Why a blog?

A blog is one of the perfect places to start your social media marketing campaign. In fact I have heard it suggested more than once that it is the cornerstone.

A blog allows you the opportunity to produce fresh content which the search engines love and your followers will enjoy.

So now you know a little about the why, lets take a look at the what.

What is the best blogging platform for me?

The big names you have probably heard before, WordPress, Blogger and Typepad. But what is the difference?

Hosted Blog – Blogger.com, Typepad.com & WordPress.com
A hosted blog is where your blog, your content, is stored on their servers.

Self Hosted Blog – WordPress.org
A self-hosted blog means that it is installed and hosted on your server.

Which one do I choose?

There is a lot of talk about which one is best and there can be heated discussions regarding the pros and cons. When asked I will always say that a self-hosted blog is the way to go. However, the truth of the matter is, that it is a personal decision, features that might be very important to me, may not be as important for you. I do think that you need to do your research and see what others say and what the advantages are of each option. I have listed a few points below to get you started.

Some Pros of a hosted blog

1. You can literally be up in running in minutes
2. Very easy to use for the complete beginner
3. No need to sign up for a web hosting service – WordPress.com & Blogger.com are free – Typepad does have a low monthly charge.

Some Cons of a hosted Blog

1. There is always a danger of your blog being deleted or access blocked by the hosting service (I have heard horror stories!)
2. The web address to your blog will always advertise their service, it will always read: mydomain.blogspot.com or mydomain.wordpress.com etc.
3. On some there are links at the top that will take you to the next blog that the service hosts. You have no control over what pops up next. Their content could be family friendly or not, it could mirror your opinion or have the exact opposite.

Some Pros of a self-hosted blog

1. Your domain will not advertise someone else’s service
2. Full customization, it can look exactly like your site (This site is a perfect example – I have used the WordPress.org blogging platform as my site – full integration between website and blog)
3. An incredible array of plugins to choose from. Plugins will extend the capability of what your blog can do.

Some Cons of a self-hosted blog

1. Not necessarily a d-i-y project, it certainly can be, but it will require time, research and trial and error
2. It does take longer to set up and customize
3. You will need to pay for web hosting

What it all boils down to is what you are looking for in a blog. Take some time and write out the purpose of your blog, where does it fit in your marketing campaign. Make a list of the different features your blog should have.

I have seen amazing examples of highly successful blogs on both hosted and self-hosted sites as well as terrible ones.

Personally I believe that in the end, the time and effort you put into a self hosted blog is worth it.

• You control the hosting
• You control the customization
• You control what and who you are advertising

What platform do you use right now? What other pros and cons can you think of?