1. Blogging 101 Getting Focused!

2. Getting Focused Now that youre all set up and ready to rock, its time to decide what youre going to blog about. Blogs need a focus. Whats yours going to be?

3. Common Blog Themes Photoblogs are almost entirely comprised of images and usually focus on a single theme architecture, nature, etc. News or gossip blogs often make use of photos or videos found online, combined with amusing or newsworthy written content. Food blogs typically include recipes and step-by-step photos on how to cook food, with or without commentary Petblogs involve photos, videos and written content on the theme of pets Videoblogs or vlogs are typically video diaries, short films or videos curated from around the web Personal blogs can take many themes, but should focus on one element of your life your family, your job, your beliefs, etc. The sky is the limit – be the proud pioneer of a new type of blog!

4. Brainstorm, Baby Take out some paper and a pen. In the following exercises, you will be thinking of answers to the questions: – Why do I want a blog? – What am I passionate about? Get ready – this is going to be timed!

5. Why I want a blog…

6. Things Im passionate about...

7. Connecting the Dots

8. Done? Which one feels most like I could keep updating it for a week, a month or a year? Which group of words feels closest to my original reason for checking out WordPress.com in the first place? Do I already have a reputation among friends, family or colleagues for one of these broad areas? Do people often praise my knowledge, passion or skill in (insert topic)? What would my first three posts be about? Am I passionate enough about it to want to start writing right now?

9. A Match Made in Heaven! Ask yourself what matches the content, what might appeal to your audience, and what youd feel most comfortable working with. This will shape some of your future decisions, such as the design of the blog. Dont worry if you arent sure at this stage, therell be plenty of time to figure it all out as you go along.

10. Resources http://learn.wordpress.com/ http://wordpress.org/support/ http://codex.wordpress.org/New_To_WordPre ss_-_Where_to_Start http://codex.wordpress.org/New_To_WordPre ss_-_Where_to_Start http://theory.isthereason.com/?p=499 http://wordpresshelp.org/

11. 15 Creative Commons License This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/lice nses/by/3.0 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/lice nses/by/3.0