Aha!, you may have got to this site after watching it on BBC Click – here’s the script from the program along with some links to help you on your way. Or you could hop over to the beeb’s website for more click goodness.
After watching the next few minutes of Click, you too could have your very own Blog. And these days, it’s almost as easy as writing an email.
It can be about anything.
Judith Lewis says “Be passionate in your blogging and) blog abut what you’re passionate about – like chocolate…”
Mike Robinson adds “This way your enthusiasm for the subject is more likely to come through and your readers are more likely to engage with your content and come back and visit your site.”
So, let’s assume you’ve chosen your specialist subject – next ,choose a platform to write on – two popular sites are blogger and wordpress.
We’re going to set up a wordpress blog. It’s easy to use, and, like a lot of other blogging platforms, it won’t cost you anything unless you want to upgrade later on.
First, name your blog.It doesn’t have to be short, but exercise that creative muscle and come up with something easy to spell and easy to remember. You’ll get an activation email – click the link & you’re ready to go. Fill in your profile if you like, to tell anyone who drops by a little about yourself.
Next, you’re presented with something most writers dread – a blank page – Just remember, you’re not alone, everyone has one “Hello World” post to get through.
Marko Saric says ”Stop thinking about it and start writing it. Showcase your skills”
Just delete the text and start writing.
Don’t do anything too ambitious, just aim for a paragraph or two. That’s it, you’re done, you could hit “publish” right now.
If you want to be a bit posh, you can insert pictures or other media by clicking on “Add image” in Blogger or (“upload/insert” in wordpress)
Andy Bargery suggests “…try to incorporate a range of different type of content so text image video and sound, all of which will make for a really rich blogging experience for your readers.”
Link to other sites by selecting text, pressing the chain-link button, then typing the address into the pop up box. You can also cut and paste text from another browser window.
Hit Publish. You’ve blogged.
Now it’s time to make friends in the blogging community. Leave comments on other people’s blogs – if surfers like your turn of phrase, they pop over to check you out.
People can also comment on your work, if you allow it. You can manage or moderate comments from your dashboard – don’t feel bad about blocking something inappropriate.
When you next visit, just log in and hit “new post” or “add post”. You’ll see the dashboard, recent comments and stats will show you your visitors.
Clare English says “Don’t be disappointed if people don’t come in their droves to read your blog straight away. There’s so much information on line about everything that you really need to make an effort to find your audience and pull them in. The best way to do this is to connect with people who are online already.”
Andy Bargery adds: ”try to post fairly consistently and fairly regularly, so once a day or once a week or even once a month. Just try to set the standard so your blog readers will know when to come back and enjoy your content.”
And, like everything on the net, anything you blog will be there for ever, so be wary of angry Flaming, typing with CAPS LOCK ON (which just looks angry) or making dodgy comments that someone’s lawyer might not be too happy about
Remember, there’s a whole community to help you find your feet in the blogosphere, so link your profiles for maximum exposure.
Judith suggests “do hook up with twitter, facebook, myspace, even linked in has a blog service. So make it easy for people to find you and they will.”
Happy blogging!
p.s. you can follow my usual blog on http://ljrich.wordpress.com
There are loads of sampled tunes – I’m going to find them and list them… feel free to add yours!
