The Blog Checklist - Part 1

When first starting out in the blogosphere things can get pretty overwhelming fast. I know because I was overwhelmed by it all myself. Choosing where to blog was a no-brainer, because I'd known about Blogger for some time and had read many articles lauding praise on them. Also, it's hands-down the easiest and most user friendly blogging platform out there. If you don't believe me you can check out my other article on Blogger here. You can even Google about it. Go ahead. I'll wait.

Ok, so today I'm talking about setting up your first blog and the trials and tribulations that come with that process. It helps to have a checklist so grab a notebook and pay attention...

Create Your Blog

First off, you might be wondering, 'What is a blog anyway?' Darren Rowse of ProBlogger has a pretty good article on that subject here. Once you've decided to start your own blog you may also be wondering, 'Which blogging platform do I choose?' Again, Darren has you covered with another in-depth article here, which discusses the many differences between popular blogging platforms. In the end it really comes down to personal choice. In my opinion there are really only three decent blog sites to choose from - Blogger, WordPress, and Typepad.

Of course, you should check them all out and decide which one works best for your needs. In the end it really doesn't matter because blogging is blogging no matter where you do it.

Create Your Posts

"The only thing that should be serious about your blog is it's content. Point Blank Period."

- FitJerk

Yes, content is king, especially on a blog. The blogging platform has become the main device by which people communicate their views, opinions, jobs, hobbies, and passions. So what you write about and how you write about it will be vital to your new blog's success.

Now that you have created your blog you'll want to write at least one or two posts to begin with. Don't worry too much over this part just start writing. For your own reference here are Five Things You Should Know Before You Start Blogging. Don't worry about all the other stuff like badges, links, sidebar content, and ads. You can add all the bells and whistles later. For right now just concentrate on what you want to write about. Take your time. Brainstorm. It's your fifteen minutes of fame. Use it wisely.

First time post ideas:

› Introduce yourself and your blog to your potential audience and provide a link in your post to your About page (explained in step 6 below) so people can learn even more about you if they so desire.

› Explain what your new blog is about. If it is about sewing then tell the people why you chose to blog about sewing. Let them hear about your passion for sewing and get them excited about the subject. Make sure you talk 'to' the readers, not 'at' them. When you write imagine you are having a conversation with someone close to you. What would you say to that person about your new blogging adventure? Write it down as you imagine the conversation in your head. The number one reason why all blogs fail is that they don't relate personally to the people who visit them. Remember this every time you write content for your blog; write as if you are actually speaking to them in person.

› If someone or something inspired you to start your new blog then describe this in your post. If possible provide links to the people or places you mention so your readers can go find out more about them. If the people or places you mention are on the Web and have Facebook or Twitter accounts make sure you go and befriend or follow them there. Send them an email when you have finished your post and let them know you mentioned them on your blog. Provide a link in the email to your blog post so they may go read it themselves. Personal interaction, otherwise known as social networking, is going to be your number one method for driving people to your new blog.

› Use relevant and interesting photos in your posts. This is something I need to start focusing on myself, because I always write a post and publish it and then have people write me saying, "Doug, why didn't you use any images?" So this piece of advice is for me, too. A great place to find photos for your posts is Flickr. If you don't have a Flickr account I suggest you create one. As a new blogger you're going to need a place to store your photos, which you can easily link to in your posts or you could even create a Flickr widget to display them on your new blog. If your are new to Flickr the following sites will help ...

› How to get the most out of Flickr

› Tips for Flickr Beginners

› The Official Flickr FAQ

› The Flickr Help Forum

If you use Flickr to search for images for your posts then you're going to want to read A Complete Guide to Finding and Using Incredible Flickr Images. This article will describe how to search for images and how to use them without violating anyone's copyrights.

› Choose your post title wisely. Once your publish your post this will go out into the whole wide world and be picked up by anyone who later subscribes to your blog's feed. Take as much time, care, and consideration in picking your post title as you do writing your post.

Things you should avoid blogging about:

› 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Starting a New Blog

› 5 MORE Mistakes to Avoid

› The 7 Deadly Sins of Blogging

› Things You Should Avoid Blogging About

Create Your Feed

Once you've written a couple posts and published them on your new blog then you'll want to get your very own RSS feed started. Feedburner is the only place to go unless you plan on using something more advanced like AWeber. I would suggest starting out with FB since it is the easiest one for beginners. Here's a great tutorial on setting up your first feed on Blogger. You'll also have to create a Google account while you're at it since they now own Feedburner.

Create Some Friends

Next you'll want people to know about you and your new blog so take some time and Google around for other blogs and bloggers like yourself. Visit their blogs, read their posts, and leave comments - and I don't mean "Cool!", "Nice post!", or something inane like that. Actually take the time to write a comment beyond three words. Speak to the author of the blog, interact with him/her, tell them what you thought of their article(s). The more engaging your comments the more likely they will come and comment on your blog.

Create Your Social Side

You'll want to make a splash in the online social world so sign up at some of the popular media sites like Twitter, Facebook, ProBloggerCom, FriendFeed, and BlogEngage. Yes, I know it's a lot to do at first, but you want to start interacting with other bloggers online so they will come to know about you and your new blog. Mr. Society I'm not, so if I can do this you can, too.

Here are a few places with lists of popular media sites you can choose from:

› Top 100 Social Media Sites
Vladimir Prelovac's list of 100 Social Media Sites as released by SeoMoz

› Top Social Media Sites
This list is sorted by Website, Alexa, or Category. Click on the header titles to check them out.

› List of Social Media and Social Networking Sites
This is a categorized list. Just click on a link or scroll down the page.

› Help With Social Media Sites
A site that explains about social media sites.

› Ten Things You Should Not Share on Social Networks
A list of things you should NOT share on social media sites.

Create Your Content

Once you get all the above done then you'll want to concentrate on your blog. People will come. So when they do you want to make sure they aren't looking around and wondering why they did. Create an About Me page and explain some personal things about yourself and why you started your blog. Here's a great article on creating About Me pages. Here on Blogger you can create pages and bury them in the back of your blog and then link to them from the front page. Refer to my own tutorial Creating About Me Page & Author Box for instructions on how to accomplish this.

Create Your Layout

Now that you have your blog set up with a couple posts and some informative pages it's time to think about the layout. If you chose Blogger then you've come to the right guy for tweaking your blog. Just check out some of these goodies ...

Add Background Images to Post Titles

Customized Feedburner Subscription Box

The Making of TBODC

Display Your Recent Posts via BuzzBoost

Box Up Your BuzzBoost

Hacking Related Posts

You'll find more blog tweaking tutorials over in the right sidebar under "The Best of TBODC". BloggerBuster is another great place to learn various blog tweaks (if you choose Blogger, that is).

Create Some Time

Ok, so now you have quite a list of things to do and so you don't get overwhelmed now is a good time to talk about blog stress. Yes, there is such a thing. In fact, you may be feeling it right now. Take a few deep breaths. In and out. There ... feel better? Remember that it's just a blog. Even if you plan on making money on your blog or showcasing your own particular talents in the hopes of making money, always tell yourself - it's just a blog.

If you have a regular day job don't you go home after you're done and relax, eat, sleep? Well, blogs are no different. It's easier to get caught up in blogging because you can sit on your can for untold hours and totally loose track of time, or months, or even years. So it's important to remember to stop occasionally and take a break. Go have a latte. Go for a walk. Ride your bike. Visit your folks. I'm sure they haven't heard from you since you started blogging and most likely they're wondering if you died alone in your apartment slumped over your computer.

Remember ... it's just a blog. Blogs are not the same as web sites. There's a big difference. A blog is like an online journal or diary. A web site is a where you sell products or offer services or anything business related. Yes, there are portfolio sites and sites about cooking and scrapbooking, but these are still web sites. If you search around Google you'll find many sites that have links to their blogs. The web site is business and the blog is personal, or at least it should be anyway.

Now do not get discouraged if for a while in the beginning you don't seem to get many visitors or any comments to your posts. These things take time. It's like watching a pot of water waiting for it to boil. Don't do this to yourself. This is the main reason why most people who start new blogs quit. Remember the line from the Kevin Costner movie Field of Dreams, "If you build it they will come." This applies to blogs, too.

Had enough deep breathing? Feeling better now? Good. Next time we meet I'll be discussing some more first time blogging tips that you can add to your checklist. Make sure you subscribe to TBODC so you can know when the next installment is posted. And if you mention your new blog in the comments below I'll do likewise.

Until then ... happy blogging :)