Windows Live Writer and Blogging Tips

Finding the inspiration for a riveting blog article is not always easy. Certainly, there are times when a story seemingly writes itself. Like a free flow stream of consciousness, the words somehow tumble right out on to the page. Other times, just finding a suitable topic can be excruciatingly difficult.

I carry a gem of wisdom from a Las Vegas bloggers convention I attended last November.  All throughout the day, a blogger should be planning their next article. What to say, how to write it, how to engage readers -- these are the building blocks of the writing process. Creating the skeleton lays the ground work for quality material. As content comes to mind, write it down, or put it on a tape recorder. Pretty soon, the article will take shape. From there, edit like mad.

And when complete, edit again.

Whenever I come across unexpected pearls of wisdom like this on the Internet, I use i-Lighter to gather and save the information for future use. There are many other free applications and tips at a blogger's disposal. Here are a few that seem particularly useful.

Scribefire is a Firefox extension that provides a split-screen blogging platform with any website. While I cannot vouch for its performance, the demo video walks users through the process of installation and use. For bloggers who like to include links to other content, this application streamlines the process.

The upgraded version has many new features, including the ability to add categories for blogs hosted by Blogger.

Many bloggers enhance their articles with images. But did you know that images can also drive traffic to articles? Google Image Search is a popular adjunct of the Google family. In this article, Ljiljan describes the process for making images user friendly and relevant. As with all content, the more unique and easier to find, the higher the content will rank on Google.

Windows Live Writer may still have its kinks, but I personally like it, especially for blogs I maintain at Blogger. I have always had a problem with tagging which WLW easily resolves by installing Technorati tags at the click of a mouse. WLW also includes additional features like video upload, table insertion, line through wording, and well, the list goes on. I love this article by jester-in-exile because it's written using the software. He walks the reader through the various features with humor and insight.

A unique and informative read. The gold standard of every blogger.

Comments

[the jester-in-exile]

thank you for the kind words!

[lights]

You're quite welcome. Always glad to give personal attention to a blogger who thinks outside the box. Well done!

[Blogging tips and insight]

I agree you really think out of the box.