Blog Exercises: Blog Work Flows

In “A Sample Blogging Workflow” by my friend, Chris Brogan, he talks about the process of blogging with consistency and determination in mind. Your company has decided to launch a blog, and you’re the lucky blogger. Maybe you’ve even asked for this pleasure, suggested it to the boss yourself. Only now, you have to deliver, […]

Blog Exercises: Prepare for Summer

It’s Editorial Calender check-in and check up time. May is the shift from spring to summer. From blossoming flowers to green leafed trees casting shade, the weather is changing, bringing warmer days to the northern hemisphere and colder temperatures down under. For those of us living in the Pacific Northwestern United States, we are experiencing […]

Blog Exercises: Editorial Calendar Check-in

If you have been with me since January on these blog exercises, it is time to check in with your editorial calendar again. If you are new, welcome, and take time to read the previous posts on the editorial calendar to help you catch up. Blog Exercises: The Editorial Calendar Blog Exercises: Blogging with the […]

Blog Exercises: Add Industry Events to Your Editorial Calendar

In the blog exercise to create an editorial calendar, I gave you many ideas for setting self-assignments and deadlines for content throughout the year on your blog. Don’t forget to investigate your industry to discover events, conferences, and news to add to the calendar. Whether you go or not, take time to research calendars and […]

Blog Exercises for February

We’ve completed the second month of Blog Exercises in February. Are you still with me? Here is the list. Blog Exercises: Taking a Risk With What You Blog About Blog Exercises: Honor the Past with Anniversaries and Birthdays Blog Exercises: Your Byline Blog Exercises: Comments and The Blog Bullies Blog Exercises: Backlinks Blog Exercises: Category […]

Blog Exercises: Schedule Blogging Time

When do you blog best? I do my best blogging between 8AM and 1PM, then in the evening between 8PM and 11:30PM. When is your best time for creative thought, writing, and blogging? I blog professionally in addition to teaching, training, and public speaking on blogging, WordPress, and social media, so blogging is my life. […]

Blog Exercises: How Many Posts?

How many posts do you need to publish a year on your site? Have you counted? Do you schedule them in a way to count each post over a day, week, month, or year? At my peak, I pushed 1,975 posts a year. Yes, someone counted. The number frightened me. I had to break it […]

Blog Exercises: Honor the Past with Anniversaries and Birthdays

Every year I celebrate January 11, the birthday of WordPress founder, Matt Mullenweg. The first week in April, I celebrate CSS Naked Day, a day to turn off the CSS designs on your websites world-wide to pay tribute to web designers. Later in April is the Day of Blog Silence, honoring the victims of violence […]

Blog Exercises: Current Events January

Every month in this series of Blog Exercises I will ask you to check the news and report on something in the news that relates to you and/or your site’s purpose. It may directly relate or indirectly. Fascinated with the alignment of the planets, I wanted to share my enthusiasm with the ease of watching […]

Blog Exercises: The Content Project Form

In these year-long Blog Exercises dealing with editorial or content calendars, we’re working on exploring all the dates you can add to your calendar, including adding seasonal post content and other date-sensitive blog posts and articles. In this exercise, we’re going to create a content project form. The goal of a content project form is […]

Blog Exercises: Blogging with the Seasons

Gardeners are ruled by the seasons, changing crops and growing methods so food and flowers are grown year around in some areas. Chefs love to use the freshest foods, thus are ruled by the results of gardeners and influenced by the seasons. Outdoor enthusiasts are often ruled by the season, shifting from running in summer […]

Blog Exercises: Check Your Dates

It’s 2013. Time to update your calendars and your blog dates. Sara Tetreault of Go Gingham asked me to cover updating copyright dates on your blog, so this Blog Exercise is dedicated to that and all the dates that need changing on your site now that we are into a new year. Most WordPress Themes […]

Blog Exercises: The Editorial Calendar

Throughout these Blog Exercises you will be building your own editorial calendar, a schedule for content. Consider these as blog planners and self-deadlines. There are many calendar types, traditional and electronic. I recommend starting simple by printing out a 12-18 month calendar, one month per page, right from a free template in your word processing […]