first steps toward successful blogging

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First Steps Toward Successful Blogging By Sarah Granger, PublicEdge & the Center for Technology, Media & Society June 2012

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Page 1: First steps toward successful blogging

First Steps Toward Successful Blogging

By Sarah Granger, PublicEdge& the Center for Technology, Media & Society

June 2012

Page 2: First steps toward successful blogging

Presenter Background (Sarah Granger) Blogging for a decade, including covering DNC, White House, Fashion Week

Led the launch of “first true weblog by a politician” during 2004 presidential race

Helped launch over a dozen blogs, mostly for women’s organizations

Blogged for nearly 20 different blogs and several other online magazines

Current blogs for major publications, SFGate (SF Chronicle), BlogHer & Huffington Post

Page 3: First steps toward successful blogging

Introduction: What is Blogging, Really?Self-publishing of articles on a particular type of online platform

Closer to the op-ed than traditional journalism

Generally not edited by anyone but the author of the blog post

Personal viewpoints on issues, events, topics – raw, casual

Blogging is all about authenticity – keeping it real – and interesting

Page 4: First steps toward successful blogging

Do You Really Need a Blog?No, but you need a voice online & blogging’s the easiest way to

start

Blogging = best way to build your online presence over short period of time

Blogging makes you a better writer for other types, like op-eds

Blogging gives you subject matter credibility

Page 5: First steps toward successful blogging

Who Are Bloggers?Bloggers can be anyone, from POTUS to a high school kid

Bloggers can be political experts with a deep level of knowledge or just an interested person with an opinion

Bloggers used to need some level of technical expertise to understand back end of the systems; now they can be anyone

Bloggers for the most part are NOT paid – this is a labor of love for them

Page 6: First steps toward successful blogging

Blogger PowerNever underestimate the power/influence bloggers can wield

Even small blogs can get national attention if topic is important enough – search engines & major media outlets will pick it up

Blogger influence can be subtle – number of page views may not necessarily indicate an influential blogger

Each person has a voice – this is why we love blogs – they are democratic

Page 7: First steps toward successful blogging

How Do Top Political Bloggers Get Started? Passion for issues

Unique voice

Appropriate timing in political cycle

Available time to write and learn the back end of blogging

Experience writing, advocating, educating or in other media

Comfort with online publishing systems

Page 8: First steps toward successful blogging

Sarah’s Path as an ExampleTech: IT -> Internet Project Management -> Internet Director / Directed 1st Major Politician Blog Launch -> PublicEdge: WomenCount / WCF (Congress)

Tech writing: newsletters -> published papers -> Security Focus -> MindJack -> Sairy -> Digital Landing -> Spectrum magazine (WH press)

Parenting: Share Your Story -> Silicon Valley Moms Blog -> MOMocrats (DNCC)

Local: SVMoms -> Bay Area Parent -> SFBayStyle -> NBCBayArea -> SFGate (Prime)

Women & Politics: Political Voices of Women -> BlogHer (WH Sr Staff, Senate)

Tech Politics: Future Campaigns -> HuffPost OTB -> techPresident -> Huffington Post (Topic main pages, WH event)

Page 9: First steps toward successful blogging

Why Blog (or vlog)? Provides a solid starting platform for your thoughts and your unique outlook

on issues

Gives you a chance to say whatever you want about the things that are important to you to an interested audience (giant megaphone)

Gives you a central point of focus for online engagement

Allows you to experiment with your authentic voice and become comfortable with public dialogue

Connects you with people you would not otherwise meet

Page 10: First steps toward successful blogging

Blog Lingo Post – article or main news item that rotates as new content published

Page – static content that hosts information like your bio or contact info

Comment – comments from readers

Category – topic or general area for organizing post content

Tag or Keyword – keywords used for searching posts

Blogroll – list of related blogs

Page 11: First steps toward successful blogging

Blogging Engines Blogger – hooked into Google

Wordpress – easiest, most design options (paid advanced opts)

Typepad – best for multiple bloggers (paid advanced opts)

Tumblr – easy to customize, more common with millennials

Posterous – simple, easy to post from mobile

Drupal – complex, best for larger organizations

Moveable Type – best for major publications (Huffington Post)

Page 12: First steps toward successful blogging

First Steps to Becoming a Blogger Take your list of top blogs in your local area and comment on them

Tune into the conversations, get to know the regular commenters as well as the bloggers

Try out one or two of the blogging engines (for free, set on private)

Try writing some longer posts on Facebook, see how they feel

Give guest blogging a try

Think of categories & topics you want to write about

Page 13: First steps toward successful blogging

Blogging Tips A blog provides a sense of dynamic activity

Don’t do it alone unless you can commit the time!

Posts can be syndicated & reused easily

Great tool for news & multimedia sharing

Blogs must be updated regularly with fresh content

Moderating comments and responding is essential

Page 14: First steps toward successful blogging

Guest Blogging Easiest to do once you know bloggers and have commented on their blogs

Pitch specific content that is NOT self-promotional; think of it as an op-ed type opportunity

Write about an issue you care about, explain why you have a unique angle

Start small, build gradually (don’t try for The Huffington Post right away)

Make sure to proofread, provide links, don’t send Word files, and do as much of the work for them so it’s easy and fast for them to publish

Page 15: First steps toward successful blogging

Group Blogs Another easy way to get started – group blogs or blog diaries

Launch a sub-blog on somebody else’s site or blog, i.e. BlogHer, Daily Kos

Join a group of bloggers in a certain area, i.e. K12 News Network, MOMocrats, Latism

Sign on to blog for a local or national nonprofit blog where you’re involved

Commit to writing 1-4 times/month at first

Page 16: First steps toward successful blogging

Content is King No matter how small the blog, quality content trumps quantity

Think about your audience who would you like to reach?

Make a list of all the issues, causes and campaigns important to you

Read related articles, think about your perspective, take notes

Write about whatever angle you think is unique

Don’t worry about post length – 2 paragraphs or 20 is fine

Link to sources and other posts, articles of interest

Page 17: First steps toward successful blogging

Blogging Process

Read, research, write, edit, publish, link, promote, repeat!

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Comment Moderation TipsIf you manage your own blog, make sure to turn on comment

moderation

Default moderation to pending approval so that all comments must be read first before approved

Always watch the comments on the blogs for defamatory or sexist comments – trolls can come in a variety of shapes & sizes

Page 19: First steps toward successful blogging

Announcing Your Blog Make sure you’re already on other social media first

Have 5-10 engaging posts already on the blog

Send out e-mail as you would in fundraising outreach – start with your inner circle and branch out from there

Link the blog to your social network accounts, then promote and link to the blog from your social networks

Don’t be afraid to ask your close friends & colleagues to comment to build the conversation on your blog

Take advantage of your full network as soon as you’re ready

Page 20: First steps toward successful blogging

Blog Promotion List Make sure to leave no stone un-turned when building your list

The usual suspects: home or work addresses, phone numbers, old business cards, conference attendee lists

Additional mobile numbers, Skype addresses, Instant Messaging accounts

E-mail addresses, groups, lists

Social media accounts: Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.

Page 21: First steps toward successful blogging

Building Your Blogging Community Ask bloggers you know to link back to your blog (link exchange)

List your blog on Facebook Networked Blogs, BlogHer, other blog networks

Ask around for blogger lists you can join (but don’t push it)

Follow bloggers on Twitter, Facebook

Experiment with RSS readers (Google Reader is easy)

Attend blogger conferences or online activist events (Netroots Nation, Right Online, New Organizing Institute, etc.)

Page 22: First steps toward successful blogging

Talking with Other Bloggers What do they cover and what’s their angle?

What can they teach you that you may not know?

How can you help each other?

What blogger networks are they a part of that might be a fit for you?

Note: bloggers trust people, not politicians, policies or promises.

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Engaging with Bloggers via Social Networks Follow bloggers of interest on Twitter, FB

Retweet or repost what the bloggers are saying that’s relevant to the campaign and the voters

Reply to what the bloggers are saying – engage them like in blog comments

Think of it as an ongoing dialogue

Be careful not to overdo it – don’t harass them – they will know when you’re pandering for their attention

Page 24: First steps toward successful blogging

Blogger & Social Media Etiquette Always take an integrated approach – put your information in different

forms and make sure outreach runs smoothly

If someone puts up a blog post, shares your Facebook message, retweets your alert, sends e-mail to their network, etc. make sure to thank them

Put anyone who helps you out on a list and make sure to keep them informed of whatever issue or topic you’re working on

Always be considerate to people on the other end of the wire – they could be cancer patients, working on tough deadlines – be considerate

Page 25: First steps toward successful blogging

Tips for Reputation Control Promote a positive image early & often

Curate content always keeping image, reputation and message in mind

Buy as many domains relating back to your name and blog name as possible

Perform regular “vanity” searches to check on SEO

If there’s a problem, attack it head-on, immediately

Page 26: First steps toward successful blogging

Blog Metrics/Tracking Sitemeter, Google Analytics, Wordpress track wide range of metrics

Overall Traffic

Referring pages

Location of visitors/users

Time on site

Pages &/or posts most visited

Page 27: First steps toward successful blogging

Integrated Blog Marketing Strategy Social media is powerful & influential, including blogs, social networks,

microblogging (Twitter), images & video

Integrate social media such that your entire online persona shows

Auto-post updates from blog to Facebook & Twitter

Reuse content & post at regular intervals – “drip irrigation” (Sally Lieber)

Remember to keep it personal, keep it “social”, be authentic

Page 28: First steps toward successful blogging

Back Channel Networking E-mail lists

Shared documents (Google Groups, Yahoo Groups, DropBox, PBWiki)

Online chat tools (Google+ Hangouts, Skype, Jabber)

Instant messaging (AIM, YIM, MSN, Skype)

Text messaging (via mobile phones SMS)

Online conference call tools (Freeconference.com)

Page 29: First steps toward successful blogging

Back Channel E-Mail Joining existing blogger or activist e-mail lists can be invaluable

Creating e-mail and document sharing groups for campaigns, causes, projects, etc. is imperative for ease of communication

Yahoo Groups or Google Groups commonly used – set defaults to private & reply-to-sender (vs. reply-all)

Remember that the netroots are grassroots online organizers in a global network, not just local communities; the reach is large

Page 30: First steps toward successful blogging

ContactE-mail: [email protected]

Twitter: @sarahgranger