Automate Your Business

Archive for the ‘Autoblogger’ Category

I’m about to make some changes to the AYB Autoblogger, which means I’ll be raising the price from it’s current $30.

The first change is to rename this version as the “Standard version”, and add the ability to import feeds in a wider variety of formats than is currently supported. So at the moment, the software is tightly configured to support the feeds from Oddity Software. The upgrade will allow you to use feeds from places like Commission Junction and Linkshare, who offer affiliate feeds from many of their merchants.

I’ll also be releasing a “Pro” version, which will allow you to set up as many feeds as you want, posting to as many Wordpress blogs as you want.

Current customers will get the new Standard edition free of charge, and there will be a small fee ($10) to upgrade to the Pro version. The only exception to this will be people who purchased under the “fast movers” deal, who will get the Pro upgrade free of charge…

That’s one of the benefits of being a fast mover.

If you are not sure whether you are a fast mover or not, I’ve just sent a mail to the fast mover list, so that’ll confirm it for you. No mail = not a fast mover.

If you have NOT purchased AYB Autoblogger, now is the time – you’ll get the upgrade when it’s available (next week) for the current price of $30 instead of the increased price. Here’s the link to take advantage of the current price.

Just a quick one. Due to a family crisis this week, I’d not put in place the changes I needed to close the fast mover bonus this morning, so you’ve got the rest of today (till around midnight GMT) if you’re still interested in the fast mover bonus mentioned on the sales page.

The autoblogger is now available, so if you’ve not signed up for the updates list (or if you’re not an existing customer), you’ve still got a little time fo get the subscriber/customer discount before I disable the coupon code.  Just subscribe using the form to the left and you’ll get the discount code as soon as you confirm your subscription.

Whilst testing the script and template functionality, I’ve been populating some data onto a test WordPress blog. If you’re interested in seeing what it spits out, take a look here. The post template (the one for the script, not the overall WordPress theme) is  … well.. “basic”, I suppose is the best word for it!

But if gives you some examples of what you can do in the templates – include images with data based on the information in the database, display the data in tabular format, seed the data into some keyword-rich, on-theme test which is spun for some variety, and so on.

Notice that even the WordPress category names are based on a piece of data in the database!

Hope you like it.

I’m about done testing, so I’ll be removing debug statements, compiling the ZIP, writing the manual, and so on, over the next day or so.

Keep abreast of the blog to find out when it’s available – and remember that EMAIL subscribers will get a discount. You can subscribe via the form to the left of each page on the blog.

Autoblogging is very popular at the moment. Having a blog updated automatically is obviously a fantastic tool, and as such there are a number of autoblogging tools to provide content for your blog:

• WordPress plugins like Caffeinated Content that take content from Yahoo Answers, YouTube, or an article directory.
• Other plugins can republish content from other site’s RSS feeds (assuming you have their permission).
• Software that generates fresh content based on a randomisation method (such as splicing bit of articles together)
• Software to upload PLR content to your blog on a scheduled basis.
• And many, many more.

But I’ve recently seen something else which could be another source of content to your blog. Imagine having a database of hundreds or thousands of entries, all around a common theme , all steadily feeding into your blog, day after day, week after week, without you doing anything.

Hmmmm….

Themed content  (eg. Martial Arts Facilities, or UK Restaurants, or  Pet Kennels and Boarding Facilities, or Private Golf Courses – and there are many more topics)….

Regular updates….

On a blog….

All happening automatically….

Does that give you an exciting feeling?

Well, you can have this very quickly – simply install WordPress via your hosting control panel; upload the database file that contains the hundreds or thousands of entries; upload a script I can provide; configure a few settings; and go back to your hosting admin to set up the script to run automatically on a scheduled basis. That’s it. Hands-free daily updated content.

The database will come from OdditySoftware. They provide a large (and growing) set of databases of various types, all formatted ready to use by software. But they don’t give you a method to upload it to your blog or site.

So that’s what I’m doing.

Once you’ve purchased one of OdditySoftware’s databases, my offer is to create a script for you that:

• Offers a template-based method to upload that content to your site.
• Integrates into WordPress (and later into Drupal, Joomla, and most other common content management systems, if there’s enough interest. I could even modify it to build a “static site” (ie, one with HTML or PHP pages, allowing you to customise your site even further).
• Will even create categories based on one of the database fields (eg, State or Town).
• Allows you to set up multiple templates, of which one will be randomly selected.
• Allows you to “spin” the template (both the title AND the main content) so that your posts can have varying text in them.
• Allows you to test the upload and your templates to see what the posts will look like before you actually start uploading the content for real.
• Allows you to upload one, two, or as many new posts as you like over the course of each day.
• Can even “loop around” the database, starting again from the beginning once it’s reached the end (with content spinning and multiple templates enabled this can be a fantastic way to multiply the pages generated from the database).

A few important notes:

• I’m not intimately familiar with all content management software, so if you want to integrate into something other than WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, or static pages, please let me know BEFORE you order, and I’ll check whether I can modify the script for that software.

• You can purchase the software once, and use with as many OdditySoftware database as you can purchase. Of course, you can’t share the software with anyone else, in any manner.

All this will be coming in the next day or two. As usual, a discount will be offered to existing subscribers and customers, so if you’re interested, remember to subscribe using the form to the left.