Wordpress.ORG

Pros

• ·         Super customizable
• ·         1,000+ templates to choose from
• ·         Tons of plug ins to choose from
• ·         You own all your content
• ·         Ability to use Google AdSense and Analytics

Cons

• ·         Requires some effort to set up
• ·         May require you to purchase the template you want. Not all of them are free.
• ·         Requires hosting. This is about $200/year
• ·         Requires a domain name purchase of around $12-$15/ year. Sometimes your hosting will come with a free domain name included.

Wordpress.COM

Pros

• ·         Simple set up
• ·         Free to use
• ·         You have a free domain name extension given to you (yourblog.wordpress.com)
• ·         Very recognized name so the extension isn’t that big of a deal
• ·         Great for a beginner who doesn’t want too much customizability to confuse them

Cons

• ·         No use of Google AdSense and Analytics (you have to use their stat tracker unless you upgrade)
• ·         Limited customizability  and templates
• ·         Cost extra fees to use your own domain name
• ·         Plugin and AdWords (WordPress AdSense) requires an upgrade.
• ·         You do not own your content. If the website is ever to be shut down, you loose everything.

Blogger

Pros

• ·         Free to use
• ·         Hundreds of templates to choose from
• ·         Templates are usually offered for free, with upgrades for support costing extra.
• ·         Quick and easy integration with AdSense, Analytics and Google Domains
• ·         Great for beginner who doesn’t want anything fancy but the ability to use ads on their site.

Cons

• ·         Requires some coding knowledge (very minimal) to install custom templates
• ·         Editing custom templates requires a bit more coding knowledge
• ·         No plug ins for SEO or further customizability
• ·         Multiple pages require coding knowledge or are not available. I am unsure on this one as I do not have the coding knowledge to try this one out.
• ·         You do not own your content. If the website is ever to be shut down, you loose everything.

Where to Find Templates

Uploading your New Template to Blogger

Everyone is on social media now a days. If you aren't, you don't exist or you aren't worth peoples time.  So how do you build a presence on social media for your blog? 

1. Follow others in your niche on all platforms

Don't be afraid to follow other's who are in your niche. They may be your competitors, but they may also turn out to be your greatest allies. They may have someone asking for something that they don't have and may be able to recommend you and your site if it helps them. This is how a true partnership or friendship works. They're willing to send some traffic your way and the same should be for you.

2. Join Facebook Groups

Facebook groups are places where people come together to share what they've created and to help others. Don't be afraid to help other it may generate some traffic for you. Even if you are not promoting a post or sharing your Facebook link, helping others can still generate traffic for you.

3. Sincerely comments

All over social media you share, you like, you comment. And the debate is still out about which one will generate you more followers. A year or so ago the best thing to do on Instagram was to follow someone, like 5 of their posts and leave a comment or two on one of the posts. This is no longer the case. Most people are catching on. Today the best way to get followers, especially on Instagram is to leave a sincere comment (not "love this") that opens a line of communication and let's them know that you took the time to actually look at their feed and comment from the heart. I've heard that leaving a sincere comment can have around 40% follow back rate because you're creating a friendship, not just being douchy.

4. Share content that isn't yours

So if you've been reading about blogging at all, you've heard of the 80/20 rule. Share 80% content that isn't yours and 20% that is. I still find this to be viable. People don't want to just see you promoting yourself, they want to see that you share other relevant content that can help them or that they like. So get sharing!

5. Create amazing content

This kind of goes without saying. if you create great content people will come. if you create great content but never share it, they may not find you. But you have to create it first. Without great content people will leave your site very quickly and not come back. This is one time where you should stay on your blog and make sure that what you are producing is wroth reading.

We all want to find that perfect topic that we are super passionate about that we can turn into a business or a blog. There are so many interesting topics out there and to have to choose between them is a tough choice for some. Other knows exactly what they want to do because they’ve already found their passion and know what they want to do with it. 

For me, I had a hard time narrowing down what I wanted to blog about. All I knew is that I wanted a blog and I went through several before the idea of blogging about blogging came to me. Had to hit me on the head a few times before I would listen. So this is how I finally determined what my niche was going to be. Hopefully this will be able to help you determine what you want your niche to be, or at least narrow it down for you. 

Without further adieu, 

1. Write down a list of things you like 

Start with things that you enjoy doing. You want this list to encompass event he things that you follow of Facebook. Things that you find interesting and would like to know more about. The more that you can put on this list, the better off and more sure you can be. You can create the list 2 ways. 
The first way is to create a list of things that you have always been interested in. Things that you have continuously done or looked into or followed for years. 

The second way is to create a list of right now. Things that you are currently interested in that may wane over time. This way may lead to some failed ideas or running out of post ideas, but it also lets you delve into a subject and learn new things to talk about. 

2. Choose 3 topics 

Now that you have your list, you want to be able to narrow it down. Having a broad niche isn’t going to do anyone good. So think about how many of these topics that you can see yourself talking to others about? Can you see yourself saying to a future employer,” yes I have a such and such blog on the side” or would you be too embarrassed? Don’t worry we all have these kinds of topics that interest us whether we admit it or not. So try and narrow it down to your top 3 interests that you can see yourself doing for a long time. 

Whether or not you plan to make a living out of this, think of it seriously as more than just a hobby. Hobbies can change like the wind, but your niche shouldn’t change with it. 

3. Experiment with these 3 topics 

Now that you have your top 3 topics, experiment with them. What do I mean by this? I mean act like you actually have everything set up already and start producing content. See what you can produce. 

Ask yourself these questions about each one: 
Are you happy with the final product? 
 Was it easy for you to produce? 
 Did everything just flow? 
 Did it feel “right”? 
 Did it lead you to more ideas? 

If you answered yes to these questions then this may be your niche topic. If you have more than one that you can say this for, keep going, keep producing content for the one that you enjoy more. This content will not be wasted. If there is more than one topic that you can answer this for, and the topics are close enough, think about combining the topics and creating an even more specific niche. 

Drop me a comment and tell me if this helped, you determine your niche or helped you narrow it down some for you.