Customizing your Blogger Blog



Customizing your Blogger Blog

Setting up your blogger blog literally takes between 5 – 10 minutes and is so simple a 5 year old can do it, however, very few people who has a Blogger blog actually know that they can make tons of cash with one of these blogs or how to actually do this for that matter.

But before we get to the money side of things, let’s first get the visual appearance of your blog sorted. You can stick with your starter blog template if you wish, although the fastest way to jump right into things is to get a monetized template which has been specifically created to generate money by promoting Google Adsense ads.

What is Google Adsense?

Have you ever seen a website that displays ads in the sidebar or within the content itself that shows “Ads by Google” in the bottom right corner? Sure you have, THIS is Google Adsense. How it works is that every time someone clicks on one of those links the blog or website owner gets a small amount of money to put it simply.

Firstly, sign up for Google Adsense by clicking HERE, since you already have a Google account you can sign up with your Gmail account details and complete the form. In the top bar which shows “Website URL”, enter your Blogger blogs’ address. Make 100% sure that your details are correct before submitting your information. There is no charge whatsoever and have complete control over how and where to display the ads, and whether it should be simple text ads or image ads.

It will take about 2 minutes to complete your registration, just follow the prompts and enter all the details to the best of your ability, there’s nothing complicated. When you’re done, you’ll get to the screen below:

Customize Blogger Blog Adsense Confirmation Page

It takes some time to get approved so don’t worry about this too much for now. Patience…

I’m jumping forward a bit here, but just keep this in mind for now. After Google emails you the confirmation that your account has been approved, you can log in at: http://www.google.com/adsense

After you’ve signed in, you’ll see in the top right corner it will show “Pub-ID:” followed by some numbers, this is what you will use to set up your ads later on.

But for now, let’s move on…

Customize your Blog with FREE Blogger templates!

Free Blogger Templates for your BlogClick on the image on the right to get access to hundreds of free Blogger templates. In the category section you can also browse the “Adsense Optimized” section that has templates already set up to generate maximum revenue by using Adsense ads, all you need to do is copy/paste your Adsense Publisher ID (pub-id) into the relevant fields.

Download any template that matches your niche and save it on your Desktop. To upload a template you’ve downloaded to your blog, click the “Design” tab in your Blogger Dashboard, the select “Edit HTML”. Click “Browse”, select your saved file and then “Upload”. When it has finished uploading, click the orange “Save Template” button at the bottom right corner and you’re done.

How to Upload Custom Free Templates to your Blogger Blog

When you are satisfied with your basic template, click on the “Page Elements” tab under “Design”. Here you will see the layout of your blog. In your first view (see right) you will see 3 default “Gadgets” already assigned to your page.

I would suggest removing the “Followers” tab for now as this page is still new, as well as the “Archives” tab, which will both only come in handy after a few months of publishing blog posts.

To remove any unwanted page elements simply click the “Edit” button in the box you want to remove, a screen will pop up, now just click “Remove” at the bottom left and it’s gone.

General Layout Tips and Strategies:

Set up Autoresponder: An autoresponder is where you can capture your visitors’ email addresses to ensure that they receive any future posts by you, resulting in return visitors which is free and high quality traffic. Using a Blogger blog, you can add a gadget called “Follow by Email” which will keep your readers updated on any new posts that you write. Although not exactly a proper autoresponder, since you cannot email your list at will, and using this Blogger gadget they will only receive new posts, whereby with a proper autoresponder you can email your list at any time to promote a product of affiliate offer.

The most important part here is to have this visible without your visitor having to scroll down (see next page.) This is a MUST for ANY blog!

Set up Social Networking Sharing Buttons: As most of us spend a majority of our time on Facebook or Twitter, it is vital that you have a sharing button added to your site, preferably just below your blogger autoresponder (see next page.)

This is a great way to generate free traffic and allows your blog or blog posts to have a viral effect, exploding traffic and sales in the long run.

Avoid useless gadgets/widgets: Even though polls are fun, they should only be used if you REALLY need an opinion on a new service or offer you are promoting. Things like polls, calenders and pretty pictures should be avoided at all times, we want our readers’ eyes on the things that can generate money, remember that!