How to Jump on the Blogging Bandwagon
by Merle © Copyright.
Blogs, Blogs; they're everywhere. Unless you've been living
under a rock, I'm sure you've read about the uses for a Blog.
With the increasing use of filters by email recipients and
ISP's, many newsletter publishers are turning to Blogs as a
replacement or in some cases as an add-on to ezine publishing.
So what exactly is a Blog? Basically, it's a web log that's
updated regularly, sometimes daily, with the most recent entry
posted at the top. Usually there's a calendar on the right hand
side of the page where you can click on past dates to read older
entries.
A Blog can mean different things to different people. To some
it's like a personal journal recording their personal thoughts
and daily events. You can share your views on different subjects
with the rest of the world. Posts to Blogs are generally casual
and not too lengthy. To others, it's a powerful marketing tool
which can be used to bring people back to your website to read
about what's new. All in all, Blogs are a more personal way to
reach out to your customers, share information and build a sense
of community all at the same time.
So now that I've got your attention, how do you create your very
own Blog? Simple. You have two options:
1) Purchase Software
2) Use a 3rd Party Service
The look of a Blog is usually template-based, but if you know
some HTML or CSS you can easily fine tune the look to something
more to your liking. If you don't know a stitch of HTML, no
problem, you don't need to.
Depending on the type of Blog service you use, making posts to
your Blog can be done in a variety of ways: some with just your
browser, others by email, and some even via telephone. Some
Blogs even allow your readers to post their own comments and
become an active participant.
Now that you understand what a Blog is, let's take a look at
some software and services that are available to you.
Software
1) Radio Userland: http://radio.userland.com
Suitable for personal or business use, it's easy to use but also
has advanced features for the more savvy user. There's a 30 day
trial available so you can download it to try it out. If you
like it, purchase it for only $39.95
2) Movable Type: http://MovableType.org
A customizable publishing system which installs on your web
server. Free for personal use or non-profit use, but donations
are accepted. Commercial users must pay a $150.00 licensee fee.
3) PMachine: http://PMachine.com
PMachine requires a hosted account that supports PHP and MYSQL.
There are two versions, Machine Pro for commercial business use
is $125.00. There's also a "Pro" version for non-commecial use
or personal use for only $45.00. There's also a feature-limited
free version available.
3rd Party Services
1) Blogger: http://Blogger.com
My personal favorite. Owned by Google. If you'd like to test
the "blogging waters, this free service makes it a snap to
set up your first Blog. Easy to register and you can start
posting immediately. If you download Google's latest toolbar,
you'll find a Blogger button included, which makes it easy to
add sites to your Blog with one click as you surf the Web. I
love this feature.
2) LiveJournal: http://LiveJournal.com
Free for a limited account, but if you want to enjoy full
features you'll need to pay $25.00 a year. This service is
very much an interactive community of people.
3) TypePad: http://TypePad.com
A very powerful hosted weblogging service with a rich set of
features. A basic weblog, including the ability to display
images and enable comments, will run you $4.95 a month. If you
register for a year, you'll save almost $10.00 in fees. If you
need more features, there's a Plus account for $8.95 a month or
Pro Version for only $14.95 monthly.
4) BigBlogtool: http://BigBlogTool.com
Buy 6 months of service for only $10.00 or 12 months for $15.00.
Very user friendly and loaded with great features.
As you can see, you've got a lot of options when it comes to the
world of Blogging. Another advantage of Blogs is they may help
with "page rank" since search engines love content that updates
regularly and is rich in "key phrase" content.
You can also create an RSS feed for your Blog to syndicate its
content. A site like http://BlogStreet.com can help you create
the feed. If you'd like to make your own feeds from HTML docs
you might want to look at this free software:
http://kalsey.com/tools/blogfeed . By offering an RSS feed, you
allow people to add your Blog to their news reader to keep up
with your latest updates, or they can use a service like
http://www.iupload.com/product/mailbyrss.asp and have your feeds
delivered via email. Another RSS to email delivery service is
Info Aggregator, which is located at http://rss.blogstreet.com .
If you look around the Net you'll find a lot of really cool
tools to add functionality to your Blog. If you'd like to easily
maintain a link list check out Blog Rolling http://BlogRolling.com .
Once you register you'll be given a piece of code to add to your
Blog. As you surf the Net and find websites you'd like to add to
your "link list" just click the "BlogRolling" link in your links
bar and it's done. Another free links manager tool is
http://BlogLinker.com
How about comments? If the Blog service you're using doesn't
allow for users to post comments, you can add that feature by
downloading this free software: http://jsoft.ca/reblogger/
One of the drawbacks to blogging is that the user has to come
to you and it's almost impossible to know how many readers/
subscribers you may have. That's why there's Bloglet
http://Bloglet.com , which allows you to add an email
subscription service to your Blog so your readers can register
to be notified by email of any new posts and you can see at a
glance how many subscribers you have.
So by now, you've made a decision on your Blog service and
crafted this beautiful Blog that you want to share with the rest
of the world. But how do you get the word out? A good starting
point is to list your Blog with "Blog Search Engines." Here are
a few resources to get you started:
BlogaRama http://blogarama.com
BlogWise http://www.blogwise.com/submit
Feedster http://feedster.com/add.php
BlogDex http://blogdex.net/add.asp
BlogMatrix http://blogmatrix.com/join
BlogStreet http://www.blogstreet.com/bin/add.cgi
BlogSearchEngine http://www.blogsearchengine.com
Here's a Big List of Blog Search Engines
http://www.aripaparo.com/archive/000632.html
Once you enter into the world of Blogging, you'll find it has a
culture all its own. Many also say the act of posting itself can
become almost addictive in nature as you learn to love this new
way of instantaneously reaching out to your customers in your
own personal way. So now that you know how easy it is what are
you waiting for, go Blog!
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