How do you create a blog? So how do you get started?
- First,
explore the blogging community and see what it is like. Try some blogs
already on the Intenet.
- Identify
the purpose of your blog. Does it fit with your vision and objectives?
What do you want to accomplish?
- Find blogs
on the Internet that would be similar to your purpose. For example,
if you are starting a blog on anti-aging products, you could do this
step by going to Google and entering anti-aging +blog in the text box
for searching. You will probably get about 250,000 web pages returned.
Not all of these pages are from blogs, but notice which blogs are there
and visit them. How is your blog going to be different from the sites
returned? Study these blogs to see their strengths and weaknesses. One
of the best blog directories is at http://www.blogarama.com/.
Study these blogs. What are their strengths and weaknesses? How will
yours be different?
- Map a strategy for your blog. Blogs are supported by what is known as a blogging platform, or program. Most users want some way of enabling their track blog traffic, perhaps be able to add advertising, and some support for customizing - such as adding your own header. Most users want trackback support (Chapter 6). On the other hand, if you have limited technical skills or the money to pay for it, you might want a simple tool so you get yourself blogging quickly and economically.
The first
blogging software or platform appeared in the mid-90's and introduced
by blogger.com. Those early blogs were simple journals. Today there are
two main categories of blogging software:
- You add
your blog to an existing web site that supports multiple blogs. You
don't need any technical expertise to start a blog this way and many
of these blogs are free. The disadvantages are the lack of customization
that you can do and the limited features (such as free http://www.blogger.com/).
- Another
type of blog utilizes a platform that hangs off an exsiting web site.
These can still be free, however. The advantages with this is that you
can often do a lot of customization and personalize your blog if you
have the skills (such as the free WordPress at http://www.wordpress.org/
or
commercial http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/)
(Adapted from Blogging for Success, by Carl Townsend)
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