Technical Blogging: Turn Your Expertise into a Remarkable Online Presence

Cover......Page 1
Table of Contents......Page 7
Acknowledgments......Page 11
Introduction......Page 13
Blogging Isn\'t Dead......Page 14
Blogging as a Conversation......Page 16
Bloggers with Benefits......Page 17
How to Get the Best Out of This Book......Page 19
Part I—Plan It......Page 21
Solo vs. Collective......Page 22
General vs. Niche......Page 24
Pundit vs. Instructional......Page 27
Business Blogs......Page 28
What\'s Next......Page 29
Define Your Blog\'s Main Topic......Page 30
Analyze the Size of Your Niche......Page 32
Give Readers a Compelling Reason to Stick Around......Page 37
Set Goals for Your Blog......Page 39
Choose and Register a Domain Name......Page 41
What\'s Next......Page 47
Part II—Build It......Page 48
Choose Your Blogging Software and Hosting......Page 49
Configure Your Domain Name......Page 55
Install WordPress......Page 58
Configure WordPress......Page 60
Enhance WordPress with Plugins......Page 69
What\'s Next......Page 72
Pick a Professional Theme......Page 73
Enable Tracking of Your Site\'s Visitors......Page 75
Customize Your Sidebar......Page 81
Encourage Social Media Sharing......Page 84
Win Over Subscribers......Page 87
Don\'t Get in Trouble---Use Disclaimers......Page 93
Master On-page SEO with Platinum SEO......Page 95
Performance Considerations......Page 98
What\'s Next......Page 100
Content Is King......Page 101
Write for the Web......Page 102
Can Linkbaiting Be Ethical?......Page 104
Write Catchy Headlines......Page 105
Develop Your Own Voice......Page 107
Where to Find Ideas for Your Posts......Page 108
Case Study: Math-Blog.com\'s Headlines......Page 110
Get Readers to Explore Your Content......Page 113
Copyright Matters......Page 114
Back Up Your Content......Page 118
What\'s Next......Page 119
What\'s the Post Frequency, Kenneth?......Page 120
What Days Should You Post On?......Page 122
Schedule Time to Blog......Page 123
Manage Your Time with the Pomodoro Technique......Page 124
Survive Writer\'s Block......Page 126
Get Others to Write for You......Page 128
What\'s Next......Page 132
Part III—Promote It......Page 133
Market It and They Will Come......Page 134
Correct a Self-Sabotaging Mindset......Page 135
Perform On-page and Off-page SEO......Page 136
Not All Links Are Created Equal......Page 137
Guest Blog on Other Blogs......Page 139
Other Forms of Article Marketing......Page 143
Participate in the Community......Page 145
Leverage Foreign Blogs......Page 147
The Dark Side of Link Building......Page 148
Promote Your Articles on Social Networks......Page 149
Promote on Technical Social News Sites......Page 152
What\'s Next......Page 157
Baseline vs. Spike Traffic......Page 159
Key Site Usage Metrics You Need to Consider......Page 160
Interpret Visit Quantity and Quality......Page 161
Where Do They All Come From?......Page 163
Analyze Google Analytics and Clicky Statistics......Page 164
Keep Track of Your Blog\'s Growth......Page 169
What\'s Next......Page 171
Engage Readers......Page 172
Supplement Your Blog with Community Tools......Page 176
Forms of Criticism......Page 177
Your Mantras When Dealing with Criticism......Page 182
What\'s Next......Page 183
Part IV—Benefit from It......Page 184
Make Money with Ads......Page 185
Make Money with Sponsors......Page 192
Make Money with Affiliate Offers......Page 195
Make Money with Other Monetization Strategies......Page 206
Case Study: My Monthly Income......Page 208
What\'s Next......Page 210
A Checklist for Company Blogs......Page 211
Identify and Understand Your Readers......Page 214
Craft Your Content for Your Prospective Customers......Page 216
Convert Readers into Customers......Page 219
What\'s Next......Page 226
Improve Your Skills......Page 227
Advance Your Career......Page 228
Obtain Freebies......Page 231
Prepare for Success......Page 233
Other Benefits for Startups......Page 235
What\'s Next......Page 236
Part V—Scale It......Page 237
Scale Your Blog Vertically......Page 238
Hire a Team of Bloggers......Page 239
Build Your Blogging Empire......Page 244
What\'s Next......Page 246
Define a Social Media Strategy......Page 247
Select the Social Networks You Intend to Target......Page 248
Create Your Social Media Profiles......Page 249
Cross Promote Your Site and Social Properties......Page 253
Post Frequently and Interact with Your Followers......Page 255
What\'s Next......Page 262
Try It Out......Page 263
Keep in Touch......Page 264
A1. Bibliography......Page 265
Index......Page 266