blogging basics and tips
TRANSCRIPT
Eastern Visayas Federation for Information Technology "SEO - Internet Marketing Training"
Blogging
by Victorino Q. Abrugar, CPABusiness Consultant and Editor of BusinessTips.Ph
Topic Overview
Introduction to blogging and the state of the blogosphere
Why you should blog: The benefits of blogging
How to make a blog that matters: Choosing your blogging platform, domain name, web hosting, genre, and style.
How to drive quality traffic to your blog: SEO, social media marketing and content marketing for your blog
The different ways to make money online through blogging
How to be a famous blogger
How to make your blog your business and how you can help other businesses and organizations through blogging
Lesson 7 Blogging
Topic Objectives
This lesson will enable trainees to: Know and understand the power of blogging.
Understand the importance of blogging and the benefits of being a blogger.
Learn how to create a professional blog and become a problogger.
Know the strategies, techniques and tactics to drive more relevant and quality traffic to a blog.
Learn the different ways to monetize a blog.
Learn how to become a famous and influential blogger.
Know how to make blogging your business or professional service.
Lesson 7 Blogging
Lesson 7 Blogging
What is a blog?
A blog is a website that is usually composed of regular blog posts displayed in a reverse chronological order. The authors or publishers of blog posts are called bloggers and the process of publishing or updating those posts is called blogging.
Lesson 7 Blogging: Introduction to blogging
In other words, a blog is...a website with a domain name and webhost
composed of blog posts (articles, news, images, videos and other content) displayed in a reversed chronological order, that is, from latest (recent posts) to the earliest (old posts)
maintained by a blogger (sole author) or group of bloggers (multi-author) who do the blogging
Lesson 7 Blogging
Lesson 7 Blogging: Introduction to blogging
Lesson 7 Blogging
The domain nameAs shown in the logo :)
The blogger
The blog posts
Lesson 7 Blogging: Introduction to blogging
Lesson 7 Blogging
Lesson 7 Blogging: Introduction to blogging
Different types of blog by topic:
Lesson 7 Blogging
Personal blog
Business and finance blog
Political blog
Travel blog
Fashion blog
Tech blog
Design blog
Niche blog
Entertainment blog
News blog
Food blog
Health and lifestyle blog
Educational blog
Sports blog
Corporate blog
Religious blog
Art blog
Music blog
Photoblog
Videoblog or vlog
Non-profit blog
Humor blog
Lesson 7 Blogging: Introduction to blogging
Top social networking websites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Tumblr and Google+ can also be considered as microblogs as they use the feature status updates which are also displayed in a reverse chronological order.
Lesson 7 Blogging
Lesson 7 Blogging: Introduction to blogging
Lesson 7 Blogging
Twitter as a microblog displays its users' updates (short 140-character texts and links to images, videos and websites) from latest to the newest.
Lesson 7 Blogging: Introduction to blogging
Lesson 7 Blogging
The State of Blogosphere
According to BlogPulse, there were more than 164 Million Blogs in July 2011, and 3 million blogs are added every month.
There are 116.5 million blogs on Tumblr.com now.
There are 67.3 million blogs on WordPress.com
There are over 60 million self-hosted blogs and website that are powered by WordPress.org
Google is not telling how many blogs are there that are hosted on Blogger.com (blogspot.com), but we can just estimate that there are about a 100 million of them.
Lesson 7 Blogging: Introduction to blogging
Lesson 7 Blogging
The State of Blogosphere
77% of Internet users read blogs
81% of U.S. online consumers trust information and advice from blogs.
61% of U.S. online consumers made a purchase based on blog recommendations.
79% of online shoppers spend 50% of shopping time researching products online
57% of companies with a blog have acquired a customer from their blog.
Lesson 7 Blogging: Introduction to blogging
Lesson 7 Blogging
Top 20 Blogs that Make a Lot of Money
Source: http://www.incomediary.com/top-earning-blogs
Lesson 7 Blogging: Introduction to blogging
Lesson 7 Blogging
Lesson 7 Blogging: Introduction to blogging
What are the benefits of blogging?
Lesson 7 Blogging: Benefits of blogging
1. It can be your source of income.
Lesson 7 Blogging: Benefits of blogging
2. It helps you gain more knowledgein your chosentopic.
Lesson 7 Blogging: Benefits of blogging
3. It enhancesyour writing and other blogging skills.
Lesson 7 Blogging: Benefits of blogging
4. It develops your SEO, SMM and other Internet marketing skills.
Lesson 7 Blogging: Benefits of blogging
5. It gives you honor and fame.
Lesson 7 Blogging: Benefits of blogging
6. It improves your confidence and helps you gain a lot of friends.
Lesson 7 Blogging: Benefits of blogging
7. It gives you authority, influence,and helps establish yourself as an expert in your field.
Lesson 7 Blogging: Benefits of blogging
8. It helps your business earn new customers and retain existing customers.
Lesson 7 Blogging: Benefits of blogging
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to make a blog that matters
How to make a blog that matters: Choosing your platform, domain name, web hosting, genre and style.
Blogging Platforms:
WordPress
Blogger
Tumblr
TypePad
Drupal
Joomla
Movable Type
Weebly
Livejournal
Blog.com
Squarespace
Custom
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to make a blog that matters
Blogger, Tumblr, Weebly, TypePad are examples of free hosted blogs.
Drupal, Joomla and Movable Type are examples of self-hosted blogs.
WordPress blogs can be either free hosted (WordPress.com) or self-hosted (WordPress.org).
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to make a blog that matters
Why use WordPress? WordPress is the most popular self-hosted blogging software powering over 60 million sites.
WordPress is used by most of the bloggers in Technorati's top 100 blogs.
WordPress is used by notable brands, such as CNN, Sony, The New York Times, Sony, eBay, Mashable, GM, UPS, Tech Crunch and Boing Boing.
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to make a blog that matters
Why choose a self-hosted blog? You can have full control on your blog.
You have the full ownership of your blog.
You can maximize your blog's monetization.
You can customize it the way you want it.
It is more challenging than a free blog.
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to make a blog that matters
The cost of having a Self-hosted WordPress Site
Domain name registration (TLD) = $10/year dotPH domains costs $70 for 2 years
Web hosting (shared starter) = $5/month web hosting can be shared, VPS, or dedicated server
WordPress software = free
Premium WordPress theme = $40 - $100 there are also free WordPress themes available
and your precious time and dedication...
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to make a blog that matters
To buy online you must usually have a credit card, debit card or PayPal fund.
For Filipinos, if you don't have a credit card, you can use Unionbank Eon Visa Card a debit card that you can use to shop online and verify your PayPal account.
There are also local domain name registrars and web hosting companies that accept bank deposits.
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to make a blog that matters
Tips for choosing the domain name for your blog
Use a .com if possible.
Use your company name or registered trade name if you are making a blog for your business.
Use your personal name if you want to build your personal brand.
Use a unique and short name like Yahoo, Google, WordPress, Bing, etc.
Use a generic name that is easy to remember.
Watch out for trademark infringement, domain squatting, and bad history of a domain.
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to make a blog that matters
Some of the most popular domain registrars:
Namecheap.com
GoDaddy.com
Dot.Ph the official registry for PH domain names
Hover.com
Name.com
1And1.com
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to make a blog that matters
Tips for choosing your web host.
Choose a host that offers CPANEL
Choose a host that offer free Fantastico or Softaculous for quick WordPress and other scripts installation.
Choose a host with good reviews online
Choose the right web host for your blog size
Choose a host that have an excellent customer service
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to make a blog that matters
Examples of web hosting companies:
Hostgator.com
BlueHost.com
Dreamhost.com
FutureHosting.com
ASmallOrange.com
Linode.com
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to make a blog that matters
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to make a blog that matters
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to make a blog that matters
What topic should I blog?
Blog on your expertise
Blog about your passion
Blog about your business
Blog about your customers or clients
Blog about your organization
Blog about your cause
Blog about things you want a particular audience to know.
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to make a blog that matters
Different Styles of Blogging
The story of my life style
The poetic eloquent style
The expert style
The newbie style
The whistleblower style
The critic style
The content curator style
The journalist style
The personal development style
The over-SEO style
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to make a blog that matters
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to drive traffic to your blog
1. Implement Content marketing Publish 101 post
Publish breakthrough post
Publish expert's how-to or tutorial post
Publish results post
Try controversial or intriguing post
Publish list of top 10 post
Write evergreen articles
Share personal development posts
Publish articles that are highly searched yet low in competition
Publish viral images, infographics and videos.
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to drive traffic to your blog
Example of 100 list that can attract traffic
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to drive traffic to your blog
Traffic spike courtesy of a result post
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to drive traffic to your blog
2.1 SEO your blog (on-page optimization) Use search-engine friendly URL
Use relevant and targeted meta tags (title, description and keywords)
Build a sitemap and submit to search engines
Optimize images and other media files
Avoid obtrusive ads
Improve site navigation
Improve internal links and outbound links
Customize your error or 404 page
Use SEO optimized theme
Do not over optimize
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to drive traffic to your blog
2.2 SEO your blog (off-page optimization)
Guest posting on relevant blogs
Contribute articles to article sites (eHow, wikihow)
Leave relevant comments on other relevant blogs
Join online forums
Submit your blog to blog directories
Join contests
Nominate your blog
Share documents to slideshare, Scribd, docstoc, etc.
Press release
Do not over optimize!
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to drive traffic to your blog
3. Implement social media marketing
Promote your blog on Facebook (Facebook page, group and personal profile).
Create pages on Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Foursquare and other top social media
Create videos for YouTube a other video sharing sites.
Join specific industry social websites.
Put social sharing buttons on your blog posts.
Analyze your social media insights (Facebook insights, Topsy, etc.)
Use catchy images for your thumbnail.
Write unique and interesting description when you share to social media sites (Facebook, Stumbleupon, etc.)
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to drive traffic to your blog
4. Build relationships online and offline
Interact with your blog's visitors
Help other bloggers
Share your knowledge
Meet your online friends personally
Watch out what you say on your blog and on your social media profiles (Facebook status, tweets, etc.)
Ask support from your family, relatives and friends.
Build relationship with yourself (mind, body and soul)
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to drive traffic to your blog
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to monetize your blog
20 Ways to monetize your blog
Join advertising programs (AdSense, Infolinks, etc)
Get direct advertisers (banner and text ads)
Offer paid or sponsored posts
Offer your professional services
Sell merchandise
Sell digital products (eBook, Scripts, web templates)
Promote products from affiliate network
Promote products directly from affiliate programs
Offer blog mentoring or blogging services
Be a brand ambassador
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to monetize your blog
20 Ways to monetize your blog
Offer email marketing campaign
Offer paid access to your premium content
Host sponsored online contests
Offer paid Facebook posts
Offer sponsored tweets
Create a forum on your blog (VIP membership)
Create a directory and sell featured listings
Offer public speaking services
Ask for donations or tips
Sell your blog.
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to monetize your blog
http://businesstips.ph/20-ways-to-make-money-online-from-your-blog/
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to become a famous blogger
Fame is actually inevitable if you will blog with passion, excellence, dedication, humility and generosity.
Influential people will naturally mention, feature and link to you if they will find your blog very interesting and helpful.
To be famous, you have to make your work famous. It must be unique, extraordinary and something that can stand out of the crowd.
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to become a famous blogger
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to become a famous blogger
How did I get here?
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to become a famous blogger
How did I get here?
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to become a famous blogger
How did I get here?
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to become a famous blogger
How did I get here?
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to become a famous blogger
How did I get here?
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to become a famous blogger
Why did they share it?
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to become a famous blogger
How did I get here?
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to become a famous blogger
How to make your blog your business and how you can help other businesses and organizations through blogging?
Lesson 7 Blogging: How to make your blog your business
To make your blog your business, you have to register your company or yourself (as a professional) with the government and pay your taxes.
You should also protect your brand and trademark by registering it with the IPO Phil.
As a professional blogger, you can help businesses promote their brand online, grow their revenue, and help them build good relationships with their customers.
You can also help other organizations to have a presence online and achieve their goals.
As a professional blogger, you have to blog with integrity and passion to help your audience and clients.
Lesson 7 Blogging
Thank you!
Links and references:
http://wordpress.com/http://wordpress.org/http://www.tumblr.com/http://blogger.comhttp://www.magnetsocialmedia.com/1/post/2013/02/15-blogger-statistics-2013.htmlhttp://www.blogher.com/women-and-social-media-2012http://www.invesp.com/blog/business/how-big-is-blogsphere.htmlhttp://technorati.com/http://www.incomediary.com/top-earning-blogshttp://www.100pinoyblogs.com/http://businesstips.ph/8-benefits-of-being-a-blogger/http://royal.pingdom.com/2009/01/15/the-blog-platforms-of-choice-among-the-top-100-blogs/http://businesstips.ph/100-ways-to-make-your-blog-stand-out-from-the-crowd/