If you're new to the Internet, or if you're into Internet marketing, you've probably heard that blogs are the bomb, but you may not know what they are. We're going to solve that issue right away. "Blog" is short for "Weblog" and it's rather like a journal. You can write anything in it that you want to write, add pictures and even video or sound. There are no editors, no censors (unless your blog is on a hosted server rather than your own), and you can let it all hang out. You can write about anything from allegators to zebus and be part of the fun.



There are two types of blog, a hosted blog is like that you get at Blogger.com or WordPress.com, or you can have a blog that is hosted on your own server. The latter is always the preferred choice because then the blog is yours and you can customize it any way you want. It's best for business because you can link to your own web site and get some SEO (search engine optimization) traction, or you can put up ads like Google AdSense, banners and buttons, or whatever you want to put on it. Just don't get too carried away and make the blog look like a circus because that will drive people away. Keep your blog tasteful, fill it with interesting content, and they will come.

Of the self-hosted blogs the most preferred format is WordPress, which you can download from WordPress.org or if you have hosting with cPanel control panel, you can very easily install a WordPress blog through Fantastico. Then, you can decide on your template. There are thousands of options and most are free, though you can pay for a theme, if it suits your purposes better. Just be sure to check your blog out in both Internet Explorer and Firefox because both browsers are used so heavily and Internet Explorer tends to do strange things to some templates.

After you've decided on a style, and if you're in the blogging side of things to make money, go and apply for a Google AdSense account. When your blog is approved, you can place these pay-per-click ads on your site. The advertisers pay for each click that the AdSense ads receive and you get a percentage of the income. Some WordPress templates already have AdSense installed and you can just change your user ID number for it to work. Also keep this in mind when choosing a template.

The thing is that you should have fun with a blog. Stick to a theme, though. For example, if you have a blog about cats, don't try to stick an ad for an information product into your blog, unless it's an info product about cats. You'll upset your readers.

The greatest thing about a blog is that you can really drive traffic back to your main website from it. In my next article, I'll show you ways to make this happen.