Some of them were professional bloggers while others were more casual in their occupation. All of them, however, seemed to take a pretty laid-back approach to putting their columns together.

Thinking back, it seems that blogging advice would’ve been helpful when I started. Blogging isn’t exactly as easy as it sounds. There are several things you need to deal with when you’re starting out.

First of all, you have to deal with layout issues. One of the hard facts about Internet blogging is that people are not going to read your blog unless you make it interesting looking. A webpage that looks completely dull and has bad layout is going to make eyes glaze over no matter what you have to say.

Having sites that are unappealing will make your readers lose interest before they even start clicking or reading anything. Of course, some sites have simple layouts and still gain a steady following. However, even with these weblogs, the people who made them took some time to think about the design of the site.

Another area I could have used blogging advice on was getting hits. My personal blog was also part of my business. I was sort of combining multiple features into it. On the one hand, I wanted a blog that I could use as a semi public journal. I could use it to inform my friends about what I was up to in my life.

Getting helpful advice about blogging at this point would have been extremely useful. It would have helped me create a web layout that was interesting to my readers, both friends and clients at the same time, and one that would entice new readers from Google searches.

Even without looking at a blogging guide, I did manage to figure it out eventually. It was slow going, and I think I wasted some time that would have been better spent on something else. Nonetheless, live and learn as they say. Next time, I will start with expert advice!