What is blogging? Does the idea of blogging seem daunting? Danielle M. Villegas writes the technical communication blog, TechCommGeekMom, and is a regular guest blogger for the STC Notebook with her "Villegas Views" by-line. Danielle shares her personal experiences in creating her blog, talks about how a blog can work for both personal and corporate gain, and will provide pointers on best practices.

1. Blogging Out Loud
The Basics of Blog Writing Explained

2. Who Am I?
Danielle M. Villegas
Author of
TechCommGeekMom
and
STC Notebook's "Villegas Views"
#stcpmc14 @techcommgeekmom

3. In this webinar, we will...
Hear personal experiences in
creating a blog
Review how a blog can work
for both personal and
corporate gain
Give pointers on best
practices.
#stcpmc14 @techcommgeekmom

4. Learning by Doing….A Blogger’s
Story
• Started TechCommGeekMom as a graduate
school project in March 2012
• Through promotion and good SEO/tagging, I
was noticed by Adobe, who helped promote
my blog
• As of March 2014, TechCommGeekMom has
600 posts and almost 19,000 all-time hits—and
counting!
• Used my blog to create a tech comm
community as well as open doors to
opportunities
• Blogging for Adobe Day at STC
Summit, ICC, & Lavacon
• Offered a by-line in STC Notebook
blog (Villegas Views)
• Asked to do webinars & guest posts!
#stcpmc14 @techcommgeekmom

5. Why blog?
To get your message out
#stcpmc14 @techcommgeekmom

6. Types of Social Media
Broadcasting Self
Netizenry
Participatory Culture
Work Environment, Labor, and Markets
P. Andrew Klobucar, PhD at NJIT
#stcpmc14 @techcommgeekmom

7. What Are The Benefits?
Personal Blogging
• Create your own brand
• Provide evidence of your writing skills
and competency of a given topic
• Provide your perspective on a given
topic
Corporate Blogging
• Reinforces corporate brand
• Provides a casual yet informative means
of providing product information
• Provides a means of direct contact with
clients/consumers
For both:
•Attract an audience and a following that will knowknow your brand
•Create COMMUNITY
#stcpmc14 @techcommgeekmom

8. Create content for your blog
• Write down main ideas as they come to you
• Make a list
• Create a Mind Map – Good for creating a series
• Cull your list, and edit!
• Start drafts to get main points down so you don’t forget
• Plan ahead – Schedule your posts when you can
#stcpmc14 @techcommgeekmom

9. Curating Content
Great and easy way to
provide content
Several tools out there
can help bring content
into your blog, as well
as create an online
“magazine” of your
collected articles such
as Paper.li and
ScoopIt .
#stcpmc14 @techcommgeekmom

10. TechCommGeekMom's Rules
• It’s all about the mind set.
• Write from the heart, and don’t be afraid to speak your mind.
• Make sure that if you don’t have all the facts, admit to not having all the
facts.
• Write professionally.
• Edit, edit, edit!
Be yourself, present yourself in the best light as you write your words, and
have fun with it!
#stcpmc14 @techcommgeekmom

11. Blogging Don'ts:
1. Begin a blog for money
or fame.
2. Quit your day job.
3. Start one if you do not
love to read and write.
#stcpmc14 @techcommgeekmom

12. Blogging Don'ts (continued):
4. Pick a title that's stupid,
silly, obscure, or without
keywords.
5. Start your blog without
purchasing a domain
6. Start your blog on a
platform that is difficult
to use or that you cannot
change.
#stcpmc14 @techcommgeekmom

13. Blogging Don'ts (continued)
7. Write a purely creative blog.
8. Pick a topic without thorough
research and about which
you know nothing.
9. Start before learning
something about SEO and
Google's best practices
#stcpmc14 @techcommgeekmom

14. Blogging Don'ts (continued)
10.Forget your reader.
11.Be unwilling to learn a lot of
information and techniques
quickly
12. Find writing everyday
frightening or unappealing.
Darin L. Hammond
http://www.zipminis.com/17/post/2013/03/10-plus-best-blog-tips-bloggers-just-dont-do-it.html
#stcpmc14 @techcommgeekmom

15. How Do You Promote Your Blog?
(Lots of ways to do it!)
Social Media Promotion
Twitter
Google +
Pinterest
Facebook
LinkedIn
YouTube
Instagram
Blogger Communities
Triberr
Social Buzz Club
Biz Blogging Buzz
Viral Content Buzz
Manual Bookmarks
Digg
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Scoop.It
Delicious
Automated bookmarks
Onlywire
SocialMarker
Social ADR
Bookmark plugin
AddThis
Sociable
Shareaholics
Nextscripts
Guest post
Comment on other blogs!
http://www.steamfeed.com/25-smart-ways-promote-latest-blog-post/#stcpmc14 @techcommgeekmom

16. Act quickly to cut traffic losses
If you are losing customers and traffic, look at these areas for improvement:
Maintain a constant focus on your blog. This means publishing regularly and also staying on-
topic with your brand message.
Alter your blog's design for maximum efficiency. Avoid being too cluttered, especially with ads.
Keep your design easy to read and follow and make it clean.
Post as much as possible, as regularly as possible. Give people a reason to return to your site later
in the day.
Keep your grammar clean. You don't need to be perfect, but allow only the occasional mistake or
it annoys people.
Provide unlimited value on your site so that your readers have a reason to hang around, with
easy to locate, excellent information.
The best way to retain visitors is by getting them to subscribe or join. Be sure to place boxes where
it is easy for readers to rss subscribe and sign up for emails.
Put yourself in the mind of one of your readers and view the site from their eyes. What do you
find? What attracts or detracts from the page?
Darin Hammond:
http://www.zipminis.com/16/post/2013/11/act-quickly-to-cut-traffic-losses.html#.UpOK1cReaYR
#stcpmc14 @techcommgeekmom

17. Summary
• Have a primary focus for your blog – create your
brand
• Take steps to write and curate thoughtful,
interesting content to attract your audience
• Promote your blog posts
• Be sure to maintain your blog
• ENJOY THE PROCESS!
#stcpmc14 @techcommgeekmom

18. Questions/Discussion?
#stcpmc14 @techcommgeekmom

19. Contact Me:
Email:
techcommgeekmom@me.com
Website/Blog:
TechCommGeekMom.com
E-Portfolio:
http://techcommgeekmom.businesscatalyst.com
Twitter:
@techcommgeekmom
LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellemvillegas/
#stcpmc14 @techcommgeekmom