BlogWritingCourse

One of the first questions new bloggers usually have is about which blogging platform they should use.  I went round and round with this one when I was first starting up my Topsy-Techie blog.  More about that later.  But if you have read any blogs at all, you begin to become familiar with the addresses where most of them reside…”blogspot.com” “wordpress.com”  or “typepad.com”.  These addresses correspond to the Blogger, Wordpress, and Typepad platforms - - the big three.  There are many other smaller platforms as well, and you might have a specific reason to choose one of them, but for now, let’s focus on the threesome.

Blogger

Blogger is a free blogging platform that has been around since 1999, and is currently owned by Google.  As with most of the big blogging platforms, blogs on Blogger can be hosted on the Blogger server or at individually owned domains.  If you are a big Google user, the Blogger platform might be a natural choice for you, because you can integrate your blog with your Google toolbar, easily add pictures with Picasa, or use Google’s Adsense program to earn money from your blog site.  If you aren’t a Google person, you might find Blogger slightly annoying in that you must create a Google ID in order to open a blog account.  On a personal note, I started out with Blogger, and got my whole page up and going when it suddenly disappeared into some deep dark Blogger Black Hole, never to reappear again.  I doubt this happens very often, or Blogger wouldn’t be such a popular platform, but it did happen to me, and I wasn’t exactly super happy about Blogger for quite some time.

Wordpress 

Wordpress is also a free blogging platform, built a few years after Blogger.  Wordpress seems to be a continually updating software, with over four upgrades in the last couple of years.  Like Blogger, Wordpress blogs can be hosted at Wordpress.com or on your own domain.  Wordpress’ focus is on being aesthetically pleasing, user-friendly, and easy to track statistically.  Wordpress has a very informative stats page, that gives good insight into who is visiting your blog and where they came from. On the downside, blogs hosted at wordpress.com cannot be ad-supported, and any upgrades you want, such as the ability to tinker with your CSS code or customizing your theme, must be purchased as an upgrade.  After my own Blogger debacle, I landed on two feet at Wordpress, and have been there ever since.  I can’t say that there aren’t things about Wordpress that irk me, because the lack of customization can be very irksome, but overall I have been happy.

Typepad  

Typepad is the largest paid blogging service out there, but before you roll your eyes and move on, there are several reasons that people are willing to pay to blog there.  Typepad enthusiasts swear by its dependability - - it almost never goes down.  It has a lot of help files to keep you on track, and real live customer service agents to help you when you get off track.  You can easily display advertising on your blog, and integrate easily with 3rd party ecommerce sites like Amazon and Ebay.  Typepad has also received a recent boost by becoming integrated with the Apple iPhone.  I admit I don’t have personal experience at all with Typepad, so I can’t advise you one way or the other on this one, but if I compare the features, it seems to me that Wordpress and Blogger have nearly as much to offer for free.

There are many other platform choices besides the trio listed above, and depending on your blog focus, and what you want to do with it, you might find that they are more applicable to your interests.  Other well known blogging platform names include: Moveable Type, TextPattern, Serendipity, LiveJournal, and Drupal. 

Whatever platform you decide on, we’d like to help you get started.  Blogwritingcourse.com is offering a free blogging course, that you can sign up for today.  You will familiarize yourself with what a blog is, and what it takes to start one, how to keep yourself safe in the blogosphere, and what all those weird blogging terms really mean.  So take the plunge!  Sign up today, and start blogging!

So the thought has crossed your mind a few times, but now you are ready to take the plunge.  To start your very own blog!  This is such an exciting possibility, but where in the world do you begin?  Of course you can throw caution to the wind, and sign up with a blog host, and figure things out as you go along.  But then all those words are going to start hitting you at rapid speed.  “Carnival.”  “Feed.”  “Permalink.”  “Pingback.”   And on, and on. 

You can hit the panic button OR you can backtrack and start back at the beginning.  And we’d like to help!  At blogwritingcourse.com we are offering a free blog writing course for brand new bloggers.  This course, called Get Ready to Blog covers everything from blog lingo to blog safety to blog promotion.  This is a fast and easy sweep through the world of blogging, and when you finish the course, besides having your very own “Ready to Blog” certificate, you will have the foundational knowledge you need to become a real live blog writer. 

If you are ready to blog, then we are ready to help you get started.  Sign up today!

So, you have somehow managed to exit the rat race, eh?  No more rush hour traffic.  No more rushed lunch hours.  No more rushing home after work to spend a few quality moments with the family before dropping exhausted into bed.  No more rushing…period. 

So what are you going to do with all that extra time?  Well, if you are a smart home businessperson, you will want to spend a large part of that time marketing your product or service.  Word doesn’t always travel quickly or easily about a dedicated home business, especially if it is in its fledgling stages.  So one of the best ways to speed along the process is by trading in your rat race for a good mouse (connected, of course, to a good computer). 

Internet marketing is something anyone with basic computer and internet skills can succeed at.  Your first job, of course, is to create a web site that is well designed - - meaning it it pleasing to the eye, easy to navigate, and clearly describes the products and/or services you offer.  Unfortunately, most home business owners go this far, and then stop.  Their website is a static placeholder in cyberspace, with little if any regular updates. 

A frequently updated website can be the key to making your home business stand out above the rest.  Website updates tell potential customers that you are engaged with them, and are interested in helping your business evolve to meet their needs.

One of the best ways to keep your website relevant and engaging is by writing a blog.  Not only can a blog update your actual and potential customers of news and information about your home business, but it also provides an easy avenue for customer feedback via the blog comments feature. When customers are able to not just read, but interact with promotional content, they are more likely to spend more time on your site, which is exactly what you want them to do!

Another important feature to include with your blog is the ability for subscribers to receive updates by email.  This way, you don’t wait for customers to come to you - - you go to them!  In this way, your blog can become an ongoing promotional effort for virtually no cost. 

If the idea of blogging your home business sounds a little “far out” and unachievable, we would like to help. We are offering a free blogging course for anyone who wants to familiarize themselves with blogging before jumping in with both feet.  Then, when you are ready to take the plunge, we invite you to sign up for our eight-week Blogging 101 course, which is an instructor-led course that will guide you every step of the way through creating and designing your blog, writing your first content, and growing your audience. 

By taking one or both of our blogging courses, you will be doing all the groundwork necessary to create a blog that will make your home business stand out, and keep you out of the rat race for as long as you want to be!