Well, it's a big and diverse subject. Which kind of blog to start? Which platform, what is "monetizing" a blog, and what about the future of your blog? I did lots of research online about blogging and blog platforms. Most of what I found was not even relevant to me and what I want to do.
Let me explain. I follow lots of blogs. Mostly small business and lifestyle blogs and MOST are not monetized. What does monetized mean? It means you probably have a Wordpress blog that you designed (lots of knowledge required) or paid to have designed for you. Why? So you could have complete freedom over who and how advertisers appear on your blog. Best I can determine, that would be the best reason to go with Wordpress, an excellent blog platform. I do follow several blogs like these and like them very much. But, they are blogs that the blog writer makes a large portion of their income from. Daily (or even several times a day) well thought out, on task, to subject blogs. With LOTS of photographs. Tires me out just thinking about it, lol.
Most of the info I found on blogs leaned heavily towards setting up with Wordpress. Often not just by coming out and saying it, but definitely they ALL pushed in that direction. And Wordpress also requires your own domain name and web host. YOUR OWN! Granted, sounds good. But the cost adds up pretty quick....
The other real contender in the blogosphere is Blogger, of course. This is the platform I chose for lots of sound reasons that will follow. It's FREE!!! Yes, and it's easy, and it's simple, and it looks really good. It has come a long way since it was introduced and is absolutely the best platform (i.e. type) of blog for many small business owners and really everybody except professional bloggers! You can build and customize a blog just like you want it and keep tweaking it. You can buy a blog design that is beyond beautiful for almost always less than $100 that will be yours alone and belong to you forever.
It's easier to use and operate than Wordpress. It makes blogging fun! Oh, I wish I had found an article like this when I was first setting up. I tried Wordpress. Bought my own domain, purchased hosting and set up Wordpress. My blog never looked as good as it does now! I was never happy with it, and I wasted a lot of time. One of the caveats that I repeatedly encountered was "if you start with Blogger then try to switch to Wordpress the biggest problem is you may lose many of your followers because of your new address (your own domain) many of your old links and bookmarks will be broken." Well, if that is really the main issue, Blogger can also handle that. You can buy a domain and point your Blogger blog to it in the beginning! If, of course, you really think you will be switching over to Wordpress in the future.
So you see, there really is no need for panic. Start with Blogger unless you want to be a Professional Blogger. Pretty much most of your day will be spent blogging. Everybody else, fire up the old Blogger as soon as possible! I think Blogger will be adding features that will make your blog look ALMOST professional to its offerings on a consistent basis. I actually look forward to blogging now!
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