CREATE FREE BLOG |
USING CSS FOR YOUR BLOG |
Using one of the three methods of creating a style and the background information on typography, you now can design the text of your blog for maximum readability and effect. When you are designing your blog text, keep in mind that it is the main feature of your blog and that people
(hopefully) will be reading it every day. You want something interesting, but still easy on the eyes. Look at your type without reading it. Squint your eyes a little and think of it not as type, but as some other element of design, like color. Does it look pretty? Is it clumped in delicious, bite-sized paragraphs that are comfortably padded between the lines? Are you getting hungry just looking at it? Always remember that when you're designing for the web, different browsers will display your work differently. Accept this fact, and you can be happy.
Other attributes can be incorporated into your style simply by typing them inside the brackets with those you've already chosen. Since we've already cracked into type design, we might as well get into the design of your blog as a whole.
You've put in some time building your blog into something more than just a plain old web page. So much so that your significant other is starting to think that you're up to no good on the web. People are coming back regularly to read what you've posted, and maybe you've even registered for an ISSN, and your blog has become a bona fide periodical. In other words, you're working on your blog, and you wouldn't mind getting paid for it.
Well, guess what? You can. For most bloggers, setting up their own payment processing system is virtually impossible, not to mention that it costs big bucks. But why do it yourself when someone else has already done it? There are lots of great ways to accept payments on the web. Some methods for generating a cash flow with your blog are micropayment systems, affiliate programs, merchandising, ad hosting, and wishlists. Micropayments are direct fees for content, but the other methods bring a little more to the table in terms of offering something in return. Incorporate one or all of them, and you'll be actively engaged in blogging for dollars.
Micropayments are fees that range from a few dollars down to fractions of a cent. With a micropayment system in place, consumers are charged these fees for each instance of accessing a web site. In theory, if you can impose a small charge for some of the hits on your site, those pennies could eventually add up to dollars. This pay-per-view arrangement is an alternative to ad banners or subscriptions, and is thought by some to be the Holy Grail of making money on the web.
There has been much debate on the issue of micropayments on the web. Those who are pro-micropayment say, "Hey, we pay a few cents a minute when we're on the phone. Why not on the web?" On the other side, those opposed to micropayments simply state, "Users hate them. They will never work." When you provide a useful service, however—whether it's software you've developed, helpful tutorials and essays, or a much-needed chuckle every morning—people are not completely averse to dropping you a little something every now and then. Donations as a "thank you" may not work for big companies trying to generate a consistent and dependable revenue stream, but for us individual media baron wannabes, a few coins in the jar now and then can be a big help.