Blogging's Not So Bad

[tneeley]

I just wanted to encourage anyone who's considered blogging, but has been hesitant to try it to go for it. I was very reluctant to try it, but now that I have, I must say it's been easy and even fun. While I always wondered why anyone would want to read what I have to say, I finally realized that no one has to read it unless they want to read it.

This site has had some very good posts on blogging and I am thankful for such a wonderful resource and support group.

Here's the link to my blog SHOULD anyone want to peek:

http://www.rainbowsandmustardseeds.blogspot.com//

Try it, if you haven't yet. If you don't like it, all you have to do is stop. You've got nothing to loose!

[lynnmosher]

Tina, I love your blog. It's great. I'm working on one but it will actually be daily emails of the devotions from an old devotional book, God At Eventide. I wish you great success with yours!

[tneeley]

Thanks, Lynn! You are always a great encourager. I'll p.m. you my email address and would love to be on your devotional email list when you get it going.

[Tarin]

I agree. I shunned blogging for years, in large part because I couldn't fathom thinking up a regular slew of non-fiction that would be interesting to others. Last year, I finally gave in to the inevitable tug of blogging, and although it does require a lot of discipline to keep posting week in and week out, I'm having lots of fun. The main key, I think, is to find a subject you're passionate about (writing, in my case - big surprise ;)); otherwise, you'll run out of juice pretty darn fast.

[songstr4jc]

I have been thinking about blogging. I just don't have a clue how to get started. Any and all info would be great!

Marie

[tneeley]

Marie,

Just go to www.blogger.com and "create a blog". It will walk you through the steps and check he availability of the name you choose. Then you will be prompted to choose a template (layout) and from there it really is a matter of clicking on the various items and exploring them. I have found it to be extremely easy. It is not until you click "publish your post" that your first post is officially on your page and you have plenty of opportunities to preview it and work with it.

I found if I didn't like something, I could always delete it. It is very, very flexible and user friendly. I can't speak for any of the other blogging sites, but I have found this one to be great. One of the ladies from my church (a grandmother and greatgrandmother) has done it as well. You can check her blog at www.farmergirlchildrenbooks.blogspot.com. She is a folk artist who writes children's books, among other things.

The sky is the limit. You go girl!

[songstr4jc]

Thank you so much for your help!

Marie

[tneeley]

Tarin:

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm looking forward to looking through your blog posts.

[Tarin]

Tarin:

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm looking forward to looking through your blog posts.

Sure thing. Thanks for looking. :)

[lynnmosher]

I have been thinking about blogging. I just don't have a clue how to get started. Any and all info would be great!

Marie

Marie, There are numerous blog sites and I believe they all offer a 15 or 30 day trial. If you don't like one or it doesn't work for you, try another. Just google blog services or something like that. If you only want free ones, be sure to enter the word free with your search.

[Keith Wallis]

Tina - looks like you've made a great start.
Marie - a lot of us use 'Blogger' - it's FREE and very easy to get the hang of.

[Michael Scott]

I agree. I've been blogging for about a week and a half now. The templates don't allow a lot of diversity, but you can figure out where to move things to get something resembling the look and feel you want.

As for material? I find a blank page is incredibly enticing. I've posted excerpts from some of my writing, along with various rants and ramblings throughout my day. Most of what I post is writing related. Some is ministry related. Some is life. Some is whining.

The value is in stretching your writing muscles without having to produce something you hope to sell. It allows a free flow of creativity, which is kinda cool.

[hellodolly]

I've really thought about it but not sure if I could keep it up. But since it's sorta the thing to do, I think I'm gonna give it a try.

[Zanzibar]

I've been looking into starting one as well. How has traffic been to your site?

I had a friend that said he basically go zero traffic. He has now moved to using a company call whole hog blog (www.whole-hog-blogs.com) and said in his first week he got 500 hits! BUT he pays like $70/mo. for the service. (Which I REALLY don't want to do, but I would like to have some traffic to my blog - if I ever get it started. LOL

Would any of you be interested in a blog about 'praying the scriptures over our kids' - not sure if that would be the exact title, but something similar to that. That is one that I've been thinking about starting.

Another I've been thinking about starting would be titled something similar to 'Writer's Journey - From Keystroke to Publication.' (I thought it might be interesting for new authors and up and coming authors to follow along in the process of a book going from computer to print.

What do you all think, would those be something you all would read? After all, Christian people like ya'll would be my target audience.

[Michael Scott]

Difficult to say. I've had a couple of responses to what I've posted so far, and my profile has been viewed about 46 times. I've also seen some traffic to the ebook site where I have my novel available.

But I've only been at it for about two weeks now, and I haven't worked very hard at getting the word out. Nor do I have a ton of compelling content. Yet.

Like anything, this takes time.