FourTen Creative Blog

One of the best features of WordPress which comes from it’s origins as blogging software is the ease of RSS feed creation and management. The real advantage to these feeds is that it unlocks your content from a static webpage into a content stream to be distributed in any number of ways. Below, you will find 7 tips to get more from your WordPress feeds.

For an introduction to the wordpress feed features, visit the Codex.

1. Ping It

There are many ‘updating services’ out there which can serve as opportunities for new site traffic if your blog posts are found to be interesting. By setting update services under Settings/Writing, WordPress will automatically ping these services every time you write a new post.

2. Tweet It

Not a prolific tweeter? Any WordPress website can populate a Twitter account by choosing the right tools. You can use a plugin like Twitter Tools to update your twitter status or utilize one of the many RSS to Twitter utilities out there like Twitterfeed.com.

3. Customize It

Have a blog category that you don’t want in your site feed? You can use edit the feed details and use WordPress’s  controls for exlcuding categories (http://yourdomain.com/feed?cat=-2) by identifying category id’s to leave out. You can choose to declare this customized feed in your header or move to our next step and burn this customized feed. (Or, remember, you can grab a feed for any single category by calling up http://yourdomain.com/categoryname/feed.)

4. Burn It

Many options become available to you by using Feedburner from Google. This feature-rich service makes it easier to all of the following and let someone else worry about the software. This is preferable because it doesn’t require your to run plugins on WordPress for advanced feed functionality.

5. Track It

Why not keep up to date on who is reading your blog without actually visiting it? Feedburner makes it easy to track subscribers to your feed. You can log into Feedburner to see your stats or I use a plugin to add it to my dashboard.

6. Email It

Enable email subscriptions through Feedburner and then use the link provided to allow your site visitors to receive email updates when you post a new blog article. This is a great alternative for those who haven’t quite grasped RSS and feed-readers. And what’s best about this is that you can track email addresses and even export a csv of subscribers from Feedburner to harvest those contacts.

7. Monetize It

If you’re able to build a loyal readership and strong feed subscriptions, it makes sense to monetize the feed in the same way you would monetize your blog, with Google AdSense. Feedburner also makes it easy to integrate AdSense into your burned feeds. You can also utilize a premium plugin like WishListMember or WP-Member to manage your feeds and site on a membership level (pay for content).

Need help getting a handle on your content distribution? Get in touch!

Many website projects I encounter put the cart before the proverbial horse by starting with a list of features and functionality but very little content. Content creation can be the hardest thing for business owners or leaders of non-profits because they are bogged down in the daily operations of their organization. Before you start a website, brochure or marketing project, it is wise to be clear on what your organization is all about. The goal of this article is to give you a checklist of items to have nailed down (on paper!) before creating content for your project.

In all of these items, clarity and consistency are key.

#1 Organization name - As obvious as this sounds, some organizations haven’t nailed down how they want to be referred to when it comes to a name. Does your name state what you do? Does it beg an explanation? Is it too long and convoluted? Are you better served by using an acronym? Does your usage of acronyms create more confusion? Make sure everyone on your team uses the same name in conversation and writing whenever possible and practical.

#2 Vision statement - What do you hope to accomplish through this business, church, sports team, etc.? This can be a lofty goal which serves to provide direction to your members internally and inspire or attract others externally.

#3 Mission statement - What is your organization going to do? Some confuse the mission and vision of an organization due to an overemphasis either vision or operations. The key difference is that the mission should contain a statement regarding how you will go about accomplishing the goals in the vision statement.

#4 Core values – The above items generally come about after reflection upon the core values, competencies or offerings of an organization. What you identify here may relate to a service you offer, a product you sell or an intrinsic value you hope to pass on through your organization’s operations. It is helpful to distill three or four values out of the breadth of your operations. Once you establish these values, they serve to inform both the vision and mission statements (so you might start here!).

#5 Motto – Last and definitely not least on this list is the organization’s motto or slogan. Whereas the above materials (items 2-4) may only be used internally, the motto will likely appear right after your organization name in all public communications and marketing materials. Some rules for the motto: Keep it short, it should clarify your name, it should describe your services, it should provoke a response, and it should be consistent with the items above.

Consistency and clarity are most important in forming all of these pieces that serve to identify your organization. I emphasize this because before you engage in marketing, you should have a solid identity. Otherwise things get turned around and it is tempting to let a good name, motto, logo, or gimmick lead your operations. When that happens, your brand and your organizational identity are likely to be compromised or damaged.

After successfully documenting the above items, it should be easier to engage in any web design projects, logo design, advertising or building of the organization through public communication.

If you need help with any of the above items, feel free to get in touch!