Services

Melanie and Karen know blogging is fun: Writing your story, sharing your ideas, and building community are all very rewarding. They also know, through talking with clients and fellow bloggers, that maintenance and technical issues and questions can be discouraging. Good news! They love to do the stuff you dread. Let them focus on the boring stuff so you can focus on the fun stuff. To schedule any service, please complete the Blogging Basics 101 contact form with your specific request. If you have a design-specific request, please complete the Simply Amusing Designs contact form.

Blogging Basics 101 Services

  • One-on-one training. Melanie is happy to spend an hour or two with you to answer your questions about blogging, regardless of platform. If you have questions, she has answers.
  • Starting a Blog. Melanie will help you choose the blogging platform that’s right for you. If it’s Blogger or TypePad, she’ll help you set up your blog and make some basic customizations; if it’s WordPress, she’ll help you find a web host and install WordPress for you, then teach you how to use everything (including plug-ins and your WordPress dashboard).
  • Buying & Installing Your Domain Name. Melanie will help you find and buy your domain name, then install the domain for you.
  • Migrating from One Blog Platform to Another. Many of us start out with one platform, then find we need more flexibility. Whether you’d like to move from Blogger to TypePad or from TypePad or Blogger to WordPress, Melanie and Karen can help you with that. Migration is never painless, but they will help you make the transition as smoothly as possible.
  • Maintaining Your Blog. Blog maintenance is definitely not the sexiest part of blogging, but it’s a necessity. If you don’t want to mess with it, let us. Melanie will back up your TypePad or Blogger blog or backup your WordPress database. Of course, backing up your blog is just one area of maintenance.
  • Setting Up Google Analytics. Do you want to track your click-throughs, know who’s reading you and what posts they’re interested in, and find out if your SEO is working or not? Google Analytics is an important tool and, if used to its potential, can help you find ways to take your blog to the next level. Melanie can set up Google Analytics for you and provide training on how to track your blog’s performance.
  • Designing a Blog That Reflects Your Personality. Melanie has partnered with Karen Lewis of Simply Amusing Designs and together they offer a complete blogging and design package: Karen creates a custom design and blog template for you while Melanie handles the copywriting and editing and trains you how to use your new blog.
  • Usability Testing. So you have a blog and you’re happy with how things are progressing. Sometimes, though, you wish you could take it to the next level. Why not hire Karen and Melanie to look over your blog and evaluate its SEO, usability, and copywriting? Karen and Melanie can tighten your message and make sure your readers can find the information they’re looking for. They’ll also help you discover new ways to help your blog grow.
  • Establishing a Social Media Presence. If you’re a company looking to jump into the social media community, Melanie would love to help you. She’ll show you how to set up accounts on Twitter and Facebook, then train you and your team on the best practices for working with bloggers in different niches and how to grow your communities.