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Why Blog?

    Month one of blogging is done and dusted and I found starting a blog with WordPress.org easier than expected, but I gravely underestimated the workload.

    Let’s just get something straight from the get-go:  I am not attempting to teach anyone how to blog or how to set up a blog.  Goodness No!   This is merely a short explanation of why we started this blog and how I’ve set it up so far.  A record of sorts if you may.

    Maybe one day, I’ll have a number 1 online blogging course to sell too.  You never know. Hopefully, I’ll be one of the ninja bloggers who share, rather than sell, their blogging tutorials.

    What is a Blog?

    My father-in-law, Oupa Brian, asked me what a “blog” is.  He’s been trying to figure it out and came up with the following humorous definition:

    “A combination between a log and a blob.  Therefore it must be a soft piece of wood.”

    Very funny, I know.  It is just his silly way of telling me that technology really does not interest him at all and he’s never heard about this “blog” thing.  He wanted to know if it is something his grandchildren will catch and if it is hereditary.  Like a cold!

    After we had our laughs, it made me think and I realized that some people just have no clue.

    The internet was invented in my lifetime and I’m not even old yet! Seriously.  I was born in the “dark” ages.  When the web did not exist and we listened to tapes in Walkmans and watched VHS and BETA cassette videos.  Let me just repeat that: cellphones and CD’s did not exist when I was born! I know, crazy right.

    How can we expect grannies and grandpas, who were born before TV and cars and fought in the first two world wars, to keep up with technology and the scary rollercoaster that is the World Wide Web?

    DEFINE THE WORD BLOG

    Thanks to Wikipedia…

    blog (a truncation of the expression “weblog“)[1] is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (“posts”). It emerged in the late ’90s.

    WHY WE STARTED THIS BLOG

    Initially, I wanted to start the blog just to keep our family and friends up to date on our travels.  It was always going to be a travelogue. A memoir for me, B and our children. Fascinated by genealogy, maybe it is for future generations, even.

    Almost two years later, I still blog for the same reason, but also because I’ve come to love it! Plus, I cannot suppress the need to share the wonderful things we get up to.

    The more I read about blogging on other family travel blogs, the more I saw one common trend.  One thing they wished they’d all done differently on their blogs:  They wished they’d set it up properly from the start. 

    I am one to learn from other’s mistakes.  I am not saying that I am doing this the right way, but I am trying my best with absolutely no WordPress design or coding background at all.  There are many helpful sites and tutorials available online and the blogging community seems to be a very welcoming bunch.  Very encouraging indeed.

    There are many helpful sites and tutorials available online about #blogging and the blogging community seems to be a very welcoming bunch.  Very encouraging and supportive indeed. Click To Tweet

    OUR BLOG BLUEPRINT

    So far our blog blueprint looks like this, but I can assure you there are still mountains of work ahead of me.  I will regularly update and change this list. 

    This is just a summary because I am still vigorously working on setting up the site before working on content.  Once I am remotely happy with the basic set up I will elaborate more on each item mentioned below.

    BLOG BUILDER: Wordpress.org

    HOSTING

    GOOGLE ANALYTICS

    • Analytics
    • Google Tag Manager
    • Adsense
    • Advanced Adds
    • Adwords Dashboard

    SIGNED UP TO:

    • Gravatar

    CREATE A MAILING LIST

    • MailChimp
    • or Constant Contact and MailMunch
    • Form 7 Contact Form:  Create Contact Form if you’re free WP template does not have one.

    PLUG-INS

    • Yoast – SEO optimization
    • Social Warfare – Smart sharing on social media
    • Opensharecount
    • Wordfence (security)
    • Smoosh (media compression)

    SOCIAL MEDIA

    I’ve created the following social media profiles, but the most rewarding to date is Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Youtube and Facebook, in that order. My personal favourite at the moment is Twitter by far.

    • Youtube
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Google Plus
    • Stumble
    • Tumblr
    • Instagram

    AMAZON Affiliation

    Amazon affiliation did not work so well for me in the first year. My account got suspended due to inactivity and I stopped linking to Amazon affiliate adds, but I’ll give a go again soon and hopefully, have more success.

    • amazon.com
    • EasyAzon
    • Payoneer (to receive international payments)

    Publisher / Advertising Sign Ups

    These advertising affiliations can provide an income in some form or other.

    • Awin
    • VigLink
    • CJ publishers
    • Mediavine (not able to join unless you have more than 25k traffic p/m)
    • Shareasale

    OTHER RESOURCES

    Artwork

    • CANVA
    • Be Funky Photo editor
    • Compressjpeg.com

    Back Up

    • One Drive
    • iCloud (photos)
    • Dropbox
    • Google drive
    • Amazon Prime (paid)

    Help with Grammar and Writing

    • Grammarly. A paid membership and a lifesaver for me because English is not my first language.   I cannot write without it!

    Cashback Accounts and Loyalty programs

    • Top Cashback UK
    • Airlines & loyalty programs
    • Management account created to keep track of all points accumulated.

    WISHLIST

    • LONGTAIL PRO
    • Studiopress Site

    Please share your blog blueprint tips or any blogging advice you may have for us by commenting below. Why do you blog?

    Why Blog?
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