Thanks To Everyone Who Joined The New Blogging Project!
If you are participating in this project, please post your blog URL in the comments so I can add it to the list of participants!! Thanks!
Don’t forget: The Blogging Project is happening tonight at 8!!
If you don’t have the address for the chat, here it is:irc://irc.qhost-services.com/#BloggingProject
If you aren’t familiar with irc Chats I have links here for irc clients to use so you can participate: http://blogging.networkofwomeninbusiness.com/blog/2008/09/24/irc-clients/
If you have any questions, please let me know! You can email me at wendy@wendymilonas.com or IM me using AIM: wendymilonas, YahooIM!: spiritofahorse or MSN: msn@affordablecreations.com.
See you there!!
irc clients
As I said, I’m listing irc clients here:
If you use Firefox, the simplest (and free) option is to use Chatzilla.
*I also recommend using Firefox over Internet Explorer, it’s way more secure!
Other irc clients…
Next week’s workshop will be in the following irc channel on my server (it’s in your Blogging Project booklets you received):
#Women_in_Business
We are starting another blogging project tonight
The NWB calendar has the details for you if you want to join us.
Ok, posting to build up content makes sense but…
now what do I do?
Basically, you need to build up a “machine” that generates whatever it is you want it to generate. Do you want traffic for another site? Do you want to monetize this blog and earn money off of ads? Do you just want to show that you have the expertise to back up your own business (and in return gain new clients)?
No matter what your goals, the “machine” is generally the same. You need the following:
- Posts - Content is vital. Without posting content on a regular basis, you will have nothing to work with.
- Comments on your own site - You need to build up a community that utilizes the interactive feature of a blog, primarily the comments.
- Comments on other people’s sites - You need to participate in a community if you expect them to come over and read (and comment) on yours.
- Incoming Links - you need to get listed in directories such as technorati. You also need to be listed in niche specific directories, if there are any for your niche. Acquiring a link back from a blogroll link on someone else’s site is also helpful.
- RSS feeds - you need people to want to keep up with your blog’s activity enough to subscribe to your feed.
Here is an image to help describe what this “machine” would look like if it something you could see:
Write : Post
I want to go over the window where you write your posts, and point out all the parts so you can make the best use of it.
Title box: This is pretty self explanatory. I would recommend, however, that you use a title that describes your post so that people not on your site yet, would be interested enough to click the link to your blog.
Post box:
Add Media buttons
Add an Image - Inserts images into your text box
Add Video - Inserts video file into your textbox
Add Audio - Insert audio file into your textbox
Add Media - Insert Media
Visual / HTML: This lets you choose between writing in HTML or using the WYSIWYG editor.
Bold Text - Selected text will become bold when this is clicked.
Italic Text - Selected text will become italicized when this is clicked.
Strikethrough - Selected text will have a strike (line) through it when this button is clicked.
Bulleted List - Selected lines will become a list with each line after a hard line break starting with a bullet
Numbered List - Selected lines will become a list with each line after a hard line break starting with a sequential number
Blockquote - This tag defines the start of a long quotation.
Align Left - Aligns selected text to the left
Align Center - Aligns selected text in the center
Align Right - Aligns selected text to the right
Create a link (dim) - this is not an active button, you must have selected text highlighted before this will work.
Create a link (active) - select your text and click this button, fill in box with link details
Remove link (dim) - this is not an active button, you must have selected link highlighted before this will work.
Remove link (active) - select link and click this button to remove linked url from the code
Insert More - this tag breaks a post into “intro” and content sections. Type the first few paragraphs, insert this tag, then compose the rest of your post. Your blog’s home page will show only the first paragraphs with a link “(more...)“, which when followed displays the rest of the post’s content.
Spellcheck - you can check your spelling with this button, click arrow on right side of button to select language.
Toggle full screen - this makes the “post” window take up the whole screen and eliminates all other sections of page
Show/Hide Kitchen Sink - Hides extra section with more formatting options (see below)
“Kitchen Sink”
when you show “kitchen sink” the extra row of formatting buttons that I have circled, shows up for you to use.
Format Text - when clicked becomes a drop down menu (click here to see drop down menu example)
Underline - Underlines selected text
Align Full - Align text full
Select text color - Selected text will change to whatever color you choose here.
Paste as plain text - Pastes text with no formatting
Paste from Word - This allows you to paste from a Word document without inserting all the extras that normally come with it.
Remove formatting - Creates non formatted plain text.
Insert custom character - Selecting this creates a pop up window with a large number of special custom characters.
Outdent (dim) - This option is not available unless the selected text has been Indented already
Outdent (active) - Selected text will be outdented when this button is selected
Indent - Selected text will be indented when this button is selected
Undo (dim) - This selection is not available unless you have already edited your post and there is a history to “undo”
Undo - This undoes your last edit, continue to click this to continue to undo
Redo (dim) - This selection is not available unless you have already hit “undo”
Redo - Select this to redo something that you just undid.
Help -
Previewing your post in Wordpress
If you want to see how your post will look before it goes public, hit the Save button on the right side of your page (middle of image below). THEN click Preview this Post (top of image below):
Putting a link in Wordpress
highlight your text, click the link button (chainlink graphic)
fill in your info:
this is what it looks like when it’s finished (prior to publishing)
Welcome to our blogging project!
Our networking group, The Network of Women in Business, will be organizing a blogging project for anyone interested in blogging with us.
We will go through the steps involved in setting up and maintaining a blog.
If you would like to be included please comment in this thread with your blog url and contact info.
Can’t wait to see how great everyone’s blogs are!!