Hello everyone, I am thinking to create my own blog, but I don't have any idea on how to start and what would be my first step. And honestly, I don't have any skills when it comes to blogging.. Anyone, will you please tell me what should be my first step? Thank you guys in advance... Any comment will be appreciated.
Read, learn, and practice. You can start with a freebie like blogger or WordPress but why bother. In the long run you are better off with your own hosted domain using WordPress. Most (good) hosting accounts come with a WordPress quick install. There is so much community support for WP in makes learning fun. The main advantage of having your own domain is having control. You can create KateReber.com if it's available and you wanted. First step, pick a name and register it, then find a host. I register all my names through GoDaddy these days. HostGator seems to be voted host of choice by most members here. I haven't used them so have no opinion to offer on price/quality/service. LEarning is the fun part, it's the doing that counts. Don't be afraid to make mistakes along the way. LEarn to do by doing. There are plenty here that can/will recommend other ways I'm sure.
Just2EZ: Read, learn, and practice. You can start with a freebie like blogger or WordPress but why bother. In the long run you are better off with your own hosted domain using WordPress. Most (good) hosting accounts come with a WordPress quick install. There is so much community support for WP in makes learning fun. The main advantage of having your own domain is having control. You can create KateReber.com if it's available and you wanted. First step, pick a name and register it, then find a host. I register all my names through GoDaddy these days. HostGator seems to be voted host of choice by most members here. I haven't used them so have no opinion to offer on price/quality/service. LEarning is the fun part, it's the doing that counts. Don't be afraid to make mistakes along the way. LEarn to do by doing. There are plenty here that can/will recommend other ways I'm sure. Hi Jim, Thank you so much for providing me those information. One thing I want to ask, should I buy the Wordpress for creating my blog? And if I have to buy it, do you have any idea on how is it? Where do I have to register my name? I have a lot of question, I'm so sorry for that. Your answer will be more appreciated and I thank you in advance. Good day!
katereber WordPress is free, there are customized themes you can buy if you don't want to design it. I use the Atahualpa theme for most of the WP sites I create, free version. It's fully customizable with a user interface that's easy to use/teach. katereber: Where do I have to register my name? GoDaddy.com is the registrar of choice for me. It's quick, easy, and reliable. I won't bad mouth the other registrars but I've had hassles elsewhere. For $10/year you can register your domain name and have full control.
Great, I can use any name I want? Or I can make multiple name to register from it? How can I pay them? Sorry for asking lots of question. I really want to create my own blog. But of course I can't make it without the help of you and with the help of one of my friend. I really appreciate your help.
katereber: I can't Drop those words from your vocabulary! Yes, you can register any name you want if it's available. Be sure you don't step on someone's trademarked name. Just type a name in and they'll suggest alternatives also, like dot info. If the first name you choose is taken then just type in another name. You can pay GoDaddy via PayPal or with any credit card. They have a help button with live people if you get stuck. Don't bother with any add-ons they try to sell you, $10 turns into $100 that way. I don't give them a penny more than the name registration. You can set up a WP blog to post by sending it an email. It takes time to learn all the tricks but the help is easy to find. Any question you have about WordPress can be found by googling it.
Thanks Jim, Such a good advice from expert like you.. I will wait for my friend to discuss it.. He will be the one who will create for me. I'll just send him money for the payment, and some ideas about it.. Thank you so much for the help, thanks for the kindness. And also, Yes I will drop the word " I can't " from my vocabulary. Good day to you Jim, wish you more success in business..
katereber: And also, Yes I will drop the word " I can't " from my vocabulary. I put off the whole wordpress thing for several years as it just intimidated me, but it's not hard at all! Once you have a hosting account like Hostgator, Bluehost, Bravenet or whatever, (they all pretty much work the same) then just follow the instructions in there to upload wordpress and bingo, you are ready to set up your blog! You can make your blog look like a website that way by using templates - which are also free - and what I started doing instead of buying a domain every time I set up a new blog, is get it out there once and see if it's going to be a good one, and then get a domain.. $9 a year doesn't sound like much for a domain name but once you have 20 or 30 then it's still a chunk of change unless your blogs are making money! Tip: If you get stumped on something, just google whatever it is you don't know how to do and SOMEONE has a youtube video or something on it!
mountainmom5: Once you have a hosting account like Hostgator, Bluehost, Bravenet or whatever, (they all pretty much work the same) then just follow the instructions in there to upload wordpress and bingo, you are ready to set up your blog! You can make your blog look like a website that way by using templates - which are also free - and what I started doing instead of buying a domain every time I set up a new blog, is get it out there once and see if it's going to be a good one, and then get a domain.. Thank you so much for providing me some additional information. I am actually trying to make it on my own, but still need the help of my friend. I think It's not bad at all since I am starting on this kind of industry. And I know I can make it, I have to gather more information about it. And I really appreciate all the information you have shared with me. It's very useful and I will treasure it in the future. Again, thank you so much and have a nice day!!!
Creating a blog is ideal for establishing an online presence. A personal Wordpress blog is the best, but maybe not for starters. Blogger.com is easy to work with. I started there and have suggested it to others getting started. Of course Empower Network has a nice set up for people getting started with online marketing and need a good personal wordpress blogging platform. Either way just do it and "fail" forward.
I started with blogger as well and really liked it. I still use it over Wordpress. I couldn't figure out how to use Wordpress well even though I have done my own code programming and lots of blogs. Blogger is still my favorite and very user friendly. Plus it gets indexed fast. Each post counts as a page which can give you a high page count very fast. I don't know if Wordpress does the same thing or not. You could also check out some books the library to help you with changing minor details like color, etc., on your blog. I used a html, java, etc., for dummies book and it was amazing. It was 8 books in one but now I can't think of the name of it. It definitely helped a lot to be able to change things around how I liked them and not feel constrained and it was very fast and easy to learn.
lovefondue: Each post counts as a page which can give you a high page count very fast. I don't know if Wordpress does the same thing or not. Yes, WordPress creates a separate page for each post so it gets indexed. The main advantage over Blogger is that you control the WordPress installation. You get to customize it any way you want and don't have to worry about censorship. Having your own URL and full control is worth the extra learning curve. Not having to worry about getting shut down is priceless.
I wouldn't choose a domain name until you do your keyword research. There is some strategy to choosing a domain.
Great advice, everyone! My best advice would be to write original, informative, content-rich blogs that catch the reader's attention. Without this, few will read your blog and you will reap little--if any-- monetary reward for your efforts. Here's to your success! Brian
Kate, unlike other writing practices, blogging requires simple language, understandable by the general audience. Just make them conversational and don't worry so much about technicalities.
Interesting, Just remember, a blog is like a billboard in the middle of the desert, if you build it, it doesn't mean it will be seen by anyone. I blogged my brains out, but rarely ever got indexed in Google, and without traffic, you have nothing. You need to check out EmpowerNetwork, I am glad I finally did. Was evaluating it for a few months, and then bingo, my blogs got indesed and have moved to top of search engines. EmpowerNetwork has excellent training, low key casual videos will fill in all the answers to questions on blogging with WordPress, so well worth watching the introduction videos to learn more. When you stop learning new secrets to marketing, you stop marketing and start spinning your wheels and wasting time on traditional SEO and back links, and all the other strategies which suck up a tremendous amount of time. Live and learn. Success to all,
If you are just starting blog about what you are interested in. Or you can see what other people wrote on a topic and then you can add your thoughts and opinion. Blog about what you are interested in so then it won't be a chore to come up with content. It will show in your writing.
Probably best to use blogger and wordpress.com. By the time you can focus your on your niche and keyword targets, you might want to have a self-hosted WP site.
Basically, in blogging you can do or write anything. You can write what you feel and post it on your blog. However, if you want to earn money by blogging then you must have a targeted topic or category for every post you do. A 300 - 500 word each post will do for a blog post.
