Tag Archive | "Blogging"

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The role of Wordpress and your blog


In web design, most people agree that content is king, and that this is by far the most primary aspect of any web design, taking precedence over custom graphics, or any other feature. This is also true when it comes to blogging, but with a few subtle differences that work in both the background and the foreground.

The role of Wordpress and your blog, is more than just a tool to support it. It is also a holistic representation combined of what you say in your blog, and the theme you choose to support what you say. The theme and the blog combined, serve to make a holistic approach to the reader.

In its own way, Wordpress has taken the concepts of web 2.0, and pushed it that little bit further, by extending the features of communication, expression, interaction, and opinions, and giving them a stronger platform, so that more and more people have a voice.

In no small way, is Wordpress, together with social networking, is the largest contributor to web 2.0. This is quite an achievement for a blogging platform.

There can be no doubts that the theme is an extremely important aspect of your blog, as it serves several functions in one. It makes your blog more readable, provides easier navigation between articles and out going links, and can in its own right, draw attention from readers.

This last aspect of Wordpress, is the difference between Wordpress and standard web design. Though websites win awards for their navigation and appearance, it is hard to remember any that stand out. Due to the ease of creation, distribution, and customization, Wordpress themes stand out and draw comments from readers for their appearance alone.

It has become a necessary and important aspect of blogging, to choose the right theme to support it.

Of course, ultimately, the blog is the most important element to draw and retain readers. The content is still King in the blogging world too, and by creating interesting, topical, humorous, informative and opinionated blogs, will gain you notoriety and success at blogging.

Behind the scenes of your blog, Wordpress also helps in other ways too. It databases all articles, and groups them by category. This happens automatically so finding a blog, or pointing the way to one, is fairly straight forward.

It also helps comments to be regulated, so that you do not get pointless, random, or annoying posts cluttering up your blog. These are well known for driving readers away.

The role of Wordpress and your blog is an issue that can be debated over and over again. The customization properties of Wordpress, does ensure that if you do not get the right feel first time round, a trial and error approach will help you in getting it just right.

It is arguable that Wordpress has taken blogging in a new direction with the ability to monetize from the blog. Google has added much weight to this with the introduction of Adsense, and many bloggers now use this.

The blog and Wordpress seem to by synonymous, especially as Wordpress is so easy to use. If you have something to say, you have a perfect platform, and as Wordpress is being updated constantly, the options to change, expand, and add to, in support of your blog, currently appear to be endless.

The role of Wordpress and your blog, continue to grow and change day by day. Though what you say is still the most important aspect of your blog, it is thanks to Wordpress, with all its amazing functions, such as themes, plug-ins and ease of use, that your blog, like millions of others, finds a voice.

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10 More blogging mistakes to avoid


In our last article, we showed you 11 blogging mistakes to avoid. Sadly, there are 10 more blogging mistakes to avoid, if you want your blog to be successful. By following these, and the previous 11, or more accurately, by not following these and the previous 11, you should have a good guide on what not to do.

Don’t avoid mixing with other bloggers on the web. As there are millions of blogs out there to choose from, then the chances of the readers flocking to you is slim. By posting on other blogs and forums, you are spreading the word about yourself. This is a great way to market yourself and your blog.

Don’t blog about making money with a blog until you have. Many bloggers will write about how to make money with their blog, as it is a commonly searched for subject on the web, even if they have no experience in doing so. This does show in the blog, and if your blog comes across as unconfident, ill informed, or worse still, wrong, then your readership will dwindle.

Don’t blog about things which are not useful. Sounds a bit of a mouthful, but blogs that solve problems, or give good advice are always of use, and will keep people coming back for more. They will also spread the word about your brilliant blog.

Don’t put search engines above your readers. As you have probably guessed, this is another article on keeping things reader-focused. It is good to optimise your blog, and use SEO techniques to bring people in, but if you start jamming in keywords without any thought to how they are going to affect the article as a whole, you end up with rubbish. Guess what your readers think of rubbish.

Don’t be a stat-man. Stats can lead to a rocky road of depression and disaffection with your blog. It is alluring to see who is reading the blog, and comparing various demographics for fun, but this once in a while flirt with the stats, can soon become something you do every hour, looking for spikes and dips. Unhealthy, very unhealthy, eat some fruit instead.

Don’t attack other blogs, just to draw traffic to your site. Blogs and bloggers work largely on reputation, and you do not want to be saddled with a reputation you cannot run away from. So consider what you are doing before you go on an offensive.

Don’t dither about too much. Sounds a bit belligerent I know, but if you can avoid dithering, and work out the focus of your blog, the better the direction it will take.

Don’t lose the opportunity to sell yourself. Selling yourself on your blog is not like selling yourself for medical science, it is in the blogging world, an important aspect of your blog. Use your blog as a way of establishing yourself as a quality, knowledgeable writer, with something useful to say.

Don’t shut-out your readership. The best blogs encourage and inspire debate, so make sure you leave room for it on your blog. So keep your posts open-ended, and not closed. This way it will encourage your readership to leave comments, and keep the blog alive.

Don’t just repeat what everyone is saying. Try and make your blog as unique as possible, this will create interest and bring people to your blog.

This “10 more blogging mistakes to avoid”, article, combined with its predecessor, will hopefully bring you blogging success, and all the trimmings that go with it.

There are other mistakes to avoid, but hopefully these will give you a helping hand whether you are a new, or seasoned blogger.

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The Art of the Teaser


The teaser is a great tool to utilize while creating blog postings.

What does it do?

The most common teasers are in newspapers. Only a partial amount of the story is shown on the front page, while the rest is in the body of the publication. This gives the reader a chance to flip through the entire publication, searching for the rest of the story they were drawn in by a good teaser and headline. This gives an increased chance of a reader looking at ads. Read the full story

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