About Blogger

 What is a blog ? 

A Blog is short for Web log. Basically, it's just a website that has entries listed in reverse chronological order. The original idea behind it was to be an online journal or diary that was updated daily ( or as frequently as the writer chose ).

During the past decade many software companies have created programs and blogging platforms to make the process VERY EASY. As the blog writer, depending on which platform you use, you can just type your entry, press submit, and it shows up on your blog for the world to see. Most bloggers don't know any programming language and are not "techies" and these companies know that. 

Starting a blog is one of the easiest ways out there to start a website. If you have not started one yet, why not try it ? It can be very quick to set up and is sometimes completely free.

Is it easy to start a blog ?

It's very easy. Even if there are steps along the way that are confusing, there are plenty of resources to get the help you need. There are more than 20 million blogs in existence, so starting a blog can't be that difficult.

How much does it cost to Blog ? 

There are many services that allow youo to start a blog for free. If you are just trying out this whole blogging thing, try using one of the free services to get a basic feel for blogging and get your feet wet.

Once you decide you want to stick with it and that you want to make money with your blog, you may want to move up to a self hosted blog. Anyone who is really trying to make money with a blog will probably find more success with a self hosted blog. Getting a self hosted blog probably is not free but still can be VERY inexpensive. You need to pay for nothing more than a domain name ( About $10/yr ) and webhosting ( As cheap as a few bucks a month ).

Getting a blogging platform 

All three of the options listed below are free. The first two options are the easiest but are also limited on features. If you are just trying to make an extra few hundred dollars from your blog, these options could work. But if you are really serious about trying to make good money from your blog, try self hosting your blog ( which we talk about in the next section )

Blogger.com 

Blogger is very good and easy to set up and google owns it. You can customize the theme and the domain name includes

" .blogspot.com." ( In some people's opinion this is a little less professional ). Blogger continues to become more customizable and currently has a lot more options than it did a few years ago.

How to Start a Successful Blog

1. Choose your blog name and get your blog hosting.

2. Start your blog by adding WordPress.

3. Pick a simple theme to make your blog your own.

4. Add two key blogging plugin to find your readers and track stats.

5. Write compelling content to create a blog that your readers love.

While there are other blogging platforms out there like Blogger.com and Tumblr.com, nearly every serious blogger uses a self hosted WordPress site because of its creative freedom and flexibility.

The Minimalists uses WordPress because it gives us greater control over the look and feel of our blog more creative control than any other platform. 

Oh, and WordPress itself is free!

1.  Choose your domain name 

your domain name is an important part of your blog because it creates a first impression it is the name of your blog. Also known as your URL, your domain is also your address on the web. For example, our domain name is www.globalthinktech.blogspot.com.

So, what do you want to call your blog? Maybe it is your Name.com. Maybe it is your Businessname. com. Or maybe it's a creative brand name you thought up. If you are having a hard time thinking of a  good domain name, a wonderful naming tool that will give you plenty of great options. Just make sure you do not buy the domain from them since Bluehost will give you a free domain. (If you have already purchased a domain else where, that's okay, too, because Bluehost will make it easy to transfer your existing domain during the setup process.)

2.  Adding Wordpress

Step A - Log In 

Bluehost provides several blog design options, but simply scroll to the bottom and click skip this step ( you will see why in a moment ).

Step B - Click skip this step

WordPress is now installed. Simply click Start Building to your new blogging dashboard  and continue to step 3

Step C - Click Start Building 

3.  Pick a simple theme t make your blog your own 

A theme allows you to pick a design for your blog without the need for coding expertise or design knowledge, In other words, a good theme helps you to design your blog edactly how you want it to look. If you are not a coder, then a theme makes the design work a million times easier.

Step A. - Blog Designs 

Once you free and purchase your theme you will be able to download your WordPress (a .zip file) from your dashbord. Save this file to your Desktop because you will need to upload it to WordPress in just a moment.

Step B. - Download a Blog Theme

Remember how easy it was to install wordpress ? Well installing your blog theme is just as simple.

First return to your WordPress Dashboard.

You should already be logged in, but whenever you are signed out go to my.bluehost.com enter your new domain name (or username), your password and click Submit.

Step C. - Log In to Blog 

From here, go to My Sites and click on Log In to WordPress.

Step D. - My Sites

Next, in your WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance > Themes.

Step E. - Appearance > Themes

Next, click the Upload Button.

Step F. - Upload Blog Design

Then, click the Upload Theme button followed by the choose File button.

Find the .zip file you downloaded from your BYLT Dashboard (this is your theme File ) and click Install Now to install your new simple blog design.

Step G.- Install Blog Theme 

Finally, click Activate and your blog theme is installed.

Step H. - Activeate Blog Theme

4.  Write compelling content tocreate a blog that your readers love

Congratulations! You started a blog and now it's time to start blogging. this is where the fun Begins.

Now that you have your own blog, 

Content : Start writing and publishing the content for your basic pages; create an About Page, Contact Page, Start Here Page, Pravicy Policy Page and any other page you want in the header of your new blog.

Photo : Add a photo of yourself ( pro tip : you can start with a well lit selfie, but when you get a chance, get some professional photos taken; they are well worth the cost because people identify with other people more than they identify with logos).

Logo : Create a basic logo using a program like Indesign, Photoshop, or a text editor ( note : even though we have no design skills, we were able to use Apple's pages application to create our simple logo after downloading some free vector are and choosing the typeface that best suited our aesthetic). design a professional logo.

Images : Spice up your blog posts with high quality stock photos and images: Paul Jarvis (free), Unsplash (free), Library of congress (free), iStock (fee based), Shutterstock (free based).

Comments : Determinewhether of not you want comments on your blog; they are often a usefull way to receive feedback and directly engage with your readers.

Social : Establish a social media presence on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram (or all three ).

Publish : Start writing new blog posts. Publish at least once a week, especially when first Starting a blog, so you can build an audience.