How To Create A Free Blog On The BlogSpot Blogging Platform

Blogs offer people the ability to create and share any kind of content that they want.  They can even help those who know how to monetize it earn quite a bit of money.

If you look online, you will find numerous tutorials that have been designed to teach bloggers how to build an audience and to develop their blog into a business that will allow them to earn as much as they would if they had a job.

In order to do this, it is usually better to create a domain then to create a WordPress blog, as WordPress is a better blogging platforms when compared to any of the other ones.  However, not everyone wants to start a blog and immediately start investing funds into its development, and this is completely normal.  Blogging is a skill, and it is usually better to hone it for a while before actually trying to earn money from it.

Fortunately, there are quite a few platforms that offer people the ability to create free blogs; however, most are difficult to navigate and a bit too complicated for the average user.  Newbies are usually left to choose the platform that best suits them, without actually knowing what to expect.

If you’re just beginning to blog, then it would be best to simply use BlogSpot.com in order to set up an account.  It is a good option for those who want to see what blogging is about and to start small, by making content to share with friends, family, and, in general, a small group of people.  Once you feel that you’ve accumulated enough experience, you can move to a self-hosted WordPress blog.

It is important to understand that BlogSpot may be free, but it does have some limitations.  This does not mean that you won’t be able to enjoy the full experience of being a blogger; you will just have to use only certain domain names and a couple other things.  However, it is a great place to learn.

Below you will find everything that you need to know, as a beginner, in order to get started with the basics and create a free BlogSpot blog.

As a side note, you should know that the BlogSpot platform is powered by Google.  This means that you will also be limited to a handful of Google apps in terms of how you manage your content.  For example, all your photos will be hosted by Picasa.

Also, if your intention is to create a blog that has a more professional feel to it, which you can use in order to make money, then you probably should use WordPress.  Making a blog on this platform isn’t too difficult, and you can go through the setup process in about an hour.

The comprehensive guide to creating a free blog on BlogSpot:

The first thing that you will want to do is navigate to www.blogspot.com and use your Google credentials in order to log in.  If you do not have a Google/Gmail account, then you can easily create one for free.

The first time you log in, you will have to either use the identity that you’ve set up on your Google Plus profile or create a profile that is limited to the BlogSpot platform.  At this point, it would be best to use the information on your Google Plus page.

Once you’ve logged in, you must click on the “New blog” option, in order to start the setup procedure.

Choosing the name and domain does require some thought, so do not fill them in on a whim.

You will next be asked to choose a name and a domain for your blog.  Think carefully about what you want your blog name to be.  You should choose one that lets people know what they can expect to find on the blog.

The domain name is also important.  It would be best to avoid using your personal name as the domain name, as this may expose you too much.  Instead, try thinking of a generic name that you can later brand by using a custom domain.

Next, you will be able to select a template for your blog.  Choose whichever you like from the displayed list.  If you ever get bored of the template or if you don’t like how it looks, you can change it without much effort.  Once you have made up your mind, click on “Create Blog” and you’re good to go.

Your blog has been created, but you still have a few modifications that you should make.

You will now have to change a couple of settings in order to ensure that your blog is easy to use.  These changes start on the BlogSpot dashboard, where you should have been redirected once you created your blog.

The “Dashboard” is where you can see all the backend of your blog.  Everything from statistics regarding the number of people who read your posts, to settings is found here.  This is also where you can click on “Posts” and then on “New post” in order to begin writing a new article.  However, before doing this you will have to change some settings in order to improve your blog’s online visibility.

In From your Dashboard, go to “Pages” and create one “About” page.  This page will contain relevant information about yourself and your blog. You need to have one of these so that readers know what’s going on.

Another important thing that you should do is change the theme that will be used for your blog.  Choose anything you like, just do not leave it on the default one as most people are already bored with it.

Go to “Settings” and then click on “Theme” in order to change the template.  From here you will also be able to add a logo to the header of your blog, and also to change various settings and features.

Next, you will want to enable AdSense so that you can start earning money from your blog.  This can be done from the “Settings” screen.  Click on “Earnings” and you will have the option to enable the above-mentioned feature.  Once you do, you’re ready to start earning money from your free blog.

The only thing left to do is start writing posts.  Think of topics that are important to you, but also to the people who you want to read your blog.  If they see that you post interesting content, they will return and you will find that your audience will slowly grow.

A BlogSpot blog is a great way to get started and slowly make yourself known online.  And the best part is that once you feel that you’ve accumulated enough knowledge and experience, you can move to a platform like WordPress and set up a more professional online publication!