Stop The Blogging Block!
The biggest mistake I see from bloggers is that they park themselves in front of their laptops ready to write a blog post and think that a great blog post idea will come to them. Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. Have you ever had a great idea while sitting at your computer? Probably not. So how do you gather great ideas ahead of time so that you are ready to write when you do sit at your laptop?
First get out of your office and don’t bring your laptop with you! Go for a walk or better yet take a shower or wash the dishes. They say that the sound of running water hightens creativity.
Next grab a small notebook (or start a “note” in your smartphone) and keep it with you to write down any ideas that come to you while you are away from your computer. Don’t try to rely on your brain to remember them. If your brain was that powerful you wouldn’t need an address book/contact list for your email system, you’d have everyone’s email address memorized.
Keep that notebook with you when you leave the house. I know that some of my greatest ideas have come when I am people watching. Yes, I love to people watch. Humans are fascinating.
When writing down your ideas, do not get stuck trying to create a fancy title at the moment. In fact just write the idea or some key words. You just need enough information to get you started when you do sit in front of your computer.
Many of my clients have used this strategy and have reported that it makes blogging easier, they publish posts more often and they have stopped banging their heads on their keyboards! 
Plugins That Help With 5 Essential Areas of Any Blogsite
I’m often asked what my favourite WordPress Plugins are and so I’m offering a you a sneak peek at my top 5 essential plugins. I mention about 20 plugins in my book “Does This Blogsite Make My Wallet Look Fat?” and I will mention more specific and advanced plugins in my upcoming program Phat Blogsite Profits – 8 Core Foundational Steps.
1. Block Comment Spam
I use Cookies for Comments to block as much spam as possible. It’s hard to completely avoid comment spam these days as there are people employed for $2 a day to spam blogs!
2. Statistics
You got to know how people found your site, where in the world they are visiting from, what they “Googled” to find you and how long visitors stay on your site. I suggest two programs here Google Analytics and Sitemeter.com.
Sitemeter has both free and paid for versions. The free version is great and offers very valuable stats, however the paid version allows you to track each visitors every move on your site. This allows you to see where each visitor went and how long they spent on each page. Ok, so you there isn’t a WordPress Plugin for this statistics system but I really like them so I couldn’t keep it from you!
The Google Analytics plugins I use are Ultimate GA and Google Analytics Dashboard
Ultimate GA
will place your Google Analytics code on every post and page of your blogsite for you. No need to copy and paste the code Google Analytics gives you onto each and every page.
Google Analytics Dashboard displays your latest stats on your WordPress Dashboard, so you can take a quick look at your stats when you first login.
3. BackUp WordPress
I have used a number of WordPress plugins to back up my WordPress sites and my client’s sites. BackupBuddy is the only one that will back up both your database (posts, pages etc) and your WordPress files (uploads, themes and plugins). I love it!
4. Search Engine Optimization
The All in One SEO Pack will help you add more key words to posts and change the way Google sees your site.
Google XML Sitemaps will nudge Google, Yahoo and Bing, to tell them you have new content so they know to add you to their search results!
5. Smart Phone and Tablet Friendly Blogsites
Make your blogsite easy for Smart Phone and Tablet users to read and navigate through your site. Psst…this keeps them on your site longer and keeps it eye-friendly so they come back for more. My favourite plugin that comes with a few different themes for each Smart Phone and Tablet is PluginBuddy Mobile
There you go
YouTube Troubles on your WordPress Blogsite?
Have you tried to embed a YouTube video on a page or post of your blogsite only to have the code vanish when you edited the page/post? You sat there scratching your head as “this never used to happen!” Well there is good reason why this is suddenly happening (or why it will happen to you in the future). You see YouTube recently changed the embed code they offer from basic html code to “iframe” code.
Iframe code gets stripped out of WordPress’ page and post editor whenever you return to the post/page to edit it. This is why it keeps disappearing on you.
To fix this issue and prevent it from happening in the future, choose “User old embed code” within the options that YouTube offers. Below are step by step instructions.
- Find the YouTube video you want to embed on your site.
- Click “Embed” located underneath the video.
- Check all the options that apply and check “Use old embed code”.
- Copy the code.
- Head back to the post/page you are editing and input “zzz” where you want the video to appear (this is just a temporary placeholder to make it easy for you to find the spot where you want the video in the next step)
- Click the “HTML” tab on the top right of the editor.
- Locate the “zzz” placeholder you created in step 5.
- Paste the YouTube code where the “zzz” is.
- Save/Publish your post/page!
Did you enjoy this tip? More tips just like this one are available in my book: “Does This Blogsite Make My Wallet Look Fat?” Grab your copy!
An Underestimated Traffic Tactic
Statistics are king!
Back in 2005, when I was desperate to make enough money to leave my corporate job, I put out an offer to my newsletter list offering help with their websites, newsletters and other online tools to boost their business. Excited that I was about to secure a ton of clients with this offer I sent the newsletter. Unfortunately no one took me up on my offer. Even worse, I had no idea why. I sent my newsletter through Outlook, because admittedly I thought at the time, that it was crazy to pay for a newsletter service! What was crazy was that I had to guess what my stats were. How many people opened the newsletter and how many clicked to see the offer on my site? I also had not set up any statistics applications on my ultra sexy (*sarcasm*) html site, so how was I to know if I was a) attracting traffic and b) directing traffic?
Working and building your blogsite is a great step in the right direction, but if you are not measuring who is coming on your site, where are they going and what are they doing, then you are missing a giant piece of the puzzle. In order to know what is working and what is not working you need to track and read your statistics.
Install Google Analytics on your blogsite or create an account and use sitemeter.com (there is a free version and that’s good, however the paid version allows you to track each visitors every move!) on your site.
Once your statistics application(s) are installed (yes you can install both) your job it to see:
- Who is visiting your site? If location matters to your business, this is key.
- Where are they coming from? Are they being referred to you by other sites, Google searches, your newsletter, etc.?
- What page do they land on your site? The homepage, your sales page, your current blog post? If they are not landing on a page you want them to land on, then this is a sign that you must promote that page more often. You can send tweets, update your Facebook fan page or write an article incorporating it on your blog and/or newsletter.
- Where do they go once they are on your site? Are they going where you want them to go? If yes, you are directing traffic nicely if not, you have some work to do.
If you don’t know your site’s statistics you don’t know what you have to tweak, change or promote more of. Many business owners want the joy of having tons of traffic, without the work. But you have to know why and where you are getting your current traffic before so you can build on that.
Join me March 10th as I go through 3 ways to attract and direct traffic to your blogsite. Check it out and register here.
Get in the Driver’s Seat! A 3 step guide to driving traffic to your blogsite
A blogsite alone isn’t enough to secure clients and attract sales. You have to attract and direct traffic virtually. But how do you do it?
Let’s spend some time together on Thursday March 10th, at 4pm eastern.
I will go over 3 steps to drive more traffic to your site and get them to do what you want them to do!
You will take notes, ask questions and laugh at my jokes! 
How to Set Up Google Analytics on Your Blogsite
Yes, there’s a plugin for this, too, and it’s an easy peasy way to get Google Analytics working on your blogsite. Yeah!
It’s called “Ultimate GA” or “Ultimate Google Analytics.” To install and use this plugin, follow the steps below:
- Create an account on www.google.com/analytics.
- Install the Ultimate Google Analytics plugin by using the instructions in chapter 7 and searching for “Ultimate Google Analytics.”
- In your WordPress account, go to “Settings” and choose “Ultimate GA.” Enter your Google Analytics account ID in the “Account ID” field (the ID will begin with “UA”, followed by a 6 numbers and then one more number, such as UA-999999-9).
- Feel free to play with the rest of the settings or just leave them as is.
- Surf your blogsite for a few minutes, making sure to click a couple of links.
- Log into to your account at Google Analytics and check out your stats! Be sure to log in often to see how your blogsite is doing!
Did you like this tip? It came right from my book “Does This Blogsite Make My Wallet Look Fat?”
How to Schedule a Post to Publish in the Past or in the Future
Excerpted from “Does This Blogsite Make My Wallet Look Fat?”
So, you’re going on vacation and you want to keep you blogsite fans busy while you’re gone. Why not write some posts ahead of time and tell WordPress when to publish them on your blog? When you do this, WordPress will not publish or display your blog post until the time and day you choose for that post.
How to control the date and time your post will be published:
NOTE: Be sure to choose these settings before you press “Publish” on your post.
- Log into your WordPress account (www.OurWebsite.com/wp-login.php).
- Click “Posts” in the menu bar.
- Click “Add New” in the sub-menu.
- On the right-hand side of the “Add New Post” page you will see “Publish.”
- Click “Edit” beside “Publish immediately.”
- Choose the date and time you’d like the post to appear in the future.
- Press “Publish” to complete the scheduling process.
Did you like this tip?
It came right from my book “Does This Blogsite Make My Wallet Look Fat?”
Managing WordPress on Your Mobile Device
Excerpted from “Does This Blogsite Make My Wallet Look Fat?”
With WordPress apps you are able to manage your posts, pages and comments right from your mobile device. Approve and reply to comments as they come in. Jot down ideas for blog posts and save your post as a draft or write and publish the full post right from your mobile device.
I’ve listed the most popular apps below to help you find the app for your phone.
WordPress for iPhone and iPad
You can find in this app in the app store or itunes. It allows you to write posts, upload photos and videos, edit pages and manage comments.
Find out more and view some screenshots at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wordpress/id335703880?mt=8
WordPress for Blackberry
I love this app and have been using it mostly to approve and reply to comments when I’m on the go. I also use it to jot down blog post ideas as they come to me while I’m away from my laptop. You can use this app to write posts, upload photos and videos, edit pages and manage comments.
You can download it from BlackBerry App World or watch a demo video on http://blackberry.wordpress.org
WordPress for Android
This app for Android phones allows you to write posts, edit pages and manage comments.
Download it or view a demo at http://android.wordpress.org
WordPress for Nokia
With this app for Nokia mobile devices you can write and manage posts and pages, and manage comments.
You can view screenshots, learn more and download this app at http://nokia.wordpress.org
Did you like this tip?
It came right from my book “Does This Blogsite Make My Wallet Look Fat?”
Enable This Security Setting on Facebook Now
Facebook is slowly making new security settings available to secure your data over unsecured internet connections, like when you are working from the cafe. This week they are rolling out a new setting that will secure the data in your profile and anything in your Facebook account while you are out using public wifi networks.
The new setting will enable “https” security. The “s” in “https” is for security, you may have noticed “https” in your web browser’s address bar when you log into your online banking, online email system or any other highly secure system. This is important because you don’t want anyone hacking into your account and grabbing personal information like your date of birth, your home telephone number and even your credit card information.
Below are the step by step instructions you need to enable this setting (yes it won’t be enabled by default, you have to set this up yourself). If you follow the steps and you notice that you don’t have this option yet, try again every day until this setting is available to your account. Facebook is rolling out this option across all accounts and hopes to make it available by the end of the week.
1. Once logged into Facebook, click right on the top right corner then click “Account Settings”
2. You will end up on the “Settings” tab, which is exactly where you need to be
3. Scroll down to “Account Security” and click “change”.
4.Enable the new “https” setting by checking the first box. If you’d like to be emailed when a new computer or mobile device logs into your account, check the second box. When you are emailed you can log in, go back to this section and click “end activity” to stop their access.
Now, even if you enable this setting today Facebook may not start securing accounts until next week, which makes me think that you should enable it as soon as possible and then put a note in your calendar to go back into your Facebook account and ensure it’s still set properly in your account next week.
WordPress vs. Dreamweaver/html sites
Dear Sandra,
We need to upgrade our website and make it simpler, but more dynamic. One adviser suggested WordPress, and another favoured DreamWeaver. What do you think? We will want to be able to update certain portions of the website on a regular basis. Does this make a difference?
Joyce Curry and Bob Weir, Managing Director, Research Services
eResearch Corporation
Dear Joyce and Bob,
This is an easy question. The answer is WordPress hands down! Dreamweaver can become a pain in the neck to make changes if you don’t know html coding and even if you do, it’s a pain. I learned how to code html sites by hand back in the mid 90s and I find it painful!
With a WordPress site you can log into your account and make changes to pages, posts, your sidebar and your footer with ease. If you can write an email you can create a post or page in WordPress (the toolbar in the editor looks similar to the one in Word and Outlook). If you are going to be making changes often (and which creative entrepreneur doesn’t?) then WordPress is the way to go.
I also prefer WordPress because there are over 12,000 plugins that add extra functionality to your site like adding a Google sitemap, creating a membership site (using WishList Member), displaying your most popular blog posts, and adding buttons so that people can share your posts on Facebook, Twitter etc. WordPress also speaks “Googlese” so Google can find your site, and add your content (and updated content) to its database so that when people search Google, Google can display your site as part of its “search results”.
There are many more reasons why I LOVE WordPress and why I think every business owner should use it, but those are just a few of them. I explain more reasons to use WordPress in my book “Does This Blogsite Make My Wallet Look Fat?”
Have a great day!
Sandra
