braveandrecklessblog

Brave and Reckless’ Advice for New WordPress Bloggers– FAQ

Brave and Reckless has been visited by a lot of new bloggers in recent weeks and they have asked me a lot of really good questions that I didn’t address in Brave and Reckless’ Advice for New WordPress Bloggers– Part 1 and Part 2.  I decided to create a FAQ post that I plan to update on an ongoing basis to house the most common questions that have come up.  Plan on revisiting this blog post—I have more content lined and will continue to answer new questions as they come up

Content

Q. What should my first blog piece be about?

A. Some bloggers write very nice, clear introductory first posts introducing themselves and outlining what they will be blogging about. I was NOT one of those bloggers! I simply hadn’t thought enough about what I was doing here and how I might want my blog to evolve.  My first post was What Every Woman Knows, which is a piece I originally posted on Facebook.  Not at all a typical first post but it did set a tone and tell the readers a LOT about who I am as a writer and as a person.  It is a piece I continue to revisit and refine.

Q. What should I write about?

A. One of the best pieces of advice I can give a new blogger is write what you know and what you are passionate about. I always try to write things that I personally would enjoy reading. I firmly believe that you  should “do you” when you blog.  Your truths is your truth. People are either going to like your writing voice or they won’t, but there are millions of readers on WordPress and you will really resonate for some of them.

Some bloggers are very focused in what they write.  I am pretty eclectic and that works for me.  Poetry is my preferred language but I also write essays, fiction and passionately love music.  I also have fallen in love with making Spoken Word versions of my poetry and sometimes will post these as standalone blogs.  I also am very comfortable reblogging other writers who rock my world.

Categories and Tags

Q: What are tags? What tags should I put? Should the tags have hashtags?

A: When you are setting up a new post, you should set your categories and tags. I keep my categories broad– Poetry, Fiction, Daily Song, etc. Tags, or hashtags, are more specific keywords that help people search in browsers for subjects that interest them. I usually only use one or two categories (e.g. Poetry) but five to ten tags to help people find my writing.  I was pretty clueless about hashtags when I started out and did not use them effectively.  I learned a lot by reading more experienced bloggers tags and just asking myself: what words would I use to search for this piece on Google?

For this piece, I plan to use the following tags: amwriting, WordPress, blogging, new bloggers, tips, guide for new bloggers, and FAQ. WordPress will automatically add the hashtag symbol.  Most tagging is functional, but my friend Ward Clever has made tagging an art form. I like to read his posts just to see how he’s tagged them!

 Comment/Reply Moderation

Q: Should I moderate comments to my posts?

A:  Some bad experiences on Facebook influenced my decision to start moderating my comments.  I did not want to wake up in the morning to nasty or stalker-ish comments on my blog posts.  I have actually found the WP community to be super supportive and have only had the occasional weird/argumentative/unpleasant comment that I have decided not to approve.  I do, however, write a lot about depression, PTSD, rape, sexual abuse, and loss and attract readers who have wrestled with these issues.  I have decided to continue to moderate my comments to give me some control over comments that might be upsetting for my readers.  Moderating comments to my posts also ensures that I notice ever comment because they are flagged until I approve them.  That said, moderating my comments is time consuming and causes delays in them appearing on my posts.  For me it’s worth the inconvenience So my answer is, do what feels most comfortable for you and your readers.

Pseudonyms/About Page

Q: It is not safe/comfortable/practical for me to post under my real name.  Is that unusual?

A: Lots of WordPress bloggers use pseudonyms.  If I had given it more thought when I was starting out. Maybe I would have used a pseudonym (I am partial to Indigo Dragonfly but that I digress. . . ) For for first month or two that I was on WP, I kept a pretty cryptic About page without my name or my photo.  As I got more comfortable with my identity as a writer and with the community, I decided to really live being Brave and Reckless.

Q: I am uncomfortable talking about myself on my About page. What should I do?

 A: Lots bloggers just write a sentence or two, write something humorous or just delete the page, completely though I do find that I get a fair amount of traffic on my About page.  I think it helps readers feel more connected to me as a writer and I certainly have visited my fair share of About pages just wanting to know more about  someone whose writing I have just read.  I have also rewritten my About page, many, many times and suspect I will continue to.  My favorite biography on WP was written by a writer named  Nathan McCool. I think his response is brilliant  and ended up revealing a LOT about who he is:

“A biography? What would I tell you? That I am a drunk miserable sod that writes and plays music and wanders nomadically? That I try fruitlessly to scatter around whatever goodness is in me in hopes that maybe someone else wouldn’t feel as miserable as I do? That I’m just some dumb, angry man that cares too much despite wishing I truly didn’t give a damn?

Do you really think that would matter? Anything I could tell you would just be what I think and feel about myself. Is that really who anyone is?

The point I’m making is that it doesn’t matter what I tell you. Anything anyone needs to know about anyone else doesn’t come from some shit they say about themselves. What people are and the way that they choose to exist as a conscious human is what a biography should say, but those things are actions and reactions and the outward representations of what is inside someone. You can’t tell that in words.”

Drop the mic.

Monetizing Your Blog

Q: Can I make money from blogging on WP?

A: Completely not my area of expertise! I defer to the experts on this one. I found this helpful article in the WordPress Support Pages: Monitize Your Site 

 

To read more blogging advice, visit:

Brave and Reckless’Advice for New WordPress Bloggers– Part 1

Brave and Reckless’Advice for New WordPress Bloggers– Part 2

 

© 2017 Christine Elizabeth Ray – All rights Reserved

Posted in B&R Advice for New BloggersTagged , , , , , , 29 Comments

29 thoughts on “Brave and Reckless’ Advice for New WordPress Bloggers– FAQ”

    2. Hi thanks for all the advice you shared. I’m one of those annoying people who is going to tell you that I have just started a blog and I really don’t know what got into me.
      I’ve always enjoyed writing and had a very serious Mental Health problem “Borderline Personality Disorder”. Thankfully after years of self destruction I recovered. I enjoyed reading your braveandreckless blog and look forward to following you. “Each day in every way I’m getting better and better”.
      Cheers Mo X

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  4. Hi Christine,
    I think this is great advice for the novice bloggers (like me). If you don’t mind I would like to put my two-cents worth in. You advice on monitoring your site may work for some (e.g. approving comments optional). However, for many of us within minority communities, you are asking for trouble if you don’t approve all comments. It’s hard to believe there are hateful people that have nothing better to do than to troll particular sites and post hateful and damaging comments. Yet there are and I have had several that I deleted and not posted. I will admit those type comments are small in number, yet enough to be hurtful. They are often obscene also. My recommendation, take the time to approve any comments before they get posted.

    I’m sure there are a number of reasons people blog. In my opinion, novice bloggers who are also new to the writing community need a website. We need name recognition. Social media is good, but it is limited. Your website has a better chance of finding followers and getting your work acknowledged. For me I also want to sell a few books. I have no illusions that my work will be a best seller, but it is ego building when your book starts getting recognition within it’s genre. So I am of the opinion, putting your name and a short bio on your site is necessary requirement if you want your writing noticed.

    Thanks for allowing me to voice my opinion.

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    1. Chuck you are welcome to put in your two cents! I think the answer to so many of these questions is, it depends on your personality, goals and circumstances. I have very open settings on Facebook because I post my poetry there and have had my experiences with trolls. And not all of them were strangers. You do make a good point about safety– I have been very lucky so far here although I am very open about being pansexual, a sexual abuse survivor and struggling with depression and PTSD. Honestly, publishing my work in print wasn’t even something on my radar until very recently and I know very talented writers who have published under their pseudonyms because of safety and/or privacy concerns. I can only share my own experience and give people an idea of what I encountered and what I based my decision making on. Thank you for helping my readers make better informed decisions.

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  5. Hi Christine.
    I came across your blog after looking for some help as I am a new to blogging. I must admit I jumped straight in and have enjoyed it so far.

    I would like to thank you for the given advice which I have found really informative and useful. I’m planning to use tags from now on, although currently unsure which to use. But I will get there I am sure along with pulling my hair out! I wondered if you did have a spare moment, if you could please tell me your honest thoughts about my blog spot? After reading your posts I do understand your busy, but would truly appreciate it if you could.

    Anyway many thanks for your posts and help these have given me. I am so eager to do much more and reach many like minded people with my thoughts.

    Lee-Anne 😁

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  9. Well, it’s so neat stumbling on interesting things when you are searching for something else! (I am so technologically challenged that I am just trying to figure out how to put a picture on my page – lol!) However, I couldn’t stop reading! Thank you for taking time out to write this for us “newbies”, I found it very helpful, and will try to keep these things in mind. Hopefully when I get my head cleared a little I can come back and take you up on a few of your writing challenges!

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  11. Pingback: Brave and Reckless’Advice for New WordPress Bloggers– Part 1 – Brave and Reckless

  12. Thank you so much for the great tips. And I will definitely have to follow you so I don’t lose them. 🙂 Do you think it is important to have a defined blogging identity (sticking to a few key themes), or is jumping from one thing to another based on whatever happens to be taking my fancy acceptable too? For example, I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be participating in the Weekly Photo Challenge, but it turns out I really enjoy it. And some people who have liked my initial photos are now following me! Crikey, I hope they don’t expect me to have a great treasure trove of inspiration. Anyway, thank you very much.

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  13. I think, all that matters is what you like to do and want to do. One size fits all never works, does it?
    But your post has given me the confidence to continue writing! Thanks a lot!

    By the way, can you place the ‘Leave a Reply’ box somewhere near the Like button? I first thought that comments had been closed for this post, but then finally found it!

    Have a great day!

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    1. I certainly think that an important take home is to be true to yourself and your voice– WordPress is a big enough community that your audience is out there. There are many elements on the template that I can control– unfortunately, where the “Leave a Reply” is not one of them. Sorry for the inconvenience.

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  14. Thank you for the fantastic advice and blog. When I saw your blog I could really appreciate the bravery as I am wishing to be so brave! Thanks for blogging, thanks for being brave, thanks for caring. – Bee

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