Thursday, January 26, 2012

How To Set Up a Blog

1.      In search bar, type in www.blogspot.com
2.     Click on Get Started
3.     Fill out the information requested
4.     Click continue
5.     Name your Blog
6.     Type in a memorable name in the web address that would help fans remember your blog and easily find it
a.      Click on Check Availability and make adjustments as needed
b.     Click Continue
7.     Explore the different templates and find one that matches your ideas for the color, content areas, and tone of your blog
8.     Click continue
9.     Choose if you want to start posting now or refine the look of your blogspot
a.      Refine the Appearance
                                                    i.     Templates -- Explore the sub-templates by clicking on them – the page shown will display the way it might look.
                                                  ii.     Backgrounds -- Click the arrow next to your background to see other themes.  Keep notes on which ones you really like and go back to them to make a final decision/ click Done
                                                iii.     Main Color Theme – Click the choices and notice how the font and banner are changed.  Compare/Contrast with your chosen background
                                                iv.     Adjust Widths – click on the box on the slide bar and decide how wide you want your writing space and your informational column
                                                  v.     Layout – The different kinds of columns and their placement depend on what you are going to do with your blog – large splotches of writing, tiny splats of sentences, pictures, songs, comics/art, links.  Choose a basic layout for now, and then adjust the particular spaces as you see fit by clicking and moving the boxes around.  Choose a layout that puts you somewhere between constrained and overwhelmed.  The more boxes, the more info you are going to need.  The less boxes, the less you will be able to vary your amounts of info.
                                                vi.     When you are happy with your Blog’s appearance, click on View Blog on the top right of your screen. This opens into a new window.  Go back to the first page and click the various buttons to make readjustments as needed.
                                              vii.     When you are completely satisfied with your Blog’s appearance, click the orange Apply to Blog button on the top right of your screen.
b.     New Post
                                                    i.     In the Title box at the top of the page, give this particular post an eye-catching title
                                                  ii.     Using your Word Processing skills (just like in emails or in Word documents) type in the information you want.  The tools are in the white bar across the top of your text box. 
                                                iii.     Post Settings
1.     Labels – Think about the subjects you want your readers to find inside this box.  Organize this particular box by a few topics.  For example, if you are going to write a blog on dogs, and this particular box talks about clipping the nails of Dalmatians, your labels might be Dalmatians (and write other posts about Dalmatians) and Grooming (and write other posts about grooming other breeds of dogs). 
2.     Schedule – set the date/time you wish this particular post to go live.  This way, you can pace yourself and post your articles on a specific time frame.  Your readers will want to get into the habit of reading you on a regular basis; sporadic postings tend to make for disgruntled readers.  I write a month’s worth at a time, since my spare time is so limited.  This also allows you to write out of sequence.  If you have a great Thanksgiving article but it’s only March, go ahead and write it and schedule it accordingly.
3.     Location – Blogger keeps track of who reads what from where.  However, you can lie.  So it actually only keep track of who reads what from where they SAY they are from.  Fill in the information as you see fit.  Click Done.
4.     Options – choose what you want from the options listed.
                                                iv.     Click Preview at the top of the page.  Click Edit if you need to make any changes.
                                                  v.     Click Save
                                                vi.     Click the Orange button Publish
10.  Click on Layout again (on the left side of your page).  Click Edit in each box and write the information in each section as you want it to appear on your blog. Most importantly, edit these two boxes:
a.      About Me – tell as much or as little about yourself as you want to share with your readers. Click Save
b.     Attributions – type in © Your Name, this year.  Click Save

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