25 Lessons you can learn from Jeff Chandler

1. Don’t buy a theme unless there is guaranteed support.

Jeff included this as one of his 7 tips for customers and theme authors.

You can’t even begin to think about purchasing a theme unless you know for certain you’re going to receive quality support. I remember coming across a really slick design that I fell in love with but because I couldn’t access the forums without being a paid member, I couldn’t get a feel for how good support was. Sure, the email and forum support could have been top notch but since I had no way of knowing that before hand, it was a risk I wasn’t willing to spend 75$ on.

I’ve lost count of the number of themes I’ve bought that have had poor support. In one case, I went to the support forum afterwards and found the guy had some rude and insulting replies. Fortunately, I had only lost $30 on that theme.

2. Create a block for highlighted guest posts

Jeff talked about this being an easy way to highlight the guest posts.  An alternate method is to give some guest posters their own author box.

3. Use twitter as a news source

Jeff discussed this further in keeping an eye out for post ideas

Without a doubt, the biggest source of ideas to write about has come from Twitter. The WPTavern twitter account follows 237 people, 95% of these folks have something to do with WordPress. Through theme and their streams, I get links to interesting sites, ideas, discussions, etc. For a long time, I practically stopped using my feedreader in place of Twitter because it was that effective for me.

This is something that many of use do, but requires caution. Many people post false news on twitter in the hope of getting retweeted and getting addition traffic to their site.

4. Blogging and podcasting are two different medias.

Jeff wrote about this in an interview at Blogger Talks

Well, I’ve certainly learned a few lessons while producing Perfcast for Performancing.com. Initially, I thought the podcast would have a huge audience considering Performancing.com had a huge audience. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out that way as I learned that podcasting and blogging serves the needs of two completely different audiences. While the site reached thousands of people per day, the podcast reached a total download number of100 on a good week. When I finally came to this realization, I changed the way in which I produced the show and now that I cater to each audience with only a few intertwining elements, things seem to be picking up. Podcasting is interesting in that, what could take 2-3hours to write might only take 5-10 minutes to discuss. I will say that producing a semi-professional podcast takes much longer than writing a blog post but the beauty of live, interaction with your audience more than makes up for the effort involved.

All methods of sharing content online differ in the amount of work involved in creating and promoting. I recommend that you get some experience before trying to do something on a professional basis.

5. You should have a blog.

This was one of the tips Jeff shared at Blog Design Studio.

If one is interested in freelance writing online, the single most important thing you SHOULD do is have a blog. This blog should be used as your always updating resume. If you’ve got what it takes, interested parties will discover your work through any number of means and offer you a job. This is what happened to me. I began writing a blog and set out to do it for one year as an experiment. I wanted to see what would happen to me after one year and when I reached the 6 month point in the project, a major WordPress community site owner approached me and asked if I would be interested in writing for him and that he would pay me. That was a shock to me considering I had no idea someone would be reading what I published on my blog and then offer me a paid writing gig to write the same content but for them.

Since starting my blog, I’ve had so many people reach out to me for paid work and advice. I believe that regardless of what you are selling, you should have an online presence.

6. Do the best job possible

He later said

Also, when you are hired on to write content for someone else, do the absolute best job that you can. Remember, each site you write for usually means your work will appear in front of new eyeballs. Also, those who read your content may be your future employer. Use each writing gig as a stepping stone to something bigger and better.

I really liked the part where Jeff mentioend that your readers may be your future employers. Its best not to post nasty or insulting posts about anyone in the industry just in case they choose to work with you.

7. Create a lifestream

One the tips Jeff gave on Blogging Tips was to use the OneNews PopURL Clone.

If paying $49.99 seems like too much money, you can opt to use the One News WordPress theme which looks similar to PopUrls. One News is a simple way to display aggregated content thanks in large part to the SimplePie RSS plugin that is built in. Word of warning though, this theme is old as it was created in June of 2007 so it may not work correctly with WordPress 2.7. Also, you will need to touch the code within the theme in order to configure it properly.

This was an interesting idea – one that I’ve seen a number of blogs pick up on. Since that post was published, a number of other designers have released lifestream themes.

8. Link Out On A Regular Basis

Jeff wrote about this on Performancing

In my own experience, each time someone has linked to a specific post on my blog, I always visit that post in return and give them a thank you. Sometimes, that blog author replies to my comment and before you know it, we regularly exchange emails. Through the use of pingbacks/trackbacks, linking out is like sending out a beacon. Not only are you letting that person know that you have linked to them but you also let them know that your blog exists. Sometimes, thats all it takes is to let someone know you’re out there.

I have had this happen quite frequently during this blog series. Additionally, I have had people contact me via twitter and other methods. I didn’t believe it, but it is a really effective way of getting attention.

9. Don’t change your wordpress theme too often

Jeff wrote about this in a performancing post about the perils of changing wordpress themes.

This is a topic I’ve been discussing with others regarding the long term consequences of using and changing WordPress themes. Immediately from a branding point of view, you don’t want to change themes every other week or every other month for that matter. It’s best to find a design you can stick with for a prolonged period of time not only to build your identity, but give readers a feeling of expectation. When your design changes numerous times a year, readers are forced to find bits and pieces of information which becomes a frustrating experience.

I changed my wordpress theme multiple times in the prelaunch stage. This is because I wanted the right theme that I would be able to commit to for a long period of time. Its best to trial out a number of themes on a practice site before going live.

10. Research before doing an interview

Jeff discussed this in how to conduct a great interview

This leads me to the short and sweet point that RESEARCH is your number one key to victory for producing a quality interview. The best interviews I have ever conducted have been with people or on topics which I know quite a bit about. There are a couple of reasons on why research is so valuable to an interview. For starters, it builds confidence. Secondly, it helps to generate natural conversation. Interviews sound so much better when they don’t appear to be manufactured or based on a script. Being well researched enables you to ask questions that are somewhat related to the topic at hand without sticking to one talking point. Last but not least, the more research you do, the more interesting and informing your questions SHOULD be. All of the easy to answer questions which are just a Google search away should never be asked during an interview.

I try to ask a lot of questions before interviewing a person, and also before a meetup. I find that the person appreciates the amount of time your dedicated and it also results in a better video.

11. Listen To Yourself

Jeff expanded on this in an article based on his experiences with podcasting

 This is one of the tougher things for an individual to do. Just like some actors who hate watching themselves perform on the big screen, many people don’t like listening to themselves on a recording. I am one of those people. The first time I listened to a recorded show that I participated in, I cringed at the sound of my voice and how I presented myself. However, doing this has allowed me to tap into the perspective that my audience has and I have since improved my ability to present information as well as clarify my speech. Once you learn to relax and get over hearing yourself speak, take that opportunity to improve upon your spoken word.

You can also watch video interviews of yourself. I find this hard, but its a good way of discovering my flaws when speaking.

12. Flip your domains

Jeff talked about this in a Performancing article.

Domain Flipping is the process of buying a domain or website, fixing it up and selling it for a profit. So if you have a somewhat good domain name, slap on a CMS, add some relevant content for a niche and then try to sell the site.

This is a very useful tip – especially if you are like me and can’t bear to get rid of solid domains. I’d love to hear about peoples experiences with flipping domains.

13. Get a core group of people ready

Jeff included this tip in Three Things I’ve Learned Building A Forum

One of the best things to happen for me even before the actual launch of the forum is that there are a core group of 10-30 people who visit the forum on a regular basis. Many of those are already replying to forum threads or creating new ones. This means that when I go through the actual launch process, their will already be a considerable amount of content for new users to browse and interact with.

This can apply to other launches – I already have a core group of people ready for my launch tomorrow. Of course, my friends haven’t added content to the blog but they have offered their support in other ways.

14. Forget Digg Get Stumbled

Jeff wrote about this in Three Tips For Increasing Value Over Time

If you make the front page of Digg, good. However, you can only make the front page of Digg once. With Stumbleupon, getting a rush of traffic is as easy as asking someone to submit the article to the service. After that, a few stumblers will come passing by and there is no telling when the next wave of stumblers will pass through.

I dream of getting dugg, but I also know that getting stumbled may be better. However, hitting the front page of Digg may result in more bragging rights.

15. Go into detail on your about page

Jeff went into detail about this on What Should Go On Your About Page  

As far as detailed information is concerned, depending on the type of blog this is, you can add your real name, occupation, hometown, education, etc. As for myself, I treat my About Page as part of my resume and so, most of what you would see on a resume is published on my about page. This gives prospecting employers information that they would otherwise have to contact me for.

16. Join A Blogging Network

Jeff wrote about this in creating opportunities through blogging

If your site is concentrating on a particular niche and you are still not over the hump in terms of the next level, consider submitting your blog to a network which covers your subject matter. An excellent example is the Grand Effect blogging network. Grand Effect is a blogging network which has gathered a number of smaller, more concentrated tech bloggers who are writing excellent content yet, they are not busting at the seems with traffic and therefor, can not net those good advertising deals. Being part of a blog network gives you strength in numbers. It also allows the network owner to successfully obtain bigger advertising deals.

I can see this working very well for certain niches or groups of people. It is not a true network as such, but can be a useful way to combine resources.

17. Have a twitter account for your website

Jeff has a seperate twitter account at WPTavern. This can avoid diluting your brand and ensures your posts are highly targeted.

18. have an ask jeff feature

19. Feature forum content as part of the main site

Jeff has a category on the main page featuring the latest forum posts. This is a very good way of drawing users into your other content.

20. Use oio publisher

Jeff uses OIO Publisher plugin to manage advertising. This solution makes it easier for both you and the advertiser and saves time.

21. Add humour

In the footer, Jeff says that the site is powered by both Wordpress and mountain dew. This is hilarious for those who know Jeff well.

22. Request feedback

Jeff did this in a recent poll at the tavern. This is useful to get ideas for improvements, but also serves as having public compliments for you and your work.

23. Include a trivia show or post

Jeff has a trivia show on his Wordpress Weekly podcast. This technique can be very useful for developing a community.

24. Brand your site

Jeff has worked very hard to brand his site to look like a tavern – including having beer bottles for the subscriber options. This really adds to the community feel – as Jeff originally said, similar to a tavern.

25. Make it easy to submit guest posts

Jeff has dedicated a section of the site to people seeking to guest post. Having this page on your blog can reduce your workload – especially if the submissions go to a dedicated account.