Welcome to the first blogging basics.

In each issue of blogging basics, you will learn valuable information on how you can successfully start your own blog and get the most out of it.

In this first issue, we're going to go over exactly what a blog is and you should have one.

A blog is another name for a weblog. Which is an online journal or diary that is frequently updated. All you need to start your own blog today is a computer, some typing skills, the urge to write about something you enjoy. In the beginning, blogs were usually started by college students and teens. Now, almost everyone has heard of them, read them, and even started them. No matter what age you are it's extremely simple these days to start your own blog and express yourself.

But before you decide to jump into the vast of blogging, it is important to determine what your purpose for starting a blog is. Here are some things to consider before you get started.

First, think about what your blog's topic will be. If you're new to blogging, you can start learning about the ins and outs of blogging by creating a personal blog. But if you prefer to talk about something less personal and you are an expert on a specific topic like computer programming for example, then you may want to start with a more professional blog.

There are a wide variety of choices when it comes to blogging. For instance, you could start a;

Political blog - where you can freely discuss your political views and help promote your favorite candidates.

Opinion blog- so that you can release your personal frustrations or talk about the details one's daily life.

Niche blog - where you can talk about a specific topic or hobby that you are passionate about.

Educational blog - to share your knowledge on a topic that you know a lot about.

Promotion blog - if you have a business that you want to share with the world, then blogging is a great way to reach customers around the globe.

As I said above, there are so many options available when it comes to blogging and the choice is ultimately up to you.

After you have decided on a topic you will need to consider which blog platform to use. There are a few. If you are new at this then you may benefit from a free easy-to-use platform. Blogger and live journal will be the best candidate for this. If you have some experience with how blogs work and want to host your blog on your own domain then WordPress will serve you well. These are all free and provide you with the tools you need to create a great blog.

The only other thing to consider before using a free blog platform like blogger is that your web address will look like this http://www.yourblog.blogspot.com.

However, if you choose to get a domain name registered and host it, then you can remove the "blogspot.com" part and your blog address will be http://www.yourblog.com instead.

Now that you have picked a topic and chosen a platform, it's time to start posting entries on your new blog. Blog entries or blog posts or simply posts are just bits of information that you put in your blog. They can be as simple as a short sentence or as long as an article or report. You can post pictures, audio, and even videos if you like. If you want more readers to take notice of your blog provide them with helpful and interesting content. A steady or even increasing traffic flow is one of the major goals of bloggers. Posting quality content is the key to achieving this.

Once you already created and updating your blog, you can add more features such as a counter widget that could help you track your visitors automatically and other plugins that will help your blog become more interesting and user-friendly for readers.

Now you know exactly what a blog is and how you can start one. Whether you want a blog to just talk about your day or to endorse your business the key thing to remember is to always offer useful, enlightening, and entertaining content that will keep your readers happy, if you do that your blog will be a huge success.

Make sure you come back here again soon and check out my next article. We will be talking about designing and installing blogs.

Thank you for the time that you have spent.