The document presents a comprehensive introduction to blogging, covering its definition, community, platforms, inspiration, and practical tips. It highlights the motivations for blogging, such as personal expression, knowledge sharing, and business engagement. Additionally, it provides insights on equipment, scheduling content, and strategies for growing an audience.

1. Blogging Pains
Kayleigh Platz
Social Media Specialist

2. Agenda
• Introduction to blogging
• The blogging community
• Blog platforms
• Inspiration
• Tips and Tricks
• Questions
• Dive in – hands-on time!

3. Introduction to Blogging
• What is it?
• Who does it?
• Why do it?

4. What is it?
• Text, image, sound,
video
• Recorded entries,
musings, posts
• Platforms for shared
conversations
• Open and authentic
thoughts
It8bit.com

5. Who Does it?
• Businesses
• Charities
• Individuals
• Children
• Animals

6. Why Do It?
• To record your thoughts
• To share your knowledge
• As a creative outlet
• To make a living [note: a lot of my
examples in this presentation fit under this
definition now]

7. The Blogging Community
• Geographical
• Interest-based
• Business-based
• Online Diary
Cutecats.com

8. Geographical Blogging
• Blogging focused around a specific area or
region
• Community based blogs help spread
awareness to a local community
• Can be both commercial and individual

9. rqmagazine.com

11. Interest-based Blogging
• A blog based – Food
around a specific – Fashion/ lifestyle
theme, group, cultur – Nail art
e, pop-culture – Ryan Gosling
item, hobby or more – NFL
• Popular interest- – Cute animals
based blogs themes – Weddings
are
– Knitting

12. Glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

13. www.bakerella.com

14. Cupcakesandcashmere.com

16. Thesartorialist.com

17. Business-based Blogging
• Many corporations and small businesses
blog
• Why?
– Powerful way to introduce the human life
behind a company
– Share knowledge
– Grow a community

20. Lovetinydevotions.com/blog

21. Online Diary
• The original web log
• Updates on a person’s thoughts,
experiences and life

24. Blog Platforms
• WordPress
• Blogger
• Tumblr
• Twitter
• YouTube
• All of these have free and some have paid
options

25. WordPress
See your
pages,
comments
and tags
Stats let you see
when you are
being read

26. Blogger In most blog
platforms you can
switch between a
html view and a
design view
Labels, or tags, help
people find your blog and
categorize your entries

27. Blogger
This is the Blogger view if you have a
gmail account. Same features but with a
cleaner look.

28. Tumblr
Tumblr lets
people
leave
photo
replies

29. Twitter
When you start to
compose a tweet, the
text box expands and
you have other posting
options including
adding a photo

30. YouTube
Your videos don’t have
to be edited fancy. You
can record straight
from your computer’s
webcam and post!

31. Inspiration
• Your reading list
– Grow your own list of
favourite blogs
• Share and care
– Interact with other
bloggers
• Pinterest
– A great website for
inspiration

32. Tips and Tricks
• Equipment needed
• Make it your own
• Scheduling
• Time
• Sharing the word

33. Equipment Needed
• A computer
• You!
• A blog account
• Other sprinkles
– A photo/ video camera
– Photo editing software
– Web design/HTML experience

34. Make It Your Own
• Look and feel • Writing for the web
• Personal brand – Short sentences
– Write for yourself (and posts)
– Have your own
• Professional brand
personality
– Write for your
– A picture is worth a
consumer
thousand words
• Strategy and – When in doubt,
guidelines hyperlink

35. Scheduling
• Many blog platforms allow you to schedule
a post to be published once it’s written
– Helps you track when your blog is read most
often
• Schedule your own writing time in your
calendar
– Keeps you aware of your time

36. Time
• Blogging does take a time commitment
• The writing process takes time
• Adding pictures, hyperlinks, videos takes
time
• Encourage your company (or you) to allow
time for the project

37. Sharing the Word
• If your blog is • If you want more
personal, you may readers – spread
only share the link the word!
with close friends – Twitter
and family (Blogger – Facebook
lets you lock blogs) – Your email signature
– Business cards

38. Questions?
Kayleigh Platz
kplatz@uwaterloo.ca
stratfordcampus.uwaterloo.ca
http://stratfordcampusblog.uwaterloo.ca/
@uwstratford
@write_girl

39. Your Turn!
• You’ll need:
– A name
– A domain
– An idea
• Remember to
– Add hyperlinks
– Give credit where credit is due