Blogging has become more than just a trend on the internet, it has become a standard feature for almost all major websites and an effective way to make some cash. Most bloggers never really start out thinking of making some money from their blogs, and if you are a newbie looking for a way to get started, this post will show you how to blog for fun. I will give you a brief introduction to blogging, and then provide some tips on how you can get started.
So why do bloggers enjoy blogging? What reasons could there be that makes it so much fun for them? Let us see how blogs are used.
Blogging to Stay in Touch with Friends
The internet allows us to be in touch, without really having to be physically present. The internet knows no distance, no geographical boundaries or limits. Blogging allows people to stay in touch with family or friends, by updating them via a blog, a blog which these friends can simply visit. Staying in touch by phone, regular visits and even email is not always easy, because of the lack of time or busy schedules. A blog allows a visitor to swing by at their own convenience, get updated, and even leave messages for the blog owner and vice versa.
Maintaining a blog, a person can greatly simplify the process of staying in touch with friends and family members because they do not have to repeat information in individual phone calls or emails or make time to visit several different people.
When maintaining a blog, the individual can choose to post a variety of information and photos. Through this information and photos the blog owner can keep others informed about current events in his life. Friends and family members can view the blog at their convenience to catch up on important events in the blog owner’s life and in most cases can post comments to the blog owner. They can also read comments from others. This is beneficial if those viewing the blog know each other because they can not only stay in touch with the blog owner but also have a chance to communicate with other friends and family members through the comments section of the blog.
Blogging as a Form of Expression
I actually got started in blogging as a means of relaxing; and sometimes to an extreme.. venting. My first blog which was about 3 years ago was simply a collection of my thoughts, daily activities and some measure of introspection.
Some bloggers start out this way, and as a form of expression. They may write poetry, songs, short stories or just like me, vent about personal events or politics. These bloggers may wish to keep their blog private or can make the blog available to the public. Keeping the blog private is sort of like keeping a diary or a journal. It gives the blogger a multi-media form of expressing himself without the risk of others discovering his true feelings, innermost dreams or frustrations. Other bloggers opt to make these blogs public. This may be for a number of different reasons. Sharing these feelings with others allows the blogger to reach others who may have the same interest as the blogger.
Bloggers who use their blog as a form of personal expression may want to be cautious and consider the decision to make a blog public. This is important because the blog owner may initially not see problems with allowing others to view his personal thoughts. However, over time he may realize his blog could either be offensive to others or could result in problems if friends or family members view the blog.
Blogging to Keep a Record of Events
Another common reason for blogging is to keep a record of important events. Examples of some types of events which a blogger may wish to document include a pregnancy, weddings, vacations, sporting events or completion of school events.
Using blogs to keep a record of these events gives the blogger an opportunity to record daily events in one simple location where they can easily look back on the blog or share the postings with others who might be interested in the events. In these cases the blog can serve as a form of scrapbook documenting the events as they occur. The blog owner can post as often as he desires and may choose to include elements such as photos, music, audio files and video files into the blog. The blog can also be designed to suit the events being documented. For example a journal depicting a vacation may have backgrounds, fonts and colors representing the vacation location while a pregnancy blog may feature elements which represent pregnancy, babies and being parents.
Blogging Tips for Newbies
1. Choose a Blogging Software.
It is always best to start out using free blog platforms. Aside from the fact that they are free, the features are simple, easy to use and is not going to be difficult to master.
Later on when a blogger has mastered blogging, they would often look for added functionality, features and optimization in order to make their blog more interactive or to reach more people by finding ways to get more visitors to their blog. At that point, there are other options which would be a step up from newbie status.
Bottom line is, newbies will be better off with free blog platforms, and they can choose between Wordpress, Livejournal, Blogger and a lot more. I am partial to WordPress, and though it may sound biased, I believe it to be the best blogging platform. Signing up is easy, all you got to do is follow the instructions laid out for you.
2. Choose a Catchy URL for your Blog.
While registering your blog on a free blog service, you will be asked to create a web address for your blog or URL. This address should give a visitor an idea what topic you are blogging about. Is it going to be general like the events in your life, or more specific like a hobby of yours? Or is it about your pet or dog?
Always remember that a short and easy to remember blog URL is best. If you are registering for blogger or wordpress, your URL will look like this; yourblogtheme.blogger.com or yourblogtheme.wordpress.com.
So if I were to create a blog on blogger, which was about my Black Labrador I could use as a title, lifewithablacklabrador, and the URL will end up looking like this lifewithablacklabrador.blogger.com.
Try not to put any spaces, or weird spelling; neither should you purposely misspell words. Your address, is how your blog will get found, making it hard for people to find will leave you without visitors or readers.
3. Post away.
Starting with an introduction of your blog is the best way to do it. Maybe a short biography or whatever it is you do or what you will blog about should prep up your readers on what to expect from your blog. Write post titles that either summarize your blog post or entries or will intrigue readers the most. Write short paragraphs if you are quite mindful in keeping your readers interested as too long-winding paragraphs usually turn off online readers.
Also, observing some blogging ethics such always giving credit to your sources if you will be quoting some other bloggers’ work. Using proper link titles or anchor links is also another ethical blogging practice.
If you’d like to introduce your readers to your work more often, then post more frequently.
4. Respond to comments.
The feature that differentiates blogs from websites, aside from the reverse chronological order of posts, is the comment section. This is usually at the end of each post, wherein the author allows readers to react on his every post. Responding to comments is one way to optimize a blog since the more comments a blog receives, the more updated it gets.
As you advance as a blogger, and would desire added features and functionality, you might want to get your blog hosted on your own server and get your own domain name. This will help you establish better yourself as a blogger in whatever field you choose to blog about.
Kick start your blogging experience now and join our 5 Day Free Blogging Course. Click the link to join.
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