The Digital Scholar

Blogs are a powerful way to connect with readers and to market and distribute your writing. They allow you to publish articles instantaneously with minimal effort, and their format practically compels you to produce content on a regular basis. These resources will help you set up a blog and guide you along as you develop it.

If you know of or think I should add other resources to these lists, please contact me. I’d love to hear about them.

• Books on Blogging
• Free Blog Hosting Sites
• Web Hosting Services
• Related Articles from The Digital Scholar
• Helpful Blogging Websites

Books on Blogging

• ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income by By Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett – This is the book that helped me to conceptualize and get my Early American Crime website up and running, even though its targeted audience is people seeking to earn big money through blogging.
• Blogging For Dummies by Susannah Gardner and Shane Birley.
• Blogging Quick & Easy: A Planned Approach to Blogging Success by Tom Masters.
• Classroom Blogging by David Warlick.
• Clear Blogging: How People Blogging Are Changing the World and How You Can Join Them by Bob Walsh.
• The Everything Blogging Book: Publish Your Ideas, Get Feedback, And Create Your Own Worldwide Network by Aliza Risdahl.
• Google Blogger For Dummies by Susan Gunelius.
• WordPress For Dummies by Lisa Sabin-Wilson.

Free Blog Hosting Sites

There are several places where you can get a free blog. That’s right, free! These are good places to experiment with designing and creating elements for your blog before deciding if you want to commit to paying money to host one. Many digital scholars, though, end up sticking with one of these free blog hosting sites.

There are downsides to free blog hosting. One is that the URL you create will look like this: “www.myblog.wordpress.com”. However, you can usually pay a small fee to create and register your own domain name (i.e., URL) to make it look like you own and run your own website. Another drawback to free blog hosting is that you will not have as much control over your blog’s design and features as you would if you hosted your own website (see Web Hosting Services below). The blog host might post ads on your website or restrict your ability to post your own advertisements, if you decide to go that route. In addition, if you later decide that you want to host your own website, you will need to transfer the contents of your website from your free site to the new one, which can be time-consuming and tricky.

• Blog.com
• Blogger – Blogger is owned by Google and is quite popular.
• Edublogs – A blogging platform for students and educators.
• Livejournal
• MyBlogSite
• WordPress.com – WordPress is the most popular blogging software.

Web Hosting Services

I decided to host my own website when I started Early American Crime. I use DreamHost, and so far I have been quite satisfied with it. I quickly recouped the cost of two years of hosting with an honorarium I received for writing an article for a newsletter after they contacted me through my website.

All web hosting services offer domain registration, where you can create and own your own URL. Note, however, that simply registering a domain is NOT the same as web hosting.

Here are the names of some web hosting services to explore:

• DreamHost: DreamHost offers one-click installation of WordPress blog software.
• BlueHost
• FatCow
• Go Daddy
• HostMonster
• MediaTemple
• IX Web Hosting
• Webhostingpad

Related Articles from The Digital Scholar

• Where Should I Start? – On why you should start with a blog if you want to become a Digital Scholar.
• You Should Start a Blog If . . . – Ten reasons why you should start a blog.
• Serious Blogging is an Oxymoron – At least, that’s what I used to think.
• Scholarly Real Estate – On the advantages of owning a domain name (e.g., www.EarlyAmericanCrime.com).

Helpful Blogging Websites

• Copyblogger – “Copywriting Tips for Online Marketing Success”
• Daily Blog Tips
• ProBlogger – “A blog that helps bloggers add income streams to their blogs”