BlogWritingCourse

I enjoy blogging.  Really, I do!  But it’s possible that I might not enjoy it quite as much if I didn’t have some terrific blogging tools that I have come to depend on.  I guess it’s sort of like a baker.  I’m sure he or she always enjoys baking - - but they probably wouldn’t like it QUITE so much if they didn’t have their favorite sifter, or their favorite cheese cloth or their favorite candy thermometer. 

Fortunately, I don’t have to imagine a world where I would have to blog without my techie tool kit.  That’s because many of the great programs and helps I use are absolutely free and as easy to get as a quick download.

1. My all-time favorite blogging tool - - hands-down - - is Windows Live Writer.  I write several different blogs, and Live Writer keeps track of them all.  I write my posts within the software, and it has automatic saving capabilities as I go - - no more lost blog posts!!  Images are a snap to include in posts, which is a lot more than I can say for the interfaces within either Blogger or Wordpress.  And there are tons of plug-ins which provide no end to the other cool things I can do to my blog…generate tags, create Polaroid-style images, link up with my Picasa albums…you name it, Live Writer can probably do it!
2. Another trick that makes blogging easier is the terrific “Share This” add-on for Firefox.  Seeing something on the web that you want to blog about is now as simple as clicking on the “Share This” button in your browser and choosing your blog host.  (you can also share content immediately in dozens of other ways including Twitter, MySpace, Digg, and even by email)
3. I’ve recently become very impressed by the GetSocial application.  GetSocial is a simple social bookmarking tool that will generate a code for each blog post you write so that readers can easily share YOUR content with others via several different bookmarking options.
4. This probably isn’t news to you, but Google rules the world.  And sometimes, with good reason.  There probably isn’t any better analytical tool for finding out how your blog is doing than Google Analytics. It’s accurate.  It’s comprehensive.  And it’s free! What’s better than that??
5. Is your blog content worth saving?  Hopefully, you are all nodding your head “yes” out there.  If you are, then you should know about Web2PDF.  This service allows you to embed a cool tool on your blog so that readers can save or print your articles as pdf files.  It also keeps track of how many people are using the service so you can know which parts of your blog are the most helpful to others.

Yes, you could make an apple pie without your handy-dandy apple peeler/corer/slicer.  But why would you???  I wouldn’t.  Just like I wouldn’t want to blog without these handy-dandy blogging tools.  If you have any favorite tools for blogging that have served you well, why not share them in the comments!

Until Next Time,

The mysterious widget.  It sounds like something right out of a conversation between Piglet and Pooh, doesn’t it? 

Piglet: Oh, d-d-d-dear.  I think I just saw a widget flying by my window!”

Pooh:  Was it holding my missing honey jar, perchance?

Despite it’s strange name, however, the widget (also called a “gadget” by Blogger users) is a quite important piece of the blog puzzle.  Whereas blogs might be thought of as simply websites containing scrolling pieces of writing from most to least recent, the truth is that today’s blogs are so much more.

HTML and Javascript coding have introduced all sorts of possibilities for blogs - - even those hosted on free blog hosts!  As long as a blogger has access to blog settings, he or she can add any number of things to their sidebar.

Here are some popular options for sidebar widgets:

• Picture of the blogger or a graphic representation of the blog
• “About Me” information to get more background on the blogger
• Subscription information, such as how to subscribe to the blog via email or RSS
• Blog Archive – a history of the posts from most recent backwards, usually organized by month
• Search box for being able to search the blog by keyword
• Category listing for grouping blog posts by topic
• Advertisements such as Adsense ads or individual ads
• Links to blogs the blogger enjoys reading or wants to promote - - often called a “blogroll”

Depending on the blog software you use, inserting a widget into the sidebar, can be as simple as clicking on a box and typing in some text, or as complicated as completely coding every line of CSS script.  Most of the mainline blog hosts make it a very easy process, though. 

This ease of use DOES have a downside, however.  Newbie bloggers can often make the mistake of OVER-using widgets and cluttering up their sidebar so much that they detract from the blog posts themselves.  Be wise with your use of widgets and make sure they are inherently tied to the theme of your blog, and not so graphically “tacky” that readers are turned off by the visual clutter.  Try to find a balance between providing helpful information and remaining aesthetically pleasing.

So go ahead…have some fun with those widgets.  That’s what Pooh would do!

Until next time,

It has been an exciting week of lessons at Blogging 101!  This was the week to focus on blogging safety, including how much information each blogger feels comfortable sharing on their blog.  This always depends heavily on the type of blog you have, so of course business bloggers usually will share a lot of information, whereas mom bloggers keep things a little closer to the vest.

Another thing we focused on this week was creating an effective “About Me” page.  This important aspect of a blog is sometimes located on its own page of the blog, but other times is handled right within the blog sidebar.  Our students for this session had a mixture of ways of going about this task.

The final task of the week was exploring blog design a little more closely.  We gave comprehensive instructions for how to use a customized header to draw attention to your blog, and a few of our students have really created headers to be proud of!!

In week four, we will actually begin the process of writing, and creating quality content for our blogs.  We will also dig a little deeper into blog graphics and design and how they can make a big difference in how our blog is received.

If these activities sound like something you would be interested in, then head over to the left hand sidebar, and add yourself to the waiting list for the next Blogging 101 session.  I look forward to seeing you there!

Mark your calendars, and register today, because the next round of Blog Writing 101 is scheduled to begin on Monday, October 12.  If you have been thinking about signing up for this course, now is the time. 

This course is perfect for anyone who has been thinking they would like to start their own blog, but weren’t sure where to start.  Or for those who have begun a blog, but would like to know more about design, sidebars, promotion, and building traffic.  Anyone who would like to write and build a more effective blog, this course is for you!!

To find out more about the course, check out Blogging 101.  Or you can simply head over right now and register for the course! 

Hope to see you there…

I did NOT jump on the bandwagon of the Julie and Julia craze during the book stage of the process.  I was one of those pop culture Cinderellas who arrived VERY late to the ball and didn’t know anything about this story until I saw it on a movie trailer.  But WHAT a trailer!  I was immediately hooked and simply knew I HAD to see this movie when it came out.

I’m a movie theater snob, however, so I did not go see it at the multiplex, but rather waited until it was showing at my favorite fine arts theatre where you can order wine and dinner with your movie and enjoy every last delicious morsel in the most leisurely of ways.  What better way to watch Meryl Streep and Amy Adams create on-screen magic??

What is really interesting is that even though I had the general idea that this movie was about blogging, I in no way realized just exactly how blog-centric it was going to be! It was a delightful surprise - - especially because the story seemed to take place during the germinal stages of blogging when growing a blog audience was probably even more exciting than it is today.

But the best thing about the movie?

It reminded me that there is no subject too specific - - too specialized to blog about.  And that is great news because it means that ANYONE can start a blog. 

That’s right.  You have a rubber band collection?  Blog about it.  You dream of becoming an opera singer and you are tone deaf?  There’s a blog in that.  You are Jimmy Hoffa’s biggest fan?  Go for it!  You knit booties for kittens?  Hey, so maybe it’s not my thing, but I’m sure there are plenty of kitty-lovin knitters that are anxious to hear about your exploits.

Bloggers aren’t born, they are made.  From the diversity of the human spirit.  From the melting pot of ideas that swirl around our heads and are aching to get out.  Maybe you don’t need to blog through Julia’s entire cookbook, but I’d wager there is something on your mind. 

Today could be the day that YOU become a blogger.  Why not???

Until next time,

If you would like information on how to start your own blog, check out the free online blogging course at BlogWritingCourse.com.

One of the coolest aspects of blogging is the creativity it inspires. 

The shift toward Web 2.0 has made each person with computer access an active participant in this changing world.  We have things to say.  We have opinions and ideas on how things are, and how they ought to be.  And we have the ability to network with other people who share our same worldview.

This immediacy can be the perfect birthplace for incredible inspiration! 

For instance, a blogger who is passionate about local food may start a blog about his favorite farmer’s markets and tailgate markets.  Another local foodie may be blogging about the best restaurants in the region.  And yet another blogger is busy posting all the great family-owned businesses in the area.  These bloggers, who will probably quickly happen upon each others blogs, and begin networking, may soon come upon the idea of helping local farmers link up with local restaurants and markets in order to distribute the freshest foods at the most reasonable prices.  It is a win/win situation for everyone - - thanks to some forward-thinking bloggers!

Other examples of this type of positive blogging include the SochiReporter project.  Sochi, Russia is slated to host the Winter Olympics in 2014.  In preparation for this event,  a seminar was created for some of the top journalism and IT students from local universities.  The focus of the seminar was helping these young men and women, many of whom had never blogged before, to cover all different aspects of the preparation that goes into readying a city for the Olympic stage.  The students will be reporting on the changes in their city from their own unique perspectives.  It is likely to be a one-of-a-kind project with fascinating results!

Then you may have also heard the story of a missing teenager from Denver, who was reconnected with her family this past April thanks largely to the efforts of bloggers and twitterers.  Notifications of the Amber Alert connected with the teen went out far and wide across the World Wide Web to help locate the missing girl. 

These are all just examples of how blogging can draw people together for a common cause.  If you have been thinking of blogging as a solitary activity taking place in one room from one computer, and going out to the faceless abyss, it is time to reconsider!  Every person sitting behind that keyboard and screen is interwoven in a complicated and beguiling mesh of thoughts, ideas, and potential for positive change.

Wouldn’t you like to become part of something like that??

Until Next Time,

One of the students I had the pleasure to teach in our most recent blog writing course was a dear lady across the pond who has a penchant for karate.  Sue was an enthusiastic student who quickly caught the blogging “bug” and has been consistently writing and growing her blog.  You can find her martial arts themed blog at Kick Ass SueC.

The following is a recent interview that I did with Sue to follow up with her and see what her experience with blogging has been like since the completion of the course.

First of all, tell us a little bit about your blog, and the types of things you write about.

I write a martial arts blog. This is very much a student’s perspective of learning a martial art as I am still working my way up the coloured belts towards black belt. However, I try to avoid it being merely a training log as this would be boring – even to other martial artists!  Some of my posts may focus on a particular technique I am learning or have difficulties with, or I may talk about some wider issues in martial arts such as problems with women’s self-defence courses or whether women should train with men. Occasionally I write articles about some aspect of Japanese culture or on some historical aspect of karate. I’m basically looking for meaning in what I am doing and trying to put my martial arts training into a wider historical or philosophical context. I hope that doesn’t make it sound too heavy and serious – I try to touch on some of these subjects with a bit of humility and humour.

What got you interested in blogging?

I originally got interested in blogging as a means to self-publishing my creative writing efforts, which is my other hobby. I write short stories and poems. However, having looked into how blogging works and the fact that successful blogs usually require you to post regularly (3-4 times a week) I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep it supplied with new and original material. I decided to test the waters out with a martial arts blog instead – not much different hey! I love writing my martial arts blog so much that I don’t now intend to start a creative writing one. However, I still like creative writing so as a compromise I have just recently added a new feature to my side bar called ‘Hooked on Haiku’, in which I am attempting to write a daily haiku poem (on a martial arts theme of course!)

Now that you have been blogging for a few months, how about looking back on the Blog Writing Course, and tell us how it did (or didn’t) prepare you for the world of blog writing?

I stumbled on the Blog Writing Course by accident. I had just set up my blog the week before and came across a post from an ex-BWC student who said the course was enrolling again. I enrolled immediately because I had realised that I was out of my depth a bit and needed some help to develop my blog. I wish now I’d started the course first – then I may have chosen a different name and URL for my blog! The course though has given me numerous tips and advice on how to improve the appearance of my blog, how to make the side bar an interesting adjunct, how to collect stats, how to publicise my blog and bring in traffic. I’ve learnt the importance of illustrating posts with pictures or videos and how to keep safe whilst blogging.

What was your favorite part of the course?

My favourite part of the course was communicating with the other course members – giving and receiving comments on each other’s assignments.  As bloggers we were all natural communicators and so we all tended to bend over backwards to be helpful to each other. We managed to develop the sense of community that we all hoped to experience through our own individual blogging experiences. So in that sense communicating with each other through the course was like a trial run for learning to communicate with our fellow bloggers in the blogosphere.

How do you think the experience you are having now with your blog would have been different, if you had tried the process from scratch on your own?

Well to be honest I did start the process from scratch on my own but soon realised a bit of help and guidance would be useful! If I hadn’t then enrolled on the course I think my blog may be less well organised, probably less aesthetic and much harder for people to find. The information provided on the course is out there on the web if you look for it but you would have to make the time and effort to find it yourself. The advantage of this course is that everything you need to know is all in one place and includes links to all sorts of other useful websites that you can continue to use well after the course has finished.

What has your experience been so far with drawing traffic to your blog?  Have you put any of the traffic-building suggestions from the BWC to use?

I have a small core of people who visit my blog often and have put me in their blog roll and regularly leave me comments.  Some of them have registered on my site as ‘followers’ but not all of them. However I also know that I have a much larger group of people who visit less frequently but do return from time to time. I also know that hundreds of people have just read a specific post that they found via a search engine. I know that 75% of my readers have come back more than once and I know which town and country they have come from. How do I know? I have registered with statcounter who record this information for me to see. I have also registered with about 6 ‘blog register’ sites and I know people have found me through this route. I also installed a visitor map in my side bar which enables me to see at an instant where all my traffic comes from and I’ve had visitors from every continent (except Antarctica) which is amazing!

Has the blogging experience been positive so far?  Do you see yourself continuing to blog, at least into the near future?

The blogging experience has been very positive for me so far. As well as writing my blog I love reading other peoples blogs as well. I think it is fascinating to discuss topics with other like-minded people from around the world. I often leave people comments and love receiving comments from other people which I always follow up or leave a thank you. I have come to see my blog as part of my martial arts training, broadening my horizons but at the same time providing me with a tool with which to think and analyse my training efforts. So for me it is a way of looking both inwards at myself and reaching out to the wider martial arts community. I will definitely be continuing blogging in the near future.

A big thanks to Sue for participating in this interview!  If you would like to follow Sue, or any of our other blog writing graduates, check out our list of BWC Alumni on BlogWritingCourse.com.    And if you would like to find out more about our Blog Writing Course, click here to see how our eight-week course can help you get your new blog up and running. 

A recent marketing webinar I attended made a statement that caught me off guard.  It stated that the next biggest trend in marketing would be in the form of video.  For some people, (myself included) this is a terrifying statement.  Eventually that might mean that at some point, to promote myself or my work, I might actually have to be on camera.  Perish the thought! 

But for other people, the idea of sharing their opinions, thoughts, and advice on camera is a totally natural thing.  They don’t feel the least bit intimidated by that lens in front of their face, and are happy to have their fifteen minutes of fame. 

For those people, starting a video weblog might be the perfect choice.  A video weblog - - or VLOG - - is simply a way capture video either via webcam or camcorder and then syndicate or attach that video to a RSS or ATOM feed.  Just like a traditional weblog, these vlogs must have a theme, a title, and a host. 

But finding a host for a vlog, is a slightly different process.  Although traditional blogging hosts such as Wordpress and Blogger allow for embedded video, you will still need to find a separate host for the videos themselves.  The choice of host mostly boils down to what you want to include on your vlog.  Some hosts are strictly video-only, while others allow for more multimedia content such as text and graphics.

A video-only vlog can be as simple as opening up a new channel on YouTube.  By posting specific videos from your playlist to your profile page, and then adding a title and any comments you want to make about it, you can officially and easily start a vlog!  For more multimedia style videos, you will need access to a good video editor, such as Windows Movie Maker or iMovie, and you will need to consider the features of the hosting site such as:

• video storage space
• privacy and copyright policies
• monetization

Then once your video is created and hosted, you will want to make sure it gets some attention, so you will syndicate your content.  Sites such as Feedburner provide a service just for this purpose and will help you enable your feed for podcasting.

Once your video is recorded, edited, and posted, then all you need to do is promote it.  This process isn’t all that different from promoting a traditional weblog in that you will want to make sure to add searchable tags to each post, listing your vlog with appropriate directories, submitting your podcast to iTunes, add a signature with your vlog address to any outgoing emails, and visit and comment on other video weblogs. 

If you are not camera shy, and have access to a quality camcorder and video editing software, and have something you think needs sharing with the world, then starting a video weblog may be the right course of action for you!

Until next time,

That is a common question when it comes to blogging. “Why do *I* need a blog? I am just a (insert profession/hobby here)!” The truth is,  blogging is a fantastic way to get yourself/ your product /your thoughts “out there” and it doesn’t take any knowledge of programming or coding! All you need to have is something to say! If you’ve ever had the desire to run your own web site, a blog is your chance!

Take BlogWritingCourse’s free PreCourse to find out if blogging might be something you could get hooked on.

When folks are just starting out in the big, unfamiliar world of blogging, the first thing on their list of concerns isn’t usually search engine optimization.  First time bloggers just want to be able to get a few blog posts under their belt, not worry about keywords and permalinks.

But a forward-thinking blogger will do well to learn some of the basic elements of SEO before creating their new blog.  Why?  Because every new blogger wants people to visit them, right?  And unless you’ve got friends and family coming out of the woodwork and knocking your door down to get a chance to read your blog, then you are going to depend heavily on search engine traffic to build your blog audience.

So what do you really need to know as you build your first blog?

1. What keywords are the most popular for your blog theme?  If you are writing a blog about your favorite television show, for instance, you want to find out what terms people use most when searching information about that show.  Programs such as Good Keywords or Google Adwords are immensely helpful with this.  Once you have determined the relevant keywords, be sure to use them often in your blog posts, and in your post titles.
2. Use images and tags that are appropriate to your theme.  Search engines favor images and captions that tie in well with your blog theme and keywords.  And photo sharing sites that allow for tagging, such as Flickr, are one of the best sources for your photos.  If you create links back to your blog on the photo sites, you are creating yet another inroad for your blog.
3. Knowing when to use bold and italic fonts when learning to blog.  Search engines give weight to words that are in bold and italic print.  So when you want to emphasize certain keywords or search terms, highlight them with these features. (But be careful not to go overboard with this technique - - readers can get overwhelmed by too much “emphasis.”)
4. Give thought to your blog design.  When you pick out a blog host or blog theme, one of the most important features as far as search engines are concerned is the presence of your navigation tools on every page.  Make sure that your sidebar content is accessible from all areas of your blog, especially your archives, and previous posts.

This is just a basic introduction to making your new blog search-engine friendly, but there is much more than SEO to creating a successful blog.  If you want a more thorough introduction to the world of blogging, why not sign up for our free “Get Ready to Blog” course?  This automated online course is packed full of information that will help you get started in your new blogging venture.  Sign up today!