Photo Courtesy of Andrew* (Flickr)
What is a blog and why would I want to start one? Great questions. First of all, you’re reading a blog. Secondly, blogs are awesome. Any more questions? I’ll assume you already have some interest or avid curiosity about starting your own blog or you wouldn’t be reading this post, so let’s get started!
1. Free OR Un-Free
You’ll first want to choose a free blogging platform or pay for one. Here’s the breakdown:
FREE - There are a number of free services on the web that allow you to create your own blog, meaning there is no financial obligation on your part. However, you will have some price to pay, mostly in the form of advertisements on your site and/or a lack of creative potential. The most popular sites are WordPress.com and Blogger. My personal preference is WordPress, for a number of reasons, but just pick one for now. You could also choose among these: LiveJournal, Vox, Xanga, MySpace, or many others. Simply visit one of these sites, set up a profile, and continue to step #2 below.
UN-FREE – This is my favorite, not because it costs money, but because I have complete creative control over my site. The blog you’re reading now was created on WordPress.org‘s platform, which is actually FREE. What I pay for is the domain name (GraduatedAndClueless.com), which is about $15 per year, and the hosting space, which I bought from PowWeb for $50 per year. The domain name is your website that you choose and the hosting space is simply storage space on a company’s large computer hard drive (called a server). Through PowWeb I was able to purchase my domain name and hosting space at the same time, and they professionally installed WordPress for me for free. If you’re tech-savvy enough to install it yourself, I’ve heard it’s not that hard, but I seek professional help whenever possible!
2. Choose a Topic – Now that you have a blogging platform setup somewhere you’ll need to decide on your topic. Even, if you already bought a domain name for your blog you can pick any topic you want. In today’s world the name of the company or website and their service can be completely unrelated (Apple, for example, does not sell apples). Blogging is an art, which means you have complete freedom to blog about whatever you want. Think of it as an online journal, a business potential, a way to communicate with family and friends, a forum to rant about politics, or any other use you desire. That’s the beauty of blogging, it’s totally up to you! I have a personal blog for my upcoming wedding at TessaAndJeff.com and I have my business blog here at Graduated And Clueless.
3. Choose a Template – All of the blogging platforms offer templates for you to choose from. You would only want to choose a blank canvas to work from if you know how to code HTML like a pro. Otherwise, pick a template that fits the personality of you and your topic. The template I use for Graduated And Clueless was created specifically for WordPress users and it resembles Apple’s website theme. I am a crazy Apple fanatic, so this theme works well for me. However, I will point out that I have significantly customized my theme, which is much harder to do on the free platforms. If you’re looking for a very specific look or you really like to get creative, I would highly recommend the Un-Free option listed above.
4. Copy off Your Neighbor – One of the best ways to spice up your blog and your website is to include add-ons that make it unique. If your only concern with your blog is the content, in other words, the appearance doesn’t matter to you, then pick the most simplistic theme and start typing. To find the best add-ons you need to read other blogs and notice what they have included. If you use WordPress, they have add-ons and they’re called plugins. Plugins are all the boxes you can see on the right hand side of this webpage. My plugins are completely customizable and I find new ones everyday that someone else has created. FYI, they are also FREE. If you use a free blogging platform you will have some potential to spice it up, similar to how you can customize your Facebook profile.
5. Start Blogging! – Now you’re ready! Having setup your site, chose your topic, installed your template, and spiced up your page, it’s time to get your thoughts out there. Blogging is different than writing you’ve done before because there is a culture and style that has been developed over the last few years. If your goal is simply to use your blog as a journal, you can write in any style you want. If your goal is to gain a large audience and/or start a business, there are many tricks you can use to attract a lot of people. For these strategies I would turn to ProBlogger. This blog is written specifically to help bloggers become better at blogging. If you’ve read a number of my blog posts, you’ll notice that I tend to write shorter, bullet-pointed articles that have a specific topic all the way through. One of my goals is to gain a larger audience, so I implement strategies that rank my site higher on Google searches, and make it easier for readers to follow my train of thought.
6. Don’t Forget to Share – Spread the word! Share your blog’s URL with family and friends. Post it on Facebook. Tweet about it on Twitter. Email the link to everyone you know and remind them to bookmark the page or subscribe to your RSS feed. Subscribing is a great way for readers to get automatic updates whenever you post new content. Notice the “Subscribe” button I have on the top right of every blog post. Make it easy for others to follow your updates. If you use a free blogging platform, they always have an RSS logo somewhere on the page. Check out FeedBurner for more info on RSS subscriptions.
7. Join the Community – WordPress has a HUGE following. The community of WordPress users is growing rapidly because people love to blog and WordPress is totally FREE. Even if you use another service, blogging itself is a part of our digital culture. Get involved and make your thoughts known to the world. Whether you are writing about how to save the rain forests, how your wedding planning is coming along, or how much you hate your job, just start blogging! (Obviously don’t share your blog with your boss if you really do hate what you do). If you have any questions about the process of getting started with your own blog, don’t hesitate to Contact Us and we’ll help you along with your blogging journey. And hey, I’ll charge you as much as as WordPress does.
Don’t forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,
Jeff Sanders
Follow @cluelessgrad
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