by Roy De Souza

Created on: August 05, 2011

Blogging can be useful as a means of self-expression or as a source of extra income. Before you jump into blogging, however, you should find out all you can about this new technology. Here are five tips that can help you form a clearer picture of blogs and blogging.

1. FREE OR SELF-HOSTED

One of the first decisions you will have to make is whether to go for a free or self-hosted blog. While a free blog at Blogger or WordPress.com can save you money, you will find that your choices are limited. You cannot redesign it the way you want nor can you hire someone else to do it for you, since the source code is not available. With a self-hosted blog, on the other hand, you can tweak the design to your entire satisfaction. Domain name and hosting are not expensive and you will find that the costs are worth the benefits.

2. PICK A NICHE

One piece of advice you will receive as a beginning blogger is to pick a niche. Many people start blogging on a specific subject and then realize that the joy of blogging is no longer there. The well has run dry and they can no longer think of posts to write. The few articles they have written have expressed all they wanted to say. This is why you should pick a niche you are really interested in.

3. POST REGULARLY

Posting regularly is a habit you should acquire early in your blogging career. Picking a particular day to post an article is a good idea because you will become accustomed to do so and your followers will look forward to your post. If you post irregularly they will think that your blog is no longer active and will not visit it often.

4. BE YOURSELF

You should always try to be yourself. Do not imitate the famous bloggers because they have already carved out a niche for themselves. Your efforts will only result in a pale copy of their blogs. It will be far easier and more rewarding to express yourself through your blog. Make your blog your own by writing about your views and by designing it the way you think is best.

5. DON'T REINVENT THE WHEEL

One area where you should be a part of the herd and follow the leaders is in your choice of CMS or Content Management System. The most popular choice right now is WordPress. While the version available at WordPress.com is sufficient for simple blogging, the self-hosted WordPress.org version can be adapted to your own specifications. There are also dozens of plugins that will make your blogging life much easier.

Learn more about this author, Roy De Souza.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.