To protect your content, consider these practices:

1. Include a copyright notice

A simple notice at the end of your blog stating that what’s written is your property, while giving instructions on how to properly quote or use any of the content will deter people from plagiarizing.

2. Google Alerts & Google Reporting

Submit your content to Google Alerts, this service will notify you if the same content is published elsewhere. We all have better things to do than troll the internet for thieves, making this a useful tool. If you happen to get a report or discover your content elsewhere there is a way to report it to Google. Google will then contact the server/author and have the content revisited or removed.

3. Watermark your multimedia

If you are publishing original photos, videos or any other multimedia try including a watermark to make sure you’re recognized for your creative content. Here is a tutorial on adding a watermark to your photography through photoshop. Remember, this is for the media you create: when using other people’s images be sure to include sources to recognize the original author.

4. Be Organized

• Create a folder including everything you write, post and create, including multi-media.
• If you receive sponsorship be sure to keep track of contacts, receipts, payments and notes on all interactions.
• Back it up! Back it up! Back it up!

5. Know the Law

• While plagiarism isn’t considered a legal offence (it is a moral and ethical offence), copyright infringement is a serious infraction as defined below:

“Copyright provides protection for literary, artistic, dramatic or musical works (Including computer programs) and other subject-matter known as performer’s performances, sound recordings and communication signals.” – “A Guide to Copyright.” Government of Canada, Industry Canada, Office of the Deputy Minister, Canadian Intellectual Property Office. Web. 23 Sept. 2014.

• “Fair dealing” under the Copyright Act of Canada is the understanding that it is ok for people to use copyrighted works in certain contexts, such as journalism, commentary, private study, criticism or satire. What this means is one can take someone else’s writing and include it in a post with links and sources to the original creator. 
• Photography is automatically copyrighted as it is an artistic work. If the artist is concerned about reproduction, they can submit it to the Canadian Copyright Office. Another form of protection is a copyright symbol or watermark to deter unlawful reproduction.

Since there are a few grey areas in the world of blogging, err on the side of caution when creating posts: always cite written and multi-media content, consult local laws concerning copyright or talk to a lawyer.

Have more tips to keep yourself protected? Leave them in the comments below!

Make sure your blog is looking its best! Check out this infographic from WhoIsHostingThis? for a brief breakdown on blogging aesthetics.

This guy ^ is overly excited to be a guest-blogger
(Source)

Contributing to blogs is a great way to build your writing resume and get your work featured in front of a larger audience. Guest-blogging can also be a great opportunity to drive traffic to your own site while offering meaningful content to another blog at the same time. You can build your credibility, create great references, and build networks all while improving your writing skills. If you’re just getting started, here are a few tips to become a successful guest-blogger.

Research: When guest-blogging, you need to do your research in order to find the right blog to contribute to. You will write more meaningful articles when you are truly interested in and knowledgeable about a topic. Research topics that fit into  your niche or industry and figure out which blogs would be a good match for the content you will be writing. When you focus your content on a specific topic that you know, your chances of becoming a well-known guest-blogger in that targeted field are that much higher.

Write your best: When you’re contributing to someone else’s blog, you are writing for their established audience, brand and voice. Adhering to the blog’s particular writing style and voice can also help you to become a more fluid writer by being able to adapt writing styles that are different from your own. If your guest post on the blog is successful and gets many viewers, you have boosted both the blog’s popularity and your own popularity as a writer.

Read the guidelines: This is extremely important to do before you start writing. However, if you’re a procrastinator, then it’s especially important to read the guidelines before you send off your finished piece to the blog. Failing to follow certain guidelines of the blog could make you appear disrespectful in that you did not do your research and read the rules. Always be mindful of the rules established for guest-bloggers. One slip up could damage your reputation as a guest-blogger, which will make it difficult to get more opportunities in the future.

Read the blog: This seems like a total no-brainer, but it still needs to be noted that it’s important to read the blog to white you’re contributing. Do not contribute to blogs you found five minutes ago just to get publicity and your writing out there. Follow the blog for a few weeks (if they post often) or a few months (if they don’t post as often) to really get an idea of the style, tone and viewpoint of the blog. If you’re not interested in the blog, how can you contribute your writing to it if you wouldn’t read your own article? Seems silly, right? So read the blog!

Establish goals: Before you decide to contribute to a blog or become a guest-blogger, decide where you want the guest-blogging to take you. Do you want more viewers on your own blog? Do you want your writing to be made available to a larger audience? Do you want to establish yourself as inventive or as a leader in your industry? Decide what you hope to gain from guest-blogging and set out to achieve those goals by finding the right outlets/blogs.

Posting quality content frequently and consistently is one of the biggest challenges of maintaining a good blog. Keeping an editorial calendar can greatly increase your blog’s chances for success by enabling you to plan and track your content strategically. Here are some tips to keep in mind in order to effectively manage and organize your editorial calendar.

1. Access to calendar: If you’re working with more than one person on a blog, have the editorial calendar uploaded on one central location, such as a Google Calendar or Drive. This enables other users that have access to the file to edit it and add new ideas at a moment’s notice. If it’s just you working on the blog, it’s still great to have a copy of the editorial calendar living online so it’s always readily available.
2. Sync to mobile calendar: If you aren’t checking your calendar frequently, you could be missing important information or deadlines that are coming up. If you sync the calendar to your phone, you can set alerts or reminders so you never miss a beat.
3. Deadlines: If you plan to publish a certain number of posts per week, an editorial calendar will help you keep publishing dates consistent. For example, if Tuesdays and Thursdays will be your main posting dates, put those two days down in your calendar as deadlines.  If necessary, make the deadlines red so they stand out. It’s easier to keep track of publishing your content when you see it highlighted in front of you on a calendar.
4. Content: This seems like a no-brainer, but if you don’t have ideas for future posts clearly written out, then it might become difficult to keep up with the main theme or idea of your blog. The content of your blog is the structure of your blog. If you have inconsistent content, your blog will be a random, jumbled mess of posts. Jot down notes for what you plan to write about at least a month in advance.
5. Purpose: Always keep a solid reminder as to why you’re writing about that particular subject and the audience for which you’re writing. For every post you plan on publishing, make a note for yourself below it that tells you the audience and purpose of that particular post. This helps you decide whether the content is suitable for the overall theme of your blog.
6. Keep notes when on-the-go: If you’re old school, carrying around a small notebook and a pen is great for those spontaneous bursts of inspiration. When you’re on the go and don’t have your computer near you, make sure to write it down in the notebook and later add it to your calendar. Alternatively, if you’ve synced your editorial calendar to your smart phone, you can input notes on the calendar right from your phone. Whichever way you do it, just make sure you always have an accessible place to write down those ideas! There’s nothing worse than getting a great idea and forgetting it five minutes later.
7. Social media: If you’re going to be promoting your blog on social media sites, be sure to include a separate category on your editorial calendar for tweets, status updates, etc. For example, you can include a light blue category as a reminder to post on Twitter that day, or a dark blue category to post on Facebook. Include what you’ll be posting so its available when you need it.
8. Images: Gather photos in advance for every blog post you plan on publishing. This eliminates having to search last-minute for the right photo to go along with the blog post, which can be stressful when the deadline is an hour away. Don’t forget to include any links to the original source of the photo, unless its your own.
9. Tags/SEO: This can easily be overlooked when planning content for a blog post. Make sure  you list all the tags or SEO keywords you plan to use, that way you can save time by having them available on the calendar and transferring them directly into your blog post.

Although we do admit that it’s a bit time consuming in the beginning, creating an editorial calendar will help keep you and your blog on track. Once you already have a calendar established, you will find it much easier to keep all of your content organized.

Sources:

http://properpropaganda.net/2013/08/13-tips-to-create-a-killer-editorial-calendar-for-your-company-blog/
http://blog.journalistics.com/2013/how-to-create-an-editorial-calendar/

Don’t be fooled by articles and advertisements that promise earning thousands of dollars a week by blogging. You might be tempted to dramatically quit your day job and start earning six-figures by blogging full-time from a St. Lucian beach, but the truth of the blogging business could not be further from this ill-conceived notion.  Check out these 8 tips that can help you work towards your dream of earning a solid income from blogging.

1. Set yourself up for failure

We put this at the top of the list not to discourage budding bloggers, but to prepare them for the reality of the business of blogging (note the distinction between that and the hobby of blogging). As of 2013, there are more than 239 million blogs combined on WordPress, Blogster, Tumblr, LiveJournal and Weebly (snitchim.com). This number excludes the blogs on Blogger, Posterous and Blogsome. There is a lot of competition out there, and only a handful of the 239 million are earning at least some profit. Simply having your blog online isn’t enough to generate revenue and a sustainable source of income. Treat it as you would a start-up business. You need to put effort into making it grow. It will either take-off or flop, and expecting riches quick is unrealistic.

2. Choose your niche wisely

We’ve visited countless cooking blogs, fashion blogs, beauty blogs, and the soccer-mom blogs who manage to squeeze in just enough time between diaper changes to blog about the experience. The truth is that many of those blogs will fail because the market for that topic is over saturated. If a broad topic such as fashion is your true passion, focus on a particular detail and grow from there. For example, instead of blogging about fashion, you can instead dedicate your entire blog to Denim. Once you delve deeper into this one particular subject, you have the potential to become a well-known (and respected) denim blogger.

3. Quality vs. quantity

If you go around commenting on every random blog you can find, telling them to visit your own blog, chances are you’re not going to get a good following. Don’t expect to gain hundreds of followers in a short period of time, either. Blogging takes time, but finding your target audience is more time-consuming than the writing process itself. Research blog topics that are similar to your own and take the time to read their posts. If you are genuinely interested in their work, make productive comments and follow them. By doing so, you have a higher chance of attracting a quality target audience who will also be genuinely interested in your posts. Remember to also spend a good amount of time looking in your back-end analytics, this will give you a realtime indication as to what content is meaningful to your readers.

4. Use social media (duh!)

Having an online presence is a key factor in having a successful blog. If you already have a solid following on your blog, start a Facebook and Twitter account (if haven’t already done so). If you already have a good following on Twitter and Facebook or other networks and are just starting a blog, use those networks to promote your blog. Be persistent and be patient. Tweet, re-tweet, and repeat. Follow the right people on Twitter, and be an active member of all your social network communities – it’s a great way for you and your future or existing fans to connect and spread the word.

5. The money-maker 

Although to some this may seem like selling out, if you’re looking to earn money off your blog, having advertisements is a good way to do so. If your blog has enough traffic, you can offer up space for Google Ads or other content providers on your site for a reasonable fee (just make sure it’s brand safe!). Also, have a look into affiliate links within both your posts, and in the form of ads.  And don’t forget: search engine optimization (SEO) is a great way to optimize your posts to be more search-engine friendly, and Google offers various tools you can use to help your blog with attracting more visitors (such as Google Trends and Analytics). It takes a lot of work, like any business. If you’re in it for the long haul, the work will eventually pay off.

6. Reach out to PR agencies 

Contact agencies that fit in with your particular blog topic. For example, if you have a travel blog, reach out to agencies that specialize in tourism, hotels, travel, etc. If you write them a good pitch, you can potentially receive free samples or one-night stays at hotels in exchange for publicity on your blog. Be forewarned, PR agencies worth their salt will want to know some of the analytics behind your blog, so know your unique monthly visits (not page views) along with your demographic!

7. Don’t forget the art of writing!

What it all comes down to is that blogging is about writing. You can’t expect to have a successful blog if it has no substance. Good writing takes practice, so don’t get discouraged if your thoughts aren’t being translated the same way via text. Keep writing and you will find your own distinctive writing voice.

8. Make an editorial calendar 

Aside from all of the above, your blog needs two main things in order to succeed: regularity and reliability. In order to stay organized and on top of your posts, make an editorial calendar for yourself. Write down ideas in advance and make clear, organized notes for when you plan to publish each post. It’s difficult to come up with a new subject on the spot every day or every other day. It’s much easier to think of a few different ideas and put them in a queue for publishing on your blog.

With all these in mind, happy blogging and good luck! If you do end up getting rich, don’t forget to take us out for a drink or two

Sources:

http://www.nydailynews.com/jobs/real-money-blogging-article-1.1396145

https://www.mint.com/blog/how-to/turn-your-hobby-into-a-money-making-career-0713/

http://snitchim.com/how-many-blogs-are-there/

Clearly, the two biggest cogs in the social media machine are blogging and contingencies. Good blog content gets noticed and shared. It’s also one of the biggest drivers of traffic to your company’s site. When it comes to contingencies, this includes unscheduled posts (such as Oreo’s Superbowl ad) as well as damage control/emergencies. The more pre-planning you can do, the less overall impact these events will have on your company and strategies.

Finally, don’t forget about engagement. It’s always good to have fabulous content but you need to get out into the social media-verse and share it, discuss it, and build relationships with like minded individuals. The great thing about social media is that it makes our world smaller and more connected; you just have to commit yourself to building those relationships. 

Check out the infographic below for more helpful tips to budget your time.

(Image Source)

1. Numbers/numerals. It’s no secret that PR people and numbers often aren’t friends, but we can remember this rule: Write out numbers one through nine, and use figures for 10 and above. Spell out a number if it starts a sentence (unless it’s a year, such as 2012).

2. Titles. Capitalize formal titles only when they precede an individual’s name. If the title falls after the name, then it’s lowercase. So: President Barack Obama is running against Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts.

3. Web site or website. If your AP Stylebook is dated 2009 or earlier, you may not be aware of this change: In 2010, the AP made “website” one word. As some of us may remember, it was “Web site.”

4. Like versus such as. This one’s easy to understand—harder to remember. So, here’s an easy way to remember it: If you can substitute “for example” into a sentence, then use “such as.” For example, the following sentence is incorrect: “He writes for a variety of publications like Esquire,Vanity Fair, and Time.” Instead, it should say: “He writes for a variety of publications such asEsquire, Vanity Fair, and Time.”

5. Toward/towards. AP style follows the American English form, toward. In British English, towardsis preferred. The same goes for forward, backward, upward, downward, etc.

6. Commas and periods and quotation marks (oh, my). “No further explanation needed,” she said. “Just do it.” (Unless, of course, you’re writing in Great Britain.) That is to say: In the United States, periods and commas fall within quotation marks; colons and semicolons stand outside them.

7. Who versus whom. Both words are pronouns. Who refers to the subject of a clause; whomrefers to the object of the clause. Here’s a trick: Answer the sentence using the word him (or he). Ifhim works, the correct usage is whom. For example: “Whom did you visit? I visited him.” Notice it that’s not, “I visited he.” On the other hand, if he works, the correct word is who. For example: “Whosent this email? He sent the email.”

8. Email. Another recent change: Drop the hyphen in email. (Before 2011, AP style said to write “e-mail.”)

9. Seasons. It’s almost fall. Notice that “fall” is lowercase. Seasons are never capitalized. Also, omitof: “In summer 2009 …”

10. That versus which. This can be tricky. One way to tell the difference is to determine whether the clause that either word introduces can be deleted without changing the sentence’s meaning. If the clause can be cut, use “which.” If not, go with “that.” For more on this tricky subject, see “‘That’ vs. ‘which’: Easy tricks for determining when to use each word.”

Hana Bieliauskas is a project manager in the Columbus, Ohio, office of CMA (@CMABuildsTrust), a national public relations agency based in Kansas City, Mo. Follow her on Twitter @hanab08. A version of this story first appeared on the CMA blog. 

1. 3.9 million women with children write blogs in the US. By 2014, that number will jump to 4.4 million.  (eMarketer)

2. 55% of active (daily) social media moms said they made their purchase because of a recommendation from a personal review blog. (NPD Group, Inc. via Technorati)

3. 18.3 million internet users who are moms read blogs at least once a month. (eMarketer)

4. One in four of moms have purchased a children’s product because of a recommendation from a social networking site or blog. Half of all moms use social media while watching TV. (NPD Group, Inc. via SFGate)

5. 90% of moms are online vs. just 76% of women in general. (eMarketer)

None of these stats are extremely surprising, but it does bring to attention that Moms make up a large part of the Internet. Because of their huge presence, along with the amount they’re sharing, commenting, and recommending – it’s important that brands take note. The truth is, when a Mom recommends something to another Mom – the credibility is significantly higher than a broadcasted message from a brand. Imagine what social media and blogging has done to make this ‘word of mouth’ recommendation system insanely scalable! Food for thought – and as it turns out, Mom IS always right.