Guest Post: Finding Your Feet with Cron Jobs

alt="Guest Post: Finding Your Feet with Cron Jobs" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/default-image-500x308_c.jpg" />

What is so amazing about computers? Most will say that it’s their calculation power; others will state that it’s their amazing capabilities for 3-D applications, rendering, design and gaming.

I’d say it is the Internet and automation capabilities.

There are 1,7 billion Internet users today and this number grew 300% since 2002. A lot of these people have href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/hosting-reviews/">web hosting accounts for their personal blogs, pages, forums, web sites, e-shops and so on. So if you are one of those people, think about how often you find yourself in need to repeat simple operations numerous times a week to keep your site clean, optimized and safe. If your answer is “often” and you are tired of this – here you’ll find a tip how to make your life a bit easier.

This article is about the cron – a unique automation utility for Unix based servers.

Cron daemon

To describe the concept of a cron job we should first of all consider a service running on a server. Most things executed on any computer are processes, browser being the most familiar one. If you open your browser and then go to your Task Manager, you will discover that it is running as a process.

Simply speaking process is an application, your computer is handling at the moment. The service, on the other hand, is a long running application, that is usually started automatically on system start up. It runs in the background, consuming as little resources as possible when it is not needed. When the time comes for it to perform an activity it “wakes up”, does what it must and then returns into sleeping mode? again. Examples of server processes are http service, MySQL service, ftp service and so on. On Unix servers (i.e. servers powered by Unix, Linux or FreeBSD) such services are usually called daemons.

The Cron Daemon is a special service capable of executing tasks at specific points in time without user’s intervention or control. It can be called an automatic scheduling machine. The name href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cron">cron comes from the word title="Chronograph" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronograph">chronograph . By using cron scripts, you can create sets of commands you want executed on a scheduled basis automatically.

Crontab and commands

Cron commands are stored in a special file. It is called crontab(which stands for cron table). The list of commands you can execute manually can be performed with a cron as well. Normally cron tasks include the following:

• making backups;
• any kind of file operations (deleting, copying, moving, renaming etc.);
• sending and receiving updates emails;
• installing software updates;
• checking links on other websites;
• optimize databases;
• many more;

The mentioned crontab is a file that usually has the following content:

01 * * * * interpreter-1 script_path-1
02 4 * * * interpreter-2 script_path-2
22 4 * * 0 interpreter-3 script_path-3
42 4 1 * * interpreter-4 script_path-4

In the example above the first 5 items in each line are the time scheduling parameters. First number stands for the minute field, second – for the hour field, third – for the day field, fourth – for the month field, fifth – for the weekday field. The possible values and field descriptions are shown in the table below:

class="border" width="560" cellpadding="2">bgcolor="#dddddd" width="101">Fieldbgcolor="#dddddd" width="93">Valuebgcolor="#dddddd" width="356">Descriptionvalign="top" width="101">minutevalign="top" width="93">0-59valign="top" width="356">The exact minute that the command is executed.valign="top" width="101">hourvalign="top" width="93">0-23valign="top" width="356">The hour of the day that the command is executed.valign="top" width="101">dayvalign="top" width="93">1-31valign="top" width="356">The day of the month that the command is executed.valign="top" width="101">monthvalign="top" width="93">1-12valign="top" width="356">The month of the year that the command is executed.valign="top" width="101">weekdayvalign="top" width="93">0-6valign="top" width="356">The day of the week that the command is executed. Sunday=0, Monday = 1, Tuesday = 2, and so forth.

Working with precise time and dates may be somewhat uncomfortable. Therefore, a special syntax is introduced: “*” – stands for any (so called wildcard symbol). If you want to configure the script to run at 15th minute of every hour you simply use the following sequence:

15 * * * *

If you want the script to run every 15 minutes you use the sequence like this:

15/* * * * *

The interpreter item in this example defines the shell or program you want to run the script with. For example, to a run a regular shell script daily with the bash shell, you use the following line:

* * 1/* * * /bin/bash /scripts/script1.sh

Here “/scripts/script1.sh” (script path from the cron tab file example) is an absolute path to the file your script is located in.

To edit crontab, use the command “crontab –e“in console. Editing crontabs in the console as well as using console itself is usually very inconvenient for regular users. Therefore, almost every hosting control panel contains a graphical user interface (GUI) for working with crontabs and configuring crons.

Crontab GUIs

The number of hosting control panels is quite large today, but there are a few most widely used by hosting companies due to their friendly interface and good integration with operating systems. Let’s take a look at how to configure the crontab in the two very popular panels: cPanel and DirectAdmin.

The GUIs of these two panels use the same concept as a regular cron table file. The time scheduling parameters remain the same, as well as their syntax. To specify months, days, hours and minutes, you still have to use numbers and the approach described earlier in the text. The interpreter and script path are defined in a separate field in these GUIs. This is also true for the email address for sending logs (available only for cPanel, while DirectAdmin will send the logs to the default e-mail address of the user). If you want no logs sent at all, you need to add the following command after the script path: “>/dev/null 2>&1“. DirectAdmin’s panel has a special button for this, as shown on the screenshots below.

cPanel Cron Job Menu

To get to the crontab GUI, find the Cron Job button in the home of your href="http://www.cpanel.net/">cPanel:
class="border" alt="cPanel " src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/images/2010/0303-1.jpg" width="750" />
style="font-size: xx-small;">Figure 1: cPanel “Cron jobs” menu icon

class="border" alt="cPanel Cron Jobs menu fields" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/images/2010/0303-2.jpg" width="750" />
style="font-size: xx-small;">Figure 2: cPanel Cron Jobs menu fields

DirectAdmin Cron Job Menu

Locate the Conjobs button to enter the href="http://www.directadmin.com/">DirectAdmin crontab configuration GUI:

class="border" alt="DirectAdmin CronJobs" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/images/2010/0303-3.jpg" width="750" />
style="font-size: xx-small;">Figure 3: DirectAdmin Cronjobs menu

Cron scripts

When you know how to correctly configure the crontab scheduling, all you need to do to run a script. You can either write one yourself, using a regular text editor (like notepad on Windows), or you can search for it on the web. What’s good about cron scripts is that they can easily be modified and can be used with almost any software installed on your server. Writing your own scripts requires knowledge of the commands of the specific interpreter you are planning to use; thereby, before searching for specific instructions, decide which interpreter you’ll use. C shell is the most widely used interpreter, so if you are interested in creating your own scripts, then the best place to start is href="http://www.freeos.com/guides/lsst/">Linux Shell Scripting Tutorial.

Bottom Line

Automating tasks performed for a hosting account can save you a lot of time and ensure the safety of hosted data. One of the best and easiest ways to schedule autonomous execution of various actions is to use the cron job utility available on most Unix, Linux and FreeBSD servers.

Great advantage of cron jobs is the fact that tasks are performed without any intervention from the user’s side. Distinctive features of cron jobs include easiness of configuration, solid execution reliability and ability to use any installed interpreter for scripts. Additional comfort comes with the use of hosting control panels, as they provide GUIs for scheduling tasks. For more information on crons check the crontab href="http://linuxmanpages.com/man5/crontab.5.php">manual page.

About Sergey Smirnov.

Smirnovi4 graduated from Ukrainian National Aerospace University in 2010 with Master’s degree in “Propulsion systems and power installations of spacecrafts”. Currently he enjoys working as a writer for the href="http://svhostingblog.com/">SiteValley official blog and occasionally assists with marketing tasks. Author likes extreme sports (skateboarding, snowboarding, parachuting and scuba diving particularly). Music of his choice is punk and indie rock. His free time he dedicates to reading news of IT industry and music. Two of Smirnovi4’s greatest weaknesses are Dr. Pepper and flight simulators.

Page 29 – Web Hosting Secret Revealed

Finding The Right Niche For Your Blog

alt="Finding The Right Niche For Your Blog" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/focus-300-500x333_c.jpg" />

Stand Out in the Crowd with a Niche Blog

href="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/birds-stand-out.jpg">class="size-full wp-image-6644 aligncenter border" alt="Stand out bird" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/birds-stand-out.jpg" width="750" height="441" srcset="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/birds-stand-out.jpg 750w, http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/birds-stand-out-300x176.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px" />

A successful blog must attract an engaged audience that keeps coming back for more, and one of the easiest ways to get such an audience is to find the right niche for your blog.  Once you’ve got a niche targeted, it’s easier to organize content, tailor your social media engagement and focus your search engine efforts for long tail results.

But if you’re just starting out, or running a blog that’s extremely general, how do you find the right niche? These tips will help you discover and focus your blog to drive more traffic.

Find and fill a need.

style="line-height: 1.5em;">Ever think, “I wish someone would invent…”? That’s called a need, and it’s how many successful businesses are started. The same is true of blogs. If you’ve found yourself wondering where and how you could get information or resources online about a particular topic, you may have found an available niche.  Take the site href="http://www.usalovelist.com/" target="_blank">USA Love List, who’s mission is to find high quality products that are made or assembled in the U.S. Founder Sarah Wagner started the site because she thought stylish made-in-USA products “were an interesting, important and mostly unfilled niche. I attribute our growth to the fact that we are offering info that people genuinely want but need our help to find.” That is the key: create a blog based around hard-to-find information that people need. Sample subjects that offer opportunities for a niche topic include support sites for rare diseases or conditions, alternative health news and information, and technology subjects for non-techies. The key is to think outside the box for topic, but make sure you have the demand.

Be passionate about the subject yourself.

style="line-height: 1.5em;">Let’s face it, you’re not going to want to get up and blog every day or every week about a topic that only mildly interests you. When considering a niche, think about the topics that fire you up. Not only will that motivate you to keep on top of news, trends and important people on the scene, odds are it will have some aspect of controversy – and that is great for building traffic. Whether it’s homeschooling in New York City, barely legal car customization, or celebrity wardrobe malfunctions, your topic needs to engage people in way that will make them want to keep coming back to hear your opinion.

Make sure your topic has staying power.

style="line-height: 1.5em;">While controversy is great, it doesn’t ensure that your topic will be here next week. For example, if you’re very passionate about Vine and start a blog centered around it, when that falls out of fashion, you’ll be out of content. It’s better idea to focus on a more a general topic, such as“cutting edge social media trends” or “image apps that rock.” That way, if a fad falls out of fashion, your blog can still keep a lookout for whatever replaces it.

If you’re having trouble with topic that more than just a fad, you can put a twist on a popular topic to make it your own. Improving traffic or writing skills are subjects with plenty of life in them but require a fresh spin. You can focus on quick and easy tips bloggers, for example, such as this post, “href="http://thinktraffic.net/21-quick-actions-for-massive-blog-success" target="_blank">21 Quick Actions for Blog Success” by Corbett Barr.

John Paul Aguiar’s “The Money Dummy Blog” takes on the highly popular topic of improving your blog by helping readers avoid mistakes and blog like a pro,style="line-height: 1.5em;"> with articles like “style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com/get-traffic-to-your-blog/" target="_blank">8 Dummy Proof Ways to Get Traffic to Your Blogstyle="line-height: 1.5em;">.” There will be plenty of content to share for years to come but a new angle helps him to stand out from the pack. 

Is your topic regional or available anywhere?

style="line-height: 1.5em;">Your blog can be focused around a location or around a topic that is covered anywhere. It’s important to determine which it is, because that will affect driving your traffic.

Local/Regional Niche:

style="text-align: center;">class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6657 border" alt="Local Online Marketing" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/local-online-marketing.jpg" width="750" height="1536" srcset="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/local-online-marketing.jpg 750w, http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/local-online-marketing-146x300.jpg 146w" sizes="(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px" />

style="line-height: 1.5em;">If you are regional, take advantage of tightening your niche within your location. For example, if you are a hair stylist in Clearwater Beach, Florida, you can blog about how to care for your hair in humid weather, what styles are hot in and around the beach, and protection from the sun. In addition, local news sources can be critical for gathering information. Regional events in your niche are a great place to hand out business cards about your blog and make connections, as well as providing events to write about.  Contact and partner with local companies to share information with and about each other to further spread the word. In addition, do not overlook larger regions to focus your niche: your state, the U.S., English speaking countries, etc. – again, USA Love List is a great example of U.S as a region.

Non-Regional Niche:

style="line-height: 1.5em;">If your topic is not location-specific, keep in mind that you will not have the benefit of optimizing your site regionally and will need to find another way to target your search engine efforts. If your topic is not regionally centered, do not overlook the power of in-person marketing at events you style="line-height: 1.5em;">canstyle="line-height: 1.5em;"> get to. For example, a local-based food event will not draw audiences nationwide, but one that features national brands will be. 

Make sure there is enough content available.

If this is a topic that few people blog about, this is your chance to educate others about it, but you can’t do that unless there is information that is ongoing and available.  In addition, your topic should lend itself to other, closely related subjects, giving you content created by others that will benefit your readers – a great way to use social media in a complementary fashion. For example, a blog about amazing apps for children can lend itself easily to posts and content about technology in education, video games and children, and hot new devices your kids will want.

Draw on your own history.

style="line-height: 1.5em;">There is probably something that you’re an expert on that no one quite does the way you do. Or perhaps you have a background that crosses unusual disciplines – math and art, for example, or biology and engineering. Whatever the case, think back on your own history, from your education to your work experiences to travel – anything you can think of where you learned something that stuck with you.  These can be great starting point for niche topic ideas. Writer Kristi Hines has a solid background writing, blogging, social media and marketing that allows her to produce great content like “href="http://maximizesocialbusiness.com/how-to-create-blog-community-9817/" target="_blank">How to Create a Killer Blog Community.”

Research your niche idea.

class="alignright size-full wp-image-6643 border" alt="Focus" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/focus-300.jpg" width="300" height="200" />

style="line-height: 1.5em;">Once you’ve got a few ideas for niche topics, how can you tell if people are interested in them?  Even if your topic has staying power, if no one is really interested enough to search for and use this content, you are wasting your time. Avoid this blunder by doing some research. Find groups and forums that cover your topic or something close to your topic and find what people are seeking. 

style="line-height: 1.5em;">Look for hashtags on subjects that complement your topic, and ask around on Twitter and Facebook for this information. Follow discussions on LinkedIn or join groups to see what people are seeking out and not finding enough information about. If you’re a member of a targeted group or forum that features your desired audience, ask about the niche you are considering and gage their interest level. Finally, Google the topic to see what other sites are out there that are competitively covering this information, and address what’s lacking at those sites.

What if I already have a blog?

You can easily change an existing blog into a niche blog. I’ve been running Mom-Blog since 2003 and, in the last year, I’ve changed it to focus more on helping kids with disabilities through special diets. Now, Mom-Blog frequently tops Google’s search for the term “gluten free,” and my client list includes advertisers that are almost exclusively organic, healthy and allergen-free foods and products.  The key is to make sure your new niche does not wildly delineate from your current blog topic. In fact, it should be something that your audience is already interested in. (If not, you’ll probably want to just start a new blog.) Now take your current topic and gently steer it towards your newly found niche by writing about it and sharing relevant content. (Social media will help you in a big way here!) Give it some time and be sure to court new readers. In fact, you may want to re-launch your blog with a new design or logo that matches your new niche in order to inform readers of the change.

style="line-height: 1.5em;">These steps will go a long way in helping you craft a niche blog that can target readers and future customers, and help to href="/blog/blogging-tips/grow-a-blog-community/">grow your blog community.

Focus photo credit: href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/21560098@N06/4848880460/">Nina Matthews Photography and Birds photo credit: href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/findyoursearch/4607204149/">FindYourSearch via href="http://photopin.com">photopin. Infographic credit: href="http://thecogentcoach.com/local-online-marketing-matters" target="_blank">The Cogent Coach.

Page 18 – Web Hosting Secret Revealed

10 Resources for Finding Freelance Writing Work

alt="10 Resources for Finding Freelance Writing Work" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/problogger-500x217_c.jpg" />

Now that you’ve got some blogging experience under your belt, it’s time to hit the road and href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/blog/blogging-tips/from-blogger-to-freelance-writer/">start looking for freelance writing work. Before you get started, here are some things to consider:

What Kind of Writing Work?

Firstly, you need to determine what kind of work you want. If you are a blogger, there are plenty of blogging and ghost blogging jobs (that is, blogging without credit to your name). However, you may feel ready to step out of that box and into brand ambassadorship, writing product descriptions or copywriting. You’ll need experience in whatever area you step into, so if you have any, add it to your resume. If you know of close contacts in these fields, consider offering your services on a limited or low cost basis, once or twice, to get your feet wet. I do not advise making a habit of this but assisting companies and brands is always beneficial.

What Pay?

Pay for writing varies greatly. Some gigs pay by the word, some offer flat fees. Because competition is stiff, newbies may believe they cannot write for anything more than a few dollars. My first gig paid .05 per word, which is not great but it’s far more than for 500 words. Another thing you need to consider is that some sites pay revenue share rather than a word count – that is, you get a share of the advertising. Other sites provide reader votes or quantity bonuses, while regular pay is quite low or nonexistent.

id="attachment_8919" style="width: 760px" class="wp-caption aligncenter">class="size-full wp-image-8919" alt="Writer and Editor Hourly Rates (according to Freelance Industry Report 2012)." src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/writers-salary.jpg" width="750" height="307" srcset="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/writers-salary.jpg 750w, http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/writers-salary-300x122.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px" />class="wp-caption-text">Writer and Editor Hourly Rates (according to href="http://www.internationalfreelancersday.com/2012report/" target="_blank">Freelance Industry Report 2012).