How to Make Your blog Prefect.

By Rico Kidd

When you’re a beginning blogger, you might be confused about which blogging platform to use. This article will describe the two most popular blogging platforms and the benefits of each. The two most used blogging platforms are WordPress and Blogger.

Blogger is a free blogging platform from Google that is beginner friendly and easy to use. Here are some benefits of using Blogger:

1. It’s free.
2. Easy to use.
3. Dummy proof (almost).
4. Easy to get the domain name you want (but you will have .blogspot following your domain name).
5. Easy to post entries.

Some of the negative aspects of Blogger are:

1. You will never “own” the blog.
2. Limited amount of functions.
3. Your domain will forever have .blogspot its name.
4. Limited amount of templates.
5. Customizing options are limited.

As you can see there are many benefits to this blog platform. Basically, Blogger is used for beginners and its good for getting your feet wet before diving into a paid platform.

WordPress (WP) is another popular platform and is directed towards more advanced users. WordPress is also free, however, the majority of people who use this platform buy hosting and and a domain name. Here are the benefits of using WP.

1. There are a ton of plugins (some are good, some are really bad).
2. You will own the site (if you buy the domain name).
3. There are many more theme options.
4. It’s easy to customize the appearance of each blog (Some .css knowledge might be required).
5. Looks more professional - almost like a real website.

Some negative aspects of WP are:

1. Most people who use WP pay for domain names and hosting.
2. Might be too advanced for beginners.
3. You need to know a little .html and .css if you want to customize templates.
4. The widget options might be too overwhelming for beginners.
5. Not as user friendly.

As you can see, WordPress is targeted towards more advance users. My recommendations are for beginners to try out Blogger and once they get an understanding of how to blog, then switch over to WordPress. This way you can obtain a free domain name, practice on the free blog and then when you’re ready, switch over to the more advanced WP platform. Read More Articles about who to Make Money Online.

By Ana M Anderson

So you want to start your own blog, huh? Why not, it seems like everyone has one these days. Except you…maybe you thought blogging was just something computer geeks did, or maybe you’ve been a little intimidated by the unknown. I know that’s how I felt, until a friend showed me what to do and how easy it was. Now I’m a beginning blogger. Whatever the case, if you are reading this article, then you must be interested in starting your very own blog. So consider yourself a beginning blogger, because you have stumbled upon the right person to help you start your blogging adventure!

Blogging can really be done in 3 simple steps. So to get you started we’ll look at what these steps are and give you enough information to get you started blogging. The 3 steps are:

1. Decide which blog host you would like to utilize to house your blog.

2. Set up your blog.

3. Write your first post.

Let’s start with number 1: Decide which blog host you would like to utilize to house your blog. You can of course host your own blog, however as a beginner you may want to try a free blog hosting service like blogger.com or WordPress.com to get started. This way you can try it out and if it ends up being something you truly enjoy, great! If not, well you haven’t wasted a lot of your time or effort. I like Blogger.com and WordPress.com because they are very user friendly and each have simple step by step instructions to get you up and going. But there are quite of few blog hosts out there, so do a little bit of research on Google and pick the one that feels right for you.

Okay, we’re on to number 2: Set up your blog. If you decided on Blogger.com or WordPress.com, just follow the easy instructions on the site to get you started. You’ll answer some basic questions and then they will lead you through setting up your blog from beginning to end. You will be up and running and ready to write your first post the same day! Seriously, it is very easy to set up your blog this way, even for the beginning blogger.

You are almost there! Now for number 3: Write your first post. This can be the most intimidating part for a lot of people. Just remember, you don’t have to be a professional writer. It doesn’t have to be perfect. All that matters is that this is for you. This is your place to go to write about your opinions, your day, your hobby, your family - whatever. It can be a blog that focuses on politics, dogs, cats, boyfriends, tips, advice, weather - anything - just have fun! This is your blog and one day you will look back at this first post and realize how far you’ve come.

So that’s it. You’ve learned the basics on how to start a blog, now start blogging! If you decide blogging is your thing and you would like to be a serious blogger, or maybe even get paid for blogging, visit the sites below.

By Jenny Littlejohn

Perhaps the reason many people are confused or failing to reap the rewards of their blog is the history behind it. Originally called a Weblog - an online diary of what’s happening in your world. And of course lots of people have personal blogs that they use to describe their day-to-day happenings and thoughts and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

However if you are keen to use yours to make your online marketing more effective then here are some top tips:

What to write
Many people ask me this and the answer is to write about the things that your target audience are interested in and have problems with in relations to your services. This is a great way both to demonstrate your knowledge and to engage with your target audience. It allows your web visitors to get to know a little about your style and knowledge before contacting you.

How often should you blog?
There is no right or wrong answer to this one and the simple answer is when you have something interesting to blog about then do it! If you are going to have a blog then try to update it more than once a year though as people may wonder if you’re still in business!

How will people find your blog?
This is where you do need a strategy. One of the great things about the Internet is that it’s relatively easy to find the kind of things that people are looking for by doing some simple keyword research.

Commonly people search on things like ‘how to … ‘ or ‘advice on …’. Google has a great tool that enables you to find out how many people (if any) are search on specific keyword phrases and once you have done your research then you will likely have a nice list of possible titles for your blog entries.

Most blogs also allow you to enter keyword tags for each blog entry and this aids the search engine process.

Website, Blogsite or separate blog?
My personal favourite is a well-designed, professional looking website with an inbuilt blog (page) that integrates seamlessly with your company identity.

However if you already have a website and no blog then the 2nd best option to design or commission a blog that matches the branding of your existing site and create a link to it from your site.

So, by having a well-designed blog with lots of relevant posts you can:

Increase the amount of targeted traffic to your site
Demonstrate your expertise to your visitors
Allow people to subscribe and follow your blogs
Engage more effectively with your visitors
Promote new products and services
Swap blog-roles with other (relevant) bloggers
And much more …

Jenny Littlejohn is a Marketing Coach who specialise in helping service professionals (especially coaches, therapists, consultants and trainers) who are stuck, confused and frustrated with their marketing and business development efforts. Jenny helps them to define precisely who their clients are and how they buy in order to develop and implement an individually tailored marketing program that makes them stand out from the crowd and attract their ideal clients.

Jenny combines over twenty years of IT, Marketing and coaching experience to provide the following services:

Strategy & Planning
Copy Writing
Website and blog design
Business Coaching
Online Marketing and Marketing systems support
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