Something Different: A Blogging Tutorial, Dreamhost Promo Codes, and More!
So, I get a fair number of questions via e-mail about how I run this site1, how do I make it look the way it does, etc, etc. I decided to spend a little bit of a time and give people that may want to get a weblog up and running on their own domain a glimpse "behind the veil."
Hosting? What's that?
If you're currently blogging and want to have your own domain like I do, I recommend actually ponying up for hosting instead of using a domain name that redirects to a WordPress, TypePad, or Blogspot-hosted site. This gives you control over many aspects of your site, including offering a broader variety of services and creating your own directories for scans, regularly used images, etc.
I use Dreamhost for all of my hosting and they do a great job. Because you read this blog, I'm going to go ahead and give you a special Dreamhost Promo Code that saves you $50 on all of their plans. Since hosting plans come in different flavors depending on projected needs, I created a blanket Dreamhost promo code that allows everyone to get the same discount of $50. To sign up for service and get the discount, visit Dreamhost's web site and sign up using the promo code of BEAUCOUPKEVIN. No, that's not very clever, but just use it. Yes, I'll get a little kickback - you don't mind, do you? Tell your friends how awesome I am, set up some kind of club around my Dreamhost promo codes!
Which blogging software should I use?
Maybe it's because I've been using Blogger for over five years now, but I've been pretty darn happy with the service, even with the outages related to the rollover. You have to have a lot more knowledge about CSS and HTML to create a unique-looking site with Blogger than you do with its nearest competitor, Wordpress, but I've been more than happy with the results. I think that's most likely because I'm a bit of a tinkerer and like the work behind the scenes despite grousing when I have to do it. Blogger allows you to publish directly to any site through FTP without any hassles at all.
That said, I just used the Wordpress software built into my Dreamhost account to create the page that The Rack is hosted on and, really, it took maybe an evening of "real work" to get that site up and running. Wordpress offers a large number of built-in templates that are easy enough to customize thanks to the theme editor that divides sections of your template up neatly and keeps you from having to go through a plethora of unrelated lines of code before changing, say, the background color on your page.
I'm contemplating converting BeaucoupKevin.com to Wordpress in the near future, but only after I'm sure I can completely transfer my old entries over to the new site. The last time I played with it, it went poorly.
Before you get serious about any of this, I recommend that you spend some time with the basics. That means, yes, a Dummies book or two. Change little things first on a basic template and follow how those changes affect the rest of your document. While both Blogger and Wordpress offer built-in editors, spending a little time with the basics of HTML so you know how to do things like horizontal rules, blockquotes, etc without having to click around and try to find where the software hides these things.
Yes, there are other software packages out there, but I've got no experience with them. I do not recommend LiveJournal for a "proper" blog due to the closed nature of the system - it's designed for other LiveJournal users more than for the readers at large.
What do I do for content?
For years, I've kept the simple mantra: "content is king" in my head thanks to the various jobs I've had in the worlds of marketing and search engine optimization.
A warning: this is probably going to be longwinded. Now, I'm going to go ahead and assume you've got this "can string together words in an interesting manner" thing down pat. I'll also presume that you know some basic punctuation and grammar. If either of these criteria elude you, you should probably just walk away now, go back to whatever messageboard you inhabit, and enjoy a life of cold rejection from your preferred conjugal gender. Seriously, making it as easy as possible for someone to understand what you're saying is the first third of the battle towards getting readers.
The second third would be putting things out on a regular basis. Not everyone can post to their blog every day - I barely manage to, and that's mostly because I write in advance when I can. That's why there's posts rolled out during the day when I am doing my job: I prewrite and launch them at preset times by logging in and clicking Publish. WordPress actually lets you do this without ever touching your software again - publish a post in the future and walk away, safe in the knowledge that on July 3, 2032, a post is going to appear on your website. This is also why I have regular features, like Kirby Saturday, Pre-Reviews and the now-less-frequent Genius Covers Sunday - they give me an impetus to have something out there for readers. I do not recommend creating a schedule for your whole week because you are going to fall behind and that will create a causal loop of frustration, tears, and possible bloodshed.
The final third is really really simple: be interesting. Write about what interests you in a lively way. There are some blogs out there that do the most boring things imaginable, like page-by-page summaries of the latest superhero pamphlets, followed by long-winded reviews that say nothing new. Don't be like those guys - give the reader a reason to care or respond. Now, that may sound hypocritical coming from someone who's fond of posting ads, but the response on those is generally pretty good. I think that's because, hey, we're all burned out on Hostess and seeing any kind of comics-related material from before our lifetimes is always worth a moment. Hell, sometimes the much-vaunted Chris Sims just posts seemingly-random panels, but these can be downright fantastic as pieces of lowbrow pop-art. Give your readers something they can't get every week at their shop and you'll probably get a response. Maybe not immediately, but keep plugging at it and eventually, there's going to be a reward.
Also, what should be obvious here is have a personality of your own. Dave Campbell's funny and without any pretense while Dorian Wright is intelligent and slightly bitter, like a fine coffee. Be consistent with yourself when writing and make it easy for readers to identify you without even looking at the top of the page.
Hey, How Do I Get Readers In The First Place?
Ah, this one eludes many of us. My advice is to be active and comment on posts that you think are great. No, you shouldn't fucking comment spam. You should be smart, show you've got a quarter of a brain, and make sure that you include a link to your homepage.
You can also make sure that you're on the brand-new iteration of the Comics Weblog Updates page. This, combined with making it as easy as possible for readers to get an RSS feed of your site - I used Feedburner to create my new one, which is better-formatted than the Atom feed Blogger offers - will make sure that people know when you update. I include links to the various sites like Digg, Del.icio.us, and the like at the bottom of every post to help readers do some of the "selling" for me - making it easy for people to link makes it easy for people to get you new readers.
So, those are some basic ideas. Do you have any questions or suggestions of your own? If this gets any sort of positive response, I may do another long entry about comics scans and making sure you get the best out of what you have, easily. I've seen some nasty-looking images out there and that has to end.
1Seriously, like two to three a week, which is sort of flattering.
Hosting? What's that?
If you're currently blogging and want to have your own domain like I do, I recommend actually ponying up for hosting instead of using a domain name that redirects to a WordPress, TypePad, or Blogspot-hosted site. This gives you control over many aspects of your site, including offering a broader variety of services and creating your own directories for scans, regularly used images, etc.
I use Dreamhost for all of my hosting and they do a great job. Because you read this blog, I'm going to go ahead and give you a special Dreamhost Promo Code that saves you $50 on all of their plans. Since hosting plans come in different flavors depending on projected needs, I created a blanket Dreamhost promo code that allows everyone to get the same discount of $50. To sign up for service and get the discount, visit Dreamhost's web site and sign up using the promo code of BEAUCOUPKEVIN. No, that's not very clever, but just use it. Yes, I'll get a little kickback - you don't mind, do you? Tell your friends how awesome I am, set up some kind of club around my Dreamhost promo codes!
Which blogging software should I use?
Maybe it's because I've been using Blogger for over five years now, but I've been pretty darn happy with the service, even with the outages related to the rollover. You have to have a lot more knowledge about CSS and HTML to create a unique-looking site with Blogger than you do with its nearest competitor, Wordpress, but I've been more than happy with the results. I think that's most likely because I'm a bit of a tinkerer and like the work behind the scenes despite grousing when I have to do it. Blogger allows you to publish directly to any site through FTP without any hassles at all.
That said, I just used the Wordpress software built into my Dreamhost account to create the page that The Rack is hosted on and, really, it took maybe an evening of "real work" to get that site up and running. Wordpress offers a large number of built-in templates that are easy enough to customize thanks to the theme editor that divides sections of your template up neatly and keeps you from having to go through a plethora of unrelated lines of code before changing, say, the background color on your page.
I'm contemplating converting BeaucoupKevin.com to Wordpress in the near future, but only after I'm sure I can completely transfer my old entries over to the new site. The last time I played with it, it went poorly.
Before you get serious about any of this, I recommend that you spend some time with the basics. That means, yes, a Dummies book or two. Change little things first on a basic template and follow how those changes affect the rest of your document. While both Blogger and Wordpress offer built-in editors, spending a little time with the basics of HTML so you know how to do things like horizontal rules, blockquotes, etc without having to click around and try to find where the software hides these things.
Yes, there are other software packages out there, but I've got no experience with them. I do not recommend LiveJournal for a "proper" blog due to the closed nature of the system - it's designed for other LiveJournal users more than for the readers at large.
What do I do for content?
For years, I've kept the simple mantra: "content is king" in my head thanks to the various jobs I've had in the worlds of marketing and search engine optimization.
A warning: this is probably going to be longwinded. Now, I'm going to go ahead and assume you've got this "can string together words in an interesting manner" thing down pat. I'll also presume that you know some basic punctuation and grammar. If either of these criteria elude you, you should probably just walk away now, go back to whatever messageboard you inhabit, and enjoy a life of cold rejection from your preferred conjugal gender. Seriously, making it as easy as possible for someone to understand what you're saying is the first third of the battle towards getting readers.
The second third would be putting things out on a regular basis. Not everyone can post to their blog every day - I barely manage to, and that's mostly because I write in advance when I can. That's why there's posts rolled out during the day when I am doing my job: I prewrite and launch them at preset times by logging in and clicking Publish. WordPress actually lets you do this without ever touching your software again - publish a post in the future and walk away, safe in the knowledge that on July 3, 2032, a post is going to appear on your website. This is also why I have regular features, like Kirby Saturday, Pre-Reviews and the now-less-frequent Genius Covers Sunday - they give me an impetus to have something out there for readers. I do not recommend creating a schedule for your whole week because you are going to fall behind and that will create a causal loop of frustration, tears, and possible bloodshed.
The final third is really really simple: be interesting. Write about what interests you in a lively way. There are some blogs out there that do the most boring things imaginable, like page-by-page summaries of the latest superhero pamphlets, followed by long-winded reviews that say nothing new. Don't be like those guys - give the reader a reason to care or respond. Now, that may sound hypocritical coming from someone who's fond of posting ads, but the response on those is generally pretty good. I think that's because, hey, we're all burned out on Hostess and seeing any kind of comics-related material from before our lifetimes is always worth a moment. Hell, sometimes the much-vaunted Chris Sims just posts seemingly-random panels, but these can be downright fantastic as pieces of lowbrow pop-art. Give your readers something they can't get every week at their shop and you'll probably get a response. Maybe not immediately, but keep plugging at it and eventually, there's going to be a reward.
Also, what should be obvious here is have a personality of your own. Dave Campbell's funny and without any pretense while Dorian Wright is intelligent and slightly bitter, like a fine coffee. Be consistent with yourself when writing and make it easy for readers to identify you without even looking at the top of the page.
Hey, How Do I Get Readers In The First Place?
Ah, this one eludes many of us. My advice is to be active and comment on posts that you think are great. No, you shouldn't fucking comment spam. You should be smart, show you've got a quarter of a brain, and make sure that you include a link to your homepage.
You can also make sure that you're on the brand-new iteration of the Comics Weblog Updates page. This, combined with making it as easy as possible for readers to get an RSS feed of your site - I used Feedburner to create my new one, which is better-formatted than the Atom feed Blogger offers - will make sure that people know when you update. I include links to the various sites like Digg, Del.icio.us, and the like at the bottom of every post to help readers do some of the "selling" for me - making it easy for people to link makes it easy for people to get you new readers.
So, those are some basic ideas. Do you have any questions or suggestions of your own? If this gets any sort of positive response, I may do another long entry about comics scans and making sure you get the best out of what you have, easily. I've seen some nasty-looking images out there and that has to end.
1Seriously, like two to three a week, which is sort of flattering.
