Picking Your Blogging Platform

By Laurie Epps

Picking your platform can seem intimidating, and choosing the right one is vital for your blog's success. But you have to take a step back, and remember that you're going to start by taking baby steps. Just by getting a presence on the Internet, you're going to attract a whole new crop of readers.

Your readers will come week after week to hear your voice, and read your thoughts and ideas. This is powerful. That recognition can help you in a variety of ways from working as a living breathing resume, to finding your audience that you wouldn't be able to reach any other way.

My Mentor, Edie Melson, wrote our book, Connections: Social Media and Networking Techniques for Writers. Today, we're going to talk about choosing your blogging platform.




3 Main Platforms

Blogger:

• Blogger is powered by Google
• Google has a huge presence on the Internet
• Blogger is very easy to use, and it recommended by our author, Edie Melson (I also use blogger)

WordPress:

• Easy to use, complete with tutorials
• Walks you through the mechanics of building a blog
• Whereas, Blogger walks you through the steps, WordPress explains them
• WordPress is constantly updating its options

TypePad:

• This platform has a cost associated with using it
• So, it's therefore, a fee based service
• It has has the least amount of options
• If you need more options, it's usually in the next pricing tier

Homework: Look at other blogs, see what you do and don't like about them. Try to notice what platform they're built on.

Things to notice:

• Does it connect and load quickly?
• Is the blog easy to navigate?
• Do you like the layout?
• Is it easy to read given the color choices?
• How often do they post the blog?

Next week, we'll talk about: Is blogging right for me?

Can't get enough social media? Check out the author's blog for her Social Media Mondays at http://thewriteconversation.blogspot.com

Laurie Epps is a senior at Anderson University majoring in Creative Writing. Already Laurie is most published as a feature article writer, essayist, and poet. A seeker of beauty and world traveler, Laurie hopes to grow into a career in travel writing illuminating the many stories that make us human despite our differences. Currently, Laurie also has a Thoughtful Thursday column dedicated to the fine art of poetry.