Just wrote my first blog...

[angienewton]

Congrats on your 1st blog!

You will need more content of course and as you grow your blog you'll want to get links pointing back to you and do search engine optimization. Have you ever thought about using Wordpress hosted on your own domain? That is highly recommended if you're interested in monetizing this blog.

A great resource is Lynn's Internet Marketing blog. You can do a search there on pretty much any subject that has to do with blogging and Internet marketing.

[StephenT]

Here's my advice, from someone who started back in September. You write everyday. You learn everyday. You read everything you can get your hands on at least once, if not twice. You come back here as regularly as you can and learn from others and the problems they have.

The number one advice!!! Do not quit!! You will get discouraged. You will want to walk away and never come back. Don't. Take a walk, breathe some fresh air, set your jaw and go at it again.

This is work, but it can be the greatest thing you ever do!

[KarenMcG]

I agree with Angie; congratulations on your blog.

I'll also echo her thoughts re: hosting your blog on your own site.

And while I'm repeating others, I'll repeat Steve's comments.

There's so much at this Forum to help you in whatever you set your sights on.

Good luck.

Karen

[angienewton]

So, the product I sell is Juice Plus which I have one of their websites that I can't change at all. Do I make my own website and then add a link to the cart on the JP website? How does the blog relate back to the new website I create - do I link that? And by link, does that just mean to say click here www. for purchase? Thanks so much for your help! I went to Lynn's Internet Marketing blog and I am still going through it!

OK, let's see if I can help further. First question is can you use the name Juice Plus on anything you do outside of the company website?

Here are my thoughts. You could find a .com domain name, purchase that at GoDaddy and then you'll need hosting so you can get a Wordpress blog up and running. I use Hostgator for that. Then you'll find a Wordpress blog theme to use. Once that is uploaded to your hosting account, you'll get started on your new blog.

Your blog would basically be all about the healthy chewables from JP. You could post your experiences with the product, the benefits, etc. If the company permits it, yes you would link from your blog to your company website however since you can't link back to your blog from that website you'll need to get out and write articles to publish so you can link to your blog in the bio, maybe do guest blog posts on other blogs and stuff like that.

Before doing anything you might want to do some keyword research to see if there are any phrases you'll be able to use as far as search engine optimization goes (this helps you get found on Google) Would be happy to brainstorm some with you. Basically when you go to that link for the keyword research, you'll plug in a phrase you think people will use to search to find you and your product. I put in Juice Plus to start BUT if you can't use the company name in advertising, we'll have to think of other phrases you could use.

I know it can be confusing so please let me know if I have totally confused you. It's hard to explain in writing what's in my head

[AndreaC]

With all the great suggestions already given, I just want to Congratulate you on your accomplishment!

And yes, Lynn's blog and this forum are 2 great places to learn lots!

Way To Go!

[lindastacy]

Congratulations on getting your blog started! That first step can be the most difficult one.

I have a couple of things for you to think about.

Like others here, I used to suggest that everyone immediately move to a self-hosted WordPress platform, but now I'm not so quick to recommend that for brand new beginners. I recently helped two friends set up a site for their brick and mortar business using WordPress. Watching what they struggled with in the beginning made me realize it's not as simple as I thought it was. A lot of what seems second nature to me because I've been working on my own sites for so many years, can be a struggle when you first start out.

There is a learning curve and that time may be better spent focusing on writing, SEO, and social media right now. It may be just fine to start on Blogger. Here's a post from someone who recently switched from Blogger to WP (and the rest of the thread will be of interest to you too).
http://www.selfstartersweeklytips.co...6&postcount=24

However, I would recommend you at least get your own domain name and start using it instead of the blogger sub-domain. That way any following you build up will stay with you when you switch to your own hosting.

If you continue to use blogger, make sure you keep backups so you don't lose everything in case something does go wrong.

Don't get me wrong. I still think there are distinct advantages to a self-hosted WordPress blog, I'm just no longer sure that starting there is the only way to go. I guess for me it's a question of where you want to spend your time right now - learning WordPress or learning marketing? Of course it's all an ongoing process, but think about what you want to focus on right now.

[angienewton]

Seriously, it looks like you have a language setting issue with your 360 space or browser. That looks like an Asian language. If you can fix that, then maybe my previous instruction will work.

- Click on your "My Account" link (by your "Sign Out" link at the top) of the window
- After signing in, click the "Edit" link on the Membership Information line (toward the right).
- Scroll down to "General Preferences," then click on the preferred content link to choose Yahoo! U.S.
- Adjust your time zone and then click the "Finished" button at the bottom.

Not sure the above will help, but it's worth a try.

Ummm I'm lost, sorry... who were you replying to?

[drmani]

I just wrote my first blog (http://chewablefruitsandvegetables.blogspot.com/) but my question is how do I get it to show up on a google search? I'm very new at this!!! Thanks.

I wrote a long (and I mean REALLY long) post/article/report on
"How To Blog" that covers most of the areas of blogging for
beginners.

I'd greatly appreciate it if you can go through it, and offer any
ideas/suggestions to make it even more useful for beginners.

All success
Dr.Mani

[Lynn Terry]

If you are blogging, you don't necessarily need a separate website - outside of the website the company gave you. Use your blog to write things of interest to your target market (that would buy the product) and then funnel that traffic from your blog into your company website for sales.

Blogger is okay for this, honestly. Ideally you'd have your own domain name and do something more professional/permanent. If you decide to do that, I have a checklist here for setting up a WordPress blog ($10 upfront for the domain name, and $10/month for hosting):

http://www.clicknewz.com/1872/how-to...ordpress-blog/

[Clay Franklin]

Nice post. I am about ready to go get some antioxidants. Blogger gets indexed also so just keep posting and when you are ready go read up on Lynns post above.