Don't you just hate it when an Internet "guru" starts loading your email account with promises of secrets revealed and only do this one thing and you'll make gobs of money!?

Of course you do, if you are anywhere near a "normal" blogger or online business person.

Well, sit back for a minute, relax and know that I am NOT a guru.  I am NOT revealing a get rich on the road to blogging course, manual, or paid product or service of any kind.

I simply am a blogger who got to thinking about how overwhelming this whole blogging thing can be for someone brand new to the scene.

When I first considered blogging, I had 12 years of Internet hosting, website design, programming and marketing under my belt.  But I can say with humility, I was confused as heck!  Still to this day, I get caught up on the most basic details, simply because I come from an "old school" way of thinking.

So I got to thinking about someone who didn't have that previous 12 years of experience, and how incredibly overwhelming the blogosphere would be.  Can you imagine?

Setting a new blog up, is what I consider the "easy part".  With so many free services and user-friendly interfaces available, even the most novice blogger can get a new blog up and running.  It's what to do with it once it is live and ready to market??????

There is so much to learn and do in the daily management of blogging, it can make your head spin.
The landscape of the Internet is changing now at a VERY fast pace.
New strategies, new marketing avenues, new sites to market on, and new competitors arriving daily, even hourly.

How does a blogger keep it all straight and make it all work?

Well I have a single document that I use, faithfully, that keeps me and my blogs going strong.

It's a blueprint for marketing your website with social media, social bookmarking, social networking and other Web2.0 strategies.

It's call the Social Media Daily, and it's published by Michelle MacPhearson.  It's a comprehensive, easy to understand and follow guide to everything you need for blogging and marketing in this web2.0 world of ours.

I highly encourage you to visit the link above and download your complimentary copy today!

Another resource for the newbie blogger is Social Networking Exposed!  It's a 5 part series (both in text and audio) that will introduce you to the concept and applications of social networking.  A must understand part of any bloggers toolbox.

So there you go.  My personal blogging secret weapon and a small dose of reality when it comes to effectively marketing your blog and maximizing your blogging efforts.  I hope you enjoy!

Being a new blogger, search engine optimization probably sounds, looks and feels like a foreign language.

Rest assured, it's really not all that complicated, or hard to accomplish, once you know the basics.

Keywords and keyphrases are the critical elements to good blog optimization.  Once you learn how to select these and use them, effectively, on your blog, you'll be well on your way to creating an optimized blog that search engines will love.

This article, "Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Strategies for All Bloggers" is a great starting point and talks about how to utilize your keywords and keyphrases to maximize your blog optimization.

Enjoy!