Blogging Basics 101

How We Communicate: FAQs for Beginning Bloggers

I just returned from BlogHer 2008 in San Franciso. I appeared on a panel with four other women called FAQs for Beginning Bloggers. Our panel was flat-out amazing. We met fantastic bloggers and answered many beginner questions. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to answer everyone’s questions. I hope to talk to the BlogHer Three (Lisa, Jory, and Elisa) to discuss having this panel again next year and including a Birds of a Feather Room so we can continue our discussions.

Below you will find my notes from my portion of the panel. After each of the presenters (me, Michele Mitchell of Scribbit, Nelly Yusopova of Webgrrls International, and Shazia Mistry of Adventures in Motherhood) gave a short overview of some basic FAQs, we broke into smaller groups discuss platform-specific questions (i.e., TypePad, Blogger, and WordPress).

We have also compiled a Blogging Resources Document (pdf) for you to download.

In addition, you can find Nelly’s notes at WebGrrrls and Michele’s notes at Scribbit.

How do I find basic html resources to help me remember how to do things like strike-thrus etc.?

When I research information for Blogging Basics 101, I start with a Google search of key words. I also go to each of the three main platforms (Blogger, TypePad, and WordPress) and search their help files with those same key words. More often than not, I find what I’m looking for.

The following five sites are excellent resources for all bloggers to refresh your memory on how to do things like strike-throughs or add a button to your sidebar.

• Blogging Basics 101: This site starts from the beginning and walks you through everything from choosing your blog host and choosing a blog name to figuring out how to do a strike-through and customize your sidebars.
• Blogger Buster: Blogger users should have this one in their bookmarks. Everything you want to know and then some about how to manage and customize your Blogger blog.
• Edublogger: This site is specifically written for people who design, develop, and use educational blogs. However, the information spans niches and is valuable to all bloggers. The author uses many screen captures to make instructions especially easy to follow.
• BlogWell: This site offers everything from theory and design articles to HTML and CSS instruction for WordPress. It is targeted to small businesses and non-profits.
• Lorelle on WordPress: As the name suggests, this blog focuses on WordPress.org and WordPress.com blogs and how to take them to the next level. Lorelle provides tips, advice, and techniques for WordPress bloggers.

What are and how do I create permalinks?

A permalink is the link to an individual blog post. These are important because if you ever need to link to an exact blog entry (e.g., for a carnival or an archived post), you use the permalink as your link. It's poor blog etiquette not to use the permalink.

If you don't use the permalink, you'll just be linking to your main blog page. The problem with that is that, as you post new blog entries, the newest entry appears at the top of your main blog page and the other entries are pushed down on the page. The entry your readers are looking for may be down at the bottom of the page or already in the archives; your reader has no idea where to find the entry! If they click over to your site expecting to see a post specific to a carnival and they see a different post, they may not take the time to find the "real" post they're looking for.

You can find the permalink link under any blog entry. However, not all blog hosts/designs handle permalinks the same way.

• Typepad: There's a link that actually says Permalink under the entry.
• Blogger: The link varies. It's usually the time stamp of the post or the title.
• WordPress: Has a link at the bottom of the post named Permalink and/or the title of the post.

What kind of basic sections should I have in my blog?

I take this to mean What should I place in my sidebar? Your sidebar is your list of things you want to keep handy for your readers and for yourself. Your sidebar is offering your readers something in addition to the day’s post. However, too many links in the sidebar can clutter your design and overwhelm your audience. Keep things clean and orderly.

• Recent Posts/Most popular posts/Archives: You don’t need all three. Just choose one of these.
• Categories or Search: I find that search works well for my blogs, because I have a long list of categories. The search takes up less space and is an easy-to-install widget from Widgetbox.
• About Me/E-mail/Contact information: This is your opportunity to explain your blog. E-mail or other contact information should be readily available so your readers (or PR and marketing people) can contact you.
• RSS subscription button: Blogging Basics 101 has an entire section on RSS and installation and you can review Nelly’s notes at WebGrrrls as well.
• Blogroll (if you choose to do one)

Hosted vs. Non-Hosted?

Hosted: A blog that resides on the host’s server (e.g., Blogger or TypePad or WordPress.com).

Non-hosted: A blog that resides on the user’s (yours) server. You pay a third-party to host your blog (e.g., Moveable Type or WordPress.org).

Hosted Pros: Easy to get started because you don’t have to worry about server issues.

Hosted Cons:

• Blogger blogs can appear to be less professional
• Platform limitations (e.g., archiving can be less than user-friendly; TypePad can have issues with comment spam and trackback spam; difficult SEO)
• Less control over HTML and CSS
• WordPress.com does not allow advertising.

Non-Hosted Pros:

• Control over permalinks (articles aren’t randomly named) which can help with SEO
• Control over how archives are managed
• Control over CSS/HTML

Non-Hosted Cons:

• WordPress.org only supports one blog per installation; however, Moveable Type supports multiple blogs per installation.
• Moveable Type isn’t as malleable as WordPress.org.

How do I make a custom header?

• Using GIMP (free to download) to make custom blog banner (via Simply A Musing Blog)
• How to use PhotoShop or PhotoShop Elements to design a custom blog header (via DesignMom) 

To those of you who joined us, thank you! It was a pleasure meeting you. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have additional questions. For those of you who were unable to attend our panel or BlogHer ’08, please follow the links to our Blogging Resources Document and panel notes. I’d love to hear from you if you have questions!

I am cross-posting this at Don't Try This at Home and BlogHer.com.

How do I install a ShareThis button?

The ShareThis button looks like this

When a reader clicks on the ShareThis button, they can choose the link they want to submit your article to (e.g., kirtsy, Digg, Del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, etc.). It's an uncluttered and very useful.

ShareThis actually has it's own web site that walks your through setting this up on your blog. I'll point you to the pages you'll need.

• Blogger Plug-In
• TypePad Plug-In
• WordPress Plug-In

One word of caution: When I installed the ShareThis button on my TypePad blogs, I received numerous e-mails stating my sites were loading incredibly slowly. Once I removed the ShareThis button, things returned to normal. Instead of the ShareThis button, I use the FeedBurner option of placing these links in the footer of each post. I don't discourage you from using the button, but if you do, check with your readers to ensure the load time of your site hasn't been compromised.

How can I link to a pdf or document from my blog?

Linking to a pdf or document is fairly simple and can be handy when you need to share guidelines, instructions, templates, etc. 

Typepad

1. On your dashboard, click on the Control Panel tab.
2. Click on the Files tab.
3. In the box that says Upload New File, click the Browse button.
4. Find the file you would like to upload and click on it.
5. Click the Upload button.
6. In the list of files to the left, find the file you just uploaded and click on it. You will be taken to a new page with it's own URL.
7. Copy this URL.
8. In your post, highlight the words you want to link to the pdf or document.
9. Click the Link button (looks like chainlink) and paste the URL of the document you uploaded in the box.
10. Save your work or publish.

OR

1. In the Compose Post tab of your editor, click the Download File button (looks like a piece of paper with an arrow pointing up; it is located to the right of the Insert Picture button).
2. Choose the file you want to link to.
3. Click Upload File. A link with the file name is inserted into your post.

Blogger

You can only upload pictures to your Blogger blog, you can't upload documents or pdf files. However, there is a work-around. You can upload your document or pdf to a free host site such as scribd.com.

An account with scibd.com is free and allows you unlimited space for hosting your documents. This helpful online application walks you through uploading your documents and then sharing with your audience.

1. Create a free account with scribd.
2. Click the Upload Document button.
3. Click the title of the document you want to share. You will be taken to a new page where you can add descriptions, change the title of the document, add tags, etc.
4. Click the Publish button. You will be taken to a new page with that document.
5. Click on the Share icon above the document. It looks like this:
6. Copy the URL you are given.
7. Open Blogger and go to the post you want to edit. In your post, highlight the word(s) you want to link to the pdf or document.
8. Click the Link button (looks like chainlink over a globe) and paste the URL of the document you uploaded to scribd in the box.
9. Save your work or publish.

WordPress
Per your request, I was able to find some directions for WordPress users on how to do this too!

Writing effective links for your audience and SEO

This is a short and simple tip. When you are writing your post and need to insert a link, consider how you are going to write that sentence and where you will include the link. For example, which of these is more effective (potential links in bold)?

If you are interested in hosting a giveaway, please review my vendor guidelines.

My vendor guidelines are available here.

The top sentence is more effective for your audience because it tells you exactly what they need to do. It’s also effective for SEO purposes because search engine spiders are looking for unique word strings. Strings like “click here” or even just the word “here” linked to other files or pages are everywhere on the web. Make your pages stand out by being more descriptive with your links. Help the search engines catalog your site effectively.

Should I ask permission to link to a blog I find interesting, or should I just link to it without bothering the blogowner?

I don't think you need to ask people if you want to link to them. For the most part, when you link to another blog or web site, you are helping generate traffic for that blog or site. In most cases, you are sharing the link because you think it's worthwhile and you want others to be aware of the content. It's win-win-win: You share the info with reader, readers learn something new, the linked-to blog/site receives a traffic boost.

There have been instances where one site links to another to flame or make fun of it. These are unfortunate, but there is no rule that says one site has to ask the other permission to link. Once you put something out on the internet, it's going to be fair game as far as linking goes.

I do not usually ask for permission from any site I link to. I link to things because they are relevant (e.g., Mighty Helpful Links) and they will be useful to my readers. Sometimes I receive a thank you from the person I'm linking to, but it's because they've figured out via their stat counter that I'm sending readers their way. It's nice to hear from them, but I don't expect anything in return. I'm sure that if they deem anything I write or offer as helpful, then they'll link to me. If not, that's OK too.

If you do decide to give the other blog/site owner a heads up about your link, you shouldn't necessarily expect anything in return. They may or may not respond with a polite "Thank you"; certainly you cannot expect a reciprocal link just because you link to them.

The great thing about blogging and the communities it inspires is that everything is shareable.

I have started a website about "Work from Home" and have been advised to contact webmasters and request to exchange reciprocal links but have not done so because I don't feel comfortable asking. What are your thoughts?

This is the second part of the question I was asked yesterday.

Reciprocal links are a gray area. I don't care for reciprocal links. I don't like to be asked and I don't like to do it. I feel like anything I link to (that's not a paid advertisement) should be something I *want* to link to of my own volition.

However, there are many people who don't feel that way and are perfectly happy to do a reciprocal link. It's win-win for both of you.

If you're not comfortable doing it, then don't. If you think it might be worth a shot and don't mind a few "no thank yous" then go for it. The most they can do is say no, right?

I'd really love to hear your thoughts on this, readers.

• What do you think of reciprocal links?
• Have you ever asked for a reciprocal link?
• If so, have you had more positive or negative responses?
• What are the pros and cons, as you see them, of reciprocal links?

What is 'hotlinking' and what's the big deal?

Hotlinking is when you are directly linking to another site's graphics, files, video, etc. instead of linking to those items from your own server.

For instance, when I share a graphic like this one

I encourage you to right-click it and save it to your computer and either insert it into your blog from your computer or upload it to your account at PhotoBucket and use that code.

This is important because every time an image is viewed on a page on the web, it's pulling bandwidth from wherever it's stored. If all the Blogging Basics 101 readers used that graphic (great!) and used my URL instead of downloading it to their own computer/server (not so great!) then I would have a bunch of bandwidth being used and things could get expensive for me (definitely not great!).

I encourage all of you to read this article describing what hotlinking is, how to see if you're hotlinking, and how to fix the problem. That article does a much better job explaining everything than I can without getting in trouble for plagiarism.

If you need to know how to put a button on your sidebar without hotlinking, I have those instructions for you already.

How do I set up links so they open in a new window?

Opening links in a new window can be very handy in some circumstances (e.g., when you're hosting a carnival). I have looked for a simple widget that you could install on your blog, but I can't seem to find one. TypePad used to have a widget that automatically opened links in a new window, but it is no longer supported and is unavailable unless you already have it installed. However, all is not lost, you just need to do a little HTML coding yourself. It's extremely easy and you can definitely handle it.

When you make a link in a blog post the HTML will look like this (you can view it in your Edit HTML tab):

<a href="lastpage.htm">Whatever text you're linking</a>

To make the link open in a new window you have to tell the Web browser reading the page to do that. You'll be changing your HTML to look like this:

<a href="lastpage.htm" target="_blank">Last Page</a>

That part in red ( target="_blank") is the HTML code that tells the browser to open the link in a new window. You will need to go into the link you want to open in a new window and add that code. Make sure you leave a space before the word target.

How do I make one of those "100 Things About Me" posts that I can add to my sidebar?

It is tradition to write a 100 Things About Me post when you reach your 100th post. Once you've written your 100 things, you may want to post them as a regular post or you may want to just provide a link to it on your sidebar. Or both. Or neither. Whatever.

Blogger

1. Write your 100 Things post. It's harder than you think.
2. When you are ready to publish your post you have two options:
   1. Post it as a current post that will show up in your current lineup of posts, or
   2. Back date the post so it is hidden in your archives and you can link to it from your sidebar and give people the option of reading it.
3. To post as a current post: Simply click Publish Post.
4. To back date the post and hide it in the archives:
   
   1. Click Post Options.
   2. Under Post Date and Times change the date to whatever you want.
   3. Click Publish Post.

Your 100 Things post is published. Let me guess. Now you want to link to it from the sidebar, right? So everyone will know you did it and can read it and get to know the real you? Excellent idea, actually. Let's do it.

Of course, there are also a few ways to do this too. You can make a button and upload it to your sidebar and link it to the post. Or you can make a simple text link in your sidebar. To make a text link:

1. Copy the permalink of your 100 Things post. You'll need it in a minute.
2. Go to your Layout tab.
3. Click Add a Page Element.
4. Choose Link List.
5. Leave the Title field blank (unless you want a header).
6. In New Site URL, type or paste the permalink of your 100 Things post.
7. In New Site Name, type 100 Things About Me (or whatever you want to call it).
8. Click Add Link.
9. Click Save Changes.
10. In the Layout tab, you can click and drag your new Link List element to whatever position you want on your sidebar.

TypePad

1. Write your 100 Things post. It's harder than you think.
2. When you are ready to publish your post you have two options:
   1. Post it as a current post that will show up in your current lineup of posts, or
   2. Create the post as a page (this is a static page that is part of your blog, but does not show up in your feeds) and link to it from your sidebar and give people the option of reading it.

To post your 100 Things as a current post:

1. Go to the Compose tab.
2. Click New Post.
3. Write or copy/paste your 100 Things into the Compose tab and choose Publish Now under Posting Status.

To post your 100 Things as a page:

1. Go to the Compose tab.
2. Click New Page.
3. Write or copy/paste your 100 Things into the Compose tab and choose Publish Now under Posting Status.

Your 100 Things post is published. Let me guess. Now you want to link to it from the sidebar, right? So everyone will know you did it and can read it and get to know the real you? Excellent idea, actually. Let's do it.

Of course, there are also a few ways to do this too. You can make a button and upload it to your sidebar and link it to the post.

Or you can make a simple text link in your sidebar. To make a text link follow TypePad's instructions for making a typelist or adding an item to an existing typelist.

Or follow Typepad's instructions on linking to your Pages from your sidebar.

I find that many of my posts are quite long. How do I make it so my post has a teaser or introduction, but provides a link to the rest of the article?

This is one of those questions I receive a lot. Expandable content (providing readers with a short teaser, then providing a link to the rest of the article) is excellent for bloggers whose posts tend to be quite long or who like to keep weeks and weeks of content on their main page.

Blogger
Believe it or not, Blogger actually has information on how make your posts expandable. You will need to have post pages enabled and you'll be inserting CSS code. I think Blogger's instructions are clear and you shouldn't have any problems.

TypePad
Enabling expandable posts in TypePad is even easier because you don't have to insert the code yourself.

1. Go to Weblogs > Compose Post.
2. Click Customize the display of this page (you'll find it at the bottom of the page).
3. In the pop-up window, choose Custom and check Extended Post.
4. Click Save.
5. Save your post.

WordPress (written by Jordan at Momma Blogga)

The easiest way to enable a "Read More" link is to use the "more" button in the compose post window, which inserts the code <!--more--> .  Make sure the cursor is positioned where you want the read more link to appear in the post window.

Note that until we get to WordPress version 2.5 (due in spring 08), this will cut off the post in the feed as well.  However, if you're running WordPress.org (a standalone site with hosting), there are plugins that are designed to show excerpts from your posts on your website without affecting your feed as well as plugins designed to show full stories even when you use the Read More tag.

WordPress allows you to set up the "Read More" function from your admin page. WordPress also allows you to customize your "Read More" link.