Have you ever tried to teach Microsoft Windows to a person who knows nothing about computers? Probably not. Think about it for a moment. Where would you even start? Could you explain why the My Documents folder is on the C drive even though it looks like it’s at the same level as the C…
Category Archives: Blogging for Beginners
Is Blogger Really That Bad?
If you’re considering starting a blog, you have no doubt considered whether or not to use Google’s Blogger. If you did any kind of research on the matter, you quickly uncovered a hotbed of hatred towards the service: People hate Blogger because it is a haven for automated blogs that are nothing more than fronts…
FeedBurner 101 – What FeedBurner is, and Why You Want It
FeedBurner is a free service that provides two very important benefits: It makes it easier for people to subscribe to your blog You can see tracking data about your subscribers But first, let’s make sure we know what FeedBurner is in the first place. FeedBurner is a Better Way to Do RSS Feeds FeedBurner gives…
Do You Have to Learn Technical Stuff in Order to Blog?
It seems so simple. Blogging looks like fun, so you try it. The title is like an email subject line. OK, you get it, and the post content is like writing an email message. There are buttons for formatting. Just like your email program. But then something bad happens. Your picture looks stupid in your…
Do You Make These 7 Mistakes Setting Up Your Blog?
Can the average person set up a self-hosted WordPress blog? Should a professional be hired? I’m sure you’re expecting me to say you should hire a pro, but that’s not what I’m going to say. Bear in mind, though, the bar has been raised. You gotta start out as strong as possible for the best…
Ask Me Your Blogging Questions
I’ve never invited you to ask me anything you want about blogging, and I figured it was high time I did. Ask me your questions in the comments and I’ll answer them there. Make sure you subscribe to the comments so you don’t miss your answer. If anyone else wants to help answer questions, too,…
What Are Pings, Trackbacks, and Pingbacks?
When you’re new to blogging, the crazy computer geek terminology seems to never end. There are a lot of new words to learn. Experienced bloggers take these for granted (or act like they do!) but what about the beginners? Don’t worry, your Uncle Blog Vocabulary is here. Today, we’re going to define three blogging terms…
Make Money with a Real Business –
Create One from Your Blog
Create a Business Out of Your Blog and Make Real Money is the newest post up at Gateway Blogging. Gateway Blogging is an online learning program I am building right now that will teach you how to effectively blog for your business, which will get you more business and increase your profits. Gateway Blogging will…
5 Killer Blog Networking Tips
Today I’m going to be all lazy and just point you to what I wrote at PureBlogging today: 5 Killer Blog Networking Tips – How to Network your Blog for Beginners. Hope you enjoy it and all my American peeps have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!
Create a Blog Pack to Get Blog Traffic and Increase Subscriptions
Photo credit: First People A blog pack is my way of describing a group of bloggers who agree to help each other: Get established Build personal networks Increase traffic Increase RSS subscribers Get organic backlinks Being part of a blog pack helps you and your fellow pack members get some momentum going for your blogs…
SOBCon 08 Reports – Lorelle Van Fossen
Blogging firecracker Lorelle took the mic and immediately challenged everyone. She went around the room asking SOBCon participants what their blog was about, and could they explain what they did. As you might imagine, most people stammered something vague. The big takeaway from her workshop was an exercise in which we had to construct a…
SOBCon 08 Promotion – $420 of Free Blog Coaching!
At SOBCon 08, I’m running a promotion to give away $420 worth of blog coaching! I’m going to hand out my business card to just about everyone I can. On the back of each card will be written a number. After SOBCon has ended, I’ll randomly choose three numbers–three people will win. Each person wins…
Web Site for Your Business in Plain English, Part 2: Site Platform
This post is part 2 in a series. Part 1 is here. Choices you have when starting a Web site The technical choices you have when starting a Web site can be overwhelming. The situation isn’t helped by shady characters trying to rip you off and well-meaning but ignorant Web designers who don’t know as…
A Big THANK YOU to Guest Bloggers
Here’s a recap of last week’s wonderful guest posts, along with the blogs of those who wrote them: Monday: 13.2 Blogging Challenges and How to Overcome Them James Chartrand of Men with Pens wrote about how we can bust through some of the challenges we face as bloggers. Nobody seemed to get that the headline…
Everybody Wants Convenient Explanations, Screw That, Just Do it!
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, and it’s a way to automatically receive updates from news sources you subscribe to using special software called a reader. Twitter is a micro-blogging platform that limits posts to 140 characters, but allows for replies and direct messages. Each post is an answer to the question “What are you…
Moving from WordPress.com to Self-Hosted WordPress in Plain English
It’s not too much trouble to move your blog from the free, hosted WordPress.com platform to your own web server. When you have your blog on your own server, we say that it is self-hosted to note the difference from having it hosted on WordPress.com. Some folks will call this using WordPress.org, but WordPress.org is…
Blogging is Easy? Um, No. Here’s the Cold Hard Truth…
Blogging is easy, right? Anybody can do it! Just write a post and click Publish. Not really. Look, I LOVE BLOGGING. And I want every business owner and freelancer from here to the Ethereal Plane blogging, believe me. But I’m not going to get you there by pretending it’s easy when it isn’t. In a…
The Starter Blog: How to Really Get Started Blogging
I Wish I’d Never Started on Blogger I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read comments from bloggers who say that if knew then what they know now, they would never have started a blog on Blogger. It’s a common sentiment, but it’s also wrong. Before you get all righteous about how Blogger is…
Blogs in Plain English
Common Craft is a wonderful site and service (yes, service) that produces these whimsical (probably the only time you will ever see that word on this blog) videos that explain things in plain English. Techy things, like RSS and Wikis. Many of you know people who don’t really get the whole blogging thing (sorry for…
Just Started a Blog? Submit Your Blog Here for a Boost!
UPDATE: I’ve closed comments on this, because it was so popular that the list of blogs for people to visit is getting too long. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s a wonderful thing! Rest assured I will do this again in the near future! But for now, I’d like to thank all of you who…
25 Blog Niche Ideas: Organic Gardening Super Niches
Biodynamic gardening Challenge blog: Feeding your family exclusively from your own garden Composting DIY recycled/reclaimed garden fixtures, planters, and tools Garden gadget and tools review Gardening frugality and “hacks” Growing organic and heirloom tomatoes Growing organic Roses Growing your own organic grains Mushroom-growing blog Organic and heirloom seed-saving Organic apple orcharding Organic berries: blueberries, raspberries,…
10 Things to Do After You Create a Blog
It’s easy to over-analyze this and create gigantic super-lists of tasks that are numbingly detailed. I thought for a change I’d keep it short and sweet: Write a post that explains why you started the blog, what the blog is going to be about, and where you see it going. Get rid of the “hello…
25 Blog Niche Ideas for You to Steal
I’m always coming up with ideas for blogs that I’ll never create, but which might be perfect for somebody else. I haven’t done any keyword research on these, so you’re on your own for that. These are not overcrowded niches; some of these will have an extremely limited audience. Remember the long tail and that…
How to Start a Business Blog, Part 5: Blog Platform and Site Issues
This is part 5 of a new series on how to start a business blog, and is aimed at businesses of all sizes. In these articles, I’m going to address business-specific concerns and requirements for business blogging. Previously: How to Start a Business Blog, Part 4 Step 6: Determine Blog Platform and Blog / Website Integration…
How to Start a Business Blog, Part 4: Business Blog Policies
This is part 4 of a new series on how to start a business blog, and is aimed at businesses of all sizes. In these articles, I’m going to address business-specific concerns and requirements for business blogging. Previously: How to Start a Business Blog, Part 3 Step 5: Determine the Business Blog’s Policies For a business…
How to Start a Business Blog, Part 3: Choosing Authors
This is part 3 of a new series on how to start a business blog, and is aimed at businesses of all sizes. In these articles, I’m going to address business-specific concerns and requirements for business blogging. Previously: How to Start a Business Blog, Part 2 Step 4: Determine who the Authors of your Business Blog…
How to Start a Business Blog, Part 2
This is part 2 of a new series on how to start a business blog, and is aimed at businesses of all sizes. In these articles, I’m going to address business-specific concerns and requirements for business blogging. Previously: How to Start a Business Blog, Part 1 Step 3: Determine the Purpose of Your Business Blog…
How to Start a Business Blog, Part 1
This is the introductory post in my popular series on how to start a business blog. The first post goes into why a business should consider a blog in the first place and discusses some of the first steps a business should take to set up a business blog.
How to Choose a Blogging Service or Software
How do you decide what blog software or service to use? Take a look at some requirements and restrictions.
Three Steps You Can Take Now to Strengthen Your Personal Blogging Brand
I present a simple exercise in three steps to help you strengthen your blog’s brand and help you present your own personal brand or brand you to the world via your blog.
