image by Mannequin-

Starting a blog can be a daunting task.

What is the purpose of the blog?

Is there a targeted niche?

Do you want to make money from it?

Is it going to be a group blog or individual?

Which platform should you use?

Do you want to be self-hosted or a free site?

A little discouraging when it’s put into perspective, but it doesn’t have to be.

Create an outline of what you’d like to accomplish; make an informed decision.

I won’t tell you what platform to go with, because that’s a personal decision based on what your specific needs may be - but even a bit more knowledge can help you review your options before jumping in, right?

It’s important to know that some platforms have restrictions.

A free Wordpress.com site does not allow its users to advertise, and users cannot change any part of the design without purchasing credits to do so. But a free Blogger site allows customization as well as advertising.

Self-hosting is possible.

Self-hosting can be a little costly depending on what your intentions are for blogging - if you’re going to be an occasional blogger, then you should consider if you’re willing to pay for hosting costs and purchasing a domain when you’re only posting a couple times a month. Is it really worth it to you?

I’ve personally found that self-hosting on Wordpress.org has opened up so many doors for me and helped me learn about design and coding. They also offer drag-and-drop sidebar widgets for those who aren’t code loving nerds like me - I enjoy the tinkering behind-the-scene and avoiding widgets. Going self-hosted does not mean you have to be a tech guru, since many platforms have begun to make the administrative area even more user friendly.

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Sam {temptingmama} blogs daily at her personal site, Temporarily Me as well as at Craftastrophe.

photo by viralbus

It’s a fact - bloggers love comments. It’s nice to know someone else is reading your words, and getting feedback can be validating. Another reason bloggers relish comments is for the community that is created when people reply to posts.

But how do you create that community if you’re a new blogger just starting out? You want people to interact on your blog, but how do you get them to come? Isn’t everyone just reading the big name bloggers, anyway? These common questions are understandable. Even the “popular bloggers” had to start somewhere. Follow these tips to grow your personal blogging community.

1. Interact with your readers

Bloggers frequently post replies in the comment section of their blog. This is a great way to show readers your appreciation or to follow up to their response. You may also want to consider sending a personal response by email to the commenter. This is what I do because it’s efficient and ensures the commenter will hear from me.

2. Invite comments

I read somewhere that 98% of readers are lurkers and do not leave comments. A good way to entice your lurkers to take the time to leave a reply to your post is to ask for it. Ask for thoughts or suggestions at the end of each post. Or request that readers supply a personal example related to the post.

3. Get involved

Become active in other communities, whether they be blogs you enjoy, Twitter, or our very own Blissfully Domestic Living. Get interactive and leave comments and tweets or respond to forums. Not only is it fun and empowering to make these online connections, it will certainly lead to increased visitors and comments on your blog!

This is just a sample of the actions you can take to improve your blogging community. Give these things a try and look for more suggestions in future posts. Also, stop by Blissfully Domestic Living and join in the building community discussion!

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Mary Davis is a freelance writer who loves hearing from readers at her own blog, Everyday Baby Steps. She’s excited about her newest blog venture, Adventures in Freelancing, where she hopes to build an interactive community for newbie freelance writers.

Photo by Jean-Francois Beauche

You’ve got a brand-new blog and it’s starting to fill up with content, but nobody is commenting and your blogroll is almost empty.

That’s where I found myself last year when I decided to start a frugal fashion and beauty blog. All the other bloggers I knew were focused on technology, design or other completely different topics. I needed to find a way to connect with other bloggers in my niche.

It’s easy to find high-profile bloggers to add to your blogroll. If you care enough about any subject to start a blog about it, you probably already read the “big names” in your subject area. That’s a good way to get your blogroll started, but it can be a lot harder to build relationships with those bloggers before you’ve established yourself. (For example, I link to the Sartorialist because I think my readers might like it, but I don’t harbor any delusions that he’ll be linking back to me any time soon.)

I wanted to build relationships with other bloggers like me, people who had good ideas and were interested in the same topics who probably weren’t too busy to comment on my posts and who might reciprocate if I added them to my blogroll. But the blogosphere is huge – where do you begin to find your blogging soulmates?

Blog Carnivals

I started by participating in a blog carnival that I saw on a blog I read regularly. Blog carnivals are weekly or monthly events where a group of blogs with similar topics share links to their best posts. Carnivals are a good way to promote your blog, but they’re also an excellent way to find like-minded bloggers. I submitted a post to the carnival via BlogCarnival.com, and when the carnival was published I read through all the other posts to find new blogs I liked. I commented on the posts that intrigued me, and in my comments let the other bloggers know when I was adding them to my blogroll.

But blog carnivals are just one way of finding other bloggers. For example, Blissfully Domestic has 14 channels covering different topics. Click on the links to contributors’ blogs at the end of each article to find women with similar interests who really know their stuff.

Social Media Sites

Beyond padding my blogroll, I wanted to really build relationships with the bloggers themselves. I added their blogs to my news reader and made sure to comment on their posts. I joined their communities at MyBlogLog and they joined mine. For those with Twitter accounts, I followed them and friended or became fans of a few on Facebook. I also took note of who else belonged to their social networks and found a few more good fashion and beauty bloggers that way.

My blog is still small, but I now feel like I’m part of a great community. I know that at least a few people read my posts and occasionally comment, and the bloggers in my blogroll daily inspire me with new ideas. Blogging on your own can be fun, but I find being part of a community more fulfilling.

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Susanna King is a web designer and mom who has been blogging on various topics since 2001. Her current blog is The Wardrobe Miser.

Photo by Anne

When choosing a blogging platform, most who choose WordPress.org (self-hosted) do so because of the expansive options. The platform, by itself, offers much of what Blogger or TypePad, and Wordpress.com offers - but the addition of plugins are what makes WordPress function for YOU. It is YOUR blog, afterall.

Many times I’m asked about “must haves” plugins - so I’ve made a list. These are plugins that I wish they would just integrate with the WordPress installation because I don’t think that you can function without them.

1. Akistmet Spam

You know you’ve made it if the spammers have found your blog. No one likes spam, and since I hate filling out word verifications when commenting on other blogs, I didn’t want to institute it on my own blog. Akistmet will catch the spam and place it in an area where you can make sure it really is spam, and then either delete it or return the comment where it should be. (Note: You will need a Wordpress.com account and an API key to make this work)

2. Comment Email Responder

How many times does someone ask you a question in a comment that you think the rest of your readers should know the answer to? I never assume that commenters will come back to my blog to see if I responded, but posting a reply ON the blog and then remembering to email the commenter back rarely happens. With comment email responder, I’m able to respond on the blog as a comment, and it will email the commenter directly.

3. FeedBurner Feedsmith

Most all of us want to track how many subscribers that we have, but there’s a distinct difference between a feedburner feed and the feed that comes with your blog (on any platform). The FeedSmith plugin will convert your WordPress feed into your FeedBurner feed, so that you can keep track of how many subscribers you have. Additionally, if you ever move your blog, your subscribers will go with you.

4. WordPress Database Manager

If other platforms go down, you lose your posts and there’s not a lot you can do about it. But if your self-hosted site goes down, there’s not a lot you can do about that either - unless you’ve regularly backed-up your posts. The database manager plugin will email your database to you hourly, daily, or weekly so that you will always have a copy of your hard work. You can also save it to your server with this plugin.

5. Google Analytics

Statistics are important with blogging, but figuring out exactly where to place the code is confusing if you’re not well-versed in php code. The Google Analytics plugin works well because you simply register for a Google Analytics Account, copy and paste your code into the setting screen of the plugin, and you’re on your way.

What? You don’t want to login to Google to see your stats? How about installing the WordPress Reports plugin that will display your Google and Feedburner statistics on your dashboard?

There are many more plugins that I use with any blog that I install, but most of those are a matter of preference and fun.

Don’t worry. I’ll cover those next time.

In the mean time, I’m off to search for a plugin that will take care of cleaning the house and doing the laundry.

What are your favorite Wordpress plugins? Head over to the Blissfully Domestic social network and share with us!

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Heather Jacobson is a self-taught web geek, mother, and blogger, and embraces the very meaning each title. You can find her online blogging about her quest for sanity at Desperately Seeking Sanity and all things WordPress at Desperately Seeking WordPress.

Photo by Kelly Hafermann

The Archives page is pretty much an institution in the world of blogging. But have we ever taken a moment to think about why?

Blogging platforms offer you the option to provide links to your posts via categories, tags, and date-based archives.  In many cases, your blogging software (Blogger, Wordpress, Typepad, etc.) is duplicating your content to provide links in these various ways. This could potentially hurt you when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO) and page rank.

Let’s also consider if people actually use the archives on your site. When you are looking for something on a blog, how often do you click on the archive links? My answer is never. I use the search most often, then tags and, less often, categories.

I also find the term “archives” to be stuffy and boring. It brings to mind an old pile of musty books in the basement of a library. Isn’t it much more exciting to highlight your tag cloud? Or better yet, list your blog’s most popular posts with a nifty plugin like Popularity Contest (for Wordpress).

With all the widgets and other fun stuff we can add to our sidebars, why fill it up with useless links to your monthly archives? Save space and reduce links to duplicate content by deleting your archives function. That’s right, just get rid of it.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the value of date-based archives. Do you click on archives when you read blogs? If you track your stats, are people using the archives on your site?

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Shannon is a homeschooling mother, blogger, web designer, and lover of all things internet.  You can find her writing at PHAT Mommy.