Blogging for Fun and Business

2012-01-25T20:19:00.000-08:00

as you start typing you can make changes on the fly.

Promoting Your Blog

2012-01-24T22:24:00.000-08:00

Check out the article below for ways to promote your blog

Team Blogs, Authors, and Readers - Promoting Your Blog

Creating your content

2012-01-23T22:34:00.000-08:00

Writing your first blog post is as easy as using a word processing program like Microsoft Word. The post editor has similar functions with icons that are simple to use. Inserting pictures and video is easy too. You can add lables to the blog posts to organize the posts by subject, schedule the posts to be published at a later date, tag your post with your location and control other options as well.

To write your first post, simply click on "post" from your dashboard. (you can also post from your mobile phone and email, but that will be covered later)

When you click on "post", you will be directed to a screen like this

You can compose your post in WYSIWYG or HTML.
Changing the font style, color, size and emphasis can be done using the icons in the top menu bar. You can also highlight, ~~strike thru~~ and add hyperlinks.

Hovering over each icon gives the description of its function.

Adding images and is as easy as point and click. You can upload from your hard drive, select images previously uploaded, use images on Picasa or from a URL.

If you have Youtube videos or videos on your hard drive, they can be added to your post as well.

Blogging with your blog

2012-01-23T22:32:00.000-08:00

Now that your blog is all set up, you have your customizations in place and your mind brimming with things to write about, it's time to start blogging!

There are several different kinds of blogs, and as mentioned earlier, the sky is the limit on subject matter. The following are some ideas:

Personal Blog

Personal blogs tell the story of your life, your passions, hobbies, opinions, and thoughts. some personal blogs are completely private and some are open to only certain people like family members and friends. Personal blogs can also be open to the world if you choose.

Social blogging

Social blogging takes the personal blog worldwide. social bloggers invite others to engage and comment on their posts while seeking others blogs to comment and engage with.

Business blogging

Businesses can use blogs as a way to connect with their customers on a more personal level. They should seek to make the blog posts informative and relevant, not salesy or pitchy.

Money making blog

There are many examples of blogs that are designed to make money for the blogger. Bloggers use advertising like adsense to display ads on the pages within the context of the page. If visitors click on these ads, the blogger gets paid.
Bloggers can also place affiliate ads on their pages for products and services they direct their visitors to.
Blog posts can be written for services such as Blogsvertize.com that will pay the blogger for the post.

Setting up your blog

2012-01-23T22:07:00.000-08:00

Name your blog

When you set up your blog, you will be asked to enter a name for the blog. The blog can be anything you wish, the sky is the limit. However if you want your blog to be findable by search engines, you will want to come up with a name that includes key words - descriptive about your subject matter. This is especially important for your URL, the website address for your blog. Keep in mind that the title of the blog and the URL do not have to be the same.

Selecting your template

There are several templates to choose from. You don't have to choose too carefully as the templates can be changed any time. After you customize the template, you will lose changes if you select something different.

Customizing the template and Editing the layout

This is where the fun begins. There are literally hundreds of configurations you can select for your template. You can control the number and width of columns, the colors of the background and text, the fonts, and more! You can also insert various widgets to give your blog functionality for social media like facebook and twitter, youtube, and dozens of other fun and useful tools.

Why Google Blogger?

2012-01-23T21:52:00.000-08:00

There are many other blog platforms on the web, however Blogger is simply the easiest interface for creating web presence I have ever used. Plus it's free!
Blogger offers several basic templates but has built in options to control many different aspects of the look and feel of the blog - so you can very easily create something unique.
Blogger also offers multiple pages to add static content to your blog - in essence creating a flexible website that can be used for any purpose!

What is Blogging?

2012-01-23T18:13:00.000-08:00

A BLOG is simply a WEB LOG -initially used as an online digital journal, but now blogs serve many purposes both personal and professional.

Blogging has become a way for individuals to express themselves on any and every topic one can imagine. Blogging uses written, audible and visual digital media to create an ongoing timeline of thought for the blogger.

Blogging can also be used for businesses to give customers and potential customers a more personal view of the company, product or services. Any kind of information can be utilized in a business blog, however information that provides true value and a genuine connection to the company works better than standard advertising copy and images.