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Benefit: Search engines love it when you write often.
Problem: Creating daily (or more) articles – ex nihilo – for your blog can become overwhelming.
Practical WordPress Tip: Create templates for common article styles to make it a real snap to pound out blog posts.
Here’s how:
- Find a group of articles with a common theme. You should have at least 3; 5 to 10 would be better.
- Analyze the structure of each article, and see where they overlap and where they differ
- Write a short description for each part that overlaps. Use this Practical WordPress Tip as an example: Benefit, Problem, Practical WordPress Tip and Here’s how are descriptions for overlapping parts.
- The parts the don’t overlap have in common… the property of not overlapping! This is the “Why” description below.
- Create a Draft or private template page you can copy each time you’re inspired to write an article using the template.
Why:
This tip is a little more advanced than most. You will need a fair bit of writing experience to exploit it correctly. But, following this procedure, you can cut the learning curve to shreds. There is even a WordPress Post Template plugin you can use to help you get started. I don’t actually care for this plugin myself, I tried and didn’t like it. But Extreme John likes it, so it can’t be all bad.
Long time readers can see other article templates evolving here on Website In A Weekend, for example, the WIAW Week in Review.
Previous Practical WordPress Tip: Practical WordPress Tip #15: Adjust Image Size to Theme Width
Next Practical WordPress Tip: Practical WordPress Tip #17: Use the tail of your Drafts queue for “notes”
Do you have a Tip? Would you like to write a Practical WordPress Tip? Each Tip is very short, and focuses on a single action that anyone can use right away, no programming required! If you have a Tip that fits into this series, and you’d like to publish it here on Website In A Weekend, send it on!
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{ 7 comments }
The added benefit of this is that it will help organize your thoughts about your writing subject.
Sean´s last blog ..New Art Hot Off The Press
Readers benefit as well from posts that are better organized and more clearly communicate the topic matter.
Walter´s last blog ..In Search of the Next Boom: Cleantech
@Sean, @Walter –
You guys are smart!
I do this stuff because it “seems like the right thing to do.” Going on gut about half the time. Don’t even know why what I’m doing is right, I can just feel it.
Anyone else have any other benefits?
Dr Wordpress!´s last blog ..Payload-Envelope-Transport (PET) model for peer-to-peer overlay networks
Cool stuff, I never really thought about how using a template like that could make posting quicker and easier. I really like the idea of using a template for a warp-up/week in review. What are some other types of posts that you use templates on?
Which makes me think… how is it a website in a weekend if you post during the week?
@Blake, heh… yeah, Website In A Weekend is a long story. There was supposed to be seminar… there may be one in the future… we’ll see.
Having a “weekly review” is an excellent exercise for creating a template. Enough structure to help create articles, enough flexibility to be unique. Check out Holly Jahangiri’s and DiTesco’s formats as well as mine.
Dr Wordpress!´s last blog ..Payload-Envelope-Transport (PET) model for peer-to-peer overlay networks
Hey Dave thank you for the link luv, I can’t believe you didn’t like the plugin? I just scheduled a post showing my love for it, it’s cut my posting time in half.
Extreme John´s last blog ..Yahoo Meme the Lonley World
@Extreme, yeah, I don’t think it’s a bad plugin, just didn’t cotton to it.
I’ll try it again sometime.
Dr Wordpress!´s last blog ..Techsmith did it again with Jing Pro… sort of
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