Category: Business Related

and the Inspiration

Do you have trouble blogging consistently and coming up with fresh new material to keep your readers coming back for more and more? In this article, I'll show you how to make time and where to find the inspiration for new ideas to keep flowing.

Blogging is a great way to gain exposure for your business. However, many people have trouble doing consistent blog postings and coming up with new material to write about. A key point to remember about blog postings is that they do not have to be long, in fact, blog posts kept to around 250 words is pretty sufficient. When people are browsing the web they are generally hopping from one site to the next so keep your blogs sharp and concise.

Personally, I used to find it very challenging to write a few blog posts a week until I really took the time to make blogging a serious part of my business marketing. Before anything else you must get committed to your blog, make a goal of posting one, two, or three times a week. (More if you are a real go-getter!) Starting off with just a few posts a week is definitely manageable and the more you do it, the easier it will become.

I find that I can write about five blog posts in about an hour if I keep them to the 250 word guideline. If you are writing anything longer than that, think about making those submissions into articles instead of blog postings.

Once you have started with a goal in mind here are some simple steps to keep your blogging fun, fresh, and easy.

1. Set a designated time to write and stick to that time every week. (You write on Monday's from 2-4p.m. Writing in blocks of time is also more productive as it will put you in a writing mode and allow you to easily flow from one piece to the next. Turn off all the other distractions during this time.

2. Look for ideas and inspiration in everything that you do. I find inspiration at concerts, walking in the park, and all throughout my life - NOT when I am sitting at the computer facing a blank screen.

3. Always carry an idea journal or an electronic form of taking notes. If I do not have my note pad with me, I write a note in my iPhone. Unfortunately, inspiration comes and goes at the most inconvenient time so you want to be ready. I find that the more I write down my ideas and save them for later the more my creativity thanks me by continuing to give me new things to write about.

4. Look in your inbox/sent box. You are probably talking to people about similar things all of the time, these conversations and emails make a great starting point for blog posts. Address the questions you hear and the conversations you have in your blog.

5. See blogging as a way of expressing yourself. Get inspired by sharing what is really going on in your life or business. People want to get a chance to relate to you, so show them who you really are, what is on your mind, what gets you fired up, or maybe what is keeping you up at night. Our brain is constantly thinking all day long, I guarantee if you start paying attention you will find more ideas to write about that you will be seeking even more time to sit down and write.

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About the Author

Andrea Costantine is the ConsciousPreneur Connection Specialist, providing powerful resources to help entrepreneurs easily and effortlessly grow their business. Visit[url= http://www.andreacostantine.com0http://www.andreacostantine.com9/url] for your FREE ConsciousPreneur Kit.

Category: General Articles

If you are an internet marketer, you probably have quite a bit on your plate already. You have spent a great deal of time putting together a good website or blog and are really concentrating on how to deliver your product or information. Unfortunately, there are a certain breed of people out there in cyberspace whose self appointed mission is to break into your vault and create havoc.

If you are using WordPress as a platform to blog from, here are a few tips on how to secure WordPress

Keep WordPress Updated and Backed Up

Older versions of WordPress still have many vulnerabilities that are widely known in the hacker community. To their credit, the WordPress people are always doing their best to plug security holes and are updating constantly. So your first line of defense is to keep your blogging platform updated.

Medical Tip: To avoid increasing your blood pressure, always be sure to make a backup of your blog before installing any updates. Its a good idea to regularly to keep your WordPress backed up regularly anyhow, since any number of things can go wrong.

Another tip is to delete the meta tags that tells the world of the version of Wp you are using. This info is usually in the header file.

Keep Your Plugins Hidden

One of the great things about using WordPress is the plugins. While they greatly increase your blogs capabilities, they too contain certain bugs and vulnerabilities that are exploited by hackers. So be sure to keep them updated also.

It is easy for anyone to see what type of plugins you are using by visiting the wp-content/plugins folder. To keep potential intruders from finding out the plugins that you use, create an empty 'index.html' file and place it in your plugins folder

Its also a good idea to check your plugin folder and make sure the plugins there are the ones you want. Some hacker, once they get into your files upload their own plugin. So if you see something that you are not familiar with, delete it.

Here is a Free WP plugin that keeps track of the attempts to login to your site. Many hackers use brute force to try and get your password. So, if there are too many of them coming from the same IP address within a short period of time, the plugin will disable the login function for that IP range. Login Lockdown: bad-neighborhood.com. Click on login lockdown and you will be taken to the download page. Be sure to check out their other plugins to.

Change Your Passwords

This is an easy hack that is often exploited. You can have a more secure blog by making up a crazy, difficult password. Even change it monthly if need be.

But not only your WordPress login. Don't forget your hosting account and your ftp passwords as well.

Headache tip: Be sure to write your passwords down immediately and keep all your them all in a safe place.

Secure the /wp-admin/ directory

Your most sensitive Wordpress information is stored in the /wp-admin/ folder. By default, WordPress leaves that folder open, so people can access these files to make changes if they know what they are doing.

To secure this folder:

Place an .htaccess file inside the /wp-admin/ folder to block the access to all IP addresses, except yours.

Here is the code you need to put in the .htaccess file:

AuthUserFile /dev/null

AuthGroupFile /dev/null

AuthName "Example Access Control"

AuthType Basic

order deny,allow

deny from all

allow from xx.xx.xx.xx

allow from xx.xx.xxx.xx

Now, ff you ever find your site being redirected to another website you will need to:

Check For Hidden Code

This requires a bit more knowledge of the inner workings of WP on your part, so don't mess with it unless you know what you are doing.

Browse your theme files

Log into your WordPress control panel, go to the theme editor, and look inside your theme files. See if there are any lines of code that are not supposed to be there, or that contain a PHP code that you don't recognize.

Check your database tables

Some hackers upload fake images to your "Uploads" folder and activate them with a plugin call. To detect this you need to open PHPMyAdmin, browse the "wp-options" table, and edit the "active_plugins" record.

On that record you will see a list of all the plugins that active on your blog. Delete any that seem unusual or that you aren't using

Browse your site files through FTP

Log into your FTP account and browse through the folders on your site. You are looking for any files that have a strange name or that look suspicious. If you have another WordPress blog installed on another site, compare the structure of the files to make sure they match up.

Tip to avoid a heart attack: Remember: Backup, backup, backup, before you star messing with anything!

Be Fearless

Billy Ojai

Do you want to make more money in Internet Marketing? One way is to learn good copywriting techniques. Pick up your Free copy of 'Copywriting for the Web' at http://billyojai.com