This is a guest post by Dino Dogan, Founder of Dogan Dogs and 2WheelTips . In this guest post, Dino is going to teach us how to start blogging in 10 steps or less. Dino also prepared us an audio version for us to take it on the go. You can follow Dino on twitter: @dino_dogan
Blogging:How_Do_I_Get_Started_in_10_Steps_or_Less (right click and save as)
1. Discover Your Passion
Starting a blog means you are about to give-up a significant portion of your free time to this endeavour. Also, it means that you will be doing it for nothing.
There is no money in blogging, certainly not at first and certainly not for most. Don’t start one of those blogs that’s left to whither and die on the Interwebs. And your blog WILL die unless its driven by deep passion for the topic that you’re blogging about.The only way I know to sustain your desire to come up with yet another post is to be truly passionate about your topic.
Hey Dino. Can you give me an example of a blogger who is passionate?
I sure can 🙂 Gary Vaynerchuck. The perennial archetype of someone who is passionate about his topic of choice and IT SHOWS. He also wrote an excellent book on passion and Social Media. The book is Crush It (affiliate Amazon link). Visit Gary at http://garyvaynerchuk.com/
2. Discover Your Format
Blogging is not just writing. Blogging can be done in audio (podcasts), video format (video blogs or vlogs) or, if you are visual-artistic, why not illustrate your thoughts.
See http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/ and http://theoatmeal.com/ for truly inspired “illustrations” based blogs.
Traditionally, and for most bloggers, the format of choice is the written word but that certainly doesn’t have to be the case for you. Options abound.
- If you prefer to riff into the microphone set up your very own podcast or simply upload audio tracks to your blog.
- If you prefer the visual medium, record yourself speaking in front of the camera.
You can certainly start in one format and switch to another. Or deliver your posts in multiple formats (text and audio, or text and video, or any combination there of).Use your preferred medium but also take your audience into consideration. Your potential audience WILL have a preference, we can’t know what that preference is, so it is wise to hedge your bets and offer them a choice of text, audio OR video.
Become a Purple Cow
A book by Seth Godin on the importance of being remarkable (affiliate Amazon link).
In other words…STAND OUT.
Taking the preference of your audience into consideration and offering them multiple ways of consuming your content is certainly one way to stand out.
Who does this?
Darren Rowse of ProBlogger as well as yours truly.
3. Choose Your Weapon
There are sooo many great AND free blogging platforms that the obstacle here is knowing which to choose. Here is a brief list of options
- WordPress.com
- Blogger.com
- posterous.com
- tumblr.com
To name just a few.
So which one is the best???
Ahhh…who can tell such things…
My recommendation is to set up test accounts on each and spend an hour or two playing around with all these platforms. After you do this you will develop a natural affinity for one of these…go with your gut. They all have pros and cons and this topic has been written about extensively so I will not rehash it here.
Here are few articles that might aid your decision:
Choosing a Blog Platform on ProBlogger
Which Blogging Platform Should You Use? on wpbeginner
Choosing a Blogging Platform on bloggingbasics101
So Dino…whats your favorite? Glad you asked 🙂
My site (http://dogandogs.com) is hosted on posterous and I couldn’t be happier with the platform and the options. Posterous also has the benefit of being able to auto-post your article(s) to most other platforms as well.
This means that once I write a post and publish it on posterous I can then “replicate” that post to all of these (and more) above mentioned platforms.
Eventually, you will most likely have to migrate to a self-hosted WordPress platform since it provides industrial-grade options but until then, enjoy the simplicity (and $0.00 cost) of the above-mentioned platforms.
4. Start Blogging
Wait…whaddaya mean “start blogging”? That was only 3 steps so far…there’s got to be more to it…no?
Sure but it doesn’t matter. You will never know what you’re doing. Embrace the mystery and the jungle that is blogging (and Social Media in general) and just get going. You will learn as you go I promise. In other words, I dont want you to use your lack of “knowing” as an excuse to procrastinate. Sure…there is plenty you need to know. Sure…there is a lot you will have to learn. But you will hash this out as you go and learn “on the job”. No worries.
Recommended Additional Reading:
You are not ready for this, but when you are, you should definitely get Darren Rowse’s 31 Days to Building a Better Blog E-Book (affiliate link).
Importante: Use dogandogs25 discount code to receive a 25% off the book price (total after discount is $14.95)
Until you’re ready to purchase 31DBBB E-Book, you can start by reading 5 Ways to Improve Your Blog Today post.
5. Start Reading
Listen. You cant be an effective content-creator unless you are a voracious content-consumer.
Stephen King reads approximately 75 books per year. SEVENTY FIVE. But he’s not alone.
Most great authors/writers/bloggers are thirsty for knowledge. Its a great way to have an endless supply of ideas and the only way I know of avoiding a writer’s block.
Read, read, read.
Read blogs, books, bumper stickers, license plates, T-shirts…whatever you can get your hands on…but keep reading.
6. Join the Discussion, Leave a comment, Share.
If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? If you publish an article and no one is there to read it, did you really write it? Since most bloggers are starting from scratch, you will have to “get known” before someone cares enough to come and visit your blog, reads your post and ….fingers crossed…leaves a comment.
How do you “get known”? Well…thats easy 🙂
- Find other blogs in your niche
- Find LinkedIn and Facebook groups pertaining to your blog-topic
- Find virtual watter coolers -where ever they may be- around which people in your area of interest are gathering and start participating in the discussions.
And how do you participate in a discussion?
By leaving a comment.
The ephemeral nature of the online world means that unless you leave a comment no one will know you were there. Leaving a trail of crumbs behind you will help you have an impact on the virtual world and it will help you to find your way back to the blog. Others can use those same crumbs (comments) to follow YOU to your house…I mean blog. Bloggers KNOW when someone leaves a comment. We like it, we feed on it, we take our comments to local playgrounds and amusement parks.
Your comments will be seen by other visitors and if you are insightful, interesting, unique, etc., people will notice and they will come to see your forest.
Note: DONT leave links back to your website. If someone wants to find you they WILL be able to find you. Leave a link ONLY if its super-relevant. If you are leaving more than 1 link for every 10 comments you make, you are being a scourge. Stop it.
Whenever you leave a comment, share it with your friends on Twitter and Facebook. Let them know about this awesome post you’ve discovered and decided to leave a comment on. Yes…what I’m saying is this. Promote the blog which you just visited. Promote it like its your own. Share it with the world.
Karma is a bitch. But Karma is also a sweet, caring grandmother that will make sure good deeds are rewarded.
Web 2.0 and Social Media in general is designed to reward those with good Karma. So be good.
Side note: A great way to get attention is to be an asshole. Argue and belittle everyone you “meet”, disparage their views and attack their opinions. But be warned. Being an asshole is a short-term strategy and everything you do online is preserved until someone shots-off the lights on the Internet. And that may take a while.
Additional Resources:
How To Handle Negative Comments on Your Blog
How to Handle Positive Comments on Your Blog
Social Media is Not Just Connections, its Also Trust
7. BE USEFUL
Do you want to stand out from everybody else? Do you want to be unique? Do you want people to take notice of you? Its easy.
- Be useful. Be indispensable. Focus on the needs of others. Find and solve problems people in your niche are encountering on daily basis.
- Promote others (12:1 rule; promote others 12 times more than you promote yoursef)
- Be a connector. When you know of two people who share something in common or can benefit from knowing each other, introduce them. Dont wait for this to happen haphazardly. Whenever you meet someone new ask yourself “who do I know that could benefit from knowing this new person?”
- Be an expert. Bring a twist to your niche.
If you’ll allow me for a brief moment of self-promotion, the twist I brought into the Dog Trainer and Dog Blogger niche is Social Media expertise.
By sharing my knowledge of Social Media channels (like Twitter), I’ve attracted the attention of some heavy-hitters. Dog Bloggers who are long established in their niche and known world-wide regard me as their go-to guy when it comes to Social Media matters. And I’m happy to help however I can.
And let me tell you something. Grandma Karma has been good to me.
Twitorials:
Twitorial – How to Get More out of Twitter
Twitorial: How to Keep Your Followers
How to Get ReTweets – Dog Trainer 2.0
8. Make a Cameo on Another Blog
The cat is out of the bag.
Guest blogging just might be the most effective way of becoming known in your niche. It’s an effective way of getting to the first page of google and it confirms the Karmic principle we discussed earlier. Some bloggers do several guest posts per week so don’t hold back.
Bloggers struggle to come up with content. And even if we do have plenty to share sometimes life gets in the way.
People like Darren Rowse have published at least one article per day for over 5 years. Do you think that’s possible to do if you are doing it all by your lonesome?
- What if you get sick?
- What if you would like to take a vacation?
- What if…
Guest blogging is a win-win-win for everyone.
It’s a good thing for the host (I get to take a little break), it’s a good thing for the guest (you gain exposure, Karmic points and google rank) and readers get a new and perhaps different point of view.
See? Told ya it would be win-win-win.
Additional Resources:
Is This the “Secret” to Building a Popular Blog?
Guest Blogging 101
Guest Blogging: The Ultimate Guide
9. Plan Your Next Step
There is a ton of other things you will have to do and learn in order to run a successful blog. Here are few to consider.
About Dino
Bio: Dino is a blogger, writer, motorcyclist, dog trainer, singer/songwriter, Martial Artist. He is currently working on Human-Dog Problem Tree; a thesis in human-dog relationship. You can find Dino on Twitter and tweet him up http://twitter.com/dino_dogan Gravatar: dogandogs@gmail.com.
Thnx @askaaronlee for having me on your blog. Its truly an honor to have my stuff published on your site.
I hope everyone enjoys the post and find this information useful and relevant. 🙂
Salute
wow…I've been blogging for a while…kinda…my blog sucks 🙂 and now I know why.
I didnt know/consider half this stuff + the links to additional resources tell me that there is much much more to know…I looked at the guest blogging links you provided…very cool…I'm putting those on my reading list…
Do you think that someone who blogs sporadically and just for fun can benefit from problogger's book? Or do you have to be a “serious” blogger to see the benefit?
I'm a novice . . . a complete novice blogger and too scared to lift my fingers to type a word. Might delete the whole lot – heck still have to learn which button to press to actually get into my blog. LOL. Was everyone this stupid in the beginning????
But WOW, this makes me keen to start going – read it again and MOVE. Thanks for a grea blog to help me get underway. You're the most.
thnx Chrisina 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it. The 31DBBB is a great resource for anyone..the only reason I said that “you're not ready” is because of the intended audience for this article are very new bloggers…and I think new bloggers should make a lot of mistakes before they start doing things the right way 🙂
Glad you liked the post 🙂
Hi Jada, yes….we were all very stupid in the beginning 🙂 and most of us still are lol
As a graphic designer I had clients from the blogging community. And I was urged to blog on more than one occasion. Blogging about graphic design to get more business? What do I say that hasn't been said already? What do I say that would be of interest to my clients and not just my peers? Well, I haven't figured THAT out.
But I was lucky to be working on Nathan Hangen's (http://nathanhangen.com/) Beyond Blogging. Find you passion it said. HEY! I don't have to blog about what I feel I SHOULD, I can blog about something I am passionate about!
And I decided to blog about dog health issues. Since I read the book while I was at it, all the strategies were there. Ok, let's do this. Gotta start with something PROFOUND! I set up the blog and started thinking about something profound to kick the blog off. A month later I still didn't have anything I'd found profound enough to be worthy of the first article.
As I noticed the trap I created for myself, I figured, never mind that, JUST DO IT. Just write SOMETHING. Nobody is going to read your first article before you build some content and connections anyway. So I just wrote something. I wrote a review on FURminator. Great product, pretty lame for the big bang article, but who cares? It doesn't have to be profound as long as it is useful.
It's like going for a swim. You can sit there with your toe in the water trying to decide if the water is the right temperature, if the wind speed and direction is just right, if the sun is in the right position … or you can just jump the damn water and get swimming.
The rest will work itself out.
Hi Jana, always great to hear from you 🙂 Over the last few years I've been really pondering the profundity in the written word. There is very little of it. But the message doesn't have to be profound. There are so many other options….it could be funny, useful (like your FURMinator review), quirky, profane, bombastic, divisive, …I could go on and on….also, (and I think I need to write a post about this) there is something about the message, messenger and the medium through which the message is delivered.
For example: Oprah (the messenger) is the voice for so many. And her message is good. But she could be pumpkin pie since I just dont care about Oprah. I mean I like her, I think its great that someone like Oprah exists and I love her story but she is NOT my messenger.
Also, think about 16 yr olds and how little time they spend watching TV. So Oprah is using an old medium to deliver her message (I know Im generalizing, she is plugged into Social Media as well).
In other words, you could be totally unoriginal but if your message is broadcast via the same media IM using then my ears and your voice will converge. Does any of this make sense? lol
One last note. Think about preachers. Talk about un-originality. Yet some pack their churches because the messenger, the message and the medium is effective. Nevermind the fact that there is nothing they can say that hasn't been said before.
My point? Nothing should stop you from delivering YOUR message.
Hi Jana, always great to hear from you 🙂 Over the last few years I've been really pondering the profundity in the written word. There is very little of it. But the message doesn't have to be profound. There are so many other options….it could be funny, useful (like your FURMinator review), quirky, profane, bombastic, divisive, …I could go on and on….also, (and I think I need to write a post about this) there is something about the message, messenger and the medium through which the message is delivered.
For example: Oprah (the messenger) is the voice for so many. And her message is good. But she could be pumpkin pie since I just dont care about Oprah. I mean I like her, I think its great that someone like Oprah exists and I love her story but she is NOT my messenger.
Also, think about 16 yr olds and how little time they spend watching TV. So Oprah is using an old medium to deliver her message (I know Im generalizing, she is plugged into Social Media as well).
In other words, you could be totally unoriginal but if your message is broadcast via the same media IM using then my ears and your voice will converge. Does any of this make sense? lol
One last note. Think about preachers. Talk about un-originality. Yet some pack their churches because the messenger, the message and the medium is effective. Nevermind the fact that there is nothing they can say that hasn't been said before.
My point? Nothing should stop you from delivering YOUR message.
Great info! I'm a newbie at blogging and someone just asked me to help them get started. Talk about the blind leading the blind. Can't wait to send my friend a link to this post. Thank you for the great usable and understandable info!
You are welcome Pam. Congrats on getting a bike. Make sure you check out http://2wheeltips.com Great AND free educational info for new riders (you might be a member already in which case Im preaching to the pope…ina 🙂
Monday night (Aug 16th, '10) 9PM EST my dog blogger possy and I will be discussing blogging and how to get started, various challenges and so on. Its on twitter, you can use http://tweetchat.com to tune-in to the #dogtalk
I imagine there will be lots of good info for newby bloggers and beyond 🙂 bring a friend 🙂
Great Article! Really enjoyed it! Dont know about reading 75 Books a year like Steven King though! 🙂
http://thinkbrief.com
lol…I hear ya Mick. 75 sounds like a lot…I think I was trying to draw a parallel between the content we consume and content we produce. So if you ever get “stuck” (or to use the words that shall never be spoken…the “writer's block”) just read a book….or five…or….75 lol
Thnx for leaving a comment and Im really glad you enjoyed the article 🙂
Absolutely brilliant! Came here via Darren Rowse's tweet this morning (probably evening there) and am greatly impressed by the quality and how sensible the ten steps are. Certainly bookmarked this one and will be back for a re-read when I'm not at work! Thanks Dino and thanks Aaron for hosting this post.
These are some great tips. I will definitely apply it to my blogging habits. Thanks for a great article.
http://www.passioninwords.us
thanks @Sffarlenn_net I really appreciate the feedback and Im glad you enjoyed it. And thank you for letting us know how you found out about the article…I didnt realize @problogger tweeted this post…thats so cool of him.
you are welcome @YGNDBlog glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Indeed, Darren is awesome and cool. It's a great feeling to have his attention 😉 Seriously though, this is a quality post that is definitely worth spreading word about! Thanks again!
I absolutely agree with everything you said in this post. I would like to add a number “11” if I could. I know SEO has a bad rap and it can be confusing, but it can be so EASY and an extra 30 seconds on each post for keyword usage and internal links can be the difference between being found and not being found. There are a lot of step-by-step SEO blogs out there (including my own) and there is no need to hire a professional.
OK, that is my two cents. Sorry, I am a bit of an SEO addict and it's done wonders for my own rankings.
Best,
Nanci
I am going to start blogging and have bookmarked this page. Hopefully it will help. Thanks for the information.
Great point @nancimurdock WordPress makes SEO easier (with SEO snap-ins); the other blogging platforms are…shall we say inconsistent? lol
What I absolutely LOVE about Twitter, and one of the reasons why Im stoked about being on askaaronlee.com is that Twitter makes it possible for anyone to bring visitors to their site and of course Aaron gives us many useful tips on how to use Twitter.
So lets say this….after you got your first blogger stripe (say 90 days of posting regularly) you may start looking into self-hosted wordpress and SEO plug-ins. Until then…blog away SEO be damned 🙂
Good luck. We are here to help you if you need us 🙂
Its really wonderful. I have enjoye while reading. Thanks Dinof or providing great information.
Really enjoyed reading this – thanks Dino. My wife has been 'talking' about starting her own blog for many months, perhaps even a year or so, and it hasn't happened yet … so this morning I emailed her your “How Do I Get Started Blogging” piece in the hope that it just might be the catalyst to get her going – fingers crossed! http://twitter.com/musclewarrior
Great post.. it sure helped me with the ideas.. now its time i implement them 🙂
Great post !! sure got a lot of ideas frm here.. now its time i implement it 🙂
You are quite welcome…glad you found “Blogging: How Do I Get Started” useful..I had a lot of fun writing it 🙂
@musclewarrior that is awesome Mike.. thnx for spreading the word 🙂
For some, the barrier is that they dont see the purpose of having a blog. And I agree…a blog as its own end is kinda lame, but a blog as a means to another end (a book deal, a platform to showcase your skills, etc) is something else entirely.
So tell your wife to look at it that way…she is not starting a blog, she is creating a platform from which she can launch a career in the thing she is most passionate about.
hth
@wineye thnx Vinay…glad you enjoyed it…Under step 9 there is a link for bunch more blog ideas if you can handle them 🙂
Thanks for your creative way of approaching a common, and potentially boring topic (Anything with the phrase “10 Steps” in it has the potential to be dry and boring). The one thing about blogging that scares me a bit is the time commitment. We'll see………
A friend of mine's mother used to read approximately a book a week while raising 5 kids, so that would be 50 books a year. Of course, she did't watch T.V.–only the news–, and I assume she was a fast reader. I seem to only get in about a book every other week. Anyway…. rabbit trail…… 🙂 I do agree that being an avid reader, and I would add, avid observer, is very important to writing well and a lot.
@upgrademycredit You are welcome Blair and Im glad you enjoyed it. yes, when it comes to blogging the commitment is significant, hence the step 1..its got to start with deep passion for what you blog about.
The challenge here is to figure out what you're passionate about. If you (or anybody else reading this) dont know, my suggestion is to get passionate about discovering your passion…try everything till something sticks 🙂
Great post.. it sure helped me with the ideas and tips..Keep it up..Thanks
Thanks for your post.Now I'm optimistic this project of “getting a blog” will work somehow. Still thinking of a name…
But I have a question: Is blogging about everything one is interested in useful? Or is it better to concentrate on one overall theme?
Glad you liked it Kathleen 🙂
That is an excellent question Christine. Ultimately only YOU can answer that. Common wisdom suggests to have diff blogs for diff interests.
Example : Darren Rowse has a blog on blogging AND a photography blog. There is a very clear and distinct separation.
I have a blog on dogs but also blog about social media and bunch of other junk on that same blog…somehow I make it work 🙂
I would recommend this.
Start with a hub of your own. Call it yourname.com and blog about whatever it is you want to blog about…as your interests expand and long-term direction is clear, you can create subject-specific blogs…
One other thing. You dont have to do all of this on your own. Join-up with people with similar interests and you guys can start subject-specific blog together.
hth
thank you for posting this great post. I'v already started, but I need to change my format. Now I'm using mainly written text. I want some more change. Using video. But therefore I have to choose a paid blog. I like wordpress. But first I want to look around.
I agree to what you said about starting. Just start and keep investing in knowlegde.
Hi Sharita, Im glad you found the post useful. Regarding “mixing it up” You can certainly put up video on youtube and embed it on almost any free blogging platform.
I did a post yesterday to help a friend with a charity campaign and used youtube video to add oomph to the post. Case in point http://dogandogs.com/give-ella-your-umbrella-el…
I hope this puts you on the right course and if you have further questions let me know.
Hi Sharita, Im glad you found the post useful. Regarding “mixing it up” You can certainly put up video on youtube and embed it on almost any free blogging platform.
I did a post yesterday to help a friend with a charity campaign and used youtube video to add oomph to the post. Case in point http://dogandogs.com/give-ella-your-umbrella-el…
I hope this puts you on the right course and if you have further questions let me know.