How to Start a Team Blog

Team blogs are a good way to spread new ideas and get a bigger "regular" audience for your thoughts. They can also be a discussion forum for new suggestions. What do you have to consider before starting one?

1. Think of what purpose the blog is going to serve. Idea exchanging, talking about the world situation or what? Plus, what's the blog's subject?
2. Choose a blogging platform. Are you planning to go online big time or is a free service enough? What features does the blog require: categories, Trackback, comment moderating? Blogsome.com and Blogger.com are some free platforms that will get your team blog started (Blogger doesn't offer categories, though.)
3. Decide the blogging guidelines, especially if you're working/studying inside some institution: you shouldn't write about people's private lives or some corporate secrets, for example.
4. How are you going to handle commenting: is everyone able to comment, are you going to check them before showing them? Comment moderation might be a good thing if the subject is a sensitive one.
5. Create some categories, ask some members to join and start blogging! It's really fun when you get used to it.

Tips

• It might be a good idea to give some advice to the bloggers of how to use the service: for example Wordpress's (which Blogsome.com uses) posting page might confuse some people that haven't been that much into blogging/HTML before.
• Make a deal of how often people should collaborate in the blog: if one day you realize you're doing all the writing yourself, maybe it's time to think to get some new members to join and kick some members out. Of course you should discuss things beforehand.

Warnings

• Don't listen to people who whine about you censoring their comments: it's your blog after all! If they still keep groaning, tell them to start their own blog where they can say whatever they want.

Source: www.wikihow.com

How to Monetize Your Blog

Blogging has become an extremely popular way of expressing ourselves and spreading information. It could even earn you a hefty paycheck. But how do you make that happen? This article explains it all!

1. Content is key. The top priority should be creating content that is worth reading. If you write blog posts that are worth reading people will come back to your blog over and over. You will be able to build a following, so that when you have something to say there will actually be people who read it. Choose a blog topic you enjoy and focus in on that topic. Do not write a financial blog one day and a cooking blog the next. Hone in on different aspects of your main topic. For example, blog about online business. It’s a subject people are interested in because everyone wants to make money and also there are a great number of subtopics within online business.
2. Spread the word about your blog. If you are simply making blog posts and nothing else, you are not doing enough. So what can you do?
   
   • Submit your blog to search engines.
   • Post Twitter messages about your blog updates.
   • Join blog directories that will catalog your blog. Blog Catalog and My Blog Log are both great blog directories that can connect you with other bloggers who share similar interest. Within such blog directories you will be able to join communities and add contacts, which will allow your blog more exposure.
3. Monetize your blog. If you are attracting followers and getting decent web traffic for your blog, but making no money, then you are wasting an opportunity. With a captive audience reading your blog there is an opportunity to place ads and affiliate links, which relate to your blog subject. For example, if you write a dating tips blog you could place an affiliate link to Match.com. You are providing people the service of giving them a quality reference. If they visit and make a purchase then you will receive a cut of the profits. Google Adsense allows you to place ads that are related to the subject matter of your blog. Utilize these tools to start creating income as you blog.
4. Do something every day. Persistence and effort are necessary if you wish to make a substantial income as a blogger. Generating adequate traffic takes time and requires you to place your blog link all over the web. Link exchanges, comment posts, message forums, and article writing can all be used as ways to place a link back to your blog. If you take the time to do something each day with the purpose of promoting your blog, eventually you will have made something that can generate income.

Tips

• Blogging is a great way to express yourself and share ideas with others. Most people are casual bloggers who will never make a dime from their posts. You can be different with a bit of extra effort and persistence. Good luck.

Source: www.wikihow.com

How to Post wikiHow Articles on Your Blog or Website

It is easy to share wikiHow's content on almost any blog or website. If your site uses HTML, you can easily post any article you like using wikiHow's republishing tool. Just follow these simple steps to post wikiHow articles to Blogger, LiveJournal, MySpace, or other blog or web page.

1. Go to the Special:Republish page by clicking on the link that says "Blog this! Republish this entire article on your blog or website" at the bottom of the article you wish to post. This will take you to a special page that contains all of the HTML code to post the article to your blog and website as well as some links to popular blogging platforms.
2. Copy all of the HTML code in the box by doing the following:
   • Windows: Click your mouse once in the box with the HTML. Hit CTRL-A to select all the code, then CTRL-C to copy it.
   • Macintosh: Click your mouse once in the box with the HTML. Hit Apple-A to select all the code, then Apple-C to copy it.
     
     
     
3. Open your blog or web page for editing.
4. Paste all of the code into your blog. Be sure that your blog is in a mode that accepts HTML. Many blogging services use their own custom editors by default and will need to have HTML editing selected. See the tips below for how to do this on common blogging platforms. The image below shows how this looks on Blogger.
   
   
   
5. Save your post.

Tips

• Follow these guidelines for easy posting in these popular services:
  • Blogger: Clicking on the Blogger link in our republishing tool only puts a link in your blog. To show the whole article, you must still paste the code as shown in the image above.
  • Livejournal: Click on the "HTML editor" before you paste the code.
  • MySpace: Be sure not to be in the advanced editor when you paste your code.
  • Typepad: Be sure to select "Edit HTML" before pasting the code.
  • Vox: Be sure to click "Yes" when asked if you would like Vox to translate the HTML.
  • Wordpress: Click on the "Code" editor before pasting the code.
  • Windows Live Spaces: Click on "HTML" in your blog editor before pasting the code.
  
  Source: www.wikihow.com