I just had a great conversation with someone who wanted to start their own site. They got the info that it was WordPress.org that they wanted to use (which is right) so they went over there and downloaded the software. That's when the confusion started, "What do you do next with the …
Wordpress
How to give credit for a Featured Image
Giving the photographer credit when you use an unsplash picture for your post is easy. But, how would you give the photographer credit when you use an image just for the Featured Image? That great question was literally just asked by Lesley Sarson moments ago! Wait! The 2 Minute Tuesday …
2MT: How many themes are ok to have in your WordPress Install?
Themes. They are what makes your site look great! This week I'm in the middle of migrating a site from one server to another and the question came up as to how many themes was ok to have in your install. Welcome to the very first edition of 2 Minute Tuesday! I get it, you …
What type of content can you put up on your site?
This is a series that I hope will get you thinking a little deeper about your website, marketing plan and goals for the coming year. You might be familiar with "The Five Ws", this would of course be the second of them. You can read the whole series here. Ok, so part of the reason you want a …
How and when to include Testimonials in your site
Testimonials or Reviews are what we call "social proof". They are a powerful element and every site should have them inside the site itself. Besides the obvious cheese factor, no matter how you say "I'm the best, you should use me", we trust what others say about you so much more. Having someone …
How many words?
Hey, it's the #1 question I get asked when I start someone with a blog. But, are they asking that with an eye on doing just the minimum? That's a fair question. Time is valuable and adding the act of blogging to your marketing plan is going to take a chunk of time. Are they asking because they …
Blogging Better: What to do after you hit “Publish”
Congratulations! You just wrote your first blog post! I know it took you just over 3 hours to write a measly 350 words but believe me, it'll get easier - I promise! Now that it's published, here's a few thoughts on what to do next, (and I've also included a special offer at the end just …
How to Create Better Mailing Lists
A hundred avid fans or ten thousand people who are indifferent? "Throw it against the wall and see what sticks" "It's a numbers game" There's a thousand quotes I could throw at you but it's a simple "Quality vs Quantity" and that's the heart of the post today. (oh and there's no right answer …
Stealing Content
I recently had a new client of mine steal content from an older client of mine's website for use on their own website and it brought to mind a few copyright thoughts. I've written extensively on how to properly find and use images and not steal them, but what about Text? One of the most …
“The BLOG is Dead!” and other faulty thinking
So, I was tagged in a Facebook discussion the other day and the topic came up. It comes up from time to time. From what I can tell, there were a few social media professionals and content creators doing the commenting. It's like a bad case of poison oak - it just keeps coming back. Someone …
The Ultimate Guide to Writing the Perfect Blog Post
Does that title sound like click bait or what? Let's start with this. WANT TO WRITE THE PERFECT BLOG POST? You'll see that this post is indeed the most comprehensive post on writing a perfect blog post that you'll ever see. The idea is that I don't hope you read it - I have a …
Reasons to not automate your post distribution
Ok, so you wrote the blog post and hit the big publish button. Now what? Sit back and watch the money/leads roll in - right? Ha! I know you are smarter than that. The next thing you have to do is get eyeballs on that post you just wrote. That means having it be picked up by Google as well …