Two hottest topics on the internet: Blogging and WordPress. Emergence and growth of blogs – late 1990s WordPress hit t

1. Blogging Success Stories

2. Introduction • Two hottest topics on the internet: Blogging and WordPress. • Emergence and growth of blogs – late 1990s • WordPress hit the world – 2003 Blogging Success Stories

3. Blog • Personal diary. • Daily pulpit. • Collaborative space. • Political soapbox. • Breaking news outlet. • Collection of links. • Your own private thoughts. • Memos to the world. • ~ Blogger Blogging Success Stories

4. Blogging • Where the Internet is about availability of information, blogging is about making information creation available to anyone. • Blogging is using a new medium for what it is good for - connecting and interacting • ~ George Siemens Blogging Success Stories

5. Types of Blogs • Personal blog • Corporate blog • Microblog • vlog • Photoblog • Audio blogs • Moblog • edublogs Blogging Success Stories

6. Kevin Muldoon • Blogger, Affiliate Marketer. WordPress Junkie. • Started using WordPress – 2007 – BloggingTips • Likes WordPress because: • number of plugins and themes available. • Flexibility due to plugins. • Best CMS online. • Easy to use. Blogging Success Stories

7. Kevin Muldoon • WP improvement wishlist: • Comment system-extremely vulnerable to spam and hacking attacks. • Core version of WP needs to be more secure and less susceptible to attacks. • How WP has helped: • Sold 2 good content blogs. • WP blogs are easier to sell on Flippa. Blogging Success Stories

8. Zac Johnson • Super-affiliate offering Affiliate Marketing tips. • Six-figure purchase of BloggingTips from successful blogger, Kevin Muldoon. • Started using WordPress – 2007 – ZacJohnson.com Blogging Success Stories

9. Zac Johnson • Likes WordPress because: • Free, very easy to use and install. • Powerful. • How WP has helped: • Would not have started ZacJohnson.com without WP. Blogging Success Stories

10. Nicole Dean • Business consultant. • Started using WordPress – 2007. • Likes WordPress because: • Easy to outsource. • WP remained simple at its core over years of development. • Customizable functionalities are added in the form of plugins. Blogging Success Stories

11. Nicole Dean • WP improvement wishlist: • Security. • How WP has helped: • Allowed two-way communication –get to know readers more through their comments. • Able to streamline more, and be more productive. • Ties into social media nicely. Blogging Success Stories

12. Celene Harrelson • Business coach. • Started using WordPress – Late 2009. • Likes WordPress because: • Other successful entrepreneurs were using it. • Easy to learn and maintain. • Great flexibility and functionality. • No tech skills required. • Easy to teach. Blogging Success Stories

13. Celene Harrelson • Likes WordPress because: • Empowers non-techie people to have complete control over business. • WP improvement wishlist: • Happy with current status. • How WP has helped: • Facilitates teaching. • Simple SEO, fast results. • More income for me and client. Blogging Success Stories

14. Angela Wills • Training center for small business. • Courses-WordPress, Gimp. • Runs affiliate referrals, podcast. • Started using WordPress – 2006. • Likes WordPress because: • Ability to make fast changes to site customization. • Plugins added many features quickly. • Caters to both blog and static pages. Blogging Success Stories

15. Angela Wills • WP improvement wishlist: • Removal of comment spam and hackers. • How WP has helped: • All 13 websites built on WordPress. • Helped hundreds of small business owners learn WordPress with highly successful and popular training program. Blogging Success Stories

16. WordPress • Themes • Provides structure for WP core system. Displays features in different styles. • Plugins • Separate small programs. • Plugs in to current theme to offer additional features. • Widgets • Add content and features to the sidebars of a page. Blogging Success Stories

17. Popular Plugins Blogging Success Stories

18. Tasks • Decide and commit to starting and maintaining a blog. • What is the objective of the blog? • Who is the audience? • Decide on the name of your blog. • Install WordPress. • Decide on the design issues. • Decide on the functions of the blog. Blogging Success Stories

19. Tasks • Install the selected theme and plugins. • Write the ‘About’ post. • Set up the ‘Contact Page’. • Write at least 3 good articles. • Offer a newsletter signup form or a valuable free report, ebook, templates or anything that offers good value to your prospective reader. Blogging Success Stories

20. Tasks • Publicise your blog in social media. • Get the conversation going. • Teamwork – collaborate. • Keep adding relevant contents. • Monitor the traffic. • Work on opportunities to monetise the blog. Blogging Success Stories

21. Measures • Number of visits • Percentage of new visits • Visits from search engines • Source of traffic • Bounce rate • Pages / visit (length of stay) • Referrals from other sites • Conversion • Number and quality of comments • Content sharing on social media Blogging Success Stories

22. Obstacles to blogging success • Thinking that blogging is an easy path to wealth but are unwilling to put in real effort. • Does not take blogging seriously. • Blog about topics that one is not passionate about. • Does not manage it like a business. • Does not promote the blog. • Wrong business model. Blogging Success Stories

23. Tips for WordPress for Business Keep it simple. Offer a great opt-in. Categorized for easy access. Add a search box. Add product images. Add Contact information. Domain name. Shopping cart. Your picture. Landing page– static or latest post. Blogging Success Stories

24. Avoid these mistakes • Not backing up. • Ignoring WordPress updates. • Not using suitable plugins. • Using the default Favicon. • Not mobile friendly. • Website / Blog takes too long to load. Blogging Success Stories

25. Avoid these mistakes • Homepage is displaying full length posts. The ‘read more’ feature is recommended. • Having inactive plugin and themes. This is a security risk as hacks can happen. • Not integrating with social media. Blogging Success Stories

26. FAQ • Q: How do I know if my blog will be read?Answer • Good content. • SEO. • Provide RSS feed. • Publicise in social media platform. Blogging Success Stories

27. FAQ • Q: How do I know if my content has been copied?AnswerFind out using: • Copyscape, or • through your trackbacks in WordPress or • Google Alert Blogging Success Stories

28. FAQ • Q: What if I run out of ideas on what to write, or if the progress is slow? • Answer • Collaborate with other bloggers. http://myblogguest.com • Outsource. • Use PLR. • Always check quality and edit. Blogging Success Stories

29. FAQ • Q: What is the difference between wordpress.com and wordpress.org? • Answer • wordpress.com: • content is hosted with wordpress.com. • Use all features on site. Blogging Success Stories

30. FAQ • Q: What is the difference between wordpress.com and wordpress.org? • Answer • wordpress.org: • Install the WordPress software on your own server. • Add features using themes, plugins, widgets. Blogging Success Stories

31. FAQ • Q: Can I build a career on Blogging and WordPress? • Answer • Career options (WordPress): • trainers and consultants in WordPress. • business developing WordPress themes and plugins. Blogging Success Stories

32. FAQ • Q: Can I build a career on Blogging and WordPress? • Answer • Career options (Blogger): • Professional blogger – freelance or corporate. • Marketing. • Copywriting. Blogging Success Stories

33. Conclusion • Blogging is a profession. • WordPress is the tool. • Sharpen the use of the tool and perfect your writing skills. • Learn to promote your work. • Be consistent to gain momentum. • Success is possible! Blogging Success Stories