If you are like me, you were given a password but your brain can’t fathom it and so you set your computer to remember it. Easy right. Dangerous I promise.  You have to change it to something you’ll always remember. I’ll tell you why.

Many of us stick with the random password we’re given when we start a new blog and since it’s an impossible string of numbers and letters, we choose the easy option and tell the computer to ‘remember me’. This can be fatal if you are traveling need to upload a post from an internet café or someone else’s computer which happens if there’s some breaking news you need to relay when you computer is back at the office. You don’t have to wait just because you don’t remember your password.

 This is important guys because it can be maddening to your readers when stand them up, you don’t show up, don’t post for a while. Don’t underestimate how annoyed and rebellious your readers will get if you change your posting frequency or abandon your blog for a few weeks. And for you it means starting from scratch and building up the readership all over again when you get back. Why bother when there’s an easy solution?  Just change your password to something you will always remember.

To change your password to something you will remember log in as normal, login as usual, go to Manage and Password options, type in your new password twice in the boxes and upload the changes. Hey Presto it’s done! Now you will have no problem posting from anywhere.

For those with a wildlifedirect.org blog, if you can’t remember your wildlifedirect password and can’t login – just email us on partnerships@wildlifedirect.org and we will immediately change your password for you from our end.

If I told you that your blog is a personal diary then I lied. Your conservation blog is so much more than just a diary, it’s a conversation between you and your readers who you want to become supporters. They must not just read your posts, but to feel compelled to take action. It could be in the form of a comment on the post, which is nice, or preferably in the form of a whopping great donation. Yes! Always keep this goal in mind while you develop your conservation blog.

I’m no expert, but I hope that these tips below help everyone, from beginners to the experienced conservation bloggers, and especially the fatigued. Use these tips to get started - or re-started, to energize your blog posts and drive up traffic and donations. To see what I mean in full colour go to one of my all time favourite blogs which is written by an American retired conservationists, Chris Wemmer who describes his personal adventures in the American wilderness in Camera trap codger
HEADLINE MAGIC

Did you know that 8 out of 10 people read the headline, but only 2 out of 10 go further and read the actual blog post?

To get the reader beyond your title you first need a magnetic headline

“Your headline is the first, and perhaps only, impression you make on a prospective reader. Without a headline or post title that turns a browser into a reader, the rest of your words may as well not even exist.

But a headline can do more than simply grab attention. A great headline can also communicate a full message to its intended audience, and it absolutely must lure the reader into your body text.

At its essence, a compelling headline must promise some kind of benefit or reward for the reader, in trade for the valuable time it takes to read more.”

by Brian Clark

To hook the reader on your title use key words and phrases that get normal people, not just conservationists and donors excited like “Five reasons why gorillas wont survive”, or “Confessions of a poacher”, “secrets of our wild dogs”, “Why I hate scorpions”, “Encounter with a lion” and of course your typical campaign titles eg. “One thousand dollars will save a rhino”Grab attention with an interesting headline - check out Right name for a Spitter)

Raise alarm responsibly! - check Distubing news from Lodja

And above all, be honest - read Safe haven for congo’s orphaned chimps

Are you hooked yet? To read more about headlines go here