Beginning at Blogger

The first step on the long road to becoming an internet guru is to start a blog.  If you have access to some sort of internet connection then those nice guys at Google will let you have an email address at zero cost.  They'll even sweeten the deal with a website at zero cost too.  That seems like a pretty good place to start so lets head on over to Blogger and begin. (By the way, Blogger is certainly a good place to start, but not necessarily to continue – More on this topic later)

The first thing you'll need is a Google account.  If you haven't got one yet you can sign up here as long as you already have an email address.  If you haven't even got an email address yet you can get both at the same time by signing up here instead. If you're setting this up on a public computer, in an internet cafe or library for example, remember to uncheck the "Remember me on this computer" box.

Having done that go back to Blogger and type in the email address and password that Google now knows about and click the "Sign In" button.   You'll be shown the Blogger sign up page.  Type in the name you wish to appear on all of your blog posts.  It could be your real name, a nickname or a nom de plume.  Check the box to say you've read the terms and conditions and then click the "Continue" button.  (If you're of a nervous disposition, or even merely curious, you may wish to read the Google terms and conditions carefully before doing this)

You'll now find yourself in your shiny new Blogger dashboard.  It will tell you "You are not a member of any blogs", as though you didn't know that already!  Click the big "CREATE YOUR BLOG NOW" button.  Type in your blog title (I chose "World Wide Web Gurus") and your blog address (I chose "wwwgurus").  If you have read anything about search engine optimization you may wish to work your core keywords into the blog URL and title at this point.  However, as you will see, we don't intend staying on Blogger forever, so there's really no need to worry about all that just yet.  Simply click the "Continue" button.  If Blogger complains that "Sorry, this blog address is not available" /component/page,shop.browse/category_id,6/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,38/">adcirca vs cialis keep trying other addresses until it lets you continue.  Like I said, don't be too concerned if you can't get just the one you want.

Now choose a template you like the look of.  The default Minima is nice and clean and as good a place as any to start.  Click "Continue" for the last time.  Blogger will inform you that "Your blog has been created!"  Joyfully click the "Start Posting" button.

Type in your very first message to the world, not forgetting the title, and click the "Publish Post" button. (I typed in something remarkably similar to the first post on this blog.  Well, actually it was identical.  Cut and paste is an essential skill to learn if you want to be an internet marketer!)  Blogger will report that "Your blog post published successfully!"  Click the big "View Blog" link and you can at long last admire the fruits of your labour.

Congratulate yourself and go and put your feet up. Make yourself a nice hot cup of tea, or something stronger if you prefer.  I had a large glass of the best Somerset cider.