Set Up Your
Own Blog
Free
by:
Jim Edwards
© Jim Edwards -
All Rights
reserved
http://www.thenetreporter.com
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I've received a
lot of email
lately from
people asking
how they can set
up their own
blogs for
family, friends,
or business
purposes without
spending much
money or hiring
an expensive
programmer or
web developer.
Well, ask no
more because I
will now show
you exactly how
to get your own
blog without
dipping too far
into your own
pocket (if at
all) and get up
and running,
even if you
don't have your
own website,
hosting account,
or domain name.
You basically
get two choices
when it comes to
setting up a
blog: host it
yourself, or use
a service that
hosts the blog
for you.
Each one carries
advantages based
on your level of
skill,
experience and
how many options
you want to add
to your blog.
If you choose to
host your blog
on your own
website, then
you can pick
from a number of
different
options,
including
MoveableType.org
and
WordPress.org.
However, if you
don't want to
host it
yourself, you
can also go to
Yahoo.com, put
in the term
"free blog" and
obtain a long
list of services
that will host a
blog for you,
either free of
charge or for a
fee.
Probably the
best-known free
blog service
resides at
Blogger.com
Recently
purchased by
Google, Blogger
boasts thousands
of blogs on
topics ranging
from ecommerce
to pet manners.
Blogger enables
you to set up a
functional blog
in about 5
minutes and
start posting
your thoughts,
rants, or family
facts with the
world.
Log on to
http://Spaces.MSN.com
and find another
free option
offered by
Microsoft's
online service,
MSN.
This service
makes it a bit
easier to share
photos than
Blogger, which
requires a
separate
software tool
called Picasa
(also available
from Google for
free).
MSN's blogger
service also
seems to appeal
more to
individuals
sharing their
thoughts than to
businesses
trying to scare
up new customers
or get their
links crawled by
search engine
spiders (another
advantage of
publishing a
blog).
So if you're
publishing the
family blog,
this one might
offer more of
the
user-friendly
options you
need.
The one drawback
to using free
services always
comes back to
the age-old
saying, "You get
what you pay
for!"
These free blog
services come
with virtually
zero customer
support, so if
you can't figure
it out on your
own, good luck
finding anyone
to assist you.
If you don't
mind paying $5 a
month, you can
get a
full-featured
weblog at
TypePad.com that
offers a decent
level of
customer
support.
The blogs
available here
offer many more
features than
Blogger or MSN,
but also require
you to
understand a bit
more about
blogging's more
advanced
features like "trackback
links" and
"pinging" blog
directories to
let them know
you've updated
your blog (so
others can come
take a look at
your new
material).
Regardless of
whether you
choose the free
or paid option,
using a hosted
blogging
solution rates
best when
getting started.
However, once
your blog really
starts to take
off and you find
you need more
"bells and
whistles," you
may want to
consider
upgrading to a
more
sophisticated
blogging
solution.
For a free video
that explains "trackbacks"
and more, check
out:
http://www.igottatellyou.com/trackback.html
About the
author:
Jim Edwards is a
syndicated
newspaper
columnist and
the co-author of
an amazing new
ebook that will
teach you how to
use fr^e
articles to
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visitors to your
website or
affiliate
links...
Simple "Traffic
Machine" brings
Thousands of NEW
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