It’s actually easier than you may think.
- Determine a theme. Most bloggers take one of three approaches. Some write on whatever happens to interest them at the moment. In this sense, their blog is truly a “web journal.” Others, select a single theme and stick to it. Frankly, this takes a lot of discipline. Still others, like me, focus on a primary theme but occasionally deviate from it. If you want to develop a following of loyal readers, I think the latter two approaches are best. People who have similar interests will keep coming back for more.
- Decide where you fit. Specific niches work better than general blogs. You have some form of expertise that's unique. Maybe you know about Midwifes in the seventh century. Perhaps you want to start a horse riding school for abused kids. You can blog about anything, but it's best to blog about what you know.
- Set up your blog. This a very simple process. Don’t be put off because it sounds technical. It usually isn’t. You won’t need to become a geek. However, you will have to make some decisions about how you want your blog to look. You’ll have to decide on a “theme,” meaning the colors, number of columns, and the overall look and feel of your blog. You may want to include your picture. If so, you’ll need a digital copy. Regardless, this is something you can tweak as you go.
- Write your first post. Okay, now you’re ready to create your first post. If you haven’t done a lot of writing, this may prove to be the most difficult part. If you don’t have a lot of experience, keep your posts short. Develop momentum. Get the hang of it. Stick to what you know. You probably take for granted the fact that you have a great deal of specialized information that others will find helpful—possibly even fascinating. If you don’t know where else to start, begin with a “Welcome to My Blog” post. Tell your prospective readers why you have started your blog and what kinds of things you intend to write about.
- Don't be intimidated. Most bloggers are not professional writers, they just have something they want to say. Blogs are not epic tales, they're generally quick reads.
- Add the bells and whistles. Most blogs allow you
to post the books you are reading, albums you enjoy, and various other
lists. The best way to get an idea of
what is available is to read other people’s blogs and take note of what
you like. Most of these add-ons are available here.
- Publicize your blog. You’ll want to make sure you’re “pinging” the major weblog tracking sites. Most of the blogging services handle this automatically, as do the offline blogging clients. Don’t worry if you don’t understand this process. You don’t need to understand it to use it. Basically, your service or software will send a notification to the tracking sites to alert them that you have posted a new entry. Make sure that you contact everyone you think might be interested in your blog.
- Write regularly. Writing = activity = readers. This is the best advice I could give you for building readership. If people like what you write, they will come back. However, if there’s nothing new to read, they will eventually lose interest. So, the more regularly you post something, the more your readership will grow. I suggest you schedule time to write. It won’t happen on it’s own. At some point, it comes down to making a commitment and sticking to it.
Finally, I would suggest that you be patient with yourself. Writing
is like anything else. The more you do it, the better you get. If you
have a little talent, and stick with it, you’ll eventually get into the
rhythm and joy of it.
Tips
- If you update your blog frequently, more people will return on a regular basis to read it. Establishing a reader base will motivate you to write more and in turn more people will read your posts.
- Keep the posts interesting. Try to avoid focusing on things that most readers won't find worthwhile (such as "I went to the mall today and saw Kelly.")
- Spellcheck your writing before posting.
- Some sites allow you to make money off your blog by using an Amazon Associates ID or by placing Google Ad Sense advertisements. If popular enough, your blog could start to pay your bills!
- Don't feel bogged down if no one visits your site for the first few months. As with communities this large, it will take some time for your blog to get noticed.
- If you want a broad (international) readership, do not use too many abbreviations or slang terms that might not be easily understood by people who are not from your country/area.
- There are three basic types of blogs: a personal journal (Dooce.com,zaftigjones.blogspot.com, stephanieklein.blogs.com), a "link" blog (Instapundit.com), and a reporting blog (Wonkette.com). Successful blogs find a niche an stick with it. Is there some aspect of your life you're burning to share? Are you an expert in some field of knowledge? Are you obsessed with a current event? Do you have inside knowledge of a corporation, law firm or government branch?
- A personal blog is the hardest to brand (for want of a better word). Even if you're a brilliant writer and profoundly funny, it helps to figure out what distinguishes you from other people. Everyone's day to day life is more or less the same, but everyone has something unique about them as well. Not everyone has an M.A. in nutrition or has raised an adopted child.
- HTML, the language used to design websites, is your friend. Learning basic HTML is far easier than the language you studied in high school. The Help section of Blogger.com can teach you all the HTML you need to learn how to manipulate your site, add links in text and anything else you need to make your site exactly the way you want it.
- Remember you can be anonymous! This is one of the best aspects of blogging. No one has to know who you are! If you prefer, you can even invent a blog personality to use.
