Continuing my question and answer series from readers and subscribers, I like to post some of these for others to share and learn from. Many of the questions I get are from folks who have been blogging for a short time and need help with some of the basic functions that we old hands find as second nature now.

Most of these questions are received via email because the bloggers feel a little uncomfortable asking some of these basic questions in an open forum. To that end, let me make two quick points before addressing the question.

1. There is no such thing as a “dumb question” and no one should feel that theirs is such.
2. Every blogger started at the same spot, one post, one reader and a boat load of the same questions that you have today.

My point is this; you are no less capable of blogging than anyone else. You are in the learning curve stage now, but that will quickly pass with time. I will continue to answer your questions in any method received, but I do encourage you to get the answers that you need and I feel privileged that you were comfortable asking me.

So onward we go.

Question:

“I want to install stats and other plug ins from word press site. How do they go to my blog after download?”

Any WordPress plugin located in their free directory can be installed with a few clicks of your mouse. I will illustrate below.

Go to the WordPress.org Plugin directory and identify the plugin you desire and take note of the name of the plugin. The Plugin Directory page looks like the image below.

After you have researched and identified the plugins you want to install, go to your blog’s Admin area or Dashboard as it is labeled.

In the left column you will find “Plugins” listed about half way down. Click on the word plugins if the drop down menu is not open, the end result should look like this.

Click on the “Add New” link and you will end up here.

Enter the name of the plugin as noted on your visit to the Plugin Directory and click on the “Search Plugins” button.

For this example I entered the name Wickett Twitter Widget and ended up here.

Simply click the install button, a popup window will appear and you can then click the word install in the burned orange colored band above the plugin information (version, Author, etc.).

Click the “Activate Plugin” link and you’re all done.

It should be noted that some plugins will require some configuration, depending on selection, but that will be explained in the plugin description within the WordPress Plugin Directory where you first did your research.

Of further note is the fact that this quick and easy procedure applies only to plugins found within the WordPress Plugin Directory. There are many Authors and manufacturers of plugins on the internet and those outside of this directory will required an upload to your database via  FTP (File Transfer Protocol).

No need to worry about that now, I will provide a future tutorial for that as well. You are now as capable as anyone to install a WordPress plugin.

Any questions, concerns or additional assistance needed should be directed to my Contact Page, where I will respond as quickly as reasonably possible.

See you back on the main site.

Good luck and Keep Blogging!

In need of a graphic, and quickly?

Check out the CoolText Graphic Generator, a fast and easy tool I happened across.

I do my own graphics for the most part, but when I saw this and how easy and fast it was to use I thought I would let someone know about it.  According to company information, they have been around since 1998, so perhaps some have used this before.

In any case, for an occurrence when you need something quick this could be very helpful.

This is totally free  and requires nothing more than a few clicks of your mouse. No registration, nothing.

Simply select the text graphic you would like to use, edit the text and hit the render button. You are then ready to download the text graphic you just created. It could not get easier than that.

Now there is not a huge selection there, but enough to help you out in a pinch if you need something fast and easy.  There is also options for getting the HTML code or even emailing the image to yourself or any email address.

While on the site you will see quite a few ads for services and products, but hey, they’ have to pay the bills somehow as you use this for free.

No need to stretch this quick post out beyond what we have here, so this will wrap it up.

Just wanted to share this quick tip with you in case you someday have the need. Take note of the site located at CoolText.Com.

No affiliation or agreements exists between myself and CoolText.com, just passing on a helpful tip.

Keep Blogging!

All bloggers want to be one of the best in the business and become remarkable. With a tremendously crowded field, many may wonder how this is even possible but I assure you that it is and you can become one of the elite bloggers of today.

It first begins with the proper mindset, be positive and know that you have started from the same place as every other blogger. It begins with that first post, then another and so on.

I have heard from many less seasoned bloggers about their early day struggles, trying to make the perfect post and second-guessing themselves about what people will think of them and their work.

Forget all of that crap!

Here are 10 ways to become a better blogger. There are hundreds of improvements to accomplish this of course, but following these with consistency will surely make you better.

Why would this be different from anything else in life?

The more you practice, the better you become.

Let’s get to it.

1. Write daily – The act of writing on a daily basis will make you better. No need to write an entire post or several pages for your ebook, but do write something every day. Start a future post by writing a few paragraphs or begin a letter to a family member, the idea is to write regularly. Practice makes… near perfect.

2. Be observant – While traveling the internet and interacting with others, observe the surroundings, see how others are structuring their blogs and blog post. I am not suggesting that you copy what you see, but rather, get some ideas of how you can change things up on your blog to better serve your community.

3. Focus, focus, focus – When writing your blog post, avoid all distractions and tightly focus in on the task at hand. Turn off the cell phone, TV and anything else that diverts your attention away from your writing. I sometimes write with headphones on while listening to music, this may or may not work for you, but it places me in a zone without interruption.

4. Post as often as you can – Post to your blog as much as you can reasonably handle, avoiding the pitfall of over-extending yourself. Your blog readers will become accustomed to the schedule you set so be consistent in the number of times you will post each week. In # 1 above, I mentioned writing daily. This is not to be confused with your established post schedule.

5. Comment on the work of others – The act of visiting other blogs and commenting should be a part of your daily routine. It keeps you in the flow of blogging and provides yet another means of writing. Be sure your comment contributes to the conversation and adds something of value. Besides showing your appreciation for the work of others, there is a strategy related to commenting. When you leave a meaningful comment, other visitors of that site will likely follow your link back home to find out more about you, a great benefit.

6. Leave something unsaid – Avoid being a know-it-all and leave something in your blog post for others to contribute. If you have covered all there is to cover on a particular topic you leave little if any room for comments or contributions from others. Make your blog post a conversation instead of a lecture.

7. Edit before publishing – Give your post a once over to catch most of the typos that inevitably find their way into your content. No need for perfection but do avoid a look of sloppiness. I Tweeted out a title to a post once with a typo in it, and it was RT-ed all day with the same typo. Either nobody noticed or it just did not matter, it was a well received post that generated a lot of feedback.

8. Become a guest blogger – Guest posting has a tremendous upside. You are exposed to the community of others and it provides an opportunity for you to show your capabilities as a blogger. This is great for building your brand and gaining name recognition. In addition, the host blogger has endorsed your acceptance as someone worthy of carrying the day on his or her blog.

9. Monitor current industry trends – Using sites like Search.Twitter.com and Backtype.com you can stay on top of the latest trending topics. It is a means of taking the pulse of the blogosphere and remaining current regarding the happenings of the day.

10. Educate yourself continually – Blogging is a craft and you will likely never know all there is to know about this industry, as things are always changing. Learn from those who have found success ahead of you and who have more experience and exceptional knowledge to share. No day should pass without learning something new, no matter how small.

Conclusion – I could likely write a couple of hundred ways to become a better blogger, but we’ll save many of them for future posts and spare the length of this one.

Besides, observing # 6 above means that there is plenty of room for the input of others.

What might you add to this listing as a means of becoming a better blogger?

Keep Blogging!

Man, what an interesting week in the blogosphere. Of course the story of the week was the release of Apple’s iPad. As you might imagine, the stories have been flying about with opinions on the pro and cons.

I’ve not had the opportunity to take a closer look as yet, but will likely start here at Apple’s Home.

There have been numerous stories coming out of Haiti, as you know. I just hope that this effort does not begin to suffer the affects of donation fatigue. A lot of people have pitched in, but it will require some repeat visits to provide what is needed.

An additional donation of any denomination is more than welcome I am sure.

Haiti continues to struggle during this recovery period, but you can still help out here.

Found some interesting articles as usual this week. That’s a supply that will never run out, which is a tremendous resource.

There is a lot of movement on the net these days, more than the pace of recent months. Maybe  the residence of cyberspace are all busy building new hangouts and such. Kind of in a building mood myself.

Have you noticed any of the new window dressings about?

My friend Ileane, Ms. Ileane Speaks has pulled the cover off of a really cool joint. A Podcast Blog. Just sounds cool as ice doesn’t it? (Don’t tell her I said that).

Check this post on Branding The Podcast Blog

My man Jordan had a nice piece posted by Guest Blogger Jade Craven on creating a buzz.

Leveraging Other People’s Audience To Create Buzz

I hope you enjoy reading it, as I did.

I thought this was really interesting, this quick lesson on titles by Chris Brogan

How Do You Stack Up?

I’m going to keep this week’s wrap up short and move on.

In case you missed any of my post this week, I have listed a few below.

Favicons – That Sometimes Missing Touch

10 Blog Launch Tips

Social Proof – The Currency of Tomorrow

Have a great weekend and …

Keep Blogging!

You can find me over on Facebook, Twitter, or stop by the main site.

The thing about blogging that stands out more than anything else is the fact that you are never anywhere near finished building your blogs or your online empire.

In order to build a decent brand and drive traffic to your main base of operation, you will need to establish outpost from all over cyberspace. Develop a blog outreach strategy, which  is a great way to build “roads” back to the base. The more places you appear, the better.

But strategy aside for a second, this is also great for networking and expanding your friendship base as well. It is the great allure of the internet, meeting so many positive people in so many places.

That was an important sidebar.

Now if you view the internet as a huge expanse of land that is open to all, and envision your main blog as a piece of real estate, then the idea is to claim as much of that real estate as you can, building roads back to your home base.

Every profile that you own online is yet another outpost that leads back home and provides the roads for others to discover you. Twitter, Cliqset, Facebook and the many other places that people have established a presence are all opportunities to build your internet assets. The trick is to build slowly, taking on no more than you can handle at any given point in time. you do not want to have untidy profiles about, leaving the impression that you are not organized or serious about what you are doing.

The more you build, the more there is to maintain, but the additional effort will pay off in the long run.

Another road building strategy is blog commenting.

Reading and commenting on other blogs is powerful and provides yet another means of building your network of friends and of course, that always sought after traffic.

I have heard some bloggers say that after doing research and writing their blog post, they just do not have time for reading and commenting on the work of others. Huh?

Better rethink that position and somehow make time for this critical function. In order to climb the ladder of success, sacrifices in time just have to be made, there is no getting around that. There will come a point in time that some bloggers will wish they had put in that extra effort.

In the meantime…

Keep Blogging!

Image: Mr. Doye – Flickr

This is my first post here on Blogging Wire and I am happy to be here with many of my friends, but first things first. Let me welcome all of the bloggers of this community. I look forward to the continued friendship.

Now, this newbie theme has got to go! I have not seen one of these since… well, you know.

Thanks to Brian for bringing yet another great site to us.

Now before you get all caught up, this is really nothing more than a functionality post, with the exception of the sincere opening statement.

This is a nice place, but there are no curtains or anything as yet, which makes it fun because this is where you get to show your own personality.

On the performance side, I’ll have to install my usual listing of plugins and such.

So if you happen by here before I get totally moved in, drop me a line below and let me know you were here.  As you can see, I laid out the ole Welcome mat for you, so by all means, make yourself at home.

I will be visiting many of you in the coming days and weeks, sharing a little online life and such. Until then, you will likely catch me over at the main office.

See you soon, going shopping for a new suit, eh, new theme for this joint.

Gee, just noticed one other must have right away plugin. I had better bring that back when I return. Each time you do an update, your are creating a revision to the database files and “pinging” any of the services you have installed.

I will do a blog post on that explaining why this is critical to your blog’s operation.

C ya!