How to build a blog site

Key things to physically stand up a Wordpress site. Accompanied by https://youtu.be/QAce7QnNooM

Transcript

1. #CCW2016 GregLTurnquist.com SETTING UP A BLOG Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask
2. #CCW2016 GregLTurnquist.com SETTING UP A BLOG Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask Okay, may not EVERYTHING
3. #CCW2016 GregLTurnquist.com BENEFIT OF YOUR OWN SITE? You own it, you control it Move stuff around as desired Refreshing look-and-feel is easy This will become YOU!
4. #CCW2016 GregLTurnquist.com YOU ARE IN CONTROL Tweak headers, footers, and sidebars Link to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other social networks Link to Amazon, Good Reads, Leanpub so people can GIVE YOU MONEY Subscribe to your email list Move widgets around based on events (book launch, convention, coupons) Recent posts/comments + archives
5. #CCW2016 GregLTurnquist.com YOU ARE IN CONTROL Tweak headers, footers, and sidebars Link to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other social networks Link to Amazon, Good Reads, Leanpub so people can GIVE YOU MONEY Subscribe to your email list Move widgets around based on events (book launch, convention, coupons) Recent posts/comments + archives “Hey Jimmy, these people want to give us money. Shouldn’t we make that easy?”
6. #CCW2016 GregLTurnquist.com EMAIL LIST Email is more popular than social media (85% vs. 62%) People guard their email accounts, making engagement higher (59% open rate vs. 31% click through rate) Better return on investment ($40 vs. $2-$17 for every $1 spent) Higher conversion rate (4.16% vs. 0.48%-2.64%) A/B campaigns - battle tested way to improve “Nothing but the facts, ma’am.” https://www.helpscout.net/list-building/
7. #CCW2016 GregLTurnquist.com EMAIL LIST Email is more popular than social media (85% vs. 62%) People guard their email accounts, making engagement higher (59% open rate vs. 31% click through rate) Better return on investment ($40 vs. $2-$17 for every $1 spent) Higher conversion rate (4.16% vs. 0.48%-2.64%) A/B campaigns - battle tested way to improve “Nothing but the facts, ma’am.” https://www.helpscout.net/list-building/ “Sure wish I’d started sooner!”
8. #CCW2016 GregLTurnquist.com EMAIL LIST Mail Chimp - free for the first 2,000 subscribers. Easy to add forms to your site, your Facebook page, and other places Create “hub” pages with option to sign up. Learn to ask, often (books, bookmarks, gifts, presentations, webinars…) “Nothing but the facts, ma’am.”
9. #CCW2016 GregLTurnquist.com EMAIL LIST Mail Chimp - free for the first 2,000 subscribers. Easy to add forms to your site, your Facebook page, and other places Create “hub” pages with option to sign up. Learn to ask, often (books, bookmarks, gifts, presentations, webinars…) GregLTurnquist.com/list “Nothing but the facts, ma’am.”
10. #CCW2016 GregLTurnquist.com PLUGINS Akismet - spam filter for comments (free base) Contact Form 7 - create forms so people can email you (free) Google Analytics Dashboard for WP - track/display traffic (free) Jetpack - stats, socialize, publicize, etc. (free) Thrive Leads - build your email list (1x fee $67/one site or $97/unlimited) Yoast SEO - doing SEO right? (free base) WP Simple Paypal Shopping Cart - selling products (free)
11. #CCW2016 GregLTurnquist.com JETPACK Lots of goodies. Key things to ensure are activated: Protect - protect from attacks Site Stats - gather metrics on traffic Sharing - add buttons to share posts on social media Publicize (needed to auto-cross post to Google+) Related Posts - Add links to other posts Enhanced Distribution - share your content with search engines
12. #CCW2016 GregLTurnquist.com THEMES Wordpress has a new theme every year (free) Google “free wordpress themes” to find 1,000s Many offer paid upgrades for support/options Professionally designed paid-for themes
13. #CCW2016 GregLTurnquist.com THEMES Wordpress has a new theme every year (free) Google “free wordpress themes” to find 1,000s Many offer paid upgrades for support/options Professionally designed paid-for themes Your content can stay the same while you refresh the look down the road.
14. #CCW2016 GregLTurnquist.com I HAVE A SITE. NOW WHAT??? Use it!!! Comment on threads with a link Tune your email signature Always, always, always drive traffic to your site
15. #CCW2016 GregLTurnquist.com I HAVE A SITE. NOW WHAT??? Use it!!! Comment on threads with a link Tune your email signature Always, always, always drive traffic to your site
16. #CCW2016 GregLTurnquist.com I HAVE A SITE. NOW WHAT??? Use it!!! Comment on threads with a link Tune your email signature Always, always, always drive traffic to your site
17. #CCW2016 GregLTurnquist.com I HAVE A SITE. NOW WHAT??? Use it!!! Comment on threads with a link Tune your email signature Always, always, always drive traffic to your site
18. #CCW2016 GregLTurnquist.com I HAVE A SITE. NOW WHAT??? Use it!!! Comment on threads with a link Tune your email signature Always, always, always drive traffic to your site
19. #CCW2016 GregLTurnquist.com I HAVE A SITE. NOW WHAT??? Use it!!! Comment on threads with a link Tune your email signature Always, always, always drive traffic to your site Links build the web
20. #CCW2016 GregLTurnquist.com REFERENCE - PAGES TO BUILD /list - subscribe to your mailing list /contact - contact form to email you (if you want it) /meet-me or /about - short bio /resume - if you are hanging your shingle /off-to-war, /the-lady-bornekova - one per published work
21. #CCW2016 GregLTurnquist.com REFERENCE - SETTINGS Settings => General Title and Tagline - pick something fun, open ended, and YOU Membership - do NOT let other people become members Settings => Reading “Show a related header” and “Use a large and visually striking layout” Settings => Discussion “Comment author must fill out name and email” and “Enable threaded comments” Settings => Permalinks “Custom structure” with /%year%/%monthnum%/%postname%.html
22. #CCW2016 GregLTurnquist.com SETTING UP A BLOG Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask