A hands-on one-day course covering everything you need to know to start blogging. We will take you through the practical steps of starting up and developing your blog.

The main topics we’re covering are:

• What is a blog and why blog?
• What a blog can do for your business
• Launching and maintaining your blog
• Choosing and using keywords
• Tips and tricks on generating content painlessly
• The 28 types of blog posts
• How to make money from your blog
• Case studies of successful bloggersHow to get readers: marketing your blog
• Why blogging is search engine friendly
• Blogging as social media marketing

This is a very practical and hands-on workshop suitable for beginners and new bloggers as well as those who’ve started blogging and would like a boost. The course takes you through a series of practical exercises getting your blog up and running and working for you.

You will need to:

• Bring your own laptop or book one with us beforehand
• You should already have a blog set up or be prepared to start a blog on wordpress.com during the day
• Be prepared to spend some time on practical blog exercises and writing blog posts

While we recommend WordPress as a blogging platform, this workshop is suitable for those using Typepad, Blogger, Drupal, Livejournal or any other blogging platform or content management system that allows regular addition of content. Note however that this workshop is about writing your blog not the technical aspects of the blogging software.

You’ll come away with:

• A blueprint for your blog – its purpose, audience, tone, voice and keywords
• A few blog posts you’ll have written, to start you off
• A workbook of the 28 types of blog post and BONUS EXTRA blog prompts so you’ll never again be short of things to blog about!

Tutor Helen Whitehead has been teaching how to write for the Web for over 15 years. She has been blogging for 9 years, for herself and for others, and you can find her current blog at  www.reachfurther.com.

For a thorough introduction to blogging and guidance over 9 weeks, to give you that "blogging habit", why not also try our How to Blog Online Course - equivalent to 27 hours of face to face training?