Blogging Tips

A blog is similar to a personal journal or diary, but it is online. In a blog you can express yourself by sharing your thoughts, goals and dreams. A blog is like your own website that is updated on an ongoing basis. The word blog is actually a short form of the word weblog and the two words are used interchangeably.

Blogging is now considered a hobby and every day millions of people, with or without technical ability, write on their blogs. There are been many helpful tools for people to write blogs. With basic instructions you can write your blog. Through the Internet, bloggers are able to reach thousands of people everyday.

Let’s first discuss what you will need for your blog.

First you need software that will run your blog. Programs for blogs are similar to Microsoft Word that you use to create and read text documents. Blog programs allow you to write and publish a blog.

The second thing you need is a place on the Internet to put your blog. You will need a URL, which is an address for your blog so people will be able to find you. This is called "hosting".

You can choose to use a free blog site like Blogger or a paid one. With a paid site you will just get fewer features than what a paid site offers. If you use a paid site you can have more than one author on your. Sometimes in a free site you will find the host puts advertising on your blog. It is a good idea to try the free sites first to start blogging and see how you like it.

Once you signup for a Blogger account you are on your way.

You will need to create your account and then name your blog. Choose a name that represents what your blog will be about or make one using your full name. It is a good idea to have one with your name, as this begins to show you as a leader in your industry.

The next step is choosing a template. There are many amazing templates out there to choose from or you can use the ones supplied on Blogger or Yola. Just click on the top tab where it says template and you will see the free ones to choose from. Click right on the one you like. You will be able to see an example of it with your blog title in place.

Then you can start your first blog. You will want to have a page titled ‘about me’ and be sure to have a small paragraph about you so that people can get to know you from your blog.

There is a place to include your picture, which is again recommended so that people can put a face to the blog writer, so to speak.

Remember to have any pertinent information above the fold, as this is what people will see when they open your link. Some may or may not continue to scroll down, so you want them to see something above the fold that will keep them on your page including a picture of yourself if you choose.

Jill