Start A Blog Tips

During the daytime I'm a computer engineer.  At nighttime I'm an amateur tinkerer, father, husband, and entrepreneur. 

I love all things internet and web related.  In fact my first web page was back in 1994 and helped me get my first job.  Mosaic was the browser of the day (well, it was the only choice). 

But enough about me ... and on with the show!

This Hub Page will be all about starting a blog, running a blog, and marketing a blog!

After all, you need to know how to start one.

From there you need to know how to maintain one (what to blog about, how often to blog, things you can do with your blog)

And of course you need to let people know about it.  Otherwise how in gosh darn golly darn will they find you?  And if your blog is not found, it can't be read, and if it can't be read, well, that's a sad blog ... we want our blogs to be happy!

Onwward!

Many people ask me why I like blogging so much and if they themselves should start a personal blog. I definitely love blogging, and for that reason it is really easy for me to convince them why personal blogs are such a great addition to a person's life. Here are five reasons off the top of my head of why everyone should start a personal blog.

First: Not only does starting a blog provide you with the opportunity to express yourself, it also gives you a chance to think about what you are doing is part of your everyday life and to document this for both friends, family, and strangers alike.

Second: Having a personal blog is a fantastic way just to improve your writing and your communication skills. Blogging does not always have to be about your personal life. A personal blog can be about any topic that you fancy at the moment whether it is politics, sports, finance, or anything else happening in the world around you. Having the opportunity to simply write about topics is a great addition to your skill set and writing resume.

Third: When you start a blog, you are giving yourself an opportunity to improve your critical thinking skills. Let's face it -- you do need to spend some time thinking about what you are to write about. You cannot simply just sit down and start writing without really having any kind of clear idea of what you are trying to accomplish. Therefore, having a personal blog forces you to do a little bit of critical thinking and to plan ahead what you plan to write about.

Fourth: Blogging can actually bring the world closer. Sure some people talk about how with email and the internet people don't call or write letters anymore, but with such a personal platform out there in the world you would be surprised at how blogging can actually bring people closer to you. It gives people a chance to hear from you in a one-way fashion and consider your viewpoints.

Fifth: In the same vein as the previous reason, blogging can help you meet new people too! It is so easy with search engines these days to stumble upon blogs everywhere when looking up a topic of discussion. Blogging and commenting on blogs lets you find like minded people and lets like minded people find YOU.

And those five reasons are just the start. As you start getting more into your blogging, you will probably find many more reasons blogging will enrich your life (and feel free to let me know them!). In the meantime, I definitely have found blogging to be an amazing addition to my life and I hope you take that next step and find it enriches your life as well. So go start a personal blog!

Blogs are used for many reasons these days (whether it is called a blog or not). Much of the time it is used for marketing. Other times it is used to distribute information much like a press release would. This article, however, will go back to the roots of what a blog is: an online journal. At its core, a blog is basically an online journal wherein you can digitally pen down your thoughts, ideas, opinions and practically anything that you want people to read. Blogs come in different styles, formats, and settings, depending on the preference of the user. Many blogging sites, offer built in features such as hyperlink, straight texts, pictures etc. Some blogging sites, even allow you to put video and mp3's on your blogs.

So what makes up a blog? A blog contains many entries called blog posts. A blog post generally has these parts to it:

title: this is the title of your article or blog post

body: this is the content of your blog entry, for example writing about the weather or writing about your day

comments: this section is for readers to post their comments about your blog entry Internet Markteres and advanced bloggers also know of these two helpful elements of each entry. If you're a beginning blogger, just know it's there for your future reference:

trackback: other sites can be linked back to your blog

permanent link: every article that you write has a URL What makes blogging especially easy today is the advancement of blogging software.

Specifically I really enjoy Blogger and Wordpress software. They are both web based so you can blog from anywhere. And there are further configurations you can do to blog through email or through other software. Another huge strength of Blogger and Wordpress is their use of templates or themes: this allows you to change the web design of your blog easily at the push of a button

Though I have been focusing on blogging as a way of journaling, just remember also that blogging is at its core a way to distribute information effectively. So there can be many ways you can use blogging. I personally have a personal blog as well as many business blogs. Advertising, marketing, distributing photos and videos, and distributing paid content are all ways you can start a blog for. So just keep an open mind as you start a blog, becuase you will probably find you will see many uses for blogging and will end up starting quite a few yourself!