October 6, 2005
What Is A Blog…And Why Did I Switch?
A blog is basically a website for dummies.
What I mean by that is…you don't have to know a lick of HTML to use a blog!
You just type in whatever you want to write in the user interface (much like creating a Word or text document), click the "publish" button, and voila! You have added content to your website!
Pretty easy, huh?
So, I know the question you're dying to ask is, "Holly, since you know HTML, why do you need a blog?"
Well, the truth is, this blog has just saved me a TON of time.
Normally, to send my newsletter, here's what I have to do…
- Write a text message
- Format the text message so it looks right in your email reader
- Send you the text message (and pray it gets through the spam filters!)
- RE-format the text message in HTML
- Load the HTML page into my website
- Send a 2nd email letting you know my newsletter is online (in case the first version was lost in cyberspace)
Whew! And, since I like to write to you personally (instead of outsourcing it to a ghostwriter), this takes up a large chunk of my day.
Now that I have a blog, all I had to do to send you this message is:
- Write a message in the user-friendly interface
- Click "publish" to post it to my blog
- Email you to let you know I've added something new to my blog
And, I can write anything I want…
I can use all sorts of "red flag" words that would keep my newsletter from getting to you if I sent it by email.
Words like:
- free - "feel free to give me a call"
- spam - "I will never spam you"
- home business - "I teach people how to build a profitable home business"
- make money - "Most people like to make money when they invest time in a business"
- Etc.
Plus, you and I can now communicate more easily…
- If you have a comment or a question about one of my articles, all you have to do is click on the "comment" link at the bottom of the article and post your comment/question. And, I can even reply to you via the blog!
Plus, you can read my reply (or other people's comments) by clicking on the "comment" link at the bottom of the article.
- And, if you want to submit a question about building your business or internet marketing, you can just click on the "Ask Your Question" link at the top of my blog, fill out the form, and your question will be answered indepth in a future post.
As you can see, there a LOT of benefits to a blog.
I hope you will enjoy the 2-way communication that's now available to us, and look forward to getting to know you even better!
Till next time…
Comments
October 6, 2005
Marian said:
Holly, thank you! As usual, your information is clear and easy to understand.
Now, I would like to see you add something about the six links at the bottom of your blog…what do they do (or what WILL they do)?
And, where do I see the comments others might have left?
Smiles,
Marian
October 10, 2005
Sue Seward said:
Holly thanks so much for all your information on blogging. I'm
still trying to get my head around the technical aspects of it! I
know what a blog is and what it does, it's setting it up that I'm
trying to figure out! I've been earning an income from home
online since 1996. What I've done mostly is build relationships
with people I meet online. I also publish an Online Marketing
newsletter and would love to figure out how to put all of the
issues into a blog.
Thanks for any help you could provide!
Sue Seward
eCommerceHomeBiz
October 14, 2005
Holly Cotter said:
Hi Marian,
The links at the far bottom right of the site are for you to use if you want to pull my newsletter as an RSS feed.
Unfortunately, the blog template doesn't allow me to include instructions. But, you can search the internet to find info on RSS feeds if you want.
:-)
Holly Cotter, Editor
Abundant Living Online
Holly Cotter said:
Hi Sue,
Starting a blog is actually quite easy. You can use a "system" like http://www.blogger.com OR you can use Wordpress (which allows more options) like I did.
You can download Wordpress for FREE here: http://www.wordpress.org
And, for a fabulous video tutorial series that shows you how to install and use wordpress, go to: http://www.hollycotter.com/wordpress.html
Unfortunately, with any blog, you would need to manually add items from prior issues to your archives. Or, you can do what I did, and just start fresh (you can always add your older items as you go along or REpublish them!)
Holly Cotter, Editor
Abundant Living Online
November 1, 2005
Phyllis said:
Hi Holly,
Can you have streaming video on a blog ???
I really like Armand Morin's video on his Big Seminar advertisement and wondered if something like that could be put on a blog…
Phyllis in Greenville, SC
November 8, 2005
Holly Cotter said:
Hi Phyllis,
Yep, you can absolutely put streaming video on a blog…as well as audio, flash movies…basically anything you can put on a website you can put on a blog.
:-)
Holly Cotter, Editor
Abundant Living Online