4. Positioning Your Blog
Seven things your blog needs to
be successful
❑ Your Interest
If you aren’t interested in your blog’s topic, no one
else will be either. Choose a subject you care about --
one that you’ll want to share with others
❑ Your Expertise
The old adage “write what you know” applies to
bloggers as well. By being knowledgeable about your
topic, you’ll know who to interview, what resources
are available, and what questions newcomers to your
niche will want answered.
❑ Your Audience
Blogging is about building relationships. The better
you know your audience, the more you can serve
them, which will help your blog prosper.
❑ Your Topic
Not just any topic, but a well-focused topic. Think of
a common subject and come up with an uncommon
approach to it and you’ll have a winning blog. One
example is Julie & Julia. Cooking is common, but
blogging your way through a cookbook -- very unique.
❑ Your Marketing Plan
It takes more than compelling content to tip the
scales toward success -- effective marketing is vital.
❑ Your Time
Blogging takes time, yet it can be one of the most
gratifying experiences you will have.
❑ Your Control
This is my number one reason for insisting those who
are serious about blogging need a self-hosted blog. If
you’re on a free host, you don’t control your blog.
For more information about the items in this
section, please visit OnBloggingWell.com.
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5. Planning Your Blog
Picking everything from purpose
to platform
❑ Purpose
The first decision you need to make before starting a
blog is defining your blog’s purpose.
❑ Subject
Knowing your purpose for blogging will likely help
steer you toward choosing a topic for your blog.
❑ Niche
While not as important for personal blogs, a niche
within your subject is vital for a business blog. What
unique slant or “take” will you spin on your selected
subject? What does this audience want to learn?
❑ Name
Selecting a name for your blog is exciting. It’s a good
idea to have several choices in case one or more
domain names are not available. Simply go to a
domain registrar and type in the name you want.
❑ Platform
There are many to choose from but I highly
recommend WordPress.
❑ Hosting
Free hosting is an option picked by many beginning
bloggers, but I would encourage you to start off, even
from day one, to purchase a hosting plan and “own”
your blog rather than have a free service have control.
Most blog hosting packages are less than $10/month.
❑ Design
Your design choice will likely stem from your blog’s
topic. Look for a clean design that doesn’t distract
from your content or images. Cleaner themes also
load faster and are easier to optimize for search.
For more information about the items in this
section, please visit OnBloggingWell.com.
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6. Preparing Your Blog
Your pre-launch sequence
❑ First Posts
Before announcing your blog to the world, write five
“pillar” posts -- these are posts that are timeless and
will begin the buzz about your new blog.
❑ Content
You’ve probably heard the Internet adage, “Content is
King.” If you don’t have compelling content, all your
promotion and optimization efforts will have been in
vain. Online readers enjoy short, engaging, value-
packed posts. Read each post out loud before
publishing it.
❑ Headlines
If content is king, then a great headline is the crown.
Great headlines are a blogger’s best tool for
converting casual guests to regular readers. Blogging
experts suggest writing up to 10 headlines per post
and choosing the best one.
❑ Technical Stuff
Before the big launch, check things such as the speed
in which your theme loads and if it displays correctly
in the main browsers (Explorer, FireFox, Safari,
Chrome, etc.). Also check for broken links.
❑ Polish the PUGS
Do a final check on each post for Punctuation, Usage,
Grammar, and Spelling before clicking the publish
button.
❑ Preview
Use the Preview Post feature. Save your draft, then
click on the Preview button to make sure your image
looks good and the post is pleasing to the eye. White
space, bold sub-headings, bullets, etc., make it easier
to read.
For more information about the items in this
section, please visit OnBloggingWell.com.
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7. Launching Your Blog
Countdown to a successful
launch
❑ Fuel it for the launch
Write an schedule at least five pillar posts. Include
both external and internal relative links.
❑ Prepare your pages
Create an “About” page, and “Archives” page, and a
“Contact” page in addition to the “Home” page, plus
any other unique pages your blog will need.
❑ Employ Easy Access
Set up an RSS feed via Feedburner and create an email
newsletter subscription form. Offer a free gift (like
this report) for those who sign up for the newsletter.
❑ Build Relationships
Leave insightful comments on other niche blogs.
Invite guests to post and request to post on other
niche blogs. Include competitor links on your blogroll.
❑ Easy Advertising
Include your blog’s URL in your email addy, forum sig
lines. Create a Twitter account & Facebook Fan Page.
❑ Foil the Spammers & Invite the Spiders
Install & activate Akismet, then submit your site to
ping update services.
❑ Bookmark Your Site
Set up accounts with Digg, Delicious, StumbleUpon,
Technorati, free blog directories, and install a plugin
that allows guests to bookmark your posts.
❑ Make friends with Google
Upload the Ultimate Google Analytics plugin and set
up your blog with Google Analytics.
❑ Blast Off !
For more information about the items in this
section, please visit OnBloggingWell.com.
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8. Writing Your Blog
Penning your first posts and
beyond
❑ Pillar Posts
Pillar posts stand tall and support your blog. They
create buzz and bring in new readers. They are
timeless, directed at your niche audience, and are
always relevant and popular. The following items in
this section are examples of pillar posts.
❑ The How-To Article
When in doubt, teach. How-to articles are meaty and
readers often refer to them over and over again. Use
how-to articles to answer the questions your niche
audience frequently asks.
❑ The Definition Article
Definition articles, (Think: Glossary), are helpful to
readers who are new to your field of expertise. Each
niche has its own nomenclature, and explaining terms
that are unique to your topic will benefit newbies by
answering questions they may be too afraid to ask.
❑ The List Article
List articles remain some of the most popular among
blog readers of all niches. Use dot-point bullets or
numbers, keep the post between 300-700 words, and
include compelling headlines.
❑ The Technical Blueprint Article
Technical blueprint articles are an expansion of the
how-to article and may include graphs, images,
screenshots, or video to support the article’s text.
❑ The Argument Article
Bloggers who pose a unique thought or theory that is
in direct opposition to popular mindset of their niche
audience often create instant buzz and garner a lot of
comments. Many argument articles go viral.
For more information about the items in this
section, please visit OnBloggingWell.com.
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9. Enhancing Your Blog
Moving beyond the basics
❑ Plugins
WordPress offers a variety of plugins to enhance the
appearance and functionality of your blog. Most can
be found, installed, and activated through the
WordPress Dashboard.
❑ Widgets
In addition to plugins, including a widgetized sidebar
opens the door to countless options for your blog.
WordPress includes many prepared widgets. You can
also create custom widgets for your sidebar.
❑ Images
Second only to the headline, an eye-catching image is
what attracts the attention of guests and encourages
them to read your posts. Protect yourself by checking
the license agreement on any images you use that you
don’t personally own. (Note: Images included in this
report and at OnBloggingWell.com were purchased
from iStockPhoto but there are many free sources.)
❑ Video
Video is currently the fastest growing content delivery
method on the Internet. Traffic Geyser is an easy-to-
use video blast service that also provides dozens of
training videos on using video to increase your traffic.
❑ Podcasts
Creating periodic podcasts will allow your audience to
take your blog with them via an mp3 player. Podcasts
also enhance your bond with your audience because as
they hear your voice, they feel more connected to you.
Placing your podcasts on iTunes helps drive traffic.
❑ Forums
A community forum is a great way to build
relationships between you and your readers.
For more information about the items in this
section, please visit OnBloggingWell.com.
9
10. Promoting Your Blog
Online & offline tactics to drive
traffic to your site
❑ Friends & Family
Don’t get discouraged if your friends & family
members don’t read your blog. Unless they’re part of
your niche audience, they may not be interested. It’s
okay. Trust me.
❑ Brand Your Blog
Your brand seals everything together in one tight,
neat package. Every post, Tweet, product, or even
casual mention of your blog should relate to your
blog’s purpose & subject.
❑ Traffic Streams
Set up streams that lead traffic to your blog using
social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.), social
bookmarking (Digg, Delicious, etc.), articles, guest
posts on niche blogs, submissions to blog directories,
and offline word of mouth.
❑ Interact
Exchange blogroll links with blogs in your niche.
Leave insightful comments on other blogs. Invite
bloggers within your niche to guest post and offer to
submit a guest post on other blogs.
❑ Advertising
Enter the advertising realm with caution, as many
new bloggers have gone crazy with AdWords
campaigns before they knew how or when to do it.
Start slow and learn how to properly launch and run
an ad campaign before you break your bank.
❑ Pings
Automatic pinging services alert the web crawlers
whenever your blog has updates. Also, ask Google to
index your site when you’re ready to launch it.
For more information about the items in this
section, please visit OnBloggingWell.com.
10
11. Optimizing Your Blog
Making your blog easy to find
❑ Keyword Research
Tools such as Google AdWords Tool and WordTracker
can help you discover effective keywords and phrases.
❑ Links & Permalinks
Customize your permalink structure to make it easy
for both humans and search engines to understand.
Include “deep links” within your blog posts and
external links to relevant sources.
❑ Anchor Text
A very easy way to optimize your site is to carefully
choose your anchor text. Because the search engines
"see" the linked text, this is their only clue as to what
the link, and therefore, the site, is about. Use long tail
keyword phrases when writing anchor text.
❑ Choose the right platform
Search bots look for relevant text to properly index
blogs. If the code is cluttered, it’s hard for the bots to
distinguish code from content. WordPress has the
cleanest code and therefore, the lowest code to
content ratio, making it easier to be “read” by bots.
❑ Choose the right theme
All themes are not created equal. Back to the code
issues mentioned above -- cutesy, flashy, scripty sites
confuse bots and while some of those sites may look
cool, they are penalized in the search results because
of their code-overload. Plus, they often take longer to
load, which can irritate your human readers.
❑ SEO is a process, not an event
Use a plugin such as All-in-One SEO for WordPress
and optimize every post and image in your blog. SEO
is something you’ll continue throughout the life of
your blog. Luckily, most of it is quick and easy.
For more information about the items in this
section, please visit OnBloggingWell.com.
11
12. Protecting Your Blog
Security measures for every blog
❑ Prevent Spam Comments
The very first plugin all blogs should activate is
Akismet. It comes pre-installed on all WordPress
blogs and is hands-down the best comment spam
catcher in the blogosphere.
❑ Guard Your Directories
Few bloggers are aware of just how easily their
directories (especially themes and plugins) can be
accessed -- without even having your site hacked into.
You can prevent this by placing an empty
“Index.html” file within these folders.
❑ Backup Your Blog Regularly
Fortunately, this can be done automatically with the
WordPress Database Backup plugin. The plugin will
email you a copy of your backup at whichever time
interval you choose -- daily, weekly, or monthly.
❑ Always Update Your Blog
The WordPress development team must never sleep,
because updates are frequently released. Before
performing any updates to either plugins or
WordPress, though, make a manual backup.
❑ Limit Access to Hackers
Using your FTP program (such as FileZilla or Fetch),
download the .htaccess file from your server’s root
folder. Upload this file into your wp-admin folder.
❑ Remove the “Version String” from your blog
In your WordPress dashboard, go to edit themes >
header.php. Find and remove bloginfo(‘version’). Save
your changes. This makes it harder to hack your blog.
❑ Install WP-Security Scan
This plugin monitors many security aspects and
notifies you when something needs your attention.
For more information about the items in this
section, please visit OnBloggingWell.com.
12
13. Monetizing Your Blog
Using your blog to develop
income streams
❑ The Money’s in the List
That simple statement is the foundation of nearly all
marketing efforts. You must actively seek leads to
convert into list subscribers. I recommend using a
respected, professional service such as Aweber.
❑ Maintain a Relationship
Once people subscribe to your list, continue to feed
them great information that will build you up as an
authority in your niche as well as help them bond
with you. Online marketing is first and foremost
about building a trust relationship with your readers.
❑ List Building Tactics
Create a free report to give in exchange for your
prospect’s contact information. “Give away your best
stuff for free.” Seriously. This gets them into your
“marketing funnel.”
❑ Don’t Give It All Away!
Follow up your freebie with a more in-depth ebook
that supplements the information in your free report.
Promote your ebook to your list members. You can
then follow with a more in-depth, upscale product
such as a video ecourse or membership site.
❑ Advertising
Pay-per-click (PPC) is a great way to make money if
you know how to do it. If you don’t, it’s a great way to
spend money. You can also sell ads on your site once
your traffic is flowing pretty well.
❑ Affiliates & Joint Ventures
No product? No problem. Start making money by
helping others in your niche sell their products. This
builds relationships that can convert to joint ventures.
For more information about the items in this
section, please visit OnBloggingWell.com.
13
14. Monitoring Your Blog
Tips and tools to ensure your
blog runs efficiently
❑ Feedburner
Feedburner is a great email or RSS feed broadcasting
tool for your blog and provides good analytical data
about your readers, such as which posts are getting
read the most. Data like this allows you to write more
of what people want to read.
❑ Webalizer
Webalizer (available on your cPanel) provides stats for
Total Hits, Total Files, Total Pages, Total Visits, and
other useful information, such as search strings, etc.
❑ Google Analytics
Google gives even more information, such as your
bounce rate, how long individual guests stayed on
your site, and more.
❑ Change Alerts
Automatic alert services, such as the free service
changedetection.com, can alert you via email
whenever a change has been made to your blog.
❑ Comment Alerts
When you set up WordPress, the email address you
supply can be notified whenever a comment is being
held for moderation and/or a new comment has been
posted. These notifications enable you to interact
quickly with your blog’s readers.
❑ Heat Maps
A heat map tells you where the “hot spots” on your
blog are located. This is helpful when choosing where
to place key items such as a lead capture form or
advertising.
For more information about the items in this
section, please visit OnBloggingWell.com.
14
15. Maintaining Your Blog
Setting up a stress-free system
❑ Design a System to Your Needs
Include an editorial calendar, a time for research, a
time to write and schedule posts, search engine
optimization, and other elements you choose.
❑ Google Webmaster Tools
Webmaster tools allow you to monitor the
performance of your of your site in a variety of ways,
such as page load times, diagnosing potential
problems within your site, sitemap creation, checking
to see if your site has been hacked, suggestions for
improvements to make to your site, and more.
❑ Promotion: A Never-ending Story
In addition to your blogging system, a consistent
promotion plan is vital to the success of your blog. A
good rule of thumb is to do at least 5 things every day
to promote your blog.
❑ Conduct Periodic Tech Checks
Check for broken links, repair redirects, and perform
routine maintenance on other technical issues to keep
your blog healthy. A monthly check is probably
sufficient, but you can do it more or less frequently,
depending upon your blog and your available time.
❑ Maintain Your Relationships
Some bloggers begin without understanding the social
aspect of blogging. Interactions with readers and
relationship-building are the fuel that feeds your blog.
Without relationships, a blog will wither and starve.
❑ Stay Informed
Continue your blogging information with my soon-to-
be released eBook, The Ultimate Guide to Blogging
Well. An announcement will be sent to the email
newsletter list when the book is ready to purchase.
For more information about the items in this
section, please visit OnBloggingWell.com.
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