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I’m feeling pwned. Website In A Weekend is getting too big for it’s britches. I’m writing blog posts because I’m supposed to write blog posts. That’s not a good reason.
It has to stop.
Daily posting is all well and good, but I want to improve the quality of my writing. Which requires learning new writing skills. Once I learn these skills, I’ll be able to write fast again, only my writing will be better.
Write quickly and you will never write well. Write well and you will soon write quickly. – Fabius Quintilianus
My blog posting strategy for Q1 2010 is quality over quantity. This is part of my 2010 “Deliver Delight” theme.*
Specifically, I want to spend a lot more time on each blog post to master these story elements:
- Titles
- Subtitles, teasers and hooks
- Inciting incidents
- Goals
Titles, subtitles and teasers I’ve spent quite a bit of time on already. Learning how to use inciting incidents and goals to drive a story are new skills for me. Time for new tactics.
One new tactic I’m using is to work on only one blog post at a time, and publish it when it’s done. I have a large number of other projects underway; “one thing at a time” seems to be working. Deacon is doing the same thing, as he only writes for an hour each morning.
Are you over it yet?
The new year that is.
Everyone and their mother’s brother’s uncle’s cousin three times removed is posting all sorts of crap about what they’re going to achieve in 2010.
I make no such claims.
I’m too close to the technical side of the house. It seems every three months, the whole tech world gets turned upside down by game-changing technology. Make long term plans to master some cool, new technology, and overnight some cooler, newer technology makes what you’re doing look dull, boring, and totally out of fashion.†
For example: who’s gonna buy a tablet? About 2 million people, that’s who. You ready for that? Me neither. So I’m forecasting Q1 only. I’ll get around the next 9 months later.
Some things to look forward to in 2010 here on Website In A Weekend.
- Semi-daily posting through Jan-March. Daily posting is awesome, but I’ve been there and done that; nothing to prove. There is still some surf to catch, and I have other irons in the fire. Posting schedule will be 3-4 days per week, look for 2-3 guest posts per month. I’ll resume daily posting in April.
- 12 Clients. Yep. I have 4 clients right now, and I’m looking to take on another 8. My goal is to have 12 regular clients by the end of Q1.
There’s pros and cons to having clients. On the one hand, clients require a lot of care and feeding, that is, clients are time consuming. On the other hand, you can’t get much more in tune with what people want… than when you’re actually working for them.
- 6 guest posts (two per month).
Confession: I have an extreme aversion to giving away my writing. I’ve given away so much of my writing in the past. Sadly, you can’t read much of it for free because it’s behind Big Publisher firewalls. Crazy, right? I spend weeks, months or years writing an article, for no compensation, then someone else gets to sell it. I’m going to split the difference: I’ll write guest articles, but my writing is mine to use as I see fit. I know this excludes me from some pretty high profile websites, but that’s life.
- Blog design upgrading. I’m pretty happy with the design of Website In A Weekend, but it could be much better. Good design increases reader stickiness. This will be incremental, you probably won’t notice any changes day-to-day.
That’s all pretty vague. Here’s some numbers for Q1:
- 1000 twitter followers. I’m growing my twitter list organically, which means I manually follow after I make sure there’s a real person living at that twitter name.
- 1000 RSS subscribers. This will require some theme modifications.
- 500 Newsletter subscribers. Will very likely purchase Ultimate Footer. I’ve used footer popups before. They convert well. This might annoy some people, but my landlord will be delighted.
From the WIAW RSS feed…
I recently started following Rob and Angie Bowen at the Arbenting Freebies Blog. They have an upcoming series on The Basics of Brand Building running from Monday January 4, 2010 to Sunday January 11, 2010. I’ll be paying very close attention:
In order to effectively build your brand, there are a few things that you must remember, and a few basics that mustn’t be overlooked. As you set out on the branding course, you must be sure to address those six standard questions: the who, what, when, where, why and how of branding. They are some of the most basic questions of our language, and they all have applicable contexts in relation to building your brand as we will examine throughout the course of this week.
If you’re as weak on branding as I am, follow along with me there; we’ll both learn something useful.
Also, Arbenting is full of lots of cool, free graphics stuff, like photoshop brushes, css templates, and lots more. Check it out.
New articles
- 5 Easy Tips for Managing 100s of RSS Feeds. Learn 5 easy ways to extend your effective reach using hundreds of RSS feeds. It’s easier than you think, and you’ll be glad you took the time to master RSS.
- Google AdSense: text vs. image ads, which is best?. Let Gabe Young help you determine whether text or image based ads are best for your web site. There’s a difference, and you need to know this information.
- Defining Static vs. Dynamic Information on Your Website. Understand the difference between static and dynamic information before you waste your hard-earned money on a website that doesn’t fit your needs.
- Whose in Charge Here? You, or your blog?. Is your blog taking over your life? If so, make sure it’s taking you where you want to go. Always remember, your blog should serve you, not be served by you.
- Life is Short. What Do You Have to Show for Yourself?. Stop! Don’t spend the next 7 years doing what you did that last! Take action now: for the next 7 years, build something lasting… for yourself.
- Happy New Year! (Now make something happen). Let everyone else write resolutions; while you take action. From Noah St John, “One positive action beats 1,000 positive thoughts.” 2010, the year for action!
Updated posts
I’m learning some new server-side technology (not important here and now) and stumbled across an article mapping the Starbucks coffee ordering process to a series of state machines connected by HTTP requests. Very good work. The process could be adapted to ordering sushi just as easily, so I added a link to “Dynamic Content Generation – How WordPress is Like a Sushi Restaurant.” Warning: follow the link given in the article at your own risk, it’s substantially more technical than the sushi article.
From the Archives!
I got lazy for a while, and stopped digging through the archives for interesting and useful articles. Time to get back on the ball with “Google Duplicate Content Penalty — Create keywords and make it work for you!” If you’re worried about Google penalizing you for duplicate content, you need to read this article and learn to leverage your own keywords for better results.
Upcoming articles
New year, new plan. Updating the original plan, really. Look for the updated Website In A Weekend curriculum this coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday:
- Friday; Getting Started: Getting Hosted, Installing WordPress, Developing Site Concept, Installing Required Infrastructure, Writing Out Goals.
- Saturday; Security, Developing Content, Building Trafffic: Adding Copyright, Terms & Conditions, Disclaimer, Installing Plugins, Securing Admin Account, Adding Favicon, Writing Pillar Content, SEO Permalinks, Effective Linking, Smart SEO, Measuring With Analytics
- Sunday; Promotion, Operation: Twitter Widget, Commenting Strategies, Social Bookmarking, Operating WordPress, Site Backups, Database Backups, Blog Maintenance.
As it turns out, I have blog posts for each topic. It’s about 25 hours work (Web Zero to Web Hero in 1 Weekend, remember). The series will start this coming Friday.
The Week In Review Series
- Last WIAW Week in Review
- Foodspotting: Twitter and Foursquare Hook Up for Dinner (& Week in Review).
- Stay tuned…
Next WIAW Week in Review
* “Deliver Delight” being, of course, a subtheme of my much larger double D strategy. If you have to ask…
† Make no mistake: geeks are just as subject to the whims of fashion as any Marina Chick. Emacs! Vi! Debian! Redhat!
Hi David,
Good Q1 goals. I have a Q1 goal list, but I just let my mentor see it and asked for his feedback.
In regard to the footer pop up, I know that in the past I’ve email subscribed to some blogs, and I still have to see it popping up.
I did see one, but for the life of me I don’t know which one, which allowed the reader to check a “Don’t show me this again” box. I think that’s a great idea, especially for those who have already signed up.
.-= Gordie´s last blog ..Look, Mom! My Blog’s Sprouting Pubes! =-.
Gordie, I’m torn on the whole popup thing. I know it will drive some readers off. But those things convert well, and good customers aren’t put off if it’s done well.
I’ve read that visitors coming in from Digg or StumbleUpon will hammer sites with popups. I’ve also read that visitors coming in from Digg and StumbleUpon don’t convert anyway.
We’ll see. It’s all a big experiment!
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..Google AdSense: text vs. image ads, which is best? =-.
…of course the other angle is if you write shorter blog posts, you can keep your daily regimen and not feel you need to write the same number of words. A thought, anyway.
.-= Ari Herzog´s last blog ..Showcase Sunday: The Google on Video Edition =-.
Ari, I have a fair number of “snackables” tucked away. I just want to make sure I use them most effectively. There’s a real art to writing short articles. Each word has to pack more punch.
Seth Godin is one of the few who get it right. Most people miss the mark.
I did post a couple of snackables last week, I’ll link one in with CommentLuv.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..Life is Short. What Do You Have to Show for Yourself? =-.
Hi David, I personally don’t do goals, I never have. If I want to lose weight I don’t set a target I just do what has to be done.
As far as blogging goes, again, no goals I just take it day by day. Maybe it’s the wrong attitude, but I’m happy with the way it’s working out so far.
Happy New Year.
.-= Sire´s last blog ..Embracing The Difference In Fellow Bloggers =-.
Goals are working for me. I have some close friends (the “nucleus”) who help keep me on track. When I set a goal, it’s something I can talk to them about. Gives us a common point of reference.
Resolutions, forget it.
It’s interesting reading how everyone else is dealing with the turn of the year. Some people are highly structured. Others, not so much.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..Google AdSense: text vs. image ads, which is best? =-.
That’s good David. I reckon my problem is that I’ve led my whole life without setting goals that it’s probably too late for me to start now. No matter, it’s the path I’ve chosen.
.-= Sire´s last blog ..Update On Stolen Blog Content =-.
C’mon, Dave. We all know resolutions are just one level up from goals. Your resolution is simply ‘create a 90 day plan’.
Anyway, that’s a nice set of goals and objectives. Most people have goals but nothing to back them up. In fact, 45% of Americans make resolutions and only 8% of them follow through.
.-= Gabe | freebloghelp.com´s last blog ..A new year, a new Google PageRank =-.
@Gabe –
Yeah yeah yeah.
The “nucleus” of my mastermind group just spent 7 hours going over first quarter goals. We goad each other to accomplish these things. It’s working.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..Google AdSense: text vs. image ads, which is best? =-.
My site is not too big for any britches. In fact, I think all britches seem to slide down to the nefarious butt crack unless held quite firmly in place with a tight noose of a belt. Cause that’s not pretty on anybody! I am definitely for quality over quantity and try to not spew too much gibberish. So far my goal of one post per day on any of my sites has missed its mark. I’ve made one post in 4 days [today is still young, though].
.-= Anne´s last blog ..2010 Wish List ~ Non-Resolution Style =-.
“… not pretty on anybody!”
I beg to politely and respectfully disagree… but that would take way too far afield. Heh.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..5 Easy Tips for Managing 100s of RSS Feeds =-.
Wow, on the resolutions.
I do agree with you on only focusing on the first quarter of the year for tasks and goals. I often find if I focus too far ahead I get confused and frazzled! :)
I find writing the “larger long term” (yearly) goals, then I break them down to “shorter term” (quarterly) goals and then I break them down to bite sized “how to get there” goals, these being the monthly and weekly, daily tasks I need to do to achieve the bigger goals.
Doing this helps me slowly work towards my long term goals with out really noticing it. I find this technique less over whelming and much more achievable.
Kind Regards
Jacinta :D
.-= Jacinta Dean´s last blog ..Good Bye 2009! Hello 2010! =-.
I have to get some things finished Q1. Then I’m good for planning out the rest of the year.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..Made to Stick: Earworms for your brain =-.
Tahoma? Adieu serifs.
I think the paint fumes messed with my head last night. I didn’t get any sleep and I missed my morning writing hour this morning.
You’ve got your hands full with your double D strategy.
.-= Deacon´s last blog ..Where’s Waldo Proves I Have Tech Cred =-.
Verdana I think. I had to adjust some font sizes in the bio boxes as well. Annoying.
Phooey on that 11:11 stuff. double D rules!
Watch out for those paint fumes. At least you have an excuse. I just sat in my chair and looked at the screen for an hour this morning.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..Made to Stick: Earworms for your brain =-.
Sitting in front of the screen for an hour is probably ok. It does as much to cement the habit into place as working furiously for an hour.
.-= Deacon´s last blog ..Where’s Waldo Proves I Have Tech Cred =-.
I broke my goals into short and long term, makes it easier for me to follow my progress.
I also think the design could use a bit of jazz, looks very plain, but thats my opinion. There are so many tutorials or help out there, so research and see what you can do.