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How to Blog 101 - The Ultimate Beginner’s Blogging Tutorial

February 26, 2009 | 15 comments | Design, Leadership, Resources, Technology

I regularly get asked questions about how to start and maintain a successful blog. Here is my beginner’s blogging tutorial - How to Blog 101.

#1 :: CHOOSE A BLOGGING PLATFORM
I recommend self-hosting your blog and using WordPress. It the most popular platform among Technorati’s top 100 blogs and among Church Relevance’s top church blogs.

Self-Hosted Blogging Software:

Blogging Services (hosting provided):

#2 :: CHOOSE A DOMAIN (if allowed)
As long as it is relevant, the shorter the domain is the better. A short domain is quick and easy to type, which will save you time in the long run and reduce the probability of you and your visitors mistyping it.

  • Domize - immediately checks a domain’s availability as you type it into the query box
  • DomainsBot - suggests domains based on your search keywords
  • Domain Pigeon - lists available domain names which you can use for your websites
  • MakeWords - generates domain ideas based on your suggestions, linguistics, and semantic databases

#3 :: DESIGN YOUR BLOG
Being a web designer or hiring one is not necessary for having a good looking blog, but it definitely helps. WordPress has thousands of template designs for sale and for free that are not too complicated to implement.

For Inspiration:

For Templates:

#4 :: USE TOOLS
WordPress is a great platform, but there are tools and plugins that can make it even better. I recommend at least using the following tools:

Other Tools:

Tool Lists:

#5 :: HAVE QUALITY CONTENT
An aesthetically well-designed blog may entice visitors to linger for the first visit, but quality content is what will get those visitors to keep coming back. If you need topics, visit these resources:

  • Alltop - an “online magazine rack” of popular topics
  • Delicious - the tastiest bookmarks on the web
  • Digg - discover and share content from anywhere on the web
  • Reddit - users decide the top stories
  • StumbleUpon - discovers web sites based on your interests

#6 :: STUDY BLOGGING
If you want people to read your quality content, study the science of successful blogging and copywriting. Writing for a blog is different than writing for a book or magazine. My advice:

Unless you are blogging for personal reasons, focus on optimizing the reader experience. Offer only quality content. And make it scannable by using short paragraphs, bold text, and bullet points. Use as few words as possible without compromising quality (needless words wasted readers’ time). And if possible, post consistently often.

Blogging Tips:

#7 :: MARKET YOURSELF
With blogging, two of your most powerful marketing opportunities are Search Engine Optimization and leveraging social media. Last year, 48% of ChurchRelevance.com’s traffic came from search engines. You should be using these resources:

WHAT ELSE?
Remember this is just the beginner’s blogging tutorial. But if you read all of these links, you will be on your way to becoming a blogging expert.

If you are already blogging, what would you add to this list?
What are your favorite tools?
What is your best advice?

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Comments

There are 15 comments for this post.

  1. How to Blog 101 - The Ultimate Beginner’s Blogging Tutorial | Free | Download | Deals | Offers | News on February 26, 2009 6:55 am

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  2. Courtney Engle on February 26, 2009 8:12 am

    That is a powerful list of resources! This list of setup information will help so many get their sites launched more effectively. And, I picked up a few new things for SEO work. Thanks!

  3. Pat on February 26, 2009 8:29 am

    Another easy-top-setup platform is Tumblr (http://tumblr.com).

    Otherwise, a fantastic list!

  4. ‘How to Blog 101 - The Ultimate Beginner’s Blogging Tutorial’ | The Daily Scroll on February 26, 2009 11:21 am

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  5. Barry A. Martin on February 26, 2009 12:43 pm

    I’d add posterous to the list of simple platforms to start on. http://posterous.com/

    Nice work.

  6. Rich on February 26, 2009 8:30 pm

    I think this is an excellent post, as you have chosen the right resources. The fact that you intend to do this for beginners, I am glad you did not yet include the topic concerning making money from a blog.

    Making money from blogging is one thing I don’t discuss to beginners simply because they suddenly stick to their minds that there is really fast money from blogging.

    Actually, there is which is why most of us here. But I think one thing that beginners should realize that they need a lot to learn, analyze, and experiment before they can really make money from their blogs.

    Most beginners don’t realize that making money from blogging is entering a business that needs investment, time, focus, and dedication. The investment may require money in most cases, but one should know when to spend and when he should not.

    So my best advice for beginners so far - relax, learn, and enjoy. Don’t think about making money from your blog this early. The more you think about it, the more you will not get it. But if you are able to understand all the things that you should learn, then perform experiments. But note that what works for A may not work for B. Most of the times, failure will occur. But in those failures that we will learn more and before you know it, you are already making money from your blog.

    But the main thing is - Always be useful to others. After all, this is what GOD wants us to be.

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  9. Alvinatorres's Blog on March 2, 2009 11:04 pm

    Blogging 101…

    What is Blogging?
    ……

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  11. Belajar Seo on March 17, 2009 8:32 am

    for me, wordpress is best of the best blog engine and all in one seo plugin is best of the best seo tool for wordpress…it is smart tool to optimize wordpress blog

  12. Michael on March 30, 2009 4:14 am

    You can find really easy to install and widget ready themes at DailyWPTheme. They have been providing the most quality and simple to use Premium Wordpress themes.

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  15. alfon on July 25, 2009 11:53 pm

    especially if we want to make a business blog wordpress is the best cms to use thanks for sharing :)

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