BLOGGING BASICS

blog noun \ˈblȯg, ˈbläg\

a website that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer; also: the contents of such a site; short for Weblog; First Known Use: 1999

- Merriam Webster

why adv \ˈhwī, ˈwī\

for what cause, reason or purpose <why did you do it?>

- Merriam Webster

share knowledge and insightsshow passion for what we produceconnect with like-minded peoplecreate our personal brandsallow others get to know us better

OKAY, but ...

weblog

eblog to:

why adv \ˈhwī, ˈwī\

for what cause, reason or purpose <why did you do it?>

- Merriam Webster

?

drive traffic to our primary websitescontrol and elevate our brandsgenerate sales leadsposition ourselves as expertspotentially sell advertising on the blog

weblog

e (al$o) blog to:

The key? If we get the first set of reasons right, we don't have to try too hard at these last five. They just happen.

80% of social media users said they read blogs once or more daily

- Survey information collected from 1,400 respondents and presented in "The Science of Blogging" webinar by HubSpot's Dan Zarrella, social media scientist and author.

71% said

blogs affect their purchasing decisions

start verb \ˈstärt\

a: to cause to move, act, or operate <start the motor> b: to cause to enter a game or contest; especially : to put in the starting lineup c: to care for or train during the early stages of growth and development <started plants>

- Merriam Webster

Not an expert? You don't have to be. You just need to love your topic. Or at least like it ... a lot. Examples:

Learning how to cook Being a tech newbie Discovering music

Step #1: CHOOSE A TOPIC YOU LOVE

The topic can be as general or specific as you want (or as your depth of love allows).

So, what's love got to do with it?

It helps prevent boredom.If you get bored with your topic:

Your readers may not come back.

Bored writer = boring writingYOU may not come back.

Boredom kills momentum.

Ask yourself: Could I write at least 52 different things about this topic?

audience noun \ˈȯ-dē-ən(t)s, ˈä-\

a : a group of listeners or spectators b : a reading, viewing, or listening public c : a group of ardent admirers or devotees; following (More on THIS later!)

- Merriam Webster

Step #2: TARGET YOUR AUDIENCE

Step #3: PICK YOUR PLATFORM

WordPress.com

Blogger.com

Tumblr.com

There are several blogging platforms out there. For beginners, FREE and WEB-BASED are great to get your feet wet. Currently, the most popular are:

Posterous.com

Step #4: DIVE IN

Each of the platforms is different, from the design options available to the process for entering posts.

The best way to learn about the capabilities of your platform is simply to thoroughly explore the help section.

When all else fails ... read the instructions!

Themes: All platforms offer several choices among free, pre-designed themes to create the look of your blog.Subscription options: You can - and should - offer RSS and e-mail subscriptions for your readers on all platforms.Share tools: All platforms have a way for you to include social media sharing tools for at least Facebook and Twitter.

The Good News? It's still comparing apples to apples when it comes to:

Decide how much time you want to devote to the blog, short term and long term.

Set your initial goals conservatively. Try one or two posts per week, and plan to do that for six months. That's about 50 posts, maximum.

Step #5: BUDGET YOUR TIME

TIMING TIP: Most people read blogs in the morning, so posting by 10 a.m. is recommended.

Hoarding is okay when it comes to blog ideas. Go ahead, stockpile them. It's much better than, say, cats. Just be prepared to let them loose. Some tips:

Read other blogs, relevant to your topic and otherwiseUse Twitter. Use Twitter Lists.

Check out Listorious. You don't even have to have a Twitter account to peep in on lists they've already created.

Step #6: HOARD IDEAS ONLINE

Go low-tech and keep a small notebook and pen handy. Jot down your ideas when they come to you.

Step #7: KEEP A NOTEBOOK

In the interest of promoting technology, consider that most smart phones have "notes" apps. Those work, too!

Not "plugged in" at all times? That's okay: Despite popular belief, not all ideas will come to you online.

AWESOME IDEAS

Step #8: CREATE A POST CALENDAR

Paper calendars are fine, but Google Calendar works great, too. You can create a calendar just for your blog.

Devote a block of time for each post - an hour or so. Create the event and use the description field to record any notes about the post idea.

Keep holidays and seasonal themes in mind when plotting posts on your calendar. Not only will a calendar remind you about ideas later, but thinking seasonally can help you with ideas - and search rankings.

Step #9: CREATE GOOD CONTENT

- Albert Einstein

KISS: Keep It Short and Simple Use spell-check.Proofread for grammar.

Embed hyperlinks.Use videos and images.Use bold text and subheads in copy.

And just as important ...

When you blog,

YOU ARE THE STAR

...well, your voice is.A major difference

between blog content and content

on traditional websites is the style of writing.

Readers expect: Casual toneYour personality

So, you are the star, BUT if you want others to share your message, try not to be a

DIVA ...Notice the big "I" there?

Go ahead and shoot your "I"s out!Think of your posts as thesis statements. Simply assert your arguments. People DO want to hear opinions FROM you, if they care about your topic in the first place.

Tweets that have self-references are shared less. People who do that often have fewer followers.

- Study by social media scientist and author Dan Zarrella

You're Not Ralphie.

Step #10: OPTIMIZE YOUR CONTENT

Google uses approximately 200 factors to determine search ranking. Two of the most important are:

Effective identification and use of keywords in your copy. Here's a great article for doing just that. Quality links to your site (PageRank). Go after links from sites relevant to your content, especially ones recognized as "authorities."

SEO, in a nutshell: Considering how search engines (Google, Bing) work, and doing things to your site structure and content to push your content up the list of organic search results.

audience noun \ˈȯ-dē-ən(t)s, ˈä-\

a : a group of listeners or spectators b : a reading, viewing, or listening public c : a group of ardent admirers or devotees; following

- Merriam Webster

REMEMBER THIS? LET'S LOOK AT DEFINITION "C"

Share it on FacebookList the url in your InfoShare links to your posts

Share it on TwitterList the url in your profileTweet links to your post

Step #11: RUN AND TELL IT

Share it on LinkedInShare your post in an updateAdd the BlogLink application

Share it on FoursquareShare your post in a "tip" about a place, if you've actually shared tips about the place in your post.

Hmm ... That's a whole lotta sharin' going on ...

www.socialoomph.com

www.tweetdeck.com

hootsuite.com

Helpful resources to streamline your promotion:

Link to: Google Analytics

Step #12: TRACK YOUR TRAFFIC

Some of the blogging platforms, url shorteners and Hootsuite have built-in tracking mechanisms, but the simplest way to get a clear picture of your blog's popularity is:

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