Everyone and his brother (and sister) must have a blog by now, right?
It’s true, the number of bloggers on the world wide web has hit the stratosphere. And the numbers just keep on growing every day with new bloggers joining the ranks.
So you may be thinking, “Does the internet world really need another blog, will anybody even find or read my blog?"
Well, here are my two cents on the subject. Blogs pretty much fall into two categories and the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive. The first are people who simply love to write and feel compelled to share their opinions, knowledge or insights with the virtual world. They are not really blogging to make money. Although they might end up doing so, their primary objective was to write. The second, are blogs that exist solely to make money, either directly on their blog or by providing content to drive traffic to another site. And that is fine.
That being said, it is a good idea to identify what goals you have set for yourself in creating a blog. There is wide menu of choices out there for bloggers and knowing what you want to achieve is important when you choose a blogging platform and template.
If you fall into the first category that I mentioned above, there are some incredibly quick and easy solutions out there and you can be up in running in no time. Google’s Blogger and WordPress both offer user friendly, quick start blogging software. If you have a computer, can read and follow some simple instructions, you can get yourself a blog and be composing your blog in no time.
However if you are seriously looking to set up a blog to make money, Wordpress is probably the way to go (IMHO). It allows the user more in-depth functionality, the ability to have your own domain, and some great plugins that will really enhance your blog. The All-In-SEO Plugin makes it simple to optimize each entry and page with key word information. You will need to install WordPress on the server of your hosting company and then upload the files for the theme you choose. If you already have a hosting company, check with them and see what kind of support they offer. This option also allows you to have your own domain, without the WordPress or Blogspot extension.
My advice is to spend some time and do your research before jumping into this option. Be sure to read my article on Choosing An SEO Friendly Domain. The biggest investment will be your time, however once you have gone through the process once, you will feel like a seasoned pro.
If you've got some money to spend on a theme, I strongly recommend the Thesis Theme: Thesis Demo Site — See the Thesis Theme in action! This theme is easy to customize and you don’t need to know CSS or HTML (although a little knowledge never hurts). When I'm ready to plunk down some money on a theme, this is the one I will buy. Right now I am using the Caribou Theme which is a free download. If you feel hopelessly lost, feel free to contact me, Eva Lee for support, I’d be happy to walk you through it or set up a blog for you. And my hourly fee is pretty reasonable.
Good luck and think green
Moneymoms101.com
Ideas, Inspiration and Information for moms who want to make money.
