I started blogging one year and two weeks ago (April 18, 2009).
When I started, I wanted to Just Get Started. Now.
(‘Just do it’ really is a recipe for success. I have LOTS of great ideas, but the only ones that count are the I ones I execute – and NOW is always the right time.)
And when I started, I didn’t want to figure out WordPress, I just wanted to write.
So that’s what I did. For the first six months, I used GoDaddy’s built-in blog whatchamacallit and a template. I wrote and I pressed publish. I wrote and I pressed publish. I wrote and I pressed publish.
And then I got to promoting my pieces with links on Facebook and Twitter.
So it was publish and promote. Publish and promote.
That works, but it takes a lot of muscle (and a lot of friends!) – and it does not really endear you to Google.
Google loved my name + cleavage but not much else. My search traffic was mostly imaginary.
And search engine results are pretty important for building passive traffic. It is how you maximize the impact of your magnetic words.
Some of my old pieces, for example, are pretty good, and they’ve been read by six people: me, my mother, my sisters, Heather and Monica.
(There is a profound irony here: my most fervent supporters and early day commenters get the least of me IRL because My Blog Ate My Life. I’m sorry, my loves. It will get better once I figure out how to scale my business beyond my time.
I will have to cut and paste this into an e-mail from my mom, who had to stop reading my blog when I started writing about my sex life. I’m probably more relieved than she is. I’m also relieved that my six year old does not have independent internet access. Yet.)
But, as they are, Google will probably never send good traffic my way. These post lack tags, they’re not categorized, they don’t have descriptions…and so on. After all, I wrote and pressed publish. I didn’t do any of the backend stuff to make my blog posts search engine friendly.
Mostly because I didn’t know how to.
Learning To Blog – AFTER I Started Blogging. Whatever. It worked for Me.
In October/November, when I decided to get serious about blogging, I knew WordPress was the way I’d go. But I didn’t want to figure it out. I just wanted it done for me, so I could write and press publish, write and press publish.
So kickass web developer, Amanda Farough of Violet Minded, takes care of all of that. I tell her what I want to happen. She makes it happen and sends me invoices. We’re both happier for it, and so is my blog, which now looks and feels so much more ME.
But I still wasn’t getting a lot of search engine traffic. ‘Write and press publish’ wasn’t serving me very well. I knew that all those boxes in the WordPress interface that I left empty probably had a purpose.
They do. They really do. They want to make your blog posts kiss up to Google and friends.
I sighed and said some bad words and knew I had a little lot of work ahead of me. Fortunately I have a friend who knows ’bout this stuff.
(And, not coincidentally, he’s having an “un-launch” this week.)
Wherein I Extol The Virtues of Dave Doolin’s Website in A Weekend and Blog Post Engineering
Any of you who follow my Twitter stream already know that I’m obsessed with Dave Doolin Website in a Weekend.
We’re sort of in the same business (blogging) but Dave Doolin is terrific at all the things I’m not – which is basically everything that is NOT writing and being social.
I’m good at the outward facing stuff. I like the promotion part of blogging. I could mainline Twitter. Facebook and I are going through a bit of a rough patch, but I think we’ll pull through. Guest posts? We started off slow but now I’m all in. Commenting? We’re friends with benefits.
Most of that stuff I picked up, intuitively, and then figured out the ‘rules’ thereof from ProBlogger and Copyblogger and a little prodding from Josh Hanagarne.
And sites like ProBlogger and Copyblogger are TERRIFIC for explaining the promotion and the how-to-write a blog post part of blogging – which is all the stuff I like to do and am naturally pretty good at.
Website in a Weekend covers the ins-and-outs of writing and community-building too, but I read it because Dave Doolin teaches me the stuff that is not intuitive – like how to link to a specific paragraph or section of a blog post instead of the entire piece. Or how to structure the url (slug) of your piece for maximum keyword/SEO bang. Or how to make sure your tags, categories, description, title and slug all echo each other’s keywords and get you lots of good SEO juju.
In other words, how to do all that stuff I wasn’t doing.
(As Dave says, I was basically treating WordPress like it was an online version of Microsoft Word. Write, save/publish. And that’s it.)
And this stuff – the stuff I wasn’t doing – is pretty essential.
Look Ma, RESULTS!
The way I was blogging meant that I wrote a piece, tweeted it, and it got lots of love for a day or two and then disappeared into my dusty archives – without a way to find it again. That kind of blogging is like putting a book in a library without cataloguing it. Not smart. Not find-able.
So I got Dave to teach me how to do it. I bought his book, Blog Post Engineering, and did a couple of consulting sessions with him.
And look what happened:
When I do the things that Dave taught me, personally and in Blog Post Engineering, I get search engine traffic. That means that pieces I wrote a month ago or a week ago are continually getting hits, because the search engines can find them.
That makes me really happy – because the point of all of this writing is that people read my words.
So getting the backend right – optimizing each blog post so that the search engines can find it – means that I’m extending the life and audience of each piece I write.
And I don’t have to write for search engines (which is good, because I’m an ARTIST, doncha know, and We Don’t Do That). Instead, I write what I want and then wrap it up in tags and title attributes and anchors that help search engines find it and love it up.
To me, ‘blog post engineering’ is like interior design. In interior design, you’ve got to get the envelope right: the walls, the floor, the ceiling, the light. The basics. Once you’ve got those right, everything else builds on top of that. If you’ve got peeling plaster walls, your sofa will never really look good and the room will never feel comfortable.
Blog post engineering helps me get the envelope right so that my words can find their audience, and invite them in, continually.
I’m so glad I took the time to figure it out, and that Dave (and Blog Post Engineering) helped me do that.
Which is why I tell my friends who are starting blogs (hi Cara!) and daughters of friends who are considering starting a website (hi Acacia!) to read Website in a Weekend, take Dave Doolin’s free course, and buy Blog Post Engineering.
It is not just because I’m kissing up to Dave (though there’s that, too). It is because Dave Doolin + Website in a Weekend + Blog Post Engineering, taught me stuff that made me a little smarter and my blog a lot better.
Just ask Amanda Farough, who I am pretty sure fell out of her chair when I – the queen of don’t tell me a damn thing about tech because I Don’t Wanna Know, just make it work and we’ll never speak of it except in hushed tones – e-mailed her a line of buggy code and said “someone has hacked my site; I found this”.
I might have told Dave this story in a giddy, “look at me! I’m so smart!” moment. He was very proud of me.
But I digress. Go check out Blog Post Engineering. I guarantee you’ll learn lots that will make you (and your blog) better.
*blush*
Now I feel shy. Sort of.
I was just going to email you that I have a killer keyword combination for you that I believe will drive some long term traffic your way. And I find a trackback from your article.
The cool thing is that I’m sure a whole bunch of your fans would be delighted to support it, and you can write even more on the topic.
So, check your email!
[Reply]
Okay, alright, really, I was already sold (and I already bought it). But now I *have to do this immediately*! How do I make the rest of my life stop long enough to get this read, create two sites, and start getting 117% more internet love?
Or who wants to buy lots and lots of pictures from me (and a few houses from my husband) so I can afford to just hire Amanda and Dave and continue to live my life?
I’m so glad you are doing this, Kelly. You are perfect.
Hugs and butterflies,
~T~
[Reply]
Dave Doolin
replied:
on May 6th, 2010 at 11:36 am
@PicsieChick, you can’t. You have to let something go.
I’ve let surfing go for a few months to focus intensely on Website In A Weekend. 
:(
[Reply]
PicsieChick
replied:
on May 6th, 2010 at 11:50 am
@Dave Doolin, Surfing? People have time for that? The only things I’m doing on the internet are *connecting* and *learning*. (and I think it’s working!)
Really, the list of things I need to let go are as follows:
eating (and all of the time-gobbling activities that go with it)
keeping my house habitable
workin’ for the man
I figure if I can completely stop any one of those three I can start to make some *significant* progress.
btw, we truly appreciate your sacrifices to keep Website In a Weekend going! Thank you!
Hugs and butterflies,
~T~
[Reply]
Kelly Diels
replied:
on May 6th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
@PicsieChick, Working For The Man is an essential ingredient in the recipe for success.
When I’m broke, I can’t think straight. I can’t be creative. Having a Day Job and having SECURITY was absolutely essential to getting my blog off the ground.
And having time constraints can be an advantage. Only have 1-3 hours a day for your blog? You’ll use them. You’ll make them sacred, because if you miss them, you can’t catch up.
Let your house be a mess. Turn off your cable. Put your friends on notice.
This MISSION stuff is tyrannical. It demands everything. It demands sacrifice.
And it is so worth it.
I have several half-finished pieces about this: about how I cooked up a blog and a business on 2 hours a day, while juggling a day job and raising two kids with next to no help.
I’m going to have to finish these pieces. I get these kinds of questions all the time, and I convinced that every single liability or obstacle can be reframed as an advantage.
Broke? You’ll be real motivated to get some cash.
Single mom? You’ll be real motivated to get some cash.
Hate your job? You’ll be real motivated to get some cash and get out of it.
Very little time? You’ll guard that time ferociously and make it sacred. You’ll *use* it.
You’re already doing these things – you’re carving out time to train for your triathlon, so you know about small victories and incremental progress.
Apply that same philosophy and discipline to your blog. Consider it training for self employment.
It can be done. But it is an incremental, tiny little bit at a time. It is a commitment to two hours a day, every day, no exceptions.
You’re so close. You just have to do it, and keep doing it, and then do it some more.
And the best advice I ever got on this subject – when I told her all the same things you’re telling me – was from Danielle LaPorte, who told me these two things:
Believe.
Jump.
[Reply]
PicsieChick
replied:
on May 6th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
@Kelly Diels,
Thank you for so much encouragement, Kelly! I’m looking at the injury my RMT diagnosed as a reason to spend more time on development. So, yes, this is a good thing.
And I have commited my time every evening to make progress in no less than three things. They may be small, they may be big, but they will have to do with any three of: general fitness, triathlon training, belly dancing, my daily blog post (this one is my gift to myself that I almost never miss), developing a website for John, developing a new website for myself, increasing my connections and “influence” online, managing/furthering my business, managing/furthering John’s business, and there’s a little sidenote that sometimes I have to use it to manage my household….bills still need payin’! Sometimes the progress is tiny, but there is always progress, and it’s starting to get very exciting – which makes me wish I had that much more time and that much more energy to do even more.
Last night I re-did John’s Twitter background, (feel free to take a look and tell me what you think http://twitter.com/johndeak ) using the basic design layout & colours that we’ll implement on his site. I requested some feedback and all of it was positive. Thesis: I have some colour codes for you!
And today I used my lunch break to read the first 4 chapters of BPE (no, I haven’t done the exercises yet – I don’t really have any pillar posts). It’s wonderful to read: interesting, compelling, understandable…. very much like having a chat with Dave. I love it. And I’ve already started determining which parts John has to do for his own posts, and which parts I’ll manage for him. Very cool.
I feel like I’m on a roll right now…..alas, back to work I must go.
I just have to say another huge THANK YOU to Kelly and Dave. You and a few others have planted this seed that is growing in leaps and bounds, and I know that I would not be here if it weren’t for you. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!
Hugs and butterflies,
~T~
[Reply]
Even though I’ve not yet availed myself of his services, I’m a huge fan of Doolie’s. Smart, smart man.
[Reply]
Dave Doolin
replied:
on May 5th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
@Josh Hanagarne, thanks Josh. You do have a pretty solid brand… there’s “killin it” then there’s “thermonuclear annihilation” and I think you’re already thermo!
[Reply]
Definitely must pursue this. Soon. Like now. Or as PicsieChick says, “How do I make the rest of my life stop long enough…” so yeah.
[Reply]
Congrats Kelly! BPE and Dave have helped my blog tremendously as well. One of these days I will have the same success!
[Reply]
Glad you posted this since I”m interviewing Dave tonite. So now I’m armed with a whole list of questions that I didn’t have planned before.
[Reply]
As a reader I often forget about the epic struggle that exists between poster and reader and how many moving parts there are under the hood. (yes another car analogy) Casual commuting doesn’t require an intimate understanding of internal combustion..but it helps if you intend to squeeze every last ounce of performance out of your ride. If you want to go all next level, in anything… you gotta know that which 90% of the populace don’t. Sure having a great mechanic helps,(I hear tell that Amanda Farough pwns like a one woman formula one pit crew.) but you gotta know more than key in gas go if you wanna get somewhere well before rush hour.
I’m looking forward to taking a peek at the performance service manual for myself…BEFORE I even decide what highway I’m gunna head down.
-JCD
[Reply]
Kelly, you talked me into it. I have had a blog for a while now and my traffic sucks! I don’t even have my mom reading it ’cause she died several years ago and didn’t understand computers anyway.
I’m headed over to Dave’s site now.Thanks!
[Reply]
fungeezer
replied:
on May 6th, 2010 at 10:02 am
@fungeezer, Is it legal to comment on my own comment? Anyway, I bought Dave’s book and have to say that it is pretty interesting! I haven’t done any work yet today, but I have read about half his book and made some changes to my blog. Good stuff!
[Reply]
Dave Doolin
replied:
on May 6th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
@fungeezer, sure why not?
These little changes will have a big impact down the road, especially if make it a habit.
[Reply]
Amanda (my heart skips a beat and I get a warm happy flush when I think of her) just finished my site design and I needed this post more than I have ever needed anything in my adult life. Thank you.
[Reply]
Dave Doolin
replied:
on May 6th, 2010 at 11:34 am
@Allissa, let’s get you started off right: ping me when your first post goes up, and I’d be happy to go over it with you, “by the numbers.” It’s easy, we can do it over Skype.
[Reply]
Allissa
replied:
on May 6th, 2010 at 7:09 pm
@Dave Doolin, as soon as I learn what ‘pinging’ is, and download skype…. I’ll get it. I know I will.
[Reply]
man i really need to get on with getting to know wordpress. more for a thing i’m working on in the summer more than my blog. I love me wee blog and all but i’m not too fussed about who does or doesn’t read it (although i do love comments so…)
[Reply]
Paddy
replied:
on May 6th, 2010 at 8:50 am
@Paddy, oooh yeah you started your blog on my 23rd birthday, a funny coincidence to my mind cos that’s kinda when i started turning my shit around
[Reply]
well, kelly, i think i might buy just about anything you recommended. no, seriously.
anyhow – i’m wondering if you might be willing to share a few keywords you’re finding that work for you. your blog is such an inspiration to me because it’s so experiential, outside-the-box, and um, i would think, difficult to do SEO on.
anyways, SOLD. thanks for the rec!
[Reply]
Kelly, you have this incredible way of carving words of unimaginable beauty out of a scenario that in the hands of any other writer could well end up as barely passable.
You know well I have spent some solid hours with Dave talking about his efforts and what it means to him to help others. I put him in the same league as the Rowses and the Garretts when it comes to offering up actionable hints that can totally change your game.
And as for you, Miss Diels – you reignite my writing smarts when they’re wriggling about on the ground, pounding their angry little fists into the dirt. Which is just as well, because that’s what I get paid for (not the dirt bit).
The very BEST of luck to you both. Those stats are sky, Diels. But you gotta aim for the angels…
[Reply]
Thank you, thank you, thank you. JUST what I needed this morning. So I’m on it. Will buy it today.
[Reply]
I was out of town when you posted this so almost missed reading it. I’m SO glad I didn’t.
This is a great post and hits me exactly where I am. I don’t want to be an SEO expert, I just want to write.
BUT, I also want people to read what I write so I guess I’ve got to appease Google.
Thanks for the great information.
[Reply]