JustPressPublish!Itsoundssoeasy

Whoareyou?

• DoyouhaveWordPressinstalled?• Wanttoblogmoreoften?• Areyouaperfectionist?• Doyouprocrastinate?• KnowanythingaboutSEO?• Howaboutwebsitesecurity?

MystoryJustthebeginning

WhoamI?

• Hi,mynameisAlyciaMitchell-@artdecotech• MarketingAnalytics&SEOSpecialistatSucuri• IworkwiththeSucuriblogeveryday• I’msuperpassionateaboutwebtechnology• 7yearsincommunicationsforcybersecurity• Istrugglewithmypersonalblog

Mybloggingexperience

• Ibloggedandjournaledregularlyfromage15-20• Stoppedwritingcompletelyduringmycollegeyears• InstalledWordPressforthefirsttimetomakeabandwebsite(2010)• StartedcareerinSEOandcontentmarketing(2012)• Boughtadomainafewyearsago…installedWordPress…• ...Nukedandpavedthesiteacoupleoftimes...• WasfrustratedthatIcouldn’tmotivatemyselftoblog• 1143daysbeforeIfinallyaskedmyselfanimportantquestion…

What’sstoppingyou?Anxiety,hesitation,procrastination,depression,avoidance

Fear,uncertainty,anddoubt(FUD)

External• Insecurity• Risk• Regret• Unknowns• Success

Internal• Perfectionism• Clarity• Selfworth• Desire• Priorities

#1– Insecurity

• Readerswilljudgemywriting• Whatwilltheythinkandsay?• Strangers?• Friends?• Family?• Coworkers?

#2– Risk

• Identityandbrand• Writingaboutcontroversialtopics• Websitesecurityandhackers• Negativefeedback

#3– Regret

• I’mnothappyenoughwithmyblogrightnow• WhatifIwanttochangethepostafterIpublishit?• WouldIdoabetterjobifIputitoff?• WhatifImissanopportunitybypostingtoosoon?

#4– Unknowns

• Thisisnew• Thisisscary• Ilikemycomfortzone• WhatisgoingtohappenwhenIclickpublish• HowmuchworkwillIneedtosucceed?

#5– Success

• WhatifImakeamistake?• WhatifreaderswantmorethanIcangive?• WhatifIgetpublicity?• WhathappensifIdecidetostopblogging?• WhatifIhavehaters?

#6– Perfectionism

• It’sevil• Endlessplanningandproofing• ConfiguringeveryWordPressfeatureandintegrations• Diminishingreturns– DonotpassGO;donotcollect$200• Doneisbetterthatperfect

#7– Clarity

• Whyisbloggingimportanttome?• WhoamItryingtoplease…?• WhatdoIknow?• WhatdoIwanttoshare?• WhatdoIwanttoaccomplish?

#8– Selfworth

• Ihavenothingnewtosay• Whowouldwanttoreadmyblog?• Shameandguilt• Impostersyndrome

#9– Desire

• Isthethoughtofwritingstressful?• DoIgetintoaflow,orisitforced?• WhatamIdoingifnotblogging?• DoIactuallywanttoblog?• Whatcompelsmetowrite?

Inthedeepesthourofthenight,confesstoyourselfthatyouwoulddieifyouwereforbiddentowrite.

Lookdeepintoyourheartwhereitspreadsitsroots,andaskyourself,“MustIwrite?”

RainerMariaRilkeLetterstoaYoungPoet

#10– Priorities

• Excusesanddistractions• Procrastinationandresistance• Tryingdifferentthemes,plugins,emailsignup,socialmediaaccounts,pages,menus,CSS…• Busylifeandresponsibilities

BeforeyoupublishDothesetwothings

#1– Secureyoursite

• WordPressruns25% oftheinternet=Bigtargetforhackers• EveryWordPresssitegetshitwithbotsandscanners• Getpluginsandthemesfromtrustedsourcesandapply securityupdates• Balanceriskvs.paranoiaforyourcomfortlevel

• Bareminimum(free):• Installabackup plugin - donotstorebackupsonyourserver!• Installasecurityplugin(Sucuri)forauditing,hardening,andscanning• Useunique,complex,longpasswords topreventbruteforce

• Bestoptions(paid):• Useaprofessionalwebsitefirewall forprotection• Installaserver-sidescannerformonitoringanddetection• Researchtoplanforsecurityincidentresponse

#2– Prepareforpromotion

• Participateinone(1) relevantonlinecommunityto:• Askandanswerquestionsonarelevanthashtag,group,forum,Q&Asite• Researchyouraudienceandgetinspirationfromthem.

• Findone(1)influencerinyournichewho:• Postsregularlyandhastimetorespondtoadirectmessage• Mightfindofferfeedbackorfindvalueandshareyourposts

• Repeatasneeded.• SetupGoogleAnalytics(useapluginormanuallyaddtoheader.php)• SignupforGoogleSearchConsole• InstallanSEOplugin(Yoast)andlearnabitaboutusingit

StrategiestoclickpublishTrainyourinnerninja

#1– LIMBO

• Letgoofother’sopinions• Imagineeveryonewillloveitnomatterwhat• Makeitsmaller– yourgoals,yourposts,yourexpectations• Beyourself• Offersomethingtoreaders– whatisthepointofyourpost?

Howlowcanyougo?...

Isetthebarreally,reallylow…• Notheme• Noplugins• Nomenus• Nowidgets• Nopages• Nocategories• Notags• Nointegrations• Noplan• Noexcuses• Nochoicebuttopublishcontent

#2– Getbetteratwriting

• Maybeithasbeenwrittenbefore– butnotinyourwords• Firstuseyourownimagination• Nextdosomeresearchtoimproveyourcontent• 10xcontent=10timesbetterthanotherblogpostsyoufind• Avoidcomparingyourselfwithothers• Everyoneyouadmirestartedatthebottomofthemountain

#3– Hugtheslog

• Thegrindandlegwork• Thevomitonthepage• Usebrainstormingandoutlinestoorganizeideas• Knowthatyouwilleventuallycleanupthemess• Progressis,infact,beingmade• It’saboutthejourney!

#4– Writewhatyouknow

• Betruetoyourself,authenticityishardtocomeby• Embraceyourflawsandimperfections• Don’tpretendtobesomeoneyouadmire• Thecurseofknowledge– youhavemoretoofferthanyouthink• Don’tletanyonetellyouwhoyouareorhowtowrite

#5– Becomeaccountable

• Getsupportforfeedbackandcriticism(friends,family,meetups)• DigitalHangnightswithfriendstoworkonprojects• Scheduletimetobloginacalendarapp• Useappstoreinforcewritinghabits:• Habitica - ifyoulikeRPGs,DIY,andto-do-lists(joinmyBloggersguild)• Fabulous– ifyoupreferguideance,aniceUI,andtimers

• Networkwithpeoplewhosharethesamegoals

#6– Vulnerabilityisattractive

• Vulnerabilityiscourage• Welovewatchingpeopleembracetheirflaws• Bypressingpublish,youwin• Byputtingyourselfoutthere,youwin• Challengesandfailure=growth• Trollkryptonite• Ifsomeonedoesn’tlikeyourwork,tellthemtogetonstage.

ArcadeRage• UsingdefaultWordPresstheme• 10poststodate• PostsonReddit• Twitteraccount

ButIwantedtosubscribebyemail……soItweetedhim:

#7– Maketime

• Whattimeofdayisbesttowrite?• Piggybackonexistingroutines.• Whatcurrenthabitsareyougoingtotradeforblogging?• Doyouneedtogetupearlier?• Alarmly – takeaphotototurnalarmoff(ie,bathroomsink)

• Structureyourdayandscheduleblogtime– bigrocksvs.sand• Rewardyourselfwhenyousticktoit• Aimtowritesomethingeveryday,evenjustaposttitle

#8– MakeSMARTgoals

• Specific• Measureable• Attainable• Realistic• Time-based

#9– Recordallyourinspiration

• Trello,GoogleKeep,etc.• Paperandpenseverywhere• Especiallynexttobed

• Becauseyou’llneverrememberthatamazingideayouhadwhilefallingasleep

• Showerthoughtsare“billablehours”foryourblog• Don’tbeshyaboutrecordingideasinfrontofpeople• Inyourcommunity,askquestionsandnotequestionstheyask

#10– Combatdistraction

• Makealistofyourdistractionssoyoucanidentifythem• Setaclocktotimeperiodsoffocusedwork• Installadistraction-blockingapplikeStayFocusd• Usethepomodoro method• 25minfocusedwork(1pomodoro)• 5minbreak• 30minbreakafter4pomodoros

#11– Escapetherut

• First,youhavetogetmad!:• Youknowyouarecapableofmore!• Youknowyoudeservebetter!• Yoursillybrainhormonesaretotallynothelpingyourightnow!

• Getpassionatelyangry– it’sbetterthanbeingdepressed• Showupforyourself• Convertyourpassionateenergyintoenthusiasm...• ChooseFIGHT(notflight)withirrationalFUD

#12– SingHappyBirthday

• Whenwe’rechildren,wedon’thavethesamefear• Singinglesson:• Tricktohithighnotes• Sing“HappyBirthday”oneoctavebelowthehighnote• Onthefinal“HappyBIRTH-day”youhitthenote• Asachildyousangthesongoften

• Havefunanddon’tworrysomuch

#13– Relieveanxiety

• Makealistofaccomplishments• Takeagratitudebreakfor1minuteandbethankfulforsomething• Practicebreathing,meditation,andaffirmations• Aimforimperfection(takethat,youperfectionist!)• Focusonbabysteps,notthetopofthemountain• Dosomethingtoboostyourconfidenceorresetyourmindset

#13– Createurgency

• Promoteyourblogwhenyouregularlyposting• Setaconsistentpostingschedulethatreaderscanexpect• Payforcreativecoachingorcounselling• Committoacampaign:hostawebinar,buysomeads• Noturningbackwhenyouhaveadeadline!• Example:IsigneduptospeakatthisWordCamp!

Questions&Comments@artdecotechSucuriSwag

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