She’s Crafty: How to start a crafting blog with no money, no code, little time and toddlers underfoot

Does everyone have a crafting blog except you? It’s time to get your blog online using WordPress. Everything the beginner needs to know to start a blog. How do you choose a name? How do you choose a web host or blogging service? How do you get started writing? How do you get people to visit your blog? How do you get them to keep coming back? All your questions answered in a friendly, jargon-free session. This is a session for beginning bloggers and will focus on solutions that don’t require a lot of technical know-how or a big budget.
Presented at WordCamp Vancouver 2016

Transcript

1. She’s Crafty How to start a crafting blog with no money, no code, little time and toddlers underfoot Shannon Smith
2. Shannon Smith Web Developer Café Noir Design www.cafenoirdesign.com @cafenoirdesign
3. Budget = 0 $
4. The Finished Garment www.finishedgarment.ca
5. The Finished Garment www.finishedgarment.ca
6. Getting Started
7. What to say?
8. What is the goal?
9. Consistency is Key • Frequency • Tone • Network(s) • Time
10. Everything Starts with a Name http://knowem.com http://namechk.com
11. Where to Blog ?
12. Optional Yearly Expenses • Domain name = 15 $ • Use your domain name with WordPress.com = 72 $ • (Web hosting = 120 $)
13. A Good Breakup
14. Choosing a Webhost • Ask your friends • https://wordpress.org/hosting/ • Keep your domain name and hosting separate • You get what you pay for!
15. Where to Get a Domain Name https://www.hover.com
16. Choose a Theme wordpress.com wordpress.org
17. Take Photos
18. Get Photos • istockphoto.com • stocksy.com • Flickr creative commons
19. Mini-Branding • A name • A simple image • A (free) font • A great photo of you • A colour scheme • Bonus: A watermark • Not necessary!
20. Your Readers
21. Find your Peeps • social networks • comments • genre specific networks • online organized activities • in-person activities
22. Social Networks • words vs. images • time commitment • conversation or broadcasting
23. Active Users (in millions) statista.com
24. Where are your readers ?
25. Quantity vs. Quality
26. Cool Sites Spool of Thread
27. Cool Sites oursocialfabric.wordpress.com
28. Online Events kidsclothesweek.com
29. In-person Activities gotcraft.com
30. Find your Peeps • www.ravelry.com • www.textillia.com • kollabora.com • burdastyle.com • sewing.patternreview.com • sewcialists.org/firehose/ • Groups on flickr, Facebook, Instagram hashtags, etc.

31. Être intéressant, c’est s’intéresser aux autres
32. Further Down the Rabbit Hole
33. Sharing and Privacy
34. If you aren’t paying for a product, you are the product.
35. There is No Undo
36. Editorial Calendar
37. Editorial Calendar Plugins wordpress.org
38. Pretty Photos canva.com
39. Social Media Integration • Jetpack publicize • Instagram embeds • Hootsuite • YouTube videos
40. Analytics google.com/analytics/
41. Basic SEO • Use a featured image • Fill in all your image fields • Write an excerpt • Use categories and tags, 
 ones for people • Plugin: Yoast SEO • 350 words • headings (h1/h2/h3) • Search engines are trying to mimic people
42. Fill In Everything
43. Getting Paid? • Ads • Ad networks • Partnerships • Sponsored posts • Affiliates • Product sales
44. What was the point again ?
45. The greatest task before civilization at present is to make machines what they ought to be, the slaves, instead of the masters of men. Havelock Ellis
46. Shannon Smith Web Developer Café Noir Design www.cafenoirdesign.com @cafenoirdesign www.finishedgarment.ca
 @finishedgarment