Chapter 3 : How to Start Your Own Blog in Less than 15 Minutes

Creating a blog is nothing that you need to be afraid of. There is no elaborate planning required either. However, there are a few things you would need to decide. Since these blogging service providers give you a lot of choice in terms of template and color themes, would be require to take those decisions yourself.

The following is a quick guide of what to think over before creating your blog:

  • Theme: Determine what you would be writing about or the nature of the content that you would be sharing with your readers. This depends mainly on your interest. Topics blogging to the field of politics, poetry, arts, current affairs, or almost anything under the sun can be chosen. You can stick to one theme or you can choose to write about whatever concerns you on a day to day basis. Since it is your very own web journal, you can make it as flexible as possible in all aspects.
  • Blogging Provider: Next you need to decide upon which blogging service provider you would like to use. This depends on the kind of reviews that you get about them from friends and acquaintances, or something about them that you may have read online. Otherwise, you can always try out something and find out if you like it. You can try out one of these popular sites: Blogger.com, WordPress.com, Typepad, Blogagotchi.com, Livejournal.com, JournalHome.com, TheDiary.org, Mindsay.com, Blog.com, Diaryland.com, Blogdrive.com, or Xanga.com.
  • Templates: A wide range of templates will be made available on any blogging service you decide to start you blog. Select the one you most prefer or like.
  • Freebies: The advantage with these blogging service providers is that they make your blogging experience as dynamic and interactive as possible. They enable you to install add-on features that include button, pictures, blog chalks, imoods, tagboards such as myshoutbox.com, guest maps, guestbooks, comment boxes for readers' thoughts and views, etc.
  • Additional Features: These interesting ones may not be free. By paying a price you can avail of them.
  • Nature of Blog: You must determine who should read your blog-whether you want it to be read only by a select circle, or must it be open to all. This will depend upon the content, mainly.
  • Layout: Again, there will be a wide range to choose from in terms of layout and color schemes.
  • Content: You could pick up a specific theme and write about it consistently, or merely decide on any random topic as and when it interests you. You could try putting up content for a while and see the kind of response you get, and alter or modify it accordingly.
  • Blogging Circle: Blogging is a great way to come in touch with people from across the globe. You can surf and visit other people’s blogs. Do not spam in their comment section, but write a genuine comment if you have something to say about a particular post.
  • Skins: You can customize and personalize your blog as much as you want. Using software like Photoshop you can create your own skins and make your blog attractive as well as make it reflect you own personality.
  • Publish: Finally when you are done selecting the setting and preferences, selecting a content to put up, you need to publish the content. Do not, however, forget to send the link to your blog to your friends and acquaintances so that they may come visit you.

Once you have started your blog, you will have noticed that it hardly takes fifteen minutes to do so. Maintain the blog is even easier. Here are a few tips that would help you successfully keep your blog going:

  • Update: Update frequently otherwise visitors may stop coming to your blog. It will also give you more confidence to churn out more well worded posts in the future.
  • Personalize: Even though you might be discussing general and universal themes, add your own personal touch to make things lighter and interesting.
  • Theme: If you have a theme blog you can Google for other blogs of a similar kind and build you network.
  • Spelling and Grammar: Make sure you proof read your posts. Spelling and grammatical errors can be a major put-off for many readers.
  • Advertisements: You could play host to sites like Google AdSense and earn revenue by placing their links on your blog.

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