How to Start a Blog With Required Sources
Blogging - a great way to express themselves, create a community, interacting with people and increase traffic to your site.
However, designers often do not know how to start a blog or something to spend.
I'm blogging for a couple of years, but only a few months of them (I think) lead it effectively.
My publications in the blog go unnoticed, the reason why, as I now understand, were well thought-out structure and the lack of my superficial attitude. So, what is the efficiency achieved by publishing a blog?
A. Wait for inspiration
A successful blog is filled with content at the moment of inspiration. You can be inspired in many ways (sometimes in unexpected ways), but there are a few proven ways to spur your imagination.
- CSS-Gallery
CSS-galleries - a great source of inspiration for web designers. View them at least, for 5 minutes every day, and quickly come across a topic that you will want to develop.
Galleries to view:
CSS Mania
Best Web Gallery
WebDesignire
- Digg
If a topic of active discussion on Digg , then, as a rule, she should do.
It makes no sense to write on the same topic, but if you came across an interesting article (eg, 60 Most Wanted Photoshop Tutorials and Resources - "60 most useful tools and examples for the development of Photoshop"), it is quite possible that the subject or adjacent to a deeper study of the issue to attract attention to themselves (eg, 30 + New Adobe Illustrator Tutorials and Neat Tips - "More than 30 new regulations and summary of benefits for the development of Adobe Illustrator").
- Content must be relevant
Keep up with current events and illuminate themes that are at the hearing, but it will certainly serve them in the proper perspective.
Try to coincide with the publication of an event, remember, for example, how much has been written about Obama is closer to the election. At the end of the year has been very useful to touch on the theme of holidays.
- Other Blogs
Be aware of publications in foreign blogs on web design, develop their own themes, or discuss with their authors.
It is important to follow the leading blogs in your industry. I would suggest that there are: Mashable - the technical updates, Smashing Magazine - about the innovations of web design, MacWorld - everything new for the Mac.
- Delicious
With Delicious you'll be aware of all those that can be developed in the blog. Having found an interesting article or an example of beautiful design sketches, add more tags.
Then, having decided to write, for example, about the features of a freelancer, you'll have on hand a lot of ready-made sources.
Campaign Monitor
Two. Conduct a study
You the inspiration, and it's time to do some research before you get to the article.
Consideration will help you figure out whether he was covered earlier, to collect a solid reference base, and expand your knowledge of it.
- Google
Naturally, the first step - to view your chosen topic through Google. So you will know immediately whether there is publication, similar to the one you have in mind.
- Digg
Check for publications to Digg, revealing the subject in the same context that you planned, and look for related popular articles that will help you in your work.
- Twitter
Ask a couple of well-formulated questions via Twitter, ask the helpful links. Put the site profile ( Wufoo ), to test the response of users. You can thank the people who responded to your request, posting links to their sites on his blog.
- Social web sites
Put key words leading up to your topic on StumbleUpon and Delicious. Check out other popular designers web sites such as DesignBump and DesignFloat .
Three. Start writing the article
Better get to work on the text in advance to leave yourself time to edit it. I usually write without formatting, take notes along the way, and then I correct the text of a fair copy. The layout and illustrations add to the last.
- MarsEdit
One of the very useful tools - MarsEdit . With this program you can add new topics of publications, as they thought. I'm just starting a new article, to insert the header and close it up until the time did not choose to do it.
MarsEdit also allows me to make a layout, and publish articles directly from the desktop by WordPress.
- Scribefire
ScribeFire - extension for Firefox. Allows you to "drag" from the pages of formatted text, open the browser, take notes and place of publication in your blog.
- Strive for ease of perception
What is your text easier to read online, the easier it is scanned. Remember the following rules for the preparation of publications, blogs:
* Do not be verbose, try to convey the idea in brief,
* The most common use, and lists the points of division,
* Try to contain a paragraph no more than one item,
* Use subheadings
* Highlight key words and phrases.
- Provide meaningful text
The main advantage of a successful blog is to consistently provide useful information to readers.
4. Find the picture
Most of the publications in the blogs (especially on the design) are accompanied by photographs or screen shots.Photos liven up article, added to his appeal, and screen shots to help illustrate these examples.
- Paparazzi
Paparazzi - an excellent tool for Mac, which makes full-screen snapshots (yes, folded pages, too) Web sites. With it you can also set the border cropping.
- WebSnapshot
I often use WebSnapshot . This program makes instant screenshots of websites and easy to resize them if necessary.
- iStockphoto
This is a great resource to access stock photography . If you are looking for professional photographs to illustrate your publications, they are here, priced at just £ 1 each.
- Flickr
It should also look for pictures with the license Creative Commons on Flickr . This type of license allows you to freely use pictures in your blog, provided the authorship, and send them to Flickr links to the final product.
Five. Do not hurry with the publication
Adding layout and illustrations for your article, you are ready to publish it, there are only few things to check.
- Preview
View your article before publication to make sure that all in their places. It is also an opportune time to re-validate all the links open.
- Spell check
Ask a spell check and read your article to make sure there are no spelling or grammatical errors.
- Appointment of time
I usually assign the time of publication of their articles in the blog. Think about your readers when it's best to get acquainted with your publications. It makes no sense to place a new article in the night, unless you're writing for readers from a different time zone.
Also, pick the best days for your publications. Weekend, as a rule - not the best time for this, because people often spend away from their computers and networks are not too crowded.
- Final checklist
* Provide the publication of tags
* Choose a section to it,
* Place a piece of the announcement (if needed)
* Place a link to the "Next" (if needed)
* Edit the URL-address (if needed).
6. Promote your blog
How to promote it? Well, if you have more than 10,000 subscribers RSS-mailing a number of readers you currently provide. And if these few subscribers?
Twitter - a great way of advertising your publications. You can even use the plugin WordPress Twitter , which will facilitate you with this task, automatically updating your Twitter-status with the addition of each new publication.
- E-mail
If you use FeedBurner , be sure to include the function of notification of new messages to your readers to become your subscribers. Notify me by email of people (or websites) that they are mentioned in your publication - too polite gesture.
- Web social networking sites
You can share your publications on Delicious, StumbleUpon and Digg, but better, perhaps, to allow other people to promote them. For this article to provide their links to easily share them online.
- Offer articles news sites
Think about whether you did not offer their articles to various news websites. If they are interested in them, perhaps, and publish. Web sites of news on the topic of design: CSS Globe , PSD Tuts , CSS Drive , Noupe , Abduzeedo .
7. Bring work to the end
- Talk
Finish the publication in question on his blog. So your readers will be more motivated to write a reply or comment.
Free discussion also does not hurt. Make sure responsive to comments and messages left by your readers, thank them for their participation in the blog.
- The development of themes
If your publication has been approved, consider whether to develop this theme in the next article. She, in turn, should be based on feedback from readers, or touch one of the issues that caused the greatest interest.
It is important to remember: be consistent, take out the blog topics of concern to you, and clearly express their thoughts.
Eight. Consult with people via Twitter
I have sent a request via Twitter for tips on blogging. Here are examples of responses I received:
@ Wpstudios: Just be yourself.
@ Barrymcgee: includes useful links, programs, or fragments of screen shots.
@ 5greenbottles: It is best to be published in the blog on weekdays. Over the weekend, the network activity almost stops.
@ Michaeltoman: Try not to turn into a robot. A blog can be an excellent means of expressing the personality with all its quirks!
@ Wilsonography: This was probably said a thousand times, but your view of the unusual things can ultimately cause a much greater response than you think.
However, designers often do not know how to start a blog or something to spend.
I'm blogging for a couple of years, but only a few months of them (I think) lead it effectively.
My publications in the blog go unnoticed, the reason why, as I now understand, were well thought-out structure and the lack of my superficial attitude. So, what is the efficiency achieved by publishing a blog?
A. Wait for inspiration
A successful blog is filled with content at the moment of inspiration. You can be inspired in many ways (sometimes in unexpected ways), but there are a few proven ways to spur your imagination.
- CSS-Gallery
CSS-galleries - a great source of inspiration for web designers. View them at least, for 5 minutes every day, and quickly come across a topic that you will want to develop.
Galleries to view:
CSS Mania
Best Web Gallery
WebDesignire
- Digg
If a topic of active discussion on Digg , then, as a rule, she should do.
It makes no sense to write on the same topic, but if you came across an interesting article (eg, 60 Most Wanted Photoshop Tutorials and Resources - "60 most useful tools and examples for the development of Photoshop"), it is quite possible that the subject or adjacent to a deeper study of the issue to attract attention to themselves (eg, 30 + New Adobe Illustrator Tutorials and Neat Tips - "More than 30 new regulations and summary of benefits for the development of Adobe Illustrator").
- Content must be relevant
Keep up with current events and illuminate themes that are at the hearing, but it will certainly serve them in the proper perspective.
Try to coincide with the publication of an event, remember, for example, how much has been written about Obama is closer to the election. At the end of the year has been very useful to touch on the theme of holidays.
- Other Blogs
Be aware of publications in foreign blogs on web design, develop their own themes, or discuss with their authors.
It is important to follow the leading blogs in your industry. I would suggest that there are: Mashable - the technical updates, Smashing Magazine - about the innovations of web design, MacWorld - everything new for the Mac.
- Delicious
With Delicious you'll be aware of all those that can be developed in the blog. Having found an interesting article or an example of beautiful design sketches, add more tags.
Then, having decided to write, for example, about the features of a freelancer, you'll have on hand a lot of ready-made sources.
Campaign Monitor
Two. Conduct a study
You the inspiration, and it's time to do some research before you get to the article.
Consideration will help you figure out whether he was covered earlier, to collect a solid reference base, and expand your knowledge of it.
Naturally, the first step - to view your chosen topic through Google. So you will know immediately whether there is publication, similar to the one you have in mind.
- Digg
Check for publications to Digg, revealing the subject in the same context that you planned, and look for related popular articles that will help you in your work.
Ask a couple of well-formulated questions via Twitter, ask the helpful links. Put the site profile ( Wufoo ), to test the response of users. You can thank the people who responded to your request, posting links to their sites on his blog.
- Social web sites
Put key words leading up to your topic on StumbleUpon and Delicious. Check out other popular designers web sites such as DesignBump and DesignFloat .
Three. Start writing the article
Better get to work on the text in advance to leave yourself time to edit it. I usually write without formatting, take notes along the way, and then I correct the text of a fair copy. The layout and illustrations add to the last.
- MarsEdit
One of the very useful tools - MarsEdit . With this program you can add new topics of publications, as they thought. I'm just starting a new article, to insert the header and close it up until the time did not choose to do it.
MarsEdit also allows me to make a layout, and publish articles directly from the desktop by WordPress.
- Scribefire
ScribeFire - extension for Firefox. Allows you to "drag" from the pages of formatted text, open the browser, take notes and place of publication in your blog.
- Strive for ease of perception
What is your text easier to read online, the easier it is scanned. Remember the following rules for the preparation of publications, blogs:
* Do not be verbose, try to convey the idea in brief,
* The most common use, and lists the points of division,
* Try to contain a paragraph no more than one item,
* Use subheadings
* Highlight key words and phrases.
- Provide meaningful text
The main advantage of a successful blog is to consistently provide useful information to readers.
4. Find the picture
Most of the publications in the blogs (especially on the design) are accompanied by photographs or screen shots.Photos liven up article, added to his appeal, and screen shots to help illustrate these examples.
- Paparazzi
Paparazzi - an excellent tool for Mac, which makes full-screen snapshots (yes, folded pages, too) Web sites. With it you can also set the border cropping.
- WebSnapshot
I often use WebSnapshot . This program makes instant screenshots of websites and easy to resize them if necessary.
- iStockphoto
This is a great resource to access stock photography . If you are looking for professional photographs to illustrate your publications, they are here, priced at just £ 1 each.
- Flickr
It should also look for pictures with the license Creative Commons on Flickr . This type of license allows you to freely use pictures in your blog, provided the authorship, and send them to Flickr links to the final product.
Five. Do not hurry with the publication
Adding layout and illustrations for your article, you are ready to publish it, there are only few things to check.
- Preview
View your article before publication to make sure that all in their places. It is also an opportune time to re-validate all the links open.
- Spell check
Ask a spell check and read your article to make sure there are no spelling or grammatical errors.
- Appointment of time
I usually assign the time of publication of their articles in the blog. Think about your readers when it's best to get acquainted with your publications. It makes no sense to place a new article in the night, unless you're writing for readers from a different time zone.
Also, pick the best days for your publications. Weekend, as a rule - not the best time for this, because people often spend away from their computers and networks are not too crowded.
- Final checklist
* Provide the publication of tags
* Choose a section to it,
* Place a piece of the announcement (if needed)
* Place a link to the "Next" (if needed)
* Edit the URL-address (if needed).
6. Promote your blog
How to promote it? Well, if you have more than 10,000 subscribers RSS-mailing a number of readers you currently provide. And if these few subscribers?
- Twitter
Twitter - a great way of advertising your publications. You can even use the plugin WordPress Twitter , which will facilitate you with this task, automatically updating your Twitter-status with the addition of each new publication.
If you use FeedBurner , be sure to include the function of notification of new messages to your readers to become your subscribers. Notify me by email of people (or websites) that they are mentioned in your publication - too polite gesture.
- Web social networking sites
You can share your publications on Delicious, StumbleUpon and Digg, but better, perhaps, to allow other people to promote them. For this article to provide their links to easily share them online.
- Offer articles news sites
Think about whether you did not offer their articles to various news websites. If they are interested in them, perhaps, and publish. Web sites of news on the topic of design: CSS Globe , PSD Tuts , CSS Drive , Noupe , Abduzeedo .
7. Bring work to the end
- Talk
Finish the publication in question on his blog. So your readers will be more motivated to write a reply or comment.
Free discussion also does not hurt. Make sure responsive to comments and messages left by your readers, thank them for their participation in the blog.
- The development of themes
If your publication has been approved, consider whether to develop this theme in the next article. She, in turn, should be based on feedback from readers, or touch one of the issues that caused the greatest interest.
It is important to remember: be consistent, take out the blog topics of concern to you, and clearly express their thoughts.
Eight. Consult with people via Twitter
I have sent a request via Twitter for tips on blogging. Here are examples of responses I received:
@ Wpstudios: Just be yourself.
@ Barrymcgee: includes useful links, programs, or fragments of screen shots.
@ 5greenbottles: It is best to be published in the blog on weekdays. Over the weekend, the network activity almost stops.
@ Michaeltoman: Try not to turn into a robot. A blog can be an excellent means of expressing the personality with all its quirks!
@ Wilsonography: This was probably said a thousand times, but your view of the unusual things can ultimately cause a much greater response than you think.
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