See How Easily You Can Improve Your Blog
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As I said in my last post I am making improvements to my case study blog, well actually completely changing it.
It’s come to the stage where I can just carry on blogging as usual on the case study blog, or I can really show what I have learned about my journey with digital photography and take it to the next step. Well I am going for the next step option!
Over the next couple of weeks I will be making some major improvements to the blog, which will include completely re-designing the blog, adding some new features and updating the administrative side. So you can see why I need a couple of weeks.
Shopping List…
I am going to need everything from a new theme to even changing the passwords on the back end of Wordpress. So here’s a little look at what you can expect:
• New premium Wordpress theme. I want to use a premium theme because they give better quality than the free themes, and I don’t have the budget yet for a custom one.
• Adding a free weekly newsletter that readers can subscribe to.
• Expanding on the categories and posts to include: more how to articles, new projects and inspirational photographers.
• Upgrading all plugins and even Wordpress if the compatibility with my plugins is ok.
• Buy a DSLR!
Nothing like giving myself a large workload, but I feel held back at the moment so it’s definitely the right time to do it.
Exciting times…
I’m very excited about this because it’s all about the new way I am seeing my blogs, and this one in particular. I have been talking about this in more depth in this post. Up until now I have been putting off any improvements I wanted to make to the blog. Until I had written more posts, or the blog had become bigger, or any other excuse I could think of to stop me from stepping outside of my comfort zone, and trying something new. I’m sure it will be a learning curve and I suspect it will be steep, but that’s all part of the fun, and the achievement. I’ll be talking about it all here.
Mandy
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Site Search Tags:premium wordpress themes, the photographer blogPlanning my next move
So as I talked about in my last post I am going to be making some changes to my blogs. But first of all I have to write out some type of plan for what I am going to do, and how and when I am going to be doing it. If I’ve found anything it’s that the better planned you are for what you are going to talk about and write about, the better the blog will flow.
Core objectives
And that starts with the core objectives for the blogs, what kind of blog do I want to write and what type of blogger do I want to be. These haven’t changed, I still want to be a respectful blogger to my readers giving them value and being honest. Also to be respectful to my fellow bloggers, by not spamming in any of my traffic generation techniques, only trying to add to the conversation and also to make new friends.
Mindset
This is all part of the mindset for blogging knowing what you are prepared to do and where you draw the line, what type of blogger do you want to be.
Words are strong things and what we write here can be seen by anyone and that is always something to consider. I feel it’s important to be aware of the impact you can make on others around you.
But now my mindset is newly enthused and looking towards planning my blogging in a new way, with business in mind. So I need to reach out and get out there more by starting to do some things I’ve not done before, like working with other bloggers whether that will be interviews, guest posting or other projects. Without worrying about rejection, and making sure I’m ready in case it happens.
What am I doing with the blogs?
I’m going to look at the blogs from an ‘on page’ point of view to start with and get the content and layout right for what I want to do. Then I will look at how I want to improve the ‘off page’ or marketing side of my blogging.
Firstly this blog, I am going to spring clean the content and check all the pages are up to date. I have already changed the way I advertise on the blog and I will be adding a advertise page for direct sponsors. But this is primarily where I share what I have learned about blogging, with the possibility of compiling it into a more structured ebook in the future.
Secondly, I am going to be completely overhauling the case study blog - The Photographer Blog, so it will be unrecognizable. This is the blog where I put into practice what I have learned, so it is the natural choice to have my recent ideas added to it. Which I will talk about in more depth in the next post.
The changes will include everything from a complete redesign, right down to the simple things like making sure I respond when I am emailed by a blogger or by a reader, which unfortunately I haven’t been very good at so far. And that can be improved by simplifying my email accounts. The changes will have an all round affect.
Mandy
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Site Search Tags:mindset, planning, the photographer blogHas the penny dropped yet?
I’m going through a very interesting part of my journey with blogging at the moment, and as you may have noticed in my posts I am writing about what I am going through. As much for me as anyone else, as it helps cement my ideas and what I am thinking in my mind when I see them in print.
What’s been the problem?
I became a bit stagnant with my blogs and I was having trouble deciding what I should post about next, which in turn has affected how often I posted. So of course I started to look at my blogs as a whole and check my direction, which resulted in being a little bit off. I then set myself a 30 day challenge to try and get myself back on track and focussed.
I’m now reaching the middle of that challenge and I’ve found it’s been incredibly easy to get side tracked and absorbed into some of the blogs I’ve been commenting on, instead of getting on with the job in hand. Like Problogger starting a series looking at top bloggers tipping points for instance. I was getting side tracked mainly because there are some fantastic blogs out there with really absorbing content, so much so that I found myself reading the blogs far too much. And also I was looking for answers…
What did I find
Then I came across the Blogging Experiment, a blog that has recently been bought by Max Davis, he has made some changes and been putting out some interesting content, in other words he’s really turned the blog around. Before the other day I think I had maybe visited the site once when under the previous owner. But now there was something different in the content that stopped me dead in my tracks and made me read on.
He is showing how to turn the blog around and how to make money on the internet, all stuff I have read before (a lot) and it’s never impacted me like it did this day. It wasn’t so much the content although that helped, it was more the timing of when I read the post. It’s really affected me in a positive way.
I was being cautious and just trying different things out going from one post to the next without moving on with my plans, I wanted to build more readers first. That was just an excuse, I didn’t believe in myself. I don’t feel the need to wait anymore, the kick I was waiting for has happened. I wasn’t aiming high enough, but a shift in my mindset and how I look at my blogging has given me the belief I was lacking.
I knew the answer already!
It’s been like the penny has dropped. I have to start seeing my blogs as a business and look at the planning and growth of them first and foremost. Instead of concentrating on the blogging part alone by that I mean SEO, posting, traffic, design, commenting etc… and losing sight of the plan I originally had for the blogs. I need to look at the plan first, what do I want to accomplish and achieve? Then write it down and base the blogging around that. If I get my mindset and plan for the blogs right first, then everything else will follow. It may sound confusing, it sounds like they are all part of the same process, but it is a subtle mindset change. And that’s what’s going to be important and really make the difference to my blogging.
The Blogging Experiment does focus on the money side and how to make it, and I’m not going to hide that I want to make money from my blogging, but that is only part of what I want to achieve.
What are the odds on that…
For that moment in time all the planets must have been aligned or something, because it must be a million to one chance of me finding that post just when I needed it like that. I have read tons on having the right mindset and it’s simply not sunk in like this. But by just reading that one article I was able to adapt it to my situation and how I was feeling, and my brain seems to have switched on like a light bulb.
It’s not that I’ve got lots of new ideas, it’s just that I’ve remembered my old ones and got a new perspective on my way forward. I’m now itching to get to my computer and have a long to do list.
Have you felt like this?
I want to share this, I so often read how people got to where they are and how they did it. But it’s not easily replicated. You do have to do it for yourself and find your own way through the blogging minefield, there’s no definitive right or wrong way to do it. It’s individual and that’s the attraction to blogging for many, the fact you can mold a blog into whatever you want it to be. And that’s why I want to share the hardest part of the journey and not pretend it didn’t happen, to show everyone goes through difficult times but it’s possible to come out the other side. I get my strength from the hard parts, and I hope others will too from reading this.
Mandy
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Site Search Tags:blogging experiment, blogging mindset, ProBloggerUsing Polls on your blog
I thought I’d try out a different blogging tool that I haven’t used before. I chose web polls because when I see them on blogs they always catch my eye, and I like to vote on them and see the results if they interest me.
And I have never used anything like them on my blogs before, so they seemed a good place to start. I’ve also put one on my other blog, the photographer blog.
I’m using vizu to create the polls and it is really easy to use, create and add them to my blog.
I can’t wait to see what the answers will be like, I think they are a great way to find out what other people use or think, and a great conversation starter.
I hope they will be a good addition to my blogs and may give me a view of what the readers of this blog use and like.
So here is my first poll on this blog, a basic question I know but a good starting point. Happy voting…
Opinion Polls & Market Research
I’ll also place it in the sidebar so it’s easy to find.
Mandy
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Site Search Tags:polls, the photographer blog, vizuHow to track your visitors
Today I’m going to look at how I track the visitors to my blog so I can see how many there are, where they are from and how long they spend on the blog etc… In fact it’s quite bewildering how much information you can see about your blog, and can then use to help improve the experience for your readers.
There are lots of web statistic packages out there and it can be hard to know which one is best. Also there is always speculation about statistic results and the differences that can appear between packages. Here’s an interesting conversation about it.
The beat packages to use
There are two different types of tracking packages available file caching and page tagging, these are the different ways that the statistic packages use to track your blogs information. So I cover all bases and use one of each of these type of packages, Google Analytics and Awstats, and I think these are the best ones for me to use.
1. The first statistics package I use is Google Analytics, and obviously is owned by Google. It uses the page tagging system to track the results and has it’s own blog for helpful news, information and tips. It’s easy to install I just signed up for an account and then placed the code (step by step instructions) I was given onto my site to start tracking.
2. The second statistics package I use is Awstats which uses the file caching system to track results and is attached to my blog hosting service Bluehost, to draw the stats straight from my hosting server. This was also easy to activate, I went into the control panel on my account and went to ‘choose logs’ and then clicked Awstats to activate it.
Are they accurate?
At the end of the day the figures can never be 100% guaranteed because of changing variables. But they do give me a good idea of what is going on, and how I can change or improve my site. If I know what is working and what isn’t I can make the necessary changes to help attract more visitors and readers to my blog.
When I quote figures regarding my statistics I am using these packages to gain that information.
Mandy
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Site Search Tags:awstats, Bluehost, google analytics, installing stats packagesMy own 30 day challenge!
Well I’ve been talking about how important it is to be consistent with my blogging, and how hard it can be to put it into practice. So I thought what can I do to help increase my consistency with blogging.
Give myself a goal to work towards, but also motivates me.
My own 30 day challenge
You may have heard of the 30 Day Challenge by Ed Dale, well I’m not doing that it’s just got the same name!
Anyway back to it. During the month of May (I know there’s 31 days in May) I’m going to challenge myself to do some form of marketing everyday, what I mean by this is some form of commenting/forum marketing and guest posting. Also I will stick to my posting schedule for the month. I’m going for broke and will do this for both my blogs for the month. Something I have not managed to do since starting the case study blog back in December.
Then at the end of the month I will be able to compare the statistics for May against previous months, to see what difference my marketing efforts have made, if any!
I’m really interested to see what happens and I’ll share the results on how well I did here in June.
Mandy
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Site Search Tags:30 day challenge, the photographer blogDo you recognise the 3 most important steps to building a blog
After writing the post the other day about the ups and downs of blogging, it got me thinking about what I feel are the three most important tips I would give to a beginner blogger about building a blog, if they asked me. What would be the three most important nuggets of information to help them in starting and building a successful blog?
Well three things immediately sprang to mind:
1. Write good content
2. Be consistent
3. Be consistent
They may not be what you would expect. But after blogging for just over a year now, I have come to the conclusion these three points are the most important ingredients, that you have to get right first. To successfully build a blog into something that will last and grow. Let me explain a little more:
1. Write Good Content
If you don’t write good content then you won’t be able to capture your visitors and turn them into readers. That want to come back again and again to see what else you have written. And most importantly tell others about your great content.
2. Be Consistent
You need to then consistently write good content so when the visitors do come back, there is more fresh content to entice them back again. There’s no point in drawing visitors in with a good article for the stream of content to then to dry up or become sporadic.
3. Be Consistent
I know, it’s not a typing error! I just felt this point was so important it needed saying twice. However you want to promote your blog through marketing and different types of traffic generation you need to be consistent at it. The more consistent you are at say commenting, forum marketing or guest posting the bigger presence or profile you will make. And the more chances you have of people finding your blog.
If you read any top blog you will soon realise that these ingredients are used by them as the basis for how they blog, and gives them a solid platform to their blogs, and they grow from there.
Sounds fairly simple and obvious…
The problem is that this is easier said than done. It’s one thing to know that this is the way to go, but another thing entirely to try and put it into action.
It all adds up to an enormous commitment in practice, and on top there’s all the admin and maintenance involved with a blog as well. But this isn’t bad news though, don’t feel overwhelmed, blogging is not a race.
It’s a huge advantage to know these important points from the start, and it gives you something to aim and plan for. I’ve been blogging for a year and it’s taken the best part of it to realise how important these points are, and get to grips with how to blog and the best methods to use for promotion.
If you don’t have a good foundation to your blogging using these three core points, then nothing else will work as well, or fall into place. It’s using these points well, as a foundation that will make the difference and take your blog to the next level.
Am I there yet, Do I use them?
No, I’m still working on it. These three points are so easy to miss or gloss over because they are so obvious. And they are the easiest ones to loose sight off, and let drop from your blogs daily routines. But as so often is true, they are the ones that you need to concentrate on the most.
Mandy
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