Before we start, a quick note about WordPress.COM verses WordPress.ORG – there is a big difference:

WordPress.com benefits:

• Free, hosted service
• Easiest, fastest, cheapest way to set up a blog
• Ideal for an individual wanting to try out non-monetized blogging

WordPress.com drawbacks:

• Very limited customization options – You must upgrade to a paid subscription even to change the font colors
• Even with paid subscription, customization is limited
• URL will always display as http://yourblog.wordpress.com
• Limited Widgets and no plugins

To get branded, custom templates and to take advantage of all the amazing, free WordPress plugins out there, you need to set up a WordPress.org blog – this requires some programing skills and access to FTP. For anyone wanting to start a blog for their business, we suggest contacting a professional web company (like Astek!) who can make sure your blog set up is done right.

Ok, now that that is cleared up, here are Katie’s 8 easy tips for a strong start to a personal blog on WordPress.com:

1. Set up a blog and choose a theme.
   • Follow the instructions at http://wordpress.com/
     
2. Change the subtitle
   • Where to find it: Settings
   • (Bonus Points: use keywords that relate to your blog topic in your subtitle for a bit of SEO help)
3. Make sure your “Display Name” is how you’d like your name to display.
   • Where to find it: Users, select yourself
   • Some people prefer to use a “handle” to add a layer of privacy, but if you are trying to build content to help your ego Google, you should consider using your real name.
4. Customize your sidebar.
   • Where to find it: Appearance / Widgets
   • When you’re in there you’ll see a sidebar on the right side. Click the down arrows on the widget bar to open a widget so you can customize or remove it. To add a widget, drag the bar from the center list and drop it in the sidebar where you’d like to see it – you can drag the bars up or down to reorder the items in your sidebar. Here are my suggested sidebar items, but play with the widgets to see if there’s more you’d like to include:
     • Remove the Blogroll (unless you are ready to populate it with links to other, related websites)
     • Remove Meta items
     • Add a “Text” section right at the top and put a sentence or two telling your readers what your blog is about.
     • Add Blog Subscriptions and RSS feeds so people can follow your blog via email or on an RSS feed reader. This is very important as this is how people gain a following for their blog.
     • You can keep “Archives”, but I usually replace it with “Recent Posts”
     • Make sure Search is somewhere in your sidebar

     

5. Add 5-10 categories.
   • You can do this under Posts/Categories. Once you’ve added some, categorize all your posts (a post can have more than one category), un-check the “uncategorized” category on any post you’ve already put up and then go back and erase “uncategorized” as a category. You can always add or change categories later so don’t fret too much. If you’d rather, you can just remove categories from your sidebar all together, though “uncategorized” will still show up as a label on all your posts, which is lame.
6. Use Photos & Videos.
   • Not strictly necessary, but it can help give your blog a lot more “pop”. Get a subscription to a cheap stock photo site like istockphoto.com and choose a fun pic to go with each posting.
7. Download Journaling Software.
   • Again, not strictly necessary, but software like MacJournal (or WinJournal if you’re on a PC) will make your life a LOT easier and save you tons of time. It’s $40, but completely worth it – especially if you are going to be writing for multiple blogs. You can download it and set it up in just a few minutes. It’s a much more user-friendly writing environment than WordPress, you can drag and drop and resize photos right in your post and then you just click one button and it posts automatically to WordPress, uploads all your photos without you having to do anything.
8. When someone comments on your blog…
   • If you know them personally, resist the urge to respond to them in a personal email. An active discussion in the comments section is a sign of a healthy blog. Response by personal email should be reserved for conflict resolution and the exchange of personal or sensitive information (personal email addresses, phone numbers, etc).
   • If you are replying directly to something someone said in a comment, be sure to “reply” to that comment specifically – you should see the option to “reply” on the same page you “approve” comments.  Everyone will see your reply, but it will be directly under the comment you’re replying to and indented slightly:
   • Example:
     

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Katie Hawkey Categories: Fun, How To, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Web