1. Install and Use Windows Live Writer

I can’t even begin to describe how useful Windows Live Writer has been in speeding up my blogging. Since its just a desktop app, Live Writer loads up a bit quicker than Wordpress does, but also has a bunch of really useful addons to speed things up even more.

First off be sure to use the Text Template add-on. This allows you to have a few different pre-formatted blog posts ready to go whenever you need them. Really helpful if your posts tend to have similar formats.

Also if you add pictures frequently, then the SnagIt add-on is an essential. With just a few clicks, Live Writer will add any image to the post and take care of uploading it for you. This has been HUGE for me on one of my other site because it means no more clunky Wordpress image uploads.

2. Set Aside Dedicated Writing Time
I’ve found it incredibly helpful to do all of my week’s writing all at once (for me usually on Mondays). By having a set aside time I can just start typing, spend a few hours grinding out a bunch of articles and be done for the week. For me this is BIG, because once all of the blog posts are setup then I can shift my focus to promoting the blog instead.

3. Make a Calendar and Stick to It
Going along with setting aside writing time, by having a planned out calendar of topics to write about you can save bundles of time and write blog posts a lot quicker. Take some time now to brainstorm a bunch of topics to write about over the coming weeks/months and get it down on paper. Then during your dedicated writing time you can pound those posts out quickly.

If you don’t know Tim Ferriss, he’s the real deal. Super successful and full of a lot of interesting ideas on blogging and life in general. The video is a bit long but well worth a watch. Titled “How to Blog and Not Kill Yourself”

1. Use a commonly available Wordpress plugin such as SEO Title Tag or All In One SEO Pack. Both give you full control of your Wordpress titles and allow you to SEO optimize them as you see fit.
2. A lazy man’s approach is to update your header.php file and replace the with following:
   <title><?php wp_title(””); ?><?php if(wp_title(””, false)) { echo ‘ :: ‘; } ?><?php bloginfo(‘name’); if(is_home()) { echo ‘ :: ‘; bloginfo(‘description’); } ?></title>

   Doing this puts “Blog Name :: Description” on the hompage and “Title :: Blog Name” on all other pages which for me is close enough to perfect and then I don’t need to worry about setting up any plugins and keeping the plugin updated.

Any other tips on SEO optimized titles? Share them below…

Blogs from the onset, were created as a tool for communication. They allow people (like you and I) to speak their mind and in turn the entire world has access to their thoughts, although for most bloggers very few ever read what they write. But blogs aren’t just about one person talking, blogs are more of a discussion as evidenced by the ability to leave comments on your and other people’s blogs.

So if you’re looking to increase the amount of discussion taking place on your blog (and thus increase traffic to your blog) then first take your thoughts to where the people are. Go find other blogs about similar topics to your own and participate in discussions on those blogs. Don’t just go to post a comment and hope someone clicks back to your blog, be genuine, thoughtful and courteous. If you add to the discussion happening on another blog then it is much more likely that someone would clickthrough to come read more about what you have to say.

Running a blog is about having your voice heard, in order to do that, first let your voice be heard where the people already are, if they like what you have to say, then they’ll come.

Write articles.

Articles are an outstanding way to begin the process of building one way links. Here’s how they work:

First, you write an article about something. The article should be at least 300 words and should somehow be related to the topic of your blog. So, if you’re writing a blog and you focus primarily on new automobiles then you might write an article on features on the latest new hybrid vehicle. Ok simple enough so far…

After you have written the article you are allowed to attach an About the Author section in which you can post a link back to your blog. In the About the Author section write something like, “For more information on hybrid vehicles and other new vehicles visit http://www.MyReallyGreatCarBlog.com.”

Then you just submit your article and the About the Author section to a few different article websites (I’ll provide a short list below). These articles sites in turn allow other website owners to download your article and post it as content onto their website. The only rule is that anyone that posts your article must include the About the Author section which has your link in it. For every person that posts your article on their site you will be getting a one-way link in return.

Give it a try and post a few articles on some article sites. Let me know how it works and also post a comment if you know of any other good article sites.

Article Sites:

• GoArticles
• Article Pile
• Articles Factory
• Article City

Free Blog Directories

www.technorati.com
www.blogdigger.com
www.weblogalot.com
www.blogshares.com
www.blogrolling.com
www.blogstreet.com
www.blo.gs
www.newhome.weblogs.com
www.bloglines.com
www.blogdex.net
www.bloghub.com
www.blogcatalog.com
www.blogarama.com
dir.blogflux.com
www.blogrankings.com
www.blogexplosion.com
www.synblog.com
www.britblog.com
www.blogdirs.com
www.blogsweet.com
www.findingblog.com
www.blogmad.net
www.bloggernow.com
www.blog-search.com
www.blogwise.com

Resources for Submitting to Free Directories

• DMOZ (if you submit to just one directory, this is the one)
• Excellent List of Free Directories
• A listing of some niche directories

To make submitting to directories easier check out RoboForm, an automated form filler so that you can enter your blog’s info once and have RoboForm fill the same info in for every directory.

Over the coming weeks The Blogging Fool will be highlighting various methods for creating links to your blog and also further detail the reasons for doing so.

ColorBlender has a slidebar for Red/Green/Blue and as you slide each bar the site automatically calculates a 6 color blended color palette for you. Even better yet once you’ve found a combination that you like you can export it to Photoshop, Illustrator or email it to yourself or someone else.