Being a full time blogger I have been looking for a long time for something like Windows Live writer. I was using Ubuntu and have wanted to try Windows Live Writer for some time now.

Windows Live writer can be installed on any Windows machine and i have only been using it for a few days now but its probably the best blogging software out there.

Who would of thought that I would be doing a review on Windows Software.

The one thing that saves a lot of time in Windows Live writer the ability to upload images directly from your Desktop onto your blog. You can also upload video directly from your desktop which makes blogging images way easier.

Another thing is the preview style of the draft or post you are working on. it takes on the form of your blog so you can basically see how the current post will look in your blog while typing.

And even with a live preview of how it will look in your blog, blogging has never been easier than now.

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This is a part of a series i started on Laptopblog.co.za

One of the most important thing for a blogger to find a great Laptop is the keyboard. Sure you find the best laptop with the greatest functions. It’s got everything you need and even more. The price is great and everything seems fine. Until you take it home.

The problem starts when the touchpad is to close to the keyboard. In a certain packard bell laptop I have whenever you push to hard on the keyboard or the area infront of the keyboard the mouse goes crazy and starts clicking.

Now that’s not good if you are writing a blog post or article.

Another thing you have to look at when searching for a great laptop, netbook or notebook is that the buttons rise out far enough to type fast. That is off course if you can type. I find it really annoying and before I look at any functions on a laptop the keyboard has to be working like I want it. The touchpad should not do anything if you press hard around the sides of the touchpad and the mouse should also not move when typing or touching the area around the touch pad.

So this is one thing you really should look at before buying a laptop. The keyboard and the touchpad.

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Hi. My name is Esvl in short. I am a full time blogger and a Wordpress fan. Wordpress enables me to manage my blogs and makes my job a lot easier. I am not a coder and what I learn about Wordpress I aim to share here. This blog is about Wordpress hacks, codes and snippets. Things you can use either to improve your Wordpress site or to change things the way you want to.

So stick around for some Wordpress articles.

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There are many blogs out there that show you how to make money and how to have a succesful blog. But the other day I read a comment on a blog somewhere. That really made me think about how I read tips the same way other people read them. Lets say for instance you read one of these A-list blogger’s blogs and they give “you” a tip. If you think about it, 30000-50000 other bloggers got the same tip from the same blog. Now they also know the tactics and when they see it they will know that you got it at the same place and all you are doing is a marketing scheme or whatever the tips was about. Then that shows just how unoriginal your blog is.

You get my point ?

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I just thought of a few things needed to make money online and would like to share it.

Patience

Working on the internet takes time, you have to wait for affiliates to come back to you, you have to wait once you’ve signed up at a place for them to approve you, you have to wait for search engines to scan your site and then you even have to wait for the search engines to send traffic. (if you dont socialize). You have to wait for Google to give you a pagerank and then you have to wait for a Alexa rating to get more advertisers to make you wait more for the money you will get in 3 months time after you waited for the advertisers

Waiting is part of the daily internet life. Especially in a country like South Africa where we have the worst internet connections in the world. Having a fast connection might help you a bit but you still need a lot of patience to be a full time money making blogger because things just dont happen overnight. Anyone can make money online if they have enough of this thing called patience.

Most blogs only last 3 months because people dont have patience.

There are so many examples why you need patience to make money online.

Traffic

Without traffic you might as well write a decent post on a piece of toilet paper and keep if for when you really need the toilet. Traffic is what drives money on the internet. The more traffic a site gets the more the site is worth. No traffic, no money. No matter what you have on your site, if you get traffic you can make money. Traffic is humans visiting your site. Not those nice people who leave you random links in your comment sections. No they are called bots. What you want is humans reading your content. And for that you need great content which I will come to later.

Time

Apart from patience you need time to write, socialize, comment, learn, research and once more write again, seo, analyze, get motivated.

Domain

Please get your own domain. Read this post why:——

Plan

If you dont have a plan, you wont know what to do next. Where you are going with your blog is a important thing to know. If you dont know where you are going how can you get there? What is your target or if you plan making a living online, how do you plan on getting there?

Stragedy

Stragedy is different from plan. Stragedy involves planning with a roadmap, how will this be done? The plan is the path to the end result but you still need a stragedy to get there.
Niche

Having a niche gives you something to target as well as a reason to advertise. If you have no niche you cant really advertise and get your blog branded. You need a slogan that says: this is what I do and what this blog is about.

Other bloggers

Without other bloggers you will not make any money online. Networking with other bloggers helps your blog grow as well as their blogs. Networking is what makes blogging work, without this one thing blogging would be kind of dull.

Content

This will determine if you have a great blog or not. How you write it, how much time you put into your articles. Is it original? You need to make your content stand out from the rest. Having ordinary content will not give you a job on the internet. Having ordinary content will make your blog melt in with the rest of the crowd. It’s not a bad thing but if you want to make a living from your blog you really do need original content.

Endurance

This is different than patience. To make money online you might have to struggle sometimes and even make no money at all. The thing that might make it work at the end is endurance. Keeping on when things are not going well with your blog is always a good idea.

Design

The design of your site matters. Are your ads well integrated? Can people find your rss button easy? Another thing that matters is how well your ads are camouflaged to not make your site cluttered. Your logo is also important for branding your site.

Rankings

Rankings do matter, this is because most affiliate companies use rankings to choose who they would go with. The better your rankings the more work you will get

SEO

Search engine optimization matter because that might be the only way people will find your site and also the only way to turn those visits in clicks on your ads.

Knowledge and Passion

I would love to write about Tech stuff because I really like gadgets and stuff like that. But the problem is my knowledge of certain things that I like is not enough to write articles about the certain topic that would stand out. Thus I would be able to blog about it but not make a living of it.

So there might be more things, maybe I missed something. Feel free to add it in the comments.

Thank you for reading.

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Well it all starts with a blog. Most people that claim to make money online either has a really old and long running blog or they are talking nonsense or they have more than one blog which is my case as well.

When you want to make money on the internet the idea is to not aim for $1000’s the first few months. Maybe you can make that much money if you keep on and dont give up blogging. But when you start aim for something simple, like $50 for the first month.

I guess I have to stick with the title now and tell you how bloggers make money on the internet.

A blogger runs a blog like this. He updates it every now and then with great content. Then people otherwise known as readers come to your blog to see your interresting articles that you may have written.

When they come to your blog they will also notice these ads all over your blog, now these ads depend on where you sign up. If you sign up with Google Adsense you will have the code embedded and that will generate relevant ads next to your articles you have written. So when one of those readers come to your blog they see more interresting things to click on. And when they do you make a small amount of money for everyone that clicks on those ads. Simple.

So the more people or readers you have coming to your blog, the more money you can possibly make.

Now that is the most simple way I can explain it.

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When you have a niche blog you sometimes will stumble upon other sites that might be better than your own site and you will think to yourself that they have filled the gap and its almost discouraging to see that unfortunately that market has been filled. But dont give up just yet.

The internet is big enough for the both of you. Learn from them and apply it in your blog, even your competition if you have maybe a local blog, learn from their mistakes and things you see where you can improve your blog.

Never feel as if your blog will never get where that one blog is that you look up to so highly, if you keep on blogging your blog will eventually get there as well.

The success in blogging is to keep on blogging and not giving up, no matter how bad your blog is, it can only get better as you learn your way around your niche.

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In a world with constant information and anything you want right in front of you, you need ways to keep your readers coming back to your blog. So what if you suddenly have nothing to write about?
It has happened to me that I go for days with no ideas what to write about and sometimes its scary. Because if i don’t blog i don’t eat because my money comes from my blogs. So here is 10 things you can do to keep your blog going when its not really going.

1. Spice up your blog with images.

Host those images on your site instead of on other image hosting sites so when someone searches for a picture with lets say “sunset” they might get your site and read some articles. As well lets say you have a “cellphone niche blog” why not show some nice images of new cellphones, you dont have to use words but they say a picture says a thousand words. I am sure when you look at those pictures you will find something to say about them.

2. Spell check

Even though Firefox has a brilliant spell check we still sometimes forget to add comma’s where we need them as well as spell things wrong for instance “ I wanted to going to the sea today” now there is no spelling mistake but obviously the grammar sucks. So look for things like that in your previous posts.

3. Read a magazine.

Magazines can be a great source for ideas. You might even find something interesting in a magazine to write about or titles at least. Also look for things out of the magazines that you can use for link bait.

4. Relax.

As a full time blogger that is almost not in the vocabulary. But we as bloggers need to relax more, Take a break from your blogs. Recently a guy died playing games for three solid days in China. Blogging can also be addictive so we need to take a break from blogging sometimes. The best ideas i have had for blogging came when i was sitting outside relaxing and had nothing to write about.

5.Read other blogs and give comments

if you read something interesting. That is one of the greatest ways of getting new readers for your blog, Bloggers read blogs and the more you comment on other people’s blogs the more readers you will get. But don’t just comment for the sake of commenting. Leave quality comments, if you don’t really have interest in the blog you are reading don’t leave a comment. Also don’t just leave one or two word comments, help the person who’s blog you are reading by adding value to their blog.

6.Make new friends

and spread the word of your blog, ask your friends to write a article for your site and give them the credit.

7.Link bait.

Go look this up on the internet.

8.Touch up on old posts,

when one of my blogs started my typing was really bad and when i got a bit of blogging experience and read the first blog post i was almost embarrassed by my own writing. So go through your articles and add a few things or remove a few things from your old posts.

9.Look for ways to expand readers

and look for other places to submit your blog to for example Technorati for international and Amatomu and Africagator for South Africans.

10.Read the news

and blog or post links to interesting findings that has to do with your niche.

11.Excersise.

As bloggers we need to excersize more and what better time to do this when you have nothing to blog about. Excersize will make the blood flow again and make you feel fresh and better about yourself, giving you the extra motivation to find something new to write about.

12.Read how other bloggers made a success of their blogs.

and how they struggled but found success in the end. That will make you feel better about struggling sometimes with your blog. In the end having a blog will be worth it if you keep on trying.

13.Play with your children.

Yes I did just say that. If you are a full time blogger you might spend days on a really good article, while your children gets no attention. If you have nothing to blog about and you’re just sitting in front of your computer give them some attention. They need it. Your family is more important than any blog. Even if its your only source of income.

14. Add google alerts to your inbox

choose your niche and as soon as something happens you will be quick to hear (well technically read about it in your inbox). The key to google alerts being very useful for a blogger is to have it on “as it happens” that way things that are new comes to your inbox as they happen. It is a good way of keeping

15. Add your blog to social networking sites

Look for old posts that you or no one else has submitted to a social bookmarking site and submit them yourself.

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A three-word motto which helps me get things done: Make It Happen. I have it placed just below my monitor on a square piece of green paper with the three words written in red. These three little words always seem to push me forward on my quest to write, spread knowledge, help people, educate people, encourage creativity, and encourage movement. Whenever there’s something to be done, no matter what it is, I just know one thing… I need to Make it Happen.

I was sitting in wonder as to what could I possibly write as a guest post for From the Old and here it is. A short indulgence on what I see drives people away from lazy meanderings to actually achieving something. That inner voice within each of us that we either choose to ignore, or we listen wholeheartedly to it; either way it irritates you, nags you into action.

So the first step I guess is to listen to yourself, look within and try to see what it is you want to achieve in life. It may take some time but after a while it will become clear to you as to what you have to do. The next step is to do it.

So how do we “Make it Happen”?

I’ll lay out just two things which have made me get a little bit closer to achieving my goals.

1. Make a List – write down what you want to achieve and go for them one at a time. Long-term, short-term, it doesn’t matter… just make sure it’s written down. Read it out loud everyday, or at least look at it everyday. This will focus you on what you want and remove other distractions. It keeps your priorities top of mind.

1. Start Something – Do anything. Read a book on something which may lead you to completing something on your list, talk to someone about something you’re interested in, paint a picture of what you want to achieve. Do something! Take a step towards what you want.

That’s it… a three word mantra and the two points above. There is no secret to Success, if you really want to succeed, you will find a way. The only reason some of us never make it happen is because we are either subconsciously afraid of what we want to achieve, or we don’t know what we want. Don’t let this happen to you.

Follow your heart, and Make it Happen!

Muhammad Karim is a Marketer, Blogger and Free-lance writer. Interested in Social Media and Marketing.
His blog.
Follow him on Twitter (@mkarim)

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Most commenters are bloggers, most bloggers are obviously commenters. There are a few reason other people would comment on your blog.When we will inspect those reason we will soon see why you are or are not getting comments. We can also explore beyond the commenters and look at other things like traffic and target blogging.

Interest

People comment because they have interest in the topic you are blogging about. Having interest in the topic you are blogging about is the key to having a successful blog because you wont join other communities and really get out there with your blog if you only blog for money, you have to like what you are blogging about. The best commenters on a blog is those that comment out of interest.

Community

People comment because they are part or want to be part of a community. They want to have their say and be seen as part of a community. Online communites are like small families. They dont have to comment but they want to, not just that they enjoy commenting. These are commenters and people you really want commenting on your blog

Promotion

Promotion is different than spam. Young blogs and new blogs need to promote themselves and intergrate themselves in other blogs. Some people comment to be promoted on a blog to be seen but not in a spammy way. They add value while they hope to get either your attention or someone else’s attention.

Notice

Notice is different than promotion. Some people jsut want you to notice them. For instance if you want to be part of a blogger’s community you dont always have something to say, but you do so that the person blogging will know that you read his post.

Support

Support is a vital part of new bloggers to stand with each other and help each other’s blogs grow. This might fall in with the other sections but you really get support when you support other new bloggers with their blogs. And so your blog grows. The more you give to new bloggers the more they will give to your blog.

Visitors

Comments always depend on visitors. It depends on who you are targetting. If you write about celebrities you will never get as much comments as writing about blogging and tech. The reason for this is the type of visitor they are. Most people looking for celebrity stuff might not be the commenting type. So if you want to get comments from the right visitors you have to type the comment attracting kind of artcles. It does not mean if you have no comments your blog sucks.

Where visitors come from is another important factor. If they come from search engines they are looking for something specific and the chances of them commenting will be less. That is the downside of targetting search engines only.

Spam

Spam is obvious. If only there was a way to completely block them.

Now these are a bunch of reasons why people and specifically bloggers would comment.

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I have a few subscribers which I can truly say I am glad. I have had many blogs but over the past 4 months I have been mainly blogging here on Fromtheold.com. My other blogs are long gone. I dont have them anymore. I started out with one site but one turned into 63 blogs and site very quickly.

Sometime in the past two months I have decided to cut off all my blogs and sites and use Fromtheold.com for everything I want to do online. Even cutting off my main domains. This is has both been great and it kind of sucks that I waisted all that time on other blogs and sites.

Though Fromtheold.com was not my main blog but a sideblog, it was always my favourite domain and still is. It is therefore that I will use this blog to further my online ventures and if there is something to be done on FTOMEDIA I will be blogging from this blog about it.

FTOmedia is a blogging company I have started here in South Africa. Maybe a bit to soon but its ok. For now FTOMEDIA.com is directing here. You can still get a blogging job if you are from South Africa by contacting me. I dont even have a about page on this blog.

For those readers of this blog and subscribers I would also like to say welcome and thank you for reading my blog.

Sometime tonight or tomorrow my blog will also get a make over. And no I dont design themes. I buy them. But this would enable my blog to go more in the direction that I would like it to go. I have been blogging about random stuff in the past but I think its time for more focussed and quality articles. I have the traffic now, now I can relax and enjoy this blog.

I know the celebrity section is a bit weird but that is just something I am going to have to get used to. Um a bit off topic.

If you are South African and want to build yourself a name in blogging, please contact me.

Today I will be sending dumpfolder.net this way as well, since that was my first blog. Or my almost first blog. I liked it. Dumpfolder.net was a blog about the internet. Same as this one. But i deleted it because I wanted to do something else.

Anyway. I will also start blogging about certain products. Advertising material and banners and things like that. This is not to annoy those of you that are already subscribed. I have a interest in marketing and there are some things I want to sell personally. So please be aware that these are not sponsored posts but just general things I want to sell.

I am also currently looking for any guest bloggers. Any topic is welcome.

So I guess the “new” Fromtheold will be twice as good. Please subscribe if you have not or continue being subscribed if you are. Thanks.

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Blog competitions are all over the internet. I find at least one competition a day but why start a blog competition?

Well blog competitions can bring you many back links. Blog competitions can also cost you more than its worth. Blog competitions can also expose your great content and get you more rss readers. And in turn can grow your blog.

Blog competition tips:

Make it worthwhile to link to.

Making it worthwhile to link to is not that easy. You have to provide some really great content within your competition post to make the post on its own worth to link to.

Expose your best content.

Exposing your best content will enable people that come to the competition to see that you can actually blog. Exposing your best content in a blog competition will also enable you to get extra readers for your blog.

Make it easy to subscribe

Make it easy to subscribe to your blog. This is not just a competition tip but if your requirement is to subscribe for the competition put a link in the post to your rss feed or email subscribe.

Ask a link back to the competition. Only a link will do

You should also ask for a link back to the post of those that enter the blog competition. That will increase other bloggers to send you more visitors from their blogs

Make it better than the other competitions

Dont make you blog competition boring. Offer something different or something that people actually want. One thing that people usually go for is coupons or such. Because they would rather want to win something that they usually would have to pay for but wont.

I will add some more blog competition tips in the future.

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Normally make overs and things like that would be for woman only. At least usually that is the case.

But today I want to blog about giving your blog a make over.

I dont know about you but I get bored with something very quickly and easily. I used to start a site just to take it off a few days later because I would get bored blogging on that specific site. But I have changed the way I work with a site.

There are also times when you will get bored with your niche or just plain bored and tired of your blog. So its time to give blogging a break and to give your blog a makeover.

The theme.

Whenever I am bored with my blog I start changing the theme and see what I like about it and what I dont. You must like your blog more than anyone else otherwise you wont make it as a blogger. Looking at the same site every day can become a bit annoying. So make it pleasing. Make the site like you want it to be.

Think for yourself. How can I make this site the best for both regular readers as well as new on 1time only users.

Change your theme entirely and impress yourself.

There are also many premium wordpress themes you can buy if you dont know how to code a theme yourself.

Change or get new topics

You might be bored with your blog’s topics, change them or add new topics to make it more interesting. Adding new topics will open your blog wider and you will have more chances to get more readers. Just remember to not go out to far from your niche. Unless its a personal blog like this one.

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