There are many places on the internet to put your blog. Blogspot, Typepad, WordPress and  Yola are 4 commonly used sites. There are many others and more popping up every day. Reality is this though: WordPress cannot be beat. Why?

  1. the site stays cutting edge with all social media trends and technologies.
  2. search engines love wordpress sites (probably because of their editing system) so posts rank better.
  3. it is easy to change your look at feel of the site as you evolve and not lose content.
  4. it is easy to brand.
  5. it will grow and evolve as you grow and evolve.
  6. it gives you plug-ins that help with your SEO (search engine visibility), when you use them of course!

The great thing about WordPress if you are willing to learn it (or hire someone to set it up -I have a GREAT person that I’m happy to refer) is it can develop into a full website that you can sell product, create a membership group and much more!
With other sites you might gain ease of use but give up visibility and flexibility.  Which I do not recommend!  That means you might have a slight learning curve, but long term it will be worth every minute.  Therefore I recommend WordPress.
I tell all my clients to play around a bit, and first just build a free site on WordPress.  You can play with themes and changes. And as you build your brand you will be happy you used wordpress. Eventually, if you want to be taken seriously, you will want to host your wordpress site (the difference is the URL: annevanston.wordpress.com is free, annevanston.com is hosted) Once you host your site, you will be even more thrilled with the add-on’s changes and true branding you can create!

Review 1 or 2 blogs that you like.  You can go to Google and search for them by topic or industry if you like.  You can also take a look at Blogger Monday with Ann Evanston, we have TONS of blogs to look at over there..  Review the blog and ask yourself:

1.    Which platform (tool) are they on?  One of the 4 above?  Another? Was it privately developed? I look at the bottom of the page.

2.    How often does the owner of the blog post?

3.    Does the owner create links within the blog with searchable key words?

4.    Does the blog have a subscription button?

5.    Does the blog have a blogroll?

6.    What to you like or dislike about the blog?

These questions are a great way to get you started to make your transition over to WordPress so you know what you want!

 

Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”