You have decided that you want to be an online writer and you are looking for places to post your work. Where should you look for inspiration? What topics should you cover? How do you want people to engage with your content? There are many questions that you need to answer in order to become a successful writer online.
You have several options when it comes to posting your work online. Each option has its advantages and disadvantages, which you need to consider before making your decision. Hopefully, this article will help you figure out which one is the best fit for you.
Online Blogs
An online blog is a great place to start if you are looking to build a portfolio of your work. The two main advantages of an online blog are first, the ability to attract and engage with potential customers and, second, the ability to constantly update your content as new information becomes available.
The two major disadvantages of an online blog are first, the lack of a physical presence (i.e., being online doesn’t guarantee that you are going to turn up at any given moment in time to write something), and, second, the fact that people are more likely to skip over content that appears on a blog and moves quickly to the next piece.
The first disadvantage can be easily offset by using services like Google Plus, which gives you a physical presence (you are a member of Google Plus, aren’t you?) and allows you to connect with potential customers through Google search.
The second disadvantage can be minimized through a combination of various methods. You can try to become a well-established blogger in your niche, which will help raise the profile of your work. You can also make your content more engaging by adding interesting anecdotes, case studies, and other relevant examples to your articles. Finally, you can put in the hard work to make sure that your blog posts appear at the top of the search results for your targeted keywords.
The above factors indicate that an online blog is a great choice for budding writers. If you are wondering where to start, simply look for blogs in your niche and see how others are doing it.
Why Vlogs?
A video blog is similar to an online blog in that it is a place for you to post content (e.g., articles, stories, and the like) online. The major difference is that you are physically present in the video, which grants you a more direct connection with your audience.
The advantage of a video blog is that you have the opportunity to engage with your audience through a combination of text and visuals. You can use tools like Blogger or WordPress to add video capabilities to your site, thus enhancing your content’s video quality. The disadvantage of a video blog is that your content will mostly be stored in digital form, and, therefore, can be easily deleted or overwritten.
The above factors indicate that a video blog is a great choice for writers who want to establish a physical presence online. If you decide that videos are a great fit for your content, then consider looking for a niche and creating a video blog around it.
Medium Blogs
A medium blog is somewhere between a blog and a full-blown website when it comes to the amount of content that you can post on a single page. The advantage of a medium blog is that you only have to maintain one website, which makes it easier to keep track of all your content.
The disadvantage of a medium blog is that you only have a single, central space to work with, and, therefore, you are restricted to a small number of posts per day. You can use tools like Medium to build and maintain a medium blog, which also gives you the option of sharing your content to other platforms like Twitter or Facebook.
The above factors indicate that a medium blog is a great choice for writers who want to build a digital portfolio. If you decide that medium blogs are a good fit for your content, then simply look for the biggest and most popular blogs in your niche and follow their lead.
Full-blown Websites
A full-blown website is similar to a medium blog in that it is a place for you to post content (e.g., articles, reviews, and the like). However, a full-blown website also has a much wider scope when it comes to the content that you can put on it. The advantage of a full-blown website is that you have the opportunity to write about anything that you want, and you can use tools like WordPress or Blogger to make your content look beautiful.
The disadvantage of a full-blown website is that, similar to a medium blog, you only have a single, central space to work with. You can use tools like Medium, but you also have the option of making your content exclusive to the website. This can be a great way to build a reputation as an authoritative voice in your niche, but, ultimately, it is up to you to decide whether or not this is a route that you want to go down.
The above factors indicate that a full-blown website is a great choice for writers who want to establish their name in their niche. If you decide that full-blown websites are a good fit for your content, then simply look for the biggest and most popular websites in your niche and use them as a model for how you want to make your own website.
In summary, consider the above factors when making your decision about where to post your writing samples. If you are looking for inspiration, then simply look to the blogs and websites of other writers in your niche for ideas on how to compose unique content that will engage and appeal to your potential audience.