Wow, January is almost over. Been a crazy week and month and the last 24-48 hours I spend in the hospital with one of my little ones but all is well now nothing like a little scare to me you think about what really maters.

I was hoping to to a better more detail wrap up as this has been a great month for me probably one of the best cause of a couple things that happened as a result of my actions and plan but I will have to get in to that in another past as I only have about 15 minutes to do this.

I been wanting to tryout this plugin for some time. Instant Weekly Roundup is the plug in. Extreme John likes to use this and I couldn’t remember the name I see that he re-posted the name today and replied to my tweet where I asked him about it.

Thanks John you Rock as always!

So here how this plug-in works I pick a date range and check my categories. The intent for this one is to figure out how this plugin works and wrap up the month. I just enter my header and footer and click a bunch of buttons and see what happens.

Once again I thank everyone and look forward to next month need to really sit down and think as I have bigger plans then time when I think about everything I need to do this month. I hope to figure that all out tonight. Good news is I stayed on track and actually made some money this month and almost hit my posting target of 20 posts.

Please make sure to comment Best Blogging Monthly Comment Contest as this month comment contest went ok but could be a lot better.  I did a poor job promoting it so I will work to tweak this as it goes.  Looks like John will be the winner unless someone takes some action tonight.  The 2 winner I will announce later you must have 5 comments to be considered for that.  Details in the post above to the contest.

Blog Maintenance

An often overlooked Blog maintenance or IT task that is often not addressed it backing up your website.  This is a simple task for any wordpress admin.  In less then 10 minutes you can set this up and start backing up wordpress automatically.

How to WordPress Backup

Step 1 Go to Install Plugins

Step 2 Search for backup

Step 3 You should see WP-DB-Backup # 1 return right now

Step 4 Click Install

Step 5 Activate

Once Activated you can configure in under Tools – Backup

Then just check the any extra tables and input e-mail address and how often you want it to backup.

You can also run a adhoc backups.  I would strongly suggest to backup before any major theme changes or upgrades.  I can’t tell you how many times backups have saved my ass in IT.  Backs are a must do activity.

Verify!!

Once do you will see regular e-mails that give you comfort that your backups are running.

Sample e-mails below all is well!

Do you have your backups configured?

If not you should really read this post and then go and download and configure this plug-in.  In less then 15 minutes you can be all set.  15 minutes of time to save you from losing months or years of work.

Here’s a link to the Plug-in website I thank Austin Matzko of ilfilosofo.com for making this great free plugin.  I hope this post isn’t too short but I wanted to K.I.S.S. so people would find it more useful.  If you like this please comment and tweet.  Remember I am running a comment contest this month and the month is almost over.

Look I am going to be flat out honest here I am sending you to a sales page.  I was checking out David Risley Sales Page for the Blog Master Club and he has a 7 minute video of him going though various weeks over the last 6 years showing his real income.   David’s been a 100k blogger for the last 6 years and here is his proof pretty cool.  Not some photoshoped commission check or pay pal screen shot.

If you a fan of income reports this is not one your going to want to miss.  Really shows you the power of a motivated individual and what can be done with a small web business.  You get to see him going through his quick books and if you look you can see each year how much he made broking down in to different segments  If this doesn’t motivate you to want to work harder then I don’t know what will.

To get to the sales page you need to click on this link and then in the top left click join.

Look for this video in the sales copy and watch it! Screen shot of income report video from sales David’s Sales Page below.

You don’t need to opt-in to view this but if you haven’t opt-in and downloaded .  David Free Six Figure Blogger Blue Print then you should.  This is the best free e-book I have every read and I have read hundreds of them.  This one I have read and listened too at least 5 times yes along with his download is an mp3 so you get both for free.  Lots of good advice and you catch something different each time I had 3-4 pages of notes with actions when I 1st read it.

Looks verse Content

If you are attempting to create a successful blog for personal or business reasons, you should know that looks do count. Many bloggers make the mistake of thinking that looks are not as important as content, since readers are essentially reading your blog for the words, not the way it looks. This is true to some degree. The fact is however that people will not take your words seriously if your blog looks less than attractive. To have a successful blog you have to have it all. You must have interesting content as well as a great look. If you want to update the look of your blog, consider these areas of importance.

Easy To Scan

The way your blog reads on a page is an extremely important part of your blog’s look. You should always remember to keep your blog posts short and to the point. If you are treating your blog as a personal diary, your posts may be a little longer than normal. But, if you are trying to get more traffic to your blog, then you really want to focus the attention with short posts that offer the main point easily. Most blog readers will only scan your posts, not read them word for word. So keep this in mind when you are writing. The shorter the post, the more likely they are to read the entire thing. If your blog is easy to scan because the posts are short and the breaks are clear, you will have a great looking blog.

Professional Edge

When designing or redesigning your blog, try to make it as professional looking as possible. Even if the blog is not for a business, the more professional it looks, the more seriously people will take it. Today we have so many options for themes both free and premium.  Elegant theme is a great option if your not really sure what you want the look for your blog to be.  You get access to over 50 professional SEO WordPress Themes for 20 dollars.   No matter what you have to do, just keep a level of professionalism in your mind throughout the designing process.

Friendly Colors

Most people don’t think twice about what colors they choose for their blog. The facts are that some colors come across better on the web than others. Blue and black are easy to see, so they are always great choices to use. Sea-green, beige, or purple are also great soothing colors to use for a blog. You should stay away from using colors like pink, yellow, or any neon varieties. They are extremely hard on the eyes when reading them online and can deter people from reading your blog. Keep these color tips in mind when you design your blog to get the best results available.

Appropriate Graphics

It has been noted that the use of pictures on your blog is a great way to boost traffic. Blogs that offer pictures that correlate with their content are fantastic. Readers love to connect with the content further through pictures. With most blogging software offering ways to easily add pictures, it should not be a problem for most publishers to add them right into the blog. If you do have trouble, consider checking the “help” area in your blogging software for more information. The information there should provide you with step by step instructions to help you get on your way.

Successful Layout

Most people who design blogs and websites will tell you that the layout does matter as well. The way a blog looks to the reader in important in terms of layout. The layout should be clear and defined. If the reader is confused by the layout, they will likely not stick around to explore. They will most likely go right on to the next blog available. If you are letting a professional design your blog, you will likely not need to worry much about the layout. However, if you are doing it yourself, take a look at other successful sites to get ideas about what works and what doesn’t. Look at your site like a reader would to get the best advice you can. Lastly, simply test different layouts on your friends and family to see which ones they find the most suitable for your blog.

About 6 months ago when I read my 1st real book on Advertising and Marketing.  It talked about one of the best images you can use for your advertising is children.  I don’t know what do you think.  Are you more likely to buy?  I going to try a little experiment with my kids details below.

Top Secret Fun Kids Food Recipes

To help teach myself how to build an online product I thought it would be fun to make a product with my kids.  To start with I am  going to be releasing my 1st E-Book with the help of my Kid’s. Fun Kids Foods  will be the topic.  We will share our favorite.

TOP SECRET Fun Kids Food Recipes

The cost of the e-book will be 10 dollars to start and then we see what happens.  The book will consist of my kids favorite Sunday Morning Recipes.  A lot of the times on Sunday morning me and the kids make something fun for Breakfast.  For now this will be my simple Sales page.

I will work on turning this in to my 1st real sales copy.over next weekend.  Better my kids start writing and coming up with ideas.

I will also split all process 1/3 for them, 1/3 for me and 1/3 will be donated to Haiti for the month of  February.  Part of the goal of this is to teach them and myself a little bit now about internet marketing and help raise some money our family.  We heading to Disney in 3 months and a little pocket change would be nice for the kids and Dad.

PS. Anybody that blogs about this e-book post and links back here I will give you a copy free!

DADS – Your kids will love this I enjoy cooking with my kids and I can’t cook trust me everything in this book is low mess, simple to make and very delicious!!!.

In honor of Extreme John and just to show why he is one of the best CEO Bloggers on the net check out the post below.  John is know for his Sunday Smash Up’s so here is my take at it.  My Smash up will never compare but not bad for my 1st take a this. 

Earlier in the week I told you a little bit about just how great I thought this guy was and a couple days later a few comments here and now a link back from the best list I have seen on the internet in some time.  Do yourself a favor and check this out.

25 Best Blogging and Social Media Tips of the Week

Also if you didn’t know it this blog is DO FOLLOW now.  I switched back in December it and didn’t really ever announce,

Once again I thank Extreme John for the Free DO FOLLOW graphics.  Need a set for your blog?

Go here!

Free Do Follow Graphics

Not quite sure what do follow will do for you blog once again I am going to point to Extreme John here he is part of the reason along with many others that that are do follow blogs.  Here is a article by John that will help you under stand this whole Do Follow thing for those that don’t quite get it.

Do Follow vs. No Do Follow

I am going to be putting together my list of Do Follow Blogs for a post this week if you want to be on it please be sure to comment below.

That reminds me my comment contest this month is not going very week but I still have hope.  Check out the details here.  You just need to be the top commenter or enter at least 5 comments this month to have a chance to win. 

Right now the standings are pretty Sad

Bjorn| iCantInternet (5)

Extreme John (3)

Karl Foxley (2)

***Anyone could be in 1st place in less then 10 minutes. 

My bet will be on John or James winning this thing or maybe Brian or Karl I could get interesting as John just posted a couple links to my blog so I should see a nice jump in traffic. Let’s see who takes the most action and wins.

Other Blogging News

Free David Risley Webcast

Monday 8:00PM EST will sell out!

Webinar Information on DavidRisley.com

 Also Check out the these Freebie’s tied to his Launch

New Blog I discovered this week

http://www.theinfopreneur.net/ – Look out for this guy super motivated Family man James Richmond from the UK. James is my kind of guy.  Watch and study him he is like a machine posting twice a day if not more.  50-60 comments per post extreme focus.  lots of great quality content everywhere guest posting like crazy.  Alex Rank under 85k in less then 3 months.  It’s not everyday you find a blog that instantly are attached to.  More to come about this guy. 

You know I have a goal do something very similar this year I will be reading how he did it. Might see if I can increase post count next month need to set a good goal this month was 20 post which is a stretch for me.  Seems to be he pretty much just writes, promotes, writes promotes, writes, promotes.  Kind a makes sense when you think about it.  Going above and the normal is his method.  10 post per week vs. 3-5 that a lot of work but it is working.  No one ever said blogging was easy.

I know I see Extreme John Posting above the curve.  Interesting this might be a great idea.  Looks like next month focus will be writing.  I did get a new netbook so I think I am up for it.  Modeling habits of those that are doing what you want is good advice.

Word Challenge

Brian from Blog Engage and I need your help.  Check this out.

For those that don’t know what this is every week on Blog Engage we have a Word voted on by our members then we all blog about it and comment in the post.  At the end of the week we wrap it all up with links back the all the posts.

Fun Contest lots of great people commenting and tweeting, relationship builder you should get involved Brian and I are very active with this along with others.  Here are some of the entries from last week about Favorite Blogs

Ms. Ileane’s (Guest Post on Blazing Minds) – WordPress Plugin Video Tutorial
SEO MKT – Favorite Blogs of 2010
The Money Cult – Best Blogging Sites
I Can’t Internet – My Favorite blogs

Thanks Everyone I hope you have a great blogging week!

Today I going to talk about my favorite bloggersand I could list a bunch of people here but I going to stick with two that I seem to always come back to.  It seems I am aways finding great new bloggers but over the last year here it the two that I always visit.

David Risley and Extreme John

Even though these blogs are very different they have a lot of things that are common.

What they both do very well

• The blog regularly almost always 5 or more times a week
• The interact with their readers
• The are business men they run  their blogs like a business and talk about it
• The provide a ton of value 
• Professional looking blogs with nice graphics and pictures
• The keep it real

David Risley

Now lets talk a little bit more about David.  So I been reading David Blog for about a year now not sure exactly how I came across his blog but I think  it might have been from Yaro’s blog role.  I was attracted to David’s blog because of his story.  David is a 6 figure blogger and he writes about it and the pro blogging life style.  He was posting monthly income reports at one time and I was very jealous and intrigued by his post a free e-book where he tells his story about how he make 12,000k while on vacation. 

I started dreaming about writing a similar post someday and I will.  David has a couple products you can see a banner to the right for his Blog Master Club that is about to open.  One thing I can tell you about David is he is the real deal and he always over delivers.  His blog has exploded over the last year but you can always learn something from this guy.

Extreme John

Now John I am sure I meet via Blog Engage as he was leaving comments here pretty regular at one time and I make it a habit to visit those that comment.  I must say at first I was scared away from John’s Blog cause of all the pictures of hot women.  I found them to be a little distracting and that kind of stuff tends to get me in trouble with my wife.  I think it just happened the 1st day I came to his blog it was a post about a party at the playboy mansion or something.

Then over time I came back a few more times and got to know John and found his post very helpful and entertaining.  John is a very interesting story one I am jealous of but glad he blogs about it as you can really also learn a lot from this guy.  He is a real brick and mortar CEO blogger.  He runs a bunch of real offline business then blogs about them and other various things.  John runs insane Limos and then 5 or 6 tanning and smoothie shops.  You will find a mix of rants and rave and blogging tips on his site.

Do you have a favorite blog that you always visit? 

If so take some time to write a blog post about it and enter the Blog Engage Weekly Word Challenge.  This is my post for the word challenge.  The word challenge is something I been running on the Blog Engage Blog for the last month.  Every week I pick a topic based on votes and to enter you just have to write a post about that topic.  It a great way to meet some new people and build some new relationships.