Most people I talk with are confused about how to begin an online business and even more so when it comes to starting a blog or making money online. Now I don't know about you, but for me, I needed to find a way to break into this business with next to nothing for investment. Okay..no money was what I had and no money was what I was looking to spend. Not only that, but I needed something that was set up in a way I could follow. Yep, I needed it to be easy! I am not a computer geek. I've made computers do what I need them to, barely, and often with the assistance of friends and occasionally professional help (for my computer, not me!) and while sometimes successful, other times I've sent my computer into oblivion. Those are the days I sadly turn in my computer to a local repair shop to be 'saved'. In this day of recession and unemployment I have found myself unable to make to earn decent money with no sign of relief in the near future. You too? Maybe for some of you, the times are not so hard but you're still looking for a way to bring in some 'passive income'. Passive income is generally defined as money not derived from your job. Royalties from a book or music, rent received from real estate or any income received in which you don't have to participate can be considered passive income. For me, I want to bring in enough money to help me break free from the '9-5' scenario of working to increase someone else's worth while I just simply 'get by'. Another form of passive income is the money you can make from your own online business. Okay, it does involve work at first but there are ways to reduce your work load as well as have sites that need next to nothing as far as actual work once set up. (We'll get to that part later.) If this sounds like you, then please continue reading. Keep in mind, this is not a 'get rich quick' scheme. It will require effort on your part and a great deal of it, at least to start. But you'll be working for yourself and you'll set your own hours. You won't have to miss your child's school play or that golf game when the weather's perfect or you can go to that concert you've been waiting a year to see and party all night without consequence and, if you're anything like me, you can 'sleep in' whenever you want. Til noon!
I'm sure there are many, many ways to make money online but I've found a way to get started with no money out of pocket. This is through the use of blogs. Blogs can be created for free with the assistance of sites like Blogger.com. Today's lesson will involve setting up your own account through Blogger just like this one that you are reading right now. I know there are other places you can create free blogs, however, since this is what I'm using, I'm going to go through the instructions with you as you set up your own blog just like I did, step by step.
So let's get started....
Go to blogger.com and set up your account. Fill in the basic information requirements necessary to get started with Blogger. (Pretty much the same as any other site you've ever registered for, name, email, phone number, rights to your first born if you fail...and so on.) Just kidding on that last point. So breathe and relax!
Once that's done, select 'create account'.
The first page that comes up will ask you to select a name for your blog. In the section for 'blog title', you'll want to come up with a name that describes what your blog is about. This is what is called a "keyword". Keywords are the words someone is going to type into a search engine to find your site. For them to find you, you need to have those words throughout your blog. Keywords need to be placed in your blog url, your blog title, your blog description and your blog's post title. These are the places that the search engines will look first when determining what your blog is about. If your blog is about how to make money online, and you choose a title like "passive income", then the search engine bots are going to be confused when it comes to placing your blog in the right place for search. I suppose it could possibly attract traffic y searching how to make money online, but you'll be so far back in the search pages, nobody will find you. It will probably also attract traffic looking for real estate investments, book royalties, etc. So get specific! For this particular blog, I am interested mainly in showing others how to get started with blogging. I chose 'How To Set Up Your First Blog' so that if someone types that into a search box...how to set up a blog..then this site will present itself as an option. I've used these words in my url address, my blog title, my blog description and the title of my post. Think I've used it enough? Maybe, but just to be sure I'm going to use it again in the first line of my post and wherever else I can. So think about what you want your blog to be about and try entering it into the blog address (URL) box. I start with the URL box first because I want to make sure it's available before I set my title. Once you type in your desired URL address then click 'check availability'. Don't be surprised if your chosen title is not available. The more popular your topic is, the harder it will be to find a name. Once I have that finished, then I will go back and set the title now knowing it's also available as my URL. This way, I don't have to continually change the title because the URL was not available. After that's done, enter the word verification. (Better luck with the word verification than me....I always have to enter the letters as many times as it takes me to find an available URL...don't know why I can't read those straight off!) When completed, select 'continue'.
If you haven't thought about what your blog is going to be about, now is the time if you want to create your blog properly. So sit back, put your thinking cap on and get to it!
Go on, I'll wait right here.
Ok! Done? Good. Let's move on. Next you're going to be asked to select a template. Choose the one that is already selected for you, called Minima, just for this blog for training purposes (unless you really like it, then continue using it for all your other blogs). ("all my other blogs?" what's she talking about). Don't worry, we'll get to that later. If you don't want other blogs, don't worry, you can always change the template on this one later. You can change it every day if you like, although you might confuse someone who comes in to read your posts and it looks different every time. They might feel lost as if they're not where they're supposed to be. Not a good thing really. So go ahead, click 'continue' and let's move on.
Easy so far, huh?
You should now see a message that says 'your blog has been created'. Woo hoo! Select 'start posting' and you're almost ready to get to the heart of the matter. First though, let's customize a few things, so select "settings" and then 'basics'. In the 'descriptions' box, enter what your site is about, making sure you use those keywords again at least once and twice if you can. The ones I use are "Learn Blog Setup for Beginners|How To Use Blogs|Make Money Online|Your First Blog"
So think what you want your descriptions to be and enter them into the box.
Next check the box that says "Add your blog to our listings?" and set it to 'yes'.
Also, check the box that says "Let search engines find your blog?"and make sure this says 'yes'. Don't change anything else on this page.
Scroll to the bottom and select 'save settings'.
Now select 'formatting'. Psst....It's to the right of 'basics'.
Next to 'show', select 1 for the number of posts to show on your main page.
Select the right time zone for your area.
Make sure 'show link fields' is set to 'yes'.
Everything else stays the same.
Select 'save settings'.
Next go to 'comments'.
Next to 'comment form placement' select 'pop-up window'.
Scroll down to 'backlinks' and select 'show'.
Beside 'show word verification for comments' select 'yes'.
Enter your email address in the box for 'comment notification email'.
Now it's time, again, to 'save settings'.
Almost finished with settings!
Select 'Archiving'.
Make sure 'archiving frequency' is set to monthly.
Also, select 'yes' to 'enable post pages'.
Select 'save settings'.
YES!..You're done. Well, with the technical stuff for now at least. It's time to write your blog.
Need a break?...Hold on, I'm gonna stop soon and let you get on with things and we'll resume in our next lesson after you've had time to catch your breath.
Select "Posting" from the top left of the page.
The first box says 'title'. You want to give your post a title and while it doesn't have to be the exact same as your blog post, it does need to include your keyword(s).
The 'link' box is asking for your original URL that you set up at the beginning of this project. We're just making sure that your posts always link back to your home page on Blogger.
The next space is that big box where you're going to put in your post.
You have all sorts of options at the top of the text box to highlight, bold, italicize or whatever you feel like doing with your post.
If you're like me, this particular section will require you to stop and concentrate on the content of your post. Be sure to include your keyword(s) in the URL, blog title, post title, first and last sentence of your blog. You also need to continue using your keywords through the post. This way when the search engines crawl your blog they will have an easier time determing what you blog is about. This is very important to making sure your blog ends up where you want it to in the search engines. At the bottom of the post box you will see another box with the word 'labels' in front of it. These labels you insert are simply words you used in your post. By clicking on labels, your reader can automatically go to whatever posts include that particular word. (Be sure to put a comma between each label you use.)
Tip: It might be easier for many of you to start with a very simple and short first post. It was for me. This allows you to get it completed and then sit back and take a look at what you've done so far. When you view your blog it's possible you'll get ideas on the design, things you wished you had done and changes you'd like to make. If only you had known! Wouldn't it be much easier to make changes to a post of 200 words rather than 2000?
When you have finished writing your post it's time to select "publish post".
So get to work, write that post, publish it and click 'view blog' when you're done. That's it. You did it! You are now a 'blogger on your way'. Congrats!
Take some time to 'view' your blog and review. Don't forget about spell checker! Make sure it's the way you want it to be and if it's not, get some practice using your blogger dashboard. You can edit, delete, change fonts and colors and do many things any word processor would allow. Don't be afraid to use the 'help' section of blogger. There's a lot of information inside to assist you; things I may not have mentioned. I'd rather not put you to sleep while we're still on step 1! Remember, the more you move around the site, the more comfortable you're going to be when you decide, if you decide, to create more blogs. (Like I mentioned, we'll get to that soon enough.)
If you've completed all the above instructions, you have accomplished much today. Feel great about that. You're now online! When you're ready, move on to step 2. Warning: It's not about making money and it's not about blogging but it's very important so Let's Do This!
No comments:
Post a Comment