book

Professional Blogging For Dummies®

Name: Professional Blogging For Dummies®
Author: Susan Getgood
ISBN: 9780470601792

by Susan Getgood

July 2010

Beginner

384 pages

8h 39m

English

For Dummies

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Copyright
About the Authors
Author's Acknowledgments
Publisher's Acknowledgments
Foreword
Introduction
About This BookFoolish AssumptionsConventions Used in This BookHow This Book Is OrganizedPart I: Getting Started with the Business of BloggingPart II: Making Money with Your BlogPart III: Building Your Blog, Step by StepPart IV: Maximizing Your Blog's SuccessPart V: The Part of TensProfessional Blogging For Dummies surveye-Cheat SheetIcons Used in This BookWhere to Go from Here
I. Getting Started with the Business of Blogging
1. Examining Blogging at the Professional Level
1.1. Knowing What Professional Bloggers Do1.2. Building Your Online Community: The Blogging Advantage1.2.1. Simplifying Web site management with blogging software1.2.2. Establishing trust1.2.3. Extending networking opportunities with social media1.3. Deciding Whether a Blog Is Right for You1.3.1. You like to write or are willing to hire someone else to do it for you1.3.2. You have a point of view you want to share1.3.3. Your customers and prospects read blogs1.4. Exploring the Blog and Business Connection1.4.1. Using a blog to promote your business1.4.2. Turning a hobby blog into a business1.4.3. Developing a blog as a small business1.5. Setting Your Professional Blogging Objectives1.5.1. Narrowing your scope to find your niche1.5.2. Articulating your monetization strategy1.5.3. Evaluating your plan1.5.4. Setting realistic expectations1.6. Sketching Your Preliminary Plan
2. Finding Your Niche in the Blogosphere
2.1. Building Your Blog-Analysis Toolbox2.2. Defining Your Audience2.2.1. Profiling your ideal readers2.2.2. Understanding reader needs2.3. Identifying the Competition2.3.1. Getting ready to gather data2.3.2. Finding your direct competitors2.3.3. Uncovering your indirect competitors2.4. Analyzing the Competition's Strengths and Weaknesses2.4.1. Theme and editorial mission2.4.2. Posts2.4.3. Comments2.4.4. Inbound links2.4.5. Participation on social networks2.4.6. Promotions, products, discounts, and giveaways2.5. Discovering Your Niche with a SWOT Analysis2.6. Creating Your Editorial Mission
3. Protecting Your Blog with Appropriate Business Policies and Practices
3.1. Setting Up the Business End of Things3.1.1. Knowing why to establish a business entity3.1.2. Deciding what type of business to set up3.1.3. Hiring legal and financial advisors3.1.4. Getting an Employer Identification Number3.1.5. Considerations for an existing business when adding a blog3.2. Understanding U.S. Laws That Impact Your Blog3.3. Applying Trademark, Copyright, and Licensing Protections to Your Blogging Efforts3.3.1. Examining the differences between trademark and copyright protections3.3.2. Understanding the exceptions to trademark and copyright protections3.3.2.1. Trademark fair use3.3.2.2. Copyright fair use3.3.3. Protecting your work3.3.4. Respecting other people's rights3.4. Protecting Privacy3.4.1. Complying with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act3.4.2. Protecting your customers' financial data3.4.3. Blogging with other regulations in mind3.4.4. Preparing a privacy policy3.4.5. Keeping your e-mail marketing campaigns legal3.5. Reviewing the FTC Guidelines for Endorsements and Testimonials3.5.1. Looking at why the guidelines were extended to bloggers3.5.2. Complying with the FTC disclosure requirements3.5.2.1. Disclosing a relationship with a company in a blog post3.5.2.2. Creating a disclosure policy3.5.2.3. Understanding your company's obligations under FTC endorsement guidelines3.6. Avoiding Libel

II. Making Money with Your Blog
4. Monetizing Your Blog Strategy
4.1. Having Realistic Expectations4.2. Understanding Your Monetization Options4.3. Matching Monetization to Your Business Goals4.3.1. Starting point: Your blog objectives4.3.2. Identifying the opportunities4.3.2.1. Advertising4.3.2.2. Product sales4.3.2.3. Consulting and writing4.3.3. Deciding how hard you're willing to work4.3.4. Combining different strategies4.3.5. Promoting your blog: The key to success4.4. Recognizing How Monetization Can Impact Your Blog Design4.4.1. Deciding what display advertising sizes you plan to offer4.4.2. Selling products on the blog4.4.3. Looking for a corporate sponsor4.5. Creating a Financial Plan4.5.1. The monthly revenue forecast4.5.2. Expense budget4.5.3. Cash flow projection4.6. Deciding Whether to Stay or Sell4.7. Getting Paid
5. Selling Products or Services on Your Blog
5.1. Selling Products and Services5.1.1. Selling one or two products or an e-book5.1.1.1. Signing up for a payment processor5.1.1.2. Fulfilling the order5.1.2. Selling many products: eBay, Etsy, Amazon, and e-commerce5.1.3. Adding an affiliate store5.2. Integrating Sales Authentically5.3. Measuring Sales Results5.4. Becoming a Thought Leader5.4.1. Understanding thought leadership5.4.2. Promoting your book
6. Making Money from Advertising
6.1. Gaining Perspective on Blogging for Money6.2. Getting a Sponsor6.2.1. Crafting a pitch6.2.2. Be creative6.3. Selling Ads6.4. Participating in an Ad Network6.4.1. Pay-per-click6.4.1.1. Joining Google AdSense6.4.1.2. Setting up your ads6.4.1.3. Maximizing your AdSense results6.4.1.4. Other pay-per-click networks6.4.2. Impression or ad view-based models6.4.2.1. Federated Media6.4.2.2. Blogads6.4.2.3. BlogHer6.5. Choosing the Right Advertising Network6.6. Understanding Affiliate Marketing6.7. Building Your Affiliate Marketing Program
7. Getting Paid for Your Words
7.1. Discovering the Ways to Be Paid for Writing7.2. Making Money via Pay-Per-Post7.3. Writing for Other Blogs7.3.1. Finding freelance blogging opportunities7.3.2. Positioning yourself for freelance blogging opportunities7.3.3. Weighing the ghostwriting option7.3.4. Querying for contributor opportunities7.4. Getting a Traditional Media Gig7.5. Writing a Book
III. Building Your Blog, Step by Step
8. Choosing Your Blog Name, Platform, and Web Hosting
8.1. Naming Your Blog8.1.1. Coming up with a great blog name8.1.2. Further advice to help in your quest for the perfect blog name8.2. Creating and Registering Your Domain Name8.2.1. Determining your domain name8.2.2. Registering your domain name8.2.3. Linking your blog to an existing domain name8.3. Choosing a Blog Platform and Hosting8.3.1. Choosing a hosted service8.3.2. Hosting your blog yourself8.3.2.1. Choosing your blogging platform8.3.2.2. Choosing your hosting company8.3.2.3. Setting up your blogging platform
9. Designing Your Blog
9.1. Discovering How Blogging Software Incorporates Design9.2. Understanding Your Design Options9.3. Deciding Whether to Do It Yourself or Hire a Designer9.3.1. Design elements a pro can help with9.3.1.1. Making your blog match a Web site or brand9.3.1.2. Making your blog unique9.3.1.3. Tweaking a template9.3.1.4. Creating a logo9.3.2. Working with a professional9.3.2.1. Managing costs9.3.2.2. How to find designers9.4. Pulling Together the Design Elements9.4.1. Knowing that you need blog specifications9.4.2. Deciding on a basic blog format9.4.3. Creating your masthead9.4.4. Organizing your navigation and sidebars9.4.5. Sorting buttons, badges, widgets, and feeds9.4.6. Adding additional functionality9.4.7. Incorporating advertising
10. Developing Your Blog Content
10.1. Putting the Final Touches on Your Strategy10.2. Finding Your Voice10.2.1. Setting appropriate boundaries10.2.2. Coordinating voice for a multiple-author blog10.3. Creating the Editorial Calendar10.3.1. Wading through the creation process10.3.2. Mixing it up without mixing up your readers10.4. Building a Blogroll10.4.1. Deciding on links to include in your blogroll10.4.2. Organizing links to help readers navigate10.5. Setting Your Editorial Policies10.5.1. Establishing a general editorial policy10.5.2. Creating your comments policy10.6. Grabbing and Holding Readers' Attention10.6.1. Making good use of your headline10.6.2. Keeping readers after you catch them10.6.3. Using categories and tags10.6.4. Showing while telling: Using pictures and multimedia on your blog10.6.4.1. Adding pictures10.6.4.2. Embedding video10.6.4.3. Creating your own video or podcast
IV. Maximizing Your Blog's Success
11. Getting the Word Out about Your Blog
11.1. Telling Your Friends, Family, and Business Contacts11.1.1. Sending an e-mail11.1.2. Promoting your blog on your Web site11.1.3. Using the traditional marketing toolkit11.1.4. Informing the local press11.2. Making New Friends11.2.1. Building your blogroll for maximum exposure11.2.1.1. Tracking who mentions and links to you11.2.1.2. Taking stock of analytics11.2.1.3. Choosing the blogs for your blogroll11.2.2. Writing posts with links11.2.3. Trackbacks11.2.4. Commenting11.2.5. Contests and giveaways11.3. Getting the Most Out of Your Social Networks11.3.1. Promoting your blog with your personal accounts11.3.2. Facebook for marketers11.3.2.1. The Facebook page11.3.2.2. The Facebook like box11.3.2.3. Facebook Like button11.3.2.4. Facebook ads11.3.2.5. Facebook contests11.3.2.6. Facebook applications11.4. Taking Full Advantage of Search Engines11.4.1. Search engine optimization11.4.2. Paid search engine advertising
12. Responding When Companies Come Calling
12.1. Understanding Public Relations and Blogger Relations12.1.1. Telling a good pitch from a bad pitch12.1.2. Doing blogger outreach that works12.2. Developing Best Practices for Working with Marketers and PR Reps12.2.1. Positioning yourself to get offers12.2.2. Being aware of red flags that mark you as trouble12.2.3. Saying no without saying never12.2.4. Understanding and meeting your obligations12.2.4.1. Know what's being asked of you12.2.4.2. Be accurate and fair12.2.4.3. If you get something for free, disclose12.2.5. Approaching companies you want to work with12.3. Avoiding Burnout and Staying Focused on Your Objectives
13. Monitoring and Measuring: Why They Matter
13.1. Monitoring and Measuring Your Blog Activity13.1.1. Monitoring13.1.2. Measuring13.2. Understanding Your Readership by Using Analytics13.2.1. Figuring out how many people read your blog13.2.1.1. Absolute unique visitors13.2.1.2. Page views13.2.1.3. RSS subscribers13.2.2. Discovering how engaged readers are with your blog13.2.3. Figuring out how people find your site13.2.4. Discovering which are your most popular posts13.3. Using Analytics Data to Improve Your Results13.4. Making Sense of Advertising and Affiliate Marketing Reports13.5. Using the Reports to Maximize Your Revenue13.6. Using Analytics and Reporting to Forecast13.7. Putting Metrics in Perspective
14. Keeping Your Blog Fresh
14.1. Jump-Starting Your Muse14.1.1. Don't panic!14.1.2. Mix things up a bit14.1.3. Open your notebook14.2. Taking a Vacation14.3. Keeping Your Community Engaged14.3.1. Comments: The currency of engagement14.3.2. Encouraging comments14.3.3. Dealing with negative comments14.4. Eyes to the Future: Growing Your Blog14.4.1. Changing your focus14.4.2. Adding authors14.4.3. Finding new ways to make money
V. The Part of Tens
15. Ten Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
15.1. Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail15.2. Succumbing to Shiny Object Syndrome15.3. Overcrowded Sidebars15.4. Buried Contact Information15.5. Forgetting to Check Your Design in Multiple Browsers, on Different Operating Systems15.6. Neglecting to Add an RSS Feed15.7. Not Knowing Your Subscribers15.8. It's All about Me!15.9. If I Build It, They Will Come15.10. Forgetting to Update Your Copyright Date15.11. Poor or NonExistent Recordkeeping
16. Ten (Or More) Blogs You Can Learn from Simply by Reading
16.1. ProBlogger16.2. Common Craft16.3. Want Not16.4. Copyblogger16.5. AlmostFearless.com16.6. Duct Tape Marketing16.7. Cake Wrecks16.8. Lip-sticking16.9. Mom-10116.10. GlobalVoices16.11. Bonus Sites
17. Ten Tips for Jump-Starting Your Creativity
17.1. Capture Ideas in a Notebook17.2. Read the Paper17.3. Reread Your Favorite Posts17.4. Read Blogs17.5. Surf the 'Net Aimlessly17.6. Spend an Hour on Your Hobby17.7. Play a Game17.8. Look Up Childhood Friends on Facebook17.9. Take a Walk17.10. Move to a "Different Window"
BC. Blogger Survey Results
BC.1. How I Conducted the SurveyBC.2. Length of Time BloggingBC.3. About the BlogsBC.4. Most bloggers don't blog for the free stuffBC.4.1. Plans and policiesBC.4.2. MeasurementBC.5. Making Money from BloggingBC.6. Promoting the Blog

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Part IV. Maximizing Your Blog's Success

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Professional Blogging For Dummies®

by Susan Getgood

Part IV. Maximizing Your Blog's Success

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
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