A recent poll conducted by ineedhits found that although most respondents didn’t have a blog, they would like to start one. So, we thought we could start you all off with the best tips and advice on how to get started!

Before You Start
Before you start your first post, it’s a good idea to make a plan of what you intend to blog about. While certain topics may seem like a never-ending wealth of information, finding yourself with nothing new to write about may bring a quick end to your blogging career. Blog about subjects of which you have a genuine interest and knowledge. Readers are more likely to return, if they perceive that you will provide insightful and interesting observations. Once you have a good plan of the topics you’re going to cover, its time to find somewhere to host the blog.

Hosting Your Blog
For all the first-time bloggers, the easiest way to start would be to try out a free hosted solution. This will give you the ability to quickly set-up your blog and make a few posts to see if blogging is right for you. There are many free hosted solutions, with blogger.com and wordpress.com amongst the most popular. Setting up your blog is easy; you simply create an account, name your blog and choose your template!

Naming Your Blog
Give your blog a name you like and one that fits in with the subject you will be writing about. For company blogs, try to select a title that fits in with your corporate goal or mission. If your blog is personal, don’t make the fatal mistake of calling it “My Blog”; instead choose a heading that lets people know what subjects you will be covering. When deciding on the URL (web address) of your blog, include a couple of important keywords you would like the blog to be found in search engines with. Finally, ensure your title is short and succinct and don’t ‘keyword stuff’ the heading.

Choosing Your Template
There are a couple of considerations to be made before choosing your blog template. Firstly, does the design of the template match the design of your personal or company website? Your template should match the design of your website as close as possible so readers can easily make links between the two. Secondly, does the layout of your template suit the design of your blog? For example: if you want to write long blog articles, choosing a narrow template would not be the best option. Alternatively, if you’re looking to put Google AdSense in your blog, choosing one with a large sidebar would be a good choice.

Making Your First Post
Before making your first post, it’s a good idea to draft your article in word, or similar, to make sure there are no obvious spelling or grammar errors. There’s nothing worse than a blog post riddled with errors. Also, make a plan of when you intend to post, and how often. This will remind you to keep your blog updated and maintain fresh content - something that will attract readers.

A Few Bonus Tips
We’ve covered the basics to get started, so now its time to get your blog posts out there. Remember to enable comments and claim your blog on blog search engines such as Technorati and FeedBurner. Last but not least, when you update fresh content, don’t forget to use Easy Blog Ping and let the blog search engines know you have something new to share. Happy blogging!

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