Blogging Basics and Tips

Eastern Visayas Federation for Information Technology
"SEO - Internet Marketing Training"
Blogging
by Victorino Q. Abrugar, CPA
Business 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.

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 – BloggingLesson 7 – Blogging: Introduction to blogging

The domain name
As shown in the logo :)
The blogger
The blog posts

Different types of blog by topic:
1. Personal blog
2. Business and finance blog
3. Political blog
4. Travel blog
5. Fashion blog
6. Tech blog
7. Design blog
8. Niche blog
9. Entertainment blog
10. News blog
11. Food blog
12. Health and lifestyle blog
13. Educational blog
14. Sports blog
15. Corporate blog
16. Religious blog
17. Art blog
17. Music blog
19. Photoblog
20. Videoblog or vlog
21. Non-profit blog
22. Humor blog

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.

Twitter as
a microblog
displays its users'
updates (short
140-character
texts and links to
images, videos
and websites)
from latest to the
newest.

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.

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.

Top 20 Blogs that Make a Lot of Money
Source: http://www.incomediary.com/top-earning-blogs

What are the benefits of blogging?
Lesson 7 – Blogging: Benefits of blogging

1. It can be
your source
of income.

2. It helps you
gain more
knowledge
in your chosen
topic.

3. It enhances
your writing
and other
blogging skills.

4. It develops
your SEO, SMM
and other Internet
marketing skills.

5. It gives you honor and fame.

6. It improves
your confidence
and helps you
gain a lot of
friends.

7. It gives you authority, influence,
and helps establish yourself as an
expert in your field.

8. It helps
your business
earn new
customers
and retain
existing
customers.

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

➔
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).

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.

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.

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...

➔
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.

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.

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

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

Examples of web hosting companies:
➔
Hostgator.com
➔
BlueHost.com
➔
Dreamhost.com
➔
FutureHosting.com
➔
ASmallOrange.com
➔
Linode.com

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.

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 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.

Example of 100 list that can attract traffic

Traffic spike courtesy of a result post

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

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!

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.)

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 monetize your blog

20 Ways to monetize your blog
1. Join advertising programs (AdSense, Infolinks, etc)
2. Get direct advertisers (banner and text ads)
3. Offer paid or sponsored posts
4. Offer your professional services
5. Sell merchandise
6. Sell digital products (eBook, Scripts, web templates)
7. Promote products from affiliate network
8. Promote products directly from affiliate programs
9. Offer blog mentoring or blogging services
10. Be a brand ambassador

20 Ways to monetize your blog
11. Offer email marketing campaign
12. Offer paid access to your premium content
13. Host sponsored online contests
14. Offer paid Facebook posts
15. Offer sponsored tweets
16. Create a forum on your blog (VIP membership)
17. Create a directory and sell featured listings
18. Offer public speaking services
19. Ask for donations or tips
20. Sell 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.

How did I get here?

Why did they share it?

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.

Thank you!
Links and references:
http://wordpress.com/
http://wordpress.org/
http://www.tumblr.com/
http://blogger.com
http://www.magnetsocialmedia.com/1/post/2013/02/15-blogger-statistics-2013.html
http://www.blogher.com/women-and-social-media-2012
http://www.invesp.com/blog/business/how-big-is-blogsphere.html
http://technorati.com/
http://www.incomediary.com/top-earning-blogs
http://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/

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