{"id":4406,"date":"2012-01-18T15:08:15","date_gmt":"2012-01-18T15:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thecornerstone.wpengine.com\/?p=4406"},"modified":"2021-11-16T16:03:34","modified_gmt":"2021-11-16T20:03:34","slug":"blogging-tips-for-teachers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/truthforteachers.com\/blogging-tips-for-teachers\/","title":{"rendered":"Blogging Tips for Teachers"},"content":{"rendered":"

This page shares ideas for educators to use in creating websites with teaching resources. Learn how to set up and design your blog, create strong content, build a following online, and more! These tips are based on my own personal experience with running a website for teachers since July 2003\u2013an entire decade! Lots of things have changed over the years, but the need for valuable teacher resources on the web is as strong as ever.<\/p>\n

\"Blogging<\/p>\n

Setting up your blog<\/h2>\n
\"The<\/a>
The first step to setting your blog apart: always write about something you know and truly care about.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Choose your blogging platform carefully.<\/h3>\n

I would highly recommend that you use a\u00a0self-hosted WordPress site<\/a>\u00a0(also known as WordPress.org.) Blogger is easy to use but far less customizable, plus Blogger users don\u2019t own their blogs\u2013Google does. To have complete creative control over your blog, you\u2019ll want to have your own domain name (URL) and server. I\u2019ve used\u00a0Bravenet<\/a>\u00a0since 2003 for both domain purchasing and web hosting, and found them to be reliable and reasonably priced. The cost of hosting and owning a domain is minimal (around $8 a year for the domain and $8 a month for hosting.)<\/p>\n

Pick a great template.<\/h3>\n

I use\u00a0WordPress Thesis<\/a>, which is a paid theme but totally worth it because it\u2019s so customizable. There\u2019s really no reason to ever need another blog theme. Plus, there is lifetime implementation support via the excellent forums: I\u2019ve posed questions there many times and gotten quick responses. Many elementary teachers like to buy cute teacher-looking templates from graphic designers, and if that\u2019s the way you decide to go, keep in mind that you\u2019ll need exclusive rights to your template (so that someone else doesn\u2019t have your exact blog layout) and a\u00a0readable font (not something that\u2019s so fancy or child-like that it gives people a headache.)<\/p>\n

Choose a niche or focus for your blog.<\/h3>\n

It should be\u00a0something you are passionate about<\/a>. Make it broad enough to apply to a range of educators, but narrow enough so that you\u2019re not just \u201ca teacher blog about teaching.\u201d You\u2019re probably not going to ever rank number one in Google for something like\u00a0teacher resources<\/em>: the big companies with huge budgets and an editorial staff usually get those slots. You could, however, become a top ranker for a more narrow niche and be considered an expert in that area. Your niche could be substitute teaching, secondary school resources (there are fewer middle\/high school teacher bloggers and not a lot of competition), co-teaching, multi-grade\/multi-age classrooms, etc. You don\u2019t have to limit all your posts to that niche, but the majority should relate in some way to your focus. For example, my niche is classroom management, but I still have \u00a0section of pages (which you\u2019re currently in) called\u00a0Edupreneurs<\/a>. This works because my \u201cvoice\u201d is the same in these pages, and also because I\u2019m still approaching the topic from a management perspective.<\/p>\n

Be cautious of using your grade level as your niche.<\/h3>\n

If you ever decide (or are forced to) change grade levels, the whole audience for whom you\u2019ve built your blog might crumble. What good is amassing 500 subscribers to your kindergarten blog when your principal moves you to fifth grade the following year? Your kindergarten teacher subscribers aren\u2019t going to care about the stuff you do with your fifth graders, and you risk isolating them and having to start from scratch each time you change grades. Now you\u2019ve probably noticed a lot of people do this, anyway, and blog exclusively about one grade level. In my opinion, best practices for teaching apply to multiple grade levels, and if you want to be a professional blogger and\/or make money from your blog, you should be careful about limiting your audience!<\/p>\n

Google your blog title and niche before going live with it.<\/h3>\n

Make sure you\u2019re not using a name someone else has already claimed\u2013that will cause brand confusion and will NOT be appreciated by that blogger and his\/her fans! Try to pick something very unique. If the name is even slightly similar to a popular edublogger, make sure your template and blog appearance are completely, totally different. You want to set yourself apart. Googling your niche will tell you who else is blogging about your topic: these are people you want to subscribe to and follow, and hopefully partner up with at some point. If there are too many people in your niche, you may struggle to make a name for yourself. If there aren\u2019t enough, that could be a sign that your niche is too narrow and you\u2019ll have trouble attracting readers.<\/p>\n

Creating strong blog content<\/h2>\n

The phrase I live by is\u00a0content is king.<\/em><\/h3>\n

Another way to think of it:\u00a0If you write it (and it\u2019s good), they will come<\/em>. There are bloggers who barely use social media and have extremely plain websites, yet their names are all over the blogosphere because the stuff they create is so awesome. You don\u2019t have to obsess over sharing and promoting your own stuff: if it\u2019s really good, people will find you and spread the word themselves.\u00a0I started this website in 2003 before social media even existed, and I didn\u2019t start using search engine optimization (SEO) until 2008, yet prior to that my site still had hundreds of thousands of page views per year and countless backlinks from all over the web.<\/p>\n

Many bloggers spend too much time focusing on promoting their blogs and not enough time writing stuff people want to read.<\/h3>\n

Create blog posts and website articles that give real value to your readers. Write from a unique perspective and let your voice shine through. Compose the type of article that you like to read. Relevant, insightful content is absolutely the key to success for any blogger.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t stress over posting on a regular schedule.<\/h3>\n

Many experts say you must blog on a regular schedule: at least 3 times a week, for example, and many people blog much more often than that. I think regular blogging is a great goal, but personally, I\u2019d rather read infrequent or irregular posts that are valuable than daily posts that are hit-or-miss. My advice: write when you have something important to say. Don\u2019t just toss out a post because you haven\u2019t written anything in a few days. And even worse, don\u2019t write a post apologizing for not posting! BORING. If you don\u2019t post for awhile, your readers will think you\u2019ve been busy doing important stuff, and they understand. In my opinion, you don\u2019t need to call attention to your irregular blogging, make excuses, or explain yourself.<\/p>\n

Stay true to your voice.<\/h3>\n

This is a common expression in the writing world, and it basically means to let your own personal writing style shine through. Let different aspects of your personality show, but try to keep the tone of your posts pretty consistent so people know it\u2019s you. Whatever your writing style, whatever your preferred blogging topic\u2026I guarantee there are people who want to read it, so don\u2019t worry about fitting in with other bloggers in your niche or being what others want you to be. Copying other bloggers\u2019 style is a recipe for failure, because the best you can hope for is to be a second-rate imitation. Be a first-rate version of YOU! Stay true to your voice, and it WILL speak to someone\u2026probably a lot of someones.<\/p>\n

How to come up with blog post ideas<\/h2>\n

The best inspiration for blogging is your own experiences.<\/h3>\n

Here are some things I write about:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • I share how my thinking has changed over the years<\/a><\/li>\n
  • I\u00a0ask questions that I\u2019m wondering about<\/a><\/li>\n
  • I\u00a0answer other people\u2019s questions<\/a><\/li>\n
  • I\u00a0review books and host give-aways<\/a><\/li>\n
  • I talk about\u00a0education conferences I attend and present at<\/a><\/li>\n
  • I share\u00a0classroom management ideas<\/a>(mine and other people\u2019s)<\/li>\n
  • I\u00a0rant about hot topics<\/a>and\u00a0reflect on ed news and trends<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \"blogging_tips_for_teachers-179x300\"<\/p>\n

    Always err on the side of caution when deciding what to post about your job.<\/h3>\n

    I chronicle my\u00a0experiences as an instructional coach<\/a>\u00a0and did the same\u00a0when I was a classroom teacher<\/a>, but you\u2019ll notice I never say anything bad about any students, anyone who employs me, or even my co-workers. A good motto is \u201cComplain globally, praise locally.\u201d That means talk about problems in the broadest sense possible (\u201cOur education system is failing\u201d) and talk about good stuff that\u2019s happening specifically (\u201cSo-and-so is doing a great job tackling this problem.\u201d) Everything you post about your students should be something that would make you look good if it were ever pulled out of context. Write as if your principal, students, and students\u2019 parents are reading. They might be.<\/p>\n

    Read other people\u2019s blogs for inspiration.<\/h3>\n

    I subscribe to hundreds of education blogs so I can stay current with what others are thinking and talking about. Often I\u2019ll comment on their posts and then\u00a0expand my comment into a post on my own blog<\/a>, especially if my viewpoint is different from the original author\u2019s. Other times\u00a0bloggers will pose a question which I\u2019ll answer on my own blog<\/a>. Still other times, their blog or Facebook posts will\u00a0remind me of something I\u2019ve been wanting to write about<\/a>. Non-education blogs often remind me of education-related topics<\/a>\u00a0and I\u2019ll\u00a0write about the connection<\/a>.\u00a0The great part about using other people\u2019s blogs for inspiration is that you can build online relationships. I leave a comment for the person letting them know that I enjoyed their post and it inspired me to write my own, then share the link.<\/p>\n

    Video interview: Talking, teaching & blogging<\/h2>\n

    I was honored to be a guest on the latest episode of the\u00a0Edu All-Stars podcast<\/a>, and I thought I\u2019d share the conversation here with you:<\/p>\n