DamaNegra said:
Did I even spell 'newbe' right? Oh dear...
Anyways, I've been wanting to start a blog for some time now, but I just don't know which way to go about it. I guess I want a space to talk about real-world issues and to have a place to point people at when they want to check out my writing.
Do I just open an account, pick a topic and start writing randomness about it?
Does it take any planning?
How do you get readers?
Please! Help!
Newbie is how we spell it on the Newbie Forum
Yes, just open an account, pick a topic and start writing randomness about it. That's exactly what I did
You *can* plan it - but many don't. If you went and got your own domain and set up a website and then set up a blog there you'd need lots of planning and probably help - then again, maybe not! I recommend a couple things - even with a free blog site (and there are many - just click on everyone's links in the Absolute Write Blogs thread to see) you might want to learn some basic HTML. I have found it to be very helpful. There's a great online resource called
w3schools where I got my first HTML help.
How do I get readers - well, posting here doesn't hurt but the best way is to comment on blogs like yours. And blogs not like yours, like mine!
Seriously, most of my traffic comes from here and I comment on lots and lots of blogs, so they come to mine.
Also, link in your blogs to other blogs and to websites. Often people will follow the link.
Another thing, sometimes I get new readers because they Googled "vides" (weird, huh) They actually stick around for a few minutes! edited to add: I didn't finish that thought! A catchy title to your blog might get you some Google traffic. Then, if you have something worth coming back to they'll become a regular!
I also think "tagging" with Technorati tags might be a good thing, too. When you tag your posts other readers who are interested in that topic look up the tag on Technorati and find your blog. If I persistantly posted something about, say, cats in sinks, then it would be on the top of the list and anyone looking for stuff about cats in sinks would find me. It would help keep readers if I was actually talking about cats in sinks instead of just trying to get them there with a tag, by the way.
That's a couple things - there's lots more on this forum and lots of very helpful, very friendly folk to give advice. Blog away!
