Tag: blogging

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Writing and Publishing

What’s a Widget and Why Do I Want Them on My WordPress Blog?

Part 4 in the continuing series on using WordPress for blogging: a platform-building, book-selling tool.

Last week we talked about WordPress themes. Today, the subject is widgets. If a theme is analogous to a cover or skin for a cell phone, then a widget corresponds to an app. Just as our smartphones don’t need apps, our websites and blogs don’t need widgets, but for both, they increase functionality and usability.

On the main blog page of this website, the widgets appear on the right side of the page. There are presently six widgets:

Text: In a text box you can put any text (or HtmL code, such as a link). I use this text box for a mini “about me” section.

Subscribe: Many people, myself included, like to receive an email each time a post is added. This is an essential element for every blog.

RSS Feed: Other people use a blog reader, which requires an RSS feed. After email, it’s the second most common way people read blogs. If you don’t have one, you will lose the audience. (You don’t need to understand how RSS works, just add the widget and WordPress does the rest.)

Topics: This lists categories of posts. Clicking one of the links will list posts on the subject.

Recent Posts: Shows my last five posts.

Post Archive: This pull-down menu lists each month I posted something, along with the number of posts for that month.

There are, of course, many more widgets to choose from. Some come standard with WordPress and others are included with the JetPack plugin (more on plugins next week). Plus there are many, many more. But start with some basic ones and go from there.

There are a couple of warnings about widgets. First, less is more, so don’t clutter your site with every possible widget. Second, certain widgets can slow down your site or conflict with other widgets or certain themes, so add widgets one at a time to evaluate the impact on your site.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

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Writing and Publishing

How Often Do You Post on Your Blog?

Last Saturday, in this series on blogging, I talked about the importance of having a theme to guide content for our blogs. Another critical element is to follow a regular posting plan.

On this blog, I post every Saturday morning. It’s a good rhythm for me and regular readers know to expect new content each Saturday at 8 a.m. Some of you even integrate reading my blog into your Saturday morning routine. You honor me—and motivate me. Although my self-discipline is enough to move me to post, your support propels me to strive to make it worthwhile. I don’t want to let you down.

I blog according to a schedule, and I think every serious blogger should. Yet I also know some bloggers aren’t wired that way. Feeling the pressure of a regular deadline would steal your blogging bliss. To you, I suggest a goal of posting at least once a week. Anything less and your blog looks like a hobby, something you do for yourself and not for others.

When I look at a blog, one of the key things I consider is posting frequency. If there are no posts in the past week, I know they haven’t committed it to their blog. I may still follow them if I have a good reason to stay connected, but that’s about it. If the last post was a month or more ago, I close the window and never give it another thought.

Serious bloggers post regularly. Though it may or may not be scheduled, they do add new content each week. If your blogging frequency isn’t there yet, don’t despair, but do make a plan to blog on a regular basis: your readers, followers, and fans deserve it.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

Categories
Writing and Publishing

What’s a WordPress Theme?

Part 3 in the continuing series on using WordPress for blogging: a platform-building, book-selling tool.

Each blog or website needs a theme. There are two ways to understand this.

From a content standpoint, a blog needs a theme or topic to guide writing and attract readers. The theme of this blog is book publishing, of which blogging is a related concept. However, that’s not the focus of this post.

From a technical standpoint, a theme is how a WordPress blog looks. This is the focus of this post.

Consider cell phones. We can buy a skin or cover to change how our phone looks. Just by adding a cover, we alter its appearance so it looks like an entirely different model, even though it’s the same phone underneath. Some people buy one cover and never change it, while others change their covers often.

A WordPress theme is like a cell phone cover: it alters how WordPress looks, even though the same WordPress platform exists under it. Some people pick one WordPress theme and never change it, while others try different themes and frequently change them. However, while a cover is optional for a cell phone, a theme is required for WordPress.

Some WordPress themes are free and others have a cost. There are thousands of themes to pick from. If you install WordPress today, it comes with a free theme, called Twenty Fourteen. Each year WordPress releases a new theme. For this blog, I use the Twenty Eleven theme, which I have on all twelve of my WordPress sites. Someday, I’ll look at other themes, but right now, I enjoy the consistency of maintaining sites that all use the same theme. Plus, I like the elegant simplicity of the Twenty Eleven theme.

To begin, I recommend using the free theme that comes with WordPress. Don’t worry about finding a different theme to start with. Instead, focus on the basic configuration and adding great content.

When we get a new cell phone, the first goal is to use it; adding a cover is secondary. So too, when we install WordPress, our primary objective is to use it; finding the perfect theme can happen later.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

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Writing and Publishing

Why Every Blog Needs a Theme

This is part 3 in our continuing series on blogging. First, I shared why writers should blog, and then I gave the four elements of a post. Today’s topic is the one key thing we must do before our first post: develop a blogging theme.

For my first blog Musings, I wrote about anything and everything, whatever came to mind. One day I’d blog about family and the next, politics. Following that might be a post about my yard and then, sports. I wrote about nature and weather, about geeky things and spiritual things; sometimes I’d be funny and other times, serious. Other topics included entertainment, travel, holidays, business, animals, writing, the seasons, and more. I was all over the place, and at one time, my tagline was “the musings of a meandering mind.”

My blog failed to find an audience; even the family eventually gave up. I needed focus. Though my original blog is still there and receives an occasional update, I’ve started two other blogs to address specific topics I’m passionate about.

My primary blog addresses biblical spirituality, where I post multiple times a week. This is my other blog and covers writing; I post each Saturday. For both, their respective themes focus my writing and present readers with consistency.

It took time to find my theme. First, I listed topics I was passionate about and what I enjoyed covering. Then, I eliminated those I didn’t want to regularly write about and those where I didn’t have much to say. Of the five remaining items, I asked, “If I had to pick only one, what would it be?” The answer was biblical spirituality. (Writing was second, so I do this blog for fun and variety.)

If your blog doesn’t have a theme or focus, it will likely flounder as mine did for years, but when you follow a theme, you will build an audience.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

Categories
Writing and Publishing

What’s the Difference Between a WordPress Page and Post?

Part 2 in the continuing series on using WordPress for blogging: a platform-building, book-selling tool.

Many beginning WordPress bloggers are confused by the difference between a page and a post. Aside from both being one-syllable, four-letter words that start with “P,” they also look the same, both when writing them and viewing them. However, they are different and each has a purpose and place.

Page: A page is like our Twitter profile or the tabs on Facebook. Consider using a page for content you want to always be available. Use a page for topics such as “About,” “Contact,” “Services,” and your home page. Often pages are shown in tabs or menus on blogs.

Post: A post is like a tweet or Facebook status update. Use a post for ongoing content. The most recent post is shown first, with the rest following it in reverse chronological order. Also, posts may be placed in a category (analogous to a folder) and linked with similar posts using a tag.

Though I don’t recommend it, I’ve seen WordPress sites that use only posts, as well as ones with only pages. Though there may be good reasons for this, the list is short. Usually, someone who only uses pages or just posts doesn’t understand the difference. Most blogs use pages and posts—and blogs look better when they do.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

Categories
Writing and Publishing

Four Elements of a Successful Blog Post: Use Each Component to Maximize Results

Last week, I shared eight reasons why every writer should blog and also linked to my new series on setting up and using WordPress. Today, I want to look at the four key components of a successful post.

Title: What might make for a great article title may not be a great blog title. Blog titles need to appeal to both readers and search engines. When blogging, avoid short titles and don’t use a play on words, a clever twist, or provocative thought. The title must make it clear what the post is about, include words a search engine will like and make the best use of the space. Here are some formulas for what works well:

  • Answer a question, as in “How to…”
  • Ask a question, as in “Why people…”
  • Give a numbered list, which I’ve done in this post.
  • Use a title and subtitle format, which I’ve also done in this post.

Content: What we write in the body of our post is critical. As they say, “content is king.” We’ll talk more about this in future posts, but briefly, our posts must be well written, carefully proofed, concise, and scannable.

Category: Each post needs a category, which is like a folder of similar posts. Always pick one category for each post; don’t use the default of “uncategorized.” We want a handful of carefully considered categories, appropriate to our blog’s theme. I recommend at least three but no more than eight. Using categories focuses our thoughts, organizes our work, and helps readers find related posts. Plus, I understand categories help search engines.

Tag: I once thought a tag was synonymous with keywords, but they are different. A tag is a word or short phrase that connects one post with similar posts. One SEO expert said to use no more than six tags, but another said one is ideal. I recommend one or possibly two tags per post. I also pick tags I’ll likely use again. Tags help readers discover other content on our blogs and can aid search engines.

Most bloggers focus on content, but give little thought to the title, may sometimes use a category, and usually skip tags. Yes, these extra considerations may distract from writing great content, but with practice, they will come quickly and take little extra time.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

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Writing and Publishing

Eight Reasons Why Every Writer Should Blog

I feel strongly about the importance of blogging, and the title of this post confirms that. However, I admit to tapping hyperbole to make a point. A more accurate title might be “Eight reasons why every writer should consider blogging.”

Blogging may not be right for everyone; surely there are exceptions. But before you claim an exemption, consider my eight reasons why you should blog:

Blogging Hones Our Skills

To master any skill, we must practice. Blogging is a great way writers can practice, and it’s most effective because we do it in public.

Blogging Increases Our Speed

As we blog, our proficiency increases. Sometimes this is out of necessity when we have a limited time to write and publish a post. But mostly it’s because of the ongoing rhythm of blogging. The more we blog, the faster we become.

Blogging Improves Our Quality

At first, my writing quality dropped. In my haste to publish posts, I’d rush through the piece, not proofread carefully enough, and include errors. But desiring to avoid reader notifications about typos, oversights, and omissions, I discovered ways to improve quality along with increasing my speed. This isn’t to imply every post is error-free, but I know my posts today have a higher quality than when I started or even last year.

Blogging Offers Quick Feedback

When we write a book, it may be months before anyone sees anything we wrote and years before the public can read the finished product. With blogging, feedback happens quickly. We immediately know when we resonate with our audience and when we bomb. Plus, if we need to fix something, we can do so just as quickly.

Blogging Establishes Good Habits

Blogging is a regular and reoccurring action, which reinforces the habit of writing every day or at least writing frequently and not just when we feel like it.

Blogging Prepares Us to Meet Deadlines

Aside from writing great content, perhaps the second most important skill of a writer is the ability to meet deadlines. Between my blogs, I have four posts to write every week (and usually more), so I must meet four mini-deadlines every seven days throughout the year. Then, when big deadlines loom, I’m prepared, practiced, and ready to meet them.

Blogging Builds a Platform

Blogging is my number one platform-building tool. If you have a more effective way, great, but if not, look to blogging.

Blogging Connects With Readers

How often have you finished reading a book and wished you could talk to the author about it? It happens to me but usually, I don’t have that luxury. With blogging we do. And isn’t connecting with readers why we write in the first place?

If you’re not blogging, I invite you to start. Check out my new series on how to set up a WordPress blog.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

Categories
Writing and Publishing

Using WordPress For Your Blog

Two Options to Consider

This is a blog about book publishing, yet today starts a series on blogging. Why?

  1. Authors need a platform to promote their book, and blogging is an effective platform-building tool.
  2. Blogging is a form of publishing.
  3. Blogging helps us hone our writing skills in a public setting.
  4. Some writers turn successful blogs into a book.

While there are many options to use for blogging, I’ll only address WordPress, simply because it’s the most popular option. WordPress is to blogging, as Microsoft Word is to word-processing.

With WordPress, there are two flavors to consider: WordPress.com and WordPress.org. They’re essentially the same thing and merely implemented in different ways.

The benefits of WordPress.com:

  • The beginner package is completely free. (There is an annual cost for the premium and business plans.)
  • It is quick and easy to get started with WordPress.com.
  • It has a reduced feature set, which minimizes complexity over having too many options.

The weaknesses of WordPress.com

  • An awkward address: The web address for the beginner plan (the free option) will look like blog-name.WordPress.com. (You can buy your own domain name to point to your WordPress.com blog, but then it is no longer free.)
  • A long web address: Most of the short and nicer blog names have already been taken, so your blog address will likely end up being long. (Again, buying your own domain name is a workaround.)
  • No direct support (with the beginner package). There is, however, a strong WordPress community, which is often – but not always – a good resource in resolving problems and answering questions.
  • Ads: In exchange for completely free, you agree to allow ads on your blog. (There are no ads with the premium or business plans.)
  • Limitations: To achieve simplicity, the trade-off is some of the functionality available from WordPress.org isn’t included in WordPress.com.

Here’s why you should consider WordPress.com:

  • The beginner package is completely free. If you have no money, this is the ideal solution.
  • It’s a great way to learn WordPress. That’s what I did, but I soon switched to WordPress.org because I needed additional features and flexibility.

If WordPress.com feels like the right solution for you, start using WordPress.com today.

Next week I’ll talk about getting started with WordPress.org.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

Categories
Writing and Publishing

Integrate Blogging With Your Author Platform

As the final post in this series on platform building, we’ll address blogging. Although blogging isn’t right for every author, it is something that warrants serious consideration. After all, you are a writer and you wrote a book, so blogging is a natural extension of what you do: using words to connect with your audience and build a following.

Your blog should be integrated into your website, not a separate, stand-alone effort. (Conversely, you can expand your blog to become a website.) There are two aspects of blogging: the technical part of setting up a blog and the writing part of producing fresh content on a regular basis.

In upcoming posts, we’ll look at both, starting with a series on using WordPress for your blog and website. This website, by the way, uses WordPress.

This series on blogging will be a great primer for those who want to start blogging, provide helpful tips for those already using WordPress, and may even inspire bloggers not using WordPress to switch.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

Categories
Writing and Publishing

I Blog, Therefore I Am: The Blogs of Peter DeHaan

This year, marks my sixth year of blogging, with my original blog, Musings, still online, although I’ve moved it a few times. Lately, however, it hasn’t had much activity, with my focus shifting to my other blogs.

Over the years, Musings has had various taglines; here are the ones I remember:

  • “Peter DeHaan’s Musings.”
  • “The Musings of Peter DeHaan, covering nothing special and everything under the sun.”
  • “The Musings of a Meandering Mind.”
  • “The Musings of Peter DeHaan.”
  • “Peter DeHaan’s Blog.”
  • “The Musings of Peter DeHaan: Sharing a Slice of Life”

Musings have over 500 posts and 100,000 words: enough to fill a book or two. In my spare time, I’m working on a project to take the best of the posts and compile them into a book. When I finish, I’ll let you know.

Today, I’m still blogging as evidenced here in Byline, but Spiritually Speaking is my main blog. Altogether, they account for more than 1,400 posts and a quarter of a million words. That’s a lot of blogging.

René Descartes said, “I think, therefore I am.”

With respect to him, I’d like to update that to “I blog, therefore I am.”

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.