How to search for a Domain Name

June 4, 2020 By Irene

The first thing to do when starting a blog is to search for a domain name. Start by brainstorming and looking at other domain names and what is on those websites for ideas on what you will want yours to be like.

Types of Domain Name

Domain names are of various types, e.g. brand-related, keyword-based; or both keyword and brand-related. Ask yourself whether you want your domain name to be related to your business or interest. This helps you to know the type to choose. What the blog is about could be implied from the name chosen e.g. home supplies. This then becomes the keyword.

The text or content of the blog shows what it is about so adding the keyword to the url is no longer compulsory or necessary, but you can make it so if that is your preference.

When you craft one, go to the following sites, and find its availability. In the past, some of the sites only gave the domain name meaning they were domain name generators.

Currently, all such sites offer web hosting, and website builder (using wordpress). We are thinking of using wordpress.com or wordpress.org for our starter sites, so register your domain and hosting with them and get your website theme from them. You could also opt for the Wealthy Affiliate premium membership route with its added benefits.

Criteria for finding a Domain Name

It should not be too long
Should be memorable
Easy to pronounce

Domain Name Generators

On the other hand, you can also check the following domain name generators for more information on the types of domain names and extensions available:

Domain.com
Godaddy.com
Name.com
Wealthyaffiliate.com
Bluehost.com
WordPress.com
WordPress.org

Other domain extensions and add-on

A .com or .net domain are the popular ones. For most of these tools, the results generated are related to the words you typed in. Several domain name variations will then come up.

More options from other domain extensions like .info, .biz, .site etc, will be provided. In addition to your offer will be the privacy and protection of your details by the company.

What is the cost of a Domain Name?

The cost of a domain differs from one site to the other; and also from type to type e.g. a .com maybe be higher than others like .net or .org, .info, .biz, .me; depending on the site you buy it from.

But overall, domain names are usually not expensive and cost between $10-$15 a year. It is usually bought for 1-3 years at a go. The privacy and protection that is provided by the company are added. When you buy a domain, it is saved and protected on a database; which is known as WHOIS privacy and protection.

The cost of domain and hosting at Bluehost is comparable to the others. You may purchase a WordPress theme from

wordpress.org or wordpress.com and host it at Bluehost. Alternatively, you could sign up as a premium member with Wealthy Affiliate, get access to their domain and hosting, plus all the added benefits of being in the community.

Note that you can move your website from one hosting site to another.

The exercise of searching for a domain name may take some days to do. Combine it with brainstorming and writing out some of the articles you have in mind to put on your blog.

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HOW TO START A BLOG IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A NICHE

May 21, 2020 By Irene Leave a Comment

How to start a blog if your dont have a Niche — How to start a blog if you don’t have a Niche

Do you want to start a blog and yet think you don’t know what to write about? It is really difficult for some bloggers when starting out to know what to write about. But we are writing all the time, isn’t it?

Everything online needs content in some form, whether it is

a blog post,
Whatsapp message,
YouTube video,
podcast,
social media posts.
text on images

You name it. We are communicating in writing now more than before.

Why own a blog or website?

When you have a blog, it’s your very own virtual property, you can add anything to it and make it look the way you want. Changes to social media may not unsettle you or affect your blog. Secondly, as you advance you’ll realise that a website is required for most of the things you’ll like to do online.

Finding a niche to brainstorm about

Note that not immediately finding a blogging niche idea is not a new thing. It took many successful bloggers several years to find traction; and it may take you some time to find one that meets your desires.

I faced the same roadblock. It took time for me to settle on a stated interest.

Maybe you’ve seen some websites or social media pages you like and follow, or comment on. Are there other angles you can direct on your own, vis a vis your current engagements online?

A niche, which is the topic to write about, can be targeted. A smaller segment of the general interest is generally chosen so that it can be easy to reach the intended audience. For example, ‘girl-child’ instead of ‘all children’.

What about content. Does it scare you?

Blog content can be put together by jotting down your thoughts on anything related to your daily life; as a lifestyle blog, and using many topics grouped into categories. By so doing, you may even develop new interests and find out that you have much knowledge to easily write on. Start with a free wordpress.com or Blogspot blog. Write as much as you want, anytime you can. Write up to between 350 and 500 words or more.

If you have no idea what to choose for a niche, this should not stop you. Start by writing about everything you are interested in or have some knowledge about. Write, using several topics grouped into menus, categories, and tags. In a sense, it is a lifestyle blog. You don’t need to be perfect here, nor think about search engine optimization as yet. As you continue with that, your flare for some of the topics will flow naturally. With time, some niches will be revealed for you to choose from.

Write as though you are offering the information to someone searching for it.

Changing a Blog Niche

Are you already blogging and would like to refocus or make a completely new blog because you are now certain of what to do? Go ahead and do it.

Steps to take

Write out by hand or type in a word doc.
Have a URL e.g. mysite.wordpress.com or mysite.blogspot.com, where ‘mysite’ is your URL. It can relate to your niche or not, and can always be changed. There are several tools you can put your niche name into to see if someone is already using it. Like name.com and godaddy.com. Nowadays, most sites and WordPress itself and some hosting sites offer this service. When you are sure of the name, go and get the domain from wordpress.com or Blogspot.
Use whichever URL is not being used by anyone.
After writing use Grammarly or other writing resources to edit it.

Now that you know how to start a blog without a niche, put your plans into action.

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How to make a Free E-book Cover using Powerpoint

April 24, 2020 By Irene Leave a Comment

An attractive E-book Cover is essential

How to make an Ebook Cover using Powerpoint

The cover of your ebook is also an essential part of the book since it is the first thing seen by searchers. It is necessary to take have a very good attractive cover that fits unto any device like pc, phone, or tablet.

Some rules to bear in mind when creating an ebook cover:

should give readers an idea of what the book is about even if they’ve not seen the text or content of the book.
Should look professionally designed
The design should reflect the content of the book
Should be a flat design to load unto your ebook, but a 3d cover design can be displayed on your website
Should look well as a thumbnail

Some ebook cover design software

Powerpoint
Microsoft Word
Kindle Publishing Ebook Cover Maker
Free online E-cover Maker
Photoshop
Illustrator Cs6
Canva

Application of Concept – (OWT) 1.0

Make some research on other book covers both online and offline – checking fonts, colours, images, etc

Simple Ebook Cover

(1) For a very simple ebook cover e.g to put on a pdf that will be shared among friends or colleagues,

In your draft ebook, in Microsoft Word doc, move the first page down (i.e the page on which you have the book title and author name) to the second page to ensure the first page is blank
Search for an image already stored on your pc and upload it unto the blank page
Copy the heading and subtitle and place it underneath the image (change the font by making it larger and also add some effects, like a box, shadow, etc)
Centre both picture and text on-page.
Finish

[2]

Using Microsoft PowerPoint

For an image that you design by yourself,

Go to file, new, blank presentation or design, page setup then change the size of the slide to 10” x 15” or 6” x 9” [or 3200 x 4800 pixels]

ebook declan 1

With the colour of the book in mind, go to insert, shapes, and select the rectangle shape. The cursor changes into a black cross. drag the black cross shape around the border of the rectangular shape on both the left and right. (arrowed above) It can also be at the top and bottom.
Click format, shape outline. Select red from the colours. This immediately changes the outline of the rectangular shape to red.
Click Insert, text box. The cursor changes into an arrow. Use it to draw a rectangular shape at the top of your slide. Click inside and type the heading. Then click format, shape fill, and choose grey. (as found on image above)
Highlight the text, and change size of the font, by making it bigger
Click format, word art styles, choose one, and change the style of the text if desired
Do the same at the bottom for the subheading; but this time choose format, text fill, and black.
Save as jpeg on your pc
Upload unto ebook

Using a picture or image on your pc

Go to file, new, blank presentation or design, page setup then change the size of the slide to 10” x 15” or 6” x 9” [or 3200 x 4800 pixels]
Go to Picture, select a picture from your pc and upload it
Click on the picture. The format icon appears on the toolbar; use it to make any changes you want to the image like changing the colour, add text using larger font, etc and add other effects.
Save as jpeg on your pc
Then upload unto your ebook when you are ready

Alternatively, you can use the services of a professional to design your ebook cover.

Dis you enjoy this post? If so, please leave me a comment below and share. Thanks.

VIDEO MARKETING ON YOUTUBE (3)

April 20, 2020 By Irene Leave a Comment

How to Monetise YouTube Videos

Note*. This post has been updated.

Monetising a YouTube video goes with its optimisation and promotion. Any new video has zero views and zero subscribers.

These start building up through organic search and as the video gets more views. However, a video based on a trending issue or helpful topic can go viral instantly. Views and subscribers can also be increased through sharing and engagement on other platforms. It is advisable to enable monetization after several videos have been uploaded into your channel.

Ways to Promote and Monetise your Video

Promoting your video helps to attract leads, views, and sales as more people see, like and gain value from it.

Several ways of monetising your video are through:

partnering with YouTube through AdSense, by allowing adverts to be placed on the video.
Like any AdSense programme, producing good videos with helpful content in your niche is required.

Payment depends on how viewers interact with the adverts. If you already have an AdSense account, associate it with your YouTube account create a new AdSense account for your video channel.

Steps to enable Monetisation

Before you enable monetisation, ensure that all your videos comply with the terms that YouTube specifies.

Under channel settings, (in your YouTube channel) go to monetisation,
Add a related AdSense account or create a new one.
Select the type of ads you’d like and
Add your billing info

Other ways of Monetisation

Daily Motion videos are also monetised through advertisements;
making a review video of your own product and products of companies you are affiliated with
making a Facebook Fan Pages, and other social media to share videos;
linking out to other channels and groups in your niche by joining and interacting with members;
using video SEO to rank the video on the first page in order to attract more traffic
advertising your video using Google Ad words.

You don’t need a website to have a video channel but linking a website to your video channel increases visitors to your website and other benefits associated with it.

Try the various video types, like live streaming, animated gifs, explainer videos etc. and make more of the ones that resonate with your audience.

Suggested Resource

You may buy a mic to enhance the sound of your videos.

VIDEO MARKETING ON YOUTUBE [2]

April 18, 2020 By Irene Leave a Comment

Creating Marketing videos on Youtube

Note*. This post has been updated.

Start creating your marketing videos with Windows Movie Maker, which is free and comes with enough features for editing on pc or laptop or app. It can be used on windows 11, 10, 7, 8, XP and also Win Movie Maker App for Android and iOS. This video shows the use of windows movie maker;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk6rnA8lcBg

Additionally, also find out how Screencastomatic works. First, go to Screencastomatic.com and set up an account. Then download and launch the software onto the desktop of your pc or laptop. A maximum length of five to 15-minutes videos is allowed for the standard version.

Steps to follow:

Find and save free images related to the video or storyline you have in mind from Google. (add free to use to your search term). You can also use any personal video recordings you already have.
Screencastomatic records anything on your screen. Position or enlarge the recording area of Screencastomatic on your video or images one after the other, as you want it to appear in the new recording. Click record after the countdown to begin recording.
You can add sound or audio by recording (your voice) directly into Screencastomatic or use the sound recorder on your pc.

There are tutorials on Screencastomatic for your guidance. Audacity is another free software for recording sound. Apart from what’s found in the YouTube creator studio, there are several free instrumental and background music sites available online to download for your use.

Making marketing videos to upload on YouTube involves the use of paid tools as well, most of which can be obtained from techsmith.com, and adobe creative suite and many others. These tools make the process easier and faster.

When completed, upload the video onto YouTube as a draft and add enhancements to it from the Creator Studio. Features of the new YouTube Creator Studio can be found here:

https://youtu.be/kjAuCYwG67k

How to Customise YouTube Video

Click information and settings in the Creator Studio and under basic info, put in your
– title
– a description of what the video is about
– tags, and

– keywords from the video which should also be in the title and body

On the video, ask viewers to like, comment and subscribe to your channel.
After the enhancements, change the setting from unlisted or private to public.

YouTube Page Cover

Also in your dashboard, add a channel page cover which, should reflect the type of videos you will publish.
Again, you can use both free or paid tools from image creation and editing software like canva.com, pic monkey etc. to make your YouTube channel cover.

Get views and subscribers

After doing all this, publicise or promote your video to get more views, by sharing it on the various social media and video sites.

Suggested Resources:

Check amazon.com for Video Tool Guides for Entrepreneurs. E-books that help your discover fast and cheap ways of creating videos.

Did you enjoy this post? If you did, please leave me a comment and also share. Thank you.

Monetising You Tube Videos

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VIDEO MARKETING ON YOUTUBE [1]

April 16, 2020 By Irene Leave a Comment

VIDEO MARKETING

Note*. This post has been updated.

Another way of working online is through video marketing on video channels like YouTube, Vimeo, Daily Motion etc. Youtube, which is the second, largest search engine in the world, receives more than a billion visitors daily. It
is the destination for people of all ages. It has specialised channels like YouTube kids, YouTube gaming and YouTube music. Most social media sites also allow adding of video to posts and messages.

WHY INVEST IN VIDEOS?

Videos just like any website are about providing valuable content to visitors. People like watching videos and alternate it with reading. Most people listen to or watch videos on their mobile phones on their way to and from work, checking news, course content, product reviews, how-to videos etc.

TYPES OF VIDEO

informative explainer videos e.g. product reviews,
instructional videos –
how-tos
topical discussions
entertainment and comedy
radio and tv talk shows
religious programmes
plr content summarised for info purposes
updates of old videos
filming of annual festive events

EQUIPMENT FOR MAKING VIDEOS (paid or/and free)

1. camera on phones or tablets and pcs
2. digital cameras (using a tripod stand)
3. software e.g

screencasomatic,
powerpoint,
camtasia
biteable,
screencast tool,
windows movie maker,
powtoon, etc.
microphone on laptop and desktop pcs
webcam on pc
snagit,
camstudio,
jing.

FORMS OF VIDEO

montage, i.e text, and image with some music in the background,
your own pics made into video or movie
movie
music
combination of music, pictures
screen capturing (using ScreenFlow for Macs and Camtasia for PCs) are great options,
slideshows, (using Keynote or PowerPoint slides)

APPLICATION OF CONCEPT – (OWT4.0) PART ONE

1. Determine your Niche;

make searches on YouTube for videos similar to what you have in mind.
note keywords and look for the value that you will give in yours that cannot be found in others.
craft a title related to your keywords –

2. download (and save on your pc) royalty-free music from video music sites to add to your video e.g

3. look for relevant free images to go with your video – (download and save on your pc)

4. Set up a google account or a YouTube account through your Google account, using your own name or a brand name for your videos channel. In some cases, your video should be ready for upload before you can set up a YouTube channel

5. learn how to use youtube video manager

6. make a script of your video and rehearse audio narration, if you would like to add audio to your video.

7. add a music track to it from the free tracks on YouTube.

STEPS

record the video in (any of the programmes mentioned above) a programme like Windows Movie Maker, Screencastomatic, Biteable or Powerpoint.
upload it to YouTube. Give it time to upload
save it into an acceptable format like mp4;
further, save it unto Google Drive

POINTS TO NOTE WHEN MAKING A VIDEO

two or more tools can be used in recording one video – merging sections as and when desired
audio can be recorded separately and merged with text.
audio can be recorded using sound recorder on your pc, a mic attached to your pc or inbuilt features of your camera
most video software have similar as well as differing features
editing tools are separate for some software
pc and mac (apple) use different tools for recording and editing videos

Suggested Resources

Video Marketing Strategy

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