blogging - what, why & how
Post on 20-Oct-2014
785 Views
Preview:
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Agenda
I. What is a blog
II.What is blogging
III.Why you should blog
IV. How Blogs make money
V. How to choose a blog niche
VI. How to choose Blogging Software
VII.How to choose Domain Names
VIII.How to choose Hosting
IX.How To Choose Blog Themes/Templates
Agenda...
I. Structure of a Blog
II. Essential Pages of a Blog
III.Blog Design Elements
IV.How to get post ideas
V.How to write blog posts
VI.How to market a blog
VII.How to make money with blog
VIII.Questions
What is a Blog ?I. Everyone has different opinion
II.Blog is a abbreviated version of “Web Log”.
III.Blog is a website with some key features
IV.Articles are listed in chronological order with the newest article at the top
V.It’s easy to add new content
VI.Content is updated frequently
VII.Blogs allow people to leave comments
VIII.People trust blogs more than normal websites b'coz blogging is a conversation
History
I. Got popular in 1998
II.Open Diary - 1998 – Where people used to come and add their entries and others used to read them and comment on them
III.Then came Live journal in 1999
IV.In 1999, Pyra Labs create Blogger
V.In 2003, Internet giant Google, bought Blogger and then the magic started happening
What Is Blogging
Every skill you need to run and manage a Blog is called blogging
Art of sharing your thoughts, knowledge, experience with others
Includes writing, editing, designing, SEO, Social Media Marketing etc
Building relationships with your readers and other Bloggers
Why you should Blog ?
I. If aim is Money = Quit Blogging
II.Successful blogs all have one thing in common – they improve people’s lives.
III.If your blog is to do the same, you have to determine what it is you can offer that can improve the lives of.
IV.Other people – what is your gift to give to the blogosphere?
V.Try to be a Problem Solver and money will start coming automatically
Why You Should BlogI. Its free & easy – Why not giving it a try ?
II.Help others by Sharing Knowledge
III.Eg Maths Teacher near my house, he has a blog, why ? Just for sharing knowledge
IV.Increase your writing skills
V.It's fun – Meet like minded people, attend blog camps. IndiBlogger Meets – Free Drinks :P
VI.You’ll be famous – Darren Rowse, Yaro
VII.Grow your business
VIII.Making Money
How Blogs Make Money
I. Print magazines make money by selling advertising. More the circulation, more the money
II.Blogs also make money through Ads Paid Posts / Sponsored Reviews Image Ad Slots & Text Links (Direct Ads) Affiliate Marketing Adsense & Similar Ad Networks
III.More Quality Traffic = More Money
IV.What is Quality Traffic ?
How To Choose Blog Idea – Niche Selection
I. Everything starts with RnD
II.Passion vs Profit
III. Bad Blogger will run after Profit
IV. Good Blogger will run after Passion
V. Profit = Find niche that people spend money in. Do not sell “ice” in Himalayas !
VI. Interest + Knowledge & Skills
VII. Create a Chart & Choose a Topic Wisely
Niche Selection Chart
I. Who are you ?
II.What gets you up in the morning?
III.What do you do for a living?
IV.What do you love to do?
V.What are your hobbies?
VI.What do you have passion for?
VII.What do you dream about?
Niche Selection Chart
I. What do you know a lot about?
II.What do you have a talent for?
III.What skills and abilities do you have?
IV.What do you know that’s both rare and valuable?
V.What are you experienced in?
VI.In what topics are you better than other people?
Niche Selection
Find a Topic: What are Your Interests? Work Experience Hobbies Education Personal Attributes
Niche Selection Tool
I. Amazon – Go to category and find best selling and top products
II.Udemy – Go to top courses
III.Adwords Tool
IV.Google Trends
V.Flippa - GoldMine
Niche Selection Tool
I. Amazon – Go to category and find best selling and top products
II.Udemy – Go to top courses
III.Adwords Tool
IV.Google Trends
V.Flippa - GoldMine
Choosing Blogging Platform
I. Many Blogging platforms out there
II.Best of the best Blogger – By Google WordPress – Com & Org
III.Both have pros & cons
IV.Lets discuss in detail:
Blogger – Why & When to use
Advantages
I. Its free
II.Provides environment to design your own templates/themes/designs
III.Provides unlimited bandwidth
IV.You can create unlimited blogs
V.No downtime
Disadvantages
I. Limited features
II.Not SEO friendly as WordPress is
Use Blogger if :
I. You do not have initial investment to start a blog
II.You are new to blogging
III.Not much technical – No Programming :(
IV.You want to start a personal blog
WordPress – Why & When to use
I. One of my favorite blogging platform
II.Most flexible blogging platform
III.Lots of option to customize your template
IV.Plugin feature makes it easy to add new features to our template
V.Best for professional blogging
VI.SEO friendly, Google loves WordPress
VII.Advance Level Options
Use WordPress if:
I. If you want to start a blog and you want to take it to the topmost level, I would recommend you WordPress blogging platform.
How To Choose Domain NameI. Dot Com – Recommended
II.Should match the topic of your blog
III.Easy to remember
IV.No hyphens
V.Check your domain with Archive.org
VI.Check if your domain is ban from Adsense or not
VII.Avoid Trademarks
VIII.Ban from Facebook or not
IX.NameCheap, BigRock & Godaddy
How to Choose Web Hosting
I. Initially go for Shared Hosting
II.Cheap & Reliable
III.Shared - HostGator & KnownHost
IV.Private Server – Digital Ocean
V.Go For Unlimited Space & Domain Plans
VI.Before buying, make sure it has Live Chart Support
Structure Of A Blog
I. Header Logo Ad Banner
II.Navigation Bar
III.Search Box – Google CSE
IV.Sidebar
V.Post Content Area
VI.Post Excerpts
VII.Footer
Essential Pages of a Blog
I. Home Page – Index Page
II.Post
III. Page
IV.Category
V.Archive
VI.Search Page
Blog Theme Selection
I. Blog design is called Theme / Template
II. 4 Types of Themes Minimal – Highly Recommend Magazine Style – For news site with very
high no. of articles per day Business / Corporate Themes Portfolio Themes
III. For blogging Minimal Magazine Style
Quality Of a Good Theme
I. White or light colored background
II.Good Typography – Open Sans
III.2 Column Theme – Recommended
IV.Fast Loading
V.SEO Friendly
VI.Genesis Theme (Recommended)
Blog Design Elements
I. Theme Color
II.Fonts
III.Header
IV.Post Content Area
V.Sidebar
VI.Comment Box
VII.Footer
Theme Color
I. Any light color
II.White background recommended
III.Never use dark background – low Avg time on site
IV.Color Combination Blue (Trust & Confidence) – Business Blogs Red – Excitement – Movies, Songs, Food,
Dating, Love Green (Natural) – Health, Nature
Font
I. Gotham : http://www.typewolf.com/site-of-the-day/fonts/gotham
II.Open Sans : http://www.typewolf.com/site-of-the-day/fonts/open-sans
III.Font size – 16 px or 18 px works great
IV.Font color – Dark on Light but not opposite
Header
I. Left Side = Logo
II.Right Side Banner Ads Social Icons Link to important pages Lead Generation Form Search Box
Navigation Bar
I. Link to Categories & Sub Categories
II. Search Box
III.Top Categories – Top Pages
IV. Link Ads
Home Page – Content Area
I. Post Excerpts
II.Thumbnails
III.Read More / Continue Reading
IV.Social Icons – Not Recommended
V. Date of Published Article
VI.Author Name & Pic – moz.com/blog
VII.Category
VIII.No. of Comments
IX.Pagination
Sidebar
I. Top – Social Icons
II.Subscription Box – FeedBurner by Google
III. FB Page Showcase
IV. Ad Slots
V. Related Articles
VI.Popular Posts
VII.Recent Comments – People like to be featured
VIII.Other Widgets
Post Page Inside
I. Post Title
II.Ads below title and above the content
III.Social Icons
IV.Author Name, Category, Comments
V. Relevant Image & Content
VI.After Content ends again Social Icons and Related Articles
VII.About Author Bio box
Footer
I. Least important area of a blog
II.But should be optimized
III.Includes small info about the blog
IV.Info about the blog owner
V. Links Important Pages
VI. Subscription Box
Before You Start a Blog
Mindset - Why you want to blog ?Blog TopicAwesome Blog NameBlogging Platform (I) Blogger (ii) WordPressBlog HostingBlog Template/Theme/DesignEssential Blog Elements
How To Get Post IdeasPillar Content – Eg. Mobile Site, daily changingAnalyze popular blogs – See what they're writing and add some extra value
Analyze comments on popular blogsUse forums helpdesk – Look for the questions and give solution on your blog
Write about latest newsWrite List ArticlesUse Delicious & Stumble Upon for post ideasInterview other famous people and publish it on your blog and see the magic
How To Get Post Ideas
Write “How To” ArticlesLook for problems around youWrite Curated ContentAsk your readers eg. BloggerBusterWrite about Product Reviews in your nicheCheck out trends in your niche and start writing on it. Google Trends
Check out keyword tool what people are looking in your niche
How To Write Blog Posts
I. You will need editors
II.Two Types In Built editor – Recommended Third Party – Like MS Word
How To Write Blog Posts
I. You will need editors
II.Two Types In Built editor – Recommended Third Party – Like MS Word
How To Write Blog PostWrite eye catching post title Make post title SEO friendly Short introduction – If intro is not good, no one is going to read the article.
Make it very simple & to the pointAlways write in points. No one reads long paragraphs
No grammatical and spelling mistakes Give relevant images & screenshots Use bullet points, Heading, Sub Heading
How To Write Blog Post
Organize the contentReaders should know, what is in the article in the introduction
ProperInterlink with other articles Ask for comments and feedback Is the content already written – Give Extra - Download my guide : How To Write High Quality Content
Include to CTA at the end
How to write blog post
I. Ask Questions in the post
II. Valuable content first. Eg. Mobile Review
III. Do not make it too long If its too long, divide it in series. Eg. CBI
Design Series, Traffic Series Ask for subscription and Audience will come again
How To Market a BlogLeaving comments on other blogs – If possible be the first one to comment – Everyone reads reactions – Eg FB
Reply to all your comments. Eg YouTube Channel : InHouseRecipes
SEO is the key to traffic Write Guest Posts Build audience through ForumsPodcastingWriting Case Studies
How To Market a Blog
Relevant Social Sites If Video site : YouTube If Image Blog – Pinterest, Reddit If Text Site – FB, StumbleUpon etc
Webinars – Gave me a good exposureLink Exchange with other bloggersBlog Engage - blogging community where all bloggers submit their latest blog articles for exposure
Blueprints
Make Money With Blog - Mindset
I. Not a simple process
II.Can take upto 6 months to 1 year
III.After you've good number of posts
IV.After you've a good design
V.After you've a decent traffic & audience
VI.Then think of making money
VII. Quality Traffic & Awesome Content is the key to make money online
Making Money With Blogs - Adsense
I. Simple & Effective Method – Adsense
II.Approval is difficult
III.Google Network
IV.Do not click on your own Ads
V.Do not ask anyone to click on your Ads
VI.Place Ads, optimize and let rest of stuff happens naturally
VII.Do not try to game the system
VIII.Try to be smart but not over smart
Making Money With Blogs – Ad Selling
I. Register your site on BuySellAds
II.Set a price
III.If advertiser finds your site useful, they will buy the ads slots
Resources
31 Days Build A Better Blog - eBook
HowToMakeMyBlog.com
BloggingCage.com
ShoutMeLoud.com
Blogging Mastermind Course – Blogging Course
CreativeBloggingIdeas.com
http://goo.gl/lVOHcc - How To Write High Quality Content
top related