How can we improve this guide?

We know that can't cover everything we need to in this simple guide, so we're looking for feedback on how we can improve it!  If you're new to TypePad, are there things that you were expecting to see hear?  Are there things we can add to the guide to make it better?  If you know TypePad well, are there things that you think a new user should know to get the most out of the product?  And, more broadly, what could we do to make the experience for a new user better and more productive?

Thanks!

Track your success

Typepadstats2 Once you're up and running, you're going to want to know just how many people your blog is reaching, and what they think about it.  TypePad has built in statistics functionality, where you can view aggregate page views for each of your blogs and photo albums, as well as recent referring URLs.

But many of our users go beyond these simple statistics and use third party statistics tracking applications to learn more about their audience and where they're going. 

  • Sitemeter is a free service that's built a TypePad Widget to make it easy to get their tracking code on to your blog.
  • MyBlogLog is another free service that tracks where your visitors are coming from, and what links they're clicking on when they leave your site.  They've also built a TypePad Widget to make it easy to integrate into your blog.
  • Google Analytics has recently made their tracking service freely available, and you can simply copy and paste their tracking code into a Notes TypeList to use their tools with your TypePad blog.

Feedburnerstats In addition to those site tracking tools, if you "burn" your RSS feed through FeedBurner, you can track information about who's reading your site through their feed reader.  FeedBurner's stats include information about how many readers are getting your feed, clickthrough statistics and even which feed readers are the most popular.  Connecting your TypePad feed to FeedBurner is as simple as point-and-click.

Finally, there's no better way to get direct feedback about how your blog is serving your readers than by asking them.  Vizu makes it easy to put a poll on the sidebar of your blog, which you can use to take the temperature of your readers on any number of topics.  And don't forget the simple comment:  sometimes a simple post asking for feedback about how you can make your blog better is all you need.

More info:


And finally:  How can we make this guide better?

Get rich with audio and video

Podcasts and vlogs (video blogs) seem to be the hottest thing since sliced (and toasted) bread.  Being an amateur (or even semi-professional) video or radio star is easier than ever, and TypePad's the perfect place to bring your rich content to your readers.

TypePad is a great tool for hosting your podcast.  Anytime you upload an MP3 or other audio file into a post, we automatically detect it, and create the right magical incantations in your RSS 2.0 feed.  And with a simple checkbox you can add a "Subscribe to my Podcast" link to the sidebar of your blog.

TypePad also works well with online podcast creation and syndication tools like Odeo.  If you host your podcast on TypePad, you can list it in Odeo's directory.  And if you create your podcast using Odeo Studio, you can promote it on your TypePad blog, and even copy and paste their Flash-based podcast player into your blog posts.  Evoca, another great tool for podcasting, even has a TypePad Widget that lets your readers send you voice comments on your posts.

Adding video to your posts is just as easy as audio.  Since TypePad allows you to embed video directly in your posts, it's easy to copy and paste code from iFilm, YouTube, Google Video, Revver or any of the other popular online video sites.  Google Video even includes a "post to TypePad" link, which streamlines the sharing.

More info...


Next: Track your success

PS:  Because we can't get enough of the Diet Coke / Mentos thing...

Spice it up with some photos

PhotouploadA common misconception is that you have to be a great writer to have a great blog.  Remember that a picture says a thousand words!  With TypePad's integrated photo management, you can let your photos do the talking.

When you're posting to your blog, you can upload and insert a photo into your entry with just a few clicks.  Let TypePad do the hard stuff -- it will automatically resize and create thumbnails for you, and let you wrap your entry's text around the post to give your blog that professional look.

Photoalbumscreenshot Have more than a few photos to show off?  TypePad has easy-to-use photo album tools, as well as "Mixed Media" blog templates specifically designed to help you show off your multi-megapixel creations.  And with post-by-email capabilities and TypePad Mobile, you can skip the "memory card shuffle" altogether by sending pictures to your blog directly from your cameraphone.  We've also built a bulk photo uploader for Windows XP that makes building photo albums a snap.

But like the best blogs, TypePad isn't an island.  If you use Flickr, PhotoBucket, Webshots or another photo sharing service, you can show off those photos on your TypePad blog.  Many TypePad users show off their Flickr photos with a badge, or by using their "post to blog" feature.

Learn more...


Next:  Get rich with audio and video

Post early, post often

Postscreen We're frequently asked by new bloggers how they can build their audience, and our answer is always the same:  post frequently!  The number one way to grow your readers is to provide frequent updates.  Blogging has an inertia to it -- the more you blog, the more you find occasions and reasons to blog.  And when you're posting frequently, your readers have more opportunities to respond, and new readers have more opportunities to find your blog through search engines or links.

We understand that there are as many styles of blogging as there are bloggers; we've designed TypePad so that it's easy for you to get your content online in the way that works for you.

Googletoolbar Of course, you can use the WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor inside TypePad.com.  If you're more of an "offline writer," you can use one of the dozens of blog posting applications that are available for Windows or Mac.  (We enjoy using Qumana and the Microsoft Word 2007 Blogging Tool on Windows and Ecto on the Mac.)  Do you write short posts that comment on other people's posts or news articles?  Then you should try TypePad's QuickPost bookmarklet, which gives you one click access to TypePad's posting screen.  We've even built a version of QuickPost for the Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer.

Palmthumb Find yourself away from your computer and want to keep your readers up to date?  With TypePad's "post by email" functionality you can send text and photos to your blog from any email account -- including the one on your mobile phone.  And if you have a Treo, a Windows Mobile smartphone or a Symbian Series 60 smartphone you can download TypePad Mobile, an application that makes it easy to post photos to your blogs and photo albums directly from your phone.

Learn more...


Next:  Spice it up with some photos

Let the world know about your blog

Publicitysettings Once you're ready, it's time to let the world know your blog exists.  TypePad makes it easy to get your blog noticed.  Just visit your blog's "Publicity" settings in the Configure tab, and you can have TypePad list your blog in our "Recently Updated" list, and have your posts automatically distributed to Google Blog Search, Technorati and other search engines through the Six Apart Update Stream.  You can also choose to have TypePad notify the weblog update services blo.gs and weblogs.com every time you create a new post.

Technorati, one of the most popular blog search engines, has an innovative "tag search" feature which their users take advantage of to find new posts on particular topics.  And with TypePad you can easily add "Technorati Tags" to your posts.

Many users have found FeedBurner's services vital in their efforts to distribute their blog via RSS to a wide variety of users.  TypePad has built-in support for "burning" your feed through FeedBurner, which gives you access to their tools for publicizing your feed, distributing updates to readers via email, and learning more about how many people are reading your feed on a daily basis.

More info...


Next:  Post early, post often

Set your feedback preferences

Commentscreenmgmt Blogs are great ways to hold conversations with your readers -- whether they share your passion, are customers or are just passing by.  TypePad gives you powerful tools to manage the discussion on your blog.  You can choose to have comments appear on your blog as they're posted, or hold them for your approval.  You can require an email address from commenters; and if you want an even greater level of control, you can require them to sign in through our TypeKey authentication service.  TypePad will even send you a notification email when you've received a new comment or TrackBack, so that you can stay up on the conversation.  And if you don't want feedback on your blog -- no problem.  You can disable it at any time. 

If you're new to blogging, you may want to look at some of your favorite blogs manage their community and take the lead from them. 

Learn more...


Next:  Let the world know about your blog

If you need one, write a blog policy

Not everyone needs a "blogging policy," but if your business has several blogs, or several authors contributing to one blog, you might want to draft even a simple blogging policy. Here are some things you may want to consider including in your policy...

  • What's appropriate content for your blog?
  • What kind of tone should your blog have?  Professional?  Friendly?  Professionally friendly?
  • What's your feedback policy?  Will you accept comments?  TrackBacks?  What about moderation?  Under what circumstances will you delete comments?
  • Will your RSS feed publish full posts or just excerpts?

Once you have that policy, make sure that everyone that's writing for your blog understands it.  And don't be afraid to change -- the best policies will evolve to fit the goals of the organization, the needs of your readers, and even the personalities of your bloggers. 

Learn more...


Next:  Set your feedback preferences

Point your own domain to your blog

While many of our customers stick with their typepad.com domain, we also support a more personal approach to blog domains.  Using TypePad's domain mapping feature, you can point your personal domain to your TypePad blog, and we'll make everything work -- every address on your blog will be yours. 

Many of our customers who already have a site at an address like www.mygreatbusiness.com choose to point a subdomain to their TypePad blog, like blog.mygreatbusiness.com.  And with TypePad's design features, you can easily make one look like the other.

Learn more...


Next:  Draft a simple blogging policy

Customize your design

One of our standard designsYour blog's design should reflect who you are -- whether you're an individual blogging about your passion, a professional blogging about your field of interest, or a business (large or small) blogging about the latest and greatest news from HQ.

TypePad makes it easy to customize the look and feel of your blog.  You can pick from one of our professionally designed themes, use our WYSIWYG theme builder to customize your look by pointing and clicking, or, if you're so inclined, use our Advanced Templates feature to get creative and have full control over the look and feel of your blog.

An easy way to get a custom look without a lot of work is to upload your own header image.  Many of our customers use this feature to have their blog look just like their eCommerce website or their offline marketing materials.

Looking to add some bling to your blog?  TypePad Widgets make it easy to add tools for you and your readers to the sidebar of your blog.  With over 60 widgets to choose from, you can add search boxes, photo listings, video clips, link lists, polls, calendars and more to your blog.

Customizing your designFinally, many TypePad users who want the best of both worlds (WYSIWYG design and a tweaker-level style of control) take advantage of TypePad's Custom CSS feature, allows you to extend (and improve!) the style of your blog using Cascading Style Sheets. 

Learn more...


Next:  Point your own domain to your blog

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Have ideas for how we could make this guide better? Are we missing that one key thing that every new TypePad blogger should know about? Leave us a comment!
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