5 Steps to Making a Blog.

This article is designed to help you make a blog. A blog is a slice of the Internet that allows you to post pretty much what ever you want on it. If you are looking for a way to show your customers and friends what you are about this is the perfect answer.

Etsy sellers often have Blog pages allowing them to have a window in which they can display stock, personal information and other things.

This article should help new Etsyians to make and develop their own blog in 5 easy stages.

First you need to pick a site to host your blog. The main favorites are Blogger, Word press, My Space, Bebo and Face book. Bebo and Facebook are aimed more at the 'social' side of things and although they can be used i find blogger and wordpress to be more 'seller' friendly in appearance. We will use Blogger for this demonstration.

1) Sign up. Signing up and starting a blog is so easy. Simply register at Blogger and within minutes you will be ready. You will need to have a Gmail account to register. You will be asked to name your blog. Pick something easy to remember and that applies to your stock.

Top Tip : Google trawls blogs so placing a tag in the title will help it find you in searches. For example... if you knit you could have Handknitted.blogspot.com, KnitCraft.blogspot.com etc. Be creative.

2) Adding a header. So you have a blog. Like a new house it will look cold and lonely, so brighten up the place with a nice header. Many pre-set blogs have a header area set up to type into. This will give a simple header to the top of your page. Why not add the header from your Etsy page? It's simple to do. Go to Layout and hit 'edit' on the header area. Upload the header image from either your file or a URL and its done.

3) What to add to your blog. The interface on blogger is very easy to pick up and use. Simply select 'new post' from the dashboard screen and type away. There are 3 simple ways to make a post great using type font, text links and images.

Type font :- In the Layout area of Blogger you get a chance to change type fonts. Try to always use Ariel, its the easiest to read. Use the first few lines of a post to outline the content then make them bold. This helps open the article to the reader.

Text Links :- Linking text to an area of the Internet like your Etsy shop or a product could not be easier. Simply highlight the text you want to use and hit the link button. It's the little image of the earth with a chain on it. A window will pop up and in this you type or paste the address you want to link to.

Images :- Images make pages..no amount of writing will really explain just how soft the plush is or how great your new earrings are. So take a picture and upload it. The 3rd icon in from the right shows a photo, click it and you'll be asked to either upload from your Pc or give a web address for the image. Once you have given this info you hit upload and in a few seconds it will appear. There are options as to the size and scale of the image, play with these until you get used to them.

4) Gadgets. When you are on the Layout page you will notice windows with 'add a gadget' on them. These allows you to add content that can for example show how many people visit you, add an RSS feed or twitter feed or simply add links or pictures to your site as permanent fixtures. Play with whats on offer here, try not to fill your page with them.

Top Tip: There is an option to add some HTML code. Etsy has a 'mini etsy' widget that allows you to stream your items to a blog site. It works very well.

5) Get yourself seen! Now you have a blog, your posts are getting better and better and your sites full of lovely pictures but how to get people to see it? There are lots of ways..

Add your blogspot address to EVERYTHING! Add it to your Etsy profile, forums, emails and most of all to Google. ( do that here )

Talk about it. When your chatting tell your friends, list it in Etsy chat and text your friends.

Do not give up. Blogging is not a quick fix, like a pet it needs time and love. Be creative and be loud and soon you will have a blog to be proud of.

Coming soon - How to 'sell' an item with a blog post.