If you want to learn about blogging, “Create Your Own Blog: 6 Easy Projects to Start Blogging Like a Pro” by Tris Hussey is a great resource. For the new blogger, it is fantastic. For the seasoned blogger, I bet you will still learn a thing or two. But it really is aimed at the beginner and perhaps intermediate blogger.
What I really liked was that Hussey provides a lot of details and information. This book really helped me with the two websites / blogs I just created, and I will use it for reference if I decide to add a few different things like video and audio to my blogs.
Hussey admits that he prefers WordPress and the book has more on WordPress than other blogging platforms. With that being said, please mention a few of the others, like Blogger or TypePad. Hussey says that he has tried all the different blogging platforms and prefers and recommends WordPress, so most of the information refers to this platform for blogging, but many concepts and ideas will work if you choose another. This is another thing I like about the book, Hussey shares many resources, and many are free, to help you with what you want to do.
There’s a quick introduction on how to use the book, and then a short history of blogging and starting your own. There is a basic chapter on setting up and setting up your first blog. This is very basic and guides the beginner through the setup. Not sure what a plugin or widget is? This chapter will tell you.
Chapter three focuses on writing and creating a conversation, while chapter four deals with building a community. Chapter five is the first of the 6 projects. The six are: Create a personal blog; Creation of a business blog; Creation of a podcast blog; Video blogs; Creation of a portfolio blog; Creating your life stream online; and an additional chapter on how to make money through your blog.
In these chapters, Hussey will really walk you through all the things you’ll want to do with your blog. It covers the basics, but also how to record, edit, and post audio and video, as well as topics like Twitter, Cliqset, and ways to bring all your posts and content together. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of information and details provided. The last chapter, which was a bonus, probably had the least amount of information, but it covered the basic ways that people are making money from their blogs.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to start blogging, or to the person who wants to improve their blog presence or take their blog to the next level with audio or video. Great blog reference.
