How To Start Blogging

I’m having a rush of wannabe bloggers launch this month. Here’s the
process we’ve developed to get people cruising quickly.

First we get past, “No you can’t hire someone to blog for you!”

Next, start reading blogs. I recommend using a blog aggregator so the
blogs you read don’t clutter your email inbox. I recommend Google
Reader, which comes as a free part of also free Gmail.

Then subscribe to some blogs. I use RSS (clicking on that orange and
white square in the address box at the top of your web browser.

Here are five blogs where I see great stuff:
Through The Browser
Sales Lab Posts
XKCD
Seth’s Blog
Drew’s Marketing Minute

After you have mastered Reader and read ten blog posts, start looking
for an opportunity to comment. Nasty and pointing out errors is boring
and backfires regularly. Improve and encourage the discussion. Don’t
send private notes, let everyone read your contribution. Think
“contribution.”

After you can comment without typos and have collected a couple of thank
you messages for your comments, you are ready to blog.

I recommend Blogger, another free Google product. It is almost
maintenance free and it seems like Google Search has set up a branch
office at the foot of my driveway.

Pick a good name. There are a lot of them out there. I like “Through The
Browser” too much. What do you care about?

Start writing and posting. Try posting twice a week. It’s less than two
hours of your time.

My biggest hurdle is getting a title/subject. When I think of one, I
write it down on paper. Otherwise it gets away.

Figure ten sentences/five paragraphs. More or less is good. I compose in
Word, then save to Notepad to get rid of rude formatting.

Six posts is a mature blog. Start asking people to read your blog. Use
your blog address in your email signature and when you comment.

Congratulations! You are now an experienced blogger!