Sorry, there’s no excuse. If you can use email, you can blog. And if you use Word 2007, you can use it to post articles to your own hosted blog.
Why blog?
Because if you can demonstrate your subject matter expertise, you’re going to get that job, promotion, or consulting gig you’re looking for. Last week I talked about doing things that are in your control – and top of the list is your blog.
Let’s get past the technical hurdles first. There are many ways you can blog, but to make your decision easier, I’m going to recommend three platforms.
- Posterous – this is the simplest blogging platform there is. Your first email to them creates your account, and every subsequent email posts an article. You can include pictures, audio, and video, and Posterous figures out what to do with your content. More on this in a moment.
- WordPress.com – this is the free WordPress site. Create an account, and WordPress will host it for you. It’s also free. WordPress is the most widely used blogging platform, which means there’s lots of online support – and if you need it, there are lots of consultants who can help you. They host over 300,000 blogs!
- YourOwnDomain.com, using WordPress software. This is what I recommend if you’re going to be serious about blogging. It gives you the greatest flexibility, and you totally control everything you do. WordPress is still free, and there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of free templates. Templates dictate the layout and features of your blog. (In case you didn’t know it, this blog uses WordPress.)
Word 2007 allows you to write your post for WordPress and post it automatically. The first time you do it, you have to provide some basic setup information (URL of your blog, user name and password). When you finish a post, you hit the Publish icon and either post the article as a finished post or as a draft. I write all my posts this way now – the Word editor is way better than the WordPress editor, and almost everyone knows how to use Word.
Posterous
So let’s talk about Posterous… Take a look at the Posterous FAQ (frequently asked questions) to get started. “Posterous lets you post things online fast using email. You email us at post@posterous.com and we reply instantly with your new Posterous blog.” It just don’t get any easier than that.
Multimedia? Posterous understands Word and PowerPoint file formats, PDF, JPG, GIF, PNG, MP3, AVI and MPG. If you don’t understand all those TLAs (three-letter acronyms), just understand that Posterous will intelligently handle most files you’re going to generate. And you don’t have to worry about photo size, because their software will automatically, and intelligently, resize your photos. If you’re posting a link to a YouTube video, Posterous will automatically embed a player for the post so your reader can simply start watching it.
Here’s another great feature they do automatically: when you post to your blog, it can automatically create updates to your Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr accounts. Blogging pros have been doing this for years – I do it with plugins for WordPress, but here it’s all nicely wrapped up for you. This gives you great Google Juice! And it should be an integral part of your personal branding efforts.
Are you wondering if this is a serious blogging platform? You bet it is – two of the most important bloggers in the world use it (Michael Arrington – TechCrunch, and Robert Scoble).
The route to getting that job you want is to get known as a subject matter expert. First be sure people can find you if they type your name in a Google search. Then start writing on your topic, and keep doing it until people can find you when they type a search for what you do. That’s what recruiters do – especially for higher-level positions. They are always looking for people who have distinguished themselves in their field. And today, and with Posterous, that’s under your control.
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