Family History Episode 38 – How to Start a Genealogy Blog, Part 1

Family History: Genealogy Made Easy
with Lisa Louise Cooke
Republished July 1, 2014

family history genealogy made easy podcast

with Lisa Louise Cooke

https://lisalouisecooke.com/familyhistorypodcast/audio/fh38.mp3

Download the Show Notes for this Episode Welcome to this step-by-step series for beginning genealogists—and more experienced ones who want to brush up or learn something new. I first ran this series in 2008-09. So many people have asked about it, I’m bringing it back in weekly segments.

Episode 38: How to Start a Genealogy Blog, Part 1

Have you ever thought about starting your own genealogy blog? Or, if you have, have you wished you could get some expert tips on making it better? In these next few episodes, we’re going to talk about sharing your research and/or your thoughts on the research process by blogging. But even if you don’t plan on starting a blog anytime soon, I know you will enjoy the seasoned genealogy blogger I’ve invited to start us off. The Footnote Maven’s passion for genealogy is contagious, and you’ll enjoy her sense of humor, and words of wisdom.

I caught up with the Footnote Maven at the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree. She has been blogging for quite some time now and has much to share on the subject. Her two very popular blogs, FootnoteMaven and Shades of the Departed, are widely read by genealogists everywhere.

In this episode, she shares:

  1. specific tips for getting started, how she prepares her blog posts
  2. what she would have done differently if she could start all over again
  3. 9 tips for getting readers to leave comments.

But first, a Mailbox Moment:

A reader writes in to comment on Episode #36 and questions regarding Family Tree Maker and Ancestry.com. He sends this link, which shows how to use both websites to search for a female who has married. As you suggested, entering the Birth Name in the database, but how to locate that person using Family Tree Maker’s Web Search feature at Ancestry.com. This specific example is for a census record, but other records can also be found using this same technique.

Family History Blogging with the Footnote Maven

According to her website, a “footnote maven” is someone who is dazzlingly skilled at inserting a citation denoting a source, a note of reference, or a comment at the foot of a scholarly writing.

Footnote Maven’s thoughts on getting started with your own genealogy blog: Go look at several genealogy blogs. What do you like? What do not like? Design wise and content wise. Ask yourself what kind of blog you want to write. Who is your audience? What will you offer them?

Biggest piece of advice: You don’t want to be someone else – be yourself!  Everybody else is already taken! “There is something wonderful in all of us – we just have to determine what that is and showcase it.” Pick your niche and stay there. And love doing it, because you’ll never get rich at it! She says, “It is the breath I take…It’s the reason I get up in the morning.”

What She Would Do Differently If She Could Have:

  • 25 posts in draft ready to go allowing more editing time
  • I would tinker more with the look of my blog until it was the way I wanted
  • Invite a few friends to test drive it

And she’ll tell you what was even harder for her than starting her first blog!

Now that the genealogy blogging community is established, people don’t comment as frequently. Footnote Maven shares these for getting comments on your blog:

  1. Thank people for the comments they leave on your blog
  2. Go to their blog and read it
  3. Tell the blogger the positive points in what they are doing
  4. Host a “Carnival” on your blog
  5. Post “off the wall” stuff once in a while
  6. Have good, creative titles for your posts – something that’s going to spark the interest
  7. Use a word in your title that folks haven’t heard before to catch attention
  8. Tag your posts and images
  9. Include “keywords” such as “genealogy.”

Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode 246

In last month’s episode we talked about how to construct a great family history story for video. Video is the perfect medium for sharing your family’s history. It captures the interest of the eyes and the ears. 

In this episode I’ve got the ideal tool for you to use to make your video: Adobe Spark Video. Adobe Spark Video is a free app and website tool that makes it easier than ever to create shareable videos.

Click below to listen:

Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode 246 with Lisa Louise Cooke
October 2020

Watch the Companion Video & Get the Full Show Notes

This episode features the audio from Elevenses with Lisa Episode 16 – How to Make a Video with Adobe Spark. Watch the video and read the full show notes here.

how to make a video with adobe spark video step-by-step tutorial

After listening to this episode, watch Elevenses with Lisa episode 16 How to Make a Video with Adobe Spark  to learn how to make videos quickly and easily for free.

Genealogy Gems Premium Members can download the handy PDF show notes for each of these Elevenses with Lisa episodes. Simply log into your membership, and then in the menu under “Video” click “Elevenses with Lisa.” Click the episode and scroll down to the Resources section of the show notes.

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Premium Members have exclusive access to:

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Getting Your Family History Digitized

I use Larsen Digital and have been extremely pleased with the service and results. The folks at Larsen Digital have put together special and exclusive discounts for Genealogy Gems listeners and readers. Click here to learn more and receive exclusive discounts and coupon codes.

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Podcast Resources

Download the episode mp3
Show Notes: The audio in this episode comes from Elevenses with Lisa Episode 16. Visit the show notes page here

U.S. Passport Applications for Genealogy: Find Immigrant and Traveling Ancestors

passport applicationsHave you ever thought to use passport applications for genealogy–to search for your immigrant or traveling ancestors?

Passports were issued in the U.S. beginning in the late 1700s, but weren’t required except during times of war until 1941. These records can be an excellent place to learn an immigrant’s date of arrival, the arrival ship and date of naturalization (if naturalized).

Two Quick Tips for Researching U.S. Passports for Genealogy

  • Passports expired every few years, so people reapplied. You may find multiple applications for those who traveled abroad more than once. Subsequent applications will refer back to a prior one.
  • In earlier years, look for married women and minor children in group passports issued under the name of the head of household.

Where to Find Passport Applications

Passports Genealogy

Resources

A Page of History: Passport Applications  by Phil Golfarb

Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast Episode 124 interview with author Phil Goldfarb on the history of passport applications and celebrity passport stories. Available to Genealogy Gems Premium members.

Family History Made Easy podcast for free, step-by-step beginner and back-to-basics genealogy education

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