When you start a business, you need a business plan. Similar process works with blogs. You start a blog, you need to have plans. Short-term and Long-term. One of the crucial decisions that you would be making in this plan is which blog platform you should choose. Well in this post I will guide you through this process, so you can make the right decision. First you need to have questions that you want answered. Lets start with the one below:

Which Blog Platform should I choose?
Should I use one of the free services, or get my own domain name?
What are the pros and cons of the free services and self-hosted blogs?
Which Platform is the best?
Should I start small (free), and then upgrade when I find necessary?

There is no absolute Blog Platform. There is a reason why all services like Blogger, Wordpress.com, Typepad are still in business and it is a very competitive industry. Choosing a Blog Platform depends on your goals. So what are your goals with your blog? Now I understand that I am writing this post for starters. Some starters might not even know what their goals really are. So let me point you in the right direction. Answer the questions below with the best of your ability.

What will be the main topic of my blog?
Am I blogging for hobby, or do I have other professional reasons in mind?
Do I see myself doing this on a long term basis?

Am I technologically savvy?

This plays a major role in your decision. Do you have any prior knowledge of dealing with a website, such as html, ftp etc? Maybe your personality depends on it too. There are blog platforms for different skills level (When I say this I am not saying the easier one is always a bad choice). If you are not a techie person, then there are some blog platforms that suits you better than others. Unless you want to spend time learning.

You can also hire a web developer like myself or someone else. Maybe you can get one of your friends to do it. The best thing about blogging platforms are that it is a competitive industry. So there is support available for each. Thousands of people are using different blogging platforms, so you can get support on their forums. So it is easy to learn.

What is my Budget?

There are some cost-related issues with choosing a blog platform. So what is your budget? There are multiple options available and the cost vary in each. Some of the common expenses are:

Blog Hosting (I recommend Blue Host)
Domain Name (I recommend Domainsite)
Maybe the Platform itself also.

So now cost may vary on the above as you choose the platform. You can choose Blogger.com, or Wordpress.com which gives you free platform, free hosting, and free sub-domain. Where as others like Wordpress.org offer you free platform, but you have to get your own hosting and domain name. There are others like Moveable Type that charge you per license. Depend on whether it is professional, non-profit use etc. They also have a free version, but you have to deal with your own hosting etc.

Other costs that may associate with this are:

Design – Most platforms have free templates, but to get a professional edge over others in your industry people get custom designs. Costs may vary. If you need services contact Uzzz Productions. Or you may get premium themes.

Tools / Plugins – You buy paid plugins like OIO Publisher and other services like Aweber. So you have to know your budget.

Do I want to make money off my blog by putting ads on it, and selling reviews etc.?

If you do want to put ads on your blog then Wordpress.com (Don’t confuse it with Wordpress.org) is not the service for you. They do not allow smaller blogs to put ads on their website. So this option is out of your reach if you want to make money with your blog.

Hosted vs. Stand Alone Blogs

Lets see what are the pros and cons of each. And which one you should choose.

Hosted Blog Platform

A lot of bloggers start out with this type because it is free. A popular service would be like Blogger.com or Wordpress.com. They use their own platforms. But when they host you they give you a sub-domain. So it would be like balkhis.wordpress.com if I were to be a member at Wordpress.com. People who just want a blog and don’t really care about money and such use this option.

Pros

• Free to Run – Most of these hosted blogs are free otherwise they are very cheap.
• Easy Setup – These services are very easy to set up. You just sign up for an account, and fill in a few fields. You pick one of their default designs. There you go, you have a blog. They are very easy to run as well.
• Automatic Upgrades – Since wordpress.com runs on a wordpress platform. If wordpress upgrades, your blog will upgrade automatically. That is one of the good part if you are not technologically savvy.
• Good Search Engine Ranking – Since you have a sub-domain under a very highly ranked domain, you will have good Search Engine Ranking. You write a little good articles, and you will get a good Pagerank as well.

Cons

• Less Control – You have limited features. You don’t have any control over your blog. You have to follow their guidelines.
• Default Design Limitations – You can’t really change design a whole lot. You have to stick with what they have.
• Generic Links – I don’t think it shows professionalism to be hosted on a sub-domain of a platform. Not saying that there are not successful blogs that are hosted under wordpress.com.
• Upgrade is a Pain – If you are not techie, then upgrading to Stand-alone can be hard for you. You might be spending more money to move and make sure everything works.

Stand Alone Blogs

Stand Alone Blogs are usually used by professionals who are looking for more than just a blog. These blogs are hosted by yourself on your own domain using one of the platforms. I use this on my blog. I am using Wordpress.org Platform. There are others out there as well that you would have to search. Some are B2Evolution, Expression Engine, and Textpattern.

Pros

- Free Platform – there are some hosting fees, and domain fees, but you have the free platform. There are tons of open source platforms. So you don’t have to pay for licensed platforms.

- More Control – You have more control over your site. More features, your own url etc. You can put ads, or do whatever you please.

- Design – As I am a designer, I consider this very important. You actually get to choose your own designs etc.

Cons

- Cost – Well since the set up is complicated and hosting and others cost fees. This can cost some money. If you are not tech savvy then you would also be paying another person to deal with the matters until you learn.

- Updates – Not something if you are a tech savvy person you want to do. You would have to upgrade the platform on your own.

- Hosting Issues – Sometimes hosts have issues. Lets say your host decided to bail out on you, and you have to transfer. This is something that you have to be ready for.

Bottom Line

The bottom line of this post is use these pros and cons to make the right decision from the start. I have laid out everything that I could think of. If you have more questions, suggestions than feel free to post it in the comment section.

Every blogger have their own unique style of blogging. They have their own unique way of structure and so on. So how do we classify the success of bloggers into traits. Well It is very hard because each blogger have their own personal touch, but there are some characteristics that is found in almost every good blogger.

Innovative Personality

Good bloggers always come out with innovative ways to cover their topics. An innovative blogger is someone who would find new and smarter ways to build his blog. Innovative Personality distinguish between the leader and a follower. People like to follow leaders that is one of the traits of a successful blogger.

Community Enablers

Successful bloggers know how to get their audience to read the blog. Not just read but much more than that. They know how to get them involved into the articles and provoke their passion. They get their readers to build a community around their blog by writing articles that appeals to the audience.

Originality and Creativity

As this blogging world expands specially the niches of web development and MMO, it is really hard to come up with original content. Many times bloggers are talking about same topics. But only good bloggers find ways to make their content look original. They add their creative touch to the article and make it far better than the rest. That is why people like their articles more and they are considered successful bloggers.

Entrepreneurs

Successful bloggers have a mind of an entrepreneur. They are always finding ways to get to the next level. They try to get the edge over their competitors by coming up with new ideas. They don’t wait for others. If they want something, they go on and take it.

Good Communicators

Successful bloggers don’t just throw information at you. They are actually very good communicators. Their style of writing gets through people and make them understand what he is talking about. Successful bloggers know what their reader wants and desire, so they come up with those type of material. This skill is which makes them be a community enabler.

Interesting and Focused

Sometimes bloggers think it is good to be interesting, so they write about some weird anecdote or so on. But in the course of trying to be interested, they lose focus. Successful bloggers are both interesting and focused. They know how to get their audience interested in by writing good titles, good intro paragraph or what not. They are very focused as well. They write an article and stay to the point. That is what makes them good communicators.

Imagination / Curiosity

Successful bloggers have this crazy imagination. They see things that are so weird, but make them work. They are curious. So they try new things. But they never get distracted. So if there is a new service in a market. They will experiment it, but they don’t get distracted from their old focus.

While above are just a list. Every blogger is different in their own ways. They always find ways to be different. Heck that is why there are more than one successful bloggers. So if you ever want to do a case study, a good idea would be to interview multiple bloggers at a conference or so. And see what their traits are.

I see too many blogs coming out that teaches you how to make money. Everyone is a self-proclaimed expert into Search Engine Marketing, and in the ways of making money online when these people have barely started. They don’t even have half the experience. Yet they are Bs’ing their way through blogging. They say they don’t blog for money, but is it true? I don’t know. But I am going to ask and try to find out with you guys. Would you blog if there was no money involved. What if there was no adsense. What if no one ever clicked. What if no one ever bought ads on your site. Would you still be motivated to blog?

I ask this question because I see people getting into this blogging industry and starting a make money online blog to make money. They think that is how money is made online. In all true honesty, if you think that you are an IDIOT. Yup you are. I have experienced and I am sure a lot of you guys will agree with me that blogs are not the direct source of income. It can become a main source of income but that is in a very long run. So what motivates you for the long run… It is actually a pain in the ass to get up and write daily or weekly. Why would you do it?

I would still do it if I make absolutely no money directly from my blog. And here is why:

Collection of Resource – I write multiple articles, multiple tutorials that I put out. A lot of wordpress tricks and tutorials are not originally by myself. They are extracted from the wordpress website from the codex section. I am making a resource for myself because just in case if I ever need this tutorial, I won’t have to search wordpress codex. I would just look into my blog. So it is a resource for myself. I put it out live, so other people can take advantage of this too.

Building Relations and Gaining Credibility – I feel very nice to see the subscriber count growing. I am glad to see that so many of you guys actually care about me, and I care about you guys as well. It makes me get to know my readers who email me. I mean when I went to Izea Conference, people came up behind me and said Hey Balkhis… I turned around and found it this person was one of my reader. I think I build good relations with people. I share good tutorials and my experience which makes me a credible source in those specific niche like designing and SEO. I think this credibility can help me if I ever decide to write a book in the future or so on. A lot of my readers like me and my work, so they recommend me and that is the advantage of good relations.

Indirect Profit – With good relations and credibility, people trust me, and they are more likely to buy my other products that I come out with. So even if the blog doesn’t profit me. It is promoting my other source of income like web design firm, and other products soon to come.

Sharing my life – Yes facebook, myspace and other services like these are nice. But having your own personal blog is just too much better. So I don’t have to personally send my pictures to everyone. All they have to do is watch my blog and see the pictures and the adventures that I am having. That is one of my motivation.

So now if there was no money from blogging would you still blog? And Why?

Have you ever been a website which you love a lot, and then you suddenly found this one problem, and you want to contact the webmaster or blogger. Then you waste over 10 minutes searching for the contact page. Frustration is rising and you don’t know what to do? Yup it happened to me a multiple times. That is why I made my contact page, and I do so whenever I start a new website.

Why you should enable your readers to contact you

Some people want to keep distance from their readers. They think comment is enough. But I disagree. I think having your readers contact you is good. It’s not just good, it is great. Not for one reason but many. Here are a few:

• It opens up opportunities – Do you know that now I don’t even search for places to advertise my site because I have people contacting me. Giving me special deals. I choose the ones that I like. It saves me tons of time. Sometimes I can’t think what to write about. Then I get an email with a question. Having your readers contact you opens up opportunities.
• It creates trust – When you put a contact form in your website, it shows the reader that there is a human writing on this blog. There is someone accountable. They begin to trust you more. And that is how you get loyal readers. It shows to them that your blog is not spam because mostly spammers try to hide.
• It makes your reader feel valuable – I know for me as a reader, I like to contact people. Either to just say hi or maybe have a question. It makes me feel that I am valued when I get a response back from the blogger or webmaster. I know other readers like to see the same. Letting them contact you makes them feel valuable and they come back to your site over and over.
• Sense of Privacy – Comments are too public. Sometimes readers tell you security information about your website. Or something that cannot be discussed in public. This is how reader / blogger relationship get better.

Above are just a few that I can think of top of my head. There are tons of reasons why contact forms are helpful. I mean I contact fellow bloggers to report problems on their site etc etc.

I think every blogger should have a contact page. Here is how you can make a contact page with wordpress.

I understand some bloggers feel insecure by giving their main email address out to public. Well that is why you make multiple emails. You keep your personal emails separate if you are afraid of being spammed. Simply make an email like xxxx@yourdomain.com and use that. Add that into outlook or any other mail management program. Check your emails daily.

It is not a lot of work, and you are gaining readers. It maybe takes a little extra time, but each question you reply back to. That is how many loyal readers you are gaining.

Every blogger has a similar goal: to interest someone. Whatever niche we chose, no matter how often we post, we try to find a way to interest those people out there in cyber space. After a while, when your blog is out of its infancy, the shiny extior of the blog has worn off. Your blog is no longer a hot commidty if the novelty of whatever you are writing about wears off within a couple of months. So the question is, how do we keep things interesting?

• Don’t lose your passion
  If you lose the passion that started your blog, then your blog will lose whatever excitement it has. Niches are so sucessful because people are interested in what is within that niche. If you lose interest, how is your audience supposed to follow what your writing? You need to have passion in order to keep your readers focused on your blog.
• Channel your passion
  I love what I do. I love being a student, I love writing. I have the passion, but if I were just to ramble, you would be lost. The key is to take the passion that you have and channel it into something productive. Don’t rush a post, put time into it to sculpt your vision. Make the ideas you see in your mind take shape to something beautiful. Your post is your art. You want it meusem worthy, not just worthy to hang on the refridgerator.
• Make something new
  People read newspapers for news. People read journals for reasearch. Why are people reading your blog? Regardless of the purpose you see your blog as having, coming out with a unique idea, perspective, or bit of news makes you stand out. Why do some small-time bloggers spend their money to go to blogging conferences? Not every blogger has a list of sponsers or the disposible income to attend conferences on a whim. So when you do spend the money to go somewhere or do something, why not blog about it? Lets say you have a blog about flowers and you go to an exotic flower show. When people search for information about this show, don’t you want your posts to show up? Put new information, new ideas, new thoughts into the world and you will stay interesting.
• Think about your reader
  Everyone says you should know your reader. Know what they like and dislike so that you know what you have to do to appeal to them. You have passion, and so do they. Appeal to them in any way you know how. If your readers are a particular group (i.e. stay at home moms interested in all natural cooking) then put yourself in thier place and think about what they would like to see and read.
• Have fun with this
  Finally, have fun with what you are writing. For a lucky few, blogging is thier job. For many of us it is our hobby turned second job. Realize this and have fun with what you do. Love what you do, enjoy it, and see your blog as a way to enrich your life.