Blogdom Here You Come. A Quick How To

Blogs are huge. Seems that everyone has one from corporate to life stream. Still, plenty of people out there want to blog, but simply do not know where to start. If you are one of them, then this post is for you. Blogging, in itself, is not very difficult, but getting a start and sticking with it requires a little thought and effort.

1. Blog about your passion: With all the other bloggers out there, what will set you apart? Don’t aimlessly blog anything and everything, but about what you are inspired by. When it comes down to it, you..your personality, will be what sets you apart. Let your originality show through. Write as if you were speaking.
2. Name your blog: This may seem simplistic, but you really should give it some thought. Keep it as short as possible, so people can easily remember it, while keeping in tune with your topic. A big trend out there now it to mash up a couple words. For instance, Anocial is a match up of Social Ant. I work in social media, and I’ve always liked how ants form the network of tunnels in their nest. I saw the ant tunnels as a metaphor for social networking. Blam! Anocial.
3. Hosting: I recommend starting with some free hosting like  Blogger, Xanga, or LiveJournal. I really like Tumblr and Posterous. They allow for a little more interaction with other bloggers on those sites . I have a few freebie blogs that I use namely my Tumbler (for my photography) and my Posterous (Just for thoughts). I use these to drive traffic here to this site. The biggest drawback here is that your content is not really your own and it can be very difficult to bring your readers along if and when you upgrade to paid for hosting. Once you have blogged for a while you may decide to continue blogging. If so, then a paid for site is the way to go. WordPress is the system of choice right now and is what I use for my site.
4. Write, write, write: There are plenty of different theories of when and how often to write. Plenty of people can write on a daily basis. I find that twice a week on this site and twice a month on my free sites is enough. I enjoy the writing, but as my business picks up I find that trying to write on a daily basis gets in the way of working on my clients needs. find the frequency that suits you and stick with it. You will gain and retain more followers if you are consistent.
5. Interact: Read and comment on other blogs. This gives you the opportunity to get yourself known and drop a few links to your site.
6. Socialize in  social media: Twitter is a great place to start. This and, other 2.0 platforms, are aces when it comes to marketing yourself. Grow relationships and it will drive traffic to your site. Make sure to include a link to your blog in your bio and feel free to update your followers with your new posts. Once…maybe twice. DO NOT spam your new found friends with links to your site. This will only drive them away.

There you have it. Find your passion and run with it. Blogging can be a bit of work but it can be oh so worth it.