Hello all!

Although belated, I wanted to make it known that in early 2010 I became part of the search marketing team at Beacon Technologies. As part of my duties, I now write for their blog. This should explain my absences over the past couple months! I’m not gone, just writing in another venue.

But here’s the best part: if you like what you read here, take a skip over to Beacon’s search marketing blog to read more from yours truly.

Thanks and see you on the other side!

~Andrea

Now, I want to clarify a few points:

1. If you have a Google e-mail account, use it to sign in on the homepage at the top. Resume the tutorial at Step 2, “Name Your Blog.”

Where To Sign In on Blogger If You Already Have a Google Account.

2. If you do not have a Google account and are prompted to create one, use your preferred primary e-mail address (@Yahoo, @Hotmail, etc.). This will be your Username when you sign in to your blog.

Setting Up Your Blog Best Practices

1. Pick a name that is keyword rich, easy, and short! Do not use:

• More than 3-4 words
• Words that are easily misspelled, misunderstood, or made-up
• Dashes or underscores
• Arbitrary numbers, numbers instead of actual words, or your username

2. Choose a template that is simple and attractive. Dark colors with a light background are easiest to read and less stressful on the eye. Stay away from white letters and a black background.

3. Write a blog “tag line” that explains the purpose of your blog. Keep this to one  sentence. Go to Settings–> Basic–> Description and enter your tag line in the Description box.

4. Turn comment moderation on. This will prevent spammers or ugly comments from posting to your blog without your prior approval or knowledge. Go to Setting–> Comments–> Comment Moderation, choose “Always” and enter an e-mail address where you want comment notifications sent. Also, choose “yes” to Word Verification.

5. Offer an RSS feed. “RSS” stands for “real simple syndication.” Basically it’s a way for your readers to subscribe to your blog and get a notice when you write a new post. It makes it much easier for your blog to generate a reader base and following. You can do this by going to Feedburner.com and following the directions. Enter the feed URL at Settings–> Site Feed–> Post Feed Redirect URL.

Now start blogging!

Not sure where to start? It’s ok. Try this article if you don’t know what to write about.

Image Provided By RevJim5000

Stuck? If you are blogging regularly, this may be a complaint that surfaces A LOT. But it doesn’t have to! Don’t feel pressured to grab topics out of thin air. This makes your writing process much harder and may deter you from blogging at your full potential.

Instead, venture off your blog for inspiration on what to write about on your blog.

1. Follow and read posts by your fellow bloggers. Take to heart what they are saying and use their ideas to generate your own blog post.

2. Following links and comments on competing blogs or even blogs you are just plain interested in. Make the most of them.  Comments take you to places on the ‘Net that you may not have discovered yet. Use them as an asset and resource in keeping your creative juices flowing.

3. Forums are another untapped resource for inspiration. Nosey around a related forum to see what’s being asked or how things are being answered. From this you can take part in the discussion on the forum (which means more visibility for you) and also get good post ideas from current problems people are having or good/bad advice people are sharing.

4. Use Social Media to spark your imagination. Twitter. Facebook. LinkedIn. YouTube. Spend some time finding and subscribing to users in your niche. Check their status updates and recent uploads for ideas. (The given site list is in no way exhaustive!)

5. Lastly, stay current on the news in your niche. Use feedreaders like Bloglines and Google Reader to subscribe to feeds of all kinds. Check these feeds once a day or every other day and save the articles that you find thought-provoking. When it’s time to write, you’ll have a plethora of content to choose from.

Hope this helps and good luck writing!!

~Andrea