Blogging Basics for Interior Designers

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Posted on: 06-30-2010 by: Gail Doby

Blog Hosting Platforms

Choosing what tool to use for blogging can be a bit overwhelming.  There are several options out there, but I’m going to focus on what’s easy and affordable.  If you have something that works for you there’s really no need to switch, unless you find yourself frustrated with features, complexity or expansion options.

WordPress

This is one of the original blog platforms, and comes in two versions.  At WordPress.org you can go and download the software to run a blog on your own server.  This gives you a lot of flexibility, but may be more than what you need.  If you’re just getting started and want to minimize set up issues and get started as easily as possible, go to www.wordpress.com instead.
(Gail’s note: this is a great place to start, and when you’re ready, I recommend the .org site and be sure to make it integral to your regular website, too.  It helps you with keeping your content fresh so the search engines don’t bury you deep in the pages.  The further you are in the search engines, the less likely you’ll get calls.)
The wordpress.com version handles the hosting of the site for you and setting up an account is free.  You can customize your URL with this for a small fee which is a good idea so you can be found with “XYZInteriorDesignKalamazoo,” for example.  The downside of a .com site is the inability to link to other sites, and you can’t use your site to generate revenue which may not be an issue for you.
After you set up your site you’ll want to add at least two upgrades.  For $29.97 per year your blog will be free of ads.  Wordpress will charge $14.97 per year for a custom domain name.  With this option www.yourdesignform.com will actually direct to your WordPress blog.  This costs $9.97 per year if you’ve already registered a domain name elsewhere.
You’ll find a large collection of themes which could make it easy to personalize your site without hiring a web designer. Their list of widgets for things such as creating RSS feeds, sophisticated comment tools and more, is extensive.  You can use plug-ins with the .com site which adds functionality.
Posterous

This is a newer service and an easy one to get started and use.  Once you set up your account and verify your email, you send your posts to post@posterous.com.  You can attach images and video and they will automatically convert them and display them on your site.

Posterous also includes several tools so updates can automatically be made to Twitter, Facebook, You Tube, Vimeo and other social media sites.  You can also get a custom domain either through them, or make changes through the company you used to register your domain name.  The fee for setting up and renewing your domain each year is $24.99.  The cheaper option would be to get your name through another provider such as GoDaddy, and follow their set-up instructions http://posterous.com/help/custom_domain.

Their list of themes is not as comprehensive as WordPress or TypePad, but their quality is very high, and most are free. You can check out some of their examples at http://themes.posterous.com.
Other Tips
  • Avoid using images and content in Adobe Flash.  It looks great but it can make maintaining your site difficult or expensive, and can’t easily be indexed by search engine crawlers.  Both of these negatively impact search ranking.  Also, this isn’t supported on a few devices, namely Apple’s iPad and iPhone.
  • Browse to other sites in other industries to get a sense of what attracts you the most.  Try looking at the company sites for web designers and think about what you like and don’t like about them.
  • Text and images of your work presented in a clear way and should be your first priority.  Your site is not Facebook and it’s unlikely people will be spending hours there.  Post your contact info and site links clearly.
  • Keep your web site inexpensive and simple.  Either of these options is pretty close to free, and you can start by slightly customizing one of their design themes.  You can always hire someone to create a custom theme and update your site without having to move your content or files, or change your tool.

Seth Godin, a web marketing guru, has said it best: Many websites say, “look at me.” Your goal ought to be to say, “here’s what you were looking for.”

Links

WordPress

www.wordpress.com

Posterous

www.posterous.com

Type Pad

www.typepad.com

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CLICK THE KEYWORDS BELOW TO LEARN MORE:

business interior designs, interior design classes, interior design fee, interior design fees

Polo Valdovinos, apolonio@specifyapp.com, is co-founder of Specify, a provider of online software for specification writing, bidding and purchasing. He is also founder of CentralSense, a software firm providing hospitality procurement software and services. Visit www.specifyapp.com to learn more.

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Gail DobyYou're not alone any more. If you're looking for advice, solutions, strategies and support to help you take your interior design business to the next level, Welcome Home! We're experienced interior designers, and we truly understand the challenges and pitfalls of your chosen profession. We're constantly researching, learning and simplifying the latest information from the overwhelming glut of noise on the Internet to save you time and money. You'll learn practical techniques from innovative marketing experts and consultants that will help you transform your business and your mindset so you can achieve your dreams. We're different than other Interior Design Colleges - we offer interior design classes specifically tailored to your interior design career goals and needs. Let us know how we can help and feel free to email us with any questions and suggestions you might have. |Interior Design Business Success Mentor | Social Media Consultant to the Architecture & Design CommunityView all posts by Gail Doby

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