In the early 90s I started a home-based educational products company targeted at homeschoolers. It was called Bright Spark Press. In 1994 I created my first website, which was an online catalog for the company. No bells or whistles. No CSS. Just very plain, table-based design.

Given that I was bootstrapping the company, I couldn’t afford to plaster direct mail advertisements all over the country. Even with a site, the infant internet wasn’t a place you could just google for the best results. You found sites mostly by having someone give you the direct URL.

I used AOL message boards and chats as a lead generator and sent people to my fledgling web site. Once I had leads, I used a local web press to print the catalog, printed labels and attached them to each catalog, hand sorted, and used bulk mail for shipments.

Having done things the “old way” (read that: the hard way), having a viable digital medium for advertising opens up a world of possibilities, especially for companies that don’t have an advertising budget to speak of.

And it is not just in the United States. Paid search in the Middle East, for example, is skyrocketing. Marketing opportunities for businesses are available worldwide.

If you’re looking at a business to reach your goals, take the time to learn all you can about digital marketing. It’s an effective and affordable way to reach your customers.

If you have expertise in a topic of interest to others and you can write and communicate reasonably well, the biggest hurdle is getting people to see what you have to offer. Promoting your website is the most difficult thing for most bloggers I work with.

Mixed media marketing — using many different venues, both old tech and new tech (or not tech at all!) — to reach your target audience makes sense. For example, consider these:

• Newspaper
• Podcasting
• Fliers
• Vehicle wraps
• Mobil advertising
• SEO
• Bumper stickers
• Radio
• Telemarketing
• Surveys
• Graphic design
• PPC and CPM
• Television
• Writing campaigns
• Vlogging
• Social marketing
• Word-of-Mouth
• Magazines

There are so many ways to get the attention you need. Using some ingenuity, you can find effective — and inexpensive! — ways to reach new readers.

Many of these you can tackle yourself. At some point you may want to look to an advertising agency with mixed media expertise to take over these duties in a more professional way. For most of us, that’s a very long way off. But in the mean time, think like a marketing specialist to get your blog off the ground.

Check out successful marketing firms to see what they do. That! Company (yes, that’s a real company name) uses internet techniques like SEO and PPC. They also use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn for social media connections. Even with all the digital marketing, they still use print, TV, and radio. A mix of both can be the best way to reach your market.

When trying to innovate on a small scale, often it’s helpful to look to larger models. Take the expertise of others and modify it to fit your circumstance and build a better blog.

My first web site — one that I hand coded in 1994 on a bit of American Online server space — was a catalog for my homeschool mail order curriculum business. A couple of years later, we bought our first domain.

Who knew that world of virtual real estate would one day be a hot commodity? So hot, in fact, that getting notices in the seas of cyberspace gets harder every single day. Some people saw the potential, but certainly not most of us.

Now, almost every month a client comes to me in frustration, having thought the old movie adage “if you build it they will come,” applied equally to web sites and blogs. They build their sites, tweek them until they shine, and write their heads off. They don’t even use free SEO software to analyze their sites. They just write and wait. And wait. And wait. And no one comments and no one reads. Except maybe mom.

Content is still king in my book. But even great content can’t be appreciated unless it’s found by the right audience. And there’s the rub. Ranking in search engines and being found is tough these days, and it’s only going to get harder as more sites appear.

I’ve written about how you can take on search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) challenges on your own. It’s definitely doable. But if you want to spend your time writing great content, consider looking for a reputable SEO company to take over the marketing side.

Just as you might have outsourced your accounting or shipping or the technical backend work (like I do), you can outsource your blog optimization and marketing or PPC management to someone with real expertise.

In doing so, look for a fair price and a proven track record. All SEO companies are not created equal.

Blogging for your Business launched today from ProBlogger! If you need to start a business blog, this is your companion. ProBlogger is one of the best sources for no-fluff, tested blogging advice from people who became successful at blogging before they started blogging about blogging. (In other words, they are legitimate authorities.)

This packed book will step you through the process of creating an online business presence. The chapters are:

1. Define blogging and how it will benefit your business
2. Define your goals
3. Get started with blogging
4. Decide on and register a domain name
5. Install WordPress
6. Intro to WordPress plugins
7. Develop a content strategy and editorial calendar
8. Develop content ideas and fight blogging frustration
9. Publish your first blog post
10. Find readers and traffic for your blog
11. Optimize Flickr and YouTube for your blog’s online presence
12. Create your social media footprint and measure your blogging ROI

If you own a small- or medium-sized business or a non-profit organization, Blogging for Your Business is the guide to take you from no web presence to a successful business site to bring new customers and donors to your cause.

Remember ProBlogger’s other great blogging books:

• 31 Days to Build a Better Blog
• Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers
• Your First Week of Blogging
• ProBlogger Secrets

Writing is not enough. If no one reads your posts, you’d have been better off napping! If anyone can help you bring in the readers, Kristi Hines can.

Kristi has a new ebook to get your words to the people who need them. The Ultimate Blog Post Promotion Guide is now available. If you’re looking to take your blog to the next level, Kristi is an actual expert in a world (wide web) of posers.

There’s a circularity in blog blogging. You know, the guy who makes his money stuffing envelopes with info about how to stuff envelopes or the guy who got rich writing a book telling you how to get rich writing a book? There are at least as many bloggers trying to make money blogging about blogging — and few of them are really blog experts.

In the vast sea of people telling you how to blog, Kristi Hines is among the very few that I trust. She got an amazing Alexa ranking, she rakes in traffic, she really knows blogging and social media. Really.

And now she’s written a book jam-packed with what she’s learned about how to promote a blog. As an introductory offer, you can get her book for only $27.

The ebook includes the following chapters:

1. It All Begins with Great Content
2. Tracking Your Promotions
3. Email Marketing
4. Instant Messaging Promotion
5. Social Networking Promotion
6. Social Bookmarking
7. Blog Commenting
8. Guest Blogging
9. Blogger Outreach
10. Answers Promotion
11. Related Content Re-purposing
12. References

If you’re paying attention, you’ll notice she doesn’t have a chapter on the old tried-and-true promotion method, article marketing. Why? Because it’s outdated due to the latest Google algorithm change. And, as a real expert in blog promotion, Kristi is up on what works, today.

Kristi’s blog promotion book is a steal. Get it at the promotional price and get started on bringing in readers.

Wanted to give a belated shout back to Brian for naming me in the top ten female bloggers who use Blog Engage.

Nice to be recognized. Thanks!

Blog Engage is a quality blogmarking site. Great for promotion, support, and community. If you’d like an invite, please contact me and include a link to your blog.

2010 was a year of growth for Win with 1. The support of our clients and readers has been tremendous. We love the interacting with you through in the comments, social media, and email. We look forward to continued associations in the years to come.

Below are the 25 posts with the highest number of views during the past year.

#1 Static Landing Pages for WordPress Blogs

Learn to make the home page of your blog a static page you design, rather than the default blog aggregate page.

#2 Metadata in Your WordPress Thesis Blog

Learn how to enter the appropriate metadata — and which to ignore all together.

#3 Add WordPress Pages to Thesis Navigation Tabs

When you create a new WordPress page, it does not automatically create a navigation tab. This tutorial will show how to link to it throughout the site.

#4 31DBBB: Day #12 Develop an Editorial Calendar for Your Blog

Learn how to create a blogging calendar to motivate and move you to update your blog regularly. This was day 12 of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog challenge.

#5 Write Like a Pubescent Boy in a Locker Room: Fart Blogging

Let’s see if we can move from potty humor to adult humor. It might make the best business sense if your blog isn’t targeted at hyper-hormonal 13-year-olds.

#6 Pretty Link Pro is My Favorite WordPress Plugin

Pretty Link Pro is still the plugin I get the most mileage out of. It’s the only premium plugin I own and well worth the cost.

#7 Custom Title Size on Your Thesis WordPress Blog

If you are not using a logo, but a text title in your header, you may be frustrated by the limitations that Thesis puts on your title size. Here’s how to fix it.

#8 DoFollow On Your WordPress Blog

What are dofollow and nofollow? How do you change the default and allow dofollow on your blog?

#9 Blogging Goals for 2010 and Beyond

This is my goal-setting system. It will work for anyone. Try it out for 2011!

#10 Changing Navigation Tab Names in Thesis

If you’ve added pages and tabs, but need to have the tab name different from the page it links to, here’s your information.

#11 7 Things You Must Avoid When Choosing Your WordPress Theme

Choosing a theme can make your future blogging path easy or hard. Here are seven things to watch for in your selection process. (We choose Thesis for all our blogs and hour client blogs!)

#12 How to Deal with Loony Clients

Wow. This post came about from a real life crazy experience. Fortunately, to date, all my other clients are real gems.

#13 Top 10 Gifts for New Bloggers

Looking for a great gift for a new (or experienced!) blogger? Here are my top pics. Interesting to note that this was only published a short time ago. The traffic on this post jumped quickly. In fact, on the last day of the year it moved from #18 to #13! These are great items if you have blogging friends or just want to treat yourself!

#14 Business Ethics: Helping Others is Good All the Way Around

Let’s face it, ethics isn’t a very popular topic. Everything thinks they are pretty darn decent and when problems arise, it must be the other guy. It’s something I feel very strongly about, so I was pleased (and surprised) to see that a lot of people actually read this post. I sincerely hope all my clients and readers will read The Bottom Line on Integrity. It’s a crucial discussion in our current culture.

#15 Cheap Search Engine Optimization

Some disreputable companies will charge you an arm and a leg for very basic SEO services. Most of these can, and should, be done while you’re creating your post. Here’s how.

#16 WordPress Backup: A Two-Step Process

Backup is boring. Until your server crashes. This is so important for the stability of your blogging enterprise. So glad it had so many views. Please pass this one on for the sake of your blogger friends!

#17 The 8 Rules of Blog Engage Etiquette

If you are a member at Blog Engage (and you should be!), here are eight simple rules of engagement. Follow them to get the most benefit.

#18 Create Categories & Tags in WordPress

New bloggers have a big learning curve. Sometimes it’s the simplest tasks that are confusing. This post gave some insights into the meaning of and uses for categories and tags.

#19 How to Create Compelling Content that Ranks Well in Search Engines

This free 28-page report is filled with great information from Brian Clark of Copyblogger.

#20 New Google Keyword Tool vs. Old Google Keyword Tool

Find out what has changed in the new tool and how you can adjust your keyword research.

#21 10 Better Blogging Tips

These ten, less-typical blogging tips will help you propel your blog forward in the coming year.

#22 15 Simple Steps to Ruin Your Blog with Email

Following Seth Godin’s advice about how to sent great email, I tell you how to send really lousy email and alienate all your readers. Woot!

#23 Add Your Blog to Kindle

Learn how to publish your blog the Kindle. Easy and free!

#24 Guest Blogging

What is guest blogging? What can it do for your fledgling blog?

#25 31DBBB: Day #3 Promote a Blog Post

Day three of 31 Days to Build a Better Blog had 11 different ideas for promoting a blog post. I report on how I approached each one.

See the top personal development blog posts of 2010 here.

Bloggers are a special breed. Do you have one on your Christmas list? If you’re looking for a gift for a new blogger this year, we have some solid ideas for you.

Here are our top ten cool gifts for new bloggers — and experienced bloggers will love them, too.

#1 Market Samurai

With the internet crowded with billions of sites hundreds of millions of blogs, keyword research is crucial to blog success. If no one can find you, you’re wasting your time and keyword research is the means to bringing targeted readers to your site.

Market Samurai is, hands down, the best keyword research tool I’ve ever used. You will learn what all the important buzzwords and search engine optimization lingo means. You’ll be taught, step-by-step (with videos!) what to focus on. The software easily gathers all the needed info into one place — a task which is arduous and time-consuming — and you’ll learn exactly how to read and use the data.

Note also that this isn’t a subscription service that you pay for month after month. It’s a single payment for years of value.

If you’re looking for one, really great, blogging gift, this is it!

#2 31 Days to Build a Better Blog

Every blogger — new or veteran — will improve their blog with this superb program. And it’s a bargain.

Don’t worry if your favorite blogger doesn’t have a month to focus exclusively on blogging. I’ve been working through the 31DBBB very slowly, as time permits. Any blogger an take this at their own pace and go as quickly or slowly as they choose.

Learn from the consummate pro blogger to join the ranks of superior bloggers.

[Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers is another great gift idea from Darren. And don't forget the ProBlogger book!]

#3 Thesis Theme

A great premium theme really is worth the cost. This is the look and feel — and functionality — of your site we’re talking about!

With upgrades to solve future compatibility issues, support, built-in SEO, and easy customization, Thesis is the only theme I use on my blogs and on my clients’ blogs as well. I highly recommend it to any blogger who isn’t able and willing to do lots of theme hacking.

#4 Inspiring Notebook & Pen

Question: Why in the world would  a blogger on an electronic medium, want an old-school notepad and pen?

Answer: Inspiration isn’t constrained to time spent staring at a screen.

The best ideas for blogging, business, and life-improvement may come when you’re in bed, in the shower, on a walk, playing with our kids, in a concert, or commuting. In fact, for many of us, they are exponentially more likely to materialize when we aren’t trying to concoct amazing blog post topics or business decisions but, rather, the epiphanies more often come from living, experiencing, and creating.

Good bloggers always have a pen and paper handy to jot down the inspiration that comes — no matter where they are. A couple of years ago I learned a great tip from Rick Evans and have since made sure I always have a special notebook and a favorite pen close by. Make itThey are tangible inducements to get me to scribble down the flashes of insight that come throughout the day.

#5 Personalized Business Cards

Blogging can be a legitimate business with the right knowledge and professionalism. Give the blogger in your life a boost by providing personalized business cards.

Choose a design that fits the blogs theme. Make sure to include the URL to their amazing blog and email contact info.

#6 New Logo

Branding your site can be a key to making it memorable and creating loyal visitors. A great look at feel can keep readers longer and help bring them back again and again. But just because you’re great at content creation doesn’t mean your great at graphic design and layout.

Help your favorite blogger get a fresh, unique look with a professionally designed logo for their site! LogoBee does fabulous work, has quick turnaround, lets you choose from among a number of personal designs, and guarantees their work. And you can save $20 on any new logo just by using the coupon code #5666. (This works online or by phone. And you can also use that code to get $50 off any web design solution. Or use it to save on both!)

#7 Scribe: SEO Made Simple

Time and again I have new bloggers contact me, completely baffled. They’ve set up their blogs, they’ve written some decent posts, but they aren’t getting any traffic. Apparently they thought blogging was a “field of dreams” proposition — if you build it, they will come.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Today blogging requires much more than a pretty site and some great content. It also requires search engine optimization (SEO). For as little as $17.00 per month, you can give your blogger a huge boost with SEO, content, and links with Scribe. This gift will give all year long.

Throw in this free report explaining how to create high-ranking content, too!

#8 Blogging Gear

Blogging is a solitary endeavor. While bloggers have virtual contact with masses, they generally spend a lot of time staring at a screen.

When they do get out, help them shout out their blogging passion! Let your favorite blogger share the joy with every passerby with a cool blogging tee-shirt or a blogging tote bag.

If you’re really looking for something unique, get a personalized shirt with your favorite bloggers URL right on it. Fashionable advertising everywhere you go!

#9 Leak Proof Travel Mug

It’s probably safe to say that a very high percentage of bloggers do their writing at home rather than on a train.  But you don’t need to leave your home office (or couch) to find the benefits of a travel mug.

Need help staying awake while writing your latest epic post? Want to keep your drinks hot longer than ten minutes? Don’t want to risk spilling your beverage of choice all over your keyboard? (If you have kids, you can add a number of items to the list!)

Get your blogger friends a 16-0unce travel mug that will keep the drinks piping hot and off the laptop. They’ll think of you fondly every time they sip their cocoa!

#10 Ergonometric Computer Accessories

Tell carpal tunnel and repetitive stress syndromes goodbye!

If there’s one thing common to professional bloggers, it’s that we spend a good deal of time in front of our computers. That can be hazardous to the some overused body parts. Relieve some of the repetitive stress with a wrist rest set to support hands while using the keyboard and mouse. Seriously soothing!

How does a $100,000 annual salary sound to you? How does earning it from home, with your family, your slippers, and your favorite cocoa mug sound?

If you — or your favorite blogger — are ready to kick your job to the curb next year and go blog pro, now’s the time to get learn how to do it. Darren Rowse is the pro blogger. He shares his methods and mindset for how to achieve this in his new book ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income.

Rowse isn’t some get-rich-quick scheme promoter. He’s a real internet success who learned how to navigate the blogging world before he started telling others how to do it. His information and insights are real, credible, and tested.

The ProBlogger book retails for $24.99, and is worth every penny at that price. But as of this writing, Amazon has dropped the price 44%, to $14.04. Grab it while you can. Better yet, get a copy for each blogger on your Christmas list. Share the wealth.

Amazon shipping is super quick, so you’ll have the book in plenty of time to spread the holiday cheer.

Social media is a great way to promote your blog. But it can also suck away valuable time. Choose those venues that give the most bang for the buck. For me, the best social networking sites are:

• FaceBook
• Blog Engage
• Twitter

The order in the list is relevant. FaceBook is my best traffic/comment generator, Blog Engage is great resource with a great community, Twitter is a distant third.

As the current top user on BlogEngage, I’ll throw out some ideas for how to be a good Blog Engage community member. If you’re into social networking — or a fellow Blog Engage aficionado — add your own rules of engagement in the comments below!

1. Add a Profile Image
   Without a profile image, you look like a spammer. Take a minute to get a photo or icon (or something) up so we can identify you.
2. Vote, Vote, Vote
   Take some time — at least a few times a week — to browse through the other great blogs. Find some in your niche or a topic that interests you. Vote up the ones you like. Be generous.
3. Give Reciprocal Votes
   Some people spend a lot of time voting up the posts of others. See who’s voting for you and give them a little kickback once in a while. (Ahem.)
4. Comment on Blog Engage
   Once in a while throw out a comment on a post’s Blog Engage page. This helps draw attention to the article itself. It’s also a good way to notify the author if there’s a problem accessing or commenting on the post.
5. Visit Blogs
   When you find an intriguing article — or just want to encourage another blogger — go to the blog and read the entire post. It’s great to see traffic coming in.
6. Comment on Blogs
   Leave a thoughtful comment on your favorite posts. Add some insight, share experience, give constructive criticism, present a counterpoint. Most blogs welcome all quality input. It makes for great discussion.
7. Do Not Clog the Upcoming Blogs Page
   If you have a boatload of posts that you’ve neglected to add to Blog Engage, please, please don’t hop on over and add them all in a huge post dump. Doing so will knock all the other brand new posts clear off the front Upcoming Blogs page — and sink their chances for gaining votes. It also look pretty egocentric. Take your time and space them out. Having a couple of posts on the front Upcoming Blogs page at a given time is probably enough.
8. Do Not Add Links to Non-Blogs
   The name is Blog Engage. That first part is key. Blog. Don’t be just throwing up any old link just to try to make a buck from the members. They don’t take kindly to that.

Just follow a few, simple rules and you can make the most of your Blog Engage experience — without making a serious social faux pas.