A client of mine asked me how to start a blog and make money with it. Unfortunately, you will not gain instant success overnight. It takes time to develop a writing style for your blog, a depth of topics to write, and to gain momentum with a readership. If you go to any of the popular, ready-made blog websites out there (e.g., Blogger, WordPress, etc.), they can show the mechanics on how to set up your own blogspace. The tips in this blog will prepare you mentally and train you to write a blog.

Write

Write anything. Keep a journal handy at all times, whether it is a small notebook that fits in your pocket, or a note recorder on your cellphone. Jot down ideas. You can spend five to fifteen minutes a day writing down your thoughts. This process is necessary to train yourself to commit your thoughts to written words. In about two to four weeks, you should see a pattern develop in the topics you capture. These topics are the interests that rise to your conscious level enough for you to capture them in your journal. They are your best candidates for topics that you would explore in your blog.

You will also notice that writing is becoming easier for you, or is a chore that you dread. If writing is getting easier, then you are developing the writing pathways in your brain, much like an athlete trains muscles. Start exploring your topics more deeply and see where it takes you. If writing in your journal is just as difficult as the first day you stared at a blank sheet of paper or a blank screen, then writing may not be your forte. You can comfort yourself in knowing that you tried it, and direct your efforts to another activity that suits you better.

Develop Topics

For those of you who found after two to four weeks that you have the propensity to write, congratulations. Let's take your writing a little further. You will by now see one or two topics that flow more easily from your mind to your writing utensil. These topics are your best candidates for your blog. But don't start your blog just yet. You need to determine whether there is enough material in you to post regularly to your blog. Research your topic. Run an Internet search, or go to your local or personal library, and see how many articles or books are written on your subject. If there are not that many, then you need to determine whether you have the skills to be one of the pioneering writers in this field. These skills would include performing tests and research on the fundamentals of your topic. Reporting on your findings will be a great benefit to the field.

If you find there is a great deal of material available, you need to find your particular angle on the topic to keep your blog posts fresh. Rehashing other people's writing does not set you apart from the many thousands of self-proclaimed bloggers on the Internet, and is not very exciting for your readers either. Your blog could be a mashup of multiple interests:

• Cooking with your kids--exploring new food as a family
• Urban walks for the hiking enthusiast
• The fun of automobiles from an environmental perspective

Prepare Your Blog

Assess your schedule to see how often you should post your blog. Remember that once you start getting an audience, they will be expecting new articles from you at predictable intervals. It could be every day to once a month, but be sure your blog comes out like clockwork. When you set up your blog, you should be able to schedule your postings to be released at a specific date and time. This way, you can queue up multiple articles when you have the time, but they won't show on your blogsite until after the publish date.

Now that you have a depth of topics to cover, it is time to start your blog. Create an account with a blog host, choose your site layout, and start posting your topics. Post several of your articles that you have been writing over the past month or so, and schedule them to be published at regular intervals from each other. Having several posts queued will help you get started while you lay the foundation for advertising your blog.

Advertise Your Blog

Just because you are pouring your thoughts on the page, does not mean people will immediately flock to your blog. You must tell people that your blog exists for them to visit it. Sign up for eZineArticles or Squidoo to post your high-quality articles that link back to your blog. Post your blog address on DMOZ or WorldSiteIndex. Also, bookmark your blog on social networking sites, not just your Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn page, but bookmarking sites like Technorati, Del.ic.io.us, Reddit, and Digg. The more legitimate, high-quality links you can provide to your blog, the better your chances of getting people to read your blog. A continuous flow of great articles is the best way to advertise your blog, once you have readers, as it will prompt them to continue reading and perhaps assist in marketing your blog to their network.