Building a Successful Blog

Introduction
Wait! ! ! Don't delete it. Let's build a successful blog together. Hi, this is Pinal Dave, Developer Evangelist for Pluralsight. In this course, you will learn how to build a successful blog. We will cover what blogging is and why you should do it. Deciding between a blog and website can be difficult. You will understand the difference between blogs and websites and also cover how to get started with blogging. If you have ever tried to write a blog, you will know that making it interesting can be the hardest part, so we will cover that topic here as well. There are also a few rules, Ethics and Etiquette, to keep in mind. And we will cover Frequently Asked Questions about how to start a blog. In the end, we will cover a checklist for what it takes to build a successful blog. Well, let's start.

Blogging Concepts, Ideas and Motives
Hi, this is Pinal Dave, Developer Evangelist for Pluralsight. This module is about Concepts, Ideas, and Motives behind blogging. Here is what we will cover in this module. What is a Website and what is a Blog; is blogging right for you; if you want to start a blog, what kind of blog will you start? Well, before we start this module, let's see a quick video.

Getting Started with Blogging
Hi, this is Pinal Dave from Pluralsight and in this module we will discuss how to get started with blogging. Before you start writing your first blog post, there are a few more important things to learn that are essential to setting up your blog and getting your site up and running before you write your first post. First, you have to find a Blogging Application, Host, and Domain. This is the company that is going to provide you blogging service and take care of all the coding, upkeep, and traffic that make blogging streamlined. Later, we will understand various Design Guidelines and Elements. These Design Elements will help distinguish your blog and let readers know right from the start if this is an artistic blog, serious blog or what message you are trying to send. Finally, we will spend some good amount of time understanding various building blocks of a blog.

Writing an Interesting Blog
Hi, this is Pinal Dave from Pluralsight and in this module we will discuss about Writing an Interesting Blog Post. In an earlier module, we learned about all the technical aspects of starting up a blog, but even if you get all the technical parts down right, you're still left to fill in the most important part -- the content. Noone visits an empty website and thinks, what a great layout. No, they want content. Producing posts for your blog is what gathers readers and eventually, attention. So what goes into producing content? You might think this is a topic that you can't possibly teach. Content is artistic and you cannot teach artistic talent, you have to be born with it. I totally agree. In this module, we will not discuss how to build content. Rather, we'll give you a few guidelines and suggestions which can help your creativity go to the next level. We'll discuss about how to identify topics, how to write an irresistible title, how to write a great intro story, and most important part about making the blog scannable. Later we will write about how to summarize an end to a blog post and finally overcoming bloggers block. It happens to the best of us. You stare at a blank screen and wonder if you'll ever be able to write another word again. Believe me, this will pass and I have some ideas about how to break the block.

Blogging Rules, Ethics and Etiquette
Hi, this is Pinal Dave for Pluralsight and in this module, we will discuss about Blogging Rules, Ethics, and Etiquettes. To have a successful blog, your posts should be interesting, you probably would like to have a large audience, and you want to provide quality content to the subject. However, to be truly successful, you also ought to follow a few etiquette rules. As well, your blog might be popular, but if you are just plagiarizing from a less well-known source, your success is not honestly won. Here are a few ethical and etiquette issues to keep in mind. We will discuss about Legal Issues, Creative Commons, Blog and Comment Etiquettes, Blogging Do's and Don'ts.

Frequently Asked Questions
Hi, this is Pinal Dave for Pluralsight and in this module, we'll discuss some of the Frequently Asked Questions related to blogging. If you are watching this course from the beginning, there are good chances that you may be completely sold on starting a blog by now, but you might still have some questions. Here is a list of some of the most frequently asked questions that I hear and some of the best advice I can provide for the same.

Checklist for Building successful Blog
Hi, this is Pinal Dave from Pluralsight. In this module, we will see Checklist for Building a Successful Blog. I hope everyone has learned a little or a lot with me through this whole course. Even if you are already a professional blogger, my hope is that everyone could learn something. I love blogging and the point of this course was to make it accessible to more people because I believe that it is something everybody would enjoy. If you are excited about starting a blog, here is a checklist for things to do to get one started. For a Blog Interface, you need RSS Feed or Email Subscription, Easy Navigation, Search Function in Blog, Integration with Social Media, Easy to Read Design, Traffic Analysis Tool, Legal Disclosures, and Blogging Application and Host. Here is another Checklist for the Blog Content. A blog post, which attracts and engages readers, should have the following things: Intriguing Title, Interesting Lead in Story, Section and Subsections, Precise Summary and Call to Action, Bullet Lists, Length of 300-500 words, Inclusion of Image, Links to Earlier Relevant Blog Posts, Excellent Grammar and Spellings, and Relevant Category and Tags. Once again, I would like to thank everyone for sticking with me through this course. I hope you enjoyed listening as much as I enjoyed creating. If you do decide to set up a blog, please feel free to get ahold of me through email, Facebook or Twitter and I will give you a shout-out. I would love to hear from. Thank you again and it has been a real pleasure to me. And final words, Remember: There is no shortcut to hard work. Keep blogging and be a successful blogger.