ONE WRITER’S RESPONSE TO BLOGGING BLOGGERS

Phillip asked about blogging bloggers, and which direction to take.

Comments are a load of fun to read…on other people’s blogs.

When you get questions about blogging bloggers and where to start on your blog, it’s gold.

Phillip came in on the post with this blog comment:

Wonderful blog! Do you have any hints for aspiring writers?

I’m hoping to start my own website soon but I’m a little lost on everything.
Would you recommend starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option?

There are so many options out there that I’m completely overwhelmed ..

Any ideas? Kudos!

Do I have any ideas? Phillip, you’ve come to the right blog.

I gave a short answer on the comment post. Check it out.

The post came from an experience I had with a man trying to die in front of me.

He didn’t die and I didn’t exactly save his life, but I’m still claiming credit.

Save lives, change lives, and live it up as much as you can. The man was starting his first heart attack in my gym. He finished it in the hospital and made it back to workouts in quick time.

To tell the truth I’m impressed that Phillip even found that post. It’s not new.

When readers discover your blog via the archives, they’re doing it because of the ‘long tail’ of blogging, which means you’re posting material, content, that still ranks on google.

Or maybe facebook, but it’s rolling around out there in the blogosphere.

The health incident gave me a spark that lit up my screen enough to write a column for the Oregonian.

Comments from that time four years ago:

Just can’t afford a gym membership – it is a waste of money, just like cable/satellite television. We live in a mild climate, and just burning a few calories at the park, or walking on the sidewalk – if your neighborhood has them – works well enough. There is always hiking, camping, gardening, and score of other “Free” activities to do without the expense of a gym membership.

Nobody told this character that ‘gym’ is a state of mind, but I gave it a try with this:

Thank you for pointing out the senseless ways of wasting money. I agree that what you call free activities surround us. Just yesterday I took a walk on the first day of spring during a down pour. It was great fun made more so because the person I walked with complained about the wet and cold until they noticed the beautiful Oregon surroundings.

If I may clear up your expense idea, you pay money to camp with amenities like running water near by. It costs to garden unless you just shovel dirt and plant weeds.

If you read the article The Right Gym Matters, you’ll notice it’s about community and helping others. You do understand the beauty in helping others? That in helping others you too benefit because you’ve gone beyond your self-imposed limits.

You stretch by helping someone in need, and stretching is a good thing in the gym and out. The man in distress at the gym may have had a different outcome if he had been elsewhere. And that’s why the right gym matters.

Think of the gym rat as someone who prescribes their own physical therapy to avoid the sort of breakdowns that require medical treatment. Good sense says that’s a good idea, and since you have the good sense to read and comment regarding dollars and cents, I expect to hear about you enjoying our great outdoors.

Stay healthy my friend.

Four years later and he’s probably saying the same things today.

Ideas for the blogging bloggers to start on?

If you’re like Phillip and feel a future blog coming on, you need to check out Willamette Writers next meeting.

From their page:

On Tuesday, May 3^rd, at the Old Church in downtown Portland, Willamette Writers welcomes Jocelyn Mozak, WordPress web designer and founder of Mozak Design, who will talk with us about her favorite author web platform — WordPress.

Jocelyn knows that authors would rather focus their time and energy on writing, not on the design or coding of a website. She also knows how important websites are for author platforms!

In this engaging presentation, Jocelyn will walk us through why WordPress is the most viable option, what writers should include in the design of their site, which writer-friendly WordPress plug-ins are best to use (and what plug-ins are!), and share some exciting upgrades and ideas for the more experienced user. You will walk away with the motivation and tools to successfully launch your own WordPress website.

This is the answer Phillip and others are looking for.

If that doesn’t do it, read my personal favorite Darren at problogger.com.

Then hit Ramsay at blogtyrant.com for the dirt.

These three links will either spur you on, or drive you away. It all depends on how much you want it.

Bloggers on the verge of blogging will jump right in. I did. Here’s the nuts and bolts of boomerpdx:

Hosted by bluehost.com. On the wordpress.org platform. Theme by studiopress.com. Genesis framework.

WordPress is the only freebie, the rest need cash. Here’s what you’re buying: bluehost is your server, wordpress is the back end dashboard you’ll work from.

Genesis is an optimized framework you won’t see, but google will. Your theme is what the rest of the online audience will see your work on.

If things go wrong, and they will, don’t panic too hard. Once you go through the process a few times you’ll be getting comments asking for advice.

Don’t be afraid to coach people up a little. Beware of those who present themselves as the end all be all of bloggers.

You see how I’ve included links to my sources? Do that and avoid falling off the pedestal you climbed on to give advice.

Stay humble and pass what you know along for others. They’re looking for input whether they know it or not.

Why else read blogs?