Blogging is a great way to display your creativity,
market your business and meet new friends. Being a
successful blogger, however, takes practice. here are
some tips to keep your blogging boat afloat.
Approaching the Platform
choose a blog host that meets your goals, budget and
level of experience. Try one of these:
• WordPress ( www.wordpress.org) is free and one of
the biggest out there.
• Blogger ( www.blogger.com) is great for beginners
and accessible through your google account.
• TypePad ( www.typepad.com) offers great blog
management tools and search optimization.
• Live Journal ( www.livejournal.com) provides various tools to complement your creativity.
subheads and paragraph breaks to make it an easy read.
• illustrate your blog with licensed photos from Flickr
( www.flickr.com).
• Research key words for titles and subheads using
Google Analytics ( www.google.com/analytics).
• generate headlines with a tool from NSA
member Bob Pike ( tinyurl.com/5mwte2).
• Research your topic at Wikipedia
( www.wikipedia.org).
Before You Blog
A good blog is updated regularly. Before you hit the
keyboard, find out what the buzz is all about:
• Search the blogosphere with Google Blog Search
( blogsearch.google.com).
• Track other blogs with an RSS reader like Bloglines
( www.bloglines.com).
• Monitor the news and other blogs for key words
and phrases using Google Alerts
( www.google.com/alerts).
Pimp Your Blog
Most sites automatically publish your blog and
allow it to be searchable. go the extra mile:
• Join or create a new Blog Carnival
( blogcarnival.com).
• Encourage readers to vote for your postings
on Digg ( www.digg.com).
• Make a “lens” for your blog at Squidoo
( www.squidoo.com).
• List resources which include your blog at Buzka
( www.buzka.com).
• Build links to your blog from your MySpace,
Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.
• Write articles that link to your blog
( www.ezinearticles.com).
• include your blog URL in your email signature and
on your business card.
CONVERSATION
STARTERS
• Write a tutorial/solve
a problem
• Survey your readers
• debunk a myth
• Review a book or
product
• interview someone
in your niche
• Make a list of
resources
• describe an
interesting “lesson
learned”
• Embed a video
If You Build It, They Will Come
A little framework goes a long way. check out the
sidebars of successful blogs for ideas and create a
user-friendly page that will entice others to subscribe
and post links to. here’s how:
• Build a Blogroll of links to other blogs in your niche.
• Simplify the subscription process using Feedblitz
( www.feedblitz.com).
• Embed RSS subscription options in your sidebar; for
example: Google Reader or Homepage, My Yahoo,
My MSN, Bloglines and Technorati.
To the Drawing Board
Write short, snappy postings that express an opinion
on topics that readers will find interesting. Use graphics,
Back It Up
Each blogging platform has tools to back up your files.
Play it safe by:
• Transferring the files to your computer via FTP with
Filezilla ( www.filezilla-project.org).
• Keeping an off-line backup with Carbonite
( www.carbonite.com).
Be sure to maintain your blog after you’ve completed the framework, and always pay attention to
feedback so you can implement changes as you go.
Before you know it you will have a community built
around your blog and readership will soar!
For more information, email nsa_bloggers-sub-scribe@yahoo.com to sign up for the NSA Bloggers
yahoo group.
Ian Griffin is a
communications
professional with
20+ years of
experience in the
high-tech industry.
Currently, he is an
executive speech-writer for Hewlett-Packard. Visit his
blog, Professionally
Speaking, at www.
exec-comms.com/blog.
