Blogging software news

Saturday 24 December 2011

Why Creating an Editorial Calendar Should Be a Priority

You run a blog, and it is great. While it used to be a simple hobby, usually seen more as a personal journal on the web than anything of practical use, there are endless opportunities that come along with today’s blogging system.

All of this includes a great deal of exposure, even if you are just starting out. Changes in search engines have brought the smallest of blogs onto everyone’s radar.

Most of your concern is going to be divided between content and marketing. These two factors will dictate whether or not you are being followed by a large-enough number to make it a business. If you are a freelancer of any description, it could also be what makes all the difference between getting and not getting that dream project. It is your livelihood at stake.

But it isn’t the only concern. Organization and discipline are two must’s of running a blog; otherwise you see unprofessional jumps and gaps in both quantity and quality of content that can ruin your chances of developing a dedicated following. That is the death of any mainstream blog, no matter the niche.

The trick is knowing what else should remain a priority. One of those elements to put on your to-do list is the creation of an editorial calendar.

What Is an Editorial Calendar?

As a blogger, there is a good chance that you have heard of this before and that you are asking the most common question: Isn’t an editorial calendar only used by advertisers who place ads on your blog?

This is a common misconception that trips many people up. Although an editorial calendar is the method of organization found to be very useful for advertisers looking to customize content running alongside posts, there is a greater implication for both the writer who maintains
the site and the readers who read it.

Essentially, an editorial calendar is a schedule that shows when you will be running certain posts, when and what topic they will cover. Not only does it make it easier to keep up with a series, space out content to work over time and give you a way to tell what is coming up, but it forces you to use discipline in the running of the blog. It might also keep you on track, if you have trouble establishing a content flow.

The Pros and Cons

Besides those listed above, there are other pros of using an editorial calendar. A lot of it has to do with finding the motivation to get work done while establishing a set schedule that requires a certain number of hours per day.

For example, say you want to run a series and have that series feature one article every other day for two weeks.

You would be able to write them ahead of time, knowing what you had planned, and then schedule them for publication on those days. This would cover two weeks worth of content, with writing only a couple of days a week to handle the work flow.

As for your readers, they can have the benefit of knowing what is to come. More and more blogs have been putting notes about "coming soon" articles on the bottom of current posts, especially if they are part of the same topic. It is much easier to remain relevant to the same content and give your readers consistency using this method, which in turn is a positive for them.

There are some cons to this process, however. The biggest one will always have to do with creativity and flexibility vs. the strict following of any schedule. Some writers find deadlines restrictive, and they end up compromising quality in order to keep to it.

You should never be tempted to follow so closely to an editorial calendar that you end up producing something less than great for your blog. It will give a serious blow to your credibility while lessening the impact of your website and putting the rest of your content into question – especially with future clients or other blogs looking for guest posts.

Creating Your Own Editorial Calendar

I have seen a lot of advice on this front, and all of it is good. But the truth is, you don’t have to have any specific process to making your own post schedule. All it really takes is some thought and asking yourself a couple of questions:

What categories do I want for my blog? Try not to have too many to start out with and clean up if you have a lot already. You can add more as you go along, but the more general they are, the better.
What kind of posts do I want to write? The themes will be another big part of the schedule, such as top 10 lists, tutorials and guides, reviews, posts on specific elements within your niche, etc.
What kind of tags should I use? Developing a specific tag system will help you in the long run.
When and what should I publish? You should decide now on what days you want posts to appear and what they should be about. For example, have top 10 lists once a week, a guide once a week, a short post twice a week and a review once a week. Then choose what days for each.

Conclusion

Creating your own editorial calendar is fairly simple to do. All you have to really know is what you want and make something to fit to those needs. There isn’t a right or wrong way, only what works and doesn’t work for you and your blog.

Sonia Tracy is the content editor for PsPrint and editor of PsPrint Design Blog. PsPrint is an online commercial printing company specializing in brochure printing. You can follow PsPrint on Twitter @PsPrint.

Friday 23 December 2011

Blogging Pro Job Board Highlights (December 19-23)

One more night, and it’s Christmas Eve! Have you wrapped up your presents yet? I am only going to start after this post.

I wish you all a Christmas full of blessings and the love of people important to you! Oh, and lots of new jobs for the new year, too!

Part-time Technical Writer

Want a steady part-time job in the next 3 to 4 months? Based in St. Paul, MN? Check out this job for a technical writer. You need to be able to come up with a step-by-step process documentation. It shouldn’t be too hard, yes?

Nerd Bloggers

Do you wear your nerd badge loud and proud? If so, this telecommute job is perfect for you.

Freelance Copywriter

Automotive experts, listen up! There is a freelance copywriting gig that you may want to take a look at. It’s telecommute and pays rather well.

Senior Business/IT Writer

Do you think you can hold your own against IT professionals? Can you talk their language? Apply for this senior position job, and work anywhere you want to.

Legal Blogger

If you are based in Virginia or North Carolina, and you know the ins and outs of personal injury law in these areas, why don’t you apply for this telecommute blogging position? The pay is attractive!

Thursday 22 December 2011

5 New WordPress Plugins For Developing A Nice Looking And Smarter Blog

I am not an advocate for WordPress plugins, most of the time users go overboard with their installation and in turn WordPress sites become server intensive power hogs that are slow to load and hard to administer. With that being said there are a handful of new plugins this week that attempt to make a developers life easier, both by speeding up a WordPress installation and by allowing for simple output protocols to be achieved.

Here are 5 new WordPress plugins for developing a faster and smarter blog.

1. WP Separate CSS

As a fan of tweaking my websites design on a fairly regular basis I often find that purchased themes pose one significant problem, whenever an update is made available some developers provide all new files for that theme. Unfortunate that means If I update the theme without backing up the CSS file I lose all of the changes that made the theme my own. WP Separate CSS solves this problem by allowing users to create a separate CSS file that is then added into the theme’s CSS output. Simply upload the program, create a .CSS file within the plugins folder and edit that file instead of the typical style.css and other files. Once the .css file is saved the changes are loaded alongside the templates .css files.

2. WP Put The Meta

Sometimes I want to add certain custom field options to the stories I write but not to every single post, for this purpose the WP Put The Meta plugin is a nice addition to any blog looking for smarter output of content. Simply install the plugin, create a custom field and then insert the following shortcode in your post [putthemeta key=""] where the quotations are filled in with the name of the custom field. While the author of this plugin points to Google Adsense Code insertion as a big plus for this plugin it’s also a great way to add in co-author information, highlight iframe information and provide any other type of output that would typically require HTML coding or other embed options.

3. Be It Facebook Sidetab

This is currently my favorite way to display a “Follow Us On Facebook” floating logo. Now only will uses realize very quickly that you have a fan page for your website, they won’t see your Facebook stream, followers or other intrusive information until they click on the tab. I’m a big fan of the Facebook follow box but I also implement this floating Facebook follow button on my own social media website.

Here’s a quick look at the follow button that is provided:

When clicked that button opens up to display the Facebook fan page stream (if turned on, follower avatars and other information).

4. Google Web Fonts for WordPress

Google offers a library of over 350 web fonts that can help your blogs text stand out from other WordPress sites that typical rely on old faithful options such as Times New Roman and Lucia. While I fully condone the use of those font types because of their reliable output sometimes it’s worth spicing up an arsty or cutting edge website. For this purpose I recommend Google Web Fonts for WordPress, a new plugin that makes choosing a new Google Web Font type simple.

To use the plugin simple activate it from your WordPress backend then navigation to the ‘Fonts’ menu located under the WordPress ‘Appearance’ tab. From the Fonts menu you will see a dropdown list of available fonts, simply save your selection after you have made your choices.

If you’re not sure which font you want to use you can visit the Google Web Font Directory or preview the fonts from inside the plugins preview window.

After you have chosen your font you will simple add the properties code to your themes stylesheet.

Here are a few Google Web Fonts examples to get your creative juices flowing:

5. Custom Registration Link

The standard URL for WordPress user registration is found under “http://website-url/wp-login.php?action=register” the problem with that fact is that spam-bots will register on your blog, causing fake accounts to throw off your registered user accounts. While you can simply turn off new user registration that does very little good if you use a WordPress forum plugin or if you require users to register in order to leave comments. With Customer Registraiton Link users are given the option to change the location of the register links to whatever they choose.

Simply install the plugin and you will see a link change area such as the one shown below:

Simply choose your registration link then click save changes and you can drastically reduce spam bot registrations.

Those are just five of the newest Wordpres plugins that can help pretty up your blog and make it a bit smarter.

As always remember that these plugins are brand new and therefore may require regular updates as the developers find bugs in there systems. Always remember to make a backup of your websites database before installing these and any other WordPress plugins.

5 Article Ideas That Can Always Be Made Original

A big part of blogging is informing the public, but a bigger part of blogging is showing your originality. Whether it is your own blog or a blog where you'd like to guest post, your articles are helping to build your personal brand. If you know anything about branding, you know that standing out with something unique is important. When dealing with your personal brand and the way people view you as an individual (as opposed to a company), it feels so much more important to be unique with different article ideas. Unfortunately, the millions of blogs make this goal seem unattainable.

Writers block is common even for the most creative people in the blogging community. It seems as though every article idea is already out there for people to read. However, this is not something that should discourage you from writing. The truth is this: You're blog will be unique simply because you are writing it. That right there makes it different. In other words, you can take a generic article idea and make it your own using different language and even different information.

Consider a few ideas for a blog post when writers block hits:

How to Find Article Ideas When Writers Block Hits

1. Tell an anecdote or explain a past experience.

This is something that works well for a personal blog, but usually not if you're planning to guest post on a different site. Even if your personal blog has always been about giving advice and sharing information, readers will enjoy a personal story. If you prefer, make it related to your niche and explain what you learned from the experience. This works well every once and a while, and if you have a loyal reader base they will likely enjoy hearing a little bit about the writer. It works especially great on a Friday when no one is really in the mood for serious advice.

2. Hold an interview with someone in the industry.

There is nothing easier than writing while using someone else's words. Consider reaching out to someone in your niche who has advice to give readers and then hold an interview. This could be the CEO of a company in the city, a blogger who was recognized on a "ten best bloggers" list or someone you know who has made great strides in their industry. Reaching out to bloggers is your best chance for a response, but you might be surprised who else would be willing to answer a few of your questions.

3. Write a book, movie, or blog review.

Although two blogs may both have a "review" article, no two articles will be alike. That makes this one of the best ways to keep your blog fresh even when the ideas aren't quite coming to you. Consider doing a review on a book, movie, or even blogs. If you have ten favorite business blogs you like to read, write a review! Your readers will appreciate the new type of material, and you will have created a good relationship with the blogs you put on your list. However, remember not to make your choices too similar to your blog—you don't want to point out the competition!

4. If you have a lot of readers, create a contest.

Creating a contest can often be a lot of work, but it requires little creative thinking on your part. Consider holding the contest for the most creative article or the funniest blog post. Choose two or three and post them on the site. This will be fun for all readers and give you a break from writing (but not a break from reading!). The prize could be exposure for the winner through a featured blog post, a free book, or even a small cash prize. Make sure to treat the contest like a business proposal if you plan to give out a cash prize. People will take this more seriously, so you will have to have all questions answered in your contest description.

5. Create a survey or a poll for all of your readers.

These types of articles are typically not articles. All you need to do is write a quick introductory paragraph, and then ask your readers to vote. This type of interaction is usually fun for readers, and it will help you get the answers to your questions. You may even get idea for future articles based on the results of the survey or poll.

Not only will this create different types of articles help give you a break from writing traditional content, but it will give readers a break from reading traditional content. Although this may be a little bit different than what you usually post on your blog, it will be another way to show your creativity. Even though these ideas are generic, the actual content couldn't be more unique.

Photo Credit: clker.com, optify.net, mfcreviews.com, futurefiction.com, elenajforbes.com

Amanda DiSilvestro is a writer on topics ranging from social media to content creation. She writes for an online resource that gives advice on topics including document software to small businesses and entrepreneurs for the leading business directory, Business.com.

Tuesday 20 December 2011

How To Create A Media Kit That Produces Results

Bloggers “sell themselves” to their readers every single day, they do so by being honest about their opinions and writing factual articles that serve the niche for which they write, however despite the ability of bloggers to sell themselves to readers they often do not sell themselves well to advertisers, company’s looking for product reviews and even other bloggers. The biggest pitfall in this area comes from a lack of a decent media kit.

What Is A Media Kit

In it’s most basic of terms a Media Kit is a page on a website or a file that can be sent to potential advertisers that explains why they should be willing to pay for ad space, product review and other types of advertising on your website.

What To Include In A Media Kit

What you will include in your media kit will vary slightly from one website to another but there are several aspects that almost never change regardless of the niche you serve.

1. Display where ad spaces will be featured. For example you can simply state those locations “Top of website next to logo” along with the size of the ad, for BloggingPro it might read, “468 x 90px Ad – Top of website next to logo.” While simple text is fine many website owners like to create a graphical outlay that highlights each area in which ads are available, this helps “visual” people get a better understanding of what they are buying. I personally like to ad “other advertising option not provided can be discussed with the website owner” since customized campaigns can often bring in more advertising cash than standard ad placement.

2. Provide website visitor analytics. Advertisers want to know who exactly you’re reaching out to. For example it’s important to include both the “unique” number of monthly visitors to your brand along with the number of pageviews they create. This helps advertisers determine if you reach enough people to make their efforts worthwhile and pageviews helps determine if you have an engaged audience. For example 10,000 unique visitors with 100,000 pageviews means your audience on average visits your website 10 times per month. When providing analytic information I prefer to use Google Analytics, GetClicky and Quantcast, this ensures my advertisers that my analytics reports has been verified by multiple sources.

3. Offer website ranking positions: I’m a strong believer that an Alexa score or Google Pagerank doesn’t hold the same weight htey use to but many advertisers disagree. In fact websites I’ve run had typically fared better when I’ve over shared website rankings. For general purposes I suggest sharing your Alexa score, Google pagerank, Compete.com score and Technorati scores (this last one can be more important if you rank high in your particular vertical).

4. Share your Social Media follow numbers. The hot topic of today’s internet is social media and how company’s share their content. Make sure to tell your potential advertisers how many Facebook Fan Page Likes and Twitter followers you current have. If you use other social networks such as Pinterest (great for Mom Bloggers) include those as well to show advertisers that your social network competent. On a side note I’ve had advertisers pay for an ad spot or product review and then throw in $10 for a quick tweet, sometimes on sites with as little as 500 twitter followers because of the niche involved in the website. You should also include the number of RSS subscribers to your website and any email based subscriptions you have obtains. The more followers you can show the more interest you will develop for your website. On a side note if you regularly run successful giveaway campaigns it wouldn’t hurt to find the average number of Likes, Tweets and other social shares those contests receive to show product company’s the type of exposure they are likely to receive.

5. Sell Yourself. This might seem like the most obvious part of a media kit but it’s often overlooked. Advertisers want to know that you’re an authority in your vertical so you need to talk about yourself. For example if you’re a mom blogger with three kids you should mention that and reveal your children’s ages and if you’re a tech blogger who formerly worked for Cisco and other tech companies for 10 years you should include that information as well. The more foundation you provide for your background the better chance you’ll have of receiving paid review offers and attracting advertisers who want trustworthy sources.

In it’s most based of terms a media kit doesn’t just provide a bunch of random numbers, instead it gives advertisers a sense of what your website is about and who it attracts on a regular basis, by selling yourself and selling the interest level of your readers even a smaller site can gain exposure and advertising.

[Corporate Logo Image via BigStock]

Monday 19 December 2011

Win A 1-Year Premium Membership To WPMU DEV

The WordPress experts at WPMUDev.org have created a support and features system that is unparalleled in the WordPress environment. Customers to their platform receive hundreds of templates, plugins and support for Wordress, WordPress Multisite and BuddyPress.

As part of our holiday giveaway series WPMUDev has agreed to give away two 1-year licenses to their system for just 1% of the cost. That’s a $408 value for just $4.08!

So what do you receive for that price? How about 300+ WordPress plugins and WordPress themes, quality code, updates guaranteed, 24/7/365 WordPress Support and Manual, Videos and Webinars!

Because their experts in the field and intimately aware of WordPress coding standards the WPMUDev team also guarantee each plugin they create will work out of the box or they’ll give you your money back guaranteed.

You can see what they have to offer by visiting: premium.wpmudev.org

HOW TO ENTER THIS CONTEST:

1. Follow WPMUDev on Twitter: @wpmudev

2. Like WPMUDev on Facebook: Facebook.com/wpmudev

3. Leave a comment on this page with your Twitter handle after you have completed both steps above.

Two winners will be chosen on Friday, December 23.