Set Up Your Own Blog Free - Writing Article

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Thursday, 20 November 2008

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Set Up Your Own Blog Free

By:Jim Edwards

I've received a lot of email lately from people asking how
they can set up their own blogs for family, friends, or
business purposes without spending much money or hiring an
expensive programmer or web developer.

Well, ask no more because I will now show you exactly how to
get your own blog without dipping too far into your own
pocket (if at all) and get up and running, even if you don't
have your own website, hosting account, or domain name.

You basically get two choices when it comes to setting up a
blog: host it yourself, or use a service that hosts the blog
for you.

Each one carries advantages based on your level of skill,
experience and how many options you want to add to your
blog.

If you choose to host your blog on your own website, then
you can pick from a number of different options, including
MoveableType.org and WordPress.org.

However, if you don't want to host it yourself, you can also
go to Yahoo.com, put in the term "free blog" and obtain a
long list of services that will host a blog for you, either
free of charge or for a fee.

Probably the best-known free blog service resides at
Blogger.com

Recently purchased by Google, Blogger boasts thousands of
blogs on topics ranging from ecommerce to pet manners.

Blogger enables you to set up a functional blog in about 5
minutes and start posting your thoughts, rants, or family
facts with the world.

Log on to http://Spaces.MSN.com and find another free option
offered by Microsoft's online service, MSN.

This service makes it a bit easier to share photos than
Blogger, which requires a separate software tool called
Picasa (also available from Google for free).

MSN's blogger service also seems to appeal more to
individuals sharing their thoughts than to businesses trying
to scare up new customers or get their links crawled by
search engine spiders (another advantage of publishing a
blog).

So if you're publishing the family blog, this one might
offer more of the user-friendly options you need.

The one drawback to using free services always comes back to
the age-old saying, "You get what you pay for!"

These free blog services come with virtually zero customer
support, so if you can't figure it out on your own, good
luck finding anyone to assist you.

If you don't mind paying $5 a month, you can get a full-
featured weblog at TypePad.com that offers a decent level of
customer support.

The blogs available here offer many more features than
Blogger or MSN, but also require you to understand a bit
more about blogging's more advanced features like "trackback
links" and "pinging" blog directories to let them know
you've updated your blog (so others can come take a look at
your new material).

Regardless of whether you choose the free or paid option,
using a hosted blogging solution rates best when getting
started.

However, once your blog really starts to take off and you
find you need more "bells and whistles," you may want to
consider upgrading to a more sophisticated blogging
solution.

For a free video that explains "trackbacks" and more,
check out:

=> http://www.igottatellyou.com/trackback.html

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About the Author

Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the
co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how
to use fr^e articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted
visitors to your website, affiliate links, or blogs... http://www.the-easy-way.com/traffic.html

Article Source: http://www.dailynewarticles.com