Getting a blogging platform

Below are some options which able to do free blog hosting. The recommendation is based on popularity and ease of used. The first 3 options are the easiest, but the are also limited on features. If you are just trying to make an extra few hundred dollars from your blog (mainly from adsense), these options could work. But if you are really serious about trying to make good money from your blog, I recommend self-hosting your blog (which we talk about in the next section…).

 

Tumblr.com – This is probably the simplest blogging platform to use, but it also is the probably the least customizeable. So, it might be something good to start with, but it would be more difficult to build an income-generating website with it.

Blogger.com – Blogger is also very good, easy to set up, owned by Google, you can customize the theme, and the domain name includes “.blogspot.com” (in some people’s opinion a little less professional). Blogger continues to become more customizeable and currently offer a lot more options than they did a few years ago. Adsense is also easily integrated like what you see in my bog here.

WordPress.com – Wordpress.com they are completely free, easy to set up, you can customize the theme, but other customizations are limited, domain name includes “.wordpress.com”.

 

WordPress.org – Wait, what is the difference between wordpress.com and wordpress.org? To put it simply WordPress.com is where you will go to set up a basic, easy blog with limited features. WordPress.org is where you will go to get a self-hosted blog. If you get to the point where you are serious about blogging and really want to make some money with it, you need to self-host your blog.

How much does it cost to blog?

There are many services that allow you to start a blog for absolutely free without any hidden cost (see here). I suggest using one of these free services to get a basic feel for blogging and get a hang of it. Once you decide you want to stick with it and that you want to make money with your blog, I suggest moving up to a self-hosted blog. Anyone who is really trying to make money with a blog will probably be more successful with a self-hosted blog. idea2empire have been around for a while that is the reason I'm still using it as the traffic is directed to here. Getting a self-hosted blog may not be free, but still can be VERY inexpensive. You will need to pay for nothing more than a domain name ($10) and web-hosting (as cheap as a few dollars a month).

Is it easy to start a blog?

It is very easy trust me. Find hosting site like mine is under blogger.com where your site will be yoursitename.blogspot.com. Even if there are steps along the way that are confusing, there are plenty of resources to get the help you need. There are more than 20 million blogs in existence, so it can’t be that difficult. In another word is easy as 1-2-3.

What is a blog?

Blog is short for “weblog”(wiki) and basically, it is just a website that has entries listed in chronological order. The original idea behind it was to be a online journal or diary that was updated daily (or as frequently as the writer chose). Over the last decade many software programs and blogging platforms have been created to make the process VERY EASY. As the blog writer, depending on which platform you use, you can just type your entry, press submit and it shows up on your blog for the world to see. Most bloggers don’t know any programming languages and are not “techies.” Starting a blog is one of the easiest ways out there to start a website. If you haven’t started one yet, why not try it today? It can be set up easily and can be completely no cost (free). Once you master it you can consider to join Adsense Program for some extra money.

Blogging Basics / How To Make Money Online

Thanks to christianpf.com I have read some good articles which is absolutely essential for any blogger that want to blog as a career or another source of income in particular in Adsense program. The know how and how to do it have been break down part by part for easy understanding and reading, you can choose to go directly to christianpf.com or you can read the article here which I have further breakdown. to smaller topics 

Below are the topics and do feel free to skip (recommended to go through) if you find you have master this particular topic:

Blogging Basic

• What is a blog?

• Is it easy to start a blog?

• How much does it cost to blog?

• Getting a blogging platform

 

 

 

Creative Ways To Make Your Blog Popular

Below are some creative ways on how to make your blog popular, do consider this as an idea before starting a blog or topic. Remember interesting topic will generate traffic which again will improve your adsense income.

Here we go with the list :

1. Start a controversy. Just remember not to cross the line.
2. Start a contest. Make sure to end it too.
3. Give away free goodies. People love them.
4. Write about other bloggers to interest their visitors to read your blog. Keep it positive.
5. Dress up your blog often (By dress-up I mean tweaking the design)
6. Interview other bloggers and post the interview.
7. Write about your personal life sometimes.
8. Ask questions to your visitors.
9. Share some secrets.
10. Celebrate your birthday with your visitors. Think of innovative ways for doing this.
11. Celebrate your blogs birthday too.
12. Write something funny or disgusting. (Dont make it a habit)
13. Make a bumper sticker with your blogs name and stick it on your car. (Just make sure you drive often)
14. Write an e-book and distribute it to your visitors for free.
15. Introduce a commission based affiliate program.
16. Tell your visitors about your latest fad or obsession.
17. Post interesting pictures of your pets.
18. Congratulate the top commentators occasionally.
19. Encourage sharing of opinions.
20. Donate for a cause or become a volunteer for a non-profit organization. Ask your visitors to join you.
21. Put your blogs ad in the local newspaper or the yellow pages.
22. Hold blog competitions.
23. Create polls.
24. Hold an auction and let people bid for something useful (For example, advertising space on your blog).
25. Write about your blog achievements.

26. Share your hopes and aspirations about your blog.
27. Start an award distribution system.
28. Make contact with your local visitors and hold a get-together or a bloggers meet.
29. Start a blog comic strip.
30. Dig up some old article that you wrote on your blog which became famous and start a discussion.
31. Try and get a photograph clicked with a real celebrity and post it on your blog. (Hold on Tiger..dont rush to that Photoshop button!)
32. Post videos that will help your visitors learn something new. Also submit them to video sharing websites like YouTube.com.
33. Write about your hobbies and interests. (For example, if you like cooking, post a new recipe)
34. Post about one of the weirdest thing that you ever did.
35. Get featured in a print magazine.
36. Buy a paid review from any famous blogger(s).
37. Brand your blog with a catch phrase along with a logo.
38. Distribute T-shirts or merchandise with your blog name on it.
39. Join Yahoo! Answers and put a link on your website to your answers.
40. Keep a track of websites that pick up your articles or press releases. Offer them exclusive news or content.
41. Do surveys and publish the results to your visitors.
42. Build tools that your visitors might find use for.
43. Start a newsletter.
44. Podcasting is another good way to make your blog popular.
45. Publicize your blog to your friends and relatives and let them do some work for you.
46. Be active in Social Bookmarking websites.
47. Share Link Love and you will get it back.
48. People like to read about Web 2.0. Write about it.
49. Write about something thats already famous.
50. Last but not the least, be yourself.

This creative list is contribution from http://atdinner.com/

Increase Your Blog Productivity With A Scheduled

Most bloggers, especially those who aren’t able to blog as a full-time blogger, find that scheduling the time to blog can be difficult. But I can assure you this is necessity to keep your blog not only active but to generate higher ranking and traffic. Well people tend to procrastinate “I will do it tomorrow, I will do it next week” but when the time come we will have some excuse not to do so. What we need is a schedule where we can follow and is kind of PDCA ( Plan, Do, Check, Act) where we can monitor our self. Below is my recommendation step by step :

1/ Plan – First we plan our time, we decide how many hours per day we want to spend to blog, research, read and so on. Put this plan in your calendar (Google Calendar), excel, diary or even a piece of paper. This will be like a To Do List or Checklist.

2/ Do – This is the execution part, is important to try our best to stick to our plan and with the To Do List or Checklist we are able always to remind our self the goal we have set. Doing it accordingly to plan diligently will help us to cultivate a habit to do so. Try this for 26 days diligently and I can tell you blogging according to your plan is already part of your life and you are also training yourself to be discipline which is important for any successful blogger. From here on you will no longer give excuses not to blog.

3/ Check – This step is to check are you doing or executing your plan according to your planning or are you spending more time or less time blogging. This will bring us to the next step “Act”.

4/ Act – If you are not following your plan, you might consider changing maybe the time (if you think you have set the wrong timing), target (which might be set too high, or priorities especially when you have a few blogs to update), or anything that you think is necessary so that you are able to execute your plan accordingly. Well what is the point when you have a plan that is not working.

Above is some tips on scheduling your blog to achieve a higher productivity which will be reciprocal by higher traffic, reduce your stress and learn how to set your priorities  and many more good things.