More and more people are looking to Blogs to get their ideas online but what are the differences between a Niche website and a Blog if you want to gather a following and be successful?
In truth there really are not that many differences between the two and many of the same hurdles must be overcome.
Targeting your Readers
Niche or targeted content is limited to one or a group of related topics. Blogs allow the site owner easy access to type in any content that is on their mind but as a content developer you really need to stay on target.
If you find that you have more then one subject that you enjoy talking about then start a new site but you readers will not appreciate haphazard posts inserted into your main niche of choice unless they are related.
For instance you blog about dogs and then one day you find yourself in a dog park where you notice many of the people are making dates with each other and often their dogs choose who goes out with who.. well that is an interesting post and it is related to your main niche of dogs so your readers will probably enjoy it whether they are in a relationship or not.
On the other hand you probably do not want to mix posts about your dating problems with content about dog care. People don’t want to sift through your boring details of failures at the bar when they are looking for help on which leash is best for their dog.
So stay on point and build your content for your reader.
Monitizing / Advertising
Every successful bloger wants to use their content to make some extra money. Many of us want to do it professionally and this means understanding how to make money and spread the word about your content.
This is something that does not change but because so many blogs are hosted by free hosting companies there are more limitations placed on how you can monetize and advertise you blog.
Understand the restrictions that your hoster places on your account and often you will be allowed to build relationships with other blogs, sites and services that can spread the word about your content even if you can not make money through advertising.
Hosting Considerations
Whats really strange is that many of the most popular Blogs are hosted on Free Hosting sites. But unfortunately Popular and Profitable often are not the same thing.
You should use free hosting as a starting point. Organize your thoughts about subject matter and design your blog the best you can depending on your host.
Always start with a blog host that you know will allow you to export all of your content. Many will provide an XML Export feature but others will give you remote access so you can move your blog through scripts.
When you make that jump from Free to Paid hosting make sure that you pick an application that you can understand. Many people use WordPress, Drupal or board software like phpBBS . Make sure you can set this software up on your new host and manage it before you make the jump. Just practice for a few weeks and read documentation and visit help sites.
Domain Names
If you feel from the start that your blog will be something you want to keep around then buy a domain name for it.
Of course every site you host yourself will need a domain name so your readers can find you but Free or close to free hosting such as WordPress.com or google’s blogger.com can make use of a Domain Name.
If you find free hosting that cant then have your domain name point to your site.
Any site that you want to keep probably should not make use of free domain name services or forwarding. Free services don’t guarantee you can keep the domain or how long the service will be available.
Final Note
So, we hit a few of the Technical and content based questions about how a professional Blog could differ from a professional website.
Remember you are not building the internet you are just contributing to it. Even if you are posting a personal diary that happens to attract a large amount of people you want to stay on target.
Find advertising and joint ventures that will allow you to increase your visibility and profit.
Only use free services that provide a way for you migrating your site to paid hosting later. You do not want to build thousands of pages of content just to be locked out of it.
And no matter how you get your content on the internet for everyone to read understand your consumer just like a business would. Research other sites that are similar and always respect user input and feedback.
