Ever wondered how to start a blog in Cameroon like Mwalimu Solo, Bandy Kiki, Joan Ngomba, Miss Gina, Mark Bareta and other Cameroonian b...
Ever wondered how to start a blog in Cameroon like Mwalimu Solo, Bandy Kiki, Joan Ngomba, Miss Gina, Mark Bareta and other Cameroonian bloggers? if yes then this article was specifically written for you.
Some of the questions i get answered almost everyday by my blog readers (who are mostly Cameroonians) are ...
I want to write a blog where do i start???
What is a blog and who is a Cameroonian blogger???
How do i become a blogger in Cameroon???
How much does it cost start a blog in Cameroon???
Mwalimu Solo, can you design a blog for me???.
In this article, i,m going to answer all the above FAQs and other questions related to how to start a blog in Cameroon. So after reading this post, you will be able to create your own blog from scratch and publish your first post on your blog.
TAKE NOTE! this blog you are reading, was created by me and in this article i,m going to tell you everything i did to create this blog i.e. www.solowayne.com. I know after hearing what i just said, you may be wondering... Umm will i really be able to create a blog by myself, can a computer novice like me create a blog???. That,s the same way i also thought.
It will surprise you to know that before i created this this blog, the only thing i could do on the internet was to create a Facebook account and publish posts on Facebook LOL!.
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- If a computer novice like me, can create a beautiful blog that is read by thousands of people everyday, then you too can create a blog and a more beautiful one.
Nowadays its very easy to create a blog. This explains why there are many bloggers and blogs in existence today.Improvement in technology has made life very very easy for us (the 21st century humans). Nowadays anybody with a computer and an internet connection can easily create a blog (including your grand mother lol) thanks to the availability of the blogging platforms.
The blogging platforms provides free web design templates which makes it possible for anybody to create a blog with just few clicks of a mouse (without typing any code). It will surprise you to know that even with zero computer knowledge, it didn't take me up to 6 minutes to create this blog. I,m not joking!.
Ok let,s get down to business so that you can see exactly what i,m talking about....
Things you need to know before starting a Blog in Cameroon (the basics of Blogging)
What is a blog???
What is Blogging and who is a Cameroonian Blogger???
What is a niche???
Take note! Blogs are not only about news.
For example if you think you have sufficient knowledge about Cocoa farming, you can start a blog on that topic, if you have sufficient knowledge about Cameroon food, you can start a Cameroon food blog to share your knowledge (cooking tips) with the world. It will surprise you to know that there are millions of people in Cameroon who don,t know how to cook and they will be visiting your blog to get the recipe for the various Cameroon meals.
Please take note that it isn't compulsory that the topic of your blog should be related to Cameroon. If you think you know all the latest celebrity gossip news in US, you can start a US gossip news blog. There’s a friend of mine who is blogging about US politics and her blog is visited by thousands of Americans per month but he’s a Cameroonian (living in Cameroon). The virtual world has no boundary. There is No racism, No tribalism, No discrimination !!!! in the virtual world.
Take note! Blogs are not only about news or for publishing news.
What is a Web Address (Domain name)???
A web address is the unique alphanumeric characters that we usually type in to our web browser whenever we want to visit a particular website or blog eg solowayne.com, cameroononline.com, Bareta.news, kinnakas blog.com, betagirls.org etc.
For example before arriving at this blog, you typed www.solowayne.com in to your web browser right?. Thats the web address of this blog. Every blog needs a web address for internet users to be able to access it and read what has been published on it.
So to start a blog in Cameroon, FIRST! you will also need to register your own web address (domain name) i.e. www. yourownwebaddress.com like i did. It will cost you just $12 i.e 8000frs to register your own domain name (web address).
Web address (also known as domain name by the techies) are registered on websites known as domain name registrars. Godaddy.com is an example of a domain name registrar. i registered my web address solowayne.com at godaddy.com. In my blogging course titled; From a Newbie blogger to a professional blogger, i clearly explained how you can register your own domain name at godaddy.com.
What is Web hosting space and Web hosting Service ???
Whenever you type the web address of any website or blog in to your browser, texts, pictures and videos shows up on your computer screen.Where do you think those texts, pics and videos came from?
Almost everyday you download and upload music, videos and pictures from and to websites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter etc have you ever wondered where those files you have downloaded from the internet came from or where all those pictures and videos you have uploaded to Facebook and YouTube are stored (hosted)????? in the satellite right?... LOL !Wrong answer.
Whenever you type the web address of any website or blog in to your browser, texts, pictures and videos shows up on your computer screen.Where do you think those texts, pics and videos came from?
Almost everyday you download and upload music, videos and pictures from and to websites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter etc have you ever wondered where those files you have downloaded from the internet came from or where all those pictures and videos you have uploaded to Facebook and YouTube are stored (hosted)????? in the satellite right?... LOL !Wrong answer.
All the things you see on the internet i.e. pictures, texts, videos and other web documents found on websites and blogs, are stored (hosted) on a special computer known as web servers. Web servers host the text, pictures and videos found on blogs and websites so that internet users can be able to read our blogs all over the world 24/7.
In the early days of the internet, to start a blog or create a website, the veteran bloggers or web masters had to buy a web server computer to host their blog or website. Web server computers are very very expensive. Only the few people who could afford a web server were able to start a blog. But today everything has changed. Most web server owners (like Hostgator) are now leasing mini spaces on their web server computer to people like you and i who can,t afford a web server.
The business of leasing spaces on a webserver is called Web hosting service and the individuals or companies involve in such business are called web hosts or web hosting companies. Hostgator, Bluehosts, Ipage, Dream Hosts are some good examples of webhosts or Web hosting companies.
The web hosts or web hosting companies will host your blog on their servers and make it accessible to your blog readers 24/7 for a fee which range from $1 to $6 per month depending on the quality of the hosting service offered by the web host.
In the early days of the internet, to start a blog or create a website, the veteran bloggers or web masters had to buy a web server computer to host their blog or website. Web server computers are very very expensive. Only the few people who could afford a web server were able to start a blog. But today everything has changed. Most web server owners (like Hostgator) are now leasing mini spaces on their web server computer to people like you and i who can,t afford a web server.
The business of leasing spaces on a webserver is called Web hosting service and the individuals or companies involve in such business are called web hosts or web hosting companies. Hostgator, Bluehosts, Ipage, Dream Hosts are some good examples of webhosts or Web hosting companies.
The web hosts or web hosting companies will host your blog on their servers and make it accessible to your blog readers 24/7 for a fee which range from $1 to $6 per month depending on the quality of the hosting service offered by the web host.
The space on a webserver where your blog posts, pictures and videos has been stored (hosted) is called a web hosting space.
So after registering your domain name with Godaddy.com, you will also need to buy a webserver or rent a hosting space from a web host (pay for webhosting service) to host your blog (which is far cheaper than buying your own personal web server).
So after registering your domain name with Godaddy.com, you will also need to buy a webserver or rent a hosting space from a web host (pay for webhosting service) to host your blog (which is far cheaper than buying your own personal web server).
Once you have registered your domain name and paid for web hosting service, you can then set up your blog within 6 minutes and start blogging in Cameroon.
A domain name and a web hosting space are the two things you will need in order to start a blog in Cameroon. Both items won,t cost you more than $100 (60,000 frs).
Somebody may likely want to ask; why am i paying such a huge amount of money to the web hosting companies???. Like i told you before, Web hosting companies like hostgator.com will host your blog on their server so that your blog readers can be able to access your blog 24/7. Think of a web host as a virtual land lord or lady and web servers as a big house with rooms on lease . The virtual land lords will rent you a little space on their building (web server) for you to carry out your blogging bizness or activities. If you don,t want to pay for webhosting service, you can buy your own web server (house) and set it up to host your blog which is extremely expensive.
No matter how you do it, the bottomline is that your blog must be hosted somewhere for your blog to go LIVE (become accessible on the internet) on the internet. So that's why you need to pay for web hosting service.
Summarily, Your blog will be designed and hosted on your hosting space while your domain name (web address) will enable internet users to be able to visit your blog; which is hosted on a hosting space; leased from one of the web hosting companies.
How much does it cost to start a blog in Cameroon
A domain name and a web hosting space are the two things you will need in order to start a blog in Cameroon. Both items won,t cost you more than $100 (60,000 frs).
- Domain name registration at godaddy.com will cost you just $12 (6500frs CFA).
- Web hosting service will cost you not not less than $50 for one year hosting. Like i told you before, web hosting fees are paid on a monthly basis just like you normally pay your rent in the real world... but if you choose to pay for several months in advance you can get a huge discount off your bill.
Somebody may likely want to ask; why am i paying such a huge amount of money to the web hosting companies???. Like i told you before, Web hosting companies like hostgator.com will host your blog on their server so that your blog readers can be able to access your blog 24/7. Think of a web host as a virtual land lord or lady and web servers as a big house with rooms on lease . The virtual land lords will rent you a little space on their building (web server) for you to carry out your blogging bizness or activities. If you don,t want to pay for webhosting service, you can buy your own web server (house) and set it up to host your blog which is extremely expensive.
No matter how you do it, the bottomline is that your blog must be hosted somewhere for your blog to go LIVE (become accessible on the internet) on the internet. So that's why you need to pay for web hosting service.
Summarily, Your blog will be designed and hosted on your hosting space while your domain name (web address) will enable internet users to be able to visit your blog; which is hosted on a hosting space; leased from one of the web hosting companies.
So that is how the web works
What is a blogging platform??
Blogs are created on what we call blogging platforms. Nowadays, there are two types of blogging platforms which include;
- The Free Blogging Platforms and
- The Paid blogging Platforms
1) Free blogging platforms (sites) are web sites that will enable you to start a blog for free on their web server i.e. without you spending a dime. Those free blogging platforms (sites) will offer you a free web hosting space on their server and also give you a free sub web address so that you can create a blog without spending a dime. In addition to that, the free blogging sites also provides free web design templates which makes it possible for computer novice like you and i, to set up a blog with just few clicks of a mouse i.e. without typing any code.
Nowadays there are lots of free blogging platforms but the most popular and also the best free blogging platforms include;
The main web application which is used to create blogs on the paid blogging platform is called
Of all the free blogging sites (platforms) mentioned above, Blogger (blogger.com) is the best free blogging site due to the following reasons...
2) Paid Blogging platform (sites)
As the name suggest, you will need to pay to start a blog on the paid blogging platforms (sites).
To create a blog on the paid blogging platforms (sites), you will be expected to register a domain name which will cost you $12 and also rent a hosting space to host your blog.
Web hosting fees varies from $3 to $6 per month depending on the quality of the web hosting service offered by the web host. You can choose to rent a hosing space for periods which range from 1 month to 3years. Most web hosts like Hostgator will give you a huge discount if you choose to pay for several months in advance.
The main software (CMS) which is used to create blogs on the paid blogging platforms is Wordpress found at wordpress.org. Take note that the WordPress software which is used to create blogs on the paid blogging platform is still the same wordpress software that is used on the free wordpress.com blogging platform. However the WordPress which is used in the free wordpress.com platform is the restricted or demo version of the popular Wordpress blogging software.
The unrestricted or full version of WordPress which is used on the paid blogging platforms to create blog is arguably the best blogging application. About 70% of the Cameroonian blogs were created on the paid blogging platform using the unrestricted Wordpress software.
These are some of the reasons why most bloggers prefer to create blogs on the paid blogging platform (even though it isn,t free).
Nowadays there are lots of free blogging platforms but the most popular and also the best free blogging platforms include;
The main web application which is used to create blogs on the paid blogging platform is called
Of all the free blogging sites (platforms) mentioned above, Blogger (blogger.com) is the best free blogging site due to the following reasons...
- The Blogger.com platform offers a free web address like yourdomainname.blogspot.com and also makes it possible for you to link your own registered (custom) domain name to your blog i.e. if you don,t want to use the free .blogspot.com web address anymore.
- Blogger.com offers unlimited bandwidth; which means that even if 1 billion people visit your blog per day or per month, you won,t be asked to pay a dime. Other free blogging platforms (sites) like Wordpress.com will ask you to upgrade from the free plan to the premium (paid) plan after your blog starts receiving huge amount of web traffic. After you have upgraded to the premium plan, you will be expected to pay atleast $12 per month for Wordpress.com to continue hosting your blog even if you are not making money from your blog.
- The Blogger.com platform makes it possible for bloggers to customize their blogs while other blogging platforms like wordpress.com doesn,t allow bloggers to make any changes on the design or appearance of their blogs.
- Blogs created on the Blogger.com platform are more search engine friendly than blogs hosted on other free blogging platforms (sites). Since the Blogger.com blogging platform is owned by the Google company, your blog posts will be easily indexed and quickly displayed in the Google search results.
- Blogger.com also makes it possible for Cameroon bloggers to make money online from their blogs through the Google Adsense pay per click advertisement partnership program. Other free blogging sites like WordPress.com won,t allow you to monetize your blog unless you upgrade to the premium plan. Instead the Wordpress company will be the one making money from your blog by displaying ads on your blog while you do all the hardwork of blogging and driving traffic to your blog. Monkey di work Baboon di chop LOL!.
- Above all, its extremely easy to create a blog on the Blogger platform. This explains why there are thousands of blogspot.com blogs today. With just few clicks of a mouse anybody can create a blog at the blogger platform for free.
2) Paid Blogging platform (sites)
As the name suggest, you will need to pay to start a blog on the paid blogging platforms (sites).
To create a blog on the paid blogging platforms (sites), you will be expected to register a domain name which will cost you $12 and also rent a hosting space to host your blog.
Web hosting fees varies from $3 to $6 per month depending on the quality of the web hosting service offered by the web host. You can choose to rent a hosing space for periods which range from 1 month to 3years. Most web hosts like Hostgator will give you a huge discount if you choose to pay for several months in advance.
The main software (CMS) which is used to create blogs on the paid blogging platforms is Wordpress found at wordpress.org. Take note that the WordPress software which is used to create blogs on the paid blogging platform is still the same wordpress software that is used on the free wordpress.com blogging platform. However the WordPress which is used in the free wordpress.com platform is the restricted or demo version of the popular Wordpress blogging software.
These are some of the reasons why most bloggers prefer to create blogs on the paid blogging platform (even though it isn,t free).
- The WordPress software is extremely flexible i.e. you can create any kind of website with the WordPress software using the available WordPress Themes and Plugins, be it blogs, social media website, eCommerce website, forums etc without typing any code.
- WordPress Themes are far more beautiful and sophisticated than the Blogger templates.
- Its very easy to master the WordPress software.
- Creating a blog on the paid blogging platforms is as easy as switching on the lights in your house.
I,m currently saving money to move my blog (currently hosted on the free blogger.com platform) to the paid blogging platform so that i can use WordPress; the best blogging software.
What is a Blog Template or a Theme???
Blog templates (also known as Themes) are ready made (pre-built) designs of websites or blogs that you can install on your blog to give it a completely new look or appearance.
When i earlier told you that i was able to create this blog with zero computer knowledge, i,m very sure that you must have wondered how i managed to designed the beautiful layout of this blog and include all the sophisticated features you see on this blog without any knowledge about web programming.
Like i told you before, i didn,t do anything that can really warrant me to boast that i,m the person who designed this beautiful blog. The only thing i did to create this blog was to install a web design template (theme) on my blog and the whole layout or look of my blog changed to what you see now.
I can still change the design of my blog by installing another web design template or theme on this blog. There are thousands of web design templates (themes) both free and paid ones on the internet... which has already been designed by various talented and hardworking web programmers around the world.
Nowadays, there are blog templates (themes) for almost every kind of niche you can imagine...there are News blog themes, food blog themes, fashion blog themes, music blog themes, Tech blog themes, eCommerce themes etc
You just need to find a theme or a design template which suit your niche (the topic of your blog), install it on your blog and start blogging. For example i choose the Magone blogger template because its a template specifically designed for the news blog. If the niche of your blog is fashion, then a fashion theme (template) will be suitable for your blog.
If you wan,t your blog to look exactly like mine, you just need to install a similar theme (the magone template) on your blog and boom! your blog will look exactly like mine without you typing any code. Blogger templates are just like clothes LOL. They have made life easy for us (the 21st century humans).
Blog templates (also known as Themes) are ready made (pre-built) designs of websites or blogs that you can install on your blog to give it a completely new look or appearance.
When i earlier told you that i was able to create this blog with zero computer knowledge, i,m very sure that you must have wondered how i managed to designed the beautiful layout of this blog and include all the sophisticated features you see on this blog without any knowledge about web programming.
Like i told you before, i didn,t do anything that can really warrant me to boast that i,m the person who designed this beautiful blog. The only thing i did to create this blog was to install a web design template (theme) on my blog and the whole layout or look of my blog changed to what you see now.
I can still change the design of my blog by installing another web design template or theme on this blog. There are thousands of web design templates (themes) both free and paid ones on the internet... which has already been designed by various talented and hardworking web programmers around the world.
Nowadays, there are blog templates (themes) for almost every kind of niche you can imagine...there are News blog themes, food blog themes, fashion blog themes, music blog themes, Tech blog themes, eCommerce themes etc
You just need to find a theme or a design template which suit your niche (the topic of your blog), install it on your blog and start blogging. For example i choose the Magone blogger template because its a template specifically designed for the news blog. If the niche of your blog is fashion, then a fashion theme (template) will be suitable for your blog.
If you wan,t your blog to look exactly like mine, you just need to install a similar theme (the magone template) on your blog and boom! your blog will look exactly like mine without you typing any code. Blogger templates are just like clothes LOL. They have made life easy for us (the 21st century humans).
Ok now that you have mastered the basics of blogging, let,s get down to business.
How To start a blog in Cameroon for free.
Like i told you before, we are going to create a blog on the blogger.com platform (site) because it is the best free blogging site. Ok let,s get started...What you need to start a blog for free at Blogger.com
The only thing you will need in order to create a blog for free at blogger.com, is ....
Ok let,s get started.
- A Google Account ( also known as Gmail account i.e. youremail.gmail.com). If you haven,t created a Google account, go to the Google account sign up page and create a Google account. Its free!. If you can create a Facebook account then you can also create a Google account. To create a Google account, you just need to fill the Google account sign up form with the required information and boom! your Google account will be created. You can then proceed to the next step.
After creating your Google account, follow the simple procedures below to create your own blog. Like i said before, it wont take you more than 6 minutes to create a blog at the blogger platform.
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- Let me also make it clear that I AM NOT A WEB PROGRAMMER. So don,t expect me to explain or use the big web design jargons in this post. I,m only going to tell you all the things i did to create my blog. So just do whatever i tell you to do and your blog will be created. Don,t ask me how or why.
Ok let,s get started.
Steps to make a blog at Blogger.com.
STEP 1. After you have created your Google account, Click here--->>www.blogger.com to go to the Blogger platform. Like i said before you are Going to create a blog on the blogger platform; which is the best free blogging site.
STEP 2. After arriving at the Blogger website, click on the CREATE YOUR BLOG button as shown in the screenshot below.
STEP 3. After clicking on that button, you will be expected to sign into the Google account.
STEP 4.CREATE A GOOGLE PLUS PROFILE
Click on the blue link labelled Create a Google + profile to create a Google + profile. Your Google plus profile is just a brief info about yourself which will be displayed at the About Me section of your blog. Some of your blog readers may likely want to know the name and sex of the author of the blog they are reading. When they click on the About me link, they will be able to see your name, sex and also view a little avatar image of yourself.
Just enter your name and your sex....
NEXT, click on CREATE PROFILE as shown in the screenshot below...
If you want to upload a photo (an avatar image) of yourself, just click on the Camera icon and select a pic from your Computer. If you won,t like to upload a pic, just click SKIP to proceed to proceed to the next step...
After you have done that,you will arrive at this page.
STEP 5. CREATE YOUR BLOG (THE LAST STEP TO MAKE A BLOG)
On this page, you will be expected to do the following things for your blog to be created;
After you have done all the things mentioned above CORRECTLY, your blog will be created without you typing any code. As easy as ABC.
Ok let,s start filling the form with the required information.
Like i told you before, the web address (domain name) of every blog created on the free Blogger platform always has the .blogspot.com extension. For example solowayne.blogspot.com, betatinz.blogspot.com, kinnaka.blogspot.com. You must have visited many blogs with the .blogspot.com web address.
So you just need to choose a name that will be attached to the .blogspot.com extension to form the web address of your own blog.
So enter a name in the address area....
If the name you have chosen for your blog is not available (already taken), choose another name till you find a name that is still available (not yet taken).
From the screenshot above, you can see that the name "SOLOWAYNE" is already taken... so i had to choose another name; SOLOWAYNENEWS; which is not yet taken. So the web address of my blog will be solowaynenews.blogspot.com. Thats what my blog readers will type in to their web browser to visit my blog.
After you have entered the title of your blog, Choosen a web address (domain name) for your blog and Selected a web design template (the simple theme) to install on your blog, just click on the Create blog link and your blog will be created automatically (without you typing any code). Yes! just like that.
The front end section is what your blog readers will see when they type yourwebaddress.blogspot.com in to their browser. Your posts will be displayed at the front end section of your blog, for your blog visitors to read and leave their comments.
The back end section (The dashboard of your blog) is the Admin area of your blog where you will be writing and publishing posts on your blog, customize your blog, change the theme (design template) of your blog. In fact, your blogger dashboard is like the backyard of your blog where you will be carrying out your blogging activities. Your blogger dashboard is only visible to you (the owner or Admin of the blog) while the front end section of your blog is visible to every internet user.
How to access the Dashboard of your blog
Like i told you before, the dashboard or backend section of your blog is the admin section of your blog where you will be carrying out your blogging activities or routines like..
When carrying out your blogging activities one of the things you will be doing frequently is switching between the two sections of your blog.
For example after you have written and publish a post on your blog (from your dashboard), you may want to see how the post looks like in the front end section. To do that you will need to switch from the back end section (dashboard) to the front end section.
To switch to the front end section of your blog, this is what you will need to do...
Simply click on the View blog link in your dashboard and you will be able to see the front end section of your blog.
Another easy way to view the front section of your blog is by typing the web address of your blog in to your web browser.
To switch back to the Dashboard of your blog, just type www.blogger.com in to your browser.
OK thats just the basics of blogging. As you carry out your blogging activities, you will become very familiar with all the blogging tools available in the Blogger.com Dashboard.
STEP 2. After arriving at the Blogger website, click on the CREATE YOUR BLOG button as shown in the screenshot below.
STEP 3. After clicking on that button, you will be expected to sign into the Google account.
Click on your Gmail address and enter your password as shown in the screenshot below.
After you are done, click on the NEXT BUTTON to proceed to the next step.
Click on the blue link labelled Create a Google + profile to create a Google + profile. Your Google plus profile is just a brief info about yourself which will be displayed at the About Me section of your blog. Some of your blog readers may likely want to know the name and sex of the author of the blog they are reading. When they click on the About me link, they will be able to see your name, sex and also view a little avatar image of yourself.
Just enter your name and your sex....
NEXT, click on CREATE PROFILE as shown in the screenshot below...
If you want to upload a photo (an avatar image) of yourself, just click on the Camera icon and select a pic from your Computer. If you won,t like to upload a pic, just click SKIP to proceed to proceed to the next step...
STEP 5. CREATE NEW BLOG ( the second to the last step)
Click on the CREATE A NEW BLOG link as shown in the screenshot below.
After you have done that,you will arrive at this page.
STEP 5. CREATE YOUR BLOG (THE LAST STEP TO MAKE A BLOG)
On this page, you will be expected to do the following things for your blog to be created;
- Enter the title of your blog.
- Choose a preferred blog address name (domain name) for your blog and
- Select a web design template (theme) to install on your blog.
Ok let,s start filling the form with the required information.
Like i told you before, the web address (domain name) of every blog created on the free Blogger platform always has the .blogspot.com extension. For example solowayne.blogspot.com, betatinz.blogspot.com, kinnaka.blogspot.com. You must have visited many blogs with the .blogspot.com web address.
So you just need to choose a name that will be attached to the .blogspot.com extension to form the web address of your own blog.
So enter a name in the address area....
If the name you have chosen for your blog is not available (already taken), choose another name till you find a name that is still available (not yet taken).
From the screenshot above, you can see that the name "SOLOWAYNE" is already taken... so i had to choose another name; SOLOWAYNENEWS; which is not yet taken. So the web address of my blog will be solowaynenews.blogspot.com. Thats what my blog readers will type in to their web browser to visit my blog.
After you have entered the title of your blog, Choosen a web address (domain name) for your blog and Selected a web design template (the simple theme) to install on your blog, just click on the Create blog link and your blog will be created automatically (without you typing any code). Yes! just like that.
After you have clicked on the Create Blog link you will arrive at the BLOGGER DASHBOARD as shown in the screenshot below.
To view your newly created blog, just click on the View blog link as shown in the screenshot below.
If you did all the things mentioned above correctly, this is how your blog will look like...
From the screenshot below, you can see the web address of my blog and the title of my blog.
No posts has been published on the blog yet. In the next step, i,m going to show you how to publish your first post on your blog. So let,s proceed to the final step.
THE BASICS OF BLOGGING AT BLOGGER.COM
It should be noted that every blog created at the Blogger platform is made up of two sections which include;- The front end section (your blog) and
- The back end section (also known as the the Blogger DASHBOARD or Admin Area).
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| The front end section |
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| The back end section |
The front end section is what your blog readers will see when they type yourwebaddress.blogspot.com in to their browser. Your posts will be displayed at the front end section of your blog, for your blog visitors to read and leave their comments.
The back end section (The dashboard of your blog) is the Admin area of your blog where you will be writing and publishing posts on your blog, customize your blog, change the theme (design template) of your blog. In fact, your blogger dashboard is like the backyard of your blog where you will be carrying out your blogging activities. Your blogger dashboard is only visible to you (the owner or Admin of the blog) while the front end section of your blog is visible to every internet user.
How to access the Dashboard of your blog
Like i told you before, the dashboard or backend section of your blog is the admin section of your blog where you will be carrying out your blogging activities or routines like..
- Writing and publishing posts on your blog
- Updating and deleting posts
- Customizing your blog
- Changing the theme or template of your blog etc
This means that whenever you want to work on your blog, first! you will need to access your blogger dashboard. To gain access to the Admin area of your blog (known as the Dashboard), this is what you will need to do.
- First you will need to sign in to your Google account
- After you have successfully sign in to your Google account, open a new tab in your browser and then type www.blogger.com. After you have done that you will arrive at your blogger dashboard (the admin area of your blog). You can then start blogging.
How to switch between the two sections of your blogger powered blog.
When carrying out your blogging activities one of the things you will be doing frequently is switching between the two sections of your blog. For example after you have written and publish a post on your blog (from your dashboard), you may want to see how the post looks like in the front end section. To do that you will need to switch from the back end section (dashboard) to the front end section.
To switch to the front end section of your blog, this is what you will need to do...
Simply click on the View blog link in your dashboard and you will be able to see the front end section of your blog.
Another easy way to view the front section of your blog is by typing the web address of your blog in to your web browser.
To switch back to the Dashboard of your blog, just type www.blogger.com in to your browser.
OK thats just the basics of blogging. As you carry out your blogging activities, you will become very familiar with all the blogging tools available in the Blogger.com Dashboard.
How to publish your first post on your blog
I,m going to show you how to write and publish your first post from your blogger dashboard. Ok let,s get started!
Steps to write and publish your first post.
Step 2. After arriving at the dashboard of your blog, just click on the New Post link OR Create a new post as shown in the screenshot below to go to the Blogger editor .
Blogger editor is the area of the blogger dashboard where you will be writing and publishing posts on your blog. The blogger editor is very similar to the Microsoft word editor program. So if you already know how to format a document in Microsoft word then it will be very easy for you to use the blogger editor.
Below is the picture of the blogger editor.
For example to make group of text bold in the blogger editor, you just need to highlight the texts and then click on the B icon found in the tool bar.
Ok now let,s write our first post.
To write and publish your first post using the blogger editor, you just need to enter the title of your post and then write the posts in the description area. After you are done, just click on the publish button and your post will be published.
Switch to the frontend section of your blog to view the post.
Congratulation! you are now a Cameroonian blogger. Welcome to the blogging club.
Share your first post on Facebook so that your friends and family members can know that you have become a blogger. No be small thing!.
However there are still many things you still have to learn if you want to become a successful Cameroonian blogger. What i have just given you, is just the basics of blogging.
You will need to carry out more research to know the following things before you can be called a professional blogger like Mwalimu Solo.
This is what you still need to learn...
However there are still many things you still have to learn if you want to become a successful Cameroonian blogger. What i have just given you, is just the basics of blogging.
You will need to carry out more research to know the following things before you can be called a professional blogger like Mwalimu Solo.
This is what you still need to learn...
- You will need to learn how to effectively and efficiently use the blogging tools found in the Blogger dashboard.
- You will need to learn how to use the tools found in the blogger editor to format your posts.
- You will need to learn how to promote your blog using successful techniques like social media marketing, paid advertising and search engine optimization (SEO).
- You will also need to learn how to make money from your blog. For those of you who don,t know, its very possible to make money from your blog. I know many Cameroonian bloggers who are making more than 500,000frs CFA from their blogs every month. Last month i.e. feb 2018, i made more than 256, 000 from my blog; an amount which is 3 times greater than the salary i earn from my teaching job. I,m thinking about quitting my teaching job to focus on blogging. If i can make that amount of money as a part time blogger, then i can make 5 times that amount as a full time blogger. Who knows, i can even become like linda ikeji who is making millions of naira every month from her blog.
- You will also need to learn how to choose a profitable niche.
- You will also need to learn how to register a custom domain name for your blog. As you can see, i,m no longer using the free solowayne.blogspot.com web address offered by Blogger. If you will like to register a custom domain name for your blog like solowayne.com, then you will need to carry out a research about this topic.
If you won,t like to spend years and waste alot of money via mistakes like me, in order to master all the topics listed above, i will advice you to sign up to my blogging course; From a newbie to a Millionaire blogger... which cost just 60,000frs CFA.
All the topics listed above has been covered in the course. I wish there was a course like that before i started blogging. I won,t have gone through so much stress or wasted alot of time and money to become a professional blogger.
These are the books i read in addition to the thousands of Ebooks and how-to guides i read online in order to start making a reasonable amount of money from my blog.
The quickiest and the cheapest means to become a successful blogger is by learning from the veteran bloggers. We have learnt the hardway so that you can learn the easy way.
Ok thanks very much for visiting my blog. You can leave a comment if you have any question or you can hire me to design a blog for you. With just 60, 000 i can design a beautiful blog for you. Very expensive right? thats the penalty for not being willing to learn how to start a blog in Cameroon.
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