Just don’t “wait until you have free time.” Find a way to fit it in now.

Jennifer Moore
JenniferLynn Productions, LLC

I’m new to blogging (just a few weeks) and never expected to be doing this, although I did want to write and am actually part way through a correspondence course on writing. I got started helping my partner with the website he’s building and that’s where the blog came from. The ultimate goal is to make some money, but in true GRS mode, I expect that’s going to take some time.

I agree about the need for interesting writing – in learning about blogging I’ve seen lots of mediocre stuff out there, and lots of echoes that just seem to go round and round in circles, even reproducing someone else’s full article rather than commenting and adding original copy. Okay they’re posting regularly which may be getting them some sort of ratings somewhere, but surely enhancement is better than pure duplication.

I’m finding that coming up with original, interesting articles takes time, but hopefully my writing will get quicker with practice!

I’ll definitely be back to GRS searching for some food for thought!

Taking a writing class and getting a few grammar books are great advice, lucky for me since I finished my BA in English May of 2008, I still have a few of my books.

Now to start writing about cheese…

~Jen M.

I blog right now, because I love the subject matter, and I love writing. I’d love to make money from it–sure–but I’m blogging because I love it.

(I have more than one blog, but one is a marketing blog for my art, and one is not for public consumption.)

Great article! I’m definitely going to check out that book on small business!

~Jen M.

What do you use for GRS?

I actually think that this is the sort of thing where, for your purposes, you cannot make a wrong decisions. All of the free, easy-to-use tools out there are appropriate. Any of them will meet your needs.

Anybody have much experience with this?

Ron, I like blogger.com. It’s free and easy to use.

I am at the other end of the spectrum. I am looking to start a blog for my men’s bible study group. We are just looking for something that we can use online to keep in touch and further our bible study.

So I am looking to set up something nice but also somewhat simple, customizable, and preferably free.

How do I get started? Any helpful resources?

On SEO: my latest post is on SEO and marketing (I’m passionate about puzzles) and the funny thing is I just wrote it and didn’t even SEO the thing, and mention that as the last line of my post.

The potential is there but it shouldn’t be the only reason a person blogs as you mentioned. You bring up Problogger and Copyblogger it’s ironic I haven’t read either one really. They are just not for me. However some of Stephen Kings On Writing rules have helped me out. I read a lot of smaller scale blogs for fun and research, and the ones I read on a personal basis are usually finance and entrepreneurial.

Taking a writing class is a good idea. I took screenplay writing and that was useful. I’d like to add that reading A LOT and times that by 10, helps you write without having to think about it.

That book is simply the best book on how to learn to write, by far; it is one of those books that I wished was used as a text in my college journalism classes many years ago. Had it been, I might have stuck with that major rather than switching to English (with a writing, rather than a literature, concentration).

Also check out another of Zinsser’s books called “Writing to Learn.” It is his take on the other component of being a successful blogger – writing about something you love with passion.

Great post!

As for success, it’s a tough road. There are a lot of blogs out there and not all will be successful. I put a lot of time into my posts, it sucks when no one reads them. But I can’t complain, I’ve had some really lucky moments in my young blogging career. I was feeling really low on Friday, almost no comments or visitors. Then in the evening it started picking up, one of my posts had been featured by MSN Money’s blog. I’ve been on a high ever since. Not to brag or anything, here it is
Underwater, but she’s riding it out
OK, I am bragging. I know I have a long way to go but I’m enjoying the journey. Keep up the good work JD, you’ve built something impressive here.

I like writing but think that I have a LOT of room for improvement.

No one reads my blog but I do it anyway because I like doing it. I would like to write better and a writing class (or book) is just what I need.

J.D. – you can select me to win a copy of the book then I will donate it to the library after I read it

Martin

Now, it’s time to start writing about cheese!

I’d buy that book just for the book question alone, assuming it is asked of all the bloggers.

-Nate

Honestly, though, JD, it is nice to hear someone SAY (or read, i suppose, and that being such, SEE) to the bloggers out there, to talk about content they CARE about. It gets SO painful to read and reread blogs about subjects that the writer clearly doesn’t care about. It turns you off to the topic at hand.