How To Begin Blogging.
A reader was kind enough to drop me a line last night. (I love getting email!) She had a few questions regarding blogging... "Ms O'Dooley" (I always use pseudonyms here at on the "Common...") wants to know how I got started blogging and whether or not I am able to make money from it.
These are great questions... And believe it or not, I get asked them all the time.
How I Got Started Blogging...
Prior to January 2006, I had started this blog many times since 2004. Each time, I would write a few posts, and then delete them. I would find myself hating what I wrote. After a year and a half, I "laid down the law" for myself. I said, "Duuuude... Just do it! Even if you write crap, who cares? You don't have to tell anyone you are writing."
So I did. I just started blogging.... Nearly every day. And I write about pretty much anything. I could be watching TV and see a commercial that prompts me to write about it... I could get crappy service at a restaurant and want to "flame" them... I could see a pair of shoes in a window in my neighborhood and think "Wouldn't it be great to get those?"
See... Pretty much anything. Overall, my goal with this blog is to just get writing. And writing about stuff I want to write about. I used to freelance write in my spare time for extra cash. But I stopped that because most of the time an editor would take what I wrote and completely rearrange it... Making it unrecognizable to me. They were no longer my words. Or my point of view.
So the blog began out of my desire to write out what I wanted, with no one else's interference.
Do you make money from it?
Nope. I don't. I certainly could though.
You may notice on other blogs people have ads. Either from Google or other display networks. I could do that too. But I choose not too. Bottom line: I want absolutely no interference from advertisers in any way on what I write about on this page.
For me, On Common Ground didn't grow from a desire to write and make money. It just grew from a need to get my view out. There are a few topics that I don't write about, but would love to. I don't write in detail about my job. And I don't write about some personal stuff, out of respect for The Husband. (Though there is one topic I would LOVE to write about... But have been asked not to.)
Blogging, in my opinion, is easy. You just have to get a sense of what you want to write about, and then just write it. My philosophy...
"You could write complete crap. But as long as you write often, people will come back to read it. People are hungry for content on the Internet. If you write it... They will come and read it."
Thanks for writing in Ms O'Dooley!
These are great questions... And believe it or not, I get asked them all the time.
How I Got Started Blogging...
Prior to January 2006, I had started this blog many times since 2004. Each time, I would write a few posts, and then delete them. I would find myself hating what I wrote. After a year and a half, I "laid down the law" for myself. I said, "Duuuude... Just do it! Even if you write crap, who cares? You don't have to tell anyone you are writing."
So I did. I just started blogging.... Nearly every day. And I write about pretty much anything. I could be watching TV and see a commercial that prompts me to write about it... I could get crappy service at a restaurant and want to "flame" them... I could see a pair of shoes in a window in my neighborhood and think "Wouldn't it be great to get those?"
See... Pretty much anything. Overall, my goal with this blog is to just get writing. And writing about stuff I want to write about. I used to freelance write in my spare time for extra cash. But I stopped that because most of the time an editor would take what I wrote and completely rearrange it... Making it unrecognizable to me. They were no longer my words. Or my point of view.
So the blog began out of my desire to write out what I wanted, with no one else's interference.
Do you make money from it?
Nope. I don't. I certainly could though.
You may notice on other blogs people have ads. Either from Google or other display networks. I could do that too. But I choose not too. Bottom line: I want absolutely no interference from advertisers in any way on what I write about on this page.
For me, On Common Ground didn't grow from a desire to write and make money. It just grew from a need to get my view out. There are a few topics that I don't write about, but would love to. I don't write in detail about my job. And I don't write about some personal stuff, out of respect for The Husband. (Though there is one topic I would LOVE to write about... But have been asked not to.)
Blogging, in my opinion, is easy. You just have to get a sense of what you want to write about, and then just write it. My philosophy...
"You could write complete crap. But as long as you write often, people will come back to read it. People are hungry for content on the Internet. If you write it... They will come and read it."
Thanks for writing in Ms O'Dooley!
Comments
Does anyone know who does Dina's hair at The Chateau? Is it all her own or are there extensions added? Just curious as I can't get my hair that big.