Let's get Started

I can only begin to imagine how many millions of blog pages are out there. Over the last several weeks I've been observing and researching the blog industry. Yes, I would classify blogging in an industry all its own. I've been paying close attention to design and overall site functionality. You see, I'm not a techie nor am I a programmer of any sort. Given that this is my first month blogging, I want to make sure that I have the technical know how to create, maintain, and update a fully functioning blog. I have a relatively decent amount of HTML knowledge. Nothing spectacular. I wasn't sure if my skill set was good enough to compete with the big boys. Submerging myself in various forums and reading dozens of blogs, I eventually came to the conclusion that whatever HTML I know is more than enough. But more importantly, there are so many forums and programs that make it easy to overcome any obstacle that might come your way.

We all want to make the best use of our time. Well, maybe not all of us, but most of us. I had to ask myself, "what is my opportunity cost? What is the next best thing I could do with my time and energy if I didn't blog?" Is the time I spend blogging the best use of my time? My answer was yes, yes and yes. I've always been a firm believer in the notion of building wealth vs. earning a wage. In a nutshell, that's the real recipe to financial success. Put your energy into building the infrastructure of a project, watch it grow, and reap the benefits of it in the future in the form of a steady cash flow and personal gratification. I will expand on this topic in a future post with plenty of references I've collected over time. Anyone who knows me is well aware of how I like to promote the idea of independence and believe it full heartedly.

So if any of you are reading this and have been contemplating starting a blog for personal or monetary reasons, I encourage you to take the first step and go for it.

How to Blog

A while back ago I decided I wanted to start a blog. I began to read a bunch of articles that had anything and everything to do with blogging. I bookmarked blogging related sites religiously. Eventually I had tons of links that I had to sort through, delete the ones I didn’t want and keep the ones I liked.

So, I thought I would publish an edited list of some of the sites that helped me better understand, why I should start blogging and how I can get started.

Let's start with an inspirational article that will get you motivated and give us some perspective on the world of blogging.



Why you should start a blog today:

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2006/09/01/8384325/index.htm?postversion=2006090812
This is an interesting article that puts into perspective the power of blogging and the potential benefits one stands to inherit. This article is a good motivator.


http://www.johnchow.com/index.php/the-internets-biggest-google-whores/
Proof is in the pudding. How does one profit from blogging, Google ADsense and other similar programs that are out there. Now don’t get me wrong, the guys in the article above clearly were ahead of the curve. But with a good sound idea and full execution you could be the next guy on this list.


http://www.johnchow.com/part-time-blogging-full-time-income/
In this article you get to monitor the growth of a blog on a weekly basis as it is documented here on this site. I really enjoy this website. It always has practical advice and it’s a great motivator.


http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?story_id=8173520&fsrc=RSS Going Pro More people are quitting their day jobs to blog for a living


How can you get started:


http://www.squidoo.com/blogstarter
Here you have a great blog starter checklist. You are also given some direction on where to take your blog ideas and how to best get the word out.


http://www.avivadirectory.com/successful-blog-launch/
This is a really informative essay that will give you some insight on how to get started. It’s very informative and the blogger gives you plenty of ideas on how to market and promote your blog. Some of the suggestions are linking your blog to RSS & Subscriptions feeds, using social book marking and link building.


http://www.problogger.net/
This site is a great overall resource for blogging how to’s. There are some good points on why to blog as well as how to design your Adsense ads to start making money through your blog.


http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10881_11-6120257.html#
This article really summarizes well the fundamentals of a good blog. Title of the article is “10 Ways to become a better blogger”.

http://www.copyblogger.com/
Copyblogger has some great advice on what to and what not to do on your blog. There are plenty of articles on the site that will help you better understand how to create a cohesive blog from top to bottom.


http://scribez.wordpress.com/2006/09/06/dummies-guide-to-profitable-blogs-and-blogging/
Dimmies Guide to Profitable blogs and blogging

http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/25-steps-to-a-wildly-successful-personal-finance-blog.html Excellent blog. One of my favorites 25 Steps To A Wildly Successful Personal Finance Blog

http://www.pronetadvertising.com/articles/the-first-7-days-of-blogging.html
The first 7 days of blogging


Tools That will help you build your blog:

http://scribez.wordpress.com/2006/09/16/new-ten-best-free-wordpress-templates/
New Ten Best Free Wordpress Templates


http://www.problogger.net/archives/2005/12/02/word-press-plugins-for-probloggers/
Word Press Plugins for Pro Bloggers

http://wordpress.org/
WordPress is what you use when you want to work with your blogging software, not fight it.


http://www.webdesignfromscratch.com/
A complete guide to designing web sites that work


http://www.weebly.com/
Weebly is the easiest way to create a great looking website


http://www.tubetorial.com/how-to-build-a-profitable-home-on-the-web/
How to Build a Profitable Home on the Web


http://applestooranges.com/blog/post/tracking-your-buzz/
TRACKING YOUR BUZZ

http://www.chatcreator.com/
Add Chat to Your Site!


http://pingomatic.com/
Ping your site


http://www.lifegoggles.com/?p=150
Easy steps to getting your videos online


http://www.famfamfam.com/
Free Icons


http://web2logo.com/
Web Logos


http://www.ifeedreaders.com/
iFeedReaders : Where I feed your feed to feed readers.


Marketing your site:


http://www.seopedia.org/
The Internet Marketing and Search Industry Blog

http://webadsblog.com/
Web Advertising Blog How to Promote Your Adsense Niche Site

http://www.baekdal.com/
7 tricks to Viral Web Marketing

http://www.seomoz.org/
assess a site/page's relative importance and visibility.



How you can make money with your blog:


https://www.google.com/adsense/
Take the tour to get a better understanding about how Google Adsense works.

http://www.linkbucks.com/
LinkBucks allows you to make cash from the links your users post, from the links you place on your website, or from the posts you make in a forum.


http://payperpost.com/
Get Paid To Blog


http://www.text-link-ads.com/blog_juice/
http://www.text-link-ads.com/
Buy and Publish Links Also see where your blog falls in the Blog juice calculator


https://chitika.com/
Merchandising Network with over 10,000+ participating blogs and websites
Custom Shopping Portals Expert Guided Shopping for your Visitors. CPC Revenue For YOU!



Tools to help you manage and fine tune your blog:



http://webadsblog.com/2006/10/16/how-to-promote-your-adsense-niche-site/
This blog teaches you a bit about Web advertising, hence the name Web advertising blog. There are some good detailed ideas on this site about overall advertising to fine tuning your niche blog.


http://www.makemoneyathome-idea.com/block_low_paying_ads.php
Learn how you can block low paying ads and increase your income streamGreat Blogging Articles and Insight on Blogging


http://profaq.blogspot.com/
Unofficial Blogger Pro FAQ


http://www.smashingmagazine.com/
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2006/11/09/online-generators/
we smash you with the information which will make your life easier. really. Great overll blogging resource, i.e. online generators