Outline

Course Description:

Online businesses today need to ensure they are reaching their target market effectively. Blogging is a valuable tool for reaching and captivating your market with ongoing information about your products and services. It is a great way to develop trusting relationships with customers and business partners. In this course you will learn about content management systems (CMSs) and blogging platforms. You will also learn a number of ways to market your blog content through social media. Focusing largely on WordPress, you will learn how to configure it in a blog format or as a conventional website. Get ready to start networking, communicating, and sharing ideas!

Learning Objectives:

By completing this course, you will be able to:

Understand what blogging is and how to set one up in WordPress
Understand WordPress' native features, themes, and plug-ins
Understand the dynamics between blogging and social media
Understand the benefits of business blogging and how that differs from other types of blogging
Write and form good content in your blog posts to optimize for best exposure, visibility, and archiving
Set up Google Analytics and understand how to read its data to interpret the effects of your blogging efforts

Course Length:

Approximately 120 hours

Content:

Unit 1: Introduction to Blogging ~ Why Blog?
Unit 2: Preparing Your Blog
Unit 3: What to Look for When Choosing Your Platform
Unit 4: Types of Blogs ~ Personal vs. Business
Unit 5: WordPress Installation and Customization
Unit 6: Configuring Your Blog
Unit 7: Introduction to Themes
Unit 8: Adding Killer Content ~ Your Editorial Calendar and Strategy
Unit 9: SEO for Blogs and Google Analytics Integration
Unit 10: WordPress SEO Plug-ins
Unit 11: How to Make Your Blog Content Search Friendly
Unit 12: Introduction to Blog Directories ~ Building Your Incoming Links
Unit 13: Introduction to Social Media
Unit 14: How Social Media Differs from Blogging
Unit 15: Promoting with X (previously known as Twitter), Facebook, LinkedIn, and More
Unit 16: Introduction to FeedBurner and Pingler
Unit 17: How to Turn Your Email or Blog into a Social Media Hub

Prerequisites:

Working knowledge of Windows 10 or macOS 10 or higher
Working knowledge of file management (saving and retrieving files, creating folders, etc.)
Basic keyboarding skills
Working knowledge of HTML
Working knowledge of basic CSS
Functioning, LIVE website is preferred but not mandatory

Supplies:

Course e-book: Blogging for Business, 50 Steps to Building Traffic and Sales (ISBN 978-0-9561475-2-3)
Computer with a connection to the internet
At least 100 MB of free space on your computer
An email account that allows you to send and receive attachments and saves your SENT messages
The latest version of Firefox (Check mozilla.org for the latest version)
An alternate browser (We recommend Chrome or Safari)

Chris Garrett, a renowned online business consultant and author of Blogging for Business, 50 Steps to Building Traffic and Sales, is generously allowing you to use his e-book free of charge. Thanks for your continuing support, Chris. Visit his website, chrisg.com to learn more about Chris and gain access to excellent content!

ENROLMENT KEY:

The enrolment key for this course is imablogger.

Please click on the Moodle button on this page to your right to log in to Moodle. Doing so tells us you are ready to begin. Once you have enrolled, please return here to proceed through the course content and instruction.

Evaluation:

There are a total of 15 assignments in this course, 13 of which are mandatory and 2 of which are optional. Check the Graded Assignments section at the end of each chapter to see what is expected from you.

The assignments are NOT graded on a percentage basis. Instead, they are graded as either "complete" or "incomplete."

The instructor will use Moodle to indicate whether you need to resubmit any assignments. If you receive a request to “resubmit” an assignment, you must complete the corrections and then resubmit the assignment within the specified timeframe for reevaluation.

Note: Grading time may vary depending on the instructor's workload. If your assignment has not been graded within three (3) business days from the date of submission, please notify your instructor by email, as there may have been an error in Moodle.

In order to receive a passing grade, you must receive a grade of “complete” on at least 80% of the mandatory assignments.

Students who complete all four advanced level courses will receive the Advanced Certificate in Applied Web Development and Design.

Student Forums:

Remember to visit the Student Forums daily to chat with your "virtual" classmates and respond to questions we have posted there. Feel free to post your own thought-provoking questions or statements. These forums are designed to help you interact and feel connected with each other.

Virtual Classroom Sessions:

Below are links to recordings of the Zoom classroom sessions for this course.

Tip: If you are not seeing the results expected, press F5 to refresh.

Please proceed to the Set Up Page before you begin the course.

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