Three Easy Steps to Start Blogging for the New Year

Happy New Year!!! Are you celebrating yet or all done?

RR MuseumR Dining carA few days ago a new blogger asked me for information about blogging.  I remember life as a  neophyte blogger.  Blogging experts wrote in a foreign language, as did photographers.  My blogging friends still help me learn new techniques.

SFW History Ladies SD 1-5-2013141a
Blogging friends Marsha and Russel Ray

 

1. Decide the Purpose of Your Blog – Is it for you or for you AND readers?  Remember you can change it later.

  • Are you a vanity blogger or commercial blogger? Vanity bloggers DO NOT selling products.
  • If you want ANY traffic, you want to increase statistics. To build statistics quickly experts teach that specific blogs draw more readers. True! Readers click in and out rarely leaving a comment. If the information is good, blog statistics climb rapidly.
  • Random blogs get less traffic, but attract like-minded readers who chat and build friendships instead of statistics.
  • Most blog readers prefer positive blogs to negative ones. Complaining housed in humor works, but most venters need a private blog. Cause-venting attracts readers, but doesn’t necessarily build long-term relationships. If something bad has happened to you, but your overall blog is positive, sharing makes you more human, but folks DO NOT want a constant diet of it unless it is VERY humorous.
  • If feedback is important to you, short articles (500 words or less) work better than long ones. Edit, edit, edit!  Break long posts into chunks and publish them later.
  • If your blog teaches a skill, share what you learned AND what you thought about your learning, including your mistakes. People will get to know you, learn from you, and keep coming back.
  • Blogs NEED pictures even if you borrow images from Google. Daytime bloggers enjoy music, but songs and videos load slowly, and impatient blog surfers may give up. Sleepless bloggers with families won’t listen to your music at night unless they have a blog cave, or their families are deaf.

kildeer 1

2.  Label Posts with Blogging Categories

  • Organized people may start with categories, and then write posts.
  • Random bloggers like me start rambling, then determine what categories fit.
  • WordPress will suggest tags. Tags differ from categories, and help WWW readers find information quickly.
  • Categories help readers who come to read you find what you write about. They also help you find articles you already wrote about specific topics.
On the Floor of Congress http://www.ushistory.org/us/19e.asp
This ia a battle in your brain. Is it History? Blogging Skills?, Famous Art? Best Lectures Ever?

3. Label Pictures with Blogging Categories – rainy or snowy day projects!

  • Most of my picture titles started with the letters IMG. Poor labels filled my blog with repeated pictures, and used up my storage capacity. Edit using the scale changer. (Later, no hurry on that!)
  • Click on a picture to edit it and change the title using category names.
  • Use the text feature as you process your photos to  write your name on the image.   If you don’t, some malicious person might Photoshop your image and re-purpose it.  I did not sign them at first as you can see with my killdeer, but who cares if she ends up protecting a lion in Africa and not her eggs in my driveway?
Blogging skills
Blogging skills See the copyright signature????  Its tiny.  I make them  more pronounced now!  

That’s enough for today because you need to go post your first post of the new  year.

 

 

Author: Marsha

Hi, I'm Marsha Ingrao, author, blogger and retired teacher/consultant. Read more about me here. http://wp.me/P7tP3I-2

26 thoughts on “Three Easy Steps to Start Blogging for the New Year”

    1. Right, MFR! You are the KING of blogging. You’re a doll, totally FUNNY, which makes EVERYTHING you do work. You can do or say just about anything, and it works! 🙂 🙂 What don’t you write a post for my blog? Or do an interview. You have been in this business for quite a while now! 🙂 Happy New Year, MFR. xox

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    1. You are so cute Yvonne. We do squabble quite a bit. I think Ralphie was making fun of me, don’t you? He knows he is the KING of the blogosphere! I still think it’s the HAT. I’m getting me one of those. 🙂 Love you Y xxxxx Thanks for the heart. I shared without a fight. 🙂

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      1. #Yvonne
        Thanks for the heart my friend. I wanted the other one, but as it’s Marsha she can have it ! Happy New Year to all at Dismal Swamp ! xox ❤

        #Marsha
        Yes. It's the HAT ! I knew it ! But you are great at blogging, writing and taking photographs. Have a fun 2015 MVBFM xox ❤

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        1. Ralphie gets pouty?????? NO!!!!!! That spoils my whole image of MFR! 🙂 I don’t think either my brother or my husband would agree that I’m the NICE kid in the family. My brother once sent me a 20+ page letter telling me what an awful older sister I was. I eventually reminded him that when he turned 2, I was not quite 4, and maybe he should cut me some slack! 🙂 He did. We’re good friends now.

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      2. HAR HAR the “horrid” photoshoot went supremely well and super-model Sir showed off the merchandise beautifully (a frilly lavender scarf a local artisan made). I don’t know if the artist intended this to be its use but I thought it looked just smashing on Sir. Just in time to “ring in” the New Year! 😉

        Hum…

        She may pound me later if she sees the post…

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  6. I agree with section 1, dot point 4 wholeheartedly. There’s nothing more off-putting than a post that is whinging or negative. I just stop reading. I want to read about people’s joys not their complaints.

    Great post Marsha. It’s always good to refresh these ideas. Thanks.

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  7. Superb tips! I want to especially utilize the tip about up-beat posts- I want to post more humour-themed commentary and more videos. I wrote a list of titles to remind me of the many little stories I can put into a post throughout the year- not to mention the ridiculous ones that keep happening all the time. 😉 Naturally…

    Hope you had a marvelous celebration, ringing in the New Year! Looking forward to another year imbibing of this splendid blog and sharing, laughing and learning with you dear Marsha, as we sail the bloggy sea 😉

    Jubilant cheers,

    smilingtoad

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    1. Thank you AJ! I look forward to more posts from you. You write excellent posts, so get hopping! Swimming? You are an amphibian, so I guess either is appropriate! Lots of jubilent and wonderful cheers to you, too! 🙂 xxx

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  8. Marsha, how do you use the text feature to write your name on the image? I’m not sure what you meant by that, although I realize you are indicating a watermark, of sorts, and I like that. Just not sure what you meant. Thanks.

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    Reply

    1. In Photoshop there is a toolbox of options along the left side of the screen that allow you to paint, write text, and alter your pictures in many ways. The Text option is a T, and you can choose horizontal or vertical. You can also add a watermark through batch processing also, but I don’t like that as well. Other programs, like Paint Shop Pro have the same kinds of options.

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