Creative Blogging: Your First Steps to a Successful Blog

Book description

Creative Blogging shows you how to start blogging for the very first time to express your creativity and reach out and be heard, and even how to make money with your blog!

You'll start at the right place -the beginning! Learn answers to the most important and popular questions: What is a blog? Do I need a blog? How do I get started? What do I blog about? How do I blog? Creative Blogging then takes you through the how-to aspects of blogging, so you can quickly learn the terminology, and get started. You will be able to choose the right blogging tool for you!

Soon, you'll be prepared to unleash your creativity! Like a good author, you'll learn how to find information to blog about, and how to express yourself in your blog in the ways that you want. Your creativity is what will make your blog successful, but every artist needs an audience. Creative Blogging reveals how to draw people to your site!

You'll also discover how to work with images and video, how to integrate your blog with Twitter and Facebook, and even how to make money with your blog! Let your creativity bring your audience to you and your blog with Creative Blogging.

What you'll learn

This book is for beginners looking to start a new blog and let their creativity find their audience within the blogosphere. You'll learn the basics of how to blog, how to show your creative self on your blog, and how to find your audience.

  • What a blog is—everything you need to know!

  • How to choose the best blog tool for YOU!

  • How to set up and organize your blog

  • How to be creative in your blog's design and layout

  • How to work with images to create a beautiful blog

  • More advanced blog techniques and strategies

  • Tools to promote your blog, increase visits, and make money!

  • How to connect with popular social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook

  • Where to find help, tools, tips and tricks

  • Who this book is for

    Anyone creative who's never blogged before, but wants to reach an audience, be it for the purpose of business or pleasure.

    Table of contents

    1. Title Page
    2. Dedication
    3. Contents at a Glance
    4. Contents
    5. About the Author
    6. About the Technical Reviewer
    7. Acknowledgments
    8. About This Book
      1. Inside This Book
      2. The Lingo
      3. Let's Go!
    9. CHAPTER 1: Where to Begin
      1. Name Your Blog
      2. What to Blog About
      3. Multiple Authors
      4. Writing Good Content
      5. Blog Design
      6. Summary
    10. CHAPTER 2: Blog Layout and Design
      1. Using Color
      2. Using Fonts
      3. Organization
      4. Screen Resolution
      5. Browser Differences
      6. Blog Design Templates
      7. Summary
    11. CHAPTER 3: Let's Blog
      1. Which Blog Platform Should You Use?
      2. Naming Your Blog
      3. Using Blogger
      4. Using TypePad
      5. Using WordPress
      6. Summary
    12. CHAPTER 4: More Than Text
      1. Working with Images
      2. Using Video
      3. Summary
    13. CHAPTER 5: Advanced Blog Design
      1. Blogger's Template Designer
      2. TypePad's Theme Builder
      3. The WordPress Appearance Menu
      4. Summary
    14. CHAPTER 6: Setting Up a Custom Domain
      1. Terminology
      2. Purchasing a Domain
      3. Domain Mapping with Blogger
      4. Domain Mapping with TypePad
      5. Domain Mapping with WordPress
      6. Summary
    15. CHAPTER 7: Increasing Traffic & Visitor Tracking
      1. Search Engine Optimization
      2. Visitor Tracking
      3. Summary
    16. CHAPTER 8: Social Network Integration
      1. Using Twitter
      2. Using Facebook
      3. Summary
    17. CHAPTER 9: Setting Up Shop
      1. Creating Pages
      2. Using PayPal
      3. Summary
    18. CHAPTER 10: HTML/CSS Basics
      1. HTML Tables
      2. HTML Links and Images
      3. HTML Paragraphs
      4. Using CSS with HTML Tags
      5. Using CSS to Modify Your Blog Layout
      6. Summary
    19. CHAPTER 11: Blogging Tips
      1. Where to Find Help
      2. HTML and CSS Problems
      3. Image Problems in Posts
      4. Other Image Issues
      5. Professional Blog Assistance
      6. Blog Design Services
      7. Summary
    20. Index

    Product information

    • Title: Creative Blogging: Your First Steps to a Successful Blog
    • Author(s):
    • Release date: April 2011
    • Publisher(s): Apress
    • ISBN: 9781430234289