WHIR consists of the following:

• The WHIR.com. Started in 2000, TheWHIR.com provides readers with industry news, feature coverage and expert opinion and analysis. In addition to comprehensive resources for consumers, resellers, and web host industry executives.
• The WHIR Magazine. Since 2003, Web Host Industry Review Magazine has made their presence known to the industry’s business community. They present powerful and exciting opportunities for advertisers.
• WHIR TV. WHIR TV began in 2004 and offers engaging and unique perspectives on on the ever evolving web hosting industry. WHIR TV features the latest industry interviews and events. They include comment and opinion from influential people in the web hosting industry.
• WHIR Events. Offers people interested in the web hosting industry the opportunity to meet face-to-face and network with executives, solution providers, and corporate decision makers in relaxed environment — complimentary drinks and appetizers are included! The goal of WHIR Events is to provide a local venue so people can do business, connect with others, and learn about the exciting web hosting industry.

If you’re considering moving away from free blog hosting platforms like WordPress.com or Blogger.com to a self-hosted blog (and there are many benefits of doing so), then you need a web hosting company. WordPress provides you with a list of suggested web hosting services, however, the information can be overwhelming if you’re a newbie.

It’s important to do some research first, and you’ll want to compare not only features and prices, but also take into account the opinions of real users. If a web hosting company has only negative reviews, then you should stay away from that one! But keep in mind that often people don’t write reviews if they are happy, but they sure do if they are unhappy. For example, a lot of people complain about 1&1 Hosting, but TWE has been on 1&1 since it was founded, and Trisha has used them for many years, with only positive things to say about them. How to navigate all the choices and decide? That’s where WHIR comes in. WHIR can assist you with choosing the RIGHT web host for you!

What we like

• WHIR has a blog. You can find a ton of information about web hosting services on this blog. If you’re undecided about web hosting companies, take a look at the blog. The answers that you seek may lie withing WHIR’s blog;
• The WHIR.com provides you with WHIR TV, The WHIR Magazine, and WHIR Events. It’s a great resource for all of your web hosting needs.

What we don’t like

• The WHIR is kind of a busy website. There’s a lot going on here! Don’t get too overwhelmed. Just take it one click at a time!
• Back issues of WHIR Magazine go back to 2004. This is fine, except technology changes at a very rapid pace. What may have been pertinent back in 2004 may not apply today.

The WHIR is a phenomenal website! It’s packed with a ton of information on web hosting. Sign up for their newsletters and you’ll receive a wealth of information that will keep you informed about the web hosting industry. If you’re in the market for a new web host, WHIR can connect you to your new service. They take the stress and frustration out of finding a web host. The WHIR will educate you about web hosting in no time!

~Rebecca

How is your web hosting service?

Online communities such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and others that started out as a way for people to keep in touch with family and friends have morphed into valuable business communication and marketing tools that any company or entrepreneur is foolish to not take advantage of.

That said, one of the problems that some in business are having is not using these tools correctly and effectively. If your goal is to promote yourself (or your company), then the idea is to gain friends and followers by providing them with interesting, relevant, and useful information that they will find valuable. On a daily basis, though, I cringe at some of the inappropriate comments, postings, and Tweets, or general mistakes that are being made by those who are new to the medium and don’t fully understand how to use it. Too often people are trying to accomplish too many differing goals and not succeeding at any of them because of it.

So let me share with some of you a few “Do’s” and “Don’ts” when it comes to your use of Social Media - some of these tips are fairly generic, others are specific to a particular social network:

In general:

• First and foremost, DON’T try to manage both personal and professional communication from a single profile on any community. It’s fine to use Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace to let family & close friends know about what is going on in your personal life, but do that from a personal account only — set up a separate account for your “business” to promote your travel writing, your book, or your freelance writing services. Likewise if you have a personal blog, set up a separate blog for your business persona;
• DON’T link the two or try to cross-promote them — sure your family may be interested in knowing if you’re in the running for a sweet writing assignment, but do you really want an Editor seeing that video of you drunkenly telling an off-color (or racist) joke that your sister posted on your Facebook page? Let me answer that for you — no. Emphatically no;
• DO always keep in mind why your audience follows you, and make sure that the majority of what you are sharing is valuable to them (for example, on Twitter and Facebook I connect with a number of travel writers because I like to hear -and talk - about the business of traveling and writing. Although I DO want to get to know the people I connect with, if all they ever post about are things irrelevant to traveling or writing, they will quickly lose my interest);
• DO inject your personality and let people get to know “you” - it’s great to add some sense of humor, sarcasm, or wit as you are offering up information or news that you’ve found, or announcing your latest article or blog post — It’s the “glue” that cements the connections. Just remember that the version of “you” that you share professionally SHOULD be a somewhat ‘filtered’ version than the one you share with family and your closest friends;

On Twitter - all of the General Tips above applies, PLUS:

• DO avoid the temptation to Tweet too much. How much is too much? Read this really great blog post about the downside of too many Tweets. I only have so much time in my day to keep up on Twitter, so if someone is tweeting a lot of inconsequential noise, or simply too often, I can’t follow them because they drown out the others that I want to keep up with. I’ve unfollowed some people for too-frequent tweeting, or just too much irrelevant tweeting;
• Follow whomever you want to, but only Retweet (RT) information that you believe your followers will find interesting;
• If you’re Replying to a Tweet, DO include a snippet of the original, so that your followers can put your Reply in context - otherwise it’s just more noise to them;
• DO use TwitPic, but use it wisely - keeping in mind a photo’s relevancy to your followers, it’s a great way for them to get to know you better;
• DO interact with your followers and those you are following — Replying and Retweeting are ways to let people know that you’re reading and appreciating what they have to say;
• EDITOR’S NOTE: I just added 1 more DON’T after witnessing this BIG NO-NO on Twitter: DON’T use Twitter as a replacement for IM/SMS/Text Messaging friends for an active/personal/lots of back-and-forth conversation! Why force your followers to wade through the flood of irrelevant chatter that is better left to your IM Clients?

Facebook, MySpace, and/or your Blog - all of the General Tips above PLUS:

• If you have a personal Blog or MySpace page, go as wild or cutesy as you like with the design, but for your business profile DO keep it subdued and professional - remember, Editors and Publishers may be checking out your profile before offering or approving a writing assignment;
• Just as with the last Twitter tip above, DO interact with those with whom you have connected - comment on what they share, ask questions, share things you think they’d like. Remember that it’s not just about promoting yourself, it’s about networking and establishing connections, in some cases building friendships around common business-related interests - that’s a two-way street;
• DON’T allow your family or friends to “friend” you on your Facebook or MySpace profiles, unless you can absolutely trust them to never post personal or inappropriate content to your page - you don’t want to risk losing a business opportunity due to an offensive posting by someone who doesn’t mean you ill but just doesn’t know any better;

Final Tip: DO set up a business email address (use your Blog domain if you have one) and create an Email Signature that promotes your business Facebook Page, business MySpace profile, and business Twitter account (you do have all three, don’t you? You should!). DON’T use your personal email address for business.

Never forget that there is a lot of competition in the travel writing industry. A Publisher, Editor, or PR Firm wants to trust that if you’re somewhere on assignment — representing their magazine, website, or client — that you’ll behave professionally and represent them in the best possible light. Ensuring that every social media connection you make in pursuit of promoting yourself/business/company stays “on message” is critical in landing writing gigs and press trips.

The bottom line is that the point is NOT that you should never share personal information with business acquaintances and colleagues — there are times when it is acceptable — but simply to keep it appropriate and to a minimum. DON’T overwhelm someone you know only online with a lot of personal details about your private life. By all means DO be personable, witty, and charming (be yourself), just be the most professional YOU that you can be.

~Trisha

How do you manage both personal and business communications?

Power Writer has three main features which are the outline view, composition frame, and story tools. These tools work together and allow you to document new ideas quickly and only one. This makes editing and adjusting your story a cinch.

The software features a word processor where you can write your story. You can connect to the outline view through the plot points. When you’re in the outline view, its easy to navigate within your novel by clicking from one chapter to the next. You can even “click to” a specific point within each of your chapters.

What we like

• There is a free demo;
• Power Writer is easy to install, and guides you through the installation every step of the way;
• If you’re a novice writer, you’ll be able to use the software like a pro. It’s easy to move between different screens or you can have them all up at once. The word processor will be familiar to you so there’s no need to spend a lot of time acclimating yourself to it;
• Power Writer offers tons of help and support.

This is one writing tool that actually provides you with customer service via phone or email. Power Writer provides help within the program such as tutors, a search box where you can seek answers, and a help content. There’s a feature in the drop down menu called “What’s This?” When you click, the cursor becomes a pointer with a question mark. Point and click on anything within Power Writer and you’ll receive an explanation of the function and purpose.

What we don’t like

• Power Writer costs $99.95. Some people may not want to spend close to $100 + shipping and handling, but it could be worth it if the writing tool helps to improve your writing;
• Power Writer is Windows-only software - no native Mac version.

Writing tools like Power Writer will assist you with your travel and novel writing. It’s a great product and offers easy-to-use features that will assist you with the writing process. The tutorials will put any doubts you may have about this software out of your mind. Power Writer will not change the way you write but it can help you write a compelling story by using your own words.

~Rebecca

What writing tools do you use? Share your experience!

Did you know that EzineFinder.com is one of the oldest Ezine Directories online? They’ve been around since 1998! The best part is they are a FREE Ezine Directory. In return for listing your newsletter or ezine with them, all they ask for is that you mention them in your newsletter at least four times per year. Ezine directories are popular because they provide a safe way for readers to find Ezines and newletters without being spammed every day.

In addition, EzineFinder.com has recently added Article Submission, giving you another outlet to market your travel writing articles.

Ezine Finder Benefits

• A listing in their article directory. This is a major benefit. The more “eyeballs” that see your work the better. Having a prominent link to your website shown on EzineFinder can increase traffic to your website;
• Ezine Finder provides a “quick subscription” form. Visitors to the site subscribe to your Ezine either by having subscribers sent to you or to an automatic subscription address;
• Readers can come back and vote for your Ezine. This is a fabulous way to increase your ranking in searches. It can help you to get on the Top Rated list on Ezine Finder;
• Editing can be done 24-hours a day. To edit, log into your account and start making the necessary changes;
• Readers can recommend your Ezine others from the website. There’s no better advertisement than word-of-mouth. The more people that recommend you, the better.

Ezine Finder Requirements

• You MUST publish unique content. Many article directories require you to do this anyway. You’re not allowed to post opt-in advertising or spam mailing lists.
• No ADULT EZINES are allowed on Ezine Finder. Keep it clean!
• Do not sell, trade, or use email addresses! The purpose of Ezine Finder is to gain subscriptions to your Ezine.
• You MUST have unsubscription (opt-out) information in each issue of your ezine. Readers must be given the option to unsubscribe.

What we like

• Ezine Finder is free. All you do is create an account, and submit your newsletter or ezine (and now you can submit articles as well)….that’s it;
• Signing up with Ezine Finder is a great way to drive traffic to your site. You receive a prominent link to your website.

What we don’t like

• The website could be streamlined. Ezine Finder seems to be a “busy” website from a user viewpoint. It would help if they had an About page so the user has a clear understanding of who they are and what they provide;
• A “Featured Listing” is a paid upgrade. How much does it cost? Good question. They don’t provide this information. You’ll have to contact them to find out.

EzineFinder can help you gain readers. It’s a free article directory and it’s easy to use. Take advantage of this and start posting your ezines today and watch your readership steadily grow!

~Rebecca

How do you promote your newsletter or ezine?

A quick primer for anyone who is not familiar with what a “404 page” is: It’s the page that your browser displays when you click on a broken link. Often using words like “File Not Found”, a 404 error is returned whenever your website cannot serve up the page that was requested. A broken link can be on your site or on some other site, or even at a search engine like Google. Typically this happens when a page that was previously linked to gets moved or renamed, or in some cases if the original link was just not correct, such as might happen if there was a typo in the URL.

So why should you have your own 404 Page? Simple - because if you don’t, then your site host or domain registrar can display one of their 404 pages instead, often with links or ads that can lead site visitors away from your site, possibly never to return. Site visitors get frustrated when they don’t arrive where they expected to, and a missing 404 Page means that they have no option but to go elsewhere or “back” to where they came from — meaning that you miss out on potential readers as few people will make the effort to figure out why the link didn’t work.

Another big mistake that some website owners make is to have a generic 404 Page that sometimes has nothing in common with the rest of their site, leaving out important features such as Navigation (your menu) and a Search box (so visitors can find what they came looking for)…..often this is because webmasters operate under the mistaken belief that THEY will never suffer from broken links, thus no one should ever actually see their 404 Page. Although this is common thinking, it’s wrong. You cannot control how other websites link TO you, and may be unaware of some (or many) of your inbound links - thus if someone has linked to you with a typographical error in the URL, and you don’t know about it, someone clicking on that link will get a 404. Likewise if you’ve changed a URL by renaming a page or post, don’t think you have it covered by fixing any links on YOUR site, because someone who has already bookmarked the old URL (or a search engine that’s already indexed it) will have a broken link, creating the dreaded 404.

So what makes for a GOOD 404 Page? First, make sure that you have one. The easy way to check to see if you have one is to intentionally type a bad URL or filename into your browser address bar following your domain name, and see what appears — if your Theme has a 404.php file, you’ll see a page that should look like your website’s overall Theme and says something like “Error 404 - Not Found” and possibly offering a search box. If you have a page like that, then it’s a good start, but it’s not good enough - that’s just the bare minimum.

To be adequate a 404 Page MUST have:

• The same navigation (menu) as the rest of your site, so that the person who arrived at your site via a broken link can still get to your home page or archives and browse around in hopes of finding the right page;
• A Search Box, so that they can try searching your site for whatever page they were looking for (in case it’s not immediately apparent in your navigation)

To be good a 404 Page SHOULD ALSO have:

• A way to contact you to report the broken link (you do want to know about it so that you can possibly get it fixed) - you’ll get a better response rate with an email link than with a contact page link;
• A link to your Site Map to help expedite finding the page or post they were looking for;
• An explanation of what’s happened with enough of your charming personality and/or humor to entice the person to stay on your site long enough to find what they came for, let you know about the broken link, possibly read other posts and pages, and maybe sign up for your newsletter, follow you on Twitter, Digg a few articldes, and refer you to all of their friends. It takes a lot of “good will” to get even a small fraction of that, so you need to make an effort to engender that type of good will.

TIP: If using an email address so visitors can notify you of broken links (instead of a link to your contact page form), be sure to use a “throwaway” address (that is, one that you can discard and replace if it garners too much spam), rather than your primary address.

To help you get started thinking creatively about your 404 Page, here are a few examples of some very clever 404 Pages - they may not have all the “must haves” (and I certainly don’t mean them to be literal suggestions of “you should do this”), but they tickle your sense of humor enough that you’d likely stick around if you’d landed there accidentally:

• http://www.nextwaveperformance.com/oops.html
• http://www.soocial.com/404
• http://www.jhuskisson.com/404
• http://www.limpfish.com/notfound.html
• http://suspendedanimations.com/404

Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t show you our own 404 Page, so here it is: http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/404

Ready to customize your 404 Page? BE SURE to backup your 404.php file before you try modifying it, then when logged into WordPress’ admin interface, click on ‘Appearance’ then ‘Editor’ then ‘404 Template (404.php). Be careful to change only the text and add images if you like — don’t change or erase any HTML, CSS, or PHP unless you’re comfortable doing so, and post in the Forum if you need additional help.

What else can you do? Use a plugin like 404Notifier so that you can find what is causing 404 errors and possibly fix them. You can’t prevent them entirely, but the fewer the better.

~Trisha

But writing fiction is very different from travel writing, and some writers want to take a class but can’t find the time. The Writer’s Software Companion is a good alternative. It combines mentoring and teaching into one interactive format. You work at your own pace, and select the topics you’d like to work on.

The Writer’s Software Companion is a collaboration of Writer’s Digest fiction columnist Nancy Kress and learning expert Terry Boothman. This multimedia writing learning system can accelerate your learning, bringing your work to publishable quality in no time. If you’re contemplating becoming a novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, or playwright, this tool will assist you in reaching your goal.

With the help of The Writer’s Software Companion, you’ll publish your book in no time. This particular program was designed to stand alone as a reference. It DOES NOT provide plot skeletons and WILL NOT formulate outlines for you, but it does provide interactive libraries and advice columns to educate writers.

In addition to the primary application, the CD version also includes something called the “Software Dreampack for Writers”, consisting of 57 additional software programs for writers in ten categories, and an enormous list of over 500 clickable web addresses in it’s “Resource Guide”.

In either version (download or CD) the real bonus is the troubleshooter which guides you through any writing jam.

What we like

• The program is easy to install:
• It features an extensive number of topics - everything from arranging scene order to choosing a structure for your novel and much more. You’ll complete your novel in a short amount of time and be on your way to the publisher!
• The program has great referencing abilities with many resources for writers;
• It’s easy to navigate. A program that is easy to navigate is a godsend. There’s nothing worse than purchasing software that you can’t navigate.
• They offer a 30-day refund policy if you purchase the software CD and are not happy with it;
• The price. Ok, some people may think that $79.95 for the download version (CD is $89.95) is TOO much for the software, but it really isn’t considering everything you receive with it.

What we don’t like

• Technical support is via email. Some people prefer to have tech support via the phone. If you’re not comfortable with email, you may not like this feature.
• The links to download the Storyline Interactive and The Writer’s Software Companion Demo Version (after entering your email address) do NOT work and instead go to a page that is no longer in service;
• Does not run native on the Mac - Mac users must use Boot Camp or Parallels running Windows to use Writer’s Companion Software.

If you’d like to have a writing adviser at your fingertips, check out The Writer’s Software Companion. If you’re a travel writer will aspirations of becoming a “fiction writer” then this will help you get there!

~Rebecca

What software writing tools have you used? Share your opinion of them!

As part of our ongoing effort to review many of these Article Marketing sites, today we’re looking at Isnare.com Articles, which has been in operation since late 2004. Isnare.com offers three basic levels of service:

• Free article submission to the Article Directory (up to 5 articles daily);
• Article distribution to other Article Directories for a small fee per article ($2 per article or less if you purchase distribution credits as a “package”);
• “Platinum” membership at $59.95 monthly, that allows you to submit up to 10 articles daily and waives the distribution fee;

For those unfamiliar with the difference between Article Submission and Article Distribution, here’s an explanation: If you submit an article to an Article Submission site (aka an Article Directory site), then your article may be reprinted on any number of other websites that draw their content from that particular Article Directory, and each reprint carries your Author Byline with a link to your website. Article Distribution sites, on the other hand, take care of submitting your article to multiple Article Directory sites for you, saving you the extra work. For some people the time saved is worth paying a fee for and for others it isn’t — only you can decide if you want to take the time to submit your articles to multiple directories.

If you choose not to purchase article distribution credits, and don’t want to pay for a Platinum account, you can always earn distribution credits by promoting Isnare through their referral program, whereby you earn free distribution credits every time your referred member purchases credits.

What we like

• It’s free to submit your articles (up to 5 per day);
• Their referral program can earn you distribution credits;
• They have a wide variety of categories (increases exposure to your articles);

What we don’t like

• “Free” level Article Submission can take up to a week to approve before it gets posted to the site (Platinum members get expedited approval);
• Platinum membership costs $59.95 per month;
• Article distribution costs $2 for each article, although you can purchase credit packages that lower the cost;

With its 5 year history, the fact that it offers both a directory an distribution service, and also gives you the opportunity to earn distribution credits, Isnare.com is a website that we can comfortably recommend to any travel writer looking to build readership.

Article marketing can help you get “eyeballs” to your website and build your reputation. It’s all about the traffic! Of course, you want to be mindful of keywords and phrases. Provide good, unique content and readers will visit your website. It’s kind of like the movie FIELD OF DREAMS, “if you build it, he (they) will come.” Good luck!

~Rebecca

Are you taking advantage of Article Marketing? How has it helped your travel blog?

They think that Twitter is just a way for kids to keep in touch, that Facebook is still just for students to stay connected, and that MySpace is mostly for teens, bands, and celebrities. How wrong they are!

At the heart of it, they don’t really understand why they need an online presence, or the value in blogging, so it’s difficult for them to grasp the power of networking through social media. Having grown up in an era of traditional print publications, some of them are still struggling over a new way of writing their travel articles as web content. They are finding it challenging to learn — let alone embrace — the use of new digital technologies such as podcasts, video blogging, and viral marketing.

What I tell them is this: online social networking is like traditional networking on steroids. If self-promotion through networking can be visualized as a volume knob, then traditional networking is a level 2 and online social networking is pegging the knob at it’s highest level. The ROI (return on investment, which is the effort-to-benefit ratio) is off the charts to the extent that doing it is a no-brainer, and not doing it is just plain DUMB.

I explain that Twitter and Facebook, and to a slightly lesser extent MySpace, have all helped me to connect with travel writers and bloggers from around the globe, most of whom I would not have met without those Social Media sites. From them I learn about important information and opportunities that I can pass along to readers of this site, as well as to the many others who follow me on those same social networking sites.

As an example, Facebook recently helped me to connect a handful of Food & Wine writers with a PR Firm I know that was looking to promote a particular brand of new summer wines. While this was not a paying writing assignment, being connected with a good PR Firm can pay off down the road, in the form of media trip invitations, or possible paying gigs in the future. The client will no doubt appreciate it as well, and perhaps help the writers in other ways or contact them for future articles.

Just as importantly, every time I share something of value with my followers and friends on Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace, they share it with their followers and friends, who then become aware of our site (thus increasing our audience), and my readers discover them as well, helping the to increase their audience. Through sharing we both benefit and grow. The same concept as traditional networking but with totally amped up results.

The bottom line is that if you want to make a living as a writer, you absolutely must have online readers. The more online readers you have, the more prominence you achieve. The more prominence you achieve, the greater the likelihood of landing juicy writing assignments or of getting your articles published. If you decided to publish a novel, your readers are not only a willing pool of potential buyers, but they can - and will - help you spread the word.

The investment is small - basically just some time and effort each day - and the benefits are HUGE. If you don’t already have a Twitter account or a Facebook or MySpace profile, don’t delay! If you find it intimidating, ask your kids or grandkids to help you, or post in our Forum and we will help. But unless you’re ready to retire from writing, then it’s time you up your game and add online social networking to your arsenal of marketing.

~Trisha

Share with us your experiences with Social Media Networking - how have Twitter, Facebook, or MySpace helped you?

Most established writers have been invited - at one time or another, sometimes frequently - to participate in a Media Trip (also known as a Press Trip), so many of you already know what it’s like, however, a few aspiring writers in my monthly mentoring group recently asked me about the experience.

I could just tell them — you fly in somewhere, get handed an itinerary or agenda, meet a bunch of people, see a bunch of places and things, taste a lot of different foods, try to absorb a ton of information, squeeze in as many activities as you can, all the while taking copious notes and photographs (and video!), then in a breathtakingly short few days later, you fly home. But somehow that doesn’t sound as fun as it really can be. In fact, it sounds a little whiny. And it doesn’t do justice to some of the wonderful people that you get to meet, some of whom may become lifelong friends. I know very few writers who would ever pass up an opportunity for a media trip, because even if it sounds like whining, we love them.

So in keeping with the time-honored cliche of “show don’t tell” I created a short (three and a half minutes long) video, which I posted on YouTube - take a look:

iMovie 09 makes it very, very simple for anyone to create a movie from still shots or video, but if you don’t have a Mac, you can try Microsoft MovieMaker for Windows (which I’m told comes with Windows XP or newer), or check out this page of Top 5 Free Video Editing Software Review

Just as Deb (of DaveAndDeb fame, aka “Canada’s Adventure Couple“) mentioned in the article she wrote yesterday on Adding Video to your Blog Posts, having video clips of your trips is a great way to help your readers feel like they are with you on your travels, and also to stimulate greater interest in your website, leading to more site visitors.

If you haven’t already started shooting video of your travels, you should start - there are many decent quality, small sized camcorders (like the Flip) that are very inexpensively priced, so you have no excuse to not pick one up. If you have some old video footage you’ve taken from previous trips, and just haven’t done anything with it yet, now’s the time. If you have questions, ask in the Forum and you’re sure to get help!

~Trisha

Are you adding video to your blog? What tools do you use? How has it helped your site?

YouTube is one of the most popular online communities and people are watching hundreds of millions of videos on the Internet each day. By adding video to your blog, you can take advantage of a huge market and attract an entirely new audience.

It can be a daunting task adding another element into the mix. Bloggers are busy enough coming up with content, photos and writing interesting text each day. But adding a short video can really bring your piece up to a new level and appeal to a wider market.

With all of the editing software out there, it has never been easier to put together a mini movie or a short snip-it. A simple and easy to use program is iMovie. It allows you to cut your clips, add titles and transitions and play with music and audio with the click of a button. For a blog, you don’t need to use anything more complicated like Final Cut Pro. A basic program will have all of the elements that you need to make an interesting and dynamic video.

After you have edited your video, save it as a QuickTime movie compressed for web streaming. Now you are ready to upload your video to anywhere you would like on the Internet.

A great place to start is on YouTube. Open up an account, follow the prompts and Voilà, you have a video online. Plus by having your own YouTube channel, you can lure more readers to your website. People that regularly surf video channels probably don’t surf writing websites quite as much as we would like. You can provide a link to your blog from your bio on your YouTube channel, and if a person likes what they see, they will want to click on it to check out more.

With plug-ins like TubePress for WordPress you can have an entire page of your featured YouTube videos on your blog. Another great plug-in for WordPress is All-In-One-Video-Pack. It allows you have your content hosted elsewhere and gives you the ability to edit online. It has 10 gigs of storage and you can put small clips directly into your post by loading them onto your website. We have just discovered this one and we look forward to using it regularly on our future posts.

Between photos, text and video, you are offering your viewers a wide variety of options to look at. You will not only attract more people to your site, you will also keep them there for a longer time.

Make sure to be careful of copyright though. We started showing our videos on YouTube three years ago simply wanting to share our travels with friends and family. We made the mistake of using music that we loved thinking it wouldn’t matter. We thought who would be looking at them anyway? Well, some of our videos ended up receiving over 30,000 views without any kind of advertising or marketing. This caught people’s attention and now many have been deleted.

They were our most popular videos, so we have now missed out on thousands of potential new visitors to our blog that we have since started running. However, it proves just how many people YouTube reaches.

~Deb Corbeil

Do you incorporate video into your blog? Share your tips & tricks!