Basics to Blogging

By Mitch “Blogging is my Middle Name” Keeler 

I have gotten a handful of e-mails from people asking me to go over and explain blogging. From head to toe, first you need to find a blogging script to use, then you need to find the best way for you to blog and lastly you need something to blog about.

Blog and Content Management Scripts

Of course, to setup a blog you must first have a good blogging script or content management system. Here are a few of the best alternatives out there to choose from:

• WordPress
• Drupal
• AJAXPress
• CuteNews
• MovableType
• Textpattern
• Serendipity
• Joomla
• b2evolution
• blojsom
• Sblog
• Expression Engine
• blosxom
• Simplog
• Nucleus
• Wikiblog
• bBlog

Best Tools to Blog?

There are a number of tools out there that will help you to post to your blog. One of the best of the best out there (and yes, it even surprised me!) Is Windows Live Writer.

I can tell you from personal experience it is a superb companion to WordPress (because it is what I am using to write this, right now!). All you need to do is plugin your WordPress login info and address and it does the work for you. If you are using Firefox, then you might want to look at the ScribeFire addon.

If neither of these is your cup of tea, the blogging engine that you pick should have a pretty decent editor built in.

What is there to Talk Blog About?

If you just want a place to share information, links and more – then finding your niche might not be so important. If your writing for fame and fortune, then I do have a few tips you might want to take into consideration before you name that blog of yours.

1. Find something you know about, and write about it!
2. Get a writing and posting schedule that works best for the free time you have!
3. For a good post, remember you want quality and not quantity!

Focused blogs, one on a certain genre or topic often do the best, because when people subscribe they know what they are going to get. People subscribe to DownloadSquad.com because they know they are getting cool web site tools and downloads. People subscribe to FirefoxFacts.com because they know they are going to get help with Firefox. Very few people get famous or popular for having blogs just about them.

That is a hard blogging nut to crack into so I wouldn’t try unless you are already well known.

Can You Give Us Some Post or Article Types?

There are lots of post ideas, formats or/or types you can choose from. You have your…

• Information Posts – explain something or define it to me.
• Top 10 Posts (aka lists!) – give the world a list of your favorite or the best something or another.
• How-to – deliver a step by step guide on how to do something
• Opinions – write up something that you have a strong opinion about

Many more out there, I know. This should be a good start though.

Final Tips on Blogging for Beginners

Best advice I have for anybody starting to blog is to have fun with it. Don’t treat it like a job, treat it like a hobby. If you treat it like a job, you’ll grow to hate it. Have fun though, and you will think of it more as an exciting distraction to go make a post on your new blog setup here with Lunarpages hosting.