I bought Cloud Blogging within the very 24 hours after Glen Allsopp promoted it to one of his groups of subscribers, and if you’ve read any posts or ebooks by Glen before, you understand why I was “hungry” to read anything new he had to tell us. Also,he doesn’t have a lot of products out there – in fact this is only the second he has promoted on ViperChill – so I knew I had to have it. He told us that Cloud Blogging is the most definitive guide to growing a profitable and popular blog, and that was good enough for me!

I actually thought I was buying an ebook, but I was happy with that, because the price is very reasonable, and I was tired of searching for answers to all of my questions and sometimes starting all over and getting derailed on my projects. I didn’t realize that I had just purchased lifetime membership into a comprehensive course that will continually grow and become even more valuable. I also didn’t realize that I would be able to ask Glen Allsopp and Dirk deBruin (Diggy) questions directly and get direct answers – as well as learn from all the other questions and answers of other members.

Glen is totally authentic and transparent in everything he does, and he goes into every aspect of blogging in this course. He really teaches us everything we need, step by step.  Many other experts write PLENTY of posts and ebooks about “how to blog,” of course, but they’re usually laced with every sort of affiliate links so we never know what we really need and what the blogger just threw in there hoping to make a little more money! In Glen’s case, he is very honest and wants to help us to succeed. Once we buy Cloud Blogging we don’t need to spend another penny except to purchase a domain and hosting, if we don’t already have them.

The course is divided into sections, with complete but easy to follow steps to take if you want to dominate the blogosphere and become an A-list blogger. There is SUPER easy navigation, so you can follow the guide in sequence or go directly to any section you like. Also there is navigation to get directly to the discussion of each section, and to me that is getting to be the best part. There, people ask Glen questions I used to Google for endlessly, and he answers quickly and specifically.  It’s amazing to me how he answers these questions as if he were right there sitting with us in a group, just relaxing. Have a look around the blogosphere and notice what some of these guys charge just to provide a little advice for an hour. No matter what you use this course for, the price is stupid low for the insanely high value!

The best thing of all to me is that this is not a course where I have to spend hours in it – or implementing its ideas – all at once. I’m not really going to have much time to do anything until late August, as far as writing a lot of content or overhauling my blogs, but this is the kind of information I can put to use immediately, five minutes at a time. The course is so well-organized that I can read a section during my lunch break, enjoy reading the questions and answers by the other members, and even ask a question of my own. Once I do get a big block of time, I will waste no more of it searching endlessly for blogging advice and changing my strategy over and over!

Cloud Blogging comes with a 60 day risk-free guarantee. That is huge. Sixty days is a long time to have access to all of this material and try some of the strategies and decide if it’s right for you. I myself ordered with no hesitation, because like I said, Glen Allsopp is the real deal. I noticed the price has gone up at least once since I ordered – he’s not one who pretends that he’ll raise the price then doesn’t do it. He does it! So if you want this course – order today!

If you want to add some deeper interactive opportunities to your readers, you might consider adding podcasts to your blog. You don’t have to have extensive technical knowledge of sound engineering and coding, and there are lots of tools out there to make the creation and sharing of podcasts easy, simple, and free. Because there are several different options, it’s still important to click around and figure out which offers are best for your needs, but that can be easy when you read through these easy steps.

Plan Your Content

Thinking about recording your first podcast? You might consider who uses podcasts and which types of readers frequent your blog. Podcasts are for people who don’t have time to sit down and read, so don’t waste their time with empty content. You can still be entertaining, but try to stay away from long-winded rants and share shorter insights, information, or observations. Background and/or segue music is always a bonus and makes your podcast seem more professional, so you can either record that at the same time you capture your audio content, or you can edit your audio file later and splice in some transitions. This can be done with most recording software.

Find or Buy Equipment

You’ll need a microphone to record your audio content. A headset is typically a good investment because it keeps your hands free, but other options can be used if you don’t want to spend the extra money. If you’ve got a voice recorder handy, that will work, but you’ll need to convert your file to .mp3. To do this, you can use the iTunes import feature if you get fancy with your preferences, which will work on both a PC and a Mac.

Record in .mp3 Format

If you don’t have it, download Audacity. This free software records in .mp3 format and enables you to edit your sound files, so you can add in those tech-savvy music clips with ease. Most podcasters agree that this tool is quite the gem for recording purposes and will suffice for beginners’ editing needs. When you name your audio file, try to be descriptive and informative, yet succinct. Even though you’re going to post your podcast on your blog, your host may include an automatic listing of podcasts that can be searched by keyword and title, so pick up those extra listeners with careful labeling.

Choose a Podcast Storage Site and Upload Your Content

Since you’re just starting to post podcasts, you can get away with using a free host for now. You may need to consider increasing your bandwidth, storage, and downloading speed later on by upgrading, but try these free options while you’re still feeling things out.

• Podbean provides you with 100MB of space, which should hold at least 5 podcasts while you figure out whether or not podcasting is right for you and your blog. Most MP3 files are between 3MB and 20MB, so you can probably squeeze even more out of this option. Your monthly bandwidth is 5GB with this service, which is enough to start out with and can even satisfy most of your needs later on if you stick to audio only. Just set up a free account, then check out the media content management system and embeddable players for your blog.
• PodOmatic can give you even more space if you need it with 500MB of storage and 15GB of bandwidth per month. It also includes podcast publication tools and requires that you sign up to create a free basic account.

Post Your Podcast

Bloggers, you know what to do. Create a post, which can be either text plus your embedded podcast or a simple link to your handiwork. This works just like any other link, and you can get the URL from your storage provider or host once you’ve uploaded your podcast. Your readers will get to become listeners and start engaging with your blog on a whole new level.

About the Author: Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education and performs research surrounding online schools. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.