I’m often asked how I make money as a full-time blogger. In addition to travel writing services, ads and sponsored posts (on my Velvet Escape blog), I also provide blogging and social media consultancy services. I’ll be venturing into merchandising (a small step will be made soon!) and blogging workshops in the very near future… and that’s how I make a living either directly or indirectly through my blogs.
A good friend of mine recently shared a post on Problogger about “How Bloggers Make Money Blogging“. This diagram pretty much sums up the many ways bloggers make money!
Courtesy of Problogger
The number of people who access the internet (including your blog!) via their mobile devices is growing rapidly every day. A December 2009 study by Morgan Stanley revealed, among others, that more users will access the internet via their mobile devices than via their desktop PCs within the next five years. Many large websites already offer user-friendly mobile versions – one site I’m currently visiting every day via my phone is the mobile version of the US Open site!
Having a mobile-friendly site or blog provides for a more pleasant reading experience. The content and photos are automatically formatted to fit the small screens of mobile devices, avoiding the annoyance of having to scroll horizontally. In addition, having a mobile version of your site or blog also optimizes the download time as many items (such as sidebars) are stripped out.
If you have a WordPress blog, creating a mobile version of your blog is easier than you think, thanks to a variety of plugins. I’ve been using the WPTouch plugin for quite a while now and I’m very happy with its many functionalities and customizing possibilities. Other plugins that you can check out include Mobile Press, WP Audiencc, and WordPress Mobile Edition.
There are so many definitions of what a blog is. I recently stumbled across this video that provides a brilliant visual explanation of what a blog is. Simple yet thorough.
With the rise of social media platforms like facebook and Twitter, the world is quickly learning to interact online in a multitude of ways. The magic words these days seem to be ‘interact’ and ‘engage’. This development has clearly influenced the way online competitions are held nowadays. In the past, competition formats were somewhat limited to participants submitting an entry (a bit of text, a photo, or both) and learning a few weeks later if their entry received favorable marks from a panel of judges. These days, as media becomes more social, it’s the power or rather, the discretion, of the public that counts. Companies are learning that they can create a lot more buzz by not only soliciting entries from the public but by encouraging participants to lobby for votes, thereby spreading the word about the competition. You can count on the contestants to post links to their entries on their facebook pages, emails, blogs, tweets and other social media platforms. This is a brilliant marketing (and link-building) tactic and a powerful new instrument to build brand awareness.
One of the latest competitions to employ this tactic is the new Radisson Blu ‘Greatest Holiday in the World‘ competition. The Radisson Blu chain of hotels is offering a grand prize of 365 hotel nights in any of their 200+ hotels around the world over a 5 year period.
To participate, contestants visit the greatest holiday in the world site and tell Radisson why they deserve the prize above everyone else and upload photos or videos to back their arguments. Contestants are urged to spread the word by asking their friends, family and colleagues to vote for their entry. The contestant with the most votes wins! This competition is only open to citizens/residents of the European Union as well as Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. However, everyone can vote for the entries. It’s that simple! The competition closes on July 24th 2010.
To keep the momentum of the competition going, Radission Blu is offering up to 10 weekly prizes for the most entertaining entries. Winners are selected based on humour, creativity and originality used to present their stories. This is a simple competition but oh so effective in creating buzz around the Radisson Blu brand. All thanks to social media!
Go ahead, submit your entry, start lobbying for votes and who knows, you might be the lucky winner of 365 hotel nights anywhere in the world!
Note: this is a Sponsored Post.
Those who frequently read my posts on Velvet Escape will have noticed the funky-looking pop-up maps, Twitter profiles or Wikipedia notes. I had been searching for a while for a way to effectively integrate maps, videos and photos into my posts. Then, last November, I discovered Apture. I tested it and within minutes, I was convinced that this was the plugin of the year… for me anyway! Apture has since lifted my blog to a whole different level by facilitating an enhanced reader experience.
How I use Apture on my blog
A pop-up displays the Amazon product
Since using Apture, I’ve been able to do many cool things with amazing ease. Here are 6 ways I use Apture (including examples of posts to illustrate how the plugin is used):
The Apture Search Bar
Apture recently introduced another cool feature: the Search bar. The Search bar only appears when readers scroll down the page. The bar houses a logo of my blog (which links back to my home page), social media icons which allow readers to easily share the post via Twitter, facebook or email, and a search field. Apture neatly organises the search results by source, including a separate header for my blog posts that contain the search term. That way, readers are encouraged to dig deeper into my blog and hence, prolong their stay. Brilliant stuff!
Two more reasons why I love Apture
- For such an amazing plugin, it hasn’t noticeably slowed down the load time of my blog.
- Apture’s Customer Support is excellent – they’re helpful, personable and prompt!
I have absolutely no qualms recommending Apture to every blogger.
Note: this post was not sponsored by Apture. I just love this plugin!
