Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 3
Beyond the Book 3
Where to Go from Here 3
Part 1: Getting Started with Blogging 5
Chapter 1: Discovering Blog Basics 7
Making Yourself Comfortable with Blogs 8
How people use blogs 9
Recognizing a blog 16
Blog anatomy: Dissecting a typical blog 17
Starting a Blog 21
Choosing What to Blog About 23
Creating a Successful Blog 24
Setting goals 25
Writing well 25
Creating a calendar 26
Building community with comments 27
Designing for Success 28
Understanding themes 29
Knowing content types 30
Thinking about audience 30
Chapter 2: Entering the Blogosphere 33
Assessing Your Involvement 34
What level of commitment are you willing to make to blogging? 35
Do you like writing? Howâs your typing? 35
What will the blog be about? Is your blog personal or professional? 35
Do you think that your new blog might lead to new career opportunities? 36
How comfortable are you with sharing? 36
What Happens When You Publish? 36
Blogging Ethically 38
Telling the truth 39
Making mistakes 41
Handling dialogue 43
Keeping Your Job While Blogging 44
Blogging without Embarrassing Your Mother or Losing Friends 45
Understanding whatâs at stake 46
Protecting others in your life 46
Protecting Your Privacy and Reputation 47
Creating Your Brand 48
Communicating who you are 48
Hitting reboot 49
Chapter 3: Choosing and Hosting Blog Software 51
Having Your Own Domain Name 51
Picking a domain name 52
Registering a domain 54
Finding Web Hosting 57
Doing your research 58
Subscribing to web hosting 59
Deciding on the Right Blogging Software 61
Budgeting for software 63
Making sure you get the basics 63
Upgrading with bells and whistles 65
Understanding Hosted Blog Software 66
Reaping the benefits 67
Living with the limitations 68
Choosing hosted software 69
Understanding Blog Software That You Install on Your Own Server 72
Reaping the benefits 72
Living with the limitations 73
Choosing non-hosted blogging software 74
Installing blog software 77
Part 2: Setting Up Your Blog 79
Chapter 4: Starting a Blogger Blog 81
Starting a Blog with Blogger 81
Creating an account 82
Naming your blog 84
Using the Dashboard 86
Writing a Post 87
Adding a link 88
Spell-checking your text 89
Including an image 90
Publishing Your Post 92
Previewing your post 92
Configuring post settings 93
Launching your post 94
Viewing Your Blog Post 94
Selecting the Dashboard Settings 95
Making basic changes 96
Making comment changes 97
Making email changes 98
Customizing Your Blog 98
Choosing a new theme 99
Using the Theme Designer 100
Editing page elements 103
Chapter 5: Starting a WordPress Blog 107
Choosing between WordPress.com and WordPress.org 108
Starting a WordPress.com Blog 110
Creating an account 110
Using the dashboard 114
Changing site settings 114
Writing a Post 115
Customizing Your WordPress.com Blog 118
Selecting a new theme 118
Installing WordPress 120
Registering a domain 121
Selecting web hosting 121
Getting the software 122
Uploading the WordPress files 124
Setting up the database 126
Running the install script 128
Getting Familiar with Settings 130
Logging in 130
Setting up an Editor account 130
Using the Dashboard 132
Checking out the panels 134
Creating a Post 134
Customizing Your Design 136
Finding Out More about WordPress 137
Chapter 6: Creating a Squarespace Blog 139
Creating a Squarespace Account 139
Selecting a template 140
Choosing a site name 142
Adding Blog Content 144
Uploading images 145
Importing content from other platforms 146
Customizing and Connecting 147
Linking your social networks 148
Using the Squarespace sidebar 149
Chapter 7: Considering Other Blogging Platforms 151
Blogging with Wix 151
Writing with Weebly 155
Checking Out Additional Platforms 156
Part 3: Fitting In and Feeling Good 159
Chapter 8: Finding Your Niche 161
Deciding What Belongs on Your Blog 161
Parent blogging 163
Turning your offline hobby into a blog 164
Talking technology 165
Getting political with it 166
Reporting news 167
Revealing it all 167
Sharing a deal 168
Design, lifestyle, DIY â" oh my! 168
Living on less 169
Reading, writing, ârithmetic 170
Creating a super niche 170
Examining a new niche 171
Learning from the Pros 172
Lurking on other blogs 173
Participating by commenting 174
Reaching Out to Other Bloggers 175
Meeting in person 175
Attending conferences 176
Using social networks 176
Chapter 9: Creating Great Content 179
Knowing Your Audience 180
Finding your competitors 180
Discovering the secrets of success 181
Profiling your audience 184
Writing for a specific audience 186
Writing Well and Frequently 186
Being yourself 187
Finding rewards in lengthy posts 190
Remembering proofreading and editing 190
Relying on your content calendar 191
Drawing in Readers 195
Hooking with a headline 195
Turning to video and photos 195
Following whatâs trending 196
Joining the crowd 196
Listing with listicles 197
Grabbing readers with food 198
Serving the Reader 198
Giving them what they need 198
Giving them what they want 198
Creating content worth referencing 199
Getting linky with it 199
Overcoming Writerâs Block 200
Chapter 10: Building Community with Comments 203
Getting Interaction Going with Comments 204
Getting involved 205
Enabling comments 207
Managing Comments 208
Establishing community guidelines 208
Editing comments 211
Deleting comments 211
Moderating comments 212
Recognizing Spam Comments 213
Fighting Spam with Software 217
Protecting your comment form 217
Screening for spam 219
Dealing with Coverage on Other Blogs 222
Chapter 11: Blogging Anonymously 225
Deciding How Much Anonymity You Need 226
Going Anonymous 228
Establishing a pseudonym 228
Setting up a new email address 228
Choosing passwords 229
Starting your anonymous blog 230
Being time and location aware 230
Approaching Content Cautiously 231
Stepping Up Security 231
Understanding IP addresses 232
Using software safely 233
Keeping up 233
Resources 234
Part 4: Going Beyond Words 235
Chapter 12: Working with Photos 237
Keeping It Simple 237
Getting Equipped 238
Picking a digital camera 238
Choosing photo-editing software 240
Using Google Photos 241
Choosing a photo-sharing tool 242
Choosing Visuals for Your Blog 244
Taking photos 244
Using art from other sources 246
Editing Photos 246
Getting photos into Google Photos 248
Cropping a photo 248
Adjusting brightness and contrast 249
Adjusting color 249
Optimizing a photo for the web 250
Considering other photo-editing tools 250
Chapter 13: Starting a Podcast 251
Deciding to Podcast 252
Planning Your Podcast 253
Assessing the Tools 255
Dressing Up Your Podcast with Music and Sound Effects 257
Creative Commons Search 257
Magnatune 258
Freesound 258
Free Music Archive 259
Publishing Your Podcast 259
Assigning metadata 260
Choosing a format 260
Storing your podcasts 261
Delivering your podcasts 262
Promoting Your Podcast 263
Adding your podcast to FeedBurner 263
Adding your podcast to iTunes 264
Getting listed in podcast directories 265
Chapter 14: Diving into Vlogging 267
Defining Vlogging 267
Understanding why you should vlog 268
Discovering available vlogging platforms 269
Setting the Stage 270
Choosing the right equipment 271
Creating a vlogging space 271
Editing Your Vlog 272
Keeping it simple 272
Keeping it real 273
Promoting Your Vlog 273
Chapter 15: Leveraging Community with Forums 275
Deciding Whether Forums Will Work for You 276
Researching Software Options 278
Choosing between Free and Commercial Forum Software 279
Browsing commercial forum software 280
Perusing open-source forum software 280
Getting Finicky about Features 281
Installing Forum Software 284
Cultivating Community Standards 285
Part 5: Marketing and Promoting Your Blog 287
Chapter 16: Making Your Blog Easy to Find 289
Diving into SEO 289
Understanding SEO 290
Creating an SEO-friendly blog 290
Using SEO tools 291
Understanding SEO changes 292
Branding Your Blog 292
Telling them what youâre going to tell them 292
Showing them what youâre going to show them 293
Reaching Out with RSS 294
Getting the goods on web feeds 294
Breaking it down further 295
Generating web traffic 296
Creating a feed for your blog 296
Making the Most of RSS 297
Chapter 17: Getting to Know Social Networking 299
Thinking Strategically 300
Connecting with your audience 301
Selecting networks 301
Protecting your privacy online 302
Focusing on consistent branding 302
Creating opportunities for conversation 304
Prompting audience action 305
Getting Familiar with Social Networks 306
Friend-based networks 306
Hobby-based networks 308
Professional networks 309
Media-sharing networks 310
Informational networks 311
Location-based networks 312
Sharing It All 312
Chapter 18: Joining the Big Four Social Networks 315
Joining Facebook 316
Creating a Facebook Page 316
Using your Facebook Page 317
Understanding Twitter 319
Getting Started with Twitter 321
Signing up for an account 321
Tweeting 322
Exploring the settings 324
Tying your blog into Twitter 324
Getting Started with LinkedIn 325
Connecting through LinkedIn 325
Creating your LinkedIn account 326
Connecting through Instagram 326
Valuing the visual 327
Using Instagram creatively 327
Chapter 19: Measuring Blog Presence 329
Exploring the Power of Statistics 330
Knowing What the Statistics Mean 333
Hits 333
Page views 333
Unique visitors 334
Repeat visitors 335
Errors 335
Getting Web Stats 336
Choosing hosted statistics software 337
Choosing installable statistics software 337
Part 6: Getting Business-y with It 339
Chapter 20: Making Mad Mad Money 341
Finding Out How Advertising Works 341
Planning for advertising 343
Looking at the formats 343
Assessing business models 345
Joining an Ad Network 345
Putting Ads on Your Blog 346
Getting Paid to Post 347
Participating in marketing campaigns 347
Tying in social media presence 348
Blogging professionally 348
Making the Most of Affiliate Marketing 349
Amazon Associates Program 349
Rakuten Affiliate Network 349
Seeking Sponsorships 350
Negotiating a sponsorship experience 350
Setting boundaries 352
Accepting Gifts, Not Obligations 353
Viewing Your Blog as an Influential Platform 354
Chapter 21: Blogging for Companies 355
Putting Blogs to Work for Your Business 356
Considering the benefits of a business blog 356
Checking out businesses that blog 357
Deciding whether to blog 358
Planning for Business Blog Success 359
Setting goals 359
Choosing a blogger 360
Deciding what to write 361
Generating sales or action 363
Delivering with Technology 364
Enabling comments 364
Creating RSS/web feeds 365
Podcasting 365
Starting a wiki 365
Joining a social network 366
Advertising on Blogs 366
Going contextual 367
Advertising via ad networks 368
Sponsoring a blog 368
Leveraging LinkedIn 370
Part 7: The Part of Tens 371
Chapter 22: Ten Ways to Grow Community 373
Write Often 373
Listen and Respond to Readers 374
Visit and Participate 374
Guest Blog and Invite Guest Bloggers 376
Communicate via Email and Newsletters 376
Get Social 378
Involve Your Readers 378
Connect Offline 379
Go Mobile 380
Diversify 380
Chapter 23: Ten Things All Bloggers Should Do 381
Discover Your Voice 381
Stoke Your Muse 382
Survey Your Readers 383
Find Your Tribe 383
Know Your Traffic Sources 384
Set Goals 385
Define Success 386
Create a Monetization Plan or Not 386
Prepare to Grow 387
Know When Youâre Done 387
Index 389
