Best Blogging Practices, Part One: To Blog or Not to Blog

As an author, you’ve probably been told you should be blogging. Blogs are an excellent way to engage your audience and establish yourself as an authority figure. Still, many find the idea of blogging overwhelming and the actual process of writing blog posts almost unbearable. But with a little bit of planning, a few shortcuts, and some tips from the blogosphere, you can be posting and engaging with readers in no time. Here is our five-part series on blogging to help you get started:

Part One: To Blog or Not to Blog (why you should blog)

Part Two: A Blog Without a Cause (what to blog about)

Part Three: Taming the Blog Monster (managing your blog)

Part Four: The Blog Without a Name (promoting your blog)

Part Five: Blog Vital Signs (tracking your progress)

As Seth Godin and Tom Peters say in this video, blogging is the best marketing tool that lets you involve yourself in an actual conversation with your audience.

Now, what is a blog? I’m sure you have some idea (you are reading one now, after all), but here is another video that explains what a blog is, in simple language and with great visuals:

Now you can see why blogging is so important to your platform. It’s a free and easy way to share news, ideas, events, and other important items related to your marketing message.

Getting started

The first thing you need to do is choose a catchy, easy-to-spell, and relevant URL. Your options include:

• Purchasing a domain outright from such places as Go Daddy
• Hosting your blog on your existing website
• Using a free service such as Blogspot or WordPress

Since blogs are updated regularly, hosting your blog on your website gives you the best search engine optimization for your website, but a free site is just as good in terms of creating continuous and engaging content.

Next, you need to develop relevant content, which is covered in part two of our Best Blogging Practices series.