Quick Self-Publishing Guide

For those of you who have never published for the Kindle before it can be a bit of a pain, so we are going to take a quick look at the process that is involved in publishing your first E-Book.

Formatting

The first thing you will want to do is ensure that your book is properly formatted. Far to often people upload their book to kindle publishing and it results in cropped pages, pointless blank pages, or duplications of text.

You can download this template for Microsoft Word that comes with pre-defined margins and text locations to help you ensure you won’t run into the same issues.

Setting Up Your Account

Once you’ve got your book in order you’ll want to head to the Kindle Direct Publishing Site and either login with your existing Amazon Publishing Account (createspace) or sign-up.

The Dashboard

Once you are logged in you will be presented with your “Bookshelf” which is the KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) dashboard you will see a list of your current titles, their status, and various other information.

At this time click “Add New Title” to start the publishing process

Adding a New Title

Section 1: Entering Book Details

In the book details section you first enter your books title (keep it short if possible to make it more kindle friendly).

Edition Number: If this is an edit of the book you will want to change the edition number

Description: This is the description that will be seen in the Kindle Book Store and when your book is pulled up in searches – try and be SEO savvy about it and include your desired keywords

Book Contributors: This is where you would put an author name

The other information is pretty straight forward. For those of you who do not have ISBN’s but would like to use one for broader search purposes I will be covering that in another thread.

Section 2: Verifying Your Publishing Rights

If the work is original you will want to select “This is not a public domain work and I hold the necessary publishing rights.” otherwise select that it is public domain.

While you can sell both public domain and private rights on KDP only the second option will protect your IP rights.

Section 3: Target Your Book To Customers

This section is pretty straight forward, select categories that relate to your books content and select keywords that would be used to find it. (These keywords are not only used in KDP but also passed into Meta-Information for use in Google)

Section 4: Upload Your Book Cover

In this section you have the opportunity to upload your own book cover (if you don’t a place holder sample is used – it’s not terrible but it isn’t favorable)

The requirements for your cover art are as follows:

• Image dimensions of at least 500 by 800 pixels.

• A maximum of 2000 pixels on the longest side is preferred

• Ideal height/width ratio of 1.6

• Save at 72 dots per inch (dpi) for optimal viewing on the web

• RGB color mode

Section 5: Upload Your Book File

Here is where you have the chance to upload your book file. It is best uploaded in .doc (not .docx as that has some transfer issues).

You also have the option to enable DRM or not. Enabling DRM will ensure that only users who have bought or rented your e-book have access to it. If you plan to profit from the sale of the ebook this is the best way to go. If you plan to profit from an affiliate method then do not enable DRM.

Section 7: Verify Your Publishing Territories

This section allows you to declare product availability (where you will sell your ebook) also if you have licensed rights to a product in a single country, region or territory section 7 would allow you to ensure you keep to your contract while using the exposure of KDP

Section 8: Choose Your Royalty

The choose your royalty section is one that confuses a great deal of people. So the best way to break it down is that 35% royalty means you get 35% of EVERY sale and can set your price as low as $0.99.

70% royalty means you get 70% of every sale in UK, US, Canada, Australia, Germany, and Spain. The minimum price of your book must also be $2.99

In both royalty situations you are charged for the delivery cost. Which depends on the size and graphics involved in your books.

Section 9: Kindle Lending

The last section is Kindle Lending, it gives you the option to allow buyers to loan their copy of the book to family and friends for up to 14 days. During which time the original buyer can not access the content as it is on loan.

Once again whether you enable this or not is something that depends on your monetization method. If you are monetizing through affiliate methods feel free to enable it. If sales are how you are monetizing then do not enable it.

Publish

You are now finished creating your first e-book and can hit save and publish. It will take roughly 48 hours before the book is published. Now it’s time to start advertising that book!

Quick Self-Publishing Guide

101 Ways To Promote Your Blog

When ever we talk about SEO, we divide it into on site and off site SEO. Off site SEO mainly contains backlinks and social signals. Specially, to boost your ranking in SERP’s you need to get quality links from other authority sites. We all know the importance of search engine traffic and that getting high quality backlinks to your blog is one of the best ways to improve your blogs rankings and get better search engine traffic and results, this post will be listing 101 ways by which you can get quality backlinks to your blog.

Though before we move ahead, here are things that you need to keep in mind. In 2012, Google launched Penguin update, which is targeted to get rid of sites using spammy or paid ways to build links. Also, many ways which I mentioned in the article are not so good ways to get quality backlinks, so I will strikethrough such ways and you can ignore them.

Also, when you are building backlinks, you need to keep quality of links and anchor text variation in your mind. Also, instead of creating lots of backlinks to your homepage only, start working on building links to internal pages. You can start working on resource pages like “WordPress guide” and build links to them. This way, you can also target Single or double word Keywords easily.

Some of the link building methods, which you should ignore:

Before, I start with my 101 list, here are some of the link building methods that you should ignore:

Avoid site wide link from footer (WordPress themes or plugins)Avoid buying exact anchor text link (Keep a proportion of 40%-20%–20%-10%-10% for anchor text variation)Avoid buying bulk links from sites like FiverrDon’t opt for link networks (Build my rank was one of such private link network, which got penalized)Avoid BlogRoll linksArticle directory links are not that effective anymoreSo, these are something which you should keep in mind when starting with quality backlink building campaign. Out of all the existing method, guest posting is the best way to get quality link and more over, it will help you to drive traffic to your web page.

Smart Blogger guide to build quality Links to your Site:

1. Submit Guest Post to Other Blogs (List of Blogs to guest post)

2. Comment on dofollow blogs – here is a list of dofollow blogs to get you started

3. Start Relevant Threads in Forums and Link to Your Blog Posts

4. Link to Your Blog in Your Forum Signatures (Only high quality forums)

5. Social bookmarking is also considered as backlinks and you should target following network: Google plus, Twitter, Facebook, Digg and delicious.

6. Make Use of Discussion Boards by Linking to Your Blog in threads. Quora is one such HQ discussion board.

7. Make Use of Blogging Communities by Submitting Your Blog Posts to Them, some great places to start are Blog Engage and MMO Social Network

8. Ask Questions related to your blog in Answer Sites like Yahoo Answers and Link to Your Blog in your questions

9. Answer Questions in Yahoo Answers and Cite Your Blog as the Source

10. Interlink to your blog and other posts on your blog when writing on your blog.

11. Exchange links with other bloggers in your niche. Make sure to form link pyramid and keep it natural.

12. Submit Your Blog to Top Blogging directories (Again quality mattes here)

13. Submit your blog to top web directories

14. Submit your blog to top niche directories

15. Ask your friends to link to you

16. Submit your blog posts to all social bookmarking sites you know

17. Submit your blog to your top social networking sites

18. Submit your articles to stumbleupon

19. Submit your blog to digg, it is dofollow and Google crawls most of its submissions

20. Work on making your blog go viral on top social bookmarking sites, this alone can bring you tons of quality backlinks from authority sites.

21. Submit your rss feed to feeder sites

22. Make use of press releases, you can get a list of press release sites to get started

23. Submit your rss feed to rss directories, here is a list of rss directories to get started.

24. Most forums have a website review forum, review your blog on this forums.

25. Release a free theme and include a link to your blog in its footer. (Not recommended)

26. Release a free wordpres plugin and include a link to your blog in it.

27. Release a software or compile your ebooks to .exe and submit them to top software sites like brothersoft

28. Convert your blog posts to pdf and submit it to document sharing sites, here is a list of document sharing sites for you to get started.

29. Review top companies and products and they might link back to you

30. Do a weekly link love post and link to many bloggers, they will most likely return the favor. Take advantage of outbound link SEO.

31. Interview top bloggers and ask them to help you share it on their favorite social networks and their fans will link to your interview.

32. Provide testimonials for marketers and also provide your link when doing so, they will most likely link back to you.

33. Make use of web 2.0 sites like squidoo to promote your blog

34. Submit your blog posts to blog carnivals.

35. Write high quality content and you will get strong backlinks

36. Write controversial posts

37. Write news posts and try to be one of the first people to write it.

38. Submit your blog to css directories.

39. Ask other bloggers to interview you.

40. Write linkbait posts.

41. Write top list posts because they can go viral easily.

42. Write a post comparing some top gurus in your niche.

43. Write a post featuring some upcoming bloggers and why you like them, they will most likely link to it.

44. Trade articles with other bloggers in your niche.

45. Submit your site to Dmoz, many other directories use this directory and that alone is enough qaulity backlinks for you.

46. Submit your blog to .edu and .gov forums and blogs, Google so much loves backlinks fom this sites and regards them as authority.

47. Make use of groups like Google Groups and Yahoo Groups

48. Create a Wikipedia Page For Yourself and include your link in the resource section.

49. Submit your blog to technorati and build more links to increase your ranks, this alone can help you get many high quality backlinks.

50. Write posts that have “the ultimate” in the title, each of these type of post I wrote got over 20 backlinks each.

51. Start a blogging contest and make linking to your blog one of the requirements.

52. Sponsor blogging contest and you will get a lot of backlinks from this.

53. Donate to charity sites, many of them will link back to your site.

54. Build a great tool and many people will link to your tool and your blog.

55. Do a big product launch.

56. Make the news at any cost.

57. Release your own firefox extension and have a page dedicated to it, many people will link to it!

58. Blog about celebrities.

59. Render your services to top people in your niche, for example, the fellow who designed Darren Rowse’s theme was credited at the footer.

60. Write 101 posts, they tend to get more social and natural link love.

61. Design a top bloggers award and give it to as many bloggers as you can in your niche, they will link back to you.

62. Contact your theme designer and tell them to use your website as an example in their portfolio, they will most likely include a link back to your blog.

63. Creat manuals and long tutorial posts on your blog, this type of post do recieve lots of backlinks.

64. Create a great ebook or membership site and make linking to your blog the requirement to get it.

65. Submit your resume to resume directories while linking to your blog in your resume.

66. Write how to posts, they also tend to get more backlinks.

67. Write posts that starts with numbers e.g. “7 ways to…”, these type of posts do tend to get backlinks.

68. Submit your images to image directories and include a link to your blog in its copyright notice and as a requirement to use it. Ex: How to use Flickr to drive traffic

69. Join blogging contest and you will most probably get backlinks if you win.

70. Have a “link to us” or “spread the word” page on your blog while asking your readers to link to you – it is important to make it easy for them by putting your direct html code there using your desired anchor text.

71. Submit your website to local business directories, backlinks from these sites are regarded by Google as authority.

72. Write on about.com and link to your blog in it, this will likely be crawled and used by a lot of websites thereby increasing backlinks to your blog.

73. Make effective use of april fool.

74. Do very costly jokes on your blog but indicate it is a joke underneath the post (tricky? ahah!), e.g., “Apple has bought Google for $260Billion”, something like this will get tons of links and retweets before people even know that it is a joke.

75. Create niche specific tutorials, which are not only unique but help the community. Such tutorial articles get lots of backlinks.

76. Create viral youtube videos and inlude links to your blog in the video and its description.

77. Create Lots of Websites and Interlink Them to each other. (Avoid private blog network)

78. Offer lots of free downloads on your blogs.

79. Update your blog regularly because this will make more people trust your website and it will also make you rank for more keywords which means more traffic and eventaully more backlinks.

80. Write a great post with a lot of pictures in it – let the post be pictures only.

81. Write a post comparing various companies and services and which is the best, the best comapny will most likely link to it.

82. Compare different top products and link to them, people will most likely link to it e.g. You can comapre a mac with a PC.

83. Get a collection of high quality paid things and make them available for free (make sure you are not violating the copyright of the owner in any way!)

84. Create a directory for your blog and make it important to reciprocate links with you by giving those who link to you higher placement and giving them free featuring on your homepage.

85. Beta test a lot of products and give your review and tips on improving the product, the owner might just link to you.

86. Run surveys on your blog and publish the results for everybody to see, if the survey is good and helpful you will definitely get a lot of backlinks to your blog.

87. Write a list of the “top 10 myths” or “top 10 mistakes” about something.

88. Position yourself as an authority in your niche and try to get attention from the media.

89. Offer to speak at events and seminars related to your niche, don’t forget to mention your blog while introducing yourself, this will most likely help you get some backlinks.

90. Have a special writing style that attracts people.

91. Be transparent on your blog.

92. Get listed in top padi Directories like the Yahoo Directory and the BOTW directory

93. List your product on Ebay or Amazon and include a link back to your blog.

94. Create a podcast and submit it to Itunes, link back to your blog from it.

95. Create web apps and submit them to app directories such as Go2Web20

96. Write a great and very useful whitepaper and ask your blogging friends to help you distribute it around the web, make sure you inlcude a link to your blog in the whitepaper.

97. Run a contest giving people physical products for free, make linking to your blog a requirement to join.

98. Try to know whcih stories are hot at the moment and make sure you blog about them.

99. Blog about very important events such as the independence day and the likes.

100. Start your affiliate programme.

101. Create a news section on your blog with regularly update news in your niche and you will begin to get links fast.

Bonus!

102. Join the better business bureau

103. Take note of newspapers and magazines that are willing to feature experts in many fields and try to write about your niche while linking back to your blog

 

101 Ways To Promote Your Blog

100 Websites That Pay For Articles

Without rambling around I present you 100 pages that buy your already written articles or pay you to write unique articles.

 

You can get some pocket money if you decide to write for them.

 

Quite a few people simply take PLR articles, rewrite them and sell them to said websites.

 

Here you go!

 

All the best websites that pay you for your articles and websites that buy articles!

 

http://editfast.com/english/articleposting.htm - pays you for already written content.

http://www.cracked.com/article_20416...cracked21.html

https://www.contentblvd.com/how-it-works

http://www.epinions.com

https://contributor.yahoo.com/signup

http://digitaljournal.com

http://blogging.org

http://www.bukisa.com

http://www.contentrow.com/author-application

http://www.constant-content.com

http://www.articleteller.com

http://www.xomba.com

http://wizzley.com

http://www.sponsoredreviews.com/

http://www.DemandStudios.com

http://www.Examiner.com

http://www.Contently.com

http://www.MagicYellow.com

http://www.RealMediaGroup.com

http://www.InteractMedia.com

http://www.AllWriting.net

http://www.EssayWriters.net

http://www.forms.copypress.com

http://www.TechWriters.com

http://www.Copify.com

http://www.WorldStart.com

http://www.Scripted.com

http://www.Knoji.com

http://www.Skyword.com

http://www.About.com

http://www.Whereiski.com

http://www.OnceWritten.com

http://www.UserFeel.com

http://www.FirstBeatMedia.com

http://www.ConsumerSearch.com

http://www.SeekingAlpha.com

http://www.KnowMoreMedia.com

http://www.OneSpoonAtATime.com

http://www.PhotoshopTutorials.com

http://www.TheTechLabs.com

http://www.vector.tutplus.com :

http://www.Nelrc.org/changeagent :

http://www.Ceramics.org

http://www.DropZone.com

http://www.MetroParent.com

http://www.SitePoint.com

http://www.SpyreStudios.com

http://www.Pxleyes.com

http://www.Uxbooth.com

http://www.MostInspired.com

http://www.CrazyLeafDesign.com

http://www.PvmGarage.com

http://www.Triond.com

http://www.Helium.com

http://www.Xomba.com

http://www.Families.com

http://www.Pakt.com

http://www.ExpertsColumn.com

http://www.WritersDomain.net

http://www.InfoBarrel.com

http://www.Snipsly.com

http://www.Seekyt.com

http://www.SquidStop.com

http://www.Jevitt.com

http://www.SheToldMe.com

http://www.TipDrop.com

http://www.BestReviewer.com

http://www.Flixya.com

http://www.OnGoBee.com

http://www.TagFoot.com

http://www.Mixx.com

http://www.Rateitall.com

http://www.ODesk.com

http://www.Elance.com

http://www.JustaFive.com

http://www.TenBux.com

http://www.Dollar3.com

http://www.FittyTown.com

http://www.BreakStudios.com

http://www.Textbroker.com :

http://www.DemandMedia.com

http://www.WiseGeek.com

http://www.eCopywriters.com

http://www.LoveToKnow.com

http://www.Seed.com

http://www.QualityGal.com

http://www.WordsofMouth.com

http://www.BrightHub.com

http://www.Oboulo.com

http://www.LookingForClues.com

http://www.Ayushveda.com

http://www.iWriter.com

http://www.AsiaWriter.com

http://www.Instamedia.com

http://www.ArticleContentProvider.com

http://www.WritersNetwork.com

http://www.ContentCurrent.com

http://www.Stretcher.com

http://www.WriterAccess.com

100 Websites That Pay For Articles