Blogging Strategies
for Designers and Wholesalers
OVERVIEW - Here is an overview of how
to position a Blog for optimum Search Engine/Human Reader
effectiveness:
1) name Categories with keywords/phrases
2) Set your permalinks to post *category/postname* (Info given
below)
3) Use the keyword/keyphrase in the post title as appropriate (my
guide is not to sacrifice having it make sense for humans)
4) Use the Jerome Keywords plug-in and list the appropriate
keywords/phrases
5) using the Smart Update Pinger plug-in (Info given below)
6) add a technorati ping (Info given below)
For some guidance on Keywords, here is a handy dandy FREE tool:
http://www.nichebotclassic.com/
WordPress Tweaks
Here are the important Tweaks you need to do:
TWEAK #1
Options/Permalinks/Customize Permalink Structure
Custom: Put in the following code for Custom Structure
/%category%/%postname%.php
(Copy and paste for accuracy!)
You will need to use your FTP program to change the .htaccess file
to writable (set it to 777) make the changes and then set it back to
its original settings (probably 644).
HINT: It is IMPORTANT that you remember to reset it to the original
*permissions settings*.
This Tweak will cause the posts to be named with the Category Name and
then the Post Name, which is more effective for Search Engine
response.
TWEAK #2
Once Smart Update Pinger is installed, make this change:
Options/Smart Update Pinger
Add this to the list of URIs to Ping:
http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping
(Copy and paste for accuracy!)
and click the box that says *Enable pinging*
Blog Writing Strategies Needlework and Quilting are
both *Personality Driven* industries. Part of the purpose of a Blog
is to brand YOU, yourself, in the minds of your online AND offline
customers. You are giving them a glimpse into YOUR life and work.
It is important to remember that while you are writing casually and
informally, you are still putting yourself in the public eye. ;-)
You do want to be true to yourself, but you also need to be positive
and upbeat. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it.
Share what is going on with you, not just with the shop. I pretend I
am writing my sister an email about what is going on in my life. At
the same time, remember, this is out there for ALL to see. There are
some real squirrels out there and I don't mean gathering nuts. If I
had children, I would keep any mention of them to a minimum. I would
NOT have their pictures on the site. I call this the *Anais Nin
School of Editing*. Take the time to plan out a schedule of posts
for a week or more. The idea is to spread out your writing among
several different topics and categories, without being obvious about
it! LOL Plan your discussions around upcoming events or new
product arrivals. Incorporate your interaction with others in the
industry with your posts.
EXAMPLE: On Topic Posts 1) Post about a new design you're
working on 2) Post while you are deciding what threads and fabrics
to use. Share the pros and cons with your readers. It's
okay to be fairly detailed about this, since our readers are
fascinated by what we do. 3) Post post as you're working on the
actual design 4) Report as you are finally starting work on the
model. Give periodic updates as you work on it.
HINT: Do NOT Share enough detail that the design concept could be
*borrowed* by someone else. 5) Discuss the process of writing up
the pattern. 6) Write a post about photographing the new design
for the pattern.and As you can see, it becomes very easy to build
connections with your writing from one topic to another. EXAMPLE:
Off Topic Posts If you are participating in an event such as the
Holiday Baking Experiment (and you should! LOL), write a post: 1)
When you are invited to participate 2) When you are trying to
decide what recipe to contribute 3) While you waffle between two
recipes and debate using some of your Holiday reminiscences.
4) To announce which recipe you decided to use and why 5) Post
the other recipe for your readers, saying you realized that folks
had been wondering about this and you didn't want to disappoint them
6) Post when you are looking at the Holiday Baking Experiment,
waiting for your recipe. Comment on the other recipes, talk about
the folks who contributed, anecdotes about meeting someone at Market
or attending a class, provide a link to that recipe or the
contributor's site 7) Post when your recipe DOES appear 8) Post
about another recipe you could have used, then share it with your
readers Here you go... 8 posts or more... no problem! ;-)
Cooking/baking recipes are one of the most searched topics online.
If you like cooking and baking, by all means discuss them and post
recipes.
HINT: Recipe copyright is VERY different from visual art copyright,
so there should be minimal problems. Here is a link that explains
the issues:
http://www.recipezaar.com/help/view?iid=44
http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl122.html OTHER BLOG WRITING
HINTS Search Engines LOVE brand
names. Whenever possible use brand and product names. Do talk
about others in the industry and feel free to give links to their
sites and blogs. This is all part of the general *Blogging Culture*.
Do use keywords in your posts. The idea is to maintain a
balance between keywords from search engines, and having it makes
sense for human readers. One trick is to simply use the full
keyword instead instead of a pronoun. This can get stilted,
but if you only do it a couple of times in each post it still should
sound okay. FINAL THOUGHTS - All of this is a LOT of information
to cover. I am looking to you for guidance about how much detail I
need to go into for you to understand and implement these
suggestions. Please feel free free to ask questions on the forum.
Depending on the input from you, I will create tutorials and
additional articles, as needed. If you have questions, ask them. If
you need help, let me know! |
