The Dog Days Of Blogging

I'm going to borrow a baseball analogy and apply it to blogging because I think it's perfect to describe those times when you get frustrated with blogging. It can and does happen to all bloggers in the beginning when you first start out and you look around and see all these "Bull$hit Guru's" telling you how much money they are making and how fast they make it. You see all of this and then start questioning yourself and that leads to self doubt and frustration. Thats not the only way for a blogger to get frustrated, but I'm using it as my example here to make a point.

The important thing is not to give up and quit, if you want it bad enough you must dig in and continue moving forward. There is no get rich quick secret to making money online and you must understand that going into to blogging. You can make money online and there are several people who are completely legit that have, but they are up front and honest about the steps you need to take in order to achieve whatever it is that you are after. Don't keep wasting your time or money on these miracle "breakthrough discoveries" that will fatten your wallet overnight. All that crap is just a waste of your time and helps to keep the "Bull$hit Guru's" in business!

I will be honest and let you know that I've felt like quitting a few times and at some point you will as well, but don't do it. I've never been a quitter and besides I really love blogging and all that goes with it. A lot of things have really started to make sense to me as each day goes by. It's almost like putting a puzzle together in my mind and I've heard other bloggers say the same thing. Blogging can feel quite lonely at times and you may feel like your getting nowhere, but as long as you keep posting and trying to learn, you may not see it, but you are making progress. The bottom line is that even though you may get knocked down, you must get up and continue the journey.

Related articles

• Is Blogging Right For You? (davidrisley.com)
• Is Blogging The Right Career Path For You? (dailyblogtips.com)
• Don't Spend Money Online to Make Money Online (shoutmeloud.com)

A Great Resource For New Bloggers

I recently found a great site that is loaded with information and tips that new bloggers should take a look at. The site is RobbSutton.com and he tells it like it is! He provides you with some how to tips and some general common sense tips for navigating the blogosphere as you get started. I love the way he presents the information in his articles, easy to understand and straight forward. He gives you lots of useful information and offers a free 7 week blogging course by email that I have been looking at myself and learning from. Go and check the site out and let me know what you think. I think it's a great resource for new bloggers!

Some Thoughts On A Blogging Alliance

I've been thinking about blogging alliances ever since I read Darren Rowse's great article on Problogger.net  If you have not read it then you should. I think the way the group Darren wrote about is going about it the right way. I would like to be in one if it could be done in a similar fashion because it will be a benefit to all involved if done correctly. I'm still new to all of this and trying to learn as much as I can and I'm not alone out here because I see posts all over the blogosphere from new bloggers asking similar questions. We are all out here trying to fly solo and there is no problem with that if you are a seasoned pro, which I'm not! My idea would be to join up with other new bloggers and help each other out with advice and ideas. If any of those veteran bloggers want to join as sort of a mentor, that would be great as well! One thing I want to make clear is that everything will be for free and there would be no fee, or anything people have to buy in order to join up. Those are some of my thoughts, I would love to hear what you are thinking. Let me know if you have any ideas of your own, I look forward to hearing from you! My email is Beltwayboy7@gmail.com

Blogging Alliances

I have just finished reading a very good post on Problogger.net about several bloggers getting together and forming an alliance. That is the online worlds version of a street gang, they are working together and promoting each others blogs and the group as a whole. I have been around the blogosphere for under a year, but I had already noticed how certain blogs appeared to work with each other. They do a good job of not being to obvious at what they are doing, but if you hang around then you will start to notice little things about how certain blogs seem almost clickish in how they talk and promote each other. There is nothing wrong with what they are doing, in fact it's good business and more bloggers need to get together and form their own alliances. If done correctly it would benefit the whole group and help each blog and blogger to grow and profit from it. I will come right out and say that I'm all ears if someone has any ideas on an alliance!

Your Content Is What Counts!

You will hear this statement over and over! Your content will be paramount to the success of your blog. If you produce crappy content then that will more than likely be the result that you will get from your site, crap! On the other hand if you can produce good content for your reader then you will start to develop a following for your blog. Not everyone will produce the same type of writing, but you will never know if you don't try. There is nothing wrong with failing at something as long as you give it your best. Then when you look back at least you know that you did your best. Be yourself and don't try to pretend that you are something or somebody that you are not. To build a successful blog will take some time and you must understand that aspect and be prepared for the long haul. There is so much to learn for a new person and the web is always changing, but don't let that scare you because even the "pro" bloggers have to keep learning new things. Once you get the basics then jump on in and go with it. Everyone before you and plenty after you will do the same thing! Good Luck!!

What Can Google Do For You

I love Google because they give you a lot of cool services for free. There are certain things they will charge for, but being a new blogger you don't have to worry about any of those just yet. Unless you want to pay them for a domain and hosting, which is a good deal. I would hold off spending any money until you know that you are going to stick with this. Google will give free blogger blogs to get you started, plus you can earn money through ads on your site. If I could do it over again that is the route I would go. It's free to sign up with Google and it's well worth signing up even if you don't use blogger. Gmail is their email application and it is loaded with features, you will never look at email the same way again! My favorite of all things Google is the Google Chrome browser and yes it's free as well. It is easy to use and fast, I love it and everyone I have talked with about Chrome loves it. You are probably reading this and thinking to yourself that I must work or be associated with Google in some way, I'm not. The biggest issue I have with Google is that they need to simplify the adsense installation process, I hate it because for the new guy or gal like myself who have no clue. That is still a problem for me and I may drop the adsense part, there are other options out there. Go and check Google out and see if they have anything you could use to help you along on your journey into the blogosphere, good luck.

What Blogging Platform Will You Use?

After you decide that you are going to give blogging a try, there is one more very important decision you must make. What blogging platform are you going to use? There is a bunch of them to choose from. You have Wordpress.com and .org, I will explain the difference between the two later in this post. Google has Blogger and to be perfectly honest with you, those are the only ones that I have personally used. I like all three of them and each has their pros and cons. They are pretty easy and straight forward when it comes to using them. I started out with a Wordpress.org site. It's Beltwayboysports.com you should check it out sometime. This blog that you are reading is a Blogger site that I got from Google.

Now onto the differences of the Wordpress.com and .org. The differences are .com is free and wordpress will host the site for you, but you don't own the site and can't put ads up if you decide to monetize your blog. I have heard of people losing their blogs because of some type of rules infraction and lost all of their content. Now with a .org blog you control the whole show. You will need to pay for hosting and pick out a domain name like I did with Beltwayboysports.com. I should have went the free route to begin. I knew absolutely nothing and had to figure it out on my own. It really is best to get a handle on how everything works before striking out on your own. It will save you a bunch of headaches, trust me!

Hosting is not all that expensive to get. DO YOUR HOMEWORK when you are searching for a place to host your site. I would recommend my host, but I'm not totally satisfied with their service. I did not do enough homework before I selected them. So I learned a very valuable lesson. I was just so excited to get going and let my guard down for a second and wham. My suggestion is to go and research all the different platforms. Only you will know which one fits your needs. Everyone is going to talk about whatever one they are comfortable working with!

Here is another good resource site that is packed with a ton of great information to help you out as you start your journey into the blogging world. http://2createawebsite.com

Welcome To Basics 2 Blogging

I'm making this site for people who are new to blogging or are thinking of becoming a blogger. I'm no expert and will never claim to be, but I have learned enough to be able to help others who are just starting out. I knew nothing of how a blog worked or anything about the blogosphere when I started out. Where do you go to get information and who can you trust? Should I use Wordpress or Blogger? How do I get people to my site? Can I really make money doing this? How? Those are just some of the questions that I had at the beginning of my journey into blogging. I am glad that I found blogging, I love it and wish I would have started alot sooner than I did! I was one of those people who did tons and tons of planning, trying to make sure of this and that and making no progress. That is something you want to avoid if possible. You must also figure out what you want to get out of blogging. Is this going to be a hobby in your spare time or are you going to try and make some money? That is something each person needs to figure out on their own.