achieve wordpress blogging success

Reach your websites potentialCopyright © 2009, G9 Media

Achieve WordPress Blogging Success

Riyaz Patel


Course Overview

• Introduction

• Using WordPress

• Blog Procedures

• Blog Strategy

• Blog Growth

• Blog Configuration and Customisation

• Blog Administration


Introduction


Ice Breaker

• Name– Riyaz Patel

• Role– IT Professional and Founder of Gaj-IT.com

• Blogging Experience– 3 years blogging

• Favourite Gadget– iPhone

• Your Course Goals


Discuss Blogging

• What is blogging?

• How do you think it should be used?


Discuss - Goals

• Discuss our blogging goals?


Using WordPress


Introduction


Overview of Features

• Easy Posting

• Publicise your Work

• Engage with Readers

• Archives and Search

• Blogroll

• Easy Administration

• Theming


Overview of Features

• Pages

• Spam Protection

• User Registration

• Multiple Authors


Posts Vs Pages

• What are Pages?– Time insensitive– Use of sub-pages– Page templates


Posts Vs Pages

• What Pages are NOT– Posts– Pages cannot be linked to Categories– Files


Write a Page

• Attributes

• Permalink

• SEO Optimise

• Visual Vs HTML

• Discussion


Exercise - Write a Page

• Attributes

• Permalink

• SEO Optimise

• Visual Vs HTML

• Discussion


Manage Pages

• Bulk Actions

• Screen Options


Write a Post

• Categories

• Tags

• Preview

• Publish


Visual Vs. HTML Editor

When writing your post, you have the option of using the visual or HTML mode of the editor. The visual mode lets you see your post as is, while the HTML mode shows you the code and replaces the WYSIWYG editor buttons with quicktags.

Tag list:

http://codex.wordpress.org/Posts_Add_New_SubPanel#Visual_Versus_HTML_Editor


Write a Post – Advanced P1

• Publish Box– States– Visibility

• Post Slug/Permalink

• Excerpt


Write a Post – Advanced P2

• Send Trackbacks

• Custom Fields – Content Gallery

• Discussion

• Password Protect Post

• Post Author


Exercise –Write a Post


Write a Post – Media

• Add– Images– Video– Recordings– Files


Exercise –Add Media


Manage Posts

• Edit, Delete, View

• Search

• Filter

• Bulk actions

• Screen options


Manage Media

• USE Copyright Free Media

• Edit, Delete, View

• Search

• Filter

• Bulk actions

• Screen options


Managing Links

• Add Link

• Categories

• Link Relationships


Managing Categories

• Site Sections

• Parent Child Categories

• Description

• Bulk actions

• Search

• Screen options


Managing Tags

• Site Sections

• Parent Child Categories

• Description

• Bulk actions

• Search

• Screen options


Managing Your Profile

• Display name

• Change Password

• Edit Profile


Managing Comments

• View mode

• Mass edit mode


Blog Procedures


Introduction


User Roles

• Administrator– has access to all the administration features

• Editor – can publish posts, manage posts as well as manage other

people's posts, etc.

• Author – can publish and manage their own posts

• Contributor– can write and manage their posts but not publish posts

• Subscriber – can read comments/comment/receive newsletters, etc.


Editorial Process

Draft / Needs reworking

Pending Review

Scheduled/Published


Blog Strategy


Introduction

Create / Set Goals

Manage

Optimise


Vision

To become the

“Largest Gadget Site in the UK”


Goals

• Set SMART Goals– Have 500 visitors a day by June 2010– Have 1000 email subscribers by June 2010– Rank page 1 for keyword “Gadget”

• Set Individual Goals – Become an expert in Mobile Phones


Exercise - Goals

• Lets Set some Goals


Growth


Introduction


Customers

• What's Growth?

• Understanding visitors/customers– Seasonal Traffic– Topical Interest– Promotional Activities– Recommendations


Effective Content

• Research - Demo

• Effective Titles & Content

• All in one SEO Pack

• Image Optimisation

• Scheduling Posts


Demo - Research

• Research– Google Keyword Tools – go– Google Trends – go– Google Hot Trends - go– Google Insight – go– Google Wonder wheel – go– Google News Timeline - go


Engage

‘The tough thing for journalists, I think, is that we’re supposed to provide answers, not just pose

questions. So what makes a really good story–insight into an issue or person or company, wrapped up in a tidy, complete package–is

precisely what doesn’t work on a blog. People are more interested in responding to questions. Provide just answers, and, well, there’s nothing

more to say….’ Rob Hof, Business Week


Engage

• Ask readers for their opinion

• Respond to comments

• Network


Exercise - Trust

• Name a few blogs or celebrities whose opinion you respect and why?


Promoting

• Virals

• Guest posting

• Internal links

• Newsletter

• Email & Forum Signitures

• Follow up posts


Link Baiting

• Link Out

• Link Bait– Leaked Stories– Top 10 posts– Vanity campaigns

• Monitor links– Optimise Site links– Google Links – go


Analytics

• Popular posts

• Referral stats

• Keywords

• Seasonal traffic

• Bounce Rates


Site Optmisation

• Use of Heat Maps


Configuration &

Customisation


Introduction


Tweak

• Settings

• Plug-ins

• Editing Themes

• Widgets


Administration


Introduction


3 Step Upgrade

• 3 step upgrade– Step 0 – Back-up– Step 1 – Replace WordPress files– Step 2 – Upgrade– Step 3 – Do something nice


Managing Users


User Roles

achieve wordpress blogging success

Business

posts vs pages

blogging goals

post post author

post media

posts subscriber

peoples posts

posts contributor

exercise goals