When I first got into the blogging game, I found out real quick that there was more to it than just slapping some personal stuff on a pretty page and hoping the world would stop by and read it. In the last year and a half, I’ve discovered that there is a lot of back-end work that needs to be done in order to get the search engines to even notice your posts.

So, I busted my hump trying to do all the stuff I’d read about, I posted like a crazy woman, and before too long, began to see my numbers increase. But it took me like forever to get there. My friend, Garry Conn, helped me out a lot. He helped me set up my sites, helped me optimize them, and showed me how to get the search engines to visit my sites on a regular basis.

Well, now Garry wants to help anyone wanting to get themselves into the blogging game, for only a penny. That’s right, Garry Conn will help you put together a great blog for only one cent. He will do all the back end work, help you pick out the perfect blog design for your topic of interest, and get everything up and running. Check out his post for all the details.

Now, why am I discussing this with you? Am I getting anything out of it? No. Is there money in it for me? Not even the cent it costs for the blog. I’m telling you all about this deal because I got in on it and I’ve never been happier. Garry helped me get one of my favorite sites, The Prompt Writer, up and running once again.

Garry helped me get my site set up on HostGator.com. I’d heard about hostgator, but had never used it. I’m so glad I did. I have a lot more freedom in fixing my blog, or changing certain things, than I ever did before.

If you’re looking to get into the blogging game, or you’re ready to dust off one of those old domain names you’ve been hanging onto forever, then I suggest you check out Garry’s offer. I’m glad I did.

As any blogger will tell you, in order to really make an impact on the blogging world, you’ve got to have your own hosted blog. However, for many just beginning, this simply isn’t an option. So, what should a person do? Easy, just set up your own free blog on one of the many different free sites online.

Probably the most popular of all the free sites is Blogger.com. Blogger.com is owned by Google and millions of people have gotten their start in the blogging world through them. However, they are not the only free blogging service online. There are several others, but you’ve really got to check a site out before jumping in with both feet, er, hands.

If you’re looking for a free site to start your first blog, or just somewhere to bang out your thoughts and dreams, here are a few places you might enjoy.

1.) Aeonity.com–I like the way this site is set up, but from what I can tell, there is no way to insert your Google Ad code or any other affiliate banners. However, you can write about your favorite affiliate programs and products and insert your links from there. The one thing that bothers me about this site is that it seems more people have signed up, than have actually posted anything.

2.) BlogEasy.com–This site looks as though it could be a great site. The problem is that many of the pages are gone due to some hacker who did some serious damage to the site. However, the staff is working on getting things back up and running again. The good thing about this site is that they tell you right on the front page that you can earn money through your blog on their site. The bad thing is that every article I looked at had literally hundreds of spam comments on them and it was difficult to find the real comments among them.

3.) Blogono.com–This site could give blogger a run for their money. First and foremost, they’ve got several themes you can choose from, that blow Blogger’s themes out of the water. Secondly, you can add your Adsense code and make money from your blog. They tell you up front that they will be sharing the ads with you, but what the heck, there aren’t charging you for your space. The only thing I’ve seen on this site that didn’t set well with me is all the posts on “adult” topics. Blogger Beware!!

4.) BlogSome.com–Very simple blogging service. From what I can tell, set up is as easy as choosing a name for your blog. I looked through some of the current blogs and did see affiliate banners and Google Ads in the sidebars, but couldn’t find an F.A.Q. to determine whether or not these were solely for the bloggers, if they were shared between blogger and admin, or if it was strictly admin ads. This would be a great site for a first-time blogger, or for someone just wanting a little spot to call their own.

5.) BlogText.org–This site reminds me a lot of Blogger, except they offer way nicer themes. You can easily set up your blog, monetize it with affiliate links or Google Ads, upload photos-videos-podcasts, and get yourself going online. They only thing that bothered me about this site is that I couldn’t find a way to check out a few of their existing blogs. Other than that, it seems to be a great place to get started in the blogging world.

6.) JounalHome.com–I really like this site. I’ve actually got my own little corner here, and I’ve been very happy with it so far. Every time you publish a post, it goes directly to the main site’s homepage for everyone to see. They offer some nice themes to choose from, and various placements for your Google Ads. One of my favorites.

7.) Noodle5.com–I’m not totally impressed with this site, but they do offer users a free blog complete with an image gallery. They also have more than 60 different themes to choose from. My problem with this site is that they claim to still be in “beta”, and have been for almost a year now. I couldn’t find an F.A.Q. for the site, but I think you can add Google ads to your blogs.

8.) NowBlogging.net–This site is a lot like JournalHome, as your recent posts are displayed on the site’s homepage. You can add your Google Adsense code and make a little money, choose from different themes, and get 10Megs of space for your photo gallery. For someone just starting out, this would be a nice place to go.

9.) TheBlogs.net–This would be a nice place to go if you’re looking to just set up a little blog for friends or family to visit. It comes with a writing editor, customizable templates, RSS feeds, and a lot more. Nice place for someone just wanting to talk about personal issues, or wanting to start a site for their affiliate links.

10.) Thoughts.com–This site is strictly a personal blogging community. It states right in the F.A.Q. that users are not allowed to discuss outside businesses, affiliate links, or other ways of making money online. This is for those who are looking to publish their private thoughts, stories, poems, or things they enjoy reading.

Starting your first blog doesn’t need to be a daunting task. Also, even if you’re a blogging expert, you might want to find a little place to just be yourself. The above list is only a few of the places you’ll find online to get yourself into the world of blogging.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve really been looking into the world of revenue sharing sites. Now, I know that making any real money off of these sites is slim to none, but I’m working a big experiment. I’ve signed up with quite a few different sites, who’s revenue shares range anywhere from 50% to 100%. A few of the sites I ran across were purely crap, while a few others had already closed up shop.

But I did find a site that is a little different from the rest. The site is called ThisIsBy.Us and it’s a writing portal. It is a revenue sharing site, but with a different twist. Instead of splitting revenues with individual authors, the site splits the profits across the board. The way the figure the profits is through goodness ratings. These are given out by the other members of a community. Once you’ve reached the $25 mark, you get paid.

ThisIsBy.Us isn’t a community blog site like a few of the others out there. It’s more of a place where writers and wanna-be writers can post their work for the masses. There are a lot of people posting their poems, stories, musical interludes, and articles. It really is an amazing site. The one thing you want to remember about this site, is that the people are more than happy to voice their opinions, no matter what they may be. Plus, there are quite a few stories and poems that are a little beyond the “R” rating.

If you’re a creative writer and are looking for somewhere to post those tidbits you’ve written over the years, I recommend ThisIsBy.Us. It’s a really fun site, and there’s a chance that you could make some money in the process.

I ran across this video put out by PETA.  Now, I have no problems with animal activists, saving the environment, or anything like that.  But, some things just cross the line, and this video is one of those things.  I understand the concept of trying to get your message across, but when you start putting out ads like this, you’ve gone too far.

I recently joined a new social network for writers called Gather.com.  So far, I’m very happy with what I’m seeing on this site.  Unlike a few of the other sites I’ve joined in the past couple of weeks, I’m not getting inundated with unrequited love offers.  Just eewwwww!!  Gather.com is a very well-designed site that offers a lot of different ways of publishing your writing.

So far, I’ve added one of my short stories.  I’m still learning all the ropes, but it’s really easy.  A person can add articles, stories, poems, questions, images, video, and a lot more.  I was impressed with the amount of topics that this site covers as well.  Plus, there are tons of various groups a person can join.  Everything from writing essentials to supporting our troops.  It’s amazing.

If nothing else, this site could be a great way to bring in other readers to your blogs or other sites.  Or, you can use it to help with finding writing jobs, tips on writing, and a lot more.  The best part about it is that you get points for the things you do.  You can use the points to shop in their online store, or, if you spend a lot of time on the site and add a lot of articles and images, you can make a little bit of money.  Once you’ve hit the $50 mark, you get paid.  I’m nowhere near that point yet, but it is something to shoot for.

Come check out my page on Gather.com.  I’m hoping to use this site as a launching pad for my future writing endeavors.  It’s high time I get in gear and get paid for my writings.  LOL.