Blogging

How Do I Get A Unique Design For My Blog?

December 13, 2010 By Troy Rutter Leave a Comment

Question: How do I get a unique design for my blog without paying a lot of money?

Many people start off writing a blog because of “easy money” and the allure of making money online and avoiding the day-to-day struggles in the corporate world. But make no mistake, deciding to make a living from a blog is just as intense as starting a traditional business. The good news is you don’t have to jump in all at once, you can ease into it and grow.

For a traditional franchise, you would look at a franchise fee and then a start-up fee, many times in excess of $250,000 and up. By thinking of a blog as a business, you will soon realize that having a good-looking, professional blog is definitely worth $500-$5,000 for a unique design.

But if you are just getting started, and want a unique look without the unique price, there are templates available for wordpress and other popular blogging platforms that are pre-made, and available to purchase.

These templates usually come “out of the box” ready to upload to your site, but you can also customize them to meet your needs. In fact, the templates featured here on asktheblogger.com over the years were purchased and modified. Paying a designer or company to customized a WordPress template is most of the time a lot cheaper than commissioning one from scratch.

The following are some of the most popular template sites:

Templatic

Templatic hosts a wealth of Premium WordPress themes, including the popular Consultant theme popular with many bloggers and speakers. You can purchase themes either one-by-one or the entire suite of themes for $299.
Templatic Premium WordPress Themes

Studiopress

Studiopress templates are not only premium WordPress themes, but an entire framework as well. Their templates are built on the framework called Genesis and are easily customizable. You can purchase themes one by one, as well as an entire developer package with an unlimited license for $249.
Get Genesis with StudioPress

Template Monster

Template Monster is one of the oldest and largest HTML and WordPress theme galleries around. They also have themes for just about every web application/CMS you can think of. You can spend hours going through the themes. Their themes are available for download and use, and you can pay a premium to remove it from the sale to the general public and make it exclusively yours. (except for the ones that have already been downloaded of course.)
View Template Monster Themes

Be sure to read the terms and conditions of themes and templates before you buy. Template right vary to one-time installations to developer (multiple) installations.

Check back soon for a guide to custom WordPress developers.

Filed Under: Blog Software, Blogging, Wordpress, Wordpress Templates

Should I Delete or Not Approve A Visitor’s Comments?

December 7, 2010 By Troy Rutter Leave a Comment

While you might like to believe everybody who visits your blog has the same opinion as you do, you will quickly find that is not the case. But should you delete or not approve an opposing opinion’s comments? It depends.

Contrary to popular belief, people do not have a “right” to post on your blog. Your blog, your rules. That being said, you need to be very careful if you start deleting or not approving comments.

You elected to have comments on your blog for a reason – to invite discussion. People with different opinions are visitors to your site too. Deleting comments just because you don’t share their point of view is a slippery slope, and one that can make your readserhip plunge once people find out. People come to your blog to be informed and participate, so let them.

Unless a comment is obvious spam, or simply posted to stir things up , let people voice their opinions. It will usually spark even more conversation, which could mean more visitors to your blog. If things get out of hand, you can always close the post to new comments.

Remember – it is your blog. But it is also your visitor’s blog. Finding that line is key to keeping the conversation going.

Filed Under: Blogging, Comments

How Often Should I Do A Blog Post?

December 6, 2010 By Troy Rutter Leave a Comment

One of the questions I get asked by new and intermediate authors is: How often should I be blogging? I used to have a scientific answer, akin to: 2-3 times a day, best times between 11am-2pm, do affiliate type posts on Thursdays… etc. But there is one answer that outweighs the interpretation of log files and statistics:

When you have something awesome to say.

If you are blogging just to be blogging, chances are you will tired of it and enter the “blogfading” phase when you write less and less, but get more and more frustrated at the lack of response and readers of your blog.

When I started blogging, I tried to find the perfect niche, the one that will make the most income and be easily monetized. So I researched niches, analyzed keywords and competition, then I met Joel Comm and he sat me down and simply asked:

“What are you passionate about?”

I was stunned. Here I was trying to find a niche to monetize, and he turned me in a complete 180. It sounds simple – but its true. If you aren’t passionate about your topic, you aren’t going to write about it.

Likewise, Scott Stratten of Un-Marketing told a packed crowd at BlogWorld Expo 2010 to simply “blog awesome.”

Write good, meaningful content when you have something great and meaningful to say. Whether that is twice a day or twice a week or even twice a month – great content will always outperform quantity of content.

Filed Under: Blogging, Content, General, Writing

How Can I Blog On My iPad?

December 3, 2010 By Troy Rutter Leave a Comment

Blogging on your iPad can be done in several different ways. The three basic ways to blog from your iPad include using Safari to open up your blog through the web browser, using the WordPress app (if you are on a hosted or standalone wordpress app) or using your blogs email features to write a blog post through email.

The most common way to write a blog post is to use Safari to simply open up your blog’s control panel like you normally would do on a computer with Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer or any other browser. You can access all the functions of your blogging platform through the web browser like normal.

If you have a hosted WordPress (wordpress.com) or a standalone WordPress installation, you can download and install the WordPress App from the iTunes store. While there are some bugs in the app (one that keeps popping up for me is a scrolling issue), it is an efficient editor. If you are writing blog posts to post later, be sure to set the post status to “Draft” instead of “Local Draft” or you won’t be able to access it on your blog later – it will only be on the iPad.

The third way is to use an email->blog function of WordPress or your blogging software. By configuring the settings, you can set WordPress to check a POP mailbox for blog posts, so you can simply send an email on your iPad, phone, or anywhere and it will automatically post to your blog. We’ll cover setting this up in another Q&A this coming week.

Using these three methods, your iPad can become a powerful blogging tool. You can also use any text application to edit your post before publishing, to do spell check and other fine tuning. I took only my iPad to BlogWorld Expo and it was light and easy to post updates with.

Happy blogging!

Filed Under: Blog Software, Blogging, Content, Wordpress

Should I Use Lists On My Blog?

December 3, 2010 By Troy Rutter Leave a Comment

List posts are popular. If you pick up any book about blogging or see a list of the most popular posts on your favorite blog, you will find blog posts containing lists are among the most popular.

But be careful.

I have seen blogs with recent entries that include:

Seven Ways to do….
Top 10 ways to increase…
5 days to…
25 different things to do…

etc.

Way too many!

List posts can be a way to get people into your blog, but they can be used to excess. If you are using list posts for the majority of your content, you may be trying too hard to get your users to notice.

Like anything, moderation is the key. For instance, maybe you have a series of posts on digital cameras. After doing twenty posts about different digital cameras, maybe o a post on the “5 Best Digital Cameras.” Take the content you have written, pick the best product or posts, summarize the content in the individual posts and create the new one. Then you can even link to the individual posts for more information.

List posts can indeed be powerful, but use them sparingly. Using that type of post for the majority of your content can dilute your message and turn off your visitors.

Filed Under: Blogging

Can I Use Flickr Images On My Blog?

December 2, 2010 By Troy Rutter Leave a Comment

Many bloggers obtain pictures for their blog in wrong ways. They look at Google Images or search Flickr for a relevant image, then simply include the photo in a blog post they are writing. While this is easy, it is by no means legal, and the consequences may haunt you for years to come. Imagine waking up one morning and finding your hosting provider shut your blog down for copyright infringement – not a good way to start the day.

Flickr has a category of images that are available for public use. In fact, they have several different licensing options for their. It is important to remember – just because an image is on Flickr, does not mean you can use it freely.

The most common form of license for blog posts on Flickr is the Creative Commons Attribution license. This allows you to use an image on your blog as long as you give credit (and a link to the Flickr album) of the photograph’s creator. There are over 24 Million photographs of this type currently on the system.

If you find a photo, and it says copyrighted or does not have a Creative Common license noted on it, don’t risk using it. Find another image with a suitable license, or take one yourself. Other licenses exist as well, with a full list available on the Flickr website.

Remember, just because you find an image being shared and displayed on the Internet, does not mean it is available for “fair use” or use at all.

Filed Under: Ask the Blogger, Blogging

What is Technorati and Why Should I Care?

December 2, 2010 By Troy Rutter Leave a Comment

Technorati is a web site that pulls blog posts and content from
hundreds of thousands of blogs. Listing your site on Technorati is a
good idea because it not only gives you another link to your site, but
also gives you statistics on how your blog is performing compared to
other blogs registered.

Once you have submitted and verified your site on Technorati, your
blog will appear with a thumbnail photo in your profile. From there
you can see the information Technorati has gleaned from your site and
through other means such as links to your blog from other web sites.

You can add a description to your blog and update details in case
somebody searches for more information. You will also see an
“Authority” ranking which is a number reflecting a blog’s popularity
compared to other blogs registered at Technorati. This number
fluctuates based on the number of blog posts you have, the number of
people linking to your blog, etc.

The popularity of Technorati has gone up and down over the past few
years, but it is always a good idea to submit your blog to the popular
directories so it not only can be found on the site, but will also
give you a quality back link.

Filed Under: Blogging, Technorati

How do I move my blog from Blogger.com to WordPress?

October 26, 2010 By Troy Rutter Leave a Comment

Attention! This Book Will Make You Money: How to Use Attention-Getting Online Marketing to Increase Your Revenue

Question: I’m tired of using Blogger.com, how do I move it to WordPress?

Blogger is somewhat like a beginner’s stepping stone for most bloggers. Usually the next step is moving on over to WordPress. Moving your Blogger blog to WordPress only takes just a few simple steps. Your new blog can be on WordPress in just about 10-15 minutes.

Steps:

1. Log into your WordPress account. If you do not already have a WordPress account, you will need to create one by registering.

2. Once you have logged in or created an account, click on the dashboard option.

3. Then click on “tools.” Choose “import.”

4. Select the blog from your Blogger account that you want to import and then click “import.”

5. After your blog has imported all of the posts and comments, click on the “my blog” tab to view your new blog at WordPress. You should now see your old Blogger blog now being displayed in WordPress.

Filed Under: Blog Software, Blogging

How Do I Setup Akismet In WordPress?

April 27, 2009 By Jim Kukral 2 Comments

Question: Every time you setup a blog using WordPress.org, you need to enable Akismet spam protection. But how do I set it up and get my API key to activate it?

This video will show you how to create and activate your Akismet API key.

Filed Under: Blogging, Video Tagged With: akismet