Get Your Blog On

An Introduction to BloggingBy

Paul Martinez

Blog: paulpowered.com Twitter: @phxwebguy

Why Blog?

• Promotion of a cause or a business

• Record your thoughts or ideas• People are searching• Create relationships• Sharing

Questions for Prospects

• Are you self motivated?• Do you enjoy writing?• Are you open to feedback?• Are you well organized?• Do you have the time?

Choosing Your Topic

• Casual versus business purpose driven

• Hobbies or pastimes• Amount of knowledge and

research• Enough content on the topic

Choosing Your Topic

• Tied to income– Direct– Indirect

• Competitive landscape– Growing– Shrinking

Choosing a Blog Platform

• Are you using a CMS for your site?• Do you wish to integrate the blog

with your current site?• Is the blog going to be at its own

location?

Choosing a Blog Platform

• Hosted versus non-hosted solutions

• Movable Type• Typepad• Blogger• WordPress

Choosing a Domain Name

• Easily recognizable• Tied to your topic• Intended audience• Tone of the blog• Keyword based• Branding

Joining a Blog Network

• Pros– Increase visibility– Build relationships– Additional traffic– SEO Benefits– Increase your level of expertise

Joining a Blog Network

• Cons– Ownership rights and loss of control– Additional risk of exposure– Complicated legalities– Advertising requirements

Writing Tips

• Have an “Idea Box”• Stick to your schedule• No such thing as too many drafts• Invite guest writers• Write often and for other blogs

Reading Tips

• Read blogs on similar topics for ideas

• Create alerts• Subscribe to newsletters• Subscribe to feeds

Comments

• Read and respond, don’t just moderate your comments

• Commenting on other blogs• Handling comment spam

Driving Traffic

• Featured articles• Get listed• Strategic partnerships• Syndication• Promote your site feed

Blogging Resources

• problogger.com• bloggingtips.com• wordpress.org• phxwptraining.com

Questions