I posted my first blog in the dark ages – about 2002, I think. That was (and is) the blog WomenDaybyDay.com. Then I added the Ontext blog for writers and two years ago, DigitalGrandparent, the blog for baby boomer techies.
Where do you write blogs?
I use WordPress, having tried other content management systems and sites. WordPress has a learning curve (I use the self-hosted side at WordPress.org). Having your own url is essential if you want the blog to grow, propagate, and be sustainable in the long run. I think Blogger and WordPress.com also allows you to use your own domain (url). There are many plug and play blogging sites like blogger.com or blogspot.com – have a look and see what looks good to you. They’re all pretty easy.
While there were once all kinds of SEO tricks to get a blog or site noticed fast, Google and other engines are moving away from that model because all that happened was entities with big budgets floated to the top of the rankings and quality wasn’t an issue. Now, quality content, relevant to your topic will make your blog stand out.
How do you promote blogs?
As far as promoting it, social networks really work. Spend 15 minutes a day commenting on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, SheWrites, Redroom, and forums that match your topic. I also have great success with Yahoo Answers and whatever Amazon’s equivalent community is. It’s more effective to make conversational comments, be a gentle expert voice, rather than out rightly promote your blog.
Put your blog’s url on your business cards, letterhead, and anywhere else you put your name – if you post to any groups or forums, include your url in your signature. That creates links back to your blog – a good thing. Tell everyone you know how to find your blog. Encourage comments on every post and put links at the bottom of every post to other posts within your blog. Always.
My strongest advice is to add some writing every day, multiple times a day if you can, until you have 100 articles up. They can be short. But they need to be excellent, fascinating, and readable. On your front page, include a place for readers to subscribe easily – both RSS and email. Visit Feedburner.com to read about how easy it is to add those elements.
When you write a particularly valuable post, put a review up on Stumbleupon (I get a ton of traffic from that group) or any of the other social bookmarking sites. Once you get your first hundred entries up, drop to a level that works for you, or, as has been said, you won’t continue the blog if it feels too much like work.
How should your blog look?
Make sure your theme or design is appealing but not overwhelming. Use a readable font, not anything out of the ordinary. Add images and fill out the identification data on the images, including the alt or alternate text since those play in search engines. Make sure your images are copyright safe or you credit the image maker. Use unusual and clever pictures to draw attention.
Blogging is fun, especially when you’re writing about your passions, but there is a work side to it if you want your blog to endure, and especially if you want to use it as a platform.
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