I Teach Blogging: Blogging | WordPress

Hi guys, this is podcast #62 and I just wanted to talk about an experience that I just had with my blog.

What is a content upgrade.

What is the process:


What tools that I used:

First you have to create a download. I looked at Google Analytics to see what some of my most popular blog posts were and then made a pdf based upon that topic. In my case, I took the highlights from two popular blog post: 5 SEO Tips and 7 Places to Submit your Blog for Organic Indexing.

I ended up using a Power Point Template that I got from Hubspot. http://offers.hubspot.com/ebook-templates

Note, that I did not write an ebook but rather created a simple 9 page document. It is not crammed with a ton of content but I did put 5 tips in there and the list of places to submit your blog for indexing.

Also, I work on a mac and while I have Power Point on my machine, I found it easier to convert the document to Keynote and just use that. It made making links far easier.

I also used Acrobat Pro to add some internal links to the document. Since I put an FAQ in there, I made the first reference to phrases such as meta title link to the appropriate spot on the document for a definition. This was actually one of the more challenging parts of this to figure out.


The next step was to set all of this up so that people could sign up for my newsletter and get the document. There were stages along the way on this that I really struggled with. I actually agonized over this stage far more than I should have and spent far more time on it than I thought that I would.

My struggles:

Grasping the process. Frankly, I was over thinking it instead of just doing it. It seemed to simple and I thought that I was surely missing it.



Here is how it works:

Step 1: Someones find this page and signs up: http://iteachblogging.com/5-seo-tips-welcome-page/ or they sign up from the pop-up

Step 2: They are redirected to this page
Step 3: They receive their email and are redirected to this download page


#2 Second issue was a key part of the software that I was not finding clear direction on. Yes, of course, that is a blog post for me in the future, gotta love it.

So the software that I am using is Thrive Leads: https://thrivethemes.com/leads/ and it is so wonderful. The issue that I had: Where to put the link for Step 2. I could not figure out how to do this and it took me far too long and watching far too many videos. This is not going to translate well on audio but when you are setting up your lead box, pop-up, whatever you call it, you will choose your mailing list that it goes to and then you can choose for them to be redirected to a page. Like I said, does not translate well and this is why I will be making a tutorial in the near future.

#3 I struggled with copywriting. I did not expect this to be so challenging but it was difficult to choose a headline and teaser copy. You guys will have to let me know what you think and how I did.

So this is a great tool and it was a blast creating the content upgrade, I hope that you all will sign up for it and let me know what you think.

Blog on,
-Renee'

https://www.amazon.com/shop/iteachblogging

In this episode I discuss how I completely failed and wasted my time working on a blog post.

I highly recommend BackupBuddy: http://bit.ly/1IV024N
However, before you buy a Backup program, find out if your WordPress hosting company already does backups for you.

I would like to close this post by asking you a question: When is the last time that you backed up your site? Do you use a backup plugin? I ask this question because no matter how well a blog or website is built, things will just sometimes go wrong.

https://www.amazon.com/shop/iteachblogging

http://iteachblogging.com/will-you-clean-out-your-wordpress-theme-closet/
I don’t know about you but I have a closet full of clothes that I don’t actually wear. You know how it goes, you go shopping for a few new outfits, but you don’t clean out the old. I mean come on, we could possibly want to wear that some day... right?

It is common to do the same thing with our WordPress sites. When we first start building our websites or blogs, we try on new themes. We may activate a theme, try it on for a while then decide that we don’t like it. Before long our WordPress blog has 4 or 5 themes just sitting around waiting to be hacked.

Yeah, I said "hacked" because sadly that happens from time to time.

https://www.amazon.com/shop/iteachblogging

Do you know to work on your WordPress blog? In this podcast I will prompt you with a few questions for your web developer.

Do you have Administrator rights?
Do you have cPanel access?
Do you have access to your domain and the DNS settings?

DNS stands for Domain Name Service and/or Domain Name Servers. The Domain Name Service (DNS) can be thought of much like a directory or phone book. If you need to contact someone via telephone but only have his/her name, you can always check the phone book for their telephone number. The same applies when dealing with the Internet although this kind of "lookup" often happens in the background, unnoticed.

Do you have FTP access?

The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard network protocol used to transfer computer files from one host to another host over a TCP-based network

http://www.whoishostingthis.com/ hosting
https://www.whois.net/ domain

Whose name are all of the items in? If the developer is managing all of this for you, what happens if there is a conflict or they go out of business?

https://www.amazon.com/shop/iteachblogging

In this podcast I am going to provide a few tips about you building your own website or blog instead of hiring someone to do it for you.

To begin with these first two decisions are the two most important critical decisions to make before you even start thinking about design, logos and hosting.
#1 Who will build the website? Will it be you or will you hire someone?
#2 Who will write the content?

How can you build your own website and save money?
So you want to do it yourself and save money but are not sure where to start? Here is where I would recommend:
#1 Decide on a platform.
A.WordPress

B.Joomla

C.Weebly

#2 Choose a design.
There are thousands of designs to choose from. There are an overwhelming amount of free WordPress themes and you may find one that you think is perfect for your business.
I build all of our designs on premium themes and choose between Thesis Theme and Genesis Theme.
I host with SiteGround: http://bit.ly/1AgXGtF

https://www.amazon.com/shop/iteachblogging

I Digress a bit, so just humor me!

My phone beeps and dings and vibrates right off of the table all day long. Each time that happens I assume something exciting has happened and I got a text from a friend or an important call. Instead it is just a Facebook comment to a comment that I made, that I should not have made in the first place. See, while I am well versed in Social Media for Business, I am not so well versed in Social Media for Personal.

An example: The other day I saw a facebook update of someone who was selling a couch because they were getting a new one. I commented "how exciting. I hope that you love your new couch." It turns out that it was a the HEB Buy Sale Trade page and it was just a stranger trying to sell a couch.

## But Renee’ you teach Social Media
Yes, I do teach social media and I am really good at that. I understand how to use the tools and the platforms but I don’t teach social. There is a difference between understanding social media and understanding social. Don’t worry, I have friends and I spend time with them. However, I don’t interact with them well on social media. Actually, I don’t hardly interact on social media with my friends at all.

I use social media as a tool. It is a method for me to gain information. I love following tech leaders and blogging leaders and WordPress know-it-alls. Social Media is a wonderful way to learn about new products. Social Media is a wonderful way to learn new tips and tricks. It is how I find all of the content that I read.

It just so happens that in my case, I tend to filter out things such as a camel getting tickled and what my best friend had for dinner. I have much rather have dinner with my best friend and hear those stories than read about them on Facebook. Does that make me weird?

https://www.amazon.com/shop/iteachblogging

Do you ever feel like your blog is a complete mess? Being a blogger is an extremely personalized job. We analyze everything that we do and we tend to doubt ourselves often. It is very rare, if ever that I talk to a blogger and they say “Ya know, I never think twice, I just publish!” Most of the time people really struggle with whether what they have to say is good enough, will add enough value and whether or not it is well enough edited.

Here are some of the questions of a blogger:

Did I chose the right design for my blog anyways?
Does anyone care about this as much as I do?
Someone else has already said this so what could I possibly offer?
Am I good enough writer?
Do I really have time for this?

Let’s take a look at some of these one more time and discuss them.

These are days when we can look at our greatest blog post and still see nothing but a blog in shambles.

I believe that unless you are releasing a blog post while drunk, unless that is your thing, that the simple fact that you are indeed taking the time means that you are adding value. 

If you care about the topic the odds are about 123% that someone else cares. Remember us humans are not nearly as unique as we think that we are. As a result it means that someone else is curious and has a question.

https://www.amazon.com/shop/iteachblogging

I am not a morning gal. I am not a late night gal either. I often say that I am more of the between 10am and 6pm kind of gal. The only time that I take naps is if I am sick or extremely sun burned. However, during those hours I am extremely focused. I do not tend to take breaks or even read the news during those hours. As a result, I always considered myself to be a fairly productive person but after reading up a bit I can not help but wonder if I should take some breaks.

https://www.amazon.com/shop/iteachblogging

I HATE it so much when people say no design required. I believe that this is absolute crap and completely misleading. You still have to have an idea.
You still have to have a color palette even if it is a color palette of sorts.
Unless your website is going to look like Craigs List you have to have an idea.
Do I want an arrow that points?
Do I want a box as a button or do I want my button to be round?
Do I want it to be green, blue yellow or?

https://www.amazon.com/shop/iteachblogging

Often, I am afraid to say: I don't really like social media. Today, I will just say it with joy. I love teaching it. I love speaking about it. I just don't love BEING ON IT. There, I said it.

https://www.amazon.com/shop/iteachblogging