Delivering messages via blogs is a tool used by a host of people and from all walks of life for a variety of reasons. Though originating as an online diary, blogs have evolved and are now used as an information exchange medium for anything from political movements and crafting clubs to technical information and online marketing.

A short time ago, I made the decision to use blogs as a primary medium to deliver training and review content to my friends, associates and followers. Though I have played with blogs for a variety of reasons in the past, my previous efforts would definitely be defined as “casual”. Since I was only posting content for the benefit of friends, I wasn’t concerned with the details of blog design and building a blog readership. Those blogs were, shall we say, somewhat lacking in those areas. After making the decision to make better use of blogs for communication and marketing purposes, I began a search for mentors to help guide me through this next phase of my blogging sojourn.

One of my early discoveries during the mentor search were blog posts by Yaro Starak with links to his personal blog site “Entrepreneurs Journey”. Once I read his posts and accessed his blog site, I downloaded and consumed his free e-book “Blog Profits Blueprint”, an amazingly detailed blogging resource. It became quite evident this man knew the world of blogging inside and out.

About the same time I realized there are a number of people that have taken blogging to a whole new level by “monetizing” their blog and expertise to become true “Professional Bloggers”. Yaro Starak is one of the top individuals that have helped elevate blogging to that new level of professionalism and makes a very nice full-time income from his efforts. After reading several of his articles as well as “Blog Profits Blueprint”, I quickly realized that Yaro Starak excels at professional blogging would be a great blogging mentor. 

Several weeks later, one of Yaro’s emails announced the collaborative “Become a Blogger” venture with Gideon Shalwick that consisted of a pre-launch release of content including the new free e-book (Roadmap to Become a Blogger) and 10-part introductory videos series.

In the spirit of “Paying It Forward”, Yaro has individually or collaborated with Gideon in the preparation of several free, detail-laden, resources that provide immense insight about the pathways to effective blogging. These include:

• Blog Profits Blueprint – a comprehensive read that identifies the key elements of successful blogs, how to build traffic and monetize the site (free e-book & audio file). I have read it and it is GREAT;

• Become A Blogger – series of 10 step by step videos on the basics of establishing you’re a WordPress blog on your own hosted site by Yaro & Gideon Shalwick (fantastic video series!);

• The Roadmap to Become a Blogger – new methods for increasing your blogging skills and traffic by Yaro & Gideon (free e-book & audio file). I am just getting ready to read this new release and know it will be chock full of helpful tips!

   

Although the “Become a Blogger” introductory material is free and the initial 10-part video series empowers you to self host your own WordPress blog, those features set the stage for the release of the “Premium” membership site. The “Become a Blogger Premium” site is a low-cost training resource that provides subscribers with access to a training program that helps evolve your blog site to a new level of professionalism. Resources include nine video training modules, teleconferences, audios, member’s forum and more. Subjects in the video training series cover:

• Get your self-hosted blog up and running (the free series);
• SEO for your blog;
• Effective use of imagery on your blog;
• Enhancing your blog with audio;
• Using videos to engage your blog readership;
• Creating powerful blog content;
• Driving multiple streams of traffic to your blog;
• Using X-Factor strategies to propel your blog into over-drive;
• Making money with your blog.

There is a nominal cost for “Premium Site” membership for the first six months. After the sixth payment, the billing stops and you obtain lifetime access to the site for no additional charge. If you were fortunate enough to learn of this site between the launch date (December 4, 2008) and December 11, 2008 then decide to enroll in the program by December 11, the monthly fee drops by almost 50%. There is also an affiliate program available to help offset or eliminate the cost if desired.

In the spirit of full disclosure and transparency, the links provided are my affiliate links. Since there are other “for a fee” products and services that you may chose to access after reading/watching the free materials, I would benefit from that upgrade if you chose to do so. You are not obligated in anyway and the only information you are requested to provide is your name and email.

I highly recommend that you not only make use of the free resources provided by Yaro and Gideon but also invest in the “Become a Blogger Premium” training site. In my opinion, the two free e-books and free video series alone are worth more than the nominal cost of completing the advanced training program.

Jim was formerly an "old school" network marketer now helping home and small business owners to utilize attraction marketing and relationship building methods to grow their Internet presence. You can access additional information resources and tips to propel the growth of your business by visiting Jim's business blog.