Creating a Blogger Account

This begins the instructions for setting up a Blogger blog. There are other companies that provide free blogging services. We like Blogger because, in our opinion, it's the easiest to use. If you decide to go with a different company, these instructions will not help.


Before you create your new author blog, think about the URL you want. You may want to have a list of several possibilities in case your first choice is taken. Skip ahead to this post if you need help thinking of URL addresses, then come back here.


If you already have a Blogger blog:
You can use the same Google ID/Blogger sign-in when you create your author blog.

• Go to www.blogger.com.
• Sign in to get to your Dashboard.

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• Click on the Create a Blog link (circled in red) to go to the Name Your Blog page.
• Click on the Older Post link at the bottom of this post to continue to the next step.

If you don't already have a Blogger blog:
You will need an email address to get started. If you don't have one, go create a free email account at hotmail or gmail or another email program. When you're done, come back here.

• Go to www.blogger.com.

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• Click on the big orange button that says CREATE A BLOG.

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At the "Create a Google Account" page, type in the following information in the screen as pictured above :

1. In the "Email Address" field, type in your email address.
   


2. In the "Retype email address" field, retype the same email address.
   


3. In the "Enter a password" field, type a password. Make a note of it somewhere safe so you don't forget it.
   
   Passwords should be at least 8 characters long. We suggest that you use a combination of both letters and numbers. For best protection, do not use words that can be found in the dictionary. When you enter your password, there is a password strength bar that will turn green when you have a password that will be difficult to hack.
   


4. In the "Retype password" field, retype the same password.
   


5. In the "Display name" field, type your name. This name will display at the bottom of every post. For example, on this blog it says, "Posted by LibrisPro". LibrisPro was the name I entered in this field.
   
   If you're an author, use your own first name; if a publisher, use your company name.
   


6. In the "Email notifications" box, click to check this box if you want to get regular emails from Blogger. I suggest you do this in the beginning.
   


7. In the "Birthday" field, enter your birthdate in MM/DD/YYYY format. Blogger uses this to make sure you fit their age requirements. It is not displayed anywhere.
   


8. In the "Word Verification" field, type the word that you see in green. Blogger uses word art to make sure you're a real person setting up the blog.
   


9. In the "Acceptance of Terms" box, click to check this box to accept the Terms of Service. You can click the Terms of Service link to read them.
   


10. Double check to make sure you spelled everything correctly.
    


11. Click the bright orange CONTINUE arrow at the bottom. This will take you to the Name Your Blog page.