Get blogging and get noticed

A blog is a great way to build your brand or get exposure for your products. But getting one started – and noticed – isn’t always easy. So before you dive into the blogosphere, prepare yourself with our quick-guide.

Starting your own blog
There are hundreds of millions of blogs. In fact, each day close to a million blog posts are made. Competition is stiff, which is why just one Google search will provide you with a dizzying array of ‘helpful’ tips. So to simplify things, our quick-guide to blogging helps you get started in four basic steps:

1. Consider your resources
2. Find something interesting to say
3. Choose a platform 
4. Start blogging

Consider your resources
Can you spend one hour a week or three hours a day on blogging? Is this a solo project or are you a team of 10? Blogging can be time-consuming, so it’s important to have realistic expectations and know what you can achieve before you launch a blog.

And keep in mind that promoting a blog can take even more time than writing the content. So if you think it will be tough to churn out more than a single post each week, it might be best to put your blog on the backburner for now.

Find something interesting to say
With so many to choose from, why should someone read your blog? Saying something interesting in a unique voice isn’t easy, but it’s the key to your blog’s success. You don’t need to be a great writer, but you do need to do the following:

• Write about what you know. Even if your subject is a popular one, being passionate about something helps you approach it from a new angle. 
• Know your keywords. Do your homework to find out which words will generate traffic and use them, especially in your headings. Remember: the best way to generate traffic is with traffic itself.
• Be useful. Offer credible, interesting information without giving too much away (you want people to come back, or read your website!) and you’ll be on your way to forming a community with a loyal following.

Choose your platform
OK, now for the technical part. There are two types of blogging platforms: self-hosted and hosted. A self-hosted platform means you’ll need your own server space, or hosting account. Software, or blogware, is available to make creating and maintaining your blog through a browser-based interface relatively simple.

A hosted platform is probably the easiest way to set up a blog. You won’t need to download any software or upgrade hardware, and you can save your energy for writing and managing your posts. The service is often free, and it gives you the option of setting up the blog on your own (or your company’s) domain. But all the content of your blog sits on a third-party provider’s server.

The three most popular hosted platforms for traditional blogging are Google Blogger, WordPress and Six Apart TypePad.

There are a lot of different comparison sites (WeblogMatrix has a great tool) that can help you determine the best platform for you. It covers price, storage space, speed and blogging features such as blogrolls, trackback, pingback and social networking widgets – and it even shows screenshots of templates and editing pages.

Start blogging
Once you’ve settled on a blogging platform, all you have to do is register your account, choose your template and write your first post. Happy blogging!

Already have a blog?
We’d love to hear about your experience, and of course – have a look at your blog. Contact us and send us the link.