Archive for the 'Webmaster Advice' Category

Dec 12 2008

Computer Recycling

Published by Tom under Ramblings, Webmaster Advice

I have a few good friends who work and live in the Toronto area of Canada. They are always telling me that the city is big on recycling electronics. Toronto electronics recycling has fast become a huge industry with the constant changing of technology. It is becoming harder to harder for bigger companies to dispose of all that old equipment.

There is one good company that I have researched called ADL Process. They handle computer disposal in Toronto. They take computers and other forms of electronics and recycle them. They handle the whole process for companies so that the products are disposed of in a way that is environmentally safe.

This company should be an example to all of us webmasters who thrive on the newest greatest technological device. As we upgrade, expand, switch phones, and other activities that involve replacing old with new, we need to take the time to consider what we are doing with the old products. Are we recycling and disposing of them in the proper manner?

It is everyone’s job to prevent these materials from making it to the landfill. I challenge my many readers and webmasters everywhere to think carefully when disposing of your products and if you are in the Toronto area, be sure to contact ADL for proper procedures. If not, you may be able to find a similar company right in your own city.

2 responses so far

Nov 28 2008

Creating an Article Marketing Plan

By using the power of article marketing, a webmaster can advertise their new product or website in a short amount of time. To do this, one must write or have written for them quality articles related to the product or site’s niche. This takes some planning and a little work but the return is better than many other forms of marketing.

The first step is to find as many Internet marketing resources as one can find. The main focus for article marketing will be finding quality information to avoid common mistakes and to find the best places to submit your articles to. This step is very important so that the webmaster knows what they are doing before attempting to start a campaign. Most webmaster fail to launch a successful website or product because of lack of knowledge and not being prepared.

The second step is to write quality articles related to what  is being promoted. These are better written by oneself if the skill level is sufficient to produce high quality. If the webmaster has poor language skills or overall poor writing skills, it is best to find quality writers to produce the articles. When hiring a writer, be sure to choose quality and not just go for cheap. To be a success, one wants to start with a quality product and in this case a well written article. The extra money spent up front will be earned ten-fold in the back end.

The third step in planning is to make sure the website or sales page is properly optimized for both the viewers and the search engines The worse thing in the world is to spend the time and money and run a successful marketing campaign only to send the potential customer to a crappy website. A good webmaster will read a whole bunch of seo articles to learn all they can to have the best site to attract and keep a customer. Preparing the site before launching the campaign will prevent disappointment in the end.

The forth and final step in planning a article marketing campaign is to go forth and launch the articles that have been prepared. If the first three steps were completed correctly, this step should be just a matter of submitting to the resources that were found during step one. It is important to spread around the articles and to have as many different ones as possible so there are not tons of submissions with just one article. This is blitz time and this step should be done with intensity. Send the articles out to as many places as were found in step one.

Article marketing is one of the most rewarding and profit generating forms of marketing. However, jumping in without a plan will do nothing but cause grief. Formulate a plan and execute it and any webmaster selling a product or promoting a new website can be a great success.

8 responses so far

Nov 05 2008

Failure is Not Possible

Published by Tom under Webmaster Advice

I see webmasters complaining that their website or blog was a failure. Either it did not make the money they wanted or it did not attract the amount of traffic they thought it should. I am here to tell you from one webmaster to another, there is no such thing as a failure when it comes to blogging or creating websites.

My first every website looked like a 4th grader created it. It was so childish that I am almost embarrassed to think about it. I could not get anyone to visit it, I made no money, and it was lonely all by itself. Did I fail? Hell no! I learned from that website and I improved on my next site.

My next site was better and I learned a few webmaster tricks to get some good traffic. Still, I made very little and the site was still unattractive but I did have some traffic. Once again, I was not a failure because I learned even more from that site. I improved on the site and worked hard and sold it for a little profit.

There are very few webmasters who have stepped into the world of the Internet and was a instant success. The key is to do your best and learn from every success and every mistake. I am still, after many years, far from an expert. I still make mistakes and I still get frustrated over not making enough money. However, I have found that each mistake (no matter how big) is a learning experience that will increase my profits in the future.

Being a webmaster is not for everyone. There is so much competition on the Internet. However, with patience and hard work, you can cut your little piece of the pie and become a winner one mistake at a time. Reading everything you can from other bloggers and webmasters will help you get there quicker by learning from their mistakes.

It is not the fear of failure but the goal of success that drives you to be the best at what you do!

12 responses so far

Sep 13 2008

Web Hosting Made Easy

Published by Tom under Webmaster Advice

Building your first website is fun and exciting. You have tons of ideas of what you should do and how to go about it. You plan for the big launch by finding the right domain name, writing some good content, planning how to monetize it, and then you get to the point of where do you get web hosting.

There are thousands of web hosting companies that are willing to take your money. However, many fall short on performance. With the many choices out there, it is easy to find Cheap Web Hosting. To do so, you must do your research and read all the fine print. All prices should be clearly marked and there should be no hidden fees.

The first thing you want to look for is the company’s uptime. This should be at least 99.8%. This is the amount of time your site will be live and ready for your customers or visitors. Every hosting company out there has a time or two in their life that they go down for either maintenance or from no fault of their own. This should not be often because if it is, your site will not be viewable for those times and you will lose visitors.

The next step is to evaluate what features you need and if the plan you are looking at offers those features. Fir example, if you are hosting a lot of scripts like Word Press or a forum, you need My SQL databases for each. You need to know how many you need so you can make sure your package offers those.

The third step is to see if they allow additional domains hosted on the same account and also how many sub domains. This is very important if you plan to host many sites on one account. It would suck to buy a hosting account with the intention of hosting five blogs and find out you are limited to just one or two.

The fourth step is to look at the additional services offered. One important feature is Fantastico. It is system that allows you to easily add many of the most popular scripts and programs such as Word press, PHPBB and more. If you are like me, I hate to install scripts. That is the reason I always make sure my host offers this feature.

Also make sure the host is up to date on the latest PHP and others. If it is not listed, do not be afraid to ask questions. If they respond quickly, this is a good sign that they will have great support. The more research you do up front, the less hassle you will have later. If you do not know what to ask, check around and ask friends or fellow webmasters what you should ask. There are no stupid questions when it comes to buying web hosting. The only stupid thing is not asking first.

The final step and one of the most important I will mention is the price. Be sure to read carefully. Some host offer by the month but require a year worth of payments. Other hosting companies charge strictly by the month. If you are lucky to find a quality host that has a flat yearly rate, you can often find a great deal. Be extra careful to buy the package that is right for your needs. If you are starting a blog and have no intentions of doing more than that, you do not need the top package. However, if you plan to do several sites or buy or sell sites, it might be wise to look at the reseller packages; no these are not just if you are selling web hosting. I have a reseller package and never sell a single web hosting package.

There is much more that can be written on looking for web hosting. I have written many some post on this blog and will continue to in the future. It is not rocket science but you also have to be smart. Doing your homework and lots of research will prevent you from pulling out your hair later because something went wrong. Being a webmaster is rewarding and having a quality host along side you for the ride is even better.

If you find this article useful, please feel free to link to it and leave a comment or two. Webmasters helping other webmasters is what this blog is all about!

3 responses so far

Aug 13 2008

Finding Work For the Slow Times

Published by Tom under Webmaster Advice

Many people who make a living through the Internet as a webmaster or a writer or whatever source find that summer is a slow time and earnings decrease. At these times, we struggle to find income to fill that void. One of the best ways to do that is to find a good temporary job to fill the need.

There are many companies that offer such jobs. These are easy to apply to and you can find many sources on the Internet to get started right away. There are K-Mart Job Applications online that will make it easy to find a quick and reliable part-time or full-time job in a fun to work retail setting. If you do not have a K-Mart near by, there are also Target Job Applications that are easy to fill out and can get you a job in no time flat.

If working in a retail store does not interest you, maybe you would like something in the food field. Taco Bell Job Applications are easy to fill out and can offer very flexible hours. These are just a few examples of jobs you can find to fill that money void during the times when everything is slow on the Internet. They all allow you some earnings while not giving up your dream of making a living off the Internet. For many, they also offer great benefits that are not provided when you work as a webmaster.

The whole point is, you can call your self a webmaster or an dot.com mogul but what it boils down to is that when times are slow, you have to feed yourself and your family. By finding a flexible job, you can have the best of both worlds.

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