I’d love you to download it, read it, and tell me what you think, because I’m thinking about writing more.

It’s titled, Novice Authority, and is valued at $27.

However, it’s available only to members (which is free, of course ) for free!

I’ve written it to show how anyone can cultivate online credibility and become an authority blogger in any topic.

Literally anyone.

Click Here to Instantly Download Novice Authority (pdf).

Even if you don’t have experience in the topic, you can become an authority. Providing you can follow the advice contained in these 30+ pages.

You will learn;

• How to become #1 in a niche. The first, and most important.
• The first thing you must do before you even launch your blog, which will establish the foundations of your authority status.
• How you can kickstart the snowball effect used by Leo Babauta (Zen Habits) to establish authority status.

And much more!

Click Here to Instantly Download Novice Authority (pdf).

Don’t forget to let others know about it. I’m convinced it will be helpful to many, many people.

However, for those who wish to add their own visual style, it doesn’t offer much.

Having dynamic, ever-changing visuals can be a great way to keep people interested in your site.

With it’s beautiful typography, it made sense (to me at least) to add rotating header images to the elegant styling of Pristine.

With that, I give you Pristine Snapshot!

Pristine Snapshot is a theme for those who appreciate a clean design, with changing header images to show off your photography.

Changing the images is painless. In the theme files you’ll see a folder, ‘headers.’ Size your images to 920×250, and name them as you find in the headers folder. You can use as many or few images as you wish.

That’s it!

Basic features

• Designed to strict horizontal grid and layout
• Rotating header images
• Widgetized sidebar
• Uniquely styled threaded comments
• Author comment highlighting and gravatar support
• WP-PageNavi support
• Valid XHTML and CSS
• Supports all common browsers

Credits

• Designed by me, Armen
• Coded and themed for WordPress by Matthew Rochow

Go, get it…

Demo | Download (you must be logged in to download)

Remember to add WP PageNavi to your plugins and activate it. It’s critical to the theme.

Finally, let us know what you think by leaving a comment. If you’re looking for support, you must ask in the forum.

There are no hard and fast rules, only rules of thumb.

However, there are some unwritten rules which you can use as a general guide. Don’t be surprised though, when you come across something good which breaks the rules.

That’s writing. It’s creative. Rules don’t always apply.

So, here are 15 tips I’ve learned, not at school, but in the past few years I’ve been blogging.

How to write well…

1. Be direct - Flowery language is rarely effective for any type of writing. For most bloggers, it’s unnecessary.

2. Vary your paragraphs -  Paragraphs should vary in length, but are best kept short. Use very short paragraphs to get an important point across.

3. Shorten your sentences -  Brief and pithy works best.

4. Use words for clarity - Write to be understood. Only use the vocabulary necessary to get your point across. In other words, don’t use an unfamiliar word just because you can; only if it’s critical to clarity.

5. Be personal - Add yourself. No one can write like you. Ever. You should, therefore, endeavour to make people aware that it’s you writing. Your regular readers should be able to identify you. They should hear your voice.

6. Be passionate - Perhaps you should refuse to write anything that’s not presently burning like fire inside you?

7. Forget what others are saying/said - Don’t be afraid to write without references. Depending on what others have written on your subject for inspiration, often hinders original thinking. You end up writing what people can read elsewhere. Is that what you want?

8. Stay focused - Tightly focused articles are easier to remember. If you waffle, you’ll lose people.

9. Be interesting - You can’t be interesting to everyone. But, if someone has a passion for the topic you’re dealing with, they should be gripped. Ever read something, get half way down the page and realise you can’t remember anything you just read? You must captivate people, continually.

10. Spend time on your heading - Make it irresistible to those who should read what you’ve written.

11. Add facts, stories, metaphors, etc - Sprinkling relevant facts, illustrative stories, analogies and metaphors through your writing help to break monotony. They work like magnets, drawing in the attention of the reader.

12. Edit severely - Be your own worst critic. Remove the unnecessary. It’s too easy to write cliched phrases, ie ‘whether or not’ when  ’whether’ is sufficient. Also, the word ‘that’ is a frequent offender [that] people use too often.

13. Read what you write - That is, read aloud. It helps to improve flow and find errors.

14. Write regularly - To improve your writing you must write. There is no substitute for this.

15. Question great writing - When you read a great article, take time to disect it. Why did you read it? If it was so good, why? What did they do to make you read to the end? This will help you to learn new principles, and enforce the effectiveness of those you already know.

Any others you can suggest?

(I’m deliberately ignoring other kinds of content, such as video and podcasts as they usually play a less significant role than written content, and assuming most people hold down regular jobs).

Writing fast isn’t easy. Especially if you set a high standard for the quality of writing you want to produce. But like everything else, improvement is only possible with practice.

Here are five critical aspects to learning how to write fast.

1. Perform idea/brainstorming sessions

If you sit down to write without an idea of what you’re going to write, you’re going to spend valuable time thinking over a blank screen, just to come up with the ‘right’ topic.

The thing is, while you come up with this topic, you’ll think of other article ideas which won’t be suitable for that time, and you’ll pass over them without recording what they were.

An awful waste.

Once a week/month, sit down and just brainstorm ideas for articles. Divide large subjects into a series of articles, and learn the art of chunking.

Each morning look at the list of possible article subjects, choose one, and think about it over the course of the day when you get the chance (like during your work commute).

Then, before you even sit in front of your computer you’ll have a fair idea of what you’re going to say, making it much easier to crank out a decent article in less time.

2. Set yourself limits

If you have a whole evening with little else to do, it’s very easy to give that whole evening up to writing an article. You begin at 6pm and before you know it, it’s 10pm and you’re barely finished.

If your going to publish content for free, then you’re going to have to discipline yourself to time restraints.

Perhaps time yourself in 20 minute slots, and be totally determined to get as much done as possible in that time.

3. Write something

Just get writing. Don’t spend an age looking for an article on a similar topic for inspiration. You know this stuff, that’s why you started a blog about it. Stop doubting yourself; write!

4. Make it perfect later

Don’t fix absolutely everything as you go. Keep going with your train of thought.

Also, if you’re not getting anywhere, go and do something else. Take the dog for a walk. Talk to your spouse. Spend time with your kids. After half and hour or so, return to the task with an attitude of intent and purpose. This can be surprising effective.

5. Ignore distractions

Your email won’t die if you ignore it for an hour. Neither will you have a heart attack if you ignore your iPhone until you’re finished. That programme on T.V. isn’t necessary to your existence either.

If you’re serious about gaining exposure online by producing free web content, then you’re going to have to make a few sacrifices.

Lastly, don’t get too frustrated. Things happen to hinder you. For example, my wife walked in while I was writing this with things to tell me after being out shopping. As a result, this article took me slightly over an hour.

Such is life.

McDonald’s don’t sell the best burgers, yet wherever they’re found they outsell their fastfood competitors. Starbucks don’t sell the best coffee, yet the same applies.

Of course, their are many factors as to why this is so. But, one of the main reasons is fairly simple; people won’t visit you if they don’t know you exist! So, we buy from McDonalds and Starbucks because we don’t know about the little family run shop down the alley off the main street.

Likewise, you could offer the best service in the world in your niche. But, if people don’t know you exist, what does it matter?

This is what makes free web content so powerful. This is why it is king.

By careful research and relentless content creation, you can hand-build your exposure to your niche market.

The majority of the most success online businesses work on the principle that content is king, and so they produce content. Lots and lots of content! Whether it’s YouTube, the BBC, Facebook, or Wikipedia, the key is more and more content! Either add more yourself, or get others to add fresh content for you.

Not every article, photo, video, has to be your best. It just has to add some kind of value. Inform, entertain, inspire, or answer a question.

If you can’t do this, you’re unlikely to succeed. A point which strikes home to me.

Personally…

I have a love/hate relationship with writing. I love good writing and I dislike bad writing, which is why I hate most most of my own writing, which in turn makes writing a not-so-enjoyable activity.

However, I’m going to make the effort in the coming days to write about writing (Article Marketing).

Why?

Because Article Marketing works. It…

1. Builds exposure.
2. Adds credibility.
3. Conveys expert status.
4. Drives traffic.
5. Creates fans.

And who doesn’t want all that online?

For most though, it never happens.

Perhaps this is your story? You started to blog to earn a living, but it’s never materialised?

Well, today I’m going to let you into a little secret most full-time bloggers never tell you.

I’m not sure why they don’t tell you. I don’t think it’s anything malicious. I just don’t think they realise how significant it is.

So what is it? Well, it’s very simple. It’s down to framing.

How to frame your approach to making money online

There are many different ways to make money online, but the only successful way to approach it is to see yourself as an Internet Marketer.

Instead of considering (or framing) yourself as a ‘Blogger’, if your desire is to make money, think of yourself as an ‘Internet Marketer’.

This will change how you execute your blogging.

• You will be more focused. You’re a ‘marketer’ not just a ‘blogger’.
• You will be more aggressive, not fearing to push for the sale, and promote products.
• You will research your writing more effectively, honing in on effective keywords which will earn you money.

People misrepresentented as Bloggers…

Though Darren Rowse is known as the Professional Blogger. Darren is more of an Internet Marketer than a Blogger, at least, that’s what he became as he focused his efforts on making money.

The same can be said for Daniel Scocco and John Chow.

When you start to see yourself as an Internet Marketer, blogging just becomes one of your weapons in your arsenal of tools to make money online.

With this in mind, I’ve been thinking about starting a guide to help people in this area. However, I’ll probably make it exclusive content for members only. Of course membership is free, so it’s not a big deal, but it just affords some exclusivity to those I like to reward…the members.

If it’s a bank holiday weekend with you, as it is here in the UK, have a good one!

They don’t equal value for money either.

The same goes for tradition too. Just because something is done traditionally in a certain way, doesn’t mean it’s the best way. It’s just another way.

Hence, when you decide to be scant with images, and go for something a little different, you might just end up with something like our latest free WordPress theme.

Pristine is a theme for those who appreciate the finer details.

It breaks the mould, and serves up lashings of whitespace, with type almost good enough to eat, and other styling touches which just ooze quality!

Basic features

• Designed to strict horizontal grid and layout
• Widgetized sidebar
• Uniquely styled threaded comments
• Author comment highlighting and gravatar support
• WP-PageNavi support
• Valid XHTML and CSS
• Supports all common browsers

Credits

• Designed by me, Armen
• Coded and themed for WordPress by Matthew Rochow

Go, get it…

Demo | Download (you must be logged in to download)

Remember to add WP PageNavi to your plugins and activate it. It’s critical to the theme.

Finally, let us know what you think by leaving a comment. If you’re looking for support, you must ask in the forum.

Changelog

27 April, 09 - Version 1.1 released. Fixed some spacing issues on long post headlines, tightened up the tagline a little, made the long article titles in the sidebar align properly, adjusted the behavior of links in unordered lists within posts (for those who use a ‘Related Posts’ plugin) and the duplicate ‘Tag’ which was showing.

30 April, 09 - Version 1.2 released. Styling added for the Recent Comments widget, and for the ShareThis plugin.

Even if it’s priced well, has no competitors, and has market demand, success will not necessarily arrive at your door.

The truth is, there are many average products being marketed well and becoming successful. Even when there’s a better alternative.

Take for example, Coca Cola. Although they still dominate, there has been proof time and time again with blind taste testing, that Pepsi is prefered. Yet, even after being presented with the truth, often people still buy Coca Cola.

Amazing, huh?

It’s the same online.

You don’t always have to have the best site or product in order to be the most successful. What you do have to do is get you and your brand inscribed in the minds of as many relevant people as possible.

There are different ways you can do this.

Today though, we’re just going to focus on five of the basic blog marketing strategies you should be engaged in regularly. After all, you are the best in your field, and it’s about time people knew about you!

1. Get commenting

If you comment regularly on a related blog, eventually some of those blog readers will take notice and visit your blog. and subscribe.

Try to keep it related though. Your conversion of visitors to subscribers will be much higher.

Also, be consistant. A lot of people go on comment sprees occasionally. They get a flutter of traffic, but it soon dies down. Comment regularly for maximum effect.

2. Use social networks

Ever wonder how some of the relatively small blogs begin to take off on social media sites like Digg? They’re often regular users of the site themselves, and have made connections with some of the key players in that community.

Choose a few suitable social sites, and be active on them. Communities like Digg, Twitter, and StumbleUpon, can offer major traffic leverage. But, you must be actively engaged in promoting others in order to reap repeated future returns.

As a side note, sometimes it can be hard to find the right people to network with. That’s part of the reason why I might add section in the forum totally dedicated to social networking. A place where you can get the details to hook up with other users, and help each other push out your content and have a more widespread influence. What do you think?

3. Contribute to a relevant forum

When used properly, forums can be one of the most effective mediums of establishing yourself as an authority, getting recognised, and opening doors of opportunity and offers of help.

While articles and blogging  can have the same effect, forums allow you to address the issues being raised by others in a personal way. If someone has a problem, and you solve it for them, you’ve got a friend for life. Someone who will watch and support everything you do.

Even use our own forum. If you’re a keen WordPress user, you could keep an eye on questions asked by users, and answer them yourself. I’ll be looking for competent people to add to the team.

4. Create great content

Whether or not it’s used as a means of bringing people in or not, it’s critical in order to get them to stay and subscribe.

Content in and of itself, is a type of marketing. Make sure what you publish is of value to your market, and has personality. No one is ever engaged with clinical, boring writing.

Throw yourself into your writing. Add you to your blog!

5. Network with real people

It has often been said, ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’. A true statement.

Getting yourself ‘out there’ is critical. We all know that.

But, it’s vital that you are proactive in doing this. You have to get yourself out there, and place yourself before your audience.

This means,

• Contacting fellow bloggers via email, and telling them how much you appreciate what they’re doing.
• Writing guest posts.
• Retweeting the tweets of over twitter users, without being asked.
• Linking to other blogs in your post.
• Interviewing experts in your field.

Get to know people.

Insulating yourself will rarely bare results. It’s the old corporate way of doing things, and it just doesn’t work.

Lastly…

Every point mentioned here, are things you can be doing regularly. Put together a schedule for you to carry out daily/weekly in order to encourage yourself to make the effort necessary to get your name/brand/product out there.

If you’re really serious about getting traffic, links, and subscribers…take action! Today.

Other related reads…

How would Darren Rowse get himself known if he was starting out again? How I’d Promote My Blog if I Were Starting Out Again

Want more ideas on the importance of networking? Blog Networking Tips for Beginners.

The importance of marketing your blog, emphasized by Daniel Scocco. Are You Marketing Your Blog?

We’ve got another theme to release to you for the beginning of the week, which we really hope you like.

It’s called ‘Dusk’.

It’s a fairly straightforward WordPress theme. However, not only does it have a rather appealing design, but it has a few other handy features…

Basic features

• Designed to strict horizontal grid and layout
• Widgetized sidebar
• 125×125 sidebar advertisement support
• Twitter support
• Theme options to add site stats code (like Analytics) without tampering with theme files
• Page templates: Archives, Contact, and Links
• 100% Valid XHTML and CSS
• Supports all common browsers

Credits

• Designed by me, Armen
• Grid calculator used for the layout
• Coded and themed for WordPress by DesignSlicer

Go, get it…

Demo | Download (you must be logged in to download)

Finally, let us know what you think by leaving a comment. If you’re looking for support, you must ask in the forum.

Changelog

25 April, 09 - Version 1.1 released. White borders in comments styling removed.

So, between finishing another design (look out for it in 7-10 days hopefully), I fixed up the Swiss theme to give you Swiss Mono.

It’s exactly the same as Swiss, only with the necessary image and CSS mods.

Basic features

• Designed to strict horizontal grid and layout
• Widgetized sidebar
• 125×125 sidebar advertisement support
• Theme options to add site stats code (like Analytics) without tampering with theme files
• Page templates: Archives, Contact, and Links
• 100% Valid XHTML and CSS
• Supports all common browsers

Credits

• Designed by me, Armen
• Grid calculator used for the layout
• Coded and themed for WordPress by DesignSlicer

Go, get it…

Demo | Download (you must be logged in to download)

Finally, let us know what you think by leaving a comment. If you’re looking for support, you must ask in the forum.

Changelog

25 April, 09 - Version 1.1 released. Some issues in Safari, caused by trying to get it to play nice in IE6. Resolved. Also, some styling changes made to the comments section.