Twitter offers a three ways to add TWEET BUTTON – using JavaScript, using iframe and a simple HTML. The HTML is very simple it won’t add any extra weight to your blog and you’ll also be able to use it everywhere.

Twitter also allows to create own button with various images and same Tweet Button sharing functionality with your own style.

Here’s why this “official” Twitter button may be better than your current solution:

* It displays the number of times a particular link has been shared on Twitter – this makes it easy for your visitors to quickly guess the popularity of your content.
* It uses t.co for shortening links. Since t.co is owned by Twitter, your shortened links are likely to stay around for a long long time.
* When someone shares your page on Twitter, you have an option to recommend him up to two Twitter accounts after he is done sending the tweet. That may help you win new followers who may otherwise not know that you even exist on Twitter.

Writing plain HTML:
If you are on WordPress (the self hosted version), you can add the following code anywhere in your template (single.php):

<a href="http://twitter.com/share?url=<?php echo urlencode(the_permalink()); ?>&amp;text=<?php echo urlencode(the_title()); ?>&amp;via=blogaccount&amp;related=myaccount">Tweet this</a>

If you are on Blogger, the code will be something like this. Search for the class “post-footer” in the Blogger XML template and copy-paste this snippet somewhere near it.

<a expr:href='"http://twitter.com/share?text=" + data:post.title + "&amp;url=" + data:post.url + "&amp;via=blogaccount&amp;related=myaccount"'>Tweet this!</a>

Click here to see how it works – Tweet This

Check out the video how to use Tweet button:

1. Google XML Sitemaps – Since you want Google and other search engines to know about each and every page of your WordPress website, you should have an XML sitemap and this plug-in makes it a one-click process.

2. All in One SEO Pack – While WordPress software now includes the rel=canonical directive by default, if you wish to write search friendly titles that are different from the heading of the page, get this plug-in.

3. Automatic WordPress Backup – I host the static JS and CSS files of this blog on Amazon S3 and this plug-in helps me create a backup of all the essential WordPress files (like themes and plugins) and the MySQL databases to the same S3 account.

4. Hyper Cache – This is a nice caching plug-in for WordPress that helps in reducing the load on your web server. I was initially on the more popular WP Super Cache plug-in but had to switch to Hyper Cache as the former was not quite compatible with my web host.

5. Redirection – If an external site is linking to a non-existent or a 404 page on my site, I use the redirection plug-in to forward all the incoming traffic to the right pages.

6. Bing 404 – If someone lands on a 404 page on my site for which redirection is not yet enabled, this plug-in will display links to relevant article on the error page. For example, a 404 pages like labnol.org/flickr has links to my Flickr related stories.

7. WordPress.com Stats – Google Analytics is obviously the best solution for tracking visitors but if you want something quick and simple, WP Stats is something nice-to-have alongside Google Analytics. The advantage – it will display the traffic charts right inside your WordPress dashboard.

8. Akismet – I generally close comments on my stories after a couple of days while Akismet helps me filter out spam comments on fresh posts.

9. SlideShare – This helps me easily embed SlideShare presentations in any of my stories using short codes. It saves time and the embedded presentation automatically fits the width of the site – see example.

10. WordPress PDA – If you ever had a chance to visit @labnol on your mobile phone, you may have noticed that the layout is completely different. Earlier, the mobile version of the site was done through Google Reader but now its the PDA plug-in that handles the mobile traffic based on the browser’s user agent.

11. WP-Paginate – If you scroll to the bottom of any archives page (like this one), you may see some numbered boxes – they are done through the Paginate plug-in.

12. Debug Queries – This is another awesome plug-in that helps me debug which of the MySQL queries are taking time to execute and thus slowing down the blog.

13. YARRP – The related posts plug-in adds links to old stories that may be contextually related to the content of the current story. It also helps you expose your archived content to search bots.

14. Smart YouTube – Like the SlideShare plug-in, Smart YouTube helps me easily embed videos from YouTube into my site. Here, I just have to copy-paste the URL of a YouTube video and the plug-in will automatically convert it into an embed code.

15. WP-Associatizer – This plug-in will automatically rewrite any Amazon URLs in your posts to use your Amazon Associates ID.

Here are my top eight picks for Facebook and Twitter add-ons. Many of these solve common user gripes (such as not knowing to what site shortened URLs will bring you on Twitter). Some, like “Facebook Fixer,” enhance the site and allow you to customize it beyond standard options. Do note that most of these scripts require that you first download Greasemonkey, and not all are compatible with every browser, so be sure to check the requirements before you download a script.

1. Facebook Fixer.

This script lets you customize your Facebook account and offers many features that are enabled by default, but can be enabled or disabled independently. Some of these features include: larger profile and album pictures; homepage customization where you can hide independent sections such as pokes, suggestions and “connect with friends”; and calendar integration, which includes a link on each profile that synchs birthdays with Google Calendar, or the option to export a file with all your friends’ birthdays, which can be imported into sites such as Google Calendar, Yahoo, Apple iCal, Microsoft Outlook and more.

2. Facebook Purity.

The Facebook Purity script cleans up your homepage and removes all newsfeed items from third-party games such as Mafia Wars and FarmVille, and zaps announcements on who’s become friend with who, who’s attending a certain event, who joined a group and who became a fan of something. Optional items you can block include: comments on a status, photo, photo album or link; tags in a photo or photo album; and event postings.

3. Unfriend Finder.

Ever wonder if you’ve been dropped by a Facebook friend? Every time you log in, the script checks to see if someone is missing from your friend list. When the script detects someone is no longer your friend, you get a notification and a bubble counter in the Facebook toolbar. There are two types of “unfriends:” Either you removed them from your friend list or they removed you (but they’re still on Facebook), or they deactivated their account and are no longer on Facebook. If they reactivate their account, you’ll also be notified.

4. No Facebook Ads.

If you’re tired of the age-targeted ads Facebook runs, take advantage of this script. Downloading it will remove ads from your Facebook account-including flyer ads, network ads, bumper ads-leaving its appearance a lot cleaner.

5. TinyURL Decoder.

While URL shorteners do save space on Twitter, you’re often clicking at your own risk-phishing scams and spam-laden direct messages are becoming more and more common on the microblogging site. This script decodes the shortened URLs on Twitter’s website and displays the original URL, so you can decide whether or not to click.

6. Nested Twitter Replies.

Twitter’s website still only allows you to view @replies in a list, which can be confusing if you’re trying to follow a conversation. Applying this script automatically displays tweets in a nested conversation format, making it easier to follow.

7. @Troynt’s Twitter Script.

This Twitter script does it all. Among its many features: expansion of Links in tweets; inline inclusion of YouTube videos and Twitpic images; nested tweets; option to save, reply to or retweet a tweet when you hover over it; autocompletion of a username when you begin typing “@” in a tweet and much more.

8. Twitter Old Style RT Emulator.

If you hate Twitter’s retweet button and long for the old method, this script will convert all retweet symbols and user pictures into “RT @username.” Note that this script only works in Safari and Firefox.

Blogging, in many cases has become a more passive activity over time. Many new bloggers out there who want to earn from their blogs all write content to just get by and may not understand the effort that needs to be put into posts.

Of course, blogging has been labeled as an easy way to make money online by these people, so that’s where this idea of passive blogging comes along.

Passive blogging is basically writing a blog post just for the hell of it. Whether or not you teach someone anything, or even provide anything useful is not what a passive blogger is worried about. As long as you figure out a way to get traffic flowing to your blog and put as little effort as possible into what you do – you see yourself as a good blogger.

But I feel like writing just to write is giving blogs a bad name. While it may not be such a very large issue now, I see it being a bigger problem later on when the reputation of blogging is at stake. Do we let all of these passive bloggers give those who actually care about our blogs a bad name? Absolutely not.

Everyone can be guilty of throwing out a few posts that really may not be very useful, I know I am. But I don’t let that habit turn into a permanent one, I always do my best to deliver the best content I can on my blogs.

Don’t Let Your Blog Content Sink to the Slumps – Do Something About it!

A major challenge for any blogger is time management. I think time management is the reason why there are so many passive bloggers out there. If you don’t have a lot of time to write a great, quality article – how can you expect to write your best?

Recently I have created a calendar for myself on what I want to do and when to do it. A calendar is useful for anyone, especially a blogger who has a lot to do. I have a crazy work load for myself every day and every week that I didn’t know what to do and when. I would literally sit there for 10 to 15 minutes debating to myself what I should work on first. I just had no idea where to start!

With my calendar, I think I created something that is very easy to manage, I get all of my work done, and I can actually take breaks away from my computer!

If you layout all of your tasks, I promise you you will be more effective at what you do. provided you stick to the schedule of course!

Recommended App: iCal

iCal is the default calendar app for Macs. The interface is easy to use, and you have a ton of great features. There are some other alternatives to it, but I use it because it works.

Tips for Choosing an Effective Schedule

Just because you have a schedule laid out doesn’t mean it’s something that can get you working. You have to start using your schedule for a couple of weeks to get into the flow of things, and that is what I am still in he process of doing since I just recently created a calendar for myself.

There are four main things bloggers who care about their blogs do each day. That’s learning, writing content, marketing and developing. Maybe you have other things to do besides blogging, like freelancing for example. That obviously makes fitting everything into one day hard.

The idea for success is to work hard every day. That idea pressures all of us to try and fit everything in one day so we can do it the next. That’s not necessary, you can split up your schedule and have a blog that performs perfectly fine. The secret to effective blogging is not to rush everything until you’re burned out, but to work at it over time.

Below, I am going to breakdown my schedule into three part of my week. If you need help building your weekly schedule for your blog, try basing it off what I have done for myself.

Start of the Week

Monday – Tuesday

On Monday and Tuesday, I write my blog posts. I only have to write two posts a week for Blogussion because I am lucky to have a blogging partner. It may be harder for you if you’re not bless with an awesome partner to take half of the post schedule, so you may want to take an extra day.

But I always hate to be bothered with a post when I am in the middle of working on a freelance project. I just feel so rushed, especially if I forget about it, to start writing up a post. That’s when the time management factor comes in, and that’s where a passive blogger is born.

So my first two days of the week are dedicated to a task that takes up so much time. It feels just fantastic to get writing out of the way in the beginning and then taking off to work on other activities!

Middle of the Week

Wednesday – Thursday

On Wednesday and Thursday, I catch up on all of my readings. I read some eBooks and read my favorite blogs. It is important for me to read about a variety of things and learn new information. If I don’t learn new things, I can’t keep writing and teaching people new things! So I dedicate two days of my week to reading and learning new information.

The second thing I do on these days is blog marketing. I hate doing this, but it’s such an important thing to do for my blog. Again, I am lucky to have a partner, and I am even luckier he loves marketing. But I know I can help by doing some marketing of my own.

End of the Week

Friday – Sunday

Friday through Sunday, I only worry about developing for my blog. Right now there is so much to work on for Blogussion development wise, it’s best for me to keep my mind focused on development for new features here.

What’s your secret to effective blogging?

I have shared my secrets that will keep me going strong blogging, now what are the things you do to keep your blogging processes efficient?

This post isn’t your average directory of money making tips either, it has summaries for what each element is, how to use it, and where to find resources.  The blog earning tips are also divided into Beginner, Novice, and Problogger based on the differing qualifications and needs of each.

Making money online is mostly about customizing a monetizing formula for your blog.  Depending on your skill level, network, and current traffic levels your blog has a variety of options.  So find your blog’s formula below to maximize your earnings.

Beginner

You know who you are… Low levels of traffic, relatively new blog, little or no internet experience, no design or seo skills, and probably a sense frustration over the lack of earnings.

Some of the options in this section are better then others and matter of fact all of them can be used no matter what level you are currently at.  Novices can use any beginner level monetization methods and Probloggers have the luck of using everything and anything they see fit.

PPC – Pay Per Click is an advertising program in which ads are placed on your blog and you are paid whenever your visitors click on the ads.  It is the most common method bloggers use to make money online.  It involves almost no effort and is so incredibly easy that many blogs have too much advertising on them.   Money is maximized as traffic levels increase.

Resources: Google Adsense Chitika Yahoo! Bidvertiser Adbrite

CPM - Cost Per Thousand (”m” is roman numeral for thousand) is an impression based advertising system.  This means advertisers place ads on your blog and you are paid based on how many times the ad shows up.  This can be profitable for blogs with big traffic, and can start to bring money to even the smallest blogs.  All you need is pageviews to increase this monetization method.

Resources: Value Click Tribal Fusion

Money Widgets -A very simple advertising system is easily integrated into your blog’s sidebar with widget advertising.  Just embed the widget into your sidebar and watch the ads begin.

Resources: The Newsroom WidgetBucks ScratchBack SmartLinks

In-Text Ads – You know what these ads are.  You have probably seen them all over small blogs and websites on the internet.  They are links with double-lines below them.  While sometimes useful for blog owners pockets, they eventually irritate and annoy most readers into leaving the blog and not returning/subscribing.  In-text ads should be used with caution.

Resources: Kontera Vibrant Media

Parked Domains – Have a few domains you are planning on using soon but are not ready to start?  Parked domains serve the purpose as advertisement and traffic redirection.  This is perhaps the easiest way to make money, although in small doses, online.  Just get a domain name and use the very easy parked domain programs.

Resources: Parked Google Parked

Donations – We have probably all seen the little button that says “donate” in someones sidebar.  It is an easy and perhaps out-of-date way to try and earn some revenue. Many programmers use this still, but very little revenue is earned through the donation feature.  For example have you ever donated?  But still it is simple and if you don’t mind the button then go ahead and try.

Resources: Paypal – it really is the only major ‘donate’ resource around!

Affiliate Marketing – Perhaps the most lucrative process for earning money online is by using your blog to recommend useful and relevant products to your readers.  The best examples are seen by the many bloggers linking to different themes, ebooks and other products.  The best thing about affiliate marketing is that you are only marketing the product and not selling it.  Just make sure the product is relevant and not over-used.  Read more.

Resources: ClickBank Commission Junction Azoogle Ads Link Share

Text Link Ads – As your blog builds reputation and traffic your posts/pages become great places for links.  Many people will even pay you to put their link on your website or page.  While it has earning potential, be leery of this form of revenue as it may be detrimental to your blog in Google’s algorithm.  So study it out before you make your decision.

Resources: Text-Link-Ads Text-Link-Brokers

Feed Ads – An easy way to increase the advertisement on your blog is by adding them to your rss feeds.  The simplest way is to get Feedburner and set it up for your blog.  Once you have done that then click on the monetize tab and Google Adsense will be added to your feeds in almost one-click!

Resources: Feedburner BidVertiser Pheedo

Paid Surveys and Polls – It is just what it says it is.  You fill out surveys and polls or place them on your blog for others to fill out and earn money.  In doing this option be careful to find survey or poll companies that have credible backgrounds as this is a source for scammers.

Resources: VizuAnswers

Pop-up Ads – These pesky and annoying advertisements may be great for some of your niche blogs or sub-domains.  Not worth putting on blogs you actually want to build a community on, pop-up ads offer decent revenue to blogs looking to exist but not grow significantly.  But be aware that it is annoying to the reader.

Resources: Adbrite Tribal Fusion PayPopup PopupAd Adversal

Audio Ads – “You are a winner”, “You may have just won a free Ipod”, etc. These audio ads can be very targeted to your traffic and very successful or completely useless.  For instance, many surfers do not even have their sound on while they surf to avoid such advertisements.  I would recommend not using this sort of advertisement for long-term projects.

Resources: NetAudio

Article Marketing – A two-edged sword.  You get both quality backlinks to your blog and its posts while also creating earning potential.  I use Squidoo and Associated Content personally and earn enough money to support my blogging efforts and some advertising.  It’s also very easy through the simple resources available to you.  Using this blogging income source is both potentially lucrative and excellent marketing.

Resources: Squidoo Hubpages Associate Content

Novice

Now that you are novice you have more experience and a lot more traffic.  Because of the increase in visitors the potential to earn more is also greater.  Here is a few extra things you can include into your earning formula from the beginning level.  Again, make sure to find what is right for your blog.

Direct Banner – With ppc and cpm advertising there is potential to make money, but direct banner ads bring advertising on your blog to a new level.  It takes a little more work but you can find yourself making much more money and doing it pretty quickly.  I use OIOPublisher and it is a premium plug-in that completely rocks.  It even offers affiliate incomes to others who will try to get advertisers for your blog.  Read more.

Resources:   OIOPublisher , Ad Rotator Plug-in

Premium Content – Great example of premium content is SeoMoz.  They have lots of great content on seo for free, but to get the ultimate seo resources you have to pay a monthly fee.  To make premium content on your blog just creat a post or page usign WordPress.  Then in the publish toolbox click on “edit” on the “visibility” option.  Then choose “password protected”.  Set your password and publish.  The only to do then is create a lead page that explains the premium content and allows people to pay, using paypal or another source to get the password emailed to them.

Resources: WordPress, Paypal

Sponsored Reviews – These are reviews of products through direct contact by the product owner or through a review site.  A good example of a product review is WP Content Robot.  It is easy and you usually get to try out some pretty cool products for free.

Resources: ReviewMe Sponsored Reviews

Sponsored Post -  Like a sponsored review these are posts paid for by others.  What this usually looks like is a post created about a specific website or allowing the post to link to another blog with very specific and targeted keyword links.

Resources: PayPerPost

Theme or Template Sales – To get this money making product going you first need some serious design skills or the money to pay for someone to develop it.  Once a unique design is created premium themes can go from $19 -$200.  There is great earning potential in creating themes and another very advantageous bonus.  When you create your theme a link is put into the footer of the theme with your blog’s url.  So the more themes that are used the more backlinks to your blog.

Resources: StudioPress DIY Themes

Private Forums – Creating a private forum is a great way for bloggers to capitalize on their contacts and build a tight-knit and motivated community.  Some of these communities can be used for social media manipulation and many other “secret” and “exclusive” means.  You can make the fee yearly or monthly if you wish and start to build a steady income through member participation.

Resources: vBulletin Simple Machines Forum phpBB Vanilla

Site Flipping -  The process of site flipping usually involves the creation of design, content, and some traffic to then go and sell the blog.  The easiest way to do this is by forming a partnership and getting someone to design the blog while the other writes content and markets it.  For more about Site-Flipping.

Resources: Digital Point Sitepoint (both are great for selling your site)

Plug-in Sales – Warning: programming required!  If you can develop or know someone who can develop a plug-in for wordpress then you have the potential to make and sell premium plug-ins.  The first step is to find something extremely useful and unique.  Then create an affordable plug-in to assist bloggers in their task to rule the blogosphere.

Resources: How to Create a WordPress Plug-in

Email Newsletters – These are becoming extremely popular.  The purpose of the email newsletter is to build up a mailing list of email addresses and then use the emails you send to drive traffic, sales, or income in a variety of ways.  Creativity is the best way to use this revenue source.  Additionally it is important to start building your email list as soon as possible.  But be warned that most newsletter services of any value cost money (but not a lot).

Resources: AWeber PHP Autoresponder MailChimp

Ebook Sales – Writing an ebook is a great way to establish credibility and expertise in your niche while also providing a handsome income.  The way it works is that you provide a very useful resource – like an electronic book and then others buy it.  The best way to understand the process is by learning how to write an ebook and then how to sell it.

Resources: E-Junkie WP E-Commerce (2 great ways to sell your book)

Freelance Work – Once you have established yourself you can start consulting, writing, designing, and offering other services through your blog.  I have had a lot of experience with consulting and it is a great income and a lot of fun. So use your blog to showcase your skills.  Blogs are the ultimate portfolio.

Resources: Paypal WP E-Commerce (ways to sell your services)

Membership Site – If you have the drive to make great lessons, tutorials, classes, or other content worthy of a membership site then you should definitely do it.  They are all the rage right now and show a great way to earn a regular income.  With new products online, the set-up has never been easier.  I would definitely check out the resource if you have ever thought about a membership site.

Resources: Wishlist

Problogger

So you are an expert at getting traffic and building your blog.  The next thing you need to do is apply all the right things from the list above and use your traffic to leverage the new moneymakers below.  You’re the expert so get started!

Job Boards – Big blogs and bloggers have realized that there is great money in job boards.  A great example of this is Problogger’s job board.  He gets a monthly fee just to post the job opportunity and creates a lot of buzz for his blog with it too.  When you become the place for people in your niche to come to, start a job board.

Resources: JobThread Web Scribe Job Board SimplyHired Job-o-matic Jobbex

Event Sponsors – Having events on your blog is a great way to get more traffic and revenue.  For example hold a blogathon (blogging marathon), contests, featured story, giveaways and other events to bring traffic and get sponsors to pay you for.  A good example would be to have a webinar that is extremely publicized and then to get a relevant company to sponsor the event.  Thus you are getting more traffic and money in one big hit.

Selling or Renting a Single Page – Doing this is difficult but far to under-utilized.  The process invovles building a great blog with good traffic and especially good pagerank and then selling internal pages/posts to anyone willing to pay.  They get a sales page or whatever on a great blog and you get an income.  A good example of this is Pagerank10

Marketplaces – Sitepoint is the best example of a marketplace.  It is just like it sounds, a place for everyone to sell products, sites, domain names, services, etc. on your site.  You get the traffic and links along with commission in many cases while the user gets to buy or sell.  Traffic or a very unique niche is a must to succeed with this income earner.

Hardcover Book - After you have established yourself in your niche as a leading authority you can now publish a book on your topic of choice.  Some publishers even go from blog to book with almost no effort.  So if you are interested in seeing your book in the flesh (paper flesh) then look into these resources.

Resources: Blurb Lulu Self Publishing iUniverse WordClay