1. Get Your Blog On With Susan Lower

2. What is a blog?  A daily pulpit  Personal diary  Political Soapbox  Website

3. Blogger vs. Word Press Blogger Simple and easy to create Template designer for layouts Gadgets, gadgets, and more gadgets Amazon.com and Google ads Word Press Professional looking website with your own domain Custom options – layouts and plug-ins Support staff Choice of 30 widgets

4. Creating Your Blog Beware of dark backgrounds Avoid small and odd color fonts White space – too much? Too little? Length of Paragraphs Music? – DON’T! Comments Follow widget – MUST HAVE! LAYOUTLAYOUT

5. Blog Banner Graphic Phrase Eye Catcher

6. Blog Audience Be Yourself Avoid Rants Keep your eyes on topic Don’t force your content on your reader Give them what they want!

7. BLOG CONTENT Stick to a schedule Make it meaningful Word Count per Post (avg 300 words) Give credit where credit is due Hit your target When all else fails, create a list.

8. Blog Post Ideas Make lists Publicize a good cause Put a spin on a current event Highlight the strange and bizarre How to’s and tutorials Updates

9. Post Headlines Say it Simple State the benefit Make an Announcement How to____________ Ask a question Make a command Testimonial

10. Headlines Now You Can Quit Your Day Job and Make More Money What Everybody Ought to Know About Writing Blog Posts Who Else Wants to Get Published? The Secret of Writing Poetry Little Known Ways to Get an Agent

11. Formatting Your Blog Post Answer the 5 w’s Back up the 5 w’s with information Throw in a quote or something of relevance.

12. Bring On the Readers Follow Blogs like there is no tomorrow! Leave comments What’s your name? Be Yourself! Keywords Search Engines Make Friends!

13. Resources Copyblogger.com Tentblogger.com Problogger.com Bloggingbistro.com Blogging for Bliss: Crafting Your Own Online Journal by Tara Frey Create Your Own Blog: 6 Easy Projects to Start Blogging Like A Pro by Tris Hussey