Blog Marketing Tips
Sign up to my Blog Marketing Tips Newsletter and receive a copy of my
"JumpStart Blogging" Guide Free. No spam and privacy guaranteed
May 27, 2008
- What's The Big Deal With WordPress 2.5?
It is acually WordPress 2.5.1 at the time of writing this post, but what's the big deal anyway?I only began using Wordpress in Feb 2006 but to me, WordPress looks like the most major overhaul to date of the entire backend and, it was delayed for about three months because of the number of additional features the developers wanted to add.
If you've not upgraded yet or, you're new to WordPress, you may not be familiar with the new user interface which now has a very light blue and grey color scheme. Under the user tab, you can now change the color scheme with one click to suit your preferred style.
However, the aim of this blog post really isn't to give you a nice little overview of the new WordPress interface, but mainly to highlight that in my view, the new WordPress gave some indication of the direction of the Internet …
What do I mean?
January 17, 2008
- WordPress 2.4 Is Coming!
WordPress 2.4 is coming to a blog near you …
If you've just upgraded your blog toWordPress 2.3.2, you may or may not be interested to know that a major new release will be launched on or around January 24th 2008.
This version of WordPress will also include some changes to the design features in the admin area that you may love, hate or be indifferent to, but I'm really writing this post for the benefit of Semiologic or users of custom designed WordPress themes …
Please do not rush to upgrade your blog until you are sure it's compatible with the Semiologic theme. Denis de Bernardy is very good at checking the compatibility of WordPress upgrades with the Semiologic theme so, before you do anything, keep an eye out at the semiologic forum - www.forum.semiologic.com - for more information.
Whilst I've directed this post at Semiologic users, I would highly suggest that anyone using a WordPress custom theme check compatibility with the theme developer first.
I assure you, it's best to wait an extra couple of weeks before upgrading rather than having to spend hours fixing your blog.
November 25, 2007
- Read This Before You Upgrade To Semiologic Pro v.5.0
Okay, after weeks of putting off upgrading to Semiologic Pro v.5.0 last night, I bit the bullet and upgraded.
In the main, the upgrade went quite smoothly and there are some features in version 5.0 which just makes it easier for the blog novice to use such as the drag and drop page order feature, the upgrade wizard which means users no longer have to pay us, Denis's VA's, $25 to upgrade their site and, there are some really cool new skins.
The addition of the new skins was, in my view, long time a coming and thanks to The Techie Coach, there are some "nice" skins and a few of them have a kinda web 2.0 look. I say "kinda" because they are not totally web 2.0 looking, but they have the smooth look which I'm really beginning to love on blogs.
If you're an affiliate marketer who makes use of Deal.com, then you'll love this because it's obvioulsy so popular that it gets its own widget!
September 18, 2007
- WordPress Semiologic Pro Theme Tip #5
Here is tip #5 of using the WordPress Semiologic Pro theme and, this one will appeal to those bloggers who favor using Google AdSense as a way to monetize their WordPress blogs.
In my view, Ad Spaces is one of the most powerful Virtual Real Estate ad placement blogging plugins around and if like me, you are one of those people who got tired of trying to make AdSense Deluxe work on your site, then this is definately for you …
Ad Spaces enables you to place ads within your blog post or page but even better, it enables you to easily place ads within the canvas of the blog software. By canvas, I mean within the header, footer, in the sidebar, below the entries, above the entries, below each title and even above the canvas.
I admit that I didn't use the Ad Spaces feature of Semiologic in the early days of using it, because I just didn't understand it. However, after my frustrations with the AdSense Deluxe plugin, Denis de Bernardy, the developer of Semiologic walked me through the process of using the plugin, step-by-step and then I wondered how I lived without it.
August 31, 2007
- WordPress Semiologic Pro Theme Tip #4
Here is tip #4 of using the WordPress Semiologic Pro theme and, this time it has nothing to do with the WYSIWYG editor …
But, it does have everything to do with uploading Semiologic Pro, something, many Sem Pro users have problems with. The first confusion is that many people think they have to upload a copy of WordPress before uploading Semiologic Pro, but it already has a fully functional version (and it's usually the latest version) of WordPress integrated right into the software.
Now, Denis de Bernardy, the developer of Sem Pro has a great tutorial here http://www.semiologic.com/resources/wp-basics/how-to-install-sem-pro so I don't want to go over ground that Denis has already covered but I do want to go over one aspect of the installation that many new users come across and that is whether they NEED to install WordPress first.
The answer to this question is "No."
Step-by-step, this is how I install Semiologic Pro … Remember, this does not apply to those using the Classic (free) version of Semiologic:
August 17, 2007
- WordPress Semiologic Pro Theme Tip #3
Here is tip #3 of using the Semiologic Pro WYSIWYG editor …
Make use of the integrated spell checker.
This one is more for your new readers rather than regular readers of your blog because in truth, unless you really do have a lot of typo's, most people will forgive you and learn from the content.
However, correct spelling and grammar in my view has less to do with whether you're credible or intelligent but more to do with you getting your message across to your target audience effectively. If your blog posts are filled with typo's, people will get distracted from your message possibly resulting in you losing the sale, a subscriber or even a joint venture partner.
It's so tempting sometimes just to ignore the spelling and click "publish," but just remember another 30 seconds of your time could add another few hundred or a few thousand dollars to your bank account.
I don't know of any other WordPress blog theme that can boast it's very own integrated spell checker, but if you do choose the pro version of Semiologic, ensure you take advantage of this feature and give yourself a pay rise.
August 5, 2007
- WordPress Semiologic Pro Theme Tip #2
Here is tip #2 on using the WYSIWYG editor of Semiologic Pro …
Give some variety to your blogs by making it more interactive.
Apart from the fact that Semiologic Pro is search engine friendly (the canvass of the theme has been optimized for you), if anything will sway people from using the classic or free version to using the pro version, it's the WYSIWYG editor. Not merely because of it's look and feel, but because of it functionality and ease of use.
In terms of making your blog interactive, you have several helpful task buttons on the tool bar including the 'add media button', 'the insert video button' and the 'ad unit button.'
By clicking on the media button, you can enter the url of where your audio is hosted (which could actually be a different server than where your WordPress blog is hosted) and it will insert a lovely looking player bar like this …
Get Flash to see this player.
And, within just a few seconds (once you've obtained the code from say YouTube), you could have your own, a third party's or, an animated video on your blog like this one …
July 31, 2007
- WordPress Semiologic Pro Theme Tip #1
I've been using the WordPress Semiologic Pro theme for well over a year now and have built dozens of WordPress blogs using the software.
What I want to do in this series of blog posts, is highlight some of the features of the WYSIWYG editor plugin that was created by Denis de Bernardy for his Semiologic Pro WordPress theme. Hopefully, these tips will help you create a good impression with your blog. I call it housekeeping …
When I've built a blog, I take pride in it and honestly hate when I go back to a site and every post has a different font, different font size and no consistent structure. To me, it feels like walking into a messy, bric-a-brac shop. If this term isn't familiar to my overseas friends, in the UK it means your odds and ends shop - usually selling furniture, antiques and china. They can sell everything and anything that just doesn't quite fit together.
