Blogging 101

To Blogger or not to Blogger, that is the question that new bloggers need to ask. What this means is whether you should use a free blogging host or pay to have your own hosting. For people new to blogging, I would recommend using a free host service like Blogger.com or Wordpress.com. This is a great way to “try before you buy”. No sense investing any money in it if there is a chance you will not like it or continue. But if you have blogged before or know you want to do it, then a free host limits your blogging ability. You are limited not only in how much control you have over your blog (widgets, style, layout) but also in the content you are able to include! The Terms of Service of free blogging host services limits or censors what you can and can’t write about. It also can limit your ability to place advertisements on your blog, if you decide you want to. Bottom line: If you are totally new and are not sure blogging is for you, try a free blog out first. Otherwise, get your own hosting!

Popularity: 60% [?]

I started off like many a blogger, using Google’s Blogger.com service. But after a year or so, I decided I wanted something more and that more was found in the WordPress blogging platform. Why WordPress? Well you can read about the features on the official site, but here are my reasons:

1. Power: Oh more power! The full control you have with WordPress is amazing. You can design your own templates, customize existing ones, add third party plugins, and add  with ease. Nothing beats WordPress in terms of control and power.
2. Templates: The wealth of free templates for the WordPress platform is awesome. You can find new templates for free and upload them with ease. Best yet, you can have multiple themes uploaded at once and switch between them with the click of a button.
3. Open Source: WordPress is open source and is constantly being improved by the community. You never have to pay for the software and the updates can be made with ease. There is nothing to hide and you are always looked after.

Popularity: 60% [?]

A way to increase your blog’s advertising and SEO is to join a bunch of site directories. It may seem useless, I mean, who reads these silly directories, but search engines are getting better at crawling them and using the incoming links to determine popularity. Here is a list of directories I’ve joined — they are all free! Give them a try.

Popularity: 84% [?]

Here is a cool experiment. Pick a subject that you are interested in and make a blog about it. Not just any blog, but a blog with all the information you digest on the subject. For me, I’m going to start a blog about playing competitive poker. Why? Because I want to become one of the best poker players in the world. No, I’m serious…

Popularity: 79% [?]

Holding a contest on your blog is a great way to increase readership, increase pageviews and maybe even increase incoming links. Contests I’ve seen include:
1. Link Me!
To enter the contest, blog about the contest, the blog, or the author on your own blog and link back to them.
2. Comment Me!
To enter the contest, leave a comment! Easy!
3. Help Me!
To enter the contest, help me come up with a name, a slogan, a word, or anything else written. Get creative!
4. Show Me!
To enter the contest, find or create an image. It can be funny, imaginary, real, or serious. Popular ones include satire of real people, products, or events.
5. Review Me!
To enter the contest, review my site or my product on your own blog.

Of course, to get people interested, you’ll probably need to offer a good prize like cash via PayPal. But considering the positive effects a successful contest can have on your blog, it’s really money well spent.

Popularity: 94% [?]

Here’s a list of 8 themes for a blog post. Use it in case you are having writers block and are trying to figure out something to write. These basic forms are most often used:

1. Personal Story - Describe something that happened to you today or recently. This is a narrative.
2. Everyone Loves Lists - You are reading one now. Lists are fun — pick a topic and make a list with explanations of each point. Ask readers to add points as comments.
3. Definition - Define a vocabulary term used in your industry, hobby, niche, or subject matter. For example, in this blog, the definition would be for a blogging term like “RSS” or “SlashDot Effect”.
4. Contest - Make a contest and ask your readers to enter into it. Offer a prize (e.g. cash via PayPal or a perma-link) and have your readers do something for an entry (like post about the contest, or leave a comment).
5. Reader Mail - If a reader leaves a particularly interesting comment, expand on it using an entire post. This way an opinion or viewpoint can be further expanded on.
6. Post a Photo - Wordless Wednesday can happen any day. Pick a favorite photo and share it!
7. Make a Prediction - Predications are fun. Use your knowledge to extrapolate on something or make a wild guess!
8. Write About Someone Else’s Post - Write about a friend’s post or about a post on a favorite blog of yours. Give a synopsis, a link (be fair!) and your opinion.

Popularity: 100% [?]

At what point, if ever, should you put advertisements on your blog? And once you decide to put advertisements on it, how many and which type should you do? The answer is really up to you! The following is my personal opinion on the matter. You may have a totally different outlook and you are allowed to have it! I find nothing wrong with putting advertisements on your blog. I call this action “Monetization”. You are generating revenue (money) from something creative and original that you produce. Creating revenue is why books are authored, magazines are published, and TV shows are produced. Why should you miss out on all the action? At the least, you could be generating enough renvenue to cover the expenses of hosting and domain name registration. That means generating $10 a month from ads. Want to earn more? I’ll tell you how in another post!

Popularity: 93% [?]

The generic answer is “As Often As You Like”, but if you are focused on building readership, you need to be regular. I say the best bloggers post once or twice a day. That seems like a lot but imagine it from the reader’s point of view. They find your blog for the first time, read a bunch of your posts, and decide to bookmark it. They return the next day and find…. nothing new. Then they try again a few days later and find… nothing new. At this point I would delete my bookmark, wouldn’t you? Earning loyal readers is key and for that you need to have new content on a regular basis. If you have trouble finding time to write a new post every day (e.g. 30  minutes), write several new posts at once and publish them one at a time over the next few days (Required Time = 60 minutes day 1 then 5 minutes the next few days). Got it?

Popularity: 88% [?]

Words are nice, but pictures can say thousands of words. Adding complementary graphics and photos to your blogs really can make a difference in presentation and reader enjoyment. At the same time, you want to make sure you don’t use copyrighted material on your blog. That’s why I’m always on the lookout for free resources to use for my blog. Media which is in the U.S. “Public Domain” is free from copyright and available to use. My favorite place to find Public Domain material is Wikipedia. When you see an image on Wikipedia, click on it and your get sent to that image’s own page. The page will tell you the permission-use of the image which can range anywhere from Copyrighted (Do not use) to Public Domain (Free!). Other stops in between are Copyright/Fair Use, Copyleft, GNU License, and various forms where the author permits use but the work must be credited a certain way. Go for the easiest one — Public Domain. Instead of randomly finding images in the Public Domain, look for works created by the U.S. Government. Since these images, and the government which created them, are paid by U.S. taxpayer money, they are owned by the public, i.e. not owned by any single person. You can use them, sell them, change them — all to your hearts delight. Other works which are Public Domain are very old pieces (e.g. 200 years old) where the original copyright has expired and is now Public Domain. Age requirements vary by country and type of work, but usually Wikipedia is very good at documenting these requirements and displaying the correct status. Keep in mind, Wikipedia can get things wrong from time to time, but as long as you stick with U.S. Government works, they are most certainly in the Public Domain!

Popularity: 92% [?]

Making friends in the blogosphere is a simple as communicating. As I’ve said before commenting on blogs is half the fun of blogging. The multi-party dialog from commenting on blogs is what it is really all about. If you want to make friends with a blogger, just start being a regular visitor to their site and leave constructive comments with your name. Pretty soon the blogger will recognize your name and maybe even start visiting your blog. I have met dozens of really interesting people like this whom I now consider true friends. When I need help or they need help, we can ask each other for assistance without any barriers. I’ve even met some other bloggers in person at blogging events held in “real life”.

Popularity: 86% [?]