Task 5 - Create a List of Authority Websites

Image courtesy of Hubspot

Task 5 in this blogging course, involves researching your niche for authority websites and creating a list post of quality authority websites related to your topic.

The first thing you need to do is find the top websites in your industry or niche and tell us why they are so important. They may be sites you already frequent or you may want to do a little bit of research to make sure you are giving us an excellent list.

Once you´ve identified your list of authority websites you will then need to publish it. Create an ordered list using a numbered or bullet point format, whichever you feel most comfortable with (e.g. 1. 2. 3. 4., etc.). For each point, give a brief description of the site and state why it is so important.

Don't forget to add a link to each authority website or blog:

Example:

List of Authority Websites Related to Blogging

1. Problogger.net -  The most extensive website that exists about blogging and how to make money with blogging. Darren Rowse, the author is an experienced blogger that runs a successful blogging business and teaches others how to do the same. He has written many ebooks as well as physical books teaching us how to get the most out of our blogs. 
2. Copyblogger - Brian Clark, provides solutions and great advice which empower bloggers to successfully grow their blogs and online businesses using social media as well as online marketing.
3. SmartPassiveIncome.com - Pat Flynn shows us how he is using his own blog to make money and gives us advise on how we can do the same. The great thing about Pat's blog is that you get to see how someone is really doing things. He's not just telling you. He is showing you through a live, living example, himself. 
4. WriteToDone - A blog about the craft and the art of writing. At the "Write to Done" blog, Mary Jaksch provides a great place for all of us to grow as bloggers or writers. Write to Done  a blog where we can share some of what we have learned as bloggers or writers. 
5. etc.

This post can be a work in progress. You can always come back to it and add other great authority sites that you learn about in the future. You can even ask your readers to suggest more sites in the comment section. 

Task 4 - Embed a Youtube Video in a Post in Your Blog

Task 4 is to add video content to your blog. The idea is to find a useful Youtube video and embed it on your website.

Instructions:

1. Find a Youtube Video related to the topic of your blog.
2. Create a new post about the video. 
3. Embed the video in the post.
4. Write your opinion or a description about the video. 

I have embedded the following Youtube which gives you instructions on how to add the video to your Blogger blog.

Task 3 - Write a List Post

The last task that our 31 Days to a Better Blog manual gave us was to create an elevator pitch for our blog. In today's task, Darren Rowse (the author of book) tells us to write a list post.

What's a list post?

A list post helps us organize a topic we want to blog about. A list could be about anything depending on your blog topic and personal interests or goals.

7 Things to Keep in Mind When Writing a List Post

1. Have a Clear Topic In Mind. If you are talking about dog accessories, do not include cat accesories in your list.
2. Be Specific. Try to narrow down your topic and give valuable information that helps build your reputation as an expert in your niche. 
3. There are different kinds of list posts. 
• List posts can be comprehensive or they can be simple and superficial. 
• Lists can be persuasive or informative. 
• Lists can help you break down complicated or extensive topics into more digestable chunks of information. 
4. List Posts can have different structures. For example, your whole post can be a list or you can have lists within an individual post (like this one). List posts can also have sub-lists like the one on point 3 of this list.
5. Lists can be numbered (like this one) or they can be bulleted (like the sublist on point 3). 
6. It's important to expand upon each point in your list either in the list itself or somewhere else in the post. Not doing so leaves the reader with the sense that your post was too superficial and can hurt your reputation.
7. Put a limit on the number of list posts you do. As Darren Rowse puts it, "lists can be incredibly powerful but readers can become frustrated with them if that is all you do."

Task 2: Create An Elevator Pitch

In this task we will begin working with advice from a great blogging a manual I purchased a while back from my favorite blogging authority: Darren Rowse from ProBlogger.net. It is called 31 Days to a Better Blog and it is quite powerful.

Although Darren suggests we finish all of the activities in 31 days we will only be working on 1 or 2 activities per week. Task 2 is activity # 1 of the 31 days to a better blog:

Create an Elevator Pitch

Basically we need to create a short sales pitch for our website (blog) that has to be short enough that we can tell it to someone on a ride up on an elevator. About 100 to 150 words.

It has to tell people what our blog is about and why they should be reading it. For example a possible elevator pitch for a Harry Potter blog can be:

"Harry Potter fan club website that tries to reveal all of Harry Potter's best moments as well as giving us ways to bring Harry Potter out of the movies and books and into our everyday life."

Once you have your elevator pitch, create a "PAGE" not a post on blogger and post it as your "About Me."

All done? Go on to Task 3: Write a list post.

Task 1: Create and Tweak Your Blog

In this class we will be working with Blogger. There are many other blogging platforms like Wordpress, Tumbler, etc., however in order to keep things uniform we will all be using Blogger for this specific classs.

You are welcome to also create blogs using other platforms. I will add them to our student's blog directory. For now simply create and tweak a blogger blog.

Once you have created your blog, please send me the link then go on to task 2: Create an Elevator Pitch.

Welcome to the AIS Student Blogs Headquarters

Welcome to Altamira International School's 2012 - 2013 Blogging Class. This is going to be a wonderful year. Here is a picture of our group and teachers:

Mr. Luis Blanco right, and Mr. Serapis Murillo Left

AIS Blogging Class 2012 - 2013

AIS Blogging Class 2012 - 2013

Here we will post instructions regarding our blogging efforts. We each need to actively participate in our personal blog and complete the required assignments. 

Students' Tasks Progress Checklist

Here you will see what tasks you have completed and which ones you are missing.