What's the best way to start?

[Kusanagi]

Hey all!

I would love to have a blog that details my forays into internet marketing and anything else I might be interested in, while trying to stay away from MySpace and Livejournal!

Can anyone give me some tips on how to get started and what some good programs/websites that run blogs are? I would look to do one for free initially, since I plan on getting a site in October!

[CountryBoy]

If you're after free hosted there's really two main choices people go for - Blogger or WordPress. I began with Blogger about 2 years ago and I'm still using it - I like its simplicity (the newest version is a piece of cake). If you're brand new to blogging there's no harm in starting with Blogger to get the feel for it. Another advantage of Blogger is that you can easily integrate AdSense to try and earn a little advertising revenue.

Free hosted WordPress blogs are the other choice people usually go for - they aren't quite as simple as Blogger and you can't use AdSense with them (might be an issue) but they do look more professional and have greater functionality.

Whichever route you choose it's advisable to use your own hosting and domain name once you've got the feel for it. The most popular paidhosting blogs use WordPress. Using your own domain also gives you the advantage of being able to use AdSense and you can easily customise the appearance of your blog by downloading free themes (like skins). It's also quite easy to move your hosting from one provider to the next.

Hope this helps!

[tryncontact]

hi,

I agree with countryboy....for starters, Bloggers (Blogspot) is the best bet. Even if you are using it for full functionality or just to get the basic feel of it.

Also, it will be very useful to get acquainted with the basic know-how of blogs if you are planning to come out with website

All the very best
Ana.

[dee_el07]

I use Blogger and it really is easy fixing the look of my blog to what I think would be more pleasing to my readers. You can divide the content of your blog into several sections so as not to mix them up (like a separate section for text links, buttons, news, etc.).

[harsha22]

Start with blogger blog. It is very easy to use & you can even use Google adsense. Later on you can have your own domain & move the blog to your domain.

[beks]

I agree with harsha22 - start with blogger it is super simple to set up. Get a domain name when it becomes a daily part of your life to blog.