So you think you can blog

— Anil Ghimire
www.aakarpost.com

Do you wish that you could have a successful blog but you think that you are too young to start your own? If you have heard about blogs before and you are wishing to have your own blog, then you should start at once. Or even more, it is possible that you are already a blogger but you are missing something in your blog.

If you are familiar with term ‘blog’ then you must have an idea that a blog is a type of website which is maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as pictures and videos. Here are my some ideas on blogs that I’ve learned during my blogging career.

Requirement
If you are planning to start your own blog, then you must have some basic idea of using the computer and Internet. A blog is like maintaining your personal dairy online. If you have basic idea of navigating the Internet, then you can start your blog within five minutes. It would be great if you’ve internet access at your place, so that any time you can post your thoughts and ideas on your blog.

No Money Needed
Most people have a misconception that you need money to start blogging. But if you are really passionate about blogging, then you can set up your blog within minutes. There are dozens of sites such as Blogger, WordPress, Tumbler, and Posterous which offers blogging space for free. You just need to sign up to use those free blogging services with your email id. But if you are thinking to have your own domain, then it costs you some bucks. Otherwise, use a free service to create your blog.

Define your Blog
Your blog can be personal or professional. But you need to decide what type of content you are going to post in your blog since there are different types of audiences for different kinds of blogs. You may blog about technology, you may blog about literature, and you may blog about politics, or sports or videos or photos or anything else. The choice is yours; you can even cover many topics in your single blog. If you are going to cover many different fields in your single blog, then don’t forget to give particular tags and categories.

Be Regular
I’ve seen many blogs that are dying after 2-3 posts. But if you think you can blog and you are a blogger then post regularly – at least post one blog in a week. Generally, bloggers give up their blog when, they feel no-one is reading them. There are various ways to attract a readership but to start just try to become consistent with your blogging. No matter what type of blogger you are, regularity is a must.

Add value
There are millions of blogs in this world and billions of words being posted every day. Thus it’s important to write those things which people will value. Write what you know, be thought-provoking, provide worthwhile information and a fresh perspective.

Be Polite
It can be easy for people to use the anonymity of a screen and keyboard as an excuse to be prickly and come off as offensive. It’s important not to fall into that trap, especially when disagreeing with others’ opinions. You need to be polite, and do not use slang words or hate words on your blog. If you are tossing up whether to post something or not, then spend a minute trying to figure out what is bothering you and fix it. If it can’t be fixed, maybe it shouldn’t be posted. Most people think, it’s my personal blog and I can write whatever I want, but it’s not the case. You need to be polite and you need to be responsible for whatever you write on your blog. Respect for the privacy of your audience is also important.

Give Credit
If you’re referencing other material, then give clear citations and links. Please note that, do not copy and paste it into your blog without giving a proper link back to the source.

Getting and Engaging an Audience
This is the most difficult task for bloggers. You are writing blogs but no one is reading you or let’s say you are not reaching out to anyone. Then after some days, it will lead you to frustration, a lack of motivation and probably your blog may die. So, I suggest you comment on your fellow blogger’s blog. Don’t just write yourself, read others as well. When you leave comment on other blogs, then there is a chance that someone will read your blog. And if your blog is interesting and updated regularly, then those other bloggers might read you regularly.

You can also email your blog link to your friends. If they found it interesting they will share it with their networks as well. But sending an email to your friends may seem a bit old fashioned. These days, you can just share your blog on social networking site such as Facebook and Twitter. When you post your blog link on Facebook, there is maximum chance that your friends will read your blog. If your friends find it interesting, then he/she will for sure share your blog. But many of the new bloggers make the mistake of publishing a blog as a ‘Note’ on Facebook and keep complaining, that no one is reading his/her blog.

It’s true that you can tag your friends on Facebook ‘notes’ but seriously it will not help to grow your blog. Thus, my suggestion is that, just post links to your blog on your Facebook. Simultaneously, you can use twitter to promote your blog as well. Tweet your blog on Twitter, if people found your tweet interesting, they will recommend your blog to others.

Just don’t post on Facebook or on Twitter, but you need to engage with your audience as well. If someone asks you something on Twitter or Facebook or even on your blog, then try to reply him/her. If you really want to promote your blog and you are passionate about blogging, then you must join Twitter and Facebook, if you are not already using these sites.