Beginning A Blog

Oops - didn't post last week! Very busy!  I decided that this week I'm going to republish some guest posts that I've done over the last couple of years.  Most likely you've never read them and I hope you will enjoy!

Today's post was the first guest post that I did - for Sarah at Real Life.  I was a new blogger and if I did this post today, it would be much more wordy and complicated.  That's why I like this post - simple, sincere, and still true now.

Originally published at Real Life on June 18, 2008:

This is the blog {Real Life} that inspired me to start my own blog. I’m blogging on the blog that got me blogging…hmmm…is that like googling google? Will something explode?

I’ve only been blogging for a little over 2 months and though I still have a lot to learn, I’m starting to feel like I’ve been around a while. I’m getting the hang of this whole thing and really enjoying it! If you haven’t started a blog and have even remotely considered it, I’m here to tell you – do it! For one thing, it’s FREE! And I seem to be doing OK, considering that just 3-4 months ago, I had no exposure to blogs – didn’t even read them! So you can definitely do it.

The best way to start is by reading other blogs – lots of them, to get a feel for what you like and don’t like. You should also decide if you just want a private blog to get your thoughts out, or if you feel the need to share your thoughts with several unknown people. I myself feel the need to share, whether anybody is really interested or not. They can always move on if they don’t like what I have to say or my style.

You can get a blog started in 5-10 minutes. That’s it! They make it so easy (I know..who are they??). No, you do not have to know HTML or any other fancy anagrams to get started. I started with Blogger and have had no trouble following instructions and using templates. Even writing a post is easy. The rest of the stuff you can figure out later. Once you’ve started, do not be afraid to seek advice and learn about the extras. If you have a blog you like to read, e-mail the blogger and ask questions – no matter how “big” you think the blog is. Behind every great blog is a simple blogger who delights in reading comments and answering questions for “newbies”.

When I started, Sarah referred me to some great resources to help me along. She has a great article for beginners here and referred me to MamaBlogga for more helpful info. I also found a lot of tips on Blogging Basics 101 And I have asked other bloggers and my readers (I have readers; can you believe it?) for input.

This is certainly not a comprehensive post about beginning a blog, but I hope it’s enough to get you started.

Bloggers-to-be…you can do it! New bloggers…keep it up! The rest of you bloggers…I salute you and thank you for sharing a piece of yourselves with the rest of us.

Have a blessed day!!