Blog Generators
RSS to Blog Review: RSS Auto Blog Poster
I finally gave in. I purchased RSS to Blog. I tried to get Michelle Timothy (the creator of RSS to Blog) to give me a copy of RSS to Blog for free to evaluate it for this review, but she wouldn't budge, so I had to break down and buy it. The main reason I folded was the website sales pitch is so good on her site and 2 weeks ago I saw that even the guys from Half Again, who make The Blog Solution had free copies of RSS to Blog included in their Store Stacker promotion. So I said to myself, let's give it a shot.
RSS to Blog's claim to fame is it's ability to take any RSS Feed and/ or Affiliate Data Feed and turn it into a blog post on multiple platforms. Wordpress, Blogger, MSN Spaces, Live Journal, and TypePad. This is a very impressive claim, especially when Michelle also claims that her program will post to multiple projects at the same time. The website has a laundry list of claims about Hyperlinking between posts, auto adding Google Adsense, etc.
So, I set aside my weekend around 10 days ago and began working with the software. I used the auto install feature quite easily and started loading the settings for several of my blogs which I have on Wordpress, Blogger, and I created 2 with TypePad just to give it a whirl. Getting this part set up was a little time consuming, but easy. RSS to Blog does not auto install your blogs for you. Michelle sells another program which auto installs blogs, but it is not part of this program.
I wasn't phased by this and after listening to the included conference call on how to manage Affiliate Feeds from the various Affiliate Networks (CJ, Shareasale, Kolimbo, etc.) I easily began creating blog posts from the software set on my schedule. The randomization feature helps make your posting happen at random times so search engines can't see your posting as automatic and I really like this feature. I set all of my blogs to post at the appropriate categories and after 2 days of playing with the software I felt I had a good handle on things.
After 10 days now I can honestly say this is a great piece of software for anyone who has a blog empire they want to run automatically. I saw an immediate spike in website traffic, because search engines love blogs and my Adsense picked up a little. It is still only 10 days into and I am not posting every day. Posting too much can alert Google too easily. I believe in slowly boosting blogs as opposed to all out SPAM which gets your site banned right away and keep you from making any long term profits. Don't use this program like The Blog Solution. The Blog Solution is great for quick money making and you don't care if a blog gets banned because you can make 1000 in a couple hours with the program. RSS to Blog is built for long term profits.
The only thing to remember is that if you are only running a couple blogs, or just running a few Wordpress blogs, then this isn't for you. Only buy this if you are looking to build 20 or more Niche Blogs and run them on auto pilot. The other thing to remember is that the RSS Feeds you use do not make your content unique. RSS to Blog will allow you to use articles and your own posts with their software, submitted on any timeline you want, but posting unique content is important. I highly recommend using the Content Solution and the Unique Article WIzard for building unque RSS Feeds and Articles for your blogs, regardless if they are used on RSS to Blog, Content Farmer, or the Blog Solution. This will increase the longevity of your blogs and their profitability.
I highly recommend this software for the professional mass blogger/ blog farm owner. It will make life extremely easy and is a definite set it and forget it enterprise.
Get More Information on RSS to Blog here. Watch the Videos they are a great help.
Free VideoStacker Software Puts YouTube Video on AutoPilot!
If you a regular visitor here at Black Hat Software then you already know how big a fan I am of all of the software products from the Scott and omar over at HalfAgain. Their StoreStacker software package (which has grown to twice the size of the original launch) will be opening its doors for one final product offering on August 28th. If you haven't seen this product or purchased it yet, this will be the last time they offer it for sale since they see the potential for flooding the market and making the "unique" affiliate store it can create obsolete if too many people are using it. So I highly recommend being prepared for the launch. I don't know how many packages they are offering, but they only offered 1000 for the first launch and only 100 since then, so if you think this sounds like a limited time only offering, then you are right. Make sure you jump on this right away.
That brings me too the new software HalfAgain is offering for Free; VideoStacker. Yes, it is 100% Free and it is meant as a primer for their StoreStacker software. The intent is to show the awesome power and potential you can get from StoreStacker after you see how great the VideoStacker software is.
I was fully expecting somthing simple and cheasy; and it is simple. You can take this script (PHP) and instantly add YouTube videos to your website OR blog. It is really good plugin for Wordpress, or any other blog, or if you want to quickly add videos to your existing website. The main thing I like about this software is one: Its Free; and two; you can add YouTube videos to your site automatically by KEYWORD. Just pop in your keyword or keywords and you will get videos from YouTube that match your criteria. That is basically it. Simple and to the point.
Wordpress Auto Installer Review
The one consistant problem with most of the Wordpress Auto Installers on the market are they have a hard time keeping up with Wordpress upgrades. Some would say that when creating a blog farm, or a large number of blogs, using the most recent version isn't important, I would argue that keeping your blogs up to date also ahows change and improvement to the Search Engines, which in turn makes your blogs look more natural because they are being updated and upgraded.
I have used the Wordpress Super Installer proviously, but it has not been upgraded since 2007 and I am not sure that I want to trust anyone who just sells a product to sell it and doesn't update it regularly. I have standards when it comes to spending my hard earned cash in this regard.
I already use several of Mass Automation's products, in fact I regularly use WP Cloner when I install a new site with Wordpress. The problem is the installations take awhile, even with Fantastico on cPanel and I like to install multiple blogs fast for my individual projects.
I normally do it with Fantastico, but when I saw this new Wordpress Plugin, I thought I would give it a go. Yes, I said this is a Wordpress Plugin, not a stand alone script.
Like I said before, I already use WP Cloner which allows me to clone the settings from any pre-existing Wordpress Blog and transfer them to another blog. You can transfer the setting, Plugins, and Themes from one blog to another activated or not. There are a bunch of options to choose from and I like this since it is nice to be able to switch settings depending on the type of blog I plan on creating.
The reason I expained so much about WP Coner is because Wordpress Auto Installer acts as a companion product to this very well. Mass Automation is also bundling their new Wordpress Auto Upgrade Plugin with the Auto Installer as a companion product to aid in keeping your blogs up to date. This goes back to what I said before about keeping your blogs looking fresh and up to date.
Anyway, I installed the Wordpress Auto Installer Plugin in 5 minutes and within an hour and a half I had created around 50 blogs. I could have used the batch feature and auto created blogs, but I spent time naming each blog and specifying certain things I wanted for SEO purposes. I still had to add the blogs into the Remote Blogs Plugin and I started adding each blog in one by one so I could Clone my blog settings into the new Wordpress installations I had created, when I realized I could upload a CSV file of the same clone job I wanted to do and could have done it when I installed the blogs. (If I would have read the instructions included with the pluign I would have known this already, HA!)
After I fixed this, I re-installed my blogs with the cloned settings I had from my base blog, I was well on my way to success. It is a solid program. Is it the best I have ever used, yes, because it is the only solid, up to date installer I have used. Is it perfect? No, it could use some improvements, but if you want to create 50-100 Wordpress blogs in an hour with all of your settings already done, then you have to buy WP Cloner and Wordpress Super Installer unfortunately.
Mass Automation has now just released another Plugin which goes with this and it is called WP Blaster. It is essentially Blog Poster on steriods (If you haven't used Blogger Generator, then you should, Blog Poster comes with it and can Post to multiple Wordpress Blogs as well as Blogger.com Blogs.) I haven't used WP Blaster, but it claims to be able to quickly post to mutpile Wordpress Blog installations quickly. It has been paired up (another companion product) with the Synonymizer Plugin which will use a list of Synonyms to make your articles unique, PLR or otherwise. This is another Plugin I have not used, but sounds like a decent addition to WP Blaster. I personally think Mass Automation should bundle all of these products and sell them as one Super Wordpress Plugin, but that's just me.
Overall, I would have to say it is a good product, but I am still looking for something a little better. (That doesn't mean I'm not using it, because I still am. HA!)
