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By Scott Frangos

Are you a new-media Publisher? Notice I didn’t say “Blogger” — on purpose. I’m making a distinction between those who wish to Blog as a hobby, and those who wish to make a living — pro Bloggers equal Publishers, in that equation. Why? Because Blogging is about writing, and conversation (a lot of new Bloggers forget the conversational aspect), while Publishing ads a number of new considerations including selling advertsing, usually. So the successful new-media Blogger will combine good Blog Writing with SEO Skills, and New Media Marketing Skills with Advertising Skills. Quite a mix, eh? Maybe you have some other parts to the puzzle — if so leave us a comment below with links to your own site.

Hey, I’m still learning, too (and my journey from Journalism school with manual typewriters to Desktop Publishing and on to the Web and new-media Blogging has been quite a ride), but what a great time to learn! There are new ideas, new ways to communicate, and new concepts percolating out there all the time. For example, do you know what “Content Marketing” is all about? Follow that link to find out, and when you understand it and use it at your own blog you will watch your success increase, I predict.

Here are some resources that I have found valuable…

• On Writing: I use Google Reader to get RSS feeds, and read the news, views and how-to’s of important writers like the CopyBlogger Blog (link is to article on writing for Social Media), The CopyWriter Underground Blog by Tom Chandler (he doesn’t write real often, but when he writes it’s required reading for me), and the aptly named I’d Rather Be Writing Blog (link is to post on two types of blog posts). And, you should check out our Series of 10 articles on CopyWriting Techniques here at WebHelperMagazine.com. Get our RSS feed so you won’t miss another addition to the series.
• On Blogging: Here are three of the top blogging blogs I read regularly, starting with the venerable Blog Herald (link is to an article on seven types of comments). Add ProBlogger Blog, and the Daily Blog Tips Blog to your RSS reader makes for a powerful triple play of how-to reading.
• On SEO: Here are three excellent sites to add to your RSS Reader… SEOMoz.org (link is to article on analytic keys for SEM campaigns), SEO Design Solutions Blog (yes… SEO is about more than just savvy writing, you have to Design with it in mind), and Search Engine Journal.
• On Publishing: There are lots of sites where you can read about Publishing (old-style and new), but for this post I am going to give you a link to a Group where the members help each other actually do publishing: The Publishing Focus Group at Social Marketing Central (a NING group).
  
  Above, the Publishing Focus Group (part of the larger NING group… take a very close look at NING), is new (one week old), and already working through “Blog Carnivals,” and how to “Magnify” your blog posts.

Four Helpful BlogMaster Articles

WordPress Roundup including 2.5 Preview, New Plugins, and New Themes. Get a handle on WordPress 2.5, due out this week, and preview 6 unique and interesting themes, along with some very helpful plugs. Plus find more WordPress resources. … READ MORE

Learn 10 ways to get people to comment on your blog. If you’re out to build readership, and more importantly — community, then you need to understand how to get people to leave comments. Old media things they are just writing AT their readers (newspapers, magazines, etc.). Bloggers understand it’s a conversation, and this article helps you foster that important aspect of successful blogging. … READ MORE

The Net Fool has some interesting ways for you to monetize your WordPress blog. Unless you’re just doing it for a hobby (and maybe even then), alittle Ka Ching never hurts your wallet. The Net Fool reviews four new revenue plugins for WordPress BlogMaster… READ MORE

Is it possible to earn a good living Blogging? Join Blogger Scott Frangos, at our OpenSourceWebMaster.com Blog as he explores the answer to this question with a review of one very successful blog (well into 5 figures per month)…READ MORE

About the Author: Scott Frangos is Managing Editor for WebHelperMagazine.com, and writes the OpenSourceWebMaster.com Blog there. He also builds dynamic Blog and CMS websites with WordPress for WebFadds.com (WebFaddsHosting.com is a sister site) and is a college level instructor for Graphics and WebMaster subjects. He lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife, Pepper, and their three dogs: Wisdom, Spirit, and Steggman, and is a great believer in the power of CMS websites.