VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

craigcrumpton

Hello, all. I'm in need of a better format for a VA newsletter I've been self-publishing for almost a decade.

I know we have lots of bloggers on here, so I'm looking for suggestions that meet the following criteria:

- Simple publishing and editing functions
- Easy to operate and maintain on a daily basis
- Easy archive-by-month capability--automatic is preferable if it can be set up that way
- Ability to upload pics and embed audio/video links
- Ability to moderate and edit feedback comments
- Subscription option for readers
- generally short URLs from the root domain, for deeplinking/marketing elsewhere
- Ability to maintain ownership/rights over your work
- Ability to track traffic stats and outside link sources

I registered a Wordpress blog some time ago in preparations for this, but did not go beyond simple registration. And before I take this "live" I want to make sure I've considered all the best options available.

Thanks to all in advance for their advice and suggestions.
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Publisher: Voice Actors in the News
Host: Viva VO Atlanta! (on VU and Facebook for VO peeps in the Southeast US)

louzucaro · Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2009 11:13 pm Post subject:

Wordpress is a fine solution, especially the hosted version since it's free. If you don't need a ton of bells and whistles, it's a pretty good deal. I believe it'll handle everything you mentioned.
_________________
Lou Zucaro
http://www.voicehero.com

"Well, yeah, there's my favorite leaf!"

Mike Cooper · Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2009 11:40 pm Post subject:

What Lou said.

But wait! There's more!

(shameless plug: http://www.GobsonSticks.com ) Wink

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MIKE COOPER VOICEOVER |
The guy next door. Only better. And British.
web: www.MikeCooperVoiceover.com
twitter: www.twitter.com/MikeCooper

bobsouer · Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 5:27 am Post subject:

Craig,

I've been a fan of Wordpress for a long time, though I know it's not everyone's cup of tea.
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Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express

ccpetersen · Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 7:12 am Post subject:

I use Wordpress, self-hosted, (I almost wrote self-hosed... ) but I know the hosted version is fine, too.
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Mike Cooper · Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 5:49 pm Post subject:

Scott S. · Joined: 05 Nov 2008 Posts: 7 Location: Indiana

I'm also on the self-hosted Wordpress bandwagon. In fact, I just launched my VO website and I built it using Wordpress. It's amazing how much one can do with it.

craigcrumpton · Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 8:20 pm Post subject:

Well, looks like I made the right choice to begin with.

My thanks again to all for their suggestions.

I'll post a link when it goes live, for any who might especially be interested in keeping up with news on voice actors in animation. I plan to include other VO-related industry news as well, but cartoon VAs will be the primary focus.
_________________
Publisher: Voice Actors in the News
Host: Viva VO Atlanta! (on VU and Facebook for VO peeps in the Southeast US)

COURVO · Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 1:57 am Post subject:

Don't do it.!!!

WordPress is unreasonably hard for beginners, and there are unsubstantiated claims that it will increase your ranking on Google searches.

TypePad. TypePad. Typepad.

Affordable. Ridiculously easy. Customizable. Always improving.

My 10-cents

CourVO
_________________
Dave Courvoisier - Las Vegas, NV
http://www.CourVO.com
CourVO@CourVO.com
Courvo's "Voice Acting in Vegas" Blog: http://www.CourVO.biz
on your phone at courvo.mobi
702.610.6288
"I'm not a news anchor, but I play one on TV."

craigcrumpton · Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 3:29 am Post subject:

Dave, I appreciate your suggestion, but "affordable" for me = free. I can't personally justify paying for a blog service since I have no need to use it as a marketing tool but rather a service for those with shared interests. I have no doubts that Typepad is a great service (or they wouldn't charge for it), but @ $4.95 a month you're paying $60 annually just to have a blog?

Also, Wordpress offers 3 gig file storage for free, while Typepad's is only 2 gig for $60 a year. And Wordpress offers optional expanded pay services in the same way that Typepad does.

And for the sake of comparison via Google search:
- Typepad = 18.7 million results
- Wordpress = 283 million results

I haven't found the Wordpress tools to be "unreasonably hard" so far either.

And I don't generally rely on Google searches for web traffic when it comes to something like a blog. It's like retail merchandising: if you offer a quality product, people are going to be interested in it. So if you're a skilled writer and you keep your presentation simple and interesting/entertaining, word of mouth and can do more for you than Google searches ever could. And it also helps to be savvy with web marketing.
_________________
Publisher: Voice Actors in the News
Host: Viva VO Atlanta! (on VU and Facebook for VO peeps in the Southeast US)

craigcrumpton · Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 10:58 pm Post subject:

Well, it went live a few days ago, but somehow I forgot to mention it last time:

http://voiceactors.wordpress.com/

As I stated earlier, I've been self-publishing this as a newsletter for years, but I wouldn't mind getting some feedback on the new format here from you pros.

And I do have a follow-up question for you WordPress vets:

Is there a way to do configure the main feed page so it includes only a summary/capsule-version of each blog entry?
_________________
Publisher: Voice Actors in the News
Host: Viva VO Atlanta! (on VU and Facebook for VO peeps in the Southeast US)

COURVO · Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 11:26 pm Post subject:

Craig,

Criminy!....You didn't tell me you were going to do an honest price-comparison!
I thought we were doing just fine on conjecture and hearsay.

;-}

You make WordPress look like the winner, but as Bob said, it's not everyone's cup of tea.

Lessee... approx 40 hours spent trying Wordpress on 3 different independent, open-minded, hopeful occasions at $100/hour. That's $4,000 I spent to kiss my sister. I think I definitely made the right choice.

CourVO
_________________
Dave Courvoisier - Las Vegas, NV
http://www.CourVO.com
CourVO@CourVO.com
Courvo's "Voice Acting in Vegas" Blog: http://www.CourVO.biz
on your phone at courvo.mobi
702.610.6288
"I'm not a news anchor, but I play one on TV."

bobsouer · Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 4:29 am Post subject:

craigcrumpton · Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 10:41 am Post subject:

bobsouer · Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 11:09 am Post subject:

Craig,

I'll dig a little deeper to see if I can find the answer. Sorry that wasn't it.
_________________
Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express