How to Create Your Own Blog on Blogger.com

The word blog is an abbreviation for 'Web log,' and can be anything you want it to be. Use it as a private journal to rant about your family or job, keep in contact with friends, create an Internet marketing strategy to promote your business--the possibilities are endless. However you choose to write it, creating your own blog at Blogger.com is easy.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Email account
• Computer with Internet access

Register for a Blogger.com Account

1. Begin at the Blogger.com home page (see the Resources section below).
2. Take a tour of Blogger.com or click on the 'Create Your Blog Now' link to register for a new account.
3. Create a new Google account or use your existing Google account by providing an email address.
4. Enter a password at least six characters long in the text field provided and reenter it for verification purposes.
5. Choose the display name that will appear whenever you post your own blog or comment on someone else's blog. Decide if you want to choose a name that identifies you or if you want to create a different blog identity.
6. Enter the word you see in the word verification box for security purposes.
7. Read the 'Terms of Service' and check the box to acknowledge that you agree.
8. Click the 'Continue' link to proceed to the next step of creating your blog.

Design the Appearance of Your Blog

9. Choose a name for your blog. Your blog will have a title that appears in the header and is what appears on your readers' title bar.
10. Determine the address for your blog. All Blogger.com blogs end with '.blogspot.com' but you are able to decide what will precede that in your blog's URL.
11. Select a Blogger.com template. Choose from Blogger.com's many templates or use HTML to create your own.

Create Your New Blog on Blogger.com

12. Use the drag and drop editing tools in the blog 'Dashboard' to arrange page elements (including posts, pictures or any add-ons) the way you want them to appear.
13. Customize your blog with add-ons, including AdSense (to make money from your blog), hit counters to keep track of blog visitors, tagboards to allow visitors to make comments, as well as interactive features like polls.

Tips & Warnings

• Blogger.com offers a comprehensive 'Help' menu.