"How to
Jump on the Blogging Bandwagon"
By Merle http://MCPromotionsPress.com
Blogs, Blogs; they're everywhere. Unless you've been
living under a rock, I'm sure you've read about the
uses for a Blog. With the increasing use of filters
by email recipients and ISP's, many newsletter publ-
lishers are turning to Blogs as a replacement or
in some cases as an add-on to ezine publishing.
So what exactly is a Blog? Basically, it's a web
log that's updated regularly, sometimes daily, with
the most recent entry posted at the top. Usually
there's a calendar on the right hand side of the
page where you can click on past dates to read
older entries.
A Blog can mean different things to different people.
To some it's like a personal journal recording their
personal thoughts and daily events. You can share
your views on different subjects with the rest of
the world. Posts to Blogs are generally casual and
not too lengthy. To others, it's a powerful marketing
tool which can be used to bring people back to your
website to read about what's new. All in all, Blogs
are a more personal way to reach out to your customers,
share information and build a sense of community all
at the same time.
So now that I've got your attention, how do you
create your very own Blog? Simple. You have two
options:
1) Purchase Software
2) Use a 3rd Party Service
The look of a Blog is usually template-based, but if
you know some HTML or CSS you can easily fine tune the
look to something more to your liking. If you don't
know a stitch of HTML, no problem, you don't need
to.
Depending on the type of Blog service you use, making
posts to your Blog can be done in a variety of ways:
some with just your browser, others by email, and
some even via telephone. Some Blogs even allow your
readers to post their own comments and become an
active participant.
Now that you understand what a Blog is, let's take
a look at some software and services that are
available to you.
Software
**********
1) Radio Userland: http://radio.userland.com
Suitable for personal or business use, it's easy
to use but also has advanced features for the
more savvy user. There's a 30 day trial available
so you can download it to try it out. If you like
it, purchase it for only $39.95
2) Movable Type: http://MovableType.org
A customizable publishing system which installs
on your web server. Free for personal use or non
profit use, but donations are accepted. Commercial
users must pay a $150.00 licensee fee.
3) PMachine: http://PMachine.com
PMachine requires a hosted account that supports
PHP and MYSQL. There are two versions, Machine
Pro for commercial business use is 125.00. There's
also a "Pro" version for non-commecial use or
personal use for only 45.00. There's also a feature-
limited free version available.
3rd Party Services:
*****************
1) Blogger: http://Blogger.com
My personal favorite. Owned by Google. If you'd
like to test the "blogging waters, this free
service makes it a snap to set up your first Blog.
Easy to register and you can start posting immed-
iately. If you download Google's latest toolbar,
you'll find a Blogger button included, which makes
it easy to add sites to your Blog with one click
as you surf the Web. I love this feature.
2) LiveJournal: http://LiveJournal.com
Free for a limited account, but if you want to
enjoy full features you'll need to pay 25.00 a
year. This service is very much an interactive
community of people.
3) TypePad: http://TypePad.com
A very powerful hosted weblogging service with a
rich set of features. A basic weblog, including
the ability to display images and enable comments,
will run you $4.95 a month. If you register for a
year, you'll save almost $10.00 in fees. If you need
more features, there's a Plus account for $8.95 a
month or Pro Version for only $14.95 monthly.
4) BigBlogtool: http://BigBlogTool.com
Buy 6 months of service for only $10.00 or 12 months
for $15.00. Very user friendly and loaded with great
features.
As you can see, you've got a lot of options when it
comes to the world of Blogging. Another advantage
of Blogs is they may help with "page rank" since
search engines love content that updates regularly
and is rich in "key phrase" content.
You can also create an RSS feed for your Blog to
syndicate its content. A site like http://BlogStreet.com
can help you create the feed. If you'd like to make
your own feeds from HTML docs you might want to look
at this free software: http://kalsey.com/tools/blogfeed .
By offering an RSS feed, you allow people to add your
Blog to their news reader to keep up with your latest
updates, or they can use a service like
http://www.iupload.com/product/mailbyrss.asp and have
your feeds delivered via email. Another RSS to
email delivery service is Info Aggregator, which is
located at http://rss.blogstreet.com .
If you look around the Net you'll find a lot of
really cool tools to add functionality to your
Blog. If you'd like to easily maintain a link list
check out Blog Rolling http://BlogRolling.com . Once
you register you'll be given a piece of code to add
to your Blog. As you surf the Net and find websites
you'd like to add to your "link list" just click the
"
BlogRolling" link in your links bar and it's done.
Another free links manager tool is http://BlogLinker.com
How about comments? If the Blog service you're using
doesn't allow for users to post comments, you can add
that feature by downloading this free software
http://jsoft.ca/reblogger/
One of the drawbacks to blogging is that the user
has to come to you and it's almost impossible to
know how many readers/subscribers you may have. That's
why there's Bloglet http://Bloglet.com , which allows you
to add an email subscription service to your Blog so
your readers can register to be notified by email of
any new posts and you can see at a glance how many
subscribers you have.
So by now, you've made a decision on your Blog service
and crafted this beautiful Blog that you want to share
with the rest of the world. But how do you get the
word out? A good starting point is to list your Blog
with "Blog Search Engines." Here are a few resources
to get you started:
BlogaRama http://blogarama.com
BlogWise http://www.blogwise.com/submit
Feedster http://feedster.com/add.php
BlogDex http://blogdex.net/add.asp
BlogMatrix http://blogmatrix.com/join
BlogStreet http://www.blogstreet.com/bin/add.cgi
BlogSearchEngine http://www.blogsearchengine.com
Here's a Big List of Blog Search Engines
http://www.aripaparo.com/archive/000632.html
Once you enter into the world of Blogging, you'll
find it has a culture all its own. Many also say the
act of posting itself can become almost addictive
in nature as you learn to love this new way of
instantaneously reaching out to your customers in
your own personal way. So now that you know how easy
it is what are you waiting for, go Blog!
**********************************************
Merle http://www.EzineAdAuction.com
"
Where some of the BEST Deals in Ezine Advertising are Made"
Buy & Sell Ezine Ads in a live auction setting!
Publishers sell off your excess inventory and Buyers
pick up some Fantastic bargains. Free E-book on how to
write "glowing" ezine ads.....Download Now at
http://www.ezineadauction.com/ebooks/greatezineads.pdf
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