blog workshop 2013 - highland park public library
Post on 14-Sep-2014
985 views
DESCRIPTION
Why should you start a blog? Find out about easy blogging tools, how often to blog, and what to write in a blog. Do you write? Take photos? Run a business? Work for a non-profit? All or any of the above? Workshop explored both the technical aspects of blogging (how to set up a blog) and the social aspects (how to get and maintain readers). We also talked about on blogging for monetary gain as well. Many small businesses can benefit from running a blog. Presentation by Leora Wenger, library webmaster.TRANSCRIPT
with Leora Wenger
Highland Park Public LibraryJune 18, 2013
Why Blog?
Why Blog?• You love sharing writing• You love sharing photos• You have a business to promote• You get to meet people around the world• If you loved writing as a child, now is the time to go back to an old
passion. • You get to meet fantastic people.• It challenges your writing style and skills. • You can share the things that make you tick: food, books, films,
art, movies, maybe even religion or politics.• Blogging makes you see things differently as you start seeing them
through the eyes of your readers.
Content is King• Be prepared to invest the time to post on a
regular basis.• Write content which has NOT been seen or
read elsewhere and work to get other bloggers to notice you and your blog.
• Focus on one piece of information. A blog entry on a recipe on American apple pie can be identical to all others except maybe in how you make or decorate the top crust.
http://biz.leoraw.com/beginning-bloggers/
Importance of Commenting
• Meet other bloggers• Get links back to your own blog• Establish authority in your niche• Respond to comments on your own blog so
that you can meaningfully engage with your readers.
• CommentLuv plugin
Sample Comment Area
Blog vs. Website
• Blog consists of articles (called posts) and maybe a few informational pages. Blogs can be organized by categories and by tags. One might be able to view all posts in a set category on one page.
• Websites are often pages, possibly stores, event calendars, and more – they can include a blog (or blogs).
Make Money Blogging?
• Not at first - work on getting an audience
• Three methods:1. Sell your own product or services2. Sell someone else’s – ads on your site,
Google ads, affiliate marketing3. Set up a donation box (ex. use Paypal) –
works mainly for non-profit organizations.
Business blog example: http://www.ccwinsurance.com/insurance/blog/
Keep Up Web by Sherryl Perry
Platforms for Blogging
• Blogger• WordPress.com• Self-hosted WordPress <-my favorite• Tumblr• Google+• YouTube – video as a form of blogging? As a
complement to one’s blog.
Even if you use a free site like WordPress.com or Blogger, you may later decide you want to monetize. Be prepared.
Buy your domain
Why Self-hosted
• You own the blog (instead of borrowing space)• Lots of plugin and theme choices• Establish business authority – shows you take
your business seriously, and others should, too.
• Backups and ability to move blog to other hosts
Leora Wenger, Sketching Out bloghttp://www.leoraw.com/blog/
An example of self-hosted WordPress
SEO (search engine optimization)
• SEO is about getting higher ranking in search engines, especially Google
• On Page Optimization – title tags, key words, header tags, meta description
• Incoming Links or Link Popularity – one reason why Guest Blogging is so popular
• Promote a new service• Meet potential clients• Improve SEO for your site• Get feedback on your service or product or
your marketing efforts
http://biz.leoraw.com/benefits-of-a-business-blog-for-small-biz/
Set a Strong Password
• Use as many different characters as possible when forming your password. Use numbers, punctuation characters and, when possible, mixed upper and lower-case letters. Choosing characters from the largest possible alphabet will make your password more secure.
http://wolfram.org/writing/howto/password.html
About SEO
“Write for the reader, tweak for the search
engines.”
http://web-design-sussex-seo.co.uk/lsi-keywords-simple-yet-very-powerful/
Promote Your Blog
• Leave comments on related blogs – make sure to include a link back to your blog
• Use social media – Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn groups (such as Bloggers Helping Bloggers), Facebook. Even better than tweeting your own posts is when people like your content so much they tweet/share it.
• Be friendly to other bloggers.
Guest Posting
• Write a guest post for someone else’s blog• Allow guest posts on your own blog• Guest posting is a way introduce your writing
to new blog communities• It is also is a top way to get backlinks to your
website – crucial in this tough business environment.
Images for Blog Posts
• Best method: create your own. Take photos. Make illustrations.
• Other ideas: use public domain photos. Or use Creative Commons photos and give credit if asked to do so.
• See: http://biz.leoraw.com/explore-free-image-sources/
• Pinterest: images can be pinned for more traffic to your blog.
• Alt tags: important for SEO, visually-impaired• Be aware of lawsuits. Don’t use images illegally.
When you visit a new blog, read comments. Visit some of the blogs of those who are commenting. If they
comment on one blog, they might comment on yours.
Beware of Spam
• Akismet – comes with WordPress• If a comment has a funny sounding link and
the comment is so general and in no way relates to the post, it is probably spam. Delete it.
• Some bloggers employ CAPTCHA or click this to prove you are human plugins.
What Next?
• Exchange business cards and/or blog addresses with others in the room• Have fun with blogging – enjoy the
experience.