The Why & How of Blogging (part 1).- NerdMag

Feb 12th 09 Posted by SheBee in General, Headline

The Why & How of Blogging (part 1).

Lately I’ve been trying to explain to a few friends of mine how to blog. Some of the common questions I’ve had to answer actually seem to be a common unknown ground for all beginner bloggers. I decided to do a weekly post on the basics. From what I learnt in the beginning and what I’ve come to know since.

Which platform should I choose to blog on?

In my opinion, as a beginner, you shouldn’t buy a domain until you’ve found your niche in blogging. Your self-hosted domain could possibly limit you to what you might eventually decide to write about. Stick to either WordPress (highly recommended) or Blogger.

What is the difference?

Blogger is handy in the way it is user friendly. A monkey could operate it. But it’s not very smart looking. Almost all Blogger sites look the same. I’d say the only thing Blogger had going for it was that it is good friends with Google.

WordPress is cleaner, smarter, fancier. Still user friendly, but you’d have to upgrade to at least a half-breed monkeyhuman to use it. The bonus about WordPress is that you can track your readers easier, follow link backs and its easier reading. Also, their themes are much better formatted. The bummer? You cannot edit wordpress.com theme css. So the theme you choose is as-is, no changes. Of course, with self-hosting you do get the ability to perform magic and make your blog float purple spotted bubbles passed the screen if you so wished. But not yet, little noob, not yet. Don’t host until you know you can do this thing properly.

Can anyone be a blogger?

For sure! Granted, the majority of blogs out there make my eyes glaze, but I’m sure each blogger has at least one reader whose eyes don’t. As far as my knowledge goes, there is no tabboo blogging topic. I’ve read posts on toenail diseases, STD’s, Search Engine Optimisation, babysitting and even food catering. Think about what you enjoy, what tickles your fancy… find something you find interesting and blog about it. Experiment, test yourself, change your direction until you find what works for you and what’s most comfortable.

What should I know, straight up, about being a blogger?

Firstly, you need to decide how often you can dedicate yourself to blogging. There’s nothing worse than a random post once in a blue moon and then you forget about the whole concept. As much as we like to believe we blog for ourselves, if you have any hopes for regular readership, give back to your readers. In your blog you are selling yourself, no matter what type of blog you run – be it on technology, sex, babes, cars or little fluffy bunnies – your writing is what brings people back. No writing, no readers. I’d suggest a minimum of 2-3 blog posts per week. If you can’t do that, don’t expect much traffic.
Try and have some sort of idea which direction you want your blog to take, writing wise. This is not totally essential straight away, experimentation is allowed. Especially in the beginning. We all start somewhere. Hell, I remember one of my first ever blog posts – it was a time schedule of what I had done that day. True story.
Gaining readers is hard work. You can’t expect to just tap away at a keyboard and receive adoration from people living in your computer. You network, baby. You visit other blogs, you join online communities, you have patience. It comes in time, readership does.

What the blerry hell is a blogging community?

It’s a place where you can submit your blog, duh. There are lots of different sites to choose from, they integrate your RSS Feeds and categories them into blog directories. This is not only good for your blog, but others too. You have a world of blogs to read at your disposal, you just didn’t know it until now. I recommend in no particular order:

The best way to start blogging is to just do it. Open up an account, click on a ready-made theme and start writing. The rest will come in time.

Next post: Commenting, Socialising online, Blogging do’s and don’ts, recommendations, current trends.