There’s a lot of choices in services and software to start and run your art blog including Blogger, Typepad, WordPress, LiveJournal, Squarespace and more. So what’s the best choice for your blog? The service or software you choose for your blog depends on a number of different factors including cost, features, and ease of use. Here is some information about different types of blogging services and software available and how to choose the right one for your art blog.

Blogging services vs self hosting

• Blogging service- this includes services like Blogger, WordPress.com, LiveJournal, etc. A blogging service is something that you sign up to get your blog. A blogging service is responsible for hosting your blog, providing features, doing upgrades, and maintaining the technical side of your blog.
• Self hosting- this includes blogging software like WordPress.org, Moveable Type, Mambo, Drupal that runs on a web server that you manage.

Free vs paid services

• Free- some blogging services (Blogger, WordPress.com, LiveJournal, Vox) and software (WordPress.org, Mambo, Drupal) are completely free. Many of these services make money by putting advertising on your blog.
• Paid- other blogging services (Typepad, Squarespace, WordPress.com) will charge a monthly fee to host and maintain the technical aspects of your blog. Some services such as WordPress.com offer a free basic service and will charge for additional features.

Factors to consider

• cost- how much are you budgeted to spend on your blog (hosting, monthly fee, set up, domain name)? Are you willing to pay for a monthly service? Are you willing to help someone help you set up a self hosted blog?
• ease of use- how much technical expertise do you have? Are you willing to maintain the technical parts of your blog if you decide to self host? Do you have the technical expertise to install your own blog or would you rather use a service that takes care of this for you?
• features- what kind of features do you want for your blog? Do you want a custom look for your blog or can you use a generic theme? Do you want your blog to match your website completely? Do you want the ability to sell from your blog? A photo gallery? Show videos? Add a mailing list sign up? If you’re using a blogging service, the features you can have on your blog is controlled by the service.
• control- how much control do you want to have over how your blog runs and looks? Some blog hosting services have a terms of service control what you can and can’t do on your blog (eg. using your blog to make sales, subject matter of your blog, etc). Plus, if the blogging service shuts down, then you can lose your blog.

If you’re thinking about starting a blog or if you already have a blog and you want to be more effective, sign up for my FREE e-course “50 Blogging Tips for Artists “. Get a free tip in your email every day that will help make your blogging life easier. Sign up now!

Is your art blog the best that it can possibly be? Whether you have a blog on WordPress, Typepad, or Blogger, there are things that you can do that will attract more readers, encourage more comments, and most importantly, help you promote your artwork better! Here are 7 ways you can make your blog be all it can be.

1. Brand your blog- Make sure your blog has the clear stamp of your brand, this includes colors, fonts, logo, domain name, banner, etc. If you’re using a free theme from Blogger or WordPress, brand the look by getting a custom banner or altering the colors and fonts. But the basic rules of web design still apply!

2. Clean up your sidebars- Use widgets and sidebar graphics sparingly. It’s nice to show that you’re affiliated with but you don’t have to show every affiliation you have. It makes your blog look messy and may slow the speed of your blog. Reserve your sidebar for important marketing features like your opt-in box, links to your website, links to other blog posts, etc.

3. Add an opt-in box- Make sure that everybody is able to sign up for your newsletter and mailing list. If you don’t have a mailing list, you can learn to set one up by getting a FREE copy of my article series “How to Plan and Start a Great Email Newsletter “.

4. Make your post titles SEO friendly- Avoid vague “mystery meat” titles that don’t mean anything to either search engines or your visitors. Make sure that your blog post titles state clearly what your blog post is about and contains major keywords for your topic.

5. Make your blog shareable- If you have great content, make it easy for your visitors to share by adding social networking buttons to your blog. You can also share your blog on Twitter and Facebook by using services like Twitterfeed and Networked Blogs.

6. Make your blog easy for people to read- Display your RSS button in an easy to find place for your RSS subscribers for folks that like to use RSS readers. You can also use a service like Feedblitz or Feedburner to allow people to subscribe to your blog via email.

7. Don’t make it all about you- Don’t make every blog post about your new sale on Etsy or a plea to buy your work. Write about real life events and how it inspires your work. Ask questions from your readers. Answer comments readers leave on your blog. Ask readers what they want…write blog posts based on reader and customer questions. Remember to interact.

If you’re thinking about starting a blog or if you already have a blog and you want to be more effective, sign up for my FREE e-course “50 Blogging Tips for Artists“. Get a free tip in your email every day that will help make your blogging life easier. Sign up now!