Write it!

Lesson 9: Setting Up a Domain Name

Now that you’ve gotten familiar with Blogger, you should look at setting up a Domain name. I’ve heard horror stories: bloggers have experienced theft of their blog or the blog simply disappeared. Setting up a domain name protects your blog.

When I first started blogging, I was fuzzy about the difference between a domain name and hosting. It was all a confusing mix of information overload.

• Domain–in simple terms, a domain is your personal place on the Web. If you are looking to present your blog in a professional light, purchasing a custom domain  is a good approach.
• Hosting–in the usual scenario, you pay for monthly site hosting, which, many bloggers feel, is an unattractive option out of the starting gate.

Now, I’ve mentioned that you can set up a free blog with Blogger. The good news is that for a low fee, you can purchase a custom domain for one year.

As for hosting, my thoughts are: why pay for monthly hosting when, via Blogger, you can have your site hosted for free? If you purchase a domain name via Blogger, your site hosting continues–without charge. That’s a good deal in my books.

Recap

• You can set up a free blog with Blogger
• You can purchase your own custom domain
• Your site hosting continues, free of charge.

 Video:Purchasing and Setting up a Custom Domain Through Blogger

Hello Everyone,

In today’s post, I’m going to take a hiatus from the blogging lessons. I have a couple of things I want to discuss with you, my readers!

Thank You!

First on the list: I want to thank everyone who has swung by this blog and taken the time to comment. You are helping to shape this blog and it is very much appreciated.

E-mail Subscription to This Blog!

Second: I feedburned this blog so now it’s easier than ever to receive updates. Simply locate the box, enter your e-mail and, viola! No more having to snoop through feed readers or bookmarks to get the latest updates.

New Look

Third: You may be wondering about the picture above and where it was taken. (Just a side-note: I loved my other blog design with the woods, path, and bridge but opted for a new layout because I wanted to play with two columns.)

I took this picture down at Two Islands. This is a special place in the Minas Basin in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia. If you are familiar with Parrsboro, you will have a better idea of the local.

Two Islands is a special spot because the nearby Wasson’s Bluff is the site where the world’s smallest dinosaur footprints were discovered by Parrsboro resident Eldon George.

This place is breathtaking at any time but a friend and I were treated to an almost magical sight. We visited Two Islands late in the evening (our day ran out on us!). We weren’t sure if we wanted to navigate down the steep path to the beach below in the darkness but, in the end, decided to go for it. What we saw was truly awe inspiring!

The tide was out (incidentally, this is an area of the world’s highest tides) so the tidal flats stretched for miles. A full moon illuminated the heavens–and there stood the two islands, silent, mysterious, beautiful in their timelessness, silhouetted in the moonlight. Further off, we could see a band of water caught in a tidal pool–a moon-path over the flats.

I snapped the pic. above on another visit and hope you enjoy it as this blog’s header.

Please let me know what you think.

Lesson 8: Number of Columns in Your Blog’s Sidebar

If you are setting up a Blogger blog, you’ll want to give consideration to the number of columns you’ll want along the side of your blog.

The sidebar is where you’ll have a chance to place AdSense capsules, product widgets, article feeds, links, advertising, and a whole host of other items. As you add to your blog the number of these items will grow.

So, in the early stages, it pays to give some thought as to the direction you want your blog to take and ultimately, what you’ll want your readers to see.

It should be obvious that one column to place stuff into may not be ideal. This is why many bloggers are switching to free templates that allow for multiple columns. Why is this important?

The columns at the top of your blog are what most blog readers will see. Now, this is not saying that someone won’t scroll down but, for those who are taking a quick overall look, you only have seconds to engage their attention.

If you are still not clear on this, look around at other blogs and note the design features. Notice which ads you see and why–and where they appear.

If you decide that you want 2-4 columns in your blog’s sidebar, now is a great time to set it up, over having to do this later. You may, however, just want to get comfortable with Blogger’s different features before trying anything else.

Whatever you decide, remember: you are now a Blogger blogger!

Lesson 7: Free Blogger Backgrounds & Templates

In today’s lesson, I’m going to digress somewhat and include information for those who’ve had a Blogger blog for a couple of months or years and who want to spruce it up a little.

The templates offered via Blogger are a good starting point but as time goes on, you may find that you want your blog to offer more visual appeal. Thankfully, there’s a way–and all at no cost! It would be counterproductive to set up a free blog and then end up paying for a different blog template.

Free Blogger Templates

• Cutest Blog on the Block (backgrounds)
  
• Final Sense Blogger Templates (3 & 4 columns)
• Eblog Templates
• Free Blogger Templates
• 70 Fresh and Modern Blogger Templates 
• Top 20 Free Blogger Templates 
• 50 More Fabulous Blogger Designs to Inspire You

This list of free blog templates will get you started, or, if you prefer, you can simply type “free blogger templates” into your browser to check out what’s available.

Further Reading

• Everything Blogger

Watch a video about free Blog templates

These resources should prove helpful for newer or seasoned bloggers who are looking for free Blogger templates–either to spruce up an existing blog or for use when creating a second or third blog.

Lesson 6: Blogger Layouts

If you’ve been following these lessons, by now, you will have created your free Blogger Blog. I mentioned at the outset that if you want to start free blogging, opting for a Blogger blog makes sense–because you can later incorporate Google AdSense and earn money from blogging.

I remember when I first got started blogging. I made a promise to myself that I would set up a free blog and see if I could actually earn money from it. I’m happy to say that I did and I am!

Now, you may be thinking, hotdog! bring on the AdSense . . . but setting up a blog is a step-by-step process. I will introduce the whole ‘AdSense how-to’ in a future article but for today, we will take a look at your Blogger Layout.

• Sign in to Blogger and go to your Dashboard.
• You should see your blog listed.
• Underneath you will see: “New Post, Edit Posts, Settings and Layout.”
• Select Layout
• A new page will open and you will see a large box
• Over on the right or left (depending on the template you selected), you’ll see “Add a Gadget.” This is your launching pad to incorporate numerous items in your sidebar. Click on it.
• Another box will open, entitled Basics.
• Scroll down through the list of gadgets to become familiar with elements you can add to your Blogger blog.

Blogger Gadgets

1. Followers–I would suggest, for starters, that you select the second item down: “Followers.” This way, if someone comes across your blog, they can easily follow it. As new people appear here, you can click on their icon and choose to follow their blog.
2. Subscribers–go to the fourth item on the list and choose “Subscription Links.” It is very important to add these two items right from the outset so that fans can follow and subscribe to your blog. These should always appear at the top of your blog so that readers can easily find them.

Now, see, that wasn’t too hard was it? It can seem confusing at first but soon you’ll be an old hand at Blogger blogging.

We will cover some of the other gadgets found at Blogger Layout in a future lesson.

Recap 

Lesson 1: Setting Up a Free Blog

Lesson 2: Free Blogging With Blogger

Lesson 3: Getting Started With Your Blogger Blog

Lesson 4: Creating Blog Posts

Lesson 5: Blogger Settings

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Lesson 5: Blogger Settings

If you’ve created your Blogger Blog and possibly tried creating blog posts, now is the time to get more familiar with the Blogger platform. Today we will take a look at Blogger Settings.

When you sign in to Blogger, you are taken to the Blogger Dashboard. Underneath your blog’s name, you will see four options: Edit Posts, Settings, Layout, View Blog.

Click on Settings.

A new page will open. Ignore the first item, Blog Tools, and go on to the next two. You want to make sure your Blog name appears and underneath a description that describes what your blog is about. Try to make this as specific as possible.

Other Options in Blogger Settings

Underneath, you’ll see other options.

• Select Yes for the next four options.
• The next option is for Adult Content. Select No.
• Select Yes for Compose Mode
• Ignore Enable Transliteration, unless your blog is targeting that particular audience.

Take a deep breath. You’ve done it! You’ve started tweaking your blog!

Make sure you save your settings–that orange button at the bottom of the page. See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?

Tweaking your Blogger settings ensures that your blog gets listed and is found by the search engines, allows for editing and allows readers to e-mail your blog blog posts to their friends.

Adjusting your Blogger Settings is a necessary step in setting up your Blogger blog.

• In our next lesson, we will be looking at Blogger Layouts.
  

Lesson 4: Creating Different Types of Blog Posts

Now that you’ve created a Blogger blog, you are no doubt busy creating your first posts, in an attempt to gain an audience.

Now, we all know content is critical. Down the road, you will want to look at monetization (how to earn money from your blog)–but, for now, let’s discuss the different types of blog posts/content.

Types of Blog Posts

1. Daily posts/content
2. Pillar posts
3. Flagship content

Daily  Posts–run of the mill daily musings you will place on your blog.

Pillar Posts–evergreen content that is tutorial in nature,  teaching your audience useful information. These blog posts are longer and offer lots of tips and tricks about your particular niche.

Flagship Content–attracts people to your blog. They turn to this content for resources and information.

Think of it this way: what information can you offer that’s useful to your readers and will make them want to return to your blog?

Tip: study other blogs you enjoy and try to pin down what makes them stand out. What do you find interesting about them? Is it the pictures? Is it the resources offered? Is it the blog design?

For example, on of my favorite blogs is Bay of Fundy Blog.

Why? The blog’s author, Terri, includes such an interesting mix of pictures, places to visit, recipes, local attractions and lore. I curl up with a cup of tea and go on an adventure when I visit Terri’s blog–and always come away informed and inspired about living in the Maritimes.

Rule of Thumb: Combine shorter blog posts with longer, content-rich posts so that you have a good mix of different types of blog posts.

• In our next lesson, we will be discussing embedding links into anchor text.

Lesson 3: Getting Started With Your Blogger Blog

If you’ve followed through and created a free blog with Blogger, you’ll be busy learning the ropes.

Perhaps you want to jump right in and create your first blog post. If that is the case, by all means, do so!

One of the most important things a blog needs is content. It is critical and is the foundation of a good blog. And I’m talking about quality content–something readers can relate to and will return to. And that begs the question: how to get return visitors to your blog?

One of the best methods of determining what’s popular with readers is to visit popular blogs that touch on topics you will be covering in your blog. Try to determine why these blogs appeal to the masses.

Make a list of the ways you can vamp up your content. Ask yourself how you can make it content-rich. What can you offer readers that will make them feel it is valuable enough to return?

Remember blog readers fall into certain categories: those who want to be entertained, those who are seeking information, those who want to touch bases with like-minded bloggers, those who want a place they can find related resources about the subject they are interested in.

If you, as the blogger, offer what your readers want, your blog readership will grow, which means earnings for you, down the road.

How to Start Blogging With Blogger

Lesson 2: Free Blogging

The first step to creating a free blog is to create an account. You’ll be asked to create a Google account. This is important because you’ll need this down the road, when you want to access/implement other Google services. If you already have a Google account, you’ll need to sign in before creating your Blogger blog.

Blogger’s free blogging platform is easy and relatively painless. In mere minutes you can set up your Blogger blog in its most basic form. You’ll be tweaking it as time goes on–but that’s okay. You’ll learn as you go.

Now, in these lessons I’ll be covering the basics of blogging, those things you should do so that your blog has the right bells and whistles. I’m not going to spend much time on the how-to’s of setting up your blog–if you are serious about blogging, that’s your part of the bargain. Play with Blogger and learn how it works.

Making Free Blogging Work for You                                                                                                                                I’ll be covering what you need to do so that your blog is optimized and gets noticed–and more importantly those steps you should take so that your blog earns you money.

Blogger: How to Start a Blog

Recap: choosing the right free blogging platform can mean earnings down the road.

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Lesson 1: Setting Up a Free Blog

If you’ve been thinking about blogging, there are a couple of things to keep in mind–especially if you are considering setting up a free blog.

Two popular blogging platforms are Blogger and WordPress. Both will allow you to set up a free blog but there are important differences.

• WordPress is a well known blogging platform but the free WordPress has limitations. You cannot incorporate AdSense.
• Blogger allows you to include AdSense adds, so if you are looking to make money from your blog down the road, this may be a workable option.
• While you could pay for a domain name and hosting, setting up a free blog makes sense if you don’t want to spend the money to set up a blog.

A free blog is a good way to get your feet wet with blogging. With a free blog, you can still link to your articles, thus promoting your writing and increasing your earnings.

In future posts, I will be discussing setting up a free blog.

In this series of lessions, we will be discussing setting up a free Blogger blog.

It pays to keep your finger on the pulse of freelance writing. One way to do this is to learn from top writing blogs.

Top writing blogs have more to offer freelancers than just great content and helpful resources. By examining some of the top writing blogs, one can learn much about writing and blogging.

Many writers have a blog these days. A blog is a great place to showcase your skills, network with other writers, and even obtain writing work.

 Freelance writers can benefit from scrutinizing what other successful writer-bloggers are doing.

Top Writing Blogs

To kick off the new year, I’m providing a handy listing of some of my favorite top writing blogs for your perusal.

1. Copyblogger
2. Angela Booth’s Writing Blog
3. The Golden Pencil
4. The Renegade Writer
5. Men With Pens
6. Freelance Parent
7. Freelance Writing Jobs
8. ProBlogger
9. Get Paid to Write Online
10. Blogging Basics 101

This listing is by no means exhaustive but from studying some of the top writing blogs, I’ve learned much about writing and blogging.

If you are a freelance writer, learn from the best of the best!

Further Reading:

• Top 60 Blogs for Freelance Writers
• 20 Must-Read Blogs for Freelance Writers

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With the start of a new year, many of us are looking at ways to grow our writing income. Today I want to share one neat strategy for finding writing and blogging jobs.

If you are are busy freelancer, you know that time is at a premium–which means that you, as the writer, have to become even more efficient.

Even if you are a newer writer, you’ll still be looking at ways to streamline the whole freelance writing experience. This, of course, extends to looking for writing and blogging jobs.

Writing and Blogging Jobs

I’m a great believer in having things come to me. My days are so busy, I look at any time-saving strategies to grease the wheels, as it were.

One site I really appreciate is Indeed. Freelancers can go there and type in a search query for writing and blogging jobs. Perhaps even better, you can sign in to the site, search for writing and blogging jobs and then activate e-mail job alerts. Why is this so exciting?

You receive notification of potential jobs! Writing and blogging jobs that come to you!

Simply type in your search phrase, lets say “blogging jobs.” Hit “Find Jobs.” Once the page comes up, click on “Save this search as an e-mail job alert.”

As well, once you sign in, you can view your visited jobs. You may see an opportunity but don’t have the time to apply for it with the necessary details. Using Indeed, you can return to it and apply when your circumstances permit.

May 2009 be the year that you find the desired writing and blogging jobs that are a fit for you!

Today’s post is dedicated to a discussion of writing income. I thought I would share what I was doing and invite readers to add their insights.

Writing Income

I earn writing income in a number of ways and don’t place my writing eggs all in one basket. That way, I’m not dependent upon just one opportunity.

How to Earn Writing Income

• I have 8 monetized blogs
• I’m paid to write reviews and blog posts
• At times, I receive job offers via my blogs
• I earn commissions from sales of products via my blogs
• I earn income writing HubPages, utilizing all of the income generating tools
• I write articles for PrintNPost
• I write articles for Triond
• I write for Suite 101

Now, the writing income I receive comes mostly from advertising and from revenue sharing. At other times, I take on freelance projects and earn writing income from those.

I’ve become pickier about my payrate, because time is money and nowhere is this more applicable than with freelance writing. 

I would rather work to grow my monthly writing income, over receiving a one-time payment; however, that is a personal preference.

Whatever you are doing, work to magnify your efforts and this will pay off down the road.

• What do you do to earn writing income?