Archive of ‘Blogging’ category

10 tips to get you blogging

Blog what will interest your audience. Image by Flickr via Creative Content.

Blog what will interest your ideal reader.
Photo by Christian Schnettelker via Flickr/Creative Content.

By Chanda Temple

Birmingham, Ala. blogging expert and See Jane Write Birmingham founder Javacia Harris Bowser recently held a blogging workshop to get bloggers and would-be bloggers blogging. She had a lot to say. Here are her are top 10 tips.

1) Write a mission statement for your blog

What message are you trying to convey with your blog? Have you identified your target audience? Include that in your mission statement. Write it. Live it. Love it.

2) Create a strong “About” page

Besides the look of your website and the content, your “About Me” page sets the tone of your blog. Be sure it clearly explains the topics you cover in your blog and offers background on you. Make the writing interesting and fun. Include images and links to of your favorite posts, too.

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It’s time to Blog Like Crazy

Birmingham blogger Javacia Harris Bowser encouraging Birmingham bloggers to "blog like crazy'' in November.

Birmingham blogger Javacia Harris Bowser encouraging Birmingham bloggers to “blog like crazy” in November 2014.

 

By Chanda Temple

Today kicks off Blog Like Crazy, a national initiative to push folks to blog for 30 days straight in November.

Tough challenge, but I’m up for it.

As I write my first entry for November, I’m sitting in the Church Street Coffee & Books shop with nine other women determined to do the same thing. We are all inspired by Javacia Harris Bowser, founder of Birmingham’s See Jane Write. She issued the challenge during a workshop today to encourage us to be bold and go for it.

“Blogging is hard. Even though everyone does it, not everyone does it well,” says Bowser. “It takes a lot of work and you need inspiration to keep going.”

For 45 minutes, Bowser shares tips on how to become a better blogger. She then tells us to roll up our sleeves and get to work. We have three hours to bang out what we can as we start our #bloglikecrazy journey. The women here are ready and explain why they’re here.

Says Jennifer Dome King of http://www.stellarfashionandfitness.com: “I guess I wanted to feel like I was rededicating myself to my blog and the goals that I have for it. So I felt like it was a good time for me to give myself permission to focus on my blog,” .

Says Darlene Millender of http://www.thebirminghambuff.com: “This is a kick start to focus on blogging again. I haven’t written articles since the spring. I think this is what I needed. I’ve gotten some great tips.”

Here are some of Bowser’s tips.

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11 ways to write good content for your blog

Keep your blog golden with good content. Image via Flicker/Creative Content.

Keep your blog golden with good content.
Image from Flicker/Creative Content via Kris Olin

By Chanda Temple 

I was on a WordCamp Birmingham panel today in downtown Birmingham, Ala. to talk about how to write creative content for a blog. Here are some things that have worked for me:

  • Write it down

When you get an idea, even if it wakes you up out of your sleep, write it down on paper. Sometimes, these are some of the best ideas or headlines for blog posts.

  • Everyone has a story

It’s left up to you to decide if their story is good enough to tell. I’ve written posts based on information from workshops, teleconferences, standing in the checkout line, trends, news, television shows, etc. Stories are out there. You just have to find them.

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I started a blog and this happened…

I'll be on a WordPress blogging panel on Aug. 16, 2014

Our handout for today’s session. So proud to be on a WordPress blogging panel with these fine folks today.

By Chanda Temple

In a few hours, I’ll be on a panel for a WordPress conference in Birmingham, Ala. to share thoughts on what I love: to write.

Writing is my passion. It’s what wakes me up in the morning and puts me down at night. So imagine my joy when I was invited to be on a blogging panel for WordCamp Birmingham, a workshop packed with tips for beginner and advanced bloggers, designers and developers. For an all-day conference that’s only $20 and also comes with a lunch, it’s the Deal of the Day.

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How WordCamp Birmingham will rock your blogging world

WordPress logo. Image from Flickr/Creative Commons.

WordPress is a popular online website creation tool that many bloggers use.
Image by Phil Oakley for Flickr/Creative Commons.

By Chanda Temple

Last summer, I attended a cool conference known as WordCamp Birmingham, which is sort of like a blogging bootcamp for WordPress users. And even though I didn’t have a blog at the time, I took enough notes to fill up a blog for days.

My biggest lesson from last year’s conference came when I heard someone say, “Stop waiting to get your website ‘pretty’ or ‘just right’ before you start blogging. It won’t happen, so you might as well get to writing now. The ‘pretty’ will come later.” (I launched my blog this summer, tweaking the look along the way. I think I used four themes before settling with the current one.)

Straight talk like that will likely be back this year when WordCamp Birmingham returns on Saturday, Aug. 16 at the Harbert Center in downtown Birmingham. Admission is $20. Sessions will focus on helping beginners set up their own website and give them tools to make it successful.

Jump into WordPress. The water's fine. Photo from HubSpot.

Jump into WordPress. The water’s just fine.
Photo from HubSpot.

If you are new to blogging, you don’t want to miss the sessions, especially the 9:30 a.m. panel discussion with Karla Archer, Wade Kwon, Williesha Morris and moi. Wade will address marketing your blog, Karla will address blog design, Williesha will address blogging for pay and I’ll discuss creating content. It should be fun because these panelists have their pulse on the blogging world and WordPress. I’m just honored to be in their presence. (Go here to see the schedule.)

The panel and other speakers will offer helpful tips that you’ll cherish. I should know. I still have last year’s tips Karla, a Birmingham web designer and lifestyle blogger, gave on blogging. To get you prepped for Saturday, here’s some of her advice.

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Why Javacia Harris Bowser is good for your blog

By Chanda Temple

Javacia Harris Bowser, founder of See Jane Write

Javacia Harris Bowser, founder of See Jane Write

For more than a year, I talked about starting my own blog. But doubt always prevented me from making it a reality. I wondered: Do I have the time to blog? What would I write about? Would people like it?

Every time I found a reason to stay on stop, Javacia Harris Bowser found a reason for me to start. “You can do it. You’ll be good at it,” she said.

Her comments of support came often. But I always put her encouraging words on a shelf, saying, “I’ll get to it some day.” Well, “some day” finally came in early 2014 when I met Javacia at a local coffee shop and decided to take the plunge. After an afternoon of coffee and cake, I walked away, ready to launch http://www.chandatemplewrites.com.

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