to do this you should use the Google Chrome browser, if you don't have it on your computer device click https://www.google.com/
start your blog.
first log in to a Gmail account, if you don't have one then go here to create one now: mail.google.com
(you can forward all mail from this gmail to your existing account--it's free--just go to settings).
Now go to https://www.blogger.com/
it will then ask you for a "Display name" which is your name on the blog--not the blog's name, you can use a sobriquet/nickname (or your real name) or a phrase. now click the orange button at the bottom "continue to blog", now click the grey button "new blog", a box will pop up asking you to fill in a few items including your blog's name and BLOG website address (URL), (think about this before you start creating the blog, they can be the same or different), and to choose a template for the look of your blog, you can change the template later on so just pick one. once you're done with those selections click "create blog", and the dashboard will appear. Congratulations! you've created the blog. On the dashboard there are several buttons explore them and ask me questions--just use the comment box below.
posting articles
now click the orange button with the pencil to post the article, just copy and paste it into the box. you will see the usual formatting icons at the top of the box so you can edit accordingly. but also get used to using the online options which include links, tags/labels, photos, videos and ads.
links: simply highlight a word, click "link" and type or paste the URL (web address). then click enter.
Tags/Labels: help readers to find all your articles with the same topic or mention of the same item.
photos: you can insert them anywhere in the article, just put the cursor where you want to insert it and click the photo icon in the formatting bar above the text box.
videos: you can add the code from any youtube video and that video will play on your blog. you can also add links to the youtube video.
Ads: you should include ads in your blog (it's automatic after you enable the widget) to earn money, you just have to sign-up for Google Adsense and follow instructions. It's free to sign-up.
Schedule: you can schedule when your article goes live on the web, this gives you the freedom to write now and post automatically. So you could write recipes for thanksgiving now and schedule them to post on November 15th or a few days before thanksgiving.
Comments: I recommend enabling comments for your articles, this will help drive engagement, shares and readership.
when you're done, click "publish", now the article is live on the web! congratulations! now send me a link to the article on your blog.
Promoting
- to help improve viewership of your articles/stories you should add links to words, names and phrases in your article, add at least 3 but no more than 7. for example, you can link the wikipedia page for Mississippi to any of the words Mississippi in your article. don't add the same link twice in the same article.
- promote the article through social media including Google+, twitter, facebook, etc. do this every day for the first 5 days after you publish each article. but each time use a different snippet. be sure you make each posting "public".
- create a group in Gmail (or any email service you use) of people you want to send the article to and email them a short snippet and the link to the article. but only send one email! for each article!
- ask others to share the article on social media.
- Post it to your accounts or blogs on Buzzfeed and Huffington Post.
- you can also pay to promote your articles to thousands of people on facebook and google.
Post questions or comments to this article. I will reply to each question, but it may not be immediate
