This document provides guidance on starting a blog. It discusses determining the purpose and audience for the blog, selecting a blogging platform like WordPress or Medium, and setting up the basic blog structure including pages, categories, posts and tags. It also recommends planning content with a calendar, writing posts, and sharing content to grow an audience by integrating a newsletter and RSS feed. The overall document is an instruction guide for how to technically set up a blog and begin posting content.

1. How
to:
Start
a
blog
September
9,
2015

2. Agenda
• About
our
Meetup
• About
me
• Before
you
begin
blogging
– QuesAons
– Requirements
• How
to
start
a
blog
• How
to
grow
your
audience

3. About
our
Meetup
• Informal
–
interrupt
and
ask
quesAons
• Designed
to
help
you
learn/succeed
• Guest
presenters
are
welcome
• Free
to
aMend

4. About
Me
• EducaAon
in
AdverAsing
/
MarkeAng
• Co-­‐founded
three
startups
• I
love
to
learn
• Why
I
started
this
Meetup
– I
like
wine
– I
like
teaching

5. Before
you
begin
blogging
• QuesAons
to
ask
yourself
– Why
am
I
blogging?
(Purpose)
• Make
money
• Raise
awareness
• Organize
my
thoughts
– Who
cares?
(Audience)
– Why?
(WIIFM)
– What
do
I
want
them
to
do?
(CTA)
• Donate?
Subscribe?
Share?

6. Before
you
begin
(cont’d)
• Things
you
need
– A
computer
(or
a
smartphone)
– A
URL
(instantdomainsearch.com)
– Blog
pla^orm
• Hosted
vs.
standalone
– Hosted:
host
your
blog
using
a
blogging
service
like
Tumblr,
Medium,
or
WordPress.com
– Standalone:
host
your
blog
on
a
content
management
system
(CMS)

7. Bonus:
Before
you
begin
• Think
about
your
blog’s
brand
and
idenAty
• Build
your
online
idenAty
(backlinks)
– Social
media
profiles
– Seek
out
and
engage
influencers
in
your
space
– Read,
analyze,
and
comment
on
similar
blogs
• Create
a
list
of
subscribers
(MailChimp)
– Friends,
family,
co-­‐workers
– Ask
for
permission
and
send
a
welcome
email

8. How
to
start
a
blog
• Outline
your
site’s
informaAon
architecture
– Blog:
your
online
web
log
– Page:
a
page
on
your
blog
(staAc)
– Category:
classifies
mulAple
posts
– Post:
an
entry
in
your
web
log
– Tag:
classifies
a
single
post
(may
be
re-­‐used)

9. How
to
start
a
blog
• Write
copy
for
addiAonal
content/pages
– About
– Contact
• Setup
your
blog
– Pick
a
type
(Hosted
vs.
Standalone)
– Setup
your
blog

10. Setup
a
blog
• Hosted
– Use
Medium
(you’ll
need
a
TwiMer
account)
• Standalone
– Use
WordPress
(you’ll
need
an
FTP
program)
– Plugins
• WordFence
(Security)
• Yoast
SEO
(SEO)
• CoSchedule
(Content
Calendar)

11. Plan
your
content
• Use
CoSchedule
or
create
a
content
calendar
using
Excel/Google
Sheets
– Topic
– Title
– Keyword(s)
(2-­‐3)
– Date
– Status
– Source(s)
(2-­‐3)

12. Write
your
content
Hint:
Check
out
Google.com/trends

13. Share
your
content

14. Grow
your
audience
• Integrate
a
newsleMer
sign
up
(subscripAon)
• Setup
a
Feedburner
RSS
feed
• Add
a
link
to
your
signature
• Write!

15. Thank
you.