Debbie T. Williamson 
No more excuses for why you’re not blogging for your business.
If 10-year-old Tyler Duswalt can start and maintain a blog, so can you.
Tyler is the author of The Short Book on How to Become a Blogging Expert—A 10-Year-Old’s Top 25 Easy Tips to Help You Start an Effective Blog (Craig Duswalt International, $9.95).
He published it last year, after his blog, CPCheats, became a go-to source for kids who wanted to cheat at Club Penguin. The online role-playing game, published by Disney Online Studios, involves a virtual world containing a range of online games and activities. Players use cartoon penguin avatars and play in a virtual winter world.
One of the criticisms of the game is that it allows players to cheat. Hence Tyler’s blog which has had over 85,000 views.
I heard about Tyler recently when I spoke to Author U in Denver and met his father, Craig Duswalt, who was also on the program and taught authors how to market like a rock star.
Craig says Tyler wrote the book himself. No professional editors. No book coaches. No picky proofreaders. Just sage advice from a 10-year-old blogging expert who uses phrases like “And that’s all I have to say about it” at the end of a chapter.
Here are some of the questions people commonly ask on blogs, and Tyler’s answers, taken from the book:
Q. How often should you post to your blog?
A. “As many as you can each week. Try to post at least once a day. I post about three times a day… But here’s one thing not to do: DON’T blog if you know you won’t have enough time to post. It’s useless.”
Q. How can you drive traffic to a blog?
A. “One way to get more views is to comment on other blogs and type your blog’s domain name at the end of your comment.”
Q. What is the best way to get traffic?
A. “Competition!” You can create a POST for a contest that will last for a certain amount of time. I had one before. I used to play an online game called Club Penguin (Disney MMO game) and bought a gift card for membership. Then, I organized a contest where if you commented on my blog, you could participate in a drawing. Very funny. I had 1,000 visits in one day thanks to this contest.
Q. What does a blogger need to do for search engines to find a blog post?
A. “When you’re done with a post, and before you post it, go to the box that says tags and type in a few things that will help people find you on search engines.”
Q. How do you sell products on a blog?
A. “All you have to do is link to the website where you want to sell the thing you’re selling. For example, your post might look like this:
TITLE: Buy my product!
POST: Hello! I just bought a T-shirt and was wondering if you wanted to buy it. If you want it, click on the link: http://ebay.com/pinktshirt
Tyler also covers polls, how to post photos and audio, how to add pages, copyright, video/photo galleries, widgets, blogrolls and more.
He no longer blogs because he no longer plays Club Penguin. But her advice is perfect for anyone who wants a quick overview of what’s possible with a blog.
Yes, it’s a lot of work. But as Tyler explains in the Bonus Tip on the last page of his book:
“Have fun with your blog!” Well, that’s the end of the book. I hope you enjoyed these simple tips and I wish you good luck with your blog.
Convinced? Ready to create your own blog? See “Time-Saving Tips for Smart Business Blogging,” an adult guide to blogging. It comes with 23 pages of material including 101 ways to find content for your blog and tips for writing better and faster.
