Could it be that WordPress.com is the ultimate thought leadership platform? Possibly! Especially with the addition of Google+ to publicize. Watch this…
Here are some WordPress.com tips and tactics…
…for bloggers to play with this weekend!
Have fun! By the way, I’m always doing these types of tutorials on my business blog…
Post by Email…
Please tell me you’re using this feature! It’s one of the best things about WordPress.com!
Post by Email is a way of publishing posts on your blog by email. Any email client can be used to send the email, allowing you to publish quickly and easily from devices such as cell phones.
Generating a Post by Email Address
Before you can publish by email, you must generate a special email address. This address is unique to you and must be kept secret (anyone that knows the email address can publish a post to your blog).
Get all the details here: Post by Email — Support — WordPress.com.
…but while it was responsive it did not have custom posts, hence, back to the old look. Click the image for things to think about when choosing a theme…
Things to think about when picking a WordPress.com theme
You want one that is responsive and has customs posts at the very least. Here’s how to find them…
Which blogging tool should I use; WordPress.com or tumblr?
I posted this on my business blog, but I’m reposting it here for WordPress.com fans…
Which blogging tool should I use; WordPress.com or tumblr? The answer is yes – use both! While I normally advise clients, students and readers to “never use two tools were one will do” here is a case here is a case where using both is not only acceptable but desirable. Here’s why:
- WordPress.com is great at Search Engine Optimization [SEO] but it does not allow JavaScript or iframes amongst other things
- Tumblr is not as good at Search Engine Optimization [SEO] but it does allow JavaScript and iframes amongst other things
- For whatever reason — technical or political – tumblr is available as a sharing option where WordPress.com is not so you can pick the best tool for the job
- ‘Curation’ via tumblr’s bookmarklet is a little easier than WordPress.com’s ‘Press This’…
- They can be linked together from a technical perspective in a way that makes them appear to be one website to Google
- They can both be scripted by ifttt.com
- Both have great – but different – fans [which will give you more exposure]
- You can have a unified WordPress/tumblr site for less that $20 per year
…and I’m sure there are some other reasons that I’ve overlooked!
Source: Which blogging tool should I use; WordPress.com or tumblr? – Living Business
Let me talk you through some of the issues here:
Where Can You Find Free Photos?
Kathy Berman has some great tips here. Don’t forget, however, about Zemanta which is built into WordPress.com — it’s also a great source of free eyecandy for your posts…
From Malhar Barai:
An article by Malhar Barai 
Free Images!! Ha…I see your eyes light up.
You have written some great content, but we know that it is incomplete without an image. Images have the ability tell a story and they form an integral part of the many articles we write.
The web is a treasure trove of some beautiful images, but not all of these images are available for FREE. Though the challenge lies in finding the right images at the right price.At the highest level, they are classified as premium, freemium or free images.
Before we dig into the resources for free images, here is the classification you should know about from Google:
Labeled for reuse
Your results will only include images labeled with a license that allows you to copy and/or modify the image in ways specified in the license.
Labeled for…
View original post 375 more words
If you’re looking for helpful tips on managing your WordPress.com blog, look no further than lorelleteaches.com; it’s a fantastic WordPress resource for WordPress.com bloggers…
In 2005, WordPress became modular separating the design and architecture from the core programming code.
Today, a WordPress Theme contains files called template files that hold the architecture of the site and template tags, code that initiates actions within the site and data from the database. The design is applied through a stylesheet, holding the instructions for the colors, images, and look and feel of the entire site.
This tutorial covers the basics of the structure of a WordPress Theme and standard customization options.
The Structure of a WordPress Site
Like all websites today, a WordPress site contains a background area, header, sidebar(s), content area, and footer.
The background area is considered the canvas that the site’s structural and design elements rest. It is usually a solid color, pattern, texture, or a design that does not overwhelm the rest of the content and design elements.
The header area…
View original post 3,510 more words
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Bonus!!!
4 ways to optimize Twitter…
Just some thoughts for my WordPress.com blogging buddies on how to get the most out of Twitter to support your blogging here:
Do More Faster @ WordPress.com
Somehow, I missed this announcement. Maybe you did too? The big thing I’d like to see is j/k for moving through the blog reader! Do More Faster — Blog — WordPress.com.
Do You Have a Personal Platform Plan for 2013?
Fellow WordPress.com bloggers, I’m sharing this one for you as an encouragement to think about how you’re spending your time here! Michael Hyatt writes:
A young man once asked a wise old woman, “When is the best time to plant an oak tree?” She answered: “Twenty years ago.” He then asked, “When is the second best time?” She answered, ”Today.”
So it is with a platform.
It would have been great if you had started five or ten years ago. But if you haven’t, 2013 is the best time ever to launch yours or take it to the next level. Why? Four reasons:
- You don’t need anyone’s permission. You don’t need to audition, submit an application, or wait for approval. You are in control of your own success.
- The technology is easier to use than ever. Whether you want to write a blog, launch a podcast, or create your own video channel, the hardware and software make it simple to get started.
- The pioneers have mapped the trail. You don’t have to figure it out on your own. You can build on the experience of others. Start with my book or Chris Brogan and Julien Smith’s.
- The cost is minimal. In most cases, you can get started for free or for a few dollars a month. The biggest investment will be your time. But even then, you can maximize your efficiency with the current tools available.
What you need more than anything is a Personal Platform Plan. Here’s how you can go about creating one.
via Do You Have a Personal Platform Plan for 2013? | Michael Hyatt.
How a Quick Analysis of Your Top Posts Can Improve Your Blogging Results Next Year
Michael Hyatt’s Blog
Full story at: How a Quick Analysis of Your Top Posts Can Improve Your Blogging Results Next Year.
How To Create Your Brand And Find Your Voice!
Marie Forleo writes:
We all want to use our voice to express ourselves in a way that feels original and feels like us.
But how exactly do you find your voice?
What are the secrets to unleashing your own uniqueness when it comes to writing, creating and serving?
Finding your voice, or giving yourself permission to use it, can be challenging unless you have some concrete steps to follow.
Watch this now and and learn four simple, yet effective steps to unleashing your own voice and brand.
Time for a course correction? Updated 12/13/2012
Here’s another post in an infrequent series that I do to give back to the WordPress.com community…
A famous comment usually attributed to Lord Leverhulme goes: “I know that half of my advertising budget is wasted, but I’m not sure which half”. The same is true of your blogging and social media time! How can you tell if you’re on track? Which 50% is working? What can you do if you’re off course? Well, the simplest way may be to check your WordPress.com stats for the past year and see what links people are actually clicking on…
…then give them more of what they like and less of what they don’t! @jonswanson reminded me that reviewing your mosts popular posts and doing more like them is a good review do to as well!
Another interesting way is to add twitter tool Twylah to your mix. Twylah brings your brand message into focus, extends the life of your tweets, and helps you get discovered beyond Twitter. Twitter you say? I don’t even use that! Well, you might want to start! I use the sharing feature in the WordPress settings to send every WordPress post to Twitter as a way of amplifying my posts. I also use Twitter to share articles that I don’t feel like sharing on the blog. Together — my blog posts and my tweets — create what I call a lifestream and Twylah is the place where I put that lifestream. Twylah automagically organizes my lifestream by topic and gives me a pretty good indication of how the internet views my lifestream. If the topics are way off, it might be time for a course correction! If the topics look like who you want to be known as, then Twylah provides that validation as well…
Another reason why I love Twylah in closing is that I can host Twylah on my domain so that I can effectively add Twylah to my WordPress.com blog and get Search Engine Optimization [SEO] benefits from my tweets as well. Oh, and did I mention that Twylah is free?
Blogging in the WordPress.com community is fun, but if you actually want to be recognized as an authority in an area and get found when people are looking for you, these two tools may be all you need to amp your internet presence! Oh, and by the way if you’re looking for WordPress.com or ‘thought leadership’ marketing coaching, you can stop by my business site at http://e1evation.com/services/…
What should you expect from Twitter marketing?
Use Twitter to automatically broadcast every post using Settings>Preferences. If you want more precise timing, use a tool like ifttt.com or dlvr.it. Advanced? Use Twylah as a final repository for your ‘lifestream‘ and attach it to your domain for maximum SEO benefit…
What should you expect from Twitter marketing? [infographic]
via What should you expect from Twitter marketing? [infographic] – Holy Kaw!.
Zemanta for WordPress.com
Posts with images get twice the engagement of those that don’t. This weekend, learn to use Zemanta in WordPress.com…
Full story at: ZEMANTA | Zemanta plugin for WordPress.com.
Having trouble with WordPress images?
Here are some thoughts on making your post images really pop!
Bright, shiny objects! 