Monday, December 28, 2009

How to Start a Free Blog

Starting a Blog is not as hard as you might think. But there are a lot of different options to choose from. Here is a short list of tips to help you start your blog quickly and easily.



  1. First you will need to decide if you are going to use a free blog on a site such as blogger.com or wordpress.com or if you are going to buy a domain and get hosting for your own website.


    • If you are going to start off with a free blog, blogger.com is quick to set up. You only have to complete 3 quick steps and you are ready to start blogging! Wordpress is also simple to join.


    • If you decide to get your own domain and hosting (which is what we recommend) you can choose from an unlimited amount of templates for your page and you will have a much larger selection of plug-ins and site options. We will go in deeper detail about this in a future blog. If you want some template options, click here (insert affiliate link)


    *Note: Do not be intimidated by getting a domain and hosting. It used to make us nervous to think about it. Then one day we just did it! Sometimes you have to put your fears aside and just step out on faith.



  2. Once you have your blog set up you will have to create your look. By this we mean you will have to choose a template or layout for your blog. What color you want, what features you can have, such as widgets, or sidebar features. Each of the websites blogger.com and wordpress.com offer a selection of templates you can choose from. If you do have your own website and hosting, you will find multiple sites such as pyzam.com that offer free layouts. The idea here is to make your blog as unique as possible by adding to it your own style so it doesn't look like everyone elses.


  3. Search through all of the options the blog has to offer. Look in the providers sections for add-ons or settings to look at all the different options you can add to your page. You can also do a Google search that will bring back loads of results for pages that offer free downloads for addition features you can add to your blog.


  4. If you are using a free blog you need to decide if it is going to be a public or private site. Are you only going to share the web address with family, friends, co-workers and other people you know? Or do you want people on the internet to be able to search for your website? It is your choice! Depending on what you are using your blog for, your answer may change. We will discuss this more a little later on.


  5. Visit other blogs. One way to get ideas of what you can do with your blog is to look at other blogs. Not to go and make yours look exactly like them but you may get some ideas of similar things you may like but can have yours be slightly different in either color or layout.


  6. Think about what you are going to post. What is your blog going to be about? Are you going to cover your day to day events? Are you going to talk about the latest events going on in your community or business? Do you have a small home business such as making cookies that you would like people to know about? Decide on what the content of your blog is going to cover.


  7. Start posting! Sit and write your first blog. This will make you feel so good. Once you have your first blog written you are probably not going to want to wait to post your next one. It can become quite addictive once you see how fun and easy it is!


  8. Make sure you visit others people's blogs and leave a comment with your blog address. That way people can come and visit yours as well. This is how you will build a blogging community.


Hope this list gives you an easy picture of how to start your blog. Feel free to comment and let us know what you think.

Here is the list of some great free blog host you can use....

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