I’m finishing up final preparations and videos for my Creating With Wordpress 5 week course I’m doing this month and just recorded a video on the newest changes the Wordpress blogging software. While I’m offering these videos to my students and to those who order my Creating With Wordpress Home Study Videos, but this is useful information to anyone who currently runs Wordpress for their websites and/or their blog.

The video runs about 17 minutes, but there are some really neat changes to Wordpress that everyone who works with it should know about…check it out!

It’s day 20 of Jeanette Cates’ 30 Day Blogging Challenge and so far I’m still in the game. It’s been a lot of work. Like you…like everyone else, there’s lots of things that need to get accomplished in the day and it’s not always easy to get that daily blog post done. But there are definite benefits gained from making a regular practice. Some of the ones I noticed included:

1. More and steadier traffic- I use Google Analytics to keep track of the traffic on all of my websites. One of the cool things about Google Analytics (other than the fact that it’s completely free) is that it allows you to compare your traffic over time, see where your traffic is coming from, and to sort your data so you’re able to really see what’s going on with your websites or blog.

One thing I noticed since starting this challenge is that I’ve had more traffic and it’s a lot steadier. All websites and blogs have days were there is more activity than others, but I’ve found that daily blogging had contributed to making those spikes and drops in traffic more even. Plus, as a result of participating in the blogging challenge, I’ve found a steady increase in traffic as the blogging challenge went on.

2. More blog post ideas- It seems to be true that the more you write, the easier it is to write. One of the things that causes people to stop blogging is that they run out of ideas on what to blog about. But since the blogging challenge forces you to write every day, you can’t use the excuse of writer’s block to get out of writing that daily blog post. And I’ve found that after a few days of powering through and just getting that blog post written that it got easier to come up with ideas. So even if you don’t post to your blog every day, writing every day seems to keep the flow of creativity going.

3. More newsletter signups- Here is one of the more important results that I’ve noticed from the 30 Day Blogging Challenge. There has been a definite increase in newsletter signups. While an increase in traffic and more blogging ideas are important, one of the most valuable things that your blog can do is to help you increase your mailing list. Since I’ve started the challenge, signups to my newsletter has doubled. This happened without any changes to blog’s design, advertising, or any changes other than the fact that I’ve posted to the blog every day. Now that’s a powerful change!

So now…there are 10 more days to go…stay tuned!

This post is the first in a 30 Day Blog Challenge that I signed up for this June. What’s a 30 Day Blog Challenge? Basically a blog challenge means that you agree to blog everyday for the next thirty days. Why did I decide to do this blog challenge? Well, I thought it might be a good idea for this blog for a couple of reasons.

1. It’s a great way to get in the routine of blogging everyday- I’ve written about this before. The most effective way to blog is to do it on a regular basis. Even if you don’t publish a blog post everyday, it’s a good idea to get in the habit of writing everyday.

2. It’s a great way to get back on track with your blogging- I’ll be the first to admit it…blogging can be hard. The setting up of a blog isn’t hard. If you have a computer, an internet connection, and five minutes you can set up a blog. The hard part is the actual blogging part. I’ve been writing in this particular blog since 2006 and doing it on a regular basis is not easy. Work, projects, art, and life in general conspires to get in the way. And a lot of times it does. And sometimes it takes a special challenge in order to get you back on track.

3. It’s a great way to get your blogging creativity back- Yes, life can get in the way of your blogging. And sometimes the thing that gets in the way is yourself. Blogging burnout happens…you feel like you don’t have anything else to write about. This is especially true if you’ve been blogging for a long time. You feel like you’ve run out of things to write about. But a good challenge forces you to dig a bit deeper.

So…blogging challenge Day 1. Since this is the first ever blogging challenge I’ve participated in, I’ll report weekly on how this challenge effects my blogging. And if you’re interested in joining the challenge yourself, here is where you learn the rules and sign up!

Do you have a blog? How dressed up is it? I’m not just talking about whether it looks pretty or not. I’m also talking about things that will make your blog an effective marketing tool for promoting your art. What are some of must-haves you need for your blog? Here’s the most important things:

1. A domain name- a domain name for your blog whether it’s a separate name from your main website or a subdomain of your website (eg: yourwebsite.com/blog) is an important part of branding your blog. Even if you are using a blogging service like Blogger, Typepad, Wordpress.com (NOT Wordpress.org…you can find out how they Wordpress.com and Wordpress.org differ here), you should still get your own domain name for your blog. It looks so much more professional than yourblog.blogspot.com.

2. A custom banner- While the generic banners you get with your blog templates work just fine, you can dramatically upgrade the look and professionalism of your blog by using a custom banner. If you’re not any great shakes with Photoshop or Gimp, then you can hire someone to do a professional banner for your blog for about $50 or less.

3. A sign up box for your mailing list- If you have a mailing list for customers or potential buyers, make it easy for them to sign up for your mailing list by putting your sign up form on the sidebar of your blog…even if you already have one on your website. If you don’t have a mailing list, you can learn to set one up by getting a FREE copy of my article series “How to Plan and Start a Great Email Newsletter “.

4. RSS subscription buttons- A lot of people like to read blogs through a feed reader like Google Reader or Bloglines. Make it easy for them to keep up with your blog by putting on some RSS feed buttons or links on the sidebar of your blog. If your readers prefer email, consider using a service like Feedblitz or Aweber to deliver your blog posts via email. And please remember to offer full feeds to these folks as well.

5. Links to your website and other social networking sites- If you have a main website or an Etsy or Artfire store, you definitely need to have links to those places on your blog. If you are an Etsy user, there is a free widget that you can place on your blog that show pictures of the items that you have in your store. Be sure to add that widget to your blog. Also, if you are a Twitter user, have an account on LinkedIn, or have a Facebook fan page, you should also have links or widgets that link to those places so people can follow you or fan you.

6. Share links- Finally, make your blog easy to share by adding social networking buttons so that people can easily share your blog posts to their friends on StumbleUpon, Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites. You can use a service like Feedburner’s FeedFlare, AddThis, or Share This to add these buttons to your blog. Or if you’re running Wordpress on your website you can use the Sexy Bookmarks plugin.

These tips came from my free e-course “50 Blogging Tips for Artists “. To get more free blogging tips like the ones I just shared simply click here to sign up.

So your turn! What additional bits do you put on your blog to make it more effective? Leave me a comment and let me know!

If you’re looking around for a place to start your blog, chances are that you’ve heard about Wordpress. And if you’re like alot of people, you’ve might have experienced some confusion because there is actually more than one Wordpress. There’s a Wordpress.com and a Wordpress.org

The short explanation is that Wordpress.com is a blogging service, where you sign up for and account and start blogging. Wordpress.org is where you download the actual blogging software to run on your website.

But what does that mean exactly? Is one choice better than the other? Is one easier than the other? Which one is best for you? To help cut the confusion, I made a video that takes you through a tour of both Wordpress.com and Wordpress.org, points out the differences between the two, and gives you some guidelines on which to choose. You can watch the video below: