Have you decided that a business blog is a good addition to your marketing plan for the coming year? Now, the question is where do you start? After spending some time determining your target audience and your best keywords, the next decision is what platform to use for your blog. There are a multitude of choices on the internet. This article will review the most popular sites for posting a blog.
If you already have a website, you could elect to post your blog right on your website. However, one of the purposes of a blog is to drive traffic to your website. Often a blog will get lost in all of the product information on your website. Therefore, it is our recommendation that you use a separate platform for you blog.
All of the programs listed below will handle text posts as well as video, audio, graphics and more. As a business owner, the one you choose will depend on your level of expertise with blogging and HTML, your budget and how much flexibility you need wi th customization.
Blogger.com
This site is a free hosting service owned by Google. Their biggest claim to fame is the ability to have a blog up and running in ten minutes. This is a favorite of many beginner bloggers. You will be limited in the number of templates from which you can choose and the terms of service limit you as to how much you can monetize your blog. The domain name of your blog will include the name of your blog and the name of the blogging service. Since you want people to know you by the name of your blog, this can be a detriment. However, if this is a concern, you can purchase a domain name and forward the name to the blog. Make sure you use the masking feature of forwarding to hide the true name of the blog.
Typepad.com
There is a limited edition of this hosting service which is free. For a minimal annual fee, you can upgrade to a version that will provide more customization features. This is a great way to get started and then when you grow and need more features, you simply upgrade to a more feature packed version. You can monetize your blog by adding advertising. As with Blogger, the link to your blog will include the directory. You will need to use domain name forwarding to overcome this drawback.
WordPress.com
This site is definitely the most popular blog platform on the internet. There is a free version which will allow you a wide variety of templates and limited customization features. Again, the link to your blog will include the name of the blogging platform.
If one of your goals with your blog is complete customization then we recommend that you purchase a domain name and select a hosting site (this will average between $5 and $10 per month.) The hosting site will have directions for uploading programs such as WordPress.org which are free. This will allow you full customization with a wide variety of templates, plugins and widgets at your disposal. You will have the ability to add opt-in boxes to collect your visitor's information which should be an integral part of your marketing plan.
Many businesses tend to under estimate the power of advertising on their blog. As you grow your blog and start getting traffic, you may want to contact other local businesses for them to advertise on your blog. This is great for a group of brick and motor businesses in a small geographic area to post and advertise on a blog. This is generate business to your business and increase local awareness of the area.
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