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With the way technology is evolving these days, it is no surprise
that people are worried about online fraud, identity theft, and the
misuse of their personal information. They need to be assured that
sensitive data will be protected when using technology, and this
applies to web surfing as well.
One of the easiest ways to fix this problem is the creating a
Privacy Policy. After all, most major websites have privacy policies,
so why shouldn’t blogs? This is especially true when many readers will
give you their e-mail address and other personal information to
interact with the website, whether it be by posting a comment or
signing up for an online newsletter or e-mail RSS feed.
Creating a privacy policy isn’t too difficult. The document should
be unique to your blog, but there are a number of issues that all
privacy policies should include:
1. Explicit that you won’t sell or give away any
user’s e-mail addresses. This is self-explanatory, people don’t want
their e-mail addresses to spread across the web, so don’t release
e-mail addresses.
2. Make sure to talk about how you may collect
information on the browsing habits of users and share this information
with advertisers. Also mention that your site may use cookies. Talk
about all types of information that you collect (e.g., browser,
operating system, IP address, country) and how this information is used.
3. Make sure that you say that you are NOT responsible for the privacy policies for any sites you link to.
4. Reserve the right to change the Privacy Policy at any time.
5. Make sure to provide some method of contact for
users concerned about your blog’s privacy policies, preferable inside
the Privacy Policy itself.
6. Make it easy to read and understand. If you throw in a lot of legal jargon, people won’t understand it and it will be useless.
7. Obviously, make sure to follow all outlines you set for yourself in the Privacy Policy.
Some points added by Daniel:
8. Depending on the content of your site you might
want to add that the use of your site is intended for people who are
eighteen (18) years or older (I am not talking about porn… but rather
language that might not be proper to kids, or business websites or
blogs where the user engage in financial transactions, for instance).
9. If you plan to contact people that access your
site for any reason, make sure to add a clause mentioning that. Some
bloggers contact people leaving comments on their blogs, for instance.
Many people already wrote about the rules of blog comments before. Most of them, however, focused on the so called blog comments etiquette.
That is, they told you how you should always add value to the
discussion, respect the other people, never feed the trolls, be genuine
and yada yada yada.
While that advice is solid, I feel that it lacks some practical sense.
There are other points that I see people doing almost daily when
leaving comments, and they can be equally annoying for the blog owner
and for the other readers and commentators. Below you will find them: 7
things to avoid while leaving a blog comment.
1. Using the bold or italic attributes to highlight your whole comment
Blog comments can send good traffic to your website, and if you manage
to catch people’s attention with your comments, this traffic might
increase. Now, attention should be grabbed with a funny or interesting
comment, and not by making your comment text bold or italicized.
Use bold only or specific words that you want to put in evidence, and italics on names and titles of books and similar.
2. Signing your comment
As you probably have already noticed, most comment forms ask for your
name on the first input box. That is, you already signed your comment
even before writing it, so there is no need to finish the comment with
your name a second time.
3. Including a second (or third) link to your website
The previous point applies to website links also. Most comment forms
allow you to include a URL that will be used to hyperlink your name. If
you include that URL at the end of your footer a second time it will
give the impression that you are just spamming the comment section for
some links.
4. Leaving a comment without reading the article first
Common sense you say? I wouldn’t bet on it. I have seen a huge amount
of comments, both on my and on other blogs, from people that had no
clue about the topic of the article in question.
Sometimes they knew what the article was about, but they interpreted the message from the author on a completely different way.
If you are going to leave a comment, make sure that you have read and understood the article to begin with.
5. Leaving a one-word comment
It might be the case that people leaving comments such as “Great!” or
“Thanks!” truly read the article and mean it. Regardless, those
comments will be considered as spam.
Just take the effort to come up with a complete sentence, will you?
6. Leaving a second trackback
If you link to another post on your blog, your blogging software will
send a notice to that blog, which will in turn create a link pointing
back to your post on the comments section. This is called a trackback.
Sometimes trackbacks will not work, and in this case you could leave a
comment mentioning that you wrote about the post in question. If the
trackback worked, however, you would be spamming that blog by leaving a
second comment with a link pointing to your article.
7. Leaving a comment as if you are the know-it-all guru on the subject
Whenever I come across a comment that begins with “This is just
stupid…” or “You are so wrong…” I already arm myself against potential
nonsense ahead.
If you disagree with the opinions of the author, express it politely.
Even if you are right about the issue you will be seen as a jerk if you
come with the I-know-it-all attitude.
Just take it easy.
Update: Obviously these are my opinions, so feel free to
disagree. And if you are guilty of one of these points, remember that
it is not a big deal. Just keep it in mind for future comments!
I’ve been blogging for around 4 years now and despite all the
changes we see in technology and software, the ‘rules’ to a successful
blog tend to have remained the same. Yet, while the rules haven’t
changed much, a lot of our traffic generation methods have. Gone are
the days where 50 votes would guarantee a Digg homepage or you could
place some technorati tags in your post and get thousands of visitors.
Each niche is getting more competitive by the day but it still
doesn’t mean you can’t stand out from the crowd. One of my favorite
new sites for creating relationships (hugely important)
and getting website traffic has actually turned out to be Twitter. For
the last few months, the micro-blogging has been in my top 5 referring
sites, sending thousands of visitors monthly.
In this post I want to look at six common rules which can help with
your blogging and also benefit the Twitter users of you out there who
want to drive more traffic back to your site. Please note that I use
the term ‘rules’ loosely, everyone has their own way of doing things
and there will always be exceptions but you’ll probably find that these
work well for you.
1. Provide Value
Let me ask you all a quick question: Why do you read Daily Blog
Tips? I can safely assume you’re a blogger, but what is different to
the hundreds of other blogging blogs out there? While answers to this
may differ, the underlying factor is that the site provides value to
you in one way or another and you don’t want to miss it. That is the
single most important reason anyone subscribes to a blog.
They get value, whether that value is in the form of humour or in
the form of how to make money, that’s what people want. Instead of
getting into blogging to think of how you can benefit (mindshare,
income etc) look at how you can benefit your readers. How can you make
someone laugh, how can you make someone more money or in the case of
this site: how can you help somebody become a better blogger?
If you offer constant value to your readers, you’ll give them an important reason to stick around.
Twitter Tip:
Instead of just linking to your website all the time, why not help
people out. Ask people who you can help them or even just inspire
people with some motivational quotes.
2. Don’t Flood Readers with Posts
I’ve ran a number of blogs, from ones that focus on internet
marketing, one that covers self improvement and for a while I even ran
a celebrity blog (which I quickly sold). What I’ve learned from this is
that certain types of blogs have a different level of posting
frequency. If I only wrote once per week on a celebrity gossip blog
then readers of the site are going to miss out on all the news.
However, if I run a site about personal development and write a
3,000 word post everyday, that’s going to be far too much for people to
digest, and I’ll probably end up repeating much of what I’ve already
said. Unless you run a news blog that needs to be updated multiple
times per day, try to find a nice posting schedule that you can keep
to. I tend to post around 3-4 times per week on my main sites.
Twitter Tip:
Overactive users tend to get unfollowed. This has been minimized by
tools like Tweetdeck, but if you are tweeting 10 x per minute (some
people really do this) then you are going to clog up the twitter
’stream’ and people will stop wanting your updates.
3. Take Part in the Conversation
This point is relatively obvious so I’ll get straight to the point.
Blogging is not just about you and it’s actually not even just about
your readers. It also includes the conversation that goes on between
your blog and others in the same industry. Read the blogs of others and
leave comments to let them know what you think of their sites.
Link out to others and you’ll find that people will start linking
out to you; you can even go as far as connecting with other blog
authors on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn and stay connected that way.
Do not think that your industry is confined to your blog; there’s a
whole world out there.
Twitter Tip: Get to
know the people that follow you and follow the leaders in your
industry. I’ve made many friends this way that has led to Re-Tweets and
even backlinks from their websites.
4. Make Your Blog unique
There are a lot of things you can do to make your blog stand out:
Have a unique design
Write long, detailed posts in a niche that writers short informative ones
Implement an idea nobody else uses like the bloggers face-off or a list of top blogs
Bring in authority figures for interviews
Offer content in different formats such as audio and video
Give away a free eBook for more in-depth topics like this one I did on how to make friends
Despite new blogs being created every single day, it doesn’t mean
you can’t stand out from the crowd. Make sure you offer pure value
consistently with a splashing of the above and you can’t go far wrong.
Twitter Tip: Make
your profile stand out by adding an image and a creatively designed
profile. It looks far better than a generic offering and shows you
really care about getting involved.
5. Make it Easy for Readers to Connect
Quickly think of some of your favorite blogs that you read
regularly. DailyBlogTips? TechCruch? ProBlogger? Something that I find
in common with people and their favorite blogs is that they know a lot
about the author, and feel like they ‘know’ them a bit.
Do you make it easy for your readers to get to know you and connect?
Some easy ways to do this include having an informative about page,
using your name on posts and blog comments and even sharing your
personal stories at times in your blog posts.
Twitter Tip: A good
way to tell people about you on Twitter is to fill in your bio, but you
can also include a link and use this as a specific ‘twitter landing
page’ that quickly tells people about you and your website. This is
usually far better than just sending them to your homepage.
6. Make Content Easy to Read
There is nothing worse in my opinion than content that is just split
into huge chunks of text with no line breaks. Even a post like this
which is well over 1,000 words, is easily scannable due to the ‘list’
format and the bold headings.
Some tips on making your content easy to read include:
Spell-checking your posts before you publish them
Use bullet points where necessary
Create sub-headings for longer, in-depth posts
If you are doing a list post, separate the points with bold headings for people who scan / skim
Include paragraph breaks after every 3 or 4 sentences
Read the post yourself to see that it all flows properly
Twitter Tip:
Although nobody expects you to write perfectly with 140 characters. Try
to make sense and don’t shorten every single word, use multiple tweets
or direct messages where possible.
Let’s say that you have a few hours free and you want to dedicate it
to your blog. It’s not enough time to take on a major project such as
building a new theme or completely redoing your categories/tags (at
least not if you have a large site), but you want to do something to
make your blog better.
If you find yourself with that blessing, here are five things that
you can do right now to improve your blog, all of which take less than
an hour and some only take a few minutes.
Best of all, doing these things will, in most cases, have an
immediate or near-immediate impact on your site. Making it more
approachable with better content.
So here are some ways you can improve your site right now.
5. Tweak Your Theme
You might not have the time you need to overhaul your theme
completely, but what about tweaking it a bit? Why not see if you can improve your site’s typography, thus making your text easier to read? Maybe it’s time for a better logo?
Though, in a perfect world, the look of a site would not impact the
way it is read, appearance matters a great deal on the Web, especially
when it affects readability. Take a few moments to look at your site,
analyze what its weakest points are visually and address them.
Even if it is as simple as adding new RSS buttons, it can be a huge help.
4. Run a Site Speed Test
How fast does your site load? What’s slowing it down the most? If you don’t know, run a site speed analysis
and find out. Then all you have to do is eliminate whatever is slowing
you down and you should notice a drastic difference in your site’s
speed ,all without moving hosts or paying more money.
If you have files that are slowing you down but can’t remove them, consider hosting them on Amazon Cloudfront or Rackspace Cloud
to greatly increase their download speed cheaply. Also, be sure to
optimize images as needed to keep them from dragging your site down.
3. Tweak/Add Static Pages
Though most people read blogs for the day-to-day content, most
people become regular readers, at least in part, due to something
available on the static pages of your site.
If you check your traffic stats, you’ll likely find that your static
pages are among the most popular on your site but, since they aren’t
being constantly written, they fall out of date.
Take a few moments to update or add to your static pages. Write a
little bit about yourself, include a picture if you can to forge a more
human connection and add pages that compliment your regular blog
topics. It works great.
2. Add a Feature
Though adding features to your blogs recklessly can get you in
trouble, especially with your site’s speed and appearance, if you have
been wanting to add Twitter interaction or a new widget, now is a great
time.
Since WordPress and other blogging platforms make it so easy to add
plugins, widgets and other elements, if you want to try out a new tool
or service, you can do so with relative ease and safety. However, be
sure to closely monitor how it affects your site and ensure that it
does more good than harm.
1. Brainstorm
Though brainstorming isn’t as immediate with its gratification, it
is something you will see benefit from tomorrow and for a long time
moving forward.
The problem is that, if you’ve been blogging long enough, idea
generation and blog post writing are likely part of the same process.
If you don’t constantly have ideas ready when you wake up in the
morning, you spend time coming up with ideas that should have gone to
writing and crafting the perfect post.
If you brainstorm in advance, you’ll find that your posts are much
higher quality. They are better thought out, have much tighter writing
and tend to wonder off course less. If you post every weekday and you
take an hour now to come up with 15 good ideas, you’ll have three weeks
of high-quality posts in your future.
What can improve your site more than that?
Bottom Line
When it comes to making your site better, it doesn’t take a lot of
time, just a lot of heart and willingness to sacrifice a few moments to
spend on things that are not directly related to blogging.
Best of all, these are just some of the things you can do to make
your site better. There are plenty of other things that you can improve
on the quick. You just have to belling to look around.
Blogging
is web writing for a personal, informational or commercial purpose.
Some people
use blogs just to keep an online diary, but many are
starting to use them to to sell products and report information.
Whatever your purpose, if you want your blog to be seen by the masses
and/or earn money, here are some easy-to-follow steps on how to blow
out your blog.
Search engine optimization (SEO)
is important so that people searching the web for various subjects
(that you write about) can find your blog. It's very desirable to have
your blog rank on the first page of Google and other search engines.
How to Find the Best Keywords
You need to find effective keywords for your blog. The best tools to find strong keywords are Wordtracker and Trellian's Keyword Discovery Tool. Keyword DiscoveryThey both require payment in order to use their services, but you can
use their trial versions to see if you like them. Free online services
for keywords include Google Adwords Keyword tool and the SEO keyword suggestion tool. SEO Book: Keyword Suggestion To Another great tool for free keywords is Google Trends, which gives you the top 100 keywords being searched for at any time. Google Trends: Homepag
Where to Place the Keywords
Once
you have determined which keywords are most applicable to your blog,
the next step is placing the keywords in the correct areas of your
blog. Most SEO experts agree that the following areas of keyword
placement are important Google search engine ranking factors.SEOmoz: Google Search Engine Ranking Factors
The title line (at the very top of the browser):
Keywords in the body text:
Anchor text of inbound link:
Page URL (web address):
In addition to the upper part of the web site, you want to place keywords in the following areas of your blog:
One final word about keywords, always try to go for specific phrases, not general terms.
For example, don't use the word "lawyer" as a keyword, be more
specific, like "personal bankruptcy lawyer Seattle." The word "lawyer"
could be a search term for a 16 year-old doing a paper for high school
or an old lady looking for a TV show with lawyers.SEO Book.com: Keyword Value Pyramid
However,
someone searching for "personal bankruptcy lawyer Seattle" has a very
specific need, they are looking for a personal bankruptcy lawyer in
Seattle. Keep this in mind when you read about how to make money with
your blog.
Step 2: Make Money with your Blog
If
you want to earn money from your blog, there are some powerful ad
programs that you can place in your blog to create income. Some ad
programs pay you per click of the ad, while others pay when a user
clicks through an ad on your blog and makes a purchase.
Similar to Google Adsense, Yahoo! offers an ad program called the Yahoo! Publisher Network which also displays ads that are relevant to your blog's content.Google Adsense: HomepageYahoo! Publisher Network: Homepa Like Google Adsense, you earn money when visitors on your blog click on the ads.
The same principles of ad placement and blending mentioned above also
apply. However, you cannot use both of these programs on the same blog
posting per their terms of service.
Text Link Ads is an increasingly popular affiliate program that provides text ads for various companies and their products.Text Link Ads: HomepageText Link Ads sends you the HTML code for various ads, but you place only the ones that you want on your blog.Text Link Ads: Homepage
Once
your blog is optimized and your ads are up, you need to bring traffic
(visitors) to your blog. A great way to do this is by posting your blog on community web blogs and bookmarking sites; these are online town halls where people read and post stories. This is also called "social networking."Pro Blogger:
After joining a community web blog(s), the next step is to post an enticing headline (also known as "link baiting")
about your blog's topic. This headline may also include a short
synopsis and should always include a link back to your blog. For
examples of good headlines/link bait, go to Popurls where the most popular posts from the most popular web communities are updated.
If people click on that headline/link, it will take them to the full article on San Vicente Media.San Vicente Media: Blog
Whether
you use text ads, banner ads or a combination of both, it's important
to try to match your ads with the content on your blog posts. Also, always place at least one ad "above the fold" which is the part of the computer screen that appears when you first log onto the web site.Performancing.com: Above vs below the fold ad pricing
More Places to Link and Plug Your Blog
News Aggregator Sites
Submit
your blog posts to news aggregator sites where a real live person will
decide whether or not your blog post should be published. Some of the
top news aggregator sites include: Truemors, Fark and Tailrank.Truemors: Homepage If your blog post is published, it could drive quite a bit of traffic to your site.
Join a popular website community such as MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn. You can create links to your blog in these heavily traveled communities.MySpace: Homepage
Press Releases
Write a press release
about your blog. A press release alerts journalists about an
interesting story; if they decide to write an article about your blog
posting, that could drive in a lot of traffic.
Now that you have traffic coming to your blog (hopefully), you want to keep your audience coming back by doing several things.
Update and Bookmark
Add
new content frequently. If you don't, people may assume it's a dead
blog and stop logging on. Remember, the web has a huge appetite for new
content. You want to update 2-3 times a week, unless you're running a
news blog, which would be daily.
The easiest way is by installing ShareThis and/or Social Marker to your blog.ShareThis: Homepage These features allow users to bookmark your blog on popular community web logs such as Digg.Digg: Homepage
Finally, a powerful option for your blog is the "Subscribe to Comments" feature.ProBlogger: 21 Ways to Make Your Blog or Website Sticky
Some blogging platforms have this feature built in, while others
require you to add it via a plug-in. Every time there is a new comment
in the chosen blog post, the subscriber receives an email and a link
back to that blog post.
Step 5: Add Widgets to Your Blog
A widget is gadget for the web. By adding widgets to your blog, you can bring fresh content (created by others) to your blog for visitors to read. Most widgets reside in the left or right column/margin of your blog, depending on your blog platform.The Chitika Blog Archive: Blogs and Widgets By BUMPzee
Are
any of the aforementioned steps working? To find out, check your blog's
traffic info. Most blog platforms come with some type of basic traffic
measuring feature, but to get more specific info on your traffic,
consider these programs below.
Popular Analytical Traffic Tools
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free service primarily used for web sites, but you can use it for your blog as well.Google: Analytics It tells you how many visitors came to your blog, how they were referred, each blog post visited, etc.
Yahoo! Web Analytics
Google's prime competition is Yahoo! Web Analytics, a pay service, primarily used by e-businesses.Yahoo!: FAQs
This high-end tracking system tool uses "first cookie technology" to
track visitors, returning visitors in real time. This service is for
bloggers who are seriously trying to make money from their blog.
If you're looking for a free traffic analytic service from Yahoo!, then try MyBlogLog, which gives you blog visitor stats and has its own community (great for plugging your blog!).MyBlogLog: Homepage
PostRank
PostRank is a free online tool that analyzes your blog posts and ranks them by the number of comments and bookmarks.PostRank: What it is
You can quickly see which types of posts your readers respond to and
which ones they do not. This is a great way to see what types of blog
posts are generating buzz!
Note: Most of these analytical tools work the same way. They
provide you with an HTML tracking code that is placed on each blog post
that you wish to track.Open Web Analytics: Homepage
Video blogging is nothing new — after all, video has existed on the web long before YouTube.
But video equipment is now cheaper, post production software more
accessible, and online platforms on which to distribute video — such as
YouTube — are easier to use than ever before. Still, only some of the
many people posting videos regard themselves as video bloggers.
Even though the notion of video blogging itself isn’t new, the actual
endeavor is still novel to many people. This guide will explore
concepts behind video blogging and the tools for creating and
distributing that content.
Video Blogging is Still in its Infancy
Robb Montgomery, CEO of a public charity that promotes journalism education called Visual Editors,
said in an email interview that web video consumption overall is a
booming phenomenon but maintains that we are still at the beginning of
an emerging art form and story form with video blogging and it may be
too early to generalize about long-term effects.
It may seem surprising that video blogging hasn’t take off considering
how cheap the equipment has become and how easy it is to shoot, edit
and post video online. According to Adam Singer’s Future Buzz blog,
some reasons it hasn’t include: it’s time consuming to produce
compelling video, video is not searchable, and pros still have an
advantage.
But the demand is there. In August, more than 161 million viewers
watched an average of 157 videos per viewer, according to data from the
comScore Video Metrix service.
A whopping 81.6 percent of the total U.S. Internet audience viewed
online video and the average online video viewer saw 9.7 hours of video
in August.
Video viewing doesn’t show signs of slowing, but what about video blogging?
Web Video Puts People on Equal Footing
Video on the
Internet does two things — it puts people on equal footing versus the
top-down communication of broadcast media and it allows for direct
talkback from the audience.
Michael Rosenblum, CEO of Rosenblumtv,
said in an email interview, that the only reason people used to
differentiate between average person and journalist is that access to
the equipment and the ability to publish was just too complicated and
too expensive. He said that went away with the web, which gave anyone
the ability to write or publish whatever they wanted.
“Now that freedom comes to video — as the cost of cameras goes to next
to nothing and the web carries video with the same fluidity that it
carries text,” he said. “What we are looking at here is the true
democratization of video — a real ‘free press.’ This, I think, is a
very positive thing.
“The move to video blogging, just getting started, is to my mind the
same as the move to writing books post-Gutenberg. It took the printing
press to liberate writing from the few literate monks; now the web will
liberate video from the few ‘video literate’ TV types,” said Rosenblum,
who just launched an online video training site called the New York Video School.
What Makes a Good Video Blog
With lower costs for
equipment and software, anyone with a video camera phone could become a
video blogger. Technical barriers to video production are getting
lower, but the big question is, what makes a good video blog?
Ryanne Hodson, a video blogger, editor, and trainer who, with co-founder Michael Verdi, launched Freevlog.org
in 2005, said the number one tip for video bloggers is to be passionate
and to cover topics they care about. She and Verdi, along with Diane
Weynand and Shirley Craig, wrote the book Secrets of Videoblogging.
“Be excited about something and go out and capture it,” she said. “If
you have something to say and you want to share it, you have a venue.”
Montgomery said that most web video needs to get to the point right
away. “Hit them with your best sound bite and start your story arc
there to pull them in. People make a go or no-go decision usually
within the first 10 seconds. Once you have them, standardizing on story
length becomes less important. The key is to know how to keep the story
moving at a good pace,” he said.
The length of video clips can vary depending on the style of the video created, but always keep your audience in mind.
“We live in a world of rather short attention spans. We find that two
minutes or so is the ’sweet spot’. The whole notion of hours is kind of
an abstraction. Think of music. Most songs are three minutes long and
that works great, and delivers a great story and experience for the
listener,” Rosenblum said.
Josh Leo, who has been video blogging
since 2005 and has four vlogs, said good videos are a mixture of the
basics of good production: editing, good, clear shots, and good
lighting. Beyond that, he adds, it’s an incorporation of one’s
personality. “You can create a copycat video, but you’re contributing
to the noise,” he said. “It’s not about the quantity, but the quality.”
Leo tries to post a video every other week. He said he learned to
improve his videos through trial and error — posting, watching them,
and posting again. “The important thing is to post something and learn
as you go,” Leo said.
Creating a Video Blog
Montgomery said choosing a video
camera depends upon your beat, style, audience and frequency of
posting. “I have seen people be effective with a mobile cam or laptop
camera. At the other end of the spectrum are solo video journalists who
have the chance to make high-quality stories from the field with small
cameras like the Sony A1U and about an equal dollar investment in
microphones and Final Cut,” he said.
The software Montgomery recommends is a mixture of low-cost and
professional applications: Final Cut Studio, GarageBand, iPhoto,
Fission, and Audio Hijack Pro for editing and audio.
Leo said that during his first three years of video blogging, he used a
Sony Handycam for shooting and iMovie for editing. He now uses Final
Cut Pro, an HD camcorder, and an iMac.
Hodson said she likes the Flip cam and Sanyo’s Xacti HD cams. She said
Mac users can use iMovie and PC users can use Windows Movie Maker, and
a step up from those are Sony Vegas and Adobe Premiere Elements.
Rosenblum said Flip cams and the JVC HM100u are great, and noted that
shooting in HD is important for certain types of video blogs. “HD is
necessary if you want to sell the content for broadcast, and the market
for that is expanding all the time. So if you are going to buy a
camera, I strongly suggest HDV,” Rosenblum said. He said he loves Final
Cut Pro because it’s simple and accessible, and users can start editing
from the first moment.
But it’s not just about the video — audio also matters, according to
Montgomery. “It is far wiser to invest in microphones and recorders
that capture high-definition sound than it is to go for a camera with
high-definition pictures and a small lens,” he said.
In the end, though, video blogging is exploding because the barriers to
entry are so low. “The bottom line is, if you want to get into video
blogging it is remarkably simple and very, very inexpensive,” Rosenblum
said.
Distributing a Video Blog
Hodson posts her videos on YouTube, Blip.tv, Archive.org and embeds clips on her blog. She also likes using Flickr for video and photos because she can email them from her iPhone 3Gs, then Flickr sends a link out to Twitter. But, she stresses, no matter where you post your videos, you should add your video clips on your own web site or blog as well.
Rosenblum said he loves YouTube because it is simple and so easy to embed, and that quality of Vimeo and Blip.tv is great and fast, while Montgomery said he uses Vimeo for its quality and YouTube for its search.
“It really helps if you engage with your audience in social media. I got 9,000 YouTube views in one day for my ‘Obama in Cairo’
report (second only to Al Jazeera) because I used Twitter, keywords and
other social media to promote the publication at the right moment and
in the right social space,” he said.
Leo posts his clips to Vimeo, YouTube, Facebookand
his blog sites. He points out that people are loyal to their video
providers, so uploading to multiple sites is smart. “It’s just giving
people the opportunity to choose how they want to view your video,” he
said. “Not everyone uses an RSS feed. Find who your audience is and
post it to where they are.”
Video Blogging Tips from Robb Montgomery:
- Only avoid using a tripod when it is impractical
- Be yourself
- Avoid trying to copy TV news formulas
- Film exciting and visually interesting B-roll
- Audio matters for brand identity
Many people think that Blogger lacks in all of the extra goodies you can add to other platforms like WordPress,
but it simply isn’t true. By using widgets you can customize your blog
as much as you like by just adding little snippets of code to the
sidebars.
Allow users to talk to you via IM, see what your most popular posts
are, or even read news from sites such as Mashable. With these 25
widgets, you can create an even more powerful way of communicating with
your visitors, just make sure you don’t overload them with too many!
Google Talk – Give visitors the ability to talk to you via Google Talk directly from your blog sidebar. Jaxtr – Create a widget that allows people to call you on the phone without revealing the phone number to them. Meebo Me – Meebo
Me will allow you to create a chat box that you can install on your
Blogger page, giving you the chance to converse with visitors to your
site. Skype ()
– The official Skype widget allows you to create various buttons that
can show your current status and also allows people to just click it
and give you a call. Tag-Board – Allows you to add a real-time chat board to your blog that your visitors and you can use to converse.
Delicious Linkrolls – Share your Delicious () bookmarks with the world with this easy to install linkroll widget. FriendFeed Widget – Share all of your FriendFeed () activity with the readers of your site. Google Friend Connect ()
– A makeshift social network that runs across any site that has
installed Google Friend Connect. You can join a site, see the other
members, play games and more. LinkedInABox – LinkedInABox retrieves your LinkedIn () profile to display on your blog, allowing people to look through things such as your specialties and experience. MyBlogLog – If
someone visits your blog that is also a member of MyBlogLog, their
avatar and username will appear in the box. You can then click on any
person to check out their profile on the service. Twitter ()
– Add your Twitter stream to your blog and display anywhere from your
last tweet to the last twenty. Also gives a link for people to be able
to follow you. Share on Facebook – A simple widget that allows your readers to share items from your blog on Facebook (). SocialFeed – A miniature lifestreaming widget that broadcasts your activities on sites such as Twitter, StumbleUpon (), Last.fm and so on. Has several different skins you can choose from.
Add This – The popular social bookmarking button is available for Blogger accounts. Easy Comments
– This widget allows you to add commenting to any page of your site by
placing the widget at the bottom of a page. Allows people to say if
they liked the comment, includes comment threading and more. Google Search () – Add an AJAX powered Google ()
search box to your blog that you can allow to search the web and your
blog, or even just restrict it to the contents of your site. Popular Posts
– This widget will take a look at your comments, up to the last 5,000,
and generate a list of which posts had the most conversation around
them. Recent Comments – Display the most recent comments on your blog in this widget so that readers can join in the conversation. Related Posts – Not so much a widget as a hack, this will give you the related post functionality that so many WordPress () powered blogs use. ShareThis
– The highly customizable green button that ShareThis is known for can
be added to your blog. Choose if you want it for social bookmarking,
users emailing your posts and more. Shout List Icons
– Be the king (or queen) of social sharing with this widget that
generates icons for over 30 social sites your blog can be added to. Tag/Label Cloud – Gives you the ability to install a traditional tag cloud in your sidebar so people can see what you write about the most.
Flickr () – You can generate an HTML or Flash based badge of your photo stream to share your images with your visitors. Mashable () – Yes, now you too can share the best web-related news on your blog with the Mashable widget. Picasa Albums – Display your public Picasa albums in your blog sidebar with this handy widget.
A
blog (weblog) is a special type of website that displays entries or
posts in reverse chronological order. The most recently written post
appears at the top. The posts themselves consist of text, images, links
to other websites and, typically, a means for readers to leave comments
about the post.
Blogs can function as online diaries, soap boxes, journalistic
ventures or internet scrapbooks. They can cover any number of subjects
from pop culture to politics to what you had for lunch yesterday.
All you need to start blogging is an email address and something to
say. There's more than one free blogging service that can have you up
and running in under five minutes. No technical expertise needed.
Are
you creating a blog primarily to keep in touch with family and friends?
Do you want to create a blog for people in your profession or who share
your interests? Is your blog an extension of your business?
Who
your audience is will determine which type of blog host you use, the
content of your blog, whether or not you publicize your blog and what
success means for you in respect to your blogging endeavors.
How focused your blog is on a particular subject is entirely up to you. Your blog can simply cover the stuff that is interesting to you and need not be defined beyond that.
If, however, you would like to target your blog to a particular niche or audience, here are some questions you might consider:
What are you interested in?
What are you an expert in?
Would your occupation be an interesting subject?
What do you think is currently missing online?
Do you have a goal that you're trying to achieve that could be documented online?
NOTE: Take heed if you choose to blog about your
workplace. Unless you password protect your blog, it is a public
document. Most employers are web savvy, and even the most well-intended
comments could run afoul of your workplace's rules and regulations.
Don't end up like this guy or this guy or this gal.
LiveJournal.com is a free service for all your
journaling and blogging needs, offering privacy controls, photo
storage, publishing tools, style templates, and online communities for
just about every interest imaginable.
livejournal.com
See what’s happening on MySpace! Find friends &
classmates, meet new people, listen to free music & build
playlists, share photos, watch videos, start a blog, read celebrity
news, get cool apps, free IM & more…
myspace.com
Whatever you decide, keep in mind that a blog's name should ideally be memorable, short, easy to spell and free of hyphens.
Checking Your Name's Availability
Technically, you can name your blog whatever you'd like. However, there are limits to what your blog's URL or web address can be.
Most people like their blog's name to match its URL address. For instance, the URL address for the blog Boing Boing is www.boingboing.net. The URL address for Bookslut is www.bookslut.com.
If you are using a hosted blog service such as WordPress.com, Typepad, Blogger or Vox,
you have two options. When you create a blog through these services,
you are assigned a web address, which will look like this:
If you don't mind having your host service's name in your web
address, than you can simply check your potential blog name's
availability when you register for an account. This is the simplest
solution, particularly if this is your first blogging experience.
If you'd like your web address to read "www.yourblogname.com", you will need to purchase a registered domain name.
You can check the availability of a domain name at one of the following sites:
Once you've found an available name, you can purchase it from one of several online hosting sites including GoDaddy, pairNIC and Network Solutions.
After you set-up your blog with Typepad(Pro, Plus or Premium Levels), WordPress.com or Blogger,
you can "point" your newly-purchased domain name to your blog. We'll
cover how to do this in Step 4 as it differs from service to service.
Step 3: Choose a Blog Host
There are several different kinds of services that will help you create and maintain your blog. Which service you choose
will depend on the purpose of your blog, your budget and your technical
abilities. (Don't worry! There are plenty of free services.)
Hosted Blogging Platforms (The Easy Route)
If you are creating your first blog or don't have a great deal of technical expertise, than a hosted blog service is the way to go.
A hosted blog service essentially "hosts" your blog at
their domain. They make creating a blog easy by providing well-designed
templates, a web address and rich text editors that allow you to create
posts without any special technical knowledge.
With a hosted blog service, you can have a blog up and running in less than ten minutes.
Some of the most popular hosted blogging platforms include WordPress.com, Blogger, Typepad and Vox. In Step 4, you'll learn how to create an account with each of these services.
Pros to Using a Hosted Blogging Platform:
Many services are free or inexpensive to use.
They make your blog easy to set-up and require to little to no technical expertise to maintain.
Cons to Using a Hosted Blogging Platform:
Blogging hosts are not as flexible design-wise as their
server-side counterparts. While many provide beautifully-designed
templates, they are not fully configurable. If you have a great deal of
technical expertise and would like total control of your blog's look,
you may feel limited by a hosted blog.
Blogging services incorporate their host name into your URL
address. (Ex. www.yourblogname.typepad.com) If you purchase your own
registered domain name, some services (but not all) will let you
"point" it toward your blog. Purchasing a registered domain name for a
year will cost you about $10, and some technical proficiency is
required to use it in lieu of the URL address your blogging host
provides.
Server-Side or Stand Alone Blogging Platforms (The Professional's Route)
Because
this instructional is intended for beginners, we'll be concentrating on
how to use the hosted blog services, but it's good to know what a
"server-side" or "stand alone" blogging platform is.
This type of blogging platform is hosted by you on your own domain.
This type of platform allows you to have full control over the design
of your site and will use whatever domain name you've purchased.
This route is more costly and demands a certain amount of technical
literacy. In exchange, you get a fully customizable site in your own
name, which makes it the choice of many (but not all) professional
bloggers.
Online Diary Services and Tumblelogs
If you're not especially interested in capturing a large audience
or view a blog as a means to connect with family and friends, you might
consider an online diary service or tumblelog as an alternative to a
conventional blogging host.
Online Diaries
Online diaries are exactly that - a journal of your thoughts and
experiences aimed at a small, targeted audience. Technically, this is a
blog as well, but one that is primarily used to network with friends in
an online community. The two most popular online diary services are LiveJournal and Diaryland.
LiveJournal can be
used as a blogging service, a private online diary or as a means of
social networking through LiveJournal's many online communities. It is
free to set up and relatively easy to use.
Diaryland has an even
simpler interface than LiveJournal and functions purely as an online
diary. You can browse current members' diaries here.
Tumblelogs
Whereas blogs are thought of as online journals or publications, a tumblelog is simply a scrapbook. Tumblelogs
provide a place to post the random photos, videos, quotes and links you
come across online. You can also post a traditional text blog post, but
tumblelogs favor the mixed-media approach.
Tumblelogs require less forethought, maintenance and care than traditional blogs.
Tumblr is free, easy to use and can be set up in less than five minutes.
Step 4: Create Your Blog
This section will cover how to set up a blog using four different hosting services - Blogger, WordPress.com, Vox and Typepad.
We'll be looking at these four services because they're four of the
easiest, most popular and least expensive options for first-time
bloggers with little or no technical expertise. A more complete list of
both hosted blogging platforms and server-side blogging platforms is
included in the Resources section of this page.
A sidebar runs along one or both sides of your posts. A sidebar
might contain any number of items including a short bio, a blog roll (a
list of blogs that you enjoy reading), a search box, ads and an RSS button. RSS stands for "really simple syndication." Adding an RSS link to your site allows people to "subscribe" to your site - updating them whenever you've posted something new.
The Posts
Posts make up the body of your blog. Posts can include text,
images, video and even streaming audio. Most blog posts also include a
way for readers to comment on the post.
Pros: Free with some advanced design pay options; No tech
expertise required; Blog traffic statistics built-in; Easy-to-use
sidebar add-ons; Can use registered domain name
Cons: While WordPress.com's interface is simple, it's not as simple as Blogger's. Some knowledge of tech- or blog-related jargon is helpful. Templates are not fully modifiable unless you purchase CSS editing options. Knowledge of CSS required.
Ideal User: Savvy beginners. Because WordPress also produces a server-side blogging software (WordPress.org), WordPress.com is good for users that may eventually want to switch to a stand alone host.
Pros: Free; No tech expertise required; Built-in social networking functionality; Integrated with popular online media services like Flickr and Photobucket
Cons: Not an ideal platform for a public or general subject
blog; Templates cannot be fully modified; Ads embedded at bottom of
page; Cannot use registered domain name
Ideal User: Beginners looking for a social networking option and who have accounts with online services like Flickr and Twitter
Pros: No tech expertise required; Broad menu of sidebar
add-ons; Blog traffic statistics built-in; Full Photoblog capabilities
and photo album interface; Can use registered domain name
Cons: Cost (Four Pricing Levels from $4.95/mo - $29.95/mo);
Basic HTML required to use all of the available sidebar add-ons; Some
knowledge of tech- or blog-related jargon useful; Limited design
flexibility at Basic Pricing Level; CSS knowledge required to modify templates at Pro and Premium Levels
Ideal User: Savvy beginners who would like their blog service to grow with them as their technical skills evolve
If you have a Google Account, sign in to Blogger by entering your email address and password in the upper right hand corner.
If you do not have a Google Account, get started by clicking on the Create Your Blog Now button.
You'll be taken to a screen that asks you to create an account.
Here you will need to enter in your pre-existing email address, choose
a password, choose the name that will be displayed when you publish a
blog post and accept Blogger's terms of use.
You will next be asked to name your blog and choose your blog's URL
address. (If you've purchased a domain name that you would like to use
in lieu of the Blogger address, you can click on the Advanced Blog Setup link for assistance.)
Next you will be taken to a screen that lets you select a template for your blog's design. Pick one, and remember that you can always change it later.
Once you've chosen your template, you can start posting.
Your First Post
Blogger uses a rich text editor that operates exactly like a word processor. What you see is what you get.
Enter a title for your post in the Title field and begin writing.
You can insert images or video into your post by clicking on the Add Image or Add Video icons on the upper right side of your text editor. (If you know HTML, you can view your post's source code by clicking on the Edit HTML tab.)
When you're done writing your post, click on the publish button or save your post as a draft for later publication.
You will then be given the option to view your blog, edit your post or create a new one.
Whenever you're ready to write a new post or manage your old ones, simply click on the Posting tab of your Blogger interface.
Exploring Your Settings and Template Tabs
You'll notice that in addition to the Posts tab, you also have a Settings and Template tab at the top of your Blogger interface. (On your BloggerDashboard, these appear as the Settings and Layout links.)
Under the Settings Tab, you'll
find all kinds of options to help customize your blog. You can control
how many posts appear on the front page, how frequently your posts are
archived and whether or not your blog is added to the Blogger directory.
You'll also be able to add an RSS link to your blog through Blogger or FeedBurner and control the terms under which viewers can comment on your posts.
Under the Template Tab, you'll
have the option of switching templates, choosing the colors that fit
your blog, adding or deleting information from your sidebar and, if you
know HTML, actually editing your template's source code.
Your Profile Page
To create a profile page to go along with your blog, go to your Dashboard. You will find a link to Blogger'sDashboard in the upper right hand corner of your screen.
On your Dashboard, you'll see the option to edit your profile in the right hand corner.
Click Edit Profile. Add as much or as little information as you'd like your readers to know about you on your Profile page.
This profile is what readers will see when they click the About Me link in your blog's sidebar. This is a default setting in your Blogger template. The About Me link can always be removed by clicking on your Templates tab and editing your Page Elements.
Deleting Your Blog
You can delete your blog at any time by clicking on the Delete This Blog button at the bottom of the Basics page under the Settings tab
Go the WordPress.com website. Click on the Sign Up Now button.
On the next page, you will be asked to create a user name and password, give your email address and agree to WordPress.com's Terms of Agreement.
On the next page, you will be asked to
choose your blog's domain name and title as well as set your privacy
settings. Once you've filled in these fields, simply press the Sign Up button.
On the next page, you'll be asked
whether you want to write a post, choose a template or visit your
blog's main administration page.
Clicking on the Change Your Template link will bring you to a page that allows you to choose from any number of WordPress.com's
pre-designed templates. (Keep in mind that your template selection will
be relatively limited and not especially flexible without the purchase
of a Custom CSS Upgrade.) Choose the one you like best. You can always change it later by clicking on the WordPress.com interface's Presentation Tab.
Your First Post
WordPress.com uses a rich text editor that operates exactly like a word processor. What you see is what you get.
Enter a title for your post in the Title field and begin writing.
You can insert images into your post by clicking on the Add Image button. If you know HTML, you can click on the Code tab to edit your post's source code.
When you're done writing your post,
you can either save it as a draft or publish it to your blog by
clicking on the appropriate buttons immediately beneath the text field.
You will then be given the option to view your post.
Whenever you're ready to write a new post or manage your old ones, simply click on the Write tab of your WordPress.comDashboard.
Exploring the WordPress.com Dashboard
The other tabs that run along your WordPress.comDashboard
allow you to switch templates, upload a picture to use as your blog's
banner, manage comments, control your settings and update your profile
page.
You also have the ability to set-up your registered domain name, if you've purchased one, by clicking on the Domains link in the Options section of your Dashboard.
Your Profile Page
In WordPress.com, you have a behind-the-scenes profile and an About page. A link to your About page automatically appears in your blog's sidebar.
To edit the information that appears on your About page, view your blog by clicking on the View Site link at the very top of your Dashboard.
On your blog, you'll see an About link in the sidebar. Click on this link. It will bring you to your About page and give you the option to edit this entry.
Click on the edit this entry link. It will bring you to a text editor that will allow you to create your About page.
Whenever you need to access your About page again, you will it find under the Write tab of your Dashboard at the Write Page link.
To edit your behind-the-scenes profile, which is not linked to from your blog's homepage, click on the Users tab and then the Your Profile button. Don't forget to click the Update Profile button to save your changes.
You can always delete your blog by clicking on the Delete Blog button under the Options tab of your Dashboard. Your blog will not be deleted, however, until you click on the confirmation link sent to you via email.
Click on the Start a Vox Blog link to sign up for an account.
The Vox
sign-up page will ask you to create a user name, submit your email
address and accept their terms of service. You will also be asked for
your gender and birthday.
Once you've inputted this information,
you will be sent an email with a verification code and link to confirm
that you're email address is legitimate. Check your email. Click on the verification link in your email. It will take you to a page that gives you three options - creating your Vox profile, setting up your Blog's look or writing your first post.
Click on the Set Up Your Vox
link to choose a template for your blog. The templates page will let
you create the look and feel of your blog's layout and design. You
won't be able to alter the templates in any substantial way, but you
can control the contents of your sidebar and customize a banner if you
choose.
Your First Post
To post your first entry, click on the Compose a Post link at the top of the page.
The Vox
text editor is a simple, word processor type interface with special
buttons along the top to help you add different types of media to your
post.
Enter a title in the Title field and write your post.
Insert any images, video, audio or Vox Collection you'd like. You can also add "tags" to your post to make it searchable by other Vox users.
Click the Save button when you're done to publish your post.
You'll be given the option of viewing or editing your post, bookmarking it online or sending it to friends.
Whenever you'd like to write a new post, click on the Compose a Post link at the top of your VoxDashboard.
Exploring Your Vox Dashboard
Your
My Vox drop menu allows you to access to all of your posts, uploaded
files and profile. You can play with the layout and design of your page
by clicking on the Design button.
Next to your My Vox menu are buttons for Neighborhoods and Groups. Neighbors appear on your homepage and consist of family, friends and other Vox users that you add to your page. Groups are Vox users organized around common interests.
You can also send messages to family, friends and other Vox users through the Vox interface by clicking on the Messages button in the left hand corner of your page.
Your Profile Page
To edit your Vox profile, click on the Edit Profile button located in the My Vox drop down menu. You'll be able to enter in as much or as little information as you'd like, but remember that because Vox emphasizes social networking, your profile is an integral part of your blog's homepage.
Domain Mapping
Vox does not offer a domain mapping option at this time.
Deleting Your Blog
You can delete your Vox account at any time, by clicking on the Account link in the upper right hand corner of your Dashboard. On the Account page, you'll find a Your Account link at the bottom of a list of links on the left hand side of the page. Click on Your Account, and a Cancel Your Account option will appear directly beneath it.
Click on the Free Trial or Sign Up buttons to sign up for an account. (Typepad is a pay service with four different pricing levels ranging from $4.95 - $29.95 per month. There is a free 14-day trial period. Your account can be canceled at any time.)
On the sign up page, you will be asked to submit your email address, create a blog address and agree to Typepad's terms of service.
On the next page, you will be asked to
choose a pricing plan and submit a valid credit card number. You will
not be charged until after your free trial ends. (Canceling a Typepad account is not a hassle and can be done with the click of a button.) Review the pricing plans
carefully as some plans offer features that others do not. For
instance, only the Pro, Premium and Plus plans allow you to assign a
registered domain name to your site.
After entering in your credit card information, you will be asked to design your blog and assign its privacy settings.
You will choose from a number of design and layout options as well as
decide whether or not you want your blog to be public, public but
unlisted or password protected. Don't worry about which template you
choose. You can always change it later. Whether you choose to make your
blog public or private is entirely up to you and depends largely on
your blog's content and target audience. You can change your blog's
privacy settings at any time.
You will then be asked to confirm your registration. Once you've reviewed your information, click continue. You will be brought to your Typepad Account's quick start page.
Keep in mind that you won't be able to see your blog online until you've written your first post.
Exploring the Typepad Dashboard
You can start a post by clicking on the Begin a Post button, or you can explore the full menu of text and design options by clicking on the My Weblog link in the Quick Start box. (This link will change to reflect your blog's name once you've assigned it one by clicking on the Configure tab and filling in the Weblog Name field.)
Clicking on My Weblog (or your blog's name) will bring you to your blog's administrative dashboard.
You'll see that you have two sets of tabs. The top level includes your Photo Albums, Typelists and account Control Panel. The second level includes your blog's design and post-related options - Compose, Design and Configure.
Starting with the top level, the Control Panel button lets you control your blog's settings, account information, statistics and personal profile.
Typelists are lists you can create and add to your blog's sidebar. Typepad has several built in options that let you add your favorite books and records from Amazon.com. A Typelist can, however, contain anything you want - a blogroll, text, a picture, a search bar, etc.
Under the Configure Tab, you'll
find options related to the way your blog archives posts, what it is
named and how it is publicized. You'll also find an option to add a
feed or RSS button to your site so that readers can subscribe to your
blog's posts. If you choose a Pro, Plus or Premium plan, you will find
an option to "point" a purchased domain name to your Typepad site.
To play with your site's design, click on the second level Design
tab. You will be taken to a menu that allows you to manipulate your
blog's design by adding new text to the header, choosing a new template
or rearranging your sidebar's contents.
Your First Post
On the second level of tabs, click on the Compose link. This will bring you to Typepad's text editor.
Enter a title in the Title field and choose any categories you want to use to archive your post form the drop down menu.
Type text in just as you would on a word processor.
You can add images, and if you know HTML, you can edit your post's source code by clicking on the Edit HTML tab.
Once you've finished writing, click the Save button. This
will publish the post to your blog. If you'd like to save the post as a
draft, you can choose that option in the drop down box on the lower
left hand side of the text editor.
You can view your blog at any time by clicking on the View Weblog link in the upper right hand corner of your page.
Your Profile Page
You will find a link to your TypepadProfile page under the Control Panel tab of your Typepad
interface. If you'd like to include a link to your finished Profile
page in your blog's sidebar, you can add it by clicking on the Select Content link under the Design tab.
You can cancel your Typepad account at any time by clicking on the Control Panel tab. There you will an Account Info sub-tab. Under Account Info, you will find the Cancel Account link.
Step 5: Write Great Blog Posts
In the world of blogging, content is king.
If you want to generate an audience for your blog beyond your immediate
friends and family, it is essential that your posts be well-written and provide value to readers.
It's also essential that you update your blog with new posts on a
regular basis. Creating a blog is easy. Maintaining a blog is hard.
General Tips on Writing a Blog Post
Be Passionate. You're writing a blog because you have something to say
so say it with style, enthusiasm and grace. Your voice is the only
thing that will make your blog stand out for the millions of others out
there.
Be Consistent. It's important to post on a regular basis so
that your readers keep coming back. Don't post if you don't have
something to say. No content is better than bad content, but
maintaining your blog should be a priority if you wish to reach an
audience beyond your peers.
Be Useful. Provide value to your readers. It might be entertainment value or educational value, but reaching out to readers means giving them something they need but didn't have before - an insight, a joke, a tool or a new way of looking at something.
Be Readable. Remember that you're writing text for people reading from computer screens.
Your posts should be short and easy on the eyes. If they get lengthy,
consider breaking up the text visually with bullet points, images or
selectively bolded text.
Be Responsible. Blog posts almost always contain links to other websites. It's important to give credit where credit is due and link back to a site if you've used it as a reference.
Popular Types of Blog Posts
Lists
People love lists. They are easy to read and fun to write. Lists
are often linked to by other sites and can help your blog gain
attention online. The best lists are original, comprehensive, provide
value to readers or are just plain funny.
Reviews
You have an opinion, or else you wouldn't have started a blog. Review films, books, gadgets
or whatever else might be pertinent to your blog's subject matter. If
your reviews are thoughtful enough and your blog gains a following, you
may even be able to solicit companies for products or materials to
review.
How To
"How To" posts
provide value to readers, and if done well, have a longer lifespan than
your average blog post. They are frequently linked to by other sites
and allow readers to benefit from your expertise.
Attack Posts
While they should be managed carefully, there's no denying that posts which attack
a story, product or person can generate attention for your site.
Combine this with the list strategy, and you've got your first "10
Things I Hate About..."post.
Step 6: Build an Audience
It's estimated that there are over 71 million blogs
in the world with another 100,000 being created daily. Standing apart
from the crowd isn't easy, but if you do decide that you'd like to
cultivate an audience outside of your mom, here are some tactics you
might consider:
Claim your blog at sites like Technorati and Blog Top Sites.
These are blog directories that allow people to seek out blogs on
subject matters of interest to them. You can also apply to be added to
the moderated directory Blogarama or try a relatively new service like BlogRush, which will advertise your blog's content across a network of related blogs.
Remind your readers that if they like a post, they should add it to sites like Digg, Delicious, Netscape, StumbleUpon, Ma.gnolia or Reddit. These services can help attract new readers to your site.
Link to other sites.
The owners of the sites you link to are likely to check out your blog
particularly if the link from your blog drives traffic to their site.
Become a regular commenter on blogs
that cover similar topics to your own. You're part of the blogosphere
now and therefore a potential player in a community. Provide useful and thoughtful comments on other people's blogs, and it's all the more likely that they will check out yours.
The old-fashioned way. Tell everyone about your blog. Add its URL to your email signature. Put it on your business cards. Network at blogging conferences. Kiss some hands and shake some babies, or is that the other way around?
Step 7: Measure Your Traffic
Blog hosts like WordPress.com and Typepad keep track of your stats for you. They will tell you how many people have visited your site and when.
If you'd like a more in-depth set of
statistics including where people are visiting your site from, what
pages received the most views and detailed graphs of your site's
popularity, there are a handful of free services you can use to track
that information.
The most popular include Google Analytics and Site Meter.
Both services give you step-by-step instructions in how to set-up their
services on your blog although some familiarity with basic HTML coding
is helpful.
Step 8: Monetize Your Blog
While
you shouldn't quit your day job, there are a handful of quick and easy
ways to monetize your blog. A basic knowledge of HTML coding is helpful
when using these services, but most blog hosts will walk you through
how to add these services.
Google Adsense will search your blog
and add ads relevant to its content. These ads can appear in a number
of different text and image configurations. You make money when people
click on the ads.
An Amazon.com
program that places ads relevant to your blog's content on your blog.
You make money when readers click on the ads and make a purchase
through Amazon.
A network that lets blog owners sell text ad space directly to advertisers.
Legal Resources for Bloggers
There are some legal issues that all
bloggers, but particularly those aspiring to capture a large audience,
should be aware of. Most deal with the use of images, video and audio
files. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has a complete legal guide for bloggers online.
You may also want to copyright your own original work through Creative Commons.
Creative Commons offers several different kinds of licenses. Some let
people use your material freely but with attribution. Some let people
use your material for anything but commercial purposes. You can check
out the full list of Creative Commons licenses at their website.http://www.myblogusa.com
