in the entire world? 


By the end of December 2011, according to one major survey there were 366, 848, 493 websites in the world -- and most likely many more, since exact numbers are impossible to find. Back in 2008, Technorati estimated that over 184 million of these websites were actually blogs.

Only four years later, current estimates say there are about 450 million “active” English language blogs right now, but that number varies according to various sources. (Technorati increased their estimate to over 200 million blogs at the start of 2009, with exponential growth since then.)

Thousands, maybe even tens of thousands, new blog are sent into the blogosphere every day, so the number is destined to keep moving upward.

Most blogs, you and I have never heard of -- and never will hear of.

One of my own blogs about a serious civil rights event, the Land of Emmett Till, was one of those unheard of blogs for several years. It hosted a few visitors every day and subscriber growth was at 0% (after topping off at 3 friends and a few others). I know this, because it was one of my first blogs focused on civil rights and the story of a young Chicago martyr who was killed in 1955. I wanted more people to know these stories, and of course, to buy my civil rights history eBook and print books about Emmett Till, and so I kept playing around with my blog, changing its look and setting up new social media. '

AND THEN I LEARNED about a smart guy named Corbett Barr and discovered some brand new techniques that I have applied to all of my civil rights blogs, and also in building my new Retirement Monologues blog. Within just a few weeks, I was drawing more people to all of my blogs, using critical details I learned from Corbett, as his training materials showed me the proven details about naming, branding and design; details that go well above and beyond your typical blogging instructions.

You must focus on the right strategies, and not waste time doing things wrong, if your blog is going to have any impact. This will make all the difference in the world of blogging.

Every since I started using Corbett's techniques, my Retirement Monologues blog has been growing -- and the Land of Emmett Till blog (and other civil rights blogs) as well. I am growing at such a quick rate, that I anticipate moving up from my newest blog's initial 25 visits a day to over 2,000, and from my current 240 visits a day on the Land of Emmett Till blog to over 4,000.

This is my dream, and yes, my goals are VERY lofty, but I am convinced that I will see these blogs eventually ranking among the top 5 percent of all blogsites on the planet.

So far, I am on target. 

Will this happen overnight? Of course not.

But it does seem that my audience growth is happening very quickly, much more quickly than when I was operating on my own. As far as my earlier blogs go, I was just spinning in my tracks until I was exposed to these new and easy-to-follow strategies that are making all the difference in my exposure.

What makes a blog grow, separating the average blog from the blogs that move around the Internet almostt like the speed of light?

From Corbett, I have learned there are four fundamental issues to follow in creating a blog that takes off...

1. You need to have a topic or cause that is meaningful, one that is really worth following. 

People are looking for ideas as much as actual products, so you must ask yourself if your blog has a true purpose that really matters to you more than anything else. I can honestly say that the topics of civil rights and retirement strategies for women are very important to me. I lived in the Mississippi Delta for some time, and learned about the tragedies and triumphs of people during those crucial years and became convinced these stories must be told over and over, and my various civil rights blogs work to this end. Additionally, I have a true passion about sharing important retirement information and strategies with women -- the "other half" who live on smaller pensions and smaller social security checks, but who live longer than men. Retired women need all of the help they can get to survive (and have a joyous retirement at the same time) and I believe with all of my heart that I can help make this happen.

2. Helping people is critical. Helping others with a massive problem in a unique way begins and ends with serving others. Give, give, give and you will see a return.

3. Write the best content of all other bloggers. High quality translates to long term success. In the online world, standards are very high; if you write or produce crap, you will quickly get back crappy results.

When I worked in the publishing industry, as an acquisitions and development editor for Prentice Hall, if we ran into a book sales downxactly what he meant, and would quickly develop an immense book (bigger, more and better information, more bang for the buck) on an important, popular topic, perhaps a Bible about a new word processing or graphic software, making this new mega book the most complete work on the topic, at the time. Our Bibles always sold! The content was always excellent in these big books, or they would not have sold in their turn one of the wiser of the publishers would suggest that we get to work and write a "Bible." We knew ehigh numbers. The publisher developed a solid reputation for these big, impressive and packed-full-of-information books.

All the social media tools, tactics and strategies in the world won't do anything for incorrect, content-lacking blogs. If you are deeply passionate about your cause and do everything you can to help others strengthen their knowledge base, great content must follow. Fill your blog and the blogs of others (by means of guests posts and submitting free articles) with the best you can develop, and your followers will notice.

I have followed this advice with my civil rights and retirement blogs, using latest news, guest posts, interviews, history, the contributions of others, and other unique details to make my blogs come alive -- and this is working to my benefit.

4. Connect! The Internet world of online relations depends on personal connections. Communicate with folks over social media, skype and in person. Get out and spend time with real people at meetings, parties, pubs and wherever you can find them. A number of years ago, my spouse and I belonged to an Apple User Group that met monthly -- an open forum where people shared tips, and then later went out to eat dinner and keep talking. They were fun, and a great way to become "known as an expert" if you had something important to share. User Groups are not around any more, for the most part, but there are similar kinds of organizations that will help you meet others and talk about your passion. I enjoy talking to organizations, clubs and to whoever will listen to me and my favorite topics, while selling print copies of my books at the back of the room. Call me now, I am will be happy to speak to your group!

THE ONLINE WORLD RUNS off personal connections, just like the real world, and this is why I am sharing Corbett's course with you. He offers real solutions that I am comfortable in sharing with others, my Internet friends. I like to pass on helpful online information to help them succeed.

I believe that I am safe to say that most people who get to the point where they want to blog, want to do this in a successful way. But most people simply do not get this far, either because they never really start or they do not know the right steps to take, like me not so long ago. Maybe they do not have the confidence to take the right steps. I don't know about you, but when I am starting something new, I am not very confident unless I know that I have the right instructions in front of me. This gives me greater confidence and dedication, when I know the path I am taking is solid and proven. Then I can get down to work.

I am becoming better each day at blogging and growing my blogs, and have been comfortable for quite some time, now. Of course, there are people out there in the blogosphere who are much better than me, and one of them is Corbett Barr. He recently created a course for bloggers who want to be at the top of the blogging game. It is appropriately titled: How to Start a Blog that Matters. 

Corbett's track record is legendary. I checked it out before laying out the money. He built a six figure blogging business in less than 18 months and is the person behind ThinkTraffic.net, ExpertEnough.com and CorbettBarr.com. Corbett is known for being one of the most transparent and helpful people online.

If you have even been thinking about building a blog (or cleaning up and rehabbing an old blog), this course might be what you have sought, but just could not find until now.

Corbett's program is a 90-day STEP-BY-STEP action plan you can follow to create a blog that matters, and includes 13 weekly lessons, 4 special bonuses, and over 8 hours of instructional video. He offers a solid guarantee on the course; if you don't get the results you want, he offers to personally coach you one-on-one for free.

There are some additional offers with this plan I am sharing, including  a FREE copy of my civil rights ebooks Who Killed Emmett Till? and Cash In On Diversity


if you purchase Corbett's course (CLICK HERE) through my affiliate link

(which I do earn a commission from -- these bonus eBooks are a way of saying thanks). i AM VERY PROUD OF both eBooks; they were recently nominated by Dan Poynter Global eBook Awards contest. I want others to read them, and would like to share them with you!

Sound good? To get these two free eBooks you must:

CLICK ON THE LINE BELOW TO

Purchase Corbett's course RIGHT HERE through my affilate link.

BE SURE TO Forward a copy of your receipt to sklopfer@susanklopfer.com along with your name and best email address so I can send you the download links.

So, Click Here NOW to Purchase How to Build a Blog That Matters by Corbett Barr and receive these two gifts.

I am truly grateful because my blogs are reaching more people, like you.

I have met some of the most interesting people and have had some truly amazing experiences because of my eBooks and blogs. My life has changed, and my retirement years are uniquely rewarding because I decided to put some of my ideas into the far-reaching Blogosphere. All of this has changed my life from just a few years ago, when I meant well, and tried to hard to reach others but just was not doing this in the most effective way..

I want the same for you, and it is so much more possible than you may realize, now.

Just start. This is all that you have to do, and remember that I am here to help.

SusanKlopfer

P.S. Remember, if you

Purchase your course HERE through my affiliate link,

and then send me a copy of your receipt to sklopfer@retirementmonologues, I will send you the links to my free eBooks. Plus you will receive Corbett's free gifts, too.

P.P S.S. So give it a try right now -- I know you will have greater blogging success with Corbett's class. I can attest that I am a much better blogger today, because of Corbett Barr. You can be, too!