So you’ve decided to start your own blog. Congratulations! Whether you intend to create a professional blog or simply write a personal diary, blogging is an excellent hobby that keeps you in touch with the rest of the world. It lets you meet new people, learn different perspectives and share anything you like, from news headlines to your newborn son’s first photos. Once you’ve made up your mind, it’s time to get down to business. Here’s a list of all the software applications and online services that may be helpful in your blogging adventure. Remember that perseverance is the key to success! Try to update your blog on a regular basis and you’ll soon see the results.
- First of all, you need to choose the blogging platform you’re going to use. The most popular ones are WordPress, Blogger and to a lesser extent, LiveJournal.
- If you don’t fancy writing your posts on an online editor, you can use a desktop blogging tool like W.bloggar, Post2Blog or the Blogger extension for Word.
- When it comes to capturing images for your articles you have a wide array of options, where Screenshot Captor, SnagIt and EasyCapture are probably the best choices.
- After taking a snapshot you’ll probably need to improve or retouch it in some way. Download a graphic editor such as PhotoFiltre, PhotoScape or Active Pixels for these easy editing tasks.
- You may also need to make video captures to record screen activity. These videos are great to explain software tips or show off your skill in a particular videogame. You can capture them easily with HyperSnap-DX, WeGame or AviScreen Classic.
- Podcasts are another element of added value for your blog. Create them with Wildvoice Podcast Studio, ePodcast Creator or PodProducer and use them to develop more extended content and reach your readers in other formats.
- Blogging platforms usually provide a bunch of ready-to-use templates but in case you want to use your own design, download a coding editor such as Dreamweaver, UltraEdit-32 or EclipseStyle and let your inner artist loose.
- Besides an attractive design, web promotion is also a key element in your blog’s success. Use Good Keywords to find the right keywords, Link Popularity Check to track your search results and AdSenseDesktop to manage your ad revenue.