It’s true! You can have a blog totally free, courtesy of Google and, not only that, Google will pay you for allowing them to run Ads on your blog. I promise you, once you get past the learning curve, it’s fairly easy to have your own blog.
So, what’s a blog, Jim? I’m glad you asked! A blog is your own address in cyberspace, your own on line bulletin board so to speak, where you can post your comments, ideas, plans, loves, hassles, or pet peeves to share with the world – and – the world will talk back to you! I invite you to take a few minutes and browse the sections of my blogs (see Author Box) to get an idea of what I have done so far. I began blogging in May 2006 with one blog and absolutely no prior experience! I now have 15 blogs covering a wide variety of topics.
What could your blog be about? For example: I told my daughter that she should start a blog on Home Birthing or Midwifery. She does this for a living and knows all the inside information. She created her blog in a few hours and it’s now on line getting visitors.
I also told my step-son that he should have a blog on NASCAR, his first love, or on Auto & Life Insurance, his career. He has tons of knowledge in both. Actually, he could have blogs on both! He has not taken the plunge just yet. He is going for his college degree first.
I told my daughter-in-law that she should have a blog about Custom Furniture. She designs and builds furniture. These are one-of-a-kind pieces. I think she could make a nice income from her talent. She just gave us a new grandaughter so she’s pretty busy right now but I know she will do it. She is excited over the idea.
Get my point? You choose what your blog topic is. With the new video and audio widgets now coming into popularity you can even have blogs sharing home movies, you own movie creations, music, you name it. And, best of all, it’s all Free!
You’ll find lots of Free Resources and some paid resources on my blogs (see Author Box) but here are some quick resources.
I learned a lot about the technical stuff by joining Google Groups. Bloggers ask each other questions and learn from experienced bloggers who teach you how to avoid making mistakes. It cuts down the learning curve significantly! Yes, it’s Free to join and ask questions. You will find links to some of the most helpful Free blog building resources in Google Groups because the experienced bloggers all have blogs offering Free technical help.
In my opening to this article I mention Google paying you for running Ads on your blog. Well, it’s called Google Adsense. It’s Free to signup and easy to implement. Google has an Adense Tour on their start page. Basically Google pays you everytime someone clicks on an Ad on your blog even if they don’t buy anything. It’s easy to set up once you have your blog set up. Check my blogs to see what I have done with Google Adsense.
If you do decide you want your own Free Blog, I recommend Blogger.com. That’s where I started and where I have all my blogs hosted – all Free! In addition to Adsense Ads you can sell products on your blog too as long as you don’t overdo it. Blogs are supposed to be about your thoughts and ideas, not about selling products. I have products on my blogs that I sell for commissions plus lots of freebies but the focus of every blog is to provide thoughtful information. The key is good Free content and lots of it.
“Content” is articles by you, or others, that will draw the Search Engines to your blog. A Search Engine got you here didn’t it? The Search Engines need content to find you. They search by the words ( they’re called “keywords”) in your articles and in your page “Description” which you create when you create your blog. Look at the top of my blogs, under the name of the blog – “On Line Tribune…………” – to see what I mean. I have keywords in the Description of each of my blogs. This tells the Search Engines what each blog is about so that someone searching for that particular information will find me.
Right now you have enough information to decide if you want a blog or a website. Remember the difference. A blog is an opportunity to put your ideas out there for everyone to see and comment upon. A website is usually a commercial venture that is built to sell products or services. It does not usually have a blog format where customers can talk to each other like they can on a blog. However, many companies are now realizing the value of blogging with their customers and have installed blogs on their commercial websites. If you have something to sell on-line or even have a bricks and mortar business, and you don’t have a website, check out my Favorite Links Blog for information and resources.
As my Dad always said: “You can’t beat Free!”
Yours for success!
Jim DeSantis
P.S. – Please forward this article to someone who may benefit from it.
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