You have discovered eBay's blogging service. You have heard of blogs, maybe you have even checked out a few, but you have never had one. It looks fairly easy to you click the button to start your very own blog. Now you are facing an empty box with no clue what to write in it. HELP!

If you haven't started one are are interested in doing so, this is where you will find it BLOGS. You can find it by going to the Communities page, also. Click on the large red rectangle button that says START BLOGGING. Sign up is very easy. You need a name for your blogging site and a brief description of what type of blog you are presenting to the rest of the eBay community. Once your blog is created you give your post a title and then enter your content. You have options such as the size, type and color of your font. Bold, underline or italics and other ways you can customize your message. You may have up to ten "tags" which are keywords which allow others find your blog using search words. You can also go to the Blog Discussion Board and find all sorts of info from other eBayers including a way to customize your site using CSS (custom style sheets.)

You can choose to whether or not to allow comments on your blog and if you want them to be shown or hidden to anyone else. You are assigned a blog address htt://blogs.ebay.com/NAMEOFYOURBLOGHERE. You can also delete the entire blog. You can customize the look making it fun and interesting under Customize. Owner Tools is on the upper left of your page and has all the necessary tools to do all these things. They are all very simple.

1. DON'T write TEST and send it off to see if it really works. Yes, it does. It works just great as you will see by all the other blogs which have been posted. If you really insist upon doing so at least remember to delete it once you have established that it truly posts whatever you have written. You can do this by clicking on Edit at the bottom of your post. Then click on Delete and your entire post will be gone.
2. DON'T write inane things such as ummm, well, I guess I am starting a blog here. We can see that! ;-) If you have nothing better to say then say nothing and take time to THINK about what you want to write before you start.
3. It is fine to give us some background on who you are and a little about yourself. Watch how much personal info you give out. Keep in mind how many people will be reading what you have written. Think about what clues you are offering about where you could be found and then change those to  more obscure references. People don't need to know that info and you need to be safe.
4. Think about what you would like to know about other people and then write about those things. No one really wants to hear about your problem with hemorrhoids or that your Uncle Chuck just bought a new car or your child is in the middle of being toilet trained. Pick and choose what you share. You can always add more later, too. You don't need to spell out the entire story of your life the first entry in your blog!
5. Your blog is a perfect opportunity to showcase your listings and/or store. Explain why you first became interested in selling what you sell or what your goals are for eBay sales. If you get into too much detail about your items, though, you might want to consider writing a guide instead.
6. Have fun with this! Don't take it so seriously. Really, seriously, we don't CARE about your blog so much that it is that big of a deal. Everyone lives in their own little universe but the world does not revolve around you so don't think your blog is going to change the world. Still, you may have something worth sharing so take your time and think about your words. If you want to be serious do so or if you have a funny bone share it! We can all use a good laugh!
7. THINK before you write. Write it up in WORD or on a piece of paper or in the blog. Whatever it takes write it down and then go back over it later and check it out. Is it what you really intended to say? You can always add or subtract the content even after you publish your blog entry. Edit is a great word! Use it! Sometimes we write,  hit enter and then read it the next day but are not happy with the result. Thinking about what you have to say overnight isn't the worse thing in the world.
8. Please, please check your spelling, your punctuation, your grammar!!! There are all sorts of online tools to help you do so and it makes your blog so much easier to read.
9. Don't write all in caps!!!!  That is not only hard to read but considered "shouting" online. And don't write in all lower case letters, either. That makes it difficult to see where one sentence ends and the next begins.
10. If you are going to start a blog, take it seriously as far as it being a commitment. EVERYONE is starting one and that makes it very difficult to sift through them and find the ones that are worth reading. By the time you do so, you have wasted too much time or are  just not interested any longer. It is a commitment. Write in it frequently or just delete the entire thing if you don't intend to do so.
11. Take some time, a LOT of time, to go read the blogs of others before you actually take the step to set up your own. Do you really have something important enough to say that others will be interested in reading or is this a big ego issue? OK, even if it is just your ego speaking, go for it but be honest. You won't be doing it because you are the next great writer of our century but rather because you just want to see your words online. And that is fine. Still, others may read them so make sure they are somewhat interesting!
12. Your title should be something eye-catching or pertinent to your life. Saying Joe's Blog doesn't tell us much. Again, take time to think about it before you start it up.
13. Should you start your blog and then feel it isn't quite what you intended use that delete button! Perhaps keep things you really feel were good entries in a file and then delete the entire blog. Start fresh with a new title and new ideas once you are comfortable with the whole process and idea of blogging. You might want to "practice" and then start over with a "real" blog.
14. Make sure you share your blog with others and post it on your About Me page so others can find it, too. Send friends and family your link. Again, though, be sure to keep the entries going. Once you stop blogging for a time people will lose interest quickly and stop visiting your blog. Face it, there is a lot of competition online for the attention of those using it so you need to be upbeat and interesting to keep your share!

So that is blogging in a nutshell. It really is a fun and interesting way to get to know others online but use it wisely. Just a footnote: remember there are many, many blogging services online now, not just eBay. If you are using yours here to bring attention to your listings than this is a good place to have a blog but, if you want to just have fun and start a journal of sorts, other services offer many more options. You will find those on the various instant messengers and then some that are just for blogging. MySpace is a very popular site for all ages. Check them out! You might find yourself getting hooked!

NOTE: if you have read through this and do NOT find it helpful or your questions have not been answered please email me and let me know, please. I am happy to answer your questions. If you did find it helpful please click the YES button below. Thanks and happy blogging!