Once you’ve created a blog, you need to post regularly in order to keep readers interested. How much easier would that be if you could write posts in advance, and schedule them to appear later on?

If you’re using WordPress, it’s simple to post-date a blog post. Look closely at the Publish Status option window—you will see the option to “Publish Immediately.” If you click the word “edit”, you can change the publishing date and time. The date and time you enter will be the date and time that WordPress publishes your post.

Now, when you know you’re going to be away or busy, you can write posts in advance, then post date them. Easy as that!

Today’s cool find: EarthClassMail.com, a service for renting a PO box online. Basically, they scan your envelopes, which you view using your browser. Then you can choose to have each item:

• securely scanned into a PDF document
• recycled
• shredded
• forwarded to you or someone else

They also offer an option to attach your PO box to an actual street address. Very clever idea. I would choose this over renting a box at a facility I’d have to physically visit.

Just a quick thought today, and a link to a book that has shaped the way I approach the web: Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability.

The thought: creative web design is a wonderful thing, but if the digital eye candy makes your site confusing to use, people won’t bother. And that will hurt your business.

Keep your site simple. Use language that people understand, especially when it comes to navigation links. An example: you’re looking for a search button. If it’s labeled “search,” it won’t take you long to find it. But if it’s labeled something like “hide and seek,” you have to take the time to figure out what that means.

Arrange your information in a logical way. It might seem boring to put your logo and company name at the top left of the page, but that’s where your readers expect to find it.

If you innovate, have a good reason. Yes, you can stagger your text, arrange it in a circle, or whatever … but know that it’s more likely to frustrate your potential customers than it is to attract them.

You can’t go wrong with clarity and simplicity.

WordPress users, there’s a post on the WP Development Blog today about the upcoming changes in the design of the WP administrative tools. I watch for updates on behalf of my clients, and do my best to keep them using the most up-to-date version.

What do you think of the new user interface? Better or worse than the current setup?

You’ve heard about blogs—after all, you’re reading one. But how do you decide whether you’re ready to write one yourself? And once you start, how do you keep it going?

As a business person, you can use your blog to update your clientele on new developments, share insights related to your line of work, and establish yourself as an expert in your field. If you have ideas and the ability to put them into words or images, you can blog.

Before getting started, however, consider the time commitment involved in keeping your blog alive. How often will you post? Once a week? Daily? Many widely-read blogs are updated multiple times per day. Other blogs are used primarily for announcements and are updated only as needed.

Usually, frequent posting attracts higher readership.

If you’re part of a team—you have a business partner, or you’re part of a cooperative—you might want to consider a blog with multiple contributors. Sharing the responsibility lightens the load for everyone, and can keep the content fresh and interesting. Be sure to communicate with your team and establish a posting schedule.

The best way to learn about blogging is simple: read lots of blogs. You can get loads of ideas about organization, topics, and presentation just from viewing what other people are doing.

If you need help finding blogs to read, try…

• clicking on blogroll links on sites you already read
• using the “view recommendations” link in Google Reader or the “find feeds” search in Bloglines
• checking community sites such as BlogHer, Technorati, Kirtsy, or Digg

Once you’ve decided it’s time to put your own voice out into the blogiverse, you have many options for making it happen. More about that later.

One clever way to attract new readers to your blog is to sponsor a prize drawing. If you can relate the giveaway to your blog topic, even better. Downloadable audio files or PDFs are easy to deliver, but you also might consider a mailable item: t-shirt, journal, business card holder, even a Starbucks gift card. For even more impact, use a service such as Zazzle to put your logo on a shirt, mousepad or bag. Relate your giveaway item to your own product or service: if you’re a pet expert, give away a collar or set of pet dishes; if you’re a professional organizer, give away storage containers or an attractive notebook.

Here’s one example of an effective prize drawing: the Indie Fixx Autumn Cornucopia Giveaway. IndieFixx celebrates independent artists, crafters and designers and is somewhat of a clearinghouse for indie goods. Contests and drawings are held fairly often, keeping interest high and attracting new subscribers to the Indie Fixx blog and newsletter.

If this specific giveaway looks like something you’d like to win yourself, here’s how to enter: go to this linkand leave a comment saying that you read about it at Pink Mandala (http://pinkmandala.com/wp/blog). Also, be sure to share your favorite participating contest sponsor. Me, I’m partial to Sublime Stitching and Feto Soap. Feto’s soaps smell so good, you don’t know whether to wash with them, or eat them. (Extra bonus tip of the day: don’t eat them.)

Several clients have asked me if there’s a foolproof way to prevent others from copying photos and other graphics from their websites.

Unfortunately, the answer is no—even if you have a system in place that prevents right-clicking graphics AND you’re encrypting your source code so it can’t be viewed for image links to copy. The extra security might slow down potential thieves, but stealing your graphics is still as easy as doing a screen capture and cropping the resulting file.

If a legally purchased photo is stolen from your site, you are not liable. The thief is. If you’re trying to protect graphics of your own creation, the best way is to add a watermark. Picmarkr lets you upload graphics and watermark them with text or an image for free.

Yesterday as I was driving home from work, I came across an intriguing business resource in an unexpected place. My iPod. Rather than plugging in my usual Guitar-Hero-inspired playlist for after-work energizing, I decided to catch up on podcasts.

I scrolled to the latest episode of Hip Tranquil Chick. The guest was Jennifer Lee, a coach/artist/yogini who has come up with a fascinating approach to developing a business plan. The process was an organic creation that she used for her own business. Her clients were interested in what she had done, so she put together an eBook to guide others through what she calls the “creative process of envisioning your business and crafting your unique and personal business plan.” It’s immediately downloadable for $19.95.

If you’ve been avoiding analysis and numbers because they seem too constraining (or even intimidating), this might be just the thing you need to jump-start your business.

Sending files through email can be a tricky proposition. Many email clients limit the type and size of files they will accept. In addition, email presents security issues. Fortunately, several free online services make file sharing safe and easy. Here are two of my favorites.

Box.net has a drop-dead easy interface, and allows you to organize your files into folders. For any file or folder in your “box,” you can create a unique website address that you can give to your friends, family or colleagues.

In addition, you can share files across Box accounts and set up collaboration tools such as file commenting.

Even if you don’t use Box for file sharing, it’s a useful way for you to access files from different computers. For instance, I keep knitting patterns in a special folder so I can view them when I’m away from home. Think of it as a flash drive that can’t be misplaced. The OpenBox feature allows you to preview and edit files in your browser, without having to download them. OpenBox services include Zoho for file editing, iPaper for previewing PDFs and other files, and Picnik for photo editing.

Box’s free plan includes 1GB storage space, a 10MB file size limit, and up to 5 collaboration folders. The free service is supported by advertisements—paid plans do not have advertising.

4shared.com offers file sharing and collaboration as well. The user interface is similar to Windows. 4shared has a digital photo album feature, and allows viewers to stream audio and video without having to actually download the files to their own computers.

4shared’s free plan features 5GB storage space and a 100MB file size limit. You’ll need to sign in at least every 30 days to keep your free account active. Like Box, 4shared’s free plan is advertising-supported. Paid plans are ad-free.

For file sending alone, YouSendIt’s Lite service allows you to send files up to 100MB, and includes file delivery tracking. However, files are kept online for only 7 days.

“Blogroll” is just a fancy name for a list of links to sites you want to promote. A blogroll can be displayed on a sidebar or featured on its own page. I prefer creating a separate blogroll page, to keep the sidebar clean and uncluttered.

WordPress has a built-in link manager, but it can be unwieldy if you are featuring more than a half dozen or so links. Managing a large number of links is much easier if you use an RSS reader with sharing features. (However, only sites that publish an RSS feed can be managed this way. Most blogs automatically publish a feed.)

One big advantage to this approach is that the list automatically updates if you add, remove or update a feed. There’s no additional work to do once it’s set up. Here are basic instructions on how to set up your blogroll using Google Reader or Bloglines - two popular (and free) options.
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