Blogging Basics: Introduction

Here at Berries and Cream Blog Design, we work with a lot of new bloggers. Often, new bloggers are confused and overwhelmed by the blogosphere’s culture, terms, and unwritten rules and expectations. If you are an overwhelmed blogging newbie, this series of posts is for you.

A relationship begins with an introduction, and it’s no different with blogging. If you decide to blog, you will build an intimate relationship with your blog. So here’s your formal introduction to get this relationship started right.

Newbie, Meet Blog… Blog, Meet Newbie.

Good – you’re now acquainted. Let’s dig into the good stuff, like background information.

What a Blog Is

• a nickname – Blogs were originally called web logs or weblogs; “web” being a reference to the World Wide Web (now commonly called the Internet) and “log” referenced the fact that, like a ship’s log, a weblog was most used as a running commentary on events in the writer’s life. Weblog was eventually mispronounced often enough so that all that was left was “blog.”
• interactive – a standard static website does not offer visitors a way to interact with the site, but a blog encourages visitor participation through frequently updated information and the ability to leave comments
• frequently updated – Websites generally contain information about something that does not change often. With a blog, information that is entered on the site is generally updated very frequently depending on the writer. Sometimes blog writers even update several times a day.
• a library of all the information ever written for that blog - After a website has been changed, that information is gone and cannot be seen again by the reader. On a blog, new entries are added, but the old ones are not deleted from the site. Instead, they are stamped with the date and time that they were created, given a title and added to the blog’s archives.

What a Blog Is Not

• just a personal diary – blogs have evolved from online personal journals and now cover a wide variety of topics including but not limited to thrifty living, politics, technology news, and business promotions. You get to decide what your blog is about.
• hard to maintain – a website oftentimes requires coding skills and a solid understanding of the way the Internet works. With a blog, almost anyone can easily and quickly update a blog. It does not require any special working knowledge of the Internet.
• expensive to start – there are numerous free blogging hosts, like Blogger, where anyone can blog at no cost

We’ve Been Introduced. Now What?

The next step in this relationship is to begin understanding the blogging language and culture. The next two posts in this series will discuss common blogging terminology and blog etiquette.

Please do let me know if you have any questions about this post or about blogging. I’m happy to be of service to you.

Blogging Myths – Separating Fact from Fiction

Blogs, bloggers and the blogosphere in general have become the topic of many myths. Here are a few popular blog-related myths with the truth revealed.

Myth #1: Anyone can start a blog.

False. Contrary to this popular myth, not just anyone can start a blog. There are some requirements, some more obvious than others, that are part of having a blog.

1. Obvious requirements include computer access, an Internet connection, and some experience using the Internet.
2. You also need a host for your blog. Some blogging platforms (like Blogger and wordpress.com) include hosting, while other platforms (like self-hosted WordPress) require you to purchase your own hosting.
3. One of the most important requirements is to have both an ability to communicate your thoughts and a willingness to do so.

Myth #2: Anyone can set up a blog.

True or false, depending on the blogging platform. Some blogs are much easier to set up and use than others. The ease of setting up your blog depends on your blogging platform. Hosted blogs (Blogger, Typepad, wordpress.com, etc.) are usually pretty simple to set up. Some blog hosts take you through a couple of simple set-up steps and then you’re off writing your first post. Other blogging platforms are far more technical than what the average user may be ready for.

Myth #3: Blogging doesn’t take up that much time.

False – if you are a serious blogger. When you have a clear idea of what you want to say, it may take just a few minutes to write a post, or you may struggle for days (literally) trying to write other posts that involve complex issues or thoughts. In addition, while  the casual blogger may only publish one post per week, the serious blogger publishes posts daily. Some professional bloggers write up to ten posts a day.

Myth #4: Blogs are just boring, personal journals.

False. Although there are still many personal blogs (which are not necessarily boring), blogging today is much more than the personal activity it used to be. Corporations, media outlets, public personalities, politicians and experts in almost every field have now joined the ranks of blog producers. You can find valuable information, humor, and more in the blogosphere.

Myth #5: You can’t believe anything you read in a blog.

That’s a bit of an overstatement. You’ll run across bad information and even intentional untruths in blogs but, for the most part, bloggers who state facts are stating what they honestly believe to be fact. It is always up to the readers to verify that any information they receive is accurate information.

What blogging myths have you heard?

Expressing Yourself Through Blogging

People express themselves in many ways.

And for a growing number of people, the need for some sort of public expression of thoughts, feelings, style or creative expression is filled by blogging. Expressing your thoughts in written words, however, is not as simple a task as it may seem to be; many people, in fact, find that it can take hours to accurately transfer what seem to be the most simple thoughts to the written word. The reason for this difficulty lies in the fact that thoughts and feelings do not require the organization or structure that is required by the written expression of those thoughts and feelings.

Are you ever conflicted about how to express yourself on your blog?

Blogging can be intimidating because it does leave you vulnerable to others’ judgments. However, the positive news is that you get to choose what you reveal and how you present yourself on your blog.

Picture these three scenarios:

1. You are at a costume party in a room full of strangers. You are dressed as an 18th Century lady; you’ve studied the mannerisms, have affected the perfect accent and you charm every party-goer you meet. Beneath the facade, outside the realm of this party you may be a banker, a secretary or an unemployed poet, but here and now you are Madame Devereux, the elegant lady who speaks with grace and comports herself with the utmost decorum.

2. You are at work where you are always the no-nonsense professional, respected by peers and underlings and depended upon by your manager to perform your tasks with skill, technical proficiency and a pleasant demeanor — an expectation that is hardly ever unmet.

3. You are at an informal get together with family, close friends and neighbors; you talk about sports, literature and fashion with people who know you and who understand your opinions, your quirks and your few flaws — there is no facade, no pretense, you are unabashedly you!

These scenarios that represent three versions of you in the real world are also three (of many) approaches you can take to presenting yourself to your readers in the virtual world, through your blog:

• as a character of your creation;
• as the professional at whatever you do;
• as the real, unadulterated you, complete with flaws.

Your blog and your blogger persona are your creations and are limited only by your choices. No matter how you choose to portray yourself, keep in mind that whatever it is you write, in whatever form, even if it is spoof or satire, it will be considered by your readers as an expression of your true feelings.

You can take the following steps to make it easier to express yourself in writing.

Improve Your Grammar

As a rule you should always write to your audience — they are the ones who need to understand you. Perfection may be necessary only when you are writing for an audience of scholars and grammarians who require it, but, regardless of your audience, the better your grammar, the better you will be understood, and the easier it will be for you to transfer your thoughts to paper.

Don’t think that improving your grammar means you have to sign up for an English course at your community college or spend a lot of money for a handbook of English grammar and composition. There are literally hundreds of English grammar guides available online, and very reasonably priced English grammar guides are available in bookstores. Good grammar is a tool you will never regret learning to use; always work to improve your mastery of the English language.

Improve Your Vocabulary

Finding the right words to express your thoughts is much easier when you have more words in your armory to choose from. You may be tempted to learn some suitably obscure words to impress your readership, but too much of that will only confuse them and turn them away from your writing. Research has shown that the average adult in the U.S. reads at an eighth-grade level so arming yourself with a recondite vocabulary will not be helpful (nor was that reference to a ‘recondite vocabulary’ unless you knew that recondite means “difficult to understand”). Arm yourself, instead, with a good dictionary/thesaurus.

Write Often

Practice makes perfect … or, to be honest, it at least helps you approach perfection. Try to make a meaningful entry in your blog every day. That may not always be possible, but do try! Two of the wonderful things about blogging are its flexibility and availability — barring computer problems, your blog will always be there when you need it, and you’ll find that the more you write, the easier it will be to write. Keep in mind, however, that even a professional writer who writes for hours every day is seldom completely satisfied that the words that came out adequately express the thought that went in, so don’t allow yourself to get too frustrated if your efforts don’t meet your expectations. Instead, take a short break and then try again.

Need help finding your voice and/or improving your blogging?
We offer one-hour blog coaching sessions.

MadMimi Newsletter Service

GetResponse, Aweber, Constant Contact, iContact, Mail Chimp, RatePoint …

sometimes the list seem inexhaustible. Newsletter service providers or email marketing services – whatever you want to call them, they provide an invaluable service: allowing you to gather visitor information and market your services to a list of interested prospects.

With so many options available, which newsletter service provider do you choose?

While I can’t answer that question for you, I can offer you a recommendation based upon my experience. I have extensive experience working with GetResponse and Aweber and moderate experience working with Constant Contact, MailChimp, and RatePoint.

I’ve been there, done that, and I just switched my newsletter service to MadMimi.

Here’s why I chose MadMimi:

• MadMimi costs quite a bit less than many of the other services. If you have 100 subscribers or less, your account is free. 101-500 subscribers costs only $8 per month. And there are affordable plans for every list size.
• There is no restriction on how many emails you may send per month. Unlike other services, you will not be charged for exceeding the allowed number of emails sent per month. Have several offers for your subscribers? Send away with no worries about cost.
• MadMimi is incredibly user-friendly. You don’t need to know HTML or hire a designer to create attractive custom email newsletters. I’m a designer, and I did create my own custom email template in my former service. It was 10x easier and faster when I created my MadMimi newsletter.
• MadMimi’s customer support is fabulous. They provide online tutorials, and if you need more help, you can get one-on-one help from MadMimi’s support teamthrough their Chat feature.
• MadMimi offers add-on services at affordable rates. I’ve chosen to add on the RSS feed option which will automatically send subscribers a roundup of blog posts at a specified interval. (My monthly cost is $5 less than what I was previously paying, a savings of $60 per year.) I’ve also added the free Google Analytics integration. I’ll be able to see newsletter referrals in my Google Analytics stats. If you have an e-course, you can also add on the Drip email option.

So far, I am very happy with MadMimi. Of course, I’ve only been with them a short while, so I will post an update after a few months.

Which email newsletter service do you use? Are you happy with them? Would you recommend them to your friends and associates? Why or why not?

Note: I am an affiliate of MadMimi and used affiliate links in this post. I am not being paid for this post. This post represents my honest opinion regarding this service.

Berries and Cream Blog Design Birthday Bash

Berries and Cream Blog Design has officially been in business for one year. Last Valentines Day, we kicked off a two-week grand opening party, and we haven’t looked back.

The past year has been a year of incredible growth for us, and we know that is due to your support. Because we value our loyal customers, we’d like you to join us in celebrating Berries and Cream Blog Design’s birthday. This Birthday Bash starts today and will last for five days (February 15 – 19, 2010).

We have created a special sale for each day of the celebration. Each discount will only last one day, and one offer is limited in quantity as well.

Birthday Specials

February 15, 2010 – Get a Strawberry Shortcake design package for $124.99, a savings of $25

February 16, 2010 – Take 25% off Blog Maintenance (hourly rate) and Blog Coaching; $45 instead of $60 per hour or session

February 17, 2010 – Spruce up your blog with the Company’s Coming Worksheet and Audio Bundle; only $7, a savings of $15.47

February 18, 2010 – Get a custom header for $39.95, a 20% discount

February 19, 2010 -  free signatures for the first 10 people to order a signature and enter the coupon code freesig (must use our checkout process, NOT Google Checkout option)

Thank you again for your business. Enjoy the celebration!

Next Page »