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This is for a training module that I teach to communicators and farmers.
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Blogging 101(Getting Started)
What are we learning today?
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• Why Blog?• Why Blogs Fail to Produce Results?• Blog Topics• 13 Step System for blogging• Tips and Tricks
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• You want to help people find the best information on farming possible.
• You have something to say about how farming happens on your farm.
• You want to understand and gain knowledge from others not connected to your farm life.
• You want to connect people to other people.
• You want two-way communication and feedback.
• You believe you are an expert at…
Why blog?
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• Google and the other search engines start indexing your photos, videos and content.
• People start responding to what you writing.
• People start trusting what you are writing.
• People call you an expert.• Search engines start
putting your farming information at the top of their search pages for keywords.
• Suddenly you are internet famous.
What else happens when you blog?
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• You are not consistent.• You are off your brand – you are
NOT courteous, polite, hardworking.• You are talking to you only about
you.• You are not saying anything
interesting, important and have no personality.
• You aren’t writing using stories.• You aren’t responding to comments
or feedback.
Why blogs fail?
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• Listen to social media.
• Check out Google keywords and trends.
• What are people emailing you about?
• What do you want to be known for?
What do you write about?
13 steps to Blogging
Blogging 101(Getting Started)
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1. Personal Brand
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• Define yourself and what you are trying to accomplish with a blog.
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Be clear about who you are…how you can help…
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2. Write, write, write
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• Write out your first three or four blog posts in whatever system you prefer.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/meliah/3301099717/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Are you worried about Word Count?
• Personally, I think getting content up is more important than make sure it hits a count. You want a number? Go for 500 or 300 or 700 or just make sure you get the point across as quickly as possible and tell a good story.
11http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-marketing/how-long-should-your-blog-post-be/
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3. Add visuals
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• Find pictures / video content to associate with your blog.
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4. Select Your Domain
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• Think long and hard about your domain name (keywords in the URL are important).
• Having “dairy” or “farm” in the URL can help get you found.
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5. Select Your Technology
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• Select a system that is something you desire for your future.
• Not tech savvy at all - try tumblr. • Tech savvy and want more control - blogger
or wix.com or squarespace.com – wordpress.com.
• A lot of control – wordpress.org
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6. CALL TO ACTION
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• What do you want the audience to do? Yes, read your post is why they are here – what’s their next step? Get their email address? Connect to you via social media? Sign a petition? Spread the word?
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7. Design
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• If you are designer, then you can do this yourself.
• If not, then you need to get someone that is (a web designer).
• Or just a use a template (think responsive design for mobile)
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8. Move your content into the blog
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• Take your time, work out the bugs, you can have a deadline but don’t force it out.
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9. Add your other content
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• You need an About page and your CALL TO ACTION page. Set those up. Add your social media profile links. Add your fun widgets. Don’t distract people too much.
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10. Make and schedule your editorial calendar
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• Stay consistent.
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11. Link your social media / email
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• Linking your social media profiles, Google profile and your email to your blog helps drive traffic.
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12. Set up your Analytics
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• Get Google Analytics (free) set up on your website to insure you understand what your traffic is doing.
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13. Use your network to drive traffic
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• After posting, make sure you are posting your links to all your social media content.
Blog / Website
EmailSearch
Google Adwords
Youtube
Photo Sites
• Help others• Talk about others• Link to others• Mention others and
link to them• Read other blogs and
comment on them.• Use Google’s
Autocomplete to work headlines
Tips and Tricks
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spencerbishop/2074711112/sizes/o/in/photostream/
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Search + Social = TOP RESULTS
Remember: Great Content drives both Social and
Search. If you want people to see your stuff, you have to use both and a blog can
do that for you.
