How to Make a Blog
People that use the Internet do all kinds of funny things. They twitter, digg, buzz and blog. Blog is short for "weblog," a term that was coined in 1997. Several years later the word morphed into "blog." A weblog, or blog, is similar to an online diary or journal. Regular entries are made to the blog. If a blog is neglected and new entries are not made, it can slip into Internet obscurity.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
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Determine the theme of your blog. Some blogs are topic specific, such as blogs on cooking or computer technology. Other blogs are personal, written like a daily diary or personal insights on random subjects. Choose a topic that you are passionate about--something that you will want to write about frequently.
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Name your blog. The name you choose may already be taken, so be prepared to use a backup choice. Choose a name that is easy to remember and easy to spell. It may or may not be part of the domain name. If it is, choose hyphens rather than underscores to separate words, as they are more recognizable by search engines.
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Find a site to host your blog. As a beginner you may want to start on a free blog site. These include Live Journal, Blogger, Word Press and Weebly. See "Additional Resources," below, for links.
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Sign up for your blog account and log on.
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Customize your blog. Some blog accounts give you the option of customizing the look of the blog web page. Personalize the appearance of the blog by having it reflect the theme. Use the hosting account's available tools to customize the colors, change fonts and add photographs. If this feels too technically challenging, use the default layout at first; when you feel more comfortable, begin making formatting changes.
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Post regular blog entries. Be consistent in both the regularity of the posts and the editorial style.
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Find your unique voice and style. Don't try to sound like everyone else. Readers who become fans of your blog will return expecting to read a certain style and voice.
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Limit your verbiage. If your entries are long (exceeding 500 words) you may lose readers.
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Write about hot topics. If you want more readers, write about the current hot topics within your theme. Or, find a way to work those topics into your theme. When Internet surfers are searching for current entries on hot topics, your blog will show up in the search results. One way to discover hot topics is to use Google Trends (see "Additional Resources").
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Tips & Warnings
Read other blogs. Get a feel for what other people are writing in blogs. This will give you a better perspective of how they are different from other forms of Internet content writing. Search for blogs by using the Google blog search option. Add images to your blog entries. Pictures you take with your digital camera can be uploaded to the blog. Pictures or graphics will make your blog more interesting. For example, if you are writing an entry on giving your cat a bath, a photograph included with the entry would add interest.
