You feel very strongly about some subject - perhaps politics, the environment, or sharing your poetry. You have already told all your friends, but you want everyone to know. What are the most effective and easiest ways of sharing your passion?
Some of the easiest channels may still be worth trying...
1. A letter to the editor. Chances are that your letter won't get published, but if it does get published by your local newspaper it is likely to create a significant impact.
2. A letter, phone call, or email to an elected official. Understand that the politician isn't going to notice exactly what you say. But your opinion will be counted as for or against some position. If 10,000 people weigh-in with the same opinion, that might make a difference. Letters and phone call carry a lot more weight than emails, but take more of your time.
3. A comment on an on-line news article or blog. Unlikely to get read by more than a few people, but it may make you feel better to vent your feelings.
4. Facebook. Certainly this is a great way to tell your Facebook friends how you feel, but no one else will see what you share. If your friends share your passion, they will spread your ideas.
5. Facebook Groups. Yours just might catch on. It is pretty easy, so give it a try.
6. Petition websites like Care2's www.thepetitionsite.com - For environmental activism and similar causes, this may be a high-leverage resource.
7. Squidoo. There are a number of websites that offer blog-like capabilities without setting up your own blog. Most of these sites have major limitations and drawbacks. Some, like eHow, have recently stopped accepting articles from the public in favor of in-house writers, and have simply dumped previous submissions. www.squidoo.com is probably the best of these not-so-great websites.
8. Helium. If you are a creative writer, check out www.helium.com
9. Quotesdaddy. If you write your own inspirational or motivational sayings, look at www.quotesdaddy.com - They are one of the few major quotes websites that accept any quote you choose to submit.
10. Ezinearticles. www.ezinearticles.com is the biggest player in article marketing. Not only will your article get read, but you can build links to your blog, which is the real answer to being heard.
If you really want to speak to the world, you need a blog.
Blogs are much easier to begin than websites, and they are free. I am a big fan of Google's www.blogger.com Both my inspirational blog
http://www.jlhuie.com/ and this blog (
www.mind4joy.com) are Blogger blogs. Yes, I have done some extensive customizing over time, but the initial setup was really easy, and I have never had to pay a dime to Google for these blogs - even though they have high traffic, run ads, and have custom url's.
I have used wordpress.com - the other major "free" blog site - but (unlike many other people) I find the software less easy to customize than Blogger. Also, they make you pay to run ads, have a custom web address, or make certain kinds of customizations.
I have also used the free blogging software from wordpress.org that you can load onto your own website. Even though I run a number of websites and am quite technical, I still find that Blogger meets my needs better.
So get yourself a blog at www.blogger.com now, and start writing.
How to promote your blog.
It is one thing to start a blog. It is another to create quality content on a regular basis. An it is quite something else to get high traffic to your blog.
Here are a few tips for promoting your blog...
1. Begin with your friends, and friends of friends, and Facebook friends. Don't just tell people about your new blog, ask them what they like and don't like about your blog.
2. Build up several dozen great posts, and tweek how the blog looks before you try to approach the masses. Carefully consider the feedback from your friends about all aspects of your blog. Keep the design very basic (Blogger is good at this). Avoid dark backgrounds, music, and anything flashing or distracting. Remember that it is all about the message. Say something really important, and don't let anything distract from that message.
3. Now, get some links to build your blog's search engine ranking. Ask everyone you know who has a blog or website to link to you. Write an article on Ezinearticles. The links in your "expert author bio" and in the "resource box" of each article will drive both people and search engines to your blog. Selfgrowth.com is another of the better article websites. Writing on Squidoo is also a reasonable way to create links to your blog. Before investing effort on writing for other sites, check whether their outbound links are "no follow" or "do follow." Many sites label outbound links "no follow" which makes them basically useless for enhancing your blog's search engine standing.
Enjoy blogging. If this article was helpful, please add my blogs and websites to your blogroll. See
http://www.jonathanlockwoodhuie.com/linking.php.
---------------
My Ezine articles
http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Jonathan_Huie
My Selfgrowth.com articles
http://www.selfgrowth.com/experts/jonathan_huie.html
My Squidoo experiments...
http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/jonhuie
http://www.squidoo.com/subjects-inspirational-quotes
http://www.squidoo.com/find-inspirational-quotes
http://www.squidoo.com/meaningful-quotes
http://www.squidoo.com/great-inspirational-quotes
http://www.squidoo.com/inspirational-quotes-famous
http://www.squidoo.com/daily-inspiration-quote
http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-sleep-better-tonight
http://www.squidoo.com/life-secrets
http://www.squidoo.com/inspirational-quotes-types
http://www.squidoo.com/stop-anger
http://www.squidoo.com/happier-life