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The Writer’s Blog Workshop Series Lessons: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9

Lesson Nine:

So you’ve got a blog.  You’ve got a purpose and an audience in mind, strategies for developing regular material, and maybe you’re even starting to think about creating a snazzy new design.  But how do you attract more readers?

Most bloggers start with a small audience.  Patience is key in building a blog.  Don’t give up!  Here is a list of ways to promote your blog, for little or no money. [Read more →]

Tags: Series Articles, The Writer's Blog Workshop by Suzanne McMinn
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The Writer’s Blog Workshop Series Lessons: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8

Lesson Eight:

Choosing a blogging platform can be mind-dizzying. Blogging platforms are everywhere. I’m going to provide a list of recommended platforms, as well as a short list of some of the most popular blogging platforms I don’t recommend. All of these platforms are free to download and install (including the recommended ones), or if you prefer you may have a web designer help you with customization.

I’ve used WordPress, Movable Type, and Typepad extensively, and have dabbled briefly in Blogger, Bravejournal, and Livejournal. WordPress is far and away the best weblog software available. It’s free to download directly into your own website, with your own domain. It comes with great built-in features such as categories, blogrolls, preview, etc, and is highly customizable through plugins and template editors. It supports deeply functional options for comments, calendar, trackbacks, searches, content syndication, and importing from other platforms. Password-protection is available for selected entries, and it has extensions/plugins for photos, podcasting, video blogging, and more. It’s a powerful, easy-to-use, professional blogging platform.

Movable Type, Typepad, and Expression Engine offer many of the same features as WordPress. Find out more about them by visiting each platform’s website.

Recommended Platforms:

WordPress

Expression Engine

Movable Type

Typepad

Blogger is the most popular full-service (site hosting) blog platform around and is great for a beginning blogger just getting to know whether or not blogging is for them. Due to lack of deep customization and functionality options, it falls far short of what is available in a platform such as WordPress, and even with a custom design, the Blogger banner runs across the top–diminishing professional appearance and style. I don’t recommend any of these platforms for longterm, professional blogging purposes.

Blogging Platforms Not Recommended:

Blogger

Livejournal

Bravejournal

Choose a blogging platform carefully. Invest in design, customization, and installation of a professional blog for longterm functionality and style.  You, too, can blog like a pro.  Convinced yet?  Check out this article on how to choose a WordPress theme and get started!

The Writer’s Blog Workshop Series Lessons: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 -7- 8

Tags: How to Blog, Series Articles, The Writer's Blog Workshop by Suzanne McMinn
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The Writer’s Blog Workshop Series Lessons: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7

Lesson Seven:

Your website/blog is your face to the world.  It should be professional.  If you choose to install your own blog platform and design, we have articles here to help you.  But if you aren’t technically or artistically inclined, there’s no need to despair.  There are many qualified and reasonably priced designers who can work with you to create the blog of your dreams.   Register a domain name and start looking for the right designer for you.

Tips to consider in choosing a designer: [Read more →]

Tags: How to Blog, Series Articles, The Writer's Blog Workshop by Suzanne McMinn
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The Writer’s Blog Workshop Series Lessons: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7

Lesson Six:

Now that you’ve got a clear idea in your mind about the emotional impact you want your design to present, in sync with your original branding, let’s talk about the more technical aspects. Functionality.  You want a clean, clear design that is user-friendly.  No matter how attractive your design is, no matter how perfectly it reflects your author branding, if it’s not user-friendly, visitors will be frustrated–and go away.  We don’t want that!

Points to keep in mind: [Read more →]

Tags: How to Blog, Series Articles, The Writer's Blog Workshop by Suzanne McMinn
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The Writer’s Blog Workshop Series Lessons: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7

Lesson Five:

How do you choose a functional, practical, and beautiful design for your blog? What points should you consider when designing a blog? I’m going to divide the discussion about design into three parts–the emotional impact of design, the technical aspects of design, and the down-and-dirty on getting a design installed.  This lesson covers the emotional element. 

Let’s go back to the professional purpose for a creative artist’s blog–marketing. What does your blog design say about you as an artist?  [Read more →]

Tags: How to Blog, Series Articles, The Writer's Blog Workshop by Suzanne McMinn
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