Blogs and suchlike!

[Jimbo]

I am coming up with loads of ideas for 'articles' I just need to make sure that they are not interesting only to me.

I'm guessing, but if what a blogger is writing isn't of interest to him/her, it probably won't be of interest to a passing reader either. Enthusiasm for a subject makes you do the research, shoot lively pictures and sweat the small stuff to get the post exactly right. And it shows in the finished product.

I believe that a blog related to a rental property should be the softest of sells. Concentrate on writing attactively and regularly on stuff that interests you and which relates gently to your property and its location. Leave the hard sell to your website, listing sites and the like.

[Pmagowan]

Thanks. All great advice and I am taking it on board. We are very interested in our region of Tuscany and we also, as a family, have interests in almost every aspect of life, culture, history, food etc. We generally do not do things by half measures and have already read almost every book we can find on Italy. Of course, some of the best stuff will come from our Italian friends as they have the inside track.

I have taken your advice and increased the number of photo's. I have also tried to split the paragraphs up as much as is consistant with the dialogue. I'm not sure about the pictures I have used for reasons already stated.

Re, the hard sell; My intention is that the only link to the property as a commercial venture is that the blog is centred on it regionally. It will more about the things we find interesting in the region in a hope to drive 'footfall' to the website in general, both for passing trade and for SEO.

[Carl]

Hi Paddy

I searched far and wide for a blog/news script for my website. If you are looking for a completely standalone blog/news page that can be totally customised to your requirements (posts & comments are stored on your SQL server) then the best and easiest one I found to use and install is Simpleblog (http://simpleblogphp.com/). They will even install it for you for nothing if you run into problems although it really is incredibly straightforward if you have a bit of IT/web knowledge - you might need a bit of CSS knowledge too if you want to totally tailor it to your needs & preferably a bit of php too depending on how much customisation you want to do.

They also have for sale an equivalent news (2 different versions, one with increased functionality) and both totally customisable. I ended up using a blog script to run my news page as it had exactly the functionality I wanted. You can also link it to automatically tweet and post to your facebook page if you require.

What you end up with using this is exactly what you want, styled how you want it, no having to log in for anyone who wants to post (you can control what gets posted & when), no logos (eg Disqus), pagination all built in, a search funtion & a good admin control panel where you can add basic styling if you don't want to stray into php & CSS.

Hope this helps.

Carl

[Pmagowan]

Thanks Carl. I am using Disqus for now and my website software seems to be OK for the time being. I might need to become more proactive with it in the future if I need more functionality and behind the scenes control. I have to say that my knowledge of HTML, CSS and PHP is very slim. I have learnt some HTML just form getting my site to do what I want, very little CSS and the only PHP I have encountered was when sorting my contact page.

I would be very interested in people's opinions on my updates and changes. Am I hitting the right ballance? I have loads more text written in an open office file to post as I need to. Might as well write lots when I have the right attitude and then post it more slowly.

Thanks all

[pizza-salsa]

hi Paddy. I have looked at your Blog again and is sooooo much better!!!
There is a much better balance now between text and photos, and the pictures break up each post and make it more interesting and easier to read. You are right to just write up text when you get ideas and just use it for future posts in your blog, when you don't have sufficient time to write up fresh posts, for example.

[pizza-salsa]

Paddy, having clicked on you main website, there are spelling and grammar mistakes on the front page Welcome,
Alpe della Luna near the Renaisance town of Sansepolcro (should read Renaissance)
Paragraph under the Fondo All'albero pictures: lines 4,5,6, should read "its" and not "it's"
Paragraph under Sansepolcro and Montagna picture: line 5 last word should be "its" and not "it's"
Paragraph under Tuscany pictures, line 4: Cinquecento should have a capital "C" (not to mistake it with Fiat cinquecento)
hope this helps.

[elena]

Hi Paddy!

I've only just seen this thread so don't know what your blog was like before but I think it looks really good - love the header photo and enjoyed reading about you buying the property...I did try to leave you a comment but had a lot of problems with Disqus not letting me log in so I haven't done it yet - sorry!

The only thing I'd say ( & this may well just be my failing eyes & that particular font!) is that I find the white writing looks slightly fuzzy against the dark background making it less easy to read.

I find blogs, FB etc take up too much of my time as it is a yet I still don't do nearly as much as I'd like. I started our blog as a way to keep people in touch with what's going on here but not necessarily aiming for it to read like a tourist guide....there's so much more I could , and will ,add eventually but so far although I don't get a huge amount of comments on the blog itself, guests do let me know that they've read it & the ones that do seem to appreciate it.

I do try to have lots of photos if I can though to break up the text & then even if people don't particularly like how I write they can still have something to look at.

I do wonder though if any potential guests are actually put off booking if they don't like the sound of the person behind the words...

Our Blog - Tales from Our Dordogne Gites...

Elena

Dordogne holiday cottages
Tales from our Dordogne gites
keep in touch with Les Crouquets on Facebook
follow us on pinterest

[Pmagowan]

Hi, guys. Thanks a lot.

Re the spelling mistakes and grandmama, I know, I know...It is not my forte but I will be getting others, more suited than I, to run their eyes over the whole thing before I am finished. I go through a long process of developing the text which involves blasting it out as quick as it comes into my head, mistakes and all, and then gradually working my way through to remove the most obvious errors and finally handing it over to other folk.

At present I am focusing on putting the bones to the blog and also fleshing out my 'Tuscany' things to do sections. The site is riddled with errors, little inconsistencies and bad SEO practice (like unlabelled photos). Hopefully I will get there in the end but thanks for pointing them out, it will save me trying to find those ones.

Elena, your blog is excellent with a particularly topical latest post. I had seen it before when I was checking though everyones blog and it was one of the ones that inspired me. I know what you mean about my font. Normally I don't like anything fancy but I thought it gave the feel of writing. I may change it. Unfortunately to change the colour would be more problematic as it would then be out of synch with my 'theme'. I have quite a good screen and so don't notice the glare so much but I will have to try it on another computer.

I am hoping the blog will develop into quite a varied selection of stories, series etc. That way it may have a broader appeal. We will have to see how successful it is as only time can tell.

Thanks again, all comments greatly appreciated.

[Pmagowan]

p.s. left a message on your blog. Wordpress seems much easier. I wanted mine on my website for SEO but I see yours links well and so there may not be much in it. I might not stay with Disqus if it seems too difficult or puts people off.

[elena]

Unfortunately to change the colour would be more problematic as it would then be out of synch with my 'theme'. I have quite a good screen and so don't notice the glare so much but I will have to try it on another computer.

Maybe it's just my eyes Paddy! After all no one else has mentioned it!!

Thank you for the comment! I will try again with yours - don't quite know what was wrong.

I like Wordpress as it looks clean & simple ( maybe too much so sometimes ?) I'm with the Twenty Eleven theme & it's simple to use but even so I struggle with stuff sometimes ......I'm looking for a suscribe by e-mail thingy & can't find out how...

I really do question if all the time & effort is worth the return but I do enjoy it so will carry on regardless!

Elena
Dordogne holiday cottages
Tales from our Dordogne gites
keep in touch with Les Crouquets on Facebook
follow us on pinterest

[la vache!]

I've got a "subscribe to" on my WP blog Elena, I'll email it to you if you like. And anyone who subscribes to mine is very welcome

[elena]

Thanks Susan, I'd appreciate that!! I've subscribribed to yours so look forward to your next post!!

Elena

Dordogne holiday cottages
Tales from our Dordogne gites
keep in touch with Les Crouquets on Facebook
follow us on pinterest

[elena]

Thanks Susan!

I've managed to add it now after a lot of palaver!! Must just be me doing my usual thing of doing everything technical by much trial & error and not really by know how or understanding...

I think it's working so just need to sit back & see if I get any subscribers

Elena
Dordogne holiday cottages
Tales from our Dordogne gites
keep in touch with Les Crouquets on Facebook
follow us on pinterest