Make a Blog 101: Creation and Design from Scratch

Make a Blog 101: Creation and Design from Scratch class is now in session. I am your lovely teacher, Hung Truong. I am referencing this list:Top 10 Things A Good Blogger Should Already Know. It is pretty much the ultimate foundation in a summary format that a good blogger should know. Understanding that list will help you easily create and design a successful blog from scratch. I will use the top ten post as a checklist to guide you to create your blog. 1)"Content is King" - When you start to make a blog, think about a topic that you're passionate about. Something that you can constantly keep new material updated on your blog. If you're not passionate about your topic, it will show in your blog writing. Readers will lose interest, and probably never come back. Like in first dates or business meetings, first impressions count, and you have only one shot at convincing your reader that your site is worth a bookmark or subscription feed. 2)"Regular Post Frequency" - You need to post often because it's to make a blog and forget about it later. Posting regularly also gives you the experience on how to create good posts. 3)"Web 2.0 Style is a Must" - Use Blogger.com as your first blog software. It's pretty much optimized in a web 2.0 format. You can host it on your own .com domain name as well. This is a good place to learn the building blocks of good blog design. 4)"Pro-Active Blog Promotion" - Here are examples how to promote your site: Social news network and bookmark sites(where people submit your articles or bookmarks to vote and comment): del.ico.us, Digg.com, Netscape.com, Reddit.com, StumbleUpon.com, and many more new ones that pop up everyday. Contests: if you're a small and big site you can generate a lot of traffic by doing contests that link back to your site. Link exchanges: basically you trade links with people who you want to affiliate with. This helps you get indexed higher in search engines like Google, Yahoo, AltaVista, etc. Forum and email signatures: There's options in your forum and email control panel that allows you to leave a signature after the end of every forum post or email. Include a link to your site. Classifieds: Craigslist.com has free classified ad submissions. This is a huge site that can bring you free traffic. 5)"Run Ads/Generate Income" - Sign up for Google Adsene. It is the first ad-program that you need to add. Putting ads in is easy. You go through an easy wizard setup where you click the ad style you want and you modify the colors that match your site. Then, you copy and paste code in your blog text box. 6)"Proper Ad Placement" - There is definitely an art too it. Remember content is king first. You have to place ads that blend around your content. Don't overdo the ad placements. Side-by-side ads is something you want to avoid. 7)"SEO" - Search engine optimizations may sound complex but it's not. It's about making your website index better in search engine results. Every website wants to be on page 1. You do this by increasing sites that link to you. Also, you target a keyword and stuff that into your article. You also need to submit your site to search engines. Here are some links: Submit Your Site to Google, Yahoo Submit To Search Engine and Directories, and Submit Your Site to MSN's Live Search. 8)"Blog Networking" - If you're reading this blog, leave me a comment. You should start your networking with me. Bookmark your favorite sites, and discuss and learn with those authors. There are many blog communities popping up everyday. 9)"Personalize Your Blog" - People want to know who is writing the article they're reading. Use my "About Me" page as an example. Here is a link to my About Us page. 10)"Use Hit Counter or Page Statistics" - you need to track where your traffic is coming from. Google Analytics is free. Add to del.ico.us Digg This! Netscape It! Reddit! Stumble It! Other bookmarks: Go To Article Index