How to be successful in blogging

Blogs, originally called Web Logs, are a form of website in which you write in like a journal. Writing in web logs, called "Blogging", is becoming more and more popular in circle relating to everything from abstracts to news to zeros. There aren't many articles on the net that will show you how to actually take advantage of this useful new media. Becoming a successful blogger and maybe even make money off it may be easier than you thought.

1. Think about what you want to blog about.

It could be anything; Reviews, Animals, Politics, Daily Life, there's a world of possibilities!

2. Try to come up with a name that relates to your subject.

And make it interesting. Like your personal web site, you want a title that will draw a readers attention and make them want to read more. There is much more than titling it My Blog. Don't be afraid to be creative with your turn of phrase. Avoid symbols and non-standard characters.

3. Use something like Microsoft's Word.

Or Sun Microsystem's OpenOffice Suite as a text editor to do word check and spell check before putting it into the host ftp.

4. Find a good blog host.

There are many free ones out there. BlogSpot, Blogger, and WordPress are good suggestions. A search will turn up many more. Sign up!

5. Pick a nice theme.

Don't make it too flaired up, it will make reading the text to hard. Try pYzam has some good options, and add some Clip Art to accentuate your theme.

6. Write, Write, Write!!!

That is the most important part. Make your posts interesting.

7. Advertise your blog.

Post about it on forums, send emails, make ads! Try to get as many people as possible to read your blog. There are even pages that allow you to make money by the number of hits on the ads on your page. Some of them are created to generate keywords that web searches look for.

8. Advertise others.

Once your blog gets popular, start letting people put ads on your site. You will get cash for clicks! There is a variety of ad generators such as recommend Google Adsense, that will generate the ads for your page. Some pay more than others, so look around.

9. Keep Blogging and keep readers interested!

The more you update your blog, and bring in fresh articles. That will keep people coming back for new articles.

Taken from: News Straits Times - 12 July 2012 (article), Google (images).