One way to help build your personal brand is to include a picture of yourself on your blog. I know that for many women (and men too!) this feels really uncomfortable because sometimes we don't feel good about how we look or at least how we look in photographs.

It is a really important detail though – when you include your picture it helps people to feel more connected to you as a blogger, and as a person. It adds a personal touch.

It doesn't matter what you look like either. You don't have to be beautiful or perfect. Nobody cares what you actually look like, they just want to see you. They won't make a judgment about your writing based on how you look. The point is that it allows people to get to know you better.

Believe me, I understand how some women feel uncomfortable with it. I can't stand looking at pictures of myself! But I forced myself to do it. I found a picture of me that was at least tolerable and put it up there for the world to see. It was one of the best things I ever did!

Be consistent

Use the same picture on your blog and on all the social media sites you participate in. Try not to change the picture too often, if at all. Use it on Twitter, BlogCatalog, MyBlogLog, Facebook, StumbleUpon, Digg – every site you participate in. Get a gravatar too – so people can see you when you leave a comment on gravatar enabled blogs.

This is really important to help people to recognize you and remember who you are. Success in blogging depends in part on networking and it makes it much easier for people to remember you and your blog if you use the same picture.

Have Fun with It

For some people using a silly picture might be a good idea – one of you upside down, wearing a silly hat, etc. But remember if you are blogging for business you need to look more professional. In general the image you use should reflect the tone and purpose of your blog. In any case, try to relax and have fun with it.

If you really, really can't do it

If you really, really can't bring yourself to showing your picture to the whole world then use an image of your logo or part of it. And be consistent – use that image everywhere. Or make an avatar of yourself at Yahoo or some other site. And again, be consistent and use it everywhere.

Exceptions

Some exceptions for not using your picture might be if you are blogging anonymously and not using your real name. In that case using your picture could give away your identity, but you might still be able to use an avatar of yourself.

Quality

Ignore for a minute what I said about nobody caring what you look like. Actually that's still true – but there is something to making sure the quality of the picture you use is pretty good. You don't want to use one that is real grainy, blurry, too dark, etc. It doesn't have to be a professionally taken photo though either. Mine had been taken at Target for a totally different purpose. Even a picture taken at home by someone you know may be good enough – just play around with it, relax, have a bunch taken and pick one!

In this part of my 'Getting Started with Blogging' series I will briefly go over how to install and use WordPress. Earlier parts of this series Part 1: Choosing a Topic and Part 2:Hosting are also available.

Finding a Web Host

There are many, many web hosting companies out there – some very good, some not so good. WordPress lists some hosting companies on their site that have auto-install options for WordPress. Many of them charge as little as $6.95 a month for hosting.

If you go with another company where you install the software on the hosting server yourself the features your hosting account needs to have are PHP version 4.3 or greater and MySQL version 4.0 or greater. WordPress even includes a sample email to send to a potential host to see if you can install it there.

Installing WordPress

Once you have your host picked out you then need to download WordPress. WordPress supplies both a Famous 5-Minute Installation and some more detailed instructions if you need it.

Setting Up and Customizing WordPress

One of the first things you will want to do with your newly installed WordPress blog is to pick a theme. A theme is sort of like a skin, but it is much more than that. It is a collection of files that make up the graphical interface of your blog. Some themes also include features that others don't. You can use
the theme viewer to find a theme or do a search in a search engine for "WordPress themes" – you will find that there are many thousands of themes available for free.

You can also create your own theme. This is an especially good idea if you already have a web site and you want your blog to have the same overall look and feel as the rest of your site.

For more information on setting up your blog I recommend Getting Started with WordPress, WordPress Lessons and Working with WordPress.

If it all seems overwhelming at first – don't let it bother you! Much of it you will get used to soon enough. And WordPress offers so much functionality that many long time users are still not aware of all that they can do with it. Many features you can learn about over time when you need them.

Using WordPress

When you first log in you will be taken to your "Dashboard" page. On this page you will see a summary of the posts, pages, drafts, etc. that you have – once you have something written. It also will list the recent comments and incoming links. On the upper right of the page you will see a small text link called "Settings". Within that page are links along the top to change the settings for Writing and Reading your blog and a few others. Some of those are pretty self explanatory so you may want to adjust them right away.

On the upper left is a link called "Write" – click this and start writing your first post! On the right of this page you can click either "Save" or "Publish". If you just click "Save", your post will be saved but will not actually be shown on your blog – click "Publish" to make it viewable to the world.

That, in a nutshell, is all you need to get a started writing on your blog!

Next time – Part 4 of Getting Started with Blogging: Let the World Know

So you want to start a blog? The first thing you need to decide upon is what you are going to blog about. If you are just starting out and want to get your feet wet -writing a more general blog about various topics might be a good idea. Or even a personal blog about your day to day activities. Once you get a feel for blogging then you can choose a more focused topic.

Business Blogging

If you have a business already – online or off - and want to add a blog to your business site you will want to write about something that will be helpful to your customers. You want your blog to communicate to them that you are an authority on the product or service that you sell. Become a resource – this benefits both your current and future customers – and will help you get those future customers!

Money Making Blog

If you want to make money from a blog – pick something you are passionate about. Something you live and breathe every moment you're awake (and dream about at night!). Making a lot of money from a blog
isn't easy – it takes an incredible amount of work and time. If youare not really into what you are blogging about you may find yourself getting bored very quickly. And if you are really passionate about something, it will show in your writing.

Blogging Just Because You Want To

If you want to blog for fun, to become an authority on a topic or just because you are passionate about something - then you are starting out in the right direction for creating a successful blog! Like I said
earlier, if you really enjoy something it will show through in yourwriting. Your enthusiasm will then rub off on your readers too!

You Don't Have To Be An Expert

Remember too, that just because you are not expert on something doesn't mean you can't start a blog about it. While you don't want tostart giving out advice about something you know nothing about – you can start writing about the topic as you are learning it. You can share your journey – as well as the knowledge you are picking up -with your readers.

It Can Be Addicting

Regardless of how much thought you put into deciding what to blog about you may still end up changing your mind later on. Or you may decide to write more than one blog. Blogging can be fun, inspiring,
tiring, exasperating and exhilarating – but most of all it can be addicting!

Next time – Part 2 of Getting Started with Blogging: Hosting – is 'self-hosting' right for you?