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New Theme….

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If you’re a regular visitor to Self Help Daily, you undoubtedly recognize changes.  As someone with 10 successful blogs, five business websites to maintain, a family, spoiled rotten cats, and a “modern day Snow White” personal to live up to (birds and wildlife don’t feed themselves, you know) – I pack a lot into my days.  The last thing I ever want to do is have to devote hours to redesigning a blog.

Switching themes and doing the customizing that goes with it is a pain in the…. nevermind.

It’s especially unsavory when there were a lot of things I loved about the “old” theme. In this case, the old theme was the Get Noticed Theme (read my Get Noticed Theme Review here). She was a beauty. Potential? Forget about it – she had more potential than you could contain in all of Texas.

She had the potential to revolutionize blogging as we know it and she was, for the most part, a lot of fun to work with.

As I pointed out in my review (and as several individuals pointed out in the comments), support wasn’t the strong point with this theme.  As in, there basically wasn’t any. If you’re familiar with themes, you know that when you buy the theme, they offer you support. There are active forums and/or support tickets available and you can expect a reply within a very short amount of time. After all, if you’re building a website (whether for yourself or a client), you don’t want to wait weeks or even days to move from STEP 1 to STEP 2.

Theme developers realize that, not only is it cool to do right by those who have trusted you, it’s good business to keep everyone as satisfied and buzzing along as possible. When your customers are happy and buzzing, it will attract others.

This is a good thing.

What’s more, the happy buzzing crowd will

Recently, the Get Noticed Theme sent out an e-mail that basically said they’d now actually offer support… after you paid nearly $200 that is.

This is on top of a very pricey theme.

Hence the changes you see here.

As I said in an edit I just did on the review, all I can hear is the adorable lady in the commercial, “That’s not how this is done. That’s not how any of this is done.” I mean, why didn’t they just ask me, I’d have told them, “NO! Anything but that!”

I’m not trying to bash them – far from it. I’ve got nothing but respect for everyone involved with the Get Noticed Theme.  They aren’t just good people, they’re great people.  They’re Barbara Bush level great people.

But she probably wouldn’t make a lot of great of decisions with a theme either.

It’s as though they came to a fork in the road.  They saw that they were completely failing at offering support. They saw two options…

  1. Buckle up, hire more people, and support the individuals who entrusted them by buying their theme. Apologize for underestimating the success of the theme and possibly offer a few great, free “child themes” to everyone who has stuck with them through thick and thin. Or….
  2. Basically put the onus on those who have stuck with them by saying, “You didn’t get support because you didn’t pay for it! Pay now and maybe you’ll get it.” 

Wrong choice and it frustrates me because, as I’ve said, the potential was SO there. Someone, somewhere along the way, simply made a bad decision. It happens to all of us. The thing is, sometimes people are good… and I mean really good… at justifying bad decisions. Especially if money is involved. The average person is simply not as interested in giving as they are in getting, so if the bad decision involves money, the odds of people (even great people) righting the wrong is butterfly wing thin.

I encourage you, if you are interested in the Get Noticed Theme, to do your own research into the theme. Just because I don’t personally recommend it any longer doesn’t mean there aren’t those who do.

As for my personal blog theme recommendations:

Sigh… now I have two more blogs I have to redo. The birds will have to wait. ~ Joi

 

10 Tips for Starting Your Own Blog

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Alexa

My boss, Alexa, questioning a post title.

I recently received an e-mail from a VERY sweet lady who was interested in beginning her own inspirational blog. She asked, like many have over the years, if I had any tips, suggestions, or advice.

I thought I could actually best serve her (and possibly even you, if you have an interest in this sort of thing) by devoting a post to the subject.

Jumping right into the Top 10, I will start with the most important tip of all….

 1.  Be absolutely certain this is what you want to do. I’m certainly not trying to talk anyone out of their decision to have a blog – far from it. If you have equal amounts of time, determination, and ability – having your own blog can be extremely rewarding. There are many great benefits – running the gamut from earning a little extra income to honing your writing skills. If your subject requires research, you can also keep your mind sharp… which, let’s face it, is always a good thing.

However, as someone who has done this for well over 10 years, I feel it’s only fair to point out a few things:

  • Running a blog takes a great deal of work.  It isn’t simply a matter of typing out a few thoughts and popping a picture at the top. The reason you see SO many abandoned blogs along the internet highway is the fact that what looks so easy and simple really isn’t. At all. It takes time and it takes commitment. For anyone with a full-time job, I’d strongly consider thinking long and hard before jumping into something that’ll take more time away from recess.  I work, full time, from home and even I find the work load to be overwhelming at times. When it’s time to get up and fix supper or clean house, I often find myself jumping out of my seat like a kid at the end of a school day.  Bottom line? It’s work.  Frustrating line? Few people see it as such.
  • There are a lot of “technical” aspects to blogging that you’ll need to learn – preferably before you even buy your domain. You’ll need to have at least a “good” understanding of search engines (seo – search engine optimization – will become a permanent resident in your subconscious thoughts).  You’ll also need to learn the rules and regulations of using content and pictures (basically, use your own – more about that later), “plugins,” link-building, disclaimers, privacy statements, graphics, themes, etc.  If you’re accustomed to Facebook or Tumblr, beware that having a blog is nothing like these social media websites.  A lot of people have the misconception that it’s basically the same thing, and it really isn’t. At all.
  • There are costs involved. If you’re going to run a website or blog, and do it right, there are costs involved. I’ll spell them out below, but (again, unlike Facebook and other social media sites), it isn’t free.
  • Speaking of social media websites…  You can create a great following and help tons of people simply by being active on Twitter, Facebook, or another social media website.  If you were to decide that having your own blog IS more work than you’d counted on, you don’t have to give up on reaching out to people or throw out the idea of expressing yourself creatively. Simply build a following on your favorite social media website and interact there.
  • Finally, consider guest posts. I work with people on each of my blogs in the area of guest posts. If an individual is not promoting a website or product that isn’t relevant to my subject, I am more than happy to consider publishing their article or articles on one of my websites. I’ve published quite a few on Self Help Daily, alone.  The authors of these posts are credited, of course, and have an opportunity to reach people they might not otherwise have the chance to reach.  Guest posts are simple to do – simply search out blogs that are relevant to your subject and contact the owner. Ask if they accept guest posts and ask if you can submit one for consideration. I’ve often had people ask me if there’s a particular subject I’d like for them to write about… I always think that’s pretty cool. Just be sure to only submit original articles that you have written yourself and never submit the same article more than once. Once a blog has published an article, it’s done – don’t ever submit the same on anyplace else. It’s called duplicate content and it’s bad, bad, bad. Suffice to say, it’s a terrible way to get on a website owner’s good side.

 2. Decide on Your Niche.  If you’re still reading, I assume you either are wholly committed to the idea or are simply one of those people who follow through anything they begin to the end. Either way – my hat’s off to you!

If you are certain you want to make the commitment to having your own blog, decide upon your subject. While some “personal blogs” are successful, most people do not enjoy reading what the average person eats, drinks, or thinks.  And selfies? Yeah, you can probably go ahead and keep them to yourself.

People are more interested (understandably!) in how THEY can get more out of life. They’re interested in how you can help them improve themselves and, as a result, improve their life.

They don’t care as much about seeing you happy as they care about what you can do to make them happy.

You need a good, solid “niche” (subject) and this niche needs to be obvious to your readers right away. If you have something to offer people that is worthwhile… something that can help them.. then you have solid ground to build on.

 3. Take a Look at What’s Already Out There. This one’s tough to explain, but I’ll do my level best.  If your subject is one that is uncommonly popular, you’re probably going to be one small fish in a great big ocean.  For example, if anyone were to start a food blog today, they’d be up against it. WAY up against it.  Not only are there countless recipe websites online (Food Network, Cooking Channel…), every conceivable food product has their own website – complete with, you guessed it, recipes. Add Pinterest, with it’s limitless recipes, and a food blogger has their work cut out for them. How do I know? I’m a food blogger! I began my food blog Get Cooking! many years ago.  I didn’t do it for any other reason than the fact that I loved to cook and experiment with recipes and I wanted a “cool” place to accumulate my recipes, tips, and advice for my three daughters.  Over the years, competition for visitors to a food blog has become nuts. The tricky thing is – you want your subject to be popular enough for people to care… but not so popular that… well, again, you end up a tiny little fish swimming with sharks. If you DO decide to run with a subject that’s greatly saturated, just be sure you stand out!  Look at the different blogs in your niche – take a good look at the top 10 that show up in Google. Ask yourself (honestly) if there’s anything that you could or would do differently.

 4. You’ll Need a Domain Name. From the start, I have used GoDaddy.com for all of my domains.  They are completely trustworthy, dependable, and have a stellar reputation. In the RARE event a problem does arise, their people are lightning fast in responding to the issue. You’ll want to choose a domain name that’s easy to remember and easy to spell. When naming your website and choosing your domain name, be sure to (again) search on Google and make sure you aren’t stepping on any toes that are already on the dance floor.  You pay for a domain name yearly , but it’s a very low price – around $12 – $15.

 5.  You’ll Also Need a Reliable Host.   GoDaddy.com also offers hosting but I’ve always used HostGator. Completely trustworthy and helpful  – plus, I’m pretty crazy about the gator. You can find all of the information you need about domains and hosting on either one of these websites. Each spell everything out beautifully and there are always helpful experts on the other side of the phone or e-mail.

6. You’ll Must Have WordPress.  A lot of articles about “starting your own blog” will outline your different options. Not me. I’m just going to tell you, flat out, you need WordPress. It’s free and it’s the best platform for your blog. The best plugins and “themes” are made with WordPress in mind and, when it comes to your readers, it’s by far the best.

7. You’ll Need a Theme. A blog theme is basically it’s “design.”  There are free themes available, and you’ll be able to access a great number of these as soon as you install WordPress. However, free themes can come with a lot of headaches and, no matter what you do, they will almost always look as free as they are. If you plan to treat your blog as a business, you’ll want to purchase a premium theme. A quick Google search (“Premium WordPress Themes”) will give you plenty to choose from.  Before purchasing one, be sure to read different reviews of the theme and theme’s creator. Also, look at their different demos, and ask yourself, “How much tweaking and customizing went into this? Is it something I could do?”  Most of us weren’t born with the information to code or design websites or blogs. It’s incredibly complicated, in fact, so be sure you find the most intuitive and easy-to-use and understand theme possible.  I stand 110 percent behind the GetNoticed Theme.  In fact, I tend to get annoyed with my blogs that aren’t yet sporting this theme!

8. Graphics and Headers, Oh My!  See the “logo” at the top of the page – it says “Self Help Daily – Inspirational Blog with a Save the World Complex.”  This is called a “header” and your blog will most assuredly need one of these. 9 out of 10 people are best served by finding someone online (a graphic artist) to hire for this part of the process.  Unless you have Photoshop (EXPENSIVE!) and some experience with graphic art, paying someone to design a logo for you would be the smartest way to go.  They’ll need to know the dimensions (information found within your theme), colors, whether you want it to be transparent or not, and possibly even some information about the font(s) you had in mind.  If you find a graphic artist you’re thrilled with, be sure to keep them in mind for future work.

 9. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words. When it comes to content and pictures you publish on your website, you can find endless advice online about what pictures to use, where to find “free, loyalty-free images,” etc.  Yet again, I guess you could say my advice is narrow-minded…. use your own.  People have been taken to court for using other people’s pictures. Actually, it happens every day. Personally, I don’t even trust the websites that tell you to use their pictures free because, unless I know where that picture came from… how do I know IT wasn’t once taken from someone else?! I’d much rather eliminate all worry and prevent all headaches by only using only pictures I (or a member of my family, of course) have taken.  I also simply make a lot of graphics – such as the quote graphics you see everywhere on the website. These are perfect for a blog because they’ll be shared on Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter. If you use someone’s quote on your blog, always give their name and never post anyone’s content as your own.

10.  If You’re Looking to Make Money…. Sorry, Charlie, it’s the rare fish that strikes it rich. Maybe it’s because this blog is an inspirational, self-help blog, but most of the people I hear from aren’t looking to start a blog for money as much as they are simply interested in reaching out and helping others. However, most people DO think, “Eh, I can make my own blog and make a lot of money… people will pay me to advertise, people will buy books….”  When I come across that mindset, I think, “Bless your heart…. bless your heart..”

Blogging is like anything else, really – sometimes people strike it rich, but most of the time they don’t get anywhere near anything resembling rich.  The only “riches” I’ve ever known had last names… and there was only one of them:  Rich Brooks, a former UK Football coach.

And I never even met him!

Yes, there are more people online than ever before – common sense would tell you that this is where the money is, right? Problem is this: The internet is saturated with websites and social media. There are thousands upon thousands of websites covering every niche known to man, woman, or cat.  The streams of income that were once “handsome” online are starting to look downright “homely.”

Social Media can be a two-edged sword. While it can, hopefully, be used to draw people to your website – the competition for people’s attention has never been greater.  A great, great, great number of people… when they get online… go to Twitter or Facebook and that’s it.  They jump on, then they jump off. You have a small window of opportunity to catch them and pull them to your blog.

It can be done, mind you – but, again, it takes work.  It takes time, self-confidence, determination, elbow grease, and… to be perfectly honest… more than a little stubbornness.

BONUS Tip: A somewhat thick skin will serve you well. People can be jerks sometimes and putting yourself “out there” invites the jerks to approach you. Whether on Twitter, in e-mail, or in your blog’s comments, the jerks will appear from time to time.  They seemingly have no life of their own to speak of, so they’ll simply try to bring you down to their  level of misery.  There are spell check police who degrade you if you accidentally leave an i or an e out of a word, there are clowns who are anti-God, anti-America, and anti-just about anything you can think of who just sit out there ready to pounce on anyone who DARES to be pro anything, and there are simply people who live to start stuff.

Years ago, I tried to reason with the jerks of the world. I’d be as sweet and hospitable as my Kentucky upbringing demands. Southern charm would ooze out.

More times than not, approaching jerks that way is about as effective as spraying perfume over a cow pasture.

You have to realize that miserable people try to spread misery the way happy people try to spread happiness. Always remind yourself that the problem lies with them, not you. If you allow them to make you miserable, they’ve won.  Come on now… that’s the last thing we want!

Spray a little perfume, if you must, then walk away as fast as possible before you step in anything.

If you have any questions and/or advice, please leave a comment below.

~ Joi

Alexa


At the end of a long day!

Writing Journal for Writers and Bloggers

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365 Things to Write About, Writing Journal

I was recently sent a great writing journal (365 Things to Write About!) to review and I’m loving every minute of it. I know it’s something all writers and bloggers will enjoy as well. What’s more, this writing journal can actually help anyone become a more creative, imaginative, and prolific, writer.

A writer, whether he/she is a blogger, novelist, short story writer, poet, freelance writer, children’s author, greeting card writer, screenplay writer, or song writer, is only as good as their imagination. That’s where a great writing journal can come into play. The journal serves as a prompt for the writer to broaden and express their creativity on each page.

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 2011

Unleash your vivid imagination across the pages of this eclectic, creative writing journal! How do you envision Shangri-La? A couch potato? The color red? Explore a multitude of writing styles (analytical, prose, poetry, songs, screenplays, etc.) to describe everyday objects and places, exotic locales, abstract concepts, imaginary creatures, and more.

365 Things to Write About is the perfect writing tool for people of all ages and skills, who seek a fun and inspiring way to explore their creative minds!

Here’s the premise: There are 365 words or phrases throughout the journal.  Your assignment, if you choose to accept it (cue the Mission Impossible music), is to write a short story, journal entry, or even a poem using that word or phrase.  The choices for the words and phrases are quite creative themselves!  Here’s an extra challenge I’ve been doing: When you’ve completed two adjacent pages, come up with a short story, poem, or entry using BOTH of the words.   My favorite one involved the two words MEADOW and MEDUSA.  It became the stuff horror stories are made of.

If, like me, you are a web publisher or blogger, you’ve probably ran face first into the dilemma of not knowing what to write about.  My advice for this dilemma has always been summed up in one word: Write! The MORE you write, the more freely the words and ideas flow.  Because I write so much every day, I am able, literally, to sit down at any given time and crank out several hundred words on any given topic.  I write… therefore I write.  Writing journals are excellent resources for training your creative mind and flexing your writing muscles.

The 365 Things to Write About! writing journal is a great, inexpensive investment. Click through to read more.

Putting together a collection of your best work and submitting it to a self publishing service would be a great start to any writer’s career. Compile your work and share it other readers around the globe.

Scribe SEO Plugin: Love at First Site

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Yankee legend Mickey Mantle worded it this way:  “It’s unbelievable how much you don’t know about the game you’ve been playing all your life.” – Mickey Mantle

Starbucks legend Joi words it this way: “Holy cats. I didn’t know what I thought I knew.“

Funny, isn’t it? You can do something for what seems like your whole life and then suddenly realize that you didn’t know quite as much as you thought you did.  It happened to me recently and I’m still reeling.  You might think this would be a distressing, sickening feeling but, truth be told, I’m completely invigorated and excited.

Knowledge does that to me.  Especially when it comes bearing fruit such as new horizons, fresh opportunities, and unlimited possibilities.

As you know, I’ve been working online for well over 12 years.   Currently, I have 14 blogs and websites.   When it comes to traffic, generating income, and so on – the majority of them do quite well.   They’re like kids.  Some are over-achievers, some are under achievers, and some are so quiet, I forget they’re even in the room.

Since I work from home, I”m allowed the luxury of researching seo (search engine optimization), themes, plugins, and so forth.  I know (and use) the best themes online and work hard to stay on top of the best plugins, optimization practices, and so on.  Quite honestly, I thought I was sitting on a seriously impressive amount of information and skill.  Then…..

“Holy cats! I didn’t know what I thought I knew.“

I recently installed the Scribe SEO Copywriting Made Simple plugin on a few of my blogs and have been overjoyed with what I’ve seen so far.   I want, not only to make my future posts and articles as SEO-friendly as possible, but to go back to older posts and perk them up as well.  You know, the early posts of a blog when you didn’t even know what SEO or Meta Descriptions were.   These old posts can still get traffic and they still have a lot to offer – but they’ll never reach their potential if no one knows they’re there.

Originally, I was going to use Scribe SEO  for a few weeks, or even a month, and see if the results were impressive enough to recommend to my readers.  As you know if you read Self Help Daily regularly, I absolutely, positively am not in the hait of recommending very many products or services. One of the reasons for this is that when I do – I want you to know I flat out mean business.  It’s also a personal thing, I hate, loathe, and despise any newsletter or blog that sees me as nothing but a dollar tree with nothing but bracelets and money on its branches.   If a product, tool, theme, or service convinces me that it could help some of the people I value the most (my readers) – I’ll share it with them.  But I hold these things under a magnifying glass for quite a while first.

The problem with this original “wait and see” plan was that I fell in love with Scribe on the first date.  Indeed, it was love at first site.

From Scribe SEO.com

In the old days, a scribe was a writer entrusted to record the most valuable and important information for kings, nobles, and cities.

These days, Scribe™ helps writers create content that gets found online, and that’s become as valued and important as any old scroll or parchment.

Scribe is an SEO software service for WordPress that analyzes the content of web pages, blog posts, online press releases, you name it… at the click of a button

Scribe is as easy to use as pouring a cup of coffee.  After installing and activating (easy, easy, easy), you simply write your post, article, or page as you normally would.  The Scribe Content Optimizer shows up on the right with the other WP-Admin widgets (Post Tags, Categories…).  When you think you’re finished, click the button that says Analyze.  In a few seconds, Scribe lets you know what you’ve done well and what you could improve upon.

Before installing Scribe, I knew it was going to be fantastic.  Brian Clark (Copyblogger) is behind it and he would never put his name on anything that wasn’t 100 percent golden.  Because of this, he has a reputation online that few attain and all desire.   However, over the years I’ve seen a lot of tools and services come around the bend.  Most of the time, you get either what you expected or less than you expected.  This is one of the few times when I got far more than I expected.

What Scribe Can Do For You

Okay, let’s get down to the heart of the matter.  I know a lot of my readers are bloggers.  I know a lot of you are very talented and successful authors with blogs and websites of your own.  I also have quite a few publicist friends who follow Self Help Daily.  While all of you are, no doubt, happy for me and my new beloved plugin, you’re no doubt wondering, “What can Scribe do for me?”

  • Scribe can help you rank better in the search engines – The better you rank, the more people will find you.
  • Scribe can free up the time you have to spend actively looking for visitors, buyers, prospects, etc.  This SEO tool will cause people to come to you rather than you having to go to them.
  • Scribe will give you a valuable education in SEO, keywords, meta descriptions, copywriting for search engine optimization, and so on.  If you desire a strong online presence and following, this education is priceless.
  • You won’t have to wonder if you did “this” or “that” right – Scribe will let you know… all with the click of one button.

Scribe as Your Own Personal SEO Assistant

I work online all day.  Everyday. I also am an avid cook who isn’t quite happy if she can’t spend at least a couple of hours each day cooking.  Add to this a house that refuses to clean itself, cats that think it’s always the right time to play, movies that must be watched, shopping that must be done,  flower and herb beds to work in, birds to watch, articles to write, daily exercise, and a host of other things that fall under the category LIFE.  Because of the blissful business, I’ve often thought, “How cool would it be to have an assistant?!”  Because I’m not trained in the ways of search engine optimization, the assistant in my fantasies always was an SEO genius.  And worked for free.  Well, I’d give her all the coffee she could drink.

Now I have my assistant and I don’t have to share my coffee.  The Scribe Content Optimizer is a virtual SEO assistant – sitting right beside you as you work, giving you advice and coaching you in the ways of  SEO.  What’s more, Scribe is very inexpensive.   I know for a fact that it could be priced higher than it is.  The opportunities that this service will open up are nothing short of outstanding.

When I first saw all that Scribe SEO entails and saw, firsthand, what it can do for my blogs/sites, I felt a little bit ill.  I couldn’t help wondering where my sites would be right now if I’d been utilizing these simple techniques all along.  I couldn’t help wondering how much more traffic my sites could have, how much better they’d rank in Google, how many more advertisers I could have generated, and so on.

Then it occurred to me, the game is far from over.  I can create search engine friendly posts forevermore AND go back and tweak all of  my older posts.  After all, it’s a never-ending game.  The sweet thing is Scribe just put Albert Pujols in my starting line up.

Batter up!

I strongly urge you to go immediately to Scribe SEO Copywriting Made Simple and give yourself the edge you need – not just to compete in the competitive world of blogging – but to win.  (This link is an affiliate link – but I had this post written and published BEFORE the affiliate program was even in place.)

SEO Copywriting Made Simple

EDIT:  I’ve had mad success with optimizing old posts as well as new posts thanks to the Scribe SEO plugin.  You know my “Save the World” complex?  It’s so kicking in – I wish I could put the Scribe SEO plugin in everyone’s arsenal.   Like I said at the first, I didn’t know what I thought I knew. Holy Cats.

50 Tips, Plus 4, For Tripping the Blog Fantastic!

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I’m not sure why my advice would be sought out on anything outside of cooking, Angelina Jolie movies, birds, what to order at Starbucks (anything caffeinated), or how to raise daughters or cats (I’m sitting on a goldmine of information there).  However, I receive countless e-mails, each week, asking my advice about blogging.  People realize that blogs are here to stay and want to get in on the self-expression, interaction, and fun.  They also wouldn’t mind if a dollar or two came their way as a result.

They know that, as someone with (currently) 16 blogs – I know  the ins and outs of plugins, themes, posts, domains, affiliates, and so on.  I’ve been doing this for a long time and have gotten to the place where I’m actually making money by doing something that feels like play.

Success!

I’ve been responding, of course, to the e-mails one on one – but I realized that it’d be simpler to compile a post that I could point inquiring minds to.  So, I’ve compiled my own personal list for new bloggers.  It could also, of course, be for established bloggers who want to pull themselves out of a rut.

I don’t claim to know everything – in fact, I learn something new every day…. But here’s what I know today:

  1. If you’re even half-serious about what you’re doing, you need your own domain name. You have to let everyone know that you mean business and separate yourself from the rest. I religiously use and highly recommend Go Daddy. Outside of coffee, a cat in your lap, and my husband’s blue eyes, few things in life are perfect – however, Go Daddy is the perfect registrar. Don’t even think of using anyone else.
  2. You’ll want a great host with help available to you 24/7. In a time when different companies are closing their doors each day, you want a host that has been around a while and is successful enough to be around forever.  (That’s another great thing about Go Daddy – you know they aren’t going anywhere!)   We’re hosted by a gator (Host Gator: Domain Hosting Only $9.95 a Month) and I wouldn’t recommend anything else. Host Gator isn’t going anywhere – except down in history as the greatest host ever.
  3. Number’s 1 and 2 are, of course, assuming you already know what your blog’s subject will be about. Online, you’ll often see this referred to as your niche, I call it your thang. If you aren’t clear on what your thang is, simply ask yourself, “What am I passionate about?  What could I spend 3 hours talking about and not even want to take a breath?“
  4. When choosing an url and name for your blog, use common sense. People don’t want to be bothered or annoyed, so don’t come up with a long, drawn-out name and I wouldn’t use any words that are difficult to spell.  Go Daddy offers suggestions when you do a domain search.  For example, if you chose Self Help Daily as your domain name (you silly) – Go Daddy would let you know that this domain name is taken, but they’ll offer up a list of alternatives.  My advice on domain names is this:  Try very hard to put your niche somewhere in the name.  Consider the following words as words you can add before or after your niche to separate it from the rest:  daily, today, online, resource, blog, central – you get the idea.
  5. As highly as I recommend Go Daddy and Host Gator, I even more highly recommend WordPress. It’s free.  It’s the best.  And WordPress.org has everything you could possibly need:  Plugins, Themes, and a great forum.  There are also countless WordPress tutorials online that’ll help you every step of the way.  When you search WordPress Tutorials in Google, it finds 14,900,000 of them.  So, basically, with wordpress, you have 14 million people sitting around the computer with you, helping you every step of the way.  Dance on.
  6. Consider buying a premium theme. You’ll find tons of free themes on WordPress.org, but be very, very careful.  When I first began blogging (seems like 100 years ago), I used free themes on each of my blogs.  The attribute you were required to leave at the bottom of the page  fairly screamed “Freebie!” – but I pushed that thought out of my mind for as long as I could.  However, I soon found out that free themes not only lack the support given to paid themes, their developers often “drop the ball,” as  in they stop wanting anything to do with the theme.  People who are making money from themes don’t drop the ball – not when it’s a money ball!  Plus, their reputation is on the line. Chris Pearson, for example, is tied to the wonderful Thesis Theme.   I use Thesis on Self Help Daily, Get Cooking, Out of Bounds, Hollywood Yesterday, and Office Freaks. When your name is attached to something, you stay up day and night making sure it’s impeccable. It’s not just your theme that’s on the line, your name is. I would not hesitate a second before recommending the Thesis Theme. I’m also familiar with the WP Prolific theme from Solo Stream and have nothing but love for it.  The people behind this theme are uncommonly friendly and helpful and their theme’s gorgeous. I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s just something extra-special about the way the people behind this theme treat others – in e-mail, on forums, etc.  They show respect and gratitude in a manner that, when you walk away, you think, “Cool people!”  I used WP Prolific when creating a business site for a company my husband works with (Here).  I’d recommend looking at their  wonderful themes and finding the one that’ll work best for you.
  7. Domain? Check. Host? Check.  Niche? Check.  Theme? Check.  Now get cracking! One of the first things you’ll want to do is to find your voice.  Sit down and write an introductory post – or even your About Page.  Write as though you are writing to a friend or family member. Be conversational and colorful.  Don’t worry about your sentences being too short.  Big whoop!  Don’t try to be grammatically perfect – boring – and try not to come across like an instruction manual or textbook.  After you’ve typed in a few paragraphs, go back and read what you’ve written. Does it sound as though the words are words you’d actually say?  If so, you’ve found your voice.
  8. This sort of goes along with #7, but it’s important enough to deserve its own number:  Be original. Cookie cutter blogs and cookie cutter writers are a dime a dozen.  You want to stand out, not blend in. As Paris Hilton once said, “Life’s too short to blend it.”   I don’t really do it anymore (I keep myself more than busy), but when I created blogs for others, there was one thing that always drove me nuts:  When they’d say, “I want my blog to look like this blog or that blog.”  Then they’d give me links to blogs that’d caught their eye.  Why would you want yours to look like someone else?!  It’s not fair to the original and it makes you just an average Joe… a knock off.  That’s never cool.  I also hate to see others try to write like someone else – find your own voice, not someone else’s. Why would you want to be a parrot?  Of course, theres’ nothing wrong with being inspired by someone else – or even taking an idea and putting it to use… we all do that.  But when you go so far as to try to match your blue to their blue, the size of your comment box to theirs, and so on – you’re a stalker!
  9. Give every aspect of your blog a lot of thought. The about page, the contact page, the sitemap, and the categories.  You want your entire site to flow together and you want it to be cohesive.
  10. Name your categories thoughtfully, using “keywords” that people would search for in Google. This will help them find you! If you aren’t found, you aren’t blogging, you’re keeping a diary online.
  11. While on the topic of being found, read up on SEO – Search Engine Optimization. If you use the Thesis theme, you really don’t have to worry about SEO that much.  Everything is built right into the theme.  If you use other themes, you’ll need the All in One SEO plugin.
  12. Plugins are love, beauty, poetry, and all that’s wonderful in the world. When you go to “Add New” under the Plugins category in your WP-Admin, you can search for and easily add plugins that’ll help make your blog more functional for you and your visitors. This is the fastest and easiest way to add plugins.  Below are some of my current favorite plugins.
  13. CommentLuv. This plugin is in use here on Self Help Daily. When someone leaves a comment on your blog, CommentLuv includes the title of their last blog post, if applicable.  It’s pretty cool and I think it’s a great way to thank your visitors for their comments.
  14. Anit-Spam Plugins. Akismet is a great anti-spam plugin that most people use. I, however, use Peter’s Random Anti-Spam. Peter has has different versions of his spam plugins since the beginning of time and I’ve never used any spam plugin that didn’t have his name in front of  it. (See EDIT at the bottom.)
  15. Google XML Sitemaps Plugin. You’ll definitely need this one – it acts as Google’s GPS and allows them to find you.  I don’t even have to tell you how much you want that!  After you install the plugin, go to it’s page (within your wp-admin) and customize it.  Be sure to link to your xml sitemap in your footer.
  16. PS Auto Sitemap. I love the PS Auto Sitemap plugin so much I want to buy it nice things.  It makes the sweetest looking sitemap I’ve ever seen on a blog.  It has several options available in a drop-down box that will allow you to customize it further.  It’s so slick it’s sick.
  17. RSS Footer.  This plugin allows you to put something personal in the footer of your RSS feed.  I haven’t checked on mine in two forevers – I’m just hoping it doesn’t say something like, “Happy New Year 2000!”  {Note to self: Check on that.}
  18. Sociable. This plugin creates the bar you see at the end of each post – allowing the reader to share, e-mail, print, etc.  You get to customize the buttons you include and even the words above the buttons. The fun sociable plugin is a must have.
  19. Subscribe to Comments. A must have plugin.
  20. Thesis Openhook – if you use Thesis, you’ll sing the praises of Openhook’s developer each time you use it.
  21. YARPP – Yet Another Related Post Plugin. This plugin is golden and I love it muchly.  Featuring related posts at the end of your blog posts gives your readers more reasons to stay on your site.  Best of all, it allows them to conveniently find relevant information that can help them – all neat and tidy.  This plugin is as flawless as you’d want it to be.
  22. Contact Form 7. The best and easiest way to set up a contact form.  You always want to be easy to reach and it doesn’t get much easier than a contact form.
  23. Money. Money. Money. Some blogs lend themselves extremely well to making a profit.  I can tell you, from experience, that if you’re looking to make money online with a blog, the following topics are RIPE:  Fashion blogs, cat blogs, dog blogs, cooking blogs, “green” living blogs, living on a budget,  fitness, and home decorating blogs.  One thing to keep in mind is this, if you’re going to sell products (probably through affiliate links), you want the products to cost enough to make it worth your while.  Something else to remember: Pet lovers will spend, irregardless of the economy.  We’re like economy shmonomy, baby needs a new bed!  If you have a favorite breed of dog, you could have a very successful blog built entirely around her.  Ironically, I was in the middle of creating a dog blog when our dog (Wednesday) died.  Broken-hearted, I pulled the plug on the blog.
  24. Non-Money Blogs. Self Help Daily isn’t one of my “money blogs” – in fact, if I had to rely solely on SHD for income, I’d be hitting up Church mice for loans!  Oddly enough, however, it’d be one of the last ones I’d ever want to lose.  I use this blog to try to make a difference – in individual lives.  I truly, at the core of my being, want to help other people – as well as everything with a face.   I’ve made some incredible online friends through this site and they’re more valuable than money.  I’ve also learned a great, great deal.  While researching subjects for SHD, I always learn something new.  That, my friend, is reason enough to publish a blog.  When we stop learning and growing – we stop living.
  25. My favorite sources of making money online. With my blogs that do pay the bills (Office Freaks, Cat Pause, Get Cooking, Strike a Chord, Hollywood Yesterday, Dream Prophesy, Genuine Kentucky…) I use the following and recommend them without reservation:  Google, Chitika, Commission Junction, All Posters, Linkshare, and Amazon.   It’s free, and easy, to sign up with these programs.  They’ll show you step by step what to do along the way.
  26. Back to the Design of your blog. When choosing the colors of your blog, as well as the layout, think of the tone you want to set for your audience. Do you want your blog to be relaxing and professional?  Blues, grays, and greens would be a safe palette.  Do you want to excite and motivate people – or do you intend to include a lot of humor?  You might want to go with reds, oranges, and/or yellows.  Most of all, be yourself.  You want your blog to represent you.  I walk through life with a banner over my head that says, “Coffee-Chugging, Chocolate-Devouring Animal Lover Extraordinaire” (true story), so you’ll find animals, chocolate, and coffee on all of my blogs – in one form or another.  Also, keep your audience in mind.  Here’s what I mean:  On my Cat Blog, I use colors (and actually even a tone of voice) that I might not choose for my Office Supply blog – and vice versa.  Different readership.  Take a look around at the other blogs, forums, and sites in your niche.  While you want to stand out… if you stand too far from the pack, they’ll never even give you a chance.  Some have been eaten alive.  Remember:  You’re writing for them, they aren’t reading for you.
  27. Make your content easy to read. This means that black letters on a white background is your best bet.   Keep in mind that monitors vary greatly – so colors will be darker on some computers than others.  However, a white background and black letters can always be read – and they don’t strain anyone’s eyes.  Be sure your font is large enough also.  Keep in mind that all monitors and all eyeballs aren’t like yours!
  28. Navigation. Make it as easy as possible for  your readers to get around your site.  Have your pages clearly marked, as well as your categories.
  29. Don’t overwhelm in the sidebars. Sidebars that look like a Vegas strip are distracting and cheapen your purpose.  Money is an attractive thing, but your reputation and character shouldn’t have price tags on them.  Hopefully you work hard on your blog – don’t let a sideshow ruin your good work.
  30. When you are a blogger, or web publisher, you aren’t just one when you sit in front of the computer. I think this is where many people mess up.  They don’t even remotely think about what they’re going to say until they sit in front of the screen to write!  Keep a notebook with you 24/7 and write down ideas that come to you throughout the day.   I’m a quote diva, so I always have pen and paper handy for capturing quotes – but I also keep them nearby so I can capture ideas before they get away.
  31. Be well-read, well-informed, and in touch with what’s going on around you. I think that the best writers are the most avid readers – of newspapers, magazines, books, other blogs, and so on.  The only information some people have today is the information they had two weeks ago.  Why in the world would I want to read anything they had to say?!
  32. Be respectful. In your blog, if you throw words like stupid, bone-head, jerk, and so on around – you belong on a playground, not online.   Be professional and show respect to others.  You can disagree with choices others make, you can disagree with things they say and so – but who are any of us to make fun of them or throw stones?  Personally, I think when people use their blogs or websites as places to wage battles or throw stones – they show a lack of maturity and professionalism that makes them look as bad (maybe worse) than the person they’re gunning for.  If a celebrity, athlete, or public figure falls from grace – don’t stand by, pointing and laughing.  Have more class than that.   Remember – chances are good that they have innocent family members and you are only contributing to their pain.
  33. Don’t be afraid to take a stand. As #32 proves, I’m just not afraid to take a stand – whether I’m standing there completely alone or not. You shouldn’t be either. If you believe in your thoughts and convictions – go for it!  This is another reason to be respectful toward others.  What goes around (always, always, always) comes around.  If you’re respectful to others, chances are they’ll be respectful to you – even if they don’t agree with you completely.
  34. Write. Write. Write… And then write some more. Do you know when I actually found myself as a writer?  When my husband and I  got married, I was only 19.  He was in the Air Force and we had to move far away from our family.  I missed my mom, dad, aunt, uncle, and grandmother like crazy – so I wrote to them almost daily. I wrote about what I was learning to cook, I wrote about the malls in Wichita Kansas, I wrote about what was on the news, and when we started having babies – I chronicled their every move.   Frequent writing made me completely and totally comfortable with writing – as much as I was with breathing.  The same is true today.  I have many blogs which I update regularly.  Writing often leads to, in my opinion, better writing.  It keeps the brain humming along and I have never run out of words yet.
  35. Break long posts up as much as possible with bullet points, headings, bold words, etc. It will help the reader’s experience.
  36. Firefox. This may seem like an odd place for a Firefox vs IE debate – but, take it from a die-hard IE user (I clung to it for life!  The traditionalist in me had to have her fingers pried off the big blue e!):  Firefox makes your life easier when it comes to blogging.  When you’re typing along in your editor (or even leaving comments on other blogs), the Fox lets you know immediately if you have a typing error or, somehow, misspelled a word.  Like a good little teacher, he underlines the offensive word with his red marker.  This way, you can go back immediately and correct the error.  (For example, my hands – which are frankly tired at this point – just mistyped the error instead of the error.  I saw the red line and was able to correct it pronto.  If I’d gone back to re-read this post… Heaven help me… I’m pretty sure I would have missed it.  We tend to know what we meant, so that’s what we see!)  Trust me on this one:  Try Firefox for a week and see if you aren’t hooked.
  37. Add photos to your posts. You can add a lot to your blog by adding great pictures.  If you’re lucky enough to have a great camera, you can even provide the artwork yourself!  If not, search for pictures in the public domain, or find pictures that you can use along with credit.  There are also a lot of great photo sites, where you can pay for the pictures you’d like to use.
  38. If you have an All Posters account, using a great looking poster in the post looks sensational AND will earn you money! All Posters is, consistently, one of my best sources of income.
  39. Here’s something pretty cool. You can download IrfanView (free free free).  It’s a must have tool, if you ask me.  I use it for resizing pictures, turning them into black and white pictures, taking out chunks, and so forth.  But here’s the extra-cool thing:  You can even give your photos some cool effects – such as “oil painting, sepia, negative” and so on.   I use Photoshop for most graphics and banners, but IrfanView is a fantastic tool.
  40. Keep on keeping on. Remember the words of Will Rogers, “Even if you‘re on the right track, you‘ll get run over if you just sit there.” The world wide web is littered with blogs that are nothing but little spots on the road.  Someone got to a point where they just threw up their hands and quit.  Maybe they had writer’s block for a week or two, maybe their knowledge (back to the perils of not reading and learning) dried up, or maybe they got discouraged from a lack of traffic, comments, money, or all three.  The sad thing is, if they had fought THROUGH any of these obstacles – they would have grown by leaps and bounds.  Nothing like a good fight to give you strength you never knew you had!  When you hit a wall, climb over it or walk around it – even if it takes you a while.  It beats sitting down at the foot of the wall and letting it win.  The view from that side of the wall never changes – make the effort to climb over and see new horizons!
  41. Twitter. I’m comparatively new to Twitter and don’t spend nearly as much time tweeting as I should.  Not nearly enough!  It’s something I’ve talked to me about and I’ve promised to try harder.  It’s just so darned hard for me to speak with so few words!  My husband can attest to that.
  42. E-Mail Signatures. When you have any sort of e-mail correspondence with anyone, include a link to your blog (and maybe even your twitter page) beneath your name.  When I see someone’s link in an e-mail message, I always check it out.  Most people do.
  43. Forums. Forums are goldmines of people all gathered together to discuss a particular subject.   Google your niche (your thang) then add a plus sign and forum.  When I put up my cat blog, I sought out cat forums to generate a following.  I googled Cats + forums and found that I’m far from the only cat lover in the world.  We’re a passionate bunch, too!
  44. Articles are a great way to promote your blog. I need to make more time for article writing – it’s extremely important.  Visit Ezinearticles.com and GoArticles for rules and guidelines.
  45. Submit Guest Posts to other blogs. If you write a great, unpublished article that would be relevant to another blog, most blog publishers will be more than happy to take a look at it.  They’ll often publish it, too.  I’ve published quite a few on my blogs.  At the end of your article, you include a word or two about yourself with a link to your blog.  Great exposure!
  46. Invite Guest Posts on Your own blog. It’s a great way to get fresh viewpoints, free content, and make new online friends.  Plus, the individual will tell their own readers “Go check out what I’ve written…”  – bringing you more traffic.
  47. In the sidebar, as a courtesy to your commentators, include the “Recent Comments” widget. It gives credit to those who are taking the time to share their thoughts and it gives a nice little link to their blog or site.
  48. Keep it Classy, please. This is another personal preference (like the “Show Respect” one), but, come on,  maintain a certain level of class and decency.  For one thing, people will come away from what you’ve written with a certain idea of who you are.  If your words paint the picture of a crass, crude, vulgar, and tasteless individual – that’s how others will see you.  What would your momma say?! Also, keep in mind that kids can see what you put up whether you intended for them to or not.  I spend enough time online to know that there simply aren’t many ladies and gentlemen left anymore.  There’s a real lack of class out there. (Why do so many women think that to be taken seriously or to come across as “tough” they have to use language that’s drop the jaw of a veteran marine?)  Be professional and keep it classy.
  49. Don’t stress about the number of comments! On Self Help Daily, for example, I get about 10 e-mails for every one comment.  My readers simply prefer to talk about subjects in e-mail!  That’s perfectly fine with me. After all, some things are kind of private and most people don’t want to own up to nasty tempers or a fear of the dark.   I used to stress over comments, but I honestly don’t think about them much any more.   I treasure the ones I get, but don’t give the ones I don’t get a second thought.
  50. Keep your priorities straight. Yes, to succeed you’ll need to write and write often.  You’ll also need to network, tweet, read, research, and so on.  But, remember, you have a life!  Don’t ever let your family see the back of your head more than they do the front!  Remember to get plenty of exercise, play with the kids, take the wife out to dinner, take the husband to a movie, play with your cats, do the dishes…. Actually, the more you have going on in your life, the better your writing will be.  Those who sit in front of a computer for 95 percent of their day tend to bore the leaves off of a tree and the feathers off of an owl.
  51. Link to others generously. Don’t get so caught up rounding up links to your blog that you act like a 3 year old on a playground:  “Give me, give me, give me!”  If someone has a great site or information that your readers would benefit from, link to it… without even thinking about a link back.  Also, be courteous when seeking out links.  Don’t ever contact someone then expect them to link you first.  Pet peeve!  I hate rudeness like that. No one wears rudeness well.
  52. Keep an eye on stats, but don’t become obsessive. If people spent as much time creating content and writing as they do researching keywords, search engine stats, and so forth they’d be a lot better off.
  53. I’m sure I’ve said this before, but it’s that important:  Write for your readers! They are the ones who matter.  Make the experience about them, not you.  If someone disagrees with you, thank them for keeping you on your toes!  You don’t have to see eye to eye on everything.  Be respectful. Be mature. Be courteous.
  54. Go back periodically and double-check older posts. Never change the post slug, but feel free to make amendments within the post if need be.   People find old posts – through search engines and through your “related posts.”  Never neglect old posts – it may be the first encounter a new reader has with you.  I often go back and at least add an EDIT to the bottom – to flesh out what I should have said, or make changes if there need to be any.

I’m sure that at some point, something else will pop into my head.  Isn’t that the way it goes? When it happens, I’ll come back and edit this post. If you have any tips to add.. please do so in the comments!  – Joi

Blogs and Resources That are Worth Their Weight in Gold:

How to Make My Blog
Problogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-figure Income
Problogger.net

EDITS: I”m currently madly in love with the plugin WP-SPAMFREE.  It’s the best spam plugin I’ve used.

#20:  New versions of Thesis are now so incredibly customizable and sexy they don’t require this plugin.