Archive for the "Tools For Your Blog" category

Video tutorials for DIY WordPress bloggers

I quietly launched a new blog (I’m a little out of control!) a couple of weeks ago that some of you may find helpful.  It’s called WordPress Quick Start, and it’s an informal video blog for people who want …

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Commit to blogging goals for long-term success

This post is part of a series called "Planning". The other posts in the series are listed below:
  1. Clarify the business goals for your blog
  2. Commit to blogging goals for long-term success
  3. Why create an “ideal reader”?
  4. How to identify your ideal reader


Beyond goals about what you want to get out of blogging, it’s a good idea to set goals for what you’re going to put into your blog.

You can’t force readers to come, or to subscribe, or to buy your product, or to call you for …

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Five more fabulous and free WordPress themes

Since the last batch of search engine friendly WordPress theme recommendations went over so well, here are five more themes for the full version of WordPress (and if you’re on WordPress.com, don’t despair; we’re in the process of reviewing the included themes right now and will publish our recommendations for you soon).
XV – Revised
XV - Revised: a free WordPress themeWe like this theme’s code because it:

validates
has better-than-average code structure
emphasizes your post titles
emphasizes your blog name
emphasizes your blog’s description
uses unique page titles

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Five free, beautiful WordPress themes to help your SEO

Many people have been reading the posts on ProBlogger and this blog about the importance of good theme code and the role it plays in your search engine traffic.

Now, I’m a little biased :) , but I think one of the best ways to get a great theme with great code is to have it built that way; you get the best of both worlds: a custom theme that represents you perfectly, and great, search-engine-friendly code.

However, I’m also a realist, and know that many bloggers can’t/don’t want to put cash into their blogs, so I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight some beautiful WordPress themes that also feature excellent, search-engine-friendly code. Read on to see the first five selections (in no particular order). (Hold your mouse over a “reason” to see a slightly longer explanation.)

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RSS: it’s all about your readers

Do you know why people would want to use RSS to subscribe to your blog? Hint: you may think it’s because of convenience (and it is, in part), but there’s more at work here. An excellent “aha” moment courtesy of Copyblogger:

The primary benefit is not that RSS

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