Blogging Series: How to Start with Blogging
By Ced Solidon • Nov 17th, 2007 • Category: FeaturesThis is my series on blogging. I am writing this in the hope that Eastern Samareños would be able to realize the power of this medium and eventually harness it for the good of everyone.
A while ago when reading through the old posts on this blog, I realized that I started a series on blogging only to find out that I didn’t write a follow-up article on it.
Anyway, I continue with my tips on blogging in the hope that Eastern Samareños would find it as a useful tool in today’s online world.
This topic will deal with how to start with blogging. By now, I’m sure that a lot of people are already familiar with what a blog is. However, for the benefit of those who still don’t know what it is, well then you’re staring at one right now. 
To start with blogging, all you need is a blog (obviously) and a topic in mind. Let’s first tackle on how to get yourself a blog.
Set Up Your Blog
There are a lot of websites out there that offer free blogging space. In my case, I started out with Blogger.com after a friend of mine recommended it to me. To put up a blogger account, you first need to register a Google account. When you’re done, then you can start blogging away.
Another free blogging provider is WordPress.com. It is now one of the most popular blogging providers today. Then there’s Livejournal.com, Tabulas.com and a lot of others more. If you have a Multiply, MySpace or a Friendster account, you can even put a up a blog that is bundled with your account.
Free blogs are best for those who are just starting out with blogging. However, the problem with these is that you cannot really have a complete control over your blog. Maybe you can edit your template, but that’s probably as far as you can go in personalizing it.
The next option then is hosted blogging. What you do in this case is buy a domain name, a web space and set-up your blog there. This is how Sinirangan.com works. The first thing that I bought is the domain name (i.e. Sinirangan.com) which was followed by the web space.
A domain name is cheap and you can register for one for 500 pesos ($10) per year. You will then have to renew it anually unless you bought a longer-term plan. There are also affordable web hosts out there which can be used for simple blogs.
The advantage of hosted blogs is that you have complete control over it so you can customize it and have backups of your files just in case the site goes down. And with a domain name, people will find your blog much easier to remember.
What to Write in Your Blog
Then we move to what to say in your blog. A lot of people use their blogs as a personal journal of sorts. But if you are serious with your blogging and unless it’s a personal blog that you’re putting up, then you must find a particular topic to talk about. This is called blogging for a particular niche.
Do you like politics, for example? Then you can put a blog that talks about that topic. The advantage of having a niche is that it would be easier to draw people to your page especially if they like the topic that you’re writing about.
The opposite is true for random topics. People might find one topic in your blog interesting and treat the others a rubbish. So they just read that one post and don’t return to your blog again.
That would be it for now. Next time, I will be talking about how to blog responsibly. For now, I hope you find the topic useful and I would love to hear from you. Please leave your comments on the box below.
Ced Solidon is the blog's founder. He currently works as a freelance writer. Aside from that, he also maintains a writing blog, Write Like a Rock Star! He loves to read books and play music.
Email this author | All posts by Ced Solidon