Today, I’m going to cover some simple routine maintenance and prevention strategies so you can save your computer from disaster.

First, I am going to cover the different types of software you need, which are:

• An AntiVirus software (Avira is recommended)
• A Spyware/Malware removal software (Malware Bytes Anti-Malware)
• A junk cleaner (CCleaner)
• Firewall software (Zone Alarm free firewall)

Having all of this software to hand is the key to successfully caring for, maintaining, and repairing your computer if it gets slow.

First, you have the AntiVirus, which helps you to scan and remove viruses. Then you have the spyware/malware removal tool for removing any nasty infections. Thirdly, you have a junk cleaner, which is software known as CCleaner. Finally, to put a wall between you and the Internet, you will have a firewall.

The key is knowing when to use these programs for arising problems or for maintenance to avoid problems. You will not need to worry about figuring this out, as I breakdown when you should use the software and in what order.

Weekly or Monthly Tasks

Weekly or monthly tasks are to help fend off any major issues with your computer. For this, it will mean using your AntiVirus software, spyware software and junk cleaner. Running all three each week or month is necessary to keep the amount of infections and junk on your computer minimized.

When Your Computer Gets Slow or Infected

If your computer gets slow or infected or has any odd software popping up, you want to do the same as your weekly/monthly tasks only ensuring to start with using your spyware/malware software, as it is the most powerful in removing the worst infections that are causing most of the issue.

In conclusion, if you take time to try this exercise today and get used to the process, you should generally never have any major computer issues and thus never be held back from cranking out a new blog post. I can answer any questions in the comments section.

Each one of them has a story, a nice story. Together, we worked hard to build a magnificent blog community to share our ideas and educate ourselves as bloggers, we we had a hope and a dream to create a safe and rewarding spot on the internet for bloggers, and to open a window for those who need a blogging hand. Here we are, after a year and a few months of hard blogging, we’ve reached the sky of the blogosphere, and we have created a popular blog! Today and everyday I am grateful for those who helped me starting up FamousBloggers.

I would like to thank everyone who added and still adding value to our community! You are so many that I really can not list in one blog post, I would prefer to write a book about you, and I really wish I can!

Special Thanks to our Blogging Team

I know I’ve should done this long time back, but.. Well.. I know you, and you know me! I am sure that no one of you is waiting for any of this, but it’s a feeling inside of me to each one of you that I must express!

Francisco Perez aka DiTesco

A Business mind

I always wanted to thank you for your great help DiTesco, you really approved to me every time that I can count on you. It has been great relationship as friends and business partners, and I wish it will last for ever.

You can connect with DiTesco on Twitter @Ditesco, visit his Home Based Business Resources blog.

Kristi Hines

Social Media Butterfly

I can not thank you enough Kristi, it will take me days to list what you have added to FamousBloggers, it’s really great to work with a person like you, who knows what she is doing.

You can connect with Kristi on Twitter @kikolani, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Visit Kikolani for blogging tips, social media networking strategies, and other relevant topics for successful bloggers.

Andrew Rondeau

Blogging Consultant

One of the best decisions I’ve ever made since I started blogging  on FamousBlogger is to have a blogging consultant like Andrew, a person who I can trust his work and experience. So glad to work together.

You can connect with Andrew on Twitter @andrewrondeau, Facebook and LinkedIn. Visit his blog and get your free Income Blogging Guide.

Julius Kuhn-Regnier

Online entrepreneur

I know you as an active person, and I wanted to thank you for being such great help, you responded to me every single time I needed your help Julius, and I must say that I’ve learned from you more than you’ve learned from me. I wish you good luck with your life as entrepreneur And Break!

You can connect with Julius on Twitter @AndBreak, StumbleUpon and Digg. Visit his blog to have a Break and read his guide about speeding up WordPress.

Nile Flores

Web and graphic designer

Thank you Nile for giving us your time and effort, it’s really nice to have in our team someone with your experience.

You can connect with Nile on Twitter @blondishnet, Facebook. Visit her websites are Blondish.net and WPAddict.net.

James Johnston

Director of sales and web design

My friend James, the most person I’ve connected with, extremely supportive and rewarding. I would like to thank you so much for your great work taking care of editorial work on FamousBloggers.

You can connect with James on Twitter @element321 . Visit his Evolutionary Designs Blog.

Ana Hoffman

Online entrepreneur

Ana, you became a familiar face in the blogosphere in no time, you really deserve to be credited for achieving that , and I am honored to have you as a member of our team, it’s a great start for a promising new year

You can connect with Ana on Twitter @WebTrafficCafe, Facebook. Visit her Traffic Generation Tips blog.

One year passed since we started to blog together, work together and grow our business together, I don’t remember any of my blog posts that mentioned our blogging team, what a shame! I should wrote this a year back, but here I am trying to make it up, reminding myself with my duties toward bloggers who are on the top of many FamousBloggers blog supporters, those who never let me down even once!

And while I can not be behind my laptop for longer times, and also because I can not be away from it for longer times, I decided to watch some YourTube videos and hear some audio interviews about blogging, social media, marketing and some other stuff!

I came across an interesting interview, Srini the host and co-founder of BlogcastFM interviewed Dave Doolin of Web Site in A Weekend.

There is too much in this interview to learn about blogging, how to publish your posts, SEO, tips on guest posting, teaming up with other bloggers and much much more, it’s really smart interview!

My Readers and I are doing Stuff!

The most interesting thing in this interview for me is when Dave said “My Readers and I are doing Stuff!”, Alright! that’s interesting, I mean what stuff Dave is doing with his blog readers?!

I must mention Dave’s Blog Post Engineering E-book, I know Dave and we are connected some how doing stuff

I bought the Blog Post Engineering E-book because I like to award my fellow bloggers who really work hard and give high value, although I am not done with the E-book yet, so probably I will write my review as soon as I finish reading it, but I must say it’s just awesome!

Take a look to the Blog Post Engineering E-book here!

And by the way, Dave has redesigned Web Site in A Weekend blog, in case you would like to say nice design, hi and bye and this kind of stuff, head over the blog!

The guys over BlogcastFM are so cool, they are doing great work, so don’t stop on Dave’s interview, make sure to spend some extra time, add value to your experience by exploring their site and hearing some other interesting interviews. I like to play the audio while I am working, maybe it’s not your best way, but I am sure you will find your own way to enjoy it!

Here is the link of the interview: Dave Doolin on The Right Way to Publish Your Blog Post

After you hear the interview, I would appreciate if you tell me what kind of stuff you are doing with your readers?!

If you think/feel you support others, maybe OTHERS don’t think/feel they got your support!

This could be a strange way of thinking for some of you, but it happens a lot in our real life, especially with people who set a big goal which is helping others, you start to think you did a big favor for someone, and they don’t appreciate it -I am not trying to say they are bad people- they just don’t feel the same way! they didn’t receive it the same way you think, or in a better words, they didn’t get value from your support to think of it as a big favor!

Does it matter?

It doesn’t really matter, and it shouldn’t matter to you, I mean think of how many people in this world you can help just by blogging everyday about something useful, something you think it’s useful, others don’t think so! they hate you already after the first visit! some others don’t even care to know who you are, and probably you will never get a chance to meet with them in real life!

Good things will happen soon, I am a big believer!

I know.. it’s a long road.. But, keep doing the good work no matter what!

And, If you need my assistance on anything related to blogging, don’t hesitate to add a comment or contact me directly, I don’t mind to help if I can!

Now Tell me plz,

When was the last time you helped a Blogger?

However, during my recent move out of state, I’ve come to have more time to spend at home with family members who watch these shows. While these shows are on, somehow within minutes of entering the room, I find myself drawn to the perfect-looking people and high-end life styles that these fictional characters lead.

Even though I’m not the biggest soap opera fan, I’ve found myself asking questions and wanting to know what’s going on. For a brief moment, I find myself caught up in the lure of soap opera drama.

It makes me wonder, what if I could harness that same alluring power on my blog? What is it about soap operas that make them so irresistible that they can draw in even the most skeptical viewer? How could I apply that to my blogging efforts?

As I pondered the answers to those questions, I realized that there are techniques that I could borrow. Of course, I’d never subject my followers to stories about a young woman who, as the result of a family secret, accidentally marries her cousin, who really turns out to be her brother and ex-step-dad…

But I could do the following:

Pique Curiosity

I could hook readers fast and hook them early with interesting and engaging openers. No one wants to read a long and drawn out introduction. Start with a quick personal experience story or a vivid example that uses words that affect the five senses. That way, even if they hadn’t intended to read the full post, they’ll be compelled to stick around and find out what happens.

To keep readers coming back, create a carefully executed series of posts to create a sense of suspense up on your blog. Don’t be afraid to create cliffhanger posts that end in elipses (…) and a call to action to return the next day for the conclusion.

Create an Emotional Connection

You are your blog’s biggest star, are you allowing people to emotionally connect with you? Don’t be afraid to reveal some little known secrets about how you’ve solved problems and achieved success. People read your blog because they want to connect and get to know you – give them something to hold on to.

Be Controversial/Dramatic Sometimes

Don’t be afraid to speak out on something you really care about, even if it isn’t what most people will agree with. Sometimes, it takes one person who calls things into question to get others thinking about things from a new perspective. Stand up for what’s right and just, even if it’s controversial.

Create Addictive Content

Sometimes you’ve got to sprinkle a little crack into your posts (just kidding!) But you do want to make them crave your content; make them need a fix. When someone discovers quality content on your blog, the human want for more kicks in. That’s why one great blog posts with related links at the bottom can inspire a click through spree. One visitor can plow through tons of pages in one sitting.

Create an Experience

Whenever you can, give your readers a taste of the good life – or your life, however it is. People love to escape from reality and experience someone else’s life (why else would people watch Soap Operas?).

They want to take free trips into new and exciting worlds. That’s why it’s important to share your life experiences on your blog even when you think they aren’t related to your niche. In my opinion, any experience can be cleverly linked and related to blogging.

Take the inspiration for this post for example, it is a direct response to my recent life change. I analyzed my response to an emotional episode of Young & The Restless, and worked out how I could use some of those techniques on my bog, and so here you have it!

So what do you think? What else could you do to create an irresistible blog that your readers won’t dare miss an episode?

We All know that checking spelling and grammar before publishing a post is very important, this is how you will make all readers happy and welling to revisit your site over and over, and you know what? I think there is something missing here!

I bet that most of us don’t really know why someone should check spelling and grammar on his/her blog, but I will tell you the real reason depending on my personal opinion and how I think about it.

When you write with proper Language, you are actually saving the Language, and giving your business blog a pro touch which automatically increase your blog authority and respect, so this will help you a lot to gain more trust.

So, basically you should correct mistakes not because you are afraid to lose a reader, but it’s because you want to make sure that your readers can easily understand what your writing, you want to make sure they get the information they need from visiting your blog.

OK, pretty cool!

But you know what? I think different about blogging, maybe because I discovered that there is acceptable average for grammar and spelling mistakes that keeps you on the safe side, and you still be able to successfully deliver the message to you blog readers, your readers are not stupid, and for them it’s all about that little piece of information they need.

Yeah! that sounds crazy! but… this is the reality!

This is the real world as I see it, and you also can see it if you open you mind to me for a minute. I remember an awesome post written by my friend Andrew Rondeau @andrewrondeau , he talked about the Txt Spk and how Gr8 It’s! Andrew started his post reminding us how the language changed over the past couple of years, he said exactly this “Over the past couple of years  or so, our language has changed”, that’s true, but readers must think about what they read!

When Andrew said “our Language” he was pointing to the English Language as his first Language, but English is not “our” Language! I mean it’s not the Language for all bloggers! it’s Andrew’s Language! if that makes more sense to you!

We all are from different backgrounds, for example, I am Egyptian, I speak Arabic Language, one of the most hardest Languages to learn, it’s also the most sensitive Language, in the world by the way -you can transfer more feelings if you talk in Arabic- maybe this is shocking because some people who I met recently was thinking I am American, but I am not, and I blog in English because it’s  the #1 Language in the world today.

My Language made me feel lonely!

I believe this is the story of millions!

I remember when I first started blogging, I was networking and networking but there were no use, there were no body on the other side, there is no respond, I heard nothing but only my echo!

I couldn’t find any one on the same page, all people around me didn’t care, no body was listening. There is a lot of money problem in my country, I can not use PayPal, I can not validate my account and connect it with a bank account for example, this means I can not earn money from the internet freely! oh.. and the worst is that no body believed me that time, no matter what I have told to them, they just can not realize the internet market, they think it doesn’t exists because it’s a virtual world, they take the word “virtual” in a different meaning.

But because I was different, and I was thinking different than my people, I started my online journey, trying to find my own way!

I decided to blog for people who appreciate what I am saying!

Language Can NOT be gained with out understanding Culture

Something I believe in, and it’s really hard to change my mind about it.

The relation between Language must go hand in hand with Culture. Language is a living creature,  it’s developing and expanding, growing all the time. You can not inject it in your mind, although you can gain it by practicing for years, but even that is not enough to make your an expert in a particular Language. Here comes the role of Culture in our lives, and to gain a language 100% you must learn the culture of this Language. This explain why I can not understand everything I read even in my own Language.

So, I think all the non-English bloggers/writers then will not make it!

Why?

Because they have to learn the Culture, and this is kind of hard (not impossible) because no one have time for this while trying to make a living.

But what about the Pro Bloggers and writers?

I know that almost every writer need a copywriter, I know that a lot of bloggers use others to write their best content, I know that a lot of pro bloggers hire ghost writers.

Try to learn something from Chris Brogan, and why he work with Julien Smith on writing books together, both are professionals, but Chris need Julien, and Julien need Chris.

It’s annoying the Reader?!

Who in the world will care about a spelling mistake if they got criticized? I personally don’t think it’s something that could drive me to kill myself, I spend a lot of time checking my posts before publishing it, but what I can say? there is no use till now! I really had enough because I still cannot make it, you know why? simply because I will never be able to create the perfect piece of content, I am not a native English speaker, so.. there is no way for me to reach perfection in my content, and I admit it, I have tons of mistakes and grammatical issues, but I still able to deliver the information my readers need to get, and this is the main gaol for me, I am not writing novels, and we didn’t create a place to read stories on this blog, we have created together a learning community, so instead of getting a “simple thank you”, some times you get a hell of complains in the comment section.

But what about the Writer?

• What about this person who is trying hard to achieve a goal in this life?
• What about that other person who is trying to make a living?
• And what about those people who is just trying to feed themselves?
• What about the rest of us?

Thank you so much, you have killed the joy and pleasure of our hard work!

Instead of Criticizing, why don’t you Teach us?

We like to learn, what do you like? criticize others?

Tell me one cool tip or advice, anything useful you have got for us, OK.. OK.. answer theses two questions, why you visit this blog? and why no body visit yours?

OK, I will answer you, we have a great community here, we build and appreciate relationships, we help each other, and we try to work together. You don’t communicate with anyone, when you talk you sound bad, no body likes you because your ways, and you will end commenting on your own blog and replying to yourself.

I remember a post made by my friend John Paul @JohnAguiar, he mentioned negativity and how it will find it’s way to your blog, all this just because someone didn’t like you or what you have wrote. I like his opinion on how to deal with negativity, it’s simple as ignoring it. John mentioned a special type of internet jerks, he call them the 500.000 Alexa bloggers lol, he also talked about Reasons You Should Not Be A Blogger on that post, it’s a good read.

And here is another recommended read by Darren Rowse @problogger tells you How to Stand Out in a Niche full of Jerks, it’s very useful post, and it will make you feel better especially if someone has just criticized you. haha

OK, you think what you have read so far is criticizing? I will show you now the real thing! I decided to entertain our readers today:)

I will show you a little of what I have from people like those, but as usual - no names- because if you don’t respect us, we respect ourselves.

I got this comment one month back, and I will publish it here for you as an example:

No offense, but I think this blog thinks too highly of itself. You have to register to post for free? I can post a guest post for free on other blogs without registering.

When I see FB affiliates, I thought you have an affiliate programs where people can refer other people to your blog and get money. But instead, you just post a bunch of affiliates links.

“Support us without paying extra money”? The person who invented that phrase is a genius. LMAO.

The owner(s) of this blog are probably scammers.

You know what I have told to that person?

First, I did my special research, and collected all information I need, I even know where he lives, I went to his blog, I can not see any sign for life there! he is totally newbie from the best kind!

I send him an email and I told him this:

This is not the right way to add a comment on a blog, I think you don’t know what you are doing, I will not publish this comment to protect you from yourself, I know that it will hurt you in the future, and if you think this will hurt our blog then you are mistaken.

I never got a reply!

I mean what’s wrong with you people?

You didn’t even care to think for a minute about us as humans, and you didn’t give a chance for us to grow. All people who contribute to this blog are trying their best to provide YOU with the piece of information you are looking for, they are trying their best to create a better place for you, and what they get?!

Where is your support? forgive me to say that but you are not a reader, I just can not think of you as a reader, you are not even a half reader, no matter what I do but I can not respect you anymore, allow me to call you a racist person, because this is how what your criticizing comment have told me about you!

The mistake you have done, do you realize it?

I have a doubt about this, you know why? OK, let me tell you, when you criticized a blogger who writes here, you criticized me, the blog, and whole community around it.

• You have criticized a person who is probably better than you are.
• You have criticized me because they are my guests!
• You have criticized the blog, the host, the place you are at.
• You have criticized the community, we have 16000 comments on this blog, this means you are actually no body!

This is our community!

So -who ever you are- if you don’t respect the bloggers who writes here, our banning field still empty, and it’s so deep and dark, there is a room for you indeed, and you will disappear for ever.

To cut a long story short a young friend developed a brain tumour – and wanting to understand what could cause such a terrible thing to happen …. I googled.

The information that I came across about the use of both aspartame and sodium fluoride in our everyday lives was, to say the very least, quite shocking.

Let me tell more about what I have found!

Aspartame

Maybe you’ve heard of aspartame , maybe you haven’t. It’s an artificial sweetener that’s found in over 6,000 products. Most people, and probably you, consume quite a bit of it most days. You’ll find it in diet drinks, chewing gum and yoghurts for example.

So what’s the problem? Well, aspartame may taste very sweet but a lot of people believe that it causes a whole range of diseases including brain cancer. If you don’t already know about the controversy, I really suggest that you watch the first two videos in the side bar by Alex Jones – and then follow some of the links in the current aspartame twitter stream to start informing yourself even more about this topic.

And then, please, vote on the issue at the noaspa site.

Sodium Fluoride

Maybe you’ve heard of sodium fluoride, maybe you haven’t. It’s used in most toothpaste brands and often added to water supplies – supposedly because it has a positive effect on dental health.

So what’s the problem? Well, many people cast doubts about the validity of this claim – and also point out that sodium fluoride is a poison. If you don’t already know about the controversy, I really suggest that you watch the third video in the side bar – and then follow some of the links in the current fluoride twitter stream to start informing yourself even more about this topic.

And then, please, vote on the issue at the noaspa site

The Truth

What is the truth? That’s the question. The ideal situation, of course, would be that people came forward with evidence that completely discredits the information presented both here and on sites such as dorway.com and farmwars.info. Unfortunately real hard evidence seems hard to find – and in its absence there seems to be good reason to inform as many people as possible about the controversy surrounding these issues. Don’t you think?

A Million Votes

Well, I really am hoping to get a few famous bloggers comments here – and am also very interested to see how this new campaign will be received by the internet community at large.

My own opinion is that

(a) there are serious doubts about the safety of both aspartame and sodium fluoride
(b) large numbers of people are already genuinely concerned about their health implications
(c) people everywhere have the right to – and should – know about these issues
(d) a large scale poll is achievable through the power of blogs and social networks &
(e) the results of such a poll can only be beneficial ( whatever the outcome )

What’s your opinion?

Are these important issues that need addressing?
Or am I over-reacting to unreliable information & the loss of a fine & funny friend?
Please telll me straight!

But if you do agree that a large scale poll is a good idea, just put your best brilliant blogging brain into action, suggest sensational strategies – and spread the word. A million is a small number when compared to the 7 billion (or so) on earth according to the United Nations.

And we all deserve to know exactly what we’re eating and drinking, don’t we?

Take for example the following comment made on a recent Famous Bloggers articles that was posted:

Thank you for your helpful voice. Honestly I think someone should write a post about spellchecking and reviewing a post before submitting it as a guest post. Most guest posts I’ve seen (even on other sites) have several mistakes in them, don’t have a clearly defined organization, or just repeat themselves endlessly. Someone needs to set these people straight! (You can find the post and comments ) Link

I agree with Laura Davis, spellchecking is a must not because we are all spellcheck police but because it’s simply the right way to do things. My problem is how do you tell people things like this. Jakes took it well and had his reason for why his post had what some would consider some grammatical and spelling errors. I can’t say for sure Laura’s intentions was to criticize his post and I’m sure she did not mean to be insulting in any way, but some people may take it the wrong way, still I think it’s necessary to mention it, but how to do it is the question.

Who am I to Criticize Anyone?

Really, who am I to criticize someone’s spelling and grammatical errors? I make mistakes too, my grammar is far from perfect and even my spellchecker can make mistakes. But does this mean one can’t point this out when one sees it? I think not, after all would you prefer we ignore the problems of life simply because we create them as well or should we point them out in the hopes we can all eventually correct ourselves as well?

Sometimes people need to see the positive side of what may come across as an insult when pointing out mistakes or contradicting a statement. An open mind is very important in order to make the world a better place because you may think you have a great idea to fix a problem but perhaps someone else has an even better one. The goal is the same so why concern ourselves with who reaches it first?

Sometimes we just have to accept the consequences in order to achieve a positive result

Too often I see people not take it upon themselves to correct a problem because A) they are not personally involved in the problem at the moment or B) they don’t think it’s their responsibility. But if the resolution to a problem can benefit everyone, why not involve yourself even if it had nothing to do with you in the first place?

Constructive criticism can be a good thing as long as the criticism is done with the intentions of helping so not only should the one getting the criticism be less sensitive and more open but the one criticizing should also be more considerate and do it for positive reasons not as a form of insult or attack.

Some Advise for you!

So here is some advise for everyone who enjoys posting articles on their blogs and as guestbloggers:

1. Make sure you reread what you wrote before posting.
2. Spellcheck your article before submitting. Don’t just use the built in spellchecker on what every you use to post the articles, do a visual inspection of your own. There are some words spellcheck may not catch due to grammatical reasons.
3. Check for grammar errors, sometimes I write duplicate words without realizing it or use the wrong past tense form such as the “ed” or the ‘ing” at the end of the word.
4. Check your links to ensure they are correct
5. Make sure the paragraph spacing is good. There are times I post stuff on my blog, do a small edit and for some reason all the paragraph spaces disappear.
6. Read it to yourself before submitting after all the error checking and editing. (this one is said alot )
7. Most importantly, be confident it’s worth the read.

Don’t be afraid!

Don’t be afraid to be criticized. Some may have good intentions to help make you blog better (0therwise how would you know you are doing something wrong); those who don’t can easily be dismissed. Also don’t be afraid to criticize. Do it the right way though. Not everyone will be very receptive but you’d be surprised how many may actually pay attention and even say thank you.

They all provide the usual content:  guides on installing and tuning wordpress, selection of a webhost, and some brief overview of search engine optimisation.  The majority of readers find these resources because they have heard there is money to be made online through personal websites and blogs.  Everyone who has ever done these courses follows it religiously, usually because of the promise of it meaning you make money – easy money.  But sooner or later you realise that there is something missing.  The magical golden nugget of valuable information which you feel you have missed on your training course.  You’re pulling your hair out wondering what it is.

As with many things in life, the answers to many of our everyday problems are staring us in the face.  The secret, or golden nugget, of blogging success is no different.  In fact, the three personality traits I am about to discuss can be related in many walks of life.  I use them on a daily basis to help with my career.  So what are they?

Determination

This is without doubt one of the most important attributes you should have. Without determination, you will find it difficult, if not impossible, to work through the turbulent times of your adventure.  Determination is something that you can teach yourself with plenty of effort – but it’s not easy.  The irony here is you must be determined to be determined. Each and every one of us has determination in us.  If we didn’t we’d sit at home and do literally nothing all day.  We all have hopes and dreams in life.  Some of us want a nice big house with a cool car, some of us want a family and financial security.  Regardless, the only thing that ever really holds us back is our own determination.  You hear excuses all the time – “I can’t afford that”, etc etc – But the reality is, if you are truly determined to do something, you find a way to do it

Personable

Anyone I have ever met who has had any form of success has an addictive form of personality. They are friendly, sociable people, who know how to network.  This is a core fundamental to success – as great as being knowledgible is important, part of the formula is made up of WHO you know.

You can get to know anyone with the right contacts.  But the important way to get those contacts is to network.  This is made easy by being an approachable person.  Say for example, you are at a conference, and you want to introduce yourself to one of the speakers.  You are not going to do yourself any favours by saying – I don’t agree with that point you made.  Something as sharp as that isn’t going to get you anywhere.  I’ve found situations like this are often best approached with a calm persona.  State you have a query about something they discussed, and suggest discussing it further somewhere more private.

This first contact is very important, so it is key that you get it right.

Passion

The final personality trait – passion is not necessarily going to guarantee you succeed, however it makes life a lot easier for you. You can challenge yourself to do anything, you want.  Even subjects you’re not interested in.

I’m not a big fan of history, for example – being more of an engineer myself.  But I’m intrigued by it, and know that because I am passionate about succeeding at anything I put my mind to, I could go places – but it will be difficult, because it’s not a natural interest.  On the other hand, I love making websites (coding). I find it relaxing because I don’t have to think much about it.  If I sought out a project to undertake doing this, my passion is much more likely to carry me through the tough times, because I’ve a natural interest.

Do you have these traits in your personality?

When you have been embarking upon your adventures, have you found yourself recognising these traits in yourself?

To start off with, I’ve worked with professional graphic designers in the past. They can literally charge hundreds of dollars for logo design work. If you’re looking for a logo for your business, it just might be worth spending the money for top-notch design work. What if you’re just looking for a logo for your as of yet still non-revenue generating blog? Do you really want to shell out a few hundred dollars or more just for a new logo? For most of us, that’s probably more money than you spent on your blog’s template if you purchased one to begin with.

Can’t find an affordable website logo?

Realizing that I needed to find a source of quality logos, I wasn’t actually sure where to start. Naturally, I tried various search terms on Google to see what I could find. For the most part, I either found free logo generating software, or companies that charged around a hundred dollars for some relatively poor-quality designs. If you decide to use a free logo generator, you’ll basically end up with a stock design that’s used on other websites. What’s more is that the end result just won’t look very good. Yet, the companies that rank at the top of Google searches for “cheap logos” still charge a decent amount of money and you probably won’t be happy with the end result.

Looking for a cheap logo design…

On this foray, my next step was to post a thread at Digital Point Forums in the relevant graphics section. One person quickly replied and sent me a very poor quality sample. After I replied, I never heard back from that individual again. Was it something I said? I’ll skip over a few other misadventures in order to get to the point here. What you may not be aware of, is that you can host a logo design contest at Digital Point Forums in the “contest” section. I’ve see other websites that offer logo design contest and the actual cost is far less expensive at DP Forums.

Design Crowd is one such site that lets you host a logo design contest. However, their “economy” package starts at $200 and their first class package is $930. Again, this may be a great option if these prices fit within your budget. On the other hand, you can host a design contest at DP forums starting at just $10!

Tips for hosting a logo design contest.

1. Obviously you will have to register an account at the forum and find the “contest” section (Forum/Business/Buy, sell or trade/Contest). You’ll want to look at other logo contests to get an idea of the language used.
2. Typically, the contest will state that it closes in “2 days” or whatever time frame you want and that the winner will be paid X amount of dollars. Note, you don’t actually end up paying for designers to submit their entry–only the contest winner gets paid.
3. You’ll want to ensure that logo design contest entrants use a Watermark so that the design doesn’t get copied.
4. Though you can get responses with a $10 logo design contest, the “sweet spot” for generating quality designs is at $30.00.
5. While looking at the other logo contest threads, you’ll likely see designers that produce quality work. Make sure that you personal message them directly and invite them to enter your contest.
6. During the contest, ensure that you provide feedback on the designs that are submitted.  Don’t panic if the first several designs look hideous, it will get better as the more skilled designers make their submissions.

Two mistakes you shouldn’t make

1. Though it’s tempting to skip the contest altogether if you find a designer in another contest thread, don’t do it! I made this mistake and the competition of the contest is essential to getting a good result.
2. Once you’ve had one logo designed by a contest winner, stick to using contests instead of using this designer directly. Again, this is a mistake I made. For me, the original design winner was only effective when he had ideas from other contestants that he could play off of and refine. When I used him directly to make a logo, the end result was subpar.

In summary

There are several available options to find an affordable logo for your website. Depending on your budget, two great options are to host a logo design contest either at Design Crowd or Digital Point Forums.