Session 1—Introduction and What’s a Blog, Anyway?

Introduction

I’m excited to join you for this course on blogging for ministry.

This course will introduce basic blogging techniques as part of an effective writing ministry. You will learn to:

set up a self-hosted WordPress blog
choose a niche audience
maintain a blogging schedule
apply creativity to repurposing content
write for search engine optimization (SEO)
set up and grow an email list
learn tips and tools to maximize productivity
utilize Google Analytics
implement an effective social media strategy
and more!

We will also discuss the balance of promotion, monetization, and motive in the context of a blogging ministry.

Required Textbook and WordPress Theme

Hyatt, Michael. Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2012 (288 pp.).
Get Noticed! Theme. (Private link for our class only.) This premium WordPress theme is available at a special discount to you as a student of this course. This highly customizable theme is required so that the class can work on the same page while learning blogging tools, techniques, and strategies.

You’re welcome to contact me here or via Canvas or leave a comment in a post if you think others could benefit from your question. (When you’re ready to leave a comment, sign up for Disqus.)

Homework before next class:

If you haven’t already, register for the class blog. (This is where you’ll see assignments, schedules, and other class stuff.)
Choose your niche, URL, blog title, and tagline/slogan.
If you don’t have an account already, sign up with Evernote. You may also want to go ahead an install the Evernote app for your smartphone and tablet and make an Evernote contact in your address book so you can email ideas using your Evernote email address.
Reading:
- Hyatt, pp. 1-80
- Post: There’s No Present Like the Time
- Post: 4 Insights I Gleaned from Building My Own Platform
- Post: Do You Have the 5 Elements of a Personal Brand?
Subscribe to my blog and Michael Hyatt’s blog.
Create your account on Disqus. (This is what you’ll use to comment on your blog as well as others.) For now, just click “I want to comment on sites. Then leave a comment on this post.