Blogging For Dummies

Amy Lupold Bair

• Verlag: For Dummies
• Jahr: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781119588085
• Auflage: 7
• Thema: Business
• Thema: Digital Marketing

The bestselling blogging book—updated in a new edition!

Ready to make your mark on the online world? Start a blog! Blogging For Dummies provides you with information on blogging basics, the anatomy of a good blog, and the tools required to get started.

Plus, you'll get advice on a blog topic, choosing a domain name and host, writing your first post, planning an editorial calendar, and using your blog as an important part of your personal brand.

• Decide which of the major blogging platforms will work for you
• Use SEO to drive traffic to your blog
• Monetization through advertising and sponsorships
• Create content that draws readers in

Covering shifts in popular blogging platforms and tools, changes in social media, and the latest best practices in the blogosphere, this new edition sets you up for blogging success!

Part 1

Getting Started with Blogging

IN THIS PART …

Recognizing the hallmarks of a blog, choosing a blog topic, and learning how to create great content

Understanding what happens when you publish, creating your personal brand, and using some commonsense guidelines when it comes to your job, family, and identity

Getting a domain name, finding a good web host, determining whether to use hosted or non-hosted software, and getting your blog software in place

Chapter 1

Discovering Blog Basics

IN THIS CHAPTER

Recognizing the components of a blog

Getting started with your own blog

Selecting a blog topic

Blogging successfully

By now, you've probably heard the word blog tossed around by all kinds of people, seen it show up in news stories or cited on TV news broadcasts, or you may even have a child, friend, or coworker who has a blog. Bloggers are partnering with businesses, and businesses are even creating their own blogs to reach out to their customers. But what exactly do all these people mean when they say they have a blog? And what does a blog written by a teenager have in common with one written by a CEO?

Don't be too hard on yourself if you aren't exactly sure what a blog is. The word blog actually originated from a mash-up of two other words — web and log — so if it sounds made up, that's because it is. In its original form, a blog is a chronologically ordered series of website updates, written and organized much like a traditional diary, right down to the informal style of writing that characterizes personal communication. Over the years, the term blog has come to describe a wide variety of online communications and media. Blogging is continuously evolving and growing!

In this chapter, you find out just what makes a blog bloggy and why so many people are outfitting themselves with one like it's the latest celebrity fashion trend. (Hint: It's not just that we're all narcissists!) You can get some ideas that you can use to start your own blog and become part of the blogosphere (the community of blogs and bloggers around the world).

Making Yourself Comfortable with Blogs

I talk to a lot of people about blogs, many of whom know that you find blogs online, but some who also have the impression that all blogs are written by extreme thinkers, cranky complainers, or fashion-obsessed online influencers. Some blogs really are diaries in which the blogger records the minutiae of day-to-day life — but blogs are often much more than that, and all kinds of people write them.

One of my favorite blogs (see Figure 1-1) falls into the personal diary category: The Bloggess (http://thebloggess.com). The personal blog of writer Jenny Lawson, The Bloggess follows everything from stories of taxidermied raccoons riding on cats to giant metal chickens left on doorsteps.

Source: www.thebloggess.com

FIGURE 1-1: The Bloggess blogs about her life — hilariously.

Think of a blog this way: It's a kind of website. All blogs are websites (the opposite isn't true, though), and neither the content nor the creator makes a blog a blog — the presentation does. A blog can be many things: a diary, a news source, a photo gallery, or even a corporate marketing tool. Blog content can include text, photos, audio, and even video, and bloggers talk about nearly any subject that you can imagine.

One of the reasons blogs have become such a popular way of publishing a website is because they're particularly good at generating high search-engine rankings. If you have a blog, it's more likely than a standard website to come up high in lists of search results for the topics you discuss. The reason? Your posts are fresh and recent. Search engines give an extra boost to web pages that have the most recently updated or created content related to the keywords that someone is searching for. And better search-engine listings mean more visitors, more readers, more comments, and a more vibrant community. Individuals and companies have taken advantage of the blog medium to reach out to web users.

How people use blogs

With millions of blogs in the world — the blog platform Wordpress.com (http://wordpress.com) reports that a new Wordpress.com blog is created every six seconds — it's obvious that blogging is a popular and successful format for publishing a website. Don’t believe me? Stop by the Worldometers site (www.worldometers.info/blogs) to watch the number of blog posts published each day update in real time. It’s mind-boggling! But just what are people doing with blogs? They can't all be posting pictures of their cats!

And they aren't. Bloggers are using the blog format to communicate effectively in all kinds of information spheres, from the personal to the professional. In fact, many blogs serve multiple purposes at the same time, mixing posts about activities at home with news pertaining to work. Your blog can serve many purposes in your life, including creating income!

Documenting your life

A lot of folks use blogs for the same reason they might keep a diary — to chronicle their lives and activities. This urge to communicate appears in all kinds of mediums, from scrapbooking to taking digital photographs. If you're interested in sharing personal details with others, a blog gives you a fast, efficient way to do so.

If you send holiday newsletters every year or email a group of friends and family to let them know about exciting events in your life, you can have a lot of fun with a blog. You can blog as often as you want, and your readers visit when they're ready to get more information. Best of all, each blog post gives your friends and family a quick way to respond to you; they have only to leave a comment on your blog post. You might find you're talking more with your family than ever before!

Of course, not all lives come up roses every day; they can't all be wedding and travel blogs. Personal blogs can be intense when they document rough times. Jennifer Leal (http://savoringthethyme.com), a Rhode Island-based blogger, uses her blog, Savor the Thyme, shown in Figure 1-2, to document her experience with leukemia along with other aspects of her life from family to career. She even uses her blog to raise awareness about the need for bone marrow donors and the Be the Match program (http://join.bethematch.org/jennifersmission).

Source: www.savoringthethyme.com

FIGURE 1-2: Jennifer Leal uses her blog, Savor the Thyme, to raise awareness about the need for bone marrow donors.

In your eagerness to let your friends know about what you're up to, don't forget that anyone in the world can access a blog (unlike a real diary or scrapbook), now and in the future. Don't publish anything that you might find embarrassing in the future, and have the same consideration when you talk about others or use photographs.

Exploring a hobby or passion

If you have a passion or hobby that you just love to talk about, consider doing so in a blog. Anyone who shares your interest is a potential reader and is bound to be looking for more information wherever he or she can find it. This is also a great way to find like-minded people and join or build an online community!

You can detail your own experiences, offer advice to others, drum up support for whatever you like to do, or just talk about what you love. Best of all, you might be able to make connections with others who share your infatuation, making friends and finding ways to get involved with your hobby more deeply.

Lisa blogs about one of her biggest passions: Disney. The Castle Run (www.thecastlerun.com) is her personal labor of love where she writes about her family and their love of all things Disney. The Castle Run is also a great way for Lisa to introduce readers to the latest Disney Parks offerings, providing answers to questions from future Disney Parks gues...