Technical Blogging: Amplify Your Influence

by Antonio Cangiano

Overview

Successful technical blogging is not easy but it's also not magic. Use these techniques to attract and keep an audience of loyal, regular readers. Leverage this popularity to reach your goals and amplify your influence in your field. Get more more users for your startup or open source project, or simply find an outlet to share your expertise. This book is your blueprint, with step-by-step instructions that leave no stone unturned. Plan, create, maintain, and promote a successful blog that will have remarkable effects on your career or business.

Successful people often get recognition by teaching what they know. Blogging is a reliable path to do that, while gaining influence in the process. The problem is getting it right. Far too often professionals start a blog with big hopes, only to quickly give up because they don't get speedy results. This book will spare you that fate, by outlining a careful plan of action. A plan that will bring amazing benefits to your career, new job possibilities, as well as publishing, speaking, and consulting opportunities. And if you are blogging for business, you'll attract new customers, partners, and outstanding employees.

Understand what blogging is and how it can improve your professional (and personal) life. Devise a plan for your new or existing blog. Create remarkable content that ranks well in Google and is shared by readers. Beat procrastination by employing proven time-management techniques that make you an efficient and effective blogger. Promote your blog by mastering on-page and off-page SEO, as well as social media promotion, without compromising your ethics. Analyze your traffic to understand your audience and measure growth. Build a community around your blog and make the best of your newfound popularity, by maximizing its benefits for your career, business, or simply for extra income.

Create and maintain a successful technical blog that will amplify your impact, influence, and reach by following Antonio's step-by-step plan.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781680506471
Publisher:	The Pragmatic Programmers, LLC
Publication date:	07/01/2019
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	338
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Antonio Cangiano is a software developer and technical evangelist for IBM, web entrepreneur, and serial blogger. He is one of the main go-to people within IBM for advice on blogging, social media, and technical marketing. In addition, he is the Marketing Lead for Cognitive Class, an educational initiative which he helped to grow from zero to over 1 Million students. Combined, his technical blogs have attracted millions of page views and tens of thousands subscribers, and currently generate a substantial side income for him. You can learn more about Antonio at antoniocangiano.com.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction xv

Part I Plan It

1 What Kind of Blog Are You Going to Run? 3

Solo vs. Collective 3

General vs. Niche 6

Pundit vs. Instructional 8

Business Blogs 9

Take Action 11

What's Next 11

Rock-Solid Planning for Your Blog 13

Define Your Blog's Main Topic 13

Analyze the Size of Your Niche 15

Give Readers a Compelling Reason to Stick Around 19

Set Goals for Your Blog 21

Choose and Register a Domain Name 23

Take Action 29

What's Next 30

Part II Build It

3 Setting Up Your Blog 33

Choose Your Blogging Software and Hosting 33

Configure Your Domain Name 43

Install WordPress 44

Configure WordPress 45

Enhance WordPress with Plugins 53

Take Action 55

What's Next 55

4 Customizing and Fine-Tuning Your Blog 57

Pick a Professional Theme 57

Enable Stats 59

Customize Your Sidebar 62

Encourage Social Media Sharing 66

Win Over Subscribers 68

Don't Get in Trouble: Use Disclaimers 76

Set Up Your Blog for On-Page SEO 79

Enable Code Highlighting in Your Posts 85

Take Action 86

What's Next 86

5 Creating Remarkable Content 87

Content Is King 87

Write for the Web 88

Develop Your Own Voice 100

Where to Find Ideas for Your Posts 102

Get Readers to Discover More of Your Content 104

Copyright Matters 106

Back Up Your Content 109

Take Action 110

What's Next 110

6 Producing Content Regularly 111

What's the Post Frequency, Kenneth? 111

Consistency Is Queen 112

What Days Should You Post On? 113

Schedule Time to Blog 114

Survive Writer's Block 115

Get Others to Write for You 117

Take Action 122

What's Next 122

7 Finding Time to Blog 123

Master Your To-Do List 123

Figure Out Where Your Time Goes 131

Limit Distractions 132

Schedule Productive Time 134

Focus with the Pomodoro Technique 135

Take Action 137

What's Next 138

Part III Promote It

8 Promoting Your Blog 141

Market It and They Will Come 141

Correct a Self-Sabotaging Mindset 142

Perform On-Page and Off-Page SEO 143

Not All Links Are Created Equal 145

Guest Blog on Other Blogs 147

Other Forms of Article Marketing 150

Add Your Blog to Planet Sites 153

Participate in the Community 153

Leverage Foreign Blogs 154

The Dark Side of Link Building 155

Promote Your Articles on Social Networks 156

Promote on Social News Sites 159

Case Study: ProgrammingZen.com's Social Traffic 163

Promoting on Quora 164

Cross-Post to Medium and dev.to 165

Take Action 166

What's Next 167

9 Understanding Traffic Statistics 169

Baseline vs. Spike Traffic 169

Key Site Usage Metrics You Need to Consider 171

Interpret Visit Quantity and Quality 172

Where Do They All Come From? 174

Analyzing Traffic with Google Analytics 175

Keep Track of Your Blog's Growth 179

Other Analytics Tools Worth Considering 180

Take Action 182

What's Next 182

10 Building a Community Around Your Blog 183

Engage Readers 183

Supplement Your Blog with Community Tools 187

Forms of Criticism 189

Your Mantras When Dealing with Criticism 193

Take Action 195

What's Next 195

Part IV Benefit from It

11 Advancing Your Career with Blogging 199

Improve Your Skills 199

Advance Your Career 200

Obtain Freebies 203

Deal with Opportunities 205

Other Benefits for Startups 207

Make Money from Your Blog 208

Take Action 227

What's Next 227

12 Promoting Your Own Business 229

A Checklist for Company Blogs 229

Identity and Understand Your Readers 232

Craft Your Content for Your Prospective Customers 234

Convert Readers into Customers 238

Take Action 243

What's Next 243

Part V Scale It

13 Scaling Your Blogging Activities 247

Scale Your Blog Vertically 247

Hire a Team of Bloggers 248

Build Your Blogging Empire 253

Take Action 255

What's Next 256

14 Beyond Blogging: Strategizing for Social Media 257

Why Bother with Social Media? 258

Define a Social Media Strategy 260

Identify the Social Networks You Intend to Target 260

Create Your Social Media Profiles 263

Cross-Promote Your Site and Social Properties 267

Post Frequently and Engage with People in Your Niche 270

Take Action 280

What's Next 281

15 Final Words of Advice 283

Try It Out 283

Blogs to Follow 284

Keep in Touch 284

A1 List of Tips Within the Book 285

Chapter 1 What Kind of Blog Are You Going to Run? 285

Chapter 2 Rock-Solid Planning for Your Blog 285

Chapter 3 Setting Up Your Blog 285

Chapter 4 Customizing and Fine-Tuning Your Blog 286

Chapter 5 Creating Remarkable Content 286

Chapter 6 Producing Content Regularly 286

Chapter 7 Finding Time to Blog 286

Chapter 8 Promoting Your Blog 287

Chapter 9 Understanding Traffic Statistics 287

Chapter 10 Building a Community Around Your Blog 287

Chapter 11 Advancing Your Career with Blogging 288

Chapter 12 Promoting Your Own Business 288

Chapter 13 Scaling Your Blogging Activities 289

Chapter 14 Beyond Blogging: Strategizing for Social Media 289

A2 Bibliography 291

Index 293