Blogging WorkshopBy Jill R. Sommer

of "Musings from an overworked translator"

Increase online presence Show that you are expert in your field Build trust Share knowledge Low-cost alternative to a website

Why blog?

Do you enjoy writing? What's your message? Are you a good communicator? Are you better at writing or speaking? Are you a self-starter? Are you disciplined? Do you have time? Are you thick-skinned? Are you willing to be in the spotlight?

Is a blog right for you?

Do you have a sense of humor? Are you willing to learn? Do you enjoy reading? Are you an organized person? Are you a social person? Do you enjoy virtual relationships? Are you consistent? Are you honest and transparent? Are you willing to put effort into the blog?

Is a blog right for you?

An interesting blog may be a good way to boost your presence on line.

However, you have to plan carefully what to write to attract not only other translators, but your clients and prospects.

That said, don't expect it to necessarily attract new clients.

Introduction

Personal diary Professional brochure Dynamic website Other (repository for glossaries, links, etc.)

Purposes of blogs

Starting a blog is simple. You can just go to one of the various free blogging platforms, create an account, select a template, and start blogging.

Keeping it up and making it interesting for yourself and for others, however, requires dedication.

Blog only if you like to write, and you are confident you'll have the drive to do it regularly and consistently.

Choose topics that interest you – not because you think they may attract more readers.

How to start a blog

Consider getting your own domain for your blog.

Even if you don't start hosting your blog on your own domain, it is a good idea to buy the domain name. You can use it later and meanwhile prevent others from using it.

You can also buy multiple domains and have them redirect to your domain.

How to start a blog

◦ Blogger and WordPress are two of the biggest blog hosting services. Blogger (owned by Google) is free. WordPress also is free, but you may have to pay for some features. There are other blogging platforms available, both free and not, such as TypePad Micro, etc. Bloggerhttps://www.blogger.com WordPresshttp://wordpress.com TypePadhttp://www.typepad.com/features

How to start a blog

You won't go wrong choosing either. But as you'll see, they're very different services, aimed at different users.

Blogger is very simple to use, while WordPress can be slightly more complicated.

WordPress is superior for anyone who wants more advanced content-adding features in a blog.

Blogger uses OpenID, which forces readers to log in each time they leave a comment. It also offers a preview in RSS feeds instead of showing the whole article, forcing readers to click on it to read it.

Blogger v. WordPress

ComputerWorld takes a look at both services: http://tinyurl.com/bwvx2v6

"If you want the fullest set of blogging features, you want WordPress, but if you're looking for simplicity and streamlined blog creation and posting, Blogger is the way to go."

Blogger v. WordPress

If you already have a web site, your host might offer installable blogging software as a part of the services included in your hosting package.

If you plan to install blogging software on your web site, the choice of free platforms is even wider, with WordPress, Movable Type, TextPattern and Serendipity among the leading contenders.

I prefer to go simple and just stick with the online interface WordPress provides.

How to start a blog

Create an account◦ Blogger

Go to https://www.blogger.com Sign in using your Google Account login Click on Get Started

◦ WordPress Go to http://wordpress.com Click on Sign up now

How to start a blog

Select and use a template◦ Blogger

Click on New blog Click on the down arrow and select Templates

Using the Template link, you can browse from the available templates, and in Layout you can edit and customize it.

Warning: if you plan change you template significantly, be ready to get your hands dirty with HTML, XML and CSS.

From your dashboard you can also add posts and pages, view the stats for your blog, adjust your settings and moderate your comments.

Starting a blog in Blogger

◦ WordPress Once you have created your blog, you have access to a

Dashboard for all yourWordPress blogs.

Select a blog, select Appearance.

You get to the Manage Themes page, where you can browse and select from the available themes.

Once you have selected a theme, you can customize it. In WordPress, some of the features are available only to

paying customers, but there are plenty of free ones.

Starting a blog in WordPress

– All blogging platforms offer many templates. At first you might want to select a template and use it “as is”. You may decide to customize it later. Customizing an existing template may vary from easy to difficult.

– You can add an RSS / Atom feed to your blog (so people may subscribe to it and follow it with readers such as Google Reader) .

– Widgets– Reader comments – Tabs and info about your blog– Statistics– Interfaces

Personalize your blog

Tabs and info about your blog ◦ If your blogging platform features them, use tabs or separate

pages.

You can have one page for your posts, and other pages for more permanent information (about you, your blog, links to your best articles, etc.)

Personalize your blog

Many gadgets are available to help making your blog more attractive: ◦ Blogroll (a list of links to other blogs)◦ Buttons that show your blog ratings ◦ Links to your archive (the list of your

older posts)◦ Categories or tags to help users find

your posts on a specific subject◦ Search box to allow readers to find

specific topics◦ Your ATA certification stamp◦ Slideshows◦ Polls◦ etc.

Personalize your blog

Creating your own title banner using a graphics program helps making your blog stand out.

Or you can have your banner created by a professional, and use it to establish your brand.

A favicon (short for Favorite icon), also known as a shortcut icon,Web site icon, URL icon, or bookmark icon, is a file containingone or more small icons, most commonly 16×16 pixels,associated with a particular website or webpage.

Personalize your blog

Decide how to handle comments • Allow them or not• Moderate them or not• Moderate only those that are older than a certain

number of days. Beware of blog spam (comments left on

blog posts with the only purpose to attract visitors to some web site or other page).

Have a policy on reader comments

If you're at all serious about your blog, you'll want to know what kinds of traffic it gets, how the traffic is getting there, and usage patterns.

Statistics offer important information. Not only will they tell you how many hits you have, but also which pages attracted the most visitors, where your reader came from, and technical information such as the operating system and browser used by your visitors.

Dealing with statistics

Some blogging platforms offer tools to track statistics. Blogger offers its own statistics service, or you can add them yourself, such as Google Analytics.◦ http://www.google.com/analytics/◦ http://sitemeter.com/◦ http://www.bravenet.com/webtools/counter/

index.php

Dealing with statistics

Probably the most important part of having a blog

How to find topics to write about ◦ Ideas from the work you are doing◦ Books you are reading◦ Tools you use◦ Problems you are facing◦ Discussion topics on listservs◦ Interesting news and information you have found

on other blogs or other web sites

Maintaining the blog

Decide in what language to write your blog

Decide who your target audience will be: ◦ Other translators ◦ Prospective clients◦ Others

...and write with that in mind Try to write simply and interestingly. If it

bores you, it's going to bore your readers more.

Maintaining the blog

Posts can be long or short. Alternating between the two is always a

good idea. A good length is usually about one screen. People don't want to scroll down too much

when reading on-screen. Try not to write lots of long, frequent

diatribes. Try to have a few "on deck".

Maintaining the blog

Some people use Style Writer (available from Editor Software: http://www.editorsoftware.com) to edit their blog posts and tighten their writing.

Maintaining the blog

Comment on other people's blogs Offer to exchange links to existing bloggers Offer to guest blog Invite other people to guest blog on your

blog Use Twitter Most of all, write something interesting Make sure your blog is public, and freely

accessible by search engines

Publicize your blog

Check out the blogrolls on popular translation blogs like Thoughts on Translation, Musings from an overworked translator, Translation Times, About Translation, Translation Tribulations, Fidus Interpreter, etc.

A good place to start to find good language blogs (including translation blogs) is Lexiophiles’ Top 100 Language Blogs (http://www.lexiophiles.com/top-language-blogs-and-podcasts).

Finding interesting blogs

Thank you!

The End