I GROANED when I read the title of today’s assignment.

The good news is: I WAS ALREADY following some of Blogging University’s advice.

SHARING

I have Sharing Buttons at the bottom of each post. In WordPress, you go to “My Sites,” then “Sharing”. Located at the bottom is “Sharing Buttons.” There are four different options. I changed mine to “icons only” from the “official” option. And, I changed my “sharing” prompt. “SHARING is sew sewcial” I hope it worked.

FOCUSING

Blogging University recommends focusing my energy on one social network.

I’ve discovered that quilt bloggers are using Instagram as much as they use Facebook.

My Pinterest page connects to my blog, but my blog doesn’t post to Pinterest automatically like it does to Facebook and Google through WordPress’ Publicize option.  The same is true for Instagram.

I haven’t settled on which network to focus on.

PUBLICIZE

I use Publicize for Google, Facebook and LinkedIn. I learned I can control the message that is shared with these sites. I can be a tease for the first time ever.

SIDEBARS

Do you see the tears dripping from these lovely icons? During the New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop, I learned how to add buttons to my sidebar. And, I shed a few tears getting them to work. I got these buttons from Carrie Loves. I wanted different colors to coordinate with my blog logo. That made me cry tears of joy.

INVOLVEMENT

Networking requires taking the next step: sharing other bloggers’ posts or links I find interesting. I can also share “status updates” about an ongoing project. I can ask my readers to help me. I can build personal connections with readers.

Asking a question is also one way to engage with readers.

WHAT ONE SOCIAL NETWORK SHOULD GET MY UNDIVIDED ATTENTION?

Thanks,

Wanda

THE BEST of Wanda’s Life Sampler is on tap for today’s course homework.

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Blogging University professor Krista advises:

Why do this?

• Because a go-to page compiling your best posts is the simplest way to get readers to your content — you never know which post pique someone’s interest, so make the good ones easy to find.
• Because while your About page does a great job introducing you, a curated selection of posts further illustrates your perspectives.

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WAYS I CAN DO THIS

1. Refer to past posts in the current post.
2. Use widgets such as Top Posts, Archives and Categories.
3. Use Related Posts feature at the end of the current post.
4. Then, there’s a “Best of” page which can be added to the main menu and to the About page.

I have a “Quilt Gallery” and a “Tips & Tutorials” page, but I include every associated post on those pages.

For my homework, I’ve added a page called, “Quilt Porn,” as my best of section. It’s the really hot stuff on my blog.

Giving you free quilt porn,

Wanda

WHAT do they want? Today I’m looking at my stats and making an editorial calendar.

My stats are found under “My Site,” “My Stats”. They can be organized by days, weeks, months, and years.  By clicking on the date I can see what I published on that date. In the last month, the most popular period was the week of June 30, 2015 when I published “Template Tips.” The previous week was also popular when I published “New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop.”

The most viewed post is “Yoga Sling Tutorial,” other than my home page.

The most popular search term, which leads to views, is “hexagon applique quilt.” I have a tutorial on that.

The most popular day of the week for views is Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. I’ve been posting Tips or Tutorials on Tuesdays to link up with The Late Night Quilter. That explains the Tuesday love. These stats tell me I need to continue with the how-to posts.

For the month of August:

• I plan to participate in Tuesday Tips and Tutorials.
• I’m going to figure out what weekly feature I want pursue.
• I’m also going to create a block for the Fabri-Quilt New Block Blog Hop with a tutorial to post on August 31. The solid colors are Chartreuse, Turquoise, Coral, Aqua, Lapis Blue and White (color palette above created by Quilting Jetgirl.) I hope that process leads to more ideas.

Subject to change,

Wanda