BLOG IDEAS by owenwbrown

While I certainly do other kinds of freelance writing too, blogging does make up a big part of my daily routine. That’s why I like to stay on top of tips and tricks to make my blogging better and more efficient. And it is with that mindset that we begin the weekly speedlink.

You might already be using IFTTT (If This, Then That), a simple web service to automate certain tasks. Charnita Fance shares 9 useful IFTTT recipes that could be particularly helpful for bloggers. For instance, you can use WordPress to Twitter, RSS to Pocket, or Tumblr to Dropbox. Why do things manually when they can happen automatically?

Blogging isn’t just about the written word anymore. People like visuals, but those visuals have to be good. Derek Singleton offers some tips on creating web video. Having a good camera helps, but don’t forget about sound quality. People have to hear what you’re saying too. And just like good photography, good lighting makes all the difference.

Some folks blog for fun, but some of us do it for work and that’s why the blog needs to be treated like a business. Rob Berger describes how you can track your business finances like a ninja using such tools as Dropbox, Freshbooks, and Outright. If there’s one thing you can learn from Dragons Den, it’s that you should know your numbers… and it’s impossible to do that when you just have a shoebox full of receipts.

I use the default WordPress commenting system here, but some bigger sites might turn to alternatives like Disqus. Saif covers another popular alternative in a recent post, listing some of the pros and cons of the Facebook commenting system for your blog. The automatic login is useful and you could get increased traffic, but it does make you dependent on Facebook and it could increase your page load times. What if someone doesn’t have a Facebook account?

And finally, we have Tyler Ingram. He’s still traveling through Asia, most recently trying out real Vietnamese pho in Vietnam. The first time he ever ate the noodle soup was at a Dot Com Pho, so it’s really great that he’s getting the real authentic experience too. I’d love to have pho in Vietnam. It’s fresher, it’s tastier, and it’s a heck of a lot cheaper too!