Blogging for Beginners

If you like to write you everyday thoughts or share ideas with others than a blog may be for you. A blog is a digital journal of sorts and can be designed in a variety of styles and formats and is a worldwide phenomena. The term "blog" is short for "weblog".

Blogging sites, which are free, offer various features to a blogger, such as hyperlinks, straight texts, pictures and may even allow video and MP3 files to be added to your blog. There are some blogger that take advantage of the latter and choose to make their blogs audio focused by using spoken entries. This is more commonly referred to as audio blogging.

All blogs will contain the following features:
The Title - a label for you post.
The Body - the actual content
Trackback - links added to other sites that linkback to your blog
Permanent Link - each blog or article that is written by you will have its own URL
Comments - readers can post comments on your blog

Blogging is easy since it only requires a few templates, unlike websites, where you need numerous pages. The creation of new pages is extremely easy since blog sites have fixed settings for the title, body, category, and more. Beginners and jump right in and have a blog up and running in no time.

The first step to starting a blog is to register or become a member of a blogging website. With the membership you become a part of that particular blogging community at which time you can scan through other member's blogs. When you find blogs that you particularly like or relate to yours, you can then link those blogs to yours. Also, you will be able to add comments to member's blogs.

Besides personal use, blogs can also be used anyone involved in politics, sports, as a social or philosophical commentary, and more. Thus, blogging then becomes more targeted to a specific theme or topic.

Blogs can also be used to advertise. Entrepreneurs can promote their businesses using their blog. This is an excellent means of promotion since there are millions of people visiting blogs everyday.

Overall, personal blogs or digital journals is the leading use of blogs. It was the original use of blogs. Individuals blog their everyday happenings, struggles, self publish poems, writings, and share opinions.

Bloggers also talk to other bloggers. Communities of people start sharing ideas and soon there is an established circle of bloggers.

A visit to a blog directory will assist in finding a blog that focuses on a particular subject. A search in the directory offers a list of blog sites that are categorized for easy reference. Beginners can browse the directory to get ideas.With blogging anyone can express themselves, publish For even more info on this, please visit website http://www.ebookscomputer.com/. Good Luck! :-)

little Bird and Ong

Get a Free Blog Part 2

Note that there are options above the field to bold, italicize, underline or spell check the text. There is also the option of changing the size and color of the text, plus the ability to add bullet points, numbered lists and even pictures. For now, you’ll just do a simple "Welcome" post.

In the "Title" field, type "Welcome!" In the "Body" field, type your message. You could start with a simple introduction, talking about yourself and the purpose of the blog. When you’re done typing the message, click the "Publish" button. It is worth noting that you can choose to save the post as a draft, if you want to go back and later finish the post.After you’ve clicked "Publish", you’ll see that your blog has been published successfully. Click the "View Blog" link to view the results of your work. You’ll now see your post.Logging into Blogger after the first post

You’ll go to Blogger.com and click on the "Old Blogger" link at the top right of the page.Type in the email address and password that you signed up with. You’ll be taken to the "Dashboard" of your blog. If you want to enter a new post on your blog, click "New Post". Then follow the instructions mentioned in the previous section. Or if you want to edit the template, add/edit elements to your page, you’ll click "Settings" and then "Template". That’s all there is to it. Blogs, whether they are hosted at blogger.com or another free blog site, are incredibly useful and fun.

Blogger makes setting up and running a blog very easy for those who have never done it before. So what are you waiting for? Sign-up for a free blog at Blogger.com today and enjoy posting!

little Bird and Ong

Get a Free Blog Part 1

Over the past few years, blogs have become incredibly popular. Just about everyone who uses the internet also has a blog. You want to get in on the action, but you're not sure how to get your own blog.

Luckily for you, sites like Blogger.com have made it easy to set-up and make posts on a blog. In this newsletter, we will go over everything from signing up for a blog on Blogger.com to choosing a template (look) to finally making a first post.

What is Blogger.com?

Simply put, Blogger.com is a site that hosts blogs for free. This makes it even easier for you to have a blog because there is no need to set up a web site and host the blog yourself. All you have to do on Blogger.com, once you've signed up, is login to your blog, write a blog post and click submit. It‘s that simple.

What will my web address be on Blogger.com?

Your web address will be http://yourname.blogspot.com. One thing that people dislike about Blogger and other free blog sites is that they don’t have as great of a freedom in choosing a name. You are limited to choosing only what is available. So if you’re looking for http://yankeesfan.blogspot.com, you probably won’t be able to find that.

Signing up for a blog on BloggerThe first thing you’ll do is go to blogger.com. Next, you’ll scroll down the page and click on the button labeled "Create Your Blog Now". You will then be taken to a page where you will enter an email address(used to log into your blog), a password, and a word verification. You’ll also have to check "I Accept Terms of Service". Click continue.

Next, you will be taken to a page where you will choose the blog title, blog address, and another word verification(which is done to prevent auto-signups). When you type in your blog address, you can click a link that says "check availability". This will tell you whether or not the desired name is available. If the first name you wish to have is not available, keep typing in different variations of the name until you find one that is available.After you have put in all the information, click "Continue".Choosing a Template

After you click "Continue", you’ll be asked to choose a template. The template can be changed at any time after you sign-up for the blog, so you don’t have to choose an "official" template now.

If you scroll down, you’ll see a variety of different templates. Click on the one that you like best and then click "Continue".

Your First Blog Post

After you’ve chosen a template, you’ll see that your blog has been created and that there is a button to "Start Posting". Click that button.You’ll be taken to a page that is similar to the posting page at a message board. There is a "Title" field, where you can put in the title of this particular blog posting. Then there is a bigger field, which is the body of your post. Type all you want in this "Body" field, as there is no limit.

little Bird and Ong

Where do I blog now that I know what blogging is?

What is social networking doing in the marketing world? Social Networking on sites such as Myspace, FaceBook and Multiply were originally intended as a way for us to network with friends, create new ones and catch up with old ones. So why all the fuss in the marketing world over it? Social Networking has become a valuable marketing tool for any business whether marketing a product or service. Here are some tips that should be followed in order to get the most out of your marketing opportunities in this venue.

A. ProfilebMany business ventures that attempt to go into the social networking sites do not take the time to fill out a profile. This is a huge mistake. Profiles are one the best ways to introduce yourself or your company to the world. It is important to include links to your website for further information but just as important is a short bio listed here. Tell potential clients about you and your company. Make them feel as though they know you as a friend. Why? To become for example "The source you can trust" you must build that trust somewhere.

B. Allow everyone who requests to be added to your network be added. You never know where your next client may come from. It is sort of like when a consumer walks into a brick and mortar store and they bring a friend who brings a friend who brings a friend. You get the idea.

C. Comments - allow both those on your list and those just visiting to leave comments. Even more important, every time someone leaves you a comment, reply. This builds communication between yourself and your consumers. Again building trust.

D. Blogs - This is a great way for you to self promote your service or product. The key here is not to use it as an advertisement. Let's say that you sell strawberries. A great blog would be recipes that use strawberries. Your signature box will one more time have your website address on it so they will know where to go buy the strawberries. Let's say your service is writing business plans. Why not write a blog on the importance of competitive analysis. Blogging is a free way to draw attention to your clients. By ensuring that key words are inserted into your blogs, they will become search able by potential consumers.

E. Groups and Forums - Every social networking site has a group or forum section on it.Join the groups or forums that are relative to your product or service. Post intelligently in either of these and often. See how quickly you will become an authority in your field. The person whom people look to as "a source they can trust".

A few key reminders:

Write intelligently Include keywords in all content to ensure search engines will find youUpdate daily or at very least weekly to keep your name freshBe sure your web site link is in all signature boxesHappy networking.

little Bird and Ong

3 Important Questions to Ask Yourself before you start a blog

1. Why is a blog important to your business?
2. Why do you want to go into the blogging world?
3. What is it that you want from blogging?

Before getting knee deep into an Internet blogging of any kind, you should have written down the answers to these three questions. Sure we have all heard publicity is a good thing, but is all publicity a good thing?

I have seen more business’ come and go over the years that I can not even keep count. So what is so important about blogging? No matter what type of business you plan to get into or are already in, if you want to be successful you need to have a solid marketing plan. Not just some sugar coated piece of paper to wave around and attract flies with, a well thought out marketing plan can let you look at where you are starting and where you want to go. Even more importantly what steps you need to take in order to get there.

Getting started is really the hardest part of writing your own blog . The three questions above are the basis for a business blog for marketing. Let’s reverse the order and start with number 3. What is it that you want to achieve from blogging? If you don’t know, then your ideas are just a pie in the sky dream. If you are just beginning , think about the things that you are passionate about in your business. Why do you believe in the product or services that you are selling? What aspect got you into the business?

Find a niche that you have some passion for and use it to your advantage. No company is more successful than one who’s Owner is passionate about what they sell or offer. Who is your product or service for, who is your audience? Who is going to buy your product or services? Why are they going to buy from you verse some other company? Spend some time surfing the internet to find out who the competition would be, what are you selling that they are not, is there a need for something else that you found in your search? Write the answers to all these questions down and you will be well on your way to creating your business blog.

Point 2, why do you want to go into the blogging world in the first place? What is it that attracts you to the idea? How can you bring something to the blogging world that perhaps your competition has not thought of? Is there some unique sales vehicle that you can think of? Write down what your particular assets are in business. Where do you lack and where are you proficient?

Point 1, why is a blog important to your business? Consider the positives and negatives on not seeing your customers face to face. Can you market yourself over the Internet as well as you can in person? Can you generate enthusiasm for your product or service through words and pictures? Here is the real kicker that causes more bloggers to fail. How are your potential clients going to find you? What marketing strategies are you going to employ to ensure your product/service is not just out there in cyberspace floating around?

So now you know the basics of what you want to say and why. Next time we will discuss how to put these ideas into words on the screen. Until then, happy blogging.

little Bird and Ong