Blogging

Why My First Blogs Failed (& How to Keep Yours from Failing!)

July 24, 2018

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Blogging is an awesome hobby and side hustle. I’ve been interested in blogging since I was in high school, and now I consider myself a blogger: I have my own blog that’s been going strong since 2014, and blogging is a big part of my full-time job. But these weren’t my first two blogs—I’ve had many over the years. Here’s why those blogs failed, and what you can do to prevent the same thing from happening to you!

Starting a Blog? Here’s What You Should Budget For

July 10, 2018

This post contains affiliate links that I could make commission off of. All opinions are my own. Learn more.

Blogging is really popular—and for good reason! It’s a fun hobby that helps you build marketable skills and can turn into a side hustle. But it can get expensive quickly. So if you’re looking to start a blog, here’s what you should budget for.

How to Easily Update Text in Multiple Blog Posts in WordPress

June 27, 2018

How to Easily Update Text in Multiple Posts in WordPress

Hey—want some one-on-one help getting this set up? Book a 20-minute consultation and we can work through it via video chat!

When you have a full-time job, there are only so many hours in a day that you can devote to your blog. And unfortunately… there are never enough. And ironically, you’re likely spending very few of those hours actually creating new content.

Website updates, blog post updates, bookkeeping, etc. take up way more time than we want them to. So how can we cut down on that time?

You’ve probably had a few blog posts where you needed to go back and update some outdated text. Whether it’s a guest post bio, a promotion that’s no longer running, or an old signature image that you want to update, wouldn’t it be nice if you could update text in multiple blog posts at once?

Good news, friend. You totally can! With shortcodes.

8 Tips for Choosing a Super Unique Blog Domain Name

May 10, 2018

Choosing a domain name is one of the most important things you can do! At the same time, it is difficult to find a unique and eye-catching domain name that isn’t already taken, especially if the subject matter of your blog is popular.

Finding a domain name for your blog that is both memorable and available creates a little bit of a challenge, but don’t worry! It can be a fun challenge if you get creative. Here are some tips to get you started.

How to Start a Blog

April 17, 2018

This post contains affiliate links that I could make commission off of. All opinions are my own. Learn more.

Happy sort-of 4th birthday to And Possibly Dinosaurs! I started blogging on January 14, 2014 under a different blog name, and on April 17, 2014 switched the name over to And Possibly Dinosaurs. While I consider January 14 the official birthday of And Possibly Dinosaurs, I wanted to still honor April 17, since it’s a big deal for my blog as well.

In honor of April 17, I want to help you start a blog! The technical aspect of blogging can be so intimidating, but I don’t want it to hold you back. To help, I’ve created a step-by-step guide on how to start a blog!

Learn to Code: CSS Basics for Bloggers

April 10, 2018

Hey—want some one-on-one help getting this set up? Book a 20-minute consultation and we can work through it via video chat!

When designing a website, CSS is a critical tool to understand. While it’s robust, it’s luckily really easy to learn! Let’s cover CSS basics for bloggers.

How to Organize Your Blog Posts with Custom WordPress Statuses

April 5, 2018

In order to be successful with my blog, I have to be organized. And one place I could never get organized was my WordPress posts. I had about 50 blog posts sitting in “Draft,” which meant if I needed to find the one I was looking for, I’d have to go searching for it.

So you better believe I was excited when I learned how to make custom WordPress statuses.

6 Places to Cut Your Personal Budget to Spend More on Your Blog

March 27, 2018

Blogging can get expensive really quickly. And I’ll be the first person to look for free or low-cost hacks to save money on my blog. But sometimes it’s just not worth the time investment, and you know your blog would do a lot better if you could spend more on it.

To avoid racking up credit card charges that you can’t pay off, I’ve compiled a few places to cut your personal budget so you can reallocate that money toward your blog. That way you can say “I need $29/mo for this tool, where can I find $29/mo in my budget?” so you’re not going into debt.

Note: I will never tell you to pay less toward your debt in order to pay for blogging tools. So student loans, credit card bills, car loans… don’t touch those.

Learn to Code: HTML Basics for Bloggers

March 22, 2018

Hey—want some one-on-one help getting this set up? Book a 20-minute consultation and we can work through it via video chat!

Blogging requires a lot of skills. You need to be able to write well, and you need to have at least some sort of expertise in your topic. But once you get into it, you realize that you also need photography skills, design skills, marketing skills, and coding skills. These can all be really intimidating!

To take some of the intimidation out of blogging, we’re going to go through some HTML basics for bloggers. If you have no prior web design experience, it’s time you learn to code!

Overwhelmed by Google Analytics? Look at These 5 Things First

March 15, 2018

Google Analytics is an amazing tool for anyone with a website. There’s a bunch of useful data that can help you track and plan ahead for your business once you install it. But it’s so robust that it’s easy to become overwhelmed by Google Analytics. Where are you supposed to start?

If you’re a blogger, there are five key pieces I recommend you look at and get comfortable with first before going into an even deeper dive of Google Analytics’ features.

An important thing to note, first: the data in Google Analytics is determined based on the date range you provide. It typically defaults to the previous 7 days, but you’ll want to change it for the time frame you’re interested in. I recommend looking at the previous month or previous 30 days. You can change your date range in the upper right corner of any Google Analytics page.

How to Be a Feminist Blogger (Without Writing about Feminism)

March 6, 2018

As a blogger, it’s important to keep in mind the content you’re sharing and only write about topics you’re comfortable writing about. It makes sense, then, that some bloggers, while they identify as feminists, don’t want to write about feminism.

This decision could be from a range of reasons, like not wanting to polarize your audience, not feeling confident enough in your feminism journey, or something else entirely.

And no matter your reason, it’s totally okay to be a feminist and not want to write about feminism. Your decision is personal, and it’s no one else’s business why you’re choosing not to.

That being said, it’s still totally possible to be a feminist blogger without writing about feminism.

The Ultimate Spreadsheet to Keep Your Blog Organized

February 22, 2018

When it’s more than a casual hobby, it’s critical that you keep your blog organized. Your blog files should be organized, you should have a to do list system in place, and you should have one go-to spot for all of your important information.

Over the last four years as a blogger, I’ve noticed trends of what information I’m always reaching for. And thanks to my love of spreadsheets, I decided to make one master spreadsheet with all of my blogging information in it. And I just couldn’t keep it to myself any more!

When you sign up for the Herd, the And Possibly Dinosaurs weekly newsletter, you’ll get instant access to a master Google Sheet that you can save to your Google Drive (or download the Excel file for, if that’s more your style) and customize for your needs. Here’s everything that’s included in it to keep your blog organized!

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