Setting up a new blog

Developing a good idea is the first step in setting up a new blog. Here are some of the steps in developing your blog:

1. What's the point? Do you want to share pictures with your family of the new baby? Do you want to push sales over the top for your company by offering valuable information to customers? Do you just want a spot to put all that knowledge rattling around in your head? The first step is to define what you will cover in your blog.

2. Next, set up the blog. You can do this yourself by using Blogger or Wordpress or one of the blogger sites. Or, if you want something a bit more individual, contact a web designer to put up the blog of your dreams.

3. Once the shell of your blog is up, start adding the permanent content. This includes your profile paragraph and any gadgets, such as followers, ads, pictures, etc., you may want to occur on each page.

4. In your Profile, be sure to include a clear and concise description of the purpose of your blog. Readers often look at the profile statements first to see if they want to take time to look through the blog.

5. Make a list of topics you want to write about. Put the list into a logical order and start your post with a welcoming statement. Then, follow it with a blog each day or every couple days from your list. Keep adding to the list as ideas come to you and you have yourself a blog. Enjoy

Getting started with your blog

Those of you who already have blogs won't need this one. For those who are thinking of setting up a blog but are afraid of it, take heart. A little bit of computer knowledge will take you a long way. If you are really a novice on the computer, grab a friend with a little bit of computer knowledge and together you'll manage just fine.

Now that you've chosen a name for your blog, it's time to get it up and going. I use blogger.com. I followed the directions to set it up and had no trouble at all. Use the name you chose for your blog when the sign-in process asks for your URL.

It would take me too long to explain each step of setting up a blog if I wrote it out here, and there's no need for me to do so. There are complete directions online. Merely put in a search for "how to put up a blog with blogger" or "how to put up a blog with wordpress" or whatever blog service you decide to use. The directions will guide you through the process. If they don't, open another browser and ask for more specific directions.

Once you have chosen a template for your blog, put up an introductory blog. It needn't be more than a couple of paragraphs about the main topic of your blog and why you chose it. Post it to your blog and you're off and running.

Give your blog topic some thought and make a list of subtopics you want to write about. Write a couple more short blog posts and put them up and we'll be ready for the next step.

Why do you want to blog?

When you are first setting up a blog, it's important to ask yourself why you want to blog. Your answer to that question will help you define the name and the goals and objectives of your blog.

The history behind this blog is that for a while I've been helping people find their way around Twitter. I've done everything from helping people set up their accounts to learning how to find followers and people to follow. From that, I guess my brother decided to regard me as knowing a bit more about blogging than he does. Anyway, long story short, he sent one of his students to me when she was looking for help on how to set up a blog.

In order to help her, I decided I should test myself out and set up a blog from scratch. (I have four blogs, but I've always had someone set them up for me).

So I found myself in need of a topic for a blog. I do write lots of articles on blogging, tweeting, marketing on the Internet, etc., and do share tips with others regarding how to get going online. So it just naturally came to me that I should make this experiment useful and become The Helpful Blogger.

That says it all. I know enough to help others. I have strengths in writing, editing, blogging, tweeting, and photography. I can share information on all those. Why not parlay that into a blog that could help someone else run the maze.

Here I am. I have a blog and Twitter account for The Helpful Blogger and I already have one person to help. I'm off and running.

And, I've just given you an example of what you must do first in establishing a blog. You have to determine why you want a blog and choose a burning topic you want to blog about.