Kick Start Your Blogging

Follow These Steps and Create a Blog Within Minutes!

2009-02-03T23:12:00.006+02:00

Previously we compared “Hosted vs Independent Software”. It is clear that the Newbie should make use of “Hosted” blogs because most of the initial hard work and complexities have been taken care of.

Ideally one should consider beforehand exactly what the subject and purpose of your blog will be. We will ignore that at this stage because we are more interested in just starting!

One of the quickest ways to start is to use Google`s popular Blogger platform. Follow the steps outlined below and create your first blog. Almost all of these steps can be changed again later in case of mistakes (this suits me very well!)

1. Log on to www.blogger.com
2. If you have already signed up with Google previously, log in; otherwise click on “Create a blog”.
3. Enter your existing e-mail address (twice).
4. Enter a (new) password (twice).
5. Enter a”Display name” which is used to sign posts you make on your blog later.
7. Type in the verification code if required.
8. Click on “Continue”.
9. Give your blog a title (“Test” will do as you can change this later).
10. Enter a blog address (URL) and click on “Check availability”. If the proposed address is not available, try a new one. Hyphens can be used e.g. “my-blog-test”.
11. You need not accept that which is available! Try more addresses until you are satisfied because the URL you accept here is permanent.
12. Type in the verification code if required.
13. Skip the advanced options (leave for later) and click “Continue”.
14. Choose a template by clicking on it (this can be changed later) and click “Continue”.

Your Blog Has Been Created and you are on the Internet!

For your convenience I have also included a video which shows the steps described above.

(I will show you how to capture a video at a later stage).

Kick Start Your Blog

2009-01-09T07:22:00.003+02:00

Why are there so many blogs?

Blogs are plentiful because they are easy to create for free by making use of software and hosting such as found at http://www.blogger.com. Starting a blog is a great way to create a web presence. A beginner (or newbie) may however find the first steps towards creating a blog confusing. This article aims to provide a few pointers for the newbie who wishes to take these first steps. Remember we were all newbies at some stage - and many of us still are!

The evolution of blogs:

Blogs have grown from a place to communicate with others who share similar interests to forums being used for various purposes. Yes, you can even earn money by blogging, but that doesn't just happen out of thin air. It requires training, hard work, planning and research. But we all have to start somewhere so why not start by creating our own blog for free? This is a fairly simple process and once you have your blog(s) you can test different designs, postings and content. The sites mentioned above will allow you create a number of different blogs but remember that you have to maintain them to be effective - so don`t overdo things! (see further down for excellent articles on software and places to host your blog for free).

Blogs vs. web sites:

In general it can be stated that it is more difficult and expensive to create your own website than creating a blog. To establish a web site one must go through the process of registering a domain name and designing the web site. It is more costly as such a web site also needs to be hosted compared to the free hosting and pre-designed layouts available to bloggers.

So why not get started with a free blog?

Blogging is about writing - not like writing a novel, but just writing about something as if you are talking to a friend. Keeping a blog can sharpen your writing, researching and internet skills. You may write or even find short, helpful articles that can help to drive traffic to your blog. These skills can be put to good use should you later want to create your own hosted web site.

Once you feel comfortable with the blogging process and you decide to make money, you can get back to the hard work. There are many experts suggesting to us how to make money from blogging. However, the fundamentals are too often ignored in the rush to make money. The truth is that in order to make your blog profitable, you need training, good content, good promotion, lots of marketing and plenty of hard work.

Get started - and happy blogging!

Hosted vs Independent Software

2009-01-07T18:16:00.003+02:00

Where should I host my blog?

This is a question each aspiring blogger has to face very early in the process. The two main options are sumarised below:

Hosted Blogging Software (normally free): With hosted software, you need to enter data so that it can be saved on your host company's servers for free. Your data (blog) is saved on servers from the host company you chose. Some hosts supply software that have paid versions that give you more freedom for customization. The free versions also offer a certain degree of freedom in customization by providing predesigned templates for you to use. The stored data is then accessed for search and interaction purposes.

Independent Blogging Software (normally paid for): This kind of software can be bought on line from software dealers and publishers to be downloaded via the Internet - or it can be installed on web servers. This kind of software allows you more customization but storage (for which you normally have to pay) is often limited because of web server capacities.

For the beginner it is proposed that the first option of Hosted Blogging Software is followed because it can be done for free and provides an excellent platform to improve your blogging skills.

How to Start a Blog Using Blogger - by Tracey A Edwards

2009-01-04T19:20:00.001+02:00

If you want to know how to start a blog then one of the easiest ways to get started is by using Google's very popular Blogger platform.

Not only for beginners (many advanced bloggers like using it too); Blogger is one of the simplest and easiest blogging platforms to get started with.

The first thing you need to do is head over to Blogger.com and set up an account. If you already have an account with Google (such as a gmail email account) then you can login with that.

The next step is choosing a name for your blog. You will need to think carefully about a good name because that will be your website URL that people will use to find you with. It will look something like [yourblogname].blogspot.com so think carefully about what you call it.

If you are writing on a particular topic then try and think of a word or phrase that people would search for to find your topic and use that as your blog name. You can even use your own name if you are going to write about things personal to you.

Then you get to choose a look and feel of your site. Blogger has a few templates to choose from and if you aren't quite sure which one to choose don't worry too much. You can change the template as often as you like and you can even further customize your look by changing the colours and fonts of that template to something you prefer.

After you have chosen your look then you are done.

Now is the time to get posting. The best blogs are those that contain interesting topics or are newsworthy and even a bit controversial. Think about what you like to read about and use that as a guide.

After you start getting visitors to your site you could even try adding some money making features to your blog. Blogger makes it very easy for you to do that too.

Lots of people (including beginners) are already making money from their blogs. Find out how you can make [http://www.traceys-ebooks.com/blogcash/]money from your own blog as well.

Tracey is a writer and internet marketer who knows all the secrets to making money online - well most of them anyway. http://www.traceys-ebooks.com/

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