Blogger Tutorial 7 of 10: Building a content base - Spend 2 or 3 months posting regularly to create a robust blog

"It's been a week and my blog doesn't show up in Google yet!" Yes folks, this was the exact quote I heard from someone who set up a Blogger blog and was asking me for blogging advice. It was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud.

I don't want to discourage anyone, but you should know the facts about blogging:

1. In 2005, there were around 40,000 blogs being created each day.
2. In that same year, Technorati - the king of blog directories - was tracking 7.8 million blogs.
3. For more overwhelming statistics, visit Sifry's Alerts for an article about the in-depth stats.

If you have any illusions about setting up a blog in 20 minutes, putting up some Google ads, and taking your check to the bank, please reconsider. Blogging can be a way to make money - but it's not an easy road to riches. The world has caught on and like anything else, the field is crowded. You'll need to be a good writer first and foremost. You'll also need to build up a library of posts that are loosely related in subject matter so people get an idea of why to come back.

Building a volume of content that attracts search engines and visitors takes some time. Plan on at least 2 to 3 months of posting at least once a week. Start posting, sign up for and use Google Analytics, and find ways to promote your site and its content. That way you can monitor which posts draw the most attention.

What you find may surprise you. I'll give you a for instance - when I started my blog, I intended it to be more of a personal, diary-type writing. But I've found that I gravitate towards website, blog, and software reviews - that's just how it evolved. Despite this fact, one of my most popular posts continues to be one about Hammerschlagen, a game that requires a large tree trunk, nails, and a ball pin hammer (oh, that, and my 10-step Blog Tutorial). This in no way relates to the main theme of my blog.

My only point is this - no matter what you think your blog is about, you must give it some time to find out what you enjoy writing about, visitors find valuable and then adjust your posts, design, and layout accordingly.