Amy Lupold Bair

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-09-2023

All blogs start in the same way: A person picks a blogging application, creates a blog, and publishes a post online. What happens then depends on each individual blogger. This Cheat Sheet supplements the information provided in Blogging All-in-One For Dummies, 3rd Edition and helps you find resources and tools to make your blog a unique place that allows you to reach your goals.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-23-2022

When you start a new blog, one of your most important decisions is choosing what blogging software to use. You also need to decide what type of blogger you’ll be. Is there a certain niche that would be a great fit to match your interests and expertise? Whether you’re a new blogger or looking to switch blogging platforms, the range of blogging tools and options you find here can give you a head start on your search for your blogging software and blog niche match.

Article / Updated 08-06-2020

Software that filters the incoming comments in various ways can provide a defense against spammers by identifying and removing comments from your blog that look like spam. These filters give a blogger great tools: They run all hours of the day and they don't require any effort on your part. But an automated process is never as smart as a human, so you might occasionally lose a valid comment if you use a filtering system. A third-party software solution called Automattic Akismet is the clear leader when it comes to spam filtering, though many blogging software applications have added their own internal tools, as well. Check to see whether your blog software has any of these technologies in place for you to use; you can probably find some of them available. If you don't, check to see whether you can add Akismet to your blog. Keyword filtering Keyword filters can help you identify incoming comment spam. This kind of filtering is probably the oldest type of protection for blog comments. It might not work all the time because spammers have become much smarter since this technology was first used. Spam filtering usually works by comparing incoming comments against lists of words and/or phrases associated with spam. Matches indicate spam, and the filter yanks those comments. Keyword filters are typically updated frequently to keep up with the ploys that spammers use. Some of these lists contain web addresses and other computer identification information as well as keywords. Users also can submit and maintain their own lists in case custom spelling or other methods of tricking the antispam system come into use (for example, using V1agra rather than Viagra). Several services over the years have allowed different blog tools and platforms to take advantage of a central keyword listing. These lists are maintained and updated by a third-party company. Today's most popular antispam system, Akismet falls into this category. One problem with this kind of filter system is that some spammers leave nice messages that include bad links. These messages get past the filter because they aren't offensive and don't violate any rule that you have. Blocklists and allowlists A blog blocklist is a method of keeping spam off your website by preventing certain known spam systems from accessing your comment system or your website as a whole. By specifically identifying spammers from certain addresses, countries, or computers, or by using certain URLs, you can block those individual spammers, keeping your blog much safer. Most blogging software comes with a blocklist system built in or a system that you can easily add by using a plug-in or third-party solution. Consult your blog software documentation to be sure that you understand how to keep your blocklist up to date and how you can contribute to the blocklist. Allowlists perform the opposite action of a blocklist by specifically permitting certain visitors or types of visitors. An allowlist is a preselected list of visitors whom you know won't post spam on your blog. Bloggers use a allowlist in conjunction with a blocklist. Allowlists can allow you to accept comments from visitors who have been misidentified as spammers in the past. Essentially, you're making your blog accessible to certain people or computer networks. If you want to guarantee that your mother, for instance, can always post to your blog — or even if you want to set it up so that she doesn't have to comply with a CAPTCHA or other antispam techniques — add her to the allowlist so that she can post with impunity. Allowlists are uncommon, so if your blogging software doesn't offer this functionality, you probably can't find a good third-party solution. IP banning Similarly to blocklists, IP banning prevents certain IP addresses or a range of IP networks from accessing your website. IP banning is probably the oldest method of protecting blogs. An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a series of numbers that identifies a network, a computer, or any networked electronic device within a computer network. Devices such as printers, fax machines, desktop and laptop computers, and some telephones can have their own IP addresses. Many blog software solutions offer lists of banned IP addresses that they collect from other users of the same software who have identified spammers, and you can automatically update your own list to prevent those spammers from posting to your site. A potential problem with banning networks or certain IP addresses is that the offending poster may connect via a different IP address the next time that he or she posts something. Banning by IP address can work for known spam companies, but it's highly fallible because so many computers regularly obtain new IP addresses through their Internet Service Providers (ISPs). IP banning can also affect people whom you don't actually want to block. For instance, if you block a computer on a particular network, others who use the same network but are blameless might end up using the offending IP address at some point and be blocked. Many bloggers discount IP banning, saying that it has no real usefulness in today's mobile world.

Article / Updated 12-06-2019

You may notice that bloggers are often worried about branding. Personal branding was not something that bloggers ever considered in the early days of blogging, but now the word branding is used at least as often as one might refer to a blogger’s voice or style. A person’s brand refers to how others remember them: their readers, potential clients, fellow bloggers. Brand can include a blog’s tagline, a site’s logo, a blog’s topical focus, and even how readers view the personality of the author. For bloggers looking to establish themselves through an online platform, branding is critical! Communicate who you are on your blog Your blog should communicate who you are and what your blog is about to your readers without a lot of digging. Branding also includes consistency of look and feel across your blog and your blog-related social media properties. Teachmama, the blog of educator and author Amy Mascott, makes it clear to readers that the blog’s focus is education. Not only does the blog name, Teachmama, communicate clearly, but the tagline, “learning in the everyday,” reinforces that the goal of the site is to share learning tips, tools, and best practices. Mascott uses that top-of-the-page real estate beautifully to continue to show readers that Teachmama is the home of all things education. The horizontal navigation bar includes these headings: early literacy, reading, writing, math, science, activities, and digital literacy. Reboot your blog So what happens if you’ve created your online brand and then decide that you no longer want to be known as the brand that you’ve created? Perhaps you began your blogging life as a parenting blogger with young children, and now that your kids are older, you’d rather write about personal growth or fitness. Maybe you first blogged about education, over the years became a social media expert, and now would like to convert those expertise into speaking gigs. Some bloggers are even noticed in real life. Your blog’s branding can be tough to separate from yourself! The good news is that possibilities are endless in the online world, and you can absolutely start again should you choose to do so. Many successful bloggers began their career under one name and continued to find success — or even reached new heights — after relaunching under a different name and focus. Blogger Carol Cain is the perfect example of a wildly successful blog branding reboot. Carol began blogging under the name NYCity Mama during the mom blogging explosion of the early 2000s. While Carol’s blog certainly included travel, the brand was decidedly more mom blog than travel blog. Ready for a reboot, Carol abandoned her NYCity Mama URL and branding and created Girl Gone Travel, a travel industry online authority. So while your blog’s brand requires some thought and planning, you can get a second — or third or fourth — chance to decide who you want to be in the blogging world! How to protect your privacy and reputation as a blogger Your blog might not reflect your employer's viewpoints or your family's, but it certainly reflects your own. Don't forget that what you put on your blog today might stick around for a long time to come and that the reader might not always have your best interests at heart. Never put any personal identifying information online that exposes you to possible identity theft or physical confrontation. Don't post your Social Security number, home address, birthdate or place, mother's maiden name, passwords, bank account numbers, or any information that you use as password reminders or identifying information with financial institutions. Most bloggers prefer to keep phone numbers private, as well. Don't reveal this information about the people you blog about, either. Many bloggers solve these issues by choosing to blog anonymously or by using a handle — a phrase or moniker that doesn't personally identify the writer. Don't forget that many of your online identities are linked. For example, if you use a nickname when you leave comments on other blogs, and then use that same nickname on a bulletin board or when you sign up for a social-networking service, people can easily connect the dots. In fact, many of these services already work together. Most social media platforms are now connected. For example, posts on Instagram can also appear simultaneously on Facebook and Twitter. If you identify yourself on any of these sites or tools and then tie them together in some way, others can easily follow the trail to figure out who you are. Anonymity gives you a great way to protect yourself on your own blog, but it doesn't keep you from showing up on other people's blogs or Flickr photo streams. If your friends and family have blogs, consider setting ground rules with them about situations and topics that you want excluded as subjects on their blogs. Be willing to accept the same kinds of requests about your own blog writing. One of the best ways to take charge of your own online identity is to start a website or blog yourself. If other people are mentioning you online, having an official website that contains accurate information can help supplant or downplay less desirable material. Take control of your own digital footprint! If you want to find out more about controlling your online identity or protecting your privacy, review some of these great online resources: Visit the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF) guide “How to Blog Safely (About Work or Anything Else)” for advice on blogging anonymously. The EFF's “Legal Guide for Bloggers” is a great resource on a number of issues, including defamation, privacy rights, and legal liability. com is the first business dedicated to online reputation management and provides a variety of resources for those concerned with how they appear online. Wikipedia's entry on Online Identity is informative and useful, and covers more than just blogging. Be who you are, but don't forget to take steps to protect your privacy!

Article / Updated 11-16-2019

Two of the many ingredients for a successful blog are good and frequently updated content. But what does it really mean to provide good and frequent content as a blogger? Use the following tips to help move your blog into the successful zone. Good content compels, satisfying the readers’ immediate interests but leaving them hungry for more. Think of a blog post as being like an appetizer: It should whet the appetite, pique the palette, and sustain the diner until the next course arrives. You don't want to give your readers “annual Thanksgiving dinner” — you want them to come back, come back soon, and come back often. Do you know how important great content is to a successful blog? If you’re hoping to break through into the world of well liked and often visited blogs, you will need to find a way to rise above the noise of millions of blog posts. And even if you plan to blog primarily for your own enjoyment, you will surely want to be proud of the content you create. This article walks you through various ways to create content that you can be proud of and that will, you hope, draw readers to your blog. Although it's important to update your content frequently enough that your readers don't assume you've abandoned your blog, you also don't want to inundate them with new content — or worse, force yourself to write mediocre content just to post something. Being yourself on your blog Blogging is quite a personal, conversational medium, and textual blogs have a strong feel of the author and his or her personality. The first blogs were actually online diaries, and even today, most bloggers choose to use words such as I or my in their blog posts, creating an intimate and open feel — even on corporate blogs. This first-person writing differs dramatically from most corporate communication, which at best refers to the company as our and at worst only refers to the company by its full and official name. Writing in the first person isn't as easy as it looks (or reads). After all, many people spend years training to write more formally, and they commonly produce all kinds of documents in which first-person writing is emphatically not suitable: memos, reports, news stories, invoices, and so on. You may have trouble finding an authentic, genuine voice that really feels comfortable. The best advice is to just practice, practice, practice. If you'd like your blog to have a casual tone, think of your blog posts as being like letters or emails. Speak directly and simply, as you would in a personal note or letter. Try not to overthink your words, but don't go right into stream of consciousness (which is fun to write but hard to read). Don’t be afraid to show emotion in your blog posts. In fact, some of the most popular content I’ve ever created resulted from an extreme emotion: joy, grief, anger. Part of what makes blogs so popular is that the reader can relate to the author. The best way for people to relate to you is for you to be yourself and not hold back. Blogger Heather Solos of Home-Ec 101 has built her brand on posts about how to clean anything, cook anything, and fix anything. But when she tragically lost her sister to suicide, Heather opened up her heart to her readers in the blog post, “Death, Organ and Tissue Donation, and Grief.” Heather’s community rallied behind her, showing their support with nearly two hundred post comments. In contrast, Erin Lane of A Parenting Production writes often about the personal on her parenting blog, but she allows herself to dive even deeper from time to time with topics such as the struggle with body image. Remember the old saying: You can’t unring a bell. Be cautious when putting something out into the world that you may want to take back later. Try to avoid ranty complaint posts, for example. There’s a difference between righteous indignation and whining. Consider placing your most emotive content into a drafts folder for 24 hours before hitting publish just to make sure you still want to share after the initial flood of emotion has passed. One of the best techniques for making blog posts readable is to read the post out loud. If it sounds close to something you might actually say in conversation, it hits the right tone for a blog post. If you make your blog informal and conversational, you still shouldn't ignore spelling, grammar, and sentence structure. Some bloggers do opt for an unedited approach, but keep in mind that people have more trouble, not less, reading poorly formulated writing. If you have a professional blog, or ever hope to make money from your blog, you definitely need to pay attention to spelling and grammar because these little details influence your credibility. Do your readers a favor — use the grammar and spell-check functions of your word processor — and proofread, too. Finding rewards in lengthy blog posts You may have guessed from the length of this book that I tend to have a lot to say. Guilty as charged! The trouble with that is that the blogosphere has not always rewarded long blog posts. In fact, as we have moved to a culture that prefers quick, easy-to-consume content, easier to enjoy on our smart phones with fewer characters and more images, it began to seem as though the days of reading wordy posts had gone the way of the dodo. But wait! Recent SEO (search engine optimization) research shows that search engines such as Google and Bing are actually rewarding lengthy blog posts over brief content with fewer words. This does not mean you should make every post you write a manifesto that goes on for pages and pages, but the fact is that a blog post of around 1,750 words seems to be the sweet spot to bring readers to your blog via search engine traffic. Which words you choose for your lengthy blog posts still matter, though. Ideally you’d like to hook those search engine visitors and keep them there for the duration of your post, maybe even encouraging them to click around your site and read additional content. What you say still matters as much as how you say it . . . or how long it takes you to say it. One of the best ways to keep a reader on your blog for longer is to introduce them to other related content on your site at the conclusion of each post. You can certainly create these callouts and links by hand with simple text and hyperlinks, but there are also great, free plug-ins such as Jetpack, AddThis, and Inline Related Posts that will do this for you! Remembering proofreading and editing While the typical blog reader does not have the same interest in proper grammar or correct spelling that an English teacher might — or perhaps more accurately, it does remain important for good content to be shored up with careful proofreading and judicious editing. For starters, most blog software and all word processing programs come equipped with spell-check tools. Do not simply ignore the squiggly red lines under your creatively spelled words! Be sure to take the time to correct the spelling in your posts, even the most informal ones. Proofreading goes beyond simply spelling words correctly. Much embarrassment can be prevented by reading over your writing carefully before hitting publish. It’s highly recommended that you read your words aloud to yourself! Many errors have been caught by turning the written word into the spoken word. One tip: If you tend to work in coffee shops or shared work spaces, you might want to wait until you’re in the safety of your own home before putting this advice into practice. So how does editing differ from spellchecking and proofreading? Well, in spite of the earlier encouragement to write lengthy blog posts with some real depth to them, it is still a good idea to edit your words for characteristics such as clarity of thought, missed points, unnecessary repetition, and yes, unnecessary length. While you should say all that you want to say — in the end, it’s your blog — you do need to be mindful of how your readers will receive your writing if you’d like them to stay your readers. Relying on your blog’s content calendar While blogging began as a somewhat free-flowing medium with a focus on personal storytelling and journaling, many bloggers today actually prefer more structure in their blogging life. One popular blogging tool is the content calendar, a way to plan future content. Content calendars are a great way to keep your blogging consistent and organized. They provide you with the ability to see your upcoming content at a glance, helping you find the perfect place for last minute content ideas or sponsored content. They also offer a way to organize your thoughts on future posts in those moments when you have a burst of creativity. When writer’s block comes to call, as it does from time to time, a nicely filled-in content calendar can be the answer to your prayers! Have you heard the term evergreen content? Some blog posts stand the test of time! If you’ve got space on your content calendar and can’t come up with a new post idea, consider recycling a post from the past that worked well for you then. It’s a good idea to begin such reposts with something along the lines of, “This post was originally published on. . . .” Beyond keeping you organized and providing a way out of an idea drought, a content calendar is a great opportunity to create a blog strategy. Are you trying to establish yourself as an authority in a specific area? Your content calendar can act as your plan of attack. Considering utilizing guest posts from other writers? A content calendar helps you give those writers enough lead time so that they’ve got a post ready for you when you need it. Creating a content calendar doesn’t need to be complicated. You can download and print free online calendar templates for everything from kids’ doctor’s appointments to sports team practice schedules. There are a variety of tools available such as the web-based project organization tool, Trello, and the organization app, Evernote. If you’re more of a web-based tool user than a pen-and-paper kind of person, Try starting with the free calendar tool in the Google suite of products. Google Calendar allows you to create a simple and straightforward content calendar with easily replicable recurring posts. With just the input of an email address, you can share your calendar with coauthors or even invite guest contributors to add to your calendar. To set up a Google Calendar for our blog content, simply follow these steps: Go to www.google.com/calendar. Sign in to your Google account, or create a new, free Google account. If you already use Google Calendar for other aspects of your life, consider creating a new account with an email address related to your blog such as [email protected]. Google does allow you to create a variety of separate calendars within one account, but a separate account may be helpful for clarity’s sake. Select New Calendar from the menu in the left sidebar. Note that you will need to click on the ellipsis in order to access this option. Name and describe your new calendar. Source: www.google.com/calendar Once you have created your calendar, give it an easy to remember name. Click on Create Calendar. Navigate the Calendar Settings in the left sidebar in order to customize your calendar settings. Source: www.google.com/calendar You can customize your free Google Calendar settings to meet your needs.

Article / Updated 11-13-2019

Blog design is a very personal experience. The blog that you're starting is a reflection of you and your individual style. The decisions you make about how your blog looks are just as important as the technology that you choose to run your blog and what you choose to put on it. Because the web is an ever-evolving medium, no solid rules exist that tell you what you should or shouldn't do with your blog. But you can follow guidelines to keep putting your best foot forward. Regardless of the design you prefer for your blog, it is critical that your site is easy to read on a mobile device. This is called being mobile responsive and is important because of the overwhelming number of readers who prefer to enjoy blogs from smart phones and tablets rather than on their home computer or laptop. Whether you hire a designer for your blog, use a blog template, or try to make the design yourself, seek ways to make your blog stand out from the rest. If you're a business, make sure that your logo appears on your blog. If you're creating a personal blog, add your own photos. Even if you use a default template, you can often add an identifying graphic or element on the site that differentiates your blog from others. Don't be afraid to start small and plan to redesign later. You can grow into your big ideas when you're sure that you know what you want, so take the time to look at what other blogs are doing while you make your plans. The average blog has four very distinct areas in which to place and customize content: logos, headers, sidebars, and footers. In a blog, each of these areas has a specific purpose. As more blogs have come into existence, these areas have developed in specific ways that can help you organize your content. Here's some detail about each of these customizable areas in your blog: Logos: Getting a visitor's attention on the Internet is a science in itself, and clean, crisp logos can hold a visitor's interest long enough to get him or her to read some of your blog. Typically, a logo appears near the top of each blog page (but doesn't have to). Many logos include an illustrated element and a special font treatment of the blog name. Headers: The header of any blog contains a few elements. The first element should be, of course, the name of your blog. The title or secondary tagline should explain what your blog talks about or who you are as the main writer. You can also throw into the header some form of navigation that can help your visitors find their way around and provide them with quick links to special areas that you want highlighted on your site. On many blogs, the logo also appears in the header. As the name suggests, headers appear at the top of blog pages. Sidebars: Sidebars usually become a major focus for a blog site. Sidebars are columns to the right or left (or both) of the main content area, and they contain elements such as navigational links, special graphics that point to social networking sites, lists of blogs that you read (blogrolls), archive links, or anything that you want to share with your visitors outside the context of a blog post. Sidebars usually appear on every page of your blog and look consistent from page to page. Footers: Footers live at the bottom of each blog page, and sometimes they do nothing more than feature a copyright message. More advanced bloggers have expanded the use of footers to include a significant series of links to content within their sites. These links might lead to comments on the blog, recent posts, or posts that you particularly want to highlight. The footer can feature parts of your blog that you want visitors to find easily. How themes impact your blog design Your blog is your home on the web. Make sure you get a taste for the various blog platforms that are popular with bloggers today before choosing your home. What all these platforms have in common, however, is the use of blog design themes. Think of a blog theme as a combination of the floorplan blueprint an architect might use to build a home and the design software that the interior designer uses to decorate that space once it is built. Themes are an easy way for technological novices — or even somewhat seasoned bloggers — to customize the look and feel of their sites without needing to know how to code the site from scratch. Many beautiful themes are available to bloggers for free, and themes available for purchase range from a small one-time fee to a pricey subscription-based recurring cost. Before selecting a blog platform, spend some time looking at other blogs that already exist on that platform. You don’t want to fall in love with a specific design theme only to find that it isn’t available on the platform you selected. Themes have become a very important part of how bloggers define who they are in the blogosphere! Those hoping to focus on their top-notch photography skills can choose a theme that places images front and center. Writers hoping to establish themselves as members of the online media are likely to select a newspaper or magazine style theme where content is king. Which content type are you choosing for your blog? When blogs first entered the World Wide web, they were word-based, content driven sites that resembled personal journals or traditional print media. That is no longer necessarily true! Becoming a blogger no longer means writing paragraph after paragraph of wordy prose. Considering the following content options currently popular in the blogosphere: Photography focused blogging : They say that an image is worth a thousand words! Photography based bloggers would certainly agree. Rather than wordy posts, pictures with captions and short explanatory text are the focus of photography-based blogs. Vlogging: Combining the words video and blogging, vlogging simply means using uploaded video content in place of the written word. Podcasting: Not interested in typing your thoughts into a post and not comfortable in front of the camera? Consider podcasting! Design with your blog audience in mind While blog design is a very personal decision, you need to consider your audience before making decisions about the look and feel of your site. If you're blogging for business reasons, either on behalf of a company or to promote yourself, make sure that both the writing and design demonstrate the proper tone. Be sure to select a clean design with appropriate graphics and colors. This is not the time to share your love for wild animal prints and fireworks animation! Seek advice from bloggers in the same blogging space and find out from friends and family members who read blogs frequently what design elements they enjoy. Check out other blogs, especially blogs that reflect the same goals or tone you want to create. What does the design of those blogs say about the blogger and the blog content? Are you hoping to create a cozy community of like-minded readers? Keep that in mind when planning the layout of your site. Consider warm, inviting colors and conversation encouraging comment software. Be sure to make it easy for readers to learn more about you! Unlike a business-based blog, readers will want to feel like they are getting to know you through the words and images on the screen. You want your blog’s design to be professional and clean, but you also want to allow your personality and unique perspective to shine through.

Article / Updated 11-13-2019

Blogs are so quick and easy to set up that you can start one without having much of a plan in place for what you want to blog about, why you're blogging, or what you're trying to accomplish. Some people thrive on this wide-open playing field in blogging, but others quickly become bored (or boring!). To get your blog started on the right foot, think seriously about why you're blogging, and then make a commitment to attaining your goals. This isn't a job! But, just as you wouldn't expect good results from a dinner prepared without paying any attention to ingredients, you can't start your blog without having a recipe for success. Here's a recipe for a good blog: Preheat the blog oven by setting goals. Measure out several cups of good writing. Mix well with frequent updates. Sprinkle in a lot of interaction with your readers. Watching how someone else blogs is a great way of finding out how to be successful yourself! Keep track of how the blogs you enjoy are keeping you interested: Take note of how often the blogger updates his or her blog, the writing style, and which posts you find most engaging and get you to leave a comment. Set blog goals Just as you have many different reasons to blog, so do you have many ways to create a successful blog. Don't forget that your goals and plans might not be the same as another blogger's. Do think about what your goals are, and keep those goals in mind when you start your blog. The following are ways that you might characterize a successful blog: Numbers: Many bloggers are eager to attract readers to their blogs, and they define success by the number of people who visit every day. Comments: Some bloggers find the interaction with readers in the comment area of the blog very gratifying. For these bloggers, getting a comment every day or on every post might mean they're successful. Personal enjoyment: If you're starting a blog for your own personal enjoyment, you may want to occasionally assess whether it's still fun! Income: For some bloggers, turning a hobby into an income source is a primary motivation for the creation of their blog. Relationship: Many bloggers are hoping to find community through writing. Some even begin writing with the hope of connecting with a specific brand or favorite tourist destination. Authority: There are many bloggers who hold expertise in a certain area but are unable to establish themselves as a notable authority. A blog may provide a platform to help them get noticed and recognized. Results: Many bloggers start their blog to accomplish a task (such as raising money for a charity), to sell a product, or even to get a book contract (blogs have done all these things). When these bloggers meet their goal, they know they've succeeded! When you start your blog, take time to think about how you define success. Do you want to help your entire family keep in touch? Do you want to let your friends back home know more about your college experience? Are you starting a company and trying to get attention in the media? Consider writing your goals into your very first blog post and then returning to that post every few months to see whether your goals have changed and to remind yourself of what you're trying to accomplish. Write your blog well Some people believe that blogs are poorly written, misspelled, and full of grammatical no-no's such as incomplete sentences. Although it’s true that some bloggers do write very casually, paying only cursory attention to formal writing constructs, this informality is part of the charm of the format. Many readers find the colloquial, conversational tone accessible and easy to read, and bloggers who write informally seem approachable and friendly. With that said, there is no excuse for ignoring all the rules of writing, especially if you hope to achieve the goals you’ve set for your blog. Well-written and correctly spelled posts attract readers just as often (perhaps more often) as those that aren't. You can develop a friendly, personal way of writing without losing touch with the dictionary. Spellchecking is encouraged for bloggers, even for very informal blogs intended for friends and family. For a professional blog, don't even consider writing without paying attention to spelling and grammar. Your readers will roll their eyes, and potential clients will quickly click away. Most importantly, however, think through your writing and consider your readers. Take the time to practice and develop a voice that sounds personal and conversational while still qualifying as good, engaging writing. Don't let the chatty style of a blog fool you: The best bloggers spend just as much time writing a casual blog post as they would a work memo. Create a content calendar for your blog Commit yourself to writing new posts on your blog frequently. Ah, frequently is such a deceptive little word — because really, what does it mean? For some people, frequently means every day. For others, it means three times a day. If you want a blog that doesn't eat up every spare moment in your life but that you still update often enough to keep people interested, define the word frequently as at least two or three times a week. (If you want to blog more often than that, go to town.) This number of updates strikes a good balance for most blogs. Many successful bloggers use a little trick to account for periods of writer's block or for when they go on vacation: They write posts ahead of time and then save them for later. Using your blog software, you can schedule a date and time for a post to go live, making it possible for you keep your readers entertained, even while you're having an appendectomy or basking on a beach in Hawaii. You also need to pace yourself. In the first heady days of having a blog, the posts flow freely and easily, but after a few months, you might find it difficult to be creative. This is where creating a blog calendar comes in handy! Rather than simply post whenever the spirit moves you, consider brainstorming post topics and then scheduling posting dates ahead of time. This intentionality right out of the gate will help you pace yourself on those occasions when you have more to say than you intended. It will also provide you with prewritten content on the weeks when writer’s block comes to call. Learn more about content calendar creation in Chapter 9. Build your blog community with comments Comments on blog posts are part of what makes a blog different from a website; the opportunity to interact and converse with the creator of a website and with other readers is unique to blogs. Forums, sometimes called bulletin boards, offer one way to engage in online conversation on the web, but they aren't as directed by regular posts as blogs. Everyone in the forum community is free to chime in with a topic or question. In fact, some bloggers have chosen to add forums to their blogs as a place for free-flowing conversation. Visitors to a blog have the opportunity to leave a comment on each post. Sometimes, readers leave comments in reaction to what they read; other times, they might offer a suggestion or pose a question. Because comments are meant to create community among your readers, some readers will leave comments in reply to other comments. Success! When this interaction occurs, you’ve successfully created community in the comments section of your blog. The comment section of your blog is a great place to get creative. Bloggers who host giveaways often use this area of a post to solicit and collect contest entries. Jenny Lawson, The Bloggess, occasionally uses the comments section of her blog to encourage readers to send each other free books anonymously! There’s no end to how you might use this area of your site. Blog posts often include a link directly below each post, indicating how many comments readers have left. Clicking this link takes you to a page that displays the post, any comments that readers have left about that post, and a form that you can use to leave your own comment. After someone makes a comment, it appears in the comments area of the blog, usually labeled with the comment writer's name, along with the date and time that he or she left the comment. On some popular blogs, readers compete to see who can leave the first comment on a new blog post. Not every blog allows comments. Many popular bloggers find that they're overwhelmed by the sheer volume of responses that they get and must turn off comments because they can't keep up with them. we should all be so lucky to have that problem. For most bloggers, comments are an important way to develop a dialogue with readers. It's recommended that you keep comments turned on in your blog. Blog comments are an easy way to involve your audience in your topic and to get valuable feedback about what you're doing with your blog. Most blog platforms allow you to restrict commenting on a post by post basis, so consider that option should you write a post that you’d prefer remain comment-free. Unfortunately, spammers can take advantage of comments as easily as they can send you unwanted email. If you keep comments turned on, you will get unwanted comments that have commercial messages. There are wonderfully easy ways to prevent spam comments from appearing, however. If you decide to allow comments on your blog, be sure to read them and delete inappropriate messages. Your readers will thank you.

Article / Updated 08-28-2019

When you choose to blog using a hosted blog service, you don’t need to worry about the software technology at all. You can concentrate on the topic for your next blog post, rather than on how to configure a web server. To use hosted blogging software, you log into the editing tool, write a post, click the Publish button, and log out. Extra bonus: If you choose hosted blog software, you don’t have to worry about web hosting — the software company is providing that service for you! Software Notes Blogger Free Squarespace Pricing starts at $12 a month for yearly service TypePad Pricing starts at $8.95 a month WordPress.com Free

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

One of the main reasons to create a YouTube channel is to gain access to customized settings, which determine the privacy level of your profile information and your channel’s content. These settings not only affect any videos uploaded by your teen to the account, but also affect the video searches conducted via that account. This provides you with the opportunity to filter what your children see when watching YouTube. How to edit your YouTube profile You can change your YouTube channel settings to edit what personal information about the channel’s content provider appears to the public when videos uploaded by that account are viewed. You can use this setting to keep the public from knowing that a channel is owned by a teenager, for example. By default, the age of the account holder appears on the channel while video posted on that channel is viewed. In fact, other YouTube users can see the age of an account holder even before that account holder has uploaded content. To edit these settings Click the down arrow next to your account name (upper right) and then click the my Channel link below the YouTube heading. On the profile page that appears, click the Edit button to the right of your username. Under the Created By section, you can hide specific account holder information by clicking the Hide link next to that information. After you update your channel’s profile information, click Apply to accept the changes (or click Cancel if you change your mind). Which YouTube actions you should share YouTube account holders can connect their YouTube account to their Orkut, Facebook, and Twitter social media accounts. If you choose to connect your YouTube account to a social media site, updates regarding your YouTube activity are sent automatically to the social network. You will likely want to customize these settings to maintain privacy. If, on the other hand, you want to share your YouTube activity with social media contacts, these settings may provide useful to you. To connect your YouTube account and select the Sharing settings Click the down arrow next to your account name (upper right) and then click the YouTube Settings link below the YouTube heading. On the Account Settings page that appears, select Sharing in the left sidebar. Click the Connect button next to the social media account you want linked to your YouTube account. In the Share Your Activity section, select how YouTube shares your YouTube actions on YouTube and your connected accounts (such as Orkut, Twitter, and Facebook). Select the check boxes for the actions you want to share. Such actions include uploading a video, adding a video to a playlist, marking a video as a favorite, liking a video, commenting on a video, and subscribing to a channel. Some actions are selected by default already; deselect those actions that you don’t want to share via YouTube or a connected social media site. After you finish your selections, click Save. When helping your teens select these settings, discuss factors such as how frequently they take each action on their YouTube account and how they use the other social media platforms. Will they be sharing YouTube actions with an audience of friends and family who may feel inundated by frequent updates? Is the YouTube account your child’s account, but the Facebook account is for the entire family? Protect yourself with YouTube’s privacy settings Like other social networking sites, YouTube allows users to connect to other users through features such as comments and private messages. You may wish to create a YouTube account for your family or children to access personalization settings. You may not, however, wish to be contacted by the public through your YouTube account. YouTube privacy settings allow you to decide not only how the public interacts with your account, but also how YouTube itself accesses and shares your account information. Here’s how to change the privacy settings on your YouTube account: Click the down arrow next to your account name (upper right) and then click the YouTube Settings link below the YouTube heading. On the Account Settings page that appears, select Privacy in the left sidebar. Here you can set the following privacy settings for your account: Search and Contacts: Set whether contacts can send you messages and share videos and whether people can find your channel if they have your e-mail address. Ads Based on my Interest: Elect whether YouTube can use your information to send you ads that Google believes relevant to your interests. Statistics and Data: Decide whether YouTube can share statistics and data about your videos publicly. For example, do you want the public to be able to see how many people have viewed your videos? Do you want the public to see the comments on your videos? After you finish your selections, click Save.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Because YouTube hosts a seemingly unlimited variety of video content, take advantage of the parental control option, Safety Mode, which sports multiple features parents can use to protect their children from inappropriate content. After a video is viewed on YouTube, a screen appears with recommended and related content that YouTube suggests you may want to view next. Parents should discuss with their kids that these images will appear without prompting. The YouTube Safety Mode provides the following features: Hides videos with potentially objectionable material Hides comments on videos unless you elect to show comments Replaces most inappropriate language in comments with stars To implement Safety Mode, take the following steps: Go to YouTube, scroll to the bottom of the page, and click the Safety drop-down arrow. In the Choose Your Safety Mode drop-down window that appears, select the On radio button. The Safety Mode Lock check box appears. Select the Lock Safety Mode on This Browser check box. With Safety Mode enabled, you can also lock Safety Mode for the browser you’re currently in. Locking Safety Mode on a browser means that even if you sign out of your Google account, YouTube will remain in Safety Mode when accessed through that browser. Click the Save button. If your family uses multiple web browsers, be sure to repeat the locking process on each one. If you’ve set YouTube content filters but still don’t feel comfortable allowing your children and teens to search for YouTube content without parental supervision, consider screening content prior to showing it to your children. After you deem the content appropriate, allow your children to view the video with supervision. Be prepared that at the end of the video, though, suggested content thumbnails will appear.