The cloning process
Have you noticed the similarity in layout and design of many “successful” blogs? The following popular blogs all generate revenue by placing ads and seem to follow a tried and trusted recipe for their layout: Read the rest of this entry »
Good news everyone! Since Blogsolid launched in August, the number of RSS subscribers has steadily been growing. October has seen the subscribership pass the 200 mark. This is a humble achievement, but as we all know, growing your subscriber-base is important for any blog. Subscriber figures are an indication of how many (or few) loyal readers you have.
An interesting observation is that as the subscriber count for Blogsolid has been growing, visits to the site have been on the decline. During the past week, visitor numbers have been lower than subscriber numbers every day – on some quieter days up to 50% less! So what has caused this shift? Read the rest of this entry »
I’m sure we’re all familiar with the inner conflict known as buyer’s regret or buyer’s remorse. That slow panic rising from deep within your gut as the question begs an answer: “did I make a mistake in paying half my salary for that thing I just bought?” Oops.
Blogger’s regret is very similar. In a brave/foolish/ignorant moment you posted an entry that you really just shouldn’t have published… Watch out for these logic-defying pitfalls: Read the rest of this entry »
Welcome to Part 3 in the WordPress DIY series. If you plan on installing your first WordPress blog soon, you have come to the right place! To help you navigate this tricky exercise, Blogsolid called on the expertise of the enigmatic redwall_hp from Webmaster-Source.com. “WordPress can be installed in five minutes” is a commonly stated advantage of the popular blogging software. Unfortunately, it’s not entirely true. I may be able to install WordPress in five minutes, but I’m fairly experienced with it. Beginners could take up to half an hour, and that’s after planning. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s a tough age we live in. You’re expected to have several careers, a quality family life, keep fit, travel, try everything at least once and somehow find time to blog it all. You probably find yourself dreaming of a simple life somewhere far away in a time long forgotten… only to be jolted back to reality by your ringing cellphone and the realisation that you’re camping outside the Apple store two days before the release of the iPhone. Sound familiar? Don’t worry, you’re not alone, these are symptoms of FOMO – the Fear of Missing Out.
Here’s the theory: if you can build a blog that is so good, people will fear missing out on your next entry, they will have no choice but to subscribe. I know, it sounds so crazy it just might work! But where do you start? Here are my top five ideas for cracking open a big can of FOMO in your blog: Read the rest of this entry »
In part one of this five-part series on WordPress DIY, we took a look at finding web hosting. What I really enjoyed is that readers gave their two cents’ worth at the end. When reading blogs, I often find that some of the most valuable content is found in comments. I’m hoping this trend will continue, so I’m going to keep this brief and then open the floor to you…
When deciding on a blogging platform, there are roughly 3 categories to choose from: Read the rest of this entry »
There are several unwritten no-nos in blogging, but I’m sure that many of you would agree – there is no greater sin than pushing your keyboard aside, and not blogging. Everyone knows that building a successful blog takes time and diligence. Even more important than posting frequently, is the quality of content. Attracting an audience and enticing them to subscribe is key to the growth of your blog, so you can’t afford to miss a beat! What would happen if you hit “pause” and stopped blogging – just for a while? Read the rest of this entry »
You know the feeling when you’re just aimlessly surfing the web and all of a sudden you strike gold? Well, that happened to me one day… I stumbled upon a blog filled with fantastic news about comic book heroes, space travel, arcade games and cult movies. The great thing was, fresh content just kept coming day after day. I was instantly hooked.
Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you Michael Pinto – the man behind fanboy.com.
Welcome to Blogsolid, Michael. During the last few months, your blog fanboy.com has made a fanboy out of me. How did fanboy.com come about and how long have you been blogging? Read the rest of this entry »
The hype surrounding WordPress version 2.3 launching today (September 24th 2007) did not quite reach Snakes on a Plane level, but WordPress fanboys and fangirls the world over are quite excited. The wildly popular WordPress is described as a “personal publishing platform”. This is a fancy way of saying cool blogging software.
There are promises of many great improvements, but as far as I can tell, there are two main features to look forward to in WP 2.3: Read the rest of this entry »
So you know a little about designing websites and you know a thing or two about blogging. Now you want to start blogging on your own website, or convert your old site into a blog. Everyone else seems to be doing it, so it can’t be that hard, but where do you start? This series will contain a few ideas about how to get going with your very own WordPress blog.
Decide on a web host
I suggest you start doing some research about web hosting even before thinking of a name for your website. Consider the following: Read the rest of this entry »